***
I parked the car in the same place I had on the day I interviewed for the job at Spectra and had gotten it. It was where I had seen the girl and first encountered James Price on the street. It had all seemed like a series of chance meetings at the time but as I reflected on all of it sitting there with my little posse I had serious doubts as to the coinciding nature of those meetings.
I turned around to address everyone. “Here’s the plan. We’re all going into the lobby but you three are going to wait there for a few minutes while I check to see if the coast is clear. I’ll come and get you when I feel like we’re good to go.”
“Wait a second,” Trent interrupted. “Haven’t we decided that the people at Spectra know about this, maybe even orchestrated some of it? Why are trying to dodge them?” He had a good point but I felt I had a better one.
“Oh, I totally think they’re in on the whole thing. That doesn’t mean I trust them, though: far from it. If we can avoid them and get in and do this then by all means that’s what I want to do. Is everybody okay with that?” They all gave affirmative answers.
We got out of the car and I led the way to the main entrance. I handed the gas can to Vox because I didn’t want to have to explain it to Derek if I ran into him while I scouted the path. I unlocked the front door and we entered. The foyer was completely unlit which was odd, even in off-hours. I started to move forward to find a light switch when a flash light pierced the dark and landed right in my eyes. Then a male voice said, “Steven Nicholas, hold it right there. That will be far enough for right now. We knew you’d be coming.”
The lights came on and I closed my eyes to the sudden flood of radiance. When my eyes adjusted to the new brightness of the environment I noticed a number of things. The chief thing which grabbed my attention was the man who had spoken to me. Actually it wasn’t the man himself as much as the police uniform he wore.
Vox leaned forward and said, “So much for your grand plan. I think I’ll wait in the car.”
A Ghost of Fire Page 40
