by Victoria Sue
Jake edged closer. He could practically feel Gael’s distress, but he wasn’t sure if anything he could say or do would be welcomed.
“I didn’t know you had a half sister,” Talon said.
Gael shrugged. “Neither did I.”
“So, this is your mom’s daughter?” Vance clarified.
“Yeah. Long story short, my mom moved back in with her mom. They’d been estranged because of my dad. Dad always said she ran off with someone else, but I don’t know for sure. My gran died three months after that, but by that time, my mom was definitely seeing someone else. They got married two years later when she divorced my dad.” Gael looked at Talon. “I never knew they’d even divorced, but there were a lot of papers burned when the house went up.”
Jake’s ears pricked up. There had been a fire?
“My mom remarried and had my sister. She never knew about me until she found some news clippings my mom had in a shoebox. One was the report of us at the press conference. Another was the picture of me and that judge. There was another of the press conference Alan Swann held at Liam’s dad’s funeral. Anything about the team, she’d kept. Anyway, Louise, my sister, wrote to the department, and they passed it to me.”
“Wow,” Finn said. “That’s amazing. I would love to have a sister.”
Talon leaned forward. “But?” Talon voiced exactly what Jake was thinking. There was something else.
“Her husband died seven years ago in a motorbike accident. My mom had breast cancer and died just six weeks ago.”
Oh shit. Hundreds of thoughts ran through Jake’s brain, and before he even thought about it, he put a comforting hand on Gael’s knee. As soon as he touched Gael’s leg, he yanked it away quickly. Gael swallowed, and Talon asked another question.
“Are you going to meet her?”
Jake’s heart pounded. He’d promised not to touch Gael, and here he was, doing it anyway.
“I don’t know,” Gael said after a few seconds and slowly panned to Jake.
Jake froze and got to see a look he wasn’t expecting. It hadn’t been censure. For a giddy second, he thought about putting his hand back.
“Texas?” Vance queried.
“Usually, yeah, but she and her husband are on vacation this week. Disney,” Gael said with a certain helplessness.
“A neutral territory would be good,” Finn offered.
“And you know any one of us would go with you if you needed us to,” Talon said.
Gael glanced back at Jake just as the alert sounded on their phones.
Sawyer grumbled, got out his cell phone, and dialed the office. He took a breath as he listened and his green eyes widened. “Yes, sir. About thirty minutes.” He wordlessly passed Talon the phone. “There’s been another murder,” he said quietly. “St. Joseph Street in West Tampa.” Sawyer looked stricken.
“A child?”
Sawyer shook his head. “No, it was a woman.”
“What?” Talon exclaimed shaking his head. “That’s impossible.”
“It was the ambulance driver who was taking Derrick back to the home. Everyone is saying he killed her.”
Chapter Six
“WHY DO they think it was Derrick?”
Jake itched to soothe Gael, but he had no idea what to do. He felt Gael’s thigh pressed against his own in the truck as they raced to the scene. It was a bit of a squash, as they were in Talon’s truck rather than the Lenco, having gone straight from Vance’s.
“They didn’t say,” Sawyer said apologetically.
“Are ENu there?” Jake asked.
“On their way,” Talon ground out, and took his truck around the corner practically on two wheels.
“What if it was me?”
“What do you mean?” Jake asked Gael.
“I mean, what if I set Derrick off? Talking. What if I kind of pushed a button?”
Everyone in the truck was silent, waiting.
“What do you mean?” Jake said slowly, carefully. He needed to understand exactly what Gael was trying to blame himself for this time.
“We have no idea of his abilities. Any one of us is capable of killing by accident, Jake.”
“But not deliberately,” Jake emphasized. “And I don’t mean that you couldn’t; I mean you wouldn’t.”
“Don’t do exactly what we have been accused of for years,” Vance said in the quiet of the truck. “You’re better than that.”
Gael raised stricken eyes. “I wasn’t, I mean…oh crap.” Gael closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. Jake itched to put his arm around him.
“I think,” Jake said hesitantly, “that you’ve had a ton of shit to deal with in the last few weeks.”
