“Sir, Aaron is on the bus.”
Mr. Reynolds spun swiftly around, his eyes widened. That, he had not expected. He figured it would be a good distraction to set the whole ploy up, and keep Corinne, Aaron, and Lisa occupied long enough to make sure they were able to get their hands on the younger Corinne. He never thought they would actually be able to do anything to prevent the devastation one of his clients had paid him handsomely to create, nor did he anticipate the possibility of losing Aaron in the process.
“Sir, what would you like me to do?” Raymond asked, knowing that it was a dangerous question to pose.
Mr. Reynolds was lost in thought for a few minutes before replying. He spoke his words lightly, as if they might shatter were he to say them too roughly.
“Get me Conner.”
15
Daniel, Corinne, and Lisa pulled into a command station that had been set up in the parking lot of an empty building. It was the most central location within what the police felt were the most likely targets of the attacker's bomb.
“Did you get me a name yet?” Ernie barked as he hovered over the shoulder of a hostage negotiator who was trying the cell phone of the bus driver repeatedly. Three officers sat at a table beside him, sorting through mug shots and trying to assess the name of the attacker by using the eye-witness descriptions of people who had caught a glimpse of him through the bus windows. Unfortunately the descriptions were so vague that they matched just about every mug shot.
“It's Wayne.” Corinne said as she walked up behind the chief. Her voice was strained but she showed no other outward sign of stress. “Wayne Coldero.” She repeated when the chief turned around to look at her.
“Corinne, I am sorry about Aaron.” He started to say, but Corinne shook her head.
“Don't be, he's our best chance of getting those people off of that bus alive.”
The chief nodded as if he agreed but he passed a glance to Daniel that was not so convinced. Lisa offered to help the other officers who were now turning their attention to figuring out the names of all of the passengers on the bus.
“I'll need a quiet place.” Corinne requested in a professional manner.
“Of course.” Ernie said. He led her to one of the police vans where she could sit in general isolation. He could not do anything about the sirens but at least she would not be interrupted.
Daniel leaned in as she got settled. “Do you want me to stay with you?” He asked.
“No,” Corinne managed a faint smile at his offer. “Just do me a favor and call to check on Cori.”
Daniel dropped his eyes quickly to avoid revealing his thoughts.
“Sure.” He mumbled and ducked out of the van. Corinne noticed he was acting strange, but she pushed it out of her mind, she needed to focus on what was happening and what she could do to help Aaron.
16
On the bus Wayne had Aaron collect all of the cell phones, devices, and wallets from the passengers. He checked on the fuel level and they had quite a bit remaining. He was not happy about the situation, but he was already forming a new plan.
“Turn here.” He told Amelia who did as he asked, her hands still shaking. She had started to breathe a little more easily as she forced herself to calm down. Regardless of guns, or bombs, she was still responsible for the people on her bus.
Aaron was seated again, observing Wayne closely. He thought about searching for the bomb, but in truth its location did not matter. He would never be able to disarm it before Wayne detonated it. Not to mention, he had never actually disarmed a bomb before.
As the bus turned he wondered where Wayne was taking them. It seemed he might have a certain direction in mind. Logic told him he would not be getting off the bus alive, but he had a secret weapon, and he knew that Corinne was the only reason he had been let on to the bus in the first place. Now at least, as long as he stayed open to her influence, if she needed to, she could reach him.
“Right at the next light.” Wayne commanded. The passengers on the bus were trying to be as quiet as possible, but a few were crying, and the children were restless and frightened.
Amelia made the right turn, and her heart sunk as she realized where they were headed. When Aaron glimpsed the sign indicating that they were close to the airport, he took a sharp breath.
The bus would now become a missile, and if it were launched into an environment as populated as the airport, it would be a catastrophe. A catastrophe that the police and the government would never allow to happen. The bus would not reach the airport, whether Wayne destroyed it first, or the swat team made an entrance.
Aaron glanced back at the passengers, and saw a small pair of eyes peering over the back of a seat at him. The little boy's curly black hair was mussed, and his eyes were ringed with red from crying, but when he looked at Aaron, they were filled with hope.
Aaron cursed under his breath as he wondered how he would ever make it out of this one.
17
Conner had settled into drifting through his life. He was really enjoying the card games in the evenings, and the variety at brunch. To him the mental hospital that he had been committed to was akin to a luxury resort. At least that is what he had trained himself to believe.
He read books, he did crossword puzzles, and he even took up sketching. Anything to avoid thinking about the past. Anything to ignore what he had been, what he had done. So far he was able to maintain a tentative even keel. When Raymond showed up at the nurse's station along with two other men, who Conner recognized as Mr. Reynolds' thugs, his tenuous peace was shattered.
“Time to come home.” Raymond announced as he sauntered up to Conner who laid down his crossword puzzle and looked up at the three men before him. He drew a shaky breath as a mixture of fear, and lust rushed through him. As much as he wanted to hold on to his peace, he was thrilled by the idea of getting a chance to be involved in his life's work again.
He stood from his chair and picked up his paper and pencil.
