The strippers got down to their G-strings, waved to the crowd and sauntered off to applause.
The house lights came up. Alec slumped back in his chair. With the lights down, he could fantasize. With the lights up, the place just looked cheap and sleazy. The bar along the side of the club was half-full, unlike on a weekend, and the patrons ranged from a couple of dirty old men to scattered businessmen in suits. There was a group of college students sitting at the booth in the corner that had been jerking off during the show.
I’m never sitting in a booth again.
Daz had snagged the table at the front of the runway tonight, so they all had a nice view of the strippers. Alec had gotten into the show, like always, except this time, when he got aroused, he wanted Beth. If Lansing had wanted him to forget about her, it wasn’t working. And if Lansing wanted him to make nice with F-Team, that wasn’t working, either.
Daz grinned easily to the passing waitresses in the skimpy costumes. The girls grinned back. They always liked him, all of them—black, white, Asian, Latino. Alec had thought it was because he was so nice to them or because of his mixed-race heritage. But it wasn’t that at all. It was the big roll of cash that Daz used for tips. He hadn’t noticed the money before, and if Beth hadn’t brought up money in Maine, he never would have.
Lansing paid Daz a hell of a lot of money. Now that he knew about that, Alec wasn’t sure if Daz did this work for money or if team was more important, like Daz had always said. Daz had been with the goons in Maine, after all.
“Wait’ll you see the new main event,” Daz said.
Hoots and catcalls rang out as three women came out onto the runway that led from the stage. They wore black silk capes to cover whatever they might or might not be wearing. They set a cauldron down in front of them and circled it.
“Real art,” Daz said.
Yeah, right. Nudes in a museum were art. A night at the opera was art. This was naked women dancing for money. The house lights went down again. The college kids whooped a bit, then settled. Alec straightened. He might as well enjoy it.
The three women on stage started chanting. He recognized the opening scene to “Macbeth”.
“Double, double, toil and trouble…”
Damn straight.
The “actresses” quoted a little more from the play, then shifted to their own script, if you could call it that. The words lost any poetry and the strippers dropped their witches’ capes. All three wore devil costumes. Well, if you could call bras with devils on the cups and red and black G-strings costumes.
The strippers began wriggling and writhing on the runway. The college guys hooted their approval and so did some of F-Team. Alec didn’t. He didn’t need an exhibition that left him horny and unsatisfied. He wanted Beth. Or a distraction from wanting Beth.
Let’s make the show more interesting.
He concentrated and one of the strippers lost her G-string. She was smooth underneath. He preferred Beth’s dark, curly hair. The patrons howled, figuring the loss of the G-string was part of the show. The stripper frowned, shrugged and kept going.
Daz elbowed him in the ribs. “Hey! Emo boy, don’t do that shit here.”
“Leave me alone.”
“Stop brooding. There are plenty of girls in the world.” Daz downed the last of his beer.
“Shut up.”
“So you’d prefer a girl who drugs you and fills you with lies?” Daz twirled the empty bottle in his hand. “These girls will do that, if you pay ’em enough.”
“Fuck you.” Alec snapped to his feet, fists clenched.
Daz stood. “Get over it, Firefly.”
Alec threw a punch before he consciously realized he’d moved. Daz swore and caught Alec’s fist with his open hand. Using the fist as leverage, Daz pushed him backwards, almost knocking Alec off his feet. Alec blinked and called the fire. The air around them heated up. Daz, eyes wide, let go.
Three F-Team soldiers jumped between them, overturning the table and chairs and spilling the beer pitcher. Alec glared at Daz. Daz glared back.
The show stopped. The house lights came up.
“Back off.” Daz shrugged off one of the soldiers. “I’m not gonna fight. It’s Mr. Too-Good-for-This-Place that needs to chill.”
“Yeah? I’m not the one who didn’t back up his teammate during a fight.” Alec gritted his teeth. He was about two seconds from making this whole place go up in smoke. The world is not kindling. That’s what Beth said. She said he was better than that. Hell, even Lansing had said he was better than F-Team. At this second, he agreed with them.
He took one deep breath and looked away, anywhere but at his so-called friend. The others righted the table and chairs. The bouncer, a six-foot-six giant with a crew cut, sauntered up.
“Cool off and pay for the drinks or leave,” he said.
