Cristal - Novella Read online

  How she wanted to tell him—Leave me alone! I’m not your lab rat. But she bit her tongue, trying to keep things polite.

  She wished she could be with Kerim and Gabriel instead of being stuck at the GN office. Harry had sent them on missions in Haifa and Gaza to meet with other Truth Seekers.

  “I want to go with them to meet the others,” she told Harry.

  “No, we need you here at GN. We can’t let the New York office suspect what we are doing,” he said. His tone was sharp and authoritative.

  “You’re the boss,” she mumbled under her breath.

  In the evenings, Harry asked all of them to meet to discuss the missions. Cristal made sure to sit beside Kerim. He could speak to her inside her head while she had one ear bud in her ear, listening to her music.

  “I’ll take you back to your hotel after work,” Kerim’s voice told her.

  “You promise to tell me everything you uncovered today in Gaza?” she responded.

  “After I teach you a few more phrases in Hebrew and Arabic.” He turned to her and winked. “Like, I love you, my sweetheart.”

  Her cheeks turned several shades of red. Did he say that out loud? She calmed down when she saw that everyone was focused on Harry at the front of the room. Harry’s eyes seemed to bore into hers. He was talking to everyone, but he seemed to only be looking at her.

  “I wish we could sneak out of here,” she said in her thoughts.

  “Patience, my dear Cristal. Let’s save the world first and then we can go play.”

  She glanced over at Kerim who reached over and squeezed her knee.

  Silent conversations—it was weird, but romantic. Most importantly, it was their little secret.

  ***

  The hotel phone rang, startling her from her thoughts. She glanced at her watch as she picked up the phone. Kerim must be in the lobby now.

  “Kerim, I’m on my way down.”

  A deep voice responded, but it wasn’t Kerim’s. “Ms. Hernandez, this is the hotel concierge. There is an I.S. agent here who wants to speak with you.”

  Why would a security agent want to speak with me?

  “Madame, are you still there?”

  She shook her head to clear her thoughts.“Yes, I am coming down.”

  Chapter 17

  Joanna Makes Plans

  Zero: The data you sent this morning should have been encrypted.

  Onyx: It’s been crazy here. Elf man is riding my back and now I have to do the reports for our whole team. Thanks a lot for leaving me behind.

  Zero: We need you over there. You’re one of the best programmers on our team. We’re counting on you to get the data we need.

  Joanna was about to type something sarcastic, but paused.

  Zero: I am personally counting on you.

  Before responding, she thought to herself, Oh, really? You think I’m that stupid to believe that crap?

  Zero: I’ll contact you again in 10 hours. SYL

  OMG. Seriously? She wasn’t going to let Harry get away with this. She finished typing an email and sent it to her friend, Jenna Adams, a journalist for the New York Times. You wait and see who should have gone to Tel Aviv with you, Harry, she thought to herself.

  “Joanna, are you on planet Earth?”

  Beaver, the Elf man, was standing at her cubicle. Just the sight of him made her want to barf. Everyone on the IT team knew he was a useless dweeb. He wore his senior manager title as if it were his shield that would protect him from the truth.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “What do you want, Beaver?” She turned back to her screen.

  “Shelley wants to see you,” he said with a sly smile.

  Freak! What does the boss want to see me about? Why did Harry leave me here to hold down the fort all by myself?

  “Did you hear me? She’s waiting for you.” He turned away, waving his hand as if he was summoning his pet Schnauzer. Her hand tightened around her mouse as she imagined hurling it right between Beaver’s beady brown eyes.

  He turned his head around and mouthed to her, “Well, are you coming?”

  She pushed her chair back, stood up and walked towards him, trying hard not to make a face. He pointed to his watch with his “hurry up” face and let out an exasperated sigh, which sounded like air coming out of his rear. Ugh! She let him walk ahead of her. His royal “highneyness” was enjoying having his minion follow three steps behind.

  Her cell phone vibrated inside her pocket. It was a text message from Jenna.

