Embers & Ice (Rouge) (22 page)

There
was mayhem; the scientists were screaming and running for cover, the Men in
White were firing at random at the boy in the tank, having a difficult time in
keeping him down, and Hunter swallowed the nausea in her stomach long enough to
stare at the figure. Her view cleared as the people disappeared, and the boy
stepped out of the tank and started walking towards a cowering Dr. Wolfe who
had backed up against a large computer monitor and desk. As he moved, a light
beam shot across his face and Hunter saw, for the first time, who the psycho
truly was.

Her
world spun. She froze, unable to move, unable to blink or take her eyes off
him. Everything she’d seen up until that point in the institution could not
compare to the horror of what had just occurred before her eyes. Not even the
mutant people that cried out for her to help them shocked her even half as
much.

It
can’t be him. It just can’t.

But
the words didn’t change what was real before her eyes.

“Please,”
Dr. Wolfe begged, scrambling back as far as he could go. He looked around for
help but none of the Men in White knew what to do. They stood there, wide-eyed
and dumbfounded. Dr. Wolfe continued to beg and Hunter continued to watch,
until suddenly there was a crack louder than the sound of fireworks and the boy
collapsed on the ground.

Silence
fell. Dr. Rosenthal stepped into view, and Hunter couldn’t take it anymore. She
saw the world tip and fell back against Will, who caught her just as she passed
out. It seemed almost like she was waking up again rather than slipping into
darkness, because darkness and dreams and nightmares were a billion times more
believable than seeing Dr. Rosenthal shoot a murderous Jack Holloway in the
back with a shotgun.

PART 5

THE ESCAPE

THIRTY-EIGHT

The
chair was the worst thing. Every time Joshua moved, it squeaked like a plastic
chew toy in the mouth of a Rottweiler. So he kept his hands – in cuffs –
between his legs and literally sat as still as possible. After all, the squeaky
chair gave away his every lie, and he wanted nothing given away. Not to the man
who leant on the steel desk and glared at him.

“So
why don’t you tell me,” Barry said in that casual, overly-confident tone all
agents have when the criminal is safely behind bars, or – in his case – locked
in the Livingston police department, interrogation room two. “What
have
you
been up to lately? And don’t flake out on me like you always do. We’re not in
Tappy’s bar, old friend. You’re in some deep shit here, and only the truth is
gonna dig you out again.”

Joshua
rolled his eyes. Okay, so Barry had caught him off guard. In fact, off guard
was a bigger understatement than if he’d started off with “Nice weather we’re
having” and pointed outside to the raging storm that pounded on the window. But
did he really think that the whole threatening routine would work on him?
Not
today Barry.

“You’ve
got all your wires crossed,” he said. “There’s no need for the FBI to get
involved in whatever hoodoo you think is going on here. Those two, back at the
hospital, are alive. Always have been, and murder or no murder, you can’t prove
I was involved at all.”

Barry
smiled down at the table and stood, loosening his tie. Joshua couldn’t help but
notice how nicely Barry scrubbed up in a uniform, having been so used to seeing
him in tattered jeans, biker boots and bulky jumpers with a case of beer under
his arm. He’d shaved, slicked back his thinning hair and actually brushed his
teeth.

“You
think I’m pulling you in here because you’re on a happy little road trip with
two supposedly dead missing persons? Jeez, I’ve underestimated just how stupid
you really are Joshua.”

“Uh,
ouch,” he said sarcastically. “So if it’s not about them, what’s it about? Did
I forget to pay a parking ticket?”

Barry
nodded, his eyes sparkling. “Very funny, wise ass. You know you’re a slippery
little sucker. I’ve been on your tail since the day you started at Colombia. I
searched your apartment. I followed you to work and from work. I bugged your
house, and all I could come up with is some silly banter between you and Hunter
about a fire and some other ridiculous crap.”

“And
here I thought we were pals,” Joshua smiled.

“You
think I’m friends with you coz I like you?” Barry huffed a laugh and looped his
fingers into his gun holster. “Sorry pal, I just tailed your ass to get info
from ya.”

Joshua
grit his teeth, but didn’t retort.

“You
see, there’s this case I’ve been working on for… near twenty years now. Missing
children have been taken from their families all over the world, mostly in
America. A couple from Paris reported their daughter missing a few years ago,
saying something about a rehabilitation facility. Two foster boys – who were
quite the juvenile delinquents – disappeared from their care center, and all
the warden could tell us was that one was bailed out of jail, and the other was
adopted that same day. Some families simply… give them up. They won’t tell us
why. No one can explain it, not until something very interesting came up a
couple of years ago.” Barry’s eyes were glowing, giving Joshua the uneasy feeling
that he knew more than he let on. “New evidence arose on a case they re-opened
in Sweden. You remember the laboratory explosion, don’t you? It would have been
just after Hunter was born and you became her guardian. See, those clever
Swedish bastards found something: Your prints.”

