Page 20 of Dark Flame

“Which is sort of the point, isn’t it? They didn’t wipe us out. They came in peacefully.” He paused and let out a long slow sigh looking at the faces around the space.

“No, I’m not sure. At least, I’m not sure of anyone except for Mary. I felt her goodness, her kindness and concern. That woman has never done a single evil thing in her life. I can’t be sure of everyone, but I also can’t, in good conscience, turn them away. They’ve been running from the same maniacs we all have.

“Hell! Look at them, Spook! Half of them look as though they’re starving, and the other half look as though they’re sick! Their clothing is falling off of them, which tells me they didn’t use their powers to steal what they needed, and that speaks volumes to me.”

Kane stood and stared out the window of the cabin once more. The rag-tag group of people sitting around the front lawn. He watched as Adam looked over each of them, making notes in a small computer. He knelt next to the young man known as Regan, checking his pupils. He stood once more and pointed toward the cabin. The young man moved slowly and with what appeared to Kane as if he were in pain.

Regan opened the door and moved inside quietly, sitting at the large kitchen table. Adam followed closely behind him.

“Kane? I’m worried about Regan. I think when he absorbed the data from the ranch, he overloaded himself somehow. I don’t understand his gift yet, so I’m not sure. There’s pressure on the optic nerves and a swelling at the base of his neck. I can feel it.”

“What do we need to do?” asked Kane.

“Ideally?” Kane nodded. “Ideally, I would want to do a CT scan and perhaps some other tests, but I don’t have that type of equipment here.”

“Can we get it?” asked Spook. “Or should I say, do we need to get it? We know we can, but at what price?”

“I think we should. I could open a small clinic here and justify the need for the equipment. I need to get my license updated to Wyoming, but that can be done at the cost of someone knowing I’m here in Wyoming. And a purchase of that magnitude would definitely draw suspicion.”

“Maybe not,” said Uri from behind the group. He stood next to Tom Cullen. “Tom still has some good connections with our friends in Washington. I think we could get this stuff without too much questioning.”

Kane looked down at Regan, his pale face showing signs of pain and exhaustion. All of these young men and women survived without any medical attention to speak of. He looked back at Uri and Tom, and nodded.

“Let’s get it here as quickly as possible. Whatever we need, we order. Adam? Sit with them and make a list. I think we need to get the crew working on a small clinic immediately so when the equipment arrives, there will be a place to put it.”

“Done,” said Uri as he turned and walked out the front door, satellite phone in hand.

“Why don’t you lie down, Regan?” said Melanie.

“Thank you, ma’am, but I think it might be a good idea if I give as much information as possible to all of you before I lose it.”

“You lose what you’ve absorbed?” asked Kane.

“No, I just mean…” he looked off in the distance out the window. Kane could see what he was staring at. Ivy. “I mean, I won’t have long, Kane. I just know it. Get me a recorder, and I will record the records audibly into the computer. Someone can transfer it into digital text files after that.”

“Regan…” Adam started.

“Don’t, Doc. I know my body,” the young man stood, weakly swaying from side to side, his face paling with the simple act. “I knew the minute I did it that it would be the last good thing I ever did with this lousy gift. Let me just do this one thing for all of you, and maybe, just maybe, we can do some good.”

Adam nodded, not wanting to irritate the young man further. In his heart, he knew that Regan felt his statement was true. But Adam also knew that he was a pretty amazing healer, and if not him, the last resort would be using Fiona’s skills.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Nat watched as Regan sat at the computer for hours, speaking into the small microphone. As the sun set behind the mountains once more and the light faded from the valley, the others moved quickly to get more tents erected, shielding them from the cold mountain air.

He recited every record, every folder, verbatim, as if it were sitting in front of him. When he recorded the findings of Kane and the team, they stopped cold in their tracks. Moore and the woman, Viskoff, had been following them their entire lives. Every time one of them transferred to a new unit, it was Moore’s doing. He ensured their cooperation by continually placing them in harm’s way and within his own command.

When Kane and Adam first met, Moore planned it to the tee. When Flip and Kane helped one another in that firefight, Moore planned it. Every move, every action planned by Moore, knowing that none of the men would be able to refuse assistance to the other.

Regan took a settling breath and rubbed his temples. Turning toward Adam, the blood flowing quickly from his nose, his face paled, he whispered.

“Doc…”

Adam rushed toward the young man and picked up his small body, laying it on the sofa in the living room. He called for Fiona, and she rushed into the room. Standing at Regan’s head, she laid her hands gently on his temples.

“A large tumor is at the front of his brain, probably the size of a lemon. Pressure is building at the base of his neck, which I think is why he has the swelling.”

Adam laid his hands on the young man’s torso and closed his eyes. He would be dead within minutes if they didn’t do something. The tumor wasn’t operable.

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