Devious Minds

by Colleen Helme

  “No,” Mason said. “You’re right, I could be in over my head, but I’ve learned some things, and maybe I’m just better at playing the game and looking out for myself. I don’t answer to anyone, which suits me just fine. Besides that, the only person I ever cared about is dead because of you. Why do you think I’d want to have anything to do with you after that happened? I have nothing to lose anymore, so you have nothing to offer that’s as lucrative as what I’m doing now.”

  I gathered that Mason had been Blake’s protégé. Someone close to Mason had died, and they’d parted ways with a lot of blame and anger for each other.

  Blake shook his head. “You’ve got it all wrong. I tried to save her. That’s why I’m here, dammit. To make it up to you. I think you might be in trouble.”

  Mason snorted. “Don’t you think I know that? But hey... it’s how I got my business going. Everyone knows I got burned, so that makes me a free agent. I don’t work sides, and I don’t work for you.”

  “Even if it means stopping hundreds of people from being killed?” Blake asked, thinking it was his last move, but it was all he had.

  Mason shook his head. “It’s always saving the world with you, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Blake answered. “It’s the only reason I do this. It used to be your reason, too.”

  Mason let out a breath. He was a fool to meet with Blake and think his conscience wouldn’t guilt him into risking his life. He’d tried not to care, since it meant he’d probably die, but what he was doing didn’t sit well with him either, and even though the chance was small, Blake might be the only way out.

  Damn Cypher to hell and back. He never should have gotten involved with that man. Now Cypher owned him, and he was a fool. If he told Blake what he knew, he was a dead man. He couldn’t do it. He’d just have to take his chances and hope he could get out before Cypher suspected anything. Too bad that meant people were going to die. But at least Blake didn’t seem to know about his involvement with Cypher, or he’d never let him go.

  “Uh... what does Cypher have on you?” I asked, knowing it was the only way to get Mason to talk, and let Blake know who he was dealing with. Shock came from both of their minds.

  “Shit!” Mason said. He glanced around the room before whispering. “How did you... are you trying to get us killed?”

  I shrugged and swallowed, hoping I hadn’t just made a huge mistake. Blake was thinking that if Cypher was involved in all of this, things were worse than he thought. Now it was imperative that he know what Mason was involved with. I also picked up a lot of animosity from Blake toward Cypher and figured he must be a long-time enemy.

  “Look,” Blake said to Mason, coming to a decision. “You help me. I’ll get you out. No questions asked.”

  Mason took a deep breath, then decided to risk it. Now that Blake knew about Cypher, he didn’t have much of a choice, but how the hell did I know? “Fine. But we can’t talk here. My place is secure. You come with me, and I’ll tell you what I know.” He was thinking that he had a backup plan with weapons and cash in case he ever got into trouble. Since he didn’t know if Blake had been compromised, going to his place was the best option.

  Blake was thinking he was willing to trust Mason not to lead us into a trap, but he caught my gaze for my reaction to Mason’s suggestion. He was still reeling from my revelation about Cypher, and he figured if I had any sort of premonition about Mason, I wouldn’t hesitate to tell him it was a bad idea. I gave him a slight nod that we should go ahead, and Blake turned his attention back to Mason. “All right, we’ll come.”

  Mason hadn’t missed the exchange between us, and his brows drew together. Besides knowing about Cypher, my role as Blake’s “niece” just took on a whole different meaning. He wondered again exactly what I was doing there, especially since it looked like I had Blake’s complete trust.

  Just then, our waiter entered the room to check on us. Mason smiled with abandon, putting on an act of a man without a care in the world. In flawless French, he told the waiter to bring the bill along with a variety of desserts in a box.

  I knew this because I heard him think it in English before translating it into French in his mind. Normally, I would have been pleased to take the assortment of French pastries with us, but the seriousness of the situation had totally ruined my appetite.

