Mind Waves

by Amanda Uhl

  The moaning continued. Geneva hummed softly, passing gentle hands over his forehead. Her ministrations offered some relief to the debilitating headache that had him in its grip. The headaches had started shortly after the failed mission. David quit the case, even though his attacker had remained unknown and on the loose. Someone else took on the lead role. He chose to remain in seclusion and keep a low profile. David was content with the isolation until today, when he learned his life, and possibly the lives of those he loved, was in danger. Now, the tables had taken a sudden turn.

  If Peter’s suspicions were correct, the stranger was tracking him—had found a trail leading directly into David’s brain. David had built an incredibly strong mind defense over the years, which was necessary in his line of work. But Peter feared David had left a small energy shard behind in Thung Yeh’s mind, which the stranger had found and was using against him. The shard was large enough to create a temporary portal, but whoever had entered was not strong enough to get past David’s natural defenses.

  He should have figured this out long ago. But he had been distracted by the woman on the beach. Which explained why the headaches had only grown worse and had not receded once he was away from the deadly energy waves. The stranger would not stop, which meant David would have to come out of seclusion to find, track, and erase his enemy before his enemy figured out how to penetrate his barriers and put an end to David’s existence and the rest of his team. He would not allow another member of his crew to be killed on his watch.

  “Hush, now.” Geneva continued to croon softly.

  David realized the moans issued from his own mouth. He struggled to stem the flow of anxious thoughts.

  Their expedition today had targeted Thung Yeh’s wife, Li Su Yeh, who was staying in Cleveland, while attending a scientific convention hosted by the local university. Her mind had contained knowledge of Thung Yeh’s plot to steal DuMar’s secrets. Thoughts that would have led straight to his enemy. Damn.

  The rogue hacker had beat them to it. He had strengthened Li Su’s mind and wiped it clean of the information David and his men were after and set a trap that triggered her mind to awaken prematurely. David was uncertain how useful the one shortened memory that remained would prove.

  He grimaced, imagining Kevin’s injuries, possibly fatal. They should have left at the first sign of disturbance. They were losing people quickly. Who would be next? The question hung in his mind, a cold reminder of his failure once again to protect those he loved.

  “David, don’t torment, yourself.” Geneva whispered above him. “Meg wouldn’t want that.”

  So she did know. He had feared as much. He fought carefully to contain his sudden emotion, which would only slow his recovery.

  Geneva passed her hands over his forehead, and a deep lethargy swamped his senses. Her job was to neutralize and calm his mind force while he was incapacitated. Left unattended, his energy waves would continue to destabilize, until eventually, he reached the point of a mental breakdown. David had witnessed a similar tragedy in a former colleague.

  Geneva continued to massage his temples, shaking off the discordant waves. To distract and calm his brain, David made a mental grab for a soothing image. Grace. What was it about her? When he had seen her talking to another man on the beach, for a moment he had been unable to control odd feelings of rage. Thankfully, he had been too far away to interfere or he might have broken a few government rules.

  Even after the stranger departed, and David had joined Grace on the beach, he struggled to suppress the confusing thrum of anger in his system. Was that why he had pushed her so hard? He had not meant to manipulate her. It had been instinctive, the slight mental push. His protective instincts taking over. Strange though. Grace had resisted the attempt. Or had he imagined that? But her nausea afterward could not be imagined.

  He yearned to see her again…to reassure himself she was safe, of course. But that would have to wait until he was well rested. While Geneva finished her ministrations, David finally drifted into a deep and healing sleep.

  Chapter Eight

  Mad Dreams

  David Jenkins was attracted to her. She couldn’t have mistaken the signs, could she? He had told her to call him if she needed anything. And he’d caressed her forehead like he couldn’t resist touching her.

  And then he disappeared with another woman.