  Jenna: Hey, Joanna, got your email. What’s up?

  Joanna: You asked me about Harry Doubt. Have a story about his close friends.

  Jenna: Finally came to your senses, girl? Come over after work. You still like sushi?

  Joanna: See you @ 6. Will bring drinks.

  A smile crept onto her face. She shoved her phone back in her pocket.

  ***

  They were polishing off the contents of their Bento boxes while sitting around the coffee table, cross-legged on the floor—like the good old days. She watched Jenna clearing up the empty food containers and bringing them to the kitchen. She would have offered to help, but why bother?

  She smirked to herself observing how Jenna’s apartment was small and cramped compared to hers. It made her remember how she had negotiated with Harry to get her a two-bedroom, fully furnished apartment with minimum 900 square footage and the lease paid in full for a year. It was her way to test him to see how much of a valuable asset he thought she was to the team. When she had arrived in New York, not only did he hold up his end of the bargain, he managed to get her a luxury suite on Crosby Street in Soho. She knew that compared to the other Truth Seekers in NYC, her place was in the best location, had the best layout, and had the coolest furniture.

  Jenna returned with two wine glasses and the bottle of red wine that Joanna had brought earlier.

  “Sushi was just what I was craving. Thanks again, Jenna.”

  “My pleasure. It wasn’t much. Just spent all afternoon making them for you. Not!” she laughed, tossing her bleach blonde hair to the side. “Let’s get to work.” She flipped open her laptop.

  Joanna smiled to herself. Jenna was never one to mince words. She always had been driven, even when they were college roommates. Jenna was a California babe—blonde, blue eyes, and hot “bod” with brains to top it off. Added to the mix were her cold tactics that she used to get her way, even if it meant sleeping with whomever she needed to get the story. Together, Joanna and Jenna, were a formidable pair.

  “So give me the goods, Joanna,” she said with her usual, “I’m losing my patience” tone.

  “Shut up and start typing,” Joanna replied.

  Jenna never intimidated her, New York Times journalist or not.

  Jenna smiled, flashing her perfect white teeth. “Webcam will get everything I need. Now take a sip and start talking.”

  Jenna saluted her with her wine glass, kicked off her heels and curled up on the couch.

  “Cristal Hernandez and Kerim Ilgaz. They’re Harry’s prized Truth Seekers. But that’s not the story.” She paused.

  “Come on, what is it?” Jenna moved forward on the edge of the couch.

  “I think that Cristal was responsible for starting the earthquake that happened in different countries all over the world. And I think Kerim had something to do with it, too.”

  Jenna rolled her eyes and closed her laptop. “You’ve really lost it, Joanna. I can’t believe I wasted my evening waiting for this earth shattering information.”

  She stood up and started putting away her things. “I’m a serious journalist. I don’t do gossip or ET stories.”

  “Fine. Don’t believe me,” Joanna said and grabbed her purse from the coffee table. “But I saw it myself with my own eyes.”

  “Wait,” Jenna said and turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”

  “Aren’t you going to record what I tell you?” Joanna asked.

  “No, not until I’m sure i
t’s worth it,” Jenna said, while leaning back and waiting. “And the only reason I’m willing to hear any of this psycho-babble is the fact it’s coming from you. So thrill me.”

  “Harry and I were meeting with Cristal, Kerim, and Gabriel on video chat the day of the earthquake. At the precise time it happened, I saw Cristal freeze, almost like a zombie. Her eyes were blank, while the whole room was shaking like crazy. Kerim was in the doorway, holding onto the doorframe and Gabriel was holding onto him with his eyes closed.”

  She closed her eyes trying to remember what she saw that day.“The weird thing was Cristal and Kerim were staring at each other. They both were real calm during the whole thing. Then the screen went black.”

  She opened her eyes to see Jenna’s “whatever” expression on her face.

  “Great, Joanna,” Jenna said rolling her eyes again. “Now, I am really convinced.”

