Coffee (27 page)

“Hey
lady, we’re gonna be late!”

“Thank
heavens, it’s a man,” she thought. “This would
never work on a woman.” She ran to the door, took a deep
breath, and slowly opened it.

She
spoke pleasantly. “Oh, hi! I must have messed up my alarm -
I just got up. Just a few more minutes. Come on in and have a
seat.”

The
guard stepped in. His bald head shined in the overhead flood light.
“No thanks. I’ll stay here. But you better hurry.
It’s my ass if we’re not on schedule.”

“No
really, please sit ... Oh, and this.” She thought quickly,
and then switched to a more concerned expression. “I might as
well tell you I am quite upset about the man in room 121 who keeps
harassing me.” The guard couldn’t contain a small
smile, having heard the tape with a bunch of the guys only a few
minutes earlier. Etty continued, “He slipped this offensive
magazine under my door last night. It’s disgusting.”

The
guard took it reluctantly. But, when he spotted the photo on the
front, he spoke up, “Humm, Oh yes, I agree completely. I’ll
take this down to the office and make sure it gets handled.”

“Oh
no, you can’t take it - it’s my only proof when I lodge
my complaint. It’s horrible, see for yourself. Give me five
and I’ll be ready.” Etty stepped back into her bedroom
and closed the door. She re-dressed, and listened at the door to
slow page turning sounds.

She
stepped back, and yelled out, “Please, sit down, I might be a
minute with my make-up!” She ran back and listened again.
Sounds of a soft chair - Yes, he’s sitting!

Bryce
inched up for a better look. With the livingroom lights on, he
feared his red hair would stick out like a beacon, so he edged over
to the farthest window. With one eye around the corner, he saw the
guard intently studying the magazine. A dark slit appeared between
a far door and the wall. Etty was coming out. The slit widened,
and Etty’s fingers appeared. Then her leg, arm, and finally
her whole head. This was the first time Bryce had seen Harriet
Bishop. As she crouched and tiptoed along, her long black hair
draped into to her face. Although almost comical as she crouched
along, Etty appeared attractive and self-assured. The guard
continued to turn pages, eyes glued to the photos. She reached
behind his seat. Without averting her gaze from the back of his
head, she slowly slipped the cutting board into her hands. Bryce
clenched his teeth. She gripped both sides of the thick board, and
raised it above his head, until it hovered directly on target.

Her
reflection in the livingroom windows must have caught his eye. He
flipped around, just as Etty tried to slam it down. He deflected it
with his palm flipping it onto the carpet. He jumped and ran full
force at her. Etty screamed as she ran into the bedroom and slammed
the door. He wedged in his hand before it fully latched, and for a
second, the two strained as they pushed to win turf. The guard was
winning.

Bryce
shimmied back to the cut window in a frenzy. He quickly swooped an
arching gash with the glass cutter. He pulled the wire clippers out
of his bag, and hammered them on the cut line, no longer concerned
with noise. He hoisted himself up and crashed his head into the
glass plate. He shielded his face, and tried to direct the falling
pieces onto the pile of bed clothes under the window. The guard won
the pushing contest just as Bryce entered. The door slamming
against the wall as Etty let go must have obscured Bryce’s
noisy entrance.

Bryce
vaulted across the livingroom. When he rounded the corner, he saw
only a flash of black hair as Etty passed into the bathroom. The
guard was half way across the bedroom in hot pursuit. Instead of
trying again to close the door, she left it open, and the guard
followed quickly behind her. Bryce heard a loud ‘whomp!’,
and watched the guard stop, stagger back a few steps, and topple
over onto his back in front of the bed. His forehead immediately
turned red, and within seconds, Bryce could make out the shape of
the gravy grove from the cutting board.

Etty
stepped out from the bathroom, still holding the board high above
her head. “Is he out?”

“I’d
say definitely.” Bryce crouched for a closer look. “Not
dead, just asleep.”

“Good,
I guess. Whoa! That gets the adrenaline going,” she said,
still panting.

She
dropped her weapon and held out her hand. “There. Am I glad
to see you! Let’s make it official, I’m Harriet Bishop.
Call me Etty.”

Bryce
shook his head with an admiring grin. “You live up to your
reputation. I’m not sure you want to shake this though, I
managed to cut myself back there a tad.”

