by Karen Hayes
"Do we have a lab?" Sarah asks. The other two seem to ignore her question.
The car pulls up.
"So what's the plan?" I ask. "We enter the premises, sedate the guard posted outside, then gain entry into the house? Is that correct?"
"Let’s do it this way," Sarah suggests. "I'll try to control the guy outside and make him open the front door. Then we shoot the two guys inside."
Greene swings round toward her. "Are you sure you can control him from a distance? I don't think he'll let us anywhere near himself."
Heaven kills the engine, unbuckles and turns to us too.
Sarah nods. "I know I can. The distance isn't that big," she peers through the window as if trying to recognize the view. "That's right. We're at the right place."
The moon casts its pale light onto the roof of a two-story house peeking from behind a manicured hedge. She's right: it's not very far. We open the car doors and switch to whispers.
Greene is the first to get out. "Wait here. I'll go and take a look."
He hurries toward the hedge. Heaven leans against the car, cross-armed.
Sarah walks over to me. "I'm not really nervous."
I nod. What does she want me to say? I still can't forget what I saw. Her leaving Adam's office, pensive but beaming, her face radiant, her eyes shining...
I'm jealous, dammit! You've no idea how jealous I am! It took all of my self-control to fake indifference and just walk away. I'd have so dearly loved to barge into the office and close my hands around that blond bastard's aristocratic neck!
As we drove here, I couldn't even bring myself to look at her. I'm pretty sure Sarah sensed it, too; she must have felt guilty. Twice she took me by the hand, causing a sharp pang of pain to surge through me.
Actually, she doesn't owe me anything. Seriously. Nothing says she should be loyal to me. We're not even a couple.
Still, the thought doesn't help much: my primeval possessive instinct screams at me, telling me to scoop her up in my arms, throw her over my shoulder and carry her back to my cave, then bludgeon my rival with a stone axe.
I'm doing my best not to betray any of this to her. Still, the bond between us is too strong. Or maybe she reads it in my face. She looks up into my eyes and whispers,
"There's something I need to tell you."
Greene appears from behind the hedge. "Right, off we go!" he whispers. "I've found a gap where we can get in. There's an agent patrolling the outside of the house. It took me some time to realize it was a woman. She's just gone behind the house. Once she reappears, I think it's the right moment for Sarah to take her out."
"It's not Diana, by any chance?" I ask. "She's tall and blonde-"
"You don't need to describe her to me, man," Greene interrupts me. "We're all familiar with her. No, it's not her. Some other bitch. She's not as tall but just as burly. A typical guardian."
"Okay," Heaven says. "You two go first. Greene and I will follow," she stretches out her hand. "Give me the gun."
"You sure? Maybe I should-"
She pins him down with her glare. "Give. Me. The gun."
You'd think that Greene would put his foot down, wouldn't you? Instead, he seems deflated. He lowers his head, stooping, and shoves the gun in her hand, looking grim.
He doesn't look at us. He must feel embarrassed at being ordered around by his guardian.
"Come on, then," I whisper to Sarah.
We walk along the hedge until we discover the gap mentioned by Greene. The cautious footsteps of the other two echo behind us.
The mansion lives up to its name. In front of it lies a cobbled front yard. I get a glimpse of a swimming pool and some tables and chairs under an awning in the back.
"Posh place," Greene whispers, then ouches. I think Heaven has just given him a slap on the back of his head. "Why, what did I say? This is posh! The place is hung with gold like a Christmas tree. And you know who he is? He's an ex-music producer. He still runs a couple of labels. He must have worked out that all the money is in television these days. And politics. So he runs a politics show!"
We stop in the shadows not far from the front door. The moon casts a brilliant light over the pool area but here it's dark.
The sounds of footsteps, soft but confident, come from around the corner. A human figure appears in the yard.
