Night Shadow (37 page)

Knight placed his empty glass down on a nearby table with a small clink.

“That’s enough chitchat boys. Time to fulfil your col ective—” He laughed.

“Yes. Your
col ective
destinies.”

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Night Shadow

Before he could fight it, Alex suddenly found himself plunged into pitch

darkness of thousands of gallons of a viscous, blood-temperature liquid.

The sound of tons of metal sliding over him as the lid slid shut echoed in

his brain like a death knel .

Lexi tore her gaze away from the macabre nursery. For a moment she

thought it was a trick of the light, or perhaps a problem with being

transported too many times in too short a period. But it looked like, for

just a mere second, as if Knight had flickered.

Hologram? That was one of the powers Blackthorne had. Did Knight have

it too? A surge of hope hit her blood. He was playing them, isolating them

like prisoners in a detention camp to keep them from communicating with

one another.

Screw that. He didn’t know that the ladies had been gifted with temporary

powers by Duncan and the Council to deal with this crisis.

Lexi edged away from Dr. Knight, retreating to an area near the large

computer banks, hoping the mechanical hum would block out the sound of

her breathing. She reached out telepathical y to Sydney and Kess.
Hey.

Where are you?

Kess answered first.
I’m in some office waiting to talk to the president of

the United States. T-FLAC has stepped across some government biological

experiment that Knight was heading up. This is a fucking nightmare and

we’re suspected of espionage and threatening homeland security!

It’s a trick. He’s manipulating your mind.

If he is, it’s working on al the cops in the area too,
Sydney chimed in.
I

escaped, but nobody will believe me. They’re giving me the runaround and

running a background check, calling the local mental hospitals. How the

hel do we get out of this?

Focus. I need you both to teleport to me.

I don’t know if I can.
The fear came through loud and clear in Kess’s

thoughts.

Don’t think about it. Just do it.

Kess shimmered in first, fol owed shortly by Sydney.

“Damn. It worked!” Kess grinned. “Now what?”

“Now we kick some ass and find our guys.”

Twenty-one

“Kess, keep an eye on Dr. Knight,” Lexi instructed. They stood between

two rows of Vitros. Lexi chose to turn her back on the row of glass-fronted

boxes containing almost fully developed Vitros. Even though the row she

and the other woman stood in were Simon Vitros, it was still creepy

having so many unanimated green eyes boring a hole into her back. She’d

rather stare at the back of the boxes on the other side, with their

electrical cords, and blinking status panels of red, white, and green lights.

“Let us know if he stops talking or notices we’re not hanging on his every

word,” Lexi instructed Kess.

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Night Shadow

Kess nodded, then walked quietly back the way they’d come. She turned,

her brand new engagement ring winking on her finger as she gave them a

thumbs-up.

Knight’s hologram was stil yakking away. Good. That bought them a little

time.

She turned to Sydney, who was staring at a Vitro as if trying to read his

mind. The thing didn’t
have
a mind. Which made it that much creepier.

Would she know if Alex had already been absorbed? Would her heart

know? Would she look into one of the young Alex Vitros and see him

inside those green eyes, looking back at her, like she did with the Simon

Vitros?

She shuddered. Do not
think
like that. Think like a damned operative.

That’s what I am. That’s what I’m trained to be. An operative. “Okay,” she

said snagging Sydney’s attention. “First thi—” A loud, metallic clang, like

something large and heavy closing, echoed and re-echoed through the

warehouse. Startled, the two women’s gazes clashed.

Lexi spread her hands in a what-the-hel -was-that gesture. Sydney

shrugged.

“We need to get outfitted, LockOut, et cetera,” she told Sydney urgently;

the incredibly loud noise, coupled with the almost preternaturally

machine-humming-quiet of the warehouse made her nerves stretch like

rubber bands about to snap. The soft, sibilant drone of Knight’s voice, and

the slightly uneven gait of his footsteps as the hologram hobbled just like

the real thing did, was far off as he continued walking and talking,

unaware that he was conversing with no one. Or maybe he didn’t care?

Whatever had caused that loud clang was probably not good. Lexi couldn’t

begin to imagine where Alex and the others were. But she trusted that

Alex was doing everything in his power to stop Knight. She’d like to

believe he was also doing everything in his power to get back to her. But

that was thinking like a woman, not an operative. And right now she was

an operative first and foremost.

Alex would be working on stopping Knight. That’s all that would be, should

be, on his mind right now.

Alex, where are you?
She hated, hated, freaking
hated,
that she couldn’t

sense him anywhere. What was the point of having a telepathic

connection if they couldn’t communicate?

If the man with her and the other women was a hologram of Knight, then

the real Knight must be with Alex, Lucas, and Simon. Lexi could practically

hear a freaking countdown clock ticking off the seconds in her head.

Knight had manipulated them into coming. There was no reason for him to

delay. Unless he has something worse planned.

He wanted Alex’s powers, and he’d take them. However one wizard took

another’s power—he’d do it.

Was it over? She couldn’t believe she wouldn’t know. She had to believe

that Alex was okay. Had to believe it. Because she couldn’t imagine life

without him. Even if he didn’t feel what she felt, at least she wanted to

know that he was somewhere. Anywhere. Alive and wel . Thinking about

her. Hel , as
miserable
without her as she was without him.

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Night Shadow

Lexi had calculated the odds of survival here today. Any odds were good

odds. Any chance of stopping Knight and this crazy clone scheme was

worth all the personal risk.

But the odds were not in the good guys’ favor.

