Unborn

by Daniel Gage

  He shook his head and pressed forward. Cam relaxed his vision to allow himself to see a wider area, to notice any subtle movements. Even so, the place was massive, and he had only assumed Alexandre was somewhere within. He saw the car from the café parked out front, and hoped that meant his Benefactor had arrived in it.

  Cam soon found himself in the grand foyer, and the stained glass windows were the only things keeping the men outside from seeing him inside. A large, sweeping staircase led upstairs, and hallways led away from the main room.

  “He’s ill, so probably not stairs,” Cam muttered to himself. “And he wouldn’t want to be caught this close to the entrance. So, let’s try the back.”

  Making sure no one else was around, Cam walked silently around the staircase and tried one of the rear corridors. Yet a few steps down, he backpedaled as the scent of cooking meat found his nose, causing his stomach to rumble. He mentally kicked himself for not staying and eating at the café.

  But, as he made his way back to the main hall, Cam suddenly felt that he wasn’t alone.

  “Mmmm, Cameron,” a sultry, poisonous voice purred. “They said you were sneaky.”

  Cam slowly turned to see a woman a few inches shorter than him dressed head to toe in black; she looked more ready for combat than a night out. She wore a gun belt on her waist, with a type of pistol he didn’t recognize in the holster.

  “Who said that?” he asked.

  “I think you know,” she replied. “My name is Blair, and you won’t be visiting with Alexandre. Not today, anyway.”

  Cam stood in silence for a moment. “You were at the cafe. Are you a dealer, too?”

  “Yes,” Blair replied. “And like you, I have a very unique skill.”

  “I see,” he said, nodding. “And have you told your boss I’m here?”

  “No,” she replied. “Why?”

  Cam grinned. “No reason.”

  He charged toward Blair, hoping to take her down before she could draw her gun and fire. She didn’t reach for it, and instead blocked his initial strikes. And while she attempted to counter, Cam’s own ability allowed him to react, and quickly restrict her arms and upper body.

  It was when Cam thought it had been too easy that his ability showed him something he would have never expected. His face was close to hers, and when she opened her mouth, he suddenly saw a trajectory path, a cone, coming from it.

  Cam shoved Blair away as she hissed and spat, a noxious, yellow spray coming out of an otherwise pretty face. If Cam hadn’t dove out of the way, he would have been covered in the stuff. And whatever it was, it ate away at the marble floor with a sizzle, and with small tendrils of smoke coming from the holes.

  “What the hell?” he asked as he pushed himself up.

  “Acidic venom,” Blair said with a sinister smile. “Come back and give me a kiss.”

  “No, thanks, I’ll pass,” Cam snarled.

  Blair took it as an invitation and charged. Her lips were pulled back, revealing dark, corroded teeth. Cam was momentarily disgusted, but saw the charge and potential area of effect for her venom and dove out of the way once again, escaping the toxic spit.

  She has a gun, Cam thought. But she’s not using it. She’s relying on her ability.

  When Blair repeated the same move, charging to spray her venom, Cam was ready. He ducked inside the attack, his shoulder colliding into her midsection.

  She collapsed as the wind was expelled from her body, and she fell to one knee. Cam met her with an uppercut that slammed her jaw shut, and while she was stunned, he spun her around and wrapped his arm around her neck.

  He squeezed until Blair went limp. Once he was convinced she was out, he dragged her limp body to the nearest door, which turned out to be a closet.

  “She didn’t even try to use her weapon,” Cam muttered once the door was closed. “I’ll have to keep mine from becoming a crutch.”

  Once Cam was certain things were clear, he continued his search. The opposing corridor seemed much more solemn, and only a faint odor of bleach gave him any clue as to what he was approaching. And within seconds he reached the only door at the end of the hallway, and as he slowly opened it, he hoped it wasn’t the laundry room.

  It wasn’t.

  Inside was a hospital bed with Alexandre lying motionless on it. Machines and bags of fluid were connected to him, and between the beeps, Cam could hear a slight wheeze coming from the man whenever his chest moved.

