Protocol 1337 Page 4

  “Trap is set, now we wait.” I say.

  “How long do you think it will take, Haus?” Reese locks his eye's on mine. I can tell he isn’t a man used to waiting.

  “Shouldn't take more than a few days, and my program will be tracking emails, instant messages, and incoming VOIP calls. The longer it runs, the more effective it becomes. The more pc's it infects the better the data mine will be. If we are lucky, it will find its way into phones, laptops, and home pc's.”

  “I will leave you to your work, agent. Your ID has been updated to give you access to CCC along with your room in the medical wing. I expect some results by the end of the week.” Reese spins around and walks out of the room. He walks like a man on a mission, someone who doesn’t know the meaning of relaxing.

  “We should head back to the medical wing and get some more physical therapy done. We need you to be walking soon. The sooner the better.” Eve says.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Feel The Burn

  Back in the medical wing, I am splashing around like a drunken dolphin. Eve is never too far away; she says its for my own good in case I cramp up. I think there is a little more to it than that. She hasn’t brought up our kiss since it happened, and I can tell she is being distant from me. The logic of a woman has always seemed alien to me. They over analyze-everything, and cling to this idea of remaining friends. I can personally say, for every woman who has told me they still wanted to be friends, not a single one of them have remained so.

  “Eve, what was your childhood like?” I ask as I float on my back.

  “Talking about the past is frowned upon here,” says Eve.

  “Oh come on, you've had your hands on my Johnson. I think we are past the one-liners, besides I am not just gonna float here in silence.” I watch Eve's face blush out of the corner of my eye.

  “My dad died when I was 14, and my mom, well, she doesn’t give a damn about me,” says Eve.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, I didn’t mean to scratch old wounds.” I say.

  “No it's okay, I have had a long time to deal with it. The only time it really bothers me is on my birthday. It was my 14th birthday... My friends and I were sitting in the living room exchanging the latest gossip. I heard the phone ring, and I saw mom answer the phone. I watched her from behind the French doors as she listened to the person on the other end. She froze, then the phone fell from her hand, and smashed into the floor. She fell to the ground, and started screaming.”

  I lifted myself up in the water and swam over to Eve. She had positioned her back against the pool in the shallow end and was leaning back on her heels. I could see the tears well up in her eyes. I reached forward and embraced her in a firm hug. Her face buried into my shoulder, and I let her head rest a few inches away from my ear.

  “When the police came to pick us up, they took us down to the morgue. Mom tried to leave me behind, she told me to stay put in my seat. I crept in behind her, and I saw my father's body lying on a steel table. His clothes were soaked in blood, and I couldn’t recognize his face. The tattoo on his forearm was all we needed to see.”

  I gestured to Eve to follow me, and I held her hand tightly. I stood up and started to walk in the water. The water became shallower shifting more weight onto my legs, and I kept walking with her hand in mine. Soon, there was no water left and we still kept walking. I lead Eve over to a small room beside the pool, and we both sat down on the bench. I held her close against my chest.

  “When the accident happened, he was crushed immediately. He was running late as usual; just like him to focus so much on his job. I know he wanted to be there but he was so dedicated to his job. He was sitting inside his truck talking on the phone with his boss giving him the final updates on the project. That’s when the crane cable snapped. It was carrying a load of steel I-beams to the upper levels of the job site. When the paramedics arrived, the other workers had removed the steel from around his truck. They found him, cell phone in one hand, and a 3 foot white teddy bear in the other. There was a note attached to his dash that read “Eve, 3 PM, don’t forget the bear!”

  I placed my index finger under Eve's soft chin, and lifted her head up to meet mine. I stared directly into her eyes, then I leaned forward for a kiss. A wise man once told me, passionate kisses are like spider webs. They both lead to the undoing of flies.

  Eve stands up and begins putting her clothes back on. I sit up and do the same. I want to stay here and relax, I don’t want to get up. I want this moment to last a little longer, maybe if I talk some more she will stay a bit.

  “You know you're not alone... My life hasn’t been perfect either. I never knew my dad, he ditched my mom before I was born. All my mom ever said is the war messed him up real bad. Mom did her best to raise me, and I did my best to make her life hell. As an adult, I can look back and realize he must have meant a lot to her. She never moved on, I guess she just decided that she gave it everything she had and that was just all she had left.”

  “Are you trying to make me feel better?” Eve says.

  “No, I am trying to relate with you. I mean losing your dad is bad, but at least you knew him.” I say.

  “Oh, so that’s your game, huh? You don’t know me asshole! You don’t understand where I come from! I have lost everything in my life! After dad died, I lost my mom too! She joined the god damn army and ignored me. It was all about getting ahead, making ends meet. Then came the missions. After that I was just the problem she dropped off at school. As for you... Here you are pretending to give a damn so you can get down my pants! Well, mission successful, and do the world a favor, jump in the pool and drown yourself!”

