Seven Psychics

by J. C. Diem

  “That was very fortuitous,” Agent Steel said slowly. He and Garrett exchanged a look that I couldn’t read. Confused by his tone, I grew even more baffled when his gaze flicked to the ugly bite mark on my shoulder. Once again, it peeked out from around the edge of my tank top. What could an old dog bite have to do with anything? It was a question that I wasn’t going to receive an answer to anytime soon.

  Mark stood and offered me his hand. “Come on, I want to take a closer look at Gluttony.”

  “I’ll pass,” I said with a grimace as he helped me to stand. I had no particular desire to see my work up close. Thanks to my mind being briefly occupied, I’d felt practically nothing when I’d pulled the trigger. I’d killed a man and was suffering none of the guilt that I’d been expecting. Catching another look at the bodies sprawled all over the food court, I reminded myself that the psychic had been more of a monster than a man. Why should I feel guilty for putting him down?

  “I’ll stay with Alexis,” Kala offered when I knelt to disassemble my rifle. Mark nodded and headed down the stairs. Flynn and Reece followed him, leaving us alone.

  “You don’t want to see my handiwork?” I asked the agent dryly. The guys were in a hurry to verify that the target really was dead. It seemed to be a part of their routine.

  “I’ve seen you in action enough times to know that you don’t miss what you aim for,” Walker replied. “You seem to be ok with taking his life,” she said after studying me closely.

  I shrugged as I slid the last piece of my rifle into the backpack. “I feel kind of numb about it really. I think it’s because he scrambled my mind for a few seconds.” Snagging my jacket off the floor, I pulled it on. The cops would definitely draw me aside for questioning if they saw my gun in the holster. I wasn’t sure Mark could explain his reasons for using a teenager as a sniper if they questioned me closely and discovered the truth about who and what I was.

  “You shouldn’t have been able to resist Gluttony at all, you know,” Kala said over her shoulder as she skipped down the stairs at a pace that I could barely keep up with.

  “There were plenty of people hiding in the stores below and he didn’t take any of them over,” I pointed out. “I think he was too far away to be able to control me properly. I also had the feeling that he needs to have eye contact with his victims for his commands to work.”

  Mulling over that idea, Walker nodded. “Maybe. We’ll probably never know for sure. Let’s wait for the guys here.” We took a seat on a low wall where we could see the agents in the distance. They were picking their way through the dead and had almost reached Gluttony.

  “Three psychics down and only four left now,” I said.

  “Pride, Greed, Wrath and Lust,” Kala agreed. “Pride and Greed shouldn’t be too hard to deal with. Wrath and Lust are the worst of the seven. They’re both precogs.”

  “Great,” I said with a groan. I was glad that we’d neutralized three of the targets, but I wished we’d taken down the most dangerous of the bunch first. It was intimidating to know that the worst of the worst were still out there. “What powers do Greed and Pride have again?” I vaguely remembered Mark telling me about the pair when we’d first met, but it had been a lot of information to take in at the time. They’d both eluded the agents once already, that much I remembered.

  “Greed can start fires from nothing and Pride can teleport. He’s going to be hard to catch, but we’ll get him in the end,” she said confidently.

  It only took one look to verify that the target had been eradicated and Mark didn’t bother to call for the Cleanup Crew this time after he took a photo of the body. By killing his victims in such a public area, Gluttony had ensured that his murders couldn’t be kept quiet. People generally had a hard time believing in the extraordinary and the cops would concoct a reason for what had happened here today.

  Finished with his inspection, Agent Steel waved to get our attention and pointed to an exit across the mall from where we were sitting.

  “Time for us to leave,” Kala said and gave Mark the thumbs up.

  Cops and paramedics were beginning to arrive now that the danger seemed to be over. A crowd of panicked survivors was emerging from hiding and we used them as cover to join up with the rest of the team. We filed into the hallway with Reece in the lead. The exit door was locked and he took a step back and kicked it. The door flew open, hit the outer wall and rebounded back at him. He caught it with his palm and absorbed the blow without any visible sign of pain. An alarm immediately blared, adding to the general noise and confusion. We scurried outside before anyone could investigate the noise.

