Whisper in the Dark

by Charlene Perry

  I don’t make a move to touch it. I just stare at her, and she sighs as she reclaims her seat.

  “Please, I know you don’t trust us yet, but you must be starving. Enjoy the food, no strings attached. Okay?”

  Her face is so concerned, so genuine, I almost want to tell her I’m not as weak and wounded as I appear. That would be foolish, to confide in this gullible girl who honestly believes this is a safe home.

  “Thank you.” I reach for a sandwich. “I don’t mean to seem ungrateful, it’s just-”

  “No.” She shakes her head slowly from side to side. “You don’t need to explain. We’ve all been where you are. When I came here, it took me weeks to accept that it was real. To finally stop watching my back and suspecting every word I heard was a lie. You’ll get there, in your own time. No one blames you for being cautious.”

  Wow, she’s good at this.

  “How many of you are kept here?” I ask between bites. The sandwiches are the best thing I’ve tasted in forever. The veggies are so fresh and crisp I’m sure they were grown right outside.

  She sits up a little straighter, her eyes lighting up. “There’s six of us, but we’re not kept. Not in the way you mean. This isn’t a holding house, Whisper, and you’re not in training anymore. Elder Tobias and his wife, Meredith, they bought you. Just like they bought all of us. You’re free now.”

  I cough around the bite of sliced turkey, taking a long gulp of orange juice that tastes like it was growing on a tree moments ago.

  “Free?” I choke out, but her face is serious. “You’re owned by a rich, old man. You dress how he wants you to, do what he tells you to, and you wear the mark of the organization that made you a slave. None of this is freedom.”

  Fuck, she is too far gone. I shudder at the thought of how hard it will be for her to transition back into the real world. I hope the other five aren’t so broken.

  “Whisper.”

  The man’s voice from across the room makes me jump to my feet, the chair scraping loudly across the tiled floor. Elder Tobias. I stare at him for a moment too long before schooling my expression and lowering my gaze to the floor. I’d be stupid to show my hand, to show any defiance at this point.

  “I’m sorry to disturb your meal. I intended to give you as much space as you needed, but if you’ll allow me, I’d like to talk with you.”

  The fuck?

  “Yes, sir.” I sit back down in my chair with my hands folded in my lap.

  He walks slowly across the kitchen, pulling out a chair to sit at the table. He’s a few feet away from me now. I could take him out with my bare hands, and the thought of it is intoxicating. I glance over at Stacey, and she gives me another one of those soft smiles she seems to have no shortage of.

  “I know your story, Whisper. At least, I know the media’s version of it.”

  I get the impression this is going to be long-winded, so I test my limits by reaching for another sandwich. He doesn’t comment, and so I resume eating slowly while he recites the abbreviated story of my career.

  “You came out of nowhere, planning to take on the Academy. Unlike any other woman before or since, you did exactly what you set out to do. You graduated with your male peers, scoring above them in everything except brute strength. You earned your title as Enforcer. Within a few months, you advanced to Agent.

  For four years you ranked high in the stats, winning nearly all your missions. For four years you were passed by when openings in the Elite program came along. Agents with less experience and less qualifications were promoted above you. Until Elite Gideon came along. He took you on as his Apprentice, during which time you liberated his niece and three other girls from a human trafficking ring. He vouched for you, and you were officially inducted into the ranks of the Elites. Tanikka Durant then requested you specifically for her employ.”

  He pauses, as if waiting to see if I have any objections. He’s got all the highlights right, but what comes next in my story even I don’t know. Not the so-called media version at least. Hopefully it doesn’t continue with and then you went undercover to destroy the previously mentioned human trafficking ring.

  When he continues, his voice is a shade lower. “You had everything you worked for. You were at the top. Then you suffered a psychotic break. You attacked your employer’s husband, the son of an Elder and future Elder himself. Your Shifter was killed in the fight. You were wounded. You should have been jailed, tried and likely executed for your crimes. Lucky for you, Isaac Durant is a compassionate soul like his Elder father. He took pity on you and offered to keep you under his roof and within his employ. He gave you a second chance.

  You were devastated by the consequences of your actions. Actions that caused the death of your own Shifter and nearly cost Isaac his life. You couldn’t live with what you had done. You left a note stating your intentions to jump from the edge of the Solar, though your body was never found.”

  Minutes pass after he stops his story, and I realize I’m gripping the arms of my chair. I force my white knuckles to relax.

  “Would you like to know how I think that story actually ends?” He looks concerned, and I want to get up and walk out those open doors. See how concerned and polite he is when I’m not giving him the audience he expects.

  But I can’t move. I’m rooted to this spot, and I want to know what he’s working up to. There’s a reason for this conversation. The story he tells of how things went down with Isaac isn’t surprising... of course he would need to save face and paint me as the problem. Faking my suicide to prevent anyone from looking too closely… I didn’t see that one coming.

  He leans forward, elbows on his knees as he looks at me with a weathered yet handsome face that could belong to a man much younger than his seventy-odd years.

