* * *
Sitting straight up in the bed in his safe room, panicked, Paul opened his eyes and called out, “Steven!”
In moments Steven rushed into the room with a gun in his hand, yelling, “What? What!”
“Wow,” Paul said, impressed. “You’re fast. What the hell? When did you get a gun?”
“The day I started training. Every Sentinel gets a piece. Jesus,” Steven put the gun away. “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
“Sorry, but we have to find a way to get out of here. As soon as we can.”
Steven shut the metal door to the room as Paul continued, “Lisa just gave me an ultimatum and she said Dr. Abrams was getting one last night, too. She said that if Dr. Abrams turns Dittrich down this time, they would be forced to move forward with a take-over attempt.”
“Well what do they think Abrams is going to do? Just hand them the keys and leave?”
“No, that’s not even an option. They’re going to kill him. She flat out said they would kill him.” Paul was already out of bed, pacing the small room.
“And she threatened to do the same to you? Lisa did!?”
“In a roundabout way, yes. She said that if I wasn’t with them I was against them and if I didn’t want to end up hurt too, I needed to leave.”
Clearly stunned, Steven leaned back against the wall, staring at the floor in front of him as he thought through the situation. “Maybe it was just a bluff to make you either commit or leave. If there was one guy that could screw up their plans the most, it’s you right? I mean, for any non-Walker, there’s pretty much no way to stop you from doing anything you want at night.”
That was the simple version of why they had waited for him to come to Astralis and train. Paul already knew it, and so would anyone else who took more than a moment to consider the motivation behind Hodge’s group waiting to make their move. Dittrich wanted to turn Astralis into a profit center and through Paul he could do it much easier. No Walker could go where Paul could go at night and, as such, no Walker could stop him, either. By simply having the ability to open or close a door, Paul was more powerful than any Walker in the facility.
And more dangerous to their cause if he decided to try and stop them.
He jerked his head up at Steven. “We have to call Stephanie. We have to go as soon as she can get here. We have to warn Dr. Abrams and we have to warn everyone else, too.”
“Dude, slow down. What if that’s what they want you to do? What if they stuck hot-assed Lisa in a helicopter with you last night just so you would believe her and feel threatened without making you feel angry? What if the plan was to make you feel that you were somehow indebted to her for telling you at all, making you feel obligated to go? Don’t you think that would be more likely to make you leave than if you got mad and decided to stay and fight?”
Paul hadn’t considered that and probably never would have. Once again, Steven had unknowingly proved the reason Paul needed him so badly. Paul was smart; he could see or hear almost anything and remember it. But he wasn’t street smart; he wasn’t people smart, and how could he be? He’d spent the last three years more or less alone, barely interacting with anyone else because he’d been so focused on his own issues. He never learned the subtle and devious ways that people could be manipulated.
“It still comes back to Dr. Abrams,” he decided. “If they did approach him last night then we need to make a decision one way or the other. And I still think we should call Stephanie just so she knows what happened last night and how this all stands.”
They agreed, and pulled open the door and stepped out into an empty hallway, listening. The only sound was the whir of the fridge in the lounge kicking on. Steven started humming Revolution by the Beatles as they cautiously walked into the empty lounge. At this early hour, it wasn’t strange for there to be no one in the Sanctum. Normally, everyone took their breakfast upstairs in the commons room.
“If they did make their move, you’d think there’d be someone down here waiting for us,” Paul said.
Turning the cog wheel and opening the door to the steel antechamber outside the lounge, they found the same thing waiting for them; nothing and no one.
Paul let out a contemplative breath through his nose, thinking. Maybe they were waiting right outside the elevator door, upstairs. He considered taking the steps instead of the elevator, just for the sake of having a chance at being quiet, but he figured if something had happened and if someone was waiting at the elevator door, they would also be waiting at the stair door, too. The stair door was right next to the elevator, after all.
Steven launched into the instrumental solo of the song he was humming, startling Paul out of his thought process. “Will you cut that out!” he said, jabbing Steven in the ribs and hitting the call button for the elevator.
