by Jillian Neal
“The elevator is this way,” Garrett guided them forward down the set of stairs.
Logan shuddered as he followed. He squeezed his eyes shut momentarily, and swallowed harshly.
Nausea washed over Rainer. His skin felt cold and clammy as his temperature fluctuated from blazing hot to freezing cold in a matter of seconds. His body was unable to regulate it.
Vindico gave a nod to the two guards stationed at the elevator doors.
“Sir,” they offered succinctly. All Gifted-prison guards were Non-Gifted men who were selected from mineworkers living in the prison area. They were well paid for their work and for their silence. The energy fluctuations were not discernible to them in any way.
Rainer forced his feet to move him onto the elevator. It was nothing more than a metal encasement that would take them miles below the earth’s surface.
Rainer’s stomach seemed to lift warily towards his throat as the elevator dropped them towards the prison cells. With each foot they descended, he willed the contents of his lunch to stay inside.
He shuddered, and clung to the wall as the metals in his body begin to react with the surrounding iron ore as they sped downward into darkness.
“You okay?” Garrett managed in a choked whisper. Rainer tried to nod, but the weakly-casted light in the elevator didn’t illuminate him enough for Garrett to see him.
He wondered momentarily who had set the permanent cast on the light. Who would’ve been able to summon and cast when the drain began to rob him of breath and any access to his Gifted energies at all?
The elevator finally halted, and the doors opened. He blinked several times as his eyes tried to take in the lighted area.
Certain that his head was full of water, he tried to catch Logan as he stumbled forward, but his timing was off and his hand moved through the air and landed on nothing. Vindico caught Logan.
“You’re all right. Just try to relax. Your body’s fighting. It’s trying to regulate your energy streams, but you can’t, so just try not to fight it!” he instructed loudly. His voice reached Rainer through the infuriating screech echoing in his ears.
They walked down a dirt-walled corridor and reached a stone-covered desk.
“Get me Mitch O’Ryan,” Vindico coughed out the order.
Time seemed to tick out of rhythm, along with Rainer’s disjointed heartbeats.
After what felt like a decade, the armed guards returned with a man that Rainer assumed was Mitchell O’Ryan, Jr.’s father. There wasn’t enough light to see any resemblance, and O’Ryan, Sr.’s face was sunken in and appeared to be graying under his haphazardly shaven beard.
Vindico and Garrett both pulled their Glocks from their hip holsters. They shoved O’Ryan back towards the elevators.
They made it back topside, and Vindico pushed O’Ryan into the very back of the SUV. He tossed Rainer the keys so he could keep an eye on the prisoner.
He miraculously caught the keys, and managed to crank the engine while he silently prayed that he would make it back to Arlington without vomiting or passing out.
“You okay, man?” Garrett watched over him cautiously. He popped the tab on four Dr. Peppers, and handed one each to Logan, Rainer, and Vindico. They knew that the enhanced soft drink would help their bodies begin to restore their energies.
Vindico kept the pistol trained on O’Ryan.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Rainer lied through his teeth.
He drove back to the Pentagon on instinct alone. He was immensely thankful that driving had always come easily for him. After pulling the Expedition onto the parking deck, He blinked constantly and tried to get his eyes to focus.
They stumbled out of the SUV and watched as Vindico led O’Ryan through the security checkpoints, and then into an interrogation room.
“You okay?” Rainer attempted to wipe the sweat from his brow.
“I’m not really sure,” Logan admitted.
Interrogations
Tuttle timed it perfectly so that Vindico was pushing O’Ryan into the interrogation room at the same moment that his wife and son were paraded by him, just out of reach.
The room and the move were distinctly cold. A slight shiver quaked through Rainer as he took in the barren gray room with a painted steel table and a few chairs. The paint on the table was chipping badly, and it was beginning to rust. The room looked nothing like the plush offices of Iodex and the rest of the Senate.
“Sit down!” Vindico barked as he shoved O’Ryan into a chair.
Rainer and Logan seated themselves quickly beside Garrett.
