Page 32 of Cade

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Twenty-four hours later, the team from RP walked into the hotel suite in Seattle. Joseph and Julia were the last to walk in, and she stopped cold, staring at something near the wall. She nodded a few times, closed her eyes, and raised a finger in the air, stilling the spirit.

“Who is Gardner?” she asked. Miretti stared at the woman, then back at the other men.

“How does she know about Gardner?” he asked.

“She doesn’t,” said Doc. “He’s one of the men that died, Julia. Is he here?”

“He’s trying to get to him,” she said, pointing to Miretti. “He says that you shouldn’t go home. It’s dangerous, but he doesn’t know why.”

“Is she for real?” he asked Cade.

“The realest,” he smirked. “He’s been staying here, Julia. Is there someone at his home? Should we go there?”

“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “Gardner says that his shoulder was killing him. The pain was so severe, he was just trying to get to a therapy session. Something was making it worse, something or someone. Someone hit the side of his truck, and the pain increased. He rubbed it and lost control of the truck as the car hit him again.”

“He was run off the road?” asked Miretti. Julia nodded, her skin pale and clammy.

“Sit down, baby,” said Joseph, lovingly guiding his wife to the chair.

“Franco, let me introduce you to everyone. That’s Joseph and Julia Redhawk. Celeste and Garrett Robicheaux. Ryan and Paige Robicheaux. And that’s Bodhi, my…”

“Brother?” smirked Miretti. “I got that one. The rest of you, I know your names, but it’s a fucking honor to meet you. Sorry, ma’ams.”

“I told you, Franco, no need to worry about that language with us,” smiled Cassidy. “These guys come up with new, colorful words all the time. It’s amazing!”

The group laughed, happy to see Cassidy close to the old Cass that they knew and loved. She smiled at Franco, who nodded, laughing at the young woman. Cade was one lucky bastard, or he’d make a play for the hottie with the great body.

“So, where is this device you pulled from him?” asked Paige.

Doc opened the towel that he’d wrapped the disc and tentacles in. Paige frowned, Ryan staring over her shoulder. Celeste looked at it, then picked it up with a pair of tweezers.

“Garrett, will you unpack the microscope and the lab equipment?” He nodded at his wife, clearing space at the big dining table in the suite for the team to work.

Taking the device, she placed it beneath the lens and took a quick look at it. She mumbled under her breath while Garrett watched, grinning at his wife. He knew enough to not disturb her while she was working.

“What do you see?” asked Paige.

“It’s the oddest thing I’ve ever seen. Without testing, I won’t know for sure, but I’m fairly certain the disc is made of carbon steel, which would explain the traces found in the bodies. But the tentacle things, they’re like radar sending signals to the muscles or maybe even to neuro receptors in the brain.”

“Could they send a signal to the brain?” asked Cade.

“It’s possible, I suppose. Although if his was found in the leg, and the other guy had one in the shoulder, that seems improbable.”

“Why would they put them in different places? I mean, I don’t know a lot about this stuff, but what if they were just trying out new places on the body to see what worked best?” asked Cass.

“Testing,” said Celeste, looking up, smiling at her younger sister. “They were testing to see which site would work the best. We know that you were experiencing extreme pain in your leg and having delusions. The guy in the morgue, it was his shoulder, according to Julia. I’m wondering if the guy that we can’t find had it implanted at the base of the brain.”

“We may never know,” said Ryan. “Were you deployed at all after you started treatment with this guy?”

“No,” said Franco. “We were all told we had mandatory treatment for six weeks because of the conditions we saw in the Congo. I don’t get it. We shouldn’t have been there anyway.”

“What do you mean?” asked Cade.

“We aren’t spec ops. That would have been something for the SEALs or Rangers, not a bunch of Marines.”

“What did you find?” asked Cade.

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