Emily Kimelman - Sydney Rye 03 - Insatiable (14 page)

Dan smiled. His teeth were straight and white, they looked like they’d grown up in Jersey. “Oh, shit,” he said. “I didn’t really believe it was you on the phone but…” he trailed off into a grin.

“Sit down.” I motioned to the chair next to me. Dan sat, resting his hands on his knees and leaned towards me. “Dan, I need you to do something for me. I don’t know if you’ll be able to, hell, I don’t know if it’s possible. I basically don’t know anything about computers.” To be honest, I thought the internet was basically a bunch of pneumatic tubes that shot information around the world using the power of our imaginations. I still kinda think that, but whatever.

“What is it?”

“I want into an email account.”

“That’s possible.”

“What about into a computer? I mean, can I see what’s on the hard drive? Stuff like that.”

Dan pursed his lips. “Depends on the security system.”

“I imagine it’s a good one. It’s a private investigation firm.”

Dan sucked air through his teeth. “That could be tricky.”

“Also, I want into a Mexican Senator’s email.”

Dan laughed. “Sounds like fun.”

“Would you like a drink?”

“Sure.”

I wrapped my towel around me and led Dan back up to the room. I went into the bathroom to change. Removing a tag from a recently purchased blue sundress, I pulled it on. Dan was standing out on the balcony, leaning on the railing enjoying the view. I picked two sparkling water bottles out of the mini fridge and joined him. Passing Dan one bottle, I opened the other. It foamed over the cap, bubbling and cold, down my hand and wrist, dripping onto the floor. I jumped back with a laugh.

Dan ran inside and grabbed me a towel. He wiped down my wrist and then taking the bottle from me, cleaned my hand. “You have beautiful hands,” he said. I smiled and laughed, wondering what he would think of my hands if he knew the things they’d done. He looked up at me, making eye contact. “You’re beautiful.” I blushed and turned away, he held my wrist lightly. “Seriously, I’ve seen pictures of you, but they can’t capture your eyes.”

“Thank you,” I said. He handed the bottle of seltzer back, releasing me.

I sipped the water, it was cool and bitter. “You don’t seem to worship me,” I said.

Dan laughed and turned away. “I respect you, I like you. I think you’re drop-dead gorgeous, but I don’t worship anyone.”

“That’s good to know.” I sat down in one of the white plastic chairs and Dan sat in the other. I looked out at the island across the way. It was as deserted as ever. “Don’t you want to know why I’m asking you to hack into a private investigation company and a senator’s email?”

“I kinda figured you’d tell me when you were ready.” Dan held his bottle of soda over the edge and unscrewed the top. It opened with a soft fizz. Dan took a long sip and then turned to me. “Do you want to tell me?”

I smiled. It was nice seeing someone my own age from my part of the world. I’d felt so strange for so long it was nice talking to another East Coast kid. “Yeah, I do.”

Dan leaned back in his chair, put his feet up on the railing, placed his soda bottle on his stomach and waited.

“Well,” I leaned back, putting my bare feet up on the ledge. I explained to him about the last three years of my life. The normal cases I’d been on hunting down missing people, solving murders in a controlled manner for the wealthy who preferred these things be handled quietly. Returning of stolen property, solving and hushing up of unpleasant matters of all types.

I went into detail about meeting Blane, the first couple days of our investigation, my intuition that he was hiding something. When I got to the part about Alejandro inviting me out on the boat, he asked, “Romantic?” I shook my head with a resounding no. He was shocked by Alejandro’s brutal death.

“I don’t get why,” Dan said.

“I know. I mean, I guess it makes sense that they don’t want him working with Juanita’s opponent to unseat her but murder seems like an overreaction. Blane said that he was trying to take down the government but I don’t believe that.”

“Maybe he was,” Dan said.

“You didn’t meet this guy. He wasn’t one for conflict. I really couldn’t see him starting a blood bath. Some sort of international conference on the rights of indigenous people, that I could see, but a bloody revolution, it just doesn’t fit.”

