by Sarah Biglow
She returned with heavy metal bracelets clamped on either wrist. They looked like they belonged to some goth rocker. “Okay, so I may have gotten the idea from Spencer, but if we can levitate together while making out, this shouldn’t be any different,” she explained.
I took her hand in mine and lifted off the ground. Determination etched into her facial expression as she followed suit. I could feel her palm grow sweaty in mine and I held on tighter to reassure her that I wouldn’t let her fall.
“Lead the way,” I said and gestured in the general direction in front of us.
She looked around to orient herself and then began tugging me along Main Street out of town. We finally settled down on the ground in front of a low wooden structure hidden away by thick trees and foliage.
“Wait … We haven’t even left town,” I commented. I would have expected Clayton Kirkpatrick to have steered completely clear of Lena’s sphere of influence. The fact he’d managed to operate within town limits without her any the wiser was impressive.
“Nope,” she replied and marched to the front door and flung it open.
I was about to cross the threshold when my head began to swim and something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I pivoted slowly to see Officer Boudreau standing there, weapon raised and aimed at my chest. Heat rushed up the nape of my neck and I reached for my own weapon only to realize too late that I wasn’t armed.
“Tina, problem,” I croaked out.
She turned and her brow furrowed. “What … fuck. Felipe, back off you weirdo. He’s cool.”
I had no idea who she was talking to, but getting another person involved seemed like a foolish move, especially since we had a very pissed off cop who we’d led right to the opposition’s headquarters. As quickly as the feeling had hit me, it passed and Officer Boudreau vanished. I blinked a few times in rapid succession, but he didn’t reappear. I slowly turned to face Tina, a skinny guy stood behind her.
“You sure we can trust him?” he asked.
“Yes, we can,” Clayton’s voice replied from deeper inside the cabin.
The guy I assumed to be Felipe narrowed his gaze at me one last time before walking away. Tina offered her hand to me and guided me inside. We followed Clayton to a central room with overstuffed chairs. It looked like a living room in an upscale house. Not what I’d expect from a man who’d spent the last two decades hiding in plain sight from his ex-wife.
“Okay, what the hell was that?” I demanded once we were alone.
“Felipe has the ability to draw out and show a person their greatest fear and sometimes they can manifest physically,” Clayton answered matter-of-factly. He handed me a glass of water. “Care to share what you saw?”
I took a small sip from the glass and let it calm my nerves. “I … uh … saw Officer Boudreau. He had his weapon trained on me. Like he’d followed us here.”
“You are afraid your alliance will lead him straight to us. I appreciate your concern, but we take precautions,” Clayton said.
His words did little to assuage my worries. If Lena had powered people doing her bidding like we thought, then there was no telling whether we could in fact be followed. Clayton studied me for a moment longer before turning his attention to Tina.
“I’m guessing there’s a reason for your unannounced visit.”
“We found proof that Uncle Nick is covering up for other powered people.” She tapped her tablet to her chest. “It’s all right here. The call logs from 9-1-1 that he’s been deleting and copies of the reports. I wouldn’t be surprised if I checked his phone and email, there would most likely be deleted records telling other branches of emergency services to keep quiet about all of it. It looks like you were right and my mother has been covering up powered attacks. Hell, she’s probably facilitating them herself.” She drummed her fingers against the back of the tablet. “What’s weird is they all have powers we’ve seen before. Telepathy like Spencer. Fire like Henry, but her records don’t show anyone having duplicate powers.”
“I appreciate you sharing this with me and you were right to be concerned. For the moment, though, it is better if you continue to act as if you suspect nothing.”
“Hold up. No, you can’t just bench us like that. You said I could help and spy on her. Let me do that. Let me at least talk to Uncle Nick and see if I can convince him to turn on her,” Tina begged.
“I can’t let you do that, Tina. Your uncle is loyal to your mother. Believe me, if I could have swayed him, I would have done so a long time ago. You would only risk blowing your cover, tenuous as it is, and making things worse. Please, just be patient a little longer.”
I didn’t need to be a mind reader to tell from Tina’s body language—the clenched jaw and hunched shoulders—that she wasn’t pleased with her father’s directive. I didn’t blame him for wanting to keep her out of harm’s way. Although, it seemed he was doing what Lena had done to her for much of her life. Sidelining her, because he thought he knew better.
“Fine,” she eventually ground out through clenched teeth.
“Mr. Finley, I trust you can get my daughter home safely?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“My tablet,” Tina said, extending her hand.
“Give me a moment to copy the data you’ve collected,” he replied and left us alone.
“I know you aren’t going to sit by and do nothing. Just promise me you’ll let me be there when you talk to your uncle,” I whispered.
“Deal.”
Chapter Fifteen
Tina
We touched down in my backyard a little after ten and I led Reese around to the front of the house, hoping to convince my mother we’d just walked up. Her car was in the driveway this time.
“Thanks for tonight,” I said and put a hand on the front door.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he replied leaning in and kissed me on the cheek just as the door opened. I nearly fell flat on my face.
