He had been about to explain more about Alessandra but had paused when the vase had started moving. Along with the others, he had been mesmerized by watching it float around the room, all by itself. He also had sensed the high energy which seemed to be emanating from Missy. Her eyes were glowing now. He stared at the damn vase and said, “No, I don’t care … it means nothing to me.”
Then, Missy crushed the vase, making it implode inward into tiny little pieces and form a neat pile of what looked like sand falling back onto the spot where it had originally been sitting. Focusing all the energy which she’d pulled in and releasing it in this controlled fashion eased the atmosphere … she was able to calmly return to normal.
When the vase disintegrated, that broke the spell and Sal said, “Fuck!” There were some mumbled curses from Billy and Donny as well.
Missy sat back and, feeling a bit sheepish, she said, “Sorry! I just needed to … I didn’t see anything else … never mind! Tell me about your daughter, Sal.”
Chapter Fourteen
Oct 27, 2019
As Mike drove them back to their hotel, Missy discussed her plan with him. She also got on her phone and made some calls. After Sal had explained things, including the address in Danbury, Connecticut where Sandy had last been seen, Missy had asked him to identify some of the things in Sandy’s room which she might feel closest to. She wasn’t a finder witch and couldn’t feel the energy the way an air witch might, but she could still sense energy and there were a couple of items she believed would probably provide a good source, containing Sandy’s energy and essence. She had brought those with her.
Back at the hotel, after meeting up with John and Tracy and checking out, they all got back in Mike’s car and drove to the address Sal had provided. By the time they arrived, Troy Dangelmeyer was already there waiting for them. They had not been able to reach Oliver but, fortunately, Troy had agreed to help.
When she’d first called him, he’d asked her why the police and the FBI weren’t handling it. So, Missy had explained who Alessandra was and why her father couldn’t go to them. She also mentioned how the people holding Sandy were forcing the inter-mob war currently going on. Troy had known about the war. It was in all the headlines.
After some discussion, during which Missy promised no one would find out about Troy’s involvement and that all he needed to do was try to locate where Sandy might be, nothing else, he’d said okay. He understood Sandy was only fifteen and he might be her only chance. Since it had been more than a week since Sandy had disappeared, Troy wasn’t optimistic but he was willing to try.
Mike drove past the house where Sandy had been grabbed and, seeing Troy waiting in his car, signaled for him to follow. They parked their cars at a nearby playground which was empty at the moment and they all got out. Troy joined them and they walked out into the playground.
When Missy showed Troy the items she’d brought from Sandy’s bedroom, he agreed she’d made good choices. He was definitely able to get a strong sense from these but explained it would now still be a matter of luck.
Missy had watched the videos which had been sent to Sal and knew Sandy was not only still alive, as of that morning, but was still being held in the same location. Sandy hadn’t been moved all week and that was working in their favor. Wherever she was being held would hopefully now be providing a strong beacon of her energy for Troy to follow, if only it was not too distant from where she’d been grabbed.
Tracy said, “Put all four of us inside a circle with you, Troy. I’m betting the reinforcing power you’ll experience will be greater than anything you’ve ever felt before.” She was basing this on how amped up she always would get whenever Missy was reinforcing her. Likewise, from talking to Oliver, she knew what he had experienced; when Missy had reinforced him during their search for Candace in Afghanistan, he’d admitted it had been incredible.
Troy had some experience as a finder and had come forward a number of times to assist the local police. For those instances when they’d agreed to accept his help and when he’d then been able to get an item containing the missing subject’s energy, he’d usually been successful. He wasn’t always welcomed, however. And, there had been occasions where nothing was available for him to use to sense energy; he had then needed to admit defeat. Pretending he was a psychic was not a sure thing, by any means.
He had brought along a compass and some detailed maps, which he’d learned would be helpful during searches like this. He had received some training which Desiree Yerger from the Salem coven had provided. Being a finder witch was not that common and not every coven had one. He was the first to come along for his coven in more than a decade.
