Page 43 of Dark Flame

Hawke immediately stared straight into the lead goose and found the opening he needed. It was as if there was a small door into the bird’s skull that allowed him access to the vision. The bird didn’t see him as an enemy but rather as part of its own brain.

His vision suddenly laser-focused on the sky. It was that time of year, and the geese would be flying south. Karena might actually be less suspicious of a goose flying overhead than a hawk. He latched on and decided to enjoy the ride.

“Maneadero!” yelled Spook, standing quickly from his seat. “She’s in Maneadero, Baja. I just got a read on a cell phone she’s using.”

“Are you certain? I mean, are you sure it’s her voice?” asked Kane.

“I’m telling you, Kane. It’s her,” said Spook. “I’ve been able to match the voice, phone signal, and the ping from her bank to this face from a bank camera.” Spook pulled out the photo and handed it to Kane.

“Alright then. Flip, Spook, Adam, Nat, Nash, Garrett, Isobel, Kelly, and Griffin. That’s the team we’re using to go down there. One team.”

“Wait a minute!” yelled Aislinn. “What about me? What about the rest of us?”

“Yea,” said Fiona, standing with her hands on her hips. “I don’t want to just sit here waiting to hear whether or not you all survived. I want to be a part of this.”

Kane looked around at the thirty pairs of eyes staring back at him. He wanted to keep them safe. He needed to keep them safe.

“Look, I know you all want to be a part of taking her down. But all of us moving in that direction is going to look highly suspicious and will certainly make someone raise their eyebrows and perhaps alert her. If by some chance she knows where we are or, at the very least, the general area of where we are, if we start moving, she will know. Plus, if we leave, the compound becomes vulnerable. All the homes, the construction that’s happening? That could be for naught.”

“I know you all want to help, but how the rest of you can help is by staying here. Doing what you do best from base. Hawke will continue to guide us via the… the…” he trailed off.

“Goose,” said Hawke, smiling.

“Goose, right. Goose?” he questioned. Hawke nodded, and Kane could only smile. “By taking Griffin and leaving David, I’m leaving one person who can get help quickly if you need it. Ashley and Akin can block out the sound if they suspect anyone is near. Gable, you will make sure we get some protection from your wolf and bear friends encircling the compound while we’re gone.”

Gable nodded and looked toward the distant mountain range sending a silent signal to his animal friends.

“Regan, if we need information from one of our files, I need you to be able to access that quickly and relay the information. We are about to seriously test our long-distance telepathy abilities.”

Kane could see that some of them still weren’t buying his story of why they should stay behind, but he wasn’t about to argue this point. They needed to have a team at base and a team on the move.

“I need you all to trust me in this. You said I’m your leader. Well, I’m acting like one. This is the plan, and if you don’t like it, choose another leader.” He stepped back and waited, his beefy arms folded across his chest, his scars red with determination.

“I’m in,” said Griffin and Garrett at the same time.

“Me too,” said David.

“We’re in,” said the group in unison.

“Good,” he sighed with relief. “Now, despite our amazing abilities, I’m still going to ask that everyone carry a weapon with the exception of Isobel, since, well, since you are a weapon. No offense, honey.”

“None taken, Kane,” she said, smiling.

Garrett kissed her forehead, and she smiled up at him.

“Griffin, Garrett, and Nash? You’ve all been weapons trained and certified in the military, correct?” The three men nodded, and Kane felt somewhat better. “We have a pretty good weapons cache, so we’re not skimping on this. We have no idea if her guards will cut bait and run or if they’ll stay and stick it out with her. We also don’t know if she has any others like us with her. She may have been able to convert someone to her side, or worse, she could be setting a trap for all of us. She still may be more knowledgeable about our gifts than we are.”

Aislinn slid her hand inside the warm palm of her husband’s and smiled up at him. He’d found his passion, his perfect job. He was a natural-born leader, and leading all of them from the depths of their own personal hell was his calling. He might not understand it yet, and he may not even want it, but Kane was their leader, and every man and woman would follow him anywhere.

“Come back to me,” she said against his ear, kissing the scar on his neck. He smiled down at her and watched as she and the others walked away.

“Let’s get ready. We leave in an hour.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Karena Viskoff touched the side of her face with one long, fire-engine-red fingernail. The doctor did great work. Of course, he was paid to do great work.

She looked inside the brown leather satchel one more time. Three-point-four million dollars was a lot of money, but it should have been twenty times that amount. Those freaks were denying her what she’d worked so hard for, what she’d sacrificed her body for these last forty years. She’d done everything that letch Moore wanted her to do, everything and then some. She expected to be rewarded handsomely for her sacrifices.

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