“Yeah, but this team is an elite force, and they have all volunteered for the riskiest assignments. Noah’s resigning now we’re together.”
Sarah let out a low whistle. “So you guys are going to be permanently permanent.”
“Yep, babies and grandbabies.”
Sarah came over and wrapped her arms around Kali. “I’m so happy for you.”
“I can’t believe it. I feel like a part of me was missing all my life and is now back in place,” she said, hugging Sarah back.
“I hope one day to find someone like that, but in the meantime I think a dalliance with a junk food addict sounds like a real plan.”
“Dalliance, sure, Sarah.” Kali might have been trying to work on blocking Noah, but it didn’t mean she wasn’t picking up on some of the vibes coming from Sarah whenever she talked about Nate.
“Enough about the big guy, let’s talk about the admiral. Why do you think he’d risk coming here? It has to be big. He had to make sure he wasn’t seen by a lot of people to get here. It must be pretty important if he wanted to see all of us in person.”
“I would have been fine if he didn’t want to see me in person,” Kali mumbled.
“Yeah, I bet.” Sarah laughed as there was a knock on the door.
“It’s me, Sierra.”
“Showtime, Girlfriend.” Sarah hooked her arm through Kali’s.
* * *
Noah had a bad feeling. Yes, everything sounded good, and his team was excited to be getting out of the cramped quarters of the hotel, but it didn’t feel right. Another shoe was going to drop, unfortunately he didn’t know where or when. But he knew it would drop. And another thing making him antsy was t for the last hour he couldn’t feel Kali. She’d told him what she’d planned. She wanted to work on blocking him, putting up shields so to speak. Made sense. Hell, he had already been surreptitiously doing the same thing, only he’d been an asshole and not told her. They needed their privacy. But still, he wanted to be able to reach out and feel Kali. He didn’t like being cut off from her. After only three days of practicing, not being able to feel her presence was like losing a limb.
He breathed a sigh of relief when the three women came through the door, and then he did a double take when he realized how nervous Kali looked. Sarah motioned him over. He put his arm around Kali, and Nelson Sakuro walked across the room to greet Sarah and Kali.
“Ladies, it’s an honor and privilege to meet both of you. My name is Admiral Nelson Sakuro, and I cannot express how deeply I regret people from the Navy have been involved in trying to cause you harm.”
Noah watched as the admiral’s patented charm once again worked wonders. They might say promotions were entirely based on merit and performance, but it was bullshit, they were also based on your ability to play politics, and Nelson Sakuro had that in spades.
“It’s not your fault Admiral. Noah has told me how much you have done for him, and the found. I know you are doing everything in your power to stop these people.”
Sakuro could let go of Kali’s hand any time now, Noah thought. Nate knocked into his shoulder on the way to the mini bar. He looked up and his friend gave him a knowing grin. He flipped him off.
“And you Dr. Johnson, we intend to get you back to practicing medicine as soon as possible.” Sarah and Kali both stiffened, waiting for the admiral to say more, but he didn’t.
We didn’t tell him about Sarah’s new abilities, or about our ability to communicate.
That’s good. I don’t know why, but that’s good.
Noah turned back to the area housing Sierra’s computer monitors, allowing Sakuro to talk to Kali and Sarah. Nelson was his godfather. He loved the man like he did his grandfather, and he knew he had only the best of intentions…but it was the fact he was so good at politics that made Noah wary of telling him everything. His team had followed his lead beautifully. No one divulged any information other than what Noah provided. Dammit, Noah liked knowing exactly who the bad guys were. All the gray was driving him insane.
He looked up from the computer screen. Nelson Sakuro was a good man, there was no question in his mind. The man’s heart was in the right place, but he swam with a bunch of sharks, and looking at Kali, Noah bring himself to trust Sakuro with the information about Kali or Sarah.
“Well, I guess now everyone is here, I should actually tell you why I came.”
Nate had pulled in the chairs from the other room. Everyone was huddled in around the small desk area.
