Path of Justice (Cadicle #6): An Epic Space Opera Series

by Amy DuBoff

  Saera scowled. “We really don’t have a lot of options unless we want to continue privately funding the TSS. The renovations are way over budget, based on the last report I saw from Michael. I know we’ll get a revenue stream going once everything is in place, but we’re still at least two years out from positive cash flow.”

  “If not more.”

  She nodded. “While money isn’t exactly an issue for you right now, we need to make sure we have adequate funds in place for our other plans.”

  “I know…” Cris sighed. “Under any other circumstances, I wouldn’t have blinked at a two billion credit outlay. But, there are too many unknowns to just write off that much without some serious consideration.”

  “What do we do, then?”

  “I guess a father-son heart-to-heart is in order.”

  “They do support our goals, at least unofficially,” Saera said. “Maybe if you put it in those terms they’ll understand.”

  “Not without them getting what they’ve been asking for over the past sixteen years.”

  “Bringing the twins into the Taran fold.”

  Cris nodded. “Are you still targeting next year to bring them into the TSS?”

  “Yes. We want them to be able to complete high school with their friends. Since their abilities haven’t emerged yet, there’s no rush.”

  “I’m actually shocked they haven’t expressed any ability yet. Wil was only eleven.”

  “True,” Saera replied, “but he also grew up in Headquarters constantly surrounded by Agents, whereas we limit our use of abilities around the twins. Besides, I was around their age before any of mine showed.”

  “I guess we should be thankful for that. Still, I hate knowing that they’re so close and yet not being able to have much of a relationship with them.”

  Saera looked down. “Sometimes I wonder if we made the right choice.”

  “They got the kind of childhood that none of us did but always wished we could have, so there’s that.”

  “Yes, true.”

  Before he could continue, Cris’ handheld buzzed in his pocket. He pulled out the device and a message illuminated in white text on the matte black surface. It was from Kate: “How did it go?”

  Cris slid open the handheld and texted back a response: “They’re trying to bankrupt us.”

  “Wonderful,” Kate replied.

  He slipped the handheld back in his pocket. “Don’t worry, Saera, we’ll figure something out. For now, let’s just focus on making Headquarters the kind of place you’ll want to bring the twins when they’re ready.”

  She smiled faintly. “Hey, we have our whole family there. What else do we really need?”

  CHAPTER 6

  Raena breezed through the multiple choice questions on her chemistry test. Though she had always been partial to physics, she appreciated how chemistry dealt with a tangible, physical reality that could be readily measured. And, getting to play with fire was always fun.

  The written part of the exam was six questions that most of the class would undoubtedly find challenging, but it only took Raena a matter of seconds to settle on her answer for each. She’d learned early on in school that it was better to work slowly, however, and not always be the first person to finish. She and Jason knew that things came to them easier than most, and it was only around each other that they really pushed themselves.

  Glancing over her right shoulder, Raena saw that Jason, seated in the row behind her one aisle over, had also moved on to the written portion of the test. In front of her, Shelby Tomlin was furiously scrawling the answer to the first narrative question. Shelby had taken it upon herself to be Raena’s academic rival, always trying to beat Raena’s presentation scores and test percentages. Raena found the entire thing ridiculous, but by intentionally missing the occasional question, she was able to let Shelby take some of the attention from her in the interest of maintaining some normalcy in her friendships.

  With Shelby forging ahead at a brisk pace, Raena resumed her work with the intention of completing the test second. Raena read over the first question again and started to write, but a dull ache unexpectedly formed in her temples. Great time for a headache.

  She tried to ignore the discomfort and focus on completing the question. By the time she started composing her response to the second question, however, the initial dull ache had intensified into a throbbing behind her eyes. She paused her writing to massage her brow. Normally that kind of headache wouldn’t come on unless she’d been reading small print for too long.

  “I’ll beat her,” Shelby said suddenly. “Almost there.”

