Hi-Tech Hijack Page 25

  “You’ll have to do it in English, and Isabella will be present the whole time.”

  “Ok,” Eddie agreed reluctantly. “Can we do that now?”

  “Yes, absolutely. Isabella will show you to our private dining room where Reuben signed some papers earlier today. There’s another copy in there for you to sign as well.”

  “What papers?” asked Eddie, but his question remained unanswered.

  The three of them left the lab with two guards and walked to the dining room in silence.

  When they sat down they still remained quiet for a long minute staring at each other wondering where to begin.

  “You wanted to talk,” said Isabella, reminding them of the purpose of the meeting.

  “I think we should talk about what we’re doing here and leave the discussion about Ronit for another time,” said Eddie.

  “I would actually want to understand first why you would do that to me.”

  “If you insist then fine, we’ll talk about it. You know Ronit and I have known each other since our military service, but nothing has ever happened between us, other than the fact that like everyone else I thought she was the most beautiful girl to ever come to our unit. As your close friend seeing you at work every day and seeing Ronit often, I knew your relationship wasn’t going well. Since I broke up with Rose, I started coming to your house more, and I could sense the discomfort between you two. There were all these long, awkward silences, and most of the time when you wanted to say something to one another you’d pass the message through me. I could see things were headed downhill, but I didn’t think there was anything I could do to help.

  “Then lying in the hospital and being so close to Ronit every day, we started growing closer and sharing deep conversations. I was bedridden for a month, so you can imagine my physical state wasn’t much of anything, and I couldn’t really initiate anything physical with Ronit. I’m not trying to say it was all her doing. I was happy when she stepped outside the realm of medical care and made contact. I didn’t stop her. What happened next at my house was a one-time thing; it just happened. I was going to let Ronit tell you first—I thought that was the right thing to do, but she hesitated. She wanted to hurt you as little as possible and didn’t know how to do that. Ever since I left the hospital, I’ve been walking around with this guilt weighing me down. It’s been so difficult to keep up our work routine and not say anything to you. I was hoping Ronit would talk to you before our trip to Japan, and that the week together would give us a chance to clear the air. Unfortunately, she didn’t say anything, and you found out the way you did in the cruelest possible way.” Eddie stopped for a moment and then said, “I’m so sorry for hurting you like this, but you and I both know I’m not the reason you and Ronit grew apart.”

  “It’s easier for you to think that because it clears your conscience.”

  “Reuben, do you really believe you had a chance of rebuilding your relationship?”

  “That’s none of your business, and it still doesn’t justify what you did.”

  “You’re right, and I’m sorry. You need to remember I was drained by the disease, not only physically, but emotionally as well. I admit I couldn’t resist Ronit in the situation we were in at the hospital.” He fell quiet for a moment and then mumbled in Hebrew, “I found myself drawn to her with such force, like nothing I have ever known before.”

  “English!” boomed Isabella’s voice.

  “How do you expect us to be able to keep working together after all this?” asked Reuben in English.

  “It seems a bit surreal to try and think of any sort of future for our company, given where we are right now.”

  “Even so, assuming we make it out of here safe?” asked Reuben, and he turned his gaze to Isabella, who nodded as if to confirm that they were going to be released safely.

  “I’ve hurt you, so I’ll respect whatever decision you make. If you want to part ways and keep the company to yourself, it’s your right.”

  “And leave me alone with all this mess? Oh no, my friend. You’re not getting off that easy. I know this company has been your life’s dream, and I find it hard to believe you’ve traded that for Ronit. In a couple of months you’ll come to your senses and see her for the uppity snob she is with her fancy talk of values and self-fulfillment. When that happens you’ll ask yourself what you have left and come crawling back to me on all fours wanting your old job back when I’ve done all the work to rebuild the company. We’ll do it the other way around. As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, I’m not getting back with Ronit. If you and she are still together when we get out of here, then you’ll leave the company once we have it back up and running and once I’ve decided your knowledge is no longer needed. I’ll pay you for your shares according to the company value Mickey paid or according to whatever their market value will be—the lower of the two.”

  “Reuben, what’s the matter with you? We’ve been kidnapped; we don’t even know what they want from us or if we’re going to make it out alive. Our company’s been stolen, and you’re negotiating with me about company shares?!”

  “I’ve had a few hours’ head start to talk with Alfonso and Isabella, so I have reasons for being optimistic about the future; and I suggest you listen for a change instead of lecturing me.”

  This moment served as an excellent opportunity for Isabella to chime in.

  “I think you’ve exhausted the matter for the time being. I would like for you, Reuben, to explain to Eddie about the agreement you’ve signed and what it means.”

  The man is willing to use his feelings for his wife and the fact that she cheated on him to make a profit, Eddie thought, and he’s already signed a contract with his kidnappers. Eddie told himself that if up to that moment, he never fully understood what Ronit said about Reuben’s materialistic view of the world; now it was as clear as possible.

  “Why don’t you take the opportunity to also tell me about the film they showed you and about Mickey’s part in all this?” said Eddie.

