Entry 06: The Ghost at Fragmented Triangle
Title: The Ghost at Fragmented Triangle
Entry Number: 06
Author: insaneladybug/Lucky_Ladybug
Fandom: The Rockford Files (still with characters from The Queen of Peru episode)
Rating: PG-13/T (ghostly goings-on, fridge horror)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Supernatural
Spoiler Warnings: None.
Word Count: 4,926
By Lucky_Ladybug
The creaking sounds up and down the lonely corridor of the Fragmented Triangle building were highly irritating and distracting. For the umpteenth time, Ginger looked up from the computer in his cubicle, his hands still poised over the keyboard as he stared down the hall, highly unimpressed.
“What’s going on out there?” he growled. “Stop it.”
The noise stopped for a moment. But as Ginger turned back to the report he was typing, a particularly loud creak sounded in the wall very close to his ear. Thoroughly aggravated, Ginger turned and smacked the wall with his hand.
The Los Angeles branch of the company was in a fairly old building, it was true, but the place had been renovated for the modern age. It shouldn’t be making such bizarre noises, almost like an old house settling in. The simple fact was, it had never before made such sounds while Ginger had worked there. As far as he was concerned, someone had to be playing a prank. And he wasn’t laughing.
Well, he hardly ever laughed at anything, but he wouldn’t find this funny even if he had a lighter personality. It was disturbing his work.
When the sounds started again, he took his Flash drive out of the laptop and got up from his desk in utter irritation. Storming into the hall, he looked up and down the corridor and then began to walk up it in determination, opening every door. It was late, and he and Lou and a few others were supposed to be the only employees still in the building. But he seemed to be the only one on this floor, aside from whoever was tormenting him with these noises.
“Aren’t you rather old for these childish pranks?” he said dryly as he opened yet another door and found the room empty.
Another creak answered him. This time it sounded like it was in the ventilation system. Scowling, he climbed onto a desk and peered through the grate, but there was still no visible reason why there should be so much unpleasant noise. Climbing down, he left the room and continued wandering the floor.
No matter where he went, the sounds were just as loud as in the room from which he had started. And he couldn’t help but to start wondering if there were more people in the building than he had thought. Perhaps it was some new kind of test of the equipment-or of people’s reactions to it.
Fragmented Triangle, among other things, specialized in virtual reality. That hadn’t been the case when Ginger and Lou had first joined the London and New York offices many years ago, but more recently, their company (which had bore a less unusual title) had been bought out by an emerging dark horse and given the Fragmented Triangle moniker and goals of its conqueror.
Neither of them had even quite been able to figure out what Fragmented Triangle was supposed to mean. But the company paid well and had hired them back following their release from prison, so they weren’t eager to question anything about it.
One thing they did know was that the owner and president of the new corporation was a strange and eccentric man. It wouldn’t surprise Ginger at all if he had convinced the manager of the Los Angeles office to run some odd tests with new products and see how the employees reacted.
What was particularly unsettling was that even though Ginger knew there were others in the building, including Lou, he couldn’t find any of them. For all accounts and purposes, he seemed to be alone.
“This is getting old,” he flatly said to the unknown joker. “I’m going back to my desk and applying earplugs.”
Whoever it was responded by dowsing all the lights, leaving Ginger with only the city lights visible through the large windows at either end of the corridor.
“That wasn’t funny,” Ginger snapped. “I suppose you shut down everything, including the computers.” He was glad that he had saved his work before getting up to investigate this nonsense.
The stairwell light came on.
“Oh, now you want me to go downstairs?” Ginger grunted. He wouldn’t play this game, except that he wanted to know the identity of the fool behind it. Whoever it was deserved to be fired.
“You’re not going to be working here tomorrow,” he vowed as he opened the door and walked down one flight of stairs, then a second.
At the landing for the next floor, the lights suddenly came on through the little window in the door. Frowning, Ginger went over and peered through it at the newly lit corridor. “I don’t see that there’s anything so special about this floor,” he remarked. But he hauled the door open and wandered into the hall.
The lights flicked off and on rapidly, then alternated, like blinking Christmas lights. Ginger scowled, displeased.
When a light came on and stayed on inside an employees’ lounge, Ginger immediately went over and pushed open the door. Then he stopped short, staring in disbelief.
The entire room had been upended. The couches were lying back; the lamps were on the floor. One table was completely upsidedown, while another was slumped diagonally against the wall. And the fridge that was left empty for people to come store things in for a few hours was ajar. The metal shelves were leaning upright against the back wall.
Ginger frowned. He didn’t like any of this mess and was quite bewildered by it, but it was that fridge that made him uneasier than anything else. Unsettled, he walked over and pulled the door open.
And found Lou slumped lifeless in the thing.
Ginger’s eyes widened in shock and horror and repulsion. “Lou!” he cried, thrusting the door back as far as it would go before reaching inside and grasping hold of the other man. Even though the door had been slightly open, the fridge was still very cold. The temperature was, in fact, as low as it would go. Lou’s clothes felt eerily chilled when Ginger grabbed him, as though he had been out on a frosty winter night in London.
He did not make so much as a moan as Ginger drew him out of the fridge and laid him on the floor. Terrified, Ginger bent over him and loosened his tie and collar, feeling for a pulse. It was there; Lou was still alive. And Ginger could feel him breathing.
Ginger swung the fridge door shut so it would be out of their way and took off his trenchcoat, laying it on top of Lou. “What the blazes happened?!” he exclaimed in anger and puzzlement. Obviously Lou had fought with someone, or several someones, before being overpowered like this. He could never have been shoved in the fridge otherwise. And now that Ginger had him out of there he could see several bruises on Lou’s face and hands.
Growling under his breath and furious at what had been done, Ginger took up the hand that seemed the least damaged and rubbed at it, desperate to restore warmth and consciousness to his friend. But Lou remained still, the hand limp in Ginger’s grasp. It was far too icy for comfort.
“Lou . . .” Ginger fumbled in his pocket for his phone. If he couldn’t revive Lou, he would have to call an ambulance. Well, he probably should anyway, but he didn’t like taking his attention away from Lou to make the call.
