He longed to sit beside her but didn’t want to soil his suit. Instead, he took his coat off and rubbed the sweat from the back of his neck. “I took a break…wanted to see how you were doing.”
“Yeah, checking on me.” She chuckled. “I promised you I’d stay for a week, didn’t I?”
He held out his hand. “What say I order some food and we have lunch?”
“Sure.” Gripping his fingers, she allowed him to pull her up, showering him in sand.
“Sorry,” she said, giggling.
He attempted to brush off his shirt and pants. “By the way, what were you laughing at before?”
She glanced down at the perfectly formed angel and smiled. “Nothing in particular, I guess. Just enjoying a moment with God.”
Thomas suppressed a gag. He certainly had his work cut out for him in the next week.
Back in the house, their food arrived, and if he were honest, he was having a wonderful time enjoying a meal with Tori. He didn’t even mind that she’d dragged in sand everywhere, that her hair was a tangled mess, and she still wore that baggy guard uniform.
He’d missed her smile, her carefree attitude, and the way she erased all the problems of the world with her very presence. He’d have thought life would have hardened her by now, made her skeptical and cranky, but she seemed even more joyful than he remembered, if that were possible. She was a Deviant, on the run for her life, but she acted as if she were the one with the huge mansion and prestigious job and more money than she knew what to do with.
They talked about the fun times they’d had as teenagers, a little about her experiences at art school, but mostly about him. He’d forgotten how good a listener she was, how easy she was to talk to, and he found himself wanting to share everything with this woman. More than once, he had to remind himself that he was the interrogator, not her.
Finally, near the end of the meal, she blurted out, “Premier Aali will rise from the dead in three days. Well, two now, I guess.”
The happy mood of moments ago fell to the floor in a heap. But it was a good reminder of his task here. To fix her. To reprogram her. “He’s going to rise from the dead?” Standing, he dabbed the napkin over his mouth and tossed his paper plate in the garbage. “Come on, Tori, nobody rises from the dead, not even your Jesus. Even the Neflams can’t do that. I know Aali was charismatic, kind and brilliant, but he was just a man.”
“He won’t be a man when he rises.” She plopped a shrimp into her mouth. “You’ll see.”
He studied her, searching for insanity taunting him from her green eyes. Nothing but clarity and kindness returned his gaze.
“Okay. Let’s talk about this tonight. In the meantime, you can use the third bedroom to your left. You’ll probably find some clothes there that will fit you. And feel free to take a shower.”
He hated to alert her to the fact that other women had stayed here, but it wasn’t like he could order women’s clothing without it being flagged by those searching for the person who helped her escape.
This Sergeant Cruz with his ties to the Tall Whites was not one to mess around with. Thomas must be extra careful not to make a single mistake. Or he had the feeling he’d be the one to be crucified.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
Revelation 12:7-10
Chapter 7
One more thing, sir, if you don’t mind.” Sergeant Cruz’s pesky voice followed Thomas into his office.
Honestly, hedidmind. After two days of annoyingly pointless questions by the young upstart, Thomas was developing a keen dislike of the man. Circling his desk, he took a seat and pretended to read a document laid out before him, hoping Cruz would take the hint and leave.
He didn’t.
He merely stood at attention waiting for Thomas to look up. When he finally did, it was to a cocky grin that Thomas longed to punch off his face. Better yet, he’d love to send the lad packing to wherever he came from. Thomas had more power in his pinky than this boy could ever hope to achieve in a lifetime. Yet here he was having to endure being interrogated like some Deviant.
“Listen, Cruz. I know you have a job to do, but I’ve answered all your questions. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a ton of work.”
“Sir, of course. I’m sorry to bother you so much, but I still don’t understand a few things.” Cruz pulled out his phone and began typing. “For instance, how the perpetrator was able to get a visitor digital ID from Security without any record? And why all the sensors and cameras in that area were out for five minutes on the day of the escape?”
“And I’ve told you,” Thomas ground out. “I have no idea.”
Cruz looked up and sighed. “But that doesn’t make sense, sir. You told me that very few people have access to Security or even the know-how to activate a digital badge.”
Thomas returned his gaze to the document. “That’s right.”
