Accused (Ganzfield) (21 page)

He couldn’t make me talk.

He’s the same guy who TORTURED you?
He hadn’t connected my nightmarish memories to the man outside the gate. 
 

Great
. Now
Seth was going all big brother and protective on me. That might’ve been helpful
before
he lobbed all those mental grenades.

Yeah, he’s the one.

Crap. Well, Hunter’s got a few guys working with him. I think he has some kind of special orders from a higher-up, but whoever that is is giving Hunter free rein to capture and “train” some of us to work for him. And he’s got some twisted ideas for training. He wants to break our wills to make us more receptive and obedient. He’s gotten access to some of the old Project Star Gate files. They include stuff about dodecamine—and the formula for an antagonist drug that can block it. He then got a military lab to make up a sample batch of the synthetic blocker. He thinks it works the same way methadone blocks heroin uptake—like breaking a key off in a lock—so the right molecule can’t fit in and work. He doesn’t know how effective it is, though. You were supposed to be his test subjects, but you got away.

Matilda said there was some sort of truth serum in the dart?

Yeah,
Seth continued,
but Hunter didn’t expect it to work that way. It doesn’t force you to tell the truth or anything. It just loosens you up, makes you talk a lot more.

Hunter was still trying to make me talk. Next to me, Trevor’s thoughts turned steely as he imagined crushing Hunter’s still-beating heart within his chest. Everyone in the room felt his impulse.

Zack paled. “Whoa.”

I shook my head.
Trevor, don’t. Don’t kill him.

After he… after he…
A halo of rage surrounded him, making Trevor look like an avenging angel.

Because then they’d try to take you away from me.

He met my gaze and exhaled strongly.
Can I punch the hell out of him, at least?

I smiled and stroked his cheek as I watched the emotions smooth back into him
. Maybe. We’ll see if the opportunity arises.
I felt so cherished. Was I a bad person for loving the fact that my… my husband would kill to defend me? I didn’t actually want
him to or anything, but it was always nice to be asked.

You okay there, Trevor?
Zack borrowed another of Ann’s abilities to project the thought. Now that their secret was out, Zack seemed to relish showing off his skills. I felt another splash of surprise from Williamson. He hadn’t known Zack could do that, either
. Need some help calming down?

Don’t even start,
growled Williamson.

I’m good.
Trevor wasn’t thrilled that Zack was trying to pull him in against Williamson.

Williamson crossed his arms and scowled. “You two don’t need to be here.”

Not cool. I met his gaze and shook my head.
If Trevor goes, I go, Jon
.

Zack’s with me.
Ann seemed emboldened beyond her usual levels. Weren’t we all getting in touch with our emotions in today’s family therapy session?

Can we stop with all of the boyfriend drama and get back to the people targeting us from right outside our gate?
Seth asked.
Hunter’s angry with someone named Dale for not allowing a larger operation. His little group down the road was the most he could scrape together and he’s pissed the Feds didn’t get video proof of Trevor’s ability. He was hoping to get that, at least, even if he didn’t capture you two. He wanted them to know… well, he doesn’t think we’re human.

Williamson frowned.
Aaron Dale?

Don’t know
.
He just thought “Dale.” Is he someone you know?

Major Aaron Dale was part of Project Star Gate, back when I worked for the government. I wonder if Hunter means the same man.

So he knows about G-positives?
Ann asked.

Not anymore. Elise… Elise made sure he didn’t remember anything “unusual” about us.
He looked at Zack’s hand, still holding Ann’s possessively.
Elise was a charm, too.
The protective father thing seemed to simmer back from roaring lion down to growling guard dog.

So, is this someone you can contact?
Seth asked.
Someone who can call off Hunter?

I’ll look into it.
Williamson nodded absently. His thoughts turned inward.
If it is Aaron, how can I influence him? If federal agents do come in, will I have enough time to destroy all of my records? Should I get rid of them now so I don’t put the people living off-site at risk? What’ll they do if they capture us? How many people will be killed if they try?

