Street Game

CHAPTER 11

“What did you say?” Mack demanded.

Ethan shrugged his shoulders. “Nothing, boss. Nothing at all.”

The men turned and started up the stairs, some walking a little gingerly. Jaimie started after them, but Mack caught her arm, preventing her from moving.

“Where’s Paul?” he asked Kane.

“First floor with Brian.” Kane looked closer. “You’re still itching for a fight. We thought you’d be all mellow after…” He broke off when Mack shot him a look.

“You thought wrong.”

Kane sighed. “Brian has Paul under guard and Javier brought his computer as ordered. You want to fill me in?”

There was a small silence. Mack’s thumb slid over the inside of Jaimie’s wrist, but he didn’t look at her, simply brushed soothing strokes back and forth across sensitive skin. She wasn’t certain if he was soothing her-or him.

“Jaimie discovered a pattern with a couple of the missions you’ve been running lately, Kane. The last three you’ve been asked for by name-you and Brian.” He waited for the significance to sink in. When Kane didn’t display any reaction Mack continued. “All three missions went south. If I hadn’t had a bad feeling and sent backup, you and Brian would have been killed.”

“You think Sergeant Major buried the report we gave on Whitney.”

“And all the evidence you’d gathered,” Mack added.

Kane rolled his shoulders. “I thought we’d been targeted. That’s why I stayed away from you and didn’t talk about it. We had orders not to. You knew we were sending our reports on Whitney up the chain of command, but Brian and I talked it over after the first mission where we were ambushed and we decided to try to distance ourselves from all of you just to try to keep from dragging you into our mess.”

“That was a bullshit decision,” Mack said. “That’s not how it works.”

“For anyone but you? Everyone I care about is on this team, Mack. Same with Brian. We’re not about to put any of you in jeopardy.”

Mack sighed and threw another glance at Jaimie. “So everyone is protecting everyone else and putting themselves in the line of fire in the name of love. Great thing to do. You’re all a bunch of boneheads.”

“What would you do?”

“Exactly what we’re going to do. Remove the threat. I won’t have you or Brian sent out on a suicide mission. If Sergeant Major is protecting Whitney, then we’ll take him out.” He made the statement coldly, without passion. “He’s a dead man if he deliberately put you in harm’s way, but we’ll do it smart.”

Kane half turned.

“Kane.” Mack’s voice was low but carried a thread of menace, a wealth of command. “Do we have an understanding?”

“Yes, Top.”

The tension in the room eased. Beside her, Jaimie felt Mack’s body relax a bit, his fingers still stroking her skin. “Is Gideon keeping an eye on our terrorists?”

Kane nodded. “But he’s hungry. He said to eat fast and relieve him. I didn’t tell him Jaimie didn’t make the lasagna.” He grinned. “I didn’t want to destroy his good mood.”

“I made the sauce. You couldn’t have messed it up,” Jaimie pointed out.

“Don’t count on it, little sister. Javier had ideas.”

“You didn’t let that man touch the sauce, did you?”

“I tried to stop him,” Kane said piously. “I did, Jaimie. He whipped out that big knife of his and started cleaning his fingernails. I had to let him do whatever he wanted.”

“He wasn’t in my kitchen when he was cleaning his fingernails, was he?”

Kane leaned close, lowering his voice. “I don’t think sex works for either of you. You should be relaxed and feeling great, not hostile and tense. Maybe you need to have a little talk with me, boss. I could give you a couple of pointers.”

Mack snorted. “You’re going to give me pointers on sex.”

“I’m willing, boss. Just to help you out.”

Mack made a suggestion that was anatomically impossible, accompanied by sign language.

Jaimie put her foot on the stairs again. This time it was Kane stopping her. “You forgot your underwear, honey. I think your thong is under the desk there and your bra is on the floor next to the chair.”

Jaimie kicked him in the shins. “If we’re all going to be childish, I’m joining right in,” she snapped and stomped back across the room to sweep her undergarments up.

