by R S Penney
She tried to stand.
“Don't bother.”
The sound of a man's voice made her yelp with fright. If she had not been so dazed, she would have sensed his presence long before he spoke. Sadly, her ability to focus was somewhat diminished at the moment.
A man in a well-tailored suit came out of the shadows, tapping the end of his cane on the ground. He was short with a bit of a paunch, pale skin and dark hair that he wore neatly trimmed. “You won't be going anywhere.”
Hissing air through her teeth, Keli trembled. “We'll see about that.” She glanced in his direction and lashed out with the full force of her talent. If she could wear him down before he managed to activate the-
Electric current pulsed through her body, knocking her senseless. Everything went dark for a little while, and when she finally regained her vision, she was flat on her face again, trying to focus through the pain.
Keli pressed a palm to her forehead, groaning in displeasure. “You've made your point.” She managed to hoist herself up to a kneeling position. “I will not attempt to use my abilities on you.”
The man chuckled.
He smiled, shaking his head with wry amusement. “Keli, Keli, Keli,” he mumbled, tapping his cane as he made his way over to her. “I have no intention of hurting you. So long as you remain cordial, we will get along just fine.”
“Who are you?”
The man cocked his head to the side, squinting at her. “No, no, my dear.” He let out a soft sigh as he pointed the cane at her face. “That, I'm afraid, is most certainly not very cordial. You don't need to know my name.”
She focused on his thoughts.
Another shock disabused her of that notion, this one far lighter than the last. So, he knew how to operate the collar. How had a pitiful little maggot from this world come into possession of a slaver's collar?
Spinning on his heel, the man paced a line in front of her. He stopped in front of the wall, seemingly transfixed by the old, dirty cinder blocks. “You see, my dear, I'm wearing a transceiver. Should my heart rate suddenly spike for any reason…”
Keli closed her eyes, hot tears running over her cheeks in thin trails. She nodded her understanding. “Very well…” It was probably unwise to say anything further, but she had to know. “What do you intend to do with me?”
He kept his back turned, shrugging his shoulders as if it was all of no consequence to him. “I know a few people who might benefit from your talents,” he said. “I could make a respectable profit.”
All of the interrogation rooms at the Rio police station looked identical: walls of gray brick with a stainless steel table set in the middle of the black-tiled floor. Bright lights in the ceiling provided a harsh glare.
Tony, the bouncer, sat at the table with his elbows resting on its surface, his fingers laced over the back of his head, the chain that linked his handcuffs to the table dangling over his face. “I'm telling you, I didn't know about the mindreader,” he insisted. “Or the cocaine.”
Anna leaned against the wall with her arms folded, turning her face up to the ceiling. “So let's go over it again,” she replied in a breathy mutter. “Your boss somehow gets his hands on a briefcase full of drugs, and you don't know anything?”
Tony looked up with a stunned expression, blinking at her. “Nothing,” he insisted. “I don't even think that cocaine was Mr. Almeida's. Maybe one of the clients left it there by mistake.”
She felt her lips curl, then shook her head. “Come on, Tony,” she said, making her way over to the table. “You can do better than that. Who leaves a briefcase full of drugs in some random guy's office?”
“I don't know.”
Anna slammed her hands down on the table, leaning forward to glare at him. “See, I think you do know!” she shouted. “I think you know perfectly well what your boss was up to, and I think you were in on it.”
His mouth hung open as he stared at her, his eyes slowly widening. So, the moron finally realized that she was someone he should take seriously. Better late than never. “I wasn't involved with the cocaine.”
“But you knew about it?”
He scowled, shaking his head with such gusto you might have expected his brains to fall out. “No…” He raised cuffed hands defensively. “I mean…Look, I just keep unwanted people out of the club and run a few errands.”
Pressing her lips into a thin line, Anna squinted at him. “So, you run errands?” She slid a chair back and sat down across from him. “Errands that might involve picking up some illicit drugs?”
“No!”
“Then what?”
“I get the alcohol.”
Leaning back in her chair, Anna crossed her arms and frowned at the man. “Here's the way I see it,” she began. “Your boss had half a kilogram of cocaine in his office. He's about to go down hard.”
The slight rasp in Tony's breathing told her she was starting to make some headway. The guy was scared, and she knew it. Anna had to suppress the urge to laugh triumphantly. You didn't have to be a telepath to figure out what someone else was feeling. “Given the way you tried to prevent us from searching the place,” she went on, “it's very likely that you will be named as an accomplice.”
Tony shivered.
Anna closed her eyes, breathing deeply. “You can either go down with him,” she said with a curt nod. “Or I can inform the public prosecutor that you were very willing to cooperate with my investigation.”
The man's face was so red that he looked sunburned, tears streaming over his cheeks and leaving glistening trails in their wake. “I didn't have anything to do with it,” Tony whispered. “I didn't buy the cocaine.”
“But you were aware of it?”
“Yes.”
“Tell me about your boss, Tony,” she said in a surprisingly gentle tone. Even more surprising was the fact that she actually felt sympathy for this man. Most people weren't all that bad themselves, but they'd gladly turn a blind eye rather than draw the attention of the ones committing the crime.
