Crucible of Fear

by D. W. Whitlock

  For Christ sake, just sit, Gary screamed in his head.

  Then she said something he’d only heard her say once before. It was after the twins were born prematurely and were in the NICU, all covered in tubes and wires.

  “I’m scared, Gary. Really scared. What’s going on?”

  His anger bled away, tempered by shame. He looked down at himself. He’d never even changed out of his robe. Cold seeped into him even though the heat of the day had barely begun to die down.

  “It’s going to be alright. Really. I’ll take care of it. Okay?” he told her.

  She nodded, barely visible in the darkness. Sliding back into the chair, she tilted her head up, looking into the sky. “Hey, a shooting star.” She sighed. “These chairs aren’t too bad, are they?”

  “Yeah,” Gary said. He lifted his phone and reread the anonymous text he’d received earlier that evening.

  This is only a taste of what’s to come.

  Do as instructed. For the sake of your family.

  Gary’s finger hovered over the screen a moment before he sent back a single word.

  Anything.

  CHAPTER 26

  A Little Wiser

  They stumbled into the apartment after struggling to get the key into the lock, giggling the whole time. As the door swung open and banged against the wall, music swelled from the speakers tucked throughout the room. Leish waved her hand downward, causing the volume to lower before flumping onto one of the couches. Briana joined her, falling back against the cushions. The ceiling spun and she leaned forward, blinking. Leish poked her with a bare foot and Briana almost fell over. They laughed.

  “Oh my god, you do this all the time?” Briana said.

  “Pretty much. See and be seen. It’s a big part of the game. You have stay in people’s minds or you disappear. All about content too. Constant updates. It’s gotten easier though. I’m down to updating social media twice a day instead of eight or nine times, so that’s good.”

  “Sounds exhausting.”

  Leish sighed, lying back against a cushion. “It never ends. I tell you what I’d really like to do someday is just travel. Not to post on social. Just for me. Travel all around the world. Start down in Mexico and climb El Castillo at Chichen Itza. Visit Palenque and Tikal. But first, Tulum. Have you seen it? They have a Maya pyramid overlooking to the ocean.”

  “Sounds beautiful. You’ll do it someday,” Briana said.

  “Yeah,” Leish said, staring up at the ceiling. She sat up. “Let’s talk about what’s next.”

  “What’s next?”

  “We record a demo.”

  Briana frowned. “What about my videos?”

  “That’s a start but you have to record a demo in an actual studio, not just a vid shot in your bedroom.”

  “I have a little money but I need that to pay my share of the rent until I get a job. I didn’t really think about that.”

  “We’ll figure it out. I’m your manager, right?”

  “How much?”

  “I have a friend with a recording studio. I’ll make it happen. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Briana said grinning.

  They fell silent. Leish closed her eyes, nodding to the music.

  “Can I ask you something?” Briana said.

  “Of course.”

  “What did he say to you?”

  “What, Harold? He just likes to joke around a little.”

  “You seemed pretty upset about it.”

  “Briana…just leave it. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Leish’s face flushed and she blinked, one tear escaping down her cheek. She wiped it away with a flick of her hand, causing her blue hair to shimmer in the dim light. “Don’t ever cry,” she said. “Lubricates your dreams. Sends them that much faster down the drain.” Leish leapt to her feet, fists shaking as she screamed “Fuck you, dreams!”

  Briana opened her mouth to speak then closed it again.

  “He said…,” Leish shut her eyes tight. She sighed, breath shuddering. “It doesn’t matter what he said.”

  Leish dropped back to the couch and took a cigarette out from a silver case on the coffee table and lit it with shaking hands. Then she laid back, eyes on the ceiling, the cherry glowing bright as she inhaled with a crackling hiss.

  “I’m still in the movie he’s making. Just got a sick sense of humor, that’s all,” she said, exhaling blue smoke into the air. “All part of the shit show.”

