The 4400- the Vesuvius Prophecy Page 16

  Now the distinctive cylindrical building loomed before him like a sanctuary. Its silver exterior was clad in preweathered zinc panels, making it look like a futuristic fortress. A glass corona crowned the building. Any port in a storm, he thought, as he and his mysterious savior, who had finally volunteered that her name was Simone, ran toward the Center’s tree-lined portico. They left a red Ford coupe at the curb, having traded cars in an all-night parking garage just in case someone saw the Jaguar peel away from NTAC. Cooper had changed out of his incriminating orange jumpsuit at the same time. Now wearing a flannel shirt and jeans provided by Simone, as well as a slightly snug pair of sneakers, he kept looking back over his shoulder in anticipation of flashing blue lights and sirens, but no police cars materialized. He felt hunted nonetheless.

  If only he hadn’t gone to see that damn Airport movie years ago . . . ! If he hadn’t been in those frozen woods thirty-five years back, if he had never hijacked that plane, would that infernal ball of light still have found him? Would he still be a fugitive with an earthquake in his skull?

  Only the future knew and it wasn’t talking.

  The windows were dark in the upper stories of the Center. Security lights in the front plaza left him feeling uncomfortably exposed. Despite his change of clothes, he couldn’t wait to alter the rest of his appearance. I’ll shave my beard, he thought, and let my hair grow back. The gold tooth would have to go as well. Maybe Simone knew a 4400 dentist he could trust?

  She used a key card to open the front door. “You’ll be safe here.”

  “Maybe.” He stepped warily into the dimly lit lobby. No receptionist manned the front desk. They seemed to have the place to themselves. “Isn’t this the first place they’ll look for me?”

  “This is just a temporary measure, until we can get you to a secure safe house.” She locked the door behind them, which made him feel a little better. “In the meantime, NTAC isn’t likely to stage a full raid on the Center unless they know for certain that we’re holding you. There are too many 4400s here who are ready and willing to fight back.”

  That makes sense, he admitted. The Feds wouldn’t want to turn this place into the next Waco. Not when they were still trying to live down the Inhibitor Scandal.

  She escorted him upstairs to an office on the second floor, where they found a well-dressed Arab man waiting for them. “Rahmen Aziz,” he introduced himself, shaking Cooper’s hand. “Legal counsel for The 4400 Center. I’ve been trying to obtain your release from federal custody.”

  “Can you do that?” As a rule, Cooper didn’t trust lawyers, but, boy, did he need one now. He could add a jailbreak and assaulting a guard to the list of charges against him. Not that I had much choice, what with that spooky Gorinsky creep on the loose.

  Aziz shook his head. “Not anymore. I’m afraid the time for legal maneuvers is past. The NSA intends to bury you so deep that not even the Center and its resources will be able to liberate you.” He let that sink in for a minute, before continuing. “You’re a fugitive now, an outlaw . . . just like Nova Group.”

  Nova? Warning bells went off in Cooper’s head. “Wait a second. I’m no terrorist.”

  “Terrorist. Freedom fighter.” Aziz shrugged. “Today’s labels don’t matter. Nova Group is the defensive wing of the 4400, fighting back against a paranoid government that nearly exterminated us. I would think that your recent captivity would make you appreciate the vital necessity of an organization like Nova.”

  Spare me the sales pitch, Cooper thought. To be honest, he couldn’t blame the Feds for wanting to keep their hands on a guy who could trigger earthquakes without even trying. “I’m not very political.”

  “You disappoint me, Mister DeMeers.” Aziz gave him a withering once-over. His hands were clasped behind his back as he stood in front of an impressive mahogany desk. “One would not expect the legendary D. B. Cooper to be so hesitant to strike back at the authorities. Where’s your rebellious spirit, famed in song and story?”

  It wasn’t about making a statement, Cooper protested silently. I just needed the money. “I’m not D. B. Coop—”

  Aziz held up his hand. “Please, don’t waste our time with perfunctory denials. As it happens, our benefactors in the far future blessed me with a singular ability: I can always tell whether someone is telling the truth or not by listening carefully to their heartbeat. A useful talent for an attorney, you must admit.” He looked Cooper squarely in the eyes. “You were the notorious Dan Cooper.” I know that and you know that. But that hardly matters now. I’m less concerned with what you did thirty-some years ago than with what you can do in the present. By all reports, you possess quite a remarkable ability of your own.”

