“I’m safely barricaded. It’s far more important that you get him.”
“I realize that, but Waylon is after both of us now. He’ll assume I’ll return to your place. If I can’t track him, it makes the most sense for us to be together at a place we know he’ll visit.”
“Then why didn’t you come back sooner?”
“You told me you didn’t want Waylon dispensed with on your property, right?”
“I don’t care about that anymore. Now I don’t care where it happens, it just needs to happen. And if you can’t do it, then I need to get a restraining order so he can be arrested. I know you don’t want the police involved, but I have no choice.”
“Don’t do that, Thane. If a restraining order gets Waylon arrested, he’ll be released from custody in no time, and you will have angered him more. Meanwhile, he will have told them everything he’s seen in your garage. You’ll have no guarantee of justice, the system could backfire on you, and your life will never be private again. Investigator’s notes about your shop will become part of the public record.”
“Stop it!” Thane shouted.
“Okay, so if you let me visit you, then you won’t need the police.”
“I should never have let him go when we had him. Now he also has Gus. I accept the blame for doing that, but you said you could resolve this problem.”
“If you are no longer concerned about something happening on your property, then why not use the trap floor again?”
“He won’t fall for that again.”
“That’s why I want to be there with you. Our best chance to resolve this problem to your satisfaction is by handling it together—there. Let me help you.”
“Fine,” Thane said, sighing.
“And, Thane, there’s another thing… I know you don’t like guns but—”
“I don’t care.”
“Pardon?”
“Bring as many guns as you want to. This has to end.”
“I’m on my way.”
“Make sure no one sees you coming onto my property.”
“Of course. I’ll park at a safe distance.”
Thane said, “Okay, but be sure to call me before you come to the garage. I need to open the door for you.”
Morana said, “I don't want to risk attracting any attention. I’ll just let myself in if you leave the door unlocked.”
“No! I need to open the door for you. It’s important that you don’t try to let yourself in.”
“Why not?”
“Why can’t you just comply with my request?” Thane shouted.
Morana briefly pulled the phone from her ear. “I’m sorry. I’ll call.”
“When can you be here?”
“Give me twenty minutes.”
“Hurry.”
“I will.”
Thane hung up and looked down at Gus’s full bowl of food. He went to the door and cracked it open, as much as the blocks would allow. He put his face to it and whistled, hoping that the tuft of fur he found on the knob had a benign explanation. He wanted his hunch to be wrong and to see Gus finally come bounding inside. But in the stillness of the backyard, there was no sign of the cat anywhere. Thane closed and locked the door.
He spent the next few minutes positioning and measuring a notched block he had brought up from the sub-lair hours ago. This block matched the width and length of the one beside the entry door, but this one was notched evenly along the edges and was thinner. It weighed only 2 tons, which was plenty for its intended purpose. Thane triple-checked its measurements before leveling it over the trap floor and then hoisting it up to the ceiling.
As he walked back toward his work countertop, the phone rang. Thane hurried to it. The caller ID displayed UNKNOWN.
Morana had said she would need 20 minutes to arrive, so the call shouldn’t be from her, but missing an important call from her was too risky.
“Hello…”
“Is this Thane?”
“Who’s calling?” Thane asked. His stomach started to clench even before he heard the reply.
“Thane, this is Waylon. Don’t hang up.”
Waylon’s voice sent prickles up Thane’s back.
“What do you want?”
“You may not believe it, but this call is friendly.”
“You’re right, I don’t believe it.”
“I want to thank you for making a deal with me. You had me in a tough spot, and it was admirable of you to let me go given how I’ve treated you over the years.”
“Part of that deal was to never hear from you again, so it looks like you’ve already broken it.”
“If you will hear me out, you won’t mind that I called.”
“Say what you have to say.”
“I want to make amends with you. After you released me, I started thinking about the many horrible things I did to you when we were children. I’m not proud of them. And I also realize that my behavior toward you after we connected at the job fair only continued that abusive pattern. I want to tell you that I’m sorry and I want to ask for you to forgive me.”
Thane stared down, frozen.
“Are you there?” Waylon asked.
“Yes. I’m just… surprised.”
“I expected that, and I wish there was a way I could show you that my apology is sincere.”
“You can show it by returning my cat.”
Waylon paused. “What are you talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about—I found the fur on the doorknob. I saw your footprints. Your apology sets me up for another prank—a horrible one.”
“Thane, I’m sorry you feel that way. It’s too bad that your cat is missing. I wish I could help you with that.”
“I think you can.”
“Sounds like there’s no chance I can change your mind, so we can end this call. But before we hang up, I wanted to tell you that you really scared the shit out of me with the dropping floor.”
“I was only trying to defend myself.”
“I know. Still, that was amazing… What was that?”
“Is there anything else?”
“Oh, come on, Thane. Listen, I’ve already apologized for all I’ve done to you. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, there is no doubt in my mind that I could be incredibly useful to you.”
