by Jeffrey Cook
Mina tried shifting herself into position to get to the open passenger side window, but gave up when she heard screeching tires behind them, just as they were starting down a hill. At the bottom of the hill, a large delivery van pulled across the intersection and remained there, with two people quickly climbing out and darting around the van. They were about to be cut off, and even with Miko driving, Mina was pretty sure they couldn't make a turn in time.
“Miko!” she yelled.
“I see it!” came the response and Miko gunned the engine, moving faster, instead of slowing down. Mina's eyes widened, and a glance behind her confirmed that the car behind them had also accelerated to try to keep pace to trap them, making sure they couldn't slow down to turn off anywhere without being clipped.
“Miko!” she yelled again.
“Hold on!”
“Do I have a choice?!”
Mina held on desperately to the top of the car as Vlad sped up, on a collision course with the side of the van, then Miko yanked the wheel about. Countless amounts of time and tire damage trying to perfect the fishtail parking job paid off as the car fishtailed briefly, nearly overturned, then set down on its wheels. Miko grinned like a maniac as she sped back up the hill, and past the car that had been pursuing them. Between the unexpected maneuver, the distraction, and clearly having chips that didn't include stunt driving, the car pursuing them didn't stop in time, slamming at high speed into the van. The maneuver also nearly threw Mina off the roof, but she managed to hang on, though she ended up breaking off one of the side mirrors in the process of trying to find handholds.
Miko turned at the first corner up the hill she could find, stopped there out of apparent line of fire just long enough to let Mina slide in through the passenger side window, then took off again through the mostly quiet streets.
“The cops are going to be after us in no time; you know that, right?” Mina asked, once she found her breath and voice a little.
“Sure, but they'll be swarming that accident scene first. So we have a chance to make our getaway to whatever Batcave you come up with.”
“Seriously? Now?”
“There is always time for the Batcave,” Miko answered with self-assurance, still glowing from actually finding a practical use for a fishtail turn. Clearly, she'd accomplished a life goal and wasn't going to be dissuaded from being chirpily cheerful, regardless how many people were trying to kill them. Mina did, finally, think to turn her comm back off.
“Fine, okay. We need to get out of the city, away from street cameras, and hope that people were confused enough that no one will get a good look at that little chase until we're clear.”
Miko tipped the head of her bobblehead. “I'll make good time, promise.”
Mina managed to help navigate, pulling up areas where there were no cameras, back streets slated for repairs, and a route far from the efficient one her chip suggested, but which served her current purposes. Eventually, they managed to make their way out of Seattle and to the more open roads to the south, getting off of major roads and onto the ample stretches of back roads.
“So where are we going?”
“Hobart,” Mina answered.
“Where's that?”
“Towards Tiger Mountain.”
“What's there?”
“Nothing, that's the point. I just want to get off the road entirely, and up high, then monitor police band for a bit.”
“No more stupid stunts leading to car chases and people shooting at us?”
“Nothing planned.”
“Damn.”
The pair managed to find some backroads remote enough that they weren't even within the road maps included in Mina's chip. They drove back as far as thin dirt roads would allow, into areas that had probably once been occupied, but now were simply part of unofficial hiking and climbing trails. Parking Vlad off the road, Mina got out to stretch and try and relax a little after the harrowing day. Seeing no indication that they'd been followed, she returned to the car, tuning its radio to pick up police band chatter. Unsurprisingly, descriptions of Vlad circulated now and then, and Miko was being sought for questioning.
“That's so cool! I've never been wanted by the police before!” Miko eventually declared.
“Cool 'til your dad hears about it.”
“Still cool even then.”
“Miko, this is serious. You didn't need to get involved ...”
“Yes, yes, but you're glad I did. You're welcome.”
“I'm just worried. I didn't want to get you in trouble.”
“We'll manage. We just need to figure out what to do next. Hopefully that whole trip into the police station was worth it.”
“That's what I'm listening for, to see if it turns anything up.”
“Aha! A method to the madness.”
“Well, yes. I don't exactly enjoy being shot at. Or car chases, for that matter.”
“Okay, the being shot at was kind of unfair. They need to give you a gun. The car chase was awesome though.”
“They'll give me a gun when they think a case merits it,” came the automatic response.
“This one doesn't? Wow, I can't wait to see what they consider a case that merits a gun.”
“No way. I'm already probably going to be fired. There's no way you're staying involved in this past this case. This is a one-time thing.”
“Yeah, like that's going to happen. You had your chance to get rid of me by heading off to Russia and trading your bike for ballet slippers.”
“I'm serious.”
“So am I.”
“Miko, I ...” Mina was cut off by the feeling she should be listening to the police band. A few hours had passed with no word of anything useful, aside from an occasional mention of their exploits. She hadn't even heard anything regarding any of the people in the car or the van that had crashed. Now, there was something about a burned-out wreck of a car being found just off the road in West Seattle. The car was being identified as the one being sought in relation to the dead officers. The car's owner was found with the car, just as burned out. There were no suspects.
