Unbreakable Storm

by Patrick Dugan

  Abby’s face reddened. “Did he do anything to you while you were unconscious?”

  Mimi shook her head and took another sip of water. “That’s not what he wanted. He told us our collars had stopped working, so he would help us activate our Gifts.” She shuddered, her voice dropping as she spoke. “He said trauma would be the easiest way to get them to surface. Each morning he would try something new and more painful. He shocked, stabbed, and burned each of us. Thompson’s power began to manifest first. When he started glowing, Max would stand over Thompson and place his hands on his head until the glow flickered out. Max got off on it, called it ‘feeding time.’ He spent more and more time with Thompson.”

  “Was that the body we found in the room with you?” I hadn’t wanted to ask but couldn’t help myself.

  Her voice cracked as she answered. “No, that was Griggs. Thompson escaped one night. He somehow melted the chains. He said he’d go for help and come get us. We begged to go with him, but he ran, promising he’d send help. None came until you and Abby showed up.”

  I jumped as a thump and a sharp crack sounded from the doorway. Marcel stood there, eyes wide, hands limp, a shattered tablet on the floor in front of him. Oh man, this was so not good.

  Marcel stammered. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault. I was trying to help, I swear.”

  Mimi looked at him, confusion written across his face. “Marcel, you weren’t even there. How could this be your fault?”

  “I turned off the collars.” He stared at the floor as he spoke. Agony laced every word. “I thought your Gifts would activate, and you could be free of Granite Falls. I’m sorry.”

  Mimi’s face flushed red. “Why the hell would you do that? Who asked you to? Do you know what I lived through because of you?” Mimi dove toward Marcel, but Abby caught her and set her back down.

  The words hit Marcel like a wrecking ball, destroying his resolve. “I’m sorry.” He tried to leave, but Abby had him in a bear hug before he took two steps.

  Abby released Marcel, turning on Mimi. “Max had been killing Gifted before the collars were turned off. Do you think he wouldn’t have taken you anyhow? You were right there, and you have a Gift.”

  “You don’t know that. He hadn’t bothered me before.” She shot back. “He only drugged us because the collars were off.”

  “You told me he smelled you all the time when he was at the Lair.” Abby's tone grew angrier. "He could have had it all planned, and it was a coincidence the collars were off. Marcel shouldn't have turned off your collars, but at least you had a fighting chance against him, unlike the murdered women."

  That stopped Mimi dead in the water. It was her turn to study the floor. “It doesn’t make it any less wrong.”

  Dad cleared his throat. “I don’t think assigning blame does any good. The past is behind us, and now we need to fix what we can.”

  “You’re right.” She took another drink. “After Thompson left, Max worked on Griggs, but his power never manifested, and he ended up killing Griggs in the process.”

  Mom reached over and put her hand on her arm. “Honey, you can stop. You’re here now and safe with us.”

  “No, I need to finish.”

  I glanced over to where Abby stood with Marcel, one arm still around his shoulders. It was hard to see the consequences of your actions coming home. I hoped he’d be alright, if that was even possible for any of us.

  “I must have been developing my power since he’d come down and put his hands on my head a few times a day. I could see him, but he felt like a blank space to me. If that makes any sense.”

  “The clicking noise.” I caught Abby’s eye, and she nodded. “We both kept feeling a clicking noise, but not one you could hear. It must have been you.”

  Mimi cocked her head, considering. “Maybe. It’s weird. I see you all, but I also can feel you all in here.” She pointed to her head. “It’s like you exist twice.”

  “Most likely you’ve got some mental ability.” Dad rubbed his forehead unconsciously. After Dominion, I doubted he trusted anyone with psychic powers. “We’ll have to discuss this part later.”

  I wondered if discussing it would be putting Mimi as far from him as possible. I looked at the broken tablet at Marcel’s feet. Time to change the subject. “Marcel, did you find out where we’re going?”

  He started at the question. “Sorry. Yeah, I have the information, but it’s not why I came up here.”

