Meg nodded understanding his logic.
“That bag was the first of several to be left around the buildings.” He glanced at Harley. “Give her the rest, Yu.”
Harley Yu stepped forward and knelt near Meg. He began removing six more black bags the size of camcorder cases from his pack. He left them at her feet, stood and backed away respectfully from her. “Each bag is numbered, matching the ‘channels’ on the detonator your holding. Maybe you’ll find use for them during battle.”
Rhett turned and glanced back over his shoulder at Valen and Harley, motioning for them to start back to the base. Valen frowned deeply.
Meg didn’t need to be a psychic to see the respect and allegiance in his soldiers’ eyes. Harley Yu turned on his heels and began running on silent feet back the way they’d come.
Valen, however, didn’t leave so quickly, her wariness intense. She hesitated long enough to lock eyes with Meg—a silent warning clear in her expression—before she turned to leave.
“Your soldiers,” Meg glanced northward. “They’ll follow you into battle. Not blindly, because you’ve taught them to see for themselves, but they will fight for you.”
“Yes, I believe they will—all of them. I will report to them of our meeting and tell them of my decision.”
“You’re an exceptional leader, Hays.” Meg offered her hand.
Rhett’s face flushed as he took her hand in his and shook it firmly. For a moment, he saw the leader of the Original Three as just a girl younger than himself. Her curls, caught in the wind, stretched across her dainty nose and high cheekbones. Her dark eyes reflected the moonlight making them glisten with an ethereal light. His eyes dropped to her mouth to watch as a smile pressed against her full lips.
Rhett cleared his throat and forced himself to release her.
“About Williams, the longer he’s in the dark about our arrangement, the better.”
“Absolutely,” Meg agreed.
“He’s expecting me to report when I return to the base.”
“You’d better follow through so he doesn’t suspect anything. We don’t want to give him any indication you’ve changed loyalties.”
“I’ll keep the call short,” Rhett nodded.
“Right,” Meg hesitated, thinking about the ramifications of being discovered prematurely. “Rhett, be very careful when you speak with him. Sound matter-of-fact, calm and controlled. If he suspects there’s something amiss, we lose the element of surprise.”
“I’ve been living a double life for as long as I can remember, Miss Winter. I’ve had to. My Company depended on me to represent us as a well-oiled and obedient team to everyone, especially our superiors. If it would make you feel better, I can call him now while you listen.”
Meg was shaking her head even before he finished his sentence. “No. While I appreciate the offer, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?” Rhett couldn’t resist probing.
Meg took a deep breath. “Listen, my gift—I’m still learning all its intricacies—but I think when I channel someone, I create a link. Usually, I’m the only one aware of the connection, but with him—” Meg hesitated and shook her head. “I know you’re aware I’m his biological child.”
“Yes, I’m aware,” he frowned.
“We have an unsettling psychic connection—a two-way connection. I worry if you contact him while I’m near—” Meg hesitated then threw up her arms in frustration. “I don’t know. It sounds crazy, but it’s as though he senses me.”
Rhett raised his brows. “That’s gotta be disturbing.”
“You have no idea.” Meg gritted her teeth in frustration. “Anyway, I know you’ll handle the phone call just fine.” She scowled at the shadows on her boots, obviously haunted by Williams’ power over her.
A full ten seconds of silence passed between them before Rhett forced a change of subject.
“Here, take this.” Rhett removed his earpiece and held it out to Meg’s open palm. “Keep it on channel 3.” He motioned to the device as she placed it into her left ear. “And take this, too.” He ripped open another of the Velcro pockets on his pant leg and pulled out a sleek cell phone. “We’ll need to stay in contact, and it’s better to be doubly safe than sorry.”
“Right,” Meg said, taking the phone from his hand and pocketing it.
“Does your family know what’s happening here?”
“Just enough to get them hurrying to help.”
“So they’re on their way?”
“Yes, but they’re still a few hours out,” Meg confided.
