Mystique knew that Shektee had been trained by Angelica to heal but hadn’t expected her to unless the injuries were life-threatening. She was grateful that she’d been wrong. Mystique noted a difference in the way the healing worked between Angelica and Shektee. While Angelica’s felt like a warm tingling sensation, Shektee’s felt more painful. Mystique’s arm and shoulder felt like they were on fire while Shektee channeled the healing energy into her.
“There are six men down the tunnel. That way,” Shektee informed Mystique as she pointed toward Captain Remington and his men. “Their life energy is weak and getting weaker.”
“Let’s go take a look,” Mystique suggested as she started moving toward the men. Shektee took a moment to look up at the evening sky through the crater left by the summoning.
Mystique spotted the suits of armor and recognized them as the same type of powered battle armor used by the ambassador’s personal guard. A quick survey of the armor told her that none of the suits were working. From what Mystique knew about the armor, she guessed that the men inside were suffocating. She thought about leaving them, but decided that Angelica wouldn’t like her leaving them to die. She tried to remove one of their helmets but found that the locking mechanism was fused.
“Can you get their helmets off or break their visors without killing them?” Mystique asked Shektee.
“We’ll see,” Shektee replied as she transformed into her combat form. She reached down and lifted one of the men by his helmet. Using the claw that had replaced her index finger, she scratched a line in the metal of the helm. A few more passes turned the line into a furrow; another few and she split the helm in two.
Mystique moved the other men into the seated position, leaning them up against the walls as Shektee opened the rest of their helms. She checked their breathing to make sure they were alive and also took note of their nameplates and the equipment they were carrying. When Shektee was finished, she stood next to Mystique, shifting back into her human form.
“Shektee, will you please find out who these guys are and why they were hunting me,” Mystique requested. Shektee didn’t respond, she simply bent down and gave each man a long kiss.
“This is their leader. His name is Gerald Remington, Captain in the Federation Marshal Service, psionics division,” Shektee stated as she pointed at Captain Remington.
“That doesn’t sound good. Let’s get out of here.”
***
Chapter 9
Return of a Friend
Mystique sat back against a large pipe on the roof of a building in the warehouse district. She’d just finished telling Shektee what’d happened in her absence. Shektee told Mystique that the Federation Marshal’s memories had been protected against her mind probe. She’d only been able to get a small amount of information.
“I have no idea, but I know someone who does. I’m going to have to contact Major Castleman. He will know who they are,” Mystique replied.
“How do you plan on doing that?”
“I figured I would steal a phone and call him from a taxi; that should make it difficult for him to track where we are if we’re moving.”
“How can he track you if you are using a phone?” Shektee asked, annoyed at her own ignorance of modern technology.
“They can trace the phone signal back to where it’s coming from. I am not sure how, but I know they can do it,” Mystique replied. “I am going to get some sleep. You might as well go hunt for a bit.”
Shektee looked around, trying to decide if Mystique would be safe while she was gone. She really wanted to do some hunting and she had to find Cathleen, but if anything happened to Mystique, she would be in serious trouble. Mystique leaned her head back and closed her eyes, trying to relax. After a minute Mystique told Shektee to stop worrying and just go, so she did.
***
The police took over thirty minutes to get to Captain Remington and his men. During that time, he and most of his men had regained consciousness and had found a near-fatal design flaw in their armor. They were unable to move or remove their armor. The electrical shock had fused most, if not all, of the electronic circuits and motors, effectively welding all of their joints in place. The sight of their helmets lying cut in half next to them was a bit unnerving.
Captain Remington had never heard of anyone being able to put out that much energy. He was going to have to re-evaluate his entire plan. He’d read about spontaneous psionic events where people with limited psionic ability could manifest extremely strong psionic outbursts in response to high stress. Being cornered in these tunnels must have been stressful enough; adding the grenades must have pushed her over. Her sister is supposed to be very powerful, so maybe it’s possible.
One thing was for sure: Mystique had control over the demon. He had seen powered armor torn open by demon claws before but never like this. The creature that did this took its time and made sure not to carve open the skull of the person inside. They’d been unconscious and completely at the mercy of the girl and her demon. She’d chosen to spare their lives. This knowledge caused a slight pang of guilt in Remington because he knew that her act of mercy was probably going to cost her life. He wasn’t going to give her any chance to incapacitate them again; next time they met, he’d unleash everything he had on her.
The first thing he was going to have to do once they finally got him out of his armor was to get more equipment. He had a destroyer parked in high orbit ready to give him whatever support he needed. He’d be able to replace most of the gear he’d lost. The gear wouldn’t be as good, but it would have to do. It also looked like at least a few of his men would require some time in the regeneration tank.
Captain Remington was also going to have to speak with Ambassador Quinn and Major Castleman. He needed to find out how much of a political mess this was going to cause and what had been left out of the file he had on the Graysons. The file said Mystique had worked with Castleman training his men to deal with intruders. He’d also arranged for her hand-to-hand combat training. He needed to know exactly how proficient she was. He didn’t plan on getting close enough for hand-to-hand combat, but he didn’t want to take any chances. She’d already beaten him once. He wasn’t going to let it happen again.
