Paranormals (Book 2): We Are Not Alone (41 page)

“Yeah, I guess that’s it, then. So ... down I went. It wore off a few minutes later, but by then it was too late ...” He forced himself to look away from Pendler’s body. “By the time I was able to jump out, the ship was gone. Can we track it?”

“
We
can’t, that’s for sure. The Taalu are tryin’, but it’s the same kinda stuff they use to hide. It might take ‘em a while. Unless they stir up trouble somewhere else.”

“Do the Taalu have any idea why they showed up here? I mean, right
here
?”

Mark looked a little uncomfortable, but that didn’t stop him from answering. “Well, they have a theory. You see, when these guys showed up, we had Shining Star down in the basement of the rogue pit, down in solitary. That makes for a lotta anti-rogue equipment between him and, you know, the sky. And they think these aliens, these Nocto-whatevers might’ve locked onto the strongest paranormal signal they could find.”

Lincoln got it. “And since they couldn’t find Shining Star, they locked in on
me
instead.” He shook his head.

A devilish grin spread across Mark’s lips. “Don’t pat yourself on the back too much. If I hadn’t been down in that basement playin’ Jodie Foster along with Shining Star, they probably woulda locked onto
me
instead of you. Or didn’t that cross your brain?”

Lincoln smirked. “Sure.”

“Okay, then.” With the moment of levity past, Mark grew serious again. “I meant what I said before. About not being happy ‘bout what happened. I, uh ... I’m sorry you lost your partner.”

Lincoln didn’t know what else to say but, “Thanks.”

“You and me ... we’ll probably never be friends. Yeah, I know, no surprise there. But ...” Mark sighed. “... I’m also sorry for givin’ you so much shit lately. It’s not even about you, not really. I just ...” He shrugged. “Did you know they offered Mike the chance to partner up with you?”

Lincoln blinked. “No, I had no idea. When was this?”

“Before you got Pendler.”

“But ... why? You guys were partners even before I signed on with the PCA ...”

“Not that much longer. That whole McLane thing was our first assignment together. And as for why? Because, as you well know, I am a pain in the ass. The only reason the PCA took me on at all was because they were desperate for help. And then I scaled up to Class One, and they were all worried I’d switch sides. But once you came along ...”

“But the Lieutenant obviously turned them down. He stuck with you.”

“Yeah, he did. God knows why, but he did.” Mark shook his head. “Mike’s treated me with respect from the first second we partnered up. I haven’t gotten too much of that in my life ...”

Mark fell silent, and before either knew it, they were once again staring at Pendler’s covered body.

“Christ, what a week.” Mark sounded as tired as Lincoln felt. “I can’t believe that just a few days ago my biggest worry was how to help Mike get over his ex.” He snorted as he reflected on that. “Christ Almighty, this
has
been a long week. And we ain’t done yet. We still gotta kick some serious alien ass.”

“I guess we do.”

“Damn right we do. Either that, or hand over Shining Star and his people to these Nocto-whatevers. And you know what? To hell with that! Callin can get a little uppity, but I kinda like his skinny face.”

Lincoln replied by whistling. “Oh, man, you think you like
Callin’s
face, just wait ‘til you see his sister and mother.”

Mark perked up. “What? What do ya mean?”

“Trust me.”

Mark reigned himself in. “Okay, I guess I will. But if they end up lookin’ like they got beat with the ugly tree or somethin’, I’m gonna kick your ass all over again.”

Lincoln just smiled and repeated, “Trust me.”

“Okay. Hey, here comes Vortex.” Mark pointed to the costumed vigilante as he wove through the vehicles toward them. He stood, lowering his voice, “Hey, do me a favor, would ya? Keep that stuff about Mike’s gettin’ offered you as a partner to yourself. He doesn’t know that I know.”

“Really? I mean, sure.”

“Thanks. Mike doesn’t need to worry about me any more than he already does.”

“Hey, big guy,” Vortex said to Lincoln as he reached them. “You okay?”

Lincoln shrugged as he rose to his feet. “Not really, no. I’m hurting, and ...” He looked toward Pendler; two workers from the coroner’s office were finally starting the process of moving the mess that was once Lincoln’s partner onto a stretcher. “... I’m hurting.”

“I understand.”

