“Wow … ” Jack shook his head, his eyes wide with shock. “How long will it go on?”
Alex shrugged. “No one can say. It’s good to know he isn’t physically hurt but it’s so
demoralizing to see him like that. He looks
like he’s asleep, Jack. I keep
expecting him to .. just wake up an’ he doesn’t. Derek is such an active man, y’know?”
He nodded, his face full of
sympathy. To him, Derek seemed
indestructible.
“He’s so still, it hurts,” she
concluded, sighed deeply, and then roused herself, forcing a smile. If anyone could divert her thoughts, it was
Jack. “So .. how’s everything going
with you?”
“It’s good, Alex. Really.
I feel like I’ve had a fresh start.
I’ve really settled in an’ Gretna is a fabulous place to live. The winter outside the valley is brutal but
we’re doing okay. It isn’t summer, not
by any stretch, but it’s bearable. Christmas
shopping though … We can’t buy our own
stuff to give each other so I decided to come here an’ see how you’re doing,
maybe get to stay a few days to catch up.
It’s cheaper than a hotel room,” he explained, grinning. “But, if it’s a problem, just say an’ I’ll
leave.”
“A few days is fine,” Alex smiled.
“You’re sure? Cos your butler seemed to think it was a big
deal, me staying.”
“Ah, well, Andrew has a lot to
organize right now. We have a big
conference here beginning part of January.
You’re in a room he needs. But a
few days is okay. Don’t take this the
wrong way, Jack, but you’ll be out an’ gone in plenty of time.”
“Absolutely,” Jack promised.
“How’s the movie theater?” she asked.
“We’re not quite there yet. Actually, we’re not there at all. We’ve picked the location an’ gotten the
footings in. It’s going up. Won’t be finished till spring. In the meantime, we’re using the community
hall to show videos. I have to organize
it. They run Thursday thru
Sunday.” He sat back, smiling. “We tried a playhouse. Boy, big
mistake. The idea of a playhouse though
is good. We have lots of people keen to
tread the boards. But they approached
it the wrong way, the ‘Gretna’ way. It
caused uproar.”
“What happened?” she inquired, leaning
forward.
“You know how some of us channel for
artists an’ some channel for writers an’ composers? They thought we could do the same for actors, give ’em the chance
to .. act again. It was chaos, it
really was. All these flamboyant
characters arguing over what play to do.
They each have a favorite, y’know?
Completely, totally OTT. Then,
when they finally decide, they argue about who’s gonna play what role, who gets
star billing. We had to abandon that
idea. The temperaments led to tempers
being lost. We had to break up quite a
few professional fights. That is,
fights over professional, artistic differences. If we try again, we’ll keep it amateur. I think that could work well.
Gretna has a vast wealth of creative energy an’ a play pulls people
together in so many ways. Not just the
cast an’ the director, there’s the stage crew, sound effects, makeup, wardrobe,
advertising, ticket sales. It’s
something the whole town can become involved in – if not acting, they’ll be the
audience. An’ the audience one time can
act next time.”
Alex smiled. “It does sound wonderful.
And it’s a chance to do something .. regular.”
“Jason agrees. If it proves popular, they’re talking about
putting up a building specially for it.”
Jack drained his coffee and replaced the cup. “What’s the conference about?”
“All the various heads of the
Luna Foundation are coming here to hold a forum.”
“Here?” Jack queried. “All of them, here?”
“Sure,” Alex replied.
“They gonna be playing sardines?”
“We have the space, Jack. Kinda,” she qualified.
“Sure you do.”
Alex knew that voice, that fake
sincerity. It was his con man’s voice
and it filled her with sadness.
“We have another wing we’ve opened
up,” she began, dropping her gaze. “We
just need to get in there, get the rooms aired … ” The enormity of it all hit her again and she swallowed. “We’ll be fine.”
“Another wing? Wow.
I’d really like to see that. Can
I look?” Jack asked. “I’d be outta your
way for a while.”
