Page 57 of The Lost Zone (Dark Water #3)

Chapter Sixteen

Alex

Alex retired to bed early, mindful of C’s advice about being rested.

He couldn’t afford to waste his rest on worries about what the next day would bring.

He went through C’s techniques for sleeping: first, acceptance that events were outside his control.

He couldn’t change what would happen tomorrow, so why fret about it?

Then he counted down backwards from one hundred in increments of three, which he’d found helpful as a way of managing insomnia.

It worked. He woke the next morning after a good night’s sleep, ready to face his fate.

There would be no drawings given as gifts this time, no fond farewells. He owned nothing, so there was nothing to pack. He knew better than to ask for the expensive drawing pad and pencils. He went to the gym first thing, as was his normal custom, and found E waiting for him with tears in her eyes.

“Gideon says you’re leaving today. I’m going to miss you.” She flung her arms around his neck. Alex held her gently, politely, without affection or encouragement. After a few seconds, she drew back.

“Sorry for being so emotional,” she sniffed.

“I’m sure you’re happy to be going home, but I’ve loved teaching you.

Look at the difference in you now compared to when you arrived.

” She pointed at his reflection in the mirror.

He did indeed look in excellent health after so many months at Belvedere; his skin was clear, his eyes bright, and his body toned.

He was never going to be the kind of man who could put on a lot of muscle, but he looked strong and fit.

“Much of that is down to your excellent tuition,” he told her smoothly. “Thank you very much, E.”

He performed his usual workout under her tearful instruction, and then left without looking back.

It felt cruel to be so distant with her, but he’d been working hard on staying detached for the past few months and had accepted that this was his new reality.

He wasn’t fighting that battle with himself anymore – it had to be done.

He took a final shower and then returned to his bedroom.

B had given him the clothes he’d been wearing when he first arrived, and Alex had laundered them himself to a perfect state of crisp cleanliness.

It felt strange to put them on. He’d arrived in the middle of winter and now it was summer.

The sweater and coat were far too hot to wear, so he folded them carefully as he’d been taught and placed them in the garment bag B had provided.

The jeans, which had been loose and baggy when he arrived, now fitted him again.

Finally ready, he studied himself in the mirror.

He was so used to wearing white and navy that the red tee-shirt seemed jarring and garish.

The first of many adjustments he’d have to make, no doubt.

There was only one final thing… He held up the elegant gold necklace with the Tyler ID tag that B had placed in a little see-through bag.

For the past eight months, he’d worn a cheap plastic ID necklace, but he much preferred it to the tasteful, expensive necklace waiting for him.

Still, he had no choice, so he fastened the Tyler ID tag around his neck.

It was far lighter and less obtrusive than the Belvedere one, and yet, it felt like a noose.

He squashed that thought down. He was psyching himself out when he needed to stay calm.

He ate his breakfast quietly, slowly, staring into space. D kept casting little glances his way, and at the end of the meal she patted his arm shyly.

“Goodbye,” she whispered. It was one of only a handful of words he’d heard her speak in all the months he’d been here.

“Goodbye. Thank you for taking such good care of me,” he told her with an empty smile.

He was genuinely fond of her, but his fondness was of no use to him or her, so he pushed the emotion away.

It was sad to say goodbye, but he had no say in his going or whether he’d see any of these people again, so it was pointless indulging in any emotions about it.

Gideon came for him at 10.30a.m. on the dot.

“Ready?”

“Of course.” Alex grasped his garment bag tightly.

Gideon looked him up and down and gave a satisfied nod.

“The perfect Belvedere product. Don’t forget what you’ve learned here, Alex. Be a credit to us.”

“I will.” Alex nodded placidly.

Gideon took hold of his shoulders and looked him in the eye. “Never let them see who you really are – but don’t ever forget who you really are, either,” he said fiercely. “And fulfil your mission.”

Alex felt as if he had a streak of pure steel in his soul, a core of strength and resilience that hadn’t been there before, and he had this man to thank for it. There was only one way he could show his gratitude.

