Sentinel Security: The Complete Series: Sentinel Security

By Jane Glatt

Dani Norris found him: the dead guy. She was on her way home from her job in the PATH, the huge underground mall in downtown Toronto that connects hundreds of office towers, so it wasn't like he'd been there long. Even though he looked like he had.
After that weird things kept happening. Ro Parks from Sentinel Security seemed to have some answers but Dani didn't want answers. She just wanted things to get back to normal.
But they didn't: things just kept getting weirder. And more dangerous. 
And weirdest of all? It seems that only Dani can make things normal again. She hopes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jane Glatt
• Release date: Dec 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9780995806467

Book preview

Sentinel Security

Book 1

The Wrong Path

Jane Glatt

Copyright © 2018 Roberta Jane Glatt

Jane Glatt Enterprises Inc.

www.Janeglatt.com

ISBN 978-0-9958064-1-2

All Rights Reserved worldwide under the Berne Convention. No part of this document or the related files may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means (electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

The author expressly prohibits any entity from using this publication for purposes of training artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text, including without limitation technologies that are capable of generating works in the same style or genre as this publication. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Cover Art by Indigo Chick Designs

Editing by Ripley Patton

1.  Dani: what’s your emergency?

What the ...? Dani shivered. She held a hand up to her face and blew into it and ... saw a white cloud.

Why was it so cold? She was downstairs, inside, in the PATH, where it never got cold and certainly not cold enough to see her breath. That was the whole point of the underground mall that connected over a hundred office towers in Toronto’s core. People travelled the PATH because they never had to see their breath; never had to deal with the hot or the cold or the wet of whatever weather was happening outside. The temperature was always the same, every single day of the year.

And then the cold was gone. Weird.

Dani shrugged and headed towards the escalator. She was about to step onto it when she spotted something.

She peered into the corner, trying to understand what she was looking at. A coat, is what she thought, a black coat discarded against the glass of the news kiosk, the arms of the coat only making it look like someone was still wearing it.

Then she noticed the hands. They looked like the black claws of some giant bird of prey; thin and curved. But the glow from a smartwatch that hung loose around one wrist marked it as human.

She hugged her purse and took a step forward, trying to get a better look: she saw the face.

Ooh, Dani scrambled backwards, through the glass doors and into the tunnel that connected the two sections of the mall.

Whoever it had been, they were dead now.

Shaking hands took forever to dig her phone out of her purse.

911 what’s your emergency?

Someone died, she said, her voice trembling. In the PATH. She looked at the sign above the double doors. At 1 Adelaide East.

Dani clutched her phone. She didn’t remember what she’d been asked or what she said after the 911 operator told her that the emergency services were on their way.

She was still clutching it when a firefighter and a police officer headed through the double doors towards her.

2.  Ro: a sinking feeling

Did you find it? Ro Parks whispered as she leaned over Buster’s shoulder. Based on how he was dressed, she knew most people would expect Buster to smell, but he didn’t. She didn’t allow that: not in her PATH and not in her people.

Nah, it was Dani over there. He gestured to a young woman with dark, shoulder-length, hair and light brown skin. She was talking to a police officer and was wearing some type of uniform top that Ro almost recognized.

She work down here? Ro asked. Down here was the PATH. Ro—officially Rosalie Parks—was General Manager of security for the entire underground mall. Buster was one of her unofficial wardens: a homeless man who lived in the PATH. As long as he stayed away from the crowds of retail workers and shoppers that peopled the many malls during the day, Ro let Buster and his friends shelter overnight. All she asked in return was that they tell her when anything odd happened. Like now.

Yeah, Buster answered. She works at a pizza place in the food court at Scotia Plaza. She’s a good kid. Makes sure we get any leftover slices.

Huh. Ro couldn’t possibly know all the food court workers. Besides, it wasn’t Dani she was interested in: it was what Dani had found.

A body.

Ro assumed the body was human but the crime scene had the aura of non-human all over it.

She and Buster stood just inside the double doors of the tunnel that led under Yonge Street to 1 Adelaide East and from her vantage point, Ro could see a couple of forensic technicians in white coveralls taking pictures of the body. The security guard from this building stood off to one side. She caught his eye and stepped over to him.

I’m from Sentinel Security, she said checking out his name tag. Did you see anything, Sergei? In case her own uniform wasn’t enough, she pulled out her ID and waved it at him.

No. I didn’t know anything had happened. He was young and spoke with a Russian accent. Sweat beaded his upper lip. Not until the police arrived.

Good, Ro thought, but she said, Too bad. I guess it’s up to the cameras then. She could have replied to him in his mother tongue, but she didn’t want to advertise how many human languages she spoke.

That’s what the detective said, Sergei replied, gesturing to a woman in a suit who was circling the scene. I already gave her my statement and told them I don’t have access to the video.

That’s why I’m here, Ro said. To supply the camera footage. You can probably go, as long as the police are done with you.

The young man nodded in relief, checked in with the detective, who waved him off, and was gone as quickly as the escalator could take him up to street level.

Good, Ro thought again. She didn’t need anyone trying to help while she figured out what had happened. And what she should do about it.

She edged up to the closest coverall-clad officer to get a better look. The forensic technician, a man, glanced at her and then bent back to his task. Ro suppressed a smile.

