Chapter 16
“We shouldn’t run,” I staidly stated crossing my arms over my chest.
We had to regroup and decide what our next move was. With their numbers falling on us we knew we were outnumbered. Jace, Terrance, Troy, and Remy were contemplating whether we should retreat or stand our ground.
“We don’t know how strong the people we’re going against are and it’s way too crowded down there not to have any casualties,” Terrance argued.
Mercedes and Bentley had opened the portal, and we were all crammed in the apartment that Terrance and the others had previously occupied. It had more room than ours and it made more sense to convene there. Even then, the space felt claustrophobic with all three teams crammed into one space.
“Horatio’s men have already proven that they don’t care if nons are caught in the crossfire.” Troy slowly nodded his agreement with Terrance.
I frowned at the memory. Last night eleven civilians were injured, and six lives were taken because of Horatio’s minions.
A few of our teams were in pursuit of a couple of his most dangerous underlings when they decided to cause a major vehicle accident on one of the busiest highways in the state.
The nons were none the wiser about what had actually occurred.
The nons believed the crater that had been formed in the middle of the interstate was a freak accident.
Little did they know evil people had created it to evade us.
We got them in the end, but it was a very hollow and gut-wrenching victory for us.
“So, let’s go to them,” Kade hesitantly suggested. “We can go back and get Miranda and Neville. Neville can tell us what their exact location is, and Miranda can cloak us. We can head them off and set up a portal to send them directly to the correctional facility.”
Jace slowly nodded. “That’s actually not a bad idea,” he agreed.
Jaxson and Remy gave him pats on the back and he tried to hide his pleased smile.
Kade was fiercely independent and was such a well-rounded teen.
Sometimes it was hard to remember that he was still just a teen.
I had to recall that just because he didn’t act like a typical minor, he still craved affirmation and praise.
Maybe it was something else I needed to talk to my guys about.
Sure, life was hectic, but with all of us we could still fulfill the needs of the kids.
Bentley was still eating as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He chewed a large mouthful of lo Mein noodles before asking. “Is there any space large enough in the correctional facility for vehicles to park?”
By the bewildered expressions on the others’ faces I could tell I wasn’t the only one confused about his question. Then it suddenly dawned on me. “You’ve been working on the size of your portals.”
Mercedes and Bentley exchanged satisfied smiles before Mercedes answered. “We have been, and we’ve been able to work up to a bus. I don’t know how many transports we have in us, but it’s worth a try.”
“How much can you do without it draining you?” Sierra asked worriedly. “I can always boost you.”
The further Sierra progressed in her pregnancy the easier she needed to take it.
Her doctor hadn’t put her on bed rest, but they warned her it may be a possibility in the near future.
Gavin had attempted to coax her into staying home, but she wanted to help as much as possible until she no longer could.
Fortunately, her gift didn’t seem to be affected by her pregnancy as much as her body.
Mercedes frowned before answering. “Two transports, three tops. We don’t want to drain you as well.”
Sierra reiterated my earlier thoughts. “I feel good. I’ll be fine and I haven’t used my gift at all today.”
“We have the distance to consider too.” Neville chimed in.
We all jumped, and I was surprised to see Miranda and Neville poised behind us. Micah gave a sheepish shrug. “I didn’t know if I would have time to grab the people we needed and be here if I’m needed further.”
Remy nodded. “Miranda can cloak us. Blake can make all of Horatio’s minions get in one vehicle. Kade can be on standby to freeze them just in case.”
Jace gave Neville and Miranda the low down on our situation, and they nodded as if they understood their roles. Neville seemed to get a glazed look over his eyes before he stated.
“We have less than fifteen minute to decide the best location to complete the mission,” Neville stated.
Race came running into the apartment causing more than me to jump.
His dark brown hair was disheveled and his face slightly red as if it was windblown.
He gave us an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I guess I could have knocked. We counted six vehicles. Two lead vehicles, a bread van, a moving truck, and two trailing vehicles. The trailing vehicles are more discreet, but it’s evident that their all together. ”
“How do you know it’s them?” Troy inquired.