***
Mystique sat in the back of the taxi and dialed the number for Major Castleman’s office. Shektee had hailed the taxi and beguiled the driver into giving them his phone, and then instructed him to drive them around the city for a while. Mystique had decided not to call Angelica’s phone in case Castleman was being watched. She didn’t want to cause him trouble or cause people to think they were working together. As the phone started ringing, Mystique held it out so that Shektee could hear the conversation as well.
Castleman’s assistant answered on the second ring. “Security, Major Castleman’s office; how may I help you?”
“I’d like to speak to Major Castleman, please,” Mystique replied, trying to sound formal.
“I am sorry but the major is in a meeting. May I ask who is calling?”
Mystique knew that the major used the excuse of being in a meeting to avoid calls from certain people. “Tell him that Mystique Grayson is on the line. If I don’t hear his voice within fifteen seconds I’m hanging up.”
“Please hold,” the assistant requested as he keyed in the commands to start a trace on the call and activate the intercom to the communications center where Captain Remington and Major Castleman were.
“Mystique Grayson is on line one. Major Castleman has ten seconds to answer before she hangs up. A trace of the call has been started,” the assistant’s voice announced, causing a stunned silence to fall over the room. Captain Remington had been in the middle of interrogating Major Castleman about Mystique. Castleman didn’t hesitate in reaching for the phone.
“Mystique, you have a lot of people upset. I know you think you need to protect Angelica, but you need to stop and turn yourself in,” Castleman said, knowing it wasn’t going to work, but it gave the people i
n the room time to think of what to do.
“Major, who is Captain Remington of the Federation Marshal Service, Psionics Division, and why was he shooting grenades at me?” Mystique asked.
“I am,” Captain Remington answered before Major Castleman could say anything. “The major is right. You need to turn yourself in before anyone else gets hurt.”
“Captain, why are you after me?”
“We simply have a few questions for you,” Remington lied
“If you are going to lie then I see no reason in talking to you. Major, who is this guy?”
This time Major Castleman spoke first: “He’s with the Federation. He was sent here to hunt down the creature with you and make sure you don’t summon any more.”
“I take it that the fact that I am not a citizen of the Federation doesn’t matter.” Mystique tried to sound despondent but didn’t think she was good enough to fool anyone.
“You’re on Federation soil and I have the backing of Ambassador Quinn. Turning yourself in is the only way you’ll survive,” Captain Remington explained, allowing a little emotion into his voice.
“Captain, this is Shektee, the creature you’re hunting. You would do well to leave us alone and let us finish our business. You have no idea the terror that will befall this planet if Mystique is killed.”
Captain Remington had hunted and killed a dozen creatures and never once had one ever tried to communicate in any way. They’d all been mindless killing machines; this Shektee was something new. If he could capture her, the information that could be extracted from her would be priceless.
“Major,” Mystique started, making sure that he knew who she was talking to. “I’m asking you to please not send any of your men after me. I don’t want to have to harm them. I’m not threatening you or your men, just stating my intentions to defend myself. I’ll contact you again when my business is complete.”
Before Major Castleman could reply, Mystique ended the call. She’d stayed on the phone longer than she’d intended. She asked the taxi driver to pull over. Mystique left the phone on the backseat and had Shektee instruct the man to continue driving around until the police stopped him. As the taxi pulled away, the two ducked into an alley. Mystique focused on obfuscating herself while Shektee changed forms to mimic one of the school girls she’d seen.
Captain Remington quickly contacted his tech sergeant to find out the statues of the trace. The sergeant informed him that he had a lock on the phone and that it was moving. The rest of the team was waiting in one of the attack shuttles. Captain Remington gave the order for the team to move out. They were to locate and report on the target.
Major Castleman thought about trying to convince Captain Remington to leave Mystique alone, but decided that it’d only cause the captain to become more suspicious of him. He’d spent enough time with men like the captain to know that no matter how he felt, the mission came first. He liked Mystique but not enough to risk his career for her.
“I doubt they’ll find her anywhere near the phone, but I have to try,” Captain Remington stated as he waited for his men to check in.
“You realize that if you take out Mystique and not Shektee, there won’t be anything stopping Shektee from committing mass murder. And she doesn’t strike me as the killing-rampage type that will be easily found,” Castleman observed.
“What do you know about Shektee? I read all the reports and to be honest I didn’t believe them. I want to know what’s true and what isn’t, and what isn’t in them. I know you filed the report on the Graysons with a certain amount of discretion and I’m not faulting you for it. I just need to better understand what I’m hunting.”
“She’s patient and cunning. She has the ability to control people and have them do whatever she wants, plus she can change her appearance at will. Shektee said she serves Daemon because he bested her in a fight. I am pretty sure that’s a load of crap. We’re nothing but food to her and the only way she’s going to serve any of us is on a platter. Something else is going on; I’m pretty sure Daemon does have control of her, but I’m not sure why,” Major Castleman explained.
