The Forbidden Trilogy (92 page)

"Not so," the old priest insisted. "Evil
prospers when good people do nothing. You've taken a stand. The doings of this
group are not your fault. I've always seen greatness around you, and I know you
have a higher calling. You are meant to give something incredible to the
world—you and Sam both. Don't give up now. You just have to think—" He
gestured to the cell. "—outside the box, as it were."

He'd tried, but without his para-powers, what good was he?

Enough of that. That's what started this mess to begin
with.
Drake refused to sit around feeling sorry for himself. Plenty of
people without para-powers beat fate and survived against all odds in
extraordinary situations. If they could do it, so could he.

He felt the drug still in his system, pushing him to
weakness, so he did the only thing he knew to do: he dropped to his hands and
did as many push-ups as he could. Before losing his para-power, he'd always
kept in top physical shape. He'd been a fool to let go of that after everything
happened. No more. With or without powers, Drake would be the best version of
himself he could be. He'd save the woman he loved and their child. He wouldn't
let them down again—even if Sam never wanted to be with him again, he'd be
there for her and Ana in whatever way they needed.

Sweat soaked through his shirt as he pushed himself. After
fifty, he stopped and rested, pulling off his shirt to dry off the moisture.

In the corner, Toby sat, quiet and sad. If it hadn't been
for that kid, Drake would probably be dead now.

He walked over and sat next to the boy, wrapping an arm
around him. "Thank you. This time, you saved me."

Toby scowled. "So what? Like it helped. Your girlfriend
got captured. And you didn't tell me you had a baby. Man, that blows. They got
both your girls. We need to bounce from this shithole, yo!"

"You're right. We do." He stood and walked to the
tall bars. They weren't thick. If he had his para-powers he could snap them,
but he didn't, so it was time to think outside the box. "You know what
else you were right about?"

"What?"

"Every hero
does
need a sidekick."

Toby smiled. "See, the hero learns."

Drake smiled as an idea came to him, one inspired by
watching too many Jackie Chan films. "You don't get it. You're the hero,
Toby." He looked down at his sweat-soaked shirt. "Hey, Mary, come
over here?"

She glanced side to side, then walked toward him. "What
do you need
me
for?"

"I need your shirt."

She stepped back, clutching her silk clothing. "No way.
I'm not undressing... here."

Drake grinned. "You can have my shirt. Don't
worry."

She paused, then slipped her blouse off and snatched up
Drake's shirt, putting it on in a split second.

"Thank you." Drake rubbed the blouse over his
body, covering it in sweat, then spun it into a coil and tied it around two of
the bars.

This just might work.

Lucy looked up from Hunter and stared at Drake.
What's he
doing?

He wrapped Mary's shirt around two bars and started
twisting. It took Lucy a second, but she almost laughed when she figured out
the reference. She'd seen that in a Jackie Chan movie. He'd peed on his shirt
and then did what Drake was doing to pull the bars in the cell together in
order to escape. She really hoped he hadn't peed on Mary's shirt.

Didn't Myth Busters prove that it didn't work?

But it was working. Drake's muscles bulged and rippled in
the sun as he twisted harder, bending the metal to his will. He looked
surprised that he'd made progress. He gestured to Mary. "Come over here
for a sec."

She didn't look thrilled as she sauntered over to him. They
talked quietly, then Mary sashayed—there really was no other word for how she
moved her hips and stuck out her breasts—over to the other side and whistled to
the bored guard. Even without powers, Mary was a force of nature. Her breasts
heaved in her tight shirt as she flipped her long blond hair away from the side
of her neck that wasn't burned.

In what was almost a purr, she asked, "Could you please
bring me some water?" She fanned herself dramatically. "It's so hot
in here."

Coming from anyone else, that whole move would have been
laughable, but Mary was a pro. She had the guard panting like an obedient dog.
He grinned and bobbed his head, then scurried away to do her bidding. What
power she wielded even without para-powers.

Lucy looked to Hunter to see if he was as enthralled with
her as everyone else, but he was looking at Lucy. She flushed under his gaze
and focused back on Drake, who continued to work on the bars.

He looked up. "I need some help."

