Red Queen (21 page)

My father hesitated. “It must have been the Lapras.”

“And they froze me in exactly the same place?”

Before he could respond, there was a knock at the door, four quick taps. We both stood. “Hello?” my father called.

“It's me,” Russell replied.

My father let him in and immediately asked how things had gone. Russell looked pleased. “Excellent,” he said.

“What's this all about?” I asked.

“There's a phone call you have to make,” Russell said.

“To who?”

“The Lapras,” Russell said.

“Huh?” I thought I would be sick.

My father glanced at his watch. “It's a complex situation.
It's probably better the Council explain it to you tomorrow. For now, the Lapras have contacted Russell, and through him they have made it clear they want to meet with you.”

“Why?” I asked.

My father answered. “Lara's upset she's been taken from her mother. And it seems she's upsetting her captors.”

“How? Is she crying nonstop?” I asked.

Russell grinned. “I think she's doing a lot worse than that.”

My father reached for the phone. “It's getting near dawn. We have to call them soon.”

I shook my head. “Please, don't rush me.”

“The call doesn't have to be long,” Russell said. “All they want you to do is to agree to meet them at a certain time and place. Try to make the meeting near midnight. That's midnight in witch world.”

“Why?” I asked.

“So you can meet with the Council first,” my father said.

I tried to think fast. “Do you guys know where Lara is?”

“I told you she's in Las Vegas,” my father said.

“How can you be sure?” I asked.

“Las Vegas is their main center of power,” my father said. “Not so long ago the government used to test atomic weapons in the desert not far from here. These tests were supposed to have been curtailed years ago but they still go on, at least underground. The Lapras have a major interest in man-made radiation because it leads to mutation, and mutation leads to evolution,
eventually, although most mutations are of a negative type. The Lapras don't care, they're only interested in creating more people with witch genes. If they have to ruin a hundred to make one, they're happy.”

“You mean they deliberately expose normal people to radiation?” I asked.

“Yes,” my father said. “It's a long story. We don't have time to go into it now. Just trust that we know they would keep Lara in Las Vegas. Besides, the Council can feel her here, although we don't know exactly where she is.”

“Why don't you know?” I persisted.

“They keep moving her around,” Russell said.

“Wait,” I said, turning to Russell. “Did you contact them about talking to me or did they contact you?”

“They contacted me,” Russell said.

“Let's place the call,” my father said.

“Wait! What's Lara done to force them to contact me?”

My father shrugged and turned to Russell.

Russell spoke carefully. “It seems Lara is an especially aware child, and she wants her mother back. To keep her happy, the Lapras say they're willing to work with you.”

I was confused. “Why should they care if my daughter's miserable? They don't strike me as a sensitive lot.”

Russell answered. “We think she's making them pay for what they've done. That's our best guess.”

“Pay how?” I asked.

“We don't know,” my father said, growing impatient.

I could see I was pushing it. I pointed to the phone. “All right. Go ahead, make the call,” I said.

My father handed the phone to Russell, who quickly dialed the number from memory. “The less you talk, the better,” Russell said. “Many ears will be listening on the other end. Just agree on the time and place and get off.”

“Fine,” I said, feeling extremely nervous.

Russell finished dialing. I could hear it ringing. Someone picked up. Russell began to speak.

“Hello. . . . Yes, it's me. . . . Yes, I know the time. . . . Yeah, she's right here. . . . She's agreed to cooperate. . . . Of course . . . Yes . . . You can speak to her now.”

Russell gave me the phone. I struggled to keep my hand from shaking. “Hello?” I said.

A man with a haunting voice spoke. He hardly sounded human; his words could have been electronically created. At the same time, he was very persuasive.

“Hello, Jessica Ralle. It's a pleasure to finally speak to you. I've heard so much about you.”

“Who is this?”

“My name is Frank.”

“Frank. Are you the one who stole my child?”