Joshua’s
chair squeaked. It was almost as if he’d shouted “yes! I did it! I’m Iceman!”
Barry chuckled under his breath and sat down opposite him. For a long time he
remained motionless, letting it all sink in and hoping Joshua would crack under
the pressure. But all Joshua thought about was sticking a thick, round icicle
through Barry’s heart.

“Do
you know this man?” Barry slapped a photograph before Joshua and he tipped his
head to the side, avoiding the glare from the lamp above them. The picture
showed a man in his late thirties, gray-haired but strong-boned with thin lips
and a beaky nose. He faced the camera, and only smiled through his dark,
piercing eyes.

Of
course Joshua knew that man. He could not forget him. Dr. Wolfe was the only
person on Earth that even the Iceman feared, and he had Hunter in his greasy
clutches right at that moment, while Barry stood there cracking sly jokes.

But
if Joshua told Barry about the doctor, he would not cooperate the way he needed
him to. So he shook his head and sighed.

“Nope.
Why, is he related to this case you’re working on?”

Barry’s
jaw twitched from side to side. “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but what the
hell. We believe he has something to do with the missing children. Dr. Winston
Wolfe entered our country many years ago – around the time this photo was taken
– and we have not been able to find him since. Not only that, but someone in
our country has been transferring large amounts of money between here and
China, and no one can track the location of this account. The money goes
through just before the children are reported missing. Now this can either be a
pretty damn stellar coincidence, or a connection. If you know the whereabouts
of this man, Joshua, I suggest you give me something.”

China?
Oh shit.
Joshua’s knee started shaking and a dark, cold anger
stirred inside him. Dr. Wolfe was the definition of evil, and he had Hunter. He
had to save her.

The
room started to get very cold, but Barry hadn’t noticed.

“A
lot of strange things have been going on,” he said, running a tired hand down
his face, “and all point to you Joshua. Someone from your building reported an
explosion and several gunshots from an apartment registered under your
pseudonym – a Dr. Emmett Brown, I believe?”

Despite
the situation, Joshua couldn’t help but snort a laugh.

“Hilarious,
Einstein. You know that Hunter is missing, right? I assumed so, since you
disappeared without her. Some girl put in a missing persons report. Have you
seen her?”

Again,
he didn’t answer, didn’t even look in Barry’s arrogantly bright eyes.

“Another
thing I don’t understand is why you are driving to Seattle with Hunter’s
boyfriend Eli and her psychology teacher.”

Joshua’s
brow furrowed.
How did he know Eli was-

“How
do I know?” Barry sat forward again, typically getting in Joshua’s space as all
cops do, and grinned. “I know because it’s my
job
to know. And part of
my job is to get answers from you. So please, make my life easier by telling me
what the hell is going on?”

He
sighed. “Fine. I’ll tell you. But I want my one phone call.”

Barry’s
grin faded. “Are you serious? Who you gonna call?”

“That
is just too tempting,” Joshua said and rolled his eyes.

Barry
snorted a laugh. “Alright. I’m in a semi-good mood tonight, so here-” he pulled
out his cell phone and slapped it down on the table, “dial away.”

Eyeing
him carefully, Joshua reached forward and picked up the phone. The picture on
the home screen was of Barry next to a sweet woman with curly brown hair in a
waitress uniform. He dialed the number. The doctor’s cell phone – which he’d
uncovered after a long search through his old contacts – was untraceable, so he
didn’t worry that the FBI would be able to track it.

As
he turned and put both hands up, holding the phone to his ear, the chair
squeaked in annoyance. No one answered, so he left a message.

“Hello,
it’s Joshua,” he said, knowing Barry would hear but still trying to protect his
privacy. “Listen, I’ve run into a bit of trouble so… looks like you’re gonna
have to carry this one out on your own. It needs to be done as soon as you get
this message. Take whatever precaution is necessary and make sure she is taken
somewhere safe. I don’t care what or who it costs. Please, Albert. Get her out
of there.”

As
he ended the call, a single tear dripped from his eye and he brushed it off
before turning and throwing the phone back on the table. Barry didn’t look so
comical anymore when he saw the tears in Joshua’s eyes.

“That’s
it? A distress call?”

He
pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded. “Yep. That’s it.”

“Alrighty
then.” Barry leant back in the chair and crossed his arms. “Start talking.”

