Born to Darkness (64 page)

He smiled at the expression that must’ve appeared on Elliot’s face, and added, “Not like that. Just by being in the room with her. Just by touching her hand. And once that happens, odds of both of us getting out of there are that much greater.”

Elliot looked down at Stephen’s hand, at Stephen’s lifeless fingers entwined with his own. Holy crap. Holy
crap …

He looked up at Shane, who was waiting for him to say … something. So he spoke. “The key word in my report was
possible
,” he told the former SEAL. “I’ve found a
possible
cure for this addiction. Edward O’Keefe is still in a coma—a real, non-medically-induced coma. We’re unable to rouse him—believe me we’ve tried. His heart is in good condition again—he’s now got the coronary health of a robust fifty-year-old, but … It’s possible he was brain-damaged by the drug, and we just haven’t discovered it yet. It’s possible he’ll just never wake up.”

“But it’s also possible that he will. And
that
possible provides better odds than the
absolutely dead
that I’m looking at,” Shane said somberly.

“You understand,” Elliot said, “that we’re talking about a drug that will kill you. An addiction so crippling—”

“I understand.”

“And that my so-called
cure
includes stopping and damaging your heart—enough so that the drug is burned out of your system
by the healing centers of your brain as it attempts to fix that damage. And oh, by the way, as a fraction? We don’t even know if you
have
a healing center!”

“I won’t be a fraction anymore,” Shane pointed out. “And again, I understand—completely—everything you included in your report. I read it thoroughly. I’ll be in a coma. I may not come out. It’s a risk.”

“Maybe you should take more time,” Elliot suggested. “Figure out a plan that actually includes your escape from—”

“We don’t have time,” Shane said. “Elliot, please. I’m ready to die if I have to. But like I said, I’d prefer at least a glimmer of your
possible
.”

Nika found Joseph Bach standing in a corner of her mind, within a small area he’d created to shield himself from her private thoughts—both for her sake and his.

Now that he’d managed to unlock her shields and various mental blocks, he was no longer just a voice and a sense of warmth. She could see him, completely, as he sensed her and turned—and then opened the shielded area to let her in.

It was weird. It was nicer in there than it was outside. It smelled good—not unlike the cologne that Anna’s creepy ex-boyfriend David used to wear.

As Nika moved closer, Joseph didn’t put on any fake
everything’s okay
attitude. He didn’t try to soften this little reunion with a smile. He didn’t even try to hide the pain he was feeling from what he’d done—from what she imagined he’d done. She didn’t know for sure.

So she braced herself and asked,
Did you …?

And Joseph didn’t lie.
Yes
.

Oh, God. She didn’t ask “How could you,” because she didn’t want to know how
any
one could make such a terrible choice, let alone this kind man.

We’re safe for a while
, he told her.
They took more blood
. And he’d done some work, stimulating the part of her brain that worked
to quickly heal her, replenishing what they’d taken. Nika knew this because she didn’t feel as weak as she usually felt after a bleeding.

Are you okay?
she asked him.

Again, he answered truthfully.
No
.

Nika’s heart broke for him, for having put him in this awful situation, for having brought him to this terrible, hellish place.

She’d come looking for Joseph, pulling herself out of a wonderful memory of a long-ago birthday morning when her mother and Anna had made pancakes, all ready to get up in his face for having treated her like a child.

But one look into the darkness in his eyes, and she was deeply grateful that he’d pushed her away.

And as far as treating her like a child went, he certainly wasn’t doing that now, with his raw honesty.

I’m so sorry
, she said.

I’m sorry, too. Nika, there’s more bad news. They took Anna
.

What?

Again, he didn’t try to sugarcoat it. He simply showed her a memory—not his, someone else’s … Elliot’s—of Anna running outside, of Anna and Mac being taken away in a helicopter.

Nika was shaking so hard she had to sit down.
Is Stephen Diaz dead?

Not yet
, Joseph told her, moving to sit heavily beside her.
But it doesn’t look good
.

I’m so sorry
, she said again.

It’s not your fault
.

Isn’t it?
She looked at him.
I think I know who projected that message to Anna. Her name is Rayonna
. And instead of attempting to explain, Nika just opened up her memory of the way she’d accidentally found herself in the pregnant girl’s head when she’d been reaching out for Joseph.

I wish you’d told me about this sooner
, Joseph said.
I would have been watching for her. I should have been, anyway, though … I mean, I
thought
that there’d been a mental breach when I heard that Anna had received a projection from a girl who claimed she
was helping you escape. I wasn’t sure
how
it had happened, but I thought it was likely that the girl that you’d mentioned coming into your safe room had somehow gotten access to your mind and … In hindsight, I’m pretty sure that I saw her—Rayonna—inside of your head, back when we were at OI—I thought it was a memory of your mother, but …
He sighed.
Damn it
.

So Rayonna did find Anna through me
, Nika struggled, forcing herself not to cry.
Does she know about you?

She must
, Joseph told her.
But I’ve been discreet. Kept a very small footprint. Set up this shield
—he gestured around them
—so that if there are Greater-Thans here, working for the Organization, they won’t be able to see me. And when you’re in here with me, the read they’ll get from you is that you’re sleeping
.

