“Or something,” she said, tilting her head a bit and giving him the most dazzling smile he had seen from her. It lit her whole face and she knew it.
“You’re enjoying the hell out of this, aren’t you?”
“You are easy,” she teased and squeezed his hand back, but then pulled it away. “Okay, come on, let’s let things go and we’ll see what happens, okay?”
He could deal with that. He was right, though. There was something magical about her that he couldn’t put a finger on. She just did something to him and he could not ignore it.
“Already done,” he said. “I don’t even remember what color panties you were wearing.”
“That’s because I wasn’t.”
He snapped his fingers. “That’s right. I went to tear them off with my teeth and got nothing.”
“Ha! You got a lot more than nothing, mister.”
“Why is it that women always think they are providing the ultimate sacrifice for the man? Is it the same in the lesbian relationships?”
“Only when you’ve got somebody like me.”
“A little cocky are we?”
She laughed and then turned to him. “I had fun last night, so just be happy about it. All kidding aside. You were a true gentlemen.”
“As in really ‘gentle?’”
“Well, not too gentle,” she said and her eyes flashed at him. He grinned sheepishly and then she giggled like a girl. “Oh don’t get all that on me.”
“You started it.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
“In more ways than one.”
She let that one go and glanced at him sideways a couple of times with just a ghost of a smile on her lips. It was good to be back to their old selves.
A comfortable silence hung in the air for a moment and then she said, “Okay, let’s concentrate on what we need to be doing.”
“Creeping out the town folk?”
“That too.” Her cell phone rang. He picked it up and said, “Uh oh,” handing it to her.
“Oh no. You get it.”
“It’s your phone.”
“But I know it’s for you. I’m driving.”
“Like you’re the cautious driver now. You almost killed an old lady.”
“Will you just answer it!”
He laughed and pushed the send button. “Cardmen.”
“Are you two together?” Smith asked without preamble.
“Yes sir, Ginny’s driving.”
“You can stop canvassing the neighborhood, it won’t do any good.”
“Good, sir. People are starting to notice us.”
“The pulses are shielded and you won’t be able to get a lock on any residual, so don’t even waste your time. We’ll have to wait for a pulse.”
“Do you want us in town still or to head back?”
“Stay put,” he said, “but keep your ears open. I believe we’re going to be hearing from whomever soon and it may be big. I also think they may have attracted some attention. It’s some kind of lab and you couldn’t just build it without someone knowing about it. Maybe you could work that angle and try interviewing local contractors and see if anything strange comes up. It will be highly specialized equipment and construction techniques.”
“How do you know all this sir?”
“The thing in Florida. It’s linked and I’ve got good intel on it.”
“What exactly are we looking for?”
“I can’t go into it on this line,” he said, “but the people involved are very dangerous, so watch yourselves. If you find anything, keep it under surveillance and call us in. Do not attempt to infiltrate anything you find. I repeat, let us handle it once you’ve located the source. Got it?”
“Yes, sir, but…”
“No buts Cardmen. This is serious. I can’t explain what is going on over this insecure line, but you must understand it is very dangerous. I’ve got to go. Keep in touch.” And the line went dead.
Chapter 25
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
The door burst open and Bart watched John Miller storm into the lab carrying the MP5 that Elise had used in Florida. That was good. They could use the hardware. Bart had left the security system unarmed so that Miller could enter without a problem. They were expecting him.
“Where is she?” he growled and swiveled his head back and forth in a vain effort to find Elise.
“She’s close, John. Come in. It’s good to see you.”
Miller seemed to notice him for the first time and glared through bloodshot eyes at him. Bart took in the ruined face and did his best not to cringe. Apparently he had done this to him and was a little surprised how this made him feel. He actually wanted to laugh at the man and ridicule him like a schoolyard bully. It slowly passed.
“Well, you’ll do,” Miller said and pointed the gun at him. “I owe you.”
“That you do, John. That you do. But before you pull that trigger, just know it will do no good.”
“Bullshit! It’ll feel great.”
“If you must, but it will all be in vain.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“We’re very much alike, now, you and I. We need to stick together.”
“We’re nothing alike and I’m going to dispose of you like the piece of shit garbage that you are.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, John. I’m not going anywhere.”
The look in Bart’s eyes must have registered something deep down in this Neanderthal’s brain because he tilted his head and seemed to be listening to something or evaluating the situation. He stepped closer and Bart could see a hole in his cheek where some of the skin had not fused properly back in place.
“You can shoot me, and I’ll probably die in front of you, but I’m like you now. I’ll be back. We need to stick together,” he repeated.
“Bullshit.”
“You keep saying that,” Bart said, “but I assure you, that is not the case. Come here.”
Miller did not move and even raised the gun higher.
“Come here, John. You can see I’m unarmed and besides, we now know you cannot die. What do you have to fear?”
This registered on Miller’s face and he lowered the gun and walked to him.