His response was exactly why she’d chosen to look the way she did: a slightly overweight middle-aged woman with brown skin. Add her Sentinel Security uniform to the mix, and she looked like she belonged without being a threat to anyone’s authority.

She blew out a breath and frowned. The scene before her wasn’t pleasant. A man in a suit had collapsed against the glass enclosure of a magazine kiosk between an escalator that headed up to the restaurant at street level and a door that led to the parking garage. And even though she knew it was impossible, he looked like he’d been there a while.

He also looked like every drop of moisture in his body had been sucked from him.

A curious security guard?

Ro looked up to find the detective Sergei had pointed out earlier staring at her. Her stance and stare said, I am in charge. She waved over the officer who’d been interviewing Dani. Why isn’t this scene secure? the detective asked, looking at Ro pointedly.

The officer glanced at Ro and gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing down, then back up. Sorry Detective, I didn’t see her. Ma’am, you’ll have to—

I’m head of security for the PATH, Ro said ignoring the uniformed cop. Sentinel Security has the contract for everything below ground. That includes all of the surveillance video.

Good for you, the detective said. I’ll get your name, so I can make sure I get that footage, and then you can step away from my crime scene. She glanced up at the ceiling and the two cameras that were pointed at them.

Ro held up ID and handed the detective one of her business cards.

Rosalie Parks, she read. General Manager, Sentinel Security. She stared at Ro.

That’s right, Ro said. As I said, I’m in charge in the PATH.

Still staring at her, the detective dug a card out of her jacket pocket and handed it to her.

Send the camera files to the second email address, she said, and then turned back to the crime scene, dismissing her.

Ro took the card and looked down at it. Gabriella Cleary, Detective, 51 Division, Toronto Police Service.

She’d lost her chance to get a closer look at the body, now that she’d been noticed; not that she really needed to. She had a sinking feeling she knew what had happened here.

She sighed. It was going to be a long night, but she couldn’t leave, not while the cops were on site. Detective Cleary wasn’t going to get any video until she’d scanned every second of it and made sure she was okay with what it showed.

She pulled her work phone from her pocket and texted Hey, telling him where she was and asking him to bring her a double double.

3.  Dani: etched into her brain

Dani yawned and brushed her hair from her eyes. After the initial shock of finding a dead body—and not just any dead person, but one that looked mummified—she was exhausted. The adrenaline rush had burned off, maybe. Not that she knew how adrenaline worked. Her sister, the almost-doctor, would have been able to explain it and make Dani feel inadequate in the process.

Whatever. All Dani wanted to do was go home, wash the stink of the pizza shop off, and climb into bed.

Sorry? she asked. The detective had asked yet another question, and she’d already told her everything she knew. Yes, I was heading home. I told you that already. Twice now, but who was counting? Just her, apparently. I leave the mall this way every night and take the escalator up to the street, then catch the King streetcar to Danforth Station. Then, I take the subway east. Without leaving the PATH she could catch the subway going north and head east at Yonge and Bloor, but she spent so much of her day underground that she needed the half hour streetcar ride above ground just to feel like she’d lived through a day.

You do that every night? the detective—Dani screwed up her mouth trying to remember her name—asked.

Dani peeked at the crumpled card she was holding. Detective Cleary, she sighed. Yes I leave the same way every night I work. And always at around the same time. And no, I did not see anything or anyone. No one was in the tunnel under the street, and no one was at the bottom of the escalator.

And that’s usual? To not see anyone?

Yes, Dani replied. The PATH empties out after six and by the time I leave work there’s hardly ever anyone down here.

All right. Thanks for your time, she said at last. Make sure you give your contact information to the uniformed officer before you leave. She gestured to a cop standing in front of the magazine kiosk, blocking Dani’s view of what was leaning against the frosted glass. But she didn’t need to see it to remember what it looked like. That image was etched into her brain.

She really didn’t want to see it again, but she was supposed to give the cop her name and number. She stood there for a moment, trying to find a good time to interrupt him. She glanced over at Cleary: the detective was talking to a woman in some kind of uniform. Neither of them looked very happy.

With a sigh, Dani checked the time on her phone. She’d miss the last subway if she didn’t get out of here soon and the last thing she wanted to do was call her mom to pick her up. Although it looked like her mom was still up: there were a couple of texts and a voicemail from her.

Excuse me, she said to the cop she’d been to told speak to. He turned and frowned at her. The detective said to give you my contact information.

Once she was done, she hurried out under Yonge Street.  She’d take the subway north and then head east. She didn’t want to go past the crime scene and being in the subway would give her a good excuse for not doing more than sending her mom a quick text telling her she was on her way home.

4.  Ro: wardens

Here.

Ro turned away from the crime scene to find Jesus Herrero—Hey for short—holding out a Tim Hortons coffee cup. She grabbed it, muttered, Thanks, and peeled the plastic flap on the lid back, tacking it down before taking a sip. Ah! Sugary and milky, just the way a double double should be.

Gonna be a long night, Hey said.

No doubt, Ro agreed. Jesus was pretty much a male version of herself: not that they had genders the way humans did, but in order to blend in they usually picked one. Hey looked a little younger than she did, and he was stocky with brown skin and indeterminate facial features that could be from half a dozen places in the world: South or Central America; South Asia; the Middle East. Like her, he’d also chosen his name. But he hadn’t gone for inspiration: he’d gone with an inside joke. Considering where they came from, he found it hilarious to walk around with the name of the son of the Christian God stitched onto his Sentinel maintenance staff uniform.

