Father Patrick ran his hand over the rosary I knew he had tucked in his pocket. "So you want to interfere with an IPI investigation, break into a secure clinic, and steal your baby back?"
"Yeah, basically."
He nodded. "This will be dangerous, and it could sabotage whatever IPI is doing."
I knew they'd argue this, but I couldn't back down. "Luke and Lucy are missing. Almost everyone in this room has powers that would help." I pointed to each of them in turn. "Darren is telekinetic. Greg can infiltrate surveillance equipment. Gary has control over metal. Des can dream walk and send nightmares to people. I can read and control minds. Norm can fly. Robyn can take on the shape of anyone. And Drake has accessed his powers as well: strength and mind control. We would be an asset, not a liability."
Bernard entwined his fingers in a way that let me know he was at least considering my idea. When he disagreed, he made small fists. "What's your plan?"
"First, we find Luke and Lucy, and work with them to take down the clinic and rescue the kids. If we can't find them, we rescue the kids ourselves."
"We?" Bernard arched a brow.
I stood and paced the room. "Yes. That's why I'm asking for your help. By myself, this is a long shot. But together, we can do it. We each bring a valuable power or skill to the table. It would be like our old assignments, only we'd be working together. Who's with me?"
Drake twitched, ready to get up, but Darren beat him to it. "I am." He walked over and stood by me.
Uh-oh. I so did not need the male pissing contest now, but by the look on Drake's face, one was coming soon.
Drake walked over and put his arm around me, as if claiming me, like a dog marking his territory. "We'll bring our baby back."
I appreciated his sentiment, but not the possessiveness. I shrugged his arm off and moved away.
Gary stood. "Whatever the plan, you've got me."
"Me too," Greg said as he stood next to his boyfriend.
Brad jumped up. "You know you can count on me." He didn't look at his best friend, but Drake was trying to catch his eye. Drake had a lot of people to mend fences with.
Desirai grabbed his arm. "No, Brad, don't go. You don't have any powers."
Bernard nodded. "I have to agree, Brad. Besides, I need you here. I can't run this place alone, especially if everyone else is leaving."
Des rubbed his arm. "I'll stay with you." She looked to me. "I hope that's okay, Sam."
I had assumed as much, anyway. "Of course. You can check up on us in your dreams."
Brad sat back down, though he didn't look happy. "Just be careful, guys."
Robyn stood, with Norm right behind her. "We're coming too."
No one else knew about the pregnancy, so I couldn't say anything, but I slipped into her mind. 'Sam, if you're listening, and I'm pretty sure you are, you have to let us come. Our para-powers can be really helpful. I'll be fine. I'm not that far along, and honestly, we need to take care of those kids and your baby first.'
I didn't argue with her because, as selfish as it was, I agreed; they were too powerful to lose.
We had a strong group together, and I was just about to start talking about a plan, when someone knocked on the door. "Let me in."
I sighed. "It's a private meeting, Mary. Go away." She may not have been guilty of anything, but I still didn't like her.
She didn't listen. Shocking. "I know what you're doing in there, Sam. Let me in." She knocked more aggressively.
Drake turned to the door. "Want me to get rid of her?"
"No, I'll handle it." It seemed everything he did irritated me today. I walked to the door and opened it. "Mary—"
She shoved her way in and interrupted. "I know why you're having a meeting. You're going to go track down the sick bastard that stole your baby. I want in."
I hadn't expected that at all. "Mary, you don't have to."
She showed me the burn scars running up her neck. They weren't nearly as bad as they were in her own mind, but I still had to stop myself from flinching. "Those bastards did this to me. Let me come. I can help."
I wanted to say no, but even Mary deserved to take down the people who'd hurt her. And as much as I hated to admit it, she was one of the best field agents we had.
"Okay."
She smiled and followed me back to the group. A few eyebrows rose in shock, but no one said anything.
"She's coming too. Mary can be very useful, when she wants to be." I felt a little bad for that last part, but whatever. She'd done so much worse.
Norm, who preferred to fly everywhere these days, raised his hand again. "How are we getting there?"
