Cipher (16 page)

“Yes. I didn’t feel like they were on our side at all.”

“Neither did I,” he said.

“So, what do we do now?” she asked.

“Now, we just go along with their plan,” he replied.

“What if Don Cicerone… what if… what if he asks you to…”

“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you,” he said.
“Plus, we have insurance now. We have another cipher drive. We need to put our
heads together. We need to come up with our own game plan.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Okay. Here’s what we’re going to do…”

They spoke about the details of their plan. They sat there
strategizing, thinking of all the other options. They thought about all the
different contingencies that they could come up with. Jonathan realized that
she was much smarter than she had led on. He realized that there was so much
more to her than meets the eye. And, there was a lot too look at when it came
to her appearance, that
was for certain.
But, there
was also a depth to her.
There was a depth to her that he
hadn’t found in anyone else.
Maybe he was attracted to the desperation
in her. Maybe he just wanted to help her heal her past wounds. Whatever it was,
it was strong. He felt compelled in fact, to help her. He was drawn to her like
steel to a magnet. It was undeniably strong.

Don Cicerone and his goons stepped
off the private jet in Istanbul, Turkey, just 16 hours after having gotten off
the phone with Jonathan. They quickly cleared immigration, paid for their
visiting visas, and entered the country. The three Italians were completely out
of their element. Gone was the New York City backdrop that they were so
accustomed to, only to be replaced with the uncertainty of a foreign
environment. Their gaudy thick gold chains and black tee shirts were
stereotypically tacky. But they were none the wiser and they couldn’t have
cared less. They were there for one purpose and one purpose only – for
the cipher. After years of investing his time and money into the lab for
development of the cipher, Don Cicerone was anxious to get it back into his
hands.

He was anxious to possess the power of the small device. He
couldn’t think of anything more. It kept him up at night thinking about various
ways he would use it for his own personal gain. But he knew he couldn’t do it
on his own. He knew that the cipher drive needed more than just a willing
person to insert it into a computer – it needed a skilled technician. His
motivations were for more than just the cipher drive; he was also after Dr.
Cobalt. She was the one that knew how to use the cipher drive and implement it
in ways that seldom few could dream of. But, without the cipher drive, he had
nothing. His first goal was secure the cipher drive, but the second was for Dr.
Cobalt. If he couldn’t get Dr. Cobalt, then no one would.
 

He walked through the airport terminal with his goons,
Vinnie and Tony, as they made their way towards the airport exit and into the awaiting-luxury-sedan.
He thought about Jonathan and the doctor as the car pulled away from the
airport. It was all he could think of as they were quickly whisked off towards
a hotel in Taksim Square, a central square in Istanbul. Don Cicerone picked up
his phone and quickly punched in the last number that Jonathan had called him
from.

“Kid?”

“Don Cicerone? Are you in already?” Jonathan asked.

“Yeah, we’re here.”

“Great. We only have a few hours,” Jonathan said.

“A few hours for what kid?”

“A few hours until the exchange.”

“Stop speaking in riddles, kid. What do you mean?” asked the
Don, clearly agitated by the direction the conversation was taking.

“I’ll explain when you get settled in,” Jonathan said.

“Meet us at the hotel in Taksim Square in one hour,” barked
the Italian mob boss into the cellphone.

“Okay.
Will do.”

“Oh, and kid?”

“Yeah?”

“You better not screw this up. I can’t tell you how
important that cipher drive is to me. I need to have it back in my hands, no
matter what the cost. Don’t even think you’ll do anything but help me out here.
Remember, I gave you this opportunity. No one else did. No matter what you’ve
heard about the cipher drive from anyone, it still belongs to me. Don’t be
getting any screwy ideas, do you hear me?”

“Yes, of course,” Jonathan said.

“Where’s the girl? Where’s Dr. Cobalt?”

“Here, with me,” Jonathan said. He gave an uneasy look at
Jennifer.

“Perfect. Don’t lose sight of her. Make sure she comes with
you.”

“Okay,” Jonathan said, clicking the phone shut.

He looked at Jennifer after the conversation. He realized
that there was more of a motivation to locate her than he had originally
suspected, but he didn’t want to spook her. He didn’t feel the need to upset
her more than she already was at the time. He could see it in her eyes. He
could tell just how nervous and afraid she was. He wanted to protect her and
comfort her. He wanted to be everything he could to her, but he knew there was
only so much that he could do. The cards were going to fall where they would.
Soon, time would only tell just how things would work out. He hoped and he
prayed that they would work out in their favor.

“What did he say?” Jennifer asked.

