Alternating Current: A Tesla Novel (19 page)

Mika was still
unconscious. Everyone else was dumbfounded. After a long silence, Turbo spoke
first. “That’s it, I quit. I’ll sell my store and move to Florida to be with my
wife and kids. That is, if she’ll even have me. She keeps calling me William, maybe
I’ll get used to it. It’ll be the new me, William, no more Turbo, no more---

“Turbo, it’s
okay.” Carrie hugged him. “Everything is gonna be okay.”

Hearing what Carrie
said, Alex appeared optimistic. “Okay, good, what is all this newsprint for? Where
is formula?”

“That’s a good
question Alex.” Turbo pushed back the little hair he had left on his head. “Does
anybody have an answer?”

Carrie looked at
Phillip, “Aunt Edna,” they said in unison.

“Who is Aunt
Edna?” Alex asked.

“No, it couldn’t
be.” Carrie refused to believe it.

“It had to be her.
No one else had the trunk.”

“Who is Aunt
Edna?” Alex asked again.

Turbo went over
and sat next to Doctor Armaly on the sofa. “Well, Doc, we were outsmarted by an
old black woman who makes a mean potato salad.

Doctor Armaly was
befuddled. “Aunt Edna?”

“That’s right,
Doc.”

“For the last
time, who is Aunt Edna?” Alex screamed, but nobody answered him.

They just sat
there silently. Alex didn’t know what to think until he felt the AK47 barrel in
his back.

“Aunt Edna is
Phillip’s crazy aunt from Philly, darling. Now be a good boy, give me your gun
and go sit in that chair over there.” Mika was the only one standing and the
only one with a gun, actually, now, two.

“Mika what are you
doing,” Alex asked. “The trunk is full of newsprint, let’s get outta here.”

“All in good time,
Alex darling, all in good time.”

She turned to
Phillip. “What did your crazy aunt do with those papers?”

Phillip smiled. “She’s
not that crazy after all, she outsmarted you.”

“Perhaps.” Mika
smiled back. She turned to Doctor Armaly. “My good Doctor, you know what must
happen.”

Doctor Armaly
nodded. “Do it.”

“Do what?” Carrie
asked.

“You just sit
there and be quiet little girl, I’m still pissed off at you.”

“Well, I don’t care
who you’re pissed off at, you’re a fucking bitch!” Carrie struck a nerve.

Mika shoved the
barrel of the AK47 in Carrie’s mouth. “You talk too much. How ‘bout I blow your
fucking head off right now?”

“Stop it, just
tell us what you want so we can give it to you and go home.” Phillip shouted.

Mika pulled the
gun from Carrie’s mouth. “We’ll it’s quite simple, young Phillip. I want that
fucking formula, but you can’t give it to me now, can you?”

Phillip didn’t
answer.

“I guess I have to
kill you all and go looking for crazy Aunt Edna myself. Who wants to be first?”

Alex stood up. “C’mon
Mika, you don’t have to kill them.”

Mika put a bullet
in his left shoulder. “Sit down and shut up.” She turned the gun on Phillip. “Well,
since you started all this shit, you can be first.”

“Mika wait.” Alex
screamed. “I have it, I have the formula.”

“Alex don’t fuck
with me, I’ll kill you.”

“I’m not fucking
with you, it’s in my boot.” He raised his right foot.

“Carrie, take off
his boot.” She did so, reluctantly, and found a single sheet of paper tucked
inside the boot lining. She handed it to Mika.

“Alex, you
son-of-a-bitch, how long have you had this?”

“I found it at the
Tesla Museum.”

“It’s definitely
Tesla’s, but it’s only one page, what help could it be?”

“Let Doctor Armaly
look at it.” Carrie gave Mika a smug look.

“Let Doctor Armaly
look at it.” Mika mocked her. “Great idea, Carrie, I don’t know what I’d do
without you.” She handed the page to the doctor. “Well Michael, is this what
you’ve been missing all these years?”

Doctor Armaly
studied the paper. He stared at it until the diagram on the page overcame him. He
handed it back to Mika and smiled.

She folded it,
placed it securely in her back pocket, and emptied the clip of the AK47 into
the doctor’s chest.

