Enemy In the Room (42 page)

“Well, church just got over, and I haven’t
seen you or Elizabeth for a while, so I figured if a cell phone
call is bad, a personal visit must be all right. So here I am. Can
we talk for a minute?”

“Sure. Sure.” He motioned for her to walk
ahead of him into the den. “Elizabeth’s across the street, but she
ought to be home soon. Rob is out somewhere. Can I get you some
water, or something?” He offered her a seat at the end of the sofa,
and he sat in a large cushioned chair nearby.

“No, thank you.” She smiled as they sat
down.

“It’s great to see you.”

“Yes. Me, too. I figured that you would be
leaving for Moscow soon, and I just wanted to see you and hear
about your trip to see Callie. And tell you how proud I am that
you’ve helped move Knox just a little closer to reducing the
company’s porn business. Or at least making it less accessible to
families and teenagers.”

He tried to smile and nod, but couldn’t find
words.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah. It’s just that I haven’t done
much.”

“Knox
is
still going to do what he
said, isn’t he? So that Callie can’t continue. Right?”

David paused. “Uh. Yes, Callie will be
making some changes.”

Kristen sat back and smiled. “Good! I’ll ask
her about how she feels about them the next time we talk.”

David frowned. “She and I talked a little
when we were out there. Elizabeth doesn’t know about any of this,
of course, so I didn’t push it.”

“I see. Well, good. I believe if she can get
out of that awful environment, away from the other people caught up
in it, before something worse happens, she’ll be fine. We’ll all
look back on this in a few years like a bad dream.”

David closed his eyes for a moment, his
stomach turning over. “I hope so Kristen. I really do, with all my
heart.”

“I know. I talk to Callie pretty regularly.
Not about her business, but just about ‘stuff”. We’ve adopted each
other as the sisters we never had. She really is a wonderful
person, but she drinks too much, and she’s so deceived that what
she’s doing is just all fun and money, with no consequences.”

David lowered his eyes and almost whispered.
“I know. Thank you for being her friend.”

“It’s not a problem. Oh, that sounds like
Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth entered the den, and Kristen stood
and greeted her with a hug.

“How long have you been here?” Elizabeth
asked, sitting in another chair.

“Just a few minutes. I dropped by after
church to see you and to wish David a safe trip to Moscow.”

“That’s nice. Do you need anything to drink?
No? Well, tell us about your new job, and what you’ve been
doing.”

“I start a week from Tuesday, on July fifth.
And I’m really looking forward to working on the investment side
with this pension fund.”

They talked for almost thirty minutes,
catching up on the Sawyer children, Kristen’s new job, and the
details of the Moscow visit, at least as David knew them.

Finally Kristen stood and smiled. “Well, I
know from personal experience that David must have a
lot
to
do before a trip like this, so I’ll be on my way. David, if there’s
anything I can do to help, just let me know. And we’ll all be
watching on TV next Monday morning. It should be really exciting
for USNet.”

As they walked to the door, David said,
“Thanks, Kristen. You’ve already done a lot. Hopefully everything
in Moscow will go smoothly—and also with your new job.”

Callie and Alex returned to their apartment
that afternoon after spending several hours at the beach. Alex went
to the refrigerator to get some cold water, and Callie clicked on
the phone for a voicemail.

“Callie, this is Yusef. My father and I have
decided that your internship has ended. We don’t need your
assistance any longer. We will mail you a check for the time that
you’ve spent during the final two weeks. Please do not come by the
office, or call. We appreciate your help and hope that you have
learned something. Thank you.”

After the sun set Yusef parked in a dark
area of a large retail outlet that was open 24/7. A few minutes
later a rental van with Texas plates pulled up next to him, and he
transferred to the van’s passenger seat. He smiled and shook hands
with Salim, who then started the engine, and they drove out of the
lot.

They took a circuitous route in the event
that someone might be following them. An hour later, satisfied that
they were alone, Yusef directed his friend to the large
mini-storage complex near LAX airport where he had rented a
climate-controlled space for a year.

