Chapter Nineteen
Stalking

Axel Turner parked next to the squatting hulk of Mina O'Connell's car. Squatting, because the balding tires were losing air, going spongy and allowing the body to sink even lower than the sprung shocks usually allowed. *What the hell is Baxter's lackey supposed to be fixing on that anyway? I've never seen him touch it. I suppose he could do it before I arrive, but I mean I've never seen him anywhere near it. I wonder...*

He got out and walked around the car, studying it thoughtfully. He peered through the driver's window. No key. *Baxter's man would have that, if he's supposed to be working on it.* He tried the door handle, then snorted. *It won't go anywhere, it has nothing in it or on it worth stealing, so of course they lock the door. Well, it's an old model--that can be taken care of.*

He hated risking getting wrinkles in one of his shirts, but he sacrificed a hanger, anyway. Axel unwrapped the hanger, straightening it till it was a long, straight rod with a fish hook shape at the end. Axel stood close to the car, looking around. The street was quiet. It was too late for people going to work, and too early for people to be leaving work. Axel slid the hanger down into the car, working it between the roof and the crumbling rubber insulation. He bent the hanger down, forming it into an L shape. When he lifted the end he held, the bar of the L came up against the window, the hook tapping against the lock knob. With a little fishing maneuver he looped the hook around the narrow barrel, then jerked up sharply. The hook caught on the knob, and the lock tripped. Axel, feeling smug, opened the door.

Once he had the door open, Axel rummaged in his trunk till he came up with a flat head screwdriver, a pair of pliers, and a pair of gloves. Axel opened the hood and examined the engine. *Let's see, it's a four cylinder. I think that the plug wires should be on the right, center, and they run... here, to the coil wire. Okay, now, if the hanger will stretch...* He put on the gloves, just in case, and unbent the hanger. It just barely reached from the coil wire to the positive post of the battery. Of course, even if the car WASN'T broken down, this wouldn't work if the battery was dead. There was only one way to find out.

Axel found the starter solenoid. Using the pliers he crossed a small wire with the positive battery cable. Nothing. He twisted the end of the hanger a little tighter around the battery post, then clamped the wires tighter together. There was a weak whirr. The engine turned over, caught, and idled. "Well, I'll be damned," Axel whispered in amazement. "It worked!"

He quickly unhooked everything, shutting the hood. *The bastard runs, and I'm willing to bet it's been able to run for some time. So, what the fuck is little Miss Mina doing still riding around with his highness?* The obvious reason was that she was enjoying the luxury, taking the guy for whatever she could, but somehow Axel thought that the obvious seldom applied to Mina.

"What are you doing with Mina's car?"

Axel whirled, every motion screaming 'guilt!', to find the chauffeur standing behind him. Behind him Axel could see Baxter's sleek, black car parked at the curb in front of the building's entrance. Axel collected himself quickly. "I think the question is what haven't you been doing with Mina's car?"

Dominic smiled. "What I have or haven't been doing with the car..." he paused, "or the woman herself, is none of your fucking business, Rent-a-Cop."

Axel bristled. "I'm security, and anything that happens around here that's suspicious is my business."

"You look into suspicious stuff, huh? Well, I have a neighborhood watch flash for you--someone's hot wiring cars in the parking lot."

Axel could feel the hot rush of blood to his face. "You haven't been working on the damn thing! I was just testing it for her."

Dominic rolled his eyes. "O'Connell asked you to do this?" Axel was silent. "But she knows you're doing it, right? No? I'm sure the cops would understand. Tell you what, man... Why don't you get your narrow little butt inside and do what they pay you your seven bucks an hour for, and forget about this shit? It'll be better for your ulcers." He turned and started toward the building, tossing over his shoulder, "Hell, it'll be better for your health, all the way around."

Dominic stalked into Stephen's office and stood before his employer. Hands clenched into fists, he spat, "Fucking Axel Turner!"

Stephen put down the document he was reading. "This is more than the usual distaste, Dominic. What has he done now?"

