The Guardian's Wildchild (41 page)

Soon after Sam had left the dining room, Butchart arrived. He was directed to wait in the admiral’s office.

“Frank, sit down,” the admiral said when he came in.

Butchart was prepared. He’d taken special effort to subdue the tumor pressing down on his brain with pain medication. His training as a Guardian had provided him with the tools to manage it, shrink its size to nearly nothing, but with the stress of Madame’s arrival on the base a year earlier, the cancer had returned with a vengeance.

He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a large sun crystal.

“Admiral, you have yet to understand the potential of this crystal. Allow me to demonstrate.”

Butchart stepped back and closed his eyes, breathing deeply. After a few minutes, the crystal began to glow. Its brilliance lit up the room. In another second, the only light in the room was from the crystal.

“I’ve just turned off all the power on your property. Good for a start, sir?” Butchart asked, obviously pleased with himself.

The admiral raised his eyebrows and gasped. He was in shock. “Everything is off?”

“Even your security system, which would normally seal off rooms, shut gates, and sound off a siren with a power failure. Absolutely nothing will work in this house except by manual labor.”

Marianne rushed into the room. “Dad, we have a problem. There’s no power.”

“Never mind, my dear. It’ll be all right shortly. Just keep the servants quiet for now.” When Marianne had left, the admiral turned back to Butchart.

“Okay, that’s impressive, but you’d better be able to reverse that.”

Butchart again connected with his crystal, and the power resumed. “Have someone shut down your power source. The crystal will provide all the power you need to run this house.”

The admiral ordered his staff to turn off the main power source and was elated to find that the crystal performed as promised. The entire house — lights, appliances, security — functioned at optimum levels through the sun crystal’s energy.

“How long will it continue supporting this house, Frank?”

“I’d have to give it a booster every hour. It’ll gradually lose its connection with me. But as you can see, it takes little time or effort on my part.”

“Don’t believe a word of it, Admiral,” Sam said, bursting into the room. “He’s just making sure you’ll keep busy hoarding these little rocks while he gains more control. It’s his Guardian sacred teachings that put on this show. Nicely done, Frank. But I’ll show you that I can do even better with what Sidney has taught me. And Admiral, I’ll achieve more without Frank’s paperweight.”

Butchart lunged at Sam. “You miserable piece of shit. Get out of here. Get back to your rotting ship.”

Sam quickly sidestepped the attack and remained unruffled.

“Calm down, Frank,” demanded the admiral. “I’ve purposely invited you both here tonight so we can get to the bottom of this.” He turned to Sam. “You’re up, Waterhouse.”

Sam swallowed. He’d expected a face-to-face confrontation with Butchart at some point, but not so soon.

“Let’s see, Admiral. How about something of more military strategic implications?” Sam thought for a moment. “How about your chopper out on the helipad? If I were to get it airborne and maneuver it?”

The admiral was intrigued. “Move my helicopter off its pad, and turn it in another direction. But don’t fire the guns.”

Sam was nervous. He’d only moved small objects before. But if he wanted to keep the admiral’s attention, he had to do something big — without using that crystal on the table. Focus was the key. He stood at the side of the window and spotted the garage to his right a short distance from the mansion. He began his meditation technique. Standing erect with his hands lifted slightly away from his sides, he created a faint rainbow-colored arch extending from one hand, over his head, and down into the opposite hand.

In a few more seconds, the men heard the whine of the chopper’s engine. The chopper soon came into view as it hovered above the treetops. The admiral looked back at the sun crystal on his desk. It showed not a glimmer, no rays of energy emitting from its facets as it had when Butchart had given his demonstration. It sat just like a paperweight, lifeless. As far as he could tell, the source of power Sam accessed to perform this amazing task came from within him.

Gradually, the chopper shifted its position toward the garage. It flew over the driveway where both Sam’s and Butchart’s vehicles were parked.

The admiral was speechless, his eyes wide with amazement. Sam remained silent and in a meditative state. His hands were motionless. The admiral grabbed Sam’s shoulder.

