“My friends…I assume you’re referring to Eddie, Liliana, and Grace.”
“That’s right. I understand that you were all together. When was the last time you saw them?”
Here goes, Tyler thought. Time to put on the poker face. “I was with them in Arizona two days ago.” This, at least, was true. “That’s when I decided to break off from them and come down here. They tried to stop me, but I told them that I wanted to be with my brother.”
“And you haven’t heard from them since?”
Tyler shook his head. “No.”
“Well, that is unfortunate. They would be a valuable asset to our team, that’s for sure. Would you happen to know how to contact them? A phone number, perhaps?”
He was sure that if the man wanted their phone number, he was powerful enough and had enough connections that he could access it. Tyler shook his head and tried to look disappointed. “No, I’m sorry.”
“Well then, I guess we’ll have to just keep trying on our own. I’m sure we’ll find them, eventually.” His words were casual, but his menacing tone was undeniable.
Tyler didn’t respond, and Jesse finally broke the uncomfortable silence. “Well, I’m sure that you would like to see your brother.” He turned to Henry. “Would you like me to put him in the empty room next to Toby?”
“That would be fine. Perhaps later this evening, Tyler, after you’ve had dinner and have had a chance to see your brother, we may talk again.”
Tyler smiled. “Sure. I’d like that.”
Jesse stood to leave, and Tyler was happy to follow. Not only was he anxious to see Toby, but he was ready to leave the vicinity of Henry’s uncomfortable, speculative stare. Tyler knew that the man didn’t believe his story, but he was also confident that Henry wouldn’t turn him out into the Mexican wilderness either.
Just as Tyler reached the door, Henry called out, “I’m sorry, Tyler. One more question, if you don’t mind.”
Tyler turned. “Yes?”
“You mentioned Eddie, Liliana, and Grace. What about your friend Sarah? Where was the last place you saw her?”
He didn’t care if Henry believed him or not. He wasn’t about to give any indication of Sarah’s whereabouts. She and her baby had to be protected at all costs. “She wasn’t interested in coming with us. She stayed in Washington.”
There was nothing more to say on the matter, and before he had a chance to hear Henry’s reaction, he turned and followed Jesse out the door and down the second set of steps. They walked down another hallway identical to the one they had just come from and made casual small talk along the way. Jesse wasn’t nearly as intimidating as Henry, but Tyler wasn’t fooled either; the man couldn’t be trusted.
They stopped at the end of the hallway, and Tyler watched carefully as Jesse slid his access card through the security box, beside the door. The door slid open, and Tyler followed Jesse into the room.
Tyler grinned at the sight of his brother, who was leaning back in bed, his eyes on an open book. Upon hearing Jesse’s entrance, Toby glanced up from the pages and did a double take.
“You’re here.” He set the book on the bed and swung his legs over the side.
Tyler grinned. “I told you I’d find you.”
“I’ll tell you what,” Jesse said, “I’ll leave you boys alone so you can get caught up, and I’ll come back in an hour with dinner.”
“Thanks, Jesse,” Toby said.
Jesse smiled, nodded, and then was gone. The door slid shut with a resounding click.
Tyler followed Toby’s gaze to the video camera mounted on the ceiling. Watch what you say, Toby thought.
Gotcha, Tyler replied silently. Their every word would be monitored closely. The boys would have to engage in idle small talk for a few minutes.
“So I can’t believe you made it here,” Toby said.
“Yeah, it was a long trip. You’re kinda out here in the middle of nowhere.”
“I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been outside since I got here.”
“Well, maybe we can work on that. You know, I think if these guys realize that they can trust you, they might give you a little more freedom and wouldn’t keep you locked up.” Silently he said, Just go with it. Let them hear what they want to hear.
Facing away from the camera, Toby winked in understanding. “Yeah, I don’t know. You really want to work with these people?”
