Seven Psychics Page 3

  “I’m ready,” I said when I stepped into the living room again.

  Looking up from his cell phone, Mark fished his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to me. “You can drive,” he said and picked up my suitcase, leaving me to carry the backpack.

  Snatching the keys out of the air, I didn’t even try to hide my grin. Finally, I’d get to drive something that wasn’t twenty years older than I was. By the time I closed and locked the door, the agent was sliding my suitcase into the back of the car.

  Putting my backpack and jacket on the backseat, I climbed behind the wheel and adjusted the seat and mirrors. “Where are we heading?” I figured it would either be back to the base or to a private airfield. We were hundreds of miles away from the closest major airport and his car wasn’t dusty enough to have made a trip as long as that.

  “Back to the base,” he replied absently. Most of his attention stayed on his phone. “A jet is already waiting for us.”

  I tried to remember if I’d ever been to Colorado before. I’d lived in so many states by now that it was hard to keep track of them all. My father’s skills were highly sought after and he was the best sniper trainer that the army had. Not everyone had the skills to make an exceptional sniper, but he always managed to weed out a few men and women who possessed the talent. Sometimes, like right now for instance, he was sent on vital missions overseas that could sometimes take months to complete. He’d given up on having babysitters watch me around the clock when I’d put my foot down at the ripe old age of thirteen. I’d decided that I was old enough and independent enough to feed, clothe and look after myself. He’d reluctantly agreed that I didn’t need constant monitoring, but he still had someone check in on me fairly regularly.

  During the long drive back to the base, Agent Steel was silent and remained in constant contact with someone via his phone. I had plenty of time to wonder about the people that I’d soon be working with. It still seemed surreal that psychics actually existed. Like any sane person, I’d believed that they were just a fabrication of highly imaginative sci-fi novelists.

  It was late afternoon now and I was driving directly into the sun. I squinted against the brightness, wishing I had a pair of sunglasses to block the glare. There were few cars on the road and the journey passed quickly enough. The radio played softly in the background, set to a country and western station. The sedan was a much smoother ride than my father’s broken down old truck. There were no embarrassingly loud backfires and the engine didn’t sound like it was about to expire at any moment. Best of all, no noxious clouds of smoke streamed out behind us.

  A guard waved me to a stop when I reached the base. He was armed with an assault rifle that was similar to the one stashed in my safe. Moving closer to the car, he motioned for me to power the window down and blinked in surprise when he saw my face. “Can I help you?” he asked doubtfully. He probably didn’t get many teenagers stopping by for a visit.

  “She’s with me,” Agent Steel said, leaning across me to hold up his ID. I caught a glimpse of it before he folded it away. ‘Federal Agent’ was written in bold yellow letters with much smaller writing beneath it that I didn’t quite get a chance to read. He was serious and unsmiling in the photo on the bottom half of the wallet.

  “You’re cleared to enter,” the guard said and I figured he’d been advised of our impending arrival. He retreated to the small wooden building that sat beside the gate and leaned through the window to push a button. The heavy metal barricade lifted and he waved us through.

  Following Mark’s directions, I avoided the buildings and hangars and headed away from the main traffic areas and towards the far side of the base. A small, private jet was waiting and I parked a safe distance away from it next to the runway. When I opened the car door, I heard the jet engine idling. It was ready to take off as soon as we boarded. Agent Steel climbed out and grabbed my suitcase from the back while I retrieved my backpack and jacket.

  Air travel had long ago lost its appeal for me. I’d found that anything could become boring with enough repetition. I climbed the stairs and sank into a plush cream leather seat across the aisle from Mark and plonked my backpack at my feet. This was a luxurious first class jet rather than the much cheaper and shabbier plane that I’d been expecting. His agency must be well funded to be able to afford a ride like this.

  The pilot emerged from the cockpit and stood at attention. His posture gave away his military background despite his lack of an army uniform. “I’m ready to take off whenever you are, Agent Steel.” He looked pointedly at Mark’s cell phone.