She couldn’t remember how they came off. Mack was good at that, getting her out of her panties and bra. Half the time when she lived with him, at home, she hadn’t worn any. He was prone to throwing her up against a wall or on a table, or bending her over a chair. The flashes of memories made her wet and her nipples hard. She could feel his eyes on her, and heat swept through her body. It was impossible not to think about the multiple climaxes he’d given her, when he was looking at her with that smug, male look on his face. Just for good measure she kicked him too as she swept by, her head up, her haughtiest look on her face.

“What was that for?” Mack demanded.

“We really need to talk, boss,” Kane said.

The two men followed Jaimie up the stairs. Jaimie hesitated at the top of the stairs and Mack dropped a casual arm around her, sweeping her beneath his shoulder as he walked her to the bathroom. He kept her close, his body between her and the others, wanting to make certain she was comfortable. These men were her family, ones she’d grown up with, but she was younger by several years and at a distinct disadvantage, unlike Rhianna, who was a rough-and-tumble tomboy. Jaimie lived in her brain and often felt separated from everyone.

Mack turned back to the others. They were already digging into the food, goodnaturedly shoving at one another and jostling for position around the lasagna and salad. Javier stood to one side, eyeing a small laptop.

Bring him up, Brian, Mack ordered.

The room fell silent as Paul was brought into the room. Mack could almost feel sorry for the kid-almost. His skin was so pale he looked luminous, his freckles standing out. He was twenty-four, but looked fifteen. Like Javier, he had a boyish face. He was crack shot with his rifle and not bad in hand-to-hand. He’d completed all the required training to become a GhostWalker, which meant he had to have earned his tattoo. Mack knew no one would have gone easy on him, not with his looks. Javier had been driven pretty hard until his trainers began to look over their shoulders at night.

The boy looked scared, but he didn’t break. He didn’t drop his eyes or look away from Mack’s intimidating stare. Mack pointed to the spot in front of him. Paul walked reluctantly through the others to stop in front of Mack.

“I’m going to give you a chance to tell me what you were up to, Paul. Then Javier and Jaimie are going to take your laptop apart and get to the truth.”

“Permission to speak freely, Top,” Paul said.

“By all means.”

“If you’re going to tear my laptop apart, I’d rather see how good they really are.”

A slow, humorless smile added a mean twist to Mack’s mouth. “I think he’s just challenged you, Javier.”

The kid didn’t flinch, not even when Javier walked right up to him, nose to nose, dark eyes smoldering.

“Back off, Javier,” Mack ordered. “Just get the information I need.”

What am I looking for, boss?

You’ll know when you find it. He’s guilty over something. Could be nothing, could be treason.

“I’m on it, boss,” Javier said. He gave Paul another hard stare, turned, and took the laptop down the stairs to Jaimie’s workspace.

She emerged from the bathroom looking fresh. She’d changed her clothes. Mack studied her carefully. He knew her every mood and right now, she was very hesitant. He eased the situation immediately.

“I could use your help, honey,” he said. “Javier’s trying to get information off a computer for me. Would you give him a hand?” This is important, or I wouldn’t ask. Her gaze flicked to his face, then to Paul, who stood stiffly at attention. “Of course. No problem.” Javier know what we’re looking for? He sent her a negative shake of his head mentally. “Paul seems to think he might have something in his computer to keep you out.”

Her eyebrow shot up. “Really?” She flashed Paul a quick, almost respectful grin.

“There’s much more to you than meets the eye, isn’t there?”

The boy flushed a bright red and Mack frowned. Jaimie had a way of looking at a man, never realizing the picture she made with her wild hair and sexy mouth, the combination of innocence and temptress. The thing was, she had no idea anyone ever looked at her. She was wrapped up in her mind, processing, analyzing, not ever seeing the way men saw her. If there was such a thing as bedroom eyes, she had them. Everything about her screamed sex, and few men ever realized just how sexy her brain was. How could a man sit and watch her talk, watch the animation on her face as she figured things out that most people had no clue about, and not find her intensely sexy?

You’re staring at me.

Sorry, babe, I just got lost in you for a minute. It happens. Jaimie blushed and shook her head, turning away from him. “I’ll be downstairs.”

“You might as well eat, Paul,” Mack offered. “We’ve got a decent meal for once.”

