Murder Inc.: A Sci-fi Thriller: Book 1 (24 page)

Tabby closed the door, fell back against the wall and closed her eyes. What the hell was going on? She felt like a criminal on the run from the police. The week had started so promising with her moving on from Scott and beginning the next stage of her life, unsure, but excited about where it might lead. Now she was at another crossroads, with no clear pathway ahead. Charlie was gone and with that, she felt a stomach full of nausea. The notion still hadn’t hit her; she would never see him again. How could she ever return to Janefield without him? Working in the shadow of his memory would be too difficult.

Tom.
She started off down the hallway and stopped. Did she trust him? A day or two ago she’d have given anything for a conversation. She used to hope he called or dropped into the office, but now, things had changed. Schoolgirl crushes were out—they were playing with life and death. He had been Charlie's good friend and that counted for a lot, but Charlie’s death and the secrecy surrounding the company screamed caution and mistrust. Tom might be the same as the others. What if he had something to do with Charlie’s death? He had been positive and helpful so far, but Tabby couldn’t yet tell if his interest was concern or something sinister. He might know about the disk, and be under instruction from Fox or Jennings to acquire it.

She hurried on down the hallway to the bathroom and wrapped on the door. It slid open and she let her shoulders fall when she saw Tom sitting on the edge of the tub.

He leapt up as she entered. “What happened?”

“Oh my
God
, that was intense,” she said. “You didn’t tell me that Charlie’s wife worked for the company? She was with him too.”

Tom made an exaggerated shrug. “I didn’t know she was going to be with him, and until tonight, I didn’t even know she worked for the company either. It shocked me too!”

They returned to the kitchen and stood at the bench. Tabby made a chamomile tea and sipped with hands that shook slightly.

“The whole thing was off,” Tabby said. “Something’s not right with them.”

“Did you act surprised? Upset?”

“I think so. They said he died of a heart attack. In the office.”

“They came all that way to tell you that?”

“No. They also wanted to know if Charlie had been saying anything negative about the company.”

“Negative?” Tom was silent. “Is that it?”

Tabitha hesitated, running a hand through her long hair. “They kept insisting I’d taken something from the office, that Charlie had given me information.”

Tom’ brow furrowed. He would ask now, and she would know that he was after the knowledge she possessed, and then the device. “Did they threaten you?”

Surprise caused her to hesitate. “No. Well, Mr. Jennings was okay, but Samantha… she argued with him.”

“Strange that Jennings wasn’t pushing you. He’s not a guy you want to argue with. I’ve seen him play hell with people’s careers.”

“I don't care really. I'm quitting on Monday morning.”

“What?”

“I can't keep working there. Not now. Not without Charlie. It wouldn’t be the same.”

“You can’t quit.”

She placed her cup on the bench and reached back to tie up her hair. “I can’t sit out at that desk with someone else inside the office.”

“Don’t do anything hasty,” Tom said. “You’ve carved out a good place for yourself. You’re highly regarded.”

“Why would I want to work for a place like that, Tom?”

“Just wait until Monday, okay? I’m sure Fox has something in mind.”

She finished tying her hair. “Fox? He doesn’t even know I exist.” Tom pressed his lips into a line, thinking.

Tabby fell silent, too. Part of her wanted to find out what really happened to Charlie, and more about what the company did, so she could expose it. But another part—the survival mechanism—wanted to run, to leave it all behind for safety in another city, or even another part of the country. But was that even possible given the things Charlie had told her?

Who did she trust? It had to be somebody. An inner voice reminded her Charlie was closest with Tom, but what about the detective from the NYPD? She hadn’t thought of him, but he was investigating Dominic Curwood’s suicide. Charlie must have known him, because he told her to let him know if anything happened. That was coincidental. Perhaps she’d let him know tomorrow. But there was Tom, who seemed to be on her side. They had forged their connection. She felt comfortable talking to him. After all, he was a close friend of Charlie’s and she’d had a crush on him for almost a year. They’d smiled and chatted countless times, and she’d taken his calls a thousand more. He was making the best sense of it all. What if he could help? She pressed her hands against her temples, groaning at the indecision. She really had no idea where to go from here. She felt sick with indecision. One thing was certain though: alone, she was useless. If she couldn’t trust Tom, who could she trust? The decision came to her suddenly, and she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Tom…”

He looked up, drawn from his own deep thoughts. “Hmm?”

“Charlie told me something before I left the office yesterday. He told me that the company wasn’t who I thought it was… that the people in it did terrible things.” She let the comment drift.

“Did he say anything else?”

“Nothing specific. Just that it wasn’t really an investment bank.”

When Tom finally spoke, it was in a low, ominous voice. “He’s right and you can't leave. It’s not as simple as saying you don’t want to work for the company.”

“Yes, I
can
.”

“Tabby, Charlie might have told you things, but I doubt it was
everything
. I can’t say too much, but this thing runs deeper than you could ever imagine.”

