‘That looks interesting. What do you think it is?’ Maddie called out from the back, breaking Cooper’s chain of thought. Not that his chain of thoughts were beneficial to anyone else, given he was currently wondering if AJ’s Fine Foods diner in Phoenix was going to carry any new flavors of iced tea this summer.
Across to the left, standing in a valley, were a handful of large industrial buildings. They looked very much out of place in the middle of the wild, provocative, paintbox-colored countryside, where fields and tracks slunk up the hills and mountains.
A large, pale yellow sign, with an embossed image of a drop of water with the word Lemon, in bold white writing, loomed by the side of the road.
A thought suddenly crossed Cooper’s mind which he hoped was going to be more relevant than his previous ones. Sticking to the Toyota seat with sweat, he went into his jeans pocket. Pulled out the pen he’d picked up from the New Revivalist Church and passed it to Maddie.
‘I don’t know what it quite means, but here you go… The same logo’s on the pen. What do you reckon, Rosedale? Worth taking a look?’
‘Well, there’s only one way to find out!’ Rosedale shouted as if they weren’t all sitting next to each other in the same car. He turned the Toyota round at speed. Veered off the dirt track road, to the rolling of eyes of Cooper and Maddie.
*
Parking up a few feet from a tall, solid black fence, topped off with razor-wire and a multitude of security cameras, Cooper jumped out of the car. Peeled off the sweat-drenched t-shirt that was stuck to his body. Wrung it out. Flung it on the floor of the car.
Throwing Cooper a dry t-shirt from the back, and breaking open a bottle of water which was supposed to be cold, Maddie offered it around.
‘Anyone want some hot water? I have to warn you, the only thing it’s got going for it, is it’s wet.’
‘Don’t mind if I do.’ Rosedale snatched the bottle as Maddie and Cooper walked ahead. They looked around, taking it all in.
The perfectly tarmacked road to the wrought iron gates was in absolute contrast to the roads they’d encountered on the journey. The ones outside Goma, which Rosedale had driven on a couple of hours back, had been the worst. Built-up craters of uneven tarmac encrusted with lava from the active volcano nearby had made it one hell of a precarious drive.
Almost at the gates, Cooper watched the cameras track their movement. An intercom system buzzed.
‘Hello? Can I help you?’
Cooper looked at Maddie, whose expression reflected his surprise. The voice was American.
‘Hi there!, Me and my friends were just driving past, saw the place and wondered what it was.’
‘Well, it’s great you’ve stopped by.’
The cheerful reply surprised them once more. And having been joined by a well-hydrated Rosedale, Cooper continued to chat to the intercom. ‘It just seemed a bit out of place. A bit…’
The person on the other end laughed. ‘New built? Listen, come in if you like. If you want to leave your car there that’s fine, though it’s a fairly long drive. Either way it won’t be a problem. Just come up to the main building. Follow signs to the main lobby. I’ll meet you there. The name’s Charles by the way. See you in a minute.’
The intercom crackled before going silent. Maddie looked at Rosedale. ‘What do you think?’
‘Anchorage,’ said Rosedale. ‘I think that’s an Anchorage accent.’
Cooper said, ‘Maddie, I’m relying on you to keep me sane.’