Chapter 31: Departing
No one had instructed him to do otherwise, so the guards in front of the scene shop in the Highland returned to their posts and covered their shifts, watching over what they thought was an empty room. Even though Elijah had left already, they could still hear the occasional sound coming from within.
The guards continued showing up and changing shifts when appropriate; the current one had been on for near seven hours. It was dull, sitting in one spot for that long, but for older or less fit members of Elijah's enclave, it was an easy enough job that entailed the least amount of risk. One hour to go, and the guard on duty thumbed through another magazine.
He was startled when the sounds of metallic screeching issued from the door as the bolts slid free, and with a loud creak it swung open. Out of it walked a shabby-looking old man. He wore a patchy light brown coat and blue jeans. Wiry, silver hair adorned his head, a kindly smile was on his face.
"Hello," the man said.
The guard eyed him warily, gripping the butt of his sidearm. "Who are you?"
"Me?" The man shook his head, laughing. "Klaus is my name. I was Elijah's personal assistant."
The guard loosened his grasp on the weapon but kept his hand on it. "Personal assistant? I've never heard of you before," he said, suspicious.
"Klaus" held up his hands. "I assure you, I'm no threat. I've been taking care of Elijah's needs now for years. He didn't go out, so neither did I. He contacted me today with some requests for personal effects." He took on a lower, more hushed tone and looked back and forth down the hallway. "From what I hear, we might not have to live like this for very much longer."
The guard's eyes widened. "Really?" he whispered.
He nodded. "Oh yes, it sounds like things are moving along. I'll tell you what," he held up a finger, "I have to get going, but if I hear anything else about it," he winked at the man, "I'll let you know, okay?"
The guard nodded, an excited look in his eyes. Elijah gave him a pat on the shoulder before moving down the hallway. The guard sat down, so amazed by the thought of leaving the darkness and decay behind that he didn't even notice the man had not appeared to have been carrying anything, personal effects or otherwise.
Elijah found pretending not to be himself irritating, but he did not know exactly how suspicious and paranoid the guard would be if he made the claim. Few people, save for well-trusted individuals, knew who he was for a very good reason: so that he wouldn't be targeted. Sure, while posing as him, Victor hadn't yet been threatened, but Elijah liked to eliminate potential risk to his person. Of course, this anonymity meant that at some point, he would likely have to convince other people that he and not Victor was the real Elijah. It shouldn't be a problem because Victor won't dispute it, he thought, but he isn't here right now.
Elijah was tired of being holed up in that room in general, the last couple of days notwithstanding. However, since Victor's most recent update, Elijah decided it was time to emerge. The power to the room was also being finicky, and with most people out and about coordinating, no one was around for outside repairs. He could have fixed it had the source been inside, but he had already been contemplating leaving. Losing the surveillance and information sources gave him one more reason to do so.
He wasn't sure he needed it anymore. Things would have to be accelerated due to the fear of Citizen response, and hiding in a hole wouldn't change that. He wasn't sure how exactly they would react to their crushing defeat, but he assumed the Citizen response would be desperate, frantic, and probably brutal.
People are going to die, he thought to himself.
Uprising Page 66
