Dark Solar Complete Trilogy: Oleander - Wolfsbane - Maikoa

by D. N. Leo

  Adam entered the living area, looking as pale as a sheet.

  Still, Ciaran said nothing.

  “There’s no sign of them. We haven’t received a ransom note, but that might come later,” Jett said.

  “Lindsay was on private business in England for the LeBlancs. The next thing we know, he was dead in an accident, and his private security team walked. Now his widow and their daughter are missing. I don’t think this has anything to do with official business,” Adam said, looking straight into Ciaran’s eyes.

  It took guts to be CEO of the LeBlanc business, Madeline thought.

  Ciaran nodded. “You’re right, Adam. This is a private matter. So I suggest you go back to headquarters.”

  “I can send more people—”

  “No, I’ll contact you when I need you.”

  Adam nodded. “I’ll leave the special ops here with you. Please feel free to use them for whatever you need.”

  Ciaran nodded. As soon as Adam left, he turned toward Jett. “Could you check around the outside of the building, please? See if there are any traces of them.”

  “I’ve already done that.”

  “You can never be too careful.”

  As soon as Jett exited the room, Ciaran pulled out his personal scanner and turned on his wrist unit. Madeline knew there was nothing Ciaran’s Eudaizian technology would miss. The device flashed a blue light, and then data started to stream onto the screen. Ciaran frowned.

  In a short moment, he looked at her and said, “There’s nothing supernatural here. Before he died, Lindsay said they wanted the primer, and he wanted me to protect his family. But whoever captured his family wasn’t supernatural.”

  “I always thought it was Arete, planning everything for the multiverse hologame he challenged us to,” she said and tried to will her psychic ability to work again. Nothing happened.

  “Let’s go,” Ciaran said and took her outside the room.

  Back in front of the building, Ciaran got his motorbike ready. Jett and his team parked their cars right behind him. Ciaran pulled something out of his pocket and showed it to Madeline. It was a small jar, but she couldn’t tell what was in it. When she approached to take a closer look, he slid it back into his pocket.

  He grabbed his helmet. But when she reached for hers, he stopped her. “No, Madeline. You stay here with Jett.” He looked at Jett. “Make sure she’s safe.”

  “No—” she started, but before she could let out the second word, Ciaran had hopped on his motorbike and zoomed ahead. From the corner of her eye, she saw the white van that had followed them this morning go straight through the red light to give chase to Ciaran.

  “That van stalked us this morning.” She darted toward the car. “Come on, Jett.”

  Jett followed Madeline back to the car. “Ciaran said to stay here.”

  “He told me to stay, not you. So you’re going to follow him. I’ll just sit in the car.”

  Jett hesitated.

  “Well, if you won’t do it, I’ll drive.”

  “Okay, fine.” He got into the car and headed in the direction Ciaran had gone.

  In the car, which she was sure was bulletproof, Madeline punched a button to roll the window down. She was amazed she guessed right. Normally she wouldn’t even know which button to press. With her psychic ability gone, she would have to use her eyes and common sense to follow Ciaran.

  “Don't do that, Madeline!” Jett yelled at her.

  She pulled out her Eudaizian laser gun. “Watch me.”

  “Is that a stun gun?"

  Jett had just referred to Eudaiz’s most advanced weaponry technology as a stun gun! She shrugged and said, “Sort of."

  “Well, you can't shoot anyone with a stun gun from inside a car, so I guess you can hang on to that gun if it makes you feel better. But don’t brandish it openly. People will see you and call the cops.”

  “Fine.” She lowered the gun.

  Jet pushed a button to roll the window up. "If people shoot at us, I’m sure they won’t be using stun guns. The windows are bulletproof. I promised Ciaran I would protect you.”

  “No, you didn’t. He told you to do so because that’s your job. But you signed up with the LeBlanc corporation, not with me. I can walk faster than you drive. If you don’t speed up, I’m going to get out of the car and walk.”