Dominic was pacing in front of the desk like a caged animal. "What has he done? The motherfucker notwired Mina's car, to prove that it runs. The asshole is suspicious."

Stephen frowned. "That is distressing. I don't think anyone has ever really become suspicious before when I settled on a new pet."

"Well, boss, you gotta admit that you've been spending more time with this one than you did with your others. What do we do now?"

Stephen had picked up the phone, and was dialing. "The first thing to do is to take Lamont off the clock. She might notice him and become suspicious. Hello? This is me. Yes. Cease coverage. Yes, entirely. Yes, all actions. The balance of pay will be delivered to your office. Yes. Thank you. It's been a pleasure. Perhaps in the future, but not for a very long time, I hope." He hung up.

Dominic said, "So, what? We give it up? Start over with someone else? You know Mister Thomball has said that he'd always be happy to supply you with one, and it wouldn't cost all that much."

Stephen waved the thought away. "Very generous of him, but no. I have very specific tastes, Dominic, as you well know, and they can't be satisfied by some anonymous Barbie doll woman. No, I'm not ready to give Mina up. I have too much of myself invested in her already. We just have to do a little damage control." He gave Dominic a small, cold smile. "Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say 'do a little damage'."

Dominic returned the smile. "I love my job."

Mina looked up from her monitor at the rap on her door frame. Dominic Genello was leaning in the door, smirking as usual. "Yes?"

The smirk widened to a grin. "Got it going."

Mina fell back in her seat, mouth dropping open. "Well, fuh... Uh... Wow. I'd just about given up on that."

Dominic shrugged. "I told you I'd get it done. The only problem might be that the battery was pretty low. I wouldn't advise driving it much of anywhere till you can have it replaced. You're supposed to come out to the house tonight, but if you try it in that junker you're going to end up sitting by the side of the road."

"Oh, peachy," she sighed.

"All is not lost. Why don't you drive it home this evening and park it? I'll take you back and forth to the house tonight and we'll pick you up as usual tomorrow, then I'll see what I can do about getting you a battery installed."

She studied him. "It's too late to get a replacement now. If I put the car in a garage tomorrow to have it done, he'll insist on riding me around instead of my taking the bus, won't he?"

"You know it. C'mon, Mina. I know I get on your nerves, but Baxter's treated you good, and I'm not gonna believe you'd prefer hard seats, bad shocks, and onion breathed seat companions to a quite ride in a luxury car with a rich, good-lookin' man."

She didn't answer that remark. Instead she said, "Is is time?"

"Yup. C'mon and I'll escort you upstairs."

Mina shut down her computer. Her tone slightly acidic, she said, "The only people who get escorted more than I do are dowager duchesses and prisoners."

She was a little startled by Dominic's burst of laughter as he stood aside to let her pass. He said, "Well, you're not my idea of English nobility, O'Connell."

They went into the hall. Dominic started for the elevators, but Mina hung back. "I need to visit the ladies room." She started toward where the hall turned.

"You could use the boss's private can."

*Ugh. That's a bit too intimate for me.* "I said 'need', not 'want'. I'll be right back."

Dominic leaned against the wall near the elevators. "Take your time."

Axel had been on his way to Records to speak to Mina when he saw her emerge from the room. Unfortunately Dominic Genello was right behind her. Axel didn't want to have to face that bastard down unless he had to, so he ducked down the short side corridor. Genello was busy laughing at something, and he didn't see him. *Damn. Now I'll have to wait till tomorrow to tell her. What exactly the fuck am I going to tell her anyway?*

He heard Mina say something about going to the ladies room, and her footsteps approached. He looked around quickly. There were no offices on this short hall--only the restrooms and a supply closet. Somehow he knew that if Mina saw him she would just turn around and walk off. He had to get her cornered long enough to make her listen to him.

Alex quickly unlocked the supply closet and stepped into it, not quite shutting the door. He watched through the crack as Mina came around the corner and entered the restroom. He waited a moment to be sure that Dominic wasn't going to follow, then eased out and approached the restroom.