“You'll get no fight from me.” He muttered. As the men led him out of the hospital, he rubbed the back of his hand, where a faded tattoo in the shape of a diamond, and the color of a strawberry, reminded him of what life was supposed to be.
When they arrived at Mr. Reynolds' home, Conner was hustled into a private bedroom. Immediately he was injected with the enhancement drug which would allow his abilities to resurface. As soon as he felt the burning of the liquid, he knew that it was more than one dose. As the affects of the drug made his mind spin with euphoria, Mr. Reynolds walked into the room. He cleared it of his men, and stood beside the bed Conner was laying in.
“If you do this correctly, I will give you the opportunity to participate in the lives of your creations again.” His voice carried to Conner from a distance, as his mind continued to swirl and flip. “I want Aaron off the bus safely, and I want the explosion that my client was promised. Understand?”
Conner could not answer. His lips were numb. His body was detached. He was already drifting. He drifted toward the energy he craved the most, and slammed right into Corinne.
18
Corinne drifted into Aaron's mind. She sensed his urgency. She caught sight of the same sign that he had seen. She jotted the information down on a piece of paper and tore it off, leaving it on the seat of the van beside her. She rolled down the window and handed the paper to an officer who was standing at the ready to assist her with whatever she needed.
Then she rolled the window back up and drifted back into Aaron's mind. At least he did not fight her, so the connection did not take as much of her energy. However it did come with an assault of the unruly emotions that still haunted Aaron. Just as she was about to communicate with him, a foreign energy interrupted. It seized her as if she were a weed to be plucked. After a few moments Corinne recognized who it was.
“Conner!” She pushed the word through her lips though she could not open her eyes. She could feel him inside of her, attempting to manipulate. She had been vulnerable beca
use of drifting into Aaron's energy, and now Conner had her locked in his energetic grasp.
His thoughts drifted into her mind.
“I am here to help Corinne.” He promised, his words rippling through her head. “If you are willing to join energies, we can fix this.”
He had already assessed the situation through her mind, and memories. He knew how dire it was. He knew that Aaron had no chance of getting off of the bus alive, and there was nothing that Corinne could do about it. She would have no choice but to accept his offer.
Corinne wanted to shove him out of her energy. She wanted to disconnect and refocus on Aaron, but there were only minutes before the FBI would decided that the bus had to be breached to keep it from causing greater harm at the airport. There was not time to question how Conner was influencing the situation, or why. She knew his skills were nearly as strong as hers, and if they joined together they would be able to manipulate Wayne's mind to the degree that they needed to in order to save everyone on the bus.
“What is the plan?” Corinne finally responded as she accepted his energy, though it sickened her, and allowed it to mingle with her own.
“Let's play a mind game.” Conner suggested and Corinne instantly knew what he meant. She could read his thoughts as if they were her own.
Together they surged forward and accessed Wayne's energy. He experienced a sudden lurch, and questioned whether he was getting motion sick. He shook it off and watched through the front window of the bus as they drew closer to the airport.
Aaron could not feel Corinne in his mind, he did not feel any dizziness. As the bus continued to roll, and no police cars approached, and no solution presented itself he began to get more anxious.
Corinne and Conner had to be very careful not to disrupt Wayne's mind and energy to the point that he would decide to trigger the bomb. They created a mental loop within his memories that caused him to believe that what he had been seeing for the past few minutes, was happening in front of him currently.
Corinne scribbled on paper and passed it to the waiting officer.
Wayne stood perfectly still, staring. If anything in his line of sight shifted or moved too much, the loop would break. Only the bus driver was visible. Corinne and Conner were using all of their energy to access Wayne, there was nothing left to manipulate Amelia.
Aaron was planning to attack Wayne. He felt as if he had no other choice, considering the circumstances. Just as he stood up, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Police cars were approaching with no sirens and no lights. Aaron was certain that if the bus was to be destroyed, the area around it would be evacuated, not populated by police cars. He did not understand what was happening. What was more surprising, was that Wayne did not seem to notice or to care.
Amelia had slowed the bus to a crawl as she knew that once they reached the airport it would be over. She was surprised when Wayne did not protest, and so she continued to travel at the slowest pace that she could.
She did not dare to turn to look at him, but when she saw him in the rearview mirror, his eyes were glassy and strange. Aaron slowly moved toward Wayne, in case he did see the police and made a move for the remote detonator. Aaron assumed it was hidden in a pocket in the man's trench coat. Wayne did not move, he did not turn his head. It was as if he was frozen in time.
Suddenly Aaron knew. He could not feel Corinne's energy because she had taken over Wayne. He did not know how, but she had been able to access him at a level beyond manipulation. He realized that as good as this was, it was also fragile. Corinne's connection could break at any time.
The bus was rolling so slowly, that just as he had thought before, he could walk faster than it. An idea formed within his mind. He worked quickly as the other passengers watched him nervously. Amelia kept her eyes on the road, waiting to hear Wayne yell at her to drive faster. Aaron disabled the alarm on the emergency exit knowing that the sound could jar Wayne out of his frozen state.
He pushed the door open as quietly as he could. The bus was still moving, but it was moving slowly enough, that if the passengers were to jump out, they would not be too hurt. The police car directly behind them pulled to the side.
