by Regan Black
As if any disagreement would matter. "Yes, Queen Nin."
"Prepare."
He hated this part, when she sifted through him. Before his experience with Petra, it was unnerving, after when he knew the differences, it was bone-chilling. Carefully, he focused his mind on Nathan.
The mental connection was instant and the pressure in Kristoff's head made him think his brain would explode. His scientific curiosity didn't even want to linger on the how of it, so he quickly latched onto the affected nerves, burning through the virus trail to Nathan.
He rested in a hospital room, could've been anywhere, but then the view switched inexplicably to Petra.
The little bitch had sensed them and snapped her eyes closed. There was a vision of a calm sea, but just under the surface, Kristoff caught sight of her notepad.
Nin swept them back to his hideout and his own body.
"This place, it is close?"
"Yes, Magnificence."
"And the woman?"
"Yes, Magnificence."
They were all in Chicago. "You will find them."
He bowed, as expected, but this time he felt real gratitude. Then the queen was gone and he was alone once, but now he had a plan.
Petra was in Chicago. Nathan was in Chicago. Kristoff smiled. In Chicago there was no hiding from him. His feet crunched across the debris littering his lab, then his fingers flew over the keyboard as he ordered his remaining soldiers to their new assignment.
SEVEN
If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near. Sun Tzu
The spike through Nathan's temple was first ice, then fire. He screamed, uncertain if his voice had worked, but it seemed to help. Then the pain was gone, leaving only a persistent ache.
A tall nurse he'd not seen before rushed in. "Sir? What can I do?"
"Don't know," he admitted through gritted teeth.
Nathan assessed his body, slowly realizing he was in control again. He wiggled toes, then fingers, then raised a hand to his head, rubbing away the ache. "Give me a minute. Did they up my dosage? Mainline that damned tea?"
"There was no dosage, sir. Last night, you crashed during your supper. Do you recall?"
Vaguely, though a man didn't want to dwell on such insulting memories. He lifted his hand to his face and realized he wasn't fabricating the motions from memory. His muscles were all working without any conscious effort. He stared at his hand, flexed and stretched it. He didn't have to over think anything. Not even the smile he felt spreading over his face.
He sat up, making the tall woman in the blinding white uniform jump back.
"Sir, are you certain…"
He didn't know what she would've said or how he might've finished the same sentence. He just knew it felt great to be on his feet this time. No struggle, no exhaustion. They had to have given him something. "I feel perfect!"
"Ah, well…" the nurse's voice trailed away. Her eyes fixed on his face. "Maybe caution is best, sir."
Not at all. He walked around, stretching legs and arms, pulling off sensor pads and…slowly understood he was parading about naked. What happened to the robe or the stupid hospital gown? "Must've been some crash last night," he muttered sheepishly, accepting the robe she offered. "Sorry I got carried away."
"We like to see a patient recover, sir. If you're certain you are well, I'll call for food."
"And clothing, please."
She nodded.
Nathan helped himself to the facilities, praying this time there wouldn't be a relapse. He truly felt differently, steadier even from that high on the side of the road with Kelly, although that moment had its perks.
He set the shower for ten minutes of real water at maximum heat. Maybe it was the memory, or maybe the third time was the charm, but the fatigue was gone, his mind felt calm and clear, and that persistent ache in his temple was absent. He was done with the yo-yo of progress and regress. He knew it.
But how?
The question wouldn't stop circling around his mind, but when the water shut off, he was smiling over the sense of clean and accomplishment. Petra might insist on knowing everything, but Nathan opted not to drag himself down with details. She'd just have to settle for what he did know: there was a snap and he was better. If that was something more than his immune system overriding a smart virus, he didn't care.
Miracles, healers, or science? The label didn't matter if he was back in control.
In the robe once more, he glanced down at his raw feet and poked around in the cabinet until he found some ointment. From his vantage point, his feet looked better, but he didn't want to risk any setbacks or lectures. He was returning to his room, his mind on Kelly, when the main door swung open.