He looked down into his lap, heaving out a soft sigh. “The club gets its cocaine from a guy named Rawlins,” he said. “My boss has a long-standing relationship with him, but he's been behind in payments.”
“So he thought he'd trade a telepath for a clean slate.”
“Yeah.”
“Where can I find this Rawlins?”
The man hesitated for just a moment, clearly trying to decide how willing he was to betray his boss, and then it all came spilling out of him.
Keli tried to sleep, but of course she was too anxious and tense to let go of her grip on consciousness. Less than half an hour had passed since her meeting with the man who now held her captive, and she was afraid. Afraid of what might happen if she let herself pass out. Would they kill her? Would they do worse?
The concrete floor of the office was terribly uncomfortable, and she suspected that she would have any number of muscle aches come morning. Still, she couldn't summon the will to move and seek out a more comfortable resting place. If she could have the last six hours back, she would have stayed on Station Twelve.
The sedative Paolo Almeida had given her was still in her system, and she was still feeling somewhat lightheaded. On several occasions, she came close to nodding off, but fear always pushed her back to full alertness.
At one point, she rolled over to find that she was not alone.
A hulking brute of a man stood over her with hands on his hips. He was tall, broad-shouldered and bald. “You think you can toy with me?” he growled. Only the sound of his voice allowed her addled mind to recognize the Russian she had intimidated to make an impression with Mr. Almeida.
He kicked her in the stomach.
Keli whimpered as tears spilled from her eyes. She would not give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in pain. Remain focused, a small voice whispered. This man is a maggot. Beneath your notice.
Rosco shut his eyes, tossing his head about as if to shake away the memory of what
she had done. “You think you can play with my mind?” His words were vicious, feral. “I kill you for that!”
She lashed out instinctively.
The man stumbled back, yelping with fright, but somehow retained enough lucidity to lift his forearm and tap something on his watch. Instantly, a shock coursed through her body, killing any thought of subduing him with her mind.
The man came at her again.
“Now, that's enough!”
Her captor's smooth, refined voice snapped Rosco out of his rage-induced haze. The man stood over her, seething with obvious hatred, his face flushed and glistening with sweat.
A light tap, tap, tap, of the cane on concrete announced the presence of the man who would not reveal his identity. He stood behind Rosco in the doorway, glaring at the other man's back. “Have we forgotten our agreement to refrain from excessive displays of manliness, Rosco?”
The Russian man clenched his fists, trembling as he struggled to resist the urge to beat Keli to death. Even without focusing her thoughts, she could feel the tension within him. “She is dangerous.”
“As are you.”
Rosco.
Seeing the man's face brought memories of what had happened in Aleida's office. Rosco had been there to procure payment for drugs…The name of his employer was there in her mind, tickling her memory. Rawlins, a small voice whispered. She had to resist the urge to say it out loud. If she did so, Rawlins would assume she had read his mind. That could only lead to another shock.
As it was, the man just stood there with impeccable posture, the cane held primly at his side. “Let us not forget that I am the reason you are so dangerous.” He drew aside his jacket to reveal a bottle of pills in the inner pocket.
Rosco closed his eyes. “Yes…” he said, backing away from Keli. “But this one plays with our minds. I say kill her now and be done with the trouble.”
“Your objection is noted.”
Rosco turned away and made his way out the door. When he was gone, Mr. Rawlins remained, looking down at her with a big cheeky grin. The fool had no idea what he was doing.
“Your hold over him is tenuous.”
Rawlins cocked his head to one side, arching one dark eyebrow. “I certainly don't recall asking for your input.” He hobbled into the room with a few light taps of his cane. “Rosco knows who is responsible for his improved circumstances.”
“He is filled with rage.”
“Indeed.”
“Thugs like him are very difficult to control.” She managed to sit up, but dizziness made her double over. She covered her face with both hands. “Your hold on him rests on his ability to prioritize his long-term well-being over the short-term temptation to lash out in anger. Sooner or later, he will lapse.”
Of all things, Rawlins actually smiled at her. It was the kind of petulant smile you would expect to find on a ten-year-old boy who had just realized that he could physically intimidate his younger siblings. “You're very observant.”
“I have to be.”
“I'm sure we can find someone who will pay a pretty penny for you.”
“Now, that would be foolish,” Keli whispered. “Why trade me in exchange for the short-term benefit of money when you could keep me and make use of my abilities at any time? I could be a great asset to you.”
“How so?”
“I could give you an edge over your enemies.”
He smiled, bowing his head to stare at his own shoes. “That line didn't work on Mr. Almeida,” he said, turning away from her. “And it won't work on me. Don't become too used to this place. You won't be staying.”
Chapter 22
A box-like building, two stories tall, sat on a corner lot, bathed in the light of bright street lamps. A few old cars were positioned in the parking spaces out front, but there was no sign of activity.
This old auto shop on the border of one of Rio's slums was the place where Tony's boss had taken Keli. Apparently, it was the unofficial base of operations for a small gang of drug runners. Anna wasn't able to get much in the way of specifics. Tony hadn't known all that much about how this place operated.
