Hunted (Talented Saga # 3) (18 page)

Chapter Sixteen

An irritating ringing pulled me from uncharacteristically pleasant dreams.
I blinked awake, disoriented and agitated. It took me a minute to realize the ringing was not in my head. My damn communicator was going off.

“Answer,” I told the machine groggily.

“Are you still asleep?” Mac asked, sounding tired himself.

“I was,” I mumbled.
“Why, am I late?” There was no sunlight brightening the dark curtains that hung in the solitary window across from my bed.

“No, it’s still early, but I need to speak with you.
Can you come to my room now?” Mac asked.

“Sure.
Can I get dressed first?” I replied, feeling instantly queasy. Mac wanting to see me before sunrise undoubtedly didn’t bode well.

“Of course, but do not take too long,” he warned before breaking the connection.

I groaned. Mac was the one who’d been claiming I needed rest, yet here he was disturbing one of the first good nights’ sleep I’d had in a while.

I dressed in the first clothes I could find, dark jeans and a green t-shirt.
I hastily brushed my teeth. When I looked in the oval mirror over the bathroom sink, I snarled at my reflection. My dark curls were stuck to my still slightly sweaty forehead and the beginnings of dreadlocks threatened in several places. When I tried to brush out the tangles with my fingers, they caught part way down and I gave up the fruitless attempt at grooming. Instead, I secured a blue and white bandana – Erik had left it in my room – over my head to hide the rat’s nest.

Mac’s hotel room was on the tenth floor of the Hamilton.
But to call it a “room” was like calling a castle a cottage. His was one of two doors on the entire floor and when I entered the foyer, I learned the suite stretched the length of the hallway. Ceiling to floor windows made up one wall. The curtains were open, revealing a magnificent view of the D.C. skyline. A sliver of the previous night’s moon hung orange in the sky. The sun was rising on the opposite side of the building, casting a pinkish glow to the otherwise blue morning. The streets were starting to come alive with the early morning commuters. Hover planes bearing Toxic’s logo flew low, patrolling the city limits.

The smell of burnt coffee wafted from the small kitchenette off to one side of the large room.
Mac stood with his back to me in front of the wall of windows, his silhouette illuminated by the first light of day.

To my surprise, Erik and Cadence were already seated – and looking rather uncomfortable – on the black leather sofa in the middle of the room.
Cadence’s presence lessened my unease. On my five-floor elevator ride, I’d worried Mac wanted to see me in private to admonish me for my less than chaste behavior. But if he’d requested Cadence come to the early morning meeting, my indiscretions were unlikely the reason.

Erik smiled tentatively at me as I made my way to one of the two unoccupied recliners in the living area.
His bruises were fading slightly, thanks to Toxic’s miracle medicines, no doubt. The skin of his face and throat were now tinged a slickly yellowish green. The welts on his neck were no longer visible. Only a slight discoloration remained. His dark hair was slightly disheveled, but unlike me, he’d taken the liberty of dressing in pressed khakis and a navy blazer. Cadence, too, appeared better outfitted for the meeting in black pants and a black blazer.

Self-consciously, I smoothed my baggy jeans as I took my seat.

“Good morning, Natalia,” Mac addressed me without turning.

“Morning,” I muttered.
I searched Erik and Cadence’s faces for some hint of understanding, but they both looked perplexed.

“I have a special assignment for you three,” Mac began, finally facing us.
A white mug with steam escaping the lip in curly wisps was clenched firmly in his meaty hands. The circles under his eyes were more pronounced and with a pang of sympathy, I realized he’d had another sleepless night.

“Are you sending us to Bethesda?” I blurted out, dread filling my hollow belly.

“Bethesda? No, I am not. We have sufficient forces out there. Your assistance isn’t necessary,” Mac replied absently.

“Then where are we going?” I inquired.
Maybe he was going to send us to interrogate the prisoners. I perked up at the thought. I caught Erik’s eyes and my brief moment of excitement passed. His expression was grim and I knew that we weren’t being sent to Tramblewood.

“Not all children make it to testing,” Mac began, his hard gaze drifting to Erik.
My breath caught in my throat. “Irrespective of the fact that failure to submit a child for testing is a punishable offense, the bigger issue is that when those children start to appreciate their powers, it can cause problems. Without the aid of instructors to teach them properly to use their abilities, these children often become hazardous to those around them.

“One such child has been discovered in Pennsylvania.
Ordinarily, I would send a task force in to retrieve the child and the parents would be disciplined accordingly. However, the increase in uprisings in the recent weeks has made me reconsider the normal protocols. The most important thing right now is getting the child safely to the school so she may be trained. I have no interest in sanctioning her family or incurring more bad press for Toxic.” Mac met each of our eyes in turn. All three of us remained straight-faced, but Erik’s anxiety increased with each word of Mac’s speech.

“So you want us to go and what?
Covertly take the child from her home?” I clarified, making sure my sleep muddled brain understood. It sort of sounded as though he wanted us to kidnap her.

“Yes and no.
I am not asking you to kidnap her, just convince her parents to let her go to the school. I am sending a small group of other Operatives with you in case the situation gets out of control. Part of your job is to make sure it does not. I do not want there to be a scene.”

“Who all will actually go into the house?” Erik asked thickly.
My heart went out to him as I saw the images of his own retrieval cross his mind.

“Just you and Natalia.
I trust the two of you can make sure the parents agree that it is in the best interests of the child to let her go with you,” Mac replied pointedly.

I got Mac’s unspoken meaning and I didn’t like it.
He wanted me to manipulate the adults in to agreement. This was preferable to the alternative, black clothed Operatives raiding the house, guns drawn, and forcibly taking the child, but the whole situation didn’t sit well with me. My discomfort paled in comparison to Erik’s.

