Part 6

Mike gets involved with the team and secrets are uncovered

 

Part 6

 

 

We received a call from Chester and J5 half an hour after they left. They reported that the room was unoccupied and they’d managed to book it. They’d also set up surveillance around the hotel but so far had found nothing. Rain and Kris reported back not long after to tell us they hadn’t found Chris, but they had found some guy talking on a phone to someone named Jack and asking for me. When they described him to me I immediately knew it was Mike. I told them to bring him in. Not ten minutes later they arrived with him. Their arrival was heralded by the sound of Mike’s protesting voice and Rain threatening him if he didn’t be quiet. CJ opened the door and let them in. When Mike saw me he looked me up and down and said, “Oh my God what happened?”

“Never mind that,” I said. “Where’s Jack?”

Mike shrugged. “I dunno.”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” I growled as Rain and Kris thrust him onto one of the wooden chairs. “You were just on the phone with him, asking him where I was.”

Mike looked around at us. “Who are you people? The FBI? The CIA?”

“Neither,” CJ smirked. “Answer KJ’s question.”

Mike stared at her. “Bite me.”

CJ’s face hardened. That was the wrong thing to say to her. In the blink of an eye she was behind him, her hands on his shoulders and her teeth inches from his neck. “Don’t tempt me,” she whispered. “You do have such soft skin.”

Mike’s eyes grew wide and he froze, his face a mask of fear.

“Now, do what KJ tells you or I just might take the pleasure of seeing what you taste like.”

“You’re crazy,” Mike stuttered. “You’re all crazy!”

Rain snickered. “You got that right.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “Mike, we need you to cooperate. Where’s Jack?”

Mike sighed. “I already told you, I don’t know. I was trying to figure out where he was when I was talking to him. But he wouldn’t tell me.” He looked at CJ out of the corner of his eye then back at me. “Can you please get her off of me.”

I met CJ’s gaze and she grinned. Trailing her hands across his shoulders she stepped away and came to stand beside me. Our fingers tangled together and Mike looked at us suspiciously.

“Jack told me, but I didn’t take him seriously,” he said, looking first at CJ, then at me.

I sighed and ran my free hand over my face. “Look Mike, it’s not like-that’s not what we need to be worrying about. We need to get Jack back.”

“Like I already said, I don’t know where he is.” Mike looked at me pleadingly. I knew he was telling the truth.

“I know,” I said. “Chris has him.”

Mike’s eyes widened, then he frowned. “Wait, if you already knew then…” He trailed off, his face twisting in confusion.

“We needed to know if you were helping Chris,” Rain explained. “This was the only way to do it.”

He nodded slowly as he began to understand. “So, you and Chris got in a fight last night, you get away, and Chris kidnaps Jack in order to get you back.”

I nodded. “That’s right.”

“The only question I have is,” he continued, “is this: what did you guys get in a fight over?”

I sighed and lowered myself to the edge of the bed, pulling CJ down with me. She let go of my hand and slipped her arm around my waist. I looked at her, asking her with my eyes if I could tell Mike our secret. She shook her head slowly and then shrugged. I sighed again. CJ rubbed my back and leaned over until her lips were on my ear.

“You can tell him, just not to the fullest extent. Don’t tell him about us.”

“He already knows about us,” I whispered back.

She nudged me with her nose. “You know what I mean.”

I turned back to Mike. “Look Mike, there’s some things you can know and other things you can’t. And it’s for your own safety so don’t start protesting and don’t ask me what I mean by that. For the past six years Chris has harbored a hatred for me that I tried to make myself believe didn’t exist. He hates me because I took CJ from him and, as he put it, defiled her. I led her down the wrong path, and now he wants to get me back for it. But it’s not what he thinks and it’s not what you think. And please don’t ask me to explain further because I can’t.”

Mike nodded as if showing he understood but I knew he didn’t. His eyes betrayed him. But instead of pursuing the matter he rubbed his legs and said, “So are we gonna sit here all day talking or are we gonna go get Jack? I can get some buddies to come help.”

“No Mike,” I said firmly. “The less people involved in this the better. You’ll see why in awhile. You’re coming with us, but only you. No one else. Rain and Kris will have an eye on you at all times. So will the rest of us, so don’t try to do anything. Especially not anything heroic as that’s the last thing we need you to do. This has to go smoothly, so we don’t need anyone or anything messing us up. I’m not saying that I don’t trust you, but I am saying that I need you to be extra careful and do everything we tell you exactly as we tell you.”

