I quickly ended the call and switched off my phone. I needed to think and prepare a plan. I could do without Zack's verbal abuse for now. As I suspected before, I was absolutely sure now that he wasn't telling me everything and I simply had to find out what it was. If he wouldn't tell me, there was only one way to figure it out: Find Eliza.
CHAPTER 28
Eliza
Daniel was right. His sister, despite her terrible ordeal, was a lovely girl. Easy to talk to, warm and friendly, but in her eyes lay a deep sadness. His friends, who I assumed were all fans of Rick, were a jolly lot and accepted me into their group with ease. I felt no negativity at all, apart from Helen, a pretty girl who clearly fancied Daniel, and initially observed me warily; looking for signs that gave away I was after Daniel. It was mild though and didn't bother me. She soon relaxed and focussed on flirting with Daniel again. The guy was so oblivious, it made me smile. Mark, one of the 'Rickofants' came and sat next to me. The name I'd come up with for them made me snigger.
“Inside joke?”
He nudged me gently with his shoulder. I was acutely aware of the pheromones he emitted, betraying his more than casual interest in me. I tried to ignore them.
“It's just funny to watch the group's interactions and the undercurrent of emotions that everyone is oblivious to.”
“Isn't it tiring to always know what people feel?”
His curiosity for my gift was refreshing. I've never really had to explain anything to anyone, because all the people who were allowed to know were Sensorians themselves, or my mum, who was in some sort of denial about it and never really asked anything. A world where we wouldn't have to hide our gift suddenly felt quite tempting. I was cautious though, knowing if I said too much I could eventually be in trouble myself.
“Sometimes,” I nodded non-committally.
He didn't pry any further, instead making small talk and trying to make me laugh, rather successfully. Mark was charming and witty and made me feel at ease.
It wasn't long before I was hit by a rather acrid scent and the source was near. Daniel came over, looking all protective and clearly unhappy with Mark's attentions to me. Maybe he was suspicious of his intentions. Funnily enough it had taken another boy's affections to awaken Daniel's feelings. He covered it well, claiming his overall responsibility for me as tasked by Rick.
“Are you okay, Eliza? I think we should head back and I'll show you to your room. You look tired.” he said with a slight edge to his voice. He offered his hand to pull me up and I gladly took it. I wanted to spend some more time with Daniel on his own and see if there was possibly an opportunity to exploit his newly awakened interest in me. Maybe Helen did have something to worry about after all.
As it happened we stayed in the kitchen for a bit. Daniel decided he was going to cook us something and I offered to be his kitchen aid. He was pleased I did and forgot his previous concerns about my perceived tiredness. He teased me about my ungainly cutting skills and I retaliated by throwing the cut carrots at him. I playfully flirted with him and he responded predictably, oozing the sweet scent of desire. But, to his credit, he kept himself in check and never overstepped the mark.
He finally escorted me to my new room. It was a far cry from the dingy cubbyhole I stayed in for the first night. It was light and stylishly decorated in white with different shades of grey. I could still smell a hint of paint in the air. It had a walk-in cupboard filled with clothes, all simple and exactly what I would wear. Someone had done their research.
A couple of days went by, and though my days were filled with pleasant company and I was steadily gaining Daniel's trust and affection, I grew restless. I needed to move on from here and get more access to Rick. This wasn't going anywhere nearly fast enough for my liking. Luckily Rick had decided to show his face again and was in an unusually talkative mood with minimal cloaking, but it was all useless chit chat, which I needed to change.
“I want to talk to mum. She'll be worried if she doesn't hear from me soon. I have no idea what Markus has said to her or whether she even knows that I've left the compound. Anyway, I need to get my exam results soon too, so she would want to be there.”
I thought I'd get it all out in one go and see how he'd react. It wasn't as relaxed as I'd hoped. His barriers went up straight away and I could not read him at all.
“How would you see this occur?” he asked measuredly without giving his feelings away.
“Well. Duh. I'll phone her,” I mocked.
“Don't try that smart ass tone with me, young lady. It's not going to get you anywhere,” he growled, scowling as he walked off, leaving me to regret my sarcasm.
I got another opportunity fairly soon as within the hour he returned to my room asking me to come for dinner with him.
“I would like you to meet Jean-Pierre and his wife Angelique, fellow Sensorians and instrumental in realising my world view. You may remember seeing them when you first got to the house. They'll join us for dinner this evening.”
No mention of our previous conversation but still, I rejoiced inside. Finally, I'd meet some people of importance. I covered my feelings instantly as Rick picked up on it immediately, scrutinizing my body language.
“I'm just happy to meet people you work with. It'll help me, being able to talk to someone who can give me an honest opinion on what you're like to work for. You have nothing to worry about unless there's something you're not telling me,” I reasoned, hopefully convincing him I had no ulterior motives.
“Have you had a thought about me contacting mum and collecting my results?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Yes. And the answer is no,” he said resolutely. I wasn't going to give up that easily though. I pushed a bit further.
“I don't think that's a wise decision, even though I understand your reservations.”
