Registry's Secrets (The Mengliad Series Book 2) Read online

  He started the car, threw it in gear, made a three point turn, and then headed up the road to the main street, all before Jessica asked weakly, “So none of it was real?”

  Wade shook his head. “Trust me, if the Purists had caught wind of things and grabbed you, they would’ve just killed you, and everyone else with you as well.”

  “What about Marcy and Jeramey, or Lilith?” Jessica asked. “Did they know it was all fake?”

  “Lilith did,” Bibi grumbled.

  “Marcy and Jeramey are low level agents,” Wade added. “They don’t have the clearance. They were just following orders.”

  “When?” Craddock asked vaguely, clarifying the question by adding, “When did the Registry step in and start all this up?”

  “When Jessica left Nicholas Brady’s apartment.” Wade pulled off the dirt road and onto the poorly maintained paved street. “Dr. Brady called us right after you all left to go find her. They had been keeping tabs on things up till then, but when she left, they felt a more drastic approach was necessary.”

  “That’s how they knew we were at the rock quarry,” Jessica mentioned, almost under her breath, and Wade nodded. “So, it wasn’t Lilith? She wasn’t beat up? Or ordered killed?”

  “No.” Bibi’s dislike of her sister, and of her actions, was evident in her tone.

  Suddenly, Jessica gasped, looking to Craddock with a panicked expression on her face, but due to her racing thoughts and emotions, he wasn’t able to latch on to exactly what her concerns were.

  “What?” he asked as he wrapped his arm around her.

  Shrugging away from him, she scooted to the edge of the seat. “What about my parents? If the Purists weren’t really after us, how did they die? Did the Registry kill them?” Anger mixed with dread. Anger towards the organization that could do such a thing, dread over the answer to come.

  Sighing, Wade admitted, “Your parents aren’t dead.”

  Jessica nearly launched off her seat in response. “What?” she screeched. “How? Why?”

  “Clean break.” Wade remained calm in spite of her hysterically asked questions. “No complications. Duck down while we drive through town. The windows are tinted, but if the wrong person catches your silhouettes, we’re screwed.”

  With little room available to her in the front passenger seat, Bibi bent at the waist, leaning forward as far as she could to avoid detection, while Josiah, in the far back, simply dropped to lie down.

  Quickly lying on his side, his back to the back of the seat, Craddock brought Jessica to him by snaking his arm around her, essentially spooning her.

  “I know you’re scared,” he whispered into her hair, settling his hand against her abdomen.

  “How are we…?” she whispered back tearfully, trailing off. She knew he would understand what she was asking.

  “I don’t know yet,” he answered honestly.

  “We should’ve waited.”

  He sighed guiltily as he nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”

  “I know.” She placed her hand on his, letting him know through touch, and her focused thoughts, that she didn’t blame him or fault him.

  Closing his eyes, he pulled her tighter against him. Her stress level was through the roof; it was as tangible as her trembling body and racing heart.

  Whether she viewed it that way or not, he was to blame for at least part of it. He was the one who had suggested they start trying right away. He was the one who had convinced her that everything was going to be okay, even though he knew it would most likely not be. But he never imagined this.

  Her knowing how upset he was with himself would only add to the strain and fear, he decided. The wall went back up.

  “Don’t,” she begged him, when she lost her connection to him and sensed why. “I need to feel you, now more than ever.”

  When the wall fell, she closed her eyes, a tiny, soft sob escaping. She had wanted this every bit as much as he did. Maybe even more so, or at least for longer. This wasn’t his fault.

  “Feels like it is,” he whispered.

  She shook her head. “You didn’t know this would happen.”

  That offered shallow consolation to his raging guilt.

  Initially, the idea of having a child unnerved him, but after time, he started to warm up to the idea. Her thoughts on the matter helped. Whenever she would imagine them as parents, she would picture him as this totally competent and loving father. Her confidence in his abilities helped sway him.

  But in all their picturing of how it would play out, both individually and collectively, this scenario never entered their minds.

