Unity and Destiny Pt. 05

Javier looked at Selena, but she was watching him. Letting him make the decision. It didn't take her long to see his feelings.

"I believe Javier knows who that is," Selena said. Jackson smiled and looked at him.

"Her name is Janelle. I don't know much more than that. Maybe you couldn't tell under the mask, but she was one of those who helped rescue you and Raj from InfoCorp. Disabled all those guards, though we had to convince her not to hurt them worse. She has a vicious temper and implied she'd killed people in the past, but I wasn't sure if she was just bragging."

"She's suspected in a few other incidents, going back months at least. She's definitely a killer. And what do you know of her strengths? Is she still working for Lukas?"

"I heard she disappeared over the summer," said Javier. "No one knew where she went, and Lukas was desperate to find her. She has very good hearing, seems adept at martial arts, and she's ridiculously fast and strong. She implied she'd never met anyone stronger than herself, and I don't think she was bragging about that. Far stronger than anyone else working for Lukas."

"Stronger than your friend Mark?" Jackson asked with a smile. Javier silently cursed himself. Of course, she'd seen Mark fight in the melee against Franklin's forces.

"He's not exactly my friend," said Javier. "And he didn't work for Lukas either. As for strength, maybe he's stronger. But he's the furthest thing from a killer, and you can be sure he had nothing to do with the attacks. Janelle, though, that's unfortunately not too surprising."

Jackson nodded. "Now, tell me more about Lukas. I should mention that several of his employees have been questioned, but it seems he ran a remarkably tight ship. Paranoid, really, which I suppose I can understand. It was one of those employees, a driver, who gave the FBI enough information to find your names."

Selena nodded slowly. "What exactly does the FBI think they know about us? Is Lukas a suspect in these incidents?"

"What the FBI knows is that Javier, Professor Patel, and Ms. Mikkelson were among the rare personal visitors to Lukas, and that he considered you important somehow. As you probably know, Lukas vanished two months ago, and several of his known associates have shown up in investigations of attacks even before Black Christmas. The investigating agencies know Lukas was a brilliant consultant privy to some of the nation's deepest secrets. You and I know that he is much more than that. So I'd like to hear your opinion on whether he was heavily involved in planning the attacks."

To Javier's surprise, Selena answered that.

"We've discussed that ourselves. We haven't heard from him since well before he disappeared, and the truth is none of us knows him very well. But our best guess was that he'd felt hampered by British interference in whatever work he was helping our government with, and that he was looking for a more stable position in another country. It's hard to believe he's decided to throw himself in with terrorists. Lukas wanted to protect the Changed, not send them on stupid suicide missions."

Jackson nodded slowly. "Well, that's not so different from my thoughts on Lukas. A big question mark. Unfortunately for him, he's got US intelligence gunning for him now. I don't think Lukas will be an easy one to find, though, and I'd rather find some quicker leads."

Jackson showed them a series of other photos, but none of them meant anything to him or Selena. And when she asked them more general questions about topics like the nuclear bomb visions and the abilities of the Changed, neither of them wanted to answer. In the end Javier volunteered one bit of information.

"You asked about the Chosen. Well, we have heard of them. But as I understand it, they're not a monolithic group. I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were involved in the planning. But only the radical ones, the ones trying to hasten the apocalypse. Like any religion, or whatever it is, you can find those types."

Finally Jackson sighed. "You obviously know more than this, but I think you've tried to be helpful. And I don't think that you'll be cooperative with the FBI, especially if they decide to lock you up. So I'm going to do something I will utterly deny, and advise you lot to disappear. I'm sure you didn't decide to blow up Richmond, and I'd rather have you where you might hear something that could help us find the true culprits, as quickly as we can. I'll leave you a secure place you can send me a message."

Javier wrote down one of their anonymous e-mail addresses and Jackson gave a wry smile at the exchange. "Beginning of a beautiful friendship. Now, I can't say exactly how soon you need to vanish. But it's a matter of days. The agencies have finally been shocked into sharing information, and there are worse people than the FBI who might show up at your door."

* * *

They sat around the table, mulling the news.

"You trust that woman?" Javier's Mamá asked.

"She did fight against Franklin," said Esther. "She did warn us to disappear."

