Visions

by Teyla Branton

  Jaxon stifled irritation at the intrusion of his plans. But of course he could have a vision. He was different, and he liked being different. His visions always came true.

  A fleeting thought crossed his brain about the two times his premonitions hadn’t come exactly true yesterday, but that made no real difference. Not with how good and strong he felt now. Power pulsed through his brain.

  “Jaxon,” Eagle’s voice wouldn’t let him go. “Concentrate on the nyckelira. Where is the desk? I know you’re probably feeling all kinds of high right now, but that’s going to end soon, and you’ll pass out. Come on. Concentrate. Where is the desk?”

  Right, Jaxon thought. I have a job to do. Should be easy for me. I can do anything. He shut his eyes concentrating on the memory he had of Dani and the case.

  Nothing.

  He pushed harder. Sleep nibbled at the edges of his mind. Already? he thought.

  When something finally did happen, the vision came so quickly and with so much reality that for a moment his surprise penetrated his juke rush.

  An enforcer carries the nyckelira over his shoulder. A crowd of uniformed enforcers stream past the man, filing into a large auditorium where they sit in anticipation. The man takes a deep breath and surges forward to the stage where a leader Jaxon knows only too well from his appearances on the Teev is talking to a bereaved couple, perhaps telling them how sorry he is for the loss of their son. The Controller himself.

  The enforcer waits for the conversation to end, but when it does, the Controller strides off the stage in the opposite direction, a guard on either side, though he has to be safer than anywhere else in the CORE, surrounded as he is by at least a thousand enforcers.

  The enforcer with the nyckelira case follows, far too slow to catch up with the Controller’s longer strides. Then someone stands up from a seat and steps into the aisle. It’s Reese. The Controller stops.

  The enforcer reaches the Controller and touches his elbow. He turns to gaze down at the shorter man.

  “Sir,” the enforcer says, pulling the case from his shoulder. “I’m Special Forces Ekan Donnel. I work with the hepta team. This is a one-of-a kind case I found in the marketplace. It looks like a musical instrument case but actually holds an assault rifle. If you’ll forgive my presumption and this interruption, I thought you might want to add it to your collection.”

  The Controller’s face changes from bored indifference to interest. “Show me,” he says.

  They move out of the auditorium where Donnel opens the case and holds it as the Controller runs his hand over the interior velvet. He motions one of his guards to put in his assault rifle.

  “Nice,” the guard murmurs in appreciation.

  “Thank you,” the Controller says. “What did you say your name was?”

  Ha! Jaxon thought. I did it! He was soaring at the top of his game. So easy this premonition thing. He could see anything he wanted. Maybe even who was behind the horrors at the colonies and who among the Elite might be willing to help them. Show it all to me, he demanded. Of himself, of the juke, of anyone who might be listening.

  “Show you what?” Eagle’s voice came from far away. “Jaxon? Jaxon? Can you hear me?”

  Jaxon tried to speak, but all at once the euphoria drained from him. Then he was falling as though from a huge summit. Falling, falling, falling. He struggled to open his eyes, but weight held them down. Was he actually dropping? At this rate of descent, he didn’t have much hope of survival.

  Images rushed at him as he fell, a rapid flow that made him weak and nauseated. People and places he’d never seen. Would these visions all come true? No, he was nothing. His ability was useless. Nothing he’d ever done in his life meant anything. Reese would never be his. He welcomed the crash and impending oblivion.

  A sharp needle poked his neck. “I’ve given you the counter drug,” Eagle said, still sounding as if he were in another room. “But what did you see? You were mumbling for nearly a half hour.”

  Slowly reality returned to Jaxon. He wasn’t dead after all, and he was mostly glad. “It’s Donnel,” he forced out. “He has to give the case to the Controller.”

  “The Controller? Are you sure? Because getting close to him is impossible.”

  “Tonight he’ll be there.” But even as Jaxon voiced the words, doubt trickled in. What was he thinking, betting Dani’s life on a drug-induced hallucination?

