Alternating Current: A Tesla Novel (23 page)

Back in the
Escalade, Lawson couldn’t wait for Arnold’s explanation of Mika’s whereabouts.
“Okay, let’s hear it, where’s our Balkan Bombshell?”

“Haven’t you
figured it out yet?”

“No, guess I’m not
as smart as you.” Lawson turned onto Kings Highway.

“Better take the
Bay Parkway over to 678.”

“What? Where we
going? Jersey?”

Before Arnold
could answer, his phone rang. “Hey, Sally . . . that’s great; put him through.”

“Hello---Hello---Hey
Tevin, you probably don’t remember me, but you drove my partner and me out to
Adelaide last week . . . yes, that’s right, yes I’m the nice one.”

Lawson reached for
the phone. “You tell that freak I’m getting on a plane tonight to come kick his
ass.”

Arnold tucked the phone
into his stomach. “Would you shut up? You want him to help us, don’t you?”

Lawson calmed
down.

“Yes, my partner
says hello, too . . . Tevin, we need you to do us a favor . . . yes, I know you
only take American Dollars . . . we need you to go back to Adelaide to that
same address . . . yes, I know, Fifty Dollars, we’ll send you a check . . . no really,
you can take credit cards with your cell phone . . . okay, fine, I’ll give you
my credit card. . . .”

Lawson couldn’t
believe what he heard. “He’s a fucking shyster, gimme the phone.”

Arnold pushed him
away. “Would you just drive? Head over to 95.”

“So, Tevin, I need
you to go up to the house and have the gentleman that lives there call us right
away. You got that; don’t leave until he calls us. You understand . . . great.
Hold on, Sally will give you the number to call us back. Sally you still there
. . . okay good. Go right now Tevin.”

“Why the fuck am I
going to I-95?”

“Because it’s the
fastest way to Boston. We’re going to M.I.T.”

Lawson slammed on
the brakes and the Escalade fishtailed onto the shoulder. “The hell we are, are
you crazy? We’re not leaving the city while Marco’s on the loose, not to
mention those whackos in white sneakers.”

“Okay, but that’s
where she’s going.”

“You really think
so?”

“Think about it.
She has the missing page of the formula, but everyone who can help her is dead,
except Professor Trump.”

“Yeah and she
killed most of them.” Lawson thought about what he just said. According to
Carrie, Dr. Armaly confirmed that page of formula was the key, so why kill him.
And even though he knew his partner was right, he couldn’t justify the time
away. “Hey let’s do what we did in the Bahamas.”

“You want to send
Tevin to M.I.T?”

“No, let’s just call
the Boston P.D.”

“Oh, I’m sure
they’ll be happy to help after you lambasted them the last time we were there.
Sure, give them a call.”

“I think maybe you
should call them.”

Arnold gave him a
stern look and picked up his phone. “Sally, hey, it’s Arnold . . . I need you
to patch me through to the Boston P.D., the precinct closest to M.I.T.”

***

Back at their
office in Bloomingdales, Agent Arnold answered the phone. “Okay, put him
through.” There was a short pause.

Agent Lawson
jumped up from the sofa. “Is it Tevin?”

Arnold didn’t
answer him. He put the phone on speaker. “Hello, Sergeant Murphy, I’m Special
Agent Arnold with New York Central Intelligence.”

“Okay, I’m
impressed, what do you want?” Arnold didn’t answer right away. Glad that he
made the call since the conversation would’ve ended right there had Lawson.

“Hey, New York
C.I.A., you still there?”

“Yes, I’m here,
Sergeant, I need a favor---the United States Government needs a favor.”

“Listen, what did
you say your name is?”

“Arnold, Corey
Arnold.”

“Okay, Arnold, can
you do me a favor, call back after four?”

The request caught
Arnold off guard. “Well, this is kind of important, why after four?”

“Because I’m off
at four, I got seven months till retirement and I’m not gonna blow my pension
doing you a favor. Sergeant Rossi will be on at four.”

Lawson suppressed
his laughter.

“I can appreciate
your predicament Sergeant, but I really need you to send a cruiser over to
M.I.T. to check on a professor.”

“Oh, is that all?
I thought you wanted me to do something shady. What’s the Professor’s name?”

“Professor Trump. John
G. Trump Jr.”

“Professor Trump?
Don’t you read the papers?”

“What are you
talking about?”

“Professor Trump
is missing. Has been for a few days now, his wife and kids, too.”