  Somehow, he looked worse than he had only a few hours earlier.

  Cam let the door shut with the slightest of noise, and Alexandre’s eyes fluttered open in response.

  “I … knew you’d come,” Alexandre said, his voice dry. “The dealers thought you would storm about Paris looking for them, but I knew otherwise.”

  “Did they not believe you?” Cam asked, his question harsher than he intended.

  Alexandre slowly shook his head. “No … they only want my money. And the doors it opens. Like everyone else.”

  Cam walked toward the bed as his eyes looked around, making sure the two of them were truly alone. The room wasn’t large, at least in comparison to the others he had seen here. But it was also bigger than both rooms of his apartment combined.

  “We’re … alone.” It seemed even the act of talking left Alexandre winded. “I told my doctor I needed rest.”

  “How’s my life?” Cam asked.

  “Until a few weeks ago, you mean?” Alexandre asked, along with something that resembled a laugh. “It was perfect. I loved it. So much better than the one I had before.”

  Cam bristled as his jaw tensed. Just one of those paintings was likely worth more money than he would see in his entire lifetime, and here Alexandre was, hoarding and displaying that wealth like it was something he deserved.

  “You wouldn’t have appreciated it, you know,” Alexandre continued.

  “I doubt that,” Cam said. “Never had the chance to find out.”

  “I was born poor,” Alexandre said. “The first time, that is. As a kid, I got used to going to bed hungry. I was bullied for being poor, and on top of that, I was small. I didn’t stand a chance. I grew up to be a pushover, a nobody.”

  The sickly man tried to laugh, but it quickly turned into a cough, with particles of blood spraying from his mouth onto the white sheets.

  “Now I’m somebody, but still a pushover,” Alexandre said. “Not like I was, but still am. Those fucking dealers, they come by and use me whenever it suits their needs. They operate in shadows, but sometimes they need someone in the light.”

  “You don’t even care that I’m here, do you?” Cam fought the urge to pace, or even strike the sickly man. “I could put a bullet in your head and not give a damn. You stole my life, so I have every right to steal yours.”

  “I can’t die, remember?” Alexandre said. “Not until you do. So why should I be scared? I haven’t told anyone about my past in decades, Cameron. We have a bond, you and I.”

  “A bond I can end with a bullet,” Cam said. “You may not die, but the brain damage from a bullet through your skull, no doctor could fix that. Then none of that would matter.”

  Alexandre scowled, and Cam imagined if he wasn’t already so white he would have turned pale at the threat. Or red.

  “I would be paying your salary, you know,” Alexandre said. “I contribute to the dealers’ funds. You’d need me in working condition. And it’s curious, about you being born early. And your mark.”

  “Why is that?” Cam asked.

  “Benefactors … Unborns … they’re born at the same time. Maybe a few hours apart, depending. But three weeks … no wonder they couldn’t find you. Why they … thought you were dead.”

  That didn’t matter, at least not right now. Cam had questions, and he needed answers. He knew he may never have a second chance like this.

  “Did you try to have me killed?” Cam asked.

  “Yes,” Alexandre said without hesitation. “I put the dealers in charge. I heard abo
ut two attempts, one at a hover station, another outside your apartment. Both you survived, clearly. And a third that you weren’t there for, but they got some car thieves instead. I’m sure that’s tied to why they want to recruit you. But in my defense, I thought you were dead already!”

  “You son of a bitch,” Cam growled. “Those were my coworkers. My friends.”

  “I worked so hard for this,” Alexandre said. “Gave up so much. I had a family before, even though they never wanted to speak to me anymore. I didn’t want to lose it. I’m so young …”

  “I have every right to make you suffer,” Cam said. “And every fiber of my being tells me I should. But Dealer X, whatever his name is, I need to talk to him. Where is he?”

  “Right now? Who knows,” Alexandre said. “He’s a mystery, even to other dealers. He’s looked the same ever since he made my deal. Impossible to tell his age. But I know where he’ll be tonight for the Shift. Yes, he needed my help for that one, to at least make it easier. I’m sure if he wanted to, he wouldn’t have needed it …”

  “Where?” Cam asked, though it sounded more like a demand. “Where is it happening?”

