57
Present Day
Agent Coal touched her glasses stem and dictated the URL. She hated being in the hospital. But she’d suffered two cracked ribs and a minor concussion in the struggle with the Shines.
Her neck, of course, was just fine. And the lost blood was mostly replaced before she left the island, thanks to Aura Meadows. But the hospital staff took MRIs and lots of other tests. Just to be sure. And rest, her least favorite prescription, was ordered.
So she had to put up with the hospital, at least for the time being.
The newsreader on the screen droned on. “…the recent Santa Monica disaster, authorities are dealing with a mysterious plague that swept through the Getty Museum grounds. At least twenty-three people are confirmed dead, and more than a hundred became violently ill, all within a five-minute period. The bizarre aspect, though, is that all the victims are male. The museum curator said there were many women present, but none were affected. Channel Six interviewed a research scientist at the—”
She turned the set off and closed her eyes. It just went on and on and got worse and worse. Perhaps that should be expected as an apocalypse approached. She couldn’t predict how all this would shake out.
“Wakey-wakey, little Coal. Time to talk to your master and commander.”
Her eyelids fluttered. She tried speaking. Voice box worked surprisingly well. “Why…are you here?”
“I was concerned about you, of course.”
“Aren’t you taking a big risk? Coming in person?”
“I’ve made arrangements. We won’t be interrupted.”
“Meaning…”
“You’ll have to change your own bedpan.”
Lovely. “As soon as they release me, I’ll finish my paperwork and contact you for a complete debriefing.”
“That won’t be soon enough.” The Chief took the chair beside the bed. “I have questions I want answered immediately.”
“Like what?”
“Like how you got your ass kicked by a bunch of little girls.”
Coal’s lips pressed tightly together. “It was a little more complicated than that.”
“What, they charmed you with their good looks?”
“No. They Shined.”
“Like that was a surprise? You knew they had abilities—”
“They are far more powerful than anyone realized.”
“Didn’t you take the mobile Faraday cage?”
“Yes, but we didn’t have a chance to deploy it. And the Shines have acquired a new power, possibly greater than all the previous ones.”
“Which is?”
“The ability to work together. To combine their abilities strategically. So the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.”
The Chief fell silent for a moment. “You’re certain of this?”
“Positive. That large one, the girl they call Tank? I’d estimate she has the brute force of eight strong men. Maybe more. She lifted me into the air like you might lift a paper clip.”
“Is that why they call her Tank?”
“It’s a videogame thing. The tank is the character you send in to take all the damage. Without dying. You hope.”
“So they sent in this Tank and she overwhelmed you and your operatives.”
“She had help. I heard someone talking about nightmares. I assume that was Dream.”
“Yes. And one of your foot soldiers insists a Shine made him defecate in his pants. Though I personally think he just lost it. In fact, I think you all did.”
“Those girls are a formidable force. We underestimated them.”
“But according to your reports, they had been cowed into suppressing their powers. And they didn’t like or trust one another. They fought all the time.”
She grabbed the pitcher on the table beside the hospital bed and poured herself a cup of water. “Things have changed. Now they have a leader.”
The Chief’s brow creased. “Who?”
“Who do you think? You’ve said all along she was the most dangerous one.”
“Not for that reason. Aura has rallied the troops?”
“Maybe the urgency of the moment brought them together. It probably won’t last. I wouldn’t want to lead an army of teenage girls, would you? Like herding cats with severe hormonal issues.”
“But Aura managed it?”
“This time.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“Yes. I tried to mess with her mind. Tried to get her to turn herself in. But she was too stubborn.”
“Or too smart. I heard several of your men fired their weapons. Did they injure anyone?”
“Just me.”
The Chief fell silent for a moment. “You know what this means?”
“I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
“We’ve lost the element of surprise.”
“True.”
“And they are no longer contained.”
“Also true.”
“They’ll be watching for us.”
“And we have another problem to deal with.”
“The media?”
“Of course not. They’re the easiest people in the world to manipulate. They’ll print any idiotic cover story we give them, especially if we provide a scapegoat. Someone to heap disdain upon. We’re passing this off as a burst gas main.”
“Lot of that going around.”
“Because the city council failed to pass a proposal to replace weak and aged sections of pipe. Someone’s on the take. Didn’t you know? Heads will roll, after the press runs the story for several weeks. No one will have a clue what really happened. When do you think you’ll be out of here?”
“Whenever you want me to be out of here.”
“That would be now.”
She jerked the IV out of her arm.
“Those girls are holed up somewhere,” the Chief said. “Hiding.”
“Can’t blame them for that.” She pushed out of bed and lowered herself to her feet. Her knees wobbled a bit, but she’d be okay. “I’d do the same thing.”
The Chief clapped a hand on her shoulder. “Find them, Coal. Find them fast.”
“I will. But you know, they’ll be cautious. After all…they must think we caused the explosion at TYL.”
“That’s ridiculous. Why would we destroy our own installation?” The Chief smiled. “But let them think that. Much better they believe that illusion…than that they have any glimmer of the truth.”