JoshuasMistake

by A. S. Fenichel

  Neither one spoke for a long while.

  Finally she asked, “Do you think it will always be like this?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t hesitate. Joshua seemed to know they were meant for each other. His lack of doubt was starting to make a believer out of her.

  Fifteen minutes might have slipped by while they dozed. Tires on the sand brought them both to alertness.

  Joshua grabbed the gun but a moment later relaxed. “It’s Will.”

  Footsteps approached the outcropping. “Um, sorry to bother you two.”

  Joshua’s smile made her stomach do a funny quiver that was not at all unpleasant. “What’s up, Will?”

  “Jess just called. He found Banta. Blake sent a helicopter and I brought you both BDUs.” A pile of clothes appeared on the ground at the entrance to their not-so-secret space.

  “Where is he?” she asked.

  “Vegas.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Must you question everything, Lakeland? Take Rain with you and go before this devil gets away.”

  Joshua and Adianca had been arguing for several minutes. Everyone else was already waiting in the helicopter and Rain stood nearby to see how the argument turned out. As far as Joshua could tell, the young woman was neutral about the outcome. “But Shaman, this is dangerous. She could be hurt or worse. I can’t take her.”

  “She will be valuable to you. She has skills you will need to win your war.”

  There was no use in continuing to argue. Whoever Rain was she had Adianca’s backing and he was not going to win the argument. He closed his eyes for a moment and gave a slight bow to his teacher. Adianca didn’t respond and he turned and walked to his waiting ride. As Joshua passed Rain, he said, “Don’t get yourself killed.”

  The hint of a smile played across her lips and touched her nearly black eyes. They both ducked under the blades and boarded the Apache.

  In a very short time they were closing in on the Las Vegas Strip. The landing pad on top of a casino revealed Jess, Wanda, Trip and Piper waiting for them. As soon as they were out the pilot took off and headed out of the city.

  “Where’s Blake?” Joshua asked.

  “His team is keeping surveillance on Banta.”

  They headed down the elevator. No one said a word. Bypassing the casino floor, they continued to a subfloor that would be less crowded. A SWAT team would only cause a panic they couldn’t afford. They passed a few members of the janitorial staff and garnered some looks of curiosity but nothing more.

  Jess led them to a boiler room. It was loud, but there was no chance of being bugged or overheard. “He’s down to three men.”

  “Where is he?”

  “He has a room at the Venetian, but I think whoever has been holding his leash may have cut him loose.”

  Kane asked, “What makes you think so?”

  “When I called Will to let him know we’d located him they were waiting at a helipad. I don’t know where they were going or who was picking them up, but they never showed. The three with him are getting pretty antsy and keep checking the roof. Maybe the hotel’s roof was a second escape route.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” Kane said.

  “No, it doesn’t,” Joshua agreed.

  “Why? He’s beaten. He knows it and he’s retreating to regroup,” Trip said.

  Joshua paced the limited floor space. The city was filled with millions of minds all creating noise in his head. He had to focus. Tessa touched his shoulder and calm immediately shrouded him. His eyes locked with hers.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Banta won’t care if he’s been betrayed. He only took the job because he thought it would gain him the means to get to Kane and me. If his men betray him he’ll kill them too, take whatever psi abilities they have and continue his mission.”

  “I agree,” Kane said.

  “Wanda, any word on whose pocket he’s been in?” Joshua asked.

  “I still can only get as far as the capital and then the trail runs cold. I’m betting it’s Breckenridge. He’s the most vocal about getting rid of the Psi Agency. He’s even gone as far as saying psychics are a dangerous abomination. He’d be at the top of my list. I haven’t counted out the other two, Drury and Walker, yet. I just don’t have enough evidence to pin one down. The trail they’ve left is murky as a swamp.”

  “Trip, where is the rest of our team?”

  “With Blake at the Venetian.”

