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Chapter-5- Daring Escape

November 1 - 4:40am New Atlantis ...

Charlie Foster peered through the vent grating. "I see a submarine pulling in. There's no guards. Our ride is really early. Maybe it's an emergency ... wait, look."

Patty crawled up, adjacent to Charlie and peered through the slats. "Oh my God, that's Nichole Parker. She's helping that man carry Vincent Nevada down the gangplank." Patty squinted. "That second man looks familiar. It's like I should recognize his face, but I can't be sure."

"We can worry about their identity later. As soon as they're clear, we take the sub. Are you ready? Is Haley?"

"I'm ready," said the little girl, further back in the tube. "I don't want to be in here anymore. It's cold and it's dark."

"We'll be out soon," Patty assured her. "You're doing a great job staying brave for me. I'm proud of you, Booboo. We're going home."

Haley remained quiet.

Charlie squinted. "You said you recognize the unconscious man those two are carrying?"

"Yes. Nichole Parker is the woman. She's the city enforcer. She has the worst attitude, and way too many abilities. The one they're carrying is Vincent Nevada. He's a good guy, and his ability lets him control radiation. He's worked with my expedition group several times because we were working with undocumented power generation in our digs. He's very sweet - I wonder what happened to him; I hope he'll be okay."

"Okay," Charlie said, placing his hands on the vent. "We got lucky. They came back for an emergency. Now is our chance. We make it to that sub, we take it to America and we ditch it. Then we lay low until we find Evan."

"I'm trusting you. I don't have any money."

"Mom," Haley whispered, "what's money?"

"I'll explain it later, Booboo. You ready to move?"

"Yeah," she replied in a hushed tone. "I'm ready to get out of this dark, cold pipe."

Charlie placed his fingers into the slats. "What's the first thing you are going to eat when you get to the surface?"

"What?"

Charlie grinned, but it went unseen in the dark. "For me? Curry. I like my curry with chili and Balinese spices. I've had exceptional curry in Thailand and Laos, but my favorite was in Bali. Maybe that's why I have the preference for the Balinese spices. What about you?"

"Is this a time to be thinking about food?"

"Name something, please?"

Patience sighed. She bit her lower lip and shrugged. "Evan and I were talking about soul food."

"Soul food, huh?"

"Yeah. Think southern cooking, but throw in some collared greens on the side, too. Ham hock, chitterlings, anything that will clog the arteries. I haven't had unhealthy food since I arrived in this city, years ago. And ice cream. I miss ice cream. Real ice cream, made from real dairy products."

"Just focus on that, okay?" Charlie gave her wrist a gentle pat. "Please, just think about what you want to make if you prefer to cook, or what you'd order if you would prefer to do that. Don't think about anything else. Can you do that for me?"

"I don't understand." Patience sighed, frustrated.

"Focus on food. I'll explain later."

"What's your plan?" she asked.

"We wait until it's clear. They'll send a maintenance tech to check on the sub. He'll be alone, and I'll handle him. You keep your mind clear, or think about food. We'll get something to eat real soon."

"You can pilot one of those things?"

Charlie grinned. "They drive just like a video game. I played a lot of video games as a kid." He paused for effect, and then said, "I stowed away on one of those coming in. I studied what the pilot was doing. I can do it."

"If you get my daughter killed..."

"She's safer with me than here in this place."

"Fine but how can you use their weapons against them?"

"The man I'm working for ... The one who wants me to help you ... he helped to design a transparent plastic sheet that goes over my hand like a glove. So long as use it when holding weapons, the bio-lockout won't be an issue."

"I see. So long as they touched it before you did, it would be okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, shh, " he whispered to her. Charlie narrowed his gaze, squinting. "Here comes the maintenance tech. Wait for me to signal you. Once I've handled him, then I will motion for you to come out. Okay?"

"Okay. What if something happens to...?"

"Stop," he said firmly. "If I were caught, they won't catch you. Don't come out until I signal. Promise me."

"I promise," said Patty.

"Me too," whispered Haley.

"Great. Okay." Charlie opened the grate, slid out, and replaced it on the pipe. He walked through the private marina and carefully timed his footsteps to mimic those made by the maintenance tech, walking down the dock.

Charlie moved behind the man and paused. The man fainted and fell back into Charlie's waiting arms.

He dragged the man back up the dock. He sat the man down, carefully, and guided him to his back.

Charlie looked around. He narrowed his gaze.

A moment later, two dockworkers came running out of the dock-master's office. They rushed down toward Charlie, at the top of the pier.

He waited, arms folded. The two men ran towards him.

Charlie remained relaxed and casual. He reached his hands up just as the first man pulled his weapon free. Charlie guided the attacker into a pivot.

The weapon discharged, striking the second man. Charlie brought his knee up into the first dockworker's gut. He disarmed attacker, guiding him to all fours, and put the gun against the man's head from behind.

The worker froze and swallowed.

