Initiates (The Book of Adam 3)

by Scott Gelowitz

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  All afternoon Adam couldn’t concentrate on anything Horton was teaching. He had decided that he would ask Horton some questions right after the classes were done for the day, and when Horton had left them alone to work for a minute, Adam told the others to leave without him when the class was over. All that was left to do was wait.

  The waiting seemed to take forever, and because of Horton’s unconventional teaching style, you could never be too sure when the end of the day was going to come. He had let them go as early as 3 o’clock in the past, and kept them as late as 6 o’clock. Except for lunchtime, he was never in a hurry to finish for the day.

  Thankfully, around 4 o’clock Horton asked how they were doing with the last assignment. Only Adam had yet to complete his, due to his trouble concentrating.

  “As soon as Adam is done, you can go,” said Horton, and he returned to his office.

  Adam finished the last math equation, then closed his books and waved the others out the door. While they were leaving he walked over to Horton’s office and knocked.

  “Come in,” said Horton.

  Adam opened the door and stuck his head inside.

  “If you’re finished you can go,” said Horton.

  “I was just hoping I could talk to you,” said Adam.

  “Sure. Sit down,” said Horton, gesturing to one of the chairs at his desk. The usual one Adam sat in during his interviews was gone.

  “What happened to the other chair?” asked Adam.

  “It needed some screws tightened,” said Horton without missing a beat. “So what can I help you with?”

  Adam wasn’t sure how to approach the subject, so he decided to just get straight to the question.

  “It’s about my Dad,” said Adam, and Horton nodded. “I’m wondering what he was working on before he died. Do you know?”

  Horton eyed Adam with suspicion. “Does this have to do with the Heartstone? I told you he wouldn’t want you trying to find it.”

  “Yes and no. I’d like to know what he was doing whether it has to do with the Heartstone or not.”

  Horton continued to look at Adam with suspicion, but gradually the look faded. “I can understand your curiosity. If I never knew my own father, I’d want to know everything I could find.”

  Adam nodded.

  “The last thing he was working on before he died was a present for your mother for their anniversary. I think he was in trouble with her for all of the extra time he was away, but she didn’t know that some of it was spent sneaking back here to work on her gift.”

  “What was it?”

  “It was a little golden pendant on a gold chain, and the pendant is about the size of a small egg.”

  “He made that for her?”

  “Yeah. You know the one I’m talking about? Really intricate designs in the gold with some gemstones on the front.”

  Adam nodded. “It’s the only piece of jewelry my mom ever wears,” said Adam. “I can’t believe he made that.”

  “It took him a lot of hours. I never told anyone about it because I let him borrow a bunch of tools to finish it at home. We aren’t really supposed to let any of them leave the building, but he was Number 2, and we didn’t use those tools much anyway.”

  “What tools did you give him?” asked Adam.

  “Oh, just a box of jewelers tools. I think he took the watchmaker’s kit too but said he didn’t end up using it. Anyway, he casted the main shape here and then took it home to finish the rest. He showed it to me before he gave it to your mom. It was quite impressive – for a little thing.”

  Adam’s mind raced. Could the broach be another clue, or was it really just a present for Mary?

  “I guess your mom was quite happy when she received it, and when he told her that it was the reason he was gone for so much time, she forgave him because he was doing something for her.”

  Adam pushed talk of the pendant aside for a moment and thought he should try for other information.

  “Did he ever come here secretly? Sometime in the last year before he died? I mean besides when he was working on the present for mom.”

  Horton eyed him suspiciously again, and then he began a sly smile. “How would you know that?”

  “It’s a hunch because that’s what I would do,” said Adam.

  Horton gave a small chuckle.

  “You know you are just like your dad. I had a tough time keeping information from him too. He came here a couple of times in the last year before he died just to get away from it all. His favorite place in the world was the Mechanical lab, so I let him in there really late a couple of times and he spent the night in there tinkering on things.”

  “What did he do while he was there?”

  “No idea. I went to bed. Sometimes a man just needs to be alone with his tools to clear his head. I wasn’t going to interrupt that. When I woke up early the next morning, I sent him back.”

  “What do you mean that you let him in and sent him back?”

  “Someone has to unlock the Radome. We don’t just leave it open for anyone to come and go as they please.”

  “Yeah, Don Chen told me the story about the boys going to get alcohol.”

  “He would know the story well. He was one of those two boys,” said Horton with a grin.

  Adam chuckled at the news. He would have never suspected Don.

  “Now to answer your next question, no, the Heartstone isn’t hidden in the Mechanical lab. I know every inch of that place and I have for nearly half a century. If he had changed anything or moved anything, I would have known about it.”

  “But he had other abilities that he could have used to hide it,” said Adam.

  “Who do you think taught him those things, along with how to connect with mechanical objects?” asked Horton.

  Adam looked surprised. In the entire time he had known Horton, the subject hadn’t come up. He had assumed that if Horton had the ability to connect with mechanical things, that would have been one of the first things he would have talked about.

  “Really?”

