In the Requiem (Metahuman Files Book 5)

by Hailey Turner

  I’m keeping Jamie’s thoughts from overwhelming him. I can’t do anything for his grief. I need an empath for that. Katie’s mental voice wavered in Alexei’s mind before firming up. Echo has orders to teleport one of our empaths to me. I’m going to try the same thing I did with Prism with them.

  What did you do? Alexei asked.

  We…merged our powers, for lack of a better way to explain it. I needed a power boost in order to break through the other telepath’s shields. Prism gave it to me.

  Alexei frowned as he thought back to that moment where he’d heard both their voices intertwined almost as one in his mind. Telepaths merging their power is going to make a lot of people scared.

  I don’t give a fuck about people. I’m worried about my team. She paused, her telepathic touch in his mind a weary pressure. You watch his six, Inferno. Don’t leave him alone.

  Alexei thought he knew what had gone down in the courtroom. From where Stanislav lay dead on the courtroom floor, a hole in his chest in nearly the same spot as Kyle’s, to the blood on Jamie’s hands, Alexei knew a nightmare had been born here.

  And they would have to live with it for the rest of their lives.

  One of Matthew’s people silently came over and handed Alexei a scavenged handgun. He took it and weighed it in his hand, thinking about all the options Jamie must have had in that moment. Sucking in a harsh breath, Alexei turned and pressed the gun into Jamie’s hand, unable to look away from the blood there. Jamie shuddered, staring blankly down at the weapon before slowly curling his fingers around it.

  “Need to move,” Alexei said gruffly. “Capital still under attack. Declan still out there.”

  A spark of something flickered in Jamie’s eyes before fading away. It was enough for Alexei to see that some part of Jamie was still willing to fight. He watched as Jamie closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the broken pieces in his gaze still remained, but Katie was holding him together.

  Jamie turned, took aim at Stanislav’s body, and proceeded to empty the magazine into the corpse. Then he dropped the empty handgun on the floor, taking a deep, shuddering breath.

  “I need a better weapon,” Jamie said.

  “You heard the man,” Matthew said, signaling his people to move. “Let’s find Apollo something to shoot with.”

  By way of the tried and true FPSG, someone discovered one of Declan’s people dead near the justices’ robing room and purloined their neglected rifle, handing it off to Jamie. Alexei stayed on Jamie’s six as they headed for the exit, knowing he needed to finish this, wishing he didn’t have to, and wondering why he was so clearheaded when he knew he shouldn’t be.

  Did you think Jamie was the only one I was looking after? Katie asked him.

  Alexei swallowed thickly, ignoring the way tears pricked his eyes, because if he let them fall, they wouldn’t stop.

  Where’s Declan? Jamie wanted to know.

  Close. I can—

  No. Jamie’s mental voice was viciously hard. He’s mine. Find him for me.

  Yes, sir, was Katie’s response before she turned her attention elsewhere, though her presence remained in their minds.

  They were leaving the Supreme Court Building when an explosion off to their left on East Capitol Street NE had everyone seeking shelter behind the marble pillars. Alexei chanced a quick look around his cover in time to see one of Madison’s more spectacular energy blasts hurl through the air and find its target amidst the Sons of Adam fighters making a run for the Capitol Building.

  Declan is near the Capitol Building, Katie said. Alexei could hear the exhausted stress in her voice and practically feel it. He wondered if she had an empath with her.

  Lead me to him, Jamie ordered.

  Jamie almost sounded like himself if one ignored the agonized look in his blue eyes, the tension in his body, and the white-knuckled grip he had on his weapon. The way he seemed like a dead man walking. Alexei felt strangely cool-headed as he followed after Jamie, and he knew that was Katie’s doing. He’d be angry about it, but he thought she’d hidden his anger the same place she’d hidden his own grief—out of reach.

  Considering there was still a fight going on and Alexei needed to focus, he might thank her for that decision.

  Someday.

  Madison came racing their way across the lawn, her power sparking in her left hand while she held her weapon close to her chest with the other. “Apollo!”