She shook her head. Heaven wasn’t a made-up place; it was a different dimension called Sentenne. And hell existed too. Just not in the way the humans understood it.

I caught an aura, Ro said quietly. Near the body.

"Merde," Hey said in response.

Yeah, Ro agreed. One of Hey’s hobbies was using foreign curse words he overheard in the PATH. She always assumed they were some variation of shit or fuck. He didn’t go in for anything tamer.

Hold this. Hey handed her his Tim Hortons cup and strolled closer to the crime scene.

Ro watched as he edged past the detective who was talking to Dani, reached the tape and leaned out over it to stare past the forensic officers.

Hey went very still and Ro held her breath, waiting for a sign from him. If there was an open breach, they’d need to do an immediate lock down and scrub the site. It wouldn’t be pretty—everyone here would end up victims of a devastating explosion—and she’d need to do some quick doctoring of the surveillance video. But it was their job—hers and Hey’s and every Sentinel who had come to Earth from Sentenne—to make sure dimmers stayed in their own dimension. It wasn’t about protecting the humans. It was self-preservation. If Earth was lost to Yeddoun—what humans knew as hell—the dimmers would be able to access Sentenne, Ro’s own dimension.

Hey straightened up, shaking his head, and Ro exhaled. She took a sip of coffee, relieved that it wasn’t an open breach. She even relaxed enough to chuckle when the detective yelled at Hey for being too close to the crime scene.

Thin, Hey said when he returned to her side, taking his coffee back, but not open. We need to keep an eye on everyone here, in case it happens again.

Yeah, Ro agreed. She lowered her voice This dimmer was thirsty.

At least the cleanup will be easy, Hey said. Won’t even require a mop.

Glass half full, Ro said, smiling. Hey was in charge of maintenance and cleaning, so no mess meant less work.

I’ll stay, if you need to do something else, Hey said. These cops will be here for hours.

Thanks. Ro drained the last of her coffee. She needed to touch base with her wardens, and make sure nothing else was amiss.

See you later. She nodded to Hey, heading back through the doors to take the tunnel under Yonge Street back into the PATH proper. It was time to visit her office and see what was on those cameras.

She checked her watch: it was just before midnight. Hey was the one who did a walkthrough of the PATH every shift and it was no small feat considering there was more than 30 kilometres of it. Ro went out when she could, but she didn’t have Hey’s talent. She was usually watching the monitors for normal security concerns: drunks, vandals, thieves or worse – fires and floods.

Rifts, unlike full breaches, couldn’t be seen by surveillance video but, as tonight had shown, they could still be deadly. The camera would have caught that death but what else had it caught? And would it present more questions than answers?

At this time of night Ro didn’t cross paths with anyone nor did she see anything strange as she made her way to the Sentinel Security office in the TD Bank Tower.

Each building had its own security office and personnel—like Sergei—but Sentinel was the big tent. They managed the overall PATH: both below the buildings and in between them.

Some areas, like the tunnel under Yonge Street, were officially owned by the City of Toronto. But the day-to-day operations: security, cleaning and maintenance were left to the building owners who had collectively contracted Sentinel to be the single point of contact for the PATH. Which was why all of the surveillance cameras fed into the Sentinel office.

Buster was waiting outside her office when Ro arrived, along with Pete, another of the wardens.

No one’s seen anything else, Buster said as Ro swiped her key card.

She opened the door, letting the two men precede her into the hallway. Motion sensor lights flickered on, bathing the beige walls in bluish light.

I’ve sent Trish and Drums to the Atrium, Buster said, referring to a young couple who called the streets home. They’ll call if they run into anything. The rest of the PATH has been checked. No more bodies, Buster concluded with a hacking cough.

Thanks, Ro said. And feel free to wander over to the St. Mike’s clinic and get that cough checked out.

Buster frowned and shook his head, and Ro let it drop. He was a grown man; she wasn’t his mother. You guys need any cards? She entered her office and grabbed a few gift cards from the stack that sat beside the printer. I have these. She fanned the cards out.

I’ll take the Timmies, Pete said and grabbed the Tim Hortons card. That left a card for Starbuck’s, one for Mr. Sub and a couple for other fast food places. Buster stared at them before selecting the Mr. Sub card.

Are your phones all charged up? Ro asked. She’d supplied them with phones so they could get in touch with her, and while they rarely lost a phone, the chargers were a different story. It was a good thing other people lost phone chargers as well—the Lost and Found was a wealth of warden supplies.

I’m good, Buster said. You going out yourself tonight?

No time, Ro replied. I need to deal with the surveillance video. The police want it as soon as possible.

Cops, Pete said. He didn’t elaborate, so Ro just nodded.

I’ll have the gang do some extra patrols, Buster said. We’ll let you know if we see anything.

Ro nodded again, her focus already on where to start with the video. She was sitting at her computer when the door shut behind Buster and Pete as they headed back out into the PATH.

5.  Dani: at least someone was excited

Squinting against the glare of the afternoon sun, Dani stepped off the King streetcar, fighting against the crowd of office workers heading home while she was headed to work. She had automatically headed up Yonge Street to Adelaide before she remembered.

Not that she’d forgotten: you didn’t forget finding a dead body. But she’d taken her usual route without even thinking about it. Which meant she’d have to walk right past the scene of the crime.

