Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) (13 page)

“Henry.
He keeps tabs on everyone around here. I thought maybe you’d like to get
cleaned up first before you meet him. Here ya go.” He set a stack of clothes on
the desk. “You’ll find soap and a toothbrush and stuff, in the bathroom. I’ll
give you time to shower, and I’ll come back for you in half an hour. Sound
good?”

“I’ll be
ready,” Toby said, with a forced smile.

He
glanced over his shoulder but didn’t have to look to know that Rebecka had
disappeared.

Rebecka
glanced to the far side of the dining room where Tamara and Paulo appeared to
be in deep conversation. She was friendly with them when the occasional need for
conversation arose, but she tried her best to keep her distance. From the
little she knew of them, they had willingly agreed to live and be trained at
the compound. They believed in Henry and all that he stood for and, therefore,
couldn’t be trusted.

She
expected that her friends, Ashley and Malik, would join her soon. While she
waited, she contemplated her meeting with Toby. They still needed to figure out
an escape plan, but they would come to that puzzle when the time came. For now,
she was happy to at least have hope. Hope was more than she had possessed two
days ago.

It had
been during an evening meal two weeks ago when whispered discussions of Toby’s
presence had caught her attention. His identity had piqued her interest, and
she had unobtrusively sought him out. On several occasions, since then, she had
listened to his thoughts and, to her delight, had discovered that he had no
intention of giving in to the desires of the agency. Toby wanted his freedom
just as much as she did, and she hoped that he would be the ally she had waited
for. The fact that he was good looking was, of course, an added bonus.

“What
are you smiling at?” Malik asked as he and Ashley joined her at the table.

Malik,
who was only fourteen, was the youngest member of the compound. Skinny and tall
for his age, with a witty sense of humor, he reminded her of her younger
brother, Tommy. Ashley, who was nineteen, easily revealed her Irish background
with her bright red hair, fair skin, and generous helping of freckles. They
were the only two members of the compound she remotely considered to be
friends. Now, she reminded herself, she could add Toby to that list as well.

Rebecka
mentally checked her facial expression. “Was I smiling?”

Malik
chuckled. “Yeah. From the looks of it, you were a million miles away.”

“I’ll
bet she was thinking about a boy,” Ashley said with a mischievous grin.

“A boy,
Ashley? Really? It’s kind of slim pickings around here. Not a lot of boys to be
daydreaming about,” Rebecka replied.

“Thanks
a lot!” Malik said. “What am I?”

“I’m
sorry, Malik! You know what I meant! You’re my friend. You’re like my younger
brother. You even look like my younger brother. You—”

Malik
laughed. “Hey, don’t sweat it. I was just messin’ with you.”

“Funny,
Malik,” Ashley said. “For real though, Rebecka, what were you thinking about? I
don’t think I’ve seen you smile like that since you came to this place.”

“Actually,
I was just thinking about this cheeseburger,” Rebecka fibbed.

“A
cheeseburger, Becka? Really?” Malik chuckled. “You’re easy to please. Then
again, there’s nothing like a good burger. My momma didn’t have a lot of money,
so my brother and I never got to eat out much when we were kids.”

Ashley
turned to him. “Oh, yeah? Where did you grow up?”

“Chicago…”

The two
seemed to forget about her as they discussed Malik’s past, and she was thankful
to no longer be the center of attention. She was curious how he had ended up at
the compound but forced herself to bite her tongue. Nearby cameras picked up
every word they said. It was frowned upon to discuss unorthodox methods of
arriving at the compound; the word ‘kidnapped’ was not in their approved
vocabulary, so she didn’t ask the questions that were on her mind. She could
only imagine that Malik’s mother must miss him just as much as she imagined her
own parents missed her.

She
swirled her sweet potato fry in ketchup as she casually observed the resident
chef, who had just emerged from the kitchen. The rotund, jolly man, who sported
a large, white, chef’s hat and white mustache, always seemed to be in bright
spirits. She had befriended Chef Franco early on in her compound residency, and
during her free time, he often invited her to help out in the kitchen.

With a
tray in hand, he was off to personally deliver the evening’s meal to Henry.
When he spotted her, he circumvented the room so that he could pass her table.