The door opened onto the second floor, the glass doors of the commons room in front of them. Looking through the glass, Paul saw all the usual people at their usual tables, talking and eating breakfast. Lisa was in the middle of saying something to the people at Hodge’s table, but when she saw Paul and Steven step out of the elevator, she lifted her head. Only Hodge turned around to look, a grin already on his face that spread wider when he saw Paul staring. Hodge held his gaze for a few moments and winked before leisurely turning back to the table.
The message Hodge had sent was clear—I know you know and I can’t wait to take you down.
Steeling himself, Paul forced a calm expression and entered into the room. Knowing that he may not have many more chances to eat, he grabbed a tray of food and sat down with his friends.
“Anything?” Kenneth asked.
He could tell them. He could repeat back everything Lisa had told him last night and prepare them for what she said was coming. But was that what she expected? Is that what Hodge’s crew wanted to happen? If he told them, they’d almost certainly act on it. Kenneth, especially, seemed eager to make some kind of move.
Looking at Steven, Paul thought about what he’d said in the safe room; how it was possible that the only reason Lisa had told him the things she’d said last night was to provoke some sort of reaction from him that would incite a reaction from his group. It was clear that nothing had happened so far—none of his friends showed any sense of urgency except maybe Kenneth. He had to find Dr. Abrams to be sure. Until then he might start a revolution just by sharing that information.
He realized that everyone was still waiting for him to reply. He covered his hesitation by looking over his shoulder at Lisa, who flicked her eyes up at him briefly but didn’t fully return his look. Almost like she was trying hard not to let him catch her watching him.
“Nothing that we didn’t already know,” Paul answered, still looking over his shoulder. “She’s with them. She’s daddy’s little girl.”
“Everyone needs to watch and listen, then,” Kenneth said. “We need to make sure that if they say anything about when or how they’re going to do this, we hear it.”
“Has anyone seen or talked to Dr. Abrams today?” Paul asked, hoping he didn’t sound as desperate as he felt.
“I had to drop the results of the training you did with Kenneth at the front desk this morning.” Liz answered. “I saw him getting in the elevator with Lydia. That was about an hour ago, I guess. Since they’re not up here, they must be down in their suite.”
He had to find a way to have a conversation with Dr. Abrams. The problem was that the doctor was almost never to be found around the facility. Most of the direction Paul had received since coming to Astralis had been through Dittrich or through information passed on to him through other Walkers. No one ever talked about ‘going to Abrams’ with a problem, and in this instance, he certainly didn’t want to give the impression that there was anything wrong. That meant he couldn’t ask anybody that was part of his regular group and he definitely didn’t want to let anyone in Hodge’s crew know that he was trying to get a meeting with Dr. Abrams.
That only left Lydia. Wit
h the history that Dr. Abrams had explained, it was obvious he trusted her. As a matter of fact, she probably had as much to lose as Dr. Abrams if Dittrich was able to pull off his coup. He didn’t really know her; he’d only spoken to her when he’d first arrived, so he really didn’t know if she was even approachable or could grant him access to Dr. Abrams’ office suite. But if she was his only way to finding a way down there, Paul had to give it a shot.
Parker was supposed to work with him today on the basic understanding and recognition of foreign languages, so he told Parker he would meet him in the training area in about a half hour. Steven once again had morning training scheduled with the Sentinels that weren’t a part of Hodge’s crew, a fact that made Paul a little nervous. What were all of Hodge’s people doing if they weren’t training Steven?
At the front desk, Lydia was nowhere to be found, but Gladys and Martha were both there.
“Do you have any idea when she’ll be back?” Paul asked.
“Not until later this afternoon,” Gladys answered. “She had a doctor’s appointment scheduled this morning. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Disappointed, Paul replied, “No, I don’t think so. Thank you, though.”
Seeing the look on his face, she gave him a motherly smile and said, “Sure about that? Never know unless you ask.”
It might be worth a shot. As far as he knew, all three of the ladies that worked in the front area were with the CIA. Chances were that they’d been hand-picked by Lydia. The way he saw it, his options were to wait until late afternoon or early evening to ask for Lydia’s help, hoping to find Dr. Abrams somehow in the meantime, or allow Gladys to see if she could do anything. It might not even be a big deal to ask to speak with him.
