MOMENTUM

by Imogen Rose

  Had Raj taken off without the money, perhaps hiding it somewhere and needing him to retrieve it? Why him? Why not get someone closer to home to do it? Maybe the money was in Olivia’s house, and Raj thought that he, her ex, would be welcomed inside. If that’s what Raj thought, he was stupid. Olivia wouldn’t let him anywhere near her. However, if there was money to be had, and he was the one asked to help, he’d get it no matter what, even if he had to break in. He didn’t even have money for the fare home. Not that he particularly needed to go home again. A life in the States might be nice, especially if he got money out of this deal. Why waste it on a flight back? In time, he might even convince a rich American woman to marry him. They did love the British accent over there; he was sure he’d be a hit with the ladies. A nice house overlooking the Pacific Ocean–he’d never seen it, but he’d watched Baywatch–would be perfect. There were the earthquakes to consider, of course. That was something that had always put him off considering the west coast of America as even just a vacation getaway. Well, once he was done, he could settle on the east coast, maybe Florida. Wait, the hurricanes. Dillard fell asleep mulling the possibilities.

  He had a three-hour wait in Philadelphia until he boarded the last flight, feeling slightly euphoric as he did so. This was the flight to paradise. He knew it! There would be money at the end of this flight. With that happy thought and a bonus window seat, he fell asleep only to be awakened by a flight attendant as the airplane approached San Francisco.

  “Sir, we’re getting ready to land. Have you fastened your seatbelt?”

  He looked down to make sure that it was on, and nodded at her. Then he looked outside, taking in the view.

  He practically danced through the terminal to baggage claim. When he made it to the arrival lobby, his mood changed. What now? Where was he supposed to go? He had enough cash for a few nights in a hotel, but which one? And how would he get there? He certainly didn’t have enough money to treat himself to car rental or anything like that.

  He pulled out his phone and dialed Raj’s number again. This time, someone actually picked up.

  “Hello, this is Dillard Stevens. You left a message for me?”

  “Dillard! What do you know? I had given up hope, thinking I’d never hear from you. I’m glad you called. I need you to come over to–”

  “I’m here already! What’s this about? You said I was due some money?”

  “Here where?” Raj queried.

  “In San Francisco. This is where Olivia lives, right?”

  There was a pause. “It is, but I was hoping you would come to me first. I’m in the Bahamas.”

  “That’s way too far. I don’t want to take another flight, not right now. How do I get this money, anyway?”

  “Well, if you can’t make it over here, I suggest you book into a motel and wait for instructions. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  Tomorrow would be soon enough; a night at a motel would be perfect at this point. Dillard’s body ached from having sat in that cramped United Airlines seat for hours and hours. Lying in a bed, any real bed, would be a relief.

  “Okay.” He hung up and walked to the concierge station.

  Kevin froze as he heard a key turn in the lock again. What if Dan came back with Raj this time? He was stiff from sitting tied up on the hard floor; his lips felt encrusted with dried blood from where the tape had been ripped from his mouth earlier. He was in no position to fight anyone. It was all he could do to keep breathing. Even that was a challenge with fear overpowering him, making him hyperventilate.

  He felt slightly relieved when only Dan and Sophie walked in. There was no sign of Raj… yet.

  Dan eyed him, looking tense. “You don’t look so good. Why are you breathing funny?”

  Sophie laughed. “He’s scared, like a rabbit.”

  “Scared?” Dan looked genuinely surprised. “No need. I’m not going to hurt you. You still upset about the tape? I already said I was sorry ‘bout that. I didn’t know that would happen, that’s all.”

  Kevin nodded, unable to speak. His mouth was dry, so dry that his throat was pretty much closed up.

  “Give him some water so we can get on with things. We don’t have all night!” Sophie snapped.

  Kevin noticed that she’d changed her looks a lot since the last time he’d seen her. Somehow, she looked much younger. However, she still had that mean demeanor. He sucked on the straw Dan put to his mouth, sipping the water gently at first, letting the stream flow down his throat, and then gulping the rest.

