The Lonely Whelk Read online

  “It didn’t even wiggle,” Kaia noted as she settled into the deep, dark, leather seats, noticing too late that John had not yet entered the vehicle.

  “It’s got Oliphant shocks.”

  Kaia gasped in surprise at the voice that emanated from deeper within pomobile. A man sat in the opposite corner of the darkened interior of the pomobile.

  “Quin Black,” the man said, reaching forward to shake her hand.

  “That’s Quin.” John nodded in agreement, climbing in and pulling the door shut behind him. “He follows me around a lot.”

  “To protect you, you mean,” Quin muttered. “When I’m in town, anyway. And bored.”

  “A bodyguard?” Kaia asked. “Why?”

  “I’m good at being smarter than people, that’s all,” said John.

  “A smarter ass,” Quin muttered. “And congratulations on your new internship.”

  “Thanks!” Kaia let a little bit of her grin peek through. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  John straightened his tie and slicked back his hair as the pomobile rolled to a halt. “And here we are!” he proclaimed. “To new adventures and a new, exciting internship!”

  Kaia grinned as she followed him and Quin down the sidewalk towards the Globe building. Boasting the shape of a large sphere resting atop a high-rise building, it was the most intimidating ball on a stick she had ever seen.

  They stepped through the doors, walked past the secretary, and entered the elevator. Every step was like a new world. Kaia simply couldn’t believe her eyes.

  It was huge. Enormous, in fact. They sat in the elevator for nearly five minutes before the doors slid open. In front of her lay a massive room – a lobby of sorts – with signs pointing in myriad different directions. People of every shape, size, and species scurried back and forth and plants upon plants grew up every wall and down every hallway. One hallway even appeared to have a carpet of grass.

  She had seen the Globe from a distance, of course, always stunning on a sunny day and a winner of many architectural awards, but she had imagined the inside to be much more reminiscent of an office building. At least it had offices – she had gotten that part right. But the offices had massive windows that looked out a hundred feet to the ground. The squeaky clean glass made it seem as though you could step right through them and fall to your certain death.

  “Why so many plants?” Kaia ventured to ask they began to stride into this strange and altogether wondrous building. Quin was following closely behind her.

  “Extra oxygen increases productivity. Also, if the rest of the planet went kablooey, we would have enough high-oxygen producing plants to keep everyone alive in this building indefinitely. Provided, of course, that we took care of the plants. And that the reason the rest of the planet went kablooey didn’t involve nuclear weapons or anything else that would cause our building to fall over.”

  “Amazing.”

  As they turned the next corner, Kaia’s jaw dropped. A fish tank – inside the wall!

  “That’s the artistic evolution of fish,” John said. Farther down the wall, she saw that the real fish tank with real fish was replaced by a photograph. The photograph of the little swimming critters then morphed into a really realistic drawing, which turned into a cartoon. Past the cartoon, some stick-figure fish swam happily.

  “It’s incredible!” Kaia exclaimed.

  “I think so, too!” John replied. “Wait until you see the observatory! But first – the signatures. Follow me.”

  He led her down a hallway that was painted like the night sky. The lights were off, but tiny pinpricks of light glowed in the walls and ceiling.

  “Those are actual constellations, by the way,” John said. “They change given the season.”

  After a few more turns, John stopped in front of a huge oak door. A large snail was carved towards the bottom, sitting in front of a beach with waves crashing on the shore. John knocked once. The door swung open.

  “John!” Mr. Drake boomed. Already a tall and intimidating man, the bulging vein in his massively over-sized neck only increased his daunting appearance. “You cannot hide keys around the building! What were you thinking? Who knows what kind of idiot found one of your blasted keys and can get in and steal top secret secrets whenever the hell he wants to! What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Kaia cringed as his angry voice washed over her.

  “What I have to say is...” John bowed and gestured to Kaia. “Meet Kaia! Our new high profile intern! She is extremely qualified and overjoyed to be working for us!”

