Hybrid Zone Revelation, page 28
“Exchanging one cell for another? How is that better?” I demanded. Setting the bowl down on the ottoman, I stood and stalked away from them. Before I made it across the room, I knew he was right. The way Adam had growled at me when I inadvertently teleported to him hadn’t been a friendly greeting. “Don’t bother explaining,” I said dejectedly while massaging my forehead. “I understand and agree.”
“Good,” Cedars said. “Because there really is no other way.”
Miranda reached over and patted Cedars knee, causing him to smile gratefully at her. I took it to mean he didn’t like what he was saying. About as much as I liked hearing it, I reckoned.
“When we’re done here,” Cedars continued. “I need you to become a teleporting expert, including being able to take someone with you.”
“Sure,” I agreed, despite all the objections screaming at me. No problem. I’d become a guru. Sleep was for sissies anyway. I picked up the bowl of soup I’d abandoned and started working on it again. “What happens after we get Adam back?”
“Then we concentrate on getting Adam back,” Cedars said.
“Of course. I mean, what about finding out who Lindsey is connecting with. And Millsap, or the Julia factor. There’s a lot of stuff we don’t know.”
“Macy, we have got to get our house in order first before we start conducting any more operations.”
“I understand that, but—”
“Macy,” Cedars said, absently pointing a hunk of bread at me. “This is a rescue operation only. You are not equipped for anything else.”
I swiped the bread out of his hand and aimed it at him. “You do realize that is the same excuse Adam used. It didn’t work for him, and it doesn’t work for you. And, you sound a little bit like Olivia right now.”
Miranda, who had remained quiet until now, cleared her throat. “Little bit,” she nodded at Cedars’ questioning look.
“I’m not trying to sound like anyone,” he cried in frustration. “I just don’t want to get Adam back only to have him kill me because something happened to you.” Reaching over, he tore off another chunk of bread to replace the one I’d taken.
I could almost see the anger rising from him as he began tearing off smaller pieces of bread and plopping them into his mouth. Couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. True, getting Adam back was his number one objective, but aside from wanting to rescue a friend, he wanted out of the role of leadership that had been forced upon him. Not sure he recognized what was motivating his anger, but I could totally identify with him. The freedom of being the boss was great. The responsibility that came with it was the problem.
The rest of the meal was finished in silence. While Cedars used the time to cool to a simmer, I focused my thoughts on how I was going to use this new teleporting ability to gather information. As I’d said, his opinion that I wasn’t equipped for it didn’t work for me, and if he didn’t want to involve the Organization to find out what was going on, I’d do it on my own.
“Do you want any company?” Miranda asked as I exchanged my empty bowl of soup for a serving of bread pudding.
“For my Jedi training?”
“I don’t remember Yoda ever teleporting.”
“He should have. Then he could have gotten off of that swamp planet.”
“Dagobah?”
“Dago don’t go there. It’s sweaty and stinky.” I shuddered at the thought of the murky, slime filled water.
Miranda folded her arms and glared at me. “I repeat. Do you want any company?”
Deciphering the “I hope not” in her tone, I relented. “No. The less people the better.”
“Then I’m taking a nap,” she said through a yawn.
“Take another one for me,” I kidded.
“Two naps. I like it,” she said, punching the air with her fist as she walked past me on her way to the door. “Practice real hard now, ya hear?”
“As if there’s any other way,” I scoffed.
She gave a backwards wave of her hand as she walked out the door.
Wow. She really was tired. No dessert and no smoochie smoochie with Cedars. “Hey Cedars, how is impending parenthood treating you?”
“You want the whole week or just today?” he asked grumpily.
I chuckled to myself. Whether it was two months or nine, it was going to be a long pregnancy. “Tell me again how I get to the practice gym.”
He rolled his eyes as he stood up. “I’ll draw you a map.” Bending over Adam’s desk, he quickly sketched out the route.
“Easy enough,” I said after looking it over. Leaving the map on the desk, I set the empty dessert plate in the tub meant for dirty dishes. “I’m now off for my afternoon dose of humiliation,” I announced glumly.
“Whatever it takes to keep that head of yours from exploding,” Cedars responded dryly.
Scowling at him, I snatched up the map and headed for the door. “Don’t forget to clean up,” I called over my shoulder. The growl of frustration he uttered made me smile.
The map he’d created worked like a charm, directing me to the gym without a single wrong turn. Olivia and Scout were already waiting for me when I arrived. They wasted no time in putting me through the paces, nor were they shy with the criticism. But I did learn. Well enough to satisfy even Olivia, though I now despised the saying, practice makes perfect.
With Olivia’s seal of approval, the mission was a go. As soon as I was suited up—sadly, not in the previously outlined uniform that Miranda and I had designed—I would leave to rescue Adam. If everything went according to plan, the whole thing should only take a few minutes.
“You ready for this?” Miranda asked as she watched Juarez strap the stasis nullifier to my chest.
“Me? Born ready,” I joked.
“What if there are people there?” she asked worriedly. “People with weapons?”
