The others, then? Five was surely too young and Three too simple. Four…? He’d always been quietly watchful, and yet, Alex had found him hard to get to know. Had he been studying him all this time?
He sat back with a sigh. Maybe he was overthinking this. Maybe A was none of them. Another thought struck him.Regardless of who A was, if he’d been watching him all this time, then he knew about Tyler, and about his plan to bring his houder to justice. A held all his secrets in the palm of his hand. What would he do with them? Tell Tyler? In which case, he was a dead man walking. Or did A have some other plan or purpose in mind?
He sat on the bed for a long time, aware of the mirrors on the opposite wall. He could practically feel A’s gaze upon him, watching him. He stood up and walked over to the mirror, staring into his own face.
“I know you’re watching me,” he said firmly. “I know you’ve been watching me all along, and I know who you are.” Did he? No, but he doubted he’d attract A’s attention without giving him a name. Which name, though? He’d narrowed it down to C, Gideon, or Four. Which one? Everything hinged on him naming the right person.
“I’ve figured it out,” he said slowly, playing for time. Make a choice… decide… but which one of them was it? He remembered a trick he’d mastered at school, where he’d said the first answer that came into his head – nine times out of ten it had been correct. Don’t overthink it. Just close your eyes, let your mind go blank, and give a name.
“It’s time for you to meet me as you really are…” He crossed his fingers behind his back, opened his eyes, and said the word that would seal his fate, one way or another.
“Gideon.”
Chapter Eleven
OCTOBER 2095
Josiah
He needed sleep. He was going to walk into an almighty shitstorm soon, and he’d had no sleep in almost twenty-four hours. Yet, neither he nor Alex wanted to sleep when they crawled into bed at close to 4a.m., because they both knew that these could be the last few precious hours they’d spend together.
Josiah threw himself onto the bed fully dressed, and Alex lay down beside him and rested his head on his chest. He placed his hand on Alex’s back and stroked gently. They lay like that for a long time, saying nothing. There was nothing to say. The events of the past few hours had overtaken them.
Josiah thought through his options. There was every likelihood that Tyler was telling the truth about Alex’s contract still belonging to him. As soon as he’d found out about Solange, Josiah had thought it unlikely that Tyler would allow Alex to escape his grasp, even seven years down the line.
Yet, why go through the charade of pretending to sell him to Dacre in the first place? Was that somehow connected with Dacre’s murder? It was now clear why Dacre had turned down those speculative purchasers who’d made offers for Alex; despite being strapped for cash, Dacre had been in no position to accept, as he didn’townAlex’s contract.
A thought occurred to him, and he squeezed Alex gently.
“When I first arrested you, you looked surprised when I said there was no Tracker Plus on you. Why?”
Alex sat up. “Because I was so closely monitored. Elliot gave me very little freedom. I had a holopad, but it was locked to only allow me to take and make calls to and from him. I had no access to the internet, and no access to Elliot’s holopad – he was very careful about that. He never left me alone with the housekeeper, or anyone who came to the house. I went nearly everywhere with him. The only place he let me go by myself was the gym, and D’Angelo was with me the entire time I was training. Elliot did allow me to drive around afterwards for a couple of hours – that was my only freedom. But I was followed everywhere by black SUAVs that I knew to be Tyler’s. I assumed Elliot and Tyler had some kind of arrangement in terms of security, but it was also possible that Tyler just wanted to keep intimidating me, the way he did Mick. I did look for a way to contact you. Once, I tried to drive to Ghost Eye City to see if I could reach you. I don’t know what I was expecting to do when I got there. I suppose I had some fantasy that I’d walk in and ask for you, and you’d recognise me as Ben and listen to everything I said.” Alex gave a self-deprecating smile at his own naivety.
“So, what happened? I never saw you.”
“I didn’t get that far. Elliot called me and ordered me home, and when I didn’t listen, one of Tyler’s SUAVs nearly knocked me out of the water. When I returned home, Elliot was so angry he withdrew all my privileges for months. So, I assumed he had Tracker Plus on me.”
“He didn’t – but supposing Tyler did?”
“It would make sense.”
“We can argue with Tyler’s lawyers all we like, but I’m sure he wasn’t bluffing. Tyler does still own your contract, or at least he has good legal claim to it.”
Alex sighed and rested his head back on his chest. “It makes sense. Knowing what I know, he could never risk Elliot or anyone else setting me free after my prison sentence was up.”
“But why pretend to sell you at all? Why not just keep you?” Josiah mused.
Alex was silent for a long time. Josiah squeezed him.
“Alex, what aren’t you telling me?”
Alex sighed. “Look, I can’t pretend to entirely understand the workings of Tyler’s brain, but things between us became pretty messed up. I mean, worse and more bizarre than everything I’ve told you to date. I think he was afraid of keeping me anywhere he had easy access to me.”
Josiah frowned and sat up, gently dislodging him. “Why? Did he think he might kill you?” Alex didn’t reply. Josiah slid off the bed wearily. There was something dark here that Alex didn’t want to talk about, and he knew there was no point in pressing the issue. “Try and get some sleep,” he said, dropping a kiss on Alex’s head.
“What are you going to do?”
Josiah smiled. “What I do best. Come out fighting.”
