Awakening Book One of the Trust Series(108)

He stopped, and looked up mournfully at the staircase leading to his bedroom before reaching in his pocket for the phone. Whatever it was must be important; people knew when he was blocking himself that they should not disturb him. He peered at the screen to see who was calling.

“Hello, Kent.”

“We have him, Jonathan.”

Any signs of exhaustion quickly dissipated. There was no need for DiMartino to elaborate further on who ‘him’ referred to. “When?”

“We caught him about an hour ago. It wasn’t easy.”

“How many?”

Kent paused on the phone. “We lost three. Lionel is as strong as Declan reported, stronger than we ever gave him credit for. I was afraid for a moment there that he was going to get away.”

“Is he contained?”

“Yes. We have five Inquisitors watching him now, two at a time on him. We are able to stop him from teleporting, but there are certain blocks of his that we cannot breach that are preventing us from digging deeper and taking total control.”

That did not surprise Jonathan. He always had a feeling that Lionel was more advanced than he made it appear to the outside observer. “Where is he?”

“He is currently on his way to the Utah facility.”

“When will he arrive there?”

“We should be there in less than an hour.”

“I will meet you there.”

“Alright.” Kent did not even question how that would be possible. “Jonathan?”

“Yes?”

“He is f*cking pissed.”

“I bet.” Jonathan heard the phone line go dead. His mind raced with the news that Lionel was in the Trust’s hands again. They made it a priority to capture him, bring him to justice for his treason. It could not have been better timing. Tomorrow the news would be out that the treaty was no longer in effect, and now they could add the news that Lionel was captured.

The Tribunal would be pleased with this. They had originally wanted to use Declan and Caitlyn Young as bait, insisting that it would be the only way that they could distract him long enough to capture him, a request that Jonathan flat out refused. It was a dangerous task; he was being selfish and did not want his son subjected to anything else involving that man. He was also quite certain that there was no way that his son, who he was sure was in love with his student, would allow Caitlyn to go without him.

As it was, Jonathan has been more than angry when he received word of Lionel’s betrayal. Jonathan had been no stranger to disloyalty, but this particular one stung deeply. Over the years, Jonathan not only considered Lionel his closest confidant; but he was considered his best friend and more importantly, part of the family. Lionel had been there for him when his wife passed away, consoling him, making him believe that it would be alright. He was at almost every family gathering, every Thanksgiving, every Christmas, and every birthday. Jonathan was thrilled when the Council and Tribunal granted his wish to make Lionel Declan’s mentor; he could not have imagined a better person to teach him.

But as hurt as he was at Lionel; he knew that Declan felt the betrayal much deeper than he ever could. Declan did not have faith in many people either; it was a trait that Jonathan had installed in him he was afraid. He knew Declan considered Lionel even more than a mentor at times, he considered him a second father, seeking advice. Jonathan saw Declan clearly struggling with coming to terms with what Lionel did.

It was why Jonathan had never even told him that the Tribunal made the decision to go after him. It was top secret, only a handful of people were in on the mission. If Declan had been told, well, he would have insisted on being involved and would have not taken no for an answer. So instead, he focused his son on the dissolution of the Treaty of 1989. It was a task that Declan was definitely more than capable of doing, more so, he was most likely the best Actual for the job. It has the added bonus of keeping him so busy that he could not even think about going after Lionel.

Jonathan went to the bathroom, splashing some water on his face to keep himself awake. He reached out for Caitlyn Young, not surprised when her block was up in her sleep. He called out to his administrative assistant and obtained the student’s cell phone number.

The phone rang three times before a groggy Caitlyn answered. “Hello?”

“Caitlyn, it’s Jonathan McPherson. I’m sorry for calling so late at night. I need to ask a favor. Can you meet me at my house in five minutes?”

Caitlyn arrived two minutes later in his living room. Her hair was pulled back and it was apparent that she had quickly dressed. “Hello, Councilman McPherson.”