The guards realized their mistake and quickly helped Montgomery to his feet. They all looked nervous and a few were visibly scared, but they didn’t run; instead, they waited for him to tell them what to do.
“You two, go get Doctor Fitzroy and bring him here. The rest of you, clear as many people from this floor as possible,” Detective Montgomery ordered. All of them were glad to be assigned tasks that would get them away from whatever violence was happening. Montgomery inched up to the corner and peeked around. The door to Mystique’s room was lying bent and broken where something had hit it very hard. He didn’t see any sign of the officer who had been guarding her door. He guessed at what had happened and this gave him an idea of how to explain the mess he was in.
***
Bruce had resisted Mr. Shensi’s demands that they leave or at least move to the safety of the street. The sound of gunshots had startled everyone in the little group. Mr. Jones had regained consciousness and was sipping on a coffee, while Alan and Sam theorized about what abilities Angelica might have. They were convinced she was a powerful psionic and that Mystique was too. Everyone dove for cover when they heard the shots. The first few seemed controlled compared to the last that sounded more frantic.
Mr. Shensi grabbed Bruce by the arm and started dragging him to the elevator while Mr. Jones spilled his coffee diving for cover. Alan and Sam froze, unsure what to do. Bruce struggled to break Mr. Shensi’s grip while Mr. Jones scrambled for the elevator, repeatedly hammering the call button with his thumb. Alan and Sam decided it was getting a bit too dangerous for their liking and they joined Mr. Jones at the elevator.
When the elevator finally arrived, a pair of security guards came rushing out. They told everyone to clear the floor before running off. Mr. Jones, Alan, and Sam all entered the elevator, yelling for Bruce to stop being stupid and get on. The arrival of the guards had been enough to get Bruce to stop struggling so Mr. Shensi could drag him into the elevator. During the ride, Alan and Sam told Bruce they’d forgotten to study and needed to leave. Bruce understood and didn’t blame his friends for leaving. Ever since he’d met Mystique, the violence level in his life had been rising. Bruce was having second thoughts about staying, but he kept coming back to the same argument. If he was afraid of getting involved in a violent situation, he had no right joining the Federation Navy.
In the lobby of the hospital, Mr. Jones moved away from them to make a few private phone calls. Mr. Shensi pleaded with Bruce to join his friends and leave the hospital. He had to stay to monitor the legal situation and he promised to call Bruce if anything happened. Bruce didn’t believe him: first, he was a lawyer; and second, he was the one who’d pulled Mystique out of class and brought her to the café. Bruce was sure his mother had been there, but Mr. Shensi refused to admit it.
The three waited and watched as more security guards arrived. Bruce was able to overhear one of the nurses say that the third, fourth, and fifth floors were being evacuated. He joined in the conversation and determined that there had been a kidnapping attempt on a visitor to one of the patients in ICU. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, a police armored-personnel carrier landed in front of the building and two six-man squads jumped out and came running into the hospital. At almost the same time, at least a dozen patrol cars surrounded the building.
The police started evacuating the lobby and the rest of the hospital. They searched everyone as they were escorted away from the building. They did a full biometric workup to include fingerprints, retinal scans, and DNA samples. Bruce, Mr. Shensi, and Mr. Jones were separated and questioned over what they knew about Angelica Grayson. Mr. Jones had stated that she was an important citizen of New Sydney and had demanded to know what was going on. Mr. Jones wasn’t sure what Angelica had done to him, but he was confident she was a psionic, which made her an important person.
***
The two guards had brought Doctor Fitzroy to Detective Montgomery as ordered and then left to help in the evacuation. Detective Montgomery had fleshed out his idea and now thought he might be able to make himself look like a hero. He just needed a little luck.
Montgomery led Doctor Fitzroy to Mystique’s room, hesitating at the door for only a moment to announce that they were coming in. Daemon was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall next to the door, while Angelica sat in a chair near the bed. She looked a little tired. Mystique was sitting up, the IVs all removed but the leads to the monitors still attached so no alarms would sound. She looked like she’d been talking to Angelica. The missing officer was slumped in a chair, still unconscious.