  Briana stood up, wavering. “I need to go to bed. Still on Central Time.”

  “Oh god, I’m sorry. Forget about my shit. It just…”

  “Is,” Briana said. “I know.”

  Leish frowned, stubbing out her cigarette. “Here, let me help you,” she said, sliding an arm around Briana’s waist.

  They stumbled down the hallway, Briana kicking off her shoes on the way. Light shot out from underneath the closed door on the left, a pale blue glow reaching out across the hall.

  “Somebody else here?” Briana said.

  “Just us.”

  As they entered her room, Briana slipped out of Leish’s arms and fell back across the bed. She opened her eyes and frowned, pushing hyenas out of the way. Leish stood near the door, one foot tucked behind the other, hand on top of the big hyena’s head.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Yeah, sure,” Briana said.

  “No, it’s stupid.”

  “Leish, anything. Really.”

  “Do you like me?”

  “What?”

  “I mean, we got along so good on the phone that first time and we’ve been texting a lot since, but…it’s hard to tell sometimes who your real friends are. You know?”

  Briana sat up. “Leish, come here,” she said, patting the bed next to her.

  Leish’s eyes dropped to the floor before she came over and sat down. Her eyes lifted and found Briana’s.

  “You are seriously the coolest, most bad-ass chick I’ve ever met,” Briana said. “So confident and strong. But also, the sweetest, most generous person. I wish I could be like you.”

  Leish blinked away tears and bit her lip. “Yeah?”

  Briana nodded, smiling softly. “Yeah.”

  They sat for moment until Briana looked away. “Don’t look at me like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like…we’re going to finish what we started.”

  Leish leaned in and gave Briana a quick kiss. Her eyes searched Briana’s, darting back and forth, waiting. Briana’s lips parted, heart jackhammering in her chest, their breathing loud in the small room. A warm flush swept through her as she put a hand on Leish’s thigh and kissed her back.

  It was so different from kissing Mark, or any of the other boys she kissed. Leish tasted sweet, her lips were so soft, her probing tongue gentle. And yet….

  Leish stood and grasped the bra closure between her breasts.

  “Wait, I don’t know if I can do this,” Briana said.

  “It’s just us. Nobody will ever know.” She unclipped the bra and dropped it to the floor.

  Briana clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling a laugh.

  Leish planted her hands on her hips glowered. “What?” She looked down and saw the light up pasties, blinking on and off. Leish covered her face.

  “Oh, god. I forgot I put those stupid things back on.”

  After Leish left, Briana lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, watching it drift back and forth. She could barely keep her eyes open. But when she closed them the world threatened to spin out of control. How many shots had she had?

  Not nearly enough.

  Disappointment bloomed inside her as she recalled what happened in the VIP area. She could still feel those pudgy hands on her body and her stomach clenched. Earlier that evening she’d felt special, accepted and so happy that her mother had been wrong.

  Until she wasn’t wrong.

  Briana shook her head as Leish’s words rang in her ears.

  It’s part of it,
Briana. It just is.

  Hot tears threatened to flow and she swallowed, blinking them away. She pulled a stuffed hyena close, hugging it tight to her chest as her eyes slid closed. The spinning wasn’t so bad anymore and she drifted off to sleep.

  Mark’s voice thundered out.

  Briana jerked upright, the room threatening to tilt and spill her onto the floor. Music was playing in the room next door, the low rhythmic pounding causing the walls to vibrate. She crept to the door and eased it open an inch and peered down the hall.

  It was empty.

  The door down the hall stood ajar. Light speared out along its edge, waxing and waning in time with the music. Briana sneaked across the wood floor, feeling it pop under her bare feet. Leaning forward, fingers gripping the doorframe, she peered inside.

  The walls were lined with floor to ceiling mirrors, like a dance studio. A workstation bristling with monitors sat in the far corner, blue wash from the screens eking out a soft glow.