Mike nodded. “You can count on me. I’ve known Jack for almost five years now and I’ve seen the change he’s gone through. I’m not about to back out on him now. I know how much that boy needs me so I’m going to do whatever it takes to get him back.”
Rain and Kris clapped their hands. “Bravo,” Kris said. “Now let’s get this show on the road.”

“Right.” I stood stretched as much as I could before wincing and letting my muscles relax. CJ stood up and rubbed my sore muscles for me. I smiled gratefully at her. Just then the bathroom door opened and Kaki stepped out, applying a towel to her damp hair.

“What’d I miss?” she asked. “Is that Mike?”

I nodded. “Yup.”

She wrinkled her nose as she frowned. “Is he supposed to help us?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. Tell me, why does it always take you so long to take a shower?”

She stuck her tongue out at me and slammed the bathroom door shut. Smiling to myself I turned back to the small assembly. Mike looked confused while Rain and Kris shared amused looks.

“Kaki will be out soon,” I said, assuring Mike. I knew the others knew Kaki’s schedule, but Mike didn’t. I walked to one of the bags CJ had brought with her and began rummaging through it. Finding what I wanted I pulled out a pair of MacBeth Nolan’s. Seating myself on my bed I pulled them on. They were my favorite pair of shoes, besides my brown and white PT Flyers, which I usually wore. But today was a MacBeth day. I always felt more secure in my snug hightops. I tied them, tucked the laces in and straightened up. Kaki was standing over me, her arms crossed and a smug smile on her face.

“And you say that I take forever to get ready,” she teased.

Ignoring her jibe I stood up and playfully shoved her away. She bounced backwards, a grin stretching her face. But as we looked around those smiled faded. It was time to get down to business.

“Rain, Kris, take Mike and head into town. You know what to do. Make sure to stay out of sight.”

The team nodded and headed for the door. Kris grabbed Mike’s arm when he didn’t move and dragged him to the door.

“All right! All right! I’m coming,” he said, trying in vain to pull his arm from Kris’ grasp. Looking confused and bewildered he let them pull him out the door. I turned to Kaki.

“Kaki, I want to split from us, but stay close. We’ll be in constant contact with you. Since Sara’s not here, you can work with us.”

At the mention of her teammate’s name her face fell. CJ was there immediately, her arms going around Kaki.

“I’ll call her as soon as we get back, promise,” she whispered.

Kaki nodded glumly, grabbed a jacket and left. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair.

“She’ll be all right,” CJ said. She came up behind me and put her arms around me. “Are you okay?”

“Of course,” I answered. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

I felt her shrug. “I don’t know. You just seem…out of it.”

I gave in, defeated. “It’s just that…. you know I don’t like this. I feel bad about this. That’s part of why I came back in the first place. I want them to know the complete truth. I’m tired of lying to them. It makes me feel terrible. And then just knowing what’s waiting for Jack.” I shook my head. “It’s more than I can stand.”

CJ buried her face in the back of my shoulder. “Oh KJ. It’ll be all right. You’ll get the chance to tell them soon enough. You’re going to have to.”

I grimaced. “I know. But it makes me feel horrible, knowing that I hurt them while trying not to hurt them. I thought they’d be able to take that explanation better than the real one.”

“I know how you feel KJ. Don’t think I don’t have the same feelings.” She sighed. “Sometimes I wish we’d just told them in the first place.”

“So do I,” I said. “But it would have been dangerous. And yet, maybe if we had we could have prevented what’s going to happen.”

CJ nodded. “Maybe.”

We stood in silence, contemplating the future we’d created in an attempt to keep the ones we love safe. Finally I couldn’t take it anymore. I clenched my fists and my whole body tightened. CJ let go of my instinctively and stepped back.

“Please KJ, don’t do that now. It’s the last thing we need in the situation.”

I looked into her pleading eyes for a moment before letting go. My body relaxed and my hands fell limp and motionless at my sides. She smiled happily and took one of my hands.

“Come on Superman. Let’s go rescue Lois Lane.”

I laughed at her comparison. “I’m hardly Superman and Jack’s hardly Lois Lane,” I countered.”

