KINETIC - an action thriller

KINETIC - an action thriller

Amber Payne stared up from the book on her desk, a copy of PAST DUE about a ex-soldier and bookstore owner in Arizona who kept stumbling across trouble.  She marked the page with a finger and glanced at the alert window that pinged red on the monitor screen.

His job was simple.

She monitored a computer screen that was connected to data mining software that was embedded on a communications satellite orbiting above.  That software searched for certain words or combination of words, and flagged them for review.

When it was created, Operation Overhear was designed to prevent terrorism.  But with the global war on terror defunding and winding down, the Board of Directors found other applications for the software in the corporate sector.

Business was booming.

Amber hit print screen and marked her place in the book as she shut it.  She grabbed the info flash from the printer and hurried it to her section head.

“I thought your shift was over,” said Roger Banks.

He was middle aged and going soft around the midsection, but wore a suit and tie to the office every day.

“Yes Sir,” she smiled.  “I was covering for Barbara for half an hour. I wanted to make sure this was handled properly.”

She passed him the piece of paper.

Roger scanned it quickly, then placed the paper on his desk to read it again.

“Good work on this,” he praised.  “I’ll make sure you get mentioned in the file.”

Amber beamed at him, her chest swelling with pride.

“Thanks Roger.”

“Now go home,” he said.  “Remember, work life balance is the key.  I’ll monitor Barbara's station from mine until she gets here.”

She nodded, smiled again and left.

Roger watched her go, his face a stoic mask.  One hand absently toyed with the piece of paper she had passed to him while the other drifted to the mouse by his keyboard.

He pulled up a dialing software and clicked in a number.  The line routed through several ISP addresses bounced around the world and connected.

“One of the data techs found a problem,” he said without preamble.  “Handle it.”

He clicked out of the program quickly, and reached down to open a bottom drawer on his desk.  He slid the paper into a shredder and watched the paper sputtered from the bottom in confetti sized pieces.

Amber drover her crusty Toyota out of the parking garage and turned left on the deserted street.  She cranked the radio higher and sang along, her face beaming.  Two years out of Rutgers, late nights and long hours with no social life and finally she was noticed.  She wanted to call her mom and tell her what she had done, but non-disclosure contacts prevented her from discussing anything about her work.

But surely this mention would be the first step to a promotion.

There was a posting in Rome for an embassy attache, and while she was pretty sure field work would be involved and she wasn’t trained for that, she wondered if she should apply anyway.  A few years in Rome to brush up on her Italian and monitor Russian communications would help fast track her to another promotion stateside.

She pulled up behind a beige Lincoln Town Car at a red light just as it slipped over to green.

The car in front of her didn’t budge.

Amber tapped along with the music on her steering wheel.  He was probably talking or texting in front of her.  She was in such a good mood she’d give him a moment to notice the green light before she beeped the horn.

Just then, the Town Car started moving.

“There you go, buddy,” she grinned.  “Wake it up.”

Amber pressed the accelerator on her small car.

The concrete truck ran a red light and slammed into the driver’s side door at sixty miles per hour. It rolled over and through the thin metal of Amber’s car and keep going until it crashed into a brick retaining wall.

The driver’s door popped open and a man dressed in black and wearing a ski mask jumped out.  He ran across the street and hopped into the waiting town car which slowly drove away.

Amber died happy and smiling.

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