by Nick Thacker
Before he could step inside, however, he heard a knock on the door. He turned and grabbed the robe off of one of the hooks near the door, slipped into it, and walked to the hotel room’s front door.
“Hello?” he said as he answered.
The man greeted him with a smile far too joyous for this time of day. “Room service, sir,” the man said.
“Already?” Ben asked. “I was just about to get in the shower.”
The man’s face turned into an expression of severe disappointment, and Ben was sure he would have had the same look on his face if he’d kicked his dog. “I do apologize, sir. I can return in a few —“
“No,” Ben said. “That’s fine. Great, actually. My wi — fiancee is starving. Come on in.”
The man did as he was told and entered, wheeling a cart full of silver platters and covers behind him. He pulled it into the room and stopped just outside the bathroom. He wouldn’t look into the rest of the bedroom, and Ben assumed it was so that he didn’t embarrass the other guest.
He smiled, the man turned and bowed quickly, then exited the room.
Ben looked down at the platters. There were five in total, and he began removing the lids on each to see how breakfast at this place compared to the cruise ship. He wasn’t disappointed. The first two, the largest, contained the pancakes and waffles, a tower of each. The third and fourth were fruit and grains, tropical selections and what he assumed were different cereals available in the Caribbean islands. The fifth platter had a plate full of smoked salmon, pink and smelling of oakwood. A folded letter sat next to the plate.
Dear Harvey, the note began. I remember your saying how much you enjoyed seafood last night. I hope you don’t mind the small indulgence — I had some salmon flown in last last night for my own dining accommodations, and I thought of you. Enjoy — Adrian.
“What’s that?” Julie asked.
“Salmon,” Ben said. “As well as a monster buffet of pancakes and waffles.”
“You ordered smoked salmon?”
He shook his head. “No. Crawford sent it down, I guess.”
“Wow,” Julie said, not hiding the look of shock on her face. “He’s really trying to impress us.” She walked into the bathroom and grabbed her own robe, slung it on, and walked back out and started to poke at the pancakes without grabbing a plate.
“Yeah, he is,” Ben said. “And it’s working.” He picked up a slab of salmon and inspected it, then popped it into his mouth. It melted, turning into a conglomeration of flavors: fish, smoke, butter. Perfect in every way. He’d never thought of fish as a breakfast food, even though to the other Alaskans he knew fish was a way of life. He closed his eyes, chewed, swallowed. Amazing.
Julie dug into the pancakes again, this time sliding three of the discs onto a plate. “Good?” she asked.
Ben didn’t even speak. He chewed, made some noises, and kept his eyes closed.
“Okay,” Julie said. “I get the point.”
“So what’s on the agenda for today?” Julie asked.
Ben finally opened his eyes, but he continued shoveling food into his mouth. First another salmon filet, then a half of a pancake, then a whole waffle. Julie watched and waited, impatiently judging by the look on her face.
“Well,” he said, trying to chew and speak at the same time. “I guess we should try to salvage this vacation, right?”
Julie frowned. “Really? After what happened?”
“What happened?”
“Dr. Lin,” Julie said. “We can’t just ignore it. The man was… frantic.”
“We’re not ignoring anything, Jules. I’m just saying we should take our time with it, take advantage of our extended vacation.”
“Is that what this is now?” she asked. Her voice had risen a few notes and was starting to sound shrill.
“What?”
“You — you forced us here, following Reggie, apparently so you could continue working, even though we were supposed to —“
“Be on vacation,” Ben said. “I know. I was thinking about it, and I think it’d be best to take things slow. Relax a bit and enjoy the scenery.”
Julie shook her head, her fists balled beside her. Neither of them had moved from the cart. Both were eating from plates that they had set on the edge of the rolling food tray, taking bites between words.
“What’s the problem?” Ben asked. His own voice was starting to rise.
“The problem? Ben, you’re kidding me, right? No one is this dense.”