  The rest of Matthew’s team, those who had survived, swarmed the area to regroup. Alexei watched as Madison came to a stop in front of Jamie, her mouth twisting with pain before she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

  “The White House shield came down, but the perimeter hasn’t been breached. Delta Team is holding the line with the National Guard and Metropolitan police,” Madison reported.

  “Destroyed?” Jamie asked flatly, no emotion in his voice.

  Hacked, Katie told them.

  “Bennett was onsite earlier this evening.”

  The director believes it was an inside job. The origination of the virus that overrode the system came from within the White House. As the CIA Deputy Director, Bennett would have had the clearance to get to the restricted areas underground.

  “I should have shot him.”

  “Shoot Declan first,” Alexei said. “Bastard is closer.”

  Jamie wouldn’t look at Alexei when he nodded. “One problem at a time.”

  There are still hostiles in the Capitol Building, Katie said.

  “We can take care of those and free up Alpha Team,” Matthew confidently replied.

  “Do it,” Jamie ordered.

  Matthew stepped back to confer with his own team and issue orders before they separated and left. Matthew clapped a hand on Alexei’s shoulder when he passed him by. The opaqueness of Matthew’s tactical goggles disappeared for a second or two. In the streetlights and glare of fading fire, Alexei could see the grief in his old captain’s eyes.

  “See you on the other side, Inferno.”

  Alexei didn’t respond and Matthew walked away to do his duty. Right now, Alexei’s duty was Jamie, even as a small part of him wished Sean were by his side.

  Y’all might want to get over to the south side of the Capitol Building, Annabelle said through the mental links. Looks like the Sons of Bitches brought out the big guns.

  You know that missing cruise missile launcher? Donovan added. Yeah, we’ve found it.

  Alexei’s fear over Sean’s safety clawed through his mind before dissipating beneath Katie’s control.

  You need to focus, she told him. Wraith can take care of himself.

  Alexei resettled his weapon against his shoulder and craned his head around to look south. Neither he nor Madison moved until Jamie did.

  We’re on our way, Jamie said.

  He took the lead, and Alexei remained on his six. Katie stayed with them both and Alexei could feel her like a shadow in his mind. She didn’t interfere with his thoughts beyond training his focus on the mission rather than the loss growing in his mind and heart.

  The three of them cut across the Capitol Building’s lawn and pedestrian pathways, racing for the fighting still happening on the National Mall. The aerial fight seemed to have finished; Alexei couldn’t hear the sound of aerial weaponry exploding in the sky anymore. The roar of passing fighter jets echoed through the night sky, but no bombs were dropped on the megacity below. Alexei assumed they were friendly and if they weren’t, the Air Force zoomies had better get their asses in gear.

  They passed the smoking remains of a shield anchor platform on their race for the front lines. Alexei’s sharp eyes caught sight of Metropolitan police in scattered defensive pockets covering those attempting to advance toward the cruise missile launcher farther down the street. No one shot their way, but several repositioned to cover their approach. A drone camera hovered in the air near the SWAT vehicle and Alexei thought about shooting it down, but he didn’t know if it was police-issued or a news one.


  In the grand scheme of things, they had bigger problems than the news to worry about.

  Two figures stood in the street up ahead in familiar-issued combat uniforms, the slighter woman standing with one arm thrust forward. An invisible telekinetic shield stood between them and the neural disrupter cannon Declan’s people had aimed their way.

  “Rapier! Blaze!” Jamie hollered. “Coming up on your six!”

  Neal turned and waved at them to hurry up. “We can’t get any closer until we take out the cannon.”

  Icarus, are you in range? Jamie asked.

  Right above you, Annabelle replied.

  Pick up Nova and go rain some hell on the fuckers.

  Yes, sir.

  Madison rocked to a halt for the pickup while Alexei and Jamie continued forward. Alexei glanced over his shoulder in time to see Annabelle pull out of a steep dive and grab Madison by the straps of her tactical vest. She flew into the sky with Madison in her grip, dodging the streak of the neural jammer energy bolt as the shooter took aim at them.