  “God,” Wade muttered to himself, not for the others in the car to hear, but then he announced so that they could, “it’s Trevor. He’s waving me down. Just stay down and stay quiet.”

  No one answered, but he wasn’t expecting them to. He knew they heard him.

  Craddock could feel Jessica’s shaky exhale of breath. Burying his face in her hair, he nuzzled against her, trying to keep her calm through gentle affection. ‘Don’t panic.’

  ‘I know. I’m trying.’

  Slowing the car to a stop, Wade rolled down his window, but only halfway. “Hey, Trevor. What’s up?”

  “Hey, Wade, do you know what’s going on with Alex and Allie? They lost audio tracking when they went outside to watch the sunset.”

  “Yeah, um, I was there with them, watching the sunset. With Rayna. Ken and Alex started up a game of touch football as I was leaving, so they’re probably still doing that.” The lie was offered up quickly, and was said casually, but the man questioning him still seemed disbelieving. Sensing this, Wade asked, feigning indifference, “Want me to go back and check on them?”

  “Nah,” Trevor shrugged, no longer appearing concerned, “we’ll just give it a few more minutes, then we’ll send someone over. Thanks Wade.” It seemed he was prepared to wrap up the conversation and leave, but as he started to turn away, something caught his attention. “Who is that?” He peered into the car over the half-dropped pane of tinted glass. “Is that Rayna? What is she doing?”

  When Jessica tensed and gasped inaudibly, Craddock tightened his hold on her. ‘Don’t panic. Breathe.’

  “Oh! Found it! Thank God!” Bibi sat upright, playing with the earring in her left ear as if she were just putting it on. “Found the earring—” She stopped abruptly, smiling at Trevor like she hadn’t a care in the world, and was actually excited or surprised to see him. “Hey Trevor! How are you?”

  “I’m fine.” His reply was polite, but then he asked with a laugh that was obviously forced, “What were you doing, all hunched over like that?”

  “Oh,” Bibi’s laugh was more convincing, “I dropped my stupid earring! I borrowed them from Jess— Allie, and she gets a little crazy when you lose her stuff! Thank God I found it, huh?” She laughed again, smiling back at him expectantly, awaiting his response.

  The affable expression he returned was far from genuine, Bibi could tell, but until the situation demanded otherwise, she kept up pretenses.

  Wade then noticed Trevor inching up onto his tiptoes. He was trying to see past him and into the car. If he saw Craddock and Jessica, they were done for.

  Bibi realized what he was doing as well. “Honey? We’re going to be late for those dinner reservations, aren’t we?”

  Wade glanced over at her; his slight smile of gratitude was brief. He then gave his attention back to Trevor. “Yeah, we are, actually. We should probably get going…” He eyed the man standing outside his window cautiously.

  Trevor dropped back to the flat of his feet. “You have your cell phone on you, right? In case we need to get a hold of you later?”

  His expression and inflection left Wade with little doubt. Trevor suspected something. “Yeah. Give me a call later… if you need to.” He gave him an upnod before raising the window and obscuring him from sight.

  “He knows,” Bibi whispered, as soon as Wade began to pull away from the intersection.
/>
  “He suspects,” Wade countered. “If he knew for sure, he wouldn’t have allowed us to drive off. But the fact that he does gives us little time. As soon as he makes the call, they’ll be heading over to the house. When they see that Craddock and Jessica aren’t there, all hell is gonna break loose.”

  “What happens now?” Jessica was straining to remain calm in the wake of the close call they had just been through, and likelihood that they would be found out shortly. The desperate need for answers – to know that there was at least some kind of plan or direction – was acute.

  “I know a guy,” Wade answered. “We need new identities, and a different car, since they’re going to know I helped you in about fifteen minutes, and they know my car.”

  “And this guy you know, he can help us with all that?”

  Wade picked up on Craddock’s skepticism. “Yeah. Don’t worry, though. He has no love for the Registry, and is discreet.”

