Wrapping an arm around his waist, she pulled down as hard as she could. She lifted her hips and chest up to meet him. She wanted to touch every inch of him.
“I'm really nervous,” he whispered.
“Me, too. But you're the one who said practice makes perfect.”
They laughed. She pulled her shirt up to her neck, not wanting to remove it completely yet. The bulge in his shorts gave her a clue where this was all headed. They just needed to get some fabric out of the way. But if she pulled her shirt off, she wasn't putting it back on. She wanted to give him a chance to stop, if he wanted to.
She didn't think he wanted to.
“You can touch, if you want.” She gave him a bright smile. “I don't bite, at least not a whole lot.”
Kelly's eagerness and humor wiped the remaining nervousness from Mason. What this really happening?. It was the last thing he expected. He pulled her shirt off the rest of the way and tossed it on the other bed.
He ran his fingers lightly across her stomach, then her breasts. She closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Only a white bra stood in his way. His fingers stopped at the clasp in the front.
His cell phone on the nightstand rang.
Mason laughed as he buried his head into her shoulder. Nothing like a ringing phone to kill a mood, if only slightly.
She hugged him to her, enjoying the feel of her breasts against him. She needed to get him out of his shirt, needed to feel his skin against hers.
She noticed him staring at his phone with a serious look. Glancing over, she looked at the caller ID. The name and number were both unavailable.
“Do you need to get that?”
Something felt off as he watched the phone ring. He only got calls from the few friends he had and potential clients. He had a feeling it was important.
“One second,” he said. “Don't go anywhere.”
She laughed. “I'll stay right here. And I'll give you ten seconds.”
He answered the phone. He didn't even get the chance to say hello.
“Climb off your girlfriend and pay attention.”
Mason sat up in bed. Kelly saw his concern and joined him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
He never heard the voice before, but knew who it was.
“Gabriel?”
The voice on the other end of the phone laughed.
“Ah, you know my name. You've been talking to our good buddy Mister Suit. Wow, this is unreal. I thought I was the only one, until I saw you stalking that pasty lady at the mall. She's cute, but I like a little color on my women.”
Mason stood up, his chest feeling tight. He was on the phone with a murderer, the man responsible for Doc's death.
“They told me they found you, arrested you.”
“I'm as free as a bird. You were played, my friend. They wanted that little flash drive you got in the laptop over there. And you found it for them.”
Mason looked across the room at the laptop on the table. The flash drive was still docked in the USB port.
“You're here. In the room with us.”
“I was, until you started making out like teenagers. Now I'm in the lobby watching two men with guns get in an elevator. I don't think they're room service.”
“What?”
“Good luck. I'd get out of there, if I were you. I hope we talk again.”
Gabriel hung up.
Mason ran to the front door. He cracked it open and peered down the hall. He heard a chime and saw the elevator doors open.
Two men in suits emerged, both holding guns outright.
He shut the door and slid the tiny bolt in place above the handle.
Gabriel wasn't lying.
Chapter 24
“Mason, what is going on?” Kelly asked. She sat on the edge of the bed and slipped her shirt back on, then her sandals.
He hurried to the bed and started sliding it across the carpet. He managed to wedge it between the dresser and the door.
He took a few steps back, not taking his eyes off the door. Kelly grabbed his shoulder from behind and stood next to him.
“Mason?” Her voice shook with fear.
A key-card slid through the lock outside. The door opened, but only an inch. The bed held in place.
“We're in trouble.”
Whoever was on the outside started pounding on the door. They said nothing, but Mason could hear the frustration in their grunts.
Mason and Kelly both backed up a step. She let out a startled cry, not taking her hand from his shoulder.
He remained calm. Maybe it was the years spent on a lab table that numbed him to two men outside wanting to do him harm. He went to the window and looked at the swimming pool three floors down. A woman in a bikini swam to the side and climbed out using the ladder. Kids ran laps around the edge, but it was empty.
He grabbed the chair near the table and swung it at the window. It exploded as glass rained down below.
The pounding outside the door went quiet for a moment. Mason didn't slow down. He pulled the flash drive from the laptop and sealed it once again in the two zip-lock bags.
Kelly grabbed him by both shoulders. “Would you please tell me what's going on?”
“I don't know.”
She shouted when the door shook again. They both turned to see the head of a fire ax sticking through the wood. They were chopping their way in.
“But that can't be good,” he said.
He brushed glass off the sill and poked his head out. It would be an easy jump. They could hit the pool with no trouble.
“I know you don't expect me to jump out a window.”
He pointed to the door. He could see more of the hallway, and the large man in a suit knocking the door away like it was nothing. His partner stood behind him.
“You could go that way.”
He shoved the flash drive in his back pocket and stood up on the sill. He grabbed the top of the window frame to keep balance and held out his hand.
“Oh my God,” Kelly said. She took his hand and climbed up next to Mason. “I'm in love with a crazy man.”
He heard the door splintering behind them.
“Jump as far as you can. Get out fast, head to my Jeep. You ready?”