She recognized that too – he was
wheedling, coaxing, and .. succeeding.
Alex really could use the time.
“Sure. Just .. don’t go upstairs, okay?
None of us have been up there yet.
We’ve been keeping it for Derek.”
“No problem,” he grinned. “Which way is it?”
*****
Profelis found Nick hurrying as
quickly as he dared thru lists of suppliers.
Andrew had given them to him in the order in which he required their
services. Nick looked round then turned
back to the keyboard.
“How’s it going?” he asked.
“I think I have your answer. I’ve spoken to everyone except Tigris. He’s unavailable.”
Nick remembered him from Desert
Dunes. Like all Enforcers, Tigris was
capable, unflagging, relentless and formidable. “Has he shown up in the area?”
“Not that I know. That doesn’t mean he isn’t here.”
Nick nodded. “Jack caused you any problems?”
“None. He’s very talkative. I
find it abrasive but I can cope for the short time he’s staying.”
“Good. Helps if you filter out half of what he says an’ take a quarter
of what’s left with a large pinch of salt.
He’s okay. Pretty harmless
really. Has his moments but he’s very
loyal to Alex. Now she’s here, Jack’ll
be a lot easier to manage.”
“Will you go to the hospital?”
Profelis inquired after a moment’s delicate pause.
Nick shook his head. “There’s no point. Peri isn’t there. If I
thought she was on the point of waking up, sure, I’d go, be there to meet
her. But she won’t wake up just
yet. It’s too soon. I’m better used here.”
“Do you mind if I go?”
Nick glanced round again. “You like her a lot, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. Our parents hoped that, one day, we would … It wasn’t fated to happen. But it doesn’t change the fact that I have
loved her nearly all my life.”
Nick’s gaze was steady.
“Nor does it alter the fact that I
know she loves you,” Profelis concluded.
“Does Peri know you feel this way?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m cool. You guys have too much integrity to cheat on
me with each other.”
Profelis looked as if a weight had
been lifted from his shoulders. “Then I
can go to the hospital?”
“Sure. Could you drop this list into Andrew on your way out?”
“No problem,” Profelis smiled.
*****
Rachel arrived later that afternoon
and gave a progress report on the flight and on Derek’s and Peri’s
conditions. It was over quickly – the
flight was without incident and the transfers had gone well, and there was no
change. Then, because she was very tired,
she left to go home and reassure Kat.
Alex felt all right and that was only
because Jack was there to distract her thoughts. Even if he said nothing, which would have been some kind of
miracle, his presence was a distraction.
She knew she had a mountain of work to clear but the accident had left
her feeling overwhelmed and leaderless.
She could cope with that now Jack was around. Nick was a rock but he kept his mouth shut. He rarely shared his feelings with
others. Alex needed that contact and
Jack was supplying it. As for learning
any more about her urge to get home .. Alex was still living in ignorance. However, she knew that she couldn’t force
the answers to come. She could try
concentrating on them to signal her readiness but the answers would arrive in
the form of hints and impulses only when the time was right. She ate supper with half an appetite then
had an early night.
Nick worked on for as long as he could
keep his eyes open then threw in the towel and called it a day. Jack had already retired and Profelis had
said he’d stay in town so Nick closed up the house and trudged wearily
upstairs. His last conscious thought
was ‘come back soon, babe. I miss you.’
The morning dawned gray and cold. Mist curled across the lawns and thru the
woods. Nick took his usual early hours
run to set him up for the day but it didn’t shift the loneliness and anxiety,
and the black emptiness in his heart over the loss of his child. There was only one person who might be able
to help him cope with that – and she wasn’t around.
Rachel arrived early. The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas
wasn’t a professionally busy one for her.
She’d found that the holiday season caused its own stresses and her
workload picked up noticeably in January.
But, for now, she had time to spare and she used it to help out where
she was most needed.
“How’s it going, Andrew? Is there anything I can help you with?”