I waited until Juarez had walked off, then I pulled her further aside, positioning her directly in front of me. “Don’t freak out. Watch quietly,” I whispered. Then I disappeared.
During my practice session, teleporting was not the only thing I had mastered. Remembering what Juarez had said at the very beginning of this about me moving through time at different rates, I figured that if I moved faster than everyone else, even just a little, it would put me out of phase with their time, and they wouldn’t be able to see me. Somehow, I was able to communicate this to my nanobots, and voila, I was the invisible woman.
“I don’t get it. Where’d you go?” she said when I reappeared in front of her.
“Nowhere.”
“But you weren’t here.”
“I was. You just couldn’t see me.”
Her eyebrows shot up.
“Yes,” I answered quickly before she could say anything. “Want to try?”
Her face melted into a devious smile. I took that as a yes.
Taking hold of her arm, we disappeared. A few people glanced curiously at where we’d been, but most didn’t care. Except for Kenny. Always Kenny. His eyes were narrowed, staring at the spot where we had been.
“Can they hear us?” Miranda asked.
“Kenny!” I yelled. “Guess not,” I said after he didn’t react.
Miranda turned sharply to face me. “You’re not going to stick to the plan, are you?” she demanded.
“Yes I am,” I argued. “I just have some additional—”
“Macy,” Miranda groaned, covering her face with her hands.
“It’ll be fine, Miranda. Everything else will be as planned.”
“When has that ever happened?” she snapped and pulled free of my grasp.
She immediately reappeared in the room. I was only a split second behind her, but it didn’t escape Kenny’s notice. He quickly found his way to my side, looking back and forth between us with raised eyebrows.
“Can I help you?” I said gruffly.
“I wondered when you’d learn to do that. Keeping it secret?” he taunted, pitching his voice for only us to hear.
“Yes, as well as her other plans,” Miranda snarled unhappily.
“Miranda,” I warned, but it was too late. Kenny was already eyeing me with new found suspicion.
“What plans?” he asked.
“She plans to find out what’s going on for herself,” Miranda accused.
“What’s going on?” Cedars said from behind me.
I prayed to God that Miranda could shield this from Cedars.
“We are discussing Macy taking me with her,” Kenny spoke up, diverting Cedars attention from Miranda.
“You’re reconsidering?” Cedars asked hopefully.
I wasn’t, I thought angrily.
“I know you haven’t been too keen on the idea, but I’d feel better if you didn’t go alone. And having two of you doubles our chances of nullifying the stasis field.”
Staring at me with those big hope filled eyes of his, how could I say no? “Sure.”
“Thanks, Kenny,” he said, clapping him on the back. “I think it’s for the best.” Then he wrapped his arm around Miranda and pulled her away.
“Thanks, Kenny,” I mocked, earning me a glimpse of his cocky grin.
This was not what I had planned. Not that I intended to trash the original plan. I just had a few amendments. Getting Adam back hadn’t changed. That was still my number one priority. But the other item on my agenda, the one that Miranda had nailed me for, was hunting. There were a couple of people I needed to talk to.
“It’s time,” I heard Cedars say.
Miranda approached me once more. Shaking her head in reluctant surrender, she wrapped me in a hug. “Take this,” she said, pressing something into my stomach. “I had a feeling you’d put your own spin on the plan.”
“Thanks, Mir,” I murmured into her shoulder as I wrapped my fingers around the mini tranq gun. Tucking it into my jacket pocket, I stepped away from her and offered my elbow to Kenny. “All aboard.”
“You’re not the only one who wants answers,” he leaned in and whispered as he locked elbows with me.
Maybe not, and now, I wasn’t the only one putting their life on the line to find them. “Ready?” I asked him.
“Ready.”
“Brace yourself,” I warned.
The next moment, we materialized in the back corner of the cell, a spot I’d never seen Adam in. I tensed, waiting for the energy sucking cold to hit, but there wasn’t any. And Adam was nowhere in sight. Kenny and I exchanged worried looks as I let go of the deep breath I’d taken right before the leap. Moving to the edge of the cell, Kenny swung the door open and we exited.
“Do you smell him?” he asked.
“I did in the cell. It’s fainter out here. But I’m not sure how good my tracking is in general.”
“If you want to find Adam, you’re going to have to do better than that.”
“Well, you’re coming, aren’t you?” I said testily. His hesitation rang all kinds of bells. “Kenny, you are coming?” I asked again, but was met with his tight lipped face. Forcing him to a stop, I swung around to face him. “Why did you come?” I demanded.
“Langston,” he sighed. “I saw her at the Colony before.”
His confession surprised me so much that I nearly let go of him. “When?” I asked as I realigned our arms.
“Right before Crystal. When she was…”
“You think Crystal’s death might have been a projection?”
“I’m hoping,” he nodded.
“I won’t be able to track Crystal at all. I don’t know what she smells like.”
He pulled a ribbon from his pocket. It was the one she always wore whenever she had a ponytail. He placed the ribbon beneath his nose and inhaled. Then he handed it to me.
