“I… don’t know. I don’t want to believe it, but I’m finding it difficult to dispute.”
Aaron grumbled behind her. “Damn. Almost had it that time. Anna, if you kept feeding her memories from that night”—he paused—”what the devil is that reporter doing here?”
Anna moved back to the table, caught off guard by the confusion on Aaron’s face. Penny still stared into space. “Reporter?”
“Aye, ‘e followed me into the locker room a half a dozen times. Damn Guardian chaps never know when to back off.”
“Aaron.” Anna grabbed his hand. “Promise you’ll trust me.”
“Oi, what?”
“Please.”
Aaron sighed. “Fine. I trust you.”
“He’s not a reporter. This is Agent Hughes, CSB.”
Hughes smiled.
Panic, shock, anger, and confusion played on Aaron’s face for a few seconds, leaving his jaw cocked to the side and one eyebrow up. “This better be good.”
“I already warned him not to go peeking.” Anna held onto his hand; it was her turn to reassure him. “He’s an inside man. Hughes is trying to help us. His registration tag is fake.”
Aaron wagged his head as if pointing with his nose at Hughes’s neck. “He’s not got one.”
Sure enough, he didn’t.
“What?”
Hughes gestured at Anna. “Things are changing ‘round the Tower.”
“Coventry?” Anna blinked.
“No, the Tower. Your friend Thompson launched an inquiry into the workings of the CSB. It’s a right hames at the moment, but things are looking promising. Fortunately, they are worried enough about Eastern Europe to fear offending the UCF. He’s managed to expose the detonator law. The press got a hold of it two years ago and made quite a scene. They’ll be dealing with lawsuits until you’re a grandmum.”
Anna looked at the rug, shying from Aaron like a child who’d done something wrong. “He’s a telepath. I thought he could help you with Pen.”
“Oi, what about me?” whimpered Spawny.
She sighed at him. “Of course.”
Hughes unbuttoned his coat, revealing a plain beige-brown outfit so nondescript it all but screamed government agent. For a minute, he stared at Penny, before blinking off a trance and rubbing the side of his head.
“Bad?” asked Anna.
“It’s strong. I get the feeling whoever did it is a little more skilled than I am, but there’s more to it than that. A lot more raw power involved rather than technique.”
“Awakened,” mumbled Aaron.
Agent Hughes scowled at the wall before flashing an inspired look at him. “Perhaps we should combine efforts. Your power, my control?”
“Aye, might work.” Aaron squinted, suspicion plain on his face. “Anna, you help as well. Keep showing her the truth.”
“Alright.”
Aaron took up a position on Penny’s left. Hughes on her right. Anna sat on a chair facing her friend and held her hands. Her use of telepathy had—up until recently—been limited to communication, peeking at surface thoughts, and mental invisibility. Mind reading or deep diving had never been something she’d tried to do often. Usually, people kept secrets for a reason. The downside of invasive telepathy was that the reader tended to revisit the memory as if they had experienced it. Her brief glimpses into Faye’s mind had given her a nightmare or two, as if Deacon Bell had molested her instead.
Anna concentrated on Penny’s thoughts. Reality faded to blackness, accompanied by the sense of two other minds. It felt as though Hughes entered a dark place first, with Aaron behind him and her wandering off to the side.
Scenes emerged. The night Penny first found a twelve-year-old Anna crying in the alley after running away from social services. Telepathic tinkering had made Penny feel burdened by the obligation of taking her in rather than happy to help. Anna projected her memories of how they’d formed an immediate bond.
Hughes latched onto that and forced the truth under the implant to unseat it, holding a nail in place for Aaron’s hammer to drive home.
The memory shifted back to where it belonged.
One by one, various memories came and went, each one altered to make Penny fear her. Every time Penny had protected her from thugs, the Met, or the occasional creep, the memory had been changed to Anna having a lightning-throwing tantrum and almost hurting her. The telepathic overlays shifted Penny’s feelings from protectiveness to being bothered at always having to take care of Anna, and terror of a power that seemed always on the edge of losing control. Minutes later, Anna found herself floating in the alley, watching it from Penny’s point of view. They had just run a skim on a train, and Penny forgot all about the Crossmen chasing them here. In this version, the three friends had stumbled upon a group of men minding their own business in the dark.
