"Tell me where you are, and I'll come get you. I'm in a safe place, and I'll bring you here."
"They killed Margaret, and they killed the caterers. They killed everyone but you and me." Lauren was losing it, and Shae felt so sorry for her. He desperately wanted to help.
"I'll tell someone you need help, and they will come for you." He figured the Hadden people had brought him and others in for protection so they wouldn't say no to helping Lauren.
“No, don’t tell anyone I’m still alive.” Shae was at a loss as to how to help her.
"Just tell me where you are, and I'll come and help you, I promise." Silence fell for a few seconds as Lauren apparently thought through her options.
"Okay, but come alone, you can't trust anyone, Shae they are all in this together."
“Who?”
"Mr. Massey, Master Hadden, they are all in this together." Shae listened to her. Although his gut told him Hadden was solid, he was not a liar or working against them, but he wasn't going to be able to convince Lauren of that now. She was too caught up in her fear to hear him.
"I'm at the Coffee Beanery, not far from the Hadden Center. It's open, and there are a lot of people here. I've been safe so far no one has bothered me. I'm in the back booth with a clear view of the front doors and access to the back door." She spoke more clearly.
"Okay, stay there. I know where that is. I'll meet you as soon as I can."
"Don't be long, I can't stay here."
“I won’t be long.” Shae closed the call and slipped his shoes back on. He wasn’t dressed well, but he managed to straighten his shirt and sweats as much as possible. Lauren won’t care what he looked like.
He contemplated telling Torin what he was doing, but worried that it would distract him, and he might feel compelled to come back, and Shae didn't want to be a burden. He could handle this on his own.
If anyone was looking for him, they wouldn't be looking in downtown Pittsburgh. Besides, Hadden's people had them on the run, so they were probably more concerned about themselves at the moment rather than murdering him.
Shae stepped out into the hall and looked both ways. The place was large and busy. He found the elevator, and threeothers got on with him. They were all vampires, he knew that, and he wasn't sure how he knew that. They nodded to him but did not converse. He took it to the ground floor and exited into the lobby, a massive area of businesses and activity. The vampires on the elevator with him followed him out. He turned to regard them, but they veered off in other directions.
He thought they might be following him at first, but they split up and headed in different directions. He looked back again, and he did not see them. It must be his imagination.
Shae knew the layout of the ground floor he'd been there before, and he knew how to make his way out to the Plaza. Leaving by the front door would garner attention, especially in his t-shirt and sweats, but he could slip out of the Plaza easily enough; there was a lot of cover there.
Shae stepped out the back doors and down the few steps and out into the Plaza. The sun was not fully up yet, but the sky was coming alive. He stopped and looked left, knowing the Coffee Beanery she spoke of was about three blocks up, so he headed that direction. He hadn’t left the Plaza yet when a feeling of dread washed over him. Shae stopped abruptly and looked around him.
The gardens of the Plaza loomed out of the shadows, making everything seem just a bit unsettling. He saw nothing untoward, but the heaviness of dread did not leave him. His steps slowed, and his decision to walk to the coffee shop seemed suddenly unwise.
He should tell someone. Shae turned and started walking back towards the entrance, and that's when shots rang out, and he was grabbed roughly and pushed to the ground. "Fuck!" He shouted as chaos ensued.
"Stay still." The man lying on top of him commanded. "I'm a guard, you're safe, but they haven't gotten the shooter, so stay where you are."
Shae didn't speak, he merely nodded. His heart was beating frantically, and fear had taken him. Shae listened, and he could hear the man breathing. He was holding him to the ground, covering him protectively with his own body, and Shae appreciated it, but he wanted Torin; he wanted him here, now.
There were lots of voices and people darting around, and he was hauled to his feet, rushed inside, and placed in a room behind the reception desk. It was small with a table and three chairs. It looked like an interrogation room, and that did not bode well. He should have told someone about Lauren rather than taking off on his own.
The man, introduced as Josef, came into the room and closed the door behind him. He had a bottle of water with him, and he handed it to Shae. "Are you alright?" He asked as he sat down.
"Yes, just shook up." He asked many questions, and Shae answered them all honestly and thoroughly. "It was stupid, but I just wanted to help my friend."
"I understand, but if you'd said something to us first, we would have told you that your friend Lauren is indeed in Michigan right now with her family, and we have people watching over her. She is quite safe." Josef explained, and Shae felt all kinds of gullible.
“It was her number and her voice. Who called me?”
"I know that Torin has explained to you about our world." He said, and Shae nodded. "There are those with the capability to do what you have described. I'm sorry you were assaulted, andI'm asking you to not leave the Center again without speaking to someone first."
“Was anyone hurt?” Shae would feel awful if someone took a bullet for him.
"Everyone is fine, and the shooters, there were two of them, have been dealt with." He left it there, and Shae did not ask for further details.