His eyes half closed as he mentally
reviewed his lists. “I have the
security contractors arriving this afternoon to fit the monitors in the public
areas and the cleaning contractors arriving tomorrow to make a start on that
ballroom. I think that will take them
several days. Most of the upper rooms
have been opened, aired and stripped out.
I understand the few remaining must stay shut until Dr Rayne returns.”
“We feel it’s best,” Rachel
nodded. “They were closed many years
ago an’ no one’s been in them since.
They’re family rooms.”
“I understand. No, Dr Corrigan,” he announced, “I have
everything under control at the moment.
Believe me, you’ll know if I start to panic.”
“Andrew, you know I’m here if you need
me for anything at all. I don’t care
how down an’ dirty it has to be.”
“I do, Dr Corrigan. Thank you.”
She smiled at him and went on to the
control room. “Morning, Nick! How are you
doing?”
“Hanging in there,” he replied with a
quick but tired grin. “Keeping it all
on track. Derek’ll nail me to the wall
if I don’t.” He glanced round. “You seen Alex?”
“Not yet. I spoke with Andrew then came straight here. She missing?” Rachel frowned.
“Not been in here yet today an’ I
could use a hand with these lists.”
“I’ll help,” she offered, promptly
sitting at Alex’s workstation. “Pass
one over.”
He shuffled thru them and rose to hand
her the list of caterers. “The ones who
are clean an’ clear, check ’em off.
Anyone you’re not sure about, mark it for me to look into.”
“Aye, sir,” she saluted. “Where’re you going?”
“See if I can find Alex. It isn’t like her to not show at all.”
“She could be with Jack,” Rachel
suggested. “Derek being in the hospital
hit her hard, Nick. Don’t be so fast to
force her back into chains.”
“I won’t. I just wanna know she’s okay.
An’, sure, it’s possible she’s with Jack but I’ve seen him already. He was asking about her too.”
Rachel frowned. It wasn’t like Alex to just disappear, not
without a very good reason. But, if
anyone could track her down, it was Nick.
She started work.
*****
Nick slowed when he saw Alex standing so
still outside the closed door. She
looked uncertain, hesitant, and Nick wasn’t used to seeing her like that, no
matter how bad a situation became.
Abruptly, and a little belatedly, he realized that all the important
women in his life – from his mother on – were strong. Not necessarily physically strong but they each had guts. Nick was attracted to vulnerability, sure,
because that made him feel masculine but, if a woman was to gain a special
place in his life, it came down to them having guts.
“Alex ..?” he prompted and she jumped,
looking around with a guilty flush staining her cheeks.
“I didn’t do anything,” she said
quickly, stepping away from the door.
“I was .. I was just thinking about it.”
“About what?” he frowned.
Alex gestured almost helplessly at the
door. “Opening it.”
Nick glanced at it and his expression
cleared slightly. “That’s Winston’s
study, isn’t it?”
“I think so.” She shrugged. “I know we agreed to leave these rooms for Derek. All I was going to do was .. open the door. Let the air in. I wasn’t going in there.
But I don’t know if I should.”
“What made you think of it?” Nick
asked.
Alex shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe it was Jack. Maybe
it was simply anxiety. I have so much
to do, Nick, yet I find myself standing here staring at a closed door.”
“Wow .. this is something else … ”
They turned, both slightly irritated
by Jack’s arrival into what was a private moment. He trailed erratically along the corridor toward them, his eyes
wide in the gloom.
“I never realized this house is as big
as it is.” Jack came to a halt. “An’ then I find there’s even more of
it. What’s in here?”
Before they could reply or even move,
Jack had stretched out a hand and twisted the ornate brass knob. The door
creaked a little but he shoved it open.
“Jack!” Alex exclaimed in dismay. She’d told him to keep his explorations
downstairs and now he’d intruded on Derek’s private space.
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked,
letting go of the door handle as if it had grown hot. “You didn’t say not to.”
“You didn’t give us the chance,” Nick
pointed out but his words weren’t heard.