Race grinned triumphantly before holding his arms out to the side. Victoria appeared giving us an unabashed look. “He flew me over the vehicles, and I ‘dropped’ into them.”
My immediate reaction was of concern for the risky attempt.
Vicky may be mature for her age, but she was still young.
My misgivings were soon replaced by being impressed.
It took a lot of bravery to have attempted the mission, let alone accomplish it.
It was evident by Ben and Kade’s expressions that they were upset and angry by the notion.
“That was reckless!” Kade exclaimed.
Ben seemed to be hung up on the logistics and pointed toward the corner. “You never left the roo—”
My eyes widened when I remembered seeing Victoria sitting on the stool in the corner.
At the time I didn’t think it was odd that she just sat there, but now in retrospect I realized she generally was more involved in our conversations.
I wondered—my internal thoughts were cut short when I realized she was an illusion.
It seemed to be the same time the others realized what had occurred.
Ben’s eyes cut over to Jaxson who suddenly seemed interested in the ceiling. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, rocked back and forth on his heels and began to whistle. He wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Jaxson James,” Remy growled.
Jaxson tried to look ashamed but failed horribly. “They deserved the chance to apply what they’ve been learning in training.”
“He could have killed her, or they could have been seen!” Kade snarled.
“We’ve been practicing!” Victoria snapped.
“I’ve been training on how to make myself disappear as well as anyone I may be touching.
While you and the guys work on your gifts together—excluding me all the time, Jaxson, Race, Kurt, and some of the others have been training me.
They don’t expect me to know what I should be doing then berate me for my lack of training in the next breath. ”
“We haven’t—” Kade began to argue before Ben cut him off.
“We have been.” He stepped forward and grasped her upper arms, looking ashamed of himself. “It’s hard for me, and I apologize. I’m still trying to adjust to our connection and not viewing you like a kid sister.”
A look of hurt crossed Victoria’s features, before she crossed her arms over her chest defensively.
I knew she began to crush on her connection, but Ben did treat her like a kid—as he should.
She may think she was ready to have a seventeen almost eighteen-year boyfriend but there was no way Ben would entertain the ideas until she was at least eighteen if not longer.
“We should table this discussion for now.” Jace brusquely reminded us. “What’s done is done. We need to decide how we’re going to complete this mission with zero collateral damage.”
“I think I got it,” Neville stated.
I turned to see him with another woman. I knew she was one of the new recruits for the Florida team.
I hadn’t had any chances to interact with her, gift, or even know her name.
She was hovering her hands over the kitchen table, and it wasn’t until I drew closer that I realized a bird’s eye view of a map had appeared.
It resembled our locations and its surroundings.
I realized the area spanned out to at least a twenty-mile radius.
My eyes widened when I noticed that there was moving objects on the “board.” As I peered closer, I noticed the objects were actually people and vehicles.
“Neville suggested grabbing her.” Micah sheepishly explained.
I was so caught up in the other drama I hadn’t even seen him leave again. I was distracted once more as I examined the hologram closer. It was so fascinating, and I wondered how the woman’s gift worked.
“We call them true to life cartographers, but the name doesn’t give her any real justice on what Deidre can do.” Drake silently informed me.
“Wow.” I mouthed as I studied a rat no bigger than an ant scurry across an alley way.
Drake was nodding his agreement as he pointed to another object. I peered closer and noticed a person near a subway, busking. “It’s impressive.”
Remy brought my attention back to the conversation at hand. “You’re going to burn yourself out.”
It was clear Micah was torn between arguing and conceding when Troy interrupted. He launched into a strategy, and we all huddled closer to the “map.”
η
“Are you okay?” Troy asked me, brushing a kiss on my temple.
I shifted again. Truthfully my feet were starting to hurt, and I was ready to crawl into bed.
It was like I had hit a brick wall, and I was suddenly exhausted.
Unfortunately, we needed to complete this mission, and I was needed.
I just couldn’t admit that aloud or Troy and Noah would worry about me.
I had to lie. “Just feeling a little restless.”