She squared her shoulders. She wasn’t about to alter her daily routine because of what had happened. Besides, she’d need to be able to pass by here if she wanted to keep her job. Want might not be the right word. She was Assistant Manager at a Pizza Duluxe franchise in a mall. The job itself wasn’t that great. But she needed it, and she didn’t want to have to find another one. Besides, it pissed her mother off enough to make it worth keeping.

She went down the stairs at 1 Adelaide East. The people coming up the escalator had their eyes glued to their phones, oblivious to the fact that a man had died just steps away from them. At the bottom of the stairs Dani edged towards the crime scene tape.

A bored cop stood there, and a few of the suited people who streamed past looked over at him, but most of them simply made their way to the escalator.

Dani wondered if the body—the person who died—had been like these people—working in one of the many office towers that were connected by the PATH, coming down at lunch to grab a greasy, overpriced slice of pizza or an even more overpriced salad before heading back up to the bank, law office, or whatever other business kept them employed.

Had he been missed, this particular suited man? Or had his office mates simply looked over at Joe or Ed or Ali’s cubicle and shrugged when he didn’t show up for work today?

She blew out a breath and walked past the crime scene and into the tunnel that went under Yonge Street. In a few moments, she was in the Scotia Plaza food court.

Her boss, Kevin Yeung, was waiting for her when she arrived. She slipped under the counter, locked up her purse, and grabbed an apron.

Busy lunch today? she asked Kevin. He was a few years older than her and his parents were immigrants, like her mother. Dani liked to think that his parents were at least as disappointed in his choice of job as her mother was with hers, although she and Kevin had never talked about it.

Busy all day, Kevin said. My breakfast pizzas went fast. They found a dead guy last night, and people were hanging around the food court gossiping.

Oh yeah, Dani said. I saw him. Found him, actually.

You found him? Wow! Was it scary? Can you talk about it, or did the cops make you promise not to say anything? Kevin paused to take a breath. Can I say that a Pizza Duluxe employee found the body? I bet that would help me sell even more breakfast pizzas tomorrow.

No one told me not to talk about it, but there’s really not much to tell, Dani said. She knew Kevin was trying to impress the franchise owner with his new breakfast pizza, but this seemed too desperate, even for him. I found him on the other side of Yonge, near the magazine place.

I heard that, Kevin said. What else?

He looked like a mummy.

What? Like how?

His face was all leathery, like he was dried out, Dani said with a shiver. She’d only had a brief glance, but she’d been seeing that image all night. Like a mummy.

Wow! I did not hear that. I heard the cops were keeping everything quiet. No one even knows who it was. Kevin looked at her. "A guy, right? You said his face."

A guy, she agreed. In a suit.

I guess that narrows it down to about 50,000 people. Thanks for the info. Kevin handed her the keys. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Sure, Dani said. Tomorrow. But Kevin had already slipped under the counter and was hurrying away through the food court.

At least someone was excited about her discovery last night. She hadn’t mentioned it to her mother—on purpose. Even without her discovering a body, her mother thought it was dangerous for Dani to work downtown at night. Never mind that her sister Marie was interning on hospital row downtown and was required to be on the job at all hours. At least Dani got off work between 9:30 and 10. Even with her transit commute she was usually home by 11.

A couple of customers came by and Dani was busy for an hour serving them, putting another pizza in the oven, and then taking it out and slicing it.

Soon the other stalls in the food court started to close. Pizza Duluxe was one of the few places that stayed open after most people had gone home for the day. Mark Scott, the owner of the franchise, felt it worth it to get all the business he could. Kevin said that was why he was letting him start the breakfast pizza pilot. It wasn’t a part of the chains formal menu, but apparently Mark got the okay from the head office. Kevin was counting on this being his big break, and Dani wanted to give him credit for his efforts but, to be honest, she didn’t care enough.

For her this was a job: a crappy, smelly job that got her out of the house in the evenings so she didn’t have to hear her mother complain about what a disappointment she was and how she was wasting her life.

6.  Ro: worse than we thought

Ro paused and peered from behind a marble pillar to watch Dani as she dealt with a couple of customers. She checked her watch: it was just after seven.

She’d watched all the camera footage. She’d taken snippets of video from multiple cameras and added them together to trail the victim through the PATH to the spot where he’d died. But she hadn’t liked what she’d seen at the end. Hadn’t liked the questions the police would raise if they saw it.

Then she’d done the same for this young woman Dani: followed her on video from the time she’d left her job until the police had arrived. And there was something Ro needed to ask her about, something the young woman had done just before she’d found the victim: at the exact moment he’d died.

The customers headed away from the pizza counter and Dani was alone. Ro stepped out from behind the pillar.

Hey, Ro said. Dani turned towards her and she walked up to the counter.

Ro Parks, Sentinel Security, Ro introduced herself. Can I ask you a few questions about last night?

You’re not a cop, Dani replied, frowning. So I don’t have to talk to you.

No, you don’t. Ro stared at the young woman until she looked away. Was Buster wrong about you being a good kid?

You’re the one who lets him stay in the PATH ? Dani asked, her frown fading. All right, ask away. It’s not like I’m busy.

I’ll be quick, Ro said. I’ve watched the video from before and after you discovered the body. There was a moment, just after you passed from the tunnel to 1 Adelaide East, when you paused. Ro held her hand up. And you brought your hands up to your face. What was that?