  Splitting into two groups, we mingled with the onlookers. We tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible as we made our way back to the SUV. Kala and Flynn flanked me, herding me after Agent Steel and Garrett. I almost felt as if I had my own personal bodyguards and had to stifle an inappropriate urge to laugh. The team would most likely fear for my mental health if I started giggling for no apparent reason.

  Reece checked on me in the rearview mirror several times during the drive back to our base. I kept my eyes down, hugging my backpack close to my chest. I wished I could read his mind to see what he thought of me now that I’d become a killer. Hopefully, he no longer saw me as a kid. I sure as hell didn’t feel like one anymore. I wasn’t sure what I felt. Like I’d told Kala, I was numb. She and Flynn were sitting so close to me that our shoulders were touching, offering me silent comfort.

  Everyone was subdued when we reached the compound. I’d joined the team as backup and no one had really believed that I’d have to take the shot. Mark had only ever intended to use me as a last resort. The plan had changed when he’d become aware of just how dangerous Gluttony was. He’d had to put the safety of his team ahead of my mental welfare. I was sure my father would understand when Mark called him to give him an update on our progress. My dad trained me for exactly this kind of mission, even if neither of us had ever imagined that telepaths would be my first targets.

  Climbing the stairs to the second floor, I was aware of everyone’s eyes on my back. They probably thought I was going to shut myself in my room and have a good cry. Instead, I locked my door, unpacked my rifle and spent half an hour sitting on my bed cleaning the weapon thoroughly. The routine of performing a task that I’d done thousands of times before was soothing. I could have done it with my eyes closed.

  Feeling much calmer when I was done, I put the rifle away and washed my hands. Examining my reflection carefully, I saw no visible changes. I was still a normal teenage girl who’d just happened to have shot a man to death. Once this was all over, I’d return to Texas and no one would know what I’d done. The thought of going back home seemed strange, as if I’d outgrown my old life now that I’d been a part of the real world.

  A fist thumping on my door startled me out of my contemplation. I dried my hands, strode over and opened the door to see Kala standing on the other side. She held two mugs of coffee in one hand and her fist was raised to pound on the door again. The rooms were so heavily soundproofed that even banging on the doors didn’t make much noise. I’d noticed a small speaker in one corner near the ceiling and assumed Mark could use it to communicate with us if he needed to. It was a mystery why the rooms were soundproofed at all.

  Surprised to see me fairly composed, Walker offered me a steaming mug. “I thought you could use this.”

  “Checking to see if I’m a blubbering mess?” I asked her dryly as I took the offering.

  “Yes,” Kala replied honestly and entered my room without asking. As always, the bed was neatly made and not a scrap of clothing lay on the floor. I was the daughter of a solider and I’d been taught to keep my room tidy. I’d rather live in an orderly room than in a pigsty anyway, so it wasn’t exactly a hardship for me to keep it clean.

  Taking a seat on the bed, she patted the mattress beside her in invitation. “How are you holding up?”

  Closing the door, I crossed the room and put my mug down on the b
edside table. “I feel ok with shooting Gluttony,” I said in answer to her query. “Having him invade my mind was pretty awful, though.” That was an understatement, but I’d never be able to accurately describe how violated I’d felt at having a foreign mind inside mine.

  Cocking her head to the side, Walker’s face was hard to read as she studied me intently. “Can I see the bite mark on your shoulder?” she asked.

  Surprised by her abrupt question, I shrugged. “If you want.” Once again, the scar was proving to be too much of a curiosity to be ignored. I took my jacket off and pulled the strap of my tank top aside so she could see it.

  Kala leaned over and traced the crescent shaped mark with a fingertip. The contact made me shiver. She all but crackled with energy and it was impossible to ignore it when we were in such close proximity. “You know, I don’t think it was a dog that bit you,” she decided.

