19

After three interviews with Materializers, we had a good baseline of what they could and couldn’t do. It didn’t solve the problem, though, of how this particular Materializer was shielding against Grant and Carol.

Time to figure this out.

The entire Psy staff was called into the conference room because for this, the more brains, the better. Even Tyson was here, and normally he was out doing consulting work. He was looking sharp today, his greying hair in a new cut with a fade, wearing a blazer instead of his usual polo, so he might be consulting later today. We piled into the room, Sho getting both Gonzalezes on speakerphone. Jon kept firm hold of his coffee thermos as he settled at the head of the table.

I looked sideways at my fiancé, mostly in amusement. Did he think the caffeine boost would give him insight? Seemed like wishful thinking, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.

“Before we bring this meeting to order,” Jon drawled out, “I’d like to make an announcement.”

Garrett put both hands over his mouth and squee d, “Oh my god, you’re pregnant!”

“Shut it, you. Donovan and I managed to lock in a date and venue. Please save September 25 th . We’ll get official invitations to you soon.”

Our parents had been both relieved and excited by our choice. Our mothers especially, as they’d been working hard trying to find a venue and hadn’t had much luck. When I’d explained to Mom what we wanted to do, she’d immediately been on board. In her own words, she thought the idea super fun and was already dreaming up her costume. Lauren was the same. All we had to do now was get invitations out and figure out decorations.

“Delighted to hear it,” Jim informed us, beaming. Whenever he smiled like that, he looked like an affable bulldog. His salt-and-pepper hair going steadily more grey didn’t help the impression. “We’ll put it on the calendar. This formal?”

“Think costumes,” I corrected him. “We’re renting out a pizza parlor with an arcade upstairs.”

“Oh hell yeah,” Garrett enthused. “Now this is my kind of wedding.”

Sho shot him a look from the side of his eye like he took note of Garrett’s reaction. Beside me, Jon choked a little and was trying to hide a grin behind his coffee cup. He had without a doubt picked up something from Sho’s reaction, but I’d have to get him alone if I had any chance of prying it out of him.

“Any costume?” Sharon mused.

“Don’t dress up like a bride and we’re good.” Honestly, Jon and I didn’t care, we just wanted people to have fun at our wedding. “That’s all we wanted to say this morning. We can talk weddings later. Let’s figure out how this douchecanoe is blocking everyone from finding him.”

Carol crossed her arms over her chest, visibly fuming. “I’ve been trying off and on. I have no idea how Marc was able to locate him even for a brief second. It’s seriously pissing me off. I hate being thwarted.”

“I don’t think anyone enjoys that.” Jim rubbed his fingertips together, clearly thinking hard.

Sho checked his phone before grunting and putting it back in the EMP case. “Grant said he’d swing by in about an hour. He wants to help brainstorm. I think he’s taking this personal too.”

I was somehow not surprised.

Tyson, who was on the far end, requested, “Recap for us. Can a Materializer do any kind of shielding?”

“Not one whit,” I said. “They’re a purely physical type. They can create stuff, but anything like shields is way outside their purview. Even with creating things, it can’t get complicated. Anything over ten layers, and it’s increasingly difficult to make. Damn near impossible unless you’re very strong.”

From the speakerphone, Gonzalez’s voice came through clearly. “ I doubt this guy is that strong. He’d be licensed if he was and easier to track down .”

“Good point. Unless he failed a psych eval.” Jon pursed his lips. “Which, if he’s kidnapping people and faking murder scenes, he probably did.”

My money was on that for sure. Although people could do some really wacky shit without actually being mentally unwell. Didn’t make them any less crazy, in my book.

“So we’re banking on the fact he’s mid-tier?” Abby had a notebook in front of her and was jotting things down. “Hmm. Okay, I don’t know where that leaves us.”

“Hear me out.” Sho lifted a finger, eyes narrowed in a way that indicated he had his thinking cap squarely on. “There’s two physical shielding systems we all know and use. First one is what the prisons use to keep psychics contained.”

