Mel inhaled the early morning air and stood up straight. It was time to go back inside and do what he had sworn to do. These cowards hid behind their masks and their instruments. They kept Jan weak and tried to destroy her spirit. They had no right to try to break a person like Jan. She was proud and strong. More importantly, she was good and decent. The world needed more people like her. Mel was going to give saving her his best shot. If this was a different age, songs and epics would be written about a woman like Jan Caufield. In this day and age, she had to settle for the respect and admiration of those who she came in contact with. Mel counted himself as one of those people.

He turned to go back inside when he saw several mini-busses roll into the parking lot of the office building that sat above the underground lab. They stopped near the entrance to the building. Dozens of men got out of the vehicles and went into the building. They looked serious. There was no chatter or smiles. He had counted at least 60 going inside the building, but there were more than that. His hopes of saving Jan started to sink. The facility already had a company sized guard detail underground, and a large force of uniformed guards above ground. That many more men would turn his slim chances into no chances. Mel shook his head. He wasn't going to give up. He had to play it cool, but he was going to go through with his plan.

Mel kept walking towards the entrance. He looked to his left and saw Jason Mallster's big black Navigator pull into the parking lot. Jason had the driver pull up next to Mel. He got out and stretched his arms.

"You're up early", Mel greeted his boss cautiously.

As if on cue, Jason Mallster yawned. "Tell me about it."

"What's with all this?", Mel asked while pointing to the busses.

Jason frowned. "I got an e-mail. I'm having an inspection today by three of the council members of the Syndicate. So I had the boys down in Texas fast track every Series 4 in the pipeline and send them up here."

Mel was worried, but he played it off. "Really. So you're going to beef up security and show off your prize to them."

"I lied and told them that I had 30 of the damn things when I only had 20 to begin with, and Jan Caufield killed over half of those. Some of those that just went inside are a step or two from being finished, but they'll do all right. And as for showing off the prize, I don't want those assholes to lay eyes on that girl. They'll want me to share the research. As a matter of fact, I want her locked up and hidden the whole day. This inspection is going to last until the afternoon and then the council members and myself are flying to New York for a conference."

Mel felt his hopes jump. "Well, Longbridge is planning a surgery this morning."

"The hell he is!" Jason started jogging towards the building. "Come with me, Mel. People tend not to argue when you're standing next to me."

Mel grinned and followed. As he was running his phone vibrated. He looked at it. It was a text message in code from Byron Livingston. Decoded it said simply, 'Tonight is the night. Be ready.' Mel felt like he was floating as he got on the elevator with Mallster. There was a chance he could survive this after all. The fucking cavalry was on the way.

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It was before sunrise Saturday morning when Jack Caufield and his army sat down at the dining room table for breakfast. It had been a long time since Jack had lead anybody into battle, but today was the day. He ate the meal his wife and son had prepared and looked at the faces around the table. They were mostly young faces, just babies in his own mind. He saw Jan's friends there at the table. He looked at Alisha von Edder and saw how easy her manner was. She kept the group relaxed. She joked and made people laugh even though they were nervous. He saw Sara Hewitt. She had a kind face and an easy going manner. Her power was almost too great for him to really understand, but she was going to be without it for much of the mission. The risk of the telepaths feeling her power was too great, but she was still not scared. She was a deadly and efficient warrior even without her powers. Then there was Sandra. Sandra was out of place at the table. She was a perfectly normal college junior with no training at how to kill, but if all worked out she wouldn't have to even be in harm's way. Jack felt a great burden leading these people into battle. So many of them felt like family to him. He knew them personally.

Then he looked over at Avraham Ben-Ami, the man Jan had fallen for. Jack judged him to be a good enough looking guy not to be embarrassed standing next to his daughter, but more importantly he was a solid guy. He had his convictions and nothing shook them. Jan needed that because she could get bossy from time to time. Avi would be a great asset on this mission as well. With his power and his Israeli training, he was pretty darn deadly. As burdened as Jack felt leading this mission, he felt good about its chances. It was time to go.

Jack held Thomas by the shoulder as the group filed out the door. Jack had hesitated to let Thomas go, but the young man wouldn't be denied. Finally Boones Lee, Thomas's own uncle, had spoken up on the young man's behalf. There was no doubt that Thomas' power was as deadly or more deadly than anybody else's. He was going to have a chance to really add to the team.

Carol came over to Jack as the group got into the cars. She embraced her husband and kissed him passionately. Then she pulled her head back and looked at his face. She had been crying again, but he could see the steely resolve on her face. "It wasn't always easy to be married to you, especially in the early days", she began. "But Jack, I want you to use everything you know and bring our little girl home. Promise me that you'll do everything to bring her home."

Jack leaned down and kissed his wife again. "I promise. I'll hold nothing back." With that he left. The group followed Jack into Baltimore to an old warehouse. The building had been in the Caufield family since they had it built in 1885. Jack used it to store his collection of classic cars. Sandra was out looking that collection over attempting to pick the one that they were going to take with them to Oklahoma. The rest of the group was gathered around Jack, who was giving them one finally talk before departing.

"We've been over this plan enough that we all have it down. When the shit bubbles to the surface we'll all know our roles. Of that, I have no doubt. I think too that we all know how dangerous this mission is. You're all putting your lives on the line to save my little girl. I don't have the vocabulary to explain to you how that makes me feel. There's a chance of injury or death. We're all smart people; we know that, but there is one other thing. We're going to have to kill. Blood is going to flow on this mission. You know your powers better than I do. You all try to use your powers responsibly, but we all know how dangerous your powers are. Every single one of you is extremely deadly." Jack paused and looked at Lisa Sanchez and Chris Adams. "Everybody else in this group has killed before."

They both frowned and looked at Thomas who lowered his eyes and nodded.

"Whatever you think that's going to feel like, you'll probably be wrong. It'll be worse. I won't hold a single grudge or bad thought if you guys decide to not go with us."

Chris and Lisa looked at each other. Chris decided to speak. "Sir, I don't really know how to say this, but the sonsofbitches that kidnapped Jan fucked with the wrong person. When you mess with one of us, sir, you mess with all of us."

Jack nodded his head and smiled. "Ok. Let's get to the airport. But before we go, Avi, we'd be honored if you'd lead us in prayer."

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Jan hadn't seen another person all day long. This was supposed to be the day that Longbridge ended her chances of ever having a child, but instead she was alone still strapped to the table. They hadn't even come in and removed the IV's from her arms. That was good for her. Even with her stomach rumbling from hunger, her body was fully nourished. Usually they gave her just enough nutrients to keep her going, but not enough to give her any extra energy. This morning, she felt as good as she had at any time in the last two weeks. She almost felt strong enough to try to break free of the straps again. They had added even more than before. Jan decided to see what would happen while no one was looking. She closed her eyes and let the strength wash through her body again. All the torture hadn't diminished that. Jan could feel her muscles tightening and getting harder. The straps were already tight against her skin, but with Jan's muscles getting thicker they began to cut into her. She took a deep breath and tried a small flex. She was rewarded with a bigger surge of power and strength than she had expected. She could feel the straps give a little to her flexing muscles. She grunted and flexed just a little harder. Her muscles expanded again and the definition sharpened. Her body shook a little from the strain, but she heard more pops. Then she stopped. There was no need in tiring herself out. Even if she did break the straps, she couldn't get through the door or through plexiglass window. Instead would save her strength. She might have another chance to escape.

Jan began to think about her situation. She realized just how tired she was. She was tired of being scared to open her eyes. Everyday it was some different way to inflict pain. She was tired of being hurt. She was enduring pain that no other human being could have. Any other person would have died after the first day, but her torture went on. She hadn't done anything to deserve this. She was tough, but everyday she had to fight off utter despair. She knew that if she ever gave up mentally that her situation would get worse, if that was possible. She had to keep fighting even if it was totally hopeless. Jan always said that she couldn't take on the world. This situation was proving that true. There weren't 20 people in this place that could take her, but put them all together and she was trapped. She couldn't get out of this place alone. She even knew it was useless to kill Longbridge. Another would come to take his place, and then another and another. For the first time in her life Jan thought of her ability to heal as a curse rather than a blessing. She just wished that she had died that first day. There's no pain and no suffering when you're dead. Jan thought back to the people she had killed in the last two weeks. These people had brought out the worst in her. As she lay there strapped to the bed even though she had been cleaned, she could still feel their blood hot and sticky against her skin. She could still smell it. Her stomach knotted up from the memory. She could see their terror stricken faces in her mind in the moment before she ended their lives. At least they had died quickly. Despite how she was feeling, she felt sorry for them. But that went away after a while. They didn't deserve pity. She was the one trapped. They could come and go as they pleased. They had been warned. She thought back to something that she had told Thomas. "No one has more of a right to your life than you do". She had an obligation to protect herself. It wasn't her fault that she was extremely good at killing. They could just open the door and let her walk out, but they weren't. Why would they? They were winning. They were killing her day by day with no end in sight. Jan closed her eyes and let her head hang down. She felt so bad that she thought that the tears would flow, but no. There were no more tears. When all hope died, the tears went with as well. She fell asleep.

