68 CHAPTER 67-SECRETS

"How did you find us, Vee," Alex asked, licking his upper lips.

"You forget I check on you every midnight. Besides, I saw you sneaking out of the house. I had my suspicion though, but I didn't know you wanted to free Jeff." 

Jeff hugged himself as if suddenly cold. If the girl had seen Alex sneaking out of the house, why had she not tried to stop him? He was her puppet, after all. Her errand boy that soils his hands in blood just to please his master. Or was he right? Had she done it for a reason? But what could have been the reason? Was there any excuse in the world to explain the girl's action?

A black bile coursed through his skin as he tried to remain calm. His thought was a box of puzzle. It was hard to fit the right square into the right hole at the moment. Perhaps the girl had done it for the money, for the firm, and for the power. Either way, Jeff hated the voice in his head that was giving him a reason not to be angry. She must have her reasons. The voice said, but Jeff tried to ignore it, however difficult it seems. All he wanted to do at the moment was to drive the happy-tech down the girl's throat. To give her a taste of her own impishness. At least that would satisfy the rage that was burning in his heart.

He narrowed his eyes when they finally fell on the girl who was standing beside the wall, just where the light of hearth created a shadow. Their eyes met, increasing the intensity of the heat in the room.

Those brown eyes of hers were studying him and as far as he could tell, there was no remorse in them. The strength and light in the eyes seemed to justify her action. She had grown older and taller now, and her blonde hair was hanging over the side of head. Those small lips of her also blended well with the smooth edges of her cheeks.

Pretty demon. Jeff heard a voice said at the back of his head. He was not going to fall for her innocence again, not after what she had done to him for three years.

"I can see you are alright," Vanessa said, finally breaking the staring competition. The damped hood she wore streamlined her features, giving her that baby innocence which could easily deceive the eye.

"Of course, I am alright; your plans to kill me have failed, " Jeff groused. He just didn't know the right question to ask her at the moment. How could she inflict him with a bug and control three and a half years of his life? Why on earth would she tie him on a string and direct the step he makes? Who gave her such right?

"If I wanted you dead," Vanessa said and pulled out the ribbon that held her hair to a ponytail, "you would have gone six feet below a long time ago" 

"But why," Jeff asked, "I thought, you are my friend. Why did you do such evil things against me? On what occasion did I offend you, Vanessa? When friends have problems, they sought it out. Why, Vanessa, why"

Vanessa lowered her eyes, looking everywhere in the room but in his direction. Alex on the other hand seemed to be speechless. His young gaze only flickered from one person to the other, not standing in support of anyone at the moment. 

"I hate everything I did to you, Jeff. I regret my action. I am sorry."

"Sorry?" Jeff flared, letting his anger explode, "You tied my life to a string for three years and here you are saying sorry? The last time I checked, I was tied up like a bag of manure and allowed to sleep on a cold floor."

"I am sorry, Jeff. I don't expect you to understand, but I will try to explain," Vanessa said and took off her hood, shaking off the August rain. She hung the hood on the stand and picked up the towel sitting on one of the couch. With it she raked her golden hair to get rid of the water. Her blue jumpsuit also gave her that baby innocent. And on her belt were three Sol-X, with a Candor that looks nothing like what Jeff was used to. 

"You are furious and I understand. But like I said before, I will try to explain. Follow me if you want answers, " She said and walked towards the other side, to the northern part of the room. Jeff heard the beep when Vanessa place her hands on the wall. 

There was a beep and then the wall parted in two with a noise that sent an icy chill down Jeff's spine.

"The answer you seek lies behind these walls," Vanessa said. She adjusted her belt before disappearing through the dark door.

"I don't trust her anymore, Jeff," Alex said, holding on to Jeff.

"Me too, but what other choice do I have? I need to see what she is talking about."

"You can run away, Jeff. Anywhere far from this hellish place."

"No, I won't" Jeff bit down the anger with his lower lips. "I will not run away. Not after everything that has happened" He said and folded the sleeves of the old cloth he wore. "I must find out what is going on."

"I trust you, Jeff. I hope you know what you are doing"

Jeff only nodded his head. He stooped and helped the boy fold the dangling edges of his sweater.

"Thank you, Alex, for everything" A small smile parted Jeff's lips. He stroked the little boy's hair as he stood. "Let's do this together"

Alex smiled and let Jeff lead him through the open door.

It appeared to be a basement. Stairs snaked down the path and disappeared somewhere in the dark.

"This would help," Alex said and flared the white light of his Sol-K.

They walked down the stairs. The place smelled dusty, with cobwebs fogging the entire ceiling and corners. Even with its emptiness, the cold from the world above seemed not to affect it.

"What is this place?" Alex asked.

The stairs ended after five flights or so when Jeff stopped counting. Nothing stood in the small room, only darkness and emptiness, which blended together in a matrimonial communion.

"This way" came the calm voice.

Alex flashed the light to the direction of the voice. At the other side of what seemed to be the end wall, stood Vanessa. A small smile was plastered on her beautiful face, but too weak to spread across the corner of her eyes. She was typing something on the wall. It took some minutes of waiting before she finally pushed the button on the wall and a door opened, this time to a white bright light.

Jeff gaped when his eyes fell on the room.

Children, not older than Alex, clustered the place, too skinning to compete with the arms of the gentle wind. There were men and women too, looking haggard and ten days starving.

"I am very sorry for everything, Jeff. But I needed money, these people needed help" Vanessa turned to him "They lost their lives to that evil Happy-Tech. I couldn't leave them to die."

Jeff swallowed.

"How desperate can you be? You needed money so badly that you inflicted me with the same thing you held with so much contempt?"

"I am sorry Jeff—

"—Your sorry means nothing, Vanessa," Jeff shouted and watched as Vanessa backed away. The crowd was forming, but he didn't care. He could feel the bile coursing through his vein. His body was already heating and his head must have turned red by now.

"Three years. For three years you trapped my soul in oblivion." Jeff folded his knuckle, resisting the voice that advised him to slam the girl.

Silence stretched.

"What is the matter?" Someone asked.

Jeff's gaze left Vanessa. The owner of the voice walked out of the crowd. It was Teresa. The woman in Zone-3 who had helped with his headache.

"The matter here is that I need my bag pack, my Roller-board, and an Air Tripler"

"If you can just calm down and explain to me"

"Please, Teresa, I just want to go," Jeff said softly. He was fuming, and he needed to get away from here quickly before someone gets hurt. The anger surprised him. He had never been this angry before.

"Here," Vanessa said and handed all he requested.

Jeff searched his bag. He heaved with relief when he saw the device his father had sent him.

"Thank you," He said and walked towards the nearest Air Tripler, resting at the west wind of the stone floor.

"I am coming with you" Alex ran after Jeff. He seemed not to listen to the voice of Vanessa calling out his name.

Jeff only nodded. A part of him was glad that the boy was coming with him.

They sat down on the Air Tripler and Jeff turned the engine to life. He waited for the door on the stone to open before lifting the air Tripler into the air and out of the place. To any destination far from the Regent and Vanessa.