by Polly Iyer
Maia needed a minute to digest what Cal said. “Disciple? But Phillip’s grandfather has to be long dead.”
“He was very old when Slater met him. I doubt he’d approve of what Slater’s become.”
“What do you mean?”
“Later,” Cal said.
Maia always thought of Slater as an opportunist, sucking up to the rich guys for money to run his mission, but a major disciple? Cal’s reaction upon seeing him told her there was more to Slater than her impression of him.
“I’ll be damned,” she said under her breath, then realized she probably already was. “Who’s the other guy?”
“He’s Ridley Deems’s replacement. A couple more do the dirty work. They’ve stopped kidnapping babies for the time being in favor of taking care of anyone who gets in the way, like the New Orleans cop.”
“How do you know so much?”
“I told you. I’ve created a persona they believe. I’m innocuous. I don’t matter.” He forced a tight smile, his eyes on Slater’s back, waiting until he disappeared. “Of course, if we succeed tonight, they might change their opinion.” He winked. “Come on, Maia. Let’s go.”
Chapter Forty- Six
Chameleon
The last thing Lucier remembered was Slater’s sidekick, a huge creature he dubbed Mountain Man, injecting him with something. Everything went black until he woke last evening, stiff and groggy. He’d been moved into a rustic room with no windows and a lock to challenge Houdini on the only door. The place smelled musty and unused. The small bathroom contained a toilet, sink, a bar of soap and a towel. There was a cot bolted to the floor, a table, and one chair. No sheets or pillow. Better than a prisoner holding cell but not by much. This must be where they ostracized those undisciplined members who bucked the rules, he thought.
He’d been served dinner, and in the morning breakfast. A very good sandwich followed a few hours later. At least he was no longer trussed like a Thanksgiving turkey, and it didn’t appear as if they were going to starve him to death.
He weighed his escape options the minute his head cleared. Nothing in the room worked as a weapon except the chair, except the only person to enter so far was a young girl who brought his three meals. He refused to put her in danger unless he had no other choice. Mountain Man accompanied her, but he stood outside the door, well out of reach of any attempt to take him down. They’d thought of everything.
This morning, he stretched, did a dozen pushups and a couple of deep knee bends to get his legs back, breathing heavily when he finished. He sure as hell wasn’t in peak physical condition, and Slater’s man looked like a pro wrestler who could put him down without working up a sweat. Lucier figured his life expectancy may span a few more days, but that’s all. He was too much of a threat to keep alive, and they couldn’t let him go.
He asked Mountain Man about Diana, and the man assured Lucier in monosyllables that she was fine. The answer didn’t assuage the terror of remembering his last image of her, bound and unconscious.
Think, Ernie. He needed to find a way out and fast. One possibility kept cropping up, but he doubted this guy would fall for it. Maybe he was all brawn and no brain. With nothing to lose, Lucier made up his mind to try after dinner. Otherwise, he was a dead man.
To give himself an extra advantage, after the midday meal he launched into a serious set of push-ups and stretches. Gotta get back in shape.
* * * * *
Maia put her faith in Cal as they raced through the woods toward Anat’s building. She heard the rapids, felt a fine mist in the air that turned her shirt into a soggy rag pasted to her skin. Cal thrust out his arm to slow her down when their destination emerged from the eerie shadow of trees.
Cal pointed skyward to the small black box high on a pole topped by a solar-generated light. “There’s a camera aimed on the front door.”
“How do we get inside?”
“A door in back. Stay here for a minute while I make sure the area’s clear.”
“But―”
Cal disappeared. What were they doing? Even with Anat free, her plan depended on Seth, and Seth would surely fight what they needed him to do. Escaping from the compound, surrounded by mountains, woods, and rough-rapid waters would be impossible without him. No one walked out of there.
Cal stuck his head around the side of the building and crooked his finger for her to come. She followed his path to a narrow service door.
“We gotta make this fast,” he whispered. He slipped the master key into the lock. It didn’t work.
“Damn. They’ve even separated her by keys.”