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The Traveler woke up in a rush. He was in a nice hotel near the Will Rogers Airport. He could hear a plane fly overhead as he pulled the covers off his body. He rubbed his forehead and sat up. Never before had a vision been this vivid only to end before he knew what he was supposed to do. He could feel the heat and fire against his skin. He could feel the tension and the loss, but the question remained. It was maddening in a way and frustrating. He got out of bed and prayed his morning prayers like he had been doing everyday for so very long. This journey was almost over. He just hoped that when he got to where he was going, that he was up to the challenge that would lay in front of him. He looked at his watch after his prayers. It was time to get something to eat. He had a lot of walking to do, but he was used to walking.

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The Maryland Air National Guard C-130 landed in Maryland just after 2 pm. The pilot of the plane had owed Jack a favor. The team had gotten a free ride with all their equipment. They didn't have any problem with the base commander either. Boones Lee had saved the man's life after his plane had crashed during a secret mission over North Korea twenty years earlier. The base commander had even had his men help unload the equipment. Two hours later the small army was in position three miles from Jason Mallster's Headquarters. They watched as several limousines pulled away from the facility just before 5 pm. Avi could see details from 3 miles away by squinting and shielding his eyes from the hot summer sun. The wind blew dust and grit into his face as he lay prone on a rise, but didn't care. Avi was ready for action as was the rest of the group. When the sun went down, it would be time to go.

Three hours later, Alisha was nervous as she sat in the passenger seat of Jack's souped up 1969 Camaro. Sandra was sitting next to her popping chewing gum. She looked over at Alisha and smiled. Alisha tried to smile back, but she couldn't. She and Sandra were the first act of this mission. Sandra seemed totally relaxed. Alisha figured that it was because she had no idea just how dangerous this was.

Sandra reached into her pocket and pulled out two more sticks of gum. "You want some?", she asked. Alisha shook her head. Sandra shrugged her shoulders and started the car. The big block ZL-1 engine roared to life. Sandra's smile spread across her face slowly as she felt the rumble of the engine. She played with the shifter a second and revved the engine. The ground around the car shook.

Alisha felt even more fear. She checked her five point seat belt and looked over at Sandra who looked back. "Jan told me that you could drive, but isn't this a little much?"

Sandra just chuckled and dropped the car into first. Alisha's head was pinned to the headrest when Sandra floored it. She was heading east down the two lane road towards the Headquarters. The road was not lit at all, but it was flat and almost completely straight. It looked like a narrow runway. Sandra could hardly wait to test out this Camaro.

Boones looked nervous as he checked the straps on his pack and the rope Chris Adams had tied around his wrist. "So its no problem to take another person with you?", Boones asked a little shakily.

"I've done it with a lot more people. Don't worry. As long as we stay together, we'll be fine. Ok time to go." Chris and Boones started walking towards the headquarters building. The first third of their journey was normal. Once they got closer to the building's security perimeter, they started down into the ground. Chris's feet and lower legs went down and then Boones' started going down too. The old soldier had to close his eyes and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. When he finally did open his eyes, he no longer saw the open world. He could see soil and dirt and bugs. He could feel the pressure around his body pressing in on him as he kept walking. He could see Chris just in front of him. The young man turned around and nodded. There was no air down here, but when you were with Chris it was almost like you didn't need it. Which was good, because Boones wanted to scream.

"You ready?", Alisha asked Sandra as they got closer. They could see the Headquarters building off to the left on the northern side of the road.

"Yeah", Sandra answered distantly. "Let's get some mood music going." She reached out and slid a cd into Jack's well hidden player in the car. A moment later Black Orchid by the White Stripes was blaring through the speakers. Alisha looked over at Sandra and smiled.

The Headquarters had a its own force of patrol cars. These cars had better specs the those of the highway patrol. Many of the men who drove them were former police officers and troopers themselves. Mallster paid them in most cases triple what the government would and they had less action; usually they had less action. This night was going to be a little different.

They all saw the twin beams of a car coming down the secluded road. It was rare that they got any traffic once the sun went down except for company personnel. They watched as the car turned and entered the parking lot.

The black Chevy Camaro approached slowly like a wild animal up to no good. The engine bucked and bristled at being forced to travel so slowly. The car turned as it passed the first row of parked cars and then cut back in the other direction as it passed another row of cars. All heads followed the car as it rolled through the lot.

"Ok", Alisha sighed. "Let's get it started." She rolled down her window and pulled out an unopened bottle of Wild Turkey and threw it down on the ground. A match came right behind it. The alcohol ignited behind the car. The flames flared up and Sandra hit the gas leaving a trail of white smoke behind her. The back end got loose between the rows of cars. Sandra didn't let the car get too far ahead of her. She backed it down. It was moving slowly by the time they came to the end of the row. Suddenly the back tires spun again throwing asphalt and melted rubber against a Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar parked on the end. The girls didn't know it, but those cars belonged to the security guards. They were rushing to action. They started their patrol cars and were moving.

Sandra casually turned the Camaro back around. Alisha pulled up another bottle of bourbon and threw it on the Mercedes and then another for the Jaguar. Two matches later and both cars were on fire.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!", the head patrol guard yelled as he jumped into his interceptor. All five patrol cars in the parking lot rushed towards the black Chevy.

"Ok here they come!", Alisha yelled to Sandra. The cars came even closer, but the Camaro sat still. Sandra could see them in her rear view. They were going to box her in. She would let them get close. A car came to her left trying to cut her off. Normally it would have worked, but Sandra just shook her head. She spun the steering wheel to the left and slammed her foot on the gas. The car spun to the left like it was on a turn table. When it had turned 90 degrees Sandra turned the wheel back straight and the Camaro shot between the two cars with inches to spare on either side. She was in the open on the other side of the parking lot. She did a couple of doughnuts before she stopped.

Alisha giggled like a little girl. "That was a amazing!"

"Shh. I haven't even gotten started yet", Sandra said without looking at her passenger.

She pushed the release in the center of her chest and opened the door to the Camaro. The patrol cars were still getting back in position. She put one leg out of the car and stood up. "Hey! Yeah you guys! You guys gonna catch me or what? You sayin you guys can't catch a chick like me!" Sandra got back in the car and closed the door.

The patrol cars were speeding towards them. Sandra took her time hooking up her safety harness before she even bothered to look up. As soon as she did, she pushed her foot on the gas. The engine roared to life again and they were gone. She steered left and then right and then left again dodging each car by inches until she was back to the entrance to the main road. She stopped and waited. The guards in the cars were enraged. They pushed their cars to the limit. Once they were within about 30 feet, Sandra slammed on the gas again. The back end wiggled as the thick back tires threw all sorts of grit, gravel, and dirt onto the windshield of the lead car. Then they were gone.

Chris and Boones were inside the security perimeter. Chris held out his hand and felt the beginning of the thick reinforced concrete wall of the underground lab. He pressed forward until he and Boones were inside the concrete wall. Once they were in the wall, it was time to find the doors and set the explosives. None of the guards even noticed a single arm sticking out of the wall putting just the right amounts of plastic explosives on the well hidden entrances to the underground lab. Chris and Boones worked very quickly even though neither of them could talk to the other. They didn't need to. Chris knew the plan, and he was very good at following instructions.

Alisha was in awe watching Sandra handle the 700 plus horsepower of Jack's Camaro. In no time, they were on the long straight road going 150 miles per hour. The scenery was a wall of changing colors as Sandra pushed the gas the pedal to the floor. Even at that speed the engine had enough power in reserve to push Alisha's head to the headrest again. The patrol cars were still managing to gain on them. They had their engines redlined and they were going to run this car down.

"They're getting closer!", Alisha yelled over the engine noise. "They're going to catch us."

Sandra didn't say anything. She just shook her head. Two cars were already on either side of her rear bumper. They were trying to box her in again, or maybe spin her. She chuckled and reached out to the console. She turned a red knob. "Hey, Alisha. Put your head all the way back and bite down on your teeth."

