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David stared at the phone in his hand. Relief coursed through him like a tidal wave. She was alive, at least, and she sounded okay. He had no idea where she was or what they were doing with her, but she was alive.
The reality of the situation hit him full force. The old urge to cut and run pinged him.
I’m not that man anymore.
When he had Mecca safely home, he’d worry about whether to run. He could take her with him if he needed to.
The silence of the office seemed to push on him now, oppressive and stifling. He pulled in a long breath, filling his lungs until his chest burned fire. As he let the air out, he looked around to see whether he’d missed anything. It occurred to him that Emilia Laos probably knew where he’d phoned from. He shouldn’t stay much longer.
The computer under the desk interested him. He reached down and pulled the case onto the top of the desk. When he tugged, the cords and cables came away like some fantastic sea creature, all tentacles. He tossed them aside and popped the case open. In the mishmash of electronics that made up the gut of the thing, he found what he was looking for. David disconnected the hard drive with care and then closed the case and shoved the computer under the desk again.
One last look around and he took off, slipping out the broken window. He kept his eyes peeled and made his way back to the van with the hard drive tucked under his jacket. Though it looked safe enough, he circled the van completely and peered inside each window. It looked as empty as he’d left it. When he was finally inside with the doors locked, he laid the hard drive on the seat beside him and headed to the public library.
He found a twenty minute wait for the computers with net access. A long twenty minutes. Finally, a machine in the back came available. He signed on as Guest and found the website he wanted right away. He logged onto the site as Nereus and waited for an anxious five minutes before she logged on at their usual time.
Nereus: You busy?
Solaris: Nah. What’s up?
Nereus: Things have been crazy. I need a favor.
Solaris: Shoot.
Nereus: I have something I need to get into, but I don’t have access to my equipment.
Solaris: Why don’t you have your stuff?
Nereus: I can’t go home right now.
Solaris: Why not?
Nereus: I just can’t. Will you help me?
David’s stomach knotted as he waited for the reply. He hated bringing Sara into this. They’d never even met face to face, but he didn’t know where else to turn. He wished he could just get back to his house; he had what he needed there. But they must have his house under surveillance. That’s what David would do.
Solaris: Okay. There’s a coffee shop down in Little Five. Brew-haha. It’s right next to the pizza place on Moreland.
Nereus: I’ll find it.
Solaris: Give me about an hour.
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