The Elders (Mind Dimensions #4)(69)

“Good boy.” Caleb smirks. “You were saying?”

“If you kill me, Paul and the others are—”

“Dead, I get it,” he says. “That’s the only reason you don’t have a hole in you already.”

I decide to proceed as though nothing’s changed. “As I was saying, I want Rose to bring her attacker, Richard, into the Quiet with us, and at the same time, you, Caleb, will bring in Kate”—I point to her, then gesture to the rest of her crew as I name them—“Eleanor, George, James, and John—if he’s alive.”

Rose looks at me as though I sprouted horns.

Caleb sarcastically asks, “Anything else?”

“Yes,” I say, ignoring his tone. “I need you to do it at exactly the same time.”

Rose’s voice quivers as she asks, “How are we supposed to—”

“Easy,” I say. “We synchronize our watches.”

“That’s not what I was about to ask,” she says, her composure improving. “But you knew that.”

“Look, the worst they can do is make you Inert,” I say. “And you, Rose, don’t have anything to lose.”

“I do,” Caleb says. “Without the Mind Dimension, I’ll be at a huge disadvantage.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, “but that’s the best plan I can come up with.”

“That’s not a plan,” Caleb says. “That’s just something for us to do. I want to know what the hell you need this suicide mission for before I agree to it.”

I look at Rose, and she gives me a nod. I gather she doesn’t mind Caleb knowing that Readers can be Guided, so I tell him what I, and the Elders, can do. I also tell him my plan—which is to bring Thomas in at the exact same time as Caleb and Rose bring in the others, and use Eugene’s machine to go to Level 2 and gain control of the situation.

“It won’t work,” Caleb says. “At least not for John.”

“Why?” Eugene asks.

“Because I made him Inert,” Caleb explains. “I tried it with all of them but that one.” He points at George. “John was the only one I could beat in the Mind Dimension.”

“You mean everyone but John kicked your ass?” I say unkindly.

He gives me a look that says, ‘I’m about to kick your ass,’ so I don’t push the point.

“Why didn’t you try making George Inert?” I ask instead. “There’s no way he could’ve come close to beating you. He isn’t part of Kate’s crew. He’s a glorified politician for the Elders.”

Caleb looks surprised. “I didn’t realize that. In fact, I thought it was the opposite. I figured since the guy looks like he’s their leader—”

“He’s not the leader.” I frown. “Kate—the one with the sword—is.”

He shrugs. “Not much I can do with that information now.”

“But you seem to be doing well there.” I look over at frozen Caleb and Eleanor.

“If you used your brain, you’d know that I’m as good as dead,” he says. “At least I will be once the others are through with the monks. The cow and I are pretty evenly matched, and I let her get me on the ground. Now she’s making sure I’m sprawled like that for a while so her team can finish me off.”

“So you might as well try this plan,” Rose says. “At least it gives you a chance.”

Caleb gives me a cold look. “Fine, but I have one condition. You’re going to stay out of my head.”

“Sure. Even if I wanted to get into your head, I suspect I wouldn’t be able to. Something about your head is special.” I chuckle. “At least when it comes to Level 2.”

“You mean the fact that he hasn’t been Guided by the Super Pusher?” Eugene looks at Caleb as though seeing the man for the first time.

“Yes,” I confirm. “Rose hasn’t been Guided either. The two of them must be resistant somehow.”

“Curious,” Eugene says before turning to me. “There’s a big flaw with the whole idea.”

He looks worried, and I know he’s no longer talking about Caleb’s strange head.

“What flaw?” I ask.

“If Caleb can’t handle them one by one, won’t he have trouble with the whole lot of them all at once?”

“You don’t say,” Caleb says mockingly. “Thank you for this revelation. Did you need that white coat to come up with it?”

“He doesn’t need to fight anyone,” I explain to Eugene. Then, looking at Caleb, I say, “You can just tap each one, then run away or something.”

“Great idea,” Eugene says at the same time as Caleb says, “Run away?”

Caleb’s face looks menacingly calm as he mutters something softly. The only word I can make out is indignity.

“Can I do the same?” Rose asks, ignoring the big man’s gripes.

“Yes,” I say. “And you have the advantage of hiding behind the trees.”

“But the disadvantage of old age,” she says.

“I can take your place,” Eugene offers. “I can show you how to turn on the machine.”

“No,” Rose says. “You’re the best person to operate whatever that is. I’ll run and hide as Darren suggested.”