18 Truths (22 page)

I shook my head. “Right, a storage facility.”

“You’ll need the fingerprint of someone who has access to get into the storage facility.” He paused and reached to the inside of his shorts pocket before holding out a zip lock baggie. “Inside the bag you’ll find some tools to help you. That right there”—he nodded—“is an artificial gummy finger with Riel’s fingerprint on it. Just slip it on your pointer finger and press the security panel to the right of the front door for a good three seconds.”

“Couldn’t I—and Riel for that matter—just walk
through
the front door?”

Sam thrust the bag into my hands. “You think they’d make access that easy? They have wards up to protect against that type of thing.”

“How did you get Riel’s fingerprint?”

“Those aren’t details you need to worry about. Now, when you step into the elevator to go to the seventh floor, a machine will most likely automatically scan you for high-tech gadgets and hidden tools, so you’ll have to stash a bag somewhere on the first floor with the rest of the things I’m giving you for your journey. Your cell phone won’t be able to receive calls or send any messages. I can’t give you a com link. If your mission is compromised in any way, there will be hell to pay. Literally.”

“How do you know this? Why not just go in yourself?”

Sam picked a stick from a nearby plant and twirled the piece of thin wood in his fingers. “I’m sort of guessing about the tech scan, but we have something similar at demon headquarters, and I’ve heard rumors of the angel technology. Although nobody who goes in there seems to be allowed past the first floor anyway. Moreover, the reason we need you at all for this mission is that the wards I just told you about? Demons can’t penetrate past them. We’ve never been able to enter or even see what’s through the windows. Only four angels have access to the building, and they are untouchable. Even if we could touch Michael and Gabriel, they travel so fast across the universe, we can’t even track their whereabouts. We didn’t even know Dr. Judy possessed such knowledge until you hacked into her fried brain.”

Swallowing hard, I placed my hands on the tabletop and leaned forward. “Why do you trust me with such an important mission? I mean, I’m flattered, but I’m only on my first spirit guide job. And as far as I can tell, I’m failing. Do you really think I’m capable of completing this task all by myself?”

Sam let out a long sigh. “Look, the fact that you’re new is why we approached you. Plus, the Creator made you very intelligent. And your weakness is you care way too much about others to let this mission fail. Now, if you can focus for five minutes, I can explain the rest of the mission to you and get us both out of here. You still have the elevator code Dr. Judy gave you?”

“How’d you—”

“Squirrel!”

I jumped, expecting some rodent with rabies behind me, but nope, nothing.

“Oh, sorry. There’s no real squirrel. There’s no real anything here. I’m just referring to your short attention span. Do me a favor, sweetheart. Be like a camera and focus. Where was I? Let’s recap. You’ll scan Riel’s finger, stash your bag of tricks, type in the elevator code, and an automatic tech scanner will activate when you push the up button. Once you’re at the seventh floor, like I said, you’re on your own. Type in the computer password you obtained from Dr. Judy to grant you access and download the Alpha File 120 onto your phone.”

“What do you mean? I thought my phone wouldn’t work inside headquarters.” My gaze fell on a couple by the lake enjoying a picnic. I could not imagine ever wanting to eat again. This had to be at the top of my list for the craziest conversation ever.

“Probably not for calls, I’ve heard it’s a dead zone in there.” He paused, chuckling at his own lame joke. “But we’re hoping you’ll be able to download the file through your phone because it’s an angel issued device. I’d give you one of our tech pieces, but I think the computer system would detect something off. Once you have the file, you’ll need to escape the building. I have these to help you gain entrance and exit undetected.”

He handed me a pillbox under the table. When I opened the small gold container, I found two white, oval-shaped tablets, each about two centimeters long. I kept my gaze downward, not wanting to give Sam the satisfaction of my terror. The pills I swallowed, the pills that took my life, looked exactly like these ones. Certainly, Sam knew that.

I narrowed my eyes. “How are these pills going to help me?”

Swatting a fly in the air, he seemed irritated I didn’t show more emotion. “Place it on your tongue and the pill will dissolve instantly, giving you a full minute of invisibility. We’re working on a prototype that will last longer, but sixty seconds is as good as it gets so far. I hope you move fast.”

“I’ll be fast enough. Now, are we done here, or—”

He held up a hand and edged in closer, his face a mere inch away. “Just to be clear, I’m the one in charge. Yeah, I’m giving you a long leash. Just understand I won’t allow you to compromise our mission. Inside here”—he handed me an envelope—“you’ll find your directions for locating the wormhole and for the dead drop. I won’t be able to follow you to Juvie through the wormhole, so—”

“Juvie? So that’s where Conner is?” My body went as still as a statue.

