The Unseen Trilogy

by Stephanie Erickson

“Your dinner.”

  “Set it over there.” He nodded toward the end of his desk. I found a clear spot and set it down. Lining the back of his desk, a myriad of books was jammed between two silver bookends that looked like an arrow piercing them. He had Machiavelli’s The Prince, an alarming number of books on politics that I hoped he would never want to discuss with me, and a few fiction titles I didn’t recognize. I’d never been much of a reader, well, of literature anyway. Maddie would’ve known what they were.

  “Anything else?” I asked, wondering if I should just leave or await further instructions.

  “If there is anything else, I will tell you.”

  Ignoring his sharp tone and lack of eye contact, I nodded to him. “Have a good night.”

  He didn’t respond as I made my way back out of his office.

  I was standing in front of my apartment, my key once again poised outside the lock, when my phone chimed.

  Black coffee. Now.

  “Couldn’t you have asked me for that earlier?” I glanced at my watch. It was almost six. David probably wouldn’t be too worried about me yet, but I chanced a quick message to him anyway.

  Being tested. Will touch base when I can.

  There was a coffee shop right across the street from the building, so I limped over and returned to Agusto’s office with the coffee in record time.

  I set the coffee next to him on his desk, and then left without comment.

  When I arrived back in front of my apartment for the third time that night, I hesitated in front of the door, waiting for my phone to chirp. By some miracle, it didn’t, so I ventured inside.

  Finally, I peeled the shoes off my feet and surveyed the room. It was small, nothing more than a studio, but it was trendy, clean, and safe. The kitchen had zero counter space, a less-than-full-sized refrigerator, a stovetop, and a microwave. There was no dishwasher. I shrugged. I had the company card, paid for by the Unseen. I could afford to eat out some, and I knew from experience that I could survive on cereal. I’d be fine. My luggage was stacked neatly near the door, the bathroom was across from the kitchen, and the living room/bedroom completed the tour.

  The bed was dressed in flowing, white linens, and right now, it looked glorious. A television sat across from it, stacked on top of a short, four-drawer dresser.

  After double and triple checking the locks, I made my way to the bed. Owen?

  Oh my God. We’ve been waiting for hours to hear back from you.

  I was surrounded. I didn’t want to risk it. How’s it going?

  Slow. We didn’t get anything done today because none of us could focus.

  Understandable, I said, picturing myself in Owen’s place. No way would I have been useful. I would have been a nervous wreck.

  I’m home, guys, I said, reaching out to David and Rebecca, pulling them into the conversation.

  Owen’s just told me, David said. I’m glad. What’s the good word?

  Amanda is his VP. I dropped the bomb casually.

  Silence was his only answer, and I knew he was thinking about what it meant for the mission.

  Did she recognize you? Owen asked.

  No. But my voice is naggingly familiar to her. It could be a problem.

  How closely do you have to work with her? David asked

  Close. I spent more time with her than with Agusto today. And I think that’ll be the norm. Honestly, I think she likes Joyce.

  Good. Keep it that way, David said.

  Rebecca, you there? I asked.

  Just processing, she said.

  He also has an odd mix of readers and non-readers around him. About half of the guards I met today were non-readers. Why wouldn’t he want to be surrounded by his allies? Think about Shields. Potestas were crawling all over that park when we saw him. Plus, as far as he knows, he just hired a non-reader as his assistant. Why would he hire non-readers at all, let alone position them close to him?

  David answered me. That is interesting. Maybe he doesn’t trust those around him?

  Does that include Amanda? I thought about her elevated position and her haggard appearance. Was she doing her penance with Agusto? What did that mean for who he was within the organization? Was he some kind of warden?

  I don’t know, David said. For our part, we don’t have anything new. We were…less than productive today.

  So I heard, I answered, chuckling to myself. I’m fine, guys. Don’t worry. Admittedly, I could hardly speak when Amanda came through that door. I mean, of all people… It went fine after that, though. I’ll have to be on my toes, but this wasn’t a pleasure cruise from the get-go, was it?

