Surviving The Tempest: Tempest Tales

by Elsa, Sandra

  "You've had little choice. She knows the law. Empty threats can't persuade her and you put yourself in a position where you have to maintain appearances. She's been gracious thus far, but if Harrison speaks the truth, they're not the only enemies you'll make."

  "Not all my threats are empty. She should be registered."

  "Prove it." All right, maybe I could learn to live with having a father. "You can't prove one talent."

  "I have the night at Romanelli's. Everybody saw her reaction to my entrance."

  "And how many remember it?" I felt like I should be cheering him on. Go Dad!

  "All I have to do is throw magic at her to prove my claim…should I desire to make such a claim."

  "I wouldn't be too sure about that. She and Harrison are both learning new tricks. She's never threatened you, but you know the talents she inherited from me are manifesting. Would you take the chance that you'd end up like that wizard?"

  "Some tiny benign spell should be sufficient to prove she has talent."

  "You could have a good thing Jordan. If only you'd stop trying to control everyone around you. Nobody hates you…yet. Let them live their lives. Even without your hedge-witchery, whatever that amounted to, making sure their picture was on the newsnet for over a week was bound to cause trouble for them, as I'm sure you intended. Maybe if you didn't consistently live up to their worst expectations they wouldn't be so sure you deserved their loathing."

  "I liked you better before you found your daughter."

  "I have little doubt of that. And still you only called upon me when you needed something. I've never deceived myself into believing we were close friends. The simple fact is, we’re family now. And perhaps you'd get further with family if you treated them as such, and not like minions to be bent to your will."

  Jordan's fingers curled into white-knuckled fists. He stood perfectly still and breathed deeply several times. "They're trying to steal the one thing I've lived for."

  "Complete domination of every person in the world isn't enough for you?" Harrison spoke my words perfectly.

  "Has it occurred to anybody that my reasons for wanting to finish that project might not be selfish? Since I've taken office one of the biggest challenges in our world has been overpopulation. As I'm sure they're aware since she chose to deliver the news of their marriage at the precise moment I was scheduled to speak at a conference on the subject."

  "So why does it have to be you who solves the world's problem? Why keep secrets? Why not release information and let people go crazy trying to come up with unique ideas to repopulate the globe?"

  “You haven’t jumped all over yourselves to involve other people either.”

  “We wanted to have a handle on exactly what could be accomplished. What it would take, but I’ve already informed a couple other people. And before last night’s little fiasco, I’d discovered a really big fish I hoped to land square in the middle of our plans.”

  “Paul?” Harrison guessed.

  Trooper Gerrill grinned. He may not have a clue what we were talking about, but apparently he knew Paul.

  I nodded. “I hope he got home before the shit hit the fan last night.”

  “He did,” Trooper Gerrill said. “He’s downstairs in the waiting room. Asked if I’d let him know when you woke up. Kind of intimidated by your family.”

  “Please, tell him we’re all right and we’ll come see him in a day or two. As you can tell, we’re a tight knit loving family and I’d rather he didn’t get snarled in this mess.” I let my sarcasm carry the message.

  “I’ll do that. There’s another guard just outside your door. I’ll be back shortly. Anything else I can do for you while I’m out?”

  “My pistol and a couple magazines of nine-millimeter ammo would make me feel a whole lot better.”

  “Some of the guys want to keep your pistol,” Gerrill said. “Hang it in a trophy case.”

  “Sorry. I need my baby back.”

  “Kinda figured you’d say that, but I told them I’d ask.”

  “How many did I get last night?”

  “Twenty three, dead or injured with bullet wounds. Another twelve from lightning strikes and of course their mage who gave the appearance of having been sliced, diced, and pureed. Add to that the nine men trapped in the mage’s net and the sixteen we caught trying to flee. Not a bad night's work. I dare say it will be a long time before drugs flow into our district again.”

  “Sixty-one!” My father did the math. “I guess sitting back worrying about you is a waste of time.”

