“Oh, and I almost forgot to mention. We stopped by this quaint little mansion in the hills earlier, and guess what we found? A very attractive little tart all alone with her sweet old grandparents.”
Then Vicktor’s smile turned to something more sinister, something he hadn’t shown until now.
“Or, was that Arthur and his old hag, Martha Parkman? I think that’s the name she goes by now, I forget. Anyway, you consult with your newfound friends, and I’ll be getting to know…Allison is it? I’ll be getting to know her in the meantime.”
“Don’t you touch her!” I screamed. I struggled to break free, but it was no use. The invisible force kept me pinned and unable to move.
“When you’re ready to either join me or finish this little charade, give me a call. And I don’t mean via cell phone. I think by then you’ll know how. I think by then, you will know quite a lot about who it is you really are.”
Vicktor stuffed his hands into his pockets, whistling loudly as he walked away.
“See you soon, Charlie.”
I watched, enraged as his tall figure disappeared around the corner, just as the force that held me so tightly against the wall was released. I dropped to the floor, filled with anger.
I had to stop this man. With the level of his powers, I didn’t know if that was even a possibility. All I knew was that I had to find a way to stop him at all costs. And to rescue the woman I loved.
Chapter 40
I sprinted back down the hall and threw the doors open. I couldn’t see Robert at first, but soon, I noticed the worn sole of one of his boots protruding from underneath the debris. Clawing and pulling at the scraps of wood and broken drywall, I finally reached him. He was unconscious, so I shook him gently and called his name a few times to revive him.
“What happened?” he asked. “Where’s Vicktor?”
“He’s gone. This was all a trap. He’s been to the mansion and kidnapped Allison.
“We need to get back there now. Vicktor has everything he needs to rebuild the device.”
I was appalled.
“Did you not just hear what I said?” I asked. I was shocked at the apparent lack of interest in my friend’s plight.
“You need to keep your eye on the big picture here. There’s more at stake than your girlfriend. This is exactly what Vicktor wants, for you to be distracted,” he replied. He coughed vehemently and held onto my shoulder for support. I looked at his waist and cringed as I noticed a dark, circular pool of blood with a metal shard protruding from his left side.
“You’re hurt very badly,” I said. “Sit down a moment.”
I took off my shirt and ripped it into strips, stabilizing the wound as best I could. Even if I didn’t agree with the man’s words, I couldn’t let him die here.
“Keep pressure here,” I instructed. I helped him back to his feet.
“I’m going to get you back to the mansion and then someone is going to give me answers. Real answers.”
“Vicktor has manipulated you, just as I feared. I told you this is what he wants.”
“I don’t think he’s lying about everything. There have been convenient little holes in the story you and Arthur have fed me from the very beginning. I was just too overwhelmed with everything to see it before.”
We reached the elevator, and I pushed the down button.
“No, we can’t risk taking the elevator,” groaned Robert. His eyes were barely open, and he was breathing heavily. “We need to take the stairs.”
“You will never make it down the stairwell alive with that wound. We have to take our chances,” I said. I wasn’t taking no for an answer.
Robert chose not to argue and slumped to the floor once we were inside. I pressed the button for the lobby and leaned back against the wall. I released a loud sigh.
What a complete and total disaster. Not only did we fail in keeping the plutonium out of Vicktor’s hands, but now Allison had been kidnapped. Again. Robert was critically wounded. And, I had no idea where the others were.
The elevator jerked to a stop, and the large metal doors slowly opened. My jaw dropped as I took in the devastation. It looked as if a bomb had gone off. There were bodies strewn everywhere, and hundreds of spent ammo casings littered the floor. Most of the lobby furniture had been destroyed; tiny pieces of white cushion stuffing floated in the air all around the room. Small fires burned in several places, and the thick, pungent smoke made it difficult to see clearly. There was no movement at all so far as I could tell in the entire room.
My thoughts raced.
“Kara!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. “Michael! Nick!”
