Shattered Relations | Aru Shah AU |

VII

ARU
Brynne broke the silence with, "Look, we can't jump to conclusions. Kara may be connected to this, she may not be. Let's stick to the facts, okay?"

Aru nodded miserably. "Yeah."

Mini cleared her throat, and said, "Before the disaster with my laptop, Aiden, you were saying something about Shakhuni's resumé?"

"Uh--right, yeah." Aiden picked up the paper. "See, the years from 2016 to 2021 are unlisted. Where could he have worked? He couldn't be unemployed, his credentials are excellent. This has to be the most recent resumé, since there's a letter to Hanuman attached to the back." 

"So.. he didn't want Hanuman to know where he was working before he came here?" Rudy asked.

"Maybe, so I think that he worked for them," he gestured vaguely toward the laptop, "but found out corporate secrets and left after five years." 

"Wait." Aru said, looking up at them. "Don't personnel files have permanent addresses on them? We could find out if he ever lived in Brunswick."

Mini was already unlocking her phone, and had opened the picture. "Here."

Aru squinted, and there was under, "Birthplace": "Brunswick, GA."

"So he was born in Brunswick." Aru said, handing Mini her phone back.

"So... let's consider the theory that Shakhuni worked for these people--great and all, but we still don't know who they are." Aiden said. 

"Wait," Brynne said. "I found something." 

She shoved the newspaper in their direction. "A case, a man was shot in the abdomen, and a hand was painted in blood... just like Shakhuni--but wait. A message was there too, in blood. The Dormitator never forgives." 

Mini frowned. "Dormitator... that sounds familiar." 

Aru said, "You're thinking of the Hogwarts motto. Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus." 

"First off, why do you have that committed to memory? Second off, dormitator is Latin... for what, I don't know."

Mini typed the word into Google, and the page for Translate popped up. 

"It's Latin... for sleeper?" Aru snorted, looking over Mini's shoulder. 

"What kind of person makes their alter-ego sleeper?" Mini asked. 

"I'm betting it's an embarrassing middle-school story involving an all-nighter, a test and ink on one's face." Aru snickered. 

"But wait. 'Dormitator' obviously isn't a common nickname, if we search it up..." 

Aiden took out his own phone, and typed out 'Dormitator + Brunswick, Georgia'. 

"Ha! More info about the Brunswick Canal." he said triumphantly. 

Aru could see the factoids connecting in her mind, a web that centered around this mysterious "Dormitator". 

"Should we just call them The Sleeper? That sounds less ominous than 'dormitator'." 

"I mean... that's not really important, but sure." 

Aiden was scrolling through Google, and news sites. 

"Hm... not much info here." he frowned. "Mini, could you find out the company that leased out the canal?" 

"Yeah, sure, I'll need another laptop, though." 

"Use mine." Aru offered. 

"What if that's hacked into too?" Mini asked.

"That's the least of my problems, I'll use the library computer for the rest of the year." 

"Okay." Aru's laptop was on the table too, and Aru gave it to Mini. 

Mini opened it, Aru typed in the password, and the search began. Aru scanned more newspapers, this time for claims of water-borne diseases from or around the Brunswick County. 

There were vague mentions of jaundice, skin cancers, radiation and Aru highlighted them, committing every word to memory. 

"Maybe... maybe that's why the needed Shakhuni." she began to speculate, while turning to look at the others. "Shakhuni was a biochemist, wasn't he?" 

"Yeah." Aiden said, still staring at his phone.

"So maybe he was their resident scientist. And when he saw what they were doing, he got cold feet and left." 

"Fine, but how did he manage to escape their notice for a year? It took them barely a day to find out who you were and hold you at knifepoint." 

"That's true... but you can gain a lot of power in a year." 

"True..." Mini began, presumably dragging the cursor across the screen, but her eyes widened. 

"I found it! The documents--" 

All of them rushed to her side, as she pointed at the screen. 

"Supermundus Organization." she said, dragging out every syllable. 

"It's official, the Sleeper should not be allowed to name their children, if they have any." Aru wrinkled her nose at the name. 

"Not the point, Shah." Aiden sighed. 

Mini opened a new tab, and searched 'Supermundus Organization' online.

The first few results were translations--Aru's eyes skipped over them, until she saw a registration site for the internship programme of the organization.

"But why would they want teens and college students?" Aru murmured, scanning the screen.

"They're young, and gullible. By the time they'd realize what was going on, they'd be in too deep--and if they went to the police, they'd most likely be considered an accessory to the crime." Aiden said, glaring at the laptop screen.

"What if... what if we catfish them?" Aru asked slowly. 

Rudy frowned. "This isn't a dating website, y'know."

"Yeah, I figured that much out myself. But, if we pretend like we're going to apply for an internship there--" 

"And then what? We'll probably hit another dead-end."

"Maybe we won't! Look, we've gotta have faith that something will work! Plus, when my sister was applying for internships, she was given addresses for interviews. Maybe we can find an address!"

"And then what?" Mini asked peevishly. "We can't just waltz in, unarmed. It'll be like signing our own death sentence."

"Then," Aru said, exhaling the breath she didn't realize she had been holding, "We go to the police. This will all be over." 

The words should have made her feel happier. Although this entire investigation had given her a gateway to ignore the shock, but it felt suffocating. The air had this thick, cloying feeling, as she felt unease tickle her ribs. Like she didn't want to reach the bottom of this, since she may not like what she would find.