The Remote Seduction (3 page)

“Does she or we know who this ‘Paolo’
is?” Richard asks.

“She doesn't know. We do. Our intel tells
us he’s a Yale sophomore named Josh majoring in French who has a 3.8 gpa,”
Walter replies.

Sully guffaws, finding that amusing.
 
“At least he doesn't live in his mom's
cellar and collect Star Trek action figures.”

Walter continues with his Katrina
intel.
 
“Katrina performs a handful
of white hat hacking jobs a year, all paid for in cash. What she does with the
money is still a mystery.
 
Not much
of it ends up in her bank account.”

Walter clicks on an image of The Chick
Lit Bookstore.
 
“She owns the Chick
Lit Bookstore.”

“Chiclets?
 
Like the gum?” Sully asks with a smirk.

“No. As in female literature. She only
sells books that have been written by women,” Walter replies.

“That's a bit discriminatory,” Sully
quips.

“Take it up with her, you're going to see
her now,” Richard tells Sully.

“Why?”
 
Sully asks.

Richard hands Sully a disc. “You're going
to bring her the Hacker Heaven program. I want to see how far she gets.”

“What do I tell her?”

“She believes you to be involved with
Hamilton Dynamics, tell her it's a defense program in the development stages.
Emphasize that it's top secret and a rush job,” Richard informs Sully.

*****

Inside the Chick Lit Bookstore Dorothy,
Maya and Katrina sit, relaxed, in the midst of chats and laughs.
 
Three empty wine bottles rest on the
nearby table.

Sully enters.
 
He's wearing jeans and a tee shirt and looks pretty darn
clean-cut sexy.
 
His flag pin is
attached to the tee shirt’s collar.

Maya sees Sully first.
 
Her expression brightens.
 
She’s thinking ‘hubba, hubba.’

Katrina notices the look on Maya’s
face.
 
She turns and sees
Sully.
 
Their eyes lock.
 
It's a moment for him, one Sully wasn't
anticipating.

“Hello, Miss Brice,” Sully says covering
the catch in his breath.

“Mr. Reeves, hello. The store is closed,”
Katrina responds politely.

“I’m not here for a book,” he smiles.

Maya and Dorothy share a ‘this guy is
hot’ smile.
 
They stand up.

“We were just leaving,” Dorothy says.

Maya and Dorothy give Katrina a quick
hug.

Inside the FSSU command center at the
same time…

Richard studies Maya and Dorothy on the
monitor.
 
He speaks to the tech
seated at the computer.
 
“Find out
everything you can about those two women.”

The tech lines up a facial recognition
program on Maya's and Dorothy's faces.

In the Chick Lit Bookstore…

Maya and Dorothy leave, leaving Katrina
alone with Sully.
 

Sully notes how quickly Katrina's two
friends left.
 
“Was it something I
said?” He frat boy flirts

“Of course not,” Katrina responds
seriously with not a bit of flirt.
 
She nods at the empty bottles.
 
“The wine's gone.”

Sully snickers at her dry humor.
 
He looks around the shop.
 
“So every book in here was written by a
woman?”

“That's right.
 
All titles arranged alphabetically by author.”

Sully spies the painting hanging on the
wall.

In the FSSU command center…

Richard and Walter, via the computer
monitor, see what Sully sees.
 
Richard addresses the tech seated at the computer.
 
“Check out that painting.
 
That's the icon she uses while cyber
chatting.”

The tech types away on the computer
finding out information about the painting.
 
“The painting is by Amos Cassioli.
 
The couple in the painting is Paolo and Francesca.”

Richard and Walter share a look.
 
“Francesca is the screen name she uses
when cyber chatting with Paolo,” Walter points out.

The tech shares intel on the
painting.
 
“The couple really
existed.
 
They were the inspiration
for a segment in Dante's Divine Comedy.”

Richard speaks to Sully’s spy cam.
 
“Did you hear any of that, Sully?”

Inside the Chick Lit Bookstore…

Sully approaches the painting.
 
Katrina follows.

“Francesca and Paolo,” he says cocksure
smoothly.

Katrina’s eyes widen. “You're familiar
with the painting?”

“And the story. Dante's Divine Comedy,”
he adds.

Inside the FSSU command center…

The tech relates the story to Sully.
 
“Francesca was supposed to marry
Gianciotto, who was ugly and deformed, so Gianciotto sent his handsome brother
Paolo to Francesca pretending to be Gianciotto.
 
They kept the ruse up through the wedding night, but the
next day, it was Gianciotto who got out of bed, not Paolo.
 
Francesca was furious by the deception.
She loved Paolo and Paolo loved her. When they were caught in an intimate
moment Gianciotto went to kill Paolo with his rapier but Francesca stepped in
between the brothers trying to save Paolo. She died from the stab to the heart
and then Gianciotto killed his brother.”

In the Chick Lit Bookstore…

Sully faux marvels at the painting.
 
“Such a tragic love story. The deformed
brother, Gianciotto, taking both their lives, and he was the one who instigated
the deception, sending his brother in his place to woo her.”

Katrina's eyes widen further, seriously
impressed.

Inside the FSSU command center…

Off the monitor, Richard notices the look
on Katrina's face.
 
He speaks to
Sully via his ear piece.
 
“You're
charming her, keep it up.”