“I do. What do we have going for us, back home? Nothing, that’s what! If we stay here and work for them, we could actually have a place to call home. We could have a purpose. We could finally put our powers to use and maybe help someone else out, along the way. Each day will be an adventure.”
Wow, I’m convinced, Toby thought. Sounds good to me. Too bad they aren’t as honest as they pretend to be. Out loud, he said, “I don’t know. Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I’m right. This is a great opportunity. We have a chance for a new start at life. I say we embrace it and take all these guys have to offer. After all, what do we have to lose?”
Tyler glanced discreetly from the camera and back to Toby. Do you think they’re getting all of this? he asked silently.
I’m sure they’re soaking up every word, Toby thought.
They were interrupted when the thoughts of someone other than his brother invaded his mind. Oh my gosh, Tyler! I knew I heard another voice, in here. You made it!
He smiled when he spotted her. She stood below the video camera, pressed against the corner of the wall. You must be Rebecka, he thought. My brother’s told me a lot about you.
She was beautiful and could easily have been a model. Toby had given him a hard time about falling for Liliana; he wondered just how close his brother and this girl had become.
Hey, brother, Toby thought, pretend to take a nap so we can all chat silently and they don’t get suspicious.
“Would you mind if I lie down for a bit, just until dinner?” Tyler asked. “I’m exhausted from the trip.”
“Not a problem. Go ahead and take the bed. I’ll just sit at the desk and read for a bit.”
They each took their unsuspecting positions, so that the watchful eyes in the security room would hopefully ignore them, and then Tyler filled them in on their plan.
Well, I think it sounds like a good idea, Toby thought. We just need to think of a way to get evidence.
Any information that you might want is kept in Henry’s office, Rebecka thought. Anything of real importance would be on his computer. I’ve watched him. To get on the computer you have to have an access card and password.
Oh? Could that be like the access card that I have hidden in my shoe?
Are you kidding? That’s awesome! Rebecka thought. If you weren’t pretending to be asleep right now and I was actually supposed to be here, I’d hug you.
I can’t take all of the credit Eddie and Grace actually got the card, so you’ll have to thank them when you see them. So what do you think? We wait until night and then break into his office?
It’s not as easy as all that, Rebecka thought. The surveillance cameras are monitored twenty-four hours a day. The second they see us, they’ll have armed guards at the door.
So, then we have to make sure they don’t see us, Tyler thought.
Toby drummed his fingers on the desk. How do you propose we do that?
Can we disable the cameras? Tyler wondered.
We could, Rebecka thought, but as soon as the guard realizes that the cameras aren’t working, he’ll have a dozen guards patrolling the halls to make sure everyone is where they’re supposed to be.
Hmmm, Tyler thought, then I guess we need to think of something else.
They each fell into silence while they tried to think of another idea.
Wait a minute! Toby thought. If we can’t disable the security cameras, why can’t we disable the security guard?
Disable the security guard? How do you plan to make that happen? Tyler questioned silently.
The same way they disabled me whe
n I first got here. They keep sedatives in the nurse’s office. Rebecka sometimes delivers desserts and coffee to the staff members. If she can make the guard sleep for a while, then we can go wherever we want.
That’s a good idea, Rebecka thought, but then we’re faced with the problem of getting the sedatives out of the nurse’s office. Any ideas there?
Tyler grinned. I’ll bet we can come up with a plan.
*****
“How was dinner?” Jesse asked.
“It was great, thanks,” Tyler replied. “I haven’t had a meal that good in a long time.”
“That’s good to hear. You ready to go up and see Henry? He’s waiting for you.”
“Sure. Lead the way.”
Toby interrupted their departure. “Hey, Jesse, I’ve got a bit of a headache. Do you think I could get some medicine or something from the nurse?”
“Sure thing. Come on with us. I’ll drop you off on the way. You can stay there until I come back down.”
