Shadows to Light (Shadows of Justice 5)

by Black, Regan

  * * *

  Micky gave Trina's hand a kiss, then knocked on the door to the guest suite Callahan had requested and let himself in. Thanks to Micky's head of security, he was braced for the crowd, but the six people waiting in the room marked the largest gathering outside his professional family who knew the location, and most of the capabilities, of his warehouse. This past spring, when he'd called Jaden for help protecting his girls from a madman, he'd been forced to owe her a favor and it had opened him up to her connections. In recent months, through various off-the-record events, they'd proven themselves trustworthy when they needed the shelter or resources only he could provide. But it was still enough to make a smuggler uncomfortable.

  He introduced Trina, love of his life, to Jaden and Brian Thomas, Petra and Gideon Callahan, and Cali and Nathan Burkhardt. For a moment, the three couples simply stared at her. Micky braced himself to kick them out and close their accesses. Despite the past cooperation, he wouldn't let anyone make Trina feel less than welcome. He didn't like burning bridges, but he knew how to do it efficiently.

  "Welcome to the party," Jaden said, waving them both forward. "We've got coffee."

  Something he'd learned Jaden did not go without.

  "And tea," Petra, added in her quiet, but no less friendly manner. She was rubbing a hand over her round belly.

  "I'll join the outcast," Trina said with a smile as she moved to sit near Petra.

  He relaxed as they accepted her on equal footing. "You guys assembled fast," Micky observed while Brian filled a mug with coffee. He took a moment, recognized the aroma of his best blend, and smiled.

  "Gideon put everyone on alert a few weeks ago," Nathan said. "How's Jameson doing?"

  "He is 'too loyal for his own good' according to the head of my medical team," Micky replied. "Physically she says he's just fine."

  Gideon agreed. "He's worried as hell. I wish I knew exactly what she means to him. But he'll hold up."

  Nathan's wife, Cali, nodded as if she expected as much. "He probably won't ever get sick again."

  Micky wasn't sure he wanted to know the details. In fact, he'd done his best to ignore the coming and going of Jaden and her crew. She always paid him for food and whatever materials or services used and he considered it safer for his long term interests to leave it at that.

  "I don't know much about her or her order," Cali said, "but no matter how hard I train, no matter how many blows I take, the leg she healed never so much as bruises." She nodded at the formal military picture Gideon had put up on the room's large screen monitor. "She was in the infirmary during Nathan's prison break."

  Gideon groaned. "That's when it happened. Jameson was added to the guard detail to keep an eye on Nathan. Neither of them would tell me where they'd met." He tapped a button and another Soldier's face lined up next to Mira's.

  "Oh, yeah," Cali said. "I like him." She winked at Nathan. "He talked his superior out of killing me, honey."

  "Call me a fan," Nathan deadpanned.

  Gideon pulled up the raw footage of the explosion. "So you're telling me because he was near Mira when this happened –" he froze the footage at the point where Mira flared blue "–he's been vaccinated against all ailments forever?"

  "Well, I can't guarantee it," Cali admitted. "Tell me, did he come out of the fire with any injuries?"

  Gideon shook his head. "He looked fine. He was tired and his clothes were toasted, but he was in great shape physically."

  "She's a powerful healer," Trina said softly, rubbing her chest.

  Micky nearly choked on his coffee. "She healed you?"

  "I took Trina to her. After the, ah, thing," Gideon said, rubbing at his forehead. "Jesus, where hasn't that girl been?"

  "So why was she on trial?"

  Everything stopped and Micky felt the weight of everyone's eyes on him. "Her mom mentioned it."

  They all started pelting questions at him. Jaden blew a sharp whistle, restoring order. "That's what the extraction was about?"

  Micky nodded. "Her mom called me, saying she was sure of a guilty verdict and Mira needed to get away. I arranged things from there."

  Gideon snorted.

  "Huh." Jaden shrugged. "I assumed it was just another cult thing."

  "Mira doesn't know it was her mom who bartered with me."

  "Is her mom safe?"

  Micky turned to answer Petra. "Seems to be. I sent extra security with the latest delivery and he's keeping me informed." When they stared at him, he only shrugged. "So she'll owe me one."