“Whoa ...” Miko started. “These guys are hardcore.”
“They were trying to kill us not long ago, and killed two cops, remember?”
“Sure, but we're the good guys. We're not their crew. Getting rid of their own evidence trail is something else entirely.”
“I ... guess so. But now we're right back to square one.”
“Maybe not. We know they're not in West Seattle. That place will be crawling, and they obviously set this up.”
“Which also means we need to avoid West Seattle ... so no checking the car out. Not that it’s likely to have anything useful.”
“Maybe it did. What was the big deal about it before, when you saw it at the sandwich place?”
“It had a university pass, and the people were taken from ... you're a genius!”
“Naturally. Uh, what did I figure out?”
“There'll be a registry for the guy, and his car, at the University.”
“The place where there's cameras all over? We're not going to be able to get Vlad anywhere near the place.”
“I know, which is why Vlad is going to have to stay hidden as close as we can get, then we're going to steal a car.”
“Leave my baby? Wait ... steal a car? The owner won't have the theft tracking turned off. There'll be police all over it as soon as it's reported.”
“Sure will. We're not going to be there for long, though, and I'm all for a chance someone else will pick up on some of this in the process of investigating. The entire police department can't be against us, I just don't know who is and isn't on the take is all.”
“Clever. So are we going to break into a computer lab, too?”
“No chance. Too easy to just shut down the computers. We're going to ditch the car and go visit your dad.”
“You really want me off this case and grounded for life, don't you?”
“I know, I know.
You need to make him listen, though. He can get us into the system without raising alarms, and I can find what I need from there.”
Miko sighed, weighing the argument. “I'll try. He hasn't been big on listening since ...” Miko trailed off. It had been a fact that loomed.
“Since your Mom. I know, and I'm sorry.”
Miko nodded a little. “I lost 1.5 parents. It's hit home every time I try to get him to slow down and pay attention to me.”
“If I had anything else ...”
“I know, and you're lucky I'm just that awesome a friend. Let's go. Just give me the directions and where we need to stop.” Miko reached out to pat Vlad's dashboard. “I'm sorry, baby. I promise I'll come back for you and fix those nasty dents. We'll go do something special, just the two of us, okay?”
* * * *
They parked a stolen pickup as close to campus as they could without triggering alarms, and covered the rest of the way on foot. Figuring out a route through to Dr. Kimura's office without raising any alarms proved tricky, but Mina hoped that anyone after them would assume she was still laying low in the middle of nowhere somewhere, which was precisely what her brain was telling her to do. She couldn't tell at this point how much was the chip, and the AIA's natural tendencies to try and stay below the radar, and how much was just her brain telling her she really didn't want to die.
They finally reached the back of the Archaeology and Recoveries building, then took advantage of the researchers' preference for fresh air to slip in an open window. Mina spent a few moments waiting to see if there was any sign they'd been noticed, then headed for Dr. Kimura's office. They reached it to find the door open. Inside, Dr. Kimura was alone, packing up his office.
“Dad, what's going on?” Miko asked, before Mina could suggest a more subtle approach.
“Amiko?” he responded, startled. “Where have you been?” he asked, in a tone Mina took as mostly worried. “The police are looking for you.”
“Yes, yes. I know, Dad. That's not important right now. We need ...”
“Not important? They've cut off my security clearance, given me a few days off. Whatever is going on, it's serious. We need to go straighten this out.” He noticed Mina right behind his daughter as he grabbed his keys. “You've always been the good influence. Want to explain?”
“Dad, we can't go to the police. We can't. That's part of the problem. We need your help.”
“Whatever you've done, I'm sure we can explain things to them.” He prepared to go, gesturing that they follow. “There's no getting out of this. Let's go, I'll take you myself and put in a good—”
“Dad. Please. Stop. Stop and look at me.”
And he did.
“It's not going to work like that,” Miko explained. “The police aren't safe. There's someone there that's part of the people who are trying to kill us.”
“Why would someone want to kill you?” he asked, not sounding entirely convinced, but at least no longer heading for the door.
“It's tied to Scott's kidnapping.” Mina stepped in. “Someone thinks we have more information than we do. She's right, Dr. Kimura. We need your help.”
“If this were coming from anyone but you, Mina ...” he started.
“It is coming from me. And do you really think someone would shut off your clearance for traffic violations? Please, we need help,” Mina answered, in her best no-nonsense voice.
“You're positive about the police?” He double-checked.
“Someone was high enough to revoke your clearance. We got shot at by people not a block from the police station, and not a word about them has come over police band. Just us. There might be someone I can call, but ...”
Miko looked pleadingly at her father. “There's not a lot of time for questions. Please, please just trust me, Daddy. We don't know where else to go right now.”
“Call your contact,” he conceded. “We are going to have a very long conversation later, Amiko. Right now ... let's handle right now. My clearance is revoked, but I can log in as one of my colleagues.” He hesitated. Mina realized just how serious of an offense that could be if traced.
