I stared blankly at the barren grey wall as my mind raced full of thoughts. “Thane, you need to find Brent. I think the fellas are planning on a takedown from the inside. We planned that from the beginning. Unfortunately, they were captured before we had a chance to execute. They’re smart soldiers. Just because plan A didn’t get a fair shot doesn’t mean you give up and start plan B. You continue with plan A and make it work. Lenny is a Marine through and through. To him, failure is never an option.”
“Alrighty then, I’ll talk to him. Are you still feeling OK?”
“I’m doing really well now that my fellas are safe. Have you heard anything on Lexie?”
“No, and I probably won’t. I’ve asked my friend to maintain silence. He just knows to keep her away from the fight.”
“That’s not really fair to her, Thane.”
“Keeping her safe isn’t fair? I’m confused.”
“Lexie is capable of making her own decisions, and I think we owe it to her to trust her enough to do that.”
“Evie, no disrespect to you, but you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about. My mistakes almost killed both her and me, and I will never make the same mistake again. My life’s goal is to keep her as far away from Link as possible, even if that means never seeing her again.”
“Again, you’re making the decision for her. You keep her away, and she sees none of us again, all so you don’t have to feel guilty.”
He began pleading with me in an attempt to get me to understand his side. “Evie, we were free. I was keeping her safe in Michigan. I figured that if Link was coming back to Michigan, I could just move her here, or Virginia, anywhere he wasn’t. Out of sight, out of mind was my thought. I shoulda just killed him when I had the chance, but I was a coward, Evie. I let him control me for just the little bit of power he allowed me to have. I signed over my free will to Satan himself, and for what? So I could boss a few people around and buy a fricking Rolex.”
I put my hands on his arm in an attempt to show him some sympathy, although I wasn’t sure how sympathetic I was feeling yet. Thane began recounting the day his plan to keep Lexie safe fell apart. He slid down the wall, and sat cross legged on the cement floor. I decided to do the same as I listened to him relive what must have been a horrifying moment for both he and Lexie. They’d had a disagreement on the plane to Lake Tahoe, so they weren’t speaking, but he thought it would pass quickly if he brought back some roses or chocolates. Thane thought Lexie would be safe if he left her on the helicopter, but he was wrong. He walked through the front door and into a nightmare of his own. Apparently one of Link’s female companions in Michigan was not too pleased that Thane was spending time with Lexie, so she reported the activity. Link was having both Thane and Lexie watched twenty-four seven. Lexie was dragged from the helicopter and tortured for her disobedience. Thane was chained up in a room adjacent to his new found love and forced to watch as she was tortured to the brink of death, brought back, and tortured again. His eyes were distant and cold. Sweat was beating up on his forehead, yet he appeared to be shivering from cold. The color had drained completely from him face, and I worried that he might vomit on me. I slowly pulled myself up from the floor and stood in front of him. I bent down, took his hands, and pulled him up from the floor. He looked very confused until I wrapped my arms around him. He hugged me back, but very gingerly, as if I was a cracked porcelain doll.
My lips were near his ear. “It’s not your fault Thane. You can’t blame yourself.”
He just nodded into my shoulder. “All we can do is make sure Link doesn’t win. OK.” Once again he nodded into my shoulder. I ended our embrace. “Where do we start? How do we beat this guy?”
“We kill him. If we kill him, then I’m in charge. I can end it all.”
“End what Thane? What is his end game?”
“What does any psychopathic mad-man want, Evie?”
“Power, money…I don’t really know.”
“That’s because you’re, thankfully, not a psychopathic mad-man. His end game…to enslave the human race and rule as their king.”
“There are seven billion people on this planet. There is no way he can control seven billion people.”
“No, but the army he is amassing can.”
“How many are there?”
“Right now, only a few hundred of us, but once he gives the go-ahead, any strong able- bodied American our army can find will be converted, then they will convert others, and so on. Think of it like a pandemic. In a matter of days, Link would control millions of hybrids globally.”
“And Laughlin threw the five of us in blind to stop hundreds of you! That rat bastard. Wait, how are medically untrained hybrids going to change people?”