I didn't elaborate, letting him think it through himself. Maybe risking a telling off for my slight cockiness, but I could sense a slight change in attitude.
“It's too risky,” he concluded.
I still hadn't given up.
“For whom though? What is the worst that could happen?”
“I could tell you a long list of things that could go wrong, Lizzy. For starters; you could betray me,” he accused.
“And why would I do that? Plus, if I did, it would be better you knew now anyway, wouldn't it? I practically know nothing,” I challenged back.
He took a moment to think about that one.
“You could be captured by Markus' henchmen and I would lose you,” he countered.
“I'm not talking about going on my own. We'll have security all around me. They wouldn't try. Trust me.”
“They will definitely try and contact you.”
“Let them,” I said shrugging my shoulders.
“You seem to think you have an answer for everything, don't you? Let me think it through and I'll come back to you on that one. Let's concentrate on this evening for now. Agreed?”
I nodded. I counted that as a win and was sure he would let me go one way or another.
Jean- Pierre and Angelique were indeed the unremarkable looking couple who I laid eyes on when I first got to the house. Tonight though, they were sparkling and distinct, the complete opposite from before. They oozed power and their scent was strong. It was interesting talking to them. They were from France and were part of a similar set up as the one Markus led in England, albeit much smaller. However, they had the same strict rules on secrecy and the couple were also fugitives from their leadership as they had broken that vow. It surprised me how certain they were that they could use their skills to their and everyone else's advantage with little fear of reprisals. They just didn't see the necessity for secrecy. I thought it was either ignorance or arrogance to think that society wouldn't either condemn you or use you to their advantage, whether you'd agree or not. With Rick I knew it was arrogance. He simply didn't think any ordinary person could actually touch him, being completely convinced his gift would protect him from any ill i
ntentions people might have. I remembered how he had let on to me that he believed Sensorians were superior to ordinary people. I bet he hadn't told his non-Sensorian followers that.
Anyway, informative as the conversation was, it didn't give me much more insight into Rick's plans as to how he thought he was going to achieve his coup, and the minute I broached the subject, however casually or subtly, the walls went up immediately.
“She wants to know what I'm like to work with,” Rick restarted the conversation after a rather awkward moment when my seemingly innocent questions were met with cloaking and evasion again.
“That's an easy one to answer,” Angelique replied instantly. “He's inspiring and completely trustworthy. A man of his word.”
Her face lit up with admiration. I expected some sort of reaction from Jean-Pierre, a little jealousy or hint of annoyance with his wife's adulation. But nothing. Not an inkling. Instead he nodded.
“Totally agree. This man can make anything happen and he'll reward everyone's loyalty. It's an absolute pleasure to work with him.”
“What. No flaws whatsoever? There's got to be something? Surely?” I half joked. I must have looked incredulous as both of them started laughing.
“You must think we work as his personal promoters but I can assure you, you have nothing to worry about if you decide to join us. He's always up front with us and his methods are completely transparent and well thought out,” Angelique continued.
“Once he trusts you completely, you'll find out. I would never go back to the way it was now I've seen the alternative,” Jean-Pierre added, reading my doubts about my father's seeming perfectness.
Rick smiled and looked rather smug, but waved their praises away.
“I think my daughter needs time to trust me. She's new to all of it and the only source of her knowledge about me stems from Markus and his followers. She thinks I'm some sort of crook and a danger to Sensorians.”
To that Jean-Pierre and Angelique laughed heartily.
I didn't know what to make of it all. Could my father be the person Angelique and Jean-Pierre saw, rather than the dangerous renegade Markus professed him to be? Could the world they envisaged really be possible? An image of him strapping the explosives to my leg surfaced and my body chilled. He would have a lot to prove to convince me.
CHAPTER 29
Zaphire
It turned out my luck was about to change when I got a phone call from Eliza's mum. I froze momentarily when I saw her name flash up on my mobile, but answered eagerly. Alice's voice betrayed slight confusion and worry when she uttered my name and it put me on edge.
“What's up Alice? How are you?”
A second or so passed before she answered.
“Hi, yes, I'm fine thanks. I called you because I got this rather short text message from a withheld number, claiming to be Eliza?”
“Okay. What did the message say?” I enquired matter of factly, but feeling excited.
“It said to meet me at exam results day in the reception area at 2pm. With three kisses and a smiley face. She does always sign off like that. I just thought it a bit weird she didn't just ring me.”
“I haven't seen Eliza for a bit as she...,” I didn't quite know how to put it, so I kept it simple.
“...she's very busy.”
“Oh?”
She didn't sound convinced.
“When's results day again?” I slipped in quickly.
“It's this Friday at the school. Are you going to be there? Is everything okay between you two?”
I hesitated. I decided not to answer. She needed to know the truth but I wasn't allowed to speak about it.
“Have you spoken to Markus at all?” I was curious to know what they had told her. After all, he's meant to be responsible for Eliza and at the moment, he didn't even have a clue as to where she was. I wondered how he was going to explain himself to Alice. I'd quite like to be a fly on the wall when that conversation took place.