  Holding his finger up to signify that he was nearly done, the agent finished his latest text message then switched the phone off. “I’m good to go.” My phone was already off, which wasn’t a hardship for me since I rarely used it anyway.

  Within minutes, the jet was in the air and we were heading towards Colorado. Mark was back on his phone as soon as the pilot gave us the all clear. I didn’t have anyone to send a message to, so I left my phone off. To keep myself busy, I delved into the backpack and took out my handgun and holster. The holster had been tailored to fit my slender frame. I’d opted to wear it on my left side where I could draw it quickly and easily rather than wearing it on my hip. You could hide a gun beneath a jacket, but it was much harder to cover when it was clipped to your belt or strapped to your thigh.

  As I’d expected, the air conditioning was too cool for me, so I donned my jacket once the holster was in place. Only a slight bulge beneath my left arm hinted that I was armed. Only someone with training would be able to spot the weapon at all.

  Mark glanced at me as I strapped the holster on, but made no comment. I took that as silent permission to wear my gun. At home, I made sure that my weapons were always unloaded, but kept my ammo close. Since I was travelling to a location that I was unfamiliar with, I slid a magazine into the gun. I kept the safety on, of course. Even someone who’d been trained to shoot since she was five years old had to be careful. Shooting off a round while thirty thousand feet in the air would definitely create a problem.

  Our flight took just under two hours and the trip was short enough that I didn’t really have time to become bored. How could I be when my mind was racing from the information that I’d been given on our targets? I’d brought along my e-reader that had over a hundred books stored on it just in case our flight was delayed for any length of time.

  It wasn’t delayed and the jet touched down on time. I glanced out the window to see that we’d landed at a small, private airstrip. We’d flown over Denver a few minutes ago, leaving the lights of the city far behind. It was a relief that we hadn’t landed at the international airport. The private airstrip meant that we wouldn’t need to explain the weapons that we were carrying.

  A black SUV was parked beside the runway. It had probably been left there by Mark before he’d flown to Texas to retrieve me. He stashed my suitcase in the backseat and I placed my backpack beside it. The agent chose to drive this time and I stared out the window as we headed away from the airfield. The Rocky Mountains were just a dark blur on the horizon as we headed towards them. The moon had been full two nights ago and it was just beginning to wane now. It cast enough light for me to see the nearby scenery, not that there was anything interesting to see apart from grass, hills and the occasional tree.

  Lunch had been hours ago and it was past my usual dinner time. My stomach rumbled loudly enough for Mark to hear it. “We’ll be there soon,” he promised with a small smile.

  His promise turned out to be a lie and it took us almost two more hours to reach our destination. Mark eventually turned off the highway onto a much smaller road that took us into a densely wooded area. We didn’t see any other cars at all as we travelled deeper into the forest. He slowed down after a few miles and veered onto a dirt road. At last, we came to a high metal gate that was topped with razor wire. Peering upwards through the windscreen, I judged the fence to be at least thirty feet high.

  Agent Steel pulle
d a small black device out of his pocket and pressed a button which made the gate swing open silently. “The fence is electrified, so I suggest you keep your distance from the perimeter of the compound. There are predators in the mountains,” he explained when I raised my eyebrows.

  I wasn’t aware of any predators that required a thirty-foot fence to keep them out, but I didn’t say anything. If psychics were real, then I guessed anything could be possible.

  Pine trees pressed in against the car and were almost close enough to scratch the paint as we drove along a winding path. A mournful howl came from somewhere in the distance and I turned to Agent Steel in alarm. “Was that a wolf?”

  Cocking his head to the side to listen to the fading howl, Mark shrugged. “Probably. They can still be found in the area from time to time. I’ve heard there are also mountain lions in these parts. As long as you stay in the compound, you’ll be safe.”

