He and Olivia were at Adam’s side in an instant and hustled him out of the woods, while telling onlookers he was having an asthma attack. They seemed to buy it, but Antonio still winced at the thought of all the attention focused on them.
The boy from the Spider Tribe still leaned against the bathrooms as they passed him on the way to the parking lot, seeming more concerned with the sunbathing girls than their current hasty departure.
He had helped Adam into the back seat of their car while Olivia broke into her ‘first-aid kit.’ She gave the stricken man an injection that seemed to improve matters, then informed Antonio it was a powerful sedative and they needed to get Adam back to his room. As was her norm, she wasn’t exaggerating. By the time they returned to the hotel, Adam seemed to have recovered but fought to remain conscious. Frankly, it surprised Antonio he made it up the stairs and to his room without assistance. But just barely…
Adam had stumbled into his room and collapsed on the bed in a mumbling sprawl. He didn’t even bother taking off his shoes. Antonio doubted whether the man heard his goodbye as he closed the door.
So much for that.
Now he braced himself for the acid-barbed “I told you so,” he knew must be coming. Olivia didn’t have much experience out in the field, nor with the calculated risks one took on a daily basis when on a mission, but he ruefully conceded she had called this one correctly. Steeling himself for the inevitable, he turned to face the music.
Instead, he found her standing against the rail, watching the Camaro belonging to the Spider Tribe’s boy enter the steakhouse parking lot across the street. Its distant headlights winked out as it pulled into an empty space. Something in the abstracted way she looked told him she only barely saw the car.
“It’s not polite to stare,” Antonio ribbed her gently. “The boy is going to all the trouble to keep the pretense of a low profile; it’s only fair to maintain the pretense of not seeing him. Even games like these have rules of sportsmanship.”
Olivia didn’t respond immediately. She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them and shifted her gaze down to her hand resting on the rail.
“Game?” the woman echoed softly. “Is this a game, Uncle?”
“After a fashion,” he shrugged, and motioned for her to follow as he headed for the stairs down to the parking lot. “It’s a useful metaphor. It helps provide the distance we sometimes need.”
She turned away from the railing and fell in beside him. Introspection seemed to wrap her like a cloak.
“I see,” she mused aloud. “I wonder what Mr. Sellars and his nephew think of the games we play.”
Antonio glanced at his niece with puzzled concern as they started to descend the stairs. What was this? He’d had philosophical discussions over the years with other partners out in the field, but this came as a bit of a surprise. This type of moody introspection came as a new facet to the usually calm and analytical woman. He wondered if maybe the stress of field work was getting to her.
“Children are adaptable,” he answered. “You saw the surveillance video you recorded in the hallway. I’m surprised you haven’t offered to show it to Adam yet. I wouldn’t have objected. I’m sure he would have found it just as instructive as the carbon nanotubes.”
He couldn’t see her face in the darkness of the stairwell, but could feel her stiffen next to him.
“I thought it might be advisable,” ice dripped from each word, “to space out the shocks to Mr. Sellars in his present condition. I would think his current state to be adequate support for that course of action. I didn’t need my equipment to know his blood pressure spiked to dangerous levels back there in the park.”
“I truly doubt he was in danger, Olivia. I can’t see the Spider People going to this kind of trouble simply to kill him in such a manner.”
“Indeed?” Olivia shot back. “Then I think you misunderstand Grandma Lilah. I’m quite confident from her point of view, Mr. Sellars dying due to us pushing him while he is recovering from whatever ministrations she performed on his back, would simply count as us solving their problem without causing a breach of the truce on their part.”
Antonio paused at the bottom of the stairs and considered.
“You might have a point there,” he conceded. “I’m more comfortable dealing with threats involving large spiders and bullets on a moment’s notice. And when it comes to machinations like these, I’m more used to dealing with the likes of Marcos or Cesar. I suppose Grandma Lilah represents an entirely different type of plotting. I shall try to remember I have you along, and take advantage of your advice in the future.”
“You mean the first time I give it?”
He supposed he had that one coming.
“Ouch,” he groaned. “Can we count that as the ‘I told you so’ I’ve been waiting in such dire suspense for?”
For a moment she went quiet, and once again he wondered at her odd mood. Then it seemed to pass as if it were never there.
“Very well,” she replied as if making a great concession. “Although I fear I’m letting a golden opportunity for righteous indignation get away far too cheaply.”
Antonio chuckled at her return to their usual banter.
“Never fear,” he cajoled as they neared the car, “I’m sure I’ll overlook one of your rational and carefully thought out assessments and give you cause for righteous indignation again one day. Then you can indulge in a great bout of outrage and use the occasion to get me to buy you off with a new Lexus or something. But I’ll endeavor to make that day as far in the future as possible.”
“Uncle, please…I manage the expense accounts, remember?” She circled the car to her door as he opened his. “And I do your signature better than you do. So how do you know that’s even the same Lexus? Nevertheless, it’s pleasing to hear you’re going to put some effort into it. With that in mind, you might make it a week.”
