Rick's Road Read online

  “Yeah, and they were used in Iran. Remember? Although they have become one of the more recently used weapons.”

  Terk nodded. “We’re still looking into whether anybody from the Iran mission is still alive. I’ve got Calum building up his strength to do some remote viewing.”

  “He needs a ground,” Rick stated immediately. “You know that was often my job.”

  “I know it. That’s another reason for you to get your shit together.”

  “Well, getting my shit together isn’t as big of a deal as you’re trying to make this out to be,” Rick argued, “and I’d do a hell of a lot better if I was there with you guys.”

  “Maybe, let me talk to the rest of the team, and I’ll get back to you.”

  Frustrated, Rick knew he had to let Terk do that because they were a team, and, when the shit hit the fan, you had to trust everybody, not just those you were expected to. Calum was good at remote viewing, but he couldn’t get the distance and lock on to a target unless he had a ground, and that’s what Rick usually did for all of them. When Rick was there, all of their abilities locked in with so much more power. Thus it made no sense to keep them apart at any time, but maybe that’s what this was all about. Protecting the team. Splitting up the team, making sure that nobody could attack all of them at once anymore.

  Before their attack, Rick had heard some whining from the government about Terk’s team being dangerous and couldn’t be left on their own because too much chance of people going off and creating all kinds of trouble for the government. Rick had heard things like that from time to time, but he didn’t think the government would have done anything serious about it. When they shut down the program, Rick had been surprised because a group truly thought of as dangerous was something anyone would want to keep an eye on. But instead the government made the decision to just park the whole team, … as if it had never existed.

  That kind of thinking was something Rick struggled with because it made no sense to him, but obviously, to the higher-ups involved, it had been their best option. Or at least the best one they thought they had. As Rick sat here, his mind drifting from scenario to scenario, his frustration built.

  Finally Cara looked at him, and snapped, “Stop it.”

  “Stop what?” he asked in bewilderment.

  “You’re sitting there, going over everything, and yet you don’t have enough information, so you’re just creating more stress for yourself.”

  His jaw dropped, as she glared at him irritability. “Plus, you’re thinking too damn loud.” And, with that, she got up and stormed off into a room he hadn’t even tried to enter.

  He assumed it was her bedroom, but he wasn’t exactly sure. As he looked around, it seemed to be a modest two-bedroom apartment. A small living room, kitchen, and guest bathroom were visible, plus his room, which he assumed was her office. He saw her closed door, which he assumed was a second bedroom. He heard water running, which made him wonder if that bedroom had its own bathroom too.

  That arrangement would make it much more convenient for anybody who was looking after him, he supposed. Besides, there would just be problems with a sick or injured person using the usual smaller bedroom in standard two-bedroom apartments, particularly if they also needed space for a helper and equipment to navigate.

  He wandered over and sat down at the dining room or kitchen table, whatever you wanted to call it. It wasn’t quite big enough to be either, as far as he was concerned, but then he liked bigger spaces. One of the things that he’d been looking at—for when this was all over—was where he wanted to retire and what he wanted to do, but even now it seemed so far-fetched, since there could be no retirement as long as their lives were in danger.

  It’s funny because the team had talked and joked about it before, but it had always seemed to be a discussion they tabled in the end. They never got a chance to enact even their vacation plans because they’d been attacked. Every time he thought about that, it made him angry, and then he remembered what Cara had said. Thinking too damn loud. Did she mean that seriously? He hesitated and knocked on her door.

  “What?” she asked in a grumpy mood.

  He almost grinned at that. “Sorry. Do you want to clarify that comment of yours about my thinking too loud?”

  She snorted. “Why? You know exactly what I meant.”

  He looked at her door hopefully. “Well, I’d like to think I know what you meant, but I’m not too sure.”

  *

  As soon as she opened the door, Cara gave him that same flat stare. “Stop making excuses and pretending that you don’t know what’s going on. Do you really think Terk would have brought me on board if he thought I was anything other than up for the job?”

  He let his breath out slowly. “So, you do understand.”

  “That you have telepathic abilities? And what was it you said? Something about you being the ground?”

  He nodded slowly.

  “Well, good for you,” she stated. “That’s not an easy position.”

  “In what way?” he asked, looking at her.

  “Well, you’re the one who’s always in the background. You’re the one who’s always corralling the power but not getting any of the credit.”

  “I’m not doing it for the credit,” he replied.

  “Even better,” she said, “because credit doesn’t come your way.”

  Something was just so strange about the way she was talking that he wasn’t even sure what to say to her.

  She laughed. “You’re really not getting everything, are you?”

  “Obviously not,” he noted quietly. “If you have something that you can clarify, I’d appreciate it.”

  She shrugged. “Not my job.”

  “You don’t have to be so damn cheerful and irritating about it.”

  She burst out laughing.

  “And, if you know so much, how come Terk hasn’t recruited you?”

  “He tried actually, but I’m a nurse, not whatever you guys are.”

  He asked her, “Seriously? He tried?”

