“Sorry, needed a snack,” I quipped. I wasn’t about to go into how my Gift worked with him.
“Well, get going.” He bounced on the balls of his feet, itching for a fight. Alicia pointed into the dining room, which held a massive bay window. I stepped behind the circular glass table centered under a ceiling fan.
“Hurry it up.” Jon held the doorknob, ready to move.
I pulled the power into a ball, centering it in my chest. I pushed out my arms and nothing happened. I did it again and still nothing.
“What are you doing?” Jon said, his voice just short of a shout. “They are moving on the house. If they kick down the door, we’re hosed.”
He was right, they were gathered up between the van and the truck. The commander gestured toward the house, giving out assignments. I needed to act.
I tried to remember how I did it in D.C. I panicked and really didn’t remember. I concentrated on the transformer sitting between the houses. The Reclaimers gathered near it. One hit would do the trick. If they caught us, my dad would die, and so would we. I couldn’t let that happen. People depended on me.
I crushed the power into a tight ball, so much it felt like my heart would burst from containing all the raw power. I threw my arms forward. I saw the Reclaimers stand as they attacked the house. The energy arced up and down my arms as the bolt of swirling blue lightning erupted from my arms.
The bay window and a good portion of the front of the house ceased to exist. A plume of debris flew like a shot from a flechette gun, shards of glass acting as a million darts. The transformer turned into a geyser as it melted under the surge of electricity I threw at it.
Jon flipped open the door, aimed quickly, and fired his arrow through the open truck window. A second later, the doors opened and slammed shut, the engine revved, and the truck took off down the street.
I could see men rolling around on the ground screaming in pain from where they had been hit by the remnants of the house and transformer. A few lay still on the ground, lit by the fire burning across the yard and into the street. Someone cursed loudly that the van wouldn’t start. Chaos reigned supreme.
We headed back through the portal. The night was just beginning, but hopefully the killing was over.
34
Jon and Alicia high-fived once we were back and the portal closed. Alyx flushed, sweat beaded across his forehead, his hippie appearance ruined by the wicked gleam in his eyes. Gladiator hovered over him like a mother hen.
Harold had an iPad out, pecking at it rapidly. I peeked over his shoulder. He drove the truck down the street we had come in on. “How are you doing that?” Harold could give Marcel a run for his money in the tech department.
“There’s an app for it.” He chuckled to himself. “Leecee always left science shows on while she ran errands. Must have sunk in while I was absent.”
“So what’s the plan?” Abby asked as she reentered the room, from watching the diversion from the entryway window. “What’s left of the Reclaimers won’t be bothering us anytime soon.”
Harold twisted the iPad, and the view shifted as he turned onto another road. “Well, they think you are getting away in their armored truck currently,” he said his eyes twinkling with undisguised mirth. “Leecee spent the last twenty-four hours telling the Reclaimers she saw a car pull up next door, and the cab driver was wrong. You’ve just confirmed those facts.”
Jon let out a whoop. “We sure did.” He jerked his thumb at me. “I thought Tommy would blow it, but what he did was blow it up.”
I wished I shared his enthusiasm. I wanted to free my dad more than anything, but killing people wasn’t right. Jon rehashed the whole thing, going into the gory details of the Reclaimers after the bolt hit the transformer. I tuned him out, not wanting to know. A hand sat on my shoulder. Gladiator stood behind me. For such a big guy, he moved like a cat.
“Killing men should never be taken lightly, or we are no better than they,” he said quietly. “I see it bothers you, which is good. You understand what it is to be a true warrior. The ones who rejoice in slaughter…” He paused to shoot a meaningful glare at Jon. “We are to be wary of, for they can become as bad as the monsters we fight.”
“Thank you. Does it get any easier?”
He shook his head. “The day it does, fall on your sword before you become one of them.”
“So the armored truck will be in the lake in a few minutes, minus the rogue Gifted who attacked the Reclaimers,” Harold said. “We have to move quickly to get you out before backup arrives. Alyx, can you do one more portal?”
Alyx reluctantly nodded. “One more, I think, but where should we go?”
