nineteen
Dermott Tech. That's what the lettering on the TV says. Dermott. Is that what Pam meant when she said Dermott was a "they"? It's a company?
Is this what Dad wanted us to find at this house? Is this why he sent us here?
I cast a quick glance over at the woman, who's still looking at the pictures with Jeremy. Does she know that the company that manufactured her TV is full of evil people who chase after families and try to kill innocent people?
I glance around the room, trying to see if I can spot anything else made by Dermott Tech. A VCR or a remote or anything. It takes me a few moments to remember that the only reason I grew up with a VCR is because my parents are old-fashioned and always raised us at least a decade in the past. A modern person with a modern TV would probably just use Netflix or one of those other streaming services I've heard people talking about at school.
My breath catches in my throat as a realization falls into place. Is Dermott Tech the reason all of our technology was always so old-fashioned? Are all modern TVs made by them, and that's why Dad never wanted to get one?
No. That doesn't make sense. If all modern TVs were made by Dermott, Dad wouldn't have needed to send us here to get us to discover that. He could've just sent us to any old place.
Jeremy and the woman have turned around by now. "Were there any other rooms you wanted to take a look at?" The woman asks me kindly.
"Uhhh… yeah, if you don't mind," I reply, scrambling to think of a way to ask about the TV without making it obvious why. "Um, that looks like a really nice TV you have there. Do you watch a lot of movies?"
"Shows, mainly," she replies after a slight hesitation. Is it just me, or has her expression turned a little bit suspicious? "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious," I fib. "Um, we have a TV similar to that, and our family watches a lot of movies. I mean, my foster family. His family." I point to Jeremy, suddenly drawing a blank as I try to remember his fake name. "Right?" I ask him. "Doesn't that look just like your TV?" I make sure he's meeting my gaze, then point directly at the Dermott Tech logo.
His eyes grow wide. He exchanges a quick glance with me before saying, a little too phonily, "That does look like our TV! Where did you get it?"
Okay, now I'm cringing and wishing I'd kept my observation to myself. Who asks a question like that about a TV?
“It was here when we moved in,” the woman answers slowly. There’s no doubt about it now. She definitely looks suspicious. “Uh, I don’t mean to be rude, but I just remembered I have somewhere to be in about half an hour, so…” She doesn’t finish her sentence, but it’s clear what she’s implying. It’s also clear that her reason for wanting us to leave has nothing to do with some probably-imaginary to-do list.
“Right,” says Jeremy, faking an easygoing smile. “We’re sorry for taking your time. We’ll be heading out now.”
I take one more glance at the TV before we go. Dermott Tech. At least we learned one thing from coming here--what exactly Dermott is. But how is that going to help us in our quest to save our family?
We’re halfway back to the truck before I realize we didn’t even get the woman’s name. What if her name was important somehow? What if she’s related to one of the other people whose information we found back at Bill and Pam’s house?
Jeremy motions through the window for Pam to scoot back over to the passenger’s seat. Pam does, after unlocking the door for us. I crawl in first, taking my position in the back. Jeremy slides into the driver’s seat and shuts the door.
“So?” says Pam, her brown eyes wide and fearful. “What did you find? Anything?”
“Maybe,” says Jeremy, starting the car. “Pam, you’re the one who told us that Dermott was an organization made up of hundreds of people. Do you have any idea what those hundreds of people do? Besides hunt people down, I mean.”
Pam shakes her head. “Daddy never told me much about them. Only that they were after us and that we needed to be careful.”
“So you don’t know what kind of organization they are,” I say, just to be sure. “Or what kind of… company.”
Pam looks from me to Jeremy, her eyebrows raising expectantly. “So you did find something. Something about Dermott? Are the people who live in that house part of Dermott, or are they our allies?”
“I’m pretty sure they’re just ordinary people,” I say. “Not affiliated with Dermott one way or the other. But listen. Dermott is a technology company. They manufacture TVs.”
“Hmm,” says Pam, and by the pensive look on her face, it appears that she really didn’t know that before. “That’s interesting.”
“Does that match up with what you thought they might do?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I really didn’t have an idea of what they might do. I guess it kind of makes sense, though.”
I’m about to ask her why it makes sense, but suddenly Jeremy is thrusting the map into Pam’s lap. “Excuse me,” he says. “Pam, do you think you can try to find a public library on that map?”