Mark nodded. “Maybe we can help you get some payback, you know what I’m sayin’?”

“Yeah. Payback. About that ...” Lincoln turned to Vortex. “You remember that time, the
only
 time, I killed someone?”

Vortex nodded. “Yeah. You saved my life from McLane’s lightning guy.”

“His name was Graham. That really bothered me, killing Graham. To be honest, it almost stopped me from joining the PCA. I never, ever wanted to feel like that again. I swore to myself, no more killing.”

Vortex and Mark exchanged a quick glance, but neither said anything as they waited for him to continue.

The workers from the coroner’s office shifted Pendler’s remains onto the stretcher.

“I’ve decided I’m making an exception to that. When we catch up with these Nocto-things, the walrus with the eel’s face is
mine
.”

If Shockwave or Vortex had a response to that, they didn’t have the opportunity to make it.

With a silver flash from above, the Shining Star appeared. The sight of him prompted gasps from the surrounding crowds and brought Takayasu running flat out from the automotive garage — by the time the Lieutenant reached the others, Shining Star touched down.

“We have them.”

PARANORMALS AND THE SHINING STAR

“I have a question,” Powerhouse called from the main cabin of the plane.

Vortex had been watching Shining Star through the window as he flew alongside them; the paranormal Taalu could easily outdistance the PCA private jet, but he had agreed to pace them so they would all arrive together. When Powerhouse spoke up, Vortex glanced over at the big man.

“Go ahead,” Lieutenant Takayasu replied from the cockpit. Though Takayasu was no pilot, he had taken the copilot’s seat and a headset, to keep in contact with the authorities.

“Shining Star’s people think that these Noctoponm guys came at me because his paranormal ‘signal’ or whatever was hidden in the rogue pit and I’m the one they picked up, right?”

“That was the Grand Lord’s guess. And I think Lord Larr and Chief Naltin agreed with him.” Takayasu twisted around in his seat to try and make eye contact with Powerhouse. “Why?”

“If they were right about that, then why are we having to chase after these aliens? Shouldn’t they have come after Shining Star when he got out in the open?”

That’s a good question
, Vortex thought. He peered through the window at Shining Star. Callin’s silver glow was on full power, as near as he could tell.

“I don’t know,” Takayasu answered a second later; his tone sounded like he echoed Vortex’s opinion. “If our time-line is correct, you were still sparring with the one Noctoponm when we came back upstairs, so they might’ve been too distracted. But since then? I haven’t a clue.” He asked the pilot, “How much longer?”

The pilot, a PCA Lieutenant Junior Grade who transferred over from the Navy, consulted his instruments. “If we keep tracking with your glowing friend out there, and if the bearing he gave us is accurate, we could probably set down at a private airfield on the south side of Cheyenne in less than fifteen minutes. Our altitude is low enough that I could have us on the ground with a one-minute warning.”

“If you had to, could you put us down away from an airfield? On a city street, something with lights?”

The pilot flashed a cocky grin and nodded. “In this little bird? Not a problem, Lieutenant. So long as I can see, I can get us down.”

His gaze still locked out the window, Vortex perked up. “Michael, I think Shining Star just read your mind. He’s pointing to eleven o’clock low.”

Takayasu sat forward in his seat. “I think I see a property on fire, maybe a large homestead. Definitely outside Cheyenne city limits, but that roadway to the south is lit.” To the pilot, he said, “I’m holding you to your word. Head that way and prep for landing unless I say otherwise.”

“You got it.”

“Mike!” Shockwave called from the very back seats. He had been trying to take a nap, but like the others, he must’ve been too keyed up. “We don’t have to wait to land. I can get us down faster.” He held up his removed shoes. A beat later, he added, “I promise not to go splat with you on my back.”

Takayasu considered this. “Powerhouse, would you be up for jumping to the ground from this height?”

“Hey!” Vortex jumped in. “I’m not staying behind. If Shockwave is carrying you, could Powerhouse carry me?”

Takayasu responded by asking, “Lincoln? Could you do it?”

“Yeah, I could do it. I’m sore, but not sore enough to let it stop me.” He looked over at Vortex. “If you can handle the jolt ...?”

Vortex nodded.

