The Gunslinger's Gift

by April Zyon

  “Shoot, okay.” She stepped in with him. The moment her bare feet touched the ground, she shivered. “James,” she whispered in name in awe and turned to face him, her eyes still closed. “Can I open them yet?” She felt nature reaching for her, the dirt under her feet, the trees and plants that were starting to take root. She tilted her face up to the sky and sighed. “I feel the sun. Amazing.” She could feel everything and blushed. “Well, fudgenuggets.” No wonder he wanted me to stay dressed. Sneaky, sneaky man.

  “Open your eyes,” he said, with a chuckle. “Take a look around and tell me if you like it, if I need to change anything, or anything of the sort. Damn it, you know what I mean, Soph. Open your pretty eyes and see if the space is big enough for you.”

  “James,” she breathed out, when she complied. She studied the space that seemed to be infinite before focusing back on him. “You did this? For me?” she asked as she looked up, the glass allowing the sun to beat down upon them. “I—.” She had no words.

  “Wow” was all she could say as she looked at the hammock that was strung between two tall, strong-looking trees. There were small benches, as well as many areas for seating that had large and comfortable cushions. “And the sprinklers?” She saw that there were rows of tubes to mist the plant life.

  “All for you, honey. The watering system will turn on twice a day because of the way the room is built. A heavier fall first thing in the morning then a mist around mid-afternoon. I can change the timing as we go along to ensure we find what works best. There are vents to let out the trapped heat, so it’s never too stifling in here, as well as letting in cool air too. The ceiling is four layers of glass sandwiched between military-grade, bullet-resistant polymer.”

  He grinned as he took her hand. “Come here.” Leading her over to another tree, he stepped around it so she could see the doublewide swing hanging from a branch. “You don’t want to know what I had to go through to get these blasted trees in here, especially ones this old. You’ll have to keep an eye on them, though, so they don’t get too overgrown. Sit.”

  “Oh, I’m sure,” she said, with a smile. “I can’t believe that you did this for me. It amazes me.” She touched the tree in question. “Amazing.” It seemed to respond to her, seemed to reach for her. “I love it,” she told him, hugging him as close as she could.

  He rubbed her back. “Good, thank the gods, because if you didn’t, I really didn’t have a plan B for this. Now, sit your perky little ass down. This next part is a little more serious and will take all your consideration. So, clear your mind, be one with nature, and hear me out. Okay?”

  “Okay.” She took the seat he offered her and settled in. Crossing her legs, she wrapped her arms around herself. She was worried. Terrified that it was something bad. “Please don’t ask me to move or something like that. I don’t want to be without you,” she blurted out.

  He stared at her before shaking his head. “Hell, no,” he whispered. Crouching down, he took her hands in his, kissing her fingers gently. “I would never do that, Sophia. I love you. You are my heart and soul. I can’t live without you, so get that out of your head right now.” He pressed another kiss to her fingers. Then, he shifted, putting one knee on the ground and pulled something out of his pocket.

  When he held it up, she saw it was a ring. “Sophia Anne Duffy, my soul mate, the only woman who I could ever love in this lifetime or in any other. Honey, would you do me the honor of binding with me in one more way and becoming my wife in name, on paper, and all nice and official like?”

  Sophia just stared at him. Finally, she licked her lips and grinned. “Yes. Holy Moses, yes.” She fell into his arms. She hugged him as tightly as she could before drawing back to kiss him. “Forever,” she whispered against his lips, with happy tears falling down her cheeks. “Nothing less will do.” She pulled back. “I can’t believe you got me a ring.” She felt something in her heart shifting. She felt lighter and more in love, if that was possible. “How about you put that on me then we get naked?” She giggled.

  “Holy mother of the gods, woman, you have a seriously one-track mind.” He laughed. Lifting her hand, he slid the ring onto her finger with a smile, pressing a kiss to the knuckle above it. Then, he gave her a proper kiss, holding her close as he smiled against her mouth.

