Alternating Current: A Tesla Novel (22 page)

Lawson badgered
Agent Arnold during the entire walk back to the hospital. I can’t believe she
just walked right out of the store. Where were you? On the shitter?”

Arnold didn’t
answer. He kept walking.

“You fall asleep? You
haven’t had a Red Bull all day.” The badgering stopped when they reached the
Triage Nurse’s Station.

“Hey baby, is that
asshole awake yet?”

“They’re taking
him to his room now.” Shelley said.

“Has anyone been
looking for him?”

“No, the blonde
hasn’t come back yet.”

“She’s not blonde
anymore.” Arnold finally spoke.

“She’s not?”

“No, Babe, she
dyed her hair black.” Lawson explained. “And then, while Arnold was asleep or
jerking off or something, she waltzed right out of the store.”

The tension
between partners was obvious. Shelley looked down at her watch. “Well, it’s
just now three o’clock; she’ll probably be here any minute.” She grabbed a
clipboard and started to leave. “You’re prisoner is in room 3327---he should be
awake by now.” Shelly headed in the opposite direction of the elevators.

In room 3327, Alex
Gaye was still groggy. Lawson walked in first and flashed his badge. He asked
the nurse to leave. Arnold apologized and said they would only be a few
minutes.

“Alex, buddy, been
a long time.” Lawson fondled the oxygen tube that led to Alex’s nose.

“What do you two
want?” He groaned. “I’m the victim here. I got shot.”

“Yeah, well
another man got shot and he’s dead. That’s capital murder, conspiracy to commit
murder, accomplice to murder and a whole slew of other charges.” Lawson did all
the talking.

“I don’t care. That
bitch stole the formula and shot me. I don’t care what you do to me.”

“You don’t, well
that’s a shame.” Lawson pretended to slip and broke his fall with Alex’s
bandaged shoulder. The scream was deafening. “Do you care now?”

Alex nodded and
gasped for air.

“Good, where’d you
find the formula?”

“I didn’t find the
formula, it was just one page.”

“Okay, where’d you
find the one page?”

“Museum. Tesla
Museum.”

“In Belgrade?” Agent
Arnold finally spoke.

“Yes, I was
accidentally locked inside overnight. I found it in a file cabinet.”

“You were
accidentally locked in?” Lawson laughed. “I’ll bet.”

Agent Arnold
called Lawson over to the door and whispered something. Then he left the room. Lawson
continued. “So, you were locked in the museum all night and all you found was
one page?”

“No, I found
thousands of pages, but only one intrigued me enough to steal it.”

“Alex, why the
sudden interest in water. I thought you were one of those Star Wars junkies,
isn’t that why you hired Marco?”

“Yes and your
friend rip me off.”

“I’m real sorry
about that, where’s Mika?”

“How should I
know? That bitch shot me.”

“Well, she still
loves you, she stopped by, but you were in surgery.”

Agent Arnold
returned in time to hear Alex say, “I don’t want to see her.”

“Who don’t you
want to see?” Arnold asked.

“It seems lover
boy doesn’t want to see the lovely Mika anymore.” Lawson chuckled.

“Oh, really?” Arnold
walked over to the bed. “That’s too bad; she’s smoking hot as a Brunette.”

“Brunette? Who is
a brunette?”

“Mika is a
brunette. She’s hot.”

Alex looked to
Lawson for corroboration. “Is she?”

“Don’t ask me, I
haven’t seen her. Agent Arnold was intimate with her.”

“What do you
mean---

“Relax, Alex,
Agent Lawson is fucking with you.”

“Oh, so Mika is
not a brunette?”

“No, she is a
brunette; did I mention she looks hot?”

A knock at the
door put an end to the Agent’s fun. The plain-clothes police officer they
called to watch their prisoner had arrived. “Alex, this officer is going to
protect you while you’re in the hospital. He’ll be right outside the door.”

Lawson and Arnold
followed the officer out into the hall and briefed him about the situation. “You
shouldn’t have any trouble. The only person that might try to see him is a tall
blonde, I mean a tall brunette.” Lawson advised. “You’ll know her if you see
her. She’s built like a brick shithouse.”

The agents headed
for the elevator. “You get a hold of Armaly’s son?” Lawson asked.

“No, there was no
answer. We’ll probably have to fly back there.”

“You can fly back
there, been there, done that, twice. My luck I’d get that fucking taxi-driver
Tevin for a third time.”

“Hey, that’s an
idea.” Arnold got out his cell phone.

“What? What’d I
say?”

“Hi, Sally . . .
yes, Lawson’s fine . . . listen, I need you . . . yes, I’m fine, too . . . no,
I didn’t feel left out, now listen, I need you to contact the Parrot Taxi
Company in the Bahamas . . . yes, Nassau. They have a driver named Tevin
Saunders . . . yes, Tevin. Like Kevin with a T.