He had never felt so vulnerable and helpless. It had been bad enough during his childhood, when he had been picked on and beaten up and unable to defend himself. But not being able to help the one person who meant the world to him was far, far worse.
He wanted Lou. He needed Lou. He could not stomach the thought of working alone. If anything happened to Lou, he would probably work with someone else out of necessity. But it would never be the same and he would never open his heart to anyone else. Nor would he want anyone else to share the home he and Lou had bought.
“Lou, blast it, wake up!” he pleaded in desperation.
He racked his mind, trying to think of what else he could do. If he could get Lou warm, surely he would wake up. And Ginger’s heavy trenchcoat should be able to get Lou warm.
Then he stiffened in realization. Lou must have been unconscious when he had been placed in the fridge. He hadn’t suffocated, thank God, but if he had been conscious, he would have struggled to push the door open the rest of the way and get out.
Immediately Ginger reached up, gently examining Lou for possible knockout bumps. Finding none, he frowned more. Would they have actually drugged Lou to render him helpless? How cruel could they be? And what sort of pointless reason could they have had for any of this?
Unable to revive him, Ginger did pull out his phone now, fully intending to call for an ambulance. But the No Signal sign flashing on the screen stopped him in his tracks.
“What is this?!” he demanded out loud. “There shouldn’t be anything stopping this device from working properly!”
“Shouldn’t there?” a strange voice whispered in his ear. “The people who injured Lou are preventing any calls from going through until they get far enough away from here. If you try another telephone in the building, it won’t work, either.”
“Who are you?” Ginger snarled. He whirled to look but saw nothing. “I have to get a call through! Lou needs help that I can’t give to him!”
“My name means ‘wild cat’. But my identity is of no consequence to you. And you can help your friend. You’ll have to; no one else can get to him.”
“You’ve gotten to both of us,” Ginger said bitterly. “And did you have anything to do with what happened to Lou in the first place?!”
“No. But I’ve been controlling your fate ever since you left your desk. I led you down here.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do for him?” Ginger snapped. “I haven’t been able to wake him.”
“Keep trying.”
Ginger cursed the voice and looked back to Lou. He had not moved or changed. When Ginger touched his skin, it still felt colder than it should.
“If you’ve been meddling with the electricity, you should be able to fix the telephone service,” Ginger growled. “For some reason, you simply won’t.”
“Well, it would be more complicated. And I don’t think I need to bother with it.”
“For the love of Heaven! Lou was beaten senseless and shoved in a fridge. And you could have stopped the electricity to the fridge so he wouldn’t be so cold now.” Ginger pulled the trenchcoat closer around Lou’s limp form. “I don’t consider you blameless in this affair, whoever you are. You could have done more for him.”
A cold breeze swept past the side of his face. “Oh, but it’s more interesting this way.”
“Interesting?!” Ginger screamed, his patience lost. “He’s half-dead and you find it interesting?!”
A raucous laugh echoed throughout the room, chilling Ginger to his very soul. Then all was silent and he somehow knew the presence was gone.
Cursing under his breath, he looked at the cellphone screen again, just to be sure. No Signal. He shoved it back in his pocket, thoroughly frustrated.
Looking back to Lou, he got up and brought over a cushion from one of the couches. He elevated Lou’s feet, at the same time regretting that he couldn’t lift Lou onto a couch. It would certainly be warmer than the floor, not to mention more comfortable. But there was no way Ginger could lift Lou’s stocky form all by himself. He would probably only hurt Lou worse if he tried. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to leave Lou and go looking for assistance from one of the other employees who should still be in the building. At this point, he wasn’t even sure any of the others could be trusted.
“Lou . . . please wake up,” he begged, the desperation and sadness now obvious in his voice. “I don’t know how to help you.”
He wondered what Lou would do if the situation were reversed. Well, for one thing, Lou would certainly find it easier to lift Ginger onto a couch. He would likely do so. But what Ginger wasn’t sure of was whether Lou would do something such as try to talk him awake.
Once, when Ginger had been under a bizarre enchanted death spell, Lou had talked him awake because he had been told that only someone who truly cared about Ginger could break the spell and revive him. But this was a more usual state of unconsciousness-or at least, Ginger had to suppose it was more usual. Ginger didn’t know what Lou would do under circumstances like this.
Ginger himself certainly wasn’t prone to talking to senseless people, except for now and then pleading for awakening. He was doubtful that it had much, if any, effect. He felt that it was more therapeutic for the talker rather than the victim. But he was growing so worried that he was ready to try just about anything. The disturbing presence had indicated that Ginger could do something for Lou. If Lou had been drugged, Ginger would not have any effect until the drug wore off, so he wasn’t sure he believed a drug was involved.
“I hope you never have to go through what I felt when I found you in that cursed fridge,” Ginger muttered. “I knew you’d gone down to a different floor of the building, but I had no idea anything was wrong. Then I ended up in here and saw the fridge door ajar and you crumpled in it. Those bloody sadistic . . .” He trailed off. No curses seemed good enough for the ones who had done this.
“I know you know how important you are to me,” Ginger said, again adjusting the coat and taking up Lou’s hand to rub. “You’re probably fighting to come awake right now. I just wish I knew what to do to ensure you’d make it.”
Lou’s fingers weakly curled around Ginger’s hand. Ginger stiffened, fully snapping to attention. “Lou?! Are you with me?”
Lou groaned. “Yeah, I think so.” His eyes opened halfway and he tried to focus on his friend. “Ginger, what happened? It feels like we just had a New York winter in L.A.”
“They put you in the fridge,” Ginger said bitterly. Seeing Lou was definitely coming around, Ginger inwardly rejoiced.
Lou went paler than he already was. “The fridge?!” He looked over, seeing the appliance, and shuddered. “How am I even alive?!”
“The door wasn’t shut all the way,” Ginger replied. “That must have been your saving grace. Perhaps whoever overpowered you didn’t want to be an actual murderer.”
Lou shakily sat up, wincing at the pain. “Oww.” He brought a hand to his head. “Maybe they wanted to torture a guy so much it’d be worse than death.”
“I couldn’t find any trace of a bump,” Ginger frowned in concern.