Uncle Nick looked between us and put out a steadying hand to catch me. I caught Reese step back at attention, color draining from his cheeks.
“Your mother has to work late tonight. Something about being close to some big breakthrough,” Uncle Nick said.
“Whatever,” I answered. “So, why are you here then?”
“She didn’t want you to be alone,” he said, his gaze darting between Reese and I.
“So, all of a sudden she cares if I get laid,” I grumbled.
“That wasn’t what’s happening,” Reese replied, his voice jumping an octave.
“It better not be,” Uncle Nick replied.
“Look, he’s training me now so we were just practicing. Getting some real-world experience,” I lied.
“Mhm.”
I didn’t know what my mother was playing at sending my uncle to babysit me. Still it was the best chance we were likely to get to corner him and hit him with what we had found. “Actually, it’s good you’re here. We had something we needed to ask you about,” I said and pushed my way into the house, hoping Reese would catch my cue and follow me inside.
The sudden movement caught Uncle Nick off guard enough that I snagged him by the arm and dragged him into the kitchen. I wanted to guide him to sit down, but the chairs had no metal for me to work with. Luckily, Reese had caught on to what I’d planned and the chair in front of me slid out seemingly of its own accord. I nudged my uncle into the seat and pulled up the other chair, facing him.
“Look, I know I told you to keep your hands off my niece. Obviously, that’s one directive you can’t follow,” he said, eying Reese.
“You think this is about who I may or may not be dating? Please. You don’t really think I’d listen to you anyway, did you?” I scoffed before Reese could reply.
“Isn’t it?”
Great, playing dumb. I hadn’t counted on him trying to deflect so much. The urge to give him an exaggerated eye roll was too much to overcome. “Don’t play dumb. We know you’re in on what my mother’s been doing.”<
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Uncle Nick rubbed at his face with both hands. “Look, Tina, I’ve had a long day so just cut the crap and say whatever it is you want to say.”
“Fine. Let me spell it out for you real simple-like. We know she’s got people with powers going out and hurting civilians. I don’t know why. It’s wrong and we know you’ve been covering it up for her.”
Uncle Nick blinked at me. “And how do you know this information?”
“I’m resourceful,” I responded.
“I know you don’t want to do what she’s asking. You have a moral code,” Reese interjected.
“You didn’t just show up in the hallway earlier, did you, rookie?”
Reese leaned on the back of Uncle Nick’s chair. “I heard you. You aren’t happy with what she’s making you do. Why let her keep pulling your strings and calling all the shots? I know you are a good guy. You shouldn’t have to compromise who you are just to make her happy.”
Uncle Nick shook his head. “God, you two are so naïve. You think it is that easy to tell Lena no?” He let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Of course you do. You’re just kids. What do you know?”
“We aren’t kids,” I snapped.
“Yeah, you are. I stuck by her, because that’s what family does. Even when they get into weird science shit.”
“I’m your family too. How is helping her cover up crimes helping family? Especially when you tell me to keep my nose out of the police databases.” A realization hit me and if I hadn’t already been sitting down, I would have fallen over. “That’s why you didn’t want me snooping, right? You didn’t want me to find out what you’d been doing for her.”
“She never gave you enough credit,” he said, not denying my statements.
“Look, we found this out on our own. We can leave you out of it,” Reese offered.
“You honestly think you can stop her? No offense but neither of you are exactly highly skilled operatives,” Uncle Nick scoffed.
I resented his comment, even if there was truth to it. Still, I knew he had more information that he wasn’t telling us.
“From what we’ve gathered, she’s duplicated certain powers. Mine, Tina’s friends, but there’s no record of the same powers in the experiment logs,” Reese added.
“You just don’t get it. There weren’t additional subjects after you all. There’s only one person she’s experimented on. Herself.”
I stared at him in silence, mouth hanging open. I hadn’t heard him right. Had I? She’d experimented on herself. I mean, in a mad scientist sort of way it fit. But, how could she have given herself all those powers without messing up her own genetic code?
“How? I thought she and my father stumbled on to powers while creating embryos. It doesn’t work on adults.”
“She’s been working to unlock the genetic code for years. The government wants super soldiers, but they aren’t going to wait eighteen years for kids with powers to come of age,” he said.
“One person can’t have all those powers at once,” I rasped.
“She doesn’t have them. She can copy abilities.”
“How exactly does it work?” Reese pressed.
“I don’t understand the science behind it. She only has to be near the person when they use their power. Then, somehow, she can recreate it.”
“Except we haven’t seen her use mine, yet and I’ve used it around her,” I muttered.
“She’s tried, but hasn’t been able to copy your power,” Uncle Nick admitted.
“Why not?” I demanded.
He shook his head. “No idea. But, she can’t. Look, this is a suicide mission if you go after her.”
I reached out and took Uncle Nick’s hands in both of mine. “You want to protect your family. How much time can you give us to stop her?”
“You can’t stop her not even with your friends. You just can’t. I’m sorry.”
“Just watch me.”
