The Truth Effect by Anne Mortensen

Author:Anne Mortensen [Mortensen, Anne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Puente Press
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Week 3

Chapter Thirty-Five

January 21

A shrill whistle cracked through the dawn's air.

Backpack in tow, Kelly hastened her stride through Regent’s Park, southward, toward Global Wires where, supposedly, Geneva kept the malfunction report and Ian Smith’s file.

Starting on Great Portland Street, the SS illuminated her every step, as though ushering her the rest of the way to Soho. Odd. Josh was meant to mask her route the whole way. Maybe it was only some of the way. Whatever. It was too late to turn back. She needed to be in the newsroom before anyone got in.

At last, she reached Oxford Street. As soon as she crossed into Berwick Street, she’d enter the familiar labyrinth of roads that made up Soho. She inhaled deeply, as if getting ready to deep dive into an ocean. The narrow streets, usually full of people rushing to appointments, the chatter of conversation spilling out of restaurants and into the street, the beeping horns of frustrated drivers, were oddly silent. She hardly saw a soul as she hurried through the dense warren of streets.

There it was. Carnaby Street, home of Global Wires. The pedestrian walkway was deserted.

She ducked into the building, swiped her ID, and bypassed the elevator. The sound of her own footsteps echoed in the stairwell as she climbed up to the newsroom. She punched in the passcode and stepped inside.

A deafening quiet filled the newsroom.

Air currents crawled along the surface of her face. Kelly was no stranger to solitary moments, and even preferred them, but the stillness in the room hung on her like dead air.

Kelly scanned the ceiling for speakers and cameras. To the naked eye, the place looked clean, but that didn’t mean much. Spy cameras could hide inside anything; a wall clock, computers, the lights all around her. Even the sweepers couldn’t catch every tiny cam. Best to assume someone was watching or the sweepers could come at any moment, so she hastily crept over to Geneva’s desk.

A yellow light from a streetlamp glowed through the windows and brightened the walkway below.

When she reached Geneva’s spot, she swept her hand on the underside of the desk. There was no sign of any locked drawers, but as she reached further, her foot grazed something solid.

She kneeled down and stretched her arm, feeling out for that solid thing, and the cold surface of a metal box shocked her fingertips.

She pulled out a squat metal file drawer.

Mallow had mentioned maintaining a filing cabinet. Kelly dug into her backpack and groped for her own key. She fished it up. It looked identical to the one Geneva had dangled in front of her. Then something dawned on her. Maybe Christopher’s was the copy. There was only one way to find out.

If the key failed to unlock the metal drawer, she would take Lily’s letter opener to the lock and bash the damn thing open. If that didn’t work, there was probably a screwdriver down in the basement. If nothing else, her bare hands would have to do. One way or another, she would get whatever was inside.

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