Naomi turned to JP, who looked surprisingly unprepared, like he was trapped in some kind of daze and his thoughts were back in the bathroom. “Snap out of it!” Naomi ordered, elbowing him in the stomach for an added jolt.
“Sorry,” JP said, his mind still noticeably distracted.
“We’re gonna have to fight our way out of this,” Naomi said, getting into a crouching stance.
JP followed suit.
The Beasts were only a couple arms’ lengths from Malika when she finally finished disentangling her wings. She flapped her wings to give herself an added burst of speed and create distance from her pursuers. With another flap, she achieved liftoff and pulled even further away from the Beasts. She coasted toward JP and Naomi and grabbed them by their shirts.
“What are you doing?” Naomi said. “We can take them.”
“It is too risky,” Malika said. “Hold on!”
JP and Naomi each grabbed Malika’s wrists with their free hands while still holding their staffs with their other hands.
Malika gave her wings a powerful flap, and the trio shot up and away from the porch just as they were about to be met by the storming Beasts.
The mustachioed Beast made a diving attempt to catch them but was only able to get a hold of the heel of Naomi’s shoe. Her Vans slip-on slid off immediately.
“I’ll be back for that and more,” Naomi shouted to the Beast, watching as he tossed her shoe. She then glanced up at Malika as they flew away, keeping a consistent altitude of twenty feet above the main street. “Thanks,” Naomi said with a grin, grateful for the fact that Malika had insisted on staying to watch them and, in turn, saved them.
Malika looked down at Naomi and started to smile back, but her mouth never reached even half of its full upright turn before she was forced to trade her smile for a much less joyous expression. The muscles and veins in her neck protruded in pained constriction.
All of the excitement instantly vanished from Naomi’s face. She watched with dread as Malika’s skin began to crack open like dried-out clay, a blinding white light escaping from the spreading fault lines. Malika’s eyes turned into two tiny headlights set on high beam; Naomi was forced to close hers.
Naomi did not witness what happened next, but the only logical conclusion she could make was that it was some kind of explosion. The light Malika emitted grew even more intense and rendered Naomi’s eyelids completely useless. It was followed by a violent force, which reminded Naomi of a warm hurricane wind, and only served to accelerate hers and JP’s rapid free-falls back to Earth.
JP and Naomi crashed to the ground with heavy thuds. Their bodies skidded across the gravel pavement, tumbling many times over down the main street before finally coming to a exhausting stop more than a hundred yards beyond the train station.
When Naomi reopened her eyes, all she could see were white spots. With her clothes ripped and body scratched like an old dvd, she struggled to pick herself up off of the ground. She wasn’t sure what, exactly, had caused Malika to go up in a brilliant flash. But she was regrettably certain that Malika was gone. Whatever the Beasts had done, they had killed Malika. No sooner did this realization shoot across Naomi’s mind than she also noticed that her staff had turned back into a snake. She attempted to will it back into staff form, but the serpent simply refused, and continued wrapping itself around her wrist.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Naomi knew that she couldn’t let her emotions take over, especially not at that moment. She had more immediate issues: the thirty Beasts that would be on her and JP any second, and the flash blindness that was still causing her eyes to go in and out of focus. She took a deep breath to calm herself, acknowledged her thoughts, and immediately released them. No sooner did her attention return to the present than her snake transformed back into a staff.
“Are you okay, JP?” Naomi called out as she simultaneously wielded her staff to fend off any approaching attackers and attempted to blink away her clouded vision. The only response Naomi received was wounded laughter. “JP? Is that you?” she said, blinking harder.
“Yeah,” JP said, still chucking. “It’s me. And I’ve never been better.”
When Naomi’s eyes finally focused, she discovered JP standing ten feet in front of her. His face was bloodied and his body was scraped; however, none of his ailments seemed to damper his mood. He looked downright giddy.
Naomi didn’t have time to question how JP could be so content given their situation. Her eyes and attention had moved on to the three familiar Beasts who were now creeping up behind JP, seemingly unbeknownst to him.
“Behind you!” Naomi shouted as she swung her staff, launching an attack on the mustachioed Beast.
Much to Naomi’s surprise, JP blocked her strike, swung her staff around in a full circle, and pinned it to the ground. “That won’t be necessary,” JP said.
“What’s going on?” Naomi said. “What are you doing?”
“Do I really need to spell it out for you?” JP noticed the bewilderment in her eyes and shook his head. “These gentlemen, and all of their friends, are with me.”
As the reality of the situation set in, there was nothing Naomi could do to prevent the shock and confusion from running wild in her mind. It was even more damaging than Malika’s death, but with a similar effect, causing her staff to return to snake form. Before she could even hope to remind herself to remain present, JP took advantage of his opportunity and cracked Naomi across the wrist. A sharp pain shot up her arm; she reflexively opened her hand. Her snake fell to the ground and quickly slithered away.
The bearded Beast behind JP immediately moved in and restrained Naomi. “You used me,” she screamed at JP, her wonder turning to rage. “You killed Malika! You bastard!”
“Breathe,” JP said with a smirk. “Isn’t that what she would tell you if she were still here?”