Jack was staring into the shadowy interior of Winston’s study, his
Adam’s apple bobbing quickly as he swallowed.
Alex frowned and stared in as
well. “Can you see something?” she
whispered.
Nick carefully eased his gun in its
holster. Winston Rayne had caused a lot
of trouble every time he’d come back and this was his study. Nick wasn’t going to take any chances.
“Yeah,” Jack muttered. “There are two guys in there. I don’t know one of ’em but I do know the
other.” He swallowed again and took a
step back. “They’re looking at me.”
“Who is it?” Alex urged, still willing
herself desperately to see what he did.
Jack shrugged. “It’s Derek.”
*****
Derek was cursing silently. The others would have been surprised and
shocked to hear the invective in his mind.
Being a spirit essence was a great way of getting into locked buildings
and closed rooms, and even sneaking rides on the BART, but he was learning exactly
what it meant to be a ghost. There was
no physical interaction. Derek needed
to look at his father’s journals. But
he couldn’t touch them. Couldn’t open
them. He couldn’t even open the drawer
in the desk where he thought they might have been. All he could do was stand and curse his impotence.
“There’s a man there,” William
remarked. “In the corridor just outside
the door. I think he can see us.”
Derek glanced round and felt a mix of
very strong emotions. Inwardly, he
groaned. He could see Nick and Alex
but, in front of them, right in the doorway, was the last person he wanted to
see.
“Who is he?” William asked.
“Jack. That’s all you need to know.
It’s a long story, William, and we don’t have the time.”
William accepted this but said, “Maybe
he can help.”
Derek shuddered. He liked Jack. He trusted Jack’s ability and, to a lesser degree, Jack
himself. When he’d had no memory of his
past, Derek had been happy to use him.
But that was different now. Jack
knew who he was and what he’d been. He
might be living in Gretna but Derek held the opinion that a dyed in the wool
con man like Jack couldn’t really change, not deep down inside. He might try but there would always be a
streak of yellow which would force him to revert to what he knew best when
trouble grew too big to handle.
The idea of Jack reading Winston’s
journals was abhorrent.
“If he can see us,” William went on,
“maybe we can get a message to the others thru him.”
That was more realistic. Derek could cope with that.
“Jack, can you hear me?” he asked,
taking a step closer. Jack took a step
away. “This is important, Jack! Can you hear me?”
Jack’s eyes narrowed.
*****
“If one of ’em’s Derek, who’s the
other?” Nick demanded. “An’ where’s
Peri?”
“What are they doing?” Alex inquired
as Jack took a step back.
“Looking at me,” he said in a slightly
choked voice. “Derek’s saying
something. I think he’s talking to
me. I can’t hear him.” His eyes narrowed. “I could read lips once.
Found it useful .. in the past.
Let me concentrate.” He watched
the apparition. “He’s saying .. can you
hear me? Oh. No, Derek, I can’t hear you,” he said clearly. “Can you
hear me?”
“What are they doing now?” Alex
whispered.
“Talking to each other. He’s turning back. All right, he’s saying .. he’s okay, he has a .. a mystery to
solve. He wants you to find … ” Jack eased forward again, his mouth
working. “It’s a name. I can’t get it. Derek, slowly, okay?”
“Where’s Peri?” Nick repeated. “Ask him that.”
“Yeah, okay, in a while. Sal .. low .. me .. mack .. in .. tosh. Salome Macintosh. Nick wants to know where Peri is.”
He frowned and nodded as he
concentrated.
“She’s fine. Body .. guard .. duties for .. Will .. e .. am. William.”
Nick turned away, his hands curling
into fists. William. William Sloan. She had lost their baby so she could protect a dead guy. How unfair was that? Even after he was dead, William Sloan still
managed to screw over Nick’s life.
“Who’s William?” Jack frowned. “Oh .. the guy with Derek. He’s very insistent, Alex. He wants you to find Salome Macintosh.”
“Tell him we’ll start straight away,”
she responded. “How much longer will he
be gone?”
