The Forbidden Trilogy (85 page)

Sam smiled, and though it wasn't a big smile, it made him
feel better. Darren still did his best to hold her attention.
Not cool,
Dude.
Norm sat with Robyn again, his arm around her. The others slept or
read.

Once the plane came to a complete stop, they all filed out.
Sam, Father Patrick and Drake were the last of the passengers to leave. As
Father Patrick followed Drake out and closed the door, it jammed and something
squeaked.

The tickle in the back of Drake's mind finally made sense.
The
missing sandwich.
"Toby, you better appear right now."

***

The beauty of the Hawaiian beaches would have comforted
Drake, if he weren't so mad. He gripped the steering wheel in both hands and
counted backwards from ten. Sam sat beside him, with Toby in the back. The
travelers had broken up into groups and rented a few cars. Drake wondered if
Sam had only come with him because of Toby.

He eyed the boy in the rearview mirror. "I told you to
stay at the mansion."

Toby's shoulders slumped. "I remember."

"Then why'd you sneak onto the plane?"

The boy crossed his arms and glared. "I don't have to
listen to you."

Another deep breath. "Toby, this is
dangerous—getting-killed dangerous. I don't want you to get hurt." He
remembered his dream, and it made him shiver.

The kid rolled his eyes, like he knew so much at his ripe
old age. "I won't. Besides, it's you who needs help. A hero needs his
sidekick."

"I'm not a hero."

Sam covered her mouth to suppress a grin.

Well, at least something made her smile.

"Of course you are," Toby said. "You save
kids for like a living. You're awesome. You're a hero."

"And yet, my sidekick doesn't listen to me. I must not
be a very good hero."

The kid opened his mouth, then snapped it shut, a thoughtful
look on his face.

At least that shut him up for the time being.

They drove the rest of the way in silence, leading the
caravan. Norm, Robyn, Greg and Gary had one car, and Father Patrick took Darren
and Mary. Drake knew enough about Mary to be glad Darren had gotten stuck with
her. They were supposed to have a van that would fit everyone, but the rental
car agency had screwed up the reservation, which Drake didn't mind one bit.

That night, they would stay at a hotel as close to the
Rent-A-Kid base as possible, but beyond that, he didn't know what to expect.

Tall palm trees swayed in the breeze, and he thought about
his time with Sam in California, before they'd saved her friends. She'd hated
the palm trees in Venice, but otherwise seemed to like it there. The trees did
seem to fit in better here. Drake had always wanted to go to Hawaii, but wished
he'd come under different circumstances. The waves called to him, but he
ignored them. He had to find his daughter first, and kill the man who took her.

They arrived at the hotel and settled in, Drake, Sam and
Toby sharing a suite. Toby had a lot to learn about manners after spending so
much of his childhood on the streets, so Drake made the rules really clear.

"We need to keep this place clean, okay? So take your
shoes off while in the room, don't call room service without permission, and
don't take anything in the hotel without permission—even the bottled water. It
all costs money. Okay? Oh, and don't leave!"

Trying to keep an eye on a kid who could turn invisible at
will was a nightmare. Drake hoped he'd never have to deal with such things with
his own daughter.

Oh God, what if she can use mind control as a baby? That
would be worse.
His only consolation was that it took a few years for para-powers
to manifest, so they'd have time to figure out how to handle that.

He looked back to the boy, who hadn't said anything.
"Toby, do you understand? This is important."

Toby saluted. "Yes sir. Do I have permission to use the
bathroom, sir?"

"Right now?"

The kid stood at rigid attention. "I really need to
take a shit, sir."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Fine."

Sometimes Toby acted like a kid, and sometimes like a
teenager.
Guess he must be at that age. What do they call them? Tweens?
It sounded scary.

Sam grinned. "You're cute with him."

"Me?"

"Both of you. You're almost like father and son. At
least, that's the way it is in the movies."

He'd never had a father, but neither had Sam. She probably
had less understanding of family than he did. At least he'd had foster
families, for better or worse, and Father Patrick. But if that made him the
expert on families, they were in trouble.