Arnold realized he
hadn’t looked at a newspaper in days, although a professor missing in Boston
would hardly make the Times or the Post. “Sergeant, are you sure we’re talking
about the same guy?” Arnold asked again, although he had already typed the
professor’s name into Google. The headline read, “Prominent M.I.T. Professor
and Family Missing.” Arnold thanked the Sergeant and hung up the phone. He read
the article.

“It says here that
Trump disappeared right after the S.W.A.T. team arrested Armaly. He went home
that night, packed up as much as they could fit into the family mini-van and no
one has seen or heard from them since. There’s a video of one of his sisters
begging them to call her. She’s a good looking brunette.”

Lawson was halfway
asleep on the sofa, but still heard every word Arnold said. He couldn’t resist
a wisecrack. “Maybe it’s Mika in disguise, she’s a brunette.”

The phone rang;
luckily, Arnold didn’t have to respond. It was Sally. “Hang on there, Tevin,
slow down.”

Lawson soared off
the sofa. “Let me talk to him.”

Arnold pushed his
partner away. “Then put it on speaker.”

He did. “Tevin
slow down and tell me what happened.

Tevin panted. “I
go to Adelaide like Meester ask, I drive up hill to house but it burned down.”

“Burned down? The
house was burned down?”

“No, not house,
other building. Big building burned to ground.”

“The fucking lab.”
Lawson slammed his hand on the desk. “Tevin did you find Aluna.”

“Aluna, what
Aluna?”

“The girl, did you
find the girl and the big redneck man.”

“No, nobody here.
House is open, I go inside nobody here.”

“Holy shit, she
killed them. She didn’t go to Boston. She went to The Bahamas and killed
Armaly’s son and Aluna.”

“Let’s not jump to
conclusions, partner. Tevin did you look out back?”

“Outback where?”

“Behind the house,
is the boat there?”

“Boat? Tevin no
see a boat.”

“Okay Tevin, good
job, get out of there and never go back. Do you understand me, never go back
there.”

“Tevin no want to
come back here.”

“Good, thanks
again, Tevin.”

“Meester no forget
about fifty dollars, American---

“I know, American
Dollars. Stay on the phone, Sally is going to take care of that for me. Sally,
give him a nice tip, too.” Arnold hung up the phone.

“Shit! Shit!
Shit!” Lawson’s face had reddened with anger. He grabbed a Mountain Dew and
headed for the Men’s Department.

“Where are you
going?” Arnold asked.

“I’m going to kill
that bitch.” He left the door open and disappeared in the suits.

Arnold had a hell
of a time catching up with him before he made it to the Escalade. “Now partner,
you know you can’t kill her.”

“I don’t care, I’m
gonna kill her.”

“No, you’re not.”
Arnold pushed him aside before he entered the vehicle. “Now give me the keys,
you’re too upset to drive.”

Lawson handed him
the keys.

They drove out of
the parking deck and nearly four blocks before either spoke. “The boat’s gone,
that means they probably got away.” Arnold told him.

“Or the boat’s at
the bottom of the ocean with them in the cabin.”

“I like my theory
better.”

“Me too, but I’m
still gonna kill her. And that fucking Marco, too. Where the hell is that
bastard?”

Cosmo tapped on
the window of Carrie’s car and startled them. “Mr. Jansen’s on the phone, he
needs to talk to you.” Cosmo went back into the shop.

“C’mon Phillip, we
better get going---

“No, stay.” Turbo
told them. “We need to make plans. Come inside. Just don’t talk about anything
we discussed, not inside the shop.”

Turbo rushed to
the phone. “Hello, Mr. Jansen . . . you can call me Turbo . . . yes . . . are
you sure . . . but I said 400,000. . . .”

Carrie and Phillip
came inside. Carrie said “Hello” to Cosmo, who shushed her up. He listened
intently.

“. . . that’s very
generous, Mr. Jansen . . . what, there’s more?”

The conversation
turned one-sided. Turbo listened mostly; he nodded his head a few times and
even gasped once. His friends watched intently.

“That all sounds
wonderful; I think we have a deal, thanks for calling.” He hung up the phone. They
all stared at him with their mouths open.

Cosmo spoke first.
“You took the $400,000.00?”

“No, I took
$500,000.00”

“But yesterday you
said you would take 400.”

“I know, but
Jansen is a nice man.”

“He just gave you
an extra hundred thousand?”

Turbo explained
that Mr. Jansen presented Con-Ed with the Five-Hundred-Thousand-Dollar
counteroffer since he didn’t divulge them as the buyer. “He said the fact that
Cosmo told me was irrelevant.”

“That’s great,
Turbo.” Carrie told him.

“Yeah,
congratulations,” Phillip added.

“Thanks, but it
gets better.”

