Maddie looked at Adam; her eyes seemed to plead for him not to give them any information.
Adam said, “I am only speaking for myself. I’ll need some time to speak to the others to see if anyone is even willing to meet and make arrangements. Let me contact you.”
Jeremy studied Adam’s face for a moment and then reached into the window of the cruiser. He retrieved what looked like a policeman’s citation pad and a pen and scribbled something. Then he ripped off the sheet and handed it to Adam. Adam looked at the paper in his hand. Jeremy had written his name and a phone number.
Jeremy said, “You need to act quickly before the KTP has time to process what went down here today. To say that some people will not be too happy about what happened to their leader is an understatement. They may seek swift revenge. I can only hold them off for so long. So you need to contact me quickly, and we need to set up the meeting as soon as possible.”
Adam said, “Give me a couple of weeks.”
Jeremy looked as if that wouldn’t do.
Adam said firmly, “Five days. I’ll be in touch.”
Jeremy nodded. Then he turned, got into the other police cruiser, and they both sped away.
Maddie and Adam stood there for a moment, not believing what had just transpired. They slowly walked back to their car. Adam held the passenger door open for Maddie. She started to get in, but paused and said, “Wait. Please open the trunk. I need to get something out of my suitcase.”
After rummaging through her luggage for a few moments, she retrieved two New York Yankees ball caps and two pairs of aviator sunglasses.
She handed one set to Adam and said, “Here, put these on. I know they’re not great disguises, but I had to pack light.”
Adam watched as she swiftly arranged her hair into a tight bun on the top of her head, then donned the ball cap and glasses.
Adam never dreamed he’d be in a situation where he would have to wear a disguise. He stared at the ball cap and glasses in his hand and then back at Maddie. She stood with her hands on her hips, impatient. He obediently put them on.
Once he sat in the car, the adrenaline began to subside and the stress of what had just occurred hit him all at once. He was so exhausted, mentally and physically. He just needed to rest.
“Maddie, I’m going straight to the hotel.”
She didn’t speak. She only looked straight ahead and nodded. They didn’t speak at all during the ride. Maddie was looking out the window away from him. From her profile he could see tears streaming down her cheeks. Occasionally, he could hear her quietly whimpering or crying. Adam found himself constantly watching his rearview mirror, wondering if the KTP would be coming for them. Images of the bullet striking Paul in the head, his lifeless body slumping to the ground, and blood soaking the ground where his head lay kept running through his mind. He had killed a man today.
Actually, Adam realized, he had killed two people—Paul and the driver. He had actually used RTP to stop a moving car, ward off a flying bullet, and kill people. Granted, it was self-defense. He was protecting Maddie. Had he not used RTP, they would probably both be dead by now or held prisoner by the KTP. But still, Maddie had taught him, as she had also been taught, to never use RTP for evil.
But was acting in self-defense evil?
He couldn’t forget the look on Maddie’s face when she had learned it was he who had killed Paul. It was a look of horror, or fear, or a mixture of both. He couldn’t tell. It was as if she was seeing Adam in a whole new light. She was seeing him as someone who was capable of using RTP to do bad things.
Was he just like Paul? Did she think he would end up the same way? After all, was what he did that much different than what Paul had done?
Paul had used RTP to get revenge on the people who had killed their children. He used RTP maliciously and violently. He had killed bad people, and the innocent people who were not directly involved with the deaths of their children. But Adam knew that fundamentally he was not like Paul. He was not evil. He hadn’t intended to kill anyone.
Or had he, in that moment? Still, did using Refined Transcendent Power to kill people in self-defense make it okay? Was it any less evil than what Paul had done?
Chapter 43
When they arrived at the hotel in Los Alamos, Maddie insisted they park in the back.
“Stay here,” she said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wouldn’t it be better if you stayed here and I went in?”
“Well, Adam, I think you might have just surpassed me on the list of the KTP’s most wanted. You don’t need to be seen. This won’t take long.”
Having no valid argument, he nodded and looked straight ahead out the windshield as she closed the car door. He watched in the rearview mirror as she approached the back door of the hotel and wondered why she didn’t have him drop her off at the front. Back doors of hotels were usually locked and only accessible to guests with keys. He saw her attempt to open the door. It didn’t budge. She stood with her hand on the handle for a moment, then pulled again. The door opened, and she disappeared inside. He shook his head. He thought he’d never get used to witnessing her mastery of RTP.
While she was inside, Adam’s mind started racing again. He couldn’t
