I shook the hand she offered. “Thanks. So you’re a broadcaster? My cousin Lucie is, too.”
“Oh, so you’re used to people invading your mind.” Emma laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t do it around here unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you keep your blocks up, I can’t get in, anyway.”
“Rafe, Emma is about to go into a long-term assignment for us, but before she does, I thought she’d be a good subject for testing the strength of your powers. We saw a little about your range on Monday—and I’d like you and Jocelyn to continue to test those limits—but today, we’re going to see how your mind stands up to barriers and blocks.”
I sat down in the nearest chair and spread my hands. “Okay, what do we do?”
“I’m going to give you a series of instructions for Emma. You’ll try to manipulate her while she blocks you. Since her talents are similar to yours, it’s a good exercise. You never know when you might run into someone who knows how to block when you’re on an assignment.”
So for the next hour, I struggled to make Emma stand up, sit down, walk to the door, eat a piece of candy and say the Pledge of Allegiance. It was much harder than my training with Joss had been, and possibly the toughest mind I’d ever tried to manipulate.
And there was something about Emma. I couldn’t put my finger on it exactly, but there was a trace of fear, a hint of dark. I didn’t know what it was, and since I couldn’t even describe it, I didn’t say anything to our boss. But I was glad when Cathryn declared our session over.
“Thanks for your help, Emma.” I offered her a smile.
“No problem. It was fun working with you. Like Cathryn said, I’m going to be undercover for a while, so I probably won’t see you in the near future.” She cocked her head and looked at me with narrowed eyes. “Good luck.”
I wondered if she had some kind of insight into my need for that luck.
Over the next month, my days took on a sort of rhythm I hadn’t known for a long time. I worked at Harper Creek three days a week, and on the off days, I stayed busy at the townhouse, practicing and strengthening my abilities and reading up on all things Carruthers. Joss taught me how to use their email and documentation system. I began feeling very official.
My sessions with Zoe were not my favorite times of the week, but I’d come to like her after all. She’d made no apologies for keeping Tasmyn’s connection to Carruthers a secret from me when we met the week after my near-miss with Tas.
“Patient confidentiality,” Zoe told me. “As a Carruthers employee, Tasmyn is my patient, too. And it was very enlightening to hear your input on the relationship you two shared. It actually helped me work with Tasmyn. To develop greater insight.”
I rolled my eyes. “Always happy to help you out, Zoe. My pain is your delight.”
Outside of the time I spent on Carruthers work and training, I hung out with Joss. She cooked for me most nights, or I took her out to dinner. I began covering some of the chores, too. And almost every night, we ended up together in my bed or in hers, even if it was just to fall asleep watching a movie. I got used to having sex with random items flying around the room or levitating pillows, and I learned to enjoy finding her lacy underwear in my room and smelling her perfume on my sheets.
Joss was easy to live with, and when I asked her if she wanted me to move out, she simply shrugged.
“I’m happy with the way things are now, if you are. Besides, why should you pay for an apartment when we’re probably going to be sent out into the field soon? I like having you here. Enjoy the moment, remember.”
I was trying. Tasmyn was on some kind of assignment, apparently, but it was top-secret even within Carruthers, so I didn’t know anything about it. She wasn’t around, and that was more of a relief than I’d expected. A few people mentioned her name to me, but no one else seemed to know of our connection. I wondered if anyone had told her about the new guy, Rafe the manipulator. If they had, would she want to see me, or would she run in the other direction? I wasn’t sure, and to my surprise, it was beginning to matter less.
I said that to Gram one night during my weekly check-in. Of course I’d told her about Tasmyn working for Carruthers as soon as I found out, and as I spoke to her that night, something had clicked in my mind.
“You knew that already, didn’t you? Was Tasmyn the other person who mentioned Carruthers to you before I was recruited?”
Gram never lied. She might evade, but she wouldn’t tell me anything less than the truth when asked a direct question.
“Yes,” she sighed. “Tasmyn had called me a few weeks before you did. She wanted my advice on how to handle the situation when they approached her. I didn’t think it was something you needed to know at the time, Rafe. I didn’t want it to affect your decision.”
“But that’s why you wanted me to say no to Joss, wasn’t it?”
“It had something to do with it, yes. I did have other strong reservations about this company, Rafe. I still do. But knowing Tasmyn worked for the company, too, seemed to be the final strike against them. Why should you put yourself back into that kind of pain?”
Gram was beginning to slowly come around about Carruthers. She and Gramps came up for a weekend visit after I’d been in training for two weeks. Cathryn gave them the grand tour of Harper Creek, shared with them the history of both the house and company, and was overall more charming than I’d ever seen her.
“Cathryn definitely knows how to schmooze,” Joss remarked as the four of us ate dinner together that night at the townhouse. She had made a French chicken dish, and Gramps was already halfway in love with her, I could tell.
“Yes, she knows how to play the game.” Gram laid down her fork. “Jocelyn, this is delicious. You’re a very good cook. I hope my grandson is doing something wonderful to deserve gourmet meals and a beautiful home.”
Joss cut a grin in my direction. I was sure my ears were turning red. No one could embarrass me like Gram, even when she didn’t do it intentionally.
