She’s radiating nervous energy, and he tries to go gently. ‘We’re supposed to be staying here, listening to the scanner and—’
‘This scanner?’ Emma pokes the softly hissing machine, raises her eyebrows. ‘The scanner that doesn’twork?’
‘Emma—’
‘Travis, I can’t just sit here.’ She swallows at the admission. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t. When I sit here, all I can think about is Linda, and what Kirke might be doing to her.’ Her expression flickers, and he sees the bubbling desperation she’s trying to control, how it’s wearing on her. ‘I’ve got to do something. Please.’
He presses his lips. The way she saidplease, the tension spilling out of her, it all gives him pause. He sighs. ‘Carter wouldn’t like it.’
‘Carter isn’t here.’
‘What happened to good behavior?’ He tries to turn it into a joke.
Emma just looks at him.
‘I’m not a fully-fledged agent,’ he says softly. It’s a reminder to her and to himself. ‘If something goes wrong, I’m not qualified to protect you.’
‘You’re qualified enough for me.’ She holds his gaze for a long moment, before breaking eye contact to gesture at the phone. ‘Okay – call Faye, ask for a patch through to the strike team. Get Carter’s permission.’
‘Really?’
‘I don’t want you to do something you’re not comfortable with.’ She nods at the phone. ‘Really. Go ahead and ask him.’
Travis reaches for the handset, makes the call to Faye. Emma listens, pacing. Faye tries the patch – it’s unsuccessful. Travis hangs up, considering his options.
‘It’s just a warehouse.’ He tries to see if saying it out loud makes it more palatable.
Emma nods, hopeful. ‘And we’ve known from the beginning that Kirke keeps his victims in a house, with a bathroom and akitchen and the privacy he needs.’ She shifts foot to foot. ‘Look, call Faye back. She can keep trying Carter so he knows where we are.’
There’s a long pause in the quiet room. Travis can hear the hum of the fluorescent lights above them. He has to make a decision now, and he wants it to be the right one.
He stands, grabbing the phone again. ‘Okay, let me make this call to Faye and we’ll go.’
Emma lets out a massive breath. ‘Thank you.’
‘No problem.’ He glances at her as he dials. ‘But between here and Beechview, you need to figure out an answer to the biggest question.’
‘What’s that?’
‘What are we gonna do with six hundred and fifty bottles of nail polish?’
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
‘Simon, you must listen now.’ Kristin lifts a hand to prevent interruption. Her voice is soft. ‘I need to say something, and I don’t know if I’ll be able to articulate it so clearly again.’
She sits forward on the wooden chair, fingers clutched together, ankles crossed, everything symmetrical and neat. What she wants to explain is not neat. She takes a breath and dives deep within herself for the words she requires.
‘We have always been together. We were in Mother’s body together, we were babies together, and then children, sleeping curled up in one bed. We have lived and loved in unison our entire lives, which is one reason this separation has felt so cruel …’ Kristin glances away and swallows down tears. Tears are of no use now. ‘We are two people, but we are one. I know you feel the same.’
‘I do.’ Simon’s whisper carries through the bars. He holds his spine straight, with a controlled tension.
‘Yes.’ Kristin nods. She hunts for her words, her thread. ‘So I know you will understand when I say that every individual is a spectrum. From light to dark, we all hold goodness and evil inside. Even the most holy man has flaws – petty grievances, weaknesses,vices, faults. It is what makes us all human.’ She looks into Simon’s eyes, finding her direction. ‘Even the gods are not pure. Do you remember our old history tutor, Ram? How he told us the story of the Mahabharata, when the prince Arjuna has the god Krishna as his charioteer? Arjuna has a crisis of conscience about going into battle to kill his cousins, and to appease him, Krishna reveals his godly form—’
‘Yes – the Vishvarupa.’ Simon leans forward, knuckles white on the metal edge of his bunk, and recites.‘Behold now, Arjuna, the entire universe… assembled together in my universal form.’
Kristin nods excitedly. ‘And Arjuna was both dazzled and terrified, for the form of god extended immeasurably in all directions.’
Simon smiles. ‘And the Supreme Lord said:I am mighty Time, the source of destruction that comes forth to annihilate worlds.’
