by Naomi Stone
Fluke pulled in beside the nearest building, just short of the alley and shared a look with David before the two men exited both sides of the car at the same time. David put a finger to his lips and gestured to the alley. Fluke moved silently to the corner, crouching to peer around it.
Johnson stood on a loading dock, alone at the door, apparently fumbling for keys. Mabel and Tamara must still be in the car. He could see the rear of it, parked beyond the cement block of the loading dock. David took a quick look, and then muttered to his specs.
Fluke picked up the alert via his feed. “You’ve got my location? Converge from all sides. Keep some distance. The puppet master needs physical contact to do a take-over. I’m going in now.”
“Let me go first,” Fluke turned to him, voice hushed. “I’ll distract him, so you can get in close with the tranq.”
“She’s my sister.” David’s mouth made a grim line. Fluke figured he had more than a tranq in mind for Johnson.
“I love her too,” Fluke said, and then sauntered around the corner, thumbs hooked in the belt of his Levi’s. He called out to Johnson. “Hey, I’ve got a couple questions for you, buddy.” He kept walking at a leisurely pace, closing the distance, trusting David to hang back for now, trusting his luck on more than one count.
Johnson turned to him, scowling, and then assumed a friendlier expression. “Can I help you, sir?”
“Cut the crap, Johnson. You know I’m with Team Guardian and I know you took my girl. What have you done with her?”
“She’s right in here, but I’m having some trouble with the key. Maybe you can help me out?” He beckoned Fluke closer.
Fluke mounted the short flight of cement steps to the loading platform and approached Johnson, who extended the jangling key ring to him.
Fluke moved around him, to approach the door from Johnson’s left and Johnson turned, following him, still extending his hand with the key. This put Johnson’s back to the steps and the mouth of the alley where David waited.
“Why don’t you just toss me the keys?” Fluke kept his distance. “I know what you are, Johnson—or should I say, Mesmero.” David rounded the corner into the alley, approaching swiftly, and light-footed as only a man could be who’d once lived in hiding on the streets.
“I am Mesmero!” The older, slighter man lunged at Fluke, dropping the keys as he grasped for a hold on his intended victim.
Fluke caught him by his forearms. The long sleeves of the man’s polyester suit jacket insulated him from direct contact. He held Johnson off despite the strength his manic energy gave him.
At the same moment David made it up the steps and plunged his hypo in the man’s neck. Police snipers appeared at either end of the alley and on surrounding rooftops, their rifles trained on Johnson. The puppet master slumped in Fluke’s grip.
Fluke lowered Johnson to the cement dock before releasing him. He scooped up the fallen keys and went straight for the door. Let the others deal with Johnson/Mesmero now. He had to get to Rachel.
David snapped a few commands to the rest of the Team and followed close on Fluke’s heels as they entered the building—only to face a steel-clad door and its security panel, with no idea of the pass code.
Six
Dogs. They’d been among the worst monsters of her years living in hiding with David. Dogs picked up her projected emotions like nobody’s business. They had no filter of higher consciousness and they scared her, so she scared them, and more often than not the dogs reacted by attacking what they feared. She and David had had to run all too often from strays, guard dogs and even family pets.
Now, when she heard the baying of hounds in this maze of narrow alleys with no shelter in sight, a sudden spike of fear shot through her. Damn. The two men panicked, running off in opposite directions. The baying, nearer now, though the dogs hadn’t yet come in sight, took on a frantic urgency.
She forced legs that wanted to go sprinting off after the men to collapse under her instead and assumed a suddenly seated posture. Lotus. She focused on her too-rapid breath. Slower. Breathe deep. Feel the breath fill her abdomen, rise through her torso. Throw back her shoulders. Let them loosen, drop. Relax. You are no longer a frightened child, she reminded herself. She embraced the feelings that might as well be a child’s, surrounding them with compassion, filling herself with a tender mercy toward all things fearful and vulnerable. She breathed slower now, calmer, radiating warmth, serenity, a palpable aura of love.
