A Drone over New York
Chapter 23

Max woke at the sound of the front door slamming shut. She always did that when she arrived home. She was going to have good news, Max could feel it. It was going to be a good night of celebration together. They were going to order in Mexican like they used to. They would have a few drinks and spend the night together like they used to. It was going to be a good evening.

He rolled over and looked toward the window. Bright sunlight was still bursting between the curtains onto the floor. It was too bright to be evening and the angle of the light on the floor said it was still daytime. Max looked over at the nightstand and saw the clock read 10:37 a.m.

What is she doing home already?

“Rachael?” said a male voice.

Thom!

Max sat bolt upright. He was still naked, lying on Rachael’s bed, with her boyfriend walking down the hall. He grabbed his boxers from the floor. Luckily they had picked up their clothes before Rachael had left for work. Trying to be calm, Max threw on his underwear and then slowly walked to the bedroom door, hoping to head off the tae kwon do instructor.

“She’s at work,” Max said as he saw Thom in the hall. He tried to sound dreary as he pretended to rub the sleep from his eyes and act dozy. He had a gallon of adrenaline running through his body at that moment. He was prepared for anything.

Thom’s face showed the exact state of confusion that Max had expected. Max had to say something, and fast.

“You missed a crazy night,” Max said as if nothing was out of the ordinary, then yawned. “You should have stuck around. I left around thirty minutes after you did. I was out all night on this story. I think Rachael really could have used some support last night. I got back just before she left for work. I haven’t slept, so she offered me her bed. Hope that’s okay?”

There was a lot of truth in that statement. It was a one-bedroom apartment, and the sofa was a little too short to sleep on. It was only missing some of the more vital parts—parts that he hoped Thom would never work out.

“No worries,” Thom said.

Max could tell he was still a little cautious. Max had a feeling Thom did not like him.

“Just swinging through,” Thom said, putting on a clearly forced smile. “Forgot a few things last night.”

He seemed to be giving Max the benefit of the doubt. Thom was a potential monkey wrench if he discovered what was going on. But Max knew how to play it. He had a little too much experience dealing with potentially explosive situations like this. Experience was familiarity.

“No problem,” Max said, still pretending to be groggy. “Want a cup of coffee while you’re here?”

“Sure,” Thom said as he walked past Max into the bedroom.

Max tried to pretend to be calm. He shot a glance around the room. Nothing was too out of place, or could lead to suspicion. At least that was what he hoped. But there was always a chance Thom would replace something. Max had to play it cool as he put the coffeepot on and silently hoped for Thom to be quick.

It was a nervous few minutes, listening to Thom rummage around in the room.

“My stuff in your way?” Max called out. He wasn’t sure why he thought trying to chat to Thom right now would be a good thing, but it was the only thing he could think of to keep himself calm.

“Nah, it’s all good,” Thom replied. “You must have been shattered when you got home if you were out all night.”

“You wouldn’t believe it.”

They chatted across the hall for a few minutes as Thom continued to look for the things he needed. Max was hoping he was going to be able to replace everything. The fewer visits from Thom while he was here, the better. Thom didn’t replace anything out of place, or at least acted like he didn’t replace anything when he came back out. He was carrying a small gym bag and placed it on the floor by the door.

He grabbed a seat at the breakfast bar and Max handed him his coffee.

“How long you guys been together?” Max asked. It was some time for some digging. If he was going to trust Rachael, he had to replace out what she was going to walking away from.

“About five months now, I think. She and a bunch of friends came to one of my classes.”

Max had a small chuckle. “I think us men were probably better off with her not learning tae kwon do.”

Thom smiled. “She’s more into the fitness side than actually doing anything. I think she does a lot of it now cause I do it.”

Thom must have been tired as well. He’d probably been up early this morning for classes. Max, on the other hand, was now almost fully awake. It was time to dig some more. But first he had to get Thom on his side.

“At least you didn’t give her the Mace,” Max said.

They both had a good laugh at that.

“You think that was bad,” Thom said. “I wanted to see what it was like, so I asked her to spray my face with it.”

Max joined Thom as he started to laugh.

“Between the two of us, she’s probably spent the can,” Max said.

Both of them were laughing in earnest now. Max started to worry that he might start to like Thom. He seemed like a nice guy.

As the laughter died down, Thom gave Max a strange look.

“Look, while it is just us guys …” he said.

Max knew what that meant: “I want to know what the hell is going on.”

“You and Rach don’t exactly have the best history, and yet you turn up, looking like crap and she boots me out!” Thom continued.

“You want to know about the story?” Max said, hoping to steer the conversation that way.

