The Hidden Gift

by Ian Somers

  ‘Is he sending help?’

  ‘Yeah, a team will arrive tomorrow morning. He’ll notify any other Guild agents based in northern England to see if they can reach us earlier. Linda Farrier might be the closest - no smart remarks, Bentley.’

  ‘I don’t feel like I have a sense of humour anymore, Hunter.’

  ‘That’s understandable,’ he replied. ‘You did well tonight. Much better than I thought you would.’

  I’d been desperate to prove myself to Hunter and his praise should have made me feel good, but I felt empty after the night’s events.

  ‘It’s hard to make any sense of this,’ I said. ‘There are too many bad memories in my mind to focus on anything.’

  ‘Try not to concentrate on it too much. We’re still in the middle of a deadly situation. If they try to move the girl again we’ll have to intervene. We can’t risk Zalech escaping us.’

  ‘I know. I’ve seen what that monster is capable of doing in the space of a few hours. I can’t imagine the carnage he could create if he gets away. Who do you think he’s working for?’

  ‘Maybe he’s working for himself. Zalech is a clever man and doesn’t need the likes of Golding to corrupt him.’

  ‘How could the Guild employ someone like him? Surely they would have known what he’s really like!’

  ‘Sometimes it’s better to have people like Zalech as close as possible so that you can keep an eye on them.’

  ‘Obviously they didn’t watch him carefully enough.’

  The hours slipped by and the night grew cold and rain pelted the roof and bonnet of the old 4x4. Hunter had turned the vehicle around and parked it closer to the building so we wouldn’t miss the Zalechs if they tried to slip away into the night. It was an uncomfortable time and we took turns to keep a lookout while the other slept. I woke at 3.30am and Hunter was smoking the end of a cigar and blowing it out the open window. It was freezing but I didn’t complain; it seemed petty to be bothered by a chill after what had happened a few hours earlier.

  ‘You want to get some sleep now?’ I asked Hunter as he threw the cigar butt into the road. ‘I don’t think I’ll sleep again tonight.’

  ‘Neither will I.’

  ‘Tell me about Zalech.’ I said to break the silence of the night. ‘How did he get into the Guild in the first place?’

  ‘It’s a long story.’

  ‘We’ve got all night by the looks of it.’

  ‘There was once a secret agency within the USSR called the SPD. They were closely linked to the KGB and they searched out and recruited gifted people from across the Soviet Union. They were a nasty bunch and used the gifted to assassinate politicians and business leaders around the world, and also forced them into the conflicts the communists got involved in like Korean War in the 1950s, Vietnam in the 60s and the war with Afghanistan in the 80s. They were a major thorn in the side of the Guild until the fall of communism in 1991. After that the SPD was disbanded along with the KGB and we thought we had one less enemy to deal with.

  ‘Alas, we weren’t so lucky. In the mid-1990s a man called Viktor Yeleshev, who was one of the main recruiting officers in the SPD, reappeared. He’d spent the intervening years trying to rebuild his old agency, but he kept getting blocked by the new democratic government in Russia. He got lucky in 1995. One of the new billionaire oligarchs, Boris Komolov, had heard of what Yeleshev was trying to do and decided to bank roll his project, which became known unofficially as ‘The Eastern Shadow’.

  ‘Yeleshev had the experience and contacts, Komolov had all the money in the world. It was a match made in hell. Within a few short years Yeleshev had hired many of the gifted who had formerly been in the employment of the old SPD – most had fallen on hard times and were lured in by Komolov’s riches. He was also hiring new and promising individuals from Russia and the Balkan states. The Eastern Shadow had become a great threat and the Guild grew increasingly fearful of the power they had attained in such a short period of time. Even Golding was afraid of them and tried to have Yeleshev assassinated a couple of times.