“Dense? I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re talking —“
“Ben, come on. You and I were supposed to have a nice week-long vacation. Just me. And you. Not Reggie.”
“I didn’t force him to show up!” Ben shouted.
“No, of course you didn’t. But you didn’t exactly kick him off the boat, either.”
“Oh, what? Was I supposed to just toss him over the edge?”
“No,” Julie replied, “you were supposed to tell him ‘no.’ That we were on vacation. That we were just relaxing, just like you said we were doing here.”
“And why can’t we relax here? Why does it have to be on a cruise ship?”
“Why can’t we? Why? Because, Ben, this is now a work trip. You and I both know there’s something going on here, and Mr. E and Reggie specifically wanted us here so that we could figure out what exactly that was. We’re here because you told Reggie we’d do it. I followed you, like I always do, and —“
“Like you always do?” Ben yelled. “What are you talking about?”
“Ever since we met, back at Yellowstone.”
“Excuse me?” Ben asked. “You forced me to come with you.”
“And you would have died if you didn’t, Ben. Don’t deny it.”
“But that doesn’t mean I wanted to.”
Julie crossed her arms, ignoring the food and focusing her full attention on the man she’d agreed to spend the rest of her life with. “Yeah. I was aware of that then, and I’m aware of that now. Thanks for reminding me, Ben.”
Ben scowled, taking another slice of salmon off the platter.
“You’re a piece of work, you know that?”
“What’s that even mean?” Ben asked, his mouth full of food.
“It means you’re a jerk. And I’m not sure I care what the plan is for today, honestly. I’m going to find Sarah.”
“Fine,” Ben said. “Have a little ‘girl time,’ for all I care. Reggie and I came here to work, to figure out what’s going on here. But enjoy yourselves.”
There were tears in Julie’s eyes now, and Ben tried as hard as he could to not see them. But he knew they were there, and he knew that he’d lost. His stubbornness aside, he knew he would have to be the one to apologize later, whether that was later today or sometime tonight. She could hide, but not forever. He could ignore her feelings, but not forever.
Damn.
Women were tricky. He had never had a relationship before Julie, much less a long-term, serious one. Julie was the love of his life, but he was constantly being reminded that love took effort, and a good bit of pride-swallowing.
He slammed the final rectangle of salmon, ignoring the rest of the mounds of food in front of them, and opened the door.
He walked out into the hallway and turned right, heading toward Reggie’s room.
He let the door slam on his way out.
24
“TROUBLE IN PARADISE?” REGGIE ASKED, as soon as he’d opened the door. Ben’s melancholy face stared back at him, and Reggie motioned him in.
“Yeah,” Ben said. “To say the least.”
“Sorry to hear that, bud,” Reggie said. “Want some food?”
Reggie had a spread that was almost as impressive as Ben’s and Julie’s had been — mounds of scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, strips of bacon and sausage links. Reggie was a self-described ‘protein fanatic,’ eating just about anything but preferring to start his day off with a healthy dose of animal fats and meat. He’d developed the habit
in the military, discovering that his body responded better to a low-carb diet that was high in protein and fat, and he’d never been able to kick it.
And as a man who stretched north of six feet tall and weighed nearly 240 pounds in mostly muscle, he had a ravenous appetite. For as fit as Reggie was, his ability to consume more food than a normal human male should be able to consume was a contradiction.
Ben shook his head and stepped into the room. “I just — I just don’t get it.”
“Get it or get her?” Reggie asked.
“Yeah.”
Reggie threw his head back and laughed. “Don’t worry, my friend. Women were not created to be understood. It’s the reason I know that whatever greater entity exists up there has a strong sense of humor.”
“Or a twisted one.”
“Chin up, pal,” Reggie said. “You’re in paradise, remember?”
“Feels like purgatory.”
Reggie laughed again. “Nonsense. We’re here to do a job, but it’s a simple job. We’ll find The Hawk, we’ll bring him in, and we’ll enjoy ourselves while we do it.”