  Mr. Drake turned his seething eyes towards Kaia. She swallowed.

  “Welcome.”

  Kaia forced a nervous smile across her features as his scowl swept over her and back to John.

  “You don’t have to be head of eight departments, you know!” he continued as his eyes bored a hole into John’s skull. Kaia was amazed how John didn’t even seem to flinch. It was as if he didn’t even notice how terrifying the man was. “We have dozens of other more-than-competent scientists that could do your jobs! What do you have to say for yourself?”

  Kaia looked back and forth between the two men. She was nervous, but had no actual idea of what was going on.

  “I will work it out with Rock and Quin,” John said, carefully choosing his words. “Security has not yet been compromised and we will discuss it in full.”

  “Thank you,” Drake replied. “I expect a full briefing by the end of the day tomorrow. Now, young lady, you must understand how important it is to keep secrets. I have here—” he turned and rummaged in his desk drawer”—a confidentiality agreement, specifically designed for interns.” A five-hundred-page document thundered down onto the desk in front of him.

  Kaia’s mouth opened.

  “Unfortunately,” said John, stroking his tie, “you’ll have to read and sign this before I can show you anything else.”

  “There’s a chair and table over by the window,” Mr. Drake added. “Welcome to the Globe.”

  Holland opened her eyes and stretched. She felt extremely rested. Almost too rested. Blinking her eyes a few times to rid them of the tired fuzziness, she slowly sat up and looked around. The boxes around her remained closed. She took a deep breath and tried not to imagine the bodies sleeping there.

  “Hawkings?” she said in a rough voice. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Hawkings?”

  Her voice echoed in the tomb-like room.

  She sat up slowly, stretched, and blinked. Waking up wasn’t fun in normal circumstances, and it brought a special kind of grouchy when one had been asleep for six hundred years.

  Fiddling around in the dim light, she carefully removed the wires and tubes that were attached to various parts of her body. Then she hit the red button. The box began to hum as the sides folded down. She swung her legs over the edge and looked at the floor cautiously. “I hope these legs can support my weight,” she muttered under her breath.

  The floor came up quickly to meet her when she fell. “Owww.” she groaned, pushing herself up with her arms. “This is not going to be easy.”

  Holland looked up. Her coffin and the one next to her were just a bit too far apart from one another to use as supports. Then she noticed a cane lying on the floor. She dragged her nearly useless body over to the cane and grabbed onto it.

  “Hawkings?” she called again. There was still no answer.

  Using the cane and edge of her coffin as support, she slowly dragged herself to her feet. A wash of tingles flew down her legs and into her feet. She groaned.

  “I don’t know whether to complain or giggle,” she muttered. “Ow. It tickles.” She took two thundering steps and a slow smile washed over her face. It felt good – very good – to walk. Her smile broadened. It felt even better to smile.

  The more steps she took, the better she felt. The tingling sensation in her legs had nearly disappeared by the time she was halfway down the room; now it simply felt as though she had bricks attached to the bo
ttom of her legs. She began to walk a bit faster, still feeling as though her feet pounded against the floor with the weight of a dozen giant madgrey beavers.

  A wash of nostalgia filled her mind and her nose as she exited the coffin room and entered the hallway. She had spent many years operating this ship until they had put her into stasis. It was strange that so many people she had known back home were either extremely old or dead. The nostalgia that had suddenly washed over rapidly dissipated, and an overwhelming fear took its place.

  “Hawkings?” she called. Where was he?

  She headed towards the bridge. She imagined him sitting there, passing the time by eating cookies and drinking tea, deflecting the occasional asteroid that managed to coincidentally cross paths with the ship. Maybe he had played bridge with Lady Mastin, Captain Abrams, and Jacobs before they died. Played bridge on the bridge. She chuckled, and then frowned angrily. These rapid emotional swings were going to become unbearable.

