by Sharon Green
While Bari was doing her share, Eric and I had blocked the punches aimed at us and taken the other two by the throat. There was no sense in playing with the fools, so I pressed on the carotid artery of the one I held and a second later Eric was doing the same. The two men would be unconscious very quickly, but even as I pressed on the man's neck –
- a whisper passed by, the loudest, coldest whisper I'd ever heard. "Stop!" was the only word, but there was such strength behind the demand that it wouldn't have been possible to resist. I only got the very edges of the whisper as it went past and I'm sure Eric got the same, but the two of us still shuddered before we dropped the two unconscious men and turned around.
Oldon was the one who had whispered, of course, and it became immediately clear that the ski-masked man behind the wheel of the van had been the target of his command. The man sat stiffly unmoving, staring straight ahead, as out of it as the three who had jumped out of the back.
"Put the vehicle in park," Oldon said in a more normal voice, and the man obeyed at once.
"Nicely done, people," Freemont said from where he stood next to Amiol, the two of them smiling, but then my partner lost his slight amusement. "This seems to be the third time they've found Bari, and I'd love to know how they're doing it."
"Answer the question," Oldon ordered, clearly speaking to the frozen captive behind the wheel.
"One of us managed to plant a tracer in the woman's backpack," the driver responded in a voice devoid of any and all emotion. "That made finding her really easy."
"One of you," I echoed, getting a bad feeling over his choice of words. "You sound as if you belong to a group."
"I do," the driver answered, still responding to the order he'd been given. "We all belong to The Society."
"Not them again," Eric groaned, voicing the feeling we all were probably sharing.
"That means we get to call Allison rather than just the police," I said, pulling out my cell phone. "Bari, do you have any idea why they've been trying to kidnap you?"
"Not a clue," the girl answered while I chose Allison's number and entered the call. "If they wanted me to work for them, they just had to hire me. Trying to force me to work for them – whoever they are – just doesn't make any sense."
"It makes sense if you'd refuse to do as they wanted," I had the time to say, and then Allison answered her phone. "Sorry to bother you so late, my friend, but we've got a few more members of that group for your people to pick up."
"You were attacked again?" Allison demanded, sounding completely outraged. "Are you still at the hotel?"
"No, we went out to eat and ran into someone else who seems to be on the list those people have," I said, then described what had happened. "Can you send your own people, or would you rather we called the police?"
"It will be easier if I do send my own people," Allison decided aloud. "That way we won't have to invade anyone else's territory to appropriate those four. I'll get my men going as fast as possible, so you shouldn't have to wait long for them to arrive."
I agreed with that before we both disconnected. The team was keeping an eye on the three men not under Oldon's control, but Amiol was also helping Bari go through her backpack. It only took a couple of minutes before Amiol straightened with something small between his fingers.
"Found the bug," he announced unnecessarily, looking at what he held. "Should we kill it, or save it for Allison's people?"
"Let's save it," I told him, having no trouble making the decision. "It won't be a danger to Bari again, so we might as well see if it can be used against the ones who planted it."
"Which would be nothing but fair," Bari agreed, her smile showing amusement.
"True," I agreed in turn, giving her a smile of my own. "Where did you learn to fight like that, Bari? I now understand why the first two tries to grab you didn't work out."
"The first time it was one guy, the second two, but none of them were able to fight," Bari supplied. "I learned the art years ago, even though now I just have enough time to practice and keep in shape a little. But it's the kind of thing you don't really forget, not to mention coming in very handy."
"That's for sure," Freemont agreed, adding his own smile. "But what do you do that they tried to kidnap you, Bari?"
"I call myself a locator," the girl answered, now looking the least bit … cautious. "You could say the talent is related to dousing, but it isn't often just water I'm trying to find. If you learn how to flex the talent, you can find just about anything you care to."
"You know, I read something about that a few years ago," Eric put in, looking and sounding thoughtful. "Back in Korea, our soldiers didn't have enough equipment to keep them alive during the war. They desperately needed buried mine detectors, so they used wire coat hangers twisted into the shape of a Y. The … makeshift dowsing rod found the mines for them, without someone needing to walk into the mine field to be blown up."
"Yes, that makes sense," Bari agreed, having listened to Eric's story carefully. "As long as you have the general shape to guide you, the trick works. Some people don't need the shape, but most do."
The rest of us were on the quiet side, absorbing what we'd just learned. So our new client could find things … just about any kind of thing…
Chapter Eleven
"Having that talent must mean you're wealthy," Eric commented after a moment. "I mean, if you're able to find gold and silver and oil and all kinds of stuff."
"A hundred years ago that would have been true, but not today," Bari answered with a small shake of her head. "The easy-to-get-to stuff has already been found, so you need a large development company to make use of what's harder to reach. I've had any number of good paychecks from companies like that, but as far as sharing in the wealth…"
She shook her head again with a wry smile, making it perfectly clear that she didn't consider herself as having been cheated.
"They say it takes money to make money, and that has to be even more true today," Freemont said with a slow nod of understanding, and then he looked over toward the van. "Did you find something interesting, Amiol?"