  “Thanks for the reprieve, Apollo,” Neal said as Alexei and Jamie reached their position.

  A few of the closer SWAT members were staring at Jamie with shocked expressions on their faces. Alexei figured it had less to do with the bloody dress shirt Jamie wore and more with the fact he wasn’t in any combat uniform and his face was bare to the world. Their reactions made Alexei think he should’ve shot that drone out of the air after all.

  Alexei’s attention was drawn down the street as Madison dropped several large energy blasts directly over the neural jammer cannon impeding their way. While some of the police instinctively ducked, Alexei and the other MDF field agents barely blinked. Miriam didn’t lower her telekinetic shield.

  “We need to disable the cruise missile launcher,” Jamie ordered, already striding forward. His voice still had a flat quality to it that sounded out of place in the moment.

  Wraith? Alexei asked, letting Katie guide his thoughts to his lover’s mind.

  Not close, was Sean’s reply. I’m on the other side of the National Mall with Knight and Tank. I won’t make it in time.

  Guys, the cruise missile launcher is moving to set its target! Madison warned.

  They’re aiming for the White House, Annabelle added.

  Alexei reflexively jerked at that announcement. Cruise missiles varied by range, but were programed to hit their target no matter what. Smart technology enabled them to change trajectory in order to dodge defensive fire. With the White House shields down, it made an easy target.

  “Shit.”

  Viper! Jamie snapped. Take down the operators! Warn everyone to get clear!

  The people overseeing its launch aren’t controlling it, Katie told him. It’s being positioned remotely.

  “Declan must have control,” Alexei said.

  Something flickered across Jamie’s face, an emotion that momentarily slipped free of Katie’s telepathic wall. Alexei recognized it all too well.

  Rage.

  The roar of the cruise missile launching drowned out the sound of two motorcycles screeching to a stop behind them. Alexei didn’t have to look to know Katie and Trevor had arrived.

  Alexei’s heart pounded in his chest as he watched the cruise missile arc high into the sky, locked on its target—when it suddenly jerked off course, veering due west. While the cruise missile could dodge a defensive attack, it couldn’t escape what its computers couldn’t see and process. Trevor’s telekinesis didn’t register to its sensors.

  Alexei stayed rooted to the spot long enough to see that the cruise missile wouldn’t reach its target when he realized Jamie was on the move. Grimacing, Alexei ran after his captain, sparing only a single look over his shoulder as the missile hit in the center of the National Mall.

  The Washington Monument had stood for centuries, a marker for the most revered of the nation’s Founding Fathers.

  It took less than a second to destroy it.

  The explosion reverberated through the air and ground, vibrating up Alexei’s feet as he ran after Jamie. Alexei left it to Trevor and the others to handle that mess while he stayed on Jamie’s six, a map burning bright in his mind courtesy of Katie.

  They ran down a street between two tall government buildings, passing police and abandoned vehicles. Alexei could see two parks—one on either side of the street—up ahead at the intersection where several fire engines, ambulances, and one or two news vans were gathered. It looked like a makeshift triage area, with only a few police officers attempting to guard it against whatever threats might come until they could all get clear.

  But there was no getting clear of the enemy in their midst.

  With so many players on the field, and no one knowing who was the enemy and who wasn’t, Declan and a couple of his last remaining loyal fighters managed to reach the triage area before the police recognized them as a threat. By then, it was too late. Alexei heard the gunfire up ahead and he put on a burst of speed to keep up with Jamie.

  People screamed and those who could move scattered as one of the fire engines farther down the cross street rumbled to life. Its lights flashed on, the siren piercing the night as it came directly at them. Alexei skidded to a halt and took a shooting stance, aiming for the driver. The windshield wasn’t bulletproof, and it cracked beneath the first couple of bullets Alexei fired, a bloom of red splashing across the damaged plas-glass.

