Broken Protocols 1-3 Read online

  “Did that mean computer nannies as well? Daycare Dummies, Kindergarten Komputers.” She laughed. “Better not be that way. Right, Charmin?”

  “A cat computer would be good,” he murmured sleepily. “Cat Custom Chef would also work. How about a Computerized Cat Scratcher? I do need someone to take care of me when you’re not here.”

  “Ha.” She smirked. “I am not going anywhere ever again.”

  “Little do you know.”

  She sat up, pushing the pod lid up and away so she could slide her legs over the side. She stopped to look down at Charmin, now sprawled across the bed. He was seriously relaxed. “Are you feeling better now? Back to normal?”

  He lifted his head to look at her. “Still tired, but better.” And he dropped his head down.

  As long as he wasn’t screaming for food anymore, they were good. She could use some of that wonderful coffee though. She walked slowly to the door, happy when the room looked normal and the walls stayed straight. She used the bathroom then walked into the kitchen. And stopped.

  “Holy crap,” she cried out. Charmin must have heard her for he raced down the hall toward her. “What?”

  They both stared.

  The countertop had been converted to some kind of large screen, and both brothers were bent over searching through various windows that at the touch of their fingers moved and shifted, changing form and colors. Fascinated, she walked forward, her eyes on the computer windows as they rippled past. Charmin followed at her side, his gaze locked on the colors and images as they winked on and off, mesmerized.

  “What is this?”

  “A computer.” Milo looked at her. “Surely you’ve seen one of these?

  “I’ve seen many, but nothing like this.” She searched the massive countertop for something recognizable in terms of commands. There was nothing. Neither was there a keyboard. She watched pictures of offices and buildings flash by. “What are you looking for?”

  “Who, not what.” Milo answered absentmindedly. “Johan.”

  “Your friend? Why?”

  Levi snaked an arm around her waist and tugged her closer. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled in. “He’s the one Lina contacted in the lawyer’s office. It was Johan, not John.”

  She frowned. “Are you sure?”

  “Very. We watched the numbers as she coded them on her personal com device. We managed to get a recording. It was Johan.”

  She shook her head. “You guys have a feed of that room from that specific time?”

  “Milo found it.”

  Of course Milo did. She wondered what the Council would say if they knew he appeared to go wherever he wanted to electronically and retrieve any information he wanted. Nothing good, she was sure.

  “Milo is on our side, and that’s a good thing,” Levi murmured.

  “I’ll say.” She watched the screens flash by. Up on top of the screen there was some kind of counter. She didn’t understand, but it appeared to be connected to the flashes.

  Suddenly there was a beep, and a single window surfaced and started to flash.

  Levi leaned forward. “There he is.”

  *

  “Good, we found him.” He watched Milo concentrate as the windows flashed faster than the human eye could see.

  “No, we haven’t.”

  “What? What do you mean? He’s right there.” Levi tapped the picture that had shown up. “That’s his location.”

  “No. It’s the location he’s letting us see. He’s not there now. In fact, I’d probably say he set that up as a decoy.”

  Levi groaned. “Not good.” He turned away to glare around the kitchen. “What reason would he have for hiding like that? What is he afraid of? And why from me?”

  Charmin laughed. “The same reason you hide away. Because you are involved in something you want no one to know about.”

  Milo stared at him. “In which case, he’s likely the one behind all this. Maybe the one who actually supplies the pods.” He turned to his brother. “Levi, what does Johan do?”

  “Deals in trading. But I don’t know what.”

  Dani made an odd sound. He turned to look at her, but she was staring at Charmin. “Like Lawrence Blackburn. Part of the reason he was so oily was he used information like a weapon.”

  Levi stared at her. “What does Johan have to do with my ancestor?”

  “Ah,” Milo said. He turned back to the computer system. “That assumption is probably correct.”

  “What is correct?” Levi stared at the three of them. “What am I missing?”

  It was Charmin who filled it in for him. “Johan and the pod and his disappearance all make sense if he is trading …buying …selling …information.”

  “Ah hell.”

  Chapter 6

  Dani wondered what kind of mess she’d fallen into. “I don’t understand what Lina would gain by taking me to her office.”

  The two brothers shrugged. “I don’t know. Unless we weren’t supposed to get there as fast as we did? Maybe someone else was arriving and we beat them,” Levi said thoughtfully. “Milo?”

  “Already on it.” Milo’s fingers flashed so fast, Dani could hardly see what was happening. Understanding was a long ways away.

  “Ah, here it is again. I’ll let it stream longer. Should have thought to do that in the first place.”

  Before her was a recording of Lina’s office. In silence, they watched as the video continued. She couldn’t see a time stamp, but it hadn’t been more than a couple of minutes after the time she’d left with Levi when there was another pop and two men arrived.

  She gasped. They looked dangerous. Unsavory. Then again, it was a law office. They dealt with the criminal element all the time. Both men wore leather skin suits with heavy boots and chains hanging from the pockets. They were so typical-looking of the thugs from her day that she started to laugh.

  Milo shushed her. “Let’s listen.”

  The speaker replayed the conversation.