“It’s not a bump,” Lou mused as he searched with his fingers. “It’s just really tender.” He flinched, locating the spot. “Ow.”
Ginger’s eyes narrowed darkly, the anger boiling inside him again. “Those barbarians,” he snarled.
“I’ll be okay, Ginger,” Lou tried to assure him. He recognized the warning signs. Ginger’s temper had to be cooled.
He blinked as Ginger’s coat fell into his lap. “Hey, Ginger. Your coat. . . .”
Ginger picked it up and put it around Lou’s shoulders. “Keep it until you’re properly warm again,” he said.
Grateful, Lou pulled it as much over his chest as he could. “Thanks,” he said quietly. Ginger did not let go of his coats easily. For him to do so now, in order to help Lou, meant a great deal.
Ginger nodded. “What on Earth happened?”
Lou made a face. “These creeps wanted something in the department I went to,” he said.
“The new virtual reality project Harry Jonson was put in charge of?” Ginger frowned.
“Yeah. Maybe it’s a competitor or even an inside job. I don’t know. But I’m sure these guys weren’t working by themselves. They weren’t smart, just big and dumb and mean.”
“Surely you didn’t try to take them all on by yourself.”
“Of course not. I just stumbled on them breaking into the vault and they jumped me. I tried to fight them off, but . . . well, you saw what happened. So I guess they got away with the thing.”
Ginger’s ice-blue eyes burned. “They’ll regret what they did,” he vowed. “I’ll find out who they are and they won’t have a bit of peace.”
“Ginger . . .” Lou laid a still-cool hand over Ginger’s. “We’ll tell the police. And the management. They’ll take care of it. Don’t go doing something reckless; I’m going to get better.”
Ginger sighed. He knew Lou spoke sense, but the very feel of his hand, and the knowledge of why it was so cool, fueled his fury all the more.
“. . . How did you find me down here, anyway?” Lou wondered.
“I don’t even know,” Ginger frowned. “Some strange presence tampered with my patience by making odd noises and flipping the lights off and on before leading me down here. Then it just laughed and left.” His expression darkened. “It seemed to find everything rather hilarious.”
Lou stared, disturbed. “It thought me being in the fridge was funny?”
“It seemed to.”
Lou shivered. “And it was a presence? Like a ghost or something?”
“I suppose. It said its name means ‘wild cat’.”
Lou’s eyes widened. “It sounds like Gunju.”
“What in blazes is a Gunju?” Ginger retorted.
“Oh, there’s some crazy story floating around about the home office in Domino City,” Lou said. “The company president is always with his buddies, two brothers. One of them’s Azazel Rakesh, his personal assistant. The other is Gunju and he’s, well, dead. I think he’s kind of a nasty spirit. He hangs around and pulls pranks. I never heard of him leaving the home office, though.”
Ginger grunted. “He may have tonight,” he said, only half-sarcastic. “Perhaps he came to reclaim the virtual reality project. He never actually said those men got away with anything.”
Lou shook his head. “Weird. But I guess I’ve gotta be grateful to him, since he got you down here.”
Ginger had to concede that point. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked.
“I’m getting there,” Lou assured him. “I think I’d like to go home.”
“You don’t think you should be examined at the hospital?” Ginger frowned, looking him over.
Lou sighed. “I think I’m okay, just kind of bruised and cold. I’d get better quicker at home.”
Ginger considered that and nodded. “Alright. I’ll help you up and we’ll go.”
“You don’t need to go back up for your laptop?” Lou asked in concern.
“I have my Flash drive. I can finish my work on the home computer.” Ginger paused. “Do you need to go back up?” He didn’t like that idea.
“I guess not,” Lou conceded.
As Ginger got up, he took Lou’s arm and tried to gently help his friend rise. Lou held onto him, stumbling, glad for the assistance.
“It must be kind of nice for the company president,” he mumbled. “And the living brother.”
“What do you mean?” Ginger drew Lou’s arm around his shoulders, at the same time pulling the coat up as it slipped down on that side.
“Being able to still have the other guy with them even after he died,” Lou said. “So they didn’t have to lose him.”
“I suppose,” Ginger agreed stiffly, not particularly wanting to talk about death after nearly losing Lou.
Realizing his mistake, Lou sobered. “Sorry, Ginger.”
“No, I’m sure you’re right,” Ginger said as they started to walk. “It would be nice for them.” He paused. “. . . I had the oddest thought. I wonder if that’s what Fragmented Triangle refers to-that trio and the one brother’s death.”
“Maybe it does,” Lou said. “It really must’ve hit the president hard if he named the whole company after it.”
“All the more reason he must be grateful for the ghost, I’m sure,” Ginger said. “But while it’s a nice enough thought, I would just as soon not discover how it would work for someone else.”
“Me too,” Lou asserted.
As they stepped into the darkened main corridor, Ginger glanced to the receptionist’s marble desk. “What’s this?” he frowned, pointing to a cardboard box.
Lou peered at it. “It looks like the box those guys were trying to run off with.”
Ginger lifted the lid. “Everything seems to be intact,” he mused.
“Then I guess you were right about Gunju, or whoever, coming to stop those guys,” Lou said. He scowled. “At least somebody was able to.”
“I just wonder how we’ll explain this to our boss,” Ginger said dryly.
“Maybe he believes in Gunju too,” Lou sighed. “Well, we could always just say that we didn’t know who stopped them, and I guess we really don’t.”
Ginger nodded. “That’s good enough for me.” He placed the box under his arm. “We’ll take it home with us and lock it in our safe until we can inform Mr. Stanley about it.”
“Good idea,” Lou declared.
“And I’ll drive tonight,” Ginger said. In general, if they were in the same car, Lou drove. But Lou was certainly not in any condition to do so now.
Lou looked relieved, but had already really expected that Ginger would take over. “Yeah, I might get us into a wreck,” he said.
“Are you dizzy?” Ginger asked in concern.
“A little, I guess,” Lou sighed. “But mostly just exhausted and in pain.”
“That’s to be expected,” Ginger frowned. “But perhaps I should still take you to the hospital.”
