by Simon Rose
“Good idea. That should buy us some time.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Nowhere to Run
MAX AND JULIA ran along the sidewalk, desperate to get out of sight. Just before they reached the entrance to the alley, Max saw another police car waiting at the traffic lights at the intersection at the end of the street. When the lights changed, the car looked to be heading straight ahead but then at the last minute the driver seemed to change his mind and turned onto the street that Max and Julia were running along. Julia hadn’t seen the police car and was taken by surprise when Max grabbed her arm and pulled her into the alley.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, angrily.
Before Max could respond, the police car sped along the street in front of the entrance to the alley, presumably headed for the house that was for sale.
“Another one?” she said.
“Yeah,” Max replied. “I thought he’d spotted us when he suddenly turned into the street but it doesn’t look like it.”
“This isn’t good, Max. Do you think they know we’re in this area?”
“What happened in the parking lot outside the convenience store must have been reported by now. If anyone’s given the police descriptions of us, and they know about your mom’s houses, this neighbourhood could easily be one of their priorities.”
“We’ll have to stay in the alleys to get back to the construction site,” said Julia. “We can’t risk using the streets now.”
“Can we get back there that way?” Max asked.
“We don’t have much of a choice. Let’s get moving.”
SINCE THEY HAD to stay off any of the residential streets and even avoid bike paths and parks as much as possible, the return journey to the construction site took longer than before. Fortunately, when Max and Julia needed to emerge from an alley to cross a street or otherwise be out in the open, they didn’t see any more police cars. Finally, they arrived at the end of the alley across the street from the construction site. Max and Julia cautiously peered out at the passing traffic, waiting for the right moment. As soon as the street was clear they raced across to the condos.
There were a few construction vehicles and pieces of heavy equipment parked beside the half-completed condos but the workers were absent. Max and Julia slipped inside one of the units that had all its walls finished. They went into a room that only had one window, which was covered with thick clear plastic sheeting so that they wouldn’t be seen from the outside. In the bare room, there was a stack of drywall sheets and some rolls of insulation material in one corner. The floor was littered with leftover pieces of lumber and drywall and had a light coating of white dust.
Julia sat down against the wall beneath the window and pulled her laptop from her backpack.
“What are you doing?” asked Max.
“Just wanted to check on something. You said your friend Deanna was dead and that they killed that detective that helped you as well. I wonder if anything’s happened to Jesse?”
“I couldn’t find his website just before I was captured,” said Max. “I only did a quick search with my phone but it looked like the site had been taken offline.”
Max watched as Julia’s fingers flew across the keyboard. She frowned as she initially had trouble searching for the site but then she located it.
“There’s a link to SecretConspiracyXpose but the error message says the site can’t be found. Did those people that captured you say anything about it?”
“They mentioned some guy with a website so I assumed they meant Jesse. Evans said that he wouldn’t be giving them any more trouble but that was it. Do you think he might be dead too?”
Julia nodded.
“It’s possible. It sounds like these guys don’t fool around. Evans and her people knew that we’d both been on the website and that you’d been in contact with Jesse.”
“He was always very careful about keeping his location secret, but I guess we’ve learned that these people can get to just about anyone if they want to.”
“Well, it looks like we can’t contact him anyway, even if he could help us,” said Julia. “Wait, didn’t he send you a text?”
“He did but I deleted it, and it didn’t display the number it came from anyway.”
Julia quickly did some more searching on the laptop but then she suddenly stopped.
“Oh no,” she said, softly.
“What is it?”
Julia didn’t immediately respond and looked very upset.
“What is?” Max repeated. “What’s wrong?”
“Take a look for yourself,” said Julia.
She turned the laptop around and showed Max a page from the online edition of the local newspaper.
“I was looking to see if Jesse might have moved the site or something. I typed in some of the details that we learned about the operation at the waterfront. It was there as a link in the search results. I’m sorry, Max.”
Max didn’t answer her. He simply stared in disbelief at the headline before reading the news story.
Local Businessman Found Dead
David Dexter, CEO of the Dexter Foundation, was found dead this morning at his home, along with his wife and mother. Police have released few details so far but have confirmed that the deaths seemed to have occurred during or as a result of a break-in at the family home. Mr. Dexter and his wife Sarah were both found dead early this morning. Mr. Dexter’s mother, Vanessa Dexter, was still alive when police and paramedics arrived at the house but died shortly afterward at the scene.
There was also a short biography of David, along with some details of his late father’s political career, but Max didn’t read it. He was too shocked to finish the story.
“It’s started,” he said. “Just like before. He’s killed David and his family in a robbery at the house, or at least that’s what he’s made it look like.”
“You don’t know for certain that it was Kane,” said Julia.
“No, I don’t, but it has to be him. He’d have come for me first, and Deanna, if the timeline had been the same. We have to get to that lab and put things right. We need to wipe out everything that’s happened to cause this.”
