Brainrush 03 - Beyond Judgment (26 page)

Francesca is alive, he thought, staring at the screen.

“I see we have your attention,” Victor said, watching the high-def display. His voice was a million miles away. “Are you ready to cooperate now, Mr. B—”

His words cut off when the video image suddenly dropped to Francesca’s bound feet. The scene was skewed ninety degrees. The remote camera had toppled over. A shadow passed across the screen, and a man’s boot stepped in front of
the lens. The sound of automatic gunfire spilled forth. Blood splattered on Francesca’s flinching legs. A man’s shout. More gunfire. A rush of movement. Francesca’s chair toppled backward, her torso hidden from view. She was motionless. Blood flowed from beneath her chair and spread across the hardwood floor.

The image went black.

“Nooo!” Jake yelled. His bloodlust rose, his body seized, and fury erupted from his core. The scene around him slowed as he unleashed a wave of primordial rage.

In one beat, the doctor’s thumb hovered over the syringe’s plunger; the next, his palms were pressed to his temples. He screamed in agony as Jake focused his thoughts on the folds of the doctor’s brain. Strauss’s eyes bulged, and blood leaked from his ears. He twisted and shriveled to the floor. The guards were next. The muzzles of their weapons made it only halfway to bear before Jake directed his fury at them. He sent a mental command that loosed a laser beam of energy from the mini into their foreheads. Their brains boiled, and they collapsed in a heap. When the door swung closed, Jake realized that Victor had left the room.

“Die!” Jake shouted after the man, sending his wrath at the door. But he could tell it hadn’t worked. Victor had escaped. However, his two techs were still in their chairs, and they were every bit as guilty as their boss. Jake ignored their wild-eyed appeals. He killed them where they sat.

It felt good.

The power surging within him made Jake feel invincible. He yanked on his restraints, expecting them to rip free. They didn’t. He refocused his thoughts on the clasps, drew in a deep breath, and…

The connection with the pyramids suddenly waned. It felt as if they had learned all they needed to. Tentacles unlatched, fiber optics stopped pulsing, and energy drained from his system faster than jet fuel from a bullet-ridden wing tank.

It was in that moment that he sensed another presence in his mind. It seemed filled with concern. It was a familiar sensation—one that he’d last felt in the underground hideaway on San Michelle. Jake embraced it.

Alex?

Then he sensed Sarafina and he knew instantly that they were alive. He swelled with hope…until he looked around and realized what his rage had wrought—all while linked to the pyramids.

What have I done?

The last drop of energy leached from his system, and Jake collapsed into unconsciousness.

Geneva, Switzerland

T
HERE WAS A
keyless-entry digital keypad beside each of the doors. Apartment 6B was halfway down the hallway. Ahmed knocked, but nobody answered. He tried the handle.

It was locked.

Sarafina noticed that Alex’s eyes targeted the keypad. “Go for it,” she said.

He reached up and entered a code. Sarafina recognized the number sequence that he’d first suggested they use downstairs—the one that he’d apparently overheard in San Michelle. The lock clicked. He looked up and smiled.

She was taken aback by the rare eye-to-eye contact. He’d done it once on the train ride as well. She placed her hands on his shoulders and savored the moment. “I’m proud of you.”

“As am I,” Ahmed added. Then he pushed open the door.

“Hello,” he called out. No one replied. They stepped inside.

Sarafina’s excitement rose as she took it all in. There were signs everywhere that the apartment was occupied. The main room included a kitchen, dining, and living area. There were dishes in the sink and half-empty coffee cups in the sitting area. A map was spread out on the dining table. There was a laptop beside it. Lacey’s perfume lingered in the air.

“They were here,” she said.

