The Children of Hypnos

Chapter 8: Goodnight

When Emery and Wes met up that night, Wes said nothing about Ridley. They headed to the warehouses as Emery had suggested, and he said nothing about that, either.

She'd survive three more weeks with him just like this: Not talking about it.

The north side was a looming, dreary place, especially at night. The warehouses rose high and dark, blotting out the stars, lit by lonely streetlamps and floodlights perched on the corners of the roofs. White lettering on the large warehouse doors stated their building numbers and the companies that owned them. For the past five minutes, all the buildings they'd passed said VAN DER GELT INDUSTRIES.

"Who knew VDG needed so many warehouses for home security equipment?" Emery knocked a fist on one of the warehouse doors. It echoed like thunder. "You'd think they could keep it all in that godawful skyscraper."

Wes said nothing.

"I heard the founder of VDG is really young. And hot. Have you ever seen him?"

Wes looked toward the other side of the street.

"I just realized I don't know what you're interested in. Girls? I assumed girls, but that's my fault. Guys? Anything? Everything?"

Still nothing.

"Sorry, I know, it's kind of a personal question. Forget I asked."

He'd started blushing, so she knew he was listening. She'd never had so much trouble getting a rise out of someone.

"Have you managed to figure out what the full-timers on this mission have uncovered? I was looking for their files before, but I couldn't get into the records. We've canvassed half the city, you'd think we'd have heard something by now."

The soles of their boots scraped the sidewalk. Emery got a prickling sensation on the back of her neck that they were being watched, and ignored it. If there was a nightmare out and about up here, looking for its dreamer, it wasn't their job to hunt it down. They didn't have the paperwork.

Finally, after what felt like another half hour of walking, Wes said, "They were looking around here last week."

"Who? The full-time hunters?"

He nodded.

"How do you know?"

"I asked Stainer."

"How does Stainer know?"

"Stainer knows most of the places the full-time hunters go."

"Isn't asking her, like...cheating?"

He glanced sideways at her. "More cheating than trying to break into the records system? Why would using your resources be cheating? What is there to even cheat on? It's a mission; either we complete it or we don't. No one said we couldn't ask Stainer about it, so I asked her. She said the full-time hunters on the case searched here last week on some strong leads, but didn't find anything."

"Which hunters are on the case? What were their leads?"

"She wouldn't tell me that."

"Why didn't you tell me about this before?"

"I asked her after you brought it up earlier. I was curious."

"So I was right!"

The line of Wes's jaw went hard.

"Wow, Wes, don't be a sore loser. This was still at least partly your plan—"

Wes let out a roar of frustration and turned on her. "Do you ever stop talking? You always have to have the last word, and the best word, and if anyone else says anything, you have to say it better. You are insufferable. I should have let Ridley tear into you today. Don't look at me like that--you don't know her. You don't know me, either. You think you do. I'm your charity case, right? Poor Wes, bottom of the class, comes up with really boring solutions to problems. I know you're going to throw me out as soon as you possibly can. You don't have to rub salt in the wound every chance you get."