  “I think you found out what Isaac was involved in, and you did what you had to do. You likely had no one you could turn to for backup, but you couldn’t ignore it once you had seen the truth. I think you underestimated him, though what cards he had up his sleeve to defeat you and your panther, I can’t imagine.” He pauses again, and I know he can see that I’m shaking. “I don’t think you gave up. Not for one second. The system betrayed you. Your friends betrayed you. You were stripped of your rank, your implants and your freedom. But the woman that’s looking at me now, she hasn’t given up just yet, has she?”

  His eyes are wild, tempting me to agree, to stand up and claim the version of the story he’s offering. And it’s damn close.

  “What do you want me to say, Sir?” I ask as I fold my hands back onto my lap. “You bought me. You own me. I’ll go along with whatever story you prefer.”

  “Yes, Elite Whisper. You’re still in there.” He chuckles, shaking his head. He leans back in his chair, folding his arms across his rounded abdomen. “Would you like to hear my story now?”

  I shrug my shoulders, but my eyes stay on his.

  “Ten years ago, roughly, I learned of an organization called Horizon Zero. It had grown up seemingly overnight, dabbling in this and that, to suddenly become one of the wealthiest entities on the planet. Unlike other organizations of such magnitude, this one was never mentioned in the media. Never cited in court. Never spoken of by anyone, other than those directly involved.

  I learned of it because a few of my fellow Elders had founded it. They nurtured it in silence for years, and now needed more hands to keep it running smoothly. I wasn’t the only Elder they approached at that time. Two others were also propositioned. One was eager to get involved once he saw the financials. The other refused, as I had intended to, and he met his fate that same day in an accident involving the mechanical failure of an elevator.

  It was clear that refusing the ‘offer’ to join them wasn’t an option. Instead, I showed interest, asked questions and learned more about the darker side of their business. They weren’t afraid to share, because they had no intention of letting me live if I refused them or tried to speak out. Ten Elders, and four of them were involved. Drugs, murde
r, smuggling, slavery, prostitution, human trafficking... you know the worst, I’m sure.

  I talked with Meredith about it. We wanted to do what was right, but we had our own children to think of. Our grandchildren. It sickened us, but we knew we had no choice. Protecting our family had to be our top priority, even if that meant we helped commit unspeakable sins against other families. It’s not right, but I’d make the same decision again to keep my children safe.”

  He looks at me in silence for a while, as if waiting for my judgement. I stare back, offering nothing.

  “Meredith had the idea first, beautiful soul that she is. Four years ago, she said, ‘we can’t help them all, but why can’t we help one?’. So I requested a girl. Specifically, a girl who was strong-willed, combative, hard to break. They took the request to be an appetite of mine and didn’t question. That’s how Emily came to us. She would not have survived her training... her will was too strong and she would have died before letting anyone own her. It took a while, but we finally convinced her that we only wanted to offer her a safe place to stay, recuperate, and when she was ready, a new identity to start a new life. We intended to claim that she had died, that we had burned all traces of the body to keep our secret. It would have worked, I believe, but Emily had nowhere to go. No life to return to, and no friends or family to speak of. As is the case with so many of the homeless girls they prey on.

  She also felt the strong desire to help others like herself. So, we came up with a new plan together. We switched our main residence here, to our summer estate. I requested another girl, claiming the first was still useful around the house, but that she no longer interested my wife and I in the ways we wanted. The words themselves disgust me, but for our plan to work we needed to play this role convincingly.

  Clara came to us shortly after that. Like Emily, she chose to stay. Each girl here has decided to stay, and we’ve modified our home and guarded our privacy to great lengths to keep them safe. I do not own them, though they keep their marks and play that role whenever someone who is a part of the organization pays a visit. To our family and to any public eye that happens past the gate, they are live-in help. And to be fair, they do help... this property is vast, and to preserve our privacy we must handle all the maintenance ourselves. I’m away a lot for work, so I’m afraid the bulk of the chores around here fall to the women. My wife is happy with that arrangement, though. Keeps her busy and gives her plenty of company. She was a bit lonely after our own daughters left home.”

  He’s looking around the room now, lost in his memories for a moment before he turns back to me. I see only honesty in his face, and my mind is going over everything he has said. What does it all mean for my own mission? If what he’s saying is all true, killing him to draw attention to the organization would be like killing a homeless man to raise awareness for homelessness.

  He’s waiting, watching my face and giving me time to think. I feel like I just drove full throttle off a cliff, and now I’m suspended in the air like a cartoon character, waiting to see if I fly or fall.

  “Why don’t you rest?” He offers, when I’m still lost in the maze of my own thoughts. “You can use that little guest room, or Stacey can show you to something a bit nicer. You can meet the other women tomorrow and get a good look around if you like.”

  I don’t answer, but Stacey pushes to her feet and flashes me a grin. She starts away from the table, and I follow because what else can I do? I glance back at the Elder just before we leave the bright kitchen, and he’s simply staring out the windows. His jaw is flexing. Grinding his teeth.

  There’s more he wants to say.

  Dragon

  As I knead my hands into the dark, fragrant earth I’m acutely aware of the eyes watching me. Elder Tobias has kept his distance since he told me the story of this place. It’s been three days, and while I know he is giving me the space he thinks I need to process and consider, it’s also clear that whatever details he held back are weighing on him.

