Mind Trace (34 page)

No. It can't be.

"Show me."

Grant handed him a small flash drive, and Eric plugged it
into his computer.  As he flipped through the files on the drive, his expression
began to radiate the anger he felt. Eric stared at the data, his mind rapidly
trying to understand how such a thing could be possible.

When he first heard the news that Garrett was involved,
along with the story that Alice gave him to solicit his protection, the thought
never entered his mind that she could actually possess those files.  He
dismissed the situation entirely, because there should have been no possibility
that those files still existed. 

Eric knew, because he could remember the exact moment as if
it were yesterday. He was standing with Gabriel when he first proposed the plan
to him. Eric made it perfectly clear that there was to be no evidence of any
kind left over after the deal was completed. Gabriel had assured Eric that
absolutely none remained, even giving him proof that he deleted all the data.

Unfortunately, Eric was much younger and neglected to
realize that it would have been very easy for Gabriel to fabricate such a claim.

Anger boiled inside of him. Cold, dangerous anger that was
capable of doing anything necessary to rid himself of the baggage. Eric knew
Gabriel was corrupt when he asked him to work for EngineerCorp. That same
corruption was his most valuable asset in the questionable projects that Eric
set before him.

Gabriel had no hope of escaping, but apparently that didn't
stop him from putting everything on the line.

Either Gabriel had not paid enough attention to ensure that
all the evidence had been destroyed, or worse…he had kept the information
deliberately in order to incriminate EngineerCorp, should he ever have the
need. Both of those explanations were unacceptable. No matter what he had done
for Eric or accomplished for EngineerCorp, none of his contributions justified
such carelessness.

Gabriel was no longer an asset, but now a liability. Eric
had far more important matters than to concern himself with the negligence of
someone who had outlived his usefulness.

This ends. Now.

Grant was still standing in front of him, unmoving as if he
were made of granite. He knew Eric well enough to know when he was angry and
when that anger threatened to overtake him. Grant knew he had nothing to worry
about, but he wanted to keep the collateral damage to a minimum.  

Eric's eyes suddenly came into focus again. He looked
across the desk at Grant with a glare of such intensity that Grant almost
flinched.

He spoke icily, "Destroy all the data immediately.
There can be no opportunity for any of those files to resurface."

Eric paused for an interminable moment before adding, "And
have one of your teams escort Gabriel to the interrogation room on Level Eight.
I have something to discuss with him… I will meet you there in twenty minutes."

Grant nodded before walking briskly from the room.

***

Gabriel found himself strapped down to the same chair where
Alice had been, only weeks before. His eyes darted madly about and he was
yelling frantically, demanding for an explanation of the way he was being
treated.

When Eric entered the room, he grew silent, staring at him
awkwardly from his unmoving position.

Eric dismissed the guards that were in the room. "Wait
outside."

"Eric, what is the meaning of all of this?"

Eric's tone was frigid. "It has come to my attention
that you have lied to me, Gabriel. You know how I feel about people who are
dishonest with me."

"What are you talking about? How could I have lied to
you about anything? I can't even sneeze in this complex without you knowing
about it!"

"Think back, Gabriel. A little over ten years ago, I
came to you and asked you to agree to an arrangement, and you were only too
happy to do so.  I also asked that you destroy all evidence of that arrangement.
Today, I was made aware that you did no such thing."

Gabriel's face paled, but he was not about to give up so
easily.

"I destroyed all those files, Eric. I showed you. Don't
you remember?"

Eric stared at him with an intensity that brought beads of
sweat to Gabriel's forehead.

"Do you think I'm an idiot, Gabriel?"

"Of course not!"

"Well perhaps you can explain how I saw an entire
archive of those same files today that weren't supposed to exist."

"There must have been some kind of mistake. Why would
I keep those files when you clearly told me to get rid of them?"

"Maybe because you had other plans, Gabriel."
Eric was quiet again.

"I have only ever done what you’ve asked me to."

"Don't insult me. How did you think you were going to
get away with this?" 

After a few silent moments, Gabriel suddenly sucked in his
breath and started laughing. It was a maniacal type of laugh, one that Eric
found deeply disturbing.  Gabriel's countenance had completely changed. It was
as if something in him had fundamentally broken; the last thread that held his
fragile sanity together.

"Maybe I thought I was going to get away with it
because… I've been doing exactly that! For over a decade, I've 'gotten away
with it.' You've been so wrapped up in your little world domination scheme that
you didn't even notice. You naively assumed that I was some sort of simpering,
devoted genius, and you were wrong.

"Did you ever stop to think about what I could do to
you? You've kept me separate from your network, limiting my access to your
servers and archives, but do you think that really matters? I could destroy
you, Eric Martin.  You don't intimidate me. You're pathetic. It seems I'm the
only one that knows the truth about you."

Typical arrogant fool. Goodbye, Gabriel.

Gabriel had gone from fear to madness, instantly. Eric
stared at him with disdain. He could not say he was surprised by the turn of
events. If he had ever trusted Gabriel, he would never have isolated him in the
beginning. Eric may not have realized how far his treachery went, but he knew
the man could not be trusted.

After Gabriel finished his sad, desperate tirade, Eric
shook his head slowly.

"I was afraid you would say that, Gabriel."

The mad look briefly left Gabriel's eyes and he glanced at
Eric questioningly.  It was almost as if he never considered that Eric could go
on without him. Gabriel thought of himself as irreplaceable…but he was wrong.

"You have been helpful, but you have outlived your
usefulness. I'm not sure what you thought you would be able to accomplish here,
but it ends today. Goodbye, Gabriel."

Eric stood up stiffly and turned to leave the room. Gabriel
began yelling obscenities at him, screaming threats and accusations. 

