In comparison to everyone else's life, mine has been bizarre. I've always done things a little different and really just felt my way through life. If something felt right or I felt like something was trying to tell me to do something I just went with it. I made money and did some things with it other people might not have thought of or even thought was realistic.
The black limo filled with Matt and the girls pulled to a stop in the underground garage on my 20th birthday. The '10 Car Monty', as it came to be known, worked. Well enough to get us away from whoever was chasing us. Riled, the sport's bar was fun but the chase seemed even more fun for everyone, except me.
Matt looked at the girls as the opaque glass became see through again. He opened the door and hopped out of the limo. The girls followed him out and I just sat there for a moment. My mind was still preoccupied with who it was that followed us. It was the tactical boots that were still throwing me off. Industrial Espionage kidnappers were businessmen not mercenaries. I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy knowing that we had been watched and then chased.
Giggling came from outside the car and I decided to join in on the fun. After all, it was my birthday. Stepping out of the car I could see Matt keeping the girls all waiting until I was ready to go in. Bob was waiting for me by the door.
"Bob," I knew I was sounding pretty business like, "send me the pictures and forward them off to our friends. I want to know everything they can find out. Something just isn't right." I looked at him and immediately I knew he could see my concern and worry after the nights events.
"What was it?" Bob knew me pretty well. It took a lot to rattle me as much as I was evidently showing outwardly.
"The damn boots!" Bob had the puzzled face I'd grown to love. "They were all wearing black Tac Boots with pressed jeans and polo shirts tucked into their pants. It just seemed like they were trying not to be notice but it was pretty obvious. I'm starting to think they wanted me to know." I paused looking off into the distance. "And then they gathered out front while the limo was sitting there. They had to know I would see them."
"Either that or they were amateurs," he said with a smug tone.
"Amateurs don't where $250 Kevlar Tac Boots." I gave him the 'I know better' look. He'd seen that a million times by now.
"I'll take care of it," he raised a mini PC up in his hands. It was WiFi connected to the cameras around the car. The pictures were on the hard drive ready to be sent.
"Come get me when you have something. This will distract me all night."
"No problem." He smiled at me. "You should try to enjoy your birthday," he lowered his voice, "and the girls."
Grinning back," I will, bud. I will." Then I had a better thought. "The girls are staying the night. Why don't you go home and just text me when you have something. Give the kids hugs and Remy a kiss for me."
He nodded and smiled. "They left you a present. I put it in the black Aston. I also had the silver one brought over for Matt." Pulling two black boxes from his pocket, "And I did what you said with it."
"Thanks." I gave him a hug like a son to a father, "You my boy, Blue!" We both chuckled.
"Night, boss!" More chuckling. We were really family at this point and he knew how I hated being called that. He turned and got back into the limo to head to the hotel where Remy and the kids were.
As the car pulled away and turned the corner of the garage I turned to Matt, "Yo!"
He spun around and looked at me," You ready, birthday boy?!" His voice echoed through the garage.
"No," I tossed one of the keys in my hand over to him. One handed he made the grab. "Happy Birthday!" His face looked perplexed.
"But it's your birthday, man," he gave me a sarcastic laugh.
"Yeah, so I get what I want. The silver one is yours," I pointed to the corner of the garage behind him where two Aston Martin concept cars sat, one silver and one black. He smiled back at me with a devilish grin.
"Well, then Happy Birthday!" Laughing the girls joined in and looked shocked at the gift. "Love you, brother! Now, can we go celebrate your birthday and I'll thank you for the car later?" You had to love the guy.
"Works for me!" I was ready for another drink. My buzz had worn off with all the excitement of the chase. "Ladies, are you ready to go in?" They looked around the garage. There were no doors and the only opening was the way the limo left up the ramp.
The redhead, Jill, spoke up," Go in where? We thought we were staying in the garage?" Matt and I burst into laughter. It took a good 20 seconds before we gathered ourselves enough to move.
I pulled out my cell phone and punch in some numbers and hit send. After a second light cracked around a door in the middle of the cement wall behind them and swung open to reveal a hallway of floor to ceiling mirrors and blue lights from a floor of glass.
Ooo's and Ahh's went around as the girls were verbal and noticeably impressed. "I love that reaction," Matt said as he entered the hallway followed by the girls. I brought up the rear watching their amazement.
Putting my hand on the mirror to the right of the door about waste high inside the hallway, the door swung closed. We walked down the 100 foot hallway to the other end. It was just mirrors and again didn't seem to be a door. Placing my hand on the mirror to the right of the door, it made a sound and then swung open to reveal my little 'Playhouse'. Maybe it would have been better to call it a Big Boy's Tree House, but it was too late to rename it.
As you entered it was like walking into a very modern very large house. There were glass windows from floor to 30 foot ceilings. Spiral steel staircases were in all the corners with matching catwalks around the edges with Pine doors going to other rooms and hallways. The main area was completely open with a living room, dining room, bar and kitchen in about 4000 square feet of space. Furniture decorated the entire space. It was for entertaining after all. The windows were electronic glass that rotated images every 20 minutes. Right then it was morning over Vale, Colorado.
