Mikal (Second Wave Book 3) (12 page)

Mikal wanted to roar in rage, but with Lara sending him calming energy and the fear and pain he felt from the child, he knew it would only serve to upset everyone more.

“Just breathe and remember that they need you more than ever, and you have to keep your shit together if you’re going to help them,” Lara said, squeezing Mikal’s hand in her own.

Mikal nodded as his eyes locked with Chance’s worried ones.

“She’s gone isn’t she?” Chance asked him through their private mental path.

Mikal gave a sharp nod and immediately started sending her warm, comforting energy. He watched the brave woman nod her head and blink away her tears as she hugged the small girl closer to her chest.

“We need to find them all,” Mikal said, clenching his fists in rage.

Lara chuckled softly.

“I don’t think you have to worry about that now. I do believe your father is already on his way to us with Amun, and when he knows . . . I think your father will be taking over this mission,” Lara said.

Mikal shook his head.

“Not without me,” he vowed.

Lara didn’t want to burst his bubble right then, but she had no doubt that Grai was going to have much to say about this latest, unauthorized mission and where they would all be going next. He warned them to keep him updated, and they’d lied to him. In Grai’s current state, she didn’t think it was going to bode well for any of them.

Although her energy was much more powerful than Grai’s and she could easily manipulate him, Lara had no intention of doing so. She was Army; she knew the value of following orders and had instead allowed the emotions to overtake her as much as the others had. She would take her punishment along with the rest of them.

“We’re landing in 5, 4, 3, 2 . . . Deacon called out before the transport gently touched down inside the hangar.

The door to the transport had barely opened when Grai jumped on board and glared at each of the occupants in turn, each looking away from him in shame for their role in lying to him.

Grai walked past his children and the Tezarians and kneeled in front of the little girl in Chance’s arms. Traze stood in the doorway, blocking everyone from leaving the transport. With the rage emanating from the normally fun-loving man-child, no one dared try to leave craft.

“My name is Grai; I’m their father. I heard that you were an amazing and very brave little girl, and I was hoping that you could help a very scared friend of mine learn to be brave too,” Grai said softly as he smiled at the little girl.

Everyone was more than a little surprised when they heard a small cry come from Grai’s pocket. Even the little girl turned to him with wide, pretty eyes.

Grai smiled as he pulled a small black ball of fluff from his pocket, the cries getting louder as he did so.

“What is it?” the little girl asked curiously as she reached out a tentative hand to the squirming black ball of fur.

“This,” Grai said as he placed the ball of fur in her hand. He smiled as she immediately clutched it gently to her chest and stroked its soft fur.

“This is a Sibiox kitten that is ready to learn to be a protector, but is still a little afraid. I was hoping that she could stay with you so you could teach her to be as brave as you are. Do you think you can help take care of her and show her how to be brave?” Grai asked gently.

Mikal looked curiously at Ranger Danger to see what he thought of one of their kittens being given to a child and was surprised at the smile on the cat’s face.

“Why?” Mikal asked the cat gruffly.

Ranger turned glittering black eyes to Mikal.

“The kitten needs to leave her family to learn, and the girl child needs the kitten even more. So I ask your daddy to bring her. The kitten will help the child with her memories and nightmares,” Ranger explained.

Mikal saw the child smile for the first time as she held the small kitten in her arms, and he was surprised to see the kitten nuzzle into the little girl’s neck and fall asleep.

“I think she’s in very good hands now,” Grai said softly before he stood and walked back to the door of the ship.

Grai stood next to Traze in the doorway of the transport and looked at each of his children, each one looking away from his penetrating gaze.

Mikal knew he was the cause of them being in trouble, and he stood and faced his father, willing to accept the blame so his siblings and friends wouldn’t get into trouble.

“Father,” Mikal began before Grai silenced him with a wave of his hand.

“Don’t! This is not the time,” Grai said before he looked at Chance and the child in her arms.

“Your other sisters have been sedated and are in another craft with the doctors. They are doing very well and will follow us to your new safe location. Buckle up everyone, we’ve going on a little ride,” Grai said.

Moments later the transport lifted off, their father presumably telling Deacon through the Shengari’ where they were headed.

Chance looked around at the nervous and sad faces of the people who had tried to help her, and she cleared her throat to speak to their intimidating father.

Mikal saw that Chance was going to say something, and he immediately tried to stop her.

“Don’t! Now is not the time! Father is . . . very upset with us right now,” Mikal warned in her mind.

Grai looked up sharply, as if sensing the conversation between Mikal and Chance. His dark eyes looked between the two, his face only cracking a smile when he looked at the small, scared child.