I dashed around the room, frantically moving lifeless body after lifeless body. I cuffed my elbow crease firmly to my mouth and nose to block the smoke.
How could this have happened? They were all young just like me and in the prime of their lives. To be struck down like this? There had to be a light at the end of this dark tunnel.
“Charlie.”
The voice was so weak and faint that I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from, but I was certain it was Kara. I reached out to her with my mind.
Kara!
She didn’t respond, but somehow I knew exactly where to look. It was almost as if I was being drawn to her very essence. I could feel her presence.
I raced over to the nearly destroyed information desk and peered underneath. Kara and Nick were there together, both unconscious. I knelt by Kara’s side and grasped her face gently in my hands.
“Kara,” I said softly. “Are you OK?”
Her eyelids fluttered a moment before she finally managed to open them. She offered a weak smile.
“Charlie. You came for me. I’ve been reaching out to you for awhile. I am so glad to see your face.”
“It’s OK,” I reassured her. “Try not to talk. I’m going to get you out of here in just a second.”
Chapter 41
I turned to Nick and shook him by the shoulders. He came to with a bewildered look and flung his arms wildly before he realized it was me.
“You OK?’ I asked warily, maintaining my guard in case he decided to swing again.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I thought you were one of the Chirac for a second there.”
“Where’s Michael?” I asked, looking around.
“The bastards took him. He was involved in a skirmish with about five others when he was struck down from behind. I couldn’t make it over to him in time. They put some sort of strange collar device around his neck and took him away.”
“What about Jason?”
Nick rose to his feet and brushed his clothes off before answering.
“He didn’t make it. There were just too many of them.” His voice wavered, and I could sense the discomfort in his voice. I decided not to press.
“Alright, let’s get out of here.”
I knelt next to Kara again. I instructed her to place her arms around my neck, lifting her fragile body off the floor and into my arms. She nestled her head into the side of my neck and her soft lips gently touched my skin. If I hadn’t known any better, I would say she kissed me. A tingling sensation shot through my body like a cannon.
Two kisses, by two different girls on the same night. Either I was in a bizarre dream, or this was easily the best and worst night of my life. I was leaning towards the latter.
“Nick, can you find us some wheels?” I asked.
“Certainly,” he said and was off in a flash.
“Hang in there Robert,” I said as he sat slouched against the wall next to the elevator. He must have crawled out after I’d entered the lobby searching for Kara.
Kara.
Why did I feel such an intoxicating attraction to her? I didn’t know much about her at all. Only that she was crazy beautiful and could throw a mean right hook. Just a few days ago, my thoughts only involved Allison. But now there was no denying Kara was part of the same confusing equation for me.
Nick returned and helped Robert to the van, placing him gentl
y in the rear. I followed them out, sitting Kara there as well. I flopped down into the seat next to her.
“Can you drive?” I asked Nick.
“Yeah, no problem,” he said as he slammed the rear door and hopped behind the wheel.
Kara sat with her head resting on my chest. Once again, I felt the tingling sensation throughout my body. It was very close to the sensation I felt when channeling my abilities.
“I failed you, Charlie,” Robert said between labored breaths. His chest heaved up and down. “I failed you all.”
“Don’t talk like that. You had no idea this would happen,” I said.
“I should have been able to see this coming. I should have been prepared,” he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone in particular. “There’s got to be a reason why, something I missed.”
“I’ll tell you what you missed,” Nick growled, driving the van at a breakneck pace. Guess he was just used to going fast, period. “Those two shady commandos you brought along with us. That’s what you missed.”
“What do you mean?” Robert asked.
“Don’t you get it? They were playing both sides. They used you. They were a part of the Chirac’s plan against us all along. We never stood a chance.”
Nick paused and snatched the wheel, swerving around a slow moving delivery truck. The driver honked his horn angrily and flipped us off as we sped by.
“When we first entered the lobby, there was only a handful of guards, who were no real problem for us. Then, we were ambushed from behind by a group led by Carter and Price. They were the ones who took Michael away.”
