Red-Line: The Shift (Volume One) (19 page)

RAMSEY STOOD OUTSIDE the closed bathroom door and shut his eyes. He had to focus. His mind raced with a million distractions, and he knew if he couldn’t quiet himself and get control, he would be useless to everyone. He took several long, deep breaths, stretched his neck muscles, relaxed his body, and tuned out the voices in his mind, as they offered no productive help. He needed a clear head to deal with the present moment. When he felt better, he opened his eyes. He looked around the room and focused on the two main points of entry—the door and window. He pushed outward with his mind to sense any presence, but he felt nothing. He’d received a very clear warning message from Declan that something was amiss, so he knew to be ready. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Ramsey? John Ramsey?” An unfamiliar male voice, coming from somewhere beyond the other side of the bedroom door, reached his ears. He froze but stayed quiet and continued to listen. There was silence for several seconds before the voice came again. “Ramsey? I know you can hear me.”

Obviously, someone had gained access to the house. Where were Declan and Leroy?

A few more seconds of silence passed.

The voice came again. “Do your friends a favor, Ramsey, and get out here.”

At the mention of the word “friends,” Ramsey felt chills. He pushed outwards again with his mind and this time picked up on the energy in the living room, as if a clear signal was directed his way. He felt other unfamiliar energy in the room and then, faintly, a signal from Declan to get out if he could, to ignore the voice. He felt nothing from Leroy. That worried him the most.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…boys. No secret messages, please.” The voice traveled distinctly from the other side of the door, just before the bedroom door broke open forcefully and slammed against the wall behind it, the chair wedged under the handle offering no protection at all. Ramsey jumped back, expecting an attack, but no one stood in the hallway.

“Don’t make me ask again, Mr. Ramsey. My patience is wearing thin. Please join us. There’s nowhere else for you to go.”

Ramsey deduced the truth of that statement. There were no other options. His only hope would be to play along and pray for some sort of opportunity to come along. He took a step toward the door.

“That’s it. Now you’re getting it. Come on. I don’t bite.” The amused voice continued as Ramsey walked forward. “It’s one of the few things I don’t do.”

Ramsey’s mind worked overtime as he slowly walked forward and waited to find out what he would see when he turned the corner and stepped into the living room. The scenarios playing in his head were far worse than what he actually saw when he rounded the corner.

As he stepped into the room, he saw Declan first, sitting hunched in a kitchen chair. He was not bound, but it was obvious he was in pain. He was grimacing, and he held his midsection. Ramsey deduced that Declan had deliberately shielded that information from him in order to keep him from reacting irrationally. Probably a smart choice, Ramsey thought.

At that moment, he saw another figure. A man, younger than Ramsey had expected from the sound of the voice, stood next to the couch. He was of average height and medium build, with short brown hair and stubble on his face. He wore jeans and a long sleeved t-shirt, and he conveyed complete ease, as if breaking into a house and assaulting its occupants were as common as making dinner every night.

Declan managed to look over at him and meet his gaze just as the stranger saw him.

“Well, thank you for joining us, Mr. Ramsey. It’s about time everyone joined the party. The four of us, well, five originally, were getting bored.” The man smiled with the same amusement his voice carried.

Ramsey surveyed the room while the assailant spoke. The room was intact except for a few overturned chairs and what appeared to be broken glass on the carpet. As he surveyed the floor, he saw legs from the knees down lying on the ground. The rest of the body was blocked by the couch and could not be seen. In that split second, he froze when his mind went to Leroy, but felt relief just as quickly when he realized that the pants and shoes did not belong to his friend.

The man followed Ramsey’s gaze. His eyes hardened as they came to rest on the body. He said nothing for several seconds, and Ramsey felt from him a flood of unreadable energy. “It’s unfortunate,” he finally said, his eyes moving back to Ramsey. He nodded his head toward Declan. “Your brother over there has some skills. Fortunately for me, my skills are better.” He narrowed his gaze at Declan, and Declan grimaced again. It was obvious this man somehow had control over Declan, but Ramsey couldn’t see what it was.

At that moment, another man, wearing similar clothes, came out of the hallway from the other side of the house. He held his left arm near his side as if he were injured. He spoke as he entered the room. “The other one’s out cold.” He stopped when he saw Ramsey. “Is that him?”