“Ah,
la
mia stella
! How are you today? How is your burger? It’s to your perfection,
no?”

Rebecka
smiled. “It’s perfect, Franco. Thank you.”

“
Buono
,
I am glad that I can bring a bit of happiness to your day. I am off to deliver
this to Henry. Would you like to join me when I return? You could help me pass
out desserts this evening.”

A
dessert delivery to Henry’s office would be the perfect opportunity to look for
the book, and she jumped at the offer. “I’d love to, thanks! But…just so long
as I get first dibs on dessert,” she replied with a wink. “Something with a bit
of chocolate perhaps?”

“For
you,
cara mia
, anything. You will be here when I return?”

“Yep.
I’m not going anywhere. I’ll wait for you.”

After
Franco was out of earshot, Malik said, “So, you and Chef Boyardee there, you’re
pretty tight, huh?”

Rebecka
smiled. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. He’s a good friend.”

“So
really, what I’m hearing is that you’ve got the hook-up on dessert. All this
time and you’ve been holding out on me.”

She
laughed. “I might have a bit of inside persuasion.”

“I
always knew you were my favorite girl for a reason.”

Ashley
cocked her head to the side and eyed him. “Favorite girl?”

Malik
laughed. “You know I’m just playin’. I love you too, Ash.”

Ashley
grinned. “Gee thanks, Malik. You sure know how to make a girl feel special.”
She glanced at the clock. “I hate to eat and run, you guys, but I promised
Henry that I’d check in on that new kid downstairs.”

Rebecka
perked up but didn’t want to make it seem that she was too interested. “Oh
yeah, I forgot about him. He’s been here for a couple of weeks, hasn’t he?”

“Yeah,”
Ashley confirmed. “We’re hoping to make some progress with him. With luck, he
might be able to join us in a few days.”

“Hey,
another guy to hang out with,” Malik said. “That would be great. I’ll bet you’d
think so too, huh, Rebecka? You were just saying there aren’t enough guys
around here.”

Even
though it sounded like a joke, he seemed to eye her with suspicion. He couldn’t
possibly know that she had already met Toby. Could he?

Rebecka
ignored his comment and turned to Ashley, who stood to go. “I’ll see you
later.”

Ashley
grinned. “See ya. Bye, Malik.”

 “Bye,
Ash.” Malik waved and then seemed to be distracted with lunch until their
friend had left the room. Once she was out of sight, he turned and eyed her
closely. “So?”

She
tried to appear confused. “So…what?” He definitely knew that she was up to
something.

“So…I
might not be able to see auras or hear thoughts, but I sense emotions more than
anyone else in this place. As soon as Miss Strawberry Shortcake mentioned that
new kid, I felt your excitement. I don’t know how you know him, but you like
the guy, don’t you?”

Rebecka
prayed that no one was paying attention to them on the surveillance camera. She
didn’t want any sort of suspicion raised before she and Toby could put a plan
into place. “Strawberry Shortcake? You mean Ashley?” She tried to stall for
time so that she could think of a response.

“Well,
you know…the red hair and all. It seems kind of fitting, don’t you think?”

She
chuckled. “Yeah…sure, it’s…cute. I don’t know if Ashley would see it that way,
but give it a try. Maybe the nickname will stick.”

“You’re
totally trying to avoid the question, aren’t you?”

“What
question?” Rebecka tried to sound dumbfounded.

“What’s
the story with the new kid? You know more than you’re letting on, don’t you?”

Rebecka
glanced discreetly from Malik to the leering camera and back. She prayed that
he would get the hint and drop the subject. “Nope I don’t know any more than
you know. Maybe it’s like you said, I’m just excited there’s going to be a new
boy around. Maybe I
am
hoping he’ll be cute.”

“That’s
your story and you’re sticking to it? Alright, then.” He stood and lifted his
tray to go. “I’ll catch you later, girl. I’ve gotta bounce. My TV and video
game are callin’ my name. I wouldn’t want to keep them waiting.” He walked
around the table, stopped by her side, and leaned against the table so that his
back was to the surveillance camera, and faced her. He leaned in close then and
whispered, “Just so that you and I are on the same page,
stella mia
,
I’ve got your back. Whatever secret you’re keeping, I won’t let on.”

