By Sapphire
The Electro
City Spring Festival took place every other year in the first week of May.
For that occasion hundreds of artists flocked to the city. They presented
their art everywhere. Paintings hung on fences outside or in one of the
many art galleries. Sculptures were displayed wherever there was space
available. There were theater performance indoors or out on the street.
And then there was music, instrumental or vocal or both. Wherever somebody
went there was some kind of entertainment.
During
the days the streets were busy and whoever put out a hat, had a good chance
of filling it in a short amount of time. In the evenings the streets were
simply packed, and getting from one place to another took three times as
long as normal. Not that anybody really minded. There was just so much
to see.
On the square at the corner
of 32nd and Anderson, a light haired street magician entertained a reasonable
crowd. In short order he produced coins or paper flowers out of thin air,
'liberated' a wrist watch and a purse from an unsuspecting victim - only
to return it, of course, with a smile and bow - and basically charmed the
socks off of anybody watching.
Among
those people was a young couple, both with red hair, both with rollerblades
on their feet. While the young woman watched with certain awe, the young
man had an air about him as if he has seen things like this a million times
already.
As a
matter of fact, he had.
Cosmo
- no last name - was after all assistant of one of the world's most famous
magicians. Since he'd been thirteen, barely a day had passed when he hadn't
watched his friend and mentor Ace Cooper work on one trick or another.
About that time, he also had started to design tricks for Ace, first improving
the existing ones with his own kind of wizardry - that of the computer
programming kind - and later adding his very own ideas to the show.
Of course,
Ace was a special case. Officially, all of those tricks he performed on
the stage of the Electro City Ring Theater were just illusions, created
by technology, knowledge of human nature, dexterity and plain skill. However,
Ace could - and did - wield real Magic. Magic with a capital 'M'. It was
a skill he'd been born with, and through long years of training he'd mastered
it to a level, where almost nothing could really faze him anymore. He used
his power to fight crime and protect the people of Electro City wherever
he could.
Cosmo
had known about this for a long time. However, he'd never thought he possessed
any of those powers himself - not that he would have wanted them to begin
with. But he had them, and accepting it had been a lengthily and difficult
process. At seventeen nobody wanted to be different. But now, just over
two years later, he finally had come to terms with his magic, training
daily alongside Ace. He wasn't all that powerful yet, managing only a few
spells well, and a few others marginally. The best thing, in his opinion,
was that along the line, he'd formed an emphatic link with Ace. It enabled
him to sense the more powerful emotions of the magician at any given time,
unless Ace decided to shield from him. For Cosmo's peace of mind, the other
man seldom felt the need to do so.
At Cosmo's
side, Ulene laughed out loud at a comment the street magician had made.
Cosmo grinned as well. The guy certainly wasn't in the same league as Ace,
but he wasn't too bad and he had a lot of humor.
The magician
winked at Ulene, beaconing her to come closer. Ulene cast a questioning
glance at Cosmo, on which the young man nodded. He was curious what the
man would be doing next.
Suddenly,
his head shot up, and he looked around searching, the magician and Ulene
forgotten. Something ... there was something. Something to do with Magic.
Close-by. He turned around, scanning the crowd around him. Though not very
tall himself, the blades gave him another few inches in height, which he
now used to their full advantage.
One of
Cosmo's skills as a magic user was that he could detect others with the
same talent, as long as the other mage user was close enough. His range
was about one hundred feet, give or take a few feet. Ace was the only exception
he was aware of, the only one he could detect from a greater distance,
but only because he didn't really need the mage sense to detect him, as
he was pretty much aware where and how his friend was at any given time,
thanks to the link they shared.
Each
time he felt another mage, it was a bit different - everyone feeling or
rather 'tasting', for lack of a better word, differently. Ace's magic felt
warm, like an open fire on a cold winter day. Kate Morrigan, an old friend
of Ace, tasted cooler, though not uncomfortably so, like fall somehow.
She was a Nature Mage. And then there was this mysterious woman Kris they'd
encountered a while back. She'd felt … strange. Very strange.
This
now, however, this didn't taste like a Nature Mage, or a Chaos Mage for
that matter (thank God, one had been enough). There was a cold flavor to
it, but not like Kate. It felt almost mechanical. But only almost. There
was no doubt in Cosmo that the source of this 'Disturbance in the Force'
as he liked to call it, came from a human mind. A very controlled mind
maybe, but still human.
Concentrating,
he tried to learn more. By directing his senses, he could locate the basic
vector the feeling came from. Looking in that direction he couldn't find
anything out of the ordinary. In the corner of the square he was looking
at, a group of people had gathered to listen to a trio of Celtic musicians.
A couple of cars were parked at the curb of the street. Behind that, the
sun reflected of the glass front of a tall office building.
Cosmo
looked back at Ulene, but she was busy as the street magician pretended
to hypnotize her, to the amusement of the people around them. Well, at
least she wouldn't miss him right now and he would be back before she's
noticed he was gone.
Slowly,
he eased back out of the crowd. Free of the people, he scanned the area
again. Wherever the other magic user was, he was close to those musicians.
Lazily, he bladed closer, just like any ordinary guy only interested in
the music. There was no telling if the other magician could sense him or
not, but he didn't want to take any risks. With a thought he put up a minor
level shield, one intended to hide himself without loosing his ability
to sense the other one in turn.
After
a moment, he reached the people around the Celtic trio. The three were
playing a lively piece and the people clapped their hands with the beat.
It was
close now. Very close.
One of
the cars caught his attention. It was a dark red van, of the type one would
buy if there were more than two kids in a family. Cosmo noted that it had
an out-of-state license plate.
There...there
was his source.
Hmmm.
Maybe
he should call Ace, before he did anything else. Something in this whole
situation smelled funny, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was
that made him feel so itchy. He raised his wrist com, but then lowered
it again. He should have something more solid before he alarmed Ace. After
all, all this might just be a coincidence, a magic user just traveling
through. Maybe the strange magician was totally harmless.
Just
one look. Maybe he could see something, if he got closer.
Casually,
he bladed along the curb, passing the other cars. He slowed when he got
by the red van, stroking his hair back, pretending he was only admiring
himself in the reflective surface of the windows, while at the same time
he tried to look inside.
For a
moment, he saw two impossibly large eyes watching him out of a face of
a kid, who looked no more than twelve years old. The eyes were fixed on
him, following him as he went past.
He never
noticed the man stepping out from behind the van, hiding a hypodermic in
one hand. Only when the needle pricked his skin at the base of his neck
he wheeled around.
But then
it was too late.
The drug
worked very quick and efficiently. Cosmo's world turned first red then
black, and then this was gone too.
*
Ulene
laughed with the crowd, as the street magician dismissed her with a bow.
After dropping a bill in his upside down top hat, she made her way back
into the audience, searching for Cosmo where she'd left him.
Strangely
enough, there was no sign of her boyfriend. She furrowed her brow, as her
eyes scanned the crowd. No mop of red hair anywhere in sight.
Where did he go?
Mentally
she shrugged, not really worried, yet. Maybe he was just answering the
call of nature.
Slowly
blading across the wide square, she looked where Cosmo possibly could be.
At one side there were a couple of concession stands. The place she expected
Cosmo to be was hidden away at their side.
She bought
something to drink, then sat down to wait.
After
five minutes she got bored.
After
ten she got angry.
After
fifteen minutes she got really worried.
Finding
a communication unit, she dialed Cosmo's number.
"The
number you have dialed is currently out of operation."
Shocked,
she looked at the unit. This was not possible. Less than an hour ago, she'd
seen Cosmo make a call from his wrist com. There was no reason for him
to switch it off. At least no reason she could think of.
Gnawing
her lower lip, she thought. Off hand, she could think of one possibility
how Cosmo could have vanished without so much as a trace, and she didn't
like it one bit. And even if she was right, why on Earth would anybody
want to kidnap Cosmo?
*
"Zina.
Up!" Ace commanded, patting the examination table with one hand.
The huge
panther murped, looking at her master unhappily. Ace repeated the gesture,
furrowing his brows. Finally, the cat relented, gathered her legs underneath
herself and leaped onto the table.
"Well
done, girl!" Ace reached out to the big cat, scratching her behind one
ear. Zina's eyes closed to slits and with a rumbling purr she settled down.
"It's
all right, Zina. It's only your shots. This won't hurt."
"I always
thought that's my line, Mr. Cooper."
Ace looked
up, as the familiar form of the veterinarian entered the room. Dr. Rebecca
Carlisle had been Zina's vet ever since Ace had moved to Electro City.
Zina was a king panther, a rare and protected species, and as such very
strict requirements had been placed on Ace in order for him to keep her.
One of the those requirements was that she had to receive her annual vaccination
shots. That was the reason he was here today.
"Hello,
Zina," the vet greeted the panther, holding her hand out to be sniffed.
Zina
took up her scent, then butted the hand, demanding to be petted. Dr. Carlisle
obediently complied, and was rewarded by a purr coming from the depth of
Zina's chest.
While
she used one hand to pet Zina, she held the other one out to Ace.
"Hello,
Mr. Cooper. How's it going?"
Ace smiled
at her, and for a moment the two exchanged pleasantries, catching up on
things. Ace had recently gotten a letter from Tenocha, the medicine man
of the Mexican village where Ace had gotten Zina ten years ago. Zina's
three cubs, grown up panthers by now, lived close by in the wild, having
been adopted into another panther group. Whenever there was a sighting
of them, Tenocha made sure to keep Ace informed. As the doctor who had
diagnosed Zina's pregnancy at that time, Dr. Carlisle was naturally interested
in their progress.
"So,
girl," she returned her attention to the animal on the table. "Lets get
to work."
Ace's
com rang. He apologized and stepped aside, activating the unit.
"Yes?"
"Mr.
Cooper?"
It took
a second for him to identify the voice on the other end.
"Ulene?
What can I do for you?"
Ace was
puzzled. He couldn't remember receiving a call from Cosmo's friend Ulene
more than three times since they'd met the first time. His heart missed
a beat. Usually those calls had been because something had happened to
Cosmo. Once again, he wasn't about to be disappointed. Not that he would
have minded for a change.
"It's
Cosmo. He's...he's vanished. We were together and then he was gone, and
I don't know where he is now."
She sounded
extremely worried. Ace suddenly didn't feel too well either. He knew Ulene
wasn't the type to panic easily. If she called to tell him Cosmo had vanished
without a trace she'd made certain to exhaust the normal ways of searching
first.
"Where
are you right now?"
"32nd
and Anderson. Cosmo and I were watching some performers, and when I turned
around he was gone. I asked everywhere, but nobody has seen him. He wouldn't
simply go away without telling me anything. I'm worried."
So was
Ace. In his mind, he made a quick calculation.
"Stay
where you are, Ulene. I'll be there in ten minutes."
"Okay,"
she said, and hung up.
Ace turned
around. Before he could say something, Dr. Carlisle just shooed him away.
"You
go wherever you have to go. I'll take care of Zina." He patted Zina's head,
and the black cat gave her version of a meow, her golden eyes fixed on
her owner.
Ace hesitated
only a fraction of a second.
"Thank
you. I call you, as soon as I know when I can pick her up."
The last part was said already
halfway through the door.
Ace reached his destination
in a little over five minutes, breaking several speeding laws on his way.
While driving, he contacted Angel, asking the AI to locate Cosmo via his
wrist com. When the computer informed him that she wasn't able to make
a connection, Ace's concern deepened.
He parked
the Magic Racer close to the curb and leaped out. His feet barely had touched
the ground, when he saw Cosmo's red-haired friend Ulene blading towards
him.
She skidded to a stop in
front of him.
"Any
news?" he asked.
She shook
her head, her red locks flying. "Nobody has seen anything. He just vanished.
I...I think somebody took him."
Somebody
took him...
Why on
Earth would somebody *take* Cosmo?
With
a bang, Ace realized that he'd an answer to that question. Actually, he'd
several answers.
To begin
with, there was always the possibility that someone was after money. Ace
was rich, and Cosmo, being his partner since last year, wasn't exactly
poor himself. Also, it was well known that he cared about Cosmo. Though
it wasn't widespread knowledge, he had once already paid money for Cosmo's
freedom - and without a second thought he would be willing to do so again.
But that
was only the easiest, most harmless answer. Ace, and by default, Cosmo
had quite a few enemies. Blackjack, Faceless, Marylyn Conrad, Mitch Wisnewski,
Brian Thomas. Just to name a few. There were enough people - too many people
- who wouldn't hesitate to get to him by using Cosmo. Not that half of
them wouldn't mind killing Cosmo just for the fun of it, or because it
had actually been Cosmo who'd spoiled one of their plans in the past.
Yes,
the possibility that somebody had kidnapped Cosmo wasn't something he could
simply ignore.
Not that
it made matters any easier.
No, he
had to consider something else first. Just because he thought of a bad
thing first, didn't mean that this bad thing really had taken place. There
could be another reason, a totally harmless reason. Maybe Cosmo had met
somebody and totally forgot the time talking to him. Or something else
had caught his attention and he was following up on that.
Only,
Cosmo would have told Ulene where he was going. The young man had grown
up finally, taking his responsibilities always seriously. These lessons
had been hard learned, but they'd been learned well.
"Okay,
tell me exactly what you two were doing before he vanished," he urged Ulene.
While
Ulene told him what they'd been up to, he searched the square with his
eyes. There were a lot of people milling around, minding their own business,
eating or drinking at the various places that offered food, watching the
performers scattered all over the place. The sun was shining, and it was
obvious that most people were enjoying themselves.
But no
Cosmo in sight.
The street
magician Ulene had talked about, was showing a levitation number right
now, a music trio at one corner was taking a break, and farther off, a
mime pretended to be a silver statue, not moving.
Everything
normal.
Except,
no Cosmo.
"Okay,"
he said, after Ulene was finished. "Let's try it again. You ask everybody
on this side, and I take the other. We meet over there. Somebody *must*
have seen something."
Fifteen
minutes later there was still no progress. Nobody here had noticed anything
unusual. Of course, most people who where here now, hadn't been there at
the time Cosmo had vanished. The festival was all over the town, and the
people moved from one square to the next, never staying very long in one
place. Ace had spoken to the Celtic trio and some of the people at the
food stalls, but they'd been working at the time when Cosmo had disappeared
and hadn't paid much attention to what was happening around them.
Ace wished
he could sense Cosmo through their link, the same way Cosmo could sense
him and his emotions any given time. At least this way he would know that
Cosmo was safe. Sadly, the link was pretty much a one way street.
After
he met again with Ulene - she hadn't learned anything either - he weighed
his options.
Though
there was no substantiating evidence that something harmful had happened
to Cosmo, Ace knew in his guts that Cosmo wouldn't have vanished like this
voluntarily.
If there
only was a way to find out what happened? Once again, he scanned the area,
hoping to see something which could be of any help, when his eyes fell
on a small, square box, placed high above the ground on one of the buildings.
It took him a moment to realize what this box actually was, but when it
finally clicked, he immediately sprang into action.
He grabbed
Ulene by the arm, forgetting for one moment his normally forever present
politeness. Pointing upwards, he showed the young woman what he had found.
For a
moment, Ulene looked up puzzled, but then she realized as well what Ace
had found. Her face lit up.
"We need
a computer and a network connection," she stated, starting to look around
for a public terminal.
"I have
something much better." Ace smiled grimly, as he pulled her towards the
Magic Racer.
Ten minutes
later they entered the heart of the Magic Express, Angel's control room.
Though Ulene had been here once before, she still looked around with open
curiosity. The air almost hummed with the vast computer power present,
the walls and the console in the center of the room overloaded with top
end hardware. A blue multifaceted hologram hovered in the air close to
the entrance, following Ace as he made his way to the console.
"Angel?"
Ace called the Artificial Intelligence, who was as much his brain child
as it was Cosmo's.
"I've
have accessed the network you asked for, Ace," the computer's voice replied.
The screens
all around lit up, giving an overview of the town. Red dots appeared everywhere,
marking the places where similar boxes like the one Ace had spotted on
the square were to be found. They were actually cameras, placed all over
town by the police for observation. Normally, civilians were not supposed
to be able to access those cameras. But people normally didn't have help
like Angel.
With
a wide gesture, Ace invited Ulene to take the chair. Though he was no slouch
in the computer department, he knew that Ulene's skill surpassed his by
far. Only last week, Cosmo had told him that the young woman had plans
to open her own business as soon as she'd finished college, designing computer
programs for the SFX industry.
For a
moment Ulene looked at Ace, almost as if she wanted to make certain that
Ace was serious that she could work with Angel. At his smile and nod, something
like glee showed up in her eyes, before she turned around and attacked
the keyboard.
In no
time, she'd singled out the one dot which represented the camera at Anderson
square. With a flourish of keystrokes, Ulene searched the memory core of
the camera, pulling the data it had recorded.
"It will
be tight," she explained absently, while she decoded the information. "These
cameras don't record on tape, like a normal camera, but use memory cores
instead. The memory lasts for forty-five minutes, then the recording starts
again from the beginning. Cosmo vanished over an hour ago, so we are already
working with data which has been overwritten once. Luckily, overwriting
doesn't mean the information is completely gone, only buried under the
newer data. The trick is getting to it."
On the
screens, the data from the camera got displayed. People milled around,
minding their business, as the camera's focus moved from one side of the
square to the other. After a minute's work from Ulene, the sharp picture
got replaced by one with a much worse resolution, where the people were
only vague black and white shapes. Then, suddenly, the picture sharpened.
"There!"
Ace called out, when he recognized a familiar mop of hair moving through
the crowd.
"Got
it."
The picture froze, then slowly wound back. Then it freeze-framed.
"That's
us at this street magician," she explained.
From
his bird eye's view, Ace saw two heads, close to each other. The video
started to roll forward again.
"Here
I go to the guy."
Cosmo's
head lingered for a moment, then he moved away, blading slowly across the
square. He stopped at the other corner where the music group was playing,
another cluster of people surrounding them. A minute later, he freed himself
from that group again, moving along the parked cars.
The camera
focused for a moment on the lean frame, then started to move back toward
the center of the square.
Moments
before Cosmo got out of the picture, Ace and Ulene could see how somebody
stepped around a car, putting something to Cosmo's neck. Helplessly, they
could only watch, as Cosmo crumpled to the ground, only to be pulled into
the car, which drove off a second later.
* * *
Most people
took it for granted that they had freedom of movement, not hindered by
restraints or bonds of any kind.
Normally,
Cosmo could be counted among those people, but when he woke up with the
grandmother of all headaches pounding away behind his temples, he found
that freedom was far from what he was enjoying at the moment. Rather the
opposite. He was sitting in a leather chair, which bore an unwelcome similarity
to a dentist's chair. His arms were fixed to the armrests with wide leather
straps, his legs bound in similar fashion to the leg rest. A wide leather
strap over his chest held him back, restricting his over all freedom to
movement of the head and the feet. A needle stuck in the vein on the back
of his right hand didn't contribute to his overall feeling of security.
A line led away from the needle to someplace behind Cosmo, and no amount
of effort on his part enabled it to twist far enough to see where it ended.
Something was wrapped around his head, some kind of band, pressing against
his temples and forehead, but Cosmo could not determine what the purpose
of it was.
Another
disconcerting thing was that somebody had removed his clothing, and he
was now dressed in a pair of gray slacks and a white T-shirt.
All in
all, a pretty bad situation.
"Hey!"
he called out, moments before he realized that drawing attention to the
fact that he was awake now might not be such a good idea.
But there
was no reaction.
Nothing.
He looked
around, trying to get a feeling for the place. He couldn't say he liked
it very much, and a gnawing fear made his stomach cramp, though he tried
hard not to show it.