“Yes, that’s him, Z. Not as impressive as he was made out to be, is he?”

The second man continued to stare at Ramsey, who stared right back. Ramsey was struck by what he saw. The second man was identical to the first. Ramsey glanced back and forth between the two. Identical twins.

“Not expecting that, were you?” said the first man, looking over at his apparent brother. “It does take people by surprise when they first meet us.”

“Hey, X?” said the second man.

“What?”

“Can I do it?”

“Do what?”

“Kill him?”

The first brother, apparently known as “X,” rolled his eyes. “No, Z, you may not. Now shut up and sit down.”

Z did as he was told and stepped over whoever was lying behind the couch and went to sit down.

“Where’s Leroy?” asked Ramsey. He didn’t doubt for a second that these men knew exactly who Leroy was.

X replied to Ramsey’s question while Z just stared at him from the couch. “Your friend? He’s in the other room. Z had to take him out, unfortunately, since I had to deal with your brother’s antics.” X shook his head as he looked at Declan. “Did you really think you could stop us?”

Declan just stared back, expressionless, despite the obvious pain he was in.

X smiled. “Yes, I guess you did. That was part of the plan, after all.”

X and Declan continued their staring contest until X finally broke the contact and looked at Ramsey. “All right then, let’s get this over with. You know what we’re here for.”

Ramsey stared back but said nothing, although his mind moved non-stop. He quickly deduced that fighting their way out would not work. Clearly these two had abilities they had not encountered before, and the pair had easily overpowered Declan and Leroy. Talking their way out seemed a distant second choice. He needed to buy time. If he could somehow slow things down, maybe he could gain the upper hand. It was unlikely but he had to try.

“Who are you guys?” he asked.

The one on the couch, Z, laughed. X crossed his arms and replied, “That’s not important. Let’s just say that we’ve been watching you. We’ve been waiting for this to play out, and the time has finally arrived. We’ve come for her, and we’re going to take her. We have no interest in you or your sad group of incompetents. If you bring her to us, we’ll leave with no hard feelings.” He smiled. “How’s that sound?”

Ramsey stared back, sizing up X, wondering how long it would take to snap the guy’s neck and picturing how satisfying it would feel. He decided to gauge just how stable this brotherly duo was and hoped he could rock the boat a little.

“Sounds about as reasonable as your dumb-ass brother over there.” Ramsey directed his attention to Z, who sat casually on the couch until Ramsey mentioned him. “When was your last psych eval, Igor?” Z tensed and stood up and faced Ramsey with pure contempt. “On second thought, scratch that. You’re more the Norman Bates type. You shack up with your dead mother, too?”

At that comment, Declan chuckled, and Z broke from his stance and headed straight for Ramsey. Ramsey steeled himself, waiting for the blow.

“Z!” X yelled across the room.

The brother stopped but stood only a foot from Ramsey, who continued to stand without moving.

“Sit down!”

Z continued to stand and stare.

“Don’t you see what he’s doing? He’s goading you, trying to get you to react.”

Z, after staring at Ramsey for a few more volatile seconds, visibly relaxed. Then, after a few more seconds, the dead look returned to his eyes and he smiled.

Chills broke out on Ramsey’s skin for the second time. The guy definitely was psychotic, but now Ramsey knew he was also reactive, something they might be able to use to their advantage.

Z backed off and turned back toward the couch. He paused though, before returning, changed direction, and moved toward Declan. In one swift move, he brought up his uninjured arm behind him and slugged Declan hard in the jaw.

Declan’s head snapped back and then forward again, and blood flew from his lip. He remained upright in the chair, though, and didn’t make a sound.

“Z,” sighed the lead brother, “go sit down.”

Z stood over Declan briefly and then, apparently satisfied, returned to the couch as Declan spat blood on the ground.

X watched his brother for a moment before returning his attention to Ramsey. “Nice try,” he said.

“I have my moments,” replied Ramsey.

“If that was one of them, I’m not impressed.” X dropped his arms and moved closer to Ramsey. When he spoke again, it was softly, but firmly. “Now I know she’s back there, and it would be simple for me to send my brother to go get her, but I thought I would give you the chance to do this peacefully. Now what’s it going to be? Do you go get Sarah and that silly nurse, or do we?”

