Sanctify

After being forced into his quarters, Rayner locked the door and hurried out. Michel knew this was his window so he had to use it to the best of his abilities. He understood the dangers but felt he couldn’t care any less. So, the moment he heard a truck pass, he opened the window and let himself down, hanging by his fingertips. He swallowed, searching for the next window below him and released one hand to pull a metal divider from under his shirt, held to him by the waistband of his pants.

He hit the windowsill beneath him very hard but he held on. According to the lease agreements, a couple that had loose ties with the agencies owned the unit beneath his. They mostly invested in overseas businesses and were usually away. But as he pulled himself up to peer into the window, he almost let go of the metal plate.

Inside, Noriko looked up and hurried over to the window. She threw it open as Jenna re-entered. Seeing the familiar eyes and face she had dreamt of recently, she hurried over and helped Noriko pull Michel up from his dangerous position. Noriko shut the window quickly and looked down to see Jenna and Michel embrace. She moved to the door and peeked outside to see no one there. She frowned, wanting to be near Hayden.

But Jenna pulled from Michel and called out, “Noriko, please stay. Michel, I have to tell you something.”

Michel looked from Jenna to Noriko and then sat back, his jaw dropped, “Oh my God.”

Jenna swallowed and clarified, “I never meant to keep it from you, but from the first day we met, you, the nephew of Sanctus, were my mark.” Tears fell from Jenna’s eyes as Michel’s eyes wandered to Noriko, and Jenna swallowed, “I’m a Shadow, Michel, and this is Noriko, my Origin. Also known as Nox.”

To this, Michel looked up, his eyes wide and clear as she asked, “She reached you then?”

Noriko frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

“Diem,” Michel stood, Jenna followed, and Noriko walked over at the mention of that name. “Uncle has her in a capsule, hooked into the computers and I got to chat with her a little bit. She’s been looking for you,” he added.

Noriko grabbed Michel and demanded, blind to all others, even Hayden who stepped into the room to see this, “Where is she? You tell me right now, where is she?!”

Jenna grabbed Noriko and put herself between Michel and Noriko. Hayden hurried over, “Michel? How did you find us?” he asked with an incredulous expression on his face.

“Not important!” Noriko barked at him and turned her attention on Michel, “Tell me now, where is Diem?”

Jenna turned to Michel, pleading him to speak with her eyes. Michel swallowed and replied, “Trapped. She gave me twenty minutes so I could get out. That’s why I’m here,” he added.

Noriko turned to find the floor plans of the penthouse and pointed at a round interior room that had originally been an indoor atrium. “Is this the room she’s being kept in?” Noriko demanded.

Michel walked over and nodded, “Yeah, that looks about right. Wait,” he turned to Jenna, “were you about to come in and get me?”

Jenna shrugged, “Of course.”

Michel turned to Noriko, “You can’t go in there. If what you’re saying about Uncle is true, then Sanctus is up there keeping guard over her, just waiting for her to lure Nox out.” He pointed to the room just above Hayden’s and added, “I’ve been kept in there for the time being. When they discover I’m missing, I’m sure they’ll start hunting me down.”

Noriko shook her head, “Not important. We need to get her out now.” Noriko turned to Jenna, “Can we put the plan in to motion now?”

Jenna nodded, “Sure, I’ll set the alarms off. Oren?” she called into the communicator.

On the other end, Oren replied, “I’m here. What do you need?” he asked.

Jenna replied, “Empty out the towers and send the elevators to the pent house. We’re going in, over.”

“Right now? Isn’t it a bit too early?” Oren asked, quite surprised.

But Jenna replied, “Michel is secured. If we want to get in and get the job done right, we have to go now.”

Jenna and Michel looked over the plans as Hayden watched over Noriko, who seemed to pack for a war. When she turned to him, Hayden looked away. Noriko frowned and demanded, “What’s going on with you? You’ve been all weird since you left the room with Jenna.”

Hayden denied her claims, “Not really. I’m just thinking about the mission. Just stay behind me, alright?”

Noriko rolled her eyes, “I can take care of myself, thanks.”

Hayden grabbed Noriko’s bag and held it down. “Hey, look, what happened between us before, it can’t happen again.” Noriko frowned and looked up at him but he picked up the bag and walked over to the other two. Very confused, Noriko followed quietly.

“We don’t have enough evidence to tie him as Sanctus, but maybe we can pull some files from his drives. He keeps them quite organized,” Michel had been saying.

