The Forbidden Trilogy (95 page)

"Of course, I love you, but you've taken things too
far."

"Really." Steele dropped the mock
lightheartedness. "I've taken them too far? You're the one who's been away
for over a year on a secret assignment with IPI. That's an interesting amount
of time, don't you think. Enough time to give birth to a child and then recover
before coming home."

He rocked the baby in his hands, cooing at her.

Simmons tensed and backed away. "How?"

"I read Beleth's memories," said Steele. "It
was obvious something was going on. Now I know. So, where's the baby?"

"I won't tell you."

Steele roared and raised a fist at his wife. "Where is
he?"

She shrank back, whimpering, but her voice stayed strong.
"You'll never find him. Read my memories if you want. It won't help you.
He's gone."

"Oh, I
will
find him. That I swear to you."

***

At his lab once again, Steele looked over reports on the
breeding program. Some babies showed amplified powers, but others showed a
decrease.

Lucy's thoughts melded with his.

He needed a new approach, and needed to expedite the
process—perhaps more growth hormones. If the babies grew faster, he'd get a lot
more done, and would be able to experiment more with transferring powers
between paranormals.

Simmons walked in. "Steele?"

Steele's jaw stiffened, but he didn't look up. "We have
nothing left to discuss." He slammed a folder down. "I thought I made
that clear."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm not here for
you."

Steele turned to find her and Beleth standing in the
doorway.

Simmons took a step in. "The program is being shut
down."

He stood. "What? You're not serious."

"I'm sorry, Steele." Beleth walked in, but left
the door open behind him. "IPI no longer considers this laboratory a
worthwhile investment."

Other agents rushed in and began collecting documents, files
and computers from the lab.

Steele looked around frantically, grabbing his own papers
even as the agents took them from his hands. "How can you agree with
this?" He threw his hands up and gestured to the lab. "We started
this together, the three of us."

"And we're ending it." Simmons kept her voice
calm, but Lucy could hear the strain behind it. "Paranormals were only
meant to be enhanced agents. We've accomplished that. There's no need to keep
experimenting."

Steele started laughing, a bit like a mad man. "You
selfish bitch. You can't stand being normal, can you? Can you?" he yelled
the last part, pacing the room in a rage.

She stepped back from him. "Calm down."

He knocked a pencil holder across the room. "I don't
think I will."

The other agents noticed the argument and a few came to
stand beside Simmons. She nodded her head. "Restrain him."

They grabbed Steele and dragged him away. He didn't stop
yelling even as they pulled him through the door. "You can't stop progress,
Simmons. You can adapt or die."

***

Steele gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles
turned white as he sped down the highway in the darkness.

The Seeker sat in the back, holding his favorite toy and
crying. "Why are we leaving?"

"It's your mother's fault, Son. She loves someone else
more than us, but we'll get her back. I promise you that."

The boy's sobs followed Lucy into the next memory.

***

Simmons arrived in an old, dark warehouse, clutching a note.

Meet me at the warehouse at
midnight,

Steele

The lights turned on, revealing Steele standing in the
center of the empty room, holding a handgun. Beleth slumped in a chair beside
him, drugged.

An empty chair sat next to Beleth.

Steele gestured to it. "Thank you for coming. Please,
have a seat."

Simmons didn't move. "What have you done to him?"

He pointed his gun at her. "I said have a seat."

She walked to the chair. "What have you done with the
rest of the infants?"

"Relocated them to somewhere IPI won't find them."

She stopped walking to look at him. "It's not too late.
You can still turn yourself in. I'll make sure IPI doesn't press charges."

The madness in his eyes—the sheer psychotic glare--flashed
as he once again indicated that she should sit. "Don't worry about them.
Tonight is about you. Tonight, you get to decide whose side you're on."

"Did Beleth decide?" She lowered herself to the
chair and looked at Beleth, who seemed to be regaining consciousness.