“A what?” Pam asks, her face blank, and I feel a pang of sorrow for her for not knowing what a library is.
“It’s a place with lots and lots of books,” I tell her. “You can pick out whichever ones you want, and if you have a library card you can check them out and take them--”
“I know what a library is!” Pam interrupts, her cheeks flushing. “Gee wiz, you people think I don’t know anything.”
Jeremy and I exchange a glance. “Pam, you barely ever went anywhere or interacted with anyone other than your dad,” Jeremy reminds her. “How are we supposed to know what you do and don’t know?”
“I read a lot,” Pam says defensively. “I probably know more about the world than you do.”
I hold back a snort.
“Anyway,” says Jeremy quickly. “Can you direct us to the closest library? Most libraries have free computer use, so we can search up Dermott--”
“We can’t use computers!” Pam exclaims, aghast. “We’ll be traced! Dermott will find us immediately!”
“It’s a public network,” Jeremy sighs. “It’s not like we’re logging in with usernames that broadcast our identities to the world. Just because something’s digital doesn’t mean it’s evil.”
“But Dermott will be able to track our location simply by us typing the words ‘Dermott Tech’ into the computer,” Pam argues.
This sounds far-fetched to me, but it doesn’t matter. “Pam, Dermott’s a company. That means we’re not the only people who’ve ever heard of them. Probably lots of people search up ‘Dermott Tech’ on the Internet when they want a new TV or something. They won’t automatically know it’s us.”
“Yeah,” says Jeremy. “I mean, the house we were just in had a Dermott TV right in their living room; it’s not like it’s—”
“What?!” Pam screeches so loudly it makes my ears ring. “What do you mean, there was one right in their living room?”
“Look, I don’t know where you think people put TVs, but the living room’s just about the most common—”
“Did it see you?” Pam interrupts urgently.
“You mean, did we see it?” I say. “Of course. We—”
“No. Did it see you? Were you in its line of vision?”
I rest my head in my hands and force myself to remember that Pam can’t help being ignorant about things like this. “I think you have a misunderstanding of what a TV is. People watch TV. TVs don’t watch people.”
“Yes they do,” Pam says seriously. Her face is white and terrified. “My dad told me all about this. What did you think I meant when I said ‘Dermott has eyes everywhere’?”
Is this what Dad wanted us to find at this house? Is this why he sent us here?
I cast a quick glance over at the woman, who's still looking at the pictures with Jeremy. Does she know that the company that manufactured her TV is full of evil people who chase after families and try to kill innocent people?
I glance around the room, trying to see if I can spot anything else made by Dermott Tech. A VCR or a remote or anything. It takes me a few moments to remember that the only reason I grew up with a VCR is because my parents are old-fashioned and always raised us at least a decade in the past. A modern person with a modern TV would probably just use Netflix or one of those other streaming services I've heard people talking about at school.
My breath catches in my throat as a realization falls into place. Is Dermott Tech the reason all of our technology was always so old-fashioned? Are all modern TVs made by them, and that's why Dad never wanted to get one?
No. That doesn't make sense. If all modern TVs were made by Dermott, Dad wouldn't have needed to send us here to get us to discover that. He could've just sent us to any old place.
Jeremy and the woman have turned around by now. "Were there any other rooms you wanted to take a look at?" The woman asks me kindly.
"Uhhh… yeah, if you don't mind," I reply, scrambling to think of a way to ask about the TV without making it obvious why. "Um, that looks like a really nice TV you have there. Do you watch a lot of movies?"
"Shows, mainly," she replies after a slight hesitation. Is it just me, or has her expression turned a little bit suspicious? "Why do you ask?"
"Just curious," I fib. "Um, we have a TV similar to that, and our family watches a lot of movies. I mean, my foster family. His family." I point to Jeremy, suddenly drawing a blank as I try to remember his fake name. "Right?" I ask him. "Doesn't that look just like your TV?" I make sure he's meeting my gaze, then point directly at the Dermott Tech logo.
His eyes grow wide. He exchanges a quick glance with me before saying, a little too phonily, "That does look like our TV! Where did you get it?"
Okay, now I'm cringing and wishing I'd kept my observation to myself. Who asks a question like that about a TV?
“It was here when we moved in,” the woman answers slowly. There’s no doubt about it now. She definitely looks suspicious. “Uh, I don’t mean to be rude, but I just remembered I have somewhere to be in about half an hour, so…” She doesn’t finish her sentence, but it’s clear what she’s implying. It’s also clear that her reason for wanting us to leave has nothing to do with some probably-imaginary to-do list.
