Runaway

by Alycia Linwood

  "I can do that alone. There's no need for you to get involved. Besides, I don't think I should mention an intruder because my father would ask too many questions." And it was the truth. We might be faster together, but it would be a huge risk if he paraded around like he was untouchable or something.

  "Are you sure?" He glanced at me, his eyes the warmest shade of light blue I'd ever seen.

  "Yeah, but I still don't think my father is going to give me the password." I sighed.

  "Don't worry. He will. You're his family, not some assistant who works with him."

  "And what if he realizes I'm involved in the whole thing? There has never been an attack or anything suspicious happening here."

  "Not true." Adrian smiled. "They just covered it up and killed the guy responsible for the mess. He tried to blow up one part of the building, but the bomb went off in a well-protected area, so only one room got destroyed. They said it was a gas leak and that the guy who died was one of the scientists."

  "I should have paid more attention to what was going on in the world. Maybe I'd be able to make connections between some things." Why hadn't I read the newspapers or watched the news a couple of times? I guess I never cared about things when they didn't affect me.

  "Hasn't your father told you anything that sounded weird or not believable?"

  "Not really. I mean, I probably hadn't been paying that much attention to what he was saying." The sun finally broke through the clouds, the warm rays caressing my skin. It would be far better to spend the day outside far away from here than go through more stupid papers.

  "I thought you were close with your parents. Wouldn't they do anything for you?" He stopped the car in front of one huge oak tree, which was blocking our way to the building that was a few miles farther.

  "Yeah, they would, but only as long as it conveniences them." I got out of the car, feeling a little bit nervous. "If my father decides he needs to protect me, it will be because without me his cover story would have a huge hole in it."

  "Don't think about that. We need you to be Ria Milanez, the president's daughter." He walked around the car, reaching out for me, but caught himself at the last moment. Stupid bet.

  "Hey, the way you said it makes me feel more important than I am." I grinned. "My father is only the president of the organization, not the president of the country."

  "He's more important than the president of the country, trust me."

  "If you say so," I said, even though I knew he was right. The lives of many magic disease carriers depended on my father's decisions.

  "You should go now. Call me if you need me." He inclined his head, a few unruly strands of his jet-black hair falling into his eyes.

  "Sure." With one last glance at him, I started walking toward the building, the mostly dry grass crunching under my shoes. What were people going to think when I showed up just like that? I wasn't sure, but I was about to find out. At least I could say I took a taxi to get to this place and explain that I didn't want to drive a magic disease carrier's car anymore. Whether they would believe me was a completely different thing.

  The building in front of me was six stories high, its walls as white as they could be. The windows were large and tinted with black, which made it impossible for me to see inside. There were guards in front of a large black double door, and they were armed. Numerous cameras on every corner made me glad that Adrian had stayed out of sight. Who knew how far these things could see?

  "Hi." I smiled awkwardly at the guard on my left. His element was fire and his green eyes regarded me suspiciously, his right arm tensing over his gun. Whoa, there was no need to get twitchy.

  "Do you have a pass, Miss?" he said. "This is a restricted area. No tourists allowed."

  I couldn't help but wonder what idiot would come here as a tourist, but people were unpredictable. "I'm not a tourist. My name is Ria Milanez. I'm Richard's daughter."

  "Do you have an ID?" the guard asked while the other one mumbled something into his earpiece.

  "Sure." I took out my wallet and gave him my identification card, trying to look slightly bored. The guard checked the card and nodded at the other guy.

  "You can come inside, Miss. The receptionist will be with you in a moment." He opened the door for me and stepped aside.

  "Thank you." Well, this was easier than I'd expected, but a lot of people probably knew I was here, so they weren't surprised that I'd shown up. The room I entered was huge and looked a lot like an incredibly expensive living room. There was a long black leather couch in the middle and various leather chairs and sofas around a low black table. A big plasma TV was on the wall on my right, but it was turned off.