“I was looking for Dr. Abrams but hadn’t seen him this morning and was hoping Lydia might help me track him down.” He hoped he sounded nonchalant but still sure enough of himself that she would take him seriously.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, giving him an apologetic look, “but I’m afraid that handling who sees Dr. Abrams while he’s in his office really is Lydia’s domain.” Motioning with her head toward Martha, she said, “Unless we’ve specifically been asked to send someone to see him, we really can’t make that decision on our own.”
“That’s all right,” he tried not to let his disappointment show. “I’ll just see if I can’t run him down later on.”
“If I see him, I’ll be sure to tell him that you’re looking for him.”
Closing the door to the office area, he was halfway to the training area when he heard Gladys calling his name from the door, waving him back.
“I’d forgotten all about this,” she said. “You can thank Martha for reminding me.” Grabbing a small Fedex package off her desk with an accompanying letter-sized envelope, she handed them to him. Fragile and Urgent were stamped across the front of both. “Here’s a good excuse for me to send you down to see him. This package arrived early this morning and he hasn’t been by to pick it up. They’re both marked ‘urgent,’ so I can’t imagine he would consider it an intrusion for you to bring them to him. Besides, Martha and I aren’t allowed to leave the desk, especially being one person short today.”
“Thank you so much,” he smiled in gratitude and accepted the items.
“Do you know the button sequence to get to the sublevel where his suite is?”
“I believe I do,” he replied, getting a raised eyebrow from her in response. “Natasha brought me down once before,” he explained, “for a meeting with him.”
“I see,” she replied, giving him a speculative look. “Well then you best get to it. From what I’ve been told you’re doing exceptionally well with your training, but I know you’re not done yet so I’m sure there is someone waiting for you.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
Back in the elevator he paused, thinking that before he committed to heading down to see Dr. Abrams he should try to call Stephanie. The way everything seemed to be heading at Astralis, he needed to have as many options open for himself and Steven as possible. It was foolish to think that by simply telling Dr. Abrams that a take-over was imminent, the problem would be solved. What would he be able to do? Even if he took Paul at his word there was a question of ethics involved. If Dr. Abrams attempted to preemptively quash a rebellion before it happened, Dittrich would have the ability to cry innocence to the United Nations and bring Dr. Abrams’ judgment into question.
No, the truth of the matter was that Paul wasn’t going to be telling Dr. Abrams anything he didn’t already know or at least suspect. If Paul was being honest with himself, he knew that his true motivation was that he hoped he would feel a greater sense of security after speaking with Dr. Abrams.
Pressing the button for the second floor, he was relieved when the door opened to a commons room that was now empty save for Parker, who saw him and spread both hands apart as if to say where you been, we’re supposed to be training!
Holding up one finger, he walked around the perimeter of the room to the far end of the hall. Since the facility was on lock-down status, he could be sure that there were no guests that could listen to his conversation.
He hit his speed dial for Stephanie and waited while it rang and rang and rang again, finally going through to voice mail. “Stephanie!” he hissed, cupping his hand to the receiver so that he could speak without being heard by anyone nearby. “I know you’re in school, but right now, for the next few days, no matter what you have to answer your phone if I call. Last night I went with Lisa on what was supposed to be a training mission but it wasn’t—she’s part of the group that wants to take this place over and she told me that if I don’t join them I better get out quick, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do if things start to get crazy. I’m sorry to drop all this on you, but besides Steven, you know you’re my only friend and the only one I can call.” Hearing footfalls, he looked up to see Parker coming around the corner, clearly annoyed. “I got to go,” he whispered, and hung up.
“What are you doing?” Parker demanded. “We were supposed to start training almost a half hour ago.”
“Yeah, I’m sorry about that Parker, really. It’s just…” he fumbled. He didn’t want to lie, not to Parker, but he didn’t want to inadvertently start the rebellion by telling him something that wasn’t going to happen, either. “I went down to talk to Lydia, but she wasn’t there. I wanted to see if she’d get me in touch with Dr. Abrams.” To Parker’s questioning look, he replied, “I need to know what’s going on. It’s driving me crazy wondering if we’re on the brink of war.”
“I know what you mean,” Parker replied. “I’m going out of my head, too. So then what was the phone call about?”
“I was trying to call my, um… friend. Stephanie. I promised I would keep her updated. She knows what is happening here.” He’d shocked himself by almost calling her his girlfriend without realizing it. Whoa. What did that mean?
