Depart the Darkness

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

“We have so many people depending on us,” Miles said, still thinking it through. “That’s why we screen applicants so carefully.”

  He turned and looked at me, then raised an eyebrow.

  “We can trust him to exploit every available opportunity,” I replied to his nonverbal question. “Dillon knows he’ll be in deep trouble if this guy finds out Phillip quit. There’s a slim chance the man won’t call again until after Phillip’s position is filled, in which case, Dillon will use that person’s account to continue supplying information.”

  “We can’t let that happen,” Miles frowned. “There’s no question about that. But, we will have to figure out how to prevent it.”

  “Dillon knows there’s a lot he can offer this guy if he gets a job working for us,” I said. “This guy doesn’t represent another government. He isn’t looking for information concerning national security.”

  “It’s medical research,” Miles said thoughtfully. “Is that how Elliott figured out who is behind all this? There are a lot of pharmaceutical research companies, though. That doesn’t shorten the list nearly enough.”

  “I wish I knew, but since I can’t talk to Elliott…” I said. “But yeah. We support Memorial Hospital and the research taking place there. We also have a number of successful businesses. Dillon did some research on us, the day our hiring manager called to set up the interview. It wasn’t exhaustive, though. He thinks you’re the CEO of a conglomerate or holding company.”

  “Why?” Jenny frowned.

  “Because nowhere does it specifically state that Miles isn’t,” I pointed out. “Dillon made that assumption. He didn’t look for evidence to prove or disprove that.”

  “How well did he think things through by the time he answered our questions?” Miles wondered.

  “Enough to think he could pass along insider trading tips. Enough to think he could gain access to valuable medical research data. Enough to believe he could weaken the conglomeration we don’t have, and aid the guy who paid off his debt in a hostile takeover.”

  Miles whistled under his breath.

  “What a—what a—” Annette spluttered, then shot her hand in the air. “I’m with Xander!”

  John raised his hand, and our eyes all popped when Jenny raised hers.

  “What?” she asked, as if she couldn’t imagine why we were so surprised. She looked at me. “You’ve gained a lot of truths about Dillon since this began. Have you seen a single shred of humanity in any of them?”

  “None,” I replied.

  “He’s reaping what he’s sown,” she concluded. “He’s all about saving his own skin at the cost of others. So either we get this guy and stop him, or whoever bought his debt does. One way or another, he’s got to be stopped, not given new opportunities to take advantage of others.”

  “Agreed,” Miles said. “In addition to protecting our employees and Intersect new hires, our priority is to exonerate Aaron and Phillip. So how do we do that?”

  “How do we do that, without proof?” I wondered. “The truth is, we can’t. And there is no proof.”

  “It just seems like there’s got to be,” said Xander, in frustration.

  “And yet, there isn’t,” Miles said.

  “So… what proof might we find in the future?” John wondered.

  “None that I can think of,” I replied, “Unless that guy follows through on his threat to murder Dillon, once he finds out Phillip left Intersect.”

  “The man had Elliott killed, we know that now,” said Miles. “But other than evidence that Elliott’s death was the result of suicide, he left nothing behind.”

  “He won’t be any more careless this time,” I said, feeling discouraged. “Besides, even if we figure out who this guy is, that doesn’t mean we’ll find proof that Dillon is responsible and Aaron and Phillip were set up. There’s no proof to be found.”

  “It’s so frustrating!” Xander summed up. “We know the guy’s guilty. Isn’t there some way to… I don’t know, set him up so we can get proof?”

  “Proof of what, though?” John pointed out. “Proof of another crime, maybe. But that doesn’t do anything for Aaron and Phillip.”

  “I don’t feel good about the thought of setting him up, even though that’s what he’s done to others,” Jenny said.

  “We want him held accountable for what he’s done,” Miles agreed. “Not provide him with the opportunity to commit another crime, in the hope of catching him at it. Regardless of our motivation… that’s an abuse of my abilities.”

  “It’s also not being honest,” I pointed out. “So mine, either.”