THIRTY-NINE

When
Hunter woke up, it was dark and cold and silent. She was lying on a far comfier
mattress than the one in her cell, and definitely better than the steel table
in Dr. Wolfe’s lab. It only took her a second to realize she was in the old
quarters, because the candles were blazing and she could smell the sweet, toxic
odor of cigarettes. It only took her a second more to remember what had
happened before she passed out.

She
was so paralyzed she couldn’t move. Before today – or whatever time it was –
she thought that nothing more in this place could surprise her, but Dr. Wolfe
had just stepped into a whole new level of deranged. When did he find Jack?
After the warehouse? After he found Hunter? Had he really been locked up in a
glass tank all this time?

And
then there was Jack himself. Joshua had said he was special, that he was like
them. But the Jack she had just seen in Death Cave 1 was not the Jack she used
to know. The old Jack studied in the school library and followed after her like
a puppy. The old Jack was sweet and innocent and harmless.

This
Jack was a cold-blooded killer with a powerful ability: Destruction.

And
Dr. Rosenthal shot him.

Hunter
turned her head and watched Will blow out a long puff of smoke. He had his eyes
closed.

“Hey,”
she whispered.

He
jumped in surprise and relief filled his features. “Oh, hi. Are you alright?”

As
she sat up, she rubbed her eyes and reached for his cigarette. She was wet and
muddy all over her back, as though she’d been dragged through the sewers. “I
really need one of these. Thanks.”

“Sure,”
he smiled. “That was a pretty shocking sight in there.”

Hunter
nodded and breathed in heavily. As much as she wanted to tell Will it wasn’t
the sight of the guard exploding like a tomato in the microwave or the horror
of the mutated people locked in the dirty cells that made her faint, she wasn’t
sure she wanted anyone knowing about Jack. Why, she hadn’t figured out yet.

“How
long was I out?”

“A
few hours. Everything is back to normal upstairs. After Dr. Rosenthal shot that
guy, they detained him and put him in one of the other cells like the ones
filled with people. Apparently the shot wasn’t enough to kill him. He must have
some sort of power like mine. They’re repairing Death Cave 1. I dragged you in
here before they could find us, then I went back upstairs and there were guards
everywhere. Everyone was quiet. Zac said that they waited for us but we never
came.”

“We
lost our chance,” she whispered, rubbing her eyes. “There was no security, we
could have escaped. We wasted our time.”

“Not
exactly. The others thought of a plan while we were downstairs.”

“What?”

He
pulled out another cigarette from the pack and lit it up. “Marcus and Mosi have
been talking about it for months now. Apparently the lack of guards made it
easier to carry out the plan. Marcus and Chantal snuck down to Dr. Wolfe’s
office. That’s where he keeps the map of the institution.”

“A
map?” Hunter’s heart was thumping. “Are you serious?”

“Yep.
And it seems luck was on their side. Dr. Wolfe keeps the restraint locks in his
office as well. Marcus was able to crack the safe even without his powers.”
Will huffed a laugh. “Wolfe’s not exactly on top of things these days, is he?”

“After
what we just saw downstairs, I’d say he’s a little distracted. What about the
security cameras? Doesn’t he have those in his office?”

“Marcus
took care of it.”

“Remind
me to thank that guy.” She smiled and took the cigarette back, more questions
flooding into her mind. “So we’ve got a way out, but how are we gonna do it
when all the guards are back?”

“We
need to wait. Especially because the demonstrations mean there are more
scientists around. They had a look at the map, and the only way out is through
the labs. There’s a staff elevator leading up.”

“There’s
no emergency exit through the tunnels?”

“It
was blocked off years ago. But there’s another problem.”

Hunter
sighed. “Of course there is.”

“It’s
Jet.”

“What?”
A funny feeling arose in her stomach. “What’s he done now?”

“He’s
missing.”

“Oh.”
She wanted to say ‘who cares’ and leave without him, but something in Will’s
eyes told her there was more to it. “Do you know where he is?”

Will
paused and rubbed his hands on his knees. “I think he went to Dr. Wolfe.”

“Wh-”
It dawned on her the minute she opened her mouth and she sat bolt upright.
“That son of a bitch.”

“He
disappeared before Marcus and Chantal found the map and the key to the
restraints, so basically all the little leech knows is that we’re planning an
escape. It’s not as bad as it could be, but it’s still bad.”

“And
Mikayla?”

“Marcus
spoke to her. She’s not having any part in this. She’ll wait for Jet to come
back.”

“Suits
herself,” Hunter shrugged. “What about Death Cave 1?”