  Reuben told Eddie about his video chat with Mickey. He did so dryly, devoid of emotion. It was clear he would have preferred to erase the traumatic conversation from his memory. Then he described to Eddie the contract he had signed and closed by saying, “It doesn’t look like we have a lot of options. This way we can come out of all of this unharmed and with the money to set us up for good. Plus with this romantic triangle we have here, I can’t see much chance of our company going any further, so perhaps it’ll be best to end it like this.”

  Reuben deliberately made no mention of the other film he had been shown, the one starring himself and Carolina.

  “Isabella,” said Eddie, turning to her after a brief silence. “Can I have some more information about what country we’re in, who you are, and who you’re working for? It’ll help me make the right decision.”

  “I’m sorry, you cannot. And in any case, what difference does it make if you know our names or not? Is that what’s going to determine if you accept our offer or not?”

  “After all, we are being held here against our wishes. This whole process isn’t exactly standard protocol between companies, so I feel we have a right to know a bit more about you.”

  “How do you know this isn’t standard protocol? Reuben signed the document stating that he sold part of the specific know-how of the company of his own free will with no coercion. He is also obligated not to mention the kidnapping ever again. So how do you know this hasn’t happened before, but was simply kept quiet?”

  “What if I still refuse?”

  “It would be the biggest mistake of your life. Especially now that Reuben has already signed and is being cooperative. We can manage without your participation. Granted, it would probably be a longer process and perhaps we’ll have some unanswered question marks, but we will have most of the information. In the few hours I’ve spent with Reuben in the laboratory, I’ve already come to know his knowledge does not boil down just to his expertise of mathematical and st
atistical models. He is quiet proficient in your areas of the work as well.”

  “I don’t doubt that. Reuben is a very talented guy,” said Eddie with the bitterness of one who knows the trap around him is getting tighter and tighter.

  “So what’s your decision?” asked a clearly impatient Isabella.

  “I’d like to think about it until tomorrow,” said Eddie, and he picked up the papers waiting for his signature.

  “You have until this evening,” said Isabella, and she got up clicking her fingers at the guards. “Take him to his room.”

  Isabella and Reuben returned to the lab. For the rest of the day, they organized the lab and arranged all the research materials in place, checking the electronic devices were working properly and calibrating them. The most important piece of equipment was the PCR machine that checked and identified the genetic markers. Reuben tested materials that had already been identified in Israel, redid the test to ensure the device was working properly, and crossed the results with another piece of equipment to make sure the substance they checked didn’t suffer any changes in the transport.

  Isabella’s office was right next to the lab hall. Every now and again, she would go in and out of the room for a book or notepad to write down and compare data. Her computer station was also in her room where the lab techs were not allowed to enter. At times she would need a certain piece of information from her computer and went in alone to get it while Reuben waited outside for her to return with the figures. The two lab techs had their own office on the opposite side of the hall with a computer station. Alfonso also came in once in a while to monitor their progress. Every now and then he and Isabella went to her office to consult or make a phone call. At the end of the work day, Reuben was taken back to his room, but not before Alfonso and Isabella thanked him profusely for his productive cooperation during the day.

  All through the afternoon Eddie went over the situation trying to analyze it from every possible angle until reaching the conclusion that he had no other choice but to sign. He tried to retrace the days that preceded their departure for Japan and the meetings they had with Mickey in an attempt to decipher the secret of his kidnappers and their agenda, but he couldn’t come to any conclusions. He realized he had to think carefully and craft a plan how to deal with his kidnappers and with Reuben who was cooperating with them.

  Eddie decided his only way to reach some sort of solution and have any chance of escaping was by playing along and pretending to cooperate. Once Reuben crossed the lines and was going to give Alfonso and his lot the majority of information, there was no point in withholding cooperation. Their company secrets will be revealed by Reuben, and even if some detail or other was missing, it wouldn’t take long for Alfonso and his team to figure it out. What’s more, he knew Reuben was never going to forgive him for what happened with Ronit, and that given the chance, he would take his revenge on him by cooperating with their captors.

  I have to figure out how to get out of here without Reuben’s help, Eddie thought. The best chance I’ve got is to feign cooperation. That way I can control the pace in which they receive the information, and maybe even sabotage some segments that Reuben isn’t so familiar with.

  After dinner Alfonso entered Eddie’s room. “Time for some decisions, Eddie.”

  “I’m ready to sign the papers,” he said.

  “Thank you,” said Alfonso, trying to keep a straight face and conceal his surprise of how easily Eddie agreed to sign. Once the last page of the contract was signed, Alfonso said, “So tomorrow after breakfast, we’ll come take you to the lab. Reuben started arranging the materials today and your help will be very welcome.” Alfonso smiled and shook Eddie’s hand. “Have a good night.”

  “Good night,” said Eddie, and he forced himself to smile back.

  Day Seven

  Chapter 46

  After breakfast Reuben and Eddie were taken separately to the lab hall. Reuben was taken in second and saw Eddie there with Isabella and the two lab techs.