Charlie leaned forward. "You've got a family, huh? Make sure you hug them tonight. I'm not like Aris Falcon. I won't orphan your children. This is your lucky day." Charlie thumbed a switch on the weapon.

The man keeled over to the right, unconscious. Charlie thumbed the safety and slid the energy pistol into his waistband. He hooked his arms beneath the man's armpits and dragged the man back towards the unconscious sub tech.

Charlie walked up to the office and stepped inside. He drew out his weapon and shot the phone base.

The dock-master looked up with the receiver still in his hand, jaw agape. "Who the hell are you?"

"You were calling for help. Sorry, can't allow that."

"Who the hell are you?"

Charlie lifted the weapon and studied it for a moment. "I love these. Don't you? On lethal, they'll punch a hole through almost anything in the immediate area. And they're almost completely silent. I'd be deaf if I fired a real gun in here."

"Who are you?"

"I don't have a slick superhero name. Just call me Charlie." He moved towards the man and relaxed his body, focusing on the dock-master.

All at once, the dock-master slumped in his chair.

Charlie thumbed the safety and stashed the weapon again. He walked out of the dock-master's office and headed down the pier to the sub.

Charlie twirled his pistol. Same as before, it took several times before he caught it properly. At the end of the dock, he turned to a set of pipes that came from the bulkheads. With a reassuring smile, he waved as a signal.

Patience and Haley came out of hiding and made their way down the dock. Patience pursed her lips. "I saw you shot the one guy with the other's gun. But what did you do to the other two men? They just ... fell over."

"Ancient Chinese sorcery. I willed those men unconscious with my chi."

She blinked, unsure if he was serious, based on his tone. "Then why use the gun on one of the men?"

"I can only do it to one person, and it takes a bit of focus. I shot the wife beater and spared the family man."

"Wife beater?" Patty scrunched her brows. "How would you know that? Did you scout this area before bringing us here?"

"Nothing that complicated. I'll explain soon. C'mon. Let's get out of here."

"So you have an ability? Like my husband?"

"I like to tell people my special power is having superior luck in the face of bad things. But it's a little more complicated than that."

"If you had enhanced luck, you wouldn't have messed up when twirling your gun."

Charlie frowned. "Maybe I'm lucky against opposition, not by myself. Maybe I lessen the luck of those who I deem..."

"Why did you ask me to focus on food?"

"I just figured..."

Patience walked past him and lifted her daughter up. She carried Haley up the gangplank. "He's going to lie to us. Come on, Booboo. We'll figure out how to operate this sub ourselves."

Charlie sighed. "I'm telepathic, alright? I overloaded the minds of those other guys, and forced them to faint. I can see what people are about to do while they go through the motions. I can subconsciously respond to their subconscious thoughts. I can respond to their actions as they make them. But I have to keep my mind clear to do it. Anxiety is very loud. It's like angry distorted noise in the background. I didn't want you worrying. That's distracting. So I asked you to focus on something else."

"I already figured out that you're telepathic," she said with a sigh. "I just don't like being lied to. I get it - you want to hide it. You didn't want to tell me in a place where Falcon might be able to listen to our conversation ... like my apartment. That's why I forgave it back there. But you need to be honest with me if you expect me to trust you with the safety of my daughter."

"I won't lie anymore. On the surface, it's illegal to be psychic. So it's a defense mechanism. It won't happen again. Now, get in the sub. Let's go." Charlie made his way up the gangplank and followed them into the sub.

Patience wrinkled her nose at the scent of sex.

Charlie cringed and sniffed at the air. "Oh my god, why does it smell like that in here?"

Patience sighed. "I'm not sure I wanted to know that Nichole Parker was so promiscuous."

Charlie sensed the words from her mind and shook his head. "That's awfully judgmental." He pulled the hatch shut and cranked the wheel, locking it into place.

"Just get us out of here."

"You got it." Charlie peered behind the ladder at the two twin beds, brought together as one large one. He sniffed at the air and cringed again. "I'm really sorry about this. I didn't expect to bring two classy ladies into a French you-know-what house."

Patience sighed. "We'll make due. I'm going to put these beds up, and turn them back into tables. It's designed like the interior of an RV. I'll handle it. Get us out of here."

Charlie moved to the front of the sub. "I haven't told you everything, yet, because if we're captured, they could get the information out of you. I'm waiting until we're safe. I shouldn't have told you I was telepathic. Had I manifested before the EC disappeared in 2023, they would have tracked me down and killed me. It's illegal to have my ability."

"You said that earlier. I never asked, but now I want to know - why?" Patience folded the beds down and turned them back into chairs and booth tables. "Why would someone face death for having a certain ability?"

"Because my ability is an invasion of privacy. It's too much of a temptation, and you learn things you shouldn't. If my ability was legal, instead of killing us, the EC would force telepaths to become supernatural cops arresting people before they commit a crime. Then you'd have a breakdown in proper criminal justice. And that's just one example of why telepathy is considered forbidden by everyone. Telepathic people could easily power-play situations, and manipulate people, and sell defense secrets for money. It would be a mess."

