Convergence - The Last Science #2.2 - Heroes and Villains

B2: Chapter 33 - Self-Made - VI

  Sunlight streamed through the cabin windows by the front door. Jeremy had nodded off in the chair, the laptop still sprawled on his chest. He mumbled himself awake, dragging his feet across the cabin to the small kitchen area and putting a pot of coffee on. Lani didn't have any black, to his disappointment, but Jeremy could live with anything so long as it warmed him up and got rid of the loginess.

  He didn't need either.

  Shouting from outside the front door. Jeremy snapped awake with a rush of adrenaline. Of course somethin' was gonna happen here the day I showed up. God-fuckin'-damnit. He grabbed his coat and double-checked his sidearm, then burst out the front door into the cold morning air.

  Kendra Laushire was sprinting across the field of snow in a dressing gown.

  Jeremy gaped at her—as did half of the other Greycloaks, in various states of dress. Cinza finally emerged from her own cabin with a bleary-eyed Ruby hanging over her shoulder. It was early, very early, and no one had really been awake yet. Jeremy, simply by merit of failing to actually make it to a bed, was the only one who looked dressed for the day. He rushed across the packed snowfield to meet Kendra and Cinza at the center bridge, just above the water.

  The woman was frantic, far beyond anything Jeremy could have imagined from an upper-class Englishwoman like her. She still stood higher than the whole group, even without the heels, but in her present state, even Cinza cut a far more imposing figure. As Kendra spluttered, Cinza finally stepped forward, stood high and slapped her across the face.

  "Focus!" she said, in an imperative tone.

  "She's gone!" Kendra bellowed in her face.

  "Who?"

  "Lily!"

  "What?" Cinza looked around at Jeremy. "What happened?"

  How the fuck should I know? Jeremy turned to Kendra. "Are you sure? Maybe she just went—"

  "She's gone! I have to find her. Immediately!"

  "Where's Riley?" asked Brittany, glancing over Jeremy's shoulder.

  Jeremy looked around. "I dunno. I didn't see her this morning."

  "Did anyone?" asked Cinza sharply. The rest of the Greycloaks had converged, a mass of faces Jeremy didn't have time to learn. No one seemed to have an answer.

  Makoto was a ways apart, checking the ground. "There's tracks. Here." He pointed at the ground. "Here, and here. She knew where she was going."

  "Where?" asked Kendra.

  "To her jeep, then south." Makoto pointed out of the clearing. "That way."

  "How long ago?" asked Cinza.

  "Minutes." Makoto started into a jog, but it didn't matter—the loud drumbeat of a helicopter answered their questions in an instant. A black chopper lifted into the sky, taking off straight to the north.

  Jeremy was on his phone in an instant, calling his branch operations center. "I need tracking on a chopper lifting out of the Olympic Forest right now. Heading ten degrees, bound for Canadian airspace. Scramble an intercept, too."

  "What's goin—"

  "Right the fuck now, damnit!"

  Jeremy heard muffled orders shouted through the earpiece. He'd startled the operator so much, the man hadn't let go of the transmit key.

  "You're not going to catch them," said Cinza.

  "Where are they going?" asked Kendra.

  "London, I'd guess," said Jeremy.

  Cinza glanced at him, surprised. "How did you come to that conclusion?"

  "Military operation in this neck of the damn woods? That's gotta be Malton's men. Pickin' up another damn guinea pig." Jeremy shook his head. "Fucking monster."

  "But—" Kendra started, rounding on him.

  Jeremy grabbed her by the shoulders, trying to calm her down. "Lani's already halfway to London, and I scrambled an intercept. Either we catch 'em here, or we get them at the other end. They aren't gonna hold onto her for long."

  "You don't understand," Kendra shouted, turning to watch the helicopter fly away. "I have to follow them right now!"

  Cinza put a hand on her arm. "We'll get her back, Kendra. Lily will be perfectly safe."

  Tell that to Jessica Silverdale...

  Kendra struggled out of Jeremy's arms, taking a few futile steps toward the departing chopper. "She's never gone this far away before," Kendra cried, her voice thick with pain. Her hands clutched to her chest, as if she were about to have a heart attack.

  ...The fuck does that mean?

  "The fuck does that mean?" asked Nikki, echoing him perfectly.

  Ruby gasped.

  Cinza looked strangely satisfied. "I thought so."

  "What the fuck is going on?" asked Jeremy, really frustrated with the whole cryptic situation.

  Cinza turned to him. "We need to get Kendra to follow them, as physically close as we can get her."

  "Wha's this abou'?" asked Rufus, looking just as confused as Jeremy felt.

  "Lily isn't real," said Ruby, as if that explained everything.

  What the... oh.

  Oh, shit.

  "What?" asked Nikki, looking between the three of them who had finally caught on.

  "She's real," Cinza snapped, and Ruby looked suitably ashamed of herself. Kendra wailed in pain. "Makoto, get the car. Right now." Makoto nodded and sprinted away. "Lily wasn't born like the rest of us. Kendra truly is an only child."

  "Wait, Lily—"

  "—was created with magic," said Cinza firmly. "Nikki, you've been allergic to Lily. She is a perfect clone of Kendra Laushire in every form, whom Kendra has been maintaining every day since Lily was born. They are one and the same."

  "We aren't," said Kendra, brushing away tears. "She is my sister."

  "She is," Cinza agreed, correcting herself, "and we will do everything in our power to make sure she stays that way." Cinza waved Makoto forward. He'd returned in a heavy-duty four wheeler that would breeze through the woods without any trouble. Cinza climbed in, followed by Kendra and Jeremy. "Ruby, keep the Greywood secure. We'll be back as soon as we can."

  Ruby nodded. She gave Cinza a kiss, then hurried away with Rufus.

  "Nikki, I'll need updates as often as possible on Riley's whereabouts."

  "Every thirty minutes if I can do it," said Nikki, though she didn't look confident.

  Josh clapped her on the shoulder. "We got this."

  "Good. Makoto, let's go."

  Makoto gunned the engine without a moment's hesitation. They shot off into the forest. Jeremy clutched onto the roll cage for stability, his seat belt cutting into his shoulder. He whipped out his phone, dialing up the closest air base for more support.

  I ain't lettin' that fuckin' chopper get away.

  Cinza turned to Kendra and clasped her hand, bouncing up and down in the jeep. "Kendra Laushire, I swear to you upon my life, we will bring your sister home. Lily will be safe. I swear it."