Chapter 28 #2
It wasn’t surprising in the least when Drake adapted to his limitations and threw forcefields that only reached approximately shin high.
A few of the assailants went sprawling across the floor.
I slightly winced as I watched an older female smack her chin on the concrete flooring immediately busting her chin open.
Blood splattered across the floor and onto her face.
She screamed in pain and for a second I felt sorry for her but then I remembered why she was here. Then all my sympathy vanished.
A few of her “friends” stopped to help us, giving us the much-needed time to usher the rest of our people into the room. A few of our enemies seemed to realize our people almost reached safety because they charged the closing portal.
“Let them in.” Greg told Mercedes and Bentley. “Lincoln, Gavin, Terrance, detain them.”
Mercedes shot him a mystified look but did as he was told.
The portal wavered and an older male, younger male and younger female dove through.
I really didn’t think they realized what they had done until it was too late.
The turned back around to attempt to scramble back into the opening, but it was too late.
Terrance, Lincoln, Herman, and Gavin, along with a few others immediately pounced on them producing zip ties to secure their hands and feet. I hadn’t even seen Terrance come in but I was glad to see him.
“That one right there has the ability to imitate. That one can self-heal, any injuries he can sustain is quickly healed. And this one—” Greg smiled. “May be the very reason whatever they installed in the facility suppressing out gifts is working so well. Think of her as an electrical amplifier.”
Our prisoners began to thrash on the floor and yelling expletives. One of the newer females we had just recruited in stepped forward. She pinched her forefinger and thumb together before making a zipping motion. Then in a deadpan voice she said. “Silence.”
They continued their thrashing and attempts to get themselves free, but at least there were no longer a loud distraction.
“So, home girl needs to take a nice nap, and her gift will be useless.” Bentley grinned wickedly.
“Exactly.” Pops nodded before he looked over at Micah. “How many more jumps do you have? We have the syringes to neutralize the gifted in the staging area of our missions. We can give you the code to the medical closet. The drugs are all in green bags.”
“Let me mimic him,” Gavin stepped forward. “He needs to rest just in case we need him later.”
Pops looked over at the far wall where I realized Sierra was now sitting in a chair. Mercedes was beside her handing her a bottle of water. I remembered he had come in carrying her. I was alarmed until Sierra held up a thumb. “It’s just Braxton Hicks. I’m good now. Let him go.”
Gavin jogged over to her side, murmured a few words to her, and then kissed her soundly before disappearing before our eyes.
“Oh shit, no!” Jemmy panicked, turning from her computer. “We have sixteen intruders heading that way right now. He’s going to get caught. I just need like thirty seconds!”
“Mercedes, Bentley, can you take Drake, Blake and I to the staging room. And—” Lincoln’s voice trailed off as Anna crouched down beside the electrical amplifier.
Anna placed her hand on her head before crooning. “Sleep.”
It took me a moment to realize that Anna seemed to have found another facet of her gift.
It appeared as if she was able to not only dream walk now but also make people go to sleep.
I wondered how long she had known she could do that.
For someone who liked to overshare often she had become more secretive of late.
I didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing.
She looked up grinning. “Finding my connection was pretty awesome.”
“Yeah, it was.” Herman grinned before embracing her and kissing her temple.
Lincoln urgently reminded us about the mission on hand. “Bent, Merci are you ready!”
“We’re going too!” Kade stepped forward with Alex, Victoria, Ben, and Miranda.
A few of the other operatives stepped forward as well and I raised a brow in question. Then Ben spoke up. “Cedric can create nitrous oxide. Yeremi can see up to thirty seconds into the future. Aviv is like…spiderman—spider woman. And Shannon can control birds.”
I had no clue why they were chosen and especially wondering how controlling birds a factor was. I wanted to remind the others we were running out of time and needed to go.
“They have to go.” Ella insisted. “Then you need to get the babies, Jaxson, and Remy.”
Darren tapped on his keyboard before letting out a whoop of joy. “I’m back in our systems. I have access to the cameras again. We’ll be your eyes.”
Pops handed us some earpieces. Then he looked at Mercedes and Bentley. “Make sure they get put in the lockdown area.”
“Copy that.” Bentley nodded before we entered the portal.
η
Gavin looked shocked to see us. Miranda held up a finger to her lips, just as the doors burst open and sixteen people filed into the room.