Alisha didn't know why, but she did it. A moment later she knew why. Sandra pulled on the red knob and the rpm's shot off the tach. The car rocketed forward as if it had been standing still before. The factory speedometer could no longer gauge their speed, but Jack had installed an auxiliary speedometer that went up to 200 mph. They weren't going that fast, but they had just passed 180 with a little more power to spare. Alisha looked at Sandra's face, but she dared not distract her. The girl's eyes seemed to be looking at something that Alisha couldn't even see. The ground rushed at her so fast that she couldn't even comprehend it. Sandra was truly seeing something else. All her life Sandra had had great eyesight. Her sight wasn't quite as good as Jan's but it was pretty darn close, and her hand to eye coordination had been studied by doctors at the U of Maryland when she had been a young teen. She put all those natural abilities and skills to use as she made the hundreds of minor adjustments it took to drive a car this fast. She looked in her rearview and saw the patrol cars as a collection of white headlight dots. That was far enough away. She took her foot off the gas. The guards started getting closer.

"I hope you didn't over eat", Sandra said. "Hold on. This is going to be a little rough." While going 150 miles per hour, Sandra executed a perfect bootleggers turn on the two lane road. She let the car almost stop before she put it in reverse. Now they were going backwards as fast as the one reverse gear could carry them, which wasn't too fast. The five patrol cars gained on them quickly. Alisha had no idea what Sandra was doing, but she went along with it. The lead car sped to their left and ended up behind them. He was pacing them from the front. One car went to their left and another to their right. They were now blocked in on three sides. They were going 45 miles per hour in reverse. Sandra seemed to be making it easy on the guards.

"Ok, you might want to close your eyes if you get squeamish." Sandra put her hand on the shifter. She saw the two remaining cars about to close the box. Her grin returned. She pushed down the clutch and dropped the car into second gear. The engine revved up near redline as she let off the clutch. The wheels which had been going in reverse were forced the opposite direction. In an instant the Camaro was speeding head on at two patrol cars. The drivers didn't know what to do. They didn't have to. Sandra turned right and then back left. She went right between them. She shifted into 3rd before she was even past them. The Camaro was going 90 mph in the other direction by the time the guards even looked in their rear view mirrors. They scrambled to turn their cars around.

Sandra ran the car back up near 120 before she let it gradually slow down. She turned the lights off, stopped the car and casually backed off the road. She pulled about fifteen feet off the road and waited. Thirty seconds later, five patrol cars shot past them one after the other. They passed the headquarters and continued down the long road. It took that long for Alisha's mind to catch up to events.

"Wow", Alisha exclaimed while they watched the cop cars disappear into the darkness of night. "I have never seen driving like that in all my life. You are fuckin amazing. I think Jack was right. You just might have a special power."

Sandra chuckled. "I don't know about that, but thanks. I don't generally get to do tricks like that in a car like this. I just hope it helped the rest of the group."

Avi, Lisa, and Sara had made their way to the very rear of the underground lab. There was a well hidden service entrance back there that they had to get into. It was critical for the mission success. They had to wait on the signal though. Sara had on her urban BDU's, but her face wasn't painted. Her eyes darted back and forth as she moved silently through the weeds and brush behind Avi. She had folded her power back on itself until it would have been nearly impossible for a telepath to detect it at any distance, but it left her feeling naked. She knew what she was doing, but she couldn't feel what everybody else was doing. She looked at Avi and Lisa as they came closer to the security perimeter. They were both anxious but confident at the same time. Which was easy for them, they both had use of their powers. She was just a 19 year old with a lot training at his point.

Sandra seemed nervous now as she pulled back into the parking lot. She could see rubber trails everywhere. Off to her left she saw the two cars that Alisha had set fire to. Both cars were no longer in flames, but the fire had done damage. She looked all around as she drove right up to the front door. There were guards all over the place.

"Don't worry", Alisha said with confidence. "They can't see us or hear us or smell us or anything. Trust me. Just put me out right over there."

Sandra pulled the rumbling beast near the front door and watched as Alisha got out of the car and walked right past three uniformed security guards. She stood there while Sandra turned and drove out of the parking lot. The guards didn't even turn their heads. Alisha stood there until Camaro was just lights on the highway. After that, she opened the door to the building and walked right inside. They never even turned their heads. As soon as she walked in the door, she felt dizzy. She paused for a moment while it passed before she walked up to the guard station door. The door looked like the door to a broom closet or anything other than the entrance to a security nerve center, but thanks to Byron's inside man, she knew which door to knock on.

The men in the room heard the knock, but couldn't see anything on their video monitors. Then they heard the knock again, but this time louder. They looked at each other. They heard the knock again. This time in the 'Shave and a Haircut' beat. One of them had to open the door and see what was trick was being pulled. After the stunt in the parking lot, everybody was on edge.

Alisha stepped back as the door opened slowly. The guard stuck his head out and then finally opened the door all the way. Alisha walked right past him into the security center. She was impressed. There was dozens of monitors and all sort of data poured into that room moment by moment. Jason Mallster had spared no expense. Alisha's head started spinning again. This time worse than before And she was having a harder time maintaining her illusion. She concentrated harder and felt her head swim. This had never happened before. The harder she tried to maintain her illusion, the more dizzy she became. She put her hand on the console to keep from falling over. Her vision was fading in and out. Finally Alisha let the illusion fade away. The dizziness went away at once.

The entire world shimmered and cleared for the four men in the room. They turned their heads quickly when they saw a young woman in the room with them. They hadn't seen her enter. For a long moment, nobody moved. They just looked at each other. The young woman was wearing a black urban assault uniform, and she had a pistol on her shapely hips. Her long dark hair was tied up out of her way. Her lips were smiling, but her brown eyes weren't. They were all business.

Alisha put her hands on the back of the console and jumped over. She drove the heels of both of her boots into the first guard's forehead. He fell down to his back. She landed on the other side and swung her arm as hard as she could. She hit the second guard in the throat with the edge of her hand. His hands went up to his throat. She took him by the back of the head and slammed his face into the console. He fell back to the ground. One guard went for his gun. He reached to his hip and felt it gone. He patted his hip looking, but couldn't feel it. Alisha hurried around the console and punched him the stomach as she pulled his gun. She clubbed him in the side of the head with it then threw it across the room. She quickly let the illusion go. The dizziness was so bad. The last guard had his gun out. Alisha dodged as he pulled the trigger. The bullet barely missed her and the sharp bark of the pistol echoed in the room, but to the guard it seemed as if nothing had happened. He looked at his pistol, pointed it towards the ceiling and fired again. Nothing. Alisha was near vomiting as she tried to roll over. She held onto the illusion even though she was in pain. Her ears were ringing and concrete dust from the ceiling covered her face. She was crawling towards guard's feet, but she wasn't close enough to attack him yet. She just had to hold onto the illusion a little longer until she could attack him.

The guard looked down the barrel of his Beretta It had never misfired for him before. While looking down the barrel, he absently pulled the trigger. He didn't see or hear this shot either. His body just dropped to the floor. Alisha let the illusion go and exhaled as her head stopped hurting. There was something in this place that was giving her problems, but it didn't matter. No one had heard those shots except her. Nobody knew what had gone on in that room. Alisha had control of the above ground security.

Alisha didn't know it, but there were people in the compound who had been alerted. They had been alerted when Alisha had first walked into the building. The telepaths could feel Alisha's power and several of them were trying to prevent her from using it while they alerted the security people. They could only counter her when she used her power. They sat in their little room waiting to feel her use her power again, but she didn't. Perhaps she was dead they thought. A moment later they knew she wasn't.

Alisha sounded the urgent alarm. All the guards in the above ground office building were alerted and assembled on the outside of the building. As soon as they all left the building, Alisha locked every door and closed the steel security fences that blocked the windows and glass doors of the building. It was sealed tight. Nobody could get in or out. Once that was done, she shut down the above ground communications. With that done, it was time to join the rest of the group.

Avi, Sara, and Lisa were waiting in a horribly exposed position. They heard the alarm go off and Avi saw the guards exiting the office building looking for targets that weren't there.

"Time to go inside.", Avi said. He punched the code he had been given into the hidden key pad. The large flat door didn't open. He did it again and still nothing happened. "Y'alah! It won't open! We have to get in there now!"

Lisa came closer and looked at Avi and Sara. "I'll get it open. Just make sure I don't get shot." She ran over towards the center of the door. The door was thirty feet square and camouflaged to look like the surrounding landscape. She bent down and worked her fingers into the crack between the concrete door and the seal around it. Lisa was the only person not wearing urban assault uniforms. She was wearing a double layer of black lycra. She wore a very loose fitting set of lycra close to her skin and a tighter set on the outside. They would see why in just a moment.