  “I hope so,” I murmured. The electrified fence suddenly didn’t seem like overkill at all. That howl had sounded like it had come from something far larger than just an ordinary wolf.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Five

  Agent Steel drove along the narrow road, anticipating the twists and turns almost before they appeared. He’d clearly spent a lot of time in this compound.

  I leaned forward when a bright light appeared and we closed in on a large two-story concrete building. The windows were heavily tinted, reflecting the moonlight back at us and making it impossible to see inside.

  A single spotlight shone off to the right beside a large metal door. Mark pressed the button on the device again and the metal door rolled upwards to reveal a spacious garage. A black van sat to our left, but the rest of the garage was empty.

  Mark climbed out and retrieved my suitcase. I grabbed my backpack and he locked the SUV. “I’ll give you a quick tour of the main area,” he said as the garage door automatically began to slide shut.

  As the door closed, I had a brief but intense moment of panic. Not many seventeen year old girls would have climbed into the car of an unknown man and allowed him to fly them so far away from their home. The only reason I’d agreed to leave was because my father had given his reluctant permission for me to accompany Agent Steel.

  Mark opened the reinforced metal door and we stepped out into a hallway. I glanced to the left to see only one door. The hallway stretched out to the right for some distance, which meant that the building was far larger than I’d realized. We turned left and stopped at the door that was an exact copy of the garage door. The place seemed more like a bunker that could withstand a siege than a base where federal agents would call their home. Mark placed his hand on a scanner attached to the wall and it came to life. Green light pulsed as it read his prints and the door clicked open. The building had heavy electronic security, which didn’t really surprise me much.

  Just like the garage and hallway, plain gray concrete predominated in the gigantic room. A large square area to the left had been turned into a comfortable living room. Three black leather couches had been arranged in a U-shape in front of a huge wall mounted TV. A shaggy black rug covered the floor and a dark brown coffee table held a collection of magazines. They ranged from motorcycles to fashion and I wondered again who I’d be working with. The magazines hinted that at least one of the agents would be female. I was relieved that I wouldn’t be the only girl, although I was used to it. There were always more male than female soldiers when we shifted from base to base.

  “As you can see, this is the living, dining and kitchen area,” Agent Steel said.

  My stomach rumbled again as I eyed the stainless steel fridge and matching appliances on the far side of the room. A long island bench with a black marble top and half a dozen black barstools separated the kitchen from the rest of the area. A dining table with a dozen chairs was positioned directly between the kitchen and living room. The table and chairs were stained the same dark brown shade as the coffee table.

  “The training area is behind us and the bedrooms are upstairs,” Mark said.

  I followed his pointing finger to a metal spiral staircase leading up to the second floor. Beyond the stairs, I saw gym equipment to the left and a boxing ring to the right. From the length of the outer hallway, I knew there had to be more to the complex, but it appeared I wasn’t going to see it tonight.

  “I’ll show you to your room,” Agent Steel said and crossed the floor to the stairs.

  My backpack seemed to gain twenty pounds with each step as I followed him upwards. When I finally reached the top, I faltered to a stop as I gaped at the equipment on display.

  “This is our communications area,” Mark said unnecessarily and smiled at my astounded expression.

  Turning my head from left to right, I didn’t know where to look first. The coms area sat on a small balcony overlooking the area below. Glass walls prevented the unwary from toppling to their deaths. A waist high table to the left caught my eye. I’d seen something like it on TV and knew that it was a state of the art computer. I didn’t dare touch any of the buttons on the screen.

  Several monitors were mounted on the walls behind and beside the table. Information from the computer could be displayed on them. Other gadgets and consoles were on the walls beneath the monitors and I had no idea what their purpose was. Several black leather office chairs with wheels were lined up neatly on the far side of the table. Deep, dark blue carpet covered the floor.

  An L-shaped black leather sofa and a low set square coffee table were the main feature on the right side of the balcony. More consoles held a variety of equipment that I again had no idea how to operate. This was where Agent Steel planned their missions and I felt a strange thrill at the thought that I was going to be involved in his next operation.

