“I’m not sure a secret organization would be so bold as to mark its members.” Stacey shook her head. “Maybe it’s a gang tattoo. We can check the database.”
“If you’re ready, we can begin the procedure,” Dr. Rick said.
Stacey bit her lip and nodded. She hated doctors. Not personally, just their profession as a whole. She knew that scalpel would cut her and there wasn’t anything she could do about it. She rolled up her sleeve and sat where the doctor indicated.
“I’ll use the ultrasound to find the exact location.” He turned on the machine and squirted gel on her skin before running the paddle over Stacey’s arm. “Luckily, whoever inserts the chips seems to put them in almost the exact same place every time. The fleshy part of the right arm. Ah, there it is.”
“Get it out of me!” Stacey felt sweat roll down her back. She closed her eyes and breathed slow and easy. She could do this.
The doctor wiped off the gel and strapped her arm down to the table. “I’m going to use some Novocain spray to help numb the tissue, but this is still going to be painful.”
Stacey nodded. Hugh began to lightly massage the muscles in her neck and shoulder.
“She can take it, Rick. Just get it done quickly.”
The doctor picked up the scalpel and Stacey closed her eyes. It was better if she didn’t watch. Hugh leaned over and kissed the top of her head. Stacey smiled, grateful for the distraction.
“Got it. Let me stitch this up,” Dr. Rick said. Stacey grimaced, and kept her eyes closed even when she felt the tug on her skin. “Okay, it’ll be sore for a while. Let me get it bandaged for you.”
Hugh’s warm hands still rested on her shoulders. Stacey opened her eyes and glanced up at her new husband. He stared down at her, his gaze concerned. She tried to smile in reassurance, but her arm really hurt as the Novocain wore off. The doctor put another piece of tape on the gauze pad and pressed it down.
The door opened and a nurse waved Charlie into the room. “So they chipped their own people. This could be a big break for us. If they can track their people, we can too. Let me have a look.” Charlie’s face glowed with excitement as he looked into the microscope the doctor indicated.
“What do you think?” Hugh asked.
“I think I would hate to work for Zenith. They’ve added quite a lot to my original design. Probably a later model. If I’m not mistaken, this one part is a self-destruct measure.”
“I don’t understand. What do you mean?” Stacey asked.
“I mean this small vial contains a substance I would guess is poison. It can be activated remotely.”
“So if someone steps out of line, they can be taken care of.” Stacey shuddered.
“Why didn’t Stacey and Nadezhda have one with poison in it?” Hugh asked.
“I would guess they were chipped before this was added. They were lucky. Instead of blowing up Stacey’s cabin, Zenith would have activated the code for the poison.”
“Dr. Rick needs to check Knox and make sure he isn’t chipped. We don’t want to lose our informant,” Hugh said.
§
“Come on, you guys. Raven is waiting to toast you in the conference room and don’t you have a mission tonight? It’s getting late.”
Hugh looked up from his microscope at Derek standing in the doorway. After finding the new microchip and the doctor removing the one imbedded in Knox’s arm, Stacey and Charlie followed him up to the R & D Department to see what they could learn.
They’d paused only long enough to give their statements to the authorities who’d finally pulled out about thirty minutes prior. Dasan took charge of Knox, making him begin the process of writing down what he knew, and hid him from the authorities. They still needed to fetch Lucy from her home, which was the mission scheduled for tonight.
“Just a minute. I think we’ve got the right frequency. I need to see if I can trigger the poison. Has everyone been screened by the doctor?” Hugh asked. If Stacey was chipped without her knowledge then others could be too.
“Everyone in the building has been checked. The doctor and his team have been screening everyone.” Derek grimaced. “We didn’t find anyone else to be chipped. We’ll have to check the day shift employees tomorrow.”
“Okay, here we go then. Charlie, you’re sure the poison is cyanide? I don’t want to accidently poison myself.” Hugh looked over at his friend at the computer.
“Yes, don’t touch anything and you should be fine.”
“All right then, trigger the device.”