Smiling knowingly, Parker said, “Your friend, huh? You never told me you had one of those friends.”
“No, no, no,” he backpedaled. “She really is just my friend. It’s complicated. She’s been my friend since we were kids.” Why were they talking about this now?
“So what’s in the package?”
He’d nearly forgotten that it was tucked under his arm. “This? It’s for Dr. Abrams. Lydia wasn’t at the front office, but Gladys and Martha were and they gave me this package and envelope to deliver to Dr. Abrams. I think they were kind of killing two birds with one stone by giving me a chance to see Dr. Abrams and having me carry it down for them.”
Parker sighed. “So we’re going to get started even later? I guess it’s for the best. Foreign language training is super boring unless you’re into that kind of thing. I drew the short straw by being the one who had to go over it with you. How about we just meet up in an hour down in the training area?”
“Thanks Parker, that’s a plan. I’ll be there.”
Parker left, using
the stairs so that Paul could take the elevator down to Dr. Abrams’ suite. Going back in his mind to the day that he’d watched Natasha hit the button sequence to take them there, he punched the buttons: 1,1,1,2,B,2,2,1. The doors closed and the elevator descended.
Reaching the sublevel, he paused at the door to the suite. Should he knock or was it like a business office that you just entered? After a moment of hesitation, he raised his hand to knock but the door was opened by Natasha before he had a chance.
She jumped back, startled, one hand to her chest. “Paul! Oh my goodness! I heard the elevator but wasn’t expecting anyone. You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
Wincing, he apologized. “I’m sorry! I tried to find Lydia to ask her to call down ahead, but she’s not at her desk today.”
“Yes, doctor’s appointment. The poor dear has chronic arthritis and has to have regular treatment.” Pausing, she looked him up and down, her eyes resting on the package he carried. “So what can I do for you, Paul?”
“Oh, yes, this is for Dr. Abrams. When I went to see Lydia, Gladys gave this to me to give to him.”
Accepting the parcels from him, she backed away from the doorway, allowing him to enter, as she studied them closer. “There is no return address,” she noted. “Gladys didn’t say whether she knew what they were about or who they were from, did she?”
“No. Just that they’d been left this morning.”
As he waited while Natasha opened the envelope and read the letter that it contained, Paul craned his neck around to peer through the doorway to Dr. Abrams’ office, asking, “Is Dr. Abrams here? I was hoping to speak with him.”
When she failed to reply, he looked back and saw that she was still staring down at the page. Her face had gone a pale white. Her lips were moving as she read it, her head moving from side to side as she absorbed what it contained.
“Natasha?” When she didn’t answer, he stood awkwardly for a moment and tried again. “Natasha what is it?”
Finally she looked up at him, slowly, her mouth open, eyes glazed. “It’s about Thomas.” Hands trembling, she tucked the letter under one arm and began to tear at the package.
“Is it… good news?”
Ripping one end of the box open, she slid a small electronic device from the package. It was about the size of a portable tape player. She stared uncomprehendingly at the piece of hardware for a moment and then finally focused back on him. “I’m sorry, Paul. Abe is here, but in light of what you’ve just handed me, I’m afraid we’ll be indisposed for at least the rest of the day.”
He wasn’t sure how to respond. Obviously, whatever the letter said was big news, but the idea that Dr. Abrams might be in mortal danger seemed like it should trump any information about his brother.
Natasha put one hand on the door to let him out, but he made one last attempt, “It’s important. It’s about what we talked about when I was down here last. About the group that wants to take over Astralis.”
Her eyes were clear, now. So intense that she almost appeared angry. “It will have to wait, Paul. You just focus on your training today and I’ll make sure that he comes to find you as soon as he can.”
Gently but firmly closing the door, forcing him to back out into the antechamber or be hit by the door, she locked it as soon as it was fully shut.
What had just happened? He’d come down to warn Dr. Abrams that someone was planning to assassinate him and instead he’d been asked to leave. He had his fist halfway up to the door, intent on pounding on it until he was asked back in, before he forced himself to stop. He had to trust that Natasha and Dr. Abrams were both aware of what was happening at Astralis.
He took a calming breath and got back in the elevator to head upstairs for training.
Watchers of the Night Page 58
