SECRET IDENTITY (21 page)

“The Defender brought you,” Dr. Wyche said.

“Did he bring anyone else?”

“Not as far as I know. Would that be the gentleman you’re
asking about?”

The doctor leaned over the bed and inspected Brenda’s eyes,
shining a small penlight into them.

“When you came in, The Defender mentioned you had been
caught on the periphery of an explosion. We ran some tests on you, but as far
as we can tell, you didn’t suffer any internal injuries.” The physician
straightened up. “Still, I’d like for you to stay overnight, just for observation.”

“But you said you didn’t find anything wrong with me.”

The doctor shook her head. “We didn’t find anything
internally wrong,” she repeated, “but you were knocked unconscious by the
blast, and you were out for several hours. There could be some bruising up here
that hasn’t shown up yet.” She tapped the side of her own head for emphasis.

Sighing, Brenda laid back on her pillow and silently watched
the physician check her legs and arms. The woman made a few more notations on
the computer, then closed the lid.

“Hungry?”

Brenda realized with a start that she was famished. In fact,
she was having a hard time remembering when she last ate. “Yeah.”

“It’s long past lunchtime, but I’ll have a nurse see if the
kitchen can’t send up something to tide you over until dinner. It may only be
soup and a sandwich.” Dr. Wyche slid the laptop under her arm.

“That would be great.” Brenda managed to smile in thanks. “What
about my friend?”

“What was the name again?”

“Lorne Palmer. L-O-R-N-E.”

“I’ll have a nurse check on it when I leave here,” the
doctor promised. “Meanwhile, I want you to rest, and let the nurse know if you
start to feel any pain, especially a headache or dizziness.”

Brenda kept her mouth shut to prevent herself from blurting
out about her momentary bout a minute ago. Once she reassured the physician she
would let them know, she waited for the doctor to leave. As soon as the door
closed, Brenda sat up and reached for the phone. If she couldn’t find out
anything here, she knew Luke would tell her where Lorne was, and how he was
doing.

She dialed for an outside line, but met a brick wall when
she learned she couldn’t make a long-distance call. Irritated, she hung up.
Maybe it was for the better. She didn’t know Lorne’s cell phone number, or Lee’s
or Luke’s for that matter. The cell Luke had given her was with The Defender.
And chances were their home phone number she’d called countless times when she
was growing up had been disconnected.

Phone number.

Brenda paused. She knew she wouldn’t have answered that
strange phone she’d found in her purse, except for the fact that she’d
recognized the number showing on the display screen.

Wilson Wagner.

The rigged phone had deliberately been put in her purse. She
was supposed to press the answer button so that it would blow up. She was
supposed to have died in that explosion. It had been planned that way. Just
like it had been planned for her to take the fall for the factory explosion,
and God knew how many other things she didn’t know about.

That’s why she’d made such a meteoric rise up the corporate
ladder, despite her poor job ratings. The company had singled her out for some
godforsaken reason to be their scapegoat, and Wilson was in the thick of it.

That, or someone used his phone to make the call.

She shook her head. It was all too confusing. And making
suppositions when she didn’t have any real, tangible proof wasn’t doing her any
good.

One thing was certain, though. The Defender had saved her
from being blown up, which she hoped meant he’d saved Lorne, too.

“But the people who tried to kill me don’t know I’m still
alive.” She glanced down at the phone on the bedside table. “What’s your next
move, Bren? Stay here and be a sitting duck once they find out the truth? Or
should I confront them head-on?”

Either way, the outlook didn’t appear promising. Sure, there
was always the option she could run for cover again. Hide someplace where they
couldn’t find her. Maybe take on a new name and identity, like what the Witness
Protection Program offered.
But what kind of life would that be? Would Lorne
be a part of that life? Could he?

Tears rose in her eyes as she tried to imagine life without
him. Now that they had finally breached that last obstacle keeping them apart,
when they had confessed their love to each other, and spent the night loving
each other, how could she face a future devoid of him?

Footsteps paused outside the door. Brenda waited to see if
anyone would enter, but the person left without coming in. It was then she knew
what she had to do.