  Plus, Mason knew more about the whole thing than he’d let on. His thoughts of the hazmat chemical suits, gas masks, chemical gloves, and chemical boots sent my stomach into a queasy knot. Everything put together pointed to the release of a biological weapon, and it was enough to make me wish I’d never come to Paris.

  Chapter 6

  We left the café in somber silence and followed Mason down the street. The way he kept checking for anyone who looked like they had more than a casual interest in our little group was starting to freak me out, especially when Blake started doing it too.

  I picked up lots of thoughts out there, but since they were all in French, it didn’t do me any good. I’d just have to rely on Blake and Mason to protect me, and I hoped they were as good in the field as they thought.

  As usual, I had no idea where we were, but after ten minutes, we had moved into a less crowded neighborhood. Five minutes after that, there were hardly any people around us at all. I let out my breath and relaxed my vigil, deciding to listen to Blake’s mind so I’d know what he thought was going on.

  Blake was wondering how in hell I knew about Cypher. It only meant one thing... I was the real deal. My premonitions were amazing. If I could concentrate my psychic powers on Cypher, it might be the break they needed to find the man behind the name, since his identity was a well-guarded secret. This could be huge.

  Blake was also thinking that if Cypher was involved, he was probably working for a group willing to pay an enormous amount of money to disrupt something political. He knew the United Nations Conference on Climate Change was being held in Paris in the next day or two. It was the only international event going on that could be a target.

  He and his team had been keeping an eye on the ‘supermajors’ who’d met a few months ago with several members of OPEC. Their meetings sent up several red flags, and he’d wondered what they were up to. But now it all clicked. What if they’d hired Cypher to stop the conference? Big oil didn’t like the idea of climate change and all the regulations it would bring, but would they go that far?

  My heart rate spiked. Was that what this was all about? A terrorist attack on the conference?

  I stopped in my tracks and shook my head. This was bad. And here I was, right in the middle of it. Both men glanced back at me, wondering what was wrong. “Are you all right?” Blake asked.

  “Um...”

  “Save it,” Mason said. “We’re almost there.”

  “Fine,” I agreed. “But after we talk, I want to go home.”

  Blake nodded and wondered if I’d just had a premonition about something awful that was going to happen. Then he thought if that was true, he’d send me home on the next available flight. Hearing that sent a rush of relief through me, and I decided that Blake wasn’t so bad after all.

  Mason slowed. Then, after a quick glance to see if we were followed, hurried to a double-door along the sidewalk and turned the handle. Pushing it open, he ushered us through. Inside was a courtyard, a lot like the one at Blake’s apartment, with a few cars parked along a circular drive.

  As we crossed toward the entrance, I heard a smattering of thoughts in another language, and turned to see three dark figures detach from the shadows behind a car and rush toward us. “Look out!”

  Blake shoved me behind him and blocked the first man’s attack, while the others went after Mason. As they fought, another set of dark figures came straight for me. One man grabbed my arm, while the other went after Blake. With my heart in my throat, I used my Aikido move to break his hold. He twisted away, which wasn’t a good sign, and grabbed both my arms and threw me to the ground.

  Luckily, I knew how to fall, so it
didn’t hurt too much, but I knew immediately that I wasn’t good enough to fight someone with his superior skills. As he came at me again, I cringed back in panic. Just then, Blake threw one of his attackers at my guy, and they both went down right beside me.

  “Run!” Blake yelled, then he ducked a punch and twisted to ram his elbow into another attacker’s unprotected side.

  I stumbled to my feet and ran for the door we’d just entered. I took off down the street and around a corner, hearing sounds of pursuit behind me. I darted across the street and turned another corner, hoping to lose my pursuers. Grateful I could run pretty well in my boots, I made it to the end and crossed another street.

  With my chest heaving, I glanced over my shoulder. Both men still came on strong, and got closer, while I was running out of juice. In a last-ditch burst of frantic speed, I continued down the side of the street, searching for a place to disappear.

  The stone wall along the sidewalk ended, coming to a large, iron gate locked together by a loose chain. Eyeing the opening, I figured there was enough room for me to squeeze between them and get inside to safety. It was either that or continue running down the street where they’d probably catch me.