  No, otherwise I’d be there with you, Owen said.

  A glance at my watch told me it was almost seven. I don’t suppose you could meet me for dinner?

  David answered for Owen. No. It’s too risky. You have to maintain your cover.

  Fine. But can you send some flats my way? These shoes are a freaking joke if I’m going to be running across town six times a day to get that lazy man food.

  Flats? David asked.

  I’ll take care of it, Rebecca interjected.

  I’m going to let you say good night to Owen. We’ll talk in the morning, David said.

  Rebecca signed off too, leaving Owen and me alone.

  This connection thing is kind of nice, I thought.

  Yeah, someone pretty smart must’ve come up with it.

  I bet you’d like to date her.

  Nah. Two women are quite enough for me. He couldn’t stifle his laugh, not even in his head. It was frustrating not to be nearby so I could smack him…and then do other things.

  What now? he asked.

  I keep working for Agusto until I find something. And I get something to eat.

  We said our goodbyes, and I finally got some food. I crawled into bed around nine, which was early for me, but I was exhausted.

  Unfortunately for me, my sleep was interrupted around midnight. A text alert startled me awake. Confusion clouded my mind as I tried to decide if I’d dreamed the sound or not. Blindly, I reached for my phone, knocking it off the nightstand next to me.

  Black coffee. Now.

  I read it again. Was it some kind of network glitch? It was exactly the same message from earlier that day. But could I really risk ignoring it if it wasn’t a glitch? Sighing, I got up, pulled on some sweats and a T-shirt—at midnight, he wasn’t getting a suit and high heels—fumbled with my nose, contacts, and makeup, and headed a block over to the twenty-four-hour cafe. Google was saving my skin. By the time I doubled back to the office and made my way through the dark building, a record fourteen minutes had passed. But it was hard to care at almost 12:30 at night.

  Much to my chagrin, his office door was locked. Either it was a glitch, or he was really testing me. If it was the latter, the 12 AM text was quite enough, thank you.

  Amanda’s door was open, so I went in that way and used the secret door to Agusto’s office.

  Guards still lined the walls of his office, so I knew right away he was there.

  No surprise, Agusto was at his desk. Neither of us acknowledged the other. He didn’t look up from his computer, and I simply put the cup in its usual spot and walked away.

  Before I got to the door, he stopped me. “Joyce.”

  I stopped dead, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction of turning around. “A little faster next time, hmm? You don’t want to find out what happens to those who disappoint me.”

  The threat made me turn to look at him. “Why don’t you just tell me so I don’t have to learn the hard way?”

  “If you really want to know, why don’t you speak to Amanda?” A sick grin spread across his face as he turned back to his computer, absently grabbing his fresh coffee and taking a sip.

  It was hard to control my breathing and posture on my way out of the room. Once I was safely inside Amanda’s office, I leaned against the door, taking a moment to compose myself.

  I can do this, I assured myself as I walked home
and let myself into the apartment. Midnight coffee calls were nothing. Just try to stay on his good side. What had he meant about Amanda though? Something told me her haggard appearance wasn’t unrelated. What exactly had he done to her after she’d “disappointed” him? Sighing, I climbed back into bed. I wasn’t going to solve the mystery then, and the more I stewed about it, the less sleep I’d get. But every time I closed my eyes, I saw her sunken, red-rimmed eyes.

  Of course, I could guess why she’d gotten on his bad side. She’d let me escape, and Dylan’s death would have fallen on her shoulders. I could never ask her what Agusto had done to her. I’d just have to assume the worst and do my best to stay on Agusto’s good side.

  Sighing, I rolled over and looked at the clock. 3:26 blared at me. I shook my head, rolled back over, and put my back to the clock. Why should I care about Amanda anyway? Surely, everything she’d done to me outweighed whatever had happened to her. She’d probably deserved it, right?

