Momentum (32 page)

“He’ll still be the same old Rupert when he deals with you. He just has to take on this persona in front of his new subjects.”

Subjects? Wow. And it sure didn’t seem like he was taking on a persona; he seemed to be as one with it.

“Now, I’m guessing your dad doesn’t need us here, so I’m going to head back with Lars, Javier, and Morena. We’re needed back home.”

I looked over at David. “Will you stay?”

I couldn’t tell from his expression if he wanted to go or not.

“Sure.” He flashed me a reassuring smile. “That’s okay, isn’t it, Mom?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t expecting you to come with us. I’ll see you back home when you’re done here. Take care of yourself, and of Arizona.”

“Inez! Javier, Lars, Morena. Are you leaving?” Dad asked, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

“Yes, Rupe. We should go and check in with Olivia, Larry, and Kevin. Ella arrived earlier with Morgana. She’s asleep in one of the bedrooms upstairs. Do you want me to bring her downstairs before I go?”

“No, best not to disturb her. I’ll go up and see her shortly. Will Morgana be able to stay with her?”

“Yes, Constance already gave her permission to stay. She has Tallulah with her as well.”

Better keep little Tallulah away from Cleopatra, I thought, looking over at Cleo, who was licking her paws with enthusiasm. She would have poor Tallulah for a bite-sized snack.

Once Inez left, Dad turned to David and me. His relaxed expression was gone again, replaced by a grim one. “Kids, you should either stay here while we rescue Harry and Kellan or go upstairs and hang out with Ella.”

Although I was slightly intimidated by his new grave demeanor, I wasn’t putting up with it. I almost shook with annoyance as I tried to steady myself enough to hold my own. “No! We. Are. Not. Going.
Anywhere
!” I was a hair away from throwing a full-blown hissy fit. My adrenaline was obviously on full-power, surging through me. I stamped my foot.

Dad’s face started cracking. He let out a big chuckle and flopped into the nearest armchair holding his stomach, tears of laughter flooding from his eyes.

That just made me angrier. I crossed my arms and glared at him until he stopped snickering.

He shook his head. “What am I going to do with you, Arizona?”

“You are going to bring me with you. Just because I’m not your biological daughter doesn’t mean–”

Before I could get any more words out–that was, if I had been able to get them out at all over my gut-wrenching sobs–he’d pulled me into his arms and was holding me so tight that I almost couldn’t
 
breathe. I needed him not to let go. If he did, I would collapse in a heap.

“How could you say such a thing, even think like that?” he whispered into my hair.

I looked up. His eyes were bloodshot, tears streaming down his face.

“Dad…” I couldn’t get any other words out. I buried my face back into his chest and cried.

When I was all cried out, I looked up again. Dad looked miserable. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

“What for?”

“For making you so sad. I didn’t mean to.”

“Arizona, what’s all this about?”

“I feel bad that I can’t help because I’m not like you, a Sigma-W.”

“That’s not the issue, honey. Surely you understand that?”

I shook my head. “If I was, you’d take me!”

“Even if you had the potential, like Harry, you wouldn’t be a Sigma-W until you were ready.
I
just took on my own responsibilities today!”

“But I am ready. Now. But I can’t because I am not your b–”

He put his finger over my lips. “Shush! Don’t ever say that again. Ever.”

I nodded, ashamed for acting like I was, but I couldn’t seem to help it. I felt David’s eyes boring into my back. He must have thought I was an idiot.

Dad sighed and relaxed his hold around me. Then he led me to the couch and asked me to sit, while he paced the room. He reminded me of Granddad in that moment. Then he turned to me with a somber expression on his face. “You’re ready?”

I nodded. I was so ready.

R
aj looked down at Kellan’s limp body. He knelt to confirm that the boy was still alive, not that it made much difference. In a way, it would be easier if he was dead. They could still use him by just taking some pictures and sending them to his father. Then they could dispose of his body, easy to do here in the Bahamas. No one knew Kellan was there, so no one would report him missing.

He was disappointed when he found a pulse. “Dan, it might be best if we dispose of him.”

Dan’s eyes widened. “But he’s not dead. I made sure of that. I’m no killer!”

“I agree.” Sophie shuffled her feet uncomfortably. “Just let’s get what we want and send him back home. He’s just a kid.”

Raj looked from Dan to Sophie. How had he managed to get involved with two of the biggest losers of all time? He could do it himself, but he guessed that the two do-gooders would fight him. He would have been better off surrounding himself with Potomal’s group in the first place, and if he’d known then what he knew now, he would have. He wondered why Madison had disappeared.

A sharp knock on the motel door interrupted his thoughts. Dan let Simla in. She looked haggard again.

