by Bryan Cohen
Jennifer's grin helped Dhiraj to relax. "That's creepy. But also sweet."
"You don't have to make up for her being gone." Dhiraj hoped he wasn't crossing a line. "You're amazing and you don't need to compensate for Erica. It sucks that she's not who she was anymore, but the world would really lose out if you became someone you're not."
Jennifer's eyes blinked several times as some tears built up inside. Before she could respond, however, they both saw the man leave the convenience store. As he entered the daylight, it became clear that it was Daly.
"Should I call the–"
Jennifer stopped Dhiraj with her hand. "We're going to follow him home first."
When Daly pulled his car out of the parking lot, Jennifer allowed another car to pull behind the mark before she tailed him. They kept silent, as if Daly might hear them if they spoke. A few minutes had passed when Daly turned into a row of apartments that were as worn as everything else in town. Jennifer parked on the other side of the lot and watched as Daly entered his unit on the third floor.
After Ted got his powers, Dhiraj had seen his own adrenaline capability tested, but this was as fast as he could remember his heart beating. "Now we call the cops?"
"Open the glove compartment." Any sentiment Dhiraj had built up in Jennifer was gone. She sounded all business.
Dhiraj complied. On top of the insurance cards and the owner's manual sat a gun. He heard a large breath to his left.
"It's for protection."
Dhiraj considered grabbing the gun and fleeing to the nearest pay phone. Instead, he stayed in his place as Jennifer reached across him and took the weapon. Dhiraj wasn't sure what Jennifer needed more: protection against Daly or protection from herself.
Chapter 29
Ted felt like he was moving into enemy territory when he passed through the front door of GHA headquarters. Even though the dark exterior of the building had given way to a bright, posh core, Ted couldn't help but continue to feel darkness all around him. The people who met within these walls wanted his head on a platter, which made it hard to enjoy the interior design. Agents Vott and Harding were on Ted's left and right, respectively, and half a dozen DHS guards walked in behind them. He'd been told that more than a hundred people would take part in meetings that discussed his family and his future. There were only about a dozen people in the building now, but all of them looked like they considered him sub-human.
It wouldn't take much. Just a flick of the wrist and you'd be on the ceiling.
Ted tried to keep his mother's words in mind to take anger out of the equation. Between the looks the GHAers were giving him and his fight the previous day with Erica, anger felt like the only emotion within his grasp. And the more he attempted to suppress it, the more the feeling seemed to grow.
Ted thought about where these men and women might have been within the mob outside of the jewelry store. He figured it was much easier to people to taunt him when a hundred people had their back. Could one of these people have been responsible for sending his mother to the hospital? The idea made the legs of an antique table in the corner of the room start to rattle.
Agent Vott put his hand on Ted's shoulder. "Not the best idea, Ted. Keeping your powers in check is a way better plan."
Ted concentrated on the table and the rattling stopped. He took a deep breath. "If it'd been your mom?"
Before Agent Vott could chime in, Agent Harding piped up. "I'd crush 'em."
While Vott's sensibility was important for a time like this, Ted would take Harding for a night on the town any day. The two agents went into a room ahead of Ted, giving him the opportunity to scope out his surroundings.
The interior of the building had sprung up so recently, Ted could still smell the fresh paint on the walls. Given how long construction work typically took, Ted imagined that whoever backed the GHA had deep pockets.
What would some rich guy or company have against me?
Before he could brainstorm further, the door ahead of him opened and Agent Harding waved him forward. Cobblestone was sitting at the head of some kind of command center table with a half-dozen armed men of his own. It reminded Ted of the underground White House bunker he'd seen in movies when the President had come under attack. He looked at the head of the GHA and pictured him as a movie villain stroking a purring, white cat.
Cobblestone opened his arms wide in Ted's direction. "We're honored to have you here today, Ted. It's amazing that a small advocacy organization like ours could command a sit-down with an important person like yourself."
