Emergence (The Primogenitor Chronicles Book 1) (45 page)

He stood and pulled her upright then brushed a hand down her back. He shook his head and grabbed her chain, locking it to the collar, then he pulled her back to the bed, where he locked the other end of the chain to the iron bed pillar.

“Get some rest. We’ll be busy later.”

He walked into his closet, threw on some clothes, then stalked out of his suite.

He didn’t lose much of his temper on the walk to the conference room, but he did bury the evidence. All the senior staff, except Edward and Fredrick, huddled around the table. Reserved looks turned his way, and he smiled. He shoved the door shut, then taking his seat, he laid the dossier on the table in front of himself. Before he rested his arms on the smooth wood, he looked at each person the council had placed in the compound. “Ok, I’m here. Why did this need to be an emergency?”

They all looked nervously at each other.
Good. They should be. Looks like I need to find whoever set them up and make an example again. The council knows better.

One of them cleared his throat. “Did you read the entire report?”

He pinned the man with a stare and watched him gulp then start to fidget before he answered, “When am I anything less than thorough?”

“Yes, well…”

“I’m still not following what the emergency on this information is?”

The man coughed then shot a quick glance at his face before turning to fiddle with his own stack of papers. “Jessica Reuther’s paper work isn’t getting reported correctly. We don’t have the proof yet, just word of mouth. But the rest of the Valkyrie control group is also acting strangely; they are much more secretive, and there has been little sighting of Nickolas. One of our people nearly compromised themselves trying to get close to him. Hopefully the risk was worth it. Nickolas’s conduct isn’t normal. But the descriptions of his behavior are vague, and we can’t pin a finger on what it means. The council wants you to take a look and see what you think.”

He shook his head. “I see your report, unlike myself, is not. Thorough that is. Where’s the rest of this information?”

A new packet made its way down the table to him. He opened it and started to read. A frown grew.
What are you up to, Nickolas?
“I’m not sure what this means, either. Try to dig deeper. We need to know what’s going on over there.”

“The second item we need to go over,” a mousy brown-haired woman added. She took off her glasses and nervously cleaned them. “One of our recon teams has located a little town up north near Bellingham that they believe to be a drop point for Marcus. All signs point to them trying to set up another colony.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have thought their population was that large. Do you have any idea yet how far into the mountains it is?”

“No, but they are working on it. The locals aren’t very receptive of us. We’ll have to be careful.”

“Find their contact. Then get me the location. It’s time to set up an ambush and get as many of the rebels into custody as possible. We can’t have their numbers growing too large, the generals are uncomfortable and they want the troublemakers weeded out. Dead is better than loose, but I would prefer as many captured alive as possible.”

He steepled his fingers and drifted off for a moment. “Back to the Nickolas problem; we need to get our hands on him. Ian will have conniptions, but possession is nine-tenths of the law. Once we have him in custody, it will be hard, if not impossible, for Ian to get Nickolas out of the compound. After we have more information about what is going on up in Bellingham, I want to set up Nickolas’s recovery team to go out there. If we’re lucky, we bring home a new subject. At the very least the exercise should prove insightful.”

He gathered up his papers and rose. “Is there anything else?” Heads shook all around the table. “Good, then I need to grab a quick lunch and get over to the labs. If anything else urgent comes in, you can find me there.”

Half an hour later, he stepped into the main laboratory. Fredrick stood over B-Five, stretched out on a table, staring vacantly. He waited until the scientist finished writing his observations before he asked, “So, anything?”

“I think so. We’ll need to do a lot more tests and refining, but yes, I think we finally made a breakthrough,” Fredrick said.

“Show me.”

“Let’s look at the tapes first. If I do anymore with him right now, I think he’ll expire.”

Gabriel followed Fredrick into an adjacent room, containing a table and video equipment. Fredrick grabbed the remote and planted himself in a chair and started it up. Sinking into another, Gabriel focused on the screen.