"I certainly did," the dark elf answered as he turned, holding up what he held. "A roll of duct tape, lying beside what looks like a hood. We won't want to use the hood, but what about the tape?"
"Good idea," Eric agreed before going over to join Amiol. "These three won't stay unconscious until their ride gets here, so let's make sure they can't decide to run off."
My teammates turned over the men on the ground, then they taped the men's wrists behind them. One of them was already stirring, so the restraints were put on just in time. But they didn't remove any of the ski masks, not when we wanted any passersby to know who the bad guys were.
And the precaution turned out to be necessary. A jeep with mall security guards pulled up behind the van, and the two men in the jeep got out warily. The two were armed, but as soon as they saw the masks their hands relaxed away from their weapons.
"Have you folks already called the police?" one of the guards asked as he looked around at us. "And now that I see you more clearly, I know who you are. These clowns must be blind or stupid to jump your group."
"We think they're some kind of fanatics, so we called someone other than the police," Freemont answered for our side. "They'll be officials of the State government, and when they get here they'll be able to show you ID's."
"That should do," the man decided with a slow nod. "As long as someone official takes this group away, we won't have to get involved. But I'm curious. What kind of fanatics are they?"
"They belong to a group that thinks only pure humans should be allowed to live," Freemont answered, his expression showing how distasteful he found that idea. "Of course, that's their definition of pure humans, meaning only the kind of people they approve of."
"Then they're idiots as well as bigots," the second mall guard stated flatly. "A few days ago there was a story all over the news, centering around one of the new police shapeshifter
s. You saw the story, didn't you, Rich?"
"You bet I saw it," the other guard, obviously named Rich, answered with a snort. "The new cop and his partner were attacked by someone with a gun, and the shapeshifter stood himself in front of his partner and took the bullet meant for the other man. The perp was aiming at the older cop's head, so his partner, who was taller, was shot in the neck. The second cop shot the attacker, then called for an ambulance while he held his wounded partner."
"Since I've always wanted to be a cop myself, I was jealous at first when the shapeshifters were taken on," the second man said, making no effort to hide his feelings. "But once I saw that story, knowing the shapeshifter had risked his own life for his partner's, I changed my mind. I don't know if I could have done the same in the shifter's place, even if I thought I'd live through the action. Doing something like that takes an incredible amount of guts."
"Not to mention determination," Rich added with a very wry smile. "My guess is that that shapeshifter had decided not to let anyone down, especially the people who had given him his chance in life. And I agree with my partner: I don't know if I could have done the same."
We all looked at the two men with admiration, each of us knowing how hard it would be to admit to that kind of shortcoming. Eric asked a question involving the incident we'd just been told about, and that turned into something of a discussion. We all ignored the fools on the ground who had now come awake, and a couple of minutes later we were interrupted by the arrival of another car. This one had five men in it, and I recognized two of the men even before one of them held up his ID toward the mall guards.
"The password is, Allison sent us," one of the men I recognized murmured to me with a grin, then he raised his voice back to normal. "You haven't taken the masks off any of them?"
"We didn't want to confuse any passersby," I responded with a smile. "Now that you're here to take them, you can do anything you please with them."
I then turned to Oldon and murmured, "You might want to prime that driver with the same release word you used on the assassin," I suggested. "Plus any other orders you think are necessary, of course."
"Of course," Oldon agreed with his own grin, and then he walked over to the van and spoke softly to the driver. In the meantime Allison's people were getting organized, four of the five getting the three attackers out of their masks and then into the van before three of the four joined them. Amiol gave the fourth one the tracer we'd found, and then the fourth waited until Oldon was through with the driver. At that point the man sent the driver to the passenger seat before taking over driving the van. The fifth agent stayed in the car that had brought the five, and when the van drove off the car followed.
"And that takes care of that," I said after the two mall guards smiled and took their own leave. "Where are you staying, Bari? The least we can do is see our new client back to her digs."
"Right now I'm not staying anywhere," the woman answered, her expression wry. "I've been moving around, trying to avoid those fools, taking a couple of hours out now and then to catnap in the middle of large numbers of people. Do you guys have any suggestions?"
"Certainly," Freemont answered at once with his nicest smile. "You can take an apartment where we're staying, and that way we can keep an eye on you. Wouldn't that be the best way, Taz?"
"Normally I would say yes, but right now my paranoia is flexing," I answered slowly, studying the girl Bari. "I dislike saying this, but coincidences make me uneasy. You see, Bari, we were set on by an assassin in our residential hotel, but that was before we moved into the place. Now our teammate has made sure our place is safe, but if we bring someone in ourselves… You see the problem."
"Unfortunately I do," Bari responded with something of a sigh. "This attack could have been a setup, staged just to get someone in behind your guard. I'd be thinking the same thing in your place, so I certainly won't be arguing. But now that that tracer has been found and gotten rid of, I should be able to stay anywhere I please."
"I have a different suggestion," Oldon said before the woman could turn and walk away. "If you'd prefer to stay with us rather than going off by yourself, I'd be glad to offer my services. But I won't do anything if you don't agree in advance."
