Deliverance

by Dakota Banks

  “Eventually. He will grow bored with them—and you. Immediate danger, surely not. He needs to continue a good relationship with them to keep your affection, and he’s a long way from growing tired of you. But if you reveal to him what I’ve told you, I can’t predict what he’ll do. My advice would be to keep quiet until you have time to think about everything, including the safety of your friends. The worst thing you can do is confront him now, in anger.”

  Okay, I’ve thought about it long enough. I’m going to chop him into tiny bits. Lucius was gone and I wanted to believe Jake. He even made that remark about letting me go back to Lucius if Lucius somehow survived. Jake knew how that would affect me. It was all a ploy, a game to him.

  Tears slid down Maliha’s cheeks. “Why do you tell me this now when you refused earlier?” Maliha said.

  “I have come to understand that our lives are linked, but in ways that I don’t understand yet,” he said. “The mortal path is hard, daughter, and you have stumbled into a trap along the way.” He reached out and touched her face gently. “The Ageless can be deceptive, as you know, and rarely do they truly care for humans. You were an exception and it drove you to become rogue. Lucius is another and proved it by giving his Ageless life for you.”

  “What are you, then, Master?”

  “A simple priest of Anu, god of the heavens and he who sits in judgment. Get some rest now.”

  His presence began to fade and was soon gone. The heat dissipated from the brand on Maliha’s shoulder and her eyelids grew heavy.

  I have trusted Master Liu with my life. Do I trust him now with the truth?

  Maliha awoke several hours later, feeling rested and with a plan in mind. Master Liu had told her she had to get out of the building. She was about to alienate Dr. Terry, even though he was doing his best to stay on her good side. He’d ordered that she could be unstrapped from the bed to use the bathroom, as long as there was a guard in the room.

  No one’s briefed him on what I can really do, beyond what he’s seen with his own eyes. “Need to know” screws up again.

  He examined her and shook his head in amazement. “Astounding. You’ve made a giant leap in recovery. What is your pain level, one to ten?”

  “Why should I tell you?”

  “I explained that. The minute you leave here, you’ll be subjected to rough interrogation. You can only stay as long as you cooperate.”

  “You’d love to have me all to yourself, wouldn’t you? Nobel Prize, here we come.”

  Terry blushed and she knew she had him. He wanted to claim exclusive rights to the secret of her rapid healing—he didn’t know about her long life yet—and make the grandest discovery in medicine since DNA.

  “I have only altruistic motives,” Terry said. “Imagine what the world can learn from you. If I can replicate the process, millions can be saved from disease and death.”

  “Haven’t you figured out you work for the Department of Defense?” Maliha said. “Do you think they’re going to be eager to share your great discovery? Not likely. What they want it for is to heal soldiers rapidly so they can send them back into battle. Over and over, like what you said would happen to me in interrogation.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. This is a chance to advance medicine decades into the future, maybe more,” he said.

  “With you getting all the credit. What do you think is going to happen to me? Whether you study me, or someone else in the DOD does, there will come a time of experimentation. ‘Let’s hurt her under controlled circumstances so we can have precise measurements.’ Tell me you haven’t thought of that down the road.”

  Terry was silent.

  “What happens after experimentation? Dissection of the subject,” Maliha said. “I think I’d rather deal with people who know what they want and have no illusions about how to get it, than with you and your sweet tongue.”

  “Really, Lola. You’re letting your imagination get the best of you.” He picked up a notepad and pen. “Let’s talk about your medical history. When is the first time you noticed you were able to heal rapidly?”

  “Okay. I was about twenty when I noticed that a side effect of rapid healing was extreme horniness.”

  Exasperated, Terry set down his pen. “You’re not taking this seriously!”

  “I have no intention of talking to you about my ‘medical situation,’ as you call it. Not now, not ever. No Nobel Prize for you, sorry. I’ll take my chances with the torturers.”