  “Plus, it just wouldn’t be right,” Annette said.

  “How much truth is left to discover?” Jenny asked me.

  “A lot of hours’ worth,” I said. “I skimmed last night. Now I have to go over it again, all of it, second by second. Maybe I’ll find something.”

  Our friends looked slightly hopeful. Miles gave me an encouraging smile. I smiled back, but the truth was, I felt pessimistic.

  “The guy needs to confess,” Xander said irritably.

  “It wouldn’t do us any good unless he confessed to law enforcement, after being read his Miranda Rights,” John pointed out.

  “We could tape it, but that’s not admissible,” Miles said. “Not unless he agrees to it.”

  “As if that’s going to happen,” I said glumly.

  Everyone was silent as we mulled over what we knew, and searched for options.

  “Elliott had access to information that those outside the program don’t,” Miles thought out loud. “So… did he see that it matched another company’s research efforts?”

  “Maybe if we knew more about this program, we could figure it out ourselves,” Xander said. He looked at John.

  “What?” John looked puzzled.

  “There’s got to be a way to get more information,” Xander replied.

  John stared at him like he wasn’t sure what he was seeing.

  “If… you’re suggesting I talk to my uncle, the general, forget it. If you’re suggesting I try and hack in, forget that! I value my freedom.”

  “That’s not an option,” Miles agreed.

  “Do you think Jackson’s nephew could get anything out of Jadon, Dillon’s lackey?” Annette wondered. “He’s team lead for the program.”

  “As much as I want the information, I don’t want to encourage anyone to divulge classified material,” Miles said.

  “We could put a watch on Dillon,” I suggested. “If someone tries delivering another phone, that could give us a link to follow.”

  “Good idea,” Miles said.

  He took out his phone and selected a contact. The rest of us waited quietly.

  “Hi, Jackson. I’ve got another job for your surveillance team.”

  Miles explained the situation. As much as he could, anyway. He gave instructions to follow anyone who entered Dillon’s house, got into his car, placed a phone in his shopping cart, or put one anywhere else. Jackson’s guys know to be careful, but Miles warned him anyway. We didn’t know just how powerful the guy behind all of this might be. He had Elliott killed and got away with it, we knew that, and it was enough to warrant a fresh reminder to be cautious.

  While Miles had Jackson on the phone, he asked for an update on Dillon Graves’ financial history and that of his father. He listened for several minutes.

  “There’s no need to dig further,” Miles finally said. “That’s adequate. Thanks, Jackson. That’s it for now.”

  Miles put his phone away, and glanced at me.

  “It’s just as you thought. There’s nothing in Dillon’s financial history to raise suspicion. His father’s, either. Some of our guys were looking into offshore bank accounts and attempting to determine if he was assuming a false identity in order to keep unexplained income off of his tax records. They found nothing, of course.”

  “Yeah, and they won’t,” I said. “I’m glad you called them off.”

  “That guy’s go
ing to try and contact Dillon again,” Xander said optimistically. “There’s no telling what you’ll dig up once you know who he is.”

  “I won’t hack into anything related to the Department of Defense,” John said. “But… figure out who this guy is, and I’ll do some digging there, and see if anything relevant turns up.”

  “It wouldn’t be admissible as evidence, but it still might be useful,” said Miles.

  “It could be very useful,” I said hopefully. “After all, the truth I get isn’t admissible. But it shows us where to find evidence. Usually. This could work!”

  Everyone was decidedly more cheerful after that. And, ready to talk about something else. And do something else.

  “Is there any chance the puppies are awake?” John wondered. It was a suggestion, more than it was a question.

  “A very good chance,” Miles said. “The nursery’s getting a little too cramped for all of us, though. We’ll bring them out here to play.”

  “Yes, let’s do!” I said. I leaped off the loveseat, grabbed him by the hand, and pulled. “We’ll get them, the rest of you stay.”

  Miles gave me a confused look as he allowed me to drag him out of the room. So did everyone else.

