Ian got to the pub far later than he had wanted. He tried using the "business is slow" routine to have his shift curtailed, but an unusual late rush of vehicles for a Friday night ensured that he needed to remain on the pumps right until his shift ended at ten. Then a mad dash home on his bike, and the necessary shower all added to the time delay in arriving. He walked in the door to the Explorer almost an hour after he had arranged to meet Kate. Inauspicious beginning, and terrible first impression.
The pub was an ordinary watering hole, with heavily stained wood interior mocked up to resemble what one would think would be a British pub. The room was long and skinny, with the bar running along the left, and wooden tables with chairs running the length of the room. At the far end, next to the rest rooms, there was a small stage where a three-piece band would fit if none of the band members moved during their performance. Ian had never seen a band play here, but he had been in here plenty of time. However, he was certain that in years past, this place was probably hopping with music.
He immediately saw her the second he crossed the threshold. She was sitting at a table near the bar, about one third the way down the pub. She was wearing jeans and a dazzling blue shirt that accented her dark hair beautifully. She definitely appeared more feminine than when at the university, but her actual beauty outshone his imagined beauty. She was partially turned away from him, and in front of her sat a cocktail glass, empty save for a few ice cubes and a straw. She did not look like she was getting ready to leave, but she also had an air of annoyance that told Ian she could leave at any second with no second thoughts.
He walked down to the bar, offering a polite wave to the bartender and pulled out a chair at the table directly opposite her.
Kate looked up at him with those glowing green eyes as he sat down and smiled. That was a good sign. "I was hoping you'd make it here. I was going to give you fifteen more minutes before I left. Late night at work?"
"Um, yeah, you would not believe it. I tried getting off early, and that is when it seemed everyone in Great Plains/Saint Barbara needed gas."
She chuckled mildly at that. Was she laughing at his words, or the fact that he is working at a gas station?
"That's great. It's a good thing too. When we talked the other day, I had forgotten that I worked on Friday too. I got here a few minutes after 10, and I hoped that I had not missed you."
"Well, then, it's good we were both late. Did you want another drink?"
"Sure. I'll have another."
She smiled at him and he smiled back. She looked great, her green eyes were glowing, and her perfume was intoxicating. The bar was small but he could detect the scent of adventure about her.
"Pete, one more for my friend," Ian quickly glanced at Kate to see her reaction, "and I'll have a pint of your good stuff."
Pete nodded and began preparing the order. Ian looked at her, decided that she must be enjoying his company, and relaxed. Almost immediately, he was no longer at a loss for words.
Over the course of three drinks and ninety minutes, Ian and Kate shared quite a bit. There was lots of talk about school, her study on adrenaline junkies, growing up, likes and dislikes regarding movies and music as well as, of course, politics.
"One thing I don't get" opined Kate sitting in the chair next to Ian with her head resting on her hand looking directly into his eyes "is the big focus on religion in this country. It drives everything."
"I know. Back home, even though it is so liberal, religion is a dominant force in our politics."
"Ah. I'd really love to see India."
"I was talking about Seattle."
She laughed. "Have you been to India?"
"Of course. I've visited my grandparents and relatives there on several occasions. But I don't get involved with Indian politics. I don't even like thinking about American politics."
"I bet your society is focussed on karma as a force in politics."
"First, remember, I'm American. So, my society is your society. But second, back in India, I am not Hindu. I am an Indian Christian. We are not a true subscriber to the belief in karma. However, I am very aware of how Hinduism functions."
Looking a bit chastised, Kate diverted the conversation. "Ah, I really want to go to India."
Ian, softening his person, "Me, I want to go to Fiji."
"Why Fiji? What is there?"
"Back in Seattle, I had a friend from Fiji. And he made it out to be an island paradise. One day, I will go there and experience paradise itself."
"That's beautiful. Take me with you when you go. I'll skip India, I'll go to Fiji with you instead."
Realising the fantastic development that she liked him, he had to remind himself that she had been drinking, and a sober Kate may not want to go to Fiji with him although a sober Kate had said she liked daring men. That brought him back to the point of the meeting tonight. "I'll take you to Fiji, if you answer one question for me."
She paused, took a sip from an empty glass through the straw, put it down, looked at him and said nothing. Just stared at him.
Ian, stalling for a moment, waved to Pete for another round. He took the natural pause while waiting as the trigger to ask. "Have you ever been been manipulated by someone to do something you disagreed with?
She chuckled, then laughed. "I thought you were going to ask me to sleep with you." She continued laughing. The alcohol was hitting her.
