The Redcastle Redemption (The Athena Effect) Read online

  She could only manage to squeak out a desperate one-word question.

  “Calvin?”

  ~

  Chapter Eleven

  RECOVERY

  ~

  Frankie paced to and fro in front of the safe full of cash. It had been over an hour since he’d sent most of his crew chasing after the blonde, and he had a growing sense of foreboding. He tried to shake off his nerves, telling himself he was being ridiculous. There was no way a half-dressed girl and a wounded boy could possibly outrun four of his strongest men. After all, he’d chosen them for their brawn, not their brains.

  More worrisome, he’d been trying to reach the two he’d sent to pick up the redhead, calling and leaving dozens of messages, but getting no reply. He was irritated, frustrated, and unwilling to acknowledge the thought that was starting to gnaw at the back of his mind.

  Something else had gone terribly wrong.

  Joey appeared in the doorway, wiping the dirt from his hands. He’d just put both dead men into the ground, and he hesitated, regarding Frankie with a mixture of fear and subservience that only seemed to annoy the hung-over little man even more.

  “Clean up that mess,” Frank snapped, pointing to the bloodstains on the wooden floor where the professor had fallen.

  Joey nodded, and was just getting started when two men came stumbling in through the back door, covered with even more blood. A gravely injured man was holding his scalp onto his head, helped inside by his winded companion.

  Frankie didn’t even flinch at the gruesome sight, advancing on them with his fists clenched. His voice was low and menacing, “Where the hell is she?”

  The unhurt one lowered his injured comrade onto a chair, catching his breath and rushing to explain. When Frankie heard their story he practically screamed with rage, “What?! How in the hell could you let her get away?”

  “B-but boss–it was a big bear!” the man stammered. “It killed Eddie!”

  Frankie started pacing again, his mind racing wildly. “If she gets out to the road, she can stop a car…” His blood ran cold when he realized that with her skills, she could make even the most reluctant traveler render assistance. He looked at the only two able-bodied men he had left, commanding them to go and keep watch on the only road down from the mountain.

  “If she gets past us we’re all as good as dead,” he said. “I want you to check every car that goes by–if you see her kill her and everyone in the car.”

  ~

  “How is he?” Caledonia searched Layla’s eyes frantically. “Tell me!”

  Layla nodded rapidly, knowing that there was no use in sugar coating it. “He has a skull fracture and he lost a lot of blood. He’s in an induced coma. The doctor said they’d reduce the medication when the swelling went down.”

  Caledonia wobbled a little, trying to catch her breath.

  “The doctor said the prognosis looked good,” Layla added gently.

  Ramon stepped up, concern clouding his eyes. “We left him at the hospital with his family.” He pulled out his phone and handed it to her. “I have the number right here. Why don’t you call them?”

  The front door opened and Michael appeared, rubbing his eyes in disbelief, Layla ran to him, looking at his wounded hand with a sob. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Teddy’s dead,” he told her, his voice cracking.

  Caledonia took the phone and walked a little distance away, shifting from foot to foot anxiously as she spoke to Calvin’s father at the hospital. He explained that the bullet had nicked an artery, but the wound was going to heal completely. He was still unconscious, but the brain swelling was down and they were going to wean him from the sedatives in the morning.

  “I’ll be there as soon as I can,” she promised, brushing off his questions about what had happened to her.

  “Please let everyone know that I’m okay. Tell Calvin I’m on my way home.”

  Cali finally turned off the phone, looking over to see Layla and Michael crouched on the front porch steps with their arms around each other, sobbing with grief and regret. She could see the potent blend of emotions that they shared and she paused, surprised. It had never occurred to her that they might mourn their adoptive father.

  Even after learning the horrible truth about Professor Reed, and despite everything he’d done, they still had a powerful emotional attachment to him. They loved him as the only parent they’d ever known, and now they needed to cry for the terribly flawed man who had manipulated them, betrayed them, and ultimately died to protect them.

  Ramon and Mina stood back, leaving the twins to their bittersweet reunion. Caledonia handed Ramon back his phone and filled them in on the details of her and Michael’s ordeal. Mina listened in horror, while Ramon flushed bright orange with alarm.

  “He used you to go after the cartel? He must be crazy!”

  Mina looked over her shoulder at the road. “We need to get you two out of here.”

  After a few minutes Layla and Michael gathered themselves and rose to join everyone by the car. Layla clung to her brother protectively while he thanked Ramon and Mina for their help.

  Ramon offered his hand for a shake but pulled it back when he saw the bandage on Michael’s missing finger. “Are you okay?”

  Mina glanced down at it in shock, looking up to meet Michael’s eyes with compassion in hers. He looked different to her, sad and traumatized, his eyes haunted by grief and remorse. As for Michael, he could barely stop staring at the black-haired beauty, thinking that he must still be dreaming.

  “I can’t believe you’re actually here,” he said, his voice flat.

  She inspected his drawn face with worried eyes, “Are you okay?” she asked, surprising him with a warm hug before he could reply. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, pulling back in alarm to lay her cool palm across his forehead. “You’re burning up!”

  “His wound is infected,” Caledonia told her, “We need to get him to a doctor.”

