Brute Justice (Justice Series) (23 page)

“Wait! Leesha!”

“Yes?” she asked.

“Sam?”

She smiled. “He’s fine. He’s hanging around here somewhere.”

He exhaled a huge sigh of relief. He’d feel better once he saw him with his own eyes, but at least he knew they were both safe. “Does Mrs. D know?”

“Know what?”

“Leesha, she thinks you two are dead.”

“Oh… No, I didn’t realize,” her face was suddenly sober.

“She’s at triage.”

“I’ll go find her now.”

“Thanks, Leesh. I’ll be right there.”

Chapter Forty-three

Clint turned to the window on his right, the next room he needed to evacuate. The smoke was so thick in the room he couldn’t see anything inside. Afraid to hurt anyone by smashing the glass, he kicked his boot into the brick wall, and pulled back on the brickwork, to bring the debris toward him rather than into the room. He instantly heard cries for help once the hole had been excavated. Black smoke poured out of the new escape route.

Inside, Clint found three people – a nurse and two patients. All three were huddled on the floor in the center of the room. The heat was searing, and Clint’s lungs ached from the combination of it and the smoke.

“Are you guys okay? Anyone hurt?”

The nurse looked up at him. “No injuries. We’re glad to see you, though! We couldn’t get out through the hallway.”

“I’ve got an exit made to the outside. Let’s get you out of here. Can everyone walk?”

They all nodded and struggled to their feet. Clint led them to the exit and into fresh air. Outside, waiting for them were Leesha, Trey and Jade. Each had a wheelchair in front of them.

“Where’d you get these?” Clint asked as he helped the ladies into the seats.

“Sam found the supply room, and Lexi’s running supplies out before the fire takes over in there. We figured you could use the help,” Leesha answered. Trey and Jade had already started running their patients back to the nurses’ station.

“Yeah, thanks. This will help a lot. I’ve still got two more rooms to clear,” he said. “Hey, did you find Mrs. D?”

“Yeah. She took one look at Sam and burst into tears. She hugged him, and the next second was back on her feet, barking orders. She’s running the joint up there!” she grinned.

“I have no doubt.”

Leesha looked down at her patient. “I’ll run her up front and be right back to help you.”

“Roger that.”

It took the four of them just a few quick minutes to clear out the last of the patient rooms, thanks to the combined forces. By the time Clint finally reached the front lot again, he could hear the fire engines rounding the corner. Three ambulances were already on the property and packing up the most critical patients for the first run to the nearest hospital. Everything seemed to be in order.

Clint looked around to find Sam, and realized neither he nor his sister were among the flurry of chaos. An instant sense of dread took over him.

“Hey, have you seen Sam and Lexi?” he shouted, to no one in particular.

“No,” Jade said.

Trey shook his head.

Leesha looked up from where she sat. “They were going to check out Crain’s office, see if his computer or files were still untouched. Why?”

He sprinted off before she could question him further.

Something’s wrong… Something’s off. Where are they?

He sprinted off around the other side of the building. Clint could hear him before he saw him. Sam was pacing back and forth along a solid brick wall, smoke leaking out of the joints at the roofline. Sam’s usual composed demeanor was gone. He was frantic, yelling Lexi’s name over and over in the direction of the building. He wasn’t even projecting his call, he was actually shouting.

“Sam! What’s wrong? Where’s Lexi?” Clint grabbed his friend by the shoulder, shaking him slightly.

“She’s in there. She went in…” he gasped, breathing heavily. “She just suddenly appeared, then an overhead light fell on her. I can see her lying there. Why can I see her?”

Clint knew her brother couldn’t see Lexi when she had her powers on, so something must be wrong with her powers. “She’s unconscious?”

He nodded, blinking back tears. “I can’t get to her.”

The cold sweat of panic hit the back of Clint’s neck. He flexed his jaw. “I can. Point to where she is.”

Sam stood by the building and put his hand on the wall where she lay. Clint took three steps to the right and kicked in with everything he had. Bricks, wood and drywall flew everywhere, but he did enough damage with one kick to clear an area big enough for him to walk through. Not that he walked. He sprinted.

Her eyes were closed, and she lay sprawled out on the bare floor in front of an open wooden cabinet. Her left arm was twisted funny, at an awkward angle behind her back. Her right hand rested just next to a fireproof safe inside the wall unit. Clint reached down to grab her and was surprised at how heavy she felt.

This can’t be right. Did I just lose my powers again?

