The Paranoid Thief (23 page)

A day after Jill left him on the street,
Randolph located The School House Coffee Cup, across the street from her old
high school, with but a simple search program any six-year-old could use. For
the first few weeks after traveling to Fresno, located in what was the middle
of old California before it had been gutted by large corporations, Randolph had
shown up in the teenager-riddled coffee shop, dressed in a low-level business
suit for the area, and quietly sat in a street-side table reading a hard copy
of the local news while he sipped on a medium-sized decaf cappuccino.

Thus far the local paper, which Randolph
deftly used as a shield against video cameras and direct eye contact with the
high-spirited kids, had revealed no outcome to Jill’s mad dash down a one-way
street in
Harcuss
. And although the news videos were
of the same useless information regarding her flight, Randolph wondered how much
longer he could give Jill before moving on. Although no videos of her capture
had appeared as yet, lack of news in no way proved she’d escaped. It was quite
possible the FBFC was withholding such information in the hopes she could be
broken and learn of his whereabouts. Though Randolph hated such thoughts, he
had to face the hard truth; given time, drugs will break the hardest of men,
which meant he’d been coming to the coffee shop for far too long. With a heavy
heart, Randolph finished off his cooling drink and set the cup down with a
sigh.
It’s
best I moved on,
he firmly told
himself.
For Jill’s sake, I’ll forget
about Mr. Hilden for the time being and contact the senator for a target he’d
like information on so he’ll proceed on Jill’s military case.

Randolph folded the paper as he stood, kept
his face turned down and away from the video cameras as he paid for lunch in
hard credits and strolled out of the quaint little place for the last time.
Breathing in the cold air, Randolph shrugged his jacket tighter about his
shoulders to ward off the chill and hopefully stave off his emotions, which
were threatening to override his good judgment. Unable to stop himself,
Randolph paused at the entrance of the shop, whispered a gentle, “Farewell
Jill,” then stepped out into the moving crowd and headed for his apartment.

With a feeling of remorse, as if he left
apart of himself in the coffee shop, Randolph walked the block and a half
battling an inner argument when he was startled by an arm sliding around his
own and Jill’s lovely voice playing patty cake with his heart.

“Hello, sweetie, I nearly missed you with
that beard and shades.”

Randolph seized his startled emotions, and
settled instead for an un-noteworthy turn of his head to plant a kiss to her
forehead, before he whispered, with a tremor in his voice, “And I’ve really
missed you too.”

“Is that for a fact?” Jill smiled up at him
as her eye shifted.

“Yes, Jill, I’m afraid you have me hooked,”
he assured her with moisture blurring his eyes.

Jill hugged his arm even tighter as they
walked like any other couple in love and confessed after they stepped into an
elevator, “I’ve waited a very long time to hear someone say that to me. Even
so, can you truly say the words instead of hinting around them?”

“As I’ve never said the L-word to anyone
other than my mother, it might take me some time.” Randolph smiled, leading her
off the elevator and down the hall in his apartment building. Jill lowered her
face and became quiet as he opened the door. With a motion for her to precede
him, Randolph made sure the door was closed and locked before he spun her
around and pulled her into his arms, allowing her to see the passion blazing
within his eyes before he confessed to her and to
himself
,
“I love you, Jill, both of you!”
Then took her lips hungrily.

What they did to each other for the next two
hours would never make any record books, but Randolph did believe their love
making was somehow that much more enriching, now that he’d admitted openly how
he felt about her.
The both of them,
he amended.

Reluctantly Randolph surfaced for air and
caught his breath when he heard her stomach complain of emptiness. With a smile
at Jill’s girlish giggle, Randolph ordered a simple pizza for delivery and
entangled himself in her arms a few more minutes before he pulled out to
install himself in a cumbersome robe in forced readiness for the door bell to
ring.

Once settled at the kitchen table in
separate chairs, enjoying the cheese pizza while they sipped elegant wine meant
for special occasions, Jill’s harder self filled Randolph in on her adventures
between bites and sips, finishing with, “And as far as I know, I was able to
clear the city without killing anybody.”

“I’m very proud of you, Jill.” Randolph
smiled happily.

“Please, Randolph, could you use the word
love in place of my name now and again? It means so much to hear someone
finally say it and mean it. That is, if you’re feelings apply to me as well.”

Randolph gave her a light smile. “I’ll do
my best, and yes, love, I’ve fallen for you both.”

Randolph motioned Jill to follow him to the
couch with glass in hand and settled her on his lap. Without the need of any
prodding, Jill did as motioned but once settled on his lap, she asked, “I’m far
to keyed up in emotions to settle down as yet, so why don’t you clue me in on
what I did wrong?”

Embracing Jill, knowing she was wondering
in how she gave the two of them away, Randolph shifted her weight a bit more
comfortably on his lap and explained. “You did nothing wrong at all—that trap
was set for me, but not me personally.” When Jill looked in his eyes with
puzzlement, Randolph continued, “What they were doing is probably a prelude to
a new system designed to catch system hackers. I imagine they were testing it
at the school, using the kids in the computer course to ferret out bugs in the
programming. You see, there really wasn’t anything wrong with the drives, the
worm I ran across only showed up because I was hacking, and as all hackers do
when confronted with a worm, I tried to work around it, and in doing so, I
found the built-in signature leading me to believe someone at the college
designed it. Thus when your other self showed up asking about it, they couldn’t
believe they caught someone.”