  “You can have it,” Cooper said bitterly. “I wish those bastards in the future had just left me alone.”

  “Tsk-tsk,” Aziz clucked. “You see how the government and their stooges in the media have brainwashed you? The 4400 have been entrusted with the sacred responsibility of saving the world from an unimaginable future catastrophe. You must have faith that you have been endowed with your ability for a purpose.”

  “Easy for you to say.” He bristled indignantly, despite his precarious situation. “You don’t have to worry about setting off an earthquake or volcano every time you lose your cool. I’d be two hundred thousand dollars richer, and a whole lot happier, if those ‘benefactors’ you mentioned had stayed out of my life.” Aziz and Simone were obviously fanatics; Cooper decided that he was in enough trouble without getting mixed up with this bunch. “Thanks for the jailbreak, but I’m out of here.”

  He headed for the door. The Canadian border was only about three hours away. The way he figured it, he had good odds of making it out of the country before NTAC or the NSA caught up with him. Once he got settled in Canada, under a whole new identity, he’d try to contact Sondra and see if she wanted to join him in exile. On second thought, he reconsidered, maybe she’d be better off without me . . .

  Simone moved to block him, but he brushed her aside. “Forget about it. I’m not interested.”

  “You’re making a serious mistake, Mister DeMeers,” Aziz said. “I’m afraid we can’t permit you to leave.”

  Cooper drew the semiautomatic pistol he had stolen from the guard at NTAC. “Try and stop me.” A quaver in his voice betrayed his discomfort. Not counting the war, this was the first time in his life he had ever pulled a gun on anyone. He tried hard not to let it show. “I’m leaving now, and I don’t want anyone following me.”

  “You’re bluffing,” Aziz accused him.

  “Am I?” Gun in hand, he turned to face the lawyer. “You’re the human lie detector. You tell me.” In fact, Cooper had no idea if he was bluffing or not. He was hoping Aziz couldn’t tell, either. Don’t make me pull this trigger.

  The lawyer scowled, an encouragingly puzzled expression on his face. Cooper figured he’d made his point, until Aziz suddenly grinned in triumph. “Ah, excellent,” he crowed, looking past Cooper at something beyond the escaped hijacker. “Just in the proverbial nick of time.”

  Cooper looked behind him to find William Gorinsky filling the doorway. Cooper started to swing the pistol around, but the other man was too fast for him. Gorinsky grabbed Cooper’s shoulder, sending a numbing shock through the fugitive’s arm. Cooper let out a startled cry as the gun slipped from his fingers. A second later, a backhanded blow sent him tumbling back into Aziz’s office. He looked around frantically for the fallen gun, but Simone had already pounced on it. She gripped the weapon with both hands as she aimed it straight at his chest. “Don’t move an inch,” she warned him coolly. “Don’t make a sound.”

  No trace of uncertainty glinted in her piercing gold-rimmed eyes. Cooper didn’t need Aziz’s special ability to know that she wasn’t bluffing. He dropped to his knees and raised his hands over his head. Christ, he swore inwardly. This just keeps getting worse and worse.

  “That’s more like it.” Aziz nodded at the newcomer. “Your timing is impeccable, Mi
ster Gorinsky.”

  “No problem.” Gorinsky entered the office and closed the door behind him. The click of the lock reminded Cooper of the prison he had just escaped. “Now what?”

  Aziz turned his attention back to Cooper. “I believe you’ve met Mister Gorinsky. A most valuable operative. The lovely Simone recruited him some time ago.” Gorinsky came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She nestled into him. Clearly, they were more than just comrades-in-arms. Not bad for a dead guy, Cooper conceded grudgingly. Guess he’s still solid enough to get lucky.

  “It was easy,” she bragged. “After I got out of that miserable nuthouse, I knew Bill would materialize up at Highland Beach eventually. He was obsessed with the place. I just staked the beach out until he showed up—or at least one of him did.” She smirked at some sort of private joke. “Then I persuaded him to join Nova. An operative with a perfect alibi was just what we needed.”