“Oho!” He now laughed as they slid into the vehicle. “Getting full of ourselves, are we? Perhaps I erred in giving you all this authority and access to the finances. Whatever was I thinking?”
“You were thinking I could access the accounts at will anyway, and this way you got the benefit of me straightening out your finances for you while at the same time being able to kid yourself you were keeping an eye on me.”
Antonio sighed and gave a fond look across the seat at his niece. She had returned to her normal, near imperturbable self and it seemed whatever mood was troubling her earlier had passed.
“Ah, well then…assuming I manage not to kill our friend Adam with any more jaunts through the park, do you still stand by your assessment of his safety here in Hallisboro?”
“Yes sir.” She was all business now. “The Spider People’s actions have been both rational and illuminating…now that I’m beginning to get a hint of what rationale they work from. I’m confident the failure of our few previous attempts to deal with them was a matter of us taking too ‘modern’ a view of the situation, and dismissing the old tales too lightly. Our ancestors would have probably already resolved this matter with them; assuming they would have ever bothered to try.”
“Interesting.” He started the car and put it into gear. “I know it’s short notice, but can you do a quick write up of your most recent conclusions regarding the Matriarch and the Spider People so we can have them on hand at the Elder’s Council tomorrow?”
“Sir?” She looked over at him in confusion. “I was not aware a Council meeting had been scheduled.”
“I got the text while we were at the park.” Antonio pulled the car out of the parking lot and eased it into traffic. “I called and confirmed things while you and Adam were on the trails. Apparently Cesar has decided since he can’t micromanage affairs, he’s going to do the next most annoying thing and have us going down to Houston to give regular reports at Council meetings throughout this project.”
“Uncle, no!”
“No?” He looked over at her mildly. “You know, Olivia, for somebody with su
ch a formidable IQ, you still seem to struggle with the basics of the boss/assistant relationship. The yes/no decisions are supposed to be my job, remember?”
“What I mean, sir, is we can’t go back to Houston. Not now.”
“No?”
“We’ve just established the Spider People are following some variation of the old ways under a veneer of modernity they present to blend in with today’s world. And now we have been extended the protection of the truce they gave Mr. Sellars. We don’t know all the ramifications of the truce, or what elements of hospitality were extended with it, because we’ve lost so much of our own connection with the old ways. But we do know it included our safe presence in Hallisboro, and it’s vital we maintain our presence because leaving could be construed by them in all sorts of negative ways. They might interpret it as cowardice, indifference, or an outright insult on our part, and could undo everything we’ve achieved.”
“Olivia, this is a meeting of the Elder Council. I have to be there.”
“Sir, in three nights we have the first meeting with the Spider People that doesn’t involve killing each other in centuries. We may never get this chance again. Any way you look at it, this meeting has to have priority.”
“I doubt Cesar will see it that way,” Antonio sighed. “He only knows about this mission’s goal of gathering intelligence while resolving the issue between the Spider People and Mr. Sellars…and I don’t dare reveal its expanded aspects without having Delgado and Alejandro present to balance him and Marcos out. So my hands are tied.”
“Sir…”
“I’m sorry, Olivia. I will explain what has developed, and the opportunities it presents, to the Council. But I must be present at the meeting tomorrow to do it. They would want to deliberate the matter anyway. So there is no way around it.”
“I see.”
Silence fell between them in the car.
Antonio suppressed a world-weary sigh and focused forward. This wasn’t his fault, and he could do little about it. Sometimes being in charge meant having politics and circumstances make your decisions for you. It stunk, but it was what it was. He could well understand the young woman’s frustration with the situation. It wouldn’t be the first time politics had taken a golden opportunity and made a hash out of it.
“Then I guess there is no choice,” she muttered softly.
“I know,” he commiserated. “It’s enough to drive sane people mad. We just do what we can and make the best of it.”
“Yes, sir,” she nodded, all business again. “At least Mr. Sellars’ hotel has WiFi. I will relocate over to the room next to his and you can send me dispatches regarding the meeting and other matters there. I will keep you apprised of any new developments on this end.”
“WHAT? That wasn’t…” He looked over at her with such force he almost pulled the car into the lane next to his, and was forced to momentarily return his attention forward to correct the situation.
“As your second, it is only fitting I stand in for you. And as your niece, I’m uniquely qualified to do so under these circumstances. You would still be showing trust by leaving me at their mercy and thus alleviating any perceived insult by your departure.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Furthermore, my presence here would insure Mr. Sellars doesn’t come up with some idea of his own on how to proceed, and make some innocent but disastrous mistake out of ignorance that makes matters worse. I will also see to it Estelle has the medical supplies I need packed and waiting for you to bring back when you return.”
“Olivia! You seem to be missing the ‘NO’ I issued in your direction!”
“No, sir. I’m merely ignoring it…because you are going to end up having to relent on this one, and as soon as you calm down and stop shouting you will know I’m right. This is the only way things can work.”
“I’M NOT SHOUTING!”
“Duly noted, sir.”
