She was stuck.Completely and utterly stuck with no way down except gravity.She’d either fall to her death, freeze to death or, if she rose high enough, eventually suffocate.
Just as she started to hyperventilate, a sudden sound cut through her spiral of panic.A loud pop from somewhere above her head, sharp as a gunshot in the thin air.She looked up just in time to see one of the balloons burst.Shreds of white material fluttered away on the wind as the balloon collapsed in on itself and started drifting down toward her.
The harness lurched beneath her and Amanda felt herself start to drop.
CHAPTER THREE
Miles showed his credentials to the guard at the entrance checkpoint and waited while the man processed him through the system.The Federal Correctional Institution sat just outside Alexandria, about an hour's drive from his apartment.He'd made the trip without really deciding to, his hands steering the car while his thoughts stayed elsewhere.Yet on the other hand, he supposed he’d known he’d end up here before the week was out.
He wasn't sure why he was here.He knew Kane wouldn't give him straight answers.Kanenevergave straight answers.Their previous conversations had been exercises in frustration, the man speaking in riddles and philosophical tangents that went nowhere useful.But Miles needed something...a something he couldn’t quite define. He needed to have some sense of how much longer this would continue.He needed to have at least a vague idea of how many more disciples were out there waiting to strike.
The guard handed back his credentials and gestured toward the metal detector."Agent Sterling, right?You're here to see Kane?"
"That's right."
"Deputy Warden Holloway has told us to always give you top priority.So go on through; he’ll have someone escort you to the interview room."
Miles wasn’t sure how he felt about everyone in the prison knowing who he was, or how to feel about having “top priority” in a place like this.Either way, he passed through security and collected his belongings on the other side.A corrections officer appeared almost immediately, a stocky man in his thirties with close-cropped hair and a name tag that read Morrison.
"Agent Sterling."Morrison's tone carried a note of recognition."This way, please."
They walked through a series of corridors, passing through locked doors that required Morrison's keycard to open.Other guards nodded to Miles as they passed.Everyone seemed to know who he was.He'd become the face of the Elementalist investigation whether he wanted that role or not.The interviews, the press conferences, the documentary that had aired last month.His face was everywhere now.And he hated every moment of it.
Morrison led him through a final door into a small interview room.The space was maybe ten feet by twelve feet, with a metal table bolted to the floor and two chairs facing each other across it.A thick window of reinforced glass occupied one wall, allowing guards in the observation room to monitor the interview.
"He'll be here in a few minutes," Morrison said."We'll have two guards stationed outside the door and three in observation.If you need anything or want to end the interview, just signal through the window."
Miles nodded and Morrison left, locking the door behind him.The click of the lock sent a small spike of anxiety through Miles's chest.He forced himself to breathe slowly and focused on the open space visible through the observation window.He wasn’t sealed or trapped.Just secured.
The question that had driven him here kept turning over in his thoughts.There were 118 elements on the periodic table.They'd stopped seven disciples so far.Seven out of potentially 111 more if Kane had been thorough in his recruitment.Could there really be that many?The logistics alone seemed impossible.Finding 111 people willing to commit murder, training them, coordinating their activities across the country.But maybe it wasn't 111.Maybe it was twenty.Or thirty.A more manageable number but still enough to keep the killing going for years.How many minds had Kane infected with his twisted philosophy before his arrest?
The lock clicked and the door swung open, breaking up his thoughts.Two guards entered first, followed by Gabriel Kane in handcuffs and leg shackles.The guards positioned him in the chair across from Miles, securing his restraints to a metal loop welded to the table.
Kane looked thinner than the last time Miles had seen him.His orange prison jumpsuit hung loose on his frame, and his hair had grown longer, touching his shoulders.But his eyes were the same.Sharp and intelligent and carrying an expression that suggested he found the entire situation amusing.
The guards stepped back and took positions on either side of the door.Kane settled into his chair and looked at Miles with what might have been genuine pleasure.
"Dr.Sterling,” Kane said dryly.“What an unexpected delight."
"It's Agent Sterling now.Mostly thanks to you."
"Is it?I thought we'd moved past such formalities."Kane shifted slightly, the chains rattling with the movement."You look tired, Agent Sterling.How have you been sleeping?"
The question hit harder than it should have.Miles kept his expression neutral."We need to talk about your disciples."
"Do we?I would think we've covered that topic quite thoroughly in our previous conversations.I have nothing to add to my earlier statements."
"How many are there?"
Kane tilted his head slightly."How many what?"
"You know what.How many people did you recruit?How many are still out there following your instructions?"
"Instructions."Kane seemed to savor the word as if he’d just bitten into a juicy steak."Such an interesting choice of language.As if I were some kind of cult leader giving orders to mindless followers.The reality is far more nuanced than that, I'm afraid."
"Stop playing games,” Miles said.“I need numbers."
"Numbers."Kane smiled."Always the scientist, even now.Wanting to quantify, measure, and reduce everything to data points.Tell me, Dr.Sterling, have the nightmares been quantifiable?Can you measure the weight of watching a man suffocate while you do nothing to help?"