Nick jerked the wheel and sped around another vehicle, barely missing an oncoming semi-trailer by inches.
“They even had their own super crew, just like us,” Nick continued, his eyes trained on the road. “These guys were no joke. One of them could even produce high-pitched sound waves. That’s what took me out of the fight.”
He gripped the steering wheel even more firmly, and I thought it might snap in two.
“I can’t wait to meet him again.”
I could sense his frustration.
“Kara pulled me behind the desk where you found us. I think she made them believe we had escaped with her mind control. She saved my life.”
Nick actually sounded grateful, which was a positive step in the right direction for him.
Kara barely stirred. Every so often, I would run a finger through her hair gently and a low rumble would emanate from her throat that reminded me of a kitten purring.
“So what do we do now?” Nick asked.
“We regroup and figure out a way to stop Vicktor before he has a chance to assemble the weapon,” Robert said. He stared firmly at me.
“No,” I replied, meeting his gaze. “First, someone’s going to tell me the truth. About everything. Then I am going to find Allison. It’s as simple as that.”
Chapter 42
The van’s tires screeched to a halt in front of the mansion. I said a quick prayer, thanking God we had made it alive and in one piece. I then made a quick promise to never get into a vehicle with Nick as the driver again. The guy was completely maniacal behind the wheel.
I opened the rear door and jumped out of the van with Kara in my arms as several people filed out of the mansion to meet us.
“What happened?” asked Arthur. He was holding a bag of frozen snow peas to his temple. His brow rose considerably once he noticed his daughter. “Is she alright?”
“She'll be fine,” I said. “Just help Nick with Robert. He’s in pretty bad shape.”
Instead, Arthur motioned for two others to assist with carrying Robert into the house. I guess his head was hurting too bad to lift a finger himself.
I carried Kara into the living room and placed her gently down onto the couch. She was barely responsive, and I could only assume it was due to shock and fatigue; she had no outward injuries that I could see. I removed the dark sweater she was wearing slowly, trying not to wake her, and smoothed her hair to the side. I wanted to see her face in its entirety. I wanted to soak it all in once more. I cared about her, just as I knew she cared about me. If I wasn’t so focused on Allison and wanting to see where things between us could go, I would give in completely to these feelings in a heartbeat. But, as strong as these feelings were, they couldn’t make up for the way I felt about Allison.
“I just heard bits and pieces of what happened. Are you hurt? Do you need anything?” Ms. Parkman asked, entering the living room in a whirlwind. The genuine concern for my safety was evident upon her face, and I was equally glad to see her. She fussed over me like a mother hen, wiping my brow with a damp towel and checking me from head to toe.
And I didn’t mind. I didn’t mind at all.
“I’m fine. And I think Kara will be fine too after some much needed rest.”
She turned her attention to Kara.
“Yes, I do believe so. Poor child.” She rubbed Kara’s cheek. Then she called for Mildred.
“Please have Kara taken to her room and have the healer look in on her.”
Mildred bowed courteously and left the room.
“I’m truly glad to see you in one piece,” said Arthur, joining us in the living room. He brandished the same bag of frozen vegetables in one hand and a tumbler filled with dark brown tonic in the other.
I shrugged my shoulders. “It is only because Vicktor let me go. That's the only reason I'm standing here right now.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, sitting down beside his daughter on the couch. He tossed the bag of snow peas on the mahogany coffee table in front of him and placed his hand on Kara’s shoulder.
“I mean he let me go. Simple as that,” I said. I stared blankly at him while he took little sips of his drink as if it was a steaming hot cup of java. Occasionally, he would shake it from side to side, and the ice would rattle against the glass in the most annoying way.
Rich people.
Chapter 43
“So what we need to do now is figure out how Vicktor got the jump on you and come up with a plan to stop him,” he said. He brought his right leg up over his left knee and grabbed his ankle, rocking slowly back and forth.
“We already know how they got the jump on us. Carter and Price. The humans you brought in are also working for Vicktor. And I’m not doing a damn thing until someone tells me the truth,” I said bluntly.
