Authors: Emma Taylor
My stomach rumbled at the mention of food. He was gracious enough to let it go by without notice. He showed me to the room next to the one I was already using and it turned out to be a spacious bedroom. Designed specifically next to an office for people staying who had work to do. Like me.
Like the room I had been using, this was plush beyond my experience. An enormous bed, hardwood end tables and some of the most comfortable chairs I had ever sat my butt in. Reginald went off to get the dinner and I went to my car. I got a spare bag out of the trunk and anything else I could think of before locking it up. To many times in the past I had had to make do while in the field, so I always carried a backup bag.
Dinner was excellent and served on solid silver dishes. The wine that came with it was the best I had ever tasted, but I refrained from drinking more than one glass. Reginald had perfect timing and showed up just after I finished with a pot of tea and to take the dishes away.
“I will be retiring to bed soon, Agent Diamond. However, you can just push that button by the door and someone will be up to see to your needs,” he told me with an honest smile. He was a nice guy and again it made me consider the character of his boss. If Goldland was up to something, Reginald may not know of it.
“Thank you Reginald. I should be fine for the night,” I said with my own smile. Reginald bowed his way out and I sighed. I did not want to just immediately start searching the house, so I took a shower and changed clothes. I did not have another suit in my spare bag, but I did have jeans, a tank top, and a long blue blouse that would work just fine. I dried my hair and went into the office next door, going over everything I had.
If someone was doing a hoax like this it would involve the press and who knew what else. The whole purpose behind a hoax like this was attention and notoriety. There was nothing online that I could find about a giant lizard in this area at all. Thankfully, the sitting room came equipped with a laptop that I used judiciously. I also plugged my phone into the computer and sent all the pictures I took to my private e-mail, along as my secure work e-mail. The house was quiet at that point and glancing at the clock I saw it was almost eight in the evening. Over two hours before Goldland would be done with his conference call. I went hunting.
Since I was on the ground floor I just went room to room quietly and efficiently. It was the home of a man with almost obscene wealth. Everything was beyond top of the line.
There was nothing hidden I could find. I made a circuit of most of the hallways and I saw at the end of the main hallway Goldland’s office door was half open. I went forward and tapped on the door, sticking my head in.
“Hello Mr. Goldland?” My voice carried in the empty room. There was no one there. I hesitated for just a second and then slid into the room. I made a beeline to the desk, avoiding even looking at his displays. On closer inspection it
was
gold leaf on the desk as well as two files. The first one was labeled
Geology of the Himalayas
, the second had my name on it! I felt a rage matching Goldland’s earlier anger.
I flipped it open and saw a picture of me paper-clipped to the first page. It was not my FBI photo, no this was something different. It was me in what looked like a hotel lobby wearing a blue FBI jacket. I realized that was from the case I had made a good name for myself, six months earlier. The Libby Affair. It was the case after that one that had got me in trouble. I flipped the page and there was another picture. This one had me seeing red.
It was me in an orange one-piece bathing suit, mid-bounce on a diving board at my apartment’s pool. I growled and continued looking through the file. There was a brief history of my younger life and a brief history of my time at the FBI. The largest portion was an analysis of my time in school and my studies. I glanced around and still heard nothing so I flipped through it again. I stopped at an outline of my problems with Adler and there was a handwritten note in a strong script saying, “slimeball.” In the section covering my studies I saw Goldman had a copy of my Master’s thesis, and there was another handwritten note. “Glorious,” it said.
What the hell! I thought angrily. Was he a billionaire stalker? I mean sure he apparently did not like Adler and thought my Masters was “glorious”, but most stalkers thought well of their targets. Too well, that was why they were stalkers. No wonder he was so nice to me. I began wondering about assistant director Albright and how she had been acting. Was she helping him, like some kind of pimp? I was furious and confused, wanting to lash out, but I had no one to lash out at. Not yet, I thought to myself. Wherever Goldland was, he would be back soon, and Jenny—
I froze then, hearing a noise to my right. The door there? I heard movement again and immediately placed the files back and hurried out. Getting caught snooping at this point would be a disaster.
I stood in the hall outside his office taking a few deep breaths to calm down. I did not hear anything more from the office but decided to head back to my room to think this through. I realized I could be in a very dangerous position, stuck here all alone. I walked slowly, trying to think it through, and as usual I was distracted at the statue of the dragon. I stopped and looked it over more closely. Screw it I thought. I was going to walk off the case. It was the only reasonable course of action, at least for now.
The sparkling crystals in the water were dazzling in the soft hallway light. I reached in to check the quality of the stones out of sheer habit. I was startled when I held the dripping crystal up to the light to see it was a diamond! Millions of dollars in diamonds for a decoration! My anger was interrupted by a rumbling sound and a trembling beneath my feet. As I turned there was a whooshing sound, and the ground slid away beneath me.
I fell, but the back of my loose blouse caught on the edge of the trap floor, keeping me from falling. I swung in my blouse and felt it beginning to rip as the floor began sliding closed above me. I tried to swing myself up when the buttons burst under my full weight and I slid out of my blouse to begin falling. I landed on a soft surface and slid down a huge, well-lit tube. The surface became steeper and I picked up speed. There was nothing to grab on to and as I tried to slow my speed, my movement had an unexpected consequence. Turning I began to spin and that caused me to go down the tube backward. I screamed in frustration and fear struggling to stop my whirling body.
My pace slowed as the grade lessened, but then I felt a wind begin pushing me and realized there was suction coming from wherever I was going. I sped up again. My hair began whipping along and it became harder to breathe as air was whipped past my face and I really began spinning. My tank top had slid up as high as my breasts so my naked waist was close to getting friction burns. It was like a fantastic carnival ride that under other circumstances I would have loved. This lasted almost a full minute before the suction stopped pulling me and I slowed. I tumbled out of the end of the tube into free fall landing in a pool of deep water.
