The Dark Above

by Jeremy Finley

  “Where is my mother—”

  “I am only doing this because I have nowhere else to stash them at the moment,” he said. He then held up a finger. “And I certainly wouldn’t be hiding them in here if I had any other choice.”

  He turned and pounded twice on the door. The agents outside opened it.

  Kate had rarely seen hatred in her mother’s eyes, and it stilled her breath to see it as she stepped through, careful not to even brush by Flynn Hallow.

  “I remember you, asshole,” Roxy said, holding tight to Lynn’s hand as she rushed in behind. “I hoped you’d died a long time ago.”

  “Hello, Mrs. Garth,” Flynn responded.

  Roxy almost ran into Lynn, she had stopped so suddenly.

  “Mom,” Kate said, watching her mother’s angry expression turn to shock.

  “Kate?” Lynn said softly. She hesitated, then strode across the room to fiercely embrace her.

  “Mom, I’m so sorry,” Kate said, burying her face in her hair. “I am so, so sorry.”

  “What the hell, Kate!” Stella brushed through the agents gathered outside. “Did you do this? Did you order these agents to take us—?”

  “She did not,” Flynn said. “Agent, close that door and lock it. If the military out there realizes you’re in here, we’re all in for it. Right now, your nephew is causing a real shit show down there—”

  “Where is he?” Lynn demanded. “Take us to him right now.”

  “I can’t do that, Mrs. Roseworth. What he’s done—”

  The building shuddered as the rain outside turned from a pour to a gush. The windows began to rattle.

  “What in the world?” Roxy said.

  The trembling of the glass turned into a sudden shaking.

  “You’ve … brought … quite the storm, Lynn.”

  All heads turned to the man quietly tucked away in the back corner, who was struggling just to raise his head.

  “Steven?” Lynn said in a whisper.

  Kate steadied her. “Mom—”

  Roxy threw up her hands. “Who else is in here? Barry Manilow? Ross Poldark?”

  “What … how…” Lynn stammered.

  “I tried, Lynn,” he said, his breath barely supporting words. “I tried to tell you—”

  The windows cracked so loudly that everyone flinched. Kate instinctively moved her mother away, just as one of the windows shattered.

  The air outside seem to take a deep breath before it bellowed.

  Glass, wind, and rain flew in. Kate covered her mother, hearing Roxy and Stella cry out.

  “Open the door!” Flynn bellowed, pounding on the door.

  The other window burst as the agents opened the door. The wind was so strong now, Kate could barely stand. She held tight to her mother as the agents pulled Stella and Roxy from the room.

  “Steven!” Lynn cried out.

  Kate looked to see the man slide from the chair to collapse on the floor.

  “Get out of here!” Flynn yelled.

  The wind beating at them, Lynn broke from Kate to teeter towards Steven, barely making it far enough to kneel beside him.

  “Mom!” Kate screamed above the winds. She stumbled, seeing Steven weakly raise his hand to his chest and pull out something on a thin chain. With a jerk, he broke it free. He placed it in Lynn’s hand.

  Lynn leaned in close to him as he became limp, her hair blowing wildly.

  “Mom! Now!” Kate reached her, pulling at her to stand.

  “We can’t! We can’t leave him!” Lynn said.

  Kate forced her to stand, propelling her through the door. In the moment she herself slipped through, she looked back, seeing the water pour in, soaking the dead man’s body.

  The hallway outside was in complete chaos. Lynn had been pulled into the crowd of agents already surrounding Roxy and Stella, with Flynn screaming at them to get out.

  One of the agents saw Kate emerge and grabbed her. She heard her mother yell for her as they were propelled down the hall.

  “Mom!”

  “Keep moving! To those stairs!” Flynn shouted.

  “What is going on out there?” Kate yelled to the agent who had her arm gripped tightly.

  “There’s a damn tornado! Coming off the water on the other side of the building—”

  “Kate!” Stella called out as she was forced down the hallway with her mother and Roxy.

  “I’m coming! Agent Hallow! Flynn!”

  The agent’s face, usually so sour, was now frantic. “We’re going to be lucky to make it to the garage—”

  “William, Ryan. All the others down there, we have to get them out—”

  “Where do you think the storm came from?” he snapped, practically shoving her through the opened door.

  * * *

  The frustration in the soldiers was evident in their jugular veins, strained after several minutes of holding their weapons erect. The order to contain the threat at all costs had not included the fact that a US congressman and an famous billionaire would be standing with them.

  The strike team leader dared to inch forward. “I’m not going to tell you again to get on your knees with your hands up in the air!”

  The hallway trembled. William again repeated what he’d already stated three times before. “Turn around and go back up the elevator. No one has to be hurt. Let us go.”

  Another tremor shook beneath their feet.

  “What the hell was that?” Quincy whispered.

  William could see the soldiers’ eyes flicker from the walls around them back to the scopes of their weapons.

  He didn’t dare to move, fearing not only that the soldiers would react badly, but of potentially disturbing Jane. She’d begun to tremble, and he didn’t dare let go to break the connection.