  Grace’s skin itched…the heat. She swatted at a non-existent mosquito. Her instincts shouted at her. What was she missing? She could still feel the touch of his hand on her face. And those green eyes…

  And then there was Brains. Strong, confident and good-looking. The perfect romantic image of her inner fantasies brought to life. So why wasn’t she more excited about Brains?

  She dug for her cell phone, which was vibrating. She had silenced it earlier and stuffed it in her bag so as not to interrupt her meeting with David. Grace had seven new texts. She scrolled through them quickly. There was one from Brains, but most were from Claire.

  6:02 p.m. I’ve got news. Call me.

  6:03 p.m. Call me, okay? I need to talk to you.

  6:04 p.m. Why aren’t you texting back? It’s important.

  6:05 p.m. WHERE ARE YOU!!

  6:06 p.m. Ok. Now I am worried about you. I need to talk to you. I’m going crazy.

  6:07 p.m. You must not have your phone on. Call me…please.

  It was finally happening. Claire had cold feet and was calling off the wedding. Grace found her sister’s name in her favorites. While she waited for her to answer, she opened the final text from Brains. Grace had texted Brains on her way home to tell him she didn’t feel well and wasn’t going to make dinner. They would have to shoot for Saturday.

  6:34 p.m. So your new employer is working you that hard already? Unfortunately, I have a business event Saturday. Can we try for Sunday, noonish?

  “Grace! Where have you been?” Claire bypassed the usual greeting.

  Grace sat and flipped off her sandals. “What’s going on?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Stupid stuff. Tom doesn’t understand why our credit card bill was so high this month. He thinks I’m a big spender, and I need to learn how to economize. He doesn’t realize how much it costs to put on a wedding in San Francisco. I mean, Mom’s helping but there’re so many things weʼre paying for ourselves. He’s driving me crazy. I don’t need this nitpicking right now.”

  “Claire, it’s okay. Calm down. That’s normal stuff. It’s natural for Tom to be worried about money. He’s a successful stockbroker. He invests other people’s money. I think it would be surprising if he wasn’t looking at your expenses.” Grace was careful to keep her tone reasonable.

  “You don’t think he’s trying to control me? I mean, I don’t want to make the same mistake Mom did with Burt.”

  Control was a big issue for both Claire and Grace. Burt had been their stepdad for a short, but important, part of their childhood, when they lived in the small apartment in Parma. Their real dad had been hit by a drunk-driver when they were still toddlers. Burt had tried to be a good dad in his way. He would take them sled riding or to the movies. One time he built a circus for Grace with a real trapeze and monkeys with movable arms. She still had pieces of it somewhere. He was, however, extremely fastidious, always pushing the women in the family to keep a clean house. Since their mother would never win any awards for her housekeeping, Grace could recall many heated arguments ending with Burt leaving the house, slamming the door behind him. Usually he came back the next day, shamefaced and willing to try again. Until one day, he didn’t. When they finally saw him again, he was living in a rented apartment downtown.

  “I don’t think Tom is anything like Burt. Mom was as bad as Burt was, don’t you remember? Neither one was willing to compromise. That was part of their problem.”

  Claire took a deep breath. Before she could argue, Grace hurriedly tried a different tack. “Tom loves you. Didn’t you tell me he agreed to go to Greece because that’s a place you always wanted to
see, even though he had been there before? And didn’t he agree to a wedding on the beach even though he wanted an inside wedding?”

  “Yes.” Claire’s voice wobbled.

  “And remember that time you had way too much to drink and barfed all over his expensive car? You told me he never got upset at all with you.”

  “Yeah, I remember.” Claire’s voice had softened.

  “And how about that time he paid your rent when you were behind on your bills?”

  “That was Reed,” Claire said dryly.

  “Oh, well, the point is still the same. Tom wouldn’t do all those things for you unless he truly loved you. That’s what true love’s all about.”

  “I guess.” Claire sounded almost back to normal. Grace crossed her fingers. She checked her watch. Eight o’clock…five o’clock in San Francisco.