“I
went back through the tunnels and hid in one of the empty cells,” he said.
There was something snarky in his tone, as if he were proud of his courageous
venture to defy Dr. Wolfe. “I heard Dr. Rosenthal and Dr. Wolfe talking.
Apparently this guy – they call him Jack – has some sort of destruction power.
He can destroy things with his mind; it’s like a disease that’s taken over him.
It started off as objects and now I suppose he can destroy people with a single
look. It could turn into buildings and cities and someday the world. That’s
what Dr. Rosenthal thinks.”

“So
he wants to put him down,” Hunter nodded.
Dr. Rosenthal is a noble man,
would he really murder an innocent boy?
“Is he going to kill him?”

“I
don’t know. Dr. Wolfe won’t allow it, he wants to use Jack as a weapon. But
that could seriously lead to the end of the world, so I think I’ll side with Dr.
Rosenthal on the murdering part. If it saves billions of lives, at least.”

Hunter
swung her legs over the bed and started pacing. Her blood was pumping and
everything suddenly felt so real.
You can’t worry about saving Jack as well
as planning an escape,
said the fire.
It’s one or the other.

But
Hunter couldn’t choose. Not only did she feel sick thinking of Jack locked up
downstairs with all of the other crazy mutant humans, but now she had to worry
about the demonstrations that would be taking place in the next couple of days.

“Will,
what should we do about the people trapped in the Death Caves? Are we going to
try and take them with us?”

His
dark eyes swam with pain in the candlelight. “Hunter I don’t know. I was
dragging you back through the tunnels and they were asking me to get them out,
but… something about them gives me the shivers. I feel like they could be
dangerous.”

“We
have to get Alfie out, at least. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Yeah
but… he’s a dinosaur.”

Hunter
ran a hand through her hair. “I can’t just leave them there to suffer. They
don’t deserve it.”

“Can
we think about this later?”

Hunter’s
heart skipped a beat. “What about Fearne?”

“What
about her?”

“Has
she been taken down to the labs at all?”

Will
raised slowly off the bed and dropped the cigarette on the floor. “What makes
you ask me that?”

Hunter
pursed her lips shut. The murderous rage on Will’s face was blooming like gray
storm clouds. His entire upper body clenched, but if he knew the truth, he
would explode.

“Hunter,”
he seethed. “What – has Dr. Wolfe done – to Fearne?”

“Will-”

Will
charged at her, put his hand on her shoulder and drove her back against the
wall. She hit the cement hard and her jaw rattled from the impact. With his
face so close to hers, she could feel the heated anger radiating from his body,
from the arm he pressed against her throat that forced her chin up and from his
heaving chest, pinning her to the cold cement. A fire burned in his eyes, a
fire she’d never seen before. This wasn’t the Will she knew, and it reminded
her of the blackness inside her soul that used to eat away at her.

“Listen
to me Will,” she said very slowly and very calmly, as though she were talking
to a snake about to strike. He released his grip only slightly. “Whatever Dr.
Wolfe has done, he will sorely regret it one day when everything collapses and
all the people he hurt will return for their payback. Personally, I’d love to
be the one dishing out the revenge, but right now there are more important
things to worry about. Like getting all of these kids out in one piece.”

Will’s
eyes searched hers, and after a moment he nodded and broke away. “You’re right.
I’m sorry. All of the shit that’s been happening lately has really gotten to
me. And now this demonstration…”

“Do
you think we could make it out of here before it’s over?”

“As
much as I don’t want to go through it…” he sighed. “I don’t think we have a
choice.”

“I
was afraid you’d say that. It could be weeks before we get another opportunity
like we did today.”

Will
did nothing but stare at her. Then, after a moment, he stepped towards her, put
an arm around her back and pulled her in for a hug. She buried her face into
his chest and it was as if a wave of peace washed over her. It wasn’t strange
that this was the first time they’d embraced in this way, because it felt so
natural. “It will work out, okay?”

“How
can you be so confident of that?” she muttered.

“Because…
I have faith.” He pulled back and gazed down into her eyes with the smallest
smile on his lips.

“And
when there is nothing else, there is always faith to cling onto,” she whispered.
When Will frowned at her, she said, “that’s something my mother once said.”

“She’s
right,” he whispered.

Hunter
was afraid to move. It amazed her that just being in Will’s arms helped her
forget the mess she was surrounded by. It was like being in the eye of the
storm, where nothing could touch her.

And
then the moment ended. Will let his arms drop and stepped away from her. “We
should get upstairs,” he said in an empty tone. “It’s Mosi’s turn early
tomorrow.”

Hunter
nodded, feeling cold, and went to the door, but not before she turned to the
dresser and blew the candles out, leaving them to follow each other in the
darkness.