Page 31 of Dark Medicine (Strange Gifts #2)

“This whole situation continues to evolve into one giant clusterfuck ball of twisted yarn. With Kelly Bellum now one of the Gifted and recognizing that she was exposed in utero, we may have more people out there than we thought.” Kane strode back and forth on the porch, his face showing the signs of stress and age. His hands continually threaded through his hair, his posture rigid and alert.

“It doesn’t change the ultimate mission,” said Flip. “We need to kill Moore and find out who this person ‘K’ is and then handle her. Then, and only then, can we be free to try and find the rest of the Gifted.”

“We also have to consider that if we’re staying here, I need medical supplies, my surgical tools, food, and so much more,” said Adam.

Behind them, the screen door swung open, slapping against the side of the house. Spook stood wide-eyed in the doorway and then grimaced at his clumsiness, the loud noise making everyone jump.

“Graceful as always,” said Flip with a smirk.

“Fuck you, asshole,” he said, smiling at his friend. “I have news. Good news. I was able to locate the compound where I suspect everyone is located. Thanks to Uri and the information we received from Mrs. Henry, I was able to narrow it down from the original twelve properties I was given. Two of them burned to the ground recently. Three sold within the last few months for cash, lots of cash. Interesting, considering they don’t really need the money. Only one has continuous activity and signals coming in regular intervals. They are all at a ranch in the hills outside of Los Angeles.”

“That’s one of K’s favorite properties. She has a thing for horses and used to have a dozen or more, but I’m not sure they’re there any longer,” said Uri. “Moore hated that she was spending so much time with the horses and not with him. I wouldn’t put it past him to have killed the horses or sold them.”

“I don’t know about horses yet,” said Spook. “I’ve sent some surveillance drones, but in the meantime, I was able to hack into all the electronic gear within the house.” Spook had a huge smile on his face and looked at the group of people.

“Well? Are you just going to grin or fucking tell us what the good news is?” yelled Flip.

“Patience, my mountainous island friend,” he smiled. “Their security sucks. I can tell you that. I mean, to me, it sucks. It’s a simple keypad system on the doors and the compound gate. A smart high school kid could figure it out. Other than that, they haven’t set up extensive firewalls or warnings for anyone attempting to hack into the systems. When I entered, it was actually through the main security feed. From there, I was able to get into the mainframe and basically create a roadmap to everything I wanted to access.

“Once I’m in, I’m able to connect electronically to all the feeds in the house and use their capabilities to find the information I need. Thanks to my gifts,” he said with a smirk, “I’m able to hear via the feeds, even if the feeds are not audio. It’s like turning on the baby monitors one way. The whole place felt as if it were in turmoil. I could hear people running around, cursing, frantic voices, happy voices, you name it! Then I hear a woman’s voice.”

The whole group turned to look at Spook. His face was filled with excitement and pride, something just a few months ago, he couldn’t have mustered. Spook was definitely warming up to his gifts. The idea of using them to benefit humankind was more and more appealing.

“Moore is dead,” he said soundly.

“Dead?” whispered Uri.

“Dead. I could hear them panicked, and then I heard something else – excitement and happiness. He died just a few hours ago. One of the voices said from organ failure, but I think there’s something else going on, just not sure what yet. That’s not the good part. The good part is that now I have a voice pattern on the woman, and I can trace her voice and hopefully get an identity.”

“Holy fuck! That’s unbelievable,” said Uri. “I mean, I knew you had skills, but this is beyond comprehension. I mean, how… actually, I don’t want to know how. He’s dead. Moore is dead.” Uri let out a sigh of relief, the burden lifting from his shoulder as he said the words.

“He is dead, and it seems the woman is scrambling to control the group. We need to strike now. There will be a public announcement. She has to because of his business holdings.” Adam looked at the group and then back at Fiona, a peculiar expression on her face.

“Fiona? Are you okay? I know he was your…” She quickly held up her hand.