Dani crossed her arms and looked at her. I’m not imagining things, she said. "I was trying to see my breath. All of a sudden, it was cold. I don’t mean air conditioner cold. I mean twenty-below cold. And I could see my breath. And then I found him."

I don’t think you imagined it, Ro replied. Is that what Detective Cleary said? The cold was new: like all Sentinels, Ro didn’t feel temperature changes, and she’d never heard anyone mention that before.

I didn’t tell her, Dani replied. It seemed so random, she shrugged.

Was there anything else you saw or felt or heard? Ro asked.

No. Just the sudden bone-chilling cold.

I’ll check with building services, Ro said, meaning she’d check with Hey to see what they could blame it on. Nothing from this world had caused that drop in temperature.

But she’d gotten more information than she’d hoped for. The cold was something she might be able to monitor for, something that might help her detect a rift before it could become even more dangerous and end up an actual breach. And Dani hadn’t mentioned it to the police: she should be able to doctor the video and remove those few seconds without anyone noticing.

Because, at the exact moment Dani had stopped to check if she could see her breath, the video had shown a sudden flash of light from where the body had been found. That was the moment the rift had thinned and the young man had died.

I’ll follow up with the police if I find anything, Ro continued. Maybe there was a building services malfunction that could explain what happened to the victim. I don’t think you need to mention the cold to the police.

I don’t plan on it, Dani said. It would just make them think I’m stupid.

The way she said stupid made Ro think she’d heard it more than a few times in her life. Ro couldn’t make a judgement call on Dani’s intelligence, but she did know she was lucky. Because what Dani didn’t know was the man she’d found had been alive right up until that blast of cold she’d felt. And she’d been very fortunate she hadn’t been caught by it too.

But now, Ro had a better idea of what kind of dimmer they were dealing with. And just how dangerous it was.

She pulled out her phone and texted Hey to meet her back at the Sentinel office. They needed to kick this upstairs.

Thanks for your time Dani, Ro said. And thanks for being good to Buster and his friends.

Oh, sure, Dani replied. I like them. And we all deserve to be treated with respect. Besides, even the franchise owner feels that it never makes sense to throw out food when people are hungry.

I couldn’t agree more, Ro said, just as her phoned buzzed. Hey was on his way. If you see or feel anything else odd, get ahold of me. Ro Parks. She put a card on the counter. Just call me directly.

Dani nodded, and Ro left her standing at the pizza counter.

When she arrived at her office, Hey was already there. He handed her a Timmies double double and she sighed.

Thanks, Ro said. She shut the door. I just spoke to the woman who found the body. It’s worse than we thought.

Worse than a thinning? Hey asked. He sat down in a chair that faced the desk while she squeezed in behind and dropped into her swivel chair.

Yes, a thinning with a dimmer that can kill from their own dimension, Ro said. I’ve seen one of these before, but it was a long time ago. It reaches through the dimensional barrier and draws water from whatever is close.

Does it have a name?

We catalogued it as an exsorbeo, Ro said. We think it was partly responsible for the North America drought in the 1930s. It was drawing water from a huge aquifer under the American Midwest.

"Scheisse, Hey said. I never heard about that."

It was kept pretty quiet, Ro said. Even within Sentinel. She’d been working in Chicago at the time. The Dirty Thirties were in full swing, and it was a few years before they realized there was more at work than a lack of rainfall.

She shook her head. A single creature like this could dry up the Great Lakes if given enough time. I’m calling this in. Just letting you know, Ro said. Hey hadn’t been in this dimension as long as she had; she wasn’t sure he’d ever had to deal with Corporate.

I think that’s over my pay scale, Hey said. By the way, that detective is still nosing around.

We need to come up with a plausible story, Ro said. So the cops can get the hell out of the PATH. And an expert from Corporate could come and fix this.

I’ll get on it, Hey said. He tipped his coffee cup back so he could drain it, then tossed the cup into the waste basket. The detective did ask me about the video. Said I’d remind you.

All right. Cleary would have to wait until Ro was happy with the video. One of the first things Ro had done when she’d been assigned here was to make sure none of the satellite security services kept copies of their footage. Everything came here to Sentinel, where it was catalogued and stored. Or it was deleted if it showed things Sentinel didn’t want humans to see.

Sentinel had become concerned about the PATH a year ago. For reasons no one seemed to understand—maybe because it was underground—the PATH seemed to be a magnet for dimmers. And now it was getting worse.

Thanks again for the coffee, Ro said. Let me know if you see anything on your shift.

Hey left, and she dug through her desk for her special burner phone. She desperately needed to edit the video so the forensic team couldn’t detect her meddling, but contacting Corporate was more important. She turned the phone on, grateful to find that it still had a charge, and sent her text.

Now for the video.

7.  Dani: bonding opportunity

Dani gently closed the front door and was halfway up to her room when the overhead hall light went on.

I need to talk to you. Her mother stood at the bottom of the stairs, her arms crossed over her chest.

Can it wait? I’m tired, Dani sighed. Her mother frowned, and Dani rolled her eyes. She came back down the stairs. What have I done—or not done—this time? she asked as she followed her mother into the living room.