“I thought you visited.”
“I do, but I have to get clearance. Anat and I eat together, spend some time, then I leave.” Cal shrugged. “They’re scared of her. Think she’s plotting something, which of course she is.”
The thought that her father and Phillip were afraid of Anat made her smile. They’d come this far and were in too deep. No stopping now.
Cal proceeded to try one key after the other until he found one that worked. They entered and climbed the four flights to Anat’s aerie. When Cal opened the door, Anat ran to him and flung her arms around him. They kissed.
“Okay,” Maia said, looking at Anat and Cal. “Now I’m totally confused. I thought―”
“I couldn’t tell you,” Anat said. “I wanted to, but I didn’t know if I could trust you.”
“Explanations later,” Cal said. “We’ve got to get out of here. Give me the sling, Anat. I’ll carry Chloe.”
Anat picked up the sleeping child, and Cal arranged the sling on his chest. The baby didn’t wake. They hustled out the door. Maia now believed Chloe was indeed Cal’s daughter, but she didn’t ask. Too many questions begged answers, and she hoped to live long enough to get them.
“Where’s Diana Racine?” Maia asked as they hurried down the stairs to the back door.
When they got outside, Cal locked the door behind them. “She’s in the visitor’s quarters, receiving the royal treatment. Phillip uses the suite when he’s tempting someone he regards deserving of our great order. The suite is newer and even more plush than his.”
“Where’s the cop?”
“In one of the out-cabins. They’re secluded and soundproof.” He held everyone back. “Wait. Let me look around.”
“Are they the cluster of buildings on the other side, in the woods?” Maia asked Anat.
“Yes. Cal and I have both been guests there,” Anat said. “Lovely place.”
“Why?” Maia asked.
Cal returned and put his hand on Maia’s shoulder. “Later, when we have more time.”
“Bottom line is their conversion didn’t work,” Anat said.” They gave up on the both of us.”
“Later, ladies. Time is important, and we don’t have much. The cabin is far. Are you up to making the trip, Anat?”
She nodded.
“What about me?”
“Anat and I have had this plan for a while, but we needed Seth, and you were the only one who could persuade him to go along with us.”
“I haven’t persuaded him, Cal. I drugged him. What makes you think he’ll do what you want because I ask him?”
“I’m an optimist. I can’t think otherwise. The kidnapping of the babies and the two outsiders make stopping this debacle necessary. Even to Seth. It also puts a kink in our plans because now we have more people to worry about.”
Cal’s gaze lingered on Anat. Such love passed between them that Maia felt like an intruder. He cuddled the baby close and rubbed his cheek on the sleeping child’s head.
Turning his attention to Maia, he said, “You have the best chance of getting Diana Racine out of the suite.”
“Me? How? They’ll recognize me.”
“Exactly the point. You’re Silas Compton’s daughter. No one will question whether you’re supposed to be there, and unless they know you’re being contained, they’ll think you’re doing your father’s work. If Anat or I are seen, a red flag wit
h sirens will go off.”
“It’s the middle of the night. Why would I want to see her?”
“Because your father is having a meeting to offer up Diana, Goddess of the Moon. Make up some bullshit about the stars being in the right place in conjunction with the new moon. They’ll believe you. No one in that role is conditioned to question.”
“Is my…father still here?” She almost choked on the word father, considering the picture forming of him. A picture she’d chosen to ignore for too long.
“I don’t know,” Cal said, “I haven’t been privy to any information today. I know my father isn’t here, nor are Anastasia and her sisters.”
“Do you know why?”
“I have an idea.”
Who was feeding Cal his information? “What if you’re wrong?”
He held her gaze. “Then we’re fucked. We haven’t much time. If we can’t convince Seth to join us when he wakes up, we’re fucked anyway. We’re past the point of no return. Go to the Racine woman, Maia. Get her out of the building. Anat and I will go to the cabins and release the cop. We’ll meet in the middle, behind the school, unless something happens to one of us. If it does, we can’t be any worse off than before we started, can we?”