“If you need me, or need to tell me something, don’t hesitate to use those.”
“Rhett, I don’t know how much you know about me and my gifts, but in the interest of total honesty, I need to tell you that I could have compelled you and your soldiers into cooperating with me tonight.”
Rhett nodded, instantly feeling exposed. He moved his tingling hand to his nape. “I know you’re a powerful mind manipulator.” He looked up quickly, “But you didn’t manipulate me, did you?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Your signature.”
“My what?”
“Your psychic signature is different. I knew you were capable of more than just following orders, and I wanted to see what you would do when faced with this decision.”
Rhett shook his head. “You’re going to have to explain these abilities of yours to me.”
Meg smiled despite herself. “I will later—the abridged version anyway. We don’t have much time.”
He pursed his lips tightly at the reminder of their fleeting hours. “We’re going to have one hell of a war.” Rhett looked around as though imagining the inevitable combat as he replaced his earpiece with a spare from another pocket. He raised his hand in farewell before turning to sprint after his soldiers.
Twenty yards away, he slowed his pace and spoke into the device.
Meg had been gathering the bags of C4 and calculating what to do with them when she heard Rhett clearly in her ear. “Give me one hour. I’ll be in touch.”
She reached up to press the device so she could respond. “Copy that. I’ll be here.”
47 Ten Digits in the Sky
“It’s just impossible.” Vince Trainer glared at the side of Bob Jacobi’s face. Jacobi’s eyes were glued to the plane’s gauges and indicators on the other side of the cockpit door. Evan and Creed were seated in the pilot and copilot’s chairs flying the plane—or just monitoring the autopilot. They were ordered not to touch anything. Evan was ordered twice.
This was in the effort to give Trainer and Jacobi a chance to hold a private conversation—away from the black box that recorded every word spoken inside the cockpit.
“Of course it’s possible,” he scoffed. “I was landing fighter jets on thousand-foot runways on aircraft carriers on rough seas—at night!” His chest puffed with pride. “We need to land on a two lane road in the middle of the country in broad daylight? I could do this with one hand tied behind my back. Hell the road isn’t moving! That alone makes this task laughable.”
Trainer had heard about Jacobi’s Navy days more times than he could count. He rolled his eyes, exasperated. “Damn it Jacobi! I know you can land just about anywhere, that’s not the issue! If this family needs to be at that location and avoid the authorities, we’re going to have to devise a better plan!”
“We just drop below radar, land, drop the family and take off. So long as we do everything inside their seven-minute response time window, we can just claim flight control malfunctions caused us to veer off flight plan.”
“Be realistic, Bob! We could lose our licenses! The ATF is going to be on us like white on rice the second we touch down and the Winters won’t be able to get off the plane without being detained by federal and state agencies. You and I both know this won’t work.”
“Excuse me Captain, Trainer—I think I have a better plan.”
The two men turned to see A
lik Winter standing as tall as the low cabin ceiling would allow. In his hands he held what looked at first glance to be slender backpacks.
Five minutes later the entire family gathered at the plane’s bulkhead to talk things through. Jacobi and Trainer were back at their posts. Trainer was thrilled to know they were leaning toward a more realistic solution and was happy to give the family time to hammer out the details of the prospective parachute drop.
“How many chutes do we have?” Margo was asking.
“We have seven, though after looking them over, I wouldn’t trust two of them. At some point their packaging became unsealed. Moths or vermin could have gotten inside, compromising the integrity of the material.” Evan watched his mother’s expression as she mulled this over.
“Moths and vermin?” Cole muttered. “Vermin. Who talks like that?”
Alik rolled his eyes at Cole.
“Only five working chutes,” Theo rubbed his face. “And there are nine of us, plus Maze.”
“Do any of you have experience skydiving?” Margo looked around the cabin.
“Farrow and I do, Dr. Winter,” Creed shared a knowing look with his fellow former assassin.