He glanced at the others. “At least I think so.”

“We could lie,” Ethan said, shoveling more lasagna onto his plate. “But I think you’d figure it out fast enough.” He dragged a chair up to the table next to him with the toe of his boot. “Park it, Paul. And grab yourself French bread before these locusts devour everything in sight.”

“You’d better save some for Jaimie and Javier,” Mack said, already scooping a Jaimie portion onto a plate.

“Javier already ate half of it,” Kane said. “We’re not saving any for him.” He reached to take the French bread from Mack.

Mack slapped his hand and glared. “Touch that and you lose that hand. That’s for Jaimie.”

Kane withdrew his hand quickly. “You’re a little testy, boss.”

“I got to go with Kane on this one,” Ethan said, rubbing his sore jaw. “You get in a fight with your woman?”

Mack covered Jaimie’s plate carefully and made certain the men could see his intention to harm anyone trying to come near it. “I don’t fight with my woman, Ethan,” he replied. “There’s no percentage in it.”

Kane snorted derisively but subsided when Mack turned a cold eye on him. Mack wedged another chair up to the table right across from Paul. He sank into it and took his first bite of the lasagna.

Kane grinned at the look on his face. “You’re right, Mack. No one can mess up Jaimie’s sauce. The girl can cook.”

Mack did justice to the food, all the while keeping a close eye on Paul. The kid had grit. Mack began to think maybe he’d underestimated him. It would be embarrassing since he had Javier as a perfect example of how not to judge a book by its proverbial cover. Javier looked sweet and innocent. Women tended to want to cuddle and protect him. The man was as lethal as one could get. Was Paul the same way?

Had the kid been sitting right in the middle of his team, rubbing shoulders day in and day out, camouflaged in lamb’s wool, fooling all of them? He certainly hadn’t raised any warnings. Or had he? Mack kept chewing, keeping his face expressionless. He had wondered from the beginning at the orders. He’d argued about the danger of bringing a new man into an experienced team. They knew one another, could communicate telepathically, not have to use radios, but Sergeant Major had been adamant.

“How often do you report to Sergeant Major?” Mack asked casually. The kid’s fingers tightened around his fork, but he sent Mack a puzzled glance.

“You talking to me, Top?”

“Do you see anyone else who sends reports to Sergeant Major?”

“I haven’t spoken a word to him, Top.”

Mack watched the kid put a forkful of lasagna into his mouth and chew as though nothing was wrong, but he’d scored. Paul hadn’t lied. But he didn’t need to break silence to report.

“Why didn’t you volunteer that you had computer skills? It isn’t in your jacket.”

Ethan nudged him playfully. “You a secret agent, boy? James fuckin’ Bond? Bet you have a souped-up car hidden and maybe a cape.”

The table erupted in laughter. “That’s Batman, dope,” Jacob jeered. “Bond gets all the women.”

Ethan slapped his forehead and laughed with the others. “I always get that wrong.”

The easy camaraderie and teasing that included Paul put him off balance more than Mack’s questions.

“You really good at computers?” Lucas asked curiously. “Like hacking into programs, writing them, all that stuff

Javier and Jaimie can do?”

Paul nodded slowly. “I have a PhD in computer science, specializing in analysis of algorithms.”

“The hell you say,” Marc breathed in awe. “That sounds badass. Where’d you go to school?”

Paul looked smug. “Undergraduate work at CalTech, graduating magna cum laude . My PhD came from MIT.”

Mack sat back in his chair and regarded Paul steadily. “None of that was in your jacket.”

“No, Top.”

To his credit, the kid kept a straight face, but he was smirking inside. Mack didn’t have to see the smile to know. “Sergeant Major planted you on my team, and he doctored your background.”

Paul said nothing, just ate another forkful of lasagna. Marc slapped a twenty on the table. “I’m going to back the new guy. If he can pull the wool over our eyes for the last few weeks, then I’m betting Jaimie and Javier can’t break into his laptop.”

“I’ll take that bet,” Kane said, laying out his twenty. “Anyone else in?”

Ethan poked Paul with his elbow. “You really got letters at the end of your name, kid?”