“But the police are onto us now, Max,” Julia pointed out. “And Kane could be anywhere. We may never even make it to that lab.”
“We have to try. It’s the only way.”
“But what about Kane?”
“Unless he’s reading our minds he won’t expect us to go back to the lab.”
Julia thought for a moment but appeared far from comfortable.
“Okay, let’s just reconfirm where we’re going.”
She pulled up the laptop’s map search from the previous evening. They located the water tower, the rail tracks, and some of the other things that Max had recognized. They then checked the different bus routes that ran through the industrial area. There were several that would take them close to where they needed to be so that they could begin their search for the underground facility.
“Where are we going to catch the bus?” said Max. “We can’t just stand on the street and wait in case someone sees us.”
“Yeah, and we know there are at least two police cars driving around in this area too.”
“We should go somewhere where it’s crowded to wait for the bus,” Max suggested. “It’ll be easier to blend in and maybe more difficult for Kane to attack if there are lots of people around, if he finds us, that is.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” said Julia. “I think there’s a mall somewhere near here.”
She did another quick search on the map.
“I was right. It’s pretty close, maybe ten minutes on foot.”
She enlarged the map to closely focus on the individual streets before switching to the satellite view. She then traced a route to the mall with her finger.
“Okay, I think we can get there mostly by using side streets and a few alleys, at least until just before we get to the mall itself.”
Julia too
k out her phone and quickly entered the same map search so that they’d know where they were going.
“Can we catch the right bus from there?”
“Good point,” said Julia. “Let me check the schedule.”
She typed in the address for the local transit website. Opening the page, she quickly scanned the various route schedules and confirmed that they could catch the right bus at the mall.
Max stood up and dusted himself down. Julia gently closed the laptop and returned it to her backpack.
“Are you ready for this?” Max asked, as she stood up.
“Yeah,” she replied, a little hesitantly.
“You sure?”
“I’m fine. Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Others
IT WAS JUST after 9.30 by the time they arrived at the mall. They’d had to travel along several main streets with a fair amount of traffic on the final stage of their journey. They’d both remained highly alert in case they saw any police cars and were prepared to run if they had to. As they waited at an intersection, they could see that the mall’s parking lot was quite busy and all the stores were already open. A few people were standing at the bus stops adjacent to the mall’s main entrances as customers entered and exited the building.
“What time the bus will be here?” asked Max.
“I think it’s around ten minutes, so not too long,” Julia replied.
“What shall we do? Wait outside at the bus stop?”
“We’d better get inside and mingle with the crowds. We can keep an eye on the stop and go outside when the bus arrives.”
They crossed the road, hurried across the parking lot, and went into the mall. The coffee shop beside the main entrance doors was busy and there were at least ten customers standing in line. There was also lots of activity inside the mall as people browsed the various stores and walked back and forth in the aisles. The food court at the top of the escalators appeared to be busy too. Even if Kane succeeded in controlling someone nearby, Max and Julia agreed that it might be relatively simple for them to get away if there were lots of people around. Neither of them had any idea how Kane had been able to track them earlier that morning. They’d discussed it on their way to the mall. Max thought it might have been through the security cameras at the restaurant and elsewhere. Evans and her team had used that method with Kane during the tests of his powers but that didn’t explain how Kane had found Max and Julia so soon. Had he already become so powerful that he could always precisely sense their location? Max scanned the mall’s ceilings and nearby walls but there didn’t seem to be any cameras aimed in their direction. Yet Max and Julia both knew that Kane had found them before and could probably easily do so again.
“Do you want any more coffee?” said Julia, as they stood outside the shop.
“Not really,” Max replied. “Maybe some juice or something?”
Then Max saw him through the coffee shop window, walking across the parking lot. Even from a distance the deep scar on the man’s face and neck was clearly visible.
“He’s found us.”
“What?” said Julia.
“Kane, he’s here.”
“What?” Julia repeated, looking around in alarm. “He’s possessed someone again?”
Julia then saw Kane too.
“Not this time,” said Max. “He’s here in person. Let’s go before he sees us.”
“It’s too late for that,” said a voice.
Max and Julia whirled around. A tall, slim young woman with short black hair was standing in the middle of the aisle as Kane approached the front doors. The woman took a step forward, furrowing her brow as she concentrated. Max felt the pressure start to build inside his head, and Julia appeared to be affected too. Thinking quickly, Max grabbed a full coffee cup from a shocked customer standing beside him and flung the hot liquid at the woman’s face. She cursed as Max and Julia ran past her into the mall. They raced by bemused shoppers, nearly colliding with a few of them. The woman gave chase and almost ran into a middle-aged couple, but she roughly cast them aside. They went crashing into the front window of one of the nearby shops. There were audible screams from other people in the mall. One of the security guards yelled at the woman and approached her, but the woman simply overpowered him. Max and Julia watched in horror as blood poured out of the guard’s eyes, nose, and mouth until he collapsed in convulsions on the tiled floor in the centre of the mall. A second security guard appeared and frantically called for backup on his radio.