"Back from the dead, are we?" Gideon asked from behind an armload of clothing.
"Sure as hell. You think I need a whole wardrobe right now?"
"No one could agree on your size." Gideon dumped the clothing on to the hospital bed. "Got a range here from civilian to soldier. What'll it be?"
Nathan's stomach turned when he caught sight of the uniform. "Civilian."
Gideon seemed to understand. He plucked the few uniform pieces from the pile, balled them up and tossed them at the door.
Nathan grinned. "You're happy on the outside too?"
"Beats the alternative."
Nathan wasn't sure what Gideon's alternatives had been. He cleared his throat. "Life with Petra?"
"Never dull." Nathan assumed that was all he'd get, but Gideon continued. "We've seen some stuff, Nate, and she worries about you."
Nathan had jeans on, would've sighed over the soft feel of denim against his skin if he'd been alone. As it was he knew better than to give Gideon – and Petra by proxy – any more concerns. "You can tell her I'm fine, right?"
Gideon folded his arms across his chest and Nate tried not to squirm under the scrutiny. "When I think you're fine, I'll tell her. This crap we're up against. It scares me."
Nathan tucked a t-shirt into his jeans, caught his reflection and decided it only emphasized how much weight he'd lost. Untucking the shirt, he pulled a jacket on too.
Gideon chuckled. "That won't fool them for long."
"I just need a couple good meals," Nathan insisted.
"Without any additives I'd bet."
They were out of the room and Nathan fell into step beside Gideon in the hallway. "There's more than juicing. Have we shut any of it down?"
"The shit we've found would curl your toes. Oh. Sorry man."
They both looked at Nate's feet. "They're healing. Hardly hurt at all." He thought about it, but he didn't want to get into the whole healed and unhealed issues with anyone but Kelly. He wasn't sure she could shed any light on the healer's impact or his body's response. At the moment, he wanted to focus on what was working. "Where are we going?" he asked Gideon when they reached the elevators.
"Down to our suite. After we got hold of you and the girl, we all moved here for convenience."
And safety. He'd gotten that loud and clear from Petra. The elevator opened, they stepped in and the doors swooshed shut. When they were moving, Nathan went for the dig, "So how you feeling, Dad?"
Gideon punched him in the arm and then reached out to steady him when Nathan fell to the side. "Sorry. Jesus. What's your problem?"
Nathan was grinning. "I'm looking healthier already or you would've pulled that punch."
The elevator opened and Gideon stomped out. "This isn't a damn game, Burkhardt."
Of course not, but it felt so good to be himself, he didn't want to be coddled. "I know that," he snapped at Gideon, "at least as well as you." He pushed by his old friend and headed down the hall, stopping at a door and pounding on it. He expected to see Kelly, had followed some internal radar without realizing it, but a man with a vaguely familiar face was in the doorway.
Nathan stalled out for a second, confused by the signals he was getting. "Kelly?" he asked, unable to voice anything more precise.
The other m
an stepped back, "That way. I'm Brian, by the way."
"Good to know you," Nathan dismissed him and went looking for the only person he trusted to understand. When he saw her, all the tension that had built up with Gideon fell away and everything slipped into place again.
Until she turned, saw him, and frowned mightily. "What the hell?"
Hardly the greeting he'd hoped for.
* * *
Kelly stared up at Nathan, afraid she was seeing things. She glanced around, looking for confirmation from Jaden and Petra. Petra's scowl and Jaden's amusement offered some comfort. Unless they were having a group hallucination.
"How are you up and moving so well?" Petra demanded in the prolonged silence.
Kelly was grateful. She couldn't seem to wrap her mind or her mouth around any clear thought. This was what she'd hoped and prayed for, but seeing him up had her worrying about when he'd fall over. His frail body was bad enough when he was confined to the bed, but it was all the more apparent when he stood tall.
"I guess it finally wore off." He shrugged.