  Now the other visions were crowding in, coming more rapidly: Ty’s funeral, Reese in his arms, Dani with the nyckelira case, Lyssa—or was it Lyra?—with an extended belly. The voice of a man claiming to be his father.

  All of it jumbled until he felt ready to scream. No, he was screaming.

  Then everything went blissfully dark.

  Chapter 21

  AT THE C-LODGE, Reese paused in her research of pre-Breakdown furniture to answer a phone call from her aunt. She was getting nowhere anyway and needed a break.

  “Hey,” she said, activating the holo feature. “What’s up?”

  Her aunt’s eyes wandered over her uniform. “I know you’re on a mission, and I tried not to call, but I finally decided to anyway. It might be important.”

  Worry shot through Reese. “What happened?”

  “Your captain came to the house this morning. Very early when I was still half asleep.”

  Reese wilted with relief. “I texted you last night. I told you he’d be there for the bag,” she said it quickly so Theena wouldn’t clarify that it was her bag from Colony 6. Since Hammer had tinkered with her background, she’d asked Theena not to mention the colony, alluding to a connection with her gift, which was a secret Theena had already protected for years, but the request was new enough that her aunt might slip.

  Theena nodded. “Right. I gave it to him like you said, but then I got to worrying about what else might be in the bag. What if he . . .? You know.”

  Reese did know. Theena was worried Brogan might learn about her ability. “It’s okay,” she said. “There’s nothing in there that he can’t see. But speaking of the bag, did you notice if I had any water still in the skins?”

  “I’m sorry. I should have looked to see exactly what was inside, but I was a little flustered and still half asleep. I almost shut the door on him, you know, before I remembered your text.”

  Reese smiled at the idea of the frail Theena trying to prevent Captain Brogan from entering her house. “You did great.”

  “If you don’t mind my asking, why did he come for it? Couldn’t you wait until you got back from wherever you are? You didn’t say in your text.”

  Reese searched her brain for a reason that would sound valid. She’d known last night that Theena would demand more, but she’d been too tired to come up with any excuse. “It’s just a little thing I’m working on,” she said. “I’ll explain when I get back.” It wouldn’t be easy explaining why her captain drove all the way out to Big Horn for a bag of childhood treasures. “Right now, though, I’m in the middle of something. In fact, I have to go.”

  “Of course. Well, I’m glad to know you’re safe. A text just isn’t the same thing.”

  Was that the real reason her aunt had called? To make sure she was all right?

  “I should have called you this morning,” Reese said. “I’ll come see you as soon as I get home, even if it’s only for a few hours. I love you.”

  “Love you too, dear.”

  Reese hung up to find Lyssa and Lyra watching her. “Did the skins have any water?” Lyssa asked.

  “She didn’t look.”

  The twin’s faces showed identical expressions of disappointment. “She’s sweet to check up on you,” Lyra said.

  “I’m lucky to have her.” Reese meant it, and not only because Theena had literally saved her life as a child.

  A commotion at the door to the suite prevented conversation. The door cracked and then a foot shoved through the narrow opening, and finally Eagle pushed open the door, and staggered in, supporting what appeared to be a hung-over
Jaxon.

  Reese ran to help. “You’re cutting things close. We have to leave in an hour for the memorial. Why haven’t you been answering our texts?”

  Eagle dragged Jaxon forward a step. “We’ve been working.”

  Jaxon stumbled, nearly falling into Reese’s arms. A kaleidoscope of sketches burst from him, each too brief for details but definitely images she’d have to draw. She pushed him at Eagle and retreated, feeling dizzy and nauseated.

  “What’s wrong with him?” she demanded when the flow didn’t cease. “It’s like he’s having dozens of premonitions at once.” She grabbed her drawing pad and backed all the way to the spacious adjoining kitchen, glad when the image assault subsided at that distance.

  “I’m not sure. He was okay a minute ago when we started up on the elevator.”

  “Must have had too much sauce.” Lyssa popped up from her chair near the window to help Eagle get Jaxon to the couch. “I hope you had some luck because besides verifying that Dani’s at HED and still alive, we are no further than we were before.”

