Waters of Lethe, Book 2

10. Ignis Fatuus

There was a mandatory meeting scheduled as soon as we got back into the compound. As empty as I felt, I still had it in me to find a small amount of content that came from getting the show on the road, starting the process of finding El.

Audi kicked himself into overdrive before we'd even exited the plane. He had people on the phone left and right: other agents, security personnel, the weird little tech guy. As much as I tried to listen to what he was saying to them over the phone, I got lost in my head for most of the drive from the airport to the compound.

What I liked most about Audi was that, when he wanted something, he had to have it. He had to have the situation go his way, or no way at all. He worked hard to make things happen, pull whatever strings he had to pull to please no one other than himself. We both wanted her back, but, most importantly to me, he wanted her back. The influence I had on people didn't hold a candle to the influence he had over people. He had resources, people at his disposal. If this wasn't incentive enough to find her and the people she was with, we'd never find them. There was no better motive.

I tried listening to Audi again, tried to cement myself in the moment. "Alright. We'll be there in about fifteen minutes. Have everyone ready. We'll start ten minutes after we arrive. That's twenty-five minutes, got that?" his rusty tone was sharp in the small space of his vehicle. It pierced my ears, one of the things contributing to the odd headache I'd had since he woke me up an hour ago.

It could have been worse, though. At least Gomez and Tom weren't riding with us.

I rubbed my face with my hands roughly, as if this were a really bad dream and I could wake myself up with enough stimulation. Thinking of this situation as a nightmare brought back the memory of when Gomez, Tom, and I were assigned to watch over El as she went home for one weekend back in December. She'd had a nightmare, one that she told me felt real. She'd wanted me to stay with her, and I didn't. Even though it didn't do any good for me to feel the way I felt, I was upset at myself for not staying with her. I got myself in trouble with Audi more times than I could count that weekend, why did I decide to obey him when I was ordered to return to my post outside?

"Focus, boy," Audi told me. He was good at reading me, something I blamed on spending three years with him. "Be ready to roll in twenty minutes. We're going to get in, get this shit figured out, get her, and get out. Understand?"

I couldn't bring myself to speak, so I only nodded my head.

In ten minutes we arrived at the compound, more vehicles parked in the parking lot than I ever remembered. Men in armor and vests walked around outside, here and there, with guns. As if someone would try to swoop down and destroy us at any minute, not the other way around.

I got out of the car and followed Audi into the main building, the warm, early summer air warming my skin through my black t-shirt.

"Hey! Hey, Audi!" a familiar, annoying voice called from across the lobby.

Even though I found him immediately, it took Audi a few seconds to spot the person calling him due to the many people who were in the large, open lobby.

"Aw, come on," Audi sighed, turning to me. "Deal with him."

I thought about protesting. Audi had things to do, though, and I wanted him to get them done as quickly as possible.

Ryan quickly weaved through the ton of people as Audi broke left to go up the stairs and into the large conference room.

"Where is El? What happened?" Ryan asked me, a worried expression on his face.

I admired that they were friends, was thankful that so many people were worried about her well being, but Ryan was the last straw for me.

"Everything's..." I almost told him that everything was fine, when, in fact, they were far from it.