“What do you mean?”
“Kota usually likes the more light hearted type and Gabriella is uptight. But she seems to be coming around.” He explained about the fun Kota was having with the Ellie nickname and how he’d gotten her to agree to it.
“Wasn’t that kind of pushy?”
“I think she’s had so much responsibility for so long, somebody needs to teach her how to play,” Nate said.
“Kota seems pretty serious to me,” Sarah countered.
“I’m hoping they’ll play together, and not just between the sheets.” Nate let out a laugh that Sarah echoed.
“I didn’t know you were such a gossip,” she teased him.
“This isn’t gossip, this is me sharing official naval intelligence.” She laughed again and his heart warmed. “I have to get downstairs, we’re meeting in the restaurant for lunch. Stovers is due to meet with the FDA guy out on the verandah.”
“Be safe.”
“You too. We’ll talk before you go out on your operation with Max and Maricel.”
****
“Where the hell is Stovers?” They’d been waiting for him to show up to the lunch for over two hours. It was clear the others at the table were just as frustrated as they were. The executives were out on the patio looking over the first tee, while Nate, Kota and Gabriella were inside with Kota’s back strategically placed to the window.
“Grainger is pissed.”
“Pissed as in angry, or pissed as in drunk?” Kota asked Nate.
“Both.” He’d been watching him order scotch after scotch as the minutes ticked by and Stovers didn’t show up. It was apparent Grainger wasn’t used to being kept waiting. After trying to placate him for the first twenty minutes, the Brone team decided to shut up and apparently pray for Stovers arrival.
After hour three, everybody got up to leave. Nate was thankful Grainger had booked a room and wasn’t getting behind the wheel of a car. He, Kota and Gabriella stayed at the table. Hell, the restaurant wasn’t all that busy, it wasn’t like they needed their table.
“It made sense he would be meeting with someone from the FDA. Hell, his arm of Rixitron is constantly trying to get something shoved through,” Kota mused.
“But why would he have been back to business as usual. He just had his operation in Nevada taken down, it didn’t make any sense. We should have known better.” Nate was disgusted for having been sucked down this path.
“The man in Sandy Springs did not lie,” Gabriella stated unequivocally. “Also, the calendar was real.”
“Nobody is questioning your ability to get people to tell the truth,” Nate soothed.
“Of course you are not. But Stovers convinced this man he would be here. He probably convinced these other Brone men too. Why?”
She was right. Why would he have done that? Why did he need that cover?
“Who else in D.C. would he have been meeting?” Kota wanted to know. “You’d think it would be someone with the government.”
“Or not. The lobbyists carry a whole hell of a lot of weight,” Nate said picking at one of the remaining rolls from the bread basket.
“Stovers is part of pharmaceuticals, why blow off a meeting with a big man within the FDA to meet with a lobbyist instead? Unless…” Gabriella asked
“Unless it’s not an FDA lobbyist,” Nate said. “Fuck, fuck, fuck. He’s planning on meeting with someone from defense. We guessed he wanted to weaponize Alma’s capabilities, so why not meet with someone in defense?”
“But Nate, that’s sure as hell putting the cart before the horse,” Kota protested.
“That arrogant son of a bitch would do it.”
“Sure, he still might want to breed healers for the pharmaceutical arm of his company, but you can be damned sure he’s trying to figure out a way to make money using Alma’s powers.” Nate tossed the half eaten roll back into the basket and stared at Kota who just nodded in agreement.
“You’re right,” Kota agreed, “There are plenty of people who would want to get their hands on that kind of power. No wonder he has been meeting with the Nanotechnologies arm of Rixitron. They are involved in defense applications.”
“I love how your countries call their departments of weapons and death, defense,” Gabriella said derisively.
“Well Brazil does the same thing,” Nate said defensively.
“I said countries, not country. Listen when I speak,” she said in a haughty tone of voice.
“Seriously Kota, you have a thing for this woman?”
“She’s hot when she’s busting your balls. The accent is just the cherry on top.”
“Do not talk about me as if I am not here. I must excuse myself for a moment.” She got up and made her way to the bathroom.
