Mind Trace (12 page)

Alice saw a billboard for a local business scrolling random
bits of information in red marquee lettering. It informed her that it was
Tuesday, approximately 6:30am with a temperature of seventy-two degrees
Fahrenheit.

It's Tuesday already? How is that possible?

In some ways, it seemed like an eternity had transpired since
her life was turned upside down. Mostly, it just felt like time had stopped
flowing the moment she burned her hand.

Alice checked the bus schedule and took the next one that
arrived. It dropped her off roughly thirty minutes later, just after seven o'clock.

She stood outside of Cyberconn and studied the drab building.
The reality of the circumstances hit her as she stared at the once epic and
successful company, now reduced to a tiny, aging building in the middle of
nowhere.

Successful or not, the owner of this company is one of
my only options.

She steeled herself and began to survey the building. The
windows inside were dark, so she walked around the side of the building where
the parking lot and side door were located.

There was a strange-looking keypad next to the door, but as
she stood over it and waited for a flood of information to hit her, Alice
realized nothing was happening. She almost laughed aloud.

Further inspection of the keypad revealed a Cyberconn logo
near the bottom, confirming her suspicions. If she hadn't needed to get into
the building, the quietness in her mind would have been a pleasant sensation. 

I guess EngineerCorp didn't bother to steal their
schematics for a security panel... Pity. Now I'm going to have to do this the
old-fashioned way.

Alice spotted some trees near the side of the building and
propped herself up underneath one to wait. The tree was hard against her back,
keeping her alert. She would be visible to anyone looking directly at her, but
the branches provided ample shading so she was not immediately noticeable.

She waited about fifteen minutes before a gray sedan pulled
into the lot and parked in a marked spot near the entrance. The plates matched
the vehicle owned by Garrett Wiggins.

A tall man got out and walked around to open his trunk.
While he was busy digging something out of his car, Alice crept slowly closer.

As she approached him, she began to mentally compare Garrett
to the pictures in her mind. He was a handsome man, with tall, strong shoulders
and rich, chestnut eyes. Intelligence was visible in his face. Faint lines
peeked around the corners of his mouth, marking where he frequently smiled, but
there was also hardness about his eyes that spoke of another side.

Alice was around the far side of the car, opposite the
building, when Garrett closed the trunk and headed toward the entry. She wanted
to call out to him, draw his attention so she could speak with him, but she
froze.

This is crazy. This guy will never help me.
 

He suddenly stopped and began digging through his bag.
Then, he mumbled unintelligibly, and turned around to go back to his car.

Oh no! He forgot something.

It was too late to run and hide anywhere. She was in the
middle of an empty parking lot. As she stood, unable to move, he looked up and
saw her for the first time.

Not knowing what else to do, she looked him in the eyes and
said, "Garrett Wiggins, I need your help."

***

Garrett realized he had left some papers in the trunk and
turned back to retrieve them, when he looked straight into the face of a young
girl.

What? Who is she? Why is she here at this hour? Oh my
gosh, is she going to rob me?

After realizing she wasn't there to mug or assault him, he
felt less shock and more of a strange curiosity. She looked somewhat exhausted
and frightened, and he could not imagine what on earth a girl like that was
doing there.

Aside from the exhaustion, she had a pretty face. Her eyes
were deep and bottomless, partially hidden behind a pair of dark-rimmed
glasses. He could see small, brown tendrils of hair peeking out from beneath an
outdated, bright blonde wig. She was slightly disheveled, but the view was
pleasant.

Could this week get any stranger? First, the anonymous
emails, claiming to have hacked into the EngineerCorp mainframe... Then, just
as I'm arranging to help this anonymous person, he drops off the face of the
planet and I lose all contact.

Now, here's some strange, frightened girl wandering
around the parking lot, looking scared and lost. Whatever trouble she's in, I
can't leave her here. I have to at least try to help her…

When she finally opened her mouth to speak, it was to
address him by name.

Garrett could only imagine the dumb look that must have
been on his face as she spoke. He managed a hesitant reply, "Um…who are
you?"

She looked at him uncertainly for a few moments, as if
deciding whether he was trustworthy. Garrett smiled hesitantly, wondering if he
should encourage her or not.

She returned his shaky smile and went on, "Look, I
know this seems strange to you, but believe me, I have no other choice. And I
know you have no reason to believe anything I say, but I need to talk to you,
preferably somewhere other than this open parking lot."

She cast her eyes nervously from side to side, as if she
expected someone to appear out of nowhere and sweep her away.

Garrett looked at the girl again, and decided that she
could pose no real threat to him. If she had intended to harm him, she could
have easily done so before she caught his attention.

I'll see what she has to say. I'd be lying if I said I
wasn't curious. Besides, I would never forgive myself if I turned her away
without trying to help.

 "Can I at least have a name first?"

She leaned forward and in almost a whisper, she replied, "Alice."

"Well, Alice, if you don’t mind coming with me, we can
talk more in my office. We should be relatively unbothered for at least another
half hour."

Garrett abruptly turned away, leaving her to follow him if
she chose. After a moment of hesitation, he heard soft footsteps following him.
He entered his security code at the side entry and then stepped aside, holding
the door open for her to pass through.

"Ladies first," he prompted, smiling.

She gave him a questioning look, then looked at the door
and quickly went through, mumbling a soft thanks as she did.

Once inside, he directed her down the halls and back to his
office, gesturing to one of the empty armchairs while he set down his things.

"You'll have to excuse the mess…I wasn't exactly
expecting visitors."

Garrett settled into the chair behind the desk and gazed
across at Alice.

When she still hadn't spoken, he prompted her, "I hope
this is satisfactory. Now, if you would please tell me what you wanted to talk
about?"

