Veil of Justice, Shadows of Justice Book 3 (16 page)

SEVEN

If you are far from the enemy, make him
believe you are near. Sun Tzu

The spike through Nathan's temple was first
ice, then fire. He screamed, uncertain if his voice had worked, but
it seemed to help. Then the pain was gone, leaving only a
persistent ache.

A tall nurse he'd not seen before rushed in.
"Sir? What can I do?"

"Don't know," he admitted through gritted
teeth.

Nathan assessed his body, slowly realizing he
was in control again. He wiggled toes, then fingers, then raised a
hand to his head, rubbing away the ache. "Give me a minute. Did
they up my dosage? Mainline that damned tea?"

"There was no dosage, sir. Last night, you
crashed during your supper. Do you recall?"

Vaguely, though a man didn't want to dwell on
such insulting memories. He lifted his hand to his face and
realized he wasn't fabricating the motions from memory. His muscles
were all working without any conscious effort. He stared at his
hand, flexed and stretched it. He didn't have to over think
anything. Not even the smile he felt spreading over his face.

He sat up, making the tall woman in the
blinding white uniform jump back.

"Sir, are you certain…"

He didn't know what she would've said or how
he might've finished the same sentence. He just knew it felt great
to be on his feet this time. No struggle, no exhaustion. They had
to have given him something. "I feel perfect!"

"Ah, well…" the nurse's voice trailed away.
Her eyes fixed on his face. "Maybe caution is best, sir."

Not at all
. He walked around,
stretching legs and arms, pulling off sensor pads and…slowly
understood he was parading about naked. What happened to the robe
or the stupid hospital gown? "Must've been some crash last night,"
he muttered sheepishly, accepting the robe she offered. "Sorry I
got carried away."

"We like to see a patient recover, sir. If
you're certain you are well, I'll call for food."

"And clothing, please."

She nodded.

Nathan helped himself to the facilities,
praying this time there wouldn't be a relapse. He truly felt
differently, steadier even from that high on the side of the road
with Kelly, although that moment had its perks.

He set the shower for ten minutes of real
water at maximum heat. Maybe it was the memory, or maybe the third
time was the charm, but the fatigue was gone, his mind felt calm
and clear, and that persistent ache in his temple was absent. He
was done with the yo-yo of progress and regress. He knew it.

But how?

The question wouldn't stop circling around
his mind, but when the water shut off, he was smiling over the
sense of clean and accomplishment. Petra might insist on knowing
everything, but Nathan opted not to drag himself down with details.
She'd just have to settle for what he did know: there was a snap
and he was better. If that was something more than his immune
system overriding a smart virus, he didn't care.

Miracles, healers, or science? The label
didn't matter if he was back in control.

In the robe once more, he glanced down at his
raw feet and poked around in the cabinet until he found some
ointment. From his vantage point, his feet looked better, but he
didn't want to risk any setbacks or lectures. He was returning to
his room, his mind on Kelly, when the main door swung open.

"Back from the dead, are we?" Gideon asked
from behind an armload of clothing.

"Sure as hell. You think I need a whole
wardrobe right now?"

"No one could agree on your size." Gideon
dumped the clothing on to the hospital bed. "Got a range here from
civilian to soldier. What'll it be?"

Nathan's stomach turned when he caught sight
of the uniform. "Civilian."

Gideon seemed to understand. He plucked the
few uniform pieces from the pile, balled them up and tossed them at
the door.

Nathan grinned. "You're happy on the outside
too?"

"Beats the alternative."

Nathan wasn't sure what Gideon's alternatives
had been. He cleared his throat. "Life with Petra?"

"Never dull." Nathan assumed that was all
he'd get, but Gideon continued. "We've seen some stuff, Nate, and
she worries about you."

Nathan had jeans on, would've sighed over the
soft feel of denim against his skin if he'd been alone. As it was
he knew better than to give Gideon – and Petra by proxy – any more
concerns. "You can tell her I'm fine, right?"

Gideon folded his arms across his chest and
Nate tried not to squirm under the scrutiny. "When I think you're
fine, I'll tell her. This crap we're up against. It scares me."