Once they all formed inside his circle, he focused. He was holding the items from which he was able to experience Sandy’s energy. Then, as he focused, he began drawing power from the others. Just as Tracy had promised, the amount of reinforcing power he was getting was far greater than anything he’d ever received before. He was very surprised, as this was a huge increase even beyond what he’d felt from his entire coven on those instances when he’d been able to use all of them at once. He stopped, looked at Tracy and Missy, and then said, “Wow!”
Tracy giggled and said, “It’s almost like having a tiger by the tail, right? Only, it’s not a tiger … it’s a mountain lion!” This got laughs from everyone.
Starting again, Troy looked around, seeing if he could sense where Sandy’s energy might be. After a while, he started getting two very distinct signals and he marked down the azimuth direction for each, as indicated by the compass. Then, he oriented the maps and plotted lines to indicate where those directions were going. When they noted one of these lines led to St. Ann’s, the boarding school Sandy had been staying at, they felt very encouraged. Troy was definitely sensing Sandy and the second line he’d plotted might very well lead to where she was now being held.
Due to the lateness of the hour, it was decided John would drive the girls back to West Point in Mike’s car and Mike would remain with Troy. Once Troy located where he believed Sandy might be, Missy promised she’d then return and take things from there.
The goal was for Troy and Mike to head along, driving somewhat along the direction marked but not going directly at the signal. Instead, by taking several “readings” as they worked their way towards and around the source, they hoped to triangulate and eventually identify the exact location. This was a time consuming, tedious task which would take a few hours but one which Troy could probably now do without needing to draw much power from the others.
Missy said, “But, if you do need more power, you have Mike. Just put him in your circle and you’ll then be able to draw power from both Mike and me, due to that special bond Mike and I have.” She started to explain more about how that worked but Tracy interrupted and assured him he could count on tapping into all the power he could possibly need.
“It’s not just that Missy and Mike are soulmates,” Tracy explained, laughing. “Missy is a werecat, a mountain lion, and Mike is her mate. Okay?” This bonding and mating stuff was all quite new to Troy and he was fascinated. Then Tracy said, “If you think that’s special, wait until you hear how Missy plans to return, once you think you’ve found Sandy.”
Missy explained how she could teleport back to wherever Mike was, when needed. In her spirit form. Troy was amazed to learn about this, as he’d never heard of anyone being able to do anything like that before. Then, when she further explained things, Troy really became skeptical.
“Wait a minute. You plan to go inside this location in your spirit form, verify Sandy is there, somehow tell Mike so he can contact Sal D’Amato, and then protect Sandy … both while waiting in there until Sal’s goons show up as well as during the actual rescue? All this while you’re a ghost?” Troy shook his head in disbelief. “You expect me to believe all that?”
Missy said, “Well, have you ever heard of anyone being able to send messages directly into another person’s mind? I’ve been doing that
, communicating with Mike for more than a year now. I’ll be able to do that from inside, wherever Sandy is being held, and I’ll be doing it while in my spirit form. This will work … trust me!”
Tracy said, “Oh, yeah! You can trust her, Troy. Especially that part about her protecting Sandy. Anyone tries to come near? She’ll crush the life right out of them, no problem! How do you think she rescued Candace Axtell, anyway?”
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John drove Missy and Tracy back and the girls managed signing back in by 1900 hours, just in time. Once back, they each went off and completed some of their assigned tasks, including checking on their plebes Donald and Emily, before finally retiring back to their room. Missy kept checking with Mike constantly, of course, and knew how the search for Sandy was going.
Since they’d each made several commitments for this Sunday evening, they’d arranged for their plebes to join them at Cullum Hall. Tracy wanted to congratulate Donald on his excellent progress over the past couple of weeks and she wanted to do this in front of all the Quigby girls since they’d each been helping him. Missy had liked the idea of meeting with their plebes at Cullum rather than at anyone’s room as it was lots simpler. And, there were snacks available.