Daz pulled a wad of cash from his back pocket and tossed it at the bouncer. “Take it out of that and tip the staff with the rest.”
The bouncer nodded and the money disappeared into his pocket. “Good.”
Gabe, who didn’t seem to hold a grudge from being almost crispy fried last week, handed Alec a glass of water. But then, Gabe was always calm. And he wouldn’t be distracted by the show like the rest of the team. The girls were not his type.
Alec took the glass but the water started to steam. Hell. He put down the glass before the steam burned his hand. He had to get out of here.
“Going to use the head,” Alec said into Gabe’s ear.
Gabe nodded. But Alec noticed that Gabe and Daz watched the whole time he was walking to the bathroom. F-Team might be smarter and better than the Resource goons but they belonged to Lansing, just the same.
Alec used the urinal and washed his face in the dirty bathroom sink. To hell with this. He’d stumble around and look for Beth on his own. The only problem with that was he wouldn’t be available to fight Demeter and make up for Jimmy’s death.
“Stay still, Alec, and do not turn around,” a voice said from behind him.
Drake.
Alec grinned. That saved him a world of trouble. “No worries, Drake. Whatever you have to say, I want to hear it.”
“You have plenty of worries,” Drake said, his voice shakier than Alec remembered, “because unless you lead me to Beth, I will blow your head off.”
“I saved your life in Maine.”
A pause. “I know. It’s why I didn’t shoot you on sight.”
“Look, you don’t have to test me.” Something had finally gone right, though how pathetic was his life that someone threatening to kill him was something good? “Take me to Beth. I need to see her.” And touch her, hold her and make love to her.
“Seeing Beth is exactly what I had in mind. But your people are standing in my way. And so are you.”
Drake spoke as if reading a grocery list, cold and blunt. Alec’s grin faded. He dropped his hands to his sides.
“I’ve had enough mind games. Say what you mean. Or shoot me, if you think that’s what Beth wants.” Of course, no way would a bullet get past his TK.
“No, I need you alive to get my daughter back.”
Alec turned around. Drake stared at him for a minute and then lowered his modified Glock. His other arm was in a sling. There were dark circles around his eyes and a deep purple bruise on the right side of his cheek. He didn’t look like the confident spy Alec had met in the kitchen of the house in Maine. He looked like a man near death, with nothing to lose.
“What do you mean, get Beth back?” Alec’s throat dried out.
“The Resource team took her from my house when they took you.”
“And you let them?”
Drake winced and closed his eyes for a second. “I tried. I knew they wanted her alive, that I’d have another chance at it. But God knows what they’ve done to her.”
“You’re saying the Resource has Beth?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Of course Lansing has my daughter.” Drake scowled. “Think, boy. He lied to you again. That’s what he does.”
“How do I know you’re not the one lying?”
“Fine.” Drake sighed and leaned back against the wall. “If I wanted to lure you to somewhere else for some unknown purpose, I’d have brought my daughter with me. The person you trust. Who I don’t have.”
“Shit.” Alec took a deep breath. Drake wasn’t lying. He had no reason to lie.
Lansing had Beth.
Lansing had lied with a straight face. He’d said Beth was never coming back because she was afraid of her gift. And all the time, he had her locked up, exactly as she’d feared.
Alec’s anger exploded, setting off his power. Clouds of hot urine-filled steam saturated the air. He shook his head, coughed and the steam dissipated.
“Save that for later,” Drake said.
“Do you know where she is?”
“Somewhere inside the Resource facility. Lansing’s best equipment is there.”
Alec thought of the voices in his dreams, late at night. That had been Beth, just as he’d thought, but she wasn’t trying to get him to listen, she was trying to get him to help her.
“Shit!” He unleashed a fireball to his left, just above one of the urinals. There must be a hell of a lot of alcohol molecules in the air for it to flare up so fast. He stared at the fireball, sweat pouring down his face, tempted to burn it all. But why use his power here when he could use it on Lansing and the Resource? He blinked, concentrated and the fireball disappeared.
“You might want to do something that will attract a little less attention until we find her,” Drake said in a dry tone that sounded like Beth.
“We’ll get her. Tonight. And if they’ve hurt her, I’ll kill everyone inside.”
Drake smiled. “Fine by me.”
Alec nodded.
Someone pushed against the bathroom door. It only opened a crack before jamming. Alec looked down. Drake had stuffed a wedge of wood under the door.
