Silver and Gold (Red and Black Book 3)

by Nancy O'Toole Meservier

  “Of course it’s Alan,” Connor replied.

  “What? How do you—”

  “Man, I travel with a psychic and was sent here by a man who can see the future. I’d be disappointed in myself if I didn’t know the guy was empowered.”

  He let the arrow fly, the beacon of light exploding against the floor a few inches away from Gardiner and the shadowy mass. The dark cloud immediately darted back and reformed into Alan, now leaning against the wall, his hands raised to shield his eyes.

  “Much better,” Connor said, then let another arrow fly toward Gardiner’s head. The man fell unconscious immediately.

  The big archer looked at Alan and sighed. “And here I was gonna keep your secret.”

  “You could have blinded me.” Alan’s voice was sharp. He lowered his hands and blinked several times. His pupils had been shrunk to tiny pricks of black.

  “Better blind than a killer, I figured.”

  “I was knocking him out!”

  “Something I can do a lot cleaner.”

  “So much concern for the man that held my sister captive for months.” Alan’s voice was ice.

  “Hey! Hey!” I raised both hands. “Either way the guy’s out, okay?”

  I looked back and forth between the two guys, at the tension in Connor’s jaw and the frost in Alan’s gaze. Neither responded.

  With a sigh, I took a step forward, offering Dawn’s brother a hand. He ignored it, pushing himself to his feet and exiting the room without another word.

  “Huh,” Connor said, “that could have gone better.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, turning toward him.

  “When you’re in my business, you learn to respect people’s secrets,” he replied. “Lilah wasn’t exactly in agreement, but I convinced her that it would be better if we let Alan spill the beans himself.”

  “Why does it not surprise me that you were the one so big on keeping secrets.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You haven’t exactly been honest yourself.”

  With that, I pointed a finger directly toward the center of his chest. Connor blinked in surprise.

  “How did you find out?” he asked slowly.

  “And you’re the one giving me shit for not paying attention to powersets. Dude, my entire thing is seeing weak points.”

  “Yeah, but I thought it was like…structural weaknesses. Man, I didn’t think you could see problems in people.”

  “It hasn’t always been this way,” I replied, shaking my head. “Popped up when my mom was dying of cancer. Things may have turned out differently had those abilities kicked in a little sooner.” I scowled. “Or not. I don’t have the education to understand what it means, beyond a general ‘something’s wrong,’ but I do know enough to get that anything wrong with someone’s heart is a big deal. Do I need to worry about you keeling over anytime soon?”

  “With luck, no.”

  “With luck? What the hell are you doing out in the field?”

  “Well, this was supposed to be my last mission.” He sighed. “You know how powers work, right? It all comes down to lineage. And for my family, using our powers just isn’t good for our bodies—our hearts, specifically. Given that this normally doesn’t kick in till late middle age, I didn’t really worry about it. Of course, I used my abilities a helluva lot more often than the rest of my family. So, the side effects have kicked in about twenty-five years too soon.”

  “Shit,” I said.

  “Yeah, it was a bit of a shock. When I began to pick up on this a year ago…”

  “Wait, this has been going on for a year, and you’re only thinking about stopping now?”

  “What can I say,” Connor replied with a crooked smile. “I’ve always been a seize-the-day type of guy, and there’s something appealing about going out in a blaze of glory, you know?”

  “I’m gonna guess there’s nothing glorious about dying from a heart attack.”

  “You’re not the first one to say that to me,” Connor replied, playing with his wedding ring. “And that’s what changed my mind.”

  “Your wife?” I said, nodding at his ring.

  “And Lilah, and my family.” He let out a crooked smile. “But it’s more than just that. Somewhere along the way I got pretty attached to the idea of living. Which is why this is supposed to be the last one.” He paused. “To be honest, I had pictured going off on a secret mission from a man that can see the future would involve a little more than running around in a hole in the ground, but I’ll take it.”

