by Rysa Walker
I look over at Daniel with a question in my eyes. Is that Smith’s son? But it’s clear he doesn’t know.
“Can you read the people at Magda’s house?” I ask Maria. “Maybe with a boost from Deo?”
“Very little. Sophie is blocking. Or . . . maybe not Sophie. Maybe there is other blocker. Maybe the ugly sex bear. Maybe Miller. They both stink like the new kids at The Warren. The smell that burns . . . the . . . nose.”
Aaron’s arm tightens around my waist, and he glances toward the deck. Maria looks in that direction, too. The dunes make it hard to see from this angle, but headlights are illuminating that section of beach. And they’re stopped in front of Bell Isle.
Stan’s paths seem to be off by about eighteen minutes. I turn to Taylor. “Get your best people and let’s go.”
“No,” Maria says softly. “You can be mad at me later, Anna. But I am second-in-command, not Taylor. I am never the general as you joke to others. Stan tells me since before you rescue us from the silo place that every path where we win, you are general. But almost every path where we lose, you are general, too . . . so don’t think you are so big shot.” She gives me a sad smile, then calls out, “Teams Alpha, Beta, and Psi. Go. Everyone else, to defense stations. Jasper and Pavla, take the other vans. Sexy Fudd, you are my driver.”
“I have a name,” Daniel says.
Four of the older kids, including Taylor, head to the far end of the room and pick up weapons. Others grab protective gear, most of which is too large for them and all of which is stamped Vigilance Security, from another pile. A few take up positions here in the great room. The majority of them, however, head down to the second floor. Every room on that floor has a view of the beach, and most have a glass door leading to the deck.
“I’m reading seven people,” Maria says. “Senator is in one jeep. Other jeep is Dalton’s father. The Army man who came here before. Five more people I don’t know.”
Daniel, Maria, Taylor, and I head toward the elevator. I expect Aaron to follow, but he holds back. “I’m on defense, babe. I know my limits. Here, I may be able to pick up something in time for us to act. But put me in the middle of a conflict between Dacia and the Senator, with everyone wanting to murder everyone else, and I’ll be useless. I love you. Please be careful.”
“I love you, too.”
One much-too-short kiss later, I hurry to the stairs.
“So,” I ask as we pile into the van, “am I the only one who didn’t know Maria thinks I’m leading this show?”
Taylor snorts. “God no. If they’d told me that part, do you really think I’d have agreed?”
Daniel doesn’t answer, but he wasn’t here during their training sessions and is therefore in the dark about everything. Deo also doesn’t answer, but he was here. So I ask again.
He sighs. “They never gave me details. But she did say a few times that you and I were central to the plan. I didn’t know you’d be turning into a psychic version of Ben 10, though. I thought it was about the visions, since yours are the only ones with any clarity or certainty. Did you get anything?”
I don’t have time to respond, because Maria gets in the front passenger seat and yells, “Go, go! Follow the others to back road, then turn around and drive along Magda’s fence toward shore. It will hide us.” Then she turns to those of us in the back. “Okay. Intelligence brief. Two men are already sneaking around behind Sandalford. But we have people waiting. So if you hear a crashing noise, maybe a fire alarm, just ignore. Anyway, Senator is bringing the money Dacia is so angry about. He is very worried right now because on verge of big political deal. He gives Dacia the money so she goes away, but . . . he won’t let her keep it because he is kokot. And he won’t let her keep Sophie as blocker. Dacia does not trust. There will be fight.”
Daniel turns toward the shore when we reach the edge of the fence, but the other two vans keep driving down the rough path that runs behind Sandalford and Bell Isle. Taylor tells him this is her stop. She grabs a rifle, then leans forward to kiss Deo.
“Stay safe. See you guys soon.” Then she disappears around the fence with one of the older adepts.
“Where’s she going?” I ask.
“Sniper duty, apparently,” Daniel says. “Although it’s the first I’m hearing of it.”
“Because you are not in chain of command,” Maria says. “We could not practice with guns before. So we only have six who say they can already shoot. Taylor’s psychic stuff is no help here, and she tells me she is damn good with gun. So Taylor is sniper.”
