Hunted (Talented Saga # 3) (20 page)

“What you want with
Bethy?” she asked suspiciously. The chickens had momentarily distracted me and my hold on her mind had slackened.

“We want to ask her a couple questions.
You don’t mind, do you?” Erik soothed, taking over.

“Course not.”
She smiled, slipping back in to robot mode. “Bethy,” she hollered towards the back of the house.

The pitter-patter of small bare feet filled the tiny house and then a miniature version of Lisa appeared in the doorframe demarcating the living room and a small hallway.
The child had the same dirty blonde hair and goldenrod eyes and was a testament to the notion that obesity might be genetic.

“Hello,
Bethy,” I greeted the girl.

“Hi,” she said in a small voice.
She gazed longingly at the clean, comparatively stylish clothes that Erik and I wore. An expression of wonder at the two strangers that must’ve appeared so out of place in her dingy house came over her features.

“
Bethy, we’re from Toxic,” I started kindly.

“I know who you are,” she declared, sticking out her chin in a good imitation of her mother.

“You do?” I asked, startled.

“I saw you coming,” she replied evenly.

“Like out the window?” I asked, even though I was pretty sure that wasn’t what she meant.

“In my head,” she confirmed my thoughts.

“So you can see the future?” I clarified.

“I see things that hadn’t happened yet,” she explained.

Mine and Erik’s eyes met and he sighed. Now that our intel was confirmed, we had no choice but to take her with us. The more of her house I saw, the more convinced I became that going to the school was truly the best thing for her.

“Well,
Bethy, did you also see that we came to take you to the McDonough School?” I prompted her.

“Wait just a dang minute,” Lisa interjected.
“You can’t just show up and take my kid.”

“Ma’am, we’re here to take
Bethy to a better place. Where she will be around other kids like her,” Erik said. His voice was gentle, but his body language spoke a different story. Like me, he did believe that, in Bethy’s case, the McDonough School and Toxic might well be advantageous. But he was strongly opposed to tearing her away from her mother.

“You want what’s best for
Bethy, don’t you?” I turned my full attention to her. Under the combined effort of mine and Erik’s abilities, she could only nod obligingly. “That’s what I thought,” I continued, nodding jerkily to reassure myself as much as Lisa.

“Why don’t you sit down while
Bethy packs some of her things?” Erik suggested.

Lisa waddled over to her couch and sank down on the dirty cushions.

“Do you need help getting some stuff together?” I asked Bethy.

“No, ma’am.
My bags are already packed,” she answered, then turned and walked back down the hallway.

In no time,
Bethy reappeared in the living room, a tattered black bag strapped to her back and a small woven purse clenched in one chubby fist. “I’m ready,” she declared.

I nodded and offered her my hand.
She wrapped the fingers of her free hand around mine and gave me a small smile. She glanced sadly to where her mother sat staring off in to space. Despite the extreme poverty she was living in, Bethy really didn’t want to go with us. She loved her mother and hated leaving her all alone. But like she’d said earlier, she had seen us coming and had been preparing herself for this moment for the past year. She’d seen the scenario change several times since her first vision. The version where Erik and I came for her was the only one with a positive outcome for her mother. On some level, she was even aware that her mother’s compliance wasn’t exactly voluntary. She didn’t seem to fault me or Erik; rather, she was grateful her mother truly believed this was for the best.

“You can say goodbye,” I told her, sensing her indecision.

Bethy nodded and released her grip on my hand. She crossed the floor to the couch in three long strides and threw her arms around her mother’s neck. Erik coughed uncomfortably and looked away from the scene.

“I love you,”
Bethy whispered thickly in her mother’s ear and my chest began to ache.

“It’s almost over,”
I assured Erik.

“I know,”
he sent back without looking in my direction.

“Why don’t you take her outside?”
I suggested when Bethy finally drew back from her mother’s limp embrace.

Erik nodded and then held out his own hand to the child.
“Come on, Beth. Let’s go the car,” he told her.

