The Twelve Stones (46 page)

Alex stopped running after the helicopter, watching it as it sped away up and over the mountains that ringed the valley.

The Hypertruck, looking slightly more battered, crashed through the burning wreckage of the truck Kline had dropped on Alex’s head. Wheeling to a stop next to Alex, Scott opened his door
and
watched
with Alex as the helicopter faded from sight.

Cursing the retreating helicopter and the billionaire inside, Alex looked at the stack of cars and trucks Kline had been working on before they arrived at the complex. There
,
in startling detail, was the
m
esa in the desert.
Alex knew it was a message from
Kline to Alex, daring him to come rescue Emily.

Siobhan
,
as the red dragon
,
landed beside them, then
quickly shape shifted back into her normal appearance. She limped over to Alex and grasped his shoulder to help stay standing. She had taken a beaten from the businessman
,
and the blue glow traveled over her body, fixing the injuries she had received in her fig
ht with Kline.

Alex watched the helicopter retreat over the horizon
, then
got into the Hypertruck.

“
That man is so…infuriating!”
Siobhan
spat
.
Her eyes were blazing with anger
.
Alex made a
mental
note to make sure he never pissed this woman off.  He nodded
in agreement as he watched Kline’s helicopter disappear over the horizon
.

“Believe me, I know the feeling.” He
turned to Scott
,
his face deadly serious.

“
We’re going back to Joshua Tree.”

Scott nodded. “I figured.” He pointed towards the stack of cars. “This isn’t good
,
is it?”

Alex watched another
car explode in the parking lot
and shook
his head. “No, it isn’t.”

The Hypertruck moved quickly out of the parking lot and back towards the main road. They only had a few hours to get back to Southern California. Hopefully
,
they wouldn’t be too late.

Chapter Thirty-
Two

Emily struggled with the ropes that bound her wrists and ankles. The flight to Joshua Tree had been just over two hours long, plenty of time for her body to slowly come back to life. The torturous end to her frozen state left Emily frightened and weak, but her eyes had never stopped darting about, constantly evaluating her situation.

Unfortunately, Christina was much worse off. She had been sobbing nearly non-stop for the last ten minutes
,
ever since she had awakened from the neurotoxin. She
had
only stopped screaming after the bald man had threatened to hit her with the stuff again. Emily shielded Christina’s body as she watched Kline and Geoffrey talk to each other over the headsets wrapped around their heads. Emily kept her head low, her eyes still trained on Kline and Geoffrey’s lips. She had taken several sign language classes
,
and her professor had taught some basic lip reading. For once, what she learned in school might really save her life.

The pilot clicked the intercom
,
interrupting Emily’s attempts to read the two men’s lips.

“
Sir, we’ll be arriving in Joshua Tree in less than ten minutes. I’d advise sedating our…”
T
he pilot hesitated. He didn’t like being a party to kidnapping, but Kline had assured him there would be a sizable bonus in it if he played the good little pilot and didn’t say anything. The money was probably well worth it, but still, the pilot did what he could to avoid looking in the two women’s eyes. “Err…sedating the cargo for the landing. It may make things easier.”

Emily struggled against the rope that held her down. What she wouldn’t give for five minutes untied. She was a master black belt in Kung Fu, having learned the martial arts as a diversion after Alex’s death. The thought of that stopped her for a moment. She
told
herself that she needed to stop thinking about him like that. Apparently
,
Alex was alive. But how? The questions were piling up quickly, and even her massive intellect held no answers. The unknown was usually exciting for a scientist like her because it meant new puzzles to solve, but this was unlike anything Emily had ever experienced. For the first time, she had no idea what the questions even were, and that
,
more than anything else
,
scared her the most
.

Geoffrey glanced over at Kline. “He’s right. This one over here hasn’t stopped whining since we picked ‘em up. The neurotoxin is harmless, and it’d save us some trouble.”

“
No need for that
,
Mr. Tate
,
” Kline replied coolly. “I’m sure these two ladies have become better behaved after our little demonstration back at the telescope array. Isn’t that right?”

Christina nodded quickly, her face smeared with the trails of dried tears. Emily didn’t respond
,
prompting Kline to lean forward, his rancorous breath in her face. “I said,
‘I
sn’t that right?
’
”

Emily
,
not wanting to give up anything, only nodded slightly, her eyes betraying the fear
rising
up to her throat. Whatever happened, she would do whatever she could to not give this bastard the satisfaction of knowing he was winning.

“
Besides,” Kline added maliciously, “I have quite a few questions for Ms. Harper over here
,
and I’
d prefer
her to have her full facilities for our conversation.”

Geoffrey nodded and put away the needle gun. Emily lowered her head and brought her bound hands up to stroke Christina’s hair as best she could. It was reassuring to both of them that they were still alive
,
and
that
the man sitting opposite wasn’t planning on hurting them anytime soon.

Kline smiled. “When we land, bring them with us to the mine. These two lovely ladies are going to see what I’m capable of firsthand.”