  “I can’t let you get out.”

  “Then drive faster.”

  Jett swallowed some profanity and accelerated.

  “Why can’t you call Ciaran and ask him what his plan is?”

  “First, he’s driving. I shouldn’t distract him. Second, he won’t tell me.”

  “He won’t tell his wife what he’s doing?”

  Madeline glanced at Jett and saw a flash of genuine concern on his face. She said nothing. She couldn’t possibly tell Jett that she and Ciaran were no longer normal humans and that they had been to numerous battles before in worse situations. At critical moments, Ciaran never communicated his plans over technological devices. He had learned a very expensive lesson on his way to the throne in Eudaiz.

  In a short while, they were outside New York, where the roads were quieter. She asked Jett to close the distance. As soon as they turned into a quiet industrial area, she saw Ciaran stop his motorbike and wait. The lane curved a bit and was crowded with containers and barrels, so Ciaran couldn’t see them from his vantage point.

  The white van approached and stopped.

  Ciaran walked toward it in the open field.

  What if they shoot at him? She shuddered at the thought. Yes, they had eudqi—the most precious source of power in the Cosmo. But they had never had time to master it. The only thing she knew for sure was that if they had their eudqi on, they had superpowers, but at the same time, if they were hit at a critical point, it would be fatal. If they had their eudqi turned off, they would be just like humans, but their eudqi would heal almost all injuries. Sometimes she thought that the decision of having the eudqi on or off depended on the chance of their winning a fight.

  She didn’t have her eudqi on because Ciaran had asked her to keep it off to avoid being tracked. She concentrated and turned her power on. She could feel the power rushing through her veins and triggering all her senses.

  But she still couldn’t find her psychic ability.

  Eudqi and the Silver Blood were supposed to enhance natural talent, but for her now, turning the energy on only amplified her senses.

  From the van, a group of four people stepped out. The elegant woman they had seen that morning in the passenger seat headed the group. The men walked behind her. Ciaran smiled at the woman, the smile he’d killed so many women with. And that was only counting those Madeline knew of.

  One of the men trailing behind mumbled, “Are you sure that’s the Eudaizian guy?”

  “No, but I wouldn’t let that much money slip away even if it meant shooting the wrong man.” He discreetly pulled out a gun.

  If Ciaran didn’t have his eudqi on, there would be no way he could have heard their conversation.

  She turned and could tell Jett was concerned. He wouldn’t have been able to hear what the men said, but he could see even from this distance that a goon had pulled a gun and was standing where Ciaran couldn’t see him.

  13

  Jett pulled out his phone to call Ciaran, despite his inner voice telling him to do otherwise. His few years of training in the special forces should have served him better than this.

  Madeline said, “Don’t! It’s too late, and it will only distract him.” Then she charged out of her hiding position, running like the wind and leaving him behind, embarrassed.

  He ground his teeth and ran after her.

  When they closed the distance, Jett realized Ciaran still had not seen the gunman, but he did see Madeline running toward him, brandishing her gun.

  Come on! Jett thought. If Ciaran had any combat training at all, he wouldn’t pull his gun out now because he would be slower than his opponents. He had to preten
d he didn’t see Madeline.

  Ciaran did just that.

  He ignored her and instead smiled at the woman in the group. Jett had to give it to him. How could a filthy rich guy, polished from head to toes, be so agile and seem sharp as hell in a critical combat situation?

  “Stop!” Madeline yelled.

  “Oh fuck,” Jett cursed out loud as he knew the consequences of her action.

  The group approaching Ciaran stopped and turned around, looking at her. When they turned their backs on him, Ciaran pulled out his gun.

  He gunned down two men of the men in front, and the third one grabbed the woman and charged away. The two gunmen at the back turned and fired at Madeline. She shot back and gunned one down.

  She was fast, but not fast enough. The last gunman already had a bullet leaving his gun muzzle and heading in her direction.