Patience frowned. "How many telepaths are there?"

"I'm the only one right now. The last one known to exist was killed by the Esoteric Council fifty years ago. I'm told he was a really good guy. He even turned himself in, in exchange for amnesty for his friends."

"Geeze. He died in 1999? That's a long time ago."

"Yeah." Charlie feigned a smile. "The gentleman I'm working for, we call him Peter; he knew the guy. My pal was trying to help this guy. He felt an honest telepath could make the world a better place. So that's what we're tying to do. I'm working with a group that wants to make the world a better place."

The sub began moving. Charlie piloted it away from the birth, hands on the controls. "That's how I was able to study what one of the pilots was doing when I stowed away. I telepathically studied him while he piloted the sub. I can do this."

"We owe you our lives, Charlie. I just wish I understood why you helped us. In my experience, everyone has a motive. If I understood your motive, it would be easier to trust you."

Charlie sighed. "I get it. You're a woman, and you have a young girl with you. I'm a man. You want to know what my intentions are so you know if you can relax or not."

"Your telepathy tell you that?"

"Well, yes, but men can sometimes be real scum. So I already knew you might not have gone with me if I didn't save you. So the truth is, I waited until that guy went after you ... Jasper I mean. If I approached you out of the blue, you would have no reason to go with me."

"I should be mad," she said. "I'm not. You waited for Falcon and his goons to show their hand before making your move. I get it."

Charlie sighed in relief. "I thought you were going to be really mad. I see you're a logically-minded woman." He piloted the sub through a hatch, leading out to the Atlantic Ocean. "Now we just have to get home."

"I understand why you can't tell me anything. You're worried it will be ... extracted from me if we're captured. We made it out. At this point, they won't capture us, they'll try and blow up the sub with ordinance. So why don't you just tell me how you know my husband, and why you rescued me, considering I'm powerless and useless to you."

"My name is Charles Foster. My brother was Evan's best friend, Johann. I heard exciting tales of my brother and his best friend saving people's lives with their abilities. Mine hadn't yet manifested. I came to New Atlantis to find my brother."

"Oh my God." Patience turned to her daughter. "Stay back here. I'm going up front. Draw something in your sketchbook, Booboo. We'll be okay."

Haley pursed her lips. "You don't really think we'll be blown up, do you?"

"Honey, if he's telepathic, he can tell if we're being targeted. He can sense if someone is looking our direction, so we can move. We'll be okay." She kissed her daughter's forehead and came up to the front of the sub.

Patty slid into the copilot seat and sighed. In a soft voice, she said, "I had to lie to her. I don't want her to worry." She rubbed her eyes. "I'm sure it's too far for you to know if we're being watched, right?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm assuming the torpedoes would be remotely guided, like a drone, from some safe place at the heart of that stupid city."

"Yeah..." Patience reached towards a satnav monitor.

"No, don't."

"What? Why? How are we going to know which way to go?"

"If you boot that up," Charlie warned, "it will be easier to figure out where we are. At this point, they will need to triangulate an approximate area. That means they'll send subs or patrol boats. Those I can avoid."

"How do you know we won't end up going the wrong direction?"

"Because I know how a simple compass works. It doesn't matter where we go in America, we just have to get to America and we'll be fine. It's not far."

"We're close to the coast?"

"Close enough. I'm thinking two or three hours if we manage to stay two steps ahead."

"Your brother was a good man."

Charlie replied with a weak smile of appreciation. "I wish I could get him out of stasis. I got there and everything is automated. I thought I could just sense how to do it from someone operating the computers or something, but telepathy isn't helpful against computers."

"I'm sorry, Ch..." She stopped herself, not wanting to sound like she was making a pun. "I'm sorry it didn't work out. Fox Parker is the one who could..." Patience trailed off and groaned. "That's who that was."

"The third man coming off the sub was Fox Parker, huh? So is Nichole Parker his wife or something?"

"No, she's his ... aunt." Patience made a sour face. "And it smelled like sex in here. That's ... well, it's par for the course, I guess. Fox and his twin sister - they're an item."

"Oh Christ, that's disturbing. So now he's banging his younger aunt? Or is the aunt immortal?"

"I think she heals."

"That's a messed up family."

"That's how I guessed your range isn't very far, because you couldn't sense their names from where we were hiding."

Charlie grinned at her. He moved the controls, piloting the sub in a zigzag pattern. "Yeah. I couldn't get Fox's name from across the marina. My range is pretty limited."

"Well, thank you for risking your life, Charlie."

He tipped his invisible hat again. "Shucks, ma'am."

"You're..." She looked him over and smiled, "A lot like my husband."

"If by that you mean I am happy being a complete geek, then yes."

She laughed softly.

"I just want to get you home to him," Charlie said. "Then I want to figure out how to get my brother out of that freaky city. The people I work with are seeking out some of the most powerful Specials in the world, so we can make some real changes. We want things to get better. These people have real vision."