“None of which gives me an excuse for making an assumption,” Gael said, flatly. He raised his head and stared out of the window.
“Gael,” Talon nudged him. “Buddy, stop thinking everything is your fault.”
“He’s a child, Talon, and what did I do? Not only assume the worse, but I made it all about me. ‘What did I do to set him off?’” Gael parroted. “Not what can I do to advocate for someone who can’t do it himself.” Gael’s eyes glinted. “This is exactly why we are here, and I fell into the same trap as everyone else.”
Talon nudged him again. “So, let’s make sure he has someone in his corner, huh?”
Jake saw the rueful, but determined smile Gael gave to Talon, and then something occurred to him. “Talon, do we know what happened to the other driver?” There had been two when Derrick had been picked up yesterday.
Talon shook his head. “We’ll be there in ten minutes” was all he could offer.
It was a circus. Tampa PD, three ambulances for God only knew what reason, a fire truck, and five police cruisers. The only small consolation was that ENu wasn’t there. Jake knew they would have sedated Derrick without giving him a chance.
Gael was out of the truck before Talon had even put it in Park, and Jake was right behind him. “Where is he?” He flashed his badge to the nearest cop, and then he turned and looked beyond the sea of police. Ten, fifteen cops all stood in a perimeter around a Chevy Impala. Everyone had their guns drawn. The only occupant, Derrick, sat in the back seat, rocking slightly, his hands clasped tight on something in his lap.
Jake noted the stripes on the uniformed cop scurrying toward him. “What happened?”
“We have no idea, except another car drew up behind this one as the lights were red. When he didn’t move at green, the driver got a little agitated and sounded his horn, but there is no room to overtake. After another light cycle had passed, the driver got out. He says there was one driver, a female, and she was staring ahead. He knocked on the window, and at that point, he noticed the child in the back. He panicked and dialed 911. He says he never noticed anything except the child seemed distressed.”
“And his scar,” Talon said flatly. Because that would be the only reason someone would see a child in distress and not try to help.
Jake nodded to the car. “Has anyone tried to talk to him?”
The cop reddened and shook his head. “The EMTs got the woman out and pronounced her dead. They said from the burn marks, it looked like she was tasered with something. We thought it best to wait for you.”
Talon drew himself in; Jake could imagine what words he was fighting not to say.
“And we’re grateful you called us,” Talon said.
Jake admired his control. He wanted to pin the fucker up against a wall and ask why they were drawing down on a child. He didn’t, though.
“Talon?” Gael obviously wanted to go to the car.
“Remember, we don’t have Eli,” Talon cautioned. Gael took a step, and so did Jake. Talon put a hand on his arm, and Jake merely raised his eyebrows. “You don’t touch,” Talon ordered and stepped back.
Jake nodded and followed Gael.
“Derrick?” Gael said as soon as he was close. The car doors were open, but Derrick gave no sign he had heard him. “Derrick?” Gael said again, goi
ng around to the other side and slowly sliding into the back seat. Jake stayed outside, and when Gael drew a sharp breath, he leaned in to see what Derrick was clutching. His tablet, except it was broken. The screen was badly cracked.
“That must have taken some force,” Jake said quietly.
“It makes no sense,” Gael agreed and started signing on Derrick’s hand. “Hi, Derrick, it’s Gael.”
“Gael,” Jake cautioned, hearing a door slam and seeing Carmichael and three others get out of their truck. Talon strode over to Carmichael, along with the sergeant, and Jake suddenly wondered who had jurisdiction. Technically this wasn’t an FBI case, even if it involved an enhanced.
“Derrick?” Gael repeated, signing at the same time, and he raised helpless eyes to Jake when Derrick showed no sign he even knew they were there.
Jake crouched down to be on their level but still stayed outside the car. “Gael, I think we’re going to have to let the EMTs take him.” He could see Mac getting into it with Talon and wasn’t sure how long Talon could hold them off. “How about if we both go with him?”
Gael nodded and signed again.
