“Great, so here's the thing. My best friend is missing and the only lead we have, so far, is this club. I just want to ask a few questions. Ten minutes, tops.”
“Okay, that's fine.”
“See, Eric, he's on board," she said, hopping out of the car.
As she walked towards the entrance, Eric grabbed her arm, “What's gotten into you? You're not yourself.”
She snatched her hand out from his grasp, “Don't be so dramatic. I'm fine. Look, we'll be in and out.”
Cupping both hands around her eyes, Amber peered inside to see if anyone was there. The lights were on in the back and over the bar, but the chairs were upturned and placed on top of the tables.
Eric tapped her on the shoulder. Diminutively annoyed, she turned to see what he wanted. He pointed at the “closed” sign hanging on the other side of the door, which should have stopped her, but it didn't. She tried the doorknob and it was unlocked. She pushed the door open, shrugging off his attempt to prevent her from entering the club.
Behind the bar stood a burly man of average height, which he compensated for by assuming a menacing posture. He was bald, but Amber could tell he once had a full head of red hair based on the traces of ginger that peppered his already graying beard. Despite his outward appearance, which didn't exactly convey corporate, he wore a name tag. It read “Murphy”, indicating that he did adhere to authority to a certain degree.
From his flannel shirt pocket, he removed a pair of reading glasses and reviewed his clipboard. Murphy grabbed the pencil from behind his ear to count the beer and noted the counts on his list.
Looking up from his clipboard, he held up his hand in a halting motion, and said, “Folks we’re closed.” Then, he shouted over his shoulder. “Dammit, Josie, I told you to lock the doors!”
“I apologize for the intrusion, but we were hoping to speak with one of your dancers. Is Diamary here?” Amber asked.
“No,” Murphy said, perusing the checklist on his clipboard.
“Is she working tonight?”
“No.”
“Do you know where we can reach her?”
“No.”
Amber’s head dropped a beat as she gave him a look indicative that she wasn’t buying what he was selling. “You’re telling me that this woman is under your employ, but you have no contact information for her?”
“I said no, didn’t I?” he barked.
“Look, we don’t want any trouble,” Amber said amicably, hoping that underneath all the layers of gruff, he had a more sensitive side to which she could appeal. “My best friend, Kelly, is missing and the resemblance between Kelly and Diamary is quite striking.”
She pulled out her cell phone from her back pocket to retrieve a screenshot of Kelly and handed it to Murphy.
Viewing the picture seemed to assuage his suspicion, because his features softened and an involuntary smile crept up on him. “She’s a good girl. I don’t know what your beef is with her—”
“No, honestly, Kelly’s like a sister to me. I just want to make sure she’s safe.”
“And you think your friend is masquerading as Dee?”
“We don’t know. That’s why we wanted to meet Diamary. I would know if it is her once I see her in person.”
“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t know how much help Dee will be…she’s in the hospital—”
“Oh, that’s okay, which—”
“—in a coma,” Murphy said handing her back the cell phone.
“What happened?”
“Look, you two seem like nice folks and I wish I could help more, but I just don’t know the sordid details of Dee’s life. I know she can be territorial and underhanded at times with the girls, but that’s just the surface. She’s just staking her claim that’s due. All I know is, she’s been here since the beginning. It was a rocky start and for a while, I thought I was going to have to shut down this place. But she came in and brought with her a steady, loyal crowd. It was enough business to boost sales. She pitches in, too, always the first to arrive and the last to leave. And for that, I don’t give a damn about the petty shit that takes place behind the scenes. She’s definitely earned her keep as far as I’m concerned.”
Amber and Eric stood still, not quite ready to leave. Both jumped when Murphy’s deep voice bellowed, “Josie, where are my coasters?”
Josie came out through the swinging door, which had KITCHEN stenciled on it in block letters. She handed him the box of coasters, picked up her own clipboard, and removed the pen that was holding her hair up in a bun to take notes. She smiled politely at the strangers while she awaited further instruction from Murphy.
“Josie, please show these folks out,” he said, hitching his head at Amber and Eric, “and, this time, lock the door.”
“Sure, Murph,” Josie said as she rounded the bar and pulled a set of keys out from her apron. “Are you guys looking for Diamary, too?”
“Well, sort of. Diamary looks like a friend of ours.”
“Oh,” Josie said, stopping suddenly to face them. “You mean, Kelly?”
“Yes,” Amber exclaimed, “have you seen her?”
“Yes, I saw her at the hospital. She was visiting Diamary. She was wondering if they were kin, too, but I'm afraid she didn't get any answers on account of Diamary being in a coma.”
“Did she say anything else? Like, where she's staying?”
“You know what? She gave me her contact info. You know, in case Diamary woke up. Here,” Josie took out her cell and recited the phone number Kelly had given her. Eric punched the number into his phone and saved it.
“To-day, Josie,” Murphy yelled.
“I'm sorry, y'all. He's in a rush to finish inventory, today, and we're short-staffed.”
“It's okay. Thank you for this,” Amber said.
“You’re welcome, hon,” Josie said as she shut the door behind them and locked up.
