Depart the Darkness Page 26

  We exchanged greetings with the receptionist, then continued to our office.

  We concentrated on removing our cold weather gear, next. After hanging their coats on the rack near the door, John and Xander took a good look at the office of the Executive Director of the Bannerman Foundation.

  “You live in a castle,” Xander stated, surveying the spacious room and the view outside the windows of our corner office. “You own the apartment building, the Lodge, a gazillion other things… I have no idea why this surprises me!”

  “It’s because we’re friends, and most of the time we seem normal,” I replied.

  “I guess so…” Xander said.

  “It’s probably the truth,” John pointed out.

  “Yes, it is,” I confirmed. Xander laughed, and shook his head a little.

  “Have a seat and get comfortable,” Miles said, as he led me to the couch and we sat down. “Would anyone care for coffee?”

  “You know what I want,” I said, and he smiled.

  “Yeah, sure,” John replied, and Xander shrugged and nodded.

  A soft buzz sounded, and Miles reached for the button on the arm of the couch.

  “Yes?” he answered.

  “Your three o’ clock is here, sir.”

  I felt a thrill race up and down my spine. It looked like John and Xander did, too.

  “Very good. We’ll be there shortly. In the meantime, have Mr. Graves wait in the lobby.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Miles released the intercom button, and looked at the rest of us.

  “Still feel like coffee?”

  “No!” Xander said, and John and I shook our heads.

  “Alright. I don’t either,” Miles admitted. “Is everyone ready?”

  “Yes,” I said, my heart beating faster.

  “You better believe it,” Xander replied.

  “I’m ready,” John answered.

  We followed Miles’ lead, and stood.

  “Alright, then. Let’s go. But walk slow.”

  “Okay,” I laughed, tucking my hand in his arm.

  “Alright Super Sleuths, let’s do this!” Xander said.

  “Veto,” Miles promptly replied.

  “Veto,” John said firmly.

  “No. Just no!” I added.

  “Aww, fine…” Xander said, making a face as we followed after Miles. “I’m going to come up with something, though.”

  “I’m sure you will,” John replied.

  “And I’m sure I’ll veto,” Miles said under his breath.

  “You’re telling the truth,” I whispered.

  Smiling, he led us to the conference room, and the interview that absolutely, positively, had to result in finding the truth.

  Because only then, would two innocent men truly be free.

  I took a deep breath, and slowly released it as Miles pulled out a chair for me, and I sat. I looked up at him.

  “I’m ready,” I said, and he nodded, as John and Xander took their seats.

  Miles pressed the intercom button on the table in front of him.

  “Send in Dillon Graves.”

  Chapter 19

  “How do you resolve a full root partition?” John asked seriously.

  Dillon Graves sat on the other side of the conference room table. He looked a little less cocky and self-assured than he did when he entered the room thirty minutes ago.

  Make that a lot less.

  He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair before answering.

  Whatever he said didn’t sound like English. There were a few words here and there that did, but all strung together, it sounded like gibberish. Miles and John talked that way sometimes though, so I knew it wasn’t meant to be a joke. It was his answer to John’s question.

  John looked very serious. Miles listened intently. Xander looked sympathetic, and shook his head a little. Dillon stuttered, then continued.

  Xander had no more idea what they were talking about than I did. But that didn’t keep him from reacting to what Dillon said. He was giving powerful feedback, most of it negative, all of it sympathetic. Every now and then, for variety, he’d look interested. As if, finally! He’s getting it right! But, then he’d look disappointed again. He alternated between that, and facial expressions that said as clearly as words, I can’t watch this. It’s just too horrible.

  Dillon finished his answer, and waited.

  John looked even more serious.

  “Alright. That’s one way to go about it. But that’s not what we’re looking for.”

  Dillon looked desperate. If I didn’t know how he demeaned Phillip on the job every chance he got, I’d feel sorry for him.

  He started talking gibberish again.

  John looked serious.

  Miles listened intently.

  Xander looked as though he was witnessing an impending catastrophe and wanted to look away, but couldn’t.

  Dillon finished his sentence rather desperately.

  Miles was too polite to look at his watch, no matter who he was dealing with. He did glance at the clock on the wall, though, then he glanced at John.

  “Let’s go ahead and move on.”

  John acknowledged his words with a nod.

  “How do you resolve a full volume group?”

  Dillon spoke gibberish.

  John looked serious.

  Miles listened intently.

  Xander looked like he was witnessing a massacre.

  Dillon stuttered.

  He looked at the guys, and they looked back. He looked desperate. They looked sympathetic and rather embarrassed for him.

  “Go ahead with the next question, John,” Miles said.

  “What is responsible for the sudden failure of cron jobs?” John asked.

  Dillon spoke gibberish.

  John looked serious.

  Miles listened intently.

  Xander put his hand to his forehead and shielded his eyes from the horror taking place.

  Dillon stuttered.

  And, it continued.

