The Better Part of Darkness

One of the officers came in and unlocked the restraints. He lent the nurse a hand in helping me to my feet. Chills flew up my legs and thighs as my bare feet hit the cold tile, but I didn’t mind. It woke my body. Those first few steps were wobbly and painful, but as I shuffled toward the bathroom door, my strength slowly returned. Some clothes would be nice, I thought.

“Will you tie me tighter?” I asked the nurse, turning my back to her and away from the guard. I didn’t need to flash my ass at him or anyone else during my escape. She tied the four sets of strings into double knots. It would leave gaps between ties, but it was better than nothing.

After doing my business, I washed my hands and face and then gripped the sides of the sink, staring at my reflection in the small mirror and ignoring the cuts and bruises on my face. I was so gaunt, I barely recognized the wild-haired woman staring back at me. Come on, Charlie. Think!

I had no weapons, and I sure as hell wasn’t strong enough to overpower anyone. I’d have to rely on my powers, which were nearly as weak as my body.

Once I came out of the bathroom, I asked the nurse for something to eat and was rewarded, after being helped back into the bed and waiting a good twenty minutes, with a tray of generic meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and carrots. It looked suspiciously like a Banquet TV dinner. At least I was permitted to eat on my own, further delaying their reattaching the restraints. I ate slowly, all the while willing myself to continue the healing process and trying to figure out how to escape.

I was on my last bite of processed meat when the door opened and Titus Mott hurried inside, looking almost as bad as I did. I set the tray aside, feeling satisfaction roll through me at his busted lip and black eye. His brown hair was in more disarray than usual and his lab coat was smudged with blood, probably his own. A fine crack split the left lens of his eyeglasses.

“That’s the problem with guys like Mynogan,” I said, easing back into the pillow. “They always turn around and bite you in the ass.” Translation: it sucks to be betrayed, doesn’t it, you asshole?

“Charlie,” he began in a defeated tone. I mean, really, what excuse could he possibly give for what he’d done to me? Yeah, he’d saved my life, but injecting me with off-world DNA? I might be extremely grateful to him for being alive, but I didn’t have to like him for it. He stayed a few feet away from the bed as though I’d hurt him if he got too close. Smart man.

He went to speak but I cut him off. “Where’s Emma?”

“At Mott Tech with the rest of your friends.” His gaze dropped to the floor, but he spoke quickly as though he was running out of time. “Charlie, I didn’t know. I had no idea Cass was using one of my labs to process Sangurne N’ashu. If I had, I would have stopped him immediately. I’ll do whatever you need me to, to find him and make him stand charges. And I’ll put all my resources to finding a cure for ash’s effects.” The miserable expression on his face didn’t elicit a single ounce of sympathy from me.

His hand slipped into his pocket. A tingle wove along my spine, and I tensed. Something was up. “I’m to take you to the lab,” he said.

Before the nurse realized what he meant, he pulled a stun gun and fired. The tag hit her in the right shoulder, her mouth open in a scream that never quite made it out. Paralyzed, she hit the ground hard.

My mouth dropped open. “What the hell are you doing?”

“I told you. Taking you to the lab. Your daughter is not the only one threatened, you know.” A spark of anger lit his eyes.

Finally, he gets a backbone, I thought. He stepped forward, hands trembling so badly, I was afraid he’d accidentally shoot himself or me. I jerked the gun from his grasp and swung my legs over the bed.

I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Amanda,” I surmised, knowing how much Titus cared for his niece. If he had a weak spot, that was it, and Mynogan had used it just as he’d used Emma to get to me. He answered with a slight nod. I checked the chamber of the gun. Three tags left out of six, which meant … “You took out the guards?”

He slipped around me and opened the door, sticking his head into the hallway. “I have a car parked out back. We should go before someone else comes.”

“I need weapons.” I peeked out to see the hallway was empty for now.

Titus whirled on me, his face no longer apologetic. “I won’t risk it, Charlie. If I don’t get you back to the lab in” —he glanced at his watch—“forty minutes, my niece will be dead.”

I was so mad, I wanted to pound him into the tile floor, but I knew exactly what it was like to have a loved one’s life at risk. And the last thing I wanted for Amanda was to be late.

I led the way into the hallway. I knew Station One inside and out. We were on the basement level, which meant it stayed relatively quiet. There were extra holding cells, file rooms, the weapons depot, and supply closets. We should be able to make it to the back stairs and then out into the parking deck at the back of the building.

But just as we began our journey up the back stairs, a door opened and footsteps sounded above us.

CHAPTER 18

It was too late to hide. I stepped in front of Titus and aimed.

The chief came down the back steps with a tray of Styrofoam iced teas and a Bojangles bag.

“Charlie,” he blubbered in surprise. His big body froze on the landing. “What the hell are you doing now?” But understanding had already dawned on him.

I inched up the steps, keeping the gun trained. “Sorry, Chief.” There was no other choice but to shoot him. He knew it, too. If they found him shot on the steps, he’d be free of suspicion. “It should wear off in a few hours.”

He drew in a deep breath, totally irate. “You can forget about being invited to the company picnic. That goes for you, too,” he said, eyeing Titus. “In fact, you’re both fired. Fired. You hear me?”

“Titus, take the tea.” If the chief was going to drop, I’d rather save the tea because I was dying of thirst.

Titus took the tray and the bag as the chief sat down on the dirty floor of the landing. “Anne-Marie will kill me if I fall and break something,” he said with a growl. “Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Just do it already. And don’t hit the leather jacket.”

He deserved it, and he knew it. The chief would always hold a soft spot in my heart and one day I’d forgive him for his part in the gene therapy. But not today. I aimed and fired, jumping with a start as the stun tag sank into his beefy thigh. He let out one curse before listing to the side and then slumping over.

“Come on,” I muttered to Titus, running by the chief and to the back door.

Outside, I stumbled to a stop. I’d been prepared for daylight, but it was dark. I’d missed an entire day. Titus pointed over my shoulder. “Over there.”

Spurred on, we raced down the steel steps and across the parking lot. The chill of the October night flew through the thin hospital gown and my bare feet dug into the minuscule asphalt pebbles that littered the lot.

I took the driver’s side, sliding into the seat in a rush of adrenaline. The key had been left in the ignition. Once Titus was in, I started the car and drove out of the parking lot with the headlights off. I didn’t turn them on until we were halfway down the block.

It took another five minutes to access the interstate. Thank God, I thought as we joined the flow of traffic. We made it. I glanced at the clock. And we had just enough time to make it to Mott Tech before Amanda’s time ran out.

“He has people at the hospital,” Titus said quietly, gazing out the window for a silent moment. “I’m sorry about my brother. It’s time he took responsibility for what he’s been doing …”

“I’ll hold you to that,” I said. I took one of the teas, pierced it with a straw, and took a long, loud drink. Then I voiced an idea that had been forming in the back of my mind. “The weapon you’re working on with that Adonai, Llyran, the one that can neutralize power,” I said. “I want you to use it on me.”

Taken aback, he blinked. “It’s nowhere near to being ready. And why would you want to use it on yourself?”