Max and Julia ran again, heading for the nearest exit, but their path was blocked by a man in his mid-twenties, his long brown hair tied back in a ponytail.
“You’re just wasting time,” he said, with a smirk. “Kane wants to see you both. But he’s very interested in you, girly, after what happened earlier this morning.”
The man frowned and focused on Julia, who collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.
“Leave her alone!” Max yelled.
“Or what?” snarled the man. “She’d already be dead if Kane didn’t want the two of you kept alive. You don’t have a hope in hell.”
The woman had dispensed with the second security guard, sending him flying through a shop window. She now approached Max and Julia. Not far behind her Max saw Kane striding confidently through the mall, his gruesome appearance unmistakable.
Men, women, and children all recoiled from Kane in fear. Even the remaining security guards kept their distance as they steadily backed away from Kane as he advanced. Overhead lights shattered one by one as Kane quickened his pace through the mall, but the hundreds of shards of shattered glass never touched him and simply fell to the floor at his feet. Outside in the distance Max heard the wail of police sirens.
“Now it’s your turn,” said the man with the ponytail.
Max felt his entire body go limp but he didn’t fall. Instead he remained upright and was slowly lifted off his feet. He hung suspended in the air, unable to speak and powerless to resist. Julia was still on the floor, choking as the man kept her firmly under his control.
“Save him for me,” called the woman, as she came closer.
She halted as two additional security guards ran around the corner and suddenly blocked her path.
“Stay where you are,” shouted one of the guards. “Don’t come any closer. The police are on their way.”
The man with the ponytail was momentarily distracted. He relaxed his focus as he considered going to help the woman, allowing Max to drop to the floor. Seizing the opportunity, Max grabbed a steel pole from one of the nearby shattered shop displays and swung the pole at the back of the man’s head. He looked stunned as he crashed to the floor but was still conscious. Max quickly pulled Julia to her feet, but she was still struggling to breathe and found it difficult to stand.
“No!” Kane roared.
He stopped walking, furrowed his brow, and focused his energy. All the security guards instantly shook with violent tremors and collapsed onto the floor in pools of blood. At that moment, a police officer appeared, his weapon drawn. He stood his ground in the centre of the aisle.
“Hold it, right there!” he ordered Kane.
The officer aimed his gun as other armed officers rushed to join him. Kane simply grinned, lifting his hands in surrender. The police officers were all then shocked as their weapons were pulled from their hands and flew through the air toward Kane, falling to the floor at his feet.
“Come on!” said Max.
“What about the bus?” Julia asked, still catching her breath. “We’re going to miss it.”
“Forget it!” Max yelled. “We have to get out of here, now!”
They moved as quickly as they could to reach the nearest exit. Max supported Julia, draping her arm over his shoulder until she was able to walk independently.
“I thought he could only control one person at a time?” said Julia.
“He can, or at least he could. Evans said that he was improving but it’s too soon
for him to have reached a higher level. This is different. The man and the woman must be some of the others.”
“The others?”
“The ones like him that Kane’s been reaching out to.”
“So, we don’t have to worry about random strangers attacking us?”
“Perhaps not,” said Max, “but having more people like Kane on our trail is going to be even worse.”
They reached the exit and hurried outside. Next to one of the mall’s delivery doors, a small, plain white van was parked with its engine running. Max struggled to keep up as Julia ran toward the vehicle. He was astonished when she opened the van’s door and got into the driver’s seat.
“Get in!” she snapped.
“What?”
“I said get in.”
“But we can’t do this,” said Max.
“Do you have any better ideas?” said Julia, angrily. “Do you?”
Max didn’t need another invitation as he saw Kane’s female accomplice running toward the mall’s exit doors. Max scrambled around the front of the van and climbed into the passenger seat. He barely had time to close the door before Julia roared away across the parking lot, the van’s tires screeching. Through the rear window, Max saw the van’s driver come running out of the mall, calling after them, but there was no sign of Kane.
“Oh, my God!” said Julia.
Max turned to face the windshield and gasped in horror when he saw Kane step into the road, blocking the exit from the parking lot.
“What do I do?” exclaimed Julia, in panic.
“Just go!” Max yelled.
A clearly terrified Julia slammed her foot on the gas pedal and headed straight for Kane. He focused his power and Julia appeared to be losing control of both herself and the van. At the last second Max grabbed the steering wheel, wrenching it to the side and helping Julia swerve to avoid hitting Kane, smashing into the sides of two parked cars, before driving away.
Chapter Twenty-Eight