  Mom’s eyebrows rose. “You came up here why?” I think it drove her crazy that Marcel always left out the important parts until asked.

  “Oh, they found Mr. W.”

  And that would be the most important news we could get.

  29

  “Who’s Mr. W?” Mimi asked as we all stared at Marcel. I’d begun to believe we’d never find him, that he’d been killed, or hidden so well he might as well be.

  Mom answered absently. “Um, Oliver Waxenby. He was a teacher in Redemption.”

  “Oh, Ollie. I know him. Very nice man, though his car had seen better days.”

  “How did you find him?” Dad asked Marcel, ignoring the commentary on Waxenby, while Mom went over what had happened for Mimi without a lot of details.

  “Warden sent a message. They found the building he’s being held at in the Dallas site. She wants to strike tonight before they can move him and was hoping we could help.”

  “Tommy? Abby? Are you two up for a mission? I know earlier was rougher than we expected.”

  We both nodded, but it was Mom who answered. “If they are going, so am I.”

  Dad frowned. “Susan, this is going to be a war with Gifted on all sides. You’ll be vulnerable, and I’m not sure we can protect you.”

  Her chin rose as she addressed her husband. “Michael, I am going. You can put me on a rooftop with my sniper rifle. I can at least be your eyes and can eliminate any of those bastards who get in your way.”

  “Mom, what if they have fliers?” Abby asked, clearly unhappy with the idea. “We almost lost you at the Megadrome and...” She stopped short of mentioning Wendi trying to save her had cost her life.

  She didn’t have to, based on the pained expression that briefly crossed Mom’s face. Pure determination erased it quickly as if it had never been there. “I know what happened in the Megadrome, but I’ve spent months training alongside you. If you are going to hide me away every time there’s danger, why did I bother? I could have just cooked and cleaned while you all ran off to save the world. Well, it’s my world too. I’ve lived through the losses, the collars, the beatings, and the ridicule with all of you. I will not be left behind.”

  Dad shot me a quick questioning glance. I shrugged. Knowing Mom, she’d hide in the trunk after packing it.

  “Well, I know when to take my lawyer’s advice.” I winked at Mom, getting a warm smile in return. “It’s a five-hour drive to the rendezvous site, and I’m going to go get some sleep.” I stood up, stretched, then headed for my room.

  “Good idea,” Dad said, stifling a yawn. “Meet up in the armory at fifteen hundred hours. Get as much sleep as you can; it’s going to be another long night.”

  I grasped Marcel’s arm as I passed, dragging him along. “I know it seems like this is your fault, but we’ve got to move past it.” I kept my voice low so it I wouldn’t be overheard. Mimi’s emotions were raw, and I didn’t want to upset her unnecessarily.

  I heard a sniffle from Marcel. “Bruh, I appreciate it, but it is.”

  I cut him off. “No, it’s not. Max killed those people, but he’d been killing long before he took Mimi. Turning off the collars doesn’t equate to a serial killer imprisoning you, no matter what. Understand?”

  With a great upheaval of bobbing hair, he nodded his agreement. “Thanks. I am sorry, though.”

  “You want to even the scales? Put Max where he can’t hurt any more people.”

  What I got in return looked like a cross between a shark smiling and mad scientist plotting his revenge. “I put out
an emergency bulletin, and the Reclaimers grabbed it like a power up. Turns out they were on overdrive with three missing soldiers. They caught Max behind the Secret Lair putting Griggs body in the dumpster. Last I checked, Max was being transported to the Block as a known Syndicate member.”

  I smiled at him. “Excellent work, bro. You done did good.”

  He cringed. “I know English isn’t your native tongue but could you not butcher it so.”

  “I’ve always spoken English.”

  Marcel shook his head. “I don’t know what you speak, but it isn’t English. More like bastardized pig English.”

  I feigned shock. “I’m very unique-est is all.”

  Marcel plugged his ears. “I’m going to bed before you set the language back any farther than you already have.” He turned down the corridor and slid into his room. I’d missed hanging with Marcel. It seemed like the whole world depended on everything we did, and there wasn’t time to banter over a night of Xbox and junk food. Even though my family, both biological and chosen, were here, things had changed since Wendi died. All I could do was hope time would set things right.

