Danae
Disclaimers/Warnings:
see part 1
Robert
checked his watch. Two hours. He had dismissed the guards from duty,
assuring them that it had been cleared with Colonel Adler. This needed no witnesses. He would get rid of Holloway first, he
decided. The man was worthless. Of course, Robert had known that all
along. He was no guide, but he was
properly military and Max was happy. He
was a pawn and pawns were expendable.
Then his visitors would be next.
The C-4 was already planted in their quarters. His story was constructed.
He had overheard their plan and confronted them about it. They were armed and he had been forced to
defend himself. Unfortunately, he did
not find out in time to stop them. He
would even berate MacNamara for not screening his operatives better.
At
any rate, after that was done, he would get Sandburg. Then kill Ellison. Yes,
that would work. Make Sandburg watch
Ellison die. He smiled. Sandburg would give up his pathetic act then
and would realize that he had no other choice but to cooperate. Ellison would not be saving him ever
again. He debated killing Maxwell, but
decided there was no need. If he had
to, he would. If he did not have to, so
be it.
In
the meantime, he needed to get his sentinel squared away. Her guide would join her after his former
sentinel was dead and gone. Official
word would be that she had escaped in the confusion. Nobody would care, more than likely, about what happened to
Sandburg but they might believe that Barnes took him. That would be fine. Or
they might believe that he had died with his sentinel and not search too hard
for his remains. Whichever, it was
hardly of any consequence. His friends
were already standing by to take charge of his research subjects while he went
to Washington to “explain.” All Robert
had to do would be to wait patiently until all the inquiries were over and the
search for Barnes and Sandburg was ended.
Then he would begin training his sentinel/guide pair for their new
lives in his new and well-funded lab.
He sighed happily. Ron MacNamara
thought he had Robert right where he wanted him. He could not have been more wrong. Robert had always known that the private sector was much more
profitable than working for the government.
He was going to be rich and MacNamara would be left with nothing,
probably not even his job. He got up
from his desk with a smile on his face.
It was time to get started. Alex
would need some preparation for her trip.
“You
know, I would have thought that Rose would have had some guards on us or
something,” Pete commented as he drew his head back into the room. “There is nobody out there. Adler, he’s clueless. But Rose, he doesn’t trust us. He doesn’t trust Ron. Hell, I shouldn’t have trusted Ron. Why aren’t there any guards?” It was driving him crazy. Something felt off.
“Hey,
Pete, what’s this?”
“What’s
what, Jess?” He crossed the room to
where his communications expert was kneeling on the floor.
“This?” Jess pulled a small case from under his
bunk. “Is it yours, because it ain’t
mine?”
“Nope. Kit, this yours?”
“No. It’s not ticking, is it?” The man was joking but Pete did not feel
like laughing.
“Give
it to me, Jess.”
“Pete,
forget it. We need to get moving here.”
Kit advised.
“No,
this could be important.” Pete took the case from Jesse.
“Yeah,
and it could actually be a bomb and it may go off if you fuck with it. Let’s just get the hell out of here. I wouldn’t put it past Rose to try and get rid
of us. He could even blame it on that
crazy ass woman, Barnes.” Kit was anxious and Pete knew just how he felt.
Then
it hit him. “Or get rid of Adler, take
off with Barnes, Jim and Sandburg, and blame it on us. Do you realize what Jim’s abilities would be
worth on the market? Barnes, too, if
Blair can actually fix her?”
“Oh
shit.” Jess moved to look over Pete’s
shoulder. “Open it, Pete.”
He
did. “It’s C-4. Well, I think this explains the absence of
guards. He probably pretty much cleared
the building tonight. Can’t have
witnesses that would contradict his version of things. Do we want to try to disarm this thing or
just make a hasty exit?”
Kit
walked over to them and snatched all the wires at once. Pete closed his eyes and waited for the explosion,
but it did not come. “There. Not so hard. But you do realize that this probably isn’t the only one. Let’s get the fuck outta here, guys.”
scolded.