Nathan tucked a t-shirt into his jeans,
caught his reflection and decided it only emphasized how much
weight he'd lost. Untucking the shirt, he pulled a jacket on
too.

Gideon chuckled. "That won't fool them for
long."

"I just need a couple good meals," Nathan
insisted.

"Without any additives I'd bet."

They were out of the room and Nathan fell
into step beside Gideon in the hallway. "There's more than juicing.
Have we shut any of it down?"

"The shit we've found would curl your toes.
Oh. Sorry man."

They both looked at Nate's feet. "They're
healing. Hardly hurt at all." He thought about it, but he didn't
want to get into the whole healed and unhealed issues with anyone
but Kelly. He wasn't sure she could shed any light on the healer's
impact or his body's response. At the moment, he wanted to focus on
what was working. "Where are we going?" he asked Gideon when they
reached the elevators.

"Down to our suite. After we got hold of you
and the girl, we all moved here for convenience."

And safety. He'd gotten that loud and clear
from Petra. The elevator opened, they stepped in and the doors
swooshed shut. When they were moving, Nathan went for the dig, "So
how you feeling, Dad?"

Gideon punched him in the arm and then
reached out to steady him when Nathan fell to the side. "Sorry.
Jesus. What's your problem?"

Nathan was grinning. "I'm looking healthier
already or you would've pulled that punch."

The elevator opened and Gideon stomped out.
"This isn't a damn game, Burkhardt."

Of course not, but it felt so good to be
himself, he didn't want to be coddled. "I know that," he snapped at
Gideon, "at least as well as you." He pushed by his old friend and
headed down the hall, stopping at a door and pounding on it. He
expected to see Kelly, had followed some internal radar without
realizing it, but a man with a vaguely familiar face was in the
doorway.

Nathan stalled out for a second, confused by
the signals he was getting. "Kelly?" he asked, unable to voice
anything more precise.

The other man stepped back, "That way. I'm
Brian, by the way."

"Good to know you," Nathan dismissed him and
went looking for the only person he trusted to understand. When he
saw her, all the tension that had built up with Gideon fell away
and everything slipped into place again.

Until she turned, saw him, and frowned
mightily. "What the hell?"

Hardly the greeting he'd hoped for.

* * *

Kelly stared up at Nathan, afraid she was
seeing things. She glanced around, looking for confirmation from
Jaden and Petra. Petra's scowl and Jaden's amusement offered some
comfort. Unless they were having a group hallucination.

"How are you up and moving so well?" Petra
demanded in the prolonged silence.

Kelly was grateful. She couldn't seem to wrap
her mind or her mouth around any clear thought. This was what she'd
hoped and prayed for, but seeing him up had her worrying about when
he'd fall over. His frail body was bad enough when he was confined
to the bed, but it was all the more apparent when he stood
tall.

"I guess it finally wore off." He
shrugged.

Locking onto the movement, his shoulders
looked too bony. Though his posture was strong and he seemed steady
on his feet, she thought a strong breeze my tip him over.

Petra stepped between them. "How did the
Paracuron wear off?"

He shrugged again, stuffing his hands into
his pockets, reminding Kelly of her younger brothers when they'd
been caught joyriding at home. Nathan's jeans rode low on his hips,
not fashionably, just loose on his skinny frame.

Petra opened her mouth, but Nathan spoke up.
"No bells. I had a headache. Now I don't. I feel nearly one hundred
percent."

"How nearly?" she persisted.

"If someone would let me eat, I'd hit the
mark a lot faster."

The sibling dynamic was as familiar as the
monstrous appetite. Kelly ducked out of the way and rummaged around
the small kitchen, hoping to sneak in a couple herbs.

"Don't bother trying," he said, coming up
behind her. "Aren't you happy to see me up and 'moving so
well'?"

Kelly spun around and poked a finger into his
chest. "Of course I'm happy. It's just sudden. Unexpected." She
slapped a sandwich together, packing it with meat and veggies, and
'a little love' – her mother's habit – before she caught herself.
"What if you regress again?"

