Read Online Vortex by Ray Garton - Free Book Online

still that no one knew he was in the room. He was uncannily observant and usually anticipated Ryker’s needs without being told or asked anything.
    “Get Babitch on the phone immediately,” Ryker said. Anthony Babitch was his contact at Aquino Academy.
    They had sedated Pyk, who had injured Dr. Wu. The doctor was being treated in the other motorhome. He would require stitches. Dr. Wu’s assistant Merry had been knocked around a little, but she’d fared much better. Mrs. Rubens, unfortunately, had been killed. Her body was still in the lab. Someone was on the way to pick it up and dispose of it. The child brought for Pyk’s feeding had been rushed away, uneaten.
    And Penny was gone. That was the worst part.
    Irina knew nothing about it. She was in her hotel room in town and he hoped she stayed there until he had this mess cleaned up. It didn’t look good and if word got around about it, his reputation could be damaged.
    Ryker had worked with Penny before and there had never been a problem. Her record was spotless, not only with him but her record at Aquino, as well. Ryker had even gotten the idea that she liked him and enjoyed working for him. He’d made an effort to treat her well, make her comfortable, show his gratitude for her work. Had he become too lax, too unguarded? Had he missed warning signs? Mrs. Rubens should have been the first to see any sign of trouble with the girl, but she had mentioned nothing.
    Babitch would send in a replacement, one well-suited to finding Penny. Once recovered—and she would be—she’d be taken back to Aquino to be put through an extensive program of discipline and rehabilitation. All of the Aquino students were broken early, but Penny would be broken again. She would not be the same person when they were done with her.
    Ryker thought that was a shame. He’d liked the girl.
    “Babitch,” Ross said.
    Ryker sat up, took the phone and tried not to sound so tired when he spoke.

Chapter Eight
    I t was an old phone and it did not chirp or play music—it rang loudly, piercingly. It so startled Gavin that he lunged out of his sleep, rolled out of bed and hit the floor with a heavy thud. As he got to his feet, he saw Karen sitting up in bed, looking around with squinting eyes. The phones obnoxious ring kept sounding.
    Karen muttered, “Is it the 1970s again, or am I dreaming that sound?”
    Gavin answered the phone.
    “It’s Crystal. I’m sorry to wake you, but you need to come over to my house right away.”
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Remember the client I told you about? The one who has researchers on her property? Well, she just showed up at my house.”
    Gavin looked at the clock. “At 2:30 in the morning?”
    “She’s not alone.”
    “Who’s with her?”
    “A young girl who ran away from the researchers. Her name is Penny. You need to get over here because she’s afraid for her life and I think she wants to, like, talk about it. In detail.”
    “We’ll be right there,” Gavin said. He started to hang up the phone, but put the receiver back to his ear. “Wait—where are you?”
    “Not far. It’s easy. Are you awake enough for directions?”
    “Go ahead.”
    As Crystal gave him directions to her house, Karen got out of bed and paced the floor, scrubbing her face with both hands, trying to wake up.
    Gavin repeated Crystal’s directions back to her. “Give us a few minutes,” he said, then he hung up. He told Karen what she’d said.
    They quickly dressed and put on their coats. Outside, snow fluttered down to the whitening ground in fluffy flakes. They drove to Crystal’s house, which was only a few miles away.
    She lived on a street of middle-class ranch-style homes with neat yards and one or two cars in each garage. Gavin parked the Escalade at the curb in front of the house. Crystal opened the front door as they were making their way up the walk.
    “Gertie is very upset,” Crystal said quietly as she closed the front door behind them. “I’m still