Gladiator shook his head. “He is weakened. You can’t ask more of him.”
“I know, Nico.” Harold steered the truck as he spoke. “I would love to let him rest, but this place will be hot for you in under ten minutes.”
“Will you come with us,” I blurted out. “We could use your help to rescue Cyclone Ranger.”
“No way, honey.” Alicia crossed her arms and gave Harold a look, daring him to defy her. “Jinx is gone and I will not lose my husband again after I just got him back. Not for you, not for Cyclone Ranger, not for anything.”
Harold grinned sheepishly. “I’m afraid I have to agree with Leecee. If we vanish now, they will assume we were in on it and we can’t chance them finding the workshop.” He hurriedly added. “And I just got my wife back.”
She huffed at him, but the corners of her mouth turned up. “That’s right and don’t you go forgetting it mister.”
I couldn’t get over how sweet it was to see them together. How selfish could I be, asking them for more help. The fact two Gifted had gone for so long without being noticed made me realize if I could get Dad out we could vanish and be a family for the first time.
“Thank you for all you’ve done,” I said. “Where should we go to next?”
Harold laughed. “Why the happiest place on earth, Disneyland!”
Alyx snorted. “One portal to Disneyland it is.” He grew still, focusing on something only he could see. A cold chill ran up my spine as the portal appeared, the size of a grape, a couple feet from me. As it enlarged, so did the feeling of ice in my veins. I think I’ll stand back further next time.
We said quick goodbyes and stepped through to the 1980s.
I stepped from Alicia’s immaculate home to terracotta tiles and velour furniture. Mom would have had a fit. The far wall held pictures of Alyx surfing and a couple of surf boards leaning in the corner of the room.
“Are we supposed to stay here?” Jon asked, tone boarding on rude.
Gladiator tensed. “This is Alyx’s home and you will be respectful. You have no idea what he’s been through.”
Jon opened his mouth, but Abby shut if for him. “We appreciate all you’ve done for us, Nico.” She elbowed Jon. “Right?”
He winced, but agreed. I sighed with relief. A fight between Gladiator and Jon would be a disaster.
Alyx wheeled through last. The wheelchair Mr. Fix-it gave him hummed along under its own power. He looked like someone had just shot his best friend. Rolling across the room, he came to rest in front of the wall of photos, many showing his intact legs. He didn’t move for a few moments. “Tommy, make the call, let’s get out of here,” he said, his eyes going from one photo to the next.
The phone actually had a cord and a glowing number pad with numbers big enough to see from Mars. I shook my head, wondering if there was a museum missing their artifacts. I dialed the number Marcel had drummed into my head. “Joe’s Pizza.” the recorded voice had a truly horrible Italian accent. “We be makin’ the pizza so leave a message.” I chuckled. Marcel could be so weird.
“Han, this is Luke, we need the Millennium Falcon now.” I ignored the amused grin I was getting from Abby. Damn Marcel and his geeky crap. “Chewy and Leia are with me, and we have...” I paused to think up quick code names for Alyx and Gladiator. “Err, C3PO and R2-D2 with us for retr
ieval.” I hung up the phone.
“I would have gone with Yoda and Boba Fett.” Alyx said, turning to face us. His smile was warm, but his eyes appeared haunted.
Abby dropped on the couch. “What is this place?”
“This is the basement of my parent’s house where I grew up.” He gestured around. “They gave me the basement so I wouldn’t mess up the upstairs. After I left, they kept it for when I need to crash. You’d be surprised how often you come home to raid the fridge when you can step from anywhere to home in under a minute.”
“Do they still live here?” Abby asked.
“No,” he said quietly. ”They passed away a few years ago. They left me the house. Blaze set it up so the house is maintained and looks lived in. We have found it handy to have a place to lay low from time to time.”
“Whose surf stuff is this,” Jon blurted out.
I mentally face palmed. Leave it to Mr. Sensitivity to blunder into what was obviously a painful subject.
Alyx’s face darkened. “Mine.” His face flushed red as he stared daggers at Jon’s back. Gladiator stepped over, laying his hand on his shoulder in an unspoken gesture of support.