  I entered my room, tossed on my sleeping sweats, and was asleep before the lights had gone out.

  Mom pulled the van off into the building Dad had indicated. According to Warden, the building held shields to block the Protectorate drones and satellites from detecting anything. We geared up and waited.

  A few minutes later, three figures emerged from the shadows of the derelict building. I tensed, figuring Jon and Turk would be with the party. Luckily, they weren’t. Instead, I recognized Boulder and Salvo from our previous mission in Atlanta. The third person turned out to be a small Asian woman dressed in black, her hair pulled up in a bun on top of her head.

  Dad flashed the hand sign at the group, and they visibly relaxed. They returned the correct response gesture, and everyone settled down. “Ranger, we are on a tight deadline. Looks like there are at least six Syndicate members with Grim Reaper. Warden has the plans, but we’ll need to move.”

  “Let’s go.” Dad pushed his helmet on as Boulder led us deeper into the building. We descended a series of stairs that led to a hidden trapdoor in an out-of-the-way side wall. I still couldn’t get over how elaborate the network of tunnels had to be for the Underground to move around unseen by the Protectorate watchers.

  We emerged into a tunnel big enough to hold three trains side by side. An old truck sat at the bottom of the stairwell. The woman and Salvo jumped in the front cab as the rest climbed into the bed. Boulder banged on the side of the truck. “Warden doesn’t want to miss this opportunity. If we could stop the Syndicate, we could actually work toward freeing the Gifted from the Protectorate.”

  I just wanted to get Waxenby back before whatever fate Eiraf had seen could come to pass. If I got to kill Grim Reaper in the process, so much the better. His was one death that wouldn’t haunt me. I owed him more than I could count.

  A quarter of an hour later, we pulled up to the massive doors we had left from last time. Salvo parked the truck, and they led the way to where we’d met Warden and the transport machine. If what she said was true, we’d be in Dallas in under an hour.

  We entered the old bank vault that held the device. I preferred using Alyx, but since he was off on another magical mystery tour in Canada, this would have to do.

  Warden turned from where she spoke with the control panel operator. The young woman wore overlarge glasses that made her eyes swim behind the thick lenses, more cute librarian than weird, goo-goo eyes. She wore her dark hair held back by a bright pink headband with a matching sweatshirt.

  Warden sported dark circles under her eyes and slumped shoulders. “Thank you for coming on such short notice. One of the Dallas surveillance devices spotted the activity, and we got eyes on the building. Your man is in there, but we don’t know what shape he’s in.”

  Dad reached out and shook Warden’s hand. “We appreciate your assistance. Do you know who is in the building?”

  She shook her head slowly. “Grim Reaper has been spotted. It worries me that after all this time, we saw him. It’s unlike him to be this careless.”

  “You expect a trap?” Dad asked though I’m sure he knew the answer.

  “I always expect a trap,” she said with a harsh laugh. “Yes, I think it’s a trap, but I’m not sure for whom.”

  “He’s looking for us. He’s got a score to settle with Abby and me. He took Mr. Waxenby to get even with us.”

  “Makes sense.” Warden signaled the woman, and she spoke into a microphone on the desk. Outside, the speaker transmitted her words, but I couldn’t make it out.

  Mom touched Dad’s arm. “Ranger, knowing it’s a trap, do you think it’s wise to step into it?” The concern in her voice was evident to me but only because I knew her so well.

  Warden answered for him. “If we don’t take this opportunity, we’ll never get another. Even if you decline, my people are going.”

  “We aren’t backing out.” Abby’s anger could have set concrete on fire from the heat contained in it. “I owe those bastards.” She’d grown since we’d been standing there. A fact Warden hadn’t missed.

  “Excellent. My team is on route. We have five going, plus your four will make nine.”

  A bright, happy voice came from behind us. “Make it ten.” Molecular Molly came bouncing into the vault. Warden immediately started rubbing her temples.

