Jeff finds himself in Silicon Valley where he is asked to investigate claims by a gregarious Frenchman that his neural network electronic technology actually works. He meets up again with the enchanting Nancy, the FBI agent he had worked with in Atlanta where they fell in love while he was still married, and again in Washington DC Kathy puts romance back into Jeff’s life as he finds himself hounded by financially-desperate Europeans so determined to push their questionable technology―men so desperate that they will stop at nothing, even Jeff’s murder. The excitement will make the reader gasp, tragedy will make the reader cry, romance will make the reader sigh.
Chapter 5 of Silicon Gulch … Nancy
Monday, 11:08 PM: The Red Eye
Jeff thinks he gets to have sex with
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- Chris Lamela
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Author contact: chris@chrislamela.com, 707-566-8790 PST
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Monday,
11:08 PM: The Red Eye
Jeff looked at the card again stepping off the elevator, turning right
proceeding down the hall watching the numbers ticking up, finally stopping at
the number matching the card.
He gave three knocks as he stood hoping―no, praying―that she would
answer the door naked then in a minute they could find Atlanta
The door swung open to Nancy
Fully clothed.
Wearing a jacket.
Her wheeled large bag sitting next to the bed.
"You have a car, right?"
"Yeah," he mumbled baffled at the scene in front of him.
"Good," she dropped the brush into her purse, "you can
drive me to SFO."
"You mean to San Francisco
"Yeah," she looked at her watch, "I don't even have two
hours, can you get my bag?" she motioned to the extra-large wheeled
luggage by the bed.
With a blank expression he stepped into the room, rested his hand on the
tall handle.
"I thought tonight…I mean tonight weren't we going to spend the…"
She turned, paused in front of him, "I'm sorry, what was I
thinking?" She reached toward him, pulling him to her their mouths meeting
in a long passionate embrace. He could feel the rise between his legs, pressing
on her belly. She reached down stroking his hardness.
"But where are you going? It's late!"
"I'm on the damned red eye to DC tonight," she glanced at her
watch, "I figure if you drive me then we can talk, we need to figure out
what this crazy Frenchman is up to. What's the deal with the congresswoman?"
She pulled back looking at him, "Why is it always congressmen, or rather
congresswomen? What's the deal with the cases you bring me?"
"Bring you?"
"Yes," she laughed stepping to the door opening it pointing to
her luggage, "come on, we need to go."
He pulled at the three-foot
tall luggage that was much heavier than it looked, "What do you have,
bricks in here?"
She laughed as he passed her at the door, "Our joke is always that
heavy luggage contains a body!"
"Knowing you, it probably does!"
He pulled it through the door, a bellman appeared, "Here sir, let
me take that," yanking the handle from Jeff so fast he was jerked forward,
the bellman turned an apologetic face to Jeff, "Sorry sir, but we know you're
in a hurry," the bellman sprinted off to the elevator, the other two
having to nearly jog to catch up.
When they got to the hotel entry Jeff ran around the corner, appearing
again in his rental mini-van. He jumped out running around to the back, the
long back door raising, the bellman appeared, the two of them having to lean
over to hoist it into the car. Jeff reached up pulling down the back gate
seeing Nancy
Jeff climbed into the car to the sound of riotous laughing, "A
mini-van? Oh, Jeff this is precious, you drive a mini-van!" She howled
with laughter.
He flashed her a hurt expression starting the car turning left out of
the parking lot, "This is a very practical car! It's the only car they
would let me drive for a one-way rental without paying a huge premium. I like
this car!"
"And what kind of car do you drive at home?"
He gave her a sheepish grin, "A mini-van," pulling out of the
parking lot.
She was trying to compose herself looking around the car, bursting into
another round of laughter, "Let me get this right. You own a mini-van then
turn around to rent a mini-van?"
laughing again.
"It's the only car they'd rent me one-way that didn't charge a big
return fee!"
"Okay, so tell me the story, you got the min-van and she got the
sports car, right?" laughing even louder.
"Okay, enough already, I told you" he was becoming annoyed at
the teasing. "And no, she doesn't drive a sports car."
"Alright, I'll bite, what does she drive?"
"A mini-van, she has the newer one."
"Two mini-vans!" She howled even louder. "And to make
sure you feel at home you rent a mini-van?" tears rolling down her face in
her mirth.
It wasn't until they were in Mountain
View
"Oh, god, Jeff, I love you. You really know how to do picket
fences, huh? You even rent them!"
"When you have two kids in soccer and school and all that stuff,
that car really works. I know it's not exactly a chick magnet." He laughed
to himself, "As a matter of fact, I am invisible
when I drive that car. Not a single look from a single woman. Period. Never."
He laughed louder looking at her still wiping tears from her eyes. "Nada."
She scanned the car again trying to imagine this man in Seattle
He glanced at her in the darkness, "What do you mean?"