When Emily arrived, she already knew Tracy and Sally but hadn’t been introduced yet to Sharon, Kelsey, Kelly or a couple of the other second year cadets who had gathered around. And, she’d never met Donald who was in a different regiment than she and, oddly enough, wasn’t in any of her classes. Well, there were over twelve hundred in her class, so perhaps it wasn’t so odd after all.
Donald, of course, did recall overhearing how Sally Navarro had taken steps after hearing from Emily’s roommate during swim practice how Cadet Melo had been harassing Emily. That, of course, had then led to Missy now being Emily’s team leader. But, this was the first he was actual seeing Emily. He’d heard a few things, including how sexy she could appear once you took a second look. He was doing that now and … yeah … he was seeing why guys were saying that about her. He took several looks and each time, he liked what he was seeing more and more.
Since Emily and Donald were plebes, the others there took great delight in making jokes at their expense. The fact they needed to be introduced to one another, which Tracy made a big production out of doing, was quickly pounced on by Sharon and Sally. Suddenly, the occasion became a “first date” which they wanted recorded as part of Cullum Hall’s long history of significant events. Yes, it was predicted that years later, Donald and Emily would for sure be celebrating how and when they’d first met.
Missy finally said, “Okay, that’s enough or they’ll each be talking about this as one of their most embarrassing moments.” She laughed and turned to the two of them. “Go! Leave us … escape while you can! But, we want to see you both back here next Saturday at the dance. Together! That’s an order!” With her enhanced senses, she could tell they were actually attracted to one another. Well, crazier things had happened and if these two did end up dating, she’d enjoy labeling Tracy as their matchmaker and she knew all the other Quigby girls would agree.
By the time Emily and Donald finally managed their escape, they indeed had been greatly embarrassed. They were beyond embarrassed at that point and yet, somewhat excited as well. Neither had expected they’d be meeting anyone that night whom they’d be interested in. But, as they walked off together, at first talking about what great team leaders Missy and Tracy had turned out being, they soon found they had many other things in common to talk about. And, they were finding it very easy and comfortable to talk about things. Long after they each had returned to their own room, they continued to think about those things … and each other.
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Meanwhile, when John made it back and joined Troy and Mike, he learned they had indeed made some excellent progress, gradually narrowing their search until at last Troy was ready to point out a house in Yonkers where he was convinced Sandy was being held. He had only needed to tap into Mike once and, sure enough, through him he had been flooded with power from Missy.
Troy found himself really liking Mike; their conversations while driving around as they had followed the energy signal from Sandy had been interesting and revealing. They’d already talked at length the day before about swimming. Now, Troy was finding it refreshing to openly share things about his being a witch and how that affected him. He had never done that with anyone who wasn’t a witch. And, Mike was someone who actually understood. Someone his own age and, like him, a junior in college. Troy was used to always keeping things secret or else pretending he was a psychic.
Mike likewise had only ever discussed supernatural stuff with John and the “P” Branch folks. He’d met Oliver, of course, but they’d never actually talked much. He’d also been a visitor to Tracy’s coven in Texas, which he had enjoyed tremendously, but there hadn’t been anyone there other than Tracy who was his age and in college. He found himself enjoying the search he and Troy were doing, and liking Troy as well.
Mike said, “I guess it’s time I asked Missy to join us and check out that house. She’s telling me she and Tracy are now back in their room and no one will know if she disappears for a few hours.” He looked at Troy and John and then back across the street to the house Troy had identified. There was a large gate at the entrance, with stone walls going all around. They didn’t know what kind of security might be there, if any, but the place was certainly not one which invited any trespassers. And, it was large enough so there might be any number of people inside.