  I wasn’t sure who was being tortured more, though. Dillon, or me! This mumbo jumbo was the stuff nightmares are made of. Miles wouldn’t wake me tonight because of night terrors involving George Frank and Bea Cochran. It would be about sitting in a conference room listening to this stuff!

  For my own sanity, this had to stop. Besides, the guy was sweating bullets faster than a machine gun could pump them out.

  “What do you do when approached by a competing company intent on acquiring intellectual or other material from your current place of work?”

  Dillon was completely thrown off balance. He looked at me in confusion, and I looked back, waiting. I didn’t want to have to ask again if I didn’t have to.

  “You… inform your employer,” Dillon replied.

  “Yes,” I said. “But what do you do?”

  “I tell the competing company to take a hike, and remain loyal to my employer,” Dillon said.

  Whoosh. I squeezed Miles’ hand hard as the truth filled my mind, making my head spin.

  “What’s your favorite ice cream?” Xander asked.

  Dillon stared at him in confusion.

  “Uh… vanilla.”

  “Favorite color,” said John.

  “Blue,” Dillon answered.

  “What is the most profitable position you’ve ever held, and what contributed to that profit?” Miles wanted to know.

  “Working at Intersect as a systems administrator,” Dillon said. “As a level three.”

  Liar, liar.

  “What do you think about skiing?” Xander asked.

  “I don’t care for it,” Dillon replied. He looked a little grim.

  “Why?” I wanted to know.

  “I don’t care for the cold,” he decided to say. Instead of the truth.

  “Why do you want to leave Intersect and come work for us?” I asked.

  “It’s a great opportunity,” he replied.

  That was true.

  �
��What constitutes great?” Miles asked. “What do you find most appealing?”

  “It’s not a contract position. It isn’t in the defense industry, which is unstable.”

  That might be the truth, but it wasn’t the answer to Miles’ question. That wasn’t what he found most appealing. Not by a long shot.

  “Two strings walk into a bar,” Xander said. “The bartender says, ‘hey, no strings allowed in here!’ and throws them out. What do they do next?”

  Dillon stared at him as if not sure what he was looking at. The rest of us didn’t look at Xander, or each other. I knit my eyebrows and looked fierce as I scribbled on the notepad I held. That was better than laughing, or smiling like something was funny.

  While Dillon stumbled around for an answer, I thought. As I thought, I grew concerned.

  I didn’t have the energy to go through all the truth I gained when Dillon lied. What would seem like a blink to everyone else, would seem like days to me. Unlocking it would be exhausting. If I did that now, Miles would have to carry me out of here afterward.

  But more importantly, I wouldn’t have the energy to ask the one question I might not have the answer to.

  I tapped my pen against the notepad and focused on the conversation again.

  “Okay, but if that wall is red, then what’s the point of this particular wall being blue?” Xander asked. He looked as though the weight of the world rested on the answer.

  “Is there evidence that you’ve committed a crime?” I asked.

  “No,” Dillon said quickly, still staring at Xander.

  I felt myself grow pale, and Miles put his arm around me.

  He probably thought I was dizzy. He probably thought I was being struck with dark truth.

  I wasn’t.

  Dillon was telling the truth.

  There was no evidence.

  “We’re done here,” I said faintly. I felt completely sick.

  “Wait!” said Dillon. “But why is the wall blue?”

  “We’ll save that, in the event that we have a follow-up interview,” Xander replied glibly, as we stood.

  “Our people will be in touch,” Miles said. He was worried about me. “If you’ll excuse us, we have pressing matters to attend to.”

  I managed to control the trembling in my arms and legs, and we walked out.

  We followed the hall around the corner to the elevator, and Miles hugged me hard as we waited. I felt bad that he was worried about me. Our friends were worried, too.

  “I’m fine,” I said quietly. “I’m not dizzy.”

  “Then… what?” he answered, just as quietly.

  “There’s nothing,” I said, overwhelmed again by that realization.

  “Nothing?” Miles frowned. “Like—Violet? It doesn’t work on him?”

  “No,” I quickly replied, as I shook my head. “It works. That’s not what I mean.”

  I wasn’t sure what was worse, though. Having no abilities, or having no evidence. Although if evidence existed, we’d at least have a chance of finding it. But instead…

  The elevator arrived, and we got in.

  “Up or down?” Miles asked.

  “Down,” I replied. “Let’s go home.”

  I started talking as soon as the doors closed.

  “There is no evidence of what he’s done. I got all kinds of truth, but I don’t know what good it’s going to do. Because there is no evidence!”

  The guys were silent as they tried to take that in.

  “I know that’s the truth because you say it is, but how is that possible?” Miles asked.

  “It just—there’s got to be something!” Xander exclaimed.

  “We can’t let him get away with this,” John said firmly.

  “Maybe we can get him on something else,” Xander suggested, but Miles glanced at me, then shook his head.

  “No, because Anika didn’t ask about a specific crime. Her question was all encompassing.”

  “What are we supposed to do?” I wondered. “This can’t be all about providing support and a legal team for Aaron Fellows, and giving Phillip and his family new identities and a new life. Dillon Graves needs to be stopped, or he’ll keep on doing this!”