There was a low rumble as Lisa started to pull the massive concrete door up. Her boots sank half an inch down into the hard packed dirt at the edge of the door from the massive weight. Avi and Sara kept one eye looking for danger and the other on Lisa. Her body was transforming right before their eyes. Her body was normally the epitome of classic female beauty, but when she did something like this it changed. Thick cords ran down Lisa's thighs as the lycra struggled to contain the muscle beneath. Her arms and shoulders had gotten thicker too. Her triceps flexed and relaxed over and over as she pulled up. Her back was wider and her lats were flaring out from her sides, and each line and ridge of her abs was visible through the lycra. Lisa's face was set and she blew air from her lungs as the door rose. Once she got in up enough to get her hands all the way beneath it, the door stopped rising. She had expected that. There was no more slack left in the hydraulic presses that normally raised and lowered the door. Lisa set her feet a little wider apart and got a better grip. She took a deep breath and started pulling again.

Avi and Sara thought that they had seen her body change right before their eyes, but they had seen nothing. As Lisa exhaled her muscles burst out from her skin with throbbing power. She grunted under the strain of the door and against the presses. The thick steel of the presses wouldn't yield to her muscles. Lisa's muscles just fired faster and faster. Her body got harder and harder as she demanded more power. A fresh wave of muscles seemed to layer itself atop the previous muscle. The door rose a little, but the powerful presses wouldn't give. Finally the concrete door did. Loud cracks could be heard as the reinforced concrete broke where the hydraulic presses were attached to it. The crack ran from one side to the other. Lisa grunted and lifted the door above her head. Her triceps bulged out from her arm as the tons of concrete went as high as her arms could push it. Once she got it all the way up she took down her left arm held tons and tons of concrete and steel up with just one hand.

"You may enter." She swept her arm forward like a bellhop.

Avi and Sara hurried down the ramp under the broken door while Lisa held it up like she was holding up the edge of a really big carpet. Once they were down far enough Lisa started working herself down the ramp letting the door down as she went. Her powerful muscles weren't as big as even some of the top women bodybuilders, but they were shredded beyond belief and harder than any steel as she finally let the door down. Sara and Lisa were in complete darkness when the door closed, but Avi could see in the dark just fine. They took each other's hands and he lead them towards the door. It didn't take long for a door at the foot of the ramp to open. Two guards came out. Avi went to a knee and raised his carbine and pulled the trigger. Both men fell without ever seeing what had hit them. Those gun shots echoed well into the lab. The underground laboratory had a separate security system and it went to alert. The battle had begun. Boones and Chris heard the alarm too. Chris pulled Boones from the wall. After a moment to get himself together Boones pushed the detonator. The explosions went off perfectly.

The head telepath, Jacques Briene, was on his way to inform the guards that there was something going on when he heard the sirens go off. A moment later Jacques was thrown to the ground when the complex was rocked by explosions. He shook his head and sat up. He reached out with his mind, and knew at once that everybody inside was in trouble. He could feel the power of those who were attacking. He had to assemble his telepaths. He had to get back to them if he wanted to live.

Longbridge had been shaken by the explosion. He knew that this was an attack. They were trying to take away his chance for revenge. He ran from his room to assemble a team. Jan Caufield was going to die. He would have his revenge even if it cost him his life.

Jack and Thomas ran threw the now open doors after the explosion. The hall was filled with smoke and dust as Jack went in first. Thomas stayed close to him. Jack moved like the pro he was. There was never a false step or movement. It had been a long time, and he was rusty, but the sounds and smells were bring it all back to him. He saw a shape come at him from the left. His entire body turned. He saw the outline of the shape through the haze and smoke. It was a man. It wasn't Boones. It wasn't Chris, and it wasn't Avi, so the man died. A three shot burst from his carbine put the man down. Jack went back to his path. Thomas was amazed, but not overwhelmed. He kept his head. He kept one hand on Jack's back to feel which way he was going while he kept looking back the way they had come like Jack had told him. While they were moving, two guards came around the corner from opposite directions. They raised their guns, but never got a chance to pull the trigger.

Thomas wasn't carrying a gun because he didn't need one. He thrust out his hands and twin bolts of electricity fired from his fingertips and palm. The temperature in the hall rose as the bolts hit both men in their chests. The jolt only lasted for a second, but that was all it took. They fell to the ground steaming.

"Good job", Jack told his son.

"I didn't kill'em. Do you want me to?"

Jack smiled down at him. "Only if they get back up."

Avi, Sara, and Lisa had taken cover in the large loading dock area of the lab. There were guards firing at them from a raise platform above the main floor. They returned fire. Avi and Sara's shots were accurate. They had actually hit a couple of the guards, but Lisa hadn't fired a gun since before her father had died. Her shooting was next to useless. She looked over to her left and tossed her rifle to Sara. Sara looked up and frowned.

"Its more good to you than to me. I think I have an idea. I'm going to try to get close. Tell Avi. Just make sure I don't get shot!"

Lisa worked her way from crate to crate and container to container. The men on the platform couldn't see her moving because she had gone out of their field of view. Avi kept the other guards at bay while Lisa worked her way forward. Finally she was under the platform. She tried to calm herself. Her hands shook from the adrenaline. Lisa had never been in a gun fight before and it was unnerving, but there was something deep inside her that guided her. She had never been in combat, but for some reason she didn't feel that way. She felt almost like she had been born to do this.

Lisa wrapped her hands around the thick steel pole that helped support the platform above. She bent her knees and put her hands near the bottom of the pole and got a firm grip. She gritted her teeth and started to stand up. The steel shrieked as Lisa's muscles powered up. The concrete cracked as the pole started to rise. The base of the pole had been anchored in place by four inch thick bolts beneath two feet of concrete, but Lisa's muscles didn't care. She sheered the nuts from two of the bolts as she stood up and snapped the other two bolts in half. The steel was yielding to her superior power.

The men on the platform felt the floor under their feet wobble and then started to rise. They backed up and nearly fell over as Lisa raised the pole higher. They stopped shooting and ran back off the platform, and not a moment to soon. The tons of weight bore down on her, but Lisa's powerful muscles were more than up to the task. Muscles flexed and swelled from the slightest movement as Lisa pulled the pole up even higher. Lisa bit down on her lip and rolled her shoulder forward with tremendous might. The pole flew over her shoulder taking a ton of concrete with it. She kept going pulling the floor of the platform down. Tons of concrete fell down behind her. The noise was deafening and the dust filled the large room. Lisa finally dropped the pole and turned around. Most of the platform lay on the ground at her feet while just a little was broken flat against the wall hanging in the air by the rebar embedded inside. Avi and Sara were amazed, but they didn't have time to admire Lisa's otherworldly strength. It was time to get moving.

Chris and Boones were making their way towards the mechanical rooms of the lab. That was their next target. Boones still had several pounds of plastic explosive in his pack as he moved down the hall in front of Chris. Chris didn't have a gun. There was no need to give him one, he had never fired one anyway. But Boones had. He had 22 years in the Army and another 10 in the Columbus police department. There were few men more deadly than Boones Lee. Three guards had already found that out the hard way. After a couple of minutes, they came to a corridor. Boones saw a shape to his right. He turned with his weapon ready. The shape was a man, a big man. He lowered his carbine.

"So far so fucking good, Jack Bear", Boones yelled.

Jack nodded and Thomas smiled at seeing his uncle safe. The four of them pressed forward together. Jack and Boones were out front with Thomas and Chris behind. Some more guards came down the hall. This group fired quickly. Chris' eyes went wide and he pushed Thomas against the wall. The little boy fell, but a string of bullets hit the ground right where he had been standing. He thanked Chris with a look, and Chris smiled back. Boones and Jack returned fire. Boones went forward to get a better shot. Thomas felt his heart leap into his throat as his uncle exposed himself to machine gun fire. He was halfway down the hall when cursed loudly. Jack held Thomas back. Boones was fine, but the bullet had shot the strap of his pack. Boones let the pack full of explosives fall to the floor and kept moving. Jack was behind him. The guards retreated. Boones, Jack, and Thomas went after them. They were all the way down the hall by the time Jack and Boones killed the guards. Thomas turned back to look where they had been. More guards came from behind. He wasn't going to let this group live. He pulled electricity from all the wires and outlets near him and sent a charged ball of electricity down the hall. It touched the ceiling and the floor as it went. Too late, Thomas saw Chris standing next to the bag of explosives. Plastic explosives were set off with an electric charge. Thomas' eyes went wide in his head and he tried to call his power back, but it was too late. Jack and Boones turned in time to see the blue ball of power barreling down the hall. Thomas started forward, but Jack snatched him back and shielded Thomas' body with his own. Chris saw the ball coming and moved back a step. Only at the last moment did he see the bag of explosives at his feet. They detonated a moment later.

