by Bianca D’Arc
“He winked at me and ended my vision. At least…that’s how it felt. I can’t be sure. It was weird.” She shook her head. She’d grown used to just blurting out whatever she saw during her stint as a paid psychic. Maybe she shouldn’t have told them, but it felt good to share her concern about that weirdness.
“Damn,” was Dan’s only comment.
“There was a guy in a turban,” Jeff confirmed, “but it’s too much to explain right now. Hang on,” he warned a split second before he took a hard left turn and then crossed over traffic to dive into an underground parking structure.
He drove to an elevator shaft, and Dan got out of the car first. He punched the button for the elevator, all the while looking around the garage. They were on the lowest level, where there was little traffic, even though the upper levels had been filled with people and cars heading to and from the hospital.
When the elevator car arrived, Dan stepped inside for a moment, and Rose noticed a small flash of silver in his hand. A key of some sort? He stepped back out again, holding the doors open with his foot while one hand was on his weapon and the other signaled to Jeff, who was still behind the wheel of the running vehicle.
“Wait there, I’m coming around to get you,” he said, putting the SUV in park and getting out.
The motor was still running. Rose unclipped her seatbelt, figuring it was go time, and waited impatiently for Jeff to do his own walk around the vehicle, his head on a pivot as he looked around the mostly empty garage.
He came to her door and opened it. She slid down from the high seat, her body brushing up against his, he stood so close. At another time, she would have been exhilarated by the close body contact with handsome Jeff—and she did feel a little flutter in her tummy when she invaded his personal space—but this was no time to have the hots for the hunky soldier who was still in the process of saving her from unknown gunmen.
She scolded herself, and her hormones, back in line. When he held out his hand to her, she took it, steadfastly ignoring the little zap of electricity that seemed to go from him right up her arm to make her entire body tingle. Yowza.
He had her walk in front of him as he crowded her toward the elevator, leaving the SUV running and in the middle of the roadway nearest the elevator. It offered some protection from anyone trying to shoot at them from the greater part of the garage, but no shots came as they walked the short distance to the open elevator door at a rapid clip.
She stepped into the car and noticed that Dan had inserted a small silver key into the control panel. Some kind of universal override thing? She knew firefighters had some way to control elevators in the city, but she’d never seen it in person. Maybe Dan had the same sort of thing.
“This thing have roof access?” Jeff asked Dan the moment the elevator doors closed.
“No, but it’ll take us to the top, and then, it’s just a short walk down a maintenance corridor to the stairs. One flight up, and we’re in the sky,” Dan answered. “I took care of the cameras in here, too, of course.”
“Of course,” Jeff answered with a mocking little bow of his head and a grin. These two were actually enjoying themselves! Rose could only shake her head. She wasn’t an adrenaline junkie and didn’t really understand those who were.
As the elevator rose, Jeff and Dan exchanged a few words. Rose understood about one in every three, but she got the gist that other members of the team would retrieve the SUV and that two were already in position to meet them on the roof.
Who were these men that they could so easily gain cooperation from mall security and hospital staff? They had to be legit, right? She didn’t get any sort of bad feeling about them—quite the contrary. Still, she couldn’t help but feel that, as she went along with their plan, either she was making the worst mistake of her life or about to embark on a new adventure that would take her places she never would have dreamed.
She was hoping for the latter.
Jeff didn’t sense anything either way about possible danger ahead of them. He had a feeling of pursuit, but it wasn’t close enough to cause a problem at present. He’d honed his gifts as best he could over the last few months with the help of his teammates and the specialists they’d brought in to help them figure out what had happened to each of them in that foreign desert.
The elevator dinged as they reached the roof. Jeff tensed for action as the door opened. The captain was there, with Wil, their faces reflecting nothing but the mission. Jeff breathed a tad easier. They weren’t scowling, which meant they hadn’t encountered any problems on the way to this point. That didn’t mean, necessarily, that they were completely out of the woods, but it was a good sign.
“This way.” Captain Hal Haliwell took point with Dan following after. Jeff gestured for Rosie to go next. He’d be directly behind her with Wil taking rearguard.
Hal led them to a wide staircase. Jeff knew there had to be another elevator that would allow the hospital to transport patients who came in by chopper down into the building, but they’d opted for this route when they’d devised this backup plan because the elevator they’d used went all the way down to the lowest level of the parking garage. If they’d gone for the elevator that went directly to the roof, they would have had to change over at some point in the middle of the way up, traipsing through patient corridors and public spaces. Not very discreet.
Hal led the way onto the roof after cautiously opening the door and taking a look out. There was a sheltered area next to the elevator door. It was a cinder block cubby that faced the helipad. There was even a bench along the back wall of the dugout-like structure. Jeff realized it was probably used for protection from the elements for hospital staff awaiting patient arrivals. It would serve them as a fortified place to wait, as well.
Hal spoke into his radio then looked at Rose. “Our ride is almost here, ma’am. How are you holding up?”
“I’m okay,” Rosie replied in a thin voice. Jeff could feel her nervousness and anxiety.