“Rydell found Mai and brought her home.”
“That’s wonderful,” Sarah clapped her hand over her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes. Nate put his arm around her. “How is she?”
“She’s pretty upset,” the admiral answered.
“What did they do to her?” Kali asked in tremulous voice. Noah went to Kali. He hated hearing the despair in her voice. They didn’t have to be connected for him to know she was reliving the hell she had gone through at the hands of her captors. She rested her head on his chest, unable to look at the admiral.
“She said they did nothing. In fact, according to her, the time she spent with her captors was the most enlightening time of her entire life. She told us she learned more about her real self and what she was meant to be and do. She felt like it was a homecoming. She resents the hell out of Dave Rydell for taking her away.”
“What?” Sierra shouted.
“You’ve got to be shitting me,” Nate said with disgust.
“Who were these people? Wasn’t it Rixitron? The same people Dan was working with, the same people holding me hostage in Cancun? How did they talk their way out of kidnapping her in the first place?” Noah’s questions came out rapid fire.
“When we recovered her, she was staying in a penthouse of the One Hotel in Taiwan. She was alone. Dave said he tracked them down to a clinic in Taiwan. He was positive it was where she had been held for the last week, but when he got there, it was an empty room. “
“Where did he think she was for the previous three weeks?”
“Mainland China. He has no idea why she was brought back to Taiwan.”
“How did he find her at the penthouse?”
“Apparently she woke up, found herself there alone, and called down to the front desk asking for someone named Mr. Phuong, when they couldn’t find someone by that name staying at the hotel she got very agitated. Eventually the authorities were called and then her parents. They contacted Rydell who came and got her.”
“Is there a Mr. Phuong working for Rixitron?”
“No.”
“I don’t understand,” Sarah said.
“The best Dave can figure is she was taken and brainwashed. She’s convinced she spent time with Mr. Phuong who supposedly explained to her she had been taken from her real parents as a young child, and Phuong was working to reunite them.”
“Did he explain to her why they were taking so damn long to come out of the woodwork?” Kali asked bitterly.
“According to Mai, it was Phuong’s job to deprogram her before she could be reunited. Mr. Phuong said her supposed real family knew how poisoned her mind had been by the people who had raised her, and the education they had forced upon her.”
“That makes no sense. Mai is becoming one of the most accomplished violinists and mathematicians in the world, she knows better than to believe such nonsense. Why would she buy into something like this after just one month?” Sarah was in tears, working her way up to sobs, which also didn’t make sense.
Noah, it would have been her too.
“Rydell is out of the picture. The Taiwanese government brought in specialists to work with her. They’re good, we’ve checked them out. Unfortunately they’re neuroscientists, not specialists in brainwashing techniques.”
“So do you have any good news for us?”
“Yes, I do. You’re going to move operations to California.”
“Pardon me Sir, but we can’t go to San Diego. We don’t know who is rogue.”
“
I didn’t say San Diego, now did I Chief,” Sakuro rounded on Sierra. “I said California. You’re headed for the strawberry fields. I want you near the John Wayne Airport, in case you need to fly out. It’ll put you close enough I can check in regularly without anyone being the wiser and…”
“Disneyland,” Nate cried, coaxing a giggle out of Sarah.
“Rixitron is headquartered there,” Noah stated.
“Give the man a cigar.” Sakuro gave him a grim look. They realized this was not going to be a short or easy assignment.
“Where are Kali and Sarah going to be located?”
“I’m going with you.”
Noah hugged Kali close and looked at Sakuro. He didn’t like what he was feeling from the man.
“Son, you know they are going to be after Ms. Wachowski and Dr. Johnson. You and your team will be the best people to protect them.”
“Keeping them far away and under wraps will be the best way to protect them,” Nate growled for Noah.
