by S. M. Savoy
“Toric,” Charlie repeated in surprise, rising an eyebrow. He kissed Sara’s head that was still tucked under his chin. “He loves her. He wouldn’t hurt her.”
“Exactly, he does love her,” Brenda said unhappily. “I hate saying this. I like him, but he does want her. If someone said they had a plan that would give her to him...”
Charlie closed his eyes to rub them. “Toric would’ve never agreed to do that to either of them.”
Mike said, “But what if he didn’t know that’s what they would do? What if they’d said something different?”
“Okay, Sam and Toric. Call them, Joy. We’ll ask them surrounded by our magic. They won’t get away with a lie.”
“We’ll hurt their feelings,” Stasia said softly. She glanced at Sara crying and Oz sitting so close to Hawk their shoulders were touching and her face hardened. “We need to know. Call them, Joy.”
“Does anyone have anything to add?” Charlie asked.
“Guthrie, and Captain Sanders,” Rick said after a moment. “They’re our officers, and we need to know we can trust them. I have no reason not to, but we should be sure.
“Liz,” Joy whispered, glancing at Sara apologetically. “She’s in charge of our medical care. If they turn her, we’re doomed.”
“Liz would never have done that to me, not ever,” Sara said in a quavering voice.
Charlie kissed her temple and rubbed her back a moment as he murmured reassurances in her ear. The darkness the thought of Liz betraying them invoked in her scared him.
“We’ll question everyone.” Charlie stood and held out his hands, waiting until their magic touched him. “I didn’t know where Sara or Oz where until five days ago. I had nothing to do with their abduction. Does anyone have anything to ask me?”
He sat and Stasia stood. She said when she’d found out and that she’d had nothing to do with it. They all stood, one-by-one, and Charlie didn’t detect the least bit of uneasiness from them. He called for the Scouts to gather.
Stasia hadn’t been wrong, the Scouts were offended, Charlie thought as eyed them milling on the deck as Joy explained what they planned to ask them.
Toric glared and marched over when he caught his eye. “Charlie, you need to get over this. I’ve always been honest with you. Have I ever acted dishonorably with anyone? For crying out loud, I’m not a rapist! Do I want her? Yes! I know I’ll never have her. I can be her friend and that will be enough. I’ve wanted others in the past I couldn’t have. I’ll get over it.”
Toric waved his arms as he paced in their magic. “This magic is uncomfortably intimate at times. I’d love to be able to lie to you all and say she doesn’t mean a thing to me, but you would know it was a lie.” He squatted on his heels and ran a hand over Sara’s hair.
She shuddered and tried to get closer to Charlie. Her fear was clear to everyone and made the deck spring into focus in the way that told Charlie his eyes had begun to glow.
Toric backed away from her, holding out his hands. “You don’t need to be afraid of me. I’d never hurt you on purpose, not ever. Trying to take you from him would hurt you, I know that. I’d still like to be your friend. We were friends once. I’ll find someone someday— you don’t need to feel bad for me.”
Toric sighed in exasperation. “I don’t know what those feelings are for. Are they for me or for this situation?” He shrugged and stood. “I feel your fear, your confusion— the guilt, sadness, and shame. I’m sorry if I’m causing any of that. I’m angry that Charlie thinks so badly of me, I’m not angry at you.”
“We had to be sure, Toric.” Stasia stood and took his hand. “I’m sorry, but we did. We’ve all answered the same questions. It isn’t personal.”
He shrugged. “I get it; I’m not one of you. Will you question the major this way when we catch him?”
“You are one of us.” Sara wiped her eyes and left Charlie’s side. On tiptoe she hugged him. “The love is for you,” she whispered. “I never doubted you, but Charlie needed to know. The guilt and fear is for what Charlie thinks. I don’t want him to doubt my love for him, especially now that I’ve been unfaithful.”
“You weren’t. He knows that,” Toric whispered and hugged her hard, then stepped away.
Charlie eyed them thoughtfully. “I never thought of that. We should question them all with the magic.”