Dan put his feet back on the ground. “Then why?”

“That’s one of the things I’m hoping you’ll find out. I want you to hack into Juanita’s emails and Pedro’s. I want you to get into Mulberry’s computer. I want to know if he’s in on this thing.”

“That’s a lot of work.”

“I’ll pay you well.”

“It’s not that.” He looked a little hurt. “It’s just time. You’re talking about seriously secure systems here.”

“SSS.”

“What?”

“Seriously Secure Systems.” He smiled. I cleared my throat and brought my feet down to the floor. “Can you get help? Do you have friends who would be interested?”

He nodded, his eyes narrowing in thought. “Yeah, there’s a couple guys I could ask.”

“Can you trust them?”

He shrugged. “I think so.”

“How long will it take?”

“I don’t know, I’ll have to do some research.”

“All right. There’s one other thing.” He nodded. I leaned forward and, resting my forearms on the balcony railing, scooted to the edge of my seat. Laying my left ear on my hands I looked over at Dan. He was smiling and I thought how very sweet and sloppy he looked with his shaggy hair and soft green eyes. “I need a secure form of communication,” I said. “I want to talk to my people from anywhere in the world without it being traced.”

He smiled. “You have people?”

“You’re not my only lieutenant,” I told him with a smile.

“Yes, Captain.” He laughed. I stood up to head inside and he rose too, blocking the entrance to the hotel room. I looked up at him and felt a rush of warmth run over me when he smiled. Dan placed his left hand on my hip and with just the slightest pressure moved me toward him. His other hand caressed my neck as he brought his face slowly toward mine. I closed my eyes and holding the base of my skull, Dan pulled me into a gentle kiss. His lips were smooth and warm.

The hand on my hip slid to my back and hugged me closer to him. I felt the shape of his chest. The muscles that moved under his ratty old T-shirt were strong and hard. Dan’s lips became more insistent as I leaned against him, bending back as he pressed into me. A quick gasp for breath and we melted back into each other.

It felt like one of those dreams where at one second you’re in one place and then the next you’re in an entirely new one. We bounced against the balcony door and then knocked into a dresser before he had me firmly pressed against a wall. A knock at the door broke through the haze and when I heard Ana Maria’s voice, I pushed Dan back. He looked down at me, his eyes bright. “Just a minute,” I called out.

Dan went for me again, but I pushed him away. He let go easily. “Not now,” I said, breathing deeply. “We have work to do.”

“Yes, Captain,” he said with a smile.

I laughed.

SPENDING TIME WITH CINDERELLA

Dan was on the computer setting up secure emails for everyone on the team when Izel called. “I saw Blane,” she said, breathless and excited.

“How’d he look?”

“His arm is bandaged.”

“Where was he?”

“He was going into Pedro’s office.”

“Anything else?”

“I am waiting outside now.”

“All right, good work. Stay with him.”

Dan looked over at me after I replaced the handset on the receiver. “Izel, the lawyer right?”

“Yeah. She saw Blane, he’s still around.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know yet.”

Malina called later that day. Ana Maria took the call and reported back to me as we walked toward a giant cruise ship. “Her girl met Pedro last night and stayed with him.” We passed small shacks with their hurricane shutters flung open. The sounds of families talking, cooking and watching TV spilled out onto the street. “She said that he thinks the girl speaks no English so was not afraid to talk on the phone.”

“That’s great.” I turned to look at her, she was smiling.

“Yes, he was on the phone with Blane.”

I stopped walking and looked over at her. “And?”

“She didn’t understand it all except that they are looking for us. Actually she only heard your name mentioned, Sydney Rye that is.” Ana Maria started toward the ship again. “They know you were in the Caymans.”

“So they’ve traced us that far. It’s only a matter of time before they connect us to Easy.”

“She didn’t hear Easy’s name.”

“That’s good.”

