Welch, D [Shadow People 02] Shadow Spies

by Doug Welch

  “In the next room.” Kitty chuckled. “That’s quite some lady you have there. She made the hospital staff’s life hell, demanding that they do this and that. I hear she damn near ran the emergency room before they got her to calm down and let them take care of her.”

  Paris laughed. “Sounds like Doctor Rowan –I mean Fox. Where’s everyone else?”

  “They’re waiting for you to wake up. It’s my watch. I’ll go tell them in a minute. You’re a hero you know.”

  “Oh? How’s that?”

  “It’s all over the news. Handsome, dashing, young hero husband saves beautiful wife from kidnappers and the jaws of death.” Kitty giggled. “Stay tuned for updates. I think I’m gonna like hanging with you guys if this keeps up.”

  Paris groaned. “Tony and the Council are going to be pissed.”

  Kitty rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Whatever…I’ll go out and tell Dan.” She exited the room.

  After a while, Dan entered, followed by Jaime and Roxanne. Dan looked concerned.

  “How are you feeling, Paris.”

  Paris moved to prop himself against the pillows and winced when the pain hit his arm. “Like someone tried to tear off my arm.”

  “I can believe it. The doctors said they had to do reconstructive surgery on your hand and you tore several ligaments in your shoulder. Not to mention a list of bruises, scrapes, hypothermia, exhaustion, and possible contamination from the water.”

  “How long have I been out?”

  “About twelve hours. They sedated you when you first arrived at the emergency room and kept you under for the surgery.”

  “How are Elizabeth and the baby?”

  “She’s sleeping and the baby’s fine. They gave her a sedative to calm her down. Cecil’s waiting in her room until she wakes up. They’re keeping you both here for at least three days for observation and then we can all head back to Kentucky.”

  Paris looked over at Jaime. “I think before I leave, Jaime, I want to meet your family and thank them personally.”

  “We’d love to have you over, Paris, but get well first. We’ll have an old fashioned Mexican fiesta. I guarantee you’ll need your strength for that.”

  Paris turned his attention to Dan. “I want Elizabeth in the room with me.”

  Dan shrugged. “I don’t know if I can convince the hospital, Paris. You know how they are…”

  “Well I can. Get me someone to talk to.”

  Dan nodded and left the room.

  Paris caught Roxanne’s eye and motioned her over to his bed. “Rox, you know a lot now, about the Family and the Shadows, and that information can be dangerous. You’ve been a great asset and I would like you to join the Family. Are you willing?”

  She hesitated and then nodded.

  “Good. We’ll talk more about this later.”

  * * *

  Paris woke again to the sounds of someone entering his room. Two nurses wheeled a bed and monitor in and fixed it in place. They were followed by the looming presence of Cecil pushing a wheelchair and an IV bottle on a stand.

  The smiling occupant of the wheelchair was Elizabeth.

  Paris heard the sound of his heart monitor increase in rhythm. One of the nurses looked over at it with a worried expression.

  Elizabeth laughed. “Relax, Paris, They’re going to call a code blue on you if you don’t. I’m alright sweetheart, and the baby’s fine.”

  The sound slowed. He ached to leave the bed and hold her, but pain held him back.

  Elizabeth motioned to Cecil to wheel her to Paris’ side and she took his good hand in hers, staring at him.

  “You took a lot of damage protecting me. Trust me. You’re the one who’s in the worst shape. You need to rest.”

  Paris heard someone knock. “Am I interrupting?” Kitty walked into the room.

  Elizabeth smiled. “Alex! What have you done to your hair?”

  Kitty touched her hair and then appealed to Paris. “I’m not… Paris, help.”

  Paris laughed. “Sweetheart, this isn’t Alex. It’s Kitty.”

  Elizabeth’s eyes grew wide. “Wow… I could have sworn…”

  “Beth, meet my half sister, Kitty.”

  Kitty rolled her eyes. “Paris, I wish you would stop saying that. After all, I might be your cousin.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. “No, you look amazingly like Alex. I doubt you’re a cousin.”

  “Well...whatever. Anyway, you wanna hear what the cops are up to or not?”

