Rhythm
Chapter 8 – Company
Ethan decided that having sex with Shara in the shower was about as close to erotic heaven as a human male could get. Her soapy slick and eager body undulating against his was something he hadn’t even had the nerve to fantasize about.
It was also different knowing that she wasn’t being influenced by the music anymore. She wanted him all on her own, which gave him a surprising amount of confidence, not that he needed it. Shara was happy to take the lead where he might have hesitated, and was wrapped around his body and gasping into ecstasy in no time. She was light enough that he had no trouble at all holding her up while the warm water washed over their entangled bodies.
Both of them happily sated, he was laying on the bed watching her brush out her hair, and actually looking forward to a bit of naked snuggling later. She hadn’t bothered to put the robe back on, and the only illumination in the room was a soft blue glow coming from one of her computer monitors.
“You’re really beautiful.” He said, a little in awe.
She smiled and glanced over at him. “Yeah? So how come you never told me before?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Couldn’t.”
“Oh? Why’s that?” She sounded amused.
“Well, it would have, you know… crossed the line.”
“The line…”
“The ‘just friends’ line.”
She stopped brushing for a moment, considering what he had just said. “Huh. I suppose it would. Funny that girls don’t think of it that way. We always want to be told we’re beautiful. But you’re right.”
“It’s not your fault. The way most guys treat girls, I’m surprised you take anything we say seriously.”
“You don’t do that.”
His brows went up in question. “Don’t do what?”
“Treat girls poorly. I’ve noticed.”
“You have?”
“Um hmm,” she nodded. “It was one of the main reasons I considered you as a lover.”
“Oh. That’s not why I’m like that, you know… Just to get girls to notice me.”
“I know.” She replied, happily. “That was another reason.”
A few minutes more passed, he just enjoying looking at her, when she seemed to tense.
“Uh, Ethan… Were you expecting company tonight?”
“Huh? No, why?”
She got up and turned off the last monitor, leaving the room near dark. “Because you’ve got some.”
“What?!” He hopped out of bed and joined her at the window. looking through the slats of her blinds he could see across to his own house, and the window of his bedroom. The light was on and a number of people were moving about. “The hell! I’m being robbed! Where’s my phone? I gotta call the pol…”
“NO!” Shara grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “Ethan, look… Suits. Didn’t you say the people at the mall earlier were all in suits? The DEA guys?”
“Oh fuck…”
“This is not good. We need to get out of here now!”
“But…” He hesitated. “If… if they just want the flash drive, then maybe we should just give it to them.”
Shara turned around and grabbed him by the shoulders. Her grip was firm, but it was the intensity in her eyes that held him.
“No, Ethan. This tech is dirty. I don’t know who those men are over there, but I can tell you with absolute certainty that they are not from the DEA. You told me that they were looking into a suicide at the mall. You called it a ‘jumper.’”
“Yeah, so what?”
“This music is the kind of technology that people would easily kill for. Did it ever occur to you that you that your jumper might have been pushed?”
“Holy fuck! You think those guys are here to kill me?!”
“I don’t know, but we’re not about to wait around to find out. Get your clothes on, and be sure to leave the lights off.” Shara reached for her own clothes and when she had pulled on some panties and a t-shirt, Ethan found her seated at the computer again.
“What are you doing?!”
“Housecleaning.” She replied without looking up from the screen. Her fingers were a blur on the keyboard. By the time he had gotten his jeans and shirt on, and was tying up his shoes, Shara was doing something at the back of her desk. She detached a cable, and then smacked the wall nearby. Ethan heard something close in the dark, and then a sliding noise.
“Are you ready to leave?” She asked, pulling on her own jeans. She then took something out of the drawer of her desk and tied her hair up into a ponytail with it.
“I… I guess so. But where are we going? What’s going to happen when my mom comes home?”
“They’ll probably question her, but I doubt she’ll be in any danger. She honestly doesn’t know anything, and she has a solid alibi.”
“Oh crap!” He cursed.
“What?”
“I left her a note! I said I was going over to your house to do some homework…”
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave…”
“Huh?”
“Forget it. All the more reason to get out of here. Come on, we’ll go out the back. Uh… leave your phone here.”
“But, why? We might need it.”
“My room is shielded, well, mostly anyway. Enough to block cell reception. But the second you walk outside, they can use it to track you.”
“Really?”
“Yup. And given how fast these guys found you, I’d say they have the access to a whole lot more than that. Come on.”
He tossed the phone to the bed and followed the girl out into the hallway.
Shara moved quietly down her stairs, warning him not to turn on any lights. They reached the bottom and turned to walk through the kitchen when there was a click and they both froze as the kitchen light came on. A very large black man in a suit sat at the kitchen table, a glass of water nearby. Also on the table was a very deadly looking handgun with an elongated muzzle that Ethan recognized as a silencer.
“Good evening, Mr. Choi… Miss Whelan.” He said in a deep voice.
Ethan recognized the man. He was the one who had approached him at the mall earlier that afternoon. Almost by reflex, he stepped in front of Shara, and eyed the gun.
“Don’t.” Said the man, simply. “I’ve been doing this a very long time, son. You don’t know how to use that, but I certainly do.” He felt Shara grip his arm behind him.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
He nodded. “I’m Special Agent Kinter. What I want is for you to remain calm. I assure you, any sudden action on your part could be… unhealthy. Miss, I believe you have something for me.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Ethan watched, confused, as Shara withdrew the flash drive from her pocket and tossed it to the man without saying a word.
“Shara?”
“It obvious he already knows, Ethan. Just do what he says, okay?”
“You would do well to listen to her, Mr. Choi.” Said the man.
“Please…” She entreated. “Trust me on this, okay? Just shut your mouth and do whatever he tells you to.”
He sighed, and thought about how he was going to explain this to his mother… provided he survived the next twenty four hours.
“Fine, so what now?”
Special Agent Kinter placed two sets of handcuffs on the table.
“Now we go for a ride.”