chapter fiveteen
Alice thought that cleaning weapon calmed down. She weighed each element in her hand before she put it on the table. When the phone rang, she wiped her hands and looked at the screen. She received.
"Yes?"
"The girl has the disk, she will meet Adnan…"
"Good, I know how I get it back, we will meet in usual place."
"Good."
Alice touched her gun. She always waited until the caller hang up, but this time the silence was getting awkward. As if her caller checked her. English woman frowned. She didn't like it.
"Mr Honda?" She asked finally.
"It must be today. You have to make sure that the program will be connected to the network and you must kill Adnan."
Alice didn't have time to answered. Honda ended the conversation. So she muttered to herself.
"Of course."
O
Felix slept off in the tiny night-shift janitor, but he should be on the round of the building. He fell asleep with his legs slung over the table and titled his head. He removed the battery form the walkie-talkie.
He almost flew out of the chair, snatched from sleep when someone screamed.
"Felix!" Toris tugged his arm. He was close to hysteria.
"Jesus, Toris! Do not scare me like that…"
"I must tell you something important."
"It cannot wait?" Felix stretched his arms.
"We don't have much time." Toris eyes fell on the batteries. "Felix are you crazy? You removed cable from internal phone also? In case of emergency…"
"Oh stop it. What emergency. Who want to attack this building in a daylights?"
Toris grabbed his arm and squeezed.
"You even don't know how wrong you are."
He told him about Eduard. With every word a look on Felix face became more serious.
"It is not some nightmare." He thought. "And this programmer, Ravis…They were also in my flat. Everything is about this disk. God, Sophie what you will do?"
"Disk, the one you are talking." He said when Lorinatis finished. "The one disk can blow up whole Braginsky's building into the air."
"Yes, we must hurry up."
"Show it to me."
Toris hesitated for a moment, but he gave Felix a disk. Felix turned it in his fingers for a moment, staring at it intently. Suddenly he clenched his fists.
"Why do we still here?" He cried, jumping up from the chair and quickly grabbing his jacket. Come on, we don't have time."
Toris followed him to exit.
"You know, it is a very good moment to kicks Anya's ass!"
"Do you mean me?"
Felix stopped suddenly, barely avoiding a collision with a powerful figure standing in the doorway. Toris however was less lucky, he ran straight into Felix's back.
In front of tem stood Anya Braginsky.
And she was mad.
O
Sophie was sitting in an uncomfortable chair in hospital. She almost dozed. Last night she slept little, hovering near the operating table. She was waiting for a news about Daniel. Alfred joined her. He was dirty and tired, but not enough to not shouted to Sophie for insubordination.
"What the hell were you thinking when you went after that freak! We decided that if it gets only a little dangerous you will immediately withdraw!" He shouted until a young nurse said that she would have moved him out the building if he didn't stop screaming.
"I just wanted to know where they are holding Peter! Someone had to do it, I was the closest to him so…." Despite fatigue she felt anger.
"Idiot!" Alfred snapped. Nurse gave him a stern look, so he lowered his voice. "Did you even think, what could happen? When you decided to cooperate, trust the others and don't make any stupid movements, because you can hurt yourself and not only yourself…"
Sophie felt like Alfred punched her. She glanced at the operating room. Somewhere in this sterile room was Daniel. And he was there because of her.
Alfred noticed that she fell silent. All his rage subsided.
"Just don't anything on your own." He said with a calm voice, although he still felt frustration. He looked down the corridor. "Do you know where is Gilbert?"
"At the emergency room, they staple his injures." Sophie didn't looked him.
Alfred made a face.
"Damn bastard…When I get him, he will not do anything on his own."
He went to the elevator, he threw over his shoulder that Sophie should rest. Soon they told her that operation was successful, so she could go to the motel for a few hours of restless sleep. She returned to hospital in the morning to visit Daniel when he regained consciousness. So now she was sitting in the hallway. She was staring at the nurses and patients, wondering if she could ever forget this.