Charlie adjusted a machine to reach the proper frequency before he pressed a button. “That should do it.”
Hugh paused a moment. He didn’t want to take any chances of accidental poisoning. Finally, he looked into the microscope. The small vial had broken and a fluid covered the chip.
“I’ll take a sample so we can double check this liquid. Now we know how to activate this thing. I wonder how many people have been chipped with the device including the poison.” Hugh rubbed his hand through his hair.
“I think the more important question is how many innocents have one of these in their arm?” Stacey shook her head.
§
The night was quiet as they stepped out of Shadow. The small neighborhood of homes where Stacey had lived as Ana Powers slept unaware of their presence. Stacey took Hugh’s hand when he finished closing the portal. She looked across the street to the empty lot where her house had been.
Zenith made sure she couldn’t return by causing a gas leak and blowing her house up. The items she missed were the pictures her mother left her. Thank goodness Hugh procured copies of the pictures in Montreal. She should upload copies of them into the cloud. Everything else was just stuff and it could all be replaced. Still, an ache settled in her chest as she looked at the burned earth.
Hugh squeezed her hand, always sensitive to her moods. “You ready for this? I’ll disable the alarm system.”
Stacey nodded. “Lucy sleeps in the small bedroom at the back of the house. I want to look for any evidence of what Zenith is doing before we take her.”
“Good idea. I’m loaded with sleeping darts. It looks clear. Let’s go.”
Hugh pulled her behind him as they hurried and crossed the street. He immediately went around the house and worked at disabling the alarm. Stacey stood at the entrance from the carport and kept a look out.
“It’s done.” Hugh stepped up to join her on the stair.
Stacey reached into her pocket and pulled out her set of sterling silver lock picks, a present from Hugh. The door opened in seconds. She smiled. She hadn’t lost her touch. They slipped inside the kitchen and heard the heater kick on. Warm air began to flow from the vents.
Stacey hurried into the room that was a combination living room, dining room. The light from outside streetlights filled the room with a soft glow. She searched every wall and surface looking for something that might tell them what Zenith was up to.
Behind a picture on the wall was a small safe. Stacey grabbed a glass off the table and deftly worked the dial while listening for the tumblers to drop. Once the safe was open, she grabbed the stack of papers inside and laid them out on the table. Blueprints of a building in Manhattan were on top of the stack. Stacey studied them. They were schematics of the heating and air system in a large building. She took note of the utility room. Hugh pulled out a small camera and began to take pictures of the designs.
“We can study these when we get back,” Hugh whispered.
Stacey nodded and moved on, continuing her search for any kind of evidence that would help them take down Zenith. She pulled at the neckline of her top. The room grew hotter. Someone needed to turn down the thermostat.
A post card from New York City sat on one of the side tables next to the couch. She picked it up and flipped it over to find the other side blank. Stacey ran her hand across her forehead. It came away wet with sweat. She blinked her eyes, and looked around the room. She heard something clatter to the ground and tu
rned to find Hugh slumped over the dining room table.
“Hugh?” her voice came out a croak, her mouth filled with cotton.
She began to shake and a wave of weakness overtook her. Stacey dropped to her knees. Her mind disengaged and the room spun. Blackness surrounded her. She fell.
§
“Stacey, wake up, honey. Come on, I need you to wake up.”
Stacey heard Hugh calling her, but couldn’t seem to answer him. Her body felt heavy, her mind sluggish. Sound suddenly filled her ears, the sound of plane engines.
Gentle hands lifted her and placed something under her back. Straps slid over her arms and buckled at her waist.
“Stacey, I need you to wake up. Now, baby, or a lot of people are going to die!”
The urgency in Hugh’s voice finally got through the cotton in her head. She blinked her eyes open. Hugh peered down at her, worry in his gaze. He brushed her hair back and cupped her cheek. Then he lifted her so she leaned against the inside wall of the plane.