“I do not believe we need to have a discussion in front of the child. I think she’s been through enough. Don’t you?” Grai asked, looking pointedly at Chance and Mikal.

Something about the man scared the hell out of Chance, and she was in no position to argue either.

And he’s right
, she thought as she cuddled the sleeping girl closer to her. The child had been through enough and didn’t need to hear their conversations about where she’d come from.

Chance nodded her head at Grai, as did Mikal. Content with that, Grai turned to Traze, and it was obvious that they were having a private conversation through the Shengari’. Traze glanced over at them all a few times and nodded his head. It may have looked innocuous, but the kids knew their father and dreaded what was coming.

Mikal squeezed Chance’s hand and smiled at her when she looked at him.

“Don’t be afraid of him. My father is very intense, but there is no one that I would trust more. He is normally very loving, and he smiles more. But since his brother was taken . . . he’s determined to find him. I don’t blame him. We’re hoping that your labs will lead to the one that Koda is being held in. After blowing the last one . . .” Mikal’s voice trailed off when he realized just what this mission may have cost them.

Mikal looked around at his siblings and knew that the same thought had occurred to them as well. The normally rowdy group was subdued and silent, each with their head bowed and wrapped in their own thoughts.

Mikal finally looked up at his father, his heart breaking for him over what they’d done. The military definitely knew they were coming after them now, and they could kill or move the other captives—including Koda.

“Actions have consequences, son. You should have learned that by now,” Grai said softly in Mikal’s mind.

Moments later, Deacon called out, “We’re landing in 5, 4, 3, 2 . . .”

The door to the craft opened and Traze and Grai jumped out as Deacon came out of the pilot’s seat and jumped out after them.

“Oh hell, we might as well get it over with and see where we are this time,” Declan said as he stood and walked to the door, then jumped out.

Traze popped his head back in the door and looked around at them angrily.

“It would be a good idea if you moved; we’re wasting enough time,” he said before he disappeared again.

Dree sucked in a sharp breath.

“Whoa . . . what the hell?” she said, looking at the others in amazement.

“He’s right,” Chris said as he stood. “We need to get moving so they can get back out there and find Koda. Let’s go!”

Everyone stood quickly, and Mikal took the little girl and her kitten from Chance and carried her outside of the craft. He looked around in shock as the others headed into yet another converted industrial area.

“Anyone know where we are? Declan won’t tell me,” Dusty complained.

“We’re in Toronto. Canada,” Mikal said, still surprised they were there.

“Why here?” Dree asked in a whisper so Grai wouldn’t overhear.

Grai turned from several yards in front of them as they walked from the craft to a large warehouse building.

“You are here because there are now five more, just like Mikal, with the same challenges that he faces. This is where your brother comes when he wants to blend in,” Grai said, stunning Mikal and everyone else.

Mikal had never told anyone that this was his special spot, the place where he felt most at home when not with his family. He had no idea how his father had known. It shouldn’t have surprised him.

“When did you become a hockey fan, eh?” Shane asked in a mock Canadian accent.

“You will get to learn all about his haunts and likes and dislikes while you are all here. Which will be a while,” Grai said as he held open a door for them.

Chapter Twelve

Grai waited in the conference room for his children to finish getting settled in their new rooms. He wasn’t surprised that Chris, Lara, and Dread were the first to show up. As the leaders of the motley fools, it had been their responsibility to keep him informed.

“Dad,” Chris began when Grai shook his head.

“No. Sit down, we’re waiting on everyone else,” Grai said, not willing to have the argument more than once.

Mikal was settling the child in with Amun, Sergei, and Lauren when he heard Chris’s call through the Shengari’ for them all to hurry. Since Grai built all their bases the same way, the siblings already knew where the rooms were and quickly stored their gear before heading to the conference room above ground.

Chance walked beside Mikal, determined to speak her mind to his father this time. She wanted to know what the hell had happened to the other girl in the lab, the one who didn’t make it.

Mikal pulled out a chair for Chance and helped her sit before taking the chair next to her. If he hadn’t felt so bad about lying to his father, he would have smiled when she took his hand in her own under the table.

Siggy and Dante were the last in the room, and they slid into the last two chairs with their comms out and still tapping on them.

“Put them down and pay attention,” Grai said.

“But Dad . . .” Siggy began when Grai slammed his hands down on the table.

“I said pay attention!” Grai roared, startling everyone.

Everyone sat a little straighter and the room became silent.

“The lab is now swarming with military and government officials, and the dec charge you set off has let them know without a doubt that we’re involved,” Grai spat.

When Chris started to open his mouth, Grai pointed his finger at him.