  Time’s running out. I don’t know why Charles sent me here, but it’s clear Tobias isn’t my target. I need to get on that shipment to Gliese. I’m just not certain if I can trust him. It seems ridiculous, given the fact that all of the women here have assured me that everything he said was true.

  They’ve elaborated and filled in the blanks with their own stories. Julie was nearly dead due to untreated blood poisoning when he bought her. Kara would have been killed for breaking her keeper’s nose when he tried to rape her. That was just the kind of feisty Elder Tobias is known for liking.

  The girls who refuse to break, who would rather die than submit, those are the ones he takes in and gives a second chance to. And they love him for it. They love him like a father, and for most of them he’s the only father figure they’ve ever known.

  And then there’s Meredith. I’ve never spoken to a woman so genuinely in love with her husband. After forty-three years of marriage, this little mission of theirs has brought them closer than ever, according to her. And you can see it. You can feel it in the air around them. It’s a spark that makes my heart burn and my fingers itch for the touch of Damon’s skin.

  Seeing them together makes me ache for what I almost had. What I threw away. But it also makes me feel a little better, just knowing that love like that really is possible. Like it confirms that Damon and I could have been great, if I’d only gotten my head out of my ass in time.

  He’s not in the mirror anymore. I thought for a moment he was with me, but the hazy image faded. Now he’s really gone, and I wear that pain like a well-earned scar.

  Fuck. I need to get out of here. I stop turning the earth, tending the garden like I’m actually part of this. I stand up, brushing the dirt from my hands onto the worn fabric of my gardening pants.

  “Everything okay, honey?” Meredith’s ever-cheery voice calls from the other end of the garden.

  “Yeah.”

  I look up to the second story window where Tobias works at his desk. It’s time to stop waiting. He’s going to tell me what he’s been holding back, and help me get on that shipment.

  When I walk through the open glass doors, he’s already sitting at one of the low, plush sofas. I take a moment to slip off my shoes and brush the dirt from my pants.

  “Could you be happy here, Whisper?”

  I don’t respond. He looks at me after a moment, dropping his eyes to my bare neck.

  “You worked hard to get through the Academy. Then to become an Agent, and an Elite. I’m willing to bet you worked at least twice as hard as the boys in those programs.”

  I swallow past a lump in my throat. Something about the way he’s looking at me, the tone in his voice. I sit on the step that leads into the recessed sitting area.

  “I heard that you were in one of the holding houses, and an idea came into my mind that I couldn’t shake. Sleep was impossible that night, but when the sun came up, my better judgement returned. It was all the silly imaginings of an old man, and I pushed it aside as so. I paid for you and waited for your arrival as I had with all the others, fully committed to helping you recover and find the safety you deserve.

  But since you arrived, I’ve been unable to stop myself from thinking about it. You’re not like the others. The way you move, the look in your eye... you are every bit an Agent still, aren’t you? They didn’t break you, not for one second.”

  He waits for me to answer, but I just hold his stare. My gut tells me I can trust this person, but my head reminds me that I’ve never gotten anywhere by trusting anyone. He nods anyway, gleaning enough of an answer from the expression on my face, I suppose.

  “I wanted to stop Horizon Zero. I wanted to expose the corruption and shut them down, as is my duty as an Elder. But I was too selfish. I am too selfish. I will not risk the safety of my wife, my children and grandchildren. I can’t bring myself to sacrifice my family, even if it means saving so many more. That is my weakness and my shame.”

  His voice breaks at those last words, and he clear
s his throat.

  “You want to protect your family. There’s no shame in that.”

  He shakes his head. “No. I am ashamed because I sit here behind the comfort of these walls, doing nothing to stop this great evil that is only growing stronger before my eyes. I’m ashamed, because I vowed to protect you from them, and now I am about to ask you to risk everything again.”

  Sounds like we’re on the same page. Time to show my hand.

  “Horizon Zero is a business. To bring them down, I need to hit them where it hurts. I know they’re funded largely by an off-world client. What do you know about that?”

  Tobias leans back into the couch, clasping his hands together on his lap. The worry melts away from his expression, and for the first time since arriving here I can see the Elder I met at the Atrium.

  “Roughly 65% of their income is from one client’s distribution network. The Pharaoh of Gliese. A strange culture; technologically advanced yet archaic in their religion. They claim he’s a demi-god. He buys and sells so-called exotic females like our royalty does with pure-bred horses. He’s the true head of the snake. He might not own Horizon Zero, but his death would deliver a crippling financial blow.”

  I don’t remember getting up, but I find I’m standing near the windows. Meredith, Clara and Julie are still at work tending the garden. They seem content, happy even. I can still smell the richness of the fertile soil that clings to my clothing.

  “He’s the reason I was in that holding house. I’ve got the right shade of hair and the right attitude. I just need to be on that shipment, so I can get close to him.” I don’t plan to mention Tanikka’s role in this. Or even Charles. I look back at Tobias, but his expression shows no alarm. “I played along with their training, pretending to be weak, so I’d get passed up to him. I don’t know why I ended up here.”