We approached the ship through an abandoned mall. Its wide halls and glass storefronts were all empty. People didn’t want to shop right off the cruise ship. They all wanted to get bussed into the historic district to buy their duty free liquor and perfumes. Our steps echoed in the dusty space.

It opened up onto a huge dock where the behemoth was parked. It was a Disney cruise with Mickey’s ears painted all over the damn thing. Ana Maria and I joined a group climbing out of the van and followed them toward the gangplank. “I just wish we got to spend more time with the characters,” one of the fathers said to the other.

“Yeah, I know what you mean. We might as well have stayed in Disneyland. At least there you get to spend some real time with Cinderella,” another man answered him. A small girl wearing all pink started crying and the man who’d been lamenting about his lack of time with Cinderella hefted her onto his shoulders. We passed those guys and moved ourselves more to the center of the group as we started up the gangplank.

The guards nodded to us as we passed. Once aboard, we separated from the tourists and headed toward the staterooms. Dan suggested that we steal passenger’s cell phones. He said we could use them until they’re docked. They’d have no idea until they got home.

We checked every door until we found an open one. I knocked, no one answered. We went inside and locked the door behind us. It only took about 30 seconds to find the couple’s passports, cash and cell phones buried in the wife’s underwear drawer. We just took the phone’s smart chips and then returned it all to its super-secret location.

I poked my head out the door and was about to step into the hall when a giant mouse walked around the corner. I ducked back inside and closed the door but not before he had a chance to yell out, “Hi there!”

“Who’s that?” Ana Maria whispered.

“Mickey-fucking-Mouse.”

“Don’t be shy,” he called through the door.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I whispered to Ana Maria.

“Come on, now,” he said in a high-pitched voice. “I don’t bite.”

“No thanks,” I called. “I’m not feeling well.”

“I bet a hug might cheer you up.” I looked over at Ana Maria who wore a horrified expression.

She mouthed, “What the fuck!”

He knocked on the door. “Really, I just want to be alone,” I called. He pushed on the handle and it gave. I stepped against the door and slammed it shut again. “Hey, back off!” I felt him put his weight against the door. I planted my feet but he still managed to move me about an inch. Sweat pricked on my forehead and I turned to Ana Maria. She stepped up next to me and helped to get the door shut. I turned the lock using all my strength to keep the bolt in line with the jam.

“Hey,” I heard out in the hall. “You’re not supposed to take your helmet off.” Blood was thumping through my skull. “And what are you doing outside my door?” I heard a whomp, a low groan, and the thud of a body hitting carpeting.

The door securely locked, I ran to the window hoping for an escape but it opened up onto a thirty foot drop into the harbor. I turned back to the room. Ana Maria was peering through the peephole. I went to her side and she moved out of my way. The hall looked empty. Then again it was pretty easy to hide from a peephole. He could be right up against the door. Or just a little down the hall.

I went into the bathroom looking for a weapon. Whoever it was out there faced a large disadvantage. He was covered in a stuffed suit. The thing had to hinder his movement. Then again, if I was going up against him with a, I pulled a Lady Schick out of a toiletry bag, and he had a gun, I might be the underdog. If I hit him anywhere besides the face he wouldn’t feel it.

I looked over at a pile of dirty towels on the floor. Maybe if I could cover his face and knock him down, he’d be like a turtle, stuck on his back. I picked up the towels and then pulled down the shower curtain rod. If nothing else, it had good reach.

Ana Maria was still looking out the peephole. I heard a soft groan from the hall. Quickly explaining my plan to Ana Maria, I opened the door. We stayed behind it inviting the giant mouse in. But nothing happened. Was he just patient? Was he waiting for us to come out? Who was he? Did he leave after hitting the tourist?

I peeked around the door and saw a pair of pale hairy legs. I stepped out from behind the door, my towel and shower rod ready. But nothing happened. Turning left and then right I just saw a long, ugly carpeted hall. The man right in front of the door was holding his face and rolling back and forth, occasionally moaning. He didn’t appear to know I was there.