  Hospital? One of him? Cooper had no idea what she was talking about; he felt like he’d missed the first part of a spy movie or something. “Please,” he begged, “just let me go. I promise I won’t tell anyone about you.”

  “It’s not that simple, Mister DeMeers.” Aziz stroked his goatee as he contemplated the kneeling captive. “There are bigger issues here than simply preserving the anonymity of a single Nova cell. The public already fears and distrusts the 4400. The last thing we need is for you to initiate a disaster that will turn the entire world against us.”

  Simone glared at Cooper down the barrel of the gun. “I still say we should dispose of him here and now. You know what the little girl predicted. We can’t take the chance that her prophecy will come true.”

  “That would be a waste,” Gorinsky argued. “This idiot can literally move mountains with his brain. We can use that kind of power.”

  “If we can control him.” Aziz eyed Cooper skeptically, apparently of two minds on the subject. He sounded as if he was edging toward Simone’s point of view. “So far, our friend here has been less than cooperative.”

  Cooper realized that he was only moments away from death. “Listen to me!” he pleaded. “I don’t care what some crazy little girl said. I would never blow up Mount Rainier! Think about it, do I look like some kind of homicidal maniac? Why on Earth would I do something horrible like that?” His heart was pounding so hard that he was terrified that he was about to set off an earthquake at any moment, which would get him killed for sure. He prayed NTAC had injected enough inhibitor in his system to keep his ability out of commission for just a little while longer. “I promise, if you let me live, I’ll never go within a hundred miles of Rainier or any other mountain. I’ll move to the desert somewhere, away from any fault lines or volcanoes!”

  “He’s telling the truth,” Aziz informed his compatriots. Hope flared in Cooper’s heart as the dapper lawyer appeared to take the panicky offer under consideration. “Perhaps there’s no need to make any rash decisions. Mister DeMeers isn’t going anywhere unless we say so, and I admit that I’m reluctant to execute a fellow returnee if it’s not strictly necessary. For all we know, the eruption the girl foresaw might still be weeks, months, or even years away. We have time to consider other options.”

  “Time?” Simone said incredulously. She wriggled free of Gorinsky’s embrace. “Are you kidding me? NTAC has already rounded up every other Nova cell in town. They could be coming after us any minute now. This might be our only chance to stop this jerk from destroying Seattle!”

  Aziz frowned. “Control yourself, Simone. Kindly lower your weapon.”

  “Like hell!” she snapped. “He has to die.” She kept the pistol aimed at Cooper. Her black-clad body looked as tense as a coiled spring. “If you can’t see that, then somebody has to get the job done.”

  Gorinsky stepped between Simone and Cooper. “Hold it!” he ordered. “Put that gun down!”

  “Nice try,” she said with a nearly audible smirk. “But you and I both know that I can shoot right through you without even leaving a scratch.” Cooper braced himself for the end. He wondered if he would actually feel anything before the bullet tore through his heart. “So long, Mister D. B. Cooper. Nothing person—”

  Before she could fire, however, Gorinsky swatted her arm to the side. The shot went wild, knocking an abstract painting from the wall. The framed artwork crashed loudly onto the carpet. “What the hell?” she protested. “Whose side are you on?”

  “Not yours,” he said brusquely. “Not anymore.”

  His fist clamped around her throat, choking her. Electricity crackled and her svelte body stiffened. Gorinsky pried the pistol from her fingers before letting go of her neck. She dropped lifelessly onto the floor, facedown onto the carpet. Cooper couldn’t tell if she was still breathing or not. Had the psycho killed his own girl?

  “Simone!” Aziz stared in shock at Gorinsky. “What have you done?”

  Gorinsky stepped away from the woman’s fallen form. “Changed the agenda.”

  Taking advantage of the tumult, Cooper leapt to his feet and dashed for the door. I have to get out of here, he thought urgently. These people are insane!

  “Uh-uh,” Gorinsky grunted. Moving swiftly, he pressed the muzzle of the gun against the back of the fugitive’s neck before Cooper could get to the door. The hijacker froze in place, almost too scared to breathe. “You’re not going anywhere without me. I have big plans for you.”

  “Plans? What plans?” Aziz was at his wit’s end, having completely lost control of the situation. The lawyer’s polished exterior crumbled to pieces. “Have you lost your mind? What about our cause?”