  Taking my chances, I ducked under the chain and got my head through, then twisted my shoulders and hips, grabbing the wrought iron gate for leverage. I pulled one shoulder through, then shimmied against the poles to wiggle my hips between them. With a mighty heave, I squeezed through and fell to the ground inside the gate.

  Twisting to my hands and knees, I crawled to my feet, but one of the men chasing me grabbed my ankle through the gate and pulled. I fell onto my elbows with a little scream, but kicked back with all my might, breaking his hold. Groaning, I rolled out of his reach and staggered to my feet.

  One of the men tried to squeeze through the gate like I’d done, but I didn’t think he’d make it. Still, I wasn’t about to stick around to find out. Breathing heavily, I took off at a staggering run up the steep, narrow, cobbled road, hearing French cursing sounds behind me. Leaving the pool of light at the gate, I continued in the dark until the road curved, then glanced back at my pursuers.

  My breath hitched to see one of them using a rock to smash the lock apart. Damn! I hurried around the curve and knew I had to get off this narrow, little road and hide somewhere. This far from the light, it was hard to make out my surroundings, but on either side of the road were what looked like lots of little statues and monuments.

  What kind of a park was this?

  The road straightened. In the distance, a street light cast an eerie glow over the rectangular monuments which stood nearly shoulder to shoulder. Statues and pillars with crosses on them covered the entire area and spread out as far as I could see in the dark.

  Dread hit me between the eyes, knocking out my breath. This wasn’t a park. This was a graveyard. Sounds of the lock breaking reached me, and hearing the chain rattle through the gate sent panic down my spine.

  Quivering with terror, I could hardly move. Holy hell! What now? Taking a deep breath, I got my legs to move up the road until I came to another path that went down a side lane. I took it but, in the dark, I could hardly make out more than just the outline of the tombs on either side of me.

  Voices getting closer sent my heart rate through the roof. I glanced behind me to see two lights from the men’s cell phones sweeping back and forth along the main road. In a panic, I stepped toward the nearest tomb. It had to be at least as big as an outhouse or an old telephone booth.

  As I ran my hand across the front, I could make out the small door which stood open and leaned to the side, like it was broken. It left just enough room to crawl inside and hide. But did I really want to go in there? What about all the spiders and bugs? Not only that, what about the dead person?

  With the voices getting closer, I had no choice, unless I wanted to take my chances and duck between the tombs. But with their little lights, they’d probably see me. No, this was the best I could do, even though everything in me screamed not to.

  Cringing, I took a deep breath, and ducked inside, feeling for the back of the tomb. My fingers brushed through spider webs before touching the back wall, and I had to work hard to keep quiet. Then I reached for the corner behind the broken door, hoping I’d be out of sight, and hunched down into a crouch.

  Now that I was inside, my breathing sounded loud and harsh. I took deep breaths, and tried to slow my racing heart. Their footsteps came closer, and soon their lights shone down my little side street. I held my breath. But instead of coming this way, they continued up the narrow road. Nearly overcome with relief, I closed my eyes, and my breath came out with a whoosh.

  I stayed put to gain my composure, but I realized that while they were going further into the cemetery, now might be a good time to backtrack and get the hell out of there. Swallowing my nerves, I moved to the entrance and took a step out, but froze to see the lights coming back down the road and turning into my little path.

  I jerked back, barely crouching down before the lights swept back and forth across the tombs just a few feet away. I hunched into the smallest ball I could and dropped my face into my knees, hearing softly spoken French right next to my hiding place. As I held my breath, the light brushed over the door to shine inside, barely missing my toes. The light paused for a few seconds, then moved to shine into the space between this tomb and the next.

  After another pause, the men moved their lights on down the row, stopping to examine each tomb. A few seconds later, they turned around and passed by my hiding place a second time. They paused at the crossroad with the main street, and I heard them arguing. A few moments later, their voices trailed off as they headed back toward the entrance.

