by Imogen Rose
They both shook their heads. “No, we can’t wander. We’d just begun to train.”
“Okay, we are going to transport you back home, well, to Constance’s house. Grayson is staying over there.” Gramadea turned and looked at us. “Are you ready to go back?”
A while later we were back in Spencer’s Wimbledon house, getting ready to journey back to our home in Mountain View. Although our safety could not be guaranteed, Mom was adamant that she wouldn’t remain in hiding forever. Besides, I wanted to get back to hockey. Harry was going to stay behind for a while to learn more about the Sigma-W, and since he was the most at risk–being Spencer’s only biological grandson–it was for the best. Gramadea assured us that, for our safety, she would make sure Potomal was informed that Ella and I were adopted, not that it made a bit of difference to her, but anything that made us less attractive to Potomal was worth a shot. So we were returning home, knowing full well that we were at risk. Security around us was tightened considerably and Mountain View was now swarming with an influx of Sigma-Ws, in all shapes and sizes, who would watch us. We were greatly relieved when Intelligence told Gramadea that Potomal was having trouble holding on to his recruits after the last attempt at initiating a takeover. It would be sometime before he tried anything again, if ever. Here’s to hoping he was enjoying his wealth on a warm beach somewhere.
I did wonder what had happened to Luna and Stan. In a way, I had kind of gotten to like them, even though they were holding me captive. They’d just seemed like two interesting college kids, inadvertently caught up in their father’s schemes–a bit like Simla. I wondered if they had managed to go back to school or if they were forced to continue their education elsewhere. “Gramadea, do you have any idea what happened to Luna?”
“I do. Luna is still attending college in Paris, which is the real reason why Spencer has given his permission for you to go home. We were dumbfounded when we heard that. Luna must have either completely fallen out with her father or they’ve come to some understanding where he has promised her peace while she finishes college. Either way, she is available to us, should anything happen to any of you,” Gramadea said meaningfully.
So, we were ready to go home. Ella was wearing her tiara–given to her on the understanding that she couldn’t wear it to school; Mom would keep it safe. I wondered what it was worth–a fortune. Ella had really enjoyed her royal time here and made plans to come back during vacation.
Kellan and I braced ourselves for the journey. As Simla and Justin had already been transported back, it was just us, Mom, Rupert and Ella. David was coming with us as well, at least long enough to say goodbye to his mom before he went to his dad’s again. I hoped we would get to spend some time together before he had to leave.
I closed my eyes as I felt the pressure to my shoulders and the following weightless sensation. I gave in to total relaxation and let my mind wander. Total relaxation until my mind wandered to Simla, or rather her dad. Simla told us that she’d seen him. He’d been in London at the Potomal residence. Now, no one knew where he was. Sigma-W Intelligence had come up with nothing. What could Potomal have done with him? Maybe he took Raj with him. Raj’s resourcefulness might prove useful in Potomal’s schemes. If Potomal had done that, why didn’t he force Simla to go with them? I rolled my eyes–as much as I could with them firmly shut. It would be way too much bother to deal with a screeching, hysterical Simla while orchestrating a quick getaway. Potomal probably just got fed up. As long as Raj didn’t turn up on our doorstep, I really didn’t care what happened to that idiot. I just hoped that Simla could let it go, but I wasn’t too optimistic about that. I hoped she didn’t do anything stupid. I would love for everything to go back to normal so we could just get on and enjoy life for a while.
That would have to include a trip to see Dad, though. Since the portal was now functional, I saw no issues with that whatsoever. Mom and I would just need to work out the logistics, I was thinking as I landed on a soft surface and opened my eyes.
I was home.
He still had power over her, Raj thought to himself. He knew how to contact the one person he could blackmail Olivia with–Dillard. The threat of exposing her family to Dillard would guarantee Raj the blueprints. All he had to do was get her to take him back to the cottage, so he could retrieve the prints that had been left behind when Potomal plucked him out of there.
After that, he’d be rich. He had already contacted his buyer, Dr. Masterson, who was still very interested. Of course, Olivia and the portal would be totally unnecessary if Simla would just learn to wander. Then she could go and get the blueprints herself. Wait!
It occurred to him that he really didn’t need to go back at all. Why not just get a fresh set of prints from Olivia? That would be the simplest option.
He’d staked out the Weeks’ home all morning, but there were no signs of anyone apart from the pesky FBI agents. How much more obvious could they be? And, more importantly, what had become of Simla? Where was she? If she was back home, she should have gone to school this morning. But, there were no signs of her being back. Did she permanently join forces with Potomal? Surely he wouldn’t have been dumped back here if she did. Did Simla know that he’d been unceremoniously dropped off at some old ladies’ house in the middle of nowhere, without any money? He was more than a little angry with her. She should have done what Potomal asked.
