Powerhouse

by Rebecca York

  “Yeah,” Matt answered, wondering if he’d ever feel safe in his own home. He’d been cautious for years. Now he knew he hadn’t been overreacting.

  When they were settled again, Jack looked at Matt. “I’m pretty sure both you and I were held at a place they call the Facility. It’s under a mountain and goes back to Cold War days. Probably it started out as a fallout shelter. Then it got turned into a secret laboratory.”

  Matt nodded. “So that’s why there were no windows.”

  “Yeah,” Maddox agreed.

  “Who was running the lab?” Matt asked.

  Claudia shifted in her seat. “I was part of it. Well, not at that exact location.”

  Matt’s attention jerked toward her. “Did I hear that right?”

  Jack slipped his arm around Claudia. “She didn’t know what she was really involved in. She was a researcher working for a Dr. Thomas Lasher, an expert in physics, psychology and artificial intelligence—on a project to interface people with precognition and machines.”

  BOBBY SAVAGE, pressed the off button on the phone and looked at Campbell. “The most likely scenario is that they’ve flown to Rapid City, South Dakota.”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  Bobby sighed. “I wish I were. Our instructions are to fly there, then wait for a special delivery package.”

  “What kind of package?”

  “The instructions will be included.”

  Campbell’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like it. I mean, what if they’re not there?”

  “Then it won’t be our fault. Come on, we’ve got to hustle to make the next flight.”

  CLAUDIA BEGAN to speak again. “Dr. Lasher told me his dream was to create a fusion of man and machine that would be able to detect and maybe prevent global catastrophes.”

  Too edgy to keep his tone even, Matt snapped, “That sounds like a plot for a science-fiction novel.”

  “Everything that’s happened to you and me sounds like a science fiction plot, don’t you think?” Jack asked.

  “You have a point.”

  “That’s not the half of it,” Claudia continued. “Dr. Lasher was working with a Dr. Kenneth Sykes, whose initial goal in the Vietnam era was to create super soldiers using gene manipulation. That experiment was a bust. But Sykes was able to build on his research. He discovered the techniques he’d developed worked best in people who carried a certain recessive gene, which he called I, for Ideal. He’d give them a certain combination of drugs that activated the recessive genes, which in turn gave them heightened abilities.”

  Matt leaned forward. “Are you saying this is a government conspiracy?”

  “I guess it started out as a government project. But then somebody got cold feet. Or maybe the results didn’t justify the expenses. At any rate, Sykes went off on his own.”

  Matt nodded. “So I guess you and I have that recessive gene?”

  “Yeah. And unfortunately for us, Sykes also discovered that the younger the individual was when the treatment began, the more developed their abilities would become. So he started looking for kids to test. That’s how my brother and I ended up in the program. And you.”

  Matt fought a wave of sickness. When he’d started looking for Trevor, he hadn’t considered that diabolical scientists were using innocent Americans like lab rats. But that’s exactly what Jack was telling him. He’d been part of the monstrous experiment. Now his son was in the middle of it, and that was Matt Whitlock’s damn fault—no matter what anyone tried to tell him.

  Claudia was speaking again in a halting voice, and he brought his mind back to her words. “I was working with a test subject. Someone I hadn’t met, and they wouldn’t tell me who it was. All I knew was that it was someone who could influence a Random Event Generator on the computer. Long story short, it turned out to be Jack. And he was trying to warn me that I was in danger. Then Dr. Lasher was murdered, and I decided to pull a disappearing act. Something made me come to this area. I rented this cabin and supported myself as a Web designer.”

  Jack picked up the story. “My brother and I escaped from the Facility, but we knew our best chance to stay free was to separate. I was pretty out of it, but something drew me here—looking for Claudia, even when I hadn’t met her and I didn’t exactly remember who she was.”

  “How could you find her, if you didn’t know her?”

  “When we were doing those Random Event Generator experiments, I forged a mental connection with her.” He laughed. “There are some advantages to developing special powers.”

  “How is this going to help us find Trevor?” Shelley asked. “Do you think he’s being held at that place—the Facility?”

  “No,” Jack said immediately. “The FBI shut it down after they found out that Sykes was using the place.”

  “You know where it is?”

  “Yeah. I can give you a number to call—if you want to follow that lead,” Jack said.

  “Appreciate it,” Matt answered.

  After talking to Jack and Claudia, they had a lot more background information, but Matt wasn’t sure that got him and Shelley any closer to Trevor. In fact, he was beginning to think that he should send Shelley back to the ranch while he continued hunting for their son. But he wasn’t going to bring that up until they were alone. Maybe he wasn’t going to bring it up at all. He’d just use his power on her and get her out of danger.

  “I guess this is a lot bigger than we realized,” he said.

  “Exactly.”

  “We have a ton of thinking to do. Probably we should find a motel in the area.”

  “You could stay here with us,” Claudia offered.

  Matt shook his head. “That’s kind of you, but from what you’ve been saying, it’s probably safer if we separate.”