Antonio clenched his jaw and took a long, deep breath through gritted teeth. It didn’t help much. He glared over at his niece but she simply met his eyes with her own calm gaze. That didn’t help a lot either.
“No.”
Olivia said nothing, merely looking back at him.
“I mean it. No.”
The girl lifted an eyebrow but otherwise remained silent.
“Olivia, we are on the very doorstep of our enemies. I absolutely cannot leave you here with nothing but a crippled, untrained outsider for protection. Think of the risk!”
“I have, sir. The risk is minimal. On the other hand, the risk of us both leaving here and scuttling this whole opportunity is unacceptable. This could be historic. Now that we have some insight into the Spider People, we might be able to find some way to deal with them. This is what you have dreamed of, sir.”
“Not at this price.”
“There is no price, sir. I repeat, the risk is minimal. I will be fine.”
Antonio took another slow breath and set his jaw.
“You are my brother’s daughter, and my last living family, Olivia. Don’t you understand what that means?”
“Yes, Uncle,” her own voice softened a bit. “I do understand. But that’s why you have to leave me here. Furthermore, it’s also why we have to let them know who I am. There is no other way.”
Antonio exhaled, grimaced, then refocused on the road as they came to an intersection.
This was a nightmare.
What Olivia wanted to do would be like him baring his own heart to the Spider People, and maybe his throat to Cesar as well. On second thought, he would far prefer that to this. People had taken their shots at his heart and throat before and he had survived. This was different. She could quote risk assessments till she turned blue in the face and it still wouldn’t stop his instincts from screaming at him to point the car at Houston and keep driving right now.
What she proposed to do was risk her life on the honor of a group of strangers who had been killing their people for centuries.
But the hell of it was…she was right.
CHAPTER TWELVE
RISKS AND LEGENDS
Adam lay with his hands behind his head, staring at the totem that leaned against the wall in the predawn gloom.
His head still felt a tad muzzy from the sedative-induced sleep, which judging by the little digital clock on the nightstand had lasted about twelve hours. He supposed it could have been worse. At least this time he couldn’t really object about getting doped, as it had apparently been for his own good. Whatever he experienced back there in the park, it had felt like a combination of heart attack, migraine, and having the wind knocked out of him all at once.
And it all happened thanks to a seemingly impossible treatment from a bizarre witch—and the revelation there were real monsters in this world. Even worse, David and Karen had died under the fangs of one of those monsters.
It was so much to take in. And it was so hard to believe. But he had seen those spiders in the hallway the night before. And after encountering them, he could not deny the monstrosity hanging between those two trees in David’s picture. He could only try not to imagine what David and Karen experienced in their last minutes.
And this inevitably brought his attention back to the totem.
The large arachnid glowered back at him from its hoop, barely visible in the gloom of the darkened room.
“You know something, Charlotte?” Adam frowned at the predator in the wooden loop. “I’m beginning to not like you very much. Nothing personal. I know with you being the centerpiece of the ‘No Shooting Adam Stick,’ I should consider you one of the good guys, but right now I’m having nightmares about what something in your family did to mine. And I’m having a real problem with that. I’m also not crazy about some other dreams you’ve been featuring in lately.”
Whatever Charlotte thought of his nightmares, she seemed inclined to keep to herself.
Seeing as he was awake, Adam wondered if he should go out and attempt to catch a few moths before the sun rose and rui
ned the balcony lights as bug attractors. Having never cared for a spider before, he didn’t know how often they needed to feed. As a matter of fact, he realized he knew almost nothing about the needs of his current charge.
“You know, this would be a lot easier if you were a dog.”
Now aware he still had his shoes and braces on from the day before, Adam decided a bug hunt would be in order before taking a shower. Best not to take chances with his eight-legged companion’s health…although a grim corner of his mind noted this was most likely a relative of the giants from the night before and wondered if overfeeding them brought on growth spurts.
“And if you get fat on me, I am sooooo not taking you out for walks.”
He pushed himself up from the bed with a wince and a groan. No trace remained of the vitality from the day before. If anything, he felt like he had just run a marathon.
Adam yawned, shambled over to the door, and pulled it open. Stepping outside, he glanced over at the nearest balcony light and noted with some relief a few moths still clustered around it. It was a cool night, and he figured the bugs would be scarce. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the nearest moth and started a slow approach.
“Without the cane again, Mr. Sellars?”
“Gah!” Adam whirled, lost his balance, and grabbed at the rail. He managed to keep from hitting the ground by assuming an awkward, wide-legged stance reminiscent of a sumo wrestler with a bad case of colic.
Olivia stood about thirty feet down the balcony near the top of the stairs. Exhibiting her usual taste in dark clothes, the woman barely showed on the dim walkway.
“My apologies, I did not mean to startle you.”
“It’s okay,” Adam gasped, then gave a self-deprecating laugh as he used the rail to pull himself straight. “No harm done. I guess I’m awake for sure now. It’s probably good for me or something.”
“Or likely not,” she replied dryly. “But it’s good to see you’re already awake. How are you feeling this morning?”
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