Nate and Kota watched her as she walked. She had quite the nice sway going. Not quite as good as Sarah’s, but still, it was nice.
“You can stop looking anytime now,” Kota smiled easily at him. However, Nate knew behind the smile was a definite warning. It did his heart good.
“She’s got your tail in a twist. I thought it was Maricel.”
“Maricel is a sweet girl. I definitely felt the need to protect her. But Ellie? I have different things in mind besides protection, that’s for damn sure.” Nate signaled the waiter back over.
“I’d like a nice Brazilian Cabernet.”
“We have two, would you like to see the wine list, they here vary greatly in price.” Nate named off the one he knew would be the most expensive. The waiter’s eyebrows rose. Gabriella struck him as a woman who would appreciate a good bottle of wine, and she deserved it for helping to figure out why Stovers was in D.C.
“Damn man, I keep forgetting you come from money. I keep thinking of you as some redneck who played football for OU.”
“I’m that too. It’s good to keep you on your toes.” Nate nodded towards the restaurant entrance as Gabriella made her return. The waiter came back with the wine and started to pour, when she saw the vineyard, she let out a happy sigh.
“This reminds me of home, thank you Nate.”
“Hey, it could have been me,” Kota protested.
“The Goodman’s of Long Island probably had him drinking different vintages when he was still in short pants.” Then she took Kota’s hand. “However Coyote, you and I will walk together in the desert, and you will provide me with many other things.”
Nate saw the shock on his friend’s face, and wondered what the name Coyote meant, but figured it was too intimate to ask. Probably more of that found whoo whoo shit. The only time it was okay in his book was when it was between he and Sarah, and then it was sacred.
Nate held up his glass. “Here’s to the next part of our adventure, and finding that asshole.”
“I’ll drink to that.”
“As will I,” Gabrielle said, clinking her glass to Nate’s and Kota’s.
****
It finally panned out with Kathy Simms and the man from Brone. They’d found exactly where Alma was being held. Sarah, Max and Maricel were headed towards a small clinic in Sandy Springs while Sierra and Cyrus were back at the hotel acting as a command post.
Sarah was still shaky on the plan, but Max was sure it would work, so she decided to trust him. Maricel would have trusted a serial killer if she thought it would get her to her daughter. At the front desk, Max did the talking.
“We’re here to see the baby girl, you should be expecting us.”
“You don’t look like people who do testing,” the receptionist said. “I don’t see anyone on my list to visit Leslie Rogers. Let me call her doctor.”
“You’ve seen us before Miss Landers,” Max said looking at her nameplate. “We come once a week, don’t you remember? Every week, we come and visit Leslie Rogers. You give us passes to access the entire building.” Sarah watched as the receptionist smiled and nodded.
“I’m having an off day. I know you come in every week, but what are your names again, so I can write them down on your passes?�
�� Max smiled and provided names.
“Miss Landers, I seem to be having an off day as well. Can you give me directions to where Leslie is?” She brightened, happy to help.
Max hustled them quickly through the doors to the private part of the clinic. “The effect wears off quickly when I’m not talking to her,” he explained.
“That was amazing,” Sarah said. Maricel didn’t seem to notice or care, she was already rushing along the corridor intent on getting to her daughter.
“Maricel, not so fast,” Sarah cautioned in a loud whisper. The woman slowed.
They got to the elevator and went up one floor. Someone was getting on when they were getting off. She looked at them strangely, but didn’t say anything. Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. That was the beauty of coming at lunchtime. Hunger wins out.
They passed two more people on the way to the door that the receptionist indicated, but they just ignored them. Maricel reached for the handle, but Max forestalled her. “Let me go in first.”
Sarah and Maricel waited five long minutes, and Max walked out with a young man. “Have a great lunch Greg. I’ve got you covered.” He waited until Greg got on the elevator until motioning Sarah and Maricel into the room. Sarah stopped short as soon as they got inside.