“Link was able to isolate a gene sequence in prions. You know the microbes that cause mad cow disease?”
I nodded with uncertainty.
“I’m not a geneticist, but I’ll try to explain. There are tiny microbes called prions that somehow get into the spinal fluid of livestock, causing the disease. Somehow the hybrid DNA was inserted into the prions. Now all it takes is a vile of hybrid-prion serum injected into the spinal fluid of an unsuspecting victim, and viola! You have a new hybrid. It’s faster too. Don’t blame Laughlin, Evie. I don’t think Laughlin really knew the extent of Link’s madness. I didn’t know, and I was right beside him for years developing the plans. There are some things you need to see, but we won’t be able to speak freely once we leave this room OK, so act as if you are ready to join Link’s cause.”
Dear God, there was more. Jacks had become more of a monster than I ever could have imagined. It was like a slap in the face to finally uncover the truth. The bank robberies and the kidnappings were like little speed bumps on his road to world domination. My small group of rag tag captives were the only thing that could stop him. I felt the weight of the world pressing down on my shoulders, literally.
Chapter 23
Adios West Coast
Lexie
I’d had my first good night’s sleep in more than six weeks. Even though Talon and I were up talking until the wee hours of the morning, I was up at 6am feeling refreshed. I quickly showered, barely taking any time to enjoy the wonderfully scented shampoos and soaps provided by the hotel. I combed through my hair. Without all of my hair products and make-up, getting ready really was a snap. My usual hour or more in the bathroom was cut down to less than fifteen minutes. I didn’t have much to choose from clothes-wise, so I just put on the pink shirt and khakis that I had worn last night. Hopefully, Talon would understand, but then again, he wasn’t exactly carrying a suitcase full of clothes for himself either. I had just decided to let Talon sleep a little bit longer when he knocked on the door that separated our rooms. I opened the door to see his big toothy grin.
“Good morning, Miss Lexie.”
“Good morning Talon. Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, I got a good couple hours of Z’s.”
“Good, because we have a big day ahead of us. C’mon in.”
Talon entered the room and plopped himself down in the arm chair. I sat on the bed across from him. He had a very serious look on his face.
“You sure we can’t take this to the feds Lex?”
“I’m positive. First of all, there are very few people in the government that know about us, and secondly, I don’t know how many of them are on Link’s payroll.”
“Alrighty, then. I trust you.”
“What time does our flight leave?”
“Anytime we want it to.”
“What do you mean?”
“I called a buddy of mine that owns one of those private jet companies. You know, the ones that shuttle celebrities around. Anyways, he owed me a favor, so there’s a jet ready and waiting for us at the airport across town.”
I jumped up while squealing and threw my arms around his neck practically knocking the chair back into the wall. “You are truly the most awesome person I’ve ever met Talon! C’mon, what are
we waiting for?!” I grabbed his hands and pulled him out of the chair. There was an awkward moment of silence when both of us realized how close we were standing to each other. I still had ahold of his hands, and I was gazing up into his eyes. He quickly looked away and snatched his hands away. He placed them on my shoulders and side stepped around me. I was very confused. “Talon, I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
He seemed flustered. “Naw, Lexie, I’m fine. Let’s get to the airport. The traffic sucks around here, so the earlier we leave the better.”
I grabbed my meager belongings and shoved them into the boutique bag Talon had brought me last night. He was waiting for me by the car. He grabbed the bag from me and tossed it into the trunk as I slid into the passenger seat. Talon was right. The traffic was horrendous. It was stop and go all the way down into the city. Things seemed more than awkward between us, and I felt like I needed to clear the air.
“You know, Talon, I wouldn’t have let you kiss me, even if you tried.”
“Wha…What? Where did that come from?”
“Back at the hotel, you were thinking about kissing me.”
“No disrespect at all, Miss Lexie, but I think it was you who wanted to kiss me.” He had a devilish smirk on his lips as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. “Boy howdy, traffic sure is a bear this morning.”
“No changing the subject mister! I wasn’t trying to kiss you, and I just want you to know that.”
“Hmmmm, OK Lexie, you weren’t trying to kiss me.”
