Death Prophets (Strange Gravities Book 3)

by Steve Armstrong

  “Matt!” John found his service weapon and fired toward Williams. But he had no angle and Williams slipped away, out of John’s line of sight. Two more gunshots reverberated from the other side of the parking lot. Franklin, still lying on the ground, had managed to fire back. But the car that was closest to him toppled over onto the detective’s legs, causing him to scream in agony. John pulled himself up and ran out into the parking lot. Williams and the man in the red hoodie had jumped into a vehicle parked next to the motel room and were backing out. John fired a few more shots but missed the tires. In another second, they were gone.

  52

  Julia Driscoll, now between appointments, huddled outside her office building in the spot where people usually took their smoke breaks. Though Julia had never smoked in her life, she preferred being outside, even without her jacket on. According to John’s text, John and Matt were preparing to square off against Josh Williams. She had made John promise that if such an event was ever to take place that he let her know. But now Julia wondered if ignorance wouldn’t have been better.

  She rubbed her arms, shrouded in a thin sweater, against the thirty-degree temps that had taken hold during the recent cold snap. Still, being outside felt better than passing time in her office, though she didn’t know why. Grace Murphy was scheduled to arrive any minute and Julia could easily see her new patient enter the parking lot from her vantage point. Julia tried to stave off her worries by focusing on the details of Grace’s case. Unfortunately, that just created a negative feedback loop as the young woman’s dreams of death led back to Josh Williams.

  Though Julia had never encountered Williams, his seemingly boundless powers gave him the aura of invincibility. Under normal circumstances, she would have sympathized with the young man’s seemingly doomed quest for a normal life. But Williams stood between Julia and her happily ever after. Really, she just wished Williams would move far away, where he was no threat to Woodside and John had no choice but to release him to the wilds.

  As Julia focused her mental energy on outcomes she couldn’t control, a red Ford Focus entered the lot, about a hundred feet away from Julia. Close behind was a black Chevy Impala, which followed the Focus to a spate of open spaces in the northwest corner of the lot. One of these had to be Grace. The Focus pulled into a spot and came to a stop; the Impala stopped directly behind it. The driver of the Focus now departed the vehicle, allowing Julia to see the familiar shape of her red-haired patient. As Grace began her approach toward the medical building, two men dressed in suits got out of the Impala. Julia squinted at the scene. Something about it felt off.

  One of the men started talking to Grace. Whatever he was saying, she didn’t seem offended or alarmed. Grace said something back, but her posture seemed normal—not relaxed but not standoffish, either. Julia tensed up and stepped off the sidewalk into the fire lane in front of the building. The man in the suit doing the talking—a man who looked older than John but still in his prime—had moved closer to Grace. She hadn’t done anything to move away. But could she have escaped from them even if she wanted? The other man—a bit younger than the one doing the talking—now stood behind Grace.

  Julia couldn’t stand the scene any longer. For all the work she had done on seminars and materials about what to do when people witnessed a domestic crime or sexual assault, she struggled to know what to do next at this particular moment.

  “Grace!” she called, though her voice felt weak and failed to disrupt the scene unfolding before her. She began walking toward Grace. The man doing the talking opened the rear driver side door. Julia called louder, “Grace!”

  This time, both men turned their heads in Julia’s direction, as did Grace. Now closer, Julia saw her patient’s apprehensive expression. But she couldn’t tell the source of Grace’s apprehension—was it the men or was it Julia? The man doing the talking motioned to the back seat. Grace looked once more at Julia, then got into the car. Moving quickly, probably to avoid a confrontation with Julia, the men boarded the still running car and drove off.

  Julia only had a few seconds to make her next decision. Yes, Grace had seemingly accompanied the men willingly. But Julia was still unnerved by what she had witnessed. She ran to her car. Fortunately, she had her keys and cell phone in her pants pocket. She started her car and moved to follow. If Julia waited to pursue, Grace would be gone and who knew if she’d ever be found again.