“Take my hand.”
Miller did not move.
“Take my hand,” and Bart held it out to him. Miller reached up and grasped it as if to shake and then jerked in surprise. Bart could feel the electricity, but he had expected it. Miller had not. He and Elise had discovered the connection shortly after his awakening. It made sex quite intense.
“What the fuck!” Miller shouted.
“Yes. What the fuck.” And Bart smiled through the mild pain with clenched teeth. He could see into the man’s mind and cringed at the visions he saw there. Terrible things performed on Elise and him in some horrible revenge he was just beginning to fathom. John Miller was going to have a hard time letting things go and working with them, but he would eventually. He had to. They needed him.
Miller shook free from his grasp and stepped back, angry. “I should waste you anyway, just to watch you squirm. You still feel it you know.”
“Do what you must, John. I’ve felt what you’ve felt and it can’t be worse than that.”
Miller hesitated, remembering and then lowered the gun. “The bitch too?” he asked, dejected.
“Elise!” Bart called and she sauntered in. She went straight to Miller and kissed him on his ruined mouth. He jerked at the feel and then pulled away.
“You’re still a psycho!”
She laughed at him but did not touch him again. It had hurt to watch her kiss the melted and mangled face of this man.
“Now, John,” she said. “Don’t be that way. We’re all on the same team, now.”
“I don’t want to have anything to do with you people except to see you dead.”
“That can’t happen now, can it?” she said. “So be a good boy and play with the team.”
“Fuck you!
”
“So hostile,” she said. “Not now.”
This comment seemed to take him aback and he stood there dumbfounded.
“Besides,” she said. “You’ll get to do all those things you love. And nobody can stop you.”
His face changed as a dawning realization set in. He must not have thought things through in his blind rage to find and kill them. As what she just said sank in, he began to smile. Even through the scars and mangled skin, the smile was almost handsome.
Almost.
~ ~ ~
“Yep. Some kind of polycarbonate resin material. It was fashioned into a kind of chamber that was see through.” The local Jackson Hole contractor, Jesse Johns, picked up his beer and took a pull from it. Lucky did the same and nodded for him to continue.
“That’s it really. I did the one job for them and nothing since.”
“How long ago was this?” Ginny asked as she sat back in the bench, her beer untouched.
“Oh—about a year ago, I’d say,” Jesse said. “It was pretty damn cold then too, so it must have been around this time. Paid pretty well, so I didn’t really ask any questions about what it was they were constructing. None of my business really. But the cold was important. We had to keep the polycarbonate from the freezing temperatures or they wouldn’t accept it. Something about it becoming brittle or weak.”
“What else was in there?” Lucky asked.
“Computers, looked like. A big one too. I’d say it was state of the art. Lots of piping and cooling material too. Whatever they were going to be doing in there, it was going to get warm.”
“Do you know of any other contractors who worked inside the building?” Ginny asked.
He shook his head. “Nope. Didn’t see any others though I know there must have been before and after me, because it wasn’t finished. But, like I said, it was none of my business and I didn’t ask around.”
“You weren’t even curious?” Lucky asked.
“Nope. I’ve got better things to occupy my time than wondering why someone wanted a plastic room.” He drained the glass and moved to go. “Thanks for the beer, but if you fine folks are not in need of my contractor services, I wouldn’t mind getting a move on and drumming up some paying business. No offense.”
“None taken,” Ginny said, and smiled. “We appreciate you taking the time to answer some questions.”
He stood and turned to go, but then stopped. “What are you folks? FBI or something?”
“Or something,” Lucky said.
He turned this over in his head for a second and then sat back down. “One thing. They had a lot of security for a home. I’m assuming what they were doing they wanted to keep private.”
“What kind of security?” Ginny asked.
“I’ve only ever seen it once before, but I think they call it a biometric lock. It only opens if the authorized user has matching fingerprints, or retinal scan, something like that. Like in the movies, only this was real. And they had cameras all over the outside monitoring the surrounding yard and street. They were serious about it.” He stood again and nodded his head. “Take care.”
“We will,” Lucky said and watched him go.
“What do you think?” Ginny asked after he’d gone.
“We’ve got an address now. I think we should call Smith.”
She nodded but stared at him with a funny look on her face.
“What?”
“Don’t you want to go look at it before we call Smith?”
“What for?”
She looked away, exasperated, and turned back to him. “To make sure it’s the real deal.”
“It sounds like the real deal to me. Besides, Smith said we are not to engage. We’re supposed to let the big boys handle any infiltration.”
“I’m not talking about raiding the house. I just think we need to go and look at it before we report in.”
“I’m not sure…”
“What else do we have to do?” she asked.
“I just don’t think it’s a good idea. What if they see us?”
“We’re just going to drive by. Take a look and confirm some things. No biggie.”
He wasn’t sure what she was up to, but he guessed it wouldn’t hurt to take a look. “All right. We drive by and take a look, then we call Smith.”