Lawson was
impressed with his partner’s ingenuity. Although, on second thought, he
wouldn’t mind seeing Aluna again.

“. . . See if they
can get him on the radio or a cell phone. It’s important. I need to talk to him
as soon as possible.” When Arnold hung up the phone, Lawson burst into
applause.

“That was fucking
awesome. You’re off the hook for losing Mika.”

“Oh, thanks a lot.
But I was never on the hook.”

“What do you mean?
You lost her.”

“Yeah, but I know
where she’s going.”

Lawson’s jaw
dropped.

Turbo’s cell phone
rattled on the nightstand, the backlit screen pierced the darkness and revealed
caller and time. “Carrie, it’s 5:42 in the morning for heaven’s sake.”

“I’m sorry, Turbo,
but I can’t sleep. I’m going crazy in this apartment all alone. We have to meet
today.”

“Okay, pick up
Phillip and come by the shop after lunch. Now go back to bed.” Turbo hung up
the phone.

Carrie and Phillip
arrived at the shop at 1 o’clock sharp. Cosmo waved at them from the sofa. “All
My Children” had just started. Turbo had given up on the soaps of late. He told
Carrie and Phillip about Dr. Ganz.

“You saw him
twice already without us?” Carrie was obviously hurt.

“Yes, but please
understand it’s a delicate situation. We couldn’t all go barging into the
mental ward.”

Phillip thanked
Turbo for what he’d done and reassured Carrie that everything was okay. “When
are you gonna see him again?”

“Today. Right now.
And you’re coming with me, both of you.” Turbo grabbed the vase on the counter.
“Carrie, can you drive? I think Cosmo’s sick of me borrowing his car.”

Carrie was happy
to oblige.

***

Turbo introduced
Carrie and Phillip as his daughter and son-in-law.

Nurse Sue wasn’t
impressed. “What’s that supposed to be?”

It took Turbo a
minute to realize she was asking about the vase. “Oh this, it’s a vase, my dad
asked for it.”

She mumbled
something as she went to the door and swiped her card. “You know where to go,
don’t you?”

Turbo nodded and
didn’t look back, encouraged by Sue’s lack of interest. Maybe she’d leave them
alone for a while.

Dr. Ganz was
shocked to see other visitors; he stood up and stuffed his shirttail in his
pants. “Now Joey, if you would have told me you were bringing company, I would have
worn my good shirt.”

“It’s okay, Doc.
Relax, they know everything. This is Carrie and Phillip, my daughter and
son-in-law, as far as Sue knows.”

“Good thinking, that’s
one ugly vase.”

“You never said it
had to be pretty?”

“No, you’re right,
I didn’t. Although, now I wish I had.”

Carrie volunteered
to buy the doctor another vase.

“That’s great, now
can we get down to business, Sue’s out there.” Turbo tried to speed the doctor
along.

They all sat
around the small conference table, the meeting had begun. Dr. Ganz was at the
head of the table. “Turbo, you told them everything, right?”

Turbo nodded.

“You tell them my
theory?”

“Not exactly.”

“Why not?”

Turbo shrugged his
shoulders.

Dr. Ganz spent a
few minutes explaining that he believed Tesla Water was nothing more than an
elaborate hoax. Tesla’s revenge.

Carrie and Phillip
had like expressions on their faces. Stiff upper lips, cheeks slightly drawn
in, eyes glazed. Looks of disappointment disguised as confusion.

Turbo came to
their rescue. “But you said there was another theory.”

“Yes, there is
another theory. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it is.”

Now Turbo looked
confused. “What?”

“Before you get
upset, let me explain.”

“That would be
nice.” Carrie snickered.

Phillip agreed.

“Keep in mind
we’re dealing with information a half-century old or longer. Most of the people
associated with these projects are long dead---

“Or soon will be.”
Phillip couldn’t help himself.

The doctor
continued. “There was one scientist that Dr. Armaly collaborated with on many
occasions. He worked for the British Government, but he was Russian. He was a
brilliant man, too brilliant, so they killed him. Nothing new there.”

“How can he help
us if he’s dead?” Carrie asked.

“I don’t know for
sure, I would think he kept notes, maybe a journal. Hopefully his family kept
them. You could contact them.”

“Sounds like a
long shot.” Phillip’s optimism dwindled.

“Yes, it probably
is, but Dr. Armaly believed the Russian was onto something before he was
killed.”

“Well that’s good
enough for me.” Carrie was on-board.