Takayasu nodded as well, removing his headset. “All right, get ready. Lieutenant,” he said to the pilot as he rose from his seat, “touch down on the closest impromptu strip to the fire, so long as it’s clear of civilians. Keep the plane running until you hear otherwise from me. But if I don’t contact you, one way or the other, in half an hour, contact regional HQ for further instructions.”

“Aye-aye.”

Vortex unbuckled his seatbelt. “What kind of backup are we looking at? Was the closest PCA office able to—?”

“No,” Takayasu replied as he moved back into the main cabin, “nobody useful for this kind of fight, so I told them to keep clear. They’ve got field agents on standby in Cheyenne, just in case. I’ve got some balls rolling back home, but nothing that’ll be on time for this confrontation.”

“We aren’t going to wait for your balls to stop rolling?” Shockwave asked with a smirk.

Takayasu chose to give his quip a serious answer. “I have the impression the Grand Lord wouldn’t wait. I’d rather he not go into something like this alone, especially since
our
 planet’s got a stake in this, too. Besides ...” He looked to Powerhouse. “I think it’s time for a little payback.”

Powerhouse nodded his grim agreement.

“All right, then.” He snatched a small, black case from an overhead compartment. “Vortex, you wearing your psi-band under your mask?”

“Always.”

“All right. We don’t know what these guys can do, so we’re preparing for the worst.” Having opened the small case, he slipped a protective psi-band onto his head and passed two more to Shockwave and Powerhouse.

“Gentlemen ... let’s get down there and engage the enemy.”

PCA

The “jolt” when Powerhouse landed was more substantial than Vortex was expecting, a lot more. It wasn’t Powerhouse’s fault; he absorbed as much of the teeth-rattling impact with his legs as could be expected, given that they’d hit the ground at God only knew how many miles per hour. But Vortex’s recent experiences with Shining Star flying him up to, down from, and between the Taalu ships must’ve spoiled him on the whole superhero-physics thing.

“You all right?” Powerhouse asked as he eased Vortex from his back to the ground.

Determined to cling to his heroic image, Vortex drew enough breath to answer, “Sure.”
But I foresee another visit from Jeremy Walker in my very near future.
Looking around the mostly open grasslands, his eyes instantly adjusting against the glare of the nearby fire, he sucked in more air and forced out, “Do you see the others?”

“I think Shockwave was coming in—” was as far as Powerhouse got before Shockwave, with the Lieutenant in tow in the same fashion, crashed down about fifteen yards away, and it looked like he didn’t come down much lighter than Powerhouse. But, to his credit, Shockwave kept his promise of not going “splat.”

The four, all of them a bit stiff, met in the middle just as Shining Star touched down between them, as breezy as one could please. Shockwave scowled, but he kept any comments to himself.

“So,” Vortex said, “what’s the plan?”

The five men turned as one toward the raging fire two hundred yards away. What appeared to be (or have been) a sprawling mansion or compound was blazing away.

“Larr,” Shining Star said into his Taalu communicator, seemingly the same device he had used as a translator when Vortex first met him, “has the signal changed?”

“
I don’t think so
,” came Larr’s crusty voice, “
but it’s hard to be sure from here on the surface. Our scans aren’t nearly as accurate as they’d be if we were still in orbit.
”

“Understood. We’re moving forward.”

“
One more thing: Until just a few seconds ago, we were getting four distinct convert signals. Now we’re only seeing three.
”

Shining Star wasn’t sure what to make of that. Takayasu stepped forward and asked, “Lord Larr, what class was the fourth signal?”

“
We showed top readings across the board. But like I said, the fourth is gone.
”

Takayasu turned to Powerhouse. “That might answer your question — if there’s only three Noctoponm, this could explain why they didn’t come after the Grand Lord or Shockwave.” He gestured toward the compound. “This must’ve been the home of an unidentified paranormal, a Class One. If they tracked such a paranormal here, they’ve just killed him or her.” When the others looked shocked, he added, “That’s just a guess, of course.”

“Yeah,” Vortex said, “but it sounds like a good guess to me. Which sucks.”

After a quiet beat, Shining Star repeated, “We’re moving forward, Larr.”

“
Watch yourself, Callin. If it’s really the Noctoponm, don’t hold back.
”

“I won’t.”

“
I wish you’d let me send Della and Charl to join you before you engage them.
”

“No.”

“
You had your cytorem, Callin. And your sister—
”