"Who are they, can we trust them?"

"Definitely. They want rare, trustworthy, powerful people who can make a difference. I'm on their list. Johann is on their list. Some guy name Justus Loupe is part of the group." He frowned. "I shouldn't tell you anymore. No offense. It's nothing to do with you. I just don't want to implement you. Some of these people prefer nobody even knows about us."

"So why are you telling me you're part of an elite group?"

Charlie smirked. "Because I'm a blabber mouth. I'm new at this whole thing. I was just a kid from Chicago that started perceiving other people's thoughts. I'm on the team because of my ability, not my experience with this sort of thing. And, because I want to rescue my brother, I'm totally onboard with the whole thing."

"Evan has friends, too. And they're going to stop Falcon."

"Why would Evan consider going back there, now that you're not there? Once I get you reunited, I mean."

"Because it's the right thing to do. Evan always does the right thing, even if it's not always the easy way of doing things."

"I'm told he's a good guy."

"He is," she said with a fond smile. "I can't wait to see him again. Do you have anyone else to recruit, besides your brother?"

"Yeah, some guy on the District Coast, named Rama Darken. He's supposed to be some sort of ... messiah of Fenris or something. So, yeah. Him."

"Understood. Maybe I can help until we find a path leading us to Evan."

"I have a better idea. You can stay with me and my friends in Syracuse. You'll be safe with us while I look for your husband."

"Thank you, Charlie. Your brother would be proud of you." She slid out of the chair and went to the back with her daughter.

X

---

X

Wednesday, November 3 - mid-morning Chicago, Illinois ...

The boy, Conner Parker, lowered to one knee peering beneath the hovering sedan. He reached his hand underneath, waving it around. "So this is why we've seen asphalt being put down all over the place for the last two years? I mean, I've heard about these, but I'm still floored."

Evan Balmoral, a middle-aged black man with short hair and kind brown eyes, looked Conner over and grinned. "I'm glad I'm not the only one excited about hovering cars. I came back just in time. I wish my wife was here to see this."

Conner, grandson of Jonathan Conner Parker Jr., was a sixteen-year-old master thief. And, while he wasn't interested in things society considered 'nerdy' or 'geeky,' Conner was a social outcast in other ways.

He had no social skills, no peer group, and he was homeschooled. He didn't have the same interests as other teenaged boys. Most importantly, Conner had unhealthy obsessions - he put his training first, and the rest of the world came second.

Evan felt a kinship to someone who strived to be a superhero, even if it wasn't for all the same reasons. Evan also remembered being a teenager, which helped him to better relate to Conner.

Conner stood up next to the car. "This is amazing. But it's just a distraction. We need to stay on task."

Evan grinned. "If you say so, bud." The kid had panache as a master thief, but he lacked the ability to stop and smell the roses. Evan gave Conner a firm pat on the shoulder.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Conner rubbed his sore jaw, in pain from a broken tooth.

"You need to learn how to take a moment to appreciate the small things. These are the things we're fighting to preserve in the world. Else, what's the point of saving the world?" Evan cupped his hand under Conner's chin and said, "Let me see how bad your tooth is getting."

"I don't need a dentist."

"You need antibiotics for that infection settling in your gum line. You can't save the world if you die from stubbornness."

"I'm not going to die."

"Open up."

"Evan, man, c'mon. We're in public. You're embarrassing me."

Evan arched his brows. "You're embarrassing yourself. You just don't have the empathy or social skills to see what other people think about you. I was like that when I was your age."

"You're not looking in my mouth. That's just weird."

Evan laughed. "C'mon, let's go. Your uncle James's stepfather was pretty clear about the files he needs us to grab from his office."

"This is stupid," Conner groused. "Greg Watson, or whatever his name is, could get these files with a single phone call. I mean, I get it - he doesn't want anyone to know he's still alive, or to trace where he's hiding. But it was Methos who told him to hide. Methos is dead. Or ... whatever the guy calls himself."

"Methos changed is name to Lance Patterson a long time ago. The reason you're calling him 'Methos,' is because Reno and Natalia called him by that name out of preference, and you hear that name from them. Look, Conner, we're not stealing these files from Greg Watson's office in order to preserve his low profile status."

"Then why?"

"Because if the files are stolen, Watson can feign ignorance with the handful of people who know he's alive. Nobody knows Watson still has that intel available. We're framing the bad guys." Evan threw his hands up in the air. "Listen to me!"

"What?"

"We're role-reversed, Conner. I'm usually the one who dislikes stealing and lying, and you're the one who comfortably operates in the grey areas. But I'm defending this mess, and you're questioning it. Don't you see how weird that is?"

"I guess. But we need this information for ourselves, too. I can use it to try and find the guy who attacked Natalia Kincade and nuked my hometown."

Evan frowned. "Hey, it's my hometown, too. If it really was Loki Laufeyjarson, I want that guy brought to justice."