The moonlight illuminates its outline, creating the impression of a glowing aura around the person. It is indeed a woman and it's definitely not Diana. Her hair is dark and cropped. Her gait is heavy and level, betraying a military training. Her pants and short jacket make her look even more like a man.
She walks out into the yard and turns away without seeing us. We, however, can see her clearly.
"It's too far," Sarah whispers. "I need to get closer."
She grabs my elbow and draws me after her, all the way across the yard toward the woman. She doesn't see us yet. But the moment she turns her head...
Greene and Heaven are speechless, unable to call after us. We cross the yard sideways, gradually catching up with the woman. Sarah thrusts her hand out in front of her as if preparing to push an invisible door. Clutching hard at my elbow, she stares in front of her.
The air between us and the woman thickens. You can literally cut it with a knife, so heavy and dense it's become.
The woman has already approached the massive front door resembling a small gate. We follow closely. She'll hear us any second now.
Sarah lets out a heavy gasp. She must have caught her victim in her mental web. I just know it.
The front door opens, letting out another guardian. He freezes, staring at us in disbelief. The woman begins to turn round.
A soft popping sound comes from behind us. The man's head jerks. Something shiny flashes behind his ear: a fat silvery dart.
The man cries out and recoils against the doorframe, grabbing at his neck. His legs slacken; he drops to his knees, then falls backward.
By then, the woman has already seen us; she reaches under her jacket but fails to produce whatever it was she was groping for. Her eyes glaze over; her arms drop listlessly.
Heaven is already walking toward us, a large pneumatic gun in her hand. "Go in!" she snaps and heads for the door just as it opens wide, letting in the biggest guy I've seen in my entire life.
He's got a clean-shaven head with flattened ears sitting on a fat neck, and a pair of powerful shoulders. I'm not used to people looking down at me but this guy towers a good head above me. He must be at least seven-foot-plus.
His clothes - a dark suit with the lower button unbuttoned, a deep-blue shirt and a tie - look as if they are about to split at the seams. His legs in loose pants resemble two columns shod in square-toed shoes.
Heaven looses the second syringe into him at point blank.
The needle pierces his enormous chest. With a growl, the giant pulls it out, then flings his hand high in the air. I have to give Heaven her due: she shoots again before his fist collides with her body.
An incredible force throws her back. Greene clutches at his temples and whimpers like a dog. He's now the closest to the giant who lowers his spade-like hand onto his head, grabbing a fistful of hair.
Greene's knees give way under him as he's being forced down. He grabs at the giant's fat wrist, trying to wriggle himself free.
"What's up, Joo?" the giant booms, addressing the woman. He doesn't yet realize she's being controlled. His speech is blurred, his movements begin to slow down: a double dose of this "modified" sedative is apparently too much even for him.
Next to me, Sarah snaps a brief command. The woman steps forward and kicks the giant in the belly.
She's definitely a professional. A kick like that would have surely knocked me down, but the giant only stares at her in surprise. Then he flings Greene toward the wall and punches her in the face.
Sarah gasps and staggers, sensing the echo of the blow. The woman flies backwards at me. Mechanically I grab her, sensing something hard under her jacket. I shove my h
and inside; it's a shoulder holster. My fingers close around the handle of a gun.
Greene is groaning by the wall, trying to scramble to his feet. Heaven is stirring behind me. The giant pulls the second syringe out of his shoulder and steps toward us.
I shoot him.
The gun looks unusual, with a thin straight handle and a two-piece barrel with a horizontal groove dividing its parts. It looks a bit like an oversized Taser. Probably another one of the Agency's secret technologies. Didn't Adam say they had a whole lot of state-of-the-art thingies?
A bright blue electric charge escapes the two halves of the barrel and sinks into the giant's chest with a crackling sound that resembles someone trampling a large pack of popcorn.
A bright light momentarily floods the yard. A labored gasp comes through the crackling of the squirming electric arc which only disappears when I take my finger off the trigger.
