The Unseen Trilogy

by Stephanie Erickson

  It only took me a few moments to haul myself out of bed and get ready to go with her. I didn’t intend to push her patience by dilly-dallying. She walked me down to David’s office in companionable silence. I really didn’t have anything to say to her right then. Either she understood, or she didn’t. Nothing I could say would change that. I had no idea if what I’d done would change our relationship. I hoped not, but I didn’t have any control over it, and somehow, I’d come to peace with that.

  What Mitchell told me the night before had hit home, and I hoped I could take the same peaceful approach with Owen. If he came around and decided he still wanted me in his life, I’d be there in a minute. If not, hopefully I could let him go. The thought made me catch my breath, but I pushed forward as we entered David’s office to receive our assignments.

  It surprised me to see Owen sitting in the chair Tracy usually occupied. He stood when Tracy came in, offering it to her, but she grabbed another one from one of the training rooms.

  Once we were crowded around his desk, David didn’t waste any time getting started. “Mackenzie.” His sharp tone startled me, forcing me to look straight at him. “I realize it might be a mistake to trust you with the upcoming job, but we don’t have anyone else with the skill to successfully complete it.”

  I chanced a glance at Owen, who appeared to be pouting in the chair next to me. His arms were folded across his chest, as if in a defensive posture, and there was a deep frown face as he looked at his feet.

  David brought my attention back to him. “There are lives at stake here. A lot of them. We need you to be fully focused on the job. No more of your childish vendetta. No more sulking. Just the job. Expect further restrictions on your privileges when you return. My trust in you has been broken.”

  Forcing myself not to act wounded at his description of my behavior—after all, he was right—I tucked in my bottom lip and nodded.

  “Fine. Do not disappoint me again, Mackenzie.” The familiar words made me bristle, and his fatherly tone didn’t help. I tried to shake off the feeling of discomfort. He might have been my father, but he’d missed most of my life. I didn’t need his approval or disapproval. All I needed was to do my job.

  “So, what’s the job?” I asked, trying to sound confident.

  “We’ve had several members of the Unseen working tirelessly to uncover more about Dux Ducis. Owen here is one of them. He’s the one who actually discovered your target.”

  He didn’t look up at the mention of his name. I knew because I was still staring at him.

  Sensing something brewing, I asked, “If Owen’s the one who found the guy, why isn’t he looking into him? He probably knows the most about him.”

  “Because the man is considered highly dangerous. We feel you are best equipped to handle him.”

  The words pushed me back in my seat. Was that why he was mad? Did Owen want this job and resent me for taking it? “But I’ve only been here for a few months. Surely, Owen is—”

  David cut me off. “If you’re concerned you’re stepping on his toes, that’s not what he’s upset about. We all agree you’re the one for this job. Owen wants to go with you as your safety.”

  “Oh.” It was as if all my breath had gone out of my lungs at once. Why would he want to go with me after what I’d done? “But after what I—”

  “After what you did, we’re not confident Owen can keep you under control, should something happen. Tracy will accompany you.”

  I looked over at Tracy, and she nodded. I chose to take it as an encouraging gesture.

  “Back to the target. We’ve uncovered a plot against Coda.”

  Of all the ways I’d expected him to finish that sentence, he’d chosen the most unexpected. After all, it wasn’t a major sporting event, a popular rock concert, a cruise ship, or anything like that. It was a highly intellectual gathering only known to those in the classical music community. Why target something like that? It wasn’t like the general public would be directly affected.

  “Why Coda?” I asked, trying to make sense of it.

  “This year, over twenty thousand people are expected. I think the sheer numbers have attracted the Potestas’ attention. Their motivation behind the attack is less obvious. Perhaps that’s something you will discover.”

  Thinking of all the big names in today’s classical musicians, I started to panic. “But some of the greatest musicians in the world will be there. Can you tell the organizers at FSU to cancel the event?”

