chapter fourteen
Crash!
Luise heard the door close, but she didn't take her eyes off the monitor, which showed one more time the case file. She tried to find connection between Honda and Adnan and between Adnan and Braginsky. Honda hated Russian and wanted to destroy her. But why did Sadik want to have detonating program too?
"This may be explain soon." She thought. An hour to meeting with Sadik. If all went according to Alfred's plan, they will solve the case. "If only everything… no it will be okay." Luise rubbed her temples.
"I am home Feliciano!" She shouted, hearing steps. When the door croaked, she said. "Could you do a coffee?"
And then she heard the trigger.
Luise jerked and turned sharply to the entrance.
In a faint light of the monitor, she could swear that she saw Feliciano, but with longer hair.
Luise opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't. Young Italian without lowering the gun, took a few nervous steps in her direction.
"Disk." A growl. Luise realized her mistake.
"You are not Feliciano." She said feeling relief. She saw now, that the intruder has feminine features and she looked older then her friend. "You are his sister, your name is Lovina, right?"
"I am here for a disk." She ignored the question. "The disk, which belonged to Mr Honda."
"I have no idea what are you talking about."
Lovina looked at German woman for a while and suddenly her hand swung and hit Luise with a pistol. Her head bounced off the side, from a corner of her lips flew blood.
"I am not an idiot! You found the memory card, which contains significant information! I want it back!"
Lusie turned her head slowly. She felt that the bruise started swelling. She looked at Italian woman.
"You perfectly know that I don't have this disk. It was taken by a police." She said, carefully watching the movements of the attacker. "Damn it! If not that fucking wheelchair." She thought.
Lovina cursed to herself, nervously looking around apartment. "Idiot! But you knew that the disk would be given to the police, but you had hope… That damn German woman. She just stand in the way of Honda and she must die."
"In that case, I am sorry for intruding. This will not happen again." She said, looking straight into those blue eyes. Finger touched the trigger.
Then Lovina was suddenly pushed. She swayed took a step to regain the balance. She turned towards the exit.
In the doorway stood her younger brother, who catching the breath, but did not let the gaze from Lovina. He was staring at his sister and Luise.
"Run!" Luise cried. She quickly recovered from the shock, but Feliciano ignored her, he rushed towards them and stood between two women.
"Feli get out of here." Lovina growled, her eyes still on Luise.
"No!"
"This is not your case!"
"And whose? Yours? Honda's?"
Lovina raised her startled gaze. Feliciano had tears in his eyes, but he looked at her hard.
"How…" Lovina began, but brother interrupted her.
"Tell me! It has long time since I suspected this, but now I am sure. You work for Honda."
"Yes, I do." She thought, suddenly straightening and aimed. "that is why I cannot fail, because they can hurt you, baby brother."
"Stand back, Feliciano." She said feeling invisible fingers gripped her neck.
"No."
"Feliciano do what she said." Luise said behind his back, mad at herself, that she couldn't do anything.
A shot rang out. Feliciano curled up and cried, the plaster from a celling sprinkled on his head.
"I am not kidding Feli." Lovina said. Although Feliciano had tears all over his face, he didn't move.
"Then…then shoot me." He stammered, in spite of tears he was looking into his sister eyes.
"Feliciano!" Luise shouted when Lovina aimed in her younger brother.
"Why?" Lovina asked. Weapon in her hands trembled.
Feliciano looked at pale from tension Luise then he straighten up and looked at his sister.
"Because I protect what I love." He said after a moment of hesitation.
On Lovina's face depicted astonishment. She laughed almost hysterically.
"What is so fun?" Luise choked.
Lovina shook her head, without ceasing to laugh, went to the door. But she stopped in the doorway.
"Because I do exactly the same." She said growing serious and disappeared behind the door.
Feliciano fell on the floor as soon as he heard the sound of locked door. Uncontrollable sobs shook him.