  "Maybe you owe her," Trina offered.

  "Whoever owes whatever, her Dad's in a helluva fix here," Gideon said.

  Trina cleared her throat. "You're referring to Dr. Luther?"

  "Yeah."

  "Military research phenom, right?" Gideon nodded. "I just got a double rate offer for him."

  Gideon scowled. "Thought you were retired."

  "I am." she smiled so sweetly Micky thought Gideon would have a new cavity. "You never said anything about retiring my alter ego."

  Gideon rolled to his feet. "This whole mission's been a cluster –"

  "Don't you say it," Petra scolded. "The baby can already hear you."

  "Oh, I'm not doing the, ah, mechanics anymore," Trina assured Petra. "But I keep up with news."

  Petra smiled serenely, as if nothing in the world mattered but her husband's foul language. "Can't I talk to her?"

  "Not a bad idea," Cali said.

  "No," Gideon snapped.

  Micky was grateful when his cell chirped an incoming message. "No need," he said. "She's awake."

  He answered the questions and gave reassurances as his nurse fed him details one stingy line of text at a time.

  "Right on time," Cali murmured, completely absorbed in her comparison of the screen in her hand with the still image of the weird light around Mira. "Can she come to us?"

  Micky sent the request and got an overprotective reply. He shook his head. Trina set her tea aside. "I'll see what I can find out."

  "Thanks," Micky watched her go until Jaden shoved his shoulder.

  "Pay attention."

  Cali was back in briefing mode. "I've been searching all the old texts since Gideon told me Dr. Luther was working with Montalbano."

  Micky clenched his teeth at the mention of Montalbano's name. It sure would've been nice if the psych ward had seen fit to lock the bastard up for life. Or at least through Christmas.

  "Working 'with' is a stretch," Gideon clarified. "He's applied leverage, but no matter how deep the team digs. I can't find it."

  "Technically, by nature of the healing gift, Dr. Luther shouldn't be able to create things that destroy life. Maybe this is something that will prove to be helpful."

  "Montalbano isn't big on creating things that help our side," Gideon said. "I sent Mira into the lab to find out what exactly he was working on."

  Micky understood the burden of giving orders that didn't always end well. "Jameson was her backup?"

  "To a degree," Gideon muttered. "Why kidnap Dr. Luther if the guy can't make anything destructive?"

  Micky snorted. "You really think Montalbano read up on Luther before he dumped him in that lab? The man's not a complete imbecile, but he's no Rhodes scholar either. You said yourself Montalbano was getting impatient with his lack of progress. Does the military even know their top researcher is a supernatural healer?"

  Jaden muttered, "Don't ask, don't tell" and Brian chuckled even as he hushed her.

  Gideon's hard frown proved he hadn't considered that angle. "They'd hush it up, but they wouldn't end the program. He's too good. He's only developed things that help us in the field."

  "Point for me," Cali said. "Now watch." Her fingers raced over the touch screen in her hands and the images on the wall monitor changed. Maps, a family tree, and a text written in a language Micky didn't recognize.

  "I went through the library. The healer orders splintered centuries ago, partly due to regional issues, but leadership and
intentions were big factors. Some wanted to live with us, the 'normal' people."

  Micky didn't think there was a normal person in the room, but he kept the opinion to himself. Being in love with a woman who could make people hallucinate had broadened his definition of normal anyway.

  "Others wanted to stay apart and study and heal only those who came to them. Think of them as the purists, desperate to preserve their secrets, skills, and mysteries."

  "Dr. Luther was all about helping anyone he could find."

  "Yeah." Cali nodded, agreeing with Gideon. "I'm just guessing, but I think he came from this line." A branch of the genealogy lit up. "It would explain why he doesn't spend much time with his community. In fact I bumped into a shunning order they issued once. He was officially exiled over twenty years ago.

  "Now, based on Mira's blue bubble moment, here's where it gets interesting." Cali enlarged the foreign text. "There are only a few references to healer phenomena similar to Mira's. In the most widely known account it was thought the healer died and was resurrected."

