EIGHTEEN
Rex T Jules
Rex knew it was going to be a long day as he looked at the long list of tasks in front of him. As a maintenance man for Smyth West he spent his days fixing everything from plumbing problems to electrical issues and today looked like it had plenty of challenges in store.
He looked down at his blue denim overalls that had been stained with so many DIY jobs. Oil, paint, grass and dirt covered his overalls like battle scars or medals and to Rex were the marks of jobs he had done well in the past.
Not that he’d ever wanted to be a maintenance man but in Smyth West you just got given the job that needed doing and were thankful to be doing something to help. If there was one thing Rex liked doing it was helping people and over the years he’d found he was best suited to helping fix the hundred and one problems the town always seemed to have.
“Ok. So I’ll fix the broken sink in Mrs Hull’s apartment and then it’s over to the Owen’s residence to see why their pipes are making a hissing sound…” His eyes scanned the list, hoping for something more interesting and his voice trailed off.
He still felt tired from the unexpected Emmie encounter this morning. Emmie was another one of those people he always liked to help and as much as he loved seeing her, three hours of talking in the early hours of the morning did make work a lot harder.
As he looked at the list he spotted that he wasn’t quite done with helping Emmie for the day. She had requested that someone fix her creaky floorboards and Rex had been putting the task off for a while. It wasn’t quite as urgent when you had flooded buildings and electrical fires on your list.
Today seemed to lack any urgent issues and he felt like it would be a good idea to check on Emmie again. He regretted letting her leave last night without him being able to help and he hoped she would be a little more forthcoming on a second visit about exactly what was wrong.
He packed up his equipment and left the shack that he called his office. It wasn’t much. Just an old garage with a few supplies but it was enough to get by and that’s all you could ask for as a have-not.
As he made his way back to the apartment where Emmie lived he found himself with a spring in his step. Seeing Emmie once in one day simply wasn’t enough and he hoped one day they’d be able to spend all of their days together.
Not that she’d know it. Rex had kept his feelings for her locked away for a long time and was convinced Emmie would only ever see him as a big brother. So that’s the role he took on, always helping Emmie with a shoulder to cry on, in the hope one day she would notice him as more than a friend.
So being the best friend that he could be he walked up the steps to her apartment, making a mental note to add ‘fix the lift’ to his ever growing list of tasks. He reached her door and raised his hand to knock it. Before he could, he saw that the door was slightly open.
He wondered if she had forgotten to lock it and thought about how she wasn’t herself the night before.
Then he remembered the warning and that Emmie had said she and her brother were in some sort of trouble and suddenly the open door seemed far more sinister.
Without thinking for his own safety Rex gently pushed the door and walked into the room.
He was unprepared for what he saw next.
--<><>--
Emmie Keyes
I continued to speak with Frazier and March for a little while and was amazed by the technology that allowed TethTech to connect twins together. The implications were fascinating and although I didn’t understand how it all worked, it seemed like the technology really could save lives.
Nothing they said made me believe they could be capable of Will’s murder. The only explanation I had was that he could have been killed because they wanted to take credit for his invention of the DualCam and even that didn’t make much sense. He worked for TethTech so they’d benefit from any product he created. There simply was no motive strong enough to justify his death.
Yet there was no denying the fact Will had been killed by two men with orange eyes and that TethTech had the technology to make such a thing possible. All roads led back to TethTech so I wasn’t prepared to give up on my suspicions yet.
“Thank you for talking with us Frazier. I’ll let you get cleaned up so you can meet the rest of the media outside,” said March.
“Thanks March,” said Frazier, “and thank you Ms Young. I hope you write a great article.”
I smiled at Frazier and felt guilty that there would be no article. I needn’t have worried. Every media outlet in the world was lined up outside to interview him and he would be the talk of the world for weeks. He would get fame and glory even if I was not the person to provide it.
“Ms Young, it’s time for you to meet with Tobias,” said March, dangling the carrot of answers in front of my face again.
I couldn’t resist it. As afraid as I was of meeting Tobias, I had already crossed the threshold into this building and so far it hadn’t given me the answers I sought. If anything it had raised more questions and had given me even more reason to wonder what had happened that night.
“Ok,” I replied.
“Excellent,” said March as he handed me a light blue sealed plastic folder. Inside here you’ll find everything you need to meet with him. It has the signed NDA inside, which means he’ll be able to answer any question you have. Within reason of course,” he laughed and I found myself doing the same. I felt March found the corporate politics of NDA’s as silly as I did but he was probably just doing his job.
“It is vital you keep the folder with you at all times. You’ll need to go to the 56th floor and Tobias will meet you there,” said March.
“Are you going with me?” I asked. March had made me feel safe so far. An unlikely ally in this big tower of science.
“I’ll walk you to the elevator and then it’s straight up to Tobias. Don’t worry, as long as you have that folder you’ll have everything you need.”
I picked up the folder and we walked briskly together to the elevator. Walking in heels made my feet hurt but I was thankful for the quick pace if it meant getting past the heat filled corridor in half the time.
“So how are things at the BBC?” asked March.
“They’re good; it’s difficult to cover every piece of key news in one day,” I lied.
“That’s true. Especially with Tobias’ attempted kidnapping.”
I looked at March unsure if this was some kind of test. He seemed serious so I nodded along, curious as to who would want to kidnap Tobias and whether I wasn’t the only one with a grudge against TethTech.
“It was awful really. The whole company was worried for him. Without Tobias I’m not entirely sure what we’d all do every day. He’s pretty much the reason we work so hard,” March seemed to have genuine feelings for the man.
As I boarded the elevator that thought gave me some sense of safety. If March liked Tobias then how scary could he be and yet if people wanted to kidnap him there was definitely something about him worth discovering.
As the pink elevator began to rise again March pointed to the folder I was holding as if the NDA was the most important piece of paper in the world. “Yes, I know. Keep the folder,” I replied.
My next stop would be Tobias Zen.