The Escape

by Teyla Branton

  “Regardless, no one goes in alone.” Ritter hesitated, his eyes wandering over each of us in turn. “With at least three other agents in the hotel, I’ll need someone to help me below, and someone will need to help Jace remove and hide the employee he’ll be taking the room service cart from.” He glanced at Dimitri. “That’s probably you.”

  Dimitri nodded. “Whoever it is won’t even remember the prick of my needle.”

  “Will you need any help getting out of the building?” Ritter asked Stella.

  “No, I’ll just take my laptop and my headset and walk out the front door.” She patted a five-inch square box. “This will need to stay here to keep their cameras blind, but I’ll leave a timed auto erase when I leave, so it won’t matter if they find it later.” She hesitated a heartbeat before adding, “But we do have another slight problem. I laid down one of my mini bots as we came in, but it stopped transmitting before it even reached Mann’s room. I’ve tried it on various frequencies with the same result and even tried to call it on my phone. Still nothing. That means they’ve got a signal interrupter inside to prevent anything but hard-wired communications. My guess is not even their own cell phones can call out from that room.”

  “That could work in our favor,” Jace said. “Especially if you can make sure they don’t use the hotel phone to call backup.”

  Stella grinned. “I can do that. Of course, they could always just switch off the machine if they want to use their cell phones. I imagine it’s there so no one can spy on them electronically. That might mean they’re expecting us.”

  “If they were, they’d have a mental shield like the one broadcasting at the compound,” Dimitri said. “Erin wouldn’t be able to see inside.”

  “Hmm.” Stella didn’t look convinced. “I suppose the interrupter could be in place to make sure no unscrupulous reporters get their thrills.”

  “I’ll go in with Jace,” I volunteered, coming to my feet. “That way I can channel his ability and we’ll be doubly efficient. And I’ll be able to communicate with you if our radios don’t work inside.” I’d also be responsible for Jace in case I was wrong about Mann being alone. As I was fairly sure the Emporium wanted me alive, my presence might give me a bargaining tool.

  No one else is there, I told myself. Nothing will go wrong.

  Ritter nodded, his mouth tight. “Okay, but stick to the plan. No variations. Down and out to the back alley. Dimitri will hide the employee and meet you guys in the stairs to help get Mann out. Yuan-Xin and I will dispatch our guys and be there waiting as well. I want it all to happen within three minutes. We can’t risk discovery once you go in.”

  “You want me to remove the employee’s memory of seeing us?” I asked.

  “Don’t waste the time,” Ritter said. “He won’t see enough of you to matter, and sooner or later everyone is going to know the vice president’s son is missing. Let Secret Service muzzle the hotel staff if they don’t want the press to know yet.”

  Jace walked toward the door. “Patrick had better order soon. I swear, if I’m on dish duty, I get patrol without Oliver for the entire next month.”

  Ritter’s lips twitched, but he only said, “Remember that if Mann decides to go out, we’ll change to plan B.”

  Jace paused. “And that is?”

  “We jump him before he gets to the elevator and hustle him down the stairs. You’ll be close enough in the kitchens to get the agent at the back entrance.”

  “Cool.” Jace opened the door.

  Stella followed him with the cameras down to the front of the hotel and then to the kitchen where the personnel there directed him to the man in charge. Satisfied that Jace was safe, I sat on the couch next to Dimitri to wait. Plan B would be so much more convenient. If only we could get lucky.

  After ten minutes, I finally stood and took off Ava’s coat before sitting back down. I let a few seconds pass before I said to Dimitri, “How do you keep doing it? All these years.” Over a thousand. My mind could barely comprehend living a tenth that long.

  “You mean keep fighting against the Emporium?” His eyes were grave.

  I nodded. “I’d think at some point you’d just say to hell with it all and disappear. Spend the rest of your days on a beach somewhere, or in a cabin deep in the mountains of some remote village whose name no one can pronounce.”