She took a deep breath, as if to prepare herself for what
she was about to say. Then, hesitantly, she began to explain in a tense voice.

 "A few days ago you received an email from an unknown
sender claiming to have hacked the EngineerCorp mainframe with an offer for the
information that you have wanted so badly for such a long time. You agreed to
provide some level of protection for this person in exchange for that
information by setting up communication channels to expose EngineerCorp for its
treachery… That person was me."

Huh?

The girl looked at him with a worried expression, watching
his every move. Seeing that she still had his attention, she continued, "I
fell out of contact for several days after being found and apprehended by
EngineerCorp. I had been careless, but I never dreamed they would find me so
quickly. After being held prisoner and almost tortured, I managed to escape and
find my way here."

Managed to escape? Is that possible? Is this a trap?

She shook her head, as if trying to clear the unpleasant
memory.

"This is such a fantastic story, I hardly believe it
myself. Eric couldn't have discovered my location yet or I would surely be in
his custody again. I will need your help so it stays that way. At least until
we have some way of bargaining with him…"

She trailed off, waiting for him to respond.

Garrett realized that he had not swallowed for several
minutes, leaving his throat dry and uncomfortable. He was in such a state of
utter disbelief and shock that he didn't know where to begin. So many things
about the situation were far-fetched and absurd.

This girl can't be much older than twenty years old, and
here she is telling me that she hacked the EngineerCorp mainframe, found out I
was the one that sent the email, and tracked me down to ask for help? Oh, and
don't forget to throw in there that she was captured by Eric Martin and somehow
managed to escape his impenetrable fortress all by herself? I'm supposed to
just believe this?

"Forgive my skepticism…Alice, is it? How exactly do
you expect me to believe your captivating tale? Don't get me wrong, I am sure
you're a very nice girl and all, but I just don’t see how any of this can even
be…
possible
. I need something to go on, here."

She had been fidgeting with the wig she was wearing, and
then finally gave up and pulled it from her head. A pile of soft brown waves
spilled out and fell around her face, flatteringly.

How does a girl like her even get involved in this kind
of stuff? Shouldn't she be off having fun, partying, going to college?

She tilted her head and thought for a moment. "Does
that computer have access to the internet? If so, may I borrow it for a moment?
I can get you the proof you need."

Now, she wants to use my computer. Well, sure. Why not? I've
come this far and I'm going to see this through.

He pushed his chair back, stood up, and dramatically moved
aside to allow her to work.

This is crazy, but something about her makes me want to
believe what she's saying.

She timidly came around the edge of the desk and sat down.
Then, she began typing faster than he knew possible and he couldn't keep up. 
Windows were popping up here and there, files being created and compiled. It
was eerily silent as Alice performed her strange task. Soon, a blinking cursor
materialized on the screen and he realized he was looking at a login screen for
some kind of remote server. 

Alice explained, "I had to take precautions to ensure
that what I'm about to show you cannot be tracked or traced here. I'm taking a huge
risk in showing you this, but you have to believe me, and this is the only way
I can think of to prove what I'm saying."

Alice filled in the extremely complex login information just
as easily as she would have entered her own name. She began searching through
what appeared to be endless security feeds until she found the one she wanted. 
In it, there was a strange room full of medical and other diagnostic equipment,
centered around some kind of restraining chair. The room was empty, and Alice
sped through the feed until there was movement on the screen.

Garrett saw two men bring a captive Alice into the room, followed
by a man whose face he would never forget.

Eric Martin.

Overwhelming anger boiled up from within, but he held it in
check and forced himself to keep watching. The men moved a very unenthusiastic
Alice to the other chair, where they restrained her again before leaving the
room.

The feed had no audio, so Garrett couldn't hear what was
being said. He could see that the girl looked quite frightened and
uncomfortable while Eric spoke to her. Alice fast-forwarded through the rest of
the video, showing her depart from the room, accompanied by the guards again,
and Eric staying behind to speak with another man.

Alice severed the connection and deleted all records of it
before returning to the other side of the desk. Garrett collapsed weakly into
his chair and stared incredulously at her.

"That video was taken only yesterday when I was held
there, against my will. Eric Martin was obviously aware of the situation and
was directly involved."

"How did you…escape?"

"The details aren't really that important… An
opportunity presented itself, and I took it. It wasn't easy, but I wasn't about
to just give up and stay there!"

"I see. And how did you manage to hack into their
mainframe in the first place? I mean, how old are you, anyway? Seventeen?"

Garrett knew she was most likely older than that, but he
couldn't help teasing her. She seemed so forlorn and serious, and the situation
just seemed so...unreal.

It worked.

She responded defensively, "I'm nineteen, not that it
matters! I already have my masters and I'm very good at what I do! As for
gaining access to their server, I just got lucky!"

There was a pause, defiance turning into unhappiness. She
added soberly, "Or unlucky, I guess… Why did you have to send that email,
Garrett Wiggins?"

Garrett looked across the desk at her, sudden sadness in
his eyes. He was filled with deep regret, unable to ignore the fact that he had
unwittingly and irreconcilably ruined someone else's life in order to fix his
own.

I sent it because...because I was desperate. Because I
thought I had no other choice. Because it's easy to type some words on a screen
and hit send, not remotely considering that real people could be affected on
the other side.

It was never supposed to end up like this...you're just
a girl.

He took a deep breath, then replied slowly, "Alice...
I'm sorry. If I had known, if I had just taken the time to think about it..."

She shook her head, stopping him. "Garrett, it doesn't
matter why you did it. What matters now is that you are my only hope to get out
of this mess. We need to get to work."