“She is damn good,” Daniel says. “I taught her. Doesn’t mean I want her out there. And where are the other vans going?”
“They’ll unload most of the adepts into the woods,” Deo says, “and then keep driving as decoys. Hopefully if Smith brought backup, they’ll see the vans, think wabbits are escaping, and give chase.”
Maria rolls down the passenger-side window and is still for a moment. “Our lookout says Dacia is getting in van with Caleb, Sophie and baby, Miller, and two of her bears. We will hear van start.”
Right on cue, an engine cranks.
“Go,” she says. “But stop before end of the fence.”
“And then?” Daniel asks.
I field this question. “Then I get out so Graham Cregg can have a little chat with his father. None of them knows I’ve picked up the Furies or Penelope Cregg. I stand the best chance of getting close enough to grab Caleb when the opportunity arises. And he’ll come with me because of Ashley.”
“I thought we had to get inside Magda’s house,” Deo says. “You had that vision from inside Bell Isle.”
“That’s what I thought, too. But it’s more like remote viewing—a glimpse of the future through someone else’s eyes.”
“We’re coming with you, though. Right?” Daniel says.
“No. This is just me and Deo. He’s the other one they want, and . . . too many of us will spook them. And I think you’re right that it would be better if Smith doesn’t know you’ve been influencing him. You need to be our last resort.”
“She is right. Stan says . . .” Maria stops, catching my expression and says, “I am sorry, Anna, but Stan has helped us too. He did not hurt anyone, and I will not let you blame him. His paths helped bring us here. And he says in the only path where we make it to the happy place, Daniel stays quiet until the battle ends. If you step in and shove the soldier man around, Daniel, we may live, but we will be in cages. I don’t like cages.”
I exchange a look with Daniel. When he was my hitcher, the close space tormented him. That was part of his frustration during rehab from the coma, too. Deo has never been caged in a hospital like I have, but he and I both have lived in too many houses with bars on the windows. So, no cages is one point on which all of us can agree.
My plan is to stay back far enough that Sophie or Miller or whoever is blocking shouldn’t keep us from communicating with Maria. I know Sophie’s range, but not knowing for sure who’s the blocker has me worried. You’d think the temporary serum Miller and maybe this other guy were given would be weaker. But I suppose it could also be one of those things where you burn bright until your flame dies.
As we move toward the beach, Deo asks again what I saw in the vision. I debate for a moment, then decide it might help him, too.
“It was blurry and short. Maybe because of Maggie. The vision kept cutting in and out, but the whole thing was you and Aaron. Walking toward me. When you get closer, I saw that you were sprinkling Kelsey’s ashes. So the three of us, at least, are safe. I don’t know about Taylor or Daniel or anyone else. I wish I did. But you, me, and Aaron will be on this beach together soon.”
“Why weren’t you sprinkling Kelsey’s ashes, too?”
“I was. I mean, I was there. Maybe it was your turn?”
He nods and gives me a shaky smile. “Okay, Short Stuff. Let’s do this.”
As we approach the shore, I hear the other engines idling on the beach. And I hear Dacia. Her voice i
s higher, carrying over the roar of the surf. Plus, I’m pretty sure she’s yelling.
One of the men standing near the jeeps yanks his gun toward us as soon as we round the corner of the fence that surrounds Bell Isle. Deo curses softly. I echo the sentiment in my head, and we both raise our hands.
“No weapons,” Deo says. “We’re here to talk.”
Another of the Senator’s guards keeps his gun trained on Dacia. Ugly Bear has his gun pointed at the Senator. What a fun little standoff we’ve strolled into. It occurs to me that all of this could be solved if Daniel could just get a suggestion through to the two bodyguards. Are they really worth it? Let’s both shoot on the count of three, and go grab a beer.
Dacia stands a step away from the van door, clearly trying to stay within Sophie’s range. She holds Caleb clumsily in front of her. His head lolls against her chest, but he’s moving fitfully and rubbing at his eyes. Maybe she intends him as a shield, but her head seems the more likely target for the Senator’s guard.