“How does that affect me?”

He shook his head, frustrated. “It affects all of us. If they think you know something, they'll find a way to keep you there until they decide you don’t know, or they extract it.”

“What if I just disappear?”

“Unless they’re convinced you’re clean, they'll come after you.”

“Hunt me down?”

“Tabitha, you don't know who you're dealing with.” He chuckled, and she could sense the fear in his voice. “This company is part of the government, and not just in the U.S., but all over the world. They play with lives. They change economies. They control the world in every corner of society.” He paused, choosing his words carefully. “If you knew it all, you'd be shocked and scared out of your mind.”

“What exactly do they do then? Define
terrible
?”

“I can’t say. Not… now.”

She smoothed out the ache in her forehead. “What do I do then?”

“Keep doing what you're doing.”

She sighed, thinking of that. Could she really work for the company whose morale credibility was suspect? What if they…? “Tell me one thing then. Do they hurt people in any way?” Tom looked away. “I can’t knowingly do that, Tom.”

“Just give it a bit longer. I’m telling you, if you leave now, it will create suspicion, or worse.”

“What’s
worse
?”

Tom bit his upper lip. “You have family?”

“My father lives close by.”

“You try and run, they’ll go after him.” A knot twisted Tabby’s stomach. “What about your mother?”

“She died. A long time ago.”

“How?”

“Cancer.” Tom’s expression flashed sorrow. He looked like he was going to say something more, but closed his mouth. “How do
you
keep working for them?” Tabby asked.

There was a long pause. “Charlie and I were trying to get out. We’d been working on it for some time. We had no idea what it was like when we started, and by the time we realized, we were in too deep. I reminded myself every day that what we were doing is for the good of the world, but the truth is, there is nothing morally right about it.”

“Did anybody else know you were thinking of leaving?” Tom shook his head. “Do you think that had anything to do with his death?”

“Maybe.”

“And what about now? Do you still want to get out?”

“More than ever. But I also want to find out the truth of what happened to Charlie—if they really killed him, and who did it.”

Tom had trusted her completely in revealing their plans. Tabby should reciprocate. "One more thing though, Tom, something I didn't tell you.”

“What?"

“Charlie gave me something before he made me leave the office. A small storage drive with files on it. He copied them from the servers. He said it had lots of information on there about company activities.”

“Jesus. That’s what they were after. No wonder Jennings visited so soon, and why Samantha was so aggressive. They would know files were downloaded from the server. Where is it now?”

“Hidden.”

“Okay. Have you done anything with it yet? Synced it to your computer?”

“Not yet. I was just about to.”

“
Don't.
Whatever you do, don’t sync it to any device outside the Janefield network. Powering it might activate some kind of program that sends a signal back to the servers to let them know you have it. They'll be waiting.” Tabby agreed. “Charlie put you at risk. He must have suspected something was going to happen.” He bit his fingernails, thinking. “You’re in this now. Deep in it. We’ll go in Monday morning and see what happens. Business as usual.”

Tabby nodded, wondering whether she could do it.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Jennings asked as the car door closed. “You want to find out if she has the drive or not?”

Samantha fell into her seat. “You were too soft on her. We could have gotten a con—”

“
I told you
to go easy and leave it to me. You’re lucky I let you come along at all.” Jennings finalized the destination programming on the dashboard then reached down beside the door and pressed the restraint button. The seat molded around the contour of his body, and three aluminum straps extended across the front of his torso, securing him to the chair.

Samantha slumped in the seat, sulky, staring out the window. “Did you see her face when you asked about the drive?”

“I know. I saw it too. Even if she doesn’t have it, she knows something about it.” Samantha grunted. Jennings went on. “But what if we lean on her for it and she
doesn’t
have it on her? Then we lose any chance of ever getting it back. We have to work the situation. Like the spider and the fly.”

“I can’t believe you’re not more worried.”

“I am worried, believe me. If that information gets out, we're all fucked. But I’m just considering all our options, weighing each side. This is where you get it wrong. You’re too impatient. You’ve got this idea we just rush on in there and snatch it off her. Charlie was talking to the police. What if she’s in contact with them?”

“Jesus, you sound like Fox.”

“For all Fox’s faults, there were few cleverer than him in his day.” She huffed and turned to the window. “The thing is that suddenly she is someone. I don't know who, but we need to be very careful.”

Samantha ground her teeth, flexing her jaw. Jennings could see her mind working through a response, fighting back the quick draw reaction that had tarnished her reputation. Jennings knew in the end, she might never be able to change. Some people had personality traits that undermined their potential. Finally, she said, “Let’s call Fox then.”

Jennings spoke the phrase to activate the car phone system and momentarily, Fox answered. Jennings stuck his palm up, indicating he would do the talking.

“We've spoken with Tabitha. She's obviously distraught, but claims Charlie didn't speak negatively of the company, and she doesn't know anything about the drive.”