It was a high-pitched
clicking sound in fast bursts like an automatic weapon. Then, it stopped. A few
minutes later, another burst, and then another. Mika threw the empty AK47 to
the floor and strapped the still loaded one over her shoulder. “What is that
noise?”

“It sounds like
someone’s tapping on the glass.” Phillip said.

“Yeah, it’s
probably the police, they heard the gunfire.” Turbo had a devilish grin on his
face. “Yep, they probably have the place surrounded by now.”

“Oh, you really
think so, Cousin?” She went over and stroked his head. “I’m so afraid, but you’ll
protect me, won’t you?”

“I’ll protect you
alright, let me hold the gun.” He reached out his hand.

Mika laughed. “Oh
Cousin, I never knew you were so funny.”

“Yeah, I’m
hysterical, but I’m not your cousin.”

“Of course you
are, you are Sava’s cousin, and I am Sava’s granddaughter, so we are
what---third cousins?”

“Whatever.” The
constant tapping on the glass irritated Turbo. He no longer felt the need to
antagonize Mika.

Mika crouched low
and peered around a bookshelf and down the center aisle to see if someone was
indeed at the front door. “Shit! Somebody is there.” She backed away from the
center aisle.

“What are you
gonna do now?” Alex’s left shoulder oozed blood. “I told you we should have
left already.”

“Shut up you
fool.” There was more tapping on the glass. “Carrie, you have the key, let him in.
What’s one more person to kill?”

“I’m not letting
him in---

Mika jabbed the
gun into her chest.

“Okay, okay, I’ll
let him in, but I hope whoever it is kills you first.” Carrie stood up and
walked to the center aisle.

“Don’t do anything
stupid or I’ll kill your friends.” The tapping continued.

Carrie made it halfway
to the front door then ran back. “It’s Buddy, I’m not letting him in.”

“Who is Buddy?” Mika
asked.

“He’s Carrie’s old
boyfriend.” Phillip stood up. “Yep, it’s Romeo.”

“Oh, is that all. Give
me the key, I will let him in.”

When Carrie handed
Mika the key, Mika grabbed her by the throat. “You didn’t think I would leave
you all without taking a hostage.” They proceeded to the front of the store.

Carrie opened the
door.

Mika grabbed Buddy
by the shirt and pulled him inside.

Carrie relocked
the door. “Buddy, what are you doing here?”

“Well, you won’t
return my calls---

“Save it lovers, I
don’t have time for this. Get back there with the others.” Mika pushed Buddy to
get him moving, but told Carrie to wait. “Carrie, dear, you did good, he’s a
cutie.”

“He’s an asshole.”

“Oh, I’m sorry
dear. Would you like to kill him? I don’t mind, really. I have plenty of other people
to kill.”

“No. I’m not gonna
kill anyone.”

“Well, that’s a
shame, Carrie. You would have made a good agent except for that.”

Carrie smiled as
they made their way down the main aisle. When they reached the seating area,
they weren’t prepared for what they saw.

Mika screamed.

Carrie fainted.

When Carrie opened
her eyes, she saw four sets of eyes staring back at her. Phillip smiled ever
slightly; obviously glad she was okay. Turbo looked tired, worn out. Buddy was
obviously still mad at her. And Rudy had a concerned look on his face.

“Rudy, oh my God,
Rudy.” She jumped up and gave him a bear hug. “I can’t believe it’s you---I
don’t understand---you were dead, I saw the blood oozing from your head.”

“I know, Carrie. I
had to stage my own death. Buddy helped me.”

Carrie glared at
Buddy, but only for a second. “Where’s Mika?” She looked around the bookstore.

“She’s gone,” Phillip
said.

“But she has the
formula.”

“It’s okay,
Carrie. It doesn’t matter. I’ll explain everything, but not here. We have to
get out of here and we need to take Dr. Armaly with us.”

“But, he’s dead.”

“Yes, but nobody
knows he’s dead, except for us and Mika. And we need to keep it that way.”

“Hey what about
me, I’m losing a lot of blood here.” Alex was still on the chair.