"You're kidding me, right? Paula was practically pouring herself
into your pants!"
Jeff shook his head smiling, "Yeah, she sure was coming on to me
huh?"
"And the congresswoman! You should have seen her eyes looking at
you! I swear I saw her feel your ass!"
"Looking at me?" He was already pretty sure that she had felt
his ass.
"Jesus yes, Jeff, are you blind? She had you undressed, spit fire
roasted and ready to eat!" She laughed again. "What is it about you
that so attracts every woman you meet? So am I going to find you naked with a
new little slut? Or new little slut congresswoman?" Her laugh started
gaining an edge, "It's not like the congresswoman is much of a catch, but
I'll bet Paula can put her legs around you pretty tight!"
He thought about her husband, how she worked so hard to advertise her
availability, her putting him back down like she did, he moved uncomfortably in
his seat with hands on the wheel. Jeff knew Nancy
"Nancy, the only woman I want is you. You know that."
"Well you're not going to get me until Thursday."
"Thursday?"
"Yeah, I'll want you to pick me up again Thursday morning, can you
do that?"
"Sure, don't you have a car?"
"It's back at the hotel." She could she his doubtful face in
the soft light of the dashboard. "I wanted you to drive me so we could
talk."
Jeff told her about how the Frenchman and his sidekick made such a big
deal about doing a test integration with his gear as a way of getting General
Avatonics to give them the mounting details for the aircraft. How Frank Pacfil
had made Jeff the gatekeeper to get to him. He told her about the rumors he had
heard about the Neurotek equipment not being up to snuff, about the other
rumors about his tests being faked. How he had offered to do a really simple
integration on their Cessna Skymaster, and how they didn't seem all that
interested to actually do any kind of real testing at all.
He didn't tell her about Kathy .
"That's good, so you already know some of our concerns. So I sold
this case to Arnie because if the tests are faked then that's fraud, you know
misuse of taxpayer money blah blah blah. The problem is that the Frenchman is
really sneaky and there is a really weird web around his whole business. Too
many players."
"Too many players?" Jeff watched as they passed the last exit
for Palo Alto
"Yeah, way too many. My experience is when there are so many
players that there has to be something
wrong."
Jeff nodded in the dark remembering Washington DC
"Okay, here's what you need to do…" Nancy
"That's fine, but man that guy is really starting to get on my
nerves."
"Yeah, that's deliberate, I swear. He definitely hides behind his Frenchness, there's more about him that
is just too spooky."
"Like what?"
"We get to see all the credit card records, right?" Jeff
nodded knowing this was true. "Well this guy is mister first class all the
way. Always first class air travel, always the most expensive hotels, you
should see his meal tabs. He spent four thousand dollars on that meal tonight!"
"How do you spend four thousand dollars on a dinner for fifteen?"
"By flying a chef from France
"Wow. Well the food was good!
Really good!"
"The point is that man has an insatiable
need for cash. His elaborate lifestyle doesn't match the company's profile.
That company has no revenues. None."
"I thought they were selling systems."
"They say they are, but to who? We haven't been able to track a
single shipment. None. Their only income at all was the DOD feasibility grant."
"This means that nobody is willing to buy their stuff," Jeff
said almost to himself.
Jeff was surprised to see the airport was the next exit, signaled moving
the car to the right lane.
"Listen, one more thing you need to do."
He looked over at her, "You know me, I'll do whatever you need."
"You're sure?"
He nodded as they pulled onto the departures ramp starting to circle in
front of airline signs.
"United," she said picking up her purse, setting it on her
lap.
He pulled up to the curb, she reached
into her purse pulling something out, reaching to hand it to Jeff who looked
down seeing the little Colt Cobra
pistol that Jeff had back in Atlanta and Washington DC.
"Why do I need this?" he held his hands away like she was
holding a snake.
"Jeff, this could be another dangerous case. Too much money. Way
too much money." She motioned to him, he reached taking it reluctantly.
"I will feel so much better if you have this."
A sky cap leaned toward Nancy
They heard the back gate open, Jeff turned
to Nancy
"You promise you won't take this the wrong way?"
She could see his face clearly in all the lights around them.
"If you get a chance, and I think you will, I need you to do
something for me. And Jeff it will be for the case, you understand. It's not
necessarily what I would want you to
do."
"Nancy
Her look told him she was reluctant to say the words that followed.
"I want you to sleep with her."
Jeff's eyes bulged at the thought of this woman that he was so crazy
about was actually telling him to sleep with another woman!
"It will get her trust. It's the only way we can get on the inside.
You know I'm not crazy about asking you to do this," she shook her head, "maybe
I am crazy telling the man I love to do this."
"Sleep with her, sleep with who?" Jeff's voice implored,
frightened at the answer he was about to hear.
"Nancy
"The congresswoman."
"The congresswoman."
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SILICON GULCH!
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