More Than an Echo (Echo Branson Series) (40 page)

Jardine backed away, a little embarrassed. “I got your e-mail. It took me awhile to decipher where you were going with it, but once I did, I realized you were onto something. Then one of your buddies called and said he thought you might be getting in a little over your head. Guy gave us perfect coordinates.”

I looked over at the cargo ship. “Are they—”

“Alive? Some are, some aren’t, but we got the perps dead to rights. That’s a pretty damn good day in my book. Is everyone safe here?” He looked around the ship.

I nodded. “It’s just the three of us.”

“Good. You know, you’ve got a lot of friends, Echo. First, I got a call from your friend, Danielle.”

“Danica.”

“Yeah, her. She called me early this morning and told me you’re probably out here poking around where you didn’t belong. So, I called my buddies at the Coast Guard and had them on standby. We were just headed out when your computer guys contacted us and told us what was going on. Damn, he was able to give your exact location, which by the way, is pretty impressive. You done good, girl.”

 I nodded. “Thank you. Then it’s over?”

“Well...it’s certainly over for the bad guys, but I’ll bet it’s just beginning for you. This is going to make quite a story.”

“Honestly, Jardine, I just want to see my friend Bob again. The story takes a far-away backseat to that.”

“I’m sure it does, but that was quite a tale you sent me. If you’da sent it to anyone else, they’d probably think you slipped a cog and chucked it.  I figured the least I could do was look into some of your allegations about Black Market organ harvesting. Your numbers were pretty hard to ignore. You do good work, Echo. Your boss’ll be proud.”

Exhausted, I tried to erect my shield, but couldn’t. As an experienced empath, having your shield down is a little like going out without your underwear on. I just liked having it up and feeling only my own emotions. Jardine was pumped up, and so were the other two guardsmen standing with Rupert. Their energy was exhausting  and was draining me of mine.

“Look. They’re taking your guys off the ship.”

One by one, guys came from the hold, eyes shielded from the bright glare of the sunshine. One by one, their faces lit up as they realized they’d been saved.

“Detective,” one of the Coast Guard guys said. “We need to get this yacht farther away from the crime scene. Apparently, one of their speedboats blew up as well.”

Jardine nodded. “Right.” To me, he winked. “You better get back to the pier.  We’re going to need statements from you all before I can let you write your story. This is quite an exclusive you’ve got in your hands. If there’s anything we can do to make your story better, let me know. This is the second time you made me look good. I owe you.”

I nodded slowly. “The girl…Cinder. She doesn’t talk, so I don’t want anyone hounding her for a statement. Mine and Rupert’s should suffice.”

“You got it. Oh, and you better give Finn a call. She’ll tear me a new one if she worried one second longer than she should.”

“I will. See you back on land.”

In the end, the story just wasn’t as important as its ending. I was just glad I could put my powers to good use.

The guardsmen came over and whispered something to Jardine, who nodded. “Time to move out. They’re gonna take the victims to the ER if you want to meet them there after we get your statements.”

“SF General?”

“Yeah. Guess I’ll see you over there...well...you and a hundred other reporters. This is gonna be huge, Echo. I hope you’re ready.”

The next forty-eight hours were a complete and total whirlwind that consumed every waking hour, which was about forty of them. You couldn’t turn on any channel without hearing about the breaking story. I was interviewed by every major newspaper on the West Coast, every television station and even Katie Couric. The story grabbed national attention and catapulted me into a light that was so bright it nearly blinded me. Between interviews and appearances I barely had time to write the story.

Wes was walking around like a peacock, beating his chest over having nailed such a sensational story. He was nearly beside himself with all the phone calls and back patting that came his way. Giddy would be a good way to describe how he was for the first twenty-four hours after the story broke. A story like this takes on a life of its own, and would stay on the front pages until the next life came along. Well...for three days, there were no other stories. It was an incredible rookie story, and a boon to the
Chronicle
to have a reporter thrust in front of the cameras. Everyone was excited and happy for me. Everyone, of course, except Carter.

I couldn’t blame him, really. To say that I stooped to blackmail might be a little strong, but I did stoop to something. The first chance I was alone with Wes, I calmly told him he could only have the exclusive story if he nixed Carter’s dirt about the mayor’s maid, or whatever sleaze he was working on about Mayor Lee. I explained to Wes I’d had to pull some strings, and those strings pulled back when I needed them most. My life was in danger, and had it not been for the creation of a task force, Darryl Jardine might not have been able to respond when I needed him most. Wes agreed in a heartbeat. I guess that’s what semi-celebrity gets you. He wanted the story. In the end, Carter rubbed his sore spot, bid me congratulations, and buried the hatchet somewhere else than between my shoulder blades.

For Rupert’s part in all of this, he opened up the
Necromancer
to anyone who wanted a tour. He wasn’t about the publicity, but his boat made the cover of one sailing magazine and the interior found its way into three home and gardens-type magazines. He just enjoyed showing off his beautiful home. Whenever any reporter tried to give him credit for our story, he never accepted it, and instead, turned all of the credit back to me. He was very sweet when pressed, but made it perfectly clear that all he did was sail the boat. He also added, that no, we were not lovers. We were friends. I appreciated that...so did Finn, who sat back quietly watching the play proudly.

Melika also kept in touch. She was very proud of me, but her concern was always for us as supers. She knew I couldn’t up and fly to New Orleans; that would have been the very worst thing to do. We couldn’t afford having any reporters following me, nor could we drag Cinder through a mob of reporters. We decided it was best to keep Cinder out of sight, so she stayed with Danica, who had taken her from me the moment we got to the marina. Let’s just say that Cinder spent the next three days playing with three boys who had only the coolest of toys. She dug it and so did they. They ate pizza and watched movies, and they let her play with all of their coolest techno-gadgets. I loved these guys before, but after the way they were with speechless Cinder, I would have eaten hot coals for them. She was having a great time.