CJ grinned. “It doesn’t matter. You’re my Superman.” She pulled my face down to hers and kissed me softly. As she pulled away I felt myself grinning. Feeling more like Superman and less like the pathetic hero I tried to be I grasped CJ’s hand a little tighter and went to the door.

 

 

It wasn’t long after we left the motel that we found ourselves outside the Marriott. Kaki was a block away, double-checking the perimeter. Rain and Kris had set up a rooftop surveillance point on two different rooftops. Mike was positioned on one of them, a pair of binoculars in his hand, a radio headset on his head, and a small TV screen before him. Rain and Kris weren’t going to stay outside the entire time-they were needed inside-so they’d set up a remote controlled camera on the rooftop opposite the one Mike was on. For now they sat perched above the camera, eyes on the street below. They each wore their own radio headset. In another circumstance it would have been totally unnecessary, but since Mike was hear, they needed it.

I sat in a café across the street, an untouched late warming my hands. I held no interest in the drink but I didn’t want to look suspicious sitting in the café with nothing to do than to stare at the hotel across the street. CJ sat opposite me picking absentmindedly at an English muffin. I’d removed most of the bandages from my face, leaving the cuts and bruises exposed. They brought side-glances, stares, and whispers, but I ignored them all. Now was not the time to be worrying about what I looked like. I had to get Jack out of there; he was my main priority now, nothing else. CJ reached under the table and placed her hand on my knee.

“It’s going to be okay,” she said softly. “We’ll get him out of there.”

I nodded almost imperceptibly and stood up. “Let’s go outside.” I threw my untouched English muffin in a nearby trashcan, shoved my hands in my pockets, and left the café. CJ joined me, then said she had to use the bathroom and went back inside. I leaned against the cool brick wall behind me and closed my eyes.

“That’s a nasty looking cut,” I heard someone say. I opened my eyes to see a petite girl with a blonde pixie cut standing next to me. She had her hands thrust into the pockets of her burgundy American Eagle hoodie and was leaning casually against the wall.

“Did you run into a tree or something?” she asked, a smile stretching her lips. Her smile was pretty and I found that I liked her.

I smiled back. “Something like that. That is, if you want to count a six-foot guy made of muscle as a tree.”

She threw her head back and laughed. Her laugh was amazing, like wind chimes. “I guess he could be considered a tree,” she said. Cocking her head to the side she said, “I haven’t seen you here before. I think I’d know if you’d been here before.”

I shrugged. “I’m just visiting. I used to live here.”

She nodded then extended one hand towards me. “I’m Julia.”

Taking her soft in mine I shook it. “I’m KJ.”

“Cool.” She let go of my hand. Beside us the door opened and CJ came out. She looked at Julia and I saw a flash of anger and jealousy in her eyes.

“Let’s go KJ,” CJ said.

I smiled apologetically at Julia. “Well, see you around Julia.”

She smiled back. “Bye KJ.”

CJ grabbed my arm and dragged me away. I looked over my shoulder to see Julia watching me go. She met my gaze, winked, and walked away in the opposite direction. CJ dragged me around the corner and shoved me against the wall.

“Who was that?” she demanded.

I held my hands up defensively. “God CJ, calm down.”

“Who was that?” she repeated.

“Julia,” I answered.

Before I could explain CJ, said “And who is she? One of your one night stands?”

I stared at CJ. Where was this coming from? “What the f**k are you talking about?”

“Don’t screw with me!” she spat. “I saw you being all friendly with her.”

I laughed. “CJ, honey, I just met her. I honestly don’t know who she is.”

She scrutinized me closely then said, “Honest?”

I nodded sincerely. “Honest.”

CJ stared at me a moment longer before collapsing against me, burying her face in my shirt. I winced but didn’t move.

“Thank God. I’m sorry KJ. I just thought that maybe…”

I realized what she meant and immediately I felt horrible. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close. “No. No, no, no. I could never do that CJ. I love you more than anything else on this earth. You’re all want, and I’ll never replace you. Never.”

She hugged me back and I felt her sigh. “I was so scared that you… that you were going to leave me. Or replace me or have someone else or…”

I tilted her chin up and hushed her with a kiss. “Never,” I whispered against her lips. “I promise.”

“Thank you,” she whispered back before kissing me. She pulled away and dropped her arms. “Come on, let’s go rescue Jack.”