“Well done!” he shouted above the roar of the chopper’s engine.

Suddenly, the chopper switched positions and fired toward the window.

Butchart and the admiral dove away from the window but not before bullets shattered it. Flying debris struck Butchart’s shoulder and arm. The admiral crawled on the floor under the flying bullets to his desk. He reached into a drawer and grabbed his gun, aiming it square at Sam’s head.

“Stop it or I’ll blow your head off!” he shouted.

The firing stopped, and Sam returned the chopper to the helipad.

“God, that was too damn close,” Sam said, feeling rather stunned. “Are you all right, Admiral?”

The admiral kept his aim on Sam. “What the hell were you trying to do?”

“Kill us,” Butchart said. “You’re under arrest, Waterhouse!” He was trying to brace his bloody right arm and hold his gun with his good hand.

“Hang on a minute, Frank,” cautioned the admiral.

“Admiral, for Christ sake, this traitor — ”

“Frank, if I intended to commit murder, you’d both be dead right now. Actually, it would’ve been the ideal opportunity. Doubt the police would suspect me since I was in the room when the chopper attacked. Admiral, when you grabbed my arm, it changed my focus to this room. At least that’s what it felt like.”

The admiral lowered his gun and surveyed the damage to his office.

“Shit. Look what he did. And with no pilot. Just think what this could mean to operations, Frank.”

“And,” Sam interjected, “no crystal.” It was a lie. He’d accessed the crystal hidden in his shoe. “But do you see what can happen when you’re an amateur … we could all be dead. I’m sorry about the damage, sir. We’d better make sure no one else is hurt in the house.”

Sam moved toward the door and heard people outside the room. Perkins, with his gun drawn, opened the door just as Sam pulled on the door handle. He was followed by everyone else in the house, including Simon and Nathan.

“Wow, Dad. Who attacked us?” asked Simon.

Sam grabbed his sons. “Are you both all right?”

The boys shook off their father’s concern.

“Hey, look at the wall. It’s Swiss cheese!” Nathan shouted.

Marianne noticed Butchart’s wound and sent the maid to get the first aid supplies.

“Better go to the hospital, sir,” she said.

“Marianne, make sure no one else is hurt. I’ll get someone to fix the damage first thing in the morning. Everyone out,” demanded the admiral. He allowed the maid to quickly dress Butchart’s wounds and then sent her away as well.

The admiral, pale and agitated, approached Butchart. The admiral’s energy was fading. His voice trembled and had lost its fire.

“The only thing that can save your ass now is to explain Sam’s performance.”

Butchart, physically weak and baffled, tried to come up with a plausible explanation “He … he had to have used a crystal … or an accomplice.”

Sam continued to deliberately confuse the admiral. “Do I have a crystal, Admiral?

“You’re a goddamn Guardian!” Butchart shouted. He thrust his fist at Sam’s face and winced in pain from the exertion.

Sam shrugged. “Sidney tells me I’m what’s called a waking Guardian, but this is all brand new to me. I haven’t kept secrets from the admiral. But you’ve never told him of your powers for all these years. Who’s the real traitor here?”

“Your interference is over, Waterhouse!”

Butchart directed his gun toward Sam’s head. Sam stood close enough that with a swift step in Butchart’s direction and a blow from Sam’s hand, the gun flew across the room. Butchart’s rage was beyond the pain in his arm. His fists flew and zoned in on Sam’s body. Sam fought back with the intensity of his disgust for the man. They rolled in the broken glass, pounding their fists at each other. Butchart was weakened and failed to do any harm to Sam. Sam took the advantage and thrust him against the wall hard enough that the room shuddered with the impact. Sam’s rage escalated, like that of an animal anxious to kill.

The admiral reached for his gun and struggled to grasp it with his trembling hands. Standing back from Butchart and Sam, he hesitated to act, no longer sure of himself.

