ZERO! the umbrella academy

quarante-deux

THE MAJESTIC TWELVE

WE FOLLOWED THE MEN upstairs down a long hallway lined with windows. It was decorated with old furniture and oil paintings reminiscent of an era even before this one. We crept along, keeping a good distance between us, and watched them file into a room.

Five gripped my hand and looked back at me. "Don't make a sound, okay?"

I nodded, and the next thing I knew, I was shrouded in darkness.

My back bumped into a rack of clothing, and I stumbled before I caught myself by pressing my hands against the close walls. Five's hands shot out to grab my waist and steady me. He seemed to have blinked us into a closet. Light streamed in through the slats on the door, just barely illuminating the crowded space we were in. It was so cramped, my chest was practically pressed flush against Five's. I was thankful for the lack of light so he couldn't see my face flush a deep red.

"The president is continuing to make inquiries into Roswell and the other crash sites, gentlemen," a voice said, drawing our attention away from each other.

We moved in tandem closer towards the closet door and peered through the slats. I could just barely make out the group of men from before gathered in a room, lounging on sofas around a coffee table. There was something secretive and mysterious about them. The ends of their cigarettes glowed bright orange in the dim light of the room, gray curls of smoke drifting into the air. The scene reminded me a lot of the photo Elliott had shown us.

"And, as you know, we cannot allow him to get his nose into our business," the voice continued. "I've confirmed the motorcade will indeed be turning left on Elm Street. We'll have our people in place."

"Gentlemen, this plan of yours seems ill-timed," a very familiar voice spoke up. My gaze shifted to a tall man standing with his back to us. He cleaned a familiar-looking monocle with his handkerchief before putting it on.

"It's going to be a turkey shoot," a man sitting on the tufted sofa dismissed him.

I shifted my weight to my other foot, and the floorboard beneath me let out what sounded like a deafening creak. I froze, and my eyes went wide. The man who had his back to us whipped his head around to the sound of the noise, and we caught a glimpse of his face for the first time.

"Dad?" Five sounded awestruck.

Reginald shushed the other men in the room to be quiet. He grabbed a fire iron by the fireplace and slowly approached our hiding place. Five and I shrunk further back into the coats behind us, hoping he would second guess himself and go away. I clapped a hand over my mouth to muffle my breathing.

He stopped in front of the closet door, and I swear his eyes met mine through the slats.

Five's grip tightened on my wrist. I turned to look at him, and he shot me a look that said time to go.