  "Miss Milanez!" I heard a woman's pleasant voice and turned around. She was tall, with long black hair tied neatly in a ponytail, red-rimmed glasses and bright red lipstick. Her shirt was white and her skirt, which came to her knees, was black. I wasn't exactly sure how old she was, but I'd say she was in her thirties. And just like most of women my father hired, she was pretty.

  "I hope I'm not bothering you," I said. "I only wanted to see what this place looked like from the inside."

  "Oh, not at all, Miss." She extended her hand to me and I took it. "My name is Ashley. I would gladly show you around. Your father said you might be coming."

  I blanched for a second, a sort of dread spreading through me. Did my father know what I was planning to do? I tried to keep my face blank, hoping Ashley wouldn't sense anything. "Nice to meet you, Ashley. And call me Ria, please."

  "Do you want a drink or something?" Her element was fire, but I could barely feel it.

  "No, thanks." I looked around the room, feigning to be impressed. "I didn't know it was so nice in here! Is the rest of the building like this? I'm sure my father's office is even better."

  "Well, it's not exactly like this, but I can take you to see the rest of the building. Your father said you might be working with us soon." She went for one black door, her movement followed by a camera. Ah, great, these things moved when you moved. Awesome.

  "Oh, did he?" I was a bit relieved when I realized my father must have mentioned everyone I'd come to visit because I was trying to decide whether to accept his offer. Had they had to prepare a speech or something to sway me?

  "Yes. He's very proud of you." She held the door open for me and I stepped into a long hall with a black carpet. All the black things everywhere made me think my father put them in here only to kill all that whiteness, but why hadn't he picked another color for the walls and facade? It didn't make any sense. Just like it didn't make any sense what this woman was saying about my father being proud. It wasn't like he had a reason to be proud.

  "So what exactly do you do here?" This definitely wasn't one of the laboratories where they tortured magic disease carriers, and Adrian hadn't really told me much about it.

  "We help everything to run smoothly. Your father and his team carefully make plans in the conference room, which you're going to see soon, and we look for ways to make those plans come to life. We hire scientists, look for sponsors, and do the paperwork. It's not as fun as researching, but it's a good job if you don't like science that much."

  Oh yeah, she had definitely planned carefully what to say. It seemed like she'd told me something important, but she'd told me nothing. Paperwork? Yeah, right. Like covering up the shit that was really going on. That was definitely a dream job. I was sure I wouldn't see anything suspicious during my "tour" with Ashley either, probably just a bunch of boring elite offices. Besides, I needed to get rid of her before Oliver pulled his little trick.

  "Umm, I'm really thirsty, actually. Could you bring me some orange juice?"

  "Yes. I'll be right back." Ashley looked uncomfortable, but she went down the hall. It was obviously her job to bring people drinks, so she couldn't call anyone else to do it for her. Thank God for that. As soon as she was out of sight, I went for the door on the opposite side of the hall. It didn't matter that the cameras could still see me because I wa
s only a very curious girl. And I could easily get lost so Ashley couldn't find me. Luckily, I didn't need a special pass to roam the halls. Now everything was in Oliver's hands.

  Chapter 09

  I didn't have to wait long before the wailing sound of the alarm filled the hall. The cameras didn't move in my direction when I walked by, which meant Oliver had done exactly what he'd said he'd do. Good for him. Two people ran out of the office on my left and hurried down the hall, not even noticing me. The door locked itself as soon as they closed it, so I couldn't go inside to see if there was anything interesting. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I dialed my father's number.

  "Dad! Something's wrong! I don't know what to do!" I cried.

  "Ria, calm down! I need you to concentrate and tell me where you are."

  "I'm... I don't know! I got lost while a woman named Ashley was giving me a tour around the building and..."

  "I know. I know. I get all the news from all of the facilities. It's probably a false alarm, but I need you to go to the elevator. Can you see one?"

  An elevator? Was he serious? "But what if it stops working? If there's fire..."

