“Jase?” Hannah stepped toward him, worried.
“Sam. The only way he’d know is if—”
“If Sam told him,” I finished. Everyone looked between me and Jason in confusion.
“He somehow got your br— Sam to tell him your real name, right?” Paul asked, putting the pieces together quickly. Dan looked up at Paul’s near slip, but let it go.
“It has to be,” Jason said. “If Mason is the one who told my father where I am, that’s the only way I can think of he’d be able to find the guy.”
“All right, we’ve got a possible how and why. The question becomes, if his father had succeeded in taking Jason, how would it benefit Mason?” Dan asked.
“No clue. He wants to study me or something. I have no idea how having my father kidnap me would help in that goal.”
“Study you?” Dan asked.
“Yes, he found out about my abilities when I ripped up the floor in the warehouse,” Jason said matter-of-factly. Hannah looked at him in surprise to which he responded, “And Dan found out when I ripped up your backyard. Although, I think he’s having some trouble with the idea.” Jason tensed, suddenly going down to the floor, putting his hand on the floorboard and concentrating. “Someone’s coming. I don’t recognize the steps.”
I immediately grabbed my spare gun out of the drawer in the end table and chambered a round. “Better safe than sorry,” I told my partner who was looking at me in surprise. “If he doesn’t recognize the steps it could be a new thug sent by Mason.”
Dan nodded and drew his weapon also. “Get everyone else down the basement,” I told Jason. “Dan and I will check it out.”
Jason agreed and silently ushered Hannah and the kids to the basement to the room where he’d been staying. I heard the door shut and nodded to my partner. We made our way to the door carefully and I swung it open to reveal a uniformed cop standing at the door about to knock. He took a step back when he noticed our drawn weapons and his hand hovered by his holster for a moment before he recognized us as fellow cops.
“Did you find anything?” I asked as I allowed him into the house. I set my gun on the end table and Dan holstered his.
“No. The guys who tried to grab your friend got away,” he said regretfully. Tony Dimartino was one of the officers that had been in the car across the street and it was clear to me that he was blaming himself for what had happened. He didn’t personally know Jason, but he’d heard about the street kid who’d been willing to risk his life to take down Trevor Mason, so he had volunteered to be among the guards at my house.
“Thanks for looking, Tony. By the time you came in it was a long shot that they’d be around. We’ll keep an eye out for them, but Mason needs to stay our main objective,” I said, still worried about the timing of this attack. Dimartino nodded and headed back out to search more. Dan and I let the others know that the coast was clear and they all went back into the living room.
“Alice, did they find anything?” Hannah asked nervously as I rejoined the group in the living room. I shook my head. “We can’t stay here. It isn’t safe now that Jason’s father found us.”
“Speaking of,” I said, looking around the room curiously, “where’s Jason?”
“I think he stayed downstairs and went to bed,” Dan answered. “He looked exhausted, so hopefully he’ll be able to sleep.”
“It’s more likely that he’s trying to feel out the area,” Paul said. The boy had been glaring at me since they had returned, apparently blaming me for tonight’s fiasco.
“Maybe so,” I admitted. “But he’s probably going to sleep as well. Sam’s still out there, and the only reason he came home with me tonight was because something at the warehouse knocked him flat out so he needed to rest before going after him. There was no way to know that his father had found out where he was.”
“Wait, you went to the warehouse?” Dan asked. “Why did you go there, and what happened to Jason?”
I explained Jason’s urgent desire to visit the crime scene and the unknown force that had knocked him out. “…neither of us could figure out what happened,” I finished. My partner frowned, a reaction I saw from everyone in the room.
“I know I’m new to this super-powered person thing, but is it possible that there’s someone else out there who has special abilities?” Dan asked thoughtfully.
I frowned thoughtfully, “I suppose. Jason doesn’t know of any, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there aren’t more out there. It makes more sense than him being the only one.”
