Transfer_An Urban Fantasy Romance

by Jordan C. Robinson

  Alejandro laughed. “Cool. So, too heavy?”

  “Yes . . .” Will let the word trail off, visibly confused and side-eyed Alejandro.

  “Now focus on the weight.” Alejandro ignored Will’s stare. “Just watch your hand try to lift the weight. Think about lifting the weight and focus on your desire to do so.”

  Will’s eyelid twitched as he looked from Alejandro to the weight. Knowing him, he was trying to resist rolling his eyes. I felt the corners of my mouth pull upward in a small smile.

  It was amazing watching the skepticism fall from his face as he lifted the weight on his second try. His jaw dropped and the weight shortly followed. It hit the table with a thud. Alejandro let loose a thunderous belly laugh.

  “I think he might actually be onto something,” Will said in my direction.

  “Can we have a moment?” I asked Alejandro. The laughing man was wiping tears from his eyes. He couldn’t seem to get a word out, but he nodded and left the room.

  “I think we should show him,” he said.

  “I was thinking the same thing.” I waved Will over so I could whisper. “But what if it’s a trap? What if he’s from PISP, trying to recover the leaked document?”

  We both went silent.

  “Is there anything we could ask him to verify he’s not with them?” I asked, almost certain there wasn’t anything he could say that would prove his independence.

  “You still have the doctor’s number right?” He was no longer whispering.

  I retrieved my phone from my pocket and went to the message from Dr. Randle. “That’s genius, Will.” Such a simple solution I would have been embarrassed to have missed it if I wasn’t excited to delve deeper into this mystery. “Should I text and ask her or send a picture of him? I think Alejandro would be agreeable.” My voice was once again at a whisper.

  “Text her and see if she can confirm without a picture.” Will said. “If she can, then we don’t have to worry about tipping him off that we have doubts.”

  I looked up at him, leaning against the table. “You’re full of good ideas today aren’t you?”

  He stared me down with his eyes but his mouth gave away his amusement. “Just text her.”

  Thank you for the documents. Is it safe for me to ask a question?

  I sent the text and waited. It took no more than fifteen seconds for a reply.

  Yes.

  Attached to the text was another set of documents. My curiosity got the better of me and I opened it before replying. These documents appeared to be scanned with a penned note at the top.

  Sorry for the incompleteness of the last documents. Those were all I had been able to gather. You have inspired me though. Here is the most recent information on our most recent patient. He survived an attack already, they will be coming for him again. Please reach out to him. I’ve also attached the most up to date categorization of powers (for lack of a better word).

  Patient Alpha-red:

  Chimera certainty. Patient’s blood test indicates categories Oxen, Cheetah, and Rabbit. Due to a lack data on mental abilities, patient is unconfirmed, but likely.

  I showed Will my phone. “Is that me?” he asked.

  “I think so.” I stood up and moved the document so that I could read the bottom page while he read the top one. The bottom page was also scribbled. For such a company they sure seemed to have no sense of organization. Although, I suppose trying to remain so secret prevented them from documenting most items on an official letterhead.

  PISP looks for Chimeras. Chimeras are the individual that show an affinity for all three physical categories. The most common and easiest to determine/test for is Ox. That is basically super strength. I’m sorry I don’t know how it works or I would pass on that information to you. The other two are Cheetah and Rabbit. One grants speed and the other is reflexes. Unfortunately, again, I am unable to provide a great amount of details to you on the differences between the two. I am unsure. There are rumblings of mental powers but PISP is lacking in information, but they do believe there is something.

  I let Will hold my phone after I finished, allowing him to move onto the second page. This was wild. This was movie-like. She and Alejandro were essentially saying assassins were after Will. The coincidences though . . . could I ignore those?

  “Kristen.” He handed me the phone back.

  “Did you finish?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “You have a message.”

  I tapped it open.

  I’ll be destroying this phone tonight. I’m not sure if my digging was noticed but I can’t continue to snoop around. Been doing it for years—my sanity suffers. I hope you can continue my work, otherwise many people will die.