  “Mr. Chance, you know we can’t let that happen. There is no way out for you—”

  “Enough!” Congressman Smith pointed. “I mean it! Soldiers, lower those weapons now! We’re going to talk this through—”

  The crack resounded like thunder, rupturing down the south wall, between the soldiers and civilians. It started first at the ceiling, jarring through the concrete. Water at first leaked and then began to spray.

  The soldiers were so jarred they momentarily turned their weapons to the splitting walls.

  Like a hundred pipes exploding at once, the Potomac broke through.

  The last glimpse William saw of the soldiers showed them rushing back towards the elevator before they were lost completely behind the gushing leaks. Lily gasped as the frigid water swept over their feet and down the hall.

  “Run,” William said unnecessarily, turning to take Jane by the arms. “Jane, we have to move. We have to move now!”

  She blinked and then stared in astonishment at the rushing water. She looked at him in outrage. “What did you do to me—?”

  He forced her down the hall, seeing Quincy carrying Lily and pulling the congressman reach the first door to the right. He then fumbled with something inside the politician’s coat, pulling out a small card and pressing it against the keypad. Quincy pulled the handle, revealing stairs beyond.

  “Take them all up!” William said. “I’ll be right behind you once I get him out. Keep that door propped open.”

  “You’ll need this,” Quincy said, holding out the badge. As soon as William took it, Quincy ushered the clearly shell-shocked congressman through.

  “Go on.” William motioned to Jane.

  Her angry eyes were fixated instead on him. “You should have told me!”

  “I didn’t have a choice. Once you get up a few flights, I’ll reach out to you to stop it—”

  She breezed past William. “Never again. You’ll never use me again.”

  “Jane—”

  “Open the door!” she yelled, standing in front of the last door.

  William sloshed across the hall, holding the badge against the keypad. Seizing the handle, he yanked open the door.

  Inside the cavernous room, the bo
y stood on top of a stool, trying to balance himself above the rising waters.

  “William!” he yelled. “What’s happening?”

  “Hold on Ryan!” William called out, waiting for Jane to hold the door open so it wouldn’t lock behind him. As he began to move through the waters to reach the boy and carry him out, a crashing came from down the hallway. A roar of water followed the thudding sound of falling concrete.

  He heard Jane cry out as a torrent of water crashed into her, sending her careening through the opening and forcing the door to press against the inside wall.

  “Jane!” William scrambled towards her, battling the increasingly strong current plowing through. After being nearly knocked over, he had to steady himself to keep from plunging beneath. When she didn’t surface, he rushed into the current.

  What have I done—?

  The water began to change.

  He thought at first it was just the fierce current that was altering the color of the water, going from the brownish muck to a whitish silver. But he quickly realized it was the water itself separating, allowing for the woman to emerge.

  “My God,” William whispered.

  Dr. Jane Spencer rose from the water that now split around her, like an island rising in the midst of a river. While she was soaked through, not a drop of the water now touched her.

  It was obvious that she was enraged.

  The water continued to rush in, but parted before her. William could see straight to the floor of the room beneath her; it appeared as dry as a sidewalk in summer.

  She gave him a quick look of such intense anger that he almost stepped back. “Now,” she said.

  William did not hesitate, rushing over to Ryan, who was gaping, his hands on top of his head. He lifted the boy off the table, finding that the divide in the water around Jane had splintered off and was reaching towards them. When the split got close enough, William practically threw Ryan between the parting waters and then jumped into the clearing as well.

  They rushed to catch up to Jane, who was now out in the hallway, the water almost up to her neck but cascading around her.

  “Holy Moses,” Ryan whispered, looking back and forth at the water rushing around them.

  The water parted for them to approach the door to the stairwell and William flashed the badge. Jane led them through and up the first flight of stairs, finally reaching a point where the water was beneath them but rising every moment.

  “Jane—” William said, reaching for her as they climbed.

  “This is not me. This is not me. I want it out of me. I want it out.”

  He took her hand. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You’ll freeze if we don’t get out of here now.”

  She snatched her hand away, hurrying up the stairs and away from him.

  * * *

  In the nearby parking deck, the security team for Congressman Flip Smith waited to die.

  The two men, fiercely devoted to the politician, did not like the fact that he had entered the building with the smart-ass tech billionaire before they could sweep it, but Flip insisted it was a safe government facility.

  They also didn’t approve when he directed them to discreetly wait for him in what appeared to be an empty and practically abandoned old parking garage across the street. “I’ll call you when I’m ready,” he’d said.

  So they’d come here, parking on the second level. Their position gave them a view of the protests. They’d watched with some amusement when a hell of a storm had blown in, scattering the crazies like leaves. Not long after, the wind and rain had picked up to such an alarming degree, they saw street signs starting to blow off their poles. Even their car had rocked a little, and they were thankful for the concrete around them.

  The rain had started to come down with such force they could barely make out the people and soldiers rushing from the building and heading into a warehouse across the street, which obviously doubled as private parking. Seeing that, they’d opened the car doors to go and find the congressman, only to be practically blown off the deck. When they saw the top of a funnel hovering over the Potomac on the other side of the building, survival instinct kicked in.