“If they find out I was in the fridge, they’ll probably want to keep me there all night, or even longer,” Lou groaned. “Come on, Ginger, let’s just wait and see if I feel better in the morning.”
“And if you don’t? Or worse, if waiting until morning is too late?”
“You don’t really think it would be, do you?”
“Blast it, I don’t know!” Ginger snapped. Reaching the elevator, he pressed the Down button. “All I know is that I found you shoved in a refrigerator because some sadistic devils thought it would be fun to put you there. And they beat you unconscious to do it.”
Lou was sobered into silence by Ginger’s outburst. The pain and worry in Ginger’s voice was all too clear.
“Okay, Ginger, okay,” he sighed. “If you think I should get checked out by a doctor, I’ll go.”
The elevator doors opened and Ginger stepped inside with Lou. “It would give me greater peace of mind,” he said.
“Then I’ll do it. But I’ll remember this the next time you don’t want to go to the hospital,” Lou warned.
Ginger grunted. “I’m sure you will.”
He pressed the ground floor button.
****
To their shared relief, Lou was proclaimed alright to go home, as long as he was observed there for a while. Ginger would certainly comply.
It was late by the time Ginger pulled the car into the driveway and turned off the engine. Even Mrs. Oreck and Harold seemed to have retired for the night, judging from the darkened house next-door. Hopefully that meant there would be no dancing on the balcony to disturb Lou; Ginger wanted him to have a peaceful rest.
“You know, we haven’t called the boss about the break-in tonight,” Lou groaned, covering his eyes with a hand.
“I’ll call after you’re asleep,” Ginger said. “Meanwhile, I changed the codes I had access to. That should slow them down, if they dare to come back.”
“Maybe Gunju or whoever will guard the place too,” Lou muttered, only half-sarcastic.
“Possibly.” Ginger got out of the car and came around to the passenger side. As Lou stepped out, he stumbled, but caught himself on the car door. Ginger stood by to be of assistance.
“We haven’t had dinner yet, either,” Lou frowned.
“Do you feel like having anything?” Ginger returned as they walked to the porch.
“Not really. I’m too bushed. I’d rather grab an extra quilt and go to bed,” Lou sighed. “Maybe I’ll wake up hungry in the middle of the night.”
“It’s already almost the middle of the night,” Ginger pointed out.
“Then I hope I’ll sleep until morning,” Lou declared.
Ginger offered his help as they went up the three steps to the porch. Lou accepted gratefully, while at the same time trying not to put his full weight on his slender friend. At the top, Ginger took out the house keys and let them into their welcoming home.
“What shall I do if your brother happens to call?” Ginger wondered as he locked the door behind them. “Not that he actually would at this time of the night.”
“Tell him it’s been a long day and I’m sleeping,” Lou said. “I’ll tell him everything later. Maybe. I don’t like to worry him.”
“We’ll see how it goes then,” Ginger said. He set the box with the virtual reality program on the telephone table for the time being.
The stairs leading to the second floor were a much greater challenge. But between Ginger and the banister, they were able to make it up without too much difficulty. Relieved, Lou limped to his room. Ginger took a quilt from the linen closet and followed.
Lou had already set Ginger’s trenchcoat on a chair and was painstakingly easing out of his suit coat. He draped it on the chair as well and started to unbutton his vest. “I can take it from here, Ginger,” he said. “Thanks.”
Ginger spread the comforter on the bed. “You’re sure now?”
Lou nodded. “Yeah.”
Ginger hesitated, but then nodded. “Alright.” Taking up his trenchcoat, he crossed to the door. He paused again when he heard Lou, dizzy from standing so long, fall back into the chair. “You know,” he remarked, not facing Lou, “you don’t always have to be the strong one.”
“Huh?” Lou blinked and looked over from where he was running a shaking hand down his face. “What are you talking about, Ginger?”
“Exactly what I said.” Ginger half-turned, looking back now. “I am the mastermind behind our plans, true, but you are the emotional strength between us when I lose my temper. That doesn’t mean, however, that you don’t have times when you are in need of help. When I’m hurt, you always help me. You can certainly let me help you now, if you need it.”
Lou paused. “I didn’t really stop to think about it, but if you’re trying to tell me I’ve kind of been avoiding you helping me, I guess I have,” he confessed. “I didn’t want to lean too much on you because I was worried I didn’t know my own strength and I might hurt you.”
“I’m not that weak,” Ginger grunted, although he imagined Lou probably could throw him off-balance if he wasn’t expecting it.
“I know, but still.” Lou sighed. “And now, about this, well . . .” He shrugged helplessly and blushed a bit. “I didn’t want to put that on you.”
“It’s not any trouble,” Ginger replied. “I want to make sure you’re alright and don’t end up hurting yourself more from losing your balance again and this time falling flat on the floor-or worse. Besides, after everything you’ve done to help me, I should give back a little.”
Lou looked up at him. “I am having some trouble,” he admitted. “I think I can probably pull myself together, but if you want to stay and help me, Ginger, I’d be grateful.”
Ginger nodded. Leaving the coat in a chair near the door, he came back into the room.
“Oh, by the way, Ginger,” Lou added. “That emotional strength thing. It goes both ways, you know. You have a lot of strength when I’m losing my temper.”
“I suppose,” Ginger grunted. “But that doesn’t happen as much.”
“That doesn’t change it,” Lou insisted.
Several minutes later, Ginger had helped Lou into his nightclothes and was pulling back the covers on the bed. Lou gratefully climbed in and drew them up around himself. “Thanks, Ginger,” he mumbled.
Ginger nodded and dimmed the light. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will,” Lou mumbled. He was already dozing.
Ginger observed him for a moment. Then, confident that he was doing well, Ginger again took the coat and stepped into the hall, pulling the door half-shut behind him. He would not close it tight; it should be open in case Lou needed to call for him.
He headed downstairs to take care of the virtual reality program and make the call to their boss. He was exhausted himself. Perhaps he would just have a snack, instead of bothering with dinner. Then he would go upstairs to bed, grateful that things had turned out as well as they had. Lou would indeed be alright, and whatever else Ginger thought of the mysterious ‘wild cat’, he was relieved that he had been led to Lou in time to help him.
