Interlude (26 page)

“You know Cas, I was considering making a
smaller cake just for you.” He teased.

“I would have gladly taken it too!” She said
with a playful slap on his arm.

Karen leaned over to kiss Cal on the cheek.
Just as Cas was finishing her second, enormous piece of cake, Ethan
yelled from the back of the group.

“Hey when's she gonna open her presents?”

“That's a good question.” Karen said, looking
to Cal. He shrugged innocently. He wanted to stall for time.

“Why doesn't everyone else go first,” Cal
said to the whole group.

Ethan came forward and handed her a box. She
un-wrapped it and opened it slowly. She held it up so everyone
could see. Inside the box was a very old bottle of Scotch. Karen
thanked him with a kiss and proceeded to make her way through the
rest of the gifts. Once everything was opened, she looked to him
expectantly. Cal looked around as if lost. He had frozen up with
anxiety. Thankfully, Jeremy chimed in to save the day.

“Alright little Missy, I'm gonna need you to
close your eyes.” He said. Cal, now knowing what his intent was,
took off his tie and gently blindfolded Karen with it.

As he was reaching around her head she smiled
and whispered to him, “I guess it's my turn now.” Cal blushed as he
went with Jeremy to fetch her gift. Karen stood blindfolded and
talked with the guests as she waited for Jeremy and Cal to come
back. She could hear muffled sounds of astonishment and murmuring
when Cal returned. He turned her around slowly and removed the
blindfold from her eyes. She looked at him for a second, and then
held her hand to her mouth and let out a small gasp. The boisterous
group had fallen silent as they gauged her reaction. She felt her
eyes welling up as she slowly walked over to her gift. A
motorcycle. It was the motorcycle that belonged to her father. Cal
lost all of his color as he waited to hear her reaction. Oh crap!
He thought to himself. He really did it this time!

“How did you do this?” She asked quietly.

Cal stood there like a deer in the
headlights. “Actually Jeremy and I stumbled across these boxes, and
we figured that this was meant to be put together at some point and
it was just overlooked.” He said in a long-winded spiel.

She moved around the bike cautiously, as if
it were some kind of living thing. She tentatively reached out her
hand to touch the saddle. As she dashed at her tears, she looked up
at Cal, who was still trying to think of a way to save the evening
if this didn't go well.

“This was my dad's bike. He found it in the
newspaper, and he tore it down and sent the parts to be restored.
He got really sick right when the parts all came back from the
shop. He really wanted to make this thing work, but he didn't have
the strength. He wouldn't let me send it out to be assembled
either. It was the last thing he wanted to do before he died.” She
reached her leg over the bike, straddling it while trying to be
lady like in her short dress. She stood on the pegs, her long legs
stretched out as she stood up. She had a smile forming that she
couldn't deny. “Thank you Cal. I had totally forgotten about this
project of his. This is the best birthday gift I've ever had.” She
hopped off the bike and ran over to hug him. All of her friends had
tears in their eyes as she peppered Cal with kisses. Cal felt
himself tearing up as well. Jeremy moved to intercept the Kodak
moment.

“Well little lady, it's about time you donned
my birthday gift and tried your hand at riding a Limey bike!” He
said with a fake southern drawl. She grinned at him and took the
helmet. It was a cream colored, open-faced model with little
goggles, and she totally loved it.

“This is super cute! Thanks for helping Cal
with the bike. I really owe you.” She said, as she leaned in to
kiss him on the cheek. Jeremy held his face and swooned
jokingly.

Cal started to explain the controls to her.
He showed her the kick-starter, the twist throttle, and where the
clutch is. As he ran through all of his instructions, she put her
new helmet on and hopped on the bike. He stood watching her as she
expertly hopped up on the kick-starter and pushed down. The bike's
motor caught and roared to life on the first kick. She had a grin
on her face that told Cal she knew way more about motorcycles than
he thought! He backed away and let her coast the idling bike around
the driveway.

“I guess you know how to ride a motorcycle?”
Cal asked her over the noise of the engine.