  “Yes, really. It’s a rare ability for sure, but not as uncommon as you think. It does seem to run in families, since my dad was the first one in ours to discover his talent, and I believe you have it too, just like your relatives.”

  Adam nodded. “Can you teach me how to use it properly?” he asked, getting side tracked from his original question.

  “That’s the plan. After Christmas sometime we’ll be done with the regular lessons, and that’s when I was going to discuss it with you.”

  Adam was excited. Someone with as much experience as Horton must have some tips and tricks to share.

  “Good. Are we all done now?” asked Horton.

  “You’re sure the Heartstone isn’t hidden in the Mechanical lab? Or maybe some sort of clue?”

  “I’ve gone through every inch of that place since I got back here. Nothing is out of place.”

  “And you don’t know if Dad stayed in there all night or went somewhere else?”

  “Not a clue.”

  “One last question, though, if you don’t mind.”

  Horton nodded.

  “Are there any exits to the outside from the Mechanical lab?”

  Horton nodded again. “There are exits all over this place, but true to League form, they are hidden from the inside and out. They also have alarms on them that notify security. If he went out one, he would have set off an alarm and there would have been a record of that.”

  “Could Dad have gotten past those alarms?” asked Adam.

  Horton pondered the question for a short moment. “Listen, I don’t want to get your hopes up or anything, but if I am being honest, yeah, he could have gotten past those alarms. He helped me install them.”

  Adam’s heart started racing.

  “But don’t get any crazy ideas,” Horton continued. “The exit from the Mechanical Lab opens to a narrow rocky path leading down to the river below. The times he came
were in the winter and it would have been difficult enough to climb down, but nearly impossible to climb back up again, let alone find the hidden exit door.”

  Adam heard what Horton said, but thought Horton was only trying to discourage him. In his mind, though, Adam was sure that his dad could have figured out a way to get out, hide the Heartstone, and get back in again.

  “Ok,” said Adam. “Thanks for telling me all of this. I really appreciate it.”

  Horton closed his eyes and nodded, and then he waved his hands toward the door. “Go and enjoy your evening, or as much time as you have until your self-defense class.”

  Adam was deep in thought when he made it back to the dorms. His friends were waiting in the common area and Adam motioned that they should follow him. He opened the door to his room and they followed him inside. Kevin and Jimmy sat down on Adam’s bed and Mark grabbed the chair at the desk while Adam began telling them what he found out.

  “Do you think the pendant has a clue?” asked Kevin.

  “I would bet money that it does,” said Adam.

  “But what if the Heartstone is hidden just outside the Mechanical lab?” asked Mark. “We could go get it right now.”

  “First we’d have to figure out how to shut off the alarm, then somehow sneak out to find the thing,” said Adam, “and still be able to make it back here. You heard what Horton said. It doesn’t sound like it’s a stroll through the park once you go out the door – especially in the middle of winter.”

  “We could wait for spring,” said Mark.

  “Normally I would think you were saying that just because you’re lazy, but you might be right,” said Jimmy.

  “Maybe we can find some evidence and convince Horton to let us go out and try,” said Kevin.

  Adam thought about it for a moment. “That would be ideal. Maybe the broach has a note inside or something that will give another clue.”

  “We’ll just have to wait a couple more days until we go home for Christmas,” said Jimmy.

  All four agreed with Jimmy, and Adam led them back out of his room to the common area. As they entered, Derek walked in the other door.

  Adam felt awkward when he looked at Derek, but Derek just waved and walked toward them.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not mad or anything,” said Derek. “I know Don told you about my dad. Like I said before, if he’s guilty he needs to pay for it. Maybe some time in a prison will be good for him.”

  Adam breathed a sigh of relief, but still felt bad. “I’m sorry. It puts you in a bad position.”

  Derek shook his head. “I think Mom and I will enjoy not having him around for a while,” he said, then changed the subject. “Have you ever been to the main office?” he asked.

  The others shook their heads.

  “You need to check that out,” he said. “Just the hallway leading there is enough,” said Derek.

  “It’s through one of the doors in the Arrival chamber, right?” asked Mark.

  Derek nodded. “I’m not going to say anything about it, but I’ll let you see it for yourselves.”

  “We have another class tonight. Should we go check it out now?” asked Jimmy.

  “I’m getting hungry, but I could wait a little longer,” said Mark.

  Jimmy stared at him in mock disbelief. “Did you just say you could wait to eat?”

  “Yeah, yeah. Lets go,” replied Mark, and he led the way to the Arrival chamber.

  As soon as Mark opened the door, all of the boys glared inside, expecting to see something wonderful. Instead, they only saw a common hallway in the style of an office building.

  “Wow,” said Jimmy sarcastically, “it’s a hallway.”

  “That’s not the cool part,” said Derek. “Go look at some of the pictures on the wall.”

  They all walked in and saw that both sides of the long hallway were filled with pictures. When they started looking at the pictures, they realized why Derek was so excited. Most of the pictures were taken in the Arrival chamber with the Radome as a backdrop, but the people in the pictures were the biggest surprise. Presidents of the United States, Prime Ministers of Canada, and celebrities of all types were featured, sometimes alone, and sometimes with others.