“Yeah,” Thom said as he gave his head a little scratch. “I mean, Rachael’s been acting really weird over the last few days, even before you arrived. We’ve not been together for that long, so this is the first big story I’ve been around for.”

Again it was a conversation that Max was used to. The people in their industry were hard to understand sometimes.

“A few nights ago, did she get a phone call in the middle of the night?” Max asked, knowing that would be the best place to start.

Thom eyed him, then nodded. “Yeah, she ran out the door a few minutes later saying something about work. How did you know?”

“I got the same call,” Max said. “I’ve been in this game awhile now, Thom. Take it from me, when big things happen, it doesn’t matter where you are, or what you are doing, or who you are with, it’s all hands on deck. Time is critical in our business. You get that phone call, and you head to the office ASAP. No questions asked. You just go.”

Thom sighed. “Sometimes I just don’t get this whole journalist world.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Max smiled. “Let me put it this way. The story is probably the biggest one for the last ten years.”

“Then why all the secrecy?” Thom asked. He must have been really struggling with the what Rachael did for a living.

“That’s a complicated issue.” Thom had hit the nail on the head very quickly. There was only one real response to this: “After what happened to Jack, we all have to be a little careful. Also, with Jack out, Rachael has to step up to the plate. She is probably feeling the strain a little.”

“Wait. What happened to Jack?”

He had let the cat out of the bag now. Rachael must really be keeping this guy in the dark.

“Jack, her boss. You know him, right?” asked Max.

“I’ve never met the guy, but Rachael is always talking about him. He sounds like a real piece of work. He on her back about this case?”

“No, nothing like that. I don’t know how to put this, so I am just going to say it,” Max said, not really knowing how to bring Thom up to speed any other way. “Jack was in an accident later that same morning Rachael and I got that phone call.”

“Damn,” Thom replied. “He okay?”

“It was bad. He’s in the hospital now and in a stable condition. The accident almost killed him.”

“Wow, that would explain a few things. What happened?”

“A delivery drone fell out of the sky and hit him.”

“What? How? I didn’t think they could do that.”

“They can if someone programs them to. It sounds bad, but people are worried that it might be a response to what we’re writing about. Targeting someone like Jack makes us all a little scared. Jack was an important piece of our ecosystem.”

“Geez … I had no idea.”

“Losing him has put on a lot of extra stress on Rachael at work.”

“Oh … yeah. Makes sense,” Thom said. “I knew she was a little more stressed than normal, but didn’t realize it was this bad.”

That was the ticket Max needed. He could have Thom eating out of his hand in a few minutes.

Thom’s face reflected that solemn look of shock that said he felt guilty about not supporting Rachael enough recently. It was the face that said he could keep a secret, but also would do anything asked.

“It’s not something we like to talk about as an industry,” Max said, trying to sound sad, “but you might as well know. You just can’t tell Rachael I told you. You can’t really tell this to anyone. It’s all part of a little bit of a secret in our industry. I would get in big trouble if anyone knew I told you. Okay?”

Thom’s eyes drifted upward and gave Max that look that he had seen too many times.

“Tell me,” it said. “Tell me everything I need to know.”

So Max did. He told him about the concept of fan retaliation. He told him about Emma and Zoe. The shock wave that it had sent through the industry. He told the whole story. Thom’s eyes were wide the entire time. It was like learning some forbidden knowledge. It was perfect. Thom was going for it hook, line, and sinker. He would do anything Max asked now.

“So you think that it’s happening again?” Thom asked as Max finished the explanation, “I mean, that is what happened to Jack, isn’t it?”

Max nodded his half-lie. There were too many things in play for the full truth. But it was enough to convince Thom of what he needed to do.

Thom swore aloud as his mind was starting to come to grips with what was going on.

Now it was time for the good part of the story: what people could do to help … what Thom could do. He just had to let Thom discover it for himself.

Almost on cue, Thom looked into Max’s eyes and asked the question that showed he understood: “So, on stories like this, you all team up to try and prevent stuff like that happening? Kind of safety in numbers?” Thom asked.

It was a better way of phrasing it than Max had planned, so he nodded. “That’s why they’ve put Rachael and me together,” Max said. “Any other day, Rachael would have Maced me on the front doorstep and left me there if I came over. But on this story we try and push past our personal differences for the sake of the story.”

It was a line Anton had used on him awhile back. Thom was looking the way Max probably had when Anton had said that.

“It’s the Tyell story, isn’t it?” Thom said out of nowhere. “That’s all the girls at class are talking about at the moment.”

Max didn’t think Thom would put that piece of the puzzle together, but to his credit he had. Max had a sudden idea of a way to turn this in his favor.