Karen gunned the motor a few times, twisting
the throttle as she smiled broadly at Cal. “It's a requirement to
be in Pacific Ironclad.” She yelled to him. He rolled his eyes and
laughed as she idled away from the house and rode off down the
driveway. Her departure into the night signaled the first goodbyes
from the group, as everyone started to make their way home. Cal
wished them all a safe drive as he began packing things up and
washing dishes.

Out on the road, Karen felt her motorcycle
prowess come back to her as she up shifted the bike. She figured
she must look crazy riding this thing in her little dress, but she
didn't care. Cal was always doing this! He always knew what she
wanted. Now, as she rode her dad's bike she spoke to him, to his
memory. “I really love him daddy! You would too. He's smart, funny
and he's super nice!” She couldn't control the tears as they
streamed down her face. She was so happy. Realizing that she had
been gone awhile she flipped a u-turn and headed back to her house.
The warm night air reminded her of the nights she would spend in
that odd little building with her dad, as he would fix guns, or
rebuild engines. The fact that Cal did this was just more proof
that he was the one for her.

Chapter 10

Cal was completely jazzed as he drove to her
office. It was a beautiful morning, and his shipment of updated
tech goodies was waiting for him to be installed. With his coffee
cup balanced on the center console, he thumbed through music
selections on his stereo. As he brought his attention back the
road, he noticed a familiar face. Ethan was pulled over on the side
of the road. Behind him, there was a police car with its lights
flashing. Cal remembered what Karen had said. The local police were
a problem for them if they got caught. As Cal drove past, the cop
was motioning for Ethan to get out of his truck. Shit, that's never
good! He circled the block, trying to formulate a plan of some
kind. As he came back around, he could see that the cop was
searching the cab of his truck now! Cal knew he had to think up a
distraction. His adrenaline took over as he searched for the
traction control button on the dash. He knew this fancy SUV would
never let him drive crazy until he turned it off. He finally
located the off button and pressed it. A blinking red light on his
instrument panel alerted him to the unsafe driving situation he had
just created. He pulled alongside the cop and rolled down his
passenger window. Ethan had the look of someone that was up the
creek. He flashed on Cal with split-second recognition as the cop
looked over to him.

“Excuse me officer? Do you know where the
nearest doughnut shop is?” He said with a smirk, as he looked at
the cop over his sunglasses. The look of annoyance from the cop
turned to startled anger as Cal stomped on the gas.

For being a safe European car, his SUV sure
had some gusto when the safety nets were off. As the RPM level red
lined, the tires began to scream. Cal could smell the burning tires
through his open windows as the smoke wafted up. His stupid grin
was matched in counter point by the cop's look of rage as Cal sped
off down the block. Cal's heart was racing as he rounded the
corner. He looked in his rear view mirror. A couple of blocks back,
the cop could be seen chasing him with lights and siren going. He
smiled to himself and pulled over. As he turned on his hazard
lights, the cop strode up angrily up beside him and motioned for
him to roll down his window.

“Good morning officer! Lovely weather we're
having isn't it?” Cal said to him with a smile.

Cal finally arrived at the office an hour
later. Ethan was pacing in front of his truck as he pulled up.

“Lad, that was insane! You could have been
arrested.” He said in exasperation.

Cal got out of his car. As he grabbed his
laptop bag, he gave Ethan a confident nod.

“Karen told me you guys don't have very much
pull with the local PD. I saw you were pulled over, so I made a
distraction. That way, the cop came after me instead.” Cal
explained, adding, “You could at least say thanks. That little
stunt just put two points on my driving record.”

Ethan gave Cal a serious look. A big smile
slowly crept across his face. “Thanks kid, I really would have been
up shit creek.” With that, he reached into the back of his truck.
As he pulled off an olive green blanket, Cal got a glimpse of why
Ethan had been so nervous at the traffic stop. Resting in an open,
wooden crate were a stack of small objects that looked like
missiles.

“What are those?” Cal asked, craning his neck
to see closer.

Ethan covered the box back up and hefted it
out of his truck. “It's a case of shoulder-mounted rocket launcher
ammo. These little buggers have guidance systems built in. You aim
and shoot, and it tracks your target with lasers and GPS.” He said
as they walked inside. “The kicker is, these are outdated compared
to what we usually sell. The next generation stuff is twice as
accurate and half the cost.”