  “That better?” Dan put the bottle on the floor. “You must be hungry. Lemme see what I can get you. How ‘bout some chips? Got some barbecue-flavored ones right here.” He held up a package.

  Kevin nodded. Chips were the last thing he wanted. His throat hurt too much to be contemplating choking those down; however, he felt sick with hunger. So when Dan put a couple into his mouth, he chewed, then gasped with pain as they slid down his throat.

  “All right! Done playing house now, Dan?” Sophie asked. “It’s time to get down to business. I’m guessing you want to know what we want?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “It’s simple, really. We just want to go back home. Of course, there’re some complications we have to work out. I’m guessing that the FBI is looking for us back home? Right?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Have you heard from Raj?”

  Kevin struggled to decide whether to part with what he knew. Why shouldn’t he? Raj needed to be put in his place, and who best to do it than the two people he’d run out on? He nodded. Plus, it would hopefully help him get out of here.

  Sophie looked surprised. She’d clearly not expected him to nod. “Well? Where is he?”

  “Da–” Kevin coughed. Dan gave him another drink of water.

  “–rley,” he whispered.

  “Say what?” Dan frowned, looking puzzled.

  “Darley! You big lump,” Sophie snarled. “He must be back in the Darley dimension.”

  Kevin tried to speak again, but all that left his mouth were deep, raspy coughs.

  “Oh, never mind!” Sophie barked. “Just nod yes and shake no. Understand?”

  Kevin made sure to nod emphatically.

  “Good. Is he in the Darley dimension?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Where exactly?”

  Kevin shrugged.

  “Is the portal functional?”

  He nodded again.

  “Can you transport Dan and me through?”

  He didn’t want to say a yes or a no. What was he supposed to do for an I don’t know, or a maybe? Technically, he probably could, but he wasn’t a hundred percent sure. A yes would at least stall them for a while.

  “Well?”

  He nodded.

  “We’re going to need money,” Dan muttered. “I guess we could take him over to the bank in the morning to get us some, right?”

  “No,” Sophie said. “We could have, if you hadn’t messed up his face like that. We can’t bring him with us anywhere he might be seen looking like that.” Dan rolled his eyes.

  “We’ll just have to get what cash we can using his cards. You do have some on you?”

  Kevin nodded.

  “Get them, Dan.”

  Dan reached into Kevin’s pockets for his wallet. He found it and passed it to Sophie.

  “Nice and fat.” She looked pleased as she opened it and rummaged through the contents. “Plenty of cards and a nice bit of cash. This will have to do. You emptied your account this morning like I asked you to, didn’t you, Dan?”

  “Yup, and I made a good amount in tips tonight.”

  “Is our luggage in the van?”

  “Yup. We’re all set.”

  “Okay. Get him up, and let’s go.”

  Dan cut off Kevin’s ankle restraints and pulled him to his feet. His wrists were still tied in front of him.

  “Stick some tape back over his mouth,” Sophie ordered.

  “No. Plea–” Kevin begged
hoarsely, but to no avail. He flinched as Dan pressed the tape back onto his raw skin.”

  “Sorry!” Dan threw a glance over at Sophie, and then took him by his elbow and walked him out of the room.

  Kevin’s legs felt like jelly at first, giving way under his weight. Had he not been able to support himself against Dan, he’d have collapsed in a heap. Dan practically carried him up the dark, wooden staircase. He was unprepared for the bright light as they walked into the main bar and shielded his eyes momentarily with his free elbow. Then he scanned his surroundings. He wasn’t much into hanging out in bars; his lifestyle didn’t really allow for that. He lived way out in the middle of nowhere, with no public transportation. The only way to get to a bar would be to drive, and then he wouldn’t be able to drink. What would be the point in that? The only times he enjoyed bars were during conference outings. One of the perks of being a scientist was that he got to attend a few conferences a year. The last one he’d attended was in London, and he’d certainly enjoyed the bars, or pubs, as they were called there. Looking around, he was fairly certain that he hadn’t been to this one before, although he couldn’t be sure. They all looked fairly similar, though he felt that he would have remembered the four-foot poster of the scary-looking chinchilla that covered one wall.

