Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Shit. Shit.
Stupid of them to have come back here. They should have hidden out in the forest somewhere, should have stayed away from the Henderson farm.
But Ben had seen the way Sidney seemed to droop with exhaustion after they’d climbed out of Agent Morse’s SUV.
A night sleeping under the trees wouldn’t have helped at all.
Besides, he’d kind of hoped that Agent Morse would be able to hold off Dr. Rosenthal until their planned rendezvous in the morning.
Clearly, that hadn’t happened.
Sidney padded on bare feet over to the spot where he stood by the window. “How many?” she asked. Her voice sounded remarkably steady, considering the circumstances.
Ben sent an appraising gaze over the harrowing scene outside.
“At least twenty agents,” he replied after a moment.
“Maybe more.” He turned to look at her, taking in the determined set of her jaw and the way her hands had curled into loose fists at her sides.
“We don’t have to do this. We could still try to run. ”
At once, she shook her head. “Where would we even go? They’ve got the whole property surrounded, and Agent Morse said they have thermal imaging drones. We wouldn’t make it fifty yards into the forest.”
She was right, and they both knew it. Ben had been running through escape scenarios in his head just in case the planned meeting with Rosenthal went sideways, but every option ended pretty much the same way — with DAPI agents tracking them down and Sidney being taken into custody under circumstances far worse than what they might face by surrendering voluntarily.
At least, that was Agent Morse’s theory. Ben wasn’t entirely convinced that voluntary surrender would make much difference to Dr. Rosenthal’s plans.
“I think I’d better put my shoes on,” Sidney said next, still sounding far too calm. “No point in letting these assholes know they caught us while we were trying to sleep.”
Had he ever loved her more than he did in that moment? He didn’t think so…but he also hoped they would have plenty of years ahead where she’d give him even more instances where he realized all over again that she was the most amazing woman in the world.
She went over to the couch and sat down. Luckily, her hiking boots had been waiting right next to the sofa, and she immediately pulled them on and began lacing them up.
A sharp knock came on the front door, and Ben stiffened, even while Sidney kept working on her hiking boots. That hadn’t been a polite tap, but the brisk rap of someone who expected them to respond immediately.
All the same, he had to hope the agents weren’t quite ready to knock the thing down.
“Ms. Lowell, Mr. Sanders,” came Dr. Rosenthal’s voice through the door, crisp and professional. “I know you’re in there. Please come out so we can discuss this situation like reasonable adults.”
Ben looked at Sidney and raised an eyebrow. She nodded once, her jaw set but her expression otherwise utterly calm.
“Together,” she said quietly as she rose from the sofa and came over to join him at the window. “Whatever happens, we’ll face it together.”
Ben took her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “Together,” he repeated.
They went to the front door, and Ben opened it slowly.
Dr. Rosenthal stood on the small porch, flanked by two agents in tactical gear.
Although it was the middle of the night, she appeared brisk and alert, her dark eyes cold and assessing behind their wire-rimmed glasses.
Just past her, he could see more agents positioned around the guest house, their weapons lowered but ready.
He prayed that the Hendersons in the big farmhouse a few hundred feet away knew enough to keep their heads down and not interfere.
“Dr. Rosenthal, I presume,” Ben said, keeping his tone conversational despite the hammering of his heart.
“Indeed.” Her cool gaze moved from Ben to Sidney, and he saw the older woman’s expression shift to something even more calculating. “Ms. Lowell. You’ve caused quite a stir, haven’t you?”
Sidney stepped forward a few inches, and Ben sensed the subtle shift in the air that he’d begun to associate with her abilities becoming active. The electronic devices visible on the nearby agents flickered almost imperceptibly.
“Have I?” Sidney asked, her voice still calm, cool as the damp night air that drifted in through the open door. “I thought I was just trying to live my life in peace.”
Dr. Rosenthal’s mouth twitched in what might have been a smile.
“Peace is a luxury, Ms. Lowell. Especially for someone with your particular gifts.” A slight nod toward the agents behind her.
“As you can see, I’ve brought adequate support for this conversation.
I’d prefer to conduct it in a civilized manner, but I’m prepared for other alternatives if necessary. ”
Ben’s jaw tightened, but he forced himself to remain calm. Losing his temper now wouldn’t help anyone, least of all Sidney.