Ingress to the Emergency Room was limited. The room was packed with awaiting patients with ailments and injuries, ranging from anything as mundane as a sinus infection to the more severe injuries such as broken limbs.
Amber pivoted on her heels, but Eric stopped her, placing both hands on her shoulders.
“Relax, I'm just going to get the preliminary paperwork.”
“Okay, Caleb, you should sit down. I'll wait in line to hold your place,” Eric offered. It seemed unlikely that, given the circumstances, the personnel would make them wait in line just to fill out paperwork, but he waited just to be on the safe side.
Moments later, Amber returned with the demographic face sheet and consent forms. She waved Eric over. “It's going to be a long wait, but you need to fill this paperwork out. You do have insurance, right?”
Caleb nodded, handing her his insurance card which read Mathis Grant.
“Good,” she said, securing it to the clipboard.
As Caleb filled out the forms, he said, “It's going to be a while before they call me and I'm sure you know who won't make a move on me with all these bystanders. So you should go look for Diandra—”
“Diamary,” Amber corrected.
“Right, her. I'll be fine.”
“Say no more,” Amber said.
Eric remained seated and gave Caleb a questioning look.
“Seriously, I'll be fine.”
“Okay, we'll take a look around upstairs and then we'll be right back,” Eric reassured him.
They followed the signs leading to the main lobby. Now that they were alone, Eric wanted to revisit the conversation they'd had in the car after running into the crazed man outside the Pilates studio. He led her by hand to the lounge area by the main entrance and sat down.
“We don't have time for this, Eric. We need to get upstairs.”
“It'll keep. What's gotten into you?”
“Nothing, I just want to find Kelly.”
“It’s more than that, and you know it. You're not yourself; you're always making snarky comments now and you're indifferent. A few m
onths back you wouldn't have thought twice about getting Caleb medical treatment.”
“You forgot impetuous,” Amber added. She didn't like being called out, but, at the same, time she couldn't keep all of it bottled up. Besides she couldn't keep anything from Eric, he was stalwart and supportive throughout this whole thing. A wall wasn’t required with him by her side, because he'd always protect her. She'd only put up a wall as a defense mechanism, because she didn't want to admit what was happening to her.
“I know it feels like I’m on your case about it.”
“No, I don’t blame you. I am different. I’ve never been impulsive and now I'm always jumping in with both feet without looking. I tried to control it, but I always seem to shift into autopilot. You're right, I'm not myself. I don't know, maybe I'm not immune to the change. I feel as though I'm losing the best parts of myself. I mean, impetuous, unfiltered, and indifferent. That's not me.”
“How long have you suspected this?”
“A week or so. I dismissed it until that man recognized me.” She told Eric about her dream after the Blissview Riot. “The only symptom that hasn't manifested is the memory loss.”
“No, I think you're starting to experience some memory loss, too.” He pointed at her necklace. “You didn't remember your mother had given this to you. Amber, you have to tell the others.”
“I know, but let's go up to north nine, first. I have to see her.”
They stood up and walked hand in hand to the elevators. When the elevator reached the ninth floor and the doors opened, they were greeted by two nurses. For once, Amber was silent and Eric fumbled clumsily to produce an explanation for being up there.
“Going down?” The blond nurse asked.
“Getting off, actually. Excuse us,” Eric said as he stepped out of the elevator and held the door open for them.
Once the nurses were gone, they walked down the hall.
“Amber, is there any point in us visiting Diamary? I mean, she's in a coma.”
“I have to see her with my own eyes to confirm it’s not Kelly.”
He looked as though he had more to say, but he kept it to himself.
The hallway intersected another hallway with overhead signage indicating rooms 900-920 to the left and 921-941 to the right.
“It’s this way,” Eric said, taking a right.
As she walked up the length of the hallway, some of the rooms were open and many of the patients were alone. Amber was dismayed by the thought of Kelly being alone. Why didn't she try harder to keep in touch? Was it her fault?
Then, she found herself standing outside the closed door of room 937.
“That's not it. It's room 940,” Eric called back to her.
But Amber opened the door to room 937, anyway.
“Didn't you hear me?”
“Look at him, Eric,” Amber said, pointing at the young man lying in bed with a cannula tube resting beneath his nose, an IV hooked up to his arm, and blinking monitors at his bedside. He was sound asleep.
“We shouldn't be in here.”
Amber crossed his room and stood beside the young man.
“Let's go,” Eric urged.
“I just want to see his eyes,” Amber insisted.
“What? Why? What's going on? Do you know him?”
“I don't think so, but he seems so familiar.”
She extended her hand across his body, reaching for his face.
“Amber, don’t.”
She gingerly opened his eyelids, which revealed beautiful gray eyes.
Eric shook her. “What's wrong with you?”
“Eric, he looks like Kelly,” she cried. “I felt connected to this room, that's why I stopped. And now I know why.”
“We don't know that—”
“Eric,” she said, cupping his face, “I felt him, which means he's an Elysian.”
Wiping away tears, her eyebrows knitted together. She picked up the clipboard attached to the young man's bed, leafed through the details, and then made a sudden dash for Diamary's room.
