Chapter 31 Tamira
TAMIRA
The ping of an incoming text jolted Tamira out of the restless half-sleep she'd been drifting in and out of since dawn.
She grabbed her phone from the nightstand, and as she saw Kalugal's name on the screen, her heart started hammering in her chest. A message from him could mean news about Darien, and at seven-thirty in the morning, it had to be important.
Roni, our talented hacker, found a lead, Kalugal wrote. Face recognition caught Darien at JFK airport, flying out to Singapore. I've asked Roni to forward the information to the investigator to continue from there. Will keep you updated.
Tamira read the message three times, her eyes blurring with tears that were equal parts relief and frustration. Singapore. Her son had recently flown from New York to the other side of the world, which meant that he was alive, and that was what mattered.
It would have been better if the update also included his address, but that would have been a miracle.
"What is it?" Eluheed propped himself up on one elbow beside her.
"Kalugal." She handed him the phone, watching his face as he read the message. "The clan's hacker found Darien. He was at JFK, on his way to Singapore."
Eluheed read the text and handed the phone back to her. "That's good news."
She nodded. "It's a sign of life. I've been praying to the Fates for a breakthrough in the investigation, and they answered my prayers." She smiled. "Now I need an address. Do you think that the clan's hacker can find it?"
"I don't know," he said, his expression apologetic. "I haven't met the guy, and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to gauge his competence."
"I want to go to New York." The words tumbled out before she could stop them. "I want to be there, looking for him, doing something instead of sitting here and waiting. It's driving me crazy."
"And what would you do in New York? Wander the streets hoping to stumble upon him? Even if he's already returned from Singapore, we wouldn't know where to start looking for him. We need more clues."
"I could talk to people. Show his picture around. Someone must have seen him."
"New York is a huge city with millions of residents and visitors.
The odds of finding someone who remembers one face among millions are astronomical.
" He reached for her hand. "I know this is frustrating.
I know that you want to feel like you're doing something, but you need to be patient.
The investigator has resources and connections. Let him do his work."
Eluheed was right. Charging off to New York with no leads and no plan would accomplish nothing except draining her energy and her hope. Besides, she had no money, and Eluheed had none either.
She slumped against the pillows. "The vision you had about me walking with Darien in Times Square is the only thing preventing me from falling into despair."
"It will happen." He squeezed her hand. "Your reunion with Darien is written, but all we can do to prepare for it is wait."
Waiting. She was so tired of waiting.
Tamira reached for her phone and typed out a response to Kalugal. Thank you for letting me know. Can we meet? I have some questions.
Instead of a return message, her phone began to ring, and Kalugal's name flashed up on the screen.
"Hello?"
"I'm on my way to my office in the city right now, but I can meet you this evening when I return. Is there anything I can help with before then?"
"I'm sorry for bothering you. I'm just frustrated.
I feel so helpless. Is there anything else the hacker can find?
More information about Darien that will help us find where he lives or where he works?
Maybe he flew out to Singapore for business?
Perhaps someone at the airport over there was waiting for him and can be tracked? "
"Roni is very good at what he does, but he's also very busy." Kalugal paused. "That said, if you asked for his help in person, he would have a harder time saying no to you. He might also have the photo from the airport."
Hope flickered in Tamira's chest. "Where can I find Roni?"
"He works in the tech lab underneath the village. The same facility where William works."
"Should I call or text him first? Let him know I'm coming?"
Kalugal laughed. "I wouldn't recommend it.
Roni would tell you not to come because he's too busy.
It's better to surprise him—show up unannounced and don't give him the chance to turn you away.
If he seems offensive, it's not because he doesn't like you.
It's just the way he is. Don't take it personally. "
The guy sounded like a character, but it wasn't enough to deter her.
"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for the help, Kalugal."
"Of course. Good luck with Roni."
As he ended the call, Tamira turned to Eluheed. "Do you want to come with me to see Roni?"
"Of course, I'll come with you." He pushed back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed.
"I have a meeting with Kian at eleven-thirty, so if you're not finished with Roni by then, I'll have to leave you there.
" He looked at her with concern. "Will you be able to find your way back home? "
She smiled. "I'm not entirely helpless. I know how to navigate by the map on my phone, and if I get turned around, I'll ask for directions. I'm sure someone will be kind enough to escort me."
After they showered, Eluheed put on a pair of tailored slacks and a crisp button-down shirt.
"You look very handsome," she said, adjusting his collar. "Is that for Kian's benefit?"
"He's always well dressed, so I assume it matters to him. I want to show my respect by dressing appropriately." He smoothed down the front of his shirt. "This meeting is important."
She nodded. "Perhaps I should follow your example and put on something nice as well?" She pulled out a long-sleeved blue dress that was made from a soft fabric. "This looks elegant without being too dressy."
As they left the house and walked through the village toward the glass pavilion, Tamira enjoyed the gentle morning sun that was warm instead of scorching. It still felt strange to enjoy so much freedom. There were no guards and no listening devices, or at least none that she and Eluheed could spot.
The glass pavilion gleamed in the sunlight, Kalugal's archaeological collection visible through the transparent walls, and if she weren't on a mission to corner the hacker, she would have stopped to see if the displays had been rotated and there was something new for her to admire.
They took the elevator down to the lab level and exited to a wide corridor that was well-lit and led to a large communal room with many workstations.
"Excuse me," Tamira said, stopping a young woman who was hurrying past them. "Can you tell us where we can find Roni?"
The woman turned and pointed down the corridor. "Follow the main aisle to the back and look for the Batman chair—you can't miss it."
