Phil
leaned forward and lowered his voice.
“Listen,
I was approached a few months ago about working for a Chinese company. I got
wind that the project was going to be cut—”
“That
was just a rumor,” interrupted Carl.
“They
showed me memos proving it wasn’t a rumor. The project was going to be shut down.
Christ, we pretty much bankrupted the company with the EMP. They were going to
kill the project, cut us, and all of our work, our life’s work, would be gone.”
“We
could have continued somewhere else,” said Jason.
“What?
On a top secret project that we had signed agreements saying we wouldn’t do
just that?”
Jason
shrugged his shoulders, unable to argue with Phil’s correct assessment of the
situation. They had signed their lives away, for the chance to work on the
ultimate project that could revolutionize mankind. None of them had really
considered what might happen if it were shelved, or if they were canned.
Phil
continued. “The Chinese were willing to let me continue, so I said yes. Then a
few weeks later I had a visitor, who offered me ten million dollars to come
work for them instead, but I’d only receive the payment if I succeeded within a
year of replicating what we had done a few months ago—minus the coding error,
of course.” Phil smiled and chuckled. Alone.
Jason
could feel his blood start to boil. Phil had sold his soul to the Devil, and
now he and his family were part of his get rich quick scheme.
“So why
are we here? You’re willing to be a traitor to your country, but I never signed
up for that.”
Phil
looked at Jason, his smile gone.
“They
asked me what I needed to succeed. I told them I needed you two, and the lab.
They agreed.”
“And it
didn’t occur to you to ask us first?” Carl looked at Jason, his eyes expressing
the incredulity he too felt. “And why our families? My God, why would you
involve them?”
“First,
I knew you’d say no. You two are far too patriotic to have ever considered
working for the Chinese. And second, I knew you wouldn’t be able to concentrate
if you were worrying about your families. So the solution seemed obvious. Bring
you both here, with your families for a year or two, then once we succeeded,
we’d be let go, ten million dollars richer.”
“You
mean you’d be ten million richer.”
Phil
shook his head.
“No,
they agree to pay us each ten million.”
Jason
let out a burst of air.
“Ten
million to put this technology in the hands of our enemy. North Korea? Are you
fucking kidding me?”
Phil’s
head dropped slightly and he looked at the floor.
“Well, I
have to admit I didn’t realize the second guys were from North Korea. I thought
they were another Chinese competitor. But once I found out the truth, I
realized it didn’t matter. The deal still stood, and now all we have to do is
deliver.”
Jason
wanted to tear out Phil’s throat.
How could he be so naïve? How could he be
so stupid? So selfish?
“And if
we don’t.”
Phil
shook his head, waving his hands in front of him, his voice dropping to a
whisper.
“Don’t
even suggest that. I asked them, and they said they’ll kill your families.
Slowly.”
Jason
felt his mouth fill with bile as Carl jumped from his chair and belted Phil
across the jaw.
Leif Morrison Residence, River Oaks Drive, Mclean, Virginia
Today, Five Days after the Kidnappings
“What do you mean you’re having him tested?”
Morrison
held up his hand and fished his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the call
display and his eyebrows bounced slightly.
“Speaking
of…”
He
pressed the talk button and put the phone to his ear, leaving Kane to hear only
one side of the conversation.
“Go
ahead…has he revealed anything…how far have you taken it…I don’t care if you
like him, you have your orders…that’s the job, whether you like it or not…I
hope so…you’ve got thirty minutes to break him.”
Morrison
hung-up and put the cellphone on the table beside the empty beer bottle.
“Why
don’t you get us another beer, and I’ll explain?”
Kane
frowned, but stood up, collecting the empties, then retrieving two more beers
from the fridge in the adjacent kitchen. He opened them, pocketing the caps,
then stepped back into the living room to find Morrison still in his chair, but
on his phone.
“—be
arriving within an hour. Show them in when they arrive.”
