Red Rain

Chapter 13 - Man In The Wilderness

"So he knows about all this already?"

"Again," Freddie says, trying to sound like he's possessed of infinite patience, "Mr. Smythe can explain it better than we can."

I look around and sigh exasperatedly. At this point, flying back to Balthazar isn't really an option, not this long after dark. And in any case, the school does have motion sensors on the walls, so anybody who leaves during a lockdown will invariably get caught. I'd probably just find myself being brought in to Saltz's office, unable to explain myself without sounding like I need urgent psychiatric attention.

I figure I might as well just go with the increasing insanity that is becoming my life.

So I step into the Acadia, settling into the second row, passenger-side, while Steve and Freddie join Penny in the back.

We don't have long to wait until Mr. Smythe returns with his son in tow, and steps back into the driver's seat. He turns around and sees me, then says, "Alex Snow. I was told to expect you." I've almost forgotten that he's not American - his accent is forever stuck somewhere halfway between American and his native English.

I shake hands nervously with Mr. Smythe. "I sure wasn't expecting to be out here myself."

Mr. Smythe scoffs. "Neither was I. I long suspected this day would come, but all the preparation in the world couldn't get me ready to face Elijah Emery again." He starts the ignition and pulls away with squealing tires, maneuvering the big SUV back to the main highway as quickly as he can.

"'Again?'" I ask, feeling a bit foolish because I'm the only one here who's totally unaware of any of this. Well, maybe Paul is as well, but I can't be sure. "Wait, so you're sure this Elijah Emerson - or whatever his name is - is the Aqua Killer?"

"Yes," Mr. Smythe says. "Elijah Emery is the man you call the Aqua Killer. And I have worked with him before - during Project Red Rain."

My mouth drops open. Mr. Smythe, work on a top-secret military project? I don't believe it.

"Believe it, Mr. Snow," Mr. Smythe says, hearing my thoughts. "I only got into bookselling after Red Rain went pear-shaped. Jack and I agreed it was a good idea, because we couldn't leave this town, and the niche was definitely open for the taking."

My mind wanders for a moment, trying to think who Jack might be, before I remember that it's Mr. Darknell's first name.

"And Elijah Emery?" I ask, taking care to get his name right for once. "That man I saw in front of the hospital just now, was that him?"

"Was he about six-foot-one, dirty-blond, gray-eyed?"

"Yes. Yes, he was."

Mr. Smythe sighs. "Yes, that's Elijah. I see he hasn't changed much - physically, that is. Although I would assume he's let his hair and beard grow in considerably since we last met."

I lean back into the leather seat, my worst fears confirmed. Gabe and I really are the sons of a depraved serial killer. My heart sinks at the thought.

"What's this Project Red Rain bull?" Paul asks, confirming my earlier suspicions that he's just as much in the dark about all this as I am. "One of those woo-hoo weirdo experiments they talk about on TV all the time?"

Mr. Smythe chuckles under his breath as he steers the SUV around a tight hairpin turn. "I have to wonder what sort of TV you've been watching, son, if they talk about 'woo-hoo weirdo experiments' all the time. But yes, that's essentially what Project Red Rain is."

He then launches into an explanation of the finer points of Red Rain - basically the same details Russell showed us in that library book this afternoon. I tune out for a while, hoping to get a better handle on the situation by continuing to think about it. It doesn't work, unfortunately.