“Right,” and she smiled.
They paid the tab and left. Outside the air was brittle and dry and every breath seemed to sap just enough heat from Lucky’s body that he imagined he could feel ice crystals forming on the insides of his airway and lungs. If he stayed out here too long he’d freeze from the inside out.
“Damn it’s cold.” He blew into his ungloved hands and rubbed them together.
“Come on,” she said. “I’ll keep you warm.”
He perked up at that and jumped into the passenger seat where he slid over up next to her. She smelled of some lemony perfume and he let her wrap her arms around him, pulling him closer.
“Shouldn’t I be keeping you warm?” he asked.
“Probably. But you’re a wimp, so I’ll oblige you.”
“I don’t have a problem being a wimp.”
“I bet.”
“Besides, you smell good.”
“It’s a local perfume. I picked it up last night when I was out. They had a display at the beer mart. It’s essence of moose or something.”
He looked at her. “Mooses smell like lemons?”
“Mooses?”
“Mooses, meeses, I don’t know. What’s the plural of moose?”
“Moose, I think.”
“Okay, moose smell like lemons?”
“Oh that,” she said, pulling something from her pocket. “That’s probably the soap from the motel. I stole it.”
“Now you’ve done it.”
“I know. They’ll probably hunt us down and kill us when we check out.”
“Just drive,” he said and slipped back over to his side of the car. He was freezing again.
She smiled and turned the starter over as the engine roared to life. “Where to?”
“Straight ahead,” he said, looking at the map. “Through town and then left on the road we were on earlier. The one with the ritzy houses.”
She nodded and they headed out. The street was mostly deserted and the people of the town were either hunkered down at home or in an office or store trying to earn a living. The cold was keeping even the most diehard northerners inside. Theirs was the only car on the road.
They turned left and slowly climbed a hill as they both watched the houses on the right.
“It should be just up ahead,” Lucky said, craning his neck to see.
The rear tires started to spin on the icy street as the incline grew steeper. “How the hell do people live on a hill in a place like this?” Ginny said.
“Chains. Too bad we don’t have any.”
The tires found purchase again and they moved slowly, Ginny trying to keep the car out of the icy sections. Snow covered the yards and trees, and most houses had smoke climbing skyward from the chimneys. Some even had multiple chimneys all belching a dark, sooty color. It seemed so peaceful. Lucky wanted nothing more than to be curled up in front of one of those hearths next to her with a beer in his hand. They should be back at the motel.
“There it is,” she said and pulled past it slowly without stopping. It was a two story with dark shudders and a huge red door. All the shudders were closed so they could see nothing inside and the chimney was cold. It was the only one not in use.
“Satisfied?” he asked.
“I didn’t see anything, did you?”
“No. It looked normal…except for the lack of a fire in the fireplace.”
“How could you tell that?”
“No smoke.” He pointed at the other houses. “Everybody has a fire going but that one. Maybe nobody is home.”
She turned to him with a grin on her face, then pulled into a driveway and reversed back out onto the street facing downhill. She worked her
way slowly down the street again and stopped in front of the house and stared at it.
“I don’t see any cameras, do you?” she said.
He leaned over trying to see past her out the window. “Doesn’t mean there aren’t any.”
She pulled over to the curb in front of the house.
“What are you doing?” he said.
“Watching for a bit.”
“Don’t you think they’ll notice?”
“I don’t think anybody is in there.”
“Still, they could be monitoring the street from some remote access point or something. I don’t think we need to be sitting right in front of the house.” He looked around the neighborhood, but no one was visible. “I’m calling Smith.” He pulled the phone out and started to dial but noticed he had no signal. “Great.”
“What?”
“No bars. I’ve got nothing. Check your phone.”
She pulled her phone from her coat and then the car died. It didn’t stumble or stutter, it just quit, like a switch had been thrown.
“Shit!”
“What happened?” Lucky said.
“I don’t know.” She turned the key but nothing happened. The starter would not turn over.
One of the instruments in the backseat started alarming. Lucky reached for it and looked at the dial. The needle was buried in the red.
“We’ve got a big one!” Lucky said and held it up to her.
“We may just be right in front of the source.” She opened the door and started to get out.
“Where are you going?”
“To look around.”
“Ginny. You know we’re not supposed to do that.”
“Do you have a better idea? We can’t call Smith and we can’t drive to a phone. We might as well look around while we work our way back into town.” She got out and shut the door in his face.
“Shit.” He said under his breath, but got out of the car on his side anyway. His lungs seemed to lock up from the cold and he stood there for a minute trying to get his breath. He knew he was breathing because steam was exiting his body through his mouth. It just didn’t feel like any usable air was getting in. Ginny stepped to the mailbox and opened it. It was stuffed full of mail. As if no one was home. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.
Near Sighted (A Jake Townsend Science Fiction, Action and Adventure, Thriller Series Book 2) Page 14