Rick put his hand on his brother’s shoulder and pulled him away from the others. “We’ll go. They can’t be there.” He glanced at Sara and Oz. “It wouldn’t take all of us. We’ll take Hawk and leave you Todd. Hawk has stronger magic; it should be enough to tell the truth from a lie.”
“It’s such a risk for all of you,” Charlie whispered worriedly.
“Give us Brenda and Mike too. We could clear the entire White House with them.”
Charlie returned to Sara. “Brenda and Mike will go as well. Go fully suited up, no skin showing with your eyes covered— be prepared. Everyone steals Hawk’s air-bubble. I have enough rage to fill a million bracelets. Wear both kinds. If they do attack you, it’ll likely be by sedatives, not bullets, but take nothing for granted.”
“Let’s finish questioning everyone and get on our way,” Rick said.
Everyone was honest. When it was Guthrie’s turn, Charlie asked him if he had orders to kill them.
“Yes, but not like you’re thinking. I attended a meeting where they discussed getting rid of the magic permanently if it became a threat to the United States. I agreed I’d sedate you if in my personal opinion there was such a threat, but I told them I wouldn’t follow that order blindly.” Guthrie held out his hands. “I’ve sedated you and ordered you sedated, but I’d never harm one of you for any reason except if I thought you were going to harm an innocent person.”
Charlie nodded. “We know they had plans in place and agree they’re necessary. We don’t agree with their assessment that we’re a threat.”
“I don’t think you are either, and I don’t think they believe you are. I think Major Nelson did and acted rashly. I read the reports he did. I wonder if he read the reports Sara or Pierce wrote? The reports he read were accurate but much more pessimistic. War over the new engines is possible but unlikely. Progress is hard and there’s bound to be some turmoil as people adjust but war over that doesn’t make sense. War is more likely if the world learned of you, I’ll admit that, but Major Nelson wasn’t acting on that scenario. None of us can tell the future. He shouldn’t have done what he did for any reason.” Guthrie shrugged helplessly. “I love you guys. I’m sorry he ruined our trust.”
“We’re questioning everyone,” Sara assured him. He nodded and sat down. Sara stared after him. “That’s not true you know. The rogues can tell the future.”
Guthrie frowned and shrugged. Sara pursed her lips as her brow furrowed. Charlie eyed her thoughtfully. Her sudden intense concentration was slightly worrying but she didn’t react to him. He was already so worried she problay hadn’t sensed a change, he thought, smiling ruefully when she reacted to his spike of grim amusement.
Liz stood and said the same thing Guthrie had.
Charlie smiled grimly. “Okay, so we’re all on the same page now. Go find out if we’re safe. If they won’t join the raid, don’t push it just leave. We’ll have our answer.”
“Where will we go?” Rick asked.
“England,” Sara said unexpectedly. “We’ll go to England and talk with the queen. We need a country. A strong one with a good justice system. Somewhere we can help reach its full potential.”
“Sara and I’ve discussed this in the past. England is the best choice,” Oz said.
“Before you pack your Macintoshes, let’s speak with the president,” Guthrie said.
The meeting broke up, everyone going their separate ways. At the prow of the ship, Sara stood shivering as the Scouts got into motorboats. He knew she was afraid but wasn’t sure if it were for the Scouts safety or of what they would learn. He supposed it was both.<
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He stood behind her, relaxing when she leaned against him, her fear changing to the contentment she always felt when she touched him. But his relaxation was short lived.
Someone below deck laughed and she jumped. A spike on anxiety rapidly became embarrassment and shame that he hated with all of his soul.
Her worry when his anger spiked made his anger spike higher. He put an arm around her, and she flinched. Another wave of shame and guilt that she knew he felt turned to embarrassed dismay with a black tinge of fear. And it was growing worse, not better. They weren’t in a loop but a spiral.
“I’m sorry,” she said, barely above a whisper.
His anger grew, feeding her shame and guilt. Fear was now obscuring her other emotions and making all of his muscles tense. His magic hummed unhappily within him.