When they were securely through the front door, I knelt in front of Lisa and clasped her swollen fingers in my hands.
“You thought sending Bethy to the school would be the best thing for her,” I said in a low, steady voice. “You are happy Bethy will be with other kids like her,” I added, my voicing cracking as I stumbled over the words. Clearing my throat, I continued, “You will miss her, of course, but you did the right thing by letting her go.”

Lisa nodded absently, a dazed and vacant expression hung in her eyes.
She kept trying to focus on me, but couldn’t. “I want what’s best for my daughter. I am happy she’ll be with others of her kind.” Lisa had trouble enunciating her words.

I
rose to my full sub five-feet and turned to leave. I was a little unsteady as I exited the tiny, dilapidated house, hoping that my words had actually sunk in and that Lisa would be content in the knowledge that she had done right by Bethy.

Chapter Seventeen

Our group arrived back at the Hamilton mid-afternoon.
The hotel was virtually empty since most Operatives were either at the testing facility or helping sift through the wreckage in Bethesda. I’d called Mac on the brief flight back to the base in Greenbelt to let him know Bethy was with us and there hadn’t been any trouble. He seemed pleased and ordered Cadence to take charge of the girl until he arrived back from wherever it was he was spending the day. I was relieved Bethy wasn’t resigned to my care since I would have been at loss as to how to entertain her. And I had something else I needed to attend to, Erik.

His mood was black the entire trip back and I worried about him.
He insisted on sitting next to Bethy. Nobody minded since she smelled strongly of chicken poop. I hoped Cadence’s first order of business would be to get her a proper shower and some clean clothes. Erik spoke to her in a quiet voice, trying to ease any lingering doubts about her new life. I was simultaneously touched by his compassion and saddened by the events from which it was born.

Erik insisted on going to his own room alone.
I wanted to protest, but I knew better. He’d only shut me out if I pushed. I would let him stew in solitude for a couple of hours before I interrupted. In the interim, I decided the best use of my time was taking out my frustrations on the poor punching bag. I might’ve walked around the city and indulged in some retail therapy, but since promising Mac I wouldn’t leave the hotel without my bodyguard, Erik, I wasn’t sure that was really a good idea.

The idea of buying needless clothing and random trinkets to make myself feel better was a notion Penny taught me.
Thinking about Penny led my mind in a dangerous direction. She was never far from my thoughts. I tried to keep her tucked away in the recesses of my mind, only visiting her at night in my dreams. With so much happening so fast, I was desperate for a sounding board. Erik was great, but there were topics best discussed with a girlfriend. Penny was the only one I’d ever had.

Despite being a private person, I enjoyed telling Penny about my relationship with Erik.
She would have loved to hear that we finally consummated it. When I closed my eyes, I saw Penny sitting on my bed at Headquarters, stuffing her face with room service while I divulged the less intimate details of the encounter. Her high-pitched squeal filled my mind and I heard her saying something silly like, “Welcome to the ranks of the devirginized.”

Deciding a pretend conversation with the girl who had once been my best friend and closest confidante would be
cathartic, I imagined what all I would tell her as I beat the swinging bag into submission. But after the happy subjects were spent, I started to think about all the questions I wanted her to answer. I thought about all the uncertainty in my life and how Penny could have made sense of it had Mac let me speak to her before her execution. Of course, I’d never asked to speak with her and Mac had never offered. At the time, I didn’t want to. Now that she was gone, I regretted not insisting upon a meeting.

When I returned to my room several hours later, my mental exhaustion was worse than the physical.
Thinking about Penny didn’t prove as rewarding as I’d hoped. So after showering and getting dressed in clean clothes, I sought out my primary source of comfort, Erik. I doubted his mood had improved in the time we’d been apart, but I figured we could be sad together at least. And I was never that unhappy when with Erik.

When Erik answered the door, I was surprised to find him dressed to go out.
His mood was lighter and he looked and smelled intoxicating.

“I was just heading towards your room,” he said, kissing me lightly on the cheek.

“Really?” I asked suspiciously. “What’s got you in such a good mood?”

“We’re going out for a little,” he replied with one of his patented mischievous smiles that I loved so much.

