by R. D. Brady
“God, I hate that guy.”
“Can’t say I blame you. He looks like a hot dog with eyes.”
Laney smirked. “I was thinking of a younger version of Mr. Burns from the Simpsons.”
“Never seen it.”
“What? How is that possible?”
Drake shrugged. “Not much of a TV watcher.”
“You know, the next time we have some downtime, we are totally doing a veg out on the couch and have a TV marathon.”
“The next time we have time? So I’ll pencil us in for thirty-seven years from Tuesday?”
Laney dropped her forehead to the conference table, her hands over her head. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”
Honestly, she could not remember the last time she had relaxed a little. She always seemed to be running from one situation to the next. Drake was doing the same, although not officially. While many people contacted the SIA when there was a Fallen situation, some contacted the Chandler Group directly, not wanting to involve the government. Drake looked into those cases, since he also was not a big fan of the government. He’d been doing a lot of good, but it meant they were often heading off in opposite directions.
“Want to get some lunch?”
Laney didn’t take her head from the table. “Not really.”
Drake laughed as he pulled her back and slid into the seat next to her. “No moping. What’s going on?”
She sighed. “I don’t know. Today it’s just all getting to me.”
“What’s all?”
She threw her arms wide. “All of it! I mean, Jen, Jake, and I just caught a Fallen who’d been running a gang outside of Chicago that was terrorizing a neighborhood. I’m not expecting a ticker tape parade, but I don’t think it would be out of line to not be treated like public enemy number one. I mean, I did save the world from Samyaza. I think I’ve earned a little trust.”
Drake shook his head.
“What?”
“Yes, you saved the world. But what you earned from the governments of the world is fear. You showed them how you are more powerful than any of them. Right now, they are scared of what might happen if you decide to turn that power against them and try to run things.”
“I wouldn’t do that. I have zero interest in running anything. In fact, a life with very few responsibilities sounds fabulous.”
Drake watched her for a long moment. “You are an unusual creature. You have all this power, yet no ambition to use it for your own gain. That is not something politicians will ever be able to understand. Their whole existence revolves around attaining more power.”
Laney shuddered. “Good thing they’re not the ring bearer.”
“Yes, it is. Any word from inside the government? About what they’re planning?”
Laney shook her head. “Matt’s been shut out. So has Nancy, or at least that’s what she says.”
“You don’t believe her?”
Laney shrugged with a smile. “She is a politician.”
He returned the smile with an incline of his head. “That she is.”
Drake’s words rolled through Laney’s head. While on paper it looked as if Laney and the government were working together, she knew they were keeping her at arm’s length. It definitely wasn’t a partnership. More like they were hunting with a dog they didn’t entirely trust and therefore kept a gun on. But what if it was more than that?
“You really think they’re plotting against us?” she asked.
Drake nodded. “Us and you specifically. I’ve been around a long time. And one thing I know for certain is that people in charge want to attain power. And if they can’t attain it, they want to destroy it.”
CHAPTER 8
Langley, Virginia
The halls of the CIA headquarters were bustling as David Okafur headed for his new office. Suited men and women hurried past him with coffee, folders, and briefcases. A few gave him nods, although he didn’t know them, and they didn’t know him. But in an office setting, that’s what you did. Nodded at people you didn’t know to show that you belonged, even if you were not entirely sure if they did. The CIA was no different.
He turned down a hall, walking past row after row of desks. A single desk sat outside a single door at the back of the room. Chang Kim looked up from behind the desk as David approached. “The video feeds are on your account.”
“Thank you.”
“And Director Heller asked to see you in an hour.”
“All right. Can you grab me a coffee?”
Chang nudged his chin toward the door. “Already on your desk.”
David nodded his thanks as Chang buzzed him into his office. Chang was not some simple assistant. He and David had worked together for fifteen years now. Chang was a whiz at computers, paperwork, and organization. But he could also hit a target at 1500 yards, disable multiple opponents, and slip in and out of secured locations without raising any alarms. David knew that in the not-too-distant future he’d have to get Chang out of the office. He, like David, got a little stir crazy being around suits for too long. Three months was definitely hitting that limit.
There was a small issue in El Salvador he could send Chang on. A quick in and out. He could do it over the weekend. Planning to send him the details after he met with Heller this afternoon, he settled behind his desk to write up his report.
Twenty minutes later, he pushed back from the desk, satisfied he’d detailed everything accurately. This was the seventeenth incident Delaney McPhearson had been involved in that he had documented. It was the twelfth he’d been in the chopper for. Chang had installed a tracker on the SIA computers so that they were notified of any impending raids. After the first five, David had insisted on being on site to watch the other ones. Even with the chopper recordings of the incidents, it was difficult to believe what was occurring. David had wanted to see it with his own eyes.
Even then, it had been shocking. The Fallen moved so fast. He could barely discern their movements. Even with all his skills, he knew he would be no match for them.
And then there was Delaney McPhearson. Her abilities, all those of the Fallen with the added ability of being able to control the weather, she was more terrifying than all of them. When he began this mission, he knew exactly how dangerous that much concentrated power would be in one person’s hands. Those first few incidents had done nothing to lessen that concern.