To distract
himself, he looked further around. Ahead a block of five by five TV screens
took up most of one wall. They were all switched off, their black, glassy
surfaces reflecting the cold neon light on the ceiling and the chair Cosmo
was sitting in. Some kind of dark curtain hid the area behind the chair.
The walls to the left and right were bare, nothing breaking their uniform
whiteness.
What
kind of weird setup was this anyway?
Where
the heck was he?
And how
had he come to be here?
Think,
Cosmo, he encouraged himself. There had to be some clues.
Okay,
what had happened?
Memory
came to him reluctantly, but slowly he managed to put the pieces together.
Damn!
Somebody
had set a trap for him - and they'd used magic as bait! That little girl
in the car had somehow projected magic, and he'd followed it like a bee
followed the scent of honey. Which meant one very disconcerting thing:
somebody here knew he had magic.
Big problem.
Big fucking
problem.
Cosmo
went cold, the stomach cramp changing into an icy lump.
Ace and
he himself always had been very careful to conceal his magic from anybody
unsuspecting. They didn't need somebody thinking of him as a freak - or
someone to be afraid of. Because if somebody feared him, it was possible
that that somebody would take steps to make sure he couldn't hurt them.
Not that he ever would do such a thing, but that hypothetical person didn't
know that.
Of course,
he knew that he was no freak - though accepting it had taken him some time.
He hadn't wanted the magic in the beginning, had not wanted to be different.
It had taken him awhile to realize that just because he could do some things
other people couldn't, had not changed who he was. Magic was a skill, like
the ability to hold a tone while singing, or paint a picture. What he did
with it, depended solely on him, on what he decided to do with it. Like
Ace. He never hurt anybody with his magic, only helped those people who
needed help.
Besides,
now that he had the magic, there was no easy way to get rid of it - easy
was the operative word here, as their encounter with Brian Thomas had shown
not too long ago. Not that he wanted to live without his magic any longer.
Having the magic meant he always could feel the living warmth that represented
Ace to him, which was so important to him.
Almost
automatically, he looked into his link, searching for Ace. And breathed
a relieved sigh when he could feel it, the warmth, albeit dimmed, as if
there was a great distance between them.
Damn,
where the heck had he been taken?
Cosmo
had no idea how great his range really was. Normally, he never had any
problems feeling Ace, no matter how far they'd been apart. Even after Ace
had gone to heal at Kate's place after BlackJack's little gift had been
turned him temporarily into an evil version of himself, Cosmo had been
able to sense Ace's presence. The almost one hundred miles between them
had been only a mild damper. Only if Ace put up a full shield, he was able
to keep him out, and the magician never did that if he could help it.
Now,
Ace's presence was weaker, muffled somehow. This either meant he was very,
very far away, or somebody had found a way to dampen his abilities.
Cosmo
couldn't decide which on of those two options he liked less.
So far,
he'd thought that only a handful of people knew of his magic, and he trusted
all of them to keep his secret. Ace, of course, as he'd been the first
one to see it, and now was teaching him how to control his abilities. Vega,
who also knew about Ace's magic, and had guessed pretty early on that Cosmo
might lean into that direction as well. Little got by the sharp eyes of
the cop.
Then
there was Kate, who'd helped them to unravel the mystery of the bond he
and Ace shared. Mona they'd told after the mess with BlackJack's bracelet,
thinking it to be only fair to let her know. And finally, Ulene. He cared
very deeply about Ulene, loved her, and he thought it was only fair that
if there was to be a future for them together - which he sincerely hoped
- that she knew about his abilities. He knew he could trust her to keep
his secret.
His secret.
Not his
secret anymore, it seemed.
Damn!
"Hey,"
he called out once more, unable to stand the oppressing silence any longer.
The low
whir of an air conditioning unit was all the answer he got.
Once
more he looked around, hoping to see something to give him a clue what
this was all about.
Nothing.
He closed
his eyes, starting to look with other senses than the ones used by most
people.
And got
quite a surprise.
There
was magic energy all around him, only he'd been too preoccupied to notice
it. There were at least five distinct sources, two on the same floor, two
below him, one a level or so above him. The one above belonged to the girl
he'd sensed in Electro City, the sharp, cold, almost artificial feel very
distinct.
What
was this place?
Did somebody
here collect magic users like butterflies?
Now *that*
was an uncomfortable thought.
One of
the screens in front of him lit up, interrupting Cosmo's brooding thoughts,
but it showed only the white/gray pattern of static. Then another screen
lit up, then the rest of them. A wall of static.
Like
one, they all went blank again. Then a white dot appeared on the screen
in the lower left corner, moving to the right, jumping screens in the process.
When the dot had reached the last screen to the right, it moved up, then
to the left again, then down. It made its round twice, until it was joined
by an identical dot, which followed it like two rats chasing each other
in a cage.
Somehow
curious, Cosmo's eyes followed the track of the dots. Without really being
aware of it at first, he relaxed, his breathing getting deeper.
Two more
dots appeared, moving counterclockwise to the first two dots. One screen
lit up in blue, then another in red, and in green, flashing in all colors
of the rainbow.
Hypnosis!
Cosmo
jerked back to full awareness, when he realized what they were doing to
him.
Those
bastards were trying to hypnotize him.
Adrenaline
rushed through his body, as he thrashed against his bonds.
He'd
be damned if he would let himself be hypnotized just like that.
"Hey,
you bastards, let me go!" he yelled.
As before,
there was no reaction, and the show on the screens went on. Now the monochrome
screens were replaced with pictures. Pictures of people he knew.
Ace.
Vega. Mona. Ulene. BlackJack. Senator Dobbs.
Friends.
Enemies.
People
he knew.
Cosmo
calmed down again, never noticing that the liquid in the infusion line
had changed from a clear water like color to a yellowish brown.
He also
never noticed that every time Ulene or Ace showed up, he smiled.
But others
noticed.
*
"What
do you think of our newest candidate?
The blond
man in his late twenties, wearing a white lab coat, crossed his arms over
his chest.
"I still
think, he's too old," he said, watching Cosmo on a screen, which was placed
in one corner of the observation room.
Beside
the screen, a bank of other monitoring devices displayed Cosmo's vital
signs and his reactions to the program running. An unit underneath it controlled
the drugs, which were administered to him in order to make him more recipient
to the hypnotic program. For now they only needed information, how the
candidate reacted to certain stimuli. Later, they would use this information
in a different program.
"He's
the most powerful candidate we've found so far. As soon as we can control
him, his use to us will be tremendous, doctor."
The other
man in the room was at least twenty years older. He wore an army uniform,
which seemed to be two sizes too large. A cigarette hung from one corner
of his mouth, and every other second he took a deep draft, lighting the
tip red. Cold gray eyes studied the screen, glittering greedily in the
artificial light.
"*If*
you can control him, Colonel. The others have been much younger when they
came here. You won't be able to control this one as easily as them."
The colonel
shrugged indifferently. "It's only a matter of time. He won't be the first
one I've taken apart and put back together the way I wanted him."
The blond
man shook his head.
"There's
something about him. I don't know. It won't be easy."
The older
man brushed his concerns aside. "He's too powerful. I need him. I have
to have him."
At this,
the blond man wisely decided to say nothing more.
* * *
Ace prowled
the length of Vega's office, his long legs crossing the room in six or
seven easy strides. Derek Vega, sitting behind his desk, watched him, seemingly
calm. But inside he was as concerned as Ace.
Cosmo
had been missing for one day.
Twenty-four
hours where neither he nor Ace had slept or rested.
With
the help of Angel and Ulene, Ace had been able to track the car Cosmo had
been kidnapped with to the Northern outskirts of the city, but there had
been nothing further. The car had vanished seemingly into thin air. Considering
there was five hundred square miles of dessert out there, this wasn't too
hard.
As they
had proof to show that Cosmo hadn't gone voluntarily - though how this
proof had been obtained, he wisely had neglected to tell his superiors
- Vega had luckily been put into the position to launch a full search,
bypassing the mandatory forty-eight hours waiting period. Even Friedrichs
hadn't been able to do anything against it.
But their
search had brought nothing.
Cosmo
was gone.
There
had been no ransom notes, no threads, nothing which had given them any
information who could be behind the
kidnapping.
All very,
very frustrating.
Ace wished
he could talk to Mona, but the singer was on her promotional tour through
Asia, and he didn't want to bother her there.
For seemingly
the ten-thousandth time, Ace reached the wall, whirled around and resumed
his walking, his cape billowing around him angrily. He looked grim, his
gray eyes surrounded by dark circles, his whole body tense.
Yes,
Vega did worry about Cosmo - but he also worried about Ace.
He knew,
how much the magician loved the kid - though kid wasn't the right word
for Cosmo any longer, as he'd grown very much from the scared and skinny
boy who'd broken into Ace's home so many years ago.
The two
of them had been through so much, had survived so many obstacles anybody
less would have perished. But each fight, each catastrophe they'd gone
through had only cemented their bond even further.
And then
there was their magic. It had taken Vega a long time to realize why Ace
had taken in Cosmo six years ago. There never did seem to be a good reason
really. Yes, he'd understood that Ace wanted to help, but he had not understood
why *this* boy and why he had to take that boy so completely into his life.
There would have been different ways, easier ways.
But when
Cosmo showed his magic potential, Vega realized that it never really had
been Ace's decision. The magic had chosen for him. Not that this necessarily
was a bad thing. After a rough start, Cosmo had fitted so well into Ace's
life Vega had wondered, why he had been against it in the beginning.
The desk
phone's ring interrupted his thoughts.
Ace froze,
his eyes shooting toward the flashing light on the handle. He was a hair's
breath away from snatching up the damn thing.
Before
Ace could reach for the phone, Vega did the honors.
"Yes?"
"Lt.
Vega?"
"Yes?"
"This
is police officer Randell. We think we've found the van."
"Any
trace of the passengers?"
Vega
thought he almost could see the woman shake her head.
"I'm
sorry, sir. The car is empty."
Vega
sighed. It had been too much to hope for anyway.
"Okay,
give me the location and we'll be there as soon as possible."
After
writing down the information, Vega hung up.
Ace was
already halfway to the door, and Vega followed suit.
"We've
found the van," he told his friend, though he figured that Ace knew that
already.
"We'll
take the Racer," Ace informed him with a cold, clipped voice, giving him
no chance to protest.
Not that
he planed to.
If Ace
broke any traffic laws while driving North, Vega didn't mention it. After
they'd left the outskirts of the City, Ace accelerated, pushing the powerful
engine of the Racer to its limit.
After
one or two tries to initiate a conversation, Vega gave up and settled back
in the passenger seat of the car, holding tight to the seat belt. He could
almost feel how tightly wound Ace was, the tension emitting from him in
dark waves. Sooner or later, something would have to give, he only hoped
he would be there to pick up the pieces.
It didn't
take long to reach their goal. The second the canopy of the Racer opened,
Ace was outside, and Vega had to scramble to follow him.
In the
middle of nowhere, a couple of miles East from the interstate that connected
Electro City with the next town further North, stood an abandoned dark
red van. One door stood wide open, revealing the empty interior.
Ignoring
the female officer, who was waiting next to the van, and her partner, Ace
strode to it, looking inside. Vega knew that the younger man was hoping
against hope that Cosmo was in there, maybe having been overlooked somehow
by the other cops, or hidden under a seat where nobody had been looking
until now.
When
Ace's shoulders slumped and he turned around defeated, Vega knew that his
hopes had not been full-filled.
"Ace,"
he said softly, as he placed a hand lightly on Ace's shoulder.
The magician
shook off the hand and ignored him, as he walked over to the officer.
"What
have you found?" he asked, his voice crisp.
Officer
Randell glanced at Vega, looking for permission to speak to Ace. Vega had
to give her high points for following procedure in the light of Ace's cold
stare. It took somebody with nerves to stand up to those demanding eyes.
"A patrol
helicopter spotted the van an hour ago," Randell started after Vega had
nodded. "They immediately informed us. As we were closest, we drove over,
checking it out. There was nobody here and we also couldn't find any tracks
leading away from here."
No surprise
there really, as hover cars left usually few tracks.
"Anything
else," Vega now cut in.
"We've
already did a preliminary search for fingerprints, but the car has been
wiped clean. Must have been professionals, sir, there's nothing."
"Professionals?"
Randell
looked at Ace, then she waved him to come closer, as she pointed inside
the car.
"Most
people, when they try to clean away their fingerprints, wipe the steering
wheel, the door handles and maybe the dash board. However, there are many
more places where fingerprints show. And in this car, all of them have
been cleaned away. And not just wiped away with a tissue, but with a special
solvent which works particularly well with prints."
While
she explained, she pointed out to Ace and Vega some of those places she
mentioned.
"Also,"
she continued, "the license plates have been removed, the car registration
number destroyed, the core memory of the computer dumped. The only way
to destroy their traces further would have been to burn the car, but I
guess, they didn't want to draw attention to his place. Smoke would have
shown up for miles around here."
"What
about hairs or fabrics?" Vega threw in.
"Nothing
so far, but maybe the forensic specialists will be luckier. We've already
arranged for the car to be transported back to HQ, but it will take a while
before we learn something."
Again
Vega placed this hand on Ace's shoulder, squeezing it to show that he was
with him. The magician's face had turned into a mask, showing no emotions
whatsoever.
Vega
sighed.
Damn,
where had the kidnappers taken Cosmo?
And why?
* * *
When Cosmo
woke up the next time, he was in a different room. He had no idea what
had happened and how he'd gotten out of the other room, his last memories
those of the lights on the TV screens. After that ... blank.
He found
himself in a small room, rather a cell, with a simple bed, and not much
else in it. At least he was out of that torture chair.
He levered
himself into a sitting position, groaning when the room began to spin wildly
around him. Bile rose, but he managed to keep it down.
Man,
he could use a drink of water right now.
Actually,
he needed to get out of here.
Taking
slow, controlled breathes, he managed to settle his stomach a little, at
least enough for him to sit up without the urge to puke. He swallowed a
couple of times, waiting until enough spittle had collected each time in
order to get rid of the vile taste in his mouth.
As he
brushed over his hair with his hand, he noticed a dark spot where the needle
had stuck in the back of his hand. It hurt a little, almost like a bee
sting. Absently, he rubbed the spot, looking around as he did so.
These
people definitely needed some interior decorators. The walls were bare,
the only interruption the faint outlines of a door in one wall. With another
groan, Cosmo rose, more or less stumbling towards the door, relieved when
he could rest against its solid presence. For a couple of minutes the room
wavered before his eyes, until finally everything had settled back down
again.
There
was no handle on this side of the door, or a key hole, the gap between
it and the rest of the wall barely wide enough to stick a piece of paper
in between.
Damn.
He could
not say that he had liked his situation here very much from the beginning.
But, the longer he stayed here, he liked it less and less.
Ace would
be sick for worry.
Ace.
His mind
groped for the link, feeling along the line, which tied them together.
He closed his eyes relieved when he felt Ace, albeit far away. He slid
down the wall, until he came to rest leaning against it.
Ace was
still okay. Yes, he was worried, that much he could feel even from afar,
but he was okay. As long as Ace was okay, he would be okay as well. He
knew he could stand everything, as long as Ace was okay.
And in
order for Ace to stay okay, he had to get out of here - not that he wouldn't
mind being as far away from here as possible himself.
He sighed,
then rose again. This time the room stayed as it was, calm and steady,
and his dizziness wasn't so bad anymore.
No time
like the present. Whoever held him here, would be looking for him sooner
or later, and it seemed to be a very good idea not to be here when they
came.
He turned
back towards the door, placing his hands against it. Taking a few more
steadying breathes, he searched for his
magic.
What
he planned to do, would get him out of the room all right. However, he
wished he had something up his sleeve that would draw not quite as much
attention. Ace was the one who could walk through walls. He never had figured
out how his friend did it. Normally, with his little bag of tricks, it
wouldn't be too difficult for him to break out by jimmying the lock. However,
his tools were back in his room at home, and the few items he carried with
him normally, were with his clothing and who knew where they'd ended up.
The shatter
spell would do the job, he knew, but it would be pretty difficult for his
captors to miss it when a door got broken into a million pieces.
The air
around his hands began to fill with red and orange sparks, circling them
in tight orbits, one or another of them flitting into the material of the
door as if testing it, before they flew out again. Behind Cosmo's temples
the pressure rose, as he readied the spell.
Once
more he inhaled deeply, then, with a silent, guttural scream, he let the
spell fly.
At the
last moment, he ducked away, covering his head against the splinters, which
flew through the room.
As always,
when he worked a major spell, the reaction headache sat in immediately.
The first time he'd done any spell, which deserved that name, the pain
had been so great it had knocked him out - the pain and the fact that all
his magical channels had been burned open rather brutally. He'd spent three
days in a deep coma and only Ace had been able to pull him out of it.
Now he
couldn't allow himself to be distracted by the pain. Pushing it into some
distant corner of his mind to be taken care of later, he peeked around
the corner into a long corridor leading past his cell.
There
seemed to be nobody, but this wouldn't stay so much longer.
Treading
on bare feet carefully through the debris, he turned right, deciding that
one way was a good as the other. After the ground was clear enough to move
faster without cutting his soles to pieces, he started into a light jog.
The corridor
was about fifty yards long, before it intersected another, wider hallway.
There were doors to the left and the right, but Cosmo ignored them. He
had to get out of here, no time for sight seeing right now.
At the
intersection he paused, listening. There were some metal doors in the center
which looked like they belonged to an elevator.
He heard
foot falls coming from the left hand corridor, so Cosmo decided to go straight
ahead, skipping the elevator as being too exposed. Now he started to check
the doors on one side, hoping to find some place to hide. Maybe he could
hide long enough until they'd lost interest in that area. If somebody looked
inside the room, Cosmo could try to go invisible - though it wasn't really
invisibility, more like telling their minds that he was not there. Cosmo
wasn't too sure how it worked. The important part was, it did.
Instead
of a room, however, he found a stairway.
Even
better.
He rushed
in and up.
Seconds
later, he heard the sound of trampling boots, which encouraged another
spurt of speed. Taking two steps at a time, he reached the next floor's
landings, when the door there flew open and two men in uniform burst into
the stairway.
Cosmo
vaulted over the banister, flitting past them. But then one reached out
and hooked him around his ankle. Cosmo managed to get the other foot on
the ground, which saved him from crashing down face first, but lost his
balance still and fell, as the man got a better grip and wouldn't let go.
The stair's edge connected painfully with his side.
"Hey!"
Cosmo protested, trying to kick at the man with his free foot.
The man
ignored it.
He pulled
Cosmo closer to him, not minding that the steps bumped painfully against
Cosmo's body. Cosmo twisted and turned, but this didn't work.
Then
Cosmo Pushed.
The magic
push was actually supposed to be a levitation spell, but somehow it never
really had worked like that. But it worked perfectly for the purpose Cosmo
needed it now.
The man
flew away, colliding with a resounding crash against the opposite wall,
sliding down unconscious. His partner looked at Cosmo as if he'd grown
another head.
Before
he got the idea it might be his turn now to go after Cosmo, the young magician
scrambled around, and up the stairs.
However,
he didn't get far. As he turned onto the next flight of stairs, he came
face to barrel with a gun. Not something Cosmo was very happy to see. Not
ever, and especially not now.
He froze,
his eyes flitting up and down the stairways. Above the man with the gun
pointing unwavering at him, downstairs a couple of grim looking guys, now
also armed. Not a good choice either way.
He was
cornered.
Pressing
his lips into a thin, angry line, he raised his hands.
