The Infinity Mainframe (Tombs Rising Book 3)
Page 24
“Devan’s dead… in the tombs?”
Ruby nodded.
“Then why does Mr Langer say that Devan’s gone back to Sweden to visit his family?”
The world jerked under her feet. “He said what?”
“Devan’s gone back to Sweden for a while. He wants to concentrate on the launch of his new network over there. Says it needs the personal touch. I think that after today’s attack, he wants some space.”
“Bollocks. He’s dead. I killed him.”
Glynn paused, then he licked his bottom lip. “You’re not well. Can’t you see that? You’re seeing things that aren’t real. Memories that haven’t happened. It’s like your dad all over again.”
“What the hell’s my dad got to do with this?”
“I know he’s not well. You’ve been telling me for weeks.”
“But, what do you mean about memories?”
Glynn looked confused. “Only what his doctors have said.”
“His doctors? You’ve been talking to them?”
Glynn nodded. “Yes. I was concerned about you. About the lack of progress your dad was making. I wanted to see if I could help things along.”
“You can’t just speak to my dad’s doctor behind my back.” The dark look in his eyes struck a chord. Instinctively, she knew that the trust that she’d had with him had only been one-sided.
“Your father worked for District Police. The DRT have every right to access his medical files. It’s all part of the investigation.”
“My father’s being investigated?”
Ruby blinked and closed her eyes for a fraction longer than she needed. She wanted more than anything to go home, curl up next to Fin and go to sleep, but a pit of darkness had been opened and she was teetering on the edge. Back to basics.
“Glynn, Devan Oster was working with Milford Jones in creating a new machine. He called it the Infinity Mainframe. It’s connected to the InfiniteYou network. It’s still down there and it’s dangerous.”
Glynn stood and sighed. “Ruby, there’s nothing under the lake. There’s no underground facility. There’s no machine.”
Ruby felt the pinprick of tears in the corners of her eyes. “Why won’t you believe me?”
“You don’t offer any proof. OsMiTech security has been into the service tunnels. They pulled you out remember? There was nothing there.”
“Devan said the tombs chooses who to let inside. It can hide itself.”
Glynn chuckled. “How could it do that? And why? Jesus, you make it sound like it’s alive.”
“I think—” Ruby didn’t finish her sentence. The sharp look from Glynn’s eyes made her stay quiet. If the Mainframe was still running, and Milford was still down there, what might he be able to do to people up here?
Ruby scratched the back of her ear. “Why are you acting like this towards me? I thought we were friends.”
“We are. And I’ll make sure you get the best treatment available.”
“What treatment?”
Glynn went to the door and opened it, revealing Langer and two men in white medical coats. Ruby stood, knocking the chair over in her haste to get up. “Why are they here?”
“For your protection,” Langer said. He had his hands clasped in front of him. “And ours.”
The three men entered the room and formed a wall between Ruby and the open doorway beyond.
“You think I’m having a breakdown, that all of what I’m saying is a fabrication?”
“You’ve been under a lot of stress lately. We’re just here to make sure you get better.” Langer spoke softly, like talking to a child. None of the snide looks were present. Was he on best behaviour in front of Glynn?
“How do you explain what happened to Candice? She’s dead. I suppose you think I killed her.”
“We’ve yet to find Ms Hart.”
“But Devan killed her, his machine.” Ruby stamped her foot. “Goddamnit, you bastards. Stop trying to cover this up. Devan’s dead. His pet project is running in your basement and he murdered Candice. You can’t do this. I won’t let you. I want to speak to the police.”
“I’m afraid you can’t.”
Ruby stepped forwards. The medical technicians responded in kind, their arms raised slightly, preparing to grab her if she were to try for the door. “You’re right. I’m sorry—” the technicians relaxed, and Ruby charged forwards, trying to dart around them to the side. She grabbed Langer by his jacket and flung him into the beefy one on the left. Glynn shouted at her to calm down. But Ruby was flying, only two metres between her and the open door.
Then the stun gun fired a shot into her side and she collapsed to the floor, crippling agony raked her spine, curling her up into a foetal ball.
Langer stepped up and through wet eyes, she saw him straighten his tie as he addressed her. “Under section 45 of the telepath code, you’re being placed into protective custody for a period of psych evaluation. I’m sorry, but we really do want to help you get better.”
“But… I’m not… a telepath,” she managed to gasp in between gulping down breaths of air. The ground under her vibrated to her touch. “I’m not a telepath.”
“Send her up to the fourteenth.”
The medical technician approached again with the stun gun. It crackled. Her world went dark.
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Also by Robert Scott-Norton
Tombs
The Face Stealer
Tombs Rising
The Remnant Keeper
The Remnant Vault
The Infinity Mainframe
Standalone
The Drifter and other Stories
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Acknowledgements
Thanks to all my friends at Southport Writers’ Circle. They’re all a great bunch of people who’ve offered plenty of advice and support. A special shout to Sean, Val, Christine, Den, Becky, Justine, Barbara, James, and Anne for being most excellent. I genuinely would have struggled to get this far without you.