“I do,” Paul said.

Ethan slammed down the twenty. “Javier hardly went to school. And Jaimie doesn’t have any of those letters.”

Mack tipped his chair back lazily. “Are you crazy, Ethan? She has three paragraphs’ worth of letters behind her name and three or four pages of awards. Javier didn’t need to go to a formal school. He worked with the best in the business and got his education hands-on, not to mention both of them are brilliant. You’re betting against them?”

Brian tossed his money over Ethan’s. “Jaimie graduated high school at eleven, you idiot. Jaimie, all the way. I’m in.”

“Jaimie did your homework for you,” Kane reminded.

“Where did she go to school?” Paul asked.

Mack deliberately smirked. “She received her B.A. summa cum laude from Columbia University.” He tipped his chair forward and looked into Paul’s eyes. “I believe that’s the highest honors there, kid. If I remember my Latin correctly, summa trumps magna any day, am I right?”

Kane grinned. “And don’t you think going to an Ivy League university instead of an engineering institute might give you a little more rounded education?”

“Not necessarily.” Paul sniffed. “If you want to play around with other things.”

“She was only what?” Mack turned his head toward Kane. “Sixteen or seventeen?”

“I don’t think she was even that old,” Kane replied.

“Where’d she get her PhD?” Paul asked, the smugness fading.

“She got her PhD from Stanford University.” Mack tipped back his chair again, balancing on the two back legs. “She specialized in artificial intelligence.” His grin was back. “AI sounds a whole lot sexier than ‘analysis of algorithms’ to me.”

“Is that good?” Ethan asked Paul. “Why would you want to be artificially intelligent? You’re the real thing, right?” His hand hovered over the twenty he’d thrown out.

Kane slapped his hand. “Back off, moron.”

“Don’t worry, Ethan,” Paul said. “This is all about encryption.”

Mack snorted. “And you’re feeling really confident that she doesn’t know much about that, right? Not her strong suit?”

Ethan groaned. “He’s taunting us, man. That’s not good.”

Marc rubbed his jaw. “Maybe we should change the bet. We could put a time limit on her. What does it usually take to do something like this? Minutes? Hours?”

“Try weeks or months,” Paul said. “Sometimes years, depending on the encryption.”

Mack and Kane exchanged a long look, smug amusement mixed with pride in their grins.

Paul scowled. “It will take years. If they can even do it.”

Ethan nudged him. “There’s two of them and only one of you. We should get odds on this. And maybe we could blindfold Jaimie.”

“Just tell us what you’re dying to tell us,” Paul said.

“She did her dissertation on a revolutionary, AI-based encryption algorithm.”

Mack delivered the killing argument with quiet satisfaction. “Her AI dissertation is entitled, ‘An Experimental Schema-Based Approach to Mememetric Password Generation.’”

“I can’t believe this,” Paul said and wiped his face with his hand.

“Not so cocky now, are you?” Mack taunted. “Never, ever underestimate my woman.” There was a wealth of pride in his voice.

“Are you saying she might be able to do it?”

Paul shrugged. “It’s possible. Depending.”

“Well.” Ethan’s hand slid across the table toward the twenties. “I got carried away.”

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Kane said. “You placed a bet, you’re in.”

“You’re so harsh,” Ethan complained.

“Who ate all the lasagna?” Marc demanded. “I’m supposed to go relieve Gideon and there’s nothing left.” He turned his head toward the covered plate. “Unless…”

“Don’t even think about it,” Mack warned. “Anyone touching Jaimie’s food loses their hand.”

Marc snatched his hand out of harm’s way and put it behind his back. “It’s cold out there on the roof tonight.” He grinned at Mack. “Those two idiots in the boat are freezing their butts off and Gideon says they aren’t happy.”

“Well, don’t get your head shot off making fun of them,” Mack cautioned as Marc sauntered out. He shoved his chair back and added to the others, “Let’s get this kitchen clean and talk a little shop while we’re waiting.”

The men picked up their plates. Paul hesitated and when no one looked at him, he followed suit. As he approached the sink, his gaze touched briefly on the wooden block of knives and slid away.

