VEE

Xander waits in the car, along with Seth. I'm unsure if Xander won't let Seth out of sight because he's concerned he'll run, or if he's worried about Seth's safety.

Seth sits in the back and snaps his head around nervously as he hears our footsteps and voices. I climb into the back seat beside him, holding the open box on my lap. Heath joins Xander in the front. Seth pokes around in the box with his lips pursed and then sits back gripping the pencil case.

"How did you go?" asks Xander.

Heath pulls on his seatbelt. "We didn't find much info. His supervisor gave us a list of places John visited on recent work trips." He hands Xander the paper. "The guy was fae, by the way."

Xander's brows shoot up. "John was?"

"No. John's boss."

Seth leans forward. "No. His supervisor was Kai. There's a girl called Faye who works in accounts though."

Heath chuckles.

"I made the same mistake," I say to Seth. "He means fae."

He looks at me blankly.

"Fairies." Xander starts the car. "But not your pretty, winged ones."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Seth asks.

"Maybe Ewan's idea would work," suggest Heath.

"What idea?" I ask, irritated I've been left out of discussions again.

Heath turns in his seat. "Ewan thinks we should hunt and take Seth with us. Maybe he'll see not everything can be explained away.”

"Hunt what?” Seth asks says in a guarded tone. "I'm anti blood sport."

"You're not vegetarian too, are you?" asks Xander.

"I'm vegan, actually. Organic. I don't trust what might be added to food."

"Oh hell," laughs out Heath. "You'll starve if you stay with us."

Xander turns the car ignition and the engine purrs to life. "No wonder he's a skinny pale dude."

"I am perfectly healthy," he retorts.

"Sure you are." Xander turns his attention to Heath. "Was the fae guy elusive?"

"Yeah. Nothing suspicious about him though. Nervous, avoiding questions, but they always are. Gave me this."

Heath hands over the paper to Xander and runs through our meeting with Kai. "Right. We can take a closer look at these companies when we get back." He holds the paper over his shoulder to Seth without turning around. "You and Vee look through the list. Anything suspicious?"

"Did you find Seth's key card?" I ask.

"Yeah. In his jacket, in the locker, like he said." Seth holds up a black jacket and smiles. "I also persuaded Seth to stay with us for another day or two."

"Persuaded? Xander style?"

"He was polite," Seth replies, and Heath snorts. "Well, he didn't threaten me anyway."

"Lucky boy," replies Heath. "Maybe he likes you after all.”

"What's the address for this storage facility?" asks Xander.

Seth gives Xander the address, which he passes to Heath. "Call Joss and Ewan. I want them to meet us there. Just in case."

With a nod, Heath pulls out his phone.

"Just in case, what?" asks Seth.

"In case we run into trouble. It seems to follow you."

Seth frowns at Xander's terse tone. "That's not my fault."

"Hmm." Xander leans across to turn on the car stereo. Loudly. Without another word, he manoeuvres the car to the exit, then pushes the pedal to the floor as we speed away from the secrets.

I pick up on his mood lifting for the first time in days. For once we're moving forwards and not backwards.

* * *

The storage facility Seth used is located an hour away, close to a motorway exit. The blue and yellow signage points towards a low building, held on an industrial estate amongst smaller industry. The brown, rectangular look seems apt for a storage facility and is located beside a unit advertising bathroom fittings.

We approach a barrier with an entry keypad; Seth swipes the card and we drive through.

A number marks each unit, and the external ones have metal roller doors. The car crawls along the roadway towards the building's rear.

"How long until Joss and Ewan get here, Heath?" asks Xander.

"Maybe another ten minutes."

The car falls silent apart from Xander tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"If you're expecting trouble, why don't we get in and out as quickly as possible?" asks Seth and opens his door.

Heath drags his phone from his pocket. "I'll ask them to wait by the car. They can watch for anyone else arriving."