“Any reports on pursuit?” Jeff asked, hoping for a report that might put her more at ease.
“They went for Mike’s vehicle,” Hal informed them. “There was a quick firefight, but everybody’s okay. Mike led them to the ocean and used that trick with a pod of dolphins and a very accommodating great white shark.”
“No way,” Dan piped up. “He got a shark to eat a bad guy?”
“Chew on, at least,” Hal replied with a sly grin. “There’ll be enough left to question as soon as our side picks him up.”
“Local assist, Cap’n?” Dan asked.
“They’ve been surprisingly helpful,” Hal reported. “Long Islanders don’t mess around when the word terrorism is mentioned.”
“Terrorists are chasing us?” Rosie asked, her voice rising in alarm.
Damn. Jeff hadn’t meant to worry her more. He’d hoped she’d take the information that the pursuers had been fooled into following one of the decoys as reassurance. Instead, he’d frightened her more.
“Some of them are from countries, and representing governments, that do support terrorism,” Hal explained patiently. “But that doesn’t mean the people trying to get us are actually terrorists. It’s just the simplest explanation for us to use with the local authorities. The real reason they’re after us is more complicated, and top secret.”
“Chasing us?” Rosie repeated, putting emphasis on the pronoun. “I thought they were chasing me.”
“They are chasing you, Rosie,” Jeff said gently, “but it’s for the same reason they’re after us all. My friends and I have been…affected by something. Something similar to the gift you’ve had all your life.”
“You’re all clairvoyant?” she asked with disbelief in her tone.
Hal shook his head. “No, ma’am. We were all affected in different ways, but it’s similar to what you can do. Extrasensory. Paranormal, if you will.” He shrugged. “It’s complicated, but we’ll do our best to explain when we get back to base. For now, just know that we can be your allies, an
d we’ll continue to protect you, if you’ll let us.”
Chapter Three
Anything Rose might have said would have been drowned out by the sudden arrival of a loud army green helicopter. Dan and another man she’d heard him call Wil, leapt into action, running over to the helicopter and opening the sliding door on the rear compartment.
“Time to go,” Jeff said in his clipped British tones.
For a moment, she wondered what he’d say if she refused, but then she realized she was being silly. Jeff hadn’t been shooting at her. There really was someone out there looking to hurt or abduct her. If not, this had all been some crazy elaborate ruse, which didn’t make much sense, either.
Jeff held out his hand, and she took it. She would go with him, trusting her inner voice, and see where this adventure led. Hopefully, it would take her to safety and a greater understanding of what in the world was going on.
Jeff put her in front of himself with the captain bringing up the rear as they went to the waiting helicopter. The blades had never stopped turning, just slowed down a bit. She put her foot on the steps leading up to the interior compartment, but Jeff solved her height issue by simply pushing on her back and buttocks to propel her up and into the helicopter.
She was a little shocked by his too-familiar touch on her person, but she really couldn’t complain. She was a bit short to manage the leap upward on her own, and he had just been practical. Right? Or was there more to his hand on her fanny than she thought?
And…why did she wish there was? Damn. She hadn’t even known the man a full twenty-four hours, and she was halfway to inviting him into her bed…and maybe, into her heart.
It had been far too long since she’d been this attracted to a man. In fact, she realized she’d never been quite this attracted to anyone. It wasn’t just the cute British accent, either. Jeff had a noble soul. If she could see his aura, it would be clear and bright. Pure. He had a good heart. She just knew it.
Of course, she also could be deluding herself because he was handsome as sin, as well. Maybe her hormones were finally kicking in and making her see things that weren’t really there in his character, but she didn’t think so. What she sensed about him—and what he’d already done to prove his intention to help her and keep her safe—spoke for her instincts that said he was a warrior of old values, fighting for what was right and just.
The helicopter lifted off, stealing her breath as she gasped. Jeff squeezed her hand, and she realized her eyes were probably round with terror, but the men around her seemed to take the startling lift-off in stride. They looked like competent professionals—neither anxious nor complacent. They looked both vigilant and calm.
She tried to replicate their expressions but found she could not. She’d never been in a helicopter in her life, and the experience was just too startling to pretend it was commonplace. They zoomed up and out over the neighborhood, zipping away at high speed. Soon, they were out over the Atlantic Ocean because the hospital they’d departed from had been near the south shore of Long Island. She assumed they were traveling parallel to the shore, traveling up the coastline because the visibility of potential threats was much easier over open water. If they’d gone over land, there would be any number of places where enemies could conceal themselves and either spy on their path or shoot at them.
Though, she supposed, they’d have to have special armament to take down a chopper. Something that would travel high enough, for one thing. And something that would have enough punch to cause damage at that height. She’d seen reports on the news about things like rocket propelled grenades. RPGs, she had heard them called. In foreign lands, fighters used such things to take down helicopters, but they were illegal here, so nobody should have them.
Of course, a little thing like a law had seldom stopped people intent on mayhem or death from getting what they wanted—guns or ammunition or whatever—and using it. If there were people willing to open fire in the middle of a crowded mall, they were probably willing to get and use illegal weapons.