Knowing that they would definitely be on
cameras, they took their time unloading furniture, crates and boxes
into the large space. When finished, they locked the van, went
inside the space, closed and bolted the roll-up door, then turned
on the lights.

Salim directed his student first to the
crates that contained the pieces of the Stinger Missile. Yusef
smiled as the two men took their time sitting on boxes and
assembling the high-tech weapon. Then they turned to the crates
containing the high explosives and detonator for the bomb that
would be waiting in the van after the plane went down. When it was
all done, Yusef ran his hand over the length of the missile launch
tube and pronounced himself ready. “In ten days I will be in
Paradise.” He laughed.

“Yes, my brother. After killing many
infidels and throwing these blasphemers into panic.”

Yusef nodded.

His mentor continued. “There will be other
events that morning that you will hear about as they happen. You
are to listen to the airport tower frequency, and take out the
first plane that departs after ten. It will be closely timed with
another action that will double the panic.”

“I am ready. It’s time to make the video
that you will play that night.”

“Yes. I brought the equipment.” Salim stood
and walked over to a smaller crate. “Here is the background
curtain, the head scarf, and your script. I’ll set up the camera,
and we’ll begin.”

“Allah be praised.”

THURSDAY, JUNE 30TH

A few mornings later Todd Phelps was at his
desk in Kristen’s old office, rationalizing the advantages of a
lease for a portion of the brewery in Kansas City, wishing that he
had never taken that first financing fee, now that he had the extra
income from RTI. But of course that’s how he came to RTI, he
reminded himself. And all the extra money.
I don’t need both.
Now that I know that RTI pays well, after the next finance fee from
Mike, I’ll stop taking them. And then hopefully build some distance
from him
.

The question he next waited to focus on with
more time at the console was: Who was behind RTI?

The phone rang, and it was Mike Campbell,
calling from what sounded like his cell phone.

“Hey,” Todd said. “I was just finishing our
response to your proposal on Kansas City.”

“Good. Are we going to make the deal?”

“Yes, I think so. On all the key points,
including the rate and term, we’re very close to your proposal. I
think you’ll like it.”

“Great. Way to go, Mister Finance
Minister!”

Todd frowned. “Please.”

“Fine, but I wanted to give you a head’s up
on a little problem that’s come up.”

“What is it?”

“It turns out that the land for Brookglen
was originally zoned for retail use, and now there’s some question
about whether the sewer is sized large enough for offices. The
previous developer was supposed to pay for an upgrade, but now
we’re not sure that he did. The county is trying to sort it out,
but they haven’t done it yet.”

“What? You’re kidding.”

“No. There was a misunderstanding.”

“But you warranted it in our lease, and I
didn’t check behind you because I trusted you.”

“Hey. It happens. They say it’ll be done
sometime in the next two years for sure.”

“
Two years
? But we’re supposed to be
in our space in, what, fourteen months? Mike, David will go
crazy!”

“Well, don’t tell him, at least not yet. Let
us see what we can do at this end to fix it sooner.”

“But we might have to shift to another
development.”

There was silence on the other end for a few
moments. “Don’t
ever
say that, and don’t even consider it.
We made a small mistake. But your fee was no mistake, and I’m sure
you wouldn’t want anyone to know about it. So don’t let anyone talk
about moving anywhere else.”

“But obviously we have to have sewer, and
you said it was there. I should have checked.”

“So for many reasons you better just ride
along with us. We’re checking up here on what to do. But even if
the sewer is delayed, we can’t let you break your lease. We’ve got
a deal, the financing depends on it, and you’ve got your fee, so we
just need to figure out a solution.”

“And what about Kansas City?”

“What about it?”

“What should I be checking on there before
we send the response to you?”

“Nothing. Everything’s good in Kansas City.
I know it myself. But even if it wasn’t quite perfect, you need to
keep pushing it, assuming you want to maintain a positive and quiet
relationship with us.”

