Winters Family Psi Chronicles 2: Project Onyx (20 page)

“That’s true,” Paul said. “We’ll have to have Agent Hurst check out the house every week or so to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

They went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant with great food. Brian felt better with his mother assigned to work here. He’d never have imagined that he would be part of her assignment. He definitely felt safer with her in close proximity. At the end of the day, Brian made a special effort on his psionic shielding before he went to bed. He didn’t switch on the subliminal music on his DPU until he finished. He suffered disturbing dreams with only brief flashes of Samantha as her block prevented him from seeing anything that made sense. He merely caught glimpses of fast movement or partial scenes. Finally, the vision crystallized into sharp clarity as Samantha sat behind her desk in her living room. Brian saw through her eyes and not as an outsider this time as Samantha’s fingers danced over the holographic keys. The blue display hovered in front of her as she continued to study the retrovirus that had been used on Russell and Brian.

“It’s been four days since the test subjects were injected with the new retrovirus and there is no sign of new psychic abilities,” Samantha said.

Her words appeared on a second holographic display off to the side as she was evaluating and analyzing the new retrovirus while recording a personal note.

“I do have some ideas on a new formula that should prove more effective than this one,” Samantha said.

She sighed and stared off into space for a moment. She had been so sure she’d discovered a breakthrough with this formula but it turned out that the problem of awakening new talents with genetics was more complex than she had ever imagined. She’d known from the start it wouldn’t be a simple process but had fully expected to achieve success within a year and a half. After all, she’d made other important genetic discoveries regarding the enhancement of psychic abilities on previous research projects. This particular formula she’d used on Russell and Brian combined some of her already proven discoveries. She’d been ordered not to use any of her previous research but she was tired of the same lack of results.

The scene rippled and a man stalked into the room. He was dressed in black and his face was somehow hidden completely in shadows in spite of the bright illumination.

“I can’t let you continue with this,” the killer said.

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Samantha sputtered in outrage.

“I’m here to end this,” the killer said in a distorted voice.

Samantha’s form blurred then went back into focus as Brian. The killer continued to walk slowly and purposefully toward him with his jagged knife clutched in his right hand and pointed at Brian.

“Leave me alone,” Brian said as he stepped out from behind the desk and shuffled backwards away from the man.

“I’m a part of you. If you want to live, you’ll stop using your connectivity psi,” the killer said in a threatening tone.

“I can’t stop! I need to find Samantha! She’s trying to kill me!” Brian said in a mixture of panic and anger.

“Would you rather I killed you myself?” the killer taunted.

He was almost within arm’s reach now and Brian’s body churned with panic. The killer abruptly thrust the knife toward him. The dream abruptly ended and Brian awakened in his dark bedroom. His DPU was turned on and he was surprisingly sitting up in bed. There were two holographic screens floating in front of him exactly how Samantha’s screens had appeared in the vision and with the same information. Brian immediately saved the data just in case something happened. He took several deep breaths and then scrolled through the medical research. There was quite a bit of information and he suspected that it contained detailed notes on how to reconstruct the retrovirus that had been given to him and Russell.

Chapter 24

Dick followed his new target, a middle-aged woman in her late forties, to her small brown house. He’d never had any problems with the empaths noticing him tailing them now that he waited until they were home before forming a link with them. It amazed him how clueless people were to their surroundings. Maybe others would term him paranoid but he always took stock of anyone nearby when he was out - even while driving. He frowned as he glanced in his rearview mirror and noticed the same male teenager who he’d glimpsed behind him driving a black sports car was now parked about a block away. Dick had thought it might be a coincidence until seeing him now.

Dick’s jaw clenched and he opened his awareness to see if he could detect anything without reaching for the stranger’s mind. He detected a strong presence that was even more powerful than Jason and Brian. Dick decided he’d better not risk establishing a connection to his target right now which would make him vulnerable to unexpected attacks. Instead, he jotted down the address and slipped the paper inside his jeans pocket. Next, he pulled the stun gun from his glove compartment. He held his right hand behind his back to prevent the stranger from seeing the weapon as he slipped out of his car and walked casually toward the sports car. The teenager seemed not to notice until he was within forty feet of him. Abruptly, the teenager got out of the car and locked gazes with him. He was pale and skinny with lifeless blue eyes and close-cropped black hair.

“Why are you following me?” Dick asked.

