Chapter 27
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
The man gasped as he stared at Gabe standing in the entrance. For a moment, he was paralyzed. “You’re dead,” he choked out. “You sank like a stone.”
“Yeah. So I guess there’s no point in shooting me.”
Still, Lambert raised the weapon. Before he could fire, a bolt of energy shot toward him—directed by Travis but powered by the whole group.
The thug gasped and went down. But the other two men had heard the disturbance and came running back to aid their cohort, guns drawn.
There was no time to plan, only a quick agreement that Gabe and Olivia would take the man on the right. The others took the man on the left. Two quick flashes.
The guard who had gotten the jolt from Matt and Elizabeth collapsed. But Gabe and Olivia were less successful. As their target gasped and staggered, his finger spasmed on the trigger of his automatic weapon.
But the blast kept him from shooting accurately. The bullets struck the stone walls of the building, and as they did, the group redirected their power, taking him down with a desperate blast of power.
For long moments, nobody moved. Then Gabe came cautiously out of the building, followed by Matt, Olivia, and Elizabeth.
Matt went to Lambert and checked for a pulse. “He’s dead,” he announced before turning to the other attackers. “Likewise.”
Gabe felt a burst of triumph but also chagrin. He had endangered the whole group with his need to...kill.
He didn’t like the realization. And when he felt Olivia’s hand on his shoulder, he wanted to shake it off. But he stayed still.
He murdered you—twice, she reminded him.
That doesn’t give me permission to go berserk.
He heard Matt laugh. But it worked.
I could have gotten everybody butchered.
Stop. It’s done. We’ve evened the odds.
We don’t know how many men Smith has left, but it’s three fewer than he had before.
Four.
Everyone in the group stared. The new comment had come from Rachel. They all turned to see her and two more members of the road team coming over from the estate on the right.
We lost communication. What happened to you? Matt asked. And where are Craig and Stephanie? His inner voice had taken on a note of alarm.
She has a flesh wound in her arm. And Craig got the top of his hair parted by a bullet.
He’s fine. She’s okay. They were in the main line of fire from the thug who came charging out of the house.
We left them in the woods across the street to make sure Smith doesn’t go out the front door.
Widening her reach, she asked, Craig, can you hear us?
Yes. We’ll let you know if there’s any activity out here, he added.
Why did we lose communication with you? Elizabeth asked.
Smith had some kind of mechanism to block out psychic power. It stopped us cold. We barely escaped, and we couldn’t do anything until we got across the road.
Okay, so Stephanie and Craig are watching. But what’s stopping him from driving away? Gabe demanded.
If he leaves, it will be on foot. None of his vehicles are currently working, Jake answered. He laughed. Engine trouble.
On this side of the house, there are no psychic barriers, Gabe said. Which means we’d better be alert for traps—like the explosives he had wired to the dock.
Right, Jake answered. We were wondering what that big boom was. Thank God you’re okay.
We should close in on the house, Gabe said. But use extreme caution. And spread out. We don’t want the same trap catching two people.
Olivia winced. Or any people.
And we’re sure the surveillance equipment isn’t working? Jake asked.
We’re not sure of anything, Gabe shot back. We’d better assume he can see us.
We could cloak, the way we did when we came in for the water rescue, Rachel said. But it takes practice. Olivia and Gabe probably can’t do it.
Goody, she muttered inwardly.
Let me clarify, Rachel said. If his surveillance equipment isn’t working, he won’t know what’s going on back here. He might wonder where his men are. He might wonder if we’re dead. There are a lot of unknowns. But we can assume he’s holed up in the house.
Everybody looked toward the mansion, which crowned a green lawn that sloped upward from the river. They spread out and started up the slight incline toward the structure.
Gabe was getting better at telepathic communication.
Why don’t you do the talking now, Travis suggested.
Ok.
That wasn’t the only change he noticed. With Travis joined to him, his senses were enhanced, including a kind of awareness he couldn’t exactly explain.
He cast those senses ahead of them, scanning for threats.
The invaders had only advanced six or seven yards when he silently shouted, Stop. Get down on the grass.
While everybody followed his orders, he scouted around in a flower bed, found a rock, and threw it at a spot about ten feet farther on.
There was a jolt and a small explosion that shook the ground, followed by the appearance of a little crater where the rock had hit.
Rachel sat up and gave him an appreciative look. How did you know?
Travis knew. He can’t tell me how.
All right, Rachel broadcast to everyone. That’s a warning to watch where you step. That’s probably not the only booby trap. Gabe, take point.
He moved to the front, and the others lined up behind him. Following his path through the minefield, they made it to the terrace. The door loomed ahead of them, but Rachel called a halt.
This is the most dangerous place. He must have the entrance fortified.
How?
I don’t know. She held up a hand. I think...After several moments of silence, she continued. There’s only one person in the house. I think I can find him.
How do you know he’s the only one? Matt asked. How do you know where he is?
I can sense him. He’s giving off fear vibrations big time. I can take you to him.
What about the rest of the guards?
He’s the only warm body inside. We got the rest that were on duty.
How do we get in there?
Let’s check the defenses. Jake picked up a heavy cast-aluminum patio chair and hurled it at the door with enough force to crash through the glass panel. Immediately, a shot rang out.
Automatic setup.
Is it safe to move forward now?
Gabe picked up another chair and threw it through the glass. Nothing happened, but that didn’t prove the approach was safe.
Go in low, Matt advised. Very low.
He demonstrated by dropping to the concrete and belly-crawling across the threshold, where he disappeared from view. Gabe felt his stomach muscles tighten as he waited for word from inside.
Finally, Matt spoke. I’m in a large sitting room. I’m moving to the side and staying down.
One by one, the team belly-crawled into the house and spread out around the large room.
Is it safe to stand up? Rachel asked.
I think there’s nothing else dangerous in here. Gabe cautiously stood—followed by the others.
I know where he is, Rachel said. Before we go there, I suggest we have a plan.
I was thinking of a way to totally disable him, Gabe answered.
Let’s hear it, Jake demanded.
It could be risky
Let’s hear it, Jake repeated.
They conferred in low voices for several minutes, evaluating and refining Gabe’s idea.
It’s dangerous for whoever takes point, Rachel said.
Yeah, that’s why I’m going to do it, Gabe shot back.
I don’t think you’re the most effective candidate, Olivia objected.
Who is? he demanded.
If he could see Travis, it would be him. But in this case, I think it has to be me.
She was the closest to a hallway that led toward the front of the house. Gabe was still trying to formulate an objection to her plan when he saw her start to take a step.
No, he shouted in a blast that would have shattered eardrums if he’d been speaking aloud.
Leaping up, he threw her to the floor less than a second before a hail of bullets came down the hall.
He lay on top of her, his heart pounding.
In the moment he’d realized the trap, terror had almost paralyzed him.
But he’d pushed past it. Now he pressed her down, keeping her from getting up as Jake and Matt circled toward the doorway.
Matt grabbed a lamp and threw it into the hallway.
Nothing happened, but nobody was taking any chances after the near-fatal barrage.
Gabe pulled Olivia to the side, keeping her from standing as the others stayed low, moving into the hall. There were no more bursts of gunfire.
Can I sit up? Olivia asked in a shaky voice.
Yeah.
He did the same, and their eyes met.
Gabe, I...
In that moment, a wealth of emotions zinged back and forth between them, but there was no time to talk about it now. They were in the house of a man who had ordered their deaths as casually as he might have ordered a take-out pizza. And he could well have the means to do it again.