Locking onto the movement, his shoulders looked too bony. Though his posture was strong and he seemed steady on his feet, she thought a strong breeze my tip him over.
Petra stepped between them. "How did the Paracuron wear off?"
He shrugged again, stuffing his hands into his pockets, reminding Kelly of her younger brothers when they'd been caught joyriding at home. Nathan's jeans rode low on his hips, not fashionably, just loose on his skinny frame.
Petra opened her mouth, but Nathan spoke up. "No bells. I had a headache. Now I don't. I feel nearly one hundred percent."
"How nearly?" she persisted.
"If someone would let me eat, I'd hit the mark a lot faster."
The sibling dynamic was as familiar as the monstrous appetite. Kelly ducked out of the way and rummaged around the small kitchen, hoping to sneak in a couple herbs.
"Don't bother trying," he said, coming up behind her. "Aren't you happy to see me up and 'moving so well'?"
Kelly spun around and poked a finger into his chest. "Of course I'm happy. It's just sudden. Unexpected." She slapped a sandwich together, packing it with meat and veggies, and 'a little love' – her mother's habit – before she caught herself. "What if you regress again?"
"Not this time." He bit into the sandwich and half of it was gone. Scary. She took a step back, half afraid he'd take a big bite out of her next. Mischief lent a wicked curve to his mouth.
"You do look good enough to eat…"
"Make yourself another sandwich. And stay out of my head," she hissed, pushing past him. She wanted to get back to the recovery plan Jaden had been orchestrating. She had the feeling, trust being such a fragile thing, that they'd leave her out of it if they could.
Within moments, Nathan joined them, hovering behind her like her personal thundercloud. He wasn't quite in her mind, at least she didn't think so, but his presence surrounded her, swamping her senses. He was hell on her concentration as he ate the sandwich, he was worse when he started asking impossible questions. "What's my role?"
"You'll stay here," Petra and Kelly answered in unison.
Nathan dusted bread crumbs from his shirt. "Like hell. That'll make me crazy. I can help."
"How?" Kelly asked. "You don't even know what we're doing."
"Nathan," Petra intervened, "it isn't wise. What Kelly needs to do is best left to her."
Nathan tilted his head a fraction, his eyes narrowing. She knew he was trying to delve into someone's mind. "Jaden's going," he said.
"I'm just the muscle," Jaden confirmed. "She knows what we're after."
Before he could do more, Petra stopped him with a poke to his chest. "It's not safe for you or me to be involved any further." She took his wrist and headed back toward the kitchen. "Come with me so I can explain what you can do."
To Kelly's relief, Nathan followed his sister.
The primary distraction gone, she didn't waste any time committing to memory the wealth of information Jaden possessed about the Field Museum. Soon she had a full understanding of current and past accesses, vaults and exit routes. An hour later, the plan was outlined and declared workable by Jaden.
* * *
"I can get you in," Brian said with an exasperated look. "Just give me an hour to clear out that mess."
"We don't have that long," Jaden told her husband. "Petra says Simon's close, which means Kristoff's close. Besides, it's more fun this way."
"And that is the salient point. I'm not the police chief anymore, remember?"
"Hard to forget when you're under foot all day long," she teased.
"And you're not indestructible."
"So noted." They both sobered as Jaden added a third knife to her combat belt.
Kelly leaned back, not wanting to get caught in the middle, but desperate to get moving. Watching these two had her questioning the wisdom of marriage. It was a whole different example than the quiet relationship her parents had shared.
"Maybe I should go alone," she offered, still unhappy about drawing more people into her trouble.
"Not a chance." Jaden's green eyes practically glowed with anticipation as she braided her long hair. "That museum is one of my favorite places. I know all its secrets."
"Good luck," Brian groused from his place at the van's bank of monitors. "I'll pick you up at the observatory in forty minutes."
Jaden blew him a kiss. "Love you too, baby," she said, hopping from the van to the street.
Kelly followed.
