“Mrs. Thundercloud, it’s Gary Browne from England.”
A big smile spread across Nadine’s mouth. “It’s Nada to you, Gary. How are you, and how is my Donna doing?”
“I’m sorry, Nada. It’s been a while. I’m good. It’s hard to tell how Donna is doing. One minute she seems like she’s making some progress, then the next… I don’t know Nada.”
Nadine shook her head. “Jared is much the same. Such a tragic situation for two people who are destined to be together. What can I do for you Gary? I’m sure you didn’t call to make small talk with me.”
“I’m sorry, Nada, but no, I didn’t. I need to talk to Jared.”
“Why didn’t you call him on his cell phone?”
“It’s a long story Nada. I don’t have much time. Donna doesn’t know Jared, and I are still talking. I think if she did, it would make this harder on her.”
“Of course. He’s in the music room.”
“What’s going on with Raging Storm?”
Nadine frowned. “I fear the band is finally coming to a close, Gary,” her voice fell. “The rest of the group are performing at the convention at the end of the month, but not Jared. We all tried talking to him, but he won’t perform. He just can’t take it. Not even this last time. I’m gonna put you on hold and let him pick up in there. He’ll be with you in a minute.”
“OK, thanks, Nada.”
Nadine stopped at the doorway, listening as Jared played. She felt such sadness in her heart for him. “Jared! Gary Browne is on the phone for you.”
Jared paused, his fingers resting over the keys. He let out a slow sigh and reached for the handset, taking it off hold. “Gary, since you’ve called me on this phone, I assume you don’t have good news.”
“No Jared. I don’t. In fact, it’s worse than we thought, but before I go into that, I need to ask you a question. Jared… I need an honest answer. You said you trusted me, well, I feel the same way about you. Are you behind this?”
Jared frowned. “Gary, I won’t explain this, but like I told you before, I don’t need anything to know what’s going on in Donna’s life.”
------------
“I suspected that was what you were talking about earlier – your telepathic bond with her. How does that work, as far as she’s concerned? Can she communicate with you in the same way?”
“No. I won’t let her. I let her sense my presence, but I don’t allow her to get inside my head.”
“Is that fair to her, Jared. It might make things easier on Donna if she knew how you really felt about her.”
“Gary… it’s complicated. Just – tell me what you found out.”
“If you’re not responsible, then that means…” Gary paused. “Hang on a second. Let me check something before I tell you anymore.” Gary accessed the Hall security cameras and landlines on his laptop. “OK, I’m back. I wanted to make sure we hadn’t been compromised at the house. It’s still secure.”
“So you were right?”
“Yes, Jared,” Gary groaned. “Whoever compromised ‘Acid Rain’ did a good job. I can’t use it anymore.”
“Well, this thing you sent me certainly knew what it was doing. There is no trace of your virus program on my cell phone or my computer system. I ran ‘Dessert’ on all of our systems here, including my other house. ‘Acid Rain’ is history, my friend. Does ‘Dessert’ work on any file like that?”
Gary grinned. “Yes it does, Jared, but as I told you before, you have to be specific. If you run ‘Dessert’ without giving it a target file, it assumes you want it to eradicate everything.”
“And that’s the program – the little nasty – you left on Donna’s desktop in her apartment?”
“That’s right. Sooner or later D’Netics mainframe is going to get a lot smaller.”
“Assuming that’s their plan.”
“Whether it’s their plan or not, Forrest will want any information Donna may have left on her computer system. Leaving that laptop decoy was a brilliant idea. When Forrest’s men go back in there, which I’m positive they will, he’s going to think he’s hit the jackpot.”
“But you just said you couldn’t use ‘Acid Rain’ anymore.”
“That version is OK. It’s the version that’s compromised that we have to worry about. ‘Acid Rain’ can’t be compromised through a third party. It has to be direct. That’s why I suspected it happened through Donna’s cell phone. If I’d been thinking straight when I talked to you earlier, I would have tested your phone before we hit it with ‘Dessert’.”