I thought I
heard
him smile, if such a thing were possible over the phone. “We didn't steal her. We merely moved her to a more secure location. You're free to visit her whenever you
wish.” He added, “It's our understanding you want to meet and discuss her future.”

Russell, who was leaning close enough to hear, nodded.

“Yes,” I said. “But I want to meet in a public place of my own choosing.”

“We'll meet where we choose to meet,” Frank interrupted. “We'll pick you and Russell up in front of the Mirage at midnight, tomorrow night, this time zone. Understood?”

“No. I want to—”

“This is not negotiable.”

I felt frustrated but Russell indicated I was to accept the meeting.

“I'll agree to your terms on two conditions. First, Lara must be with you when you pick me up. Otherwise, I'm not getting in the car.”

“She'll be there, I promise,” Frank said.

“Second, I want to talk to her right now.”

“Talk to her?”

“Yes. Put her on the phone.”

“She's an infant. She can't talk yet.”

“Put her on the phone or the meeting's off. And that is not negotiable.”

There was a moment while Frank seemed to move his phone.

Suddenly I heard a delicious cooing sound. It was just baby talk, pure nonsense, and it made every cell in my body come alive.

“Lara, this is your mommy!” I gushed. “Mommy's going to see you real soon! I promise!”

The cooing sound ceased. Frank came back on the line.

“Are you satisfied?” he asked.

“I'll be satisfied when I get her back.”

“Then come to the meeting with an open mind.”

Frank hung up. Russell smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. My father reached out and hugged me. He touched my cheek, brushing away a tear. I still didn't understand why he had left me to grow up without a father. I needed to know he loved me.

Yet I felt his love then.

“You did well, Jessica,” he said.

I wept. “I just want her back. I don't care what it takes.”

My father nodded. “We're going to do whatever it takes.”

THE FOLLOWING MORNING, I CAME
to on a bench three blocks from the Strip and six blocks from the MGM. I hiked back to the hotel, wondering why the Lapras had chosen to dump me in such a nondescript place. While I walked, I tried to figure out what to tell the others. I assumed they would be happy to see me, and pissed.

I figured right.

The shit hit the fan when I stumbled through my hotel door and waved hi to everyone. Waves of hugs and heated questions quickly followed. Everyone seemed to be talking at once, I couldn't get a word in edgewise. Of course they wanted to know where the hell I had disappeared to.

I ran through my prepared speech. I was careful not to deviate from it.

“I'm sorry I scared you yesterday when I vanished. It
wasn't something I planned. And I didn't fail to call because I wanted to scare you all. You guys know I'm not a drama queen. But some stuff has happened that I have to talk to Jimmy about in private and no, I wasn't out with another guy. It's complicated. I'll explain everything after Jimmy and I talk. Okay?”

Alex raised her hand. “Excuse me, Double-O-Seven. Take a look at my eyes. Notice they're bloodshot. Check out Debbie's and Jimmy's eyes. You'll see they're just as red. None of us has been able to relax since you disappeared. I don't know about the others but I think I deserve a hell of a lot more than that silly canned speech you just gave.”

“Absolutely,” Debbie said.

“You did put us through hell,” Ted said.

I held up a hand. “I'll tell you more later. But it's important I talk to Jimmy first.”

“I'm your best friend,” Alex said.

“I thought I was her best friend,” Debbie said.

“Jessie just lets you think that,” Alex said.

Al, Alex's new squeeze, stood up. Alex had already introduced us; he seemed like a nice guy. Physically, he was far from imposing. On the short side, he was slightly plump, with a baby face and long, tangled brown hair. Yet there was a strength to his voice, and he was obviously very intelligent.

“I think we should let Jessie talk when she feels like talking. A weekend in Las Vegas is a big deal to me and I don't
want to waste any more time worrying about where she was. So let's do what Jessie wants and drop it.”

Alex glared at Al before stalking off to her room.

“She's not a morning person,” I tried to reassure him.

