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Chapter 25

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I found myself unceremoniously cuffed again and blindfolded when we landed in Chicago. After being shoved along across a broad expanse of concrete and entering a building, I was led down several corridors. I focused on right and left turns, sounds from a control room of some kind, and the strong smell of roasted meat with a faint scent of bleach. Pans clashed and someone cursed about rotten mushrooms.

From a kitchen, maintenance, and security floor, we entered an elevator. The familiar layout matched the blueprints I studied of the New Government building at Navy Pier—the place the Network, if all went well, would be attacking in the next twenty-four hours. All I had to do was stall Malevich for a day.

I sensed Graves’s distress. His shortness of breath and labored groans betrayed signs of shock. “Take these cuffs and blindfold off me and I’ll help you.” When he hesitated, I added, “I can ease the pain.”

Bright light hit my eyes as the blindfold came off and a warm, stinging rush of blood to my hands accompanied the release of the cuffs. The elevator doors opened to a huge board room with darkened windows and a hazy view of Lake Michigan. Malevich sat at the far end of a long table, his chair turned away. His two Doberman Pinschers sat on either side like bookends, both glaring at me with black eyes and lips drawn into snarls. A couple of guards flanked Graves, helping him to a chair close by, and another held my arms.

“Welcome back into the fold, Lily.” Malevich spun around in the chair, an evil half grin on his face. “My sources tell me you and your friends have been instigating all kinds of mayhem.”

“That depends on who you ask,” I replied.

“What you’ve done is treasonous, my dear.” He rested his elbows on the table as he leaned forward and met my glare. “Aligning yourself with a criminal like young William is bad enough, but working with those Network fanatics who think they’re powerful enough to defeat me can only have one outcome.” He rose from the chair, knuckles planted on the table. “Death to anyone who stands in my way. I thought I made myself clear.”

My legs felt buttery and I wanted to sit down. Instead, I turned my attention to Graves. “Your man looks about ready to pass out. Once he goes into shock, I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to save him. All I want is to see President Callahan and her brother.”

He laughed, waving a hand in Graves’s direction. “A) What makes you think I care whether the man dies? And B) Isn’t my word sufficient? I assure you, the Callahan’s are both alive and well. The smirk on his face and his mocking tone made me clench my jaw in an effort to keep my mouth shut. If I lost my cool or let him goad me into saying or doing something stupid, there was no telling what he would do next. I reined in my temper. I’d come too far—lost too much. Thoughts of Will and the others flashed through my mind. I clenched and unclenched my fists and kept my voice steady.

“A) I don’t believe you’d let your only trusted employee die. And b) I would have to be insane to believe anything you say.” I twisted my arms free from the guard, who was glancing back and forth between Malevich and Graves, obviously trying to discern with whom his allegiance lay. I folded my arms and forced my lips into a defiant grin. “If you ask me, I’m the only sane person in this room.”

“I hope not, for your sake.” Eyes narrowing, Malevich came around the table and examined Graves, whose head lolled back as he faded into unconsciousness. I sensed a weak but rapid pulse. He’d lost a lot of blood, and the pain from nerve damage was excruciating enough to easily send someone into shock. Malevich stared at me for a moment, considering. “All right then, you do what you can to help my agent, and I’ll send for Kathleen and her miscreant of a brother.”

“I see them first.” I stood firm, resisting the itchiness of my palms to reach out my energy to Graves before it was too late. Even after all he’d done and how much I hated the man, my instincts screamed for me to heal him. I pressed my nails deeper into my palms.

Malevich’s face turned stony. “Fine.” He eyed the guard at the door, who quickly retreated. “While we wait, why don’t we discuss our plans?”

Our plans?” I asked, my words bringing another smile to his face.

“Well, it seems you already know about my plans—and thanks to my informant, I know all about yours.”

My jaw tightened and I wondered if he was referring to Joe Johnson—the traitor—or if there was someone else. Undeterred, he continued.

“After I take care of these pesky rebels, my ultimate plan includes you. I’ll need someone with your skills where I’m going. You could join your brother and help to build a whole new world,” he said with a flourish of his hand. He made it sound as if he was selling me a plot of land on an island paradise, rather than suggesting I travel into deep space to live a life of servitude to a madman.

“This is my home,” I countered. “I won’t give up on this planet—or my brother,” I said, hoping the President would show up soon. Graves’s pulse was erratic. Recalling what Neri had said about being able to heal someone remotely, I wondered if it was possible. It would do no good to let Graves die before I’d gotten what I wanted. I needed him to stay alive for my plan to work.

