Alternating Current: A Tesla Novel (21 page)

Agent Lawson
parked the Escalade in the doctor’s parking lot. The triage nurse knew exactly
why they where there. “He’s still in surgery; he’s lost a lot of blood.”

“How much longer?”
Lawson asked.

“Probably
forty-five minutes to an hour.” The nurse smiled.

“Great, that’s
plenty of time for us to get acquainted, hey, Arnold, can you watch the desk?”

“No, that’s okay. I’d
like to keep my job. I’ll get Dana to cover for me.” The nurse grabbed her
sweater, hooked Lawson’s arm and they headed for the cafeteria. “Corey, you
coming with us.”

Agent Arnold
trotted to catch up. “Shelley, when you gonna dump this guy and go out with
me.”

“Soon as you’re
wife says okay.” She laughed.

“C’mon, I’m
starving; I want to get back before the anesthesia wears off. I’m gonna be the
first person Alex Gaye sees when he wakes up.”

“Relax, Honey,
he’ll be in recovery for at least an hour before anyone can see him.” Shelley
grabbed a tray and started through the food line. “I told his girlfriend to
come back at three o’clock.”

Arnold dropped his
tray. “Girlfriend?” What Girlfriend?”

“I don’t know, she
said she was his girlfriend---tall blonde girl, had an accent.”

“When was she
here?” Lawson asked.

“I don’t know, not
long before you got here. She said she had to go to Macys and she’d be back at
three.”

Lawson gave her a
big kiss. “Sorry, baby, but we gotta go.” He jumped over the divider rail and
waited for Arnold to do the same. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

“I’m hungry. She’ll
be back at three. We’ll get her then.”

“The hell we will.
She’s at Macys now, let’s go.”

Arnold crawled
under the rail. “Goodbye Shelley, it was nice almost having lunch with you.”

Lawson blew her a
kiss and they were gone.

***

The Macys on
Fulton Street was three blocks from the hospital. The agents set out on foot,
the short walk much faster than finding a parking space. “What do you think
she’s shopping for?” Lawson asked.

“Could be
anything.” Arnold tried to keep up. “She’s a woman, isn’t she?”

Once inside the
store they decided to split up. “You check down here and I’ll go upstairs. We’ll
alternate floors until we find her.” Lawson attacked the escalator. A leisurely
lift to the second floor wouldn’t do, he skipped every other tread and nudged a
mother and small child aside on the way up.

Arnold, winded
from the jaunt over, attacked the cosmetic counter with less vigor. The plush
stool at the end of the counter called out to him. He attacked it just fine. Perched
atop the stool offered an unfettered view of much of the store. The Lingerie
Department was to his left. Far away enough for the mannequins to appear sexy
at first glance. Their sheer bras and panties, upon closer look, revealed rock
hard breasts without nipples and other non-anatomically correct body parts, for
which Agent Arnold was grateful.

The plus size
woman’s undergarments were to the right of the Lingerie Department. Bras,
panties, girdles and more, most big enough to frighten small children. Women’s
Fragrances sat directly opposite the cosmetic counter and Designer Handbags
beyond that. Arnold had a good view of it all.

The Macys
Associate behind the counter offered him a makeover.

“Oh, no thanks,
I’m just waiting for my wife. She’s around here somewhere.” He started to get
up, but sat back down. The associate’s remark made him think. He grabbed the
large mirror on the counter and looked at himself. He thought about a makeover,
was there really anything they could do. Probably not.

Before he placed
the mirror back on the counter, he noticed the Macys Beauty Salon was located
behind the Cosmetic Department over near the elevator. The tiny salon was
packed; women under hairdryers, women at manicurist’s tables, and women in
salon chairs attended to in every way. One woman in particular caught Arnold’s
eye.

Tall, athletic,
and brunette, she was his fantasy girl, although he’d never told anyone about his
fantasy. Not his wife and especially not his partner. She only existed in his
mind, until today. He set the mirror down and turned for a better look.

She was exactly
how he’d imagined her. Slightly taller than him, but not so much that he had to
stretch his neck to kiss her. And athletic with ample breasts and all the right
curves and contours. Arnold watched her walk out of the salon and toward the
exit, staring at her feet and slowly raising his gaze upward. The hem of her
jeans clenched her legs just above her ankles and flowed seamlessly along her
legs, over her buttocks and low on her waist. Denim and flesh melded together. Not
a wrinkle or air pocket in sight.