"I'll admit: I nudged him in my direction. Mind
alteration has its uses, after all, but it's never as pleasing as truly earning
someone's loyalty. Do I have your loyalty, my dear?"

She hesitated, considering her options, then straightened
her shoulders decisively. "I'm tired of you sick freaks."

"So be it." He looked at Beleth, who now sat
straighter and more alert in his chair. "Choke her until she's
unconscious."

Beleth moved quickly, placing his hands around her neck.

She squirmed, struggling, then pulled something from her
pocket—a small detonator. She pushed the button and the side of the warehouse
exploded, sending wood and metal and fire at the three of them.

A giant piece of metal hit Beleth, forcing him to release
Simmons. She rolled away, and ran for the door.

Shards of wood hit Steele, sending him to his knees in pain

As Simmons ran away, the roof started collapsing, and a
giant beam fell down.

Steele hopped around it, avoiding the impact, but it fell on
Beleth. He tried to push it off, but in his drugged state he couldn't dislodge
it alone.

Steele had disappeared in the flames of the explosion.

Beleth extended his hand toward Simmons, who had already
reached the door. "Please. Please help me."

She paused and looked at him, her face hardened. "It's
over. No more paranormals will be created. As for the ones left... you can burn
in hell for all I care." She walked out the door and let the flames
consume him.

Lucy woke up, startled. She'd expected to land in the middle
of another shocking memory, but instead found herself back at the IPI base in
Hawaii, sleeping in a cot. Pain throbbed through her body, not the mind-numbing
piercing pain of being shot—she was quite through with being shot at!—but the
post-healing ache, which made her wish she could sleep until it was over.
Still, given that she'd nearly died from multiple gunshot wounds, she was
grateful to be doing as well as she was.

Luke walked into the room carrying some water and smiled
when he saw her eyes open. "You're awake." He came to sit by her,
grabbing her hand in his. "I'm so sorry, Luce."

"It's not your fault. Simmons did this."
That
bitch.

Simmons had been Steele's wife. Lucy could hardly believe
all those memories; they painted such a dysfunctional picture—Steele trying to
get Simmons powers, Simmons resenting that she couldn't get any, until both of
them were driven to obsession.

In those flashes of the past, there must be something she
could use, but first she had to talk to the bitch who'd done all this to her.
"Where is she?"

His eyes looked tired, dark, his body sunken in a bit.
"Locked up in the same pen she kept us in."

"I need to see her." Lucy tried to sit up, and
fell back in bed from the pain of her muscles stretching.

"You need to rest. You almost died." Luke massaged
her hand, concern in his eyes.

"We all almost died, but I'll be fine." She stood
up despite the pain.

Luke helped her stand and made her drink some water first.
Once she finished he looked her over and nodded. "Okay, but before you go,
there's something you should see."

"What?"

"Follow me." Luke led her into the next room in
the tent, where several agents sat around a television set.

On the screen a big—no, giant—man stood surrounded by rock
and shrubs, as if in a crater. His muscles bulged as if they had a mind of
their own and his skin glinted red.

It took Lucy a moment to recognize him. "Holy crap,
that's Steele?"

He spoke to the camera. "By nightfall, the military
forces on this island will be annihilated, and its authority will belong to
you, my people. Those of you brave enough to rise up, come to Diamond Head."

A sound, like a missile, shook the camera. He looked to the
sky, then back at the camera. "Oh, and do not attempt to stop me. Anyone
who tries will fail. Here's a demonstration."

He backed away and the camera tilted up, showing the sky.
When a missile came at him, everyone in the room held their breath,
anticipating the moment Steele would finally be destroyed. But the missile
stopped right in front of him, then spun around and flew back into the sky and
straight at the jet that had launched it. The jet exploded live on camera, and
crashed into the water below.

Lucy's heart thumped as she thought about the life lost in
that crash. The whole world had just watched an American soldier die.