  “That’s sixty-one dead or captured," Trooper Gerrill said. "Probably nothing near the total. At this point in time we're sorting through those few Frankie was gracious enough to leave alive and working on getting names of their friends or enemies who were helping on this project.”

  “So killing two of their people merited this kind of effort?” I asked. “Did they move these people in here, or did you have that many thugs living here already.”

  “So far identification is running about fifty percent local. Of the others, most seem to be from District Two-Three-Nine. The pickets are checking closely as people leave; stopping everybody from there."

  "Where's Two-Three-Nine?" Harrison asked.

  "South of here," Gerrill said. "About a third of the way down the Florida peninsula."

  "You never answered my question. Why did they value those two people so highly?"

  "We don't think they did. We think they found out the president's son was vacationing here. It's even possible they didn't put the two incidents together. That mage's nets would have made using your own magic difficult. They had some sort of suppression field. My guess is they wanted to take you alive for ransom or to try to have leverage over your father--"

  "So once again this is my fault?" Jordan asked.

  "The theory makes sense," Jallahan said. "You had to make sure the world would recognize your son no matter where he went."

  "Then they should do the sensible thing and come home." Persuasion entered Jordan's voice, I wondered if it was simply habit or if he expected one of these times it might just work.

  "Must we do this every five minutes," I snarled. "The answer is no. Capital letters, bold type. They should figure out we're not easy targets after this one. And our place of residence isn't someplace anybody is likely to be looking for us."

  "You've rented a house in this District…Or at least Terry Dunston has. I confess it threw me off when Terry was a male. It's taken me some time and resources to track down the aliases you use, but I think I've got them all."

  "Do you now?" Terry must be keeping a low profile. I almost flaunted the fact I had idents set up nobody knew about, but decided I’d allow him to feel his little victory--even if it wasn't a victory.

  "Would you like me to list them?"

  "No need. If you latched on to Terry, I'm sure you've been doing your homework. Tell me one thing though; who's running the world while you're obsessing on me?"

  "I'm not obsessing to the exclusion of other duties." He smiled at me. It was almost friendly. "I admit you've become a downtime hobby though."

  "Then you should know I'm more resourceful then limiting myself to…" I stopped and ran over the idents I’d used over the years. "What is it? A half-dozen idents?"

  "Seven that I found so far."

  Trooper Gerrill covered his ears. "I'm going to speak to Paul now. I really don't need to hear all this."

  Jordan watched him go, head shaking. "How do you inspire their loyalty? You speak of criminal actions in front of him and he leaves the room. I need you in charge of District Seven's Watch."

  "Friends tend to be loyal. I'm just not sure you can grasp the concept of friendship without conditions. We spent some time on the range while I was teaching Harrison to shoot. Gerrill's a good man. Treat him like one and he'll return the favor."

  "You taught Harrison to shoot?"

  "Of course. He's pretty good at it too."

  Harrison squeezed my
hand and I looked away from his father long enough to smile at him. "You are. Getting better all the time. Of course I'm not sure you need a pistol; twelve dead by lightning strikes."

  "That was a lot fewer than I aimed for."

  "Considering the last time you killed with your talent I nearly had to drag you out of there, you did a lot better."

  "Yeah this time you literally carried me away."

  "Not because you were dumbstruck and guilt-ridden though. Told you it gets easier. And I dragged you, supported you, I didn't have it in me to carry you and keep them at bay by shooting at them."

  "I don't remember much beyond getting shot."

  "You weren't deadweight. Took you a minute to pull it back together, but you managed to keep us hidden until we made the restaurant. I have no complaints about your participation. And whether you know it or not that's high praise."

  "Twenty-three dead and wounded by bullets. That's incredible."

  "There were so many of them it was kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. I'd like to know how many rounds I had left. Used up one fifteen round magazine and started on my second. For my own personal gratification I want to know how many rounds I wasted. Wasn't empty when we got inside but I didn't think to check what I had left."