  Not wanting to stay in that tomb another minute, I crept out of my hiding place and immediately shook out my clothes and hair, imagining all kinds of bugs and spiders crawling on me. Hoping I’d shaken them off, I inched my way around the curve in the road. The men and their lights were heading back toward the gate. Had they given up? I kept to the edge of the nearest tomb and watched them to make sure.

  Right before reaching the gate, they stepped off the road to crouch behind one of the bigger tombs and turned out their lights, clearly hoping to trap me. Too bad that was the only way out that I knew of. Still, I could wait them out if I had to.

  I glanced at my surroundings before perching on the edge of a small piece of concrete, or maybe it was a headstone... I couldn’t tell in the dark, but I hoped whoever was buried there wouldn’t mind too much.

  My knees began to throb, and I knew they were both skinned and bleeding. My shoulder hurt from my fall, and the palms of my hands were stinging as well, but at least my leather jacket had protected my elbows. But what was I supposed to do now? Had Blake and Mason gotten away? Since our attackers hadn’t used guns, I didn’t think they’d wanted us dead, but what did I know?

  At least I still had my purse over my shoulder. Thank goodness for that small miracle. That meant I wasn’t completely helpless. I had my phone, cash, metro tickets, and the key to Blake’s apartment. Still, I had no idea where it was, or how to get there. But I could figure it out, as long as I didn’t get caught by those two goons waiting for me.

  But that wasn’t the worst of it. If I’d heard Mason right, there was probably a biological weapon ready to go off, which could kill or hurt lots of innocent people. And if Blake and Mason were captured or killed, I might be the only one with that information and the name of the person behind it. Great. Why had I ever agreed to come to Paris?

  I shivered and hunkered down into my jacket, suddenly freezing. All that running had made me sweat and, with the cold temperature, I knew I had to get moving or freeze to death. I blew on my hands to get them warm and felt a chill breeze across my back, strong enough to blow my hair around my head. What the freak?

  Another breeze came, this time hitting me smack dab in the face. I ducked my head into my arms until it let up, and tried not to panic. I thought I heard a woma
n’s melodic voice on the breeze, but it was so soft it could have just been my imagination. Still, the hairs rose on the back of my neck, and I clapped a hand over my mouth to stop from screaming.

  The breeze shifted over me and moved along the lane, rattling the tree limbs and bushes. It seemed to ricochet among the tombstones before picking up speed. Suddenly, a loud moan that sounded alive and sinister shrieked in the air above me. I held my hands over my ears, while chills of terror ran down my spine.

  The keening moan shot down the lane. A few seconds later, both men jumped from their hiding places and rushed toward the gate. The moaning wind seemed to push them right out of the cemetery. In their hurry, they didn’t even bother to shut the gate properly, taking off like they were scared to death.

  I knew exactly how they felt. With my knees knocking together, I held my breath, waiting for another burst of wind to carry that same terrifying moan back at me. But all at once, the trees stopped rattling, and the moaning wind ceased.

  In the silence, I slowly rose to my feet and shook out my trembling legs so I could walk. With my heart in my throat, and more than a little freaked out, I stepped cautiously onto the path and practically ran for the gate.

  Once there, I paused to see if the men were hanging around. Seeing no sign of them, I decided it was safe to leave. After pulling the gate shut, I glanced back into the cemetery. “Uh... thanks,” I whispered, feeling a little weird to say it, but what the heck?

  I wasn’t sure which way to go, only that I wanted to find a place with lots of people. Shivering so hard my teeth chattered, I hunched into my jacket and turned down the street. Then I came to an intersection and looked both ways. Lights at the end of one street beckoned me in that direction, and I picked up the pace.

  Reaching the lights, I let out a breath to find a small café with a few people inside. Choking back relieved tears, I staggered inside and took a seat at an empty booth in the corner. A waiter came to my side, his brows drawn together with concern. Too bad I didn’t know what he was thinking, but since it was probably something like how awful I looked, I couldn’t complain.