Jake took another look at Derrick. No response. He was rocking backward and forward slightly, clutching the broken tablet, low guttural noises coming from his throat. Jake had no idea if his distress was because of what he might have seen or because without the tablet he couldn’t communicate. He sighed and walked back to where Talon, Mac, and the others were talking to the paramedics.
“I am not about to let some crazy get in an ambulance without putting him out. I wouldn’t be doing my job if I let that happen.”
“Gael and I will go with him,” Jake said before Talon could respond. He could see Talon was about ready to punch Mac. Not that he blamed him.
Mac sneered at Jake. “Feeling guilty?”
Jake’s lips parted soundlessly. Did he know? His pulse beat loudly in his ears. Vance shot him a puzzled look, and Jake struggled to swallow down his dry throat.
“I’ll tell the EMTs,” Talon said. “Can you get him out of the car?”
Jake blinked. “Tell them to bring the ambulance close so we have some privacy.” He nodded to where a news van had just pulled up. Jake turned and walked back to the car, trying to force his worry down.
Gael looked up as Jake bent down and gazed at them. Gael shook his head. Derrick was still doing the same thing, as if they weren’t even there.
The ambulance slowly backed up and both paramedics got out. “Come on, buddy,” Gael said and tried moving Derrick toward the edge of the seat. Derrick clutched his tablet tighter but allowed himself to be slid across. Gael got out, glanced at the ambulance, and then bent down, put one hand under Derrick’s legs and the other behind his back, and lifted him out.
One of the paramedics pointed to the stretcher, and Gael stepped the few feet to the ambulance and up the back step. Jake put out a hand to steady him. In a few seconds, Derrick was strapped down to the gurney. The paramedic—Davis, it said on his badge—wrapped a blood pressure cuff around Derrick’s arm and fastened a small clip to Derrick’s finger. At least Davis didn’t seem frightened of him. “Sit down, guys,” he instructed, and Gael and Jake sat across from the gurney.
“We’ll follow you,” Talon said and closed the back doors.
“Autism?” the paramedic asked, watching Derrick, who was still making low guttural noises.
“FAS,” Jake replied, “but possibly autism as well.”
The ambulance pulled away.
“Are you taking him to Tampa Gen?” Gael asked.
Davis shook his head. “We have instructions to take him straight to Bayside Psychiatric.”
Gael’s eyes widened, and he looked at Jake in alarm. Jake chewed the inside of his cheek. They weren’t getting anywhere with Derrick. The hospital would have doctors who would know about Derrick’s condition even if they had no experience with enhanced, and to be honest, Jake had no idea how powerful his ability was. Yesterday he’d seen Derrick work an electronic device that had no source of power. The ambulance driver looked like she had been electrocuted. He didn’t want to make any assumptions, but until they knew more with the incredible abilities his team had already demonstrated, it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that Derrick was responsible for this.
He understood how this was killing Gael, but until they found out what had happened, Jake didn’t see how they had any choice.
Jake sat quietly while Davis took the finger clip off Derrick. He left the blood pressure cuff on and it inflated every so often.
“What’s going to happen?” Gael asked as Davis sat down and started writing notes. Derrick still seemed to be in shock, but it was incredibly hard to tell.
“Well, we’re gonna hope its Dr. Maya on call, for starters,” he said and paused to look at Derrick. “She’s on the pediatric team and one of the nicest doctors I’ve ever met.” He nodded at Derrick. “He’ll be in good hands.” Davis watched as Gael leaned forward and started signing on Derrick’s hand. “What do you know?”
Jake repeated what Mr. Ramsay had told them yesterday.
“That his?” Davis nodded to the tablet.
“It is,” Gael confirmed but didn’t say anything else. Jake was happy to leave the sharing of information decision up to Gael, and Talon when they got there.
Jake put his hand out to steady Gael as the ambulance turned quickly. Gael’s eyes softened in response, and the small smile made Jake very reluctant to let go.
NEARLY THREE hours later, Jake had just gotten bad coffee for all of them from the vending machine when a female doctor came through the doors into the reception area where they sat. Mr. Ramsay and Derrick’s social worker had arrived hurriedly an hour ago and had been shown in immediately.