“What about your parents?” The words barely left Naomi’s mouth when she realized the answer to her own question. “You were lying. They aren’t dead, are they?”
“To be honest,” JP said, “I have no idea. My birth parents were just a couple careless teenagers that got pregnant. My adoptive parents are still alive. But they’re just regular old nobodies. So was I, until I signed that contract. And guess what? I haven’t regretted it for one second.”
“You will now,” Naomi said as she furiously attempted to free herself from her captor’s clutches.
“She’s a feisty one,” the mustachioed Beast said in a thick Russian accent. “But not for much longer.” His eyes began to burn through his dark sunglass lenses as he took a step toward Naomi.
JP swung his staff, stopping it inches away from the Beast’s chest to keep him at bay. “Not so fast. We might still need her. Were you able to complete the trace?”
The mustachioed Beast shook his head.
“Then it looks like she stays alive,” JP said. “You can’t set a good trap unless you have a little bait. And live bait is always better.”
“Agreed,” the mustachioed Beast said.
“Did you bring my other cell phone?”
The mustachioed Beast dug in his pocket, produced a cell phone, and handed it to JP.
JP dialed a number and then waited for the call to connect. He smiled as he listened to the voice on the other end. “It’s great to hear your voice, too, Mr. Heins,” he replied. “It took longer than I had hoped, but I had to wait for the right time to make my move. Where are you right now? I keep hearing a humming.” JP paced while he listened to Terry, an impish grin spread across his face. “Then I understand why you couldn’t make it. I’m almost tempted to share the news with our friends. I’m sure they’d be excited to hear it.”
Naomi wriggled one of her hands free and reached for JP. All she was able to get was a fistful of his shirt. She yanked it, ripping it open, before the bearded Beast subdued her again.
JP continued his conversation, unfazed. He listened for another moment before responding, “Of course. If you think that’s best, I can try. And I’ll let you know as soon as they are all taken care of.” JP hung up his phone. He turned his attention to re-buttoning his shirt, speaking to Naomi without looking at her. “That was an interesting call. I got some really big news, but I should probably save it for later.” Not getting the reaction he had desired, JP stopped and looked up at Naomi.
Naomi had barely heard a word that JP had said. She was too busy staring at his chest. His open shirt exposed a thick, branded scar directly over his heart. It was the same scar Malika had told them about: three sixes in a row. The mark of the Beast.
JP traced Naomi’s gaze. “Pretty cool, right?” he said, sneering as he ran his fingers across the raised flesh.
Naomi said nothing. She just shot daggers with her eyes.
“Now you know the real reason I wanted to take things slow,” JP said as he finished re-buttoning his shirt. “Oh, and before I forget.” He reached into Naomi’s pocket and retrieved the flash drive. He tossed it into the air and caught it with a cocky grin. “Thank you so much,” he said, his voice full of false sincerity. “I couldn’t have done this without your help. I really mean that.”
“Screw you!” Naomi screamed.
“Maybe later,” JP said, and then gestured to the Beast restraining Naomi.
The Beast gripped the muscle connecting her neck and shoulder and squeezed. The intense pain was so immediate that Naomi didn’t even get the chance to scream before blacking out.
◆ ◆ ◆
“Come on, buddy. Wake up,” Eddie said as he tapped Charlie on the cheek. Both he and Antony had been trying to rouse Charlie for the past fifteen minutes to no avail. Eddie gave Charlie a few more gentle taps. They seemed to do the trick. Charlie’s eyelids finally fluttered open.
Charlie’s eyes wandered as he regained his bearings. He squinched his lids tightly to help wake himself up. “What happened?” he moaned.
“You passed out,” Antony said. He helped Charlie sit up. “We were trying to figure out why Naomi would steal the drive, and then you just went down all of a sudden.”
Charlie massaged his sternum.
“Are you okay?” Eddie said.
“I don’t know,” Charlie said, still rubbing his rib cage. “Something feels off. My chest is really tight, but at the same time, almost empty.”
“I’m not a doctor, so I can’t really help you there.”
“You probably just need more rest,” Antony said. “We’ll help you back to your bed.”
Antony and Eddie supported Charlie as he limped back to his pew. They were nearly there when they heard an unexpected buzzing and stopped.
“What is that?” Eddie said.
“I don’t know,” Charlie said.
Antony thought about it for a second, trying to place the familiar rattling, until he finally realized: “It’s a phone.” He left Charlie with Eddie and searched for the source while the buzzing continued.
Antony located the vibrating phone under the pew where JP had slept. He hesitantly swiped his finger across the shattered screen, uncertain if it would even answer the call or who was on the other end. The call connected and automatically went to speakerphone.
“Hello?” Antony said.
“Why, hello there,” JP said over the speakerphone, with a smugness in his voice. “For a minute, I was worried this wasn’t gonna work. I spent hours putting that phone back together in the woods, but I still wasn’t able to use it to make any outgoing calls.”
“Yeah, well, it worked. Congratulations. Now do us a favor and ask Naomi why she took the flash drive.”
“She’s actually indisposed at the moment, but I don’t need to ask her. She took it because I told her to.”