There's nobody in the vicinity, on foot or in the car, as we follow Seth across the wet roadway towards the building. He hunches down, face covered by his hood and grips the card in one hand. Xander and Heath stand either side, surveying surroundings for surprise visitors. Nothing.

A grey door, flush with the smooth wall requires a card swipe and a pass code to enter. Once inside, I blink under the fluorescent lights and stare at a corridor lined with uniform metal doors. The place smells freshly painted, and as sterile as the interior looks.

Seth leads the way forward before taking a right turn and along another narrow corridor. Close to the end, he pauses and pulls the card from his pocket. The door opens into a concrete floored, cupboard-sized space that would struggle to fit two people in. A cardboard box marked with the name of a removals company rests on the floor, a rucksack beside it.

"What's in these?" asks Heath.

"A year’s worth of notes and duplicates of anything important," says Seth.

I prise open the box. "There's a hard drive in here, is that the one?"

Seth takes it from my hands and turns it over. Small numbers are written in silver on one edge. "Yes. The rucksack isn’t mine though."

"Whose is it?”

Seth shrugs so Xander crouches to unfasten the rucksack. He pulls out clothes. "A guy’s and a girl’s, judging by the mix.”

Seth takes the T-shirt and looks at the red symbol printed on the front. "This is John’s. That’s a logo for a game we play.”

"John left a rucksack here? Are any clothes in here yours?” asks Heath.

Xander blocks the doorway. "Is that it? You think you can bring us here, grab your clothes, and run?”

"You’re kidding, right? How far would I get?”

"About two feet,” replies Xander.

Heath pulls the rucksack away from the wall and reveals a shoebox tucked into a corner. Seth crouches down to examine the box. He runs his fingers along black text written on the lid. "This is new too."

"Do you know what it is?" asks Heath. "Is it safe to open?"

"Yeah. John left this. He's written our code on here." He gestures at a series of letters and numbers, then drops onto his backside and removes the lid. He carefully lifts an empty envelope addressed to Casey at her house, which he drops in alarm as he reveals what's underneath.

Heath pulls the small handgun out.

"Fuck! Not mine," replies Seth. "I don't know how to use one."

Heath turns the weapon over in his hands, and Xander reaches out to pick up two passports beneath the gun. "You think your friends were planning a trip somewhere?"

"Maybe." He pushes both hands into his hair and stares down in bewilderment. "I didn't know they were."

"They didn't get far, did they?" Xander flicks through the passports and studies the pages. "Casey by a different name." He drops it back into the box and turns the other image to face Seth. "Is this John?

Seth nods, jaw set hard.

"Did you know they had plans to leave?" Xander asks Seth

"No." Seth's face darkens, mouth turning down as he stares at the items in front of him. "I did not."

"Why would they leave without you?" asks Xander. "What did you do?"

"Nothing!" I recoil as Seth's shout echoes out of the door, and he flings the box to one side. "I don't know what's happening to my life anymore! I'm fucking sick of this!"

"Whoa, tiger," says Xander. "Calm down. Take what you want and let’s go. I'm expecting somebody to follow us, and I'm not in the mood for a fight, even if you are."

Seth scrambles to his feet and brushes dust from his trousers, snapping back to his calm persona. They're right. He's odd. "Sorry."

I gather the belongings from the floor and drop them back into the shoebox, which I give to Seth. Xander picks up the large cardboard box, and his face is obscured by the size. Heath places the gun back into the shoebox and then grabs the rucksack.

Seth stares at the shoebox, face set hard, eyes distant. How does he feel about the discovery? I know little about his relationship with John and Casey, but this is a shock. How isolated is he? Since he's been with us, he hasn't mentioned contacting any other friends or family.

"You sure you don't have a passport squirrelled away too?" asks Heath.

"I have one, yes, but with my name on. It’s at my house."

"I guess they're smarter than you then," replies Xander. "They have false names."

"And a gun." Heath gestures at the box.

"Not anymore." Xander pulls the gun out and tucks it into his jacket. "I think I’ll keep this. Let's go."