“He’s a great housemate.” Joss had mercy on me and played it straight. “He does the dishes, takes out the trash and even makes me chocolate chip cookies. When I let him.”
Gram smiled at me. “Good boy. It makes me happy, Rafe, to see you settling in. I had hoped for college, of course, but if this is your path...” She spread her hands. “I can’t complain.”
All in all, I thought as I drove toward Harper Creek one sunny morning in November, I couldn’t complain either. I’d woken up that morning and shared a steamy shower with Joss. We’d had scrambled eggs for breakfast, and at Carruthers, I was supposed to get my first lead assignment this morning, after weeks of playing the supporting role in the one-day jobs. It was shaping up to be a terrific day.
But the minute I walked into the manor, I could feel something was off. The few operatives in the house were grouped together, talking in hushed tones, and Cathryn was nowhere to be seen. When I cornered Henry in the kitchen to ask him what was going on, he only shook his head.
“Rafe, I don’t know. People are talking, but until Cathryn says something official, it’s only guesswork. But what I hear is something bad went down on a mission last night. We lost someone.”
Joss came into the room just in time to hear what Henry had said. She frowned, her eyes going dark. But before she could say anything, we all heard the click of Cathryn’s heels down the hall. She looked in at us, her face grave and her eyes troubled.
“We’re meeting in the library in five minutes. Please go in now and take a seat.” Her eyes flickered over Henry. “You, too, Henry. All the kitchen staff, please. And can someone call Ken inside?”
There was standing room-only when Cathryn got up to speak in the library. It was a large room with dark wood accents and walls lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Since Cathryn was short, someone had put together a makeshift stage and podium, so she could be seen.
I glanced around the room, wondering if Tasmyn were here. It seemed that all the local operatives were
present, and it made my heart pound when I remembered what Henry had said.
We lost someone.
Surely, I thought, if it were Tasmyn, Cathryn would have had the decency to tell me privately first. She wouldn’t make an announcement like that, let me hear the news in front of a crowd.
Just then, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and Zoe leaned down to murmur into my ear.
“It’s not Tasmyn, Rafe. She’s safe.”
I nodded and turned to thank her, but there was no time. Cathryn had begun to speak.
“In our line of work, we are able to help people. You all know that’s our mission. We want to link you, with your abilities, to the people and businesses who need that help. It’s why my great-great-grandfather founded the Institute, and it’s why we exist even now.
“About a month ago, several of our local agents undertook an assignment that was extremely delicate in nature. It involved several high profile, well-known families from this area. We were attempting to help one man prove his innocence, and we hoped, help bring a murderer to justice.”
Murmuring rose around the room, and Cathryn paused to let it die down.
“As it happened, unfortunately, though we did complete this mission, exonerate the accused man and learn the details of the murder, in the course of the mission we also discovered that one of our own operatives was working against us.”
This time, the voices were louder, as shock spread.
“This operative not only attempted to compromise the mission, she participated in the murder, and she was planning the deaths of three other people, including one of our co-workers.”
Cathryn’s lips pressed together into a tight line, and I realized she was fighting for composure. This business was her life. It was killing her to have to say these things.
“I’m very sorry to tell you that Emma Sutherland was working against us, and that in her attempt to cause the deaths of both Congressman John Remington and another of our operatives, she herself was killed.”
Across the room, someone moaned, “Oh, no! Emma?” Conversations broke out, and I waited for Cathryn to interrupt. Instead, she simply stood there, looking over the sea of shocked faces.
After a few moments, she raised her voice again. “I understand that you all have questions. At this point in time, I can’t answer anything. We’ll give you more information as it becomes available to us. In the meantime, Zoe has agreed to work in the upstairs conference room today and tomorrow, and her door will be open to anyone who needs counseling. As of right now, all short-term day assignments are suspended until further notice. You’re free to go home, if you like, or stay here at the manor.”
She glanced around again. “I don’t need to tell you all that my family and I consider this a personal tragedy. Please be assured we are doing everything we can to make certain that nothing like this ever happens again. Your safety is our primary concern.”
I thought she might continue, say something else, but she didn’t. She stepped down and slipped out of the room. The buzz of talking grew louder the minute she was gone.
Joss took my hand and leaned to whisper in my ear. “Cathryn told me that the operative Emma was going to kill was Tasmyn. But she’s fine. She’s safe.”
I nodded and stood to leave, holding tight to her hand. I was a little numb, but it was more about the idea that Emma, the girl I’d met only a few weeks ago, had been working against us than it was worry over Tasmyn. I called that growth.
Cathryn was standing in the hallway, just outside the library. She leaned against the wall opposite us, her head bowed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.
Jocelyn hesitated only a moment before she reached her free hand to touch Cathryn’s shoulder.
“Is there anything we can do?”
Cathryn didn’t even look up. She just shook her head. “Thanks, no. We’re still trying to figure out what exactly happened yesterday. The congressman’s campaign manager was involved, and he and Emma have both disappeared. We presume Emma is dead, but we don’t have a—a body.” She glanced up and looked around before she went on, keeping her voice low. “I’m going to need to speak with the two of you once things settle down a bit. I don’t have details, but it looks like there might be a connection between this and what happened in New Orleans.”