He was being sarcastic, so smacked him on the arm. “I wasn’t.”
“You will though.”
“I will what?”
“You’ll kiss me, before all is said and done. You probably want to right now don’t ya?” He playfully poked me in the ribs. My cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment. He was right about one thing, I wanted to kiss him, badly. I wouldn’t though, because it wouldn’t be fair to him. I crossed my arms in front of me, and watched as downtown Sacramento passed by my window. We changed expressways, and Talon quickly exited on J Street.
“Where are we going?”
“There’s a mall on K Street. I thought we could get some fresh clothes before we took off for Kentucky. It’ll be a bit chillier there.”
“Shopping! You’re taking me shopping? I could just…”
“What? Kiss me?” He laughed coyly as we pulled into a parking structure near the mall. “They’ll be open in about an hour. Let’s go grab some breakfast to kill time.”
We walked through the crowded downtown streets. There was a slight chill in the air, and the morning fog was still lingering. We discussed our favorite bands as we walked around looking for a place to eat. I discovered that Talon’s favorite band was 98 degrees. He declared them the greatest boy band ever. I was a Backstreet Boys girl myself, so it led to a very spirited debate. My nose caught a hint of vanilla and cinnamon wafting through the air. We followed the scent to a quaint little diner on the riverfront. It was warm and inviting, resembling a tiny log cabin. It had an amazing view of the bridge and the pyramid. A fire roared in the large stone fireplace, and the walls were adorned with memorabilia from Sacramento’s gold rush days. Talon ordered coffee and the Gold Miner’s Special, which included; eggs, flap jacks, hash browns, and every pork product you can imagine. I ordered tea with honey and toast. The waitress needed a separate tray just to handle Talon’s very large breakfast order. The salty waitress, named Karen, brought scrambled eggs with my order. She insisted she would not be a good waitress if she let me walk out the door without a little protein. I guess that was her nice way of telling me I was too skinny. If she only knew I’d been on a virtual hunger strike for the last month and a half. I couldn’t be offended though, it was truly sweet that she cared enough to make sure I was properly fed. Our debate about music continued over breakfast. We agreed to disagree on the boy bands. I agreed that I liked “Invisible Man” and Talon agreed that he liked “I Want it That Way”. Both of us agreed that Timberlake was much better without N’Sync, and everyone was happy. Talon paid the check and left Karen a very generous tip. We walked slowly back to Macy’s, enjoying the morning. The sun was finally starting to burn off the fog by the time we arrived. Each of us bought a warm black coat, black gloves, black cargo pants, black leather hiking boots, black long sleeved turtle necks, and black hats in case we had to do any recon. The sales clerk probably thought we were cat burglars. For the flight, Talon bought a pair of navy warm up pants and a Batman tee shirt. I chose a comfy pair of Levis paired with a white tee shirt and pink and white cable knit sweater. Although I appreciated the tennis shoes Talon bought the night before, they just weren’t my style, and I’d fallen in love with a pair of tan leather knee-high boots. I didn’t even have to bat my eyelashes at him, and he was purchasing them for me. I visited the make-up counter for a few necessities that every girl must have. Talon patiently assisted me with colors and fragrances. What a guy! We bought one suitcase for our belongings, and decided that we would purchase recon and camping equipment when we arrived in Kentucky, if it was needed. We were only in Macy’s for an hour, which is a new record for me. We loaded up the car, and headed up I-5 to the airport. Thankfully all the traffic was heading back into downtown, so we were able to make good time to the airport. We bypassed the terminals and parking lots and made our way to a series of hangers at the far east side of the complex. In front of the third hanger was a beautiful white Cessna Citation jet. I don’t think the Queen of England had a jet this pretty. Talon parked his GTO inside the hanger where the pilot was waiting. The pilot met us at the hood of the car where we exchanged introductions. Talon and the pilot were deciding on a flight plan, so I boarded the plane so I could change into my new clothes and freshen up a bit. The co-pilot assisted me with the bags from the trunk and escorted me onto the plane. It was even more beautiful on the inside. It had a light and airy feel. The interior was light beige, accented by small oak beams on the ceiling which flowed down the walls to frame the small oval windows. The couches and chairs were made of soft, light brown leather. Each chair held a golden yellow pillow embroidered with pink and red flowers. The couch had pillows on each end and a fuzzy red throw blanket draped over the back. The couch faced the large flat screen television, and the chair swiveled to face any direction that was needed. The bathroom was equally as inviting, with baby blue walls, and light oak floors. I felt more like I was in a farmhouse than an airplane. I took off my old dirty clothes and tossed them into the corner. I pulled my new clothes from the bag and pulled off the tags. It felt so good to put on new clothes from Macy’s, especially the boots. I felt feminine again. I spritzed on a bit of my new Burberry perfume before touching a bit of gloss onto my lips. I decided on a bit of mascara, but held back on eye shadow and liner. I added a touch of blush to my cheeks and called it good. My hair was a horrendous mess, so I pulled it back into a bun at the nape of my neck. I’d probably sleep on the plane, and this would be the best way to keep it manageable for later. I stuffed my old clothes back into the Macy’s bag. Talon and the pilot were just climbing onto the jet. The pilot joined the co-pilot in the cockpit.