She saw Tina who went with absent gaze to Susana. When she called her she turned and greeted Sophie. She sat beside her.
"What's with Daniel? Alfred didn't give me details when we talked but he said that Daniel was injured."
"Yes." Sophie said and briefly told her about whole action. When she finished, both were sitting in a silence.
"So Peter is still…" Tina finally said and when Sophie nodded, Tina said staring blankly at the floor. "How will I tell this Susana, when she wakes up? If…" She covered her face with her hands.
Sophie stared at the broken figure.
"Tina, I am sorry, this is my…"
"Stop it!" Tina violently tore her hands from her face and raised her voice. Probably for the first time since Susana was in coma Tina showed some emotions. "It is not your fault. Everything will be all right. It must be!"
"Tina…"
"Stop talking, come visit Susana."
Then Sophie's cell rang. The girl frowned and reached for the phone.
"What happened?" Tina asked, when Sophie bit her lips.
"No… nothing… I have to pick up. We… we will meet in Susana's room, okay?"
Tina nodded, but she still looked at Sophie with concern.
"Sophie, everything is okay?"
"Yes, yes, I will be back soon." She threw over her shoulder, quickly disappearing around the corner, when she answered the phone.
"Hello, love." Sadik's voice sounded in her ears. "I thought you will not answer."
"Where is Peter?" She growled, carefully looking around to check if someone was watching her.
"You go straight to the case. I like it. You want me to tell you where is Peter?"
Sophie almost choked. Instinctively she nodded.
"Go to the ladies' toilet on the first floor. Under a sink cabinet with a broken lock, you will find the clue how to get Peter. I will call back in ten minutes. Just don't make me wait any longer."
Sophie rushed to the staircase, not paying attention to anyone, she ran to the first floor. She ran towards the toilet. She entered and went to the cabinet. She opened it and took a small package.
Sophie looked inside.
She dropped the bag and tried to stifle a scream. On the floor fell two human fingers.
The phone rang, she received almost immediately, without taking her eyes from a gruesome discovery.
"You are quick, bunny."
"What did you do to him?"
"Still nothing. Now listen to me carefully. If you do exactly what I say you will save the boy. You can decide if he lose more fingers. We understood each other, love?"
Sophie looked at the dirty mirror over the sink.
She knew that she must save not only Peter's life.
"Yes, we understood each other."
O
"Sophie, come here!"
She saw Gilbert who was waving to her. He stood next to Susana's room.
"Is Susana, oh God…no"
She accelerated pace and then she began to run.
"What is happening?"
"See." Gilbert pointed the glass.
Susana was half laying on the bed and looked around, barely turning her head Sophie almost collapsed. Gilbert grabbed her hand
"She woke up." She said quietly, feeling the tears flowing down her cheeks.
"Tina is with her. Now we can't go there, we shouldn't tire her."
Sophie nodded.
Through the open door came the voice of Tina, who was sitting at Susana's bed.
"Susana, do you recognize me?" She asked shakily.
Swedish looked at Tina. She frowned.
"You don't know who I am?" Tina tried again, staring at her hands. When she didn't receive a reply, she looked at Susana and smiled. "It doesn't matter. You will recall." Unwanted tear flew from her eye. She nervously wiped it. "Sorry. I am so happy, I am sorry…"
She felt Susana's hand on her face. She looked at her in surprise, no longer paying attention to tears.
"Su?"
The Swedish opened her mouth as if to say something, but there was no any sound. She tried again.
"T…" She spoke with difficulty. She breathed deeply and tried one more time. "T…"
"You want to say my name?"
Susana nodded and stubbornly repeating one sound. Tina was crying but now from relief.
She moved closer to Su and kissed her.
"Everything will be all right, you will see…" She tried to smile to showed Susana that it was truth.
O
"Let's go." Sophie said looking at Tina and Susana. "Leave them alone."