It didn’t matter. He had enough adrenaline flowing to carry ten Lexis, if he needed to. He stepped back through the hole and motioned to Sam to follow him. Sam’s face showed instant relief, which faded again when he saw the blood flooding out from a gash at her left temple.

They didn’t join the group in the front. Instead, Clint laid Lexi down on the grass below a tree on the other side of the parking lot. Heart pounding, he bent down to see if she was breathing.

“Is she alive?” Sam asked, panic in his voice again.

“Yes, Sam. She’s alive.”

“What can I do? Do you want me to go get a nurse?”

“Not yet. Just give me a minute.”

Shit, shit, shit. Lexi, hang on…

Clint took his shirtsleeve and pressed it to the red hole in her skull, trying to stop the blood flow.

I can’t believe my powers are gone. I’d be able to do so much more, if only I could heal her.

Suddenly, Clint realized the familiar ache in his muscles which came when he lost his powers had not taken over his body.

“Sam, hand me that piece of brick there.”

Sam didn’t question him, he just did as he was told, never taking an eye off his sister. Clint took the rock fragment and squeezed it in his free hand. It ground to dust.

“I’m not gone!” Clint yelled in relief. He took his fingers out of the sleeve he had pressed on Lexi’s head, and touched his exposed fingertips to her skin. The wound healed before their eyes.

“Lexi? Lexi… Can you hear me?” Clint pled to her. “Wake up, Lex.”

Her eyelids fluttered for a moment, then opened all the way. “What happened?”

It was then that the sound of stomping footsteps could be heard drawing closer. Jade, Leesha and Trey had finally found them and came running to help.

Sam leaned closer to Lexi. “You passed out in there. Do you remember anything?”

“Not much. I remember going into Crain’s office to search his desk. When I couldn’t find anything there, I decided to check his cabinets…”

“When you opened that door, that’s when you appeared. Did you mean to?” Sam asked.

“No. I didn’t even realize it happened, with all the commotion going on around me.”

“She lost her powers?” Leesha asked, kneeling down beside Lexi. “Are they gone now?”

The group had huddled around her, so she was safe from onlookers. Lexi tried to access her ability, and instantly vanished.

“No,” she said. “I guess not.”

“You know what’s weird,” Clint said to Sam. “When I reached down to grab her, she felt heavy to me. I thought I had lost mine again, but I never felt the ache I get in my muscles afterwards. That’s why I wanted the brick – to test my powers.”

“Do you think there’s something in his office that blocks our abilities?” Sam asked.

“Could be.” Clint looked up to see the firefighters surrounding the side of the building. Their hoses were fighting the fire, spraying into every hole they could access. “I guess it’s too late now to try and figure it out. There’s no way we can get back in there.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure if there was anything left in his office, it’ll get destroyed in this,” Sam said. “He planned this all along, didn’t he?”

“Looks like,” Leesha said.

Clint bent down and put his forehead against Lexi’s. “Are you okay?”

She strained to sit up, but winced in pain. “My arm…”

It was already swelling at the elbow joint, filling with a purple color. Clint reached down and wrapped his long fingers around her arm and watched the relief spread across her face.

“Thanks,” she smiled. “You’re
kinda
handy to have around.”

Clint looked up and caught Sam’s gaze. Sam glanced down at this sister, then back up at Clint and nodded his approval. A silent thank you.

They sat there, all six of them, watching the firefighters do their work. Six fire trucks had responded to the call, and three police cruisers with BOMB SQUAD marked on their flanks had positioned themselves at opposite corners of the building. Ambulances with emergency technicians blared their sirens as they flew in and out of the parking lot, and additional police detectives were interviewing the staff and patients who were still on property.

Nobody seemed anxious to rejoin the frenzy at the front of the building.

“Hey,” Clint looked up at Sam and Leesha, suddenly remembering. “How’d you two end up alive, anyway?”

Sam smiled. “Leesha saved us.”

“Not alone,” she said, butting in. “I would never have known without you. Sam smelled the C-4 first, even before Crain mentioned it.”

“Not long before! We were lucky to get out of the truck in time. By the time I heard him make the threat, we were barely clear of the truck. The next thing I knew, I was fifty feet up in the air.”

“By the way, thanks for dragging me with you,” Leesha grinned.

“Teamwork at its finest,” he smiled back at her. “So you can move other people with your power, but you can’t move yourself?”

“Nope. It’s the one thing I haven’t figured out how to manipulate – my own body.”

“So, what – you were flying above the building when the explosions happened?” Lexi asked.

“More like hovering, but yes,” Sam answered. “We actually had a pretty good view of what was going on when the chaos started. We waited until the explosions stopped, and by the time Leesha set us back down, you guys had already busted out and were freeing people on the other side.”