“She does have an hour every other week when she's real sweet,” Debbie added.

Jimmy was rubbing my shoulders. “What would you like for breakfast?” he asked.

“Coffee, bacon, scrambled eggs, sausage, wheat toast,” I said.

Jimmy reached for the phone but then glanced around the room—the mental temperature of the suite was still pretty high—and appeared to change his mind.

“Let's eat downstairs,” Jimmy said.

I agreed. I dressed quickly and got out of there with Jimmy before anyone else could give me another speech. Frankly, I was grateful to Alex's new friend. Al seemed the most composed of the lot. When we were leaving the suite, he was busy calling the police to tell them that Jessica Ralle had returned safe and sound and was no longer a missing person.

I pleaded with Jimmy not to question me while we ate, to just let us enjoy our food. Patient as always, he bowed to my wish. I think he was so relieved to see me again, alive and well, he wasn't yet in the mood to chew me out. At the same time, I knew his patience had its limits. I had to satisfy his questions.

There was no way he was going to believe my bizarre tale without a clear demonstration of my powers. I was prepared to
give him that, but I wasn't sure what abilities my seven witch genes represented. Other than telling me I was a potential healer, my father had remained mute on that subject.

I knew I was strong and fast, and that I was somewhat intuitive. But I had no idea how long it would take for my powers to fully manifest. My father had hinted that it could take years, and that they changed form over time.

I was famished. I ate a ton and I was pleased to discover I didn't get a bellyache. Jimmy raised an eyebrow when I finished off the bulk of the scrambled eggs and ate most of the toast, his two favorite morning foods.

“I can always order more,” I said.

He smiled. “It's fun watching you eat.”

“Fun?”

“Haven't you ever heard that guys get turned on by women who have huge appetites?”

“I read that. It's just that I've never put you in the category of a normal guy.”

“I'll take that as a compliment. What do you want to do today?”

“Rent a car and drive a hundred miles out of town.”

“I'm sorry, I don't think I can afford that.”

I waved my hand. “Don't worry about money. I told you at the lake, I hit a lucky streak at the blackjack table.”

“You did? I just remember the gifts some stranger gave you. How much did you win?”

“A lot. Let's talk about it after we get out of here. For now, I need to know if you've heard from Kari.”

Jimmy's face darkened. “She's still in town. She called, and when I told her you had disappeared, she didn't act surprised. She said you'd be back, but I probably wouldn't recognize you. Then she hung up.”

Another sign Kari knew about witch world. But how? Who had connected her? After my call with Frank, my father and Russ had told me Kari had only two witch genes, and that two was the minimum it took to wake up in the other dimension. Yet they had given me the impression that most people with two genes had a hard time making the jump.

I hoped Kari wasn't in contact with the Lapras. It made no sense she would have befriended them. They had, after all, stolen Huck. But perhaps they had gotten to her early and put the blame on the Tar. That could be bad. I was counting on Kari's help. We both had the same goal—we both wanted our kid back.

Jimmy studied me as I pondered these problems. My dad had said he had five witch genes total. He was a heavy hitter. Yet my dad had given a thumbs-down to the idea of putting Jimmy through the death experience.

“Chances are he wouldn't survive it,” my father had said.

“Why not?” I had asked.

“He doesn't have the healing gene.”

“But you said not everyone needed it to have their other genes activated.”

“True. But even I would be reluctant to bring Jimmy that close to death, and I'm a heart surgeon and an expert when it comes to resuscitating people. He's too valuable to the Council to risk.”

“Because he has so many genes?”

“That's one reason. There are others.”

Back at the breakfast table, Jimmy continued to study me. “Did Kari have anything to do with your vanishing act?” he asked.

“Not directly. But she's connected to some stuff that's going on in my life.”

“How so?”

“I'll tell you in the car.” I stood from the table. “Can you give me a few minutes? I have to get something out of the hotel vault.”