  “Tell you what. I think you should pour yourself a nice glass of wine, run yourself a hot bath, light some candles and chill. You and Tom are stressed because your wedding is around the corner. You need to spend some quality time together where you are not thinking wedding. I’m sure you’ll feel better tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. A bath sounds good right now.” There was a pause. “I need to ask you something and don’t be mad. But I wanna know. When you and Greg were getting married—did you have any doubts about him? I mean he was sleeping with another woman right under your nose. Didn’t you have any inkling?”

  Leave it to her sister to point out her failings. But did she? It was a question she often asked herself. Was she that blind? Or was Greg an incredible actor.

  The truth was she had believed Greg was who he had portrayed himself to be. Or maybe she couldn’t bring herself to believe anything different, even though Claire had warned her. Regardless, there was no one more surprised than Grace when she found out Greg was with another woman. But she couldn’t tell her sister or else Claire would never marry Tom. And Tom was a good guy, wasn’t he?

  “When its true love, there’s a special vibe.” The words came from some deep and wise part of herself, as she recalled the caress from David Jenkins. “I never felt that vibe with Greg. I should have known something was wrong.”

  “Really? Do you think Tom and I have that vibe?”

  Grace weighed Tom’s steady income with Claire’s flightiness. “Yes, I do.”

  “Yeah, I think so, too. Okay. Thanks sis. I feel better.”

  “Do me a favor. Call Tom and talk to him, okay? Kiss and make up. Tell him you love him.”

  “Okay. I will. Thanks for the pep talk. See you in a few weeks! Love you.”

  The shower…Yikes. This wedding was around the corner. She had to make sure Claire was at the altar. “I wouldn’t miss it. Love you too, Claire. Bye.”

  Grace ended the phone call and breathed a giant sigh of relief. Where had all the talk of vibes come from? She visualized herself on the beach with David Jenkins. She should be picturing Brains, but the image of David as she had last seen him haunted her. What was it about her new client? She and Greg had not kissed until their fifth date, and it hadn’t set off any fireworks. David Jenkins had simply caressed her cheek, and she shivered with excitement and anticipation. The mental image was only ruined by the girl he held hands with afterward. Grace winced. The vibes she felt were all on her side.

  Thinking about David made her remember the design proposal due Friday. She needed to get busy if she were to have something to discuss with his sister. She put on her coziest pajamas, made herself a cup of coffee with plenty of cream and sugar and started her laptop. She grabbed her phone to reply to Brains.

  8:23 p.m. Sunday works. C U then☺

  Grace hit send on her message with a firm finger and then sat at her kitchen table, spreading out her notes and sketchpad. Three hours later, she stretched tiredly and decided it was time for bed. She had drafted a basic design. She would rest her brain tonight and finesse the design tomorrow.

  Within minutes of her head hitting the pillow, Grace was dreaming. She knew she was dreaming, but it was so real. She was back on the beach looking for glass. She had spied a speck of color and was reaching to grab it when someone else was there before her. There was a flash of white skin and she gazed into a pair of penetrating blue eyes. The stranger stared at her intently, willing her to look him in the eyes. The man before her had long black hair and a sinister beauty. But within seconds, fear pulsed through her body. The man was controlling her, generating a powerful pull. Grace resisted.

  Her heart beat hard in her chest as she recognized the danger. Instinctively, she made the sign of the cross, praying frantically. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”

  The stranger continued to stare at her closely, pulling her in slowly with his eyes, taking her over. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

  Although he did not touch her in the nightmare, invisible arms held her still, while he penetrated her mind. He would not yield. She continued to make the sign of the cross, waging an intense mental battle as they stared one another down. Grace would not give in without a fight.

  “Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses. As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”

  Suddenly, the stranger broke eye contact, and Grace awoke gasping for air and breathing rapidly. She was in her bedroom. It was still dark. She checked the clock…4:00 a.m. Grace reached over and turned on the light. She peered around the room, searching each corner thoroughly for an intruder. When she was sure no one was there, she rose and made her way to the bathroom. She gazed at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her eyes looked lost and dark, the skin around them swollen and puffy. Her head hurt.

