“Enough!” He clamped a hand over his left eye, and looked at Julie. “If you try to follow me, I will put you down — I don’t give a shit who you really are. Understood?”
She held her hands up passively and nodded without a word.
“I thought you were different,” continued Jericho, “but you’re not. You’re just like everyone else. There’s always a hidden agenda. I just want someone to be straight with me!”
“We are being straight with you,” she insisted. “I know this is hard, Jericho, but we’re not your enemy. The real enemy is the CIA, and these guys,” she gestured to the bodies scattered around them, “were just the beginning. They’re not going to stop now they know you’re alive, do you understand that? You’re a loose end, and they’ll do whatever it takes to finish what they started in Colombia.”
Jericho thought about what she’d said. He knew she made a good point, in spite of everything else running through his mind. And after speaking with Julius Jones the night before, he was convinced something was amiss. Even if he didn’t want to believe everything GlobaTech had told him, he could tell things weren’t right. Jones was very keen to get him back to Langley, and quick to jump on the defensive when Jericho questioned the CIA’s position.
He took a deep breath and stared at Julie, watching her. His anger slowly subsided and, finally, he relented. “So, you’re not a nurse, I’m guessing?” he asked.
She smiled. “I’m a lot of things,” she replied. “But no, I’m not a nurse.”
He lowered his left hand and let out a reluctant sigh. “Fine, let’s go. But this doesn’t mean I trust you.”
“Atta boy, Jericho,” said Josh. “Just give us a chance to prove ourselves to you, okay? That’s all I ask.”
“Whatever,” he said. He walked over to the sedan and opened the driver’s side door, but Julie appeared beside him.
“I don’t think so, handsome,” she said, smiling. “I’m driving.”
Jericho hesitated, but realizing he should probably keep his left eye covered with one hand, he stepped aside, allowing her to climb in behind the wheel. He shook his head and walked around the car, sighing as he slid into the passenger seat and slammed his door closed.
Julie started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, turning right, and heading back toward Santa Clarita.
Jericho rested his head back in the seat. “Better the devil you know…” he muttered.
SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA, USA
April 20th, 2017
The drive back to GlobaTech’s headquarters took less than an hour. The journey passed mostly in silence. The pain in Jericho’s head had subsided, too, which he was relieved about, although he still kept a hand over his eye as much as possible.
The traffic was steady, and the mid-morning sun was behind them. Julie had remained quiet, calmly focusing on the road. He noted the change in her body language; like someone had flipped a switch and turned her into a completely different person. She was more relaxed, comfortable… confident. He couldn’t deny being impressed with her fighting abilities, despite his anger at being deceived by her, and by the people who had spent the last thirty-six hours asking for his trust.
She turned into the compound, slowing to a stop in front of the security barrier guarding the entrance. On the other side of the roadway, a team of three men were replacing the barrier they broke the day before, during their escape. Two guards came out of the hut in the middle and approached the car. Jericho recognized them both from the large group who had tried to stop him, before Julie’s intervention.
They moved to the driver’s window, which Julie buzzed down, resting her arm on the frame as she leaned out. “Hey, fellas… we’re here to see Mr. Winters.”
They exchanged an uncertain glance, ducking slightly and staring at Jericho. Julie spotted their concern. “It’s okay, guys, he’s with me.”
Both guards relaxed and walked back into their hut. A few moments later, the barrier lifted and she eased through, heading left toward a large building in the far corner — a tall glass structure that wouldn’t have looked out of place against the skyline of any major city.
She navigated the network of roads as Jericho gazed out the window, looking at the industrious citadel that surrounded him. Although he’d seen it from inside the conference room a little over twenty-four hours ago, he hadn’t really appreciated just how big the place was.
Small, six-person transport vehicles with the GlobaTech logo emblazoned on the sides whizzed by in every direction, carrying people wearing a mixture of suits, fatigues, and overcoats to wherever they needed to be.
The roads formed a large square, and branched out to the corners of the compound. In the middle was a helipad, a large SAM site, and units of troops all kitted out in hi-tech uniforms running drills.
“How can you afford all this without any government funding?” asked Jericho, genuinely curious and impressed in equal measure.
Julie laughed. “Don’t ask me, I just work here.”
He glanced across at her. “Yeah, about that… who are you? Really.”
She smiled. “I’ve worked here for the last six years,” she said. “I did a lot of security work in South Africa for the first eighteen months. Then I was brought in to work for Robert Clark.”
“He’s the guy who died in the terrorist attack, right?” asked Jericho, recalling his brief conversation with her yesterday.
She nodded. “He was a good man, and deserved better than that. We had a… bit of an issue a few years back with internal security. Someone who worked in our Finance and Logistics section — something Jackson, I can’t remember his first name — tried to sell land that GlobaTech owned to a terrorist cell. Robert headed up the investigation following Jackson’s death, and uncovered corruption at the highest level. I was part of the unit that took out the trash. Once that was behind us, the company restructured its hierarchy, sought investment from reputable, private sources, and was able to quickly turn itself into what you see today.”
Julie pulled over beside some steps that led up to the main entrance of the building. As they got out of the car, the doors slid open and Josh Winters appeared. Jericho looked over, and then raised an eyebrow at Julie.
“Be nice,” she said. “He’s here to help.”
“Whatever…” he muttered in response, before setting off up the steps.
Josh greeted him with an extended hand, and Jericho stopped, looking first at the hand, then in Josh’s eyes.
“Let me be clear,” he began, “I don’t like being lied to.” Careful to keep his left eye closed, he took Josh’s hand, shaking it firmly. He tightened his grip as Josh tried to pull away, holding him there. “I told you before I wanted you to be straight with me, and you weren’t. If it happens again, I’ll break your fucking neck. Understand?”
Josh smiled, continuing to shake hands and appearing unfazed by the threat. “Jericho, you are one scary bastard, d’you know that?” He laughed, eventually letting go and gesturing to the doors. “Come on, let’s get you looked at. No more games.”
He walked off, and Jericho followed him through the automatic doors. Inside was a large, open lobby. It looked incredible — the floor was dark marble, and there was a large, circular enclosure in the middle, with trees and plants contained within. Along the right wall was a front desk, with two stunning women sitting behind it, working feverishly away at their computers. Behind them, embedded in the wall, was an enormous TV screen with a graphic of the company’s logo spinning round. All the way around, the walls were adorned with framed images showing the work that’d been done, and the things GlobaTech had accomplished over the years. On the left were three glass elevators in a line.