Father Patrick stood and walked over. "I can help with that. During my younger years, I had a fascination with flying. Naturally, I procured a pilot's license. And I may know of a friend with a plane."
The old priest was just full of surprises, even for me, and I'd spent considerable time in his mind. "Thank you."
Bernard looked at each of us and laughed. "Nine companions. So be it. You shall be the fellowship of the ring."
Everyone joined in the laughter, though I did hope it ended better for us than it had for that fellowship. I watched each person who would be helping me get my daughter back and save the other kids. Could I trust them? Mary had spent years doing everything she could to ruin my life. Drake had abandoned me when I needed him most. The others... well, they'd been trustworthy enough. But Darren... would his feelings for me sour when they went unrequited? Would that jeopardize the mission?
Susie had said that without faith, there is no trust. So I chose faith in hopes that I could learn to trust, and that it wouldn't be betrayed.
Chapter 100 – Lucy
Lucy opened her eyes to a bright morning. The grove of trees they'd fallen asleep under the night before shaded her from the harsh light of the sun, and had probably kept her more delicate parts from getting sunburned. Hunter's arm tightened around her, and she sighed deeply and rested her head on his bare chest, enjoying the feel of his heartbeat thumping against her cheek.
He kissed the top of her head. "Good morning, Beautiful."
She smiled and titled her head to kiss him. "Morning."
Her body ached, but in a very satisfying way. They'd spent the night tangled in each other's bodies, and Lucy had never slept better, but.... "Oh, crap, Luke's going to freak!"
She jumped up, realized how naked she was, and blushed from head to toe as she scurried to find her clothes. "Don't look!"
Hunter sat up, clearly unashamed of his own naked form—and for good reason. "Nothing I didn't see last night."
Lucy tore her eyes off of his body and focused on buttoning her pants and getting her shirt on. "Last night was dark. This—" She waved her hand. "—is far too much exposure."
He laughed, lunged for her and pulled her back down to the ground, then pinned her with kisses. She struggled, albeit half-heartedly, then submitted to his mouth.
She pushed him off. "Ugh, I need to freshen up. I feel icky."
"Icky? Is that a technical term?" He still made no move to dress.
If she'd had a pillow she'd have thrown it at him. Instead, she walked to the water with the intent to drink and clean up, but it looked a bit murky for her taste. "I'm going to find some fresh water for us. I'll be back. You--" She eyed him pointedly. "—should get dressed. I don't want Luke thinking we were both eaten by wild animals."
She walked past the trees and found a small stream that looked clean enough. She drank deeply, then filled up their water bottles and splashed cool water on her face. A bird landed on a nearby branch and sang a sweet song to greet the morning.
The note soured with thoughts of her brother. She shivered, afraid of facing him. But why? He could be an ass, but he wanted her to be happy, and it's not like she was a virgin before this. Luke knew she'd fooled around a bit at school, and had never really cared that much, so why would he care now? Especially when she actually loved this guy?
At the thought of Hu
nter her knees turned to jelly, and she sat on a rock and daydreamed about his kisses and his arms around her. She thought about their future, playing through scenarios of them traveling together or going dancing. She wondered if he was a good dancer. Given how well he used his body, she'd have been surprised if he wasn't.
So Luke will be happy for me, right? She tried to convince herself that she had nothing to worry about, but she couldn't help it. She was scared of what he'd say when they arrived back at camp, just like she was scared of telling him about the sphere. Would her brother try to ruin her happiness? Would he try to take her sphere or break her and Hunter up?
Lucy hated hiding anything from Luke, so it was time to fess up—about everything.
She made her way back to Hunter, but stopped. Everything felt too still, too quiet. Hunter should have been packing up, making some kind of noise, but she didn't hear anything. A shiver of fear trailed up her spine. On instinct she reached for her gun, but she'd left it and her pack with Hunter.
She moved closer to their camp. "Hunter?" No response. Crap.
Wind blew across the valley, carrying Mr. K's voice with it. "Lucy.... Run, Lucy!"
Oh, God, something bad did happen. She couldn't leave Hunter in trouble.