“How?”
“Protection.”
“The only person I need protection from is you.”
“Listen, Sykes, there’s probably nothing I can do to change what you think of me anymore, so let’s set our relationship aside and look at this from a practical standpoint. You’ve got something spectacular going on in your garage. I don’t think anyone has ever seen anything like it—I sure as hell haven’t. If word got out that you can do what I saw you do, you would need legal protection from people who want to steal it from you, and people who want to exploit you.”
Thane briefly pulled the phone from his ear and rolled his eyes. “People like you?”
“It’s not exploitation if all involved parties are compensated fairly.”
“First of all, I’m not interested. Secondly, if I needed a lawyer, you are the last person I would call.”
“Fine, I deserved that. Hear me out. I know that a partnership with me sounds crazy, but if you look at your options practically, I’ve made a tremendous amount of money by protecting the interests of my clients. Like my radio slogan says, I really do help them get what they deserve, and I could do the same for you. Think of the amazing story we’d have. Two kids who grew up together in an abusive relationship make amends as adults in a partnership overseeing a technology that could be worth billions.”
“I don’t care about money. I don’t want to work with you.”
“That’s too bad, Thane. No hard feelings, though. Good luck finding Gus.”
“How did you know my cat’s name?”
Waylon coughed.
“Answer me!”
/> “I heard that woman—your so-called girlfriend—say the cat’s name while I was there.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“Listen, Thane, obviously, you’re under a great deal of stress. Take some time to reconsider my generous offer if you need to, but I can’t tell you how long I’ll leave it on the table. What I can tell you is that it would be a lot easier for me to keep your magic floor a secret if I had a vested interest in it.”
“You think a threat will change my mind?”
“Not a threat, an offer—and one with huge stakes. Accept it and not only will you benefit more than you could have dreamed, but I’ll also protect you and might even help you find Gus. It’s that important.”
“I have to go.”
“Sure thing, Thane. I have every confidence that you’ll do the right thing.”
Chapter 26
MORANA SLIPPED TO the side of Thane’s house unnoticed. Instead of walking to the garage along the driveway, she went along the opposite side narrow space between the fence and the neighbor’s house. When she came to the back, she squatted and looked out to the garage. She dialed Thane’s number and then heard the faint ringing in the shop.
“Hello.”
“It’s Mo. I’m here.”
“Where?”
“I’m beside the house at the back. I can see the garage. The front and backyards are clear.”
“Okay, come to the door now.”
Morana emerged and crossed the backyard, sidestepping the solar panels on her way to the garage door. As she neared the door, Thane opened it.
Thane motioned for her to hurry inside, then closed and locked the door behind her.
She wore a black leather jacket over a turquoise lace-up top, jeans and black boots and had her bag—heavier than usual—slung over her shoulder. Her hair was tattered. Several scratches lined the side of her face from her ear to her chin. Her left eye was slightly swollen.
He looked her up and down and said, “Your injuries are worse than you described.”
Morana leaned to rub her knee. “I’m fine. I’m a quick healer. Any sign of Gus?”
“No,” he said, his expression tightened as the anxiety of his missing cat rushed back. Thane also wore his own physical signs of wear. Smudged dirt and rock powder clung to patches of sweat on his shirt, and his afro was misshapen and dusty.
Morana hugged him gently and brushed off his shoulder with her hand. “Wow, you’ve been busy.” She looked around at the nearly empty garage. Under their feet was a new blue throw rug that covered the entryway and it partially overlapped the trap floor. On the opposite side of the garage, a new, larger area rug also covered the seams of the Gateway block. Several long sheets were tacked to a rafter beam and hung like a curtain to conceal Thane’s work countertop.
Thane said, “A lot has changed here since your last visit.” He patted his hair.
“I can see that. Why have you gutted the place?”
“In the photograph I discovered on Waylon’s phone, all the objects in this garage are clearly identifiable, so I have changed or removed everything.”
“I can’t blame you, but that probably wasn’t necessary,” Morana said staring at the makeshift curtain. She masked her urgency as she strolled to where she had placed her micro camera concealed in a pen. The pen should have captured some good footage if he hadn’t hung the sheets before starting his work. She took hold of the curtain’s edge and pulled the corner back. Thane’s work countertop was bare. “Where did you put everything? Your tools, your supplies… And even your pens!” She pointed to where the critical pen holder had been.
“I told you—nothing remains that was shown in the photograph.”
“So, you just threw it all away?” Morana said.
“Some of it. Other items I set aside.”
“But where did you put those items?”
“Why are you so concerned about my things?”
“I’m sorry—I’m just surprised because I know how meticulous you are and how important your tools are to your projects.”
“What I’ve done won’t hinder my projects.”
Morana’s attention shifted to four large new blocks stacked just inside the large roll-up door.