  As Julia sped down the street leading away from her office, she dialed John’s number. She didn’t want to. Maybe she feared disturbing him when he was in the middle of such a dangerous situation or feared he was lying somewhere, incapacitated or worse. But John needed to know what had happened to Grace. Her call went straight to voicemail.

  “Hi, John. I hope you’re okay.” She stumbled over those words before regaining her composure. “Something happened here. Grace Murphy got into a black Chevy Impala with two guys in suits. They didn’t take her by force. It almost seemed like she was willing to go with them. But I didn’t like it, so I’m following them in my car. I’ll try to give you updates when I can. Please be okay. Bye.”

  Julia ended the call and wiped away the tears beginning to form in her own eyes. She suspected Grace needed her now, so Julia pushed aside her own fears and pressed on.

  53

  After the dust settled from Josh Williams’ and his unknown friend’s escape, John was torn about who he should help first. Detective Franklin’s situation—a car sitting on his legs—though lamentable, was nothing John could change. So he ran across the motel parking lot to his brother’s last known location, calling 911 as he ran.

  “Matt!” he yelled after giving a 911 operator a basic rundown of what happened as well as their current location. John rounded the corner and found Matt’s car, tipped upside down on the sidewalk. The detective got down on his hands and knees and peered into the car. Matt wasn’t inside or underneath. He stood up and called Matt’s name again.

  Beyond the car and the sidewalk, a rustling sound from a row of hedges that lined the street caught his attention. Matt’s head popped up from behind the thick bushes, groaning as he stood. Matt must’ve dove over the hedge when the unknown assailant arrived on the scene; his brother always did have fast reflexes.

  “Are you okay?” John asked.

  “Yeah, I think so. Just some bumps and bruises.” Matt cracked his neck. He did have a few scrapes and cuts on his face; the rest of Matt’s body was concealed by his long-sleeved attire, masking any other potential injuries. “What about you?” Matt asked.

  “I’m fine. Just took a bit of a nasty fall when that guy threw me.”

  Matt shook his head. “Sorry I missed the shot.”

  “Don’t worry about it; that was a tough shot to make. Anyway, I think you at least distracted him enough that I could’ve gotten him if the other guy hadn’t shown up.”

  “Yeah, just what we needed. Another telekinetic. How many others of them are there out there?”

  “Don’t know. I didn’t even know about this one. Maybe he’s the one they were tracking in India.”

  John headed back to Franklin, still lying beneath a flipped over sedan. “We got help coming,” John assured him.

  Franklin, as expected, was in extreme agony. Yet the detective fought through grunts of pain to ask, “What happened here? How did those guys do what they did?”

  “I don’t know,” John said, bending over the broken man.

  “You knew what they were capable of, didn’t you?” Franklin asked.

  John nodded. “Yeah. At least, I knew about one of them.”

  “You should’ve warned me.”

  John swallowed hard. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you would’ve believed me.”

  Matt, standing behind John, interrupted the detectives’ exchange. “Any idea where they’re headed?”

  “Someone kidnapped that girl he saved from the abusive boyfriend. Williams thinks Stevenson Industries did it,” John said.

  “So he’s on his way
there now?” Matt asked.

  “I would say so.”

  “You gotta go stop him,” Franklin said, each word a struggle.

  “I don’t want to leave you,” John said.

  “What are you going to do for me? You said help is coming. Now, go, those guys will tear up that place.”

  John stood. He felt he should say something more to Franklin, but everything seemed superfluous and useless. So he turned and walked toward his car.

  “I guess we’ll be taking your car,” Matt said, casting a glance at his poor, toppled over Elantra.

  John pulled out his cell phone so he could let Julia know he had escaped his first encounter with Williams. He had the phone on silent mode, so only now realized that she had called him, probably during his altercation with Williams. There were also a bunch of calls from the chief. But John ignored those for the time being. He listened to Julia’s voicemail as he settled into the driver’s seat of his Dodge. As Julia finished the message, he exhaled.