"Nah,
no wires, no explosion. Alex taught me
that. That thing was a simple
setup. Rose is no bomb expert. Now, can we move? Before the whole place
blows
and take us with it. Pete, you going
after Ellison?"
“Yeah,
you and Jess get Blair.”
“Card
keys, guys.” Jesse held up the coded cards.
“Good
work, Jesse. We meet at the barracks
and get out of here.” Pete checked his
gun once more and watched as Kit and Jesse did the same. “And guys, I’d say that we’ve lost the
ability to do this neatly. Whatever
else happens, get Blair out of this complex.
I’ll try to do the same with Jim.
If I don’t meet you though, you get to Banks, then get in touch with
Maggie. She’s got what you need to get
you and Blair out of the country.
Clear?”
“Yeah.”
“Got
it.”
“And
I hope like hell, none of us need any of what I just said. Move out.”
Nothing
more was said as Pete led the way out into the hallway. They parted ways at the end of the
hall. Pete headed east toward Jim while
Kit and Jesse went west.
Jim
stood when the door opened. He had been
asking to take a shower and he was hoping to see Burns with a few towels in the
doorway. It was not Burns. “Pete, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Let’s
go, Jim. I don’t have to time to talk
right now.”
“Forget
me. Get Blair out of here.”
“Got
somebody on that, Captain. Now move
your ass. Things ain’t gonna be
pleasant around here for too much longer.
I think Rose is planning on the blowing the place.” Pete glanced back out into the hallway. “Let’s go, your captain is waiting for us
not far from here. Snap it up,
Jim. Damn, you used to be quicker than
this. You on drugs?”
Jim
shook his head. Pete was right. He was standing there with his mouth hanging
open. “No, no, I’m with you. You have a
spare gun?”
“Um,
well, maybe I used to be quicker, too.
Didn’t think about that.
Sorry.” He motioned to let Jim
know the hall was clear. There had not
even been a guard outside his door apparently.
They had not gotten more than a few steps from Jim’s room before the
first explosion rocked the complex.
Robert
was furious. His scapegoats were not
where they should have been. And
apparently, his little package had been found.
The black case sat on the desk in the good Dr. Parker’s room. Nothing to be done about that now. To make matters worse, he was behind
schedule. The first blast was due any
minute and he had not retrieved Sandburg yet.
His contact was late picking up Alex and then Holloway had proven a
little more difficult to kill than he looked.
The young man seemed to know that he was about to die. If Holloway had been a little faster…well,
he was not. That was what mattered. His new problem was that he could not even
sound the alarm to round up the wayward scientists without chancing that his
own activities would be discovered. He
revised his plan. Ellison was closer
than Sandburg. He would take Ellison to
Sandburg instead of vice versa. Then
the first of his charges blew.
“Watch
the door.” Kit ordered as he moved into room.
He knelt beside the motionless figure on the floor. “Damn,” he whispered as he smoothed matted
hair from Blair Sandburg’s face. Then
he righted the flimsy boxers that were only half on. “I don’t even think I want to know,” he muttered. Then he braced himself and laid his hand on
the pale forehead.
He
saw the cougar coming. It leapt over
the snake and moved up the steps toward him.
The wolf at his side did not seem upset, however, so he only watched it
as it approached him. He huddled down
behind the wolf though, burying his face in the soft fur. The cat then stood up and changed. There was a man in its place. The paint markings on his face meant
something. He searched his confused
thoughts to try to remember what. A
hand was extended to him and for some reason, he felt compelled to take
it. He reached out. As his fingers made contact, he knew what
the markings meant. The man was a
shaman. He was safe now. He blinked and met the man’s eyes. The scene changed but the man was still
there. He smiled at him. Then the jungle was back. The cat curled up at his feet. He and the wolf were no longer alone.
“Kit!”
“What?”
There were alarms going off. “What happened?”
“Jesus,
scare the hell out of a guy, will you?
You wouldn’t answer me. You here
now?”
“Yeah. What’s going on? Have we been discovered?”
“No,
man, that’s the fire alarm. Didn’t you
hear that explosion?”