  ‘The Eastern Shadow had been mostly confined within the borders of the former Soviet Union, but in 2001 they branched out and began operations in Pakistan, Finland, Holland and Poland. This is when they came into direct conflict with the Guild and there were deaths on both sides. One of their operations, or should I say hunts, that year took place in Zory, a small city in southern Poland. The story will seem familiar to you: a boy in his early teens had been reported as having a supernatural ability. This came to the attention of Yeleshev and he sent a team to snatch the kid.’

  ‘That boy was Zalech, right?’

  ‘Right,’ Hunter nodded. ‘He was thirteen at the time and had been witnessed raising droplets of water from a lake near his home. Mageletons are rare and both the Guild and the Eastern Shadow went looking for him. It’s a tragic story and one that is sadly repeated all too often. He was a loner and often got into trouble with the authorities. When Yeleshev’s people found him he saw them as no different from the police or the teachers that he’d been rebelling against. He told them he wasn’t interested in working for them. They weren’t, however, taking no for an answer.

  ‘The Shadow’s methods of recruitment were crude but effective. Yeleshev ordered his team to murder Zalech’s parents and then told the youngster that if he didn’t join them they would torture and kill his sister, Ania, who was only an infant at the time. Edward had little choice but to give in to their demands.

  ‘While they were trying to smuggle the Zalechs over the border into Ukraine one of the Guild agents, Sebastian Kowalski, intercepted them. He killed Yeleshev’s team and hid the Zalechs at his home near Wroclaw for a few months. Yeleshev didn’t give up easily and eventually he located Kowalski and tried again to snatch the talented young mageleton. Kowalski was killed in the ensuing struggle, but he’d been teaching Zalech how to use his powers and it held him in good stead when the fighting took place. Zalech managed to fend off the attackers and escaped with his sister. He found his way to Wroclaw city centre and was soon picked up by another agent of the Guild before being brought to Nuremberg, Germany, where we had a safe-house. He spent a few years there before being moved to London. I met him a few times and I can’t say I ever liked, or trusted, him but I never believed he’d be capable of the crimes he’s committed over the last few days.’

  ‘How come you didn’t like him?’

  ‘Because he’s like a damned robot and shows no feelings at all. He never once revealed what he was thinking and never had much of an opinion – or at least he never voiced one. He was also too enthusiastic about killing people. The worst thing about him was that I always had a nagging suspicion that one day he would explode into a rage. That somehow the emotions he held back were building in some dark corner of his mind and would eventually escape.’

  ‘How strong is he?’

  ‘Too strong. Mageletons are a bloody nightmare for us because their gift is almost limitless. They also seem to have a propensity for violent behaviour which means they should not, under any circumstance, be trained to maximise their powers.’

  ‘What’s the deal with his sister? Is she as bad as him?’

  ‘Yeah, she’s a bit odd too – hardly surprising seeing as she’s been shifted around from one home to another since she was a toddler.’

  ‘She’s gifted, right?’

  ‘A pyrokinetic – a pure form of the gift. It’s likely she’s just following her big brother around because he’s the only family she has. Still, she could do a lot of damage if she feels threatened. You’ve never encountered a pyro before, have you?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘They have bad tempers and can’t be fought in any conventional way. You have to make sure you strike first – before they flare up.’

  ‘They can set fire to anything?’

  ‘They can. With a little training they can even set human flesh alight. That’s why you can’t allow them to attack you; it’s difficult to fight
back if you’re on fire.’

  ‘I’ll take your word for it.’ My thoughts then turned to Sarah Fisher, and what she must have been going through in that very moment. She’d probably witnessed her foster parents being murdered and was now in the hands of a gifted psychopath. ‘That prophet must be freaking out.’

  ‘Of that I have no doubt.’ He shook his head and snorted. ‘This situation is ridiculous. We don’t even know if she’s gifted.’

  ‘You ever met a prophet before? You know, a real one.’

  ‘Yes, I knew one quite well actually. We were once good friends, but that was before his visions had driven him to the brink of insanity. It’s a curse more than a gift. Imagine every time you go to bed wondering if you’re going to see the end of the world or a murder or a train wreck. It’s no wonder most of them commit suicide.’