The kid didn’t speak aloud but suddenly a heavy pressure slammed against Dick’s psionic shielding. Dick flinched and sensed a fat tendril of energy and came to the conclusion this was an energy transference psi like himself. The attack was so forceful and brutal that he’d overwhelm him in less than a moment. Dick pointed his stun gun but before he could pull the trigger, it was torn out of his hand by an unseen force. Terror seized him as he realized that not only was this kid a powerful energy transference psi but also a multipath with telekinetic ability. Dick shoved the kid with his mind, tossing him backward about ten feet. The teenager’s back and head slammed against the sidewalk and his eyes glazed over.

Dick immediately rushed over to his stun gun lying in the grass and picked it up. Before he could turn, he was struck again by a brutal telekinetic strike and thrown off his feet. Dick tightened his grip on the gun a split second before it jerked wildly in his hands as the teenager tried to tear it away again. He rolled in the grass and ran to the side to make it more difficult to become a target. He felt more telekinetic energy burst in the air around him but his plan worked and the attacks missed him. Dick raised the gun and fired at the kid whose body spasmed for several seconds before dropping to the ground. Suddenly, his cell phone rang and he glanced at it to see Agent Hurst was calling him. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching before hastily picking up the kid and shoving him into the back seat of his own car. Dick stabbed the green button on his cell and brought the phone up to his ear.

“Yes?” he bit out.

“This is Agent Hurst. I’m at your house. I need to check it out and purge any psychometric brainwashing energy,” the agent said.

“I’m kind of busy right now,” Dick said tersely.

“You’re not at work though. I already called them. Come home now,” Hurst said and disconnected.

“What an ass,” Dick said savagely.

He shoved the cell in his jeans pocket and shot the kid with his stun gun again. Hopefully, this guy didn’t know who he was or where he lived. Dick felt the kid’s pockets and found a wallet. He rifled through it until he found the driver’s license. Dick would have to handle this kid later. He went back to his car, shoved the wallet with the driver’s license in his glove compartment along with the stun gun and drove home to find Hurst waiting for him.

“I’m sorry to show up unexpected like this but I have a lot of ground to cover,” Hurst said in a tone that implied he wasn’t apologetic in the least.

“That’s all right. I realize you’re here to help,” Dick said. “It’s very disturbing to realize someone’s been invading my privacy for years and hounding my entire family.”

“We believe it’s an energy transference psi. A large number of them choose to remain illegally unregistered and become dependent on other people’s supplemental energy. It’s like an addiction,” Hurst said.

“I see,” Dick said.

He unlocked his front door and motioned for the agent to enter. Hurst crossed the threshold as if he owned the place. He immediately went to the bedroom and began laying his hands on various objects.

“You’ve definitely been brainwashed as well. It’s just as we suspected,” Hurst said.

He continued to search the house and found the other items Dick had programmed. He forced himself to remain calm and didn’t allow any nervousness or anxiety to creep into his body or mind. He had learned to master the Quiet at a young age in order to avoid discovery of his unpopular ability. Energy transference psi were seldom welcomed or viewed with compassion by the general public.

“It’s going to take me some time to purge the psychometric energy in here,” Hurst said.

Dick had painstakingly purged the house of any incriminating thoughts. It had taken hours to selectively eliminate only the unwanted imprints rather than everything but it had been necessary to avoid suspicion. If Dick had wiped all of the psychic residue completely then it would have looked like he was hiding something. It didn’t take Hurst more than about fifteen minutes to finish his work as he just eliminated everything.

“Thank you so much for your help, Agent Hurst,” Dick said gratefully.

“You’re welcome,” Hurst said. “I may be back in another couple weeks or so if we don’t catch this guy to make sure the intruder doesn’t reprogram this house.”

“Good thinking. Thanks,” Dick said.

Hurst left and Dick watched him through a crack in the curtains in his living room window. Hurst’s body language indicated he wasn’t suspicious and he walked briskly which indicated he really was busy with other work. Dick smiled as the agent drove away. That had been very easy which was what he had expected. Luckily, Hurst was a weak telepath or he may have realized Dick was entrenched in Quiet and become suspicious. As long as a high level telepath wasn’t suspicious of him, he should be fine. His smile dropped away when he remembered the mysterious teenager. He wondered how the kid had discovered him. Now that Dick’s energy was so strong, was he metaphorically lit up like a beacon? The kid certainly was. Maybe there was a downside to possessing so much raw power.