* * *
This time
it was the carpet in the Express's living room/library which bore the brunt
of Ace's attempt to walk a ditch into it.
Vega
had half a mind to join his friend in his effort, but then he was not sure
if the room was large enough for both of them prowling like that. Not that
he ever before had considered the room as particularly small.
Three
hours ago they'd returned from the dessert. One hundred and eighty minutes.
Each minute contained sixty seconds. Which made for ten-thousand and eight-hundred
eternally long seconds doing nothing but waiting.
Waiting.
With
no news, nothing.
They'd
lingered at the place where the vehicle had been found for about an hour,
until the van had been loaded onto a truck and had been ferried of to the
crime lab in the headquarters of the police, to be examined with a fine
toothed comb. Which would take time.
Vega
was worried.
Of course,
he was mainly worried about Cosmo. They had no idea where he was, how he
was, even if he was still alive - though Ace claimed he was sure he was.
Must have been due to that link the Magician and the kid shared.
But he
was also pretty worried about Ace.
The man
hadn't slept a minute since Cosmo had vanished yesterday. He hadn't eaten.
He hadn't rested.
Ace was
a strong man, but he wouldn't last much longer like that. And he wouldn't
help Cosmo if he collapsed.
With
a sigh, he rose from his seat.
"Ace?"
The magician
didn't give any indication he'd even heard him.
"Ace?"
Vega repeated, louder.
Again,
no reaction. Ace's eyes were blank, fixed onto something a million miles
away. Vega had a fair idea what it was.
Cosmo.
After
a moment's hesitation, Vega stepped right into Ace's way, holding out a
hand to his chest.
This
time, Ace stopped. He looked down at the hand arresting his mindless wandering,
regarding it like a particularly ugly
insect.
"Ace,
you need to eat."
"I'm
not hungry."
Silently,
Vega sighed again. "You've *got* to eat. You can't help Cosmo, if you don't
eat."
Ace looked
up, his eyes dull pools of pain.
"I'm
not helping him at all anyway, it seems."
"We've
got to wait."
Ace took
a deep breath. "I don't know how much longer I can wait, Derek. I need
to find Cosmo. But I don't even know where to start looking. If they would
come with some ransom demands, I would pay everything they want. If there
would be some other demands, I would do anything they want. But not like
this. This ... this not knowing. I feel so damn helpless."
Vega
nodded, understanding. "Whoever has him, is trying to wear you down, that's
all. They won't do a thing to Cosmo, before they've told you what they
want."
"We don't
know that," Ace said tonelessly.
"That's
the way ninety percent of all kidnappings go. You're rich, Ace, and this
is pretty well known. They will send a ransom demand, and after you pay,
they will send Cosmo back. And then we will get those bastards."
At least
Vega hoped so. He had his doubts that it would be so easy. With Ace and
Cosmo, it never was.
Ace let
his head drop to his chest. "I...I don't even know if it's about money.
It could be somebody who simply holds a grudge against me. There're enough
of those around after all. And it wouldn't be the first time."
That
was right. Quite a few of Ace's enemies had figured out that the magician
cared deeply about his young assistant. If one of them had Cosmo ...
Vega
closed his eyes in anguish.
When
he opened them again, he saw the same fear he felt deep inside reflected
in Ace's eyes.
No, he
had to think rational. Not allow his fears take over his mind.
"No!
I don't think so," he said, as his mind was working furiously. "If one
of them had him, we would know. They ... they would gloat, let you know."
"Unless,
as you said before, they want to wear me down," Ace remarked.
Vega
shook his head. "No, I don't think any of them would have so much patience.
They don't really think that much
ahead."
"Maybe,
if they have some kind of plan. While I'm pinned here worrying about Cosmo,
they could do ... whatever. I just don't know. And there's *nothing* I
can do."
* * *
The room
was cold.
Though,
as he thought about it, Cosmo wasn't sure if it was really cold, or if
he just thought it was. For the 'it's really cold' theory spoke that he
- unlike the other two guys in the room - only wore the thin T-shirt he'd
woken up in in this place and the gray slacks, without shoes, or socks
for that matter.
The 'I
just think it's cold' theory got merit based on the fact that the two guys
were kind of creepy. Sitting chained to a metal chair certainly didn't
help.
Cosmo
pulled once again on his handcuffs, but all he achieved was to further
scuff his right wrist, which was already bruised from all the other times
he'd pulled at the cuffs. Damn, if he only had his tools. He would be out
of those blasted thing in an eyeblink.
Casting
a glance at his two guards, he suppressed a curse. Getting out of the chains
wouldn't do him any good, he feared. And even if he should be able to get
out of this room in one piece - which wasn't very likely to begin with
- he didn't know how many other guards were around.
At least
Ace was safe - his warm, ever living presence the only bright spot in this
whole miserable situation.
Whatever
that situation really was. He still wasn't too sure what this whole setup
was about. He knew, it had something to do with his magic. The presence
of so many other magic users close by couldn't be a coincidence. And somehow
the military was involved too. The uniforms of his captors was a pretty
clear indicator to that. He had no idea to which branch of the military
these guys belonged to, but, to be totally honest, he couldn't care less.
Alone the fact that military and magic was mixed somehow didn't bode well
with him. Not well at all.
The door
behind him opened, and somebody entered. Cosmo was tempted to twist around
in his chair and look at who had came in, but decided not to give them
the satisfaction. He would know soon enough.
Cosmo
stared straight ahead, until somebody moved into his peripheral vision,
then moved around the metal desk to sit down in the chair on the other
side.
It was
an older man, Cosmo guessed him to be at least fifty. The hair had probably
at one time been dark-brown, but now it was streaked with white. The face
was pale, thin, and Cosmo instantly disliked him. The man's eyes were cold
as they looked at Cosmo intensely, and the younger man suddenly knew how
a bacteria felt, when studied through the lens of a microscope. The man
also wore an uniform, though it hung loosely from his tall frame, almost
as if the man had lost a lot of weight not too long ago. There were some
kind of rank insignias on his sleeve, but Cosmo had no idea what they stood
for.
The man
studied him closely, and after a moment Cosmo had to look away. He didn't
like the way the man looked at him at all.
He gulped
and looked downed at his cuffs uncomfortably and wished Ace was here right
now.
"It's
Cosmo, right?"
It wasn't
really a question, and Cosmo didn't see it necessary to answer him.
The man
shuffled some papers around, looking at a printout in his hand.
"Do you
have to touch an object in order to incinerate it, or can you do it also
from a distance?"
For a
moment Cosmo looked up, not able to hide his shock, but then he quickly
cast his eyes down again. He would be damned if he would give them anything.
"I'm
actually quite impressed, Cosmo. You've given us quite a chase."
"What
the hell do you want?" Cosmo croaked out, torn between being scared out
of his wits and being furious beyond anything he'd every felt. The magic
inside of him stirred and bubbled, and Cosmo had to make a conscious effort
to restrain it. For once it wouldn't do him any good at the moment, and
then he wasn't willing to give that man another demonstration of what he
was able to do. His head throbbed, as much from the effort to hold back
and as a reminder of his previous magic use.
The man
smiled, but the grin didn't reach those cold, gray eyes.
"Now,
Cosmo, that is simple," the man said, "we want you!"
* * *
Two days.
It'd
been two days and still not a word from Cosmo or from whomever had taken
him.
The enforced
inactivity drove Ace crazy. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat, and he
couldn't think straight.
This
morning, in a burst of anger, he'd trashed the orbital statue in his living
room with a blast of hot, angry magic, imagining for one second that the
statue was the person who held Cosmo captive. And for one short second
he'd felt better. But then reality had caught up with him again, and he'd
fallen to his knees, spent, the reaction headache a fierce reminder that
doing magic without any kind of preparation was never a good idea.
It was
then that he decided that he just couldn't sit around here any longer,
doing nothing. He needed to get out and he needed help.
When
they'd discovered the link which bound him and Cosmo together, they'd quickly
learned that it only worked in one direction. By somehow - even to this
day he really didn't know how - implanting a shard of his mind in Ace's
mind, Cosmo was able to sense what Ace was feeling at any given time. That
was, unless he decided to shield himself from his young charge.
Ace on
the other hand didn't sense anything from Cosmo, which frustrated Ace without
end. All he could sense - and that only, when he concentrated very hard
- was that the link was there, a warm tingle in his mind, which said 'Cosmo'
to him. This was how he was sure that Cosmo was still alive; the only comfort
he had in this craziness.
Now the
link was the only hope he had left to find Cosmo.
Rural
towns rushed past him, as he drove south, towards a small village named
Whitewater. There, at the edge of the town, at the end of a long driveway,
stood the house Anna LeFrez had left to him after her death.
Ace had
spent some of the happiest years of his life there, finding and finally
accepting his magic after Anna had taken him in after he'd left Jack Malone's
gang. Anna was dead now for two years, and he still missed her, sometimes
terribly, missed her gentleness and her wisdom and her love.
After
Anna's death, Kate Morrigan had taken residency there. Kate was an old
friend, had been since they'd been together under Anna's tutelage. She
also was a mage, a pretty powerful one actually. Her specialty lay in Nature
Magic. Besides that, she worked in research, having a doctorate in Theoretical
Magic - though officially it wasn't called that, as, again officially,
Magic - the one with the capital 'M' - didn't exist. That hadn't stopped
her from studying with some of the best people in Europe and Asia.
It had
been Kate, who had worked out what was behind his and Cosmo's link, and
now it would be Kate, who would work out a way to use that link to somehow
locate Cosmo. At least, that was what Ace hoped.
The Magic
Racer pulled up the drive and came to a stop just before the main entrance.
The canopy opened, and Ace climbed out. He'd tried to call Kate earlier,
but had only gotten the answering machine. If his concern for Cosmo wasn't
so overwhelming, he probably would have worried, but as it was, he was
feeling more angry.
This
anger translated now in pushing the bell button with more force than necessary.
The cheery ding-dong, which rang through the house didn't fit Ace's mood
at all.
Ace waited,
barely refraining from tapping his foot impatiently. He had just lifted
his hand to press the button again, when the door opened, and Kate stood
there.
Instead of her usual jeans
and turtleneck outfit, she was dressed in sweats and a simple black T-shirt.
She had a towel wound around her neck, rubbing it against her reddish-brown
hair. When she saw who was standing at the door, her face lit with a smile.
"Ace!
Long time, no see."
Ace forced
himself to smile.
"Hi Kate."
How could
anybody look so cheerful, when Cosmo was missing?
Then
Kate noticed that something was wrong. She frowned, looking past Ace. She
knew something was missing, and as there was no Cosmo in sight, she had
an idea what it might be.
"Ace,
is something wrong? Where's Cosmo?" Kate asked, again looking past Ace.
It didn't take somebody who knew Ace as well as she did, that Cosmo's absence
was unusual.
Ace sighed
deeply, the weight of his loss pressing heavily on his soul. Then he said,
with a voice devoid of all emotions, "Cosmo's been kidnapped."
Kate's
eyes widened in shock and her hand flew to her mouth. For a second she
just stood there, as the reality of what Ace had said filled her. Then
she grabbed Ace by his arm and pulled him inside, pushing the door close
behind him after he was inside. She led her unresisting guest towards the
living room, where she basically pushed him into one of the overstuffed
chairs. Ace allowed her to do it, putting up no resistance.
Kate
vanished into the kitchen, returning a minute later with two steaming mugs
in her hands. She pushed one of those mugs in Ace's hand, then sat down
opposite of him.
"What
happened?" she asked, in a no-nonsense tone, lacing her fingers around
her own mug, as her elbows rested on her
knees.
Ace inhaled
deeply, looking down at his own mug, which, as he noticed, was filled with
hot chocolate. Absently he remembered that this used to be Anna's first
line of defense in case of trouble, and now it looked as if Kate had taken
over that habit. Slowly he started to relate what happened, fixing his
eyes on the slowly melting marshmallows.
Kate
listened to him intensely, taking once in a while a sip from her own mug.
After
Ace was finished, silence settled over the living room like a warm blanket.
Ace found that having talked to Kate had had a calming effect on him -
or maybe it was the hot chocolate. He'd been worrying so much the last
two days, thinking about nothing but Cosmo and what those people who had
kidnapped him might do to him, that allowing himself to just think of nothing
for a moment, placing the weight of his worries on somebody else's shoulders,
was an incredible relief.
But handing
his concerns to somebody else wasn't the way Ace worked. So he closed his
eyes for just a second, then drew the worries and the concerns back to
him, ready to face them.
"Kate,"
he said, his voice firm again, "I want you to find a way to trace Cosmo's
whereabouts through our link."
Kate
furrowed her brow. "The link is only one-way, Ace. You know that. We've
done a million tests on that already"
Ace shook
his head. "I know what we've done, Kate. But, it's the only thing I can
think of. Kate, please, it's the only way I can find Cosmo."
* * *
"We want
you!"
The words
ingrained themselves forever in Cosmo's mind.
"We want
you!"
Cosmo
didn't listen to the man in the uniform, his mind in turmoil. They … the
military wanted to use him, his magic powers. It was true.
One of
their darkest fears was true.
When
Cosmo had developed his powers, he, Vega and Ace had talked about the many
reasons why they should keep them a secret. The 'military might want to
use them for their own gain' scenario had only been a remote possibility,
but, as it seemed now, not quite as remote as they'd hoped.
Damn!
"Cosmo!"
Cosmo's
head shot up. Normally, he preferred to be addressed with just his name.
He only had one, and that usually was fine for him. But somehow, it really
riled him that that man called him just 'Cosmo'. Something inside of him
dug his feet in. He'd be damned if he told them anything.
The man
on the other side of the table had shoved a piece of paper to his side,
tapping a line on it with a ball-point pen.
Cosmo
narrowed his eyes. Damn, he should have paid a little more attention to
what that guy had been talking about.
"Sign
here," the man said, explaining what he wanted from Cosmo.
Cosmo
snorted. "You're kiddin', right?" Cosmo had no idea what he was supposed
to sign, but he knew that he would never
do it.
The man
in the uniform didn't show any emotions.
"Sign!"
he commanded once again, more forceful.
"Like
hell I will. You really believe you can simply kidnap me, and expect me
to bow to your every whim? Think again."
Without
another word, the man withdrew the document, putting it back in a folder
on the desk.
"I had
hoped we could make it easy for you, Cosmo. But as you wish. I can do it
the hard way. Question is: can you?"
"You're
crazy! You you can't do this!" Cosmo yelled, when the two men behind him
unlocked his cuffs, pulled him to his feet and dragged him out of the room.
The last
thing he saw was the cold smile which played around the older man's lips,
telling him, that, yes, indeed, he could do want ever he wanted, any way
he wanted.
* * *
Fran sat
on the bed in the corner of her room, her knees tucked underneath her chin,
her arms wrapped around her legs.
Fran
was twelve years old, her Hispanic heritage obvious in her dark complexion
and her pitch black hair. The only thing unusual about her looks were her
gray eyes, atypical for somebody of her breed. But that was not the only
thing unusual about her, only the other thing was not visible to the naked
eye. The one thing, which really set her apart from the rest of humanity,
was a talent she'd been born with, a talent, which was at the same time
exciting and frightening. A talent, which also was the reason she was here
now, away from her friends and family.
Fran
was a Spirit Walker. She could, if she chose so, separate her spirit from
her body, letting it roam around without her. It was a quite useful talent
- at least she'd thought so, until the day when a couple of men had came
to her after school, pulled her into a car and drove away with her.
That
had been over five weeks ago.
Since
then, she - and as she'd learned later, others like her - had been held
captive in this military place. She didn't like it here particularly, but
so far she hadn't found a way to get away.
Expect,
of course, in her Spirit Form. There was not much that could hold her back.
Problem was, that she was limited to where she could walk to, as she hadn't
really mastered Spirit Flight yet.
A while
ago, she'd heard the sound of the alarm. At that, the woman who'd been
working with her, had brought her back into the room that was her prison
and locked the door. For a while, Fran had just sat there, her mind still
befuddled from the stuff they'd given her that morning, but now she finally
felt her head clear enough, so that she could try to leave her room.
Taking
a few deep breathes, she closed her eyes, concentrating on separating her
spirit from her body. It took her longer than usually, but finally, she
felt the 'snap', which told her that it had worked. For a moment, she grinned,
then she 'stepped out'.
Her spirit
body easily went through the wall, and she turned, going down the corridor.
After roaming the hallways and the rooms of the complex often enough during
the night, she had a good idea where she might find the person who'd caused
the earlier alarm. She held no illusion that he or she had managed to escape.
The others were just too strong and too many. She knew that there'd been
previous attempts, but nobody ever had managed even to get close to the
exit.
No, whoever
it was would be brought to the Colonel, and then they would show him why
it wasn't a good idea to ever try again. Usually, it worked very well.
She went
into the corridor, which led to the lab, when she heard a commotion from
one of the 'interview rooms'. Two guards stepped out, pulling along a struggling,
red-haired man. The man put up a good fight, but with his hands cuffed
behind his back, and the two men against him, he had little chance.
"Leave
me alone!" the younger man screamed, but the guards didn't listen.
Fran
could have told him that.
Drifting
to the side, she took a good long look at the red-haired man. He was older
than the others who were held here, eighteen maybe, or even twenty. Not
particularly tall, he almost vanished between the two guards. His fire-red
hair hung down, obscuring part of his face.
As she
was in her sprit form, she was able to see the strong glow of his magical
aura, a canopy of gold and orange and red, tiny stars circling angrily
around him, flitting through his body constantly. He was pretty strong,
that much she could see easily, stronger than any of the others. Not that
this would help him here. Not really.
Just
then, he threw back his head, giving Fran a good look at his face. Startling
gray eyes looked around wildly, searching for something, possibly for some
means of escape.
When
his gaze aimed into her direction, he froze, his eyes narrowing, as they
locked with hers.
The guards,
oblivious that their victim was seeing something, pulled at the man's arms,
dragging their for the moment compliant prisoner with them.
For a
second, Fran couldn't move. Nobody had ever seen her when she was in her
spirit form. Even her teacher, Savannah, was not really able to see her,
though she was able to spot her aura, and the link, which bound her to
her body.
But this
man did!
She was
sure of that.
"Who
are you?" he mouthed, his eyes still fixed on her, though they were pulling
him away.
She opened
her mouth, but didn't know what to say. Instead, she just turned and fled
back to her body and her cell.
* * *
When the
house had been built about a hundred years ago, the architect had added
a round tower at the side which faced the ocean. Kate had set up her working
area in the top room of that tower, as it was suspended between three of
the four magical elements: Water in form of the ocean at the feet of the
cliffs, Earth represented by the sheer bedrock the tower was anchored
into, and, of course the Air all around. A metal basin at one side of the
room, and adding the fourth and last element, Fire, was no problem.
On a
clear day, it was possible to see all the way to Glen Island, almost fifty
miles away, but neither Kate nor Ace had cast one glance out of one of
the windows when they entered. Ace kneeled down in the center of the circular
room, dressed only in his black pants with the yellow stripe at it's side,
his white shirt and the ever present cummerbund, forgoing for once his
usual short jacket, the gloves and the cape.
Kate
stepped up behind him, placing her hands on Ace's shoulders.
"Relax,"
was
her almost whispered command.
She felt
how Ace took a deep breath, then expelled some of his tension with the
air he released. But only some of it. Almost automatically she began to
knead the stiff muscles underneath her fingers. God, the man's shoulders
were tense.
Ace sighed,
and, though Kate couldn't see it, she knew he'd closed his eyes. She followed
his example, and allowed her mind to drift, thinking of nothing special.
