Dangerous Minds: A Cyrus Cooper Thriller: Book One

by Xander Weaver

  “But why?” The question had escaped his lips before he thought better of it.

  “No idea,” she said. “Even Gram—even Gertrude couldn’t figure it out. She understood what it was about our genetic make-ups that contributed to our abilities, but she never understood our connection.”

  Cyrus wasn’t so sure. The way things had played out in the end, Gertrude understood Ashley and William’s abilities because it had been her research that had triggered their talents. Gertrude had lied about so much. He found it almost impossible to believe that she didn’t know more than she’d admitted when it came to her would-be grandchildren. They were her lifelong Guinea pigs, after all.

  “You’re skeptical,” Ashley said with a grin.

  “I thought you couldn’t Read me,” Cyrus countered.

  She laughed. “I don’t have to Read you for that. I’d like to think that I’ve gotten to know you.”

  “I guess I just feel like it’s a mistake to underestimate anything that Gertrude said or did. You knew her a lot better than I did, but I still wouldn’t put anything past her. It’s just that, with her research destroyed, there’s really no way to be sure of anything.”

  Ashley slid her hand inside of his and gave it a squeeze. “What if there was a way to know for sure? What would you do?” she asked.

  The question confused Cyrus. He didn’t see the point of her what if—not unless she knew of a backup when it came to Gertrude’s research.

  “If you had access to Gram’s research,” she pressed, “what would you do with it?”

  “What?”

  “I mean, how would you use it? Would you try to understand it? Would you take it back to your people like they told you to? Would you use it as evidence in the investigation? Or would you try to understand what she meant when she called you a genetic neutral?”

  Clearly Ashley had given the idea considerable thought. Cyrus, on the other hand, had not. He’d gone against orders and declined to steal a copy of the database earlier. But once Gertrude had been in custody and the lab had been locked down, the matter was out of his control. He’d been forced to choose between Gertrude’s research and Ashley’s life. At that point, there hadn’t been any consideration necessary. He had taken Ashley out of the lab and used the FBI to lock down the research facility. In doing so, he knew the data would end up in the hands of the Coalition, but it was an unavoidable consequence. He’d had no choice but to secure the lab.

  “Are you telling me that you have a copy of the database?” Cyrus asked in a quiet voice. He wondered if her questions were rhetorical. If she had the information, it wasn’t unreasonable for her to want to know what would happen to it.

  Sliding from the sofa, Ashley went to the massive bookcase on the east wall of her apartment. Finding a shelf at eye level, she pulled three hard covered books out before retrieving a small portable hard drive from the space behind them. She padded back to the couch silently on bare feet and once more slipped into her spot beside Cyrus.

  “I guess I could’ve wrapped it,” she said with a mischievous grin before handing him the drive.

  Taking a closer look at the small black data enclosure, Cyrus didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t anticipated the turn of events. “How?” he finally managed.

  “William transmitted the data to me when he broke into the lab,” she explained.

  That much Cyrus already knew.

  “I had it on my laptop, I showed it to you. And Gram took the laptop when she sent the goon-squad here to get us right after. But she didn’t know that I made a back-up as soon as the download was complete.”

  Cyrus just stared at her, shocked and impressed. He knew that Ashley’s apartment had been under surveillance for years, even though it was something Ashley had only recently become aware of. While he knew she’d been out on the patio when she downloaded the data transmitted by William, at some point she had needed to bring the drive inside and hide it, all within full sight of her secret observers. How she had accomplished it, he had no idea. And as much as he wanted to know, he decided that some things were better left to the imagination.

  Besides, he didn’t think that referring to her ‘around the clock observers’ would be conducive to their conversation. While it was only one more personal violation she’d suffered at the hands of Gertrude Waterford, it was a big one, and the sort of thing a young woman was likely to take very seriously.

  “So what will you do with it?” Ashley asked.

  It was a simple question with no simple answer, Cyrus realized.

  “Unless you have a better idea, I’m going to sit on it for the time being,” he decided. “There’s no way I’m turning this over to my people. We’re the good guys and all, but I just have this nagging suspicion that this data would end up in the hands of someone who is all too happy to pick up where Gertrude left off. And I won’t have that on my conscience.”

  “What about what she said? Don’t you want to know if it’s true? Don’t you want to know if you’re like me?”

  That brought a vague nod from Cyrus. “Right now I’m writing that stuff off as the ravings of a deranged megalomaniac. I’m not going to lose sleep over it. Besides…genetic neutral? That sounds profoundly vague. I’m not buying it.

  “And if I change my mind, maybe I can find someone trustworthy to take a look at the data. From what I understand, there are only a dozen or so people in the world with the level of knowledge needed regarding this kind of thing. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. Maybe someday.”

  Ashley seemed satisfied with the answer, if a little surprised. Maybe even a little disappointed, he suspected.

  “What about the Order of Origin?” she asked. “What happens to them?”

  Cyrus slapped his leg and smiled. “Fortunately, they’re not my problem. The card left on Gertrude’s body means that someone will be looking into them much more closely, but it won’t be me. To be honest, if they did kill good old Gert, they likely did it in retaliation for what happened to your brother. And a big part of me isn’t all that upset to see the woman gone after all she’s done. So I’m washing my hands of everything. Case closed.”

  “Just like that?” She was surprised.

  “Do you think I should go after the cult for what they did?”

