The Edge

Gideon: Part Eight

Matthias was waiting for them at the dock's entrance. Gideon almost didn't recognize him; he had his sweater's hood up and had slapped on a privacy mask. Those distinctive, vividly blue eyes gave him away, though. "Are any of you allergic to cats?" he asked as he put on a pair of sunglasses. They all shook their heads. "Good, because Sam is very friendly and will probably try to say hi. C'mon."

It was a little ridiculous how fast Matthias walked. He was somehow outpacing them all, even long-legged Gideon and Luca. There was an almost weightless quality to his steps that made keeping up with him difficult. It didn't help that he took the most roundabout way possible, weaving in and out of side streets seemingly at random. Gideon would have been more suspicious, but he knew the tactic. If anyone was following them, they'd have to be really obvious about it to keep up. It made sense, if he wanted to keep any strangers away from John.

Still, he kept both eyes open for any signs of a trap. He wasn't about to be too trusting.

Finally, they stopped in front of the most nondescript apartment complex Gideon had ever seen. It only stood out because it was in better shape and less dirty than most of the other buildings. New construction if he had to guess, or...new-er. "After you," Matthias said, holding open a door and gesturing for them to enter.

Gideon made sure he was the last of his siblings through the door. He wasn't thrilled about having a stranger at his back, but he'd rather be between Matthias and his family, just in case. "End of the hall, down the stairs," Matthias said. "Yes, I know that sounds bad, but he got one of the basement apartments. It's a bit cooler down there. More private."

It sounded pretty bad, but that didn't stop Helen from pushing forward. SHe was probably thinking they had strength in numbers. What human traffickers would be crazy enough to take all of them at once? Plenty would, Gideon thought. If their operation is large enough.

He kept the weaker family members directly in his line of sight and prayed this wasn't a trap.

The stairs lead to another hallway with a line of doors on either side. Matthias pushed to the head of the group and led them to one door in particular: Apartment B13. He knocked on the door, waited for a response that only he seemed to hear, then opened it. "Okay. Shoes off if you're stepping over the tape line."

The what?

Gideon got his answer quickly as they all crowded into the space. It was effectively one large studio: bedroom space immediately opposite a kitchen space, bathroom door to the right, furnished with the kind of generic and cheap offerings used by bachelors and people who moved a lot. The door behind him was the only exit, unless you counted the small windows at the top of the walls (for Tola and Arian, maybe...everyone else, no, definitely not Gideon). There was a desk next to the bed, and at the desk sat...

He hadn't been sure what to expect from a guy who had stirred up a near cult mentality among his listeners. But it was definitely nothing like this.

The man sitting in front of them looked tall, maybe even as tall as Gideon, but it was hard to tell when he was sitting down. He was thin, like a stretched-out Luca, with Reddish hair, gray eyes, and a lot of freckles scattered across pale skin. He was dressed simply in a blue t-shirt, faded jeans, battered sneakers. There was a cat in his lap, a little gray thing who, Gideon realized, only had three legs. The cat was purring loudly as John scratched behind his ears. "They know about the tape line," Matthias called through the door from the back of the pack.

John mumbled something. He was staring at them indirectly, like he was bracing himself for a conversation he wasn't fully ready for. He seemed to relax a bit when he was sure they'd all taken their shoes off and left them within the taped off space. "Thanks," he repeated, loud enough to be heard this time. "You guys must be the Demarchis...es? The Demarchi?" He grimaced immediately. "Sorry..."