  “What are you so frantic about?” he asked me quietly, as we crossed the threshold into our bedroom. “The bed’s made, no clothes lying around…”

  “No, it isn’t that I don’t want anyone in here,” I said, rolling my eyes a little. “I want the puppies to show off!”

  “Oh, got it,” Miles smiled. He opened the nursery door, and all the puppies looked up. “Hi, there, guys. Get ready… set… Attention.”

  All the puppies sat up straight and faced him.

  “On your feet,” Miles said.

  They stood.

  “Single file. No howling, Ed. Linux, Spaz, keep your shoulders, teeth, and paws to yourselves.”

  Miles waited while each picked a spot and got in order.

  “Good job. Now, stay in line and follow me.”

  We walked through the bedroom, and they followed along. Their adorable brown eyes were focused on Miles, ready and waiting for his next instruction.

  When Trixie showed off her superior mothering skills to those outside our inner circle, I found it incredibly stressful. But showing off the superpuppies to our inner circle… this was going to be so much fun!

  We walked into the sitting room, and Jenny’s and Xander’s eyes widened. John and Annette turned to look, and so did theirs.

  The coffee table moved off to the side and made way for us, and in an orderly fashion, Miles led the puppies onto the area rug.

  “Halt,” he said, as we turned to face them.

  They halted, and faced us.

  “Sit.”

  They sat.

  “Roll over.”

  They rolled over.

  “Turn to your right.”

  Spaz and Ed had to think about that for a second. Whether they followed the others’ lead or figured it out, I don’t know. But all the puppies turned to their right.

  “Turn to your left.”

  The pups turned to their left.

  “Face forward.”

  The pups faced Miles and me.

  “Great job, guys!” Miles praised them, and they wiggled with pleasure. “Dismissed.”

  Fidget ran to me, smiling. She was so proud! I picked her up and cuddled her, while Linux ran to a beaming John and Annette. Miles praised Lacey, Ed, and the seven service dog pups. Spaz leaped straight onto Xander’s lap, and got a bear hug in exchange.

  “I can’t believe these guys!” Xander exclaimed, his eyes bright. “When can he move in with me?”

  “You’re as bad as my sister,” I smiled. “They’ll be six weeks on Monday, so two weeks after that.”

  “Oh, man, I can hardly wait!” Xander said, roughhousing with Spaz.

  The puppy lay on his back and gnawed at Xander’s fist, while Xander used his other hand to rub his stomach. I didn’t say anything, but Spaz’s mother would get after him if she saw the gnawing!

  But, Spaz wasn’t a service dog trainee. And he was going home with Xander in a couple of weeks.

  So I kept my mouth shut, sat on the loveseat, and cuddled Fidget.

  “These guys don’t need any training at all!” John exclaimed, as he and Annette hugged Linux.

  “The service dog trainees will,” Miles said. He sat on the floor, puppies piled all over him, as he lavished them with praise and affection.

  The service dog pups looked at him curiously.

  “The service dog trainers at the Center need to feel useful,” he explained to them. “Your mother will tell you exactly what to do before you get there. You’ll be ready.”

  “Maybe act more like Chip,” Jenny said.

  The trainees looked at Chip, sound asleep in front of the fire.

  They flopped on their sides, closed their eyes, and pretended to sleep.

  Holding back laughter was a losing battle.

  “Good job, guys,” Miles smiled, as he praised them. “That’s a perfect impersonation. But that’s not what I meant. Don’t worry though. Your mother will tell you everything you need to know.”

  “I am so glad they have a mother to do that,” I said with utmost sincerity.

  “It’s too bad they can’t be open about how intelligent they are,” John lamented.

  “Why can’t they?” Xander asked. Spaz was on Jenny’s lap now, totally relaxed. She had a calming effect on both of them.

  Miles and I looked at each other as our foreheads furrowed.

  Where to start?

  “It wouldn’t be safe, for one thing,” Miles said. “They’re special, in an amazing way. Their mental acuity and language comprehension is unparalleled.”