The doctor had said The Defender had brought her here. That
meant that at some point he would come back to check on her. She would swear to
it. But if she waited for him to appear, she knew there was no way he would let
her go back to Dobbling Enterprises, with or without him.

Getting carefully to her feet, she walked over to the tiny
closet and peered in. The solitary hangar was empty. There were no clothes for
her to change into, and she couldn’t leave the hospital in this skimpy gown.

On top of that, Dobbling Enterprises was on the other side
of town. She had neither transportation, nor any money to pay for some.

But I do have an alternative.
Brenda smiled. “Better
yet, she’s right here in town. A local call.”

Without hesitation, she picked up the phone again and dialed
out. After two rings, a no-nonsense voice answered, “Dobbling Enterprises. How
may I direct your call?”

“Extension twenty-two-fifteen, please.”

“Please hold.”

A Brahms concerto filtered through the earpiece for all of
nine seconds before a familiar voice answered, “Media. Samra Fox.”

“Hey, Sammie! It’s Brenda.”

“Hey, Bren! What’s up, girlfriend?”

“I have a huge favor I need to ask of you.”

“Shoot. I’m bored out of my mind at the moment.”

“Well, first of all, do you still have that key to my
apartment?”

“Yes. Do you need it back?”

“No. I need you to go over to my place and get me a change
of clothes, and bring them over to Ocean City General Hospital.”

There was a second’s pause. “Oh, shit, Bren! Ocean General?
What happened?”

“I’ll tell you when you get here. Promise,” Brenda told her.
“Just grab me a pair of jeans and a shirt, and come get me as soon as you can.
I’m in room 303.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” her friend said, and hung
up.

Brenda put the receiver back on the cradle, feeling a bit sick
to her stomach. She had no idea what she would say to Wilson Wagner when she
confronted him, but these near accidents had to stop. And they had to stop now.

Furthermore, she had to find out why she was being framed.
She only wished she could speak to Lorne and know he was all right, and tell
him what she planned to do, even though he would try to talk her out of it. She
could see no other alternative than to have a face-to-face with Wagner.

It was the only option that gave her any hope for a future.

Chapter 28

Call

Lorne entered the basement through the vertical backyard
tunnel that Luke had opened for him. Once he flew in and landed, both brothers
hugged in silence for several long seconds.

“God, that was too fucking close,” Luke confessed, backing away.
He gave Lorne a good once-over. “You’re still shaken.”

“You damn right I am. If I hadn’t smelled that unguindene
when I did, Brenda and I would have died in that explosion.”

“Is that what tipped you off? The smell?”

“Yeah.” Lorne frowned. “Why? Isn’t that why you yelled?”

Luke went back to his chair in front of his control panel
and monitors. “I yelled because through you I heard the telltale sizzle of a
doctored connection. Whoever had put the unguinedene in the phone and rigged it
to blow once she answered the incoming call was good, but he was also sloppy,
or not an expert in electronics.”

He gave his brother a cautious look.

“You really need to learn to listen for that sort of thing
yourself.”

Lorne chuckled. “Yes, Dad. I’ll make it part of my next
training regime.”

“How’s Lee?”

“He’s fine. Luckily he was far enough away from the cabin
when the phone blew.” He grimaced. “Wish I could say the same for the car. I
had to drop it and Lee off at the auto body shop. He should be here shortly
with the rental. What’s the latest on Brenda?”

Luke pressed a few keys, and a monitor lit up with her
hospital records.

Lorne watched as his older brother hacked effortlessly into
the system. Of all of Luke’s abilities, this one amazed him the most. No
computer was safe around Luke. Not even the governments’.

“As far as they can tell, she suffered no internal injuries.”

“Thank God,” Lorne breathed aloud.

“She’s under the care of a Dr. Wyche, who has authorized an
overnight stay for observation.”

“Were you able to trace the source of the phone call?”