“Officially I can’t tell you that it is, Thom. I could get fired, or more likely it would get Rachael fired. Unofficially, since it is just you and me … Yes, it’s the Tyell story.”

Thom looked like he was trying to prevent his eyes from popping out of his head. It had been all over the news the last two days. It was all anyone was talking about during this slow news week.

“Wow,” was all Thom finally said. He looked away suddenly, as if ashamed by something. “I … actually was a big fan of hers.”

If it was under different circumstances, Max might have been afraid. But he had Thom now. He was pawn in his game. A weapon he might need against Rachael if and when the time came. Thom would never hurt him now.

“Lots of people are,” Max said. “It’s just the truth of it is that her actions are making some fans crazy enough to hurt people who say anything against her. It’s just not safe. But … for us it’s about protecting the freedom of speech.”

It was a line everyone in the celebrity gossip industry tried to use at work to justify what they did.

Max let Thom sit there for a few moments, thinking through the situation. Max knew to let Thom work out what he needed to do.

“How does the person who is selling it get that sort of footage?” he asked. Thom seemed to be searching for an explanation that would let him deny it all. But it wasn’t going to be.

Max explained the drones.

“I thought they only used low-definition cameras for guidance?” Thom said.

It was a surprising question and showed he knew a little more than Max realized.

“That is what they want you to believe,” Max said. “It’s a common misconception. The FAA requires low-def cameras for operation, but Enexup has developed software to turn the footage into HD, but appear low-definition to regulators. Trust me, the cameras are HD if they want them to be.”

Max was about to say “I have an inside contact who told me,” but managed to stop himself. Thom had to be kept in the dark on certain things.

The drone explanation seemed enough for Thom. Max could see him start to understand.

“What can I do to help?” Thom said.

Thom’s transformation into Max’s puppet was now complete. All he had to do now was ensure he never found out what Rachael was really doing.

“At the moment, nothing,” Max said. “Just be a good boyfriend. Give her a little space when she asks for it. Trust her that she is doing the right thing. Just be a normal boyfriend.”

Thom nodded in the way that showed he understood, but was disappointed there was nothing further. Max thought he was the sort of guy who liked to help out, so it gave him an idea.

“Wait. There is something you can do, but only if you are feeling up to it, and only if you think you can do it.”

Thom’s eyes gave that small sparkle that showed he really wanted to help.

“If anyone asks you if you think anything about the Tyell story is true, just say you’ve heard it is all true—and more.”

“That’s easy,” Thom said with a small laugh. “Like I said, it’s all any of the girls are talking about in class.”

Max couldn’t help but smile. This was exactly the kind of thing he needed to happen. The more sources of rumors, the better.

“Okay, then if you are up for something more, there is something Rachael and I have been working on. We need to get it out there somehow. I need you to tell those girls in your class that the guy used to be a girl.”

Thom shook his head and blinked. Max had seen that confused look one hundred times before.

“Wait, what?” Thom asked.

“The guy she was with, the one in the photo? He used to be a girl. But only do this if you’re up for it. Otherwise don’t worry about it.”

“No no, I’m good. I just … can’t believe it, that’s all. Who is he?

“Don’t know yet,” Max lied. “Rachael has a source that says it’s true. Trust me. If you can tell a few people at your work, then it will spread like wildfire.”

Thom grinned and gave a sly nod. Max could tell he liked having something to do.

“Anything else?” Thom asked.

“Yeah, please—I do mean, please!—don’t tell Rachael we have had this little chat. Keep acting like you don’t like me. Be nice to her, but just keep acting like you don’t like me while she’s here.”

Thom had a small laugh. It was the kind of laugh that said Thom wanted to not like him, but already did.

“Do me a favor as a well, then,” Thom said. “Just don’t try anything with her.”

It was Max’s turn to have a small chuckle. “Don’t worry. That ship sailed a long time ago.”

“Good,” Thom said. “Just needed to say it.”

“So where’s your gym?” Max asked, deciding to change the subject to something safer.

The two then chatted until Thom finished his coffee and excused himself. He had to go home to bed in order to be able to do the afternoon and evening shift. Hopefully, Max thought, the latest Tyell rumor would be all over the internet by tonight.

It wasn’t too long before Thom grabbed his gym bag and headed for the door. When the door finally closed behind Thom, Max breathed a big sigh of relief. If only Thom had known what Rachael had done this morning. How much they were both gambling with. It was a complex puzzle with a lot of unusual pieces.

Max did feel a little guilty about the way he was using Thom. He was a nice guy. The type of guy that any girl should want and deserve.

It was a shame.