Page 22 of The Debt
Chapter 14
7:30AM…
The call came in while he was finishing his third cup of coffee. It had taken two and a half days and a whole bunch of pain killers to get over a head ache. Having gone through puberty, adolescence and young adulthood and never gotten drunk was a mistake. At least he would have been prepared for the pounding headache, the queasy stomach and the complete lack of appetite for food.
He’d missed several meetings, including one crucial to the development of the program he was designing. This morning was a reschedule with the NSTF and he could not afford to miss it. When the phone rang, Archer set the coffee cup down on the coffee table in his living room and picked up the cell phone.
It was Mira’s number. His heart did a somersault as he stared at the phone screen, while his mind completely froze before melting with a million questions. What should he say to her now that she was returning his dozens of calls? And what of Vasco? When the phone stop ringing, he could kick himself. He wanted to hear her voice, to ask her if what Vasco said was true and listen her explanation of deception.
After two days of hangover where he could only stay home and think about never touching alcohol again, he came to the concussion that Mira wasn’t faking what they had. The pain behind her eyes were real. The kisses and passion they shared was real and the closeness they shared while on their date was not something one could easily fake.
The phone rang once more, startling him and he immediately answered. “Hello.”
“Dunbar.” It was Vasco Black, the one person Archer didn’t wish to speak with.
“What can I do for you Vasco Black?”
“We need to meet.”
“I’m a busy man, Vasco. Say what you want over the phone now.”
“It’s about Mira and what I have to say I need to say it in person. Meet me in 30 minutes at the old Italian restaurant off the Old Boston Road.”
The phone line went vacant before Archer could respond. This was highly unusual that Vasco would ask to meet him. Moreover, he couldn’t just cancel his meeting and do as Vasco said. In addition, his legal consult Ronald Harvey was flying in from Michigan to attend this meeting. He hadn’t seen his friend in a couple of years and wanted to catch up.
His own personal attorney had just undergone surgery and Ron was called in at the last minute although he’d been kept up to date about what was happening since the beginning, being a close friend.
Archer stood, looking down at his briefcase beside the coffee table while his jacket was lying on the back rest of the sofa. Dropping the phone inside the jacket pocket, he picked it up and slipped his arms in, securing the single front button. He then picked up his briefcase and started moving towards the front door. But the brief conversation with Vasco was bothering him, bringing him to a halt just inside his front door.
Mira’s voice, face, lips and touch were prominent in his mind. There was no way he could concentrate on a meeting not knowing whether she was in trouble. Dropping the briefcase at his feet, he took his phone from his jacket, dialing her number. It didn’t even ring once. He dialed again and it went straight to voicemail.
Stepping past the briefcase, he marched through the front door, across the portico to his waiting car. While he fastened his seatbelt, Archer activated the hands free feature for the phone and voice dialed his lawyer’s number.
Ron picked up after a couple of rings. “Archer, I’m on my way to your office. Be there in ten minutes so we can go over this before they arrive.”
“Ron, you will have to take over the meeting until I arrive. I have a little emergency I need to take care of.”
“No, you’re the mastermind behind all this. What do I know about technology?”
“Just go over the legal aspects until I arrive.”
There was a sigh on the other end of the line. “Alright. Just don’t be too long.”
“I’ll be there in a couple of hours.”
They ended the conversion shortly while Archer’s mind shifted to Amira, a woman he’d known less than a week. A woman who he seemed to have known for a lifetime. How was it possible to feel connected with someone in so little time? All he knew was that this woman belonged to him, she gave him that right when they made sweet love.
Thinking about that night sent a ripple of pleasure down his spine and a lurch in his groin, causing his dick to squash against the zipper of his pants. Archer started the engine sped through the gaping gate. Within ten minutes he had covered a twenty minute journey across town. Fortunately he knew the city like the back of his hand and knew which roads would be free of traffic at this hour of the morning.
He was pulling into the driveway of the building which once operated the restaurant Vasco mentioned. The building was under disrepair and seemed to be up for demolition or reconstruction. There were equipment parked in the lot along with a metal container unit. Several cars were parked in front of the building, one of which he assumed to be Vasco’s. The driver of that car was standing next to it in a dark suit. He bowed slightly as Archer approached.
“Is Vasco here?”
“He’s waiting for you inside, Sir.”
A minute later he was stepping though the door into a dusty room. The old tables and chairs were stacked against the walls while a light blinked from overhead. The door slammed shut behind him as Vasco approached him. Before he could ask Vasco why he was summoned, a fist came to clip his chin. Archer reeled back, his eyes dimming and the room shifted around. He flashed his head, his hand reaching up to massage his jaw.
“Where is she?” Vasco demanded.