Dangerous by Default

50. A handwritten note

The answer. She had it in her hands. Months, if not years, of tireless work had all led up to this discovery. Mina's hands shook as if she was going into an epileptic shock, her voice burst from her throat in a high-pitch squeal that could have shattered glass. A plate broke out in the hall, Mina's outpouring of glee had obviously startled Caine. She hardly noticed.

Ami hadn't solved a piece of the puzzle. She had cracked it. Whether or not Mina was the CEO seemed trivial now. They had everything they needed to start families of their own. They had everything. Except, Ami's not here. She's still missing.

"Mina! Did you hear me?" Mina's squealing had obviously startled John Thorne as well. "I said, we have devised a fairly generous compensation package contingent on you signing an agreement that you won't disparage Dimensions in any public statements..."

"John, slow down a second. Ami's email. Can you send it to me?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't Mina. It wouldn't be appropriate..."

"What time was it sent to you? Can you at least tell me that?"

"I've already said everything I'm legally allowed to."

"Bullshit. I'm telling you that last night, Ami sent me a text saying that she finished work on our so-called secret project. A celebratory text. You wanna tell me that she would just disappear after all the work we've put in, after all we've risked? I rushed to the lab last night to congratulate her, only to find some intruding caped super creep in her place. Does this seem like a coincidence to you?"

Mina cut off his stammered "I-uh, what?" to continue.

" Janus is looking for her as we speak. I know for a fact how Ami felt about this project, and that the email you received is fraudulent. You can help me figure out who took her by sending me that email. It's the fastest way to find her. Or, you can ignore my instructions and be complicit in whatever happens to her. I'm obviously not signing shit, so you can take your 'do not disparage' agreement and shove it. I could care less about being the CEO of dimensions because as it happens, what I'm holding in my hands is far more valuable than anything we've, no, I've ever invented. The question you should be asking yourself is, what would it take for you to keep me as CEO? Send the email or expect hell."

"Ok, Mina, please, be reasonable here. Ami's laid it all out, you've already been fired. The board voted. There's nothing we can do about that right now."

Another call lit up Mina's screen. It was Janus. Without a second thought, she hung up on John Thorne.

"Tell me you found her."

"Not yet. I've been going through her place."

"You have a key? "

"She gave me a key after our third date."

"You two move fast, but that's besides the point. Did you find anything?"

"Mina, I have some bad news."

"Oh my god! Janus, is-"

Mina jerked up from her chair, sending it flying backwards and crashing across the floor. This time Caine rushed into the room and gripped her waist. Janus' voice was shouting through the phone.

"No, Mina, calm down. Calm down. That's not it. Look, I found something strange here. A note. I need you to see it. It doesn't make any sense to me. I think it's important."

"What kind of note?"

"It's handwritten, looks frantic, I'm not even sure it's in English. I think you better take a look. I'll be over as soon as I can. Don't go anywhere."

"What is she talking about?" asked Caine as she hesitantly put her phone down on the marble countertop.

"I have no idea."

"Are you ok? I heard the phone call with John. It all sounds so.. improbable. How could they possibly fire you? Dimensions is nothing without you. Seems like everyone's turning on us."

"Actually, it makes total sense. Given this email they claim to have received from Ami, they had no choice. This is Silicon Valley. Cutting throats is just common practice. I knew this could happen the minute I took money from an outside investor. But it doesn't even matter now."

"What do you mean? Of course it matters! All you've been focused on the last six months is trying to raise the money to keep this going. All of the sleepless nights, all the danger acts, it nearly wrecked you. But you've fought through it. Only to be sacked over what, a fraudulent email? I don't know how you are taking it like this. I'm so upset for you!"

To both of their surprise, She cracked a smile. She even laughed.

"Are you ok, dear?" she giggled. Caine laughed too.

"I guess. I feel like I was the one fired. Sheesh." Tears gently rolled down his face as she pulled him in for a kiss. She saw the earnesty in his baby blue eyes as he cupped her face in his hands. "Please explain to me how the hell you're taking this so calmly."

"Because it's not too late! Because after everything that's happened, from the rapists house, to the musuem, to falling out of the fucking sky, everything. We are still alive. Every ounce of blood thats gone into this womb, into giving access to the miracle of childbirth to anyone regardless assigned sex, genetics, their misfortunes, even their finances; has gotten us to this point right now. We have the key to change it all. Caine, it's finished. It's right here on the table."

"Incredible!"

"The goo, what our new enemies want, was the only thing stopping us. Ami solved it last night. With this, I don't need Dimensions. It's time to move on. For us to move on. I'm actually happy they fired me. It was the push I needed, I would have been trapped in golden handcuffs. I'm not a CEO, Caine. I'm an inventor. I'm not supposed to spend my life in a boardroom debating employee benefit packages. I'm supposed to be in a lab, changing lives. Our lives."

She carefully guided his hands from his face onto her belly and her smile shifted to reveal her inner workings, her unrelenting determination. They were going to start a family. "It's finally time. But not without Ami."

Ami. I will find you.