Maia clasped the back of her neck and massaged. “Tell me what to do, then point me in the right direction.”
Chapter Forty- Seven
A Pie in the Eye
During the six years between the death of his family and meeting Diana, Lucier either ate out or dined on a variety of supermarket frozen dinners. Occasionally, he feasted on leftovers at his friend’s hotel. The food in this place vied with the best of New Orleans’s famous kitchens. His hosts obviously believed the cultivation of a genetically mastered race depended as much on good nutrition as it did on DNA.
The pickup of his empty Styrofoam dishes from his meals occurred about an hour and a half after the young girl delivered his food, always with Mountain Man waiting outside the door. Two different girls had performed the chore, or maybe pleasure, of serving him. Anna, respectful and compliant, eagerly served him in the manner Lucier assumed she’d been taught. The other never gave her name, was quiet and sullen, seldom making eye contact. He hoped Anna showed up this evening. She’d be more apt to follow instructions. If he got that far.
He finished his dinner, a meaty white fish bathed in a butter/wine/garlic sauce, two vegetables, coffee, and dessert. The dessert was the important factor in his escape, and he worried that there wouldn’t be one. He’d have made do with something else on the dinner plate if he needed to, but the lemon meringue pie with a graham cracker crust couldn’t have been more perfect. The success of his plan rested on timing. It was a long shot, he knew, he had nothing to lose.
He heard the muffled words of the bodyguard and the girl’s acquiescence as they approached. Lucier lowered himself to the floor, tucked his hand under his chest, and held his breath for as long as he could to cast a purplish hue to his coffee-colored skin. When the door opened, he saw Anna through the slit of one eye and groaned one word―heart.
The girl rushed to Lucier, calling Mountain Man to come inside. “He’s having a heart attack. Mountain Man started to pull out his cell phone, but the she said in frantic desperation, “Hurry. He needs CPR. Turn him over and do it. You know how, don’t you?”
“Yeah, but―”
“Do it,” she ordered. “He can’t die.”
The big man slipped the phone back into his pocket and leaned over Lucier who took a deep breath and swung his fist full of lemon meringue directly in the man’s eyes and nose.
Caught off guard, Mountain Man groped at the thick glop clouding his vision and clogging his breathing passage. His effort to wipe it away pushed the viscous substance further into his eyes. He inhaled some of the mixture and launched into a choking cough. Lucier sprang up, grabbed hold of the man’s testicles, and yanked with all his might. Much better than a kick that sometimes failed to hit the mark.
“Sorry to resort to the old yank-the-balls cliché, man,” Lucier said, “but it’s either your nuts or mine.” The guard released a horrifying wail and bounced around with one hand clutching his crotch, the other unsuccessfully wiping the goo from his eyes. Lucier decided to put him out of his misery. He picked up the wooden chair and smashed it over Mountain Man’s head. The chair was solid, didn’t even splinter. The goliath collapsed to the floor like a two hundred-fifty-pound boulder and lay as still.
The girl started screaming loud enough to alert anyone within hearing distance. He took a giant step toward her and clasped his hand over her mouth, muffling her cries. “I’m not going to hurt you if you stop screaming,” he said calmly in her ear. “If you don’t, you’ll force me to put you to sleep too.”
Panic flashed in the girl’s eyes, round as marbles, her angelic face a mask of fear. Lucier assumed she was aware of what happened to anyone who didn’t behave. He also assumed the kids here were taught to honor their elders. Even though he wasn’t one of them, he hoped she’d respond to his demands as she would to any adult.
“I need your help,” he said in his most soothing voice. “Will you scream if I remove my hand from your mouth?” She shook her head, and he uncovered her mouth. She whimpered but didn’t cry out. He knew how scared she was and felt guilty. Lives depended on what he did now. “Stay here and don’t move.”
She nodded and he shut the door. He frisked Mountain Man and confiscated his gun and a switchblade strapped to his ankle. Next he took his keys and cell phone. The gun was a Glock. He checked the load―full―and tucked it into his waistband. He also relieved the big man of a prized find. Handcuffs. Lucier guessed they were for him if he gave any trouble. Who knew? Around here the cuffs might have a dual purpose.
