Wearing the Mask

Dane

He'd started feeling anxious the minute she went down those stairs. Anxious in a way he couldn't explain. Like something inside his skin was trying to get out and go to her. It wasn't just the fear of his father—though that simmering tension never truly left him. It was more the feeling of being off-balance. That something was wrong in the world. Something he couldn't fix. He'd tried to ignore it as he'd let Chris and Tank into the apartment.

"Where's John?" he'd asked without greeting them.

"On his way," Chris said, already walking through to set up his laptop and tablet at the dining room. "Can you open the wall? We're going to need it."

Dane picked up the remote and punched in the code so the wall would peel back to reveal the database access and monitors. As always, a part of him felt equally smug and nervous to see the piece of art and the panels of the wall peel back to make room for display monitors and computer hubs.