Jason would not blame me, and that made things worse. When he had revealed his power to me after the first case he helped me with, I’d promised to keep it completely secret. In my own mind, I had promised to keep him out of situations where he might need to use the more… destructive part of his ability. In a single morning, Trevor Mason had made a liar of me. “I hate that man,” I said suddenly, which made Dan glance up at me in surprise.
“I don’t think you’ll get any arguments from anyone in this station,” he said mildly. “May I ask specifically what made you say it just now?”
“He made me break a promise,” I said. “When Jason started helping us with cases, I promised him that I would keep him safe. Mason made me a liar. I hate that he was able to do that. As long as he’s out there,”—I gestured toward the exit—“Jason remains in danger.”
Dan was looking at me curiously. “What is it about this kid?” he asked softly, and not for the first time. “He’s a runaway, but he seems to have gained both your trust and affection.”
“Not just mine,” I said mildly. “If I’m not mistaken, you're trying harder than normal to get a street kid to trust you.” He’d always had a soft spot for street kids, but somehow, the fact that Jason never trusted him seemed to hurt him more than any other kid we’d come across.
“That’s exactly my point,” he said, sitting straighter in his chair. “What is it about this kid that makes so many people want to care about him? You. Me. Your sister. Normally a cop would never even consider introducing an informant to their family, but you invited him to live in your house.” We’d had similar conversations before, but I had never responded with any reasons why Jason was so different from other kids.
I thought for a moment. “I think it’s mostly because he's unusual among the street kids we come into contact with. He’s never gotten into drugs, theft, or any of the other criminal activities so popular with street kids. He also cares about more than just himself and will sacrifice himself for the people he’s chosen to care about.”
“The kids,” Dan said nodding. “He would both kill and die for those kids.”
“Yes. And they would do the same for him—so would I, for that matter. He would never ask it of me, but I would.”
Dan studied me for a few long seconds before responding. “I believe you would. If you’d had a clear shot, you would have shot Mason; I would have done the same in that situation.”
I ducked my head slightly in acknowledgment, and—wanting to change the subject—asked, “Are you finished with your report? I need to get Jason’s medication before I go home.”
“Yeah, just about. I just need to print it and sign it.”
“Cool,” I said as I scrawled my signature on the report I had just finished printing. “You headed home after this?”
“Yeah. My wife would have my hide if I miss another supper this week. She understands and all, but she still gets upset. Oh,” he said as he set his computer to print. “She asked me to invite you and Hannah to dinner this weekend. She wants to do a cookout and play some cards. Jason is welcome to come too, if he’s feeling up to it.”
“I’ll talk to Hannah and Jason and let you know. Hannah said something about having a paper due, but I don’t think that’s the first priority with her right now.”
Dan chuckled. “Probably not,” he agreed as he signed his report. “Let’s drop these with the captain and get out of here.”
“All right.” I stood and stretched then grabbed the papers and walked to the captain’s office. We put our reports into his inbox and walked out of the precinct.
“What do you think Mason said to him at the end of the standoff?” Dan asked unexpectedly as we walked to our cars. “Whatever it was turned Jason white as a ghost, and he hasn’t said anything about it yet. He also hasn’t mentioned what happened to make the warehouse floor explode.”
“I don’t know,” I said.
It was true. I did not know what Mason had said, but I suspected it had something to do with why he didn’t kill Jason right away. Mason wanted to study Jason’s abilities, and that couldn’t involve anything good. And I obviously couldn’t tell Dan about what Jason had done to the warehouse.
“Maybe he’ll tell us after he gets some real sleep,” I hedged, hoping we’d be able to come up with something believable for how the warehouse had ended up with piles of broken concrete and dirt all over the formerly smooth floor.
“Are you sure about your plan?” Dan questioned, apparently accepting that I didn’t know any more than he about what had happened. “Jason won’t be up to hunting Mason for a while, and that will still give him time to find out where Jason is holed up.”
If he didn’t already know; the man was bound to have had someone watching the hospitals for Jason. We only knew about a handful of Mason’s employees; there could be any number of people willing to follow someone for the right price.
I could tell that Dan’s thoughts were going in the same direction. “We’ll do what we can, but there’s no way that we can keep everyone on the street from talking if Mason has guys asking about Jason. The only thing we can do is to keep him as protected as possible at your house, and if necessary, move him to a safe house.”
“I don’t know that Jason would go for that,” I argued mildly. “He doesn’t really even like being stuck at my house—and he knows and trusts me. He would never accept someone else as his primary protector.”
Dan sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair, the silvery gray strands parting around his fingers. “His fear of authority is going to make protecting him a nightmare,” he groaned.
“We’ll have to think it over tonight. If you come up with anything decent, let me know in the morning. Get home, Dan. Judy will be expecting you. Relax for supper with your wife, and maybe something will come to you. Have a good night.”
“You too. Stay safe, partner. And keep that boy safe too. From how he looked earlier, he won’t be able to protect himself if someone does come knocking.”
