by Rob Horner
“And if I don’t?”
“Sherry, please. Do I really need to spell everything out for you?”
“I…I need to talk to—”
“Yes, go and talk to your boyfriend. But you’d better call me back. I’ll give you until noon tomorrow, Sherry. If I don’t at least hear from you by then, I might get very upset. And there’s no telling what might happen to your dear mother if I get upset. Do we understand each other?”
“I…yes…we do.”
“Good. Until tomorrow then. Pleasant dreams.”
Then came nothing but the steady hum of an open line.
6
Sherry somehow managed to keep her face straight as she hung up the phone. She also managed to walk steadily back through the hotel lobby, ignoring the concerned and curious expressions she received from those who’d heard some of her louder exclamations. In a sad statement of the times, no one stopped to ask if she was all right.
But once she was back behind the wheel of the Ford Focus, her emotions took control, rocketing through her with the speed of a Japanese Bullet Train and with all the subtlety of a bulldozer. Uttering a wail of pure anguish, Sherry lowered her head onto the steering wheel, her slight frame shaking with her breaking fear and sorrow.
They weren’t going to let her get away, and she was surprised to realize part of her had hoped for just that. This time they’d brought her mother into the mess, and so soon after the woman learned her youngest daughter still lived.
The impossibility of the situation was enough to make Sherry doubt everything she’d ever believed about her government. They wanted nothing more or less than to have her and Travis back in their laboratory, going so far as to hold an innocent woman hostage to get what they wanted.
What was it that made them so special? Was it something they’d done? Something that had been done to them?
Sherry didn’t have the information to answer those questions by herself. She didn’t know if Travis would be able to answer them either, but she knew she needed his support. The presence of the man at her mother’s house was proof they were still being tracked. The phone call had undoubtedly been traced, and every moment that Sherry spent sitting in this parking lot gave them that much more time to reach her.
With shaking hands, Sherry started the Focus’ engine. Barely avoiding a car pulling into the parking lot, she got control of herself enough to keep her emotions from hindering her driving. Turning back onto Shore Drive, she headed in the direction of the waterfront, back to the Highcastle and Travis’s waiting arms.
As she drove, she forced herself not to reach out to him mentally. She needed to concentrate on her driving, and any contact with him would have her reduced to tears as she related her every fear and doubt to him. No, that would have to wait until she was safely back in the hotel. And that would only be a matter of minutes.
Despite the tumultuous fears racing through her, Sherry managed a small smile when her eyes happened on the box of prophylactics sitting in the passenger seat. Such high hopes she’d had only fifteen minutes before.
Now she wondered if those things would even be used.
Chapter 16
Travis
1
Travis made a conscious effort not to follow Sherry with his mind as she left the room. The sound of the door closing behind her caused a momentary panic.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to analyze his feelings, and their source.
There was no denying she was an attractive woman. But he’d been around attractive women before, and yes, had even dated some of them. None of them came close to affecting him the way Sherry did.
Was he turning to her on the rebound from Angela?
Travis shuddered at the idea, because it meant his emotions couldn’t be trusted. He didn’t think that was the case here. He hadn’t loved Angela, though he might have, if she’d been open and honest from the start.
Some instinct prevented him from getting too close, shielding his heart, and it turned out those instincts were correct.
No, Sherry deserved the attention he was willing to give her, just because of who she was.
Also, there was the not inconsiderable attraction of their shared mystery.
How many other men found women with whom their every thought could be shared?
It hurt, but he was glad things turned out the way they had with Angela. How would he have reconciled his growing feelings for Sherry while still seeing the petite blond? Now, such a confrontation would never happen. For better or worse, he’d thrown his lot in with hers, and they’d survive together depending upon the choices they made.
Which only served to remind Travis that he had some very important issues to work out if he hoped to have a suitable explanation for Sherry when she returned.
Ever since meeting her at her mother’s house, he’d alluded to a possible solution to their problems, without being able to explain it. The fact of the matter was he wasn’t sure he understood the explanation. At least, not until several other things happened.
When Sherry figured out the meaning of the green waves in the air, he got the first taste of a concrete idea. The rest had come in bits and pieces, some of them intuitive, the rest from memory.
The technology these people were using could be turned against them, if they could figure out how to do it.
Shaking his head, forcing himself to think step by step, like troubleshooting a bad circuit, Travis paced the length of the spacious hotel room.
He needed to think in sequence, which meant finding a definite beginning.
The first question that popped into his head related to their safety. Were they safe from their pursuers?
He felt reasonably secure in the precautions they’d taken. Considering how much time and energy had been expended on their behalf, it wasn’t much of a stretch for their pursuers to use his car’s make and license number as a way to find them. He had an idea how to take care of that, and he already had the tools available. Once the area quieted for the evening, he would see about making his car as anonymous as possible.
The next thing they had to do was figure out who was after them. They both believed it was the government, logical considering they were both Navy sailors. But which branch of government? Was it just the military? Was it the Navy, or another service? And if so, why?