  “But that has to wait. We need to tell your sister about the babies. While she’s still going nuclear, we’ll lock ourselves in here, or our rooms, and then we can get naked. After we get you food, because I forgot to stop for a snack. Damn it, you really do distract me, Soph. All in good ways, though, honey. Never change.”

  “Yes, food would be good.” Sophia winked. “Come on, you know that you love that I have a one-track mind when it comes to you.” Once more, she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him close. When she pulled back again, she grinned. “Let’s race. Last one to the dining hall has to tell Vivian.” The last part she yelled over her shoulder as she ran for the door, laughter following her.

  “You’ll pay for that,” he called after her. She didn’t hear him behind her, though. It took her a moment, as she hit the elevator area, to realize he wasn’t behind her. Which meant only one thing—he was using the hidden passages to get there first. The sneak!

  “You…dirty, rotten…” She skidded to a stop before Gaius and smirked. “Can you get me to the dining room before James? I want him to have to tell Vivian something. Please? It’s something he really doesn’t want to tell her, so please help me win?”

  He stared at her a moment then shrugged. “Why not? I’ve got nothing better to do at the moment. Where were you when he disappeared?” he asked, as he began to move up a corridor. At a panel with a screen on it showing the outdoors, he pressed a finger just behind the corner and the wall shifted, sliding open.

  “We had just left the solarium that he made for me. And the goober disappeared into the tunnels, which are way cool, by the way. Like crazy cool. I love them.” She followed at his heels. “We need to go faster. Come on, mister,” she teased, with a giggle.

  “We don’t need to go faster, just smarter,” he told her. He stepped into the tunnel and went to another control panel. Flipping it open, he tipped his head slightly then pressed a couple of buttons.

  From a bit of a distance away they could hear, “What the fuck?”

  Whistling softly, Gaius shut the panel and waved her back out into the main corridors. After closing the wall up, he went to the elevator and hit the down button. He caught her staring at him and grinned. “Security features. There are gates you can drop to block off sections, in case someone gets in there that shouldn’t, and trap them until you get there. I just blocked off James’ easiest route. Now, he’ll have to move double time.” The cart arrived, and Gaius waved her inside. “Especially, since he has to either come back into the main corridors, or travel twice as far in the old ones.”

  “Oh, I could kiss you.” She grinned. “He just doesn’t realize that I’ll tell Viv to keep her from going for his balls. I’m rather attached and all that fun stuff.” She all but danced along at Gaius’s side when they got off the elevator. “He won’t be hurt in there, right?” She now recalled James mentioning something about security features and guns.

  “No, it’s all non-lethal. I just dropped a couple of gates to buy you some time. He’ll likely be pretty pissed when he arrives, you realize that, right?” Gaius asked. He followed her to the dining hall. “Especially if you’re still wearing that shit-eating grin.”

  “Good point, but by then I’ll have already talked to Vivian. Besides, it’ll only mean that he’ll spank me. Okay, now I know I’m wearing that grin that you were talking about.”

  Gaius shook his head at her and rolled his eyes. “You’re a born troublemaker, you know that.” A statement, not a question. “All right, here you are. Go and do whatever you need to do. He’s probably about ten minutes behind you, unless he got to a control panel, and then you have maybe four minutes. Depends how clearly he was thinking. Count
on the four minutes being your max.” With a small, flippant salute, he headed off up a hallway.

  Sophia leaned back against the wall and waited for James. When he approached her with a thunderous look on his face, she beamed. “Hey, you. If you want, I’ll tell her,” she told him, her hands moving up his chest then wrapping around his neck.

  “I already figured it out, especially when I spotted Gaius smirking at me. That was cheating.” James narrowed his eyes. “Luckily for you, I’m willing to honor the bet and tell your sister the good news. But I’ll be putting on a cup to protect the goods.”

  “Good idea. Or you can put me in front of you and hug me while we both tell her. That way, she won’t hurt you, and you’ll get to hold me. I think that’s totally a win in all ways, don’t you?”