“Don’t even consider it!” Grai started pacing near the wall of the room. “There is not much that you can tell me to excuse your actions,” Grai added, trying to calm himself.

While Grai’s back was turned, Siggy nodded at Dante. Dante looked around at his siblings shaking their heads at him and he flipped them off before putting an image on the wall behind their father of the female who’d been left behind at the lab.

Traze sucked in a shocked breath and Grai turned sharply and was greeted by the final image of the female who’d died.

“Fucking hell!” Grai exclaimed. “What the hell was going on there?” he asked through gritted teeth as he studied the image on the wall before looking away.

Chris looked around at his siblings and cleared his throat.

“When they heard us break through the lab, the doctors stopped the procedure on her. It was going to be her last,” Chris said, unable to look at the image on the wall.

Dr. Sergei Rostovic burst through the doors in his normal dramatic fashion, looked at the image on the wall, and began cursing in Russian while gesticulating wildly.

Grai rubbed his hands down his face, then whistled loudly until the doctor quieted down.

“Someone explain to me what the hell was going on in that place!” he roared, looking between the doctor and his children.

“They were experimenting on them! They were creating them with traces of human DNA in order to make spare organs. The files they got,” Sergei said, pointing to Siggy and Dante. “say they’ve been trying to find a way to grow them and harvest their organs for the highest bidders—not for the sick! For those who want their longevity and healing ability and have the means to pay millions for it!” Sergei said, trembling in rage.

Chance simmered with rage, the only thing keeping her seated was Mikal’s hand on her thigh and the calming energy he was flooding her with.

“The child?” she asked.

Sergei shook his head and pulled out his comm as the others waited with bated breath to find out if the small girl would be all right.

Mikal held Chance’s cold hands in his own as he also looked to Sergei to find out if the girl would live.

Sergei looked at Grai and when he nodded, the doctor spoke.

“She’s missing a kidney and part of a lung. They took so much bone marrow there will be permanent marks in her skin from the needles. But she was lucky, and we can help her . . . compared to the others. And that one,” Sergei said, pointing at the female on the screen.

The Dranovians had found the female with her chest laid open. Rib spreaders held her broken breastbone apart to give the lab doctors access to her rapidly beating heart. She was awake, and the monsters hadn’t given her anything more than an oxygen cannula before slicing into her torso. Just like in the image on the wall, she had looked at the Dranovians with the same anguish and unimaginable pain on her ashen face. She was missing both legs, an arm, her left lung, and a kidney.

They were preparing to sever her aorta and remove her heart when the siblings arrived. Three sterile coolers waited nearby—one for her heart and her remaining lung and kidney.

She had known she was going to die.

Grai gripped the table so tightly his knuckles popped.

“You’re telling me that they’re creating them to harvest the body parts?” he asked the doctor.

Sergei nodded his head sadly.

“They’re trying to anyway. So far, they haven’t been successful. Even though human DNA is used when creating the females, the organs are failing once transplanted,” Sergei said, nodding at Chance.

“Do you know who’s paying them?” Grai asked with a growl.

“I have detailed medical on most of them,” Sergei said. “Think of who is who in the recent spate of billionaires that have died, and that’s most of your list. The rest are politicians, royalty, and entertainers who haven’t had a procedure done yet.”

“Do they say how many more are being held captive for this?” Mikal asked angrily.

Sergei shook his head.

“No. I can guess, but I can’t be sure because this could only be the list for this particular lab,” the doctor said as he threw his hands up in the air and fell into a chair at the table.

Grai cursed again and looked directly at Chris.

“Why the damn dec charge?” he asked.

Chris sighed and shrugged.

“Luca said she was too far gone. She knew it, and she didn’t want us to save her. She begged to be the one to set off the charge. She wanted to be the one to destroy the place that had tortured so many . . .” Chris admitted. 

“We couldn’t take a chance that any part of her would remain for them to find,” Shane added.

“We got all the computers and still have access to everything,” Dante said under his breath.

Grai slammed his hands on the table, causing everyone to jump, and glared at his children.

“You,” he said pointing at each one around the table. “You’re all benched! You’re out of this right now. Siggy and Dante, you’re going to give everything you have to Traze.”

“Now!” Grai roared when his sons didn’t move.

Siggy and Dante handed over the two storage boxes of hard drives, laptops, and cell phones to the stone-faced Traze who’d moved silently around the table to get them.

Mikal rose and faced his father.

“I’m not sitting this out! You can’t expect me to!” he argued, wondering why his father wouldn’t want him to continue searching for his people.

Grai looked at him incredulously.

“Do I really have to explain it to you? Son, you’re smarter than this! Think with your damn head and not your heart for a minute!” Grai said, hoping Mikal would figure it out before he had to say something.