He eased the door open and stepped inside, looking around the cool, bright room. No one. He walked toward the row of stalls and squatted, peering under the doors. In the last one he spotted a pair of clunky, but comfortable, dull brown shoes, topped by a puddle of dull brown cloth that had to be a pair of loose fitting pants. He walked over to that door and said, "Mina?"

The feet jerked violently, and there was a hollow sound, like someone banging against a metal wall. "Jesus! Whoever you are, this is the ladies room!"

"Mina, it's Axel--Axel Turner. I..."

"What the hell?" He heard fumbling, the sound of a paper roller spinning. A streamer of tissue appeared beside the shoes. There was a soft swear, and the tissue was jerked up. "Turner, this is the ladies room! Get out, go next door."

"I'm not here to use the pot, O'Connell." He watched as the feet shuffled, and the pants were hastily drawn up. "I need..." The toilet flushed. "I need..." The door opened, and a very agitated and angry Mina O'Connell glared up at him. "to talk to you."

"Talk?" Her voice rose in pitch. "Get out of my way, Turner! God, I knew you had nerve, but I never would have imagined this."

Axel went from flustered to angry. "Look, I'm doing you a favor."

"Oh, I bet you are! Well, don't! Just move, and let me out of here."

"Not yet. You've got to hear what I have to say."

"Like hell I do." She pushed at him.

Axel grabbed her wrists, pushing back. "Calm down and listen, you silly bitch! I'm trying to tell you about the con game that..." She kicked him. "Dammit!" He crowded her back into the stall, grabbed her shoulders, and shook her roughly. "Listen to me, would you?" Mina twisted, trying to force her way past him, and he turned her, pinning her against the wall with his body. "Will you quit fighting me?"

That was when she screamed, and Axel suddenly realized how badly he was fucking this up. "Oh, shit! Mina, please, I'm not going to hurt you. You don't understand..."

"Help! Let me go! Someone help meee!"

Axel started to panic when he heard running footsteps in the hall, and raised voices. He had enough sense to let go of her just before the outside door slammed open, but the sight that greeted Dominic, Mrs. Hollachuck, and a couple of other employees was that of a near hysterical, disheveled Mina bursting past him, screaming frantically.

Dominic tried to catch her, but she shoved away from him violently, stumbling past him. She grabbed Hollachuck and dragged the startled woman between her and Axel, crying, "Keep him away from me!"

There was a babble of questions. Dominic was watching a stunned Axel, and he murmured under his breath, "Oh, Axel, you bad boy. What have you done now?"

Axel shifted uncomfortably. He was standing in front of Stephen Baxter's desk, pinned by the cool, sea-green eyes of Baxter himself. Dominic stood beside his boss, and Hank Borden, the senior security guard on the evening shift, stood beside Axel. Hank was thoroughly pissed. He'd had to dump a brand new Guns and Ammo magazine in the wastebasket when he saw Baxter's right hand man approaching, and he wanted to get back to the lobby before housekeeping got to it.

Baxter was slowly drumming his fingers on an ominously official looking form, while he stared at Axel. Finally he said, "I'd heard rumors that you were being overly attentive to some of the female staff, Turner, but I didn't take it seriously. I see now that I should have."

"Mister Baxter, I know this looks bad..." Dominic snorted. "It's just a misunderstanding, really."

"That's what they all say," sneered Dominic.

"Quiet, Dominic," Baxter ordered. "The facts seem fairly clear cut. You followed Miss O'Connell into a women only restroom. You accosted her in a stall, refusing to allow her to leave when she protested, even to the point of physically preventing her. You didn't release her until witnesses arrived."

"I never hurt her," Axel protested.

"That's the only reason the police haven't been called. I'll tell you truthfully, I'm a little disappointed tha Miss O'Connell has declined to press charges. You're luckier than you deserve in that area. You aren't getting away scot free, though." Stephen indicated the papers. "I've had Miss O'Connell, Miz Hollachuck, and Mr. Genello fill out incident statements, and this will be referred to a disciplinary board as an incident of sexual harassment."

