Alternating Current: A Tesla Novel (25 page)

Turbo worked on
the shortwave while Yuri Petrovic and Agent Arnold scoped out his shop. It was
too small to have agents posted inside. On their way to check out the backroom,
Yuri stopped. He studied the portrait on the wall. “That’s an excellent
portrait of Tesla.” He told Turbo.

Turbo thanked him
for the compliment.

Carrie and Phillip
shared the recliner and fell fast asleep. Lawson and Alex were on the sofa.
Alex told him how Sava helped them defect from Russia because he wanted his
father to work on Teleforce. His father was a brilliant scientist, highly
regarded.

Turbo heard
everything from behind the counter.

Alex explained
that his father contacted Dr. Armaly on several occasions. “My father
discovered something that he believed could help Dr. Armaly with the concept he
was developing. I didn’t know till later it was the Tesla Water.”

Turbo fiddled with
the shortwave. He had fixed it ten minutes ago, but pretended to work on it
still. He didn’t dare interrupt their conversation.

“. . . anyway he
thought it would be beneficial if Aluna married Armaly’s son. So she could keep
an eye on Dr. Armaly. My father was killed a year later.”

Lawson told Alex
not to worry. He would find Aluna. The conversation waned.

Turbo fully
intended to examine the two black notebooks in Alex’s duffle bag as soon as he
got the chance. He hoped they were full of Alexander Gaeshenko’s
notes---Alexander Gaeshenko Sr. Still he couldn’t resist just one question
while Junior was on the sofa. “Hey Alex, did your father ever work with
plasma?” He screwed the back panel onto the shortwave.

“Come Turbo, what
do you know about plasma?”

“I read an article
about it somewhere.” Alex had answered his question with a question, which told
Turbo all he needed to know. He quickly changed the subject. “That’s it, she’s
good as new.” He turned on the radio and loud static filled the shop. He turned
the volume and the squelch down and tuned several frequencies in search of
conversation.

“Not many people
use shortwave radios anymore.” Alex said. “That’s why she uses it. She said it
couldn’t be tapped like a phone. Unless they knew when, and what frequency, she
was on, they could never hear her conversation.”

“She’s got a
point.” Yuri had returned from the backroom. “I would have never thought of
it.”

Arnold called Alex
to the counter to rehearse what he would say. “Let her talk to her grandfather
first. Maybe she’ll tell him where she is or what her plans are. Don’t say
anything until she says goodbye to him. That way he won’t worry about her.”

“Yeah, but don’t
wait too long.” Lawson added. “We don’t want her to sign off before she hears
you.”

“It’s almost
seven, we better get ready.” Yuri told them.

“Alex, what
frequency do they use?”

“73, same as his
age. They increase it by one every year on his birthday.”

“That’s clever.”
Carrie was awake.

Turbo tuned the
receiver slowly. There was mostly static interrupted by an occasional
high-pitched squeal. He turned the knob a bit faster and got much of the same.

It wasn’t until
band 66 that they heard anything with clarity. Suddenly band 66 was remarkably
clear. They huddled around the radio.

The sound
emanating from the shortwave was foreign. “What language is that?” Carrie
asked.

“It’s not like
anything I’ve heard.” Yuri said. “And I speak six languages.”

What they heard
was more a series of beeps and tones than words. Some sounded synthesized.
Electronically warped or demented into sounds unlike any on earth. “It doesn’t
sound human.” Carrie pointed out.

Alex bumped
Turbo’s arm and he lost the frequency.

“What did you do
that for?” Phillip asked.

“That sound was
annoying, I couldn’t take anymore. Besides, it was probably just some kid with
a keyboard.”

Arnold told Turbo
to go to band 73. It was almost 7:30. “How will we know it’s them? They’re not
dumb enough to use their real names, are they?”

“No, Mika is
Goldilocks, and her grandfather is Beowulf.” Alex said.

“She’s not
Goldilocks anymore?” Lawson was quick to point out.

“Be quiet, I hear
something.” Turbo increased the volume slightly.

“Goldilocks zvanje
Beowulf. Beowulf biti te onde?” It was definitely Mika’s voice.

“Goldilocks drag,
kako ste?” The old man’s voice replied.

“
Čudesan,
imati određeni član koncepcija, ipak ne određeni član
medalja.”

“What are they
saying?” Carrie whispered.

“They’re speaking
Serbian.” Yuri said. “She said she has the formula, but not the medal.”

“Oh, my God---

“Shhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Nacrt imati promijenjen,
JA oporaviti se Amerika današnji dan.”

