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Chapter 7

After some hurried time with Mercy, Ringer had returned to his office to find Tonya waiting for him there. The telepath looked like she’d had a rough night. Her usually perfect CIA-style suit was wrinkled, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes. Tonya was sitting at his desk, going through the same data he had earlier on his tablet.

“You okay?” Ringer asked, sincerely concerned about her.

“It’s nice that you care,” Tonya told him, as he felt her scan his thoughts. She didn’t push deep into them. He would have resisted her if she had. Abby had taught him a great deal about how to use his will to block out unwanted telepathic intrusions. Tonya must have caught a hint of his thoughts about Abby.

“I miss her too.” Tonya frowned. “We’ve lost too many good people in this war. Sometimes I wonder if it’s even worth it.”

Ringer matched Tonya’s frown with one of his own. “People die in wars. That doesn’t mean we can just give up and let the darkness win.”

“I know.” Tonya nodded and then suddenly smiled. “I like this guy you’ve picked for us to go recruit. He sounds like a real character.”

“You’d know that better than me,” Ringer admitted. Once he’d found enough evidence to suggest someone had a psionic power, it was up to Tonya to scan their mind and see if they did.

She chuckled. “He’s really messed up, Ringer. The guy’s a grade a perv, a hoarder, and a bloody writer to boot.”

“But he checked out as gifted when you scanned him,” Ringer pressed her.

“You know I don’t go deep when I scan the folks you ask me to. Everyone’s entitled to some privacy, even in war. I can tell you, though, that he’s certainly not right in the head and hiding something. I kept getting the impression this Richard Ferguson guy felt like he literally came apart sometimes,” Tonya shrugged, “whatever that means.”

“That is odd,” Ringer agreed. “Doesn’t give us much to go on in terms of what power he might have, does it?”

Tonya shook her head, agreeing with him. “No it doesn’t. For all we know, he’s just some sex freak who hasn’t been caught yet.”

Ringer laughed. “Let’s hope that isn’t the case.”

A knock sounded at the office door behind Ringer. The door was already open, and he turned to see Eddie standing in the corridor outside.

“You folks ready to go?” Eddie asked.

“I think we’re as ready as we’re going to get,” Tonya answered.

Tonya telepathically sent the coordinates for the street outside Richard Ferguson’s home into Eddie’s mind.

“Right then,” Eddie nodded. “Let’s get going, then.”

The psycho-porter concentrated, and a shimmering portal opened up in the office. On the other side of it was the street in California where their man Ferguson lived. Eddie motioned for the two of them to go through first. Ringer was happy to oblige. He wanted to get Ferguson’s recruitment over with as fast as possible. The telekinetic former detective missed being a part of the combat mission teams and felt guilty he wasn’t out there risking his life with Scott’s pilots and the new team of mercs.

“That Glock all you taking with you?” Eddie asked as Tonya started for the portal.

“I’ve got Ringer with me,” she told him flatly. “What else do I need?”

Eddie grunted and knew she was right. Ringer’s power level was such that the man could often turn the course of battle all by himself.

“Point taken.” Eddie smirked and followed Tonya into the portal.

Ringer, Tonya, and Eddie stood on the street outside their target’s house. It was a large, two story home just short of being large enough to be called a mansion.

“What does this guy do for a living?” Eddie asked, gawking at the house.

“He’s a writer,” Ringer answered.

“Yeah, right,” Eddie huffed. “Sure thing.”

Ringer started for the house’s front door but Tonya reached out, placing a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

“Something’s not right here, Ringer,” the telepath said. “He’s not alone in there. There’s something with him.”

“What do you mean, something?” Ringer asked.

“I…I don’t know,” Tonya stammered. “I’ve never felt anything like it before. Whatever it is, its mind is so alien…it’s like a million minds all swarming inside a single being.”

“Bet you’re glad I didn’t just take off like I normally do, huh?” Eddie grinned, readying his automatic shotgun. “Your backup’s already here.”

“What about Ferguson?” Ringer asked Tonya. “Can you read him?”