When Amelia heard the door open, she glanced up. She was about to turn her head, when she realized how silly that would be. It would tip Wayne off, and miraculously he had not noticed the sound of rushing air through the open back door. She worried too, that if she stopped, he would become aware.
Aaron put his finger to his lips to quiet the passengers. Then he gestured for the two college aged boys to come first. He hoped that if they landed without injury they would help the others get out. The two young men did not hesitate to leap from the back of the bus. They landed hard, but on their feet, and turned quickly. Aaron snatched the three year old girl out William's arms, knowing that the man would not like what he was planning.
He met the eyes of one of the young men who were already free, and he rushed forward with his arms spread. Aaron tossed the little girl out of the bus and William had to stifle a gasp to keep from screaming. The young man caught the little girl and officers ran up to assist the hostages, and to take over helping the passengers.
One by one, the passengers began to escape, until the only two that remained were the woman in her thirties, and the old woman.
“Let her go first.” The woman in her thirties mouthed to Aaron when he gestured to her. Aaron offered his hand to the old woman to help her. The old woman shook her head and pointed to the younger woman. She felt as if she had fulfilled her life already, and the younger woman should have the chance to live.
Aaron raised one blonde brow as he was ready to throw them both off of the back of the bus, when suddenly Wayne began to move. His head was slowly turning. Aaron shoved the woman in her thirties toward the back door, and she leaped off the back of the bus, landing hard on her shoulder. Just as Wayne was realizing what was happening, Aaron picked up the slight old woman in his arms, and jumped off of the bus with her. Wayne cursed when he turned around to find the bus empty, and the door wide open.
He knew he would have to get off the bus, and there was only one way to save himself now. He was reaching for Amelia, with his gun drawn, when Aaron's face hovered down in front of the large front window, from the top of the bus. He shattered the window with one punch, grabbed Amelia by the hands she outstretched, and dragged her up on top of the bus. Wayne fired off several shots but Aaron moved too quickly for them to strike.
The police could see that Wayne was still shooting, when suddenly an ear-shattering boom filled the area from the pavement to the sky. The bus exploded instantly, taking out the windows of nearby buildings, and knocking over streetlights and telephone poles. In the cloud of dust and smoke that was created, not a single voice could be heard.
19
Corinne collapsed against the seat and the notebook she held fell out of her hand. She had exhausted herself to the point that she had lost consciousness. Her head slumped forward as her muscles relaxed, and when her forehead struck the horn, the officer outside the van was alerted. When medics rushed to Corinne Lisa hurried over to Ernie.
“Get everyone away from the bus.” She insisted. Corinne had scrawled out their plan, allowing the police to know it was safe to draw closer, that Wayne was temporarily contained. However, Lisa knew that if Corinne had passed out, there was nothing holding back Wayne any more. He would see the police, he would see the passengers evacuated, and everyone would die.
Moments before the explosion, the police had pulled back, evacuating all passengers and personnel as far as they could from the bus. Some debris had still struck some officers, and several police cars were damaged, but no one was seriously wounded. No one of course, but Wayne, who was on the bus when it exploded.
And two people who were still missing.
“Aaron and the driver.” Daniel said grimly as the medics tended to Corinne. Lisa wanted to help, but Daniel held her back.
“She is okay, just exhausted. Sa
ve your energy.” He had heard from the other officers what the explosion had been like, and that the last time they saw Aaron he was on top of the bus clutching the driver in his arms.
Daniel almost hoped that Corinne would not wake up for a while, he hated to think that she would awaken to discover her twin brother had been killed, and the child she had begun to consider her daughter, was missing.
Lisa was pacing back and forth as she waited for the approval to go to the bombsite.
“I need to find him!” She nearly screamed at Daniel when Ernie again declined her request. Daniel knew that it could still be dangerous, but he also knew that if Aaron was laying somewhere injured, on the off chance that he had not been killed, Lisa would be his only chance to survive.
He reluctantly left Corinne's side. He glanced around to be sure no one was paying attention to their actions, then he grabbed Lisa's hand and pulled her to his patrol car. He drove to the scene of the explosion and parked a block away. Quietly they slipped through a back alley to avoid the bomb squad that was still checking over the bus to be sure there were no more devices that could explode.
When Daniel saw the state of the bus, mangled metal and shattered glass, he was even less hopeful of finding Aaron or the bus driver alive. There was still enough smoke and dust to allow them to slip past the scrutiny of the officers manning the perimeter, of course, they were not expecting anyone to try to sneak in. They searched through what debris they could get to, and then inside the collapsed fronts of the buildings closest to the buses.
“He's here somewhere.” Lisa insisted as she wished she could sense him the way that Corinne could. After searching for over an hour, Daniel forced Lisa to stop.
“He's not here, and that's a good sign.” Daniel said, though he did not believe his own words. “Search and rescue will do their job now that the scene has been cleared, they have the equipment to deal with the collapsing buildings. Lisa, I am sorry, but we have to stop.”
Terregon (Book Two of The Red Diamond Saga) Page 5