“If you say that again, I will be angry with you,” he said in a calm voice. “My feelings for you haven’t changed at all. Not even a little bit, I swear it. I’m angry, I’m beyond angry, but it isn’t for you or Oz.
“We agreed to trust each other, remember? We agreed that if we said a feeling wasn’t intended for each other we’d believe it. If you say your guilt and fear isn’t for me, I’ll believe you.”
She said nothing. Awash in guilt and fear, she trembled against him.
He sighed. “I don’t know if we should talk about this or let it go. I hate to ask this, but are you afraid of me?”
“I’m afraid this is too much to forgive and you’ll leave,” she mumbled into his chest.
He sighed again. “There’s nothing to forgive, nothing! How many times do I need to say that before you believe me? I’ll never leave you, never ever!” He kissed the top of her head. Her guilt felt like acid on his soul. Maybe the guilt was because she wanted Oz now, he thought suddenly. He spoke slowly in forced calm, “Do you want me to? Do you want me to release you from our vow?”
“I only want you. I wish Oz hadn’t asked or Liz answered.”
“We could ask the magic to make you forget again. It might be able to,” Charlie said.
“Will you forget too?” Hope flared as she leaned back to see his face.
He groaned softly. “I can’t. To take care of you, I need to remember. If I forget, I won’t look as hard. I’ll trust where maybe I shouldn’t. I won’t be as careful as I should be with you or push for better security.” He groaned again. “God, Sara, I want to forget, believe me, I do. I just can’t leave your protection to someone else. There’s no one I trust to see you safe as much as me.”
“Then, no, I don’t want to forget either. I would hate if you knew such an awful thing about me, and I didn’t know it. That I couldn’t try to make amends or make you feel better.” She stiffened in his arms as she felt his guilt.
He tried to think of anything else. “I feel guilty you’re suffering for me. Please, let’s not talk about this.” He hadn’t lied, but it was close. “Rhea and Lucky are at Paul’s house. Abby is looking after them. I didn’t want to leave them alone in the lab with just the hired guards.
She stiffened, knowing he’d lied. “Abby didn’t mind?”
He heaved a hard sigh. “Not at all. Hawk has been flying to Vermont whenever he gets the chance. Tank has been staying with Abby sometimes too. I was thinking of giving them to her,” he admitted, and his guilt eased. Her expression lightened as her worry eased and she kissed his neck.
“What about school. Did you miss all of that time?” she asked in sudden worry.
He laughed, the laugh growing when she felt offended. “You have to stop worrying about that. I wouldn’t care if I flunked out.” He sighed in exasperation at her alarm. “I didn’t flunk out, and I’m not AWOL. I finished the term and went to the Truman and oversaw the installations. Stasia was excused from her summer tour. She and Joy were searching. Hawk was supposedly on duty in Iraq, but he was in— he was searching for you.”
“When is your leave up?”
“Sara, we don’t need to worry about it. I’m staying with you!”
“I’m not worried,” she lied. “I’m interested.”
“Monday— I need to be back on Monday, but I don’t give a damn! Hell, we might be in England Monday.”
Sara stood quietly, staring out to sea. “Let’s raise the sails and go fast,” she said suddenly. “I want to forget all of this and have fun on our boat.”
Charlie laughed in relief and called Sam who was following them in a motorboat. He hollered down the ladder that they were raising the sails.
Sara shrieked with laughter as the spray shot up on the leeward side. Charlie called out directions and she raised and lowered sails as they raced through the water. Marcus, Todd, and Oz joined them, and they all got soaked. Laughter rang out over the water as the boat rode the edge of the waves, racing ahead of Sam.
Charlie told Sam not to worry; he could catch up with them later. Sara and Oz were laughing— it was enough.
They lowered the sails at dusk and turned the engine back on. Marcus took the helm after his two-minute shower.
Sara took out pasta sauce that she’d made months ago from the freezer and put the pasta on to boil while she waited her turn for the shower. Charlie came out wrapped in a towel and headed to their cabin. She left the pasta with instructions to Todd and followed him.
He laughed when she started undressing, dropping her wet clothes in a pile and pulled his towel off to hug him.