“He said to meet him in Taksim Square in an hour. They’re
checking into the hotel soon and we need to be ready to go,” Jonathan said.

“Have you talked to Agent Jenkins? Are they all set and
ready to go?” she asked.

“Yes. I just sent her a text. Everything is all set,” he
said.

“Jonathan?” she said, leaning forward to grab his hand.

“Yeah?”

“I’m scared.”

“I know. Me too. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to get
through this. I promise you. I won’t let anything bad happen to you,” he said.

“How did we get ourselves wrapped up in this situation? How
did we find ourselves in this dilemma?” she asked.

“I don’t know, but we’re in it and we’ll deal with it.
There’s nothing else we can do.
There’s no sense in worrying
yourself sick now about all of it.”

“I know,” she said, “but I can’t help it. It’s just in my
nature.”

“What are you so worried about? He’s here for the cipher
drive. He’s not going to hurt you,” Jonathan said, but he wasn’t entirely sure
if that was true.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” she said.

“Why would you say that?” Jonathan asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m the one who created it,
and I’m one of the few people in the world that can harness its true
potential.”

“You mean, the way in which Medviek is doing?” Jonathan said
in an attempt to break the ice, but the joke went over her head.

“That’s not even funny.”

“Sorry.”

Jennifer crossed her arms in front of her in the chair.
“That was a stupid thing to say. You don’t realize what this cipher drive is do
you?
”

“I mean I get it,” Jonathan said.

“Do you really though? Do you really understand the
potential of it? This is weapons-grade cryptography. With the cipher drive, I
could virtually login onto a nuclear missile silo and bypass the security code,
keys, and verbal authentications, and singlehandedly launch a missile. I could
do that from anywhere in the world,” she said.

An ominous look replaced Jonathan’s earlier smile.
“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.”

“Whoa. That’s heavy.”

“Yes, I know,” she said.

“I can see why he wants it back so badly.”

“You don’t even know the half of it.” She unfolded her arms and
looked off to the side towards the ocean. Jonathan admired her profile. He
admired her long slender neck, her raised cheekbones, and her silky blonde
hair. He admired all of her.

“It sounds bad. Now I see why he was willing to pay a
million dollars to get it back.”

“I’m surprised he only offered you only a million. It’s
worth billions, maybe more, and I’m not even exaggerating. You could brake into
any bank anywhere in the world and siphon off any amount of money. I don’t
think Medviek really understands what he has,” she said.

“No. I think that he does. I just think that he hasn’t used
it to its full potential yet. But, aside from bringing the whole world into a
complete state of chaos and destruction, he’s probably been using it very
efficiently,” Jonathan said.

“Well, it sounds like it.”

Agent Jenkins and Steiner appeared as they walked up to meet
with the pair who had been waiting for them to arrive.

“Hey guys,” they said in unison.

“Hi,” Jonathan said.

“Hey,” Jennifer said, looking down at her feet.

“Are they here? Are they in town?” Jenkins asked.

“Yes,” Jonathan said. “Now what?”

“Now it’s go time,” Steiner said.

*****

Boris Medviek stood at the stern of his superyacht with his
brother Dmitry. They watched as the ocean disappeared behind them as they
steamed just off the coast of Istanbul.

“How many hours before Sheik Abdullah gets here?” asked
Dmitry.

“Six.”

“Are we all set with the list?”

“Yes.”

“What if something goes wrong?”

“Like what?” Boris asked.

“I don’t know. What if?”

“We deal with it. What could go wrong? We have the list and
we have the cipher drive,” Boris said.

“But we don’t have the girl. The doctor is still here
somewhere,” Dmitry said.

“Now
who’s
fault is that?”

“Viktor’s of course.”

“And who decided to bring Viktor in on this?” Boris asked.

“I did,” Dmitry said. He looked off towards the sunset as
they stood at their customary positions at the railing by the stern.

“You see that bird,” Boris said, pointing to the white
seagull that was tracking the yacht closest.

“Yeah.”

“What do you think that bird is doing following this yacht
so closely?”

“I don’t know. Looking for food maybe?”

“That seagull is an opportunist,” Boris said. “It’s not just
looking for us to throw it food. That seagull, like the other seagulls nearby,
is waiting for an opportunity. Whether it’s for the fish that come up to the
water when the yacht passes over the ocean, or it’s waiting for something to
fall off this yacht, it’s hovering close by, waiting for that opportunity.”

“Okay. What’s your point?” Dmitry asked.

“You see. Unlike his fellow seagulls that are flying off to
the side and further behind, this seagull is flying almost right behind us.
It’s almost predatory. It’s more than an opportunist. It’s waiting for the
perfect moment until it can strike. Unlike Viktor, this seagull will succeed in
its life.”

