Balance (58 page)

“
She
’s
committed, take the sho
t
.
”

A few moments later, crowd
screams
erupt
from Meg’s
location
.

Rena re-establishes command,
“Michael, get the hell out of there.  Go back through the
sewers
to the tenement.  Meg
,
enter
the building
she headed for.
You’
re looking for a
K
rista
Anders
on.  Get into her apartment, grab
her co
mputer and any storage hardware
you find
,
and then
get the hell out.”

Rena drags the man back into the access to wait for Michael.

He
arrives several minutes later.

“Did anyone see you take the kill shot?” Rena asks Michael, looking at him and nodding as she asks.

Michael
winded and a little confused
,
responds, “I don’t know, maybe.  There wasn’t
much cover or time to be choosy,
h
ard to say.”

“Here, take him
with you
. 
Waters
, let Michael know when it’s clear.  There might be some activity in the area due to the public shooting.  I
want to verify there
are
n
o
loose ends and make sure
Meg gets out.
I’ll come through shortly.
”  Rena
winks as she
pushes her amenable captive at
Michael
.

After Michael leaves, Rena
,
finding
a piece of plastic in the trash
,
wraps
the micro-storage device
and
hid
es
it just inside the entrance.

“Meg.
  How are you doing?”

“Ju
st getting to her apartment now;
thirty
-ninth
floor.”

“Good.  Don’t waste any time.  As soon as they identify her
o
n the street, you may have company, especially considering the trackers that were on her at the
restaurant
.”

Rena waits
several minute
s, not wanting to interrupt her, h
oping
Mr. Black follows suit.
Alt
hough
,
based on the quiet comm
s, she
suspects
Takada might have shifted operation
al
command to her.

“Rena, I
’ve
got everything I could find.  I’m on my way out.”

“Michael, are you to
Waters
?”

“No, slower going with
my
companion
.” Michael replies
.

“
Waters
,
go get Meg now, then l
oop back around and
pick us up.  We’ll be fine.  Meg
,
go
to
the
furthest corner of the square on the
East
side, away from the crowd. 
Waters
, you get that?” Rena directing the field team like a seasoned commander.

“
Affirmative
.”

Rena turns to enter the maintenance access.

“Sir?”

“Yes Rena.”
Takada replies.

“I overheard parts of the conversation.  She was to provide codes to a client for some type of program
,
personally.  Sounded like a setup.  Is the program important?”

“Yes.”

“I thought so.  I have an idea, if
you’re interested?” Rena making
an offer Takada cannot
refuse
;
a
confident
half smile
growing
on her face.

“When you get back, you will
take control of the operation …
Rena, excellent job.”

Nearing the tenement, her confidence falters, realizing
how close
she’s
moving
to that razor sharp edge.
Takada’s growing feeling
s
for her are going to get very dangerous.  She needs to make
Michael
aware
,
there may
come a time where even his
value will not be enough.
  This knowledge
is
most troubling
,
especially
considering the
collateral
fall
out if she
get
s
Meg out safely.

While
waiting for
Waters
to pick them up, Michael and Re
na converse using sign language.  She
cryptically advis
es
him
to work in tandem
with
her
on the strategy
for extracting the program, making sure
Takada feels
they are inseparable and
of
one mind. 
Rena
expresses
concern
that Takada is starting to scare
h
er
,
for
Michael’s safety.

The team arrives at the
Bunker
three hours later, the Whitemire associate in tow. 
D
etained
in an adjoining interrogation
cell
,
witnessing the game underway
, he
proves
a helpful resource, providing what i
nformation he can on his client
.
 
Per Rena
’s
earlier instructions, he disavows any knowledge of the
function or
intent of the softw
are.
K
nowing only the timeline
and the secure server mandate, he explains that he was
to facilitate the meeting
so Ms.
Anderson
could
install the access
codes personally
.

T
he team
reconvening
in the Ready Room
,
Takada asks Rena
to layout her plan
.

Unless directly interfacing with him
, Rena is c
areful t
o avoid eye contact with Takada
,
positioning
herself next to Michael.  During her explanation,
appearing mildly distracted and in discomfort,
she intentionally leaves gaps
Michael fills in or
suggests
alternativ
e tactical,
effectively shifting ownership from solely Rena t
o
both of them, reinforcing their single-mindedness.
  She
proposes
Whitemire’s associate set
up a very private demonstration, citing continued anonymity a
condition
of the meeting. 
P
osing as Krista Anderson
,
she’
ll
attend
the meeting
,
accompanied by
the associate
. 
The client
having
never actually met
Krista Anderson
would not know the difference
. 
S
uspecting
the client intend
s
to
terminate
Anderson
,
Rena
expect
s
a dispatch in attendance
, probably a contractor
.
Once in the offices, Rena and Meg will terminate those in attendance, extract the software from the secure server, implant a sweeper virus to wipe the server clean and then blow the office to facilitate their extraction.

W
orried
the shooting in the square
may have compromised
Michael
, she
canno
t risk taking him in directly.
 
Meg
will
provide internal support
,
posing
as
a
personal assistant.
 
L
ess
threatening
then Michael
,
Meg
would not
likely
draw any suspicion
. 
Michael w
ill
provide dispatch support from outside the building,
guaranteeing their
safe
extraction.

Rena explains that without the
codes,
the software is useless.
With the
Whitemire
software,
Anderson’s
personal computer and hardware
all
secure in the Bunker
,
in time
the techs will
break
the
security protocols
.

After silent contemplation,
Takada
agrees, feeling
the
strategy
is sound.

Her
visible signs of discomfort
more pronounced, Rena
asks
Michael
to help her
return to their quarters
,
having
developed
a
severe
headache
.
 
Rena hopes
Takada will assume her and Michael would not be intimate tonight, placating his emotions for now, not knowing
she and Michael have not yet had sex.

In
private
,
Michael
enlightens
Takada and
Ms. Smith
that since the concussion,
lack of sleep tends to bring them on. 
All aspects of her plan in motion,
Rena leave
s
with Michael headed to their residence
.

Once in their
quarters, together in bed, the only place they feel they can converse
freely
in whispers, Rena
reveals
the
additional details of the park, explaining
the
software
’s
function and
the existence of the access codes
.

Rena
confirms to Michael
that she will facilitate Meg’s escape wit
h this mission, reiterating
her
expectation
that
Takada will retaliate against
him
,
likely out of frustration rather than accountability
. 
Tears in her eyes, Rena regret
s
her part in Michael’s pain, promising to do everything in her power to
keep
blame
away from him
.

Michael understands,
accept
ing
his fate. 
Pulling her body tight to his, comforting her, t
hey fall asleep holding each other.

The next day Rena
compiles
additional
information fro
m the associate, providing
them
a name and
location
of
the
client
Anderson
ha
d
been
working
. 
With
Meg and the
Immersion Team, Rena
’s
research
determine
s
the client is indeed E
lite. 
This particular
group
,
known for
grand
iose
schemes and bravado,
operates without
extensive
resources, most specifically h
is own military or intelligence;
normally utilizing high priced contractors
.