  “And then what? Will Lilah find another partner? Fight on her own?”

  “That’s something you’re gonna have to ask her. But I have to say, saving the day? It’s something that wears on you after a while.”

  I winced, wondering how Dawn would feel about the thought of her favorite heroes retiring.

  “Speaking of my wayward partner, I’m gonna give her a call and see if she’s up for trying one more time.” Connor grimaced. “Although I should probably wait a minute. She was right—being knocked out of a psychic projection like that tends to leave behind a bit of a mental hangover.”

  “Well, while you work on that, I’ll see if I can find Alan.”

  “Yeah. You’re probably more of a calming force than I am right now,” Connor replied.

  Now, wasn’t that ironic?

  17

  Dawn

  There was no denying that my first week at Project Regen had been crazy-stressful. I had been abducted, injected with a mysterious substance, dumped by my boyfriend, and come face to face with the reality that I would likely never escape to see my loved ones or watch a Marvel movie ever again. But I wasn’t empowered. My time here was all about eating gross food and playing cards with my podmates. The Black Hats might be intimidating, but they wouldn’t bring me in for testing.

  And then I had displayed powers. Powers that were big, flashy, and impossible for anyone to miss.

  Including Bixby.

  The day after I had woken up, Diego and Karen were teaching me how to play poker in the guys’ room, while Gerry was writing in that tiny notebook of his. Things were, well… as peaceful as they could be in a prison-like setting when at any moment baddies in black hats could snatch you away and torture you for hours on end, when someone knocked on our door. And given that our doorways lacked any real doors, it didn’t take much effort to see who it was.

  The second Karen’s eyes met Bixby’s, I swear I felt the temperature decrease by at least five degrees.

  “What are you doing here, Caroline?” Karen asked, her gaze dropping down to her cards.

  Bixby cringed at what I’m sure was her first name, but, to my surprise, did not rise to the bait.

  “I’m here to talk to Dawn,” she said.

  “She’s right here.” Karen refused to look up from her hand. “Not like we’re hiding her or anything.”

  “I need to speak to Dawn alone.”

  Diego and Karen’s eyes met over the cards for just a second and then, as if having exchanged a psychic message, Diego placed his cards on the floor and moved to his feet.

  “Um, okay,” I said, beginning to stand.

  “What’s the big secret?” Karen asked.

  Diego crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow, face nonplussed.

  Bixby frowned. “I didn’t say there was a secret—”

  “Could have something to do with a certain display a couple of days ago?” Karen said.

  “I just want to talk to Dawn. Is that so much to ask?”

  The annoyance was clear in Bixby’s voice. And given what I had discovered about her temperament, the fact that she hadn’t already left in a huff said a lot about how much she really wanted to talk to me.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Are you sure, Dawn?” Gerry looked up at me over his glasses from his spot on his bed.

  “I’m fine,” I repeated. “I mean…what’s she g
onna do, kidnap me? Already there!”

  I let out a laugh that sounded plenty forced, but it was enough to crack a smile on Diego’s face.

  “You’re just ducking out because you’re losing so badly,” he said.

  “Hey!” I replied, “I’m still learning.”

  “So much for beginner’s luck.”

  Bixby led me outside of Pod Four to where I saw Justin leaning against the wall. The moment he saw me, he began to follow us.

  “Hey,” he said with a shy smile. “Glad you agreed to talk to us.”

  Seconds later, we stepped inside of the first bedroom for Pod Three. It was completely empty.

  “Um…where is everyone?” I asked.

  I caught pain in Bixby’s eyes before she dropped her gaze.

  “Sam cleared people out,” she said. “Is that going to be a problem for you?”

  “Oh no! It’s just…I figured at least Khuong would be here.”

  “Dawn,” Justin said, pausing to lick his lips. “Khuong…he didn’t come out of testing.”

  I blinked. That was right. Khuong had been at testing the day of the cave-in. My gaze darted to Bixby. This meant that she had lost two companions in one day.