Arnold glanced
upward and downward from legs to buttocks and buttocks to legs, her muscles
expanding and contracting with each step. A thoroughbred in slow motion
approaching the finish line. Flawless, except for the bulge of the 9mm in the
small of her back.

Agent Arnold
nearly fell off the stool. He called his partner at once. “Get down here,
quick. Meet me out front. Hurry---I know what she’s shopping for.”

Lawson skied down
the escalator, rushed through Women’s Fragrances and Designer Handbags and out to
the parking lot. Arnold was already there. “Slow down, Partner, it’s too late.
She’s gone.”

“What do you mean,
gone. Why didn’t you call me sooner?”

Arnold didn’t
answer, too embarrassed to say what happened.

“What’s wrong with
you? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“I’m fine. C’mon,
we need to get back to the hospital.” Arnold started walking. “Are you coming?”

“Yeah, I’m
coming.” He caught up with Arnold. “What did she buy?”

“She didn’t buy
anything?”

“But you said you
knew---

“She went to the
hair salon. Mika’s a Brunette now. She looks good. Damn good.”

“Easy partner,
she’s still a killer.”

Turbo rummaged
through the shop searching for something to bring Dr. Ganz. There wasn’t a vase
anywhere and he wouldn’t dare yank the rearview mirror from Cosmo’s new Lexus. He
reached for an empty cookie-tin on the counter; it once held sugar cookies, a
present from Mrs. Fuda. “No, that’s no good.” He mumbled. “They’ll think it’s
full of cookies.” He continued searching.

“What are you
mumbling about?” Cosmo asked from the recliner. “And what are you looking for?”

“I don’t know,
something---anything.”

“Oh, good, we got
plenty of that.”

Turbo found an old
flashlight behind a busted boom box. “This’ll work.” He opened it and the bulging
batteries fell to the floor. “Hey, I need your car again.”

“What? You can’t
leave. Jansen will be here at two.”

“I’ll be back
before then, now gimme the key.”

Cosmo didn’t put
up a fight.

Turbo rushed to
Bellevue; on the way there, his cell phone rang. It was Carrie. “Hey, Carrie,
what’s up?”

“Turbo, it’s been
two days, I’m going crazy, when can we meet?”

“Maybe tomorrow, I
have an appointment today with that guy who wants to buy my shop.”

“You’re not gonna
sell your shop, are you?”

“I don’t know. I’m
thinking about it.”

“But you don’t
know who the buyer is, what if it’s those guys with the white sneakers?”

“I never thought
about that. Hey, Carrie, I got to go, I’ll call you later, bye.” Turbo pulled
into the Bellevue parking garage.

The Mental Ward nurse
remembered him from the day before. “Hey Joey. You here to see your dad?” The
nurse winked. She pointed to the door and swiped her card to let him in. “I
know your name is really William, but Dr. Haley said we should all play along
for now.”

Turbo whispered,
“Thanks.” Then he spoke louder, “I brought the flashlight my dad wanted.” He
winked at the nurse.

Dr. Ganz was
already in the visitor room. He hugged Turbo as he entered and made a big deal
about the flashlight. “Oh, Joey, thank you. This flashlight has been missing
for years.”

The nurse smiled
and closed the door. They were alone.

“I thought you
would bring a vase.”

“I couldn’t find
one, you’re lucky you got the flashlight.”

“Thanks a lot, the
flower I picked this morning will look great in it.” The doctor smiled. “Is
Mike Armaly dead?”

The remark caught
Turbo off guard. He hesitated and then nodded.

“I figured he was
the moment I saw you yesterday. I knew you were trouble.”

“How could you
know that just by looking at me?”

“Easy, I’ve been
here thirty-years and you’re the first visitor who wasn’t wearing a three piece
suit and government issued Ray-Ban’s. Not to mention you got that Slavic look,
you look a little like Sava.”

“You know my
cousin?”

“Oh, so you’re
cousins, I wondered the relationship.”

“Yeah, but how did
you know Dr. Armaly was dead?”

“I figured he had
to be, he wouldn’t have told you about me unless he was close to death. He was
a true friend.”

“You were
friends?”

“Yes, we worked at
N.A.S.A. together, until they killed our wives and my daughter. His little boy
was the only survivor.”