The dogs fell silent. She peeked from beneath her lowered lashes to see a ring of half a dozen Rottweilers, all facing her, lying with forepaws extended and what looked to be adoration in their eyes. She smiled at them. “Poor things,” she said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you earlier. Everything’s okay now.”
She looked around, took stock of their surroundings. The heat lamps above had banished the last of the chill air, but already beat down with uncomfortable intensity. She’d been hungry to begin with and now grew aware of an increasing thirst to accompany the gnawing hunger. She soothed her discomfort.
“Let’s see if we can find some shade.” She rose to her feet and the dogs crowded around her, butting heads under her hands. She petted them. That’s right. Contact intensifies the effects of my power. When I was… so close… to Fluke it even seemed to go both ways, like I could feel what he felt, even as he felt what I projected…
Strange. She’d like to try more of that. Later. Now, the dogs frisked around her like they’d never known kindness or a gentle touch before. She laughed at their antics. “C’mon, guys.” She led the way back toward the dumpsters near where she’d first entered the facility. If she propped the lids against the wall behind them, she could make a shaded area big enough for her and the dogs to retreat from the searing light above.
Hanson and Rosso had gone off in opposite directions. As their biggest danger seemed now to be from each other, she wouldn’t worry about them for the time being. She had enough to do, focusing on calming herself and her new doggy pals.
As she neared the steel door through which she’d entered the place, Rachel heard strange sounds of clanging and whining coming from beyond it. The dogs whined too. She reassured them. “Stay close to me. You’ll be okay. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
~ * ~
Fluke felt like a caged lion; though the steel panel blocked only one direction, that direction was the only way to reach Rachel.
“It’s going to take hours to get through this door by brute force.” David signaled the techs with acetylene torches to take a break and stepped back from the door. “Maybe we should get a transmuter in here?”
Fluke moved in. David had pulled rank earlier, saying for all they knew the door was booby-trapped. But he’d gotten sick of waiting. He could feel Rachel doing her ‘spread the serenity’ thing —and that meant she had a situation. She needed him.
Before David could stop him, or object, Fluke reached for the security pad. Hang loose, he told himself, not even looking at the numbers, just reaching blindly, trusting in his luck to punch a set of keys. He punched four times. What were the odds of hitting the right combo? Must be astronomical… He held his breath. Everyone around him went still.
Until, with a soft click and a whoosh, the metal door slid open. He’d probably used his quota of luck for the year. Fluke stepped into the compartment behind the door, closely followed by David. “You’re too lucky.” The team leader cuffed him.
Inside the now-opened door he found another panel, hit the ‘close door’ button. As that door slid shut behind them David blocked it with his wadded up jacket to keep it from closing completely and locking them in. He hit a button on the inner control panel and another panel slid open before them.
It opened onto what seemed just another alleyway—with red brick walls and tarmac paving blistering in the heat from an array of lamps high above. But he scarcely noted the surroundings. “Rachel!”
She turned to him, but so did six pairs of vicious eyes in the pack of growling
dogs flanking her.
“Hold still!” He worked to keep his voice low, calm. “David’s got more tranqs…”
“Just needles—not the gun.” David hissed behind him.
Rachel laughed. “Boy, am I glad to see you guys.” She turned to the dogs, stroked heads, and murmured comforting sounds. “I think they’ll be okay if you approach slowly, one at a time and let me introduce you.”
Fluke didn’t like the sound of that ‘I think’ and his luck had to be running on empty after daring the security pad, but he didn’t hesitate. He approached her at an easy pace, let her take his hand—she briefly squeezed his fingers—before offering it to each of the dogs to sniff and lick.
Then she moved into his arms, and her gladness and relief washed into him, mingled with his own. Gladness, relief, and more—his heart lifted like a child’s balloon when the string is released, and suddenly it dances on the free air. Did this feeling come from her, or was it his alone? He could feel the silly grin stretch across his face.
“Hey, guys.” David called from the doorway.