The nurse’s office was located in the center of the hallway. Tyler had been briefed on the layout of the tunnels. The rooms in this hallway were the sleeping quarters for all of the residents. The hallway above, where Tyler had first entered, held Henry’s office, the offices of other agents and officials, and the kitchen. There was a third tunnel, which Tyler hadn’t yet seen, that held labs and testing facilities. Rebecka had explained that the third tunnel also held a second exit to the outside world.
Jesse made sure that the nurse was in her office and left Toby in her care. Then Tyler followed him toward the end of the hallway to the staircase. Tyler’s target was the security room. Rebecka had said that it was the last room in the hall across from the stairs.
Tyler knew that a guard sat behind the closed door with a careful eye trained on the surveillance monitors. The goal was to distract the guard, long enough for Rebecka to swipe enough sedatives from the nurse’s office. Each step of their plan had to be timed with exact precision or they would all be caught.
Jesse led the way up the stairs and Tyler followed close behind. When he made it to the fourth step, he knew it was now or never. The cameras would catch his every move, so he had to make the fall look believable, but he also didn’t want to fall so hard that he might actually break something. With a holler, he slipped forward. He fell on his hands and face and then half-rolled, half-slid and came to a stop at the bottom. His leg stuck out in an awkward angle. Unsure if the guard had seen the fall, he decided to call out for good measure, “Ow! Ow! My ankle! I think it’s broken!”
Jesse hurried down the stairs and knelt by his side. At the same time, the door to the security room opened and the young guard, who appeared to be eighteen or nineteen, came out to kneel by his other side.
Okay, Toby, the guard’s out. Tell Rebecka to do her thing, Tyler silently called to his brother. According to the plan, Toby would lie on a cot and keep the nurse distracted. The medicine cabinets were located in a back room. Rebecka would teleport in, locate the needed sedatives, and hopefully get out before she was noticed.
“Man, are you okay?” Jesse asked.
“I don’t know. My ankle really hurts.”
“Dude, that was an awesome fall,” the guard said. “I saw it all on camera. I mean, don’t get me wrong. It looked like it really hurt, but it was pretty funny.” Jesse glared at the guard who said, “Yeah, I’ll just shut up now, sorry.”
“It’s okay,” Tyler said. “I admit it wasn’t one of my finer moves.” He made a show of rotating his ankle and winced sharply as though in pain.
Jesse sighed. “I should get the nurse.”
“No, if anything, I should at least be able to walk down there on my own. Do you think you can help me stand?”
“Yeah, yeah. Here. We can each take an arm.” Jesse indicated to the guard that he should help. They each took an elbow and assisted Tyler to a standing position. He slowly attempted to put weight on his “hurt” ankle and immediately lifted it.
“Ow! This sucks.”
“Maybe you just need to walk it out,” Jesse said. “I’ll help you walk down to the nurse.”
“Yeah, sure. Maybe if we just take it real slow.”
“Do you need me?” the guard asked. “Cuz, I should be in the control room right now.”
“You’re in there by yourself?” Jesse asked. “No one’s watching the cameras?”
“Nope. Most of the time there’s only one guard on duty in there.”
He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Your brother’s in the nurse’s office right now.”
“Yeah, he had a headache.”
“Hmm…convenient.”
Toby, Jesse knows that something’s up. Tell Rebecka to get out of there—now, Tyler thought.
Stall him for a minute, Toby thought back. She’s still trying to find the right medicine.
I don’t know if I can. Tell her to hurry.
Jesse turned to the guard. “Get back in the control room and see if there’s anything suspicious going on in the nurse’s office.”
“The nurse’s office?” the guard questioned. “What am I looking for?”
“I don’t know. I just have a strange feeling that these two might be up to something.” Jesse stared intently at Tyler in an obvious attempt to read his thoughts.
“I just fell down the stairs,” Tyler said. “Believe me, I wouldn’t hurt my ankle on purpose. We aren’t up to anything.”
“Well, we’ll see about that.” Jesse turned to the guard and snapped, “Go on. What are you waiting for?”
