C.A.R.M.A

5

Well, have you figured it out?" amusement danced in Tyler's eyes.
He couldn't have looked more different than the pictures of him online, on the cover of think pieces. He wore thick glasses like his cousin, framing rich brown eyes. Dark hair, so dark it was almost blue, fanned over the top of his glasses. Tyler wore a lab coat, rolled up over strong forearms, jeans and a pair of worn down converse, with a hole in the toe I noted. Not what you would expect one of the rising billionaires to wear...or where you'd think he'd be.
"No", I breathed, staring up at him wide-eyed. The picture of an innocent girl, caught sneaking around.
"I'm studying tidal movement," he explained. Adjusting his glasses while he walked toward the lightbulb. His accent wasn't internally British, primarily yes, but there were other notes in it. Like he didn't live long enough in a place to develop a definite accent.
"So you're a scientist with Red Wolfe?", I framed the statement like a question, trying to find out what I could get him to reveal.
A savage playing spy, a tiny voice whispered in my head. I gave that voice the finger.
He blew out a laugh, cold and sharp. I expected him to launch into an explanation about who he was, how important, and demand to know what I was doing down here anyway.
Instead, he replied, "yes."
I turned back toward the tank to hide the shock in my eyes. "And tidal movements, that's Red Wolfe's next initiative?"
Tyler stared at me. I gave an insincere shuffle on my feet, my heels clicking underneath me.
He broke the silence first, "I have a house on Bainbridge Island", my heart fluttered at the information he laid out.
"There", he continued, "the tide can fluctuate by 15 feet or more, and in the UK on average it's double that." His eyes blazed again as he paused and looked at me.
"And that means", I urged again with a nervous laugh, but caught myself thinking about this inventor's mind whirling.
"It means that as long as there is a moon in the sky and the Earth continues to spin around the galaxy, we will have tidal movement here. Everyday, on a predictable and reliable cycle. It means there is another key to clean energy staring us all in the face", he broke off and snorted. "That is, if I or my team can figure out how it works, and get the funding."
Tyler turned toward the lit bulb, running his fingers through his hair and staring angrily at it.
Kill him now a cruel voice whispered in my head. Be done with this before it starts.
My body tensed, preparing myself to act on the killer whisper. But something held me back.
Like a tether on my instinct another voice told me to wait, to watch, to assess.
"So why are you studying it in this basement, instead of in Bainbridge?", I asked.
He smirked, "Baby steps. And by the way, who are you?"
I crossed my arms once more, fingering the knives again, and raised my chin, "I'm Thea."
"Thea", he repeated. The hair on my arms tried to rise underneath the weapons. "The same one that has a meeting with her cousin, with my cousin and I this morning?"
I willed a shocked expression to stretch across my features, "You're Tyler?"
"Yes", he smirked again. "Not what you were expecting?"
"No", I answered honestly, a little smile dancing on my lips. "Do you have any idea where our meeting is anyway?"
His laugh bounced around the empty room, full and true, like a little kid.
Tyler shrugged out of his lab coat, neatly hanging it up and unveiling a simple t-shirt beneath.
"Well, I'm glad you stumbled in here, it'll save me a lot of trouble when I pitch this to you. Right this way, ma'am", he gestured toward an elevator in the corner.
My heels clicked across the floor as I led the way to the metal doors, he held open for me. I stepped in first and felt the hairs on my neck rise as he stepped in, positioning himself so he was slightly behind me.
The doors dinged shut and we ascended.
One move on me and he was dead. Did he think his nice guy act would fool me?
The elevator dinged as we cleared the first floor.
I could kill him here and now. Be done with this mess of a mission and take the helm from Taylor. Quick and efficient, like I always was.
Ding, another floor passed.
Maybe he's not the culprit though. There's not enough evidence against him. Did I want an innocent man's blood on my hands? Especially a visionary's?
Ding, ding, ding
Floor after floor passed beneath us as the puget sound showed her beautiful gray face in front of us. How high were we going anyway?
Ding
I looked over my shoulder at Tyler, as we continued to rise. He stood up straight, glancing out the elevator window with a look on his face that was both happy and sad. Triumphant and failure, lingering on his features.
Did he want me to feel bad for him? I'd still kill him.
Ding
But this is what Taylor warned me against. It all had to be dealt with quietly, eliminated swiftly or we risked the entire clean energy company. Risk the chance for the everyday person to have clean energy at their fingertips.
Ding. The elevator doors smoothly opened, and I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding in.
I gave myself a little mental shake before exiting.
"Do you have a problem with heights?", Tyler asked, sidestepping me into the room.
No, just potential assaulters that I can't kill right away because his company might change the world. I wanted to scream the words, but instead I huffed a laugh and fell into step beside him.