When the others began to mutter, Grai was a little surprised and more than a little pissed off. He grabbed ahold of the side of the table and flipped it over on its side, causing everyone to stand.

“Show them, Traze,” Grai said as his chest heaved in anger.

Seconds later there was a perfect image of Mikal being hit by some kind of energy grid and being thrown out of his wind form from the sky in a shower of sparks. Various groans were heard before they saw the same thing happen to Chance.

“Do you know what that grid is?” Grai asked them all, pointing at the screen.

When everyone shook their heads or just stared at the screen, Grai continued.

“Neither do I! Do you know if it will kill them? Have you even seen Sergei or Amun to see if there’s permanent damage to them? The two of them almost died out there! And the rest of you could have been looking at their bodies—as well as that poor female’s—if not dead yourself!” Grai yelled, his fear for his children causing him to tremble slightly.

“You expect me to do nothing?” Mikal countered.

Grai ran a hand down his face and looked with exhausted eyes at his precious son.

“No, I don’t. I expect you to take care of the ones you’ve already rescued while you let the rest of us find the others. You think your job is done because they’re out of that hell?” Grai asked, wishing his son would understand what he was saying.

Mikal snorted and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I think there are plenty of people here to not only help with them, but to help find the others,” Mikal said.

Several of his siblings sucked in air over the exchange between their brother and their father. The Tezarians and Lara watched it like a tennis match. There was no doubt who would win.

Grai’s eyes widened, and he growled before looking at Chance.

“Chance, let me ask you—are you comfortable enough in the world to protect your sisters and yourself from those who’ve held you prisoner? Do you know that there is more than one alien race on this planet that you must be concerned about? Do you know which ones they are? How to look out for them or recognize them?” Grai asked, looking carefully at Chance’s facial expressions and body language before continuing.

“Or do you plan on taking your sisters from one kind of prison to another? Never allow them to learn the world, to be a part of it? To make friends? To really live?” Grai asked, startling Chance as he expected.

“I can help them adapt!” Mikal argued, angry that his father would use the females as an excuse.

“How are you going to do that if you’re hunting labs or dead? Who the hell is supposed to teach them about who they are if you both get yourself killed?” Grai asked.

“I don’t even know who the hell I am. How can I teach them anything?” Mikal roared, throwing his chair to the floor in his anger.

Grai was on him in a second, his hands gripping Mikal’s upper arms while his eyes stared at him with pain and fear.

“You’re my son! You’re their brother! That’s who you are! And now you are a brother to many more who need the comfort of their people while they learn to trust and heal. Let me find out what that energy field was that stopped your shift to wind before you go out there half-cocked again!” Grai pleaded.

Mikal shook his head and pulled away from his father.

“You can’t keep treating us like we’re five! We may have made a few miscalculations, but we pulled off both raids with no casualties . . .” Mikal tried to argue.

Grai pushed Mikal into a chair and waved at Traze. A recording of the moment that Mikal and Chance were trapped began playing in the background while Grai stared at his son.

“The only reason you and Chance are even here right now and not dead or captured is because I insisted the cats go with you, and they saved your asses! All of you!” Grai said, turning to look at the others. They avoided his gaze, knowing he was right.

Grai leveled his gaze on Chance next.

“I understand your anger, pain, and need to find your family. But if you keep this up, you will end up killing my family in order to find your own. Is the tradeoff worth it to you?” he asked.

Grai wasn’t trying to be cruel; he was trying to make them all see that if they continued on the course they were on, one of them would end up dead. And he couldn’t bear to lose someone else.

“You’re being unfair to her!” Mikal thundered, pushing his father away.

Grai turned to Mikal.

“Am I?” Grai asked before waving his arm to encompass the rest of the team in the room.

“Which one of them are you OK with dying? Which one of the cats? Besides the danger . . . can either of you even shift form again yet? Or are you still left impotent from that energy barrier?” Grai asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Mikal snorted. He hadn’t tried to shift his form since they’d left the last lab, but he didn’t doubt he still had the ability. He looked over at Chance and shrugged before they both tried to shift.

Nothing happened.

Undaunted, Mikal and Chance tried again. Still nothing.

Grai and the others grew more concerned as the minutes ticked by without either Mikal or Chance being able to shift.

“Damn . . . could it be permanent?” Shane asked, worried for his brother.

“You need to see the doctor to figure it out,” Declan said.

“You need to let Sergei run a work up on you,” Chris said, agreeing with their father.

Grai saw his other children start to see his point of view, and he pressed his advantage. He sat on the upended tabletop in front of both of them.