  “We’re all set? Dan, we’re not coming back, so if there’s anything you need to get, now’s the time.”

  “Nope. All set. I even loaded up with booze and snacks. We’re ready to go.”

  They walked out into the darkness. Parked right outside the door was a blue van. Dan opened the back doors and told Kevin to climb in. Thankfully, his legs had regained some feeling, but his wrists were still bound, so Dan clumsily helped him in. Then the doors closed.

  And then they opened.

  “I need the passwords for the credit cards.” Sophie peered in at him expectantly.

  He was in no position to fight, so he stretched his fingers out in five combinations to indicate his PIN numbers.”

  “Good boy.” She slammed the door.

  The back of the van was full of suitcases and stuff–pillows, a small television, even a lamp. He hoped Sophie and Dan weren’t under the delusion that they could bring any of this through the portal. He made himself comfortable wedged between a cushion and a suitcase, laying his head on top of the suitcase. The van started up and drove along, the engine humming away. Kevin fought the urge to give in to the narcoleptic drone, forcing his eyes to stay open. He had to remain alert. The van stopped three times for about fifteen minutes each, to get money from cash machines, Kevin guessed. The fourth time it stopped, the door opened.

  “Come on. Slide over, and I’ll help you out,” Dan muttered.

  Kevin scooted forward with difficulty. His legs had begun to go numb again. He managed to bring them forward and throw them down the side of the van, and Dan helped him stand up.

  They were at Ames.

  “So, what’s the best way to get in?” Sophie asked.

  Kevin mumbled through the tape.

  “Remove it!” Sophie hissed. “One word, even a whisper out of place, and you’re toast! Get it?”

  Kevin nodded while Dan peeled off the tape, gently this time, but it hurt even more, if that was possible. Kevin whimpered in pain.

  “Don’t be a baby!” Sophie mocked. “Now, where to?”

  They might as well have left the tape on, he was in too much pain to speak. He nodded toward the left entrance and mumbled, “Muuhuu.”

  “I guess that means over there?” sighed Sophie.

  Kevin nodded.

  “All right, lead the way.” They walked with Kevin hanging onto Dan. He could feel his legs recovering somewhat, but he wasn’t ready to try walking on his own quite yet.

  When they got to the door, Dan and Sophie looked at Kevin expectantly.

  “Wallet,” he whispered.

  Dan scrunched his nose. “What do you need your wallet for?”

  “Card.”

  “Oh.”

  “Untie his wrists,” Sophie ordered. “Don’t even think of doing anything stupid,” she warned.

  Kevin had absolutely no intention of doing anything that would enrage them. The best-case scenario would be for him to figure out a way to send them through the portal. Good riddance. As soon as his hands were free, he extracted his Ames card from the wallet and went to slide it, but froze.

  “What?” Sophie glowered at him.

  “Sh….” He nudged his head toward the window. A beam of light danced across it–security. It must be the security rounds. They dove to the ground and lay, barely breathing. And they remained still even after it all went dark again, giving the guards enough time to disappear from the vicinity. As soon as he felt it was safe, he tried to stand back up, his legs failing him once again. Dan grabbed him and pulled him up.

  He slid his card and opened the door once he heard the click. They hurriedly slithered down the corridor with him leading the way. They took the back stairs to the basement where Kevin used the iris reader to access the portal elevator. Once inside, he felt safe from the security guards. They had no access to the portal.

  The elevator stopped, and Kevin led them through another door which opened into a humongous steel hangar full of computers and other equipment. He felt his legs steady, and he let go of Dan’s arm to gingerly make his way to the main computer terminal. He accessed the portal files and the energy data. Everything seemed to be in order. It would have been better to have Larry available at the other end to receive them, but he had no way of contacting him.