Anna’s false self laughed and suggested an easier way to make credits—murder. ‘Accidental’ electrocution worked for her once already.
With that, the lightning flew.
No! shrieked the real Anna. That’s not what happened at all.
She dredged the horrible truth out of where she’d tried to bury it. Once more, she felt the cold metal trashcan on her bare stomach as the Crossman bent her over and held her down. She suppressed the urge to gag at the sensation of his hand between her legs. Shame paralyzed her; she hadn’t cared about what he wanted to do to her. She would have let him do anything to stop him from hurting her afterward.
Penny screamed.
One of the men tried to rape her friend. Anna was worthless. It didn’t matter what anyone did to her. She couldn’t lay there limp and useless while her dear friend, the reason she’d grown up intact, suffered a fate worse than death. She cast her apathy aside and killed the man on top of her so she could get to her friend. Nothing mattered but protecting Penny.
All three Crossmen died by her hand. Her secret was out. She could no longer hide her power from her two closest friends.
She had risked Penny’s hatred to save her. Penny’s gasp in the real world as that idea unfolded in their telepathic dance made Anna cry.
A surge of white light devoured the alley. Penny’s sobs pierced the resulting silence; distant at first, they intensified until the feeling of arms around her emerged from the nothingness of the telepathic dream.
Anna lay on her back, on the floor, with Penny on top of her—a bawling wreck.
Aaron and Hughes looked drained and sagged into nearby chairs.
“Anna… Anna… I’m so sorry.” Penny sniffled into her shoulder. “You were going to let… how could I have forgotten that?”
“You didn’t.” Anna sat up with her. “Someone took it from you. To ‘spare’ you.”
“Bollocks,” muttered Aaron.
“Not bad, mate,” said Hughes. “You’re more skilled than I thought.”
“Thanks.” Aaron panted. “Not much of a telepath, I just dabble at it.” He winked at Anna.
Anna looked down.
“Did you happen to catch a glimpse of the source?” asked Aaron.
Hughes shook his head. “No. Bunch of white space. Whoever did it tried to remove themselves, as well as the entirety of the meeting where the implant took place. In most cases like this, the telepath responsible changes their identity in the memory both as misdirection and because it’s a lot easier to change appearance than to remove the scene entirely. Whoever did this was—”
“Arrogant, self-absorbed, cocky…” muttered Aaron.
Hughes chuckled. “I was going to say quite thoroughly convinced of their own ability, but that’s spot on.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t,” whispered Anna. “Were you happier not remembering?”
Penny composed herself and wiped her face. “How could you think I’d be happier not remembering what you did for me?” She pushed Anna’s shoulder playfully. “It was terrifying, but it could’ve been far worse. I’m horrified you were going to just let them ‘ave you.”
“Wh
at choice did I have? Be a victim of that, or defend myself and ‘ave the government kill me.”
Hughes coughed. “Sorry about that, Anna. Had to keep up appearances. I wish I could’ve made contact without Gordon around to tell you it looks worse from the outside.”
“What d’you mean?” Anna’s head snapped up.
“Except for a few hard cases like him, we ran our own shop. The Crown thought we were shipping psionic tykes off to internment camps, but it was quite a bit different on the inside. Actual detonators stopped a few years before. Lot of smoke and mirrors.”
She scowled. “You mean I was running from a story? The whole thing? The drugs, the sex clubs, all of it to avoid bollocks?”
“Well, based on old truth,” said Hughes, out of the side of his mouth.
“Lauren said they put a real bomb in her head when she was around fifteen!” Anna stomped.
“At least ten years ago, they did use real ones. It took us awhile to work enough influence.”
“What’s done to psionic children now? The ones who’re arrested out of their schools?” Anna squinted at him. “Do you still shut them up in secret prisons away from their families?”