Sophie sits in the van a few feet away from Dacia, holding Lily. Another girl is in the row of seats behind them. I don’t recognize her face, but she’s about the same height as the little bear who manipulated the guards at Oak Ridge.
“Oh, man,” Deo whispers. “Get a load of Miller.”
Miller stands on the other side of the vehicle, although stands is far too generous a word, given how heavily he’s leaning against the frame. The glow of the headlights makes everyone look sickly, but Miller looks like death on toast.
Once again, I have the odd sense of being only mostly in control of my body as I walk a few steps forward. “The boy is right. We’re unarmed and we’re not looking for a fight, Ronald. Just the little talk we didn’t get around to before I shuffled off this mortal coil.”
Senator Cregg, who is standing behind the open door of one of the jeeps, bristles at the sneering use of his first name, and bristles again at the quote. But when he notices Colonel Smith watching him, his smooth politician’s face slides back into place.
“Anna. I’ve been looking forward to—”
“Oh, shut up, you fat fraud.” Dacia gives me a death stare over her shoulder before looking back at Cregg. “Give me the money you stole so I can go. Then you can do family reunioning with your psycho son and go back to your politics.”
“What a terrible era in which idiots govern the blind.” I speak the quote so softly that I doubt anyone hears it aside from Deo. But Dacia and the Senator would probably have ignored the comment anyway. They’re totally locked on to their dispute.
“The money is here,” Senator Cregg says. “But the terms we agreed upon are that you leave all of the adepts here, including that blocker in your van.”
“This man can block, too,” Dacia says, pointing at Miller. “I did not say which blocker I was leaving.”
“Him? He’s half dead!”
Miller looks up but apparently lacks the energy to contradict the point.
“Blame your stupid drug. And if he dies, you have other blocker anyway—the girl at the big house. Sophie goes with me. Send with me one of your men, and I will leave them Caleb, but he is with me until we are safe away from here. My insurance. This boy blew the windows from that house today when someone threatened me.”
“What a liar,” Deo says under his breath.
I don’t think she could have heard his words, but she nods toward Deo. “And there is your amp. So you collect all the toys you want for your army. You can give the others your cure, and everybody has happy ending. Well, unless they have reaction like this one.” She nods her head toward Miller.
The Senator is watching me now, instead of Dacia. I’m not sure why until he yells for me to start walking. “That one needs to be moving at all times,” he tells the guard who is covering us. “If she stops, shoot.”
The other jeep opens and Smith gets out. “Belay that order. The adepts are to be placed in my custody. So is Pfeifer. That’s the agreement. And I think we’re going to have to track most of them down. I’ve just gotten a report that two of your security vans are headed south toward Corolla. I have a car in pursuit, but you need to resolve this standoff. Give her half now and wire the rest when we get the kid back.”
“Not half,” Dacia says. “Three-quarters now.”
Cregg considers the offer and huffs. “Give it to me,” he says to someone still inside the jeep. He unzips a small duffel and shows Dacia the contents. Then he removes about a dozen stacks of bills from the case and tosses them into the jeep while Dacia keeps a careful eye on the process. Caleb squirms again, and she huffs, tightening her grip on the boy.
Miller has been in my line of sight each time I looked toward Dacia, but he’s no longer slouching against the van. He must have gotten back into the vehicle. Either that or he’s passed out on the ground.
“Happy?” Cregg asks Dacia. “It might even be eighty percent.” He hands the case to one of the guards. “Go with her. Call to let us know where to pick you up.”
“No weapons. And turn out your pockets.” This comment is from Ugly Bear, the first time he’s spoken. The guard with the duffel reluctantly removes his gun belt and empties his pockets.
“She’ll kill both of them,” I say, not looking at Dacia or the Senator but directly at Smith. “Or sell the kid to the highest bidder.” I hate saying the words when Caleb is half awake, but I can’t let her get him into that van.
Dacia spins toward me, yelling something in Romanian.
I don’t see the pistol she’s pointing at me until she fires.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Carova Beach, North Carolina
April 28, 2020, 9:31 p.m.