  “So?” Sophie paced, pulling at her bangs. “Can you do it or not?”

  “Yes. What are you going to do at the other end? There’s no one there to receive you that I know of. Dr. Fox could be there, but I don’t know for sure.” It still hurt to talk so most of his speech came out a bit garbled, but he thought they could understand him.

  “Don’t worry about that. I know my way around Ames. Remember, I worked there.” Sophie pointed the way they had come. “Let’s go get our stuff, Dan.”

  “You’re not going to be able to take stuff through. Well, maybe you could carry a few things, but not all the stuff in the back of that van,” he mumbled. “Plus, why take the risk with the security guards outside?”

  Sophie nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s just go, Dan. We can get what we need on the other end.”

  Kevin entered the data. He was going to get rid of these nut jobs. Then he’d have to find a way to warn Larry.

  “All done,” he whispered. “Ready?”

  Murder. I noticed Kellan’s jaws tighten. His eyes bored into mine, and he reached for my hand. I took his, grabbed Harry with my other, and pulled them into the corner to huddle away from the ladies.

  “Oh, my gosh! Do you think they mean a murder upstairs in the suite? Who?”

  “I’m going to go back over and listen in some more. You two stay here so it doesn’t look too obvious.” Harry sauntered back, casually looking at a piece of artwork hanging on the wall.

  I started to protest, but Kellan squeezed my hand, stopping me. I rolled my eyes at him, but resisted following Harry. The blonde flashed a smile, suddenly noticing him. What was not to notice? I never really looked at my brother, he was just Harry. However, seeing the blonde staring at him, I momentarily saw him through her eyes. His charm was undeniable. He was ridiculously perfect-looking and, in that outfit from Hermès, he looked like a GQ cover model. If that wasn’t enough, his smile would bedazzle just about anyone. It even worked on Mom in her foulest of moods. The blonde was practically drooling as Harry walked past their group pretending to look around for someone. She slithered over to him, totally ignoring her friends, who were all watching her as bemusedly as I was.

  She said something to Harry who flashed his widest smile in response. I could only imagine the cheesy line she probably threw at him. I was ready to hurl. I turned around quickly so that my expression wouldn’t give him away.

  I turned my face ri
ght into Kellan’s chest. Oops. “Sorry.” I giggled, embarrassed.

  His hand came around my back to support me, keeping me from stumbling, but also keeping me from moving away. Awkward. I wasn’t sure what to do.

  “It’s okay, Shrimp. Just ignore Harry for a moment. Let him do his thing. Some of the ladies from the group are staring at you, so just act normal.”

  “Normal?”

  “Yes.” He let go of my back, but turned to rest his arm on my shoulder. We both had our backs to my brother. What was the sense in that? I needed to see what was going on.

  “Don’t turn around. Just pretend to be having a conversation with me. It’ll be easier for Harry if you don’t start cracking up.”

  “I guess.” That made sense. “So what shall we pretend to have a conversation about?”

  “We don’t have to have a pretend conversation. Just be normal.”

  “Okay. So who do you think’s been murdered?”

  “For all we know, they could have been discussing a TV show,” Kellan muttered. “However, there is a possibility that they were talking about what happened in the suite. When we left there last night, there were only two people there as far as we know–Simla and Rowena.” He shrugged. “I don’t like Simla’s chances against Rowena.”

  I shuddered, feeling nauseous.

  Kellan pulled me in closer, and I put my arms around him, allowing him to comfort me. I had no idea what my relationship with Simla was supposed to be like. Whatever had happened between us, or allegedly had happened, like the restroom stuff, I just didn’t remember. To me, Simla was just another girl at my school. I would hate for anything bad to happen to her.

  I could feel Kellan’s muscles tighten through the fabric of his shirt as I trembled at the thought of Simla lying murdered in a hotel bedroom.

  He gently kissed my forehead. “It’ll be all right, Shrimp.”

  “How? It’s got to be Simla, right? She wouldn’t stand a chance against Rowena.” I fought back tears, gulping them down.