“Patrick,” Jace said as we were getting ready to eat our cake. The younger children had already run off to swim in the pool. “Do you think you can teach someone how to draw?”
Patrick squirmed for a moment before he looked over at Beth. She nodded slightly. “I don’t want to draw dreadful things anymore,” he finally mumbled.
“Patrick,” Steven said slowly. “We’ve discussed this. The things you draw isn’t coming from your imagination. They come from things that have happened. Terrible things that other people have done. If we work on it maybe we can figure out if the drawings and dreams can help others.”
Cora sighed as she looked at us. “He showed us one of his drawings. The police closed the case thinking it was a murder suicide. Patrick drew another man in the mirror. It was clear that he was also at the scene of the crime. We don’t think it was a murder suicide.” She reached over and hugged Patrick. “You have an amazing gift, even if it doesn’t seem like it. You can help so many people with it. What did you have in mind?” she turned to Jace.
I know I wasn’t the only one surprised by this revelation. I was still new to the gifted community. There was a lot of gifts I had never even thought was possible, but people like Patrick proved me wrong.
“As you know, Ella is a precog. She’s having these dreams, but no way to express them. Accept for with words. I was thinking if she knew how to draw, maybe she can draw her premonitions. She can add details that she’s incapable of communicating,” Jace stated as he took a bite of his chocolate cake.
“That’s a wonderful idea,” Will said clapping his hands. “Do you think you can teach Ella how to draw?”
Patrick shrugged. “Drawing is easy,” he said confidently.
“So, you’ll do it?” Beth encouraged.
Patrick shoved a large mouthful of cake in his mouth. “Yeah, I can do that.”
It was when we started getting comfortable and our guards began to slip, we learned greater things were happening beyond our knowledge.
All our guest had left, and the children were put in their showers, their clothes set out for the next morning, and we were reading them their bed time stories. Jemmy and Gavin had volunteered to read to Ella and Nadia (after much begging, Steven had allowed his little girl to convince him to a sleep over). Rachel, Jaxson, and I were reading to the Micah, Patrick, Chip, and Alex.
Their room had been transformed while we were out. Two sets of bunk beds had been purchased, along with dressers for each boy (save Patrick). Micah said he wanted to be with the younger boys to ‘watch’ them, but I think he secretly didn’t want to be alone. We knew one day, when he was more comfortable, he would want his own space, but for now this worked for all of us. He had naturally protective instincts, and Alex thrived on his new-found relationship with his brother.
Micah and Patrick tried to grumble about being read to like babies, but I couldn’t help smiling as they leaned forward to listen to Jaxson read them Harry Potter- The Philosopher’s Stone. They wanted to act all big and bad, but they had missed moments like this growing up. They were getting into it just as much, if not more, than the younger boys.
When we finished reading a chapter, they all groaned when we told them they would have to wait for more. Despite Micah and Patrick’s protest, I still gave them each a kiss on their foreheads before turning off the lights and closing their door. I pretended not to see a flashlight turn on beneath the door, nor Patrick’s changing voice as he continued reading where we had left off.
Rachel raised an eyebrow, and Jaxson went to reopen their door when I put my hands on his arm and shook my head with a smile. “They’re fine,” I mouthed.
We headed back to see how the girls were doing when Will came running up the stairs. “We need to go,” he said urgently. “We already have four teams out on a mission and three too far away to make it up on time. We have intel that they found one of Horatio’s facilities. There are four women that were abducted from one of our communities out west. Plus, their lead research scientist is there. He’s rarely seen nowadays.”
“Do you think I’ll be needed?” Rachel asked. “I can stay with the children.”
Will nodded and smiled. “That would be great. I didn’t want to call the Karns or Sue to come sit with them. If we need you, it probably won’t be until we get back.”
Rachel nodded. “Okay, let me know.”
“Suit up,” Will said to Jaxson and me.
I realized in that moment that Will and Steven must have found a way to find out exactly what Horatio was working on. If we were to acquire the scientist and his research, we would know exactly what we were up against. I just couldn’t believe how fast they worked.
When I finished getting dressed, I went downstairs to see everyone was suited up. Will, Jace, Jaxson, Jemmy, Gavin, and I jumped into the lead vehicle. Remy, Troy, Noah, Drake, and Collin were in the vehicle behind us. When we pulled up into the parking lot across from the facility, Terrance, John, Michael, Dawn, Ned, and Marcel (our security team) were already there waiting on us.
I was more nervous than I had ever felt. This was not just a mission to get my brothers. This was a mission for people I didn’t know. I still felt like it was my responsibility to help those in trouble, but the stakes were a bit different. Jace must have felt my anxiety because he reached over and grabbed my hand. Feelings of calm engulfed me, and for the first time ever, I wasn’t annoyed that he used his gift without asking.
Terrance, the lead, pulled out a map of the facility. “There are six guards walking the perimeter,” he said pointing along the fence line. “Then two guard shacks here and here.” He pointed to two different points on the map. “There are eight cameras watching the perimeter in these locations. The control room for the outside is here. We’re unsure where the cameras are located inside, but their control room is here.” He continued pointing. “We heard the girls are being held in the basement. The girls are lightly guarded down below; the best point of entrance to get them will be here.” He pointed to a spot on the map. “All the labs are located on the first and second floor. The best point of entry is here. Dr. Neil, the head research scientist, and his team are in his office right now, on the top floor.” He pointed to the one of the rooms on the map labeled Top Floor. “I think if we utilize the rear stairs we’ll have the element of surprise. It’s the first time he’s been seen in months. He has a lot of vital information located on his lap top.” He pointed to the rear stairs he had mentioned. He held up a picture of an older, skinny, pale-faced man with wispy blond hair on top, but cold and calculating chestnut brown eyes.
“Gavin, Jemmy, and John,” Will started directing us. “I need you to disable the outside perimeter control room and cameras. Then I need you to fall into another team. Noah , I would like you to stand back, just in case we need you. Terrance, Dawn, Jaxson, Collin, I want you with me. We’re going after Dr. Neil. Collin, I need you to try and block Neil before he even knows we’re hear; if he vanishes, I’m not sure how long we’ll have to wait to see him again. Drake, Troy, Ned, and M
arcel, I would like you to secure the labs and capture who we can safely. Blake, Jace, Remy, and Michael, I want you rescuing any of the females located in the experiments. Are you okay with this?” Will looked at Terrance. Terrance nodded. “Are the busses on standby?” Will asked.
“They’re down the street, waiting for our call,” Marcel confirmed.
On the way over, I was filled in on how normal operations were done. Generally, two fifteen passenger vans were waiting for the Knights. One van had a medical team member on it and would head to the hospital. The other van generally had a gifted person that had the ability to block gifts. They generally weren’t as talented as Collin was, but for the close confines of the van their gift was sufficient. They commonly headed straight to the mountain facility two hours away from here. It was a high security facility and it had been years since anyone broke out and no one was senseless enough to try and break into it…yet.
We were all handed head sets and mics to communicate and it started to feel more real. The butterflies in my stomach took flight once more. When Jace gave me a questioning look, I shook my head. I instinctively knew I needed the edge. If I was too relaxed, I might drop down my guard and I needed all my wits about me.