  Joshua hated what he was going to say. “You’re going to have to keep your minds sealed off during the battle. You’ll want to tell the others the same thing. As soon as we get close to him we’ll be vulnerable. He never got off the ridge in the desert so he never had the opportunity to gather from anyone. We were lucky. He doesn’t have anything to lose, which makes him twice as dangerous.”

  Rain was completely quiet during the exchange. Now she said, “I can help.”

  Everyone turned to her.

  “What is she doing here?” Jess asked. “We don’t need a healer.”

  Joshua ignored the snide remark and asked, “What is it you can do we don’t know about, Rain?”

  “I can block.”

  Only the sound of machinery continued. Everyone stared at the pretty face who’d just dropped the first good news they’d had.

  Jess was the first to recover. “What do you mean? Are you saying you can keep him from stealing our power?”

  She nodded. “If I can get close enough to him I can block him.”

  Joshua smiled. “Any other talents you’d like to share with us?”

  “I’m precognitive, oh and of course a decent healer. I can also influence animals, but I doubt that will come in handy today.” She gave Jess a scathing look.

  “Okay, well try to get close to him without getting yourself killed. Adianca will have my ass if I don’t bring you back in one piece. Will can help you. He has no psychic abilities to be stolen, making him the least vulnerable of our group.”

  Tessa said, “Be careful, Rain. What he can do is an atrocity.”

  Joshua’s stomach did a flip just at the thought of putting Tessa back in the presence of Banta.

  Before he could voice his concern, Tessa said, “Forget it. I’m going.”

  He sighed. “Right. That’s what I figured.”

  Will and Piper had their heads together in what looked as if it was an intimate conversation. If Joshua had to guess he’d say they had a history.

  “Is there a problem?” Joshua asked.

  They quickly separated. Piper straightened, her expression unreadable. “No problem.”

  Will’s normally jovial expression had grown serious for a moment. He took the lead as they made their way out of the hotel. They kept to the backs of the hotels and still they stood out in full combat gear.

  They crossed the parking lot toward one of the side doors into the Venetian.

  Blake’s voice came over the radio clipped to Jess’s shoulder. “They’re on the move. Headed toward the piazza and Grand Canal.”

  Jess responded, “We’re on premises, will block south exits and engage if necessary.”

  “Copy. We have lost sight.”

  “Shit,” Joshua said.

  They ran down the corridor, through a door and into a hallway. Crowd noise filtered toward them from the area simulating a piazza in Venice, complete with Grand Canal. There were people everywhere. A long line waited to take gondola rides, while others sipped coffee or cocktails at tables lining the canal. Shoppers and tourists milled around from designer shops to restaurants while enjoying the jugglers, clowns and living statues. The area bustled with humanity and all those civilians would be a problem.

  “He knows we’re coming. He’s waiting for us.” Joshua could feel Banta’s perverted aura searching the hotel. He shut down his mind. Sadly it cut him off from Tessa.

  Her fingers curled into his. “We’ll have to find a way around that.”

  He loved the fact she felt the loss as keenly as he d
id. He was as nervous leading Tessa back into a battle with Banta as he had been on his first mission.

  Releasing her hand, he stepped forward and she moved to the right with Jess, Wanda and Kane. Rain, Trip and Will fanned out to the left. Joshua saw a flicker of black on a balcony above. He didn’t know if it was friend or foe, but there was no time to figure it out.

  Banta stepped into view across the piazza. His nose was swollen and his eyes were bruised black. Though the insane intensity of those eyes had not wavered one bit.

  A living statue of a Venetian goddess stood only feet away from him on a pedestal. The woman, with her powdered face and gray costume, had no idea the danger of her position.

  The shot rang out, surprising them all. Even Banta looked surprised. The gunfire had come from an alcove to Banta’s right. Kane went down.

  Joshua’s heart stopped. His brother was wounded, he didn’t know how badly. He knew he had to stay focused on his task.

  No one thought they would fire on a room full of non-psi. People in the piazza looked stunned for half a second and then began to run in every direction. Banta reached a hand out toward where the bullet had come from and a second later one of his men tumbled out of hiding and dropped to the ground. Even at that distance Joshua could see the puddle of blood forming near his face.