It was heartbreaking, there was no other way to describe it. Half of the room was an isolation room, with one entrance. The lights were on, and you could see a playpen and a crib. Alma was in the playpen, she was listlessly banging on a toy that played music.
“Almacita,” Maricel cried as she rushed to the window of the room. Alma looked up confused. “It’s me, Mama.” Sarah had to pull at Maricel to get her to come away from the window. She spotted the quarantine suits hanging up near the room.
“Come on Maricel, let’s suit up.” Sarah handed her the proper gear to wear so they didn’t compromise Alma’s immune system.
“I hate these.”
“I know, but soon they shouldn’t be necessary,” Sarah said as she stepped into the suit.
They went into the room, at least it was warm. Alma paid no attention to them. They didn’t expected this. They should have.
“This is no good. She will never open herself up to the possibility of healing, if I touch her while in this suit.” Sarah agreed with Maricel’s assessment. What’s more the plan was to heal her, even if it meant they were harmed in the process. Maricel took off the suit, headgear and mask. Alma perked up. Maricel crouched in front of the crib, and Alma pushed herself up and toddled to the far corner of the playpen with a look of dismay.
“Oh God Sarah, she’s walking away from me.”
“What’s wrong, baby girl? It’s me, mama. It’s Mama.” Maricel reached her arm through the rungs of the playpen.
“No, don’t touch her,” Sarah warned. “We stick with the plan.”
Sarah took off her protective gear as well, and went around the playpen to crouch beside Alma. She scrabbled away from her.
Maricel stood up, and bent over Alma and spoke to her in low soothing tones. She kept saying over and over everything would be all right, her mama was there now. Sarah watched as the baby’s lower lip trembled and quiet tears fell. Sarah thought it was heartbreaking. She didn’t even have a meltdown like a normal child, she just cried desolate tears.
“Alma. You’ll hurt your Mama if you put your hands on her, won’t you? Is that why you’re crying?”
Her tears fell faster. At long last she nodded. Thank God, she understood.
“We’re going to teach you a new kind of touching. It will make you feel good, and you can touch us this way and make us feel good. Would you like to learn how to do this?” Sarah wasn’t sure she would understand so many words. But she shook her head wildly and curled up into a ball. Sarah hated this, because she was going to have to hold Alma against her will.
Max suggested Sarah go first, because Alma would be traumatized if she hurt her mother. Maybe Alma could learn from Sarah that some touching was good, and then try to use good touching on Maricel. It was a good theory.
In the meantime, chances were damn good Alma was going to suck a lot of energy from Sarah. The hope was Maricel could heal Sarah after Alma drained her, and if Maricel couldn’t, then Max could. Max was their fallback, since he had some healing powers as well. However he said they weren’t his strongest gift, so Sarah worried about his ability to fix what Alma did.
Sarah took a couple of deep breaths, and pictured a depleted immune system. She reached out and picked up Alma, hating it when the baby shrank away from her. A tornado of gray sludge sucked all the air from her lungs. Sarah desperately tried to take in air, but she couldn’t. Alma looked up at her. She saw her fear mirrored in the baby’s big brown eyes. She tried to stay motionless, but she landed hard on her ass. She looked down at the baby in her arms thankful that she hadn’t dropped her, which was her last sane thought as Alma seemed to float above her hands and she dropped down into a deep abyss.
More gray surrounded her, it was getting darker. No air. No light. Just the look of horror and sadness in a baby’s eyes, as Alma floated towards her face. Enough! If she couldn’t fight for herself, she would for Alma. She wouldn’t let this beautiful little girl think of herself as a killer. Dammit, she was stronger. Alma had taken her by surprise, and she had let her. Sarah felt herself gain strength, and realized it wasn’t just her own, but Nate was with her. That’s when she knew she could do this, she fought the waves of weakness and breathed in again, gaining some power and pushed. Finally Sarah felt small pulses passing from her hand into Alma’s warm body.
“Stop. Let go,” Maricel insisted.
