Salem stood in the middle of her room, arms folded across her chest, and waited for Thorn to maneuver his powerchair into the tight space. She laughed aloud when he bumped against the table and toppled the glass sitting on top.
“Clumsy me,” Thorn said with a smile, his anger simmering just below the surface.
“Accidents happen. I mean, look at your face,” Salem jabbed.
The part of Thorn’s face that was visible flushed red, the color bleeding down to his neck and threatening to stain his pristine white shirt collar. “Someone is feeling a tad feisty today. I’m told you wanted to see me, Miss Grainger.”
“Rebecca Grainger is dead, at least for the moment. My name is Salem.”
Thorn waved away the comment as he regained his composure. “Whatever you say, dear. None of it matters to me.” He flicked away a piece of lint from his suit jacket and turned his attention back to Salem. “What do you want?”
“A couple of things. First, I want to talk to my boyfriend, plus I want to know the details of our proposed trip to The Rock.”
“The first isn’t possible,” Drake said. “He is in a safe house that has no means of communication in or out.”
“Don’t feed me bullshit, Lionel,” Salem scoffed. “How do you keep in contact with your team out there?”
“I don’t need to. There is only one road in and out. Trust me, they won’t be bothered.”
Salem stared down the mercenary, thinking about the ways she would like to hurt him. As she did that, she reached out and slipped inside the mind of Spencer Thorn, only to be met with the same brick wall as earlier.
“We can, though, supply some details on our mission,” Thorn said, a milky tear dripping from his ruined left eyeball and onto the silver mask covering that side of his face.
She probed deeper and took some delight in seeing tears begin to flow freely from his eye.
Thorn squirmed in his chair but still managed a smile that looked more like a grimace. “Would you care to hear those details, or are we done here?”
Beginning to feel the strain of using her powers to no avail, Salem pulled out of Thorn’s mind and relaxed. “Let’s hear it.”
“Lionel, if you would care to take the floor.”
Noticing the white fluid running down his boss’s mask, Drake pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of his dress shirt and handed it to Thorn before beginning to speak. “We shall depart from this facility by helicopter at six a.m. sharp. I expect you to be ready fifteen minutes prior to our departure.”
“I should warn you that I’m not much of a morning person.”
Ignoring the remark, Drake continued. “There will be two birds. You will occupy one with Bits and Bytes, as well as two security personnel. Myself, Mr. Thorn, and two more of my team will take the other.”
“That’s a lot of men,” Salem said. “A lot of potential for trigger fingers.”
Thorn wheeled forward a touch and cleared his throat. “I believe I already mentioned, Miss Grainger, that this is a retrieval mission, not some mass execution.”
“And I believe I told you that my name is Salem.”
Drake stepped between the two, hands raised in an effort to calm the impending blowout. “Can we please focus on the task at hand?”
“My apologies to you both. Please, continue,” Thorn said.
“As just mentioned, we are looking to recapture the escaped creatures, so I would ask, Salem, that you try to show some restraint.”
Gritting her teeth and holding back her anger, Salem nodded.
“We will have limited space in the choppers, which means that we may need to sacrifice one of the escapees,” Thorn continued.
Unable to restrain herself further, Salem spoke loudly. “I hope you’re not talking about my mother. Losing a trio of parental types in the space of twenty-four hours might be more than I can take. You’ve both seen how I get when I’m upset.”
Spinning his powerchair around, Thorn headed for the door. “This conversation is over.” He looked down at his wristwatch. A little more than two hours before we leave. Please try to be ready and on your best behavior, Salem.”
She watched him go and then turned her attention back to Drake. “Not my mother, right?”
“No. The Wenlutah. We have a replacement coming in a couple of days.” Drake gave a little nod and followed his boss out the door, which he narrowly avoided contact with as Salem threw it closed.
She was tired, but Salem knew that sleep would not come. Hopping onto her bed, she hoisted herself up and peered out a narrow window sitting just below the ceiling. She didn’t think that any pilot worth his salt would fly in such conditions, but she decided to try and warn her mother, just in case they did make it out.
***
The water lapped against the dock, the rhythmic splashing bringing a sense of exterior calm to Raven that she didn’t feel inside.
The chance to escape Thorn’s prison was one that she knew she had to take, but if she were honest with herself, she didn’t know what to do now. Two of the creatures that had escaped with her were now dead, and Raven knew that she had to accept some blame in that.
What was the end goal? Was it to slip back into a life like she’s lived before being caught? She didn’t believe that possible, for as powerful and smart as she was, she could not compete with Thorn and his money. Raven knew that he would spend whatever it took to get his exhibits back. What he might do to her once she was back in his grasp was not worth thinking about.
“Mother?”
Raven had hoped to hear from her daughter again, but the voice in her head was still a surprise.
“My child. How are you?”
“Scared. They are coming, and…”
“And taking you with them,” Raven finished. “When?”
“In less than two hours. Time for you to move, but if you do, leave the Wenlutah behind. That is how they know where you are.”
“No. I am responsible for them. Let these men come. We will be ready.”
“I will do what I can to help, Mother.”
Raven had felt dead inside for as long as she could remember, but it now felt as though blood was reaching her heart again, making it beat, making her care. “I will do all I can to protect you, child. Are they coming by water?”
“By air. Helicopters, but I don’t think they can fly in this fog.”
“I will clear a path for them.”
“Why would you do that?”
“This has to end, Salem. I will either be free or die fighting to be so. I will see you soon.”
Raven closed off her mind, feeling her daughter reach out and try to continue the conversation. There was nothing more to say. It was time to ready the troops and prepare for the arrival of the enemy.
Looking out beyond The Rock, Raven could barely make out the lights blinking atop the Golden Gate Bridge. The sky above was nothing more than a swirling mass of grey fog. Placing her hands on her abdomen, she closed her eyes and began to gently blow.
The fog twisted and turned upon itself, and ever so slowly began to break apart.