“His mind is foggy, Ringer. I can’t think of a better word to describe what it’s like. It’s as if his mind is there, but it isn’t, at the same time,” the telepath answered.

“We’re not going to find out what’s going on in there by just standing around out here,” Eddie urged them.

“I’m not really sure barging into Mr. Ferguson’s home with an automatic shotgun is the impression we’re going for, Eddie,” Ringer said.

“Frag it, Ringer,” Eddie said. “What if your guy’s in trouble?”

Tonya spoke up. “He has a point, Ringer. What little I’m able to pick up from Ferguson’s mind suggests he’s scared to death.”

“Fine, then. We’ll go in, but we’re not using the door. Tonya, give Eddie Ferguson’s location, and he can gate us straight to him,” Ringer ordered.

Eddie opened a new portal and the three of them rushed through it. None of them were prepared for what was awaiting them on the other side. They emerged from the portal into Ferguson’s bedroom. The place was filled with comic boxes, posters, and high dollar toys strewn about. Not sex toys. There were action figures in their packaging, assembled models on display, and statues. It was easy to tell that the room belonged to a pop culture geek. As strange as the bedroom itself was, the monster and the ghost were what drew their attention. Ringer recognized the man they were after, Richard Ferguson, as the almost transparent form floating near the room’s ceiling. The thing that was reaching up toward it, he didn’t have a fragging clue what it was. It was shaped like a man, but instead of flesh, blood, and bones, the thing’s body appeared to be made up entirely of worms that clung to each other somehow as they squirmed about. The worm creature whirled around toward them, clearly ticked off that they had interrupted its attempt to get its writhing hands on Ferguson.

The worms that made up the front portion of where its face should have been dilated open to form a makeshift mouth and the creature screamed at them. Only it wasn’t a scream. It was a blast of sonic force that knocked Eddie and Tonya from their feet and blew them backward into the room’s rear wall. Ringer kept his feet. He had just managed to erect a telekinetic shield in time to block the brunt of the blast. Even so, his ears rang, and his head was swimming in its wake. Ringer watched as Ferguson turned in the air and ran into the bedroom’s wall. The ghost-like figure didn’t tear through it, Ferguson just went through it like the wall wasn’t there. He didn’t have the luxury of worrying about the man, though; the worm thing wasn’t done with him yet. Seeing that its blast of sonic power had failed to knock Ringer unconscious, the creature’s facial area reshaped itself again. This time glowing openings formed in the mass of worms where a human’s eyes would have been. Ringer already had his telekinetic shield up and in place to guard against its attack.

Twin beams of blazing energy erupted from the creature’s eyes. They flashed across the room to strike his shield. Ringer flinched at the unexpected level of power. Grunting from the strain, he managed to keep his shield up and intact as the beams washed over its surface. An eternity seemed to pass before the beams died and cut out. Ringer was sweating behind his shield. What the hell was this thing he was fighting? It wasn’t like any monster he had ever heard of or read about in Psi-Mechs, Inc.’s files. The creature appeared to be just as baffled by him. Clearly it wasn’t prepared for him to still be standing after both of its attacks.

The creature spun and ran out of the bedroom through its open door. Ringer didn’t have any desire to go chasing after it, not with Tonya and Eddie sprawled out on the floor behind him. His priority was making sure they were okay. Dropping his shield, Ringer raced to kneel beside Eddie, who was the closer of the two. He saw Eddie was still breathing. Relieved, he moved to check on Tonya and thanked God she was alive, too. The thing’s sonic blast had hit them hard, but they seemed to have been knocked unconscious with no real damage done, other than a few bruises. Eddie was stirring on his own as Ringer took hold of Tonya’s shoulders and gently shook her. Tonya came awake, gasping. She looked up at Ringer with a panicked look on her face.

“What was that thing?” Tonya asked.

“I was hoping you could tell me,” Ringer answered.

“It’s dead, is what it is,” Eddie told them, getting to his feet and conjuring a portal.

“Eddie!” Ringer shouted at the psycho-porter. “Wait!”

It was too late, though. Eddie had stepped into the portal and it closing behind him. He was going after the monster without them.



* * * * *


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