“You mean he isn’t dead?” Jack
exclaimed. “That isn’t his ghost I’m
seeing?”
“Just ask him,” Alex urged.
Jack looked into the room again. “How ..?
Oh. They’ve gone.”
*****
Rachel looked round as Nick stalked
into the control room. “Did you find
her ..? Nick?”
“Not now,” Nick muttered.
“Okay, wait up!” she declared,
sounding more than a little irritated.
But Nick froze in his tracks so she got the response she wanted. “I won’t ask what happened, all right?”
Rachel continued, coming into his field of view. “I just want you to remember this – Derek isn’t here, you
are. We look to you for leadership, to
hold us together. It may be short term,
it may be a little longer, but it isn’t permanent. Don’t go all isolated on us, Nick. Don’t pull away. Alex an’
I have walked that path before an’ it is very lonely. We need you here, with us.”
She looked into the cold, clear depths
of his eyes. Rachel almost flinched
under that relentless stare but she didn’t.
She held firm.
“Okay,” Nick said at last, and Rachel
broke eye contact by looking down. “I’m
sorry. It isn’t you or Alex. Or Jack.
It’s .. this situation.”
Rachel nodded. “You know more than you can tell us or share
with us right now an’ it’s giving you a little stress. So go knock ten hells outta the punch bag. We’ll feel better.”
A grin twitched the corner of his
mouth. “Will I feel better?”
“That’ll be a bonus,” Rachel
commented, a small grin tugging at her mouth as well. “Whatever it is, Alex an’ I can cope with it for an hour. Remember me saying about how Alex has taken
it hard? Hate to tell you this, tough
guy, but you’re only human too. Give
yourself a break. Go work it off.”
“Thanks, skipper,” Nick murmured.
She followed him back into the
library. “Did you find Alex?”
“Yeah. Jack’s with her,” he responded, heading out into the corridor and
picking up speed. “Old wing.”
Or should that be the new wing, Rachel
wondered as she set off determinedly in the opposite direction. It is old in that it’s the only part of the
original house but it’s new because, until very recently, none of us had been
inside. It’s like a treasure chest or a
child’s box of dressing up clothes.
Each time we dip into it, we find something different or learn some new
fact.
She met Alex and Jack coming toward
her, deep in conversation. “Did either
of you say something to Nick which he could have taken as .. provocative?” she
asked.
“No,” Alex replied warily, her eyes
startled. “Has he lost it?”
“He’s in the gym,” Rachel
responded. “I’d leave him alone for a
while.”
“I think I know what’s done that. Jack opened the study,” Alex related and now
Rachel looked startled. “We didn’t go
in.”
“There was no need. Someone was already in there,” Jack
explained and only confused matters even more.
“He saw Derek and another man.”
“Not – ?” Rachel began, her heart
sinking and, perversely, starting to hammer.
If Winston had his claws into Derek, it turned everything around.
“William,” Alex cut in. “Let’s get to the library. We’ll bring you up to speed.”
It’s about time, Rachel thought as she
turned to retrace her steps.
*****
“Why here?” William demanded
helplessly. “We were just starting to
make progress!”
“Hardly,” Derek murmured. He looked in pain.
“This isn’t limbo. This is the real world. I didn’t bring us here,” William said.
Derek stared at his body, so still in
the hospital bed. So vulnerable and
powerless. His body looked like he felt
– subject to the whims of others.
Except this hadn’t been another’s work.
This was down to him.
“I did,” he replied and closed his eyes. “I felt .. drawn back.”
“You can’t leave me, Derek!” William
protested. “You haven’t finished the
work. If you go back now, how will we
communicate? You won’t see me or hear
me.”
Derek didn’t snap although the words
rose in his mind. William’s surface
attitude appeared very selfish, but, in his present circumstances, maybe it was
justified. Derek realized now that
William was frightened. And harsh,
selfish words often came from fear rather than pure self-interest.