Jenna noticed Hayden and Noriko’s distance but knew she had done the damage necessary. Instead of dwelling on their thunderous expressions, she updated them, “Michel wants to go back in and take what he needs before we storm the place.”

Hayden nodded, “That sounds about right. Good plan,” he added, nodding to Michel.

Noriko shook her head, “I don’t agree. This sounds needlessly reckless. What evidence there is on his drives, we can always access after we get Diem out.”

Michel stepped forward and stated, “Diem’s in no position to get out. Trust me when I say this is our best way. Please,” he added, “we can’t let her down.”

Noriko looked to Hayden for support but he looked the other way. Jenna seemed to take Michel’s side as well, so Noriko conceded. She hated the idea of not just storming the place but knew they seemed to have a better handle on what was going on. Her confusing tension with Hayden had to take second place to her desire to see Diem. Of all people, she knew Diem would be able to help her figure things out better than anyone.

Sanctus looked through the documents of Michel’s work station when Diem sent him a message, ’Don’t tell me you feel a sense of fatherly devotion to the boy.’

To this, Sanctus laughed and replied, ’He’s my nephew, though he’s quite capable. I think he’d do well in the family business, don’t you?’ He stopped flipping through the files and sighed. He stood and walked over to the glass. Out loud, he asked, “Won’t you speak to me, Diane?”

Distant eyes focused on Sanctus as Diane opened her mouth and asked, “What do you want to talk about?”

Sanctus smiled and asked, “Where is Nox?”

“I don’t know,” Diane replied, her breathing a bit more labored.

Sanctus let out a groan of frustration before he smashed his came into the glass, shattering it. He leaned in and demanded, “Tell me how to enter the Haven, Diem, or I’ll deliver you a sentence worse than death.”

“Nothing can be worse than this,” Diane replied, breathing heavily.

Sanctus smiled and snapped his fingers. Instantly, Diane’s head lolled and she was still. “You’re wrong, Diane, hell is just beginning for you.” He re-adjusted some of the settings on her tablet before he stepped back and surveyed her. He sighed and whispered, “We could have been famous together.”

Michel climbed back through the window and shut it, replacing the nail. He moved to his vent and unscrewed it, leaving it off to the side, just so. When he heard silence, he worked the lock on the door and as he heard the click, Jenna stepped through the vent. He nodded once to her and slipped out of the room as Noriko and Hayden poured from the vent. Neither looked happy.

The walk to the workroom was quite unguarded, so Michel worked quickly and searched for the document but it was no longer there. Surprised, he clicked around, moved folders and found a firewall keeping him from doing his work. He turned and felt his stomach drop. The usual glass pane that was between Diane and the world was no longer there. Her once healthy skin looked dry and her once full figure was very thin and frail.

“She tried to protect you, it seems,” Uncle stated, stepping from the shadows.

Michel frowned and looked around to see vacant stations, “What do you mean? Where are the other hackers?” he asked, very aware of how alone they were.

Uncle smiled and replied, “I’ve dismissed them. I no longer need that which I hired them for. So,” he nodded his head towards the door, dismissing Michel as well.

Unwilling to give up so easily, Michel demanded, “Are you going to kill her?”

Uncle shrugged, “It is possible she will die soon, but not by my hand. She is, after all, the connection and prize of my goals. At this moment, I am hacking into her. Isn’t technology wonderful?”

Michel frowned and the final piece of the puzzle clicked into place. “You’re waiting for Nox.”

Uncle clapped his hands together, very intentional claps, and then walked over to the withering Diane, peering in at her. “I had a feeling she would open up to you. It was only a matter of time. And when she did, my trap was set and the requirements were met. A beautiful thing, friendship can be. Oh, how easily it can be used.”

Michel felt his mouth run dry as he asked, “You used me?”

“Of course,” Uncle reached out to lift Diane’s chin. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. “She was just as surprised when we talked. It would seem, she’s on her last legs, but then,” his tone changed as he commanded, “Open your eyes.”

To Michel’s horror, Diane’s body responded automatically to his bidding. In that moment, he saw and understood the horror that which was Uncle. There was no doubt in his mind that the person who stood before him was none other than the hated soul who went by the handle Sanctus. In truth, when told such things, Michel had wanted to ignore them, but that was no longer possible. And, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a small figure run towards Sanctus, full-fledged rage in Noriko’s eyes.