Dick went back to his car and retrieved the wallet from the teenager. He brought it back into the house and sat down on the living room. He opened his senses to the psychometric energy in the wallet and sifted through the memories contained in it. The kid’s name was Rob and he had found Dick purely by chance due to his power which had served as a beacon. Rob had stopped aging shortly after he graduated from high school. He’d discovered his energy transference psi at a young age and hadn’t restrained himself at all in creating a large network. He had quickly discovered empaths offered the largest amount of energy to steal but didn’t confine himself to those.

He’d established a large collection of linked individuals during his teen years. By the time he’d graduated, he’d lost count of how many people he drew from continually. Excitement pulsed in Dick’s veins as he realized this confirmed his own theory that if he established a large enough network, his aging process would halt. Self-regeneration psi were somewhat rare and he wondered if most of them were really energy transference psi like himself. Maybe the term ‘psychic vampire’ wasn’t far off the mark. Rob also discovered he could form connections with other energy transference psi. He would fight them, knock them unconscious, and then form a link in which he could pull just as much power as empaths. Rob possessed energy transference psi, telekinesis, remote-viewing, and a variant ability that allowed him to enter people’s dreams. Dick swallowed nervously as he wondered if he’d had enough contact with Rob to allow him to invade his own dreams or lock onto him with remote-viewing. This could be a big problem. Dick carefully reviewed their encounter in his mind to make sure he hadn’t unintentionally left any of his own possessions that Rob could use as a focus.

Finally, Dick concluded that he hadn’t lost anything; therefore, Rob wasn’t an immediate threat. Dick could take his time in confronting him again. First, he would work on growing his network. He decided he would learn from the kid and expand his network with targets other than empaths since it was becoming increasingly difficult now. He had been forced to cruise nearby cities which made the exercise a lot more time consuming. Dick fervently hoped that Samantha would find and kill Brian for him. Otherwise, Dick would be forced to do so himself. In the meantime, he would need to power up as much as possible so he could carry out the task without too much risk when the time came.

Chapter 25

When Brian and his mother reported for work at Driscol’s office, Freeland was already waiting and Driscol radiated an air of excitement. The military operative guarding them left when Teresa came in to take over.

“The lab has been going over the information you sent me yesterday morning and they were able to duplicate the formula that Samantha used on you and Russell. This is a huge discovery and will give us an edge against her,” Driscol said.

“So you do plan on testing subjects?” Teresa said dispassionately.

“Of course. They’ve already administered it to six volunteers,” Driscol said. “And before you lecture me on legalities, I assure you that we already received approval from the white house.”

“I’m surprised they jumped on this opportunity so quickly,” Teresa said.

“They’re worried that Samantha will start targeting them soon,” Driscol smirked. “As soon as we’re sure this formula is completely effective, we can begin mass producing multipathic FBI agents, police officers, and military operatives. Do you see what a great opportunity this is?”

“I do,” Teresa said.

Freeland glanced over at her nervously then returned her attention to Driscol.

“I’m not sure the formula is completely effective. Russell and Brian may have died without treatment,” the psychologist said.

“The FBI has wellness centers of its own and I’m sure they can duplicate the treatment process used on Brian and Russell,” Driscol said smoothly. “There is a large medical team working on this and they’re prepared for all eventualities.”

Teresa cocked a bemused brow but didn’t remark. Brian suspected the formula would prove to be much more problematic than Driscol or the medical team predicted.

“This achievement couldn’t have come at a better time. Three of our agents along with their guards were killed last night in their homes by Samantha,” Driscol said grimly. She leveled her gaze at Brian. “Hopefully, you’ll start getting your visions back so we can track her down and finally put an end to all this.”

“I’m doing the best I can,” Brian said.

“I know.” Driscol smiled reassuringly at him. “I’m not reprimanding you. You’ve done a terrific job. I’m just trying to emphasize how important it is that we catch her soon.”

“I understand,” Brian said.

Driscol began the same way as always by having Freeland work on healing Brian’s mind and then for him to do a hypnosis session. Brian only caught snatches of scenes and nothing that proved remotely useful. Driscol frowned as she looked over the notes she’d taken regarding the meager glimpses he’d reported. Suddenly, Samantha materialized beside Freeland who squealed in alarm and leapt out of her chair.

“How typically predictable you’ve become.” Samantha twisted her lips reprovingly. “It’s always the exact same thing that you do every day and you expect better results.”