The oatmeal-coloured sectional took up most of the floor space, and the walls were blanketed with photos of her parents before her father died and her mother’s parents in India. There were plenty of photos of her sister Marie too: graduating from high school and university, posing with medals she won for track, in her scrubs as an intern at a downtown hospital. Her brother Leo was well represented as well, with pictures of soccer and hockey teams and grad photos from high school and the Western Business School.

And then there was Dani: a single picture of her high school graduation surrounded by all of her sibling’s accomplishments. She hated this room and tried to stay out of it as much as possible.

Dani sprawled on the sectional, waiting for her mother to complain about whatever problem she was being blamed for today.

A police detective called here looking for you, her mother said. Why are the police calling you? What have you done?

Me? Nothing. Why do you always expect the worst from me? Besides being angry at her mother, she was also annoyed. She’d already told the cops everything. So why bother her at home?

The police don’t call for no reason. Her mother stood in front of her, a scowl on her face. You will tell me, or I will talk to this detective myself.

All right. Dani sighed. I found a body last night, right after work. That’s why I was late getting home.

A body! And you didn’t tell me? I knew that place was dangerous. What happened?

I found the body, I called the cops, I told them what I knew, which is nothing, and then I came home. All Dani wanted to do was go to her room and shut the door. I’m not sure what else they think I know.

Are you all right? her mother asked. Was there blood? You poor thing. She held out a piece of paper. Here’s the detective’s name and number. I’ll make us tea.

Dani took the piece of paper and her mother scurried out of the room. Detective Gabriella Cleary was written on it in her mother’s handwriting, along with a phone number. It was the same detective she’d spoken to when she’d found the dead guy. She’d have to call her tomorrow: she didn’t think it a good idea to ignore a detective. Even though she didn’t have anything new to tell her.

Here you go, her mother said, placing a mug on the side table. She took her own mug and sat on the other side of the sectional. You need to tell me everything. Was it a man or a woman who died?

A man, Dani started. It looked like he worked in one of the office towers.

Dani told her mother what she’d seen, pretending that it was no big deal, but her mother kept going back to the worst detail.

And he looked like a mummy?

That’s what I saw, Dani said.

And they think it could be mechanical issues?

Dani faked a yawn. Her mother had already made half a dozen suggestions on how the body might have ended up mummified. She wasn’t interested in hearing any more.

Although she probably should have seen this coming. Her mother was a fan of murder mysteries so it wasn’t surprising the details of a real life crime scene and investigation would interest her.

I’m really tired, Mom, she faked a second yawn. Can we talk about this another time?

Or sure, Dani, her mom said. You go on up. I’ll clean up in the kitchen. Her mother picked up the mugs and Dani headed upstairs.

Once her bedroom door was closed, Dani sighed and lay back on her bed, exhausted and grateful to finally be able to shut her mother out.

No doubt her mom already had a few more theories to tell her about. She’d need to do some serious mother avoidance if she wanted to miss that.

God, her mom would probably see this as some sort of bonding opportunity for the two of them, along with a chance to get some good gossip to tell her friends at work.

Maybe her mother would find an article about the body and frame it and add it to the living room wall. Dani laughed at the thought.

My daughter, the finder of dead bodies.

8.  Ro: altered files

Ro looked longingly at the empty Tim Hortons coffee cup on the desk. Sure she could make coffee: the Sentinel office had a decent coffee maker. But even with Tim Hortons coffee pods, it just wasn’t the same.

She turned back to the video, hit play, and watched the victim—she’d found out his name was Jeremy Smith—get off an elevator in Commerce Court and walk through the PATH to 1 Adelaide East, where he suddenly crumpled against the glass wall of the newsstand.

She reversed the video and went through it slowly, watching carefully to see if she could identify where she’d taken out footage. Nope. It was good. She knew the exact time to look at, and she still couldn’t see where she’d made the change. So, she altered the time stamp to account for the missing 2 seconds and called it a job well done.

Satisfied with the story Jeremy Smith’s last moments alive told, she clicked on Dani Norris’ trail through the PATH. Once Ro was happy with that, she copied both videos to a separate file and moved the original source files to a password protected Sentinel website. Whoever received her text message might want to look at the original files, but she didn’t want them here. If anyone looked at Sentinel Security’s original videos, she only wanted the altered ones found.

She rummaged around in her desk for the card Detective Cleary had given her and emailed the files to the address she’d indicated.

That done, she got up, stretched, and with one last look at the live camera monitors to make sure nothing was out of place at 1 Adelaide East, she went to make coffee.

9.  Dani: it’s not like she owed the security woman anything

When Dani passed the crime scene the next day, the tape was still up. It reminded her that she had to call the detective as soon as she got to work. Her sister Marie had been in the kitchen when she’d come downstairs just before noon, and Dani hadn’t wanted to be overheard talking to the police. Not when it meant she’d probably have to explain the whole thing again. She’d let Mom fill Marie in on all of the gory details. Let them bond over the dead guy, too.

Marie had barely spoken to her at all, which was fine with Dani. She’d wrapped up her lunch, instead of eating it at home, and gotten out of there as quickly as she could.

Now she was early for work. She could wander the PATH, but she didn’t have either the money or the desire to shop. Instead, she found an out-of-the way table and sat to eat her sandwich. Even then, she still had an hour to kill before her shift started.

With a sigh, she headed over to Pizza Duluxe.

As soon as he saw her, Kevin grinned.