The trigger smoothly returns to its initial position. The air stinks of burned flesh. The giant clutches at his chest and drops backward slowly like a felled oak tree, leaning lower and lower until he collapses in the doorway, sticking his enormous legs out.
I lower the Taser and hurry toward Sarah. "You okay?"
She's breathing hard, leaning one hand against the wall. The woman she controlled is lying motionlessly on the ground. So is the first guard. Heaven stumbles past us toward Greene, helping him to his feet.
Greene wipes his bleeding nose with his sleeve. "Get in, quick!"
I'm the first to run through the door. The house is all mahogany and marble, Persian rugs and gilded knickknacks, its impossibly high ceiling crowned with a massive crystal chandelier.
We rush toward the spiral staircase leading to the second floor. A quiet knocking sound comes from above.
Another corridor. More doors...
I reach the one furthest from the stairs and shoulder it open. This is the office, its walls done up in carved wooden panels. A lamp is burning on a massive desk. A comfortable leather chair, some book shelves, a filing cabinet.
Andy Hill is standing by the desk in an open floral dressing gown over some white undies, dialing a number on a smartphone.
I raise the gun.
"Don't shoot!" Sarah says. She gives the man a heavy look. "Put the phone down and open the safe."
Once again the air around us thickens, feeling heavy as if gravity itself has increased.
The phone drops from his hand, hitting the edge of the desk and falling onto the rug. Andy Hill freezes with his right hand still raised to his ear. His left hand hangs listlessly, his jaw drops, his eyes glazed over.
"What's up?" Greene pokes into the room.
"We're working," I snap.
Hill moves unnaturally toward the cabinet and opens one of the doors.
Greene steps into the room. "I'll take the folder from him."
"Check the house, will you?" I say.
"There's nobody here."
I step toward him, gripping the Taser, "We don't know that! Go and check the house!"
Greene licks his lips and begins to rub his hands together. A wave of heat comes from him.
"The folder can wait," I raise the gun. I absolutely need him out of here.
"Greene, come here, quick!" Heaven's voice comes from downstairs.
He stops rubbing his hands. "I want you two downstairs with the folder in two minutes! We'll get rid of the evidence," he swings round and rushes out into the corridor.
I walk over to the open cabinet. Sarah's already there watching Hill punch in the lock combination on the strongbox secreted inside.
"What did he mean by 'getting rid of the evidence'?" she mouths without taking her eyes off Hill's back.
I shrug.
The lock clicks. I shove Hill aside and pull the long handle. It glistens in the lamplight.
I had a premonition there'd be nothing inside. Luckily, the folder is there. It's gray and sturdy with the picture of a two-headed snake on the cover.
I shove the gun in my waistband, pull the folder out and throw it on the desk. As I open it, I whip out my smartphone with my other hand.
Inside the folder are printed pages, pictures, newspaper cuttings and Internet printouts.
I start taking pictures. I can smell something burning but I don't care. There's not enough light in the room so the camera goes into flash mode. Click. Flash. The rustling of papers. Click. Flash. The rustling of papers. Click. Flash...
The burning smell is stronger now. I can hear the roaring of... of flames? What the hell's going on? Is that what they meant by getting rid of the evidence? Just torch the whole freakin' house?
That'll have to wait. I only have a few pages left to copy.
"What's wrong with you?" Greene hollers. "Come down now!"
"What do you think you're doi-" Sarah stops as Hill emits a painful groan and staggers.
Sarah pauses, staring into space, then gasps. "The children!"
"What?" I ask, hurrying to copy the last page.
"There're children in the house!"
"How do you know?"
"He's thinking about them!" Sarah says. "His two children are staying with him!"
The stomping of feet comes from the corridor. I slide the phone in my pocket, rearrange the sheets and close the folder the moment Greene barges in.
"Come now, you idiots! Have you got it? Give it here!" he snatches the folder from me and runs toward the door. "Let's go!"