  Paris grinned. “You have our full attention, Kitty.”

  Kitty chuckled. “They’re pissed at you. The big tunnel bust turned out to be a major bummer. By the time they’d decided to go in, the tunnels were completely flooded out and they didn’t catch perp one. Way I hear it, some major heads are gonna roll.”

  Elizabeth snorted. “Huh! That’s unlikely. Next day it will be business as usual.”

  Paris frowned. “I hope Harvey and Spooner aren’t among them, they’re good agents.”

  He saw Cecil standing by the window. “Cecil, could you come here a moment?”

  Cecil seemed reluctant, but walked over to his bed. He refused to look at anyone but Elizabeth.

  Paris winked at Elizabeth. “Your call, Beth. As for me I’ve made arrangements so he’ll never be bothered by Shadows again.”

  Elizabeth bit her lip and her eyes glistened. “Would you come to Kentucky, Cecil? We’ll buy you a house, a farm if you want it. Or you could cook for us. A lifetime job. –Please?”

  “I was a farm hand before I joined the Army. ‘Spect I could be again. Kentucky’s a nice state, good farmland. Not many black folks there though, are there?”

  “Some but not a lot. It doesn’t matter You’ll be welcome there. Won’t he, Paris?”

  Paris nodded. He’d make sure of it, even if he had to lay a pattern across every small mind in Russell County.

  Cecil smiled. “I guess I’m too old to be farming, but I loves to cook. ‘spect I’ll come with you.”

  “Good, Cecil.” Paris turned to Kitty. “Kitty, make sure he gets a complete wardrobe, the works, anything he wants. And Cecil? You’ll need to make a list of cooking supplies. I want the most modern and complete kitchen money can buy. We’ll install it in the new center and you can supervise the cooking staff.”

  After Kitty left the room with Cecil in tow, Paris confided in Elizabeth.

  “Cecil told me about the incident in Vietnam before we set out to rescue you and I had Tony check it out. It seems the Vietnamese he killed was an Adept and his House declared vendetta on Cecil. They’ve been slowly trying to drive him insane for years.”

  Elizabeth nodded. “Couple that with PSD and it’s a wonder he’s not already psychotic. He’s going to need some therapy.”

  At that moment a nurse entered the room.

  “You need to be back in bed Mrs. Fox. You’ll tire yourself and it’s not good for the baby.”

  Elizabeth sighed and allowed the nurse to tuck her in bed.

  * * *

  After lunch they had another visitor. Tyler Bronson walked into the room carrying a large bouquet of flowers. He looked at both of them and walked to Elizabeth’s bed. “These are for the most beautiful woman in Las Vegas.”

  Paris complained from his bed, “Don’t I get anything?”

  Tyler turned to look at Paris. “In a minute. I never had a chance to meet your lovely wife and I’m rectifying that now. I can see why you were almost out of your mind with worry. She’s like a precious jewel.”

  Elizabeth blinked and then burst out laughing. “God, that’s so over the top! But thank you for the flowers. They’re lovely.”

  Tyler removed one of the chairs from the wall, sat it between them, and straddled the seat with his arms leaning on the back rest.

  Tyler nodded to Elizabeth. “How much does Missus Fox know about…?”

  “Everything, Ty. I keep nothing back from my wife. We’ve been lying in these beds for awhile now.”

  Tyler shr
ugged. “You want the good news first or the good news last?”

  Paris’ eyebrows rose. “No bad news?”

  Tyler chuckled. “Well you may run into a mob of news people when you leave the hospital. But that’s not the good news. My house caught two of the kidnappers wading out of the tunnel before the police acted. We’re in the process of squeezing them for information now. It seems like you took a big bite out of the spy network the Council’s been worried about. They’re so happy they’re ready to give you a medal if such a thing existed in our world.”

  Paris frowned. “Has Shadoe shown up in Venice?”

  “Not yet but the Borgias are drooling in anticipation. The second piece of news is that your wedding’s on the house. The publicity from the wedding and the subsequent heroic actions of the groom convinced the Elysium to comp the room and expenses. The other casino was so terrified of a lawsuit that they picked up the remainder, including your hospital stay.”

