Chapter Twenty-six

Kane

I could barely breathe through whatever the fuck was happening to my eyesight. I'd gone back to my cell and taken in both sides as usual, concerned when Shae's was still empty. Instead of focusing as I had before, I'd let my mind empty and thought about Danny. Not that he was ever far from any thought I had and for what might be the first time, instead of feeling like such a fucking liability, I wondered if in fact I might be good for him.

Danny sometimes needed a wall. Yeah, he was wicked clever, far more than me, but I could stand there for him. Protect him. I opened my eyes and then just froze.

What the fuck?

And I didn't even think Danny would mind me swearing this time. I could see clearly through every wall. Every wall. It took me way too long to realize that I wasn't looking at Blaze and Cherry in the same cell with two beds, but that they were simply next door to each other. I narrowed my eyes and sought out the rows of cells, the corridors, the cars. Wait, the cars?

My legs gave way, and I sat down on my bed. I could see the parking lot and I lifted my gaze to the sky, and immediately winced. I had to blink a couple of times to get the black spots out of them and quickly realized looking at the sun with my increased vision was a really bad idea.

I turned my attention back to Cherry and tried to concentrate on just him, then mentally expanded my vision very slowly to Blaze's cell, then into the next that had a man I'd never seen before. Then into another with Mark. Then another stranger. Then based on the treadmills and other equipment, I guessed this had to be the gym. Then…my breath hitched. I could see some sort of wider space and two people in uniforms standing at the door, and another one bent over a figure lying on a pallet. He was strapped down and unmoving and I couldn't see his face. There were another two enhanced in what I assumed were small spaces next to the man tied down. What the fuck was going on? The C.O.—I could see his uniform—turned, though not enough that I could see his face, and said something to the other two, then laughed.

Then he stretched his arm out to flick a button on whatever machine seemed to be monitoring the guy on the pallet.

And then I saw it.

The tattoo.The one I'd seen on one of the guys that had been with Saunders when he'd broken into his mother's house and tried to take Rain. The arrow was more visible, except it wasn't an arrow. It was the tip of anchor with rope coiled around it, and as I narrowed my gaze I saw the exact spot where the tattoo faded, and the same slight scar through the letter U. It was the same man. Which meant…what? Nothing good.

And where the hell was Shae? I quickly scanned my immediate area. The more I tried, the better I could widen or narrow my vision. I didn't need to see miles from the prison, even though I thought—with practice—anything could be possible, but I did need to see what was going on inside it.

I'd already determined that I could see through some things and not others. Metal, concrete, and whatever our cells were made of, yes. Which seemed completely random. Human skin was a no, and as I stared at my plastic spoon from my meal, I realized simple plastic also seemed impenetrable , which made zero sense.

How could I see through concrete and not cheap plastic? I couldn't see through paper either, I discovered. I turned to stare at the office next door. One of the C.O.s I recognized was using a keyboard. He had a pen in his hand, and I could see right through it, so I guessed it wasn't made of plastic.

The warning buzz that my door was opening sounded and as I jumped up, I could see Danny and Ringo on the other side. Wait? Danny? He wasn't allowed in the pods.

I scrambled to the back as instructed in case we were being watched and saw the C.O. in the office glance up at the monitors and continue looking at them. I was pretty sure he was watching me. And then I realized I'd been so focused on seeing the cells to my left, I hadn't looked to my right where all the admin was. The control room was obvious as it was to the right but there was a bank of monitors mounted high on a wall with windows. Three C.O.s I recognized were all in there. I could see the office next to me and then the clinic and some more storage areas, and what I guessed were locker rooms.

Danny and Ringo entered and out of the corner of my eye I saw Mark look over in our direction. He'd clearly heard the buzzer and the door opening and I wondered how good his hearing was and if he could actually hear us speak. Which could be a problem. "Mark," I whispered, and he didn't react. "Mark," I said loudly and saw him whirl around and stare at the wall. I sent him a mental apology but knew now to keep my voice to a whisper. As they stepped in, I realized Danny wasn't a C.O. and I had to follow the rules for non C.O.s, so I extended my wrists to Ringo. Ringo snapped the ties on but not too tightly.

"Prisoner seventy-three," Danny said. "May I call you Kane? My name's Danny, not Mark."