Lucy was about to offer when Hunter stood, pulling off his
shirt. "I got it."

"Thanks, but I can't use your shirt. Silk's better.
Just help me twist." Together, they worked the bars apart, to create a gap
big enough to slip through. Lucy locked the image in her mind of the two very
sexy men shirtless and flexing their muscles. She wasn't at all interested in
Drake, but she had to admit, the picture her mind took of them could have sold
calendars.

Their small gang gathered around while the guys pulled, and
Mary kept a lookout for the returning guard. The rest had joined Simmons and
her team for the baby massacre.

It made Lucy sick.

Drake looked up at her as he twisted the metal. "As
soon as we get out, we find your brother."

She nodded. "They'll be on the coast."

At least that was what her instincts told her. If the sphere
could make Luke ten times stronger, he'd be able to destroy the facility from a
long distance, and Simmons would want to act fast with minimal risk of failure.
Hopefully, that meant the coast, and that they hadn't gone back to the
mainland.

"I'm sorry," said Hunter, again—directing the
apology to both Lucy and Drake this time. "I shouldn't have kept that
thing."

"It's okay." Drake pulled tighter, grunting from
the effort. "We all make mistakes." He stood back to examine the
hole. "Let's go."

Norm paused and gripped Robyn. "What if we all get shot
on sight?"

Drake's face hardened as he stepped out of the cell.
"We won't."

Lucy followed, then ran toward the coast, her friends coming
up from behind.

She'd already let Sam and Mr. K down. She would not let Luke
down, too. He'd always been there for her, always looked out for her. She
remembered the day she'd told Luke about the sphere. They'd sat on the log and
thrown rocks into the water. He hadn't been angry at her for withholding the
truth. He'd even accepted Hunter, eventually. Her brother never judged her for
her flaws, and had been the one constant in her life, the one truth amidst a
sea of lies. It was her turn to take care of him.

Along the shore, on a hill overlooking the water, Simmons
stood surrounded by agents. Luke wavered beside her, looking stoned. Next to
him, a tall piece of wood, like an altar or pedestal, held the sphere.

It pulsed and glowed and Lucy could feel its pull, but it no
longer attracted her like it once did. Now it made her think of death and
heartache. She had to get to Luke, but how? They had no weapons, no powers.

They crept closer, hiding behind rocks and bushes.

Simmons was making a speech. "Today, we end a tyrant.
Today, we end this war." She waved her fist in the air like some crazed
Nazi.

Her men gave half-hearted affirmations of 'yes', but Lucy
could tell they didn't want to do this. They wanted a better way. What kind of
person could kill innocent children and not feel guilt or grief? What kind of
person could celebrate that? She wished she'd taken Beleth up on his offer and
killed the bitch when she had the chance, but that would have made Lucy into
someone like Simmons, and she never wanted to become that person.

Gary came up behind her. "We should wait until he
starts to use the sphere. They'll be distracted and we'll have the upper
hand."

It made sense, but Lucy couldn't let Luke start. She stepped
out of cover and ran toward the hill, then stopped at the base and screamed.
"Stop!"

Everyone turned to look at her.

Simmons hissed. "How?" She gestured to the other
agents. "Get her. Take her back to the pen."

They didn't immediately jump at the command, reluctant to
carry out the act, but they were trained to follow her orders. Just as one
neared Lucy and was about to lay a hand on her, Hunter charged out of the brush
and tackled the man.

The rest of the team followed. They didn't have their
para-powers yet, but the drug's weakening effects were wearing off, and they
all had been trained to fight.

The agents had guns, putting Lucy and her friends at a
disadvantage, but they didn't raise them.

Hunter tried to rally the agents. "Don't do this. There
are children in there. Don't let her do this."

"Silence him!" Simmons glared at a pair of agents,
who moved to pin Hunter down.

He fought well, but they were outnumbered.

Lucy used the chaos to her advantage, and ran up the hill
where her brother stood next to Simmons and Agent Mark.

Luke frowned at her and wobbled. The drugs must have made
him easier to persuade.

Simmons commanded her agents to stop Lucy, then shoved Luke.
"Start, or she will die."