“So, what’s the plan?” Daemon asked with a smile.
Doctor Fitzroy stared in amazement at Mystique for a few seconds before finally asking, “How?”
“Angie has the healing touch,” Daemon replied.
Doctor Fitzroy looked down at Daemon for the first time and saw the blood coating his shirt and pants. He immediately went into emergency-room doctor mode, dropping to his knees and grabbing at Daemon’s shirt. Daemon reflexively grabbed his hands to restrain the doctor, who tried to pull free but couldn’t.
“Daemon, let him go and get off the floor,” Angelica instructed.
“Sorry, doc,” Daemon stated as he stood up, pulling Doctor Fitzroy to his feet as he did. “I’m okay. I’ll clean up the mess if you tell me where to find a mop and stuff.”
“Where are my clothes?” Mystique asked as she pulled the monitoring leads off and started to climb out of bed. Angelica reached up to give her a hand.
“Your clothes were collected as evidence in your shooting,” Detective Montgomery informed her. “You are actually under arrest for assault.”
Daemon was in the middle of pulling off his shirt when he stopped, focusing instead on Detective Montgomery. Montgomery felt the change in Daemon’s demeanor more than saw it. Doctor Fitzroy was too concerned with Daemon’s wounds to pay any attention. He reached out and helped Daemon finish removing his shirt. Doctor Fitzroy stared in amazement as the last signs that Daemon had been shot disappeared before his eyes.
“Officer, is there anything you can do to make the arrest go away?” Angelica asked.
“It’s detective, and that depends on what level of psionic you are. If you’re a level five or higher, I can make this all look like a plot to kidnap you.” Montgomery paused to look at Doctor Fitzroy before continuing, “Doctor, do you know anything about psionics?”
“Not much, but I believe she would qualify as at least a level five, judging by the way she healed Mystique. A true specialist would have to test her to be sure, but I think she is strong enough. What’s going on?”
“A little misunderstanding, and we’re going to need your help clearing it up,” Detective Montgomery told him.
“What do I have to do, and what do I get out of it?” Doctor Fitzroy asked, looking at all of them and spotting the officer slumped over in the chair.
“I’ll owe you a big favor, and having a friend on the force is always handy,” Montgomery offered. He hoped the doctor would be reasonable.
“I have a patient who is dying and I can’t save him. He has a degenerative bone disease and is allergic to the medicines we would normally use to treat him. If you can help him, I’ll do and say whatever you need,” Doctor Fitzroy countered, looking at Angelica.
“Of course. I’ll do what I can,” Angelica replied.
“Detective, what do you need us to do?” Angelica asked, turning to him.
“Nothing yet. I am going to make it look like a group of kidnappers knocked out Officer Davidson and were waiting to ambush you. Daemon and I arrived first and surprised them. After a quick fight, in which Daemon was shot, the assailants fled.”
“What about me?” Mystique asked, reminding Montgomery of her involvement.
“The assailants doctored the recording to make it look like you attacked Mrs. Montagu’s bodyguard when it was actually them. I got the impression from her lawyer that he wanted the whole matter to go away quietly. Wait h
ere while I go report what’s happened,” Montgomery finished as he walked down the hall to the nurses’ station.
“Doc, if you have a minute, would you mind digging out the slugs?” Daemon asked in good humor as he pointed out the bumps where the bullets rose under his skin.
“I’ll do it. Where’s my nail file?” Mystique offered causing Daemon and Angelica to burst out laughing. Doctor Fitzroy couldn’t tell if she was joking or not, though he hoped she was.
***
Bruce was the first to notice Detective Montgomery heading toward them from the hospital. He tapped Mr. Shensi on the arm to get his attention and pointed out the detective. Detective Montgomery stopped for a minute at the command trailer parked out front, then walked over to meet them. The three had been held by the police for the past twenty minutes. After the initial questioning, they were told to wait and officers were posted to make sure they didn’t leave.