“Don’t,” Mack warned wearily. “I’d hate to have to kill someone I like.”

Paul blinked. “You don’t like me. None of you do.”

“Where’d you get a dumb idea like that?” Mack asked.

“I think you all made it obvious you didn’t want me on the team.”

Mack shrugged. “What’s that got to do with liking you?”

Ethan took the dirty plate out of Paul’s hands and rinsed it off. “You’re a little sensitive, Paul. We’ve been a team for a couple of years now. We grew up together. Each of us knows how the other thinks. We know what any one of us will do in a given situation. That gives us an edge in combat. It’s nothing personal.”

“I keep my boys alive, Paul. That’s my job. I do what’s best for them,” Mack said.

“How do you know whether I’m best or not?” For the first time bitterness crept in.

“Well, with the bullshit jacket Sergeant Major provided, of course I don’t. That and you were spying on us.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know. And you’re not very good, are you?”

“How would you know?”

“You got caught.”

Ethan nudged him with a good-natured smile. “He’s got you there, Paul.”

“You don’t have anything at all on me. I don’t have a clue why you suddenly put me under guard and confiscated my laptop.”

“You were pretty hostile,” Brian pointed out. “Had a lot to hide or what’s the big deal?”

“It’s my private laptop. I don’t want anyone going through it. You must have things on your computer you don’t want to share.”

Marc feigned puzzlement. “Just my porn, and everyone knows I’m a star in those videos. It’s not like the world can’t see me.”

A snicker, a few hoots, and snorts of derision greeted his claim. The intercom buzzed. “Jaimie wants one of her drinks, Mack,” Javier said. “And I could use some coffee.”

Ethan whooped. “They’re getting frustrated.”

“They’re getting serious,” Mack corrected. “You should know by now, Ethan, Jaimie only drinks caffeine when she means business. Gideon’s coming in. He’ll give us the rundown on our favorite terrorists and we can plan out a little surprise.”

“I want to be the gun runner this time,” Jacob volunteered. “Kane always gets that part.”

“He looks mean and you don’t,” Mack said as he put on the coffee. “In any case, no one can impersonate Madigan, he’s too well-known. And he’s always in on a deal. There’s never been a time that he didn’t personally make the exchange. We can’t pass anyone off as Madigan. We can get inside, though, and replace the guards. I don’t think, once they’ve determined the guns are being stored there, that they’ll wait for Madigan to get out of the hospital. More likely they’ll kill everyone and just take them. Saves them money.”

Kane sank into an overstuffed chair in the living room before anyone else could grab it, his fingers forming a steeple as he regarded the other men gathering around. He waited pointedly for Paul.

“You including me in this?” Paul asked, his tone edged with belligerence.

“I don’t think you’re Doomsday,” Kane said. “Sheesh, kid. If you’re that kind of spy, we’d kill you and be done with it. You aren’t exactly going anywhere. And if you’re clean, Mack’s not going to give you a vacation just because your feelings are hurt.” He leaned forward and gestured until Paul moved close. Kane lowered his voice to an over-loud whisper. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. The boss isn’t a particularly sensitive or nice man.”

“That isn’t exactly a secret,” Paul said.

Mack slammed the coffeepot onto the tray with unnecessary force. “But he does have excellent hearing.”

The men burst out laughing. Ethan slapped Paul on the back and then beat the kid to the next most comfortable chair.

“Jaimie doesn’t have a lot of furniture,” Lucas complained. “I see you bought a couple of beds. Did it occur to you that when we’re hanging out here we’ll need chairs?” He swung a kitchen chair around and straddled it.

“I discourage company every way I can,” Mack said.

Lucas looked up at him. “You and Jaimie moving in together, boss?”

Mack stared him down. “What do you think?”

“That I’d better keep my mouth shut,” Lucas muttered.

“Good plan.” Mack took the chair across from Kane, looking up as Gideon came in. He frowned. “You look tired. You aren’t sleeping again.”

Gideon shrugged. “I’m fine. Getting headaches again, Mack.” He washed his hands at the sink and looked around. “You know, I’m not all that hungry. I might lie down while I brief you. Do you mind?”