Talk about one dysfunctional family. Poor Ana will grow
into a very interesting person. We'd better save up for therapy.

"So what's the plan? How do we get Ana back?"

Sam had been pacing the room and finally sat on the bed, her
back stiff and posture unyielding. "We wait an hour for Lucy to contact
me. If she doesn't, we go ahead on our own."

Drake didn't like waiting, but he didn't like going ahead
alone either. Still, he'd do whatever it took.

Toby came out of the bathroom, and Sam stood again.
"I'm going to take a shower." She grabbed her bag and closed the door
behind her.

Drake stepped outside and leaned against their door. The
smell of saltwater and the sound of waves washed over him. Once again he wished
this had been a fun getaway for him and Sam, rather than the worst kind of
rescue mission.

A few minutes later, Darren strolled over, which didn't
surprise Drake. "Hey, I was just coming to check up on you guys and see
how Sam's doing."

Sure you did
. "We're fine. Sam's fine.
Thanks." Drake blocked the door.

Darren stepped back. "I didn't mean any disrespect.
She's my friend and I know this is hard for her."

"Cut the bullshit, Dude. I know your game. Let me make
this clear: Sam is mine. Back the hell off."

Darren smirked. "Is she? Because it didn't look that
way on the plane. She can barely look at you. You left her at the worst
possible time. You broke her heart, and now you're acting like you own her. You
didn't see her fall apart and put herself back together. You weren't the one
there for her these last few months. Do you really think she's going to want
you back when all of this is over?"

Drake wanted to punch him, but couldn't—and not just because
of Sam. Darren was right. What if he'd screwed up things too badly? Clearly
nothing he'd done since coming back had been right. Sam could barely stand
being around him, and would probably avoid him even more if not for Toby.
Still, Darren had no business getting in the middle of the situation.

"Sam and I have been through hell and back. We didn't
let anything stop us—not the fact that we were miles apart, nor the fact that
she hated my powers. Through all of that, I had her love. What do you
have?"

"I'm not the guy who left her and her baby. You're the
bad guy here, Drake. It's time for you to see that."

Darren walked away and Drake slumped against the door.

Have I truly passed the point of redemption? Could be....

Wind whipped Lucy's ponytail into Hunter's face, but he
didn't seem to mind as he held her tightly around the waist. Even Luke didn't
pout when placed behind Hunter. He was just happy to ride a beetle.

The sun warmed her face and arms as they flew higher and
higher.
If only we could fly like this every day, free as a bird.

Hunter hollered, trying to be heard over the wind, "My
ass is getting sore from this shell!"

Lucy smiled. Nothing could bring her down. Not even a sore
derrière.

Seeing their magical jungle from this height put everything
into a new perspective, and she was shocked to realize how many memories she
already had of the place. They passed over the spot where the lizard had
attacked her and Hunter, and the grassy knoll where she and Hunter had spent
the night together. She saw Mr. K and felt a twinge of sadness, but promised
herself that she'd find a way to help him. And then they flew past the spot
where she'd buried the sphere. The emptiness of not having it clawed at her,
but she pushed it away, happy to be rid of something that had hurt people she
loved.

They climbed into the sky, exiting the valley and flying out
over the ocean to return to the main island. After several minutes, the giant
tents that formed IPI's makeshift headquarters for this mission appeared below,
complete with field hospital and everything they'd need to take care of the
kids, once freed.

As they descended toward the base, guards aimed their rifles
at the giant beetle. Lucy hadn't even thought of what it would look like to
storm into camp like this. Why
wouldn't
they shoot at the beetle after
what happened?

Fortunately, no one shot, likely because Simmons arrived and
started waving and pointing.

The beetle landed with a powerful thud that traveled up
Lucy's spine. A group formed around them, some looking scared and others in
awe. The three castaways slid off the beetle.

Simmons walked up and hugged Lucy. "You travel in
style, girl." She shook hands with Luke and Hunter. "We were worried
about all of you. We thought the beetles had you for lunch, but apparently you
domesticated them."