  "Does any of this tell you what would've happened to her if Jameson hadn't gotten her out of the lab?"

  Cali turned to Gideon, and stuttered over her answer. Micky couldn't blame her. The fierce expression on Gideon's face promised nothing short of swift and lethal vengeance for whoever tried to level his team.

  "I-I believe she would have survived it."

  "Shit. Sorry," Gideon automatically apologized to his wife. "But we're in it up to our ears."

  "Come here." Petra patted the seat beside her, but Gideon shook his head. "It wasn't a request, Callahan." When he slumped into the seat, she smiled. "Tell us and let us help you work it out. That's why you called us together."

  He looked back to Cali. "You're implying they wanted Mira all along?"

  "It looks that way to me."

  "Yeah." He scrubbed at his face again. "I've been tossing around the same idea."

  "Also possible that someone wanted to induce this kind of change," Cali added. "How did you get involved?"

  Gideon sighed. "When they had a lead on Dr. Luther I was tasked to observe and assess. There was no immediate plan for extraction until we had confirmation Montalbano was involved or using him.

  "Then Mira showed up near the lab with a key to an old office, the contacts I'd given you," he shot Micky an irritated look, "and a bunch of enforcers on her tail."

  "Enforcers?" Petra asked.

  "Her word. They're a pretty heavy handed private security team."

  "More than that," Cali interrupted. "They're like the healers own black ops team. Trained to maim and kill." She waved off a flurry of questions about healers not being able to do harm. "Call it a loophole. Yin and Yang. Technically their actions protect the order. It's in the records, but you have to know where to look."

  Micky's instincts were prickling and he couldn't quiet the warning bells going off in his head. Had helping Mira put his entire operation in jeopardy? He swore, mentally moving product and people, calculating the financial hit. "How were these enforcers tailing her? Exactly."

  "How the hell do I know, exactly? Her entire order is made up of medical superfreaks," Gideon began, but Petra cut him off with a pointed look at the door.

  Trina was a pace ahead of Mira and Jameson, but they'd both obviously heard Gideon.

  "Jaden sedated me, remember," Mira said, breaking the awkward silence. "The device they implanted didn't transmit while I was unconscious."

  "I can confirm that." They all turned to see Cleveland closing the door behind him. "You need a conference room, man."

  "I've got one, actually," Micky replied. "How do you know she wasn't followed when you brought her here?"

  "We doped her, scanned her, found a tracking chip in the shirt, cut it away. Nothing else registered." He shrugged one shoulder. "Besides, I was testing out a sweet little signal jammer my boy designed. You're safe as ever."

  Micky sent a text to his head of security anyway.

  "Mira," Cali said striding forward. "You look great." She pulled the healer into a hug, then released her to make short work of the lengthy introductions. "How do you feel?"

  Micky didn't listen to the exchange, he was too busy noting the similarities between the women. Dark hair, olive skin, and though the eye color was different, the shape was the same. Anyone would assume they were sisters. He glanced at Trina and knew she was thinking the same thing. No, no one in this room was normal.

  He caught Jameson's eye and signaled him over as Cali led Mira toward the wall mounted monitor. "Coffee?" The Soldier nodded and joined them.

  "How are you doing?" Micky whispered. "That was one nasty fireball."

  "You said it." Jameson studied one of his hands. "Thanks to her, I'm no worse for it."

  The guy didn't sound like he'd been anywhere near smoke or flames, much less the very center of an explosion like the one at the lab. If Micky hadn't seen the footage with his own eyes, he'd have thought they were all making it up.

  "What is all this?"

  Trina leaned across Micky. "They're trying to figure out how best to help Mira."

  "With what?"

  Chapter 8

  Mira stared at the screen, trying to make sense of the whole picture as Cali, the Guardian she'd healed during her short time at the prison, highlighted specific details. Focusing on the screen made it easier to ignore everyone else in the room. Whether it was her natural gift or all the warnings from her order, she'd never been comfortable in crowds bigger than a patient and one or two family members.