“Yes, ma’am. Paratrooping was part of our strategic insurgence training,” Farrow added.
“Does everyone at the Facility get trained as paratroopers?” Theo asked, looking from Sloan to Kylie.
“No sir,” both girls answered.
Sloan elaborated, “Metas at the Facility are evaluated very early on. There are three basic paths: soldier, doctor and support staff. Kylie and I were set on the medical path where we were received intensive education in in metahumanology, research and development.”
“Farrow and I were set on the path to become soldiers. We were extensively trained in combat, battle tactics and weaponry,” Creed added.
“I’ve known you this long Creed, and I’m still learning what you were subjected to at that place.” Margo looked solemnly at the assimilated members of her clan.
“So we have three trained jumpers: Creed, Farrow and you, Margo,” Theo surmised.
“You’re just going to have to talk me through it, Mom, ‘cause I’m jumping, too.” Alik’s blue eyes crackled with determination.
“Same here,” Evan added.
Margo looked at each of her sons in turn and sighed with resignation. “You’re fast learners, and your sister needs you. I’m just going to have to pray you’re naturals.”
“Couldn’t we jump in tandem?” Cole asked, not wanting to be left behind.
Margo shook her head. “We don’t have the equipment to safely manage that.”
“Mom, it’s not a bad idea. I mean, under the circumstances we need to get as many fighters down to Meg as possible.”
“No,” Theo interjected. “I need you with me, Cole.”
Cole looked as if he was mad enough at his father to hop out of his skin. “What the hell, Dad?”
“You need to land at the airport with the rest of us. We will drive to a safe hideout and wait to hear from Margo. I need you to help protect us outside the battle.”
“No way, Dad! I belong in the fight!”
“Cole, your dad’s right,” Margo reached out to touch the teen’s knotted shoulder, “But Theo, we do need him in the battle, so let’s compromise. First, Cole helps secure you and the rest of the family off site. Then he and Maze grab a vehicle and hightail it back to the ranch.” Margo watched Theo’s eyes darken with worry as she spoke. “It’ll be okay, honey. Meg will be able to keep track of him so we can draw fire as he sneaks inside.”
Theo shook his head, unsure.
“How does that sound to you, Cole?” Margo waited for the boy’s response.
“I think it sounds fair. Dad, you okay with it?”
“What am I supposed to do if—”
“Theo, we can discuss that later,” Margo glanced around at the eyes watching them closely.
Theo frowned deeply, but nodded. “Son, if you feel strongly about joining in the battle, I support your decision.”
“So, it’s decided,” Margo looked at each of the four chosen to wear a chute. “Farrow and Creed, can I trust you to act as jumpmasters and go over the ‘Sustained Airborne Training’ script with Alik and Evan?”
“Yes ma’am,” both metasoldiers responded without hesitation.
“Mom, I need to talk with you about something, and it really can’t wait any longer. It’s important,” Evan spoke up. He shoved his left hand deep into his pocket and grasped the black hard-shelled case still waiting there.
Margo narrowed her eyes at her son, “Evan, what did you do?”
“Nothing. Yet.”
“Evan Winter, I know that look. That’s the same look you got when you used my lab to create a pheromone to supposedly increase egg-laying productivity in our chickens. Instead it made them lose all their feathers—and they glowed yellow in the dark!”
“Mom, I was seven,” Evan blushed deeply.
“Uh-huh. So I ask again, what did you do?”
“Excuse me, Dr. Winter,” Bob Jacobi stepped out of the cockpit with a strange look on his face.
“What is it, Captain?” Margo turned abruptly, her thoughts interrupted.
“The phone. It’s for you,” he stammered and held out his hand. In it was a black cell phone.
48 Hello?
Margo’s brow furrowed in confusion. “Who would be calling me on your phone?”
“I uh—you’re not going to believe this, but I called her.”
“Her?”
“Your daughter. I saw ten digits in my head and felt compelled to dial the number.”
He motioned to the phone still hanging in the air between them.