“Why is my wife here?” O’Ryan managed to speak as he collapsed onto the hard chair. The longing in his eyes pricked at Rainer’s heart. He’s a criminal! he reminded himself as he tried to sit up straighter.
His head was beginning to pound, and Vindico handed out another round of drinks. This time, it was electrolyte-infused water, which would help their Gifted energies settle. He slapped a bottle down in front of O’Ryan, as well.
“Thought you might like to see her. That sound appealing to you, Mitch?”
“Depends,” O’Ryan choked slightly as he tried to down the water. “What will that cost me?”
Vindico chuckled ominously. “Well, we’ve got you for three years on tax evasion from the Realm and another year and a half on forgery. I got a call from a Felsink guard last night says you aren’t doing too well out there. Seems your health might be suffering, Mitch.”
“What do you want, Dan? I don’t know where he is! Knowing you, I’d have to slice his throat myself to buy my way out of that hell hole you’ve sent me to!”
“Nah,” Vindico shook his head. “I’ll take care of the throat- slashing; you just tell me everything I need to know to find the bastard, and I’ll see if we can’t ease that sentence up a little. The more you talk, the longer you stay out.” He made the offer rapidly. Vindico never seemed to have any desire to draw things out.
“How long are you gonna let him do this to you?” O’Ryan challenged as he threw his grimy hands out to Vindico. “How long are you gonna let him win? He’s got you by a string, and he knows it.”
Vindico’s eyes narrowed in hatred. “When am I gonna let it go? I’ll let this go when he’s no longer polluting this earth by drawing breath, or when you and I are riding a fucking ski lift in hell, O’Ryan. Now do you want to help me, or shall I have some of my officers escort you back to your home away from home?”
“Amelia’s gone, Dan. Move on. You’ll never catch Nic.”
Fury lit through Rainer, though he was certain it was nothing compared to what Vindico must’ve felt.
“Amelia is gone, Mitch,” he spat, “because Wretchkinsides took her. Now, are you going to help me or shall I send your wife and kid home and you back to the rock you’ve been living under?” he growled as he leaned across the table.
O’Ryan edged away instinctively. “So,” he swallowed down another sip of water like it was full of nails. “My choices are dying in Felsink or dying by Nic’s Magnum when he finds out I’m helping you.” His tone was plain. The statement didn’t seem to hold much doubt. It sounded as if O’Ryan already knew his fate, and had accepted that there was no way to alter his outcome.
“You give Nic too damn much credit,” Vindico argued. “You help me end him then you walk scot-free. You and Scarlett can use one of your many off-shore bank accounts to retire somewhere out of my sight, and we’re done.”
O’Ryan gave a half-hearted eye-roll and a nod. “Right,” Silence drowned the room as Vindico kept his eyes locked on O’Ryan’s. After what seemed an endless moment in time, O’Ryan shrugged.
“Scarlett knows more than I do. I’ve heard a few things, and Scarlett let me know some things when she’s sent letters. I’ll help you, but I want out Thursday, and then all weekend. We’ll talk Monday. I’ll tell you everything I know, including what I learn when I’m at home. Then we’re gonna talk about how long I can stay out, as long as I keep you in the know.”
Garrett’s crude warning about not being able to get it up for a day or two flashed through Rainer’s mind.
“I’m gonna need a little more than that, if you think you’re getting out for an extended weekend, Mitch.”
O’Ryan didn’t look at all surprised by Vindico’s counter. He gave a soft nod, and seemed to turn introspective.
“Nicky just bought himself a few pieces of property, and the boys have a few new hangouts, but no more intel ‘til I get a weekend with my wife.”
Vindico studied him closely before turning to Rainer. “Lawson, you and Haydenshire go down to the Auxiliary Department. Tell Mrs. Eleanor I need a favor, now.”
Rainer attempted to stand and hold his head upright. It felt like he’d been half-drowned and was still full of water. Garrett helped Logan up and guided him towards the door.
Logan sighed, “Why does he want her?”
“I think he’s gonna see if O’Ryan really knows what he says he knows. If he’s lying, Mrs. Eleanor will pick up on the deceptive energy.” Rainer rubbed his forehead with his fingers. His skin felt oddly clammy, almost sponge-like.