You need a medic? Mack demanded with quick concern. Don’t lie to me, Gideon.

There was a long pause and it took every ounce of self-discipline for Mack to keep from looking at him, and possibly tipping off the others-or Paul-to their private conversation.

“Use Kane’s bed,” Mack said aloud. “It will be easier for you to talk.”

Marc was the only one of them with real healing and medic abilities and right now, he’d gone out on the roof to keep an eye on their company. But there was Spagnola. The man was pararescue and he obviously had skills, psychic healing skills. I’ll be fine, Mack, Gideon assured.

Any bleeding? Mack held his breath.

A nosebleed. Nothing serious.

Around him the men joked good-naturedly with one another, but Mack could only hear the warning alarm going off in his mind. A nosebleed-nothing serious. It was another complication. He needed Gideon, but the man had to be seen by a doctor and immediately.

“We’ve got two men sitting out in a fishing boat. Neither is very happy. One keeps puking. They’re radioing our two on land. Right now they’re sniffing around the warehouses, including this one, so I’m fairly sure they aren’t certain of the exact location of the guns. But sooner or later, one of the guards is going to go home and someone else will take their place. There’s no mistaking a Madigan man. They wear that cute little tattoo on the inside of their arms, trying to be all scary.”

“They don’t get one of those tattoos without first killing a Madigan enemy,” Mack said.

“They like to brag,” Kane said.

“And they strut around the docks. A couple of Madigan’s men were in the pub down the street and the local fishermen never even looked at them. It takes practice to keep your eyes off someone like that,” Lucas said. “Practice and fear. And these fishermen are tough. When I went up to the bar, one of the older fishermen gestured for me to sit with him. He made sure I was facing away from the bar and the two Madigan men. He didn’t say anything to warn me off, but he was definitely trying to convey to the newbie in the neighborhood that you don’t ‘see’ those men.”

“Gideon, did you ID any of the Doomsday team?”

“Oh, yeah. We got one of the heavy hitters running the show. Armando Shepherd. Believe me, boss, he’s not the one in the boat.”

“Why do they all call you ‘boss’ and not ‘Top’?” Paul asked.

“He’s been our boss a long time,” Kane said. “It’s a nickname more than a title. But if the brass is around, or we’re running a mission, most of the time we call him

‘Top.’ ”

Mack sent them both a quelling look as he got up to pour a large amount of coffee into a container to put it in the refrigerator. He left the rest on the warmer and returned to his chair. “Now that we managed to settle that important issue, did you ID anyone else?”

“Armando always travels with his psycho buddy, Ramon Estes. The two are homegrown, by the way. Grew up in New York City. Both were Marines. Before that they terrorized their neighborhood until things got so hot they joined the service.”

Gideon sounded so tired Mack went over to the bed there in the shadows and carefully inspected him for tell-tale signs of bleeding. You take anything for the pain? Gideon shook his head. Wanted my head clear to report. Mack bit back a curse as he dropped a hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “You’re taking something now. Kane. We need the medic bag.”

A hush immediately fell over the group. They’d grown up together and Gideon was immensely popular with them all. He had a way of bringing calm to any situation. He tended to be quiet, but was one they always counted on, a good man to have at one’s back.

“You don’t wait next time,” Mack said. “And that’s an order.” There was no pretending it wouldn’t happen again; they all dealt with it. And if he was right, and their psychic talents were growing with use, or with whatever else Whitney had done to them to accelerate it, so were the negative side effects. Mack brushed at the lines of fatigue etched into Gideon’s face.

“I’m okay, boss. Just need to sleep. Can’t seem to these days.”

Lucas had mentioned in passing to Mack that Gideon wasn’t sleeping. He should have followed up on it. Gideon often prowled the apartment at night when he wasn’t on guard duty, and during the day he wasn’t taking his usual catnaps. His heart beat too fast, and there was a bad taste in his mouth. He recognized it as fear. Mack had always controlled every situation through careful planning, and yet now he had no way of ensuring his men were safe. He took every precaution on a mission, but their health, the consequences of their psychic abilities, was beyond his control. It seemed the stronger the gift, the greater the repercussions. Kane dropped a hand on his shoulder as he placed the medic bag on the bed beside Gideon. “We all made the decision, Mack,” he said quietly.