Ramsey eyed the man standing in front of him. Time was running out. If he didn’t figure out a way out of this, they would all wind up dead. The only thing he knew for sure was that he would never turn Sarah over to them willingly. What he didn’t know was how to do it without bloodshed, or at least without his friends’ bloodshed.

As he stood there, desperate for ideas, Sarah’s voice sounded clearly and unexpectedly in his head. “Trust destiny.” The strong words popped into his mind unbidden and, just as suddenly, disappeared. Unbelievably, he realized she’d spoken to him telepathically, and it took every effort he had not to react.

X continued to stare at him. Ramsey, still unsure, but trusting that fate was on their side, continued to try to buy time. “How did you know about her?”

X rolled his eyes as if the question was stupid. “That is none of your business or concern.”

“What do you want with her?”

He smiled. “I’d love to give you all juicy details about that, Ramsey.” He contemplated before continuing. “I know you’re trying to stall, but since you asked, we have some exciting plans for her.” When he saw Ramsey set his jaw and perceived his sensitivity to the subject, X decided to keep talking. “She’ll be very powerful and very useful. Once we mold her and teach her and get what we want from her, then we’ll have to decide.” He dangled that sentence deliberately, so that Ramsey would ask the obvious question.

“Decide what?” asked Ramsey, knowing that X was provoking him, but unable to stop himself.

X grinned and looked at his brother, who grinned back at him from the couch. “Well,” he said, “which one of us gets to impregnate her, of course.”

Ramsey reacted without thinking. He lunged forward and grabbed X by the throat, intent on killing him. He felt his momentum carry them both back toward the couch, and he prepared for the inevitable fall to the ground. But in a split second, he felt that momentum shift, and his weight was being lifted off and away from his adversary as he was flung backward into the air. He hit the wall behind him hard. The air left his lungs in a whoosh, and he felt his head hit, too. Before he knew it, he’d landed hard on the ground, but not in the way he’d expected. He leaned forward and tried to catch some of the air he had lost. He found it hard to find, and he wheezed.

“Guess my brother’s not the only hothead.” X recovered from Ramsey’s attack, straightening his shirt and walking back to where Ramsey sat on the ground to lean over him. “Are we done now with these foolish games?”

Ramsey sucked in air and raised his arm to feel the back of his head. There would definitely be a knot there soon. He lifted his head and looked up at the man standing over him, and then he moved his gaze to Declan, who still sat in the chair nearby. His brother met his gaze and held it.

“Don’t do it,” said Declan, his voice shaky. Their shared gaze spoke volumes as they both decided without speaking that they would go down fighting.

Finally managing to catch an easier breath, Ramsey looked back at X. He didn’t know what would happen next, but he hoped, in some small way, that Sarah’s message to him meant something, and that somehow destiny would intervene.

“Can I ask one more question?” he asked.

X looked back with irritation. “Do I have a choice?”

Ramsey took that as a yes. “Where is Y?”

That question caught X off guard. He straightened and backed away, his eyes on Ramsey. “Z,” he said, “go get the woman.”

X’s reaction surprised Ramsey. Evidently, the unknown Y was a sensitive subject. Knowing that gave Ramsey some satisfaction, and he decided to keep pushing X’s buttons.

“So there is a Y, isn’t there?”

Z stood up at X’s request and began to walk toward the bedroom, ignoring Ramsey.

“Of course there is,” said Declan, chiming in for the first time, sensing both brothers’ discomfort. “Who is it? Another idiot brother?” Declan laughed painfully as sweat dripped off his forehead.

Ramsey picked up where Declan left off. “Don’t tell me you guys are triplets?”

At the mention of triplets, Z stopped his forward progress and stood next to his brother. The anger flaring from him intensified, as did his brother’s.

“I got it,” said Declan, gaining some strength as he talked. “Your real names are Mo, Larry, and Curly.”

“Nah,” said Ramsey with conviction, “I think it’s more likely deaf, dumb, and stupid.” Z and X both stood in the middle of the room, listening to Declan and Ramsey. The tension mounted as both injured brothers mocked the stronger ones. Ramsey didn’t back down. “Which one were you, Norman? Dumb or stupid?”