  Joanna could not ignore the thick layer of sarcasm in her friend’s voice. She sat back down and took out her smart phone. She opened up a video and maximized it on the screen.

  “Here. Watch this,” she said, handing her phone to Jenna.

  Jenna sighed and took it from her hand.

  “This better be good,” she said.

  The video started playing. The screen filled with the larger-than-life image of Shelley Lionheart, wearing a neon-white suit, seated at her glass desk in her white high-back leather office chair in her fifteen-foot windowed penthouse office. The picture jittered slightly—Joanna had done her best to keep her phone steady.

  “You’re doing an exceptional job filling in for Harry and Cristal,” Shelley was saying.

  “Thanks, I’m just doing my job,” she heard herself say.

  Shelley leaned forward, crossing her hands on the desk. Her two-inch nails were painted the shade of blood red. It took a lot for Joanna to be intimidated, but she had to admit that being in the presence of Shelley Lionheart made her a bit squeamish.

  “This information must stay in this room,” Lionheart said, lowering her voice. “Can I trust you to keep confidential information?”

  “Umm, yes, of course. I’m a professional,” Joanna replied, a little too fast.

  “We both know that George Beaver is an incompetent programmer and senior manager,” Shelley continued. “I need someone like you at my side to keep me abreast of what is happening in our IT systems—from current software installations, to development roadmaps and security concerns.”

  Shelley smiled, if you could call it a smile. It appeared more like a sneer.

  Joanna remembered how excited she should have felt. Finally, someone from the top was recognizing her potential. But part of her felt weird—like she was just about to sell her soul to the devil. She shivered at the thought. Now where did that crazy idea come from?

  The picture shifted slightly as Shelley rose from her chair. The word rose was the best way to describe it. Her body seemed to glide upwards as she stood. It could have been the resolution of the video, but Shelley seemed to become transparent just for a second before she walked (glided) around the desk to stand in front of her.

  The picture shifted abruptly and the screen was filled with a blurred image. The sound was clearer now with Shelley’s voice closer to the phone.

  “We have some information about illicit activity from one of our professors at the GN University. His name is Dr. Nariman, but students refer to him as Dr. Saeed. It seems he accessed encrypted files in our restricted server with the help of some of your colleagues. I want you to find any trace of suspicious activity in the logs, and see if you can track its sources to identify the hackers. This will be done under the guise of a “scheduled overhaul” of our developer systems to update our server software and rebuild our databases. You will be in charge. This is high-level priority, and I’ll make sure Beaver stays out of your way. We’ll call this project “System overhaul.” I don’t want you to let anyone know what the real purpose of this project is. Do you understand, Ms. Chan?”

  The video shook slightly as Joanna shifted her weight.

  “Yes, I understand.”

  “Good. If I am pleased with your report, we’ll see about giving you a promotion. Maybe you can take Beaver’s job.”

  The video shook again as she stood up.

  “Thank you, Shelley. I really appreciate it,” she heard herself saying.

  Ugh, it almost sounded like she was gushing all over her.

  The video ended abruptly.

  Jenna looked up from the phone and stared at her, a smile stretching across her face.

  “Okay, Joanna, I’m down with corporate espionage. You may have something. Not sure what it is yet, but I am going to start digging.”

  Joanna pursed her lips together while her fingers fidgeted with a strand of her hair. “Do you need anything from me?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Jenna said, almost gleefully. “You’re going to give me everything you know about Harry, Cristal, and Kerim. Every time Shelley talks to you, you’re going to let me know a.s.a.p.”

  “Sounds fine,” Joanna replied. She should have been happy, but something was nagging at her—telling her to stop.

  “And before I forget, I need two things from you,” Jenna added. “One, before you tell me about Cristal causing an earthquake and shining lights, you need to show me some proof. And two, I want you to get me into the Truth Seekers.”

  “What? You a Truth Seeker?” Joanna burst out laughing. Did she think it was going to be that easy?

  “Yeah,” Jenna said, as she started typing, searching online.

  She had already started mining the Internet for the data. She knew this would be one of her best New York Times articles ever.