  Feeling threatened, Grace imagined someone was in the room with her. She kept checking over her shoulder to be certain. Was an invisible spirit trying to possess her? She would not be going back to sleep any time soon. Grace doubted she would ever be able to sleep again. If she did, whatever it was would try again, and this time, maybe it would succeed.

  And she would never wake up.

  Chapter Nine

  The Key

  For an untapped talent, Grace Woznisky’s mind had been stronger than he anticipated. So strong in fact, she had nearly ejected him. Excitement coursed through his body, giving him an erection. He would claim her for his own. The only thing standing in his way was Jenkins.

  He gritted his teeth. Jenkins was a dead man. He almost had the key now. It was nearly in his grasp. A few more twists and turns and he would be in, he was sure. Once Jenkins was out of the picture, there would be nothing to stop him from having Grace Woznisky—or anyone else he wanted for that matter. As far as he knew, he was the most powerful mind hacker alive outside of Jenkins. And the beautiful part was the government was completely unaware of him. He was outside their catalog so to speak—a branch of the genetic tree they did not know existed.

  He tossed a hand through his thick, blond hair. Grace hadn’t been able to keep him out—few people could—but she did fight him, which had caught him off-guard, yet was strangely exciting. He had not been able to stay under for long from this distance. Only long enough for him to satisfy his curiosity and assess the situation. David Jenkins had not established a link. Grace Woznisky was up for grabs. All he had to do was win her trust. And eliminate the competition.

  He sat up suddenly, brushing Kaitlyn away. What he needed was the key—one small bit of new information that would help him break down the final barrier in Jenkin’s mind. He should have found it by now.

  “What did you find?” As twins, they shared a special mental bond.

  “He hasn’t linked with her,” he said, his tone short. She knew well not to disturb him while he was thinking. He got up, walked to the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. Damn. Every mind had a way in—some sacred memory that it guarded. Even a mind as strong as Jenkins’ mind had a weakness. He gritted his teeth. It could no
t elude him forever. He would find it.

  He poured himself a ginger ale, walked back to the couch and sat, stretching out his long legs on the nearby coffee table and neatly missing his cell phone. He yawned and stretched. It was not easy working during the day and flying across the country to track his targets. No one must suspect him, which meant that except for his sister, Kaitlyn, he worked alone and usually at night. The energy waves in a sleeping mind were slower and shorter, making them easier to manipulate.

  He and Kaitlyn had been working this way for as long as he could remember. They knew exactly how to share energy. That’s what made them such a brilliant team.

  No one had ever understood this—especially his mother. It was this ability that had kept them from eviction time and again from the slum house where they had lived the first eight years of his life. The landlord would show up, eviction papers in hand, and feel compelled to give them more time, scratching his head all the while.

  He was only sorry he did not understand more before the accident. He could have done so much more for her if he had. He had not meant to harm his mother that fateful day. If he had realized how powerful they were at such a young age, he would never have pushed her. Instead, he would have protected her. A familiar anguish and rage took root, like a dead tree, inside him. He blamed them all. His father for leaving them alone without knowledge of their abilities. The social worker who supervised their case for placing them with Mr. Whitley. And his poor, innocent mother for being too ignorant to understand.

  Kaitlyn had taken the worst of it from the dirty, old man. He had been far too busy trying to fit in with the kids in school to take note of her silence. He supposed he had wanted to be like them—had wanted them to like him. That excuse seemed paltry now, but he was honest in admitting the truth—at least in the dark recesses of his mind in which no one but Kaitlyn traversed. He knew now that he could never be one of them. He no longer cared to try. He was far too powerful. He had spent a lifetime showing the world how powerful he was, and he’d be damned if he would let one lone hacker, no matter how resistant, stand in his way.