I had to press my lips together to stop laughing at the utter ridiculousness of the situation. Then I saw the C.O. by the desk point some sort of hand device at the monitor at the same time that a tiny green light flashed on the radio attached to Ringo's belt. Knowing the C.O. was sneakily listening in, and getting around the ethics committee rules, I glanced at Ringo as if I needed his permission. "Sir?"

Ringo nodded, so I returned my gaze to Danny. We needed to speak, and I glanced over at the control room. One C.O. had left and another two were talking, so I took a guess that they weren't actively listening in. They looked a little distracted, to be honest. I scanned the other offices I could see and wondered where the warden was. Maybe he wasn't working.

"Can we chat about your general health?" Danny asked, sitting and opening his tablet. "I know you're awaiting trial and hoping for a good outcome, but I'm trying to design a medical program around you guys that will help me going forward with other enhanced." He hesitated. "I understand this is complete shit, but I could really use your help."

I almost smiled as I saw the C.O. in the office roll his eyes and click the remote, then sit back down, shaking his head. I could imagine he had Danny firmly in the do-gooder category by now and was bored. I didn't care. The main thing was he was no longer listening. The light went off on Ringo's radio. "They were listening through your radio, but it's off now. There's an enhanced four cells over named Mark that can hear us if we do anything but whisper."

Ringo didn't react knowing they were still watching. "Understood."

"I don't know how you managed to be allowed in here," I said quietly, "but we need to talk. I need you to tell the team what I've seen."

Danny nodded then spoke in a normal voice. "I'd like you to consider what you need from us to improve conditions here and stay healthy. But to start, when did you notice your vision changing?"

So I told them, interspersed with basic questions at a regular volume, keeping one eye on the control room and one on Ringo's radio. It was clever. Ringo couldn't look down at his radio. His eyes had to be on me. I knew that prisoners had no expectations of privacy regarding phone calls for example, but as I explained to Danny what I could now see, including knowing one of the C.O.s was the same one who had been with Saunders when he escaped. He updated me on what Connaught had told him, and then dropped the bombshell about O'Connell.

"You think this is a revenge thing?" I asked, then shook my head as the light on Ringo's radio came on again. "Yes sir. I didn't realize I could see in the dark after I got the mark until my dad locked me in the cellar." Which was true, but the abrupt change of subject warned them both. The light stayed on for another few seconds then went off, so I returned to what I needed them to know. I couldn't do shit about O'Connell. Either he knew or he didn't. I described the two other prisoners I didn't recognize, plus the guy on the stretcher, and again described the C.O. who was with him. I hadn't been able to see his face at all.

"Are you sure about the count?" Danny said. "Because I was shown details on seven enhanced and that included you."

"Which means we have at least two extra not officially documented," Ringo murmured. "Where did you see them?"

I described the last room, and he frowned. "That doesn't exist, or I should say it's not supposed to exist."

I glanced to my left and counted the cells. "There's nine to my left, then the gym, then another two plus the larger room where I saw the guy strapped down."

I could see Ringo counting in his head. "There's six occupied and three empty before the exercise room and that's where the corridor ends. According to what I was told, after that is a new empty wing that is still under construction, and the entrance is sealed for security."

"So, they have enhanced here that no one knows about," Danny said unnecessarily, but I knew he was just getting it straight in his head.

"I've been trying to understand what I can see," I said and, keeping my voice low, I told Danny what I could see through. "It makes no sense."

Danny pursed his lips. "What can't you see through?"

I listed the items I knew of. "It's ridiculous that I can see through concrete and a fucking pencil, but not a cheap plastic spoon."

"Actually, it isn't," Danny said. "Concrete, pencils—believe it or not—all contain metal. I imagine the cell walls have aluminum in them similar to one-way glass. I think that's the common denominator."

"But how do pencils contain metal? I don't mean the band around the rubber tip," I added, which I knew was a ridiculous thing to get hung up on and we didn't have time to talk about something so idiotic.

"I would guess it's the properties in graphite," Danny mused. "It's also the only non-metallic substance known that conducts electricity."

"So, what's next," Ringo interrupted, probably questioning my sanity, and I didn't blame him.

"I think you should be pulled," Danny said. "This O'Connell and Saunders connection is too dangerous."

"No," I said, protesting immediately. "Cherry's in for shoplifting. I can't just go and…" But what could I do? Helplessness burned in my gut as I recalled the image of the unconscious man strapped down, and where was Shae?