Arthur looked at Ms. Parkman with an openly confused look.
“What do you mean Carter and Price are working for Vicktor? That’s impossible,” he said with an uneasy laugh.
“I’m not going to waste my time explaining it to you. Just ask Kara when she wakes up. If you still have any doubts, I think that will clear things up for you.”
“I told you we shouldn’t have brought humans into this house,” Ms. Parkman reproached. “It was a bad idea from the start. Now look at what has happened. No wonder Vicktor was able to circumvent our defenses so easily tonight.”
“There is nothing we can do about that now,” Arthur said. “We need to focus on how to stop Vicktor.”
“What we need to focus on is someone telling me the truth,” I said firmly. My blood was starting to boil.
“You have been told the truth.”
“I’ve been told a bunch of half-truths. I only met the man for a few minutes, but I knew Vicktor wasn’t lying; there is something you haven’t told me. You’ve been using me since the very beginning. Telling me just enough so I would go along with your agenda. Maybe Vicktor was right. Maybe I do belong with the Chirac.”
It was a gamble, but I was willing to go all in on this bluff. I needed to know the truth before I went one step further. I was tired of being everyone else’s puppet. I had to learn to stand on my own two feet for a change. It was time for me to play the cards I was dealt.
Arthur and Ms. Parkman exchanged nervous glances before arguing back and forth between themselves in hushed voices. Finally, Ms. Parkman turned to face me.
“It is time.” r />
Arthur started to object, but Ms. Parkman held up a hand to stop him. “Wait here,” she said quietly and left the room. Arthur refused to look at me, choosing to sip his drink in silence instead. After a few awkward minutes, Ms. Parkman returned carrying a wooden box and handed it to me.
“This is for you. It is your mother’s legacy. She wanted you to have it when you were ready.”
I stared at the elaborate carvings along the top and sides of the beautifully crafted box. They were remarkable symbols that I recognized instantly. I’d seen them in my dreams every night since the hypnosis.
“Sometimes people wrestle with the truth and whether or not it’s beneficial to reveal that truth to those they love and care for. The truth can be very painful and hard to accept for some. In the end, it is up to the individual and what they choose to do with the truth once it’s bestowed upon them.”
She paused and touched my arm affectionately.
“Vicktor is your father.”
Chapter 44
My entire body went numb. I mean completely numb, like I was suddenly paralyzed. I could feel myself getting lightheaded, so I reached out, grasping the arm of the recliner next to me and collapsed into it.
This was not happening. How could this be? The man who had kidnapped the girl of my dreams was also my father.
I felt like vomiting.
“Vicktor was once the top scientist on planet Etheus,” Ms. Parkman continued. “The war between the Alarians and the Chirac had waged on for years and was depleting the planet of all its natural resources at an alarming rate. Vicktor had an innovative idea to make a device that could create unlimited energy. He tried for some time to perfect the process and failed. Or so he thought. Through a freak accident one night, he was exposed to the energy emitted from the device and his physiology was dramatically changed. He was instantly faster, stronger, and more intelligent. In his mind, he’d discovered the key to the Alarians winning the war: by making a race far more superior than the Chirac.”
“His invention was taken before the Elders, the governing body of the Alarians. They vehemently chastised him and regarded the device as an abomination. They ordered his research and all records of it to be destroyed. But what they didn’t know was that the exposure to the energy had also begun to affect his neurological processing as well. He became madly obsessed with proving the Elders wrong. Blind with anger, he continued his research in secret.”
“There was a small group of rebels inside the Alarians who believed his ideas were for the good of our race. This group included Arthur, Robert, myself, and your mother, Calista. Due to his well-known fondness for her, she was chosen to get close to him and recruit him. We had no idea of the changes he was undergoing. We only knew that something drastic needed to be done, or we would soon lose the war to the Chirac. So, we invited him into the group. Vicktor and your mother grew close after a while and began an intimate relationship.”