Gale Force, page 3
“Well, that’s what I need to discuss with you. Before I could say anything, I needed to review the director’s report and verify with Breeze what I could share with you. She speaks very highly of you and trusts you implicitly.”
“Oh! That’s nice to hear. I have the greatest admiration and respect for Breeze, the director, I mean, although we didn’t work together closely. We were in the same department, but she had a big project she worked on alone.”
“That’s what this is about—Breeze’s project. What I’m about to tell you cannot leave this lab. The only people you may discuss the project with are me, Breeze, and Mr. Vander.”
Kaylee’s eyes got big. “What’s the project?”
“The sand on Sajave? It’s an alien life-form.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re kidding! Oh my god! So that’s what’s going on! That is so stellar!”
“Breeze believes the sand is intelligent. Our job is to verify it.”
“With the recording, you’re hoping to communicate with it?” she guessed.
I twisted my mouth. “It’s a long shot. I’m pretty sure the alien won’t understand any of the languages. But maybe one of the vocalizations will provoke a reaction. Because intelligence is subjective, there is no standard definition; however, one generally accepted indicator is the ability to communicate. If the alien realizes I’m trying communicate and reacts, that’s a positive sign.”
“What kind of response are you hoping for?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
“So, that’s why you had me record, ‘I wish to speak to you.’”
“Yeah. Truly, one phrase is as good as the next. It won’t understand any of the languages or phrases.”
Kaylee pursed her lips and suggested, “How about saying, ‘I come in peace’?”
Ethics wouldn’t allow me to lie, even if the alien didn’t know I was lying. “But do we come in peace?”
“What do you mean?”
“International law prohibits the colonization of planets inhabited by intelligent life-forms. Breeze and C-Force believe the Jodane administration will fight leaving. They’ll attempt to discredit the findings. They have too much invested to give it up willingly.” I jutted my chin at the door. Axel waited outside. “Hence, the enhanced security.” I gave her the party line as I’d been instructed.
I expected the government to challenge Geo-Tech’s findings. Also a possibility—a government raid seizing the data and samples, followed by a cover-up. But I considered the latter to lean toward the unlikely side.
Any potential threat was still academic as nothing had been reported to anybody yet. Even Breeze’s superiors at Geo-Tech didn’t know. “Breeze is adamant there must be no leaks about what we’re working on,” I reiterated. “You can’t speak about this to anyone, not even other Geo-Tech employees.”
“I would never!” She crossed her heart.
Was Kaylee married? In a relationship? I didn’t doubt her sincerity in the moment. But later?
People almost always told at least one other person what they’d sworn not to tell. They would tell spouses work secrets, and they’d share with co-workers what their spouse had said. Friends would get the dirt on family members they’d never met. You had to assume the person you confided in would tell at least one other person. And that person would tell one other person. It wasn’t entirely their fault. According to the psychological literature, keeping a secret saddled the holder with a burden. Not being able to say anything caused the secret-keeper to obsess over the information and created psychological tension. Telling the secret relieved the tension.
Breeze had hand-selected Kaylee as my assistant, and she’d signed a nondisclosure agreement. I had no reason to doubt her trustworthiness, other than what I knew to be true about human behavior.
However, those human weaknesses could be used to our advantage. “If you hear of any gossip about the department, or if there’s unusual interest in what we might be working on, please let me know immediately.”
“What do you consider unusual?”
“Someone loitering around the lab, asking a lot of questions—”
“Everybody is curious about the bio lab. Geo-Tech is a company of scientists. Our specialty is supposed to be geology, but now we’ve branched into biology? Plus, the former director got escorted off Sajave by C-Force. Then Breeze took over the entire office, established the bio lab, and we pretty much went into lockdown mode. Everybody has been wondering what’s going on. Including me—until now.”
“We’re going to have to let them wonder.” I wondered if the replacement of the former director was related to the secret project. “Why was Martin Janey replaced? What were employees told?”
“Nothing.” She snorted. “We saw him marched out of the building by C-Force. Geo-Tech HQ followed up a few days later with a memo saying Martin had resigned for personal reasons, and they wished him well in his future endeavors.”
“Geez.” I shook my head. Typical corporate behavior.
“If we hadn’t seen him taken into custody, we wouldn’t have had any idea what had happened. He would have just vanished.” She cocked her head. “Do you know what happened? Why he’s not here?”
I shook my head. “No,” I answered honestly. “Nobody said anything to me.”
First, the ex I hadn’t seen in nearly two decades showed up. Then, I learned he was going to be my round-the-clock bodyguard. Next, I discovered I’d be working with an alien intelligence in a top-secret project my government might try to suppress, and now, I heard the former Geo-Tech director left under mysterious circumstances. What other surprises would be sprung on me?
Chapter Four
Axel
The office door opened, and Kaylee and Gayle emerged, my ex with her handbag slung over her shoulder.
“Done for the day?” I asked.
“Yes. We’re going to call it a night.” Faint creases between Gayle’s eyebrows had deepened, indications of a stress headache. She’d probably spent the entire afternoon squinting at the terminal screen. Gayle always had been one to hit the ground running. Few worked as hard as she did. She looked at Kaylee. “Thank you for all your help today.”
