Depart the Darkness

by Melissa R. L. Simonin

  “No, but they’ll think it’s cool,” Miles said. “They’ll decide they don’t need to attend a puppy training class.”

  “Do they?” I wondered. “Imagine how inferior that would make the other puppies and their people feel!”

  “I hope our pups don’t result in dooming future service dog trainees at the center as being labeled too dull for the job.”

  “No kidding!” I exclaimed. “Our trainers will come to wonder why they have to do anything other than explain, in order to get the behavior they want.”

  “We may have to tell the pups to pretend not to be as smart as they really are,” Miles said. “The trainers need to feel useful. They need to stay in practice. They’re going to have regular pups to train at some point.”

  “Then we’ll just have to tell them, and be very specific about it,” I concluded. “Otherwise, they might do ordinary puppy things like pee on the floor. Or eat through a wall. Xander said he had a dog who did that.”

  “Yes, let’s be very specific!” agreed Miles. “I’d hate to confuse our trainees into devouring the training center.”

  I laughed at that thought, and Miles texted our friends.

  Soon we were gathered in our sitting room with bowls of popcorn and a blazing fire, in the fireplace.

  Chip and Trixie were stretched out in front of it, with Pandora wedged between them. Night had to be as close to the fire as possible, and that’s exactly where he was. He took up the brief space between the fireplace screen and the rest of our pets. I didn’t think I was imagining the smell of singed fur.

  I tried to call him away, but he absolutely refused to move.

  I resigned myself to having a burnt cat, and tried to gain comfort from the thought that if he burst into flame, Miles could probably put it out with a force field.

  “Have you heard from Phillip?” Annette asked.

  “Yes. He and his family are doing very well,” Miles answered. “Anika and I visited Steve today, and updated him. He’ll tell their mother.”

  “That’ll be so hard on her,” Jenny sympathized.

  “She can still communicate with them,” I said. “She can see them, too. It’ll have to be arranged through us, and proper precautions taken, of course. But they haven’t lost each other.”

  “Does Steve know everything?” Xander wondered.

  “As much he needs to,” Miles replied. “He knows Phillip was trying to protect his family from a serious threat.”

  “He knows Phillip was between a rock and a hard place,” I added. “There was no scenario that would end well. Not if he went to the police, not if he went to Intersect security, not if he quit…”

  “What a horrible position to be in,” Jenny said sympathetically, and we all agreed.

  “It was a no-win situation,” John said. “All he had to do to realize that, was to look at what happened to Aaron Fellows and Elliott Reams.”

  “Exactly,” Miles nodded. “Phillip’s plan was option number three, which was to disappear. Steve knows that now. Phillip never intended to take the kids and leave Lorna, or to hurt Lorna or the kids. Instead, he was desperate to protect his family and get them out of there as soon as possible.”

  “Nothing was as it seems,” I said. “We’ve often found that to be true, and it was in this case as well.”

  “Phillip couldn’t risk relying on a government agency for help,” Miles said. “He couldn’t trust that they’d believe him at all, much less act fast enough to keep Lorna and the kids safe.”

  “I can’t imagine being in his place,” said Xander, shaking his head. “What else could the poor guy do, besides what he did?”

  “I don’t know,” I replied, thinking out loud. “He could’ve told Lorna. That would’ve been better for both of them, and the kids. They might have come up with a solution together.”

  “Then again, Steve wouldn’t have made the observations he did,” John pointed out. “Not if Lorna knew, and they were working together.”

  “Steve wouldn’t have thought Phillip was a danger to his sister and their kids,” Annette agreed. “Which means there would have been no darkness hovering over him, which is what brought this to your attention, and got you both involved.”

  “It all worked out,” Miles said. “Anika didn’t just stumble onto this, though.”

  “That’s the truth,” I realized. “Like everyone else we’ve helped—or brought down, as the case may be—they were placed in our path. Somehow that would’ve happened even if Steve didn’t become desperate and decide killing his brother-in-law was the answer.”