  Once more, Jett had to act against his inner voice, which was cursing his stupidity right now. He pushed Madeline aside and copped the bullet for her.

  He heard another shot and was certain Ciaran had put down the last man.

  Jett was lying face down, feeling the impact of the bullet.

  Madeline flipped him over. There, he saw tears in her eyes, the same tears she had shed years ago when he took the fall in a fatal college incident. He knew she was innocent, but all the evidence back then had pointed to the contrary.

  “Jett!”

  He groaned.

  “What were you doing, you idiot?”

  “I’m wearing a bulletproof vest.” He winced and grabbed his shoulder. “It’ll only be a bruise.”

  “You don’t wear a vest on your head.”

  “I’d never stick my head out to stop a bullet. Not even for you, Madeline. So don’t worry. You don’t owe me anything.”

  Ciaran approached. “What are you doing here? I told you to keep her safe. You’re fired.”

  Jett stood up. “Isn’t that what I just did? I copped the bullet that was supposed to be yours. You’re reckless, Ciaran.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I guess nobody has ever told you the truth because you pay them. Well, here’s some breaking news for you. If you want to play it cool in front of those gangsters, then fine. That’s your business. But you almost got your wife killed. I have no idea how she can run so fast and shoot with that stun gun of hers, but the bastard pulled his gun out. You would’ve taken that bullet if not for her yelling.”

  “You and she are not supposed to be here.”

  “You told her to stay. She didn’t go after you. She got into the car and ordered me to go after you. If I didn’t do it, she’d have driven herself. Do you think that would have been a safe option?”

  “Do you think this is a joke, Jett?” Ciaran growled.

  “That’s enough, you two. Ciaran, if you have a plan, you have to tell me. You have a security team hired for you, so let’s use their services.”

  “I don’t need them to tail me.”

  “The tail just saved my ass, Ciaran.”

  “All right, let’s just cool down. You didn’t look like you had time to tell anyone your plans. But you do have time now, and if you trust me, tell me what you’ve got,” said Jett.

  Ciaran hesitated. Jett understood a man of Ciaran’s caliber wouldn’t trust just anyone.

  “In front of the apartment,” Jett said, “you flashed a small jar, and they chased you for that. You don’t have to tell me what the jar is, but people will be back to get it. We need to prepare for that…your way, of course.”

  Ciaran nodded. “All right, here’s plan B. Before he died, Lindsay said someone was after a jar of potion in his apartment. They took his family, and that means they didn’t find the potion.”

  “You don’t know what the potion is? The LeBlancs are in the pharmaceutical business after all,” Jett said.

  “Yes, but I no longer operate the business.”

  “Right. So what was the jar you had in front of the apartment?” Jett asked.

  Ciaran continued, “Cologne that I took from the bathroom in the apartment.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jett muttered.

  “Now what, Ciaran?” Madeline asked.

  “We have to go see Arik’s father. He didn’t cooperate on the phone, so I have to talk to him in person.”

  “Who’s Arik’s father? What’s his background? Are we getting in another fight? Because if we do, I’ll need you both to wear bulletproof vests.”

  “No, we’re good,” Madeline said.

  “You won’t be when the bullet hits you.”

  “Okay, we’ll put them on when we get there,” Ciaran said and turned as if walking toward his motorbike.

  “No, Ciaran, we’re going in the car,” Madeline said.

  “All right,” he muttered and walked toward the car. “I’ll drive.”

  “Are you sure? It’s a military-grade car—”

  “Yes, Jett. I can drive anything with wheels and an engine.”

  “All right. I see you both have some sort of laser gun. I’d be happy to arrange real guns for you if you need them. Are you sure we won’t be involved in another shootout?”

  Ciaran chuckled. “No, we’re more than happy with our primitive weapons. I’m not sure if there will be another fight, but if the situation goes awry, it’s your top priority to keep Madeline safe, Jett.”

  “I’m not an invalid,” said Madeline.

  Jett smiled. “Even if I have to go against her will?”