“Don’t say it! That man was not my father. He was a sperm donor. That’s all. I was wondering if I would feel anything close to remorse, and I don’t. He’s dead, and by all accounts, he should be dead. Now, we can focus on stopping the woman.”

Spook’s face moved slightly from side to side, his eyes almost quivering in their sockets. It was as if data were moving so fast through his brain his eyes couldn’t keep up. His fingers tapped against his thighs, his head jerking left and then right, giving him the Hollywood version of an autistic quality to his features. Fiona couldn’t help but think he looked like some form of artificial intelligence.

“Karena. Karena Viskoff is her name,” said Spook, his face paling. “Holy shit! It’s the butcher of Lukovir.”

“Lukovir?” asked Aislinn.

“It was the sister village of Lukomir, a remote village in Bosnia where many of Moore’s mass murders took place. Viskoff is thought to be a part of it, but no one can prove it. She was young, like in her teens when Moore was there, but the locals said she was deadly. One elder in the village said she tortured her classmates from the time she was only seven or eight. She often used fire or small knives to cause them pain. He said she took delight in watching their fear. After Lukovir, everyone thought she was dead.” Kane sat on the step and took in a deep breath.

“Viskoff?” said Uri. “I met her once when I was stationed in Bosnia. Moore introduced me to her and said she was a local providing intel for us. I would have recognized her. I feel certain.”

“She might have had reconstructive surgery,” said Adam. Everyone turned to look his way. “It’s possible. Many major criminals will go to remote locations and have their faces redone, sometimes more than once. It makes sense. The U.S. and Bosnian governments want her for questioning and possibly more. Having plastic surgery would allow her to remain with Moore and continue her upward climb of activity.”

“Fuck,” whispered Kane, “Viskoff. I saw that village when she and Moore finished with it. I will never get those images out of my head, ever.”

“Then we need to stop her now,” said Spook. “She’s having trouble controlling the men in the compound. Many have already left, and she’s pan…” Spook stopped mid-sentence.

“Spook? Brother, what’s wrong?” asked Flip. Spook stood frozen, nothing moving, nothing giving away his emotion. “Spook!”

“She’s not upset,” he said quietly.

“What?”

“She’s not upset. She’s pretending to be upset. I can hear it in her voice. She wants them to believe she’s upset. She’s letting them leave because she wants the money.”

“Uri!” yelled Melanie.

“What’s wrong, honey?” he said, turning to see his wife in the doorway.

“It’s on the news. Moore is dead, but they’re saying it was arson. Look!”

The team went back inside, their eyes glued to the television that Melanie Bellum was pointing toward. A fiery picture flashed across the screen, and then the camera focused on the reporter standing dutifully in front of the yellow police tape.

It’s an absolute disaster here, Mike. Colonel Weston Moore is reported to have died in the fire from smoke inhalation. The remainder of the staff and his close friends were able to get out alive, but the ranch is completely unsalvageable.

“She left him in there,” said Fiona. “He may have already been dead, but she left him in there. I just know it.”

Flip stared at the television screen as the cameras panned the small crowd of onlookers. Most appeared to be older ranchers, some people still sitting in their vehicles watching the blaze. One, however, stood out from the others. She was average height, average weight, but that’s where her mediocrity ended. Waist-length blonde hair blew in the canyon winds. He could tell she had vivid blue eyes and keen intelligence. She was dressed in clean street clothes, not ranching clothes, and she didn’t appear to have a vehicle with her.

But it was the slight smirk that made him realize who she was. She wasn’t horrified or showing twisted interest.

“That’s her. She set the fire,” he said, pointing at the screen.

“What? How would you know that?” asked Kane.

“I can’t explain it, brother, but that’s her. I’m telling you. She’s one of us.”

“Alright, we’ll deal with that later. For now, we need transport to that ranch in the canyon. We have to try and get to Henry, Cullen, Fredericks, and even Groome if he wants to help.”

“I can call a friend nearby with a helicopter,” said Uri. Kane nodded and handed him the satellite phone.

Fifteen minutes later, they were in an old, refurbished Army Chinook on their way to stop the butcher of Lukovir.