“UNDER CONTROL”

Tax filing season was always Will’s least favorite part of the calendar. It’s a lot easier for people who have full-time jobs with an employer to manage their income and with holdings. It was a whole different task for someone self-employed in today’s economy. His friends called him the King of Gig because he was constantly juggling various ways to earn a living that didn’t involve going to an office or following a strict schedule. And every spring when he had to sit down and document every penny of income and expenses it made him wonder if it was worth it.

His two blogs had been bringing in a steady flow of income but it was a garden hose not a fire hose. His on again off again consulting work could best be described as unpredictable, and given his need for a new car and a desire to own a house instead of rent one he’d decided to become a driver for Google Street View. From what he’d read online the hours were flexible and they provided an autonomous vehicle. He wondered about the safety of a self-driving car but his contract called him a vehicle safety specialist whose job was to watch the vehicle’s movements and manually correct them when necessary so he’d still be in control, sort of. The photos of the car’s interior made it look like a small space shuttle with instrumentation everywhere. Google would select the area they wanted to have photographed and lay out his route. The only variables he’d have to watch were weather, large crowds of people and anything else that might block the view of buildings from the street. Time-wise it was a perfect complement to his other gigs.

When his cellphone rang and his friend Mark’s name came up on the screen it offered a welcome break from his tax tedium. “Hey, Corporal Kolchak, how are you’? I was going to call you later.”

“So I saved you the trouble. Just checking to see if you want to join Tom and me at Clancy’s for happy hour, like around four.”

“Sounds good. They’re delivering my robot car tomorrow and I have a feeling it’s going to tie me up for a few days with training and practice.”

“So you’re really going through with the street view thing.”

“Yeah, it’s tax time and I’m sitting here with a mountain of invoices and checks and receipts and it’s obvious I need some steady income.”

“Are you sure you’re ready for that much regimen in your life?”

Will could hear the hint of laughter in his friend’s voice. “I won’t know until I try it. I’ll tell you more about it later. See you at four.”

When he saw the Google car in his driveway the next morning he couldn’t help but stare. It was even weirder looking than the ones he’d seen on their website. It was a bright yellow Hyundai Venue wrapped bumper to bumper in a multicolored banner with the word Google in two foot high letters on each side. The car got even stranger looking when the corporate trainer showed him how to attach the matching yellow four foot high camera tower to the roof. It was a look designed to catch attention but he knew it would also make it impossible to avoid stares and people taking selfies with it. Will was going to become a minor celebrity just by driving it. They went through the instruction manual and Will learned how to download his daily route instructions and his nightly video uploads back to Google. They got into the tiny car, did a run-through of the controls and made a few practice runs around town. Will was surprised how quickly he got the hang of handling it. He was ready to solo.

It was sunny when he’d set out on his first video shoot but the forecast had called for rain in the afternoon so he knew he’d have to keep things moving quickly. Google didn’t pay for rainy day video. He was stopped at a light on Fairmont Street and getting ready to turn on the big three hundred sixty degree camera when he looked to his right and saw a very attractive young woman in a blue Nissan parked at the curb. She looked over at him and quickly turned away.

He was supposed to drive around at a constant speed no faster than twenty-five mile an hour to get the best quality video and when the light changed the car quickly reached that speed. It momentarily slowed to fifteen but then accelerated back to twenty five. At the next intersection the car again picked up speed and then slowed down. It was odd and he looked over the controls to see why his speed was changing for no apparent reason. There was nothing going on outside that would trigger the cars sensors to do it. It was unnerving and he knew it had also made for an erratic video. Like it or not he’d have to start over.

When he reached the next intersection he turned right. It took him about ten minutes to get back to his original starting point on Fairmont. He checked his mirrors, checked the speed setting and headed back to follow his assigned route, hopefully without interruption. Everything went according to plan. The car had stopped when it was necessary, maintained the proper speed and the screen on the dashboard had shown the camera images were recording perfectly. As he crossed an intersection on to the last block of his route he saw the woman in the blue Nissan again, parked in a different place along the curb. Like the first time he’d seen her she looked at him and turned away. He noticed her license plate read GRACIE.