  “What, is he a friend of yours or something?” Josiah’s question was the first he’d spoken since Craddock and Jessica exited their house.

  “Ex-Registry employee,” Wade called back to him over his shoulder. “Best identity packets man we had, but he bucked the system one too many times, so they showed him the door.”

  “Is he close?” Jessica asked, and Wade nodded.

  “About twenty minutes away. I’m getting on the freeway now. You guys can sit up.”

  “How did he buck the system?” Jessica righted herself, pushing back into Craddock’s arms as soon as he joined her.

  “He was making packets freelance. That was the last straw, as they say. But he was doing a lot of complaining about protocol.” He shrugged as he sped up, anxious to get there and out of sight, hopefully before the Registry pieced it all together.

  “And he’s… trustworthy?” Craddock asked carefully; he didn’t want to sound rude or insulting.

  “Very. But I should tell you,” his serious tone changed to include a hint of laughter, “the guy is like a hundred and thirty years old, and is just a wee bit crazy.”

  Chapter Four

  The idea that they were, quite literally, placing their lives in the hands of a man seen as mentally unstable did not appeal to Craddock in the slightest.

  “Crazy?” he asked. “As in, crazy crazy? As in, clinically insane crazy?”

  Realizing what Craddock’s repetitive, somewhat paranoid questions were falling short of saying, Wade laughed. “Don’t worry, he’s harmless. If he were rich, he would just be called eccentric. I was just giving you a heads up.”

  His explanation did little to lessen Craddock’s concerns, but he trusted Wade, so he dropped the interrogation.

  He more than just trusted him, he liked him, and had since their first meeting. Not only because of the obvious and mutual attraction between him and Bibi, but because he didn’t seem like other Registry officials. He didn’t kiss ass, or try to throw his weight around, or pester Jessica for every detail about her conversion and life before as a Human. He was an all-around good guy, and he treated Bibi with respect. That in and of itself earned him Craddock’s respect.

  After everything they had been through, Craddock was fiercely protective of Bibi. She had always been like a sister to him, so playing the role of brother to her came easily. Maybe too much so. When Wade entered the picture, Craddock’s guard immediately went up, preparing to dislike the guy no matter what. He was, after all, a high ranking Registry official. That alone made him the enemy. But it became clear, since day one, that Wade was different.

  Then came the conversation.

  Craddock had been tending to a bald patch of grass that was refusing to grow, out at the far corner of the lawn, when Wade pulled up in his SUV, strolled over, and offered his assistance…

  ****

  “Hey, Alex, whatcha doin’?”

  Craddock stood from his crouched position, greeting Wade as he approached. “Hey. Nothing too spectacular, just trying to get this stupid patch of grass to grow. I think the sprinkler’s missing it or something.”

  “Grass seed, huh?” Wade gave the large bag near Craddock a nudge with his foot. “Might wanna try sod.”

  “Jessi— Allie,” he quickly corrected himself, “says sod is the quick fix, and the cheater’s way out.” He shrugged a little, giving the string on the grass seed bag a tug to open it. “It’s not like she’s asking me to replant the entire lawn.”

  “Need some help?” Wade asked, starting to roll up his sleeves.

  “Not with this,” Craddock tossed a handful of seed on the bare spot of dirt, “but maybe you could help me figure out the sprinkler system?”

  “Sure, I could take a look at it.” A grin slowly started to appear. “Not that I know shit about sprinkler systems.”

  Laughing, Craddock threw another handful of seed on the spot ‘just because’.

  “Hey, can I ask,” Wade broached the subject carefully, “which do you prefer, Alex or Craddock?”

  Craddock froze; speaking freely with any Registry official, let alone a high ranking one, had all the earmarks of a disaster waiting to happen. “Umm… they named me Alex, so…” He trailed off, clearing his throat before adding with forced casualness, “I think the electronics to the sprinkler system is over there.” He pointed in the direction before taking a step towards it, but when Wade called to him, he stopped dead.