“Are we? Where are we going?” I asked, confused.

“To meet some people.
Eat, drink, be merry, etcetera, etcetera,” he said lazily.

“Um, not to put a damper on your great plans, but are you sure that’s such a good idea?
I mean, Mac doesn’t want me leaving here without a bodyguard, and there is that whole curfew thing,” I added lamely.

“I think we both need some mindless fun.
And you aren’t going anywhere without a bodyguard. I’m your bodyguard. We’ll be back by curfew. The bars will close by then, anyway. So, no more excuses. Let’s get you changed so we can get going,” he insisted.

I was well aware of Erik’s idea of mindless fun and knew Mac wouldn’t approve.
I also knew that a drunk Erik wasn’t going to be a very effective bodyguard. But his earnest expression made me hesitant to bring that up. If I told him to go without me, he wouldn’t. He would insist on staying here and then he’d be miserable. So, I agreed.

Erik selected a short, purple silk dress with thin straps from my closet and ordered me to put it on.
The dress was one of Kenly’s selections and much shorter and clingier than I liked. The fabric was nearly identical in color to my eyes, making them impossible not to notice. I normally shied away from clothing that drew attention to the physical qualities that marked me as Talented. But I knew that Erik picked the dress because he liked the effect and my primary goal for the evening was making him happy. So, I put on the dress without protest. I even went the extra mile and brushed gold shadow across my lids and applied liberal amounts of black mascara. When I looked in the mirror, I was relieved to find a moderately attractive girl staring back at me. And not the living corpse that I’d resembled lately. Even my curls were tightly wound and bounced prettily between my shoulder blades tonight.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Erik was sitting patiently on my bed.
His eyes lit up when he drank in my appearance. “You look beautiful,” he declared breathlessly.

“Thank you,” I replied shyly, somewhat embarrassed by his compliment.
Or more likely, the way he was his eyes stared right through my clothes to what lay beneath.

“Maybe we should just stay in,” he said huskily.

“I don’t think that would be satisfying for you,” I said dryly.

“I have no doubt I would be satisfied, very satisfied,” he added, his eyes lingering on the low neckline of my dress.
A tingly sensation spread like wildfire from my forehead down to my toes.

“Come on, horny, before you get us both in trouble.”
I rolled my eyes and headed to the door, barely concealing a stupid grin.

Another surprise waited for me in the lobby.
Cadence and, to my utter shock, Harris Daughtery, were waiting for us. Cadence was dressed in her best imitation of bar appropriate attire. It didn’t look much different than her standard black business suit except the pants were tight against her sculpted legs and her black sleeveless shirt was low cut and silky. Her hair was messily styled and her cherub-like mouth shiny with a pink gloss.

Harris had briefly dated Penny the year before.
I hadn’t seen him in months and now wondered how he was dealing with everything. The last time I’d spoken to Penny about Harris, I got the impression there were some lingering feelings on both sides of the equation. I wondered whether Harris felt betrayed or if, like me, hurt.

“Hope
it’s okay I invited them,” Erik whispered, his good mood wavering slightly for the first time since I’d knocked on his door.

“Of course,” I confirmed.

Truthfully, I was glad that he’d invited them. Going out with a group of people would be fun and that, after all, was the point in this little excursion. Erik seemed relieved at my confirmation. I was glad to make him happy.

“You look nice,” I called out to Cadence when we got close enough.

“Thanks,” she replied, self-consciously patting her artfully styled hair.

I gave Harris a hug and whispered, “It’s good to see you,” in his ear when he bent down to reciprocate.

I figured we would go to a bar close to the hotel. When we boarded a bus headed for Loudon Circle, I realized I’d thought wrong. Loudon Circle held the largest concentration of nightlife in the city. Apparently, Erik had planned a wilder night than he let on.

The trip across town was quick.
The bus driver reminded us curfew extended until ten on account of it being Friday night. He was also sure to add that if we weren’t at the bus stop by quarter of, we’d be walking home.