The analytical part of his mind kicked in, and ignoring the screams, crying, and pleading for mercy, Gabriel watched as Fredrick succeeded in forcing B-Five to do small movements and tasks against his will using voice commands.

“Yes, a definite breakthrough. We need the controlling to be seamless though. I don’t care if it causes them pain, as long as they don’t show it.”

They continued to watch the footage of B-Five. He fought, both the drug and the doctor, but in the end complied stiltedly with the tasks given to him.

“It’s going to be hard to use them if they are constantly screaming or mouthing off. He’s also able to fight the control too much still. Does the drug cause a permanent change in the subject, or does it wear off?”

“It does wear off. But as long as you administer the next dose before your control wanes, it’s fine. It does ultimately take a toll though. I don’t know how long a specific individual will be useful before burnout. It might be that as we refine it, that issue won’t be as much of a problem as it is now. So far B-Five has had the best results across the board. The voice commands are working, but I am really curious to see how he will respond to your mind commands. At the moment, I can control his movements against his will if I am there and pulling the strings, but we need to have them follow implanted commands at a later date. I think you might be the key for that phase of the work,” The doctor said.

“Yes, I can see that. Has he had enough of a rest to continue, doctor?”

Fredrick shrugged. “Let’s go find out.”

They left the conference room and returned to the lab, approaching the bound Valkyrie. Eying them with fear and impotent anger, the captive pulled at the straps uselessly. Gabriel placed his hand on the side of the subject’s face, holding him steady, and looked deep into his eyes. He pulled on a whisper of his power and probed the bound Seer and found all of his natural barriers stripped away. His mind lay completely open and vulnerable.

He formed the coercion and slipped it into B-Five’s mind. “You cannot move unless I tell you. Understand? Just nod your head.” Once he got a nod, Gabriel turned to Fredrick. “Take off the straps.”

“What?”

“You heard me; take off the straps. It’s not like I can’t stop him, and I certainly can’t test my control of him tied down, now can I?”

He watched the subject closely as the doctor removed the straps then grunted in satisfaction. As soon as he was free, the subject attempted to jump up, but his muscles only convulsed with the competing commands. Gabriel’s won. Smiling down at him, Gabriel whispered, “I said don’t move, didn’t I?”

His breathing erratic, B-Five trembled trying to regain control of his body. “Now, subject B-Five, please swing your legs over the side of the table and sit up.”

Slowly, fighting every inch, he obeyed. “Good, now stand and walk to the wall.”

As the Seer stiffly walked the length of the room, Gabriel turned to the doctor and asked quietly, “Would you please have a female sent up from the holding cells immediately. I want to take this to the next level.”

“Yes, sir.”

Gabriel returned his attention to the experiment. “Now, B-Five, walk back over to me and kneel on the floor.”

He observed the subject as he fought and lost against the combined force of the coercion and the drug. Dispassionate, Gabriel took mental notes on the responses.

B-Five worked his way back to him and fell to his knees at his feet. the Seer’s head dropped to his chest. The sound of struggling came faintly through the doorway, then grew louder as Edward dragged a resisting brunette into the lab. “Good. Fredrick, have him chain her to the wall there.”

As the games master dealt with the female Hunter, Gabriel lifted B-Five’s chin with his hand. Looking down into his wild eyes, Gabriel said, “What is your name?”

B-Five’s mouth twisted as he fought answering, so Gabriel gave a little push.

“Zachary.”

“Very good, Zach.” He smiled warmly down at him. “Now, this is what you are going to do, Zach. I’m going to give you a command word. It will release control of your body back to you—until I want it back. The catch is that before I release you, I’m going to give you a time-delayed task.

“Three minutes after I release you, timed by the clock on the wall, you will take the knife from my belt and walk over to the female Hunter. Then holding her down, you will carve your initials into each wing web on both of her wings. The release word is snowman.” He reinforced his words with a mental compulsion then let go of the Seer’s chin and stepped away.

Fascinated, he watched minutely every reaction B-Five had as he endeavored to stop the inevitable.

“Snowman.”

