Gray - Part 2

 

(Read part 1 before you read this part 😊)

That same afternoon her phone rang, and it was the minister of ideas saying that he had her answer and that he would be waiting for her in the coffee shop of the hotel she was staying at. She did not feel comfortable that he knew which hotel she was staying at and that he wanted to meet there. Deep down inside she knew he was a shrewd man and that perhaps she would pay a high price for the information. Nevertheless, she also knew that he was a married man and two could play some tricks. She decided that she would record the conversation without his knowing and that depending on the proposition she could use it on her behalf in the future.

Dressed in a beautiful pantsuit, she waited in the coffee shop. She had to set up her recorder in a proper place. He arrived on time for the meeting. She started to sweat nervously. “Good afternoon, miss. You look splendid”. “Thank you” she answered as she shook his hand. He held it a bit longer than she would have liked and although she wanted to pull it away, she did not. “I hope you have good news for me, Minister”.

“My yes, straight to the point, then. The president would like to meet with you himself to explain the process of how the grayness works. He believes a well written article will help him become reelected next year. He said he would be free this evening”. She nodded gracefully as he spoke. “He asks you to come alone and be discreet”. Her heart froze. It sounded like she was heading for a trap. “Nine o´clock in his office. A driver will be sent to pick you up at 8:45 and he will show you to the office if that is ok with you”.

She agreed. Her mind rushed as she thought of what she could do to make sure that some one knew what was happening to her and where she would be. If she just called her best friend and left the phone on, she would be alright. However, phone waves were blocked off at the president´s office so no one could listen to his conversations, so that idea was out. She decided to send her best friend a message from a pay phone.

Firstly, she would need to explain her plans a bit. Since she was a list person, she sat down and started to write one. There were pros and cons. The biggest con being that she could get herself killed since no one would know were she was. But on second thought, if she managed to send this out to someone, one day her bones would be found. She decided to go one with her plans anyway. You only live once and there has to be something left behind for life to not have been lived in pain.

The clock read 8:30, she just needed to touch up on her makeup before heading for the door to wait for the car. She decided to wear a formal pantsuit to make it look like business and not a social affair. Before leaving she decided to send her best friend a code message. She needed to write and message that only her best friend would understand and only her best friend knew what the journal really meant and where it could be found. She wrote: If you do not hear from me within the next few days, there is something for you in my journal. I am sure that you will like it.

 

The beautiful long black car was at her doorstep precisely at 8:45. All of a sudden, she realized that she had not given the minister her address. She had switched hotels since the meeting with the attendant from the Ministry. For sure she was being traced. Only then did it also dawn on her that the man who always attended her was the Minister himself, no wonder people stared at her every time she went to the Ministry of Ideas. She was a step from panicking. She had to keep cool otherwise the whole plan would blow up in her face. She smiled and greeted the drive who was holding the door to the back seat open, but he only nodded in recognition to her greeting- not a word was pronounced. As soon as she sat down, she started to practice her breathing so as not to panic. She tried to open the window for a breath of fresh air, as fresh as it could get due to the fact of the heavy pollution nowadays, but the windows were locked. The drive was keeping a close eye on her and started the AC. She continued her breathing techniques and tried to keep calm and enjoy the ride.

Precisely at 9 pm the car stopped in the car park of the president´s home. She thought she´d be going to his office. It was a huge mansion. It belonged to the president himself. It wasn´t the house that every president lived in while in office. She could only see a small part of it for it was huge, elegantly built and quite inviting to the eyes.

The drive opened the car door for her and held out his hand to help her got out of the car easily, like a true gentleman. She thanked him but he just nodded as an answer. Perhaps he had been instructed to hear, see, and say nothing to those who he had to drive around; well, she really thought he was excellent at his job.  

She stood at the doorway for a few seconds and took a deep breath. Here we go, she said to herself in her mind. You can do this. Just stick to the plan, she repeated several times in her mind as if it were a magic spell that would help protect her in this situation. At the same moment, the negative self-talk started shouting: What were you thinking? You can get killed. Kick off those heals and run. Run without turning back. Another deep breath to shake those thoughts off.

“This way miss” said the butler who opened the dark gray front door. The mansion as a lighter shade of gray. She tried to move but she seemed to be glued to the ground. She had to command her legs to walk. Slowly and steadily, she managed.

“Please allow me to take your jacket and purse. You may wait here and soon you will be let into the main living area. This procedure will take a few minutes so that your eyes may acclimate”.  

Acclimate to what? What was about to happen to her? Maybe they were going to inject something in her eyes that when she left her mind would be wiped clear. She wanted to question the butler, but she took a deep breath, just nodded, and agreed to what was to come. At this point she was grateful that she had been taking those Yoga classes.

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