Free Zero Sum, Book One, Kotov Syndrome by Russell Blake Page B

the
kitchen and went to see how she was doing.
    Jennifer was looking better, though she
knew him well enough to know something was bugging him, and she
called him on it. “What’s your deal, Steven?” she asked him.
“You’re here, but you’re not.”
    He considered telling her about the
warning from the Group and his unease over the Gas Company visit,
but thought better of it. Nothing had happened that warranted any
concern other than a half-expected hacking attempt a thousand miles
away – and he was dealing with that.
    “I just have a lot going on at the
moment. I’m gonna go upstairs and meditate; that should bring me
back to earth.” He looked out at the beach and cocked his head.
“Honey, it’s really beautiful out. Let’s put the top down and run
down to Corona Del Mar for dinner. Martinis are on me.”
    “Deal.”
     
    * * * *
     

Chapter 11

    Steven’s meditation was troubled.
Instead of a sense of descending to progressively lower and lower
levels of awareness, or rather of increasing the level of
tranquility and peacefulness at each stage, it was punctuated by
random leaping thoughts and a vague sense of unease.
    It was far from relaxing. When he came
to full awareness, he remained distinctly anxious. He’d come to
trust his instincts, and they were insisting that something
disturbing was on the horizon – and drawing ever closer.
    Jennifer went upstairs when he came
down. He’d changed into a linen shirt and loose linen trousers with
a pair of huaraches, sort of the dressed-down version of white guy
on vacation. He filled Avalon’s water bowl, cleared the remaining
items off the counter – and vowed to stay away from the computer.
While he was waiting for Jennifer to freshen up and return, the
phone rang. He picked up.
    “Mr. Archer?”
    “Yes.”
    “It’s Monica Sweeney at the Gas
Company. Sorry to take so long to get back to you.”
    “No problem. Any news?”
    “I’m still checking, but I haven’t
noticed any activity in your area for today. It’s quite possible a
crew was there, but I don’t see it on my printouts. We aren’t
perfect, though, so this isn’t the last word...”
    “Well, that’s not very reassuring,” he
said, “considering there were two guys in my house earlier claiming
to be your employees.”
    “Did they show ID when they
arrived?”
    “You kn…I…I don’t know, I wasn’t here.
My girlfriend was.”
    “Always ask to see identification
before admitting anyone into your house.”
    “Thanks, I’ll remember that,” Steven
said patiently.
    “And like I said, there could be a crew
out there, it’s just not on my system. Sorry I can’t be more
help.”
    “Well, thanks for checking.”
    “You’re welcome. Have a nice evening,
and thank you for calling the Gas Company.”
    Well, that hadn’t left him any the
wiser, but given nothing had been touched, though, the best bet was
the obvious; it was a routine check, and he was just a teensy bit
on edge from the drama surrounding the website and the message
boards.
    His ruminations were pleasantly
interrupted by Jennifer’s descent down the stairs. She was
stunning, wearing a simple white summer dress that accentuated her
deeply tanned skin and mane of blonde hair; the scent of tropical
flowers and coconut accompanied her into the room.
    “Wow. Someone could get lucky tonight
if she wanted. You fully recovered?”
    Jennifer smiled. “Better by the minute.
What does a girl have to do to get a decent Cosmopolitan in this
town?”
    “Hop into the beach-mobile. Your
chariot awaits.” He grabbed his keys and cell phone, and escorted
her to the garage. The engine turned over with a meaty roar, the
top went smoothly down, and soon they were cruising down Pacific
Coast Highway with the warm summer breeze in their hair.
    Monday night at the restaurant was
relatively quiet, so there wasn’t much of a crowd. Jennifer ordered
her Cosmo, and he a Malbec. They were seated in a booth overlooking
the kitchen, and