There were other questions, of course, such as what had been done to them.
Was there a way to free themselves from pursuit permanently?
They didn’t have the funds to stay on the run forever.
Thirty thousand dollars might seem like a lot of money, but it wouldn’t last them more than a year, and that was assuming they could find a cheap apartment to rent. Could they even be safe staying in one place? Could they seek other forms of employment to buffer their funds? It would be very difficult, since their social security numbers were tied to both their military IDs and their driver’s licenses and were undoubtedly being monitored as well.
His mind flashed over the possibility of acquiring false identification, then hesitated. Papers good enough to allow them to seek employment probably required more money than they had access to, but it was an idea. It might only be a temporary reprieve, but it was something worth looking into. It would mean a lifetime of being on the run, constantly looking over their shoulders.
That was, of course, if Sherry even wanted to spend a lifetime with him.
No, they needed to find a way to determine who was after them and why, then clear themselves or permanently throw off pursuit, if they were ever to have a chance of living freely.
That was what Travis needed to figure out.
The first stage of a plan formed in the Travis’s mind. He remembered the video camera inside his barracks room. That camera would be sending an image to a computer. Logic, right?
That computer had a monitor watched by someone, and that someone had to be part of the group tracking them.
Well, what if he and Sherry could trace the radio sig
nal from its origin to its termination? What if, upon finding the people watching them, they were able to wrest the information they needed from them?
Travis smiled grimly, for a moment indulging in a fantasy where he used his martial arts experience to beat up everyone who dared threaten either Sherry or himself. Then he sighed, abandoning the fantasy.
It should be possible to determine who was watching them by following that course of action. But then what? They certainly couldn’t go barging into a group of their adversaries without a weapon more potent than his fists.
Sighing again, heavily, Travis concluded he simply didn’t have enough information with which to form a conclusive plan of action. He’d have to wait to see what Sherry thought of his idea for finding out where the camera sent its signal, and then work from there.
More than likely, their best options would include relying upon spontaneity and unpredictability. Anything they could do that was unexpected gave them an edge. The first time they showed up where they were supposed to be would be the only mistake they needed to make.
Holding his head in his hands, Travis felt as though he was walking along the top of a slippery slope; one false step and he’d slide into despair. He hated to think the deck was so stacked against them they were doomed to failure from the start. How could two ordinary people fight off an unknown group with such high-tech backing?
It wasn’t possible.
What about their powers?
Was it possible everything they were experiencing was completely unexpected?
Was it possible the people following them had no idea what they could do?
Travis had to hope it was, but he couldn’t count on it. For all he knew, everything happening between them had been planned.
Except the attraction, he corrected himself. He’d already argued away the possibility that Sherry and he had been meant to fall in love, and he wasn’t about to rescind that belief.
Do I really mean that? he wondered, startled at the thoughts slipping through his mind.
Was he really falling in love with this woman after such a short time?
Was that even possible?
She embodied everything he believed in, which made her a far better choice as a lover and partner than anyone else he’d met. But was he ready to admit to feelings that strong?
Searching through his heart, Travis felt the rush of pure pleasure her presence brought him. He felt the acute ache of being separated from her, even though he knew the reasons. And he felt the tingling anticipation within his bones as he awaited her return. If that wasn’t love, or at least its beginnings, then he didn’t know what other word could describe it.
So, by definition and elimination, he was falling in love with her.
Falling back onto the soft bed, Travis tasted that thought, that he was falling in love with Sherry. Instead of frightening him, as perhaps it should, it brought a sense of comfort. Lounging on the plush mattress, he let his mind turn to pleasant visions of the night to come.
2
Travis jerked awake as a demanding knock struck the door, surprised that he’d dozed for a few minutes.
Sherry’s back, he realized, rushing to open the door.
“Oh, God, Travis!” she sobbed, bursting in as soon as he turned the knob. “They’ve got her!” She collapsed into his arms, her frame shaking uncontrollably.
Without willing it, images came to Travis’s mind. While Sherry murmured incoherently against his chest, while lines of power coursed through the walls and air, Travis saw the telephone Sherry used. He heard the words as they’d been spoken to her, and what she’d said in return, reliving her entire conversation with the nameless, faceless owner of the deep voice.
“Oh God,” he whispered, gathering the crying woman even closer to his chest. Using his right foot, Travis kicked the door closed. He started walking backward, willing her to follow him, until the backs of his legs bumped up against the large bed. Sitting on the soft comforter, he pulled her up onto the bed with him.
Sherry offered no resistance, instead gratefully accepting the excuse to collapse even more, forcing Travis to support her full weight. He didn’t mind; if anything, he relished this new closeness, whispering soft, comforting words into her hair.
“I didn’t” Sherry started to say, before her words were choked off by a hitching sob.
“Shhh, take it easy,” Travis soothed, “we’ll save her.”