  “And I want to know where Harry is. I’m going to get to the source as soon as possible.”

  “You can’t join the Truth Seekers. You don’t even play video games. And it’s all by invitation only. Harry invites only the top players. Do you really need to be a Truth Seeker to get what you need?”

  Joanna’s stomach started turning. The sushi was playing havoc with her intestines.

  “Do you really need me to answer that question?” Jenna said, looking into the distance, as if analyzing the situation and considering all her options.

  Joanna sat back, trying to think as well. But her thoughts were wandering away. She knew she just betrayed the Truth Seekers. More importantly, she understood now she had just started something. Exactly what, she didn’t know.

  Chapter 18

  Agent Is Watching

  CRISTAL SAW A COUPLE OF tourists at the hotel counter arguing with the concierge. She scanned the lobby and noticed two boys who looked like they were local, hanging around the American girls who were apparently staying at the hotel. A stout man dressed in a black suit with sunglasses was seated in a chair near the front door of the lobby. He was watching her carefully. That must be the security agent who asked to see me.

  She took her time walking over to the counter, grateful that the concierge was busy with the tourists. It would give Harry enough time to get there and assist with the interrogation.

  She had texted him immediately after receiving the phone call, “Urgent. Get here ASAP. Agent in lobby wants to question me.”

  His response was, “Stall until I get there.”

  From the corner of her eye, she could see that the agent had stood up. He was walking towards her.

  “Ms. Hernandez,” a woman’s voice called from behind her.

  Cristal turned, expecting to see someone from the hotel staff. “Yes?”

  Standing in front of her was the full-bodied woman who had sat beside her on the airplane. What was she doing here?

  The woman was holding up her identification, which read, “Yaffa Bauer, National Security Agent.” The photo on the ID displayed an expressionless version of the woman.

  “My name Yaffa,” she said, putting her ID into her pocket. “You remember me?”

  Cristal couldn’t figure out what this lady was doing here.
“Sorry, but what do you want from me?”

  Yaffa Bauer motioned for her to follow her to a room off the side of the hotel counter.

  “We talk in private,” Yaffa replied loudly with a strong Hebrew accent.

  Cristal glanced over to the hotel entrance, relieved to see Harry walking inside. She noticed that since he had come to Tel Aviv that his looks had changed somewhat. Perhaps it was the Middle Eastern sun that painted his hair with gold highlights and warmed his skin color from a pale white to a copper bronze. Was it the same sun that made his blue eyes appear bluer and deeper than the ocean?

  “Ms. Hernandez,” Yaffa prompted, as if impatient with the delay.

  “Just a minute. My boss is here. Can he join us?” Cristal asked.

  Yaffa turned to look at Harry who now stood beside them. Cristal noticed that Harry was much taller than the agent. Yaffa had to stretch her neck to look up at him. Quickly, as if on cue, Yaffa put her pudgy arms on her wide hips and glared at Harry.

  “Shalom,” Harry said, stretching his hand out to shake her hand.

  The agent gave Harry a quick nod in acknowledgment of his greeting. She eyed him suspiciously and then shifted her attention to Cristal.

  “Better we speak alone,” she said in a firm voice.

  Cristal crossed her arms over her chest. “Have I done anything wrong?”

  Yaffa’s nostrils flared slightly before she responded, glancing briefly at Harry.

  “No, I have questions.”

  Harry said, “Do you have a warrant?” He stepped closer to Yaffa.

  “No, no warrant,” she sneered. “This is Israel, not episode of Law & Order.”

  Harry chuckled. He responded to her switching from English to Hebrew. His voice had softened as he reached into his back pocket to take out his wallet. He showed her his Israeli ID. Yaffa took a look and nodded her head, her body relaxing as she listened. They spoke with each other in Hebrew for a few minutes, while Cristal stood and watched.

  Yaffa began to smile as she faced Cristal, and said in broken English, “Okay, we speak like friends then. Just tell me the truth.”