For the
next ten minutes nothing outward happened. Kate never stopped massaging
Ace's neck, willing him to relax, letting go for a moment of his worries
for Cosmo.
Naturally,
she also worried about Cosmo. How could she not? She liked the boy - well,
young man actually.
Ace always
had been the more serious one. Even when they'd been teenagers in Anna's
school. Okay, there'd been a few times when the young Ace Cooper had shown
that deep inside of him was a mischievous person hidden, ready to follow
her in every prank she thought up, and coming up with a few of his own,
but normally he almost had looked as if he personally was carrying the
weight of the world on his then narrow shoulders. No wonder, considering
the power of his gift.
A few
years after Ace had left the school, Kate had met him again in London where
she was studying at that time. Ace had been on his first world tour, and
though on the outside he'd seemed to be happy, in his eyes she'd seen that
he was lonely, and her heart had bled for him.
Then
Cosmo came along, and everything changed. Cosmo had filled a place in Ace's
heart, which nobody, not even Mona, had ever been able to fill. Ace needed
to be needed, and Cosmo had needed somebody to take care of him. As much
as Cosmo benefited from Ace taking him in, Ace benefited at least as much
in return.
Now they
were equal partners, two halves of the same whole, inseparably tied together
by their magic and by their friendship - even love, though she knew there
was nothing physical going on between the two - for each other. Kate knew
that each of them would happily die to save the life of the other - though
this would be a problem, as it was not very likely that the remaining partner
would survive the death of the other one.
Finally,
she felt that Ace had slipped into a light trance, his slow, even breathing
the only sound she heard. She lifted her hands from his shoulders, allowing
them to hover a few inches away from Ace's head.
Taking
a deep breath, she opened her eyes.
Before
her, Ace was bathed in a warm, pale blue light, sprinkled with purple and
silver stars, which bobbed and weaved around him, circling around him.
His aura. She knew it almost as well as her own - after all, they had enough
time to train together when they'd been younger. Though now the aura was
deeper, warmer somehow. As a teenager it had been kind of wild, untamed.
Now it was ... well, matured was probably the best Kate would be able to
describe it. And strong, very, very strong.
She looked,
but couldn't see any traces of the bond. Ignoring the sigh, which wanted
to rise from deep in her chest, she slowly removed the outermost of her
own shields. She had to concentrate not to hiss in pain, as Ace's magic
collided with her own, causing a grinding sound only she was able to hear
- and feel.
Though
Kate and Ace both were strong magic users, their magics were basically
polar opposites. She drew her power from the world around her, from the
elements, nature, life itself. It was a slow process, and whenever she
did a major spell, she had to rest for days to recharge her power. Ace,
on the other hand, tapped into another dimension altogether for his magic.
Nobody really knew what the Magic Force was and where it came from, only
that some few people were able to use it, and even fewer people actually
could envelope themselves into it, using the Magic Force to transform themselves
into extremely powerful Magicians.
Now,
because his magic was so strong and so volatile, her own magic senses got
brutally overwhelmed every time she allowed her shields to drop in Ace's
presence.
That
didn't mean they couldn't work together magically. Anna had seen to that,
though it hadn't been easy and had required long hours of training. At
least, as she mussed with a slight smile, thanks to Ace, she probably was
one of the best in the world where magic shields were concerned, even having
written her thesis on just that topic.
She allowed
her mind to get used to the 'taste' and 'sound' of Ace's magic, as she
slowly removed layer after layer of her
shields.
Ace didn't
move, allowing her to do all the work, knowing there was nothing he could
do to help. She knew he hated that forced inactivity, but there was no
other way.
Ace's
aura got brighter, but she refused to dim her Sight, knowing that if there
was a trace of the link, it would be hidden in the bright light.
She concentrated,
searching for the shard Cosmo had planted in Ace's mind. She'd seen it
once before, though to say that she had 'seen' it would probably be too
much. Sensed it, yes, that was more like it.
Light,
there was so much light, and she had to suppress a moan, knowing that Ace
would hear it and stop the experiment.
Finally,
she'd dropped the last of her shields. A headache began to throb behind
her eyes, tugging on her concentration. She ignored it.
There!
For a
second she thought it might just be wishful thinking, but than she felt
it again. Something bright, hiding in the brightness that was Ace, that
though it was part of Ace was *not* Ace.
Cosmo.
Yellow and orange light. Flickering, fluctuating. Very much there.
Thank
God, he was alive.
Carefully,
she 'touched' the shard, felt for it, looked for something leading away
from it. A thin tendril of light, entwined with Ace's aura, Ace himself.
She latched onto it, tried to follow the fragile lead, but had to give
up after a very short stretch, when the strand got too thin for her senses.
She tried
once more, but with the same lack of success. It was there, yes, and the
implications of that made her heart sing, but there was just no way for
her to follow it. At least not at the moment.
Finally
allowing the sigh, which had gathered at the depth of her soul, to escape,
she dropped her hands at her side, rebuilding her shields as she stepped
away from Ace.
God,
she was tired. And she needed an Aspirin. And a brandy. A large one.
Ace gave
her a moment to pull herself together, as he slowly rose to his feet. He
knew she always needed a moment after using her magic, even if, as in this
case, very little actual magic use had been involved.
"You
okay?" he asked, putting a hand on her elbow.
She nodded,
not trusting her voice yet. The headache receded an inch at a time, fighting
all the way.
Together
they went back to the living room, where Ace handed her a glass of water
and a small white pill. She nodded her thanks, swallowing the Aspirin with
the water's help.
Relief
was immediate and very much welcome, and finally she was able to look into
the questioning eyes of her friend.
"Good
news and bad news, Ace," she began. She didn't give him a chance to decide
which one he wanted to hear first. "Good news is, yes, the link is still
there, and that can only mean Cosmo's still alive."
Ace sagged,
almost dropping into the couch at his back. He rubbed his hand over his
tired face, and through his dark hair. For a moment, his gaze was fixed
on the floor, but then he looked up, his eyes guarded.
"And
the bad news."
Kate
took another swallow of her water, wishing it would be the brandy she dreamed
of.
"There's
no way I'll be able to track it. I can tell you it's somewhere East, but
that's about it. I'm sorry."
Ace closed
his eyes briefly. "What if we would move East and than try again, working
our way forward step by step?"
"Good
idea, Ace, but not really feasible. It will take just too long. There's
no way, I'll be able to do that again in the next twelve hours or so, and
I doubt it will get any easier."
Ace rested
his elbows on his knees, putting his head in his hands. His gray orbs were
fixed on Kate, pleading her to find another way, any way.
Damn,
that hurt. And it wasn't the headache this time.
"I could
look up some of my contacts. Maybe there's somebody else who would be better
suited. Scrying is not really my specialty, you know that."
Hope
flickered up again, and a small smile tug at Ace's lips.
"Okay,
how can I help?"
Before
Kate could answer that question, the sound of the door bell rang through
the house.
* * *
"Ace!"
Cosmo
coughed, trying to wave away the thick smoke, which permeated the room.
He squinted his tearing eyes, stumbling over the rubble, as he searched
for his friend and partner.
"Ace!"
he called out once again. "Where are you?"
He climbed
over a pile, which had formed as the ceiling had come down, his eyes frantically
looking around.
Ace had
to be somewhere close-by. He'd been standing at the other side of the room,
talking with somebody, when the explosion had rocked the building and the
world had come tumbling down. Cosmo had escaped unscathed, protected by
a large slab of stone, but he feared Ace hadn't been so lucky.
Suddenly,
he spotted a foot and a bit of a leg, the rest of the body covered by rubble.
The yellow stripe on the pant's side was a clear indicator to whom the
leg belonged to.
"Ace!!"
He called out again, desperately digging into the stones, throwing them
aside as fast as he could. "Ace, answer me!"
No reaction
from the inert body.
He dug
on, ignoring how the rubble cut into the skin of his hands.
Finally,
after what seemed like an eternity, he'd worked his way to Ace's head.
Blood covered the handsome features, a cut over his eyes still oozing red.
Oh god,
there was so much blood.
"Ace!"
Cosmo sobbed, quivering fingers searching for a pulse. "Ace, please, wake
up."
At his
touch, the eye lids began to flutter, then opened.
"Co.."
Ace croaked, touching his tongue to his lips.
"Lay
still, don't move, something might be broken."
Ace swallowed,
again wetting his lips.
"Cosmo?"
"I'm
fine, Ace, don't worry. You just lay still."
But Ace
wouldn't calm down, struggling against Cosmo, as he tried to keep him down.
"Cosmo,"
he rasped out again, his voice weak.
"Ace?
What's the matter? What can I do for you?"
Gray,
pain filled eyes locked with his.
"I…I
just…" Ace drew a shivering breath. "I just want to know…"
"Yes,
Ace?" Cosmo asked, when Ace stopped again. With tender fingers he brushed
Ace's normally white fore lock aside. Now the usually immaculate hair was
blood drenched.
"I want
to know why you did it?"
Ace's
eyes rolled up in his head, as he sighed once, then stopped breathing.
"Ace?"
Cosmo asked confused, but the inert body didn't move.
"Ace?"
Cosmo
shook Ace, but there was no reaction. No reaction at all. Panic filled
his gut with cold ice.
"Ace!"
Why wouldn't
Ace move?
Slowly,
the words Ace had said with his last breath came back. 'Why you did it?"
Did what? What did Ace believe, he had done? Did Ace blame him for that
explosion? Why did Ace blame him? Why did Ace think he had something to
do with it?
What
had really happen?
And why
wouldn't Ace move?
"Ace!"
"ACE!!!!!"
*
As the
screams of the young man in the virtual reality globe filled the lab, the
man in the lab coat watched how the vital signs spiked, then dropped back
to a more normal level as the program reached its conclusion. He hit a
few keys on his control board, terminating the program.
Cosmo
floated inside of the machine, his hair hanging limply over the VR goggles,
body held up only by the energy field.
"So,
doctor, are we making progress?"
The blond
man looked up, hiding a frown as he cast a glance at the Colonel.
"I think,
we're moving too fast, Colonel." His voice was carefully controlled. He
knew, he couldn't show too much disapproval of what the Colonel was doing.
It wouldn't be too good for his career. And his life expectancy.
"Is there
a problem?"
For a
moment, the doctor glanced at Cosmo, then back at the Colonel, who looked
at him disapprovingly.
"No,
sir. No problems."
The Colonel
nodded, then turned and left the lab.
The doctor
sighed, then turned back to his patient - or rather his victim. He sighed,
then pushed the button, which would start the next program.
Not much
later, and Cosmo's screams filled the lab once again.
* * *
"Savannah?"
Kate
had opened the door, finding two people waiting for her. One was a tall,
dark haired woman with a reddish-brown complexion. The other was a middle-aged,
slim man, with short, blond hair, dressed in jeans, a white T-shirt and
a sports jacket.
Kate
frowned. Though she recognized Savannah Redwing, a Navaho shaman woman
she'd worked together with a few years back, she never before had laid
eyes on the man. Though, it had been a while since she'd heard from Savannah,
and who knew what had happened in the meantime. However, somehow she didn't
think those two were together.
Savannah
showed a small smile, as she greeted Kate.
"Hi,
Kate."
"Come
in, come in." With a wide gesture, the shorter woman invited the two people
in. Kate had a strange feeling, somehow knowing that Savannah's visit just
now was no coincidence, was somehow related to Cosmo's disappearance.
The question
was: How?
As the
two people entered the house, they caught sight of Ace, who had followed
Kate when she'd gone to open the door. Savannah just raised an eyebrow,
casting a questioning glance at Kate. The stranger's eyes widened, his
mouth opening slightly.
Kate
was not surprised by their reaction. Ace was after all a very famous person,
known all over the country, if not the world. Not many, however, were aware
that she did know Ace, and actually was a very good friend of his. Something
she usually was very glad about, as she did value her privacy, thank you
very much.
"Savannah,
this is Ace Cooper," Kate took over the introductions. "Ace, this is Savannah
Redwing. And you are …" She gestured towards the other man.
"My…my
name's Alexander Chasson," the man introduced himself, obviously still
baffled - or maybe intimidated - by Ace's presence.
Kate
had the feeling it might be a good idea to get out of the entrance way
and into a more comfortable environment.
"Let's
go into the living room."
Kate
led the group, and a few minutes later everybody had settled down, holding
a cup of coffee or tea in their hands. Her tea had a good load of brandy
added to it, and the smooth alcohol did wonders for her headache.
"So,
Savannah, Mr. Chasson, what brings you do my little corner of the woods?"
Savannah
rested her eyes for a moment on the surface of her coffee, then she looked
up. "Fran has vanished. I think she's been kidnapped."
Kate
almost choked on her tea. For the second time in one day she looked into
the anguished eyes of a friend, heard the same terrible story, told with
the same, barely controlled voice.
Fransiska
- Fran for short - was Savannah's adopted daughter, a twelve year
old girl who'd come to live with the Native American shaman, after the
girl's parents had died in a car accident a couple of years back. Fran
had been in the car that day, but surprisingly she'd survived with only
a few minor injuries. However, the shock of the accident had woken her
talent as a Spirit Walker, tearing her spirit and her body apart. The medical
staff at the hospital she'd been admitted to, had thought she'd fallen
into a coma and treated her accordingly. Luckily for the girl, one of the
doctors had had a background in shaman healing, and had contacted Savannah
in the hope that she would be able to help. It hadn't taken long for the
Navaho healer to find what the real problem was, and reunite Fran's body
and spirit again, else the girl would have died. Savannah then had adopted
the girl, giving her a chance to train her gift.
Now,
two young people, both with one form of magic ability or another, both
kidnapped - this was just too much to be a coincidence. Deep down, she
somehow still hoped she was wrong, that there wasn't anybody who simply
took people who possessed some form of magic. The rational part of her,
however, knew that she was right, and the consequences of this knowledge
chilled her to the bone.
"You
have any idea why anybody would want to kidnap her?" Kate heard herself
asking. Maybe there had been a ransom demand. Maybe it was about money
after all. Maybe Fran had simply ran away, and she was seeing demons that
weren't there. Maybe she was wrong.
Yeah,
and pigs could fly.
Savannah
looked at Chasson, hesitating for a moment. Then she seemed to come to
a decision. Drawing a deep breath, she fixed her gaze at Ace.
"As you
know, Kate, Fran is not an ordinary teenager. She's special. She's ..."
The Navaho
woman hesitated. As most people with the gift, she'd learned early on not
to talk about her talent to strangers, and it was difficult to break that
habit.
"She's
a magic user?" Ace asked gently.
Savannah
just nodded.
"And
you believe her disappearance has something to do with that?"
Again
a nod. "At first I didn't think so. Her talent is not very obvious, and
I have no idea how anybody could have found out. But about a week ago,
Alex showed up. In the last two months, there have been three more cases
where young magic users have vanished."
"Three
cases I know about," Chasson now cut in. "A thirteen old girl with an amazing
affinity to fire disappeared in Texas in March. Two weeks later, a pair
of twins got kidnapped in Ohio - the parents claim each boy can feel what
the other feels, no matter how far apart they are. And then, end of April,
a girl got pulled into a car in New Jersey. She had the gift of telekinesis.
"That's
at least five magic users, all of them between ten and fourteen years.
Somebody is collecting them like butterflies - and I'm afraid to think
about what they are doing with those kids."
"What's
your interest in all this?" Kate now asked, directed at Chasson. Though
Chasson had spoken in an almost business like tone, there was something
more to it.
Chasson
tilted his head, then grinned shortly. "Two reasons. First, it's my job,
I'm a private investigator, specialized in the supernatural - though ninety-five
percent of my cases are to defraud hoaxes and cons."
Two business
cards appeared in Chasson's hand, which he passed on to Ace and Kate. The
words 'Alexander Chasson, Private Investigations' were printed in bold
letters, together with an address in Cleveland, Ohio.
After
giving them a moment time to study the cards, he continued. "Second, I
cannot help wondering if I will be next. I also have… some special talents."
Now Chasson's
grin turned sheepish. "Usually, I don't mention the second part, but as
I can see I'm in good company here." He nodded towards Ace and Kate.
Kate
was still wondering what to think about the last remark - actually, what
to think about the man at all - when Ace spoke up again.
"You
can add another victim to your list. My ... assistant Cosmo was kidnapped
two days ago."
Chasson
furrowed his brow. "Cosmo? Red haired kid, about nineteen years old, works
back stage on your show? Computer genius?"
Ace just
nodded, seemingly not surprised that Chasson knew about Cosmo. But then,
why should he? Though Cosmo seldom worked on the stage, there'd been more
than one occasion where his face had shown up on tv. And if Chasson was
a private eye specialized on defrauding fake magicians, he probably had
done some research on known magicians - and who affiliated with them.
"Damn,
I never pegged him for the real thing." Chasson sighed. "What happened?"
While
Ace told once again how Cosmo had been kidnapped and what he'd done so
far in order to find him, Kate tried to sort through her feelings regarding
Chasson.
Though
there were more real magic users in the world than the average person knew,
there were quite a lot of people who didn't have an iota of power, but
claimed to have it. Usually, those people had one goal, and one goal only.
To separate the easy to impress from their money.
Somehow,
Chasson didn't seem real to her. 'Supernatural Investigations'. The next
thing was that the guy pulled out his member ship card to Ghostbusters
Inc.. And his claim to have some talents of his own. How come, that she'd
never heard about him before? She couldn't help it, all this smelled like
a con to her, though she had no idea what his angle might be.
Strangely
enough Ace seemed to trust him. Normally, the magician was more careful,
having had his run-ins with enough con men to last a life time.
Savannah
also seemed to be okay with him. So, why was she so skittish?
"If you
didn't know about Cosmo being kidnapped, why did you come here?" she asked,
after Ace had finished.
"Savannah
said you might know about more magic users in training, as it seems that
whoever is behind all this, is targeting just that group. We need to warn
them to be careful. Besides, there might be more kidnappings we don't know
about yet, and we need to find a way to trace all those back, to hopefully
find out who's behind it."
This
made sense, though she was a bit annoyed that Savannah had told him so
much about her. By necessity she was a very private person, and it didn't
sit well with her, that Chasson knew about her at all. She would have to
talk to Savannah about that. Though this could wait for later.
Now,
there was work to do.
* * *
Cosmo
had no idea how much time had passed until they finally brought him back
to his cell, dumping him unceremoniously on the bed, before leaving him
alone.
For the
longest time, he could only lie on his back, staring at the ceiling, without
really seeing it, concentrating only on keeping his stomach under control.
For the life of him, he couldn't remember a day when he'd felt this miserable.
All he wanted to do was to curl up, and then die. His magic was moving
and churning like a living thing inside of him, and didn't contribute at
all to his overall well-being. He'd tried to vent some of the magic energy,
funnel it away, but it hadn't worked.
He also
seemed to be more sensitive to the other magic he'd sensed earlier. The
individual sources now had a more pronounced flavor to them, some weaker,
some stronger, but each one more distinct than they'd been when he'd sensed
them the first time. Again he could sense the girl who'd tricked him into
the car, her icy presence close by making him shiver inside.
The link
was the only thing that kept him sane. Right now, he clung to it with something
akin to desperation, using it as his fragile link to reality. As long as
he felt Ace, everything was going to be okay. He had to believe that.
He just
had to.
While he'd been inside the VR globe, he hadn't been aware of the link -
hadn't even known it was supposed to be there. He had had no idea that
everything he'd seen was actually computer generated, was a scenario his
tormentors had thought up for him for whatever purpose. Nothing but bits
and bytes, fed to him by the machine. Never real, all those times that
Ace had died in his arms, each and every time laying the blame of his death
on Cosmo's shoulder.