  “Why should I tell you?” Alexandre asked. “You’re making me suffer, Unborn.”

  “Stop being their pawn,” Cam said. “You were right that I’d track you here. Stop giving them what they want, Alexandre. Be your own fucking man for once.”

  Alexandre looked like the words stabbed him, and Cam saw something in the man’s eyes he hadn’t seen before. Determination. Rage. And it wasn’t hidden by his sickness, not this time.

  “You’re right, you know,” Alexandre said. “Maybe we aren’t that different. Maybe if I knew you in my past life, I … I wouldn’t have done this. But tell me, what are you going to do?”

  “Tell me where it is, and then I’ll answer your question.”

  “Paris … Eiffel Tower. They needed me to lock down the area; it’s something only wealth and influence can do.”

  Cam couldn’t help but laugh. “Figured I couldn’t leave France without seeing it.”

  “What are you going to do, Cam?”

  “You know, I came here to take back what was mine. But this life, I wouldn’t know what to do with it. So I’m going to do the next best thing.”

  Without any extra sentiment, Cam turned to leave.

  “I’m going to kill them all.”

  **********

  Cam silently slipped out of the room and back into the foyer. He was sure the guards would have made her leave by now, so he had to be extra careful once in the yard.

  But as he came around the staircase, a deep voice rumbled to him from above.

  “Hey! Who are you?” the man called, his accent French but the words English.

  Cam froze and turned slowly, his hand moving gradually behind his back. He was prepared to draw his gun, but wasn’t foolish enough to believe it wouldn’t result in several armed guards rapidly descending on his location.

  “Are you that man he told me about?” the man asked as he came down the stairs. “The one with the business proposal?”

  “Um, yes, that’s me,” Cam said once he found his voice. “Was just heading out; since Alexandre is so sick, we decided to wait.”

  “Of course,” the man said with obvious frustration. “Are you meeting other investors? We can talk, if you think my son is too sick to back you, or keep his word. I’m very interested in whatever it is you’re doing, especially if it caught Alexandre’s attention.”

  “I never said that,” Cam said. “I’m leaving because I think he needs to get better first. Hell, he shouldn’t be doing anything. Let alone working.”

  “What the hell do you know?” the man asked. “I have half a mind to tell Alexandre not to conduct business with you for being so insolent!”

  “He’s dying!” Cam’s eyes went wide as the argument escalated. “Don’t you care at all?”

  The man dismissed Cam with a wave. “Care? My son is like any other asset, and even in sickness, he needs to prove that he’s worth the family legacy. If you can’t understand that, I’m afraid you should find another line of work. I’ll trust you can see yourself out.”

  Without waiting for a rebuttal, the man turned and stormed up the stairs.

  It was easy to see the man was used to having the last word, and wasn’t often questioned. But his attitude toward his son was unbearable, and …

  Cam froze as he realized who he had just exchanged words with.

  If Alexandre hadn’t stolen his birthright, that man would have been his father.

  He had never known his father. The best male role models Cam had were his mostly absent uncle and various teachers throughout school.

  If Alexandre hadn’t done what he did, Cam would have grown up with a father.

  A man who cared only for money, and whatever could expand his empire and wealth. A self-centered, arrogant asshole who only got this far from the size of his bank account, and decisions he made that increased that number for himself and others.

  As he turned down the hallway toward the window, a small laugh escaped his lips, and he couldn’t help but smile.

  His mother, even crippled from the accident and fighting dementia, was the sweetest woman he had ever met, and everything she was able to do had been for Cam. He wouldn’t trade that for anything, not even any of these paintings or over-priced furniture and fixings.

  Cam would never know for sure, but he now believed Alexandre was the one who lost on the deal.

  Now he just had to figure out how to get out. The dealer likely wasn’t alone, or was at least working with the estate guards. And it was quite a hike back to his car.