While Ted couldn't smell the bullcrap, he certainly knew what it sounded like. "Mr. Cobblestone."
"Please, call me Tom." The man's boisterous tone changed to solemn in a hurry. "I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. We are working around the clock to find Ms. Dormer and put her behind bars."
Agent Vott put his hand on Ted's neck, anticipating that items might begin to levitate if the teen didn't keep his emotions in check.
"Thank you." Ted considered pointing all the GHA weapons directly at Cobblestone and seeing if he'd give up Natalie's location. "Tom."
A few beats of silence passed.
"I'm sure your time is as valuable as mine." Cobblestone leaned back in his chair. "How can I be of service?"
Ted had never tried it, but he wondered if it would be fun to try to yank out one of Cobblestone's teeth from the root. He suppressed the urge. "Do you mind if the two of us talk one-on-one for a moment?"
Tom waved his hands and the men around him stood up. "Of course, Ted. I figured you might want that. Agents Vott and Harding?"
Ted could hear Vott's low grumble behind him. The DHS agents shuffled out just as Cobblestone's men had.
"Be smart." Vott gave him one last pat on the shoulder before he and his partner exited.
Cobblestone's posture changed when the two of them were alone. He leaned forward as if he were trying to stab Ted with his words. "It's nice to be able to talk candidly with someone. Even if it is with a murderer."
The insult made Ted feel more at ease than when he'd had to play nice. "You put on a good face for the crowd, Tom."
Cobblestone coughed. "Don't address me, you abomination. You should be in jail for what you did to the Torellos."
Now Ted leaned back in his chair. He knew now it wasn't Cobblestone's choice for him to be there. "The Torellos were already dead. They were the ones possessed by… aliens. I stopped them in self-defense." Ted cleared his throat. "Trying to kill my mother and frame my friend for it is a lot worse than what I've done."
Cobblestone laughed. "Nobody was going to die. It was a warning shot. If you do what we say, nobody else will get hurt."
Ted seriously considered sending one of the room's flatscreen TVs through Cobblestone's skull. "My mother is not a bargaining chip."
Cobblestone acted like he didn't hear him. "If you and your girlfriend leave Treasure forever, we'll give you back your friend and protect your family from future… harm."
Ted stood up. "She's here, isn't she?"
Cobblestone got out of his chair and looked Ted in the eyes. "Catch her if you can."
Agent Vott opened the door to see them staring at one another. "Everything going okay in here?"
Cobblestone changed his demeanor from evil leader back to friendly used car salesman. "Thank goodness you're back, Agent Vott. Mr. Finley here was getting a little heated."
Ted could tell Vott didn't trust Cobblestone's tone of voice, but he played along just the same.
"Ted, I think it's time to go. You got what you came for."
Ted took a deep breath. He was about to go against Dhiraj's advice from earlier that day.
"No, Agent Vott." Ted glanced at the room's exit. "At least, not yet."
Vott attempted to close the door behind him, but Ted was too quick. He went completely horizontal and shot through the opening and back into the lobby. Ted continued to push himself to full speed to zip past the DHS guards and back to the front of the building.
When he landed back on his two feet, an alarm sounded throughout the building.
This could be bad.
Ted saw a spinning red light shine down from the ceiling. Several of the men who'd been milling around the lobby earlier surrounded Ted. They drew weapons and pointed them right at the hero's chest. He felt his stomach churn in double time, but he refused to let the fear get in the way of his finding Natalie.
"Nice place you've got here." Ted's voice shook. "Can you set me up with your decorator?"
One of the men held his hand up when the others reached the desired position. "Down on the ground, alien, before we take you out."
Ted smirked. "I'll just look her up online, then."
Before any of them could pull the trigger, Ted rocketed to the other side of the building and headed straight for a locked door into the other part of the complex. He lowered his shoulder and shut his eyes. The door gave way and smashed open, sending the deadbolt out of the wall and clanging to the ground. Ted didn't turn back to admire his show of strength.