  A smile tugged at his lips. “I’ve actually done both of those things at different times in my life. It never lasts for long. I keep going for my posterity. For the human race. Besides, I enjoy my comforts too much to go native somewhere, and I like working with all of you. We’re a family. That’s what keeps us going. Family doesn’t give up. Not ever.”

  “So much depends on us. These little fixes.” I frowned. “And you also have so many children and grandchildren and other descendants to keep an eye on. Don’t you ever get tired? Don’t you ever worry that you might miss someone? That you might not be—” Be what? I didn’t know.

  “Enough?” he asked.

  “I guess that’s it. I don’t know if I could—” Remove myself from my children’s lives to protect them, watch my grandchildren die while I was still young. Keep lists of posterity and check up on them when they neared the age of Change, only to induct those who did Change into a secret war that might bring death at any moment—and likely in the most gruesome and painful way possible. So much loss and responsibility.

  Dimitri laid a hand on my shoulder, comfort radiating from him. “You do it one day at a time. You use what technology is available and you simply go forward. You let yourself experience joy when you can, and you take time to mourn. It’s not as hard as you might think.”

  “If you had it to do over, would you have so many children?” So many that after a thousand years he wouldn’t be able to tell me all the names without one of our genealogical programs.

  He chuckled. “Well, it’s not as if my genes gave me much of a choice since we can’t simply switch off our fertility, but there isn’t one I would wish away, and that’s a lot more than most mortals can say. I’ve learned that it’s not over until it’s really over, and I have unlimited years to wait for misbehaving kids to come around—whether they’re mortal or Unbounded.” He paused, his smile widening. “Is this about you and Ritter?” He glanced toward the door, where Ritter was deep in conversation with Yuan-Xin.

  “Maybe.”

  He nodded. “It’s about time.”

  “You once told me he might not be ready for a hundred years or so.”

  “I was wrong. I think you’ve both delayed enough.”

  “You’re a fine one to talk.” Hadn’t he and Ava danced around their relationship for much longer?

  His brow furrowed. “Whatever are you talking about?”

  “Never mind.” But there was one more thing. I looked at Dimitri and found him waiting, as though he’d already known there was more. “Jace figured out that his birth was engineered. He wants to know the truth.”

  “Are you going to tell him?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, yes. I just don’t know when. I’m afraid he won’t—” What? That his curiosity and impetuous nature would send him into the arms of the most dangerous man in the world?

  Duh.

  Dimitri crooked a brow. “Some things you don’t get to choose, and you can’t protect him from everything. He’s a good boy, Erin. He’ll find his way.”

  Yeah, but I didn’t know if I could wait a century or two to watch Jace recover from any side trips. Still, Dimitri had a lot of years of experience so maybe he knew what he was talking about. Of course that didn’t mean I had to tell Jace tomorrow.

  One hour passed and then another as we waited in the hotel suite. Was Patrick one of those rare Unbounded who never ate anything? I pushed into his mind again, wishing I could send him images of thick beefsteaks and mounds of buttered potatoes. Delia had done it to me, put in thoughts that I’d first assumed were my own, but how?

  Normally when I wanted to communicate with someone, I simply
pushed out a mental thought without much preparation and it appeared almost instantly in the person’s sand stream. However, the thought clearly originated outside the person’s mind, so I always identified myself if there might be any doubt as to who was doing the pushing. Yet people do sometimes have sudden thoughts that appear for no reason and those don’t cause a mental alarm, so maybe the way I pushed thoughts into the stream is what alerted people to my presence.

  Tentatively, I formed a picture in my imaginary hand and held it near the sand stream of Patrick’s thoughts, working more by instinct than anything else. The idea hovered for an instant, shifted up and down gently, and started to move inside. Belatedly, I realized the stupidity of my actions. What if he suspected someone was messing with his mind? I could blow the entire operation if he called for backup. I reached to take back the thought, but it was sucked inside the stream.

  Patrick’s reaction was immediate and unexpected. Nausea filled his mind. Okay, so how was I to know he was a vegetarian? Guess that made absorbing rather challenging for him since he couldn’t exactly choose not to absorb animal proteins. The good news was that he didn’t seem to suspect my presence. Should I try again?