  “If this is true,” I said, “how can she give up?”

  “Not sure.” Will crossed his arms. “She has been doing it for a while. But by the sounds of it, there is no one else to combat it, but us. What if we say no?”

  The phone vibrated again. Another text.

  Left work. Will not be returning. Two things. PISP going after candidate but don’t believe it’s the most recent patient alpha-red. I gathered there might be one other that escaped. If what I found is correct they’ll be going for him. A long shot you could find him but that means alpha-red will be next. Please locate. Thank you.

  “Is she talking about Alejandro?” I put my phone on the table and sat back down. Placing my head in my hands, I sighed loudly. “This is too much.”

  “So we were trying to confirm the one person they’re going after?”

  I stood up so fast I banged my knee on the table. Shit. Would they be coming here then? Will seemingly came to the same realization as he walked to the window and peeked through the curtains.

  Alejandro walked back into the room. “Everything okay in here?”

  I ran my hand through my hair and looked to Will. We still hadn’t confirmed anything. Although, Dr. Randle wouldn’t have known about Alejandro if he was an agent for PISP. Unless she was also an agent. I shook my head. No, that didn’t make sense. There would be no reason for her to trick me. They could have had me without going through the trouble of making her appear like a spy in their ranks. So, Alejandro was legit? I think. That was the best I was going to come up with.

  “How well hidden is this place?” Will asked. He alternated between looking at us and peeking through the curtains.

  “Pretty well, why?” Alejandro asked. “Unless you keep opening the curtains, that is.” The older man chuckled.

  He’s pretty confident we’re hidden. “We should go.” PISP seemed like the type of place to make the hidden visible, assuming this was all true.

  “Right,” Will said. “Is there anything else before we go?”

  Fifteen

  Kristen

  “Leaving already?” Alejandro asked. “I’ve still got to teach you how to use your power.” The man frowned, unable to believe we’d want to leave so soon.

  “Yeah,” Will said, “you said yourself that you’re a target. I think it’s best if we don’t attach our lives to that target too.”

  “I was contacted by Dr. Randle from PISP,” I said, backing Will up. “She said they’re coming after you as soon as tonight.”

  “I’m off the radar.” His eyes flickered to the curtains. “I move every other month,” he said, speaking quickly. “They can’t find me. They haven’t found me in a while.”

  “Dr. Randle’s information looks legitimate,” I said, standing up. He didn’t need to know it had only been a couple of texts. “We should go.” I looked to Will and he nodded.

  “Plus,” Will added. “It’s probably better for them if you’re off the radar. Easier to cover their tracks.”

  Alejandro took a step toward the door, glancing between the two of us. “I don’t want to force you to stay, but you should.”

  “Text whatever information you have to us.” I was already making my way to the door. Will shot Alejandro an apologetic glance.

  “Wait,” he
said, “Dr. Randle? What did she tell you? And why?” Alejandro’s eyes were wide and a few beads of sweat had appeared. He seemed to be caught between seeming unimposing and getting us to stay.

  “Another day,” Will said, seeing that I was already at the door.

  “Guys.” I turned from the door. I waved Will forward and pointed at the doorknob. He hurried over and touched the handle only to pull his hand away immediately. It was scalding. “I don’t suppose your doorknob is always so hot?” I asked, my voice still calm. Much calmer than I felt, knowing we were on the fourth floor. Did flaming hot doorknob mean anything but fire on the other side? “Alejandro,” I said, getting Alejandro’s attention. He had been staring ahead at the door. “Do you have a fire escape?”

  The older man shook his head. “Uh, well, yes.”

  “But?” Will asked, following me away from the front door, toward the kitchen. We entered the kitchen before Alejandro could answer. The window was boarded up.

  “Sorry,” Alejandro said, entering the kitchen behind us. “I didn’t want to be taken by surprise.”

  “So we’re trapped?” I asked.

  “Where’s the fire alarm?” Will asked.