"Which would make us look guilty," said Selena. "And I still don't know whether she was lying about the FBI having your names. I'm so sorry. I underestimated how hard it is to judge people like her without my abilities. She's a professional liar. Did you notice how authentic that speech sounded, the one about her patriotism? I could tell she'd practiced it exactly like that."

Javier nodded. "But she mentioned me, Kat, and Raj. That matches our first visit to Lukas, and it doesn't seem likely she'd have picked the three of us randomly. The story about a driver makes perfect sense. So at the very least she personally has some information. If the FBI doesn't have it, she could give it to them whenever she wanted. Esther, can you watch where she goes? See if she really did come here alone?"

Esther sighed. She'd been doing that already, of course. But then, she should have caught Jackson earlier. Too tired, too distracted, otherspace too difficult to use with all the noise—all that was true. But she still needed to try harder.

Soon it became clear Jackson was going straight to the airport to return her car. The others argued a while, but in the end Esther didn't have much choice. She needed a quieter environment, and she needed to focus on her abilities, now more than ever.

"We should go," she said. "To the camp. No one has power, and they're saying it might be weeks. Schools won't start on time. Best to go somewhere I can keep a better watch."

Javier and Selena nodded immediately, accepting her choice with a trust that depressed her.

Mamá sighed. "And I should get going south myself. Power's supposed to be back on down there. We'll leave an empty house for the FBI and the army or whoever comes knocking. I'll miss this, though. For all the horror, it was good to be here with all of you."

* * *

It took a little time. Raj and Kat agreed reluctantly to come along, and of course Grace insisted as well. Geoff had returned from visiting his sister, and he'd brought along a generator and some solar panels, so he could at least get some work done. And it turned out he had even more skills than they realized.

"Of course I can make you false identities," he said. "I became an expert at that with Lukas. I already have all the equipment I need, and a fat database of options to choose from. And I have three spare cellular phones, billed to separate anonymous accounts that have enough cash to keep them going a while. The network's still down in the Bay, but I hear it's better than the regular phone lines in some places. Second generation phones, all digital. No reception in rural areas, but it's encrypted."

He didn't ask where they were going, and Javier felt embarrassed to leave him out of the loop. But Geoff always seemed surprised when they shared anything with them, and he kept his personal life carefully apart from them. Javier supposed it made sense given the years he'd spent working for Lukas.

Kat and Grace ended up in the back of Javier's car the next morning for the long trip up. They were examining the documents they'd just picked up from Geoff, which even included passports.

"Annabelle Rivers," Kat said, shaking her head. "Yuck. Better than Kathleen, I guess. What'd you get?"

"Violet Su," Grace said, starting to giggle. "Wow, I sound like a stripper."

"Well," said Kat. "No question you could pull it off. So Javier, you're still José?"

Javier nodded, switching lanes to avoid another un-towed car. "Yeah, but a different José now. Still from Reno. It's funny, when I think about the effort last time to get that license. Geoff said it looked pretty good, but he has no way to verify the backing information. So, brand new identity. It felt like cheating. Geoff's a lot nicer than the asshole who did it the first time around."

They eventually worked their way to highway 49, but traffic was surprisingly heavy. Too many people trying to avoid the blocked parts of I-80.

"You should get off the highway here," Esther said eventually. "Traffic's all stopped up ten miles ahead. I'll direct you."

Kat laughed. "Oh! Let's see if I can let Selena know on my new phone."

No one had been surprised when she snapped up one of the phones, though so far she'd only confirmed the network was down in the Bay. She had no luck this time either.

Kat sighed. "Well, I guess we expected that. You know, Esther, I wish I had you with me all the time. Real-time traffic updates! You're a marvel."

Javier glanced nervously at Esther, who wasn't smiling. She was in one of her moods, and he wasn't positive what it was this time. Probably she was working too hard with her abilities. Of course, that was always true. He'd make her talk about it when they had time. She'd gotten better about talking, anyway.

The minor road was narrow, with pines crouching close on either side. To Javier's surprise, he started seeing snow in patches.

"We can't be above four thousand feet," he said. "I guess that was a pretty cold storm. Glad I brought the chains, though that won't help for the last bit."

"That's just great," Kat said. "How much snow exactly are we talking about?"