“I…I didn’t even get the chance to get to know her again,” Sherry wailed, not listening to Travis’s words.
“You will,” Travis assured her.
“They’ve got her, and they’re…they’re gonna kill her. I know they will.”
“No, they won’t,” Travis said. “They need her to get to us.”
“They will!” Sherry sobbed. “Unless we turn ourselves in. And that’ll mean—”
“It won’t mean anything,” Travis said, all too easily catching the images and emotions Sherry couldn’t help projecting. “They won’t capture us,” he said instead. “And they won’t hurt your mother. We’ll stop them.”
“How?”
“We’ll find a way.”
“But there isn’t anything we can do!”
“Yes, there is, Sherry. You’ll see.” Gently, Travis unwrapped his right hand, letting his left maintain his hold. With his right index finger, he lifted Sherry’s head so that he could look into her eyes. At first, she resisted, squeezing her eyes shut. “Nothing can stop us,” he said, and the quiet assurance in his voice forced her to open her eyes, meeting his gaze.
Though she was still upset, Travis could sense the faith she placed in his words. He cherished her belief in him, but it scared him immensely. What if he was wrong?
Pushing those thoughts away, Travis told himself they had to succeed. Nothing could be allowed to stop them.
“Do you mean it?” Sherry asked softly.
Leaning closer to her, Travis placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Of course, I do. We’ll beat them because it’s what we need to do. We’ll beat them so they can’t hurt anyone else, and so we can be together.”
“I…you want that, too?”
“More than anything, Sherry. More than anything.”
“Oh—” She leaned her head back against Travis’s chest. “I’m so glad you feel that way, too.”
Travis rocked her gently for the next few minutes, feeling her sobs subsiding, her breathing beginning to come more smoothly. When next she raised her head, forcing Travis to look down at her, it was to press her lips against his, sending that sweet fire coursing through his body again.
3
“That went well, didn’t it?” Agent Travers asked of no one in particular, setting the phone receiver back in its cradle.
As soon as the phone began ringing, he’d turned to the computer monitor brought in by the technician. The phone number was the first piece of information to pop up, followed immediately by the name of the organization to which the number was registered. The Holiday Inn on Shore Drive.
“Chick’s Beach,” Lieutenant Barnes whispered, even as Agent Kirkson handed the phone to Sherry’s mother.
Travers could barely restrain a chuckle at the charade that followed, the old woman trying to warn her daughter not to come after her. As if every word of their conversation wasn’t being recorded and played aloud through the small set of speakers attached to the computer.
Buck Travers originally had no intention of giving Sherry any time to think over his proposition. He’d been ready to demand her immediate cooperation. Sometimes, he reflected ruefully, it was better to play nice.
Not often, but sometimes.
They had a location now, and even if the little bitch had been smart enough to call from a different hotel, it wouldn’t be too hard to check every parking lot in the ten block radius of Chick’s Beach for a blue Ford Focus RS with license plates matching Travis’s. No, far better to let Sherry and her man think they were safe until tomorrow, then capture them in their
sleep.
“We’re ready to move,” Agent Black said a moment later, indicating the packed equipment, already on its way out to the waiting car.
“Good,” Travers said, waving the lieutenant over to him. Waiting until Black had carried the last of the computer monitoring equipment out the front door, he said, “Have a team ready to meet us in front of the Security Building.”
“Team?” the lieutenant asked. “We don’t have a team. Just a couple of chiefs and me relaying information up the chain. I don’t even have the power to order the base MPs to do anything. Do you want me to involve the local authorities?”
Buck resisted an impulse to strike the lieutenant. He settled for barking a scathing “Don’t be stupid. We could probably drum up enough bullshit to get a warrant for their arrest by tomorrow, but we’d have no authority to commandeer local police tonight.”
Barnes recoiled like his pansy ass had never been spoken to that way before. Travers made a shooing motion, and the lieutenant withdrew, leaving the agent to work through this problem. He had a lead, and a good one, but it would take hours for his team of three, four if you counted the lieutenant, to check all the hotels in Chick’s Beach. It would be impossible if the subjects were staying somewhere with more lodgings, like the oceanfront, and only drove to Chick’s Beach to make the phone call.
He could request—and probably receive—additional agents, but that kind of thing would bring extra attention to his supposedly covert operation.
Where did that leave him? He didn’t have the manpower for a concerted search, but he did have access to a high-tech surveillance system on base. He didn’t have the subjects he needed, but he had the girl’s mother. He wouldn’t be able to directly monitor the mother’s phone, but he could have the number forwarded to anywhere.
And he had his trump card.
The lieutenant had been morose since visiting Agent Bassett’s house. He appeared to have more sympathy for the subjects, and the mother, than he did dedication to the operation. Of course, he also didn’t know what Agent Travers did. He had no operational knowledge of Project Heritage and couldn’t fathom the potential danger these two subjects posed.