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Julia arrived home to her private line ringing, and was surprised by the name on the call display. “Tynan Pierce. What can I do for you?”
“Talk to me about paralytic drugs.”
“As in the young woman you helped us with at the airport?”
“We have a similar situation.”
“Well, hell. My daughter Eve is the medical working on it, best I just connect you to her. Hang on.”
She pressed the buttons to transfer the call.
“Eve.”
“I have Tynan Pierce on the line. He’s looking for information about what drugs were used on Alex, because he’s run into something similar.”
“Besides being TaP Team, he’s a doctor, right?”
“Yes. Horrifying to think Rollins is striking at more than us.”
“Why don’t you stay on the line too, listen to what he has to say, just in case there’s something pertinent you can use.”
“Sounds good.” Julia clicked the call through to Eve.
“Dr. Pierce, right?”
“Just Pierce. Did Julia fill you in?”
“Yes. The paralytic used on the young woman you helped is similar to others commonly used for musculoskeletal immobilization during surgery, but this one has either been designed to only affect specific neurotransmitters, or there’s another drug at work here, because my patient is unable to move or speak, but she can breathe, and blink. It’s damn peculiar.”
“I saw my client briefly in the ER. Her respirations were normal, and she too, was able to blink.”
“We’d hoped ours was an isolated case connected to something we’re working on, but it could be the same drug.”
“Shit.”
“My sentiments exactly. Our lab is working on a connection to a flower common to Argentina, because that’s the area our suspect knows best. The dalonea analeas grows in a cool, dry climate, and the toxic liquid derived from it is very effective when it comes in contact with the skin.”
“Easy to administer.”
“Exactly. Could the suspect plant grow in Hawaii?”
“Damned if I know. Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are cool and dry. I’ll turn this over to our research team. Tag me when you get the antidote specifics?”
“Will do, and back at you, Pierce. Let’s hope one of us finds the key before permanent damage is done.”
Julia stayed on the line after Pierce hung up. “Why didn’t you tell him she was able to move her feet now?”
“Because I believe that’s something unrelated.”
“I don’t understand.”
Eve sighed. “Dhillon. There’s a reason he wants to be a doctor, Mom, and it’s not because his dad’s one. He’s gifted. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
“He’s a healer like you and Rachel?”
“I think so, and Matt concurs it could be genetic, but also enhanced by the exposure to Rachel’s gift.”
The only reason Dhillon had survived heart failure at the age of ten was because Rachel had been there, put her hands on him, and used her powerful life-force to revive him. “You think he retained a fraction of her healing energy. Isn’t that unusual?”
“Perhaps, but instead of worrying where it came from, he should be taught how to use his power ethically. That’s the hardest part of dealing with special gifts.”
“Agreed.” Could life get any more complicated? Julia nearly laughed aloud, and it would have been a strained sound, because things were bound to get worse before they got better.
“Matt wants to hold off talking to Dhillon about this until Angie gets back, so in the interim we’ll have to closely monitor how much time he spends with Alexandra, so he doesn’t hurt himself while trying to help her.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a handle on all of it.”
After Julia hung up, she leaned back in her chair and stared at the ceiling. She’d allowed Dhillon to stick tiny glow-in-the-dark stars up there a few years ago, and he’d painstakingly replicated the Texas sky on a summer night.
She could only see a hint of them now, but it was enough to know they were there. Like her grandson’s healing powers...and also like the evil that was Rollins.
How had someone in Hawaii, a person unconnected with the Meyers family, come into contact with a chemical Meyers believed Rollins to be in control of?
Julia didn’t believe in coincidence, so what was his point? To illustrate how far-reaching he could be? To show he knew Meyers had a connection to the TaP Team? Was it merely another exercise, an example of how easy it was to spread a drug that would have great appeal to the underworld?
In the wrong hands it could have dire consequences. Could be used to incapacitate leaders, law enforcement, keepers of fortune.
She stopped herself then. No point going down that path. It was enough to understand Rollins had to be stopped immediately.
Julia.
She stood. This could be it. Grace.
The Steed left Mountain House less than five minutes ago, Angie, James, and Kelton on board, Broughton stowed away in the Compartment of Silence.
Excellent. And why she was happy to have Broughton going with them now, when earlier she’d been sure he was supposed to stay at the ranch? Perhaps she’d misinterpreted her feeling, and he needed to arrive at Luna with James instead of being there ahead of him. Didn’t matter. She pushed the red, call-out button on her phone before leaving her office.
On my way to the war room and the rest of the team’s notified.
I’m headed there too. Logan, Lissa and Kyle are all fine. The communications systems have been disabled, but backup should be functional shortly.
Where’s Rollins?
Logan thinks he’s on his way to Luna, which is why Kelton’s got the team on the move at first light.
