“I am not my father, but I did a lot of things to please him.” Keene hesitated before continuing. “I don’t feel I have to atone for him, but I do for my own actions. I did a lot of things I’m not proud of.”
My heart ached with him. “I’m not so sure you really had a choice about your assignments, but from this point, we can only go forward. There’s nothing left for us in the past except—”
“The lessons we’ve learned. I know.”
He smiled, and in that minute I loved him every bit as much as I loved my brothers, and maybe with something more—something that might not have stemmed from our personal relationship but from Mari’s mind. If my feelings for Ritter hadn’t burned so much stronger than anything I’d ever experienced, this emotion I felt for Keene might have been the death of any romantic relationship for me.
Pushing the oddness away, I reached out and began searching the life forces around us. I felt Keene’s shield drop again. “Okay, we’ll begin searching in that direction.” I sent him a mental picture of the buildings to our right. “But let’s walk over to that bench under that tree, okay? We’ll look a bit more natural sitting.”
We walked together in step, our minds connected. “You’re cold,” he commented.
“A bit.” Noah’s flowing dress didn’t offer much protection against the spring breeze.
Keene shrugged off his blazer and put it around my shoulders, and I let him because I needed to concentrate.
“Thanks.” Silently, I showed him the life forces inside the building I’d targeted. “A bunch of people inside, but there are so many that it’s hard to tell them apart.”
“Try taking in a bit of my energy.”
I tentatively dipped into the power Keene held ready, and the life forces became so clear that I could see several buildings beyond the one we’d targeted. I wasn’t sure if I was so much channeling him, or if I was showing him how to enhance my ability. It didn’t really matter.
The first person I looked inside was a woman late to work, hurrying to get her kids ready for school. She wasn’t a likely suspect, but I released a thought near her sand stream to see if it triggered any evil thoughts against Patrick or plans to crash Ropte’s party.
Normally when I spoke mentally to others, my thoughts appeared in their heads as an obvious intrusion, not as a part of their own thought process. But carefully planting a small thought near a sand stream, allowing it to be sucked inside on its own, made the thought appear to come naturally, as if it originated inside the person. Only those who had ample experience with our abilities ever suspected meddling, and even then only a sensing Unbounded could confirm the interference.
The woman was exactly what she seemed. Methodically, I passed to a widower who was planning to wrangle a dinner invitation from the new widow he’d met at a senior citizen’s event sponsored by the police department. Next was a college student crashing at his parents’ townhouse, wondering how he’d tell them he was failing school. Mind after mind revealed similar stories. Nothing to cause alarm.
It helped that this was a wealthier area in DC, which meant the townhouses were larger and held fewer occupants. The real worry was the apartment building one street over that rose higher than the townhouses. But this checked out too, even when we walked around the block to get a closer look.
Hours later, and after several breaks to connect with Patrick to make sure my nanites behaved, I called Ritter on my phone. “Everything checks out. We just have the final location to survey, so we’re heading there now.” Which was code that meant no Unbounded or anyone plotting murder in the area, with only Ropte’s residence left to probe.
“We’re good on this end. Don’t have too much fun.”
I smiled at the laughter in his voice. He knew me too well. My Unbounded genes had definitely kicked in, and I was eager to get inside and start saving those families. “Oh, I plan on it.” I hung up and texted Mari to let them know we were on our way.
We backtracked a little so we could get a good glimpse of Ropte’s house without being noticed as we waited for Mari and Patrick to arrive. I used Keene’s ability again, dipping into the heady power with anticipation. “Easy,” Keene cautioned.
I’d forgotten we were still linked—I must have made some kind of mental exclamation. “Hey, it’s not every day I could blow up something with a thought.”
“Please don’t start today,” he returned dryly.
