The Darkness - Jason Pinter [68]
"Huh?"
"That's what you were about to ask. Do you see any
wires? Any outlets?"
Morgan eyed the cameras. "Nope. But there's a red
light on."
"Runs on a battery," Chester said. "Fakes out most
burglars and trespassers. You can buy these things at
Radio Shack for sixty bucks."
"So then how do they..."
"Trust me, security is a lot tighter than a simple
camera. Just don't bring any of your friends here. They'll
be dead before they count to five."
"What..."
Before Morgan could finish his question (something
he was thankful for), the metal door slid open. Standing
there was Leonard.
He was wearing black jeans and a green turtleneck. He
held a clipboard in one hand, and gripped the door's
handle with his other.
"Hey," he said to Chester. Then he looked at Morgan.
"Glad you could make it. You guys are late."
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Jason Pinter
"Traffic," Chester said.
"Of course." Leonard took a pen from the clipboard,
checked something on it and went back into the room.
"Come on," Chester said, and Morgan followed him
inside.
The room was fairly small, and resembled an atrium
of some sort. There was another door off to the side, and
that was all. The only light was overhead track lighting,
and Morgan noticed a dozen cameras pointed at different parts of the room.
The first person he saw was Nikesh. The Indian boy
was standing in the center of the room. He was wearing
a black pinstripe suit, with a red tie and wingtip loafers.
His hair was freshly cut, and Morgan noticed a small
shaving nick under his chin.
Nikesh turned around. He nodded when he saw Morgan.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," Morgan replied, wittily.
Then Nikesh turned around, and Morgan saw that he
had a large briefcase slung over his shoulders. The bag
was full, but not overstuffed. There was a combination
lock on the front, and the clasp was done.
"Patel, you're finished here. Flanagan?"
The chubby white kid from the conference room
ambled out of the side room. He was also clutching a
briefcase, this one stuffed even more. Though the bag
looked ready to burst, Chubby--aka Flanagan--seemed
to have no trouble carrying it. Obviously whatever was
inside didn't weigh much.
"You two have your orders," Leonard told them. "And
you remember everything I told you."
Patel and Flanagan both nodded. They looked confident.
Whatever Leonard had told them, they remembered it.
The Darkness
195
Leonard clicked something in his ear, nodded, then
motioned for the duo to follow him. He slid the door
open, revealing the corridor. When they'd stepped
outside, Leonard pulled the door back into place.
"Your turn," Leonard said. "Time for orientation."
Leonard walked over to the side door. This one looked
fairly standard, with a doorknob and everything. Leonard
simply turned the knob, pulled it open and beckoned
Morgan to follow him.
Tentatively Morgan came forward, surprised at first
that the door wasn't guarded by some super electromagnet or something else similarly complicated.
As he approached the door, another young man
stepped out. Morgan recognized him from the conference room. He was black, about five foot ten. Stocky but
not fat, with a neatly shaved head. He wore a creamcolored suit and a blue tie, a pocket square neatly tucked
into his jacket.
"Theodore W. Goggins," Leonard said. "This is Morgan
Isaacs."
Morgan extended his hand. Theodore shook it. His
grip was tight.
"Call me Theo."
"Call me Morgan," he replied. "So 'W' huh? Like
George W. Bush?"
"Do I look like I was born in Texas?" Theo said. "The
'W' is for Willingham, my uncle's last name."
"Keeping it all in the family," Morgan said. "Nice."
Theo laughed. "You keep up, brother, you and me are
gonna get along just fine."
"Get along?" Morgan said.
"You two are partners, for the time being," Leonard
said. "You ever use the buddy system on school trips?"
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Jason Pinter
Neither of the young men answered, but they both
knew what he was talking about.
"Same principle. Theo, you're responsible for Morgan.
Morgan, you're responsible