  “Oh! Um…I’m so sorry,” I said. “I mean…I’m sorry for your loss.”

  Oof. Could I have sounded any more awkward? To my surprise, Bixby let out a chuckle.

  “Christ, it’s not an act, is it?” she said. “The shy, bumbling schoolgirl thing?”

  “Er…what?”

  “You were anything but shy after the ceiling came down. Barking out orders to Karen, not taking no for an answer. For a second, I thought you had been faking it all along, that we were finally seeing the real you. But it’s not an act.”

  “No?” I said with a frown. “Why would it be?”

  “Let’s just say I’ve learned to expect a lot of bullshit living here.” Bixby’s voice was…less than gentle. She paused, swallowing. When she spoke next, it was more controlled. “But that’s not why I wanted to talk to you. First off, I wanted to thank you for what you did.”

  I found myself unable to meet her gaze. “I’m sorry about what happened with Casey.”

  “He was one of the good ones,” Bixby replied. “And a true friend. But when I needed help, you were there, willing to risk life and limb. That’s not something I can just forget.”

  “Um…you’re welcome?”

  “But that’s not the only reason I’ve asked you here. As Karen surmised. I’m here because I want to talk about those amazing abilities of yours.”

  “They’re not—”

  “Don’t belittle yourself,” she said. “You picked up huge boulders like they were baskets of dirty laundry. You had half a mountain fall on you and came out without a scratch. Those are some big powers. Powers that we can use.”

  I blinked. “You’re…talking about another escape attempt. But Karen said that last time—”

  “They gassed the place.” She raised a hand to her chest. “Trust me, this body remembers how that feels. But that’s because Karen just wanted to walk out the front door. If we’d have gone through the labs, they couldn’t have done that. They don’t have those same registers out there. Which makes sense. They’re not going to gas themselves,after all.”

  “But Karen said we might get lost.”

  “Not if we use my plan.” Bixby took a step forward. “Not now that we have Luiz.”

  “Luiz?”

  “The guy’s English is…well, it’s kinda shit. But he was able to tell me enough. The man can sense electricity, even manipulate it a bit when he’s worked up enough. Which got me thinking, the last time I was brought in for testing, I heard one of the Black Hats mention that the generators were located off the garage. That must be the same garage they brought us through initially. If I can get Luiz to locate that—”

  “That’s why he’s always sitting with his head pressed against the walls! He’s trying to figure out a path.”

  “Which would be a helluva lot easier if he were an electrician. But once he’s figured that out, if we time things right, we can rush the Black Hats the next time the doors open. And that’s where people like you, Diego, and myself come in. We can fend off the guards. Even Justin can work in a support role, creating flashes of light. Hell, Alma in Pod One can make people puke their guts out. Unfortunately, she has a habit of sympathy vomiting, so that’s not ideal.”

  I shook my head, my mind swimming with a million different questions.

  “Ah…you mentioned yourself. What are your powers again?”

  Bixby placed her hands on her hips. “I can freeze people in time.” She paused. “At least, until someone comes by and breathes on them too hard. So, what do you say?”

  “Listen.” I pressed my hands together, ducking my head. “I don’t know. Your plan…it sounds like a good one, but the Black Hats…they have guns. People could die.”

  “People will die. Either by trying to make a break for it, during ‘testing,’ or when another one of us snaps and tries to bring the place down. Hell, all the radon that’s building up with all this fucking granite probably isn’t good for us either. You don’t see yourself living a long, happy life down here, do you?”

  As she spoke, Bixby moved toward me until she was inches away from my face.

  “I’ll give you some time to think about it,” she said. “But regardless of what your answer is, we’re getting out of here. And our chances of living are much higher if we can get you and Diego on board. So if you’re worried about people dying, maybe keep that one in mind.”

  So, I did.

