Outbreak (16 page)

“Right. Anyway, she confessed that LeMercier was the biological father of the baby. She didn’t think the baby was psychic, but she wasn’t certain. She just wanted him far away from this life. So she gave him up in a closed adoption.”

Mark listens, quiet. “That’s rough,” he finally says after several moments had passed. “It’s hard growing up not knowing where you belong. It took me a long time to feel whole.”

Elaine grabs his hand and leans into him.

“That’s why I want to find him,” I say. “I want him to know that he has a family who cares about him.”

David and the others nod in agreement.

“Yes,” David says, “we should find your brother. But I think the first priority needs to be this new recruit. As long as he’s around, he’s a threat.” David focuses all of his attention on me. “And you need to learn a few skills before we face him.”

I open my mouth to protest. The words evaporate before they are spoken. “You’re right,” I say instead. “Mark can help me—us—with defensive skills.”

“Really?” David asks.

“I’ve read up on this stuff,” Mark confesses as red tints his cheeks.

David nods and looks at me again. “Fine. But you need to practice your offensive skills, too. You need to know how to attack.”

“Absolutely not! I won’t use
that
part of my abilities. I can’t. It’s too hard for me to stay in control, manage my emotions.”

I’ll help you. Please, trust me
. David whispers through my thoughts.

If only it were that simple.

I consider our tasks: find my brother, find the recruit, practice my skills. Of the options, finding the recruit is easiest. And the most necessary, at least for the moment.

“I’m going after the recruit. Now that I know what he can do, I won’t be so unprepared.”

“I’ll go with you,” David says before I can refuse. “I’ll help with his shield. He isn’t stronger than what you’ve faced, but he is more clever.”

I do need his help, even if I don’t want to admit it.

“I have an idea,” Mark says. “Why not lure him here?”

“Here? To my house?” Elaine’s question isn’t unreasonable. “Wouldn’t that put us all at risk?”

“We can control things here.” Mark seems sure of himself, like he’d planned everything out already.

“Are you sure you’ve never been involved in this world before?” David asks as he smiles.

“What can I say? I play a lot of video games and read a lot of comic books. This isn’t that different.”

Yeah, except death is real in this world.

“Okay,” I say, “how do we get him here? And when?”

“Getting him here is easy,” David says. “Drop your mental blocks. He’ll pick up on your thoughts and rush right over.”

I listen as everyone makes suggestions and organizes our plan. The scene is surreal.
Josh would’ve loved this,
David says in my thoughts. I smile and close my eyes. He really would.

By the time a plan is devised, the sun is high, the sky clear. A cool breeze floats through the house as distant clouds remind me of yesterday’s storm.

“So, are we agreed?” I asked. “I drop my defenses and let the recruit find me.”

“Think about LeMercier,” David suggests. “I’m sure it’ll help the recruit lock in on you.”

“Assuming he’s looking,” Elaine says.

“Oh, he is.” There’s no way my father would let this new protégé miss out on an opportunity to capture me. Not after last time. I doubt he’ll let the recruit live if there’s another problem.

Day passes into night in a blur. Mark gathers more supplies for David while I mentally rehearse the defensive shields he told me about earlier.

“Thanks for everything,” I say to Mark when he returns with the supplies. “You didn’t have to help.”

“Yeah I did.” He tosses a look toward Elaine as she changes David’s bandages.

I nod, understanding exactly what Mark means.

We decide to summon the recruit in the morning and crash early, the events of the day taking their toll at last. My sleep is restless, filled with images of the new recruit, Elaine with a gun to her head, and David getting shot. More than once I call out, my legs tangled in the blankets of the bed, sweat beading on my brow. David is there every time, sweeping me into a hug with his good arm. By the time morning arrives, I am more tired and spent than I was before.

Not good.

“How’d you sleep?” Elaine asks as I grab a cup of coffee and fall into a chair.

My look says it all.

“That good?” She joins me at the table. “You’ll need to be focused today. I’ll make breakfast for everyone and ensure things are ready for you later. You go get a little more sleep.”

I nod and stumble back to the bedroom. David stands by a window, examining his arm.

“How is it?” I ask.

“A lot better. Mark’s a miracle-worker. Pretty handy having a first-responder around?”

“What?”

“Yeah. He told me that he got his certification last year. Lucky for us, right?”

I guess there was more to his skills than I thought!

“Totally.” I walk over to David and take his hand in mine. “I’ve missed you.” I say, hoping he hears “I love you” in my words.

“I’ve missed you, too.” An awkward silence forms between us. “Are the others up?” David asks.

“Yeah. Elaine thinks I need more sleep.”

“Do you? I know last night was rough.” Worry etches into the corners of his mouth.

“I don’t think it’ll help. I’ll be okay. I just need a shower.”

David nods and joins the others to plan for the day. I collapse in a hot shower and pray that our plan to confront the recruit isn’t as suicidal as it feels right now.