Raj found himself holed up in yet another crummy roadside motel. This life style had to come to an end, he thought; he was thoroughly fed up with it. As he stared up at the moldy popcorn ceiling illuminated by a dusty, naked light bulb, he wondered if he should pick up the phone and make the call to Dillard. Why wait?
~
Constance braced herself for Simla’s return. Grayson looked stressed. Word had reached them that the FBI was back in Mountain View asking about Simla and it seemed that Grayson’s house was now being watched. Constance was glad that Simla and Justin were being returned so promptly. If they were missing for much longer, their disappearance could spark a full-scale search and investigation by the FBI. As far as she knew, the FBI agent, Claire Adams, was the same agent who had been in charge of the Darley kids’ disappearance last year. What was she doing back here now? Had some new evidence come to light? Whatever it was, the timing was terrible.
“Any more news as to what the FBI is doing here?” Constance asked, looking over at Inez and Grayson.
“Morgana has a contact over at the police station, she is trying to find out,” Inez replied. “She should be here any…,” Inez stopped as the doorbell rang.
“Morgana, any news?” Inez asked her, as Constance ushered her into the living room.
Morgana’s lips turned into a grimace, her brows furrowing into a look of confusion. “I’m really having a hard time understanding what’s going on. My contact at the station told me that they backed up the FBI on a call this afternoon. He couldn’t give me the location, but said that a man had appeared at a house occupied by two elderly sisters, burglarized it and then took off. My contact told me that it is very unusual for the FBI to get involved with a seemingly routine burglary. A call like that would normally be handled by the local police.
“Apparently, after the FBI left the scene, the remaining local cops asked the elderly sisters why they’d called the FBI rather than 911. As it turns out, they hadn’t called anyone. The FBI agent just turned up at the house without prior warning. The two ladies were initially quite pleased to have two visitors in one day. That changed, however, after the FBI agent asked them to have a look around, and they discovered that their valuables and car were missing. So, my contact is stumped. He doesn’t know who contacted the FBI or why.” Morgana took a deep breath and sighed.
“Hmm. Do you think this has anything to do with Simla?” Constance wondered.
“Constance, wait. There’s more,” Morgana said, passing her a sheet of paper. “I got this from the station. This is a picture of the burglar they’re looking for.”
Constance,
Grayson and Inez studied the black and white photocopy of a picture of Raj. Constance froze.
Inez shook her head. “How is this possible? Couldn’t it be someone who just looks like Raj? That’s got to be the most likely explanation.”
Constance nodded. “Yes, but the FBI must think it could be him. Why else would they have been looking for Simla? It’s the only thing that makes any sense. But, how did Raj get back here? Get Larry on the phone and ask him to come over right away. Ask him if the portal has been used,” she directed, looking over at Grayson who was already dialing.
After the call, Grayson relayed that Larry was at Ames and was sure that the portal had not been used since Olivia went through. “I’ve got a number of missed calls and voice mails. I’m afraid my phone was turned off. I need to check them. Please excuse me.”
As Grayson checked his messages, they all heard a thud from the kitchen and rushed through to find Simla and Justin sitting on the floor.
“Justin!” Grayson exclaimed and hurried over to his son as Morgana helped Simla up.
“Come in to the living room and have a seat,” Constance suggested, ushering them over to sit on the comfortable, oversized armchairs. They both looked exhausted but happy. She gave them a moment to breathe while they gathered their thoughts and sipped the tea she had handed them.
“I’m so glad to be back,” Simla said, looking around at everyone.
Constance nodded. “I received word from Amadea about your recent trials. I am glad you haven’t been hurt and are now back with us. Was the journey back okay?”
“Yeah, thank you,” Justin replied. “I’m really tired, though. I guess you are, too, Simla?”
“Yes! After some rest, I just want to get back to school and a regular life again. I’m done with the wandering stuff.”
“Simla, I’m a bit surprised to hear you say that. Did Potomal mistreat you in any way?” Constance queried.
“He made me train a lot. I wasn’t into it at all. I really only wanted to learn to wander so I could get back to Dad, but now…,” she paused.
“Now, what?” Constance prompted.
“Well, he’ll contact me when he can, I guess,” she said vaguely.
“Simla, take a look at this,” Constance said, handing the photocopied picture over to her, watching her carefully. She looked genuinely puzzled.
“It’s a photo of Dad… where did you find it?” Simla asked excitedly.
“We got it from the local police. It’s a picture of a man who burglarized a house belonging to two elderly ladies earlier today.”
“You’re kidding!”
Constance shook her head, as Justin groaned.
“Justin?” Grayson queried.
“Shit.”
“Justin,” his father warned, “language.”
“I’m sorry,” he said apologetically. “Raj was taken by Potomal. By the time we were rescued, Raj had disappeared. I assumed that Potomal took Raj with him. But, I guess I was wrong, if he’s out stealing from old ladies.”