"Well, there was over two feet before Christmas," said Javier. "And then the two storms since we got back. So I'm guessing a lot."

Kat groaned. "This is my personal, frosty hell. And to think, I'd almost started to like it up there over the summer."

"Stop whining," said Grace. "It'll be great. Like a little romantic vacation. I've been dying to see this place ever since you described it."

Sure enough, the plows hadn't done a great job on this road. Esther said it didn't get much worse than this, so Javier pulled over to put on the chains. He quickly discovered it was far more unpleasant than the time he'd practiced on the driveway one sunny afternoon. He was freezing and soaked when he got back in.

"Oh, Javier," Esther sighed, trying to warm his hand. "I'll take over driving."

He was going to argue, but the truth was he couldn't feel his fingers, and since none of them had any real experience driving in snow, they were probably better off trusting Esther's caution and mastery of physics.

It was late in the day when they arrived in Sierra City. Javier knew it would be impossible to get up there in this car, but Esther said Selena and Raj were still two hours away, stuck in slow traffic. At least Selena had been smart enough to exchange her rental for a four-wheel-drive that might have a chance on the road up.

They pulled into their usual parking area. After fifteen minutes of meditating, Esther finally opened her eyes again.

"I reached Nicola with a message," she said. "It took a lot of tries for her to notice anything. I think she may still be in a lot of pain, but she went to the truck. I should have thought about it. We should have found somewhere else for a while, to give them more recovery time."

"She could have said no," Javier said. "Nicola will forgive you. But we should all be really nice to her. No complaining about anything."

"Why are you looking at me?" Kat grumbled.

"I also found the Oregon group," said Esther. "Easy, once I looked the right direction. They're in a big sprawling farm in Eastern Oregon. I assume all of them, though I can't be sure. The ancient place must really have been intolerable."

"That would have shaken them up," said Javier slowly. "All their prophecies messed up. I bet it's healthier in the long run for them to be away from there."

When Nicola finally pulled in, Esther said the others were still an hour away. Nicola opened the door and stepped out carefully. She was obviously in pain.

"Where the fuck have you been?" she said, staring at Esther.

Javier's mouth dropped open. Nicola could be rude, but this—

"I'm so sorry," Esther said. "I couldn't do anything. I didn't have my senses back until recently, and then you couldn't hear me—"

"I'm surprised I did now. I'm deaf and blind and my skin is melting off, over and over. Mark's almost certainly worse off, but he's always been able to handle pain better. I know the roads are bad, but do you have any idea what it's been like for us—"

"Then you can imagine what it was like for Esther," said Javier sharply. "She didn't come because she was unconscious, and then we couldn't, with the blackouts and the fires, and—"

Nicola was staring at Javier in shock, and he suddenly realized she'd had no idea. They wouldn't have had any internet service, and Nicola rarely bothered with the radio. She must have thought this was some attack just on the two of them. Terrifying in its own right.

"Blackouts," Nicola said, leaning shakily on the truck. "San Francisco. Oh, fuck me. It was the vision?"

"Yes and no," Esther said. "It was pretty bad. But it wasn't the apocalypse. Here, why don't you let Javier drive and we'll tell you about it.

"No, I'll drive. You wouldn't believe how shitty the road is."

Javier understood when they reached the last road. There was no way Selena was going to make it without the truck's raised suspension and massive snow tires. On the way up, he and Esther tried to fill in Nicola on everything that had happened.

The snow deepened as they climbed, and Grace made appreciative noises. Javier agreed that it was beautiful. When they reached the parking area, it was like a storybook scene, wood smoke pouring out of one chimney with snowdrifts in places rising nearly to the sloped roofs. Deep paths were neatly carved out connecting the cabins, which surprised Javier. They couldn't have known they'd have sudden company.

"Mark did almost all the shoveling," said Nicola. "He said it was a good distraction."

"I'll have to thank him," said Kat, looking unhappy. "I don't even have winter boots."

Mark came out, looking a lot better than Nicola. But she was right about his ability to tolerate pain. Javier felt terrible for both of them. He volunteered to take the truck back down for Selena and Raj, and Nicola must have been truly exhausted, because she agreed without much fuss. Javier left the five of them huddled in the dining cabin, a pot of hot chocolate simmering.