The complex shook again from the explosion. Jack and Thomas were thrown against the wall from the powerful blast, but they had been far enough away to be relatively unarmed even though their ears were ringing, and they could hardly breathe from the smoke and concrete dust. Thomas stood up quickly and rushed forward, but before he had taken three steps a portion of the ceiling collapsed.

"Chris!", he wailed and sank to his knees. The young boy started to cry. Boones walked forward and put his hand on his nephew's shoulder.

"It was an accident.", he said in a somber voice. All three of them looked at the ruin of the hall. There was nothing left recognizable. Then they saw a shape strolling in the haze from the destruction.

"Chris!", Thomas yelled again. This time with joy.

Chris smiled and messed up Thomas' hair. "What you thought an explosion could get me?" He laughed. He wasn't even dirty. "It was kinda cool being that close to an explosion though."

Boones shook his head. "I'll never get used to this shit."

The overall Head of Security was alone in the underground command center. He had sent every man he had to repel the threat. He had tried to call the above ground guards and to Mallster, but there were no communications with the outside world. He was lucky that he could still communicate with the men under his command. He looked at the monitors and saw that his men were either dying or being pushed back. He wasn't facing a normal enemy. His men had no chance. There was one button on his control pad that he hadn't hit yet. He didn't want to hit it, but without another thought he did. As soon as that button was pressed, 58 Series 4 soldiers woke up and started towards the area being attacked. They were his last option. He turned his head quickly to look at a monitor, but stopped when he felt the barrel of a pistol pressed against the back of his head. He put his hands up.

"Don't worry about reaching for your gun", Alisha began. "Its over there." The Security Head turned his eyes and saw his pistol sitting about six feet away.

"What do you want?", he asked.

"I want you to tell all the guards to evacuate this lab right now."

"And if I don't?"

Alisha smirked. "Then I'll shoot you in the back of the head and tell them myself", she answered in the man's own voice. "So what's it going to be?"

He moved his hand very slowly and carefully over the console and pressed the button to sound the evacuation horns. His men knew what that meant. They were abandoning the lab. This job was a very good one. He had made a lot of money, but it wasn't worth dying over. He still loved his wife of 35 years and he wanted to see his grandchildren grow up. No job was worth loosing all that. "I just activated the Series 4's", he told Alisha. "I can't call them back. Only the regular human personnel."

"Better than nothing."

"So what do you want me to do now?", he asked.

"I want you to tell me where your prisoner is being held."

"Right here." He pointed at a spot on the security map. "I would suggest you go this way and no go down this hall way. Its got booby traps out the ass. She's in research room number 4. Now what?"

Alisha didn't quite believe the man. He had surrendered so easily. She still had her guard up as she spoke. "I want you to get up and lead your men out of here."

The man stood up slowly. He kept his hands over his head, but he reached down and pulled his wallet off the console where he usually kept it. He put it in his back pocket and then walked out the door. Alisha watched the door close and then made the door disappear to anyone looking for it just in case, but she believed the man now. When he had stood up to leave, he only took his wallet and didn't even glance at his weapon.

Avi, Sara, and Lisa were amazed as the guards pulled back in orderly fashion and retreated. After a little while longer, there were no more shots being fired. They stood up from their cover. They shared looks and felt a wave of relief. This fight just might be over. No sooner had they formed the thought than 20 Series 4's ran into the room. Avi and Sara started firing. They hit three of them as they ran through the door, but they didn't even slow down. Avi and Sara just held down the triggers, but the 4's waded into the bullets getting closer to them. Avi and Sara stopped shooting and started to back up. Lisa had no idea what these men were, but she knew she had to do something. She ran into the midst of them. At first they ignored her, but after she picked one of them up and used him as a club to knock down six more of them, they paid attention. She was now the number one threat. They closed in on her. Their punches and kicks hurt more than Lisa could remember anything hurting before. She could defeat them one on one, but there were too many.

Avi didn't know what to do. Lisa needed help. She threw men from the pile. Some of them landed hard against the walls, but there were too many. Avi didn't know what to do. His guns seemed to be useless on them. He used his vision to try to find a weak spot on their bodies, but it was taking too long.

Sara let her guns drop to the floor as she opened her mind and let her power loose. It was like taking in a deep refreshing breath. She could feel the world around her as well as see it and hear it now. She was about to show these 4's what happened when she really got pissed off. She closed her eyes and gathered her power and sent it out like the prow of a cow catcher. Men flew up in the air away from Lisa. Another wave threw the rest of the men away from Lisa. Lisa stood there breathing heavily with her hands balled into fists. Some blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, but she looked fine. The 4's were getting back to their feet. Lisa turned and looked around. These things weren't even human. They had been at one time, but not now. They had no emotions. They couldn't feel pain, only dish it out. Lisa and Sara were about to dish some out themselves.

Jacques had met up with his telepaths and assembled them. All fifteen of them moved together. Many of these people were loyal to Mallster and were ready to fight to defend the lab. There wouldn't be much a fight. With all their minds linked together they could mentally destroy anybody. They walked down the hall towards the battle in the loading dock when they all paused. They felt an immense mental power suddenly appear from nowhere. They hadn't felt the power before, but now all of them could. The power of this person dwarfed any of their power individually, but put together they were going to crush it. They hurried towards the dock.

Jack, Boones, Chris, and Thomas were in the mechanical area of the lab. All the critical systems that ran the lab were located in this one cavernous space. Boones had planned to set the explosives here to detonate the entire lab, but now they didn't know what to do.

"I have an idea!", Thomas yelled after a while. Everybody turned to him. "We can fill the place with this natural gas and then I can make a spark in this room once we get out. The whole place will explode."

"Are you sure you can do that? We'll have to get pretty far away to be safe from a blast this big."

Thomas nodded his head. "I'm sure. Besides, its my fault the explosives are gone. I can do it."

They started opening the valves and letting out huge amounts of methane. The natural gas was there to power the emergency generators. Usually the mechanical room was one of the most defended places in the lab, but all at once all the guards had run away. Jack and Boones didn't ask why. They just worked quickly. After a few minutes all the valves were open. All four left the room before they were overcome by the fumes.

They made their way down the hall towards the research rooms of the underground complex. They were getting closer to Jan.

Jan could hear the gun fire and feel the explosions in the lab. She was still strapped to the table but she knew that they were coming for her. The dying embers of hope deep down inside her were stoked as she heard the fighting getting closer to her. She couldn't tell if it was on the same level as she or on the floor above, but they were getting closer. The idea of freedom made her giddy. She was about to break the straps holding her when the lights came on in the lab area. She saw Longbridge and three techs come in and get behind their computers. The computers booted up and the men got busy. Longbridge set down the urn holding his beloved Carter's ashes and looked at Jan. She felt a chill again and looked away. Looking at his eyes was like looking at evil itself.

"Your friends are wasting their time!", Longbridge yelled through the intercom. "When they get here, they are going to find you dead. I'm going to kill you.". The techs were busy getting things ready. One of them went out of Jan's field of vision. Jan held her breath when she heard the hiss of the gas coming from the nozzles above her head, but this gas was different. It burned. She tried to shut her eyes, but it was too late. It burned her eyes and the inside of her nose and finally it started burning all over. Jan bucked against the table and the straps, but she couldn't concentrate enough to even attempt to break free. The pain increased. No matter how hard she tried not to, she screamed. When she did, the gas entered her mouth and her lungs. It burned!

Longbridge laughed. "This gas isn't meant to knock you out, Miss Caufield. I'm going to watch you suffer until it gets worse and worse. Then I will give you another dose of the diseases. Once those have taken effect, I am going to come in there and cut your heart out myself. Jan was in too much pain to even comprehend what he had said. She only knew that she couldn't take much more.

Biceps hardened and spit into jagged vascular peaks as Lisa crushed two Series 4's against one another. Her pecs were already thick and pulsing with power as she pressed her hands towards each other. Her muscles flexed with even more unreal definition as she started the final squeeze. Her pecs split and separated and thickened. The two Series 4's had no chance. Their tough bodies and hardened bones were nothing for her power. Their bones cracked and broke under her hands. Both of them died as their bodies broke. Lisa took no pleasure in it, but it was necessary. She and Sara had finished off all twenty. The hearts of the 4's were strong, but when Sara wrapped her power around it, they crushed too. Dead super soldiers littered the ground as Jack and his group came into the room.