Anna Eleanor was the highly-esteemed head of the Senate Auxiliary department. She ran everything, from the International Adoptions within the Realm program to the task to help feed the hungry in the Non-Gifted Realm.
Most any Receiver with any strength at all could pick up on emotions when someone was telling a lie. They could read any emotion at all. It wouldn’t be difficult to discern if O’Ryan really knew where Wretchkinsides’ men were hanging out and where he was buying up land.
Since Receivers’ emotional reads were not admissible in court trials, Rainer was surprised Vindico would call on Mrs. Eleanor’s help. This wasn’t a trial though, he reasoned.
They entered the Auxiliary wing, and explained Vindico’s request to Saxby Wiggins, Mrs. Eleanor’s Administrative Assistant. He nodded, and then knocked delicately on her office door.
After a brief whispered conversation, Mrs. Eleanor offered Rainer and Logan a kind smile, and followed them back to Iodex.
“If more people understood how Receivers might help law enforcement we’d get a lot further in catching criminals and keeping them in Felsink,” she stated tersely as they walked.
In 1917, a man named Theodore Dinkerton had set out to disprove Receivers’ abilities. He’d performed rudimentary tests and had proven that Receivers’ own emotional rhythm strains could affect their reads on other Gifted people.
Rainer knew that if Emily was upset about something, or even feeling sick, then her own tremendous reading abilities were slightly diminished. However, she was never completely without any ability at all, and her reads were almost always spot-on.
Dinkerton’s report was the documentation that prevented Receivers from reading emotional strains during testimony and therefore, many criminals walked free. There were a great number of Gifted people who doubted Receivers’ abilities completely. They were deemed overly-emotional, overly-sympathetic saps with no real use.
Logan held the door for Mrs. Eleanor, and they fell quickly back in their chairs, thankful to not have to walk any further.
“Yes, Officer Vindico, what can I do for you?” Mrs. Eleanor sighed and checked her watch. Vindico looked mildly amused.
“I just thought you could tell me if Mr. O’Ryan, here, is shooting straight with me. I’m sorry to interrupt your day. I’m certain you’re very busy. I know you have a great deal on your plate, but this is extremely important.”
The message was clear. Whatever had been going on in the Auxiliary department was not anywhere near as important as catching Dominic Wretchkinsides, but Vindico seemed willing to lie and schmooze to get his answer.
Mrs. Eleanor’s eyes narrowed. She’d picked up on Vindico’s ego and arrogance immediately. Rainer wondered if she would agree to help. She didn’t seem overly impressed with his attempted flattery.
“Fine,” Mrs. Eleanor took the seat Vindico politely offered to her.
“Tell her what you just told me, right now. If you’re shitting me, O’Ryan, I’ll think about letting you blow Scarlett a kiss through the window of one of my squad cars.”
O’Ryan bristled, though he tried to remain calm.
“May I?” Mrs. Eleanor lightly touched O’Ryan’s hand. She grimaced over the soot and ash that had gathered under his fingernails from his time in Felsink.
“I know where Nic’s been buying up land, and I know where a few of his dogs have been hanging out. I’ll tell Dan everything I know and everything I find out from Scarlett, after this weekend. Lucinda’s coming in soon. Scarlett will see her. She does love her sister despite who she married.”
Mrs. Eleanor eased her hand away and nodded to Vindico.
“He’s telling you the truth, Officer Vindico.” She stood and showed herself out.
“Thanks,” Vindico huffed as he leaned across the table and glared down at O’Ryan. “All right, Mitch, be my guest,” he gestured towards the door. “Go spend a few minutes with your wife and kid. I’ll send officers to pick you up Thursday morning, and you can have your long weekend with your family. Stay inside your house, and if you decide you’d like to get smart and make a run for it, just remember that nothing would make me happier than catching you again and extending your stay in Felsink.”
“I’ll be by your lovely home Sunday night at eight. We’ll see what you come up with, and I’m feeling generous today, so I’ll even let that determine when you make your return to the Felsink boys. I’m sure the choir won’t be the same without you,” Vindico rolled his eyes. “Get him out of my face.”
