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“Could happen any time now.” He glanced past Jonas and gave me a nod. “I’m sure as hell hoping it’s a boy this time. Manifest?”
Jonas handed him the electronic list. “The scans didn’t reveal anything?”
The guard snorted as he flicked through the various screens. “If it did, the wife isn’t telling me.”
“Meaning it might be another girl?”
“Possibly.” He handed the list back to Jonas. “These no-inspection clauses are going to come back and bite them in the ass one of these days. Hand?”
Jonas pressed his hand against the scanner the guard produced. “Hopefully, not on my damn shift, they won’t.”
“Amen to that, brother.” Blue light flashed the screen’s length; then the guard stepped back. “Righto, you’re clear.”
“Thanks, Frank.” Jonas wound up the window.
I threw the truck into gear and continued on to the rear wall. “How did you know all that stuff about him? The notebook?”
He nodded. “Not only did we arrange a basic background check on the guards here, but Jarren scanned the thoughts of the two drivers so we knew what sort of interaction was expected.”
Meaning it was possible his grandson had read my thoughts. It was a good thing I hadn’t been thinking about Jonas in any way, shape, or form, or that could have been embarrassing.
Up ahead, the solid-looking wall began to slide to one side, revealing the metal doors of a freight elevator. Once they’d also opened, I carefully drove inside, then stopped and pulled on the hand brake.
“And this,” Jonas said softly, “is where we both cross our fingers and pray to Rhea I’ve installed the sensor right.”
He’d barely finished speaking when the sensor beeped; behind us, the doors closed and then the elevator began to move slowly upward. Five floors, ten, then fifteen. My breath caught as the elevator seemed to slow, but it didn’t stop and the floors continued to roll by. Neither of us spoke; there wasn’t much to say now and certainly nothing either of us could do. Not until we reached the top floor anyway. Besides, it was possible that the sensors inside the elevator shaft would pick up any conversation.
We finally came to a somewhat bouncy stop. For several seconds, nothing happened, and then the elevator doors at the rear of the truck began to open.
A stout, ruddy-faced man with a receding hairline hustled over to my door. I wound down my window and glanced at his name badge. Nevel Williams himself.
“Manifest?”
Thoug
h his voice was curt, sweat was beginning to bead his forehead. I hoped like hell he could hold it together.
Jonas handed me the manifest and I gave it to Williams. He grunted, then glanced at the two men waiting near the end of the truck. “Get those crates out stat, and take them to lab 29-5.” As the men obeyed, the stout man handed me back the manifest. “The return cargo is ready. Please turn off all external cameras and remain in the truck.”
I obeyed. This was obviously a routine process, but it was one that made me nervous simply because we couldn’t see what was being loaded. I doubted Williams would betray us, given Nuri had his family, but I also wasn’t about to trust someone who could even contemplate using children as guinea pigs. Williams scurried away—something I heard rather than saw. I glanced at Jonas. If he was in any way tense, it wasn’t showing.
“It shouldn’t be too long. They’re usually pretty efficient here.”
I didn’t reply. I couldn’t, really, given I had no idea what the woman whose image I was wearing sounded like. I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel as the minutes began to tick by. The cargo was soon emptied, but for altogether too long, nothing else happened. Then footsteps approached; three sets were heavy, the other two light. Hope ran through me. The latter had to be the children. Those steps definitely weren’t those of an adult.
Williams reappeared at my door. “Right,” he said, holding up a scanner. “You’ll need to confirm receipt.”
I pressed my left hand against it. Light swept my palm and the light on top of the screen flashed from red to green. Williams grunted, then glanced back at his two companions. “Those doors secured?”
“And locked.”
“Unusual code?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Right, then, see you in twenty.” Williams opened the truck’s rear cabin door and climbed in. The sting of his sweat was so strong and sour I couldn’t help wrinkling my nose. “You can drop me off at the gates as usual.”
I glanced at Jonas. This wasn’t in the plan as far as I was aware, and Jonas’s grim expression suggested he hadn’t been expecting this development, either. The doors behind us closed and the elevator began its slow descent. With every floor we dropped, Williams’s fear got stronger.