  A second of Banta’s men appeared from an alcove one flight up. He stared at his dead comrade and then at his boss. Joshua could see the fear twisting his face. He lifted his gun toward Joshua. Another series of shots from behind and to the left took him out. The man’s body jerked several times and crumpled to the floor.

  Joshua wasn’t sure who had fired, but he guessed it was one of Blake’s team. He’d know the sound of a Glock 22 being fired anywhere.

  “Kane?” Joshua said.

  “Little more than a flesh wound, Josh. I’m okay though I don’t think I’m going to be of much use.”

  “Get to safety and don’t open your mind no matter what.”

  “Got it.”

  “Tessa?”

  “I’m fine. Go on with the plan.”

  It took a few minutes but the entire piazza cleared out. Even the woman who had been pretending to be a statue was nowhere to be seen. Local police would be there in a few minutes.

  Banta’s voice boomed across the empty space. “I want what I came for, Lakeland. Give it to me and I’ll let the rest go.”

  “You know I can’t do that, Troth. I can’t let you take my soul and leave me to die a vegetable. You’re asking too much.”

  “Give me the woman then. I had no idea she had so much to offer. Not quite as gifted as you, but if I could slow time, imagine what I could accomplish.”

  Joshua started forward slowly. “When did you lose your sense of right and wrong, old friend? How did this happen?”

  Banta’s face twisted as he mirrored Joshua’s movement forward. “You are a child. There is no right and wrong. I told you that. There are the powerful and the weak. I intend to be the most powerful and no one, not even the great Joshua Lakeland is going to stop me.”

  Banta waved his hand and the café tables lining the Grand Canal went flying off to one side.

  “Impressive.”

  “You can’t win, Lakeland. Hell, you’re too afraid to even open your mind in my presence. How do you intend to defeat me? Your bullets have no effect against my shield. I’m invincible.”

  Joshua smiled and kept his eyes focused on Banta until they stood across the canal from each other. “You’re right, I can’t beat you. So perhaps it’s time to join you.”

  Banta narrowed his eyes. “Why would you do that?”

  Joshua was a blind man walking in a desert. He had no idea what his people were doing. How did ordinary soldiers ever succeed without an idea of what the enemy would do? It would be better if he gave himself over. At least if he believed Banta would keep his word. The team would live and maybe figure out a way to capture this madman another day. It was possible draining Joshua would take so much out of him Tessa or Jess could kill him. That was actually a better plan than taking Banta at his word. He gave a fleeting thought to what would happen to his aura when Banta died.

  He stalled. “If you agreed to teach me to gather it would be worth my while.”

  Banta seemed to be considering the idea. “And your brother?”

  “It would take some convincing after what you did to his wife, but I think I could bring him around in time. If you want to be the best, Troth, you have to surround yourself with powerful people. It looks to me as though the support you had from Washington might have just run out on you. Maybe it’s time to go solo. I know I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. I’m sick of taking orders from bureaucrats.”

  Banta’s eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. “Prove it.”

  Joshua knew Banta wanted to probe him and find out if what he was saying was true. He didn’t relish the idea. “Your word, no gathering.”

  “My word,” Banta said.

  He knew it was a risk, but Joshua very carefully let down his mental barrier. He pushed the thoughts he wanted probed to the forefront and allowed Banta to see his desire to set up his own agency. Since it was the truth, the other man suspected no deception. He put his wall firmly back in place before the madman got any other ideas.

  Closing off his mind was the same as a soldier going blind or losing a limb. He was crippled against a superior force. The only difference was he had friends and family who he was willing to die for. Banta was a man. The fight in the helicopter proved that. It also proved his shield worked on objects but not on people. Joshua knew he should have killed him then. But even now he hoped there could be salvation for his old comrade.

  “I don’t trust you, Josh.”

  “Why would you?”