  Eve storms out of the room leaving me behind. Just like me to open my mouth when it's not really a good idea. I really wasn’t expecting that, but I guess I have to make do. I drag myself to my feet and lean on the hand rails. Thank god there are hand rails on every wall. I stumble a few times and fall back down onto the concrete. I think about paging Eve, but the thought of her cutting my throat and letting me bleed out advises me out of this option.

  It was easy to walk when I was pumped full of testosterone. Not so much now. I find this to be a royal pain in the butt. I drag myself along the wall and flop down to the floor at regular intervals. It takes me over 30 minutes to drag my sorry body from the pool to the central desk. A few feet from the desk, I can see Eve staring at her computer screen pretending to ignore me. She is safe behind her bullet proof glass enclosure. Her silence is broken by a phone call. I can't actually hear the phone ring, but I see her pick up the receiver.

  I never noticed it before, but her scrubs are perfectly matched. Even down here, she hasn’t lost her sense of style. Isn’t it amazing how quick things change? 40 minutes ago she trusted me and now she hates me. I know what I have to do. I have to get out of the medical wing, and there is only one way to do so. I have to walk, and it has to be now. If I ever want a chance with Eve, I need to distance myself for a while.

  I concentrate all of my strength and force myself up with the hand rail. I balance myself and begin to walk forward. Baby steps I tell myself, one foot after another, arms outstretched to help my balance. Left foot one, right foot two, left foot three, right foot four. I am now directly in front of Eve's desk and pause for a moment to gain additional balance. Eve stares at me. Left foot five, right foot six, left foot seven. My legs burst into flames, and the pain becomes intense. I feel myself losing control, trying to force them to hold up a little longer, right foot floor.

  I collapse into a heap on the floor. Eve scrambles from behind her desk and is by my side in a few moments. Not exactly what I had in mind. I was hoping for a more successful walk.

  “Hold still, I will get a wheelchair,” says Eve.

  “Don’t bother, I don’t need a wheelchair, and I don’t need any help. I can handle myself just fine.” I say. I grab the hand rail and scoot myself along the carpet. After a few feet, I bring myself to my feet and begin to slowly walk down the hall grasping the hand rai
l.

  “Can I at least walk with you?” Eve says.

  “I think you said enough back there. I am on my own, go back to your desk, I have this under control. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you; I will let you know if I need a catheter.” I jerk my arm away from Eve, and creep down the hallway towards my room.

  “I’m sorry, I over reacted, it's my fault. I was just pushing the blame onto you when it wasn’t your fault.” Eve says.

  “Understatement of the year right there! I don’t know what you hoped to prove back there. You made your point perfectly clear, and it's that I am not welcome.” I say.

  Eve defiantly places her arm under my shoulder and helps me walk back to my room. I refuse to look at her, and I want her to feel pain. I want her to know that the words she said hurt me. A little guilt trip might just do her some good.

  We arrive back at my room, and Eve guides me gently onto the bed. I swing my feet up and cross my arms behind my head on the pillow. Eve stares at me like she wants to say something. I shoot Eve an angry scowl then close my eyes. After a few moments, she quietly leaves the room. I doze off to sleep while memories of the early events flash across my mind.

  My eyes open, and I glance around the still darkened room. It's four in the morning, and I can't seem to force myself back to sleep. Since I am awake, I might as well make the best of it. I don’t need Eve to help me get strong, I can do it just fine by myself. I just need a way to train my muscles. Then I remember years ago during an awkward teenage day, I ordered a guide to building muscles from a magazine. At the time, it promised to triple my muscle size in a few days. I later learned what was called calisthenics. I could get myself back into shape without machines, weights, or even the pool. I could use my own muscle resistance to achieve a full body workout.

  I scooted myself out of bed and began with short walks around the room until my muscles began to burn. Then I would rest on the floor with my chest down and proceed to lift myself up in a half push up position. I would hold it until my muscles started to shake and I fell back to the floor. Then I would lie on my back, and try to lift myself into a sit-up. I would hold it about halfway until my abs felt like branding irons. When my major muscle groups couldn’t take anymore, I would just simply flex and relax odd muscles.

  “Haus, are you awake?” Eve's voice echoes over the intercom.

  “I’m sorry your party could not be reached, the number associated with this account is no longer in service.” I sarcastically call back.

  I continue to do my training, and as much as it hurts, I have to keep going. I am starting to get hungry and am really regretting blowing Eve off like that. Another hour passes by, and the hunger is starting to take over. I begin to shake uncontrollably, my blood sugar has been used up, and my body is attacking fat cells for energy. Unfortunately, for once in my life I don’t have a lot of those to go around. I need food, lots of it, and very soon. I break down and call for Eve.

  “Eve, I need something to eat! I don’t care what, just something.” I say. A few moments pass, and I hear no response. I am pretty confident that she is just busy doing something at the moment. Almost an hour passes and I am getting really desperate.

  “EVE! I’m starving here, need food now woman!” I scream.

  “Your opinion has been noted, and upon review, has been directly ignored.” Eve's normally soft voice has been replaced by a sadistic evil voice. OK, I think she officially hates me now. Note to self, next time be a little more tactful when dealing with a slightly unstable female.