  “I’ve advised them to do so, but so far, they haven’t. They don’t believe we have enough evidence.”

  “What do you think the Potestas are planning?”

  David took a breath. “Unfortunately, we think they’re going to unleash the latest version of the chemical Dr. Jeppe developed.”

  “What?” It came out in an accusing hiss. “You can’t let this happen.”

  “No, you can’t let this happen. The man Owen found is thought to have a close connection with Dux Ducis. We need to uncover his identity so that we can do whatever it takes to stop this plot. If we don’t…” He paused and looked straight into my eyes. “If you don’t, tens of thousands of people will die.”

  A shudder ran through me as I thought of the screaming chimps. “And they won’t die easily either.”

  “No, they won’t. You need to get us as much information as quickly as possible so we can stop that from happening.”

  “Fine. When do we leave?” I looked over at Owen, assuming he would be helping Tracy and me on this one.

  “Now. You’ll take one of the cars to Atlanta as soon as you’re ready. But Owen and the rest of the research team is staying here to search for further information.”

  I frowned, but I knew it wasn’t the time to argue. “I’m ready.”

  As we left David’s office, I realized I wasn’t as ready as I thought. Owen hung back, and Tracy went on ahead, catching me between the two of them.

  Tracy looked back when I stopped walking. “Go on ahead. I’ll meet you at the car in twenty minutes.” She nodded and left the gym.

  Walking back to Owen, I tried to find words to say to him, but they wouldn’t come. I kept hearing Mitchell’s story in my mind. If he could forgive him, he could forgive me, right? But panic clawed at my gut. If I lost Owen… only then did it hit me how grave a loss that would be.

  I didn’t look at him when I approached, taking care to watch my feet as they closed the gap between us.

  He let out a heavy sigh and folded me into his arms. I collapsed into him, but the words still didn’t come.

  “You are the worst kind of impossible.”

  “Which kind is that?” I asked, my words muffled by his neck and shoulder.

  “The kind that is impossible to understand, impossible to forgive, but impossible not to.” He pulled back and looked at me with those beautiful brown eyes. The ones I fell in love with what seemed like ages ago. “The kind that’s impossible to be without.”

  “Lucky for me,” I said, incredulous that this man had decided I was worthy of him after everything I’d put him through. I had been so quick to turn my back on him for what he’d done. He had every right to do the same to me, but instead, he opened his arms.

  He reached for something in his pocket. “I have something for you.” He handed me my iPod.

  I took it out and turned it over in my hand, unsure of what it meant.

  “I took the liberty of adding the London Symphony Orchestra’s latest recording of Gasbag de la Noot. I thought it might help you concentrate.”

  I held it in my hand, not closing my fingers around it. In that moment, a small shift happened in my mind. Maddie was still there, but I allowed all the other emotions, thoughts, and fears I’d been holding back into the forefront of my mind. I allowed Owen all the way back in. I wanted him in my future, I realized—and I actually wanted a future.

  I closed my hand tightly around the object. “Thank you,” I said, proud my voice didn’t waver.

  �
��You’re welcome. Now go pack. It’s over four hours to Atlanta, and you’ll need it to read up on this guy.”

  I groaned. “Didn’t I just get back from doing this?”

  “No. You just got back from your dumb-ass vigilante mission. That was how you decided to use your vacation, so now you don’t get one.”

  “Ah,” I said, knowing there’d be more digs like that in my future. Somehow, it didn’t bother me anymore, not now that I knew I’d been forgiven.

  Leaning in, I didn’t even think about what I was doing or what would happen if he didn’t respond. All I was doing was saying goodbye to a man who loved me better than I had loved him. Silently, I vowed to change that as I kissed him deeply.

  “Good luck,” he said when we finally parted.

  I nodded as I walked away, but I hoped we wouldn’t need luck to carry us through the days ahead.