“Of course!” Kaylee bobbed her purple head and glanced at me. “Now that I know what I’ll be working on, I’m even more happy to help.”
“Ready to go to the apartment, then?” I asked.
“Yes,” Gayle said.
The three of us left the bio lab together. Doors locked automatically. Lights on body-temp sensors would shut themselves off. “Up or down?” I asked as we headed toward the elevators.
“We’re in the basement. Don’t we have to go up?” Gayle said.
“Other than walking on the street, there are two ways to get around Città—by underground tunnel or via sky bridge.”
“I’ve been underground all day, so let’s take the sky bridge,” Gayle said.
We boarded the elevator, and I pushed the sixth-floor button. There were two basement levels below the first floor, the upper one where the interconnecting tunnels were located and a lower one housing the bio lab.
The elevator spit us out onto the sixth floor, and we headed for the exit.
“You must have been pretty bored sitting there all day,” Gayle commented.
“I was doing my job like you were,” I sidestepped. I’d done a bit more than sit. Via my handheld, I’d conducted a thorough check into Kaylee, but I wasn’t going to say so in front of her. She’d passed. In contrast to her colorful hair, she had a reassuring bland history. Then I’d done my own perusal of Breeze’s notes about the alien life-form.
The three of us scanned out of the building and stepped onto the sky bridge. I motioned Gayle to the left as Kaylee turned right. “My apartment is this way,” Kaylee said. From the background check, I knew she occupied a third-floor one-bedroom unit overlooking a small park. “You’re going out to the dunes early tomorrow, right?” Kaylee asked.
“Yes. I won’t be in the office until midmorning at least,” Gayle said. “Thanks again for getting me an RTC—for all your help today. You made my transition as a newbie much easier.”
Gayle and I continued toward her apartment in silence, and then she said, “I suppose you intend to go to the dunes with me.”
“Of course,” I replied. “What time are we leaving?”
“Eight a.m. or so.”
I nodded. “Are you going to observe or to run specific tests?”
“A little of both. I’m eager to see the sand close-up.” She glanced at the frosted windows of the sky bridge. “I wish I could see outside!”
“Anything transparent doesn’t stay clear for long. The cities of Sajave gave up replacing the glass. I haven’t been out to the dunes, either, so I’m eager to see it,” I admitted.
“Why haven’t you been to the dunes?”
“This is only my second time on Sajave. My first visit lasted just long enough to settle some security matters. Most of this is new to me.”
“You seem well-informed about the planet.”
“A compliment?” I arched my eyebrows.
“Don’t get used to it.”
“I doubt I could.” There wouldn’t be enough compliments coming from her to take them for granted. “I’m knowledgeable because I need to be to protect you. I’ve been thoroughly briefed on possible threats.”
“What happened to Martin Janey?”
I pressed my lips together. I couldn’t talk about it.
“He was the previous director,” she prompted.
“I know who he is.”
Martin had had Breeze’s job. He’d been her boss. Breeze’s abusive ex-husband, the former head of the Interplanetary Police Bureau, had hired Martin to kill her. C-Force had swooped in and taken care of matters. Geo-Tech had covered up the scandal that one of its directors had been a hired hitman. However, confidentiality prevented me from sharing the information. “That was another C-Force case, so I’m not at liberty to talk about it.”
Gayle halted. “How many cases involving Geo-Tech needing C-Force intervention are there?”
“Just the two.” Martin and the alien sand. I’d slipped up by mentioning C-Force had been on the Martin case. “If you want to know about Martin, ask Breeze. But I’d recommend waiting until you two know each other better before you nose into her personal life.”
“I’m not nosing into her personal life. If stuff going on involves the sand project, I need to know about it!”
“Yes, you do,” I agreed. “What happened with Martin isn’t related to your project.”
“That’s a relief anyway.” We resumed walking. “Axel, what are you supposed to be protecting me from exactly?”
The sky bridge came to a T intersection, and I veered us to the left. “Right now, security is a precaution,” I answered honestly. I didn’t want to frighten her unnecessarily, but she shouldn’t become complacent, either. “C-Force is confident the government has no idea the sand is alive—at this juncture. But they could have planted spies. And once Breeze releases the findings, we lose control over the information. I’m almost certain the government will catch wind of the results before the report is officially presented. Security protocols must be adhered to in case that happens.”
Gayle hefted her signature voluminous handbag higher on her shoulder. When we were married, I used to wonder what she carried to need such a huge bag. She could hide a change of clothes, a computer, and a silverware service for eight, with room left over for a small dog. Or a cat. The demon would be awaiting our arrival at her apartment.
“So, when the government finds out the sand is alive, they’ll have to pull out of Sajave. I can understand why they would challenge our conclusions and resist. I see the need to secure computer systems and data, but why bodyguards?”
“President Jodane has a huge stake in Sajave. She has been known to play dirty. We need to be prepared.”
“Doesn’t Kaylee need protection, then?”
I rubbed my jaw and chose my words carefully. “No. Only the decision makers who can be a threat are likely to be targeted—if at all. Kaylee isn’t high enough in the Geo-Tech hierarchy. She doesn’t have the authority to cause policy changes.”
