|
Pushing
herself off the ground, using the wall for support, she made her
way slowly to his side. Every instinct in her body was screaming
at her to flee, to get away before something else happened, but
she clamped down on the panic and forced herself to focus. Blood
flowed from under the metal covering the injured man, forming
small red rivers on the asphalt. She had always hated the sight
of blood. Her jaw set in determination, she reached down grabbed
the edge of the door and tried to lift it. She grunted and strained
her muscles. The metal didn't budge. There was too much weight
for her to move by herself. She changed her tactics, and instead
of trying to pull the door off, she tried sliding one edge of
it away from his body. Katlin pushed and shoved and finally felt
the door give a little, then a little more, until it was far enough
off him she could see the source of the stream of blood--a wicked
looking piece of twisted metal stuck out from the man's chest.
Turning
away in horror, she felt herself begin to gag.
What
should she do? If she tried to slide the door any further, she
would risk pushing the metal in deeper. The thought of the metal
pieces squishing into the man's skin made her sick to her stomach.
Katlin sat down, unsure what to do next, exhausted from her efforts.
She
grabbed the man's hand and spoke words of comfort. "Emergency
people will be here soon. Hold on. Someone will be here to help
you."
"Please
... It hurts, help me," the man moaned.
Katlin
had never felt so helpless. She didn't have any medical training,
all she could do was take off her jacket and stuff it against
his wound in an attempt to stop the blood. But the red stream
didn't seem affected by her efforts, and her jacket was soaked
within minutes. She kept pressure on his wound, staying by his
side, trying to keep him calm until someone with medical training
came along. Suddenly the man stopped moaning. Concerned, Katlin
leaned over and gently brushed away the dirt and metal covering
his face.
"Stay
with me, keep awake." As she leaned over his eyes fluttered
open. Their glances locked and her head filled with visions.
Images
flew across her mind, scenes full of people and places Katlin
had never seen before. Snippets of conversation floated past her
ears. It was like watching a movie, but then the movie started
to move faster, the images sped up. She could no longer make out
the people or the sounds as the images flashed faster and faster
across her mind. Moving too fast to distinguish, they become nothing
more than a long blur of motions, vivid colors and indistinguishable
sounds.
The
problem was that the images were moving too fast. Her mind was
having trouble keeping up. None of her training covered this type
of connection. She tried to break free, tried to pry her eyes
away from his. She started to pull herself physically back, but
his gaze stayed locked into hers. She was frozen in place, unable
to move. She didn't know how much longer she could stay conscious
as her mind rebelled against the intrusion. Her body started to
shut down. She was on the brink of passing out when the visions
started to slow down. As they slowly came to a stop, the rush
of colors disappeared. The world around her was suddenly dark
and quiet.
She
sighed in relief and moved away, when the man's mind tugged at
hers again. This time there were no images or sounds, only the
feeling of being pulled. Like someone had tied a rope around her,
and she was being hauled across the ground. Only it was his mind
that was dragging her, not across the ground, but into the darkness.
She hadn't been able to break the connection. Somehow his mind
was still linked to hers, even as he was dying.
Katlin
struggled to regain control. She knew she was in extreme danger.
She felt his mind begin to fade, felt his spirit begin to fall,
spiraling downward. He pulled her along with him, dragging her
down into the darkness. She screamed, but it never reached her
lips. She was immobile, as her spirit and mind fought to break
free. She was losing the battle, she couldn't hold on any longer.
Suddenly
the connection was broken. Katlin tried to focus on her surroundings.
Her cheek burned as if on fire. She raised her eyes and saw the
blond man raising his hand as if to strike her.
She
screamed at him, "Stop!"
"Are
you okay?" He was crouched in front of her, his jacket riddled
with burn holes, streaks of dirt and blood covering his face.
A small, jagged cut above his right eye was bleeding.
"Your
friend is dead," she said, cradling her cheek with her hand.
She wondered how many times he had slapped her across the face
before she came to her senses.
"He's not my friend." The man turned and stared down
at the lifeless body. "Are you sure he's dead?"
"Yes,
I felt him die." Her head jerked up as she realized what
had just come out of her mouth. Taking a deep breath, she forced
herself to focus. "I watched him die."
Reaching out he grabbed her wrist, and his fingers ran softly
over her skin. She could feel the energy hum where his fingers
touched her.
Leaning
forward, his breath caressed her ear as he whispered, "You're
a Talent? Don't worry, so am I. My friends call me Ryker."
He pulled away from her. "Are you bleeding?" His face
filled with concern as she struggled to control herself.
Looking down at her clothes, she realized her blouse was covered
with blood. "No, it's his, not mine."
Ryker
stood and offered his hand. Katlin took it, and he helped her
to her feet and then let her go. Katlin felt herself begin to
sway, but suddenly strong arms reached out, and Ryker gently pulled
her into his body. She leaned against him, closed her eyes and
concentrated on the warm solid male against her, trying desperately
to block out the rancid smell of blood, the moans of pain, and
concentrated instead on the sound of his heartbeat. Her muscles
relaxed.
"Do
you hear a ringing?"