This
alone should have tipped him off. Ace would never blame him for something
happening to him. Ace wasn't just the type to do something like that. In
that nightmarish world, he hadn't know that something had been amiss, and
all he'd been able to think of was what happened over and over before his
very eyes.
Ace dying.
And blaming him.
Now he
finally understood why, when Ace had been kidnapped those many years ago
and had spent such a long time inside a VR globe, that the magician never
even suspected that he was living in a virtual world.
It was
an understanding he now paid a painfully high price for.
After
some time, Cosmo fell into an uneasy sleep, plagued again by nightmares,
this time of the non-electronic kind.
He woke
to the certain feeling that he was not alone in his room. Blinking, he
slowly got used to the dim light, looking around carefully.
Though
there wasn't much in terms of furniture in the room - his bed and a plain
chair the only objects breaking the monotony of the white walls -
he still almost overlooked her. A faint outline of a girl standing in one
corner, half in half out of the wall, watching him intently. There also
was some kind of magic echo, as if she had some magic, but kept it someplace
else, away from here.
"Hey,"
Cosmo called softly, lest to scare her away.
He remembered
her vaguely from when he'd been brought into the lab with the VR globe.
She'd been in the corridor, running away, when he'd tried to talk to her.
Running away through the walls, actually.
The girl
hesitated, but then she pulled herself together, coming slowly closer.
Secretly Cosmo was glad she wasn't sticking partially out of a wall any
more. It was a disturbing sight to say the least.
"Hey,"
she replied, her voice sounding tinny, very far away, without any depth
to it.
"My name's
Cosmo," Cosmo introduced himself, while slowly sitting up, wondering remotely
how to shake hands with a ghost, if that's what she was. For a second,
he thought of an old movie he'd seen once, about a boy who was able
to see dead people. Was this girl dead? He didn't think so, as he could
feel the living magic, but still ...
"Fran,"
she said, looking at him with a tilted head, a puzzled expression on her
face. "You're the first one who can see me like this," she remarked questioningly.
"You're
the first one like this I've ever seen," Cosmo said with a slight grin.
"By the way, what is 'this'?"
Suddenly,
Cosmo had to suppress the childish urge to wave his hand through the girl's
body, to see if he would feel a thing. With ghosts it was supposed to be
a chilly feeling. Spooky.
Instead
he ranked his hand through is hair.
Again
the puzzled expression, as she pondered what to tell Cosmo. Then, "I'm
a Spirit Walker - at least that's what Savannah's calling it. What you
see is my Spirit body. My real body's back in its cell."
"So you're
also a prisoner here?"
She nodded,
then sighed.
Somewhat
relieved that he wasn't talking to a dead girl, he relaxed slightly. He'd
seen his share of out-of-the-ordinary stuff since he'd hooked up with Ace,
but ghosts were definitely a step too far.
"Is that,"
he indicated her transparent spirit body, "the reason you're here?"
She nodded
again. "I think they want me to spy on things. But I don't want to. It's
not right."
"Who
are they anyway?"
Fran
shrugged. "Don't really know. Some kind of military. Colonel Shawn says
we are to help to defend the country. But I don't think I believe him.
I don't like him very much."
Colonel
Shawn. This was the first time Cosmo had heard a name attached to this
whole outfit. He wondered, if that was the scrawny guy who had wanted him
to sign that piece of paper.
In a
few words he described the guy to her, asking her if that was Shawn. Fran
nodded.
"What
is that place here anyway? Where are we?"
The girl
shrugged.
Cosmo
frowned. "You mean, you never strolled out of here? Shouldn't be a problem
for you, right?"
Again
a shrug. "When I go too far, I get really tired. I can't concentrate any
more. What can you do?" she then changed the topic.
"Do?"
"Everybody
here can do something special. I'm a Spirit Walker. Deborah can burn everything
she touches. Donny and Pat each can feel what the other feels, no matter
how far they are apart. So, why did they take you?"
Cosmo
saw his worst fear confirmed. He'd already thought about it when he'd mulled
over why he had been taken here.
But this...
It was
bad enough that he, an adult after all, had been kidnapped. But Fran was
a kid, no older than twelve years, tops. And then there was the girl with
the curly hair who'd baited him into that car - she'd looked to be the
same age. Somehow, he had a feeling, that the other prisoners here were
not much older.
Somebody
collected magic users like some exotic butterflies, and he didn't stop
at using children. And that riled Cosmo without end. After the death of
his mom, his childhood hadn't been a particularly happy one, his father
had been an abusive brute, who'd used every chance he got to beat him and
punish him for things he hadn't done. He knew that he'd gotten really lucky,
with Ace and all. There were times he couldn't help but wonder what would
have happened, if he hadn't broken into the Express all those years back.
Maybe
because of those things that had happened to him when he'd been younger,
he had always been willing to help Ace by one of his many child charity
projects. He didn't want anything like this to happen to another innocent
child, wanted to give every child a chance to have a normal as possible
childhood.
And here,
sure as hell, they wouldn't get one. He now not only had to find a way
to get himself out of here - something, which he'd tried to do and failed
at once already - but he had to take these kids with him as well, if he
could help it.
Ignoring
Fran's question for now, he looked directly at her. "Tell me, kiddo, what
else do you know about this place?"
* * *
Another
place, another room's floor which had to take the brunt of a nervous magician's
pacing. But try it as he might, Ace just couldn't stand still anymore,
and had taken to pacing Kate's office. Considering how crowded the small
room was, this was no mean feat, but somehow he managed. It helped that
the others all clustered around the computer in one corner, leaving a small
corridor along the tall book shelves, which he used to its full advantage.
After
Chasson's revelation that there'd been more kidnappings, Kate had hit the
internet, searching for more victims, hoping that at least one of those
cases would yield a clue. So far, she'd found one more she was sure were
caused by the same people, and another possible one. Each time children
between ten and fourteen years of age had been taken, each time the magic
abilities in the children had been awaken less than a year ago. Cosmo was
the only one so far, who didn't really fit the pattern, as he was too old
and his powers had been prominent over two years now.
Still,
Ace knew in his gut that there was a connection.
Only,
how did this connection lead him any closer to Cosmo?
He turned
once again, as he reached the far end of the shelves. As he started on
his way back towards the opposite end, he regarded the group huddled around
the computer.
Kate
worked on the keyboard, with the practiced skill of somebody who did a
lot of research, opening link after link, firing off one e-mail after another.
Savannah
had taken a large, bright red ball to sit on, bouncing slightly, as she
pointed something out on the screen.
Chasson
stood a little to the side, watching the two women working, throwing in
a comment on occasion, but mostly he was quiet. Ace noticed, how the man
cast him a sidelong glance once in awhile, but he never attempted a conversation,
and Ace was grateful for that.
Ace was
not sure what he should think of the other man. It was the first time he'd
heard about a private investigator who specialized in magic. Though, if
Chasson really had some magical talent - and the magician had no reason
to doubt him - it made sense. Who better to defraud false magicians than
a real one? One of Cosmo's talents after all was the detection of other
magic users. Ace knew there were enough people out there who claimed to
have magic abilities, using it to influence those who could be easily impressed
in order to part them from their money.
Ace had
noticed that Kate seemed to have a problem with Chasson, though he wasn't
sure why. But then, Kate always had been more sensitive to other people's
magic than himself.
For now,
Ace decided, he would wait, and keep an eye on Chasson. Right now, it was
far more important to find Cosmo than finding out if Chasson was on the
square or not.
Which
brought his thoughts back to Cosmo. Though it was all very interesting
- and very disturbing - that there'd been more cases of kidnapping, so
far he hadn't seen anything that would help them to get any closer to finding
his apprentice.
"What
is whoever is behind this doing with all those magic users?" He heard himself
ask suddenly.
The two
woman looked up from the screen, Chasson rising from his slouch against
the wall.
"He's
collecting them?" Kate half asked, half wondered.
"Why?
Why collect magic users? Young ones at that."
"Because
they are easier to manipulate," Chasson threw in. Again a half question.
"Manipulate
to do what? What does he want to use them for?"
"Maybe
he's building, I don't know, a special task force, or something," Chasson
thought out loud.
"A special
unit?"
"Military?"
Kate added to Ace's thought.
"Our
military?" Now a cold shiver ran down Ace's spine. Though he was aware
that the military wasn't made up of saints, he didn't want to think that
it was involved with something like this. But then, the thought that some
foreign country was involved in it would make the whole thing even harder.
"I can't
really believe that our military would do something like this. Those are
children, damnit," Savannah threw in.
Chasson
gnawed at his lower lip, shaking his head slightly. "Maybe you're not too
far off, Mr. Cooper. I've seen our military do things..." He didn't elaborate,
and Ace wondered where that remark had come from. What did Chasson refer
to? What did Chasson know?
"I have
to make a phone call," Chasson said suddenly. "I'll be back in a moment."
Before
anyone could hold him back or ask him who he wanted to call, he'd walked
out of the room.
Ace exchanged
a glance with Kate. He wondered if he should follow Chasson, but it seemed
obvious that the other man didn't want to be overheard. Not that that would
really stop him, if he thought it was necessary to find Cosmo.
In that
case, nothing would stop him.
*
Chasson
left the small, private office, moving into the living room area. He took
a deep lung full of air, feeling for the first time since he'd stepped
into the house that he could breathe again. He knew the others didn't really
feel comfortable around him, and he couldn't blame them - there was a good
reason he usually never revealed his abilities to others. He'd surprised
himself, when he had so readily admitted it to them earlier.
He checked
if anybody had been following him, before he pulled out his cell phone,
dialing a number he'd memorized a long time ago.
He knew,
if his suspicion paid off, he would have to inform the others sooner or
later, but as long as he had the hope he was wrong, he didn't want them
to know too much.
As he
waited for the connection, watching distantly the energies in the air,
he let his mind wander.
For the
hundredth time, he wondered if coming here had been a mistake. He usually
was a very private man, one who preferred to work on his own. When he'd
met with Savannah Redwing, he'd done so only because he thought the woman
might provide him with some new information. When the shaman mentioned
somebody else with more connections, he'd decided that he should give it
a try. Finding Ace Cooper here, however, had been a big surprise.
Naturally,
he'd heard of Cooper before. Three years back, he actually had visited
one of his shows, when the magician had toured the East. Even before that,
he'd already suspected Cooper was for real, was a real magic user. In the
show he'd seen, Cooper had used little, if any of this real magic, but
to Chasson's Sight, the magic currents had been plain as day. Even now,
he could see the power that surrounded the man like a living thing.
Mage
Sight. That was one of his talents. That and the ability to manipulate
energies of all kind, transforming them from one kind of energy to another.
Electricity to heat, heat to kinetic energy, kinetic energy to magic energy,
magic energy to electricity.
It had
surprised him that the magician's friend also was a magic user - but then,
maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise. He'd learned in the last couple
of years that the magic had ways of making sure that a fledging mage found
somebody to train him. In most cases it looked to be a coincidence, but
Chasson had seen it too many times to believe that anymore.
Which
probably had been one of his problems. His magic wasn't exactly natural,
and he'd never found somebody to train him. In the first few years after
the project he hadn't been in any condition to look for somebody to train
him anyway, and later it hadn't seemed to matter anymore.
From
the beginning of this case, when the Carters - a family who he'd worked
for before - had hired him to find their daughter Deborah, he had somehow
suspected that Colonel Gillian might be involved. Though how this could
be was a mystery to him, as he knew that the former military research specialist
had spent the last decade in a high security mental institution. After
the girl had vanished, he'd checked, but according to the people he had
asked at the hospital, Gillian was still a quivering, drooling wreck of
a man, was still where he'd been put after killing half a dozen participants
in the project he'd been running. A project Chasson had some firsthand
experience with, as he'd been one of only two participants who had survived
it - barely.
The phone
rang once, then was picked up by a computer.
"Identification
please," the artificial voice asked.
"Hypotenuses
Alpha Three. Identify!"
"Processing."
A thousand
miles away, the security computer matched his password and voice pattern
to those stored in its vast database, confirming at the same time that
the phone he was calling from was an approved device.
It took
a second, then a human voice answered the phone.
"How
may I help you?"
"I'd
like to speak to General Hopkins, please."
As he'd
been identified by the computer, no further questions were asked.
"One
moment please."
"Hopkins,"
the general's deep voice echoed across the distance a minute later.
"Chasson
here."
"Major?
What can I do for you?"
As usual
the general wasn't somebody to chitchat, and went straight to the point.
"I'm
not a Major anymore, General," Chasson reminded Hopkins.
"Major,
my time is valuable. What can I do for you?" the general repeated.
Chasson
frowned. Though they'd spoken less than five times since Chasson had left
the Army, never before had the general been so short with him. But then,
maybe had had called at an inopportune time.
"I need
to know if there've been any plans to resurrect the project again."
He didn't
elaborate on which project he was talking about, but then, he didn't have
to.
"Why
do you ask?"
"I need
to know," he simply said, knowing that this would have to be enough. Hopkins
owed him big time. It seemed as it was time for him to collect the pay.
There
was a moment of silence. While he waited, Chasson admired the view the
tall windows of the living room offered him. It was a beautiful place.
"It's
Shawn," the general finally said, his voice distant. "He made some friends
upstairs, persuaded them to give it another try, said he made some changes,
that this time he knew how to achieve the goal without casualties. I, naturally,
protested it, but was shot down. I'm sorry."
Chasson
went cold inside. The project was on again. And under Shawn's supervision
of all things. Shawn had been Gillian's assistant all those years ago.
At the trial he'd been cleared of all charges, and Chasson had never paid
him much heed, really, thinking him to be relatively harmless. It looked
like he'd been wrong. And now a lot of innocent children would have to
pay for it.
"Where
is he?"
"Chasson,
you are well aware that I can't tell you that. I've already told you too
much really."
"General.
Please. I need to know."
A sigh
could be heard through the phone line.
"I'm
sorry, Chasson. You know the rules as well as I do."
Chasson
leaned against a wall in frustration. He was very tempted to run his fist
through that wall, but then that wouldn't achieve anything, except injuring
his hand, and pissing his hostess off. Not that he needed more of that.
He had the very firm impression that she didn't like him very much. Which
was, in a way, sad, as he wouldn't mind getting to know her better. There
was something about her ...
Cut that
out, he scolded himself. This is neither the time nor the place to listen
to your libido.
"Listen,
General. I think he took some kids, using them. What he's doing isn't right."
Again
a sigh and a pause.
"Okay,"
came finally the reply. "I'll see what I can find out. You know I can't
officially get involved in this."
"Call
me as soon as you know more, please."
The click
of the disconnecting phone line was the only answer he got.
For a
long moment he kept leaning again the wall. It looked like he would have
to talk to Ace Cooper and the others.
He didn't
look forward to that.
* * *
Fran was
sitting on the floor in front of Cosmo's bed in Indian fashion. Actually,
only her spirit body sat there, but after having talked to the girl for
the last twenty minutes, Cosmo had stopped making that distinction, accepting
what he saw as her real self.
By now,
Cosmo had a much clearer idea where they were. Fran had spent quite a few
nights strolling the compound in her spirit form, unseen and unheard by
anybody else.
Colonel
Shawn had set up his little enterprise in a underground facility in the
middle of nowhere. Sadly, Fran had never seen any signs naming the area,
and never had managed to get far enough away from her body to find any
street signs. All she could say was that the outside was pretty bare, not
much in terms of trees and green stuff. New Mexico maybe, or Texas. Not
that this narrowed the area very much, really.
The building
they were in consisted of four underground floors, each one in the shape
of a 'X', with four corridors going away from a central core. The lowest
level was mostly storage rooms at one side and the guards sleeping quarters
at the other. The next floor - which was the floor they were on - was labs
and meeting rooms, and one corridor made of twelve cells, eight of them
occupied at the moment.
Cosmo's
cell was the third one to the left, Fran's was two further down the row
on the other side of the corridor. The others where occupied by the other
prisoners. Fran knew about the twins, Donny and Pat, who seemed to be able
to feel whatever the other felt no matter how far about they where, and
a girl with the name of Deborah who seemed to be very handy with fire.
She wasn't really sure what the others could do, as she never had been
watching when they did any kind of magic, but she was sure they had some
special talents, and Cosmo tended to agree with her, feeling their magic
stronger every minute.
The floor
above contained more laboratories and offices and also some kind of medical
facility, and the last floor had guard posts, storage rooms and more offices.
The floors
were connected by an elevator in the center core, and had two stairways,
one he already had been to, and one at the other end.
Above
ground, a small, flat building hid the entrance, and the elevator shaft.
Surrounding it was an electric fence, a gravel road leading away from it.
So, the
question now was, how to get out of here, and how to take the others with
him?
It didn't
really look good. Too many of them, too few of him, and then there was
the fact that his magic seemed to have gone weird as well. First, he couldn't
vent his magic anymore - he'd tried, but it hadn't worked. And when he'd
attempted a spell, in order to get rid of the churning magical energy which
had gathered inside of him at an alarming rate, it hadn't worked either.
All he got for his efforts was a blinding headache.
It must
be those drugs they'd given him, no doubt about it.
To distract
himself he worked on the details of their escape plan - not that there
was much of a plan yet.
"And
how many guards are there?" Cosmo asked, when Fran suddenly looked up,
startled.
"Damn,"
she cursed, as she got up, looking around wildly.
"What's
up?" Cosmo asked, getting up from his bed, swaying slightly, when the room
begun to spin like crazy.
"I've
gotta go. I'll be back later."
And with
that, Fran was gone.
"Fran!"
Cosmo called after her, but it was too late.
He cursed,
as he pressed the palm of his hand against his throbbing skull. Carefully,
he sat back onto his bed.
He had
to get out of here. Soon, preferably. Or, rather, the day before yesterday.
But not
right now. He doubted he would be able to light a candle at the moment.
Not that he ever had been able to do that, really, at least not magically,
but somehow his magic just wouldn't do anything he wanted at the moment.
It was there, more than he wanted really, but…
The link
was the only thing that worked. Which was a good thing, as it was the only
thing that kept him sane.
Suddenly,
he felt exhausted. He leaned over, yawning.
He fell
asleep, never noticing the odorless gas, which entered his cell through
the ventilation grill.
* * *
Chasson
returned to the office, looking somber. Three pairs of eyes watched him
questioningly, but he shook his head. It was too early, he wouldn't tell
them yet. Maybe he was wrong after all, maybe he didn't have to tell them.
"Sorry,
was a dead end," he lied smoothly, glancing at the computer, as if he wanted
to see what they learned. In reality, he just didn't want to look at them.
He found
out that he hadn't lied well enough, when two strong hands grabbed him
around his upper arms and slammed him against the shelves, leaving his
feet to dangle a couple of inches above the floor.
"What
did you find out?" Ace Cooper's voice was very close to his ear.
Suppressing
long years of self defense training, he didn't move, just letting himself
be pinned against the shelves. He saw the Magic Force floating and spinning
around Cooper's body, ready to strike, only held in check by an iron control.
If Cooper should loose that control, he would be toast.
Damn,
that man was strong. Magically and physically. Those fingers would leave
bruises, that was sure.
"I really
can't tell you."
"Why?"
Miss
Morrigan's voice at his other ear.
Because
you'll think I'm a freak. Because, I'm afraid to go up against the whole
frigging US Army. Because I've borne that load for the last ten years on
my own, and I don't know how to let go of it.
But these
people were only concerned about the people they cared about. Loved.
He sighed
deeply, as the others waited for him to come to a decision.
"You
won't like it."
