Page 44 of The Circle

“All right,” the voice acquiesces. “Hold on a moment, please.”

I don’t know why I think that’s funny, but it is. It’s the request. The polite, call-center tone. I half expect to hear smooth jazz while he puts me on hold.

I mute the phone.

“The fuck is going on?” I ask, reasonably.

“I assume that’s also rhetorical,” Alec says. I throw him a don’t fuck with me right now look. “I don’t know, bru. I’ve no fokken idea.”

When I look at Christine, her brow is furrowed. “What is it?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” she says. “The voice, it…”

“You know it?” I don’t even try to keep my mild shock out of the question.

“Maybe?” she says. “Something—”

“Allo?” The polite, call-center voice again.

Taking the phone off mute, I say, “Yeah? What?”

“Who is with you?” he asks. “Right now. Who is with you?”

“Go fuck yourself,” I offer in return. “Who the fuck are you?”

Another, shorter pause. “Mr. van den Berg is there?”

What the fuck?

I look at Alec. He raises his eyebrows: I have no idea. Then he nods: Sure. Tell him.

I bite my lip. “Yeah. He’s here. He—”

“Is he all right?”

No. But seriously. What. The. Fuck?

Before I can say anything else, Alec chimes in, “I’m fokken aces, man. Who is this?”

Yet another beat. Then… “Hold onto this phone, please. We’ll call again with further instructions.”

All of our eyes go wide. I thought nothing could surprise me anymore, but…

“Also,” he continues, “just so you know: She’s fine. The little girl. Alexandria.”

… I was very, very wrong.