Alien Research

CHAPTER 74

I DIDN’T HAVE TIME to react before Mahin had shoved Christopher off of her and was standing next to me, palms up and out. Just as she’d done in the desert, a dirt wall formed between us and the explosion. And as before, it fell onto the explosion, smothering the flames.

I tried to run but Jeff had his arm firmly around my waist. “She could still be alive.” I said desperately. I knew she wasn’t, though. Because the last thing I’d seen before the crash had been Gladys pointing the Glock at her own head. But I still wanted to believe she hadn’t pulled the trigger and was merely trapped in the wreckage, alive and okay.

“I can’t feel her,” Jeff said, voice choked.

“They’re wearing emotional blockers or whatever. I mean, can you feel the rest of us?”

“No,” Jeff admitted. He hugged me. “Not even you.”

“So that’s probably a good thing.”

“I’ll search,” Christopher said. “I’m best equipped.”

Decided not to ask him how he was better equipped than the rest of us to do this, because he looked as stricken as Jeff sounded. “We’ll all go,” Jeff said. “Just in case.”

“I can’t guarantee that nothing more will explode,” Mahin said. “I know the flames are out but . . .”

Before we could decide how foolhardy we wanted to be, the rest of our team arrived, let by White. Could see regular military personnel coming in the distance.

“Let the military search,” I told Christopher. “That way, we can’t be accused of anything.”

“But—” He looked ready to go anyway.

“Trust me. Please.”

“Bomb units are on the way,” Chuckie said. “Kitty’s right—it would be better to allow human military to handle the rest.”

Mahin was crying softly. Jeff reached out and pulled her to us. “It’ll be okay,” he said. He remained a terrible liar. The Poofs went small and jumped into pockets or my purse, depending.

“What happened?” White asked softly, as he pulled Christopher into his arms.

“Gladys . . . Gladys wasn’t mind controlled. She’s killed Ronaldo.” Managed not to add “and herself,” but White’s expression said that he knew. “She was in the crash.”

“I’m so sorry,” Mahin sobbed. “If I hadn’t listened to them, none of this would have happened.”

White took her from Jeff and hugged her. “We make mistakes. It’s part of what makes us who we all are. And part of who you are is my younger sister, just as Gladys was.”

“They’d have done it anyway,” Jeff said. “It’s what our enemies do. But by leaving them you weaken them and strengthen us.”

Wanted to follow that line of reasoning, but now wasn’t the time. Made a mental note that I needed to return to that point. Later.

Uncle Mort was on site now, and he had the bomb unit delving into the wreckage. They had dogs, which was sort of a surprise, but at least I knew if someone was still somehow alive the dogs would sniff them out.

I went to my uncle. “There should be three, possibly four, bodies. One of them will be a small woman who’s an A-C. If we can get her body back, that would be . . . good.”

Uncle Mort hugged me. “Gladys?”

“Yeah.”

“She was a brave woman.”

“She was. Uncle Mort . . . I think . . . I think she wanted to die. Why? She was a fighter, more like Mom and you than Dad or Richard. Why would she just . . . give up?”

He was quiet for a few moments, as he patted my back and stroked my hair, just like he’d done when I was a teenager and had had to call him to get me out of trouble when I couldn’t reach my parents. “My guess is because she knew, ultimately, who was responsible for what’s happened. And she didn’t want to live with that knowledge.”

“But she has a husband and a family.”

“Yes. And she’d know for the rest of her life that because she was susceptible to your enemy that she’d caused the deaths of many people, including those she loved. Never forget, Kitty—those who share the information with the enemy are as guilty as those who pull the triggers. Guiltier in many ways. There’s a reason we consider high treason to be a heinous crime.”

“But she didn’t betray us on purpose.”

“No, I presume she did not. How would that make her feel better?”

“She killed Ronaldo before the crash. I saw her do it, and I could tell he was dead. So why . . . go down with the ship?”