Lexi looked up at the front of the building at the makeshift triage station. The parking lot was now even more crowded with firefighters and emergency personnel. “I don’t suppose we can just slip out of here unnoticed…”

“Nope,” Jade answered. “The police have the area shut off. You can’t get in or out except through the ambulance exit.”

“So what’s our story? Innocent bystanders, good Samaritans?”

“That’ll work for all of you,” Jade answered. “But the nurses will know me as a patient, so I’ll have to keep my story.”

“How are we going to explain all the holes Clint kicked in the walls?” Leesha chimed in.

“No doubt…” he sighed. “Besides, everyone from the patient ward, nurses included, will recognize me as the person who came in through those holes to bring them out.”

Sam looked up and caught his mother’s eye. She waved, then headed towards the six teens where they were quietly huddled.

“Sam,” she said, “Patrick Martin is here. He wants to talk to you.”

“Mr. Martin, as in Ty’s dad?”

She nodded.

“Who’s Ty?” Clint asked him.

“My best friend at school. What does he want from me, Mom?”

“He didn’t say, other than he wants to talk to all of you.”

“Here? Now?” Sam was curious, but extremely puzzled.

“Yes. He’s finishing up with someone else right now, and he’ll be over in a second.”

Chapter Forty-four

They watched Mr. Martin walk toward them. His back was straight, face rigid. This was a man on a mission. Wearing black dress pants, a blue collared shirt and a leather jacket, he didn’t look like a police officer, yet still had an air of authority about him.

“How many times have you met Ty’s dad?” Lexi asked Sam.

“Just a few. It seems like he’s always out of town on business or something.”

“What does he do?”

“I don’t know, Lex. I never asked.”

“You never bothered to ask?” she huffed. “That information might be important right about now…”

“I know that, Lexi. Shut it,” he hissed back.

Sam stood as their guest approached the lawn where they sat, and reached out to shake his hand. “Hi, Mr. Martin. Funny running into you here… Mom said you want a word with me?”

“Hi, Sam. Yes, actually I’d like to talk to all of you, if it’s okay.”

Everyone nodded, knowing they didn’t have much of a choice, yet also wondering exactly what they were getting into.

“Mind if I sit down with you guys?” he smiled, trying to relax the group. “Sam, how much has Ty told you about my work?”

“Um, not much, actually.”

“There’s a reason for that, Sam. My position is highly classified, and it’s important for me to keep a low profile on what I do in my job.”

Clint watched Sam’s face to gauge his reaction. He nodded politely, but didn’t give away any tells in his expression.

“So, can you tell me what it is that you do?” Sam asked. “And what it has to do with us?”

Mr. Martin chuckled. “Well, finding you here today was totally unexpected. A strange coincidence, I guess, especially given you’re my son’s best friend. I’m a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a liaison to the US Navy intelligence division. I’ve been trailing Dr. Crain for quite a while now, trying to determine if he’s the same man the FBI wants – Dr. Carl Blevins.”

“He is,” Sam blurted out before thinking.

“He is? You know this for sure?”

Sam! Wait. Do you trust this guy?

Sam looked over at his friends, and then at his sister, who nodded her approval.

“Yes, Mr. Martin. We know this for sure.”

“Perhaps it is time you introduce me to your friends. I know your sister, of course,” he said, smiling at her. “Hi, Lexi.”

“Hello, Mr. Martin. Since Sam is so rude, allow me to introduce you to the group… This is Leesha Conway, Jade Hensley, Trey Connor and Clint McKay.” She pointed to each as introductions were made, both Trey and Clint leaned forward to shake his hand.

“Do all of you go to school together?”

“No, sir,” Sam answered, but offered no more.

Martin looked confused. “Old friends?”

“No,” Sam sighed. “Actually, we just kind of met. This year.”

“Does your connection have anything to do with Blevins and his work?”

Sam nodded.

The man rubbed his chin absentmindedly with the back of his knuckles, deep in thought. “There’s a lot I still don’t know about what this man has done. A lot of speculation has been made inside our offices, but so much to learn. Can I ask a question?”

“Sure,” Lexi said.

Clint squeezed her hand, to signal caution. She leaned against his shoulder, as if to reassure him.

“Are you all about the same age?” Martin asked.

“Yes, sir,” Leesha confirmed.

“Like… Almost down to the day?”

Leesha gave him a half smile. “I think your suspicions are pretty on target. Yes, we all share the same birthday.”

“Sartori? Where Blevins worked?”

“Bingo.”