Todd was silent, rubbing his forehead with
his right hand. Finally he said, “I see.”

“Good. So just keep that Kansas City
response coming, and we’ll work on the sewer issue here in
Minneapolis.”

“I gotta give David some version of this,
and soon. The longer I wait, the more difficult it will be to
explain if it does blow.”

“Well, we should know something soon, so I’d
wait a couple of days, at least. Maybe there’ll be a quick
solution.”

“Yeah, maybe. I hope so.”

Late that afternoon Kristen opened the door
to her condo and dropped several shopping bags on the living room
sofa. A friend had set up a double date to the baseball game for
Saturday, and she had been shopping for a summer hat she could wear
in case it was sweltering in the sun. And while shopping she’d
found a few things to take home on trial, which might work for the
following week, once she found out how dressy the corporate culture
was at her new job.

She put the boxes in her bedroom and fixed a
glass of iced tea. The phone rang. She looked at the readout and
saw that it was Callie’s apartment number, so she picked up.

“Hi, Callie. How are you?”

“Kristen, I’m not good.”

“Why?”

“Jane’s dead.”

“
What?”

“I, like, don’t know the details. She and
Alex went to Mexico to pick up their papers. She…” Callie started
to cry.

“Callie, I’m so sorry. What happened to
Jane?”

“I’m not sure. They called me from Mexico a
little while ago to tell me that she died—of an overdose. Kristen,
she was just here!”

“I know, Callie. Who called?”

Callie continued to cry, but spoke. “Alex.
An overdose. That’s what he said, and he has to stay there. She was
always so happy. They told me the police have to come search our
apartment, and that I shouldn’t, like, touch anything in her
room.”

“Oh, Callie.”

“So I have to stay here in L.A. ‘til they
come and, like, figure this out. I don’t know what they’re going to
do with her—her body. They asked if I have her parents’ number. And
I…I think I may be pregnant.”

Kristen closed her eyes while Callie began
to whimper.

“Do you know for sure?”

“I’ve missed for several weeks, and I got
one of those test things, but I’m scared to do it alone. Jane’s not
here.”

“Callie, I’m coming out. Just stay there for
now, and I’ll call back with my flight information. It may be too
late to get a flight tonight, but I’ll be out either tonight or
early in the morning. And I’ll get a taxi to your apartment. Will
you be all right ‘til I get there?”

“Kristen—I’ve really messed up. And Jane’s
dead.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. But I’ll help. So
don’t do anything crazy. Just stay there in your apartment. You’ll
be fine there. And I’m on the way. OK?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Kristen nodded. “We all need friends,
Callie. I have some remarkable ones, and you’re one of them. So
I’ll call back as soon as I know my trip details.”

“Yes.”

“I’m on the way.” She hung up and dialed the
airline.

Driving home David called Iran via Estonia
from one of his cell phones. Omid answered and told him that Goli
was a little better, but still depressed. Omid had stopped
attending meetings or otherwise participating in the opposition,
until he could get Goli to safety.

“I’ve been working with some people in
Tabriz who say that they can move us over the border into Turkey in
a few days.”

“Both of you?”

“Yes. I think that I must get Goli to
Istanbul and safely on a plane to you and Elizabeth. Then I’ll
return to Tehran for no more than six months to help the revolution
and to train others. Then I will come to the U.S.—or bring Goli
back.”

“I hope you can move quickly. ”

“I’ll try. Can I put Goli on now, and you
can tell her about Callie and Rob? She looks forward to meeting
them. Callie must be a beautiful American lady now, and you must be
very proud.”

“Yes. She is. It’s great to see the kids
growing up. Please put her on. And when you know about getting out,
have a friend call from Europe, and then I’ll get back to you.”

“OK. Thank you. Thank you for all your
help.”

“We haven’t done anything yet.”

“But you’re there.”

“Yes. We’re definitely here, and we’ll
help.”

“Callie, hi, it’s Kristen. How are you?”

“Not good. The police called and said
they’re coming over in the morning to look through Jane’s
things.”