“No,
can’t say I did. Let’s get out of
here. Help me get him up.”
Jesse
grabbed one arm and together they pulled Sandburg up and supported him between
them. “Kit, he looked at you. I saw him, but now he’s out of it
again. What’s the matter with him?”
“Later,
Jess. I’ll try to explain it all
later.” A second explosion rocked the
floor beneath their feet.
“Damn,
they’re getting closer,” Jess told him.
“Then
we don’t have all day.”
“Kit,
I wouldn’t swear to it but I think that last blast was awfully close to where
the barracks should be.”
Kit
led the way out of the room and stopped.
“That means our way is blocked.
Okay, not a problem. In all the
confusion, we should still be able to get to the motor pool. Wasn’t there another exit down that way?”
“Bigger
chance of running into somebody that way.”
“Yeah,
well, bigger chance of being grilled over an open flame the other way, Jess.”
“Good
point. Lead the way, man.”
“I
have to get to Blair!” Jim yelled over the fire alarms.
“I
told you, I have somebody taking care of Blair, damn it. Let’s move.
We’re not going to be able to get through the barracks. I think that’s what just blew up. We’ll have to get out another way. Follow me.”
“Blair
was close to the barracks!”
“Goddamn
it, Jim! I have told you, he’s taken
care of. Hell, I’m more confident that
he’ll get out than in us getting out!”
Pete dragged the man by his collar.
“I don’t have time for this, Jim!
I’m just before knocking your ass out with this gun and carrying you
out! Now, move, you stubborn son of a
bitch!” He pushed Jim ahead of him and
followed down the hall. He hoped that
he had not imagined that emergency exit at the end of that last hall.
Robert
Rose was fuming. Ellison was gone. MacNamara’s men had him. He was certain of that. Let them have him. Ellison would never cooperate with MacNamara’s people and they
would kill him. Robert just needed to
make sure that they did not get to Sandburg.
Without Blair Sandburg, he had no hope of ever getting Alex Barnes
functioning again. He took a deep
breath and marched in the direction of Sandburg’s room.
Maxwell
Adler had been rudely snatched from a restful sleep by the sound of an
explosion. He looked out of his window
and saw that the storage area behind the barracks was on fire. He pulled on his clothes, grabbed his gun,
and stormed out of his quarters. Robert
was supposed to be in the main building working. He needed to round him up and make sure their research subjects
were safe. The fire alarms began and
men came pouring out of the barracks as he crossed the square. “Get the water truck from the motor
pool! Get that fire under control!” he
ordered.
“Yes,
sir!” came a quick reply from someone that he could not pinpoint. Satisfied that his men would get the fire
out, he entered the main building. A
second explosion, very close, nearly deafened him and the alarms in the main
building started.
The
barracks, he realized. He shook his
head and kept going. He rounded the
corner at the end of the hall, only to find the two scientists carrying the
Sandburg boy toward him. “Forget
him. Find Ellison and Holloway. Leave him there. Good riddance.”
Kit
only rolled his eyes at the old man and continued toward the door. The man would move or get knocked down.
“Or
did you do this?” Adler’s tone changed as
he eyed them with suspicion. Kit saw
the gun in the man’s hand start to rise.
“Screw
this,” Kit snapped as his hand closed over his own gun. He heard Jesse yell at him. “Oh, yeah.”
He fired before Adler even had a chance to aim. He fired again before the old man hit the
floor.
“Fuck! You just killed a colonel in the United
States Army, man! Have you lost your
mind?”
“You
would prefer he shot one of us?
Besides, he was a rabid dog. It
was a mercy killing. Keep moving.”
“Pete
is gonna freak.”
“Don’t
worry. Pete and I discussed this
possibility. Almost out of here now,
Blair.”
The
dog tried to make a move on the temple steps and the golden cat swiftly
attacked it. The cat’s powerful jaws
closed over the dog’s throat and ripped it away. The dog fell. It rolled
down the steps and lay there, dying. He
smiled as he watched it die. The cougar
returned to him and nuzzled his hand and the wolf’s muzzle before settling down
once again. Yes, he was safe. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.