He ignored Gabriel and exited the room. It had been too
long coming. He should have taken care of him long before now. Although he had
been pivotal in recapturing Alice, she would never be fooled again by such a
ruse. There was no longer any reason to keep him around.

He took Grant aside in the corridor outside the room and
gave him instructions.

"See to it that Gabriel is dealt with…permanently. Put
him in one of our relocation facilities. I don't need to know which one; just
make sure he never sees the light of day again."

Grant gave a curt nod and left to carry out his orders.

***

Garrett was on the road a few moments later. It was
still dark and there was very little activity in the early hour of morning.

When he was several blocks away, he pulled the car next to
the curb and killed the engine. Garrett looked down at his watch. Clicking on
the light, he saw that it was 5:50am. Even though Tobias didn't return from his
run until 6:30am, Garrett needed to get into position and make sure he had
plenty of time to deal with any surprises that should come up.

He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed down the
dimly lit street. Garrett stuck to the shadows, trying to remain as hidden as
possible.  As he approached the house, he saw that the windows were dark and
there was no sound of life inside. The front porch light was on, but he could
see no other light.

Garrett crossed a vacant lot a few houses away from Tobias',
going down behind a utility easement. He continued on the easement until he was
behind Tobias' house. There was still no sign of activity from the back of the
house.

A cluster of bushes that ran along the back of the property
provided adequate coverage for Garrett to wait. He reached into his bag and brought
out his makeshift scanner, the same one he used to scan his own house for
transmissions.  In the few days that Garrett had been waiting to hear back from
Nick, he made improvements to the scanner, including boosting the range. 

He brought out a tiny netbook and attached it to the
scanner, turning both devices on. Nick hadn't mentioned seeing any security
cameras present, but Garrett couldn’t afford to take any chances.  He would do
a full scan of the property to be sure.

After a few moments, the computer and scanner were
running.  Garrett saw no immediate transmissions, but continued to scan until
he had checked all frequency ranges.  When he got to the higher range, a large
spike appeared on the middle of the screen.

What's that? It has to be a camera. As paranoid as this
guy seems to be, he'd have surveillance out here, somewhere.

Garrett attempted to hack into the transmission, trying every
method he knew to do.

Come on, come on. I have to get through.

He could almost feel each second slipping away, getting
closer to the moment when Tobias would return…when he would have to act, or
lose his chance entirely.

When he had about four minutes to spare, Garrett broke the
signal. He opened the feed on his screen and found that there was an extensive
network of video cameras all around the property.

"Superb," Garrett muttered.

In less than three minutes, Tobias would return and start
the backup on his computer. Gabriel had to enter the house as soon as Tobias
got into the shower, finish his tasks, and exit the house, all in under fifteen
minutes.

Sweat started to break out on his forehead as he worked. He
didn't have enough time to work out a more elegant solution. Garrett would have
to record a short clip of the video feed and play it back on the cameras to
cover his entry. He only had time to record about a minute of exposure, but it
would have to suffice. Since it was such a short clip, he would have to loop it
to cover the entire time he was inside. Garrett added a timer to the loop, so
that the real video would resume playing twenty-five minutes later.

He finished his work with thirty seconds to spare.  As he
packed his things back into his bag, he heard the faint sound of footsteps
approaching in the distance. He tentatively peered out of the bushes and saw
Tobias returning from his morning jog. He crossed in front of the house and
Garrett could no longer see him. He heard a soft jingling, followed by a sharp
click, and knew that Tobias had entered his house.  A few of the lights came on
and the beams cast eerie shadows on his lawn.

6:28am. Two minutes to go…

Each second seemed like an eternity. Garrett retrieved the
lock pick from his bag, ready to use it. He had such a small window of
opportunity; the sense of urgency hung heavily over him.

Finally, it was time. He ran as quietly as he could to the
back door and started to work on the lock. He inserted the tension rod and the
pick into the lock.  In his haste, he almost dropped the pick gun twice; his
hands shook badly with the stress.  Two minutes ticked by before he was able to
open the lock. After it clicked open, Garrett slipped his tools gratefully back
into his bag and slowly turned the handle.

As the back door swung open into the kitchen, the entry
alarm let out a quick series of beeps. Garrett froze in place, heart pounding
in his chest. In the distance, he heard the hum of water running. Fortunately
for Garrett, it appeared that his bathroom was located at the front of the
house and Tobias was unable to hear the brief door chime.  Next to the door, he
saw a control panel for the alarm system.  He deftly entered the code that Nick
had given him, and was rewarded by a green light. 

Garrett slipped around the corner and found himself in the
living room.  There was an open door on the opposite side of the room, and an
adjacent hallway, leading to the rest of the house. He heard some kind of opera
music coming from the hall, and he suppressed a shudder.  It seemed out of
place and unnerving in the otherwise silent house.

This guy is a freak… Really, Mozart?

 Through the opposite doorway, he saw computer equipment
and went in that direction.

Bingo.

Tobias' office was as meticulous as the rest of his house.
Even the massive network of cables that ran from his equipment was neatly
gathered into cable organizers. Garrett couldn't help but be amazed at the man's
attention to detail. He noticed that all of the furniture and décor was
composed of geometric shapes: rigid and predictable.  It made everything seem
cold and unwelcoming, not that Garrett could feel welcome after breaking into
the man's house.

The computer system was overwhelming. Tobias had monitors
all over his desk and mounted on the wall. Each one indicated the status of
some activity he was monitoring. On the central screen, Garrett saw that his
main backup was fifteen percent complete.  On the corner of another, he saw an
icon indicating that Tobias was connected to the EngineerCorp mainframe.

The chair in front of the desk was horribly uncomfortable,
its stiff back forcing Garrett to sit rigidly straight.

Apparently, this guy's wonderful personality found its
way into his furniture, too.