Cooper
laughed shortly, bitterly. "There hasn't been a thing I have liked since
Cosmo disappeared."
"Okay,
then. Please let me down. I will tell you everything I know."
*
Once again
they gathered in the living room. Ace stood at the windows, staring outside,
though he wasn't really noticing the splendor of the setting sun, which
bathed the landscape and the ocean in its red light.
His concentration
was on Chasson, who sat in one of the overstuffed chairs, cradling a coffee
in his hands. Kate and Savannah sat to either side of him, holding mugs
with tea, taking a sip now and then, almost mechanically.
Ace felt
bad that he had lost control. He usually didn't explode like that. It just
wasn't his style, but he had simply known that Chasson hadn't been truthful,
and he hadn't been able to hold back any longer. Good thing he had been
able to keep reins on his magic. Blasting Chasson through the wall wouldn't
have accomplished anything.
Since
Cosmo had vanished, his nerves had been on the edge. If there would at
least be something - anything - he could do to find him. But this endless
waiting, this enforced inactivity was driving him crazy. He just couldn't
stand it any more.
Maybe
it was a good thing that he finally had vented some steam.
Though,
he still didn't feel any better, he wouldn't until Cosmo was back in his
care.
Chasson
sighed, then looked up from his cup at the three people watching him.
"I'm
sorry that I'll have to go seemingly off the track for a moment, but if
you hear me out, you hopefully will understand.
"Eleven
years ago, an Army officer, one Colonel Gillian, started a top secret military
science project. He knew that there were people out there with special
abilities, special talents. People with Magic. He figured, if you could
harness these magic abilities and give it to somebody else, it could be
formed into a weapon.
"There
were six volunteers from each military branch and for two months, the Colonel
experimented with them, giving them drugs, doing tests. Not one of those
volunteers knew that in order to fabricate those drugs and to create his
tests, Gillian had three magic users captured, and held them against their
will."
Slowly
Ace moved over to the couch, and slid down into it. His insides were cold.
Somebody had captured magic users, used them against their will. It was
the stuff of nightmares. Particularly, his nightmare, and that of every
magic user. It might have been more than ten years ago, but considering
what was happening, it looked like somebody else had picked up that idea.
It sounded too much like the current situation.
Chasson
fixed his eyes again on his mug, visibly pulling himself together.
"One
day, one of the prisoners snapped. I don't know the details, but in the
end most of the people in the test facility were dead or gibbering wrecks.
Gillian fell into the second category; since that day, he's a 'guest' of
Tibras Military Mental Institute - he never recovered. All documents have
been destroyed and the project was scraped."
"If he's
still in the hospital, what does he have to do with all this?"
"Gillian
had an assistant, Lieutenant Shawn. After the end of the project, he was
cleared of all charges, though his career was over, thanks to his involvement.
"Now,
however, it looks like Shawn has managed to get new supporters high up.
He started another project, though I do not know any details - yet."
"How
come you know so much about all this?"
Chasson
sighed once again, staring at the carpet, ignoring Ace's question for a
minute. Ace was just about to ask once more, when the other man spoke up
again.
"I was
one of the volunteers. In fact, the only one who survived. I've spent two
years in various hospitals, thinking I'd gone mad, I was seeing sounds,
hearing colors. Suddenly everybody, everything was surrounded by strange
lights, sounds. I didn't know that Gillian was successful in the end -
we've never been told what the project really was about. I had no idea
that he'd given me magic - a magic I really didn't want."
He looked
up, fixing his pain filled eyes at Ace. "I had no idea what Gillian had
done, how he got his source material, that he was using these people."
Ace studied
the man for a second. Chasson seemed to be on the level. Still, he felt
sick at the thought that somebody had managed to artificially create a
magic user. It was simply… unnatural. Savannah stared at Chasson with wide
eyes, unconsciously sliding away a bit to create more distance between
them. Kate didn't show any outward emotions, but Ace knew her well enough
to know that she was appalled. She, as a Nature Mage was even more sensitive
to any abnormal use of magic - and this was abnormal magic.
Magic
was something you were either born with, or not. There was no in-between.
Ace had never heard about something, which was able to create artificial
magic in somebody. It was like Frankenstein all over again. A monster,
an abomination.
But Frankenstein's
monster was not the one to blame - it had been a victim, just like Chasson.
Chasson was not evil. It was Dr. Frankenstein, who'd committed the crime.
And this
time it was this Lieutenant Shawn who played the role of the maker of monsters,
not caring who got hurt in doing so.
"Where
is this Lieutenant Shawn?" Ace asked, focusing again on the real problem.
They
had to find Cosmo and the others.
Anything
else could wait, didn't really matter.
"I'm
sorry, but that I don't know."
* * *
Another
day, another nightmare.
This
time, when Cosmo was brought back to his cell, he threw up barely seconds
after they'd tossed him into the room.
He had
no idea how long he'd been in the VR globe this time - it simply seemed
as if it had been an eternity. Again he'd been confronted with realistic
scenarios of Ace being in danger over and over again. Sometime later, they
seemed to have decided to go on a different track, as Ace had been replaced
with Ulene. Usually, she'd been put in some kind of trap, and no matter
what he'd tried, he never had been able to get her out of it. And Ace had
stood close by, but never even lifted a finger to help her, no matter how
much he begged him. He remembered how he'd tried to draw in his magic,
to use his spells, but every time the magic had been just out of his grasp,
just out of reach.
After
a few dry heaves, his stomach wouldn't expel any more. He hadn't eaten
since he'd been brought here, had only gotten some water to drink. He hadn't
been hungry really, maybe because of the drugs.
He wished
they would stop using those drugs. He wished all of this would simply stop.
If he
had at least an idea what they hoped to achieve with these tests. Magic
didn't work in VR space, they should have found that out by now. He figured,
it had something to do with the part of the brain that controlled the magic
knowing that what the rest of the brain told it was not real. How it knew,
Cosmo had no idea. He wished he did, because then maybe he would be able
to figure out a way to do the same - and wouldn't believe that every time
they pushed him into a new hell it was for real.
He collapsed
on the bed, curling into a fetal position.
Once
more, he groped for the link. For a moment, he was overwhelmed by the barrage
of magic energies he sensed all around him, and he couldn't detect the
link in all that noise. He almost sobbed, but than he finally located it,
drew it to him, holding tightly to it, almost as if it was a physical thing.
Ace was
safe.
That
was all that mattered.
At least
for now.
* * *
Vega drove
up the gravel path which led to Kate Morrigan's house, remembering those
times over fifteen years back, when he had first seen the house, bringing
a young Ace Cooper here to get schooling in his magic abilities. Anna had
still been alive back then, and Kate had been just a teenager. But that
had been a long time ago.
He'd
spent the morning in his office, going through all the information he could
find on Colonel - former Lieutenant - Shawn, former Colonel Gillian, and,
also, on Alexander Chasson, another former member of the few and the proud.
Vega
had been furious when he'd come to the Express yesterday and found that
Ace had gone without telling him where. For one panicked second, he'd thought
the magician had been kidnapped as well - as highly unlikely as it was
that somebody would manage to take him from his home without anybody noticing
anything. But Angel had informed him that Ace had taken the Racer, telling
her that he didn't know when he would be back. He'd slapped himself, when
Ace had called and told him he was with Kate. He should have figured that
out on his own, it wasn't the first time after all that Ace had gone to
her when he had trouble. Mona was out of town, on her tour through Asia,
and Kate was the only other person Ace trusted enough to go to in a crisis.
When
Ace had called and asked about the information, Vega had been torn between
reaming the other man out for giving him more gray hair than he already
had, or being relieved that Ace had found something for him to do. Normally,
Ace wouldn't have to ask him for information, as Angel was very good at
finding those herself, especially when teamed up with Cosmo, but she couldn't
talk directly to people without giving some proper authorization. Vega
was not limited by that handicap.
Of course,
Ace only had asked him to send whatever he found out by computer - he didn't
expect for Vega to show up in person. But, damn it, if there was something
Vega could do to help, he wanted to be there in person. After all, Cosmo
was his friend as well.
He parked
the car next to the blue and white Magic Racer, and, picking up the three
files with the information from their place on the passenger seat, he left
the car.
On his
ring, Kate opened the door to the house.
"Vega?!"
she called out, half surprised, half pleased.
"Hello,
Kate," Vega returned, showing her the files. "I thought, I'd come by and
bring the data myself, instead of calling."
Then,
lowering his voice: "How's Ace?"
Kate
closed her eyes for a second. "He is ... as good as can be expected," she
answered, equally quiet, casting a quick glance over her shoulder to the
living room. "At least I got him to eat something."
"Thanks,
Vega," she raised her voice to normal speaking level again, "you didn't
have to do that."
"Oh,
I think, I did," Vega said, following Kate's waved invitation inside. "Cosmo's
my friend too, you know."
Kate
closed the door and followed him into the living room. Ace had been sitting
in an armchair, facing the windows, but rose now when he heard Vega coming
in. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes betraying his lack of
sleep. He wore almost civilian clothing, at least by his normal standard,
just the dark pants with the yellow stripes at the sides, and a simple
white shirt. No cummerbund, jacket, gloves or even a cape in sight.
"You
found something?" Ace asked, eyeing the files Vega still held. He didn't
question Vega's presence here, just appearing to be grateful that his old
friend didn't mind coming all the way from Electro City.
From
the kitchen, two more people entered, a dark haired woman, and a blond
man. Vega concluded that those must be Savannah Redwing and Alexander Chasson,
having spoken to Ace last night on the phone, and holding a picture of
the man in his hands. Discretely, Vega shuffled Chasson's file to the back
of the stack.
"Not
much, but it might give us some more clues."
As they
gathered around the low table, Kate introduced the two newcomers, confirming
Vega's deduction.
He placed
the files next to him, pulling Gillian's file first.
"Former
Colonel Dr. Maximilian F. Gillian," he said, placing a photo on the center
of the table. It showed an older, non-descriptive man, with dark hair.
His only outstanding features were his sharp, pale blue eyes, which glared
at the camera, as if he took objection to being photographed.
Savannah,
Kate and Ace leaned forward, while Chasson, after casting one quick glance
at the photo, pulled back, a short flash of hate showing in his eyes, before
he looked away.
Vega
consulted the paper in his hand. "Fifty-three years old as of last month.
Has a medical degree from the university of New York. Joined the army after
he got his degree, and worked for a while in various medical facilities
as a doctor.
"About
fifteen years ago, he changed to the Secret Weapons Division of the Joined
Army. The SWD works on developing special weapons, which are a bit out
of the range of what you normally would consider as weapons. Like how to
hide a bomb in a piece of paper, poison in a pencil, secret spy stuff,
only for real.
"There
he worked on a project to enhance the physical powers of a normal human
being - kind of making a super soldier."
Vega watched Chasson as
he said the last bit. According to his file, the other man had been in
that project, shortly before it came to an end, as one of the subjects.
Chasson
just frowned for a moment, before he allowed his face to relax again.
"That's
the official version at least," Vega went on. "The project ended, when
most of his subjects died in a freak accident - again official version
- and the good doctor was reduced to a vegetable, to spend the rest of
his days in one of Uncle Sam's nice, padded rooms."
"Now..."
He pulled Shawn's photo out of the next folder, putting it on the table.
"This
is Colonel Sebastian Shawn, forty-two."
Shawn's
photo looked like it belonged to a man ten years older than his real age.
He wore his salt-and-pepper hair short, enhancing the thinness of the pale
face and the sharp nose even more.
"Shawn
used to be Gillian's assistant on his project. Somehow he managed to keep
his nose clean when it crashed down. What he's working on at the moment,
and where, is top secret, only that he's still with the SWD."
Ace looked
up from the photos on the desk.
"So you
don't know where he is, either?" he said disappointed.
Vega
sighed. "I couldn't find what he's assigned to at the moment. However,"
he forestalled Ace's next words, "I started some investigations of my own,
following his paper trail, and the usage of his credit card. Actually,
Ms. LeSage should call any moment, telling me where he has been seen last.
After that, it's only a matter of time to find out where he is."
Vega
could only hope that this last statement was true. But then, it was the
only trail they had right now.
*
Waiting!
Once
more, they were waiting.
Ace was
so tired of waiting. Well, he was tired, period, but sleep eluded him at
the moment, as his mind just wouldn't come to a rest, his worries about
Cosmo and his anxiety chasing each other around in a circle.
Kate
had brought more coffee and tea, as they gathered around the low couch
table, discussing what they would do, as soon as they finally had the information
about Shawn's whereabouts.
Ace watched
his old friend sipping his coffee, talking to Kate and the others. It looked
as if Derek Vega had every intention to accompany them, wherever they would
be going. Savannah, Kate and Chasson also had expressed their desire to
come along, though in their cases Ace could understand it better. The Indian
healer and the private investigator had a personal involvement in the whole
thing; Savannah because of her foster daughter and Chasson because of his
previous experience with Shawn and the project. And Kate had to go, simply
because everything that affected a magic user in a negative way, also affected
her.
Vega,
however, had only his friendship to go on. He knew that Vega cared about
Cosmo, the distrust from the early days of Cosmo's appearance in Ace's
life long forgotten, now replaced by a deep respect - which, as Ace knew
very well, went both ways.
Though
Ace had many so-called friends - mostly because he was famous and a lot
of people wanted to bathe in that fame - there were only a very few people
he really trusted. Cosmo was one of them - Vega the other. Even Mona, the
woman he loved after all, couldn't really reach were those two men lived
in his soul - and luckily for him and her, she knew that and accepted it.
Maybe
he should just call himself lucky that now, when one part of his soul was
missing, another part of it was there and helped him in anyway he could
to get the missing part back. And if really the worst thing should happen
and they were not able to get Cosmo back ...
The shrill
ring of a phone pulled him out of his dark thoughts.
Chasson
and Vega both checked their mobiles, but it was the older cop who flipped
his device open, bringing it to his ear.
Soon,
Vega asked for a piece of paper and something to write with, which was
promptly supplied. He scribbled done a few illegible words, and, thanking
the person on the other end, hung up.
Just
when he was about the inform them what had been said, a phone rang again,
only this time it was Chasson's.
The detective
excused himself, before he left the room for the garden, leaving the others
behind to discuss Vega's new information.
"That
was Miss LeSage, my secretary," Vega explained to the others. "She said,
Colonel Shawn has made a few purchases on his card in the last week in
some small town in Texas. Following that, she called the city records,
and got the information that he has a house rented down there. She also
found out that there's a military facility - though it allegedly had been
given up five years ago. It's in the middle of nowhere, so if somebody
has set up shop there, there's a good chance nobody will ever notice something
is going on."
Ace let
go of a breath he hadn't even been aware of holding.
They
had a lead.
Finally,
they had a lead.
* * *
This time,
Cosmo refused to come willingly. Not that he ever had had any chance before,
as the other times they'd somehow drugged him before stuffing him into
the VR globe. It had always been at the end of a session he'd become aware
of what they'd done to him, but then it had always been too late.
Not this
time.
Fran
had told him that after some time the guards would stop using the gas to
knock one out before taking him to the VR globe if they believed they had
broken his will. So Cosmo had acted as if he'd stopped fighting, as if
he had given up. In truth he had waited, knowing eventually he would get
his chance.
Fran
had been visiting again, and they'd made plans on how to get out of here,
or at least to get some information out on where they were kept. On his
incentive, the young girl had snooped around some more, and finally found
a clue to their location - an abandoned military complex, South of a small
town called Gregburg, Texas. She also had found a computer room, and Cosmo
knew, if he managed to get inside it, with a few minutes to spare, he would
be able to contact Ace.
He only
hoped he could pull it off. Over the last three days, his magic had become
more and more erratic. He now could see Magic Energy everywhere, couldn't
switch the Sight off. Everybody and everything was surrounded by an aura,
was infused by the Energy that was always there, but usually couldn't been
seen or used by those without the gift for Magic. There were whispers as
well, voices he heard, but never understood. And, he still was not able
to vent any of his own energy, which made him feel like an overcharged
battery. His whole body fairly glowed to his Sight, so much so he wondered
why nobody ever had said something.
The only
time he was free of that pain, was when he was in the VR globe, but the
pain he got in exchange for that, was even worse.
He hurt
everywhere, his head felt like it was ready to explode, and if there'd
been anything left in his stomach, he would have puked non-stop. Probably
the drugs.
When
the door opened and there was no gas for a change, he knew his chance had
finally come. He kept his eyes closed, pretending to be asleep. He heard
the steps of two men coming closer. The moment he thought they were close
enough, he dashed off the bed, slipping between them before they could
react.
For one
second the two men were baffled that their seemingly inert victim had moved.
Before they could turn, Cosmo raced for the door, reaching it in a second.
It was
open, and Cosmo wasted no time getting through.
"Hey!"
one of the guards called out. "Stop!"
Cosmo
didn't pay them any heed, stumbling on as fast as he could. His stomach
was in a tight knot, and the moving Magic Energies everywhere made orienting
himself difficult. The voices got more intense, whispering faster to him,
but he still couldn't understand them, so he ignored them.
He could
move, and that was all that counted right now.
And thanks
to Fran, he knew where to go.
He reached
the center core of the station, ripping open the door to the stair case.
He had to get two floors up, but using the elevators was out of the question.
The sound
of the sirens going off mixed with the whispers he heard in his head or,
maybe, from everywhere around him. Cosmo ignored both. He'd reached the
next landing, when the door below crashed open, and he pushed himself to
even greater speed.
If Fran
was right, there were only three guards normally on sub-level one, and
their room was at the end of one of the corridors. With any luck, he should
be able to get out of the staircase and to the computer room before they
reached him.
He burst
through the staircase door as fast as he could, turning immediately to
the left. The exit out of the complex was to his right hand side, but reaching
it never had been in his plan, though he hoped the guards thought he was
aiming for it. With any luck, it would buy him a few more seconds.
Two,
three, four. This was the right door. How nice of them to write 'Computer
Center' on it.
"Stop!"
Cosmo
rattled the door knob, ignoring the calls from behind, ignoring everything.
There was only the door.
"One
second, just one second," he half cursed, half prayed.
A shot
ricocheted off the wall an inch away from his hand.
Suddenly,
the door knob gave.
"Yes!"
'… come…'
Cosmo
pushed the door open, again ignoring the voices. He slipped through, just
as another shot missed him by a hair's breath. He slammed the door shut
behind himself, searching for something, anything, to block it. He needed
just one quiet minute or two, no more, to get his message out, but it didn't
look like those guys outside were particularly willing to give him those
minutes.
He found
a chair, and, hooking it with one foot, pulled it closer to ram it underneath
the door knob. Just then something outside collided with the door, rattling
it.
He could
only hope it would hold.
'…listen…'
Cosmo
batted at the voices, though he knew it wouldn't change a thing.
He turned
around, taking in the equipment before him.
At first
glance, it didn't look particularly impressive. But then, there was no
real need to. The true power was behind the walls, inside the room was
only the interface.
His fingers
flew over the keyboard, entering commands at lightning speed. Though the
screen looked to be out of focus, glowing in blue and black, he didn't
really need to see what he was typing. Long years of practice had pushed
his communication skills with a computer - any computer - to an almost
instinctive level.
Once
again something, or someone, slammed against the door, rattling it on its
hinges.
"One
minute, just one more minute," he prayed desperately.
'…hear…'
Just
that moment the powers that be decided they were done with listening to
Cosmo.
The door
exploded into the room, admitting a man with a gun, which he pointed at
Cosmo. To the young magician's sight, the man was surrounded by an aura
in angry red and orange colors.
"Step
away from that computer!"
Damn!
Cosmo
needed only ten more seconds.