  “Good morning, Eddie,” Reuben greeted his partner in Hebrew, encouraged to see him there. Despite the deep chasm that grew between them thanks to Mickey’s videos, they still shared the misfortune of being held in captivity and isolation. Reuben took comfort in knowing that from now on he’ll be able to spend his days with Eddie in the lab.

  “English, please,” said Isabella harshly.

  “Good morning,” answered Eddie in English adhering to the rules of the place. He kept scouring the lab hall in search of a weak spot.

  The way Reuben was acting, making such an effort to please and pass on the information to Isabella, astonished Eddie. Reuben was behaving as if someone had actually bought the information off him, and he was obligated to deliver it in the best way possible. In the few minutes they had alone together, Eddie tried to ask Reuben a question.

  “Why are you trying so hard to give every scrap of information like that?”

  “Because they bought it from us for three million dollars each, and I don’t intend to leave them dissatisfied.”

  “They kidnapped and are blackmailing us for the data, and as for the three million, I seriously doubt you’re ever going to see it.”

  “You don’t have to believe them if you don’t want to, just don’t screw up my payment for me with this reserved way of cooperation of yours.”

  “What do you even know about them? About the bank they’re working with? You can count on them to withdraw their money before you get to Switzerland if they’ll even let us out of here alive. You need to understand, the longer we can stretch the time it takes to pass on the data, the better our chances of staying alive.”

  “I believe they’re going to keep their part of the deal and honor their contract with us.”

  “Tell me, did you tell Mickey about our secret breakthrough?”

  Reuben looked up at Eddie, but didn’t have a chance to answer. He was saved by the guard telling them off.

  “Quiet!” shouted the guard who caught the two of them whispering, and the conversation came to a stop. Eddie tried to get Reuben to slow down and not deliver the material so quickly but failed. He decided he had to count on no one but himself and treat Reuben as one of the kidnappers. Reuben’s greed could make him disrupt any attempt Eddie might make of escaping or of sabotaging the transfer process in the fear he might lose out on his dodgy three million.

  Isabella knew how to get Reuben talking. Every now and then when Reuben completed the explanation to another segment of information, Isabella would marvel at his wisdom and compliment his creativity and ingenuity. And Reuben, flattered and proud, would in return try even harder to explain and clarify every detail.

  Eddie chose the don’t-volunteer-any-information tactic. He provided minimal explanations for the areas he was responsible for, which got Isabella to work hard questioning him. At first she tried to do so in a friendly fashion, hoping that a naturally introverted Eddie would eventually warm up. But Eddie kept walking the fine line between being seemingly cooperative and avoiding giving out any information whenever he could. Isabella shared her experiences of the two Israelis with Alfonso and urged him to pressure Eddie, even threaten him, to get him to cooperate more.

  “There’ll be nothing for us to gain from that,” Alfonso said regularly. “Eddie is a smart, strong man, and he won’t break easily. However, he understands he must cooperate to be saved. So try a little harder, be more patient with him, and play the slow student who just doesn’t understand quickly enough and has to keep asking and asking.”

  “You know I have no problems being nice and fetching,” said Isabella, giving him a crafty little smile.

  “Unlike I was back in Argentina, here I’m not worried, my darling. I’m sure you never forget for one second that he’s a Jew, which guarantees you can never be genuinely be interested in him,” said Alfonso, smiling back, but his eyes gave his promiscuous wife a threatening stare.

  “Not to worry, darling. After all, our love life has gotten
so much better since we got here. I’m sure you’re not really concerned.”

  “We’ve been making good progress,” said Alfonso, changing the subject all of a sudden. “We have no need for everything they know, and no interest in the cancer-healing Ebola. All we need to know is how to master the virus combined from several DNA sources and procure from it the ability to survive in air or water. So, once we have the genetic markers, all we have to do is get the specifications of the electromagnetic radiation.”

  “Yes, but the matter of the genetic markers isn’t that simple, Alfonso. Those two have been living with the different genetic markers for two years now, and they probably know more about their traits than anyone else in the world. I must have several weeks to learn all that from them. If we could get Eddie on board like Reuben is, I’m sure he could steer us in the right direction and save us precious research time. As for the electromagnetic radiation, we still don’t know where they’ve hidden the results. I hope it’s on their computers.”

  “The information about the genetic codes is on each of their laptops. I’m sure the electromagnetic specifications are on there as well. Whether Eddie likes it or not, he’ll have no choice but to explain everything there is to us. I believe most of the information he isn’t willing to talk about is present there. Perhaps once everything is out and Eddie sees we already have possession of it all, he’ll be more talkative. He’ll see he has nothing to hide.”

  “That man has nerves of steel. I have to crack him and get him more motivated.” Commented Isabella

  “I’ve ordered two monkeys like you asked. They’ll probably be delivered today. I gave the order to prepare a room for them next to the lab.”

  “Yes, they’ve actually finished the mice stage and were meant to move on to monkeys or pigs, and then since they ran out of money, Eddie did that crazy thing and performed the experiment on himself. For someone who’s been lying in hospital for six weeks, barely alive, he seems to have bounced back very well with the help of Reuben’s wife of course,” said Isabella, smiling suggestively.