  “That could work, but eventually, she’s going to hug you, which means she’ll get close enough to punch me again.” He pushed a hand through his hair, messing it up even more than normal, and let out a breath as he shook his arms out. “Okay, let’s do this before I completely change my mind.”

  Sophia turned around and let him follow her, her hand in his. “For now, let’s get food.” Her stomach growled as they walked into the cafeteria.

  “Yes, you need to eat.” Smiling at her, he drew her close. “Later, I’m going to tan your hide for that little trick you had Gaius pull. Since I can’t do anything to him without getting in shit, you’ll have a very rosy red ass.”

  “Promise?” Sophia asked, with a grin. When he nodded, she could have done a little dance. “I love it when you ensure that my butt is pink because I’ve been a very bad girl. Especially when you rub it afterwards and press kisses along my spine.” She sighed. “Amazing.” She fanned herself. “I love it.”

  “And into the other phase of this,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Can we get back into the food portion? Hey, look, they have a steak out and waiting for you, all nicely cooked the way you seem to like it. You’re really hating this, aren’t you?” he asked, when she wrinkled up her nose.

  “Yes, but my mouth is freaking watering,” she grumbled. “Seriously, it’s ridiculous how much I crave meats and steaks. And the staff here already seems to know just how I need it too. Now, enough talk and more food. Then, tell Viv before having fun in our rooms.” She was back on track now, in a way.

  * * * *

  “James, you’re supposed to leave the steak on your eye, not shift it around,” Sophia chastised him softly as she settled at his side. Reaching up, she brushed her fingers to his cheek and frowned. “I’m so sorry. I honestly didn’t think that Vivian would do that. I mean, I knew she would be frustrated, but for her to sucker punch you like she did?” Sophia lifted the edge of the cold meat and winced. “And with her ring on too. Goodness. Are you sure that you don’t want to go to medical to have Janet look at this?”

  “I told you she wouldn’t be happy,” he muttered. “She’s out for blood now, Soph. This is seriously uncool. I can’t be watching over my shoulder for her around every corner, here of all places. This is supposed to be our safe haven, not a fucking gauntlet.”

  Mercury came into the room then and leaned in. “Really? You let her punch you again? Grow some balls, already.”

  James threw him the finger and murmured something nasty under his breath.

  “Thanks, but you’re not my type.” Mercury winked at him then nodded to the other Guardians as they filtered in. “So, Gaius has been chit chatting with our little traitor friend, Henry, and so far, there isn’t much good news. The only thing we’ve gotten for sure is that they are being made aware of the VV’s.”

  “How?” Jason asked, as he sat down. He did a double take when he spotted Sophia and grinned. “Hey, Soph. Viv says hello.” His gaze shifted to James, and he shook his head. “You really don’t want me repeating what she has to say about you. Even I was blushing while she was spouting off.”

  James cut Sophia a hard look and growled.

  “Enough. You can go kill her later. Right now, we need to focus on the VV’s. Our guest doesn’t know who’s getting the info, or how the info is coming to this person. All he knows for sure is that the instant a Guardian is within a certain radius of a VV, or a relative of a VV, information starts to pour in. It’s not accurate to the point they can just drive up and snatch them. It’s more of a guideline than anything else,” Mercury said. “Gaius.” He looked to the other man.

  “Right,” Gaius muttered. “Best he was able to describe it is that they are given rough coordinates. Like the fact that there was a VV in the Seattle area. The fact they found Sophia first, instead of Vivian, who was the actual VV to make contact with one of us, we still don’t get. Apparently, though, the Monsters and those that have turned to Evil, can sense the balance of innocence and evil in the VV’s. Again, he’s being really vague about it.”

  “Probably the concussion you gave him,” Eric said, in a quiet voice.

  Gaius glared at him as he continued, “But it acts like a homing beacon. What we figured out from what little he’s given up is that the Monsters arrived in Seattle and just happened to be closer to Sophia’s position than Vivian’s when they got there. They sensed her because of her link to Vivian and Vivian’s contact with Jason. I’m not entirely buying it, though. He’s leaving a lot out, but he’s definitely more scared of someone else than me.”