  Raena stared at the back of Shelby’s curly red-haired head in front of her, taken aback that she’d speak out in the middle of the test. “Shh!”

  Shelby turned around and glared at Raena. “Shh, yourself.” She resumed working. “Always trying to be such a show-off.”

  “Am not!” Raena hissed back.

  “Raena, is there a problem?” Mr. Dougherty asked from the front of the room behind his desk.

  “Shelby’s taunting me,” Raena stated, only realizing how petty the phrasing sounded after she’d already spoken.

  “I didn’t say anything!” Shelby protested. “She started it.”

  “You both know better, ladies,” said Mr. Dougherty. “Please let the class finish the exam.”

  “Sorry,” muttered Raena.

  “God, she can be such a prissy bitch sometimes,” Shelby said in front of her.

  “You’re seriously going to let her talk like that?” Raena exclaimed.

  “Shelby didn’t say anything,” Nick said from next to Shelby.

  Raena stared at him with confusion, the pulsing behind her eyes creating dark spots in her vision. “She just called me a—”

  “Raena, are you okay?” Jason asked from behind.

  “I’m—” A burning spike bored in behind Raena’s eyes. She gripped her temples in an attempt to relieve the excruciating pressure.

  Whispers swirled in her mind as all attention turned to her. “What’s wrong with her?” “Did she finally lose it?” “Maybe we’ll get to retake the test…”

  “Stop it, please!” Raena pleaded as a cacophony of voices overtook her. Dozens then hundreds of voices all speaking at once, each carrying with it an emotional echo of the speaker’s experience. It all blurred together, too much for her to take in.

  She placed her hands over her ears in a futile attempt to silence the voices. “Stop!” She collapsed to the cool tile floor, wishing she could burrow underground and escape the deafening roar.

  Darkness closed in around her.

  * * *

  “Do you have any more anticipated cost overages?” Wil asked Michael, doing his best to hold in his frustration about the entire budget situation.

  “The market is extremely volatile right now. None of these expenses were anticipated, so…” his friend trailed off.

  Taran society had to choose this moment to start falling apart, Wil bemoaned with an inner sigh. The renovations and reinvention of the TSS was supposed to be an exciting occasion for people like himself with abilities, but instead it was turning into an endless string of headaches. “All right, just keep me updated. I’ll let you know when I hear back from my contacts on Tararia.”

  “Then there’s just the final order of business,” Curtis began.

  Wil’s handheld vibrated on the tabletop. The screen illuminated with a picture of his son and the text “Jason (Cell)”.

  “Sorry, I have to take this,” Wil said, holding up his finger for Curtis to hold his thought. He answered the phone in English as he rose from the table, “Hi, Jason. What’s up?”

  “Raena’s sick,” his son responded, a quaver in his voice. “She passed out in class.”

  Wil froze. “What happened?”

  “I don’t know. She started fighting with Shelby about talking during the test, and then she started screaming and passed out.”

  Why did this have to happen whil
e Saera’s gone? Wil ran toward the door and gestured for Michael, Curtis, and Ethan to follow. “Is she conscious now?”

  “Sort of. She keeps mumbling for everyone to stop talking.”

  “So, she’s hearing voices?” Wil asked.

  Michael appeared to catch on to what was happening, and he ran ahead with Ethan and Curtis.

  “I don’t know,” Jason said. “They want to call an ambulance.”

  “No. Tell them it’s a migraine and she has medication at home.”

  “She’s never had a migraine in her life, Dad. That’s not what this is.”

  “I know. Just tell them that,” Wil insisted.

  “You want me to lie?”

  “Doctors at the hospital won’t be able to do anything for her. I’ll be there soon and will explain everything.”

  Jason was silent for a few seconds. “How long?”

  “Within twenty minutes.”

  “Okay.” Jason still sounded unsure.

  “What about you, Jason?” Wil asked. “Do you feel off in any way?”

