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Chapter Twenty
Reid
Iwonder what time it is.
After staring at Holly’s sleeping form for an excessive amount of time, I was crossing over into creeper territory. I finally rolled over quietly as to not disturb her and slid out of the bed. My feet hit the slatted wood floors, and I cringed as they groaned beneath my weight.
I slipped on my jeans, not even bothering with the button and grabbed my cell phone from its spot next my array of guns and knives on the armoire. I briefly debated on whether or not I should leave them in the room with her. She is feisty, and I wouldn’t put it past her to shoot me. But, I feel like she’s the type that would need a valid reason to do so, and I haven’t knowingly given her one…yet…so I think it’s safe for me to leave them in the bedroom instead of risk waking her by moving them.
If I wake her up, she really may shoot me, and that’s not a risk I’m willing to gamble with.
I walked out into the main living space and tapped the screen on my phone to illuminate it – five o’clock. I can work with that; the sun will be up soon enough. There is absolutely no cell reception out here, and I’m positive Emily has had to hold Alex back from driving out here at least fifteen times since I left yesterday.
That man, I would say his obsession is unhealthy, but really, it’s not. We’re brothers, and I’m the only one he’s got. Other than Emily and his kids, he doesn’t really have anyone. He knows the dangers of this job, he’s seen them first-hand, so I get it. I understand, and that’s why I need to get him connected out here before he does something crazy.
The fire from the oil lamp has long burned out, so I light the room with the light from my phone and begin the search for internet access.
Bingo. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to look far. A discarded laptop lays open on the sofa in the corner of the room. I followed a cable from the laptop to a black box nestled behind the sofa, this is exactly what I was looking for. Alex was right, there is some degree of civilization out here, even if they can’t find it in the budget to spring for proper air conditioning.
I opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch as quiet as I possibly could. The air was thick with fog and a heavy dew from the humidity. It’s not quite summer yet, but winter has long left the area. Some sort of insect chirped in the background, awake before the sun, I feel you, buddy.
I don’t believe in ghosts, but the damn fog doesn’t do anything to tame the reputation of the haunted plantation home as it sits abandoned across the gravel path from where I stand.
Walking over to my SUV, I pulled out my backpack and walked back to the house, not wanting to stand outside in the dense fog by myself any longer than necessary. Pulling out the plug that Alex handed me before I left, I plugged one end into my phone and the other end into the black box and said a silent prayer this worked. I’m no IT guy, and I rarely have to be because I have the best of the best in my back pocket, but I need my wingman. If this doesn’t work, I’m positive that I’m not qualified to fix it.
Instantly my phone lit up and began vibrating in my hand. I pressed the button to answer and held the phone to my ear.
“Good morning, jackass. Took you long enough, I could have knitted a damn sweater it took you so long.” I held in my chuckle as Alex ranted through the phone.
“My apologies, I got pre-occupied. Then I was occupied again and again and well, now here we are.”
“Why are you whispering? Are you in the bed with Adkins right now, Chapman? Your weapons haven’t left their GPS coordinates for hours.”
“Yes and no and yes. I’m safe. What do you need me to do?”
“What are you plugged into? Is there an adapter?” Alex immediately switched modes, his voice direct and thoughtful.
“By adapter do you mean an electrical outlet?” I questioned as I eyed the black box in front of me, needing Alex to speak English.
“Look in the side of your bag and pull out the small black ring, it has two prongs on it. It should fit over one of the outlets. Plug it in and then take the sheet that looks like it has stickers on it from the same pocket. Start strategically placing the stickers about eye level at your location. Those stickers are actually cameras and will feed images to me on a rolling time schedule. It’s not perfect, the technology is still in the testing phases, but it will give me what I need until we can get more access out there.” I did exactly as Alex said while he spoke, knowing how important these instructions were. We may joke around, but I know when to take Alex, seriously and right now he’s serious.
“Done.” I paused in the middle of the room, the cord on the end of my phone stretched as far as it will reach.
“Ok, let me just hit this one button and…oh, hey there handsome, you couldn’t even bother to get dressed for me this morning?” He teased, and I could literally hear him relax through the phone.
“Why put my clothes on when I plan on taking them off again, and no, I’m not putting these stickers in the bedroom so you can go ahead and flush that idea down that toilet before it leaves your mouth. You can’t live stream my sex life as porn for your nighttime activities, it’s disgusting.”
“I will let you be the one to tell that to my wife.”
“Emily is terrifying. Yeah, no thanks, that’s on you. What else do you need?” I asked knowing my time in private was limited and not wanting to test the boundaries of waking up my sleeping barracuda.
“I’m good. The box you’re plugged into is only temporary. The satellite signal is garbage at best, find the main internet source, and we can get a live stream up. I think I can get a signal from the sticker cameras anywhere in that house so place them in strategic locations until we can stream. I want live access within twenty-four hours Chapman, so don’t get distracted.” Like he was summoning a siren, Holly appeared in the doorway to the bedroom wrapped in nothing but the white sheet from the bed. She didn’t speak, just leaned against the doorframe and observed.
“Copy that. Anything else?” I stared into her blue eyes as I spoke, knowing images of her were probably filtering across Alex’s screen as we spoke.
“I see it in your eyes, Reid. Be careful, ok. I’ve got a briefing with the director at noon. I will send a text to your phone when I’m ready for you to call for an update.” Alex’s words were a somber warning.
“Mhmm.” I grunted before hitting end on the phone and putting my screen on lock.
