The Dark at the End

"I'm glad you called," Ernst said when he recognized Jack's voice. He meant it. "I have uncovered some information and didn't know how to contact you."

"I'm all ears."

"I proceeded in a circumspect manner, pretending to look for one thing while really looking for another."

"And?"

Impatience was already creeping into Jack's tone. Well, too bad. Ernst's information could not be fully appreciated without the details of the quest.

He glanced around his apartment. Hard to believe that only twenty-four hours ago Jack had invaded his home and threatened him. In the ensuing hours Ernst had become responsible for the deaths of three of his brothers in the Order and had joined forces with Jack against the One. An almost unthinkable turnaround in any length of time, but a day?

All the One's doing, of course. He had deserted Ernst, not the other way around.

"Do you know the name of the One's housekeeper?"

"Gilda."

Ernst felt his eyebrows lift. Odd that Jack would know. Only the very upper echelons of the Order were aware of that. Well, here was something he would not know ...

"Are you aware of her last name?"

"Not a clue."

That was a relief, in a way.

"The Order has supplied logistical support and personnel to the One for millennia. His current driver/assistant - "

"Georges."

"Yes ... correct."

Did Jack have a source high up in the Order? His friend Edward Connell would be privy to none of this. Who then?

"Georges is a member of the Order. When the One needed a female to deal with a certain matter - "

"That matter being Dawn Pickering, right? Does this train have a caboose?"

Of course - the pregnant Pickering girl had lived in the One's house and was no doubt in touch with Jack now. She was the source.

He felt better.

"Since the Order does not admit female members, a relative of one of the brothers was recruited for the housekeeper position. Gilda's son's name was Kristof ... Kristof Szeto."

"Ah. Like mother, like son, I gather. But so what?"

"Well, I could not very well draw attention to myself by going to the High Council and inquiring directly as to the One's whereabouts. Instead I asked about Kristof Szeto's mother so that I might offer my condolences, seeing as how her son and I had such a close working relationship."

"Pretty close dying relationship too."

"Yes, well, be that as it may, I learned her location but I was instructed not to approach her. She's still being used by the One and has not been informed of her son's demise because it might distract her from her duties."

A short, bitter laugh. "You guys are all heart."

"Never mind that. She will be told at a later date. The important thing is that locating her is the same as locating the One."

"Not necessarily. I've been to the Nuckateague place - she's there, but he's not."

The words shocked Ernst.

"You know about Nuckateague? How can you possibly - ?"

"Vee haff vays."

If that was supposed to be a German accent, it was terrible.

Ernst felt unaccountably crushed. He thought he'd been quite clever in ferreting out the location without allowing the slightest hint of what he was really looking for. And here Jack had found it without him.

"So if he's not at the house," Jack said, "where is he?"

Ernst wanted to say, You mean there is something you do not already know?

"I do not know."

"Then what good - ?"

"But I know where he will be."

"Where?"

"JFK Airport at six P.M. tomorrow evening. Georges is scheduled to pick him up then and drive him to the Nuckateague house."

During the ensuing silence Ernst thought of how fortuitous it was that the High Council required Georges and Gilda to log in regarding their duties. Gilda was apparently taking care of the Pickering baby now, while Georges had what could only be described as a cushy assignment - few duties in luxurious surroundings. With the One away - no one knew where - he quite literally had nothing to do.

"Six o'clock tomorrow night," Jack said. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure that is what Georges told the Council. Whether or not it will change, I have no idea."

"All right. Thanks."

And then he was gone. Ernst laid his phone on the table.

Thanks ...

No ... thank you ... if you succeed.

Would Jack make his move tomorrow? He seemed impatient to have this done with, but he also seemed very cautious ... a careful planner.

But even the most carefully laid plan could go awry, usually because of the simplest little thing. Some unpredictable mishap, some unforeseeable variable completely outside the plan could change everything.

If Jack succeeded, excellent. If he failed, Ernst would stand ready to assist the One in any way humanly possible.

Yes, though he foresaw little chance of success, from the depths of his heart Ernst wished Jack luck. The best of luck. Eliminating the One would save the entire world from a terrible fate.

But most important, it would save Ernst Drexler.