Joss frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I told you, I don’t have details yet. When I do, and when I’ve taken care of other issues here, I’ll let you know.” She pushed off the wall, sighing. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some telephone calls to return. And then I’m going to allow myself one good, stiff drink.”
***
“JOCELYN, RAFE. THANKS for coming in. Please, sit down.”
Joss glanced over at me, raising her eyebrows. It had been over a month since Emma and Tas had had their showdown at Congressman Remington’s office, and the news had been full of speculation and questions for days. Remington had announced that he would not be seeking re-election after all, but other than that, the police would only say that an attempt on his life had been thwarted by members of his staff. No mention of Carruthers, Tasmyn or even Emma, though Ben, the campaign manager, had been implicated.
Joss and I had stayed away for the first week, hiding out in the townhouse, waiting to hear from Cathryn or Zoe. When we went back to work, the jobs were simple, close to home and covered by more security and precautions than I’d seen before. None of them were very challenging assignments, and I was itching to get to do some real work.
Today, though, Cathryn had called early in the morning, requesting that we join both Harley and her at a private meeting.
I’d met Harley before, but only in passing. He seemed like the less-uptight counterpart to Cathryn’s rigid control freak, and he was always smiling. Joss always seemed to be on her guard around him, but she hadn’t said anything specific to me.
As we walked into the library that day, though, as Harley sat across from Cathryn, deep lines etched into his face and worry in his eyes.
“Thanks for coming in, Rafe. Joss, good to see you again.” He stood and nudged out a chair for Joss as I sat down next to Cathryn.
“We have some more details on the Remington incident.” Cathryn ran her fingers over the tablet that lay on the table and pulled up notes. She bit her lip and then began to speak.
“We were working on case for a client who was suspected of murdering his girlfriend. He wanted to prove his own innocence, and he also thought it was likely an old friend who had become a political rival might be setting him up. That was Congressman Remington. As it turned out, both sides were being played by the congressman’s campaign manager, Ben Ryan.”
Cathryn paused and took a deep breath. She glanced up at Harley as though he might rescue her, but he only nodded.
“I wish I could tell you that we know everything that happened on the roof of Remington’s offices that day. Tasmyn’s report is, I think, as complete as she could make it, but even she can’t explain everything.”
Joss cocked her head. “What do you mean, Cathryn?”
“I mean that we can’t account for what happened to Ben and Emma. We don’t know.” She dropped her forehead against her hand and rubbed it, closing her eyes. Something had spooked her, and that made me nervous.
“All of us in this room have experience with things people in the so-called normal world would say can’t exist. We know that being able to hear thoughts, manipulate brains, see the future, create fire with minds...that’s real. That happens. The doctors and scientists who work for Carruthers can identify and quantify those abilities.
“But what we’re dealing with here is a whole new ballgame. It’s...” She shook her head. “It might be easier if I read you some of Tasmyn’s report.”
“‘When I got to Congressman Remington’s office, his secretary sent me up to the rooftop garden. She said he wanted to talk to me in private. I went up and found the congressman about to jump off the roof. I could tell he wasn’t himself. And by that I mean,
he was being controlled by another person. When he spoke, I knew it wasn’t really him, until I asked him about the murder of Helene Gamble, at which time he became wildly emotional. I was afraid he was going to fall, so I grabbed him and pulled him down onto the roof.
“‘It was then that Emma appeared. She told me she was controlling Remington and she admitted to arranging Helene’s murder and using her powers on people both outside and within Carruthers to control the situation. I don’t know who she used to do it, but she manipulated someone to kill her. She was threatening me, and in self-defense, I used my own abilities to contain her with wind and fire, and then secured her using plants and vines.’”
I smirked a little at that, remembering a day last spring when Tas had used plants to tie me down in my grandparents’ garden. That had been hot. This, on the other hand, was just wild.
“‘At that point, Ben Ryan appeared. I don’t know if he had been there in the garden all along, or if he just...appeared. I hadn’t seen him earlier, and I hadn’t sensed him, either. He was able to control Emma, and he knocked her out. I thought he had killed her. Ben threatened me, trying to use Emma’s well-being to convince me to join him. In what capacity, exactly, I don’t know. He talked about making choices, good and evil. When I refused, a wall of fire shot up, and they both vanished. I used my own power to call up water and extinguish the flames, but there was nothing left of either of them.’”
It was weird, hearing Tasmyn’s words, being able to almost imagine her speaking them. I could picture what had happened up on that roof.
“So we don’t know what happened to Ben and Emma. You told us Emma was dead, but we don’t know.” Joss spoke first.
Cathryn shook her head. “True, but given what Tasmyn reported, we believe it’s reasonable to believe that she is. Or...” She looked over at Harley and then out the window beyond him. “At least, she’s not here anymore.”
Harley pursed his lips and rubbed his hands together. “What Cathryn is trying to say is that we think we’re seeing a new level of the extraordinary here. Carruthers has always been science-based. But this situation, coupled with a few other incidents, leads us to believe that we may have only experienced the tip of the proverbial iceberg up to now.”
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