I drew in a quick breath. Williamson was rattled and that was enough to make cold fingers grip my spine.
What’s the plan if they decide to come in after us?

Kevlar and prayer,
said Seth.

I shook my head.
C’mon, we can do better than that.

Williamson met my eyes.
What do you have in mind?

Non-lethal stuff. Charm commands. Sparks suppressing guns.
I glanced at Ann.
Minders who can blast brains.

She saw the plan forming in my head, smiled grimly, and nodded.

After the meeting broke up, Williamson directed Trevor and me to the infirmary. “Matilda wants blood samples from each of you. Something about making sure there are no further effects of the antagonist darts.”

Heather was on-duty, and demonstrating my new verbal skills to her made me feel like a talking dog.
I ruv roo!

“That’s great!” Heather beamed.
Yes! I didn’t screw up after all.
“Hey! You should go off the meds more often, Maddie!”

“Nuh.” I shook my head and shuddered as I looked toward the exit. She didn’t know about Trevor’s skills as my private tutor and after the minder-meeting, I was all shared out.

Trevor’s fingers gently twisted the ring on my hand as we went down toward the lake to the sparks’ area. A single layer of hazy white cloud covered the sky and stole the shadows as I knocked on Rachel’s door. Trevor continued on to the big practice building to find Drew. I felt the connection between us stretch as he moved away and he turned back to meet my eyes.

Don’t be long.

Rachel’s mind felt dull with exhaustion and hormones, but she brightened when I came in. That made me feel a little guilty for not visiting more often, but I’d been… otherwise occupied. The tame little fire in the fireplace swirled as I opened the door.

“So… Maddie. Where’ve you been?” Rachel smirked.

Harrison waved hi as he thought out another smoking spot on the blanket.

I gasped as my face heated.
God, Rachel—you know exactly where I’ve been.
Ah, hell. Minders weren’t the only ones who could violate other people’s privacy with their abilities.
Hey, I never brought up what you and Sean did in private.

Rachel laughed out loud. “Maddie, you put a pregnancy test on my bedside table!”

I shrugged.
Okay, fair point. But I never said anything.

“I’ll give you that.” She shrugged. “I just phoned Dr. Williamson with the latest vision of Belinda. She’s holed up in a place in Virginia.”

I sighed. Taking her down would have to wait; going after her had been dangerous enough
before
Hunter had started wrecking cars and shooting antagonist darts at us. Maybe we could sneak out the back gate; the Feds only had two guys in a car back there. A couple of words from Zack, and—

“Maddie, I’ve wanted to ask you for days… Can you help me with something?”

Really?
Rachel’s thoughts broadcast her request before she could ask aloud.
You want me to ask your kid which name she prefers?
I gave her a skeptical look.
You know she’s a fetus, right?

I could feel her nebulous little consciousness. As if she’d sensed me, too, a little yellow feeler of energy snaked out from Rachel’s belly, flitted across the room, and touched my face. Again, she concentrated on my eyes, groping mentally. Within her mind, a little mental map reflected a distorted, sightless version of my face.

Hey, Rachel. She’s doing it again.
I shared the images. Suddenly, asking this tiny person her opinion didn’t seem so ridiculous.
Okay, shoot. Say the names out loud and I’ll tell you what her emotional reaction is, if she has one.

Rachel looked at her swollen belly. She wore a borrowed, oversized sweatshirt and she’d rolled up the sleeves so they wouldn’t hang over her hands. The words “Sharon Fire Department” stretched tight over the lump. She picked up the baby name book and thumbed to the first bent corner. “Julia,” Rachel said loudly, feeling a bit self-conscious.

Across the room, Harrison frowned.
What the—? Is she talking to her own belly?

I shook my head.

“Natalie?”

No reaction.

“Samantha?”

Nothing.

She glanced up at me before saying, “Shawna?”

She thinks that’s a stripper name.

Rachel cracked up. “She does not!”

“What doesn’t she do?” asked Harrison, curious. I hadn’t been broadcasting to him, but now I started.

Harrison, what do you think? Is Shawna a stripper name or not?