“Then might whatever knocked Jason out at the warehouse be someone else using some kind of ability?” he asked.
I shook my head, wondering why I hadn’t thought of that possibility. “I’m glad you found out Jason’s secret; I don’t know how long it would have taken me to come up with that idea. Seems weird that this happened right before Jason’s father found him,” I said thoughtfully.
“You thinking there’s some connection?” my partner asked.
I shrugged, about to reply as Ginny interrupted, “Officer Alice?”
“Yes, Ginny?”
The girl looked down at the ground before speaking, “Was Jason’s dad going to hurt him again? I thought he was too old now.”
“He’s too old for his father to legally take him home, yes. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to be a deterrent. This guy thinks Jason is his property, something he can pick up and treat however he wants,” I said angrily. Ginny took a step back nervously and I took a breath. “Sorry, Ginny. I didn’t mean to scare you. Jason’s dad made me mad, but I’m not mad at you.”
“That’s all right,” she said, still sounding nervous. I smiled, trying to reassure her that the anger was fleeting.
“He actually called Jason his property?” Dan asked with a frown.
I nodded. “He said he’d come for what was his. I guess he didn’t realize that Jason’s ability would work even through the drugs.”
“HE didn’t know about it,” Jason said angrily, entering the room from behind me and pounding on the doorframe. “Until tonight when I showed it to him.”
“I thought you were sleeping,” I said mildly. I didn’t respond to his show of temper, figuring if anyone had a right to be angry right now, it was him.
“I can’t sleep now, not knowing that monster is out there and that Sam is still in danger.”
I knew what was coming next, and beat him to saying it. “You’re leaving now, aren’t you?”
TWENTY-FIVE
Jason
My mind was racing and I couldn’t stop myself from twitching slightly as I lay on the bed trying to sleep. My father was in town. He’d found me, and I couldn’t stay where he knew I was. This house, once my safe haven, had become a prison. I felt myself breathing quickly, hyperventilating, and I sat up nearly in a panic before I reminded myself that I was safe. I forced myself to take a few deep breaths and relax.
It was harder to push away the memories. Once again I had been helpless in my father’s grasp. The monster from my nightmares had risen in real life. My first instinct was to run. But I still needed to find my little brother. I would not leave him, but I had to get away from the memories. Alice’s house, once happy and safe had been tainted. I pushed myself up from the mattress and went back upstairs. After telling them that my father didn’t know anything about my abilities until that night, Alice correctly guessed my intention to leave.
“Yes, I’m going. And you all should too. This house won’t be safe until both my father and Mason are out of the picture. I don’t want you guys to get hurt because of my baggage.”
“I don’t know where to go,” Alice admitted, seeming pained by that admission as she looked to Dan for guidance.
“We should go down to the station and report to the Captain,” he said. “He might know of somewhere the kids and Hannah will be safe. You and I should stay at work and help Jason find Mason. We’re your contacts, kid, so don’t forget to check in, all right?”
My father
’s face, once so easily evident in Dan’s, was getting harder to see. Dan was clearly the better man and, even though he knew about my abilities, he was still acting as if he were concerned for my safety. “I’ll remember,” I promised. “For now, I have to go. I’ll call you sometime tomorrow to find out if you’ve found a safe place.”
Hannah was quiet, but I heard her sniffle and saw her wipe a hand over her face. “I’ll be careful.” She nodded and I waved and walked out of the house, hopefully conveying confidence. I felt anything but at this point. Even counting my abilities, I was outmanned and outgunned. Mason had already proven he wasn’t afraid to fight dirty, and my father wouldn’t stop until he got me back. Between the two, I wasn’t sure who wanted me more. I could only hope that the new knowledge of my freakish abilities would give my father some pause in his attempt to reclaim me for himself. Then at least I’d only have one monster to concentrate on.
