“Yes, sir,” Max says, then issues orders to the crowd.
The sound of shuffling feet and tense whispers filter into the lab as people walk past the door toward the observation room. I know things will become interesting when it’s discovered the prisoners are gone.
“Sir, you’d better come see this!” I hear Max shout from down the hall.
“What is it?”
“The prisoners are gone. They’ve escaped!”
Chris acts as though the news is the last thing he wants to hear at that moment. “Didn’t you lock the door after taking the girl to the room? This is the worst time to have a breakout. Max, you and Ethan come with me and we’ll perform a search. Everyone else, go in the observation room.”
Chris sends a message to my mind. Calli, take Brand to the control room and remove the hard drive from the computer. It contains the surveillance recordings. All the guards are either with me or are locked up.
I grab Brand from the closet and we run to the control room.
“What are we doing, Calli?”
“We’re pulling the hard drive.”
“I thought you were going to give me my repeating stone.”
“I will.” I push open the door to the computer room. Within seconds, we have removed the vital guts of the mainframe. I send a message to Chris. Done.
Good. We’re heading to the security room to view the recordings, which of course we won’t be able to view because the files are stored on the hard drive that you just pulled. After that, I’ll lock the guards with the others and meet you in my father’s office. Crimson is already there.
“Come on, Brand.” I take Brand by the hand, open the door and peak out. The hallway is empty and quiet. I pull Brand out and we hurry to the office.
I spot Crimson in her invisible state going through the file cabinet. We have the hard drive, I say.
Yes, I know. Brand’s Repeater stone is right there. She points to the clear crystal on the desk.
“Brand, pick up the quartz on the desk. It’s yours,” I say.
Brand does so and wraps his fingers around it firmly. “There’s no power in this stone.”
Crimson instantly stops what she’s doing, and together we ask, “What?”
“Just kidding,” he laughs. “Sheez, you’re so jumpy.”
Chris enters the office. He lets me know telepathically that he, Max, and Ethan performed a quick search for the missing prisoners and then he escorted Max and Ethan to the observation room. “Is Crimson in here?” he asks aloud.
“Yes, I’m here.”
“Good. I need to get to my dad’s hard drive. Would you throw his computer against the wall to break it open? If I touch it I’ll leave fingerprints.”
“Certainly, Chris.”
Even though I can see Crimson, I know the guys can’t. It must look pretty cool to see the computer have its cords ripped out of the back and then fly across the room to the far wall. The shell cracks and the insides are exposed.
Brand asks, “Crimson doesn’t have fingerprints?”
“Sure I do. They belong to a deceased woman from Arizona, according to the police database.”
“Oh, yeah, that will stump ‘em,” Brand laughs.
Crimson says, “Brand, help Chris. You two need to go to the lab and search each computer for any files saved to individual computers. Brand’s repeating ability will help you do this quickly. Calli, go box up the crystals from the crystal room. Move as fast as you can.”
“Got it.”
I run out of the room using my running power and enter the machine room. A wave of nausea washes over me when I see the two dead people again. Why did they both have to be so greedy? Their deaths were inevitable.
I communicate with Chris. What’s the code for the crystal room?
5432, he responds.
How unoriginal, I muse. Wait! Why did you ask your father for the code if you already knew it?
He didn’t know I knew it.
Why didn’t the code work for Deus?
All codes are invalid for a few minutes following a lockdown.
I enter the room and use my quick reflexes to speedily remove the individual crystals from the organizational wall units and place them in a box I find on the floor. I pause for a moment and realize I have the hardest job of everyone. Regardless of where I stand, I can still see Deus Ex out of the corner of my eye, hanging like a rag doll from the window. I try to focus on my task instead of dwelling on Deus’s decision to not relent. Once I’ve cleaned out the crystal room, I take the box to the general’s office.
The others have finished their tasks as well. Crimson instructs us to place everything we have collected into a larger box on the floor.
Crimson says, “We don’t have much time. Chris, for now, I want you to relinquish the diamond to Calli. Experiencing the diamond’s pure strength is hard enough on its own, let alone while needing to keep your mind straight and focused.”
“I was actually thinking about that myself, Crimson.” Chris turns to me, removes the diamond from his pocket, and assigns it to me. I place it in my pocket.
Crimson announces, “I’ll take this material to the gathering. You two need to stay here for the investigation and to tie up any loose ends that will bring any unwanted attention your way.” She reaches her hand toward me and reveals her topaz. “Take this, Calli. Start charging it to help you remain invisible, just in case. Come on, Brand, let’s go.”
“But you’ll be exposed when you leave the building,” I protest.
“The guards are gone and the surveillance cameras aren’t filming anymore,” she says.
Brand asks, “Then why are you still invisible, Crimson? It’s weird talking to the air.”
“I haven’t lived this long by being careless with my powers, Brand. While I can be invisible, I will be.” She turns to me and says, “You and Chris need to disable the machine before they get here. Hurry.”
Crimson and Brand leave the building, and Chris and I race down the hall to the machine room.