He came forward and held out his hand to each of the dogs in turn while Rachel cooed the introductions.
“What’s with the dogs, Sis? You hate dogs.”
“Not anymore. We bonded.”
“What are we going to do with them?” David asked. “I’ve got a whole team set to come in here to rescue those board members—are the dogs going to attack the Team? Or attack Rosso and Hanson if we bring them through?”
“You’ve got tranqs?”
“Just needles.”
“I guess I’d better be the one to stick them. About half a dose per dog?”
David handed her three of the hypos.
Fluke stood by. “Then what?” he asked. “You can’t take a pack of trained attack animals like these to the ashram.”
“No…” Rachel put an arm around the neck of one of the dogs, while it licked her face. “Down, Bobby.” She slipped the needle into a heavy roll of the flesh and fur on its neck. “But I made them love me. Now I’m responsible for them.”
“Bobby?” David asked.
“Bobby Sherman. I named them after old singers. “This one is Frankie Avalon.” She stuck the needle in another dog.
She’d made them love her. And now she felt responsible for them. She’d made Fluke love her too. Would she feel responsible for him? Is that what it would be about if she stayed with him now? That wouldn’t be enough for him. That much he knew.
“I don’t know where I’ll keep them…” Rachel’s brow furrowed. He could feel her distress. So, too, could the dogs not yet sedated. They whimpered. Rachel soothed them. “It’ll be okay, guys. Don’t worry, I’ll find someplace we can all live.”
‘Hey—I should’ve thought of this from the start.” Fluke hastened to assure her, “I’ve got a place you can use. It’s on one of the lakes north of the cities—kind of a cabin—plenty of room for you and the dogs. No close neighbors—you won’t have to watch yourself all the time.”
The lick of her hope touched him, but he felt her hesitation too. “Wouldn’t I be putting you out?”
“Not at all. I’ve got apartments here, and in New York, and London.”
Her relief and gratitude slammed into him as she laid a hand on his. “You don’t know how much that means to me.”
“Oh, but, lady, I do.” He grinned at her. “When the dogs are ready, I’ll help you get them settled.”
Just one dog remained awake at that point, soulful brown eyes gazing at her as she laid a hand on its head. “C’mon, McCartney,” she cooed to the dog. “Your turn.”
David scowled at her. “I don’t believe this. When I wanted a dog you wouldn’t hear a word about it. Now you’ve got six of them and you’ve gone all gooey over ’em.”
Rachel got to her feet as McCartney lay down and closed his eyes. “Who knew?” She shrugged. “Once I stopped being afraid they seemed so cute.”
“It’s disgusting.” David turned to his specs and spoke into the open channel, “We’ve cleared the area near the doors. There’s a bottleneck airlock system, so prepare to advance in teams of three or four to sweep the facility. It may be booby-trapped, but our kidnap victims are in here somewhere and may need medical attention.”
He advanced to the airlock’s inner door, blocked open when he and Fluke had entered. David gestured Rachel and Fluke to follow him. When Rachel hesitated near the supine dogs he added, “I’ll call in a vet to look them over and have them brought out.”
~ * ~
Rachel accompanied the men into the airlock, then stood aside after exiting again. She waited to leave the dock, back pressed against the brick wall as the men and women of Team Guardian and the police forces involved came through. Fluke stood to the other side while the file of personnel passed between them.
It had happened again, when she’d first seen Fluke enter the facility and their eyes had met: that echoing and re-echoing of feeling—that high exultation, seeming to have no origin in either him or her, but to be a product of them both together. He had to have felt it too—but then he’d turned away, gotten down to business with the dogs. Well, so had she. And now she’d feel strange bringing it up. What could she say?
The first team had all entered the air lock. Fluke grabbed her hand, tugging her with him, and they went down the short flight of steps and back along the alley to where David’s Honda sat parked around the corner.
“Man, did David—my brother the control freak—leave his car doors standing open like that?” She slid into the passenger seat, weariness suddenly catching her up.