Loudon Circle was alive with teenagers and twenty-
somethings. Bars and nightclubs lined the streets in every direction. The sidewalks were overflowing with drunken laughter and generally raucous behavior. The moment I stepped on to the pavement, I was glad we’d come. The mood at the Hamilton was so bleak and serious, everyone overly cautious in the wake of the attack in Bethesda. Here, though, the people were carefree, unconcerned by the world outside of the bubble that was D.C. Just being in such close proximity to them made me feel lighter.

I followed Erik as he pushed through the crowds until finally coming to a stop in front of a bar called The Four Horsemen.
The interior was decorated in rich wood and dark green leather booths. The lights were dim and the interior was already packed wall-to-wall.

Erik led our group through the scantily clad girls gyrating to the loud music pumping through invisible speakers and the already drunk guys ogling them.
I clung tightly to his hand, afraid I might get swallowed by the crowd. I was too small to see over the heads of the dancers and their admirers, so when we finally came to a stop at a booth, I didn’t immediately notice who was sitting there.

Extremely long arms reached around Erik and engulfed me in a giant hug.

“Henri!” I exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been out in Bethesda helping out and Erik called to see if I wanted to meet you guys for dinner,” he replied, releasing me.
“You look good, Talia,” he added, looking me up and down.

If any other guy in the bar had performed the gesture, his face would’ve become intimately acquainted with Erik’s fist.
The boys’ bond of friendship was too strong for that and even if Henri had been attracted to girls, I doubt Erik would have minded.

“You, too,” I replied, smiling.

“I’m not the one who’s been through hell and back,” Henri said, giving my arm a squeeze before turning to greet Cadence and Harris.

That was when I realized he wasn’t alone in the booth.
His boyfriend, Frederick, was smiling serenely from his seat. One of his hands was wrapped tightly around a glass of white wine and the mostly empty bottle was sitting in a bucket of melting ice. His rosy cheeks were a further indication that they’d been drinking for quite some time.

I climbed up to sit next to Frederick as he signaled a passing waiter to bring us two more bottles of whatever they’d been drinking.
He kissed me sweetly on the cheek by way of greeting.

“How have you been?” he asked, his delicate features contorted with concern.

“Better every day.” I smiled, patting his rosy cheek affectionately.

I’d met Frederick for the first time not long after becoming a Pledge and had taken an instant liking to him.
I wasn’t sure how anybody could not like Frederick. Nice seemed too simple of an adjective to describe the fine-boned boy, but that was the only word for him. He was easy to talk to and had a way about him that put everyone at ease. Frederick also had the rare distinction of being the only person I’d ever met who left Toxic. Technically, he was a Talent, but according to Donavon, his abilities were extremely low-level. As a result, he’d requested a discharge instead of taking a remedial job within the Agency. Now he taught at one of the city schools.

Once everyone was seated, and the two bottles of wine and several more glasses had been delivered, the conversation turned light and trivial.
Erik seemed to relax further in the company of Henri and Frederick.

Harris was quieter than I’d remembered, but his melancholy mood wasn’t without cause.
He was still deeply depressed about Penny, I realized. The smile that slowly spread across his face throughout the evening was directly proportional to the amount of alcohol he drank. I was glad that, at least for a while, he could forget his troubles. It wasn’t long before he was grinning broadly and Frederick was ordering another couple of bottles of the fruity wine.

Cadence sipped hers slowly at first, but every time her glass dipped below halfway, Henri refilled it.
I was surprised to find him being such an instigator. He was normally the responsible, controlled one, but a quick peek in his head told me he was desperate to erase the horrific images he’d witnessed over the past two days. Apparently, alcohol aided in the forgetting process. While I liked seeing Henri let loose for once, the darkness lingering deep in his mind scared me.

Erik’s behavior was what I found most perplexing.
Despite the fact it had been his idea to come out and have a little fun, he nursed the same glass of wine all night. He enthusiastically took part in the conversation, but his eyes were constantly surveying the darkened room as if some monster lurked in every corner. He kept his arm draped lazily over my shoulders at all times. And my earlier fears about him getting drunk and neglecting his promise to protect me made me feel guilty. He was clearly taking his responsibility very seriously.