“Miranda when I say so drop your cloak. Mercedes and Bentley be ready once they all file into the room. I’m going to set up a forcefield and just carry them into our prison.” Drake commanded.
One of the guys lifted his nose in the air before stating. “There’s people in here.”
Another woman looked over at one her colleagues and they nodded before a weird gel-like substance seemed to form before them.
The woman lifted her hands, and it appeared as if a swarm of bugs lifted from them.
A high-pitched buzzing noise filled the room, and I realized seconds before Drake yelled “Now!” that they were mosquitoes.
A volley of icicles, sharp objects, and fireballs were launched in our direction. For a second there was pandemonium and I was unable to focus. I was thankful Kade wasn’t as distracted by the chaos because he paused the projectiles heading our way.
Sharp thrilling sounds made me jump until I realized Shannon had released her birds. They were actively dive-bombing and snatching the mosquitoes out of the air before they could even reach us. I understood than the importance of her accompanying us.
Drake erected the forcefield up around our assailants at the same time Cedric stepped forward. “Can you open it up just a tad?”
Drake nodded before pinching his thumb and fingers together. He slowly opened them until a hole opened up the size of a tennis ball. “Is that enough.”
“Yes, sir.” Cedric grinned before swaggering closer to the forcefield.
Cedric leaned forward and blew into the bubble. Ben said he had a gift similar to nitrous oxide. I knew from my science classes that it was a colorless gas, yet a neon pink like vapor rose from his lips. Soon the gas filled the entire sphere. “That should do it.”
“We could have gotten you to neutralize the electric amplifier.” I hummed.
Cedric grinned and shrugged. “I really wasn’t paying much mind.
I had to check the other room to make sure my son was safe.
When I realized we were under attack I had to run and check on my boy.
He wasn’t in the cafeteria with his classmates, so the moment I discovered some people had already escaped to safety I had to ensure he was. ”
While Cedric talked to me Mercedes and Bentley opened up another portal. It was a bit jarring to see the prison facility once again. I had only seen it once and it was a bit unsettling. Five guards stepped forward dressed in all black including their faces.
A woman in a white lab coat, oversized glasses, and no bigger than me in size and height stepped forward.
She was very non-descript and I could easily see her being overlooked, yet I could just feel the power emanating from her.
“We were informed of your arrival. You can drop the forcefield, Drake and I can take it from here.”
Lincoln nodded. “Thanks, Mary. Hopefully we’ll be sending plenty more your way.”
“God willing.” She gave a no-nonsense nod before the portal reappeared.
Darren’s voice chirped in our ears the moment we returned to the bunker. “Let’s go team. Once you exit the room you have to head to the right. Unfortunately, you have to go the long way around.”
I felt antsy to get to Jaxson, Remy, and the twins. I had to get to them, but I also wondered where my other men were. “Do you have eyes on Jace, Troy, or Noah, yet?”
The silence was deafening before Pop’s voice came over the headset next. “Noah is in the hospital wing. He’s safe because they need him. Troy and Jace seemed to be incapacitated but they are alive.”
My heart sank and I was thankful for Drake and Lincoln. Lincoln threw an arm over my shoulder while Drake picked up my hand and squeezed it. “We’ll get them next.” Drake promised.
“Did we find out how they got in here in the first place?” Gavin asked.
Darren’s sigh was audible in our ears. “Tiff. I didn’t even know she could make her drawings tangible. She drew doors in a few inconspicuous places.”
It took me a moment to realize who he was talking about. Tiff was his ex or should I say ex-user. I knew she had continued to find other men to use but the word had gotten out. She seemed to have resigned to her fate, but I should have known better.
“Did she find her connection? Is that how her gift grew?” Mercedes asked us.
“Um, what?” I whipped my head around to look at her. “She was marked.”
Mercedes blood seemed to drain from her face.
“Maybe I should have said something earlier. I should have found it suspicious when she seemed to panic when I noticed the mark on right above her left elbow at her last appointment. I assumed she just didn’t want me judging her because she was actively pursuing other guys. ”
“It’s not your burden to bear.” Lincoln reassured her. “How were you supposed to know she would bite the hand that fed her? Pops and Paul gave her opportunities she never had before we rescued her.”