“William, listen to me. I have done as much as I can in this
form. My work, my contribution to
solving this puzzle, isn’t over. I just
have to continue in another form. I
have to .. be me. Peri can control when
she returns to her body. I’m not that
experienced. And, if you are scared, go
back to the house. It has Enforcer
protection. You’ll be safe there. And don’t forget Jack can see you, even if
he can’t hear you. He can act as a go
between.”
The pulling sensation was becoming
very painful to resist. Derek staggered
sideways toward the bed as he reached out a hand to clutch at William’s
forearm.
“I promised to help you and I won’t
forget that promise. I won’t stop
working on this until I have found the answers and a solution.”
William put his hand over Derek’s and
nodded. “I’ll find Aquila. Go.”
He didn’t have any choice. Derek slid into a horizontal position and
felt a sharp thrill of panic as he floated over his body and began to slowly
descend. William watched and, in turn,
felt a small thrill of envy because he didn’t have a body to return to. At least, he didn’t yet. If Derek and Merlin failed, he might find
himself walking and talking again, and his envy turned to dread.
Derek vanished and the monitors’ beeps
changed. Heart rate increased,
respiration quickened. An alarm
sounded. A few seconds later, the door
burst open and two nurses hurried in.
Derek’s eyes were opening.
“He’s left us then,” Merlin remarked
from the doorway.
“Yes,” William nodded. “He couldn’t stay. I think he would have, if he could. He said he was being pulled back.”
“It happens. His time was up. He’d
done as much as he could an’ it was time to go back.”
“He said much the same thing,” William
sighed, then glanced back over his shoulder as the nurses went to work. “You won’t leave me, will you?”
Merlin shook her head. “Not till you’re safely back over the
river.”
“Do you promise?”
“No, William, I don’t promise because
I may have to temporarily be elsewhere.
However, you will be safe – that I promise.”
“On my own.”
“I want you to meet Tigris. Tigris is working with me on this one.”
The man in the corridor nodded once.
“If I have to go away, Tigris will be
with you. You will be safe. I promise.”
She turned to her companion.
“We’d better get going. We’ll
see you on the island.”
He nodded again. “I’ll wait here and bring Dr Rayne
home. You can break the good news to
them.”
“Yeah,” Merlin said, forcing a
smile. “Later then. C’mon William, time to hustle.”
*****
“William?” Rachel echoed. “William Sloan?”
“That’s the only William I know who’d
be with Derek,” Alex replied. “And Jack
described him to me. It sounds like the
William I remember.”
“How typical is this?” Rachel
muttered, raking a hand thru her hair.
“Can I just clear up a few things?” Jack
interrupted hesitantly. “One, Derek
isn’t dead. Right?”
“He’s in a coma. I told you,” Alex replied.
“Right. And William is
dead. Right?” he queried.
“Yes.
We went to his funeral,” Rachel said.
“But they’re both ghosts.”
They hesitated, noses wrinkling. “Derek is .. more having a prolonged out of
body experience,” Alex eventually explained.
“And William .. well, I guess he is
a ghost but … ”
“But he shouldn’t be,” Rachel
concluded. “As far as we all knew, he
was .. really gone. But, there again,
William Sloan has .. had .. has a tendency to take the most innocent,
innocuous, inoffensive situation an’ turn it completely around, on its head an’
upside down. A day which began with
nothing can end up fraught with all kinds of … ” She closed her eyes and shook her head, almost like she was
trying to shake off a bad mood.
“Y’know, I was sad when he died but, an’ this sounds terrible, in a
small way I was pleased he was gone. It
wasn’t that I disliked him but I
really found his .. attitude an’ his political warmongering difficult to deal
with. When he died, I thought .. it’s
over. We can let peace truly break
out.”
William was standing behind Jack’s
chair. “Did she really feel that? Pleased?”
“Rachel doesn’t lie about her
feelings, William,” Merlin replied.
“Why would she lie? She can’t
see you. She doesn’t know you’re
eavesdropping.”
He sighed softly. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my
life. I always thought Rachel was a
fine addition to the Legacy. Not just
to this team but to the organization as a whole. I thought I’d told her that.”