"Where's Shae?" I asked. "He hasn't been in his cell since this morning."

"We can try and find out," Ringo said, but then a movement caught my eye and I saw Mark jerk and jump up, running to his door, but there was no one there. What had he heard?

"Something's wrong," I said, scanning the area at the same time that Ringo's radio lit up, blaring out an immediate lock-down procedure.

And I looked over at the control room as warning buzzers sounded. At the end of a long corridor through a door, then another, I could see shadows moving. "Wait," I said, holding up a hand and concentrating on an area I hadn't even noticed before. Then my gut clenched as things became clearer. I knew instantly this was the connecting corridor to the other side. To the high security side for regular prisoners.

I saw the guys running with hand-made weapons and the guards that were overpowered by sheer numbers alone, and I saw Saunders front and center and swore. "It's the other side," I snapped out. "They're loose. Riot, definitely, and heading this way."

Ringo stiffened and I barked at him. "We need to get everyone to the area I saw past the gym. Hide. They're killing C.O.s."

He nodded and jumped to it. As soon as he opened the cell door we could hear gunfire so somehow weapons had been smuggled in. I glanced to my right, I saw O'Connell running toward us. "Lockdown," he barked out. "Now. Seventy-three get back inside."

"There's a riot," Ringo snarled.

"Seventy-three," O'Connell ignored Ringo and snarled. "Get inside."

But there was no way he was separating me from Danny, and I lifted my hands snapping the ties as if they were a twig. O'Connell blanched as if he realized all the times I could have done this before. "We need to get out—" I started before everything went to shit, because O'Connell didn't hesitate to grab his regulation pepper spray and hit me in both eyes.

Pain sliced through me like I hadn't felt since I was a kid subjected to my father's fists. In fact, this was worse. It felt like my eyeballs were on fire and I stumbled, hearing a grunt and imagining Ringo had just disarmed O'Connell, but I couldn't see shit. "I can't see," I yelled over the increasing noise from panicked inmates.

"Danny, grab him," I heard Ringo order and felt Danny take my hand. "Change of plan," he yelled. "I don't know where the fuck the rest of the C.O.s are but you need to hide while you can't see. I'll get the others out."

Danny dragged me along as we moved, and I was doing my best to see, but the pain in my eyes barely lessened.

"Okay, straight through this door." Ringo stopped and swiped his card. "This leads to the control room, lockers, and outside." I tried to force my eyes open and gritted my teeth. I saw a blurry vision of an empty corridor. Ringo's card didn't work. He swore and tried again. We both heard a click. "Go," he yelled his finger on the keypad.

Danny pushed open the door and ran through, pulling me along. I kept blinking and the pain was finally lessening as we ran into a room.

"Where the fuck are we?" I could barely make out a wall of monitors that I was sure should be on, and realized where we were just as Danny confirmed it.

"The main control room," Danny said. "How is this just open? It makes no sense. They've got secure systems that should be—"

"I know." I had my own suspicions about why the space was empty and it wasn't good.

"Wait," Danny said and pressed a plastic bottle into my hands. "Rinse your eyes. We need them working," he added grimly, then huffed. "It was on the desk. Just pray O'Connell's lips haven't touched it."

I didn't hesitate and practically drowned my eyes in water, feeling instant relief. I shook my head to clear the water and blinked. They were sore but I could see. I blinked again. "I can only see this room." My heart threatened to explode. "It's not working." And the bottle was empty. Maybe more water.

"Give them a few minutes," Danny urged me, but I needed to see. We didn't have time. Still hearing the shouting I crossed the floor and yanked open a door, hoping for more water, but jumped back when a body tumbled out.

Connaught.

His throat gaped almost as if he were smiling, and I absolutely knew at that point that we were fucked. This was a bigger scheme and Connaught was only a patsy. They were so willing to kill him, they'd used his patriotism and his son's death and set him up to be the fall guy. I doubted if whatever this plan was would have happened so quickly if it hadn't been for Saunders, O'Connell, whoever, initiating a riot. Whoever was behind this had been forced to bring forward their plans to protect the unit, and that included taking the enhanced they thought were vital. This place wasn't here to detain enhanced indefinitely; it was to filter them. Test them. See if they were useful.