"I'm serious."
"Look," she began, "I like you. There is something really interesting about you. I don't know what it is, but from the moment I saw you in that race last year, I knew that I wanted to know you. I took your silly coffee date, despite my ethical compass saying to leave you alone. I tested you myself even though I have undergrads all lined up to do that for me. You, Ian, are an intriguing man."
Ian was struck with affection, but part of him could not get over how, despite all those words, she had not answered the question. Did he need to press her harder? If what she said was true, then he had some leeway to press harder without jeopardising his standing with her.
He paused for a second as Pete came, dropped the cocktail and pint onto the table and cleared away the empty glasses.
"I did not hear you answer the question."
"Why would you even ask such a question? Are you asking me if I've been raped?"
Horrified that she jumped to that conclusion, he immediately changed tack. "No. No. No. Not at all. But, last year, after our interview...um, I've been wrapped up in a situation that has been full of intrigue. I've been involved with other people who, likewise, have been in a situation we can't seem to comprehend. When we look at it, all of us have two things in common." He paused here to look at her. She seemed focussed on what he was saying.
"We are all from out of town with no firm connections to Great Plains. Second, we all were involved in testing through your lab, your experiment." Pause. No reaction. "If I were to apply Ockham's Razor to the circumstances around our involvement with this intrigue, it tells me that you, or someone you work with, is using our information to have us manipulated into acting against our wills."
He feared he had gone too far. It was one thing to have her say she was acting a bit unethically by going on a date with him, but it was another to accuse her of being the focal point for recruitment to the Benefactor's activities. She seemed to be lost in thought.
"I didn't know what the Benefactor had in store for you. I had nothing to do with that."
Ian could not believe his ears. He had not used the word Benefactor in any of his explanations. Her little two-line confession flipped the narrative he had running. She was working for the Benefactor!
"What did you just say?" demanded Ian through clenched teeth and tightened jaw.
"Ian, you have to trust me. What I said about liking you was true. I really do like you. But..." She broke off. Looking at him. Nothing coming forth.
Ian had a whole flood of thoughts hit him all at once. His fantasy of an intelligent, naïve woman who liked him and wanted to be with him was nearly destroyed, but this intelligent, manipulative woman who liked him and wanted to be with him. He had feared that she had some connection, albeit indirectly to the Benefactor. He did not anticipate that she had a direct connection to him. He did not need to hear her explanation. Her little confession told him that she was closely connected to him.
"Do you know what hell you have put me through this past year? I have sacrificed friendships, my schooling, my sanity, my freedom and my reputation all to satisfy the whims of the Benefactor. Now, I find the woman I have liked for a year to be the Benefactor's recruiter. If I had never met you, I'd be happier. I would not have this monkey on my back." The last was said in a growl, far too loud for the size of the room.
"Everything alright over there?" It was Pete from behind the bar.
"Yeah, Pete. Everything is fine. I'm leaving now."
"Ian, don't. Let me explain."
"I don't want to hear a word of it."
"Ian, I'm so sorry. You don't understand. Listen, give me five minutes to explain. If you hate me still, fine, I'll live with it. If you don't hate me, we can still talk."
"Five minutes. Starting now."
She took a breath, grabbed her glass and tipped an ice cube into her mouth. She then started, "The Benefactor wanted me to use my study to identify six to eight adrenaline junkies who could do a job for him. He told me the job was borderline illegal, but that he could protect them. I had six months to find everybody. In the end, my undergrads found five. We interviewed several dozen but only had five. That was until I saw your bike race. I knew you were perfect for number six. What I said earlier about me interviewing you was true. You were the only one I interviewed personally. The other five were interviewed by my undergrad students."
None of this so far answered much. In fact, all it did was confirm what he suspected. He was neither impressed nor convinced.
She continued. "You were right. I was the one who thought that being from out of town was a good criteria to have. I had no idea what the Benefactor wanted. But, I figured that if things did not go well, you guys would be able to have a life outside Great Plains. Besides, it was easy. Great Plains/Saint Barbara people are not known for exciting lifestyles. Cow tipping, car surfing and playing chicken are about the only adrenaline activities here. You race bikes, and you are from the west. Lauren is a sky diver, and she is from the northeast. Rab, while also being a miner, is also an amateur stock car driver originally from Lebanon. Moussa is a former soldier in Senegal's army, but is also a local MMA fighter. Bill is part of an anonymous collective of online vigilantes. Dean, despite his lazy ass image and shabby appearance, he is from California and is a top performing amateur dirt bike rider. Every one of you lives on the edge some how."