  “Give me a brew?” Eagle asked Reese as he propped Jaxon in a seated position on the couch. “For him, I mean.”

  She nodded and went to the dispenser. Lyra hurried over and took the steaming mug from her. “I’ll take it to him.”

  “Thanks.” Reese’s jitters were back with all the additional images, and if Jaxon didn’t find a way to control this sudden influx of visions, she’d have to stay well away from him.

  “We didn’t find out where the desk is,” Eagle said, “But Jaxon did have a premonition of who we need to get the case to.”

  Lyssa snapped her fingers. “Yes, of course, that makes sense. We’re not ever getting inside the holding cells where they have Dani, but someone who works there can. We should have been researching people who have access, not the desk itself.”

  Lyra sat next to Jaxon and held the mug to his mouth. “Drink this,” she said. Jaxon muttered something Reese couldn’t hear, but he took the mug from Lyra, which was a good sign.

  Reese opened her drawing pad and began sketching the most pressing image of a man’s distorted face. Quickly, it came to life under her fingers, simple lines that didn’t have much substance. As if Jaxon saw it through a cup of water. There would be no identifying this man.

  “Unfortunately, we may have a problem.” Eagle slumped into a chair near the couch. “It’s none other than the Controller who ends up with the nyckelira case. One of the guys Jaxon knows will give it to him. Tonight, we think. At the memorial. At least he will if we can make it happen. We have no idea when the Controller will put it on the desk where Dani will find it, but presumably before he takes it home, which means soon. Probably before he leaves for the day.”

  Lyssa nodded. “One of the guards did say the Controller had taken a special interest in Dani. Probably because of her ability. And he’d have access to wherever she’s at. But convincing anyone to give the case to the Controller is definitely a problem.”

  Reese’s hand stilled as she stared down at her drawing of a man holding something out in his hands. It was blurry, but he could be offering the other man the nyckelira case.

  “Why would Jaxon’s friend give the Controller the case?” Lyssa put on her iTeevs and began swiping screens that no one else could see. “Ah, okay, here it is. Apparently, the Controller collects musical instruments, some of which aren’t in use anymore, so he’s had them recreated from old Teev footage. He also has two children and four grandchildren, all of whom play different instruments.”

  Eagle tilted his head. “The guy Jaxon knows is already with Special Forces, but he’s looking to move up. We’ll have to approach him about the case, and do it fast. He’s probably home getting ready.”

  “Donnel was already wearing his uniform at the Coaster.” Jaxon lifted up the square of his iTeev and began unfolding the screen. His hand shook. “I’ll text him.”

  “Give it to me,” Lyra reached for the iTeev.

  Jaxon held it away from her. “I can do it.”

  Lyra frowned. “If Donnel gives the case to the Controller, and Dani uses the weapons inside the secret compartment to escape, won’t he question Donnel? That’d be a death sentence for him.”

  Jaxon lowered his iTeev. “Not if we leave a note inside telling Dani to lock up the secret compartment after she removes the weapons.”

  “They have cameras everywhere,” Lyssa countered. “And if that’s her means of escape, they’ll eventually ask Donnel where he got it.”

  Everyone fell silent as they pondered the question. “Maybe not,” Eagle said after a few minutes. “I could put a jammer in the case that activates once it’s open, and that would disrupt the camera, and the note would do the rest.”

  Reese left her drawing pad and approached the couch slowly. No images battered at her yet, so maybe Jaxon was becoming sober again. “What about security? The invite said no weapons at the memorial, and that makes sense with so many outside people, especially if the Controller will be present.”

  “It’ll get through the scanners,” Eagle said confidently. “They’ll want to open it up, but I’ve lined the hidden compartments with special metals, and with the design it will look innocuous under a scan. It’ll get through. I’ll remove the fingerprint requirement on the weapons, in case she gives one to her brother.”

  “So we just give it to Donnel?” Reese asked.

  “Yes. Or convince him he wants it.” Jaxon turned to look at her, his eyes clear now, but he lowered his gaze almost instantly. “And it has to be tonight. I also saw enforcers streaming out to the street after an alarm was raised.”