Got any more news? he asked. Being the boss of the person who found the body helped me sell out the breakfast pizzas this morning. If I can keep it going, the company might ask me to roll it out across the entire city.

Nothing new, Dani replied. She was almost sad to dash Kevin’s hopes for city-wide breakfast pizza dominance. But I do have to talk to the detective today.

Is it a homicide detective? Kevin asked. Do they think it’s a murder?

You’re as bad as my mother. Dani pulled the paper with the detective’s name on it from her purse and headed to the phone in the back. Kevin didn’t follow her and she peered out to see him with a customer.

Dani dialed the number.

Detective Cleary, 52 Division.

Yes, hi, this is Dani Norris. You called and left a message with my mom, Dani hesitated. And we spoke a couple of nights ago. I’m the one who found the body in the PATH.

Right, Detective Cleary said. We talked, but I need you to answer some more questions. In person. Are you at work? There was a pause. Pizza Duluxe in Scotia Plaza, right?

Yeah, Dani said. My shift is about to start.

Good. When can I drop by? Detective Cleary asked.

I guess any time after 7, Dani said. And she didn’t think it was good. But it was Thursday: hopefully it would be busy enough to keep her conversation with Detective Cleary short. She hoped. She just wanted her life to get back to normal and talking to a detective was not normal.

See you then.

Dani hung up the phone to find Kevin watching her from the front.

Was it homicide? he asked.

No, Dani said. The same detective I’ve already spoken to.

Homicide might be more interesting, Kevin said. Don’t you think?

I don’t know, Dani said. I just want them to leave me alone. She shoved the paper in her jeans pocket, grabbed an apron and slipped past Kevin to the front. I’m here now, so you might as well leave.

Thanks. I’ll be in the back. I need to do some prep for breakfast tomorrow. I told you I sold out, right?

Dani tuned Kevin out as she served a customer. He spent almost an hour in the prep area before saying goodbye and heading out through the food court, leaving Dani alone in the shop. An hour later, the after work crowd started filtering through the PATH. Customers lined up intent on grabbing a slice for the commute home, and Dani didn’t have time to watch the clock.

Can I help you? she asked. Her smile froze when she looked up and recognized Detective Cleary.

Just after 7, as promised, Cleary replied. Can you talk now?

Dani nodded and slipped under the counter. She sat at the closest table, facing Pizza Duluxe so she could see any customers. Cleary sat down across from her.

I got off work at the same time I usually do, Dani said, repeating what she’d said before. And the same as usual, I went—

Hold on, Cleary said. You already told me this. I want ask you some questions about things you might not have thought to mention. She pulled out a pad of paper and a pen. Was Tuesday a normal work day for you?

Yes, Dani replied. Nothing out of the ordinary.

So work was normal and closing up for the night was normal.

Cleary didn’t ask it as a question, but she stared at Dani over her notebook as though she expected an answer.

Yes, closing was normal. No, wait. Dani paused. Was it normal? Buster didn’t come by, and he usually does. But she’d seen him later, where the body was found. He’d been talking to the security woman.

Who’s Buster? Cleary asked.

He’s a homeless man I give leftover pizza to.

Does he drop by every night? Cleary was writing in her notebook.

No, not every single night. But most of them. Dani tried to think of the last Tuesday Buster had missed but she couldn’t. He didn’t come by last night either.

All right. That might not mean anything, Cleary said. And what about your walk through the PATH?

Mostly normal, Dani said, concentrating on what she remembered about that night. She’d walked through the tunnel, opened the doors and the rush of air had made her shiver. It was cold. She shut her mouth. She’d promised the security woman she wouldn’t mention the cold but it had just slipped out.

Cold? Cleary asked. What do you mean by cold? And where exactly were you when you felt the cold?

Dani looked downs at her hands. She couldn’t take it back, not without Cleary thinking the cold was more important than it was. And it’s not like she owed the security woman anything anyway.

Just as I came through the doors from under Yonge Street, she said. I felt cold.

I’ll check into that, was all Cleary said. She pulled her eyes from her notes and looked up at Dani. And then?

Then it became a very unusual night, Dani said. Once I walked around the corner, I saw him. It. The body.

Was it still cold? Cleary asked. When you were looking at the body, was it cold?

No, Dani replied. She hadn’t thought about that before, but it hadn’t been. She hadn’t been cold. It was warm. Maybe even a little warmer than usual.

Would you feel that? Cleary asked. If it was warmer than usual?

I think so. I spend every weekday afternoon and evening down here. I’m used to the constant temperature so I do think I’d notice any change. She paused. The detective seemed to believe her; at least to her face, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have a good laugh at her expense later. Maybe not. After that blast of frigid air it might have just seemed warmer.

Frigid? How cold are we talking?

Of course Detective Cleary would concentrate on the cold. Dani suppressed a sigh. She might as well be completely honest about it. Below freezing cold, Dani said. So cold I stopped to check if I could see my breath. Dani put her hands in front of her mouth. Like this.

"I see. And you stopped before you saw the victim?’

Yes, just inside the doors. It was cold, I stopped to check if I could see my breath, and then went around the corner. Over Detective Cleary’s shoulder, Dani noticed a woman slow down as she passed the Pizza Duluxe counter, but then she wandered off.

Just one last question, Detective Cleary said. Have you ever felt this kind of cold in the PATH before?