"God you're so hokey when you say stuff like that." Conner rubbed his jaw again. He continued walking up the block until the two reached an impressive, tall government building.

"Wow, that's taller than most of the other buildings in this city."

Conner lifted his head, squinting to see the top of the skyscraper. "Fourth tallest building in the country. I bet I could free-climb that."

"You'd get unwanted attention, Conner."

"That's the point. Create a distraction while my sister gets in and grabs the paperwork. I could call her, you know."

Evan laughed and shook his head. "How about we stick to the plan?"

"No Master Thief worth his salt puts all his eggs in one basket, Evan. You come to the location, which we're doing now; you case the place, and make an addendum to the plan before you work the job. I'm just saying ... I could free climb that and let my sister steal the files. I'm a minor and technically an orphan from a city that just got nuked. I would get media attention, and people would feel sorry for me, and think it was a cry for attention."

"Let's keep that as a backup. How's that?"

Conner lowered his head and turned to Evan. "I'm just kidding, man. A good master thief doesn't want to make the front page. I don't need that shit in my life."

Evan folded his arms. "You know how I feel about cussing."

"No offense but it's just a stupid word. It has no real meaning. This is why aliens won't visit Earth. They're sitting up in their spaceships laughing because our species invents a handful of words we tell our children not to say. What if we tell our children, going forward, not to say, 'hnngh!' when we stub our toe or get upset? That simple grunt would become a cussword, and millions of people would consider a stupid grunt noise to be taboo. How fucking stupid would that be?"

Evan rolled his eyes. "You've made your point. Here's mine - you're going out of your way to act uncouth and tacky. Why? Because it makes you feel 'cool.' If you want to be classy, act classy. If you want people to define you as trashy, then by all means, Conner, act trashy so people judge you."

"You're too serious." Conner turned from Evan, facing the entrance to the skyscraper. "My mom has the unofficial record for speed climbing the tallest building in Dubai. She did it in the middle of the night. She videotaped it to prove how fast she could do it, but didn't show anyone because she's not a bragger. She didn't want the recognition, she didn't want the attention."

"Yeah?"

Conner turned back to Evan. "So, don't worry, I'm not going to climb the building. And people already judge me for being a spoiled rich kid. Do you think I care about their opinions? Nope. They can kiss my ass. Are you ready to tour the job?"

"I am. You said you had a plan to beat facial recognition software used in conjunction with surveillance cameras. What's the plan?"

Conner glared at Evan. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I don't want the police to see us walking through the building the day before your heist, and..."

Conner held his hand up. "Dude, you remember that sunscreen spray I made us both wear before we left the safe house?"

"Yeah?"

"Were you even listening when I told you why it makes your skin itch?"

"Sorry, Conner, your sister was trying to tell us information about the job and you two were talking over each other."

Conner groaned. "It settles in your pours and hardens. It changes the way light reflects off your face, temporarily changing the way recording equipment perceives the angles of your face."

Evan's jaw dropped. A slow smile formed. "So it fools facial recognition software."

"Yup. It looks like you are wearing makeup on your cheeks and forehead to someone, but that draws a lot less attention than wearing a nylon stocking over your face. But it has the same effect to facial-rec software. Closed circuit traffic cameras are watching us right now. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

"I'm impressed," Evan conceded. "Let's go case this place, then." He made his way up the steps and opened the door for Conner.

"If it looks easy enough, maybe we can do the job today. I just need to assess everything."

Together, they walked inside. However, they were surprised to see security officers gathering people in the lobby.

People came off elevators in groups. They were lined up, scanned and directed to exits on all four sides of the building.

"What the hell is going on?" Conner asked.

"I don't know. I'll ask." Evan approached a guard. The man was was busy checking briefcases for people being filtered out of the building. Evan cleared his throat. "What's going on?"

"Are you stupid? Don't bother me. I'm busy."

Evan gawked at the man.

Conner approached Evan and quietly asked, "Are you going to let him talk to you like that?"

"Is the building on fire?" Evan said to Conner in a soft voice. "Did we miss something?"

One of the people exiting the building took his briefcase back from the security guard, closed it and tucked it under his left arm. The man adjusted is tie and turned to Evan and Conner. "Do you two really not know that all Chicago government buildings are being evacuated?"

"Hey," the security guard snapped at the office worker, "Keep your mouth shut and move along."

The man with the briefcase narrowed his eyes at the security officer. "I don't tell you how to do your job. You can mind your own business regarding mine."

Conner and Evan exchanged confused glances. Evan asked, "What happened? Should we leave Chicago?"

"That would be smart, but there's really no safe place to go. That's the point the terrorist was trying to make."

Conner folded his arms. "What the hell is going on?"

The security guard snapped shut someone's computer bag and gestured another person to move through the line. He casually said, "Watch the news like everyone else. Stop bothering people; you're slowing down my evacuation line. Get the hell out of the building or I'll have you two arrested for trespassing."

