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INTERIOR: ZELLER MANSION
Ethan Fairchild wasn't exactly happy about this whole thing. He'd already lost one operative: Gia. And he wasn't sure how he was going to tell his superiors that she was dead. All he wanted was to get out of this spooky house, and maybe even the spy business all together.
Octavia had been curiously silent during the last few minutes. Ethan wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not. Octavia had at one time, been one of his greatest enemies. Strangely, she had in the last few months proven to be an asset to him. Now he was wondering if her loyalty was all an act. It was nothing on an external level that alerted him to her possible deception. Something inside was niggling at him, making him question everyone’s motivations.
The group made their way through the secret passageway in a slow procession. The creaking of the floor made them all aware of the flaws beneath the surface of the mansion in which they’d all become trapped.
Bobbie Sullivan stumbled forward following Ethan’s strangely accurate directions when his foot broke through the boards beneath him. The hole quickly opened up nearly swallowing him.
“Help!” Bobbie screamed as the darkness below threatened to eat him body and soul. His breath came in gasps as he clawed for a handhold. The first thing he found was Stephen’s foot.
Ethan could see the lad as if he were wearing night vision goggles. For a few minutes the ability to suddenly see didn’t bother him. He dove into action grabbing Bobbie underneath his shoulders. The rest of their party could only offer hands of assistance considering they were literally blind the pitch black tunnel passage.
The boards snapped and groaned as Ethan wrenched him back into a standing position.
“Are you all right, kid?” Ethan asked.
Bobbie brushed off the dust he imagined on his clothing. “I.. . I guess. Ethan, thanks.”
“No problem. Try and watch where you’re going next time.”
Bobbie paused. “When I see a light, I’ll make sure and do that. Until then, stumbling is about all I can do.”
“What do you mean? It’s glowing an eerie green in here. I can see you all perfectly.”
“No, no, Ethan, it’s not. It’s as dark as night. I mean, the kind of night where there are no clouds, no street lights, nothing to light your way,” Bobbie said.
“The kid’s right, Ethan. It’s as dark as midnight in here.”
“How is that possible?” Ethan paused. “Stephen, hold up a few fingers and let me see if I can count the correct number.”
Ethan watched as Stephen held up three fingers, one on his left hand and two on his right hand.
“Which hand do you want me to count. You’re holding up fingers on both. Left two, right one. That makes three.”
“He’s right. Three,” Stephen said. “How is it possible you can see in the dark.”
“Nanites.” Bobbie spoke with a sense of awe in his voice. “You’ve had them in your blood for quite a while now. Maybe they’re allowing for the change in visual acuity.”
“Great. I get to be the human test subject for these little suckers. Maybe that explains the three dimensional grid of the house I saw in front of me when I touched a wire back there.”
“Is that how you’re navigating so expertly?” Stephen said. “I was beginning to think you were psychic.”
The grid of the grounds appeared before him and Ethan could see a car approaching the mansion. “We’ve got company.” Somehow he was able to distinguish the license plate of the vehicle. It was his father’s car!
“Let’s get going,” Stephen said. “The quicker we get to the basement, the quicker we can blow this joint. Ethan since you‘ve got the headlights, you lead.”
***
Octavia lagged behind the three men. She opened her PDA and a soft glow surrounded her. She gave her eyes a second to adjust before inputting a text message to her employer.
B A S E M E N T. B E R E A D Y T O E X T R A C T H I M.
She had bided her time for far too long. Now that Gia was out of the picture, they had to proceed as quickly as possible if they wanted to retrieve the nanites in Ethan’s blood for their own use.
The procedure might kill him, but that didn’t bother Octavia. An eye for an eye. He killed her brother. All she was doing was returning the favor. Too bad she couldn’t get his meddling brother, Kevin in the process.
She snapped the PDA closed and quickly rejoined the men. It was only a mater of time now for her revenge to be complete.
BASEMENT LEVEL: ZELLER MANSION
Irish Quinn hated this place. The musty walls and dank basement cast an ghostly aspect on the circle of chambers surrounding a center concrete effigy. Gia was inside one. Rudy in the other. The rest were empty and waiting patiently for their occupants.
The serum Ezekiel used on Marian Noble wasn’t working as effectively as it was on Jazz Demarco. Both women were slumped in the corner lying asleep against each other. Marian, however, occasionally fought the sleep which his employer had induced.
“Are they dead yet,“ said a female voice from behind Irish. The voice belonged to Marian Noble. Irish looked from the restless sleeping form to the woman standing before him. “Uncanny isn’t it? This necklace hologram the head honchos created is amazing. One minute I‘m Marian and the next,“ The look-alike turned a button on the necklace and the image changed. “And the next, I’m Jazz. How cool is that?“
“Get back up to the security room and keep a watch on our visitors,” Irish said.
“Been there, done that,” she said. “The boys are on the move.”
“Then what are you doing down here?” Irish said harshly.
“Two men are approaching the mansion in an expensive looking luxury car. Are we missing any players in the game?”
“Only a few,” Irish said.
“Maybe our targets have come to us.“ A faint blipping noise that resonated like a TV self-destruct sound effect. The woman wearing the face of Jazz Demarco grabbed the handheld security monitor from her back pocket.
“We’ve had a breach in the catacombs,” she sounded almost giddy about the situation. “I’ll go and check it out.”
