**
Hugo blew smoke out the car window, watching the high speeds rip it away from him. It was Friday, and he’d written the letter and left it with instructions on CJ’s bed while she was still in the labs. Maggie had called him three hours ago with an address. Hermes was at a school hospital in Vancouver, Canada. He was in an above ground basement level whose only visitor was a nurse by the name of Octavia Preller. And he was on his way there. Clem was driving the car; all he’d explained to Clem was that he wanted to talk to someone, but would need some help coaxing people to let him in to see them. Clem was not going to meet Hermes, for the same reason he wasn’t taking CJ along; to minimize the amount of psychological damage done if it turned out that the man didn’t want to be found. Hugo thought he might be able to take it since he didn’t forget anything, but he didn’t want to hurt anyone else trying to undo what Hermes could potentially do.
The phone rang. Hugo looked down in surprise at the caller ID but grimaced when he saw that it was CJ. Reluctantly he answered, “Hi CJ.”
“You have to come back now!” CJ sounded panicked, her voice catching on the last word.
“Why is that?” Hugo asked curiously, leaning back in his seat and flicking his cigarette.
“Cause when I saw your note I realized you were doing something stupid without me and I called Madeline. A brown-haired nurse lady is totally going to paralyze you and do crazy experiments on you and you looked really really scared. You have to come back!”
Interesting. He hadn’t really expected Octavia to be hostile, he’d thought something was wrong with William and she was looking after him, but he was obviously wrong. Hermes was being held against his will, and that was…irritating. “Thanks for the information CJ. I’ll have to change my tactic now.”
“No! What you have to do is come back! Aren’t you listening to me?” Poor CJ, she sounded frantic, but that was because she didn’t know everything would be fine. He’d sneak in and get to talk to Mr. Hansen’s brother and free him and have everything straightened out in time for Thanksgiving. It was going to be fine.
“I’m listening,” He said, trying to calm her. “Thanks for letting me know CJ. That could have been a serious problem.”
“So are you going to come back?”
He couldn’t go back, not yet. There was a hopeful note in CJ’s voice that made him pause for a moment, however he would come back eventually, and CJ hadn’t exactly been specific, so he didn’t need to lie to her. “I will come back.”
“No! I know what you’re doing. You have to come back now! Before you go there! You’re being stupid! Don’t make me come over there and get you! I’m your bodyguard!”
No, that was bad. He didn’t want her showing up. She wouldn’t be trying to ruin everything, she was genuinely afraid for him, and he felt sorry for putting her through this, but it was really for her own good. And besides, it would take her too long to catch up anyway. He’d have to wait, and he didn’t feel like he could. “Oh, so you know what hotel I’m going to then?”
“…Y-yes….”
“Alright. I’ll see you later than, CJ.” He didn’t mean to sound cheerful and pleasant, she was really worried, and he wanted to be reassuring but he was going to get to talk to Hermes soon. And then everyone would know that Mr. Hansen’s brother was still alive.
“Wait!” She sounded desperate, and he didn’t want to hear that anymore.
Hugo flipped his phone shut. Clem was giving him a sidelong glance. “Apparently there needs to be a change in tactic. I’m afraid I brought you out here for nothing. You can just sit in the car while I go talk to the guy. It shouldn’t take very long.” Clem didn’t say anything, just switched his focus back to the road and kept driving.
The phone started ringing again and Hugo frowned at it. CJ again. She’d just try and convince him to abandon Hermes, so he turned off the phone. The silence was nice. They’d be there soon.
The Sound of Wind Page 44