  On waking earlier, she'd immediately recognized Slick Micky's hospital ward, but this time Jameson had been at her side, holding her hand. The sense of comfort and connection she'd felt humming between them lingered still and she was grateful for it. She hadn't done more than twitch before Jameson and the nurse were all over her with questions and diagnostic apparatus respectively.

  When she passed that barrage to their mutual satisfaction, they let her ask a few questions of her own.

  The fire had been three days ago. She hadn't sustained any injuries. Jameson's injuries were minor and had already healed. No word on her father, though Callahan had assembled a team to track him down.

  Apparently, this was that team.

  "We are a bit overwhelming." Cali rubbed Mira's shoulder. "You'll get used to us."

  Mira pointed to the screen. "How did you get all this? I didn't see half of this even in school."

  When Cali stuttered, clearly searching for an acceptable answer, Mira shook her head. The Guardians were clans tasked with protecting secrets most people thought were mere legends. "Nevermind. It's good to know it exists somewhere."

  Cali grinned. "And it all goes back to the vault when we're done."

  "Done with what?"

  Gideon stepped up to her other side. "Done with saving you apparently. Has she seen the footage? Cue it up," he instructed when Cali shook her head.

  If his words landed like an icy ball of dread in her stomach, the recording of the fire threatened to overwhelm her entirely. "Oh. That's Luke Conrad."

  "You know him?" Jameson was on his feet.

  "He's one of the enforcers who brought me in after..." Her eyes darted around the room. She didn't know how to finish the sentence, not without making Jameson feel bad. She nodded to Trina. "He caught up with me shortly after, um, you were released."

  "When I intercepted him and his team, he was all about finding you," Jameson said to Mira. "And when he took out Montalbano's guard in the tunnel, he used a couple moves I'd like to learn."

  Mira caught the look between Jameson and Callahan and worried for Luke. Just a little.

  "What happened to the others?" Jameson stared at her blankly. "You said you intercepted a team," she clarified.

  "Yeah." He folded his arms and rocked back on his heels. "The same pair we fought off the other night. I tried to interrogate them, but they didn't give me anything before they died."

  She stepped back, aw
ay from Jameson and everything he wasn't saying, but she bumped into Cali. The room felt too small, the events too big. She wanted to run away, but there was no escape. They surrounded her, strangers all of them. Though she'd healed a few of them she didn't know them. She tried to resist when she felt herself retreating inward, seeking that safe, quiet place as she'd done in the lab, but it was too tempting.

  "Oh, no, you don't." Petra was suddenly beside her, snapping orders. Bits and pieces reached Mira. "Give her some air. Water. Just a minute. Stop hovering."

  Mira figured that was for Callahan specifically and it made her smile. They were good together, the empath and the battle-tested warrior.

  "Ah, there you are." Petra smiled at her.

  "Sorry."

  "No apology necessary. Have some water. You'll get used to it soon enough."

  "The wimping out?"

  "No." Petra laughed softly. "You'll get used to the new, improved you. No one thinks you're a wimp." She leaned closer so only Mira could hear. "You've changed, for the better, I think. You'll agree with me in time." Leaning back, she addressed the rest of the room. "Throwing all this at her isn't helping. Let's just let Cali do the talking for a bit."

  Cali cleared her throat. "Well, as I was saying before you arrived..." She swiped her thumb across a remote and pictures moved around the large screen. "The enforcers are a breed apart." She glanced at Mira for confirmation. "But so are you. Definitely now, but I'd bet even before the explosion and subsequent blue bubble thing."

  "Yes." Mira didn't want to volunteer more information. She sensed the nerves and questions in the speculative stares, realized they weren't sure they could trust her. Why give them more reasons?

  "We're all grateful, you know," Petra said, squeezing her hand, dispelling her gloomy thoughts.

  Mira glanced down, finding it odd that she didn't precisely feel Petra's hand. There was warmth, and comfort on an emotional level, but she wasn't picking up on skin and body temperature.

  "Did you and your mother have trouble when your dad was shunned?"

  Mira was more than a little embarrassed to admit she didn't know anything about an official shunning. "I don't recall any problems." Not until the final years of her training when her instructors gave her grief about her liberal opinions regarding health care and the healer's role in society.