“Yes. But I’m not telling you how to get there. You’ll need to hack that information for yourself when you’re in the storage facility. Otherwise, I’d have no insurance policy you’ll follow through with the Alpha File. The thing is, demons have free reign in the Underworld to mess with angels and spirit guides because you are mere servants, less than humans. But there are wards the angels put up, allowing only one demon at a time the permission for a twenty-four hour access pass to enter each Limbo plane, each Juvie camp, and each Purgatory cell. Even after we’re in, we can only target those already contemplating evil.

“So, once you enter Conner’s camp, I can’t follow you because since you’re using our entrance, they’ll assume you’re a demon. You can leave anytime you want, but I’m willing to give you your day with Conner as your reward. The next day, if you perform the dead drop as instructed, then it’ll be as if we never met.”

I took a deep breath. “You mean, I’ll never have to see you again?”

“Nope. Disappointing, isn’t it?” He licked his lips.

Ignoring how terrifying he looked with his vacant eyes in his vampire pale face, I asked a dangerous question. “What if I don’t perform the dead drop and stay in Juvie forever?” After all, the demons wouldn’t be able to get in then, would they? Would Riel and Ash come looking for me, or leave me for God to judge later?

He snapped the stick he held in his hand with more ferocity than necessary, and pointed both halves toward Nate and Grace. “Then they suffer the consequences of your bad decisions.”

A vision flooded my mind of Nate and Grace locked in a cell, beaten and covered in blood. I sucked in a breath, trying not to hyperventilate.

“We straight now?” Sam asked, confirming my suspicion that he’d given me a taste of the future I could expect if I didn’t follow orders.

I nodded, slow and careful.

“Good. I’ve kept the wormhole to Conner’s part of Juvie open for you tomorrow, but it expires at sunset. That gives you until almost nine to complete your mission. Good luck, Olga. I’ll say an extra Hail Mary for you before I go to bed tonight.”

or the third time this summer, I skipped school. I was surprised the Tammy in my Limbo state never added that one to my life list.

I just didn’t have the strength within me to face Nate and pretend to be his sister for three hours of summer courses, even if it would mean seeing his face one last time. Instead, I performed the everyday motions of a normal person. I woke up at seven. I took a shower. I dressed. I walked to the cafeteria. I ate breakfast. These felt like the last normal things I would ever do, so I savored them.

When I packed my backpack, nothing felt normal. Inside, I kept all the contents issued by Riel and Ash when Nate and I officially became spirit guides. The glue stick with the toggle switch could prove especially handy. Then I added all the stuff Sam gave me: the gummy finger, the pillbox, and the folder detailing my assignment.

The thought of leaving Nate a note crossed my mind, then uncrossed it. The less information he knew, the less he was involved, the better.

Instead, I opened my spirit guide meditation book and prepared to journal. Today’s verse came from the book of Isaiah, chapter forty, verse thirty-one: “Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

I had to admit, I felt guilty reading these verses. Part of me wanted to hide myself from God, but I knew concealment proved impossible. So I poured my heart onto the page.

Lord, You know I’m tired. Your strength never weakens, and for that, I am thankful. I pray You would give me some of your strength for this mission today. On my own, I feel the weight of what I have to do, and it’s crushing me. You’ve helped me to rise above so many difficulties already. I hope You’re not too busy or too angry to help again. I do trust You, but I also trust You are giving me tools to accomplish a task. Trusting means following the prompts of Your Spirit, right? And I don’t feel a ‘no’ from You in any of this. Maybe I should wait longer, be more patient for answers about Conner. But I care too much for him. I know You’re all-knowing and see what’s driving me. I have but limited knowledge, and I have this need to understand what happened to Conner above all else. I pray for Your mercy and protection, that my plan will work and the Alpha File 120 won’t fall into the wrong hands. I hope I can save the fate of four souls today, not just one.

Thumbing through some more meditations, I searched for additional guidance, but my mind was already somewhere else. I stuffed the book into my backpack, zipped it closed, and slung the bag over my shoulder along with a navy parka incase where I headed was cold. On my way out, I passed Nate’s room and on a whim, decided to go inside. Just as I suspected, he wasn’t there. The time on the bedside clock read just after nine, and he’d done the responsible thing: gone to school.

I turned to leave and noticed my reflection in the full-length mirror. My sneakers, my faded jeans, the avocado colored T-shirt over my long sleeved white shirt, the crucifix necklace I wore, my French braid… all of these things made me look so normal on the outside.

On the inside, I felt like a hot mess. But my look was missing one thing. I grabbed Nate’s army green hat off a peg on his wall. The hat featured a small cream colored cross on the left side. I tried the hat on for size and found wearing something of Nate’s gave me courage. I shut the door on my way out, never looking back.

I tried to leave headquarters undetected, but heard Riel’s voice behind me just as soon as I walked through the wall.

“Olga!” he called.

Great, I can’t even leave the building without someone noticing. So much for my life as a super spy.

He teleported to the other side of the wall and stood next to me within the blink of an eye. “What are you doing here? Late to school today, or did you take my advice about taking the week off?”