  “What was it then?” I asked curiously. I’d heard many theories over the years, including a suggestion that I’d been attack by a rabid raccoon. As far as I knew, I hadn’t been treated for rabies, so that theory had been debunked.

  Brow wrinkling in thought, Walker sipped her coffee to procrastinate for a few seconds. “I’m not sure. It might have been a human with a really sharp upper set of teeth but no bottom ones,” she joked.

  I snorted out a laugh and pulled my jacket back on. “Yep, you nailed it. I was bitten by a cannibal who only had half of his teeth. Finally, a seventeen year old mystery has been solved,” I said dramatically.

  “Hey, in some cultures they used to eat babies, you know,” Kala said. “Especially in Europe.”

  “I wasn’t in Europe, though,” Lexi argued. “This happened here.” I wasn’t exactly sure where my father had been stationed at the time, but it had been somewhere in the US.

  Kala smiled crookedly, amused by our conversation. “I’m glad to see you’re ok,” she said and slid off the bed to her feet. “If you ever need to talk about anything, just let me know.”

  Touched by her offer, I nodded. “Thanks. I might just do that.” I’d never had a best friend to confide in before. I’d never really even had a casual acquaintance that I trusted enough to divulge my secrets to. It was tempting to offload my feelings on her, but there was really only one topic that I wanted to discuss and I didn’t think she’d be interested in talking about it.

  Walker paused at the door for a parting shot. “As long as you don’t ask me for any tips on how to get into Garrett’s pants,” she smirked, reading my mind with scary accuracy. “I draw the line at that.”

  My face went crimson yet again, but she shut the door before I could splutter a denial that would have been false.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Thirteen

  At breakfast the next morning, I was surprised and slightly disturbed to see Agent Steel missing. He wasn’t in the kitchen, the dining room or the coms room, where he could usually be found at this time of the day.

  Kala joined me in the kitchen, yawning widely and displaying a perfect set of teeth without any signs of dental work. “Where’s Mark?” she asked blearily. Apparently, she hadn’t slept well last night.

  “I don’t know,” I replied as I filled two mugs with coffee. Walker took hers with a nod of thanks.

  “Mark has been called away,” Garrett said, startling me into spilling the milk on the counter instead of into my cereal bowl. I hated it when the agents snuck up on me like that. From the corner of my eye, I took in his half naked state and had a short battle with myself not to stare.

  Kala hadn’t been startled by his sudden appearance, of course. She merely handed Reece a mug that she took down from a cupboard overhead. “When will he be back?” she asked.

  “In a couple of days,” Garrett said with a shrug.

  Flynn had been descending the stairs during our conversation. “Do you know what the emergency was?” he asked. His hearing was apparently just as good as Kala’s.

  “Nope,” Reece replied. “He just told me that he’d be gone for a while and that we should keep hunting for the psychics.”

  I trusted Garrett, Walker and Bailey, but they weren’t much older than me. Mark was roughly my father’s age and he was the voice of authority. It wasn’t going to be the same without him. “Who is in charge then?” I asked.

  Reece glanced at me in the midst of pouring his coffee. Even when he wasn’t watching what he was doing, he still didn’t miss the cup. “I am.” His expression was almost challenging, daring me to make a disparaging remark. Luckily, I was mature enough not to fall for his bait.

  “Garrett is always in charge when Mark is away,” Kala explained without a hint of rancor. Flynn didn’t seem to be upset by the shift in leadership either. He elbowed his way past Walker, took a bowl down from the cupboard and filled it to the top with cereal.

  We sat in our usual places at the table with Kala to my left, Flynn sitting across from her and Reece sitting across from me. My traitorous eyes kept darting peeks at Garrett as he ate. I was sure he was well aware of my scrutiny, as were the other two. Walker’s shoulders heaved in silent mirth and Flynn subtly kicked my foot and sent me an admonishing look.

  Fighting against the urge to blush, I kept my eyes firmly on my cereal until the bowl was empty. I was the last to finish and put my dishes in the dishwasher before fleeing. I decided to kill time by practicing on the outdoor range and trudged upstairs to retrieve my rifle.