Axel gasped. "Hey, wait a minute!"

"It will be a week or so before they can convene and render a decision. I expect that when they do, your employment here will be terminated. In the meantime you are suspended, and you are not to come onto any property owned by Baxter Corporation, on pain of arrest for trespassing. Mister Borden." Borden straightened, actually sucking in his pot belly. "Allow Mister Turner to get his effects, then escort him from the premises. Call someone in to finish his shift, and write up a memo for security covering his banning."

"Yessir."

"I don't believe this!" Axel whined. "I'm not the one who's up to something." He pointed at Dominic. "It's him!" He narrowed his eyes at Stephen. "Maybe it's you, too. I don't know what it is, but it creeps the hell out of me, and I wanted to tell Mina..."

Stephen's voice was cold. "Are you looking for a slander suit as well, Mister Turner?" Stephen looked at Borden. "Pathetic, really, how people try to shift blame when they're caught out."

Borden nodded. "I don't believe this! Borden, don't you believe me? They're trying to pull something. They..."

Borden took hold of Axel's arm. His voice low, he said, "Turner, you nitwit, you're making it worse for yourself. Just shut up and come on before they change their minds. Even if that girl doesn't file charges, Baxter can still call the cops on you for causing a disturbance on his property. You might not go to court, but you'd end up at least spending the night in jail and having to bail yourself out, plus having the eagle eyes of the law focused on you. Do you want that?" He led Axel out of the office.

"But Hank, I really didn't do anything wrong."

"Shut up, Axel. Just shut up, and let it go for now."

Stephen opened the door into the small, private sitting room just off his office. The two women on the couch looked up at him. Hollachuck sat close beside the younger woman, but there was no touching, no hugging--in short, no comforting. Mina didn't mind. In fact, she knew that she would have been more disturbed than anything else if her stolid supervisor had acted sensitive and nurturing.

There was a squat tumbler sitting before Mina, more than half full of amber liquid. Stephen walked over and said, "You really should finish your drink, Miss O'Connell, for your nerves."

Mina shook her head. "Sorry. I can't stomach alcohol without a lot of fruit juices or mixers. It wouldn't settle my nerves to unsettle my stomach." She paused. "Is he gone?"

"Yes, he's gone. I've suspended him, pending a disciplinary board hearing, but I'm sure he'll be dismissed then. I doubt if you'll have to appear, so don't trouble yourself about it. Your signed statement, along with the witnesses," he nodded toward Hollachuck, who swelled slightly with importance, "should be sufficient."

Hollachuck stood. "Good. Now, if you don't need me anymore, I ought to go back and see that the office is closed up." She patted Mina awkwardly on the shoulder, saying, "Try a hot bath tonight," and left.

Mina sighed, picking up the neglected tumbler, and rolled it across her forehead, closing her eyes. Ice cubes tinkled softly against the glass sides. "Excuse me. I have the worst adrenaline headache of my life. I feel like a vise was clamped on the nape of my neck, then someone drove a spike straight up into my brain."

Her eyes closed, she didn't see how Stephen Baxter was watching her. She didn't see the naked hunger in the usually bland expression. "I have some wonderful pain relievers at home, Miss O'Connell."

He wiped his expression clear as her eyes opened, and she said, "Home? Mister Baxter, I'm not sure I'm up to working tonight."

"You needn't actually work. However, I'm anxious to begin this project." He considered quickly, searching for a reason that would make delay unacceptable. "I've had an offer from a small publishing house to publish my grandfather's diaries. Limited run, mostly for historical reference libraries, you understand, and I need to give them an estimation on how long it will take to prepare them. All you need to do is have a quick look, then you can have a relaxing dinner, and Dominic will drive you home." She hesitated. "I'll pay time-and-a-half, of course."

*Sixty dollars,* Mina thought. *Maybe close to ninety, and I have a new battery to buy.* She put down the glass. "All right."