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Kelvin navigated the party through the small warren of underground hallways. The property appeared far larger than the naked eye could anticipate by looking at the building on the surface. They walked fast. Everything about Kelvin seemed to be done at speed. His choice of clothing said as much, although jeans and a black jumper did not scream serious businessman. However, if this was the same Kelvin Handle that Steph assumed him to be, then he was indeed a very serious businessman. Perhaps that was why he was successful; he possessed an almost careless manic energy.

“I know what you’re thinking!”

Kelvin called over his shoulder.

“You do?”

Steph asked, suddenly thinking she would have to admit her curiosity about his sudden disappearance from the Silicon Valley limelight.

“How did I manage to get so much work pushed through under the ground without people knowing? Money mostly. Keeps people quiet when you need them to and makes them work faster too. I got the idea from those London townhouses. Have you seen them?”

“No?”

“Fucking expensive things but finite in space up top. You must be wealthy to own one, but you don’t really have enough space to show off! So what do you do? You dig down. That’s what they’ve done but you wouldn’t know it. Now these old buildings which look so fitting to the street are nothing more than fancy top hats for underground lairs that house swimming pools, bowling alleys, cinemas, etcetera, etcetera.”

“And weren’t there issues with neighbouring houses falling down?”

Davey added, pushing Steph forward slightly when she tried to slow her walk to look through a window to a door.

“Luckily I don’t have that problem!”

Kelvin snapped.

The walk ended with their going through an automatic door which led to a room with numerous screens. Some showed camera images. Some showed red dots on maps. Others showed numbers which meant nothing to Steph but seemed to have meaning to Kelvin who studied them on arrival.

Satisfied with what he saw, Kelvin brought Steph to a table in the middle of the room. The table was a map of sorts. The type of thing one would expect to see at a property developer’s building site displaying all the new properties and their location. This one showed mostly forest. There were undulating areas of relief, a river, the odd hut – or what looked as such to Steph – and the main house. Most notable was the double fencing.

“I realise it is a little old-fashioned, but it helps me build a picture,”

Kelvin said, not even looking at Steph.

“Sure, I use technology too, but sometimes something simple helps shape something more complicated.”

“More complicated than you think!”

Davey muttered.

“Tell me, why do I employ you and your negativity?”

“Because I’m good at my job!”

Kelvin shrugged. And went back to looking at the diorama before him.

He snapped his head around and asked Michael.

“What impact are the beavers having?”

“Minimal!”

came the reply.

“Too early to tell.”

“Heading in the direction you expected though?”

“For now, but that could deviate off at any angle at this point.”

“We can adapt,”

Michael said, frowning at a screen labelled X that showed nothing but a rocky slope covered with trees and dirt. A small plateau disrupted the slope partway up.

Kelvin waved a dismissive hand in Michael’s direction.

Realising that Kelvin had become distracted, Steph said.

“Why exactly am I here? I mean, are you going to warn me away or… I’m not really sure what is going on at all, to be honest.”

Kelvin looked at her. His eyes scanned once more and then settled on a facial expression based on his analysis. He curled his lip slightly.

“I very much doubt that you don’t know what is going on ‘at all’. I am sure you have some sort of ballpark idea about what is happening here. Some of it might be right and some of it might not be.”

“That still doesn’t answer my question,”

Steph said, folding her arms.

“No, it doesn’t, does it?”

Steph mindlessly grabbed at her upper left arm. Kelvin narrowed his eyes a little.

“Essentially, Stephanie, I know that you are from America – well, America-based – and your line of work often involves solving natural or supernatural mysteries using logic. Sometimes you will leave the answer up to interpretation, but I would assume that’s mostly just a smart business decision. Something has brought you over here from the USA and I doubt it is a visit to your parents in Sheffield, followed by a scenic jaunt into Scotland. I suspect, although I cannot be certain, that it has something to do with the boy who died on the outskirts of the land my little project occupies. That seems to be the story that leaked more than others. Furthermore, two of my employees picked you up at the very moment you saw something chasing a herd of deer. I am sure they gave you some sort of semi-plausible story to explain what you thought you saw, and that is fine for the average onlooker. But you are not the average onlooker. That, in short, brings me to why you are here. Although I must admit, I didn’t realise you were a qualified field biologist. I’m not sure how I missed that.”

Steph’s mind whirred.

She could vaguely make out the sound of Davey letting out a growling sigh, but otherwise, her head was reeling.

How did he know so much? Most of Steph’s thoughts revolved around self-preservation.

She was not sure they needed to, but neither did she feel safe.

However, a modicum of rational thought hung onto ‘the story that leaked more’.

“Why do you know so much about me? How?”

“I made my money in the tech industry,”

Kelvin shrugged.

“When people say you leave a digital footprint, they mean it. More so for anyone who tries to market themselves online. It really is not as impressive as it seems; you’d be surprised – and potentially worried judging from your naivety of it all – at how easily the most ordinary of people can track down your basic information. And the speed at which it can be done.”

He then crossed his arms again, biting his lower lip.

“By the way, I realise that stories about myself are well-circulated – or at least they were – but they are not true. Not that it matters. People seem to care little for truth, which is why they can be vulnerable to manipulation by the media. Unfortunately, I was just on the wrong end of one of those distortions. It’s why I stepped away from the light, as it were. Well, that and I grew up I suppose. At some point, you must stop partying and focus.”

“And… and what do you know about the death of the boy?”

Steph asked, deciding to battle her curiosity about Kelvin and stick to her task at hand.

Kelvin sighed. Steph noted how Michael had lost interest in the conversation completely and was looking at the various screens whilst Davey eyed Steph almost unblinkingly.

“That genuinely had nothing to do with what goes on here – as far as I am aware,”

Kelvin replied.

Steph waited, expecting more, but Kelvin seemed to have nothing more to say on the matter. Or nothing more he wanted to say.

“And what does go on here?”

Steph asked. She’d skirt back to the boy later.

Now Kelvin’s eyes lit up.

“Something wonderful!”