by Jen Talty
“Last summer you said you had the ability to remote view. You know the government tried to use the very same—”
She covered his mouth with her hand.
He resisted the urge to kiss the soft swell of her palm.
“I’m very well-aware of the failure of that program and the loss of lives. But the government didn’t use psychics, and instead tried to train those without abilities, and as it often is with top-secret experiments, no one knew about other programs going on at the time that harvested many viewers with other talented psychics.”
He nodded, knowing he had to put aside all his default defenses. He wouldn’t admit anything to her, but he would do what his government asked him to in order to save his men. “Is that the only ability you have?”
She cocked her head and gave him an amused smile.
He tossed his hands. “Look, I’m stuck here, with you, and am told this is how I’m to be useful in finding my fellow SEALs, so for now, I will suspend disbelief, okay?”
Her turn to nod. “Just in the last few weeks, I have been able to invite Brett into my view and to use it to hurl him into another.”
“That makes no sense to me.”
“In order to remote view, you have to have a connection somehow. It can be through knowing the person, or having something that person owned, or just by going to a specific place. When I had been kidnapped, Brett could always find me, but the people who held me captive were also psychics, and they could block him, but not if I drew him inside my space between.”
He kicked back the chair, stood and started to pace, rubbing his temples. “That doesn’t help me understand.”
“I can show you better than I can explain it.”
He stopped dead in his tracks, staring at her while she chewed on her fingernail. “How can you do that?”
“You have the ability to remote view.”
He shook his head. “The only thing I’ve been able to do is see events right before they happen. Like right before they happen.”
“That’s because you try to block everything. If you let it flow, it will happen.” She held out her hands. “Sit. Let me show you.”
“I’ve lost my fucking mind,” he muttered, sitting down, holding her hands, fanning his thumbs over her soft wrists. He’d never be able to resist her. Ever. No matter how hard he tried.
She closed her eyes.
He waited.
And waited.
For five minutes, nothing happened. He was about to pull away when his body grew rigid and cold. He shivered, blinking his eyes closed. An ice cave formed in front of him. He’d seen this cave before. A few times. In dreams, or daydreams. He’d often walk through the cave, being transported to other places with people he cared about, and some he didn’t.
Savanah waved to him from the other side.
He ran through the tunnel. It seemed to stretch on forever. When he finally came to the other side, he noticed he stood in the middle of the town that they had passed a few miles from the cabin. Savanah had perched herself on a bench across the street. She lowered her chin and batted her eyelashes, then pointed to another ice cave tunnel.
Should he stay, or should he go?
He also wondered if this was his view, or hers?
And what was in the next tunnel?
God, he felt like he was on some weird seventies game show.
He took off jogging toward the ice cave. Cold prickled his body as he ran and ran until heat smacked his skin like a water balloon exploding as it hit his body. Slowing down, he checked out his new surroundings.
Tall trees.
Thick vegetation.
The smell of smoke in the distance tickled his nostrils.
The groans of battle stung his ears. Screams of dying men echoed in the still, humid air. In the distance, he saw the wounded men.
No.
Dead men.
He raced to the bodies sprawled out in a bunker. Four United States Navy SEALs lay in pile of blood and guts. Chad knelt in front of one of the men. His heart breaking in a million pieces for the loss of life. It didn’t matter these men knew the danger that lurked at every corner. Chad vowed he’d make sure these men didn’t die in vain.
Standing, he glanced around the jungle in search of the other two missing men. He couldn’t see them, but he could feel their beating hearts. Slow, but rhythmic.
“I’m coming for you,” he vowed as he took off through the ice cave, his lungs burning as he found his way back to the small village. Grabbing Savanah by the hand, he tugged her through the second tunnel and back into the cabin in the woods.
As soon as his body crossed the plane, Savanah yanked her hand away as she rushed toward the bathroom, gagging and coughing.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” she said between coughs as she gripped the sink. “You could have really hurt me taking me back through your tunnel instead of letting me go back through mine.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. But I know where some of my men are.”
She glanced over her shoulder, her face pale, and her eyes bloodshot.
“Where? Are they alive?”
“Four are dead, but I can lead us to their bodies. The other two are being taken somewhere. I could feel them miles ahead.” He held her hips steady, holding her weakened body upright. “I’m sorry, Savanah. I didn’t know about the tunnels.”
“It’s not supposed to be possible for anyone to travel in another viewer’s passage to a different plane. Last time I heard about someone trying, they died.”
“Oh, that’s not good,” he said. “I’ll remember that next time.”
“I have to say it’s kind of worth the excruciating stomach cramps and killer headache to hear you say there will be a next time.”
Chapter 3
SAVANAH COVERED HER MOUTH, turning her body. The nausea that had subsided after returning to the physical plane through Chad’s space between returned tenfold. The smell of death filled the thick jungle air. She’d seen a dead body before, but the four men who lay slaughtered in the field, their bodies pecked at by vultures, was worse than any war movie had ever depicted.