Inside the Chick Lit Bookstore…

Sully looks deeply into Katrina's
eyes.
 
“I would take a rapier in
the heart for the woman I loved.”

Katrina, unable to hold off a blush
responds. “That's a romantic notion.”

“I'm a romantic at heart.
 
What about you, Miss Brice?”

Katrina steps back from Sully, a bit
rattled, this is the second time today this topic has come up.
 
She composes herself and replies, “I'm
a pragmatic at heart.”
 

“Is that why your cheeks are red?” Sully
flirts.

“They're red from the wine,” she
counters.
 
“I imagine there's a
reason why you're in my bookstore. I doubt it's to buy a book,” she adds.

“Don't be so sure.
 
Do you have any Lillian Hellman
memoirs?”
 
Sully replies.

“I do.
 
And some of her plays.”

Inside the FSSU command center…

There's a list of women writers,
including info on Lillian Hellman, on the large screen.

Richard pats the tech on the back,
clearly pleased with the Lillian Hellman intel that was just fed to Sully.

Inside the Chick Lit Bookstore…

Katrina heads for a particular
bookshelf.
 
“Lillian is over here.”

Sully stops her.
 
“In all honesty, Lillian will have to
wait.
 
There is a reason for my
visit.”

“Another hacking job?”
 
Katrina asks curiously.

“I guess you could classify it as
such.”
 
Sully hands a disc to
Katrina.
 
“This is a Hacker Heaven
program, in the development stages. It's top secret so I must ask you to not
share this with anyone.”

“What do you want me to do with it?”
Katrina asks.

“Play the game. There are ten levels. At
each level there is a security system that needs to be hacked to advance to the
next level. It has been a year and we have yet to find someone who can advance
past level eight,” Sully tells Katrina.

Katrina finds this information
compelling.
 
“Really.”

“The project has been stalled due to the
fact that we have not been able to find a qualified hacker who can master all
ten levels.
 
It would be extremely
helpful to us if you could attempt the program as soon as possible. We are
willing to pay you for your time including a bonus if you succeed,” Sully tells
her.

“I’ll play the game tonight.”

“Now about that hotdog I owe you,” Sully
smiles, following Richard’s orders to charm her.

“You can treat me when I make it through
level ten,” Katrina replies.

Sully flirts, “I hope you won't keep me
hungry.”
 
With one last smile,
which Katrina doesn’t return, he leaves the store.
 
As she watches him leave her initial reaction says it all; she
believes his flirting is superficial, not genuine.
  
But then her expression softens, he does know the
history of her beloved painting, and Lillian Hellman, so that’s something.
 

She pushes those thoughts from her mind
to focus on the Hacker Heaven program clearly excited by the challenge. She
takes a seat at her computer to connect with someone she does believe, deep in
her heart, is genuine - she types a message to Paolo.

Francesca: I'm afraid I can't do
Wuthering Heights this evening, a work project has come up.

Katrina studies the disc in her hand
while waiting for a reply.
 
She
receives a response from Paolo.

Paolo: Must be important, this will be
our first night apart in months.

Francesca:
 
The job is important but the time with you is what I value.

Paolo: ‘No distance of place or lapse of
time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each
other's worth.’

Francesca: Whose quote?

Paolo:
 
Robert Southey.
 
It speaks to me of my regard for you.

Katrina smiles and blushes as she types
in her response.

Francesca:
 
Ditto on my end.

Katrina clicks out from her cyber chat
with Paolo.
 
She sighs, releasing
just a smidgen of the pent up passion and romantic emotion that the Paolo chats
stir in her.
 
If it were possible
to be completely in love with someone even though you know nothing of them
other than what they share with you from their soul, then Katrina is definitely
head over for Paolo.

Katrina turns her attention to Hacker
Heaven.
 
She inserts the disc into
her computer.
 
The program's name
fills up the screen -
Hacker Heaven,
level one.
 
Katrina clicks into
the program.

*****

Richard is sound asleep in his
condo.
 
His cell-phone, which is on
his bedside night-stand, rings.
 
Richard awakens and answers the phone.
 
“This better be good,” he hisses into his phone.

The tech calling him responds.
 
“She made it through level ten.
 
In four hours.”

Richard beams, which for him is a smug
smirk.
 
His eyes narrow and fill
with vengeance as if he’s thinking he’s finally going to get Felix.

At the same time…

Felix swims laps in his pool at his
Gothic estate that is surrounded by rod iron fencing and a dark forest
beyond.
 
The pool area features
warm lighting, which casts a soothing, exotic, romantic vibe.

Felix’s valet Sigmund, who is European
and quite similar to Batman's Alfred, approaches.

Sigmund stands by the edge of the pool,
which catches Felix’s attention.
 
Felix stops his swimming and stands up in the pool.

“Level ten has been breached,” Sigmund
tells Felix.

“By whom?” Felix is surprised.

“Katrina Brice,” Sigmund replies.

“What do we know about her?” Felix asks.

“She likes books like you, sir.”

Felix gets out of the pool.
 
Beads of water run down his firm,
muscular body.
 
Sigmund hands him a
towel.
 
He pats his taut chest and
broad shoulders.
 
“Interesting turn
of events,” Felix comments, a half smile creeping into one corner of his soft,
bewitching lips.