Mac had partially requested Erik for this assignment because of his abilities, but I also wondered if he were hoping it would serve as a reminder of what he, Erik, had personally experienced and what would happen if Erik didn’t continue to walk the line.

“Maybe Cadence and I should go in,” I suggested, attempting to spare Erik. Not that Cadence would be hugely beneficial to me when it came to convincing some kid’s parents what was in her best interests, but it also wasn’t like I actually needed the help. I was perfectly capable of controlling several people on my own; the moral support would be nice, but not at the expense of Erik’s mental well-being.

“Mr. Kelley’s talents will better serve the mission,” Mac answered with a note of finality that warned me not to argue.
It was early in the morning and my temper was already short where Mac was concerned, so I steeled myself for the impending argument I was about to engage in.

“Don’t,”
Erik silently begged me.

I met his eyes; the pain in his turquoise irises caused the angry words to die on my lips.

“Besides, Ms. Choi has another purpose.” Mac turned his attention on Cadence. “You will take custody of the child once she is safely away from her parents. I trust you have had instruction on how to handle these types of situations?”

Cadence nodded.
I wondered how often “these types of situations” arose. And what could Cadence possibly say that would make being taken away from your parents okay? At least with the testing, the children had adequate time to prepare for the separation. This kid would be scared and upset. I doubted Cadence’s less-than-friendly disposition would do much to absolve the girl of her fears.

“Good.
I want you all to leave immediately. Natalia, if you could change into something more official.” He studied my causal clothes with a look of disapproval. “Then meet the rest of the team in the lobby.”

I rolled my eyes at him.
He had said to hurry. If he had told me this was an official meeting, I would’ve dressed accordingly – maybe.

“Then we’re done here?” I asked, standing to leave.

“Yes, but report back to me immediately after you have secured the target,” he responded. “Natalia, you have my private communicator number. As do you, Mr. Kelley.”

“Sure, I do,” Erik confirmed, standing, too.

Heat tinted my cheeks as I thought of the silly, yet slightly sexual, conversations Erik and I had when he called me on Mac’s communicator.

The three of us were quiet as we made our way down the elevator to the fifth floor.
Erik followed me to my room to sit while I changed. He didn’t speak while I searched my closet for black clothes similar to the ones Cadence wore and then tried to brush my hair. His eyes had the faraway look of someone lost in deep thought. His mind was open, so I closed mine. I felt intrusive listening to his inner turmoil.

Erik held his hand out to me, palm up, when he noticed me wincing as clumps of my hair parted ways with my head.
“Want me to do it?” he asked absently.

I nodded and turned the torture device over to him.
I stood with my back to Erik. He gently tugged the offending tangles free. When my hair was smooth – poufy, but smooth – he twisted it into a loose bun at the nape of my neck as he’d seen me do so many times before. After all my hair was more or less secured, he kissed the space behind my ear.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

Erik wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and pulled me into his lap. Erik buried his face in the side of my neck and sagged against my back, his weight heavy on my small body. I didn’t mind. Whenever I needed him, he was always there for me and while I wished more than anything right then that the situation was very different, I loved that Erik needed me for once.

In the lobby of the Hamilton, Cadence awkwardly waited several feet from a group of ten heavily armed men.
Subtle, Mac, I thought dryly. He’d said the whole purpose of sending me and Erik was to prevent drawing attention to the situation. The mini army militia screamed “witch hunt” in my opinion.

A tall slender man with a full head of snow-white hair broke apart from his band of merry men.
He strode purposely towards me and Erik. The vulnerability was no longer visible in Erik’s features. He was all business now.

“Operative Lyons, Operative Kelley,” the tall man greeted us without extending his hand.
“My name is Graham Byrnes and I am the Head of Toxic’s extraction team.”

I blinked in surprise.
I hadn’t been aware that Toxic actually had an extraction team. I just sort of assumed that when these situations arose, Mac picked a couple of Operatives who weren’t working on other assignments and sent them.

“Nice to meet you,” I mumbled.

Erik simply nodded his head, but didn’t speak.

“I assume Director McDonough filled you in on the details,” Graham Byrnes continued.
Then he withdrew two handguns that were holstered at his narrow waist and handed one to Erik and one to me. I started to shake my head to refuse his offering, but he pressed the hard metal handle into my palm and held it there until I wrapped my own fingers around the grip.

“Is this really necessary?” I asked weakly.

“It’s just a precaution. My team won’t be entering the premises with you two. The situation might get out of control and we want you both to be protected,” Graham answered stiffly.

Erik lifted the back of his blazer and secured the weapon in his waistband, out of sight from the casual observer.
Reluctantly, I copied him. Even if the situation did “get out of hand”, I would not be using the gun. My abilities were sufficient to subdue an untrained assailant.

Graham motioned for us to follow him and we made our way to where the rest of the group stood anxiously waiting.
Cadence fell in step with me and Erik, looking relieved that we were there. She was still dressed in her business-like black suit, but she now had a weapon of her own slung across her chest. After months of trying to establish enough of a connection with Cadence to get a read on her, I was now acutely tuned to her emotions. She wasn’t nearly as calm and indifferent as she pretended. All of this bothered Cadence, too. The older girl was just better at masking her emotions.

Outside the hotel, two large black vehicles with darkly tinted windows idled, their doors ajar.
I followed Erik and Cadence to the first car and slid across the leather bench. The metal of the gun was hard and cold through the back of my dress shirt, an uncomfortable reminder of the potential violence that might arise. Several of Graham’s team filed into the first two rows and Graham himself climbed into the driver’s seat.