  “Craddock? It’s okay. I’m not the one you should be worried about.”

  “Meaning?” His interest piqued, but he was still leery.

  Sighing, Wade answered, “Let’s just say, I wouldn’t be too trusting of certain people.”

  They were both speaking in a form of code, but what was being implied was understood.

  Uncharacteristically, he decided to take a chance – to trust that Wade wasn’t attempting to set him up for trouble. “Craddock. It’s what Jessica calls me.” He turned and locked eyes with him.

  Wade smiled. “Bibi, too. She prefers to go by Jessica?” When Craddock nodded, he asked, “Do you think she’d mind if I called her Jessica?”

  Craddock shrugged. “I’ll talk to her—”

  “Don’t,” Wade interrupted, but then he smiled a little; an apology for his abruptness. “Look, I need you to do me a favor. It’s not going to make much sense to you, but, just trust me. I need you to promise me this.”

  “What?” Craddock asked curiously.

  “Don’t talk about me. At all. To Jessica, or anyone.”

  Craddock arched an eyebrow. “I don’t suppose you can tell me why?”

  “I really can’t. Just trust me on this. I’m asking you to trust me.”

  ****

  Craddock had kept his promise. Good thing he had, knowing what he now knew. Wade obviously saw this coming, and had planned on helping, in some way, all along. With the houses and car being bugged, if Craddock had discussed Wade or, more specifically, the things he had implied, his cover would’ve been blown.

  They continued a casual friendship after that, but never discussed that day again. That was months ago. For how long had Wade known this was coming, Craddock wondered? And when were Bibi and Josiah informed?

  Before he could voice any of those questions, Jessica spoke up, bringing the previous subject back into discussion.

  “If my parents aren’t dead, where are they? What do they think happened to me and Shea?”

  “They’re being held in a house in Montauk,” Wade answered. “As prisoners.”

  That started the tears falling all over again. “Are they being… mistreated?” Not entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer, she held her breath as she awaited it.

  “No,” he assured her. “And they don’t know what happened to you or your brother. They’ve asked about you guys a million times, especially in the beginning, but they’ve never been given an answer.”

  “Do they understand any of what’s going on?” she asked. “Do they know why they’re being held prisoner?”

  “No. The guards assigned to th
em, and the people who bring the food and supplies, aren’t allowed to speak to them, short of asking for a list of needs. They tried listing it as a need a few times, that they needed to know what happened to you guys, and why they were being held, but they were ignored.”

  “They must be completely freaked out.” Jessica fell back into Craddock’s arms; he tightened his hold on her, offering her the needed comfort.

  “They’ve become complacent,” Wade replied. “In the beginning, they argued, they were combative, they even tried to escape a few times, but they were restrained for days after they did. They stopped trying after a while.”

  “Why are they doing this?” Jessica cried. The question was posed to anyone who cared to answer, though everyone knew it would be Wade who did.

  “You’re not technically the tenth confirmed accidental conversion. About eight years ago, an accidental conversion case came to the Registry’s attention. After the guy lived the kind of life you guys have been living for about nine months, he was allowed to leave and rejoin society, with the understanding that he would continue to check in. He disappeared. The Registry did not respond well to that. They’ll do anything necessary to prevent that from happening again, with you.”

  Jessica was back to being angry. “Why is this such a big fucking deal? So I didn’t know it was happening! Lots of people convert later in life! They just happen to know it’s happening! That’s the only difference!”

  “It fascinates them, for starters,” Wade answered. “But that aside, there’s a certain element of risk involved. It was lucky that Craddock found you, and figured out what was happening to you. If he hadn’t, you probably would have gone to the hospital, assuming you were ill. They would have listened to your complaints of symptoms. They would have run tests. That would have, quite probably, started a chain of events that could have been detrimental to all of Mengliad kind.”

  “But I didn’t go to the hospital!” Jessica argued. “I know what’s going on now! I’m not planning to out the species.”

  “That’s not their current concern.”