“Oh!
Let me wrap that.” Etty trotted back to the bathroom to look
for bandages. Although out of sight, Bryce kept watching the mental
image - beautiful face, particularly nice lips, attractive figure.
He hated to admit it at a time like this, but the way she dispensed
with the guard and confidently turned to introductions, was
downright sexy. Adding to what he already knew, this was one
amazing woman.

Etty
returned with tissue. “We’ll have to use scotch tape to
keep this on.” She dabbed the blood, then wrapped his hand
with fresh kleenex. So tell me. How many are you?”

“Just
two, Warren Sherman and myself.”

“What?
Only two? What is this? And Warren Sherman? What’s he
doing here?”

“It’s
a long story. There was nothing we could do, in fact even the two of
us are here without official sanction.”

“Are
you kidding? The world thinks I’m dead, you find out I’m
alive - kidnapped by a multi-national, corrupt, murdering,
organization, and you send one cop and a bond trader? “

Bryce
showed obvious embarrassment. “I can explain, but not now.
We have to get out of here.”

“What
did Knut have to say about all this?” Etty persisted, sternly.

Bryce
hadn’t prepared himself that she, of course, could not have
known. “I’m sorry, Etty. Knut is dead.”

Etty’s
face melted. Tears welled up. “Dead? Dead because of me?
Did Global do it?”

“We
don’t know. He died of some kind of bacterial pneumonia,
could have been a coincidence.”

“Pneumonia!
No!” She dropped her head. “No! Not Knut!”

“We
really have to go. We’re going out the window.”

“It
was Global!” Etty lost control and screamed so it echoed
loudly around the bathroom’s tile walls. ”Those
FUCKERS!!!”

Bryce
put his hand on her shoulder, but she jerked it off. With new
conviction, she wiped her eyes and glanced at the wall clock. She
continued more calmly, “We’ve got fifteen minutes to get
to the hospital. Tie him up so he can’t get away. Then let’s
go.”

Bryce shook his head, “No, we’re not going to the
hospital, we’re getting out now by climbing down from the
window and running our tails off into the darkness. Warren will
catch up later.”

Etty
stood, unmoving. “I’m the one in trouble here, this is
my show. We’re going to the hospital and you’re
escorting me as my guard. Then you’re taking a little trip up
to the executive offices of World Investment Corp to do a little job
for me.”

Bryce
backed off his authoritative tone, a bit surprised, but continued.
“I’m afraid I have to insist. We’re going. The
place is crawling with guards, and I just smashed in your front
window. Even if we run for it now, our chances are slim.”

The
guard groaned and rolled over on his side. Etty picked up the
cutting board, and bopped him again. “Get some of your rope
and tie him up. Gag him so he can’t yell. You walked into my
plan, Mr. Applegate. I had assumed an easier time with a bigger
rescue team, but you’re what I’ve got. Now it’s
my turn to not have time to tell the whole story. Hurry, you have
to change into the guard’s uniform.”

“Harriet
... “

“Think
and act.” She lowered to unbutton the guard’s uniform.

Bryce
didn’t want to waste time bickering, so he marched into the
livingroom to cut a few lengths of rope while he considered ways to
force her into following his plan. He returned with a new protest.
Etty stood over the underwear clad guard. “Etty, I can’t
pass for him anyway! We’d be doomed in the first seconds.
Not the least of which, he’s bald!” He mockingly pulled
up a tuft of his own red hair.

Etty
cocked her head and reviewed the figure on the floor. “I
wouldn’t say that. He’s a little taller, and you a
little stockier, but close enough. Especially after we use this.”
She raised a hand clenching a razor.

He
sighed heavily, and bent down to secure the guard’s hands and
feet. “I’ll go along just long enough for you to tell
me your plan.”

“Then
get going. Start foaming up your scalp. Where’s Warren?”

“He’s
here, in the hospital. But you tell me your story first.”

Etty
positioned him in front of the sink and handed him some soap.
“Lather up.”

He
reluctantly obeyed. But once complete, he stood firm with his sudsy
hairdo and demanded information. “Tell me, because I doubt I’m
going along with it.”