“I need you to listen to me. We don’t have much time. I’m going to open a door into Shadow and you’re going to jump from the plane. I’ll get the plane down as close as I can to the ground. As soon as you jump into Shadow, the parachute will begin to disintegrate, but should slow you enough to survive the drop. You need to picture the clinic at Isanti’s. Shadow will put you right inside the clinic when you land. Use your hands to open a portal. You’ve seen me do it several times.”
“What about you?” Stacey pulled herself straighter. She glanced around. “What happened to us?” They appeared to be in a small jet that had been stripped to bones inside. Metal struts were visible and nylon webbing hung from hooks on the sides. The cockpit door was open and no one was at the controls. They must be flying on autopilot.
“We were knocked out. Gassed. Lucy’s house was a trap. Knox may have betrayed us. Can you picture the clinic in your head? I’ve got to pilot the plane close to the ground so you can make the jump safely. Baby, there’s a bomb on the plane.”
“A bomb?” Stacey remembered the explosion and flames when the cabin was destroyed. “You have to come with me.”
“I can’t. Once you’re out of the plane, I’ve got to get it back up to altitude and head it out to sea.”
“Hugh!”
“I know. Come on. I’ve got to open the portal before I pilot the plane near the surface.”
Hugh grabbed her hands and hauled her to her feet. That’s when she saw the bomb. A timer quickly worked down to zero. They had fifteen minutes before the device exploded.
Hugh stood in front of the door and quickly opened an entrance into Shadow. Black mist occasionally floated into view.
“Height is relative in Shadow. You’ll be high above the ground, as if you’re really in the plane. When I get the plane low enough, you’ll have to jump. Pull the chute as soon as you’re in Shadow. Then start to visualize. You can’t hesitate. Do you hear me? When I say jump, you go.” Hugh’s voice was insistent.
Stacey nodded, making her head ache. She forced herself to concentrate on what Hugh said. “As soon as you get the plane headed out to sea, you’ll put it on autopilot and jump? What’s going to happen to you?”
“I’m hoping that visualizing the clinic will work for me too. Now, I’ve got to get into the cockpit. Get in front of the door.”
“Hugh!” Stacey grabbed him and kissed him hard. “I love you. Come back to me.”
“Stacey, I love you. I always will.”
Hugh dragged her to the door. He hugged her tightly. “Stand right here. Listen for my yell.”
Stacey frowned and watched Hugh fumble into the cockpit. Something wasn’t right. If only her mind wasn’t so muddled.
Hugh sat and started flipping switches before taking the stick in his hand. The nose of the plane dipped. Stacey braced herself against the wall. He took them down quickly. The engines moaned. The plane evened off.
“Now!” Hugh yelled. He looked back at her, all the love in the world in his gaze.
Stacey nodded. She jumped.
Shadow quickly surrounded her. She fell and couldn’t see as the mist enveloped her. Her teeth began to chatter as the biting cold seeped into her bones. She pulled the string to activate the chute even as she began to visualize the clinic. Her descent slowed and she gripped the straps.
She pictured the color of the walls, the linoleum floor, the hospital bed and the electronics, the cabinets, and the door.
The strap fell apart under her fingers. The chute disintegrated. She fell through the darkness.
Stacey couldn’t lose focus or she’d be lost in this dimension. She continued to visualize the clinic. She could see it in her mind’s eye as if she actually stood in the middle of the hall. That curious shifting sensation came over her.
The clinic came into view as she fell the last few feet and hit the ground hard. She let herself go with the impact and ended up prone on the ground covered with writhing black mist. All the while she kept her gaze locked on the clinic room. Lifting her hands, she pulled open a portal and dragged her body out of Shadow. She moaned as the light hit her eyes and a wave of heat enveloped her.
“I’ve got you. Lie still.” Warm hands checked her for injuries. Stacey recognized the voice of Dr. Rick.
She opened her eyes. “Hugh?”
“He hasn’t come in yet. Okay, you can roll onto your back. I’m going to lift you and get you into a bed. Ready?” Dr. Rick asked.
“Anastacia!” her sister called from the door. Nadezhda rushed in the room, followed by Dasan. “What happened?”