  “Where is she?” The younger of the two men asked.

  “How should I know?” said the older one. “The boss said she would be here.”

  She? Dani or Lina? And who was the boss?

  While Dani tried to figure out what the men were talking about, Lina walked into the screen. She stared at the room and spun around in a full circle. In a shocked voice, she said, “Please tell me you have her stashed somewhere.”

  Levi sucked in his breath. Dani looked up at him, watching as fury darkened his skin and tightened his features. But he never lifted his gaze from the screen. She turned her attention back to the men talking.

  “She wasn’t here when we got here. Figured you had her in your private office.” The man looked behind her. “Are you sure she didn’t go in there with you?”

  Lina glared at him, tiny beads of sweat forming on her brow. If he hadn’t been watching so closely he doubted he’d have seen them. “Of course I’m sure.” She spun around once more. “Damn it. Where could she be? There’s no way those idiot brothers could have gotten to her first.”

  “Check the log. Then you’ll know for sure.”

  She walked over to a wall just off the screen. The two men turned to watch her, but they weren’t close enough to read the log.

  “Damn. It was them.” Lina turned back to face the men. “How could they have known she was here?”

  Dani was confused. Lina knew she’d left with Levi and Milo. Why was she lying?

  “The obvious answer – she told them,” the first man said. “How else?”

  “I scanned her when she arrived,” Lina said. “She had no personal com on her.”

  “Really? How bizarre is that?” Thug One said. “Everyone has one.”

  “She must have left it behind at the Council,” Thug Two said.

  “What, so the brothers would find it and know that she’s here somehow?” Lina asked sarcastically. “That makes no sense.”

  “Well they knew, somehow.” Thug One look
ed bored.

  “Tracker,” Thug Two said. “She must have a tracker on her.”

  The three stared at each other.

  “They wouldn’t track just anyone,” said Thug One in consideration. “She must be valuable.”

  “What she is…is different,” Lina said. “We need to know in what way”

  The two men shrugged. “She can’t be that different.”

  “Oh, she is. We just don’t know much or why.”

  And the video stopped.

  Silence ensued.

  Then Milo exploded. “Idiot brothers?”

  *

  Levi grinned. Dani laughed. Welcoming a chance to lighten up after all the lies and deception. “Of course that would be the one thing out of that entire conversation that you’d remember.”

  “I remember everything,” he snapped. “I am not an idiot.”

  Levi watched Dani and Milo spar. He listened with only half an ear. His mind was consumed with what he’d heard. How did anyone know about Dani? And what did they know – or think they know?

  He’d been so careful. It had to be Johan, but what good would that knowledge do for him? He had his own troubles. Snatching Dani wasn’t going to help his case.

  And why kidnap her? Ransom? Levi had money, but not millions. As far as he understood, Johan had more money than Levi did. Johan knew about the tagging, so that was probably where the leak had come from. He’d been afraid of problems from that corner but hadn’t expected it so quickly. He’d done everything right. Dani should have been safe. She needed to be safe.

  But apparently she wasn’t even close.

  Damn.

  That Lina had been lying through her teeth was also worrisome. Was she trying to save her own skin so no one would know Dani had disappeared before the men arrived to take Dani away? Or was she playing a different, more dangerous game?

  His mind spun. “Milo, we need to track Johan’s movements. Find out who he’s associating with, who he lives with now. Details on his business pursuits. Things like that. I hate to think he’s behind all this, but we have to consider the possibility.”

  “For what purpose?” Dani asked him. “Would he have any concept of where I’ve come from really?” She lifted her shoulders slightly and dropped them. “Honestly, unless he knows the truth, and that’s too bizarre for anyone to believe, what difference would my story make to him?”

  “That’s what we have to find out.”

  Milo tapped the screen, and a picture of Lina appeared. “She’s the one who will know. We have to get this information to John and corner her. If we show her the evidence we have on her, she’ll break.” For the first time, Levi saw a mature look come over his brother’s features. “I refuse to let this bitch do this to us.”

  “I don’t know what penalties she’d face for this, but surely she’d turn on the others to save her skin.” Dani glanced over at the photo. “Women like her are always more concerned about squeaking out of trouble themselves.”

  “True enough.” Levi walked over to a blank wall and brought up his private HoloKomp system. “I’m going to get John on the line. Milo, can you package up the section of video where the two men arrive in John’s office? Cut it after where she checked the log to see if we’d managed to get there before her henchmen. We’ll show John how she’s been lying to both sides.”

  “Done,” Milo said almost absently. “I’ve also isolated the henchmen’s faces. Their tags have been shut down, so we can’t identify them that way. I’ll run a facial recognition program to identify them.”

  “Let’s show their faces to John as well. He might recognize them.”

  “Speaking of John, make sure you initiate a body scan to see his vitals. He might be a good liar, but his body will show the effects of your questioning and seeing the men’s faces. No better lie detector in the world.”

  Dani gasped. “You can do all that?”

  “And so much more. Watch and learn, sweetheart.” Levi sent a link to John. “He’ll be online in a moment.”