And so was I.

Tip contacted me shortly after we returned to land from the bay. I thanked her for her concern and told her what happened. She was relieved to know that we were okay, and that we would be going to New Orleans in the next few days. She was happy for me, but I think she knew I was finally on my own, and that hurt her a little.

And so, what I thought would be a good story turned into something much larger and kept me running from one venue to the next until I finally collapsed from exhaustion, twenty-eight hours later. When I woke up, I made my way to the hospital to see Bob and Smiley, who had managed to stay alive in the belly of the boat.

Bob was dehydrated and had suffered a couple of broken ribs from a scuffle he had gotten into trying to get off the cargo ship. When he saw me, he just started crying and hugged me for a long, long time.

“You...you...”

“I just did what I told you I was going to do.”

“But Jane...no one knew...and yet...”

I pulled away and looked into his face. “How did they get you?”

Bob wiped his eyes and sighed. He was a bone rack and I noticed all his hospital food was gone. I had brought him two double bacon cheeseburgers and when I put the bag on his lap, he started crying again.

“I saw these guys cruising around Lumpy while he was sleeping off a drunk. I went to wake him up so he didn’t get nabbed, and they got us both. They were quick as hot snot on a greased pole. They pulled up, three big guys got out, shoved me into a panel van, picked up Lumpy, tossed him in and were gone in under fifteen seconds. It was amazing.”

“You must have been so scared.”

“Shitless. The worst part was not knowing what they wanted from us. None of us understood the language, so they would just jabber away and we would sit and wonder what the hell they were saying. God, Jane, it was horrible.”

“But you made, it, Bobbie.”

“Others before me weren’t so lucky. Once a guy left, he never came back.” He shook his head. “I’d say a dozen guys were chopped up before you got there, and they would have kept on cutting us up.”

Running my fingers through his hair, I felt the fear he was still feeling; that he might always feel. “They were detoxing you all before the surgery.”

“Yeah, for once, alcohol saved lives.” He shook his head. “That kid, Smiley. Why did he do it?”

“They threatened to go after everyone in his family. They needed an ambulatory homeless person and they found him on BART with his bike. Scared the crap out of him, so he did what he thought was best to save his family.”

Bob nodded in understanding. “Judas, eh?”

“That’s how he saw himself, yes.”

“How is he?”

“Remorseful, but finally getting the help he needs. He’ll never be out on the streets again.”

Bob inhaled a shaky breath and sat on the edge of the bed. “Your story has opened a lot of eyes, Jane. You done good, as I always knew you would.”

As I unwrapped one of his burgers for him, I sighed loudly. “In all of this, Bob, I’ve discovered that opening eyes is what a journalist is supposed to do. I look forward to achieving that more and more. Now, eat.”

Bob ate mostly in silence, and when he finished he took my hand. “A lot of people claim to be your friend, but you...you really proved it. Without you, who knows what would have happened to all of us?”

We both had a pretty good idea.

We visited for a little bit, and he told me he had already been offered several jobs from people in the East Bay; people who got caught up in the story. It was at that moment I realized the power of journalism and the beauty of my job. Yes, at Mills we were taught to be agents of change. I had finally seen what a gift my powers could actually be to the world.

When I started to leave, Bob nearly crushed my spine as he hugged me.

“Thank you, Jane,” he whispered, choking back another sob.

“You’re welcome.” Pulling back, I looked at him. “We’re family, Bob, and family sticks together.”

Tears fell from his eyes.“You’re my angel. You know that, don’tcha?”

I smiled and brushed a tear from his cheek. “Hardly. You know what I am?”

“What?”

“Your friend.”

I really wanted to see Rupert before we left for Louisiana. After all, none of this would have happened had he not volunteered his now bullet-ridden yacht.

We sat on his yacht sharing a couple of margaritas and spoke quietly amid the soft lapping of the waves against the side of his boat. “I have a few more interviews,” I explained. “I told Wes I had a family issue and need to take some time off after this. I’ve got to get Cinder to Melika.”

We sat quietly for a minute before Rupert said, “Pretty wild what she did to that boat, huh? I’ve only seen one firestarter in my life, and he ended up setting himself on fire.”

I closed my eyes and I could see the path of the fireballs as they rocketed toward the speedboat. “Wild doesn’t cover it. I never suspected she was a PK. When those fireballs hit that boat, it scared the living daylights out of me.”

“Didn’t frighten her in the least.” Rupert turned to me. “Didn’t you find it odd how calm she was after blasting that guy? I mean, cool as a cucumber she was. Cool enough to belt out two more.”

Opening my eyes, I nodded. “I know what you’re saying. She’s done it before.”

“Think that’s why she doesn’t talk?”

“I don’t know, but something happened to scare her aunt and uncle. They were all too happy to get rid of Cinder.”

Rupert whistled and shook his head. “She’s a rare and dangerous breed. Normally, they wind up engulfed in their own flames because they don’t understand the nature of their own power. That kid seems to understand exactly what her powers can do.”

“That’s why I have to get her to Mel. I think there’s more to her than just her fire power. We need to know if there should be any sort of containment.”

“Right-o. In the wrong hands, that girl could be someone’s personal army. How’s she doing?”

Thinking of Cinder playing with the boys and hanging out with her new best friend, Danica, made me smile. “She’s having the time of her life.”

“You’ve done a great job of keeping her out of the press.”

“Thanks, but I didn’t have much choice. I needed to protect her and the rest of us. So far, no one has said anything about seeing any fireballs or bursts of flames or anything like that, so I feel pretty confident we got away with that one.”