“The coffeepot is still warm,” Ahmed said from the kitchen. “They must have just left.” He rummaged through a paper bag on the counter and came out with a lone pastry. He broke it into thirds and gave each of them a piece. It was fresh and sweet. Alex scarfed his down so fast that he finished it before Ahmed took his first bite. Ahmed noticed, and he relinquished his piece to Sarafina’s little brother. The sacrifice moved her. She knew how much Ahmed loved his pastries. Two days ago the gesture wouldn’t have crossed his mind, she thought. But the challenges that had been thrust upon them had changed him.

“Nothing in the fridge,” he said, closing the door. He checked the food pantry. The shelves were bare. He opened and closed several other cabinet doors but came up with nothing. He shrugged and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Breakfast of champions,” he said with a wink. He motioned toward the dining table. “Come on. Let’s figure out where they went.”

Alex and Sarafina followed.

The map on the table incorporated only the city. There was a felt-tip pen beside it.

“I thought the castle was a long way from here,” she said.

“A couple hundred kilometers,” Ahmed said as he sat down. He picked up the marker. One hand spun it like a top while he studied the map. “They would have arrived at the castle yesterday, which means they came here afterward. When they left this morning, they were headed someplace else—someplace on this map.” The finger of Ahmed’s free hand tapped an area that had been
X
’d with the marker. “Right h—” He cut off as he studied the location. His finger traced a route from the nearby train station to the marked area. “Oh, that’s where we are now. Give me a second.” He did a grid search of the rest of the map. The felt-tip pen spun faster while he worked. Alex watched with keen interest.

The pen came to an abrupt stop. The only other mark on the map was a rust-colored circle made by the bottom of a coffee cup. Ahmed sat back and crossed his arms. “You’ve got to be kidding
me,” he said. “Who marks the starting point, but then doesn’t bother marking the destination?”

“Good question,” Sarafina said. “But a better one is who uses a paper map these days?” She settled in the chair beside his and slid the laptop over.

He nudged her with his elbow. “Good thinking.”

Alex gave a subtle nod as if agreeing with the statement. It was both odd and wonderful to see him so actively engaged in what was going on around him, she thought. His tablet was turned off.

Sarafina hit the laptop power button, and the display came to life instantly. It had been in sleep mode. An icon in the upper-right corner indicated they were logged in as
GUEST
. Google Maps filled the screen. It featured a close-up satellite image of an estate overlooking Lake Geneva. There was a mansion and three outbuildings. A private lane twisted through the surrounding trees. She zoomed out in order to get their bearings, cross-referencing the mansion against their current location. Then she clicked
GET DIRECTIONS
. It was only four kilometers away. A ten-minute taxi ride.

“Let’s go!” she said, standing up.

Ahmed blocked her path. “No.”

“What do you mean
no
?” she asked.

“It’s not safe. We need to remain here.”

“But they don’t even know we’re here.”

“Neither does anybody else.”

“But we have to catch up to them. What if they don’t come back?”

“We cannot follow them,” Ahmed insisted.

She hesitated, sensing that he was holding something back. “What are you not telling me?”

He ignored the question. “We must stay here.”

Her hands went to her hips.

He threw a sidelong glance at Alex, and she got the hint. There was something going on that Ahmed would rather not
share with her younger brother. Alex must have noticed the gesture as well, because he switched on his tablet and buried his focus into the device.

Ahmed sighed. He rose and led Sarafina to the kitchen. He opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out a plastic trash bin.

It was filled with empty ammunition boxes.

“Wherever they went,” he whispered, sliding the bin back into place, “they expected trouble.”

The wind went out of her. She nodded. “You’re right. We need to—”

Alex’s yelp cut her off. His chair crashed to the floor as he rushed to the window and placed a hand on the glass. Sarafina rushed beside him. She’d felt it, too—Jake’s cry of anguish had filled her mind. It wouldn’t have been any louder had he been standing in the room. She embraced Alex and followed his gaze. Their sixth-floor view looked out the front of the building. The city skyline peeked over the rooftops. Ahmed had moved to their side.

“It’s Father,” she explained. “He’s in trouble.”

