The Planck Factor

“By the way, Billy?”

“Uh huh?”

“Don’t call me ‘Chief.’ Understand, Sport?”

Alexis

Swede leapt away from the door and stared at it. Another round of pounding ensued.

“Young lady, I know you’re in there!” An indignant voice from the other side.

With an exasperated sigh, Alexis checked the peephole. It was her upstairs neighbor, a white-haired old man named Klaus who often complained in a strident Teutonic accent about her music being too loud.

“It’s just the asshole from upstairs,” she muttered to Swede, who kept eyeing the door as if a troll lurked behind it.

Yet another series of jarring knocks. Finally, Klaus harrumphed and said, “I know you’re in there. They could hear you yelling a mile away. Keep it down or I’ll call the police.”

Muffled muttering followed as Klaus turned to go back upstairs. Through the peephole, Alexis watched him leave, then turned to Swede, folding her arms across her chest.

“That was fun. What shall we do next?”

“Alexis.” Swede took a deep breath and held his hands out in a placating gesture. “Please believe me when I tell you this. You have to leave here. We both have to go.”

Alexis shook her head. “Go? Go where? I’m not going anywhere with you.” Her voice trailed off. “Daniel’s dead, Swede. And you and me, we died long before that. Let’s not go there again.”

Swede threw up his hands. “I’m not trying to get back together, if that’s what you think.”

“Good,” Alexis said. She had cared for Swede. Maybe even loved him. But his brooding and pessimism could really get to her. Bright, but unstable. That was an apt description of Alan Sweetser. When they were together, at times, he would simply shut her out. When their differences finally tore Swede and Alexis apart, she turned to their mutual friend, Daniel. He was more patient, more even-tempered, and their relationship grew beyond friendship. Swede accepted the situation with more grace than Alexis had thought him capable of. But she’d continued to sense weird vibes when Swede was around. Like the air before lightning strikes. So she tried to avoid having him around.

“At the risk of repeating myself,” Swede said, “you need to get out of here.”

“Why? I have no idea what you’re talking about. And you never answered my question about who ‘they’ are.”

Swede’s brow furrowed. He looked almost ready to cry. “That’s the thing. I don’t know who they are. I just know that they’re after our research. And if they get hold of it . . . .” He bowed his head and shook it as if dazed. “It will be very bad for all of us.”

“Why?”

“Our discovery . . . .” Swede grimaced. “I . . . I can’t tell you. I shouldn’t. You’re better off not knowing. Just in case . . . .”

“In case what?” It took all of Alexis’ effort to keep from shouting.

Swede slumped. “In case they catch you. What you don’t know, you can’t tell them.”

Alexis just stared, then started laughing.

Swede didn’t smile. “You still don’t get it.”

“Don’t get it? You came here to warn me about a bunch of strange somebody-or-others who are looking for information about your research, which you’ve already acknowledged I know nothing about.” She spread her arms. “Hell, that’s the best joke I’ve heard in ages. It’s positively hysterical.”

“I told you.” Swede’s voice took on an urgent tone. “They don’t know that you don’t know anything.”

“Yes, and what I don’t know, I can’t tell them, right? I think we’ve been over this already.”

Swede laid both hands on her shoulders and looked directly in her eyes. “That doesn’t mean they won’t try to make you talk.”

Alexis’ breath caught in her throat. “What do you mean?” She shuddered. “Jesus . . . you must be joking.”

Swede grabbed her shoulders and looked straight at her. “Do I look like I’m joking?” he asked.