  ‘They only predict the bad stuff?’

  ‘As far as I know, yes.’

  ‘Can they be trained to predict certain events?’

  ‘Why do you think they’re so valuable?’

  ‘Golding would probably offer a lot of money for someone with that gift. Do you think he’s the one behind all this?’

  ‘Possibly. If he is I’ll be more concerned that Zalech is in his employment than this girl being under his influence.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Zalech has the potential to be more destructive than Marianne Dolloway.’

  ‘I thought Golding valued psychokinetics more than anything else.’

  ‘He does. Zalech also has that ability.’

  ‘He does? He’s a mageleton and psychokinetic! That would make him…’

  ‘About as dangerous as it gets.’

  ‘How on earth are we going to capture him?’

  ‘Capture him he says!’ Hunter laughed. ‘You can’t capture someone as strong as him. There’s only one outcome here, Bentley.’

  ‘He has to be killed?’

  ‘Yes, and even that won’t be easy. All the strongest Guild agents and assassins that are usually based here in Britain are currently overseas, on the continent trying to capture a killer that doesn’t exist.’

  ‘So, who is Ballentine sending then?’

  ‘I have no idea.’ He pulled back his sleeve and read his wrist-watch. ‘But we’ll find out soon enough.’

  CHAPTER TEN

  Reunion

  It was past 4am when Linda Farrier parked her car on the opposite side of the narrow street. She took her time getting out then stretched her limbs before casually stepping into the road. She was a tall woman in her early thirties with dark skin and silky black hair tied tightly behind her head. She strode confidently to the 4x4 and climbed into the back. Hunter had gone quiet as soon as he saw her car approach and didn’t even acknowledge her when she joined us, which I thought was rather rude.

  ‘Hi,’ I said as I turned to her and smiled. ‘Nice to see you again.’

  ‘Hello, Ross,’ she replied. Her voice was husky and she had a very thick London accent. Listening to her talk was like scratching your back with a velvet glove; you’d never tire of it. ‘Feeling any better? You were head to toe in bandages the last time I saw you.’

  ‘I’m feeling a lot better thanks. Hunter here has been nursing me back to health. He’s like the big sister I never had.’

  ‘Put a cork in it, Bentley,’ Hunter growled. ‘I’m too tired to listen to your wisecracks.’

  ‘Someone’s in a good humour.’ Farrier rolled her eyes. ‘How have you been, Michael?’

  ‘Never mind how I’ve been. We’ve much more important things to be discussing.’

  ‘Fine,’ Farrier snorted. ‘What’s going on then? Ballentine said you might need a hand.’

  ‘Might need a hand!’ Hunter jabbed the steering wheel in front of him in frustration. ‘How has that blithering idiot lasted so long in the Guild? Didn’t he tell you what we were up against?’

  ‘He said someone had kidnapped a kid and that you and Ross would need some help. Nothing more than that.’

  ‘We need help all right. Edward Zalech and his sister are the ones who kidnapped the kid and they’re holed up in that apartment block over there.’

  ‘Edward Zalech …?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘I thought he was dead.’

  ‘He’s very much alive and he’s been leaving dead bodies all over the place for days on end.’

  ‘The three of us can’t handle this,’ she insisted – the mere mention of Zalech had scuffed her confident sheen – ‘It’s a suicide mission if it’s left up to the three of us.’

  ‘Ballentine said he was sending a team. They should be here soon.’

  ‘Hey,’ I interrupted. ‘With all this going on I almost forgot there’s still another killer on the loose. The person who murdered Rebecca Dunlow.’

  ‘There’s another killer?’ Farrier was incredulous. ‘What on earth has been going on?’

  ‘One of the victims was killed in a different manner to the others,’ Hunter sighed.

  ‘In what manner?’

  ‘She had some strange burns on her body. It’s most likely that Ania Zalech is responsible.’

  ‘But you said they didn’t look like Ania’s work …’ I said

  ‘Can you elaborate on why these burns were strange?’ interrupted Ballentine.