  With the driver dead, the fire engine careened out of control, jumping the curb, in danger of running over several wounded people still lying on the sidewalk. Alexei’s pyrokinesis was useless in stopping the fire engine, but Jamie’s strength was not.

  Jamie put on a burst of speed that was enough to put him between the fire engine and the screaming, wounded citizens who couldn’t get clear. He slammed both hands against the front grille, entire body straining against the sheer weight of the rescue vehicle. Jamie was forced back with a guttural yell, feet sliding over concrete, but his enhanced strength was enough to keep the fire engine from running over any innocent people.

  “Inferno!” Jamie yelled.

  “On it!” Alexei shouted.

  Alexei kept his weapon trained on the cab as he quickly closed the distance between them. He yanked open the passenger-side door, ready to shoot, but the only people inside were dead. Alexei lowered his weapon just enough so he could clamber inside and turn off the engine, relieving Jamie of the vehicle’s tremendous forward momentum. He activated the brake and was about to jump out the way he’d come when someone started shooting.

  He ducked, swearing as he pitched himself out the opposite door, staying behind the fire engine for cover. Alexei held his weapon close in one hand while calling up fire with the other, trying to get eyes on the shooter. People were still running for cover, but Alexei could see hovering drone cameras being turned in their direction.

  “Callahan!” Declan yelled.

  Declan got no response to his taunting yell and the silence worried Alexei. He came around the front of the fire engine, seeing that Jamie had already moved to intercept Declan without a care for his own safety. Alexei let fire twist up his arm as he ran forward, prepared to do whatever he needed to kill Declan, when Jamie got there first.

  No words were spoken, no demand for an explanation about the carnage being wrought on the nation’s capital. Why was something to be picked apart later, when their world wasn’t falling down around them.

  Now was the time to act.

  Jamie didn’t hesitate. He executed Declan from a distance of five meters, carving up the traitor’s face with multiple bullets that never missed. That Jamie did so before cameras streaming the fight to the masses, with his own face bare to the media, made Alexei swear violently. He knew nothing good would come from tonight.

  “Apollo!”

  Alexei turned to see Katie running their way, Madison by her side, along with one of the MDF’s empaths. The trio was breathing heavily when they finally came to a stop near Alexei and Jamie, taking in the sce
ne and the reporters at the edge of the park, having stayed for the story rather than run for their lives. Without hesitating, Katie reached up and removed her hard helmet, tactical goggles, and the nanotech strips adhered to her face.

  By revealing her face, Katie was going against direct orders regarding their classified identities, which they were supposed to hide at all costs. Alexei didn’t think twice about removing his own hard helmet and nanotech strips. With the media cameras trained on Jamie, none of them were willing to let him deal with the fallout alone.

  “I shot him,” Jamie said, sounding hollow.

  “I know, Jamie,” Katie told him, her voice quiet and strained from emotion Alexei still couldn’t feel. “I know.”

  In that moment, Alexei knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jamie wasn’t talking about Stanislav or Declan. But grief and the process of grieving were a long way off with Katie still in his mind, her power merged with the empath’s to keep him on an even keel. Alexei knew he had to keep moving forward because if he stopped fighting, even for a second, the truth would break him.

  “We go meet with rest of team,” Alexei said hoarsely. “Still have job to do.”

  He wasn’t the one on the team normally giving orders, but Alexei had a feeling they would all need to step up and take on Jamie’s duties when he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to do so. Alexei doubted he himself would be up to the task later on, not after tonight.

  Then we’ll carry you, too, Katie told him softly.

  Because that’s what a team did.

  They brought what was left of you home.

  18

  Those Distant Bells

  “Fucking shit!” Donovan shouted. “Take cover!”

  “There’s no cover strong enough out here to protect us from a fucking cruise missile!” Liam snarled.

  Sean reached out and grabbed both Donovan and Liam by the wrists, pushing his phase power through them. It killed their comms, but it would keep them safe and alive in the event the cruise missile reached where they stood near the South Lawn of the White House.