Chapter 18
"What are you thinking?" Fang asked out of the corner of his mouth. The baddies kept dropping out of the sky, drawing closer to us.
"I'm thinking Angel needs to go back to premonition school," I snidely replied. Three months? Yeah, right. Ever since she made that pronouncement by the pool, we'd been attacked on a regular basis.
The corner of Fang's mouth quirked upward and we both scanned the sea of darkness. Minutes ago, the serenity of the Big Sur baited us, lured us in, its breath-taking sapphire ocean and milky-white foam providing clarity to this hazy day. Now, the sky was ensconced in obscurity. A murkiness that Fang and I couldn't possibly tread. I mean, come on. They had guns. How were we to dodge that?
"Well, you know," I said as I threw my arms up in surrender. Fang appeared slightly stunned at my hasty capitulation. "We can at least find out who's behind all this. See our good friend Dirk again."
Fang's quizzical smirk transformed into a knowing one and we allowed the men in black to prod us to an awaiting van at the top of a large crest. They pushed us into the back of the van and secured our hands and feet, the two of us joining a lone figure sitting expectantly in a black swivel chair.
The person's back was to us, but just as the door to the van shut behind us, the chair turned, revealing our captor. And my jaw tried very hard not to scrape the thin layer of rug on the van floor.
"Sorry about that," the voice from the chair said to us. There was a hint of sympathy in the voice, but I wasn't fooled by the synthetic tug at our heart strings. I shut my mouth from the shock of the moment and tried really hard to not let the scowl on my face explode into a stream of obscenities.
I glanced at Fang, his face impassive. Typical, but I really, really expected some sort of astonishment to set in through his eyes, his stance. But nothing. It was almost as if he somehow knew this blow was coming. Knew what I suspected to be true after our last encounter with Mr. Chu.
"After Mr. Walborn failed to bring you in, I knew I needed to step in myself. We tried to stake you out at the studio in LA. Gather all six of you at once. But then you took off. Just the two of you. We followed you as far as we could. Then lost you." Brigid Dwyer shifted in the chair, crossed her legs. "Fortunately, we'd been tracing your mother's cell phone, Max."
I looked at Fang and he flinched slightly.
"Didn't take us long to find you outside of Monterey. Aerial views provide so much. And I know how much you two enjoy the beach." Was that a hint of sarcasm in her voice?
"What do you want from us?" I finally asked with a pound of menace.
"Why, to protect you. There are a lot of people out there that want to hurt you. And the flock. This movie is too much exposure for you."
"I thought you were working for the CSM," I snapped. "Or are you now working for Chu or someone else who's trying to destroy the planet?! Or have you just gone completely mental because Fang chose me over you?!"
Okay – I really cannot believe that last question flew out of my mouth, but the look on Brigid Dwyer's face was priceless. Revealing too. The embarrassed shock that initially set into her eyes confirmed any suspicions I had over her having an inappropriate thing for my Fang.
Ugh. Did I really just say "My Fang"?
I felt Fang's bemused eyes bore into me, but I refused to look at him, mortification setting in. My cheeks felt hot soooo I heated them up with more spitfire.
"So just who are you working for these days, Brigid? Or are you fulfilling your own personal agenda?"
Brigid rose, crossed to Fang and me, her face rigid.
"I am working for the Federal Government in areas of… research and exploration. But I still maintain close ties with the CSM, Max. I still support their causes." She circled Fang and me as she continued. How I wish my hands and feet weren't bound right now. I so wanted to kick her square in the mouth. The thought at least was warming, even if the interior of the van registered the temperatures of an icebox.
"This movie is being terribly mishandled. It was to be a documentary. Now it seems Starlight Productions has turned it into a major movie deal. Your presence on the set should not be required as much as they deem it. Your own mother has protested it, but has lost out every time." Brigid stopped in front of me. Looked me in the eyes. "Max, we all fear you are in danger." Her eyes averted to Fang. "All of you."
"So that is why you kidnap us at gunpoint. Why you blow up our safe house," I said. Oh how I wanted to spit in her face.
"The safe house was not of our doing."
"Well, then who?" Fang asked calmly.
Brigid fixed her eyes on Fang. They softened as she explained. "We're not really sure. We've been looking into that since it happened. But we do know this. No house will be completely safe right now. We know there are groups out there who wish you dead. Mr. Chu is still at large," she flashed a grin in my direction. "And no, Max. I am not working for him.
"We want you to stay at Nellis Air Force Base for a while. While the FBI assesses the danger. There are plenty of rooms. And we'll find you a tutor there that can continue your schooling."
Fang and I looked at one another. My heart was screaming No! but my mind already acquiesced to this arrangement. I knew where Fang stood. He just wanted the flock to be safe.
Brigid unshackled us while continuing to lure us into a deal that was pretty much sealed. "You'll have lots of open space in which to fly… unauthorized, but of course we'll gain special clearance for - "
"What about the rest of the flock?" Fang asked.
"We've got people picking them up right now. I spoke with Jeb shortly before we apprehended you. He's on his way to the studio. He seems to feel as I do."
I looked at Fang. Good thing we tacitly complied to go. Looks like the decision would have been made in favor of Las Vegas' Air Force Base regardless.
"Looks like we're headed for Sin City," I said dryly. From the City of Lights to the City of Sin. Hmmmm. Maybe while we're out there, we could persuade Total and Akila to elope. I mean, weirder things have happened, right?