Entry Number: 06
Author: insaneladybug/Lucky_Ladybug
Fandom: The Rockford Files (still with characters from The Queen of Peru episode)
Rating: PG-13/T (ghostly goings-on, fridge horror)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Supernatural
Spoiler Warnings: None.
Word Count: 4,926
By Lucky_Ladybug
The creaking sounds up and down the lonely corridor of the Fragmented Triangle building were highly irritating and distracting. For the umpteenth time, Ginger looked up from the computer in his cubicle, his hands still poised over the keyboard as he stared down the hall, highly unimpressed.
“What’s going on out there?” he growled. “Stop it.”
The noise stopped for a moment. But as Ginger turned back to the report he was typing, a particularly loud creak sounded in the wall very close to his ear. Thoroughly aggravated, Ginger turned and smacked the wall with his hand.
The Los Angeles branch of the company was in a fairly old building, it was true, but the place had been renovated for the modern age. It shouldn’t be making such bizarre noises, almost like an old house settling in. The simple fact was, it had never before made such sounds while Ginger had worked there. As far as he was concerned, someone had to be playing a prank. And he wasn’t laughing.
Well, he hardly ever laughed at anything, but he wouldn’t find this funny even if he had a lighter personality. It was disturbing his work.
When the sounds started again, he took his Flash drive out of the laptop and got up from his desk in utter irritation. Storming into the hall, he looked up and down the corridor and then began to walk up it in determination, opening every door. It was late, and he and Lou and a few others were supposed to be the only employees still in the building. But he seemed to be the only one on this floor, aside from whoever was tormenting him with these noises.
“Aren’t you rather old for these childish pranks?” he said dryly as he opened yet another door and found the room empty.
Another creak answered him. This time it sounded like it was in the ventilation system. Scowling, he climbed onto a desk and peered through the grate, but there was still no visible reason why there should be so much unpleasant noise. Climbing down, he left the room and continued wandering the floor.
No matter where he went, the sounds were just as loud as in the room from which he had started. And he couldn’t help but to start wondering if there were more people in the building than he had thought. Perhaps it was some new kind of test of the equipment-or of people’s reactions to it.
Fragmented Triangle, among other things, specialized in virtual reality. That hadn’t been the case when Ginger and Lou had first joined the London and New York offices many years ago, but more recently, their company (which had bore a less unusual title) had been bought out by an emerging dark horse and given the Fragmented Triangle moniker and goals of its conqueror.
Neither of them had even quite been able to figure out what Fragmented Triangle was supposed to mean. But the company paid well and had hired them back following their release from prison, so they weren’t eager to question anything about it.
One thing they did know was that the owner and president of the new corporation was a strange and eccentric man. It wouldn’t surprise Ginger at all if he had convinced the manager of the Los Angeles office to run some odd tests with new products and see how the employees reacted.
What was particularly unsettling was that even though Ginger knew there were others in the building, including Lou, he couldn’t find any of them. For all accounts and purposes, he seemed to be alone.
“This is getting old,” he flatly said to the unknown joker. “I’m going back to my desk and applying earplugs.”
Whoever it was responded by dowsing all the lights, leaving Ginger with only the city lights visible through the large windows at either end of the corridor.
“That wasn’t funny,” Ginger snapped. “I suppose you shut down everything, including the computers.” He was glad that he had saved his work before getting up to investigate this nonsense.
The stairwell light came on.
“Oh, now you want me to go downstairs?” Ginger grunted. He wouldn’t play this game, except that he wanted to know the identity of the fool behind it. Whoever it was deserved to be fired.
“You’re not going to be working here tomorrow,” he vowed as he opened the door and walked down one flight of stairs, then a second.
At the landing for the next floor, the lights suddenly came on through the little window in the door. Frowning, Ginger went over and peered through it at the newly lit corridor. “I don’t see that there’s anything so special about this floor,” he remarked. But he hauled the door open and wandered into the hall.
The lights flicked off and on rapidly, then alternated, like blinking Christmas lights. Ginger scowled, displeased.
When a light came on and stayed on inside an employees’ lounge, Ginger immediately went over and pushed open the door. Then he stopped short, staring in disbelief.
The entire room had been upended. The couches were lying back; the lamps were on the floor. One table was completely upsidedown, while another was slumped diagonally against the wall. And the fridge that was left empty for people to come store things in for a few hours was ajar. The metal shelves were leaning upright against the back wall.
Ginger frowned. He didn’t like any of this mess and was quite bewildered by it, but it was that fridge that made him uneasier than anything else. Unsettled, he walked over and pulled the door open.
And found Lou slumped lifeless in the thing.
Ginger’s eyes widened in shock and horror and repulsion. “Lou!” he cried, thrusting the door back as far as it would go before reaching inside and grasping hold of the other man. Even though the door had been slightly open, the fridge was still very cold. The temperature was, in fact, as low as it would go. Lou’s clothes felt eerily chilled when Ginger grabbed him, as though he had been out on a frosty winter night in London.
He did not make so much as a moan as Ginger drew him out of the fridge and laid him on the floor. Terrified, Ginger bent over him and loosened his tie and collar, feeling for a pulse. It was there; Lou was still alive. And Ginger could feel him breathing.
Ginger swung the fridge door shut so it would be out of their way and took off his trenchcoat, laying it on top of Lou. “What the blazes happened?!” he exclaimed in anger and puzzlement. Obviously Lou had fought with someone, or several someones, before being overpowered like this. He could never have been shoved in the fridge otherwise. And now that Ginger had him out of there he could see several bruises on Lou’s face and hands.
Growling under his breath and furious at what had been done, Ginger took up the hand that seemed the least damaged and rubbed at it, desperate to restore warmth and consciousness to his friend. But Lou remained still, the hand limp in Ginger’s grasp. It was far too icy for comfort.
“Lou . . .” Ginger fumbled in his pocket for his phone. If he couldn’t revive Lou, he would have to call an ambulance. Well, he probably should anyway, but he didn’t like taking his attention away from Lou to make the call.