  “How horrible if he carried that out,” Jenny said, growing pale at the thought.

  “Steve is sick at how close he came,” I said. “The more he entertained the darkness, the more it convinced him that was the only way to protect his sister, niece, and nephew.”

  “The darkness convinced him?” Jenny asked apprehensively.

  “Yes,” I said, giving that some thought. “The darkness is the opposite of truth. So… yes. Some people desire darkness, and others… it tries to convince. It’s the master of manipulation. It often misrepresents the truth so that it appears to support what’s false.”

  “That’s terrifying,” Jenny said, and shuddered.

  “It is, but if you think about it, it’s nothing new,” I replied. “I see one kind of darkness. But we’ve all felt that pull to do what we know deep down, isn’t right. We’ve all cooperated in trying to justify whatever it is we want, but doubt we should have, or do, or whatever. I know I have, anyway.”

  “So have I,” Miles said. Everyone looked at him in surprise. Because after all, the man is as close to perfect as you can get in wholly human form!

  He decided to elaborate on that.

  “I wanted to believe that I should stay with Anika, instead of going along with her plan to free me. As long as I was with her, she would be safe. Nothing would hurt her again, not physically anyway. It was a major struggle, and the most difficult I’ve ever faced. I argued back and forth, wanting that to be right. But… it wasn’t. I knew that. I kept choosing what I knew in my soul was right, but it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I continued to struggle with that temptation up until the moment we read the letter.”

  “So it’s a type of darkness,” John said, thinking it through. “A different type, but still darkness. A conscious—thing—that wants to convince us to feel justified in following its agenda.”

  “That’s the truth,” I said.

  “I am officially creeped out, man!” Xander exclaimed, looking around nervously.

  “You’ll never look at temptation the same way again,” Miles said. “Not when you see it for what it is.”

  “It’s a real thing that wants to destroy us, all of us, everyone,” I added. “It’s an imitator. It will imitate the truth, and masquerade as our own thoughts, it’ll point out random events and try and convince us that they’re signs. It’s real, and knowing that robs it of its power. As long as we don’t forget.”

  “I don’t see that happening,” John replied. He and the rest of our friends were pale.

  “I assumed we already talked about this with all of you,” I said, a little surprised.

  “This isn’t the kind of conversation you forget,” Annette said. “No, we never talked about this before.”

  “Well… you don’t need to be so scared,” I tried to reassure them. “Look at what happened with Steve. The darkness, what I see, was all over him, convincing him he should kill Phillip. But that darkness had no real power. Once Steve saw it for what it was, he turned away from it. That lie no longer had a hold. There is darkness of all kinds waiting to seize an opportunity. But we’ve all got The Truth. We’re not defenseless against the lies of darkness. Hardly.”

  “Remember what The Truth is, and don’t be argued out of it,” Miles said.

  “And don’t forget that darkness is real, and has an agenda,” Xander added. “I’ll never look at it the same way again.”

&
nbsp; “Neither will I,” Annette said.

  “Neither will any of us,” Jenny agreed. “I think it’s a shame you can’t lead a discussion in the youth group, or at camp, about this.”

  “Well… you can,” I said. “Just leave out the part about having a friend who sees a particular kind of darkness, or that she and her husband fight crime, and he has superpowers and is a hundred and sixty-six years old.”

  “Don’t prematurely age me, dear,” Miles replied. “I won’t be a hundred and sixty-six for a couple more months.”

  Our friends thought that was funny, and their tense expressions disappeared.

  “They’d respond to the truth just like your mother does!” Jenny laughed.

  “You’re probably right,” I smiled.

  “It’s a great story though,” Annette said. “You should write it. No one has to know it’s an autobiography.”

  “Maybe someday,” I shrugged.

  I saw Miles take his iPhone out of his pocket and glance at it. He looked satisfied, then put it back.

  “Leanne thought we’d like to know that Dillon Graves responded to our offer.”

  “He did say yes, right?” Jenny asked.