Ben made a noise. “Really? You buy that? We’ve never been sent on a mission that ended with us all relaxed and at ease. You think it’ll be different now?”
Reggie sighed. “No, I guess not. If Vicente Garza is here, he’s not going to come in quietly. And he’ll probably have more than a few of his goonies around him, protecting him. So we’re on high-alert until we’re done.”
“Great. Julie’s gonna flip when I tell her that.”
“Pal, she already knows that. She’s not stupid, and you didn’t actually think she followed you out here because she thought it would be an extension of her vacation, did you?”
Ben shook his head, swiping at the top layer of eggs on the plate. He didn’t use a fork or a plate, just shoveled some into his mouth and chewed them slowly. Reggie watched for a moment, then grabbed a slice of bacon and followed suit.
“I guess not,” Ben said. “But — but she was so weird about it. Like I’m the reason we’re here. You were the one who came onto our cruise ship and told us about the —“
Reggie held up a hand. “Yeah, but I didn’t make you guys come. Ben, she’s just worried. She loves you. Hell, she’s going to marry you for some stupid reason. That means she cares about you, and she wants to make sure you’re doing what’s right for both of you.”
“Reggie, why the hell did you tell us to come here if you don’t even think it was a good idea?”
Reggie took a step back, farther into his room. “Whoa, buddy. I’m not saying it was a bad idea to come. It’s our job to come, remember? We signed up for this.”
“Then what are you saying?”
“I’m just saying that she’s right about you — you know? She’s got you figured out, man, and that’s not that hard a thing to do. You’re the kind of guy that just won’t let it go until you’ve figured it out. Whatever ‘it’ is. You won’t drop it, even if it means running headlong into danger. It’s the greatest asset you have, but it’s your biggest weakness.”
Ben looked at him like he was about to rush him. Reggie braced, not sure if Ben was going to try to tackle him or burst into tears.
“Thanks. Appreciate the vote of confidence.”
Reggie smiled. “Look, dude, I’m not trying to make you mad. I’m just telling you the truth. She’s pissed because she knows you, and she knew what you were going to do even before you did it. I don’t blame her, and neither should you.”
“Well, whatever. Is it too early to drink?”
Reggie laughed. “Never. But we’ve got something else planned. I figured you and me could head up to Crawford’s office and ask him some questions about the park, his background, etcetera. Sarah and Julie are going to check out the staff and employee areas, see about this Dr. Lin fellow.”
Ben frowned. “You had that all set up already? Julie didn’t mention anything.”
Reggie grinned, a sly smile growing on his face. “Julie hasn’t heard about the plans yet, but Sarah and I made them this morning, after —“
“Stop,” Ben said. “Just stop. I got it. You guys did seem like you’d made friends quickly.”
“What? Nothing happened. Just two nerdy colleagues, chatting about the mission. We thought it would be best to get a jump on the day, maybe give us some time to hang out and relax this afternoon.”
“Right,” Ben said. “Fine. Well let’s get to it, then. Where’s Crawford’s office?”
Reggie’s grin grew, the enormous smile that had come to define him spreading across his face. “That’s the best part.”
25
“I’M WORRIED ABOUT BEN,” SARAH said as they walked down the hallway toward the elevators. “He seems so focused on the mission, so intent on finding this guy, Vicente Garza.”
Julie waited a moment, thinking. “Well Garza killed his friend.”
“Your friend too, right? And Reggie’s?”
“Yes.”
“So why is Ben the one who seems so —“
“Look, Dr. Lindgren,” Julie said, her words flying out of her mouth. “I don’t know you, and I know you don’t know my fiancé. He’s fine. That’s just the way he is, okay?”
Sarah seemed to be physically hurt. She slowed. “I — I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Julie sighed. “I know. He’s just… it’s complicated. He’s an interesting guy.”