“What difference would that have made?”
“I could have checked to see if you were included in the BSV’s targets. If you were, that would mean we’re wrong, and this thing goes further back. Dammit! Oh well. There’s nothing we can do about it now. We’ll just have to assume we’re right and go from there.”
“Is there anything I can do from this end?”
“Yeah. Has anything else been said about the explosion at the new building at D’Netics?”
“Nothing, other than I think they’re planning on charging me as an accomplice – if they could find me.”
“What do you mean, if they could find you? I just did.” Jared chuckled. Gary rolled his eyes. “You didn’t just happen to be at your father’s ranch - did you?”
“Redman sees all…” Jared said in a serious prophetic voice.
“Oh, don’t start with that shaman shit, Jared,” Gary groaned. “I know you have limitations.”
“Unfortunately,” Jared chuckled again. “Let’s just say, my parents are keeping an eye on Donna, as well.”
Gary groaned. “Why didn’t I inherit that seer gene?”
“I’m sorry, Gary. I can’t answer that for you. Back to business. What are you planning on doing to fix this?”
“I need to find the fucking source. Without that, this is going to get nasty.”
“At least you know it’s not affecting the SIM and microSD cards. Surely, once it’s wiped from the cell phone’s OS, won’t it be safe to use again?”
“Providing we can keep it from spreading any further. That’s another problem. I have no idea how much it’s spread. For all we know, its seeker seed could have been sitting out there on a computer somewhere on the other side of the world, waiting to be activated. There’s just no way of telling, unless I can get at the computer it came from.”
“Can’t you track it?” Gary laughed. “That wasn’t meant to be funny, Gary,” Jared growled.
“I wasn’t laughing because I thought it was funny. I was laughing because I’ve been tracing this little bugger almost a solid hour. I’m no closer now to the source computer than I was when I started.”
“Why not just piggyback ‘Dessert’ on that signal.”
“I’ve already thought about that, but, if I eradicate it that way, I lose the source. Without a target file, ‘Dessert’ will eradicate everything in its path. While it may destroy the seeker seed on that computer and that particular path, it won’t affect the others. This is not an ordinary seeker seed. It’s working like a real virus.”
“It’s sitting there, waiting for the right conditions before it attacks.”
“Now you’re getting the picture.”
“Nasty little thing.”
“No joke. I have to admit, I’m fascinated by its design. I’d like to capture it if I can. It would be extremely useful.”
“Well, Mr. Spock, be fascinated all you want to, but you have to get this new toy of yours in a box. Have you explained all this to Sir Richard?”
“Not all of it. I have talked to him, but…” Gary paused. “Hang on a second Jared. I just heard someone coming down the corridor. I need to make sure it’s not Donna. I’ll be right back.”
“Do me a favour, Gary. Don’t press mute or put me on hold.”
Gary winced. “OK, Jared, but this is risky. Don’t make a sound on your end.”
Donna stepped through the doorway. “Well, have you had any luck?”
A lump rose in Jared’s throat, threatening to choke him. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes, listening to the familiar sound. The sweet sound that meant she was alive and well. The sound that filled his heart with warmth and sadness. It was torture for Jared, but he would die a thousand deaths just to hear her voice.
“Not a lot, D, but I’m getting there.”
“Can you take a break and come eat with us? Alice has our meal ready in the morning room. I didn’t see any reason to cause her extra work by messing up the formal dining room. If you need me to, I can bring you something in here.”
“No, that’s all right. I’ll be in there in a couple of minutes. I need a break anyway.” Gary took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “My eyes are starting to cross.”
“Who knows, as soon as I can figure out how to synthesise the antibodies in my DNA, maybe you’ll be able to toss those things in the trash can.”
Gary grinned. “I’m sure I will.”
“Well, hurry up and come on. Sam is starving.”