She went to the other end of the corridor, Gilbert ran after her.
"You looked depressed."
"I don't know why you have such an impression."
"I see your face. What is going on?"
"Nothing." She paused for a moment. "I am really glad that Susana woke up. I am just tired."
"So you probably don't have enough strength to see Daniel?" Gilbert smiled crookedly. "We can go for a coffee…"
Sophie stopped.
"What did you say? Daniel is consciousness?"
"Yes, for a while. I saw him. In the end I had to thank him." He added wryly.
"Why don't you tell me earlier!" She growled, turned and started running to Daniel's room.
"Hey, you can't run here." Gilbert shouted.
"And you can't scream here." Nurse gave him a stern glance.
"And I lost my chance on coffee with her…" Gilbert muttered ignoring the nurse.
O
"…Gilbert went out throwing some curses and Jones was here with a rebuke. Frankly I've never seen him so angry.."
"Daniel."
"Yes."
Sophie was sitting beside the bed. Daniel was pale, but he didn't look like a shooting victim. He was leaning against pillows and looked happy, because of her. She pressed her hand to her trousers.
"I am sorry." She said. Daniel looked at her for a moment.
"I don't understand, why do you apologize me?" He said finally. "I went there, because I wanted."
Suddenly she kissed him. Surprised he withdrew his head, after a second he kissed back.
After a long time she pulled over, got up and walked to the door.
"Sophie?" Daniel asked confused.
"I am sorry and thank you." She said not looking at him then she left.
He wanted to call her, but he knew that she would not listen. So he rose on the bed and got up groaning in pain. Legs were trembling when he made a shaky step towards the door. He held the edge of the bed.
"Just a few meters."
His eyes fell on the glass in the door. He saw Gilbert who was hugging Sophie.
Daniel fell on the floor, he didn't feel the pain nor saw the blood that stained the hospital gown. He looked at the place, where Sophie was sitting.
Then he noticed that on the cabinet beside the bed was lying the ring, taunting him, saying Semper Fidelis.
O
Gilbert was just going to go into the room and he wanted to disturb Sophie and Daniel, when the door opened and she fell out of straight at him.
"Hey! Watch out!" He growled and tried to move her away when he noticed that she was crying. "Hey, what happened?"
She wanted to go away, but he wrapped his arms around her. She stiffen but after a while she relaxed. He inhaled the scent of her hair, kept her until she calmed down. The with a regret, he pushed her away.
"And now, you will tell me what happened?" He demanded.
"Okay, but not here."
She pulled him into storage room, which some careless nurse forgot to close. There Sophie told him about the call from Sadik. Beilschmidt looked at her with horror.
"I need your help." She ended.
"Are you crazy? You must immediately go to Jones!"
"No!" She cried, but soon mastered. "I cannot tell the police. Not this time, Sadik said…"
"You want to go to him alone? Unarmed?"
"So I please you. Help me. You have contacts, you can get me a weapon…"
"I can't let you to this psycho! No way!"
Sophie felt that her last hope slowly disappeared. But too many people suffered , their faces still moved before her eyes, Daniel with bloody wound in his side, Susana with a bullet in her head and Bell the first victim of this madness. She couldn't allow for more suffer. She must do it alone.
"Can you help me or not?" She muttered.
Gilbert looked at her for a moment then he turned to the door.
"I will help, and the rest too. Don't play the heroine. Now I will go and find Jo…"
He paused when a heavy glass bottle after some cleaning liquid crashed on his head. He fell with a dull thud on the ground.
"Forgive me Gilbert." She said panting. "But I cannot let you do that,."
She fell on her knees and quickly searched him. She pulled weapon from under his shirt.
"I knew that you will have it." She muttered. She got up and went out without closing the door.
On the corridor she saw Tina. She looked at Sophie with serious eyes, when Sophie were explained her why she is in hurry."
"You go for Peter, right?" She asked without taking her eyes from Sophie.
