The Thought Pushers (Mind Dimensions #2)(72)

The puzzle pieces begin to fall into place. “So that’s why Eugene said that weird shit about not shooting me because I can spend months in the Mind Dimension?”

“Yeah.” Eugene nods. “It would’ve been a sacrilege to take away so much power. I couldn’t let her do it. She can be cranky when she wakes up, so I didn’t even realize she was bluffing.”

I blow out a relieved breath. So it wasn’t that Eugene wanted to use me, as I’d originally thought. He had been aware of the true cost of death in the Quiet all along and was simply trying to protect me.

Everything starts to make sense now. When Caleb said during our Joining that dying in the Quiet has a lasting effect, he didn’t mean death; he meant the Pusher would be Inert. This also explains Caleb’s slightly odd thought about it being time to ‘begin’ killing the Pusher. He must’ve meant that step one was making the man Inert. Without powers, it must be much easier to dispatch one of us outside the Quiet. And this is why Caleb tried to phase into the Quiet from not too far away. Once the Pusher was killed in the Quiet and therefore rendered Inert, Caleb, who still possessed his powers, would’ve made short work of him.

I’m still not solid on the details, but things are beginning to be clearer.

“How long will it take me to recover?” I ask.

“It varies for everyone,” Eugene says.

“Wait,” Thomas says, turning toward me. “Hold on a second. Is your ‘Depth’ the same thing we call Reach? And if so, are you saying that yours is months? You never mentioned this, Darren.”

I shrug, still thinking about my Inert state, but Hillary smiles proudly. “He is my nephew, after all.”

“Is this why you didn’t run when I asked you to?” Mira stares at me, her eyes shining. “You thought we were in mortal danger?”

“Well, yeah,” I admit, somewhat embarrassed. “I couldn’t just leave you there. Sam was right on our heels. I didn’t realize you were trying to save my powers.”

“I was actually trying to end her suffering,” Mira explains, glancing at Hillary.

“Thank you,” my aunt says.

There is a moment of silence as everyone seems to relive those terrifying moments.

“So what’s with this car crash?” I ask finally. “How does that fit into everything?”

“That’s my fault,” Thomas says. “The shock of dying and then finding myself behind the wheel again was too much, so I rear-ended that guy.”

“I took care of that driver,” Hillary says. “He’ll think he backed into a fire hydrant.”

“You keep saying that you took care of things,” Mira says. “But you’re not explaining what you did or how you did it. What’s happening on that bridge?”

“Oh, that. I Guided the mobsters to hold down your fellow Leachers—I mean, Jacob and Sam. The mobsters are probably moving in on them as we speak,” Hillary explains.

“I still can’t believe it,” Eugene says through gritted teeth. “It’s been Jacob all this time.” In an uncharacteristic move for Eugene, he punches my seat in frustration. It doesn’t hurt, so I don’t say anything. I understand exactly how he feels.

“Wait, it just occurred to me. The name Jacob,” Hillary says. “Didn’t you say that the name of the person on the phone was Esau?”

“Yes,” I say. “So?”

“Jacob and Esau were brothers in the Scripture. The guy practically gave you a hint as to who he is,” Hillary says.

“So Jacob ordered that explosion,” Mira says slowly, and I realize that this fact is only now beginning to dawn on her. “It was a Reader who ruined our lives, not a Pusher.”

“Yes, it was Jacob using an alias of Esau,” I confirm softly. “He ordered Arkady to use the explosives.” Mira’s entire world must be turning upside down. Pushers are not her enemies, while Readers, her own people, seem to be.

“I don’t understand.” Eugene sounds bewildered. “There was definitely a Pusher involved. He pops up in many of the gangsters’ memories.”

“There must be more to this,” Hillary says. “After the police question everyone involved, we can access their files. Maybe something will turn up.”

“What police?” Mira’s voice gets soft. Dangerously soft. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m about to call them,” Hillary explains. “That’s the part of the plan that’s now different. Easier, in fact. The gangsters should be able to hold those two Leachers down, and instead of us calling our Guide friends, I’ll let the cops handle this. Guides are not equipped to deal with Leachers. They’ll kill them, and I can’t have that. Don’t worry, though. Unlike Guides, Leachers can’t get out of jail. Right?” she says, apparently missing the hard gleam in Mira’s eyes.

“No f*cking way—”

Mira’s harsh words get interrupted by the sound of distant gunfire. One shot is followed by several in rapid succession.

Hillary turns pale.

Mira’s head whips toward the bridge, and I see her coming to a swift decision. Before I can say anything, she springs into action. She opens the door, presses the door lock button, slams the door shut behind her, and begins running toward the bridge.