“You’re a popsicle.” He rubbed her back, trying to warm her. “Everyone’s awake right outside this door,” he whispered as she started kissing his neck with clear intentions.
“Then you shouldn’t walk around in just a towel,” she whispered back and kept kissing him.
He laughed again and returned her kiss, his rage temporarily subsumed by lust.
- 25 -
Cover Up
Rick and Stasia picked a hotel at random. Stasia called her mother to check-in as she had every day. “Liz is headed back to the lab and should be there tonight or tomorrow. I’ll let you know as soon as we find out anything. Mom, if I call and say run, or if you don’t hear from me in a day, you know what to do, right?”
“I know,” Camila said unhappily. “I can’t believe this is happening, none of this.”
“We’ll get through it. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too. Is Sebastian with you?”
“No, I’m with Rick. We thought it best to separate for the night. He’s with Guthrie.”
“And you’re sure we can trust him?”
“Positive. The magic doesn’t lie; I wish we’d questioned the major with it after the stasis incident.”
“I still can’t believe he was involved.”
“It breaks my heart,” Stasia admitted. “We all trusted him.”
“Stay safe,” her mother said and waited for her son to call.
Hawk called his mother while Guthrie called Agent Lewis.
“We have a handle on this mess down here,” Agent Lewis said. “None of you were ever here. We’ve come up with a plausible story about their disappearance that doesn’t involve any of this mess.”
“What’s the story for the, as you say, the mess?”
“Money and drugs. There was enough heroine and opium in the house to fund a third world country. Agents will look and find nothing much except a trail that leads to Nicaragua. There’s nothing to connect their disappearance with the deaths except the timing.
“The servants saw them.”
“One and we’ve handled her, and no, we didn’t kill her. We bought her off. If she wants to stay bought, she’ll cooperate. And I really think she’d have lied for free. She did like Sara and Oz, and when we told her Tomas was drugging them to sell breeding rights it horrified her.”
“She believed that?”
“Everyone at the house knew Tomas was desperate for a child and had brought in women as potential surrogates for the brain damaged couple.”
“Then th
ey’ll realize it was Sara and Oz.
“No way. Sara and Oz are perfectly healthy. The shamblers were decidedly unhealthy.
“The shamblers?”
“What the guards called them. The help thought Tomas had harvested Sara’s eggs and was using comatose surrogates— look, none of that matters. Trust me that I’ve got it covered. There’s bound to be some bad publicity about him over this, but it shouldn’t lead to the exposure of their secrets. I’ve called Mr. Martin. I’m sure there will be inheritance issues.”
“Oh god, I didn’t think of that. What will we do about that?”
“I have no idea. I’ll text Charlie and see what he thinks.”
“Shit, there’ll have to be a funeral as well. God damn it!” Guthrie yelled furiously. “She shouldn’t have to attend that!”
“She won’t.” Hawk laid a hand on Guthrie’s arm. “Lee can go as her. We should leave it up to her though. She might want to go. She doesn’t remember a thing he did.”
“God damn that man’s soul to Hell!”
“I’m sure it’s roasting there right now,” Hawk agreed.
“I better text Charlie.”
“I’ll call him and tell him the cover story,” Lewis said. “They’ll need to have it in place soon.”
Lewis called Charlie. “You were never in Hawaii. You’re returning from Cuba. Sara and Oz were being held in a house there while Liniar tried to extort the government. They were unharmed, just held. Your security found them and rescued them. You arrived after it was all done to take your fiancé home. Luckily, you weren’t far as you were visiting your mother who’s made a remarkable recovery.
“Tragically, Sara’s father was killed in a drug deal gone bad. There will be rumors that Sara’s disappearance panicked him into looking for a surrogate mother for his child. I think we can muddy the waters enough to confuse even those who’d been offered, um—”
Charlie stopped growling, not even aware he’d started until Lewis paused.
Lewis continued, “Very few people actually saw them in Hawaii and most of them are dead. Tomas’s medical records will be leaked and exaggerated stories of his confusion spread. But their own duplicity should keep them quiet if they knew the truth.