“Neither do I! I’m not a company executive.”
“But you have information, which confers power.”
“You mentioned the government might plant spies—you don’t think Kaylee could be—”
“I thought of that,” I admitted. “Kaylee had been vetted previously, but I went through her professional and personal history again. There were no red flags.” You could never be 100 percent sure of anyone, but Kaylee seemed solid.
“Oh good, because I like her, and she’s already proven how valuable an assistant she’ll be.”
I motioned her around the last turn. We marched in blessed silence, and then Gayle said, “This isn’t what I signed up for.” She gripped her purse like she was creeping down a dark alley in a bad neighborhood.
I felt a surprising, sudden urge to hug her, but a physical gesture of reassurance wouldn’t be well received, so I kept my hands at my sides. “Are you regretting your decision, then?” Her contract with Geo-Tech indentured her to the company for a year in exchange for a huge signing bonus and a crazy-lucrative salary.
“After reading Breeze’s report? No. I’m more intrigued than ever, but the security situation should have been disclosed before I accepted the job. I feel…blindsided.” Her face tightened with bitterness. “The story of my life.”
She meant me, that I’d blindsided her. Anger supplanted sympathy. I shouldn’t let her push my buttons, but a retort slipped off my lips. “I never misled you. If you were blindsided in our marriage, it resulted from your own self-absorption.”
Her jaw dropped, and then fury swept across her face. “My self-absorption? You ass! Where do you get off?”
“What’s wrong, Gayle, hasn’t anyone ever told you the truth before? You were so wrapped up in your own life and career, you never gave consideration to mine.”
“What was there to consider? You bounced from one dead-end job to another while I worked my ass off!” she snapped and then clapped a hand over her mouth. “I didn’t mean—”
After almost twenty years, she’d finally admitted her true feelings—I failed to live up to her standards. “You meant it. You just didn’t mean to say it.”
“No, Axel, that’s not it at all.”
I turned to stomp away, and she grabbed my forearm. “Wait!”
I shook her off. “That is it. You felt burdened, believed you were carrying the load in our marriage, and you resented me for not being more ambitious. And then when I did something about it—you didn’t like that, either.” Fury raced through me on a surge of adrenalin, and the fight-or-flight-response activated my body armor. Nanos rushed to my thickening skin. I overrode the response with a mental command.
“I wasn’t happy you enlisted, but I’m sorry if I hurt you,” she said.
“Your apology is too little too late—and you still don’t get it.”
“Then explain it to me.”
“There’s no point to rehashing the past. It doesn’t matter anymore.” I threw back my shoulders. I’d wanted her to be proud of me. But she hadn’t been. “You used to be the most important person in the world to me, but I don’t care anymore.”
She flinched as if I’d slapped her.
I ignored the pang of remorse and forced myself to continue. Her rejection had devastated me. I couldn’t let it happen again. We were going to be working in close proximity. She needed to understand how it would be. A harsh truth was always preferable to lies. “You’re just an assignment.”
A blank mask slipped over her face, and she straightened to her full height. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay out of your way as much as possible.” She averted her gaze but not before I caught a glimpse of tears.
It’s better this way. So, why did I feel like an asshole? She’d been the one to hurt me. She’d filed for the divorce. Once I’d been accepted by C-Force, she’d unilaterally decided to end our marriage. She’d refused to talk about it, wouldn’t give me a second chance. And she had the audacity to imply I’d been aimless and drifting? What the hell do you want from me? What the hell does it take to please you?
“This way. We’re almost there.”
Her apartment building spoked off the sky bridge paralleling the street, about four blocks from the office. Other vacancies were closer to Geo-Tech, but this building offered one of the few secure residences in Città. Security being relative. Anyone determined to break in could. But the security features would slow them down.
Only tenants and approved guests had access. Sajave had no crime to speak of, Martin’s situation being the lone outlier. Except for the occasional bar fight or episode of public drunkenness, people behaved themselves. Città’s three police officers spent more time fighting boredom than crime. So, there wasn’t a strong need for security—yet.
“Your temporary access code is my birthday,” I said. Would I need to remind her of the date? I’d picked the code because it would be familiar to her, but no one would connect her and me. With the exception of Quint, no one knew we’d once been a couple.
She jabbed in the numbers, and the door opened. So she did remember.
“The code expires tomorrow, so you’ll need to change it tonight.”
“First thing.” She stomped inside.
I followed. “The security pad outside is also an intercom with a camera so, if you do get visitors, you can see who you’re admitting,” I said.
“I doubt I’ll have visitors,” she replied in a clipped tone. The tension hovered in the air as thick as a sandstorm.
“Breeze or Kaylee might have reason to come to your apartment.”
“And you.” Her mouth turned down.
“I have my own access.”
“Of course you do.”
I led the way to the elevator. We’d entered the building on the sixth floor. “You’re on the third floor, high enough so no one can break in through a window, but low enough that if you have to escape using the stairs, you can do it quickly. Speaking of which…” I pointed to the stairwell. “There’s one set, and another is located at the rear. Same for the elevators.”