“Right,” says Jeremy, faking an easygoing smile. “We’re sorry for taking your time. We’ll be heading out now.”
I take one more glance at the TV before we go. Dermott Tech. At least we learned one thing from coming here--what exactly Dermott is. But how is that going to help us in our quest to save our family?
We’re halfway back to the truck before I realize we didn’t even get the woman’s name. What if her name was important somehow? What if she’s related to one of the other people whose information we found back at Bill and Pam’s house?
Jeremy motions through the window for Pam to scoot back over to the passenger’s seat. Pam does, after unlocking the door for us. I crawl in first, taking my position in the back. Jeremy slides into the driver’s seat and shuts the door.
“So?” says Pam, her brown eyes wide and fearful. “What did you find? Anything?”
“Maybe,” says Jeremy, starting the car. “Pam, you’re the one who told us that Dermott was an organization made up of hundreds of people. Do you have any idea what those hundreds of people do? Besides hunt people down, I mean.”
Pam shakes her head. “Daddy never told me much about them. Only that they were after us and that we needed to be careful.”
“So you don’t know what kind of organization they are,” I say, just to be sure. “Or what kind of… company.”
Pam looks from me to Jeremy, her eyebrows raising expectantly. “So you did find something. Something about Dermott? Are the people who live in that house part of Dermott, or are they our allies?”
“I’m pretty sure they’re just ordinary people,” I say. “Not affiliated with Dermott one way or the other. But listen. Dermott is a technology company. They manufacture TVs.”
“Hmm,” says Pam, and by the pensive look on her face, it appears that she really didn’t know that before. “That’s interesting.”
“Does that match up with what you thought they might do?” I ask.
She shrugs. “I really didn’t have an idea of what they might do. I guess it kind of makes sense, though.”
I’m about to ask her why it makes sense, but suddenly Jeremy is thrusting the map into Pam’s lap. “Excuse me,” he says. “Pam, do you think you can try to find a public library on that map?”
“A what?” Pam asks, her face blank, and I feel a pang of sorrow for her for not knowing what a library is.
“It’s a place with lots and lots of books,” I tell her. “You can pick out whichever ones you want, and if you have a library card you can check them out and take them--”
“I know what a library is!” Pam interrupts, her cheeks flushing. “Gee wiz, you people think I don’t know anything.”
Jeremy and I exchange a glance. “Pam, you barely ever went anywhere or interacted with anyone other than your dad,” Jeremy reminds her. “How are we supposed to know what you do and don’t know?”
“I read a lot,” Pam says defensively. “I probably know more about the world than you do.”
I hold back a snort.
“Anyway,” says Jeremy quickly. “Can you direct us to the closest library? Most libraries have free computer use, so we can search up Dermott--”
“We can’t use computers!” Pam exclaims, aghast. “We’ll be traced! Dermott will find us immediately!”
“It’s a public network,” Jeremy sighs. “It’s not like we’re logging in with usernames that broadcast our identities to the world. Just because something’s digital doesn’t mean it’s evil.”
“But Dermott will be able to track our location simply by us typing the words ‘Dermott Tech’ into the computer,” Pam argues.
This sounds far-fetched to me, but it doesn’t matter. “Pam, Dermott’s a company. That means we’re not the only people who’ve ever heard of them. Probably lots of people search up ‘Dermott Tech’ on the Internet when they want a new TV or something. They won’t automatically know it’s us.”
“Yeah,” says Jeremy. “I mean, the house we were just in had a Dermott TV right in their living room; it’s not like it’s—”
“What?!” Pam screeches so loudly it makes my ears ring. “What do you mean, there was one right in their living room?”
“Look, I don’t know where you think people put TVs, but the living room’s just about the most common—”
“Did it see you?” Pam interrupts urgently.
“You mean, did we see it?” I say. “Of course. We—”
“No. Did it see you? Were you in its line of vision?”
I rest my head in my hands and force myself to remember that Pam can’t help being ignorant about things like this. “I think you have a misunderstanding of what a TV is. People watch TV. TVs don’t watch people.”
“Yes they do,” Pam says seriously. Her face is white and terrified. “My dad told me all about this. What did you think I meant when I said ‘Dermott has eyes everywhere’?”