“My mission is to serve my houder to the best of my ability,” he said, gazing at Gideon blankly.

“Ah. Yes.” Gideon patted his arm. “That’s exactly what your mission is, Alex. Perform it well, and good luck, my dear boy.”

Alex offered no hug, and Gideon seemed not to expect one. He ushered him out of the little white bedroom, and Alex left without taking a last look around.

“It’s a beautiful, sunny day and the helicopter is waiting on the lawn,” Gideon said as they walked down the stairs together. He might have said something else, but Alex couldn’t hear him. His head was filled only with his song, which he chanted silently over and over again.

Make me a channel of your peace,

Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope.

The rest of the staff were waiting for him in the huge entrance hall, all lined up to say goodbye, as if he was some kind of dignitary. He smiled, nodded, shook hands – and barely registered any of them.

Where there is darkness only light,

And where there’s sadness ever joy.

“Many thanks, B… Goodbye, C… It was a pleasure, F…” The words seemed to come from someone else.

He said one final goodbye to Gideon, whose brown eyes were shining a little too brightly.

Could it be that Gideon, who’d cautioned him in the strongest terms about not getting too close to anyone, hadn’t been able to take his own advice?

He kept his gaze resolutely blank as he walked to the helicopter.

A security guard in black Tyler livery was waiting to escort him onboard, but he didn’t know the man.

He wondered where Mick was, but it wasn’t any of his business, so best not to speculate.

Best not to wonder, either, where Tyler was, and whether he was being taken straight to see him, or somewhere else.

None of it was his concern. His only mission was to be the perfect IS, to wait and bide his time until his opportunity arose.

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek,

So much to be consoled as to console,

To be understood as to understand,

To be loved as to love with all my soul.

“Good morning,” he said politely to his guard.

“I’m…” Pausing, he gave a little smile. “Alexander Tyler,” he finished firmly.

The security guard couldn’t have looked less interested.

He jerked his head, and Alex took his seat.

Alexander Tyler. That’s who his houder wanted him to be, so that’s who he was now.

The helicopter took off into the bright blue sky, and soon Belvedere was a tiny white dot beneath them. Alex didn’t look back.

A little while later, the helicopter landed on the rooftop of Vertex Tower.

The significance of this location wasn’t lost on Alex.

He’d run away from this place, and now he was being returned to it.

The message couldn’t have been clearer: there was no escape.

Not then, not now, not ever. This was where Tyler wanted him to be, so this was where he’d stay.

His minder was called Harris. The man didn’t offer any other name, and Alex didn’t ask for one.

He escorted Alex down in the lift, which opened onto the exact same suite he’d lived in before.

It was precisely the same as when he’d left it; nothing had changed – and yet everything was different, including him.

He glanced around the living room. There was no Solange, but her presence was everywhere.

Over there, on the beanbags, where they’d eaten popcorn together while watching the screen.

On the sofa, where she’d sat with him, painting her nails and chatting, trying to distract him during his recovery from Jake Harper’s assault.

And there… over there by the window, was where Ted had taken that photo of her, the one Alex had been forced to leave behind at Belvedere.

He allowed none of these thoughts to show, gazing around blankly as if this place held no meaning for him.

He knew Tyler would be watching. The smartwall was still active, recording every corner of every room.

Solange wasn’t the only one missing. Alex didn’t recognise any of the people who now staffed the suite.

He hadn’t expected Ted to be there, so that was no surprise, but everyone else had been replaced, too.

The new security guards were a tough-looking crew, eyeing him suspiciously.

Maybe, beneath their macho posturing, some of them were as nice as Ted, but Alex didn’t intend to get close enough to find out, for their sake as much as his.

Harris took him to the gym to meet the new trainer, a big, burly man with a tightly trimmed black beard.

“I’m Jack. I heard you gave Mason a hard time. Don’t try any of that shit with me,” he said stonily.