“So what you’re saying is that we need more seagulls like
you?” Dmitry asked, laughing.

Boris shook his head. You don’t understand little brother.
That’s okay. I don’t expect you to understand everything. What I expect you to
do is deliver results. When you told me that the girl wouldn’t be a problem, I
trusted you. I left it in your hands because I thought that you would be
capable of taking care of this. This is the entire reason why we came here in
the first place.”

“I understand brother. Again, I’m sorry.”

“If you weren’t my brother, you would have been swimming in
the ocean with the fish by now,” Boris said. “Even if you are only my
half-brother, you are still blood.”

“I know. Thank you. I’ll make it up to you.”

“I know you will,” Boris said.

Dmitry looked off into the distance as his cell phone rang.
Boris looked at him, and Dmitry stared at the phone. “Speak of the devil,”
Dmitry said. “It’s Viktor.”

“Well. What are you waiting for? Answer it.”

Dmitry picked up the phone. “Da?” He looked at Boris. “He
wants to speak to you.”

Boris snatched the phone away from his brother. “What?” he
barked into the phone.

“I’m following them now. They’re in a taxi getting out at
Taksim Square. What do you want me to do?” asked Viktor.

“Keep following them. Don’t lose them,” Boris yelled into
the phone.

“Okay.” He clicked the phone shut and handed it back to his
brother.

“What now?”

“They’re on foot. They’re in Taksim Square,” Boris said.

“What should we do?” Dmitry asked.

“Send the message,” Boris said, holding onto the handrails
and watching as the blue ocean disappeared into the background, and watched as
the city of Istanbul came back into the horizon as they neared the docks again.

“You sure?” Dmitry asked.

“I’m sure.”

Jonathan and Jennifer entered the
hotel and sat down in the lobby. They didn’t notice Viktor nearby in the car,
watching them, but the agents tipped them off as to his presence. He had parked
just outside the lobby and tipped the valet to keep a close watch on them. He
thought he was being inconspicuous; he thought he was hidden and out of site,
ready to strike at a moment’s notice. He smiled to himself as he watched and
waited for them to reemerge.

“What do we do now?” Jennifer asked.

“Now we wait. They should be down any moment.”

“Then what?”

“Then we stick to the plan,” Jonathan said.

“Okay.” She reached over, grabbed his hand, and squeezed it
again. He could sense the nervousness in her frail grip. He could feel her cold
sweaty hands as they trembled in anticipation of what was to come.

“It’s going to be okay. I promise.” He looked at her with
nervous unease.

“I know. I trust you.”

“Do you have it with you?” he asked.

“Yes. It’s in my pocket,” she said.
Pointing
to the small bulge in her blue jeans.

“Is that really it?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me see it,” he said.

She whipped it out of her pocket and handed it to him. It
was an exact duplicate of the black USB cipher drive. Jonathan cupped it in his
hands and looked down at it. It was such a small and almost harmless looking
device. “You mean this is what it looks like. This is what they’re after?”

“Yes,” she said.

“But it looks so… so…”

“Harmless?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“I know, but it’s not. You know what this is. You know
exactly what this is.”

“How did you do it? Weren’t you afraid that they would find
out?”

“Of course. But, like I said before, it’s for security. And
there’s another one in a safety deposit box. This one isn’t the real thing.
This one is just the chipset without the cipher ingrained in it.”

“What do you mean?” Jonathan asked.

“It doesn’t have my algorithms on it. This is just the
shell, but we won’t tell them that. We’re not going to tell them that,” she
said.

“Do you want me to hang onto it?” Jonathan asked.

“Yes. You hold it. You keep it,” she said. She slipped the
slim USB drive into his front pocket, leaned forward, and gave him a quick kiss
on the lips, just as Don Cicerone and his goons reached the lobby.

“Look at what we have here,” he said, as he walked up with
his mini entourage. Jonathan remembered Vinnie from New York, but it was his
first encounter with Tony. He was shocked to find that he was even more
overweight than the Don himself.

“Hi,” Jonathan said, quickly standing up. Jennifer joined
him.

“Hey,” she said sheepishly.

“It’s good to see you here doc,” said the Don.

Jennifer looked at the ground and didn’t respond. Jonathan
was still busy observing Tony’s triple chin that seemed to be stained with some
sort of white sauce. He pointed to Tony. “You’ve got some stuff… here… on your
chin,” Jonathan said. He wasn’t sure why that was important at the time, but he
wasn’t sure how else to break the awkwardness of the moment.