Just
ten more seconds.
He was
not going to get them.
'… call
…
us'
The whispers
got louder.
Five
more seconds.
The explosion
of a shot fired filled the room and the keyboard exploded underneath his
hands.
He had
failed.
'We
…
will
…. open … to you!'
* * *
Ace landed
the rented jet at a small airport about fifteen miles away from Gregburg,
a rural town in Texas. By calling ahead, Ace had arranged a car, which
brought them the rest of the way.
Everybody
had come, Kate, Savannah, Alex Chasson and, of course, Vega. Though Ace
at first hadn't been too happy about all of them coming along, he had neither
the nerve nor the time to fight their coming - and to be honest, now he
was kind of glad they'd come.
The sun
had just crawled over the horizon, when they finally reached their goal
at the end of a gravel road.
There
wasn't much to see actually, a mashed fence, surrounding an area not much
bigger than a baseball field. A lonely, concrete building in the center
of it, that was it.
"There's
a lot of energy around here," Chasson said flatly. "This is the right place.
I'm sure of it."
"And
how do we get inside?"
Good
question.
There
were no guards at the gate, nor anything to communicate with anybody inside.
Though
the whole place fairly radiated 'nobody here', Ace knew they were at the
right place.
Well,
there were other ways than walking through a door, to enter a place. All
it needed was a touch of magic.
Stepping
up to the fence, he raised his arms, pulling the Mage Force to him…
… only
to have it ripped away from his grasp.
"What…?"
he said, stumbling as the world went upside down, as the ground was pulled
out from under his feet. He felt like he was falling.
Something
like that had never happened to him before. It was as if all the air was
sucked out of his lungs.
The Magic
was gone!
Once
again he tried to call up the Magic Force, and once again there was just
... nothing.
He'd
always been able to call the Magic Force to him without a second thought.
To him it was almost as natural as breathing. He couldn't see it, never
had been able to, but then he'd never needed to. He sensed the energy on
a much deeper level. And now .. it was gone.
He heard
Chasson inhale loudly and slowly he turned to look at him. The other man
was staring around, searching for something only he could see - or couldn't
see.
"What
happened just now?" Kate asked, confused.
"I …
I don't understand," Chasson mumbled, trying to put into words something
he had clearly difficulties to comprehend. "But, from one moment to the
next, all the Magic Force vanished from here."
*
'Call
…. Just call.'
Cosmo
felt something touch him, brush over his skin with something like a caress.
It wasn't the guard, that much was clear.
'Call
us…'
'Call.'
He didn't
know where the whispered words were coming from, and why he felt compelled
to speak them out load.
"Powers
of Magic," he first whispered, but then with every word his voice got stronger.
"Open thy Force to me!"
The last
was a scream, ripped from his throat.
For one
eternally long moment, time stopped.
*
Patrick
Linol had been with the military for the last three years. After basic
training, he'd been based for a while on the East coast, before he'd been
transferred to Texas. Only two weeks ago, he'd been transferred to this
new place.
As a
lowly guard, he was, of course, never made privy to any of the ongoings
here. He knew that some teenagers with some kind of mental disease were
treated somewhere on the lower levels, and that he and the other guards
were there to make sure that they didn't escape. He didn't know what kind
of disease or what kind of treatment, but, to be totally honest, he didn't
care. He had an easy job, not much to do really, but going on patrol once
in awhile, and he would make sure he wouldn't loose it.
Now,
from one minute to the next, all of that had changed. The red haired teenager
- young man was more like it, really - had barricaded himself inside the
computer room. He must have somehow managed to block the door, and he had
to shoot out the lock in order to get in.
After
that everything had gone down the drain.
The young
man had turned, looking defeated towards the ground. Patrick had been sure
he had him then.
He said
something, too low for Patrick to understand at first, but then his words
got louder, until they ended in a scream.
"…thy
Force to me!"
Out of
nowhere, a wind rose. Beginning at the man's feet, it whirled around his
body. And not only a wind. Light gathered around him, enveloping his whole
body from head to toe. His eyes were open, and Patrick was sure, he'd never
seen anything more spooky than this, as the eyes now were all silver, like
they were cast of liquid metal.
The man
started to float a couple of inches above the ground, his legs stretched
out long, the toes pointing at the floor, the arms akimbo. Purple, red
and orange sparks of light flitted around his body, the light getting brighter
by the second.
For one
moment, the light emitting from him got so bright, Patrick had to gaze
away, else, as he knew without a doubt, he would have been blinded.
When
the lightning flash was gone, and Patrick finally dared to look back, the
other man hadn't changed his pose. But somehow he'd changed.
Gone
were the white T-shirt and the slacks, which was the basic outfit of all
the patients. The other man now wore red pants, with black boots rimmed
in orange. Over a red and orange shirt with some lines on it, he wore a
gray coat with purple lapels. The coat flapped in the storm whirling around
him. Modern looking glasses covered half of his face, but they couldn't
hide the still metallic looking, silver-gray eyes, which now bore into
him coldly.
Patrick's
training demanded of him to fire at the man, stopping whatever was going
on. That was what he'd been trained to do after all. But his instincts
told him in no uncertain terms that it was a far better idea to turn around,
and run like hell.
In the
end, instinct won.
*
What the
hell did just happen?
Cosmo
remembered a blinding light, a headache, which cleaved straight through
his skull, and then - for a strange moment - floating.
He had
the weirdest feeling, he wasn't alone in his head anymore, though it was
not Ace's presence he felt. There was somebody else, or, maybe, strangely
enough, something else.
A presence,
but nothing conscious. Somehow aware, but without a sense of being. It
was just … there, doing nothing for now. It was … waiting?.
Yes,
it was waiting.
Waiting
for what?
Good
question, really.
Which
brought him back to his first question, namely, what the hell had happened?
Something
had changed.
Then
it hit him out of the blue.
The magic
had changed!
Until
this moment, magic, and his use of it, had been a somewhat painful process.
Power wasn't the problem, really, he had had all the power he wanted. Actually,
until a short while ago, until he'd come to terms with it, he had had more
than he wanted. Namely, any.
The real
problem had been control.
Usage
of magic required incredible amounts of control. And, to be totally honest,
he sucked at control. He wasn't very fond of meditating, hating to be still
for any amount of time. It had taken awhile, but in the end, he'd come
to a grudging acceptance of the necessity of it. The link to Ace did help
of course, as he was able to anchor himself into the other magician. Though,
all in all, this didn't make it any more fun.
Now,
this had changed. Whereas before the magic had been like the wild overflow
from a dammed lake, it was now, as if the whole lake was at his disposal,
and he had just to touch it, to get access and control it.
Cosmo
couldn't help, but feel exhilarated by this new form of power which now
was at his fingertips. Finally, he had the means to get out of here and
take the others with him. With the power he now had at his disposal, he
would be able to do anything.
Though
he better hurry, because he doubted he would be alone much longer.
* * *
Colonel
Sebastian Shawn had been fast asleep, when the alert was sounded. For the
last two nights, he'd opted to stay in a room at the complex. He knew,
they were close with the red headed boy, close to breaking him or making
him.
The boy
was the strongest mage he had ever had had the chance to study. Unlike
most of his other subjects, he had abilities in several areas. This 'destruction'
spell of his was particularly interesting, but also the 'push' spell. He'd
studied him closely, watched how the boy had tried to use those spells
over and over again in the Virtual Reality. Naturally, in VR space, magic
didn't work - a shame really, but there was nothing that could be done
about it - but it had given him a great opportunity to see how he worked.
Besides the primary objective of the programs, of course. To break his
will.
This
mornings session should be the turning point.
Sebastian
Shawn had always known that there was such a thing as Magic - the real
thing, not that imitation, which the stage magicians showed, but honest
to god Magic. He knew, because he could see it.
It had
begun in high school, when he'd noticed a girl who had some strange kind
of glow around her. For weeks he'd watched her, knowing without a doubt
that there was something special about her, until one day, he'd seen how
she'd told one of the biggest bullies in the school to get out of her way
- and he simply had done as she'd commanded him. As she'd done it, the
'light' around her had flared, and Shawn had know that there was a connection.
She'd left the school shortly after, when her parents moved, but Shawn
had never forgotten her. It had been two years later, in college, when
he found the next Magic user. Again he'd watched him, and learned what
he could do - and then he'd contacted him, threatened to expose him and
his secret, if he wouldn't do as he told him.
For years,
he'd been satisfied by finding them, and controlling them, until one day,
he'd found one woman, who wouldn't do his bidding, who had turned the tables
on him. It had left him scarred - mentally and physically. From that day
on, he'd known, that it wasn't enough to find them, he wanted to become
one of them, wanted the Power.
For the
longest time he'd planned, and worked on achieving his goal. Meeting Gillian
fifteen years back had been a stroke of luck. The Colonel had no magic
skill of his own, so it was pretty impressive what he'd achieved, but in
the end it had been his downfall. He'd been in the lab the day when that
one magic user literally exploded, taking the project with her. Only one
of the subjects survived. And, of course, he himself. A sure sign that
he had to continue.
Though
he laid low after the disaster, playing the innocent bystander afterwards,
it had taken him forever to get the approval for another project. This
time, he would make sure nothing would happen. Picking children as subjects
had several advantages, not the least of which was that they were easily
controlled.
His newest
acquisition was older than the others, but after he'd seen him, he knew
that he had to have him. The boy was so powerful, it almost hurt to look
at him. It had been a tremendous risk to take him, especially with Cooper
around, who was a serious power to reckon with, but in the end, Shawn hadn't
been able to resist. It only had been a matter of separating them. Cooper
was even more powerful than the boy, but if he didn't know where he was,
there was nothing he could do.
He only
had to work out where the boy's power came from, and learn how to control
it himself...
He smiled
a little at his old dream.
He was
so close now. So close. The others thought he only wanted to use them,
and that was fine with them. Some idiots in the military had scoffed at
him and his ideas, and others had raised 'moral issues' because of him
picking kids, but to be honest, he didn't care.
Knowing
that the guard should be able to handle any problems, he took his time
to slip into his uniform. However, when the alarm hadn't stopped after
he'd dressed, he reached for the phone.
"What's
going on?" he barked into the receiver the moment somebody had picked up
at the other end.
"Twenty-two
has escaped from his cell. He got to the computer room."
"Damn!"
Shawn cursed, slamming down the receiver. Subject twenty-two was the boy
he put so much hope in. This was not going as he'd planed.
He pulled
open a drawer, getting out a gun. Though the guards should be able to handle
everything twenty-two was able to throw at them, he preferred to be prepared.
*
"The Magic
Force doesn't just vanish," Ace remarked, still trying to come to terms
with the disappearance of something he had had access to almost all his
life. He felt weak, put after the first moment, he had pulled himself together.
Whatever it was that had happened to the Magic Force, it wouldn't stop
him from finding Cosmo. And Magic or not, he would do anything to help
him. How he was able to do it, without his powers, he didn't know, but
at the moment, it didn't matter.
Chasson
lifted one shoulder, clearly also at a loss to what has happened.
"Oh God,"
Kate gasped suddenly, clutching her hand to her mouth.
Ace turned.
He didn't like the tone of Kate's voice, and when he saw her wide, shocked
eyes, he liked it even less.
"What?"
he asked shortly, his stomach doing a somersault. He knew, all of the sudden,
that this had something to do with Cosmo. How he knew, he didn't know,
but he knew.
"Cosmo,"
Kate said, confirming Ace's fear. "He .. I believe .. I think .."
Ace was
ready to grab her at her shoulders and shake the answer out of her, though
he had the terrible feeling, he already knew what Kate wanted to say.
Kate
sighed deeply, then looked up to Ace. "I believe, he turned into the Magician."
Chasson
and Savannah both looked confused at this statement, though they both obviously
noticed the capital 'M' she'd used when she had said 'Magician'. Ace and
Vega, however, knew what Kate's statement meant. Vega paled visibly, taking
a step back, as if to distant himself from the impact.
"You're
sure?" he asked, whispering.
Once
again, Kate sighed. "I hope I'm wrong, but this would explain everything.
Ace, do you remember what happened when you turned into the Magician the
first time?"
Ace nodded
slowly. He'd been fifteen and had been living with Ann for maybe half a
year. Ann had taught him, and he just had just begun to feel comfortable
with his magic, his new life and everything, when one day, when he'd tried
a spell, something happened. Until today, he didn't really know where the
voices had come from, but when he had echoed their words there had been
an incredible amount of energy coming from nowhere, and he'd Changed, had
turned into the Magician for the first time. He also had blown out all
the windows in the living room, wrecking the place in the process.
"That
day, you … sucked all available Magic Force to you, like a black hole.
And it felt exactly like it feels now."
Of course,
Kate had been in the house that day as well, as she also was studying magic
with Anna.
No. Ace
mentally shook himself. He couldn't accept that Kate was right. It just
couldn't be. Cosmo had just come to terms with his magic, with him being
so different from all the others. He'd been so freaked out in the beginning,
and Cosmo would never been able to accept *that*.
That
is, if it was true. Which Ace highly doubted. Cosmo had never shown any
indication that he would be able to change.
Ace's
ability to turn into the Magician, to take this next step on the evolutionary
ladder of Magic, was not only extremely rare, as far as he knew, he was
unique. Anna, and himself, had never found another one who could do it.
It wasn't
that he feared any competition - least of all from Cosmo. But, he always
had hoped to find somebody who shared that experience, somebody he could
talk to, somebody who really, really, *really* understood who and what
he was.
But Cosmo?
No, he
didn't wish that on him. The young man had suffered so much already. He
didn't need that.
"We've
got to get in!"
No matter
what.
* * *
He'd made
his way down two levels to where the cells were situated. He'd encountered
three guards on his way, but they had posed no problem to him. With one
distracted gesture, he simply had Pushed them away, bending their weapons
into useless scrap metal. Then he told them that they should go to sleep,
and they did.
He felt
incredible, like never before in his life. At some, remote level, he knew
he probably should be scared out of his mind, scared by the strange powers
he suddenly had, scared because he now wore a costume he had no memories
of getting into, scared because he wasn't scared. But for some strange
reason he wasn't. He felt calmer than ever before in his life.
His link
to Ace was somehow dimmed by this power - and again, though he knew he
should be, this didn't scare him.
It simply
was that he was in control of everything, of that new power, his actions.
And then, somehow he wasn't. This … presence, he'd felt earlier, it was
still there, somehow connected to him. He didn't understand it, but he
knew it was safe.
For the
moment, it was enough.
His fingertips
touched the door for the first cell, and with one simple thought, he opened
it.
A young
boy, not older than twelve, looked up from the cot he was sitting on. Gray
eyes widened when he saw Cosmo. There was nothing to distinguish him from
any other boy of his age, at least not to the normal eye. To Cosmo's enhanced
senses, it was obvious that he had Power.
"Wanna
get out of here?"
Cosmo
didn't have to ask a second time. The boy jumped off the cot, rushing to
leave the cell. He cast Cosmo a weird look as he slipped by him, but the
young Magician didn't notice.
Together
they freed four more children, ranging in age from ten to thirteen.
Fran
was the last one they got out of her cell.
When
she saw Cosmo, she ran to him, wrapping her arms around him. Then she pulled
back, looking at him strangely.
"What
happened to you?"
Cosmo
smiled. "Long story. I'll tell you later. Is this everyone?" he asked,
indicating the kids gathered around them, watching them with fear filled
eyes.
Fran
hesitated a moment, then shook her head. "No, the twins are missing."
"Any
idea where they could be?"
Fran
swallowed, then nodded.
"They
must be in the lab."
* * *
Shawn
couldn't believe what happened to his project. One moment, everything had
been running as he wanted it, and now … this.
The computer
room looked like a bomb had hit it. Every single monitor was trashed, the
computers fried, even those in the extra room. The work of three months
destroyed. Of course, there were back-ups in the labs downstairs, but it
was the principle of the matter.
As he
went down, it didn't get any better. He found two guards, seemingly asleep,
though he couldn't wake them up. Next to them, lay their guns, the barrels
bent and useless.
He wondered
what was going through the kid's mind, what he was planning. He would have
expected number twenty-two to hightail it out of here as fast as possible.
Instead he was heading downstairs. Maybe, he intended to destroy the lab
as well. Shawn wouldn't be surprised, after what he'd seen in the computer
room.
Reaching
the third sub-level, he turned left, towards the lab. He'd assembled a
couple of guards on his way down. He planned on recapturing 22. He simply
was too valuable to let him go. Though, if he should resist, he was willing
to kill him. A shame, really, but he had no choice.
They
found two more unconscious guards, just as they reached the laboratory.
There was no sign of what had knocked them out, and, to be honest, right
now, he didn't really care.
The door
to the lab was open, and they heard crashing sounds coming from within.
He motioned for one of the guards to get to the other side of the doorway.
The guard
did as he was told. Reaching the other side, he did take a quick peek inside.
From his expression, whatever he'd seen, wasn't good.
Shawn took a deep breath,
then he whipped his head around the door frame, pulling it back a second
later.
Oh shit!
There
was no way he would ever be able to control … that.
He had
to destroy him.
*
Cosmo
had reached the lab and freed the two boys, then sent them away to the
place he'd told the other kids to go and hide. Before he left the room,
Cosmo wanted to make sure nothing here could ever be used against anybody.
He had
just trashed the VR globe with a couple of energy bolts, when something
warned him of some kind of danger. He ducked, even before he realized that
somebody was shooting at him.
He whirled
around, facing the guards coming through the door of the lab. Between them
walked Colonel Shawn. Cosmo had met him only once, but that had been enough.
He would never forget that man's face.
Hot,
angry rage rose inside of him.
Here
was the man who was responsible for all this. Here was the man, who had
kidnapped him and all those children. Here was the man who had put him
in the VR globe and had him live through Ace's and Ulene's death a hundred
times. Here was the man who had singled out magic users only to use them
for his own purpose, endangering all of them.
He'd
been helpless when he'd been in the globe, had not known that somebody
else was responsible for all his suffering.
But not
now. Now he knew. And now, finally, he could *do* something about it.
The guards
still shot at him, but Cosmo had stopped avoiding the bullets. He held
out his hand, palm out, and simply deflected them back at them. The guards
were inconsequential. The only thing that counted was Shawn.
The Magic
Force inside of him moved, focusing on Shawn.
Distantly,
something snapped.
Cosmo
sent the guards to sleep, not caring where they fell, all his concentration
on Shawn.
The colonel
took one step back, his gun still raised, but didn't seem to be able to
find the trigger. His eyes had grown wide, and Cosmo enjoyed the fear which
emanated from the other man.
He put
his hands together, gathering energy around them.
A cold
smile played around his lips.
A damp
spot appeared on Shawn's pants, and Cosmo knew he had him now. Now, he
could kill him, after he made him suffer, just like Shawn had made him
suffer.
No!
Deep
inside, the weak voice of sanity started to scream.
In the
last couple of years, Cosmo had thought he'd wanted to kill before - had
come pretty damn close once or twice, but every time he'd realized that
it wasn't in his nature.
He wasn't
somebody who could kill in cold blood, who could commit murder.
And it
would be murder. It would place him on the same level, or even lower, than
Shawn.
Shawn
was helpless, was at his mercy, there was nothing the other man could do
against him. Not now - and never again. Shawn was finished.
Cosmo
tried to move his hands apart, to dissipated the energy into nothingness.
Suddenly,
all he wanted was to go away from here, go home, leave this place and this
nightmare behind him.
The Magic
Force, however, had a different idea. It wanted revenge.
From
one moment to the next, his mind was pushed aside, the control, which he'd
been so proud about, torn from his grasp.