  ‘I’m not a pathologist,’ grumbled Hunter, ‘Maybe Ania is more dangerous than I thought.’

  ‘They were strange because they didn’t look like they’d been caused by fire,’ I said. ‘Hunter might be right about Ania being responsible, but I have my doubts—’

  ‘We have enough on our plate without hypothesising over this crime,’ Hunter interrupted. ‘When Zalech is out of the way we can look into Dunlow’s murder. Will that satisfy you, Detective Bentley?’

  ‘Hunter, that woman was tortured and murdered less than twelve hours ago. It’s a little hard to simply forget about it.’

  ‘I’m not saying you should forget about it. Just put it to one side until we deal with the matter at hand! I don’t want to hear another word about Dunlow until we have Zalech out of the way. Are we clear?’

  ‘Whatever you say.’

  There was a long silence after that, but Hunter’s strong words helped us all to calm down and that’s what was required of us. We would have to outsmart Zalech rather than try to outmuscle him, which wouldn’t be very wise judging by the way others spoke of him.

  I started to ponder Edward Zalech and what he was capable of. Could he really be more powerful than Marianne? Romand talked about her from time to time and according to him she was the greatest threat of all. Maybe that was because she had a fourth gift and the potential to turn out like James Barkley. Still, I found it hard to imagine anyone being as psychotic and gifted as she was. Marianne had been virtually indestructible. If Zalech was stronger than her we would require a whole team of gifted agents backing us up before we even contemplated tackling him.

  ‘How is Zalech so dangerous?’ I asked the others. ‘We’re not near a river or a coastline. Seriously, what’s he going to do? Spit on us?’

  ‘Didn’t you see the bodies of Lambell and Hanley?’

  ‘Yeah, but they weren’t gifted like us.’

  ‘What’s on the windscreen, Bentley?’

  ‘Hmm?’

  ‘The windscreen – look at it. What’s on it?’

  ‘Rain droplets.’

  ‘Indeed. Now, imagine someone who can control every drop of rain within a mile radius. Imagine every drop for a mile hitting you at the same time. Imagine them hitting you as fast as bullets. Imagine that he could bring every drop of rain together into one single body of water that he can control entirely. Imagine it hits you. Imagine you get trapped within it. Imagine he surrounds himself with it - how are you going to hurt him if he’s surrounded by a ton of water?’

  ‘I could cut through it with a psychokinetic slice.’

  ‘Kinetic energy doesn’t travel well through water,’ Farrier argued. ‘And let’
s not forget it’s not only water that he can control. The most powerful mageletons can control fluids. They can turn a bottle of lemonade into defensive shield or a deadly weapon.’

  ‘And don’t forget, Bentley,’ Hunter added, ‘the human body is full of fluid that a mageleton can manipulate. If you’re not careful you can end up drowning in your own saliva or he could stop your blood from circulating around your body.’

  ‘As far as we know, Zalech hasn’t been taught those techniques,’ Farrier pointed out. ‘The Guild has always kept his skills at a basic level. But Hunter’s right, his powers make him a deadly opponent and we shouldn’t take him lightly. I almost forgot that he has psychokinetic powers too.’

  ‘And they are both pure gifts,’ Hunter pointed out.

  ‘All right,’ I sulked. ‘I get the point.’

  Farrier leaned forward and squeezed my shoulder. ‘We’re not trying to belittle you, Ross. I, for one, feel a lot safer because you’re here. After all, you’re the one who beat Marianne Dolloway. There’s not many who I’d rather have by my side in a fight.’

  ‘Marianne was shot by a police officer. I didn’t beat her.’

  ‘Ross, you fought her and survived even though you only had a few weeks training. The entire Guild has been buzzing for months because of you.’

  ‘Don’t tell him that!’ Hunter groaned. ‘He already has an ego problem! Bentley, don’t believe the hype. You’re no better or stronger than the rest of us.’

  ‘I don’t believe I’m better than anyone else. I just don’t want to let anyone down.’