All
the tension drained from the body they carried and both men had to change their
grip quickly to keep the man from slipping bonelessly to the floor.
“Shit!” Jesse exclaimed. “Kit, is he--”
“No,
he’s sleeping.” Kit motioned to the
door with his head and Jesse nodded.
They were barely outside the door when the motor pool blew.
“There
goes our transportation,” Jess remarked.
“We’ll
take the damn water truck if we have to.”
“I
don’t think we have to.” Jesse pointed
to the front gate. Their rented van
screeched to a halt outside the gate and Simon Banks got out.
“Stay
there!” Kit yelled at the man. “The
man’s got timing. Gotta love
that.” They made their way to the gate
and Jesse punched in the code to open it.
“How’d I know that you’d know that code?”
“’Cause
I’m thorough if nothing else?”
“That’s
one reason I love working with you, Jess.”
“Is
he all right?” Banks rushed over to
them.
“Well,
no, but he will be. Get that side door open for me. Let’s get him inside.”
The door opened and Kit and Jesse placed their burden down on the floor
of the van.
“Hey! You there!”
Kit
turned to face the voice. He raised his
gun. “Just forget you saw us, man. Be smart.”
“Corporal! They’re under my orders!” Pete’s voice sent a wave of relief through
Kit’s body. Killing Adler was one thing
but this guy was a grunt. He was just
following orders.
“Lieutenant,
what’s happening here?” the man turned to Pete and asked.
“Rose
has lost it. He was trying to sabotage
the project. My superiors ordered me to
remove the research subjects. Just try
to get that fire out and everything will be fine.” Pete glanced at Kit as he spoke.
“Yes,
sir.” The guy actually saluted Pete and
ran off.
That
was when Kit first noticed Jim Ellison.
The black jaguar. Holy shit, he
thought.
“Blair!”
the man rushed toward Sandburg and Kit reacted. Ellison came up short as he found Kit’s gun in his face.
“Back
off,” Kit growled at him.
“Kit! What the hell are you doing?! This is Jim!” Pete exclaimed.
“I
know who the bastard is. I know what he
is and I know what he’s done. You just
stay back, man,” Kit warned again.
Then
Jesse was between his gun and Ellison.
“Kit, man, chill out. We have to
get out of here. Do this later, after
his pathetic attempt to explain. Okay?”
Kit
let his arm fall. Ellison was glaring
at him, as though the man thought he could be intimidated. The look probably worked on most people but
Kit just glared back. Ellison started
to move toward Blair again and Kit cut him off bodily this time. “I’ve got him. Maybe you should just get in the van.”
“Jim,
let’s go,” Banks advised. Ellison
looked like he wanted to argue but then he turned and got into the front seat
of the van without another word. Jesse
sighed and slapped Kit on the shoulder.
Kit
helped his friend get Blair Sandburg settled in the back seat of the van and
then practically flopped into the seat himself as Jesse moved up to sit in
front of them. Pete was last into the
van and he plopped down next to Jess.
“What
a clusterfuck,” Pete said, letting his head fall back onto the top of the
seat.
Nobody
had to tell Banks to pull out. The big
man had the van in reverse and was peeling out before Pete got his complaint
out of his mouth. “What happened?”
“Rose
happened. Ron happened. A lot of shit happened. We are well and truly fucked, Captain. Rose had other interests here and employers
that had other interests here. Give me
my phone.” Kit listened to Pete’s succinct explanation.
“Who
are you calling, Pete?” Jesse asked.
“Ron. That fucker has some explaining to do and
he’s gonna help us get out of this mess or wish he had.”
Kit
felt eyes on him and turned to find Ellison glaring at him again. Kit returned the look whole-heartedly.
“Pete,
there’s something you should know first.” Jesse turned to look at Kit, drawing
his attention from Ellison.
“What?”
“I
killed Adler,” Kit announced.
“Shit. Why Adler, Kit?”
“He
was in the way, he had a gun, he wanted us to leave Blair and find his precious
sentinel. That good enough?”