She saw that grim understanding on the faces of the men who were protecting her. They had dealt with this enemy before. They knew what this enemy was capable of doing. She read vigilance and resignation on their faces. They were prepared for whatever might come their way, and she felt safe with them. Especially with Jeff.
They couldn’t really talk over the noise of the helicopter, but that was okay. She needed a little time to think and she was, oddly enough, enjoying her first experience of being in a helicopter. It wasn’t a luxury model, to be sure, but it was fascinating to her. She looked all around with curiosity, noting the various equipment and trying to figure out what everything was meant to do.
Suddenly, the helicopter dove and swung wildly to the left, toward shore. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something streaking toward them, but then, it was left behind. Someone was shooting at them!
From a boat? It had to be. Her field of view was limited by her position and the walls of the compartment, but she definitely noticed when Wil calmly shouldered a long weapon with an enormous barrel and pointed it out the hatch. He took aim and fired.
The noise was momentarily deafening, but Rose could see the payload—whatever it had been—making a smoky trail down toward the water and then, a moment later, a fiery explosion. Whoever was on that boat probably wouldn’t be giving them any further trouble today. She hoped.
She wondered how their actions would be explained if anyone happened to see what had just happened, but that was above her pay grade. Long Island waters were generally crowded, but they were probably far enough offshore that few, if anybody, had seen exactly what had happened.
Wil handed the long-barreled weapon to Jeff, who handled it like a pro. He might seem handsome and urbane, but he was every inch the soldier right now, with that deadly weapon in his hands. Jeff positioned himself by the open hatch while Wil reached upward with one hand to grab on to an overhead support while he closed his eyes and used his other hand to gesture forward, out the open hatch, like he was trying to touch the distant clouds.
A few seconds later, she realized the clouds weren’t quite so distant anymore. In fact, there was a cushion of cloud around them, blocking their view—and more importantly, blocking anyone seeing them from below. Had Wil done that? If so, how in the world…?
Maybe it was just a trick of the view or something. She couldn’t see all that much out the hatch from her position. Maybe the clouds had been just up ahead of them, and Wil’s almost ritualistic motions had nothing to do with the fact that they were now flying through a cloud bank.
Somehow, though… She didn’t really think that was the case. Shivers coursed down her spine again. She’d seen some weird stuff today, and this ranked right up there with the rest of the freak show.
Jeff was glad when Wil did his magic trick and called in the cloud cover. Ever since Babylon, every member of the team had some kooky abilities. Wil could control the weather. They just might be able to camouflage their RPG strike as lightning if Thor could just bring the hammer down.
Wil had gone by other nicknames, but now that he had this freaky ability to make it rain, it looked like Thor might just stick. He had argued that his previous call sign—“Ruthless”—was much better, but he was outvoted by the rest of the team.
They could use a little bit of his awakening skills right now, and, in fact, Jeff could see lightning beginning to dance around in the clouds as he looked out the hatch of the helicopter. There had been a line of small boats, each reading hot to their infrared, and their intel partners in the ocean—dolphins of all things—had reported the presence of long, foul-smelling tubes to those who could speak with them. More rocket launchers.
Wil had a line of targets already in his mind, and nothing but a massive thunderstorm would do the trick to both hide them and take out the targets in the way least likely to raise alarms among the civilian population. They’d have to gloss over that first boat with the locals, but considering thre
e others were about to be obliterated by lightning, it probably wouldn’t be that difficult.
The hard part was going to be keeping the explosions from the media. Four boats blowing up in the same storm was just a little too much. They’d probably have to report one or two, if there were witnesses, but the others would quietly sink to the bottom of the ocean, taking their secrets with them. They were far enough out to sea that witnesses were unlikely, though the seafaring traffic was greater here than most places along the coast because of the population density. Still, it was manageable. And freak storms that came up out of nowhere were not unheard of.
Any mariner worth his salt, as well as the day-trippers out for some fishing or whale watching, were already headed back to shore. Only the bad guys intent on shooting down their chopper were holding position as the weather intensified. That should make it easier for Wil to hit them with his lightning bolts. It was time for Thor to do his thing.
They were flying a more or less straight path up the south shore of Long Island, quite a distance out to sea so that anyone on shore would not be likely to see them. They would stay out to sea until they got near the forked part at the end of the island, then swerve in toward the land once more, heading for the small island just past Long Island. Plum Island. Made famous by a novel, but known locally as a no man’s land, owned and operated by the Federal government.
The story that most people knew said that the government had sanctioned research into anthrax on Plum Island, but the truth was a bit stranger than fiction. While it was entirely possible that biological research had taken place on the island sometime in the past, its current use was quite different. There was a military base on the island. A very low-key presence that, nevertheless, kept nosy civilians far from the restricted shores of the isolated island.
As soon as they’d returned to the United States, the men of Jeff’s unit had been sent there for evaluation. Experts had been quietly flown into New York, and then taken by boat or chopper out to the island, to work with them. Medical doctors, psychiatrists, even experts in extrasensory perception had been found all over the country and brought there under top-secret contracts with the military.
