Chapter 39

Saturday, June 12, 2010

“Tell me what you’ve got,” Jake said

“I’m at a Holiday Inn Express,” Mark said. “It’s on the edge of the city, right next to the interstate. There’re almost no cars here. But there is a big silver Mercedes.”

“Two door or four door?”

“Sedan. It’s an S600, just like Carol said.”

“Hold on a sec.” Jake turned to Havel. “Get back to the interstate. Head north.” Jake went back to Mark. “Are you out of sight, Mark?”

“I’m parked about a block away at the moment.”

“Good. Which exit should we get off at?”

“Take the Valley exit.”

“Do me a favor, Mark. Call Jan and ask her to come. If Ellen’s been raped, she will need a woman.”

“Of course, Jake.”

“You and she need to stay out of sight until we free Ellen.”

“Will do.”

“And Mark? Thanks.”

“You know we would do anything we could for her.”

“I’ll call you when she’s safe.”

“You be careful, Jake.”

“I’ll do that.”

Jake rang off. Havel was pulling onto the highway.

“Boris, let’s go to the motel office first. I’ll get the room number and a key from the clerk. We can’t let Harris see your car. He might recognize it from this morning.” Jake considered for a minute. “I know. Let’s go around the block. We’ll borrow Mark Harrison’s car.”

“What are you going to do once you’ve got the room number and the key?”

“Then it’s his abilities against mine. I hope I’ve got the advantage. He shouldn’t know I’m coming. He may be fuzzy because of the drugs. I might have a range advantage.”

“I’ll be about thirty feet behind you.”

“If I fail, you’re the only chance there is to save Ellen and me. Don’t break in on him. Your only hope is to stay out of his range and pick him off when he comes out. Take the Valley exit. It’s coming up.”

Havel drove around the block behind the motel. They found Mark sitting in his car.

“Jake, why haven’t you called the police?”

“There’s a very good reason that I can’t go into at the moment. It’s got to be me and Boris that get her back. She’s probably already been hurt. If the police go in, she’ll get hurt a lot worse. Oh, and let me borrow your car. My father will recognize Boris’s car.”

Even as he gave it, Jake realized that his excuse sounded inane. The police were exactly the kind of help they needed, or would if it weren’t for the fact that Harris was a mind reader.

Jake saw that Mark was still thinking about calling the police. He didn’t want to meddle with Mark, but Jake decided he had to do something. He opted for the least intrusive technique. He pushed Mark to trust him more.

“I sure hope you know what you’re doing,” Mark said as he pulled out his keys and handed them to Havel.

Havel drove back the way they had come and pulled up in front of the office.

“This is good,” Jake said. “We’re out of sight from the rooms. Tap your horn if he comes this way.”

Jake walked into the office. He hit the desk clerk with a desire to cooperate. The clerk was happy to tell Jake Harris’s room number and make him a key card.

“How long has he been here?”

“He checked in earlier this morning, about eight. I don’t know if he’s left his room since then.”

“Tell me where the room is.”

After getting the precise location of the room and the layout of the motel, he returned to the car.

“I’m going to walk along the front of the building,” Jake told Havel. “The sidewalk goes past his room. It’s room number 118 and it’s on the first floor. When I’ve taken care of him, I’ll come out and signal you. I’d rather you drove the car over there before I start. Can you park about thirty feet from the room?”

“I think that’s best. I won’t look so conspicuous. You know that you’re going to look out of place, skulking along.”

“I’ll try to look like I belong. Go ahead. I’ll wait here until you’re in place.”

Jake got out of the car and waited. It only took Boris a minute to park the car. He was several doors down from Harris’s room.

Jake walked as casually as he could down the sidewalk. He stopped when he figured he was thirty to thirty-five feet away. He looked around the parking lot as though he were waiting for someone. His stomach was knotted up. He wished he were braver.

The parking lot was mostly empty. There were no minds within range. Most everyone had probably already checked out. Aside from Boris, there was nobody in sight, not even a maid.

Jake took a step toward the room, and then another. Nothing. He took a third step and felt the beginnings of contact. One more step. The contact, though vague, was definitely someone radiating distress. He began to tremble. He forced himself to take another step.

He detected the faint emissions of a second mind. This one was angry. Jake took a few seconds to get himself under control. He focused on his breathing, trying to calm himself. If he kept his mind blank, it would reduce the range at which he could be detected.

Jake strove to view the situation clinically. He tried to sense what was going on in the angry mind. The next step took him to within twenty feet of the door. Harris himself might be farther or nearer than that depending on where he was in the room. But even if Jake’s range was longer than Harris’s, Jake was about to come close enough for Harris to sense him.

He took another step.

The angry mind was in pain. He was woozy, too. That was enough confirmation for Jake. It was definitely Harris.

Jake felt Ellen’s mind explode in pain as though from a blow. Jake made himself disengage emotionally. It was one of the hardest things he had ever done. He would not be able to help her if Harris were alerted to his presence.