  "It's safe. Trust me. Just find it and go to the 5th floor." My father's voice was calm and steady. I couldn't tell whether he was pretending for my sake or he was sure nothing bad would happen with all the security he had. Fine, since I knew there wouldn't be a fire or power outage, I walked through another set of doors and found myself in front of an elevator. Cool. I pressed the right button and it opened with a ding. It wasn't big, but it didn't feel claustrophobic thanks to the glass on one side through which you could see the woods behind the building. I'd bet everything I had the glass was element and bulletproof.

  "Now what?" I said as I emerged into a dark hall. There was a huge door with a glowing panel at the end of it, and it seemed to be the only door on this floor.

  "Go to the door and use your element on the glass panel."

  "What? But how?" My voice was full of panic. And it was better if my father thought it was the first time I saw a panel like this one. I'd be dead if he found out about the Pandora's Box.

  "Just concentrate on the panel and try to warm the glass with your element like you do when you're cold," he said, slightly annoyed. Yes, Daddy, you better send me to better classes on how to use my element if you want me to do something useful.

  "Umm, ok." I did as he told me, and something clicked at the door, the swirling colors on the panel turning completely red. "I think I did it."

  "Good," he said approvingly. "Do you see a padlock on the other side of the door?"

  "Yeah."

  "Type in this number: 55823802."

  "Done." The door opened itself and I walked into a room with a large wooden desk and big black leather chair. There were shelves and drawers full of books and files everywhere. Oh shit. I was never going to have enough time to find anything. Something clicked behind me and I realized the door was closed. "Dad?"

  "Just stay there, honey, until someone comes for you. You are the only one who can open the door, so wait for my call."

  I spotted a laptop on the desk as I came closer. "Can I play games on your laptop?"

  "Err, sure, but don't mess with my files. I don't want you to accidentally delete anything." Delete? Yeah, like he couldn't hire someone to restore it all.

  "Are you sure nothing can happen to me here? What if the building blows up?"

  "You're safe. Nothing will happen. I promise."

  "Alright, but please hurry. Your office looks so boring." I couldn't wait to get off the damn phone, but I had to make my act believable.

  "I will." He sighed. "I have to go now, honey, to find out what's going on. You just relax and don't go anywhere. There's some water in the fridge if you need it."

  "Thanks. Solve this as soon as possible." I ended the call and stuffed my phone back into my pocket, hurrying over to the laptop. As I left it to turn on, I went through the files on my father's desk. Bills, contracts, more bills... Nothing! I glanced back at the laptop, surprised that it wasn't password protected. It was a sign I probably wouldn't find anything interesting on it, but I had to at least open some game which came with every laptop so my father would think I'd used it.

  I opened the nearest drawer, carefully going through stacks of paper and files. There was nothing interesting, so I hurried over to the next one. A few minutes later, I still didn't find anything even remotely related to my father's plans. What if my brother was wrong and I was searching in the wrong place? I ran my hand through my hair, looking around the room to try to guess where the best hiding place would be. My eyes fell on a mahogany cabinet in the corner of the room. Bingo.

  I picked up a huge stash of papers and went through it, my heart skipping a beat when I recognized the boy in the photograph attached to one paper. Adrian... The file was about Adrian! There were some weird numbers next to the photo and Adrian's description, along with the info about his condition. I didn't have enough time to read it all, but as I flipped to another page, I noticed the whole thing was written like a diary... with detailed description of what Adrian had been doing and... Oh, God, Paula's name appeared on the page various times. They'd been logging everything he'd been doing and probably everything Paula had told Alan.

  I needed to take these files with me, but my father would notice if they just went missing and I was the only person beside him who had the access to the office. There had to be a copy machine or a scanner in this damn room. I spotted a copy machine next to my father's desk and nearly dropped the papers all over the room in an attempt to make copies as soon as possible. Once I had that done, I returned the files to their place and continued examining other folders.