Then he
straightened and in a normal voice said, “You wanna come race some cars with me
later? I got an extra control.”

She
smiled, knowing that she could trust him and feeling grateful for his friendship.
“Thanks, Malik. I’ll keep the offer in mind. See ya later.”

*****

Henry’s
office was the fifth and final stop on the main floor for the dessert delivery
route. With luck, the book would still be on his desk, where she had seen it
the week before. She pushed the dessert cart to his door, took a deep breath,
and knocked.
Here goes nothin’
, she thought.

“Come
in,” Henry answered.

With a
swipe of the access card Chef Franco had loaned her, she opened the door and
then turned to arm herself with a dessert plate. The standard thermos of
coffee, provided to the guards on night duty, was unnecessary for Henry. He
preferred to brew his own gourmet blend in his office.

When she
entered, Henry removed himself from his work, leaned back in his chair, and
laced his fingers behind his head. “Ah, perfect timing, Rebecka. Come in. Come
in, please. Helping out Chef Franco, tonight, are you? And what have you
brought for me, my dear?”

Somehow,
when Henry called her ‘my dear’ it didn’t hold the same endearing connotation
as when Franco said it in his native Italian. Perhaps it was because she
considered Franco a friend, and Henry was…well, kind of creepy, in a sly sort
of way.

Determined
not to let her negative feelings for the man show, she strode toward his desk
with her head held high. “Chef Franco made chocolate tiramisu. Can I interest
you in a slice?” She walked around his desk and set it beside his laptop. As
she did so, she inconspicuously scanned the area for the book. The last time
she had seen it, it had been on the corner of his desk, on the top stack of
three or four other books. It wasn’t there.

She was
instantly grateful that Henry wasn’t gifted in the slightest and couldn’t read
thoughts or emotions. On the outside, she appeared calm and happy to have the
opportunity to serve him; on the inside, she was freaking out. Henry was a busy
man. She could get by with a minute of small talk at the most while she scanned
his office for the book. Anything longer than that and he would grow anxious to
have her leave.

“Mmm,
this looks wonderful. He must have a knack of knowing what my favorite desserts
are. He never seems to go wrong. Please express my gratitude to Chef Franco.”
He stared at her with a patient smile that subtly said, ‘
Okay you can leave
my office now’
.

She
wasn’t ready to leave and pretended to take no notice of the hint. “I will
definitely pass on your appreciation. Is there anything else I can get for you,
this evening?” She scanned his desk, once more. Maybe he had moved the book to
a different pile.

“Uh,
nope. I think that will be all. Thanks so much, Rebecka.” There was a
definitive request of departure in his tone.

The book
was still nowhere in sight, and she wasn’t ready to give up. If she didn’t find
it now, she would have to come back later. She glanced then at the sidebar,
which housed a mini fridge, a sink, and a coffee pot. Beside the ledge was a
built-in bookcase, and on the ledge itself was a small stack of books. From
where she stood, she couldn’t tell if the book was housed in the pile, but she
had to see. “Oh wait. Before I go, let me get you a cup of coffee. Franco
insisted that the tiramisu must be enjoyed with coffee.”

Henry
laughed. “That sounds like Franco, all right. Don’t worry about it though. I
can help myself.”

“No, I
insist. I’m already up. Stay seated and I’ll pour you a cup.” Before he could
argue, Rebecka advanced on the coffee pot and grabbed one of four ceramic mugs
that hung on a hook above the counter. With her back to him, she lifted the
full pot of coffee and began to pour. She was cognizant of the fact that the
hot liquid needed to be poured
into
the cup and not the counter as she
surveyed the nearby stack of books. She had only seen the book once, but the
blue spine that stuck out, second from the bottom, resembled the book from her
memory.

She
turned her attention back to the task at hand and quickly tipped the coffee pot
upright before she overfilled the cup. Would it seem too obvious if she
pretended to peruse his literature selection? It wasn’t uncommon to show an
interest in books, was it? She decided that she would take her chances. Even if
he did suspect her behavior as odd, he would never guess her true motivations.