I took a breath of the fresh, cool air as I stepped outside and I knelt in the yard, concentrating for a moment and flattening the area I had ripped up earlier. It felt good to do something more positive with my gift. I couldn’t make the grass grow, at least not until Alice bought some seed, but at least it didn’t look all ripped up anymore. Thankfully, no one other than Dan and I had seen the damage.
To be honest, I wasn’t sure where to start, so I just started walking. All I had was a small backpack that had some clothes and the cell phone Alice had given me. She’d also put some money into the front pocket when she thought I wasn’t looking. Not a lot, but it would help feed me for the time being. I headed toward my normal alley, avoiding people as best I could. Any unknown person was a potential threat. There’s no way to tell if Mason had bought them in order to get to me. Paranoia was my new best friend. Hopefully it would keep me alive.
The streets were quiet, even for this time of night, and it had me on edge. Well… more on edge. I felt footsteps behind me and my whole body tensed, ready for action. I kept walking, and breathed a sigh of relief when the steps turned down a side street and I stopped, leaning against a building for support. I suddenly felt very tired, but I wanted to make it to my alley before I stopped for the night. After a moment I pushed away from the building, the bricks cool and rough on my fingers, and I kept walking. My concentration slipped and a person managed to get about five feet behind me before I even noticed them.
I spun around startled and mad at myself for allowing someone to sneak up on me. The man was tall, broad-shouldered, and strong. He had his eye on me, and I decided going on the offensive might be best. “What do you want?” I demanded, holding my abilities on a tight leash. The slightest provocation from this guy would be enough to set it off. If there was one thing I was sick of, it was being a victim. If I had my way, it would never happen again.
The man flinched back, and I didn’t fool myself into thinking he was intimidated by my size or muscle. He knew about me. That meant either he had been my father’s accomplice or he worked with Mason. Either way, it meant I could use my powers to intimidate him. “I repeat, what do you want?” I inquired more strongly, allowing a little power to slip loose, causing the ground to rumble. The man paled slightly, but stood his ground.
“The boss wants you. He told me that if you come with me now, he’ll let the kid go,” he spoke in a rush, and added, “You should come. The kid shouldn’t be hurt.”
“Your boss can’t be trusted,” I said. My hands shook as I considered my options. “If I go with you now, he’ll just keep Sam as a way to keep me in line.” The slight smirk on his face told me I was right, and that his supposed concern for Sam’s safety was another ploy. “I won’t let him keep Sam. And he’s not getting me.”
I took a deep breath and jumped in head first. “You tell your boss I’m hunting for him. And when I find him, Sam better be unharmed or he won’t be getting a cushy prison cell. Can you be a good little messenger boy and tell him that?” I asked, hiding my fear with false bravado, and punctuating my point by making the ground rumble more, cracking one of the squares of cement on the sidewalk we were on.
The messenger took another step back and nodded. “Good boy. Run along now,” I said with a shooing motion, the ground under him rippling with my motion.
The man took a hesitant step backward before turning and walking the other direction. I waited until he was out of sight then knelt and sent streams of power along the route he had taken. The steps were clear and fresh, easy to follow. And he was delivering a message to the very person I was looking for. Even if he was just a middleman, I’d be able to follow whoever he was meeting with.
This might not be the best play, but it was the only one I had. If it worked, I would be amazed. Chances were good that at some point either the messenger or whoever he was meeting would get into a car and then I’d be out of luck. While footsteps are unique and easily distinguishable—to me at least—cars are exactly the same. I might be able to tell the difference between a car and a truck, but that’s about as far as it went.
The messenger was taking a zigzag route, designed to throw a tail, but he wasn’t used to having a tail who could feel where he was going, and that was something Mason didn’t know I could do. He’d seen only the destructive nature of my abilities. Unless he’d noticed my slip in the warehouse when I’d felt Sam’s steps approaching. But the messenger didn’t know that I could be several blocks away and still be following his tracks. He stopped and I slowed, keeping to the shadows as I approached. He was standing by a corner, waiting for someone. I took the opportunity to take a short break, relaxing and allowing myself to rest slightly. From my hiding place I could see the street corner and the alley to the side of me.