  “I’ll give you a shot of XP–110, our latest truth drug. You’ll talk.”

  “So you do believe in torture. Anyway, truth drugs do nothing to me. My metabolism of barbiturates is different.”

  “Oh? How? Spell it out for me. ”

  “Different. D–i–f–f–e–r–e–n–t.”

  Terry grabbed his notepad and left the room, looking crestfallen. An hour later, a phlebotomist entered and drew vial after vial of Maliha’s blood. It looked like when Terry had nothing solid to report, his project was being yanked from him and all he could do was keep some blood to study.

  “Trying to drain me dry?” Maliha said.

  The phlebotomist was in no mood to joke.

  Jake sought out the mercenary team for a firsthand account. He came with money and with an intimate knowledge of the mission, and with news of what had happened to Hound. There was a little lack of trust to get over—he wasn’t the one who hired them—but Jake was comfortable with these men. They recognized one of their own.

  “You lose any men?” Jake said.

  Bear nodded. He was their leader, and he’d come by his nickname honestly. “One. Three wounded. Not a bad mission except for the surprise ending.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Strangest thing I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some unholy crap. We were laying down cover fire while the helicopter took off for the short haul. Some motherfucker on the roof got off some rounds before we landed an RPG in his lap. If he’d kept on firing, he would’ve taken down both of them. The woman’s rope broke. We stopped firing and they did too. Man, it was a bad sight. She was lit up by the floodlights and dropping like a stone. I think we were all holding our breath. I signaled our two fastest men. They were going to run out and get her, what was left of her anyway.”

  Bear shook his head. “Fuck, I don’t like female casualties, especially ones that aren’t fighting back, like her. Just falling.”

  “Then the damnedest thing happened. These things—robots—came running out from the building. They caught her.”

  “What do you mean, caught? She didn’t hit the ground?”

  “They had this net between them and they scooped her up like soup in a ladle. You had to see it. We couldn’t shoot at them—afraid we’d kill the woman. She was taken into that building. You planning to snatch her out of there, my men are ready to go. Half price. We’re all fucking mad they stole her.”

  “I don’t plan on letting those bastards keep her,” Jake said.

  A group of guards came in and transferred Maliha from the bed to a rolling gurney. She was strapped in solidly, with six parallel straps and separate ones for her wrists and ankles. She felt like Hannibal Lecter, minus the mask. She was loaded into a medical transport van with two armed guards riding in the rear with her and another up front with the driver. After that, she couldn’t see anything from the windowless van, but assumed she was being taken to some secure, secret facility where she would vanish from the face of the Earth.

  I hope Master Liu was right about a planned escape. If not, I just cranked up the pain and torture by being uncooperative.

  A half hour into the trip, there was a commotion outside of tires squealing on the road and an abrupt halt for the van. Then gunfire erupted, and a few bullet holes opened up in the side of the van. The guards were trying to communicate with someone on the outside.

  The van started moving again. It seemed like the escape had failed. Suddenly a fist burst through the top of the van.

  “You okay?” It
was Jake’s voice. She’d almost expected Elizabeth to be her rescuer, so that Maliha could complete her mission of assassinating President Millhouse.

  “Yes. Tied down,” she shouted over the noise the guards were making.

  “Hang on.”

  The guards shot at the hole he’d made and then sprayed the entire roof with rounds. Maliha felt the van start to tilt, then it was in the air, rolling and bouncing down a hillside. Maliha, strapped in the latched-down gurney, was secure. The guards, free to move, rolled around like clothing in a dryer. They screamed at first, until the van became streaked with blood.

  The van shuddered to rest on its side against something hard, trees or large rocks. Maliha was dizzy, bruised, and splashed with blood, but not seriously hurt. Jake appeared again at the hole in the roof, and enlarged it with his hands. When it was big enough, he slipped inside and unfastened Maliha.

  “Some ride, huh?” he said.