“Are you okay if I let go of your arm?” the guard asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tyler assured him. The guard slowly released his arm, and when he was confident that the patient wouldn’t fall over, he hurried back to the control room.
Toby, tell her to get out now! Tyler thought.
She’s got it, Toby thought back.
The guard poked his head out of the security room. “I don’t see anything unusual, Jesse. His twin was lying on a cot, and the nurse was with him. It all looked fine.”
“Okay, well, that’s good. Still, keep a close eye on those monitors from now on. I want to make sure that nothing gets past us.”
“You got it, Jesse. I’m all over it.” He returned to his post and the door slid shut.
Jesse released his arm and looked squarely at Tyler. “If you and your brother are up to something, you won’t get away with it, so don’t bother trying anything.”
Tyler shook his head. “We aren’t up to anything.”
“For your sake, I hope not. I like you two. I’d hate to see anything bad happen to you.”
“Understood,” Tyler said and smiled. “Do you think you could help me down to the nurse now?”
*****
Two hours later, right on cue, Rebecka informed Toby that the guard was out for the count.
You’re sure? Tyler heard his brother ask silently from his room.
Positive, Rebecka thought. I’m standing in the control room right behind him. He’s out good.
You didn’t give him too much of the stuff, did you? Toby asked.
Hmmm…I hope not. I wonder how much I was supposed to give him?
Are you serious?
Tyler heard a chuckle in her thoughts. No I read the directions on the bottle. I gave him just the right amount. Don’t worry. Now hurry up and get down here. I’ll meet you at the bottom of the stairs.
Even though Tyler could have easily unlocked the door with a simple touch, it was faster to use the access card that had remained hidden in his shoe throughout the day. The plastic card served a dual purpose; it would open any door within the compound and, when inserted into Henry’s computer, would grant them access to his records and files.
Within moments, Tyler was out. He released Toby from his room as well, and a minute later they met Rebecka outside of the security room. From there, they followed her up the stairs, to Henry’s office.
When they reached the door, Toby whispered, �
��You don’t think Henry will still be in his office, do you?”
“No, he always goes home after lights out,” Rebecka whispered back. “There are others who might be in their offices though, so we need to hurry and get inside, before anyone sees us.”
Tyler pulled out the access card and ushered everyone in. Then he slid the door shut and looked around. “I’ll work on getting logged into the computer. Why don’t you guys check out the file cabinets and see if there’s anything worthwhile. Rebecka, we’re going to need a flash drive. Do you have any idea where I might find one?”
“Yeah, there should be something in his desk. Let me see what I can find.”
Tyler inserted the access card and entered the password, and suddenly a world of information awaited him. Now he just needed to figure out where to go.
“I found a flash drive,” Rebecka announced. “Here ya go.”
“Thanks.” He accepted the small device and inserted it. “Now then, what sort of information should I be looking for?”
Toby and Rebecka peered over Tyler’s shoulders.
“I would start with the access list,” Rebecka said. “Anytime someone uses their access card, their entry gets documented. The list will show who entered the compound and when they entered. There are some people who might not want the public to know that they were here.”
“Perfect,” Toby said.
“Okay, what next?” Tyler asked after the access list had been downloaded.
“Well,” Rebecka said, “besides the CIA, I know there are other groups and individuals who provide funding for their own gains and purposes. They wouldn’t want a list like that to become public knowledge.”
It took a few minutes, but Tyler eventually found what they were looking for. Not only did the list include dignitaries from other countries, it also included certain politicians and a few celebrities.
He saved the list of names to the flash drive and then noticed a folder labeled, ‘tunnels.' After he clicked on it, his eyes widened when he realized that the new page contained a list of hidden tunnel locations and their corresponding passwords. Not surprisingly, Edwards Air Force Base was among the list. Another click and Tyler opened maps of the underground locations. With a few more clicks, the tunnels folder was also saved. “You never know when access might come in handy, again,” he explained. “And I’m sure they wouldn’t be happy if proof of the tunnel locations became public knowledge.”
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