The Remote Seduction (8 page)

*****

Inside the limo…

There's a high tech computer and
surveillance system set up in the back leaving only a small section of seat
available for Katrina and Felix forcing them to sit very close to each other.

Felix looks at the surveillance images on
a monitor. “Walter, his two agents and Sullivan are only a couple of blocks
away,” Felix tells Katrina.
 

Katrina looks worried. She so does not
want to deal with them, or ever see them again.

Felix surmises what she’s thinking.
 
“We will elude them this evening but
you are going to have to face them.
 
Seeing as their plan failed, they will pursue another course of
action."

“Get me into bed was the big plan?”
 
Katrina asks trying hard to camouflage
her hurt.

“Seduction is a very successful form of
gaining cooperation,” Felix explains.

“My logical side of the brain can
understand that, but to deliberately pretend to be someone you're not…”
Katrina’s voice quivers slightly.

“All a part of the ruse, a part of the
game,” Felix says matter of factly.
 
“One of many reasons why I got out of the game.”

“There's a whole other level of it in
this case.
 
He picked someone that
I cherish with every fiber of my being to impersonate, he picked Paolo.”
 
Why she’s sharing this with this
mysterious man is beyond all logic to Katrina.
  
Her eyes well and she looks away, taking a deep breath
in order to regain her composure.
 

Katrina, in the midst of trying to focus
herself, hasn’t noticed that Felix turned his attention away from her.
 
He’s hiding his reaction from her not
wanting her to see the profound effect the Paolo comment has had on him.
 
There’s fury and pain in his eyes. He’s
not only upset that his beloved Francesca has been hurt so deeply but that
their extraordinary relationship was the inspiration for the ruse.

 
Felix regains his focused demeanor at the same time Katrina
does. “Trust me, the seduction game plan is far less harmful than the other
route they take,” Felix advises, now back on track.

“Which is?” She asks.

“Threats, torture and intimidation.
 
Which will not be done to you, they
will chose someone you love.”

“I can't believe that,” Katrina gasps.
She doesn’t want to believe that.

“Several hours ago would you have been
willing to believe that you are where you are at this very moment?”

“Point taken,” Katrina smiles
warmly.
 
A sight that is music to
Felix’s soul.

“What is it exactly that they want me to
steal from you?” Katrina wants to know.

“A remote control. The most valuable
remote in the world. It can deactivate or activate any numerical code, alarm or
security system.
 
I created it when
I was working at the FSSU.”

“The FSSU?”

“The Federal Strategic Security Unit.
It's a ghost organization.
 
They
can get away with pretty much anything they want to.”

“Why did you steal it?”

“I didn't appreciate their ‘for profit’
use of the gadget.
 
The first time
they tested it, they activated a scud missile that they sold to a militia
group.
 
The resulting blast killed
ten innocent people, four of them children under the age of six, in an
apartment building next to the bunker that they blew up.”

“Oh geeze.”
 
Katrina sighs, saddened by that news.

The limo makes a turn that causes Katrina
to lean closer into Felix.
 
The
innocent touch of their bodies sends such intense shockwaves through both of
them that they can feel each other’s energy.

Katrina shakes the sensations from her
thoughts and focuses on the conversation. “Why are you helping me if I’m
supposed to be the one who steals the remote from you?
 
She asks a bit breathlessly.

“Because I want you to steal it from me.
You impress and fascinate me.”

“You want me to steal the remote and give
it back to those bastards at the FSSU so they can kill more innocent people
because I fascinate you?”

“When I left with the remote I promised
my boss that should anyone ever make it through the ten levels of Hacker Heaven
I would give him the opportunity to retrieve the remote. I am a man of my
word.”

“Why would you offer that?”

“In all honesty I never imagined anyone
would make it through the ten levels.
 
That was an extraordinary accomplishment.
 
Over one hundred of the world’s top hackers attempted to
make it through all ten levels.
 
No
one made it.
 
Until you.
” Felix’s eyes focus on Katrina as he says ‘until you,’
which were words Francesca cyber texted to Paolo in one of their last
exchanges.
 
“Stealing the remote
back will be a similar challenge to Hacker Heaven.
 
Are you up for such a challenge?”
 
His gaze is encouraging, inviting.

“I am, but I don’t want to return the
remote to the FSSU.”

“I don’t want that either.
 
I was a master chess player in school.
The game taught me how to read my opponent and not only anticipate his next
move, but his next several moves.
 
I believe I know my ex bosses well enough to anticipate their next
several moves.”

“Is that cryptic for trust me, all will
work out?”
 
Katrina asks suspiciously,
with a bit of twinkle in her eyes.
 
A twinkle that invites Felix to gaze into her eyes.

They lock eyes again, which charges a
similar connection to the one they had in the bookstore.
 
For a very long moment they are both
lost in each other.

As their eyes are locked, Felix asks
softly and seductively, “At this very moment, what do you see Katrina?
 
What do you feel?
 
Do you feel trust?”

She does, his soul has reached her and
without words or explanation, only feeling, she knows that she indeed does and will
trust him. “Yes,” she responds, not breaking their gaze or their intense
connection.

