Finn leaned in and studied the schematics. “Where did you get these?”
“I’m not the only one at the department with a hidden agenda. Suffice it to say, we have more inside help than just me.”
“Like who?” Finn was beginning to feel like everybody was keeping secrets from him.
“You don’t need to know right now, when you do I’ll tell you.”
“Screw that Vic. I’m putting my life on the line here. I think I should at least know who I’m trusting that life too.” Finn was liking this less and less.
“And if Tanya finds out who gave me these, she will have no problem killing him, or torturing him for information about who he’s working with. I think we all have something at stake here, Finn so don’t play the life at stake card with me. Everyone here has played that card more times than I can count. Just trust me, these are accurate.”
“I don’t like not knowing all the facts, Vic. I feel like my ass is hanging out in the wind here. Everyone wants me to trust them and I’m not sure I can do that.”
Vic’s eyes darkened as he hardened his face. “Then walk. You don’t want to help us get Kale out of there, I can show you the door right now. How’s that for trust?
“All these people here. They live this way because of the Department that, until recently, you worked for. They trusted you because I vouched for you. There are families here, Finn. They trust the lives of their children on my word that you are not going to bring Coben and Tanya and half the department down here to scoop them up like they’re unpapered pollos crossing the border.”
Vic walked around the desk to stand in front of Finn. “I get the uncertainty. I understand it, but I don’t have time to wait around for you to get comfortable with trusting us. You are either in or you are out.”
Finn stared back into Vic’s very black, very angry eyes. He felt like an ass. Even Cross, who had more reason than anyone not to trust him, had decided Finn was worth the risk. He didn’t want to die. But sometimes dying for the right thing was better than staying alive for the wrong ones.
“I’m in,” he said. He held Vic’s gaze a moment longer. Vic seemed to consider his decision then gave him one brief nod.
“All right. Then let’s see what we can come up with to get Kale out of that place and still be alive at the end of the day.”
Pulling the schematics closer to him, Finn studied the drawings. “Alive works for me.”
Chapter 26
TANYA AND COBEN were in the control room watching a live feed of Kale. He curled into himself on the thin mattress. She had ordered all his bedding removed. Leaving Kale only the bare mattress and the clothes on his back. The temperature in his room had been turned down to a chilly fifty-five.
“If you kill him, we’ll have nothing to barter for Cross’s cooperation,” Coben said.
“I don’t intend to kill him,” Tanya said. “I simply want him miserable.”
Coben watched Kale shiver. “I would say you succeeded. You said he’ll do what you want. Isn’t this a bit much?”
Tanya swallowed her disgust. For the life of her she couldn’t understand why Coben was in a position of power. He didn’t have it in him to do what was necessary to get the job done. “Think about it. We know Cross and Kale have been communicating telepathically. Possibly for years. We also know they would do anything for each other, so it’s reasonable to believe that Cross knows what I’ve done to Kale. He is going to come for him. And when he does he’s mine.”
“I understand that, I approve of that, but why make Kale miserable?”
Tanya bit down the fury that bubbled through her. How dare he question how she handle Kale? She pushed down what she wanted to say and put a pretty smile on her face. “Because Coben, Kale is dangerous. My hold on him is tenuous. I want him incapable of pushing anyone. He requires energy to push. If he is hurt, feverish and uncomfortable, he can’t control, influence or push anyone.
“I want him miserable, Coben, because he’s not as dangerous that way. That is, unless you can think of a better way to control him.”
“You could sedate him.”
“And where would be the motivation for Cross to come and save him? I need him hurt Coben, so Cross will risk anything to save him. If Kale were simply sleeping, there would be no urgency. Without urgency, Cross would be careful.
“I don’t want him careful, I want him reckless.”
Coben looked back at the monitors once more. He didn’t look much happier, but he did appear resigned. “Don’t kill him. I have government contractors willing to pay a lot to use that talent of his. I need him alive, Tanya. Alive and willing to do whatever you tell him to do. Is that clear?”
“Don’t worry Coben. You’ll be able to whore him out soon enough. And if you’re lucky we’ll be able to offer his brother as an added bonus.”
Coben considered that, then grunted. Without another word he left the control room.
Tanya glared after him. She glanced down at Kale for a moment and then pushed a button on the console.
“Yo,” her chief of security answered.
“Robert, how is Kale doing?”
“Hurting.”
Tanya considered. As much as she hated to give Coben credit, he did have a point. Kale was of no use to her dead. “Give him some water, clean him up and give him something for the fever.”
“Yes, ma’am.” No hesitations, no questions, Robert would do as he was told. That’s how it should be. Coben should take notes from her security team. “Robert?”
“Yes?”
“There’s no need to be gentle, am I clear?”
“Absolutely.”
“Don’t do any additional damage, take care of him, but no hand holding.”
“Understood.” Robert ended the conversation.
Why are you doing this, Coben had asked her.
Because I can.
* * *
KALE WAS SO cold. He shivered and pain spasmed in his chest and he couldn’t breathe. Cross needed help. Kale could hear his brother calling for him. He tried to find Cross, but he was in a maze. Every turn he took ended in a dead end. Cross kept calling.