  The sound of tires on the gravel drive startled them, and they all turned to see a sheriff’s truck pull in behind Mina’s car. Two officers got out, bristling with alarm. A young one was following the lead of an older, balding man, and both of them were on edge, radiating a cloud of silvery white tension. “Everyone stay where you are!” the older man called out. “Keep your hands where we can see them.”

  “What’s this all about?” Caledonia asked, holding up her hands as she advanced on them with a disarming smile. Layla hurried over to stand by her side.

  “Someone broke in and triggered a silent alarm,” the older officer said, his eyes flickering towards the house.

  The younger man looked at the two pretty girls that stood before them, and all of his suspicion and fear drained away in a split second. A goofy grin bloomed on his face, and he tipped his hat.

  Mina watched the confrontation anxiously. “I should go talk with them,” she said. “I can explain.”

  “No,” Ramon shook his head. “Let them do it.”

  They stood back and waited while Layla and Caledonia worked in concert to reassure the officers that it was all simply a big misunderstanding. Within a few minutes the men were inordinately friendly and smiling. Mina could hear both of the policemen burst into amused laughter, and Ramon turned to her. “See?”

  Completely relaxed, the two officers ended up competing with each other to give Layla and Cali directions to the best local restaurants and accommodations. “You go ahead and tell them Robbie sent you, and they’ll take real good care of you,” the older one told them with a smile, climbing back into his truck.

  “Thank you for everything,” Caledonia said, watching them pull away with a friendly wave.

  Once again, Mina watched the display, transfixed. She turned to Michael and shook her head. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you about that.”

  “It’s okay,” he told her, blinking in the bright sunlight.

  “We probably should have told them the truth,” Ramon told Layla and Cali when they returned
to the car.

  “No way!” Cali exclaimed, her voice uncharacteristically harsh. “There’s no time to deal with the police! I have to get back to Calvin right away!”

  Layla and Ramon exchanged a look and he relented, “Okay, okay, I suppose that we should get you out of town as soon as we can.”

  The five of them loaded into Mina’s car, and Layla and Cali insisted on riding in the back with an increasingly pale and feverish Michael. His eyes closed and he slumped onto Layla’s shoulder, unable to hold his head up any longer.

  They pulled out of the driveway and started down the mountain when a black Cadillac appeared behind them, shadowing them down the winding road. Mina sped up, but they kept glued to her tail, their tinted windows making it impossible to see who was behind the wheel.

  All at once shots rang out, and bullet holes appeared in the back window of Mina’s car. Ramon twisted around in his seat, calling out to Layla, “Get down!”

  This time, she didn’t hesitate, pushing Michael across the seat and falling upon him. The three cousins hunkered down in the back while Ramon drew his weapon and returned fire, leaning out of the passenger side window. Mina focused on driving, speeding down the mountain, weaving back and forth to keep the car from pulling up alongside them.

  “Hold on everyone! This is gonna get bumpy,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Another bullet whizzed through the back window, and all Layla could think was that something might happen to Ramon. She looked down to see the weapons Mina had confiscated from the men in the junkyard tucked under a seat.

  She picked up a pistol and a clip. “I know this one,” she muttered, fumbling for a minute before she loaded the weapon.

  She lowered the back window on her side, sitting up and turning in the wildly careening car to shoot at their pursuers with a singular focus, peppering the windshield of the car behind them. Startled, the Cadillac backed a good distance away from them. Mina stopped swerving, keeping one eye on the rear view mirror.

  “Is everyone okay?” Ramon called out, “Was anyone hit?”

  “We’re okay,” Cali said, looking behind them, “But they’re still coming.”

  They descended into the flatlands and traffic got heavier as they neared the city. Soon they were weaving in and out of cars, still unable to shake the big black vehicle that shadowed them, staying just out of range of their return fire. Mina veered to take an exit, shaking her head in disgust to see them cross three lanes of traffic to stay on her tail.

  “They’re going to get someone killed,” she muttered.

  “I’m afraid that’s the plan,” Ramon replied, holding onto the doorframe as he twisted around to keep an eye out behind them.

  “Don’t worry,” Mina said. Once we get downtown I can loose them.”

  As the city opened up before them their pace slowed. Their pursuers kept up the tail, pulling close every so often, but no longer exchanging gunfire.

  “They don’t want to involve the police,” Mina said, pulling onto a side road. She sped up, going directly towards a dead end with the black car glued to her bumper. “Brace yourselves,” she said. Ramon looked over at her like she was crazy as the end of the narrow road approached. She shifted into neutral, cranking hard on the wheel and pulling the emergency brake, spinning the car around to face the opposite direction. She slammed on the gas, driving straight past the men following them.

  Ramon turned around to see the big Escalade making an awkward three-point turn. He looked sideways at Mina, asking, “Where did you learn to drive like that?”

  “TEVO. Tactical Emergency Vehicle Operations.” She explained, “FBI training. You should try it.”

  Layla turned around to look out the back window, frightened when she saw the black car re-appear. “They’re still coming!”

  “They’re going to follow us until we stop,” Ramon said.

  “I won’t be able to lose them in this car,” Mina complained, “but don’t worry, I can go where they can’t follow.”