  “I don’t know,” I answered, “but I smell smoke.” Exiting the kitchen confirmed I was right. Smoke was now leaking underneath the front door. I turned to Alejandro once again. “Now would be a good time to use those super powers of yours to get us out of here.”

  The man stood there, still wide-eyed and speechless.

  “Alejandro,” I said, her tone firm. “Now is not the time. Surely you haven’t survived this long like this. How do we get out of here?”

  “The window is the only way left,” Will stated, ignoring Alejandro and his deer in the headlights reaction. “But they’ll probably be watching the fire escape.”

  “You’re right.” I paced the room, the temperature making it obvious there was a fire somewhere, if it hadn’t already been clear before. “How much strength can you muster up?” My eyes met Alejandro’s, daring him not to answer.

  “Uh,” he said, “I’ve lifted a car before. Not completely or anything but—”

  “Good enough,” I interrupted. “Do you have neighbors?” I walked along the wall of the kitchen. “Never mind.” He wouldn’t answer anyway and it didn’t matter. I felt the wall over the sink before moving into the other room. I knocked on the wall, trying to get a read on the thickness. I had no idea what I was doing, but Alejandro wasn’t helping so it was up to me. “Will—push this cabinet out of the way.”

  Will put his shoulder into it and pushed. The legs dragged along the floor, a scratching noise indicated the floors wouldn’t escape unscathed.

  “Hey,” Alejandro finally spoke up. “My floors . . .”

  I turned around with a scowl, one I didn’t intend to be there, but he chose now to speak up? I didn’t give Alejandro a response, instead I turned back to the wall. Will had made decent progress, the cabinet was now almost in the kitchen.

  “Do you want us to punch the wall?” Will asked, a hand over the spot I had touched.

  “I think you will need to try,” I glanced at the front door, “and soon.” Alejandro coughed and moved away from the smoke toward the wall. “I don’t know if you’re going to alternate punches or do it at the same time but you two will need to break through this wall.” I brought my shirt up to my mouth, hoping to prevent the inhalation of smoke.

  Will looked at me while he flexed his fist in front of the wall. “Do I just . . . punch?”

  I shrugged, giving him a small smile. “You’re the one with the powers. Were you not paying attention? Just try.”

  He chuckled and turned back to the wall. He was quite relaxed for being trapped in the soon-to-be oven.

  “Wait, actually,” I said, suddenly remembering once we got to the next room we’d be in a similar dilemma. We’d either have to go out the fire escape or the front door. Anyone watching would still be able to see us. “The floor.” I turned, looking for a decent opening. I pushed the table myself and pointed. “Okay, try here.”

  Will fell to his knees, took a deep breath, and lined up his punch. “This is going to hurt.” He looked at me before bringing down his fist onto the floor. Surprisingly, it went straight through the floor. He pulled his hand back and debris fell through the newly made hole. “Wow,” he said. “I definitely thought I wouldn’t be able to overcome the mental block of punching a floor. It’s just not natural.”

  “Will, you’re rambling. Can you finish the hole?” I glanced over my shoulder to Alejandro. “Feel free to help.”

  Another punch from Will and the hole widened. Certainly not big enough for anyone to drop through, but progress was being made, and none too soon because the smoke was now filling the room. Will and I lay belly down on the ground, trying to avoid inhaling smoke. Only once Will was on his fourth or fifth punch did Alejandro come over and help. I had lost track of him, but he reappeared out of the kitchen and stomped on the edge of the hole Will was clearing. Alejandro coughed as he brought his foot down again. This time it went through and he lost his bearing, falling halfway through the hole. Clearly, we still had some work to do if he couldn’t fit, he wasn’t much larger than Will or I. He clawed at the unbroken floor in an attempt to clear himself from the hole, but was unable to do so. Will rolled his eyes and shimmied into a position where he could pull out Alejandro while remaining on his stomach.

  Alejandro was retrieved, and I was left wondering how he had survived this long from PISP. The smoke was incredibly thick and my eyes watered, unable to see much. I was about to choke on the smoke and yet my brain was calm enough to marvel at Alejandro’s incompetence.

