Mind Slide

by Glenn Bullion

“You still with me?” Gabriel asked.

  Mason looked up at Gabriel. His plan would need help, and he wanted Kelly as far away as possible.

  He was unpredictable, but Gabriel fit the bill perfectly.

  “If you help me get Lisa back, I'll give you the flash drive.”

  Gabriel smirked. “You look like a guy with a plan. You would hand it over? Just like that?”

  “Yeah. I don't care about whatever fight you and Suit have going on. I just want my family. I give you the flash drive, and he'll be pissed, but I'll be out of the loop. I'll let the police deal with him after that.”

  Gabriel extended his legs and pushed them through the metal table, touching the floor once again. He stepped closer to Mason.

  “Bring the flash drive. You won't get any help without the flash drive.”

  “Done. Call my phone in five minutes.”

  Gabriel nodded, then closed his eyes. He slowly faded away. It was the final act of any mind slide, but Mason had never seen it before.

  He did the same, and felt his mind reconnect with his body.

  *****

  Mason opened his eyes and looked into Kelly's beautiful face. She was on her knees, looming over him with a look of concern. Her fingers were laced between his.

  He tried to sit up, and immediately felt his stomach doing cartwheels. He groaned and laid back down. Kelly helped ease him back into bed, then ran to the bathroom in a flash. She emerged with a wet, damp cloth, and gently laid it across his head. He looked up at her gratefully.

  “Thanks.”

  “That was the strangest thing I've ever seen,” she said. She let out a deep breath and sat on the bed next to him. She put a hand on his leg. “You were talking to someone? What did they say?”

  He would have to catch Kelly up on everything later. But there was one important thing she should know.

  “I was wrong,” he said. “Your father wasn't murdered. He died trying to do a good thing.”

  She closed her eyes and squeezed his leg. A single tear rolled down her cheek. It was a relief to at least learn that much.

  “You're planning something. What are we doing?”

  “You're staying here,” he said. “I'm gonna go to Old Patapsco Park. I think I can get Lisa back.”

  “You're not leaving without me.”

  He slowly sat up in bed, the nausea finally passing. He took both her hands in his.

  “Kell, you have to stay here. If things go like I plan, I'll be back in no time at all.”

  “And if they don't go like you plan?”

  “Then you won't have to worry about getting ready for any of our dates.”

  “That's not funny.”

  She stood up and paced back and forth. He grabbed his keys from the dresser and made sure the flash drive was still in his pocket.

  “I'm coming with you.”

  “Don't make me tie you to the bed.”

  She smiled for a moment, then flashed her angry glare again.

  “Believe me, for what I have in mind, you won't be able to help. And please don't get mad at this, but you would probably get in the way.”

  She put her hands on her hips and stared at him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes wide. She was sexy when she was angry. It was a look he hoped to see many more times.

  “I hope you know what you're doing,” she said. “Hurry back.”

  He turned to leave. He had a hand on the doorknob when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kelly turned him around and threw herself at him. Her lips found his. She pushed him against the door and wrapped her arms around him. She meant for the kiss to be gentle, but terrible thoughts made their way into her head. She fought against the idea of never seeing him again.

  Mason was caught off guard, but it didn't take long to get into any kiss with Kelly. After a minute of bordering on making out against the door, he came up for air.

  “Please be careful,” she said.

  “Don't worry, “ he said with a smile. “They won't see me coming.”

  He gave her one more small kiss before leaving the hotel room.

  He was halfway across the street, heading to the parking garage, when his cell phone rang.

  “It's me,” Gabriel said. “You don't know Suit's men like I do. I'm a killer, yeah. But they'll kill too just to get the information you have in your pocket.”

  “No one's dying tonight.”

  “Don't be so sure.”

  Mason climbed behind the wheel of his Jeep. He pictured Old Patapsco Park in his mind, like he saw it from up in the sky.

  “Just head over to Old Patapsco Park. There's a stretch of woods behind the whole complex. Park somewhere out of the way and meet me in the trees behind the place. They're in the last building in the park. It's the only one that's lit up. You can't miss it.”

  “This sounds like it might be fun.”

  Mason sighed. He was preparing to make a rescue attempt for the woman he thought of as his older sister, in a government protected building, with an admitted serial killer.

  “Fun isn't the word I'd use.”

  Chapter 29

  Mason parked his Jeep in a residential neighborhood near the industrial complex that was Old Patapsco Park. He walked in the woods behind the buildings, staying in the darkness and keeping an eye out for anyone at all. The complex was deserted of any cars or trucks.

  Until he neared the last building.

  Cars and vans were littered about. He saw a few lights on in different windows. Two men wearing shirts and ties were near a side door, smoking and having a conversation. Mason dropped completely to the ground and watched them through the fence.

  It looked like any ordinary office building. It almost seemed like a good idea to simply call the police, get them involved. But he couldn't imagine that would end well for Lisa.

  As terrifying as the idea was, it was up to him to save her.

  And one other person.

  The leaves crunched on the ground not far from him. He rolled over near a tree, trying to stay more in the shadows.

  “Relax,” Gabriel said. “It's just me.”