"What happened here?", Boones asked.

"Be careful", Sara began. "These are the same enhanced soldiers that captured Jan. There are more of them down here."

"Are they near?", Jack asked.

Sara closed her eyes and let her mind expand, but she pulled it back. "Those telepaths are still down here. I can't find anybody without them trying to stop me."

Jack nodded. "Ok. Avi can you see Jan?"

Avi's eyes narrowed and he turned his head around looking through the thick walls. He kept looking, but then his mouth fell open. "Move!", he yelled. Everybody scattered. A thick steel girder came flying through the door from down the hall. Lisa was back peddling away from it as it flew like a massive spear into the space. Thomas moved a little too slowly. The girder was going to land on him. Lisa lunged and dove forward. She went to the ground on top of Thomas. She rose up over him like she was doing a pushup, and the two ton girder slammed into her back.

Lisa grunted from the impact and her elbows bent a half an inch, but that was all. Her muscles bulged again as she pushed herself up. The girder slid off her back onto the floor. Lisa rolled over. Thomas got up as Lisa grimaced in pain. "Thank you! Thank you! Are you ok.?!?"

Lisa nodded. "I'm ok."

Now Thomas was mad. He stood up and turned. Jack, Boones, and Avi were already firing at the ten Series 4's that were rushing into the room. The bullets had no effect. Thomas raised his hands and lightning shot out passing through one super soldier to the one behind it. The air crackled with the power. Everyone's hair stood on end from the charge. Thomas held it for several seconds before it stopped. His big brown eyes still burned with anger as he looked at the ten series 4's lying on the ground. To everyone's surprise they started to get up. The charge had been enough to kill regular men, but these were no regular men. They started coming forward again. Now Thomas was really mad. He took a deep breath and held up his hands. He growled deep in his throat and his hands began to glow. As his growl got louder, the lights got dimmer. All the lights in the entire complex dimmed more and more. Until they were almost out. With no warning, Thomas release all the power he had gathered into a one foot thick stream of pure electricity. The people around him shielded their eyes from the flash and from the heat. The thick bolt of twisting electricity shot down the hall with unstoppable force. Thomas pumped more and more power into it until finally he stopped. When the lights came back up there was nothing left. Only the charred corpses of ten Series 4's. Thomas sank down to his knees drenched in sweat and breathing deeply.

"Wow!", Sara exclaimed. She was not one to be easily impressed, but Thomas had done that and more.

"Yeah not bad, kid", Chris said and messed up his hair.

"I just hope no more come", Thomas said through deep breaths. "I don't think I have another one of those in me right now."

But more did come. Twenty more came. Thomas wanted to do something, but he could barely manage a spark. Lisa snatched the boy off the ground and carried him to the back of the room as the rest of the group started fighting back.

"Shoot them in the eyes!", Avi yelled. He had seen their weakness. "Their eyes are normal tissue!"

Jack and Boones fired, but they couldn't kill them fast enough. They were falling back. Sara and Lisa ran forward to make sure they did have enough time.

Longbridge cursed as the gas stopped flowing into the holding room. The power had nearly gone out and all the computers had to be rebooted. Jan was coughing and still in pain from the gas, but it had stopped. She could feel her body healing itself as the time went by. Longbridge slammed his fists on the console. They weren't rebooting fast enough. Just then the door opened, and Mel walked inside. The huge man hadn't been in the fighting at all. He wore tailored black suit pants with a cobalt blue shirt and black vest. Mel always knew how to dress. He walked over to Longbridge.

"Good you are here!", Longbridge yelled. "You will help me stop them! I'll kill this girl now!" Longbridge activated the defenses for the research area. He didn't want anybody else entering or leaving the room until Jan Caufield was dead. Jan's head hung limply, but she was getting stronger. It did her no good. Unless she got out of that room. She was going to die.

The Series 4's were almost all dead. Once the three shooters knew how to take them out, they killed one with every other shot. The 4's hadn't taken time to arm themselves, and they were loosing. There were only seven left in the area. Sara was holding one of them off the ground. The 4 fought against her control, but it did no good. Once she found its heart with her power, she squeezed. The heart resisted too, but Sara was too powerful. She won, and it died.

Jacques and his telepaths were just outside the room. It was their turn. They stepped forward and unleashed their own power.

Jack, Boones, and Avi were taking aim and shooting when their vision began to fade and a pain started in the front of their heads. Soon after that, there was a loud noise like the screeching of railroad brakes inside their head. They both fell to the ground in complete pain. Lisa and Thomas fell over too. They clutched their heads and couldn't even yell the pain to so bad. Sara felt the telepaths trying to get in her head, but she was quick enough to stop them. She looked at the team on the ground dying from the inside out. They couldn't take too much of that. Sara had to protect them. She gathered her strength and extended her power like a shield over their minds. The team felt the pain go away as quickly as it had come. They opened their eyes and saw a group of 15 people standing close together. Their eyes were closed and sweat ran down their foreheads as they stood very still. The seven series 4's were readying to attack again. The team started shooting at them again, but it wouldn't last for long.

Sara was using every ounce of her power, but they were winning. She was strong and she was powerful, but together they were just too much. She went down to a knee as her strength was being sapped. The other members of the team started hearing the noise again. It wasn't as bad as before. The 4's were still attacking, but they turned their weapons on the 15 people standing in the doorway. They couldn't get their muzzles around fast enough. One more burst of power broke through Sara's shield and the pain returned. It left them helpless, but they focused on Sara. They had to destroy her. She screamed as the last bit of her strength was gone. She was at their mercy.

Thomas had run from the room as soon as Sara had put up her mental shield. He had hoped the rest of the group would follow him, but they didn't. He tried to go back in there, but when he tried the pain came back. He didn't know what to do. As he stood there, Alisha came from nowhere.

"What's going on!"

"We have to get back in there!", Thomas yelled.

Alisha tried to get closer, but she couldn't. She couldn't even use an illusion to get closer. They could feel her power. She didn't know what to do either.

There was one person though, who was totally unaffected by the telepaths. Chris Adams emerged from the wall. "You two can't go back in there, but I can. When I phase shift, their power can't really touch me. Go find Jan. I'll take care of this."

"Good. I know where she is. Thomas you come with me."

Thomas didn't want to go, but he did. Chris set his jaw and walked back into the room. He could hear the noise the telepaths were making everybody else hear, but it was muffled to him. He started running towards them. He looked down at Sara and felt the most intense anger of his life. They were hurting the one girl he had ever fallen for. All of those people were ganging on her! For the first time in his life Chris Adams felt hate. He ran faster. As he ran he thought back to all the long talks about telepathy he had had with Sara. He didn't know how it worked, but he did know that those 15 people had linked their minds. He just had to break the link to break their power.

The fifteen had their eyes closed and couldn't see Chris getting closer. They didn't even feel him until he was right next to the leader. Chris picked the guy in the front and took him by the shoulders. Jacques opened his eyes and looked at Chris' eyes. Chris was in a rage as he took the man by the shoulders. They dropped down into the floor.

The link was broken and the noise stopped. The five remaining Series 4's had all attacked Lisa while she was unable to defend herself. They had judged her as the greatest threat. They were trying to break her back when the noise stopped. Lisa's muscles came back to life and flexed hard. She broke free and threw two of them against the wall so hard that the wall cracked and they both died. Boones, Jack, and Avi took out the rest.

Sara was the last to recover. All of the telepaths had been trying to tear her mind apart, but she was strong enough to keep herself together. She sat up and turned her head to face the 14 remaining. She could feel them relinking their minds. They weren't going to get a chance. Sara couldn't combat them telepathically, but she didn't have to. Sara sent a wave of power towards them. They fell over like bowling pins. Then it was their turn to scream as she killed them all without having to raise a finger.

Chris Adams had gone into the ground with Jacques, but he came up alone. He walked up behind Sara as she finished off the last telepath. He didn't try to hide himself. She could feel him as he came closer. Once she was finished with her grizzly work, she turned and wrapped her arms around Chris' neck. He leaned down and kissed her. "I love you", he said. A single tear rolled down his cheek. He had never said those three words to her, but after he had killed to save her he knew in his heart as he said them that it was true.

Sara looked up at him. Her blue-grey eyes were bloodshot and her face was still pale. She didn't say anything. She stretched up and kissed him again.