  “This isn’t working.” Will’s voice carried through the smoke. The hole was in front of me but with the burning sensation of my eyes I couldn’t make out anything else. “It’s too slow.” Alejandro hadn’t helped after his accident so it was up to Will to widen the hole. The sound of periodic punches ceased and I crawled toward the hole.

  “Will?”

  The only response was Alejandro coughing. How much time did we have left?

  “Back up,” Will said, his voice strained. I rolled away from the hole to the sound of Will grunting as if pushing something heavy, and then the shattering of the floor. Will cursed as I heard the splintering of the wood and something fall through the hole, maybe whatever he used to break the floor. Something else hit the floor below us. “Come on down,” Will said.

  I peeked to my left where I had last seen Alejandro before pulling myself over the edge of the hole. I did my best to position myself so that I was feet first, but halfway through I lost my grip. Will half caught me, breaking my fall. We both hit the ground but I was okay. He helped me up, making sure I was able to stand before his gaze went to the hole in the ceiling. “Alejandro,” he called up through the hole. He shook his head when there was no answer. “Let’s go. Hopefully they don’t have a visual on the third floor door.”

  He grabbed my wrist and we made our way to the front door. He felt the doorknob and deemed it safe enough. Opening the door, he pulled his shirt over his face and pulled me forward as we proceeded down the hall. We were sprinting down the stairs when we heard the roof in the room collapse, whether Alejandro was behind it or not, we didn’t go back to check.

  We ran past the elevators and entered the stairwell. Will started down the first step before I grabbed him, holding him still. A door below us had opened and two muffled voices could be heard.

  I couldn’t catch what they were saying but it caused Will to look back at me, motioning me to stay. He crouched on the stairs, almost sliding down them. I suppressed a suddenly urgent cough. The voices became louder, but no clearer. A firefighter’s helmet peeked over the railing and I relaxed. At least until the firefighter turned the corner and met Will on the intermediate landing. The firefighter froze and reached for something on his belt. Will’s fist sprung into action, crashing through the firefighter’s helmet and leaving a
sickening crunch to echo through the air. The firefighter crumpled to the ground, revealing the second firefighter reaching the landing.

  “Shit.” The firefighter said, also reaching for his belt. Will charged forward, closing the two steps between the two. The second firefighter managed to dodge his fist, which only cracked the screen. The firefighter placed a hand on the wall to steady himself and backpedaled away from Will. I was only a few steps away from the firefighter’s back, with Will now near the stairs leading down.

  “Kid,” the firefighter said. “Calm down, we’re here to help.”

  Will straightened up. “Sorry.”

  “We can go in a minute,” the firefighter said. “Just let me check on my partner.” He bent down.

  My eyes flickered from Will back to the firefighter. Will seemed to be avoiding looking in my direction. Was he trying to avoid tipping the other man off? The firefighter was rummaging through his partner’s unconscious person and I saw what the first had been reaching for. A gun. Why would a firefighter carry a gun? He wouldn’t.

  I thought about yelling but that would just bring the gun’s attention to me. I raised my arms and waved them, getting Will’s attention. He finally looked up and I made a gun with my index and middle finger, touching my thumb down to hopefully indicate gun. Will nodded and took a step toward the firefighter. With that, the firefighter stood, swinging the gun to point it at Will’s chest. He froze.

  “Down the steps.” He waved his gun, urging Will along, but he paused.

  I took a step toward the man with the gun and hesitated. I didn’t want to get in the way.

  “Okay, okay,” Will said, but he still didn’t move. So I did, hoping that was what he’d intended and the distraction would prove enough. I took the stairs two at a time, the firefighter turning once he heard my footsteps. I had no plan at the time, likely going for some sort of collision. I didn’t need to worry though. Before I reached the platform, the firefighter had hit the ground. Looking up at Will, I saw him in the follow-through of a throw. Once on the landing I saw a piece of bloody rubble at my feet, matching the hole in the downed firefighter’s head.