“You mean someone like her,” she said with
a snort.

“Well, yeah, but regardless, they fed you
the pre-discussed story, I’m assuming, and followed you back to the apartment,
whereby they called the police.”

“Okay, I’ll buy that, but how did you know
it was a trap?”

“I didn’t. I was just being paranoid,”
Randolph confessed.

Jill leaned away from Randolph and looked
him in the eyes for a moment before taking a sip of wine and nuzzling his neck
and whispering softly, “My lover, the paranoid thief.” Jill remained close for
a few seconds before she pulled away and told him in a demanding voice, “You
are going to shave that thing off before coming to bed tonight.”

Randolph rubbed the weeks’ worth of growth
and wondered how long it took to get used to the itching before he reasonably
agreed he would follow her request.

The next morning while enjoying a spicy
omelet with onions, bell peppers, tomatoes and bits of sausage, Jill smacked
her lips in delight and asked, “So what’s our next move on this Hilden
character?”

With a motion of his hand to ask Jill if
she wished any more grapefruit juice in her glass, Randolph admitted, “None. We
scrub the task and check in on the senator’s list of targets.”

“Now, sweetie, I seem to recall you saying
he was our retirement fund,” Jill reminded Randolph mildly, pointing her fork
at him before dipping into the hash browns. “Besides, he owes you.”

“True, but the area is far too hot right
now.”

“Now, now, a hot LZ only quickens the blood
flow, making one’s eye sight sharp and the mind focused, so I’ll ask again,
what’s our next move?”

Randolph looked at his lover over his own
partially-eaten breakfast and shook his head before he added fresh ground
pepper to his hash browns. When he didn’t agree in any physical signs, Jill
added, “What’s the first rule in any undertaking?”

“Jill, the subject is closed. They have a
description of you and a hot sheet for me. Mr. Hilden’s not stupid; you don’t
get to where he’s at being so. He knows I risked a lot to get you out and
seeing your description on the watch sheets, he’ll dig further and see my MO in
the way I destroyed
all the
DNA with a bolt hole
waiting in case of emergencies.”

“Oh come off it, Randolph, you’re not the
only hacker who takes precautions.”

“Maybe not, but I’ll lay you odds I’m the
only one who has a very competent and beautiful ex-military partner backing him
up.”

Jill cocked her head at Randolph with a
light smile touching her lips to his endearment before she told him, “I thank
you for that praise, but my mind is made up. As you have done so much for me,
how can I not help you take down the one man who’s screwed you royally?”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t take him down,”
Randolph backtracked in his statement after he swallowed the last of his
omelet, “I just said the area’s too hot to attempt at this time.”

“And trying to live a half-normal life
together will be pretty impossible with that contract out on our heads, so no,
Randolph, we either go in your way, or I’ll take him out my way, because I’m
not about to let him live while we worry when we’ll be assassinated.”

Randolph put his fork down and rubbed his
clean shaven face in irritation while staring at her. In answer to Randolph’s
look, Jill put her own fork down, leaned away from the table and folded her
arms.

“I mean it,
Randolph,
I’ll kill him, his lawyer, his staff and begin working down the list in the
city corporation till someone takes us off that hit list.”

Randolph wiped his face, having lost his
appetite for the last of the meal.

Jill, on the other hand, swallowed the last
of her juice before she pushed away from the table and in getting up, declared,
“I’ll give you today to decide. In the meantime, I’ve someplace I wish to visit
before we leave town.”

“Where are you off to?”

“At present, that’s none of your business,”
Jill threw over her shoulder.

“You’ll put your family at risk if you
contact them.”

Jill turned and glared at Randolph before
heading for the bedroom to get dressed.

“I mean it, Jill,” he called after her,
“you’ll only bring them grief.” But then Randolph got to thinking about family
and realized Jill was ultimately right. Whoever picked up their contract would
only look so long before targeting both their families in order to draw them
out into the open. Randolph sighed with disgust and put his face in his hands
and his elbow on the table, feeling trapped between two vicious killers who
held no values on life as he did save for one difference—Jill’s value of right
and wrong was far preferable over Mr. Hilden’s. So hearing the door close some
moments later, Randolph remained at the table considering the concept of what
needed to be done. Mr. Hilden now knew he’d work out of an apartment building
as well as warehouses, so what other avenues did that
leave
him in gaining the intelligence to Hilden’s vast holdings?

For no small amount of time, Randolph
drummed his fingers on the table top and stared at Jill’s vacant seat before an
idea began forming. Abandoning the cold meal without cleaning up, Randolph sat
on the couch, pulled out his palm computer, and began noninvasive inquiries
into city maintenance, layouts and underground maps and piping. It wasn’t until
the smell of chicken chow
mein
drew Randolph’s
appetite out later that evening when he noticed Jill quietly watching him on
the couch next to him. With a smile to her offer of Chinese takeout, Randolph
realized Jill had started to learn his way of tuning out the world when he was
deep at work in his world of electronic information. Gratefully accepting a
carton, Randolph also took up the chopsticks she wasn’t using and opened a
package of soy sauce.