She stopped briefly, lingering at the doorway of Diamary’s room. She'd been worried sick for weeks searching for Kelly and finally she was about to reunite with her friend. But she could already tell—even from the threshold with the short distance between them—that it wasn't Kelly. Her stomach clenched in knots, because she'd just received confirmation that Diem was Kelly and she had no idea what had caused Kelly to become a monster.
“Amber—”
“I thought it would be Kelly in here, not Diam—”
“Amber, what is it?”
Amber blinked a few times to stave off the ongoing flow of tears. “I can't believe I never noticed this. Diem is a derivative of Diamary. This isn't a coincidence that Diamary and uh—”
“Julian,” Eric offered, he'd also read Julian's medical record.
“Julian are both here, in comas.” She plucked Diamary's chart from the hanging bin.
“They were both admitted the same day. They’re related to Kelly.”
“No, it has to be more than just relatives. They're both comatose, and they look alike. C’mon that's not coincidental.”
“Twins?”
“Triplets,” Eric corrected her.
“No way, Kelly is the only child.”
“How do you know? She may not have known. You said it yourself, Kelly is calling herself Diem. It's all connected.”
33
May 24, 2008
As Finneus walked down the corridor of Quorum Headquarters to report to work, the Abrogators appeared with captives. They roughly hauled the detainees practically dragging them to the holding cells.
Finneus looked at the Abrogators with disdain as he passed them. Granted the prisoners had broken the cardinal laws, but he didn’t feel their crimes warranted such brutality. Inevitably, they would be judged and found guilty based on the compiled evidence, which had to be substantial since the Abrogators were dispatched to apprehend them. A guilty sentence meant death, which was punishment enough. Why inflict unnecessary pain on them when they were already dead men walking?
It was cruel and Finneus was ashamed to even be associated with a system that believed this was a just way to maintain peace among the quadrants. It was a paradox, going against everything the Quorum was meant to represent. He grew weary of being a coerced participant. No more.
He thought back about what he’d done to protect Ares. Something he’d done prior to finding the other deleted recordings. He had logged into the auditing database, ready to work as usual, going through the recordings. He couldn’t afford to compromise his solemn duties as an Auditor. But then a recording of Cronus loaded.
An image of Ares appeared and he was still insisting on requiring the Elysians to beseech him to solicit his help. Finneus shook his head, debating if he should report it. He knew what would happen to Ares if he submitted his findings. He imagined Ares being dragged across the cobblestoned floor by the Abrogators. The offense simply did not match the punishment. His instinct was to protect Ares. With an impetuous stroke of a key, the record was purged from the system. Then, he went back further to delete the other recording with Ares and Mathis that he was forced to submit a few days ago. With Adelynn hovering over him, he had no choice. But the submission was still pending, which meant it hadn’t been reviewed yet. He wasted no time purging any trace of the file.
“Are you coming?” Miccah asked, bringing him back to the present.
“Yes, of course,” he replied, logging out and falling in stride with her.
The Quorum had convened in one of the conference rooms. It was only two thirds of them present: the Auditors and the Adjudicators. Finneus was thrilled that the Abrogators didn’t take part in their meetings, not that the Abrogators were being excluded. They were a key part of the Quorum, but their role was simple. Keep the Quorum safe and capture those who break the cardinal laws. They were the muscle, raining down without prejudice with brute force. Whatever it took to bring in the detainees. They
were feared and, therefore, acted as a deterrent, making anyone contemplating the commission of a crime think twice. So, no, they didn’t take part in meeting, but they secured headquarters, rotated sentry duty, and awaited orders to be dispatched.
Mechad, an Adjudicator, called the meeting into session and requested updates on sectors that were previously submitted for review. It was decided that Poz would remain under review until Adelynn presented her findings. She was scheduled for an astral projection away mission for the following day to collect recordings.
“What’s the status of Cronus? Have you located the Olympians yet?” Mechad asked.
The Olympians had stood trial in 1968 and were found guilty, breaking the second cardinal law. Their punishment was in progress when all of them were teleported from the execution chamber. It was unclear how the prisoners pulled it off since the facility was fortified and warded to prevent prisoners from escaping. However, the Olympians succeeded where so many failed and the Quorum had been trying to recapture them ever since.
Even with all of their resources at Quorum headquarters, the Olympians were difficult to apprehend and the lot proved to be quite crafty, finding ways to circumvent sightings across the globe.
“It’s still under review,” Finneus replied.
“I know this case has been trying and it’s only three of you to review an entire galaxy. No one is blaming any of you, but this case has been pending for decades. I need results and I need this case closed ASAP. What’s the delay?”
Finneus cleared his throat. “For hundreds of years they’ve been a peacekeeping planet, and, suddenly they’ve become unruly and belligerent. It doesn’t make sense. I think this warrants further examination.”
“Do you have any proof of tampering?”
“No.” Yes, Finneus had monitored Cronus for centuries. They only wanted to sustain the planet so the next generation could inherit a thriving planet. They didn’t care about power nor would they ever fight over something so trivial. But if Finneus mentioned any of this, it would be an admission that he’d become emotionally attached and unable to provide an objective account of the planet’s progress. He’d have to remain mum until he had physical evidence to support his theories.
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