At least Jon had the decency be embarrassed if the flaming cheeks were any indication. “Oh, sorry,” he mumbled.
The phone rang startling us all. I picked it up. “Your delivery will be at noon on October 25th to the foyer of the Railroad Museum in Ely, Nevada.” The recording clicked off. I hung up the phone.
“We get to go play with the trains.” I tried sounding enthused to break the black clouds gathering over our group. It was going to be a long trip.
The destruction from the Dark Brigade attack made travel a nightmare. There wasn’t road maintenance in a lot of places, and the Reclaimers had constructed bases at critical junctures to monitor who and what was moving. Gladiator turned out to be an excellent driver and, with help from Marcel’s intel, we made it without incident.
Two days and a lot of losing rummy games to Abby and Alyx later, we were back with Wendi, Marcel, and Waxenby in the safe house. Dresden and K’vothe had a lot in common. There were extensive training areas, but where Dresden had been a nuclear missile silo, K’vothe was converted from an old silver mine in Nevada’s Grant Range. Instead of vertical with stairs everywhere and equal-sized room, K’vothe meandered and expanded randomly.
The best part was Wendi. She looked far more beautiful than I had remembered. Her arms wrapped around me as soon as I entered the main room. It felt great especially after how nervous she had been around me before I left. Jon starred daggers at me, but he could pound salt for all I cared.
We caught everyone up on the details of our trip: the betrayal by The Grim Reaper, the escape from the Syndicate, and the time with Jinx and Mr. Fix-it. Marcel rapid fired questions about Mr. Fix-it. They had similar talents. Though he didn’t like the idea of his talent consuming him, he beamed at the thought he might get to meet Mr. Fix-it one day.
All I wanted to do was shower and sleep, not necessarily in that order. I owed it to Pepper Spray to follow through after she saved us all. Wendi followed me, but I asked for a few minutes, forcing myself to ignore the hurt in her eyes. I promised a full explanation later.
Marcel had encrypted cell phones for us to use. The boy was remarkable. I dialed the secure line to The Secret Lair. After a few rings, Blaze’s familiar voice came on the line.
“Hello?”
“Hey Blaze, it’s Tommy.” I tried sounding casual, like we were scheduling a sparring match or something inconsequential.
“Dude, what’s up? You shouldn’t be calling here, it’s not safe.” He still picked up on my discomfort. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Marcel encrypted the line so it can’t be traced.” I had to get this over with fast the way you did with tearing off a bandage. Quick and painful, but it would be done. “I found out something and I’m not good at this kind of thing so I’m going to tell you.”
There was only silence at the other end for a moment, then the loud squeak of the office chair. Thank God he sat down. “Go ahead, Tommy.”
So I told him about being imprisoned in the Zoo and how Pepper Spray took over Grim Reaper and what she had said about loving him, but he needed to let her go.
Soft sobs tore at my heart as I listened. The grief I’d glimpsed the first day in the Secret Lair exploded with the news. “I’m sorry, Blaze.”
“Don’t be sorry, Tommy.” His voice thick with emotion. “Raychel was my universe. Every day I had with her was a blessing. Thank you for telling me.”
“She saved us all. If she hadn’t stopped Reaper, he would have killed Abby and I would be in Reclaimers’ hands.”
“She always helped people.” He paused to cough. “No matter how much it cost her.”
I didn’t know what to say. He caught me up with what happened since we had left Redemption. I asked him to tell my mom I missed her and to not tell her about what had happened. No need to worry her. We said our goodbyes and I sat staring at the phone, wondering not for the first time if anything good ever came out of being Gifted.
35
The good part of being inside a mountain is the lack of sun to wake you up. The bad part is being there with people that hadn’t stayed up talking with their girlfriend until 4:30. I seriously considered strangling whoever was pounding on the door.
I stumbled to the door, opened it, and glared my best drop-dead glare. Marcel stood there, inflamed nose and puffy eyes. Ever kicked a hurt puppy, yeah me neither.
