Active Shooter (13 page)

“How did I do?” I asked Lucia.

She came toward me and set her heavy purse on
one of the gallery’s sitting stools. “Not bad for an introverted
genius,” she replied.

“You mean not bad for the guy that
disappeared on you only to reappear hours before the show.”

She responded with a faint, tolerating smile
and said nothing, as if to let me dwell for a moment on the angst
I'd caused her. She'd certainly asked plenty of questions when I
called her one hour before the show. Was I OK? Where had I been?
What had I been up to and why hadn't I returned her calls? Was I in
some sort of trouble? Did my disappearance had to do with my LAX
heroics? Of all those questions, I could only answer the first one,
and she accepted that, especially when I told her that, yes, I was
on my way after tending to some complex issues I'd rather not
share.

"I appreciate your patience," I told her
now.

"We all have our messes to clean up," she
said. "Life's complicated, especially for boys that dive into
airport terminals to kick some terrorist
derriere
."

I smiled at her rather Parisian pronunciation
of that last word. "A linguist, too," I remarked with a grin in an
attempt to push out of my mind the thought that she might know more
about my Bridget escapade than she ought.

Lucia curled her arm around mine. “From now
on, you can call me Luz.”

She was looking around the gallery floor, at
all the red dots that flagged sold pieces. Her chest swelled a
little, and I supposed it did so with pride for a job well
done.

“I didn’t sell anything,” I said.

“But you tried, and you tried well.” She
tugged at my arm. “You also got seen by some key people. Planting
seeds in a fertile garden, that’s what we did tonight.”

Lucia seemed far more satisfied that a try
and getting seeing would justify.

“Is that all?” I asked.

“Hmm.” She gave me a sideways grin. “We had
an anonymous contingency buyer. Someone who said she’d pick up two
of your pieces if they didn’t sell.”

“Bridget?”

“Anonymous, remember?”

“What’s the big secret?”

“No secret. Just my word, which you can
always count on.”

“I take it there will be shipping.”

“All part of the deal, and no, you won’t be
delivering in person.”

I smiled back at her. We stood in silence,
taking in the empty, soon to be dark gallery before we headed
home.

“So what do you think of her now?” I
asked.

“Of Bridget? Why would I have any reason to
change my mind?”

“Big Sis still thinks she’s not my
brand?”

“I’ve already made my opinion on this matter
known.”

Lucia released my arm and hung her purse from
her left shoulder. Her frame tilted to the left under the bag’s
weight until she pushed herself into realignment.

“More important question is,” she said. “How
did you like this?”

“It was good. I enjoyed talking to people
about my work.”

“Nicer than writing blog posts no one might
read?”

“Maybe.”

“Something you’d like to do again? To
continue doing?” Lucia asked.

“Sure. How about you?”

“I’m in if you are. Are we on?”

I grinned. “Yeah, we’re very on.”

“Fantastic. What are you doing tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?”

“It’s Easter, you know. People dress up and
go to church. Or brunch, at least. I always hate going back on my
own for my twice per year appearance.”

“I don’t know--”

“Aw, come on. You cleaned up nicely for our
little party tonight. I’m sure I can find something in your closet
for you to wear.”

“I think I know how to dress myself, thank
you,” I said, feeling a bit trapped.

“Great, so I’ll be by at 8:30 for the 9 AM
mass?”

“So much for sleeping in.”

“Hey, think what a mess we’d be in if Jesus
decided to sleep in on Easter morning.”

I smiled, supposing I should be glad her
heart was not set on attending a sunrise service. Not only did I
really need to sleep in, but the prospect of seeing and feeling
early sunlight on my face would have proved too full of regret, far
too reminiscent of Joshua trees in silhouette against an orange-red
sky.

“We need to start working on fresh material
for you,” Lucia said as we walked out of the gallery. By this I
knew she meant I needed to come up with new photographs.

Still thinking about the Joshua trees, I
replied, “I think I have something you’re going to like.”

At her car, I hugged her good night. Lucia
promised to get back to me with a tentative schedule of shows she’d
like me to join in the coming months.

On my way to my Baja Bug, my cellphone
buzzed. I accessed the incoming text. A small local paper wanted to
know if I'd be interested in covering local surfing competitions on
a freelance basis. I briefly considered declining. In the end,
recalling with fondness a surfing contest I'd shot at Seal Beach
months before, I sent a quick text back saying I'd do it. If
nothing else the jobs would help me stay busy as an active shooter
of a different kind.

Thank you for letting me share my writing
with you. As much as I enjoy the craft, I write to share of myself
with others, and it means a lot to me that out of all the great
writing out there, you decided to read mine. I have lots of stories
to tell, and little time to tell them. I will keep laboring to
bring you those stories as soon as I can get them out of my head
and onto the page.

Active Shooter
is the third
techno-thriller story I publish after
DEAD BEEF
and
Pink
Ballerina
. These three stories share a Cyber warfare world,
explored through different protagonists whose paths cross and
intertwine. I am currently working on a third novel inhabiting this
world, a suspense thriller with
Decisive Moment
as its
working title
.
It shares with
Pink Ballerina
a love
for photography and an exploration for how this art form relates to
and can help us view life in a different way than we normally use
to understand the world around us.

I would appreciate if you could take the time
to leave me a review at the outlet where you downloaded this
e-Book. Be honest – and, OK, kind! I’m still growing in my writing
and can learn a great deal from the way you experience my work.

If you want to contact me with questions or
comments, feel free to e-mail me at
[email protected]
or find me on
the Internet:

Website:
http://eduardosuastegui.com

Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/imagesbyeduardo

Together with Active Shooter, the following
novels form the
Our Cyber World
series. Some await your
download from an eBook distributor near you, while others will
become available as soon as the author completes all his
typing.