Harrison looked apologetically at Rachel and nodded. “Sorry, Rach. It’s a stripper name.” He thought out the fire that’d started in the center of Rachel’s pillow. She threw it at him and he ducked with a grin.

I think she’ll torch the place if you name her that, Rachel.

“I think she’ll torch the place no matter what.” She sighed and swallowed hard, staring at nothing for a moment before looking back at the book.

“Sienna?”

Whoa.

Okay, maybe the baby was just stirred up from the laughter, but when she heard Rachel say that name, warmth and light pulsed through her mind.

I think she likes that one.
I sent her the feeling I’d gotten from the baby.

The little yellow feeler of energy retracted from me and wrapped around Rachel. The baby’s blissful contentment emanated from her.
Wow.
A soft smile stole over me and I began to understand just a little why some women thought all the discomfort and hassle of pregnancy might be worth it.

“Sienna.” Rachel smiled softly as golden energy haloed around her belly while the baby’s lighter sunshine played over Rachel’s face. I felt something melt within me.

Behind me, Harrison sniffed.
Dammit. Be a man and don’t get all mushy about this stuff.

And he couldn’t even sense the mutual energy embrace I could see.

“Maddie?” asked Rachel. “Would you… I mean, when I have the baby. Can you— “

Oh, crap. Whatever had been melting within me flash froze into a lump and sank in my gut.
Please don’t ask me to do that, Rachel. I… I can’t block out other people’s pain. When you’re having the baby, I can’t be anywhere near you. And if I were there, I’d be a mess. I’d be no help at all.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I understand.” She bit her lip and looked away.

Rachel needed me. I’d been through vicarious heroin detox more than a dozen times over; how bad could labor be?

I guess I could try to be there.

I knew it was a bad idea as soon as I thought it to her, but her relief glowed pale green within her.
Ugh. I’m gonna regret this.
Maybe this would make up, karma-wise, for not having a wedding my mom could attend. Thoughts of the dream ceremony made me touch my ring again.

Rachel gasped. “Maddie, is that… is that a wedding ring?”

I nodded, feeling my face grow hot. I hadn’t wanted to bring this up with Rachel. It seemed like I would be rubbing her face in my happiness.

Rachel crossed her arms tightly and raised her eyebrows. “You’ve been holding out on me!”

Harrison stared, slack-jawed, at my hand.
Holy—

Okay, I guess our new status was about to be public know-ledge.
Well, you know Trevor and I share dreams, right? We kind of… um… got married in one.

Rachel didn’t know what to say to that. Her thoughts zigzagged.
Oh, my God! That’s amazing! I wish I could’ve done something like that with Sean. A dream wedding’s pretty sweet and all, but the State of New Hampshire’s never going to recognize it as valid.

We’re going to do the paperwork in January… when I turn eighteen.

Would the Feds and Hunter be gone by then? If not, maybe Trevor and I could sneak out over the wall.

“But Nick Coleman said you were emancipated.”

Huh?
My eyebrows threatened to collide with one another. Why was my lawyer telling Rachel my business? Oh yeah, the trust I’d set up for the baby. I’d needed to become an emancipated minor to make all the paperwork valid.

He contacted you about the trust?

“Where’d you get three-quarters of a million dollars?”
And why did you give it all to my baby?

I got it the same way Williamson funds this place. You’re the one who told me about that.

“I never said anything about that.” She’d first learned about Williamson’s way of gathering insider information about the stock market as a kid and she wasn’t supposed to mention it.

I tapped my temple.

“Oh.”

I didn’t want to go into my reasons for the trust with Rachel. Sean had died on the Peapack mission and I hadn’t. A guilt-soaked part of me felt that was backward. I’d been the stupid one who’d run in and confronted a killer who’d grossly outmatched me. Sean wasn’t supposed to have been in danger! I’d set the trust up when I’d been about to go up against Isaiah—again—I hadn’t been sure I’d survive. Besides, I didn’t need the money. And if I did, I could get more the same way fairly easily.