“He said ‘It’s too bad I have to kill you just to get to Charlie. I wish you could be there when I break him.’ I don’t know what it means, but who else would say something like that other than your father?”
Junior staggered back and dropped into one of the micro-leather chairs. On the one hand, everything he’d done to stop his father in the past seemed like it was for nothing. He felt like a failure in that sense. On the other hand, Junior was overcome with a welcomed, familiar feeling—purpose. He suddenly felt more driven than ever before.
Junior leaned toward Ryan. “If this man is who you say he is, he’s going to pay one way or another.” He shook his head hard. “Damn, I should have let you take him out.”
“Wait?” Lucy’s eye brow went up. “You mean to tell me that hulking man is the bastard you…my father used to work for?”
“Yes,” Ryan nodded. “He wants revenge against me for outing him after he’d migrated into a female host. He wants revenge on Charlie for wronging him all those years ago. Unfortunately, it looks like he’s back with a new body, stronger than ever.”
Junior shook his head. “But why all the theatrics? Why wouldn’t he just track you down and grab you when no one was looking? Why involve your mother?”
Ryan shrugged. “As conniving as your father was, he always had a penchant for being bold.”
“True. Or maybe he’s getting help from someone.” Junior’s eyes became wide. “Maybe he’s indebted to whoever brought him back, and you’re the ultimate goal,” he said pointing to Ryan.
“I guess it’s possible.” Ryan blinked and rubbed his temples. “But he talked about killing me? Why would he say that? Charlie and I can only tap into our potential if we’re together.”
Junior tilted his head and nodded. “My father never liked playing by someone else’s rules.” He looked Ryan in the eye. “Let’s say he saw an opportunity to get pay back, and he tried to take it even though that wasn’t the assignment he was given.”
Ryan replied, “That does sound like your father.”
Helen gasped, “So, that means we’re worried about two enemies? The Padre and the person, or people, who put him up to capturing Ryan? What do we do? How do we move forward?”
“Well.” Junior put his hand on his chin and rubbed. “I’m guessing whoever is calling the shots is going to temporarily put a hold on finding Ryan to search for my father. My father is going to have to lay low so that he doesn’t get caught by these people. If that’s true, then maybe our enemies keep each other busy for a while. But we do need to be ready when they come after you again, Ryan.” Junior turned to look Ryan in the eye. “Are there any other loved ones he can go after? Anyone else he can use as bait?”
Ryan shook his head at first. Then, something came to mind. “What about Helen’s family?”
Junior shrugged. “Possibly. Where is your family, Helen?”
“They moved to the west coast two months ago. Should I warn them?”
Junior shook his head. “No, the west coast has its own players. I think they’re safe.”
Ryan thought more, then pointed at Lucy. “Her.”
She waved Ryan off like he was jinxing her.
Junior nodded and looked at her. “Sure, but she’s with us. Is there anyone else?”
Lucy thought for a moment, then finally, spoke with uncertainty. “My mom…and my brother.”
“Yes,” Helen said. “If things couldn’t get any weirder, I think Natalie might have seen your mother and brother many years ago. Ryan thought it was probably after the last time you saw them. She was in the city trying to get a cure for your brother.”
Lucy’s eyes widened, and she shuddered. She was equally happy they might be alive and devastated that her mother may have left her behind when she sought a cure. As tough as things were back then, she thought the least her mother could have done was explain the situation to her. Instead, Lucy had felt abandoned for the rest of her life, with no way of knowing the truth or the whereabouts of her family.
Junior read the emotions on Lucy’s face. “I’m sorry, Lucy. For what it’s worth, I know all about having a lying parent.”
She nodded, appreciative of his empathy. But she didn’t have much hope for finding her family. “If they’re alive, they’ve done a damn good job of staying hidden. I stopped searching years ago.”
Ryan said, “Junior can find just about anyone. What other information do we have on them?”
Everyone looked at Junior, and he motioned to his computer. “Come on. Let’s see what we can find.”