“I’m coming, man!” Why couldn’t he find him? One more turn, one more hallway and then… There! He saw Cross at the end of a long tunnel. He tried to run, but he hurt too badly. He forced himself to keep moving.
As he got closer, he realized it wasn’t Cross who waited for him at the end of that tunnel.
Sybil King stood there. Her hair was matted to her head with blood. She grinned at Kale with crimson stained teeth. “You can’t get out,” she said. “You’re going to die here and when you do, I’ll be waiting for you.”
Sybil laughed and Kale shivered with more than just the cold.
Kale opened his eyes and pain greeted him. He was sweating, and yet he shivered from the fever that ravaged his body. His arms were being lifted and as his vision cleared he recognized Robert peeling the filthy bandages from his left wrist.
He grimaced as scabs and skin were pulled off with the gauze. The wounds smelled horrible and an awful yellow fluid mixed with the blood. Kale tried to pull his hands away but Robert grasped them firmly.
“Take it easy, Kale. Just getting you cleaned up. Thirsty?” Robert held out a bottle of water and Kale grabbed it with his still bandaged right hand. He gulped and spilled more water than he swallowed. He didn’t care. He was so thirsty.
Robert held out some pills to him. “Here, you’re burning up. This’ll help.”
Kale downed them with what was left of the water. He eyed Robert suspiciously. He had never been like this. He had never helped him. He had certainly never been alone with him before.
“Why?” Kale said.
Robert took Kale’s other wrist and ripped the stiff bandage off causing more blood and pus to roll down Kale’s arm.
He hissed with the pain and grimaced.
“Because I do what I’m told,” Robert said. “Maybe if you did that, you wouldn’t be wher
e you are now.” He scrubbed the wounds on Kale’s wrist. Kale pulled his arm back and held it against his chest. “Stop. Please, it hurts.”
“Like I give a fuck.” Robert reached for his arm again.
Kale was too tired to fight him. Then he remembered his dream. Sybil King with her blood matted hair waiting for him.
He squeezed his eyes closed and understood that was to be his end. That reality was as clear to him as the pain Robert caused him. He glanced behind Robert to the door of his room. It was open.
That door was never left open.
Maybe it had been laziness on Robert’s part, or maybe he was afraid to be locked in a room alone with Kale. Or maybe Robert was confident that Kale was too weak to cause him any trouble.
Kale remembered Cross calling for him in the dream, He thought he remembered Cross coming to him earlier, but he wasn’t sure if the memory was part of his delirium or just another dream. But one thing he knew for certain. If Cross knew what Tanya had done to him, his brother would come. Tanya was counting on that. He shook his head. “Not gonna happen.”
“What?” Robert didn’t even bother looking at him as he asked the question. “What’re you talking about?”
Kale saw one chance. Maybe they would catch him. Maybe he didn’t have the strength. He didn’t care. He didn’t fucking care anymore. He had to try.
He pulled his arm away from Robert and waited until Robert looked at him. “Stop.” It wasn’t a hard push. Barely more than a nudge but Robert stopped what he was doing. His face blanked and he looked at Kale for further instructions.
Kale’s bruised mouth pulled up into a small smile. He tried to sit up. “Help me.” Robert helped him sit.
The room spun a little but Kale ignored it. He was never going to get a second chance at this. “Tell me where Tanya is.”
“At the main house.”
“I don’t know what that means. Explain.”
“She’s not in this complex today. That’s why I’m here.”
“She’s not in this building?”
“No.”
“Okay, Robert. Listen carefully. You are going to take me from this building.”
“I can do that.” Robert told him. Kale was reasonably sure he could make everyone around them forget they even saw him with Robert. It wasn’t hard to push him, but Kale knew it would probably get more difficult the longer the push went on. If he was well, this would be a piece of cake, but pushing someone was a delicate matter. It required a great deal of concentration.
Like a well-trained athlete, Kale had practiced this his entire life, Tanya had seen to that. Pushing was like breathing to him. Except that right now, Kale was feverish and in pain. Getting Robert to guide him out of the complex was going to take every bit of concentration he had.
He had no idea how to get out, no idea of where to go or what to do once he was out. But out was infinitely better than in. He would worry about what to do if he actually managed to pull this off. He would have preferred to push Robert into taking him somewhere safe, but he didn’t think he could keep it up that long. He was shaking now with the simple effort of keeping Robert’s attention on him.
“Go.” Kale stood and swayed. His head swam and his concentration wavered for a moment. When his vision cleared Robert was shaking his head and looking confused. Kale pushed him again, a little harder.
“Help me, take me to a back door. Someplace no one will see me.”
Robert blinked, his face compliant once more. He put an arm under Kale’s to support him. Together they walked out of the little room that, for the last ten years had been Kale’s world.
He tried not to think about that. If he thought about that he wouldn’t be able to concentrate enough to push Robert.
They passed no one in the hallways but Kale noticed the cameras and other devices on the ceiling. “How are we being watched?”
“Thermal sensors, Motion detectors, security cameras.”
“Are they all on?”
“Just the cameras now. I was with you so the thermal and motion detectors weren’t needed.”
“Tell them to turn the cameras off.”
