Cloud Rebel (R-D #3)(36)

"You think she was part of the original Program—the one Dr. Shaw talks about?"

"Possibly. Shaw is slowly giving us information—trying not to scare us, I guess. I think he's waiting to tell us what happened to the original members."

"They have to be dead, or we'd have met them by now. Don't you think?" I couldn't keep the worry out of my voice.

"Jen, don't worry about that, all right?" Brett rubbed my shoulders. I had to admit to myself that his touch felt really good.

"What's going on?" Dr. Farrell interrupted our conversation.

"Just need more coffee," Brett held up his cup and walked out of the room. Dr. Farrell wore a frown as he watched Brett leave. Somehow, I always got the feeling that Dr. Farrell was waiting for something—expecting something, in fact—from me. I had yet to determine what it was.

She is mine filtered into my thoughts, causing me to gasp.

*

Corinne

We found Leo standing at a window, gazing out at the occasional snowflake that blew past the Montreal airport. Miles to the north, that same storm system was dumping snow on the ground at an alarming rate.

"Leo?" I said softly. After all, Val had shielded us from everyone else's sight—only Leo could see us and I didn't want his reaction at our arrival to draw attention.

"Corinne?" He beamed at me when I stepped up beside him.

"Val and I are here to take you to the location," I said.

"I hope there's more than a tent waiting—I got the official weather report a few minutes ago," he held up his cell phone.

"There is, thanks to Val. And we have coffee and food there, too," I said. "Uh, how's Rafe?"

"Depressed."

"That's not what I wanted to hear," I sighed.

"I know. I wish there were a way to fix this," Leo nodded. "Come on, let's get out of here before I'm hauled in for a psych eval for talking to myself."

*

"So. Not dead after all," Finch groused as he took a seat at the kitchen island. Val had designed this one after what was at the beach house, so there was plenty of room for everyone.

"Not dead," I poured a mug of coffee for myself. "Want some?" I held up the pot.

"Sure. That blue guy—what's he to you?"

"He's my Larentii mate," I said, turning tall and blue to drive my point home.

"Christ," Finch lowered his eyes and shook his head. "Were you this—before?"

"Yep."

"How can you—just change like that?"

"Larentii can command atoms," I shrugged. "Hell, we can command the smaller particles, too."

"That must be handy," Finch raised his eyes and looked around the kitchen. "I guess that explains our new quarters, then."

"That explains it," I nodded.

"That guy you were with last time—he still alive?"

"Yes."

"Where?"

"I'm not at liberty to say."

"Ah. Do you know whether I could beat him in a fight?"

"You would be pulped and on your way to paper if you threw a punch in his direction," I snapped. "You have no idea who you were rude to the last time we saw one another."

"Yeah. I'm beginning to see that. What about the two who came in with you? They don't recognize me for some reason."

"Long story," I said for the second time that day. "Try to be nice, okay? Jen idolizes you—as a hero. Try to hold onto that image, all right?"

"Wow," Finch whispered. I set his coffee on the island in front of him.

"How is this place powered?" Leo walked into the kitchen. Automatically, I poured coffee for him.

"Solar power, sent from sensor to sensor from above the atmosphere to the ground," Val appeared.

"Somebody is way, way more efficient than Earth," I smiled at Val.

"It is common in both the Reth and Campiaan Alliances," he shrugged. "Worlds that failed to harness wind, solar and water power often drained and destroyed themselves," he added. "We Larentii developed this practice before anyone else."

"The original hippies," Finch said before sipping his coffee.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" I snapped at him.

Val didn't do anything to Finch. He did do something to Finch's coffee cup—the one he still held aloft.

Its particles separated in a flash of sparks and disappeared while Finch stared at his now-empty hand in shock.

"He can do that with your body, too," I said. "Sometimes, it doesn't take stripes on a uniform to understand who's in charge."

"Show some respect," Leo barked at Finch. Well, Leo did outrank him. I wanted to laugh. Leo seldom got his underwear in a twist, but Finch had tied it in several knots, by the look on Leo's face.

"In trouble, are we?" Brett stood in the doorway. He'd heard the conversation from a hallway away, just as any werewolf could.

"Shut it," Finch snarled and stalked out of the kitchen.

"I see why he hasn't been promoted recently," Brett shook his head. "Poor attitude."

"I think the term poor is understating it," I said. Brett laughed.