The Link

Chapter 27 - Sam

The first strike caught me by surprise. It stung, and I looked quickly among the vets, trying to decipher who had slapped me. We were just outside of Corbett's house, or compound as Todd Renault called it, on the street side of the high stone wall. Harry was pointing out the cameras he had identified on a crude drawing. He'd never be an artist, but it did show the few blind spots that existed. His special forces training lead him to believe it would be easier to enter unaccosted during the day. The infrared cameras would light us up if we attempted something at night. The whole goal was to retrieve my family and leave without alerting the world. A diversion was necessary to tie up the bulk of the guards as we maneuvered for retrieval. The plan was being developed for the next morning.

The second strike was more forceful, and I realized it was Natalie. On reflex, I drew Teegan into me as my anger exploded outward. Another strike and reason fled replaced by an awful determination. They were beating Natalie, and death seemed an adequate response.

"They're beating her," I said as I moved toward the wall.

"What?" Todd called as I began to climb. The wall was built with large gray rocks. Unclimbable for your average man, but finding fingerholds in the mortar and setting my feet on almost imperceptible ledges seemed child's play. I knew exactly how to set my weight and hold the necessary tension to ascend. It would have fascinated me if Natalie wasn't hit again.

"This has to be planned," Devlin called up to me. Unfathomable hatred swelled in me when I felt the next strike. Plans didn't matter anymore.

"They're killing her," I yelled as I topped the wall.

"Go!," shouted Betty, "he's not joking." I could hear them scrambling as I dropped to the other side. Harry's grappling hook caught the top of the wall, but I couldn't wait. I broke out of the trees that edged the wall at a fast jog, straight for the nearest door. My eyes scanning for obstacles.

The first impediment met me halfway to the house. Some linebacker dressed in black. He told me to stop and started to inform me I was trespassing. My rage wasn't going to be slowed by a single man. He reached into his jacket as I increased my speed. I knew before he drew that a handgun would be pointed toward me. His arms angular momentum, the angle of his shoulders, and his lack of hesitation told me the round would catch me in the left breast.

I shifted as he depressed the trigger, planting my right foot and turning my body sideways for the briefest of moments. I could feel the bullet pass by me as I shifted back. He would over compensate with the next shot, so I planted my left foot and spun around backward, to the left. The round passed by me as I used my momentum to accelerate my foot, catching the side of his face near the temple. I didn't even slow to see him drop.

An invisible fist caught me in the eye. I could feel that Natalie was immobile as the uncontrolled fury building in my chest became my single focus. The thought of what was happening to her made reality disappear. I drew more of Teegan into me, piling on strength I wasn't sure my body could hold. I could feel her confusion, but her love let it go to me as she sensed my need. She was so much older.

Three more black clothed guards, two to the left and one from the right, began to converge on me. Guns were being drawn, and I could feel their intent. They had seen me drop their comrade and intended deadly force. The space between them was too great, I could achieve nothing with strength or agility, physically the odds were in their favor. My rage boiled when I thought of being stopped at the door. Something inside me snapped, and I sent my hatred to the three minds bearing down on me. I screamed, never slowing my pace, as part of me seemed to explode outward, shards of anger pierced the unprepared minds and the bodies dropped. I weakened at what I had done, my insides less solid, more liquid. My shoulder dropped, and I drove myself into the door as near the handle as possible. The frame shattered, and I burst into the house, knocking another guard down with me and I landed on top of him. I drove my elbow into the side of his head, just behind his ear and he went limp.