The bullet goes wide, missing me. Missing Deo. It was aimed right at me, so I don’t know why the shot was so off. Then Caleb slips from Dacia’s grasp, and she crumples face-first into the sand, revealing Sophie holding the small silver pistol Taylor gave her earlier tonight. Dacia’s guards would have checked her for weapons, so Sophie must have hidden it in the diaper bag.
Ugly Bear has vanished, too, so I rush forward to Caleb, veering away from Dacia out of instinct. One look at the back of her head, though, and I know she’s dead. As I bend down to grab Caleb, I see two dark lumps on the other side of the van. Miller and Ugly Bear. I’m not sure if it was Taylor or the other sniper wabbit, but someone is damn good with a rifle.
I give Sophie a silent look of thanks and lay Caleb on the floorboard next to Lily, who is wailing. A gun blast in that close space had to have been terrifyingly loud.
Deo hasn’t moved. He looks a little stunned, and I walk toward him.
“Well,” the Senator says. “That was . . . intense, wasn’t it? Mrs. Bell has some excellent snipers on her security team. Colonel Smith, perhaps your men can handle this now?”
“No,” I say. “This isn’t over. That guy you called half dead a minute ago was having a reaction to the blocker serum. My brother had a similar reaction to the amp serum. This flu that has been spreading around the country—coincidentally in states where you won the Unify America primary—is also due to the drug. The primary researcher for the program is convinced that it could cause permanent damage to second-generation adepts like me. Some of the adepts would love a cure, but not one that could kill them. And we won’t let you force it on the ones who don’t want it. The ones who just want to be left alone.”
Smith glances over my shoulder, a look of grim recognition on his face. Probably Daniel. I’m about to turn and confirm this, but then movement along the dunes beyond the jeeps catches my attention. Now that the standoff has ended, all eyes, all guns, are pointed this way.
And one by one, the wabbits are creeping out of the woods.
“We’re not planning to force anyone,” Smith says. “I’ll be taking all of you to a secure facility where we will administer the cure, but only once it has passed all safety protocols. Surely you know that the adepts can’t remain here. This was always a temporary solution. Magda Bell wants her dau
ghters to be given the treatment. Other parents have . . . also . . .”
He sniffs. I smell it too. Burning rubber. One of the guards moves away from the jeep and drops into the sand, patting his pants leg, which isn’t quite on fire but is definitely smoking. And then all eight jeep tires burst into flames.
A wet plank, no doubt a remnant from the hated fence around the Sandalford warren, whirls across the sand like a propeller blade, clipping the Senator in the ankle. Shells, sand, and assorted debris rise up from the beach, hover, and then dart like a swarm of bees toward Smith and the guards, who raise their arms to cover their faces.
Two shots ring out, and then a command booms through the night so loud that I cover my ears. It’s an automatic reaction, and pointless, since the sound is in my mind.
DROP YOUR GUNS! HANDS BEHIND YOUR HEADS AND FREEZE.
The voice is high, reedy, and frightened. Familiar but definitely not Daniel Quinn.
My hands, already raised to cover my ears, quickly slide into place and clasp behind my head. So do Colonel Smith’s. The guard who was ordered to go with Dacia now has not just his hands, but also the duffel bag, behind his head. Every guard but one complies.
Every wabbit on the beach is also standing stock-still, hands behind their heads. Senator Cregg must be unarmed, because like me and the duffel guard, he only follows the last half of the order.
The guard standing next to the Senator seems unaffected, however. He’s still pointing his gun at me, or maybe behind me, as he speaks into a cell phone.
Someone behind me sighs. Then she sends a second mind blast.
EXCEPT WABBITS. YOU CAN . . . MOVE. AND PICK UP YOUR GUNS IF YOU HAVE THEM.
Oddly, it’s the girl’s sigh that I recognize more than the voice, the same little huff she gave in Dacia’s video when she mispronounced a word in the note to the guards. I didn’t even hear her moving toward us. Maria was right. The girl is more wabbit than bear, and she moved next to Deo to be sure her words were properly amplified.