  It was a good sign that Banta had started using his first name.

  Movement out of the corner of his eye alerted him to his team making a move. Damn, it was too soon.

  Banta saw it too. Trip ran full speed at the larger man. Jess moved in from the other side. Shots rang out from above. Joshua was helpless on the other side of the damn canal and swimming it would not get him across in time. It didn’t matter. He jumped in the shallow pool and pushed through the water to the other side.

  As soon as he jumped out of the water he saw he was too late. Trip’s wide, dead eyes stared up at nothing. Jess screamed in pain as his aura was being ripped away.

  Tessa was nowhere in sight. Joshua wanted to let his walls down. He wanted to know she was safe, but it was too dangerous. He couldn’t’ risk it.

  It had only been seconds, Banta hovered over Jess. Rain rushed out from behind a pillar and Tessa from another. Tessa slowed time and pushed Banta back with telekinesis the same way she had pushed the bullet.

  Banta stumbled back and then his focus shifted to Tessa.

  Joshua actually felt terror. The idea she would be torn apart again was more than he could take. He opened his own mind. “Not her, Troth. It’s me you want.”

  He saw the moment of confusion on Banta’s face. Joshua had more power, but Tessa’s ability to slow time for a few seconds was extraordinary. Jess lay on the floor still conscious but clearly weak. Banta’s shoulders slumped slightly. Rain had gone to her hands and knees and she crept forward slowly.

  Joshua had no idea exactly how close she needed to get to block Banta.

  Shots rang out from the right, but the sight must not have been clear. The bullet meant for Rain ricocheted off the marble floor harmlessly. No one moved.

  Will stepped out from behind the pillar and took his shot at the now-exposed gunman. The last of Banta’s men tumbled over the banister and crashed to the piazza.

  “I could kill you now, take your aura and be out of here before the FBI got another shot at me.”

  Joshua was through playing games. He whipped the water off his face and ignored his drenched clothes as he took a squeaky step forward. “If that were true you’d have done it already. Here’s what
I think, Troth. I think you had an ally in Washington. I also think that person betrayed your trust and left you here to die. I can get you out of this hotel alive if you tell me who it is. Who is your sponsor and what is their agenda? Tell me and I’ll make sure you live to see another day.”

  “You’re talking about a life in a cell. I tried that and it nearly killed me. I can’t live in a cage, Josh.”

  “Can’t do anything about that, Troth. You’ve gone too far. I admit I lied about joining you, but I will save your life if you cooperate.”

  A terrifyingly calm grin pushed at the corners of Banta’s mouth. “No can do.”

  Banta spun toward Tessa. Joshua knew he would. He might be insane, but he was still predictable. With the power to slow time he might actually have a chance to get out of the hotel even after his energy was depleted from the gathering.

  Banta’s hand shot forward, reaching toward her. His eyes widened for an instant, but nothing happened.

  Joshua looked down to see Rain only feet from Banta. Her eyes focused on him with an intensity that could only be psi. If he could use his own gift he was sure he would feel the pulse of her gift.

  Banta tried again, still unsure why he could not gather. Nothing happened.

  “You’re through, Troth. Let it go. Come quietly and live. I don’t want to have to kill you. We were friends, remember.”

  With a turn of his head, Banta’s focus changed to Joshua. Hate seeped through every pore. His face twisted and his eyes widened as he launched himself in Joshua’s direction.

  Joshua didn’t want to shoot. He wanted to believe there was something left of the Troth he knew that was worth saving, but he readied himself to take the shot anyway.

  One shot echoed off the stone walls. Troth Banta’s eyes widened for an instant before he dropped forward to the floor at Joshua’s feet.

  Tessa held her gun steady, pointing it at the motionless body of the man who had nearly destroyed her. When he didn’t make another movement she lowered her weapon.

  Joshua knelt down next to the body, pressed his fingers to Banta’s throat and felt nothing. Blood spread out from the quarter-sized hole in the back of his head and puddled on the cream-colored marble.