She
grinned at the freckley face surrounded by pink foam. “It
will cost us a few minutes. But if you insist.” She sat on
the closed toilet and began with the deceitful government ploy, the
drugging, and waking up in the prison-like cell. Each recollection
brought back the associated emotions, slowly dissolving her
confident demeanor. Then the escape attempt, and the horrible rape.
Her words flooded out, with intensity yet embarrassed helplessness.
She explained Global’s fiendish use of bacteria, the dying
girl in the lab, and the injected death globules in her body which
were only a transmission away from spilling their load. Although
her voice never faltered, tears drifted down her cheek as she
connected Knut’s death to Global’s methods. “I
can’t leave here without purging my system. I need you to set
it off, and I have to be in the hospital so my Doctor can intercept
the onslaught with high doses of anti-biotic and some special
antitoxin I am counting she can get her hands on. If she has the
stuff and we time it right, it’ll work.”

“And
if she doesn’t?”

“Global
will set off the frequency as soon as I’m gone anyway, so I
don’t have a choice. Our only hope is to control its release.
If she doesn’t have it, I’m dead either way.”

Bryce’s
anxiety thawed to compassion. He pried the razor from her fingers,
and began shaving his head in long strokes. “This gets more
unbelievable by the minute. I’m sorry for what you’ve
been through.”

Etty
sat up and wiped her eyes. She nodded slightly, thankful the
protests would end. “I can’t force you to help, but for
me, the risk is worth it.”

“I’ll
probably regret this. But then again, I’m already in over my
head. I’ll help. Let’s try to keep Warren out of it,
okay?”

Dollops
of hair-filled foam splattered on the tile. She managed a smile.
”Thank you. By the way, I said bald - not bloody.”

“Maybe
you better do it then.” He handed her the messy blade.

“If
you looked at my legs, you might not be so eager. Bend over so I
can reach.”

While
Etty shaved, Bryce inquired further. “Tell me everything you
can about how and where I set it off.” Her descriptions
unfolded skillfully, from the big picture of the complex, down to
precise details of McKinsey’s office and the security console.
“And how long between setting it off and you being free to
leave?”

“We’ll
have to ask Dr. Jenkins when we get there. I just hope she doesn’t
say three days. You may have to pull FBI rank and convince her to
set me up, though.”

“Ok
Etty - but you’ll be on your own from then on. After I set it
off, I may not be able to get back to you again.“

“I’ll
manage. So where is Warren, anyway?”

“Sleeping
off a hangover, I suspect. He provided a way in, and a diversion,
...”

The
hand held radio that lay by the unconscious guard sputtered. Etty
silently mouthed, “Hangover?”

A
man’s voice spoke, “Hey Stan, where the hell are you?”

Etty
had one side of his head to finish. Bryce remained still to avoid a
razor cut. He whispered, “I better answer it. Hand it to
me.”

“Stan?”
the radio squawked.

Etty
retrieved it from the floor. Bryce pushed the button, coughed
loudly, and spoke with a deep gravely voice. “Hi (cough)
sorry - this (cough) damn cold is going to my throat.” He
turned it off to address Etty. “Let’s hope they didn’t
spend the last few hours together!” He pushed again. “Hey,
we’re running late (cough). The chick just got out of the
shower.”

“Maybe
you ought to go in and give her a hand!” it responded.

“(cough)
Yea - I’d like to give her (cough) more than that!”
Etty frowned. Bryce shrugged.

The
radio voice continued. “Maslow’s going to be major
pissed off if you’re late. McKinsey wants an update as soon
as she gets over there.”

Speaking
privately again to Etty. “You know, this might just help us
out.” Back to the transmitter, “I’ll be running
by with her (cough) in a few minutes. I’ll drag her by her
hair if I (cough) have to.”

“Get
her to move her ass!”

Bryce
clicked it off.

Etty
continued shaving. “Not bad, Bryce. Let’s see how you
do in person.”

“I
may have to be a little rough with you out there.”

“Believe
me, you’d have to kill me to out do the real guards. ... Keep
your head down, want me to cut your ear off?” She finished up
and wiped him clean. To add shine, she rubbed in cream and buffed
it with a towel. “There. Good thing your hair was short,
your scalp’s not pure white. You look kind of ...”