  “Mark, here’s your dad with the President of the United States!” exclaimed Jimmy.

  Mark rushed over to take a look. “Remember when I said that I didn’t think Dad could keep a secret? Man, was I wrong!”

  “Adam, it’s your dad,” said Kevin. Adam looked at the picture Kevin was pointing toward. It showed his dad and a slightly younger looking Horton standing in front of the Radome, arms around each others necks and smiling.

  “He’s on the other wall too,” said Derek, pointing to a portrait.

  Adam turned to see that the wall was covered with official looking portraits, and after reading some of the labels, he realized that this wall contained pictures in order of all the people who were Number 2 in the history of the League. As he went further back in time, one of the most interesting things he found was that Number 2’s had been all races and a lot of women even hundreds of years ago.

  “I told you it was pretty cool,” said Derek with a large grin on his face.

  “Thanks,” said Adam and he continued to look through the pictures, amazed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The remaining days before the short Christmas break flew past, especially with all of the new information Adam was processing as he waited to go home. The older classes started leaving a couple of days before Adam was scheduled to leave in order to spread out the amount of energy needed by the Radome.

  When their turn finally came, Adam and his friends only carried enough clothes to last for the three days they would be home. It was early evening on Christmas Eve, and Mark had been complaining since late that morning.

  “We’ve only got three days at home and we’re wasting time waiting,” he grumbled.

  The others took turns teasing him as they waited, but all of them felt the same as Mark to some degree. It was as if the League were going to send every single person in Area 51 ahead of them. Even Trevor and Kassie had been sent earlier that morning along with a bunch of others.

  Linus called them over to the Radome and positioned them inside. “Stay still right where you are. Once you get to the RTS Hub, all you need to do is confirm where you are going. Just say Grayson, Saskatchewan, Canada and the operator will send you along.” He backed out as he spoke.

  “Hopefully Bernice is the operator again,” said Mark. “She made sure we didn’t die the first two times and Dad seems to have a lot of confidence in her.”

  “She’s on holidays,” said Linus from the doorway, “but don’t worry. They haven’t had a problem since this morning’s group.” He grinned a mischievous grin and closed the Radome door while Mark stammered, “Wait..”

  Moments later they heard the familiar bell and again felt themselves winking out of existence.

  When Adam’s senses returned, he was back in the large room they had been in once before. He looked toward the control room and saw an elderly man sitting at the controls.

  “Where are you off to?” the old man asked through the speaker on the wall.

  “Grayson, Saskatchewan, Canada,” replied Adam.

  “What’s that? I can’t hear you. You’ll have to speak up,” said the old man.

  “I said Grayson, Saskatchewan, Canada,” yelled Adam

  “Grey Nuns Scratch One Can, Duh? Where the heck is that? I’ll just send you wherever this button takes you,” replied the old man, and a moment later they were gone again.

  As soon as they re-materialized Adam began to panic, but the moment his vision came back he knew he was in the right location. Don and Marius were standing there looking at them.

  “Right on time,” said Don.

  Mark didn’t like to hear that. “Right on time? We should have been here yesterday or this morning. It’s already dark outside.”

  Don just shrugged. He reached down besi
de him and threw jackets to each of the boys.

  “It’s really cold out. You’re going to need those so put them on,” said Don.

  They did as they were told and followed Don and Marius down the ladder out of the Radome. The first breath of cold air was a shock for each of them. They had been in a climate controlled area for so long that they weren’t at all ready for the typical temperatures of a prairie winter.

  “I think the fluid in my eyeballs just froze,” said Jimmy, to which the group laughed.

  “Get in the van quick,” said Marius, opening the door. “We left it running so it would stay warm.” He waved at another car idling beside the van. Adam saw two men he didn't recognize inside.

  They scrambled in as fast as they could and soon the van was creaking and cracking on its way to town.

  “That's just our security escort,” said Don.

  “What’s the temperature?” asked Kevin.

  “Minus forty Celsius, which just happens to be the same in Fahrenheit,” said Marius.

  “Wow, it doesn’t usually get that cold this early in the winter,” said Kevin.

  “It’s just a cold snap for today and tomorrow. It’ll be back to normal when you leave on Boxing Day,” replied Marius.

  “We leave on Boxing Day?” asked Mark. “I thought we would be staying for Boxing Day and leaving the next.”

  “Gurpreet and Tilda want you back on Boxing Day,” said Don. “They want to make sure you get all the training you can.”

  The van rolled on and no one spoke until they drove past the turn to Adam’s house, which would have been the easiest first stop.

  “You could just drop me off at the corner,” said Adam.

  “Not even if it was warm outside,” said Don. “We were told to get Mark home first, so that's what we’re doing.”

  Adam couldn't understand why, but he didn't feel like pushing for an answer.

  As they drove, Adam saw many running vehicles parked around town, each with a couple of people inside – obviously the security team that had been brought in for protection.

  They dropped off Mark and then Jimmy, and when the van turned to drop off Kevin, Adam understood what was going on, so he waited until Kevin was gone.