I nodded. I knew that we wouldn’t really have a great chance of protecting him if Mason did send people for him tonight, but I hoped we would have at least a little time before the man would get up the guts to attack a cop’s house. “We’ll be fine,” I said boldly, trying to hide my fear. My cell phone rang and when I looked at the caller ID I held up a hand indicating that Dan should wait. “It’s Hannah.”
“Hannah? Is everything okay?” I couldn’t hide my fear. We’d left my sister and a badly injured Jason alone.
“We’re fine,” she said calmly. “I was just wondering when you’d be home. Jason is still sleeping, but he’s starting to thrash around. I think he’s about to wake himself up, and when he does he’s going to need his meds.” Behind the calm I could read her worry.
“He’ll be fine, Hannah,” I reassured her as I indicated to Dan that everything was okay. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Dan,” I said as I climbed into the car and returned to the phone call. “With everything he’s been through I’d be more worried if he wasn’t having nightmares.”
Hannah took a deep breath and from the shakiness I heard in that breath I could tell that she’d been crying. “I’ll be home soon, hon,” I soothed. “We’ll take care of him.”
“And then send him back out to find this monster, I guess,” she said bitterly.
I sighed and started the car, heading toward the nearest pharmacy. “I’m going to pick up his meds now, Hannah. If you need to talk when I get home, we can talk. I’d rather not do this over the phone. But I hope you know I wouldn’t do anything to put Jason in harm’s way.” At least I would try.
“Fine,” she said shortly. “See you when you get here.” Without waiting for a reply, she hung up.
I held my phone to my ear dumbly for a few seconds before flipping it closed and returning it to my pocket. Hannah was furious, and extremely worried. She rarely got truly mad at me, but for Jason she was willing to fight.
“How am I going to get us out of th
is mess?” I questioned myself out loud, hoping to trigger some response. Unfortunately, even by the time I had picked up the medication and returned home, nothing came to mind.
***
“Hannah? I’m home,” I called softly, aware that Jason might still be sleeping. I hung up my coat and walked into the living room.
“We’re in here,” she called from the kitchen. Her tone was less hostile than it had been over the phone and I suspected that Jason had something to do with it.
“Hey, guys.” I set the bag with Jason’s meds on the counter in the kitchen. Jason was sitting at the kitchen table while Hannah set out bowls and spoons. “Soup tonight?” I asked softly trying to keep my voice low in deference to Jason’s headache. He was looking a little better, but he’d only slept about two hours before I’d gotten back. He was still pale, the bruising around his wound standing out in dark blue and green. His eyes were shadowed and haunted, as if whatever had plagued him in the dream world had followed him into reality.
“Yeah,” Hannah replied. “I figured it would be quick and easy.”
It would also be easy for Jason to keep down; the ultimate in ‘I don’t feel good’ food. Hopefully the nausea would be gone and he’d be able to eat more than just soup, but if it weren’t at least that would put something in his system.
“How are you feeling, Jason?” I asked sitting next to him at the table.
He shrugged. “I’m all right,” he mumbled sleepily. He clearly needed more sleep, but after the nightmare that had awakened him, I wondered if he’d dare. I glanced at Hannah and noticed that she was busy at the stove.
“Jason…” I hesitated, almost compulsively looking at the kitchen to make sure she wasn’t listening. She would be furious if she knew I was bringing this up tonight, despite the importance of knowing as much as possible in order to stop Mason. At this point, Hannah wouldn’t care about the case. She was still stirring the soup, so I turned my attention back to Jason.
“Yeah?” he prompted sitting up a little straighter. He seemed worried and tense, but that was to be expected.
“What did Mason say to you?”
ELEVEN
Jason
I looked down at the table, trying to decide whether or not to answer Alice. This isn’t over. That’s all Mason had said, but the insinuation was bad. He knew about my abilities. Had said I’d be an interesting ‘specimen’ to study. Like his name, Mason’s threats seemed mild, but sent shivers of fear down my entire body all the same.
“Jason?” Alice sounded worried now as she broke into my thoughts.
“I’m fine,” I repeated, still hesitant to answer her. “He told me it isn’t over,” I said quietly.
Alice leaned closer. “It isn’t over?” Her eyes flashed angrily. “I’ll say. He doesn’t know what he got himself into. Don’t worry, Jason. You have me, Dan, and most of the cops in our precinct looking out for you and hunting Trevor Mason.”
“Does that mean… you won’t need me to look for him anymore?” I asked hopefully. Alice opened her mouth but closed it without saying anything as she winced slightly. I stared down at the pattern in the wooden table, resigned to the situation. “Never mind; I’ll do what I need to do.”
She put her hand over mine and leaned in. “I would give anything to go back in time and keep you off Mason’s radar. Now that you’re there…”—she shrugged uncomfortably—“unfortunately you're probably going to have to take an active role in your own protection. If you don’t go after him, he’s still coming after you.”
She sighed and removed her hand from mine, but she kept her gaze on me as she tried to find a different solution. “If you don’t want to hunt him down and help us take him off the streets, we can put you up in a safe house.”
Alice’s tone told me she knew I wouldn’t want the safe house option, and she sounded apologetic even as she suggested it.
