Errand Runners

Chapter 24

“Hello?” Nole called from within the confines of the trapdoor. “Suri! Valerie! Burt!” He didn’t care how silly he sounded for calling the dog. Things had gone from bad, to very bad. He was down one brother and two comrades, and now he was imprisoned underneath the floor of the complex’s ground level. If the meticulous Enforcers couldn’t find him when he was right under their noses, his chances of being rescued were slim with anyone else.

Repositioning his arms, Nole managed to bang on the metal edges of the four walls surrounding him. With the landlord in custody, I wouldn’t be surprised if this place was shut down, he concluded. It would only be a matter of time before I’m found.

He hit the walls even when arms got sore. Despite the pain, Nole couldn’t allow anyone else to take the fall for him, even if he was innocent in the first place. His determination kept him going, but the lack of air caught up with him. The lightheadedness prevented him from hearing the approaching visitor, but before he knew it, the scraping sound of the desk being moved gave him new vigor.

As soon as the latch of the trapdoor was lifted, a hand snagged the collar of Nole’s shirt and pulled him out of the box. He didn’t initially see who his savior was, but he didn’t care. “Thank. You,” Nole wheezed.

“What were you doing in there?” the chilling voice demanded. Nole whipped his head toward the speaker, as if the voice wasn’t already a dead giveaway. Zane stared at him, his eyes unsympathetic. It wasn’t obvious at first, but upon further inspection, Nole realized that Zane was a mess. There was dirt all over his skin and a few scratches covered his face and hands. The jeans he wore had a few gaping tears near the knees; one had a red outline, which Nole assumed was blood.

“Betty told me to hide in there,” Nole defended, still regaining a steady breathing rate. By the looks of it, Zane narrowly avoided capture by the Enforcers while he was out with Olivia. Although he was dying to know the details from Zane’s end, Nole decided it wasn’t the best time to be swapping stories. “She was arrested.”

“So they’re coming for us one by one,” he concluded, “because of you.” The icy glare unnerved Nole, not so much out of intimidation, but due to the words that accompanied it. Zane turned his back to Nole, inspecting the disarray of the room. “Where’s Valerie?”

“She ran off with Suri before the Enforcers swarmed the place,” Nole informed him as he rose to his feet. When he prepared to lift himself up, he realized he was still gripping the bag full of newspaper pages; a reminder of Betty’s goodwill.

“Did you see them get away?” Zane asked, walking about the room.

“What do you mean?”  

“How do you know they got away? Did you actually see them escape? They could have been captured outside without you knowing it.” His words were cold and calculated. Zane wasn’t afraid to bring up the worse case scenario.

“They would have no reason to apprehend them,” Nole argued. For some reason, he felt as if Zane wasn’t asking for his comrade’s sake. Nole could sense an ulterior motive behind Zane’s inquiry.

“You’re right,” Zane agreed, surprising Nole. “They might if they recognized your sister, but Valerie would have been smart enough to conceal her.” What he was saying was logical, so Nole didn’t understand the point behind Zane’s bringing it up. “So like you said, they would have no reason to apprehend them.” His tone took a chilling turn and his menacing gaze met Nole. “So what was the reason behind Betty’s arrest?”

Nole had fallen into the conversational trap. Zane had suspected something the moment he’d found Nole in the hatch, and now everything would be out in the open. He didn’t want to tell Zane the truth until Valerie was there to mediate between them, but it appeared as though he wouldn’t have that chance.