The man with the briefcase headed for one of the four exits. "Get moving, you two."

Conner turned to Evan and discretely held his index finger up, mouthing the words, 'I have a plan.' He whirled around to the security guard and said, "My name is James Parker," he lied. "My stepfather is Greg Watson, director of USPRI. His office is in this building. Well, one of his offices. I'm here to see the assistant director of Homeland Security, because I just found my father alive, and I need to tell the assistant director. It's an emergency, because my stepfather's disappearance has a lot to do with this terror plot. We couldn't risk calling the guy, it was supposed to be an off-the-record meeting, because I have a message for..."

The security guard whirled around and took Conner by his collar. "Who the hell do you think you are, kid? What kind of game are you playing with me? Greg Watson was abducted from this building several months ago. He's dead by now. You had better have some legitimate identification, or I will detain you until the FBI comes to pick you up for questioning."

Conner held his hands out towards Evan, gesturing for Evan to stand down. "I didn't bring my wallet with me because I'm lying low. Can't risk anyone knowing who I am, okay? But I have my phone on me. It's inside my front right pants pocket."

The guard shoved Conner up against the side of a security booth. He used his right forearm to hold Conner in place by his neck.

Conner didn't resist.

The guard used his left hand to reach into Conner's right front pants pocket. The man pulled Conner's phone out and thumbed the screen. "What's the code, kid?" He held it towards Conner expectantly.

Conner touched the screen with his index finger. The phone unlocked.

The guard thumbed his way to the settings and opened the 'about' section. The phone's screen showed it was registered to 'Jaye Parker'. The guard backed out to the home screen and opened the contacts list. He scrolled down to a listing for 'dad,' which had several numbers. The guard recognized the last four digits of one of the numbers.

"The 'work' number is for this building. I will do a background check on you right now to make sure you are really Director Watson's stepson. And if your fingerprint doesn't match the one in the computer system, on file, in my office ... I promise I will personally take you to the FBI building down the block. You will be arrested as a terrorist."

Conner shrugged. "Let's go. I'll give you my prints all day. Whatever you want. But you really need to stop being rude to me."

"Parker," Evan said, carefully only calling Conner by his last name. "What are you getting yourself into, man?"

"Just have patience. It'll only take a second." Conner went with the security guard into the security booth. Another officer came out to take the first guard's place, filtering people out and checking for classified documents, to ensure nothing was leaving the building.

Even waited in the lobby, trying to avoid the crowd filtering through the exits.

In the security booth, Conner put his hands on a black scanning pad and closed his eyes. He focused on integrating with the computer system. He drew in a slow, deep breath, accessing James Parker's personnel file, linked to Director Watson's file.

Instead of the computer showing Conner's prints on the screen, James' file opened. A confirmation box opened in the top right corner of the screen.

The guard turned to Conner and frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you. You look young for your age. I thought you were supposed to be in your mid-twenties." The officer opened James' file. Conner's picture loaded on the screen.

"So we're good? I need to get upstairs and you have a job to do down here. I'll find you on the way out. Oh," Conner turned to face the officer. "And for the record, that was really not smart of me to have announced my dad is still alive. At least not until we know who we can trust. So, please, keep it to yourself. I know where the assistant director's office is. I also know he'll be the last person to leave this building. He's probably in some SCIF right now. I'll find you when I leave, so you know I'm out of the building okay?"

"My orders are to get all essential personnel out of the building, and then leave. My Captain will be on location, but I'll have left after everyone else is out of the building."

"Alright, I'll stop by and announce my departure to your boss, okay?"

"Fine. I'll let him know you're heading up. Do not deviate. There are security cameras."

Conner nodded in understanding. "I'm telling you, right now, that my dad also asked me to take a file from his desk to the assistant director. I'm not taking anything out of the building. It's just a file dad wanted in the hands of the main Homeland branch. He gave me specific instructions on where to find it in his desk."

"We'll check you on the way out to make sure you're not taking anything out of the building. I'll tell my superior that you're going to your dad's office, and to the assistant director's office. The supply elevator is in the hall behind the locked door next to the lobby bathrooms. I'll buzz you through."

"Thanks." Conner let himself out of the security booth and waved for Evan to follow. "We're taking the maintenance and supply elevator up. Follow me."

Evan fell into step behind Conner. "I don't know how you pulled that off, but I got answers from someone leaving the building. We're in serious trouble."

Conner and Evan made their way to the back corner of the lobby. They went past the bathrooms. Upon nearing a third, unmarked door, an electronic lock hummed. Conner pulled the door open and went through with Evan.

Once they were in the back hall, they headed for an elevator at the end. Janitor offices and supply closets lined the hallway.

Evan sighed. "Con..."

"Call me Parker here. Better safe than sorry."

"Listen, Parker, there is a third nuke."

Conner stopped in his tracks. He pivoted about and faced Evan. "Third? I thought there was only one?"

