Danger Zone
By Divamercury
Sorry for the delayI say that way too much, don't I? Anyway, read and review Chapter 26. Hope you enjoy! The little ^^^ things mean dream sequence, just so you know, and the *** still means POV change. Hope I didn't get too longwinded and confusing. Any feedback would be a welcome sight!
Chapter 26
Saying that I had been unmoved by what I had seen in the warehouse would have been the biggest lie ever told by man. The scene that had unfolded on the screens before me had captured my attention and consequently I turned on my computer. Inspired by what I had witnessed, I attacked the Internet with vigor I never knew I had. I felt foolish for never thinking about researching Irons considering our long history of knowing each other. I was convinced that "Nottingham's twin," as I was referring to the mystery woman in my subconscious, was linked to Ken in some way, and if I knew Ken, it would most likely turn out to be a bizarre link. Wherever I found information on Kenneth, information on the woman was sure to follow.
I scanned Web pages and investigated through a myriad of search engines for what seemed like years but turned out to be only a few hours before I found a picture of the woman I had seen. Eagerly I clicked on it and to my delight a whole dossier of information popped up.
"Mr. Miller?"
"Yes, Joyce?" I asked, frustrated by her constant interruptions. Perhaps I should find a new receptionist with a lesser tendency to just pop in whenever she feels like itwithout knocking. "What is it now?"
"Giovanni is on line 1. He seems determined to speak with you about his latest assignment," she said.
"Thank you, Joyce. I'll take care of it." She left and I went back to my computer.
"Raven Cole," I murmured as I read. Why did that name seem so goddamn familiar to me?
* * *
"Guys, you can let go of me now!" I insisted, and Raven and Mac released my arms. "What was all that about?" I asked them.
"Mac thought you were going to spill about the Witchblade," Raven said, pointing at Mac with a completely (fake) innocent look on her face.
"And you did, too," I said.
"No! Of course not!" Raven said incredulously.
I gave her one of my famous Looks.
"Well, maybe that thought crossed my mind," she admitted.
"Chill, guys. I'm not entirely sure that I trust Jake yet. Seeing him part of the group that tried to kill me and my friends, even if he was UC, doesn't make me feel too comfortable, you know?" Raven and Mac nodded. We piled into Ian's car, which had miraculously been parked across the street from the precinct, and drove off.
"Where are we headed?" Ian asked.
"Associates," Mac piped up from the backseat. "We should just lay low for a little while, rest upthat way we're ready if something else really weird shows up." Mac was on the left side of the car with Gabe between her and Raven. I was up front with Ian.
"That sounds good," Raven said. "I need a nap."
We all shared a laugh. Raven wasn't the type to savor naps.
"I need a shower," I remarked, continuing our confessions.
"Bring on the chocolate," Mac commented.
"I haven't been online in 48 hours. I'm going through Web withdrawal." That was Gabe, of course.
"Your turn, Ian. What do you want?" Mac asked.
He colored a bit and said, "I shouldn't say."
"Oh, come on, Ian," I asked. "I'm curious."
He just shook his head.
"You're no fun, man. We all shared with the class," Gabe remarked.
"What I want isn't something asnormal as yours. Maybe one day you'll know what it is." Silence for a few moments, then
"Dragon, you naughty, naughty boy!"
Raven had apparently read Ian's thoughts. Ian had a hard time staying in his lane. "That'sinteresting. Can't say I didn't see it coming, but" she trailed off and lapsed into giggles. Mac apparently was trying to access the confidential information but Ian had anticipated and by the look on Mac's face, she had been thwarted by prior knowledge.
"Come on, Raven, tell us!" Gabe pleaded.
Ian glared at her in the rearview mirror and she shook her head. "It was wrong of me to pry, and it's none of your business."
We pulled up to the Associates' warehouse a few minutes later and separated on the ground floor, Raven and I heading upstairs and the others heading down, all pursuing our individual desires. Raven was actually serious about the nap, and the two of us also parted ways once we reached the top floor. It was clear that we all needed a break.
* * *
I entered one of the spare bedrooms and locked the door, sitting on the bed with my legs crossed. I inhaled and exhaled slowly, calming myself down so I entered a meditative state and I sought out the person who had planted the camera in the White Bulls' warehouse. I had spotted it as we were leaving but could do nothing about it at that time. I had a feeling I knew who was behind it.
"The Speakers' head honcho—what's his name? Oh, right, Miller. Jackson Miller. He was one of Irons's friends, the former hit man. Now where are you, buddy?"
I concentrated and formed a parallel plane like the one I used to contact Mac earlier. This time instead of a hospital room, the scene was set in Miller's office, a room I had entered once a long time ago when I was quite small. Irons happened to be actually doing something and not sitting on his ass all day as was his habit, and I also happened to be with him. I pictured Miller mentally, and then a second later I went into one of my trances.