Chris cringes upon seeing his father’s dead body. “He got what he was after . . . momentarily, anyway. You gotta hand it to him,” Chris says, sadly. He clears his throat and hurries over to the machine. “All we have to do is remove the power source and computer chip.” He opens the control box panel and peers inside.
I examine the center ring and the mechanics of what I can see through the channel opening. It looks just like any CT scanner I’ve ever seen.
“Here,” Chris announces. He is down on his knees, reaching under the unit, struggling to grab something.
I join him from the other side of the machine, and together we remove twelve long, clear crystals with points on each end, about four-inches in length and a quarter inch in diameter. I can’t tell if they’re quartz or not. They are clearly important to the functionality of the machine.
Chris says, “I knew this had to be powered by something out of the ordinary. Only someone with the knowledge, like Freedom, would think of such a thing. My dad called him an egghead. He had no idea what was really going on in Freedom’s head.”
“Did you get the computer chip?”
“Yes. Let’s get out of here.” He stands, brushes himself off, and then freezes as he looks down at the floor.
I follow his gaze down to his father’s perfectly positioned boots.
“I’m sorry, Chris.”
He glances over in the direction of my voice and says, “Why? It wasn’t your fault he was so screwed up in the head.” Chris hands me the crystals in his hand to add to the ones I’m holding. “Take care of these. I need to go wait by the gate to approve the entrance of the convoy. It’s what would be expected.”
I scoop the crystals from his hand. “Where do you want me to stay while the investigation takes place?”
“Please stay invisibly by my side, Calli. I may need you to use your Mind-control. For now, wait by the security checkpoint at the front door.”
* * *
&nbs
p; Chris sits across the table from the lead investigator. The identification hanging around the man’s neck identifies him as Criminal Investigations’ Special Agent David Whitman. Agent Whitman, a middle-aged man with an expansive mid-section and deep brow lines, looks up from the files spread out in front of him. “Mr. Harding, you witnessed the female shooter’s attack on General Harding?”
“Yes, sir.”
“To your knowledge, did she shoot anyone else?”
“Not to my knowledge. I just returned from an assignment yesterday.”
“You didn’t know what you were walking into, right?”
“Exactly.”
“We’re investigating your father’s home in Denver. Perhaps some information will be found that points to a motive. I have a team there now.”
I say to Chris, Ask if he thinks your father and Deus were in a romantic relationship.
Chris suggests, “What do you think you’ll find? Something pointing to a personal relationship between my father and Deus Ex?”
“I can’t say, son. Tell me, why did the girl go by that name?”
“Why does anyone change their name, sir? I don’t understand it either. Her real name was Samantha Juarez.”
Agent Whitman wraps up his interview with Chris and tells him to go wait in what is the same recovery room where Chris and I had kissed earlier. A soldier stands outside the door.
I read Chris’s mind. I’m a material witness, and they’re protecting me, or more like guarding me from leaving.
Well, I’m ready to jump into action and start controlling minds. Just say the word, I reply.
I keep thinking about Crimson and wondering what she would do in this situation. She is so right about the fact that everything needs to come apart as naturally as possible. Let’s just sit tight for a while longer. I’m sure we’re under surveillance right now, even though they can’t record anything. Too bad. I sure could use some of your healing.
I’ll send you some. I focus on his mind and heart and send my energy his way.
I gotta tell you, Calli, Crimson fed me energy almost continuously throughout that whole ordeal. She knew how hard it was for me to be around my father and witness his atrocities, but your kisses infused me with more healing than she ever could.
I think she knew that, too. She encouraged me to comfort you . . . not that I needed encouraging.
Chapter 14 - What Does the Future Hold?
Agent Whitman meets with Chris again before sending him home.
I take a moment to look into the agent’s mind to find out what he’s learned in his investigation. His mind reveals the four bodies were transported to the morgue, and he’s had evidence collected throughout the compound.
Well, the little evidence that remains.
I feel his thoughts. The bullets in General Harding’s office wall, along with the two guards’ testimonies about the shooting, clearly link the general to Rolf’s death, Whitman believes. The claims of a clear stone or rock having been inside Rolf’s heart are disturbing. If it wasn’t for the fact that several people offered the same comment, Whitman realizes he’d have to dismiss the ridiculous claim. He thinks about the two guards also describing how the female prisoner died after she tried to pick up the glass box containing the stone that had been inside Rolf. Her death, they told him, was similar in nature to Deus’s in that there were no visible wounds. Whitman realizes he’ll have to wait for the autopsy reports to get further information. The whole fiasco feels interconnected in some way. Whitman hopes the staff and guards fully understand the consequences if they reveal any classified information. Especially the one guard who keeps insisting he saw some pretty bizarre things.
Max Corvus.
Agent Whitman is still struggling with his decision to dismiss Max Corvus with the rest of the guards. Corvus seems borderline insane, insisting magical powers really exist, and that some people have diamonds inside their bodies. Max told Agent Whitman that he had dealings with something called the Death Clan several years ago—men over 200-years-old who can kill others with their minds.