Jake counted ten deep breaths. He thought of nothing but his breathing. He took another step. Ellen’s face hurt. So did one of her hands, badly. Her vagina was sore and her anus was in real pain. She was aroused and ashamed.

Ellen exploded in pain again. Harris had done something brutal to a finger. Jake felt a wave of nausea. He wasn’t sure if it was coming from him or from Ellen. Fear and anger surged in him.

Breathe, Jake told himself. Detach. Calm down.

He made himself focus on Harris. He tried to examine the structures in Harris’s mind. He avoided analysis. Thought would draw Harris’s attention. He looked for the nerve bundles that triggered sleep, but he was not close enough to resolve them. They were just out of reach.

Harris’s good arm pressed against Ellen’s throat. He could feel her struggle to breathe. She panicked. Harris exulted in his power over her. Jake’s anger flared.

Detach! he commanded himself, but he was too slow. Harris had become aware of him. Jake felt his muscles beginning to tense up. It was a feeling he had never experienced, like his whole body was starting to cramp up. The sensation was weak but getting slowly stronger.

But why hadn’t Harris tried to take command of him? He must know that Jake wasn’t a physical threat to him. Or did he? If Jake was right at the edge of Harris’s range, Harris was probably only aware of him as a presence. At most, he would have sensed Jake’s emotions. He wouldn’t yet have been able to tell Jake’s intentions. Did he think that Jake was a police officer? If so, Harris must feel he had to stop him before more police were called in.

Jake took another step. He was still more than fifteen feet from the door. The cramping became worse. He could not quite make out the nerves to send Harris to sleep but he knew he was close.

When his mind was as calm and as blank as he could make it, Jake tried to take another step. His leg muscles didn’t respond. He had to swing his leg forward from the hip. And then again with the other leg.

He finally saw the nerves, but he was still nearly fifteen feet away. He could not send a large, incapacitating burst of energy from that distance. He might have some effect, though. Harris was already groggy.

Jake pushed as much energy as he could into the three nerve bundles. Nothing. Jake strained, trying to put out just a little more power. Then Jake saw that he was having an effect, but it was only slight.

Jake could not wait any longer. He tried to step quickly to the door. His legs failed him entirely. He fell forward to the ground, his body rigid. His arms refused to brace his fall. His face hit the concrete hard. The cramping and spasm in his body got suddenly worse.

He struggled to keep sending the energy into Harris’s mind. He almost despaired. Then he noticed that the pressure on Ellen’s throat was easing. His fall had brought him into Harris’s range, but it had also brought Harris into his. After a moment, the pressure on Ellen’s throat let off completely. Harris was asleep.

Jake breathed out heavily with relief. He realized his mistake. If he had just walked past the room like an employee or a motel guest, Harris would have ignored him. Jake could have walked right up to the room and sent him to sleep instantly. It was probably his loitering nearby that had caught Harris’s attention. If not for his paralysis and the cramping muscles, Jake would have laughed. He was helpless but at least Ellen was safe.

He could tell that she was lying under Harris, his weight pressing on her uncomfortably.

I’m here, love, he sent to her. You’re safe now. I’m here to take you away from him.

Ellen’s response shocked him. Jake felt strong fear and shame from her. Her mind was in a tumble. She begged him to go and leave her alone.

Jake didn’t know what to do. How long would it be before he could move? Aunt Steph and Uncle Billy had never said how long they had been immobilized. They hadn’t mentioned the pain either.

Jake was tempted to send calm to Ellen, but he didn’t want to divide his efforts and risk losing control of Harris. There was too high a chance that Ellen would jostle him. If Jake released the sleep-inducing circuit and Harris woke up, the fight would resume.

Jake tried to move his arm. It wasn’t completely dead, probably because he had never come fully within Harris’s range. But moving it was excruciating. The cramps became even more painful with motion. He couldn’t bend the arm. He slowly raised it, moving it in an arc, until it was above his head, pointing in Havel’s direction. He tried to wave his hand at Havel to get his attention, but the hand spasmed uselessly.

He saw Boris get out of the car and start toward him. Jake breathed a sigh of relief until Boris stopped just out of range.

“Jake, are you okay?” he said, his voice pitched low.

Jake tried to answer but couldn’t get his mouth and throat to cooperate. Only a low grunt came out.

“Jake, I don’t know what to do,” Boris said. “How can I tell if you’re being controlled or not?”

Fuck, shit, crap, Jake thought. Boris was right. He couldn’t trust Jake. His instructions were to wait where he was and be ready to shoot Harris when he emerged from the room. Jake was sure that someday he would look back on this scene with amusement. It was only Ellen’s distress and his rebellious throat that kept him from laughing out loud.

Then Jake heard footsteps down the sidewalk past Boris. So much for amusement. He suddenly realized that there was still one scenario in which things could go bad. If a passerby saw him and called the police, Jake could lose control of Harris.