But then there had been incidents like today. Instead of protecting herself, she had protected a group of strangers, lowering them safely to the ground while she plunged to the concrete. He knew she would recover from the fall, but she would also feel every broken bone, every bruised surface. Yet she chose the pain in order to protect a family she did not know. He was beginning to think that perhaps whoever had given her those abilities knew exactly whom they were choosing when they did so.
And that might be more terrifying than even her abilities. David had lost the ability to see the goodness in most people he came in contact with. On behalf of the U.S. government, he had killed drug lords, politicians, just generally bad people for the better part of two decades. Without fail, everyone they aimed him at had done something so deplorable that he viewed their removal from the gene pool as a true public service.
But Delaney McPhearson did not belong in that category. So he wasn’t entirely sure he agreed with the government aiming him in her direction, even if right now it was only for simple reconnaissance.
Chang’s voice over the intercom broke into his thoughts. “The director is moving up the meeting. He expects you in fifteen.”
“Tell him I’ll be there.”
“Sure thing.”
David scanned the report again. Satisfied, he sent a copy to Heller while sending another copy to his encrypted off-site storage site. He pushed back from his desk. He trusted Heller, for the most part. But if anyone tried to burn him if and when news of this surveillance got out, he planned on taking everyone down along with him.
CHAPTER 9
Baltim
ore, Maryland
The Chandler Estate was incredible. That was the thought that kept running through Mary Jane McAdams’s mind as they wound down the driveway toward Sharecroppers Lane. Jake had driven them past the main house first. Mary Jane couldn’t help but think of pictures of Monticello when she saw the large imposing building. Jake explained that both wings of the large building had been damaged in the attacks, but Henry had quickly had them reconstructed, wanting to get life back to normal as quickly as he could for everyone on the estate.
Now Jake had turned onto Sharecroppers Lane. The street was adorable with stone-covered cottages lining it, each with a small wooden porch and overflowing window boxes. A few had fences—short stone ones or picket fences. She sighed, a smile on her face.
Mary Jane’s oldest son, Joe, popped up from between the seats. “What’s a sharecropper?”
“A farmer who rents land and pays through part of their crop.”
“Oh.”
Joe sat back, and Mary Jane glanced into the back. All four of her kids were looking in awe out the windows.
She was struck by how alike they looked with their red hair and blue eyes. She smiled. They all looked like slightly different versions of one another. Joe was sixteen and had really started to put on muscle in the last year, making him look more man than boy. Shaun was starting to fill out too, but he still had that wide-eyed-boy look.
Her youngest was two-year-old Susie, whose red hair was in pigtails that had started to come undone on the flight down. But seeing as how she’d been asleep when they landed, Mary Jane hadn’t wanted to wake her by fixing them. Molly looked like what Mary Jane assumed Susie would look like in another ten years with her thin frame and bright blue eyes, her curly red hair also contained by two long braids. Mary Jane always thought of Anne of Green Gables when Molly wore her hair like that. But Molly, for all her youth and innocence, had grown up a lot in the last year.
“This is you guys.” Jake pulled to the side of the street in front of a cottage with a light rock facade, black shutters, a white covered porch, and a short rock wall with a wooden gate. Colorful petunias in purples, pinks, and white flowed over the window boxes, cascading down the side of the building.
Jake looked over at her with a smile. “Like it?”
“It’s magical.”
“Awesome.” Shaun flung open the door and jumped out. Joe was right behind him.
Molly climbed over the back seat. “I’ve got Susie.”
“Thanks, honey.” Mary Jane rolled down the window. “Boys! Get back here and get the bags!”
“Mom,” Joe grumbled while Shaun stared up at the sky as if to ask why his life was so difficult.
Mary Jane tried not to get annoyed at them. Or at least more annoyed. “Yeah, yeah, I’m horrible. Go get your stuff.”
The boys grumbled, pushing each other as they made their way to the back of the SUV. Mary Jane caught Molly’s grin in the rearview mirror and returned the smile. “Remind me again why I had your brothers and didn’t just skip ahead to you two?”
Molly pulled Susie into her arms as the back door opened. “Because you had to perfect the recipe. They were the trial kids.”
“Heard that.” Joe grabbed a bag.
“You were supposed to.” Molly climbed out of the car.
Mary Jane looked at Jake. “Still think us moving to the estate is a good idea?”
He leaned toward her. “Absolutely.”
Mary Jane leaned in toward Jake for the kiss, a tingle running through her as his lips touched hers. Jake was . . . unexpected. When Billy had died, Mary Jane had never given another thought to romance, not for her. Billy was her husband. When he died, she became his widow. As far as she had been concerned, that was the end of her romantic story.
But Jake, with his strength, his heart, how could she not fall for him? And the fact that he not only put up with her kids but actually seemed to really like them? That was just the icing on the cake.
“Oh, get a room,” Shaun said from the back of the car.
Heat flooded Mary Jane’s cheeks as she broke away from Jake. “Shaun!” But Shaun just grinned as he closed the tailgate.