If Duncan Edge and his Council, and all the wizards outside in the parking

lot couldn’t break into the warehouse with al their powers, and all their

might, what hope did six of them have of bringing down such a powerful

wizard?

Reality check. They couldn’t.

Alex, she knew without a scintil a of doubt, would not stop until he’d

destroyed Knight and every last one of his Vitros. He’d die trying.

Lexi knew she could do no less.

There had to be some reason that Knight had needed her and the other

two women to come inside when the most powerful wizards in the world

had been locked out.

And she was damned if that reason was his intention to use her as a

walking uterus.

Her temples pounded as she concentrated. What had Edge told her when

he’d given her powers?
Don’t try too hard. Think it. Expect it, and it’ll

happen.

Boy, talk about taking a nosedive into an alternate universe. No black. No

white. No
rules.
Just touchy-feely hocus-pocus. “Okay,” she said under

her breath. “Here goes nothing.” She thought about LockOut, hard body

armor, boots, headsets, and lip mics.

“Holy shit,” Sydney whispered, her eyes round with amazement as all

three of them were suddenly dressed in combat gear from head to toe.

From her post at the other end of the aisle, Kess spun around, her face

white. Even Lexi was impressed. She indicated she’d been the one to

suddenly clothe them all in combat gear. Kess gave a holy-cow-color-me-

impressed nod, then turned back to watch the hologram expound the

virtues of terrorists hiring clones instead of soldiers.

Since tangos and clones were all expendable to Knight, Lexi figured one

put money in his pockets, the other didn’t. It was a matter of commerce.

Knight’s voice faded, almost inaudible as he moved away from them. The

machine’s low hum and slowly blinking lights caused Lexi’s nerves to

stretch even further.

“Now for weapons.” She thought of her lovely custom-made Glock left at

Edridge Castle. And her Sig, while she was at it. And a couple more loaded

weapons. And her Ka-Bar. And the hunting knife. And . . . Oh, yeah. This

worked! The weapons appeared around her feet. Pop. Pop. Pop. Woohoo!

She thought and expected a few extra goodies. C4, timers, charges, the

works to blow this place sky-high.

Ta-da.
Man, was this a cool skil , or what?!

She’d never cast aspersions on the benefits of wizard powers again.

“
Now
we’re talking,” Sydney said softly and with great relish, as she

pul ed a Glock from its holster and checked the clip. She held out her

hand, paused, then looked pleased when a rubber band appeared in her

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Night Shadow

palm. Satisfied with her accomplishment, she gathered her hair into an

untidy ponytail.

Lexi checked that both her Glock and the Sig were loaded. They were.

Good. Next she picked up the Ka-Bar and stuck it in the leg holster, then

inserted the small fighting knife in the upside-down holster strapped to

her left shoulder.

“Damn, that’s impressive,” Sydney said, admiring her arsenal. “Do I get a

knife?”

Lexi gave her a considering look. Sydney had stuck a freaking
flower
in

her lapel to go on an op. She looked like she’d be pissed if she broke a

nail. But even in the short time Lexi had known her, she knew Sydney’s

girly looks were deceiving. The woman had brass. Lexi liked her.

Stil —“A knife is up close and personal. And messy. Up to you.” Sydney

shuddered. “Um . . . no. Backspace and delete that question. This gun will

do me.” She looked at the rest of the weapons laid out on the floor at

their feet. “Maybe I’l take this little gun, too.” Picking up a Ruger .22, she

stuck it in an ankle holster, her streaky ponytail bobbing as she stood

upright. “Ready?”

Lexi nodded. “Kess?” she called softly.

The redhead came back, and whispered. “He’s about four hundred yards

away. Doesn’t look as though he’s missed us.”

“Let’s keep it that way,” Lexi told them, her heart thumping and

adrenaline starting to surge through her system again. “I’l take out the

central computer. Kess come with me. Sydney can set the—”

“Do you know anything about setting explosives?” Kess asked Sydney,

who shook her head. “Okay. I watched them do some demolitions in

Mallaruza. I’m not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I know

which end to light.”

“Kess, we’l join you over there as soon as chaos ensues. I hope to hel

turning everything off is enough. We want him so busy trying to get the

computers and electricity back on, that he doesn’t notice us blowing this

place to hell.”

Kess fingered the butt of her Glock. “What if Knight is on Mars or

somewhere and doesn’t even know his precious clones are being

vaporized?”

“Then we consider half the job done, and go after his ass afterward.”

Sydney bent over and picked up a smal hunting knife and shoved it into

the thigh holster. “I might get over my aversion to up close and personal.”

“I wish we had a few hand grenades,” Kess said as wistfully as if she were

thinking about craving an iced latte. “I throw like an outfielder.”

“Think it. Expect it.” Lexi quoted Duncan Edge.

“Do you think it’l wo—Holy shit!” Kess said, cradling an armful of

grenades.

“I’l take a few of those.” Sydney plucked several off the pile in Kess’s

arms, and tucked them in her tac belt, and one in the free leg holster.

Lexi shook her head, amused. “I’l relieve you of a few as wel . Okay.

Everybody ready? Kess, set your charges, then report in.” Lexi nodded

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Night Shadow

and Kess picked up the canvas tote filled with C4. “Synchronize watches.

Six minutes?”

“Five.” Kess countered. “We can’t afford to wait.”

“Okay. T minus five minutes.
Go.
”

05:00:00

Alex plummeted head over heels through the tepid liquid in the tank,

hitting bottom with the force of his entry. He opened his eyes. Pitch black.

Kicking off the steel base automatical y, he swam as fast as he could to