  The bridge door was shut. She keyed her passcode into the door. It slid open as smoothly as the day she had first set foot on board. The vast expanse of darkness spread out before her, the skies spotted only by the lights of distant stars. She loved to look out this window, but was surprised by the temperature of the room. It was quite cold.

  “Hawkings?” she said, hobbling forward towards the Commander’s Chair.

  There sat Hawkings, his head tilted forward so that his chin touched his chest. He looked asleep.

  “Hawkings?” Holland reached out to touch his hand, which clutched a small piece of paper. It was cold. He was dead.

  Maxwell woke as sunlight filtered in through the door to his lair, which he had left open the night before. He wondered if Mr. Oliphant had called the police yet as he shivered in his damp feather blankets. He checked his watch. It was almost time; there were only two more minutes remaining.

  A pigeon landed on the top of the playground. He could hear it scratching around. It cooed. The next pigeon that landed on his castle was going to be dinner – or possibly breakfast. That would show all the other pigeons not to mess with him – not to mess with Maxwell Dippings! On the other hand, the last time he had roasted pigeon, he had also managed to attract three coyotes, so perhaps allowing the birds to use his roof as a restroom was the safer option.

  He looked at his watch. One more minute. Patience was a skill. Patience was important. Patience had to be developed and nurtured and honed. Patience was his strength – and his patience would be John’s downfall.

  He glanced at his watch.

  “Hello, Maddy,” he said, smiling. She always arrived right on time. Maddy – the woman of impeccable taste and impeccable timing. “I hope you’re doing well this morning. Let me just gather my things.”

  “His Things” consisted of one leather satchel, three perfectly engineered wooden pencils, two little black notebooks of questionable content, and one snarly black wig. These were the only things needed to enact his plan. He glanced up at her as she stepped down into his lair. The morning sun shone through the doorway and wrapped around her figure, making her look like an angel.

  “You also need a way to get into the building without getting kicked out,” Maddy pointed out.

  “That’s true,” he said, looking up at her. “But we’ll get the key from the Globe. You and I both know that John always hides one outside.” He smiled at her and held out an apple. “Are you hungry?”

  She shook her head.

  “No? I’ll just have this for my breakfast then, won’t I?”

  He scrambled out from under the playground and then turned and offered a hand. Maddy took it.

  “Thanks,” she said pleasantly.

  He smiled and replied, “Oh don’t worry. I know my lair is hard to get in and out of.”

  The sun was shining brightly, if low in the sky, and Maxwell could tell it was going to be a warm and probably humid day.

  “Humidity makes my hair frizz,” Maddy grumbled.

  He laughed, appreciating how she always seemed to be able to read his mind. “What are you talking about? Your hair always looks wonderful, Maddy! The humidity won’t have any effect on your beautiful face.” He climbed over the low wall and began to cut through the trees towards the big park where everyone ran and walked and had picnics.

  “So the plan for today is,” he began, glancing over his shoulder to see if he was being followed, “to meet with Perla and then acquire a key to the Globe so we can sneak in after closing. That way there won’t be any people around.”

  “The Globe doesn’t have a closing time. People are there all day!” Maddy said.

  Maxwell paused to look at her, and frowned.

  “What do you mean, it doesn’t close?” He laughed, and then said, “All government offices close, my dear.”

  A runner going the opposite direction gave him an odd look as he flew by. Maxwell ignored him.

  “What will we do when we get inside?” Maddy twirled around as they walked down the sidewalk, making her skirts spin out in all directions around her. Maxwell could never figure out how he had been so lucky to have her as his best friend.

  “Well, the idea is that Perla is going to create a distraction to allow us to sneak upstairs.” Maxwell grinned and held out his elbow so Maddy could link hers with his. “Once we succeed, my dear, we will have everything we need to be happy.”

  And the strange man walked cheerfully through the park, enjoying the warm day and green trees.