After pooling all the information they had on Sarah and Joey, Junior went to work plugging it into Private I with Lucy hovering over his shoulder the entire time. Ryan and Helen gave Lucy some space as she worked with Junior. They sat on a couch. The setting sun shown a brilliant light into Junior’s office, taking the edge off a crazy day.
Helen leaned toward Ryan. “It was such bullshit the shifters withheld Charlie’s condition from us.”
Ryan nodded. “Yeah. In the end, I’m glad they awakened Charlie, but why the secrets? Why the lies? It says a lot about them as an organization.”
“Do you remember the man who helped us…Natalie and Charlie?”
He nodded. “Yeah, his name is R-J. He’s a hacker or something.”
Helen scowled. “What’s his deal?”
“I don’t know.” Ryan frowned. “That letter Natalie and Charlie found said the Alliance was ‘necessary but misguided.’ R-J was trying to get us to that abandoned prison to show us something.”
“Right. We should probably check out that prison. Maybe after we find Lucy’s family.” She whispered, “If we find them.”
Ryan shrugged. “Probably. But I’m in no hurry to get mixed up with the Alliance again. We’ve got enough to worry about with the Padre and whoever is propping him up.”
Helen took a deep breath. “Ryan, there’s something else I need to tell you.”
Ryan looked her in the eye. “What is it, babe?”
Helen smiled for the first time in what felt like forever. Ryan was undeniably handsome, and as crazy as their lives had turned out, she was happy she was with him. It made carrying his baby so much easier, and she was excited to see how he’d respond.
“Well,” She licked her lips. “You see—”
Lucy let loose a throaty shout. “That’s got to be her! The pictures and descriptions match almost perfectly. How do we get to her?”
Helen felt like she’d lost the moment, not wanting to steal Lucy’s thunder. “We can talk later. Let’s go be with Lucy.”
Helen and Ryan dashed around Junior’s desk and huddled behind Lucy to hear the plan.
“…out in the country.” Junior pointed to the map on his holo. “We can take my car, and we’ll be there in fifty minutes.”
“Come on!” Lucy trotted to a chair and swiped at her jacket, knocking it on the floor. She quickly bent down and scooped it up. “Let’s go!”
Heading downstairs, they all had half smirks on their face. Something positive was coming out of them being together, and it felt like they were some kind of strange team, like they were all from the island of misfit children and friends. It was a stark contrast to the lives they were all accustomed.
They made their way to the street, and Junior’s car sat curbside. He was ready to open the car door when a terrible squeal coming from down the street turned all their heads.
A black van sped directly at them. Before any of them could decide what to do, several smoking canisters came hurling their way from the van. The smoke became thick in an instant, and despite their best efforts to escape, they all slowly fell to the ground, coughing and paralyzed.
Closest to him, Helen watched helplessly as two masked men in black jumped out of the van and grabbed Ryan.
She whispered, “No…no…” as she blacked out.<
br />
Ryan’s mind sailed through Charlie’s brain until he eventually heard shouting somewhere and floated in that direction, settling upon Alabaster and Charlie, arguing about his capture.
“If I had been able to take over,” Alabaster said, “we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Charlie scowled. “You always think you can save us! That van could have driven straight at us, and a foot before it made contact, you would say, ‘give me control, I’ll get us out of this’ when it’s already too late!”
“Well,” Alabaster said, pointing his giant stone finger in Charlie’s face, “why the hell do you think you created me? We can’t both be hopeless cowards.”
Charlie slapped the finger away and took a step. “Bullshit. You’re a reckless savage. It’s going to get us all killed.”
They saw Ryan and quieted down.
“Charlie’s right.” Ryan looked at Alabaster. “There was nothing any of us could have done.”
Alabaster shook his head and bellowed. “Agree to disagree.”
Charlie sneered, “Figures.”
“Stop,” Ryan said with uncharacteristic firmness. “Instead of fighting about what we could have done, we need to figure out what we’re going to do when we wake up.”