  She took a few more turns, leading them into a section of town that looked completely different from anywhere else in LA. Korean shops, restaurants and nightclubs lined the streets, with bright signs that screamed in an unfamiliar alphabet. It was a city within a city so gloriously foreign that they might as well have crossed a border into another country.

  Mina took one last quick turn into a driveway that sloped down into an underground parking garage. A battalion of security cameras pointed down towards a keypad, and Mina scrolled down her window to hastily punch in some numbers. A pair of imposing metal gates topped with wicked looking spikes slowly opened and she sped inside, stopping to watch the gates slam closed behind her.

  The black car screeched to a stop, a few seconds too late. Mina drove into the garage a few more yards, pausing in front of a kiosk housing an armed security guard who was already on his way out to greet her.

  “Miss Kim, what a pleasant surprise. Is your father expecting you?”

  “No,” she looked over her shoulder. “It’s going to be something of a surprise.”

  “Friends of yours?” the guard asked, following her eyes to the Cadillac.

  “NO!” she said emphatically, watching as the big black vehicle backed out and sped away.

  “If they come back around here I want you to get rid of them.”

  The man nodded, retreating to the booth where he picked up a phone and made a call.

  She pulled away, driving further into the garage to park next to an elevator. She turned around to see Layla sitting in back, cradling her brother’s head in her lap.

  “How’s he doing?”

  “Michael?” Layla shook him gently. “Are you okay?”

  He rallied, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “Yeah … Yes … I’m fine.”

  They all piled out of the car and followed Mina over to the elevator, where once again, she typed a code into a keypad. She smiled nervously, “This is my parent’s house. We can rest here while we figure out what to do.”

  The elevator door opened to a marble floored entry hall, finely appointed with Chippendale style furniture. A dignified older couple stood waiting, their eyes widening as they took in the ragtag group that was assembled before them.

  A stunning redhead was clinging to the hand of a darkly handsome young man, alongside a wild-haired blonde sporting puffy neon green pants, a garish Christmas sweater, and massive furry boots. An equally outlandishly dressed young man stood next to her, pale and blinking.

  Mina stepped forward to greet them, starting to make her introductions. “Mother, father, I’d like you to meet my friends–”

  Michael’s eyes rolled back into his head just before he slumped to the ground with a dull thud.

  ~

  Chapter Twelve

  REFUGE

  ~

  Michael dreamed that Professor Reed was clamped onto his arm in a death grip, dragging him down the stairs and back into the dank dungeon room. He opened his eyes to see a blurry stranger looming over him. “Where am I?” he croaked, afraid that his long horrible nightmare was starting up all over again.

  “You’re in my parent’s guest room,” the man replied.

  “Who are you?” Michael asked, struggling to lift his head and shoulders.

  “I’m Mina’s brother, Sam,” he explained. “I’m a doctor.” He released a blood pressure cuff from Michael’s arm and adjusted a bag of fluid that was steadily dripping something into a tube that was taped to the back of his wounded hand.

  Michael fell back down onto the pillow, his head throbbing.

  “Where is she?” he asked, tongue thick in his mouth.

  “I’ll go tell her that you’re awake, but I want you to stay in bed. You’re dehydrated, you’re fighting an infection, and you need to take it easy.” He turned to the dresser and packed up his bag, asking casually, “So… How do you know my sister anyway?”

  Before Michael could think of anything to say there was a soft knock on the door, and it cr
eaked open to reveal Mina’s worried face.

  “You’re awake,” she said.

  “Mina.” Michael struggled to sit up again, looking down to notice that he was dressed in an unfamiliar T-shirt and sweatpants.

  “I’ll stop in to check on him after dinner,” Sam told his sister. “We can probably take the antibiotic drip out then. Make sure he takes it easy.”

  “Is he going to be alright?”

  “A couple days of bed-rest and he’ll be as good as new.”

  “Is there anything I should do while you’re gone?” she asked her brother, looking at the IV bag warily.

  “Just see to it that he eats something.” He smiled at the relieved look on Mina’s face. “Now I’ll leave you alone with your Yakuza,” he said before he walked out of the room, chuckling under his breath.

  “What happened?” Michael asked her when they were alone. “Are Layla and Cali okay?”

  “Everyone’s fine,” Mina she reassured him. “We’re all staying here for the night.”

  “Where are we? What about the guys that were following us?” he asked, getting agitated. “Do they know where we are?”

  She came closer to his bedside, “It’s okay. Nobody can touch us here.”

  He looked around the room, trying to get his bearings. “We gotta run! They’re probably on their way back right now with more guys.”

  She smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry. We’re in Koreatown now. We’re protected.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “People watch out for each other here, and strangers are not always welcome. My father is an important man in the community, and you are all guests in his house. Nobody can touch us.”

  Michael nodded with relief, dropping his head again with a sigh.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked.

  He lifted his arm to inspect the line leading into the back of his hand. There was a neat new bandage on the stump of his pinkie. “So your brother’s a doctor?”

  “Yes. He said that we got you here just in time.” She reached out to touch his wrist gingerly. “It looks like the swelling has gone down a lot.”