Will thought to himself that it had to be more than a coincidence. The Nissan must have followed him on his route and then cut over Fourth Street to get in front of him. “What kind of game are you playing, Gracie?” He looked in his rear view mirror and saw her pull into the traffic behind him. Once again his Google car accelerated then slowed down but he finished the route and hoped the video wouldn’t be compromised. He saw the blue Nissan two cars behind him. When he spotted a parking lot on his right he quickly turned in and the Nissan continued on Fairmont. He checked his video screen. The images appeared to be clear except during the two sudden changes in speed. He hoped it would still be acceptable to Google. Their schedule called for making another run on the other side of town but the sky was getting dark and he decided he wouldn’t have time to get there and complete the route before the rain came. The delay from having to do his original route twice had eaten up the clock.

He spent the rainy afternoon writing two new posts on his blogs and returning emails to his consulting clients. He figured he was just a half hour from finishing his tax information to give to his tax preparer but decided that could wait. He wanted to watch his first Street View video from start to finish before he uploaded it to Google. It took him awhile to re- read the training manual’s instructions but he finally had everything ready to watch. He grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and sat down with his laptop. The video seemed to be smooth and clear with no glitches. The number of people on the sidewalks was minimal and he knew the software would automatically blur their faces. Then about five minutes in he saw something that made him press the pause button; the blue Nissan was parked along the curb near Fairmont and Central. He could see a woman sitting in it but it wasn’t close enough to see any detail. “Is it the same one?” he wondered. “Is that Gracie? How did I miss seeing her when I was driving by?” He turned the video back on and watched in silence all the way to the point when Gracie had pulled behind him on the final block. It seemed clear that she’d known where he was going and was following him. Any thought that their encounters had been coincidence disappeared. Gracie was stalking him.

He put his beer on the table and leaned back. “What in hell is going on?” he thought. “Who is this woman and how did she know every move I’d be making?” If he was going to be making more camera runs he had to find out how and why she was constantly nearby. He reached his friend Mark on his cellphone. This seemed like a situation when having a friend in the police department might come in handy but didn’t want to call him at the station..

It rang twice before Mark answered. “Hey, Will, good timing. I just got off my shift. What’s up?”

Will was nervous about the favor he needed but he took a breath and answered, “What’s up is I think someone is stalking me, a woman, I think her name’s Gracie and I need to know who she is.”

Mark laughed. “Way to go, man. Maybe your dating dry spell is over.”

“No, this is no joke. I can show you the Google video I took today. She’s all over it and it can’t be a coincidence. Can you stop by to see it and tell me what you think?”

He could hear Mark sigh. “Well, okay. I can be there in about fifteen. Do you have beer?”

“Yeah, I’ve got plenty. See you in fifteen.”

Will had moved his laptop to the kitchen counter and by the time Mark arrived the video had been cued up and ready to play. Will felt a little sheepish and said, “Hey, thanks for coming. I know this sounds weird but maybe you can help me figure it out.”

“Hey, I just got a look at your Google clown car. Talk about putting on a show!”

“I know, it’s kind of embarrassing but the money’s pretty good.

“So as far as figuring this out, I’ll try, but I don’t usually get involved in romantic problems.” His smile eased Will’s nervousness. He handed Mark a beer and they sat down at the counter.

“Okay,” Will started, “I’m going to show you my first try at the video that was no good.” The tape had just begun and he said, “Okay now, watch this. See her there, the blue Nissan at the curb?”

 Mark sighed. “Okay, she’s sitting there minding her own business. What’s the problem?”

“Now watch. It was right after I saw her when the car’s speed control started crapping out. See how the video is all shaky? Now here’s the second try at the video. Everything’s going okay.” He pressed fast forward until he got to the place where he’d seen the Nissan again. “Okay here, see the Nissan at the curb? It’s like she knew I’d be driving by.”

“Don’t you think maybe you’re being a little paranoid here? Mark asked.

“Nope, because watch this part.” He waited for Mark’s reaction as the blue Nissan pulled away from the curb and started to follow him. “See, just like the first time, I saw her and then my car started speeding up and slowing down. And here, I’ll swing the 360 on the camera and you can see now she’s following me.