  “Not really. I have a slight headache that started around the same time Raena freaked out, but it hasn’t gotten any worse.”

  “Okay, good.” At least we only have one major reaction to deal with for now. “Stay calm and don’t talk to anyone. I’m on my way to get you from school.”

  “We’re in the nurse’s office,” Jason said. “Check in at the front desk.”

  “I’ll see you soon. Take care of your sister—don’t let them give her anything.”

  “Okay.” Jason paused. “Please hurry.”

  “I will.” Wil hung up and sprinted down the hall toward the central elevator lobby. Michael, Ethan, and Curtis had an elevator held for him.

  “Awakening?” Michael questioned.

  Wil nodded and ran into the elevator. Ethan immediately set the destination for Level 2.

  “Just Raena for now,” Wil replied. “But Jason might trigger at any moment. They’re at school.”

  “Shite. No way to explain away that one,” Ethan said.

  Wil shook his head. “I’ll do what I can.”

  The elevator arrived at Level 2 and the Agents ran for Wil’s quarters. Wil palmed open the door and telepathically reached out to activate the TSD arch.

  Energy coursed along the conduits of the arch, casting a cool glow to the corner of the room. The event horizon appeared at the center of the arch.

  “Hold your breath when you enter,” Michael said to Ethan and Curtis. “It’s a bit disorienting.”

  “Yeah, I remember from when we were testing it out,” Curtis replied.

  Wil strode through the arch without hesitation, driven to get to his children as quickly as possible. He passed through subspace and stepped out into his subbasement on the other side.

  Michael emerged from the arch after him, followed by Ethan and Curtis.

  “Yep, that’s still distinctly unnerving,” Ethan commented as soon as he was out from the arch.

  “You get used to it.” Wil rushed over to a storage shelf on the side wall opposite the control podium and grabbed a tablet. He brought up a copy of the control interface for the TSD arch. “You’ll need to make some modifications to the frequencies for the arch if we’re going to bring the kids through in their present state. The energy in subspace might be too much for them without a shield.”

  “So, you want us to figure out a containment bubble on the fly?” Curtis asked.

  “It’s not the first miraculous feat you’ve pulled off. I’ll be back within the hour,” Wil said and headed for the stairs.

  “We’re on it,” Michael assured him. “Let me know if you need any backup.”

  Wil nodded and turned to go.

  “Wait, you’re going like that?” Michael asked.

  “No time to change,” Wil replied and ran up the stairs.

  The garage was accessible from the front foyer of the home, and Wil’s standard SUV for everyday driving was parked in the garage next to Saera’s of a similar model. However, another hidden feature within the home, unbeknownst to their children, was a parking space concealed beneath the storage area under piles of camping gear and household tools in the third parking space within the garage. Wil cleared away the items with a wave of his hand and stripped back the industrial carpet covering the space, revealing a seam in the concrete slab.

  He telekinetically activated the lift mechanism to raise up a rectangular housing from under the floor, surfacing a sleek black sedan with seemingly invisible doors. The bottom of the platform was now flush with the main concrete slab and the original floor was above it, supported by four metal posts at the corners of the mechanism.

  Wil jogged over to the car and placed his hand where a handle would normally be on the driver’s side. The seams of a door etched into the surface with a trail of subtle blue light and the door swung forward and up at an angle. He climbed into the driver’s seat and the door closed behind him, creating a perfect seal from the outside world.

  The vehicle was the one piece of technology from offworld he’d insisted on bringing to Earth, aside from the items in the subbasement. Such ground vehicles were less preferable than aerial options, but he’d designed it specifically to suit his reasons for having it standing by. Not only would it serve to substantiate claims about a technologically advanced race, but he’d figured an occasion would eventually arise where he’d need to get across town quickly—and that day had come.

  He opened the garage door and started up the vehicle, its near-silent engine channeling a low rumble through the interior seats. The car would no doubt draw attention, but worrying about what the neighbors thought was pretty low on Wil’s current list of concerns.