He had never felt so vulnerable and helpless. It had been bad enough during his childhood, when he had been picked on and beaten up and unable to defend himself. But not being able to help the one person who meant the world to him was far, far worse.
He wanted Lou. He needed Lou. He could not stomach the thought of working alone. If anything happened to Lou, he would probably work with someone else out of necessity. But it would never be the same and he would never open his heart to anyone else. Nor would he want anyone else to share the home he and Lou had bought.
“Lou, blast it, wake up!” he pleaded in desperation.
He racked his mind, trying to think of what else he could do. If he could get Lou warm, surely he would wake up. And Ginger’s heavy trenchcoat should be able to get Lou warm.
Then he stiffened in realization. Lou must have been unconscious when he had been placed in the fridge. He hadn’t suffocated, thank God, but if he had been conscious, he would have struggled to push the door open the rest of the way and get out.
Immediately Ginger reached up, gently examining Lou for possible knockout bumps. Finding none, he frowned more. Would they have actually drugged Lou to render him helpless? How cruel could they be? And what sort of pointless reason could they have had for any of this?
Unable to revive him, Ginger did pull out his phone now, fully intending to call for an ambulance. But the No Signal sign flashing on the screen stopped him in his tracks.
“What is this?!” he demanded out loud. “There shouldn’t be anything stopping this device from working properly!”
“Shouldn’t there?” a strange voice whispered in his ear. “The people who injured Lou are preventing any calls from going through until they get far enough away from here. If you try another telephone in the building, it won’t work, either.”
“Who are you?” Ginger snarled. He whirled to look but saw nothing. “I have to get a call through! Lou needs help that I can’t give to him!”
“My name means ‘wild cat’. But my identity is of no consequence to you. And you can help your friend. You’ll have to; no one else can get to him.”
“You’ve gotten to both of us,” Ginger said bitterly. “And did you have anything to do with what happened to Lou in the first place?!”
“No. But I’ve been controlling your fate ever since you left your desk. I led you down here.”
“Well, what am I supposed to do for him?” Ginger snapped. “I haven’t been able to wake him.”
“Keep trying.”
Ginger cursed the voice and looked back to Lou. He had not moved or changed. When Ginger touched his skin, it still felt colder than it should.
“If you’ve been meddling with the electricity, you should be able to fix the telephone service,” Ginger growled. “For some reason, you simply won’t.”
“Well, it would be more complicated. And I don’t think I need to bother with it.”
“For the love of Heaven! Lou was beaten senseless and shoved in a fridge. And you could have stopped the electricity to the fridge so he wouldn’t be so cold now.” Ginger pulled the trenchcoat closer around Lou’s limp form. “I don’t consider you blameless in this affair, whoever you are. You could have done more for him.”
A cold breeze swept past the side of his face. “Oh, but it’s more interesting this way.”
“Interesting?!” Ginger screamed, his patience lost. “He’s half-dead and you find it interesting?!”
A raucous laugh echoed throughout the room, chilling Ginger to his very soul. Then all was silent and he somehow knew the presence was gone.
Cursing under his breath, he looked at the cellphone screen again, just to be sure. No Signal. He shoved it back in his pocket, thoroughly frustrated.
Looking back to Lou, he got up and brought over a cushion from one of the couches. He elevated Lou’s feet, at the same time regretting that he couldn’t lift Lou onto a couch. It would certainly be warmer than the floor, not to mention more comfortable. But there was no way Ginger could lift Lou’s stocky form all by himself. He would probably only hurt Lou worse if he tried. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to leave Lou and go looking for assistance from one of the other employees who should still be in the building. At this point, he wasn’t even sure any of the others could be trusted.
“Lou . . . please wake up,” he begged, the desperation and sadness now obvious in his voice. “I don’t know how to help you.”
He wondered what Lou would do if the situation were reversed. Well, for one thing, Lou would certainly find it easier to lift Ginger onto a couch. He would likely do so. But what Ginger wasn’t sure of was whether Lou would do something such as try to talk him awake.
Once, when Ginger had been under a bizarre enchanted death spell, Lou had talked him awake because he had been told that only someone who truly cared about Ginger could break the spell and revive him. But this was a more usual state of unconsciousness-or at least, Ginger had to suppose it was more usual. Ginger didn’t know what Lou would do under circumstances like this.
Ginger himself certainly wasn’t prone to talking to senseless people, except for now and then pleading for awakening. He was doubtful that it had much, if any, effect. He felt that it was more therapeutic for the talker rather than the victim. But he was growing so worried that he was ready to try just about anything. The disturbing presence had indicated that Ginger could do something for Lou. If Lou had been drugged, Ginger would not have any effect until the drug wore off, so he wasn’t sure he believed a drug was involved.
“I hope you never have to go through what I felt when I found you in that cursed fridge,” Ginger muttered. “I knew you’d gone down to a different floor of the building, but I had no idea anything was wrong. Then I ended up in here and saw the fridge door ajar and you crumpled in it. Those bloody sadistic . . .” He trailed off. No curses seemed good enough for the ones who had done this.
“I know you know how important you are to me,” Ginger said, again adjusting the coat and taking up Lou’s hand to rub. “You’re probably fighting to come awake right now. I just wish I knew what to do to ensure you’d make it.”
Lou’s fingers weakly curled around Ginger’s hand. Ginger stiffened, fully snapping to attention. “Lou?! Are you with me?”
Lou groaned. “Yeah, I think so.” His eyes opened halfway and he tried to focus on his friend. “Ginger, what happened? It feels like we just had a New York winter in L.A.”
“They put you in the fridge,” Ginger said bitterly. Seeing Lou was definitely coming around, Ginger inwardly rejoiced.
Lou went paler than he already was. “The fridge?!” He looked over, seeing the appliance, and shuddered. “How am I even alive?!”
“The door wasn’t shut all the way,” Ginger replied. “That must have been your saving grace. Perhaps whoever overpowered you didn’t want to be an actual murderer.”
Lou shakily sat up, wincing at the pain. “Oww.” He brought a hand to his head. “Maybe they wanted to torture a guy so much it’d be worse than death.”
“I couldn’t find any trace of a bump,” Ginger frowned in concern.