“Where? Here?” Tony asked, as he tried to wipe away what was
there.

“Yeah. It’s gone,” Jonathan said.

Don Cicerone looked on with incredulity. “Hey…
yo
… who cares?” he asked.

“Sorry,” Jonathan said.

“Now. About the cipher drive,” Don Cicerone said.

“Medviek has it,” Jonathan said.

“Who?”

“Boris Medviek. The Russian
who’s
been causing all of the chaos in the news. I told you I would explain it to you
in person, and there it is,” Jonathan added.

“Where is he kid? Where is this Medviek character?”

“On a yacht. Here in port. The other side of the bridge, but
we need a plan,” Jonathan said.

“The plan is, we go in there and start blasting,” Vinnie
said.

“It’s not going to be as simple as that. This
guy
is sophisticated. He has money, guns, and the bodies to
take us all out,” Jonathan said.

“We’ll see about that,” Don Cicerone said. “What do you
think, doc? What’s your take on all of this?”

“I just want my life back,” she said. She looked down at the
ground.
It was the one man who
had made her life
miserable for years. She had sworn she would never see him again, and there she
was standing right in front of him in her own country. She was disgusted by it
all but knew there wasn’t a thing she could do. She had put her trust into
Jonathan, the agents, and the plan. If it all went south, she was dead, and
Jonathan would probably be as well.

“You’ll get it back. This is the last thing I need from
you,” Don Cicerone said.

“Here’s the plan,” Jonathan said. “There’s a car outside
this hotel. Inside of it, is a man named Viktor. He’s tried to kill us twice
before. He works for Medviek. We need Viktor to get access to Medviek.”

“So we go out there and start blasting?” Vinnie said again.
Jonathan looked at him with disgust. He had brought along a man with a single-track
mind. There was no arguing with him; he was going to start blasting at the
first opportunity he could get.

“And cause an international incident in the middle of one of
the busiest squares in the city? No. That’s not how we go about this,” Jonathan
said.

“So, what’s your bright idea kid?” Don Cicerone asked.

“We need to work together on this. Look, Medviek knows that
you’re the one who commissioned the work at Advanced Biogenics; right?”
Jonathan asked.

“No, I don’t know that. How would he know that?” Don
Cicerone asked.

“Well, he’s the one who broke in and stole the thing from
there. He must have gotten wind it was in development. How else did he know
when to go and where to strike?” Jonathan asked.

“That’s something I don’t know yet. I’m still working on
that,” Don Cicerone said. He gave Jennifer a long stern look, as if to tell her
she was far from out of the woods just yet.

“Well, that’s my take on it,” Jonathan said.

“If we need to use Viktor out there to get to Medviek,”
Vinnie said, “then, how do we do that? Do you think Medviek cares if one of his
hired hit men lives or dies?”

“No, but he will care if he thinks that we have a copy of
the cipher drive,” Jonathan said.

Jennifer gave him a long look, as if she were about to slap
him in the face. He could read her mind, but it was part of his plan; it was
the only way to get out of it scot-free.

“What do you mean?” Don Cicerone asked.

“What if I told you that we have a copy of the cipher drive,”
Jonathan said.

“I wouldn’t believe you,” Don Cicerone said.

“Well, let’s just say for all intensive purposes, that we do
have a copy.”

“Prove it,” said the thick-necked Italian mob boss.

Jonathan slipped his fingers into his pocket and produced
the tiny device from his pocket.

“Voilà!” Jonathan exclaimed.

The three Italians stood there staring at him. Don Cicerone
looked at Jonathan in the eyes as if he was going to reach over and strangle
him, take the cipher drive, and bolt.

“Where the hell did you get that kid?” Don Cicerone and his
goons started to walk towards him when Jonathan lifted up his shirt briefly to
expose the gun hidden in his waist.

“Not so fast,” Jonathan cooed silently. “Do you want to make
a scene here?” Jonathan added.

“Look at this. Kid’s got some balls don’t he?” said Tony.
“Let’s blast him right here.”

“No. Not like this,” Don Cicerone said as he reached out two
pudgy hands to stop them dead in their tracks. “Explain kid, and fast.”

“Okay. Here’s what we do. We get out there and tell Viktor
we have the cipher drive, and that
we’re also
armed.
We make him take us to Boris. Then, we improvise,”
Jonathan
said. He looked at Jennifer as if to try to make her feel more at ease, but she
was shifting her weight from one leg to the other as if she was preparing to
run for her life.

“Improvise?” asked Vinnie.

“Yeah. Improvise. You know, make stuff up as we go?”
Jonathan said with a sly grin on his face.