I nodded. “Yeah, let’s go. “

Kaki met us a block from the hotel, her hands clutching several headsets. “Here,” she said, handing us each one. “For Mike’s sake.”

We put them on and slipped into the shadows of a nearby alley. Kaki seated herself on a trashcan and looked at us.

“Okay, we’re in the daylight, so we’re gonna have to this all normal like. You two go ahead up to the room. Chester and J5 are waiting for you. Once you’re in position they’ll split up and be waiting in the wings to jump in.”

“Have Rain and Kris seen anything?” CJ asked.

Kaki shook her head. “No. You have to remember we’re dealing with amateurs here. But we still have to be careful.” She looked at me and I knew exactly what she meant. “All right, get going.”

CJ and I headed back out onto the sidewalk, careful not to let anyone see us come out of the alley. We walked towards the hotel, trying our hardest to look normal. It was hard, I felt as if everyone was staring at me and could see right through me to who I really was. I swallowed hard and kept my eyes on the sidewalk.

“Hey KJ, CJ, you’re in range,” Rain said in our ears. “We’ll be following you from here to the hotel. Once inside Chester and J5 will take you.”

“I still don’t get this,” said Mike’s voice, “Would someone please care to explain?”

“Shut up,” retorted Kris. “You’ll find out later. Just do your job.”

The corners of my mouth threatened to lift. Mike was quite the guy. CJ and I reached the Marriott and we crossed the street to the front doors. The doorman opened the door for us and we went inside. I was immediately on edge. Chris could be anywhere, ready to pounce on me. CJ squeezed my hand and gave me an encouraging smile. I tried to smile back but found that I couldn’t.

We crossed the lobby to the elevator and let the doors close on us. My heart raced as CJ chose the twelfth floor and the elevator started up. I suddenly heard her gasp and realized that I was squeezing her hand hard enough to break it. I let go of her hand and smiled apologetically.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. We stepped out and proceeded down the hall until we found the room. As soon as my hand touched the knob the door swung open and Chester ushered us in. J5 was sitting in an armchair by the window, his eyes trained on the road below.

“Now that you’re here we have to leave,” Chester said as we lowered ourselves to the edge of the bed. “We won’t be far. When Chris makes his move we’ll come in and take care of it.”

I nodded slowly. His voice sounded far away; his words didn’t really register with my brain. What was wrong with me? I had never been this nervous before and faced far worse. Maybe it was because it was about my brother. Silently I prayed that he was unharmed.

“Where do we go after we get Jack?” CJ asked.

“Back to your motel room,” Chester answered. He looked over at the silent J5. “Let’s go J5.”

The young man got up and followed Chester to the door. Chester wished us good luck and they left. CJ put an arm around me and I suddenly realized that I’d gone rigid a while ago.

“It’s going to be okay baby,” she whispered in my ear. I nodded and buried my face in her hair. She hugged me tight.

“Here they come,” said Kris in our ears. “They’re coming from the opposite direction you guys came from.”

“That’s good,” I said, finding my voice. “They won’t know where we came from.”

“Hey guys, there’s a really shady looking guy coming in my direction,” Mike said.

“I see him,” answered Rain. “He looks kinda beat up, like he was at that party last night. He also looks nervous. Think he’s with Chris?”

“He could be,” said Kris. “KJ, you remember a big guy with a platinum faux hawk?”

I swallowed hard. “Yeah. He’s one of Chris’ friends,” I answered. “He was at the party. He was one of them.”

CJ hugged me tight and whispered, “It’s okay. They’re not gonna hurt you again.”

I nodded. “I know.”

“He’s heading for the hotel,” Kris said. “Probably gonna check out the area and make sure no one’s waiting for him.”

“He won’t find anyone,” Chester told her. “We’re not that dumb.”
J5 laughed. “You got that right. We’re experts.”

“Would someone explain?” Mike pleaded.

“Shut up Mike,” I said. “You’ll understand later.”

We waited silently as Chris’ friend got closer. J5 told us when he entered the hotel and watched him as he rode the elevator to the 12^th floor and walked all the way around. I went stiff as I heard footsteps go by the room. My heart quickened and I wondered why I was so scared. When the footsteps receded I relaxed. CJ rubbed my back and kissed my hair.