“Alec?” Daz said.
Alec looked at Drake. Drake stepped forward and kicked away the wood. “Answer,” Drake whispered.
“Yeah, Daz?” Alec asked.
Daz pushed and the door swung open. “Look, I’m sorry. I know you like the girl.”
Drake jammed the wood triangle under the door again with his foot. He smashed his elbow into Daz’s lower back, a kidney punch. Daz went down to one knee with a groan, and before Alec could react, Drake had a gun at Daz’s head.
Alec blinked. And people said he was scary.
“Not a word,” whispered Drake in that toneless voice. “Flat, on the floor.”
Daz coughed, hesitated for only a second and did as Drake asked. His face touched the filthy floor. “Jesus, Alec, c’mon. It smells down here.”
“You knew,” Alec said. “You fucking knew all along about Beth. And you sat there smirking at me, making wisecracks and insulting her.”
“That’s past,” Drake said. “He’s going to help us now, aren’t you, Commander? Give me the layout. Tell me exactly where she’s being held.”
“Alec, Drake’s a psycho. His own people say that. You don’t want to listen to him.”
“He’s making more sense than you.” Alec cupped a hand and called the fire, just above his palm. It flashed into existence, close but not quite touching his hand.
“You don’t want to do this, Firefly.”
“Don’t call me that!” He moved the fireball closer to Daz. “You think Drake’s a psycho? How’d you like a pyromaniac?”
Daz swallowed and closed his eyes against the fire. “You believe him?”
“He didn’t attack me. He’s worried about his daughter.”
“I’m worried about you.”
“Bullshit. You’re worried about your paycheck.”
“That’s not true.”
“You helped them take Beth.” Alec stalked forward, bringing the fire with him. He knelt down to Daz, the fire almost close enough to burn. “You either help us or I’m going to let Drake blow your brains out. And then I’m gonna take out the rest of the team and the ones in the parking lot, and then we’ll have a nice fireworks party at the Resource as soon as I get Beth out.”
Daz opened his eyes. “You can’t do that.”
“Yes, I can. Remember, I’m only a hair’s breadth from going out of control.”
“You’re not. I know you better than that.”
“Then why do you carry the tranqs on every mission?”
Daz sighed. “I’ve only used them once.”
“You used them in Maine.”
“That was the damn Resource goons! You think I wanted to go in there? I thought she was controlling you.”
“I think all this stuff about team is garbage. You’re just like those Resource guards. You take orders from Lansing, whatever they are.”
“You’re team,” Daz said through clenched teeth. “That means something.”
“You knew I was kept prisoner inside the complex. You never did anything about that.”
“I thought you agreed to it, for your own safety.” Daz closed his eyes, wincing.
“Bullshit. I complained to you about being stuck at the Resource a million times.”
“I figured you weren’t safe outside.”
“You took Lansing’s money, so you believed what he wanted you to believe,” Drake said.
“No, I thought—”
“You could have tried to show me the truth,” Alec said. “But you didn’t.” Beth had done that. Look what it had cost her.
“Okay, okay. I hear you. I fucked this up.” Daz took a deep breath and nodded at the fireball. “Could you damp that down for a sec? It’s burning holes in my eyes.”
Alec blinked and the fire vanished. That had taken no effort at all. What the hell was he? A living weapon, of course. Thanks to Lansing. And to Daz. They’d gotten more than they bargained for now because now, thanks to Beth, he was incredibly powerful.
“You owe me a fucking explanation.”
“Yeah, I do.” Daz blinked, trying to clear his vision. “It’s the job of a lifetime, you know? Elite assault team leader, save the world, work with a firestarter too. Such a fucking amazing thing, working with you. And, yeah, I like the money.”
“Shows where your loyalty is,” Drake said.
“Not anymore. I taught you about team, Alec. I meant it.”
“You did squat to help me.”
“That’s why I’m going to help now,” Daz said. “God knows I didn’t want to turn your girl over to that goggle-eyed scientist. But she was hurt. Goggle Eyes said he’d fix her.”
“You gave Beth to that freak?” Alec snapped to his feet. Lansing’s pet head scientist liked inflicting pain.
“I thought that she’d made you fight back, call the fire. I thought— Fuck, I was wrong. I’ll fix it.”
“How?”
“By getting your girl back. Can I get up now?”
“Do you trust him?” Drake asked.