“No.”
“Let's go.”
They jumped together. They held hands as the pool rapidly rushed up to meet them. Kelly screamed, and let go just before they hit the water to cover her face.
She smacked the bottom of the pool, the wind rushing out of her. She opened her mouth to scream in pain, and inhaled a mouthful of water. She pushed with her legs to break the surface, then felt an arm around her.
Mason dragged her to the side of the pool. He lifted her to help her climb out. She coughed and gagged as she stayed on all fours.
He was vaguely aware of people standing and gawking at them. He risked a look up to see two men leaning out of the broken window.
“We have to go, Kell.”
He pulled her by the hand. Their water soaked clothes and shoes made them feel like they were moving in slow motion. They left the pool area through a gate and ran to the parking lot. He threw the zip-lock bags with the flash drive in between the seats as they climbed inside his Jeep.
Her hands started to shake as she buckled her seat belt. “We just jumped out of a hotel room.”
“Yeah, I know,” Mason said. “Hold on.”
He sped out of the parking lot. As they passed the front of the hotel he saw two men, neither one of them from the night before, running through the front door. He didn't think they would try anything.
He was wrong.
Mason's eyes lit up as he saw them raise their weapons.
He made a hard turn onto the street, cutting off two cars and making them slam their brakes.
He felt a sting in his shoulder, and winced in pain.
“What? Are you okay?” Kelly asked.
“I think...I think they shot me.”
She leaned forward to look at him. Her jaw dro
pped when she saw a large needle hanging from his arm, like something a hunter would shoot to tranquilize big game. She pulled it out and threw it to the street. He flinched and shot her a look.
“Sorry, sorry.”
His eyes started to feel heavy, the world blurry.
“Kell, I don't feel so good.”
The Jeep drifted slightly into the other lane. Kelly lunged across the seat and grabbed the wheel before they hit an oncoming car. She steadied the Jeep, but they started to pick up speed. She looked at Mason to see his eyes completely shut, his head slumped to the side. His foot sank on the gas.
The intersection was coming up fast, too fast. They had a red light. Cars shot back and forth in front of them. They were heading straight for an accident.
She kept one hand on the wheel and slipped her free arm under Mason's knee. She pulled his leg off the gas pedal. They slowed down, almost a little too fast. The manual transmission Jeep stalled in the middle of the road. The car following them almost rear-ended them.
The driver leaned out of the window. “What the hell is wrong with you, lady?”
She ignored the angry driver and turned around. She could see the hotel in the distance. The two suited men ran across the parking lot and jumped in a car.
“Oh shit.”
She looked at Mason. He was completely out. She released both their seat belts and hugged him around the chest. She wanted to drag him out of the driver's seat, but that wasn't happening. Kelly was in good shape, strong for her weight. But there was no way she was moving Mason, at least not in the next few seconds.
“Don't take this the wrong way.”
She felt around in front of the seat and found the handle. The seat slid back as far as it would go. She pushed his legs apart and climbed over the gearshift. She sat on the edge of the seat and started the engine.
It was uncomfortable. The steering wheel was right on top of her. Mason's legs were in the way. It was all she could do to get her feet to the pedals.
She looked in the rear view mirror to see a car speeding out of the hotel parking lot.
She stomped the gas and made a right at the intersection.
The suits were right behind her.
She weaved her way in and out of the streets. She ran red lights and knew she caused a few accidents as cars skidded in intersections behind her.
The suits kept pace.
Her heart hammered in her chest. She didn't know what was going on. She only knew the man she cared for in her life was unconscious, and people were trying to kill them.
She turned down an alley, knocking trashcans and recycling bins to the ground. She almost hit a cat, turning the wheel just in time to miss by a few inches.
She glanced in the rear view mirror. The passenger leaned out of his window, gun in hand.
Kelly shouted as something hit the seat behind Mason's head.
They had shot another of their tranquilizer darts. A few inches to the right and it would have struck Kelly in the head.
She tried to crouch down lower as she left the alley and made a tight turn onto the street. Part of her simply wanted to pull over and give up.
She didn't think that was a good idea.
The car started to catch up as Kelly sped down a long stretch of road. It pulled alongside in the opposite lane. The passenger once again aimed his gun out the window.
She slammed on the brakes.
The passenger fired. The dart flew past the braking Jeep and shattered the window of a Starbucks.
Kelly threw the Jeep in reverse and sped backwards. She passed by an intersection and turned right, going forward once again. It wouldn't be long before the chase was on again.
She needed to hide. She didn't know these streets, never drove on them. She had no idea where she was going.
She cut down another alley. For the moment, the men weren't behind her.
Cars drove past the mouth of the alley, and beyond that, thick woods.
The answer dawned on her.
Since she was unfamiliar with the roads, get off them. Mason had the perfect vehicle for it.
She emerged from the alley and kept going straight, nearly getting hit by a truck as she drove into the woods.
Chapter 25
Gabriel jumped straight up out of the Jeep before it vanished into the woods. He hovered in midair for a moment, watching as Kelly Rierson navigated her way around trees.