Turbo didn’t
speak. His stomach tightened. Did the United States government really go around
killing people at whim? He thought about Phillip’s grandfather. “I’m sorry to
hear that.”

“That’s okay,
Joey. I’ll keep calling you Joey until you tell me your name.”

“Turbo, call me
Turbo.”

“Turbo, huh, short
for Trbojevic?”

“Wow, how did you
know?”

“Your grandmother
was Angelina Trbojevic, Tesla’s sister.

“Yes, Tesla was my
uncle.”

“Yeah, well that
son-of-a-bitch is the reason I’m here.”

Turbo took
offense. He wanted to berate the doctor for cursing Tesla, but thought better
of it. Dr. Ganz was their only hope. He let the remark slide. “Dr. Ganz, I
don’t know how long before that nurse Sue kicks me out of here, so I’d like to
ask some questions.”

“Don’t worry about
it. Sue’s off today. Why do you think I told you to come back today?”

“Good thinking.” Turbo
was impressed. The doctor obviously still had his faculties, and Turbo was glad
of it. Still, one thing bothered him. Why would he fake insanity all these
years? “Do you know about the water?”

“Electrostatic
Deuterium Oxide, of course I know about it. Fucking shit doesn’t work, never
will.”

“How do you know?”

“It was never
meant to work. Don’t you get it? It was Tesla’s payback. Think about it. Why
would the most brilliant electrical mind ever fool around with some stupid
water?”

“I don’t know? It
was safer than electricity?”

“Listen, son, I’ve
heard all the arguments and all the theories. Free energy, the end of tyranny,
the government has the real formula, there’s a page missing, and so on. We’ll,
I have a theory of my own. Your uncle finally got tired of being shit on, so he
concocted this crazy formula before he died as payback for all the injustice he
received. He knew the government and the big corporations wouldn’t stop until
they figured it out. That’s why I gave up on the project years ago. I’d rather
pretend I’m crazy than work on that damn thing ever again. Your uncle really
was a genius, would you agree?”

The doctor’s
theory overwhelmed Turbo. The one thing he didn’t need was another theory,
especially one that disproved the very concept he’d waited for his entire life.
The one that would redeem him with his wife and make him wealthy. Still, either
the doctor had a good point or he was a loon. Which one, Turbo wasn’t sure.

“Well, would you
agree or not?” Doctor Ganz asked again.

“What? I’m sorry,
what?”

“Would you agree
that your uncle was a genius for doing this? For purposely leaving the world a
bogus concept.”

“Yes, my uncle was
a genius, but not for that reason. He wouldn’t do anything to purposely hurt
someone.”

“How does the Tesla
Water hurt anyone?”

“There are a lot
of people dead because of it. Your wife and daughter for starters.”

There was a long
silence. Dr. Ganz examined the flashlight and pushed the switch to turn it on. He
pointed it at Turbo. “Wish I had some of that ‘free energy’ right now.”

“There’s another
page. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“I told you
already, I don’t care.”

“What if you’re
wrong?”

“I’m not wrong, I
may be wrong about Tesla’s motivation, but I’m not wrong about the concept. It
doesn’t work.”

“Okay, let’s say I
believe you that it doesn’t work, but I don’t believe your revenge theory. There’s
still a whole bunch of dangerous people going around killing people for that
damn formula, and the United States Government is one of them.”

“Exactly why I
stay right here.” Dr. Ganz smiled.

Turbo got up to
leave. “I have to go.”

“Thanks for
coming. Next time, could you try to find a vase?”

“Next time? I’m
not sure there’ll be a next time.”

“That’s too bad,
because there is one other theory about the Tesla Water. It’s not mine; I got
it from an old friend.”

“An old friend?
Who?”

“Tomorrow. Bring a
vase.”

Turbo stopped at a
five-and-dime on his way back to the shop. He purchased the first vase he saw. Back
at the shop, Mr. Jansen was watching “One Life to Live” with Cosmo. Turbo
cleared his throat to get their attention.

Mr. Jansen jumped
up at once. “Mr. Trbojevic, nice to see you again.”

They shook hands
and walked over to the counter. Cosmo stayed behind, although he did get up and
reduce the television volume.

“I have to say,
Mr. Trbojevic, I was surprised when Cosmo called me yesterday. You’re smart to
accept our offer.”

“Who said I was
accepting your offer? Cosmo, did you tell him I was accepting his offer?”