“Hold on, Carrie.”
Turbo lacked her exuberance. “We’re starting back at square one. I feel like
we’re at the dump again, there’s a mountain of trash in front of us. Maybe we
should think about it for awhile.”

“Hey that’s okay
with me. I already told you my theory. Lived with it for thirty years now.”

“Turbo, you’re
forgetting one thing, we found those chip cans in that dump and we can do it
again.” Carrie said.

Phillip wasn’t as
exuberant. “Dr. Ganz, why did Dr. Armaly believe this Russian Scientist was on
to something?”

“That’s a good
question. All I know is the Russian worked on Teleforce while Armaly worked on
Tesla Water and somehow there research crossed paths. I was already here, but
Dr. Armaly visited once and told me about it. He feared for his life.”

“He was right
about that.” Phillip added.

“Yes, Phillip, we
all feared for our lives and the lives of our family. Still, some were brave
and carried on while others, like me, cowered and pretended to be crazy.” The
doctor stopped talking.

Silence hovered in
the room until Sue poked her head in. “Everything okay in here.” Sue noticed
the doctor’s eyes welled with tears. “Hey what’s wrong? Dr. Ganz, are you
okay.”

The doctor didn’t
answer. Nobody did.

“He’s okay.”
Carrie finally said. “We were just talking about my grandmother.”

“Okay, but you only
have about ten minutes left and cheer him up before you go.”

“Don’t worry, we
will.” Carrie promised.

The nurse closed
the door and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“Damn girl, you’re
getting good at this.” Phillip and Carrie bumped fists.

“I’m sorry about
that.” The doctor wiped his eyes. “Anyway, Dr. Armaly said the Russian
developed some sort of plasma packet of high energy particles that was the key
to Teleforce, but on a smaller scale, could also charge the Tesla Water. The
Russian vowed he’d never give his findings to the government, but he wanted to
meet Dr. Armaly to discuss the application with regard to Tesla Water. He was
killed a few days after that.”

“That’s so sad.”
Carrie said.

“So we need to
find his notes.” The plasma packet concept intrigued Phillip.

“Yes, anything you
can find with ionosphere or magnetosphere high energy particles or any
artificial electron cyclotron heated region of plasma.”

“Sounds easy
enough.” Turbo suggested they get going before nurse Sue returned. “We’ll get
right on it, Doc.”

“Great, you can
give me updates during our weekly visits.”

“Weekly visits?”

“Of course, what
kind of son doesn’t visit his mentally ill father at least once a week? Oh, you
can bring cookies and candy now. And I’ll be expecting a visit from my
granddaughter and her husband from time to time, too.”

“I’m looking
forward to it, Grandpa.” Carrie smiled.

As they started to
leave, Phillip realized the doctor had forgotten something. “What’s his name?”

The doctor was
confused. “What? Whose name?”

“The Russian Scientist.
You never told us his name.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.
Gaeshenko---Alexander Gaeshenko.”

***

Quiet dominated
the short drive back to Turbo’s shop. Thoughts of their daunting new task
whirled through their brains and rendered them unable to communicate or simply
petrified them. Carrie parked behind Cosmo’s Lexus, but asked them not to get
out. “I think we should talk out here just in case.”

“Talk about what?”
Turbo asked. “We are finished. I thought about it the whole way here. How are we
gonna find out about a Russian Scientist who worked for Great Britain thirty
years ago?”

“That’s easy,”
Philip replied. “Google.”

Turbo cheered up a
bit. “I know that worked for you, Phillip. But I don’t think it will be as easy
this time. I’m sure that---

“Turbo?” Carrie
turned to look at him. Turbo didn’t speak. The serious look on his face spoke
for him.

“Turbo, what’s
wrong.” Phillip turned around, too.

“Wrong? Nothing’s
wrong. Everything’s fine, just fine.” The serious look on his face morphed into
a huge smile.

Carrie couldn’t
take it anymore. “Are you gonna tell us why you’re smiling?”

“I think I can
save us some time on Google.”

“What are you
talking about? You’ve never “Googled” anything.”

“I know, and we
don’t have to. What was that Russian Scientist’s name again?”

“Alexander
Gaeshenko, why?”

“And the guy in
the hospital, Mika’s boyfriend, what’s his name?”

“Turbo you know
his name is Alex. Alex Gaye.”

“That’s right,
Alex Gaye, short for Alexander Gaeshenko, Junior.

Carrie yelped. “Oh
my God, Turbo you’re a genius.” She climbed over the seat and hugged him.

“You think Alex
Gaye is the Russian Scientist’s son?” Phillip wasn’t convinced.

“It makes sense.”
Carrie said.

“Yeah, but there’s
only one way to be certain.” Turbo’s serious look had returned. “We have to
break him out of the hospital tonight.”