“This isn’t a game kid. If you had that cipher drive the
whole time, then you’re going to get a cap in that skull of yours as soon as
you’re not paying attention,” Don Cicerone said.

“No, I haven’t had it the entire time.”

Don Cicerone looked over at Jennifer. “You made more than
one? Why you sly little…”

“Hey,” Jonathan barked, “No need for any of that!”

“It’s okay, Jonathan,” Jennifer said.

“No, it’s not okay,” he yelled, catching the attention of
people walking through the expansive hotel lobby.

“Look. We do as the kid says,” Don Cicerone said.

“We’re going to listen to this little putz?” Tony asked.

“Yeah. We are.
For now.
We need to
get that other cipher drive, and I want this Medviek’s head on a platter so
let’s march,” Don Cicerone said. “Let’s go kid. Lead the way,” he added.

Jonathan led them all outside, keeping a close eye on the
Italians and the Russian hit man in the car. Viktor saw them coming and pretended
not to pay attention. It was laughable to Jonathan. They walked up to the car
and knocked on the window. Viktor looked like a deer in headlights. He rolled
down the window as Don Cicerone stood there with his two goons by his side
while Jonathan and Jennifer stood off to the side. As Don Cicerone stood at the
passenger window, the two goons got into the backseat of the car, pulled out
their guns, and pointed them at Viktor.

“I think we have ourselves a little problem,” Don Cicerone
said to Viktor.

“Problem?” asked Viktor. His eyes darted to the rearview
mirror and then to the backseat where the two thick-necked triple-chinned
Italians sat with their hands on their triggers.

“Not so fast,” Don Cicerone said as Viktor tried to reach
for his gun. He opened his suit jacket to reveal his own gun. “I think three to
one you might have a problem.”

“What do you want?” Viktor asked. “I don’t want any
trouble.”

“You’ve already got trouble,” Don Cicerone said. “Now, it
just depends on how much more trouble you’re going to get.” He smiled after he
said it and Viktor could see his the three gold crowns in his front teeth. He
knew he was in trouble.

“Please. I’m just doing my job,” Viktor said.

Don Cicerone motioned for Jonathan and Jennifer to get in
the car as he climbed in the passenger seat. “It’s going to be a tight
squeeze,” Don Cicerone said as Jennifer climbed onto Jonathan’s lap in order to
cram into the back of the dark sedan.

Don Cicerone whipped out his gun and pointed it at Viktor.
“Now drive,” he said, gritting his teeth as he said it. “Take me to Medviek
now.”

Viktor was bumbling his words. It was the first time
Jonathan and Jennifer had seen him like that. The once stone-cold killer was
now shivering in his pants. Jonathan had to smile to himself for a moment at
that thought. He had to revel in the power that the small group now held.

“I… I… I can’t,” Viktor said.

There were now four guns pointed at the Russian hit man.
Jonathan pulled his out as well. They all stared at him, waiting for the next
move.

“Pick up the phone and call him now. We have something that
he wants,” Don Cicerone said.

“You do?” Viktor asked, as if there were a bright light to
the whole situation.

“Tell him we have the cipher drive. The only other cipher drive
in existence,” Jonathan said.

Viktor picked up the phone and dialed Dmitry’s number as all
four guns moved closer to Viktor’s chest and back, as if to tell him he had
better watch his mouth on the phone.

“Put Boris on the phone,” Viktor said. There was silence for
a moment.

“Da?’ Boris said from the other end. The entire car could
hear the conversation on speakerphone.

“I have some… some news,” Viktor said.

“What is it?”

“I have the doctor… and I have the cipher drive…”

“What do you mean you have the cipher drive?” Boris said.

“I have the second cipher drive and the doctor. She wants to
speak to you in person,” Viktor said. He was fumbling his words but doing a
good enough job on the phone not to spook Boris.

“There’s another cipher drive? That’s not possible.”

“Yes,” Viktor said.

“Come to the yacht right away. We’re at the dock. Hurry up
because I have an important appointment arriving in one hour,” Boris said. He
was referring to the Sheik’s arrival via helicopter.

“Okay. I’m on my way,” Viktor said.

“Viktor?” Boris barked into the phone.

“Da?”

“What about the friend? The detective? Jonathan Grace? Where
is he?” Viktor went silent for a moment as Don Cicerone jabbed the phone into
his stomach.

“I have them… both of them…”

“Perfect. You’re not that useless after all, are you?”

“I’m leaving now. I’ll be there in 30 minutes,” Viktor said.

“Goodbye.” Boris clicked the phone shut.