  She nodded. “Do you think it’s only a male talent?”

  He flushed. “I didn’t say that, but I don’t really know what to call it.”

  “That’s because you’re the ground,” she noted, “and probably don’t realize just what value you bring to the team.”

  “I don’t look at it like that,” he countered, “and I’ve never felt that I was less than a full member of the team. And, for the record, I know perfectly well how much value I bring.”

  “Good.” She nodded. “In that case, why are you arguing about staying here?”

  He glared at her. “Because I know the full value I bring to the team. And sitting here and doing nothing is not utilizing any of my skills.”

  She tilted her head. “Do you have any skills left?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Everybody, according to Terk, was affected in some way. Have you had any inkling if your abilities are even still there?”

  He winced. “I sure hope they are, but, no, I don’t know.”

  “Maybe you need to try it out,” she suggested.

  “Do you even understand what you’re asking?”

  “Not my problem,” she noted, “but you’re the one who’s stuck here, wanting to go back to work. What is it that you bring to the table now?”

  He froze for a moment, as if unable to respond.

  “I don’t know about you, but I need a cup of tea. Do you want one?”

  He followed along because he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. “Yes, please. That sounds great.”

  She made him a cup of tea and added milk, the way he liked it. He sat down on the living room couch. “So, what abilities do you have, Cara?”

  “I’m not sure I even know,” she replied. “I’ve never bothered to look into it.”

  He frowned. “You know that Terk has been on the hunt for people like you for a very long time.”

  “Yeah, he has known about me for
a very long time.”

  “He’s a great coach,” he added.

  “Just because I can do things, it doesn’t mean that saving the world is where I belong.”

  “I’m really surprised to hear that,” he murmured.

  “I work on an individual level,” she explained. “I can save individuals, but I’m not so sure about saving more than that.”

  At that, he stared at her. “How bad was I?” he asked. “What did you have to do to keep me alive?”

  She considered him for a moment. “Let’s just say, I don’t think you would have made it without help.”

  He sucked in his breath. “That bad, huh?” he asked.

  “You were the worst of them, I think. So bad that the news shook Terk to the core.”

  “Good God. If that were the case, why were your efforts used on me and not the rest of them?”

  “Because you were the worst,” she stated, “and Terk didn’t want to lose you. I think he felt like other people could help the rest of your friends.”

  He just stared. “Okay,” he murmured, “and you’re still not telling me how bad it was, why?”

  She took a moment and blew out a long exhale. “You were disconnecting. You had no interest in even staying alive anymore, but, worse than that,” she murmured, “your cord had started to separate.”

  He stared at her in shock. “Started?”

  She nodded. “Started.”

  “And you could stop it?”

  “Well, I did,” she admitted. “I wasn’t sure I could, and I told Terk that.”

  “Wow.” Rick raised his eyebrows. “You are a person of many talents.”

  “I am,” she agreed, without any guile or argument.

  He burst out laughing.

  She grinned at him. “It’s sure good to hear you laugh.”

  “Well, you’re definitely giving me something to laugh about,” he replied. “You are quite an interesting person.”

  “Yep,” she said, “and there are reasons why we do the things we do. In your case, I agreed because Terk called in a favor.”

  “Must have been a big one.”

  She sighed. “Honestly I probably would have helped him anyway because it is what I do.”

  “So you help people who are …” He stopped, not knowing how to say it.

  “Almost dead, … yes,” she shared.

  “And you can bring them back?”

  “Not if they’ve already crossed over and gone. I’m not sure anybody can do that,” she stated thoughtfully. “But I’ve definitely brought back some people who were pretty darn close to that line. They must really want to return to this plane though.”

  “Right,” he noted. “I guess that makes the difference, doesn’t it?”

  “Yep, it sure does. If you’ve already crossed over and see everybody on the other side, everybody who you want to be with, it’s very hard to convince you to come back here.”

  “Got it,” he murmured. “I hadn’t considered that.”

  “That’s because you deal with sending people there.” A certain caustic tone was in her voice.

  He blinked. “I gather that really bothers you.”

  “Nope.” She shook her head. “I try hard not to get into that place about what bothers me, but I do have a certain awareness of what happens when you shoot and kill people. Believe me. Sometimes I understand they need to go where they’re being sent, and other times it’s just plain hard to sort out.”

  “Got it.” Of course he didn’t really. Not like he thought he should have, but she was certainly making him think, and that was worth a lot in itself. “I appreciate what you did for me,” he said in a more formal tone.

  That sent her off laughing again.

  He frowned. “You’re very unusual.”

  “I am, but I’m also just me.” She shrugged. “When you get used to it, you’ll be fine.”

  “Does it take a long time?” he asked, with that crooked smile.

  “Maybe. Sorry. I’m not trying to be difficult, but I tend to be me all the time.”

  “Absolutely nothing is wrong with being you,” he noted, “and I have to admit that I’m fascinated.”

  She gave him a look he didn’t quite know how to interpret.

  “You don’t like that answer either. Why not?”

