20. Thea
Chapter 20
Thea
T he door to my non-cell swings open, a server enters, pushing a cart laden with food. Someone comes in behind her with a rolling dinner table. I watch as she sets it up, while the first person puts utensils on my bedside table, along with plates of food.
The door opens a second time and a man wearing a business suit strolls in. The staff tilts their heads to him in deference as they walk out of the room, pulling the door closed behind them. He takes off his jacket, hangs it on the back of the chair, and rolls up his sleeves before coming closer to my bed.
“Hello, Anotèa. I’m Alexzander Cabini Moreau. I was hoping we could share a meal and get to know each other.”
Anotèa. The name Scott and Moira gave me in Greece. We’re starting the get to know you stage off on the wrong foot if he insists on calling me that. “Good cop or bad cop?”
His hand pauses over a lid on my table. “I’m not a cop at all.” He answers, uncovering the dishes, placing the lids on the cart the servers left behind. Steak and potatoes. A salad, a bowl of soup and crackers. The only thing I’ll even consider touching is the knife and the crackers. I’ll drink water from my bathroom sink.
“Good shrink, or bad shrink?”
“Neither.”
“You say you’re not a cop and I’m told this isn’t a prison. Yet, the people walking around here carry guns and tasers. You’re not a shrink, but there are doctors on staff, and I’m definitely in a hospital room. I’m getting a whole lot of it’s not what it seems, so why don’t you tell me what this place is?”
“The staff was under orders to keep their answers vague. I wanted to be the one to explain things to you. As for where you are, you’re at a secure location.”
“Secure sounds a lot like institution, don’t you think?”
“We have armed security on staff and a fully functioning hospital facility on site. But that’s for protecting and treating the people who live, train and work here. Everyone is free to come and go as they please, and as soon as you’re healed, you’re free to do the same. I promise you’re safe here, Thea, and I’d be happy to give you the grand tour of our compound.”
He goes to his table and uncovers his dishes before taking his seat. I watch as he pulls his table closer and bows his head in prayer before stabbing his fork into a tiny bowl, bringing an olive to his mouth. His plate has a few different things from mine. Like the wrapped cabbage leaves he’s munching on now. Certain words in his non-explanation stick out to me, like compound and training . “You’re a guardian?”
He snorts, pouring himself a glass of wine. The drink ware isn’t the cheap plastic kind. It’s an actual wine glass, just like my knife is a real stainless steel steak knife. I slide it off the table and tuck it under the covers. “We are definitely not The Guardian’s.”
“But you are some type of stealthy military organization, right? Which one? Andor Reese?” My current accommodations and the man sitting across from me make more sense if Andor Reese is trying to recruit me.
“We’re known as The Phoenix Foundation.” He says, picking up another cabbage wrap. The little dishes on his tray remind me of the time Finn and I had tapas. I reroute my brain as soon as the thought appears. I can’t afford to let myself get lost in memories of my time with the Coxsuckers. All my focus and concentration need to be on figuring out how much danger I’m really in. Did they fake my death, too?
“Is the food not to your liking?” He asks, pausing mid bite. “Shall I ask the kitchen to send up something else?”
“You can, but I won’t eat that either.”
“Hmm.”
He shovels more food into his mouth before speaking again. “What other questions do you have for me, Anotèa?”
I ignore the name, and ask the one that entered my head when he walked into the room, fully expecting a lie to roll from his lips. “Does Van know?”
He blinks, slow to hide the shock on his face. That’s not the reaction I expected. “Van?”
“Evangeline Hughes. My grandmother.”
“So you know who I am.”
“I didn’t know your name, but I saw a picture of you with less gray and facial hair. You look the same, just older. So does she?”
“No, she doesn’t know I’m still alive. For all intents and purposes, I’m not alive. The man she knew, Nikolaos Constantin, died a long time ago.”
“I was asking if she knows you’re a kidnapping psychopath.”
“I assure you I’m no kidnapper.”
“But I’ve got the psychopath part, right?”
His lips twitch. “Depends on who you ask.” He takes another sip of wine before asking, “So Evangeline kept pictures of me?”
“She’s a packrat,” I explain, letting him know there’s no sentimental attachment to the pictures Van has of him.
Scott has Alexzander’s eyes and build. Standing side by side, you’d wonder if they’re related, but Van’s husband, Sam, has the same height and bulk. Van obviously has a type. I toy with the ends of my hair that’s the same deep dark brown, when I’m not dyeing it.
This man is supposed to be dead, yet he’s revealed himself to me. He wants something. “Why am I here?” As soon as someone answers that question, I can work on freeing myself.
He frowns at me. “What kind of person would I be if I left you to suffer in that place?”
“The kind you’ve been every day I’ve been alive. I’ve been through lots of shit in my life and you never cared to show up before.”
He counters with, “How do you know I never showed up before?”
“This is my first time seeing you.”
His lips twitch again. “What kind of stealthy military organization would we be if we were in the habit of being seen?”
Am I ever gonna get a straight answer out of him? “Okay, then why is your organization showing itself to me now?”
He lowers his utensils. “Let’s dispense with the games, shall we? You know about my history with Van, which means you likely know that I’m Scott’s biological father. I’ve kept tabs on you since before you were born, but I didn’t have anyone actively shadowing you until you received your invitation to join The League of the Daggered Raven. Now, I will apologize for what you’ve been through these few last months, and not getting to you sooner, but the shadow I had on you…”
He pauses before saying. “He went offline and by the time we tracked him down, it was in a morgue. As soon as we found out you were in Rockridge, we set up a mission to retrieve you, but someone moved you before we could execute that plan. We didn’t know where to, and it took longer than I would have liked to find you again.”
After that little truth bomb, he goes back to eating his food, while I sit here staring at him. The servers come in to clear our tables just as he’s finishing his food. He stays seated until after they leave. As he’s putting his suit jacket back on, he says, “Anotèa, I know you have no reason to trust me, but you’ll see that you are safe here.”
He walks to the door and props it open. “You’ll be discharged from the hospital wing tomorrow, and moved to another room. You’re free to walk around as much as you want. The restricted areas are clearly marked. Not that you’ll be able to access them, anyway.”
With one last smile before stepping into the hallway, he says, “I look forward to getting to know you, Egononí.”