Golden Hour | Cole Stewart AU

Hot On The Trail

COLE

I shuffle through the winding path that had become familiar over the last two weeks. I’d come here enough to know which thorns to watch out for. The dark sky had slowly transformed into a cool blue and the morning glow lit up the path.

Just a few hours ago, I’d tossed and turned in bed all night and watched the numbers on the clock switch hour by hour. Time seemed to be moving so damn slowly and sleep wasn’t even an option after my conversation with Cruz. The moment it struck five, I’d grabbed my jacket and set off.

An unusual breeze brushed my face as I finally drew close to the center of the park. It looked like it hadn’t seen people in years. I could barely see the color of the slide below the layers of mud that coated it. The swing was in a sorrier state. A single chain shouldered the weight of the seat whose color had faded. The seat hung so low that it nearly touched the ground.

Even when the country had started to restore some other buildings they hadn’t touched the parks. What was the point of it after all? Why let children experience any semblance of normalcy knowing what waited for them at the end? It was so messed up.

I looked away from the rides and focused on the figure crouched on the park bench. His head was bent over a laptop, I couldn’t see anything beyond the green cap sitting on his head and a lock of black hair. He’d probably seen me and gone back to his screen.

That was Nico for you. He didn’t say anything until I sat across from him.

“I have good news and bad news,” He greets, finally looking up at me. Nico didn’t look like he’d gotten much sleep either.

“What’s the bad news?” I brace myself. I hadn’t had much hope when I’d contacted Nico to see if he’d find anything on Frost Daniels but it was worth a short.

“This guy is good,” Nico starts. His fingers move across his keyboard as he speaks, “Feels almost like Frost Daniels doesn’t want to be found.”

I wasn’t surprised. He didn’t even reveal his location to Cruz after all. “What do we know at least?” I ask sharply, “Where did he work? What’s his story?”

“Forty-seven years old. Born and brought up in California. He worked at a private tech company for a long time and then he quit just a year before IAAN,” Nico pauses, “And guess where he was transferred to.” He looks at me pointedly as if I’m supposed to just know it.

Cruz didn’t tell me anything about the guy but she did imply that he had a connection to Project Jamboree. “Project Jamboree?”

“Yes. One of the red facilities,” Nico confirms, “He was a guard there. Apparently, he volunteered.”

“Which one?” I asked, tapping my hand against my thigh.

“Georgia. He wasn’t there for long. Just a few months.” Georgia. That's the first facility Ruby, Lucas and Sam went to after they'd convinced Cruz that Ruby could help them.

I frown, “That’s unusual. Usually, guards stayed in one place for years.”

“Exactly. And seven months later we lose him. There’s no other trace of him,” Nico tilts his laptop towards me and I see the article. “There were charges against him. They fined him for something. It doesn't say what here but he'd violated some rules.”

“That explains why he dropped off the face of the earth. Damn, it must have been bad if he just wiped himself off,” I wonder out loud, “Do we have any guesses what he could’ve done?”

Nico shakes his head. “There’s not a lot on this guy,” He pulls up a photo and I examine Frost Daniels face. He has curly brown hair and dark eyes. The photo was taken outside and he leans against a wall, his lips are turned up in a lazy smile. Just a regular looking guy with no family volunteering at a high profile project? What did he have to gain from that?