“I don’t know,” Alec said. “Get up,” he told Daz.
Daz stood. Alec stared at the person who’d been his first real friend. Daz had also tranqued him twice and turned Beth over to Lansing.
Daz stared back. “I’ll help. So will the rest of F-Team.”
Alec frowned. Too easy. “Why?”
“You’re my trainee, I’m supposed to take care of you. But instead, I took care of what Lansing wanted. He used me and I let him.” Daz dropped his head. “I picked your shrink up off the floor in Maine. She was so little, so fragile. She babbled just before she went out, worried about you and her father.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Her face has been keeping me awake at night.”
“I notice the guilt didn’t make you tell Alec until I put a gun to your head.” Drake was using the wall for support again. “Your conversion is a little late.”
“Yeah, way too late.” Daz stared at the floor. “Which is why I’m going to help now.” He looked at Alec. “I taught you not to be a bully, to keep innocents out of the line of fire. And then I helped hurt her. Gotta fix it.”
“I don’t believe you,” Drake said.
“You must have seen my service record, spook. You know who I am.”
“I know who you used to be.” Drake frowned. “You’re not worried that Alec just threatened to kill you?”
“Girls make you do stupid stuff, telepaths or not.” Daz shrugged. “Anyway, he seems more alert—more alive, not less. Must have been a hell of a couple of days in Maine.”
“It was,” Alec said.
“Enough,” Drake said. “We’re wasting time. We’re going.”
“Whoa, who said you were coming?” Daz said.
“I don’t need your permission.”
Daz grabbed Drake’s forearm. “I’ll help Alec. But not you, spook. You stay out of it.”
“Get your hand off me before I break it.” Drake didn’t look tired any longer.
Alec stepped between them. Daz let go of Drake’s arm.
“I’m not working with this assassin,” Daz said.
“You’ve taken money from Lansing for the past seven years,” Drake said.
“So?”
“He’s murdered more people than I ever will. What does that make you, Commander Montoya?”
“Stop.” Alec put his hands on Daz’s chest and pushed him away. “Look, Daz, you’re not exactly high on my trust list right now. I want Drake with me. Besides, would you rather have him with us or out there on his own?”
“He can’t get into the Resource on his own,” Daz said.
“Are you sure?” Drake said.
“You’re not helping,” Alec said.
“All I’m interested in is getting my daughter out.”
“He wants to get Beth,” Alec said. “You helped take Beth. You owe him.”
“That doesn’t make him any less of a psycho,” Daz said.
Drake sighed. “What do you want? A pledge to shoot people in the knees?”
Alec smiled. Come to think of it, Drake did look a bit like the shape-shifting Terminator. Smaller ears, though.
“Do you know anyone more likely to get Beth out of there without causing a shootout? You said it yourself, Daz, Drake’s a spook. This is what he does. He found us here, without bloodshed.”
Daz relaxed. “Point.”
“It should be a silent op,” Drake said. “I don’t want Beth in the crossfire a second time.”
“Good enough for me.” There was no way Alec was going back into the Resource with just F-Team, not knowing if he could trust them. He could trust Drake to protect Beth, no matter what. “Daz?”
Daz nodded. “We help get the girl out, yes. But if he steps out of line, I’m coming down on him.”
Drake shook his head and bared his teeth. “I’m scared.”
“Like I said, you’re not helping.” Alec wished there was some way to know he could trust Drake. “Answer a question for me, Drake.”
“What now?”
“You rescued Beth when she was eight from her kidnappers under orders from the CIA. But then you made it look like she was dead instead of handing her over to Lansing. You disobeyed orders.” Alec glared. “If you hated Lansing enough to go against orders and hide Beth, if you thought he shouldn’t have kids for his program, why didn’t you rescue me years ago like you did Beth?”
Something flashed over Drake’s face. “I didn’t know Lansing had acquired you for his program until recently. I didn’t look. Lansing always suspected I’d hidden Beth. I wanted to stay as far away from him as possible so he didn’t find my daughter.”
Drake straightened. “In other words, I traded Beth’s safety for yours.” He looked Alec directly in the eye. “I don’t regret it. I’d promised Beth I would keep her safe. And I’ll continue to keep that promise.”
Alec slowly nodded. “Okay.” He looked at Daz. “Satisfied? All we’re going to do is grab Beth and go.”
“All right,” Daz said.