He sighed. “If you can be controlled by one, who’s to say you can’t be controlled by another? You’re talking about the woman who held every military secret Centaurion Division has ever had. And she was read as easily as you or I would read a children’s book. That kind of security breach can destroy an entire country, or more. Would she want to know she was responsible for destroying her people? How could she prevent being controlled the next time? How could she be sure she wasn’t being controlled every moment of her life? When your decisions are not your own, when your mind is not your own, there is no such thing as free will, and you cease to really exist as anything but a shell, even if you live for a hundred years.”

“There’s isolation.” But as I said it, I realized it wasn’t a life. Jeff went into isolation to be regenerated, not to spend the rest of his life there.

“You can still be found, even on the remotest part of the planet, or out in a universe that you now know is teeming with life. No, I understand her decision. Is it the choice I would have made? I’m thankful that I can’t say, but I can say that I hope I’m never put in the position Gladys was in. And I hope you never are, either.”

One of the bomb unit came over. “Sir, the dogs aren’t finding any signs of life.”

“I’ll let you handle this.” Gave Uncle Mort another hug, then headed back to Jeff and the others.

White reached out and pulled me to him. “She’s dead for certain?”

“Yes. Richard, I’m so sorry.”

He kissed the top of my head. “I as well. I regret not getting to say goodbye.”

Remembered Gladys had given me her phone. “Hang on.” Dug into my purse and got her cell out. Turned it on. “She said there was something she wanted me to see.” Scrolled through and found it in videos. The “Hey, Kiddo” title was something of a clue.

I hit play. Gladys’ face filled the screen.

“Recording this before I leave to go get you and head us over to Guantanamo. I’m pretty sure that my dream was being controlled by my younger brother, but what he doesn’t know is that I’ve figured out how to tell it’s him.”

Jeff and Christopher joined us.

Gladys grimaced. “But it’s a hell of a lot of work. I have to pay attention twenty-four-seven, and that means my life from now on will be watching for mind control, and that’s an all-consuming task. Meaning that unless he’s dead, I’ll never be free. I don’t know what all he’s gotten from me, but I do know that it’s more than we want him or our enemies having. So I’m going to take steps.”

The rest of our team was huddled around the phone now. I ensured the volume was at full.

“I’m going to kill Ronaldo. I know, once we’ve got him and you’re thinking clearly, you’ll tell me he needs to stay alive so that he can be questioned. But I also know he’s never had an original thought in his head, no one who knows him would trust him with real information, and the only place he’ll lead you is astray. You have others who know more and are of far more value. Catch, contain, and don’t lose them.”

Her expression went to sad anger. “My favorite nephew is dead, because of me. I never had children, and of all of the kids out there, Michael was most like the son I’d always wanted. Without being in the Yates bloodline, he still had the good parts of my father in him somehow, without the bad. I know everyone else wanted to blame themselves, you especially, for his murder. But the buck stops here, kiddo. Any other deaths that happen because of my being mind controlled are all on me, too. Your mother will understand.”

She looked at something, then back at the camera. “I’ve said goodbye to my husband, though he probably doesn’t know it. He’s a lover, not a fighter, and Richard and Stanley will help get him through this, just as he’ll help them. Tell Richard I was prepared and he’ll find whatever’s needed to transition my role to someone else. And also, please tell Richard, and anyone else, that we say goodbye every day, and that I know they loved me and I want them to know that I loved them right back.”

Gladys sighed. “If my plan works, this is the last thing you’ll hear from me. I know you and the others are all going to question my choices, but there are worse things than dying, and I’m staring some of those things in the face right now.

“I’ll leave you with this—I agree that there’s a Mastermind. And I know Ronaldo was working for whoever that is. Remember that the Mastermind is your ultimate goal, but don’t forget that wars are won one battle at a time. And no matter how it might seem right now, kiddo, this battle isn’t actually over.”

Gladys grinned. “So, stop sniveling about my death and go do what you do best—fight for right, protect my people, and kick bad guy ass.”