^ ^ ^
I appeared in Miller's office, sitting on his desk, and he was asleep at his computer chair. He had been looking at a Web page, and I jumped from his desk and approached. Reading over his shoulder, I skimmed the content of the page and discovered it had information about myself on itthings that no one but that bastard Irons would know.
Great. Irons put me on the Internet.'
I kicked Miller's chair.
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," I said loudly. He woke with a start and then jumped when he saw me.
"What the hell?" he said when he saw me. "What are you doing here?"
"Sorry for inviting myself over on such short notice. It wasn't politebut you know what else isn't polite? Invading a girl's privacy," I remarked, nodding to his computer screen.
He grinned sheepishly and closed the program. "Sorry about that. I just needed to find out a little information, that's all. I needed some answers and Irons isn't exactly the best source, if you know what I mean."
"I know exactly what you mean, considering the man practically owned me for most of my childhood."
"Well, now that you're here, wherever here is, will you answer some questions for me?"
"Why should I tell you anything? I'm not so sure I should trust you. Especially since you were nearly involved in Sara Pezzini's—and my—death."
"Please, Ms. Cole. It seems I've begun to grow a conscience in the last few days, as illogical as that might sound coming from me, and for some bizarre reason I don't feel comfortable with killing a woman as special as this Sara appears to be."
"You are forgiven for your sinsalthough I am no member of the clergy, I have authority to forgive on behalf of the Blade. Now, what exactly did you want to know, Mr. Miller?" I knew that would shake him up a little.
"Lots of things, but how about we start with how the hell do you know my name? And what's going on?"
"This is a dream and reality all at once. You're actually asleep right now, as am I, but I'm telepathically gifted and I decided to come and see just what your intentions are. I know who you are because of my telepathic powers and because Irons brought me here once, long ago. I know Irons is paying you to harass Sara and probably harm her in some fashion, but what else is he wanting you to do?"
"Wait, just hold on a second. You're telepathic? I don't know if I believe that."
"Believe what you wish, I don't really care," I said. Feeling particularly mischievous, I glared at his computer chair and made it lift off the ground and float in midair about six r seven feet off the ground. His eyes widened and I asked, "Is that proof enough?"
"Ample. What did you want to know?"
I smiled and set him down.
"Irons. What's his plan?"
"He wants her deadmay I call you Raven?"
"If you wish. And if I can call you Jackson."
He nodded, and I continued. "So he means to have her killed. I never would have guessed. He's finally gone off the deep end."
"Or kill her himself, if that's the only way he's able to accomplish it. He's even crazier than he used to be, I will definitely agree with that, and that's saying something. Why do you think he's crazy for wanting to kill Sara?"
"The bracelet on Sara's arm is called the Witchblade. You've seen some of what it can do while you were spying," I said, grinning at his indignant look, "but there are many gifts that it reveals only to its Wielder. Sara is the most recent in a long line of Wielders and is a very powerful one at that, perhaps the most powerful of all. As for Irons, he once tried to wear the Witchblade and it rejected him because he didn't deserve its power, leaving him even more greedy and ruthless than he was before, spending a lifetime craving to possess or control what he tasted only once."
"So you're saying that Irons is obsessed with a bracelet that he wore once. How old is the guy?" Jackson asked.
So someone on the planet had actually been suspicious about Kenny's excessive lifespan.
"It's hard to say. In his 90's, I'd guess."
"He looks no more than 40!"
"On a good day. Sometimes he looks every bit of his age, but he has rather gruesome means of staying young. That's why I am surprised that he wants to actually kill Sara. He's tried to capture her, harass her, confuse her, reject her, and play many other mind games, but it's astounding that he's finally chosen to end her life especially when she can save his. I suppose that she isn't tractable enough for him," I mused.
Miller looked at me like I'd grown a second head. "What the hell are you talking about? What gruesome means? And how could Sara save him?"
"I think I've told you enough for now, Jackson. You know enough about the Witchblade and its Wielder to get by for now. I can't help but wonder if you know more about this than you're letting on."
"What, me? I'm clueless."
"I know I've seen you before. The Witchblade weaves a web unbreakable, and everyone's part of it one way or another. I'll find out where you fit in," I said, and was about to end the encounter when Jackson asked me, "And where do you fit in, Raven?"
I smiled and said, "I am one of many that guard the Blade and its Wielder. Perhaps you will join my ranks, because I find it hard to believe that someone like you would choose to spend your life this way." I snapped my fingers and a split-second later I woke up, laying down on the bed in the Associates' warehouse.