  The eye-for-an-eye mentality did little to comfort me, so I rustled around for my iPod, plugged in my headphones, and let Gaspard carry me through the long night.

  Thirteen

  The next week passed in a blur. Agusto was preparing for a big press conference, though only he seemed to know what he was going to say. He only spoke to me when he wanted something. So he didn’t tell me any trade secrets, and I was on my own to find out anything I could about Zero—which was nothing.

  Frustratingly, he kept at least two guards with him at all times. They even went into the bathroom with him. Picturing them standing at the urinal stalls on either side of Agusto just made me uncomfortable. It was evidence that he didn’t feel safe, even on the pot.

  At first, I tried my best to keep Amanda at arm’s length, thinking the less interactions we had, the less likely she would be to recognize me. But, as time went on, I discovered how impossible it was to keep my distance from her. We worked too closely together. She was more like Agusto’s main assistant than the VP of AMHC.

  Later in the week, I decided to ask her about it. “You sure spend an awful lot of time waiting on Agusto considering you’re VP of one of his biggest companies. Don’t you need to, you know, help run AMHC?”

  “Thankfully, I have more competent people than you working for me. They do their jobs without hand holding.”

  All I could do was smile and shake my head. Although she seemed to be slowly warming to me, she never lost her I’m-better-than-you snark.

  On Friday, after we’d spent all week hustling for Monday’s press conference, Amanda was particularly short. I knew she needed to pick up some documents from Kinkos for Monday, so I offered to do it for her, hoping to solidify our relationship. If I couldn’t keep her at bay, maybe I could learn something from her. After all, Agusto wasn’t telling me anything.

  She looked at me like I had six heads, like the thought to ask me for help had never occurred to her.

  Her face hardened, and I thought she might refuse. “You think I need your help?”

  “Nope, I just wanted something to do.”

  “Well, if it would help fill your time, then by all means. Go.”

  Smiling to myself as I walked out, I knew I’d made some headway. I spent the rest of the day helping her out, and that weekend she texted me instructions to pick up a few last-minute things on my way in Monday morning. Positioning myself as an asset to her would hopefully prove helpful.

  All week, the Unseen hadn’t gotten anywhere with their research, and since I hadn’t learned anything either, we were getting a little frustrated. Rebecca was the only one who didn’t seem bothered by our lack of progress. She reminded everyone that I had to learn Agusto’s routines, gain his trust, and get to know him before I would be afforded the opportunity to see anything unusual.

  But after a lonely weekend, I was ready to wrap up my mission. I’d taken my laundry to a cleaner, walked around some of the monuments, and spent way too much time whining to Owen about being alone.

  I did find a piano shop on Sunday night. The owner said I could play for as long as I wanted, and he even stopped by the piano to listen. The music helped calm my nerves, so I went into the office on Monday morning feeling focused.

  The press was buzzing with speculation on what he would announce, and I was just as anxious as they were. Both he and Amanda had been tight-lipped about the announcement, leaving me totally in the dark.

  Finally, he approached the podium to make his speech. “Thank you for coming, everyone. My fellow Americans, we have something to celebrate.” The sparkle in his eye made me nervous, but Amanda, who stood close to me, showed no emotion at all.

  “After analyzing the sample of Zero obtained at the USCF Medical Center, we were able to apprehend a suspect.”

  Murmuring spread through the audience, but he held up a hand to cut it short. “There is evidence of his involvement in the plot, so there is reason hope he may have information on the next attack.

  “Now, this does not mean the threat is over. He is one man in what I believe to be a large organization. But, I’ve found a chink in their armor. It’s hope.

  “My plan is to learn what we use to stop the next attack, which will get us that much closer to ending this thing altogether.

  “I’m sorry, but I will not be taking questions today. You will be advised when we know more. Thank you for your time.”