  It was one of the things that kept me up at night, staring at the low-ceilinged bunk bed. Was I wrong to turn Bixby down? Were we all going to die, so it was best to at least try?

  The other thing that kept me up was the threat of testing. Karen was right, I had put my powers on full display in front of everyone, and I was going to pay for it. Each time those glass doors opened, I felt myself tense up in anticipation. But every time, the Black Hats walked right past me, turning to Diego, Mark, then a woman from Pod One that never returned. But even if he was right, even if I had been given a reprieve, that didn’t change that fact that they were coming for me, and soon.

  On the seventh morning after the cave-in, I made my way to the breakfast table with the rest of Pod Four. We took our normal seats, just in time for the giant pots of oatmeal to emerge.

  “Oh boy.” Karen rolled her eyes. “It’s my favorite. I’ll be right back with yours, Dawn.”

  She pushed her chair back and headed to the oatmeal. Gerry moved to do the same but stopped when Diego rested a hand on his shoulder.

  “I’ve got you today,” he said.

  “Hey, what about me?” Mark asked with a frown.

  “Well, I like Gerry. You, on the other hand…”

  Mark rolled his eyes before following Karen and Diego to the line for food.

  “Why does she always do that?” I asked. “Karen, I mean. The way she—”

  “Insists on getting your breakfast every morning?” Gerry finished. “Could be a part of her protective instincts. In the six months I’ve known her, she hasn’t talked about her past much, but she mentioned that she is the oldest in a large family. That, and her lingering OCD.”

  “Are you, um…a therapist?”

  “I teach high school biology.”

  “That explains why you’re such a good note-taker.”

  “Ah.” His face fell. “That’s…actually new.”

  “Oh?”

  He glanced to the side, running his fingers over the edge of his notebook. “Remember how I said that the injections have been known to change people in other ways?”

  “Like Mark?” I paused to swallow the unexpected lump in my throat.

  “Not quite. It’s less of a change in my personality than one to my mental state. Although, for someone who’s always been known for having a good memory, the two can feel the same.”

  “Wa
it…You’re losing your memory?”

  Gerry nodded. “At first I assumed that it was due to other factors. Like stress, lack of sleep, or age—I’m certainly not as sharp as I was in my twenties, after all—but then the decline became…more apparent.”

  “How apparent?”

  He met my gaze. “Half the time when I look at you, I can’t remember your name.”

  Before I could respond, Diego stepped in, plopping a plate of oatmeal in front of him.

  “Bon appétit,” Karen said, doing the same to me.

  “Thank you,” Gerry said, nodding at Diego.

  “Oh, you shouldn’t be thanking me. This shit is vile. They would do better just to ask me to take care of it.”

  “Fancy yourself a cook?” Karen asked, digging into her portion with a plastic spoon.

  “The best in my family. Although Teresa makes…” He paused. “Made the perfect sous chef.”

  His mouth twisted into a frown, and the table fell into silence.

  And then the glass doors opened again, and three Black Hats came out.

  Why was it always three? I stared down at my bowl, my body tensing in anticipation as they made their way toward the table. I had nothing to worry about, right? They were still working their way through the people who had displayed powers on the first night. They were…

  Standing right behind me.

  “Dawn Takahashi,” I heard one of the guard’s booming voices say. “You’re needed for testing.”

  For a second, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t swallow. Couldn’t even breathe.

  But Karen could. I heard the scratch of her chair as she leapt to her feet.

  “It’s not necessary,” she said. “Dawn hasn’t displayed any abilities in a week. You know that. We’ve seen you watching us.” She nodded to the upper floors where White Masks were currently gathered. “So, she doesn’t need—”

  “I think you, more than anyone else, would know your place by now, Karen D’Entremont,” the lead guard, an older man with a mustache snapped. “Sit down.”

  Karen hesitated a moment, then complied, her body stiff with anger. Diego met her gaze, the same expression on his face that I had seen when Bixby had come to talk to me. Questioning, waiting for the excuse.