Alabaster blurted. “I can handle it.”
Charlie shook his head and pointed to Ryan. “He should be in control. Unless I’m needed, he should always be in control. It’s simpler that way.”
“Fine.” Alabaster crossed his rock arms.
Ryan said, “We left the big guy in pretty bad shape, so I’m guessing it’s his boss that got us. Escaping is obviously the highest priority, but we need to be looking for any information on who we’re dealing with too. It’s the only way we’ll be able to stop this from happening again.” Ryan took a deep breath. “Anything else to add?”
They looked at each other, and then back at Ryan. They shrugged.
“Great.”
Almost on cue, Ryan could feel his consciousness being pulled into the fore. “Wish me luck!”
Alabaster and Charlie smirked.
Ryan gasped as he sat up, angry that he’d been sedated twice in such a short period of time. He had the slightest headache, and his eyes fluttered, trying to see where he’d been taken this time. When his eyes finally adjusted, he was instantly confused by what he saw, what he heard, and even what he smelled.
He was sitting on a luxurious, brown leather couch, not restrained in any way. Angled sun light was sprawling in from the windows across the room, confessing he’d been out for some time until morning. He looked around the room and was reminded of the old-time interior design magazines he used to read at his grandmother’s house. The floors were a light, glossy hardwood. A love seat and chair matching the couch were on either side of him, and a stone, burnt-sienna coffee table sat in the middle, on top of a patterned, olive-green throw rug. Soft, classical music played in a distant room, and wafts of freshly brewed coffee floated in the air. All in all, the space had a perfectly calming ambiance, which only added to Ryan’s bewilderment.
To his left, a hallway seemed to go deeper into the house. To his right, there was a door that would most likely lead to the outside.
Ryan dashed in that direction.
Locked.
“Damn.”
Ryan rushed across the room to check the windows. They were also locked, but he could see that he was in a typical-looking upscale neighborhood, possibly on the north side of the city.
A bit of panic set in as he turned around. The hallway was the only way. Before committing, he looked for more clues as to whose house he was in. To his left, he saw a bookshelf that wasn’t helpful. A lot of fiction, including the latest in the Dome series. Otherwise, the rest of the books were about cooking, psychology, and orchestra music.
Next, Ryan found a coat closet that only had one men’s black leather jacket and a pair of casual shoes. Nothing helpful.
He eyed the corridor with dread. With no other options, he cautiously wandered in that direction. The scent of the coffee grew stronger. The classical music was getting louder, and he vaguely recognized the song from some random ancient cartoon he’d seen, also at his grandmother’s house. Ahead was a brightly lit room, probably the kitchen, but in the middle of the hallway there was an open door to a dark room. He didn’t blink as he walked by the ritzy restroom.
He continued into the kitchen. It took his breath away. The morning sun sparkled off the marble countertop, and the state-of-the-art appliances seemed barely used. The coffee maker was vintage. A nice touch, Ryan thought against his will. This person had a Food-o-Matic 9000, combination stove and fridge. Meal buttons on the front would produce fully cooked food in minutes. A note was scrawled in red on the fridge whiteboard.
Ryan,
Help yourself to some freshly-brewed coffee. Mugs are in the cupboard. Also, the Country Breakfast option is solid for auto-cooked food. When you’re ready, meet me in the den upstairs.
Ryan shot a look at the cupboard. Some caffeine would take the edge off his headache, he thought, and his stomach was rumbling. But his angst and curiosity trumped his hunger and desire for caffeine. He feared it was some kind of trap.
He looked over his shoulder to see the stairs across the room, then carefully meandered over to them. With each step, the volume of the music seemed directly correlated to Ryan’s uneasiness, and he was ready for a fight at a moment’s notice. Coming into view was another elegantly decorated room, and the crystal-clear, ultra-def music blared at a volume a little too loud for his comfort.
