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McBrid hurried down the hallway on Level Five, keeping his head down and away from the cameras. He had no idea who took Louis and Charlie, so no idea where to look first. He’d have to search the labs one by one. Araldo, he didn’t have time for this. Charlie and Louis didn’t have time. He had to think. If Conguise had taken them, his best bet was the container room where they kept the Guards and Servants who’d be used for food, but that was all the way across the building. If they weren’t there, he’d have wasted a lot of time.
It’d be better to quickly search this wing first. The rooms in this area were large, so there weren’t as many. He stopped at the River-Man lab and pulled his lock picks from his shoe. It took only a moment and the door was open. He slipped his tools into his pocket and went inside. It was dark with only small lights on the outer walls casting an eerie glow around the room. River-Men swam in circles in the tank, the water an iridescent green from the lights.
They were fully formed, not one of them having any resemblance to their Guard hosts. Parson had failed again. Hallelujah. Not that it mattered to him any more. He was no longer in the running for top scientist. He’d already been tried, convicted and killed. At least, he prayed that was what Conguise would believe. He hurried through the lab, searching the cages in the back, but no Louis or Charlie. He headed for the door, his feet stumbling to a halt as he passed the desk. He stared at the computer. Parson, the little sneak, might know where his Guards were. He moved the mouse. The screen wasn’t locked. That meant either Parson had it set for a long delay or the other Almighty was around here somewhere. He had to be quick.
He scrolled through the files—nothing but notes and notes on the River-Men. Footsteps stopped at the door and the key scraped in the lock. McBrid slipped into the shadows.
Parson stepped inside, a mug of coffee in his hands. McBrid waited while Parson closed the door and walked to this desk. The other Almighty may not have a keen sense of smell or hearing, but the fool should pay more attention. The River-Men were crawling out of the tank, eyes on the two Almightys.
“I need to know where my Guards are.” He stepped out of the shadows.
“Holy...oh, shit.” Parson dropped his cup, the milky brown liquid spilling all over his desk. “McBrid, what are you doing here?”
“I’m not here. I’m dead.”
“What?” Parson stopped mopping up the mess.
“Someone blew up my house tonight. As far as anyone knows, I was in it.”
“Araldo.” Parson’s face paled and he dropped onto his chair. “Did you tell anyone about me?”
“No, but they’ll find my notes.”
“Where are they?” Parson raced up to him, grabbing his arm. “You have to delete them. Please, I’m begging you.”
“I will, but I need my Guards.”
“Your Guards?”
“Charlie and Louis. They’re gone.”
“I-I don’t know anything about them.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I swear.” Parson’s blue eyes were wide in his pale face.
“That’s too bad for you. They’ll find my notes. They’ll know everything you’ve done.” He pulled away and headed for the door.
“I’ll tell everyone that I saw you. That you’re alive.”
“I’ll be long gone by then and Conguise will have my notes which means you’ll be dead.”
“Wait. Please.” Parson threw himself in front of the door. “Give me a minute.”
“I don’t have a minute.” Louis and Charlie could be dying right now, ripped apart by any number of monsters. He shook the image from his head. That wouldn’t help him find them.
“Who took them?” asked Parson.
“I wouldn’t be here if I knew that.”
“Ah...ah...did you check the holding room?”
“Going there now.” He pushed Parson out of the way but the second his hands let go of the other Almighty the man was back in front of the door.
“Scottsmoor.”
“What about him?” He stopped shoving at Parson. “Did he take Louis and Charlie?”
“I-I don’t know, but I heard that he was starting over with the Rattus experiment. He was going to get two more hosts. Neither of the two males from the first round will mate with the new females.” Parson smirked. “I guess they only liked their sister.”
“Why do you think he’s using Louis and Charlie?” They started over all the time and they almost always purchased hosts from the shelters.
“Where are my files?”
McBrid grabbed him by the collar and slammed him against the door. “Answer me.”
The smug look fell from Parson’s face. “Th-this morning Scottsmoor said he had to contact Satcha for two new Guards.”
“And...” He jammed his elbow into the other Almighty’s gut.
“And...and this evening I heard him tell Topper and Stink to get the cages ready because he was going to retrieve the Guards.”
“He could’ve been going to the shelter.”
“I don’t think so. It was really late. He comes in early and never stays late.”
“That still doesn’t mean—”
“Listen to me.” Parson trembled. “I was on the elevator with him. I was going to the cafeteria and h-he pushed the button for the third floor.” Parson’s Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.
“Araldo, no.” He shoved Parson so hard the other Almighty tumbled to the ground.
“Wait, my files.”
“Everything I still have is on my two computers filed under sneaky rat.” That’d keep Parson busy since he had no files like that. He’d deleted them when he’d cleaned his hard drive. “You may want to check the backups and remove it from there too.”
“How do I do that?”
“Write over them.”
“How?”
“Fill the hard drives with files and then delete them,” he yelled as he ran from the room.