The suite unfolding before us was beautiful. An elegant hallway, dotted with more pictures of the Pacific Northwest, ushered us from the elevator into a lounge fit for a king and queen. Two plush white couches framed a long wooden table that was perched in front of floor to ceiling glass windows.
Seated at the table were Max and Alexia, deep in flirtatious conversation. Max had his hand on her knee and neither looked up, even as my heels clinked across the hardwood.
Something about the sight of them unsettled me. I've seen Max do this over a hundred times. Make the person closest to the suspected mark comfortable, gain as much information from them as possible.
But the pair before me looked different than his usual conquests. Too familiar, as if they met before.
I shoved the thought aside, clearing my throat.
Max made a show of tearing his eyes away from Alexia. I hadn't seen Max work in a while, and it was easy for him to look like this with people. Easy for him to move and enthrall a person with a charming smile.
My gut twisted at the thought, remembering what he could get me to agree to with a few smiles. I shoved that thought down as well.
"Seems like you started without us", I smile, moving to sit across from Alexia.
"Oh, we weren't discussing business", Max smirks, flashing his teeth once more.
His comment causes Alexia to blush and let out a little chirp of a laugh. Girly, high-pitched and showing her hand that she's falling.
Another smile tugs at my mouth as I catch Max's eye. Well done.
He dips his head subtly at me, acknowledging the praise flashing in my eyes.
"I guess it's lucky then that we were", Tyler stands at the head of the table, a tablet in his hands.
"We just began discussing the tidal ranges near your house on Bainbridge Island", I supply.
Now it's Max who looks impressed, not just a killer after all.
"Exactly", and Tyler is off. Launching into an explanation about the tides and places that could benefit from this enough.
It's a little jarring to see the head of a company giving a brief, was it always like this?
I glanced at Alexia, who looked at her cousin with dutiful interest. She looked rehearsed, like this is the typical dynamic. I followed her stare to Tyler.
He never falters, never loses the excited tint in his eye.
An Actor. Tyler can't be this focused. Can't be this excited. He's faking it for the money we, or any other investors, would throw money at.
How many girls have you tricked with your scientist performance, Tyler?
The thought made my blood boil.
"And this is the type of technology that could bring clean energy to millions of people. Affordable clean energy", Tyler finishes, sliding to the final graphic on the tablet with another childish grin.
"Yes", Alexia stands, strutting to Tyler's place at the head of the table. "And with your donation..." I tune her out as the pieces click into place.
This is part of their pitch, showing the investors the brilliant revolutionary pair. The inventor and the logistics of the company, rising triumphant joined hands. A well designed machine, just like their hydroelectric power.
One can't help but marvel.
Tyler turns to catch my eye, and I let him snare me with his deep brown eyes. But I stared into his, with boredom, as if the display didn't spark any interest in me. His brow furrowed in confusion, looking down at his tablet.
That's right a brute voice whispered in my ear. Make him fumble for you, make him pull out all the stops to catch you.
I directed my smirk toward his cousin as she continued through the ending crescendo of her pitch.
"Is that all?", I drawled, cutting off her speech about how much her donation would mean to the company, the world.
Alexia stumbled back like I slapped her, opening and closing her mouth, not knowing what to say next. My smirk bloomed to a devilish grin.
"What my dear cousin means to say", Max began with a soothing grin. "Is maybe it's time for us to give you our pitch."
Tyler recovers first, "Of course." With a pointed look at Alexia, she takes the open seat on his right, tossing a glare at me in the process.
"We have some, shall we say...conditions, before we give you our money", I purred in Tyler's direction.
"Yes", Max continued, as we fell into our old routines, feeding off each other. "Our primary request is invitations to your social calendar while you remain in Seattle. You want our money and we want your notoriety."
"Done", Alexia quickly supplied. Not taking her eyes off Max, while he vollied his demands between the two, casting a spell over the pair so they'd accept and we could begin to exploit.
I kept my gaze locked on Tyler, he didn't break my hold.
"Next, we want access to this building and the work you're doing here. If we are to invest, we want to see where our money is going." Max tucked his hands behind his head and lent back, expecting them to refuse and argue.
Alexia looked toward Tyler, who kept looking at me as he said, "Done."
"Well", Max clapped his hands, leaning forward "I'd say we have a deal."
"Not yet", I said, Tyler gave me a sideways smirk that I echoed. "I want dinner with you tonight. Say yes and our money is yours."
I kept my shoulders back, but overall posture relaxed. Tyler's smirk grew into a full smile.
"No", he replied. I arched a brow, but didn't dare raise to his bait. "I want a date with you, every week, while we remain in Seattle."
I smiled, a cruel, wicked smile.
"I don't think -"
"Really not necessary-"
Alexia and Max's denials swam around us, but I ignored them as I stood, holding out my hand for Tyler to shake.
"You have yourself a deal."
He stood, firmly grabbed my hand with calloused fingers, "Meet me in the lobby at eight."