“You know, if you would’ve just asked,” Eddie said as he helped Charlie down the aisle so that they could both join in the conversation, “we could’ve found a way to share the information. You guys didn’t have to go behind our backs.”
“Thanks for the kind offer, Edward, but I didn’t actually want the information. I just wanted to make sure that none of you had it. That’s all. Now I have the drive and Naomi, too.”
JP’s words caught all of the others by surprise. They had spent so much time speculating the details behind the missing drive. Was it Naomi’s idea? Was it JP’s? Were they working together? They had asked themselves all those questions and many more; however, at no point during their spitballing did any of them suspect that JP had been actively working against them. And yet, it was now clear that he had been the whole time.
“Why?” Eddie said, still trying to process the answer that had eluded them.
Charlie asked himself the same question that Eddie had raised. Why? Why would JP sabotage them? Why would JP kidnap Naomi? JP. JP. JP. The name bounced around Charlie’s head. Ever since he received JP’s email, Charlie had accepted JP Sanchez to be his actual name, never considering that it might just be a nickname or trying to guess what the abbreviated intials stood for even once. But now that Charlie knew JP had been playing them, he rightfully questioned everything JP had ever told him. It didn’t take long for the truth to hit Charlie. “James Podesky,” he blurted out. “His real name is James Podesky. He’s one of them.”
“Bravo,” JP said, clapping arrogantly for effect. “It looks like I might have underestimated you, Charlie. Of course, only by very little.”
While JP was mildly impressed, Antony and Eddie were more confused than anything else. “How did you know that was his name?” Antony asked Charlie.
“I saw it on the contact list,” Charlie said. “The only reason I remembered the name was because of his age. I should have seen it coming.”
“No looking back, guys,” JP said with a chuckle. “Remember, that’s what Malika taught us.”
“Where is she?” Eddie said. “Do you have her, too?”
“No. I don’t. And I actually have no idea where she is. The last time I saw her, she was blowing up like a Fourth of July fireworks show. It was something to see. An angel’s death is really quite beautiful.”
The bomb that JP dropped left the others staring aimlessly in its aftermath. He had done much more than just betray them; he had severed their lifeline.
When the dust finally settled, Eddie was overcome with anger. “You son of a bitch!” he screamed into the phone. “I’m gonna kill you!”
JP burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
“You won’t be laughing much longer!” Eddie said.
Antony locked eyes with Eddie and put his hand on Eddie’s chest to calm him down. Antony returned his attention to JP. “You said you still have Naomi,” he said into the phone.
“I do,” JP said.
“What do you want with her?”
“I want all of you to come save her. At the very least, I want you to try. I’ll even make it worth your while. If you’re successful, I’ll even throw in the flash drive, too.”
“How do we know you haven’t already killed her and destroyed the drive?” Charlie said.
“Look at you using the old bean. Good job, Charlie,” JP said. “How’s this? I’ll let you talk to her.”
Charlie, Antony, and Eddie listened over the phone as JP instructed one of his henchmen to get Naomi. They could hear her put up a fight. At first, she refused to speak. She opened up when JP informed her who was on the line.
“Don’t trust him!” Naomi shouted. “It’s—” Her voice was muted to a mumble, most likely by one of the Beast’s hands.
“Well,” JP said, jumping back on the line, “I bet you’re all wondering what she was gonna say. Of course, some things are just better left unsaid. You got your proof of life. As for the flash drive, you’ll just have to trust me when I say that I’d much rather have you see me des
troy it in person. That way I can watch all of the optimism disappear from your bodies. Then, one by one, your souls will follow.”
“You’re sick,” Eddie said.
JP chuckled maniacally. “Well, that’s just your opinion.” After a second, his giggling petered out, and he continued in a most serious tone, “We’re at the Truckee Train Station. You have until six o’clock tomorrow morning. If you’re not here by then, you lose the drive and Naomi loses her soul.”
“Wait,” Charlie urged, just in case JP was about to hang up on them. “We might need more time. We don’t have any idea how far away that is. It could be thirty miles.”
“Yeah. And Charlie’s still really banged up, it’s gonna slow us down,” Eddie added, hoping that would suffice as a negotiation point.
“Well, isn’t that funny?” JP said. “That’s what I’ve been telling you guys all along. Unfortunately, that’s all the time you get. And you should consider yourselves lucky that you even get that. I was actually planning on surprising you, but the gps receiver on the phone was broken, and these damn mountains made triangulating your location impossible. If not for that, I’d be coming to you instead of having you come to me.”
“Don’t worry about doing us any more favors,” Antony said. “We’ll be there.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Antony. Because I have a friend with me who’s just dying to meet you. He said that after he takes your soul, you’ll have all the time in the world to catch up with your father.”
Antony’s face froze from the news. He knew that it could only mean one thing. The Beast who had killed his father was with JP and would be waiting for them.
Before Antony could recover or even get a word out, JP cheerfully added, “Great chatting with you guys. Hopefully see you soon,” and then hung up.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
The inside of the church was so quiet that it could have passed for outer space. Eddie and Charlie had shared a look to let each other know to remain silent and let Antony decide when he was ready to speak.
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