Her offer was sincere, as was her regret. Neither did me any good. “If I went that route, there’s no telling how long I would have to stay in protective custody. No. It would probably be safer for me to be on my own on the street.” A place I really didn’t want to be, but often found myself: alone and on the street avoiding another dangerous man. Well, in this case trying to find him while preventing him from catching me. “I’m harder to find if I’m by myself. I’ll need a few days to get back on my feet, and I would prefer to stay here to do it.”
She nodded, seeming almost relieved. “I expected as much. What do you want to do about the kids?”
I closed my eyes and bowed my head over folded hands. “I don’t know. I don’t even know how to keep myself off his radar; how do I keep them safe? Would they be safer if I just leave them?”
I hated the apprehension and fragility in my voice. Alice was looking at me in sympathy, and Hannah was pretending not to hear us.
Dishes clattered and silverware clanged as I thought over what to do. “Can you give me some time? Is that possible?” I asked, longing for a positive answer.
“I don’t know,” she sounded genuinely upset that she couldn’t give me a clear answer. It was yet another sincere emotion that did not help my situation. But it wasn’t her fault. “We don’t know what Mason knows or how much of a window we have before he attempts anything.”
I nodded, trying to accept the situation. “Soup’s ready,” Hannah said trying to sound cheerful, probably in her continuing effort to pretend she hadn’t heard every word we just said. “I have chicken noodle for me and Jason, and broccoli and cheese for Alice.”
“Thanks, Hannah,” I said. I tried to push the worries out of my head and focus on the task at hand: supper. Now my main concern would be trying to push past my nausea and eat some soup. My headache was more manageable now, but definitely still there.
“Don’t forget your dessert,” she said, handing me two pills. “It says to take them with food, so eat up.”
Thankfully the meal went well. Conversation turned from my issues to Hannah’s college and I went back to bed that evening feeling much more relaxed than I had the entire day. The massage Hannah had given me before sending me down to my room didn’t hurt either. I hadn’t even realized how tense my shoulders were until she touched me. Even the lightest touch felt like my muscles were being torn apart. The bed in my room was basically a mattress on the floor, so it was easy for me to find a position where I could touch the ground. Hopefully I’d be able to feel any threat before it became an issue.
I fell asleep quickly, but not as deeply as I had that afternoon. The result was a half-aware state, which was restful, but not as useful for healing as deep sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, I lowered my guard and curled up completely on the bed, finally falling into the deep sleep my body craved.
What felt like minutes later, I jerked awake, going from lying down to standing next to the bed in a split second, my guard raised without knowing why. I heard some creaking from upstairs as a door opened. I wanted nothing more than to find a corner to hide in, but if there was someone breaking into the house I couldn’t leave Hannah and Alice to deal with it on their own.
I crept up the stairs as silently as possible and stopped at the top, straining to hear anything out of place that would lead me to the noise I had heard. A floorboard groaned as someone walked across it and I followed the noise into the kitchen. Hannah jumped and screeched as I entered the room almost completely silently.
“Hannah!” I exclaimed in a loud whisper.
“Jason, you scared the crap out of me!” she scolded. “What are you doing up?”
“I heard a door open up here and thought someone might have gotten in. I figured I should check it out, but now I’m going back to bed.”
“Sure,” she said. “Goodnight, Jason. I’m sorry for waking you.”
I shrugged. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it. I’m just a bit jumpy right now.”
“Understandably so,” she said with sympathy. “I hope you’re able to get back to sleep. Do you need anything before
you go back down?”
“Maybe a little water,” I said, noticing how dry my mouth had gotten from sneaking around the house. Fear apparently made me thirsty.
Hannah grabbed a glass. “Do you want it from the fridge or the tap?”
“Tap,” I said. The closer to room temperature the better. Some of my earlier nausea had returned and I’d heard somewhere that lukewarm water was better for nausea than cold.
She filled my cup and handed it to me. “Thanks, Hannah. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Sleep well, Jase,” she said gently.
“I’ll try” I took my cup of water and headed back down the carpeted steps to my room. As much as I needed the sleep, I couldn’t bring myself to cut off my contact with the ground again. I was determined to stay in my half-aware state to keep an eye out—so to speak—and make sure no one could approach the house without my knowledge. It would be a long night, but if something happened to Alice or Hannah because I wasn’t paying attention, I’d never be able to forgive myself.
TWELVE
Alice
The door creaked as I opened it and I cringed at the noise. I knew Jason would be on edge waiting for any noises, so I was trying my best to get out of the house without waking him. He needed as much sleep as possible in order to heal. Dan had called and said we needed to be in a little early, so I was up and out of the house by six. Hannah would sleep through a hurricane, so there was no way I’d wake her.
I hit the speed dial button for Dan’s number and turned on my Bluetooth. “Dan? I’m on my way. What’s going on?” It wasn’t unusual for us to get called in early, but we were typically told ahead of time that we would be on call. This wasn’t one of those days.
“One of Jason’s kids showed up last night and won’t talk to anyone but you. She asked for ‘Officer Alice’ and then wouldn’t say a word after she was told you weren’t in yet.”
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