With pure sincerity and heartfelt concern
Felix tells her, “I am deeply sorry, and troubled, that you have been used as a
pawn in this. If you have faith in what is here at this very moment, then you
will see as this match plays out that the events from this past year, starting
with my theft of the remote, will have all been serendipitous.”
 

He takes her hand in his, a simple
gesture packing in a world of intense feelings and exquisite sensations.
 
They linger in their moment, neither
one wanting to break it.
 
Time is
irrelevant to both of them as their eyes and hands stay connected.

Sigmund breaks the moment.
 
We’ll be arriving at the bookstore
shortly, sir,” he tells Felix.

“Where is the remote?” Katrina asks,
returning the attention back the match.

“That's for you to discover,” Felix
answers giving her a devilish smile.

“And how am I supposed to do that?” She
quips off of his smile.

“I've recently updated Hacker Heaven and
encoded a clue in each one of the levels. If you can put the clues together,
the location of where the remote is sequestered will be revealed to you.”
 
Felix hands a disc to Katrina.
 
“Here is the newly encoded version of
Hacker Heaven. This version is secure, they will not be able to trace it. I've
also installed a firewall, which will protect your computer from their
surveillance. I must warn you there will be risk involved in stealing back the
remote.”

“You must assume I can handle it, I don’t
think you’d put me in harms way unless you were sure of the moves.”
 

Felix squeezes her hand in response,
giving her a warm, tender, reassuring smile.

*****

The limo pulls up and idles in front of
the Chick Lit Bookstore.

Sigmund opens the door for Felix and
Katrina.
 
They both get out.
 
Felix takes Katrina's hand and kisses
it, very European princely.
 
His
lips linger on her skin sending erotic chills to ever cell in her body.
 
“It has been a pleasure, Katrina
Brice.”

Felix gets back into the limo as Katrina
enters the store.
 
Felix and
Sigmund make sure she is securely in the store before driving away.

Inside the store…

Katrina locks the door behind her.
 
She grabs her laptop and hurries
upstairs to her apartment.
 
Her
apartment is artist shabby chic in its decor, creatively stylish and inviting
like a cafe in Notting Hill.

She places the laptop on her bed.
 
As she heads to the bathroom she
disrobes.
 
She hops in the shower,
blasts the warm water, and has a good cry trying to wash most of the night off
of her.

Moments later, Katrina, dressed in
pajamas, turns off the lights and takes a seat on her bed.

She powers up her laptop.
 
Curious, she looks to see if there are
any messages from Paolo - there are none.
 
She’s both relieved and heartbroken.
 
She so desperately wants the comfort from her most treasured
and trusted relationship, but then again, since their cyber connection has been
breached, she can no longer trust that interaction, a thought that brings more
tears to her eyes.

She inserts the Hacker Heaven disc.
 
The first image reads:
For Katrina - Level One
.

*****

The next morning, two dark SUVs with
tinted windows drive down the street and park near the bookstore - just in time
to see Katrina unlocking the front door.
 
She sees the SUVs and knows she’ll have company momentarily.
 

She takes a deep breath, readying
herself.
 
She places the Open sign
in the window and then with a cup of tea in hand, takes a seat in one of the
chairs by the window and waits.
 
On
the table next to her is her opened laptop.
 
She looks determined and ready to take on the bastards.

Sully, Walter, Richard and two armed
agents enter the store.
 
Sully's a
wreck, still in the clothes from last night, scruffy face and blurry eyes.
 
Katrina doesn't move, she calmly sips
her tea.

“How did you get home?
 
Are you all right?
 
I've been worried sick about you,
Katrina.”
 
Sully says unable to
control his emotions.

“Don't you mean Francesca?” Katrina
coolly asks.

“That was so low of us, I know, but I had
no choice,” he attempts to explain, feebly.

Katrina directs her attention to
Richard.
 
“We all have
choices.
 
Isn't that right Mr.
Karn?”

“You caught us, Miss Brice,” Richard
smirks. “Bully for you.”

“I advise you all to make sure you get
your lies straight because I'm a bit more informed about the remote control
proceedings than I was last night.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” Walter
growls.

“Informed enough to wonder what would
happen if my choice was to not help you.” Katrina proffers.

“That would be a tragic choice,” Richard
responds.
 
He hands Katrina a
surveillance photo of Dorothy.
 
“Should you retrieve the remote for us, we will pay off all of your
friend's medical expenses, which to date tallies four hundred sixty three
thousand dollars and some odd change.”

“Let's say I chose not to,” Katrina baits
Richard.

“We do have the power to make it appear
as if the cancer has returned, this time proving fatal,” Richard warns.

Walter hands a photo of Maya to
Katrina.
 
“Or maybe an accident
will befall her fiancée,” Walter adds.

“I've got to admire Felix for stealing
the remote and walking out on you bastards.” Katrina quips.

This comment riles both Richard and
Walter.
 
Sully finds it curious,
how does she know about Felix.

Felix's image appears on Katrina's open
laptop. “Did I hear my name?” Felix asks in Skyping mode.

“You did.
 
Good-morning, Felix,” Katrina smiles warmly at him.
 
She instantly gains confidence,
assurance and comfort from his presence, even if his presence is just via a
computer screen.
 
Sully notices.