Starships

Chapter 38

I look over the edge and see. The man still has the device to his ear. I snap my fingers twice into the phone letting him know that I am saying no. The man turns around so I can see his face. His lips start to move again.

"Is it the kitchen sink again?" His voice echos through.

I snap once, letting him know that I am saying yes.

"Well I am at work right now. I can get there to check it out, in maybe an hour. Is that okay?"

I snap once.

"Okay Kori. I will see you soon. Just put a bucket under the sink to keep the dripping water in."

I snap once.

"Okay. See you soon."

I hang up, and watch the man. He looks at his phone and puts it away. There is no way that is Richard. I need to see for myself. I fly around the rooftop window and go to the backside of the building. I look for any open windows. While working at the police station, I have learned that there is always one door or window unlocked. I fly around and try every window. After my tenth window, I finally find one that would open. I open the window and hover inside. I keep the window cracked open, just in case I need a quick escape. I turn and see that I am in the boy's bathroom. I hover to the door and open it quietly. I can hear whispered voices coming from the lower level. I make sure that my hood is still over my head, but I tie the strings together to keep it from sliding off. I hover out and try to get as close to the two people as I can without getting too close. My goal is to hear what they are saying, and to not get caught. If that is Richard, then who is the girl? The red hair reminds me of Babs, but surely she is too smart to do something like this.

I hover around the second floor, trying to find the perfect hiding spot. I find one behind a big sculpture.

"Hey, I think she is onto me." The man whispers loudly.

"What do you mean? Who is onto you?" The girl says back. She is swabbing for something on the wall.

"Kori. I know she is here..."

"How do you know that?" The girl gets away from the wall and puts her sample in her belt. She walks over to the man.

"She sent a picture of me from the skylight." The man pulls his phone back out to show.

"Why did she text asking for you to call? Do not tell me you called her?"

"I did call her. That is the only one of a few sentence she know how to write. I wanted to make sure she was alright. But when I was talking to her, I can hear wind gusts from outside."

I hate that he is smart.

"So you think we have a stalker?" the girl asks.

"I know we have a stalker." The man smiles.

Great. Did I just get caught? Well I would say no, because I am now in the same building as them, and they haven't caught onto that yet. They probably still think that I am outside, or I went home. I hide behind the sculpture and think what I am going to do next. I look around to see how I can escape.

Whoosh!

I turn my head to the left. A bar of metal goes flying through the air and pierces into the wall. I shimmy my way across the sculpture, so I can escape. As I am moving over, a hand grabs my arm.

"Kori?" I hear my name being whispered.

Great. I am caught. I force myself to turn to see who caught me. It is the man. He is wearing a blue mask over his eyes. His chest has a blue bird printed on the black jumpsuit. I ground myself. The man reaches out and unties my hoodie, and drops the hood to reveal my face. He presses his lips together, not knowing what to say. I reach out for his mask. He lets me, and I remove it.