Margo’s brown eyes softened, tears instantly threatening to spill. She reached out and took the phone.
“Meg?” she asked tentatively.
“Hi Mom,” by the sound of her voice, Meg was smiling.
“Oh dear God! Where are you? Are you okay? Has the battle begun?” she blurted.
“I’m at home, in the lab to be specific, and I’m okay. The battle hasn’t begun yet, but it’s imminent and complicated.”
“Meggie, do you really have your memory back?” Margo’s voice cracked.
“Yes, thank God. I do. I remember everything—and I’m so thankful for it.”
“What a blessing,” Margo breathed, nearly bursting with things she needed to say and ask, but taking a breath to silence herself and thank God for this moment with her daughter.
“And you, Mom! You can walk again!”
“It’s a miracle. Danny prayed over us in the Fayed Oasis, and wow—yeah, I still haven’t had time to wrap my head around it!”
“I’m so thankful you’re healed, Mom.” Meg swallowed hard at the lump in her throat. “I feel as if we could spend two weeks straight, talking and catching up, but we just don’t have the luxury of time right now.”
“I know, Meggie.”
“So,” she cleared her throat, “back to business. Would you please put me on speakerphone so I can talk with everyone?”
“Of course. One moment.” She looked down at the screen and tapped the image of a speaker. “Can you hear me?” She asked, raising her voice over the jet’s engine.
“I can. Hello everybody!” The family had been staring, slack-jawed at Margo since the moment Jacobi stepped out of his cockpit. Now their faces burst into wide smiles. The collective relief at the sound of Meg’s voice was palpable.
The family broke into a chorus of greetings.
“I love you all,” Meg spoke above the voices, “and I know we have a lot of catching up to do, but it’s going to have to wait.”
“Of course Meg,” Alik responded immediately to his sister’s take-charge tone.
“I need to tell you what I know of the forces amassing and what I’ve done so far to fortify the house. And by the way Alik, excellent idea.”
“What?”
“Parachuting in—excellent plan,�
� Meg praised.
“Thanks,” Alik beamed at Farrow as if to say, isn’t she awesome?
“Evan, you need to talk to everybody about your plan in just a moment,” Meg began. “It’s a brilliant idea, little brother,” she reassured.
“I’m glad you think so,” Evan blushed and glanced toward Kylie—the only other person in the world to have an idea that he’d been working on a secret project back in Cairo. Kylie smiled and nodded encouragingly.
“Okay, listen up.” Meg began telling the family about the leader of Company 17.
“Do you really trust him, Meg?” Theo asked point-blank.
“Yes, sir. I do.” Meg’s voice was steady, absolute.
“Well, you can read people better than anyone. If you’re confident in the Company Leader’s loyalty, then so are we.” Theo and Margo exchanged expressions of conviction.
“There’s more,” Meg sighed before she continued.
“What is it, Meg?” Creed asked. His tone was serious.
“Williams and Arkdone have formed an alliance for just this one purpose. They are joining forces, in the effort to finish this, once and for all. Having Company 17 on our side helps tremendously, but you have to understand...Arkdone has assembled all his metamonarchs and Williams is bringing all the metasoldiers who attacked you in Cairo. We have to assume the enemy will number anywhere from eighty to one hundred, all of whom will be heavily armed and highly trained.” Meg’s words hung like weights around her family’s necks.
“The odds aren’t looking good,” Cole voiced what everybody was thinking.
“I know, but we have some advantages they don’t, Cole.”
“Please remind me because right now I feel as if I just tried to swallow a bag of cotton balls.”
“They have weapons. We have weapons and our gifts. They think they have the element of surprise. We know they’re coming. They are banking on overwhelming us with their numbers, we have three dozen soldiers secretly on our side. They think they’re holding all the cards. They aren’t. We know this area, the house, the barn, the land. They will underestimate us at every turn.”
Winter's Legacy: Future Days (Winter's Saga Book 6) Page 20