One of Rawlins's drug mules was the younger brother of the man who owned this shop, and apparently said owner was not opposed to it being used for illicit purposes. Of course, there was no way to know if Keli was still here, but they had to start somewhere, and the sooner they acted, the greater their chances of finding their wayward telepath.
Anna stood on the sidewalk in a black armoured vest that she wore over her dark blue t-shirt. Manufactured with Leyrian nanotech, the vest would stop a bullet from most Earth weapons and absorb the energy from a stun round. There were far more powerful forms of armour, of course, but they tended to restrict a Keeper's special abilities.
A helmet, for instance, would greatly limit the spatial awareness she gained through contact with her symbiont. Nassai could not see through solid objects. Moreover, Justice Keepers could only create Bendings within centimeters of their own skin, and sometimes doing so could disrupt the circuitry in armoured gauntlets and chest plates.
Anna closed her eyes, the gentle breeze caressing her cheek. “So, am I crazy?” she asked, taking a step backward. “Do you still think it's a good idea to go in there without any backup?”
In her mind's eye, she saw the silhouette of Jack standing behind her with a hand on his holstered pistol. “Well, of course you're crazy,” he said with a shrug. “But that doesn't change the fact that backup is probably a liability in this case.”
At this point, it was impossible to tell if Keli was a captive or a willing partner in Rawlins's operation. The woman had shown a remarkable ability to change allegiances as often as the wind changed direction. A large team of tactical officers, all concentrating on the mission, would almost certainly draw her attention.
Even the small team they had used to search the cigar club seemed excessive. Tony insisted that Rawlins had very little backup – a few thugs at most. Two Keepers with the element of surprise would be more than a match for half a dozen untrained men. She was well aware of the fact that Tony might be lying, but there was very little margin for error when dealing with a telepath. Anna and Jack were somewhat protected by their Nassai, but the same would not be true for anyone who went with them.
“Let's go,” she whispered.
Drawing her pistol from a holster on her belt, Anna trotted through the parking lot with the weapon pointed down at the ground. The shop's huge garage door was lowered and almost certainly locked tight.
The only door made for humans was located around the corner, on the side of the building. As she drew near, Anna saw blinds over the large rectangular window. There was no way to know what was going on inside.
Lifting her forearm, she tapped a button on the small metal disk that she wore on her gauntlet. The multi-tool spat out a pulsing blue laser that swept over the lock in gentle strokes like the soft caress of a paintbrush on canvas.
A moment later, nanobots emerged from the disk, coming together to form a key that would fit the lock perfectly. Anna detached the multi-tool from her gauntlet, pausing for a moment to focus her mind. She slid the key into the lock.
Jack came up behind her.
Closing her eyes, Anna took a deep breath through her nose. “All right,” she said with a quick nod. “We go through on three. You cover the right side of the room, and I'll take the left.”
“All right.”
“One…Two…Three.” She turned the key and pulled the door open. Inside, she saw a dimly-lit shop where two cars were positioned side by side over pits that would allow the mechanics to access their undercarriages. Both were turned to face the wall on her right, oriented with their back ends to the garage door.
A catwalk along the far wall had a single door that probably led to the shop owner's office. She could see a staircase in the corner. And that was it. Neither her eyes nor her heightened spatial awareness could detect any sign of other human beings.
No…On secon
d thought, that wasn't it. She noticed a door underneath the catwalk, a door that was partially obscured by the two cars. No doubt that led into a storage room of some kind. Still, the place seemed empty.
Anna felt her mouth tighten. “Well…that was anticlimactic. We go to all this trouble to raid their secret hideout! You know, just once I'd like the evil drug runners to gasp and say, 'Oh no! It's the Justice Keepers! Why did I have to choose a life of crime?'”
Jack raised an eyebrow.
“What? You're the only one on this team who gets to make bad jokes?” she teased. “Come on, Jack; get over yourself.”
The door on the catwalk swung open, allowing a man in a well-tailored blue suit to step into the room. He had a handsome face and short black hair, and something about him just oozed sophistication. “I see we have guests,” he said in a clipped British accent. “I was wondering how long it would take you to arrive.”
Craning his neck, Jack narrowed his eyes to a fierce squint. “Oh, let me guess,” he said, stepping forward. “You would be Rawlins, wouldn't you? When did drug lords start dressing like James Bond villains?”
Rawlins offered a tight-lipped smile, chuckling as he approached the railing. “The trademark banter of the would-be action hero,” he said. “I take it you're hoping to recover your telepath? Let me fetch her for you. Keli!”
Something was wrong here. This man was far too cocky for someone who had just come face to face with two Keepers without any kind of backup. It took Keli a moment to answer his call, but she eventually appeared on the catwalk.
She was frightened and dirty, hugging herself and shivering a she shuffled over to the railing. There was something around her neck. A shiny silver collar that…Companion have mercy! Was that a slaver's collar?
Rawlins stared down at them with a smug grin, shaking his head. “Well, there you have it!” he said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. “The two of you are going to let us walk out of here unaccosted.”