Malevich tilted his head and shrugged. “You are a stubborn one, I’ll give you that. But you can come willingly, or I can have you dragged kicking and screaming all the way. But make no mistake, you will be coming with me.” He stood and turned his back on me, pacing the floor and checking his watch.

Ignoring the remark, I focused my energy on the slumped Graves. Discreetly, I turned my palms outward in his general direction and forced my mind to stillness. Energy rose up like a fountain from my core and down my arms with a sharp tingle of warmth to my fingertips. I held it in check, allowing only a thin thread to come through, concentrating on the festering wound and sensing the muscle tissue close another millimeter. He’d been lucky the bullet had exited through the trapezius muscle just above it. As the oozing flow stanched and his blood pressure normalized, Graves roused, drawing Malevich’s attention. I shut down the flow of energy, leaving the frayed nerve in his shoulder in jeopardy. The longer it went without proper blood supply, the more risk of permanent damage there would be.

Noting Graves’s marginal improvement when he turned around, Malevich eyed me suspiciously. “Ah, you’ve been practicing. It seems you’ve learned a thing or two from your young friend Neri. Dr. Bartholomew said she was an excellent student and had surpassed your abilities considerably. I suppose you two had a lot to talk about.” He sat back down in his cushy executive chair and patted one of the dogs, scratching absently behind the animal’s ear. “I’m sure she told you about Marcus. He appears to have developed quite an appetite for the breeding process.” Noting the disgust on my face, he continued to push. “He’s been looking forward to meeting you.”

My stomach churned at the thought, but before I could respond with what would most certainly be a very unladylike explosion of foul language and juvenile name calling, the elevator doors opened and President Callahan stepped into the room, Will’s father limping behind. My breath caught at the sight of the man. Serious contusions marred his face, and my senses told me he had cracked ribs and torn cartilage in his right knee. I shifted my attention when the President’s gaze fell on me. An expression of confusion and fear crossed her face.

“What’s going on here?” she asked, an icy glare aimed at Malevich.

“I’ve brought you a healer. Your brother could use one, don’t you think?”

“Why? So you can torture him again?’

Both anger and the sound of defeat resonated in her voice and I wanted more than anything to tell her help was on the way. Malevich didn’t let me get a word in.

“Don’t be so melodramatic, Kathleen. I need your brother in one piece—for now. When we have our little press conference later today, I want you both in tip-top condition. The citizens of this fine country need to know how you and your brother used your position for personal gain. How it was you who ordered the drone strikes on the outlying cities to prove your power. The people will have no choice but to condemn you for crimes against humanity. I think a lengthy prison sentence should satisfy them—if not an execution. But I’ll leave sentencing to the Assembly.”

“Only so you don’t have to get your hands dirty.” The President’s sharp blue eyes pierced the man.

“I simply won’t have time to be bothered.” He plucked a piece of lint off his lapel and flicked it onto the carpet. “The Assembly can take care of the details.”

“You mean the members you’ve managed to threaten or bribe into following you.”

Malevich shrugged and drummed his fingers mindlessly on the table as if the whole conversation was becoming a bore. “Once I’m done convincing the last few holdouts that you’re unworthy of their loyalty, it won’t be long before you and your brother will be unnecessary, and I will be named the new President.”

“The people will see through you soon enough, you smug bastard,” said Brian Callahan between gritted teeth. I was sending healing energy his way and I sensed him responding, his face a shade less pale and his posture more upright.

The drain on me, however, was beginning to take its toll. With all I’d been through in Gettysburg, the concentration it took to heal remotely, and the reality of what I’d lost in the past few hours, the room began to spin. I needed to tell Brian and Kathleen about Will, but what could I tell them? I didn’t know for sure he was dead, but I didn’t want them to hear it from Malevich or Graves, who was sitting up now and glaring at his boss with the rest of us. Maybe he’d finally realized he was nothing more than a pawn in Malevich’s plan, and that his own days were numbered if his usefulness ran its course.

I had so much to say to the President, but Malevich would never let me speak to her or Brian alone. To complicate matters, my brain grew fuzzier by the minute. I needed to buy time. “If you expect me to heal both Agent Graves and Mr. Callahan, I’m going to need to rest and find something to eat.” I hadn’t eaten since the night before and it was almost noon. My knees wobbled. The guard behind me caught my arm as I swayed.

Malevich sighed. “Very well. Take her to one of our guest rooms and feed her.” His eyes pierced through me. “You have a half hour and then I’ll expect you to fully restore my agent. As for Mr. Callahan, he merely needs to appear presentable for the camera. I wouldn’t waste time on him.” Then he smirked coldly, “You may want to reserve your energy for your young man, William. I heard he was nearly killed in a terrible explosion last night.”