  Clothing racks lined one wall, weighed down with everything from leather jackets and skinny jeans to feathery costumes and lingerie. Lights flashed along racks set in the ceiling, causing bright shafts to drift as a disco ball spun overheard. Cameras were mounted throughout the room aimed at a small stage. A brass stripper pole jutted up from the center.

  Leish eased down the pole, wearing only a crown of black feathers. Her eyes were dark hollows, shadowed a smoky black. Her pale skin shimmered as she strutted and spun, dusted with blue glitter.

  This must be the exclusive content, Briana thought.

  She was struck again by how confident Leish was. So secure in her own skin. And where did she get her energy? Briana envied that, but she also wondered what she’d gone through to become so strong.

  It’s part of it, Briana. It just is.

  She watched as Leish swung around the pole from one hand, then kicked up and hooked one leg behind the other. She drifted slowly to the stage, hair cascading down, shiny and blue as a Steller’s Jay wing. The purple lock shone in the wash of a black light and Briana lifted a hand to touch her own.

  Movement at the corner of the room caught her eye. Someone was at the workstation. She shifted to the left, but she couldn’t see through the veil of a transparent shift hanging down from the clothing rack. Squinting, Briana peered closer.

  A man leaned back, barely visible beyond the edge of an over-sized monitor. Dark, shoulder length curly hair, a hint of stubble along the jaw, the dull shine of a leather jacket. She crept forward and her arm touched the door, causing it to open a bit. The man stiffened and peered around the edge of the monitor. His icy blue eyes fixed on hers.

  He smiled.

  A chill ran through her as she stared at those perfect rows of teeth, gleaming to match the sparkle in his eyes. It was Mel, the pretty boy in the black car.

  There were no butterflies this time.

  Briana crept back to her room and closed the door. She sat on the edge of the bed and hugged one of the hyenas tight. What was he doing here? But she already knew the answer.

  Mel was Melvin of course, Leish’s manager. Probably her boyfriend as well.

  And that was his room.

  CHAPTER 27

  Homemade Faraday Cage

  They had dinner with Kelly. She gave Dante concerned glances over the rim of her wine glass and he finally shook his head at her. She nodded with understanding and he loved her for it. She helped him with the dishes before laying a hand on his shoulder and walking back home next door.

  As Abigail sat at the dinner table doing her homework, Dante went through the house and checked every smart device he could think of. TVs, thermostats, even the smart fridge he’d bought a year ago. He had no idea why he needed a smart fridge, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. He made sure Bluetooth and Wi-Fi were turned off on each one, then changed the password on the Wi-Fi router.

  He gathered up all the tablets, chrome books and any other handheld devices they had in the house, including the old ones Dante kept in a bottom dresser drawer. He made sure they were all turned off and piled them up on the kitchen table. His phone was on but face down out on the coffee table, close enough to hear it ring but far enough to keep away prying eyes and ears.

  He hoped.

  Another thought occurred to him. He grabbed a roll of aluminum foil from the kitchen, a file box from his home office and a roll of duct tape. He lined the box and lid with foil and taped it into place, then put all the devices stacked on the table inside. Sliding the lid over the top, he stood back, satisfied.

  Homemade Faraday cage.

  After saying goodnight to Abigail, Dante took a shower then collapsed on the couch, surfing through channels before shutting the TV off. Exhaustion fogged his brain but sleep was a long way off. His frayed nerves jittered as he thought of Michelle’s sad eyes watching him from the background of the deep fake video. Judging him. He knew she’d disapprove of the way he was raising Abigail. Him spending so much time at work. Naomi.

  He recalled when they’d become pregnant. She’d changed so much after holding up that white stick with a plus in the tiny window, eyes brimming. They’d talked of having kids, but Dante wasn’t quite sure how he felt about the reality of it now that it was here. Children never had quite fit into his business plan.