"There're children in the house!" Sarah shouts. "We need to get them out! Chris told you to check the house, not to set it on fire!"
"That was the whole idea!" his voice comes from the corridor. "The police and the fire brigade will soon be here! You're either coming or we're leaving without you!"
"Where can they be?" Sarah whispers frantically. "Show me!"
Obeying her order, Hill staggers toward the door.
"Release him," I suggest.
"I can't. I'm not very good at it yet. I had to get really deep into his mind: if I release him now, he'll just collapse. The children, where can they be?"
By the time we're out in the corridor, the fire is raging downstairs. I peer at a row of identical mahogany doors until I see a child's drawing pinned to one of them. A two-story house and a family - a dad and two kids (a boy and a girl, judging by the two pigtails) - are clumsily drawn with black crayons.
"Take him downstairs!" I shout as I hurry for the door and swing it open. Inside is a nursery: a bunk bed, some toys and a wardrobe hung with children's drawings.
A boy and a girl are cowering in the far corner of the bed, staring at me in terror. She's a toddler, he's slightly older.
"I found them!" I shout. "Take Hill downstairs!"
I rush toward the bed and scoop the two kids in a blanket. The girl whimpers; the boy tries to fight back.
"Keep still!" I bark. "D'you wanna burn to death?"
Children have never been my forte. They do obey though and freeze obediently in my hands. Pressing them close, I run back along the corridor and down the staircase.
"Daddy!" the boy screams, seeing Hill below, shepherded out by Sarah.
The hall is full of smoke streaked with flames. Greene has done a good job, actually: there're several spots of fire but none between the staircase and the wide open front door.
The boy starts to wriggle, trying to run after his father. I clench them even closer.
As I hurry toward the door, I glimpse a body lying next to the wall, fire licking at its clothes. Can't see whether it's a man or a woman. So Greene and Heaven managed to drag the bodies inside - or one body at least. The body of the giant isn't in the doorway anymore.
Sarah and Hill leave. Finally, I too tumble out. Fire engines wail at a distance, approaching: at least three of them.
"The pool!" I yell.
I get there before Sarah and Hill. I set the kids on their feet by the pool. "You all right?"
They're petrified, of course, but at least they're not hurt.
"Daddy!" t
he boy kicks my knee and rushes toward Hill. The girl just stares, choking on her tears.
"Wait, he's all right," Sarah begins, losing control over Hill who collapses on the tiles by the pool.
Crying, the boy jumps on top of him, shaking his shoulders.
Sarah leans over them. "Your Daddy's all right! He's only asleep! He'll wake up soon..."
"That's enough!" I pull her by the hand.
She follows me, casting frequent glances back and mumbling, "He's all right, really. He's only asleep..."
The fire engines are close now. We barge through the hedge.
The gray Toyota is gone.
The opposite end of the street is ablaze with blues-and-twos, their flashing disco rhythm accompanying the roar of their engines.
Sarah seems to be a bit better. In any case, no one's going to look for us now - at least I hope not. The fire brigade have their hands full with the house, the children and the unconscious Hill.
Still, we shouldn't push our luck.
We hurry down the street, trying to put as much distance as we can between us and the house. Finally, we slow down.
"They knew there were children in the house," I say.
Sarah shakes her head. "I don't think so. They can't have. Not Heaven, definitely not Greene."
"Oh yes, they did. We both know them by now. They're nutcases. They're just as bad as each other. Adam told them to burn down the house together with its occupants and that's what they did. And you know why? Because even if they retrieved the folder, Hill already knows what's inside. He knows where to look for more information in case the folder is gone. Adam wanted to get rid of him. He simply didn't bother to put us in the picture. He didn't care."
"Adam didn't know about the children!"
I hug her shoulders. She's all shaky. So am I, every time I remember the two scared little faces. What if she'd failed to read their father's mind?
"You've saved them," I tell her, trying to calm her down. "You did well."