  “I used to worry about Miles’ safety,” I told our friends. “I was afraid someone would find out about his abilities, take him, and do tests on him, to try and figure out how he does what he does.”

  “Oh,” Xander said. He looked disturbed, and so did everyone else.

  “Now Anika realizes that I can take care of myself,” said Miles. “The pups though, we don’t know. Either way, they’re safest and best able to help their future handlers by appearing normal.”

  “In an incredibly intelligent, service dog sort of way,” I added.

  “I’ve heard several stories of people trying to abduct service dogs,” Jenny remembered.

  “How awful!” Annette exclaimed. “The poor dogs—and their partners, who rely on them!”

  “It’s absolutely horrible,” I agreed.

  “Imagine how valuable each of these guys would be to the wrong people,” Miles said. “Their handlers would have to be constantly on guard, and… that’s just not right. Service dogs are meant to mitigate their partner’s disability as unobtrusively as possible. They couldn’t possibly do that if there were people determined to get to them at any cost. And there would be.”

  “We don’t want the pups to be famous,” I said. “We do want our trainers to feel useful, and to stay in practice. They’ll have other dogs to train at some point.”

  “And we don’t want these guys to set the bar so high, that the other dogs can’t possibly match up,” Miles pointed out. “These guys are intelligent, but so are service dogs in general. What sets these apart is their language comprehension. There’s no question they understand everything that’s being said.”

  “They may be special in other ways too,” I added, more than a little nervously. “If they are, they’ll have to be stealthy, and keep that hidden.”

  “They will,” Miles said, for their benefit and mine. “They’re going to do great. They’re going to do great things, and make a huge difference in the lives of everyone they touch.”

  The service dog pups smiled and wiggled happily. It was as if they were born for this.

  They probably were.

  Chapter 22

  “Anything?” Miles asked.

  “No, nothing,” I sighed. “I do
n’t even know why I’m doing this anymore. Well… that’s not the truth. The truth is, I’m doing this out of desperation.”

  Miles rubbed my shoulders sympathetically.

  “How much more do you have to go?”

  “About twelve hours,” I said. “This all started four years ago. So… there are a lot of phone calls and files exposed. There are several insider trading tips, complete with shares bought and sold. Plus, his interactions with Aaron, Elliott, and Phillip. Our interview, too.”

  “Have you visited that one yet?” Miles asked in surprise.

  “Yes. I was bored. That was more interesting than the others.”

  “What was it like to see yourself in one of these threads of truth?” he wondered.

  “Well… it isn’t the same as my memory of it.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “Because my feelings and perceptions aren’t part of it. I saw more, too. Things I wasn’t aware of at the time. Nothing we can use, unfortunately.”

  “Still… that had to be strange to see yourself like that.”

  “It was probably just as well my feelings didn’t come with me,” I replied. “Otherwise, I would’ve been envious.”

  “Of… what?”

  “Of me. Because I was with you. Only I wasn’t with you. Exactly. It’s confusing, and complicated. It did remind me how good looking you are.”

  “You forgot? I seem to recall you making a big deal about it right before breakfast,” he smiled.

  “Breakfast was a long time ago. For me, anyway,” I pointed out. “Anyway, I would’ve been jealous.”

  “It’s unbelievable really,” Miles said, shaking his head a little, as though he just couldn’t figure me out. “But, it stands to reason that as jealous as you are over absolutely nothing, you’d somehow manage to be jealous of yourself, too.”

  “I’m not that bad!” I laughed, then suddenly clapped my hand over my mouth.

  “I’m not sure that’s the truth,” he commented, laughter lighting his eyes.

  “Oh my goodness, it isn’t the truth! I really am that bad! I need help.”

  “Probably,” he smiled. “Would you care for a visit to the tearoom, instead?”

  “Sure,” I replied.

  Miles gave me his hand and pulled me to my feet, then we passed through the door of our office. We said hello to Olivia, the girl behind the check-in counter, then exited through the gate, out of the entry, and around the corner.