  “Of course!” I replied, bouncing in my excitement. “Anyone who gets an offer to interview from the Bannermans is going to take it. Otherwise, they’re certifiable.”

  “Phillip didn’t though,” Annette said, frowning a little.

  “Phillip never got it,” I replied. “He has more than one email account, and only monitors a couple of them regularly.”

  “We’re doing things differently this time anyway,” Miles said. “This isn’t a personal invitation. This offer was extended by our hiring manager.”

  “It’s all very official,” I added. “And impressive.”

  “Good,” John said. “That’s what we want.”

  “If he isn’t impressed already, he soon will be,” Miles replied. “Do you have your questions ready?”

  “Yes, I think so,” John smiled with anticipation. “This is one technical interview he’ll never forget.”

  “Good,” Xander said, and he looked angry. “I’d like to see the guy taken down several notches, the way he does other people.”

  “Wear a suit and don’t look like you enjoy the torture too much, and you can join us,” Miles said.

  Xander laughed, and the anger left his eyes.

  “The suit I could manage. The rest… no.”

  “Then we’ll tell you all about it after the fact,” John said. “I can’t get over how arrogant this guy is. He made fun of Phillip for being certified, as if somehow that’s a negative. He’s about to find out just how tough those exams are to pass.”

  The thought made John smile.

  “But… what if he does answer the questions correctly?” Jenny asked, worry furrowing her forehead.

  Miles smiled, and John laughed.

  “No, see, that’s the beauty of it,” John replied. “However he tries to solve the problem… the answer will be something else. When it comes to troubleshooting, there are lots of possible options. Regardless of what he says, it won’t be the right one.”

  “The longer he struggles over that, the more stressed out he’ll be,” I said. “When he’s sweating bullets, then we’ll switch gears and I’ll ask my questions.”

  “He’ll be completely off balance by that time,” Annette said. “He’ll either blurt out the truth, or lie without being clever about it.”

  “Right, because the more he says, the better,” I acknowledged. “Although… lately, part of the time I’ve been getting information I don’t ask for. Like in the airport, with that guy. Still, I can’t count on that. I’ve got to ask the right questions, and get the answers to those questions. Not the answers to some other question.”

  “We want him off balance,” Miles said. “Otherwise, considering his level of arrogance, he could very well laugh off Anika’s questions.”

  “He’ll be so off balance by the time we’re done with him, he’ll struggle to stay upright in his seat,” John said. He sounded rather gleeful.

  But seriously, who in the room didn’t? After everything we learned from the truth, we felt severely hostile toward this Dillon Graves creep!

  “Where will you hold the interview?” Jenny wondered.

  “One of the conference rooms at our office complex in Glen Haven,” I replied.

  “Ooh, that’s a nice building,” Annette commented.

  “Precisely,” I said. “Ordinarily we try and make people as comfortable as possible, not impress them into submission. Have we ever held an interview at the office complex before?”

  “No,” Miles replied. “Coffee shops, one of the Lodge’s meeting rooms, our office at the Lodge, the parlor at the estate, Mission Control, the hotel conference room, the Cedar Oaks Hotel conference room…”

  “You guys do a lot of interviews,” Jenny said, sounding impressed.

  “We do a lot of hiring,” I replied.

  “You guys should show up late,” Xander declared.

  “We will,” Miles said. “Not excessively, but we won’t be waiting in the conference room when he gets there.”

  “Have you figured out what you’ll ask him?” Jenny wondered.

  “No,” I replied. “So help us come up with some questions. The fewer the better. One which is all-encompassing, is best of all.”

  “That’s not hard,” Xander replied. “Getting him to answer would be, though. He’d know you knew too much already. He’d refuse to talk, no matter how off-kilter John gets him.”

  “Exactly,” Miles said. “So help us come up with something that won’t tip him off, but will give Anika the truth when he lies about it.”

  Our friends thought about that a little, and so did we.

  “It can’t be answered by a simple yes and no, either,” I remembered to say. “Generally, that’s all we need. ‘Are you responsible?’ ‘Are you trustworthy?’ ‘Will you be tempted to abuse the responsibility that comes with this position, and misuse funds?’ But this is different. I need more than a yes or no.”