“Son, do you want to explain to me how your ribs got healed?” The room got so quiet the air conditioner sounded like a 747 taking off. “Noah, I saw the footage from the Atlanta airport security cameras. You and Kali were both injured. Your ribs were obviously fractured if not broken. Now they aren’t. Between the three of you, you can speak eighteen languages. You Noah, can find things that can’t logically be found, and Kali, you could probably teach a gorilla to speak aloud. Dr. Johnson, if I had to bet, healed these two. We don’t need any of you under lock and key, we need everyone working together to fight these motherfuckers. As a matter of fact, I’m working to get Niko brought over to the states. We know he’s a target, so he might as well make himself useful.”
Sarah was the first one to fidget. “I don’t…”
“Shh, you don’t have to tell him a thing,” Nate said.
“No she doesn’t. None of you do. But I know you. You’ve worked as a team for over six years. It’s obvious Kali isn’t going to leave Noah. Sarah, I’m sorry, I know you just got roped into this goat rodeo, but I think you’re stuck.”
“Don’t listen to him, you’re not stuck.”
Noah watched as Sarah looked at Nate for reassurance.
“Sarah, Nate’s right, you’re not stuck, the choice is yours to make,” Noah assured her. “But you are a target. I think for the time being you’re safer with us.”
“I have to explain this to my family, I can’t just drop off the face of the planet. Despite my phone calls, I know I’ve probably scared the hell out of them. What do I tell them?” Once again she looked to Nate.
“We’ll go with you, we’ll help to explain.”
“Oh yeah, just what I need. A bunch of Navy testosterone explaining to my six brothers how I’m the target of a multi-national conspiracy, and you’re the guys going to keep me safe. You won’t live to finish the explanation.”
“Ah, Sarah?” Kota started.
Noah watched as she looked at the man who had been sitting quietly near the window.
“Yes, I know. You all are big strong warriors, but my brothers have been watching over me all of my life, they would die for me. There is no way they are going to let me leave with you.”
Noah, Nate and Kota exchanged glances. “Young lady, you have a very good point, and that is part of the reason I’m here. Chief Petty Officer Mathers sent me all of the information on not just your brothers, but also your mother and father. You have a very impressive family.” The admiral’s sincerity was clear.
“Thank you, Sir, I think so too.”
“I took the liberty of contacting your father this morning, and meeting with him. I explained the situation to him, and he invited us to your house for dinner tonight.”
Noah worked hard to contain a chuckle as Sarah’s eyes widened and Nate winced.
This is going to be interesting.
Noah looked down at Kali, and then kissed the top of her head. No more interesting than the first time I went to dinner at your house after we started sleeping together. Remember how your dad took me out to the garage to look over the car he was working on?
The old Bel Air?
Yeah, he really wanted to make it clear if I hurt you, he’d rip me apart.
Kali giggled, everyone in the room looked at them, and Sakuro raised an eyebrow.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Frank and Lila Johnson’s requested they come as soon as possible, because they missed Sarah. Dinner would happen when it would happen, and introductions with the siblings and families could happen then.
After a tearful reunion with their daughter, Kali was stunned to find herself swept into their arms like she was one of their children.
“Kelly Wachowski, we have watched you grow up. You are a gift from God to your parents, just like our Sarah was a gift to us,” Lila said as she gave her another hug.
“I kept a scrapbook,” Sarah shyly admitted.
“Oh my God, so did I,” Kali exclaimed.
“We should have arranged for you girls to meet, but we didn’t want to intrude,” Frank said, his voice filled with regret. “Then when you were kidnapped…”
“Kelly, we had our church do a prayer circle for you,” Lila explained.
Kali’s eyes welled up.
“Mom, we call her Kali now. She and Noah remember some of where we came from.” Kali, Sarah, and her parents were sitting in the kitchen while the members of the naval team were helping Sarah’s youngest brother warm up the grill in the backyard.
“The admiral explained one of the men who rescued you was also a found child. He didn’t tell us you and he remembered your lives prior to coming here. Where are you from?” Lila asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Are there many of you?” Frank asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.” Agony streaked through her temples, and she staggered from the table and fell to the floor. Her head hitting the hard linoleum.