  As I considered what else to suggest, he put down his magazine and reached for the phone. “Room service?” he asked. “I’d like to place an order. Vegetable soup and bread sticks, warm with extra butter.” I could see the butter melting in Patrick’s thoughts, feel his mouth watering. “As soon as possible. Thanks.”

  Before I could tell the others, Stella was already replaying a recording of Patrick’s order.

  Ritter shoved in his earbud. “Showtime,” he said, approaching the couch. I stood up to meet him. “Our timing will start on your signal, Erin, so let us know when you’re about to enter the room and we’ll act. Remember, three minutes after you go in I want you at that back door.” His voice was normal but worry screamed from the shallow furrows in his forehead. Had he always been this easy to read? Had I only imagined him as a mountain of impassiveness?

  “Wait,” I said, reaching for Ava’s coat.

  He hesitated, his eyes going to mine and sending slow heat to my belly. I drew out Keene’s tiny switchblade from a pocket of the coat. I’d challenged him to use words that made up communication in the mortal world, but maybe I could use his terms every bit as much as I expected him to use mine. “I won’t be needing this.”

  His hand touched mine, still holding the knife, and at once I felt him around me, exuding a permanence that no longer frightened me. His fingers curled around mine, making my hand into a fist around the knife. “You might need it. You can throw it away yourself as soon as this is over. In fact, I already have another for you.” A better one, his tone implied.

  I grinned. “I see.”

  With black eyes that looked like molten rock, he drew away and started for the door where Yuan-Xin and Dimitri waited. “Let’s go.”

  DIMITRI AND I GOT OFF the elevator on the tenth floor, while Ritter and Yuan-Xin continued on to the lobby. Stella directed us down and around several connected hallways to a supply closet, which Dimitri unlocked with a universal key card Stella had created for him. Inside, we donned a couple of uniforms from a rack, tucking our weapons wherever we could. Then we grabbed a laundry basket, threw in a few clean sheets and took the service elevator to the sixth floor where we waited for Jace and whoever would be taking Patrick Mann’s order to his room.

  Dimitri handed me two small syringes. “In case you need to sedate Mann or if you run into anyone on your way out.”

  “Thanks.” I felt jumpy and nervous, but that was normal at the beginning of a maneuver. Once we acted, the emotion would subside. I reached out, purposely absorbing more nutrients though I still felt full from absorbing the energy from Brody. At least the time waiting in the room had given my body the opportunity to heal completely; my skin had finally cooled and I felt comfortable instead of hot.

  Minutes ticked by and finally the elevator dinged, opening to reveal Jace and a young male waiter with a cart—and an older man who reeked of Secret Service. Dimitri pushed onto the elevator, and I slid in next to him. The doors started to close.

  “Aren’t you getting off here?” the waiter asked Jace. “I thought you pushed the button.”

  “Yeah, but I forgot the mop.” Jace made a face. “Someone’s apparently been sick. I don’t want to go back downstairs for supplies. It’s my first day and I don’t want to appear incompetent. They said there’s a supply closet on ten, right?”

  The waiter laughed. “Yeah. I don’t envy you. My first day someone had a clogged toilet and guess who had to clean up a bathroom full of crap? Some rich people are absolutely incompetent when it comes to—” He broke off, apparently thinking better of finishing his thought in front of so many witnesses. “They tip well,” he added. “It won’t take long before you move up. As long as you are always on time.”

  “Kind of sad when cleaning up vomit is more appealing than washing dishes.” Jace held up his hands. “I think I must have washed every dish in this hotel in the past few hours.”

  A smile broke over my face before I could help it, and I was glad everyone, including the Secret Service guy, laughed at the comment. I doubted the dishes would free Jace of Oliver, though, even for a month.

  Jace held my gaze for a moment and then looked at the agent. His way of telling me the man was his. Fine. I’d let him have his fun. But he’d better keep his mind focused on his vomit story in case any sensing Unbounded were listening in.