  It was hard to let him put his hands on her, but she kept reminding herself that Master Liu said it wasn’t the right time for confrontation. Besides, though her first reaction had been to believe Master Liu, she should think more about it before assuming the worst about Jake. She plastered a smile on her face.

  “About time you got here,” she said.

  “Are you all right to move?”

  “I’m banged up a little. Bruises from the straps, but I can walk.”

  He lifted her away from the interior wreckage and pushed her toward the hole. She got out under her own power. They walked back up the hill to the road. She was shocked to see that the van had had an escort of four security cars, two in front and two in back, and they were all devastated. The cars were still in flames and there were some body parts visible on the ground.

  Rocket-propelled grenades. Effective but overkill. Or am I just being critical because it’s Jake?

  “Let’s get you home,” he said. “I’ll take care of you.”

  Even coming from Jake, it sounded wonderful.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  “Everything digital about you in the DOD files has been destroyed,” Amaro said, “including the blood test results and DNA findings. The problem is, there can be paper copies, plus the original physical samples still exist and can be retested. Now I’ve set it up so that those results will be automatically erased whenever they’re reentered. But eventually they’ll find the code that’s doing the monitoring and erasing, and remove it. In the meantime, paper copies can shoot all over the world.”

  “Meaning I’ll be in a DNA database,” Maliha said.

  “Nope,” said Amaro. “Well, you will. Entry into the database is accurate, but once entered, no one goes back to check against source material. I can slip in, alter your record, and cover my tracks. So any genetic material you leave at a scene won’t come up as a match.”

  “I don’t know what identifiable weird stuff will show up in my blood,” Maliha said. “It’s about time I knew, though. I have a place I can find out.”

  Maliha made plans to transfer both Hound and Yanmeng to the Clinique des Montagnes, a private medical clinic located in a valley in the Swiss Alps. Ringed with snowcapped mountains, the valley was serene, a perfect place to recover, with mountain views from every window. Patients were the wealthy of the world seeking privacy, security, and outstanding medical care—those who, if they even had them, could afford to leave their insurance cards at home. An application in advance established that someone could afford the exclusive Clinique des Montagnes. Maliha, under her “Marsha Winters” pen name, had carte blanche at the clinic.

  Her private physician there was Dr. Ryman Corvernis. She supported his expensive research laboratory solo, plus she had some information on a family scandal that the doctor was desperate to keep hidden. He was in her pocket, and treated her with no questions asked about her rapid healing or how she acquired the wounds she brought to his care. When she expanded the care to include her team members, he didn’t object.

  It isn’t secure against a concerted attack by Elizabeth, but I have something in mind for that.

  She phoned the clinic and asked for admissions. After identifying herself, she said that she had four people who needed a pickup.

  “Two are patients. Xia Yanmeng, reattached foot, other amputations, recent induced coma. Hound, recent pinned bone. One is Mr. Xia’s wife, Eliu. The fourth is a . . . bodyguard, Jake Stackman. Do you have a four-bedroom medical suite so they can all stay together?”

  “Yes. One is now reserved in your name. Current location or locations?”

  “They’ll all be at the University of Chicago Medical Center. I’m requesting fully secure medical transportation.”

  “We’ll take care of it, Ms. Winters. Your physician is Dr. Corvernis. Do you want him to treat these patients?”

  “Yes, though Mr. Xia will need specialists.”

  “Understood. Dr. Corvernis will assemble a treatment team. Will you be joining us as a guest?”

  “Not at this time.”

  “Secure medical pickup for four scheduled in one hour, helicopter at the University of Chicago Medical Center to O’Hare International Airport, departure by private jet to Switzerland. Have passports available. The Clinique des Montagnes is pleased to be of service to you and your associates.”

  What a relief to be making these plans instead of planning a funeral. The clinic was the easy part. Now for the tough task.

  She told Amaro to search out the passports for those traveling. They all carried passports at all times, so he would find them in Maliha’s condo. Another contact, this time to Mickey Deer, and the only thing she had left to do was the task she’d been postponing.

