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Lucas opened his eyes and winced. His head throbbed in pain. Placing his hand to his forehead, he discovered the sticky, blood-covered bandage. He looked around the SUV for Joe but since dusk had settled in, he couldn’t see far.
“Joe?” he said.
Lucas pushed himself into a sitting position. His head ached even worse. Afraid that Joe had suffered similar injuries, or worse, Lucas crawled through the broken side window. He used the crumpled door for leverage to pull himself to his feet.
Headlights appeared at the edge of the road at the top of the ravine. Lucas crouched down.
“Joe?” he whispered.
Vehicle doors slammed shut and the shadows of three men stood in the glare of the headlights.
The three men hurried down the ravine to the overturned SUV. Lucas was dizzy and afraid to run.
“Lucas?” Owl-hunter said near the vehicle. “Are you here?”
“Yeah,” he replied, rising to stand. “But I can’t find Joe.”
Owl-hunter clasped Lucas’ forearm and held tightly, supporting Lucas’ weight and preventing him from falling.
“The men who did this,” Owl-hunter said, nodding toward the wreckage. “They took Joe.”
“Damn,” Lucas replied.
“Oh, we’ll find him. He’s our brother. And he’s strong in ways that most men don’t understand. How do you feel? Should we take you to the hospital?”
“I’m shaken up. A little dizzy, but other than that, I believe I’m okay. Let’s find Joe first and then if I’m still woozy, a hospital will be good.”
Owl-hunter smiled. “We’ll help you up the steep hill. I don’t think you should attempt that alone.”
Lucas stared up the steep, winding path and shook his head. “Probably not.”
“Oh,” Owl-hunter said, walking back to the SUV. He stooped down and crawled inside the wreckage. A few seconds later, he came back out with a cellphone in his hand. “You might want this later.”
Lucas took the phone and nodded. “Thanks.”
“Joe left it so we could track it and find it.”
“Track it?”
Owl-hunter smiled. “Don’t look so surprised. We keep up with modern technology. Smoke signals are long past.”
Lucas chuckled and looked for messages. “Damn. Battery’s dead.”
Owl-hunter’s cell rang. “Yes? Okay, Joe. We’re on our way.”
“Joe’s okay?” Lucas asked.
Owl-hunter grinned and nodded. “Come on. You won’t want to miss this.”
***
Morton pranced into Daniel’s office and leaped onto the desk.
“Well,” Morton huffed. “I hope you’re satisfied.”
Daniel stopped typing on his laptop and faced the cat. “About what?”
“My tree. It’s gone. They cut it to the ground. Even removed the stump.”
“That dead eyesore?” Daniel returned his attention to the computer. “It had a devaluing appearance for the entire block. It needed cut down years ago.”
“The hollow tree was my beloved sanctuary. The only place where I had some solitude. Me time. The rats follow me everywhere indoors.”
“That may be. But the tree was rotten and dangerous. A large branch could have fallen at any time and struck someone. Since Felicia is getting older, she or anyone could have been hurt or killed passing under it.”
Morton cocked his head and nodded. “When you put it that way, you’re right. But still, I’m going to miss it.”
“I’m sorry the tree is gone.”
“On a worse note,” Morton said.
“Worse?”
“Yep. Kyle contacted me via telepathy-satellite.”
“Oh?”
Morton nodded. “Lucian’s dying.”
“What?” Daniel swiveled his chair around. “What happened?”
“Seems his cloned body has reached its expiration marker.”
“Dr. Helmsby believed that would happen. It’s surprising Lucian has lived this long.”
Morton licked his forepaw and stared at Daniel. “When’s the last time you’ve heard from Helmsby?”
Daniel sighed. “Must be months now. Why?”
“Helmsby might know a solution that might help Lucian.”
“He might.”
Morton wiped his face with his wet paw. “Brockton thinks there might be a remedy without Helmsby’s help, but it would require a favor.”
Daniel frowned. “What kind of favor?”
“Kyle wants you to ask Lucas to donate some blood or stem cells.”
“How will that help?”
Morton pursed his furry lips. “Lucas is the template from which Lucian was made. I assume Brockton believes stem cells might reverse part of Lucian’s genetic flaws.”
“Maybe so, but I highly doubt Lucas will agree to help.”
“That’s what I told Kyle.”
Daniel smiled. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t ask. After all, Lucian did save his life. It’s the least Lucas could do.”
Daniel grabbed his cellphone and dialed Lucas’ number. It rang and rang. Daniel’s brow furrowed. He disconnected the call.
“What’s wrong?” Morton asked.
“No answer.”
“Maybe he’s out of tower range,” Morton said.
“I hope that’s all.”
“You think it’s something worse?”
Daniel sighed. “I don’t know. When he called and told me about Lydia leaving, he was at a major low.”
“Just because she left?”
“He indicated she’s been brooding and target practicing a lot. Since Matthews has escaped, her need to kill has returned. Lucas was going after her when he hung up.”
“Do you believe she’d really hurt him?”
“It’s difficult to say, but that possibility is strong. Especially since she let him know Matthews is out, she might do drastic things to keep her search alive.”
“Should we go look for him?”
“I’d like to, but Julia could go into labor soon.”
“I could search for him.”
Daniel shook his head. “We don’t even know where he’s at. I’m sure he’ll check in with me soon. When he does, I’ll ask him.”
“I guess that’s the best we can do for now,” Morton said with a sad tone.
“You think Lucas should help his clone?”
Morton nodded. “Yes. Lucian isn’t a bad person. He certainly isn’t what Idris had created him to become.”
“I gathered that after Lucian shot and killed Idris and then went his own direction.”
“He was nothing but kind with Kat, and when Violet was killed, he showed true remorse because he had failed to protect her. If he were a true assassin at heart, it wouldn’t have stirred any regret. He’d have shrugged it off.”
“I agree,” Daniel said, nodding. “I fear Lydia is everything Idris made her to be.”
“I fear that, too. Idris said that she was the prototype. It could be that he kept her in the incubation chamber for everyone’s safety.”
“That’s an extreme theory.”
Morton’s eyes narrowed. “Not really. Her violence steadily increases. The rage inside her grows. Once it surpasses a certain level, I wonder if anyone can reason with her.”
“You’ve really thought through this.”
“Kyle and I discuss a lot of theories. Just not recently. Today’s the first day I’ve heard from him in weeks.”
“I see.”
Morton rubbed his forepaws together and grinned. “Now, can we discuss releasing me from my confinement?”
“You mean returning you to the wild?”
“Indoor habitats are constraining. And that litter box is an insult. No dignity. No real privacy.”
“Okay,” Daniel said. “But if we let you back outside, would you mind sticking to the backyard?”
“Might as well since they killed my tree.”
“It was already dead.”
“Minus its animated spirit, it was.”
“You mean you?”
Morton smiled. “I certainly didn’t mean Kip.”
“You called?” Kip asked, scurrying up the side of the desk, still wearing the little leather jacket. Standing on his hind legs, he crossed his forelegs, struck a pose, looking back and forth between them. “Sup?”
Morton rolled his eyes and shook his head. “You see what I mean about no privacy?”
Daniel smiled. “When I was in college I never thought genetics would venture so far as to grant animals your abilities.”
Morton glanced down at Kip. “Sometimes I think it’s a psychotic dream.”
“Not with you,” Daniel said. “You, Kip, and the other rats I can handle. It’s the deadly creatures like the shifters and Idris’ assassins that trouble me the most. It’s what Lydia might become. Or where she might end up and how it all ends.”
“I’m afraid it won’t end well.”
“I feel the same way,” Daniel replied.