There was a stony silence in the room as everyone tried to digest this new turn of events.
“Justin, do you have any idea why Potomal took Raj?” Constance asked, once she had absorbed his information.
“Well, Simla tried to escape from Potomal’s clutches, but Potomal wasn’t done with her yet. So, to keep her there, Potomal brought Raj in and basically told Simla that if she didn’t do what she was told he’d dump Raj at the FBI,” Justin summarized.
Constance held out her hands to Inez, Morgana and Grayson for a brief conference. Her thoughts flowed to them effortlessly. Raj must have been dumped here as Potomal had threatened. Simla had no doubt provoked it somehow, but it didn’t matter, the end result is what mattered. Raj was on the loose and the FBI was on his trail. What a mess.
“Simla, what are your thoughts about all this? Your father could be here in Mountain View.”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I just want him to be safe. Being here is dangerous for him, but I do want to see him.”
Was it time to tell Simla that her father killed her mother, Constance wondered. She really didn’t want to, but it might be the only way to keep Simla safe, away from her dad. She looked up at Inez who was shaking her head at her.
Grayson interrupted their exchange. “The FBI agent, Claire Adams, left me voice mail asking me to contact her. Shall I do that to find out what’s going on? It may help us with our decisions….”
Constance nodded as Grayson made contact with the agent. “Agent Adams? I’m returning your call.” Grayson chatted with the agent while Constance prepared some snacks for the kids. “So, what did she say, Grayson?” she asked, as she laid the tray of snacks on the coffee table and watched Simla and Justin help themselves enthusiastically.
“She said that there had been a possible Raj sighting today. She had received an anonymous tip that he would be at an address, so she investigated. Raj appeared at a cottage a bit outside Mountain View, owned by two elderly ladies. He spent some time having tea and chatting with the ladies before helping himself to their valuables and car and then he just took off. Agent Adams told me that she put agents on duty outside our home in case Raj tries to contact Simla. She wants to come over and talk to Simla, but I said that we’d been away for the day and were just about to go home, and asked her to come in the morning instead. So, we should be going home. I think the house will be safe. It looks like we’re surrounded by agents.”
“Safe?” Simla muttered. “What exactly do you think Dad’s going to do? All he wants is to see me. Is that so bad? He’s not a murderer or anything.”
Constance flinched. “Simla, just go home and rest. We’ll meet again in the morning and talk.”
“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “I’m going to school tomorrow. I’m done talking.”
~
The clock in Raj’s room showed 5:00 AM. That meant it was ten in the morning in Leeds right now and Dillard should be awake. Raj had been up fretting all night and was now growing more and more frustrated with the bedside telephone. He tried calling Dillard six times and left six messages. Why didn’t he call back? What if Dillard didn’t return his call at all?
Could he pull the same deception that Simla had so brilliantly executed? Could he make Olivia believe that he had access to Dillard and get her to mail him another set of the blueprints? Would she fall for that? His eyelids flickered as tiredness engulfed him and he finally submitted to the darkness of sleep.
Olivia’s bedside phone startled her back to consciousness. With sleep-heavy eyes still closed, she reached over for the receiver. Rupert was still fast asleep beside her, worn out from their recent events. They’d only fallen asleep a few hours ago.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Olivia.”
Blood rushed from Olivia’s core as she hastily stood up and tiptoed into the hallway with the receiver, making sure not to disturb Rupert. She felt sick.
“Dr. Darley?”
“Yes, who’s this?” she asked with trepidation, knowing the answer already. The voice was unmistakable.
“Raj Sen,” the voice confirmed.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“Just another copy of the blueprints. I may also need to ask you to take me back through the portal if things don’t quiet down here in Mountain View.”
Olivia was astounded at the nerve of that man.
“Dr. Darley?”
“I cannot believe the audacity! What on earth makes you think that you’re in any position to make demands? I’m going to call the FBI right away,” Olivia said, and hung up. The phone rang right back. She sighed. “What?”
“Recognize this phone number?”
Olivia shuddered as Raj recited the numerals to Dillard’s cell phone. “Yes,” she whispered.
“I’m going to text your cell with an email address this afternoon. You’ll have one hour to send the blueprints to me. Don’t be late,” he said menacingly, and hung up.
Olivia bit into her lower lip as she slipped back into the bed, snuggling up close to Rupert. She put her head on his chest and listened to the rhythmic sounds of his breathing. She felt a hand go up and stroke the back of her hair.
“Where did you go, hon?”
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
“Mmm. What’s up, Ollie? Why are you awake so early? It’s only just after six.”
“The phone woke me up.”
Rupert opened his eyes and turned to look down at her. “Who was it? Is everything okay?”
“No,” she whispered, and paused.
“Ollie… you’ve got me worried,” he said, pulling her up with him and sitting back in the bed. “Tell me what’s up.”