Are you sure Rayonna can’t see you?
Nika asked.
Maybe … You should go. Until … You know
. Just in case Rayonna had access to her thoughts in a way that Joseph hadn’t anticipated, Nika didn’t want to think about the events that she hoped were still coming. Events that now included the rescue of Mac and her sister …

I’m as sure as I can be
, Joseph told her. He leaned toward her slightly, to bump her with his shoulder.
Either way, I’m not leaving you
.

How powerful is she?
Nika asked.
Rayonna
.

Very
.

More powerful than you?

He looked at her. And answered honestly.
I don’t know, Neek. But I think we’ve got a temporary advantage. I suspect she thought Anna provided the link that allowed us to communicate—the link between you and me. Otherwise, the Organization would have come after me directly. Instead, by taking Anna, they likely believe they’ve not only cut off your contact with me, but that they’ve obtained another fountain
.

What’s going to happen
, Nika asked,
when they find out Anna doesn’t have any power at all?

Joseph looked grim as he shook his head.
I don’t know that either. But I do know that they’re not just going to let her go
.

As Shane entered the Washington Street building, he was aware that he was being watched—both by the team of Thirties and Forties from OI, and by a half a dozen rent-a-cops who stood guard both outside and in the entrance to the building’s vast lobby.

He was carrying nothing in his hands.

In his pockets, however, he had his wallet, the keys to one of the OI trucks, an open and half-empty pack of cigarettes, a lighter, the pack of “gum” he’d gotten from Bach’s associate, along with a particularly thin detcord that he’d braided into a necklace that had two small silver blasting caps dangling at the end of it—both in rather unique shapes; one a Christian cross, the other a beatific-looking angel.

Oh yeah, and he also had two Epi Pens. To counter his brand-new allergy to assholes.

In truth, they held doses of Destiny.

After giving Shane his unenthusiastic blessing, Elliot had warned him of the dangers of jokering. It was possible—to the tune of a five-percent chance—that Shane would joker immediately upon injection. At which point he would no longer be an asset to either Bach or Mac.

He would, however, provide a hefty distraction for the Organization’s security guards to deal with as the team from OI engineered the escape.

And if the three men Shane had seen fast-roping down from that gunship had been an accurate representation of the quality of people who made up the Organization’s security team? They would have their unskilled and barely trained hands full.

Only one of the three had had any kind of military background—Shane had made note of that immediately.

Which was one of the reasons why he was now here. Because he couldn’t believe that whoever was in charge of security for the Washington Street building would turn down the opportunity to add a former Navy SEAL to his ranks.

And, sure enough, as Shane approached the desk in the lobby
and announced that he’d heard from a friend that he’d met while serving with the
U.S. Navy SEALs
that the Brite Group’s security head was hiring, the two men who’d gotten to their feet at his approach exchanged a message-laden glance.

Unlike with Mac, the word SEAL worked its magic with these two, and they were properly impressed.

“You were in the teams, huh?” the blond one with the goatee asked.

“An officer,” Shane said, even though they hadn’t asked. “But not quite a gentleman.”

And yes, they laughed.

“May I have your name, sir?” Goatee asked.

Shane told him, spelling Laughlin as the man typed it into his computer.

“The name of your friend?” Goatee asked.

“Anonymous,” Shane said. “He’s still active duty.”

“We get a lot of referrals from old Anonymous,” the guard with the shaved head and the tattoo peeking up over the edge of his shirt collar said, and again, they all laughed.
Ho, ho, ho
.

Despite the tatt, the man was neatly dressed—jacket, shirt, and tie—and it was clear that, like his co-worker, he was carrying a weapon in a shoulder holster. As opposed to the uniformed guards out front, who wore their weapons visible at their hips. He gestured toward a bench with his head. “Have a seat, sir. FYI, you’re being probed. If the boss likes what he sees, on your med scan and in your résumé, he’ll let us know. And just between us? Unless you’re using, hard-core, he’s gonna wanna see you.”

Of course, Shane knew that they were already scanning him—that they had been from the moment he stepped into the lobby. If the security head was at his desk, and not on a meal break, he’d already have had Shane’s online résumé up and in front of him before Shane had given his name to the men at the desk.

And—jackpot—he’d barely even sat down before Goatee was calling him back.

“Right this way, sir,” he said, leading Shane toward the elevators, where he pushed the up button.

This was almost too easy.

“You like working here?” Shane said. It was a question he would have asked, had he really been interviewing for a job.

“I like working,” the man replied. “The pay’s plenty good. And if you have a taste for … additional duties, you can earn a lot more in overtime.”

“Oh, yeah?” Shane said, keeping his voice light as the elevator opened. “I was hoping that this facility had opportunities like that. Good to know.”

The look that Goatee gave him was speculative, and it was so clear to Shane that the son of a bitch knew
exactly
what went down on the Brite Group’s securely guarded floors. Which was where they were going. Goatee had to use a special key to unlock the buttons for the fortieth floor.

Shane jammed his hands into his pockets so as not to be tempted to wrap them around the man’s throat as he asked, “What’s the name of your boss? Who am I going to be talking to?”