  Paris laughed. “I sense a little bit of Tyler Bronson involved there somewhere.”

  Tyler grinned and winked. “It didn’t take much convincing.”

  Paris leaned his head back on the pillow and sighed. “It seems now we’re really indebted to you, Ty, and I don’t mean that in some formal way.”

  Tyler spread his hands and shrugged. “Hey. You got rid of the person stealing from the casinos. I’d call it even. By the way, where is Miss Trudeau?”

  Paris noticed the implied link of Kitty’s name with the casino thief but ignored it. “She’s out buying Cecil a new wardrobe. We’re taking him back to Kentucky with us.”

  “A lot of people here in Vegas like that old man. You take care of him. I’m glad he’s getting a permanent home.”

  Elizabeth interrupted him. “He’s my friend, Tyler, and I’m going to make sure he gets everything he needs.”

  * * *

  Paris and Elizabeth sat in the comfortable seats of the hired business jet, facing Kitty, as it flew cross country heading to Kentucky.

  Paris’ arm hung in a sling and a bulky splint peeped out of the sleeve of a short-sleeved shirt. Elizabeth wore the new colorful peasant skirt and white blouse that Jaime’s wife had given her during the Mexican fiesta at his house. Dan and Roxanne sat huddled together in adjacent seats, talking and occasionally laughing. Cecil had his nose buried in a new cook book with a note pad by his side.

  Elizabeth stared at Kitty. “It’s amazing how much you look like Alex.”

  Kitty winced. “Get over it. Her nose is too short and I’ve got hazel eyes. Besides she’s a smartass.”

  Elizabeth raised an eyebrow. “And you’re not?”

  Kitty fluttered her eyelashes and grinned. “Well no ma’am, I’m just a sweet southern belle.”

  Paris laughed. “Admit it Kitty you’ve never been in the south in your life.”

  “Hah! I’ve been all over this freakin’ country. Doesn’t New Orleans count?” She sat back in her seat with a smug smile on her face.

  Paris decided to raise a question that had been on his mind since they left Vegas.

  “What do you plan to do when we get home?”

  Kitty’s smile diminished. “I don’t plan to stay long. Agent Pell is sponsoring me to go to Quantico. I’ve got an application in to join the FBI, so I have to fly to D.C. for an interview.”

  Elizabeth’s eyebrows rose again. “FBI? Don’t you need a degree for that?”

  Kitty’s smug grin returned. “Well yeah! I’ve got a bachelors degree in criminal law. Besides, who’s better to catch a crook than an ex-criminal? Within a year I’ll be running the FBI. You just watch.”

  Paris imagined Kitty had a suitcase full of degrees, but held back from saying it. A member of the Family who was also an FBI agent could be a huge asset. “I’ll give you some Adept training when we get back. You shouldn’t have a problem.”

  Elizabeth looked skeptical but didn’t reply.

  * * *

  They were met at the airport by Alexandra and Caesar who stood beside a new, large van with the words ‘Kentucky Home’ attractively painted on the side. The van’s gleaming new plush interior held several wide passenger seats and they sat in comfort as they drove toward Jamestown. Alex sat in the front next to Caesar and turned to face the occupants in the back.

  “The van’s one of June’s new ideas. We bought an old plantation house and we’re turning it into a bed and breakfast for visiting guests from other territories. It’s a money loser, but we felt with the new circumstances it would be necessary.”

  Elizabeth interrupted. “How’s our father?”

  Caesar’s voice came from the front seat. “He’s still in intensive care. They’re worried about infection so they won’t let us near him, but they think he might make it.”

  “I think after we get everyone settled in, Elizabeth and I need to see him. I might be able to help him recover,” Paris said.

  Elizabeth gave him a wondering look. “What do you mean?”

  Paris smiled. “Remember the baby? It’s given me an idea. If I can do it with you, I might be able to help Edward.”

  Elizabeth slumped and muttered something.

  “What’s that? I didn’t hear you,” Paris said.

  Elizabeth scowled. “I said the medical profession’s never going to be the same with you around.”