I laughed and pushed hard on my own ability, reaching for Ropte’s house. I’d already detected some Unbounded there earlier when we first arrived, but now it was time to do a more thorough search. Any guards Ropte was going to have there should be in place by now. “I’m seeing a ton of activity. Servants. Guests arriving already. I see the same three dimmer life forces we saw earlier.”
“I’m guessing that’s Ropte and an Emporium hit team. But there should be at least one other team. Triad members never go anywhere without a backup.”
“Oh, there they are,” I said. “In back of the house. I think they’re keeping hidden.”
“Nothing more?”
“Not unless they have sensing Unbounded.” With even more care, I began searching the townhouse again, planting thoughts and studying minds. So far, no one plotted anything more nefarious than some white lies and a couple of backroom deals that had nothing to do with Patrick or Unbounded. My anticipation increased. At some point we were going in, regardless of whether or not I caught a glimpse of anything unusual.
“Wait,” I said. “I may have found something.” I showed him a dark spot in one of the rooms off the main areas in Ropte’s townhouse. “It seems to move around.” I released my grip on Keene’s energy and it vanished. When I used his power again to enhance my ability, it reappeared.
“Interesting,” Keene said. “What do you think it might be?”
“Maybe a sensing Unbounded who’s hiding his life force?” I was excited that we could spot it at all. If it was a sensing Unbounded, being able to find him would be a great advantage.
“It might be something else entirely.”
“What?”
Keene shook his head. “I don’t know. We just need to be prepared for anything. So are you satisfied yet? I think that’s Mari and Patrick pulling up.”
I withdrew from his mind and handed him back his blazer. “Okay, I’m out. But I may need to examine that shadow again later.”
My mic was once again hidden in my necklace, while Keene had his in a tie pin. Each of our single earbuds was wireless and all but invisible, even to those who were looking for such a thing. Both earbuds and mics were specifically designed to make it through security. “Testing,” I said, after turning on my mic.
“Gotcha.” Keene’s reply was echoed by each of the others in turn.
“There are five Unbounded inside, and possibly a sixth,” I reported. “Nothing else for alarm.”
Ahead of us, Mari was emerging from a car driven by Secret Service. She and Patrick were flanked by agents. “Where are you?” Her voice blasted through my earbud, and as we moved to meet her, I surreptitiously turned down the volume on the amplifier Cort had disguised as a watch. The device also controlled which mics I could hear and who I broadcasted to, though for the most part we’d all remain connected together.
“Coming up behind you,” Keene said. “Tell your friends not to shoot us.”
Mari laughed and turned in our direction, waving vigorously in spite of the lone news reporter who was filming from beside a van across the street. Her red hair gleamed in the sunlight. “Oh, there’s my brother and my friend. They’ll be joining us.”
I could feel Ritter’s presence grow stronger as we approached the house. Without reaching out to him mentally, I wouldn’t be able to tell his exact location, but feeling him close soothed my concern about the black shadow and evened out my anticipation. Training kicked in.
Time to step into the fire. We had families to rescue.
MARI PUT HER ARM THROUGH mine as we went through the smal
l gate and up to the townhouse. “I’m glad you could make it,” she said for show. “These events are so much more fun when you come with me.”
“Oh, I’m delighted to spend more time with you,” I said, mimicking Noah. “Especially when you have these hunks here to accompany us.” I winked at one of the Secret Service agents, who stoically looked away, but not before a slight flush worked its way up his neck. Noah had told me that she periodically teased the agents, but I had no idea it would be this fun. “I swear, one of these days I’m just going to squeeze them all over. They’re that yummy.”
Seeing the man’s flush deepen, I laughed for real. Besides being with Ritter, I couldn’t remember when I’d had any fun that wasn’t related to battling the Emporium. When all this was over, I needed to find a safer hobby.
If it would ever be over.