“Maybe you did but it could’ve come
out the wrong way.” Merlin
shrugged. “I’ve read that communication
is only seven per cent words. Rest of
it is tone of voice an’ the majority of it is body language. Think for a second. ‘You’re a fine addition to the Legacy,
Rachel’ – sounds good. Good words. Inspiring words when coupled with firm eye
contact and a handshake or a pat on the upper arm or shoulder. But, if you said them briskly, nonchalantly,
while you were reading a report …
Totally different message. Comes
across as patronizing. Especially so
if, in the next breath, you start stirring the shit.”
Alex was nodding. “I felt numb. I couldn’t believe he was gone.
It was .. so sudden. Unexpected. He’d done a truly noble thing, and not for
the first time either.”
William straightened slightly. “That’s true. I have put myself on the line for Derek Rayne more than
once. And I paid the price in full.”
“But he was .. I can’t say two faced
but I could never really trust him,” Alex continued. “His eyes were like mirrors, reflecting my own emotions back at
me rather than revealing his own. And,
if you can’t read a person’s eyes .. you don’t connect.”
William sagged again. “Another one who never understood me.”
“In her own way, she did. If she was wrong, you never put her
right. People really are the center of
their own universe, William. All we
have are our eyes an’ ears to perceive the world an’ those around us. There are other senses too, yeah, but I
don’t go around licking someone’s face or sniffing their body odor to learn
about them. I rely mostly on sight an’
sound, just like everyone else.”
“And you use that to mask yourself.”
“Sure. Self defense. Alex isn’t
like me so don’t compare us. Did you
ever tell her, honestly, what you thought of her?”
“I admired her dedication, her
passion.”
“But did you tell her?”
He didn’t reply. He couldn’t.
*****
Nick grimaced as he punched the bag
and let it swing away.
“Feel better?”
He turned smartly, his mouth
drying. The bag swung back and he
steadied it. “Peri ..?”
“Aquila. Peri is still in the hospital.
Merlin is in the library with William.”
Nick blinked. “There’s three
of you now?”
Aquila smiled tautly. “Only one.
Three aspects – but this is an unusual situation. I can’t stay long. Derek has woken. He’ll be
home soon. He’ll be frail for a while
and he’ll need your help.”
“Sure. Whatever. Does Peri – ?”
“Personal is on hold until this is
over, Nick,” she cut in, her voice stern.
“Don’t judge, not till you know the facts. William is the victim, not the protagonist. He is in danger.”
Nick took one last punch but it was
half hearted. “Danger of what?”
“Resurrection.”
He stared at her but she offered
nothing more.
“What progress has been made on
tracing Salome Macintosh?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then find out,” Aquila ordered and
vanished.
“Yes, ma’am,” Nick breathed and left
the gym.
*****
“So this William was some kinda
bastard, huh?” Jack ventured.
“No!” Alex exclaimed and caught
Rachel’s expression. “Well .. in one
way, yeah, kinda. He was just .. very
driven to his own agenda.”
“Oh ..! A man of ambition, with clear goals an’ he went for ’em,” Jack
translated. “I can understand
that. I’m from the same mold.”
“No, Jack, you’re not,” Alex
declared. “When push comes to shove,
you do the right thing with little thought for yourself. William did what was best for him .. apart
from on two occasions. I have to be
fair.”
“Who is Jack?” William asked. “He
does seem to understand me the best.”
“A reformed con man,” Merlin answered,
her face innocent.
Aquila appeared beside her. “Nick’s on his way.”
“How is he?” Merlin asked.
“We don’t have time for personal,”
William interjected, his voice brisk and distant.
“Not my personal, you mean. Your personal is fine.”
His nostrils flared very
slightly. “You have time. You have the
rest of your life to discuss whatever trivial matters concern you and your
husband. I don’t. I’m not interested
in your personal life. I was told to
choose an Enforcer and I chose the very best.