  They ran to the stairwell inside the parking deck, covering their heads and crouching down, reverting instantly to the children they once were, practicing tornado drills in their elementary school hallway. Waiting for the entire ancient garage to collapse around them, they shouted the Hail Mary to each other.

  Minutes later, the storm began to diminish. The walls stopped shaking, the winds ceased howling. Their necks sore, the two men dared to venture out.

  The parking deck was covered in shattered glass and leaves. The men ran to their car, finding it intact but covered with a fine coating of dirt. They jumped in, speeding towards the first ramp, and almost drove right into the congressman and a group of people running up.

  At the sight of the beleaguered Flip Smith soaked from the knees down, the men jumped out of the car, leaving it running. Beside him was the billionaire, carrying a little black girl. A stunner of a woman, soaked more than any of them, walked alongside a tall redheaded man who looked familiar. A kid followed, shivering.

  “Congressman! Are you alright?”

  “No,” he responded. “I am not. But I am not hurt.”

  “That storm came out of nowhere! Flip, we tried to get to you!”

  “We’re getting the car. Got to get these people warmed up,” Quincy said, motioning for the others to follow.

  “What happened out here?” Flip asked. “What did you see?”

  “It came out of nowhere! In the middle of the day! We were afraid that whole building was going to collapse on top of you, but I guess the funnel turned. You should have seen it! You know I check the weather all the time, sir, and I promise you there was no warning at all about a storm.”

  They’d never seen the Congressman look so old. “There’s a lot I don’t understand—”

  The revving of an engine came from behind them, following by the squealing of tires. They turned to see the Town Car heading down the ramp.

  Quincy slammed on the brakes beside them, rolling down the window. “This is kind of a crap move, Flip, but we’re kicking you off the ride. I think you’re ready to get off.”

  “Sir, get out of the car—”

  “No, John, let them go,” Flip said, holding out his arm. “He’s right. I don’t want to have anything more to do with this.”

  Quincy quickly glanced back at the people in the car. “Probably a good call,” he said, driving out into the brightening daylight.

  EIGHTEEN

  It was fitting that it was the four of them again.

  Kate vividly remembered sitting, then standing, then pacing in her parents’ kitchen fifteen years ago as her mother recounted her time at the University of Illinois, the work she had done into missing people, and why, on that very night, she had gone to meet secretly with the professor who was suspected in William’s disappearance. Kate had gotten so angry realizing what her mother had done that Roxy had chastised her harsh reaction, and she and Stella had bitterly argued outside. When her mother had driven off into the night, Kate felt the first pang of doubt that she didn’t truly know her at all.

  Fifteen years later, it was she who had to explain. Yet this time, they were trapped in some room, in yet another warehouse that hid government offices inside.

  Her mother’s eyes were so filled with sadness that Kate had to avoid looking at her. Stella was furious, and Roxy wore an expression that was a blend of empathy and disapproval.

  When Kate had finished explaining everything she knew, there was a familiar silence, the same, heavy, uncomfortable quiet that followed when Lynn had told her own story all those years ago.

  “Regret isn’t even the word,” Kate said, feeling like she’d repeated it so many times now that it had lost its meaning.

  “Dammit, Kate,” Stella said, standing and walking to the locked door, shaking the handle. “Isn’t it a little too late for that?
”

  “Stella,” Lynn said wearily.

  “She’s right, Mom,” Kate said. “I delivered you right to them. I did the same with William. I thought I was doing the right thing. For the country, for my family—”

  “That’s crap,” Stella snapped.

  “Stella, enough,” Lynn said.

  “Listen to your mother, girls,” Roxy said. “We can’t exactly call in a family counselor right now. Let me tell you something: When everyone thought William was dead and everything really went to hell, your mother didn’t drown in the mess this family can be. She got on a plane and flew to the middle of literally nowhere and faced something horrific. Don’t you dishonor her by squabbling right now.”

  Stella took a deep breath. “All I can think about is Anne. She’s surely seen Mom at that protest, and that a storm hit the building. She has no idea that her son was beneath that building too. And that her father—”

  She covered her mouth. “Mom, I’m sorry—”

  “Tom was her father,” Lynn said. “In almost every sense of the word. Steven just helped bring her into the world, that’s it.”

  Her voice broke a bit when saying his name. She looked to Kate. “Why was Steven there, Kate? How did he end up with William?”

  “I don’t know. In the brief time that I got to speak with him, he was so angry … he wouldn’t say much, especially with the agents nearby. He was really sick, Mom. When that storm blew in, I think his heart just couldn’t take it.”

  Roxy reached out to place her hand on Lynn’s leg. “What did he give you?”

  Lynn reached out to place a flash drive on the coffee table in front of her. From her pocket, she pulled out another to set it beside the other. “To think … we once coveted our paper files. There were mountains of them. Now we scurry around with these to contain our secrets. Steven will never know what I found, and I doubt very much the SSA is going to provide me a laptop to learn his.”

  “Bastards,” Stella muttered, once again shaking the door handle. “They better be scouring that building to make sure William is OK. You said he was really down there deep. He should be safe from that storm, right?”