  A murderer was telling him to relax.

  Gabriel sat on the ground near the fence, making sure to stay in the darkness. Mason went to one knee next to him. He was on edge, knowing what Gabriel was capable of. Something about Gabriel was disarming. Being so close to him physically for the first time, he simply didn't seem like a killer.

  But Mason knew better.

  “You don't have the flash drive on you, do you?” Gabriel asked.

  Mason tensed up. He knew if he had it in his pocket, Gabriel probably wouldn't hesitate to take it. “No. I hid it.”

  “Smart man. So, what are we looking at here?”

  “I'm gonna get a better idea of layout in a minute. But tell me everything you know first. If I go in there and get Lisa, will my face show up on the news?”

  Gabriel laughed quietly. “Of course not. Suit works for the government, I'm sure. But this is way off the reservation. You saw my lab. Out in the middle of nowhere, not a lot of supplies. I'm guessing funding's been cut, maybe even stopped. If we stop all of this, I don't think it will start again. Are they all gathered in there?”

  “I saw people walking the halls when I was here earlier.”

  Gabriel shook his head. “They never gather like this. You really got them rattled since you found that flash drive. Did you see Suit anywhere?”

  “No, but I wasn't looking for him.”

  Gabriel nodded. Mason stared one more time at the three story building. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He wasn't looking forward to the mind slide. No music, no beautiful redheaded woman to hold his hand.

  “What exactly is your plan?” Gabriel asked.

  “I need the place completely dark. There's gotta be a breaker panel somewhere, or a few cables to cut. That's what I need your help with. I need you to cut the power to the place, or knock out the lights. That's all.”

  “Oh, is that all? Do you w
ant me to turn into a ninja and throw smoke bombs at them too?”

  “You saying you can't do it? All the people you've claimed you killed, and you can't make the place go dark?”

  He sighed. “I'm sure I can. Give me a few minutes to scope the place out.”

  “Good. I need a few minutes myself.”

  Mason went to lay down in the grass. Gabriel grabbed his shoulder.

  “No tricks,” he said. “You save the woman, I get the flash drive. As soon as we're done, you take me right to it. You don't want to find out what I'm capable of.”

  Mason nodded. Nothing like working with a demon to fight the Devil.

  “Okay, let's get this party started,” Gabriel said. He pulled out an empty syringe and a vial of Cocktail from his coat pocket. “Where's your Cocktail at?”

  Mason looked at the vial. The red-orange liquid sent a shiver up his spine. Plenty of bad memories.

  “I don't need it.”

  Gabriel gave him an envious look. “Consider yourself lucky.”

  Mason watched as Gabriel loaded the syringe and found a vein. Mason almost felt sick as he watched Gabriel inject the Cocktail into his arm.

  Gabriel laid down in the grass a few feet away from Mason. They both stared at the trees above them, their gaze fixing on the moon that peeked through the treetops.

  “Let the fun times begin,” Gabriel said.

  *****

  Kelly paced across the hotel room. She was a fool for letting Mason go without her. She knew he was extraordinary. He was capable of things that only a day ago, she didn't believe were possible.

  Still, she knew he needed her. They worked best as a team.

  A few times she actually put her hand on the doorknob to leave. She didn't have a car, but she didn't care. She had two million dollars in the bank. She could withdraw money, then catch a cab to Old Patapsco Park.

  She forced herself to sit on the bed with the lights out, and fought against crying. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to be with Mason. But she knew as a waitress, she didn't exactly bring a lot to the table.

  She laid down on the bed. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was wide awake. So many things going on all at once. Spending the morning at a police station. Jumping out of a hotel room window. Running for their lives across Maryland. Watching videos of Mason as a teenager in a lab. The truth about her father's death. Brian and Lisa's house being assaulted.

  Her feelings for Mason.

  She laughed out loud at her luck. She finally met an amazing man she cared for, and he was wanted by the government.

  She narrowed her eyes, remembering the reason he was wanted was because of her father.

  She tried to watch TV, but she couldn't focus on anything in front of her. All she could think about was Mason, and the mess they were in.

  If they pulled through everything, somehow made the people her father worked for forget they existed, she was going to take everyone out to a very large, very expensive dinner.

  She turned the TV off and watched the ceiling. Her mind finally started to drift away out of pure exhaustion.

  She was pulled from near sleep by her cell phone ringing on the nightstand. She nearly dove for it.

  “Mason?” she asked.

  “Nope.”

  She looked at the caller ID.

  Her eyes went wide.

  *****

  Mason appeared in the parking lot on the other side of the fence. The two men were still near the side door, finishing up their conversation. Gabriel appeared next to him. He had one knee on the ground with his head bent low.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Mason asked.

  Mason and Gabriel both put their hands to their ears as the sound of Mason's voice crashed through their heads. It was the strangest sensation Mason ever felt during a mind slide. He turned to look at the fence. He knew that just beyond, in the cover of darkness, their bodies lay side by side. They could hear each other through their bodies and their minds. It was like putting a microphone next to a speaker.

  “That hurt like a bitch,” Gabriel whispered.