Jack slowly got back to his feet after catching his breath. Combat was a younger man's game and this combat was a young man with super powers game. He tapped Boones on the shoulder and they went to secure the area. He had a feeling that more of those super soldiers were on the way, and he was right.

Longbridge was almost ready to send the gas back into the room. He had gotten dressed in his clean suit. He was going to send both gasses in at the same time. The diseases would make her too weak to resist and then it would be over. He couldn't wait.

Mel stood right behind Longbridge as they all looked through the glass at Jan. She looked helpless. "So", Mel rumbled in his deep voice, "That red button sends in the irritant gas, and the green one sends in the diseases, but what does that blue button do?"

"It cleans the room and disinfects the air, but we won't need that one.", Longbridge answered without turning around. He couldn't take his eyes off of Jan Caufield. He rubbed Carter's urn as the computers came back online. He was ready. "Push the buttons!", Longbridge ordered.

The tech reached out to push the buttons, but his hand was stopped by Mel. "I don't think so." Mel squeezed his long fingers together and crushed the tech's wrist. He dropped it and backhanded the man across the chest. He flew from his chair and died when he hit the far wall. Mel spun and punched another tech in the head. He didn't die, but he dropped where he stood. The other two techs tried to run. Mel tripped one and broke his back by stomping on his spine. Longbridge tried to reach out and push the buttons, but Mel lifted him off the ground and threw him down into a chair. "Stay." Mel reached across Longbridge and pushed the blue button.

Jan took a breath as another gas shot out of the vents above her head, but she quickly realized that it wasn't harming her. She saw what Mel had done, but she didn't know what to make of it.

Alisha and Thomas ran down the hall as fast as they could. Thomas was pretty fast, but he was having a hard time keeping up with Alisha. "This is the door! Room 4!", Alisha yelled as she came closer.

Thomas couldn't wait to see Jan as he trailed Alisha. She got closer to the door and he felt the power. He ran faster. "No!", he yelled and grabbed Alisha by the back of her BDU. "Don't touch the door!" He walked past her and touched his finger to the knob. Sparks flew. "Its electrified." He tried to divert the power, but it was so much. He didn't have time for this. "Step back!" Thomas' eyes squinted and the door burst apart sending sparks and pieces of door everywhere.

"No!", Longbridge yelled at the top of his lungs as Mel pushed the black button on the console. A red light came on, as the sliding steel door to Jan's room opened and the straps released. He couldn't see into the room because the cleansing agent had made the room cloudy. Longbridge was about to try to run when the door exploded. Everyone's head turned. Alisha and Thomas ran in. They stopped in their tracks when they saw Mel. Alisha had her pistol out in a blink and Thomas' hands were already glowing.

"Wait!", Mel yelled. "I'm working with Livingston. I'm on your side!" They didn't know what to think. Then everyone looked at the door. Jan emerged from the room slowly. Her skin was wet from the cleansing agent and from sweat. She moved with an athlete's grace. Her long legs were visible first. She was wearing only some short white female boxers. Her bare legs were as perfect as ever. She walked from the room with only one thought on her mind, but for a moment she forgot it.

Thomas ran up to her. "Jan!", he yelled at the top his lungs. She took her eyes off of Longbridge and looked at Thomas. Her gaze softened as he put his arms around her and squeezed her as tightly as he could. Jan went down to a knee and hugged him back. She felt the warmth of his body and of his love. It was the first real human contact she had felt in a long time. It felt better than she remembered. As she hugged her eyes went back to Longbridge and the rage came back.

Thomas backed away as he felt Jan's body change. He could feel her muscles get harder. Power flowed into her muscles with every beat of her heart. She stood up and walked towards Longbridge. He cowered. Alisha took Thomas by the shoulder and lead him from the room. Mel followed. The last thing they saw as they walked through the doorway was Jan looming over Longbridge and his hands up. Once back in the hall, they could hear gunfire getting closer. Then there was a scream that was louder than all the gunfire. Longbridge screamed like a man who soul was being ripped from his body. It made chills run down everyone's spine. Mel walked over and put his huge hands over Thomas' ears. No boy needed to hear that, even if Longbridge deserved every second of his agony.

Finally the screaming stopped, and Jan walked out the door. Her face was blank. Her eyes stared straight ahead. Blood covered her arms from the tips of her fingers past her elbows.

"What did you do?", Thomas asked.

"Nothing he didn't do to me first", Jan replied.

Alisha smiled as Jan's gaze finally fell on her. Jan was still in a daze. She walked up and handed Jan a bag. "Your clothes are in there. I thought you might need some, and some boots. Bathroom's right there."

Jan said nothing. She turned and walking into the bathroom. It didn't take long for her to come back out wearing the same urban BDU's as the rest of the team. It was time to get out. There were still more Series 4's around and the entire complex was starting to smell like natural gas. They all started around the corner with Alisha leading the way. She was nervous to have Mel behind her, but she figured Jan and Thomas could handle him. Mel hadn't followed yet though. He stopped Jan and reached down into his waistband. He pulled out a Custom Springfield .45.

"This is yours." She took it from his hand slowly. She could feel that it was fully loaded. He leaned down and looked her in the eye. She saw a tear form in the corner of his right eye. "I swear to you, I wouldn't have brought you to them if I had known. If I had known what they were going to do to you, I wouldn't have done it. I swear. If you want to use that on me, I won't resist."

Her pistol felt good in her hands. She put her finger on the trigger as she looked up at Mel, but she wasn't going to shoot him. She didn't know why. She had every reason to. Instead she said, "I forgive you. Now let's go."

The Series 4's were chasing the team as they ran out one of the doors Chris and Boones had blown open. People took turns returning fire. Once on the outside, Jan felt better than she had in weeks. She felt alive. She was free. She turned and fired back at the 4's that were chasing them. Sara was to her left and Alisha to her right. The 4's had no orders to pursue, but they still shot at them as they got further away. Jan had finally broken out of her mental fog. "You guys are terrific! I don't know how to thank you all!", she yelled as they ran further and further from the lab.

"You don't have to thank us", Alisha began. "What the fuck are friends and family for?" The words had barely left her mouth when her chest went forward and she pitched over onto her face. Sara and Jan stopped. A bullet fired from the rifle of a one eyed Series 4 had entered through Alisha's back and exited through her stomach.

"Oh my God no!" Jan and Sara took Alisha by the arms and pulled her. Her feet dragged the ground. She was unable to move either of her legs. The bullet had gone threw her spine, and she was leaking blood every step they took. The shooting finally stopped as the group made it across the road. Jack, Boones and Thomas were on their bellies looking back at the building. Jan, Sara, and Alisha were off to their left. Chris was running towards them.

"Alisha! Alisha! No!", Jan yelled as they turned her onto her back. Blood streamed from her mouth, but her eyes were still alert. "You can't die! You can't die to save me!" Sara was saying similar things.

To their surprise Alisha smiled. "Will you two shut the fuck up", she managed. She coughed blood and spit it out before she choked on it. "Listen to me. There's a letter in the table next to my bed", she paused and fought back the pain. She was started to shake from loss of blood, but she was tough. "In the bottom drawer I wrote a letter to my parents. Make sure they read it. And there's a letter in there that I wrote to my little brother. I don't know what they're going to name him when he's born, but I wanted him to know what kind of big sister he had."

Jan and Sara were beyond words. They didn't know what to do.

"Promise me you'll fucking tell them", Alisha grunted.

They both nodded.

Thomas was near hysterics as he lay down in the dirt between Jack and Boones. His uncle turned his head away from Alisha. "You have to concentrate boy and blow up that lab. They're doing all they can for her. You have to complete your mission. Can you do it or not?"

Thomas wiped his face and stared at the office building. They were pretty far away from the lab. He had to strain with every ounce of his strength. He had been holding his breath, but finally he released it. "I got it." A moment later the night sky lit up with a brilliant explosion. It was so powerful that it broke windows miles away.

It knocked the Traveler down to the road. That was impressive he thought as he dusted himself off and continued down the road. He looked at his watch, 10:08 pm. He was in the spot he was supposed to be. He could feel the heat of the explosion on his face, but there was no tension. He wondered when that would show up. He looked off to his left and saw some shapes in the darkness. It looked like two people leaning over a third. He walked a little closer. He saw them and knew what he was supposed to do. He dropped his bag and ran across the street. He fell to his knees.