“I’ll go show them inside.” Jake stepped out of the car and grabbed one of the bags from Joe before heading into the house.
The boys followed him in, but Molly stood looking around, holding Susie, a smile on her face. That smile was worth everything to Mary Jane after these last few months. Mary Jane stopped next to her. “What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful.”
Mary Jane put an arm around her waist. “Yes, it is.”
Molly’s head whipped down the street. Mary Jane tensed knowing Molly sensed something, but then she grinned. A large yellow-and-black Javan leopard sprinted down the street. Mary Jane stumbled back, but Molly stepped forward. “Zane!”
Zane screeched to a halt before he ran Molly and Susie over. Then he gently lifted himself onto two paws, placing his front paws on Molly’s shoulders and licking her face. With another gentle lick to the top of Susie’s head, he dropped back down to the ground, leaning against Molly.
Heart pounding, Mary Jane reached over and took Susie. Molly immediately dropped, throwing her arms around Zane. “I missed you.”
Zane buried his head in Molly’s chest.
Mary Jane watched on in awe. Jake had brought Zane with him when he’d come to Boston on the Day of Reckoning. Zane and Molly had gone together throughout the neighborhood for days, helping people out. They’d established a strong bond as a result.
Molly stood up with a giant smile. “Is it okay if Zane and I go check out the house?”
“Uh, sure.”
Molly started for the house, then turned back, kissing Mary Jane’s cheek. “Thanks, Mom.”
Mary Jane watched the two of them head through the gate as Jake held it open for them. He moved to Mary Jane’s side. “I see Zane found you.”
Mary Jane just nodded, absentmindedly rubbing Susie’s back, watching the doorway where Molly and Zane had disappeared.
“You sure you’re up for this?”
She gave a nervous laugh. “Hey, I’ve been saying for years what our house was missing was a giant genetically enhanced leopard.”
Henry had agreed to let Zane stay with the McAdamses for a trial run. Zane and Molly were already part of a public relations campaign the Chandler Group had come up with to help people accept the existence of Fallen. And Zane had been out to Boston a bunch of times. But now it was official: He would be the newest member of the McAdams family.
“Mary Jane?”
She looked up into Jake’s eyes before spying Molly through the windows, smiling from ear to ear. That was a sight more rare these days than a genetically enhanced leopard. Ever since people learned what Molly could do, she had lost a lot of friends. School became really tough. Kids had started bullying her, both in person and online. And the people that wanted to spend time with her wanted to because of what she could do, not because of who she really was. It was tough. She had started to retreat into herself, spending less and less time with her friends. Even soccer had become impossible with the media always there. Normal life had become a thing of the past.
But Zane, he just loved Molly with no ulterior motives. As a mom, she knew she would do whatever it took to keep her kids safe and happy. Apparently, in today’s world that included allowing a giant leopard to live in their house and moving hundreds of miles from the home they’d always known.
When Jake had learned how bad things were getting for Molly, he had suggested they move to the estate. At first Mary Jane had said no. But when she’d found Molly crying while sleeping three nights in a row, it had been the last straw. She needed to find a way to bring her daughter some peace. So she’d packed up all their belongings and headed south. It might be temporary until things calmed down, or it might be forever. But right now her family needed the calm, the normalcy that the estate could hopefully offer.
So they had pulled
up stakes for the foreseeable future. It was definitely going to be an adjustment.
“This is good. Good for Molly, good for Zane. Good for the world. They need to see that the Fallen are just normal people. And who looks sweeter than my little girl?”
Susie reached out her arms. “Jake!”
Jake took her, holding her with one arm while pulling Mary Jane close with the other. “It’ll be all right.”
Mary Jane breathed deep. “I hope so.”
CHAPTER 10
Langley, Virginia
Bruce Heller, deputy director of the CIA, was on the phone when David arrived. He waved David in and gestured to the coffee machine in the corner. Popping a pod into the Keurig, David brewed himself a cup. By the time his coffee was ready, Bruce was off the phone. He indicated a chair in front of his desk. “Didn’t get a chance to read the report. Take a seat. I’ll read it quickly.”
David settled into a chair with a nod. “Take your time.”
Bruce only smiled in response, his gaze already shifting to his computer screen. David knew the reason behind the smile. Bruce could read faster than anyone David had ever met. Most people who criticized speed-reading argued that people retained very little of the information, being that they scanned more than read. But as far as David could tell, Bruce retained everything.
Bruce let few people know about that ability. He liked to watch other people when they thought he was busy absorbing information in a report. But with little more than a glance, Bruce could digest and retain the information in front of him. Just another spook trick he still had tucked up his sleeve.
David had only taken his second sip when Bruce spoke. “Impressive. They work well as a team.”
“That they do. They also have a law enforcement approach with the protection of bystanders being the priority.”
“And Jake Rogan?”
“Surprisingly useful.” When David had begun these reviews, he’d been sure that Laney would carry all the weight, delegating only when necessary. But that wasn’t how it worked. Everyone played their part, even the non-enhanced individuals.