“Here comes Chris,” Mike said. “He’s got Jack with him. He looks okay. And there’s a few other guys I recognize but I can’t remember their names.”

“You two get ready,” Kris said. “They’ll be there any minute.”

We waited in silence again as the others updated us on the movements of the group coming to get us. Finally they were in the hall. We stood and moved to the door, waiting for the knock. Suddenly CJ’s phone rang and she snapped it open.

“Hello?” she said then handed it to me.

“Hello?” I repeated.

“Hey KJ.” It was Jack, just like I’d expected. “Are you here?”

“Yeah. I’m up in my room. Come on up.”

He paused then said, “Okay. I’ll be there in a few.” He hung up right after.

I snapped the phone shut. “He’s coming up.”

“Chris and his buddies are following him,” Chester told us. “No doubt they’ll wait outside or get Jack to let them in.”

“Don’t worry,” CJ said. “We’ve got this covered.”

About five minutes later there was a knock on the door. My heart raced as I went to the door and opened it, my body ready to take the defensive. Jack stood at the door, alone, one of his eyes puffy and his lip swollen. A small cut lay above his left eyebrow.

“Heya,” he said. “Can I come in?”

I nodded. “Sure. I’ve been waiting for you.”

He came in after a casting a quick look over his shoulder. I saw him relax as soon as the door was shut. I immediately knew that Chris was waiting outside. J5 confirmed the fact.

“Chris and the others are waiting in the hallways,” he said. “Be careful.”

Jack sat down on the bed and looked around the room. Chester and J5 had made sure the room looked as if someone had been living in it for a while. The bed was unmade and the pillows thrown about. There was a blow dryer in the bathroom along with several damp towels and assorted toiletries. Clothes were draped over the edges of open suitcases and several almost empty plates sat on the table. It was convincing enough.

“Who’s that?” Jack asked, pointing as CJ.

CJ held out her hand. “I’m CJ. You probably don’t remember me that well. I look a lot different.”
Jack nodded as he shook her hand. “Yeah, you do.” He looked past her to me. “How long are you saying KJ?”

I shrugged. “A few more days. I’m going to talk to mom and dad tomorrow.”

“They heard about the fight,” he said. “They know you were there.”

My heart stopped and I couldn’t breath. I felt my whole body go cold and I began shaking. CJ came behind me and wrapped her arms around me.

“Careful KJ, careful,” she whispered in my ear. “It’s okay.”

I slowly regained control of myself. “How do they know?” I asked Jack.

“Chris told them,” he said. “That’s why I came here. They told me Chris came and told them that you had come back and asked me if I knew you were back.”

“And?” I prodded.

He shrugged. “I told them the truth. I told them you were back and that I’d seen you. I told them that you came to the house and talked to me.”

I melted. “Jack! Why? Why’d you tell them? I didn’t want them to know until I was ready!” I buried my face in my hands as CJ hugged me tighter. I hoped he was bluffing. It would make things easier. But for now, I was going to go along, whether he was telling the truth or not.

“I’m not gonna lie to them KJ,” he said. “And neither should you. You’re lying to them by not showing your face.”

I shook my head. If he was bluffing he was doing a good job of it. “Jack, you don’t know what you’ve done.”

He jumped up. “I don’t know what I’ve done? Is that right? KJ, you don’t know what you’ve done. You don’t know the pain and agony you left mom and dad and I in when you left. You don’t know how much we’ve suffered since we’ve been gone. And I’m the one that doesn’t know what I’ve done?”

I glared at him. “You don’t understand Jack. There’s things at stake that not even you could begin to imagine.”

“What?” he snorted. “You mean like your relationship with CJ? Well f**k that KJ. I don’t care if you loose her.”

I snarled and leapt forward, pulling CJ’s arms off me. My hand collided with Jack’s face with a loud snap. The motion knocked him sideways and he stumbled to keep his balance. I stood with my fists at my side, my jaw clenched in anger. He stared at me in wonder.

“Don’t you ever say that,” I spat at him. “You don’t know anything Jack. So don’t let me ever hear you say anything like that again.”

He glared back at me, his cheek red. “F**k you KJ.”