I shrugged off the thought and glided up the cobblestone walkway with Mari and Patrick. Keene trailed behind. Flowerbeds looped decoratively across the small front yard, and a rare tree close to the house shaded half the area. Up close, the place didn’t look much different from any of the other expensive townhouses in the area. The color of the brick, like the cobblestone, was a pale salmon that did nothing to inspire. The flurry of arched windows were beautiful, however, and had shutters on each side that were a darker color than the brick. Several tiny balconies on the third floor jutted out above the arched windows, brushing the top of the tree on the one side. The windows seemed like eyes, and the walkway narrowed as it reached the double doors, as if pushing us together, getting ready to swallow. I knew the townhouse had sold for over three million two years earlier, but you couldn’t have paid me that much to live in it.
Two liveried servants opened the door, and we entered, leaving our Secret Service escort outside. I knew they had more agents in the house already, and that it had been declared safe, but I felt uneasy standing in the entry and waiting our turn to let Secret Service agents pass metal-detecting wands over our bodies.
Even inside the house, I had no sense of additional Unbounded except those five dim life forces, three of which were in the spacious room at the back of the townhouse, the other two still outside. There was also no sign of the shadow, and I was tempted to channel Keene again to find it, but I decided it was better to stay alert and take in my surroundings.
We passed an adjoining hallway that I knew led to an office where I hoped to find access to Ropte’s files. The hallway was deserted for now, but plainly visible to those who were passing. I’d need to be careful when I returned.
The main hallway led to a large reception room that was alive with music, light, and conversation. Several sets of couches, already filled with people, lined the walls of the reception room. Huge windows filled one entire wall, revealing an attractive garden patio in the back yard where a tall water fountain dominated the scene. In front of the fountain, a live band had set up and was playing music. Round tables circled the fountain under a flowing canopy that warded off the sun. Almost comically, large upright heaters blasted from each of the corners of the outside dining area, ensuring that no guest would suffer from the light breeze.
I did a brief count as we entered the room and found about a hundred life forces here and outside, with more arriving steadily. A fourth of those already present seemed to be catering personnel or household employees. Without trying, my eyes landed on Ropte. He was everything I’d seen in the pictures and in Noah’s head: handsome, virile, compelling. Most definitely Unbounded. He wore an expensive suit like most of the men present, his a pale tan, with a vibrant blue dress shirt and a plaid tie in shades of yellow and blue. The two Unbounded soldiers in the room were dressed similarly, one standing alone near the entrance and the other at the back door talking to an older lady sporting clumpy sapphire jewelry. I didn’t need any kind of ability to know they were heavily armed. I didn’t recognize them, though, from the files we had on the Emporium.
I reached out to Ritter, to send him mental pictures of the Unbounded. He had his mental shield up, but because of our connection, I could push at it in such a way that he recognized it was me. Do you know these guys? I asked when he let me in.
No. Does Keene?
I released Mari’s arm and fell back to walk with Keene. “Know them?” I asked softly. He shook his head.
I relayed the information to Ritter and then refocused on the room. Ropte had greeted the people who had entered the room in front of us and was moving in our direction, his hazel eyes lighter in person but just as drilling. “Ah, Patrick, I’m so glad you came to my little impromptu get-together. I very much enjoyed our conversation last week.”
“I’m happy to come,” Patrick replied, shaking Ropte’s hand. It was almost amusing, this dance they performed, since the entire reason for this event was for Ropte to have a chance to seduce Patrick to his cause. The fact that so many important senators and other politicians had dropped everything to please Ropte proved his powerful status in Congress. No way had he been able to stay off our radar without billions of dollars being spent on his behalf.
I still didn’t know what role David Ropte filled in the Triad. Delia’s powers had been legendary, and while Stefan was the enforcer and charismatic leader, she had wielded as much control behind the scenes. Or more. Whatever Ropte’s role, I couldn’t rule out the fact that Ropte might be a sensing Unbounded, despite what Bedřich claimed. Abilities always ran in families, and it was common knowledge that Delia had been trying to bring back more of the rare talents. Ropte might be every bit as powerful as Delia had been. Or stronger. Coupled with his magnetism, there might be no limits.