  “’Cause you’re going soft being bonded with Emily,” Alexander said. “You need to reach down deep to that ruthless part of you and remember the situation his information caused to occur out on that road. Then, I’m sure you’ll be able to scare Henry again.”

  “Thank you. That’s so very helpful,” Gaius growled.

  “Enough. Sit,” Mercury interrupted. He pointed Gaius to a chair and glowered at the man until he sank down. “Sophia, did they say anything you could hear? I know you were already outside and moving, but did they make any comments, anything that could help us figure out if he’s lying to us or not?”

  Sophia had to take a moment. She closed her eyes and breathed out. “Hang on,” she whispered, as she centered herself and bit her lower lip. Then, she frowned and cocked her head to the side. “They were talking about a place. I think?” She had to focus to reach for the memories of that time. “Maybe Hades? No.”

  She opened her eyes. “Not a place, but a person. They said if they didn’t bring another VV back, Hades wouldn’t be able to reach out to more of his followers? His minions? Does that make sense? Something about a VV who can touch something and know the minion or killer by the weapon? Something about her being ripped away from them before that minion could destroy her? Does that make sense at all to any of you?” She wrinkled her nose and added, “And they smell like sulfur. Horrid, really.”

  “That they do,” James agreed, taking her hand. He’d ditched the steak on the table and had one really unpleasant shiner darkening even as she stared at him.

  “Who the hell could they have been talking about?” Eric was the one to pose that question.

  “Emily,” Gaius whispered. Looking to the man, Sophia saw how pale he was. “Her ability allows her to touch weapons or items belonging to killers and identify them, sometimes even picking up bits of things that occurred before the death of the individual. It’s a shaky ability, but she’s been working on building it stronger and refining it. Fuck me, if they get their hands on her…”

  “They won’t, but she can’t be going out of The Mountain, not until we figure out their plan. Gaius, you need to work Henry for every drop of information he has. Let him know that we know about this scheme. See what he says to it. Maybe he’ll fill in the blanks.”

  “Right. I can do that,” Gaius got to his feet, but stood there a moment.

  “Go and see her then deal with our traitor,” Mercury ordered. With a nod, Gaius was out of the room. “We need to find the other VV’s and fast. Helen has a list of possible sightings of Monsters and killings that fit their twisted profile. Alex, Eric, you two are heading out. Fuck me, I have to
call the others back from Europe. We’re spread way too thin right now.”

  “Especially since they seem to be focused on the women found in the States, so far.” Sophia put in. She had been reading up on it all in her spare time, relaxing because of the babies.

  “There have been four of you here, so far. Makes some sort of sense you’d all gravitate to the same general area. The Monsters definitely did. While there are still some over in Europe, they all seemed intently focused here. What we really need to figure out is who Henry was working with in Florida. The guy that took off when they split up,” Mercury said.

  “When I recall the others, I’ll assign a couple to that mess. For now, let’s focus on what we do know and narrow down some potential spots where the VV’s might be. I think we need to get the women together to see if they can spot a pattern we’re missing.”

  “Riley would be up for it,” Hector commented, speaking up for the first time since they’d all entered the room. “She’s going a little stir crazy since we went into lockdown.”

  “Vivian wouldn’t be opposed to anything to keep her mind occupied. I’m sure James would appreciate her attention being somewhere else, as well.” Jason shot his friend a smirk and laughed when James, again, threw him the middle finger salute. “You should remember what time period I came from. I might think that’s an invitation, sweetheart.”

  James just gave him a dirty look and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, give Vivian another reason to pop me one,” he muttered.

  Mercury let out a sigh and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “Talk to them and let me know. I’ll get Helen to compile all the incidents, the area information, and anything else we have. If they’re on board, have them meet me here tomorrow morning at ten, and we’ll start on it. Now, get the fuck out of here, you’re all giving me a damn migraine.”