  She shook her head. “I sort of want to send them a fruit basket for what they did, but I suspect that would surface in the course of the investigation. I think I’ll concentrate on finding a new place to live.”

  Now it was Cyrus’s turn to be surprised. “You’re moving? What’s wrong with staying here?”

  “Aside from the fact that the entire building is owned by the deranged woman who pretended to be my grandmother? The woman who locked my brother in a mental ward before having him assassinated? Aside from all that, she’s dead. It’s time to find a new place.”

  “I only ask because I did some checking,” Cyrus said with a pacifying smile. “Old Gert didn’t have any other living family members and, as it turns out, while you and William were not blood relatives to her, she was your legal guardian in the eyes of the law.”

  A furrowed eyebrow conveyed Ashley’s silent confusion.

  “You are Gertrude Waterford’s sole surviving heir,” he said bluntly. “Congratulations. You’re the new owner of this building.”

  To Cyrus’s amusement, Ashley was struck speechless.

  “Not just this building either,” he went on. “Apparently, she had a fair number of real estate holdings throughout the city, and more than a little money stashed away for a rainy day. It will all be yours once it clears probate. I know it’s no conciliation after everything you’ve been through, but you’re about to become a very wealthy woman.”

  After taking a moment to process the news, Ashley shrugged and seemed to push the thoughts from her mind. Cyrus was surprised when she didn’t ask how much money he was talking about, but she seemed truly not to care. In that, he discovered one more thing that was profoundly attractive about her. She
’d gone through some major ups and downs, but she seemed to have the type of disposition that would see her through the toughest of times.

  Slipping in closely beside Cyrus, Ashley nuzzled herself beneath his arm. He felt the warmth of her body as she placed her head against his shoulder. Leaning back into the sofa, he propped up his feet on the coffee table and wrapped her in his arms. He had one or two days left in town at most…and they both knew it. After that, things would become more difficult. But, as they had been since the moment they met, both were on the same page and content to make the most of what time they had while they had it. Something good had come from all of the death and chaos and they were happy to celebrate any victory they could.

  For the first time in a very long time, Cyrus had the sense that he was right where he was supposed to be. Every nagging question, every concern seemed far away and unimportant.

  “You know,” Ashley said. “If I’m as wealthy as you say, you could quit your job and become my full time boy toy…I’m just saying…”

  Cyrus Cooper will return in

  Rogue Faction

  Acknowledgments

  An amazing amount of effort goes into the production of a single novel. Despite the name on the cover, this book wouldn’t be what it is without the support and contributions of some very special people. After months of work, somehow saying ‘thank you’ just doesn’t seem like a strong enough sentiment. That said…I’m going to give it a try.

  First, I would like to thank Amy Lignor for her work as Editor. She did an amazing job with this manuscript in an incredibly short period of time, and helped polish it into something far stronger than it would’ve been otherwise.

  Likewise, I offer my heartfelt thanks to Kane Gilmour and Seeley James. Kane helped me with a book that will be released later in this series, and in the process I learned a great deal. His help on that novel is reflected throughout this one in ways too extensive to list. I have Seeley to thank for his extensive notes on a late draft of Dangerous Minds. His comments brought a precision to the final draft that I find profoundly satisfying. For both of your efforts, I am exceedingly grateful.

  Next, the folks who were exposed to early drafts and beta copies of this book receive a huge ‘thank you’. The contributions of these individuals cannot be overstated because they were my critics as well as my cheerleaders. These are the contributors who helped me with the early edits—the truly messy, down and dirty, revisions that took place before I was ever willing to show the book to a professional editor. These are the people who know how very far this manuscript has come and what it took to make it what it is now. Thus, ‘thank you’ to Terri and Wayne Manke, Jamie and Julie Dresser, and Wenzel Roessler. You made the long hours spent putting this book together worthwhile.

  I owe this book’s cover design to Lee Roesner from Paradigm Graphic Design. We all know that a book really is judged on its cover, and Lee did a fantastic job developing not only a cover for Dangerous Minds, but also a cover theme that will be used for the rest of the series. Lee has the kind of design talent that makes art look easy.

  Last but not least, I want to thank my wife, Carrie. More than any other single person, she championed this book as well as those that will follow. Not only has she tolerated my constant “what if’s?” and “how about’s?”, but she made those conversations as enjoyable as they were fruitful. And for all of those early drafts that my beta readers were exposed to, no one saw this book in a more feral form than Carrie. She is the first to read everything I write, and first to help me revise and refine it. Her contributions to my work are beyond compare.

  Thank you, Carrie. For all that you do, and all that you are!

  About the Author

  Thank you for reading, “Dangerous Minds.” This is the first novel in the Cyrus Cooper thriller series, and I am looking forward to delivering a fantastic journey to readers.

  I’m Xander Weaver, and this is my debut novel. As a lifetime fan of thrillers, as well as science fiction, I took the opportunity to blend both genres in order to create excitement and adventure, with a sci-fi ‘kick’. There are three more books in production at the moment, with book #5 currently in the planning stage. So, if you enjoy this story half as much as I did while writing it, please look for the follow-up adventures in the near future.

  If you would like to be notified of future book releases in advance, you can sign-up via my website at www.XanderWeaver.com. And you can rest assured that your personal information will never be sold or traded.

  While I’m working on the newest thrill ride, I frequently post updates to my Facebook (Weaver.Books) and Twitter (@XanderWeaver) pages. Follow the progress and join in the fun!