Cold Comfort: Friday, July 12, 2024 – Henry (3)

Henry felt, vaguely, as though he should have volunteered to do the dangerous part rather than simply pulling some clothes on and gingerly slipping into a pair of shoes. That was what people in movies did after they’d been revealed to be double agents or worse: risked their lives for the people they’d betrayed. Except that was movies, not real life, Besides, he might be morally gray, but that didn’t mean he was the bad guy. He hadn’t wronged anyone. Even though he’d made Alyssa, perfect customer service Alyssa, want to claw his eyes out with her bare hands. It was a good thing Truman’s reflexes were so fast, although it also seemed to indicate that Alyssa was telling the truth or that Alyssa had already told Truman the same lie.

Right now he couldn’t think of why Alyssa would tell him that specific lie, though, or why the hell Gladieux needed to pay for a cabin if she was actually working here all summer. Although … Henry turned to Alyssa, but she was at the door, watching, so he focused on Jane instead. “She said Emily’s not Annabeth Deschain.”

Jane blinked a very cold, reptilian blink. “Correct.”

“But she didn’t say Agatha isn’t.” He said it carefully, like a pronouncement.

This blink was suddenly hot and flashing. “Are you kidding me?”

“Gladieux’s paying for a cabin,” he insisted. “I’ve got a copy of the receipt back home. He’s paying for one, she said it’s not Emily, so unless you’re telling me it’s you …”

“You’re unbelievable.” She wouldn’t even look at him.

“All I’m saying is—”

Her hand went to his mouth in a rather violent shushing gesture, since Alyssa slipped out the door. Jane pointed that way with a sharp gesture of her head, telling Henry to go next.

Any protests about women first were useless. Let her stay back if she wanted. Henry went up to the door, took the edge of it from Truman, and really couldn’t get over the fact that Edgar acting as lookout really was like Edgar playing lookout in any number of costumes, with varying facial hair. It felt like a movie. Percy held a gun on him this morning and it all still felt like a movie.

Henry couldn’t see Alyssa’s door from where he stood, but apparently Edgar could, because his hand came up again and he beckoned without looking back at Henry’s cabin. Feeling a bit like an elephant that failed the audition for Fantasia, Henry left his cabin at a quick walk, trying to see and hear absolutely everything around him while not tripping on anything at his feet. The door to Alyssa’s cabin looked closed, but she opened it as he approached and he went straight to the telephone.

Alyssa glanced back at him, but she kept hold of the door so it wouldn’t shut, like the click would be loud enough for an unseen Percy to hear. “And?”

The cord looked fine, so he picked up the handset and realized he was holding his breath. “Nothing.”

She sighed, slouching a little even as her eyes stayed vigilant. “He cut off the main switchboard.”

“Would Percy know how to do that?” Shoot, that was more accusatory than calm.

“Jonathan and Lydia do.” Alyssa made a vague gesture before she opened the door again and Jane came in.

She beelined toward the phone, too, like she thought it wouldn’t have occurred to Henry. “Dead.”

“Yeah, I already tried.” He tried not to sound smug, but he didn’t try very hard.

“Well, it doesn’t seem very smart to have a whole phone system that can be shut off at the lodge,” she sniffed.

Alyssa shook her head. “Cut off, not shut off. We haven’t tried the lights, either. It could be a whole generator outage.”

Jane looked at the switch on the wall, but at least Henry didn’t have to stop her from trying it. She probably would’ve fought him, for her own sake as much as Alyssa’s, and done what damage she could with her sensible nails.

Truman came in, followed shortly by Edgar, and Alyssa locked the door. At least the shades were down, although Henry realized that he was slow in noticing that. Truman raised his eyebrows at Jane, possibly since she was still closest to the phone, and she shook her head.

Edgar looked around the room. “How many seats in your car?”

“Five, if three people squish in the back.” Alyssa opened a drawer in one of the end tables and grabbed her keys, holding them out to Truman. “061720. That unlocks my phone.”

Truman just looked at the keys. “You’re coming, too.”

“Agatha and Emily might not even know something’s going on.” Her tone didn’t change.

He took a step closer to Alyssa but still didn’t touch the keys. “You’re coming, too.”

Alyssa shook her head. “Get them through the woods and drive on out of here. Jane?”

“Yeah?” She was alert, but no longer a deer. There was something predatory. This Jane was a meat-eater.

“My phone’s in the glove box,” Alyssa explained calmly and clearly. “It’s probably still got some juice, but plug it in. 061720. Wait until you have bars. It’ll be a couple miles at least before it can support a call.”

She nodded. “061720.”

Henry cleared his throat. “Maybe I should stay—”

“No.” Alyssa didn’t even shake her head. “You get the fuck out of my sight.”

“Me?” Edgar offered and then, at her frown: “There are two of them. Emily and Agatha. They might not be together.”

“Stay,” Truman agreed with a nod. “If you’re willing.”

Edgar shrugged. “I’ve faced guns before.”

Sure, Henry thought. The same kinds you’ve handled: ones without real bullets in them. Except he wasn’t entirely convinced that this was what Edgar meant.

Alyssa turned back to Jane. “Tell them to come without sirens. If Percy hears them, I don’t know what he’d do, but he’d be warned.”

She nodded and looked at Truman. “Shall we?”

He hesitated, slowly reaching for the keys, but once he had them, he grabbed Alyssa’s shoulders and pulled her in for a kiss. Very action movie. All of it felt fake: the idea of danger. Splitting up, some of them going for help while others stayed.

If Henry was sure of the genre, he’d be able to figure out which course of action was safer, but there wasn’t time for that. Action movie kisses only lasted ages when they were shot in slow motion with an explosion behind them, and Truman gave Alyssa a long, hard look, nodded, and started toward the back door of the cabin. “Come on.”

“Hope you’ve got a good compass in your head,” Henry murmured.

Truman didn’t turn around. “You could always go back to your cabin. You’d probably be fine there.” The gun flashed into his mind again. It was possible that, once Percy had the information he wanted, he’d come back. Henry shut his mouth and ordered himself to keep it that way, no matter what.

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Cold Comfort: Friday, July 12, 2024 – Agatha (3), coming August 10