“Well, briefly but he said he was busy and would phone me back, but that was a couple of days ago.”
“You need to talk to him, Alice. It's important, but wait till after the ceremony.”
“Now you're making me worried. Should I be worried?” Her voice went an octave higher with concern.
“You'll see her at results day, don't worry. Phone me once you've spoken to Markus.”
I needed to see Eliza. I needed to find a way to get up there without Laura knowing. She would never let me go and if I mention anything, there would be no way of sneaking out. If I got caught there would be hell to pay, but if I did make contact with Eliza it would be worth the risk. I had two days to organise something and I desperately needed an ally. I had to convince Sam to cover for me. I needed a moment alone with her and soon.
◆◆◆
“Zaphy, really?” Sam sighed disbelievingly.
I looked at her in desperation.
“Can't you tell me at least a little bit about your plan for me to risk months in the isolation cell?” she asked, hoping it would help her justify the risk she was taking. I looked away, knowing I couldn't give anything away.
“You just have to trust me. Please. I need you to do this for me,” I pleaded, holding out, believing she would yield.
“I guess it's something to do with Eliza?” she tried again, her eyes dark with trepidation.
I kept silent, quietly shaking my head. I tried once more.
“I can't tell you, Sam. But believe me, if I could, I would. I know I'm putting you in an awkward position and if there was any other way, I would have chosen that.”
Sam sighed. I picked up instantly that she'd made up her mind. I knew she would help me.
“Thank you so much, Sam. I won't forget this.”
“When?” she asked matter of factly, all focussed on the task in hand.
“Tomorrow.”
A spike in her emotions betrayed her calm face. She hadn't expected it to be so soon.
At 4.30am the following morning, we sneaked out of our temporary home, switching the alarms off and back on again as we left. The click of the door sounded as loud as a canon ball dropping on a stone floor. We held our breath for what seemed like minutes, but it remained quiet in the house. I prayed it would stay that way until I was long gone and Sam had safely returned. She dropped me off at the nearest train station where the first train would leave at 5.30am. She'd be back before the earliest riser in the house would be up. I anxiously awaited her text message to say she was back home and undetected. It came just when the train arrived at the platform. I breathed out heavily with relief having successfully carried out the first part of the mission. Now, Sam's task would be to stall for as long as possible the moment Laura would notice I was missing, without implicating herself, as far as that was possible.
I watched through the window as the train moved swiftly through the countryside, leaving my brain free to contemplate my impending meet with Eliza. My heart started to beat just that little bit faster.
CHAPTER 30
Eliza
Funny. I was more nervous about seeing my mum than getting my results. The significance of those results was minimal at that moment. The task I had set myself for today was huge and I didn't think I had much chance of succeeding.
I just hoped someone would show up other than my mum. Zack must have at least considered the possibility that I might be at the school to collect my results. Whether he would be allowed to leave the compound was by no means certain. Maybe mum had spoken to Zaphire. That was the most likely scenario as mum would have preferred to talk to her than either Zack or Markus. Though I wasn't sure how Zaphy had taken it all, so it might not be a good thing if she was the only one that got the message. I didn't even know what I'd do if it was her that turned up. Would I be able to keep up the facade? I couldn't be certain. However, if she had told Markus and he was the one to come, I feared that he wouldn't be in a listening sort of mood.
It looked like I had to rely on my improvisation
skills to create a chance to give Zack a sign of some sort that I was still working on winning my father's trust, via whoever it was that might turn up. I started to realise more and more that this plan had so many ifs and buts and was not very likely to succeed. However, I was determined to try. I had to do something. Then an opportunity presented itself a little sooner than I'd anticipated.
Just before I was about to leave I heard a gentle knock on my door.
“Can I come in?”
The door opened slowly and Daniel's face peeked around the corner. I nodded and sat back down on my bed. Daniel sat beside me. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he wasn't sure how to.
“Out with it,” I demanded.
More silence.
“I need the toilet.”
He rushed up and made it to my bathroom. Bit weird, but I left him to it. Then my eye spotted the phone he'd dropped on the bed and my heart leapt. Shit. A chance I couldn't miss! I grabbed it and typed in the unlocking code, hoping he hadn't changed it from when I last worked it out.
I was in.
The numbers of Zack's phone, imprinted in my brain, rolled of my finger tips and I typed as fast as I could.
Exam results today. Bradstone on way to house countryside no sea lay by yellow bins burger van. Not trusted yet
I hit send, waited a couple of seconds to make sure it went, then as soon as I deleted it I
threw the phone back on the bed just before a sheepish looking Daniel returned. If he'd been a Sensorian I would never have gotten away with it, as my blood was pumping and sweat was forming on my face and the palms of my hands. All the tell tale signs of having been up to no good. I hoped the garbled message made some sense, but at the very least Zack would be happy to have heard from me. A sign I was still on board. He may even be able to wangle a visit to the school.
“What's up Daniel? You're acting strangely,” diverting the attention to his erratic behaviour, to prevent him from noticing my own flustered state.
The Sensorians: Trust Page 11