“It’s not a bump,” Lou mused as he searched with his fingers. “It’s just really tender.” He flinched, locating the spot. “Ow.”
Ginger’s eyes narrowed darkly, the anger boiling inside him again. “Those barbarians,” he snarled.
“I’ll be okay, Ginger,” Lou tried to assure him. He recognized the warning signs. Ginger’s temper had to be cooled.
He blinked as Ginger’s coat fell into his lap. “Hey, Ginger. Your coat. . . .”
Ginger picked it up and put it around Lou’s shoulders. “Keep it until you’re properly warm again,” he said.
Grateful, Lou pulled it as much over his chest as he could. “Thanks,” he said quietly. Ginger did not let go of his coats easily. For him to do so now, in order to help Lou, meant a great deal.
Ginger nodded. “What on Earth happened?”
Lou made a face. “These creeps wanted something in the department I went to,” he said.
“The new virtual reality project Harry Jonson was put in charge of?” Ginger frowned.
“Yeah. Maybe it’s a competitor or even an inside job. I don’t know. But I’m sure these guys weren’t working by themselves. They weren’t smart, just big and dumb and mean.”
“Surely you didn’t try to take them all on by yourself.”
“Of course not. I just stumbled on them breaking into the vault and they jumped me. I tried to fight them off, but . . . well, you saw what happened. So I guess they got away with the thing.”
Ginger’s ice-blue eyes burned. “They’ll regret what they did,” he vowed. “I’ll find out who they are and they won’t have a bit of peace.”
“Ginger . . .” Lou laid a still-cool hand over Ginger’s. “We’ll tell the police. And the management. They’ll take care of it. Don’t go doing something reckless; I’m going to get better.”
Ginger sighed. He knew Lou spoke sense, but the very feel of his hand, and the knowledge of why it was so cool, fueled his fury all the more.
“. . . How did you find me down here, anyway?” Lou wondered.
“I don’t even know,” Ginger frowned. “Some strange presence tampered with my patience by making odd noises and flipping the lights off and on before leading me down here. Then it just laughed and left.” His expression darkened. “It seemed to find everything rather hilarious.”
Lou stared, disturbed. “It thought me being in the fridge was funny?”
“It seemed to.”
Lou shivered. “And it was a presence? Like a ghost or something?”
“I suppose. It said its name means ‘wild cat’.”
Lou’s eyes widened. “It sounds like Gunju.”
“What in blazes is a Gunju?” Ginger retorted.
“Oh, there’s some crazy story floating around about the home office in Domino City,” Lou said. “The company president is always with his buddies, two brothers. One of them’s Azazel Rakesh, his personal assistant. The other is Gunju and he’s, well, dead. I think he’s kind of a nasty spirit. He hangs around and pulls pranks. I never heard of him leaving the home office, though.”
Ginger grunted. “He may have tonight,” he said, only half-sarcastic. “Perhaps he came to reclaim the virtual reality project. He never actually said those men got away with anything.”
Lou shook his head. “Weird. But I guess I’ve gotta be grateful to him, since he got you down here.”
Ginger had to concede that point. “Are you feeling any better?” he asked.
“I’m getting there,” Lou assured him. “I think I’d like to go home.”
“You don’t think you should be examined at the hospital?” Ginger frowned, looking him over.
Lou sighed. “I think I’m okay, just kind of bruised and cold. I’d get better quicker at home.”
Ginger considered that and nodded. “Alright. I’ll help you up and we’ll go.”
“You don’t need to go back up for your laptop?” Lou asked in concern.
“I have my Flash drive. I can finish my work on the home computer.” Ginger paused. “Do you need to go back up?” He didn’t like that idea.
“I guess not,” Lou conceded.
As Ginger got up, he took Lou’s arm and tried to gently help his friend rise. Lou held onto him, stumbling, glad for the assistance.
“It must be kind of nice for the company president,” he mumbled. “And the living brother.”
“What do you mean?” Ginger drew Lou’s arm around his shoulders, at the same time pulling the coat up as it slipped down on that side.
“Being able to still have the other guy with them even after he died,” Lou said. “So they didn’t have to lose him.”
“I suppose,” Ginger agreed stiffly, not particularly wanting to talk about death after nearly losing Lou.
Realizing his mistake, Lou sobered. “Sorry, Ginger.”
“No, I’m sure you’re right,” Ginger said as they started to walk. “It would be nice for them.” He paused. “. . . I had the oddest thought. I wonder if that’s what Fragmented Triangle refers to-that trio and the one brother’s death.”
“Maybe it does,” Lou said. “It really must’ve hit the president hard if he named the whole company after it.”
“All the more reason he must be grateful for the ghost, I’m sure,” Ginger said. “But while it’s a nice enough thought, I would just as soon not discover how it would work for someone else.”
“Me too,” Lou asserted.
As they stepped into the darkened main corridor, Ginger glanced to the receptionist’s marble desk. “What’s this?” he frowned, pointing to a cardboard box.
Lou peered at it. “It looks like the box those guys were trying to run off with.”
Ginger lifted the lid. “Everything seems to be intact,” he mused.
“Then I guess you were right about Gunju, or whoever, coming to stop those guys,” Lou said. He scowled. “At least somebody was able to.”
“I just wonder how we’ll explain this to our boss,” Ginger said dryly.
“Maybe he believes in Gunju too,” Lou sighed. “Well, we could always just say that we didn’t know who stopped them, and I guess we really don’t.”
Ginger nodded. “That’s good enough for me.” He placed the box under his arm. “We’ll take it home with us and lock it in our safe until we can inform Mr. Stanley about it.”
“Good idea,” Lou declared.
“And I’ll drive tonight,” Ginger said. In general, if they were in the same car, Lou drove. But Lou was certainly not in any condition to do so now.
Lou looked relieved, but had already really expected that Ginger would take over. “Yeah, I might get us into a wreck,” he said.
“Are you dizzy?” Ginger asked in concern.
“A little, I guess,” Lou sighed. “But mostly just exhausted and in pain.”
“That’s to be expected,” Ginger frowned. “But perhaps I should still take you to the hospital.”