  “What?” Matt asked, frowning at his brother’s obvious concern.

  “Julia called. She saw two guys in suits take Grace away in a car. Julia’s following them.”

  Matt gripped the door handle. “Two guys from where? Do you think they’re from Stevenson Industries?” Even as Matt asked the question, John feared he knew the answer.

  “I don’t know. I’m calling Julia now.” John waited while Julia’s phone rang.

  “John, are you okay?” she asked as soon as she picked up.

  “Yeah. We didn’t catch him, got tossed around a bit, but I’m fine. I got your message, where are you?”

  “Outside Stevenson Industries. That’s where the two guys who took Grace went.”

  “Okay. Please listen to me, Julia. It’s not safe to be there right now. Josh Williams and some other telekinetic are on their way there because Williams believes that Stevenson Industries took Jessie.”

  “Wait, what?” Julia asked.

  John repeated his previous statement, more slowly this time.

  “But what about Grace?” Julia asked. “This means that she’s in danger, too.”

  “I know, but you can’t change that. Matt and I are on our way. It’s about to get really complicated there and I want you out of there,” he said firmly.

  “Okay, John.” She didn’t sound happy.

  “I’m on my way. Just go home and wait, and I’ll call you when this is over.”

  Julia hesitated before answering, perhaps struggling with the idea of what condition John would be in when the coming storm had passed. “Okay. But please be careful John.”

  “I love you,” John said. Though sometimes he made these declarations out of habit, there was nothing perfunctory about it this time.

  “Love you, too.” Julia reciprocated his level of emotion.

  John ended the call. He turned toward Matt. “Stevenson Industries does have Grace.”

  Matt slammed his hand against the window. He covered his face and let out a sigh. “That’s a really big problem,” Matt said after composing himself. “Grace had another dream today. This time, besides Walton, she saw a bunch of other people. And she saw herself, too. So whatever she’s been dreaming about for the last week, I think it’s about to go down now and that she’s part of it.”

  John revved up the car. “We better call in reinforcements. I’ll call the chief, let him know what’s going on. You should call Felicia, see if she can contact her uncle. At the very least, Stevenson Industries will know what’s coming.” John didn’t trust the agenda of Stevenson Industries—at least not the people in Research Division B—but they had to know the incredible danger approaching.

  Matt ran his hand over his forehead and through his hair. “See, the thing about Grace is, she might want to die. When she realized she was in the dream, too, she didn’t even blink. So if something happens, she might not even try to save herself.”

  “Well, we better get to her first,” John said as he turned on his siren and peeled out into traffic.

  Matt eyed his brother. “I know you don’t want to do it this way, but I think we might need to shoot to kill Williams and his friend. They’re always armed and dangerous. And if they’re running loose in Stevenson Industries, that might be the only way to stop them.”

  John nodded. He suspected his brother was right, even if he didn’t like the plan. And given the extent of Williams’ powers, a simple shot to the kneecaps wouldn’t be enough. He’d have to aim for center mass.

  54

  “Thanks for bailing me out,” Josh said to Parker as the two sped off in the direction of Stevenson Industries.

  Parker smirked. “No problem. This is why it’s better for people like us to stick together. We’re the only ones we can count on to have our backs.”

  “They have Jessie,” Josh said. Nothing else mattered to him at the moment. He didn’t even care about how Parker knew to intervene when he did.

  Parker stared at him. “Stevenson Industries?”

  “Yeah. They sent me a text telling me I’d know where to find her.”

  Parker pulled back his hoodie and shook his head. “I’m sorry, man. But I told you they wouldn’t stop unless we finished this.”

  “We have to get her back,” Josh said, his face steeled over.