Lucier hurried back to Anna, huddled where he’d left her. “They have a woman here they’re going to harm. Diana Racine. Do you know her?”
Anna nodded and shrugged away from Lucier, but he kept a firm grasp on her arm. “They won’t harm her,” she said tentatively. “She wanted to come here. We worship her.”
“People brought her here against her will.” Lucier backed away to show he wouldn’t hurt her but stayed close. “Do you think it’s right to make someone do things against her will?”
Anna sniffled. “Sometimes you have to until they learn the right way. But I don’t believe you. They wouldn’t do that to her.”
“Give me the benefit of the doubt, for now.”
A moan from the unconscious man caused Lucier to check his life signs. He’d hit the brute hard enough to cause permanent damage. A finger to the big man’s neck revealed a strong, steady pulse. He couldn’t worry about it.
“Why do you think this man has a gun?”
Anna shrugged, but she wrinkled her brow. Thinking now, Lucier hoped. “What if your leaders tell you the wrong things? What then?”
The girl looked confused. “We’re not supposed to question.”
“They were going to kill me,” he said, holding up the gun as evidence. “Then they’d say they sent me home, but they would have been lying.”
“They’d…never lie. Lying is―it’s a sin.”
Lucier shook his head in exasperation. This place had been built on lies. A flashback memory surfaced of a lecture Lucier gave to his older son after catching him in a lie. It’s a sin to lie, he’d told him. Lucier shook off the remembrance as he’d done so many times, snippets of another life popping up when he least expected them.
A snort from his unconscious captive snapped him back to the present. His groans indicated it wouldn’t be long before he was awake and seriously pissed. The man had at least sixty pounds on Lucier and wasn’t the type to fight fair. A smile curled his lips when he thought how he put down the hulk. Not fair either.
Though the man was dead weight, Lucier dragged him to the cot, praying he didn’t rouse. He hoisted his torso onto the mattress first, then his legs. His heart pounded from the residue of drugs still in his system, but he couldn’t tak
e time to catch his breath. He didn’t want Mountain Man to wake before he had secured him.
He threaded one of Mountain Man’s arms through the narrow space between two vertical slats in the headboard of the bed, pulled the other arm over the top rail, and cuffed the two wrists together. He used the knife to cut off the unconscious man’s shirt and tear it into strips. He tied his ankles tightly to opposite bedposts and stuffed a wad of shirt into his mouth. With little leeway to move, one wrong turn and he’d break his wrist. When his captive woke, Lucier harbored no doubt he’d be wild with anger.
He turned to the girl, huddled into herself, terrified. “Where are we?” She didn’t answer. “Where?” he demanded.
“I don’t know if I should tell you. You’re going to hurt people.”
Lucier knelt down until he was level with her. He crooked his index finger under her chin and lifted her head until she raised an unsteady gaze to meet his. “I promise I won’t hurt anyone who doesn’t want to hurt Miss Racine or me. We were taken against our will. Kidnapped.” A thought occurred. He needed to broach it delicately. “How old are you, Anna?”
“Fourteen.”
“Have you been with boys?”
Cheeks flushing, she turned away and spoke softly. “Not yet.”
“Is that what you want? To be with boys and make babies.”
“No,” she answered quickly, then seemed ashamed of her response. “But that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
More memories emerged, and Lucier spoke as the father he once was. “I had a little girl very much like you. She’s dead now, but she’s always in my thoughts. She would have wanted to go to college to become a doctor or a lawyer or even pursue a career in law enforcement like her dad. What she wouldn’t want is what you will be forced to do if the people in control here aren’t stopped.” Anna sniffled, and Lucier asked one more question. “Do you spend time with your mother, Anna? Talk to her about these things?”
“I see my birth mother sometimes. Not enough, though. All the kids have lots of mothers. Fathers too. That’s the way here.”