Radiant Oddities (Anomaly Saga #4)

10

Alice swiveled around in surprise. In front of her stood a man who looked surprisingly familiar, though she couldn't quite place what made her feel this way. He was clean-shaven, and he wore a black waistcoat with a matching fedora. He held a gun in both hands. Dual-wielding.

Chandler turned and raised his eyebrows, his face a mask of disbelief. "What?" he said.

The man smirked and laughed to himself. "I said, you two have overstayed your welcome. It's funny that this is how we meet again, isn't it, Jack?" The man circled around and joined the woman. They both exuded a feeling of superiority and arrogance, and it was really starting to bother Alice.

"You seem a little lost," said the man, glancing from Chandler to Alice and then back again. He gestured towards the woman. "This is my wife, Katrina," he said, "and I am William Chandler."

Alice's heart skipped a beat when she heard the last name. "Chandler?" she echoed.

"He's my brother," said Chandler, looking at the man with disgust. He put his hands up in disbelief. "I thought you were working as a lawyer in Seattle!"

William shrugged. "And I thought you were working as a pharmacist in Tennessee. Seems we were both wrong, eh? And what happened to Kira? And your daughter?"

Alice looked up at Chandler. "Who?"

Chandler frowned. "My ex-wife." He gave William a steely glare. "That's none of your business."

William shrugged. "Fair enough. Anyway, back to my original point. Get out. Get out or my wife and I will force you to."

"Your wife almost killed us."

"I knew you would survive. You're too good to die by falling chandelier."

"And if we did?"

"Then I would get over it. Now leave."

Katrina pulled out her own gun. Three guns pointed at them now. Great, Alice thought.

Alice looked at Katrina and decided to stall for time. "You haven't said anything," she said. "Is there anything you'd like to add?"

Katrina narrowed her eyes and looked at Alice like she had just tried to convince her that two plus two is twenty-two. Katrina looked at her husband and rapidly signed something with her hands. Alice immediately felt a little guilty. She hadn't learned much ASL, though she had wanted to. She barely recognized any of Katrina's signs.

William nodded at his wife and turned back towards Alice and Chandler. "She says she also thinks you should get out, but she worded it less politely than I did. I agree with her. If you don't turn back now, I'll start shooting. Might have to aim for a leg, or something. I don't want to, but it might be necessary."

Alice looked up at Chandler. "What do we do?" she whispered.

Before he could answer, Mr. Diamond came walking around the corner. "Do we have a problem here?" he asked. He saw Katrina and froze. "You're the one who shot the chandelier," he said. "The Host wishes to speak with you."

"This isn't over," William said, looking directly at Chandler, and then he and Katrina ran down the hall.

Mr. Diamond started chasing after them, but then he stopped. He turned back until he faced Alice and Chandler. "The Host will send someone else to apprehend them," he said. "But you two should come with me." He turned and disappeared around the corner, and Alice and Chandler followed.

As they walked, Alice whispered to Chandler, "You have a daughter?"

"Had," Chandler murmured. "She . . . I had a daughter."

"Oh." Alice looked away guiltily. "Sorry."

"It's fine. You didn't know."

They followed Mr. Diamond in silence until he came to a stop in front of a blank wall. He put his finger to his lips and pressed in on a hidden button of some sort. The wall flipped open, and Alice and Chandler hurried inside.

They were in some kind of study. The walls here were lined with bookshelves, and the carpet was a deep red. There was a desk in the center of the room covered in scattered paper and folders, and there was something covered with a tarp at the back of the room.

"What is this?" asked Alice.

At the same time, Chandler said, "Does the Host know about this, Mr. Diamond?"

Mr. Diamond shook his head. "The Host doesn't know a thing." He turned to face them and smiled. "Finally, I found people who can help me! People the Host didn't immediately take away! Call me Casey. Casey Diamond."