While Ian found the information on his colleagues interesting, he still was not swayed by her argument.
"So, I got your information to the Benefactor, and he accepted that you six would do for his purposes."
Ian finally spoke, "So you sold us out." He started to stand up.
That seemed to offend her. "You think I wanted to do this? Like you, Ian, I was being manipulated.
He sat back down.
"Two years ago, I was getting ready to apply for my PhD. I was being blocked by some people who had something against me. I don't know whether it was because I was a woman in a science field, or whether my research was going to infringe on someone else's, it was a mess."
Ian thought about that for a second. Being a visible minority in Seattle had demonstrated to him that some people had irrational reasons for doing a lot of things, such as denying entry/access/permissions to people just for being different. He also knew that women in STEM programs had far more challenges than men. Her story, so far, had a ring of truth.
"So, I was getting ready to give up when I got a note in a white envelope. It offered to help me get into the program. But I would have to pay back the favour by volunteering my services to help out my new Benefactor."
Ian remembered his first note, how it too promised much from the Benefactor.
"The Benefactor offered to help me get in the program, resolve issues with the others that did not want me in there, and provide me cover and guidance throughout. I think he even influenced the committee for my dissertation. And, as part of my penance, I had to recruit him a team of adrenaline junkies who would work for the Benefactor." She paused, looked around, grabbed her tiny purse and pulled out a tissue from within. She wiped her eyes and although she did not appear to be crying, avoided eye contact with Ian.
"I did not want to do it, but the Benefactor claims that he can have me exposed as having violated my integrity with both the entry into the program and the completion of my dissertation. That would see my whole life's work destroyed."
Ian could sympathise. He had no life's work, but he had his freedom. And he could understand her sense of vulnerability.
"OK. I hear you. I had no idea. You are like the rest of us. Vulnerable and being manipulated."
She smiled a weak smile at him.
He quickly applied Ockham's Razor to the circumstances of Kate's story. Option 1 is to follow Kate's narrative. Option 2 is that there is a conspiracy among several people to have Kate work hand in glove with the Benefactor. Option 1 is the simplest, therefore it is the right one. She was an ally.
"Kate. The others and I are getting ready to confront the Benefactor. We want to pressure him to leave us alone. Do you want to join us?'
"I really can't Ian. I'd love to, but I can't."
"Why not?"
"If it goes wrong, I have too much to lose."
Knowing that she was in a vulnerable place, he did not want to pressure her.
"Will you help us out at least?"
After taking a few seconds to think, "I can do that."
"OK. Good. First thing we need to do is figure out how to get a message to the Benefactor."
"That's easy" replied Kate. "I can send it."
"How do you know where to send it? Is this the same way you sent our recruiting information?"
"Oh no. Even easier. I'm the Courier."
Ian felt like a bolt of lightning had struck his forehead. She was the woman who had been delivering notes, picking up packages, all this time.
"How is that so?"
"The Benefactor directed me to take on that role. It kept the number of people who knew about this contained. The team should not recognise me because, except you, none of them were interviewed by me. So, the Benefactor, thinking I was totally anonymous with the team, as he called it, would send me to deliver letters, money, and pick up things from the hotel rooms."
This simple explanation cleared up that mystery. The woman he could smell when envelopes were delivered, or was talking in the hallway with Rab and Moussa. It was all Kate. The scent of adventure he was smelling tonight was the same scent with the envelopes.
Reading his mind, she continued "I still wore a disguise when I went to the hotel rooms because I did not want you to recognise me, or anyone for that matter. Rab and Lauren go to my school and they may have seen me on campus at one time or another."
"That makes sense." Ian was speaking to no one in particular.
"Ian?"
"Yeah."
She leaned over put her arms over his shoulders and gave him a sweet kiss on the lips. After the kiss broke, she whispered "Thanks for understanding. Are we good with each other? You still hate me?"
The heat of her body, pressing hard on his spirit and will, lifting him up like he had not felt in a long time, "Yes, we are good. I don't hate you."
"Good. I'm happy. I've kept that bottled up inside me for so long, I'm so glad I was able to tell you. You've become so important to me tonight."
Ian, confused a bit, but completely excited that the woman he dreamed about for almost a year has fallen into his grasp, whispered back "You are important to me too."
She smiled, "Let's go."
"Where are we going?" asked Ian.
"Let's go to another bar. I want to have a drink with my new boyfriend while we plan our trip to Fiji."