“I’ve never had either.Water is fine.”She let her gaze drop to the table.She hated having to admit that she’d never done something as normal as drink a soda.
“Hey, Dax!”Hawkeye yelled, lifting an arm, then lowering it.“What do you want to eat?”he asked her.
“I’m fine.”Delilah wasn’t sure she could keep anything down, not until she knew what would be happening to her.She glanced around the room and didn’t see the barely dressed and naked women wandering around like there had been with the Crows.Maybe things were different here.Maybe not.She would have to wait and see.
“Give us just a second, Pike.I want to get this started first.”Hawkeye said to the stranger across from her.
Pike nodded and pulled out a computer.Delilah watched as he set it on the table and opened it.She might never have used a computer, but she knew what they were.He pulled out a second and set it beside the one he’d already opened.She was vaguely aware of someone approaching and Hawkeye talking to him, but she was too interested in Pike to pay much attention.After the new guy walked away, Pike pushed the second computer toward Hawkeye.
“I brought this for you.I figured you’d be eager to get busy.”
“You’re not wrong,” Hawkeye slid the laptop into place in front of him, then spun it around so the opening was facing him and opened it.“Did you bring a mouse?”
Pike dug around in the bag in the chair beside him, pulled out a small wireless mouse and handed it over.
“Tell me what you’ve found so far,” Hawkeye said.
“Not much.The Calling has an online presence, but only for recruiting.They’re not registered as a 501c, or a business of any kind.There are no bank accounts for the cult, at least not with that name or any variation I can find.There are, however, accounts for the ‘father’ and several of his ‘bishops.’Those are larger than they should be, even if they’re drawing a reasonable salary from the group.”
Delilah frowned.Why were they looking into The Calling?Were they planning to try to send her back there, despite what Hawkeye said?
“As for a Warren Hammond, that’s a little more difficult.Warren isn’t a common name, but it’s not unheard of either.Hammond, is fairly common.I mean it’s not Smith, but it’s not Lipshitz either.It looks like there are about a hundred of them in the US.I can’t find a record of any of them in Idaho in the last five years.”
“Delilah, I know you said you don’t know exactly when he was born but I don’t recall what you said, can you repeat it for us both?”Hawkeye turned his attention to her for the first time since the new man had slid a computer across the table.“Shit, I’m sorry.I forgot to introduce you.Delilah, this is Pike.He’s one of my brothers.He’s trying to help me find out as much about Jericho as we can.”He turned to face the man across the table.“Pike, this is Delilah.She spent most of her life in Jericho.We pulled her out of the Crows’ clubhouse when we went in.”
She glanced over at Pike, not sure if she should look at his face or keep her eyes lowered.When he didn’t seem offended by the glance, she looked a little longer.
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
“Nice to meet you, too,” Pike said, creases between his brows.Was he wondering why she was here when none of the other girls were.She heard something about a shelter but was afraid to ask for details.
“What can you tell us about Hammond?”
“He’s forty-seven or forty-eight, I think.I’m not sure.We don’t celebrate birthdays, so all I know is his was sometime in the summer.I have no idea where he was born, though.”
“That’s okay.It gives me somewhere to start.”Pike started hitting keys on the computer.Glancing up at her once in a while to ask questions like, “Does he talk like you and me or does he say things differently?”
Delilah frowned but stayed silent.What did he mean?
“Do his words sound the same as yours and mine or do they sound different?Like does he say wash orwarsh?Wolves orwoves?Does he drop his Rs?”
Her frown deepened into a scowl.“Drop his Rs?”she had no clue what it meant.
“Hey, Shark, come over here a sec.”Hawkeye yelled, startling her and she jumped.“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I’m okay.”
He watched her a moment longer, as if something was wrong and he could get her to tell him what if he just watched her long enough.It didn’t work.She might talk to Hawkeye.Maybe.But there was no way she would say anything in a room full of men she’d never seen before ten minutes ago.There was no way to know who might hear her or what they might do.She was better off just keeping her mouth shut.
“What you need, Hawkeye?”A man with blue spiked hair that stood up about four inches from his head said as he stopped by the table.
“I wanted you to meet someone.”Hawkeye turned toward her.“This is Delilah.Tell her your name.”
The new guy stared at Hawkeye, then shrugged and turned to address her.“Nice to meet you, Delilah, I’m Shawk.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Shark.”
“Did you catch that?”Hawkeye said, looking at her.