“We’ll eventually apprehend you,” Driscol said.

“Not if I kill you first,” Samantha said coolly.

Teresa furrowed her brows as she focused her psionic shield and encompassed the room for protection. Samantha’s form faded for several seconds as she fought to remain visible then flickered out of existence.

“You see?” Teresa said. “I can protect us from her attacks.”

Driscol nodded in acknowledgement and Freeland slowly moved back to her seat. The door burst open and Samantha rushed into the room with a revolver clutched in her right hand. Teresa threw herself to the side as Samantha fired off two rounds that missed her. Samantha swung the gun to Driscol who swiftly ducked behind her desk. Brian threw himself behind the desk as well. Samantha leaped across the room and threw the desk up into the air with her left hand. It smashed against the wall. Teresa tackled her and they fell in a heap nearby. Brian hastily stepped back as he forced a stream of dissonant empathic energy into Samantha which briefly distracted her. Teresa smashed Samantha’s hand against the floor which released the gun. Teresa kicked the gun out of her reach just as Samantha shoved her across the room and into the opposite wall. Brian continued to shoot dissonant empathic energy and now Samantha had a crazed glimmer in her eyes. She leapt to her feet and ran out of the room with inhuman speed. Racing footsteps sounded down the hall as reinforcements came to apprehend her.

“I called for help telepathically,” Freeland said breathlessly.

“How did she get past security?” Driscol said heatedly.

They saw military operatives with guns draw rushing by. One of them came in to check on them. When he made sure everyone was all right, he left.

“We’re extremely lucky none of us were killed,” Freeland said.

“Luck had nothing to do with it,” Driscol said grimly. “Teresa and Brian bought us just enough time for reinforcements to arrive. If you hadn’t telepathically alerted them, Samantha would have finished us all off for sure.”

Brian’s attention honed in on the overturned desk that was thrown clear across the room. It had a large crack across the middle and papers, pens, and folders were strewn across the floor that had been lying on top of it.

“That’s a comforting thought,” Freeland said shakily.

Driscol shrugged carelessly and turned to regard the mess. They helped her move the desk back and she picked up the papers. She had almost finished reorganizing it when her cell phone rang. She spoke briefly before disconnecting.

“That was security. Samantha made herself look like one of the agents who work here. Apparently she’s gotten her hands on one of our pass cards which allowed her to gain access past the locked doors, too,” Driscol said. “She’s very resourceful.”

“In spite of her abilities, she took a great risk attacking us in a secure building,” Freeland said. “As I predicted, she’s engaging in riskier behavior.”

“Security is altering its arrangements and repositioning the military operatives to throw Samantha off. They’ve already been rotating security patrols of the building so that she can’t predict when they’ll pass through each area. I don’t know how much more innovative they can be,” Driscol said grimly.

Freeland folded her arms defensively across her chest as she regarded Brian warily.

“I can’t believe you attacked her like that,” she said.

“It feels very wrong and it hurts like hell but it saved us,” Brian said.

“He’s right. The fear caught her off guard and she no longer felt in control. It definitely slowed her down,” Teresa said.

Driscol nodded sharply in agreement. “Good work, Brian.”

“It felt awful. I can see why empaths don’t use their abilities as weapons,” Freeland said.

“We’re all going to take a break. When we meet back here, I want you to work on recommendations and predictions for Samantha’s psychological profile. Brian, you will do another hypnosis session. Hopefully, she’s still shaken up and won’t be able to block you this time,” Driscol said.

Brian and Teresa went to the break room. They meditated and boosted their psionic protection in silence. Brian realized the importance of keeping his abilities in check so he used all of his spare time and didn’t try to talk to his mother about the uncertainties that nibbled at the back of his mind. When everyone met back at Driscol’s office, Brian turned on his personal DPU and activated another hypnosis session. He didn’t receive any visions at all about anyone. When his session ended and he opened his eyes, Driscol was intently reading something on her computer screen. She looked up and scooted away from her computer as she realized he was finished.

“Did you see anything?” she asked.

“Nothing,” he said regretfully.

“We’ll get something eventually,” Driscol said. “I received a disturbing report while you were under. One of the teams that was searching for Samantha was killed a short while ago.”

“I’m afraid I have more troubling news,” Freeland said.

“What do you mean?” Driscol asked.

“From what I sensed telepathically and empathically from Samantha during and after the attack, she came to the conclusion that she needs help. Her PSA psi makes her want to attack but she also wants to minimize her risk. She has a backup plan for getting more support but I don’t know what it is,” Freeland said.