John said, “My sister gave me this burner phone which Sal provided … it’s set to call Sal’s burner phone. That way, there won’t be any messages getting intercepted by the FBI or anyone else monitoring him. He supposedly will have a crew ready to go, once Missy can tell him she’s found any place he should check out. She didn’t promise him anything, of course, but she did say he should be ready, just in case.”
Mike had already explained to Troy how Missy was not planning to leave any evidence behind or reveal anything to Sal’s crew which might suggest the supernatural. While Tracy had talked about Missy crushing the life out of anyone who threatened Sandy, that would only be done as a last resort. No, the idea was to remain hidden and invisible throughout this rescue. All the information from Missy would be going in text messages he’d send on this burner phone which only Sal would see.
Troy was not yet fully convinced and still wondered if Missy could really do all the things Mike and John seemed so confident about, but when Mike announced Missy had arrived he noticed he indeed was able to experience the presence of another witch nearby. Even so, he asked if Missy was able to see what he was doing. When Mike assured him she could, Troy had Mike turn around and he then asked, “How many fingers am I holding up in front of John?”
Mike laughed and said, “Missy says you’re holding up two fingers on your right hand and three on your left hand.” After pausing a moment, he added, “See that beer bottle lying over there? Right where the street light is reflecting off it?”
Troy looked around to see what Mike was referring to and, spotting the beer bottle, he nodded his head and said, “Yeah.” The bottle then slowly began rising up and moving towards him. When Mike told him to hold out his right hand, which he did, the bottle was dropped gently onto his palm. He laughed and said, “Okay, that’s amazing … I’m satisfied. She’s here! Have her go across the street and see if Sandy is over there or not.”
Chapter Fifteen
Oct 27, 2019
Alessandra had been keeping track of the days. It was now day eight and still she was being held prisoner in this same room with nothing to do but watch TV. The news had been really depressing since the top story continued being all about how the mob families were having this big war, killing each other and leaving bodies everywhere. She had really cried when she’d learned about her Uncle Tommy.
Tommy Muccio hadn’t really been her uncle, of course, but that’s what she’d been calling him all her life. He had al
ways made a big deal about what a special girl she was whenever he’d come to the house, giving her lots of attention and usually treating her to some candy or bringing her some little gift. As she’d grown older and had become more aware of what her father’s businesses really involved, she’d realized Uncle Tommy wasn’t really a blood relative but instead was one of her father’s capos. One of his gangsters.
Even so, she had only seen him as this warm, friendly, jovial person she’d always thought looked and acted like Santa Claus, only bald and without any beard. He’d had a similar roly-poly shape and when he smiled, she could actually see the warmth in his eyes. This was quite unlike how most of her father’s other business associates stared at her. They only gave her fake smiles and had eyes which were cold and calculating. Or, as she’d noticed in recent years now that her body had matured, many looked at her in ways which were definitely creepy and made her feel exposed and naked.
That was how she’d managed to recognize Buck, one of her captors. He was one of the many “soldiers” who would come along whenever her father would gather everyone for one of his big meetings. Buck had not been all that important in the organization but had merely been someone whom the important guys would bring with them. She didn’t know his real name but whenever he’d come to her home, Buck was the nickname all the others had called him by. He always wore fancy cowboy boots and, supposedly, he was originally from Texas. And, he was always checking her out, clearly undressing her with his dark brown eyes in ways that made her shiver with revulsion.
She had recognized him by those eyes of his, even though he hadn’t been wearing his cowboy boots and had worn a mask. This hadn’t been right away, since she’d been much too flustered to see things at first or notice anything in particular about any of them. But, by the third day, after she’d stopped making such a huge fuss every time anyone had come into her room to film her or bring her food or otherwise check on her, she’d known one of them was Buck. There were at least four different guys who would come and go but she’d noticed Buck, all right. He’d been practically drooling over her with obvious lust, his eyes always focused on her boobs or her ass, undressing her just the way she’d noticed he’d do whenever he’d come around before.
Missy Makes Mayhem (Missy the Werecat Book 5) Page 12