I nodded, following along with this. It was true, prisons did have a separate ward for the psychics because of that shielding system. I forgot what it was called off the top of my head, but it was meant to dampen all psychic abilities and keep them from being able to break out of prison with their powers. The generators for it were absolutely insane, something you’d see at a high-security bunker, and not easy to duplicate. You had to have a master’s in engineering just to be able to operate it, or so I’d been told.

“I don’t think a Materializer could begin to duplicate the prison system,” Jon said, although he seemed intrigued by the concept. “Way too many layers.”

Sho shook his head. “If they were trying to create it whole in one shot, sure. But if you knew how it was put together, couldn’t you create each piece and assemble it?”

Damn. Man had a good point there.

“Sounds feasible,” Tyson said. “It’s like ordering in all the parts to a car and putting it together. More difficult than just buying it? Sure. Doable? Absolutely. People do this all the time.”

“ I’m sold ,” Gonzalez stated. “ We’ll put it on the list of people to look out for, anyone who was a former employee of the businesses that make those things. ”

Might as well cover all bases, I guess. “What’s your other thought, Sho?”

“Well, our meditation room works off similar tech. We block all other energies from going into the room to shield the occupant, right? But it also works in the reverse, that all energy of the person inside is blocked from exiting as well.”

See, this was why I wanted a group meeting. People thought of things I didn’t. I trusted Sho to understand the mechanics of things and be able to throw ideas out on the table.

Jon looked at Carol. Carol looked at Jon. Whole telepathic exchange going on there. Then Jon nodded and stood.

“Give me five minutes for setup,” Carol requested, also standing.

“Wait, what?” Jim looked confused.

“I think they’re going to test the theory right now,” I narrated, mostly for the benefit of Gonzales and Marc, who couldn’t see the interaction. “If Sho’s right, Carol won’t be able to find Jon.”

“ I’m game to test it ,” Marc answered. “ In fact, I think I still have Jon’s business card somewhere in my bag. I might try tracing it to him and see if that works. ”

“Great,” Sho encouraged. “The more we test this theory, the better. Abby, can you sit here and relay to them if this is working or not?”

“Sure.”

I got up and followed Carol because curiosity killed the cat and all that. Jon went into the meditation room. Probably to kick back on the bed and relax while waiting. I certainly would, in his shoes.

Carol was lightning quick setting up, and she didn’t take five minutes, I’d tell you that much. More like a minute flat. She had those crystals and a map on the table like the pro she was. Then she flicked her fingers, got her powers engaged, and went to work.

Only to stop right away, eyes nearly crossing.

“Holy shit. Sho’s right, I can’t detect him at all.”

I stood in the doorway, so I called to Abby, “Carol can’t find him!”

I could hear her relay it to the two agents still on the call with us.

Garrett jogged to the meditation room and opened the door. I could hear him talking with Jon, and apparently so could Carol, as she tried again, then grunted with satisfaction.

“Okay, I can trace him, but it’s fainter. He’s still mostly under protection.”

Totally thinking aloud, I mused, “I wonder if that’s how Marc was able to detect our perp for a split second? An open door?”

“It could very well be.” Far from seeming pensive, Carol looked delighted, with some consternation mixed in. “I’m sitting here kicking myself, wondering why I didn’t think of this sooner. We’ve had experience with these rooms for how many years? Searched for how many people? But I do think Sho has found the answer to the mystery.”

“Sure seems that way.”

I ducked back out of the room, intending to ask Sho where and how this shield on the meditation room worked, but only made it to the door of the conference room when I heard the front office door open.

“Hello, all!” Alan called. “We are here early. Find anything yet?”

“Might have.” I kept walking to meet them partway, happy to see Grant here already. We were on a roll, or at least, if this worked on Grant, we’d be on a roll. “Grant, we’re testing something. We think the protections on our meditation room are similar to what the perp is using. Want to test it?”