“Stand back, or I’ll have my guards arrest the both of you.” He fired the pistol at the ceiling. The skirmish ceased. “Sam, don’t push me. What you don’t know is that Madame is — ”

Butchart lunged toward the admiral. “Shut up, Admiral. Just shut the hell up!”

“You forget yourself, Captain Butchart,” the admiral warned angrily.

Sam raised his eyebrows. “Madame? Who’s Madame?”

The admiral gritted his teeth. “Someone you’re better off not knowing. She owns the crystals, and perhaps some of my staff.” He glared at Butchart.

Butchart’s face became pale and slightly twisted. “Sir, I’ve given the better part of my life protecting you and your goals. Whatever I’ve done was to keep your hands clean.”

The admiral’s eyes opened wide in alarm. “Just what precisely have you done using this Guardian power of yours?”

Sam jumped in. “You can’t trust him. Just think. When you have the demonstration, it’ll be him controlling the show. Your rank will have no effect when Butchart turns on you with his Guardian powers. You can see that, can’t you?”

Butchart leaped between Sam and the admiral. “Admiral, this is absolutely the most ridiculous — ”

Sam struck Butchart squarely on his jaw and knocked him to the floor. Butchart was dazed and unable to move. Sam continued to feed the admiral’s paranoia. Once the admiral was no longer thinking clearly, he could take over.

“Sir, just think of the chaos worldwide. If you don’t stop good old Frank here, what’ll be the consequences of the damage he’s capable of? And you’ll be held responsible. Lose your commission, dishonorable discharge, perhaps prison.”

Butchart was regaining consciousness. He stood up and attempted to grab onto Sam. He stumbled.

“Admiral, don’t listen to him,” he said weakly.

Butchart grabbed a chair and slumped down. His energy was spent. The admiral stared blankly at Sam. Sam had him.

“Admiral, you saw what I did with almost no training. Think of the devastation Butchart — an experienced Guardian — can cause.”

The admiral lifted the gun that had been loosely dangling at his side. He slowly brought it up higher and higher, first aiming at Sam, then at Butchart. The gun shook violently. He aimed again at Sam, taking a deep breath through his clenched teeth. Sam was turning the admiral’s orderly life upside down.

The admiral switched his aim to Butchart. Butchart had kept the truth about his past secret. A Guardian.
Two
Guardians. Whatever the hell they were.
Does Waterhouse have more power than Butchart
? Neither could be trusted. Madame would destroy his life. He needed the truth, but the truth was buried, elusive. Gone.

Sam saw the impending mental collapse on the admiral’s face. The plan was working. Just a little nudge and the man would plunge into an abyss of darkness, lost from reality, perhaps even unloading his gun’s ammunition into Butchart’s face.

Sam reeled with the realization that his battle was nearly won. At last, he could destroy both the admiral and Butchart. The sensation of being free from his duty to the admiral and the loathing of Butchart was exhilarating. Nothing else mattered. He was about to deal his final blow when Sidney’s voice echoed the phrase “For the higher good.” Clearly his plan wasn’t for the higher good. He shook her words off and approached the admiral, taking the gun from his hand. Butchart was nearly passed out.

“Sir,” he began, “there’s more to Butchart’s devious plan. If he teams up with other Guardians … ” Sam placed his hand over his eyes and shuddered in a mock display. “They could shut down our country’s energy sources, with just a thought. A whole city would go down in hours, then the state in a few days, then total collapse of this country. Think about it, Admiral. The country won’t need you when Butchart and his Madame are at the controls. You’ll go down in history as the one who caused the collapse of America. You know that, don’t you?”

The admiral was no longer focused on Sam’s face or anything else in the room. His mouth moved, but no words came forth. It was done. Sam produced papers from his blazer — papers that would free him — and set them on the admiral’s desk. All he needed now was Admiral Garland’s signature.

“Dad,” a child’s voice called out. “Are you going to see us tomorrow?”

Sam spun around. Nathan was standing in the doorway.