Seven
She must have dozed off as soon as they got underway and could only guess how much time had passed when she opened her eyes again and found it late enough for the sun to be well above the horizon. Fluke had pulled off the highway and now slowed, turning in to a gas station with dozens of pumps arrayed in multiple islands before a main building advertising groceries and a Full Family Restaurant.
“Where are we?” she asked, blinking away the sleep.
“Just outside Saint Cloud.”
“How far out is this cabin of yours?”
“Not far now, but your stomach was growling in your sleep and I thought I’d better pick up some groceries—and dog food—while we refuel.”
“Oh, man. I am starving,” she admitted.
“If you’d stuck around at the casino hotel I had a whole buffet sent up to our room.” He gave her a sidewise grin. “Scrambled eggs, bacon, smoked salmon, bagels, pastries, fresh fruit, coffee and orange juice…”
Rachel groaned. “Stop. You’re killing me.,”
“Oh, and croissants filled with bacon and cheddar. I grabbed one of those before I came after you.” His grin widened at the naked hunger she felt sure he picked up from her unguarded feelings.
“Man that was good,” he concluded, pulling the car up at a pump.
“I hate you.” Rachel stretched, opened her door.
“Why don’t you go ahead,” he offered, exiting on his side. “Order whatever you like. My treat.”
“It had better be.” Rachel eased out of the car, stiff from sleeping upright. Lord knew where her handbag had gone. Hopefully it was still at the ashram where she’d dropped it when Tamara had dropped her.
“Wait.” Fluke leaned across the top of the car. “David picked these up for you, thought you’d want ‘em back.” He held out something dark. Her specs!
“Oh, thanks. Am I glad to get these back.” She immediately pulled them on. “I felt helpless without them.”
“Hardly helpless.” His grin warmed her now as much as it had
provoked her earlier. “Looked like you had quite a handle on things when we found you.”
“Well, thanks.” Suddenly shy, she turned toward the Full Family Restaurant. “Meet you inside.”
She consulted her specs as soon as she’d scanned the menu and ordered the biggest breakfast she could find—Three egg omelet your way, plus home
fries, plus bacon, plus your choice of muffin, three stack pancakes or fruit dish, with OJ and coffee. The case reports brought her quickly up to date.
The kidnap victims had all been recovered, including a third board member who’d been detained in the company of Tom Stanton. The telepath healer and her colleagues were currently treating them, as well as Mabel and Tamara. They’d interred Johnson in a secure facility specializing in criminal Talents, where he’d have no direct human contact, but would receive psychotherapy treatment.
She found a message from David. Her dogs had been checked by a vet and were in transit to the address Fluke had provided.
By the time she’d caught up with the case files, Fluke joined her at the table, sliding into the seat opposite her, just as the waitress deposited a laden plate before her.
“I’ll have one of those,” he said to the server. “How you doing?” He turned to Rachel.
“Mmmph.” She swallowed a mouthful of fluffy scrambled eggs. “Better by the minute. Still worried about Tamara, and Tom.”
“David filled me in some while we followed Mesmero to his facility.” Fluke relaxed against the padded back of his seat. “The TP healer learned a lot working on Longo. Johnson’s indirect influence—when he’s not actually there—acts like a deep-seated hypnotic suggestion. Frustrating a command causes massive cognitive dissonance, but the healer can come in indirectly to undermine his commands, especially if they go contrary to the natural inclinations of the victim.”
Rachel spoke around a mouthful of hash browns. “How does that pertain to my friends?”
“The good news is they weren’t under any active commands when we got to them. Tom had just returned to the facility with another board member—per Mesmero’s command—so he’d fulfilled his mission and was in a ‘stand-by’ mode, like Tamara and Mabel, waiting in the car. They should be able to return to their normal lives after a brief session with the healer.”
“What about Rosso and Hanson?” She took a swig of her orange juice.
“It will take more work for the healer to root out the animosity Johnson planted in them toward each other. He intended them to kill each other. They’re being kept apart.