Consuelo stood in the open kitchen doorway waiting for her to pass. “Feels like this is going to be a marathon. Leave Swagger here with me. He can help manage these kids. They don’t need to be in the middle of all that tension.” Dhillon was parked at the table with Katy and Lola. Looked like baby Jamie must be asleep in his carrier.
“You’re right. If we need Eve, how would you feel about moving into the infirmary with the children?”
“Not much room for them in there. Maybe we could bring Alexandra to the kitchen. Eve’s brought her by a few times in the wheelchair already, and the change of scenery’s good for her. But then again, if it’s longer than ten minutes or so, she likely needs to be hooked up to her monitors...unless Eve could set her up with portables.”
“I’ll leave you and Eve to work out the details.” She motioned for Consuelo to come away from the doorway and then said quietly. “I don’t want Dhillon alone with Alexandra, or working to help her move.”
Consuelo’s eyebrows went up.
“Violent headaches could follow,” Julia said, and Consuelo, who’d been part of a household full of psychic types for many years, caught on right away. Nodded.
“Him, too? Shouldn’t be surprised. Boy’s been special since he took his first breath.”
“Yeah.”
Julia turned to go, but Consuelo put a hand on her arm to stop her. “This isn’t going to be an easy day. But the end will be worth the torment.”
With every fiber of her being, Julia wanted to believe her. But the foreboding resting heavy in her soul couldn’t be ignored. This mission was not going to go well. That much she knew, as surely as she did all the players watching her step into the war room. What she still needed to know were the details, and how they would affect each and every one of the players.
Gage, who’d been on duty in the war room all morning, spoke the instant she arrived. “We have contact from Luna.”
Julia signaled for him to wait while she donned a one-eared headset and mic so Nathan, Tyler, Gerald, and Eve would be able to participate remotely. There were other mics and speakers around the room so nothing would be missed. It was imperative the field team be up-to-date on everything.
She began by sharing Grace’s intel from Logan, and the news drew positive reactions from all participants.
Then Gage continued to brief the team. “Tyler, Nathan, and Gerald left at first light, as instructed. Were met by Bud, just shy of the highway, switched vehicles with him, then circled back, hid their ride, and hiked into Luna from the east.”
He went to one of the temporary screens displaying only three views. “Left we have Tyler’s earring view, center is Nathan’s button, and the last is from the pin on Gerald’s cap.”
“Looks like Nathan’s in a tree,” said Quinn.
“A great hiding place,” Julia responded. “Not many people think to look up.”
“Truer words.” Matt’s face gave nothing away, but everyone was aware he’d witnessed a mob execution when he was only ten simply because he’d been high up in the loft of a barn and no one knew he was there.
“They jammed the security cameras just long enough to get into position. Tyler and Gerald are both in outbuildings.”
“Easy enough to get away with freezing the frame when nothing is moving anyway,” said Cass.
“Exactly. No one monitoring the live feed would even notice it had stopped briefly.”
“Grace,” said Julia. “Update us on the situation that unfolded at Mountain House.”
She explained that Kelton’s sanity was in serious question, that he’d held James at gunpoint, but ultimately agreed to put the gun away since it wasn’t necessary.
“Kyle says Kelton believes he’s completely in control, and he’s beyond remorse. Kelton’s focus was steadily becoming narrower, and he was often turned inward instead of paying attention to what was going on around him. Sort of like slipping in and out of consciousness.”
“And the insight you got from his wife?” Julia chose not to say “your sister,” because that made it even more personal for Grace.
“Sarah’s worried about him. He’s staying out of touch for longer and longer periods of time, and is often distracted.” Grace glanced around the room. “You all know what a brilliant, calculating, and predictable individual he has been to date, but I think we can safely say all bets are now off.”
“Is he capable, at the core of his being, of taking a life?” Quinn’s wife Rachel was often the one to ask the tough questions, and mental illness was something she’d lived with for most of her life. First her mother, then—
“If his mental state is such that he’s disengaging with reality, anything is possible.” Quinn, being a psychologist, was, of course, the best one to answer the question. “That said, with such a strong mind, perhaps he’ll be safe.”
“But,” said Grace, “let us not forget his moral compass is not anything like our own. He believes that questionable means are excusable for a necessary end.”
“Goal-oriented,” said Rachel, then her face reddened. “Not always a bad thing.”
Julia felt the unintended sting. Her daughter-in-law had once accused her of pushing aside the needs of others in order to achieve her own goals. Julia had to admit it had been true at the time, but she’d learned from that incident. Tended to take a second look, and question her penchant for pushing her children in the direction she wanted them to go.
“He’s driven. And from many directions,” agreed Quinn. “But believing he has to avenge his brother’s death is deep-seated, and has been a part of who he is for more than half his life, so it trumps everything else.”
