The Fate of Kane (ONC 2023)

The Nexus - Chapter 1

"There's no other answer," Edward muttered to himself as he leaned back and dragged his hands down his face. He had looked at the evidence from a thousand different angles; it was the only answer.

Disheveled and defeated, he had been behind his desk for hours, desperately willing the pieces of this puzzle to fit into any picture other than the one appearing before him. His usually neat brown hair was mussed in all directions.

Wiping his palms on his shirt, he reached for the phone and dialed.

"What?" a gruff voice answered.

"Milo? It's me."

"This can't have waited?" the voice on the other end of the line was incredulous and groggy with sleep.

Edward glanced at his watch, 1:33. "Shit. Sorry," standing, he swept the curtains aside and looked out the open window, "I hadn't realized it was dark, never mind this late," he let the curtain fall back over the screen. "But this can't wait. I need to meet with you." Though alone, his voice was low, hardly more than a whisper.

Silence.

"Hello? Milo?" he urged, a little louder than before.

A scratching, shuffling sound muffled the voice of a woman and was followed by a man's grunt.

"Yah, yah. I'm here. What did you say?"

"I need to meet with you."

"Tomorrow," Milo yawned. "Breakfast? I'll have Jean clear my schedule."

"No. Now." Still standing, Edward began pacing as far as the phone cord would allow.

"What?" Milo groaned, the irritation evident in every drawn-out and exaggerated syllable. "Why?"

"Now. I need to meet with you right now."

Listening carefully and awaiting Milo's response, the only thing Edward could hear was the woman's muted voice, and it had become irritated as the muddling of fabric against the phone magnified.

"What could possibly be so urgent that you need me to leave my bed and my wife to speak to you..." Milo growled, "...right now?"

"Please? You'll understand when I tell you, but I need to meet with you. To speak with you..." he trailed off, dubiously glancing around the walls of his office. If his suspicions were correct, he had no reason to trust the privacy of this office or any other place provided to him by this organization.

"Fuck. Fine." Milo finally relented. "Meet me out front."

Though Milo couldn't see him, Edward nodded and returned to his seat, his jaw clenched as the line went dead - the echo of an extraneous click emanating through the receiver. Momentarily hesitating, he again scanned the dark, wooden walls of the office then carefully dropped the phone into its cradle. Someone else had been on the line?

Hurriedly stuffing into his briefcase the papers littering his desk, he shoved his arms into his jacket, hit the light switch, and eased the door closed as he entered the dimly lit hall.

Resisting the urge to look up and down the passageway like a paranoid madman, he let out a shaky breath and made his way to the elevator. If someone else had been on the line, then someone else had to be in the building. But where? And how long had he been under scrutiny?

'Paranoid. You're being paranoid,' he thought. Hitting the down button on the elevator, he closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself as he waited. The descent from the third floor was agonizingly slow and he could feel sweat beading at his temples. When the elevator doors opened, all semblance of calm lost, he sprinted through the lobby and out the front doors. The heavy night air hit him like a breaking wave, laden with the smell of sea salt and the remnants of the sweltering day. Glancing to his left, he decided against retrieving his car from the underground garage and opted for a steady jog in the opposite direction.