  “We’ve been over this; your talents aren’t useful in a combat situation.”

  “Bullshit, Mom. I can change into a mountain lion and kill faster than your storms can.”

  “Enough!” Warden’s face had turned fire engine red. “You aren’t going, period.”

  Molly folded her arms across her chest, defiant glare aimed at Warden. “You can’t stop—”

  I cleared my throat. “Warden, may I have a word?” All eyes swung toward me. “In private.”

  She checked for objections and seeing none, crossed to the far side of the transporter. “I don’t mean to intrude, but you know Molly will follow as soon as we leave. So instead, can you have her stay by our sniper? And if things get bad, both of them can get out of harm’s way.”

  Warden’s eyes narrowed. “Why? I saw Saturday Night Showdown, and I can guess who’s in the combat suit since the other young lady...” She stopped before saying it. It always came back to Wendi’s death.

  I sighed. “Yes, my mother is a great shot, but she’s not Gifted. If the fight gets bad, the two of them can get out of Dallas, at the least. Molly still gets to go, but she’ll be overlooking the fight and not in the middle of it.”

  She thought it over. “Can she really use the rifle she’s carrying?”

  I laughed. “She’s the best shot around. With two sets of eyes, we’ll be warned if anything goes wrong before it’s too late. It’s the best you’re going to get.”

  “You’re right.” She didn’t sound happy, but it would be far better than the alternative. Molly had been captured once already. No sense chancing a second time.

  “Thank you.” I felt relief flood through me at the thought of Mom having backup.

  Warden and I rejoined the others. “Molly, you can go under one condition.”

  “What condition?” Her eyes narrowed in the same way as her mother’s.

  “Your job is to go with...”

  “Snapshot.” I provided Mom’s alias, which probably earned me a glare, but she had her helmet on to conceal her identity.

  Warden nodded. “Snapshot. She’ll be covering the building, and we need your eyes to warn us if there’re any issues. If things so sideways, you two get to the Underground facilities. Agreed?”

  Molly started to protest, but Warden cut her off. “That, or I cage you while I’m gone. Your choice, peanut.”

  “Fine.” The smile ruined a perfectly good pouting tone.

  My comm-link chirped in my ear. “According to Blaze I need a spotter, so we’ll go with it.” I knew Mom wouldn’t b
e happy, but she’d not been in a real fight before. I’d live with the scolding if it kept her safe.

  The rest of the Underground team entered. Boulder and Salvo were joined by the woman from earlier, and an older lady who wouldn’t have looked out of place at a quilting bee. At least Jon and Turk weren’t there. “Um, I thought Jon and Turk would be going with us?”

  Warden’s jaw clenched, not a good sign in my experience. “Turk killed two of my people in an argument over a card game. I banished him, and Jon decided to join him.”

  Dad stiffened. “Don’t they know the layout of the Underground facilities here?”

  Warden’s thin lips creased in a bitter smile. “They did, but we have a young man who can eliminate memories. He wiped their brains of anything having to do with us.”

  “Isn’t that a bit excessive?” Abby said, almost snarling. While she was pissed at Jon for abandoning us, he was still family to her.

  “The other choice was death. They gladly accepted the wipe. We did ask if Jon would like his sister’s death removed or at least dimmed in his memory, but he declined. He is an angry young man.”

  Didn’t I know it all too well? I wish Jon had taken their offer to lessen his memories; maybe then he could forgive and return to where he belonged. I doubted it would ever happen. Who was I to tell him what to feel? But hanging out with Turk would only lead to more trouble.

  “I think we should get to Dallas, so we have time to scout the area and come up with a game plan,” Dad said evenly. Standing around wasn’t how you rescued people.

  Warden agreed. “Angela, prep the cyclontron for translocation.”

  Tammy gestured she’d heard and began whatever sequence she used to move people from one place to another. Warden walked on to the transport pad, followed by her team. Dad led us up next to them. “How long will this take?” Dad asked Warden.