Curse (Blur Trilogy Book 3) (25 page)

CHAPTER FIFTY

In the security control room, Adrian finished instructing the general on how to use the portable tracking device to locate the subjects. The unit was about the size of a tablet computer.

“As you can see . . .” He pointed to the glowing dots in the virtual map of the Estoria. “Everyone’s safely tucked in for the night.”

She tapped the screen. “What’s this on the fourth floor?”

One dot was blinking where no prisoners were supposed to be.

That must be where Henrik has Zacharias.

Reminding himself that, since it was in the service of justice, a slight lie would be excusable, Adrian said, “That’s where we store the ink supply.”

“I see.” The general turned her attention to a nearby console with a panel of buttons and switches. It lay just beneath the reinforced window that provided a bird’s-eye view of the hallway where the subjects were kept. “And this is where you, what? Control access to their rooms?”

“Yes.”

“So, you have locked interior and exterior doors, vascular biometrics, armed guards, an isolated location, a global tracking system.”

“As well as a perimeter fence and motion sensors in the woods.”

“I would say that, given your resources, you are providing ample security.”

“Thank you.”

“Alright.” She faced him. “I’ve read the reports, but I want to hear it from you. Talk me through your critical flicker-fusion frequency tests.”

“Well, let’s see . . . So, as you know, not all biological entities process the passage of time at the same rate. Even
Homo sapiens
of different ages process time differently. For example, time seems to speed up the older we get.”

“And that’s where the tests come in.”

He nodded. “We flash a light at varying intervals and then study at what point, for that specific organism, the flickers of light appear to become constant.”

“And how can you tell when flashing lights appear constant to, say, a fly?”

“By studying their reaction to the frequency of the flashes over a predetermined span of time.”

The general evaluated that. “And by doing this you’ve confirmed that different species truly do perceive time to pass differently?”

Adrian’s phone vibrated and, with everything that was going on, he decided to check it.

He found a text from Deedee:
Running late. Traffic is backed up. We’ll be there as soon as we can.

For a moment he considered replying and telling her not to bring Petra in, but he needed to control things and the best way to do that was by having her here at the Estoria. He could have them bring her in through a back entrance, keep the general away from her, especially at nine when—

“Adrian?”

“I’m sorry?”

“You were saying? The frequency of the flashes?”

“Yes. Right. Excuse me.” He put the phone away. “Flies have been of particular interest to me since they process things four times faster than we do.”

“So, to them, movement appears four times slower than it does for us?”

“Precisel
y.
” He thought about showing her the
Tabanidae
room in the basement, but decided that, to save time, he would onl
y
do so if she specificall
y
requested it.

“And this new drug you’ve been telling me about, the one you’ve been wanting to test—it creates this same effect in people?”

“I believe it will, yes.”

“Do you have any idea if it will alleviate pain?”

“Pain? No. It wouldn’t serve to mitigate pain. Given the way it’ll interact with the nervous system, if anything, it would intensify it.”

She looked deep in thought.

He knew that the military was interested in his research for use in interrogations. He’d never probed into specifically how her people were going to utilize it, but now her questions made him curious. “I hope I’m not being out of line to ask this, but are you thinking of using Telpatine in lieu of waterboarding?”

She didn’t deny anything. “We need interrogation methods that are just as effective but not as politically divisive.”

“But I thought studies had found that waterboarding
wasn’t
effective?”

“Adrian, you’re a smart man. Do you really think that in today’s political climate a government committee would come to any other conclusion?”

“Hmm. I suppose not.”

“For example, can you imagine if the Senate Intelligence Committee would actually have come out and admitted how helpful it’s been in our counterterrorism efforts? ‘Yes, you know what? Waterboarding really does help us stop terrorist attacks. We’re going to keep using it.’”

“The backlash would have been incredible.”

“
Devastating
might be a better word. And so, it’s no longer an option. That has left us searching for alternate techniques that will provide consistent, veridical, and reliable results during enhanced interrogations.”

“And by making those interrogations seem longer than they are.”

“When necessary.”

“That’s where the Telpatine comes in.”

“Yes.”

“As well as the other methods I’ve developed for the subjects under my care.”

“Under your care?”

“Yes.”

“That’s an interesting way to phrase things.”

“How would you have me phrase things?”

Rather than answer that, she said, “Do you have records of your tests with the
Tabanidae
? Video files? Anything of that nature?”

“Certainly. There’s a conference room on the second floor, just down the hall from my office. We can watch them in there.”

Nicole was driving. “We’ve gotta be close, right?”

“It looks like it,” Mia answered from the backseat. Their phones had stopped getting any reception, so she and Kyle were studying the maps from the box they’d picked up at the nature center. “But what road are we on, again?”