B-Five, Zach, he corrected, jumped up and ran to the locked door at the other end of the room. In desperation he pulled and pounded on the metal, his voice hoarse.

“Tsk tsk tsk. You know you can’t get out,” Gabriel taunted softly. The Valkyrie spun around and put his back against the door, averting his face from the clock on the wall.

“Half your time is already gone,” Gabriel added then stood back and watched the events unfold.

Raising his hands to his temples, B-Five fought the desire to look at the clock. The seconds ticked by, and shaking his head no, the tormented Valkyrie whimpered. The clock hit three minutes, and Gabriel held his breath.

Zach started to visibly shake, but he still refrained from looking at the wall. Unfortunately, after two more minutes elapsed, the coercion took hold and he couldn’t pretend that the allotted time hadn’t yet passed. His head slowly swung to look at the clock.

The effect was instantaneous, his body turned rigid and he started to walk toward Gabriel.

A smile spread at the stifled emotion Zach projected when he took the knife from his side. The desire of the Seer to use it on the knife’s owner couldn’t have been clearer.

But instead, the Seer followed the implanted instructions and approached the smaller female Valkyrie. She shrank back from him as much as the tether around her neck would allow. Begging her to forgive him and chanting that he was sorry, Zachary pinned her to the floor, splaying her wings, and proceeded to carve his initials into her wings while the blood flowed and she screamed until hoarse. Tears streamed down his face, and he kept chanting his apology; the moment he carved the last letter he quickly turned the knife on himself, attempting to plunge it into his gut.

“Stop!” Gabriel shouted and blasted the subject with a mental command as well. Shaking, with the point of the blade resting against his stomach, the Seer fought his compulsion.

“Drop it!” Gabriel snapped, and the knife clattered to the floor. Zach curled into a fetal position and stared sightlessly. “Well, that worked better than I had anticipated. Though I can see we are going to have to be careful about our instructions.”

“I got it all on tape, Gabriel,” Fredrick said.

“Good. That’s very good.” His mind took a mental snapshot of the whimpering Hunter and her bloodstained wings and Zachary rocking on the floor—and he let the satisfaction flow through him. They were on the right track. Soon the council would have what it wanted. The means to control the body, mind, and soul of any Valkyrie they wanted.

Step one accomplished, his thoughts returned to Pet. It was, after all, dinner time, and he highly doubted that she would bite the hand that fed her, at least not after last time. “Get this mess cleaned up,” he ordered and walked out of the lab.

Jessica sat cross-legged on her bunk. Eyes closed, her breath whooshed in, then out after a pause. She continued the relaxation exercises as her mind geared up for the next step.
I hope it’s late enough. I think it’s the middle of the night. Damn it, Nick. You’d better be ok.

The last sight she’d had of him, Chris and Donald had beat the crap out of him and forced him from her cell. They’d better hope not to cross paths with her for a while, or she’d rip their balls off and shove them down their throats.

If I’m right about the time, then only one watcher should be on duty. And likely not paying close attention. This is going to be my best opportunity.

She took another breath. This time, instead of grounding and centering, she tried pushing. The wall of inhibitor flexed around her mind like a thin balloon. She let it settle then tried again. After several attempts, a pinhole breached and allowed her minute access outside of her own mind.
Still no idea what I can do, but every weapon is useful.

Her eyes opened. She slid off the bed and reached underneath it to pull out the plastic plate she’d hidden. Shooting a quick look at the camera, she set it on the floor and cracked it with her heel. She picked it up and pried the large shards apart then used a large sharp triangular piece to start hacking out strips of cotton from the futon cover. She worked quickly, tucking the strips into the waistband of her shorts. The shard joined them, then she moved to the corner directly under the ceiling vent. Warm air whooshed into her face when she looked up.

She rolled her shoulders and flexed her arms, then did a few squats to limber up. After a deep breath, she wedged her back into the corner and planted her hands and feet against the wall and started to pressure walk up the corner. Once she reached the ceiling, with her muscles quivering, she bashed the vent up with a fist, then shoved it over in the duct. Worried about the noise, she grabbed the lip of the duct and levered herself inside, squirming in on her stomach. Her breathing labored, she lowered her forehead to the dusty metal and rested a moment.