“How can she possibly get anyone to help her?” Driscol said with incredulous disbelief.

“I don’t know. I sensed it has something to do with research and theories she came up with previously.” Freeland’s brows furrowed as she puzzled through it. “Unfortunately, that’s all I have for right now.”

“We need to look at what she’s done previously,” Driscol said. “It’s all classified but I have clearance to read it. Unfortunately, none of you do so I’m on my own as far as that goes. Several of the agents on our teams are already looking at her earlier work to see if she has anyone she might contact for support but I’ll let them know what you told me. I’m also going to put in a request to get your help in this.” She typed rapidly into her computer and then sighed. “All right, it’s time for another healing session and then a hypnosis session while I work on this.”

“Of course,” Freeland murmured.

She had only just started when the door knocked.

“Come in,” Driscol said reluctantly.

Director Sorenson followed by Lin and two redheads entered the room. Lin and the redheads wore identical uniforms consisting of dark blue suit jackets over white dress shirts and dark blue, crisp pants with black polished shoes. One of the redheads was a man in his mid twenties and the woman looked to be the same age. They both had a smattering of freckles on their faces and arms along with hazel eyes and aquiline noses. Everyone was stunned speechless at their arrival and not just because they recognized Lin from Phoenix Enterprises but there was a powerful and disconcerting power emanating from the redheads.

“I’m sorry to interrupt but Brian is no longer working for us directly,” Sorenson said regretfully.

“What do you mean?” Driscol asked with confusion.

“Apparently, Brian visited their technology campus and was interview informally. Lin is here with two security escorts from her company to offer Brian protection and a job at Phoenix Enterprises. She’s received approval for the job offer and if Brian accepts, he is no longer a property of the state,” Sorenson said.

Driscol shot up to her feet and her jaw clenched.

“You didn’t think there was any chance this could happen?” Brian telepathically asked his mother.

“I am as astounded as everyone else here. It looks like Phoenix Enterprises has some pull with the government,” Teresa thought back with wry amusement.

“They can’t offer the protection that the bureau can,” Driscol said swiftly as Lin handed the paperwork for Brian to look over.

“Thank you,” Brian said gratefully.

“Please read the documents carefully. You have the time,” Lin said reassuringly.

Brian began reading through it even though he had no intention of refusing the offer even if it demanded he give up his first born.

“Samantha will attack you mercilessly,” Driscol said in a warning tone.

“She may try but we have very advanced defenses. I brought Caleb and Lauren with me to make sure we get to the campus safely,” Lin said serenely.

“What kind of protection can you possibly have to stop her?” Driscol demanded.

“Most of our defenses are top clearance. You understand the need for secrecy. I can say that we have many variant talents that offer unusual and powerful capabilities,” Lin said smoothly. “The FBI has contracted us to locate and help apprehend Samantha. We have a team of specialists who have already begun tracking her.”

“I see,” Driscol said. “What about those two? They don’t look like they offer much in defensive or offensive capabilities.  Samantha is inhumanly strong and fast and comes with more talents than we ever thought possible for one person.”

“She has very impressive abilities; however, she wouldn’t stand a chance against these two. They’re both multipaths with NSA psi. Additionally, Caleb is a remote viewer and Lauren is an IMP psi,” Lin said conversationally.

“I haven’t heard of those variant abilities,” Driscol said guardedly.

“NSA psi allow individuals to temporarily neutralize all of someone’s psychic abilities and IMP psi can force someone into a fugue state almost instantly,” Lin explained.

“That’s impressive.”

Brian finished skimming the documents and signed on the appropriate lines.

“Excellent!” Lin said pleasantly. “I look forward to working with you, Brian.”

Driscol narrowed her eyes at Lin then turned her attention back to Sorenson who was in political mode.

“It’s always a pleasure working with Phoenix Enterprises,” he said.

“Likewise, Director Sorenson,” Lin said pleasantly.

Brian followed Lin, Caleb, and Lauren toward the door and noticed his mother wasn’t following. He turned and shot her a questioning look.

“I’m sorry but my assignment is here,” Teresa said apologetically. “I didn’t expect Phoenix Enterprises to succeed but I’m certain you will be safer and happier with them until Samantha can be apprehended.”

“I’ll miss you,” Brian said.

“I’ll miss you, too,” Teresa thought back.