At full run, she reached the grove of trees where they'd docked.
Hunter stood in the center, but he wasn't alone. Beleth's large hands were wrapped around his mouth and throat.
No! Not Hunter. "Let him go!"
Beleth tightened his grip. "You haven't completed our deal."
No, wait, I'm not out of time yet. She counted backwards. It had only been a few weeks. She had a month. "I still have time."
"A little, but you've wasted much, spending days in this valley." Beleth's black eyes stared at her. "I wondered what occupied you, but now I understand." He squeezed his arms tighter around Hunter's throat. "He's pretty, isn't he? Consider this a reminder of your mission."
He released Hunter and threw him to the ground. In the next instant, his hand extended down into a blade, and with one little push, a drop of blood formed on Hunter's neck.
She watched helplessly as her boyfriend choked and coughed, struggling to breathe.
"No!" Fury wrapped itself around that one word and Beleth stopped.
Slowly, Lucy walked forward, as if stalking a wild animal. If she could just get her gun, maybe she had a chance. She looked around for her pack, but Beleth noticed.
"What are you hoping to find?" He lifted up his other hand from behind his back, revealing her pack. "This?" He tossed it away and the sphere rolled out of it.
Both Hunter and Beleth registered surprise.
Hunter scrambled back a little, holding his throat. "NA-1?"
NA-what? Oh crap. This is so not good.
Beleth turned to Hunter. "You know this object?"
Hunter nodded. "A Russian experiment intent on amplifying the nervous system, increasing a person's control over their body."
Beleth smiled, slow and cold. "Correct. As I recall, IPI had been the first to work on the concept... with limited success. The Russians brought the project to completion. Your girlfriend stole it."
How could Beleth have known that? Only Mr. K knew she had the sphere, and Lucy was sure he hadn't told anyone.
Beleth continued, walking closer to Hunter, eyeing the sphere on the ground as if he wanted to pick it up but couldn't. "It's unfortunate that she did not tell you of it. Perhaps it would have saved you now." His hand turned into a black spike aimed at Hunter.
Lightning reflexes gave him an edge in this game, and Hunter rolled away, dodging the attack. The spike hit the ground and cracked.
Beleth attacked again, while Hunter hopped up to his feet and dodged each new assault. He shot the spike out again, but Hunter dodged it and the spike hit the rock, shattering it.
Lucy eyed the sphere. If only she could get to it, perhaps it could give her more power. How else could she defeat Beleth? He'd kill her in a heartbeat. She couldn't stop him, except... he wanted her alive.
"If you harm him, I'll never complete our deal!"
"I don't think so. You still have a brother nearby. If you want him to live, you'll follow through." Beleth turned to Hunter, formed his hand into a giant sword and charged. "This one's death will remind you to hurry."
Instead of dodging, Hunter jumped toward his own pack and grabbed his sword. In a flash it extended to full length and he blocked Beleth, locking their blades.
Beleth pushed against Hunter's sword. "I know you, Simmons' dog. You fear to leave your master's leash."
Hunter leaped back, breaking the lock.
Black spidery legs grew from Beleth's back, and he attacked Hunter and Lucy at the same time.
Lucy fought as best she could, trying to tackle Beleth and give Hunter a better target, but Beleth lashed out to cut Lucy with his blade hand.
Hunter threw himself between Beleth and Lucy, blocking the blow and using his sword to cut into Beleth's chest.
Blood trickled out of his skin. He growled and attacked Hunter, slashing at his leg and leaving his own trail of blood. "You seem to care quite a bit for this girl. I must say I'm surprised, and I'm not easily surprised." Beleth stepped back, assessing the two of them. "I think I'll let you live, but on one condition: you must help Lucy fulfill her task. This will require you to choose your loyalties. How much do you love your new girlfriend?"
Beleth kicked the sphere over to Lucy, and again she had the distinct impression that Beleth wanted to hold it, but couldn't.
"This sphere may prove useful to you, Lucy, but you should know that its construction is flawed. It pulls out the darkness in people, and leeches onto them for life. Keep it for now, but I'll be collecting it from you before this is over." He gritted his teeth, as if the words were hard to say.