I don’t know how long it will take to notice I’m gone. So get moving already.
She took another deep breath and slid the cover back over the vent and started to slither. At the first juncture, she stopped. Indecision. She stifled a sneeze from the dust and peered into the dark down either choice. Faint light shone in places, marking vents to rooms.

The light breeze whirled around her. Something about it caught her attention and she let her mind quest out the crack she’d made in the wall of inhibitor. A tickle, like the wind wanted to play, pulled her in one direction. Without a better choice, she chose to follow. At each junction, she stopped and listened. Eventually it brought her to a vent over an empty hall where it spun around her happily and zoomed off.

She popped the vent off and lowered herself to the floor. No way to replace that cover. After brushing herself off, she pulled the cotton strips out and quickly wrapped her feet, tying neat bows at her ankles and took off down the hall. Probing past the wall, she reached out, trying to feel Nickolas. Like small bread crumbs left, she picked out the direction. Cautious, she stopped to listen at doors before she passed or peeked in.

A door to the outside beckoned, but she turned away with effort. She couldn’t leave Nickolas. A sigh escaped and she moved on. The next door opened on to a darkened kitchen.
Oh yeah.

She smiled and slipped into the room. It didn’t take her long to pick out a long, sharp kitchen knife. Armed, she turned to the door then stopped.

A reluctant look over her shoulder.
It wouldn’t take that long to look? Right?

Licking her lips, she walked to the enormous fridge and started to rummage. The strawberries drew her eye, but then she found the jack pot.

“Chocolate cake.” She moaned. And setting her knife on the butcher block island, she pulled the cake out of the fridge and started to dig in.

The incessant ringing broke through his exhaustion, and Ian reached out, pounding the nightstand for the phone. With a loud crash, he managed to catch the receiver as the rest tumbled.

“Yes?” he growled. He blinked and tried to bring the red numbers of the clock into focus. Four thirty.

“Ian. I need you back here. Now.” Jays’s voice sounded on the verge of panic.

“Whoa, slow down. What’s wrong?” He sat up and started rummaging around on the floor for his clothes one-handed.

“Jessica. She’s gone.”

He froze. “Excuse me?”

Jays’s voice rose an octave as he spoke at light speed. “She’s gone Ian. Not in her room. I don’t know…”

He cut his protégé off. “I’m coming. Cue up the archive.”

He finished dressing and left at a run.

When he arrived, Michael sat with his head in his hands talking while Jays ignored him and searched through the recordings for her room. Ian made a beeline for the monitors and looked at Jessica’s empty room on display. Shards of something littered the floor near her shredded mattress.

He narrowed his eyes then crossed to the terminal Jays used to review her room recordings.

“What the hell happened?” he growled.

“Michael was on duty. Ask him,” Jays had calmed now that he had a direction.

He turned to the man in question. “Well?”

Michael shook his head but didn’t look up. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? Why don’t you? You should have been alerted as soon as her heart beat no longer registered on the remote monitors.”

“He turned them off,” Jays snapped.

“Off?” 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be a problem. The screens were all active and I just look at them. How would they get out of the room?”

“Jays? How far back are you?” He turned away from the junior doctor in disgust.

“An hour so far, and no signs of her yet.”

“Move. Go call Chris and wake him up. Find out if Nick is still there.”

“Shouldn’t we initiate the lock-down procedures?” Michael asked tentatively.

“And lock us up inside when she could already be outside?” He took Jays’s seat and continued to scroll through the recording. “Give me a break, Michael. Besides, after the last incident, I’m not too interested in dealing with Kratz.”

He looked at the time stamp, two hours back and still no sign of her on the tape.
Damn it, Jess. How?

Michael shuffled around, and he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the junior doctor. The man tried to surreptitiously close down the computer game he’d obviously been immersed in.