Chapter Sixteen
Reese
I watched Tina’s face go from disbelief to anger right in front of me. I glanced around the kitchen, keeping an eye on anything metal she might send flying with her emotions not in check. I could counter most of it if I needed to so none of us got hurt. To my surprise, nothing went flying though. She closed her eyes; took a few slow breaths and the slow build of electrical current in the air I’d begun to feel fizzled out. Maybe she really was starting to learn how to control her powers.
“Watch him. I need to make a call,” Tina said clearly addressing me without taking her eyes off her uncle.
“Sure,” I muttered and took up residence in the seat she had vacated. I half expected Officer Boudreau to make a break for it, but he just sat there looking defeated. “I’m sorry we had to drag you into this,” I apologized.
“Look at you apologizing to me when I was the one who broke protocol. Compromised the oath I took to uphold the law and serve and protect,” he replied.
“I know you think it’s too late to make a difference, but you’re wrong. You can still help stop her. Expose Lena for what she’s doing.”
“She’s got friends in high places.”
“Your niece isn’t alone in all of this either,” I said.
“Her little band of super friends, you mean, they aren’t going to stand a chance against military officers.”
“Probably not. Although, Lena wasn’t the only one involved in the original experiments.”
“You expect me to believe Tina found her father?”
“Actually, he found me,” Tina answered, reappearing in the doorway, phone in hand.
“It was bad enough when we realized Henry had betrayed us. You, too, Tina?”
“At least he gives a crap about me and what I want. It’s not his fault he wasn’t around. She kept him from me for my entire life. She’s the villain here. Don’t deny it.”
“If you think I’m going to turn on your mother for him, you’re mistaken.”
“He said you wouldn’t switch sides,” she answered, glancing at her phone.
“So, now what?” Officer Boudreau asked.
A sharp knock at the door provided the answer to his question. Tina opened it to reveal Spencer standing on the other side. He looked nervous and slightly out of breath. “I came as soon as I got the text. What’s the big emergency?” he huffed.
Tina pointed to her uncle. “I need you to mind warp him or whatever.”
“Uh, what?”
“Mind control, Spence. I don’t know how it works. Just do it.”
Spencer grabbed Tina by the shirtsleeve and dragged her out of view. I followed them, despite the likely protest I’d get from Tina for leaving her uncle unattended.
“I’m not controlling your uncle. Are you nuts?” Spencer hissed.
“I don’t need you to control him. I just need you to make him forget what we talked about tonight.”
“First of all, I can’t erase memories. That’s not a real thing. And even if it was, why would I do that?”
“Because we may have tipped our hand about knowing what he and Lena are up to and we need to buy ourselves as much time to come up with a plan of attack as possible,” I answered as Tina opened her mouth.
“Maybe you should back up to the part where he’s in on plans,” Spencer replied, eying Tina.
“He’s on our side. Trust me,” she said, giving me a smirk.
“Look, I don’t like being used and that’s what Lena has been doing this whole time. She took advantage of the fact I needed someone to believe in me after my friends and my mother died. Besides, I’m done being her puppet and I’m not going to follow her word blindly. She’s a danger to everyone in this town. She needs to be stopped.”
Spencer’s gaze narrowed behind his glasses as he studied me, no doubt probing my mind. He knew he couldn’t get inside Tina’s head at this point so I was the only other candidate besides Officer Boudreau and if I had to guess, he had tech in his head, too.
“You found out Tina’s mom has powers now, too!
” He slumped against the wall. “We are so screwed.”
“Not if we go after her when she doesn’t expect it,” Tina whispered.
“What are we going to do, Tina? Ambush her?” Spencer scoffed.
“We have other allies with more experience. We rely on them,” I quipped.
“Can we get back to the mind wiping for now, please?” Tina muttered and gestured back toward the kitchen.
“I told you, I can’t erase memories. And as much as he boasts, I’m pretty sure Declan can’t make him forget with a good punch to the head either.”
“So, convince him not to say anything to Lena,” I suggested.
Spencer chewed his lower lip in thought. I didn’t know him well, but from what I’d observed when he was freelancing, he was a good guy who wanted to help people when he could. “Okay. I’ll try. But we need to bring everyone else up to speed. If this is really happening … if we’re going up against Tina’s mom, we can’t just half-ass it.”
“Agreed,” Tina and I said in unison.
I watched Spencer head back into the kitchen, leaving Tina and I alone in the hallway. Everything was escalating quickly; a lot faster than I was comfortable with. Only a couple days ago I had to worry about doing my job as a cop. Now, I was going up against one of the most powerful people in town. Literally.
“You’re worried about how she’s going to react when she realizes you’re batting for the other team, aren’t you?” Tina commented, almost as if some of Spencer’s skill had rubbed off on her.
“Terrified, if I’m being honest. Knowing that it was probably her that went after Henry and Declan, that she’s capable of attempted murder is insane. And she had no problem letting you all think I’d done it, using me as a scapegoat.”
“Like I’ve been saying all along, my mother is a heartless bitch who only cares about herself.”
“At the very least it sounds like she thinks that Declan and Henry are out of the picture, so relying on them will give us an element of surprise,” I said.