Nat, if you're here, I'll find you. Or die trying.
Chapter 30
Erica spent a few extra minutes primping in front of the mirror. The ancient part of her had spoken with people of all ages, including Presidents, foreign dignitaries and murderers. The part of her that was still a teenager had never met with a teacher outside of class before. Sheriff Norris had set up a meeting with Mr. Redican at a local coffee shop, which would give Erica the chance to ask him questions about the case.
The sheriff had planned to accompany her, but as soon as word got out that Jennifer was missing, that proposal went out the window. The way Jennifer had been acting lately, like Erica's former inhabitant in training, she wasn't surprised her friend had run off. Any worry she had about the situation evaporated when she heard Dhiraj was with her.
They can handle themselves. And so can I.
Erica finally approved her outfit and makeup in the mirror and looked down at her phone. She and Ted hadn't spoken since they'd blown up at each other in the hospital. She knew that getting into an argument a few doors down from his recovering mother wasn't going to get them anywhere, but she'd grown tired of Ted questioning her. She knew what was best for him and what was best for the universe, even if it meant making tough choices. Erica understood she could've conveyed that message in a less moody way, but emotions weren't completely under her control in her current body. She considered texting Ted to let him know about the meeting. Instead, she let out a long sigh and packed the phone into her purse.
They planned the meeting for noon, and by the time Erica reached the coffee shop, the place was packed with students, families and other caffeine connoisseurs. The smell of espresso beans mixed with caramel and filled the room.
If there's one thing this world has improved on, it's coffee.
Thinking back to some of the black sludge she'd downed in previous lifetimes made her gag. It was right at that gagging moment that Mr. Redican flagged Erica down from the corner of the room. She almost didn't recognize him at first, given he'd shed his typical button down shirts for a casual polo. It felt strange to walk up to this man, who now seemed much closer to her age, and interact with him outside of school. Teachers were people, too, she supposed.
"Just when I thought I could get away from you blasted kids." Redican grinned when he shook Erica's hand. "I'm surprised Ted isn't here. The two of you seem inseparable."
Erica blushed a bit and took the empty chair across from her teacher.
"I'm here on his behalf." She scooted her seat closer to the table. "He can't be in two places at once, right?"
Redican nodded in silence. It was as if he were gesturing more to himself than Erica.
"How can I help Team Ted?" Redican sipped from a long blue straw, letting the end of the drink make a slurping sound at the bottom of the cup.
"This won't take long." Erica took out a small notepad and scribbled a header at the top. "I need to know if you saw anybody chat with Beth before... the incident."
Redican leaned back in thought. Or was he pretending to think? Erica couldn't shake the feeling that Redican was hiding something from her.
"I don't remember her chatting with anyone in particular." Redican looked right into Erica's eyes. "She always acted odd in my class. I think your friend had a schoolgirl crush on me." He laughed and nearly knocked over his cup with a giddy gesture.
"Oh, that crush remains active," Erica said. "No past tense about it. You're a cool teacher, Mr. Red."
As Redican beamed, Erica remembered something Beth had said to her. During the building fire, Erica's friend had said something about homework.
"Likewise. Except the student version, of course. Sometimes, it seems like you're in another league than your classmates entirely."
Erica shared a glance with her instructor. "A month on the streets gives a person perspective."
There was something in the way Redican was smiling that made Erica uneasy.
"Ah yes, I heard about that. You disappeared and came back without a scratch on you."
Beth was doing an assignment. It was a teacher. It was–
Erica stopped her train of thought, realizing that the man before her was more than he appeared. In fact, it was very likely that Redican could hear everything she was thinking.
Erica did her best to keep a poker face. "You've been helpful, Mr. Red, but I really should see how this interview with Cobblestone is going–"
Erica tried to stand up out of her chair, but her legs refused to move. It was as if the commands from her brain weren't reaching their intended destination. Redican's face changed from his smiling teacher persona to something much more sinister.