“Kali? Kali, are you okay?”
Noah. Tell them I don’t know. Please don’t let them hurt me!
Kali!
“What the fuck happened? What did you do to her?”
“Noah, move out of the way.”
It hurts so bad, why won’t they stop talking? The stink of copper was everywhere. Why couldn’t she just pass out? Why couldn’t she just die?
Listen to me Kali, I’m here. You’re safe. Nobody’s going to hurt you ever again.
“Sarah, please do something, the pain is so bad. I don’t think it’s ever hurt her this badly before. You’ve got to help her.”
Was Noah crying?
“S’fine.” Blood in her mouth. She tried to spit it out, but couldn’t make her tongue work. They must not have used the rubber bit in her mouth when they questioned her this time.
“Sarah, she thought she was being questioned. She must have had a flashback to the electro-shock treatments they gave her.”
“Jesus, Mary and Joseph, this poor girl was tortured, and our questions did this to her, Frank.”
Kali could hear Lila’s anguish, but she couldn’t move, the pain, the agony was too much, her body wouldn’t obey her commands.
“Got it Noah. Try to relax Kali, let me just touch your temples, okay sweetie?”
Kali felt hands turning her head and let out a scream. “Nooooaaaahhhh.”
“Stop!”
“Noah, I have to touch her to heal her.”
“Let me hold her, if she feels me holding her, maybe she’ll know she’s safe.”
“Aren’t you talking to her?” Sarah asked.
“Sarah, she’s so confused between now and before. This is the worst PTSD flashback I’ve ever seen. Just move aside, and let me hold her.”
Kali heard the whole conversation with one part of her brain, but it was so fuzzy, it came from one tinny little speaker and couldn’t really be heard over the sound of her own screams of pain and pleas to not be hurt. She heard the sounds of the electro-shock machine. Heard as the dial was
turned, and it was re-charged to increase the level of shock.
Can you hear the wind?
No I can hear the dial being turned.
You can’t hear the wind as it rushes through the grass here in the meadow? You can’t hear the song of the meadowlark? Listen Kali. Listen Kalani, can you hear it now?
Yes, Noah I can hear it.
Can you smell the wildflowers?
I can only smell the copper of my blood.
Really? These pink flowers with the yellow centers are your favorite, smell their aroma. Don’t they smell nice?
They smell coppery.
I have cookies Nana made. Would you like one? Can you smell them?
Oooooh. Cloves, orange and vanilla. I can smell it Noah.
“Noah, I need to touch her, she’s bleeding from her ears. I need to heal her.”
“Not yet Sarah, she’s still too deep, give me a little more time, or she’ll just go deeper and do more damage.”
Kali could hear him, his voice was so shaky. She could feel him through the red haze of her pain, and he was in agony. She felt a touch on her head and screamed.
Baby, it’s me. I’m just brushing the blood away. Can you feel my fingers?
Paddles!
It’s me, Noah.
It’s going to hurt, Noah.
No baby, nobody’s going to hurt you. It’s just me, Noah. Can you open your eyes just a little and look at me baby? I’m here with you. Nobody’s going to hurt you.
The lights hurt my eyes, and they’ll know I’m awake and it’ll get worse. The questions will start and they’ll just hurt me longer and make the pain go higher.
I swear to you, I’m here and I’ll protect you.
“Noah, the bleeding is getting worse.”
Kali, please open your eyes. Don’t you trust me?
You’re just a dream. It’s all been a dream. I need to leave, I need to go away this time.
“Kalani, open your eyes, don’t give up on us.” Before she left, she needed to reach for her dream. It didn’t matter if the pain was going to get worse, not having tried to seize this perfect moment on her way to oblivion would be the true horror.
The light shot straight to her brain stem, causing her to keen in pain.
Revealed (The Found Book 1) Page 14