Paul interrupted Stephen as he scribbled letters on the pad. “That’s all I need. Look at this shit.” He dropped his pencil down and stepped back from the table with his hand over his mouth. He had an expression of satisfaction and surprise, as if he was startled by the simple, nonsensical word he’d written on the pad above the sequence of pi.
Cada EIB
Stephen looked at the word and gasped. “Holy fucking shit.”
“That’s a company based out of Widowsfield,” Paul explained to Alma, who was still confused. “Its name is code for pi.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Together Again
March 10th, 2012
“What does that mean?” asked Alma.
“Cada E.I.B. is a company that brokered deals between the US military and other countries. They helped sell outdated weapons and vehicles to friendly countries.”
“Why would their name be code for pi?” asked Rachel. “And it’s not even that good of a code. It’s not like they were trying hard to hide it.”
“But there it is,” said Stephen as he pointed at the pad of paper that Paul had written the key to the puzzle on. “Plain as day. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“It’s weird,” said Rachel. “I’ll give you that.”
“Damn straight it’s weird,” said Stephen. “We’re going to have to check their place out. It’s abandoned now, so we should be able to get in.”
“I don’t know,” said Rachel. “I’m sure it’s a no trespassing area.”
“So?” asked Stephen, undaunted by the law.
“So, I’m not going to jail for you, babe.”
“This is too big to ignore,” said Stephen. “This is the whole story. 314 is the heart of our whole show. With Alma’s story, and now this, fucking hell, we’re going to blow this thing wide open. I can feel it.”
Alma could see how Stephen’s excitement could be infectious, but for her it was unsettling. The thought of charging into a sealed facility in search of a link to the number that she’d come to dread over the years was frightening.
“Calm down, babe,” said Rachel. “You’re getting that wild look in your eyes again. That, I’m-about-to-blow-your-mind look that always means trouble for me.”
“Come on, guys,” said Stephen as he held the pad up and pointed at the extended version of pi that Paul had written. Alma turned away to avoid seeing the number. “This means something. There’s no denying that. We’re right at the cusp of it.”
“Of what?” asked Rachel. Her nonchalant challenge made it sound as if Stephen’s excitement was unwarranted.
“Of everything! Guys, I’m serious, I know we’re going to figure this out. This is going to change our lives, man. I fucking know it.”
“Or we’re just going to get ourselves killed,” said Rachel, and the table went silent.
Jacker shivered for effect and shook his head. “That’s fucked up, man. You guys are starting to seriously scare me with this shit.”
“Too late to back out now,” said Stephen, joking with the big guy. “We already packed up your van!”
“You did?” asked Alma as she glanced at Jacker. “Where are you going to stay tonight?”
“Everyone’s staying here.” Stephen glanced at Paul, who nodded.
“I figured you wouldn’t want to go back to your place,” said Paul. “Stephen said he’d be cool with all of us crashing here.”
“Then we can head out first thing in the morning,” said Stephen.
“I need to get my stuff first,” said Alma.
“What stuff?” asked Paul. “You got bags full of shit over there.” He pointed to the shopping bags from her trip with Rachel.
“Yeah, but I need my other stuff,” said Alma. “Can we just take a quick ride back to my place?”
“I can take you if you want,” said Jacker. “Might as well load your stuff into the van instead of trying to haul it on a Harley.”
“No,” said Alma, a little quicker than she meant to. “Paul and I can just take the bike there. It won’t take us long.”
“You sure?” asked Paul.
She took his hand and guided him to the door. “Yes. Come on.”
“All right,” said Paul. “I guess I’ll see you guys in a few minutes. Jacker, be good.”
Jacker gave him a thumbs up as Alma pulled Paul out the front door.
“What’s the big rush?” asked Paul after they were out of the apartment.
“I needed to get out of there.” She didn’t even realize why she said that. “I think I just needed some fresh air.”
Paul bristled in the breeze and shoved his hands into his pockets. His leather coat made a cracking noise as he stretched it, and Alma loved the sound. It was one of the million different nuances of being with Paul that she never realized she missed. She looked up at him, smiled, and a tear fell down her cheek.
“What’s wrong?” He was sympathetic as he reached out to comfort her.
“I don’t know,” she said, honestly. “I really don’t.”
“Come here, kid.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. “I’ve got your back. If you want to hop on the bike, take off, and forget all this shit, I’ll be right there with you. Okay?”
“No,” she nestled into his embrace. “I need this. I never knew it, but I really need to do this. I’ve got to erase that part of my life.”
“I’ve got your back, babe. Whatever you decide to do, I’ve got your back.”
She stepped out of his embrace, folded her arms, and looked at him. He stood on the sidewalk, watching her, as the moonlight reflected off his bald head. The snake tattoo that was now revealed on the right side of his head, partially shaded by emerging hair, was facing her. She’d never known the tattoo was there, until yesterday when she saw him with a shaved head for the first time.
“Why?” she asked.
“Why what?”
“Why do you have my back?”
He looked as if the question was an affront. “Because I love you.”
For some reason, she didn’t believe him. “I don’t understand why we keep doing this.”
“Oh come on, Alma.” He sighed and started to pat the various pockets on his jacket in search of his cigarettes. “We’re not breaking up already, are we? We just patched things up.”
“We did?” She laughed, although not out of humor. “I don’t remember that. Matter of fact, I seem to recall being pretty pissed at you when I found a rubber in your shitter.”
He looked tired as he lit his cigarette. He didn’t bother responding and let the smoke drift lazily out of his open mouth.
“You’ve got nothing to say about that?” She took another step away from him and crossed her arms.
“What do you want me to say? I didn’t do anything wrong.”
He was right, but that didn’t make her any less angry.
“We’re meant for each other.” He took a drag and squinted at her as he did, then he let the smoke come out of his nose as he continued. “You know it as well as I do. We’re good together, and not worth a shit apart. Our problem is that we haven’t figured out how to fight yet. When we do,” he smiled as he mimicked an explosion, “it gets real bad real quick.”
“I don’t want to go through it all again,” said Alma. “You really hurt me last time.” She tightened her grip around herself and took another step away from him.
“I know it.” He looked down at the ash at the end of his cigarette, avoiding her gaze. “Want to know a secret about the last time we broke up?”
“What?” Her tone implied that she was already skeptical of what he was going to say.
He took another drag, as if trying to stall his admission. “I started being nasty to get you to break up with me. I was trying to protect you.” He flicked ash onto the sidewalk.