My heart sank as I saw a car pull up to the corner, but I memorized the license plate to give to Alice when I called her. My hands clenched and my body started shaking with repressed emotion when I saw who was driving the car. It was the man who’d dumped Erin’s body and who was holding Sam. The Bulldog. It took all of my self-control to keep from creating a sinkhole under his car and then sealing it up around him. I could do it, but I would likely be out of commission for at least a day. And I didn’t want to sink to their level and become a killer. My whole body shook with anger and the desire to hurt that man, but this time I kept the beast caged.
The voices carried, and I was pleased to hear the messenger was actually good at his job. He told the Bulldog everything I had said, word-for-word. To my surprise he just laughed, as if what I’d done had been expected. The realization made me frown in concern as I crouched behind the dumpster. I glanced back up at the car and realized that the Bulldog was looking right at me. My body froze; the brittle bravado leaving as I realized that my plan had failed. I felt another set of footsteps behind me and I turned, just in time to receive an electric shock that caused all the muscles in my body to spasm for several seconds before releasing as I dropped to the ground, twitching and unable to use my power.
In the few moments before they approached me, I realized that the barely there footsteps were familiar. I had felt them once before, at the warehouse. This had to be Dan’s other person with abilities. The realization didn’t help me in my current predicament, but it was nice to know I was right about the warehouse. The feeling faded and I was unable to protect myself as the newcomer and the Bulldog grabbed me, cuffed my hands, carried me to the car, and dumped my unresponsive body into the trunk. “N-no,” I stammered. It may have been my imagination, but the newcomer almost seemed sorry about what he was doing. He was dressed as a Goth, spiked black leather collar and all, but there was little else remarkable about him.
My thoughts on the newcomer faded when the larger man responded to my plea. “Don’t worry, the boss ain’t gonna hurt ya…much,” the Bulldog said with a harsh laugh as he slammed the trunk, leaving me alone in the darkness.
TWENTY-SIX
Alice
After Jason left it took several minutes for any of us to move. His leaving, though expected, had thrown us, and we needed
time to process it. Somehow, even for Dan and me, Jason had become a sort of leader for our little group. The kids were plainly shell-shocked by everything that had happened in the last few days. Hannah… well, Hannah cared deeply for Jason, and I think she was worried that he wouldn’t come back to her in one piece. Physically or emotionally, this task would take a toll, and it was doubtful he would return as the same person.
“We need to plan our next step,” Dan spoke up. He had less of an emotional investment in Jason than the rest of us, but he still seemed at a loss. It was possible I was projecting my own emotions onto him, or reading into him incorrectly. It could be that he was still trying to work through the fact that this street kid had special powers that could easily get him off the street if he used it right. I know when I had found out about Jason’s powers it had spooked me for quite a while. And Jason’s revelation to me wasn’t nearly as sudden as Dan’s walking into the torn up yard as he was creating an earth-shield.
“I think we should go back out on the streets,” Paul said, standing from his seat on the couch and crossing his arms in front of him. “We know the area and people, and we can disappear.”
“Bad idea,” I said calmly. “Remember, the streets are where Erin and Sam were taken from. And Mason could pay off the other street people to tell him where you are. He knows you guys are important to Jason, and he doesn’t need to get any more ammunition. Sam’s enough. Besides, Jason doesn’t need the added stress of not knowing you guys are safe somewhere.”
“Then where do we go?” Jeffrey asked timidly. “If we aren’t safe here, where will we be?”
Paul scowled at all of us, but he returned to his seat and didn’t bring up going to the streets again. I think he knew it was a bad idea, but he wanted to be able to make Jason proud of him for being able to protect the others in his absence. I looked at Dan, hoping he’d have an idea, but he shrugged. “We could stay at a hotel, but I think this particular group would be kind of memorable if anyone came looking.”
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