“First off, I don’t like being pushed into
anything, understand?” Randolph said plainly before taking a bite.

“Yes, love,” Jill answered over her sweet
and sour pork.

“And second, don’t let this go to your head,
but you’re right. Mr. Hilden has to go down and not because of your threat but
rather for the welfare of our families.”

“I wondered when you’d see that,” Jill said
over a sip of cold beer, tilting the bottle his way in offering.

“All right,” Randolph said, waving the
offer off. Then softening his voice he asked, “So tell me, how is your family
doing?”

“As far as I could see with my binoculars,
they’re doing well, I just—I just wish I could have talked with them, let them
know why I did what I did.”

Randolph looked on her sad face and reached
out and took her hand. “They will. I’ll make certain the senator shames the
military by condoning your actions for doing what should have been done.”

Jill gave Randolph a half smile before she
finished off her meal and started in on cleaning up the kitchen.

A couple of weeks later, Randolph wiped
sweat off his brow from the overpowering heat of the city’s tunnels, even in
the dead of winter, and rubbed his hands clean on a rag before he activated his
program. With luck, by noon tomorrow he’d have the blue prints of Mr. Hilden’s
home and he’d be able to match them up with the videos Jill had taken for him
yesterday. Today, however, as Randolph gathered
intel
on the electric highway, Jill was out doing the
same on the people surrounding Mr. Hilden, as it would help to know who was
guarding him and how efficient they were at their jobs.

Randolph shifted his weight trying to find
a more comfortable position on the five gallon oil can he was using as a seat,
still musing over Jill’s cavalier manner of having to live in the sewers, as
they were out of credits.
Completely
taped city,
he’d explained, hell—they couldn’t even afford a tooth brush
unless he did some pick-pocking. And that bit of exposure was annexed, being
Mr. Hilden had upped the ante by plastering posters of Randolph’s mug all over
the city with a sizable amount to entice even the mildest of citizens to cash
him in if he were spotted. When his bottom agreed to his new position, Randolph
reflected over Jill’s light comment, “War is hell,” before he settled back into
the piping and conduits. After lacing his fingers behind his head, he eyed the
antiquated computer and monitor screen Jill had acquired out of a dumpster and
waited patiently for its CPU to churn out his program. This single-tasking was
irritating but necessary, as he would over-tax the memory banks with Jill’s
videos that should render the normal devices installed in walls and roofs to
discourage the average everyday thief. Once Randolph identified these, he could
examine the videos frame by frame for the security systems in place for the
real professionals. Once he labeled these, he’d look even harder for the new
ones now installed simply just for him.
Paranoid, me?
You
betcha
!

While Randolph was relaxing in the
oppressing heat, Jill tromped into view and plopped down on her can, flipping a
chip his way. “Sorry, boss, we hit a snag.”

“Oh?” Randolph chimed in as requested.

“I had this rather rude but well-dressed
guy and his cronies come up to me on the street and tell me in no uncertain
terms was I never to approach Hilden’s property’s again.” Jill looked rather
put off by the incident, but was trying to hide it by calmly examining her
finger nails.

“Let’s see, gray-eyed and built like a
wall?”

“A bit sexy looking, but yeah, that’s him,”
Jill admitted.

“That’ll be Mr. Stanton, Mr. Hilden’s
right-hand muscle and dirty job enforcer.”

Jill took out a plastic nail file and
retorted, “A bit of a coward isn’t he?”

“How so?”

“Needing all those guys to get up the
gumption to tell little old me off,” she replied, adjusting the single light
fixture in the cubby hole to better see her fingers.

“It may appear that way to you, but
remember, Mr. Hilden’s no fool, he’d have given Mr. Stanton your jacket file
and knowing who he’s up against,
I’d
imagine he’d take
all precautions in addressing any woman of your build.”

Jill eyed Randolph over the working file.
“If I’d wanted him dead, no amount of back up would have saved him.”

“And that flows two ways—by not killing
you,
he’s telling me to give it my best shot.”

“I thought you said he didn’t recognize
me?”

“That wouldn’t stop him from killing a
perfectly innocent stranger if it would achieve a goal. After all, he did kill
an innocent woman in the park simply to get me framed for her murder while they
framed me for blowing up the Henderson’s home.”

This caught Jill’s attention and she glared
off into the dark tunnel. “I should have killed him, and the next time I see
him I’ll correct that error.”

“Love,” Randolph said, trying to bring her
back, a bit shaken from the venom in her voice, “I’d rather you didn’t just
yet. Mr. Stanton may be a cold-blooded killer, but he’s a known commodity in my
equation in taking down Mr. Hilden. Taking him out would replace him with
someone I don’t know, which would make us stay in these luxury conditions far
longer then I wish to.”

Jill turned her cold eyes on him, causing a
shiver to run down his back even in this heat, before she softened and made a
face to his comment, settling back to do her nails.