They hadn't gone a block when the test signal buzzed in the earpiece. Jaden tapped it twice in response, then turned to Kelly and said, "He's so overprotective."
Nathan's face flashed in her mind. Were all men that way? Her brothers and father certainly had been. Even when he'd been on that gurney, Nathan had tried to assist and protect her. It was an odd time to realize she'd been holding out hope that she'd meet someone different.
Nathan had been furious about her going after the map box with Jaden. He'd wanted her to stay parked in the safety of the warehouse, but she couldn't let Jaden do this alone. It wasn't Jaden's mess, no matter how much she was helping clean it up. Nathan didn't agree, refused to see reason. Most unfortunately, he didn't need technology to keep tabs on her.
"You ready to roll?"
Kelly nodded. She was beyond ready. With an effort, she did her best to put up a wall to keep Nathan at bay. There was no guarantee it would work, but it was better than making it easy for him to share his opinions. She still believed he should be resting anyway.
The women reached the Field Museum without incident, but the loading dock, their intended entrance, was draped in bright crime scene tape. Two evidence vans worked diligently recording holograms, collecting samples and casting impressions to prosecute a couple gang-bangers for breaking and entering.
Brian had picked up the chatter on the police channel while they were at the warehouse. He'd made a valiant attempt, but couldn't talk Kelly and Jaden into waiting for a better time to raid the museum's vault. Every passing day gave Kristoff more time to unravel their plans through Petra or possibly Nathan.
The women looked at each other and gut instinct filled in the blanks. They'd both thought it earlier, but being on scene, they both felt it. This wasn't a coincidence. Someone else had mimicked their plan and made a play for the map box.
"We can't be too late," Kelly muttered, fear and fury mounting to combustible levels. It was only the sheer force of the woman standing next to her that kept her from bursting into angry tears. Jaden was a warrior who'd lived and died and never whined about it once. She'd probably class this as a minor set back rather than cause for the panic washing over Kelly.
"Aw, crap."
It certainly wasn't the profound backup plan Kelly hoped to hear. "Should we just go in the front?" she asked, forgetting the tight security and metal detectors up front. They'd never get through that.
Thankfully, Jaden didn't react to her
stupid question. It took all of Kelly's willpower not to blabber aloud the thoughts racing through her mind at a thousand miles per second. She'd been trained to protect treasures, not steal them. A cold chill raised the hair at her nape. Her father would think the worst of her standing here on the verge of grand theft map box.
She was so grateful he hadn't known where she'd settled, and therefore never had to worry that she and the maps were in such close proximity.
"There's our opening." Jaden became a blur of motion and Kelly rushed to catch up.
Jaden latched onto an evidence cop, got just enough out of him to get into the scene and then they were beyond the loading dock and heading down the service stairs to the vault.
Kelly knew only that they were meeting someone else down here and she was nervous he'd been delayed too.
"Slumming again so soon, love?"
Kelly looked for the owner of the voice, but no one was with them in the stairwell. The disembodied thing didn't faze Jaden, she went charging down the rest of the stairs on silent feet.
Kelly followed slower, unsure of what was waiting for them. When she arrived, Jaden was standing in front of a door, talking softly with Cleveland. Tall, lanky, and slippery as an eel, the man seemed to be everywhere and nowhere all at once. A serious history buff, his collections of everything from cars to stamps were stuff of legends, but he had some truly unique skills.
He beamed a wide smile, putting Kelly instantly at ease. "Like my diversion up top?"
"Not so much," Jaden replied for both of them. "How are the kids?"
"Fabulous." He winked at Jaden then pointed a long index finger at Kelly. "You don't ever get the Mustang again, hear me? I might get it fixed by the turn of the century."
"Don't let him fool you. He's just trying to pad Nathan's bill."
Cleveland shot her a dark look before squirting the hinges. The door swung open silently. "Ladies first."
They hurried down a wide hallway, passing several closed doors, before Cleveland stopped in front of a vault that looked just like Petra's pictures.