"What?"
she asked, her voice muffled against his chest.
"A
phone, I hear a phone ringing." He kicked a pile of debris
on the ground near his feet. And there, underneath all of the
dirt and metal, lay a small, black purse.
Katlin
reluctantly stepped out of his arms. "That's mine."
Bending down, she opened the purse and pulled out her cell phone.
"Hello?"
"Katie,
are you okay?" It was her brother, and his voice sounded
thick with worry.
"Colin,
I'm fine." She realized her voice was now emotionless and
flat. I must be in shock, she thought as she looked around at
the carnage of bodies and scorched metal surrounding her.
"Thank
God. I got this flash of you in danger. God, Katie, it was awful,
some kind of fire or explosion."
"It
happened, Colin, there was an explosion, but I'm not hurt."
Colin didn't answer. She could hear him breathing loudly on the
other end.
"Colin,
are you there? Can you hear me? I said, I'm not hurt."
"Katie!"
Colin cried out, "Katie, run! Get out of there, right now!
Do you hear me? Run, Katie!"
Colin,
the stable one, the one who never lost his cool, screaming at
her in panic, was enough to set her in motion.
She
grabbed Ryker's hand and tried to pull him with her. "We
have to get out of here!"
But Ryker was strong, and even though she yanked on his arm trying
to get him to follow, his body didn't budge.
"What
are you talking about?" The expression on his face clearly
indicated he thought she had lost her mind.
She
tried to drag him into following her again, but when he wouldn't,
she gave up and dropped his arm. "Run! For the love of God,
move!" she screamed at him as she turned and started sprinting.
She
could hear his footsteps behind her. Katlin didn't bother to look
behind her, she just ran, jumping over debris and bodies. She
ran as fast as she could, as far away as she could. When she heard
the explosion, she didn't pause, didn't stop to look, she just
ran faster. Small objects pelted her back, and some of them cut
into her body, but she ignored the pain and blocked out everything
around her. She blocked out everything, but the feel of the breeze
on her face and the pounding of her heart.
The
one thing Katlin knew how to do was run.
*
* * *
"Stop. Will you stop!"
Katlin
had completely lost track of her surroundings. She slowed down
and looked over her shoulder. Ryker stood twenty feet back, leaning
over from the waist. He was breathing heavily and holding on to
his side. She jogged back and stood in front of him.
"Christ,
lady, you can run," he said between breaths.
"The
name's Katlin. Where are we?"
"From
the smell of chow mien, I would guess we're in the back alley
of Mandarin Gate's Chinese restaurant, about two miles from the
hotel."
"Two
miles, I can't believe we ran that far." Her feet were beginning
to throb. Somewhere along the way, she'd kicked off her shoes.
She didn't know how long she had been running barefoot, but it
was long enough to shred the hell out of her pantyhose and feet.
"I've
been yelling at you to stop for the last half mile." He straightened
up and grimaced.
"Are
you all right?" she asked as she watched him wince.
"Yeah,
just got a stitch in my side trying to catch up with you."
He stared at her, and she saw it suddenly dawn on him that she
wasn't breathing hard at all.
She
couldn't help herself--she smiled at his expression. "I train
during the week."
He
looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"I
used to run competitively in school. I kept it up after I graduated,
mostly out of habit." She tried to straighten what was left
of her skirt, but it was torn into shreds. She gave up on it and
looked down in horror at her blouse. There was very little material
left.
She started arranging pieces of fabric artfully around her, tying
strips of material together. She ripped off a piece of her blouse
and held it out. He just looked at her, so she motioned toward
his face. "Your eye, you have a cut above your eye."
She handed him the fabric, and he wiped the blood off. He didn't
even flinch as he wiped across the cut.
"Thanks."
He spun around as if trying to get his bearings. "I think
we're about three miles from the main strip."
"That
other explosion, did you see what happened?"
"Yeah,
another car blew up. One parked on the road next to the hotel."
"Was
it bad?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady. Another
explosion meant more dead bodies.
"I
don't know," he answered as he started walking down the alley.
She
followed him, trying to ignore the throbbing pain coming from
her feet as she made her way on the rocky gravel. "Do you
think anyone survived?" Katlin hadn't given any thought to
her coworkers until now. And McDonald, what had happened to him?
More bodies sprawled out on the pavement. She shuddered at the
thought and prayed that McDonald and everyone from the meeting
were safe.
Instead
of answering her, Ryker stopped and stared intently at the alley
wall. Katlin almost ran into him. She reached up and shook his
shoulder, trying to get his attention.
"Ryker,
do you think anyone survived?"
He
spun around and pulled her into an embrace. Before she could react
he whispered in her ear. "I heard you, be quiet." Crouching
down against the wall, pulling her with him, a gun appeared in
his hand.
"What
is it?" She asked. Her mouth had gone dry, and her heart
was pounding loudly in her chest.
"Two
men coming down the alley. Katlin, did the man pass you information?"
When
she didn't answer he shook her. "I know you were mentally
linked to Halster when he died. Did he pass something on to you?"
"Yes."