  The elevator came to a stop. As the door slid open, Dimitri moved toward the waiter, a syringe in his hand. Jace took a step and shoved his fist into the agent’s face. Both the waiter and the agent crumpled before the door finished opening. I stepped out to make sure the hallway was clear, while the men piled our unconscious friends into the laundry basket and covered their protruding faces with a sheet. Dimitri pushed the basket into the hall.

  “Package secured on ten,” I informed everyone through my mic. I didn’t mention the Secret Service agent because it wouldn’t change the plan and might distract everyone from the bland thoughts they were supposed to be projecting.

  We headed for the sixteenth floor. I pulled out my Sig, complete with a silencer, and stuck it under the silver dome holding Patrick Mann’s hot bread sticks. Moments later we stood outside his door. I pushed my thoughts into the room, but nothing appeared to have changed.

  “They’re going to notice the agent isn’t with the cart,” I told Jace.

  “I know.” He knocked at the door and raised his voice. “Room service.”

  “Going in,” I told the others. No response. Radio already isn’t broadcasting, I mentally told Stella, who was the easiest to reach because of her proximity. We’re going in. I stayed with her until she relayed my message to the others.

  The door opened and an agent’s gaze flicked over us, suspicion clouding his blue eyes. “Where’s my colleague?”

  “Holding the elevator,” I said. “He didn’t want anyone else using it before we’re done here.”

  “I’m going to have to verify that.” He took a step toward the hallway, but Jace was already pushing past me, bringing out a tranq gun from somewhere. Before the agent hit the ground, a dart in his neck, Jace kicked out to disarm the second. Meanwhile, I shoved the cart inside and leapt across the room toward the couch where Patrick Mann was still seated, looking casually up from his newspaper.

  My gun was in my hand before I knew I’d reached for it. “Get up, Patrick,” I said, sneering at the name. “We’re going for a little ride.” Near the door, Jace’s opponent crashed to the ground. “You won’t need your friends,” I added.

  Patrick didn’t move, and he was smiling. My first indication that something had gone dreadfully wrong. “So you did recognize me the other night,” he said.

  “Of course. You’re the vice president’s son.” I moved closer as I spoke. If he didn’t come on his own, I’d jab him with one of Dimitri’s needles an
d drag him.

  “I knew I should have had you detained.” Patrick’s lip lifted in derision.

  “We both know you tried. And that went so well for you.”

  He waved a hand. “Amateurs. But Delia said it was only a matter of time until you came looking for me. I’ll have to ask her how she knew.”

  Movement from the direction of the bedroom caught my eye. Jace! I called out silently, as I dived behind the couch.

  Two unknown men burst into the sitting room, dressed in full combat gear, sword hilts rising above their backs. An Emporium hit team. They were followed by an oddly dressed shorter man. Despite his disguise of a padded jacket, long dark hair, and decidedly feminine pale blue skinny jeans, I knew him. Delia’s assistant, Lew Roberts, the sensing Unbounded. His shield was as black and thick as before and he was once again shielding his companions, masking them from my mental view. Dimitri had been wrong about the computer-generated shield. They had been expecting us.

  Bullets flew, the whooshing of the silenced shots sounding deadly and fast. Jace arched as one hit him, even as I pushed out my mental shield to cover his body. The next bullet only pushed him forward as it had with Mari at the Emersons’ townhouse. I didn’t have time to feel relief as I let off a flurry of shots with my own gun.

  One of the men leapt toward me. We crashed with a terrific impact that sent both our handguns flying. He reached for his sword. The instinct of Jace’s ability had me rolling to grab one of the end tables near the couch. I tumbled away, bringing it up at the last instant to block the sword as it hurled down toward me.

  He slashed again, and I caught the sharp edge of his sword with the table, pushing him off. I heaved the table, flipping it around so the legs went first, hoping to score a blow. In the right place, even a table leg could do serious damage.

  “Enough.” A gun jabbed painfully into the side of my head. Patrick Mann. I’d taken my eyes off him too long. “Go get the other one,” Patrick said to my opponent.