And I'd bet that was the real reason so much money had been poured into this place. Because whoever was behind it intended it simply as an investment. And the riot screwed all that up.

"This is a set-up," Danny started, obviously coming to the same conclusion. and then we both heard another crash, considerably closer. Fuck, they were nearly in here. I pushed open the door to the next room and it was tiny. Not much more than a closet with some filing cabinets.

I shoved Danny in with me. "Here." Turning, I thanked fuck the doors in here opened inwards, and shoved two heavy filing cabinets against it. Now, unless they had someone with enhanced strength, no one was getting in.

I took a breath and turned to Danny.

Took in his rapid breathing and wide eyes and the way he was holding himself incredibly still, and silently cursed. Small spaces. Threatening situation. And no Sadie. I'd just pushed Danny into his own version of hell.

"Help me," he whispered, his whole body shaking. The words were barely a murmur. I took in his posture, his need, and I swore I would protect him with my life. I could survive out there, but he was a target. A nice, juicy hostage, and fuck knew what they would do to him.

I took his hands and pulled him close. "We've got this. We're safe." And what surprised me was instead of trying to create space for himself, he almost tried to burrow into me. I bent and pressed my lips to his head. Distraction. He needed a distraction. "We agree this is a huge con. The whole prison taking enhanced in plain sight."

"Ya think?" Danny mumbled against my chest. He tried to laugh but it didn't work.

"Tell me your theories," I instructed, not giving a fuck if Danny saw through my distraction.

Danny took a breath, but kept his hands fisted in my jumpsuit. "Connaught was a smokescreen," he said, agreeing with me a hundred percent. "Officially there's seven enhanced including you. Shae definitely. Three you met."

"And two I didn't. Did you?"

He shook his head. " But you told us you'd seen more. What if the one you saw being strapped down was new? We still don't know where Shae is. Something initiated this. Something that they hadn't planned on."

"Yes," I agreed, thinking about the guy I saw. "I know Connaught was involved, but I don't think this is just him. He had to have serious backing for something on this scale. He was too…patriotic, almost. I think this goes further."

"And O'Connell?"

"Can be bought. Same as Saunders." I gazed at him.

"It could be a diversion or a catalyst," Danny said.

"Someone spent a great deal of money on this place. I think they intended it to be open for a while. It's a great cover. The ones like Callum that have families and the low-grade abilities like Cherry are here for cover. They maintain the appearance of the specialized unit, but the ones like Shae?" I swallowed. "Those are the ones that disappear."

"We can't stop them in here," Danny said, his voice low.

I didn't answer. I couldn't. It was a battlefield out there, and we were outnumbered and out-gunned, and I knew of all people Danny understood that better than I. He lifted his face from where he had it pressed against my chest. "We don't have a choice," he whispered.

"We always have a choice," I lied, because I knew what being backed into a corner felt like, and Danny just smiled and, grasping my neck, brought my lips down to meet his for a heart-stopping kiss that silenced the noise outside.

"Having you in my corner lessens my anxiety. I don't want you thinking I'm using you as some sort of crutch—"

I growled, or that's what the noise that left my throat sounded like. "You give me so much, Danny. You hold me up, not the other way around." I caught his face in my hands. "I was released from prison five weeks ago, but it was you who gave me my freedom."

Tears bloomed in Danny's eyes, and we just stood there holding each other, hearing the shouting and the banging from outside until it died down. They considered opening the door a couple of times but soon gave up when someone yelled that they'd found the clinic and knew they were still close. It was insane. It was dangerous, to say the least. But it was like we were in our own cocoon. And it wasn't safe to move while they were out there.

But this had to stop.

"We need to make sure the kids are okay." Danny knew who I meant. He nodded. I waited what seemed like a long time while the noise moved to another area, then pulled the filing cabinets aside, and walked out into an empty but completely trashed room.

I glanced at Connaught's body and wished I hadn't. The prisoners hadn't been kind, even to a dead body. I kept Danny away, which I suppose was ridiculous, as he'd seen combat. I took his hand and glanced down at him, taking my focus for one second away from the corridor. "We have to gather up anyone we can and get them out." There was no way Ringo would have survived the mob unless he'd gotten out.

"I don't think so."

I glanced back up but knew who I was going to see. Saunders. And he had a gun pointed at my head and enough hatred to fill a chamber.