  A small grin formed on his face. Maybe he couldn’t steal back the life he lost, but he could take something as a souvenir.

  He retrieved Blair’s gun belt and secured it around his waist after a small adjustment, then went in search of the garage.

  **********

  Javier loved being the gate guard for Alexandre. The job was cushy, required little work, and the pay was generous. And when his client did receive company, the eye candy of both the vehicles and their female riders were more than worth the wait, even though it meant he often fell into a doze.

  So when a roaring engine snapped him back to the conscious world, he assumed his boss was going out for a joy ride.

  He sure as hell didn’t expect it to gain speed down the driveway, and that the metal-reinforced vehicle would smash through the steel gate as if it were nothing.

  Javier coughed and nearly fell out of his chair as he reached for his radio, the perks of his soft job driving away at over eighty miles per hour, with someone other than his boss behind the wheel.

  “We have an emergency!” he shrieked into the device. “Someone just stole one of Alexandre’s cars!”

  Confirmations echoed over the radio as other guards mobilized to intercept. A vehicle like that would stand out, with its gasoline engine and large metal frame. It wouldn’t take long to be found.

  Then his desk phone rang. Javier, assuming it was his supervisor wanting clarification, answered without checking the ID.

  “He came out of nowhere, and he destroyed the front gate,” Javier explained, his words running together. “I couldn’t stop—“

  A dry, cackling laugh interrupted him as Javier realized it wasn’t who he thought it was on the other end.

  “He stole it, did he?” Alexandre’s hoarse voice asked. “Amazing … let him go. It’s an order.”

  Then the line disconnected, and Alexandre left Javier with his mouth wide open.

  “Stand down,” Javier said after he found his radio. “Stand down, per our boss.”

  CHAPTER 32

  Emma felt lost. She didn’t have a badge or a gun, and now even her partner had abandoned her.

  So she did what she always did best. Buried herself in her work. And there was a birthright theft to stop.

  Pushing Cam from her mind, she focused on her next steps. She di
dn’t have any of her resources, having lost everything except her phone when she was suspended. And that in itself could be a liability; she didn’t put it past her employers to track her phone or record her calls.

  She momentarily entertained the idea of going to the AFC field office. Emma knew people there and had worked with them on more than one occasion, and that didn’t include just exchanging information. There was the job she teamed up with them for, on the border of France and Belgium, and while they had been unsuccessful in stopping that birthright theft, it still formed a solid bond.

  But if even one of the agents in Paris were more loyal to the AFC than her, it would be the end of this endeavor. So that left one person to try: Sloane.

  Emma had her information stored on her phone, but she didn’t call or activate her GPS. Instead, she hailed a cab and gave the driver the address, and relied on him to travel to her residence.

  Eventually, Emma found herself in front of an old house near the outskirts of the city that was in dire need of care. It had been some time since she stood on this doorstep, yet now that she was here, she hesitated.

  “It wasn’t my fault,” Emma repeatedly whispered to herself. After the fifth repetition, she finally knocked on the door.

  Only silence answered. She debated on knocking a second time, or assume she wasn’t home. As much as she wanted to leave, Emma couldn’t. Not if she wanted to stop Dealer X and Leonard.

  Before she made a decision, a faint noise could be heard behind the door. It was the sound of a footstep followed by a thump, and it grew gradually closer. A shadow lingered behind the peephole, and after a long appraisal, the deadbolt turned and the door opened.

  “Emma Jennings,” Sloane said. Emma expected her tone to be bitter or resentful, but it almost carried a hint of nostalgia. Her face was passive, until it broke into a small smile.

  “Hello, Sloane,” Emma replied. “Been a while.”

  “Belgium, right?” Sloane said. “Come in, please.”

  The house was tidy in its own way, yet it was evident that Sloane didn’t clean as often as it was required. Dust covered shelves, and there was a musty scent that filled the air. Had it been warm enough to open the windows, it might not have been a factor, but Emma could tell Sloane’s situation left moving around more difficult than she had imagined.