And after
that, he knew no more.
*
Ace followed
his instincts as they rushed down floor after floor, never hesitating,
never doubting that the way he chose was the correct one. For some strange
reason, for the first time since he and Cosmo had developed this link,
it felt to him, as if he was the one sensing Cosmo, and not the other way
round.
And that
scared him to the bottom of his soul.
Because
what he felt now was coldness, and that was nothing he'd ever associated
with Cosmo before. There was no fear, or anger, or anything resembling
what he expected Cosmo to feel right now. Still, there was no doubt in
his mind that what he felt was in fact Cosmo.
About
ten minutes ago, a guard had left the building, driving a SUV hell bent
for getting out of this place. He hadn't stopped to close the door behind
him, and, naturally, they'd used that opportunity to get in.
What
they found only reinforced his fears. There was destruction everywhere.
One room they came by was totally wrecked. There where guards laying around,
unconscious, like some trash bags the janitor had forgotten to pick up.
Something
really bad had happened here.
With
each step, his fear rose, and he rushed on faster and faster, not caring
if the others were able to follow him or not.
Reaching
the third sub-level, he turned left, not needing the link anymore. The
noise of destruction was all too obvious. Two doors down, they came to
an open door and that was where the sounds were coming from.
Ace turned
the corner, and froze. Distantly, he realized that the others had followed
him, Vega at his side, the rest a step further behind.
Behind
the door was a lab with a large VR globe as the center piece. Or, more
accurately, in the center of the room were the remains of a VR globe. The
globe was trashed, as was every single piece of equipment the lab had once
held.
And in
the middle of all that mayhem stood Cosmo.
When
Kate had said that Cosmo might have turned into the Magician, she had not
been wrong. Ace's heart froze, when he saw how Cosmo had changed. The costume,
the shear Power he gave off - Cosmo had transformed. He *was* the Magician.
"Cosmo!"
Ace yelled.
Cosmo
didn't give him any heed. His whole concentration was focused on a man
cowering in front of him. From the photo in his file, Ace recognized Sebastian
Shawn.
Between
Cosmo's hands, energy flared. His eyes were cold, almost metallic looking,
noticeable through the shades he wore, though, technically they shouldn't
be visible. His face, on the other hand, was contorted into an angry mask.
The hair was blown back by some invisible wind, which seemed to be centered
on Cosmo and Cosmo alone, pushing at the long gray coat he wore.
"Cosmo,"
Ace yelled once again, and once again Cosmo ignored him.
The young
magician lifted one hand, the magic energy burning brightly.
"Don't,"
the man on the ground begged, but Cosmo disregarded his plea, letting the
energy ball fly.
It connected
with Shawn, enveloping him in orange flames. Shawn screamed.
"Cosmo.
Stop!"
Ace didn't
understand. Cosmo would never attack a man who was already down. It wasn't
in his nature. Hell, even the stun spell, which he'd used maybe three time
in his life, scared the living shit out of the boy.
And now
this.
Again,
Cosmo let an energy ball fly, hitting Shawn over and over. The man jerked
around, though it was clear he'd lost consciousness by now.
Ace couldn't
stand it anymore. Two minutes ago, he might have been ready to kill Shawn
himself, for what that man had done, but he couldn't watch Cosmo killing
him. Cosmo wasn't a murderer.
Bracing
himself, he stepped between Cosmo and Shawn, grabbing for Cosmo's arm.
It was
like touching a live wire. Energy hit him with the force of a sledge hammer,
lightning dancing over his skin, and he was thrown back, colliding with
some of the lab's equipment.
For one
moment, he was stunned. Every bone in his body hurt.
"Ace!"
Kate
was at his side, checking him over, all the time casting quick glances
at Cosmo, who didn't seem to have noticed what he had just done, throwing
one lightning ball after the other towards the remains of the VR globe.
At least he'd stopped bombarding Shawn.
Ace levered
himself up to a sitting position, pushing Kate's hands away.
"I'm
fine," he said, though he was everything but.
God!
What has happened to Cosmo?
What
was he to do?
*
Vega knew
he would never forget the scene, which unfolded before them. After Kate's
statement that Cosmo might have turned into the Magician, he still had
had no idea what he expected, after they finally found him.
All his
imagination had come up was the image of Cosmo in Ace's Magician outfit.
And that he had gotten, though the costume had some unique twists that
clearly said 'Cosmo'.
What
his imagination had failed to provide him with, was the coldness, which
seemed to pour out of Cosmo, and the fact that Cosmo didn't seem to care
when he tossed Ace away like a useless toy. Actually, the second bit terrified
him on a deep level. Cosmo didn't hurt Ace. Never. It was impossible. Until
one minute ago, he would have sworn, that when Moses had come down the
mountain, the eleventh commandment chiseled in to the tablets had said,
'Cosmo can not hurt Ace'.
Vega
had no idea how his gun had gotten in his hand, aiming at Cosmo. Cop instinct,
he guessed.
Luckily,
he never would know if he really would have fired.
"Don't,"
Chasson said, placing his hand on Vega's arm, pushing the gun down.
Oh God,
had he really aimed a gun at Cosmo?
"What
… what can we do? We have to stop him. But we can't hurt him. We can't."
Chasson
sighed. "There is nothing you can do. Though I might have a shot."
The last
was said barely above a whisper.
Chasson
released Vega's arm and stepped forward, only to be stopped by Ace.
"What
do you plan to do?"
For a
moment, Chasson glanced at a spot somewhere above Ace's right shoulder,
then looked into Ace's eyes. He gestured at Cosmo, who now had taken to
floating in the middle of the destroyed lab, his feet a couple of
inches above the ground, lightning sizzling around him. Even with Ace,
Vega couldn't remember ever seeing something that powerful.
"Look
at him," Chasson said. "He clearly has lost control. If he ever had any.
He's out of it, has no idea what he's doing. The Magic Force has taken
over. We … I have to somehow drain that energy. It's the only chance he
has."
"And
how do you plan on doing that?" Ace's voice could have cut steel.
"My magic
... I can transform the Magic energy into any other form of energy."
That
stopped Ace.
"Will
it hurt him?" he asked, much softer now.
Chasson
hesitated for one second. "I don't think so. Listen," he said, when he
noticed Ace was opening his mouth to protest. "I have never done anything
like this before, but it's the only thing I can think of. If this doesn't
work, he will burn up."
That
shut Ace up. Vega knew that it was only concern for Cosmo that drove the
older magician. It would kill Ace if anything would happen to his young
friend. It killed Ace that he couldn't do anything himself. This whole,
damn situation was killing Ace.
Ace's
eyes searched Kate, hoping the Nature Mage would know of a way to help
him.
The young
woman only shook her head. "I'm sorry, Ace. Alexander is right. Cosmo is
drawing too much power. It could kill him."
Ace took
a deep breath, then nodded.
*
Alexander
Chasson didn't really know, why he'd offered to help.
First
of all, he had no idea, if he really was able to do what he had said he
would do. Yes, he could transform power, but he never had done anything
like this. He was pretty sure, it was going to hurt, and he certainly wasn't
a masochist.
But then,
in some weird and twisted way, he felt responsible for this whole mess.
Logic told him that he personally wasn't to blame for any of this. He'd
been a victim ten years ago, and there had been nothing he could have done
back then, and there was nothing he could have done now.
There
was something about the way Cooper and the others cared about that boy
- young man really. It was something special, something you didn't see
every day. Cooper would do everything to help Cosmo.
Though
Chasson wasn't a hero by any stretch of the imagination, he felt he had
to help.
He licked
his lips, which seemed to have developed a sudden case of dryness. The
others had stepped back a little, leaving him all the room he needed. Distantly,
he thought that it was a good thing that the lab was already trashed. At
least he didn't have to care about collateral damage. He had the feeling
there would be some more coming.
Cosmo
was floating a couple of inches above the floor, his arms stretched wide
in a crucifixion pose. His eyes were open, but it was pretty clear he wasn't
seeing a thing, wasn't aware of anything. Lightning danced over his body
and he was jerking every now and then, though he didn't seem to be in pain.
"Cosmo,"
he said, not so much as to draw attention to him, but just to say *something*.
The young
man didn't move.
Inhaling
deeply, he put out his hands. To his Sight, Cosmo glowed madly. He concentrated,
paying attention to the colors, the patterns.
Whenever
he did something like this, it helped him to visualize an electronic setup,
the switches, the lines and cables, the electricity flowing through them,
the breakers, the light bulbs. Now, Cosmo was the light, and the energy
flew to him, always into him, making him glow brighter and brighter.
Where
was the light switch? Where could he tap into the line?
Then
he saw it.
Reaching
out with an invisible hand, he Grabbed the 'line' and Pulled it to him.
It burned!
Oh God,
there was so much energy, so much Power, raw, untamed, blazing like fire.
Chasson
opened his mouth, though no sound came out. For a moment he thought his
heart would stop, but then, somehow, he felt it, felt how he could pull
the energy away, transform it, and render it harmless.
And he
did.
At first
nothing seemed to happen. Cosmo still did his floating thing, oblivious
to the world, glowing like the sun.
Chasson
channeled the Energy as fast as he could, grounding it, pulling faster
and faster. He felt his hands burning, felt the storm rising. His breath
was coming fast, as much from the exertion as from the pain.
He held
on as fast as he could, but finally he reached a point were he thought
he couldn't last anymore. Never before had he channeled anything even remotely
like this. A distant part of his brain asked what had given him the stupid
idea he might be able to do it. Because it became more and more obvious
he'd reached his limit, he would have to let go, or burn up in the fire.
Suddenly,
something cool touched him on the shoulder blades, drawing away some of
the heat of the Energy. He didn't know who it was, and, to be totally frank,
he didn't give shit. The cold was like the heavens and he thought, he never
felt anything more wonderful. It gave him the strength to hold on for one
more moment, and then another one.
Ultimately,
something had to give, and it did. Like a rope, which had been stretched
too tight, the Magic Force gave. One second it was burning like a million
suns, and the next … gone.
Chasson
sagged, his knees too weak to support him anymore. Soft arms caught him,
and when he looked up, he saw the blurry face of Kate Morrigan looking
down on him.
However,
before he could work out why she was looking concerned, everything went
dark, and he didn't care about anything anymore.
*
Ace hated
feeling helpless, hated to have to stand aside, to have somebody else,
a virtual stranger, do all the work. He hated, also, that he still had
no access to the Magic Force, making him feel even more helpless.
His eyes
were glued on Cosmo. He could see how Chasson pulled energy away from the
young Magician, the power somehow transferred into the visible spectrum.
However, so far it didn't seem to help much.
Seconds
stretched on forever. He wanted to step forward, but he was afraid he would
interrupt Chasson's concentration. Chasson didn't look too good, and it
pained Ace, even though he barely knew him, that the other man was doing
that for them.
"God,
he's burning up," Kate whispered, shocked, gripping her hand onto Ace's
arm.
Though
Ace's eyes hadn't left Cosmo, he did take a surprised look, but nothing
had changed with his young friend. Then he realized that Kate had been
talking about Chasson.
Indeed,
Chasson was surrounded by an unhealthy glow. He was sweating, thick rivulets
running down his face, dampening his shirt. He was breathing with difficulty.
It was obvious, he wouldn't last very much longer.
Without
any warning to Ace, Kate stepped forward, placing her hands on Chasson's
back. She closed her eyes. Immediately Chasson's features relaxed, as Kate
supported him and pulled away some of the heat.
Ace hadn't
realized he'd been holding his breath, but he had, and it seemed, as if
the world was doing the same.
And then,
finally, after some eternally long minutes, something snapped.
Ace could
feel the difference immediately. The Magic Force kind of hiccuped, and
then everything was as it had been before, the Magic Force settling around
him like a comforting, well worn blanket. He inhaled deeply, for one moment
basking in the familiarity of it.
Then
he forgot all about it, as he rushed to Cosmo's side.
The young
magician had fallen to the ground of the lab, not moving. The costume he'd
been wearing was gone, and now he wore some gray sweats and a plain, white
T-shirt. Somehow the outfit looked even stranger than the costume - the
costume had been 'Cosmo', but this was not.
With
shaking fingers he searched for a pulse, sighing in relief when he found
it strong and steady.
"Cosmo,"
he whispered, shaking him carefully, while at the same time going over
his young friend's body in search of injuries.
Long
eyelashes fluttered, and then gray eyes opened, fixing themselves on Ace.
"Ace?"
Ace couldn't
recall ever hearing a sweeter word. His face split into a grin, and he
let his fingers stroke through Cosmo's hair, noting the white strand, which
started at his left temple, running along the side of Cosmo's head.
"What
stripe?" Cosmo mumbled, sounding confused.
"Excuse
me?" Ace asked surprised. He was sure he hadn't said anything about the
stripe.
"I could
have sworn, you just ..." Cosmo didn't finish the sentence, furrowing his
brows.
Ace looked
at Cosmo, still wondering what Cosmo had heard, but then decided there
were more important things to do.
Like
getting out of here.
Vega
appeared at his shoulder. "We should get out of here," he said, echoing
Ace's thoughts.
"Can
you get up?" Ace asked Cosmo. Though he wouldn't mind carrying Cosmo out,
if he had to, he much preferred to have him move on his own two feet. He
didn't know what to expect on their way out, and he wanted to be ready
to fight, if he had to. Besides, he knew how Cosmo felt about being helpless.
Cosmo
nodded, accepting the hand Ace held out to him. He leaned heavily on Ace's
arm, swaying a little, but more or less, he was upright. Ace checked his
eyes, and saw that Cosmo was blinking a lot, as if he still had problems
with his vision.
Only
now Ace looked for Chasson. The man was propped up on one elbow, looking
tired, but essentially okay. Kate and Savannah kneeled at his side, Savannah's
hands a few inches away from Chasson's shoulder, and Ace could see that
she was exercising her healing powers on a burn Ace could see there.
Another
stone dropped off his chest. He didn't know what he would have done if
Chasson had been seriously hurt.
"Wow!"
Cosmo said, as he looked around. "What happened here?"
Ace couldn't
help it. He burst out laughing.
They
all looked up, when two uniformed men with guns appeared in the doorway
of the lab. Without a thought, Ace stepped between the new threat and Cosmo.
Vega moved to his side, his gun ready, though at the moment the muzzle
pointed at the ground. Chasson stood together with Kate and Savannah, and
Ace could see that they all were ready to fight if they had to.
Thankfully,
the new arrivals held back, watching the four men and two women carefully,
but didn't show any sign that they would attack.
The tension
in the destroyed lab reached a breaking point. Ace didn't know what to
think of the new arrivals. They wore a different uniform than the numerous
unconscious guards they'd encountered on their way in, but this didn't
mean they would be any friendlier. They didn't point their weapons at anyone
in particular, but it was obvious that if anybody would move, they would
act accordingly.
Ace had
just reached the point were he simply had to do something or burst, when
another man arrived. He was older, with dark brown hair, gray at the temples.
Though he wore the same type of uniform the others had, he had a couple
of small stars pinned to one chest, clearly indicating some higher rank.
"General
Hopkins," Chasson called out, standing unconsciously straighter.
"Major
Chasson," the general acknowledged Chasson, but then looked at Ace, identifying
him as the unofficial leader of the group. "Is anybody hurt?"
Ace had
to admit that he was a bit surprised. Considering everything, he'd expected
another fight, was ready for it, though he hadn't been looking forward
to it. He wanted all of this to be over, wanted to get Cosmo and go home,
and never again to think about the last three days.
But,
then, usually, what he wanted and what he got were two different things.
Ace swallowed, and shook
his head. "Everybody is okay, I think." Even if Cosmo was far from 100%,
he was mobile enough to get him out of here, and that was all what counted.
"Good,"
the general nodded. "Listen, my people are going to clean everything up.
This here," he pointed at the lab, but obviously meant the whole complex,
"never happened. You never were here. So, maybe it would be best, if you'd
leave as soon as possible."
Ace would
like to do nothing better than this. Though he suspected there was a hitch
to it. He glanced at Chasson. The other man looked at Hopkins, then at
Ace. Noticing Ace's scrutiny, he nodded.
"What
about the others?" Cosmo now asked, his voice sounding weak.
Damn,
in his worry about Cosmo, he had all but forgotten about the other kids.
"They
naturally will be returned to their parents as soon as possible."
"And
what do you plan to tell them? 'We're sorry, but we had to kidnap your
children to experiment on them?"
Cosmo
leaned even more heavily on Ace's arm, but that didn't stop him from challenging
the general.
"Cosmo,"
Ace warned quietly, placing his other hand on Cosmo's shoulder. Not that
he didn't agree, but right now it might be wiser not to aggravate the general
too much. After all, he had said all the kids would get back to their families.
"What
about my daughter?" Savannah now stepped forward. "Fransiska Redwing. I
think she's also here somewhere."
Ace heard
Cosmo whisper the name 'Fran?', but in this moment a young girl with raven
black hair ran through the entrance, crying out Savannah's name. She rushed
at her, wrapping her arms around Savannah. Savannah went down on her knees,
returning the hug, as she buried her head in her adopted daughter's shoulder.
For one
moment, the general actually looked embarrassed, but then his face turned
hard again.
"All
of this should never had happened. But it did, and neither you or I will
be able to change that. All we can do is to minimize the damage, and make
sure it will never happen again. I do advise you to do as I've told you
and leave."
Ace didn't
like it, but he had to agree that the general had a point. Fighting crime
in Electro City was one thing, but going up against the whole army was
something he didn't want to do. The children would be returned to their
parents, and, unless they wanted to reveal to the world the powers their
daughters or sons had, they would never speak of it again. The important
part was that the children could go home, that was all that mattered.
"Cosmo?"
Ace asked, looking at his friend.
Cosmo
swayed at the arm he was leaning on, and the magician lowered his other
hand to grab the teenager around his hip, and support him more.
The spark
of rebellion still glowed in Cosmo's eyes, but then he nodded.
"Let's
go."
* * *
Ace cursed
the fact that he was the only one who could fly back the jet back. Of course,
Cosmo had a pilots license as well, but no way Ace would ask him, after
everything he'd gone through.
In the
back of the plane, Cosmo was sleeping, with Vega and the others watching
over him. Not that Ace feared something else would now happen to Cosmo,
but he wished it was him who guarded his young friend's sleep and could
help him when the nightmare came. The first nightmare in many to come,
he was sure. Right now it was more important to finally get home as fast
as possible.
Getting
Cosmo home.
The last
three days had been the longest in his life. The not knowing, the helplessness,
the fear. If not for the link, he would have gone mad.
And now
the link had somehow changed, deepened. He was pretty sure, that Cosmo
had picked up his thought about the stripe from his mind, which would mean
Cosmo had developed some kind of telepathy. And he himself had now a much
clearer ability to perceive his young friend, sensing him in the back of
his mind, though, unlike Cosmo, he couldn't pick up any emotions or thoughts.
Cosmo simply was there. It was absolutely enough for him, thank you so
very much. How Cosmo's new ability to read his thoughts - if it indeed
was telepathy - would change their life, Ace did not know, but together
they would work something out, he was sure.
Also,
what about Cosmo's ability to call on the Magic Force? Cosmo never should
have been able to do it, but undoubtedly, he'd done so, no thanks to Shawn's
experiments. It almost had ended in a disaster. If not for Chasson, Cosmo
would have been burned up by the Magic Force. If he ever again would be
able to call up the Force, and with which consequences, Ace did not know.
They would have to work on that, too.
He didn't
know where these changes would lead. He didn't know what the future would
bring.
Nobody
knew.
But him
and Cosmo, together, they would work something out.
They
always did.
The end
