Sweet Dreams (WJA Series Book 1)

Chapter 10

CHRISTMAS DAY MARK AWOKE from the nightmare he’d been dreaming to find he was living it. He rubbed his eyes and looked around his bedroom, trying to remember the previous evening.

“Oh, shoot…Maria!” Jumping to his feet, he grabbed the robe draped across the back of a chair and threw it on. He opened the door and sniffed. The apartment smelled like pine tree scented cleaner .

“Morning, sunshine!” Maria smiled from the kitchen. “You’re just in time for breakfast.” She cracked an egg and dropped the contents into a skillet. “I hope it’s okay I borrowed your couch last night. You were so upset, I hated to leave you alone. Are you feeling better this morning?”

“Uh…yeah. Guess I let too much tension build up from everything…and…wait! The video!” He scrambled to the DVD player, then sighed with relief when he saw that the disc was still in the tray. Now he had the proof he needed.

He looked over at Maria, who was watching him with wide eyes.

“You sure you’re okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, I just…well, you wouldn’t believe me, anyway.” He stared at the disc in his hand. He’d told her everything he was feeling but left out the parts of the story that made him look crazy.

“Mark, I’m your friend. Remember? I have no reason to distrust or disbelieve you.” She turned off the flame and moved around the kitchen counter to sit on the edge of the couch. “What’s on that DVD?”

He sat next to her and started at the beginning. He told her about the mysterious appearance of the first note in his locked car, and about the package containing the second note and the disc that had turned his world upside down again.

She touched his arm and watched his face as he told his story, a soft smile on her lips.

When he finished, he looked away, hoping she wouldn’t laugh and insist they drive straight to the asylum.

She ran her finger over the raised lettering of the WJA logo on the package. “So the whole thing was a planned attack, not an accidental explosion. You should tell the police or the FBI or somebody.”

“I would, but we don’t know what or who this WJA is. They could have made up the whole thing, created this video—although it looks real enough. I need more proof. And the only lead I have is this Pat Rotter person.”

Maria’s big, brown eyes lit up. “I’m great at finding stuff on the web, Google and all. I was a bit of a techie nerd in college.” She laughed. “I got into trouble my sophomore year for hacking into the Center for Disease Control website.”

He grinned. “Of all the places to hack into. You must be a nerd.” He cocked his head. “I thought you were a good girl, but all this time you were hiding a priceless, useful talent.”

He laughed and pushed her off the arm of the couch. He was amazed how much better he felt after letting his emotions out last night. Maria had a way of making him feel not so broken.

“You better be nice to me, or I’ll burn your eggs,” she teased.

Mark waved his hand in the air, signaling that he was not listening. He walked over to the DVD player and shoved the disc into the player. Maybe he’d learn more about the mystery kid. The screen flashed white, then all at once went black with the words Top Secret scrolling across the screen.

“What?” He tried to take it out and reinsert it into the player. But this time, he saw a timer in the lower left-hand corner of the screen. Nine…eight…he hit the eject button.

Nothing.

“Come on! Eject!”

Six…five…