  Kala glanced up from her seat on the couch when I returned and her interest sharpened when she saw my backpack. “You’re going outside to practice?” she asked.

  “I need the fresh air,” I replied. I also needed a break from Garrett. It was too distracting having him walking around in just a pair of cutoff sweatpants all day long.

  “Do you mind if I tag along?” Moving with her usual grace and speed, she was already halfway to me as she asked the question. Kala knew I wasn’t going to say no.

  “Not at all. I’d like the company.” I wasn’t saying that to be polite, I really did like her and I wanted to get to know her better.

  “I’ll grab a rifle from the armory,” she said as she opened the door to the main hallway. We stopped at the indoor range and she selected a sniper rifle from the collection on the wall. She slipped some spare ammo into the pockets of her camouflage cargo pants and followed me to the exit at the far end of the hallway.

  It was a beautiful day, with crisp air, a gentle breeze and another cloudless sky. The path between the trees was shaded and it was far cooler than standing out in the sun. It was a lengthy walk to the outdoor range and the tall, silver fence could be spotted through breaks in the trees. The electricity hummed faintly, carried to me on a breeze. I wondered how many birds and animals were accidentally zapped to death by it every day.

  I was wearing similar clothing to Kala, except my cargo pants were tan rather than camouflage colors. We both wore a white t-shirt and boots. Her build was far more solid than mine and it was sometimes a shock to realize that I was two inches taller than her. Her vivacity made her seem taller than she actually was.

  We spent the morning practicing and I gave the older agent some pointers to help her improve her aim. She hadn’t been born with the natural talent to shoot long distances, but she had the patience and willingness to learn.

  After a break for lunch, we returned to the outdoor range. It was heading towards late afternoon and I’d just killed my target with yet another headshot when Kala held up her hand for silence. She stared back down the trail that led to the base with her head cocked to the side.

  “We need to get back,” she said and picked up her rifle. Whatever she’d heard had been far too faint for me to hear it. Neither of us had brought our cell phones to the range, which hadn’t been very smart. It seemed she didn’t need one if she could hear someone calling from half a mile away.

  I didn’t have time to break my gun down, but merely stood, snatched it off the ground then snagged my backpack. I struggled to keep up with her as s
he jogged back to the building. While I was out of breath and panting for air, she wasn’t even breathing hard when she placed her palm on the scanner to unlock the door.

  Flynn was waiting for us at the door that led to the garage. “Greed has just struck again,” he said grimly. “Reece already has the SUV running. You have five minutes to get changed or he’ll leave without you.”

  Adrenalin gave me a burst of energy as I followed Walker into the main building. I left my sniper rifle and backpack near the door so their weight wouldn’t slow me down. Sprinting for the stairs, I took them two at a time. I felt dizzy by the time I reached the top and staggered into my bedroom. Moving as fast as I could, I changed into jeans, a fresh t-shirt and my blue leather jacket.

  My watch told me that I still had a minute left when I returned to the lower floor to retrieve my rifle and backpack. The hallway was empty when I opened the door and I was afraid that the others had left without me. I was relieved to see the SUV still inside the garage when I entered.

  Kala pushed the back door open and gestured for me to hurry. Reece barely waited for me to climb in before he propelled the vehicle through the already open garage door. Flynn had taken Mark’s usual seat up front so Kala and I had plenty of room in the back for once.

  I waited until we’d left the dirt road and had hit the highway before I broke my rifle down and stashed the pieces in my backpack. The car tended to skid when he took the corners too fast on the dirt and I needed my hands for balance.

  “You make that look easy,” Walker said when I was done and the backpack was resting on the seat between us.

  “It is easy for me,” I replied with a smile. “Anything can become routine if you do it often enough.”

  “Not everything,” Bailey said with a roguish grin that was directed at Reece.

  Garrett cut him a look that did nothing to quell Flynn’s snigger. I knew what he was referring to, of course. I was young, but I wasn’t completely naïve. Picturing Reece in just his cutoff sweatpants again, I couldn’t imagine it ever getting old being naked with him.