  "If somebody had told me a year ago I'd fall in love with a trigger happy woman I’d have laughed at them. Do you know what I want to do right now?"

  "Something neither of us is up to and there are a few too many people in the room to do?"

  "I love the way your mind works,"

  I grinned at him. "Thought you married me for my body."

  "Well yeah, but can't argue with the package deal."

  "I believe that's our cue to leave," Nan said.

  "Get well." My father patted my good arm, then bent over and kissed my forehead. "I'm glad you're all right."

  Nan kissed Harrison on the cheek then they left, arm in arm. Jordan remained behind, staring at us from the foot of the bed. When the door closed on Nan and Jallahan he said, "I'm glad you're both safe. What can I do to keep it that way?"

  "Stay away from the media. Leave us in peace. And no more hedge-witchery."

  "On my honor." He held his hand over his heart and looked so sincere I applauded his effort and refrained from mentioning the fact that he had no honor and I wasn‘t sure about a heart.

  He came around and kissed Harrison on the forehead. I ground my teeth as he headed in my direction. He smiled down at me before bending and kissing my forehead as well. "We got off to a bad start. But it's hardly been all my fault. I'm willing to call a truce if you are."

  "A truce with you is rather like a rabbit standing in a cage with a ravenous dog. Just because the dog eats three rabbits and tells the fourth he's safe because the dog is full, doesn't mean the rabbit will be safe for very long."

  "I'll grow on you."

  "I don't intend to be around you enough for that to happen."

  "You don't believe me now, but we will be working together. You know the law. You also know that I can find some way to prove you have talent if I'm forced to."

  "And if we're not citizens of the districts that elected you?"

  Shadows crossed his eyes. He blinked and they were gone. "You would have to be self-sustaining before your year is up, because you would be unwelcome in any district."

  "Is that a threat?"

  "Consider it a promise."

  "You can hardly block us from entering a district if we choose to. Or from having our friends bring us things we may need. But I accept your challenge. We have a year to create our own little corner in the world. You grant us access to whatever we may need. Like genetics labs and all the necessary seeds and fertilizer." Harrison squeezed my hand as I spoke.

  "And if at the end of the year, you are not self-sustaining, you'll turn your efforts into my care and register in District Seven."

  "I may live there if Harrison does. I will not register. Registration does nothing in your favor anyway. After yesterday I think I'm glad nobody knew what I was. It probably would have altered their course of attack."

  "I hear your half-promises and raise you a quarter. I'll leave you completely alone. No more investigators following you around. No more tags on people you may contact. No more media blitz to remind the public I have a son and a lovely daughter-in-law, both attractive people, easy to spot in a crowd. In exchange you'll call me six months from now and tell me how it's going."

  "Why?"

  "Six months from now, it will be December. You'll have survived the annual storms…or not, and you'll be experiencing winter for the first time in your lives. Granted, if your experiments are anywhere near here, it won't be much in the way of winter and there hasn't been snow in a thousand years, but it will be sufficient to know if you can survive colder temperatures. If you fail, what you learn may still help my efforts."

  I looked over at Harrison. He was nodding his head. I extended my good hand, but rather than clasping it, Jordan bent over and kissed me on the lips. As I took a swing at him he backed away, eyes twinkling. "Sealed with a kiss." He glanced at his son. "Settle yourself, before you undo all the doctor's good work, Harrison. It was harmless. And most likely the only time I dare such a challenge. You're both nearly immobilized and unarmed."

  Immobilized my ass. I stretched across and applied pressure to my shoulder before sitting up. There were needles in my arm and plastic tubing attaching me to machines, but I made it upright before pausing to contemplate them. Jordan Drover watched for a moment as I reached for a needle then grinned and ducked out the door.

  Chapter 12

  Probably a good thing. I really wasn't in any condition to kick Jordan out just now.

  Harrison laughed. "As long as you're up. You should scoot over here. I don't think I can get that far and I really want to feel you against me."