At the final stair, Ryan turned his head to the corner of the room and saw someone, a man, sitting in an office chair facing away from the stairs. He was interacting with an array of holograms that were streaming data and video feeds. The man couldn’t have been more than medium in stature, and he had a full head of salt and pepper hair. Ryan looked back at the size, clarity, and number of holos, and he thought it had to be the most impressive computer rig he’d ever seen.
Ryan shook the awe from his mind and shouted over the music, “Who the hell are you?”
The music cut off in an instant as if Ryan’s words had commanded it. Then, the man slowly turned around in his chair.
“What the…” Ryan’s eyes became wide, and shock swept over his body. He refused to believe what he was seeing, and he took a series of deep breaths attempting to process it. But he couldn’t. There was a disconnect between all the thoughts and emotions he was having. Everything was wrong, and Ryan was as perplexed as he was elated. He put his hands on his knees, stopping himself from falling over, and stumbled to the side.
“Cam…Cameron…Walsh. What…what the hell?”
Sure enough, sitting in front of Ryan was none other than Ryan’s biggest hero. The guy Ryan had dreamt of meeting every day for the ten years leading up to his mind migration. The spokesman for ADG. The very first successful mind migrator! The very first…wait…
“That’s right, Ryan. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Ryan scratched his head, blinking rapidly as he tried to determine if he’d awakened in an alternate dimension where his and Cameron’s roles were somehow flipped. “Pleased to meet me? But you’re you! It’s an honor. A pleasure. A dream come true.” Ryan shook his head. “Holy shit! How do you even know who I am?”
A modest chuckle escaped Cameron, and he opened his hand to a chair next to his. “Come. Sit. We have a lot to discuss.”
Ryan didn’t move for a good five seconds. Then, he never took his eyes off Cameron as he floated toward the chair. He plopped down, ready to unleash fanboy fury onto Cameron the likes of which he’d never seen. Suddenly, the vision of the van from the street popped into his head. “Hey! Why the hell did you gas us?”
Cameron nodded and smiled. “I’m sorry for that. I had to resort to drastic measures when my plans fell through.
J-A wanted to work on her own timeline and hold Helen and you captive. That was when I activated R-J to help you escape from the Alliance headquarters. But I couldn’t have anticipated that Charlie would stumble on his daughter and reroute the auto-car. Also, your old friend…the Padre.” He shook his head. “What a silly name. Ernesto Sr. didn’t help matters either when he kidnapped your mother. But it did confirm a couple of things. ADG is officially working with Pure Minds United. More importantly, we’re running out of time.”
The oddly specific information brought a new dread to Ryan. He had a hundred questions but just swallowed hard and listened more.
“As for your friends.” Cameron turned to the computer and dialed up a new holo showing Helen, Lucy, and Junior waking up in what looked like a motel room. “I assure you, they’ll be fine. Junior’s car is even parked outside so they can leave.”
Ryan’s concern grew as he learned just how much Cameron knew. He finally mustered enough sense to ask the obvious question. “How the hell do you know…everything?”
Cameron motioned to the holo screens. “I see everything from here.”
Ryan glanced at the holos and then back at Cameron. He tilted his head. “So ADG has known about me the whole time? Why have their very public spokesperson kidnap me? That doesn’t make any sense.”
Cameron’s smirk was almost annoying. “I assure you, my employer knows nothing of my extracurricular activities. And they’ve only recently found out about you, your condition.”
Ryan shook his head. “Then, why the hell are you watching me?”
Cameron leaned in. “For the same reason the Alliance is watching you. For the same reason that Ernesto Sr.’s boss is watching you. You’re special, Ryan. You and Charlie…and that other personality in there…you’re all special together. And I believe you’re the key to a better way forward.”
Ryan felt like Cameron was just giving another one of his speeches, and he realized that the mystique of his role model had already begun to fade. “You’re the spokesperson for ADG. Why are you doing this? Why are you telling me this?”
Between Two Minds: Revelation Page 40