“Okay,
okay. This is the story. You have not killed anybody, clear? Rose killed Adler. You hear me? Rose killed
Adler.”
A
huge explosion behind them caused them all to turn. Although they could not see the compound itself over the hill
they had passed over, they could see the flames and debris shooting up into the
night sky. “I’d say that was the whole
complex,” Kit said dryly.
“Fuck!
I’m going to kill Ron.”
“What
about Rose? You think he got out? I mean, maybe he was looking for us and got
caught in the explosion.” Jesse was
grasping at straws and Kit could tell by the look in his eyes that he knew it.
“I
doubt that. Pete, I suggest you get our
version of events in before Rose beats us to it.” Kit shook his head and frowned as he glanced back at the glowing
orange sky behind them.
“Yeah.” Pete turned his attention back to the phone
that Banks had given him.
Robert
had watched them get into the van. He
swore aloud. He had run out of
time. The main building was going to go
up in flames in mere minutes. He made
his way back to his office, picked up his briefcase, already filled with his
files on the sentinel project, and slipped out of one of the emergency exits at
the back of the building. He walked
quickly to the car he had waiting, got in and drove out into the testing area
and out the rear gate of the complex.
“It’s
after three in the morning. This better
be good.” Ron MacNamara’s voice was
muffled.
Pete
resisted the urge to bang the phone against the side of the van to make sure
the man was awake. “Oh, it’s good all
right, you son of a bitch. You got some
fucking explaining to do, Ron. And I
have some bad news for you, too. You
are just going to love this. Are you
awake, fucker?”
“Pete,
what the hell’s going on?”
“Why
don’t you tell me, Ron? Rose was in
your pocket, right? You were in this,
right?”
“Shit,
Pete. Look, the mess with Ellison had to
be straightened out and I figured you could handle it. The whole thing was questionable legally and
Adler was losing it. I gave you a shot
to help your friend. You going to hold
that against me now?”
“You
stupid son of a bitch, Rose has screwed you.
And he tried to kill us all.”
“What?”
“Your
little complex is burning to the ground right now as we speak.”
“Fuck,
Pete! You were supposed to leave the
place standing!”
“I
didn’t do it, you idiot! Rose did
it. He blew the place up, probably to
try and cover up his escape and our murders but we got out before he could kill
us.”
“Okay,
Pete. Start at the beginning, what
happened out there?”
“Well,
there was an explosion, see,” Pete remarked sarcastically.
“Four
explosions, actually,” Jim put in from the front seat.
“Yeah,
four, whatever. The complex go boom,
get it? More than likely, Rose and
Barnes are gone.”
“Burns,”
Jim stated.
“Who
is Burns? Oh, that’s the corporal. No, Jim, Barnes, as in Alex Barnes,” Pete
corrected.
“Alex
Barnes was in there?!” The man was
obviously surprised and upset.
Pete
heard Simon Banks swear under his breath.
“Okay,
Jim, you just came up a notch in my estimation. Yeah, Alex Barnes was in there.
My ‘friend’ Ron here had Rose working on fixing Alex Barnes for the
CIA.”
“Pete! This is a classified project you’re giving
details about!” Ron actually had the nerve to sound indignant.
Pete
watched Jim put his head in his hands.
“I should have known. I should
have fucking known,” the man was repeating over and over.
Pete
went back to his phone call. “I should
think it would be. Imagine what the
media would do with this, Ron. The U.S.
government recruiting an insane thief and murderess to do their dirty work? I
can see the headlines.”
“Why
didn’t I know she was there?” Jim was muttering. “Oh shit, what happened to Holloway? Did anybody see Holloway?”
“Who
the fuck is Holloway, Jim?” Pete put
his hand over the phone.
“He
was supposed to be my new guide. He was
good kid, annoying and useless as a guide, but basically a good kid.”
“Beats
me.” Pete looked to Jesse. The young
man shrugged. He looked back at Kit.
“Wouldn’t
know the guy if we saw him, Pete.
Sorry.”