I pulled myself out onto a ramp tugging my tank top down and trying to shake out my hair. Oddly my hair felt silky smooth and there was a faint smell of mint. Something in the water perhaps. The ramp turned into a passageway with walls that glinted from the small lights along the floor. But I would not be distracted by mineral deposits this time, since the last time I did it had caused the floor to open and me to fall into it.
The hallway opened into a huge cavern with a catwalk around the edge. I looked out and down, my mouth fell open in shack.
The cavern was filled with gold coins, jewels, gold cups, plates and chests. The whole place was almost overflowing with a wealth that could not be comprehended. Yet that was not what got my attention. It was the huge dragon curled in the gold with its back to me. Was I seeing things? It couldn’t be a dragon. But there it was in front of my eyes. It was a flame color that glistened beautifully.
I heard a loud “huff” noise and almost too fast to follow, the dragon’s neck came up and around to look at me. I was face to face with the dragon and immediately lost in its remarkably blue eyes. They were the same color as Goldland’s eyes, except reptilian shaped.
I could see passion swirling in their depths. Passion for anything and everything. Knowledge of geology flowed into my mind. Things I had never considered, but immediately saw the possibilities in. Ancient knowledge, I knew suddenly. Fueled by a passion so strong it was almost overwhelming. The monster in front of me was humming as his eyes swirled and I saw the power and compassion that was a part of the whole. I could feel it!
The feeling trembled through my whole body, filling me with a desire to know more and see more than I ever had. A desire to feel more than I ever had. Those eyes offered me anything and everything I had ever wanted. I realized suddenly I had fallen into a trance. I fought it, trying to focus on the case, his stalking, my survival, yet it was like fighting the wind that blew me down the tube to the water. It was irresistible. I sensed a deep sadness coming from the passionate eyes and he huffed and spoke.
“Go then Crystal, do what you feel you must. There is an elevator down the second hallway to your right. I must finish my conference. If you are still here when I am done, then we may speak.” Goldland, (somehow I knew he was the dragon) turned back to where he had been facing when I first saw him.
I staggered back. I was able to move and think clearly again. Frowning, I turned and walked to where he directed, and went down that hall. Like the whole place it was huge and I could just make out an elevator far down the way. As I walked, I tried to think of what to do but as I thought I slowed down until I stopped.
“What in the frigging hell could I tell anyone!” I asked myself out loud. If I said nothing and just left, I would be out of a job with a bad mark against me. Proving any of this would be impossible I knew. Failed agents do not get employment above rent-a-cop jobs. I also did not need a psych evaluation, which was sure to come if I told anyone that I had seen a dragon. I believed I was sane, no one else would though. Crap.
For now, I would have to stay.
*****
I was sitting at a table as Markus Goldland put some flannel pants on. Watching him change as he swooped down towards me in the cavern had almost caused me to have a heart attack. The dragon had changed back into a man. Wings shrank, arms and legs shortened and he essentially shimmered and became smaller until he dropped onto the floor in front of me. How I managed to walk to a nearby room with my legs shaking I will never know. Once there I caught my breath and was sat down. When my mind was a little clearer, I just stared at the man. He was naked.
“Sorry about that Agent Diamond. When I change back I am naked. Not much I can do about it. You are doing nicely I must say. Do you believe what you have seen?”
“I believe what I see. I don’t understand it, and I don’t know that I want to. The only reason I came back is, honestly, I am not sure what to do. No one is going to believe me if I tell them what I saw. I have no idea what is going on with Ronglin and mostly, I just want to walk away from it all.”
Goldland returned my stare and there was a shadow of the passion lurking in his eyes. I also saw humor in his smile.
“Yet you have not walked away have you? Do you know why?” Goldland said, seeming genuinely curious. Then again, most rational people would have run screaming. I had done my share of screaming, however, and I wanted answers before my life fell apart. I was sure it would and this man, dragon, was one of the reasons.
“I need answers before I walk away. I have to know what brought me here, besides you stalking me.” His eyebrows went up at my response and then a phone on the wall beeped. He was obviously torn between answering and asking me what I meant. He glanced at the phone and sighed.
“Hold that thought Agent. That is Reginald on the phone and I imagine he is freaking out about now, with the alarm and all. When you picked up the diamond, you set off a silent alarm.”
I gestured for him to go ahead. I needed answers before I could decide what to do and he appeared to have them, I could wait. Goldland went over to the phone.
“Hello Reginald. How are you on this so fine evening?” Goldland grinned and winked at me as he greeted Reginald. I had to restrain myself from grinning with him. I could not make out what Reginald was saying.
“Hm, oh yes I am aware of it. Yes, the thief is right here,” said Goldland. I half-rose from the seat in a surge of outrage. But he smiled and made a placating gesture.
“Just kidding Reginald. It was not a thief,” he said. I sat back and kept listening.
“Nope, not at all. I would not worry about Agent Diamond, Reginald. She is sitting right in front of me, angry that I referred to her as a thief.” Goldland was having a fine old time and I could hear a startled shout from Reginald even where I was sitting. Part of me found it funny the other part was still furious.
“Yes she saw me. Both me’s actually.” He paused listening and his face lost its smile.
“I have no idea what she is going to do, that is entirely up to her.”
“I do not cage people Reginald; you know me better than that. I think she wants answers. Why don’t you bring up some food for her? I am sure she will be hungry no matter what she decides to do.”
“Yes, thank you Reginald. See you in a little while.” Goldland hung up the phone. He came over and sat across from me. I had a hard time not noticing his rippling muscles as he moved. It was a little distracting. His hair was loose and almost as long as mine, and when he smiled it was a beautiful thing too. I pushed that aside.