“No,” Sarah said. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have pried. I know how it is.”
“You do?” Julie asked.
Sarah nodded as she pushed the button on the elevator. They were heading down to the sub-levels beneath the hotel, where the map in the room had said they would find the laboratory and scientific research arm of the OceanTech facility. Their plan was simple: Reggie and Ben were going to head to Crawford’s office and do a little investigating of their own, while Sarah and Julie would check out the staff areas and see if they could find anyone who knew Dr. Lin.
Julie was shaken from last night’s revelation on Dr. Lin’s phone, but it was too early to tell exactly what was happening, or what it meant. They had little information to make any educated guesses about what exactly they had stumbled onto here, but Julie felt an uncanny sense of dread surrounding all of it. Dr. Lin’s face was plastered in her mind. His fear, his frantic muttering, his flicking eyes, seeing everything and nothing all at once.
It was terrifying, and Julie couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this place was… wrong.
No one else seemed to share her opinion, at least not yet — but how could they? They weren’t there; they didn’t see. They didn’t know. They couldn’t. She’d tried to explain it to Ben, but he’d assumed the man was simply reeling from something he’d seen.
The truth, what Julie knew without a doubt, was that the man — Dr. Joseph Lin — wasn’t just a spectator. He was part of it. He had a role in it.
She wanted to know what that role was, and more importantly, she wanted to know why. What is this place? The question lingered in her mind long after she’d gone to sleep last night, sticking in her subconscious and causing all sorts of odd dreams. Not quite nightmares, but the types of dreams that ended in a cold sweat and waking up with the odd sensation of being someone else for a brief moment.
She thought back to her time in the Amazon rainforest, running from the same man who Vicente Garza had killed. They were studying dreams then, trying to understand an anomalous link between an ancient tribe of people and their descendants using dream-recording technology.
If I only had that technology here, she thought. Maybe I could make some sense of all this.
But she also knew that her dreams weren’t the cause of the problem. They were simply a reflection of her thoughts, the reactionary machine her biological computer had built to handle strange and unknown circumstances.
“Juliette,” Sarah said. “You okay?”
Julie snapped out of her own thoughts and looked over a
t Sarah. They were on the elevator now, descending, and Julie could feel the gentle vibration of the elevator car as it slid down its cabling. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I zoned out. What were you saying?”
Sarah smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I just said, ‘yeah, I do know how it is.’ I had a boyfriend, too. We were close, about to get married if he’d ever gotten around to proposing.”
“What happened?” Julie asked.
“He… didn’t. Just left.”
“Really?”
“Really. It was heartbreaking. I mean, I’m a relatively confident woman, but I’ve got my share of self-image issues.”
“You?” Julie asked. “I mean — sorry. Didn’t intend for that to sound so rude. It’s just… you’re… Sarah, you’re a knockout.”
Sarah looked down at the floor of the elevator. “Thanks. I… yeah, I guess I’ve never had trouble attracting the boys. It’s convincing them I’m worth it in the long run that seems to be the trouble.”
“You’re brilliant. You’re beautiful. You probably know kung-fu or something. That’s the triumvirate, Sarah. Every man you’ve ever met has been intimidated by you.”
Sarah laughed. “I wish! No, I definitely don’t know kung-fu.”
“Still,” Julie said. “That’s how it works. Guys want us all to be weak little princesses who need saving. You don’t strike me as the ‘cutesy Barbie’ type.”
“Well thanks. I’m not. Anyway, this guy was similar to Ben in some ways.” She froze, her eyes widening. “Not that Ben would do something like that. Just his personality is similar. So focused, so intense. You know?”
Julie smiled. “I know. What happened with your knight in shining armor?”
Sarah struggled with the words, looking around the elevator car as it slid slowly down past ‘Sub-1’ and then neared ‘Sub-2.’ “He ran off with another girl.”
“I’m so sorry. Did you know her?”