Maybe Ropte would become the spokesman for the Emporium, the charismatic leader who would take them into the next phase. Did that mean he was Stefan’s puppet? If so, Ropte’s unknown qualities only made Stefan more dangerous.
Ropte turned to Mari, complimenting her on how beautiful she looked and asking about wedding dates. Then he turned those drilling eyes on me, and I was glad he couldn’t know of our real reason for being here. “Ah, Felicia West, so good to see you again. I hope you will honor us today with a song as you did last week.” He bent over, drawing my hand to his mouth and kissing it.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” I said. “I’m sure you have ample entertainment.” He hadn’t released my hand, but I gestured to the band through the window, using the motion to free my hand from his.
His chuckle send chills crawling down my spine. “Ah, but there is no one like Felicia West.”
“We’ll see,” I said lightly.
He shifted his attention back to Patrick. More people had entered behind us, but Ropte made no move to greet them. Of course, Ropte wouldn’t be swayed from Patrick’s side, not when this entire expensive affair had been thrown together because of him. As I watched, a beautiful, forty-something blonde intercepted the newcomers, exclaiming over them and steering them toward the door leading to the patio.
She had to be Ropte’s wife—his much younger wife. Ropte’s official age was fifty-six, which seemed to be more or less physically accurate. That would make him close to thirteen hundred years old. More than old enough to have learned many of Delia’s tricks.
I angled away, studying Ropte as he animatedly spoke to Patrick. His magnetism was apparent, but not more so than other Unbounded men I’d met. No, his talent didn’t lean in that direction. Tentatively, I reached out to him, careful to turn to address Keene so that if Ropte felt something, he wouldn’t suspect me. I kept my own shield tight, reinforcing it for a potential onslaught.
Ropte’s conversation continued without faltering, and he didn’t start looking around, so that signaled he wasn’t a sensing Unbounded. Or at least not a strong one, because I could always tell immediately when someone was trying to breach my shields. Yet Ropte’s barrier was a solid black wall, every bit as strong as the best I’d seen. Even if I could break inside, it’d take me a while.
Could he have some variation of the sensing ability? I couldn’t even begin to gues
s until I knew his lineage. Leaving Ropte for the time being, I wandered around the room, looking inside minds to learn what I could about the players. Most were fans of Ropte, their thoughts giving me glimpses of backroom deals and favors, but there were a few who regarded him with apprehension. Some of these worried about Patrick and drifted over to Patrick and Ropte, avoiding Mrs. Ropte and the Unbounded bodyguards when they tried to head them off, only to be expertly dismissed by Ropte minutes later.
The employees were particularly useful, showing me more about the layout and what I could expect when sneaking about the house. Most importantly, I learned about a second office upstairs where Ropte spent most of his time when he was home. That would be my first target once Mari planted Cort’s device.
I’d barely finished surveying all the people in the reception room and was heading to the patio to get those few I’d missed, when Ropte, Patrick, and Mari approached me. With them was a woman with an enormous gray bun that was either fake or she possessed an unreal amount of hair.
“Felicia,” Ropte said, “I’d like you to meet Senator Beatrice Shumway. She’s from Indiana.”
“So pleased to meet you,” Beatrice said without releasing her possessive hold on Ropte.
I nodded at her. “Pleased to meet you too.”
“The senator has a request,” Ropte added.
“Oh, yes.” Beatrice gave him a look of profound gratitude. “My grandniece is visiting me, and she’s a huge fan of yours. She’s out on the patio talking to the band members right now, but she spied you earlier and was so excited she became tongue-tied when I suggested we introduce ourselves. She’d really love a chance to hear you sing.” Beatrice’s voice dropped. “I wouldn’t ask, dear, except that she just got over a most dreadful bout of skin cancer, you know, and it would really brighten her day.”
The Takeover Page 11