My mind snapped and I leapt forward again, a feral snarl on my lips. CJ’s arms wrapped around me as she screamed at me to stop. Jack stumbled backwards and ran into the wall, his eyes wide with fear. In that instant I knew that he had been bluffing all along. Chris had told him to say those things because he knew they would hurt me and that was exactly what he wanted. Well, I wasn’t about to let him have that satisfaction. I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes, pulling on the innermost part of my mind. My heart calmed and breathing became normal again. I let my body relax against CJ.

“Get ready,” I murmured in her ear. She nodded softly.

CJ let go of me and I straightened up. I pointed to the door. “Get out Jack. Get out now and don’t come back. Ever.”

He stared at me and shook his head. “No. I’m not going anywhere. Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

I turned and marched to the door. This was what Chris wanted; it was also what we wanted. My fingers brushed the doorknob and I grinned. Let the show begin. I opened the door and let them in.

Chris came rushing in first. In one instant I was in front of the door and the next I was back beside CJ. Chris blinked in confusion and faltered then continued forward, three of his friends following him. Chester and J5 were right behind them, their faces lit up with giant grins.

“Don’t move,” Chris ordered, pointing at me.

I raised an eyebrow. “And if I do?’

His hand was barely in his jacket when CJ grabbed his hand, twisting it aside. He stared at her, no doubt wondering how she had gotten there so fast. She grinned as he suddenly howled in pain.

“Get her!” he screamed.

I narrowed my eyes as two of his friends came at me. My body sprang forward and I was behind them, my hands on their necks. They gasped in pain as I slammed their heads together. And then I was in front of them, my body flashing around them and my fists flying out to collide with their guts. They doubled over and I jumped up, bringing my knees in tight. My knees hit their chins and their heads flew up. As soon as my feet hit the ground I was beside CJ. My leg flashed out and hooked around the calf of Chris’ third friend. His body crashed to the ground as I pulled my leg in again. CJ had Chris on the ground and I pulled her back so that we stood in front of Jack, blocking him from their view.

Chris and his friends pulled themselves up off the ground as Rain, Kris, and Mike cheered us on in our ears. CJ’s brother stared at me, his face twisted in rage.

“So butch thinks she’s a man,” he said. “Well think again.

His hand flashed out, flinging something at me. My eyes zeroed in on the object and I jumped forward. My fingers caught the cold steel of the switchblade and twisted it around. I stopped behind Chris as the blade pressed against his neck.

“Chester,” I said calmly.

The man came forward calmly, the grin on his face discomforting to any who didn’t know him. He took the knife from my hand and flipped it expertly from hand to hand, his dark shades covering his eyes and reflecting the astonished gazes of Chris and his friends. I grinned, knowing what they were thinking. Where had this man come from and why hadn’t they seen him anywhere. That was the only problem with people like Chris. They always underestimated us. They didn’t know what we were capable of and such was their downfall.

“Well, well, well,” Chester said in a slow drawling voice. “Is someone trying to hurt my friends?”

“Get outta the way baldy,” Chris snapped.

Chester didn’t react with anger like Chris expected. Instead he only grinned wider and let out a small laughed. “Do you really like it? Thank you. I’m glad you like it.”

Chris’ face turned red and I struggled to keep from laughing. “I said get out of the way,” CJ’s brother said. “There’s more than just the four of us.”

“Rain,” I murmured.

“On it,” she answered.

Chester smiled. “Well, there’s more than just three of us, so I think you should be more careful. You don’t really want to get on our bad side.”

Chris snorted. “What. You got people hiding in the closet?”

Rain’s arm slid around Chris’ shoulder. “We don’t need closets to hide in,” she whispered in his ear. He tensed up and looked around wildly. Kris was perched on the edge of the bed, grinning like some evil masochist. J5 lounged on the windowsill, an unlit cigarette in his mouth. Mike leaned against the wall near him, a smirk on his face. Kaki was sprawled in a chair carefully examining a cup of coffee.

“Mike!” Chris spluttered. “You know these guys?”

Mike shrugged. “I told you last night man. Nobody messes with my friends. Guess you didn’t hear that.”

“So are you going to cooperate?” Chester asked. “Or do we have to show what we’re fully capable of?”

Chris looked at each of us in turn, and then settled his gaze on me. “I want a one on one with you,” he said, pointing at me.

I shrugged. “Fine with me.”

The rest of the team whipped their faces around to mine. “Are you sure?” Rain asked. “After all….”

“What?” Chris said. “You still scared from last night?”