  Holy shit, I thought as Agusto walked past me, smiling like a snake his whole way out of the room. The press was a flurry of activity as they frantically composed their stories.

  “He has a suspect? How was that not important information for me to know?” I whispered to Amanda.

  “What exactly would you have done with it? How would it have changed your day-to-day responsibilities?”

  “I suppose it wouldn’t, but this is huge.”

  “Not really,” she said, and the flatness of her tone made me question the news.

  “Not really?”

  “Let’s just say he’s got his sights aimed a little higher than Zero right now. This publicity will help him get there.”

  That statement made me stop for a moment. “What does that mean?”

  “It means we need to finish up here, so we can move on to the next task.”

  The comment bothered me, but I didn’t say that to Amanda. She seemed to be one hundred percent behind Agusto. Whether she actually respected him was another thing altogether. The way she never made eye contact with him told me she feared him. But why? And what did it have to do with his next task?

  That night, I mentioned it to David and the others as I paced restlessly around my small apartment.

  I’m starting to suspect he may be positioning himself for presidential candidacy, David said.

  What? No. David’s words settled in the pit of my stomach like bad Chinese food.

  What evidence do we have to support that assumption? Owen asked, looking for reasons to deny it with me.

  The fact that he’s so focused on becoming a prominent public figure. He obviously wants to be seen as a savior—the man who’s rescued the world from Zero. Then there’s the fundraising he’s been doing. And the fact that Mackenzie was told the Potestas were aiming for a position of power. If they got one of their top officials into the presidential seat… His thought trailed off.

  A top member of the Potestas in the presidential seat. With that kind of power in the hands of a terrorist, it could easily mean the end of the country as we knew it. Who knew what they’d do with the power.

  Easing myself onto my bed, I tried to comprehend what it might mean, but I couldn’t. All I could see was horror.

  How do we stop it? I asked, wishing they were all with me. I suddenly felt so alone in my little apartment.

  Find out what we can, as fast as we can. We need proof. But not proof of his candidacy. Proof that he’s bad news, Owen offered.

  Is it time to just go in? I asked, nervous about the prospect. He was never unguarded, and there was no way his guards would just l
et me hack into his head. They would have to be taken care of first.

  Rebecca piped up. This is no time to be hasty. The election isn’t for over a year. Let’s wait until we can be better armed.

  I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Going in right away meant the mission would be over faster, and I could go home sooner. But it would also be riskier. Taking an unnecessary risk might mean I wouldn’t get to go home at all.

  Don’t you think I’ll have to go in eventually anyway? I asked.

  Yes. But waiting might benefit us.

  I didn’t know what to think. It’s going to be messy, no matter how long we wait, I told them.

  A long pause followed. David was the one who ultimately broke the silence. I think we should wait. Rebecca is right. It’s only been a week. We have time to build a case against him before the election.

  If we wait too long, I could make a mistake and blow this opportunity for good. The longer I’m here, the more familiar Amanda and I will get, and the more likely that is to happen.

  Quit it, Owen interjected. You’re better than that and you know it, so stop the pity party. Do your job—get in, get out, and get it done.

  I wasn’t used to hearing him talk like that, but it was exactly what I needed at the moment. You channeling Tracy?

  Maybe.

  We argued about it for a while longer, but the decision had been made. We would wait.

  And what about the suspect? I asked.

  There is no evidence that anyone has been apprehended or is in custody. Much like there is no evidence that he had any Zero to analyze in the first place, Owen said. But he has enough people in his pocket to get away with the lie.

  What would he get out of lying about that? I asked.

  Rebecca answered quickly. Plenty. He gets the trust of the nation, without the need to actually follow through. Besides, if we’re correct in our assumption that he’s a high-ranking official for the Potestas, he doesn’t really need to have a suspect in hand. He’ll still be able to “stop” the next attack. I could hear the air quotes around the word stop in her internal dialogue.

  This is less than ideal, I thought to them all. And that was putting it kindly.