The beetle twitched and turned around, looking for a way
out.

"He's more of a friend," Lucy said, "and I'd
better say goodbye. All these people make him a bit nervous."

She led it away, then looked into its eyes and rubbed her
hand over its face. "Thank you." Her gratitude flowed into it, and
she wondered if this is what the ancient Native Americans felt when they
communed with nature and spirit guides.

The beetle flew off, glinting like a jewel, and Lucy headed
back to Simmons, determined to waste no more time. "We have work to
do."

***

Simmons loomed over Lucy, Luke and Hunter as they debriefed
her about everything they'd encountered since their disappearance, including
Mr. K. The experience reminded Lucy of being back at Rent-A-Kid during a
lecture.

"Is there anything you can do for him?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not." Simmons paced in front of them.
"But once we take down Rent-A-Kid, we may learn more about what they did
to him. We may find a cure."

A cure?
Lucy supposed that for Mr. K, anything to
transform him back to normal would be considered a cure, but the sneer in
Simmons's voice made it apparent she thought all paranormals suffered from a
disease—that they all needed to be cured.

Simmons continued. "We need to act as soon as possible
to take down the center. There's been movement, and if we wait any longer, we
could lose some kids. If you two are ready—"

"We are." Lucy made a fist.

"Good. We start at nightfall. Do you remember the
plan?"

"Yes. Cut through the underwater fence under the cover
of darkness. Hack into the cameras. Get Luke to the main ventilation system.
Use the sleep grenades. Then signal you and your team, who will evacuate the
kids." It'd be difficult. Complex. "Sam and her team will be helping
with the evacuation."

Simmons's face puckered, but she didn't say anything; Lucy
had made it clear that Sam's team wasn't optional.

Beleth's deal popped into Lucy's mind: kill Simmons, and
he'd let all the children go. It would be so easy—just draw her gun next time
she had Simmons alone, and put a bullet in her head.

So easy. And so hard.

Lucy couldn't kill an innocent woman. Why would Beleth want
her dead? Her of all people? Did he simply want to stop the operation? And
would he even be
able
to release the kids? Surely, his proposal was a
trick.

But maybe it was something more.

Simmons continued to stand over them, using that subtle
psychological play to establish dominance, a white board behind her showing
their plans. Lucy shuddered, as Simmons was like one of the teachers at
Rent-A-Kid—using them, and smiling through it all.

The calm Lucy had maintained during their flight evaporated
in the heat of her anger.

Luke touched her hand. "You okay, Sis?"

"Yeah, just tired."
And angry.
Angry at
Rent-A-Kid, angry at Beleth, and now, angry at Simmons. They all connected; she
just couldn't see the pieces yet.

She touched Mr. K's seed in her pocket and focused on her
meditation techniques, cooling her anger.

Hunter spoke up for the first time. "Agent Simmons, I
would like to accompany Luke and Lucy Rivera on this assignment."

Simmons pinched her nose as though she had a headache.
"Very honorable of you, Agent Riley, but we'll need you with the retrieval
team."

Hunter frowned, but didn't argue.

Things had been a little off between Lucy and him since
she'd tried to heal him with the sphere. They hadn't talked or touched as much,
except for when she kissed him back in the valley. The beetle ride had given
them a chance just to be near each other, and the fact that he wanted to join
them on the mission gave her hope that they could mend whatever had torn in
their relationship.

Figures that Simmons would keep her favorite out of harm's
way, especially considering Luke and I might not make it out alive.

Hunter was a big boy, and didn't need to be kept on such a
tight leash. His rank in IPI may have bound him to do as Simmons said, but Lucy
had no such constraints.

"Excuse me," she said, "but Hunter should
come with us. Luke may need help getting to the main ventilation system."

Simmons glared at Lucy, then relaxed. It happened so fast,
that Lucy almost missed it. Almost. Simmons had another side she kept wrapped
up tight, and Lucy needed to crawl under that veneer to see what she was really
like.