But there was a current of unstable energy just under the surface. His paranormal senses reacted to it the same way his normal senses would have if he had entered a room and caught the scent of smoke. He heightened his talent a little more and looked around, trying to identify the artifact that was giving off the ominous vibe. It took him a moment to realize that it was coming from a pile of plastic packets that were filled with some white powder. The products of Nyla’s drug lab, no doubt.
Tony shifted uneasily.
“Can’t you turn up the heat in here?” he said to Nyla.
Slater spoke before Nyla could respond.
“Mind explaining how you got the clones in and out of Fogg Lake without anyone noticing?” he asked. “In fact, how did you get Ms. LeClair here?”
Nyla flashed him an impatient look. “Why do you keep calling Tony and Jared clones?”
“It’s not important,” Slater said. “But I will admit I’m damned curious about how you were able to operate this lab and bring people in and out of the area without drawing the attention of the locals.”
Nyla’s mouth curved in an icy smile. “The partially flooded tunnel we used to get here continues for quite some distance underground. It’s navigable the entire way in a small boat. The exit point is concealed inside another cavern on the far side of the lake. There’s an abandoned logging road there that eventually connects to the old road down the mountain.”
“What changed?” Slater asked. “I assume something happened to convince you that it was worth taking the risk of kidnapping Olivia and Catalina.”
Nyla’s face lit with triumph. “I was contacted by a representative of an organization that recognizes my talent.”
“Vortex,” Slater said.
Nyla rounded on him. “I know what you’re going to say. That Vortex is just a legend, a myth attached to the stories of the lost labs. But I’ve got news for you. It was real all those years ago, and it will be real again.”
“Bullshit,” Slater said. “Someone is playing you.”
“That’s not true,” Nyla shouted.
“I don’t doubt that someone contacted you and claimed to represent Vortex, but the truth is, someone just wants to use you to take all the risks.”
“You haven’t got a clue,” Nyla said. “And neither does the Foundation. And that’s the way it needs to be, at least for now. But the truth is that Vortex is rising from the ashes and I have been offered a position as the director of a lab that will conduct the kind of cutting-edge paranormal research the Foundation refuses to do.”
“If you’ve got an offer like that, why didn’t you disappear again and set up shop in a Vortex facility?” Slater asked.
“Because there is a price to pay to be admitted into the inner circles of Vortex,” Nyla said. “In my case, that price is the Fogg Lake laboratory complex.”
“I would have thought this one chamber would have been more than enough to buy your way into Vortex,” Slater said. “There must have been a fortune in artifacts in this room when you found it.”
“Unfortunately someone else found it first,” Nyla said, disgusted. “Raiders, most likely. Or maybe someone in Fogg Lake discovered it and quietly sold off the artifacts. This chamber was almost empty when I arrived. The only things left were some workbenches and a few beakers. But it did provide me with the space and privacy that I needed for a halfway decent lab.”
Slater looked around. “So the people claiming to be from Vortex are using you to find the Fogg Lake lab. You take all the risks. They stay in the shadows. Sweet. You do realize that as soon as you give them what they want, they will figure out that they don’t need you anymore, don’t you?”
Nyla turned to Tony. “Get rid of him.”
“About fucking time,” Tony said. He raised the gun.
“No,” Catalina said. She stared at Nyla. “You can’t do this. You have to stop now. You can’t keep killing people.”
Nyla did not take her attention off Tony. “Not in here. Do it out on the dock and dump the body in the river.”
“That’s how you instructed the killer to get rid of Morrissey’s body,” Slater said. “You know, it’s a mistake to do things the same way twice. Points to a pattern. The Foundation cleaners are really, really good when it comes to identifying patterns.”
“Get him out of here,” Nyla said.
“No,” Catalina said. “Please. I’ll do what you want. I’ll take you to the old power generator chamber.”
“You don’t need to kill him,” Olivia said. “Why risk having the Foundation launch an investigation? You can give him some of that drug you’re going to use on Catalina and me.”
“You mustn’t do this, Nyla,” Catalina said.
The plea for mercy sounded authentic, but Catalina’s voice had taken on the familiar eerie note. Slater recognized the haunted look that indicated she was having a vision. He knew she sensed what he planned to do.
“I said get rid of Arganbright,” Nyla snapped.
“Let’s go,” Tony said.
Slater did not move.
“I said move.”
Tony grabbed Slater’s shoulder, jerked him around and propelled him outside and onto the dock.
The physical contact provided the connection that allowed Slater to use his talent like a dagger. When they reached the end of the dock he struck hard and fast, using everything he had to overwhelm the triplet’s aura. This time he had full control.
Tony convulsed, wheezing as he tried to take a breath. But his lungs were locked up by the sudden cold. He collapsed and toppled forward. He squeezed off a shot but it was a reflexive move. The round went into the water. Unfortunately, his gun did, too.
Okay, so not everything was going according to plan, Slater thought. But the plan, such as it was, had been shaky from the start. Sometimes you had to improvise.
He flattened his back against the stone wall beside the doorway. Sooner or later someone would venture outside to see what had delayed Tony. Odds were good that it would be Jared who stuck his head through the doorway.
Catalina and Olivia were screaming now. Their anguish sounded genuine. Their fury and despair reverberated off the stone walls of the lab.
“Shut up,” Nyla shouted. “Shut up, both of you, or Olivia will be next.”
Both women went suddenly quiet.
Finally, finally, Jared realized something had gone wrong outside.
He yelled through the doorway. “Tony? What’s happening?”
When he got no response, he did the smart thing and got nervous.
“Something’s wrong,” he announced to Nyla.
“The boat,” Nyla said, alarmed. “If Arganbright gets into it, he’ll get away. Stop him.”
Jared hesitated and then fired several shots randomly through the doorway. Evidently satisfied that he had provided sufficient cover for himself, he stuck his head and the gun through the opening to survey the scene.
Slater grabbed the arm holding the gun and hauled the triplet through the doorway. Jared grunted and pulled the trigger a couple more times. The shots thudded into the wooden boards of the dock.
Inside the lab the screaming started up again. Nyla this time. Howling in rage and panic and pain. Glass shattered.