“We only remove them from the home if the family doesn’t want them. It’s closer to a hospital, actually. Observation. Relatives can visit them, and you are overreacting. We don’t ‘arrest’ them. It’s no more traumatic than being sent to see the nurse.”
“No more traumatic than your parents telling you to bugger off,” muttered Aaron, sarcastically.
Anna frowned. “You make it sound almost pleasant. It’s disruptive and cruel.”
“I assume the newest ones arrived alright?” Hughes pursed his lips. “The parents are rather insistent on arranging visitation.”
“You?” Anna blinked.
“Of course.” Hughes smiled. “There are quite a few of us working to help Dr. Mardling’s cause. Even with the changes, they’re better off going with us to a new world. None of the parents involved have a trace of gift.”
Aaron stared at Hughes. “’E tweak your bean too?”
Hughes’s eyebrows drew together.
“Those two girls are miserable. Shut in a dreadful cargo box for weeks, taken away from everything they’ve known. They miss their homes so bad they’re barely eating!” Anna fumed. “They belong with their families. Now you tell me their parents want them?”
“We tried to get the lot, but Dr. Mardling insisted on only those with gifts. Said there was limited room. Once the colony is established enough to defend itself, we can bring up any relatives who want to join us.”
They’re so homesick. Anna folded her arms as if hugging herself. Abducting Althea had felt dodgy enough, even if she didn’t have real parents looking for her. These two girls… It’s not right. If they’re not going to be imprisoned, they belong home.
Hughes glanced at Aaron. “Shall we go back in and try to figure out who did it?”
Aaron smirked, gesturing at Spawny. “Better we save our energy an’ give that bloke a look before his heart explodes.” He wandered deeper into the flat.
Anna stood, pulling Penny to her feet. “Where are you going?”
“Need a moment to gather some strength. Also, it’s my turn to call someone.” Aaron winked, and ducked into the bathroom.
29
Than a Comfortable Lie
Aaron
Lights flickered on as a slab of opaque frosted glass slid closed behind Aaron. Small porcelain cats of various shapes and sizes covered every surface in the little bathroom. He smirked at the wall, wondering where Penny had stashed the little old woman she’d obviously stolen the flat from. He left the lid down and sat on the furry toilet seat, NetMini in hand. He felt no need to go prying for who’d altered Anna’s friends, he knew. It wouldn’t do anyone any good for their somewhat-ally Hughes to see his glass castle broken yet.
A fifteen-inch holo-panel scrolled open in midair over the device, containing a list of his installed apps, contact lists, email, and Vidphone. The upper half of the screen went black as a large rectangle slid down over everything, interrupting him with a ‘breaking’ story from the NewsNet.
Dense tropical forest burned bright orange in the middle of the night. Shadowy figures in military armor traipsed back and forth over the wreckage of some manner of encampment far away from the city. Aaron reached to brush the panel out of his way, but hesitated when he noticed the carcasses of military vehicles strewn about, warped and twisted as though thrown by great force. Corpses littered the ground, dragged into a neat row by uniformed ACC soldiers.
“…have confirmed military action against members of the Venezuelan resistance. Authorities have reported around a hundred and twenty suspected militants engaged government forces just after midnight last night. Rumors are circulating that this particular cell harbored dangerous psionic fugitives, and the Department of Motherland Security had been avoiding direct confrontation with them for some time.
“Local authorities are not providing the NewsNet with additional details; however, our on-site reporter was able to determine the bodies of around thirty rebels were unaccounted for prior to his being arrested.”
The psionics are missing. Convenient, that. A crude hut wall moved into the scene, spattered with blood and bullet holes. Handcuffed bodies slumped on the ground. Venezuelan soldiers dragged a number of injured women toward a prisoner transport. Three kicked and screamed, fighting their restraints in an effort to run to the dead men by the wall. Three seconds later, the image cut to black. Guess Ol’ Professor Mardling didn’t get them all.
He flicked the NewsNet off the top of the screen and poked Mikhail’s entry in his contacts.