  Kaia’s mind was spinning. The confidentiality agreement had turned out to have a lot of pictures and sections which didn’t apply to her, but she still felt overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of information that had entered her head in the last two hours. Now, John was skipping down a flight of stairs in front of her, shouting, “Keep up, Kaia-kee!” She wasn’t sure when he had started adding “kee” to the end of her name, but it did have a ring to it.

  She followed him into a large room filled with screens. From here, she could see anything that was happening in the building. It was impossible to watch them all at once, so she looked away, focusing instead on two men standing in front of her.

  “It’s mine,” John was saying. “I leave them there so I don’t have to carry keys.”

  He stood looking down at a very thin, very short man with a very sharp looking nose. Kaia wondered if it was sharp enough to slice bread. On his left arm dripped a large tattoo of a clock, and other patterned tattoos wrapped around his neck, colours fading out from black to nearly the same brown as his skin. One small, silver key was nearly engulfed by his massive hand; his hands seemed oddly large for his arms.

  “I’m changing the locks,” the man said, “and this will not happen again. I have found over twenty-five keys hidden around this building. If that’s not an invitation for thieves and terrorists, then I don’t know what is. If you hide another key outside this building, I will find it. And then I will find it again. And I will continue to change the locks and throw away your keys. And then you will be fired.”

  John turned on his sad face. “But… but… how am I supposed to work extra hours? How am I supposed to get into the lab when I lose my keys? How am I supposed to live my dream?”

  The man ignored John’s whining and turned to Kaia. “And you are?”

  “Kaia,” she replied, holding out her hand. “The new intern.”

  “I’m Rock, new head of security here at the Globe. And in case you were wondering, it is strictly against policy to hide keys around the premises.”

  “I understand, sir,” she replied.

  He turned back to John. “You should take lessons from her.”

  “Could keypads be installed, sir?” Kaia asked. “Then each individual could have a code, which could be removed at any time.”

  Rock stood up a little straighter, but was still significantly shorter than John. “It would need to be approved and funded by Mr. Drake, but that would be an excellent improvement to security around here.”

  John scowled. “I am go
od at hiding my keys. People can’t find them. I think you’re overreacting.”

  Rock’s face remained stern. “You are the head of eight departments in a high-level government facility, which hosts numerous secrets, billion-dollar pieces of equipment, and the most brilliant minds of the millennium, none of which we want stolen. I think you can learn to keep track of a key.”

  Scowl deepening, John spun around to face Quin, whom Kaia had not noticed standing in the corner of the room. “I need my key. And I need it where it always is.”

  Quin flipped through a magazine titled The Art of Pruning. A small smile flickered across his face. “No. You’re on your own.”

  “Come on! You hired this guy! You can tell him what to do! Tell him to let me hide my key!”

  “He’s head of security, not me.” Quin shrugged. “And if I were, I wouldn’t let you hide a key either.”

  “Gremlins and Petersburg!” John exclaimed. “You two are impossible. I’ll find a way, I tell you!” He shook his finger at Rock. “You just wait!”

  “Go ahead and try, Mr. John,” Rock replied. “But I believe Mr. Drake instructed you to resolve this issue, did he not? If you are unable to comply with the new regulations, I will have your key revoked.”

  Quin smirked again, and flipped a page. Kaia thought she could make out a picture of a bush in the shape of a teakettle. “Can we go now?” Quin asked. “I have work to do.”

  “I’m not speaking to you right now,” said John. He turned and stomped from the room.

  Kaia looked back and forth from Quin to John.

  “He’ll be fine in about ten minutes,” Quin said. “I think he enjoys having little tantrums every so often.”

  “Oh, I’m not worried about him,” said Rock. He held open his other hand. “I’m more worried about these other twenty-six keys I found hidden around the property.”

  “Twenty-six!” Kaia said with surprise. “I thought this office hired the most intelligent people in the world.”

  Quin nodded. “They do.”

  “I think we should upgrade to iris scan technology,” Rock said. “Everyone in town probably has a key to this building by now.”