Evan brought his palms to his forehead. "Don't you ever watch the news? Nichole Parker and Laura Báthory found the first one. They became household names overnight, and now no one can find them."

"I, uh, must have missed that."

"The Navy only reported one weapon went missing, but it turns out two weapons were stolen. One missile was a 20-kiloton warhead. The other was a MIRV, and had multiple payloads. Combined, it's one megaton."

Conner licked his lips but said nothing.

Evan frowned. "I didn't mean to scare you, man, but you really need to watch more TV."

"Why? Who cares about TV?"

Evan frowned. "This morning the terrorist made a press release on TV, Conner. It only showed his silhouette, and his voice was distorted."

"What did the guy say?"

Evan signed, "Whoever he is, he personally came on television and announced to the country that there is one final bomb and it's somewhere in North America. He didn't say where. Instead, he said he's holding the United States, Canada and northern Mexico hostage. He said the attack could be anywhere, so running away doesn't guarantee safety. He said anywhere we go, North Americans might very-well be running right towards it."

"Jesus..."

Evan pulled his phone from his back pocket. "I looked up the news bulletin while you were in that little booth. I don't know how you pulled it off, but I'm impressed. Anyway, do you want to read it for yourself and see what this guy said?"

"No. You gave me the highlights. That's more than enough. So, the government is evacuating high priority buildings and getting their people in place to prepare for a continuity-of-Government scenario, huh?"

"It appears that way." Evan sighed. "Chicago, LA, Dallas, and Seattle are the highest populated cities left in this country. In that order. Any one of them would make for a huge target."

Conner cut his gaze to the floor. "If I was a bad guy, I would nuke California, Iowa, Texas, Nebraska and Illinois." His eyes lifted. "It would starve the country. You said the last missile was a MIRV? What if this psycho wants to use multiple payloads? That's what a MIRV is, right? One of those multiple-whatever-whatever-vehicles. A missile that shoots a bunch of little warheads out of it to hit a bunch of targets at once, right?"

"Starving the country," Evan whispered. "They've already hit California. Texas produces more food than Nebraska and Illinois. So maybe Dallas is the next choice."

"We don't know if this guy is thinking like us," Conner said. "Why do you think there's only one more bomb?"

"Because this guy said there is one more 'fairly large bomb, many times larger than the one that destroyed San Francisco.' I'm assuming he combined the MIRV payloads."

"So he has a one megaton nuke somewhere in this country?"

Evan shrugged. "You'd need geniuses to find a way to combine the payload and keep the same power. It's likely he built a large dirty bomb, but it would be less than one megaton."

Conner reached up and pulled at his hair. "This guy is getting in the way of us going after Falcon. We can't go after my parents with the whole fucking country being held hostage like this! We have to figure out a way to find the bomb, and we have to stop it!"

Evan said nothing. He drew in a slow, calming breath, and gestured his hand towards the supply elevator at the end of the hall.

Conner threw his hands up in disgust and stormed off. The elevator opened at the end of the hall. Three men, wearing black flak and ski masks, emerged from the lift.

Seeing Evan and Conner, they lifted their assault weapons. One of the three men went for his radio and said, "Target Epsilon and Charlie are on premises! Requesting backup!"

A familiar male voice came over the radio. "I'm on my way, what is your location?"

"Supply elevator, ground floor!"

Conner tightened his hands into fists. "I know that voice. That was Joe Pendleton."

Evan looked up at a security camera dome. He couldn't see through the tinted dome. "Conner, is that camera seeing this?"

One of the soldiers said, "You two shut up until the boss gets down here!"

Conner pursed his lips and breathed through his nose, trying not to lose his temper. After a brief pause, he said, "It's showing the hallway is empty. Someone is feeding it a loop. If I had more time, I could override the hacked feed, but we're kind of staring down the barrels of several guns."

"I said Shut up!"

Evan ignored the armed soldier. "I can create a shield barrier for you."

Conner shook his head. "You saw those security guards out there. They weren't even wearing body armor. They had pistols. They're severely outgunned."

"Fine. Let's just handle these guys and..." Even trailed off. "Did you hear that?"

An emergency fire exit door opened, and Joe Pendleton Sr. walked into the back hallway from the left. He opened his arms and with a bright smile, said, "Conner!"

"You want me to glass him in a corner?"

Conner shook his head. "I need to do this. We have a thing."

"Oh. He's your nemesis. Well, don't let me get between you and a rivalry. Lord knows I'm only too happy to stand around all day and wait for the possibility that a nuclear bomb might wipe us out."

Pendleton cut his gaze from Conner to Evan. "Chicago isn't the target or we wouldn't be here stealing information on what the Government knows about the operation, boys. So stop worrying."

Conner's jaw dropped. "Tell me you are not stupid enough to have something to do with this."

"Sorry, mate. You should know I only play for the winning side by now."

"I'm going to find Falcon and I'm going to..."