  Jack agreed. “Let us know when you find your son,” he said, as though it was a foregone conclusion.

  Matt’s throat tightened, but he managed to say good-bye and shake hands with the guy.

  Shelley and Claudia embraced. “If there’s anything we can help with, please let us know,” she said.

  They left and drove back toward Rapid City, with Matt checking frequently in the rearview mirror to make sure nobody was following them. As far as he could tell, they were in the clear.

  When he cut Shelley a sideways glance, she turned to him. “I know you’re blaming yourself.”

  “You don’t think I should?”

  She waited several beats before saying, “You’ve been carrying this around for a long time, but there’s something you may not have caught.” The way she said the last part made his hands tighten on the wheel.

  “What?”

  “Jack said the I trait is caused by a recessive gene.”

  “And your point is?”

  “You can’t inherit a recessive gene from just your mother or your father. You have to get a copy from each parent. Take ears for example.”

  “What about them?”

  “Most people have free-hanging earlobes.” She pulled gently on the bottom of his ear. “We both do. That’s from the dominant gene. But some people have attached ear lobes, which comes from a recessive gene. If you have them, you got them from both your mother and your father. Of course, that doesn’t mean both parents have attached earlobes. It just means they have the recessive gene.”

  “How do you know all that—about genes?”

  “I took biology in college. The important point is that you have to get a recessive gene from both parents to have the trait. That means Trevor had to get it from both of us. Not just from you.”

  He realized with a jolt that she was right. He’d been blaming himself, and he hadn’t caught that little detail.

  “It’s my fault, as much as yours,” she murmured, in case he was still missing her point. “The only difference is that we know that giving you their voodoo injections triggered a paranormal power. We don’t know if it would work on me.”

  “Because nobody kidnapped you! Thank God.”

&nbs
p; “I guess they could have. And they’ve obviously been keeping track of me and Trevor. They must have done genetic testing on him—without my knowledge.”

  Matt couldn’t hold back a string of profanity. “Those bastards! Who the hell do they think they are?”

  “I guess they think that their nasty little science experiments are more important than our rights as American citizens,” she said.

  He had been thinking something very similar.

  “At least we’re not flying blind anymore,” she said. “The more we know, the more chance we have of finding Trevor.”

  He hoped that was true. He didn’t point out that they already knew of at least one murder associated with the project. How many more didn’t they know about?

  Another terrible thought struck him, and he struggled not to let anything show on his face. But he was suddenly wondering how many children had been kidnapped and what had happened to them. How many of them hadn’t survived the treatment they’d been given to turn on the I gene?

  He’d never had much faith in prayer. Probably because of his mother’s brand of religion. But now he was hoping God would see fit to help a little boy in trouble.

  Please, Lord. Let Trevor make it through this. Please, Lord. I haven’t asked you for much. But I’m asking for my son. And for Shelley.

  He made the request over and over—until Shelley cleared her throat.

  Feeling as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t, he glanced at her, half expecting her to make a comment. Instead, she had a look on her face that told him she was feeling unsure of herself, too.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “Can you tell me when they started giving you injections?” she asked in a voice that was barely above a whisper. “I mean, was it right away? Or did they wait?”

  He thought for a moment, but he couldn’t come up with an answer. The time he’d been in captivity had just been one long period of terror for a twelve-year-old boy. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember that kind of detail.”

  “Maybe they don’t do it right away,” she said, her voice still very low. “You said they tested you first.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed, not because he believed it in this case. He’d been in a secure facility. Trevor was God knew where.

  “Do you remember anything else specific?”

  “Like what?”

  “Did they give you decent food?”

  “I think so.”

  “And nobody…hurt you. Except for those injections they gave you.”

  “I think that’s right,” he answered, knowing that she was trying to assure herself that her son wasn’t being mistreated—apart from the basic fact that they were doing diabolical experiments on him without even pretending to ask permission.

  As they drew closer to town, they must have silently agreed to stop torturing themselves with speculation about Trevor, because they dropped the conversation and started looking for a place to stay.

  Since Rapid City was smack in the middle of a scenic area, with everything from the famous giant presidents’ faces on Mount Rushmore to horseback-riding, ice-fishing and rock-hounding, there was no shortage of motels in town. Some were closed for the winter, but lots of them were open—ranging from luxury resorts to more basic accommodations.

  Matt found a small motel, the Stone Monument, that was well off Highway 90. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was in a wooded area with the rooms in separate cabins, which would give them some privacy.

  He checked them in, signing the guest card with the fake name and I.D. he’d gotten a few years ago in case he needed it. He also gave them a fake license plate number and paid in cash.

  As soon as he’d shut the door behind them, he felt the room closing in on him and knew it was a reaction to the intensity of the conversation with Jack and Claudia. It was simply too horrifying to absorb in only a few hours.

  “Don’t,” Shelley whispered.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Try to take all the blame. I told you, it’s as much my fault as yours.”