“I don’t think there was a sign. I thought you knew where we are?”

“I do. It’s just . . . I don’t know
exactly
where we are.”

Half of the mountain roads were unmarked, some were just forest service roads. And, with the cloud cover, there was no way to tell where the sun was or which direction they were driving.

Nicole began to slow down. “Well, whatever road we’re on, it ends up ahead. We need to decide whether to turn right or left.”

“Is there a sign?”

“Nope.”

“Of course not,” Mia grumbled. “Why would there be a sign? If there was, people might actually be able to figure out where in the hell they are.”

Nicole let the car idle at the intersection.

“It looks like we go right,” Kyle said. “Then, in about half a mile, we should come to the road that leads up to the Estoria Inn—at least I think so.”

Nicole noted the mileage. “Alright. Let’s give it a shot.”

Just shy of half a mile up the mountain, they came to a dirt road that led further uphill.

A metal gate blocked the entrance.

The road they were currently on was narrow, so to allow any other cars to get through, Nicole tucked her dad’s sedan as far onto the shoulder as the steep, sloping embankment would allow, and parked.

Kyle climbed out and walked to the gate. “Sometimes these things aren’t really locked, just made to look like it.”

He rattled the chain and tried to unthread it, but it was secure.

“I’m pretty sure this is the place.”

“How far to the hotel?” Mia asked.

“A couple miles.”

“How many is a couple?”

“Two. Or so.”

“Or so?”

“The road winds around a lot. From that map there’s no way to tell the exact distance.”

“And we need to walk.”

“Yup.”

“Uphill.” Her overwhelming enthusiasm was clear in her tone of voice.

“Pretty much.”

Nicole nodded. “We can make it. We need to have a look up there.”

“Two miles isn’t a big deal,” Kyle said to Mia.

“Yeah,
yo
u run track. It’s not a big deal for
yo
u. M
y
sport is watching YouTube videos. Thus, for me, it would be a monumentalousl
y
big deal.”

“Is that even a word?”

“It
oughta be.”

“Well, I could go on alone but—”

“No,” Nicole objected. “I’m definitely coming. Daniel might be up there. I’m not just going to sit around here waiting for you to walk four miles.”

“Oh, thanks for the reminder that we need
to come back two miles as well
.” Mia sighed.

“But at least that’ll all be downhill.”

“There is that.”

“If we’re going to do this,” Kyle said, “I think it’s probably best for all of us to go rather than splitting up. So are we good?”

“Yeah. Okay, whatever. We’re good.”

He popped the trunk and began rooting around inside it.

“What are you looking for?”

“A flashlight. I’m not sure when it’ll get dark out here, but I don’t want to be caught on this road without some way of finding our way back to the car again, especially if it starts to rain.”

He found a mini headlamp, tested it, then slipped it into his back pocket.

While the trunk was open. Nicole grabbed the first aid kit.

“Why are you bringing that?” Kyle asked.

“If Daniel’s hurt. Or for bear attacks. I’ve got pepper spray in my purse, but—”

“Bear attacks?” exclaimed Mia.

“Sure. They’re in this area, right? I mean—”

“Nikki, a few bandages, an Aspirin, and a roll of adhesive tape aren’t gonna do us a whole lot of good if we get mauled by a bear.” Mia went for the tire iron.

“Really?” Kyle said.

“Hey. You never know.”

“Oh.” Nicole opened the door to the backseat. “One more thing—that book about all the haunted places. If that’s our cover story, we should have it with us. And also, Kyle, you said there was a blueprint of the building in it? Well, that should help us out while we’re looking around.”

After retrieving it, she locked the car, and the three of them began the trek up the road toward the old hotel.

Petra Amundsen sat on the floor in the back of the minivan.

The blindfold made it impossible to see where they were going, but she could tell they were driving uphill on a curvy road.

She recalled the first time she’d ridden in here, three days ago.

So, three days without her meds.

A long time.

Too long.

And now, in the darkness beneath that blindfold, the snakes appeared again, slithering and squirming and hissing before her.

She could see them, even though she couldn’t see anything.

It was troubling.

The real world and the world of her hallucinations were overlapping.

Some of the snakes passed across her skin. Her arms. Her neck. Her stomach.

Then she felt something scratch against her right side by her ribs—
a snakebite
!

But no, it wasn’t that.

It was just the wire from that bucket.

Hold it together, Petra.

Hold it together.

She repositioned herself so the wire wouldn’t cut into her.

But even then, she could still feel the leathery, muscular bodies of the serpents that she knew were not real flexing across her body.