“Shut up, Alex.” Turbo
took off his jacket. “Here, put some pressure on that shoulder or you’ll bleed
to death. Can we drop him off at a hospital on the way?”

“That’s a good
idea, Turbo, but we can’t. They report all gunshot wounds to the police. We
can’t risk it. We’ll have to take Alex with us, too.”

“Oh, boy, thank
you so much, it’s the least you can do since you stole my money.”

“Alex, you better
shut up or you’ll ride in the trunk with Dr. Armaly.”

They all piled
into the Lincoln Town Car. Rudy decided Phillip’s house would be the safest
place to talk. Buddy backed the car out of the alley.

“What’s wrong with
my store?” Turbo asked.

“Sorry, Turbo, but
your shop is full of bugs, it has to be. How else did Alex and Mika know you’d
be at Barnes and Noble tonight?” Turbo glared at Alex.

“How did you and
Buddy know?” Carrie asked.

“That’s easy; we
were with Dr. Armaly when he called you.”

“Uh, well what
about my apartment? We can talk there.”

“No, Carrie, still
too risky. Phillip’s house will be fine.”

“What about a
public place? Like a restaurant?”

“No, Carrie,
nothing public. Did you forget about the dead body in the trunk?” Rudy looked
at Phillip. “Is there a reason they don’t want to go to your house?”

Phillip shrugged. “Beats
me.”

“Just tell him.” Turbo
said.

“Tell me what?” Phillip
looked at Carrie.

“Oh, okay,” she
just came out with it, “your house was ransacked, it’s a mess.”

“Is that all.” Rudy
slapped Phillip on the back. “That’s even better, if there was a bug, they
probably destroyed it.”

“What about Alex?”
Phillip asked.

“He’ll have to
stay in the trunk with the Doc for awhile after all.”

When they walked
into the house, they were amazed. The place was clean and well organized. The
ripped-up couch was gone, but other than that, it looked better than Phillip
had left it.

“Didn’t you say it
was a mess?” Rudy was bewildered.

“It was, Turbo you
saw. It was trashed.”

Turbo smiled. “I’ll
bet Aunt Edna was here.”

***

It was almost
dawn, Agent Arnold had slumped over his desk and was drooling on a report he
should have sent to Langley last week. Agent Lawson squirmed on the sofa, an
empty Mountain Dew bottle wedged under his back. Both men snored, in harmony,
and sometimes loud enough for a shopper to become concerned about the noise
coming from the backroom. Arnold’s phone rang, cutting their nap short.

“Yeah . . . huh .
. . okay, got it.” He jumped up, kicked Lawson, and grabbed his coat. “They’re
at Washington’s house, and you won’t believe who’s with them.”

Lawson grabbed a
Mountain Dew and his coat, zipped along a row of Hickey Freeman suits and
darted sideways through the already closing elevator door. “What do you mean?” He
said with heavy breath. “Who’s with them?”

“Drink some of
that Dew, your breath is killing me.”

The elevator reached
the garage level where some of the cleaning crew was heading to work.

“C’mon, I’ll tell
you in the car.” Arnold led the way.

Lawson fired up
the Escalade and tore out of the parking garage, tires squealing around every
turn. “You’re full of shit! Someone’s pulling your leg.”

“Madden and
Ritchie are on stakeout, they’re too stupid to make up something like that.”

“Yeah, you’re right,
but if they’re bullshitting, I’m gonna shoot them both in the ass. They won’t
be able to sit for a month.”

***

Philip, Carrie,
Turbo and Rudy sat around the kitchen table. Buddy stood by the open front door
and watched the car. Just in case Alex figured out how to use the Lincoln’s
emergency trunk release.

Phillip swallowed
hard, the vision of his grandmother slumped over that table clutching a coffee
cup indelibly etched in his mind. “So what do we do now?” He looked to Rudy for
the answer. They all did.

“Nothing, Phillip,
you do nothing, and Turbo and Carrie, too.”

Carrie was the
first to object. “What do you mean nothing? You can’t be serious?”

“Yes, Carrie. I am
serious. This has gotten way out of control and good people are dying.”

“So, we just go home
and forget everything that’s happened?”

