Nirvana Effect

58



Edward felt an awful drop in his stomach when he reached the clinic. The first thing he noticed was its front door swung wide. He braked the Corvette at the curb. Seacrest followed him as he raced inside.

Edward raced to the back door. He still held out a glimmer of hope that they hadn’t found her, that somehow she was safe. He imagined that he would simply swing open the basement door and take her into his arms.

When he got to the basement door, he didn’t need to swing it. It was already open.

He saw that Callista had built up quite a lab beneath her clinic. It had a great deal of equipment and he could see stores of medicine on the walls. No sign of conflict, but he knew the Onge had definitely been here. He knew because there was no Callista, even though he called for her and checked the room three times. No note, either.

The Onge had her.

Edward forced himself to play out the scenario in his mind. As tired as he was, he could still make the connections if he willed himself to think.

Manassa would value Callista because Tomy would tell him he’d seen her with Edward. He would know she was a doctor and try to use her as he planned to use Seacrest. Manassa would suspect a relationship as a matter of course. If Manassa discovered her name, however…he had all of Edward’s journals.

Edward put himself in Manassa’s shoes. What does Manassa want? Manassa wants me dead. He’ll do anything to kill me, at this point. I’m the only threat to him, and a thin one at that.

Edward shook his head clear. He was too tired, and his thoughts were running together. He really needed someone to talk to, to bounce his ideas off of. He only trusted Cali for that. He’d already had to tell Seacrest too much.

“I need a safe place to rest,” said Edward.

“Sure,” said Seacrest. “I know just the spot.”

“Can you drive?” asked Edward

“Sure.”

Edward slammed the door as he got in. “Dammit!”

“We’ll get her, old boy.”

“Right. Any idea where they might be keeping her?”

“You think she was abducted?” asked Seacrest.

“Yes.”

“Sure she’s just not out on a stroll or something?”

“No, they got her, Seacrest. Got it?”

“Got it…”

“Any idea where they’d be keeping her?”

“Not a clue. You’re the Onge expert. The only thing I know about them is that one of them hit me over the head. Everything else I’ve heard from you. But a safe place to rest, we can start there.”

Edward leaned back as Seacrest drove but refused to close his eyes. In a few minutes, Seacrest pulled up by the inn Edward had used the night before.

“That’s a no-go. That’s only place in this town I know isn’t safe for me.”

“Come on, I know it looks rough. But it’s the perfect spot.” joked Seacrest. “Nobody would look for you there.”

“Right. Let’s go to spot number two. I need to rest.” He yawned. “Wait!” Edward said. Seacrest hit the brakes. “Go! Go!” The Corvette lurched forwards again.

“Christ, man, what’s your problem!?”

“The Onge, they’re in the inn. The same car that was at your house, it’s in the parking lot.” Edward looked back. The car was empty. “Park here.” He pointed out an inconspicuous side street. “Let’s go scout them out.” Edward led.

“Aren’t you tired?”

Edward scoffed. He was practically dead. Yet what was another half hour at this point?

“What is it about this inn?” asked Seacrest.

“They know I went there my first night in town.”

“When was your first night in town?”

“Two nights ago.”

“Why do they know? I thought they spotted you later.”

“It’s complicated. Do you see them?” asked Edward.

“What do they look like?” asked Seacrest.

Obviously, he hasn’t seen them. I’ve got to sleep. “Two are in suits, two in casual wear. All four dark, Onge. Short. The two in suits had briefcases.”

“Perhaps with photographs.”

“Perhaps. I doubt it, but perhaps,” said Edward.

“I don’t see anyone, period,” said Seacrest. He was right. The streets were pretty dead. There was no activity at the inn.

“Let’s wait ‘til they come out. They have no reason to sleep there. They’ve got your place and probably a few other bases around the city,” said Edward.

Seacrest looked the street up and down. “We’re pretty much in the open right here in broad daylight. If they saw you, they’d recognize you?”

“Yeah.”

“Why don’t I keep scouting it out and you go back to the car? You can catch a nap in the event it takes more than a few minutes, and I can wake you up as soon as I see any activity here. That way they won’t know we saw them.”

“I want to tail them,” said Edward

“I know. So do I. I want those photographs. I’d much rather the photographs than having to hide in your luggage. I could go back to plan A,” said Seacrest, his eyes occasionally darting to the inn’s door far on the other side of the street.

I want you to have those photographs, too. Edward weighed the factors involved. He did not trust Seacrest, but he was increasingly unable to trust himself, either. He had to rest, even if for fifteen minutes. Moreover, the doctor was right. If the Onge came out, they had a better chance of recognizing him than the doctor.

He trusted Seacrest to serve his own ends and protect what was left of his car. For these two reasons, Edward felt safe leaving the watch to him.

He dragged himself to the passenger seat of the car, leaned back, and closed his eyes. The sun was hanging overhead, but it felt like glorious night.