He willed himself to turn around, still not touching the ground. He looked at the aftermath of Kelly's reckless driving. A trashcan rolled from the alley to the middle of the street. The driver of the truck who had to skid to a stop continued on his way.
The two suited men slowly rolled their car to a stop at the end of the alley.
Gabriel smiled as he floated to the ground. He sat in the back of the Jeep the entire time. He had watched Mason and Kelly jump from their hotel room and drive like maniacs through the streets. It wasn't exactly pretty.
But it looked like it worked.
A few cars passed through him as he crossed the street. He watched the two men argue and discuss where Mason and Kelly could have gone.
They finally took a left turn and merged with traffic, not even looking in the direction of the woods.
He almost wanted to fly after them, but knew it was useless. After many months he studied enough of Suit's organization to know they had no base of operations. With cell phones and laptops there was no need to have a place to meet. They barely talked to each other, didn't address each other by name. Suit's agents simply followed orders, then went back to their homes or hotels. No amount of stalking and torturing Suit's worker bees would help. They simply didn't know how to find Suit.
Gabriel found that out the hard way.
Finding Suit was only part of the problem. The other part, up until a few hours ago, was finding the information that Doctor Albert hid.
Thanks to Mason and Kelly, that problem was solved.
But the game had changed.
He flew straight up into the air. Fifty feet. One hundred feet. Two hundred feet. The wind picked up a little. A flock of birds flew through him.
He looked at the world beneath him. The woods Kelly disappeared in stretched far and wide, all the way to the beach. They should be safe. It was possible they could get lost, but that shouldn't be a problem with someone who could mind slide. All Mason had to do was leave his body, fly straight up, and guide Kelly out of the woods.
He closed his eyes and focused on his body. The world whisked past him as he settled into his own skin. The feeling of flying through the air, of beating the force of gravity, was replaced by nausea and a sinking feeling in his stomach.
He moaned in pain. “This sucks.”
He sat up after the nausea passed. He grabbed the guest book from Kelly's house. It was turning into more of a hit list than a guest book.
He stared at Mason Thomas' name at the very bottom, and drew a star.
It was sheer luck he decided to stalk Kelly Rierson.
Gabriel was on the bed behind her while she watched the videos recorded on the flash drive. He had no idea he wasn't the first lab rat. But it all made perfect sense. A freak accident messes up Mason's brain enough so he can mind slide. Then the government wants to copy that accident.
How would Suit react if he knew they could see each other outside their bodies?
He laughed as he looked at the guest book. The players in the game had changed. Their names were in front of him the whole time.
He sighed as he closed the book and dropped it on the bed. Now he had more people to kill. He thought he was nearly done getting his hands dirty.
He rose from bed, his legs still shaky, and walked to the dresser to get an old slice of pizza he'd ordered. He checked the case full of Cocktail, a nervous habit he developed. There was still plenty left.
He thought about what he still needed to do.
The flash drive was safe for the moment. But he needed to get leverage on Mason, needed to be able
to control the young man.
Kidnapping his girlfriend was out of the question, since the two were nearly inseparable.
He remembered his friend, the cop. Looking at old newspapers and articles on the internet showed them together a few times.
Brian Lowdry.
He was just as good a target as any.
*****
Gabriel parked one street over from the Lowdry residence. It took a few minutes browsing the phone book to find the cop's address. He could have mind slid to Brian Lowdry, checked the address, then made the drive. But Gabriel was hurting. The Cocktail was starting to seriously screw with his body. He could handle maybe one more injection and mind slide before he either got really sick or needed to sleep for eight hours.
He reached in the glove compartment for a single vial of Cocktail and a syringe. He gave a friendly smile to an old couple walking their dog down the sidewalk.
He glanced at his surroundings one last time before injecting the Cocktail in his arm. Dusk slowly settled in as the sun set. No one was cruising the streets. It was the perfect time. He leaned his seat back as the dizziness took over. He felt his mind leaving his body.
He dropped to one knee and steadied his breathing as he appeared in the middle of a front lawn. He felt the bile trying to leap out of his stomach. He rose to his feet and looked at the house before him, no doubt Lowdry's house. He strolled to the mailbox to double check the address.
He could see Brian and his family eating dinner in the dining room as he marched up the sidewalk. Looked like a wife and a young girl. He'd have to stake the house out for a while. Study the rooms, learn where everything was. Gabriel didn't have a gun, only a knife under his passenger's seat. Killing doctors and techs alone in their houses was one thing. Assaulting a cop and his family was something completely different.
He needed to hit the house quickly. Stab the wife if he needed to. The kid wouldn't pose a threat. The cop probably had handcuffs in the house. No doubt he cuffed his wife to the bedpost every night. Gabriel just had to find them.
He had second thoughts as he approached the front door. Maybe the wife would make better leverage.
His arm was through the front door, the rest of his body ready to follow, when he saw movement in the bushes between houses.
Mind Slide Page 18