He ended
the call and returned the phone to the table. Kane handed him his beer, then
returned to his chair. Taking a swig, he motioned for Morrison to continue.
“You
were saying?”
“I trust
Chris, but he’s young, and I’m afraid, easily turned. Put a pretty young thing
in the cubicle next to him, and he’s liable to spill his guts. Or threaten him,
and he’ll not only shit his pants, but, spill his guts. I need to know what he’s
capable of.”
“And
you’re testing him right now?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Morrison
looked at his watch.
“Right
now? I’m guessing the temptation phase is in full swing.”
Sherrie White Residence, Roosevelt Towers, Falls Church, Virginia
He heard her footsteps gently tap across the floor behind him. He
was about to look when he heard a giggle.
“Close
your eyes!”
He
complied, his heart racing, and he felt the bowl of forgotten ice cream taken
from him, a slight clank as it was placed on the glass living room table.
“Now sit
up.”
He
thought he already was, but he sat up more erect, correcting his posture, and
felt hands on his shoulders, then some pressure as he suddenly carried her
weight for a moment as she seemed to climb onto the couch. Before he realized
what was happening, she was tucked in behind him, her legs wrapped around his
waist, her hands on his shoulders, kneading them like dough.
“Undo
your shirt.”
Chris
complied. He couldn’t help it. She was too beautiful, he was too weak, and God,
he wanted this so badly. He didn’t care if he was being played anymore, he just
wanted
this.
“Lift
your arms,” she whispered, and he did, the shirt pulled up and over his head.
He felt her breath on his back as she returned to massaging his shoulders. Her
feet, tantalizingly close to the stone statue in his pants, moved with her
ministrations as she gently rocked her entire body, causing his to move in
rhythm with hers.
She
kissed between his shoulder blades.
He
gasped, his head dropping to stare at the bare feet, and bare legs, his eyes
now opened.
“You’re
so tense!”
She
squeezed harder, and kissed his back again, her lips lingering, her tongue
flicking at his skin. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, and he
never wanted it to end. He wasn’t sure what he should do. Should he
participate, or just continue to enjoy her attention. She reached around and
squeezed his chest with both hands, pulling him into her mouth. Her breath was
hot on his back, and his heart was racing in anticipation of what she would do
next.
Her
hands slowly traced their way down his chest, toward his stomach, all the while
her lips and tongue doing wonders that sent shivers through his entire body. He
felt her hands reach his belt, and reach underneath. He pushed his hips out
slightly to help her, his head falling back on her shoulder as she kissed the
side of his neck, then gently bit his ear.
“Do you
know what really turns me on?”
Her
voice was hoarse, almost nothing but breath, and it was the sexiest thing he
had ever heard.
“N-no?”
He gasped
as she found her prize with her hands.
“Agents.
Tell me about your friend, and I’ll make you feel like you’ve never felt
before.”
She
squeezed and he moaned, her lips continuing to work their way up and down his
neck, then she slowly began to move from behind him, and within moments was
straddling him, her lips hard against his, her tongue probing his mouth,
kissing him with a passion he had never experienced, his own youthful follies
always with girls as equally inexperienced as him.
This was
a woman, who knew what she wanted, and how to get it.
And he
was putty in her hands.
She slid
down his lap and knelt between his legs.
“Tell me
about your friend,” she whispered, her eyes boring into his, the seductive
smile as she licked her lips causing his hips to involuntarily thrust toward
them. She undid his belt, then reached for the button of his pants as she
kissed his stomach. “Tell me.”
Visions
of Kane flashed through his mind. Kane the jock, Kane the high school hero,
Kane the war hero, Kane the special agent. Kane who always got what he wanted,
whether it was women or admiration. Kane who had protected him, Kane who had
always treated him as an equal.
Kane who
was his friend.
“No!”
Chris
placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her slightly away. His action
shocked him as much as it seemed to shock her. She smiled, lifting her hands to
remove his from her shoulders, then rubbed his crotch through his pants. It was
the most exquisite feeling imaginable, and he lost himself in the intense
pleasure for a moment, then stood up, stepping over her and placing the couch
between the two of them.