  15

  Dylan Shields didn’t seem particularly special. Though Owen had done some pretty extensive detective work, he’d found very little information, which was suspicious in and of itself. What we did know was that Shields was a confirmed member of the Potestas with a connection with the University of Michigan. David hoped he was the link between Jeppe and Dux Ducis.

  “Do you think this guy is even real? Are you sure he’s not some sort of diversion they’ve cooked up to keep us busy? There aren’t even the most basic facts about him. No birthdate, birthplace, parents, job, social security number, nothing. Do you think he’s maybe a higher up that had his history erased?” I asked, thinking about Amanda. “How on Earth did our people track him to Atlanta, anyway?”

  “One of our guys spotted him on some security camera footage. Some scouts we have stationed here confirmed the lead.” She paused as she navigated the busy city streets. “And yes, he could be a diversion, but if so, what are they hiding behind him? We need to know,” Tracy said.

  “How can we hunt a diversion?”

  “Yes. That part’s tricky.” She didn’t once take her eyes off the road as we drove into downtown Atlanta. “Let’s hope he’s a higher up, then we’ll really have a big score on our hands when we take him out.”

  It was shortly after lunchtime, and the research the Unseen had collected about Shields said he was regularly seen walking from Grady Memorial to Hurt Park at five thirty in the afternoon. After that, he seemed to disappear. It made absolutely no sense to me. Did he work at the hospital? If so, why wasn’t there a record of him?

  Not having much else to go on, we waited at the park. I grew more and more uneasy. “Tracy, this feels like a trap. There’s nothing to go on. What if they’ve lured us here, lured me here?”

  Tracy scanned our immediate surroundings suspiciously, but it wasn’t unusual for her. “That’s true, it could be. To be honest, I wish we’d brought more people with us.”

  She glanced at her watch. From a glance at my own, I knew we had about fifteen more minutes before we could expect our guest. “I’ll stake him out first, okay? I’ll just feel him out, try to get an idea of what we’re in for.”

  “Sounds good.” I breathed a sigh, relieved she was going to do some reconnaissance for me.

  But a few minutes later, I noticed someone off in the distance that I couldn’t hear at all. He was a total void. “Tracy,” I whispered.

  “I see him. He’s not alone.”

  Sure enough, more and more voids popped up throughout the park. It felt like they were just materializing out of the ground. How had they learned to be so stealthy?

  “What should we do?”

  “Try not to get killed. That’s our new objective. Forget the target for now. We’re surrounded.”

  “Disguise yourself. Let them hear some inane thoughts so they don’t know who you are,” I said.

  “What? That doesn’t—”

  I cut her off. “Just do it.” They were starting to notice us. More than a few of them were throwing glances our way. There were a total of fifteen Potestas in the park, only three of them women, but there was still no sign of the man we knew as Shields.

  Catching the eye of another member of the Potestas, I sent out a thought. Man, it’s gorgeous today. I’m sure glad we decided to take our break out here. Jeez, what is he looking at? I’ll bet he thinks I’m checking him out just because I made eye contact. Men are such pigs.

  I hoped the standoffish approach would work with this group. I didn’t want to do anything to provoke a direct interaction—that sort of thing would likely get us caught. Looking back down at the book I’d brought to make it look like I was out there to enjoy the nice day, I risked saying something to Tracy.

  “Are you doing it?”

  “Yes.” She also kept her face angled toward her magazine, but I knew her well enough to realize she was keeping constant tabs on those around us.

  I read the words on the page in my head, making sure everyone around me could hear them. Then I saw him. It broke my train of thought for just an instant, and I glanced around to make sure no one had noticed.

  With one eye on Shields and the other on my book, I watched him walk down the path right in front of us. He didn’t seem to be walking toward any specific person, just meandering. Taking a seat at a bench not fifteen yards from us, he ate a sandwich he must’ve picked up on the way over.

  It was frustrating not to be able to get into his mind right then, but clearly, this was much bigger than we’d guessed. Fifteen Potestas didn’t gather around for nothing.