“Nijedan previše
opasan.”

“JA wiil dobiti
medalja pa ubiti bratić ja sam.”

“Našto volja te
stići?”

“Motika mene
settle kod Newark Aerodrom, u podne trideset, letenje 1888.”

“Zbogom Beowulf.”

“Zbogom
Goldilocks.”

Alex pressed the
button on the microphone to speak.

“No, Alex, don’t.”
Yuri yanked the microphone cable from the radio.

“What the fuck are
you doing?” Lawson screamed. “Turbo can you reconnect it?”

“Why is everyone
destroying my radio?” Alex started to cry.

Carrie knew he
wasn’t crying over the radio. She comforted him.

“You better have
a good reason for what you did.” Arnold scolded Yuri.

Phillip just stood
there in amazement. After everything they’d been through, he really thought
Turbo’s plan had a chance.

Turbo suggested
everyone remain calm. “Yuri, what did you hear?”

Yuri explained
that it wasn’t necessary for Alex to speak to Mika. “Mika’s grandfather is
flying into Newark International today around noon. Flight 1888. I’ll head over
to the airport and follow them here.

Arnold agreed.
“Good job, Yuri.”

“Yeah, way to
think fast.” Lawson patted him on the back.

Alex was still
distraught. “No, you ruined everything.” He screamed at Yuri. “She doesn’t
think Turbo has the medal, they won’t come anywhere near here.”

“Calm down, Alex.
They will come here.” Yuri assured him.

“No, they won’t. She
knows the C.I.A. is watching this shop, they won’t come anywhere near it.”

“Yes, they will,
Alex. I guarantee---

The room went
silent.

“What do you
mean?” Carrie asked. “How can you guarantee it?”

Yuri didn’t
answer. He turned away.

“I don’t
understand. How can he guarantee something like that?”

Turbo told her to
forget it.

She wouldn’t. She
asked again.

“Damn it, Carrie.
You can never let anything go.” Turbo screamed. “He can guarantee it because he
heard what they said. He’s not psychic; Mika’s grandfather is coming to kill
me.”

Carrie gasped.

“So, you do speak
Serbian.” Yuri smiled. “Ne brinite, mi ćemo vas zaštititi.”

Yuri Petrovic left
Turbo’s shop. He’d grab a shower and some breakfast before he headed to Newark
International.

“Is there a place
around here to get some coffee?” Lawson asked. “Maybe a donut?”

“Not anymore?”
Turbo answered. “Con-Ed just bought the deli down the block, they closed up
last week.”

“Well, we’ve got
some time. I’ll be back.”

Alex picked up the
shortwave on the counter.

“No, leave it
there.” Turbo told him. “I’ll fix it in a minute. Go over to the sofa and get
some rest. I’ll put it in your duffle bag when I’m done.”

Alex thanked him.
“This will be third time you fix my radio.”

“It’s my pleasure,
now get some rest.” Turbo suggested they all get some rest. Phillip was already
on the other end of the sofa with Alex. Carrie sat in the recliner.

Turbo tinkered
with the radio while Arnold watched him from the other side of the counter.
They didn’t speak for a while. About ten minutes had passed. Then Turbo
whispered, “Are they asleep?”

Arnold looked at
him funny.

He whispered
again. “Make sure they’re asleep.” And he motioned with his head toward the
others.

Agent Arnold crept
over to the sofa. He nodded to Turbo, and crept back over to the counter.
“What---

Turbo put his
finger up to his lips and retrieved the black notebooks from the duffle bag.

Agent Arnold was
intrigued. “What are you looking for?” He whispered.

“Just some notes.”
He whispered back, and then he put his finger up to his lips again. He carefully
thumbed through the first notebook.

Arnold shifted his
head back and forth. He watched Turbo, but also watched to make sure Alex
stayed asleep.

Turbo zoomed
through the first notebook and went on to the second. About halfway through, a
drawing caught his attention. Actually, the words within the drawing had caught
his attention. The very words Dr. Ganz had told him to look for. He grabbed a
piece of paper and started to copy the drawing as best he could.

“Are you crazy?”
Arnold whispered. “You’ll be here all day.” He reached into his pocket and
pulled out a small camera, one designed to take pictures of secret documents.

Turbo turned the
notebook around and Arnold snapped the photo.

“It won’t do you
any good.” Alex called over from the sofa. “My father never revealed how it
works, not even to me. He had planned to reveal it to Doctor Armaly, but only
after Aluna assured that he could be trusted. My father would never reveal his
findings to the government---any government.”