Thane noticed where she looked and said, “Eight tons each.” He went to them, pulled off a towel draped over the top and mopped his face. “These will keep a truck out—probably a bulldozer.”
“Thane, don’t you think that is a little overkill?”
“Actually, I second-guessed the idea until Waylon called.”
“He did? When?”
“About an hour after you and I talked.” Thane folded the towel and placed it on the floor beside the blocks.
“Tell me what he said!” Morana waved her hand, urging him to hurry.
“He thanked me for the deal that set him free. He said he doesn’t have Gus and that he wants to help me protect my work.”
“Like you would ever partner with him,” Morana laughed.
Thane waited for her to finish and then said, “I have decided to give Waylon what he wants.”
Morana took a slow, deep breath through her nose, controlling her reaction. “Are you serious? What, exactly, do you plan to give him?”
Thane slid his hands into his pockets and said, “He wants the secret of moving the blocks along with my agreement that he can help me with the patent.”
Morana felt her heart pounding. She tried to mask her visceral reaction by saying, “Thane, I’m shocked. I can’t believe you would go along.”
Thane shrugged, and said, “When I refused, he threatened to go public with what he observed in my garage. I don’t underestimate what he’s willing to do to get what he wants. Waylon followed this pattern when we were young. He’d lure me with kindness or some generous offer—which was always a snare designed to position me as the brunt of a practical joke. If I didn’t respond to his offer the way he wanted me to, he would skip the joke and retaliate. He always had some other way to get to me. In this case, his retaliation involves Gus—I’m sure of it. Complying with his demand is the only way I can save Gus.”
“But he told you he doesn’t have Gus.”
“He’s a liar.”
Morana cleared her throat and said, “So, how will you get him this information about how you move the blocks?”
“I’ve already given it to him.”
“Really?” Morana said, slipping her sweating hands into her back pockets.
“That’s right.”
She cocked her head. “I don’t understand. How could you have given it to him?”
“Email.”
Morana laughed nervously as she looked around the shop. “You have a hidden computer somewhere in here?”
“No, I used his own phone. I sent it to the same address he sent the photos to.”
Morana covered her mouth. “Thane, that is a huge mistake! Someone else could see it.”
“When I first discovered the photos on Waylon’s phone, you told me not to worry about them. In fact, you said it was incredibly unlikely that anyone other than Waylon would ever see them. Why is this different?”
“Unlikely is different from impossible. The risk of someone potentially seeing the photos of your shop is different from someone learning your secret.”
Thane smiled at her. “Why do you seem so panicked?”
“No, I’m frustrated. This is the second time you’ve made a decision that only benefits Waylon! Where is his phone? Let me see it. Maybe it didn’t transmit.”
Thane gently kicked the block beside him a few times. “What you really want is to see what I sent him, not whether it transmitted. Isn’t that true?”
“Of course, I’m interested, but what’s most important is whether Waylon has seen it yet.” She wrung her hands. “I can’t believe that you would use email to transmit your secret to anyone, especially him.”
“You don’t need to worry. I’m
confident about what I’ve done.”
“You also felt confident about setting him free when we had him, remember?”
“I’m willing to own that mistake, and it won’t happen again.” Thane went to the cabinets on the far wall and opened the bottom drawer. He removed Waylon’s phone, unlocked the screen and set it on the countertop. “Come see.”
Morana went to him. She picked up the phone and opened an email with the subject: Ready to deal.
The message read:
Dear Waylon,
After careful reconsideration, I hereby agree to partner with you to patent my system of solid aggregate mineral conveyance. This document provides a preliminary summary of the coral rock manipulation you observed in my garage.
As a show of good faith, I’ll provide the following summary of the physics involved:
The key to reversing the gravitational influence on coral limestone is magnetic vectoring using the refraction generated by the electrically conductive coil attached to a modulatory synductor device. When geographically positioned on one of the earth’s diamagnetic vortexes, the gravitational force exerted on the object can be manipulated.
When we meet, I will provide you with full detail, demonstrations, and diagrams that illustrate the precise tools required to accomplish this.
Sincerely,
Thane M. Sykes
Morana’s heart pounded harder as she read the words. When she finished, she swallowed and then used brute force to contain the excitement in her voice. “So, is this an accurate summary of how you move the blocks?”
Thane grinned at her for a moment and then said, “Of course not! Do you think there’s any chance in hell I would actually give Waylon a crumb of what he wants?” He laughed.
“Oh… good,” Morana said, masking her disappointment.
“This agreement buys time for Gus and will bring Waylon here to meet with me. After I know Gus is safe, I’m prepared to deal with Waylon in my own way. I want to thank you for your encouragement. A week ago, I would never have considered using my resources to end my nightmare with Waylon, but you showed me how effective, undiscoverable, and safe it would be. I won’t be victimized anymore.” Thane’s voice carried a dark tone Morana hadn’t heard before.
“Thane, let’s talk this through,” she said.
Prey for Us Page 24