  “Great,” Lyssa muttered. “Just great. We have to try to break her out on the one night half the enforcers in the CORE will be present.”

  “At least most of them won’t be armed,” Reese said.

  Lyssa shook her head. “Maybe not inside the building, but how many will have weapons waiting for them nearby on the outside, or will be given them once she breaks out?”

  “I think it’s perfect, actually.” Eagle’s shoulders lifted in his uneven shrug. “On another night, more would have their weapons ready.”

  “But you guys have to know there’s no guarantee, right?” Jaxon insisted. “I don’t know that Dani will get the case. None of us do.”

  Reese felt his doubt, and to be honest, she was feeling it too. That distorted medley of visions had shaken her. Shoving aside the misgivings, she moved around the couch and sat on Jaxon’s other side. “She’ll get the case.” Still no sketches burst out at her, not even when their legs touched and heat rushed through her at his nearness, at the memory of the sketch she’d seen from him last night.

  He smiled at her, but the unsteadiness of his grin told her he wasn’t well. His hands, spread now on the front of his thighs, were still shaking, and his breath was shallow, coming faster than normal.

  “You text your friend,” Reese said. “I’ll contact Brogan on the T-link. We’ll need transportation Special Forces can’t lock down. Once we make sure Donnel delivers the case, we’ll go outside and be ready to pick Dani and Tauri up once they’re out.”

  “I’d like to remain inside for as long as possible,” Eagle said. “I may be able to set off a few distractions to help Dani.”

  Reese had been expecting that. “Good idea.” She stood, pulling her borrowed T-link over her eyes. She needed to brief the captain on a secure channel, and with Jaxon out of commission, that fell to her. “Just remember, they’ll have cameras everywhere.”

  “Which I know how to temporarily disrupt, if necessary.” Eagle flashed her his usual confident grin, which had been lacking since their experience in Santoni.

  “What about us?” Lyssa asked.

  “HED has two entrances,” Lyra said. “You and I can watch them and let Reese and Jaxon know which way Dani comes out.”

  Lyssa smiled. “I’ll take the back. There’s a roof nearby that I’m confident I can get to. I’ll be able to watch the whole ba
ckside of the building.”

  “There’s a snack shop directly in front,” Lyra added. “I’ll shop for something to take home, and linger over a drink if I need to.”

  “Someone will need to stash our weapons and battle gear inside our escape vehicle.” Eagle picked up a helmet someone had left on the table. “Just in case it doesn’t go smoothly.”

  “Does anything ever go smoothly?” Lyssa shot back.

  The crew continued to discuss the plan, but Reese’s attention was drawn by Brogan’s voice coming through the T-link. “We think we’ve found a way,” she told him on audio only, walking away from the others.

  Quickly, she outlined the plan to put the nyckelira case where Dani would be able to access it and escape on her own. “Eagle will stay inside to lend what aid he can, and the twins will let us know where to pick her up, but we’re going to need transportation.”

  “I’ve already contacted the underground there to let them know we’ll need support,” he said. “Apparently there has been a change of leadership recently, but my contact assured me our agreements would remain unchanged. He’s let me know I can have a shuttle wherever you want it. I’ll also send you the address of our safehouse in Morry. I think that will be the best location for your retreat.”

  “Not a shuttle,” she said. “At least not at first. If Special Forces closes down the public shuttles, we’ll be blocked, even if the one you give us is off the grid. What we need is a pair of scramblers.” The two-wheel motorized cycles were always the best way to get around the shuttle traffic in New York, especially on a Saturday night.

  Brogan chuckled. “I’m sure the underground there has managed to lift a few from enforcers.”

  “We’ll also need a shuttle waiting for us outside the city, and a way to avoid cameras until we’re closer to the safehouse and won’t be noticed. Special Forces will be looking for a shuttle nearby that doesn’t obey their commands.”

  “The shuttle they’ll give you will know the cameras to avoid. I’ll send you the scrambler coordinates when it’s done.”