“What exactly do you want from us?” he asked.
“Cooperation,” Dr. Rosenthal replied without hesitation. “Ms. Lowell has demonstrated abilities that are of significant interest to national security. We need to understand how those abilities function, their potential applications, and, most importantly, how they can be replicated.”
“And if I refuse?” Sidney asked, still in that almost disinterested tone.
Dr. Rosenthal’s expression didn’t change. That creepy half-smile remained on her lips as she replied, “Then we’ll be forced to pursue alternative methods of obtaining the information we need. I’m sure you understand that the security of our nation takes precedence over individual preferences.”
There it was. Enhanced interrogation protocols. Agent Morse had warned them about this, but hearing it stated so matter-of-factly made his stomach turn.
“You’re talking about treating an American citizen like an enemy combatant,” he said, knowing that his voice wasn’t nearly as steady as Sidney’s.
“I’m talking about protecting American citizens from potential threats,” Dr. Rosenthal responded smoothly, not missing a beat.
Clearly, she had very little interest in Sidney’s status as a citizen herself.
“Ms. Lowell’s abilities represent an unknown variable in national security calculations.
We need to understand and control that variable. ”
Sidney took another step forward, and now Ben could definitely sense the electromagnetic disturbance growing around her, a heaviness to the air that reminded him of thunderstorms building in the desert. Several of the agents’ radios crackled with static.
“‘Control,’” Sidney repeated, her voice taking on an edge that Ben knew wasn’t good. So far, she’d remained cool, but he could tell she was getting pushed to her limit. “That’s an interesting word choice, Dr. Rosenthal.”
“Is it?” Dr. Rosenthal seemed genuinely curious. “How would you describe what we’re trying to accomplish here?”
“Weaponization,” Sidney said, the syllables coming out as flat and hard as the word they described. “You want to figure out how my abilities work so you can turn them into weapons. Then you’ll eliminate me because I’ll be a loose end you can’t control.”
Dr. Rosenthal’s carefully neutral expression slipped for just a moment, replaced by something that looked almost like shock. Then her professional mask reasserted itself as she said, “That’s quite an assumption, Ms. Lowell. What makes you think you know our intentions so precisely?”
Sidney smiled then, a wide, genuine smile that was an obvious contrast to the barely-there one Rosenthal had worn just a few minutes earlier.
“Because I can read your mind, Dr. Rosenthal. And right now, you’re thinking about how many soldiers you could equip with electromagnetic pulse generators based on my neural patterns.
You’re wondering whether my abilities are genetic, and if so, whether they could be isolated and enhanced through genetic modification.
And you’re calculating how long it would take to extract all the information you need before disposing of me as a security risk. ”
The color drained from Dr. Rosenthal’s already pale face, making the plum lipstick she wore seem to stand out like blood.
Around them, the agents shifted nervously as their equipment began to exhibit more noticeable malfunctions — radio static increased to a constant hiss, and the smartphones clipped to the soldiers’ belts flickered and went dark.
“You’re telepathic,” Dr. Rosenthal said, and for the first time since Ben had met her, she sounded genuinely shaken.
“Among other things,” Sidney replied, sounding as calm as if she’d just admitted to being double-jointed. She stepped down from the front stoop, graceful and somehow menacing at the same time. “But I don’t think we need to waste time talking about that now.”
Dr. Rosenthal’s hand began to move toward her sidearm, but she stopped herself. Even from where he stood in the doorway, Ben could see the way her fingers shook. “What other things?”
“I don’t think we need to discuss that,” Sidney replied, her voice much harder than he’d ever heard it.
Not that he cared; Sonya Rosenthal certainly didn’t deserve any grace from Sidney Lowell.
“In fact, I don’t think we need to talk about anything except you packing up your toy soldiers and getting the hell off my friends’ property. ”
Despite his worry that one of the soldiers standing nearby would get itchy fingers and end this whole standoff in the most violent way possible, Ben couldn’t help watching in fascination as Dr. Rosenthal struggled to process Sidney’s challenge.
Clearly, it had been a very long time since anyone had confronted her directly.
“This changes nothing,” Dr. Rosenthal said, but her tone lacked its earlier confidence. “If anything, your mind-reading ability makes you more valuable to national security interests. We need to understand — ”