  I acquiesced. We wanted the same thing. My injured shoulder was on that side but that didn't stop me from laying my head on his shoulder and molding myself to his body. He wrapped an arm around me and held me tight to his side. As long as I didn't move, it didn't hurt too bad.

  Not moving when laying this close was easier said than done. But after the second jolt of pain shooting through my shoulder I lay still, just soaking in his energy and scent. "I've never wanted you more. The way you handled yourself out there…There were times when I wondered if you'd prove to be a pansy in a firefight. You were sensational."

  "All the way up until I fell out."

  "You took a bullet. You're allowed."

  "You took a bullet too."

  "Mine wasn't half as bad."

  "Yes it was. You just worked through the pain better."

  "Been through it before. Besides my holster took the worst of the impact. I honestly thought it just grazed me, all the way up until the paramedic showed me the hole and made me lie down."

  "Well let's agree then we make a damn good team."

  "No doubt about that." I rolled my head to kiss his chest, grunting as lightning traced its way from my shoulder to my fingertips. I didn't let it stop me though.

  "Oh God…please, just lay still, Frankie."

  I settled my head into the curve of his shoulder. When I lay still, he said, "Did we just make a bad bargain?"

  Pain overrode the temptation to laugh. "Did you plan to stay in our current spot? At the end of the year he's welcome to it. And I don't mind telling him how winter and the storms are. And as he noticed, I only agreed to move back to District Seven if you did. Didn't agree to work with him, or much of anything else. He's too damn sharp to have missed any of that so maybe he is making an effort at compromise."

  "He had to blow it in the end there. He's lucky my magic is still depleted. He would have at least bought himself a jolt in the ass with that last move. If he's smart he’ll be back to running the world before I can get out of this bed."

  "Rest, lover boy. I don't think there's a trick in his book that could interest me. Consider the fact that the only reason he ha
s a son is because he paid a hooker for her services--honestly how good can the man be."

  "That's something I, as his son, have never stopped to contemplate and just the thought…yuck…Moving on…So tell me about Paul. What makes him so special you want to include him?"

  "I'll tell you. Just not here. Remember, your father came back in before Gerrill swept for electronic bugs."

  Harrison closed his eyes. "God, you're right. I didn't even pay attention. Then what shall we do until they let us out of here?"

  I yawned. "Don't know about you. But I could still use some sleep."

  His hand slid to my rear and he returned the yawn. "Sounds like a plan."

  Chapter 12

  The next time I awoke, I lay with eyes closed, trying to figure out what had Harrison so tense. I caught a whiff of coffee, black, and seabreeze aftershave. I cursed Jordan Drover six ways to hell, before rubbing my hand along Harrison's chest and under the hospital gown. The man had to try my last nerve. Harrison relaxed under my ministrations and I rolled over, shoulder twinging as I stretched. "Good morning, Wally."

  "Evening, Frankie."

  "Rollick here too?"

  "Right outside."

  "So...You bonded with the prez when you left me to crawl down the hill in Eighty-Six."

  "And you bonded with his son while recovering."

  "No. He started as my client. I called him to join me because I didn't think I wanted him found in my apartment."

  "Your apartment?"

  "You, all your buddies, all of District Seven's watch, and a good number of mages were after him. Some wanted to take him back. Some wanted to kill him, in case you didn't realize the siphons were an attack on both him and his cousin. What place could be less likely to harbor a fugitive than the home of the woman whose property he spent the day trashing."

  "Jesus, Frankie, I was there. When did he show up?"

  "Walked right past while you slept on the couch. Why do you think you missed three phone calls from Thompson?"

  "And you just let him stay?"

  "No, first I drew a gun on him and ordered him to leave. Then I got a look at what a mess he was. I don't kick stray dogs. At that time all I knew was, he was cut up pretty bad, exhausted, and on the run from District Seven. That was enough for me to agree to listen to his story. As I‘m sure you‘ve figured out by now, I had good reason to be sympathetic to anyone wanting out of Seven."