I snarled at him. “No way buddy. It’s you who should be scared. I’m not holding back this time.”

“Good.”

Chris’ friends and the team moved away, giving us a wide berth. The team stood on one wall while Chris’ friends stood against the other, eyeing the team warily. At that moment three more men came into the room, a keycard in their hand.

“Stole this off a worker,” he said with a grin. His grin faltered when he saw us. “Chris, what’s going on?”

Chris looked at him. “Get against the wall with the others. If she tries to cheat we move,” he said, jerking a thumb at me.

They nodded uncertainly and joined the others on the wall. Chris turned back to me. “Let’s do this,” he said.

I nodded and stepped away from CJ and Jack. I let my body relax and my mind open to the possibility of something greater. I found myself smiling at Chris, a smile that told him I already knew who was going to win. He made a face and threw a punch at me. His hand went through empty air. I stood behind him, my finger tapping his shoulder. He spun around, but I was gone, my feet dancing along the floor. I grabbed his shoulder and threw him to the floor. Yanking him up again I threw him on the bed. Before he could react I wrapped my fingers around his leg and pulled him onto the floor. I jumped back and let him get up.

“Play fair b***h,” he grunted as he pulled himself up.

I shrugged and let him throw another punch. Catching his hand I twisted it backward and let my hand fly into his gut. I was going to give him all the pain he had given me, only ten times worse. My hands began flying too fast for any normal eye to see and I repeatedly felt his body connect with my fists. His grunts and cries brought a sense of sick satisfaction to me. I was numb to the world, everything a blur but the task before me. My hands went faster and I heard something crack.

Suddenly the room was full of shouts and cries. I felt someone grab my arms and yank them behind me. Time seemed to move in slow motion around me as I saw Chris falling away from me, his eyes completely white. Whoever was holding me was pulling me backwards, towards the door. I didn’t want to go. I wanted to stay and show Chris what he had done to me. I struggled to go forward again with all my might, a snarl tearing from my lips.

“Just leave them for now,” I heard someone say. “Chester, Mike and I will take care of them. Get her out of here before it’s too late. Her eyes are black. Go. Get out!”

Someone pulled me out of the room and into the hall. The world was slowly returning to me. Someone else was slapping my face and calling my name. I blinked several times and the world came back to me. Kaki was in front of me, her face worried.

“KJ, you okay?” she said.

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, I think so. What happened? Where’s Chris?”

“You almost phased,” Rain said. “Your eyes were all black and you were hitting Chris so fast. You broke every single one of his ribs in one blow KJ.”

I shook my head, trying to clear it of the mugginess inside. “How did I? What?”

“Come on,” CJ said. “We need to get out of here. The day manager’s coming with security. Chester and J5 are going to take care of everything.”

“Jack,” I said, looking around.

“I’m right here,” I heard him say. He was standing close to Kris. Kris had a protective arm around his shoulder.

“Let’s go,” Kaki said.

We started down the hall, Rain directing us to the elevator on the far side of the floor. It was empty and security was coming up the other one. We piled inside and headed for the lobby. The doors opened and we headed across the air-conditioned room. We tried our best to look like just a bunch of friends heading out for a day on the town. Someone started a nonsense conversation and we talked and laughed the whole way out. It all felt hollow to me and I hoped that no one outside the group thought so too.

Once outside Kaki led us to a large jeep, the kind you would use for driving through rough terrain. We piled in and Kaki squealed out of the parking lot.

“Couldn’t you have picked a less noticeable vehicle Kaki,” I asked as we headed up the street.

She laughed. “You know I love style.”

I rolled my eyes. “Some style.”

We drove in silence the rest of the way back to the motel CJ and I were staying at. CJ sat on one side of me with Jack and Rain on the other side. Kris sat in the passenger seat. It didn’t take us long to reach the motel. Kaki parked right in front of our room and we all went inside. Kaki locked the door as we all collapsed into chairs and onto the bed. Jack was the only one who remained standing. He was staring right at me and I could feel chills running down my spine.

“KJ,” he said, his voice low.

I sat up. “What is it Jack?”

He swallowed. “KJ, I want the truth. You moved too fast for any human being back there. I want the truth and I want it now. What are you?”

Reviews

[Amund Schofield]

This is a great story, but it needs to continue, for at the very least the sake of my sanity.