“But what is it?”
Arnold asked.

“It’s the key.”
Alex told him. “My father said it was the key to Teleforce, and he would take
it to his grave. He said no good could come from it. Then he learned about the
water. We talked about all the good that would come from it and he drew that
diagram in the notebook. He said if he modified the amount of high-energy
particles, they could be used to charge the water, to make it combustible.”

“But he never
showed you how it works?” Arnold asked.

“No, he would only
show Dr. Armaly.”

Lawson returned
with two boxes of Dunkin Donuts and one of those cardboard boxes full of
coffee. “I just talked to Yuri. He’s at the airport and the flight is on time.”

“Has he found Mika
yet?” Arnold asked.

“Not yet, lover boy.”

“Who is lover boy?
Alex came over to the counter for coffee and donuts. Carrie and Phillip joined
him.

Oh, don’t listen
to him, Alex.” Arnold changed the subject. “It took you that long to pick up
donuts and coffee?” He asked Lawson.

“Nah, I stopped by
the hospital for a minute. Shelley’s shift just ended.”

“Who is Shelley?”
Alex asked.

“She’s Lawson’s
sometimes girlfriend. She works at the hospital you were at.” Arnold grabbed a
lemon-filled donut. A trail of powdered sugar followed him.

“Oh my God, the triage
nurse. That’s how they did it.” Carrie yelped.

“That’s how they
did what?” Phillip asked.

“Oh, nothing.”
Lawson smiled.

“That’s how they
knew we were at the hospital. Lawson is sleeping with the nurse I asked for
Alex’s room number.”

“Hey, I’d rather
be lucky than good.” Lawson enjoyed the moment.

With the donuts
and coffee consumed, all they could do was wait. Carrie was still upset at her
misfortune of asking Shelley for the room number. If she’d only been patient
and waited in line, they could have been somewhere else right then. Still, she
thought it could be for the best. It would all be over soon.

Lawson’s phone
finally rang. “Yes, Yuri . . . you see her . . . great, don’t let her out of
your sight.” He hung up the phone.

“That was Yuri.
He’s at the gate and Mika just arrived.” Lawson looked right at Arnold. “But
there’s bad news, partner.”

Carrie gasped, but
everyone else was silent.

“What’s the bad
news?” Arnold asked.

Lawson hesitated,
and then just came out with it. “She’s blonde again.”

About ten minutes
later, Yuri called back. Agent Arnold told Lawson to put him on speakerphone.

“Yes, the plane
has landed, people are coming out now.”

“Yuri, you’re on
speakerphone.” Lawson warned him. “Be careful what you say.”

“Okay, no worries.
Mika looks nervous; she’s fidgeting in her seat.”

“Good, let her
fidget,” Alex added.

“She can’t see
you? Right?” Carrie asked.

“Of course not,
Carrie. I am reading the paper---wait, there’s an old man coming through now,
maybe it’s---

“Yuri, are you
still there? Yuri?” Arnold told everyone to keep silent. Only he would talk.

“Yes, I’m here. It’s
Sava!”

“What?”

“The old man is
Sava---you understand---Mika’s grandfather is Sava. He’s alive.”

“That’s
impossible. The SDB confirmed that she killed Sava two weeks ago.”

“She did.” Alex
cried. “I was there when she did it.”

“Shut up,
Alex---Yuri, are you there.”

“Yes, I’m here and
I’m telling you it’s Sava. I’d know him anywhere. He just gave Mika a big hug,”

“Okay, well stay
with them---

There was a loud
commotion on the phone. People screaming and shouting.

“Holy fuck!” Yuri
screamed. “Something’s going down.

They could hear it
all over the phone. “Sava Kosonavic, you are under arrest for crimes against
the United States of America and against humanity.”

Everyone in the
shop was speechless, even Lawson. Commotion still emanated from the
speakerphone. “Mika Kosonavic, you are under arrest for crimes against the
United States of America and against humanity.”

“They’re arresting
Sava and Mika.” Yuri whispered through the phone.

“Who’s arresting
them?” Arnold asked.

“I don’t know? I
think it’s the N.S.A.”

“Fuck! Stay with
them, Yuri. We’re on our way.” Lawson grabbed the phone and headed for the
door.

“What about us?”
Phillip asked. “Does this mean we’re not in protective custody anymore?”

“Just stay here,
all of you. I’ll call as soon as we find out what’s happening.” Agent Arnold
followed his partner out of the shop.