Samantha said, “
I
think she knows
something
.” Jennings snapped his head around and glared at her. “It might not be much, but it's more than she's telling us.”

“And on what do you base that?” Fox asked.

“Her behavior, sir. Her reactions to the questions.”

Fox considered this. Samantha glanced towards Jennings, who maintained the pressed-lip expression of disappointment at her insolence. Fox was feeling the stress of the situation. They all were. And maybe this was a good thing for Jennings. Maybe Fox would make another half-witted decision that would aid his demise.

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“We could put a shadow on her,” Samantha said. “Wait until she’s out and search the place.”

“I think that’s mandatory,” Fox said. “
But only when she’s not there.
Leave it until Monday, when she’s back at work. I don’t want any mistakes that might risk her condition.”

“Understood,” Jennings said.

“What else?”

“We’ll track all her communications.”

“Not her implant,” Fox said, in a firm tone that surprised Jennings. “It’s too risky.”

“Okay, just her work communications.”

“Let’s assume she has the drive then,” Fox said. “We don’t know exactly what Charlie told her. Did he just hand her the thing and tell her to keep this in case something ever happened to him? Or did he tell her about the company’s real purpose?”

Jennings shook his head. “We don’t know. Though, her behavior wasn’t off the charts.”

“Did she seem flighty? As though she might try and run?”

“I thought she did,” Samantha said.

Jennings shot her a look. “We’ll have to disagree on that one.”

“I agree with Samantha. I think we need to keep an eye on her. But what’s the best way to do that without spooking her into running or doing something crazy with the drive?”

“Put her with Robert so he can watch her,” Samantha said.

“That’s not going to work,” Jennings said, shaking his head. Samantha was way off the mark there. This wasn’t her forte; she was in security, not strategy. They needed something more drastic. “What about putting her in a different role? A more senior position?”

Fox cleared his throat. “Make her one of the team?”

Samantha mouthed the word
what
. “Yes,” Jennings said.

“So you think making her
part
of the team will… what? Make her more inclined to give the drive up?”

“Yes.”

There was a long silence from the other end. Jennings suppressed a smile as Samantha looked away again, arms folded, overcome with uncertainty.

“I think its genius,” Fox said. “The old adage of keeping your enemies closer. If we can bring her into the folds quickly, she might also understand the
why
, and potentially hand the drive over—if she has it.”

“What if she doesn't hand it over?” Samantha asked. “What if she looks at the information and goes to the media?”

“That’s a fair question,” Fox said. “Though if she has it, she probably won’t be able to access it without purchasing the right hardware. But if she does use the thing, it will alert IT and we can plan an extraction. Though, it’s unlikely she’ll be able to view the files anyway, given we have a proprietary operating system.”

Thin lipped, Samantha glared at Jennings. “It’s a risk,” she said. “There are ways around it.”

“We run a risk on a daily basis, Samantha. We learn to live with it, and judge the risk in every context. But even if she has it, I don’t think she’ll go to the media.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Gut feel. I’ve studied all her personality profiling data. She’s not prone to rash actions. She’ll come back to work Monday and try to get on with things, while considering how to approach the situation. This might even turn into our advantage.”

“How?”

“Is she capable of performing the role, Robert?”

Jennings snapped out of thought. “Yes. I’ve read all of Charlie’s performance reviews. He always felt she had immense potential.”

Fox continued. “Don’t think it was fortuitous that she came to be working for us. I think once she knows the
why
, she'll be more comfortable with the how."

Jennings scratched his head. He thought this was the best course of action, but there was something else that unsettled him. He couldn’t put his finger on it though.

“Robert? What do you say?”

“I still think it’s the right move,” Jennings said. “I don’t think we have much else at this point.”

“Prep the change and we’ll speak to Tabitha first thing Monday. Sell the work Charlie did as so important that she can't refuse and that she’s the right person for it; she knows his accounts better than anybody. Make it enticing. She has little wealth anymore and her father is battling illness. She’ll go for it.”

“Shouldn’t we keep the pressure on?” Samantha asked. “Force her to cough up the stick? Surely that’s the safest approach.”

“Carry out the actions we discussed before. Keep an eye on her.”

“Understood,” Jennings said.

“I have to go,” said Fox. “Keep me updated if anything changes.”

The call ended. Samantha shook her head. “The old bastard has lost his marbles. And so have you.”

“Oh, and you’re twenty-five years of experience tells you this?”

“You’re siding with Fox.”

“I’m siding with the company.”

“You wanted to kill him an hour ago.”

“I still do, but this issue takes priority.”

“You’re bringing her into the secrets of the company and we don’t know if she can be trusted. I don’t care what either of you say. Bringing her in is a mistake. She’s better off dead.”

“If she plays up, or we get a sense that something isn’t right, we’ll take care of it. We’ll send her to the other sid
e
of the globe and put her on another list. We’re owed some favors.”