“You know it could just be coincidence.”

“Come on, you’re a cop and I know from watching the cop shows on TV. Twice is a coincidence but three times is suspicious.”

Mark took a long drink of beer and emptied the glass. “Okay, maybe it’s something but there’s not much I can do. This chick didn’t hurt you or threaten you. There was no damage to your car. All she did was distract you in some way.”

“I know all that but it doesn’t explain how my car was acting when she was nearby. I just want you to do something for me. Get me her name and address. Her license plate says GRACIE. I know you guys check with Motor Vehicles on stuff like that every day.”

“I don’t know, man, this is kind of a gray area here.”

“Just a name and address, and I promise I won’t do anything stupid.”

There was a long silence then Mark said, “Okay, but I have to cover my tracks. No text or email. I’ll write it down and call you with it. Deal?”

“Deal. Thanks, man, stay tuned.”

The rain ended overnight and Will got up early. It was Saturday and he knew the business park that was his next assigned route would be perfect for getting a video with empty streets. It took him an hour to shower and dress, then mount the camera tower to the car. As he was backing out a group of his neighbors stood nearby, staring at the Google car. He’d decided that Mark’s term for it was more accurate. It was his clown car.

The drive across town was uneventful and the car’s controls had been working perfectly. But when he got close to the business park entrance the car suddenly made a sharp right turn on to an arterial road heading away from the park. He tried to stop manually but the controls had taken over and he was going for a ride he couldn’t stop. He tried to turn off the engine but nothing happened. The Google trainer had told him it was virtually impossible but it was clear to Will that his car had been hacked. He felt helpless and more than a little frightened. The car continued for another hundred yards and then slowly pulled over to the shoulder and stopped. It sat idling and when he tried to open the door it was locked. Nothing he tried changed his predicament. The clown car was in charge.

He slumped in his seat and wondered if there was a way he could smash open a window. The ringing of his phone from the console brought him back to the moment. Mark’s name was on the screen. His hands were shaking when he picked it up. “Hey, man, I need your help.” When he noticed the view in the rear view mirror he froze. The blue Nissan was pulling up behind him.

“I got the information you wanted on that chick and a whole lot more. Her name is Grace Ann Whitney. She’s twenty-nine and three weeks ago she walked away from an institution that, let’s just say, is for people who aren’t all there. And she didn’t have permission to leave”

Will was looking at the mirror while he listened. Gracie was getting out of her car while Mark continued. ”You were right to be suspicious. She’s like some kind of high-tech computer whiz and her record says she used to work on code for controlling military drones and vehicles.”

“Mark, I’m stuck in the Google car and she just pulled up behind me. I can’t get the doors open!”

“Well you better get the hell out of there because the report also said she’s a potential threat to herself and others. Get out of there, man!”

Will looked in his side mirror and saw the woman walking slowly toward him. “Mark, she’s controlling the car and she’s coming my way. She’s holding some kind of black metal box.”

“Where are you? I’ll call for someone in the area to help.”

Before Will could answer his window began opening. Gracie was standing within three feet of him. She was pretty but gaunt and had a strangely distant look in her eyes that made Will nervous. “Why are you doing all this to me? I don’t even know you.” She didn’t answer and he moved his phone closer to the window hoping that Mark would hear the conversation.

She stared at him for a moment and then said, “You know why. It’s because of what you did.”

“Look, we never even met. This is the first time I ever saw you so I couldn’t have done anything to you.”

“Don’t lie, it only makes things worse. Don’t pretend it didn’t happen.”

“Pretend what didn’t happen?” He unhooked his seatbelt and struggled to open the door but it was still locked.

“ Goodbye, Eric.” She took a step back and pressed a button on the box. His window went back up. Then he watched helplessly as the gearshift moved into Drive and the steering wheel turned him back on to the pavement. He grabbed it and tried to turn the car back to the shoulder but it was clear she was in total control. A moment later when the speedometer hit seventy he closed his eyes and held his breath.

THE END