Emily whimpered. She might have been wrong.

Chapter Thirty-
Three

Damaged by Kline’s assault, the Hypertruck needed a few minor repairs before they headed south in pursuit of Kline’s helicopter. It was obvious where Kline was headed
;
he had told Alex as much in their conversation
,
and the sculpture he
had
left
erased whatever doubts might be left.
The cars that had been parked neatly in the lot’s rows only a few hours before now lay crunched together in a perfect sculpted recreation of the Mesa in Joshua Tree.

After r
epairing the Hypertruck as quickly as possible, Scott silently indicated they were ready to go.
Climbing
into the truck, Scott turned to Alex
,
wordlessly waiting to hear what their next destination should be. The problem was
that
Alex knew exactly what the next move was, and he didn’t like it.

Alex had run through all the variables. He had always been particularly good at problem solving. This particular problem however, required a deft touch. Kline was smart
,
and obviously preparing himself for a showdown with Alex. The key was finding some weakness of Kline’s, something Alex could use against him.
What sort of leverage could take down a monster like Kline?

“
They’ve got Emily
,
but they’re not gonna hurt her.” Alex mused out loud. “That’s the good news. They need her.”

“
I’m not sure I want the answer to this question, but…” Scott swallowed, “need her for what?”

“
Bait.” Alex paused, thinking it all through like he’d been trained
.
“Kline’s counting on me to return to the Mesa
,
swap my ston
e in exchange for her. The
problem is that damn stone of his
. P
lus you heard him talk about this second one he’s about to unearth. If that second stone he’s talking about is anything like the ones we have, we’re screwed. It was hard enough taking him on when he only had one.”

Siobhan cleared her throat nervously. Alex glanced up, looking at her worried expression. “There’s something else you should know about these stones.”

“
I’m not gonna like what you’re about
t
o
say, am I?” Alex groaned, closing his eyes as he prepared for the bad news.

“
I’m afraid not. You see, the stones are designed to reinforce each other. So with each stone you have, the power you can control…umm…doubles.”

“
Great
,
”
Scott said glumly, “so he’s really about to kick our asses.”

“
I wouldn’t be so defeat
ist
if I were you
,
”
Siobhan purred, glancing at Alex. “Alex here has the most powerful stone there is
,
after all.”

Alex snorted
.
“You saw me out there
.
I couldn’t even hold Kline down for a minute
.
I got tossed around like a rag doll. How am I supposed to fight that?”

“
There’s so much potential within you.” Siobhan’s eyes fluttered as she sighed. “It’s a shame you’re not ready to realize it all yet.”

“
I’m as ready as I’ll ever get,” Alex retorted. “I’m just saying, the guy can toss semi
s
around like Frisbees, and I make
Band-A
ids useless when I touch you. It’s not exactly a fair fight.”

“
You’re absolutely right on one point
:
I
t isn’t a fair fight.” Siobhan smiled
.
“You do realize you don’t need to be touching the person to heal them
,
right?”

“
I’m sorry?” Alex asked.

“
Your stone provides you with the power to heal someone from afar.”

“
Exactly how far away are we talking?” Scott asked.

She shrugged. “It depends on how focused the mind is.”

Scott snorted. “Oh, we're screwed.”

Siobhan shot Scott a dirty look before turning back to Alex
.
“Your stone is only as powerful as you believe it is. It’s hard to describe it any better than that. Imagine learning how to shoot a gun. I can show you the sights, how to care for it, how much pressure to put on the trigger, but in the end, your skill is dictated by how much you practice and focus on sharpening your
prowess
.”

“
So show me how to use it
,
” Alex replied firmly. “It’s at least six hours to get to Joshua Tree. Plenty of time to train.”

A smile spread slowly across Siobhan’s face. “I like your enthusiasm.” She turned, withdrawing a knife that she had hidden under her jacket. Before Alex could protest, she stabbed Scott in the arm.

“
Holy
h
ell!” Scott screamed as the knife plunged into his arm. “What in God’s name are you doing? Alex!”

“
Siobhan!” Alex shouted
.
“Randomly stabbing people isn’t generally accepted behavior anymore.”

“
Don’t you think I know that?” She replied crossly, “It’s easier to use your power on someone if you know and care about them deeply. Since you two are close, the link between you two should be strong enough for a first try.”

“
Why can’t you stab yourself?” Scott moaned in pain as he watched the blood trickle down his arm.

“
OK,” Siobhan said, cheerfully ignoring Scott’s question, “
g
o ahead and heal him from there without touching
him
!”

“
What did I do to deserve this?” Scott moaned. “I swear I didn’t mean to keep looking at your breasts, I mean, they’re just there
,
and I’m trying to avert the best I can
,
but it’s hard
,
you know…?”

“
Shut up
,
Scott
.
I can’t concentrate when you’re whining
,
” Alex said crossly, his eyes screwed shut in
deep focus
.