You’re working for me, both of you, and I expect you to be focused on
me.”
“I’ve already told Nick personal is on
hold,” Aquila stated, then turned to face him.
“However, I would ask you to consider the fact that Nick’s wife is in
the hospital, in a coma, following an air crash. A crash caused deliberately so that I can be here to guard
you. Allow Nick some leeway with his
personal concerns. You will need his
help, William.”
Alex looked round at the sound of
footsteps then Nick came in.
“What have you done about Salome
Macintosh?” he asked.
“Nothing yet. I was – ”
“Get on it. Derek’s awake. He’ll be
home soon.”
“I never heard the phone,” Rachel
frowned. “How do you know?”
“Personal message.” His gaze swiveled to the other person in the
room. “Jack, we’re busy right now so
I’m gonna ask you to go help Andrew. He
has a ton of stuff to deal with an’ you’ll be useful to him.”
“Sure. Kitchen?”
“Right.”
Nick watched Jack cheerfully hurry out
and he waited till the footsteps had receded.
“Aquila told me. And she said
that William’s the victim this time an’ that he’s in danger.”
“Mr Boyle always had a direct
approach. No nonsense. You had to get up very early to catch him
out. I found it refreshing,” William
remarked. “Kept me on my toes. He liked to guard Derek’s little secrets and
he was always very loyal to his Precept.”
Alex rose from her chair at the
table. “Danger?”
“Of resurrection,” Nick added.
That seemed to spur them on and Rachel
rose too. “Who’s Salome Macintosh? Alex never got that far.”
“We don’t know but Derek wants us to
trace her,” Alex replied, going into the control room.
“Right. Piece of cake. Any idea
where we start?” Rachel inquired cynically, following her.
Nick slowed, his eyes narrowing. “If William’s involved, we could try
Patricia.”
“And, if they were both in Winston’s
study, we could try Winston,” Alex suggested.
Rachel smiled brightly. “Why don’t we just start with William?”
“Because his file is closed and
secured,” Alex replied.
“It’s never stopped us before,” Nick
breathed.
William drifted thru the wall after
them. “You see? Some might call that devious but I’ve always
seen it as loyalty to his Precept. I wish
more people in the Legacy were like the people in this house.”
Behind him, Merlin slowly shook her
head and thought ‘and that’s why you were forced to resign, William.’
*****
“Dr Rayne ..?”
Derek opened his eyes and peered up
into a face he didn’t know but somehow recognized as being a face he could
trust. It was the white strands of hair
which did it.
“I’m Tigris. I’m here to take you home.”
“Good.” There was fat satisfaction in Derek’s voice which was raspy thru
non-use. “Get me the forms to sign so I
can discharge myself. I have too much
to do to waste any more time in here.”
Tigris went out and Derek struggled
upright. His vision swam and he swayed
but he fought it and swung his legs to the ground. That brought him to a standstill and he was still sitting on the
edge of the bed when Tigris returned with a clipboard.
“They’re resisting, Dr Rayne. They say you need several more days to
recuperate and begin physical therapy.”
“I can do that later,” Derek dismissed,
taking the pen and signing his name.
“Right now, my main effort is mental, not physical. I have a mystery to solve. I must get into my father’s study and I
cannot do that here. Find my clothes.”
Tigris began opening doors. “Ah.
It appears they’ve all been removed.
However … ” He glanced back to
take a sweeping look at the frustrated figure on the bed. “I believe these will fit.”
“Thank God for giving Enforcers the
tools to do the job,” Derek muttered.
“Help me.” As Tigris bent to help
Derek on with socks, Derek asked, “Do they know I’m awake?”
“Aquila will tell Nick.”
“By now, Alex will be attempting to
trace Salome Macintosh.”
“Is she important?” Tigris inquired.
“I believe she is the key to
this. And, if she isn’t, she knows who
the key is.”
“The answers are in your father’s
study?” Tigris ventured.
Derek shook his head. “No.
What’s in there is either vindication or damnation.”
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