Jan and Sara looked at the man. He looked down at Alisha. She was almost gone. There wasn't much time. "Move away!", he yelled and took Alisha's hands in his. He moved around to her right side and leaned his head closer to hers. He spoke some words very softly and Alisha's eyes shot open and her arms moved, but her legs could not. She inhaled a breath, but it gurgled as her lungs were nearly full of blood. The Traveler leaned closer and spoke more words in a language that neither Jan nor Sara understood. Alisha responded to him in the same language. They had never heard her speak it before. They had never heard it spoken before.

Then the man closed his eyes. He squeezed them shut for a long time, and then he opened them and fell back to the dirt. He seemed very tired, but satisfied. Jan and Sara went back to Alisha's side. She looked the same. They looked at the man across from them and then back at Alisha. He had robbed them of the final moments with her. Jan started to get angry and then Alisha inhaled deeply. There was no gurgle. Her eyes opened and she tried to sit up. She pulled her legs in close and put her hands on the pavement.

"Wait! Take it easy", Sara yelled.

"No need", the Traveler said as he got back to his feet. "What has been done, is done."

Alisha pulled up her ruined uniform top. Her stomach was intact. She didn't even feel weak. "Thank you!", she yelled as the man turned to leave.

He turned back. "No need to thank me. I just followed a vision here to this place, and did the right thing."

"Well thank you for following the vision. You didn't have to", Alisha yelled as she sat up straight.

The Traveler turned and nodded. "For that, you are very welcome." He turned again.

"Wait don't go! Who are you? What's your name? Where are you from?"

The man started not to respond, but he turned around with a smile on his face. He tilted his head up. "I have had many many names, but my mother named me Yonatan. So you may call me that." He smiled as he thought about his mother. "As for where I am from, I was born in Edrine." He turned to leave.

"That's in Turkey right?", Alisha said trying to get him to stay.

Yonatan turned back around. "When I was born young lady, there were no Turks there. Don't worry. I think our paths will cross again." He turned and walked into the darkness.

Sandra pulled up in a fifteen passenger van they had rented and then they were gone. The fire department passed them going the other way. They boarded a C-130 that night. By early the next morning, they were safely back in Maryland, and Jan had slept in her own bed. Everyone rested that Sunday, but by Monday the entire team was up and about. They were going to throw Jan a party that night. Everybody was getting ready. There was a happy buzz in the air. Except Jan spent most of the day in her room. Jan sat on her bed listening to the album Money Jungle by Ellington. It had been a while since she had heard it, and it took her mind off what had happened to her over the last two weeks. There was knock at the door. Jan knew who it was at once.

"Come in."

Thomas walked in and closed the door behind him. He climbed up into Jan's bed. "How you feeling?", he asked.

"I'm fine."

Thomas cocked his head to one side. "Come on, Jan. You've been up here all day. You aren't fine."

"No, really I am." Jan tried to sound more upbeat. She held out her arms. "See no scars or anything."

Thomas just frowned. "Jan we all have scars on the inside. I should know. I have a lot of them."

Jan put her head down. "How old are you? I'm supposed to be the older wiser one. But really. I'm ok, or I'll be ok. A lot of stuff happened in there, but I've been doing some soul searching. I'm not bitter or jaded. Well not more than I usually am I guess. Thanks to you. I guess we're even now. I saved your life and now you saved mine."

Jan expected Thomas to smile, but instead he frowned. He shook his head. "I'll never be able to pay you back. You didn't just save my life, you and the family gave me back a life. I'll owe you one no matter how many times I have to save your life with my superior abilities." He sent sparks across his fingers.

Jan chuckled. "Don't get ahead of yourself kid."

"So are you coming downstairs? There's a party down there for you and you're up here. Uncle Cor even let me have a sip of beer. You know this is a good party. They'll probably even let you drink one with everyone looking."

Jan shook her head. "No beer for me."

"Really? I thought you liked Guinness. I thought you said you were fine."

Jan laughed this time. "I am fine, but I miss my old kidneys. I don't think these new ones are broken in enough to handle alcohol just yet. I might have to give them a few more weeks. But I am coming down. Lead the way." Thomas took Jan by the hand and lead her down the hall and down the stairs. There was cheer when they saw her come down. It had been two days, but everybody was still on a high. Jan blushed. She didn't know how to react. Everybody was still there. Her father was out on the deck with Boones drinking beers and grilling while her mother was in the family room swapping stories with Sandra, Sara, and Alisha. Chris and Avi were getting to know each other. Everybody seemed so happy. Jan realized that she was happy too. For a while it had been very bleak, but it was getting better.

The doorbell rang. Jan waved everybody back and she went to get the door. Part of her was afraid to open it. The unknown had become frightening, but true to form, Jan confronted her fear head on. She answered the door like she had done a thousand times before. Byron Livingston was standing there.

"Welcome home!", he greeted her. He stuck out his hand, but Jan hugged him instead.

"I'm in a lovie-dovie mood right now. Just don't get used to it."

Byron came inside. He spoke to Jan for several minutes, but he had come to see Jack. They spoke for a few moments as well, and then walked outside. They were joined by Boones. Soon they were in Jack's Tahoe heading towards Alexandria.

Byron had found out who had turned traitor and given the secret codes to the Mallster to track Jan's phone. Jack had promised Byron that when the time came to deal with the traitor that Byron would get to do the deed. They drove in near silence to FBI Special Agent William Davis' house. Jack was as angry as he could be. He had known Will Davis for nearly thirty years. Jack had sat behind Will at Will Jr.'s funeral. Jack had helped Will out after his wife had divorced him. Will Davis had come to the house to sit with Jack and Carol in the days after Jan had gone missing. He had made sure Alisha and Sara had been given a government car to drive. It was almost too much to believe that he was a traitor. Once they got close to the house, the three of them worked their way into Davis' yard. It was easy for them to get into the house, but once they got in they knew something was wrong. There was a smell of death. When they walked into the living room they saw. Will Davis was wearing pajama bottoms and sitting in his recliner. His open eyes were staring at a blue television screen, but they didn't see anything. There were two very small holes in his forehead.

"Professional hit", Boones said at once. "Double tap with a small caliber. Probably a .22.  Son of bitch didn't even see it coming."

The three men left. Byron felt robbed at the chance to do the deed himself, but they were all satisfied that he was dead. It was getting dark by the time the three men pulled up the Caufield driveway. Jack went back to the deck to finish the steaks, but he was interrupted when there was another person at the door for him. The man standing at the door was young. He wore a dark suit and was holding a box. "Mr. Caufield, this is for you. From the Broker. Have a nice night."

Jack opened the box. Inside the larger box was a smaller thinner package that Thomas took from Jack's hand and started opening. Jack reached into the bigger box and pulled out a letter. He read it.

"What does it say?", Boones asked.

"Well it says here that the package Thomas has is a welcome home gift to Jan from the Broker. And he has some gifts for the entire family. Says here that the Broker found out that Davis was the leak before you did, Byron. He had him killed. It also says that Jason Mallster, his leadership, and the three members of the Syndicate Council are all dead. Says that all of them were killed by someone called Caeda."

"Who's Caeda?", Thomas asked as he continued to unwrap the thin package.

Jack shrugged. "Sounds like an assassin probably. I just hope I don't run into this Caeda. Sounds nasty whoever it is."

"Dad, why would you run into an assassin?"

"You never know who you cross paths with."

Thomas finally got the package open. He sighed and turned the record over in his hands. "Who in the world would name a song Screamin' and Hollerin'", Thomas exclaimed.

"What!", Jan yelled from the back of the house. She was standing next to Thomas in a flash. She took the record from his hands. "You have to be joking!" Jan turned the record over and read the faded label. 'The Masked Marvel, Screamin' and Hollerin' on side A and Mississippi Boweavil Blues on side B'.

"I am on every list in the country to get this record!" Jan's face had lit up completely as she held the record in her hands. "One of these hasn't gone on sale in forever!"

"What's so special about it?", Thomas asked.

"Come upstairs and I'll let you hear it."

Jack watched as his daughter ran up the steps like a little girl with a new doll. Thomas was behind her, but he had no chance to keep up. Jack looked around his house before he went back to the deck. The house was alive. It hummed with activity and with life. Everything was as it should be. He pulled a couple of cold brews from the fridge before he went back to the deck and finished the steaks. He was sure everybody was getting hungry because he was starved.

This is a chapter in the ongoing story "Power and Fury"!  Check out the earlier chapters here.  The chapters in BOLD ITALICS are the beginnings of a story arc (good places to start).  The chapters with asterisks (*) are stand alone chapters (what I like to call good reads without the commitment).  Enjoy!

Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter  8 -- *Chapter 9*

Chapter 25   --  Chapter 26 -- Chapter 27