Pete
gave Jim an apologetic shrug then turned back to his phone call. “Ron, you there?”
“Yeah,
where’s Adler?”
“Dead.” Pete gave Kit a sharp look then
continued. “We think Rose killed
him. He was shot. There’s probably more people dead here,
Ron. Let me tell you what’s going to
happen now. You are going to get us out
of this. I don’t care how but I swear
to you, if I have to leave this country, I’m gonna be taking you with me. You got that?”
“Okay,
I hear you. Look, just head back to the
hotel tonight. Let me see what I can do
and I’ll call you in the morning when I have something for you.”
“Ron,
I’m telling you, man. You have fucked
me over here and there’s nothing I can do about that now but so help me, you try
it again and you are going to find out just how good I am at what I do. Do you understand that?”
“Yeah. Hey, Pete, you did get Ellison right?”
“Of
course. Who the hell did you think I
was talking to? We got Sandburg,
too. That’s what I was here for. Now, as for what you wanted me here for, I
don’t know but you are going to explain it in vivid detail.”
“Of
course. But I have to get off the phone
to get things rolling right now. I’ll
call Pete. I swear.”
“I’ll
be waiting for your call then.” Pete
hung up the phone. “Fucker. I trust you about as far as I can throw your
fat ass.” Pete threw the phone on the
seat. “To the hotel, Captain
Banks. We all need some sleep.”
The
rest of the ride was silent. Kit
hovered over Sandburg, wrapping the unconscious man in a blanket. Jim glared at Kit, his jaw tense. Jesse alternately studied Jim and then
Blair. Banks drove, his eyes filled
with concern and questions Pete could see in the rearview mirror even in the
dark. Pete sighed and closed his eyes,
hoping against hope that he would wake up in his own bed and find that this
whole thing was one very long, very intense dream.
Robert
had a decision to make. His scapegoats
were not dead. Should he come in from
the cold and hope that he would be believed over MacNamara’s spies or just join
his sentinel in his private lab now?
There were three of them and they had Ellison and Sandburg. They had the upper hand and his sentinel
needed him. He had made some small
progress with her after all and leaving her alone for a great deal of time had
worried him even as he devised his plan.
She could regress. No, his
associations with the Pentagon and the CIA were over. He had work to do.
Jim
held up one hand to stop the barrage of questions as Simon closed the hotel
room door after them. “Not tonight,
please, Simon. I just want to get some
sleep right now.” He walked over to the
door that connected their room to the room next door. He opened it and banged on the second door. “Open up,” he ordered. The door opened and Jim faced Jesse
Riviera. “Let me in. I want to make sure Blair’s okay.”
“Blair’s
fine. We’ll take care of him.”
“I’d
rather he were in here with me.”
“That
ain’t gonna happen,” the other man, Kit, if Jim remembered correctly, announced
from further inside the room.
Jim’s
temper flared and he pushed at Jesse only to have Simon grab his arms and pull
him back. “Jim, stop this. They’ll keep the door open. Besides, even with the door closed, you can
easily monitor Blair. Just give the kid
some space.”
“Damn
it,” he swore under his breath. “Let
go, Simon.” His arms were
released. “Leave this door open.”
“Standard
operating procedure, man,” Jesse told him before turning away.
Jim
stood there for a moment longer, watching as Pete’s men settled his guide into
bed. He sighed and ran one hand over
his face as he moved to sit on the bed.
“I can’t, you know.”
“Can’t
what, Jim?”
“Monitor
Blair. I’m not a sentinel anymore,
Simon.”
“What?”
Jim winced at the volume of the question.
“I’m
being punished for--” he motioned toward the other room. “For what I’ve done to Blair.”
“Jim,
don’t be ridiculous.”
“It’s
not ridiculous! I fucked up,
Simon. I destroyed my guide and he was
taken from me along with my sentinel abilities.”
“A
guilty conscience might have ‘taken’ your sentinel abilities, Jim. You may be being punished but only by
yourself.”
