Chapter 7: Chapter 7

She has seen some surreal moments in her tenure at Progression Software, but for the first time in as long as she can remember, Alice finds that she is not exactly sure what is going on in David’s head. She is desperate to voice this but she’s not one to admit this sudden weakness to anyone - especially not to him.

She had honestly expected him to take her to the haunts. It is the most natural place to go to hear word on what the enemy is up to. There is always someone willing to talk, even though sometimes it takes a little bit of David’s natural charm and a smidgeon of Alice’s natural aggression.

But instead he has entrusted that particular job to Belinda and Edward. Alice does not like to think about what kind of trouble they are already in. She likes both of them (well sometimes Belinda just pisses her off) but she has to admit that she does not think that they will be able to handle the mission they have been given quite as well as David and Alice could have. The haunts are not the safest place in the city.

But, of course, when David has a plan it always works out for the best, as far as Alice is concerned. She has no doubts in her mind that this will be the same situation. She is a little freaked out by the fact that he has, so far, not said a word throughout the whole journey,

She wants to ask where they are going but the question gets caught in her throat and she simply can’t voice it. She has the feeling that their mission is very important, though. Can it be that David already has half an idea where Isabelle is?

David continues to look ahead for the rest of the journey. Usually he is quite chatty when they drive, even when there is danger on the horizon. It is very strange to see him like this and Alice does not like it one little bit. There are times he is so caught up in the chatting that, later on, everyone else in the car has debated about how he had been able to keep control of the vehicle.

But right now he seems to be thinking about nothing else but the journey.

Or maybe he is thinking of the destination.

2.

Tuesday 27th April 2010

01:32

Karen Anderson has the look of a woman in power; her hair dragged back along her head so that it looks like the skin at the hairline is ready to tear open. The hair continues back and is tied up with the use of those things that can be bought in pharmacies to keep hair in order, the name of which escapes her at the moment. The excess hair, which is never seen down but is kept for the sake of her womanhood, hangs in a ponytail down to the centre of her back.

She is not an unattractive woman; she just looks harsh, her hair dyed peroxide blonde (she is supposed to be a brunette but the dyeing has been done so well that an observer would never know for sure) and the dark suit she wears – not like the kind that David and his two visitors wear but that power suit that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the bitch role in a television show.

As usual, she is still sifting through documents at her desk just after half past one in the morning. Sometimes the offices of Orson Industries seem busier at this time of night than during the day. She smiles humourlessly at this thought. When you have been in this job for long enough, you really don’t want to sleep that much any more.

One of Karen’s main jobs is to keep tabs on David Oswald and his cohorts. She was as amazed as everyone else when she got this job, as it was a very important task to give to someone who still didn’t have the same level of recognition as some people in the company had – people who had been overlooked for the position.

That is one of the main reasons for her crazy hours. David Oswald never seems to sleep so why should she?

She is in deep concentration reading the most recent report when there is a knock at her office door. She ignores it just for a moment. She is too busy reading that David had been visited by one of the men in light grey suits. She knew that the key to what David was all about lay in these men who visited at night.

She knows that her superiors know who these men are (a file she had read once name dropped a couple of organisations – she remembers one of them as Nemesis but the other one was fairly non descript and disappeared from her mind within a day of reading the report – drowned from memory by the intimidating presence of Nemesis) and she curses under her breath that now she is not being given access to any files which pertains to the organisations in any great detail. She wants badly to know who they are and what their relationship to David is. There might be answers about his past that would give her clues about how to proceed in investigating his present.

The door knocks again. Whoever is there was going to be in a serious amount of trouble disturbing her while she is trying to concentrate on these important documents, and in Orson Industries trouble is a dangerous thing. “Come in.!”

She is glad it is not one of the Directors. The anger is too apparent on that wonderful face of hers that has trouble with a smile but has no problem with the sterner emotions. It is just an underling, an unattractive looking man that she remembers throwing coffee over a few weeks ago. He seems to have no scarring. She thinks to herself that this is a shame.

She asks in a gentle tone, as tough as someone enquiring after an elderly relative, “What the fuck is it?”

The man seems a little fazed by this and her eyes seem to burrow into his soul compelling him to tell her just why he is here.

“We’ve just received word that David has brought his team in.”

She will forgive him for the interruption. She makes a mental note to remember to put milk in the coffee next time she loses her temper.

She looks at her watch. “He only ever does this when there’s something important happening.”

The man nods. “I thought you might like to know…”

Suddenly another man appears at the door. Karen doesn’t like him much either but she has refrained from burning him with hot liquids so maybe this guy is redeemable.

“We just got word!” The new guy tells them. “They’re moving.”

And, with that, it is time to get busy. Karen looks at the two men standing in front of her. “I want them followed. I want to know where they’re going.”

They leave to do her bidding and she finds once again that she still enjoys the power she has. Suddenly things start to happen.

She might manage to stay awake a little longer after all.