  “Now? I don’t think this is a good time, man. Those guys that we beat up back there were cops. They’ll be after us. It might be better for us to lie low for awhile.”

  “No. I don’t want Jessie to stay there another minute.” She’d already spent a year living in fear and bondage to her abomination of an ex-boyfriend.

  “Did you tell the cops about her?” Parker asked.

  “Yes, I did-”

  “They’re going to be swarming that place. I knew we should have finished them at the motel. This is what happens when you let these people live,” Parker said.

  “If you don’t want to go, I’ll go without you. This is my fight.”

  “No. I’ll go, too. But we need to stop off at my place. I have some provisions.” Josh looked warily at him. “Don’t worry, it’s on the way,” Parker assured him.

  Parker directed Josh to a street just off the major thoroughfare that led to Stevenson Industries. They pulled onto another quiet street and into the driveway of an unassuming raised ranch house. In the distance, Josh could see the lights of Stevenson Industries as he got out of the car.

  “You live this close to them?” Josh asked.

  Parker smiled. “Sometimes the best place to hide is right in plain sight.”

  “So what, you rented this place?”

  “I own it. Bought it a long time, ago. Thought it might come in handy one day. And now it has.”

  Parker moved at a determined pace to the end of the driveway. He rounded the corner of his house, glancing back at Josh as he did so. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Josh followed Parker to the backside of the house; a medium sized box truck painted blue with the name “Pierson’s” in simple, white lettering was tucked behind the house.

  “What’s this for?” Josh asked.

  Parker banged his hand against the hood of the truck. “This is how we’re going to get inside Stevenson Industries.”

  He jumped onto the sidestep and boarded the truck. Josh dashed around to the side and took his place in the passenger seat. “Did you buy this too?” he asked.

  “No. Borrowed. It’s surprisingly easy to drive one of these off.” Parker reached to the side of the seat and produced a solid blue jacket with a matching pair of pants and hat. “Put these on. For tonight, we’re delivery men.”

  Josh inspected the clothes. The jacket bore a logo that read “Pierson’s”, just like on the truck.

  “Pierson’s is a chemical supply company that makes regular deliveries at Stevenson Industries,” Parker explained.

  Josh took off his own jacket and replaced it with the one Parker had given him. “So you’ve just had this stuff sitting around in case you decide to raid Stevenson
Industries?” Josh asked while taking off his shoes and pants so he could put on the matching uniform bottoms Parker had supplied.

  “You never know when the right moment will come, and I wanted to be prepared. This cover will allow us to move through the building before they’re aware of what we’re doing.” Parker pulled a ‘Pierson’s’ hat over his eyes. “Do you remember anything about Stevenson Industries from your little visit there?”

  Josh shook his head. “Not much. I was unconscious on the way in and had other things on my mind on the way out.” He buttoned the pants, completing his outfit change.

  “Well, there are some security guards, but I’m not too worried about them. They’re glorified rental cops, though they do have guns. Who I am worried about are their asset recovery and extraction team, who you had the good fortune of meeting a little while ago. From what I’ve seen, they’ve recruited more people. That’s why I needed someone else for this little errand. So here’s how it’s going to go down: once we make it past delivery, we’re going to move to the basement. That’s where the people in Research Division B are. We’re going to take out that entire floor. Then, we’re going to find Robert Stevenson.”

  “After we find Jessie, right?” Josh asked, battling his mind’s growing anxiety.

  “Yeah, right. She’ll probably be in the basement—that’s where they do most of their alternative research.” Parker’s expression became severe. “Josh, when I say that we’re going to finish them, I’m not talking in euphemisms. I intend to kill everyone who’s been after us; just like you killed Mike Sullivan and his brother. Are you ready for that?”

  Josh nodded, but his gesture must have been unconvincing to Parker.

  “They’re evil people. We’re just lab rats to them. They want to figure out and harness our power. And they’ll stop at nothing to accomplish that—even hurting innocent people, like Jessie.”