“What’s better
than a half-million?” Cosmo asked.

Turbo told them
what Mr. Jansen had told him earlier. “Well, it seems that Con-Ed is planning a
permanent tribute to my uncle in the lobby of the new building. Mr. Jansen said
they decided to do it because of my devotion to my uncle.” Turbo’s voice
cracked and a tear rolled down his face.

Carrie comforted
him.

“This calls for a
celebration.” Cosmo was out of his mind happy. “Let’s go to Tony O’s, it’s my
treat.”

“Oh, I don’t think
we can.” Carrie said. “We have to---

“That’s a great
idea, Cosmo. Let’s go.” Turbo motioned with his head toward the door.

“Oh, okay. C’mon
Phillip.”

Turbo suggested Cosmo
ride with them. “I’ve been borrowing your car so much lately; you should give
it a break.”

Cosmo agreed.
“Just let me get my coat.”

While Cosmo was in
the backroom, Carrie questioned Turbo. “Do we really have time to go out to
eat?”

“I’m hungry,
besides we need to pump him full of wine if he’s gonna help us sneak Alex out
of the hospital.”

The ride to the
restaurant was quiet. Although, Tony O’s was noisy as ever, they got the table
in the back near the kitchen. The same one they had when Rudy was there.

“This must be our
favorite table,” Phillip teased.

“All they had, we
didn’t have a reservation,” Cosmo said.

“It’s fine,
Cosmo.” Carrie said. “Order us a bottle of wine.”

Cosmo ordered his
favorite Pinot Grigio.

“You better bring
two bottles.” Phillip told the waiter who looked at him funny. Phillip barely
looked old enough to drink. “Hey, we’re celebrating here.”

Turbo agreed.
“Yes, waiter, bring two bottles.”

Cosmo cheered. “Okay
then. And some Calamari, bring some Calamari, too.”

***

The waiter asked
if they needed anything else before he set the check down and cleared the third
empty wine bottle from the table. Cosmo had drunk the better part of two of
them.

“Dinner was
wonderful, Cosmo. Thank you so much.” Carrie grabbed her purse from the chair.

“Yes, thank you,
Cosmo.” Phillip patted his stomach. “I’m stuffed.”

“Wait, where are
you going? The night is young. They started nighttime racing at Aquaduct. I’m
feeling lucky tonight.”

“Cosmo, didn’t I
tell you, we have to visit a friend in the hospital.” Turbo didn’t say the
friend’s name and thankfully, at that point, Cosmo couldn’t have cared less.

“Visit him tomorrow,
tonight we celebrate.” He knocked over a glass of water on the table.

“No, we have to go
tonight, come with us then we’ll go to Aquaduct.”

Carrie agreed with
Turbo. “That’s a good idea.”

Easily persuaded,
Cosmo headed for the door. Turbo grabbed his shirt before he busted out into
the street. He steered him into the backseat of Carrie’s car and strapped the
seatbelt around his inebriated friend. Turbo sat next to him and talked to him
all the way to the hospital, not wanting him to fall asleep or begin to sober
up.

They parked near
the emergency room entrance. That’s when he realized that they really didn’t
have a plan. “So, what do we do now?” Phillip asked.

Cosmo had fixated
on a stray kitten that lurked near the entrance. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” He
slurred and spritzed the car window with every “kitty.”

“One thing’s for
sure; we can’t all barge in there at once, especially not the cat whisperer.”
Phillip pulled Cosmo away from the window and leaned him back against the seat.

“I’ll go and find
out what room he’s in.” Carrie told them. “Then I’ll find the cafeteria and let
you all in through the loading dock.”

Phillip, once
again impressed with her resourcefulness, liked the idea. “Okay, we’ll wait for
your call.”

Carrie walked into
the hospital and saw a line of people waiting to speak to the receptionist. She
stood in line until she noticed a nurse sipping a cup of coffee in a room with
the door open. “Excuse me, I’m not sick or anything, I’m just looking for my
brother’s room.”

The nurse went
over to her desk to help her. “Okay, what’s your brother’s name?”

“His name is Alex
Gaye.”

The nurse spilled
her coffee. “Oh, my God.” She grabbed a towel from a nearby shelf and blotted
the coffee up from the desk. “I’m sorry, did you say Alex Gaye?”

Carrie nodded.

The nurse typed
the name in the computer. “Okay, here it is, he’s in room 3327, but I’m sorry,
visiting hours are over.”

“That’s okay. I’ll
be back in the morning. Where are the restrooms?”

“Down the
corridor, through the double doors just before the elevators.” The nurse
dropped the towel in the soiled linen hamper.