  My door opens and in walks director Reese. He walks over to me and hands me a tray filled with food. Chicken noodle soup, crackers, bananas, grapefruit, a muffin, and corn a multivitamin, some jello, and a chocolate chip cookie.

  “I don’t know what you did to piss her off, but this should take care of you in the time being. Also, here is a laptop since you decided to hole yourself up in here. You're still expected to work. In the meantime, I suggest you don’t bite the hand that feeds you.” Reese gives me a wink and walks out of the room.

  I shoveled the food down my throat as fast as I could swallow. It was surprisingly filling, and my energy quickly came back to me. I powered up the laptop, loaded up some workout music, and continued my strength training. The hours flew by quickly. At around noon, I stopped to check the status of my tracking software. Just as I expected, it was spreading quickly around the office and I even managed to snag a few phones along the way. I loaded up the data lists into my database; a few more days and I should have enough data to start processing it.

  “When was the last time you spoke to him?” Reese asks.

  “Been a few weeks, hasn’t asked for anything, but I have been leaving food for him while he is sleeping.” Eve replies.

  “You really should cut him some slack Eve. Remember how you first felt when you came here? You were no angel, and more than a few times I almost canceled your contract. Had I not promised your father I would take care of you, you wouldn’t even be alive right now.”

  “You never stop reminding me Reese! I am grateful for what you have done for me. The truth is he is the only person who will make him get better...”

  “If you have a problem with me, I would appreciate if you say it to my face rather than talk behind my back?” Reese and Eve stare at me dumbfounded. I am standing behind them, laptop under my arm, and fully dressed for work.

  “Well, speak of the devil! You look good my boy, and if I am not mistaken, you have gained a few pounds?” Reese slaps me on the shoulder.

  “I found something that you might be interested in director. It's not anything solid as of yet, but it holds some promise. Something I would like to discuss with you in private. I wouldn’t want information to fall into the wrong hands.” I reply.

  “Of course my boy! Follow me. Eve, agent Haus has finished his rehab and is being transferred to tech wing. On second thought, Eve, Haus will need to stay one more night. I don’t have time today to get his room ready so we will have to wait until tomorrow. I do have time to hear what you have found. So let's make it fast, Haus, I have to get going in about 15 minutes.”

  Reese walks quickly toward the elevator, and I glance behind me at Eve. Her eyes are welling up in tears and looks as if she has seen a ghost. Her smokey blue eyes stare out at me. I can't seem to break her gaze and walk right into the wall. I play it off in front of Reese as if it's just a lingering effect of not walking for so long. I told him I was just getting used to my sea legs.

  “Edith, do not leave this floor, close the door, and initiate an off the record conversation protocol for 15 minutes.”

  “As you wish Director Reese, audio and visual will be encoded. A file has been created in your personal files. What do you wish to call this event?” Edith announces.

  “Personal conversation with new recruit agent Haus, dated today, authorized access Director Reese only.”

  “Event created, protocol will initiate in five seconds Director Reese.” Edith says.

  “OK agent you can speak your mind, anything said here stays with me personally. So give me some good news.” Reese says.

  “Like I said before Sir, it's nothing that solid, just some anomalies in the email system. The first thing I looked for were email addresses that have been logged into within the last six months. Then, I filtered it even more and removed any email address that has never forwarded an email. I still got plenty of results, so I tweaked it a bit more. I removed all addresses that have fewer than 25 contacts. Only three addresses came up, two were fantasy football leagues, but the last one stuck out. I reviewed all messages sent from this address. The content of the messages is mostly random crap, but that wasn’t what held my attention. It was the frequency. Emails sent every 13 days, not once deviating, regardless of holidays or weekends. The kicker of it all is the emails weren’t always sent from the office, but from phone, and home PC.” I explain.

  “Interesting.... What do you think is happening here? Hunches don’t count in this in
dustry Haus, results do. It isn’t a game of he said, she said, either you got them red handed or you don’t. I can't unleash a fire storm unless it's signed and dated by the offender. So if you are asking me to go out on a limb, based upon a fantasy football league theory, you are seriously delusional.” Reese explains.

  “It's more than just that Sir why would someone use three different computers to communicate with someone? Especially every 13 days? Unless you wanted your communication to seem normal from the outside but really there was a lot more going on? I am currently tracing each IP address. I suspect the sender is using some kind of encryption.” I say.

  “Well, I hear your point, but you have to see things from my perspective. Unless you have a smoking gun, I can't put my reputation on the line for analytics. I wish I had more time today, but my 15 minutes are up, and we are about to be recorded. We will discuss this later. For now, exit the elevator and go back to your room. I have things to do.”

  I exit the elevator and head back to my room. I walk past the central desk. Eve was not there, and I thought for a moment to head to the break room for some food, but I decide against it. I’m not really hungry anyways. Food doesn’t sound that appealing to me, the only thing I can think of is Eve. Her eyes are still haunting me as I walk down the hallway. Always followed by her image, I glance back hoping to see her, but find myself alone in an empty hallway.