He didn't move, and Lucy kept running.

Simmons yelled, "I am giving you a direct command from
your superior officer. Shoot her now. Shoot her, or you will all be held up on
charges for disobeying a direct order."

Still, the agents refused to shoot a girl in the back. Lucky
for Lucy.

She reached for Luke. "Don't do it. Don't—"

A blast of gunfire deafened her and she fell to one knee,
blood pouring from her leg.

Simmons had finally gotten to one agent, and more were sure
to follow. Group-think at its best.

"Do it, Luke. Now!" said Simmons. "Or my
agents will keep firing."

"No! Luke, you can't. Sam's in there, and her baby. All
those kids. Think about what you're doing." Lucy hobbled forward,
determined to stop him.

Tears filled his eyes and he put his hand on the sphere. The
glow brightened and his body tensed. He looked toward the facility on the
horizon.

Why didn't he just use his power to destroy Simmons? To end
her? He'd been drugged and he was worried about Lucy; he couldn't think
straight.

Lucy pulled herself up and walked through the pain.
"Please, Luke, stop. I'll be fine. Don't do this. Listen to me!"

He didn't listen. He focused, pain crossing his face as his
body hunched in. The sphere was draining him of his life as he reached across
the ocean with his power.

"It's killing him." Lucy screamed at Simmons,
"Are you mad? You have to stop this!"

An insane gleam lit up her eyes. "Shut up! Don't
move."

Lucy continued walking. She wouldn't let this monster kill
her brother, or turn her brother into a murderer. More shots rang out. Another
bullet crashed into Lucy's shoulder, then her arm. She stumbled, pain riding
her, blood pouring from her, but she didn't stop. She couldn't.

Hunter cried for her. "Lucy, don't!"

The world clouded over in her mind, the pain taking up
residence in her like a parasite. She ignored it and kept walking toward her
brother. He had to see her, had to listen.

"Shoot her. Kill her," said Simmons.

Another shot, but it missed. Even through the haze, Lucy
could tell the agents were losing faith. They weren't trained to brutally
murder an unarmed woman.

She walked on, fighting more pain than she ever knew a human
could endure, not even sure how she was still walking, but she refused to stop.

Simmons screeched at her agents to keep shooting. They did,
but the shots went wide.

Lucy was grateful, for one more, and she might not have been
able to get back up.

Someone flinched from Simmons's heat. He fired and hit Lucy
in the foot.

She fell and cried out in pain.

Simmons stood over her, holding a gun. "Stop now, girl,
and your brother may yet live."

Lucy looked up, blood gagging her mouth. She tried to talk
but choked on the coppery life force. On the brink of death, Lucy could feel
how close Luke was to being drained entirely, and Simmons didn't even care.
Over the horizon the wall of the facility crumbled.

Simmons smiled like a sociopath. "Stay down, girl. If
your brother dies, he'll die a hero."

Lucy looked up at Simmons, gathered the last remaining
strength she possessed, and pushed off the ground. Agony. Pain. The taste of
blood. Death sinking into her.

But she stood.

Simmons sneered. "You bitch." She raised her gun
and aimed, and someone grabbed it from her.

Agent Mark put Simmons in a stronghold and pointed the gun
at her head. "Don't move. You're being relieved of command, and are under
arrest for actions in violation of the IPI Code of Ethics." He grabbed the
sphere and pushed it to the ground, out of Luke's hands.

Lucy smiled and collapsed. Dream visions came to her, of
their life together. Her brother was safe. She could rest now.

Luke glanced at her, his head wobbly, his cheeks hollow.
"Lucy?" He groaned, and something sparked inside him, lighting up his
eyes. The sphere shook in his grasp, as he pulled it off the ground and pushed
it towards Lucy, muscles straining in his arms.

"Lucy, Lucy!" Tears flowed down his face and he
caressed her cheek.

Warmth stole over Lucy and a bright light glowed in the
distance. She knew that glow meant safety, love, peace. She wanted so badly to
follow it, but Luke wouldn't let her. "Thanks for watching over me,
Brother." She closed her eyes and followed the light, and let it wrap her
in a perfect feeling of bliss.