  “What crime have you committed, and what evidence is there to convict you?” Annette said.

  Miles and I looked at each other.

  “Think we can get him off balance to the point he’ll answer that?” I asked doubtfully.

  “Or will he reply with, ‘what?’ instead,” Miles said.

  “He’ll go with ‘what,’” Xander stated. “Don’t use ‘convict.’ It’s on his mind, it’s what he’s trying to avoid by pinning his illegal activity on other people.”

  “Have you ever abused responsibility for your own personal gain?” suggested Jenny, then she made a face. “But all that will get you, is a no.”

  “If you’ve ever abused your position for your own personal gain, in what way have you done so?” said Miles.

  “That’s good, that’ll work,” I said, pleased with that one. “As long as he’s distracted enough.”

  “He will be,” John said with certainty.

  “It’s a legitimate question,” Miles pointed out. “It isn’t unlike those we would ask of anyone we interview. We want to get this guy, but don’t forget, he wants to get this position. He’s going to answer.”

  “That’s true,” I said. “If he’s done his homework, he’ll expect some strange interview questions. We’re known for that.”

  “How perfect,” Annette said.

  “Ask about working on a team,” John suggested. “How does he support his teammates, or how about ‘in what way could you better support your teammates?’”

  “That might work,” I said thoughtfully.

  “Will that get you the truth in words, or will you see the truth that’s actually transpired?” Miles wondered.

  “Words, probably. So… in what way do you best support your fellow employees at your current place of work? In what way do you least support them?”

  “Excellent,” Xander said with satisfaction. “So how do y
ou get the evidence, though?”

  “Hopefully it will be included in the truth I learn. If it isn’t… I may have to wing it.”

  “Not for the first time,” Miles said. “If it comes down to it, we’ll throw him off with unrelated questions. What’s your favorite color? What’s your least favorite flavor of ice cream?”

  “This is going to be a lot of fun,” John smiled.

  “Aw, man! I want to throw the guy off with weird questions…” Xander said, crossing his arms as he leaned back in his seat. He didn’t look as annoyed as he sounded, though.

  “Wear a suit, show up late, and don’t act like you enjoy it too much,” John promptly replied.

  “Yeah, well, maybe I will…” Xander said.

  I laughed.

  “You’re telling the truth,” I said.

  “Wear a suit, show up late, don’t act like you enjoy it too much, and keep the glare to a minimum,” Miles told him, and Xander laughed too.

  “Alright, I’m in. So when are we doing this?”

  “Tomorrow,” Miles said, and everyone looked surprised, including me! He felt the need to elaborate. “It was a gamble, but we do want Dillon Graves to feel pressure. He was given one choice. Tomorrow at three o’ clock.”

  “Oh my goodness, that was some gamble!” I exclaimed.

  “It was, but… it worked. Three o’ clock tomorrow.”

  “What would you do if he couldn’t make it?” Annette wondered, asking the question for all of us.

  “He couldn’t make it,” Miles replied, and we looked surprised again. “On such short notice and out of the blue, I didn’t expect him to. What I did expect, and suspect, is that the minute he got off the phone with Leanne, he started to research. Fifteen minutes later, he called her back. By then, he had to beg for a second chance. Which, she then grudgingly gave him.”

  “Wow,” I said.

  “You’re good,” Xander declared.

  We all looked impressed. Miles just shrugged.

  “Well all I can say is, I’m glad you’re on our side!” I exclaimed, and he smiled.

  “That, you can count on. Always.”

  Chapter 18

  We spent the morning in the usual way. Walk Chip and Trixie, feed the puppies, take the puppies out, bring the puppies back, eat breakfast, then tend to Lodge business. And other business, which did often crop up, considering how many businesses we owned. We had competent managers who took care of most things, just like we had a competent accountant and accounting firm. We wanted to stay informed though, so we did. And that took a chunk out of most days.