“W-what?” Ahmed asked. “How do you know?”

“I heard him. In my head,” she said. Alex rocked forward and back on his heels. She tightened her arms around him. “He heard it, too.”

“You mean like before?” Ahmed asked. He sounded shaken. “When we first met him at the institute?”

“Shhh,” she whispered. She could still sense the connection, but the emotional tone had shifted. There was a sudden explosion of fury from her father. Her blood chilled from the intensity. It lasted about ten seconds. Then the connection was lost.

“Oh, God,” she said. “Did you feel it?”

“No!” Ahmed cried out. “I didn’t feel anything. Or hear anything.” His words spilled forth with increasing speed. “How come you felt it but I didn’t? I heard him in my head before, so why can’t I hear him now? What’s the matter with me? Why are you
two looking over there? The mansion is in the opposite direction. If Jake is in trouble, I want to help him. But how can I help if—”

“Flip it,” she interrupted, avoiding his questions.

But he didn’t miss a beat. “—I can’t hear him? Why didn’t he go with Tony to the mansion? What did I do wrong? There’s got to be some reason why I—”

“Please, Ahmed!” Sarafina shouted. She choked back tears. “We need you right now!”

The words broke through. Ahmed bit down on his tongue. He balled his fists and paced circles in the room. His breaths were heavy.

Sarafina was thankful that she didn’t have to deal with his questions head-on. Ahmed had been changed by the intense treatments he had received during his two years of “protective care”—following his attempt to blow up the airplane in Afghanistan. He looked at the world from a more logical perspective than before, but he had lost his intuitive nature in the process.

Right now she had her own crushing emotions to deal with. Her daddy’s rage was disturbing. She closed her eyes and allowed her body to sway in motion with Alex’s. The metronomic movement brought with it an unbidden symphony. It washed over her and replaced her thoughts, pushing away her fears. She allowed the music to take her away.

It was Ahmed’s encircling arms that tipped the balance in favor of reality. He’d overcome his touch phobia in order to make the physical contact.

“I’m sorry,” he said firmly. “That. Will. Never. Happen. Again.” His determination anchored her.

“Where is he?” he asked.

She motioned outside the window. “That way.”

“Can you narrow it down?”

She shook her head. “Sorry.”

What happened next surprised them both. Alex pulled from the embrace and walked quickly to the laptop. By the time they
joined him, he had scrolled the satellite map to a position north of downtown Geneva. He zoomed in on a magnificent multistory structure. With its numerous wings and offshoots, the complex spread out more than a third of a mile. It was surrounded by parks and greenbelts. It overlooked the lake. A final zoom filled the screen with a 3-D image of the front of the main building. It was stately and immense. The label named it the
PALACE OF NATIONS
.

Alex placed his index finger on the lowest floor of the building. Then he looked up and captured their gazes.

“Are you sure?” Ahmed asked.

A sharp nod told them he was.

A few minutes later, Ahmed stood by the door. He was ready to leave. He wore a backpack and a ready expression. Sarafina thought he had never looked better.

“They say everything happens for a reason,” he said. “Perhaps that is true. But I was taught that each person is a master of his own fate. I take charge of mine now. And I do so with the belief that it is the right thing to do. Not only for Jake, who needs my help, but for all three of us as well.”

“I’m scared,” she said.

“I understand. But you’ll be safe here. If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t leave.”

But he hadn’t understood at all, she thought. She wasn’t scared for herself or Alex. She was scared for him. She’d sensed the danger surrounding her father. And Ahmed was heading straight for it. What could he do all by himself? How could he even find Jake within the immense complex?

Ahmed turned to go. She grabbed his arm to stop him. He flinched, but he didn’t pull away. He steadied himself and returned her gaze.

The moment stretched.

Alex stood beside her. He reached out and placed his small hand on hers. His intervention was another first. Her grip loosened, but she didn’t let go.