“Lexie, we’ll be leaving shortly. We decided that our best bet is to fly into Indianapolis, and then you and I will rent a car and drive south.”
“Why?”
“Just in case Link has men stashed at nearby airports. We don’t want them to see us before we’re ready.”
“Ok, that makes sense I guess.”
“We’ll get the things we need in Indy. The pilots gonna let me use his laptop to map out everything. The first thing I’m gonna need when we get there is a laptop of my own. We’ll need cell phones, binoculars, survival equipment, and weapons.”
Talon was in a dead serious mood. I guess his tracker side was kicking in. I snuggled into the couch, throwing the plush blanket over myself, but allowing my new boots to hang out the bottom. I didn’t realize that I was staring at him as he furiously typed away on the lap top. He stopped abruptly, a
nd looked up at me.
“Nice boots by the way. Now quit thinkin’ bout kissing me!”
That devilish grin overtook his lips again as he began banging away at the keyboard. I playfully threw one of the couch pillows at his head. He caught it before it hit his head, stuck out his tongue, threw it back at me, and continued working. I laid my head down on the pillow, and with a happy heart, I drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 24
The Missing Link
Evie
Thane and I left the safe confines of the small concrete room. I felt on edge as soon as the large wooden door slammed behind us. We slowly meandered through a maze of corridors, all with the same river rock walls and glowing blue crystalline floors. If the soft blue lights were meant to be soothing, they didn’t work. We came upon another black glass door. This time Thane punched in a series of codes. A computer voice recognition program then asked for Thane to repeat a series of numbers. The security at this place was more advanced than any CIA laboratory I’d ever been in. The doors clicked, and Thane apprehensively pushed through.
“Evie, what you are about to see is quite startling. I want you to think long and hard after our little impromptu tour about why it is not a good idea to cross Link.”
I knew this was all a show for the cameras that were watching our every move, so I pretended to be afraid. I took a cleansing breath and closed my eyes as I walked through the doors. There was an odd odor that I couldn’t place. It was overwhelming my senses, and it was not pleasant, almost like chlorine bleach mixed with manure and sweat.
“Uuugh! What is that smell Thane.”
“It takes some getting used to, but it’s definitely one of the reasons I don’t spend much time down here.”
I placed the back of my hand to my nose as we moved forward. The rock walls gave way to large iron bars. There was a small red laser beam crossing the floor, and as we crossed through it, the overhead lights turned on. Noise and chaos erupted from every angle in front of me as my eyes tried to adjust to the new overwhelming brightness in the room. I gasped at what I saw. To my right were large men with grey skin. They were stark naked, with strange patches of long grey and white fur hanging from their bodies. Their faces were distorted, their eyes red. One of them was hanging from a branch, screaming angry obscenities. The other was attempting to break through the cage, seemingly wanting to tear Thane and me apart. My heart was pounding up into my throat as the creature was thrown back into the middle of the cage by an angry jolt of electricity. Thane could tell I was mortified, I’m sure he could smell the adrenaline and fear coursing through my veins.
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