“Thank you, so
much.” Carrie looked at her nametag. “Shelley. Thank you so much, Shelley.” She
headed down the hallway.

Once through the
double doors she bolted past the restrooms and the elevators and followed the
signs to the cafeteria. The doors were locked, and the cafeteria was empty, except
for a man inside mopping the floor of the dining room. She tapped a quarter on
the glass to get his attention. “Hello, I’m sorry to do this.” Carrie took a
twenty-dollar-bill from her purse and handed it to him.

“What’s this for?”

“For this.” She
trounced across the still wet floor.

“Wait! You can’t
go in there.” The man screamed and then put the twenty in his pocket.

She pushed open
the door to the kitchen area and went straight back to the loading dock door.
It had a panic bar attached and a notice that the alarm would sound plastered
to the door. She pushed hard on the door without touching the panic bar. It
opened. No alarm sounded. The janitor must have deactivated it. She called
Phillip at once.

Back in the dining
room, the young man had almost finished mopping the area Carrie had soiled. He
was unprepared for the stampede that followed. Four people trampled the again
mopped dining room floor; one reeked of alcohol.

On the third
floor, only Carrie exited the elevator. She turned left and then hugged the
corridor walls as she searched for room 3327, just up around the bend if the
number order held up. She stopped suddenly, turned around and hurried back to
the elevator. “There’s a cop guarding his room.”

“What? Are you
sure?” Turbo asked her.

“Well, he looks
like a cop or an F.B.I. agent.”

“I’ll bet he’s one
of Lawson’s buddies.” Phillip said.

“We better go.”
Carrie suggested.

“No, we’ve come
this far, we can still do this.” Turbo had a plan. “We brought Cosmo along to
distract the nurses, now he’ll just have to distract the cop.”

Phillip pointed
out one flaw with Turbo’s plan. “That’s all well and good, but a nurse can’t
arrest us, or worse, shoot us.”

“He’ll be fine,
besides it’s time for him to take one for the team.”

“Yeah, but not a
bullet.” Carrie had second thoughts about the whole idea.

“Nobody’s gonna
get shot.” Turbo laid out the rest of his plan. He told Carrie to take Cosmo
down the right corridor and make a big stink about a hundred yards in front of
the officer. “Have a fight, knock him down, whatever it takes to get the cop
away from the door. Make sure you’re real loud.”

Turbo and Phillip
would take the left corridor and wait for the diversion to enter the room.
“Don’t calm down until you see us enter the room. Then wait about three minutes
and start the commotion again, nice and loud. Make sure the cop is facing
toward you, because when we hear the second commotion we’re coming out with
Alex. Give us five minutes after that and meet us on the loading dock.”

Then turbo leaned
in and whispered to Carrie. “If it comes to the point where you have to leave
Cosmo behind, you leave him. Understand?”

Carrie nodded.

“Okay, wake up Cosmo
and let’s go.

They all left the
elevator.

Carrie screamed
and slapped Cosmo hard across the face. “Get away from me you pervert. She ran
down the corridor right into the officer’s arms. She screamed again. “Let me
go, help, somebody, RAPE!”

The officer
covered her mouth with one hand and retrieved his badge with the other. Cosmo
stumbled up from behind them.

“Who the fuck are
you?” The officer looked at Carrie who was suddenly calm. “And who’s this
drunken bastard?”

“Oh, he’s my
boyfriend?”

“Then why were you
screaming and running?”

Carrie put her
finger to her cheekbone. “Hmmm.” She thought about it for a minute. “Let me
see, let me see, why was I running? Oh, I remember.” She screamed hysterically.
“Cause that mother fucker was French kissing my mother. Can you believe it?”
She turned and wailed at Cosmo, screaming, crying, and acting her ass off.

The officer had
had enough. He told them to take it out of the hospital. Carrie kept screaming
and crying, grabbing the officer’s coat to keep his attention.

He pushed her away
and warned them both. “You both need to get back in the elevator and get out of
here or I’ll have you arrested. You got that?”

“Okay, thank you.”
They headed back to the elevator.

The police officer
went back to his post; the heel taps on his shoes clicked against the tile
floor. He sat down in the chair. It took a second or two, but he jumped up,
rushed into Alex’s room and then back out to the elevator. He pushed the button,
but opted for the stairs.

Carrie and Cosmo
were almost to the cafeteria when they heard the click of heeltaps again. Harder
and faster, each louder than the one previous. She yanked Cosmo’s arm, but he
was still too drunk to run. She didn’t leave him. At least Turbo and Phillip
had gotten away with Alex.