“What’s
wrong?” she asked, standing up, her naked body noticed for the first time.
“Listen,
Sherrie, I like you. Oh Gawd do I like you. And you have no idea how much I want
this to happen, but I can’t betray my friend.”
“Are you
serious?”
She
seemed stunned.
He
didn’t blame her. She was a ten. Standing naked in front of a guy who hadn’t
had sex since Obama had come into power. Every fiber of his being wanted to
take her, to give into his carnal desires, to satisfy a lust that had been
building for years, to take what was so freely being offered him.
But he
couldn’t betray his friend.
Suddenly
the front door burst open and four men rushed toward him. Sherrie screamed,
covering herself, and Chris, acting on instinct, put himself between the
intruders and Sherrie, but his bravado failed when the gun was placed to his
forehead. He heard two loud pops as one of the men’s guns fired, the suppressor
only taking the edge off the sound of the bullets. Sherrie cried out and
dropped to the floor, moaning, as Chris was shoved to the ground behind the
couch.
Two men
stood over him, their weapons pointed at him, the other two out of sight. He
could hear Sherrie moaning in pain from the gunshot wounds, but couldn’t see
her, the couch in the way.
“Tell us
where Kane is,” said the man who had shoved him to the floor.
Chris’
mind raced as he tried to piece together what was happening. Sherrie had been
trying to get information on Kane all night, and then here were four armed men,
asking questions as well. But they had shot Sherrie, which meant they weren’t
working together.
Was
Sherrie innocent? Were her questions merely part of her sexual games?
He felt part of him, despite the situation he was now in,
regretting his having pushed her away, and wondering if there was any way to
salvage the evening.
Sherrie
cried out in agony.
“Don’t
make us cause her any more pain than she’s already in,” said the man.
“What do
you want from us?”
“I don’t
want anything from her,” said the man. “This is all about you. I want
you
to tell me everything you know about Kane.”
He had
to think fast. They obviously knew he knew Kane, but did they know what he knew
about Kane. What the extent of his knowledge was. Where he was now. The fact he
had come back to the country as a favor to him.
“Do you
mean Dylan Kane?”
The man
fired a shot that tore into the carpet inches from Chris’ ear. He nearly pissed
his pants.
“You
know exactly who we mean.”
“I-I
knew him in high school. I tutored him, that’s all.”
“Bullshit.
He’s an agent and you know it. You two are close.” Sherrie cried out again.
The fear
in Chris’ eyes and on his face didn’t need to be faked. His emotions were
completely genuine, but he was determined not to betray his friend. Kane had
always been there for him, and now it was his turn. He didn’t care what they
did to him, and he knew if Sherrie had taken two bullets, she was going to die
anyway. In fact, he was quite certain from the case files he had read over the years,
that as soon as he gave up the information these men were looking for, he’d be
dead. The only question was whether or not the bodies would be found, and his
soul would rest in peace knowing it hadn’t betrayed the confidence of a friend.
“I-I
didn’t know he was an agent, I swear. He’s just a friend!” Another shot ripped
into the carpet, this time he swore it was closer. “I swear! He’s just a
friend, I don’t know anything about what he does!”
Sherrie
screamed in pain. “Tell him, Chris! Oh God, please tell him!” She howled again,
the agony heart wrenching.
The gun
moved slightly, aiming directly between his eyes.
Chris
stared at the barrel, it filling his field of vision, and he felt tears roll
down the side of his head. “I swear, I don’t know anything! He’s just a
friend.”
The
finger squeezed on the trigger, and Chris closed his eyes, regretting he hadn’t
called his parents last night like he had planned. But the shot never came.
He
opened his eyes slightly, and saw the man smiling, his hand held out, the gun
held at his side.
“Wh-what’s
going on?”
“You
passed.”