  Chapter 7

  Dani watched as John’s face appeared on the wall again. On the wall yet out of the wall in a very life-like 3D image.

  “What now?” John snapped. “I’m still trying to get ahold of Lina.”

  “This.” And Levi set the video screen to play show. “It’s just after Milo and I left your office.”

  In front of Dani, the two thugs appeared in Lina’s office almost magically. Another projection but large enough for John to see. She really wanted to learn to use ports. She would love to travel if it was instantaneous. She’d had some stomach reaction, but presumably it would get better over time. At least she hoped the physical reactions would calm down.

  She studied John’s face, wondering at the clarity of the image that made it seem like he was right inside the room. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask. Maybe they even had interplanetary travel. Now that would be so cool. Honestly, what she’d seen outside had scared her, but at the same time it was exciting.

  As long as she was safe inside. Though by this time she realized that she’d only seen a tiny portion of what the technology of today’s world could do.

  As the video played out in front of him, John gasped in shock, his skin turning a pasty gray. Once he spoke, he didn’t waste any unnecessary words. “That’s Paul and Tommy Defino. They’re on the run after escaping prison transport. Both are wanted for breaking and entering, armed robbery, and a host of other charges.”

  “Did you represent them? Lina? Is there any other viable reason why they’d be in your offices and communicating in this manner with your business associate?” At Levi’s cutting tone, Dani turned slightly so she could see his face.

  She had never seen this angry Levi. He stood tall and arrogant, arms crossed over his chest as he challenged John. Angry but in control. Someone had messed up and he’d know the reason why.

  He handled power well. It emanated from him in long, reaching waves. He knew what he could do and how to get what he wanted in life. There was something very attractive about that.

  She understood he ran the large company founded by him and his brother, and that had to have molded him. For the first time, she could see the businessman who’d carved a place for himself in the corporate world.

  John shook his head. “No. I won’t have that element in my company. I’ve been trying to locate Lina but so far she’s not answering her personal com, her home, or her car’s communication system. I don’t know where she’s gone.”

  Levi shot Milo a look. He grinned and shambled over to the large countertop, flexed his fingers, and got to work. Dani was torn between watching Levi verbally bat John around and racing to Milo’s side to watch him perform magic. She’d always had a love for technology but hadn’t realized her interest was this strong. And the stuff she was seeing…

  Her fascination won out, and she raced to Milo’s side. He was moving windows and clicking parts of the countertop that she couldn’t see had any buttons. She presumed he was busy tracking down the bitchy lawyer. Dani didn’t want to cause anyone else trouble – “live and let live” was her motto. But if they weren’t going to leave her alone, then all bets were off.

  Still, she wished she understood what Milo was doing.

  He pounded on the countertop, making her back up, afraid the monitor thingy would break. Instead, the huge 3D monitor opened up like a huge box rising up out of the counter. Milo went into action, sweeping windows to the side and bringing up more. His hands danced in and out of the blue-green images that flowed from the box. She recognized that Milo had some kind of facial recognition software running down on one side. He was looking for the missing lawyer. And she wanted him to find her.

  She bent over and studied the pictures as they whipped by. Now he was flicking the pictures like a movie stream and the computer was tossing in ones of males from the search for the Defino brothers she’d seen in the video. Her mind saw it before her eyes recognized it.

  She reached ou
t and stabbed a picture before it disappeared off the side of the counter. “That one.”

  “What one?” Milo dragged it down toward him and blew up the image. It was the profile of one of the men. Oddly enough, it had been the snake’s head earring she’d recognized.

  A long, low whistle slipped out of Milo’s lips. “Nice. That’s the older one, Paul. Now to source his location.”

  Once again screens went flying. Just when a headache from the flying images was starting to settle in for good, Levi turned off the video and joined them.

  He stood on the other side of Milo. “No sign of her?”

  “Not yet. We’ve found him though.” Milo reached up and tapped the image in the corner. As he did, Charmin jumped up.

  “Whoa. No cats on the monitor.”

  Charmin backed up slightly to the edge but did not jump off. He stared at the images, his whiskers vibrating.

  She didn’t know if he was planning on jumping on the flashing images or if he understood what they were looking for and could help. She didn’t want to ask, but her attention was caught as he stared at the fast-paced screen in front of him. Then his paw flashed and he dragged an image back toward him.

  “Hey, no scratching the monitor,” Milo cried.

  “I didn’t scratch it.” Charmin sniffed. “Besides, I can’t. It’s holographic.” He released the image. “I believe this is who you are looking for.” He sat back and proceeded to clean the paw he’d touched the monitor with.

  Everyone leaned over the screen. The image was too small for her to see. Levi reached over and tapped it twice. The image blew up.

  Lina.

  Milo stared at Charmin. “Wow. Like seriously good.”

  Levi snorted. “And who made him like that?”

  Milo snickered. “Good point. We’re all good.”

  “Yeah, right,” Dani said.

  “Hey, you found this guy. I didn’t.” Milo beamed at her as if she were a prized student.

  “Really?” Levi looked over at her with respect. “That’s great. Trying to find images when Milo gets going is not easy.”