Chapter Six - All Heart and Ice

James meets somebody he would rather not have met.

Sister Grayson gasped. The young man before her smiled. He had been watching her attempts to solve a Sudoku puzzle for some time, until he cleared his throat to announce his presence. The portly woman looked up with wide eyes. 

“I’m so sorry James! I didn’t even see you arrive!” She blathered. 

“I need to know who it was that escaped.” He said. His eyes never left hers as he spoke. 

She stammered silently as she began to answer, “Did somebody escape?” The colour ran from her face. 

“That it is not your concern, young man.” A hard, accented voice behind him said. James spun around to find himself face to face with The Colonel. He was a tall, lean man with closely cropped pure white hair, and strong jaw. He appeared to be no more than fifty years of age. The Colonel regarded him silently for a moment.  “But then, perhaps it is. Come with me. I want to show you something.” The Colonel turned away from him and headed down the corridor. James watched as the man walked away. Every move he made was made with precision, like a machine. This precision made him all the more frightening. As he followed closely behind the Colonel, a question plagued his mind.

Why had he invited James to join him? 

The Colonel suddenly halted and turned to glance over his shoulder at the young man following him. “Do you expect me to keep turning around? Walk here beside me. I do not enjoy the presence of eyes behind me.” He continued walking and James stepped in beside him. The Colonel moved with a brisk pace and James struggled to maintain the pace. The end of the corridor came at last when they reached a dark red elevator door. James had seen the door every day on his routes, but never had he seen it open. There had long been rumours amongst the staff as to what lay beyond the red door. “You have seen this door before, yes?” The Colonel asked as he slipped the white cotton glove from his right hand. 

James nodded. “I am to believe that there some pretty fantastical stories as to what lies behind this door.” He smiled. The Colonel smiled! 

He blinked and when he opened his eyes he saw the Colonel’s hard face. His cold, unblinking eyes locked on James’ eyes. The smile was gone. Had it been there to begin with? “Well? What do you think of these wilds tales?” The Colonel lifted his hand and pressed it against the hand print scanner on the wall beside the door. 

“Ludicrous.” James said suddenly.

“What?” The Colonel turned toward James and squinted. “What did you say?” The Colonel turned from him and punched in a code on the digital keypad. 

“I am sorry, Sir. I was simply answering your question.”

“I asked you no question boy.” The door of the elevator slid open and the Colonel stepped inside. “Now come with me.”

For a fleeting moment it crossed James’ mind to reply that he had indeed asked a question, but that moment passed immediately. James stepped into the elevator and the door closed behind him. In the elevator James blinked as a droplet of sweat landed on his eyelid. The temperature in there was stifling. He turned to see that the Colonel appeared to be perfectly comfortable. The men stood in silence as the elevator descended. Finally it came to a halt and the door slid open to reveal a broad passageway. 

The duo stepped out of the elevator into a long bending, thickly carpeted corridor. James cocked his head slightly as he eyed the opposite wall. The opposite was not a wall at all, but a vast window of four inch thick armour glass. 

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