Jim
chuckled without humor. “You don’t
understand. Doesn’t matter anyway. I’m going to take a shower and then I’m
going to bed. Listen out for him,
please, Simon.”
“Of
course.”
The
outside door opened and Pete followed a rollaway cot into the room. “Okay, got the cots. I like you guys and everything, but I ain’t
sharing a bed. Jim, where you headed?”
“Shower.”
“I
thought we’d talk.”
“Tomorrow.”
Jim continued on his way and slammed the bathroom door behind him.
“Great,
one word answers. Classic Jim Ellison
there, huh?” Pete complained to
Banks.
“Yeah. He says he’s not a sentinel anymore,” Banks announced as he stared at the closed
bathroom door.
“Really? Well, that could be good news and it could
be bad news. I don’t know how Ron and
his bunch are gonna take that piece of news.
Especially now that Barnes is gone.”
“Devereaux,
those bastards are not going to try and keep Jim, are they?”
“Don’t
know. They may try.”
“Son
of a bitch!”
“Hey,
I didn’t say I was gonna let ‘em, Captain.
Besides, the whole reason behind Rose working with Barnes was because
they didn’t think Jim would suit their needs.
Don’t worry. Worst comes to
worst, I can have Jim and Blair out of the country in less than one hour.”
“I
hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Me
either but if it does, just think, you’ll have a nice vacation spot to visit
every once and while and won’t have to book reservations.”
Jim
lay awake, staring at the ceiling. In
the bed next to him, Simon snored softly.
Pete lay on the cot on the other side of his captain, his pillow over
his head. Jim unconsciously tried to
extend his hearing to the next room only to be forcefully reminded that he’d
lost that right, that gift. Just like
he had lost the gift that was his guide.
Kit Chase had his guide now.
That was the man’s name. He had
asked Pete. What was Chase’s
interest? No, that was too frightening
to contemplate. He turned onto his
side. He closed his eyes. He was exhausted but he doubted he could
sleep. And yet, he was drifting off
when he heard a sound. He opened his
eyes and was about to reach over to wake Simon when he heard it again. A whimper came from the next room. Blair.
He was having a nightmare. Jim
slipped silently out of bed and over the threshold into the next room. Blair moved restlessly, the bedcovers
shifting as he did. Jim glanced at the
room’s other occupants. Kit Chase was
on the other bed and Jesse was on the cot near the door. Jim knelt beside his friend. “Chief?” he whispered. “Come on, Blair, wake up.”
If
anything, Blair seemed more agitated.
Jim’s hands itched to reach out and touch, soothe. Finally, he could not stand it anymore and
he gave into the urge, stroking Blair’s forehead. The response was not at all what he expected. A scream nearly deafened him even as Blair’s
fist connected with his temple. Before
Jim could shake off the confusion and pain, the lights in the room were on and
Kit Chase had a gun pointed at his chest.
Jesse had both arms wrapped around Blair, trying to restrain and calm
the man. Pete and Simon appeared in the
doorway, both armed.
“Kit! No!”
Pete yelled at his employee.
“What
the fuck are you doing in here?” Chase demanded.
“He
was having a nightmare. I was trying to
help!” Jim snapped.
“Help? You are joking, right? You are his fucking nightmares, dumb ass.”
“Jim,
come back over here.” Simon rubbed his
forehead. Jim did not want to
leave. “Please.”
“I
don’t like you,” he told Chase.
“Feeling’s
mutual.” He lowered the gun. “Now that we have that off our chests, why
don’t you just get the hell out of here so we can all get back to sleep?” Chase turned away from him then and sat down
next to Jesse and Blair on the bed.
Blair was quiet and still now.
Jim hesitated. He needed to see
Blair’s eyes. He had to know if that
horrible blankness that he had seen in the lab was still there.
“Jim,
come on, man,” Pete called to him.
He
held up one hand, asking mutely for one more moment. There, blue eyes, a flash of pure rage directed right at him, but
then nothing, that blank stare. Jim
would rather have the rage. He closed
his own eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat. He spun and nearly knocked both Simon and Pete down as he strode
back into his room.