"It's so hard to get help at these places." Redican raised his hand in the air and three baristas came to their table at once.
"How can we help you?" The three of them spoke the question in unison.
Erica stopped trying to use her legs and began thinking of the best possible plan of action.
"Could you lock the door, my dears?" Redican half-grinned, half-scowled at the baristas as they walked in a single file toward the front door.
Erica noticed that everyone had frozen in place. One gentleman with a sandwich had it clutched an inch away from his mouth. A little girl with a smoothie had a straw chomped between her teeth. Only the hum of the espresso machine remained.
"Neat trick, Mr. Redican." Erica glanced toward the emergency exit. "Seems like you're using an awful lot of power on little old me."
Redican snapped his fingers and all the patrons in the room put down their food. They stood straight up and looked toward their corner table.
"You had such promise, Erica." He paced around the outside of the table. "Even though you aren't really a student."
Erica wondered how many of her memories Redican had gone through without her knowledge. "What do you want?"
"See, I like it when we can be more direct. Enough of this pussyfooting around like we belong here." Redican put both hands on the table and looked at Erica. "I want the living soul to reach his true potential. I want him to take back my world and turn the dark soul army into a pile of dust."
Erica felt the hint of a plan and made sure to stow it deep within her mind to keep Redican from sniffing it out. "You know that's not how this works."
Redican sneered. "Ted is your lapdog. It was smart getting into bed with him. Making sure he'd protect your home world without question." Redican stood up and began speaking as if the words were meant for his ears only. "But there are other worlds in danger. And with a little change in programming, I think you'll make sure he saves them as well."
Erica felt Redican enter her mind and she put her plan into action. With dozens of lives worth of memories, Erica had access to more storage than most. She jumped from memory to memory and life to life as fast as her brain could handle. Erica watched Redican begin to shake as he tried to process all of Erica's thoughts at once. Redican let out a gasp of pain as he went
down to one knee. Erica could feel her legs again and used them to run out the back door.
Erica had gotten about a block down Main Street when she turned back. Redican didn't appear to be in pursuit. She passed by the empty gazebo when a girl a couple of years her junior grabbed Erica from behind.
"You think you can escape?" The girl's eyes looked enraged. "You think you can have the living soul all to yourself?"
Erica looked back toward the coffee shop and saw Redican walking slowly toward her. She pushed the girl away from her and continued to run away.
When she checked on her pursuer, a running stroller crashed into her side and sent her into the pavement. The mother and her child screamed at Erica in unison as they went for another pass. This time, Erica leapt over the stroller and kept going without turning around. She heard a short, repetitive honking noise and tried to outrun it. Two cyclists zipped down the street and closed in on her from either side.
The biker with the longest reach grabbed for Erica. "There's no use."
The other one made like he was preparing to ram her. "You'll suffer. He'll suffer."
Erica jumped and did a split kick in midair. Both bikers hit the pavement hard and Erica grabbed one of their bicycles. She'd made it about a block and a half before she felt her legs fall under Redican's command. She did a U-turn and headed back toward her teacher. Erica attempted to reach into her purse and alert Ted through her phone, but she felt like her hands were glued to the handlebars. As she got closer to her teacher, Erica hopped off the bike and let it careen down the street until it turned sideways and skidded along the blacktop.
As Erica reached the ground, she tried her last ditch effort. With all her effort, she dove toward Redican and sent a bolt of blue electricity between her hands. If she could reach him, perhaps she'd be able to put him under her thrall. Her legs got within two feet, but they never came close enough to his body to do any damage. She was stuck in place, and Redican easily shut her power off like he might fix a leaky faucet.
"All these lifetimes, all these powers." Redican walked up to her frozen body. "Wouldn't it just be easier if you were a regular teenager?"