Pendleton interrupted Conner with a laugh. "Falcon? He's yesterday's news! He got into bed with someone much more impressive and motivated to change the world. I've been working with the new guy ever since. He calls himself Loki, like the Norse deity. Fancy that, eh mate? The bloke thinks he's a god. But right now, he might as well be, because he has a nuke, and he's already proven he has no problems using such devices to get his way."

"You piece of shit."

Joe tilted his head. "You don't have your little gold stick this time, huh? That's a shame."

"I don't need it to kick your ass, old man."

Pendleton shrugged. "Oi, mate, if you want to have a go at it, then what're you waiting for?" He glanced over his shoulder and told the three mercenaries, "Head for the fire escape. Stick to the plan."

Evan lifted his hands. The fire door glassed over with a thick panel. "How about you all stay right here and we have a chat." The assault rifles glassed over. Each weapon dissolved into silica powder. "Does Falcon know you double-crossed him for that Loki guy?"

Pendleton looked down at the pile of sand-like dust on the floor of the elevator. "That's a game changer, now, innit?" The elevator began to ding, loudly, in protest of having its doors open for too long.

No one spoke.

Pendleton stepped forward and waved for his three men to step off the elevator. The doors slid shut. The dinging stopped. He lifted his gaze to Evan and Conner. "Nice trick, guv. So you have abilities like the good doctor, do you? Fair enough. We've not betrayed Falcon, per say. We simply prefer to take orders from his colleague instead."

"We're going to find the bomb," Conner said.

"No." Joe shook his head. "You won't. It's constantly on the move. We will use it to destroy whatever it's closest to when the time comes to detonate it. It's well shielded; you won't be able to find it, even with Vincent's help. He couldn't find the last one, and it was right under his nose."

Evan frowned. "Conner, he has information we need. Let's..."

"He's mine," Conner snapped. "This is personal. I won't kill him." Parker's eyes met Joseph's gaze. They stood at opposite ends of the hall almost like a Mexican standoff. "But he'll wish I did when I'm done with him."

"I'd love to see it kid. Come up here and humble me. But if you lose, you'll wake up in the boot of my car - if you wake up."

"Conner..."

Pendleton smirked, delighted to get a rise out of Parker. "So what's it going to be? You going to let your friend use his powers on me? Or do you want to find out which of us is truly better?"

"Conner, we don't have time. I'm going to glass him."

"Oi!" Joe called. "You, black chap - what's yer name, mate?"

"You know who I am. Your men have codenames for us."

"Tha's true, I know your name. I thought I'd give you the dignity to introduce yourself like a man. No matter, though. There is an explosive in the parking garage, beneath this building. We're going to bring it to the foundation to cover ourselves leaving. You want to be a hero with your powers?"

"Boss!" One of the mercenaries hissed.

Joe held his hand out to quiet his men. "Glass man, you could encase those bombs in enormously thick panes and keep them from destroying the supports and the foundation wall beneath this building. You could save lives. But you're running out of time. Alternatively, you could save your own lives and get far away from this building."

Silence. Evan and Conner looked at one another.

Joe cleared his throat and glanced at his smart-watch. "Seven minutes and change."

Conner grimaced. "He could be lying. There might be half that time."

Evan raised his hands up, blocking in Pendleton and the three mercenaries, so that they were trapped and couldn't leave. "Conner, get out. You've already had one building fall on your head. Go."

"We need that file!"

"GO!" Evan shouted. "I need to warn everyone to get out. I'll tell security. You get out and get clear of the area. I'll meet back up with you at the safe house."

"Evan!"

"GO!" Evan grabbed Conner by his shirt and shoved him down the hall towards the fire exit. "Take up your rivalry with the son; if this guy dies, it's his own fault. Now get out of here! You said it yourself - he might be lying about the time. Move! I'm going to warn everyone in the lobby, and get clear. I'll meet you at the safe house!"

Conner looked back at Pendleton and his crew. "You'll have just killed four people. That will mess you up later."

Evan took Conner by his collar and walked him to the fire exit doorway. "Get. The. Fuck. Out!"

Conner's eyes widened in astonishment, never having heard Evan cuss before.

The shock-tactic worked. Evan shoved Conner through the door and pulled it shut. It clicked into place, locking Conner out.

Evan walked back towards Joe Pendleton. "If I die, you die. How much time is really left?"

Evan closed his hand into a fist, and then opened it in a deliberately slow manner. A vented slat opened up in the front of the glass panel.

Joe looked at his wrist again. "Four minutes and change. Not enough time to get everyone downstairs and outside."

Evan narrowed his eyes. "If I die, you die. If you double-cross me, your ass is glass."

"Your file says you don't cuss."

Evan reached through the glass panel and pulled Pendleton out, leaving his crew encased within. "You and the jerk you're working for just nuked my hometown. Nine thousand people died. They evacuated all the way north of Napa Valley."

"Oi, I get it, you're livid."

"Livid?! That doesn't begin to describe it. Now move. We're headed for the basement."

---

Next Chapter: https://www.sofurry.com/view/835647