Inside 863

Chapter 13 | 2/11/2021

I sat at my new desk in Blue Base editing footage from the fifth of February. The whole "Kills' assistants" thing fell through since most of the participants no longer work at Hi5, so I got promoted to editor for Matthias' vlog channel. DJ and Aiden started working with audio and stuff like that, while Dakota and Carey remained at PA level. I was pretty surprised I got promoted, especially after Tuesday's incident. Jared ended up getting fired. All in all, I was super happy with my new position. I got to edit, which I love doing, and I got to know in full detail what's happening with the mystery. Except with the video I was working on now, I wasn't sure I wanted to know in full detail everything that was happening. As a matter of fact, I didn't really want to know at all anymore. I shuddered as I edited now. Samantha's birth had been recorded before she was born? How was that even possible? An even scarier thought was that it was recorded by Syntec, the company co-founded by Nelson Syphus. Was Nelson Dakota's dad, or was Dakota's dad a different Syphus who was involved in all this somehow? I wanted to ask Dakota, but ever since Christmas, things had been really weird between us. I still wasn't sure if I should've turned him in or not. Well, he was part of a scheme to knock me out, I thought defensively. But nevertheless, I had a sinking feeling I messed up by losing Dakota's trust. Dakota seemed really lonely recently, and I wished I could comfort him somehow. But no, I had severed our friendship. Or had he severed the friendship? His dad severed the friendship? It was all so confusing.

Dakota walked by my desk now, deliberately not looking me in the eye. I watched him as he walked all the way by without looking at me once. His hand brushed over my desk as he passed. I was trying to force through the cloud of aloofness surrounding his face, trying to puzzle together a way to come to friendlier terms with him again. I sighed and turned back to my monitor. Something on my desk caught my eye. Something that wasn't there before. I picked up a piece of paper that was neatly folded into a small square, my curiosity waxing as I unfolded it. In small, scraggly handwriting, it read,

Shred this note, then meet me at RR at 12

There was only one person this note could be from. I glanced carefully over my shoulder at Dakota for a second. Shred the note? Why the secrecy? Couldn't he just tell me himself that he wanted to meet at Red Robin? I supposed I just had to trust him. Last time you trusted him things didn't end so well, my brain reminded me. I didn't care at the moment. Something was up, and it was up to me to figure it out.

I slid into a booth seat across from Dakota. His menu was perched up so high I could barely find where he was sitting when I walked in. I did the same with my menu, feeling like I was on some sort of secret spy mission. Maybe I was. I had no idea why Dakota had summoned me here.

"What's up?" I asked.

"First, prove to me that I can trust you," he said. "Otherwise this is just a normal lunch with a coworker."

"I don't know how I can prove it. I guess it's just a leap of faith," I pointed out.

"Fair," he replied. "There are some important issues regarding Project 863 that I need your help with."

"I'm listening . . . ."

"First of all, the undercover cop that the team has been talking to is my stepbrother," Dakota continued in an undertone. I held back a gasp.

"He's been playing as a triple spy," Dakota whispered. "Pretending to help the team and Deb, pretending to cover up our dad's schemes, and pretending to investigate similar cases in the LAPD while really just exploiting them for information."

"Why?" I asked, bewildered. This was shocking news that I definitely needed to report to Matthias. "Whose side is he on?"

"The government's and his own," Dakota replied.

"And hold on, who's Deb?"

"Deb is D."

"Why isn't John Doe on her side? Why is he just pretending to help?"

"He knows Deb will win the team's trust. Deb has a good heart, but her love for Wes blinds her from the danger she is putting the team in. She's using them, Payten."

"We have to warn them!" I said, bubbling with nervous excitement.

"No," Dakota objected.

"Why?" I asked. If the team was in danger, we had to warn them.

"Whatever we tell them, they tell the camera. That's Deb's plan. She's trying to expose my father's crimes to the world."

"And why shouldn't she?" I asked defiantly.

"The world isn't ready for those horrors, Payten." His words made me shudder. A waitress approached our table.

"What can I get you two to drink?" she asked cheerily. We both requested water, and she walked away to retrieve the glasses.

"How can we trust him?" I asked, my voice barely audible over the clanking of utensils against plates and usual chatter of a restaurant.

"We share a common goal, him and I," Dakota replied. I raised an eyebrow.

"Ending our father and his madness," he said darkly. My stomach churned uneasily. Who could I trust? Keeping secrets from my boss sounded like a recipe for trouble, but what choice did I have? I supposed if the undercover cop worked for the government he had to be trustable, right?

The waitress returned with our beverages.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked. Dakota sipped his water, staring at me.

"There are too many things to choose from on this menu," I said, trying my best to fake a laugh. "Can we have another minute?"

"Of course," she chirped, then headed off to wipe down a different table.

"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked softly.

"Because--" Dakota started, but he froze suddenly, his expression pained.

"Dakota?" I prodded.

"Payten, don't tell anyone what I just told you," he said tightly.

"Dakota, what's wrong?" I said, concern mixed with fear clouding my tone.

"Promise you won't say a word to anyone?" he grunted.

"Yeah I promise, but what's wrong?" He let out a bloodcurdling scream. The restaurant went dead silent.

"Dakota!" I cried. "Someone call 911!" I rushed to his side as he continued to scream, convulsing with pain. He grabbed my arm, fingernails digging in as I dragged him out of the booth. I searched panickingly for any wounds, but there were none. Whatever he was feeling must've been internal. I gazed wildly around the room, hoping desperately someone knew what to do. A doctor, maybe. No one approached. Most just seemed highly unsettled, their eyes transfixed upon the horrific scene. A few were on the phone, most likely with emergency services. One man, hooded in black, walked to the exit. As he turned to open the door, I saw part of his face. He was smiling. A malicious sort of smile that deeply unnerved me.

Dakota continued to scream and writhe around on the ground. When the police arrived, they asked me what had happened, and I told them I didn't know. Sirens blared in my ears as the ambulance carried Dakota away. I didn't know what to make of it all. I was scared out of my mind. Dakota and I had met to discuss secret matters, and he had left in an ambulance screaming with no apparent injuries. A hooded, smiling man had left the building just after the incident. Dakota was a target successfully taken down. Would that make me the next target of this mysterious man in black?

I shivered as I drove back to the studio. I did not shiver because of the cold February weather, though. I shivered because of fear. A deep, unfathomable fear that I couldn't escape. Dakota's screams haunted me as I drove. What would be his fate? Would he survive this strange phenomenon?

I parked in front of Blue Base and walked inside. Bailey must've seen my pale face, for she commented, "You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Worse," I said without stopping. Please let him be okay, I pleaded. Let Dakota be okay.