Mack let out his breath. He knew none of them blamed him, and maybe some of them would have done it anyway without his endorsement, but they had been following him since they were kids and he had known they’d follow him this time. Kane’s statement didn’t let him off the hook, though he appreciated it. Kane prepared a shot. “I’m going to get you to sleep, Gideon. Just lay it down for a while. No dreaming. Just go out and let your mind and body rest.”

Gideon flashed him a wan grin. “Yeah, I’ll try to remember about that dreaming thing.”

“Maybe I can help,” Paul said, his voice a little thin.

There was instant silence. All the men turned to eye him carefully. The scrutiny was thorough.

“What can you do for him, Paul?” Mack asked. “There’s nothing in your jacket indicating you’re a healer.”

The tips of the kid’s ears turned crimson. “The bio was tweaked quite a bit.”

“Why?”

Paul shook his head, his gaze sliding away from Mack. “It’s not what you think. Protection, not to spy.”

“Protection for who?”

Paul heaved a sigh. “Me. Sergeant Major assigned me to your unit because he believes you have the best chance of protecting me.”

“Tell me the rest.”

“I’m not at liberty to do so, Top.”

“Damn, do you think this is a game? You pose a threat to even one of my men, do you think I have the least compunction about putting a gun to your head and pulling the trigger?” Mack stalked across the short distance to stand in front of the kid, glaring, staring straight into his eyes. “I hope you can read, because I’m giving you the gospel here, Paul.”

“I read you loud and clear, boss,” Paul said.

“You haven’t earned the right to call me boss,” Mack said. “Until I can trust you, you call me Top.”

Paul stared straight ahead. “Yes, Top.” He barked it out, a marine to a master gunnery sergeant.

“Just what can you do for Gideon?” Kane asked.

“I have some healing talent, sir,” Paul said. “I’m able to visualize the brain and skull and see any damage done.”

Mack sucked in his breath. “You’re a fucking psychic surgeon,” he guessed. There was a note of awe and respect in his voice in spite of his anger at Sergeant Major for planting someone on his team with unknown skills. A psychic surgeon was one of the rarest of talents. Mack had never actually met one. It was rumored they existed, but no one he knew had even seen one. Joe Spagnola, like many others, had the rudimentary skills to heal wounds, but none of them could actually operate as a psychic surgeon was reputed to be able to do. “You’re the real damn deal.”

Paul’s gaze shifted around the room, touching on all the faces. “I could be killed if anyone found out.”

“Are you crazy? If you’re the real thing, you’re invaluable.”

“Let me help him.” Paul took a deep breath.

For the first time Mack realized the kid couldn’t stop looking at Gideon and his hands seemed to be weaving a pattern, fingers moving continually as if he was under a compulsion. Mack stepped aside.

Stay close to him, Kane. I’ve never seen a psychic surgeon in action, but I’ve heard stories that they’re a little insane. The kid’s showing some disturbing signs. I’ll take Jaimie’s drink down to her. We need to find out what exactly is on that computer. Why wouldn’t Sergeant Major want us to know? Any team leader would give their right arm to have him on their team. We argued against taking Paul on for half a day. Why didn’t Sergeant Major just tell us and

spare the argument?

More importantly, why didn’t he want us to use him? Watch him close. If he looks like he’s hurting Gideon, kill him. Don’t ask questions.

Mack shrugged. “Go ahead, kid, but you be careful of him. He’s our eyes and ears. We’re crippled without him.”

For the first time, real animation came into Paul’s face. He hurried over to Gideon and, holding his palms an inch from Gideon’s body, began to pass his hands slowly over the entire frame, taking his time, paying special attention to the head and skull. He looked as if he’d gone into a trance.

Freaky, boss. The kid’s out there somewhere, Kane said. You just make certain nothing happens to Gideon.

The other men were moving in close for a better view. Mack pushed his way to the kitchen. He needed answers and they were on the kid’s laptop. Jaimie and Javier had to get inside of it.