Steele walked back into view. "As I said, you can't
stop me. Just in case you missed it, let me show you one more example of my
indestructible power." He turned and lifted his hands. A jet hovered into
view, as if Steele was levitating it. It neared the ground, shaking, then it
ripped in two and both pieces flew off screen.

Lucy stumbled into a chair, sick to her stomach as Steele
turned back to the camera, his face close-up once again. "If you send a
bigger bomb, like a nuclear missile, I will redirect it at a major city. It's
time to stand up, people. Human beings have evolved and your government has
kept it a secret. I think you deserve the truth. I think you deserve a chance
against your oppressors. You know what I offer. Come to Diamond Head."

The camera swiveled away from him as he spoke. "I have
things to do. In the meantime, enjoy watching these corrupt politicians and
greedy business men squirm."

On the screen, a group of businessmen, all dressed in
expensive, tailored suits, were chained to pillars of stone, their mouths
sealed shut with duct tape. Below them a fire burned, casting flames over their
bare feet. They flinched and tried to pull away, but couldn't.

Lucy dropped her head and stared at the floor.
Are we
already too late? Is it over? Have we really lost to that psychopath?
"What happened to the children?"

Hunter walked in from around a corner, having caught the
last of the show. He also looked pale and hollow, like he had after the sphere
drained him when she was attacked by the lizard. He sucked down half a bottle
of water before he spoke. "They're being transported out of the facility.
Likely, they'll be sold into slavery."

She stood. "We have to stop them."

He came and wrapped his arms around her. "IPI's on it,
but the transports are protected by paranormals, and not regular ones either.
They seem enhanced, like Steele, and more beast than man."

Her mind flashed back to Russia, their assignment that led
to the discovery of an encrypted disk. She'd thought Steele planned on
releasing some kind of virus into the world—biological warfare. She'd never
been able to crack the code, and neither had IPI, but it all clicked together
as she replayed recent events in her mind. Not a virus, but a drug to mutate
genetics, to bring about enhanced powers. If she'd been able to break into the
disk, they could have stopped this before it started.

She leaned into Hunter. His arms felt good around her sore
body and she hugged him back, happy he was alive, so grateful that he had saved
her, and more determined than ever to finish this mission.

Luke pointed to the television. "He showed them on the
video."

She looked into Hunter's green eyes and wished they could be
anywhere else, talking about anything else, but they had a job to do, friends
to save. "What about Sam and Ana?"

"He hasn't gotten to them yet." He rubbed her
back. "It seems to be his grand finale."

So they still had time. "Has Drake seen this?"

He kissed her on the nose and released her so she could sit
back down. "He's already gone. He and the rest left on a helicopter a few
hours ago. Steele made his location pretty clear."

Yes. Diamond Head.
A large 500,000-year-old volcano
crater sat on Oahu, just outside of Honolulu, surrounded by buildings. All
those people were in danger. Why that spot? For dramatics? She needed to be
there. "Why didn't you two go?"

Agent Mark walked over to them. "They were almost as
passed-out as you were." He patted Lucy on the shoulder.

Of course, Luke and Hunter were the first to touch the
sphere. They must have given up most of their life for her. That would have
cost them, big time.

She touched Mark's hand. "Thank you, by the way."
She looked around to all the agents in the room. "Thanks to all of you.
You saved my life, and my brother's."

Mark looked down for a moment, then made eye contact.
"We should have stopped the crazy bitch sooner."

"You did what you felt was right. I know how hard it is
to accept the fact that someone you trusted isn't who you thought. Trust
me." She thought about her memories as she formulated a plan. "Did
Drake take the sphere?"

Luke shook his head. "No. Too dangerous. The thing
almost killed me, even if it did save you."

Knowing that the sphere was nearby comforted her, though she
didn't know why. She didn't feel the same draw to it that she used to, but it
could still be useful. She'd been able to harness its power for quite awhile
without harming herself.

In the meantime, she knew something of more immediate use.
"I think I know a way of stopping Steele, but first I have to talk to
Simmons."