  For a very tense ten minutes, I watched him eat his sandwich as I absently read my book. I didn’t risk speaking to Tracy again.

  Once his last bite was gone, he got up, tossed the wrappings in the trash, and retraced his steps back out of the park, walking right past us yet again.

  After he left, the Potestas slowly trickled out after him. It took another ten minutes or so for the last of them to leave the area. I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

  “Holy shit,” I said. “Tracy, we need more help.”

  She already had her phone out. “I couldn’t agree more,” she said as she typed out a message.

  The following day, Owen, Mitchell, Camden, and most of the rest of our division of the Unseen met us for breakfast in the hotel. Tracy reserved a special meeting room for us to eat in, so we could talk freely.

  Owen embraced me long and hard, and I squeezed him back, finally letting myself feel how scared I’d been. Hell, I was still scared. We didn’t exchange words; we just looked at each other with gratitude in our eyes.

  It took a few minutes for everyone to exchange greetings. We might stand a chance, I thought as people started to settle around the huge, oval table at the center of the room. We had a fair number of mind readers in our army, and there was at least one of us for every Potesta. Owen stayed right by my side as we got some cereal from the buffet that had been set up along the edge of the conference room and took our seats at the table.

  “What’s our approach?” Owen asked once everyone was settled.

  “The park isn’t very big,” I said through a bite of Froot Loops. “If we all go down there, they’ll notice us, don’t you think? Not to mention, they all saw Tracy and me down there yesterday. They’ll think something is up.”

  “Well, you guys have already passed their test because you were able to act like you enjoyed taking your break out there. But you have a point for the rest of us,” Camden said.

  “Well, we could take turns milling around the park. Just have a revolving door, so to speak. Plus, you could hide two or three people up in the trees throughout the park,” Owen said.

  The wheels turned in my head. “If Tracy and I are out of sight, they won’t know they should be hearing thoughts from us. Right?” A few heads nodded at me. “Tracy, we’re idiots. Why didn’t we do that yesterday?”

  She shook her head. “I’m glad we didn’t. This goes deeper than we thought. We needed help. I hope we have enough.”

  Mitchell spoke up. “Tracy said you’ve learned an interest
ing defense technique for keeping the Potestas distracted. She said it saved your lives yesterday.”

  “I guess. I kind of assumed it was what you all did to hide yourselves from them. Just let them hear some stupid, normal thoughts. About the last sports game, or some girl you’re dating, or some made-up problem at work. Just make yourself seem normal to distract them. It worked on Washington, and it worked on fifteen Potestas yesterday, so I’d say it’s fairly effective.”

  Everyone nodded as they considered the various scenarios we’d laid out for the day ahead. But I still had questions. “If that’s not how you’ve kept yourselves hidden among the Potestas before, how do you normally do it?”

  Tracy shrugged as she chewed her bacon. “We didn’t, really. Usually, it’s a race to get in—and out—before we’re noticed. But this technique offers a whole new level of time and safety for us. You saved our skins yesterday, and I imagine your tactics will save many more of us in the years to come.”

  We all chewed on our breakfast for a moment, trying to piece together a plan. Finally, I said, “So, how about this? Tracy and I will hide in the trees while the rest of you will mill around, keeping us safe.”

  “No. Absolutely not. That’s too dangerous because of the level of relaxation required of the body to enter someone else’s mind. They could fall out and kill themselves,” Owen piped up.

  Then, the idea hit me. “What if we tie ourselves up there? We have plenty of time to get into position. If we go down there now, hours before he’s expected, we’ll be golden. You guys would be down there to keep an eye on us.” Excitement at the prospect made me talk faster and faster. I looked up into the faces of my brothers and sisters in arms. “This could work.”

  “People will be suspicious of what we’re doing. I’m pretty sure people don’t normally tie each other up in trees,” Mitchell offered.

  He was right. “We’ll have to deal with whatever attention we attract. I mean, there’s not too many ways you can tie someone up in a tree without being seen by someone.”