“You need a slang tutor,” Cassie observed laughingly.
“Oh, I have a very good tutor. Zachary has helped me so much.” Hannah blushed.
The pythia noticed the girl’s reaction. Her eyes narrowed. “Zachary, huh. Does he do anything besides tutor you?”
“Oh, we go to the movies sometime. I love the movies.”
“So, you’re dating him?”
Hannah grew even more flustered. “Oh, no. I don’t think so. That is...” she trailed off awkwardly.
“I think I need to meet this Zachary kid to find out if he’s good enough for you.” Cassie’s voice sounded positively parental.
Hannah made a “shushing” sound. She darted a nervous glance at Faye and then said in a low voice, “Zachary is Faye’s great-great-something-or-other grandson. I’m sure she wouldn’t let me associate with a bad element.”
“Relax, I know who he is.” Cassie laughed. “I’m just teasing you.” She gave the girl another brief hug before transferring her attention to Faye. “I need to say hello to this lady.” She walked over to embrace Faye, whispering in the old womans’ ear, “We have to talk. Now!”
“Oh yes, quite right.” Faye recovered herself. “Hannah, would you mind giving us a little time together? Cassie has some urgent business to report to me.”
“Oh, of course. I’m behind on my Chemistry reading, and Zachary is going to give me a pop quiz tomorrow. I’ll be up in my room if you need me.” She paused at the banister and cast one final look at Cassie. “I’m so glad you’re alright.” Then she scampered up the stairs.
“Bye, Hannah,” Cassie called after her. “You make sure that Zach minds his manners!”
The two women waited until they heard the bedroom door close.
“Something’s up with Maddie,” Cassie began in a subdued voice.
“Whatever do you mean, dear?”
“Erik and Griffin and I have been trying to reach her ever since we got back yesterday to set up a debriefing. You were supposed to attend too. But we haven’t heard anything back from her. She isn’t returning texts, voice mails, or even emails. The guys and I drove over to the vault this morning, but she wasn’t there. The artifact that got smuggled out of Sudan was sitting right on her desk, but her office was empty. One of the tyros said there was a rumor that she left in the middle of the afternoon two days ago. He wasn’t there when it happened, so he didn’t know the whole story.”
“Oh, my.” Faye sank into her armchair. “It’s as I feared.”
Cassie took a seat on the couch and leaned forward anxiously. “What is it?”
The old woman sighed. “The past month has been quite stressful for her. Worrying about the three of you in danger overseas, defusing the threat of Leroy Hunt on the home front, and a new batch of tyros to train. She picked a terrible time to quit smoking. It’s her coping mechanism, you see. Without it to defuse her tension, she may be on the verge of nervous collapse.”
Cassie squinted at the old woman in disbelief. “So, you’re saying she’s having some kind of meltdown? Not Maddie. She’s a force of nature—indestructible.”
Faye shrugged. “Even forces of nature need escape valves. That’s what volcanic eruptions are for.”
“Has she ever gone off the deep end before?” The pythia sounded alarmed.
“Once. Many years ago. We never speak of it.”
“Cripes! You don’t think she’s done anything to hurt herself, do you?”
“There’s only one way to find out.” Faye rose and shuffled over to Hannah’s desk. She scribbled something on a sheet of paper and handed it to Cassie.
“Collect your teammates and meet me at that address in an hour,” she instructed.
“Not a problem,” the pythia replied. “The guys drove out here with me, but I dropped them in the village to wait because, you know...” She trailed off, glancing significantly toward the stairs up which Hannah had disappeared.
Faye understood. Hannah still believed Cassie was pursuing her relic hunt alone. Bringing Erik and Griffin into the mix at this point would raise all sorts of questions.
“What’s at this address?” Cassie asked.
“Hopefully, Maddie is,” Faye replied. “It’s her home.”
Chapter 49—Testing the Subject
Dr. Rafi Aboud straightened his tie and smoothed the front of his white lab coat. He was about to receive a visit from his benefactor. Much depended on the outcome of this conversation. He positioned himself expectantly before the doors of the elevator to his underground facility and waited. Right on schedule, the doors parted, and Abraham Metcalf stalked off.
Aboud gave a small bow. “Welcome, Mr. Metcalf. I am glad of your arrival.”
The diviner’s characteristic scowl softened by a fraction of an inch. “Judging by your demeanor, Doctor, I expect you have good news to impart?”
“Very good,” Aboud agreed. “Come, let us talk in my office.”
The reception area was, as usual, unoccupied but the doctor wished to take no chances of any of the staff overhearing their conversation. He had doubled the number of lab technicians originally hired because the complexity of the project required it. There were now a few dozen individuals milling about the test site at any given time. One couldn’t be too careful.
He shepherded the elderly man into his private quarters.
“May I get you a cup of coffee?” he asked.
“I don’t take stimulants,” was the diviner’s curt reply. He lowered himself awkwardly into one of the conference chairs.
“Very well.” Aboud reached for a clay mug cup perched on the edge of his desk. “You’ll have no objection if I indulge?”
Metcalf waved his hand in assent.
The doctor took the opposite chair. He sipped slowly at his beverage.
“What have you to tell me of your progress?” the diviner inquired.
Aboud smiled with self-satisfaction. “We are making great strides.”
Abraham edged forward in his seat. “I am glad to hear it. This has been a week of victories for the Nephilim. God surely blesses our endeavors.”
The doctor chuckled inwardly at the old man’s choice of words. He wondered what sort of god would look kindly on the type of work he had been tasked to accomplish. Maintaining a
