Brain Storm by Cat Gilbert (detective books to read .TXT) 📖

too much. My bare feet certainly didn’t appreciate it nor did my sopping backside as there was just enough breeze to ramp up the cold factor a couple of notches. I glanced around to try and get some bearings. As far as I could tell, I was in a little glade with dense pine trees about 50 feet out on three sides and open to the hills on the fourth. There were no obvious landmarks, but I thought I could just make out the top of the building where they’d taken me from just over the crest of one of the hills. They hadn’t taken me far, and I hadn’t been out here for long. I could still feel my hands and my feet, so they’d delayed staking me out for a while. That was nice of them.

The thought had barely crossed my mind when the first missile hit me square in the face, stunning me with enough force to knock me back a step. My arms jerked on the chain, pulling against the zip-ties, the force biting into my wrists and driving me to my knees. I shook off the impact, throwing the ice and snow off my face, certain I was going to see blood on the snow. Snowballs? Really? More like ice balls, I thought, as the next one hit me square on the shoulder, soaking my arm and sending ice pellets down my neck. Someone had some pretty good aim. I hunched down, attempting to make myself a smaller target as I scanned the trees for my attackers, but empty silence was all that greeted me. They’d launched two bombs and then scrambled for cover. Cowards.

Not that I blamed them. I was a real dangerous person now, and I didn’t have an issue with using my new found skills when I was attacked. Within limits that is. So far, having to stick to the physical side of things had worked pretty well for me. I was able to escape most of the test situations they threw at me. Not that it meant anything. They were as worried about hurting me as I was about hurting them, but it was good practice if nothing else. Now it had evolved into this. Snow and ice and drugs and chains. Lars wasn’t letting them get within physical reach of me, trying to force me to use my mental powers.

I squatted there, dripping wet and freezing and thought of home. I was going home. As soon as this was over, I was packing my bags and hitting the road. I searched in the tree line, wondering where Mac was, knowing he had to be out there somewhere watching. He’d promised me, after the mess with Marcus, that he wouldn’t leave me again, and I knew that somehow he would find a way to follow me. I had counted on it. I couldn’t sense him, not like I could with Brown, but I had a pretty good idea of when he’d found me. The tension and anxiety that had plagued me since making the decision to join up with Lars had eased the moment he got close. He was out there, I was sure of it, and he’d be just as ready to head home as I was after three months of roughing it.

Home was the goal, but we had to get there first. I may have decided to end it, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t have a little fun on my way out. Fun was safe. I stood up, making myself a target and waited. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught movement in the pine branches as an attacker cleared the way for his launch. With my hands tied together, there was no way I could retaliate with a snowball of my own, but that didn't mean I was defenseless. I had no intention of getting hit again. Twice was more than enough. Without a thought, I reached out mentally, grabbed hold of the snow laden branch above his head and gave it a good shake. He made the mistake of looking up just as the snow fell on him, knocking him to the ground and I froze. What had just happened? Did I do that, or had it just been a coincidence? I watched as other loads of snow fell to the ground as the sun warmed the branches and couldn’t help but wonder.

Another attacker took advantage of my distraction to wing one at me. I turned, just in time to see it coming and took a mental swing against it, shattering it a good five feet away. He stood there in the trees, unmoving, not believing what he’d seen. I couldn’t believe it either. No coincidence here. Somehow my power was back. The feeling of instant euphoria came as a surprise, but this wasn’t the time to think about it. I was under attack. He wasn’t going to stand there for long, and where there was one, there would be others. I took hold of a small pine tree behind him and bent it back halfway to the ground before releasing it. It smacked him a good one on the backside, catching him completely off guard and knocked him face-first into the snow.

Suddenly, there was motion all through the trees, and Lars’ team of men came into view, each with a snowball in hand. Okay. Bring it on boys! I reached out and shook as many tree branches as possible. Snow cascaded down in a white curtain, buying me some time. Pleased, I squatted down next to the pipe as they brushed themselves off and eyed the u-bolt holding my chain to the pipe. My hands were way too numb from the cold to even think about turning the screws, but I might be able to do it mentally. I focused on one screw and turned it in my mind. Nothing happened, and I glanced up to see the line of armed attackers once again on the advance. I was about to be pelted! Not good. Focus! Maybe I was turning it the wrong way? What was that saying? Lefty-righty, something, something. I couldn’t remember, and it didn’t matter. I decided to try turning it the other way. Amazingly, it moved. Once I got the hang of it, I had it out, and the other screw followed quickly behind it, the u-bolt dropping from the pole. I was loose. It made absolutely no difference and at the same time, all the difference in the world. I had the power. I was He-Man, and She-Ra rolled into one.

I stood tall and lifted my arms in the air, showing them I was free. They stopped in their tracks. I thought for a minute it was because of me, but then Lars stepped out of the trees, and I realized he’d called them off. Bummer. The fun was officially over. Just as well. My feet were freezing. I turned and started walking towards the hill where I thought I’d seen the rooftop. Before long I heard the noise of a snowmobile behind me and within seconds Lars pulled up alongside, giving me a rare grin. I held out my hands, and he pulled out a knife, slicing through the zip ties. Then he tossed a blanket at me and motioned for me to get on behind him. He didn’t have to ask twice. The legs of my pajamas were coated with snow, and my feet were turning blue. They were going to hurt when the feeling came back into them. I wrapped up best I could and hopped on.

As I suspected, we weren’t far from the main building. We topped the hill, and the compound spread out before us, surrounded by dense forest and glistening snow. It was a beautiful sight. Peaceful, serene. Everything a mountain hideaway should be, but I would be happy to see the end of it. I had decided. I had held up my side of the bargain. It was time to get Mac and go home.

Discover what happens next…