“No.” Luke swiveled around to look up at him. “But I know
there was a moment when you caught a glimpse of the number on the display
screen. It’s still freshly buried in your mind, Lo. Can you recall it? Because
of the natural block we siblings have, I can’t go in and get it myself, but I
can help you bookmark it once you bring it to the front.”

Closing his eyes, Lorne let his mind go blank as his
thoughts went back to that fraction of a second at the beach house. Taking
slow, deep breaths, he sensed Luke watching from the sidelines as the memories
flowed back.

“This isn’t my phone.”

She flipped open the lid to where a greenish number
glowed on the black display.

He concentrated as he tried to focus in on the tiny hyphenated
numbers. Slowly, he started to make them out as Luke fine-tuned them.

“Area code eight seven three…”

“That’s Ocean City,” Luke noted.

They were interrupted by the sound of Lee coming down the
stairs rather noisily. “Boy, if you think Lo’s driving is scary, try being in a
car when he’s flying you a few thousand feet above the ground!”

“Lee, for a covert operator, you make more noise than a
sold-out rock concert,” Luke growled.

Lorne started to add his two cents when a familiar jangle
caught their attention. All three men froze at the distant sound. It was Lee
who finally commented, “Someone’s calling on the house phone upstairs.”

Reaching over his console, Luke flipped a switch. “Hello?”

“Lee?” It sounded like Brenda’s voice.

“This is Luke. Brenda? How are you feeling?” Luke asked,
giving his brothers a curious glance and a mental message.
I sense something’s
up.

“How’s Lorne? Is he there with you?”

Lorne started to answer when he felt Luke place a damper on
him. He glared at his brother, even though he knew Luke wouldn’t do that to him
unless he had a damn good reason.

“Yeah. He’s home, but he’s upstairs sleeping.”

“Oh, thank God!”

Her relief was evident over the crappy connection.

“Yeah, he told us all about the fake phone and the
explosion, and about how The Defender flew in to take you two out of the cabin
before the blast.”

There was a pause. “I’m so sorry about that, Luke. Did it do
much damage?”

Don’t tell her,
Lorne ordered his brother.

Luke nodded.

“Brenda, we’ve got a shitty connection. Can I call you back?
What’s your room number?”

“I’m not at the hospital,” she told him.

“What? They released you already?”

“No. I’m AWOL. A friend of mine came and brought me some
clothes. We’re heading over to Dobbling Enterprises now.”

Lorne scribbled the rest of the numbers onto Luke’s doodling
pad and shoved them at his brother.

Luke grabbed the pad and did an immediate search.

“Why would you go against medical advice? Isn’t it too soon
to go back to work?” Luke asked, trying to keep her on the line as long as possible.

“I’m not going back to work there. Never ever again. No, I’m
calling to let you know what I plan to do in case something happens to me.”

The hairs on the back of Lorne’s neck stood up. At the same
instant, their answer appeared upon the monitor.

Dobbling Enterprises. Wagner, W.

The phone call to trigger the explosion had come from
Wagner’s office at Dobbling!
Lorne told his brother.
He called her
directly from his office?

Why not?
Luke countered
. She was not expected to
survive. There would have been no way to trace the call after the phone
disintegrated.

“Luke, right before the blast, right before I tried to answer
the phone, I saw the number on the display. I recognized it. It was the direct
line to my boss, Wilson Wagner,” Brenda told them, coincidentally.

“Oh, God, Bren! Don’t tell me you’re going to try and
confront this guy on your own!”

Lorne was already stepping away from the console and
preparing to race back to Ocean City.

“I have to, Luke! I have to find out what’s going on. That’s
why I’m calling you!”

“Brenda, no!”

“Please tell Lorne when he wakes up that I love him with all
my heart.”

“Brenda, stop! This is insane! There’s no telling what that
man will do!”

“I have to,” she insisted. “If I don’t try to get this all
out into the open, he’s either going to keep trying to have me killed, or it’s
going to force me into going into hiding for the rest of my life, and I’m
damned if he’s going to succeed!”

“But why do you have to face him alone? That’s nuts! Wait a
bit, and we’ll come join you. That way you’ll have us to back you up, just in
case.”