He pushed her away from him. "Try to hide. You're in danger."
Another
shot of fear and adrenaline pumped through her body. Kneeling
down on the alley floor, trying to squeeze herself as close to
the wall as possible, she scanned the alley. She had always had
terrible night vision, and although there was some light shining
into the alley from the restaurant windows, she could only make
out one figure in the dark. He stood at the mouth of the alley.
The
man cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Ryker!"
Ryker
stood, but when she started to stand, too, he pushed her back
down against the wall. Her body was concealed in the shadows.
"You
don't have to shout, Murray, I'm here." Ryker shoved his
pistol back into his pocket, but Katlin noticed he didn't take
his hand off the gun. Whoever these people were, Ryker obviously
knew them, but he was still expecting trouble.
Without
turning in her direction, he lowered his voice. "Katlin,
the man is a Talent working for Vector--you're broadcasting too
loud. And for God's sake, get down and out of sight."
She
immediately stopped mentally scanning, she didn't really have
to, she could see the man's outline clearly now.
"I
thought you were retired, my friend," he said as he walked
farther into the alley toward Ryker.
Ryker
immediately walked away from Katlin's hiding place. He moved slowly,
his voice friendly. "I was thinking of retiring last year,
but changed my mind."
Katlin
could not make out the man's features in the dark. His voice was
deep and raspy."Give
us the girl, Ryker. We have no beef with you."
Ryker walked across the alley. He casually leaned against the
fire-escape ladder. "Why do you want her? She has nothing
to do with this."
Katlin
could see the man turning his head back and forth. He must be
scanning the alley looking for her. She lowered herself onto the
ground. She tried to ignore the puddle of mud she now lay in,
and the smell of urine drifting toward her from the alley wall.
"Halster
passed it to her," the man said, once again focusing his
attention on Ryker.
Ryker had positioned himself directly under a stream of light
shining out from one of the windows. He was trying to draw their
attention away from her, she realized. He was allowing himself
to become a visible target while the other man stood partially
hidden in the dark.
She
watched as Ryker put both of his hands in his jean pockets. "Impossible,
she's not a Courier. She's just some woman in the wrong place
at the wrong time."
"No,
it's been confirmed. He passed her the info."
"Come
on, Murray, you know how unreliable the Sight is. I'm telling
you, you're dead wrong."
"Tony
is my best man. He tells me the information is passed, I believe
him. Did he pass it on, Tony?"
The
second man, who had concealed himself in the shadows, stepped
out into a stream of light. "Yeah, he passed it, Boss."
"Hey,
Tony," Ryker called out, lifting one hand in greeting.
The
man acknowledged the greeting and nodded his head, "Ryker,
I thought you were retired and living the good life up at some
ranch in the mountains?"
"Semi-retired
and not a ranch, just a cabin. How's the family?"
The
man's face split into a wide grin. "Good, we had twin boys
four months ago."
Ryker
laughed a deep, rich laugh that took Katlin by surprise. You'd
have thought he was at a party instead of standing in an alley
facing down two men. "Really? I hadn't heard. Congratulations.
Tell Maria I said hi."
Murray
lit a cigar. "Are you going to give the girl to us?"
Ryker
turned and addressed Murray, his voice losing all traces of friendliness.
"Depends. What are you going to do with her?"
"We
had a relationship with Halster. We had hopes of making some kind
of arrangement with him. Killing him was an accident." Murray
paused and took a drag on his cigar. "My nephew is breaking
into the business. He's enthusiastic, young, trying to make a
name for himself. You know what that's like."
"It's
tough getting started." Ryker sounded amused.
"He
was in charge of the explosions. They were only meant to scare
Halster into coming back to us."
"Who
caused the distraction? That Black Void was a little bit showy
just to get us out of the place. Those things are usually only
used for large-scale assault, they cost a fortune."
"Nah,
the Vector's got a guy on the payroll whose only Talent is projecting
those things. He's pretty creepy, but he works cheap."
"If
Halster hadn't been such a klutz, you would have gotten us both."
"Tony
gave Halster a little mental push into dropping the suitcase.
No one was supposed to get hurt."
Ryker
turned and saluted Tony. "Thanks for saving my life."
Tony
returned the salute. "I owed you for Mexico. Now we're even."
Ryker
turned back toward Murray, "And the girl?"
"She's
a stranger to us. We have no past, no relationship, how can we
trust her?" Murray's voice filled with regret, "We have
no choice. We have to kill her."
"And
if I let you have her? How much is in it for me?"
"Now
you're talking sense. Fifty-thousand."
"I
need some time."
Murray
threw down his cigar and exploded in anger. "Time for what?
There's nothing to think about. Your involvement in this situation
is over! Your client is dead. Do the smart thing, Ryker. Hand
over the girl."
"Like
I said, Murray, 'I need some time'," Ryker growled.
"Because
of our past relationship I'll give you three days. If you don't
turn over the girl, then everything between us is forgotten."
Murray turned and walked back down the alley. Tony followed closely
behind him.
Murray
stopped at the entrance, "You understand me, Ryker? I don't
get what I want from you, you're both dead."
|