"The Batman chair?" Tamira repeated. "What's that?"
The woman gave her an odd look, as if surprised anyone wouldn't know what that meant. "It's this huge black swivel chair. Looks like something a supervillain would sit in. Roni has a god complex." She chuckled. "He's entitled, though. The things this kid can do are more magic than code."
Tamira thanked her, and they continued on, following the directions through a maze of workstations and equipment. The underground facility was sprawling, a technological hive that pulsed with energy.
And then she saw it.
The Batman chair was impossible to miss.
It was massive, upholstered in black leather with a high back that curved around the occupant like a protective shell.
Multiple monitors were arranged in an arc before it, the images on their displays meaningless to Tamira, but they were clearly significant to the skinny male slouched in the center of it all.
Roni.
He looked younger than she'd expected, barely out of his teens, or at least appearing that way. His dark hair was messy, and his expression held the particular sourness of someone who resented being interrupted.
"What do you want?" he asked without looking up from his screens.
Tamira straightened her spine and cleared her throat. "I'm Tamira, and this is Elias. We were—"
"I know who you are." Roni's fingers continued to fly across his keyboard.
"The shaman and his harem lady. Kalugal's been pestering me about finding your missing kid.
" He finally deigned to glance at them, his eyes sharp despite his apparent disinterest. "What I don't know is why you are here and what you want. "
Kalugal's warning had been apt. The man was indeed unpleasant.
"I want to know everything you can tell me about Darien," Tamira said, keeping her voice steady and friendly despite her agitation. "You found him at JFK, flying out to Singapore. Is there anything else? Perhaps a photo from the airport in Singapore?"
Roni sighed heavily, as if she'd asked him to move mountains.
"I programmed a facial recognition crawler to search for matches in various databases.
Airport security footage is one of the easiest ones to access.
It has lots of cameras, lots of data, and relatively standardized systems." He tapped a few keys, and one of his monitors displayed a grainy image.
"This is what I found." He enlarged it, typed something with incredible speed, and the image sharpened, revealing a face that was achingly familiar because Darien was the male version of her.
The timestamp in the corner read three weeks ago.
"Can I have a copy of this?" she asked.
"Sure." Roni's fingers flew over his keyboard, and a moment later, the printer on his desk started working. It took almost a minute for the photo to finish printing, and when it was done, he handed her a glossy photograph with a crisp and clear image of her son.
"Thank you." Tamira clutched it like a lifeline.
"Is there anything else you can find?" Eluheed asked, his hand warm on Tamira's shoulder. "Flight records? Credit card transactions? Anything that might help track his movements?"
"I'm swamped with work right now, and your son isn't a priority.
" He must have seen the pain that flickered across Tamira's face, because his expression turned apologetic.
"That's not a judgment on him or on you.
It's just that he's not a threat, and he's not in danger either, at least not that we know of. That's why he's not a priority."
"I understand." Tamira forced the words out. "Thank you for all you have done. I appreciate it." She turned to leave, clutching the photograph against her chest.
"Wait."
She paused, looking back at Roni.
He was scowling at his screens, but there was a reluctant softening in his posture. "I'll see what I can do. No promises, but I'll try to find more."
"Thank you." She meant it with every fiber of her being. "Thank you so much, Roni."
He waved a dismissive hand, already turning back to his work. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get all emotional on me now. Just go away and let me work."
As they left Roni to his kingdom of screens and data, Tamira kept her hand pressed against the photograph, drawing comfort from its presence.
"That went better than I expected," Eluheed said as they emerged from the underground facility into the sunlight.
She arched a brow. "Did it?"
"He agreed to help. That's more than I thought he would do." Eluheed checked his phone for the time. "We have about forty minutes before my meeting with Kian. Would you like to get something to eat?"
Tamira realized that they hadn't eaten breakfast. She hadn't even thought about food since Kalugal's text had arrived. "Yes. Something to eat would be good."
They made their way to the café, which was bustling with the late-morning crowd. Tamira ordered cappuccinos and pastries for both of them, and they were lucky to catch a table when its occupants rose to leave just as they were passing by.
"What are you going to say to Kian?" Tamira asked, wrapping her hands around the warm cup.
Eluheed glanced around the crowded café, his expression guarded. "I'm not sure yet."
She got the hint. This wasn't the place to discuss his most guarded secrets, not with so many ears potentially listening. But part of her was frustrated by his stubborn reluctance to reveal his true identity.
He was in a community of immortals who had embraced an alien race. The Kra-ell alone were proof that the universe was larger and more complicated than most humans could imagine. Would his revelation really shock anyone here?
But she kept these thoughts to herself. Eluheed would reveal what he chose to reveal, in his own time and in his own way. She had to trust that he knew what he was doing.
"Are you planning to touch Kian?" she asked quietly. "To get a reading on him?"
It was no longer a secret that Eluheed was a shaman with occasional visions, so there was no reason to hide it here, but she didn't need to shout it from the rooftops either.
"That's actually a good idea. I wouldn't do it without his permission, of course. But I might suggest it as a gesture of goodwill." He took a sip from his cappuccino. "Perhaps Kian would appreciate knowing if anyone is plotting against him."
"Kian is not Navuh." Tamira took a bite of her pastry. "I don't think he sees conspiracies everywhere, but he might be interested in visions about potential threats to the clan."
"I'm better with conspiracies, but I can try." Eluheed glanced at his watch. "I need to go." He rose and pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.
"Wish me luck," he said.
"Good luck."
"Thanks." He squeezed her fingers once, then released them. "I'll find you when I'm done."