Chapter 5
Rowan’s shoulder hurt, a drill burrowing into flesh—her healing talent working overtime. The only drawback to healing a lot more quickly was that all the pain compressed into a shorter time.
I’m doing well for only the second time I’ve gotten shot, she thought hazily, swimming up through a fuzzy gray blanket of shock. Her head pounded, a relentless ache curiously removed from the rest of her.
“Justin?” Her own voice, soft and slurred.
“She’s coming around.” Yoshi, sounding tired. “Rowan, just relax. We’re safe.”
“No,” she objected immediately, her voice slurred and breathless. “He was there. We have to go back.” Listen to me, I sound like I’m drugged. “He was there.”
“She’s saying it again.” Sound of movement, clicking of keys. “I don’t like this. They’re suspiciously quiet out there.”
Henderson sighed. “I know. Just keep digging, find the channel they’re using, and break it.
I’ve got one of those feelings.” The quiet warmth of the General’s attention spread over her skin, his dry, steel-hard fingers taking her pulse.
“Rowan, quit trying to get up. Just relax. We’ve got a couple hours. ”
She took a deep breath, drawing in the familiarity of a safehouse—fabric softener, computer fans going full-blast, Cath’s strawberry incense, the smell of gun oil and healthy human animals.
And the crackling aroma of fear.
I’m their talisman. And I just got shot again.
Two and a half months ago, Sigma had found them again as they scrambled to salvage anything possible from the ruin of Headquarters.
Yoshi’s quick thinking and Zeke’s berserker rage had saved them.
Rowan had been ingloriously shot in the first few moments of the attack, spending the rest of the mad scramble bleeding and feverishly attempting to be of some use.
She opened her eyes, the electric buzz of dampers settling against skin and teeth. I never get used to that. Found herself on the cot in the comm room, with Henderson squatting right next to her.
“Hey,” he said quietly. “Welcome back. Lew’s safely on his way to Eleanor in Calgary, and we’re all in one piece. If we still had a Headquarters and infrastructure I’d court-martial you.”
“Nice to see you too,” she managed. He knew that normally, the first thing she’d be worried about was Lewis. “Water?”
He helped her sit up. Her shoulder was tightly bandaged, granting a wave of fierce hot pain. Then the old man handed her a bottle of Evian, thoughtfully twisting the top free. She took it in her left hand, tried a few deep swallows. Her stomach boiled, flipped, and decided to keep the liquid down.
She cast a practiced eye over the room—Cath’s Dr. Who scarf was gone, and so were the chairs. They were preparing to blow this town now that they had Lewis and Sigma had shown their hand.
“That was foolish, Price.” Henderson looked grave. His mouth turned down at the corners, and his gray eyes were pale and cold in a way she had rarely seen before. “They could have caught you.”
“They didn’t,” she pointed out. “Henderson, Justin was there. He helped me escape.”
“You saw him?”
“Not precisely.” Her cheeks felt hot. Was she blushing? “He made contact, linked with me. He…”
He killed that woman woman. A Sigma psion. The other one must’ve been her handler. He had reached through Rowan, using his talent to crack a mind like an egg.
“He reached through me to kill one of the Sigs and told me how to get out of the net. He was there.”
Henderson sighed, reaching up to rub at his steel-colored eyes behind his spectacles. He looked tired. “Are you absolutely sure?”
Rowan’s shoulders sagged. A fresh jolt of pain tore through the right side of her body, making her vision swim and her eyes fill with reflexive tears. “Of course I’m sure.” You trusted my instincts before, General. Why not now?
“If he’s here, he’ll show up when he can. You disobeyed a direct order.” Henderson didn’t look mollified in the slightest. His eyes were sharp and his mouth was a thin line. “Don’t do that again.”
Oh, please. “I had to get Lew out. And draw them off.”
Still not mollified. Not even close. “You’re not a superhero; you’re human, albeit with some very special talents. You’re acting suicidal, and that’s bad for the team. Clear?”
“Crystal.” Rowan had to suppress a sigh. More irritation rose, fighting with the incredible eye-watering pain for control of her stomach. I did what I had to, General. You wouldn’t have hesitated either, in my place. “What’s the plan?”
“We’re going to lay low until they’ve passed us by.
Boomer’s already gone, taking Lewis up to Calgary.
You and Cath will head to Vegas; Yoshi, Zeke and I will peel off and start causing trouble northwest. I’ve got a mind to make a run on a Sig installation.
” The old man’s eyes glittered behind his glasses.
“With only two support staff? Now who’s suicidal?” Rowan’s jaw set. Her legs ached. Had she pulled something, to top off the rest of the physical misery? “Don’t do it, Henderson. Go back with Brew and Boomer.”
“If you’re going to Vegas, I want Sigma chasing their own tails.
We’re not going to take out an installation, just make a run and cause some confusion.
” His jaw set, and Rowan felt a faint whisper of alarm.
It wasn’t like him to be feckless. “And if Del’s in town, he’d approve.
I shouldn’t be sending you to Vegas at all. He’s going to be upset.”
Do you, or do you not, understand that we need cash if we’re going to get Headquarters running smoothly? And do you, or do you not, understand that I felt Justin, I know he’s here?
She gathered the last scraps of her patience, tried to keep her voice even. “He’s here, Daniel. Please… don’t do this.”
“Um… guys?” Yoshi broke in. He didn’t sound happy, and Rowan’s nape prickled.
She moved to swing her legs off the cot; her shoulder ran with acid fire. She almost wished she didn’t heal so quickly. The compressed pain made it goddamn difficult to think clearly. “What?” Rowan’s gaze locked with Henderson’s.
“I don’t like this,” Yoshi repeated. “I’ve found their channel and cracked it. Their chatter says they’re setting up scans and checks, and there’s something about a tracker.”
“Any names?” Henderson’s shoulders hunched as if warding off a blow.
“Just one. Carson. Mean anything to you?” Yoshi blinked, his fingers still tapping the keys. He’d fitted a commlink in one ear and was monitoring Sigma’s use of a channel. “He’s due to arrive about twelve hours from now.”
“Oh, Christ.” Henderson closed his eyes briefly. Rowan’s stomach turned over, settled uneasily. “We’ve got to get everyone out of here. Now.”
“Who’s Carson?” Rowan tried to stand up. Her knees shook, and the cot threatened to tip until Henderson put out a hand and steadied it. Then he looked up at her from his easy crouch.
“Pray to God you never meet him, Miss Price. Yoshi, get everyone in here. Now.”
“You got it, boss.” Yoshi tapped at his keyboard and then spoke into a small handheld comm. “Everyone, the General wants to see you. We’re blowing this taco stand.”