Robert took the phone from his belt and pushed a button. “Turn the cameras off on this level.” He looked at Kale. “They want to know why.”
Kale took a breath. Pushing Robert was getting harder every minute, but he was committed now. He could collapse later. He held out a hand for the phone. “How many levels need cleared for me to get out?” He asked Robert.
“Two.”
Kale put the phone to his ear and pushed the person on the other end. “Shut down the cameras and everything that would alert anyone to anything not normal for…” He looked to Robert for help.
“Sub levels one and two.”
“Sub levels one and two,” Kale repeated. “Oh, and you won’t remember this conversation.” Kale handed Robert the phone. “Go. Fast.”
They met four more people as Robert guided Kale up and out. Kale pushed them each in turn. But he was slipping. He hoped wherever Robert was taking him, it was close.
After what seemed like a few dozen eternities. Robert stopped in front of an emergency exit. It took Kale a moment to understand. “Here?”
“Yes.”
“This is out?”
“Yes, there is a stairway that leads up to street level.”
“And where will I be exactly when I go up there?”
Robert’s face creased in thought. “Back alley. I think.”
“Perfect. You’ve done well Robert. Now I want you to do one more thing for me.”
“Yes?” Robert waited for his final instructions.
“I want you to go back to my room and lock yourself in. Stay there until someone comes to get you. You will not remember any of this. I did not push you. You don’t know what happened to me. Understand?”
“Sure.”
Kale closed his eyes briefly and swallowed. Adrenaline helped but without Robert’s support he wondered just how far he would get without falling flat on his face. Without waiting to find out, with one hand bracing hurt ribs Kale pushed open the door and staggered up into the light.
Chapter 27
UTAH CASE DIDN’T hate her job. Seriously, there were way crappier ways to make a living. Being a barista in the slightly upscale Blue Bean coffee house wasn’t bad. The hours sucked and people were rude and obnoxious. But hey, she was in New York. She had made it. So she could definitely put up with whatever life threw at her until she figured out what to do with the very expensive degree her parents had made sure she got.
Twenty-six-years old and she still didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up. Did that make her pathetic?
She had already turned all the stools over and locked up inside. As she went out into the alley to empty the trash, she checked to make sure she had her pepper spray. It was getting dark and that’s when all the wack-a-doodles came out. She turned to go back in when she noticed the security chain dangling around the light pole she had chained her bike to that morning. No bike now.
“Fuck!” she pulled the chain loose and flung it against the dumpster. It made an impressive loud thwack as it hit the metal.
That’s when she saw a foot sticking out from the side of the dumpster jerk out of sight. She unclipped the pepper spray and held it loosely in her hand as she cautiously peered around the dumpster.
The foot was bare and bloody, the sole shredded. The she heard a low moan. The moan is what did her in. She was getting ready to back off and just let EMS handle the guy when she heard the moan. It was sad and pitiful and Utah couldn’t walk away now. Patron saint of impossible causes – that’s what her mother called her. Maybe she was just stupid.
“Shit.” Mad at herself for even looking, she edged closer, pepper spray held in front of her, finger on the trigger.
“Dude, hey, you okay?” Utah stepped closer to get a full view of whoever the foot belonged to. “Holy shit,”
The guy curled up next to the
dumpster looked like he had been on the losing end of a MMA cage fight. His eyes were swollen and bruised. His lips scabbed with dried blood. Fresh blood ran shiny and red from his nose and ears. Both wrists were circled with horrible oozing wounds. He shivered as if freezing.
She squatted down next to him. “Hey, hang on, okay? I’m going to get you some help.” She pulled out her phone.
The man’s eyes opened, just tiny slits, but he was in there. “No.” The hand that caught hers was hot and slick with sweat.
She shook her head. He was obviously delirious. “Dude you so need help.”
“They’ll find me.”
Oh, crap. “They? Like in the police?”
He shook his head. “Tanya. Please help me.”
“Me?” Utah almost laughed. “Man, I can’t even make rent and still buy groceries most months. Seriously, I have no idea how to help you. Let me call 911, man. You look like you’re about ready to kick it. If this Tanya did this to you, the cops will get her.”
“You don’t understand.” The guy opened his eyes wider and pulled himself up until he was slumped against the dumpster. He coughed and squeezed his eyes tight, as if he was hurting bad. When he opened them again his eyes were glassy but he seemed more focused. “They’re looking for me.”
“Why? Dude, what did you do? Why do they want you?”
He closed his eyes again but this time he looked like he was concentrating like mad. He took one hand and scooped at the air as if he was gathering imaginary balls and holding them.
Utah was ready to chalk him up as one of the crazies. She was backing away from the guy and had pressed 911 into the phone, but before she could hit send, a glowing ball of moving light flowed between the guy’s hands.
He held it there as it pulsed and sparkled. Then he took it and threw it up above them. The light dissolved into a million points of beautiful light that looked to Utah like dazzling fireflies. It rained down on them like a cool shower. Utah held her hands out as the sparks of light danced briefly on her skin. Then the light faded and the alley was in darkness once more. Utah looked in open mouth wonder at the man sitting next to the dumpster.
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