  * * *

  Paris along with Elizabeth, Caesar and Alexandra stood gazing at Edward’s comatose form through a glass observation window as he lay in the intensive care room. Tubes and a breathing mask made his features hard to discern. Edward’s doctor had departed after reporting on his condition. Although the doctor told them he’d been awake and responsive, at this moment he slept.

  “It’s a good thing he’s just sleeping,” Elizabeth said. “If he were anesthetized, I don’t think this could work.”

  Alex turned to her. “What makes you say that?”

  “Anesthetized patients lose all sense of consciousness. They’re unable to experience the passage of time. It’s like one moment in time they’re awake and thinking and the next moment they’re aware of the world around them, even though hours may have passed while they were under.”

  Paris felt nervous. He’d never entered a sleeping mind and had no idea what to expect.

  “Maybe I should try this while he’s awake.”

  Elizabeth bit her lip. “I’ve talked to the doctors and I know more about his condition than you. He may fall asleep and never wake up. You may as well try. I love that old man and I want him to live.”

  Paris needed no further encouragement. He expanded his mind-glow and allowed it to encompass the dimed glow of Edward’s mind. He sensed chaos, a flickering of imagined colors, tastes, and sounds cascading over him. He wondered at the frenzied activity and then finally realized what he sensed.

  He’s dreaming.

  If it was a dream, it invaded almost every portion of Edwards mind except for certain key areas that remained quiescent, as though dormant. The chaotic turmoil of the dream prevented Paris from perceiving the reality of Edward’s normal mind, a mind he’d experienced before. This one appeared to be foreign.

  Just like a dream, weird and chaotic.

  Paris slowly wielded delicate patterns trying to stem the torrent of images and senses. He blocked some and created bridges for others. Eventually he found a pattern that worked and the turmoil subsided.

  Now he could explore the organized flow of the cresting waves of Edward’s mind as it carried out its normal tasks. Paris sensed certain areas of his glow that appeared blank. The quiet areas seemed unlike Edward’s normal mind which he knew brimmed with activity.

  I’m in unknown territory here. Do I rouse it or let it rest?

  He tried to remember the feel of Edward’s thoughts before the operation. With a mental picture, he tried to pattern the same smooth flow into the dimmed parts, one at a time. Each area seemed to pulse with his efforts, and when he finished with the last one, they all steadied and assumed a constant flow with al
l the others.

  A little shaken by his probing, he withdrew, and almost fell before Caesar steadied him.

  Elizabeth’s eyes were wide and she stared at him. “What did you do? I was observing his monitors the whole time and they were going up and down in a crazy pattern. I thought you were killing him and then they steadied out in a normal range. You were spaced out for nearly an hour.”

  Paris sighed. “I don’t really know what I did, but his mind seems to be working normally now. I only hope his body joins it. Only time will tell if I did more harm than good. It was a hell of an experience. I had to stop him from dreaming first, before I could do anything.”

  Elizabeth looked grim. “We’ll have to talk about this in detail. I want to document it, though I’ll never be able to publish it.”

  * * *

  From that point on, Edward’s recovery became more rapid and soon he was allowed visitors. His first words to them alleviated some of Paris’ fears.

  “I need you to know, Paris, I did nothing to betray the Family.”

  Paris waited for the others to respond.

  “We know Father. It seems the kidnappers bugged both houses and the center,” Caesar said. “The question is, how did they know to put us under surveillance? Who tipped them off?”

  Paris interrupted. “I think I know.” He addressed Edward. “Prior to last year you’d been feeding information about Shadow activities to their network. Isn’t that right?” Edward nodded. “And then just before the good parts, you stopped.” Edward looked away, apparently unwilling to meet his gaze. “I imagine that’s what got their attention. The question is why, Edward? Why do you hate the Shadows so much that you’d risk betraying the Family?”

  Edward beckoned Paris to move closer to the bed. When Paris stood by his side, he indicated that he wanted to say something to him. Paris leaned closer toward Edward’s mouth, to hear him whisper, “My desk in my study. There’s a safe deposit box key in an envelope addressed to Elizabeth and Caesar. In the deposit box is a document on a compact disc. Read it before you judge me.”

  Part Two

  Edward

  Chapter 1

  Tehran – Summer 1977