“I’m streaming this to your phones.” Francine now had the live footage split on four monitors. I jerked. Caelan’s eyes were wide in fear, his slapping was increasing and would no doubt leave his thighs bruised. Darkness teased my peripheral vision, but I pushed back at it. I needed to stay at my best until Caelan was safe.
We didn’t speak on the way to the elevator. This time I didn’t say a word about the small space when all four of us squeezed in. It was an uncomfortable fit, but I pushed my face into Colin’s chest and mentally pulled up that empty music sheet again. Now it was time for me to write Mozart’s Symphony in C major. It always calmed me when I needed it.
I also didn’t complain when Colin raced through the city, breaking countless traffic laws. I wasn’t paying much attention in any case. I had my phone in my hands, watching the live video on Caelan. He hadn’t changed his position once, his rocking and slapping increasing and becoming more erratic.
Only when we entered the warehouse area did Colin slow down. Clouds had gathered and shortened the daylight hours. It wasn’t completely dark, but the shadows from the warehouses could provide plenty of cover for someone who didn’t want to be noticed. I changed from mentally writing Mozart to playing the symphony in my mind. Loudly.
Colin parked next to a building and rested his arms on the steering wheel. “He’s in there.”
I looked at the neighbouring building, then at my phone screen. Caelan’s movements were jerky. “He’s becoming more unstable.”
“Did you see anyone else walk past the camera?” Vinnie asked.
“No. Only Caelan.”
“The GIPN team is still thirteen minutes out.” Manny’s tone was tight.
“We need to get that kid out.” Vinnie opened the back door. “I’m not letting him sit there another minute.”
“Oh, for the love of all that is holy.” Manny opened his door and we followed suit. The cold air was harsh against my exposed skin and I pulled my scarf higher to cover more of my chin and cheeks.
“Ain’t it grand we came in my SUV?” Vinnie opened the boot and I blinked a few times. I had been so absorbed in the video and in my concern for Caelan that I hadn’t noticed that we’d taken Vinnie’s vehicle. From the back of his car, he took a device the size of a camera and aimed it at the warehouse. His smile was wide and genuine. “Thermal imaging, baby.”
I stepped behind him and Colin joined me, both of us watching the small square screen as Vinnie slowly moved it from right to left. I hadn’t seen this model before. “How accurate is it?”
“Very. It will pick up heat signatures as small as a kitten within six hundred metres.” Vinnie’s muscle tension increased as first one, then a second red light entered the small screen. “Two people.”
One was lower than the other and I assumed that had to be Caelan sitting on the floor. “Who’s the other person?”
“No idea.” Vinnie frowned at the screen. “He’s not moving at all.”
Caelan was. His rocking and slapping caused the lower red image to expand and retract.
“Check the rest of the warehouse,” Manny said. “Twice.”
Vinnie did that. “Still only these two.”
Manny turned to fully stare at Vinnie. “We lead.” Then he turned to me and Colin. “You follow. No heroics.”
“I’m not a hero.”
“Doc.” Manny’s lips thinned, then he looked at Colin. “You make sure she’s out of the line of fire at all times.”
Colin nodded once.
Vinnie reached into the back of his SUV again and came out holding a handgun. He held it out to Colin. “I know you hate this, dude. But let’s just make sure we’re covering all our bases here.”
Colin sighed deeply before taking the pistol. He removed the magazine, put it back and cocked the gun. Despite his intense dislike for weapons, he was expertly trained. The way he held it in both hands, his arms slightly raised and the barrel of the gun pointed downward, showed his unconscious competence at handling the weapon. It brought an uncomfortable tightness around my throat. I swallowed.
Manny looked at each of us, then nodded to himself as if satisfied that we were prepared. I wasn’t. Yet I followed him and Vinnie as they walked to the door thirty metres ahead of us.
Colin stepped next to me. “Put your hand on my belt and stay half a step to my left and behind me.”
I did that and focused on the sound of the snow crunching under our feet. It was strangely quiet for this time on a weekday. It made me wonder what was in the other warehouses that didn’t require or invite a lot of movement. All those thoughts stopped when we reached the red metal door.
I recognised it from Jace’s video. Except this time the keypad was badly damaged. The door was ajar. Manny and Vinnie raised their weapons at the same time, their postures focused and ready for action. Vinnie tapped Manny’s shoulder. Manny responded by opening the door.
Manny went in first, Vinnie right behind him. Colin waited two seconds before he followed. My hand tightened around his belt and I stayed half a step behind him the whole time. My movements were stiff and even the most untrained eye could easily observe the fear making my shoulders hunch and bringing my arms tightly against my torso.
The utter silence in the large space exacerbated my nervousness. As did the low lighting. We stopped in front of the aisle, Vinnie lifting his device again to ensure no one was there. Once satisfied, he and Manny still moved around the corner, their guns aimed into the aisle, Manny aiming high and Vinnie low as if they’d agreed on this before.
“Clear.” Manny’s whisper was so soft that I barely heard it, but it made me exhale a breath I didn’t know I’d held.
The next aisle was about ten metres ahead, the light coming from it brighter than anywhere else in the warehouse. My muscle tension increased to the point where it felt as if my boots had turned into lead. Everything in my mind and body screamed at me not to move forward.
Then I heard Caelan’s keening. It was soft, but non-stop. The closer we came to the aisle, the clearer it became, until I could hear that he wasn’t keening. He was reciting geographical facts.
Manny and Vinnie stopped at the corner and Vinnie reached for his device again. The two red images filled the screen when he aimed it towards the aisle. Caelan was in there. With someone.
Vinnie touched Manny’s shoulder. Leading the way with his gun, Manny leaned around the corner. First his body tension increased, then significantly decreased. He stepped into the aisle, not lowering his gun or level of focus. “Well, well, well.”
“About twenty percent of all volcanoes are underwater!” Caelan’s shout wasn’t very loud, his voice sounding damaged. How long had he been reciting facts? And at what volume?
Vinnie followed Manny into the aisle, but held out his hand to stop Colin from following.
My breathing increased, as did my heart rate. I started feeling lightheaded and pushed Mozart’s symphony back into my mind and concentrated on taking slower and deeper breaths. Four of these later, Manny’s voice reached us. “Clear.”
“An erupting volcano can trigger tsunamis, flash floods, earthquakes, mudflows and rock falls! Doctor Lenard! The word volcano originally comes from the name of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan!”
I followed Colin into the aisle, wondering why Caelan was reciting only facts about volcanoes. When in great distress, he usually recited facts at random. Then all these thoughts left my mind.
Caelan was on the floor as I’d seen him on the video. His eyes were wide open and had a wild look in them. I was amazed that he’d not given in to the shutdown that had to be pushing down on him with an incredible weight.
Vinnie was at the end of the aisle, his weapon still raised, but the barrel now also aimed at the floor. Manny was standing between us and Caelan.
“One in twenty people in the world live within danger range of an active volcano!” He flapped his hands in the air a few times, then slapped his thighs. “One thousand nine hundred volcanoes are considered active!”