  She called Jake.

  Her timing was perfect. He was already in the lobby of her building, getting on the elevator on his way up to her condo. She hung up and waited for him to arrive. The doorbell rang. She was prepared for a conversation that could go almost anywhere, and armed for it, too.

  Could Jake possibly know that Master Liu has talked to me? I don’t see how. From what Master told me, Jake is a sociopath who uses people for his own purposes and then disposes of them. Elizabeth is an open book compared to Jake. If it’s all true. Master Liu might have his own reasons for wanting Jake out of the way. He did say our lives were linked somehow and wouldn’t explain. Bride of Liu?

  When she opened the door, Jake stood there with a smile on his handsome face. He moved inside the condo and took her into his arms. She pretended she was happy to see him. His embrace was so warm, it wasn’t hard to pretend.

  “Hey, what’s with the weapons? Expecting Jack the Ripper?” he said.

  Odd choice of words.

  “I just don’t feel secure with Elizabeth at large,” Maliha said, “and mad at me for taking Yanmeng away from her.”

  “I have a better chance at fending off an attack by Elizabeth. How about I move in with you?”

  Gulp.

  “Uh . . .”

  “Or let me take you away from all this. I can keep you safe.”

  Maliha blinked. Have to admit that sounds great.

  He put his hands on her hips, drew her close, and put his strong arms around her. She rested her head against his shoulder.

  This feels so right. Maybe. . .

  Jake whispered, “I love you. Marry me. I can make you very happy.”

  She jerked her head away. “Oh . . . Jake . . .”

  “Say yes. Please say yes.”

  There was white noise buzzing in her head and she felt a bit dizzy. He led her to a couch and put his arm around her waist.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “No . . . I mean, I’m in the middle of something I have to finish. Can we talk about this later?”

  Disappointment flashed in his eyes, so fast she almost missed it. Then he kissed her on the cheek. “Of course. Later. Is there anything I can do now?”

  His response was so gracious that she felt guilty putting him off, but she needed more time to think and couldn’t do it whi
le planning her encounter with the president.

  “I’m leaving the country in a little while,” she said. “I would appreciate it if you could keep Yanmeng safe from being kidnapped again.”

  “Oh lovely one, you know I’m here to help. I’d be happy to do that. What hospital is he in?”

  “He’s at U of C Medical Center. I’m sending him to the Clinique des Montagnes. Do you know it?”

  “Switzerland?” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “Never been there, but I’ve heard of it.”

  “The clinic is picking up Hound, Yanmeng, and Eliu at the hospital. I’d like you to go with them. It would make me feel so much better knowing you’re there to protect them.”

  “Are you coming?”

  “No, I have to finish Elizabeth’s demands,” she said.

  “Why? You have Yanmeng back. Screw Elizabeth.”

  “That sounds good to me and I’d do it, except for one thing. Didn’t I explain Project Hammer to you?”

  “Apparently not well enough.”

  Maliha went over in detail the plot to replace President Millhouse with Vice President Cameron, the deep plants of the New Founders organization in American politics, and what the goals of the New Founders were.

  “Damn. They’re doing the demons’ jobs for them, or trying to. I understand why you need to see this through. Are you planning to kill Cameron?”

  “If he’s there, which I doubt, and if I get the chance,” Maliha said. “Mainly I’m there to make sure the presidential assassination doesn’t happen. Last time there was a backup. I can’t see that this time would be any different.”

  “Think you can find the other deep plants after Cameron’s out of the way?” he said.

  “Not sure. Abiyram would have been good for that,” she said.

  Shit. Open mouth, insert both feet.

  Jake said, “I guess he was a damn good agent, in his time.”

  Jets scrambling. Prepare for battle.

  Maliha was nervous that she’d mentioned Abiyram. Jake had glossed it over, but there was no telling what connections he was making in his mind.