Chapter 43

"Why did she need convincing to use the camera? You thought she would be eager to help, if you found her." Bryan asked when she got to that part of the conversation. 

"She is terrified. She said over and over again that I didn't understand, and I see her point. Remember, she thought it was all real, until that moment. She also raised some valid concerns about the camera. They don't have electricity, so the camera wouldn't work for long. And if it was discovered, even if not on her, she could be killed."

"I didn't think about the electricity. But they have computers, surely there is electricity somewhere."

"Yes, but not where she can access it. Another issue is, how would we access the contents of the camera? There isn't any internet there either."

"I didn't even think about that! So, we won't have any camera footage to show?"

"Not quite. I persuaded her to have it on for a short time in the crew area. By then, one person had already disappeared from the group and another one was missing by the time we got to the bus. I didn't ask. Audrey said others had been held back for that."

"It sounds like you have had quite the weekend. I need all the details. We need to talk for longer. Can I persuade you to come to my house, so we can talk without being overheard? Or can I come to your house?"

Nora felt a moment of panic at the very idea. But she did need to tell him the details. And they couldn't talk about it online.

If anyone could be trusted, it would be him. He was a lot older than her, but he was married. And obviously still in love with his wife. Yet, she would have to give him absolutely terrible news about his wife. Would he be angry when she told him? It might be a good idea to tell him that in public, or that could make him cause a scene and get in trouble. She also needed to see what was on the camera.

"Do you have a way to plug this in?" she asked, avoiding the question. "I have no idea what it will show, but Audrey wanted to make sure I got it, so I suspect she managed to catch something good."

"I do." Bryan said as he handed her a wire connecting the small camera to the car's battery. "Do you want to do this right away, or would you like to wait until tomorrow? No offense, but you look exhausted." 

It would be a good excuse to get away from him, but it was still a long way home. Could she avoid saying what she had to say for that long?

"I am tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep, since we stayed up so long talking, and we were awake at dawn. I got a few hours of sleep on the bus though."

" I notice that you avoided telling me about Rita. Did you learn anything about her? Please, I won't be angry with you if what you learned is negative. Was she there?" 

Nora sighed. She could at least tell him that much. 

"She was not. Audrey doesn't know any names; the Lady gives them new names so she only knows their theow name. Audrey was an exception to that rule, since her name apparently already means "servant". I doubt her family knew that when they chose that name."

"So, Audrey didn't know anything about my wife?"

"I'll tell you the details when we get there, but she thought she knew who it might be. I showed her the picture and she became more certain. But prepare yourself, it's not pretty."

"Is she alive?"

"Last she knew, yes. But that might have changed, she's back at their main base and Audrey hasn't been there in months."

"So, there is a main base then?"

"Yes, but she didn't know where that was. They get there by train, just like you thought, but the theows are inside locked train cars and they obviously don't pass any cities or signs of civilization."

"But you did manage to get a GPS tracker on her?"

"Yes. And on several other things there as well, things that looked like they would go back to the base with them."

"Excellent! Finding their permanent base would be extremely important for the FBI. Let's hope the camera has captured something illegal enough that they have to take interest."

Nora took the camera out of her pocket, where it had been ever since she changed out of the costumes. There was still some power left on it, Audrey hadn't kept it on for long. She couldn't resist taking a peek. She quickly copied the file to the external SD-card, just in case the camera got destroyed on the way. Now it was time to see what Audrey had risked her life for. 

Had she known, when she said yes, that she wouldn't be able to get outside to put it somewhere? Did she know she would have to do a stunt like that to hand it over? Nora wouldn't put it past her. Maybe she felt that she deserved whatever punishment she got, since she had betrayed her "liege" as she had called them. There shouldn't be any guilt on her part for that, but as Audrey had said, Nora didn't know what it was like.