  The pain wasn't as bad, but there was still a deep echo.

  “It'll get better when we move apart,” Mason said. “Let's go.”

  Gabriel headed straight for the back wall, while Mason angled toward the side door. Mason waved as Gabriel vanished through the brick.

  Mason stuck his head through the side door only moments after the two men went inside. He watched as they walked down the hall, silent once again.

  “Hey, can you hear me?” Gabriel asked.

  His voice sounded normal, only a few feet away from Mason's body.

  “Yeah.”

  “Man, this is cool. I can almost see why Suit is so hell bent on copying the two of us.”

  Mason walked down the hall and looked into every room, even ones with the doors closed. He took a mental picture of every man he saw. He looked in the bathrooms, the break rooms, every office. He slowly drew the map in his head.

  “I'll pass on spending any more time on a lab table,” Mason said.

  “I'm with you there. I can't be sure, but I think they were probably gonna kill me and move on to people that were already trained.”

  “A trained government agent that can slide his mind wherever he wants? I'm not sure I like the sound of that.”

  “Exactly. Now you see what I'm trying to do.”

  Mason poked his head into what looked like a conference room. They had turned it into another break room. Large table in the middle, eight chairs, a projection screen on the wall. Five men sat around the table and didn't say a word. Some read, others cleaned their weapons, one listened to an iPod.

  “I don't like the sound of murder, either.”

  “I don't enjoy killing, Mason. I've told you this before. Well, except my wife.”

  Mason wasn't comfortable with the talk of murder.

  “Have you found anything yet? I saw a door next to the bathroom that I think headed down.”

  “Yeah, I saw it. I'm in the basement now, looking around. Just what the hell is your plan, anyway? If I kill the lights in this place, what then?”

  Mason smiled. He stood near the stairs leading to the second floor. He closed his eyes and reviewed the first floor layout in his mind. Every room, every chair, table, desk, old water cooler, cut up corner of carpet, every possible obstacle, was locked away in his mind.

  “Then I just follow my map.”

  Only two more floors to go. He thought about skipping the third floor, since Lisa was locked away on the second, but decided to cover everything.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Don't worry about it. I'll take care of the rest. You'll get your flash drive.”

  Mason was quiet as he studied the second floor. There were less men touring the halls. Nearly half the rooms were closed with the lights out. He memorized everything. Where the desks were positioned, where the chairs were.

  “Okay. I found the panel. No one's in the basement. I should be able to sneak in here, shut off the panel, then destroy the damn thing. I don't see any emergency lights, so you should be all set, whatever you got in mind.”

  Mason stopped in front of the door that held Lisa. Tears welled up in his eyes as he pushed through the door.

  He waved his arms in front of him until he felt Lisa. She was asleep. He could feel her head hunched over slightly, and her chest rise and fall. She was still handcuffed with her wrists behind the back of the chair, and a thick rope around her waist. He felt around the knot. It didn't feel like it would be too hard to untie.

  “Hey, you still with me?” Gabriel asked.

  “Yeah, I'm here. Just checking on Lisa. I've got one more floor to map out.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Mason left the room. It killed him to see Lisa tied up in a dark room. Brian and she both turned him from a lost teenager to the young man he was.

  He passed two men as he studied the hallways.

  “I reme
mber everything I see. I'll be able to walk through this whole place with my eyes closed. While they're tripping and falling over their own feet, I'm gonna walk in, get Lisa, and walk back out.”

  “Are you kidding me? That's your plan?”

  “Yeah.”

  “What if the room she's in is locked?”

  “It'll be fine.”

  Gabriel sighed next to him.

  “It might work,” he said. “If you're as good as you say you are.”

  “You just get those lights out.”

  “I'm ready when you are.”

  Mason toured the third floor. The layout was very much the same. The bathrooms and offices were in the same place. Only four men were on the third floor. One of them was asleep in a corner office.

  Mason peered into an office and saw a man typing at a laptop. He almost kept going until he recognized him.

  Suit.

  “Holy crap.”

  “What?” Gabriel asked. “What's going on?”

  Mason stepped into the office. He circled the desk and watched as Suit worked on the laptop. It looked like he was typing an email, but the words didn't make any sense. Mason shook his head as he realized what was happening.

  He was typing in code, in case someone was watching over his shoulder.

  “Clever bastard.”

  “What, Mason?”

  “Suit is here.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, on the third floor. He's typing at a laptop. I can't even read what's going on. He's typing in code.”

  Gabriel scoffed in disgust. “And he wants that shit to be the future. Spies that can see anywhere in the world. Privacy would be dead.” He lowered his voice. “This changes everything.”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Look, are you ready or not?”

  “Yeah. I'll be your eyes until you hit the basement.”

  “Listen. Are you really up to this? If things go wrong, and there's a man pointing a gun at your head, would you kill him? I'll do it without breaking a sweat. But I'm not gonna be around to hold your hand.”

  Mason hesitated. He honestly didn't know.

  He never even held a gun in his entire life.

  The absurdity of what he was attempting started to settle in.

  He pushed it aside.

  If he was careful, and smart, it would work.