She hesitated for a moment.
"Yes." She said slowly.
Tina nodded and clenched her fists.
"So, what are we doing?"
O
Alfred came to the emergency room just in time when nurse was dressing Gilbert's head. German was furious like a wasp.
"Damn it! That little bitch! Damn it! O! Can't you do that a little more cautiously, damn it!"
"What is happening here?" Alfred was not going to listen to the litany of curses.
"What happen? This little bit…"
"Specifics, Gilbert. Epithets and other poetic resources are no need."
Beilschmidt briefly reported his conversation with Sophie. Alfred was so excited that he didn't care about illegal weapon.
"She wants to give a disk to Sadik, but how does she want to get it? Yao will not give up easily…" Alfred looked at Gilbert, who was still hurled curses under his breath. "Phone to Wang!"
"And you can't?"
"I can't"
"Admit, you forgot your cell?"
"Shut up! Phone to Wang! And say when he see Edelstein he must arrest her. Sophie went there something like half hour ago so we still have a chance."
Jones went to exit. He turned and asked.
"Where will they meet? Did she tell you?"
Gilbert scratched his head.
"Yes, 0th district, in the hall in the building, where is the main antenna of BraginskyNet."
O
Alfred came to the Wang's office to find him sitting at the computer. Quickly he crossed the distance from the door to his desk. He saw foiled disk, which was lying beside his partner's hand. He sighed in relief.
"What happened that you burst here without knocking?" Yao said.
"Nothing." Jones smiled and headed to the exit. "Everything is in order."
"Where are you going now?"
"Sadik phoned Edelstein…"
"She decided to act on her own."
Alfred suddenly stopped and turned to Wang.
"How do you know?"
"She was here and asked for a disk. I gave her it."
Jones looked at the foiled disk lying on the desk, completely confused.
"Why? And this is what?"
Wang slowly unpacked the disk.
"There are two disks, one for Sadik, who wanted to steal Braginsky's money. I gave it to Edelstein. She came here waving her hands. I couldn't let her accidentally shot herself…" He smiled insincerely. Alfred took a step backwards, aligned to the door.
"So what is this?" He asked.
"I am not finish. You see, this second disk." He put a small memory card between two fingers and held it to the light." Belongs to Mr Honda and it will destroy the BraginskyNet company. And the meeting between Adnan and Edelstein will be it one of Braginsky building. And Braginsky and Adnan are two people who Mr Honda hates the most…"
"Honda wants to blow up not only the company building but also Sadik, now I understood."
"Wonderful, right?"
"But you have here the detonating program. You gave Sophie the safe one, so there is no possibility to run the bomb."
Wang smiled broadly and Alfred already sensed what would happen.
"The disk is in the perfect place to use it." He said and put the card into the computer port.
"No!" Alfred cried, throwing himself on a Chinaman. He pushed the computer which fell on the floor. On the overturned screen massages appeared one after another.
To the office came a few policemen who were lured by the noise. They watched like Jones held Wang's shirt and the Chinaman was laughing like a madman.
"Why?" Alfred choked a question.
"Because Honda is a future. He is strong. He will destroy everyone who hurts the city. You can't stop it."
Alfred had a feeling that he heard this words before, long, long time ago…and he saw the same madness in someones' eyes. He let go of Wang, who was quickly took by a policemen who came to office.
"I have to save Sophie. I have to save anyone."
Alarm, the highest degree! The terrorists threat! Prepare to evacuate! That was hear from the speakers.
When they were taking Yao from the office he shouted to Jones.
"Hurry up, you have a half an hour!"
O
In the empty Wang's office lying on the floor computer was still working. Repeated alarming signal from the speakers effectively turned attention away from the screen and messages which blinked rhythmically, sending to the floor long streaks of light.
"System startup operation in progress. Access to financial operations is available. Transfer of founds in progress. By the end of operation last 20 minutes.