Mind Trace (13 page)

Garrett sat back, humbled.

Nothing like getting put in your place by a teenager.
She's right, though. We have to figure this out.

But, this isn't the place to do that. People will be
coming into the office soon and they will certainly ask questions. If what she
said is true, she doesn’t need that kind of attention. It's better to go
somewhere beyond the reach of prying eyes.

"Alice, we need to get you somewhere safe. I trust my
employees, but the more people that see you, the more likely it is that someone
will talk. If we head back to my house, you can tell me the rest there."

She looks so sad. When was the last time she smiled, I
wonder?

Garrett looked her over. "And you can take a shower if
you want. I can't imagine that was anywhere in your schedule for the past few
days…" 

She caught the edge of sarcasm in his last comment and
frowned.  "Well, we better get moving. I don't want to stink up your
office."

Garrett could not help but laugh, even in the midst of the
circumstances. He wrote a quick note for his secretary, letting her know he
would not be in the office, gathered his things, and turned the light off as he
left.

Chapter 9

Alice already knew where Garrett lived, so she paid little
attention to her surroundings as they drove the six miles to his house.
Instead, she took the opportunity to figure out what she thought of Garrett.

He didn't seem interested in making small talk, instead
choosing to look ahead at the road. He was concentrating intently, not paying
much attention to her.

Garrett obviously had a sense of humor, and enjoyed
interlacing it with a heavy dose of sarcasm. The way he chose to joke with her,
in spite of the dire circumstances,  was a relief in a way, distracting her
from the severity of her situation. However, she knew she could not let her
guard down.

Garrett was a charming enough person otherwise, calm and
confident. He was one of those people that seemed genuinely comfortable in his
own skin, something she had never been able to master. Alice felt awkward
around him, exacerbated by the fact that she had been ruthlessly thrust so far
outside her comfort zone.

As they arrived at the red brick house, Alice noticed it
was just like every other house in these neighborhoods, with its neatly
manicured lawn and almost identical facade to the houses around it. There was
no indication of any individuality or personality. It was as if Garrett made
the decision to live here, but this was not his home.

Inside the house, what she saw confirmed her theories. With
the exception of his office, the rooms could have been taken off the pages of a
department store catalog.

It's pleasant enough, but it feels so impersonal.

He guided her into his office, which was the one exception.
It reminded Alice of her own, with one addition. It appeared that Garrett had
an affinity for classic cars. Interspersed within the piles of electronics and
shelves was a small "shrine" with a plethora of tiny, exquisite models.
It was one of the only neat things in the room. It was obvious that he thought
highly of the collection.

He dropped his things on a side table and then left the
room, yelling back as he went, "Want any coffee? I'm going to make a pot."

"Um…a cup would be nice. Thank you," she replied
sheepishly.

"Huh? Speak up!" Garrett sounded as if he were
halfway across the house.

Seriously?

"YES, A CUP OF COFFEE WOULD BE NICE," Alice
yelled after him.

"Coming right up!"

What am I even doing here? This guy is nice, but can he
really do anything to help me? Can anyone?

Alice rubbed her forehead, shutting her eyes.

I can't think like that. I'll get through this, one way
or another! I have to.

She used the time while Garrett was away to check out his
office. A painting on the far wall caught her attention, so she approached it
to get a closer look. It depicted a sturdy wooden ship with many canvassed
sails, floating on a vast, choppy sea. The artist made elegant use of shading,
casting the vessel in a dark and mysterious light. Her mind interrupted her
observations, informing her that it was formally named
Segelschiff
and
painted by a Romantic German painter named Caspar David Friedrich in 1815. She
could tell that this one was obviously a reproduction, and a poor one at that.

She noticed that the painting hung slightly askew, so she
reached to straighten it. As she was adjusting it, Alice heard a slight
scraping noise, and then a small piece of paper fluttered onto the ground. She
bent forward to pick it up, assuming it must have been stuck to the back of the
frame.

It was an aged and wrinkled photograph. It was a family
portrait of parents with two twin boys. Upon closer inspection, she noticed
that she was looking at two younger, juvenile versions of Garrett. He had an
identical twin?

Why didn't I know about this? I should have seen this
data somewhere in EngineerCorp's database. He took such great pains to hide the
picture.

Her mind rechecked all of the information she had at her
disposal, but there was no trace or mention of any siblings for Garrett,
identical or otherwise.

Alice had no further time to ponder the mystery. She heard
footsteps in the hall and quickly stuffed the picture underneath a pile of
papers before hurriedly collapsing onto the sofa. 

That was
close.

Garrett returned with two steaming cups of coffee, handing
her one before settling into the impressive desk chair that was adjacent to the
sofa.

They stared at each other awkwardly for a full minute,
drinking the coffee, before Garrett spoke.

"So…let's start at the beginning, shall we? How did
all of this happen?"

Alice took a second to collect her thoughts, and then told
Garrett
most
of the story. She started at the point she received his
email, then explained how she had been successful in what she thought was
testing the robustness of EngineerCorp's software. From there, Alice detailed
how she discovered the truth and did her best to hide her tracks.

Alice was careful to leave out any mention of the "incident"
concerning the burns on her hand or the aftermath that followed. She described
how she tried to leave town for safety, but was caught by Eric and subsequently
held and questioned. She finished by recalling her escape and how she sought
Garrett to ask for his help.

Garrett's face had shown mild curiosity at the beginning of
her tale, but grew in intensity as she spoke. He was now sitting on the edge of
his seat, staring at her in wonderment.

He clapped his hand on his leg and sat back in his chair. "Wow.
I never thought…it was really just a wild guess…I cannot believe Eric himself
was there… If he… Wait, does he know you can access his server at any time? Or
did he think it was just a fluke?"