  Then I stopped and listened.

  “Or not,” I said in surprise. “I need to unlock what I got from him. There’s a lot, I’m not sure what I have.”

  “Maybe something we can use?” Xander asked hopefully.

  “I don’t know, but I definitely need to unlock what I’ve got!” I said with certainty.

  We reached the lobby, and proceeded straight for the door. Miles smiled and told the receptionist at the information counter to have a good afternoon, reminding me of my surroundings. I was glad, because in spite of how distracted I was at the moment, I’d feel terrible later if we walked right by her without a word. So I smiled too and said goodbye for now, then we were out the doors and in our SUV just as fast as we could get there.

  “Do you have any idea what you’ve got?” Xander wondered.

  “You said he’s got to be stopped or he’ll keep doing this,” John reminded me.

  “Then, you heard something,” Miles added.

  “The truth I have isn’t fully accessible, but it’s there. When I contradicted it, in response I heard ‘that’s not the truth.’”

  “Something’s going to stop him,” John said. “But what?”

  “And will it lead to Phillip and Aaron being exonerated,” Miles wondered.

  “I don’t know any of that,” I replied. “Not yet.”

  “Maybe Dillon’s being investigated, himself,” Xander suggested.

  “Yeah, but… there’s no evidence,” I reminded him, and the rest of us. “Whatever’s going to stop him, he knows about it.”

  “Is he going to stop because he’s piled up enough cash, and he’s about to leave the country?” wondered Xander.

  “But where is all that cash he’s piled up,” John wondered.

  “Unless he received no compensation for exposing classified information, there has to be a trail there somewhere,” Miles pointed out.

  “So maybe the money’s being laundered,” John said.

  “There’s no proof though,” Xander said glumly.

  “But… if we know where to look, we can anticipate,” John said. “We might find proof in the future.”

  “That’s possible,” Miles said.

  We all felt a little more hopeful. But just a little.

  “Don’t feel bad,” Miles said, squeezing my hand. “You have no control over what the truth is. You did your part. And… the truth you gathered may reveal our next step. It will reveal more than we know now.”

  “Thanks,” I said, giving him a rueful smile. “I guess I sort of feel like I failed. I’m just so disappointed. But you’re right. I still gained a lot of truth.”

  “You didn’t fail,” Xander half snorted. “The only thing the rest of us got out of it, was a lot of fun.”

  “You guys were great,” I said. “You two kept him so off balance, Miles and I were able to ask the questions we needed to.”

  “There’s one thing I don’t understand though,” said John thoughtfully.

  Miles glanced at him in the rearview mirror. I looked at him in the mirror of my sun visor. Xander turned his head and looked.

  John looked back. His expression was so serious.

  “Why is the wall blue?”

  We all laughed, and spent the next few minutes recounting the most peculiar interview ever.

  Miles pulled under the covered drive of our Lodge, and we prepared to wait the brief moment it would take our valet to exit the lobby entrance and reach our vehicle.

  “So when are you unlocking all this truth?” Xander wondered.

  “How much is there?” Miles asked.

  “Much,” I replied. “I may be gone several days.”

  “I don’t like that,” Miles frowned. “Just a few hours drains you so severely.”

  “Maybe I could do this in s
tages,” I said.

  “You’re going to have to,” Miles said gently, but firmly.

  “When will you start?” Xander asked.

  “It’s after four o’ clock,” Miles said. The valet reached Miles’ side of the SUV, interrupting us temporarily.

  We left our vehicle in the valet’s capable hands and went inside. I greeted the receptionist on duty, and we continued to the elevator.

  “Dinner first,” Miles said. “Basketball second. Remember?”

  “I forgot all about that!” Xander exclaimed, slapping his hand to his forehead.

  “So did I,” John said, slumping a little. “I was looking forward to it, too…”

  “We might as well resign ourselves and enjoy the game,” Miles pointed out.

  The elevator arrived, and we stepped inside. Miles pressed the button for the floor with John and Annette’s room, and Xander’s. He waited to say more, until the door swished shut.

  “Each time Anika accesses this truth, she’ll need sleep afterward. So dinner, basketball, truth, sleep, breakfast. Then she tells us the truth.”

  “Maybe I can do twice a day,” I said.

  “Starting tomorrow, maybe,” Miles replied. “We’ll see how you feel in the morning.”

  “There’s so much, and I need to go through all of it. I know there’s no evidence, so… if there’s anything there that’s useful at all, I need to unlock it.”

  “That’s fine. You will. And you’ll take as long as you need to, in order to do that without sacrificing your health,” Miles said.

  I sighed.

  I was annoyed at my inability to have instant access to everything, and that it took so much out of me to gain that access when we needed it the most.

  The more darkness, the more difficult. The more important.

  It was annoying!

  “Imagine how impossible it would be to gain this information without you and your ability,” Miles said.

  “I know, it’s just frustrating sometimes,” I said. “Like having a really slow internet connection. It’s there, but…”