Gael jumped to his feet and the doctor smiled and put out her hand. Gael immediately went to shake it, and Jake was surprised at first when Gael never hesitated. But they were all in uniform and Gael wore his like a shield.
“Agent Peterson? I’m Dr. Maya. Mr. Ramsay told me you have had some success communicating with Derrick?”
Gael nodded and briefly recounted what had happened yesterday.
“Well, we’ve given Derrick a mild sedative. Mild,” she emphasized, seeing Gael’s face change. “It’s been prescribed for him before, and at the moment, we have a very scared, distressed young man who needs help.”
“Can I see him?” Gael asked.
She drew in a breath. “Perhaps tomorrow. At the moment, I’ve said he is not fit to be interviewed by any law enforcement personnel, and I don’t think I have an argument to be specific about which ones. Let us calm him down first.”
Gael blew out a sigh but nodded.
Talon, who had been quiet up to that point, immediately passed her a card. “Those are the team’s contact details. If we can be of any help at all, please let us know.”
She took the card and pocketed it. “Please feel free to call me tomorrow. I am just waiting on official permission on how to proceed.”
That makes sense, Jake thought. He didn’t think Derrick had any family, as he had been in the foster home for a long time, but he guessed they had to be careful.
Dr. Maya smiled and excused herself.
“Let’s go back to the office and see if there’s any news on the missing driver,” Talon said.
Jake frowned. “Yeah, there were definitely two yesterday.”
“According to the phone call I just got, it’s a requirement,” Talon explained. “A Barry Jones should have been in the car as well. Gregory said he would call if he found anything out, but we’re to head back to the field office in the meantime.”
They were walking to the parking lot when they heard a shout. It was Michael Ramsay, Derrick’s principal. He jogged over to them and looked at Gael. “Derrick’s getting distraught, and the sedative they gave him over thirty minutes ago is having little effect. I persuaded them to let you sit with him.”
Gael glanced eagerly at Talon, and Tal
on nodded. “Of course.”
Jake stepped forward. “Just call me when you want a ride.”
The team was quiet as they rode back. They swung by Vance’s to collect the rest of the cars and then headed to the field office. Gregory and Drew met them as they walked in.
“Tampa PD located the other driver,” Gregory told them, “and he’s suspended pending disciplinary action. He’s at Bayshore precinct. Vance, you and Jake have permission to speak to him. We have no jurisdiction on this and are at the mercy of the Tampa PD, so play nice.”
Talon quickly brought Gregory up to speed on what they knew and where Gael was.
Gregory glanced at Drew. “The PM will be started at eight in the morning, and Dr. Bayer from the ME’s office is happy for you and Gael to meet her to discuss her findings. We wouldn’t get the report until the afternoon.” He turned to Talon. “I have a meeting with Assistant Director Manning, and she wants you there. Finn, Sawyer? Chamberlain Senior High School wants you to come and discuss school admission.”
“Huh?” Sawyer blinked.
“Ooh,” Finn said eagerly. “A Mrs. Anita Ruiz?” Talon chuckled, but Finn ignored him. “She wants to get our input on a possible admission next year. He’s in middle school somewhere in San Diego, but his father is transferring to MacDill.”
“How do you know?” Jake asked in amazement.
“An old colleague of Liam’s dad. They wrote to Liam two weeks ago, expressing their sympathy. Roman, their son, was in elementary school with Liam for a while before they both moved. I chatted with them, and they’re very interested in the team, and his dad is hoping to do some work on enhanced joining ROTC programs at school even if we are a long way from them serving just yet.”
“Wow.” Jake was speechless. In the space of a telephone call, Finn had probably done more for the future of enhanced than had been done in twenty years, with the possible exception of their own unit.
“Go Finn.” Vance whooped and high-fived Finn.
Talon winced when Finn staggered back a little under the force that was Vance.
Sawyer groaned and looked pleadingly at Talon, who just lifted an eyebrow.