“Okay, Dad. You have what you asked for. What now?” Then she looked down at Kellan, her eyes widening in horror. “What did you do? Is he dead? Madison said he was fine when she brought him over.”

“Don’t get all worked up. He’s fine. He was a bit troublesome, so Dan had to quiet him down–”

“Quiet him down? How? By making sure he doesn’t breathe again? That’s just wrong. Potomal is going to be furious.”

“Nonsense, he’ll be fine as long as he gets the prints, which we need to get right now. The good news is that Larry’s stuck at the hangar at Ames. Sophie and Dan tied him up on their way out of there. So, all we need to do is go back to him with a photograph of his son, and he’ll give us the prints.”

“Who’s going to do that?”

“I was going to get Dan to make the trip. Larry won’t try anything stupid with Dan.”

“That’s fine with me,” Dan mumbled.

“And how were you going to get back into Ames?” Simla glared at Dan.

“Um. I don’t know. I guess your dad has a plan.”

All eyes were on Raj, but quickly moved to Kellan as he let out a groan, and his legs twitched. He rolled over, wincing as he apparently tried to open his swollen eyes. Raj tensely held his breath, as Kellan tried a few more times. Then Kellan’s eyelids flickered once and became still. His face fell to the side, and he went completely still.

“Is he dead?” Sophie asked.

Raj put his fingers on Kellan’s neck, feeling for signs of life. He’d pretty much given up when he finally felt the soft palpitations. He sighed. “Still alive.” He stood back up, impatiently crossing his arms. “Now, where were we?”

“We were discussing how to get Dan into Ames,” Simla reminded him.

“Well, I can’t think of another way apart from you wandering him over,” Raj said resolutely. It was the sensible thing to do. They would save time on flights. And it wasn’t like he had any money for a ticket anyway. He would have just sent Simla by herself, but he couldn’t see her being able to stand up to Larry. Dan needed to go; he was far more intimidating.

“Dad, there’s no way I can wander him! Look at the size of him! Plus, I can’t travel geographically.”

“So how did you get to Las Vegas?”

“One of the Sigma-W-Pi’s dropped me off. I already explained all this to you,” she muttered frustrated.

“All right. I guess we need one of Potomal’s bunch, then. How about Madison, or that guy, Olivier? He seemed big and strong.”

“Madison’s outside. I’ll go ask her.” Simla seemed reluctant, but left to go and find Madison.

“Let’s get some pictures of Kellan while we wait.” Raj brought out his cell phone and took a few shots. He removed the duct tape from Kellan’s lips and took a few more. He wished Kellan looked a bit more alive. If Larry thought he was dead, he’d never part with the prints. “Dan, get some water and pour it over his face.”

“Eh? Why?”

“I need him to wake up a bit, so he looks alive. I just had a great idea, in fact.” Raj beamed. “I’ll video you splashing the water on him and hopefully getting a reaction. That will be even more realistic and hard-hitting.”

“No way,” Dan grumped.

“Why not?” Raj barked, annoyed.

“’Cause he’s not as stupid as you think he is,” Sophie sneered. “You don’t for a minute think that he’s going to allow you to film him, do you?”

“I won’t film
him
; I’ll be careful,” Raj replied impatiently. “Look, you can have a look at the video yourself after I take it.”

Sophie and Dan exchanged glances.

“What do you want me to do?”

Raj looked around for a cup or mug and found an ice bucket by the sink. He filled it almost to the brim and handed it to Dan. “Come and stand here by me so you’re not in the camera field. When I say
action
throw half of that water right at his face. Wait about fifteen seconds, and then do it again. Don’t say a word, so your voice doesn’t get recorded. Ready?”

Dan looked down at the water in the bucket. “This feels so wrong. But, we’ve come this far, and water won’t kill the boy. Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Action.”
 
Raj pressed the record button, and Dan threw the water at Kellan aiming it perfectly at his face. They waited. There was no movement other than the tiny flicker of Kellan’s eyelids. Raj turned to Dan and nodded. The rest of the water hit Kellan’s face with much greater force, causing him to splutter and cough. Then he went quiet again. Raj turned off the recorder. He played it back, Dan and Sophie peering over his shoulder, watching the LED screen carefully. It was perfect.

“There,” he said, as Simla returned with Madison and Olivier.

“Sorry. It took longer that I thought it would, Dad. We had to get permission, and Olivier was sent back with us. Potomal says that this is the very last favor, and that he’s cutting your funds by twenty percent for the trouble.”

Raj felt a flash of anger wash over him, but managed to calm his thoughts. He had messed up. Still, twenty percent was a lot; he’d have to negotiate that with Potomal. However, first he better get on with acquiring the prints.