Alice had almost gotten lost in his chain of half-finished thoughts.
Then, she realized he was directly addressing her again.

"I'm not really sure what he thinks at this point.
Only that I'm an extreme danger to everything he has worked for, and he's most
likely doing everything in his power to find me and bring me back."

"Hmm."

I hope that means he has a plan.

"Well, Alice…if this is the truth, then you are in a
lot of danger. Eric is not a man to trifle with. If he's turned the full
intensity of his focus on you…well, you're going to need almost unlimited resources
and intelligence to stay ahead of him."

Alice smiled uncomfortably. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

If he only knew I was already there. Too bad, I am not
invincible.

He ignored her, continuing, "So, our only option is to
act fast and do something so rash and permanent that you cannot be touched…by
him or anyone he controls. I think that can be done, at least in part, by
exposing their treachery during the Cyberconn scandal. So, it's a win-win!"
Garrett smiled mischievously.

"It
sounds
good. But, how? Were you able to
contact any of your sources?"

"It's going to be trickier than I thought, finding
people that are not mindless drones for EngineerCorp… people that will publish
our information without selling us out first. EngineerCorp has its hands in almost
every industry in the world. I only know of two people that are both somewhat
neutral
and
have the means to assist us.  There is Ana Filahn of the
associated press. She lives in New York City and is always willing to publish a
good story. Also there is Jeremy Sanders with the FBI in Washington, D.C."

Alice neatly created a personnel file on each person,
pulling information from her vast collection of databases.

Ana Filahn is a successful journalist with the
Associated Press. She often handles scandalous material and is known for her
preference for publishing truths that most people would rather not share. 

There appeared to be nothing out of the ordinary about her and
Alice could find no clear connections with EngineerCorp amidst the data.

Jeremy Sanders has been with the FBI for over twenty
years. He is a seasoned agent and his record is impressive. Throughout his
career, he accepted quite a few remote posts accomplishing difficult tasks, in
spite of the odds. Within the past five years, he has been permanently
reassigned to D.C., where he holds a position with the ambiguous title of "Director
of Special Research." 

She noted that he and Garrett had both been in Harvard at
the same time, although Jeremy was about ten years older than Garrett, pursuing
his second degree at that point.

"I've known Jeremy since college. He stood by me, even
helped me in the midst of my disgrace with EngineerCorp. There was just no
proof... Even Jeremy couldn't do anything in the end. His hands were tied, but
that didn't stop him from trying.  I haven't talked to him in a few years, but
when I spoke with him a few days ago, he said he would be more than willing to
help."

Sounds promising.

"I met Ana five years ago through some mutual
acquaintances. I cannot speak for her personal beliefs, but she gives no
allegiances to any one person, company, or group. She would equally exploit
everyone if it meant she would have a good story."

Hmm. She seems volatile.

"Personally, I think Jeremy's our best bet. He's been
in many sensitive situations and he can give the right kind of advice for how
to proceed. He could probably offer some tips on how to stay under the radar
for a while…What do you think?"

Silently drinking her coffee, Alice considered the options.

Garrett's telling the truth, as far as I can tell. He
has known Jeremy for a long time and he does seem like the best option. At
least he's a little less likely to betray us, should the "story" seem
more interesting from a different perspective.

"Well, Garrett… I suppose you're right. If you can
trust Jeremy, he sounds like a better option than Ana. But getting into D.C. unseen
will be nearly impossible. Is there any way he can meet us somewhere outside
the city?"

"I'm sure he'd be willing to compromise, given the
situation we're in. He's a good guy and he wouldn't want to put us in any more
danger than necessary."

"What does he know about the situation?"

"He only knows that a friend of mine has come into
some rather
delicate
information that would be of great interest to some
very powerful people. And that we need some help to expose this truth without
being compromised ourselves."

"Good. Let's not tell him any more than he needs to
know. There are enough risks involved as it is."

Well, this is a start. It feels good to finally be
taking a step in the right direction, even if it is a small step.

Alice sighed, and her mind shifted from the future to her
more immediate needs. She promptly asked, "I don't suppose I can take you
up on that offer of a shower?"

He grinned at her. "Well, I certainly won't begrudge
you that! Let me show you my extensive amenities."

Garrett led her down a short hall and around a corner to
what must have been the master bath.  It had a decently sized bathtub and
separate shower, tiled in a pale beige color, giving the room a very neutral
appearance. The style would have been consistent throughout the room, had it
not been for the very unique and out-of-place opaque shower curtain featuring
countless bright yellow rubber ducks.

Alice stopped in the doorway and burst out laughing.

Garrett stood looking at her, quizzically, and then turned
to see what she found so amusing. Then, recognition dawned on his face, and he
groaned.

"Oh, come on! They were out of the plain ones. I had
to have something since I ripped my other one in half after slipping and nearly
breaking my leg!" 

When she still had not stopped laughing, Garrett gave up
and started retrieving supplies from a nearby cabinet. He hastily made a neat
pile including a towel, new bar of soap and a razor.

On his way out, he looked at her, smirking through his
indignation. "Who knows? Maybe you'll be able to find some manners under
all that dirt."

Garrett abruptly shut the door and left her before she had
a chance to respond.

It was her turn to glower again as she locked the door
behind him. However, as she faced the shower again, she found herself unable to
keep from smiling at the sight of the shower curtain. Snickering to herself,
she undressed and slipped into the shower.

Alice took her time and felt a great deal better washing
away the filth from the past few days. She reached for the towel and dried off
before wrapping it around herself.

When she stepped out of the shower, she panicked.