He looked better than I’d ever seen him. Grant had clearly gotten some good rest recently, and I knew whom to thank. Man was downright bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

“Sure! Uh, who’s playing my practice dummy?”

From inside the room, Jon called, “I am!”

“Good, give me something.”

Garrett went inside, and while I couldn’t see easily into the room from this angle, I could sure hear the action.

“Nooooo, why are you taking my coffee?” Jon whined.

“Would you rather go shirtless?”

“In this case, yes!”

Garrett had no sympathy. “Tough luck. It’s not like you’re coming up with anything brilliant anyway.”

“So mean!”

Garrett passed the cup over to Grant, who took it with laugh lines crinkling up around his brown eyes, apparently entertained by this exchange. I gestured him into the office I shared with Jon, then showed him to Jon’s chair. “He sits there. Try napping.”

“Will do.”

Many a parent would kill to have Grant’s ability to catnap. Man was a pro. He settled into the chair with the coffee mug and I could almost count it down. Three, two, one…and he was out. He stayed like that for about thirty seconds, and I could tell it wasn’t going well by the way his brows beetled together. Definite frown there.

Then his eyes popped open again.

“That…felt exactly like how the perp blocked me. Huh. I think you guys have figured this out.”

I pumped a fist into the air, elated. Finally, a clue! Then I wheeled around, first popping my head into the meditation room.

“Jon, it worked. Grant couldn’t find you, and he said it feels the same way.”

Jon sat on the edge of the bed, and the second my words penetrated, he hopped right off. His delight was obvious. “Yes! All right, go tell Marc.”

Happy to do so, I backed out and went to the conference room. Abby, Tyson, Sharon, and Jim were the only ones still in there. “It worked. Grant couldn’t find him,” I said.

An evil cackle came from the speakerphone.

“ Now that ,” Marc declared, “ is the news I want to hear. I tried it from my end and was still thwarted, so I think this is the answer. I love that you guys figured this out. This system, is it easily bought or made ?”

“No idea,” I admitted. “But I can ask Sho to look it up.”

From the hallway, I heard Sho’s voice calling out, “I’m already looking it up!”

I immediately amended my statement. “Looks like we’ll have a short list of companies, costs, and whatnot for you by the end of today.”

“ I seriously love Sho. Can I keep him ?”

“Only if you want to face my wrath,” Jim drawled.

“One question, though.” Grant took a seat next to me. “While it’s true I couldn’t locate Jon, you’d have noticed long before now if your anchor bonds cut off while in the room. No one would use the meditation rooms if it affected bonds. So I don’t think this system would be enough to cut off an anchor.”

Damn, that was a good point. “You still sure Tyelesia is alive, though?”

“I’d bet both legs on it.”

That sounded pretty sure.

Sho waltzed back into the room with a printout in hand. “This is a quick and dirty list. Also, I heard your objection, Grant, but I still think this is the right track. Prison systems have an additional security setting than the one they actually use. The highest setting lets no psychic power through—not even a bond.”

I whistled low, surprised to hear that. “Seriously?”

“They don’t use it because it’s considered inhumane,” Sho explained.

Well, yeah, it would be. Any psychic cut off from their anchor like that would go through some serious withdrawals and mental trauma.

Gonzalez let out a low whistle. “ Learn something new everyday. I’ll keep this in mind but I think we’re definitely on the right track. ”

Marc sounded a bit too pleased over there. “ I’ve got two more interviews lined up in this state, then I fly to the third, but we’re making progress on narrowing the list down. Javier had to take a call, but once he’s done, I’ll have hubby call the companies and get a list of who all bought one of their systems in the past year. ”

Which should be easy enough to do. It would be sold to an individual, not a company, so that narrowed the field of possibilities drastically. And hopefully? This would lead us to him.

Short of the perp messing up and just standing around in the open, I didn’t know how else we were going to locate this SOB.