Luise looked at the door, she was afraid that attacker may come back. But when she saw wringing Feliciano, she came to him.
"Feliciano, are you okay?" When he didn't react, Luise shook his arm. "Feliciano! Answer me!"
Vargas looked at her with a despair in his eyes. Luise's heart ached at this sight.
Suddenly Feliciano pulled himself on his knees, he grabbed Luise by her shirt and he kissed her. This kiss showed fear, grief and sadness as well as longing from it he was looking a solace.
Luise was leaning over the railing of the wheelchair, she tried to pull up, but Feliciano held her firmly with the same stubborn power, which he helped her get on the wheelchair every day, the same power that told him to stand between Luise and his sister.
"We can't." It flew through her mind when she understood her feeling. "This is weird, abnormal. I have to finish this immediately."
She touché his face gently, but firmly tore them apart.
"What are you doing?" She croaked, holding his face in her hands. It was dirty with dust and tears. "We cannot. Don't you understand?"
She managed to see pain into his eyes, before he looked away. His lips began to tremble and new stream of tears was looking for a path on his cheeks. She felt them on her hand. This unusual moisture on her skin, shook her.
"I protect what I love." It rang in her ears.
"Do you love me? You love me, you little clumsy idiot?" She thought. "But I…"
Vargas had a courage to look at her just before Luise bent down and kissed him. In his eyes the tears were mixed with surprise and then there was a spark of joy.
"It is irrelevant." She thought when kneeling Feliciano threw his arms around her neck and she began to kiss deeper and deeper. And tiny drops dried up on her skin.
"It is irrelevant."
O
"We must tell the president."
"No, we can't the programmer …"
"Ravis."
"Yes Ravis, he told not to tell anyone."
"Felix, it about company!"
"So what?"
Toris sighed.
When Ravis came to himself Toris and Felix tried to speak with him about danger. But the Latvian was stubbornly silent. He just begged them not to tell anyone.
Toris believed that they must immediately go to their boss. Here, however Felix showed resistance, he absolutely refused to testify in this case. So Toris put up the discussion for another day and eventually returned to it after three days. But it didn't change anything, Felix still refused to talk.
"The president should know what is happening in her company." Toris said after a long silence.
"I am not going to help her in any way. Neither her nor her company."
"Even if it would depend on your career?"
Felix just shrugged. He didn't want to work for Anya, so he didn't really care.
"Why am I waiting?" Toris asked himself. "I should tell everything to Ms Braginsky long time ago."
"Why Felix? Give me one reason."
Łukasiewicz leaned to Lithuanian.
"Listen, I will do everything to harm her."
Something clattered at the door to Toris office. Both were silent for a moment. Felix continued.
"So if you want to give her information do it without me."
Later that day Toris decided to go to his old friend, Eduard von Bock. He had to relieve the conversation with Felix and a couple of drinks with an old friend could help.
He was furious on Felix but also on his own stupidity, by which he didn't go to the president. He knocked to Eduard. The door swung under his touch. Toris frowned and hesitantly entered.
"Eduard, it is me, Toris." He called. "I came…oh my God!"
Lithuanians' eyes fell on the floor. He saw body which was curled up next to the sofa. Eduard groaned, his face was swollen almost purple.
Toris approached him in a few steps.
"Eduard, what happened?"
He touched his friend, ignoring a cry of pain. He saw twisted and bloodied fingers.
"Honda." Von Bock whispered, eyes full of terror. "Toris…he wants to blow up the whole city."
"What?"
Eduard tried to seat, wincing in pain.
"Listen… Leave it." He said when Toris tried to attach his hands. " What I have to say is more important.." He sighed deeply. "I wrote a program for Honda. Let's say I wrote, but for truth not alone."
"Who…"
"It doesn't matter. What is important program can fire off…"
"Bombs."
"Yes, just plug it into the network and building of BraginskyNet disappear and with that half of the town. I am idiot, no? Greedy idiot. And everybody die, because of me."