After breathing it in, I pulled away in surprise. “It smells like ironed sheets,” I laughed.
He smiled. “Crisp linen is what I call it.”
Handing the ribbon back to Kenny, I gripped his shoulder with my free hand. “Let’s find them both.”
“It might help if you shift,” he suggested. “With the tracking, I mean.”
It did. Now, I had no problem tracking Adam across the lab and to the door.
“The door randomly opening is going to look suspicious to anyone who happens to be watching,” Kenny said.
“True, but I’m not hanging around and waiting for someone to open it for me.”
He pushed the door open. “After you,” he said.
Taking the lead, I started down the hallway in the direction Adam’s scent led us. “I don’t like that they’ve moved him,” I said nervously. “It indicates that either something’s changed, or they’ve reached some milestone in their plan.” My mind wouldn’t let me forget what Lindsey had insinuated. I had to find him before any change became permanent.
“We’re going to find him,” Kenny said reassuringly.
We needed to find him faster. Before Garrison or Julia did something I’d make them regret. There was no saving Mallet. He was done as far as I was concerned. I wished I’d had more of a chance to identify Garrison’s scent at the meeting. But without shifting, the number of men in the room had confused the scents. At least, for me.
“Were you able to identify Garrison’s scent?” I asked Kenny.
“Never forget it.”
“Well?” I demanded when he didn’t elaborate.
“He smells creepy.”
“Creepy? Could you be a little more specific?”
“No, really,” he laughed when I elbowed him in the ribs. “You’ll recognize it when you smell it. But make no mistake about it. That guy is dangerous.”
Yeah, I knew he was, which was why it was so important to nail down whose side he was on.
“Wait,” Kenny said, pulling on my elbow. “Do you hear that?”
Tilting my head sideways, I strained to pick up what Kenny was hearing. “The tapping?”
“It’s walking,” he said, craning his head around in search of the sound. “A woman.”
“You can tell it’s a woman?” I asked incredulously.
“I can tell it’s a woman,” he drawled, “by the sound of her walk. The gait is too light and short to be a man’s. Unless she’s like you. You walk like you’re mad.”
“I do not—” My words faltered as Kenny pulled us down behind a cart in the hallway. “I do not walk like I’m mad,” I hissed in irritation.
“Clunker,” he said dismissively, then shushed me.
Hey, that was my job. I was the shusher. And I didn’t clunk. I walked with confidence. This little pitter patter sounded like someone entirely lacking confidence. Wait a minute. It was entirely too loud to belong to anyone other than a hybrid doing the same thing that we were. Not the hiding part, but the winking in between time thing. Suddenly, our hiding place did not feel so secure.
“Think this will work?” I whispered as I peered around the cart.
Kenny looked sideways at me and sighed.
Yeah, me neither. Then I spotted her, and all intentions of staying hidden vanished. I stood up or tried to, but Kenny yanked me back down.
“That’s Julia,” I whispered angrily.
“Who?”
“The one who started this whole hybrid mess,” I whispered through clenched teeth.
Kenny didn’t try to stop me when I stood this time.
Her attention was focused on the file she was reading, so she didn’t immediately see me when I stepped into the center of the hallway, directly in her path.
“Interesting reading?”
She paused and looked up. “Macy,” she said, her voice echoing the surprise on her face.
“Hello, Julia. You’re looking remarkably well.”
She barked a laugh as she closed the file and tucked it under her arm. “I was wondering if you would show up.”
“Now you know,” I said sarcastically.
Her eyes swept me up and down, lingering on the hybrid traits visible on my face. “I see Adam’s had a hand in your conversion.”
“Where have you taken Adam?”
“Taken?” Her eyes narrowed. “That would imply that you knew where he was.”
She was a sharp old broad. I smiled tightly at her, but didn’t confirm her conclusion.
“Who’s your friend?” She shifted her gaze to Kenny, who I had dragged into the hallway with me. “He’s not one of mine.”
“None of your business. Where’s Adam?” I growled low, unconsciously taking a step towards her.
“I wouldn’t,” she warned softly.
I caught myself before I responded instinctually. Threatening her was a worthless endeavor. She could disappear before I reached her, and I hadn’t learned the magical trick of tailing someone through time. Not yet, anyway.
“I am going to get Adam out of here and fix whatever you’ve done to him.”
“What I’ve done to him?” she repeated. “I think you’re going to find that things are quite different than you suppose. As far as you finding him, I have no doubt that you are.”
What was her game? She seemed unconcerned about Adam’s status. It didn’t jive with the woman I’d witnessed talking to Adam when she thought no one was watching. “Are you going to try and stop me?” I asked her.
“Oh no, my dear. I know that you are quite unstoppable.” She reached inside her jacket and pulled out a small device. She spun it uncertainly in her hands a few times before tossing it to me. “You’re going to need this sooner or later. You’d better hurry if you want to save Adam.” Then she turned and started walking back down the hallway. “I’m rooting for you, Macy,” she called without turning around.