  Traveling at well above the legal speed limit regulated by the automated transit grid, Wil followed the familiar winding streets of suburbia to the main road and raced toward his children’s school. Fortunately, the morning commuter traffic had died down so he didn’t need to make too many aggressive maneuvers to maintain a clear path. The car handled effortlessly on the dry roads, and Wil smiled slightly to himself when he noticed pedestrians staring at the car with awe as he sped by.

  The twins’ school was a modern structure with a brick and cast concrete exterior and far too few windows to look like anything designed for daily occupation by people. As a high school, the parking lot was completely full with student vehicles. Wil circled through it once, and having seen no open spaces, headed straight for the main entrance.

  Screw it. He parked the car in the front fire lane and got out.

  A security guard roaming the grounds walked over to Wil as he was climbing out of the car. “You can’t park there.”

  “I’m picking up my kids. They’re going home sick. I’ll only be a few minutes.”

  “Yeah, well, you can’t park here,” the guard reiterated.

  “I already did.” Wil ignored his continued protests and jogged down the concrete walkway to the main entrance.

  Beyond the double set of doors leading into the school, the reception area was contained in a glass enclosure to the right of the entry foyer. Wil entered and the receptionist looked him over with a quizzical look, lingering on the tinted glasses.

  “I’m here to pick up my kids. Raena and Jason Sights,” he said.

  The receptionist, whose name was Martha based on her nameplate, nodded solemnly. “I wish you’d completed a medical authorization form so we could have sent your daughter to the hospital right away. She needs immediate attention.”

  “Yes, I’m taking her to our family physician,” Wil replied. “Where are they?”

  “This way.” Martha stepped out from behind the desk and waddled down an interior corridor farther into the office without any sense of urgency.

  Wil followed her as she moseyed down the hall past a handful of administrative offices. On the left, he spotted a sign reading “School Nurse”.

  “In there,” Martha stated. “The nurse stepped out for a few moments but s
he’ll be back soon.”

  We need to get out of here before she returns. “Thank you,” Wil said and opened the door to the medical room.

  Jason was seated adjacent to the door and he stood up as soon as Wil entered. Raena was laying down on the exam bed with her eyes closed.

  “Dad?” Jason questioned, looking Wil over. “Why are you dressed like that?”

  “It’s a long story.” He crouched down next to his daughter and brushed his hand over her forehead while performing a high-level telepathic assessment. There was no doubt her abilities had emerged. She needed to get into isolation as soon as possible to limit the electromagnetic bombardment from the surrounding world. With no other options in the field, he formed a temporary telekinetic shield around her and Jason that should mitigate their exposure and lessen the symptoms.

  “Raena, how are you feeling?” he asked in a soft voice.

  Her eyes fluttered open. “Dad?”

  “Yes, it’s me,” he assured her. He pulled up his tinted glasses so she could look him in the eye.

  She recoiled when she saw his glowing eyes. “What—?”

  “Your eyes!” Jason breathed.

  Wil restored his tinted glasses. “I’ll explain in the car,” he said. “We need to get you home. Can you walk?”

  Raena tried to raise herself up from the table. “I’m not sure.”

  “I’ll carry you,” Wil said and scooped her up in his arms before she could protest. “Jason, can you get the door?” No need to freak them out further with telekinesis right out of the gate.

  With Jason leading the way and Wil carrying Raena down the hall, they made it back to the front reception desk.

  “You’ll need to sign them out,” Martha stated.

  “My hands are kind of full at the moment,” Wil replied.

  Martha shoved a tablet displaying the logbook toward him. “Policy.”

  With an exasperated groan, Wil shifted his hold on Raena to one arm and she held him around the neck. He scribed the necessary information on the tablet. “They won’t be back at school this year.”

  Martha’s eyes widened with surprise.

  “What?” Jason exclaimed.