"We must call the police."
"Police already had our disk. They get it from our old acquaintance, Sophie Edelstein."
"Sophie?" Toris frowned trying to remember the girl he last saw a decade ago."
"Sadik is chasing her and when he will get her…"
He explained Toris why Sadik wanted to get Sophie back and how he helped Adnan. But still Toris didn't understood one thing.
"Why does Sadik want to have Honda's disk."
Eduard was silent for a moment dropping his head. Finally he looked at Toris.
"There are two disks. The first to detonate the bombs for Honda and the second to break the security codes in the company financial operation. Sadik wants Braginsky's money. And I, bloody idiot gave them wrong one!
Lithuanian slowly understood his words.
"Sadik thought that the program which Sophie stole will help him to get the money…"
"And if he get it and use it everything will be lost, Honda said it to my between kicks."
In Toris' eyes appeared fear.
"How does he want to do that?" He asked.
Eduard said.
"You will not succeed, Honda." He thought when Toris left him. He looked at his broken fingers and opened the book, where a moment before was a memory card, which he gave Toris. "I made a mistake, but I will fix it."
O
Lovina went to her apartment. She wanted to rest and think about many cases. The first was, how Feliciano can leave a city without any suspicious. And the second she must explained Honda why she failed one more time.
After yesterday's incident with that German woman, she didn't want to return home. She just spent all night hanging around in bars, drinking and provoking fights. She returned just before noon and she should write a report for Honda, but still she didn't know what to write.
She entered. The living room was dark, curtains didn't let the light in. However she saw a silhouette of her boss, he was comfortably sitting in an armchair. She tried to hide surprise.
"Yesterday evening Adnan tried to take the disk." Honda threw without introduction. Lovina petrified.
"Tried?" She gasped.
"Yes, he failed just like you, but now it is irrelevant."
Kiku got up and headed to Italian woman.
"I can explained." Lovina felt sweat on her palms. "Everything can be repaired. Sadik for sure, messed up with police, so it will be easier to…"
She stopped when Honda put his hands on her shoulders."
"Lovina, listen to me, it is important. Your brother…"
"What about him?"
"He was kidnapped by Adnan."
"What!"
Lovina looked at Honda's face which was strangely deformed through the gloom, but she didn't see sympathetic.
"It is impossible. I saw him just last night." She shook her head.
"Call him to check."
Lovina pulled the cell and chose the number. She heard secretary. Feliciano always answered. Long time ago they agreed that he would do it. Always. Feeling the twinge of anxiety the elder Vargas chose the number one more time. Nothing.
"It is…it is impossible. This must be a mistake."
Suddenly she was struck by a terrible assumption. She pushed Honda away.
"It is you! You hold him as a hostage!" She shrieked. Honda straighten up and looked at her.
"You forget yourself, Lovina."
"You try to threatened me! Threatened! "
"Don't throw accusations if you don't know the facts." Kiku growled slowly sliding his hand behind his jacket, where he had a gun. He didn't know what Lovina could do, so better to be prepared.
"Where is my brother?" Vargas no longer controlled herself. She pulled a gun and aimed Japanese.
"Calm down, Lovina…" Honda began, he didn't pull his gun out yet.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know. As I said Adnan had him. He didn't want police to interfere to his case with Edelstein and also he wants us to slow down."
"Slow down?"
"Did you think that I could destroy Adnan when your brother is with him?"Kiku growled. "I take care of my employees and their families. Therefore I mobilized the people to find him. Your brother will be all right."
Lovina looked at Honda, after a moment she dropped the gun.
"Please permit my participation in the search." She said breaking the silence.
"Now, they are already looking for him. I need you here."
"I will find Adnan." She suddenly shouted turned around and exited the room, not caring that she just ignored her boss. "I will find him and kill."
Kiku stood for a moment, his hand on the weapon his gaze on the opened door and he smiled with a wide grin.