Ian growled. “Michael, head back to your quarters for the night. We’ll discuss this sometime tomorrow.”

“But…”

“No. I can’t deal with you right now. Go.”

On a sigh, he left, and Jays returned from his phone conversation with Chris.

“Chris says Nick is still there, but he’s acting weird. The sedatives didn’t keep him down tonight. He’s up and bear-like. He and Donald have their hands full.”

“Lovely. Get Kieran, have him get the rest of the Flight and Wing leaders in here.”

 “Yes, sir.”

While he moved back to the phone, Ian kept scrolling through the footage of the empty room. Two hours fifteen minutes. Two hours thirty minutes.

“There.”

Jays jumped, having just hung up the receiver, and rushed over.

Ian continued to scroll quickly so they could watch from the start of her activity.

“She got out at two a.m. Damn, Ian, she’s had almost three hours. She could be anywhere by now.”

“Maybe…but maybe not. Let’s watch.”

Kieran arrived on the run, and the rest followed in waves. “Holy…did she just do what I think she did?” Kieran asked as she finished scaling the wall.

“There’s the fledgling who led us around by the nose for two days,” Ian commented. “Yes. And we need to get those vents secured.”

“Nick’s the only reason we caught her the first time, Ian,” Kieran said. “What are we going to do this time? We can try and scent track her, but I don’t know how well that will work here. And it’s going to be exceedingly obvious with all of us outside searching.”

Ian rewound part of the recording and watched her enter the vent again. Something about it…. His strat talent started placing pieces on his mental map. He turned the sound up and listened to her mumble as she worked to free herself.

“Jays, bring up all the other terminals. Get the live camera feeds from as many of the hall cameras as you can from the Valkyrie wings. I don’t think she’s left.”

Kieran started to help Jays type as they woke up all the computers in the bank. “That’s nuts, Ian. She’s only ever wanted to get away from here. She wouldn’t stick around.”

“She would if she was going after Nick. Think about it, Kieran. What’s the last thing she saw?”

“Shit.”

“Elegant way to put it, but accurate nonetheless.”

The rest of the Wing leaders spaced out to start watching the various camera feeds as they came on. Ian rewound the recording again to the beginning and listened to Jays with half an ear.

“Kieran, get Dylan and Chelsea set up over there. On these two terminals, I’m bringing up the recordings from three hours ago. Come help me when you’re done.”

Silence fell as everyone turned their attention to their screens. Kieran called out first, and Ian joined him.

“She left the ducts in hall M near intersection nine.”

“Ok, Jays, we have a start point. Trace her route. The rest of you, keep looking for her current location.”

“What is she doing, Ian? Watch her,” Jays called him back. He and Kieran had multiple camera recordings up so they could follow her from one point to another.

Ian watched her stop and pivot in an intersection, then stride purposefully down one. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say she’s using her talent. Through the inhibitor. She is tracking Nick.”

“We’ve got her, Ian,” Chelsea shouted. “She’s in the kitchens.”

Ian looked across the bank to Chelsea’s screen. Jessica stood at a sink washing her hands and face.

“Here, Ian.” Jays had brought up the camera feed from the moment she stepped into the kitchen.

Kieran swore. “She’s armed.”

“And full of cake. Crap,” Jays groaned.

“Dev, call Chris and tell him what’s going on and that Jessica is on her way toward them.” Ian moved to an equipment locker and took out a couple of earpieces. Jays followed and readied two trank pistols then tossed one to Kieran. He handed Jays and Kieran the earpieces. “Divide up. Kieran take half the group and wait in Chris’s suite. Jays will be in Donald’s on the other side of Nick’s. I’ll keep watch here and be your eyes. Bring her back.”

“Yes, sir,” they all snapped, and a thunder of feet left the Hub. He turned back to watch Jessica feel her way down the halls toward her mate.

The stomp of boots as they ran through the hall sounded loud in Jays’s ears. He slipped the comm into his right ear and got it settled. Static, then Kieran’s voice, testing. “I’ve got you, Kieran. Ian? Can you hear us?”