  Cooper caught on before Aziz. He knew a double cross when he saw one. Apparently, the lawyer’s lie-detecting ability didn’t work on whatever Gorinsky was. Maybe because he didn’t really have a heartbeat?

  “Screw the cause!” Gorinsky barked. “Don’t you get it? Simone was right: the Nova Group is history. It’s every man for himself now.” He spit disdainfully onto the carpet. “Besides, who cares about your stupid cause? I had my own reasons for joining this pinko outfit. But you were too blind to ever see that.”

  “What are you saying?” Aziz said, appalled. “You were a traitor all along?”

  “More like a double agent,” Gorinsky said. He prodded Cooper with the gun, nudging him toward the door. “We’re getting out of here now.”

  Ever since Gorinsky had first appeared at the Market, Cooper recalled, the stalker had been trying to abscond with Cooper. Now it appeared that he was finally getting what he wanted, although Cooper was still in the dark regarding the other man’s motives. I don’t get it, he thought. What does he want me for?

  Aziz ran between them and the door, blocking the exit with his body. “I can’t let you do this. He’s too dangerous!”

  “That’s what I’m counting on,” Gorinsky said as, without hesitation, he swung the pistol away from Cooper’s neck and shot Aziz in the gut. The blare of the gunshot, going off only inches away from Cooper’s right ear, was deafening. He nearly jumped out of his sneakers.

  Oh my God! Cooper reacted. He shot the bastard!

  Clutching his chest, Aziz slid to the floor, leaving a gory streak on the door behind him. Dark venous blood seeped through his fingers and trickled from the corner of his mouth. An agonized expression contorted his face. He gazed up at Gorinsky in shock. “We . . . trusted you . . . Simone trusted you . . .”

  “Tough luck,” Gorinsky answered callously. His voice held nothing but scorn for his former leader. He nudged the fallen lawyer with his foot. “Maybe your pals in the future will come through for you . . . but, you know, I don’t think they’ll bother.”

  A bullet hole perforated the door. Cooper wondered if anyone had heard the gunshot. The offices directly outside were all empty this early in the morning, but he was aware that several returnees actually resided in the Center, mostly in private apartments on the third floor of the building. He had briefly checked out the accommodations himself before deciding that the
Center wasn’t for him. Maybe the gunshot had awoken somebody upstairs? He found himself hoping that someone was dialing the police at this very moment. Given a choice, he’d rather take his chances with the authorities than stick with Gorinsky. He had just seen firsthand exactly how dangerous his stalker was. He just shot somebody in cold blood!

  Gorinsky kicked open the door and shoved Cooper from behind, forcing him to step over Aziz’s writhing body. “Move it,” Gorinsky ordered. “We’re going for a drive.”

  The gunman forced him down the stairs to the lobby and out to the parking lot. Behind them, lights clicked on behind the windows of The 4400 Center as the residents woke to discover Gorinsky’s gruesome handiwork. Cooper heard muffled screams and shouting.

  “I don’t understand,” he blurted, completely lost. “Where are we going? What do you want?”

  Gorinsky’s clean-cut face darkened. “To get revenge on the future.”

  SIXTEEN

  A MUFFLED BANG roused Shawn from an uneasy sleep. He lay awake in the dark, uncertain what he had heard. A gunshot? A firecracker? He squinted at the digital alarm clock by the bed and saw that it was past 4 A.M. Did I really hear something, he wondered, or did I just dream it? Grisly nightmares, of Isabelle calmly exterminating his friends and family, had troubled his slumber ever since he’d finally succeeded in drifting off to sleep. The blare of the gunshot fit right in with the violent scenarios surfacing from his unconscious mind. Convincing himself that he had dreamed the whole thing, he closed his eyes to catch a few more hours of sleep.

  Then he heard another bang.

  That’s no dream, he realized with a start. This is for real.

  Isabelle stirred beside him, her nude body partially draped over his. “Shawn?” she murmured groggily. “What is it?”

  “Probably nothing,” he lied, sliding out from under her. He grabbed a bathrobe off a chair and tied the belt around his waist. Whatever was happening, he didn’t want Isabelle involved; she was too powerful and unpredictable. Her presence could only escalate the situation. “Just go back to sleep.”