Reed
Clack of fingers on keyboards echoed in my office, filling the air with an aura concentration. Hermine sat across from me, her brows furrowed as she scrolled through endless data streams. She’d been at it for hours, her usually sharp tongue dulled by focus. I glanced over at her, the way her glasses slid down her nose and how she absently pushed them up, only for them to slip again. It was one of those rare quiet moments we hardly got these days.
The door slammed open, nearly flying off its hinges. I jerked up, heart skipping a beat, and saw Alex storming in, her face red with desperation.
“I know how we can catch my father!” she yelled.
Hermine froze, her fingers pausing mid-air as if Alex had just set the room on fire. Her shoulders stiffened, and she quickly averted her gaze, the tension in her body palpable. She looked like she wanted to vanish into thin air or punch a wall. Probably both.
“I… I need to go,” Hermine muttered, rising so abruptly her chair screeched against the floor.
“No,” I said firmly, giving her a look that said sit down. “Stay. We need you. You’re the best hacker we’ve got.”
Hermine hesitated, her lips pressed into a thin line. She glanced at Alex briefly, her eyes filled with something I couldn’t quite place. Whatever it was, it wasn’t good. Finally, with a huff, she slumped back into her chair, crossing her arms like a defiant teenager.
Alex, however, was staring at her, eyes wide and glistening, her voice cracking as she asked, “You can’t even look at me, can you?”
Silence. Heavy, suffocating silence. Hermine kept her eyes firmly on the desk, her fingers twitching like she was itching to type.
“Where did you find me?” Alex asked, turning to me. Her voice was shaky, barely holding itself together.
I leaned back, the weight of the question settling on my chest. “An abandoned building,” I said simply, but the memories clawed at the edges of my mind. The sight of Alex, huddled and trembling, bruises darkening her skin like shadows. Although she stood abreast with confidence now, she had looked so small, so broken.
Alex blinked, trying to piece something together. “I think…” she started, her voice hesitant, “I think I’ve been to a house that belongs to him. When I was taken, my father didn’t mask me. It was dark, and the car windows were tinted, but…” She trailed off, her hands wringing together. “I think I can lead you there.”
“Think?” Hermine snapped, the word dripping with sarcasm. “We’re supposed to risk everything on ‘think’?”
“Hermine,” I warned, my voice low.
She ignored me, her voice rising. “Why should we even trust you? You handed your best friend over to that monster!”
Alex flinched, her face crumpling as if Hermine had slapped her.
“That’s enough!” I barked, slamming my hand on the desk. The sound was loud, final.
Hermine glared at me, her jaw tight, but she didn’t say another word. Instead, she rolled her eyes and shoved her chair back, standing with so much force it nearly tipped over.
“I’m done here,” she said, storming out without a backward glance.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to rein in the frustration boiling in my veins. When I looked up, Alex was still standing there, looking like a kicked puppy.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “I didn’t mean to cause-”
“You didn’t,” I cut her off, standing and gesturing for her to sit. “Now, tell me everything you remember about that house.”
Alex hesitated before sinking into the chair Hermine had vacated. She fidgeted with the hem of her t-shirt, her eyes darting around the room like she was afraid it might collapse on her.
“It was… big,” she began, her voice shaky. “A mansion, maybe. The driveway was long, and there were trees everywhere. The windows; there were these massive glass windows on the front. And the smell… it smelled like…” She trailed off, her brows furrowed as she searched for the right words.
“Like what?” I prompted gently.
“Cigars,” she said finally. “And old books. The kind that smell like they’ve been sitting in a library for a hundred years.”
I nodded, filing away every detail. “Anything else? Did you see any signs? Hear anything?”
Alex shook her head, tears pooling in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I wish I could remember more. I-I know it’s not much, but-”
“It’s something,” I said, cutting her off. “It’s a start.”
She looked up at me, her lips trembling. “Why are you helping me?”
The question caught me off guard. I leaned back, crossing my arms as I studied her. “Because I know what it’s like to feel helpless and full of guilt. Zinnia was taken because of me, I dragged her into my world and I couldn’t protect her.” I said finally. “And because stopping your father isn’t just about you. It’s about all the people he’s hurt and all the people he’ll hurt if we don’t stop him.”
Alex nodded, wiping at her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Before I could respond, the door creaked open. Hermine stood there, her face a mix of defiance and regret. “I’ll look into it,” she said, avoiding Alex’s gaze. “The house. The description. I’ll see what I can find.”
“Thank you,” I said, my tone firm but not unkind.
She nodded and disappeared as quickly as she’d come, leaving the room in an awkward silence.
Alex let out a shaky breath. “She hates me,” she murmured.
“She doesn’t hate you,” I said, though I wasn’t entirely sure if that was true. “She’s just… dealing with her own stuff.”
Alex didn’t look convinced, but she didn’t argue.
“Let’s focus on finding that house,” I said, pulling a map up on my computer. “Walk me through everything again. We’ll figure this out.”
As Alex began recounting her memories, I felt like I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But a loud crash sounded from somewhere in the estate, slicing through the hope that was building up.
Unmistakable echo of gunshots followed. Alex’s eyes widened in terror, and I jumped to my feet, my heart pounding.
“Stay here. I need to find Zinnia.” I ordered, grabbing the gun from my desk drawer.
“But-”
“Stay,” I repeated, my voice leaving no room for argument.
Something was very, very wrong.
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