“Don’t wait. Go ahead and start eating. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Donna rolled her eyes and left. Gary listened until he heard the clicking of her heels against the marble tile fading. “Jared… are you still there?”
Jared’s voice was a low growl. “Did she say Sam?”
Gary swallowed hard. “Yes, Jared. She said Sam. Donna and Sam are together. That’s one of the reasons I said not putting the phone on mute would be risky.”
“And when did you plan on telling me about this? I assume it’s the womaniser.”
“Yes, Jared. It’s our doctor - Sam Kaliea.”
“Of all the people in Britain, why the fuck did you let her get involved with him?”
“Jared… being with Sam was Donna’s choice. She’s not the same person you walked away from. She won’t let anyone, including me, Sam or Richard, tell her what to do. Donna’s not as emotional as she was.”
“Bet she’s still scared of spiders.”
“Oh yes!”
“Is she still afraid of flying and elevators?”
“No, not really. About the only phobia she hasn’t been able to conquer is her arachnophobia. None of us can figure that one out.”
“Maybe there are just some things in life you’re not meant to figure out, Gary. Maybe there are some times where you have to take a leap of faith and live with the consequences. Sometimes choice means change. Fate doesn’t often give us a lot of insight on what will be.”
“So it seems, Jared. Look, I have to run. We’ll talk again, but don’t use your current cell phone or anything that it’s been connected to. Anyone else that’s been connected to your cell phone or computer system will likely have the virus on it, as well.”
“I’ll get my security team here and at Wisteria Hall working on it, now that I know what to look for. What about Sir Richard’s men?”
“I’m sure John will contact the ones at Barksdale, but the ones at Wisteria Hall need to be informed. I trust you can take care of it from your end?”
“Yeah, I can do that, but I honestly don’t understand why he left them. I did what I said I’d do. I… left Donna behind. We’re no longer together. There shouldn’t be any reason for them to be here.”
“Jared… Sir Richard does not like loose ends. He knows how important you and your family are to Donna. Forrest is Triplet International’s problem, not yours and not your family’s. Sir Richard takes care of his own, and whether you like it or not, because of Donna, you’re just as important to him now as you were when you and Donna were together. Sir Richard would not leave you exposed. If you asked him to, he would probably take his men away from the ranch and Wisteria Hall, but he would not pull them out of the country. As long as GW Forrest is alive, and he knows you’re important to anyone associated with Sir Richard, you need protection.”
“Well, like I told Sir Richard, I can take care of my own.”
Gary chuckled sarcastically. “Of course you can, Jared. That’s why you and Donna aren’t together today. Don’t be arrogant about this Jared. Don’t be so prideful that you lose everything else important in your life. I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you again. Sir Richard is an honourable man. He is not the monster that the tabloids or Forrest Enterprises make him out to be. Donna is hurt enough as it is. Don’t make her face losing you and Beth for good. If anything were to happen to you, Donna would blame herself, and she would give up.”
“I don’t want her to stop living, Gary. I don’t want her to do what I did, when I lost Sara. One way or the other, Donna and I will be together. It may only be in our dreams, and it may not be in this life, but I will find a way.”
“Of that I have no doubt. Think about what I’ve said. Sometimes loving and protecting someone means allowing others to help you. Donna may be with Sam, but she still loves you, and despite your arrogant pig-headed ways, I know you love her, too. Oh, before I forget it, make sure you wipe ‘Acid Rain’ from your car’s computer system, as well. I have to go. If I don’t Donna will come back in here. You know how persistent she can be.”
“Yes, Gary, I do. I’ll be in touch.”
“Just make sure you’re careful. It’s not likely to happen, but it is possible if you call on the house phone, Donna may answer it. She still doesn’t like staff doing everything for her.”
“Yeah – I remember that part too. Later, Gary.” The line was dead. Gary smiled, shook his head and went to the kitchen.