  “It just reminds me of the fact that not everybody heals the same, and sometimes they wake up with this odd belief about who they are.”

  He just frowned at her. “What are you talking about?”

  “I don’t want any hero complex because I saved you,” she murmured.

  “Okay, got it.” He smiled. “And I promise, I won’t.”

  She searched his face for a long moment, “Good. Glad to hear that. Now you need to go back to bed.”

  “And if I don’t want to?”

  “Then don’t,” she replied. “It’s up to you whether you want to heal and to join your friends again or to stay here even longer.”

  And what could he say to that? He groaned. “Okay, that’s hard to argue with.”

  “It is, which is why I said it.”

  He carefully maneuvered his way back to the bed. “You said we would talk about options for getting me back on my feet.”

  “Tomorrow. Do as much healing as you can tonight, and we’ll talk about it then.”

  And, with that, he had to be satisfied.

  Chapter 2

  Cara woke up the next morning, wondering how Rick was faring. He was an interesting character, and, as she had told Terk, dangers were associated with what she did, but Terk had asked her specifically to try to help Rick, and she had agreed. She definitely found more problems than she had expected. They weren’t necessarily insurmountable; they were just problems. She frowned as she got up, showered, then dressed and stepped out into the kitchen to find Rick sitting at the kitchen table in front of her laptop.

  “I’m sorry for using your laptop without asking you first,” he said, without looking up, “but I really needed to reconnect with the world and see what had gone to shit while I was out.”

  “Not a problem. Terk left it.”

  He nodded. “I figured as much. Fresh coffee’s over there too.”

  “Good. Glad to see you can make a decent houseguest.”

  He burst out laughing at that. “I can be.” He smiled, now focusing more on her. “I just didn’t realize that would be a requirement.”

  “It’s not,” she replied, returning his smile, “but it certainly doesn’t hurt.” She stepped forward and poured herself a coffee. “Now, what do you want for food this morning?”

  He shrugged. “Anything and everything. I’m just hungry, and it all sounds good.”

  With that, she cooked some bacon and eggs with toast. When she put a big platter down on the table between them, she watched his eyes light up. “You really are hungry.”

  He nodded. “Yep, I sure am.”

  He dug in, and she sat down with her much smaller portion. He wouldn’t need her for very long after this, and, of course, that was where the problem came in. She figured it would be her problem, not his, and it was proving to be correct. As soon as he was done eating, he looked at her expectantly.

  She nodded. “Let’s get you through some physiotherapy moves.” And again he absolutely amazed her with his resilience and ability to move and heal. She shook her head. “I’ve helped a lot of people, but nobody has had the level of recuperation abilities like you do.”

  “No, probably not. I’m special.”

  She burst out laughing. “Yes, you are.” Cara was amused that he had chosen the exact replica of her own wording earlier. She smiled at him. “I’m really glad to see that you’ll pick up your life, as you had hoped, physically. Now, what about the rest of it?”

  “I haven’t really tried,” he admitted hesitantly.

  “Well, everything else seems to be working, so there’s a good chance that will be too.”

  “Maybe, I’m just not sure I want to test it yet.” br />
  She was surprised at that but nodded. “Whenever you’re ready, Terk will probably test it more than you will.”

  “Yeah, I can see that he’ll be on my case a little bit,” he murmured.

  “A little?” she asked in a droll tone.

  Rick grinned. “Okay, so maybe a lot.”

  “He’ll need to know what you can and cannot do, I would imagine.”

  “Yes and no,” he replied, “and more than that. I think it’ll be a case of whether I’m on the mend and can be of a help or not.”

  “You will be, one way or the other,” she noted. “I just don’t know to what extent.”

  He nodded. “Have you always been able to communicate like that?”

  “You mean, telepathically? No, not always,” she replied, but she didn’t clarify. It wasn’t a discussion she wanted to get into. Thankfully he accepted her response. She went through a series of exercises with Rick again, and he was getting stronger, almost by the minute. She checked her own energy, but he wasn’t taking it from her, so that was good. She shook her head, when he was done. “You’re pretty unbelievable.”

  “Nope. I’ll put it down to good nursing.”

  She smirked. “Well, if I could take the credit, I would, but that’s not my style.”

  He looked at her, grinned. “Hey, you’re the one who kept me alive.”

  She had done that. “It took some of Terk’s support too.”

  “Got it,” Rick said. “That man and what he can do is absolutely amazing.”

  She nodded. “I hear you there.”

  As soon as lunch rolled around, he hopped to his feet, did a series of jumping jacks, and asked, “Food?”

  She nodded. “Just sandwiches though. If you’ll be leaving here soon, no sense in bringing in food. Every time we bring in a delivery, there’s a chance of getting caught.”

  He frowned at that. “Have you had any trouble?”

  “Not necessarily, but you never really know when your luck is about to run out.” He winced at that, and she knew he was thinking about the attack on the whole team.

  “What have you had problems with?”

  She told him about her last delivery, and one of the guys down the hallway, watching.