Stacey settled in the bed. The doctor began checking her vital signs. “We were taken by Zenith. Have you heard anything about Hugh?”
“We’re tracking the plane. Hugh contacted Raven telepathically when he regained consciousness. The plane is headed out to sea,” Dasan said. “Stacey, there was only one parachute onboard.”
Chapter Fifteen
Hugh struggled to control the plane. The straps holding him into the pilot’s seat bit into his wounded shoulder. The bomb permanently attached to the hull in the back wasn’t going anywhere.
The plane turned east toward the Atlantic. If he could make it out to the ocean, he’d ditch the plane and jump into Shadow. Every time he started to relax, someone tried to take control of the plane remotely. He kept changing the settings back to manual control.
“You have a clear shot to the ocean, charlie delta 864. Stay on this course and heading. ETA 6.4 minutes.”
“Roger, control,” Hugh answered.
Six minutes to get out to sea. He was cutting it close. He couldn’t see the timer from where he sat, but with dropping Stacey off and making the turn east, he couldn’t have much more than that before the bomb exploded.
“Hugh, Stacey is fine. What is your plan?” Raven’s voice telepathically filled his mind.
Hugh smiled. The chief was the strongest telepath he knew.
“There were blueprints in Knox’s house. Check out Manhattan, New York. Lot numbers 236 and 423. Whatever Zenith is planning, it affects those buildings. I took pictures of the blue prints, but my camera is gone. Does Dr. Rick know what they drugged us with?”
“He’s running tests, now. Hugh, how are you getting back?”
“I’m going to ditch the plane and jump into Shadow. If I don’t make it, watch over Stacey.”
“If you don’t make it, your new bride will probably kill me. I’m going to be a father soon. You don’t want my children to grow up without a father, do you?”
Hugh chuckled and then sobered. Raven tried to lighten the mood, but they both knew it would be close. “I’ll do my best to come home, Raven. Tell Stacey I love her.”
“Roger that. See you in ten minutes.”
Ten minutes. Hugh sighed. They’d almost died twice today already. The guards loading them into the plane complained and suggested they be shot in the head. Hugh had been starting to come out of his drugged daze and mentally cringed while playing
dead. He wasn’t recovered enough to save them.
Luckily, a woman Hugh assumed to be Stacey’s neighbor, Mrs. Knox laughed and told the man not to waste his ammunition. The plane blowing up near Washington DC would kill two birds with one stone. Cause a diversion and get rid of the famous assassin, Stinger.
Why did Zenith need to cause a diversion? Maybe it had something to do with the blueprints they saw at the house. Well, he’d either make it or he wouldn’t. Right now, he didn’t have time to worry about it.
He looked into the darkness and noticed the first band of light making its way across the Earth’s surface. A new day dawned, maybe his last. If he made it home, he would grab Stacey, find a safe place, and stay there. Below, a sparkle on the water’s surface gave him hope. He was almost far enough away that any damage would be mitigated, except possibly to him. Great Spirit, he felt old all of a sudden.
An alarm started ringing and the plane jerked. Blinking red lights lit the console. He looked to the side and saw smoke coming from the left engine. Hugh quickly shut it down and compensated for the loss of power. The ocean came up fast. He just needed to hold the plane to her course a few more moments.
He set the plane to autopilot and waited a couple of seconds to make sure no one tried to take control remotely. It was too late anyway and everyone in Zenith would know it. Nothing happened and he made his way to the door.
Hugh gripped the sides of the plane as his feet slipped, his weak hip twisted and pain made him wince. He continued to grip the walls. He pressed his hands through the portal into Shadow before glancing at the timer on the bomb. It clicked to zero.
§
“I don’t see any lasting effects from the gas. The toxicology screen is clear. You’re free to leave the clinic, Mrs. Thunder Hoof.”
“Thanks, Dr. Rick. Please, call me Stacey.”
Trapped In Shadow (Shadow Walker Romance Series Book 4) Page 14