  Since I didn't have much time, I copied a few more files that mentioned something about elements and building of another laboratory. There was a stapler on the desk, and I used it to attach the papers together so I wouldn't drop them. I clutched the papers under my shirt and, with a last glance to see if everything was in order, I walked out of the office. My father was going to be pissed off that I left before I was supposed to, but there was nothing I could do about that. What I needed is to get out of the damn building before someone noticed my shirt was awkwardly sticking out, and before the cameras switched back on.

  The hall was empty and the elevator was waiting for me. Great. For a second, I couldn't decide to which floor I should go. Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the map of the building Adrian had shown me, so I wasn't sure whether I'd get lost if I took a path different from the one I'd come from. Ah well, it wasn't like someone could stop me and force me to stay inside the building. The elevator stopped with a jolt, and I felt relief wash all over me as I realized no one was waiting for me. Now it was time to hurry and get to the front door. I only hoped they didn't lock down the building; that would be a serious problem.

  "Miss!" someone yelled behind my back just as I was about to go through another set of doors. I pretended I couldn't hear him and quickened my pace.

  "Miss Milanez!" Oh, come on. Someone grabbed me by the arm and the papers nearly slipped from under my shirt. I turned around to face the guard dressed in black, trying to look indignant. He let go of me almost instantly.

  "I'm sorry, Miss, but your father ordered..."

  "I don't care. I'm leaving." Damn you papers, please don't drop to the ground. It was hard to keep my face serious when my heart was jumping all the way to my throat.

  "You can't. I mean... you shouldn't." The guard looked almost apologetic, and I felt a bit guilty for making him uncomfortable.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why?"

  "There might be a threat..." he started to say.

  "Might be?" I didn't have much more time. "Are you kidding me? I'm supposed to stay here and waste my time while you play around and hunt nonexistent threats? Yeah, right."

  I turned around on my heels and walked away, praying to God of Magic that he wouldn't follow me. He didn't, and he probably thought I was the biggest bit
ch ever. No one was happier than me when I reached the lobby and stormed past two guards who were watching me in surprise. They didn't move from their positions as I opened the door and breathed in the fresh air. The guard outside eyed me suspiciously, but he didn't say anything. I pressed my hand closely to my chest, hoping the papers had already molded themselves to my body.

  When I was at a safe distance from the building, I fished the phone out of my pocket and dialed Adrian's number.

  "I'm out," I said as soon as he answered.

  "Great. I'll notify Oliver," Adrian said. "I'm waiting for you."

  "No, don't," I said, scanning my surroundings. "I think someone is going to follow me."

  "Are you sure?" Adrian sounded worried.

  "Yeah. The guards at the front door just let me go and the looks they were giving me were creepy. I think they suspect something. There's no need to prove them right." I couldn't decide in which direction I should go. "Actually, I think I'm going to call a taxi and go to some restaurant."

  "That's a good idea. Where are we going to meet?"

  I thought about it for a moment, nervously biting my lip. "Can you come to my room this evening?"

  "I can try."

  "Good." I ended the call, realizing that I didn't have where to put the papers I'd copied. I couldn't keep them under my shirt forever. Sighing, I walked farther down the street, hoping I'd come upon a store to buy something where I could hide the papers. Maybe a new bag. I would have taken one with me if it hadn't been better that I didn't carry anything with me that the guards might want to search through. They wouldn't have let me go so easily if I'd had a huge bag with me.

  Of course, I couldn't find a store, but I still felt like someone was watching me from behind the trees. Only I couldn't see anyone no matter how hard I tried. God, I was becoming as paranoid as my brother, but better paranoid than falling into a trap.

  Almost an hour later, I reached a restaurant, one that actually offered you to buy magazines or newspapers. Yes, business people would certainly want to read the news while they ate breakfast or drank a cup of their favorite coffee. And that huge newspaper, The Element Daily, was exactly what I needed. It was almost bigger than me when I opened it. I bought one, smiling at the waiter as I walked to the table in the far corner of the restaurant.