“How is Mystique?” Bruce blurted out before Montgomery had a chance to speak.
“She’s fine. They are all safe now. Mr. Jones, when was the New Sydney embassy going to inform the local government that a level-six psionic and two enhanced individuals were on the planet?” Detective Montgomery asked. The flash of confusion that crossed Mr. Jones’s face was barely noticeable, but Detective Montgomery had a lot of practice watching for these slight changes. He realized that Mr. Jones hadn’t known anything about Angelica’s psionic abilities.
“The Graysons’ abilities are classified. I am sorry, but I cannot discuss them with you without authorization from the ambassador himself,” Mr. Jones stated with as much authority as he could muster. He had to get control of this situation fast. He didn’t have time to figure out how a simple favor for a friend was turning into such an important matter. If Angelica was that powerful of a psionic, he had to get them to the embassy as soon as possible.
“Mr. Shensi, it seems that Mr. Noland was framed for shooting Miss Grayson as part of a plan to lure Angelica Grayson here so they could kidnap her. Mr. Noland is free to go once the doctors have finished treating him,” Montgomery explained, relieving Mr. Shensi of any need to be further involved.
“Thank you, detective. I will be sure to tell Mrs. Montagu how helpful you’ve been,” Mr. Shensi replied with a smile, not understanding anything that was going on and very happy he wouldn’t have to try to figure it out.
“Mr. Montagu, we should be leaving if the detective has no further need of us,” Mr. Shensi told Bruce as he started trying to guide Bruce away. The problem was Bruce didn’t want to leave, at least not until he saw that Mystique was safe. Bruce spun around and out of Mr. Shensi’s guiding hand to face Detective Montgomery.
“I’d like to see Mystique.”
“I’m sorry, but we can’t allow that. You will have to wait and contact her later,” Detective Montgomery replied.
“Detective, I must insist on seeing the Graysons,” Mr. Jones demanded, pulling Detective Montgomery’s focus away from Bruce.
“Right this way. Go home. Mr. Montagu, I will inform Miss Grayson of your desire to speak with her,” Detective Montgomery said as he started leading Mr. Jones back to the hospital. Bruce stood and watched as they went to the main entrance and disappeared. Mr. Shensi waited patiently for Bruce to give up. What Mr. Shensi didn’t realize was that Bruce was even more stubborn than his mother, and he was going to stand there all night if he had to.
***
Detective Montgomery was happy to see Officer Davidson back at his post outside Mystique’s room. A tactical team was guarding the elevators and stairwells and wasn’t allowing anyone access to the floor except a small team of a doctor and two nurses to care for the other patients. Doctor Fitzroy was still in the room with the Graysons.
Detective Montgomery introduced Mr. Jones to Mystique, assuming that Daemon and Angelica hadn’t been paying attention when he’d introduced himself earlier. Mystique was sitting on her bed. Someone had found her a set of scrubs to wear instead of the smock. Angelica sat in the chair. Daemon was sitting on the floor next to Angelica. He had removed the tattered remains of his shirt, leaving him naked from the waist up. Someone had wiped up most of the blood with the sheets from the bed. Montgomery assumed it was Daemon, since he was the only one covered in blood. Mr. Jones was a little taken aback by the sight and smell, but tried to remain professional.
“I would like to move all of you to the embassy as soon as possible,” Mr. Jones informed Angelica and Daemon.
“Detective, could we speak to Mr. Jones in private for a few moments?” Angelica asked, adding a little extra push to make Montgomery feel cooperative.
“Sure. Doctor?” Montgomery said as he motioned Doctor Fitzroy to leave ahead of him.
They all waited for Montgomery to lead Doctor Fitzroy and Officer Davidson down the hall a little. Mr. Jones was the first to start talking: “I think you should know that I already know your documents are forged.” He’d expected his statement to cause some reaction and was a little concerned when none of them seemed surprised.
“We figured you were here because of that, and that you were planning on turning us in. Now we’re not so sure. A friend once told me to be very careful who found out that I have the ability to heal others. He said it was a rare gift and many important people would do a lot to get control of me. The detective believes I am a level-six psionic and the doctor agrees. They seem to think that warrants special treatment, so my question is what your plans are for us?” Angelica asked, calmly.