“Adding to that, apparently his brother did not die swiftly, the way we’d originally been told, but was paralyzed by the bullet and left to die a slow, agonizing death, while Kelton was connected to him telepathically.” Grace heaved a sigh. “Even Kelton’s drive to learn more about psychic powers and to further enhance his own was fueled by his inability to find his brother and save him from a horrifically slow death.”
“Do you think—”
Julia interrupted Gage’s speculation. “Yes. There is every chance Kelton helped Rollins with the discovery and development, or at least the use of, the drug currently incapacitating Alexandra and the woman in Hawaii. What better punishment for Rollins than the same slow death Kelton’s brother suffered, and with the perfect ironic twist that Rollins is responsible for the drug being available to Kelton.”
“With the combination administered to Alexandra,” said Eve, “while she is unable to move, she can feel everything, and she’s had no difficulty breathing, which is often a worry with standard paralytics when the diaphragm is compromised. This fact is important to note, because if Rollins was given the same, and left in the wilderness surrounding Luna, he’d either freeze to death, or be eaten alive by predators.”
“Bears would be in hibernation,” said Cass, who’d lived on a ranch in northern Washington, an area similar to where Luna was located. “Mountain lions, wolves, and coyotes would provide a fairly quick death once scent or carrion birds gave direction. But the torture of the way ravens, vultures, and eagles deal with a body would be particularly grisly.”
“Exactly what Kelton is likely to hope for,” said Grace.
“We’re here to promise him disappointment,” Tyler’s voice came through the speakers.
Merlin marched through the doorway and hopped up on the table in front of Julia. Sat down and stared at her.
“Eve, was Merlin with Alexandra?”
“Yes, he just up and left.”
She held her hand up to the group. “Hang on a sec.”
Alexandra?
Julia. Eve let me listen to your meeting, and I’ve just remembered something odd Rollins said to me when they were still moving me from place to place, before the plane trip. He said he was going to teach a lesson to the puppeteer. Do you think that means he’s going to turn tables on Kelton? Maybe he knows Kelton is manipulating him.
That would certainly be an interesting twist.
There was something else I was going to tell you about a few days ago but it was just before I started moving my feet, and with all the excitement, I can’t for the life of me remember what it was.
No worries. It will come to you. I’m going to disconnect now, but I’ll check back with you in a while. Okay?
Thanks.
“Well, it seems we may have another twist, based on something Rollins said to Alexandra.”
***
Alex continued to listen to the meeting, and was both pleased and frightened that they took what she told them so seriously. Formed a couple of contingency plans based on the possibility that Rollins was aware of the impending confrontation.
She could barely keep straight all the possibilities they’d come up with. And the scary part was that James, Broughton, and Angie were all going in blind. Had no idea about the drug, and were likely only expecting something like a gunfight.
It had to be hard for Julia to resist trying to contact James telepathically, but she didn’t dare risk Kelton’s interception.
At least the three men already at the resort were apprised of the entire situation. The only thing they didn’t know was what was going on aboard the helicopter.
And Broughton. He was hidden in a small compartment usually used for transporting dogs. He’d be all bent, and the bad knee he’d told her about had to be hurting by now. Would he be able to run if he had to? Heck, he told her sometimes it took two or three steps before it worked properly.
While he shared that, she’d been itching to tell him about a couple of treatments she used on horses that might be very effective in loosening the scar tissue in his knee.
He made fun of himself being too old for the op, with too much hardware in his joints to be useful anymore, but there’d been worry and shame in his eyes. Something difficult to see when she was looking at a man who made her heart want to race.
And wasn’t that freaky, to know her heart should be pounding with fear or excitement, yet it just drummed on, as though attached to a preset metronome or an old-fashioned wall clock. Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock. She knew what her visceral responses should be, and wished she could feel that kind of natural discomfort again.
She moved her toes, just to prove to herself she still could. But she was worried, because one would think that if the drug was wearing off, she’d be getting more movement. Hell, maybe this was as good as it was going to get.
Stop it.
Hello, Merlin. Want to join my pity party?
I only do parties with good food. Bite-size pieces of tuna and cheese are my favorites.
Oh, how you make me wish I could laugh.
See how easy it is to feel better?
You and Broughton. My guardian angels.
Ha. Now I’m laughing, because, seriously, nothing angelic about either of us.
You’re white.
You see any wings?
Good point. Broughton’s hair has a golden glow to it, like a halo.
Seriously? There’s something very dark about him.
He has great hands. His touch is—
Hold it. If you’re gonna talk sex, I’m outta here.
I bet he’s an amazing lover.
Merlin stood up.
Stop, please, I was just teasing. I want you to stay.
You’ll keep your sex thoughts to yourself?
I promise... For now, but later she might have to indulge in a bit of fantasy.