“That doesn’t make sense. The person who summons the creature is the only one capable of controlling it. Mystique summoned it, so she’s in control,” Captain Remington contradicted.
“Maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to work, but it isn’t how she was acting. She waited for his permission before doing anything. The only reason she’s following Mystique’s orders is because he told her to. Mystique is his stepsister and Shektee is under orders to keep her safe. I’ll bet my life on it, so if you kill Mystique before you kill her, then Shektee will be free to do as she pleases,” Castleman stated, trying to convey how serious he was.
“Point taken. Now do you have any idea what Mystique’s business is?” Remington asked, getting a bit annoyed at the major’s melodramatics.
“I am confident that she’s after Lenard Johnson. He’s suspected of ordering Mystique kidnapped in an attempt to gain control of Angelica. It was during the kidnapping that Shektee was summoned.”
“Where is this Lenard Johnson? If Mystique is after him, then we can just sit on him and wait for her to come to us.”
“That’s going to be easier said than done. Mr. Johnson is the local crime boss. He has connections everywhere and a small army of lawyers to keep anyone with a badge away from him. There’s no way you’re going to get close enough to catch Mystique without Mr. Johnson knowing, and once he knows, those lawyers will have you under arrest.”
Captain Remington chuckled at the idea of some criminal’s lawyer getting him arrested. “Just get me his location and let me worry about any legal trouble.”
There was something about the way Remington laughed that made Castleman uneasy. He didn’t wait to be dismissed; instead, Castleman just turned and headed out of communications central without a word. He was headed for his office to make a few phone calls. He wanted to find out just how much authority a special investigator of the federation marshal service had. He also needed to find out where they could find Lenard Johnson.
***
Lenny sat at his desk and listened as Michael explained how seven of his men had been killed and nobody had a clue who did it or why. The first kill was easy. Anybody capable of killing can kill a lone unsuspecting target. What bothered him was that six of his soldiers were killed in a single attack. The killer had been good enough to kill three of them before anyone even realized that they were under attack. The other three had been prepared and alert and they still died without killing any of their assailants.
“Our friends on the force have only been able to tell us that the Federation Marshal Services has taken over the investigation and crime scene. They’re not letting anyone near the scene of the fight or the explosion.”
“Who’s in charge of the Marshals? What do we know about him?”
“A Captain Remington. I do not know anything about him yet. I have a few people looking into him. I should have his life history in a few days.”
“Good. As soon as you get it, I want you to figure out how to get him to tell us what’s going on. Whoever’s coming after us, I want them in body bags, and if they have family or friends, I want them dead too.” Lenny stated slamming his empty scotch glass down on his desk, signaling the end of the discussion.
***
Chapter 10
It’s a Party and Everyone’s Invited?
Mystique knew they had to hurry. Whoever this Captain Remington was, he had authority over Major Castleman, which meant he’d know everything the major knew about her objective. They had to find and kill Lenny fast, before the captain could take him into protective custody. Once Lenny was in custody, Captain Remington could set whatever trap he wanted and she’d have no choice but to walk right into it. She was pretty sure they could still get to Lenny, but it would be much more difficult.
The first thing they needed to do was to find someone who knew where Lenny was. Tracking down the pimp and f
orcing him to tell her if he knew would take time. So who else would know something about the crime boss of the city? Mystique tried to think as she followed Shektee. She had no idea where Shektee was going, but it was always easier to follow in her wake than to try to move around people who didn’t see her.
Mystique was so focused on trying to figure out an answer to her problem that she almost walked into Shektee. Shektee had stopped and was looking appraisingly at the building they were in front of. Mystique looked up and read the title: Wilfred Public Library.
“What are we doing here?”
“Librarians are the dealers in knowledge. We need knowledge of where to find Mr. Johnson,” Shektee said as if she were lecturing a child.
“I don’t think they’ll be able to help, but I don’t have any better idea,” Mystique replied as she headed up the steps to the door. When Shektee did not move to follow, Mystique asked, “You coming?”
“Yes. I was just checking to see what wards were guarding the building. Where I am from, knowledge is literally power and the librarians guard it very closely” Shektee explained as she warily moved up the steps.
“Let me know if you sense anything,” Mystique instructed as she remembered the effect the last ward had on Shektee.
The library was a large, four-story building. The first three floors were filled with rows of bookshelves, as well as large tables. The fourth floor had offices and private studies. There were dozens of people searching the shelves or who were seated reading. Mystique still didn’t understand why people were so obsessed with printed books when books on computers were so much easier to access.
A large desk was near the entrance and a group of college students seemed to be talking with an ancient gentleman. They were talking in hushed tones. None of them had realized Mystique or Shektee had entered, which was not unusual for her, but Shektee normally got everyone’s attention. Mystique saw that Shektee was still acting a bit subdued and serious, so she decided it was up to her to see if there was anyone who could help them.
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