“Hey.” He sneezed into a tissue, his afro flopping down to cover his face. It took real talent to pick up a cold in a sealed environment, but then he went into locked rooms none of the rest of us could get into. “I found the convoy transporting your dad. The only time they are vulnerable is tonight, so we need to plan.”
My sleep deprivation vanished, replaced by a surge of adrenaline. Great news to start the day. I clapped Marcel on the shoulder. “I’ll be there in five, let me get dressed.”
“We are in the war room.” He closed the door as he left.
This was awesome. The Reclaimers would never be expecting an attack on the convoy. We should be able to swoop in, extract Dad, and be out of there before they knew what hit them.
I jogged down the hall, snatched a Mountain Dew from the fridge, and entered the war room. Six massive flat panels covered the front wall. An oak table with room for fifteen dominated the center of the room. The chairs were massive, meant to hold Gifted far bigger than the average Norm. Marcel stood before the group, clicker in one hand and a tissue in the other ready to start his presentation.
Everyone else was already seated, so I slid into the empty chair at the front. Marcel nodded to me, detailing the plan. A live feed of the convoy appeared on the screens. It looked life-sized with all the screens displaying it.
“This is what we are facing.” He gestured at the screens. “Two Humvees, a truck with eight Reclaimers, and the tractor-trailer with Cyclone Ranger in the back. Each of the Humvees had M2 heavy machine guns mounted on top. The Reclaimers are armed with SIG556 rifles and a disruption launcher.”
“Disruption launcher?” Abby asked around bites of the apple she was eating.
“They were used during the Reclamation. They fire a flexible mesh which wraps around its target and disrupts the use of your Gifts. It’s the same technology they use in the collars.”
Abby swallowed hard. “Oh, that’s not good.”
“No, it’s not,” Marcel continued, his voice rough and deep from his cold. “The good news is after all the times they’ve transferred prisoners between Redemption and the Megadrome they use rookies and older guys for guard duty during the transit. They should be easier to deal with than the guards at either end.”
I certainly hope so. The guards at The Block were tough and well trained. I’d seen them drop a three hundred pound guy with a couple shots of their nightsticks. Gifts or not I didn’t want to tangle with them if I could help it.
“So Marcel,” Waxenby said into the quiet. “Do you have a plan?”
He shook his head. “I don’t, but Jon does.”
Jon’s grim smile robbed the heat from the room. A shiver of excitement raced up my back. This would be epic.
The moon hung low in the sky. Cold air flowed under my faceplate of my combat suit, but the rest of the suit made me impervious to the elements. Mr. Fix-it knew how to build a top-notched suit. No wonder he provided for all the Gifted teams back in the day.
Everyone was in place, patched into Marcel who was monitoring from K’vothe. Jon and Waxenby crouched at the front, hidden from view by an abandoned gas station that provided cover for the mission. Wendi and I were in the back and Abby and Gladiator in the middle.
“Okay,” Marcel’s voice came over the coms. “The convoy will be passing you in two minutes. Good luck.”
I closed my eyes and said a quick prayer. This had to go right, I had to get Dad before they could kill him. Wendi squeezed my shoulder. I smiled at her, not that she could tell through my faceplate.
The roar of the semi rumbled in the distance as the front Humvee’s light crested the rise. My stomach tightened and my palms drenched in sweat, we would only get one shot at this. I tensed, ready to rise up and take out my target.
The front Humvee drove past, and all hell broke loose. Jon stepped out firing an arrow into the front passenger tire of the leader. At the same time, Waxenby pushed the rear panel with a force bolt. The utility vehicle careened, rolling onto its side, sliding along the pavement, throwing sparks into the night. Air brakes fired as the semi tried to avoid the wreck suddenly appearing before it. It failed. The semi jackknifed, swinging the trailer around until it struck the downed Humvee.
The back vehicles stopped in time to avoid the cascading wreck in front of them. With a defiant yell, I unleashed the pent up energy I have siphoned off the power outlet Marcel had rigged for me. It delivered the energy, but in a lower voltage so it wasn’t as painful as raw current.
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