  “What do you think so far?” Mark asked as I took it all in without saying a word.

  “It’s pretty awesome,” I said with a grin. He’d mentioned his team, but I hadn’t seen any sign of them so far. “Where’s the rest of your squad?”

  “They’re chasing down a lead in the city. They’ll be back in the morning.”

  Directly across from the stairs, a hallway bisected the room. He motioned for me to follow him. “The bedrooms are this way.”

  More plain gray concrete walls and ceiling surrounded us as we walked past several ordinary doors on both sides of the hallway. None required a palm scan to open them. He stopped at a door that looked the same as the others. “This room is yours. I’ll leave you to get settled in while I cook dinner.”

  “You cook?” Somehow he didn’t seem like the domestic type.

  “Of course,” he said, feigning insult. “We all take turns cooking.” He put my suitcase on the floor just inside my room. The dark blue carpet continued down the hallway and inside the bedrooms. “Do you have any allergies or food preferences that I should know about?” he asked.

  “Nope. I can eat just about anything as long as it’s well cooked. I’m really not a fan of bloody meat.”

  For some strange reason, he found that to be funny and for a moment or two he seemed to be wrestling against laughter. “Dinner will be ready in half an hour,” he said and left. He politely shut the door behind him.

  “This is so weird,” I whispered to myself. I was about to have dinner with a man that I barely knew, but already felt comfortable with. My father knew Mark and he wouldn’t have given his approval for me to leave with the agent if he didn’t trust him. I hoped the rest of the team would be as welcoming as Agent Steel had been so far.

  Turning in a slow circle, I inspected my bedroom. It was far larger than my bedroom back home in Texas and it was more spacious than I’d been expecting. A queen sized bed sat squarely in the middle of the room against the far wall. A large window overlooked the bed. The glass was heavily tinted and no one would be able to see inside even when the light was on.

  Matching white bedside tables flanked the bed on both sides. A white vanity table sat against the left wall. It was an old
fashioned piece of furniture with a cushioned dark blue covered stool and an elegant mirror. I usually wore only the bare minimum of makeup, but it might be nice to sit down to do my hair. Not that I ever did much with it, apart from putting it up in a ponytail every now and then.

  A gigantic closet ran the entire length of the room to my right and would easily hold the clothes that I’d brought with me. A door to the left contained a bathroom, which was the best feature of all in my eyes. Having my own bathroom was a luxury that I cherished whenever my father was away. I’d been concerned that I’d have to share one bathroom with several other people during this mission.

  I spent a few minutes unpacking my belongings and hanging my clothes up in the closet. The room didn’t have a gun safe, so I placed my backpack on the floor in the closet and hoped no one would touch it. The bedroom door could be locked from the inside, but I had no way of locking it when I left the room. Greater privacy would have been nice, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

  Testing the bed, I found the mattress to be a little softer than I was used to. I sat down and piled the pillows behind my back. A TV had been mounted on the wall to the left of the door and the remote control sat on the bedside table to my left. I flicked the television on and scrolled through the channels until I found the local news. I listened for a while, but heard no mention of anyone running amok in the area. Apparently, the TAK Squad was doing its job well and they were covering up after the psychics each time one of them came out of hiding.

  Switching the TV off, I left my bedroom and headed for the stairs. I counted the doors as I passed them, fixing in my memory that mine was the third door on the right. It would be extremely embarrassing to blunder into someone else’s room by mistake.

  An enticing smell of spaghetti bolognaise greeted me when I reached the stairs. I didn’t suffer from a fear of heights, yet it was dizzying to descend the tight spiral staircase. I paused for a moment to regain my balance when I reached the bottom before crossing to the kitchen. It was cold enough in the building that I was glad I’d brought my jackets and sweaters along. Agent Steel didn’t seem to find the air conditioning uncomfortable. Men never seemed to feel the cold as much as women did.