The sun is overhead when I finally join David and the others. The shower helped clear my thoughts and return my resolve. I’m done being a victim to LeMercier and his plans. It’s time to face him head on. Starting with his new protégé.

David motions me out to the porch. The sun is warm, a contrast to the cool autumn breeze that pulls the fading leaves from the surrounding trees. I put my hand gently on David’s arm, fingering his fresh bandage. “Still okay?”

“It’s fine. I barely notice it.” David smiles, his eyes stormy.

“Than what’s wrong. You look worried.”

He takes my hand in his. “Do you really want to do this?”

“What, go after the recruit?”

“Yes. Are you sure we should?”

A moment passes before I can respond. “I have to do this.”

“I won’t lose you to them,” David whispers. He touches his forehead to mine. His heart beats too fast in his chest. “It nearly killed me when you left. Is this how it felt when I left you?”

“Like you can’t breathe? Yes. It’s exactly how I felt.”

He closes his eyes and draws a deep, shaky breath. “Let’s not do that to each other anymore,” he says. “Deal?”

Words refuse to form, so I nod instead.

David slides his good hand around the nape of my neck and pulls my mouth to his. Every moment of fear, every breath of hope we’ve shared, lingers on his lips. He deepens the kiss, collapsing the distance between us.

“Please don’t leave me again,” he breathes into my hair. “I can’t handle it.” He pulls away, and the distance is insufferable. “I love you,” he says as he grabs my left hand. “Now and for always.” David slides the ring on my finger, his promise to keep me safe and never leave.

Before I can answer, Elaine clears her throat and joins us on the porch. “Sorry to break this up, but I think we should get started. We don’t know how long it’ll take the recruit to respond. We need him to come before nightfall. It’ll be harder to fight him after dark, especially if he brings friends.”

Something I’m certain he’ll do.

“Agreed.” David and I say in unison.

We walk into the house together. I sit in a chair close to the couch. Closing my eyes, I mentally imagine my thick shield thinning into nothingness.
I’m here, Father. Waiting. Send your protégé. Let’s see if he can handle the
real
me
.

I know that last line will do the trick. All he ever wants is for me to accept my role as the Assassin again. It’s a weakness I’m all too happy to exploit.

As I continue to push the message out from my thoughts, the energy in the room shifts from eagerness to apprehension to fear.

“Well?” Elaine asks when she can no longer stand the tension.

“Shh.” David’s voice is rough, tight.

I sense him extending his own protections to Mark and Elaine. The gesture draws a smile from my lips.

“He’s coming,” David says at last.

My eyes pop open, my sight filled with nothing but the other recruit.
I’m coming for you,
he says.

A sardonic smile curls my lips.
I’m waiting . . .

The Assassin’s taunt settled under Seven’s skin. He hated her more than he’d thought possible. Too anxious to think, he paced, contemplating his next move. Surely the Creator would order him to kill her now. Or, at the very least, capture her. Regardless, he would answer her taunts. Now.

Seven punched several numbers into his phone. “It’s time,” he said, and hung up. He grabbed his coat, slipped a new Glock into his waist band and left, keys in hand.

Maneuvering the car up the sloping hills of Cambria took skill. Seven’s car rental hugged each turn with ease. He drove without thinking, focused instead on the images stolen from the Assassin’s thoughts. Disgust stirred in his mind. She was being careless, again. Weak.

Seven settled his own shield in place, strengthening it should the Samurai decide to help his girlfriend again. Seven wasn’t going to be caught unaware this time.

He settled back in his seat as the car spun around more curves with precision. His mind brushed the Assassin’s and he pulled images forward, the ones he knew would hurt her most. Her brother’s death. LeMercier’s revelation. With each heartbeat, Seven felt the Assassin’s anguish grow. If she wasn’t damaged before, she would be by the time he had finished with her.

He reached the top of the hill and parked down the street from the home he had seen in the Assassin’s mind. He broadened his awareness to take in the entire property. No presence other than the Assassin, and she was in the front room.

He retrieved his phone and made another call, telling his men to wait for his signal. He didn’t want them robbing him of his victory. Not when he was so close to attaining his goal. The Order, the Creator, they needed to know that Seven had done this—had beaten the Assassin when no one else could.

Only him.

He slammed into her mind with a feral ferocity. He could almost hear her breath exit her lungs in shock. Sifting through the mental images until he found what he was looking for, he shoved aside all but one dream.
The
dream.

It started as it always had, the Assassin in a box, unable to see, move, speak. Seven felt her body stiffen. He smiled as he took the dream and displayed it on the wall of her subconscious, tweaking each moment to suit him. He placed himself in the dream and noted the way she struggled against the invisible binds that held her in place.

A scream died in her mouth as she turned and spied him watching her.

That’s right,
Seven taunted.
I’m here with you. Doing this to you. You will die in this space, Assassin. I will bury you alive, quite literally, and you are powerless to stop me
.