She’d let these men down.
Tears welled in her eyes.
Her body shivered as a cool breeze from another plane floated across the area like a hovering witch. She concentrated on whoever was viewing them but couldn’t break through. Whoever it was had mastered self-blocking, and it wasn’t the same person she’d sensed before. This was someone new.
“Chad, come here,” she called.
Most of what Savanah could find on all the myths and legends surrounding The Collective. Everyone questioned whether or not the group would come in the form of the four sisters finding and falling in love with four brothers. Over the course of time, the story of Helena’s premonition had probably been distorted or exaggerated. But they all agreed that there were a group of psychics whose powers would be greater than anything anyone had yet to experience.
She’d just experienced it, and she was about to call upon it again.
“What is it? Are you okay?” He rushed to her side, putting a comforting arm around her waist. He stood a couple of inches taller, and his broad frame drew her close. His strength engulfed her body, seeping its way through her blood stream.
He was a healer, too?
“We’re being watched,” she whispered, hoping whoever was remote viewing them didn’t hear her. “Do you feel them?”
“I do.”
“I can’t break their barrier, but maybe you can. Or we can.”
“I wouldn’t have any idea on how to do that,” he said, glancing toward the sky.
“Neither do I, really. Clairvoyance and remote viewing seem to be the strongest gifts you have, but you also possess the ability to tap into any number of psychic powers.”
“What do you suggest I do?” He rested his hands on her hips.
“Just focus on the presence and try to make a connection.”
He twiste
d, shoving her behind him.
“What is it?” she asked, gripping his flexed biceps, but before he could answer, she saw three men in North Korean military uniforms. They were more like faded silhouettes in a black and white movie, but very clearly, she watched them move about the dead bodies.
Don’t speak.
She swallowed as the dark timbre of Chad’s voice echoed in her mind. Considering all the crossing of psychic energy that had happened when her sister and Brett were looking for her, she shouldn’t be surprised Chad could project his thoughts.
But could she back to him?
When you saw Brett, he made eye contact. Can you block them from knowing we see them? she asked, doing her best to split her focus between the men and Chad, only the men continued to fade, making it difficult to get a good look at their faces, or what they could be looking for since one of them knelt in front of one of the dead soldiers.
I have no idea, but for now, they are oblivious to my presence and for the record, this is fucking weird.
No shit, she replied. Her sister, Willow, was telepathic, and she often said it was a curse having other people in her head. While this skill came in handy right now ,so the Koreans couldn’t hear them, it creeped her out to know he could do this to her at any time.
He took her by the hand, tugging her through the field. They’re looking for something.
A whoop, whoop of a helicopter cut through the air. In the distance, she could see a transport medic chopper hurling through the sky. These men deserved a proper homecoming and a military funeral. They died serving their country, and their deaths should not be in vain.
They are trying to take something from the body over there to your right,” Chad projected.
Brett said that was really hard and sucked his energy.
I think I can prevent them from doing anything. Stay put. He made his way through the brush, pushing aside the thick vegetation. The man leaning over one of the bodies looked in the direction of Chad and frowned.
Chad knelt down next to the North Korean Operative and snagged something between his fingertips.
The North Korean froze, staring at Chad.
She couldn’t tell if he was just stunned that Chad picked up whatever he had been trying to get, or if Chad let him know he could see their image. In a flash, the three men evaporated into thin air.
“They’re gone,” Chad said, holding up what looked like a coin of some kind.
“Can you follow them?” she asked.
“You mean remote view them? I have no idea, but for now, I’m more curious about what this means.” He turned, catching her gaze.
She gasped at the intensity of his stare. His lips pursed tightly together.
“What is it?”
“It’s a military challenge coin.”
“I don’t know what that is,” she said, unable to move closer as it would mean she would have to walk between the fallen soldiers, something she didn’t want to do.
“We trade them. I’ve got a Navy one, a SEALs one, and a couple from two different special divisions I’ve been involved in. This is one from the Phoenix Agency.”
“So, you’re saying he traded one of his coins with someone from Phoenix?”
“Exactly.” Chad looked over his shoulder as the chopper swirled the air overhead, landing about a hundred yards away. A team of military investigators and medics jumped off the sides, followed by Scottie.
“Almost all of Phoenix is ex-military and work all branches, so I don’t see how that is so unusual,” she said.
“It’s not by itself, but why would a North Korean Operative want it?” Chad stuffed the coin in his pocket as he made his way toward her with a scowl. He’d always been a serious man, with a serious expression, but over the last year, it turned more sour than serious.
“Maybe he’s collecting them?”