  Ciaran nodded. “Yes, even if you have to use force. I’d rather she be injured than dead.”

  “Hey!” Madeline protested, but Ciaran kissed her on the cheek to stop her words of protest.

  “We want to finish this quickly and go home to the children, don’t we?” Ciaran said.

  Then in front Jett’s astonished eyes, Madeline smiled and nodded to Ciaran as if she’d never protested before.

  How did he do that? Jett asked himself as he followed Ciaran and Madeline to the car and sat like a meek dog in the backseat.

  14

  Ciaran rushed through the broken front door into the open reception area of the art studio and ran down a corridor ruined by fire and explosion. The building seemed to have been evacuated.

  His background check on Arik’s father started to make sense. Quinn managed a large stage production company that regularly toured the world about thirty years ago. Their last tour to a highland city in Vietnam coincided with an explosion and fire at the Tri-Sun group.

  Tri-Sun was a solar energy business and had nothing to do with the theater business. But Tri-Sun liquidated after the incident, and so did Quinn’s company. Ciaran hadn’t been sure about the connection before, but the more he thought about the timing of Quinn’s renewed contact with his family after so many years of coldness and no communication, the more uneasy he became.

  The two incidents had barely registered on any official Earth records. If Ciaran hadn’t used his connection to the multiversal databank, he wouldn’t have a bit of this information. What had been revealed was uncanny.

  But he was afraid they were too late to fix anything. After all, what he did know had been illegally obtained from the database. He had to make sure he was on the right track before he stuck his neck out and did any further investigation.

  He had underestimated the scale of this incident. He’d sent Arik and Dinah to the multiverse to deal with Xiilok because he thought it would be best for him to deal with Arete here. But this might be something totally different—something more Earthly than he thought. He was losing his advantage. His supernatural connections didn’t seem to be of much help right now.

  “This was a massive explosion!” Madeline said.

  While that was blatantly obvious, he knew it was her way of letting him know, while Jett was in the room, that her psychic ability was still at rest, and she was getting nothing more than the ordinary visual.

  Jett didn’t seem to pay attention to what Madeline said. He looked around. “The aut
horities have been through this, and it was ruled an accidental gas explosion,” Jett commented.

  “Are you thinking there was perhaps another reason?” Madeline asked.

  Jett nodded. “I have some expertise in my line of business. This looks like a gas explosion, but I’m sure it wasn’t. As for the exact cause, I’ll have to dig around a bit to be able to say.”

  “Then feel free to look around,” Ciaran said.

  “Who’s that?” Jett shouted and darted to a corner of the room, where a panel of a wall moved. Ciaran followed, gun drawn, pushing Madeline behind him at the same time.

  Jett kicked down the wall, and then they could see it wasn’t a wall at all but a sliding door to an adjacent room.

  In a corner of the room stood a man in his sixties. He raised his hands when he saw the trio enter, their guns aimed at him.

  “Who are you?” Jett asked.

  “Quinn,” Ciaran muttered and lowered his gun. “Arik’s father.”

  “Yes, that’s me. You’re Ciaran? We talked on the phone. How did you find me? The number doesn’t register this address.”

  “I have my sources,” Ciaran said.

  “Perfume!” Madeline said.

  “What?” Jett asked.

  Madeline was right. Ciaran recognized the expensive scent they’d smelled at Diana’s place.

  “You shot Diana,” Ciaran said and raised his gun.

  “What? Shot? When? No…is she dead?” Quinn teared up and was obviously confused. He stepped sideways as if to get something.

  “Stay still. Don’t move, or I’ll shoot you,” Jett said.

  “Is she dead?” Quinn asked.

  “Yes, shot in the back. What kind of coward would do that?” Ciaran’s eyes reddened.

  “I just talked to her the other day,” Quinn said.

  “Who was the woman with you now?” Ciaran asked.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “The same woman was at Diana’s house. If it wasn’t you, then that woman is the one who killed Diana.”