“I didn’t tell him
shit; I just said you want to meet.”

“No, Mr.
Trbojevic, I just assumed you---

“I want four-hundred-thousand,
no wait, five-hundred-thousand.”

“Mr. Trbojevic,
let’s be reasonable. The building’s only worth a hundred-thousand.”

“Not to me, you
gonna tell me who’s the buyer?”

“Now you know I
can’t do that.”

“I’ll tell you
what, you tell me who the buyer is and I’ll do four-hundred-thousand, otherwise
half-a-million. Thanks for stopping by.” Cocky and confident, Turbo went into
the back room. Would Jansen accept his offer? Did he have the authority? Turbo
hoped he would, especially after Dr. Ganz’s theory about Tesla Water. If it was
worthless, his building was all he had left. He would split the money with
Cosmo and move to Florida.

When he went back
out front, Jansen and Cosmo were in heated conversation by the front door. “I
pay you to change his mind and this is what I get.”

“I can’t help he’s
got a hard head. Just tell him who the---

“Yeah, Jansen, just
tell me.” Turbo walked in front of them and blocked the door. He glared at
Cosmo. “Well, now I know how you got that car, at least you’re not selling
drugs.”

Cosmo hung his head
and didn’t speak.

“Mr. Trbojevic, don’t
be too hard on him, it’s my fault.”

“You’re damn right
it’s your fault, now either tell me who wants to buy my shop or get the fuck
out of here.”

Jansen looked at
Cosmo. “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

Cosmo flipped out.
“You sumatabitch, I can’t take no more. You can sue me and you can fire me, but
I can’t take any more of this bullshit.” He paused and took a deep breath. “It’s
fucking Con-Ed! There, I said it. It’s Con-Ed, Turbo. They’re going to build a
new headquarters right here. Part of some urban revitalization project, they’ll
get millions in tax credits.”

“Is that true Mr.
Jansen?”

Jansen nodded.

Turbo went over to
the recliner. He just sat there.

“You’re taking
this calm.” Cosmo said.

“Nothing to get
upset about. The deal is off. Have a good day, Mr. Jansen.”

“The deal is off.
What the fuck you mean the deal is off.” Cosmo ran over to the recliner, jumped
on top of Turbo and wailed. “You fucking idiot, don’t you know what this is . .
.”

Turbo didn’t fight
back. He raised his hands to cover his face.

“. . . it’s your last
chance to get outta here, to be with your wife and kids . . . we don’t get no
customers anyway . . . you’re not gonna fuck this up, you hear me . . . I won’t
let you fuck this up. . . .”

Cosmo tired out
after about five minutes. He fell back onto the sofa and panted for air. Jansen
stood still by the front door.

“Mr. Jansen,
Cosmo’s right, but I can’t sell my shop to Con-Ed. Not after what they did to
my uncle.”

“Mr. Trbojevic, I
understand how you feel, but there’s one thing you should always remember no
matter how much you hate Con-Ed.”

“Oh, what’s that?”

“Without your
uncle’s alternating current, Con-Ed wouldn’t exist.”

Turbo smiled. “You
got a point.”

“Con-Ed is just a
company. Thomas Edison has nothing to do with it any more.”

“I’ll tell you
what, Mr. Jansen, let me think about it. Call me tomorrow.”

Jansen shook
Turbo’s hand. “Do you mind if I ask what number you’re thinking about?”

“I’m thinking
about a million, but I already made you an offer and I’m a man of my word.”

“I’ll call you
tomorrow, Mr. Trbojevic.”

“Hey, Jansen. I
almost hate to say this, especially since you’re the only person who pronounces
my last name right, but please, call me Turbo.”

“Thank you,
Turbo.”

Cosmo jumped off
the sofa and headed for the door.

“Where do you
think you’re going?” Turbo called him back. “Sit down. You’ve got some
explaining to do.”

“I don’t feel
good, I’m going home.”

“You knew it was
Con-Ed the whole time and didn’t tell me?”

“You would’ve just
flipped out and messed up the whole deal.”

“Yeah, you’re
right, I would have. Thank you.” Turbo smiled.

“So, you’re not
mad?”

“No, I’m not mad,
but I do need a favor.”

“I know. You need
to borrow my car.”

“Nope. I need you
to help me pick out one of my own. I’m thinking a black one.”