No, only outside in the winter, Dani said. Or maybe in the freezer in the back.

All right, as cold as outside in winter or in a freezer. Cleary shut her notebook but instead of rising, she leaned across the table. Is there anything you want to know about this investigation? I realize that rumours run rampant, but you were there. You deserve to know the truth. At least as much as I can tell you.

Dani had intentionally avoided the news, but there was one question that was haunting her. Do they know what did it? What made him look like a mummy?

Not yet, Cleary said. That is the most puzzling aspect of the case. But your description of the cold might help. Cleary got to her feet. Thank you for your time, Ms. Norris. She placed a business card on the table. Call me if you think of anything else.

Dani watched her walk away. Had the cold been responsible for mummifying that guy? The security woman hadn’t seemed to think so, so what made Detective Cleary think otherwise?

10.  Ro: it was better than the alternative

Ro waved her ID card at the lock and, when it buzzed, she pushed the door open, entering the office. She usually got to work earlier than this. She didn’t need as much down time as humans seemed to but it had been late enough when she’d finished her overnight shift that the subway had already been running. She lived in a condo near the St. Lawrence Market, so her trip home had been quick: just a few hours of sleep, some food, a shower and a fresh uniform. Before returning to work, she’d checked the local news to make sure everything about the investigation was being reported according to her narrative. And it was.

Anything happen? she asked Lisa, who was monitoring the cameras. Lisa had chosen to look like a young white woman, but she changed her hair colour every few days. Today, it was a brilliant emerald green.

Nothing I needed to deal with, Lisa replied. Just the usual work day crowds. They’ve mostly gone home now.

Ro checked her watch. It was 8:30 pm so most of the businesses had closed hours ago, although there were always a few stragglers leaving work late. Most likely, that’s what the victim had been: a guy working long hours to either catch up or get ahead. Until he ended up at the wrong place at the wrong time.

She leaned over Lisa’s shoulder to peer at the monitor for 1 Adelaide East. What the— A handful of people had just come into view, carrying armloads of equipment.

They weren’t there before, Lisa said. I would have called you.

Not your fault, Ro replied. Looks like they just arrived. She grabbed the mouse and zoomed in on one person. It’s the cops: that’s the detective. Shit! I need to get down there. She grabbed her phone and texted Hey to meet her. Even though he wasn’t security, he was the next most senior and powerful Sentinel around.

Ro ran through the empty mall. She paused just before the doors to 1 Adelaide East to calm her breathing.

What’s up? Hey said as he caught up to her.

Cops are still sniffing around, Ro said. "I’m not sure what they’re looking for, but we need to make sure they don’t find anything: and that something doesn’t find them."

I’ll take a quick look first, Hey said with a nod. See if the rift has thinned anymore.

Ro watched as Hey casually walked along the marble floor to the corner and leaned out to look around the corner. There was a weak flare of light. Hey’s body stiffened and he backed up, his arm frantically waving her forward.

Ro rushed through the double doors, sped past Hey and skidded to a stop.

A dimmer was there, just on the other side of the rift, and she could sense its need to get to this dimension.

The detective had her gun out, but there was nothing for her to shoot at: two men and a woman were slowly sinking to their feet, tools falling from fingers that were losing the ability to grip.

Ignoring the drawn weapon, Ro pushed past the detective to the three people who were being drained of moisture. She stopped just beyond them, using her body to block the dimmer’s connection to them. She concentrated on the aura of the dimmer, on forcing it to focus all of its attention on her. She heard movement behind her and hoped Hey was getting everyone to safety.

Then, Ro faced the dimmer head on. Its aura was big, but at the same time she could feel that it was weak; hurt or damaged in some way she couldn’t determine. Its weakness had made it slow: that was the only reason the cops weren’t dead already.

Ro expanded, her Sentinel uniform stretching to accommodate the extra bulk. Then, slowly, she walked towards the dimmer and the rift with her arms high, keeping it from drawing moisture to it even as she absorbed as much energy from the creature as she could.

Then she used that energy and pushed back at it.

There was a blast of air, and then the dimmer was gone.

Hey, Ro called. I need a check.

She forced her body to fit back into her uniform before she turned her head. Hey was already beside her, his eyes unfocussed as he stared past her.

It’s not worse, Hey said and Ro’s shoulders sagged in relief as she took a shuddering breath.

Then she met the wide eyes of the detective.

What the hell was that? the detective asked.

We need to see to your people, Ro replied. She brushed past the detective to the three cops. Hey had gotten them around the corner, but had it been in time? Had she been in time?

One man was already trying to sit up, but the other man and woman were barely conscious.

Damn, the detective said. She slapped the radio on her chest and started calling for medical help. What needs to be done? she looked up at Ro. I know you know. Just tell me.

Water, Ro replied. She pulled out her phone and texted Buster. He might make it here before EMS. At least the victim who was awake could get a head start on replenishing his liquids.

IV probably, Hey said.

And how the hell would you know? the detective asked.

I assumed it was the same issue that killed that man, Ro said. She sighed. She needed to get them away from here as soon as possible. The dimmer was gone but for how long? She had to force herself not to look up at the camera that was right above her head. She didn’t want to remind the detective this was all on video. Not until she’d had a chance to destroy it.

The same iss- Cleary stopped talking and stared at her, her eyes full of questions. Questions Ro would not be able to answer.

Now that the immediate danger was