“Yes, go back to
your lives. It’s not worth dying over some stupid formula that doesn’t even
work.”

“But it does---

“Carrie, he’s
right, let it go.” Turbo gave her a “stop talking” look, but she continued
anyway.

“But Dr. Armaly
smiled---

“Carrie, that’s
enough.” Turbo raised his voice. “If Rudy says let it go, then we’ll let it
go.” He kicked Phillip under the table.

“Uh, yeah, I’m
with Turbo, besides I’ve have to enroll in college soon.”

“But what about
Alex and Mika?”

“Don’t worry, Mika
is probably long gone by now, Buddy and I will patch up Alex and make sure the
Doc gets a proper burial.”

“Well if you all
think so.”

“It’s for the
best, Carrie.” Rudy gave her a hug.

“Will I ever see
you again?” A single tear blazed down her cheek.

“Of course you
will---

“We got company.” Buddy
slammed the front door shut and turned the deadbolt. “Black Escalade coming up
the street fast.”

“Those idiots.” Rudy
was pissed. “C’mon Buddy, we’ll have to hoof it, don’t tell them anything.” They
bolted out the back door.

Turbo ran over and
unlocked the front door. He figured Phillip could do without his front door kicked
in. Lawson almost knocked him over when he rushed into the house with gun in
hand. A few seconds later, Arnold rushed in from the kitchen. “Back door was
wide open, he’s gone.”

“Damn it.” Lawson
went to kick over a lamp, but stopped abruptly. “Hey, who cleaned up the
place?”

Arnold had just
caught his breath. “Oh, yeah, they did a good job.”

“I’m not sure,
maybe my aunt.” Phillip remained calm.

“Ole crazy Edna,
huh.” Lawson chuckled.

“She’s not crazy. She
has Alzheimer’s.”

“Yeah, she’s crazy
like a fox.” Turbo shut the front door. The unfettered view of the Lincoln was
too much for him. Was Alex still alive? Ballistics would prove they didn’t kill
Dr. Armaly. But they were all complicit if Alex bled to death in the trunk. He
tried not to think about it.

“Okay, so who wants
to tell me what the fuck happened here.” Lawson sat down at the kitchen table. “Hey
Phillip, you got any Mountain Dew?”

“No, sorry, but
you should really cut back on the caffeine.”

Arnold chuckled. “Enough
of the small talk, where did he go.”

“Where did who
go?” Turbo looked away.

“Okay, it’s 5am
and I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet. I say we take them downtown, throw
them in a holding cell, and go get some breakfast. What do you say, Partner?”

“Sounds good to
me, I’m fucking starving. Waffle House here we come.”

“Stop it. Just
stop it.” Carrie stood up and walked over to the window. “I’m sick of all these
games. What do you want to know?”

“Where’s Marco?”

“Marco? Oh, you
mean, Rudy.”

“No, I mean
Marco---Marco Fucking Fagan---although, his middle name might be Jesus, since
he just rose from the dead.”

Carrie knew she
was in trouble when Arnold started cursing like Lawson. “Rudy saw you coming
and they ran out the back door. Okay?”

“They? You said,
they. Who was with him?”

Carrie hesitated. Should
she tell them about Buddy? “Some guy, I never saw him before.”

“Did they say
where they were going?”

“No, they didn’t
say anything.” Turbo grew more agitated by the minute. “They actually told us
to forget everything and go back to our normal lives. And I don’t know about
these two, but that’s exactly what I’m gonna to do.”

“That’s a real
good idea, Turbo.” Lawson spoke with no sarcasm in his voice. “You should try
that. Let me know how it goes.”

Arnold suggested
they leave. “Let’s go find Marco.”

Lawson agreed. “Sure
thing partner, let’s go. I’m sure these three are anxious to get back to their
normal lives. But I’m curious, Carrie, are you gonna move in here or keep your
apartment?”

Carrie just smiled
and opened the front door for them.

“Oh, just one more
thing, Turbo, before you get back to your normal life. Homeland Security
reports a lot of chatter on the phone lines between here and Yugoslavia. Something
about a lost medal your uncle had that’s worth millions. Man, I feel sorry for
whoever has that thing.”