As the woman turned to leave, Irish called after her. “CinDee, no bloodshed. Leave the killing to the professionals.”
She gave him a fake pout by jutting out her lower lip. “You really are no fun.” Then she turned and ran from the chamber leaving Irish alone with the bodies of his friends.
He heaved a big sigh. When this was all over, he was going to be a dead man. He knew that going in, but the money he’d earn was hefty enough to support his family for years and years.
Irish didn’t believe in Ezekiel’s cause. He knew it was morally wrong, but the money more than made up for the unethical nature of his actions. It wasn’t about him any more. It was about his mother, and sister and all those kiddies she loved. Kids were expensive. And the money he was making here would more than support them and provide for an excellent education when they grew up. The only downside was that he wouldn’t get to be there to see them graduate.
He shook off the memories. He had to focus. He had to successfully complete this mission.
The targets were coming and he had to be ready for their arrival.
TUNNEL BELOW THE ZELLER MANSION
Alison Corday and her sister's partner, Jared were in worse shape than Mackenzie Gray and Echo. The two agents seemed particularly suited to a life of stress and intrigue. Alison, however, was seeing this situation in a whole new light. Her sister could have the spy game. This stuff was for the birds. Not only was she injured and sick, she had chipped three nails and ruined a great pair of high priced shoes.
"Why do you put me through this?" Alison wined. "I'm cold. I'm hungry and I'm extremely tired of playing cat and mouse with people who may or may not be watching us!"
Her voice was high pitched and pissed off. She wanted to go back to her safe computer where she dealt with equations and simulations.
"Honey, this is as real as it gets," Mac bit back. "That man is holding my friends hostage. Now, you can either help us or you can stumble your way back home. Either way, I'm going this way." Mac motioned for Echo to follow him. Whether Jared and Alison did the same was up to them. He had had enough of their crap.
“Wait!” Jared shouted. “You can’t leave us here. At least call back up or something.”
Mac laughed. “You think there’s back up for this sort of thing, kid? This is the stuff that the President disavows any knowledge of. We’re on our own.”
A vein throbbed in Jared’s jaw. “I didn’t sign up for this.”
“No, no, you didn’t,” Echo imparted. “But that’s neither here nor there. What matters is that you’re here now. Ezekiel wanted you here. Don’t you what to know why?”
Jared’s chest heaved with a sigh. “Not really.”
Alison came up behind Jared. “You should go. Psychos don’t target people for kicks. There’s a reason he came after you and my sister. Something you know, something he wants you to do. Catch him and maybe all this craziness just goes away.” Alison was serious. She knew Jared needed closure on this. “I’m going to go back the way we came and try to get back to headquarters. You know, send help. Do .. . something.”
“Be careful and watch your back,” Mac said hiking forward through the tunnel.
Echo shrugged. “He means well. He’s just a little too focused right now. Besides his grandfather, his friends are all he has. He has this unrelenting need to save them.” Echo shrugged again. “It’s a guy thing.”
The three men disappeared into the tunnel leaving Alison behind. Little did Alison know that someone up in the security office had been watching them and listening to every word.
She turned and headed back to the area where she and Jared had fallen into the tunnel. It might be hard to get out, but at least she’d be accomplishing something.
OUTSIDE THE ZELLER MANSION
Kaye Corday wasn't feeling as marvelous as she normally did. The medicine that Mitch Grayson has prescribed wasn't working in the way he claimed it would. It seemed it was working in entirely the opposite way. The fog in her brain was only now clearing and much of the last week was a dim blur in her mind.
"What am I doing here?" Kaye said, holding her head and looking up at the ancient structure. The paint on the outside was peeling in large chunks. The place seemed nearly deserted on the outside. A small exterior garage located off to the side of the mansion was in even worse shape than the house.
Nothing seemed familiar to Kaye. Nothing at all. The one thing that concerned her, however, was the fact that she had a gun in her hand and blood smudging the cuffs of her blouse.
Before she could contemplate her situation further, a car drove up. She slipped into the shadows behind a large line of shrubs lining the house. Two men exited the vehicle. One was Franklin Fairchild. The other was her lover, Dare! What in the heck were those two doing together?
Kaye held her breath as the two ascended the steps.
“This really is too easy,” Franklin said to Dare. The older man held a gun on the younger. It wasn’t like Dare to let someone get the slip on him. Maybe Dare wanted the man to lead him somewhere.
“Why exactly did you bring me here, Frankie? I’m not exactly in the same league as your sons, Ethan and Kevin. I freelance. I break the rules. I do everything wrong. I can’t even keep my wife satisfied. Why do you want me?”
“You, Ethan, Gia, plus seven more. You’re special. We made you special. You didn’t know it, however.”
“Another one of your experiments?” Dare said, checking himself for needle marks or injuries. “What in the hell did you do to me?”
“I made you great,” Franklin said. “Unstoppable. The perfect spy.”
As Kaye watched, Dare grabbed Franklin by the scruff of his throat, his fingers accidentally brushing the necklace Franklin wore around his neck. The holographic image disguising the man’s face disappeared leaving the face of another man Dare despised.. . Julian Black!
Kaye gasped and inched farther back into the shrubbery. What in the hell was going on?
Next time:
If someone is masquerading as Franklin Fairchild, where is the real man?
What is the real reason Julian Black wants these ten special agents? What do they possess that he wants? THE
LEGACY HAS MANY REASONS
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