“To be honest, the handling of your case is above my clearance. Ambassador Quinn is the only person with the clearance to handle someone of your special nature. New Sydney gets a lot of refugees; most are running from someone. I would normally find out who or what you’re running from and decide if you were worth the trouble. In your case, the ambassador is the only person authorized to make that decision,” Mr. Jones explained.
“That covers Angie, but what about Mystique and I?” Daemon asked, still sitting on the floor.
“Enhanced individuals are almost as rare as psionics. The cost of performing the procedure and the risk of psychological trouble makes enhancing someone not worth the trouble. The detective told me that you are both enhanced. We will expect a full disclosure of all of your enhancements, but, again, your cases will be handled by the ambassador.”
“What if we don’t know what enhancements we have?” Mystique asked.
“We can have a private physician do a complete physical to find them out, I guess,” Mr. Jones replied, a little confused as to why someone who had gone through months, if not years, of genetic therapy wouldn’t know what was done to them.
“Will it cause additional problems that Mystique is our stepsister and not a blood relative?” Angelica asked, realizing the doctors would figure it out soon enough.
“I doubt it, but that is up to the ambassador,” Mr. Jones replied
“When will we meet the ambassador?” Angelica asked, not sure how much time they had before the detective realized she was manipulating him.
“Detective Montgomery told me that you had volunteered to heal one of Doctor Fitzroy’s patients. When you are finished with that, I will have transport take us to the embassy. I expect the ambassador will want to meet you first thing in the morning.”
“Doctor Fitzroy said he had a patient who was beyond his ability to help and asked if I would try. I am a little curious as to why the hospital doesn’t have better equipment,” Angelica told Mr. Jones as she stood up. Daemon and Mystique took the cue and also got to their feet.
“Is there any chance we can get some new clothes before we meet the ambassador?” Daemon asked as he motioned to his bare chest and the drying blood on his pants.
“The hospital has the best equipment it can afford,” Mr. Jones explained to Angelica before replying to Daemon’s question. “I will arrange to have something done about getting you new clothing in the morning.”
“The detective and the doctor are at the nurses’ sta
tion,” Angelica informed them as she walked out into the hall. Daemon allowed Mystique to step in front of him while Mr. Jones fell in behind them.
“Doctor, I am ready to see your patient now,” Angelica said as the group walked up to the nurses’ station. Daemon felt the officers guarding the elevator tense when they saw him. He kept track of their movements and thought of a few different attack plans to use against them if they decided to start something. Angelica and Mystique sensed the arrival of the beast and looked at Daemon.
“I’m not going to start anything,” Daemon told them with a fake innocent smile.
“Right this way,” Doctor Fitzroy instructed, hoping to avoid whatever Daemon might start.
Doctor Fitzroy led the group to another room on the fourth floor. Inside, a twelve-year-old boy was lying on a bed with two IV tubes running to his legs and a full set of leads connected to his chest. He looked small and frail. Angelica didn’t need any special senses to realize he was dying a slow and painful death. She heard Doctor Fitzroy say something about degenerative bone cancer, but she had already shifted her focus to look for what was wrong with the boy. Mystique took the doctor’s arm and motioned for him to stop talking and watch.
Angelica slowly walked up to the boy’s bed and reached down to take his hand. Daemon brought his boot up, standing on one leg, and retrieved a large hunting knife from its scabbard. Detective Montgomery and Mystique were the only ones who observed Daemon’s action. Doctor Fitzroy and Mr. Jones were watching in amazement as Angelica slowly started to glow. Daemon handed the knife to Mystique, who wasn’t sure why he thought she needed a weapon but who was also happy to have one. Detective Montgomery gave Mystique a little nudge to get her attention, then motioned toward the knife. Mystique flipped the knife once, shifting it into a position along her forearm, before she shrugged in response to Montgomery’s question.
Mystique's Journey Page 5