“S’good. We fine,” Sarah gritted out to Maricel. She no longer felt like her spleen was being pulled out of her mouth. Sarah brushed her thumb along the side of Alma’s side, and felt the vibrations start, she felt them up her arm, up Alma’s ribcage. God, the poor baby was so sick, her system was so wrong. The pulses and vibrations grew stronger and Sarah felt the heat. She watched as Alma’s eyes began to brighten, as gray turned to white, and white to all the colors of the rainbow. The pulses from her heart grew to vibrations, and she felt energy floating into Alma’s system, finding and healing.
Alma let out a screech, then waves of emptiness threatened to swallow Sarah whole. She was jerked and her head crashed hard onto the tile floor, Alma laying on top of her.
“Sarah. Answer me. Sarah. Max, get in here.” She felt herself lifted into a lap.
“Maricel, your daughter is scared, go to her. It’s okay, you can touch her.” It was Max’s voice. She felt a hand on her forehead. Not Nate’s. She tried to brush it off.
“Be easy, Sarah.” Max’s voice.
“She’s fine. I can feel her, her immune system is healed.” She could see Maricel holding her limp daughter. Then she closed her eyes, again, needing to rest for just a minute more.
“Why isn’t she moving.”
“It was pretty traumatic. Give her a few minutes. How are you Sarah? Are you okay?” Max asked.
“Yes.” He pressed his thumb and pinky on either temple, and she felt a lush wave go through her whole body. It felt like she was floating above the floor. She had to force her eyes open, but she managed it, she wanted to see if she was closer to the ceiling. She caught Max’s twinkling blue eyes above her. She was still on the floor, her head in his lap. She pushed up off the floor.
“Are you sure?” Max asked, concern in his voice.
“I thought healing wasn’t your strongest ability,” Sarah commented as she eyed her guardian.
“It isn’t.”
“Can I hold her?” Sarah asked. Maricel looked down at her sleeping daughter. “Just for a moment Maricel,” Sarah assured her.
“For a moment.”
“Has anyone ever told you, you’re a control freak?” Max asked as he helped her up off the floor. “I know you want to check she is well.”
“Yes I do.” Sarah knew her immune system was healed. She also noted her power to drain energy wasn�
�t happening which made sense. Sarah’s ability to heal only happened when she was awake, so Alma’s ability would only kick in when she was awake.
“Sarah, we need to speed things up,” Max whispered, she kept her eyes on Alma but nodded a response. “Can we get out of here now?” Max asked as he stood over her with Maricel beside him. Sarah grinned. She hugged Alma close.
“We can leave.” Alma was starting to rouse. She looked around and then that all hell broke loose. Alma looked up at Sarah with a look of horror and pushed away, nearly breaking her hold. She screamed and kicked.
“Almacita, what is it baby? What’s wrong?” One moment Alma had gone from a sleeping baby to thrashing and struggling like her life depended on it.
“Oh God, we can’t leave like this. People will notice for sure.” Maricel gasped. She took Alma from Sarah despite her struggles, which ] made Alma scream louder. “God, they’re going to hear.”
Sarah looked frantically around the room, and she finally saw what she was looking for. It was a cabinet full of medicine. She pulled it open and found vials of drugs including sedatives. She measured out the appropriate dosage and had Max and Maricel lay Alma down on the changing table and administered the drug. Soon Alma was sleeping.
Somehow Max got Sarah, Maricel and Alma back to the suite. Sarah was despondent their plan hadn’t worked, but it wasn’t close to the despair Maricel was feeling. Alma was still sleeping, and she assured Maricel the drug would wear off in four to five more hours.
It was obvious the baby thought she was a danger to them, and they didn’t know how they were going to convince her otherwise.
“Nate, she’s okay.” She heard Sierra talking on the phone as the woman pulled off her shoes and helped her into the bed. “She’s just tired.”
“Sarah, you need to talk to him.” Sarah had trouble holding the phone, and Sierra put it on the pillow next to her on speaker.
“Angel? Can you hear me?” he asked tenderly.
“Nate, love you.”
“Love you too. Are you all right?”
“Sleep time.”
She felt Sierra pull the comforter over her.
Healed (The Found Book 3) Page 17