Martin took a deep breath, steadying himself. “Have you guys… Um, experienced…”

“Shall we call it complications, at least for now?” Leesha met his gaze dead on.

He nodded. “How much do you know about this?”

“Mr. Martin, we’ve done loads of research on all of this,” Sam leveled with him. “And I’m not going to tiptoe around the issues. This man has put my family, my friends in danger more than once. We’re out to find him, and stop him.”

“Son, you’re only a teenager.”

“Maybe so, but I’ll bet we know more than you do about this. Have you met with Charlie Rowe yet?”

“His research assistant? No, I tried to find him, but he disappeared before I could catch up with him.”

“We’ve got his files.”

“You do?” Martin paused, thinking about this for a moment. “Okay, first of all I want you to understand that you’re not alone in wanting to stop Blevins. We can help you. You’d have the power of the FBI and the Naval intelligence behind you…”

“We’ve kept this quiet for a reason, Mr. Martin,” Sam said. “We don’t want to be turned into lab rats.”

“I can understand that, and you wouldn’t be. Though we’d want to know more about you and what you’ve gone through.”

“I don’t know…”

“Sam, we can protect you, and your families. Do you want your mother in a situation like this again?”

His point seemed to hit close to home. Both he and Lexi sat up straight.

“All due respect, sir,” Trey interrupted. “but my parents don’t even know about this. You mentioned that your work is highly confidential… My father’s the Governor. Can you imagine what kind of news storm would hit if the media caught wind of this?”

He nodded thoughtfully. “I understand, and you have my word that my work – our work together – would be handled with the utmost in professionalism and secrecy. We’ve got a lot at stake too, and can’t afford to let this leak out. But what I want you to consider is that you six may not be the only ones affected by this.”

“We know,” Leesha said. “We have a list of the others in the hospital on the same date.”

“Leesha, it goes way beyond that. You guys weren’t the first babies he experimented on, or the last. There were some before you, and while we caught him early in the process, there were even some after your birthday. He was careful, but by our best guess, he could have injected close to a hundred babies over the course of several months. And not just here, in three other markets where he visited on rotation.”

“Three other hospitals?” Leesha gasped. “A hundred babies?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. I was stationed here to monitor what progress I could, not really knowing what to look for or when it would happen. I’ve got counterparts in
Kansas City
,
Des Moines
and
Indianapolis
. He was careful, and he spread out his work.”

“He was practicing here, too, at the clinic,” Trey added. “I’ve got his computer files, if you think it will help.”

Martin chuckled, astonished at his good fortune. “Yeah, that’ll help a lot. Between what my department knows about his past, and what you’ve gathered about his present, if we work together we can do a lot to help bring some justice to all the people Blevins has hurt.”

“Have you found any others, kids like us?” Jade asked.

“No, not yet. And I’ve hesitated to call in anything on this incident yet. I wanted to talk to you first, before I let everyone else know about the breakthrough in the case.”

“Mr. Martin,” Clint started, still yet unsure of how to phrase his question. “Do you think… Would it be possible, before we get a whole bunch of police and military officials involved, could we just talk to you first? You know, keep it on the down low for the time being?”

Lexi squeezed his hand in agreement. He smiled.

“Well, I will have to report the fire today, and I’m going to have to bring in my department eventually. But for now, I think it’s a good idea for me to get a grasp on everything you guys know, what you have been through, before we have to bring any strangers into the mix. Does that sound fair?”

They all nodded.

“So for now,” Mr. Martin continued, “let’s get you guys out of here. You all look like you could use some rest. I’ll take care of all the cleanup here, and make sure everything is wrapped up tight. Sam, I’ll call you tomorrow so we can set up a time to meet and share information. Sound good?”

“Sure, Mr. Martin,” he said. “Hey, by the way… How much does Ty know about all of this?”

“Um, nothing. Why?”

“Oh, no reason. I just wondered, that’s all.”

The group stood up and meandered their way back to the lingering crowd in the front. The firefighters were putting out the last of the flames, and the ambulances were packing up the few remaining people who needed treatment. The lights on all the vehicles were still flashing, but the air had quieted considerably.

Clint wrapped his arm around Lexi’s shoulder. “Don’t ever go into a burning building without me again, do you hear me? You scared the hell out of me, you know.”

She grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. I was just hoping to get some answers. I can’t believe he’s gone again.”

He looked back toward the hole in the office. “Yeah, I know. But it looks like we’ve got some reinforcements who’ll help us track him down.”

“Let’s hope that’s a good thing.”

“Yeah… Let’s hope.”