The spidery legs in his back reshaped themselves into wings. "Don't trust Simmons. Do what I've said within the next five days. If you don't, the devastation and death will be blood on your hands." With that, he took flight.
Lucy held the sphere to her chest, unwilling to meet Hunter's eyes, wondering if she'd just ruined everything good in her life.
Chapter 101 – Lucy
The beautiful morning turned grey as Beleth vanished into the sky. Heavy clouds threatened to break open and shower rain on them.
Lucy turned to Hunter, whose leg bled into the earth, and crawled over to him. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay? No, of course you're not." She held up the sphere. "I could heal you with this. It's how I healed so fast after the lizard attack."
He grabbed her wrist and pushed the sphere away without touching it. "Get that thing away from me. Don't you get it? It's dangerous."
"No, you don't understand. I know how to use it." She pushed the sphere onto his leg and focused. The pulsing energy flowed through her, but... it felt off—tainted, somehow.
Hunter moaned and gasped for breath. Wasn't it healing him? No, it was draining him of energy and giving it to Lucy, just like last time.
She pulled it off of him and examined his wound. It had gotten worse, the blood flowing faster.
"What the hell did you do to me?" He glared at her in anger.
She shrunk back and looked down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I was just trying to help."
"You have to get rid of that thing. I can't believe you've been keeping it in your backpack like some toy. That's a classified and deadly piece of technology that IPI has been looking for. How did you even get it?"
Through her shock and fear, she told him about her assignment in Russia, and about Adam and how he'd given it to her. Her heart broke as she realized he'd never be okay with her keeping it, because she could never get rid of it.
Mr. K's voice floated on the wind again. "You've got company."
Luke ran up to them, out of breath and looking scared. "Where'd he go? Where's Beleth? Mr. K said you guys were in trouble."
Lucy looked up toward the sky. "He got away, again. I'm okay, but Hunter is h
urt."
"Damn it, I should have been here to help you both... just like I should have been there last time with the lizard. What are you guys doing this far out, anyway?" He looked around, noticed their packs and the raft, and his expression changed as it all clicked into place for him. He glared at Hunter. "You slept with my sister? What the hell?"
Before Hunter could say anything, and honestly she didn't know what he would say given how angry he was at her, she spoke up. "I'm an adult, Luke. Who I sleep with is my business, not yours."
"Fine. Whatever. You two need to get back to camp, now. Lucy, help your boyfriend walk." Luke stalked off.
Neither of them spoke as Lucy carried their packs and helped Hunter walk back. She stuffed the sphere in her pack, and Hunter noticed but didn't say anything where Luke could hear, though his frown spoke volumes.
Once Luke was out of earshot, Hunter started in on her. "You going to tell Luke, or should I? Maybe together we can convince you to drop this thing and leave it alone."
"Why do you think you have the right to tell me what to do? Neither you nor my brother is my boss. It's my life and I can do what I want. The sphere has helped me more than you could possibly know. It's how we discovered our shadow powers and how we escaped from Rent-A-Kid. Without this thing, I'd probably be knocked-up as a breeder in some clinic right now. Is that what you want?" She turned her shadow power on and pushed into Hunter's mind. "You will deny any knowledge of this to my brother."
As soon as she said it, her gut tightened into a knot and she knew she'd messed up big time.
Hunter's face fell. "I thought we had something special, Lucy, that we were building a trust between us. I shared so much with you, but now, I'm just not sure where we stand."
He limped away on his own, leaving Lucy crestfallen and miserable.
As if to add to her mood, large drops of rain fell from the sky, drenching her. She pulled the sphere out of her pack and clutched it close to her. The pulse that once comforted and soothed her now felt hollow and fake, like a drug that promised escape but only landed her in a bigger pile of shit.
In the tree beside her, a spider web swayed in the wind and hung heavy with water drops. She stared, transfixed by the elegant pattern woven by the spider. Another gust of wind tore through the masterpiece and, in a heartbeat, ripped a hole into it, shredding what must have taken hours of hard work to create.
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