“I promise, I just need the computer for a few seconds. I need to get some information that will be in the registry to my contact. A lady from the FBI spoke with me, but I haven't been able to reach her again anywhere I'm sure can't be traced.”
Dr. Kimura sighed, then went to his desk, plugging in another doctor's name and password, logging into the Archaeology and Recoveries departmental system. Then he stepped away. “Just a few seconds, then you call the lady, and we're going to get you out of here for a little bit. Then I'm going to go ask some questions, once I know you two are safe.”
“Dad ...” Miko started.
“I'll be careful. I have a lot of friends and resources of my own. No buts—get what you need. Then we're getting you to a recovery zone.”
“Oh ... that's perfect!” Miko responded.
Mina was just sitting down at the computer when she heard the response and looked up, quizzically.
“Recovery zones, like where the viaduct used to be, or the hollows under the stadium. Old Seattle. Dad has the best maps—”
“—including some I haven't logged yet. No one should know you're there,” Dr. Kimura agreed. “Or even that 'there' exists.”
Mina nodded, smiling just a touch at her first reaction's being not to corner herself like that. A good sign, she figured, that the plan might fly under the radar, at least for a day or two. Right now, she just wanted to buy some time and put the Director on the right path, then get herself to safe ground for a bit.
Turning her attention back to the computer, she traced the car's plates and registry on campus to Raymond Harper. What she was not able to find was any cause whatsoever for him to have a parking pass. Someone rubber-stamped it with no particular notes about his clearance, and his spot was right near the main computer labs. He easily could have passed security checks and gotten to the computer hall without drawing any attention or appearing on camera, as long as someone could bury some of the traffic camera information, or if he had stayed on the campus for more than a day. She couldn't find any notes in the campus registry on how he linked to the University, or what else he did, but she was pretty sure that firm evidence putting him near the kidnapping site would give the Director enough to work with to get some of her other contacts involved. There were too many circumstances now for anyone to dismiss it as something a new hire saw near a sandwich shop.
As soon as she copied the files to Miko's vid chip alongside her grandfather's files, she logged back out and borrowed the phone from the office next door to Dr. Kimura's to call the Director.
“Who's this?” came the response.
“It's me.” she said, not giving a name, trusting the Director to recognize her voice.
“Where are you?”
“You told me—”
“I did, and it was the best advice at the time. This is escalating quickly, and the FBI has gotten enough to get involved. I'm going to come take you and your friend into protective custody.”
“You know about—”
“You're getting a lot of attention.”
“I'm in serious tr—”
“Yes, and we'll discuss that later. Right now, we need to get in front of this and pool our resources. I'm trusting that you wouldn't have come anywhere near Seattle proper if you hadn't thought you had something important to do. Clever putting the car on the police's radar, if dangerous. Unfortunately, leads are disappearing as fast as either of us has been able to put them in front of people. This isn't just a black market operation.”
For all that the thought that she still didn't entirely trust the Director and might start her career with another black mark bothered her, Mina couldn't help but feel a little relieved that her leads and information had turned out to be something important after all.
“Where are you?” the Director repeated. “I'll be right there, in person, to come get you.”
&
nbsp; Mina took a deep breath. She weighed her misgivings against genuinely being desperate for some help and direction. She thought of the endorsements in her grandfather's files. “Cannot question her commitment,” he'd said.
“The University. I'll switch my scrambled tracker on for a few seconds in twenty minutes so you can find me when you're close.”
“Noted. On my way.” The phone hung up. Mina wondered if she'd made the right decision.
Chapter Eighteen
She was pretty sure the call wasn't traced, but in case someone was listening in, Mina, Miko, and Dr. Kimura changed locations, moving to the records building. Dr. Kimura hadn't turned his keys in yet amidst the moving out, so he was able to get into any of the buildings that connected to his work. They kept a close eye out for any eyes on them, but at least as far as Mina could tell, they'd escaped notice for the moment. Dr. Kimura had been quick to agree to go along with anything suggested by a source from the FBI, though he insisted that when help showed up, the girls stay behind him.
After twenty minutes exactly, Mina turned her tracker on, in AIA scrambler mode. While someone could find her by it, they'd have to be checking for it right then after it had been off for quite some time, and she hoped the Director would be close enough by then to get there first. She was relieved when the next voice she heard was, indeed, Director Richter.
“Come on out,” she called. “We have four FBI agents and a secure car waiting right outside. We need to go, now.”
Mina nodded to the others, and Dr. Kimura walked out first. When there were no gunshots or other signs of problems, and he confirmed the presence of badges and FBI jackets, he waved the girls out of the room they'd hidden down the hall from the main entryway. The Director urged them all forward quickly.
It was only as they were emerging that the trouble started. Mina could at first see only two agents through the doorway. As she came out, she saw the other two, lying on the ground, unconscious. Three others with guns, two men and a woman, were also in the area, but under partial cover. Mina looked at the Director, panicked. As she was about to snap off a comment, she realized that the Director looked as shocked as she did.
