Bill stumbled away from the Indigene stood before him. His back hit the door with a thud. He stared at Stephen. Laura was close by and he reached for her.
'Laura, I need you to come to me. Now. You have no idea how dangerous this Indigene is.'
She took a tentative step towards him, but not in fear. It was as if she wanted to reassure him.
'He's not dangerous, Bill.'
'Of course he is. He... They killed my...' He couldn't say it.
She took another step forward. 'Your wife?'
Bill's heart hardened. 'What the hell do you know about that?'
'I'm sorry,' said Laura. Her voice sounded calm, but he could see her trembling. 'I have information. I know you're looking for answers. You need to know the Indigenes are not to blame.'
'It has to be them. Who else could it be?' Bill kept his eyes fixed on Stephen, expecting him to make a move. He swiped at Laura hoping to catch her arm, but she kept enough of a distance between them.
'The government, Bill. Has been all along. They were responsible for Isla's disappearance. They killed her.'
He dropped his arm and straightened. 'What?'
'The World Government and the ESC are involved in bad things. Isla got too close to the truth. She got close to the Indigenes and tried to help them.'
'Yes, and they punished her for it.' He squared up to the Indigene who lowered his head, but not his eyes.
'No.' Laura bridged the gap between them and placed her hand on Bill's chest. Her touch softened the edges of his rage. 'Listen to me. It wasn't the Indigenes. They had nothing to do with her disappearance. It was Deighton and Gilchrist. She's dead.'
Bill shook his head at her. 'You're lying. If she was dead, they would have told me. Where did you get this information from?'
'Files about the investigation. And letters.'
'Letters?'
Stephen moved and Bill snapped his eyes back to the Indigene. He pushed Laura's hand away.
She blocked Stephen's path, and pleaded with the Indigene. 'Please, I know it's difficult being here with us.'
'Tell me why you investigated us and I won't kill you,' Stephen said to Bill. 'I don't wish to stay here longer than necessary.'
'Please, your fight is not here, with us.' Laura grabbed Stephen's arm like he was a friend—a move that turned Bill's stomach. 'We are all the same. We are fighting for the same thing.'
'Let him go, Laura.' Bill made a tight fist. 'If he wants a fight, I'll give him one.'
'Not until he understands what he is.' She looked at Stephen. 'If you still want to fight us after what I tell you, then go ahead. We don't deserve your forgiveness.'
'What are you saying?' said Bill. 'You have no idea what he's capable of.'
'I know everything about him. His origin, his creation.'
Bill and Stephen stared at Laura.
'His creation?' said Bill. 'What are you talking about? What do you know?'
'If you're to help each other, you must know everything about him, including where he came from. You have to know what he is. Are you ready for that?'
'Tell me, what is he?' said Bill.
Stephen remained rigid in his stance. His wild gaze fixed on Laura as he also waited for her answer.
Her gaze flicked from Stephen to Bill. 'He's human.'
Her words hung in the air.
Bill unclenched his fists. 'He's what?'
'Human,' Laura repeated.
'Yes, I know I am,' said Stephen. 'This is not news to me. But why are you also called "human"?'
Bill couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'What are you talking about? Where did you get this information from? How do you know this?'
He grabbed her arm, a move that surprised her, but to her credit she kept calm. 'I've recently seen some information that I'm not supposed to know. Trust me, I'm not making this up.'
Bill let go of her arm stared ahead of him. None of this made sense. But a new, more pressing thought broke him out of his shock. His gaze flitted around Laura's apartment.
'How many visitors are you permitted to have?' he said.
'What?'
'How many visitors. Think.'
She shook her head, confused. 'I don't know. I rarely have any. Why does that matter?'
He grabbed her arm again. 'How many does this block allow?'
She thought it over. Then her face fell. 'Shit. Only one...'
Bill raced over to the Light Box's hardware control unit and opened a panel at the back. He removed a small disruption device from his pocket and placed it beside the sound interrupter he'd attached upon his arrival. He re-routed the Light Box signal through the disruption device.
'Do you know if they're monitoring your apartment?'
'I don't know.' Laura stared blankly at the door. 'Are they coming?'
'Chances are high. This disruption device confuses the Light Box sensors. By re-routing the signal through it, we can predetermine the number of signatures it will detect. It should be picking up just two. But they've probably already detected the three of us. They'll probably send a team out to check the anomaly.'
'What do we do?'