Chad shook his head. “Not a reason to risk coming back here. They wanted this coin for a reason. Maybe it has to do with my two surviving men.” He rubbed his chin between his index finger and thumb. “One of them, Hunter Knight, I’ve had visions about before.”
“What kind of visions?” she asked, sucking in her breath, holding it for a long moment, waiting for him to answer what she already knew in her heart.
Scottie jogged through the field, stopping just a few feet away from where she and Chad stood.
“Jesus Christ,” Scottie muttered, planting his hands on his hips. “Get these men covered up and in the helicopter, now!”
Chad held out his hand. “I wish we could have met under different circumstances.”
Scottie nodded. “You must be Savanah. I just got off the phone with Brett. Why didn’t he come over you?”
“Excuse me?” she asked, inching forward.
“This is no place for a woman,” Scottie said with a narrowed stare.
Chad laced his fingers around her arm, gently tugging her away from Scottie. “Let’s work on finding our missing SEALs.
“How did you find them?” Scottie asked.
“Chad viewed them.” She left out the concept that he’d viewed them from inside her view because she figured Scottie wouldn’t value the intel.
I don’t trust him, she projected to Chad.
He didn’t respond.
“My team and I…” Scottie waved his hands in the direction of men working side by side with the medics, “…had a lock on them five miles over the North Korean border, but something happened, and we couldn’t locate our team at all. According to the people at Phoenix, we’re dealing with a powerful group of psychics.”
“Then why do they need to use psychics from our government, or civilians for that matter?” Chad asked, though it came across more as a statement and not something he expected an answer to.
“My talents are limited. I can sense things, but don’t have any clear premonitions. Just all about feeling. My men all have some psychic gifts, but nothing like what I understand you have.” He pointed to Chad.
She swallowed. She’d never been ashamed of her gifts, nor has she ever hidden them, but she didn’t appreciate people dismissing them, even though she knew Scottie had been completely briefed by the Phoenix through Brett.
“Tell me why I was given charge of a psychic team, instead of you?” Chad asked with a tight voice. The lines on his forehead pronounced more than normal. “And why wasn’t I given the nature of their real mission, which was to draw out the North Korean’s sister unit?”
“I can’t answer that,” Scottie said.
“Can’t. Or won’t?” Chad asked, glaring.
She hated chest pounding more than anything else, and she never expected that of Chad.
“I don’t know the answer.” Scottie shifted his weight. “I didn’t know the team was in the field until after they went missing. As far as their mission, I’ve only learned on the flight over that it was to take out the North Korean team, only we now believe we have a mole. We just don’t know if it’s one of the two men still missing or someone else.”
“How large is the pool of potential suspects including us?” Chad wiped away the perspiration that had beaded on his forehead.
“Myself. The four men here with me now. The medics don’t know anything other than men were killed. My direct superior and I’m sure his, but I can’t verify that. Brett from Phoenix, two of his co-workers and his two bosses along with the four Raven sisters and you.”
“That’s a big, fucking pool,” Chad said behind gritted teeth. “And how do we keep a lid on it?”
“We don’t let the circle get bigger,” Scottie said, scratching his face. “What do you know about the two men still missing?”
No way is Hunter the leak, Chad projected.
Because you believe he’s your brother?
That means I believe Brett is my brother.
I love how you avoid answering my questions. She focused on Scottie, but he’d put a wall up around what little ability he had, so perhaps he was telling the truth about his skills. But that
didn’t account for the strong energy that swirled overhead. They weren’t being viewed, but she couldn’t help but feel like someone was trying to reach them.
“I know they are both good men. Both have been under my command for the last six months,” Chad said.
“So was Dalton, whose brother was working for the North Koreans,” Scottie shot back.
Chad glanced around the field, his hand rubbing his shoulder. “I want to keep the circle smaller. Just us three on most things. We bring in others as necessary, but only if we agree.”
I’m picking up on something. Can I remote view and still have a conversation here? Chad asked.
Not well. Most of the time all I can do is sit still and act like I’m reading or something.
Well, here goes nothing.
“I can’t keep this from my men or my boss,” Scottie said.
“I’m going to keep it from mine. Savanah, can you keep this from your sisters?”
She nodded, the lump in her throat growing to epic proportions. She’d never in her life kept anything from her sisters. Even when she’d been kidnapped, she’d done her best to let them know what was going on without putting them in too much danger.
“What do you have in mind?” Scottie asked.
Chad’s eyelids fluttered, and his nose crinkled. “I want to get my men back. After they are in the States, safe and sound, we work together to find the mole.”
***
Chad raced through the ice cave. He had no idea where he was headed, or how he even knew what to do, but someone was reaching out to him, and he suspected it was Hunter.
He came to a clearing on a mountaintop where Brett sat on a rock.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Chad asked.
“First, I wanted to see if this would work and second, I wanted to tell you some things that I worry if I went through the proper channels, would end up in the wrong hands.”