Twenty-eight seconds later, a six-inch holographic head appeared.
“Britain, Aaron?” Mikhail cringed. “Have you changed your mind then, or are we looking at an international incident?”
“I’m ready to talk.” Aaron rubbed his forehead. “This may be deeper than you thought, and things haven’t rightly worked out like I expected with the bitch.”
“Well, I’m glad to see you didn’t get yourself killed.” Mikhail’s smile left him looking like a Middle-Eastern trader with a dodgy car for sale. “I am thrilled to hear that. How are you coping?”
The reminder of Allison wasn’t welcome or helpful, but he accepted the gesture. “As well as can be expected.”
“Good, good. I’ll get things moving on this side for you. Have you learned much?”
“He’s influencing people to collect as many psionics as he can. Do you remember the McKay girl? Melissa? Ran away from the dorm a couple times.”
Mikhail looked thoughtful, but shook his head. “Afraid not.”
“Guess her case didn’t get up to your level then. He wanted her quite bad. She’s awakened as well, I think. She’s got a lot of power but has a ways to go learning how to control it.” Aaron explained about her parents. “He’s done the same thing to Anna’s old friends. Tell me you saw that bit on the NN about Venezuela.”
“I did.” Mikhail raised an eyebrow. “That was him?”
“No proof, but seems sketchy the ACC hadn’t hit them before. Resistance doesn’t live too long out in the open like that with a camp. They ‘ad psionics with em. Enough to scare the authorities away. Now all of a sudden, they get wiped out and no trace of the psionics. Sixty, seventy people dead so he could build his army.”
“The man’s insane, and dangerous,” said Mikhail.
A panel on the wall chimed. A smiling cartoon nurse appeared. “You seem to be taking quite a while, would you care for some reading material? Perhaps some medication to help?”
Aaron poked a button to turn off the assistant. “Aye. You’ve no bloody idea how glad I am no one has the balls to try an’ read my mind. I gotta go.” He paused, stared at Mikhail for a few seconds, and saluted. “Sir.”
He got up and went outside, interrupting a mild argument between Agent Hughes and Anna.
Anna scowled to
the side. “Bother what James wants. Did anyone think to ask the girls their opinion? He’s always rattling on about how it’s everyone’s choice. I told them to their faces they were free to leave if they wished.” She stomped around. “I suppose when you’re eleven and nine and you’re stuck in a foreign country after a month-long trip locked in a stinking box you pretty much feel like a prisoner no matter what you’re told.”
Hughes scratched at his head. “The younger girl went poltergeist during lunch period. Everyone in her school knows. It would be a bit daunting to just plop her back into her normal life.”
“Yes, but what if that’s what she wants? And what of Lucy?” Anna tried to lean up at him to seem more intimidating.
“We found her in Meredith’s memory. They had a secret pact. Next-door neighbors. Telepath, if I remember correctly.”
“So they were friends before this idiocy.”
Hughes nodded. “Aye. Since they could walk.”
“Anna?” Aaron trotted over. “Archon always says he only wants those willing to go with him. Why not have the girls ask him if they can go home?”
She glared at him for a second, but it melted to worry. What if he makes them forget? Did you see Alexi? He thinks he’s Alastair now. I… think he thinks he’s known me for years.
Aaron smiled despite his worry. I’m sorry, Anna. That couldn’t have been easy for you to accept, but you’re right.
“All right.” Anna looked at Spawny. “That’s what we’ll do then. After we’re done here.”
Aaron slumped in the back seat of Hughes’ hovercar, holding his head. The Agent had insisted on hammering away at the blockade guarding the identity of the person who’d reprogrammed Spawny. It seemed unlikely they would break through, even without Aaron half-assing it on purpose. The important bit had been freeing the man from his compulsion to stain his trousers every time he laid eyes on Anna. After more than an hour and a half, they’d defeated the implant. Anna’s emotional connection to him hadn’t been near as strong as with Penny, and the man’s memories bore large pockmarks: a minefield of gaps caused by drugs.
Angel Descended (The Awakened Book 6) Page 31