Agent Whitman finally decided to just tell Max that everything associated with his work in the compound is now classified and he should just forget what he’s seen. Max’s reply was: “Just because we seal up and classify everything in this building doesn’t mean the magical people out there in the real world cease to exist. They’re real! You don’t have to believe me, but I’ve seen them with my own eyes.”
Agent Whitman’s thoughts at the moment show he is going to have Max Corvus put under surveillance. He writes a sentence on his pad of paper and then circles it in one swift movement.
I think it’s a good idea to watch Max closely, too.
Agent Whitman scratches the top of his head and looks up from his pad of paper at Chris.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Chris. Your father had a will filed with the military. You’re listed as his sole beneficiary. Here’s a number you can call to get more information.”
“Thank you.” Chris takes the card and puts it in his pocket. His thoughts reveal he doesn’t want anything that belonged to his father.
“We’ll be in contact with you, Mr. Harding, if we have any more questions. Again, please accept my deepest condolences.”
I take one last look into Agent Whitman’s mind while he shakes Chris’s hand. He figures this investigation will go down in the books as an unexplainable situation, one that will bring great embarrassment to the Department of Defense if the media ever gets hold of the information. General Harding had run an operation independent of the D.O.D, yet he had managed to receive government funding for his secretive, unapproved research. Each employee or guard, with the exception of Max Corvus, has such limited knowledge about the compound’s operations that it is hard to piece together a complete picture of what research was actually conducted in the facility. Much of what Max talked about, such as the crystals and “super-powered prisoners”, are absent from the compound. The only physical evidence they can find is an inoperable CT scanner. The hard drive from the main computer is missing, and the surveillance recordings are gone as well. Evidence from the general’s home only shows a man obsessed with what Harding considers supernatural, metaphysical hooey. In addition, no records or evidence of birth have been found yet for the victims, Rolf, Samantha “Deus Ex” Juarez, or the unidentified girl.
Whitman’s conclusion is that something strange happened at the compound, resulting in the deaths of four individuals, but whatever happened will forever remain a mystery. Agent Whitman already classifies the case as unsolvable, due to lack of evidence. The case will most likely be shelved and re-opened only if new evidence or testimony surfaces.
I pull out of his mind, wondering if anyone will ever know how many people with powers lost their lives to Shadow Demons due to General Harding. Those names will never be known by the government.
Chris thanks Agent Whitman, then leaves the room. I hope I never have to return to this building again! he thinks, as he fishes his keys out of his pocket.
I activate my topaz to remain invisible while leaving the compound. Good thing, too. Reporters and cameras line the outside of the gate at least five people deep.
“Uh oh, this should be interesting,” Chris says under his breath.
Don’t worry. I’ll be able to use my Mind-control to part the crowd once we’re far enough away from the obsidian. At least I think I will.
Sure enough, when we reach the gate, I feel the rush of my powers returning to my body. The media onslaught begins.
“Mr. Harding, what happened?”
“Mr. Harding, can you explain what kind of research this facility conducted?”
“Is it true a gunman opened fire and killed your father?”
Chris glances over at the guard in the control booth and nods his head. The guard opens the gate far enough for Chris to exit. He pauses before stepping through the opening, allowing me to proceed.
I issue the mental command for everyone to take
two steps backward and part down the middle so Chris can leave. I’m unsure if my Mind-Control powers will work on so many people at once. The crowd does exactly what I command them to do. Oh yeah, I can tell I’m going to like this power.
Chris says just what he and Agent Whitman agreed: “No comment.”
The swarm follows him to his car, but never gets any closer than two steps away. Chris walks to the passenger side and opens it. He continues to say, “No comment,” while I slip inside the car, then he leans in and sets his briefcase down on the floor by my feet. He closes the door and walks around to the driver’s side door and climbs in.
“That was fun,” he mumbles.
We drive away from the compound, and I can’t help feeling sorry for Chris. I wonder if he feels emotional about the loss of his father. I know what a healthy grieving process involves, and I understand the loss hasn’t had time to really sink into Chris’s mind yet.
I’ll be there for him when the tidal wave hits.
I communicate with Crimson, who tells me to direct Chris to the regional airport, where Maetha’s plane waits for us.
* * *
Captain Rutherfield welcomes us on board and offers his sympathies.
Beth and Brand are on the plane already and let us know that Maetha and Crimson left for Indiana. Brand’s and Beth’s excited chatter is overwhelming, especially for Chris, but he makes an effort to be sociable, even while his mind reveals that all he wants to do is curl up in a dark corner with me.
Soon we are airborne, headed for Indiana, for Patoka Lake.
I use Beth’s cellphone and call my parents when the pilot gives the thumbs up. Chris and the others continue to discuss the dramatic events that happened at the compound.
“Mom, it’s Calli.”
“Hello, dear. How is everything going? I’ve been so worried. Are you eating anything? Are you feeling all right? When will I see you next?”
“Whoa, Mom, slow down,” I laugh a little, but deep down I feel incredibly grateful to have a mother and father who care so much about me. “I’m just fine. Everything is just fine. You and Dad can return home now. The dangers have been eliminated.”
The Diamond Bearers' Destiny Page 23