“I sure could use some advice from the Arkana about now,” Erik said ruefully. “That’s the name of my organization, by the way.” He cast a glance at the in-house phone.
Daniel brightened. “I’d almost forgotten. Wait here. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Taking care to lock Erik inside, he ran down the corridor to his own room.
***
Ten minutes later, the scion let himself back into the prisoner’s quarters. He was carrying a paper bag.
Erik peered at him quizzically.
“Here. You can keep this but remember to keep it well-hidden.” Daniel reached into the bag and produced a cell phone and charger. “It’s the burner phone you gave me when we first planned Hannah’s escape, remember?”
“Well, alright!” Erik smiled broadly. “I can get back in touch with headquarters.”
“I thought you said you didn’t know where your organization’s headquarters were located.” Daniel sounded mystified.
Erik treated him to a pitying look. “And a prisoner who’s being questioned by the enemy would never lie.”
“Oh, I see.” Daniel flushed with embarrassment and retreated to his seat on the bed. “Then who are you planning to speak with?”
The thief chuckled as he punched a number into the phone and listened to it ring. “I’m calling Maddie, our chatelaine. You people know her as ‘Mr. Big.’”
Daniel’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
Erik raised a cautionary finger for silence. Apparently, someone had picked up on the other end.
“Maddie? Hi, it’s Erik. I’m alive.” He paused and scowled. “Chief, are you still there?”
Directing his comment to Daniel, he said, “It sounds like the line went dead.” He listened a few more seconds. “Uh oh, she’s crying.” He paused to listen again for half a minute and then held the phone at arm’s length, flinching. “And now she’s yelling.”
From halfway across the room, Daniel could hear an angry female voice blaring from the phone even though it wasn’t in speaker mode.
Erik tried to intervene. “Maddie... Listen... If you’d just... I can...” Eventually, he gave up with a good-humored shrug and placed the phone on the arm of his chair while the voice continued to berate him.
“Oh dear, that can’t be good,” Daniel murmured.
“Actually, it is,” Erik told him brightly. “We have a saying in my organization. When Maddie’s yelling, that means everything is OK.”
“It does?” Daniel felt puzzled by the strange behavior of his new allies.
Eventually, the angry torrent gushing from the other end of the line stopped. Erik hastily placed the phone next to his ear again. “Maddie, are you done? Yes, it’s me. I’m OK. Well, sort of. I’m full of bullet holes, and a mad scientist just tried to kill me with plague germs, but otherwise I’m fine.”
Daniel waited patiently while Erik updated his superior on events of the past three weeks. Then he told her about Daniel’s quick thinking to keep him as a hostage, thus protecting him from further harassment by Leroy Hunt. He explained his current predicament and Hannah’s proximity then asked for back-up to extract them both from the compound.
Erik listened to his boss’s comments. A perplexed scowl formed on his face. “Hold on,” he told her and directed his attention toward the scion. “I thought she’d want me to get out of here no matter what I told your father during our meeting.” His voice held a note of disbelief. “Instead, she wants me to stay put.”
“Why on earth would she want that?” Daniel was as baffled as the thief. “Frankly, I didn’t expect you to keep your promise and stay here either.”
“Well, for starters she said that I’m in no shape ‘to pull any more half-assed commando stunts.’ That’s a direct quote, by the way.”
“She isn’t wrong,” Daniel agreed. “You can barely stand much less outrun a security team.”
“She also said that Hannah and I are both safe here since Metcalf needs us if he ever hopes to get his hands on the Sage Stone.”
“Also true.” The scion nodded.
“Maddie seems to think I can be more useful inside the compound than out.”
“But how?” Daniel was at a loss to see the logic of her plan.
Erik raised a hand to postpone any more questions as he picked up the phone again. “Yeah, I’m back. You want me to do what now?” He listened for several more seconds, presumably to a lengthy explanation. “How am I supposed to manage that?” he protested. Another lengthy explanation followed. The thief inexplicably broke into a grin as he listened further. “Uh huh. Got it. OK, I’ll tell him.” He ended the call.
“What was that all about?” the scion asked.
Erik sat forward. “Can you get me a duplicate key for this room and a blueprint of the compound?”
“Yes, of course, I can but what do you need them for?”
Erik smiled cryptically. “A game changer.”
Chapter 18—River Dance
Daniel idly scanned the menu as he waited for his friend Chris to arrive. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and the weather had finally warmed up enough to allow a meal outdoors. The librarian suggested they meet for lunch near Marina City at a terrace cafe perched above the Chicago River. The location offered a panoramic view of the downtown bustle, the opposite bank, and pedestrians strolling across the Michigan Avenue bridge.
The scion surveyed the restaurant’s other patrons. The usual crowd of high rise office workers had been replaced by weekend shoppers and sightseers. He glanced down at the river shimmering with reflected sunlight. It wasn’t as busy as it would be later in the summer. For now, a lone cabin cruiser was making its way toward Lake Michigan while a water taxi churned westward to Union Station. A tour boat, moored at a dock below the restaurant, was taking on passengers.
“Hey, Danny Boy.” Chris slipped into the chair across the table.
Daniel gave a welcoming smile. He studied Chris’s attire intently, making a mental note to ask where the librarian had bought his sapphire blue polo shirt. It matched the color of his eyes exactly. The scion felt an urge