  Michelle made him promise to come home every night for dinner, no matter what. He’d made it almost a full week before pulling an all-nighter that stretched into a month. In the first few years of their marriage, she’d been a supportive, and for the most part, silent partner. But as motherhood loomed closer, she’d put the baby first in every conversation. Refused to speak of anything else. Now she was gone and he had to do the best he could, no matter what she would’ve thought.

  You didn’t leave me much choice now, did you Michelle? he thought.

  Dante’s phone buzzed, dancing across the coffee table. He scooped it up, the screen blinding him in the dark. It was a text from Dmitry at Shadow Trace. It seemed odd he would text this late, but he did say they took security seriously.

  We are still on for tomorrow Mr. Ellis?

  Dante thought about all the apologies and promises he’d made to his employees and clients earlier that day. Thought about his future in light of this attack on his image. Bainbridge was right. It was going to be expensive. But it would cost so much more to fix the damage later, if that was even possible. He tapped in a response.

  Definitely.

  Excerpt from TechBeat.com article:

  Light-Duty Autonomous Vehicles Authorized for use on California

  Roadways

  By Ian Weller

  As of Dec. 17, 4-wheeled autonomous vehicles will be allowed to operate on the streets of southern California provided that all permit requirements have been met. They’ll be easily recognizable, requisite bright white with an orange stripe down the side, alerting the public to their presence through this exclusive color combination. Other color variations have been proposed and may be adopted in the future…

  CHAPTER 28

  Shadow Trace

  Dante opened the door to his office and Abigail ran ahead, dumping her backpack on the floor.

  “You got schoolwork today. Don’t forget,” Dante said.

  “Hey Dad, something’s wrong with pup,” Abigail said, kneeling down over the inert robot.

  “It just stopped working the other day.”

  “He, Dad. Not an ‘it’.”

  “Right.”

  The phone on his desk rang and he walked to the outer office and lifted it to his ear. “This is Ellis.”

  “Mr. Ellis, this is Officer Boyd, building security. I talked with my boss. He says you can have the video.”

  “Great. Can you email me a link? Or I can come down with a thumb drive.”

  “Yes. I mean, no. The only problem is, after forty-eight hours all video is deleted.”

  “Officer Boyd, it’s only been twelve hours or so.”

  “Oh. Well, I just checked and the video’s
gone. Folder’s empty for the whole day on every feed.”

  “Has this happened before?”

  Silence.

  “Boyd?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know? Who would?” Dante asked.

  “Oh wait, one more thing,” Boyd said over the sound of shuffling papers. When he spoke again, his voice was robotic and stilted. “Sir, would you mind filling out a quick survey of your experience with our security services? I would really appreciate it.”

  Dante disconnected as Naomi walked in.

  “Where’s Abigail?”

  He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Inner office messing with pup. Is Shadow Trace here yet?”

  “Not yet,” Naomi said, eyes flat. “Remember, interview today with Ian Weller from Techbeat.”

  “Right. And thanks for coming in today.” He called for Abigail and she came in, backpack over one shoulder, eyes on the floor.

  “Hey kiddo,” Naomi said.

  “Why can’t I go with you?” Abigail said.

  Dante shook his head. “I have too much to do.”

  “I could be your assistant or something,” Abigail said, eyes searching Dante’s.

  “I’d like that. I really would. But…”

  “Come on, let’s go,” Naomi said, opening the door. “Your Daddy doesn’t need any help. From anyone.”

  Abigail’s face fell and she trudged out of the office. Naomi flashed him a stiff smile before following his daughter out and closing the door.

  Dante sighed and sat on the edge of his desk, thumping his fist on the wood. Pup walked in, four legs pumping with electronic shushing sounds as its rounded feet clunked on the floor. It crossed through the room and batted against the closed door repeatedly, making it rattle in the frame.

  “You don’t like me either, huh?” Dante said before tapping the shutoff switch on pup’s back. It eased to the floor onto its belly and lay still. He hefted the robot under one arm and carried it back to the charger when his phone chimed.