All the girls were understandably shocked and overwhelmed. They were crowded around each other looking over every part but seemed cautious to step a foot across the mosaic marble tile on the floor. The only place it was different was the kitchen which had hardwood that marked off the invisible walls.
Matt headed for the bar which was built half into the wall and half out of it in one corner. It had glass shelves holding more fifths of alcohol than any bar had ever thought about having. It also had a Stainless Steel Side by Side stocked with every mixer and garnish a bartender could think of. Next to the sink under the bar was a commercial blender. On a suspended rack made of Plexiglas encased LED lights were all the glass ware. It had every alcohol glass type that could be found. The bar top was made of black granite and the stools were stainless steel.
"Who wants a drink?" Built into the bar top was a computer screen. Matt tapped it and it came to life. He hit a couple of buttons and music flowed through the house. He took orders from the girls as all seven of them crowded around the bar. He looked up at me and I pointed to the catwalk. He nodded and turned his attention back to the girls just as quickly as he glanced at me.
Walking over to a spot on the cement walls that had a line running up it, I stood right in front of it and placed my hand on the square block of cement to the right of the line. The tile on the floor began to move up lifting me to the catwalk which opened for me to go through and then up to the ceiling where a square area split open. Watching to be sure no one at the bar noticed me, I went through the ceiling.
It was a little 'covert operative-ish' but I didn't trust my office being out in the open even in a subterranean, completely hidden house. The lights came on as soon as the lift stopped. I stepped over to the desk in the middle of the 40 foot by 40 foot room. The desk was glass. I had the keyboards built into the glass. Four giant monitors built into the wall in front of the desk warmed up with flashing red lights. Placing my hand on a glass panel to the left, hanging off the desk, it scanned my hand. The entire house was biometric and was only accessible by three people, Matt, Bob and myself. I had six other houses that were setup this way all around the country. This one had always been my favorite partly because of location.
My screens came up. I kept one of them with my e-mail always on. In the inbox was a bunch of stuff I had going to a folder marked 'Bob'. Looking at the pictures he had sent, there was nothing that great or helpful except the license plates. I clicked on the latest e-mail.
"M,
The license plates are registered to a corporation in Los Angeles. My friend in the L.A. Bureau said it's a dummy corporation, but they don't know for whom. As far as the FBI is concerned, it's untraceable. The companies name is Brokerage Entertainment Legal Investment and Linguistics.
This concerns me. If something's untraceable to the FBI that means there's some people in the government working for it. We should be careful with this.
FYI, I sent this in our secure system, but I'm having Jax beef up the security and encryption. Gonna cost, though.
-B"
Jax was a hacker Bob had brought into the mix when he came onboard. He was a genius but didn't know how to constructively use what he had. So, in return for letting him run wild and paying for his every tech geek whim, he kept us hacker proof. The hackers are always ahead of the game and best for security. Besides, if they are on your payroll, they aren't hacking you.
My mind started to go over and over this as I sat down at my desk. What in the world would this company be doing following me? They aren't technical or chemical. Unless they wanted to get into that arena there would be no point in trying to grab me. And why would they be sending what seemed like mercenary types to track me down and then let me know that they are there? I started typing my response.
"B,
That makes no sense. That company isn't technical or chemical. They wouldn't come after me unless they wanted to get into one of those areas. Then add the fact they were like mercenaries and it gets more confusing.
Have Jax do some face recognition on the photos. Have him get into Langley first and try to match up. If he can't find anything there, have him use South Dakota. I want to know who they are and their backgrounds.
M"
After I sent the mail I just sat there for a second thinking about the one thing that threw me off other than the boots, the girl with the blue eyes. Her pouty lips were still stuck in my head. But it wasn't her looks that had me thrown, it was when the guy walked over and gave her the kiss on the cheek. Something seemed strange about that moment.
Then it hit me. She said," Kiss me," when he walked up to her. I closed my eyes and searched through the memory in my mind. I could see her mouth "Kiss Me" to him. Opening my eyes, they were twitching back and forth and my vision was getting hazy. Closing them quickly, I was caught in the moment; the girl with the blue eyes was right in front of me in slow motion.
Seeing her as if I was standing right there in the room, it all felt so real. Walking up to her, I noticed the thing that made her seem off. Obviously, saying "Kiss me" wasn't anything you wouldn't say to your boyfriend. That is said every day all day long by anyone longing for affection. Under the table attached to her feet and under a pair of jeans were Kevlar tactical boots, in black.
"Oh Fuck! How did I miss that?!" As I said it I was pulling out of my trance and opened my eyes in my office looking at the screen. "She was part of it!"
Putting my hand back on the scanner to lock the system, I headed for the lift. Placing my hand on the wall, I rode down to the bottom. Matt was still entertaining, and distracting, the girls at the bar. He looked up at me as I came off the lift. Inside of me was the driving urge to see what the girl with the crystal blue eyes was doing at the bar.