Chapter 29
Paul raced through the training area, running as fast as he could until he reached the Sanctum, hoping and praying he would find everyone there. It was less than an hour until dark and he had to warn them.
He was in so much of a hurry he had to punch in the code to open the blast door three times before he got it right. Yanking it open, he was greeted by a small crowd of his friends. Steven, Liz, Kenneth, and Parker were all there with their Sentinels.
Breathing heavily in relief, he panted for a moment, bent over double with his hands on his knees. He straightened up only to feel his gut constrict with a cramp so he raised one finger and bent back over for just a little more air.
Still staring down at the floor, he gasped, “Where’s… Juliet and Rodrigo?”
Steven came over and slapped him on the back a few times. “In their room, man. Just down the hall. I’ll go get them.”
Paul closed his eyes and nodded.
By the time Steven returned with them in tow, Paul was able to speak clearly without pausing between words. “Man it’s a lot harder to run full tilt when you’re awake.”
A few chuckles came from the people surrounding him, but most were waiting for his news. Kenneth, in particular, was still eyeing him with clear distrust, so he started there.
“Kenneth, I’m so sorry that I didn’t explain what was happening last night. Dr. Abrams asked me to meet… someone… outside of the facility and I couldn’t get out the front door because Hodge and his goons were blocking the hallway. I would’ve stopped to explain, but I was afraid Hodge’s crew would find out.”
Kenneth’s face remained impassive. “Steven told me the same story,” he said, “and I think I believe you, but I have to tell you—I haven’t seen Dr. Abrams all day and that makes me just a little nervous. Who was this person you say you had to meet?”
Paul looked around at the assembled faces. Although he wanted to, he couldn’t tell them Dr. Abrams’ secret. It wasn’t his to tell. Clearly, if they didn’t know, then it wasn’t something Dr. Abrams wanted to be common knowledge, even among those he knew were loyal to him.
“I would very much like to tell you that,” he answered carefully, hoping his sincerity showed through in his eyes. “But I can’t.” He took time to look every one of them in the eye. “Dr. Abrams specifically asked me to keep this to myself and I will. I am very sorry if that makes you trust me less or if it angers any of you, but I gave my word and I want him to feel he can trust me.”
He was met with silence from the group as they weighed whether or not he was playing them for fools.
Finally, Liz said, “I trust you, Paul. I’ve only known you for a couple of weeks, but I feel like we’ve become real friends and I’d like to think I know the difference between what’s real and what isn’t.”
Liz’s words broke the silence. Everyone else joined in and followed suit.
“I trust you too,” Kenneth said. “But what was the deal today with you and Dittrich? What was that all about?”
“That’s what I came down here to tell you!” Paul exclaimed, looking up at the clock, realizing that he only had a short while to explain everything that had happened in the past thirty-six hours.
He told them about Lisa and how his most recent training mission was not a mission at all, but a fabricated pretense for her to attempt to sway him over to Dittrich’s side. He didn’t bother to tell them about her history or that she wasn’t actually Dittrich’s biological daughter. He didn’t know why, it just didn’t seem like the kind of thing that should be shared, even when it pertained to someone who’d more or less declared themselves an enemy.
He told them about Dr. Abrams and Natasha’s reaction to the news that he had absolute confirmation Dittrich was behind the treachery that existed at Astralis.
“Abrams has always seemed one step ahead of everything that goes on around here,” Parker observed, getting nods in response from everyone else. “Why should this be any different?”
He told them about his most recent experience with Dittrich in the training area, explaining how he’d been paraded all over Astralis in the hopes of sowing doubt in their minds. Lastly, he described how he’d been locked in a room at the far corner of the training area.
When he was finished, Kenneth came forward and held out his hand. Unlike the hand Dittrich had offered less than an hour ago, Paul gripped this one firmly, smiling.
“I’m sorry I let that big-nosed, high-pitched prick get the best of me,” Kenneth said. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”
Grinning, Paul said, “No harm done. I would’ve been wondering the same thing, too, with all that’s happened. Don’t give it another thought.”
“So what’s the plan?” Juliet asked. “What do we do?”
“Ten minutes,” came Lydia’s voice on the overhead.
Paul looked to Kenneth for instruction, but only got a look in return; a look that clearly implied that Paul should be the one to answer. Looking around at the rest of the group, he saw that they all were waiting for him to speak.
Strangely, he didn’t feel at all nervous about being the one to form a plan. A month ago, he knew, not only would he have felt way out of his league trying to solve a problem as large as this.
Paul looked again at the clock. “We’re all going to be asleep soon. That’s when we’re most vulnerable and Dittrich knows it.” He looked at Alex, Nate, Kate, Rodrigo, and Steven. “It will be up to our Sentinels to protect us.”
He began to pace back and forth so he could think better. “If I were Dittrich, I would make my move against Dr. Abrams at night. That means he’ll have to either use Sentinels or someone outside the facility to get to Dr. Abrams, because we all know I’m the only Walker that could hurt him or even get to him from the dream, and of course that’s definitely not happening.
“I say we double up in safe rooms until this is over. That way we double up on Sentinels, too. One in the room and one outside. Juliet and Liz, you two share a room. Kenneth and Parker, you two share another. I guess I’ll be the odd man out, but that’s okay because I have the best chance at staying safe with my ability. Safe room doors are only to be opened immediately after sunset and for no more than ninety seconds.”
“No,” Kenneth said. “You are the biggest target because of your ability. I’ll be the odd man out. You bunk with Parker. Alex is the strongest Sentinel, anyway,” he said, grinning at the rest of the Sentinels who smirked and grumbled but didn’t refute it. “Everyone knows that.”
Paul opened his mouth to disagree, but Parker jumped in and said, “Kenneth is right. Both about the fact that you’re the biggest target and that Alex can handle himself best in combat.”
Out-voted and running out of time, Paul reluctantly agreed. “Okay, so Nate stays in the safe room with Parker and me as a last line of defense. Kate stays in the room with Liz and Juliet. The rest of the Sentinels stay in the hall outside the safe rooms. Together. Agreed?”
Getting nods all the way around the room, Paul pulled Steven aside and said quietly, “At the first sign of trouble, you do everything you can to get Dr. Abrams or Natasha on the handset in the safe room. It’ll probably be Natasha. If it’s Lydia, that’s okay too. Use our room. I’ll bunk in Parker’s. That way you can use a handset where no one is sleeping. Once you get a hold of someone, tell them who you are. They’ll listen if they know it’s you.”
Steven waited to see if Paul was going to spout out more instructions. When none were forthcoming, Steven’s face broke into a big grin. “Dude. You worry too much. Piece of cake.”
Oh boy, Paul thought and went to Parker’s room.
Lying there on Nate’s bunk with Parker no more than six feet away and Nate pacing the floor between them, Paul said quietly, “I want you to know, Parker—I know I’ve only been here a couple of weeks, but I promise I will do everything in my power to make sure Dittrich doesn’t succeed. You, Kenneth, Liz and Juliet—you’ve all become like family to me.”
Looking drowsi
ly over at him, Parker replied, “You’re such a ssswell guyyy…”
And then they fell asleep, drifting down into the dream together.
Watchers of the Night Page 62