"Not this time." He bit into the sandwich and
half of it was gone. Scary. She took a step back, half afraid he'd
take a big bite out of her next. Mischief lent a wicked curve to
his mouth.

"You do look good enough to eat…"

"Make yourself another sandwich. And stay out
of my head," she hissed, pushing past him. She wanted to get back
to the recovery plan Jaden had been orchestrating. She had the
feeling, trust being such a fragile thing, that they'd leave her
out of it if they could.

Within moments, Nathan joined them, hovering
behind her like her personal thundercloud. He wasn't quite in her
mind, at least she didn't think so, but his presence surrounded
her, swamping her senses. He was hell on her concentration as he
ate the sandwich, he was worse when he started asking impossible
questions. "What's my role?"

"You'll stay here," Petra and Kelly answered
in unison.

Nathan dusted bread crumbs from his shirt.
"Like hell. That'll make me crazy. I can help."

"How?" Kelly asked. "You don't even know what
we're doing."

"Nathan," Petra intervened, "it isn't wise.
What Kelly needs to do is best left to her."

Nathan tilted his head a fraction, his eyes
narrowing. She knew he was trying to delve into someone's mind.
"Jaden's going," he said.

"I'm just the muscle," Jaden confirmed. "She
knows what we're after."

Before he could do more, Petra stopped him
with a poke to his chest. "It's not safe for you or me to be
involved any further." She took his wrist and headed back toward
the kitchen. "Come with me so I can explain what you
can
do."

To Kelly's relief, Nathan followed his
sister.

The primary distraction gone, she didn't
waste any time committing to memory the wealth of information Jaden
possessed about the Field Museum. Soon she had a full understanding
of current and past accesses, vaults and exit routes. An hour
later, the plan was outlined and declared workable by Jaden.

* * *

"I can get you in," Brian said with an
exasperated look. "Just give me an hour to clear out that
mess."

"We don't have that long," Jaden told her
husband. "Petra says Simon's close, which means Kristoff's close.
Besides, it's more fun this way."

"And that is the salient point. I'm not the
police chief anymore, remember?"

"Hard to forget when you're under foot all
day long," she teased.

"And you're not indestructible."

"So noted." They both sobered as Jaden added
a third knife to her combat belt.

Kelly leaned back, not wanting to get caught
in the middle, but desperate to get moving. Watching these two had
her questioning the wisdom of marriage. It was a whole different
example than the quiet relationship her parents had shared.

"Maybe I should go alone," she offered, still
unhappy about drawing more people into her trouble.

"Not a chance." Jaden's green eyes
practically glowed with anticipation as she braided her long hair.
"That museum is one of my favorite places. I know all its
secrets."

"Good luck," Brian groused from his place at
the van's bank of monitors. "I'll pick you up at the observatory in
forty minutes."

Jaden blew him a kiss. "Love you too, baby,"
she said, hopping from the van to the street.

Kelly followed.

They hadn't gone a block when the test signal
buzzed in the earpiece. Jaden tapped it twice in response, then
turned to Kelly and said, "He's so overprotective."

Nathan's face flashed in her mind. Were all
men that way? Her brothers and father certainly had been. Even when
he'd been on that gurney, Nathan had tried to assist and protect
her. It was an odd time to realize she'd been holding out hope that
she'd meet someone different.

Nathan had been furious about her going after
the map box with Jaden. He'd wanted her to stay parked in the
safety of the warehouse, but she couldn't let Jaden do this alone.
It wasn't Jaden's mess, no matter how much she was helping clean it
up. Nathan didn't agree, refused to see reason. Most unfortunately,
he didn't need technology to keep tabs on her.

"You ready to roll?"

Kelly nodded. She was beyond ready. With an
effort, she did her best to put up a wall to keep Nathan at bay.
There was no guarantee it would work, but it was better than making
it easy for him to share his opinions. She still believed he should
be resting anyway.

The women reached the Field Museum without
incident, but the loading dock, their intended entrance, was draped
in bright crime scene tape. Two evidence vans worked diligently
recording holograms, collecting samples and casting impressions to
prosecute a couple gang-bangers for breaking and entering.