  When he didn’t answer, she reached for him and pulled him into her arms. And once she did, he couldn’t stop himself from clasping her to him and holding on tightly.

  He wanted to tell her everything was all right, but he couldn’t get the words past his parched lips, so he just stroked his hands up and down her back and across her shoulders, taking comfort from the contact.

  Wishing he could shut away the world, he closed his eyes, swaying slightly as he held her. They’d made love last night. Lord, was it only last night? So much had happened that it seemed like a month ago.

  Her head dropped to his shoulder, and he felt her tremble. He wasn’t the only one suffering from the shock of what they’d heard from Jack and Claudia. This whole damn mess was too much for her. Too much for anyone to bear, come to that, and he wanted to know she was out of danger.

  He understood she wasn’t going to back away voluntarily, but Jack had pointed out that there were advantages to having special powers, and he was going to cash in on his abilities now. With his eyes still closed, he started sending her a silent message, using the talent that Dr. Sykes and his researchers had given him.

  Shelley, you want to go back to the ranch. You want to go to the ranch where it’s safe. You want to wait for me there while I look for Trevor. You want to be at the ranch. We can call Ed Janey and tell him you’re coming.

  As he held her and stroked her, he kept repeating the message over and over, confident that it must be getting through to her—until her arms came up, and she pressed against his chest, pushing him away. Hard.

  “Matt Whitlock, what do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.

  “Nothing.”

  “Don’t tell me ‘nothing.’ You’re trying to use that damn power of yours to send me back to Colorado.”

  He stared at her. “What makes you think so?”

  Her eyes were fierce.

  “Because I just got an overwhelming urge to go back to the ranch.”

  “It’s a good idea.”

  “I don’t think so. In fact, there is no way on God’s green earth that I would have thought of it myself. Which means you put it in my mind.”

  The challenging look on her face made his insides knot, but he stood his ground, because he knew he had been doing the right thing, even if she didn’t agree.

  “OKAY! We’re back in business,” Bobby Savage crowed as he brought the air express package to the rental car.

  Don Campbell watched while his partner took a penknife to the wrapping and carefully cut away the outer layer. Inside was a small plastic box with a screen and dials, something like a portable GPS.

  “Why didn’t they give us this thing in the first place?” Campbell asked.

  “Because Whitlock and Young were at the ranch. The Big Kahuna thought we wouldn’t have any trouble tracking them, but when they got away, we needed this extra piece of equipment.” As he spoke, he flipped the on switch and waited for the machine to power up. When the screen was on, he moved the map function until a blinking circle appeared at the far right edge of the screen. By manipulating the controls, he was able to bring the circle closer to the center of the screen.

  “They’re right there.” He pointed. “And they’re not moving. It looks like they’ve bedded down for the evening.”

  “Okay.”

  “So we’re heading for Rapid City.”

  “Now that we’re got the general area, we can fine-tune the display and zero in on them.”

  Chapter Six

  Shelley kept her angry gaze on Matt. “Allow me to make my own decisions.”

  His expression turned grim. “Didn’t you hear what Jack and Claudia were telling us? This is dangerous. These people will kill to protect their own interests.”

  “I know that. And I know that my little boy is alone and scared and wanting his mommy. And if anybody can find him, I can.”

  She saw Matt’s face contort.

  �
��So don’t try to send me away.”

  He swallowed. “I was…trying to keep you safe.”

  Her answer exploded from her. “I don’t want to be safe. I want to find my son. That’s why I came to you in the first place.” She made an effort to rein in her fear and frustration. “This is like what you did five years ago. Making decisions for me. You sent me away because you thought it was the best thing for me. But it wasn’t.”

  “Yeah, well, five years ago, you thought I was messed up. Which is why you left, never mind the ‘push.’ And since you came back, you’ve seen how paranoid I am.”

  When she started to object, he went on quickly. “And you saw how Jack acted. First he snuck up on us with a gun. Then he thought he heard something and rushed outside again. Guys like us aren’t fit to be around,” he growled.

  She kept her gaze fixed on him. “You and Jack have good reason to behave the way you do. And you might have noticed that Claudia stuck with Jack when she could have left him. Don’t use his behavior—or yours—as an excuse to get rid of me now. And don’t use the danger either. The best chance of finding Trevor is if we work together.”

  As she saw his expression soften, she relaxed a little.

  “Okay.”

  She kept her voice firm. “And don’t try to use your powers on me again.”

  “I said okay,” he snapped, and she knew she couldn’t push him any farther. Instead, she tried to let him know she understood the fear and the frustration he was feeling.

  “I realize you’re used to making decisions on your own,” she said in a gentler voice. “I mean since you came back from being kidnapped and saw your mom wasn’t going to be much help.”

  “Yeah.”

  She swallowed and continued. “But now I believe that neither one of us can find Trevor alone.”

  His gaze bore into her. “Why?”

  She spread her hands. “It’s a feeling I have. Maybe I’ve got some powers, too. I’ve got the I gene.”

  “You never got any injections.”