With that, Garrett stood and hoisted O’Ryan out of his chair. He stumbled slightly as he rushed to the door.
Rainer swallowed harshly as Scarlett O’Ryan fell into her husband’s arms with tears streaming down her face.
“You two go on home. Be ready to work tomorrow. Sleep, then eat, then sleep. Drink lots of water. It’ll be better next time you go. Won’t affect you so much,” Vindico instructed Logan and Rainer towards the exit.
“Thanks,” Rainer managed as he focused on the Exit sign that swam before his eyes.
Comforts
“Want me to drive?” Logan offered kindly.
“You mind?” Rainer prayed that he wasn’t just being nice. He wasn’t certain how he would be able to drive his beloved Mustang back to the farm.
“Nah, I’m okay, I think. I don’t know how you made it back from Culpepper. I kept thinking I was gonna puke.”
“Yeah, believe me, I understand.”
Rainer let his eyes close as he tried to steady his heartbeat, and the next thing he knew he was bounced awake as Logan turned onto the gravel drive that led up to his parents’ home.
Emily raced out of the farmhouse. “Are you ok?” she attempted to help Rainer out of the car and then to help Logan.
“I’m all right, baby.” Rainer was better, he decided, simply because she was there now.
“Get in the Hummer. I’ll take you both home, and you can sleep.”
Logan managed a nod, and fell into the middle seat of Emily’s new Hummer.
“I should have driven there. I just wasn’t really thinking, I guess,” he confessed through a deep yawn as he rubbed his eyes.
Emily offered her big brother a sympathetic smile and drove them across the vast fields of her family’s farm.
Rainer had to grin. Emily began mothering them as soon as they made it through the garage door.
“Lay down on the couches. I’ll cover you up and then go back up and get some of the chili. Mom’s still napping, she directed them to the couch and loveseat in their living room. They were hand-me-downs from the Haydenshires, and they weren’t particularly comfortable, but neither Rainer nor Logan had enough fight in them to argue. They collapsed, and let Emily tend to them for the moment.
Rainer’s mind drifted back to when she was nine years old, at his father’s house, caring for him when he had strep throat. He fell into a deep s
leep with dreams of her hands on her hips, her brow furrowed, and her lips drawn in a deep purse.
“I think you’re supposed to be lying on the couch, Rainer. How are you going to get well if you keep playing?” she’d ordered with all of her sass and determination. “Let me take care of you. I know how to make you all better.”
“Rainer,” her caring whisper broke through his bizarre dreams. “Rainer, Daddy said to wake you up. You need to eat,” she dragged her fingers through his hair. It was wet, he realized as he attempted to sit up.
“You had a fever, but I think it broke.”
That explained his damp hair and why he was shivering slightly.
“Here,” she helped him up, and propped pillows behind him before placing a tray in his lap.
They must’ve been out for hours. Adeline was already home from the hospital. He glanced at the sliding glass doors that led to the back deck. The sky was settling somewhere between the bright orange of the humid day and the inky black of night.
“Thanks,” Rainer stared down at the huge bowl of chili that was topped with loads of sour cream and cheese. She’d sliced up a jalapeno and put that on top as well, just like he liked it.
Mrs. Haydenshire had prepared her cheesy, onion, and jalapeno cornbread, and there were two slices on a plate near the chili.
“This looks great.” He brushed a kiss on Emily’s cheek before she stood. She gave him his grin, and he began to feel human again.
Logan and Rainer consumed three bowls of chili and an entire round of the cornbread between them. Adeline had offered to cast both of them and, after a few minutes of that, Rainer shook himself and stood.
Adeline was a very Gifted healer. She, just like all healers, had copious amounts of extra energy to be used for the purposes of healing others.
Valeduto Predilects like Adeline had energies they used for healings, and then their own personal energy streams. Logan never minded Adeline healing Rainer or any of his brothers, since he was the only one who benefitted from her personal rhythms when they were in contact and, most certainly, when they were in bed together.