'We must cut our numbers by one. I'll need to remove both devices before they see them. When I do, there can only be two of us here.' Bill thought of something and spoke to Stephen. 'Can you do that fast blurry thing you do?'
Laura looked confused.
Stephen nodded. 'Yes, that should work.' He explained to Laura. 'I can move fast enough while static to become invisible to the ordinary human eye. It should fool the sensors long enough for them not to detect my presence.'
'They'll be here shortly.' Bill gave Laura the once-over. 'Change out of your uniform and into something more casual. Then follow my lead.'
Five minutes later, there was a sharp rap on the door. Stephen took his cue and disappeared into a blurry haze right before their eyes. Laura gasped at Stephen's movement, but forced her attention back to the door. Bill removed both the signal disruptor and sound interruption device and hoped that the sensors could no longer detect Stephen.
He grabbed hold of a casually dressed Laura and kissed her on the mouth. He felt her go limp for a second before she eased into her role. He held her in a tight grip—probably a little too tight—as he jerked the door open. Two officers stood in the hallway, one male and one female. Both carried Impulse Tasers and Buzz Guns in their hip holsters; Bill noticed their hands were poised over the latter and deadlier of the weapons. Neither officer introduced themselves.
'We have reason to believe that you've violated the building safety code,' said the male officer. 'Our sensors register a third person in the apartment. This is a serious offence and punishable by law.'
Bill looped his arm round Laura's shoulders and pulled her even closer. He could feel her warmth. An apple scent wafted up from her hair. 'I'm sorry, officers. That's entirely my fault. You see, it's our anniversary, and I only have two hours with this gorgeous woman before I have to go back to work.' He stroked Laura's hair. She acted her part and laid her head on his chest.
The female officer narrowed her gaze at Bill. 'What career line are you in?'
'Shipping. I'm a pilot.'
'Where do you work out of?'
'Sydney, mainly.'
'And what about you?' She turned her calculating eyes towards Laura.
Laura hesitated. Sensing her discomfort, Bill gently pushed her away. 'Is this interrogation really necessary? As you can see, it's just us here.'
'Rules are rules,' said the male officer. 'I'm afraid we're going to have to check for ourselves.'
They both stood back from the door, and allowed the officers to enter. 'As you wish. You're free to check.'
A nervous Bill scanned the room but couldn't see Stephen anywhere. Damn, he was good.
The officers carried out a sweep of the apartment, disappointed at not finding a third person. The female officer followed up with an independent scan, which still registered just two signatures, besides their own.
'All clear,' she announced to her partner, sounding unconvinced. She turned to Bill and Laura. 'But this doesn't account for the third person you registered ten minutes ago. Care to explain?'
'I'm so sorry. That was my fault.' Laura smiled and placed a hand on her heart. 'I'd arranged a surprise for my boyfriend. The guy came to install a virtual package upgrade for the Light Box. You know the one where you can holiday in any part of the world without having to leave your armchair? He's addicted to his virtual world. I mean, who isn't, these days?' The male officer mumbled in agreement. 'Well, the guy was supposed to finish up earlier, but got delayed. Then this idiot came home earlier than planned.'
Bill shrugged his shoulders at the officers in a what-can-you-do way.
'Oh, I've heard about that one. Is it any good?' said the male officer.
'I don't know yet. We were planning a quick trip to Bali before you called.' Bill winked at him. 'Sun, sex and margaritas.'
The male officer smiled. His gaze lingered on Laura a little too long. Bill grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.
'One last thing,' said the female officer. 'We need to scan your identity chips. For the record, you understand.'
'Is that really necessary? I rarely get time off, these days. I'm on the clock.' Bill sighed hoping to appeal to the male officer's better nature. 'You know how it is, with the crazy work schedules. It's tough enough to get time off at all. Am I right?'
The male officer nodded and laughed. 'I'm just surprised you have the energy. All I want to do is sleep during my free time.' His tone turned serious. 'Everything seems to be in order here. Enjoy your evening.' He pushed his reluctant partner out of the apartment.
As soon as Laura closed the door, Bill removed the disruption device from his pocket and channelled the Light Box signal through it once more. Then he placed the sound interrupter on the front panel again.
'That was way too close for comfort.' He dragged his hand down his face. 'We should be okay for the next two hours. But then they'll expect me to leave.' He spoke to the empty room. 'You can come out now, Stephen.' He turned to Laura. 'And you need to start from the beginning.'