“So, why sell the old stuff then?” Cal asked
curiously.

Ethan and Cal nodded to Soren as they passed
his desk. Cal continued following him to the back stairway that led
down to the Subterranean Basement of Doom. Ethan continued
schooling Cal on the ins and outs of weapon sales.

“The reason the old stuff sells better is
because it's easier to work on. This stuff craps out in the field
all the time. If your personnel don't know how to fix the new
stuff, then its worthless when it starts getting finicky in a
pinch. So, buyers focus on locating the stuff that they're familiar
with.”

“So, it's kind of like when companies don't
upgrade to the latest operating systems. They need the
familiarity.” Cal said, bridging the gap with his own
comparison.

“Sure, I guess.” Ethan smiled. He unlocked
the safe door and placed the box gingerly on a table. “Look lad,
what you did was really nice.” He put his hand on Cal's shoulder
and laughed. Cal slowly let the laugh spread to him as they both
guffawed in the darkness.

“Hey, at least you know I'm for real now.”
Cal joked.

He motioned Cal out of the room while he
locked up. “That I do, son. That I do.”

Cal spent the rest of his day at the office
installing and updating all of the new computers. Since there
weren't many people working there, it went nice and easy. He
thought to himself about how this seemed so much like his old,
life. Sitting in a boring office and updating drivers was a sort
vacation from things as they were now. Just thinking about how he
was sitting on a storage facility of weapons and artillery was
enough to make him laugh.

Soren and Ethan played the part of insurance
salesmen quite well. As they sat at their desks in button down
shirts and dress slacks, Cal ran through the updated computers with
them. They both marveled at how fast the new machines were. As they
continued familiarizing themselves with their new toys, Cal set to
work installing their server system. It was a little unit, not like
the huge racks of equipment you see at big companies. This item
cost the most out of all the upgrades. It had a self-destruct
sequence that could be initiated remotely by phone or computer.
When activated, the unit would destroy its hard drives by
detonating a Thermite charge. Thermite burned so hot that it could
melt through concrete. The server would be great if Karen and her
staff ever had to bail out in a hurry, allowing them to cover their
tracks. He was just making the last network connections when he
heard Karen's telltale foot falls behind him.

“Hey nerd, I thought I would take you to
lunch before I leave for Ibiza.” She said, hugging him from
behind.

“Wait, you're going to Ibiza and you're not
taking me. Harsh babe...,” He joked, turning to hug her.

She rolled her eyes and smiled at him. “Oh,
it's not like that! We'll talk about it over lunch.”

Cal sat back as their drinks came. He drove,
so he would have to keep his limit really low as he ordered a pint
of Guinness. Karen studied the wine menu as the waiter stood over
them impatiently.

I'll have the Hollow brook Chardonnay.” She
said, handing the menu back with a polite smile. She turned to Cal,
“So, I heard you broke in the tires on your Range Rover.” She
said.

“Yeah, it wasn’t one of my best ideas. I saw
Ethan getting harassed by the cops, so I figured I could distract
them with some hot rodding.” He said with a guilty shrug.

“That was really sweet. He could have been in
tons of trouble if that cop saw what he had in the bed of his
truck. I've told him a million times not to carry hardware like
that. He's going to get caught one of these days.” She said. The
waiter came with their drinks. As he set the drinks down, Karen
halted their conversation until he left. “Thank you. Ethan
appreciates it too, he just won't admit it.” She said, placing her
hand on his.

“It's no big deal. Soren laid waste to a
group of thugs for you, and your lawyer completely destroyed my
entire former existence. It was the least I could do. Besides, I
get the impression that people in your life are used to laying it
all on the line for you.” Cal said, sipping his beer as he watched
her.

Karen rather liked that thought. All of the
people in her life seemed to have no problem jumping in front of
guns, setting fires, and committing sanctioned blackmail for her
sake. She had never really considered it until now. A slow
confident smile crept across her face. “What would you do for me?”
She asked him flatly.