The Exchange by Antony Curtis

Author:Antony Curtis [Curtis, Antony]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-07-07T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 18

The back of the delivery van was cramped and black but felt oddly comforting to Jackson as he was rocked with the vehicle’s motion. He felt cocooned, smothered, protected by the darkness as if suspended in a womb. The muffled noise from beyond the walls swirled around him and created a soothing substrate in which he could float.

The journey didn’t last long however, and before he knew it, they had stopped. He could hear the two doors up front slam shut one after the other like gunshots as the occupants got out. A few seconds later the back opened a fraction shooting a shaft of light inside the compartment along with a man’s voice.

“Wait here for a second until the pavement is clear, then follow me quickly.”

The door closed an inch as Jackson shuffled forward, ready to do as instructed. After almost a minute, the door swung open again and Jackson jumped out into the blinding light of day and followed the man through a door in the side of a building. The woman followed close behind and it wasn’t until they had reached the end of the first corridor that Jackson recognised where he was.

They turned the corner, moving towards the illuminated door where it felt a lifetime ago Jackson had refused to enter. His anxiety rose as he passed the point he had stopped before like a checkpoint. He slowed down until Daisy was almost beside him, forcing him to continue on without time to raise a complaint.

The room was dark, with only the power lights from several monitors floating in a sea of gloom. A switch was flicked behind him which brought the room and its contents into sharp relief. Several computers lay on one side of the room while on the other, on a slightly raised platform, was a single terminal. Between them on the back wall was another door and in the centre of the room sat a single jump chair.

Dexter and Daisy moved across the room to their stations as if looking for someone. Daisy disappeared through the door at the back but returned seconds later, giving a concerned glance to Dexter before returning her attention to Jackson.

“So, this is where we’re based and for you, it’s pretty much the safest place you could be right now. We’ve been monitoring the activity around you for a while, especially the commotion you caused at Silva’s. In fact, I think a colleague went to investigate, but hasn’t returned yet.”

Jackson’s complexion flushed.

“Someone went to Silva’s after the Cantonal arrived?” he asked.

“Uh huh,” she replied, chewing away on a piece of gum.

Jackson’s stomach fell. He didn’t know whether to confess what had happened or not for fear of retribution or worse, abandonment. He kept quiet.

“How ma…” his voice caught in his throat making him cough. “How many of you are there?”

“There are four of us on the ground, with several more higher-ups who direct us.”

“Only four?”

“Small means we can hide in the shadows much easier.”

Jackson nodded, thinking that the number had now reduced by one.

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