“If they find out I was in the fridge, they’ll probably want to keep me there all night, or even longer,” Lou groaned. “Come on, Ginger, let’s just wait and see if I feel better in the morning.”
“And if you don’t? Or worse, if waiting until morning is too late?”
“You don’t really think it would be, do you?”
“Blast it, I don’t know!” Ginger snapped. Reaching the elevator, he pressed the Down button. “All I know is that I found you shoved in a refrigerator because some sadistic devils thought it would be fun to put you there. And they beat you unconscious to do it.”
Lou was sobered into silence by Ginger’s outburst. The pain and worry in Ginger’s voice was all too clear.
“Okay, Ginger, okay,” he sighed. “If you think I should get checked out by a doctor, I’ll go.”
The elevator doors opened and Ginger stepped inside with Lou. “It would give me greater peace of mind,” he said.
“Then I’ll do it. But I’ll remember this the next time you don’t want to go to the hospital,” Lou warned.
Ginger grunted. “I’m sure you will.”
He pressed the ground floor button.
****
To their shared relief, Lou was proclaimed alright to go home, as long as he was observed there for a while. Ginger would certainly comply.
It was late by the time Ginger pulled the car into the driveway and turned off the engine. Even Mrs. Oreck and Harold seemed to have retired for the night, judging from the darkened house next-door. Hopefully that meant there would be no dancing on the balcony to disturb Lou; Ginger wanted him to have a peaceful rest.
“You know, we haven’t called the boss about the break-in tonight,” Lou groaned, covering his eyes with a hand.
“I’ll call after you’re asleep,” Ginger said. “Meanwhile, I changed the codes I had access to. That should slow them down, if they dare to come back.”
“Maybe Gunju or whoever will guard the place too,” Lou muttered, only half-sarcastic.
“Possibly.” Ginger got out of the car and came around to the passenger side. As Lou stepped out, he stumbled, but caught himself on the car door. Ginger stood by to be of assistance.
“We haven’t had dinner yet, either,” Lou frowned.
“Do you feel like having anything?” Ginger returned as they walked to the porch.
“Not really. I’m too bushed. I’d rather grab an extra quilt and go to bed,” Lou sighed. “Maybe I’ll wake up hungry in the middle of the night.”
“It’s already almost the middle of the night,” Ginger pointed out.
“Then I hope I’ll sleep until morning,” Lou declared.
Ginger offered his help as they went up the three steps to the porch. Lou accepted gratefully, while at the same time trying not to put his full weight on his slender friend. At the top, Ginger took out the house keys and let them into their welcoming home.
“What shall I do if your brother happens to call?” Ginger wondered as he locked the door behind them. “Not that he actually would at this time of the night.”
“Tell him it’s been a long day and I’m sleeping,” Lou said. “I’ll tell him everything later. Maybe. I don’t like to worry him.”
“We’ll see how it goes then,” Ginger said. He set the box with the virtual reality program on the telephone table for the time being.
The stairs leading to the second floor were a much greater challenge. But between Ginger and the banister, they were able to make it up without too much difficulty. Relieved, Lou limped to his room. Ginger took a quilt from the linen closet and followed.
Lou had already set Ginger’s trenchcoat on a chair and was painstakingly easing out of his suit coat. He draped it on the chair as well and started to unbutton his vest. “I can take it from here, Ginger,” he said. “Thanks.”
Ginger spread the comforter on the bed. “You’re sure now?”
Lou nodded. “Yeah.”
Ginger hesitated, but then nodded. “Alright.” Taking up his trenchcoat, he crossed to the door. He paused again when he heard Lou, dizzy from standing so long, fall back into the chair. “You know,” he remarked, not facing Lou, “you don’t always have to be the strong one.”
“Huh?” Lou blinked and looked over from where he was running a shaking hand down his face. “What are you talking about, Ginger?”
“Exactly what I said.” Ginger half-turned, looking back now. “I am the mastermind behind our plans, true, but you are the emotional strength between us when I lose my temper. That doesn’t mean, however, that you don’t have times when you are in need of help. When I’m hurt, you always help me. You can certainly let me help you now, if you need it.”
Lou paused. “I didn’t really stop to think about it, but if you’re trying to tell me I’ve kind of been avoiding you helping me, I guess I have,” he confessed. “I didn’t want to lean too much on you because I was worried I didn’t know my own strength and I might hurt you.”
“I’m not that weak,” Ginger grunted, although he imagined Lou probably could throw him off-balance if he wasn’t expecting it.
“I know, but still.” Lou sighed. “And now, about this, well . . .” He shrugged helplessly and blushed a bit. “I didn’t want to put that on you.”
“It’s not any trouble,” Ginger replied. “I want to make sure you’re alright and don’t end up hurting yourself more from losing your balance again and this time falling flat on the floor-or worse. Besides, after everything you’ve done to help me, I should give back a little.”
Lou looked up at him. “I am having some trouble,” he admitted. “I think I can probably pull myself together, but if you want to stay and help me, Ginger, I’d be grateful.”
Ginger nodded. Leaving the coat in a chair near the door, he came back into the room.
“Oh, by the way, Ginger,” Lou added. “That emotional strength thing. It goes both ways, you know. You have a lot of strength when I’m losing my temper.”
“I suppose,” Ginger grunted. “But that doesn’t happen as much.”
“That doesn’t change it,” Lou insisted.
Several minutes later, Ginger had helped Lou into his nightclothes and was pulling back the covers on the bed. Lou gratefully climbed in and drew them up around himself. “Thanks, Ginger,” he mumbled.
Ginger nodded and dimmed the light. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will,” Lou mumbled. He was already dozing.
Ginger observed him for a moment. Then, confident that he was doing well, Ginger again took the coat and stepped into the hall, pulling the door half-shut behind him. He would not close it tight; it should be open in case Lou needed to call for him.
He headed downstairs to take care of the virtual reality program and make the call to their boss. He was exhausted himself. Perhaps he would just have a snack, instead of bothering with dinner. Then he would go upstairs to bed, grateful that things had turned out as well as they had. Lou would indeed be alright, and whatever else Ginger thought of the mysterious ‘wild cat’, he was relieved that he had been led to Lou in time to help him.