"You're offering to put me under your control," Bari said, studying Oldon with her head to one side. "That would let you know whether or not I really am a plant, but you won't do something like that without getting my permission. You people really are incredible, and I accept your offer without reservation."
All of us – including Oldon – were startled that her latest smile said the same thing her words had, but that didn't keep our newest teammate from exercising his skill. He had control of the woman instantly, and all of us took turns throwing questions at her. Needless to say she cleared herself completely, and that was when Oldon turned her loose.
"Have you just not started yet, or are we done?" Bari asked when the distant look faded from her eyes. "I hope we're done, because I could use a place to sleep without crowds and noise. It's all I can do not to fall asleep right here, standing up."
"Yes, we're done," Oldon confirmed, then he turned his head to look at me. "If the lady came in a car, one of us ought to drive it for her."
"Because she's that sleepy," I agreed, nodding slowly. "Yes, that's the way we'll do it. Did you come in your own car, Bari? If not, how did you get here?"
"In my car," Bari confirmed, looking wryly amused again. "And I accept a driver with a great deal of thanks. I'd hate to have to stop for a light and not wake up again for hours."
"Then I volunteer to be your driver," Freemont said, his smile as warm as ever. "My teammates will lead the way, and all we'll have to do is follow."
We all thought that that sounded good, so the rest of us got into our car and then followed Bari and Freemont to Bari's car. She drove a VW in blue, and as soon as she and my partner were ready we headed home.
It didn't take long to get back to the hotel, and this time we drove around the block to the garage. I got out and used my key to open one of the doors for Eric to drive through, then opened a second door for Bari and Freemont. Once everyone was inside I closed and relocked the doors, and then we were able to go up the steps to the door leading into the hotel. Using the key had turned on a light in the garage, a very handy touch.
"That other car must belong to Shell," Eric commented on the way to the door. "There are still two parking spaces in this garage, and there's a second garage on the other side of the drive that looks able to hold another five cars. That should go a long way toward eliminating parking problems."
We all agreed with that comment, and then we were walking into the kitchen. Shell must have heard us coming in; he now stood waiting with a wide smile on his face.
"Welcome home, friends," Shell said in a voice that matched his smile. "I'm delighted to say there was absolutely no trouble while you were gone."
"No trouble here," Freemont corrected gently. "We ran into a small bit of fuss, but my teammates got it taken care of. And now we have a new roomer for you: Shell, meet Bari Lancaster, our new client."
"Ms. Lancaster, I'm delighted to welcome you to your new home," Shell said to Bari, his smile even warmer than it had been. "If you give me just a moment, I'll take you up to your apartment. How long do you think you'll be staying?"
Shell's question was put over his shoulder as he headed for the drawer with room keys, and Bari's return smile was on the wry side.
"I'll be staying until our friends here find and stop the people trying to kidnap me," she said, making no effort to avoid the question. "You can call me Bari, and now I'd like to know if you can take a credit card or need a check instead."
"Either one will do, whichever is easier for you," Shell answered, now holding the key he'd gotten out of the drawer. "But we can take care of that in the morning, once you've gotten a good night's sleep. Just follow me, and we'll get you settled in the apartment."
Bari nodded wearily, smiled in the team's
direction, then followed Shell out of the room. As soon as they were gone I went over to the coffee urn and got myself a cup of coffee. Freemont, Amiol, and Eric got in line behind me, so I stopped to get the cream from the refrigerator before heading for the dining room. Oldon stood behind me at the fridge to get some blood, and then he went toward the warmer where it stood on the counter.
It didn't take long before we were all settled at the table with our drinks, and we sat sipping quietly for a couple of minutes. Then Eric put his cup down and sighed.
"I wonder if we'll be able to sleep late tomorrow, or if Allison will be calling early with all the answers she got from her prisoners."
"I don't think Allison is getting anything really useful from those people," Freemont answered, knowing he was the one Eric had actually addressed. "The kidnappers know as little about the group as that assassin did, which is too bad – especially for us. We're going to need to attack the problem from a different angle, but I don't yet know what that will be."
"We're probably too tired to do any decent thinking," Amiol remarked after taking a swallow of his coffee. "I don't understand why traveling is so tiring, much more so than other things. I mean, we didn't have to fight crowds or anything, so being this tired doesn't make much sense."
"I think it's a matter of what kind of traveling you do that makes the difference," Oldon suggested when the rest of us showed we had no idea. "Driving in a car is one thing, but flying in from another country… For some reason it is more tiring."
"No argument about that," I said, then finished what was left in my cup. "I'm going to get a final refill, and then I'm heading to bed. Great work today, teammates, so make sure you enjoy the rest you've earned."
Everyone seemed to be smiling when they returned my wishes for a good night, and a minute later we made a parade into the kitchen. I'd added sugar and cream to my empty cup, so when I got to the coffee pot I just had to add some of its contents. At that point I used my spoon to stir everything, then went to the sink to rinse the spoon. Once I'd done that I put the spoon in the drainboard, and that was when Shell reappeared.