He'd been watching Nicola drive up, and in truth there wasn't much to it, except caution. The wheel ruts were already there and the truck had plowed aside the deeper drifts on the way down. The camp really had been a beautiful scene, but it had felt cramped with just six of them. Javier hadn't even thought about the cabin situation. They'd have to invite people to share with them, and of course Esther would offer. Well, Javier would do the same.

He found Selena and Raj waiting at the parking spot in Sierra City.

"Those SUV ads lie," said Selena, giving the tire a last kick before getting into the truck. "We checked out the road, but this thing had no chance of getting through the snow. Thanks for the ride."

Raj had a bunch of equipment to load into the truck. Apparently he'd taken along most of his home radio setup. As Javier drove he described the situation. "Nicola didn't say, but I think they both got hit worse than you, Selena. They must have thought someone had targeted just them. Nicola's still in a lot of pain, and even testier than usual."

Selena sighed. "And now there's a big crowd squeezing into their space. Well, the three of us were getting along well enough before Christmas. I'll probably be out skiing a lot of the time."

"About that," Javier said. "We never talked about where everyone will stay. Either or both of you are welcome to stay in our cabin."

"Oh, I'll be fine in the little sleeping platform," said Selena. "If that's all right with everyone else. You could probably even squeeze another in there."

"No, you need your space more than any of us," said Raj. "Thank you for the offer, Javier. I will make do just fine however it works out. It wasn't too difficult to share with Nicola and Mark when I was here last."

Javier suspected it was going to work out that way. Sure enough, when they arrived, Esther hung outside with him for an extra minute.

"You know Mark still isn't really comfortable in Abuela's old cabin. And Raj thinks of me as his student and doesn't like being more familiar than that, despite everything. Grace and Kat are fine staying there with us, but only if that's OK with you."

"Of course," he said, trying not to think too long about it.

There was barely any space in the dining cabin, but it was a warm atmosphere. Though Nicola looked awful, she was clearly attempting to be friendly. With the hot chocolate and snacks it was reminding him of the Christmas party, in those magic hours before everything changed.

Eventually Nicola excused herself. When Javier followed her out, she slowed.

"Javier, I can't do this anymore. I feel like total shit. Maybe this is something like what it's like for Selena all the time. I can't believe she's doing so well. In a lot of ways she's as sensitive as I am."

"Yeah, she said her experience dealing with the noise in her head is helping, along with Esther's meditations." He took a breath, but the words weren't coming properly.

"Javier, could you spit it out already? I have to go crash."

He forged ahead quickly. "Nicola, I know you feel like shit, but you really hurt Esther. She was already worrying about both of you on top of everything, and she's been upset at feeling so powerless."

Nicola rubbed her eyes. "Shit. Of course you're right, Javier. I'll have to apologize to her. Is she really doing OK?"

"Physically, a lot better than you. In that head of hers, though—"

"Yeah," Nicola said. "OK. And I apologize in advance for whatever nasty things I'll wind up saying to you. I hate how I get. You'd think with all this meditation I'd be a fucking Buddha by now."

"Good luck with that," Javier said. She almost smiled.

* * *

Grace was the last in, and she pulled the door shut. "Well, this is really cozy. Thanks for letting us squeeze in with you."

Kat snorted. "Cozy's the word for it. And it's freezing."

"You could share the bed with us," Esther said, shocking Javier a bit. It was only queen-sized.

Grace replied quickly enough to forestall whatever response Kat was working on. "No, we'll do fine on the floor, with all these sleeping bags and blankets."

Esther got the stove going and showed them how to work it, while Javier moved furniture and made some sleeping space on the floor nearest the stove. They really had quite a nest by the end, but Javier felt bad. The floor was always cold even with the stove on.

Kat claimed the spot nearest the stove and tested it, lying on her back.

"Well, it's softer than I expected. Plus, my tits are roasting while my ass is freezing. So at least it's novel."

"It'll be fine," Grace said, sitting next to Kat and stroking her cheek.

"It is kind of romantic," Kat said with a sigh, smiling at Grace despite herself. "Almost makes it worth being a fugitive from the FBI. But, seriously, eight people, one outhouse, one shower?"