"Harrison turned his phone off?" Olivia asked. Why would he do that? Why would he abandon them? She ventured a glance out the window. The men in kilts were coming down the road, headed in their direction.

J.L. drew his weapon. "Don't worry, Liv. Everything will be fine. I know it."

She swallowed hard. J.L. had just told a lie.

CHAPTER 22

Olivia took a deep breath and removed her automatic from its holster at her waist.

"Two against two," J.L. whispered. "Let's find out who these guys are." He led the way quietly down the stairs.

The stairwell was dark, but they didn't dare turn on their flashlights. They crept toward the living room at the front of the house and peered out the window.

J.L. pointed, then lifted his finger to his lips.

She didn't need the warning to stay quiet. The two kilted men were now in the front yard. She could see them well in the outdoor lighting, and neither one was Robby. The man in the red and green plaid kilt had a brighter shade of red hair. The guy in the blue and green kilt looked similar to Robby, with the same dark auburn hair.

J.L. touched his back, then his right calf, signaling to her that the two men had swords on their backs and knives in their right knee socks. A bad sign when the two bodies in the next room had slashed throats.

She wished Barker would come back. She'd feel better if it was three against two.

The kilted men removed cell phones from their sporrans and made calls. A man suddenly materialized in the front yard. Olivia covered her mouth to stifle her gasp. She blinked, not believing her eyes. Then another man appeared. And another.

She struggled to breathe. More people were appearing, and they were all armed with swords and pistols. She thought she detected a woman and a few more men in kilts.

J.L. grabbed her arm and motioned with his head to the back door. She moved quietly with him through the family room and into the kitchen. Her heart pounded in her ears. They slipped out the back door just as they heard the front door creaking open.

They ran for the cornfield. Immediately, she was enveloped in a sea of green. It grew so dark, she could barely make out J.L.'s form. She bumped into him when he suddenly stopped. He grabbed her by the forearms and lowered her into a crouch beside him. She could hear his quick breaths and sense his alarm.

"Those guys materialized like it was a sci-fi movie," he whispered. "What are they - aliens?"

"I don't think aliens wear kilts."

"You're right. And they'd be armed with lasers instead of swords."

She shook her head. "I can't believe we're having this discussion."

"Whatever they are, they've got us seriously outnumbered."

"And they have swords, knives, and guns," she mumbled.

"Could be worse. They could have machine guns and bazookas."

"Thanks. I feel so much better."

"Sorry." He grew quiet.

She glanced back at the farmhouse. She could only see the upstairs, but lights were flickering in the windows. What were they doing? Were they searching for something?

She opened her senses to get a feel for their emotions. Nothing. They were completely blank. Like Robby.

"My first name is Jin," J.L. whispered.

She winced. Did this mean he was afraid they wouldn't get out of this? "That's a nice name."

"Not if the guys in school keep calling you Jennifer."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"The L stands for Long."

"Jin Long...Wang." She smiled. "Sounds very masculine."

He snorted. "Now you know why I go by J.L. But it could be worse. They named my brother L.H.  -  Lo Hung Wang."

She covered her mouth to keep from laughing.

His teeth flashed white in the dark as he grinned. "I just made that part up. I don't have a brother. But you probably already detected that."

She had. And she'd also realized he was trying to cheer her up.

"So here's the plan," J.L. said. "We move through the corn and get as close to the car as possible. We make a dash for it, drive into town, and get the sheriff and Harrison. And we call for backup."

She nodded. "What about Barker?"

"We'll find him. Let's go."

They moved as quietly as possible through the corn. They were behind the first house when J.L. abruptly halted and reached out to stop her. He pressed a finger to his mouth to warn her to stay quiet, and she remained perfectly still. Then she heard it. A rustling in the corn.

They were not alone.

She pivoted, searching for the source of the noise. She spotted the swaying plants. Whoever it was, he was moving straight toward them.

J.L. raised his pistol.

The corn in front of them rustled, then out trotted a dog.

Olivia's knees nearly buckled with relief.

J.L. holstered his weapon. "Good boy," he whispered.

It was a huge dog. An Irish wolfhound with long lanky legs and a long thin face. He sat on his haunches and regarded them curiously.

She raised her hand slowly to let him sniff her, then patted him on the head. "Aren't you a big boy."

The dog seemed to grin.

She smiled. She felt safer with him there.

"Let's go." J.L. led the way through the corn, with Olivia and the wolfhound following. They skirted the farmhouse and ventured into the field that extended up to the dirt road. They stopped when they spotted the car in the driveway about thirty yards away.

"You wait here." J.L. handed Olivia the car keys. "I'll find Barker. If we're not back in fifteen minutes, leave."

"I'm not leaving without you."

"Liv, we're outnumbered. You can bring the sheriff and Harrison back and alert the state patrolmen. Okay?"

She nodded reluctantly. "Okay."

J.L. dashed off with the Irish wolfhound trotting along beside him. She was grateful he wasn't alone.

She sat between two rows of corn and pushed the button on her watch to make the digital time light up. This was going to be a long and lonely fifteen minutes.

She took long breaths to calm her racing heart. She considered calling Harrison on her cell phone, but it wouldn't do any good if he'd turned his phone off. Why had he left after speaking to the kilted men? Had they told him to turn off his phone? She considered calling Robby, but he was far away in New York. It would take him hours to get here.

After a few minutes she crept close to the edge of the cornfield. She spotted the guys who had materialized earlier. They'd divided into smaller groups and appeared to be searching for something. Most of them were way off by the barns. When one of them located a storm cellar in the distance, they gathered around it and went inside.

With most of them in the cellar, it seemed like a good time to dash to the car. She glanced at her watch. Fourteen minutes had passed. Still, she was reluctant to leave without J.L. and Barker. On the other hand, she would be more helpful to them if she brought back reinforcements.

She groaned inwardly. She was overanalyzing again.

A car engine roared in the distance. Someone was approaching fast. Maybe Harrison or the sheriff was coming back? She hurried down a corn row till she was close to the road. A black sedan pulled over and parked. It looked like a government car. Three people emerged - a middle-aged man, a younger man, and a young woman. The men were tense and high on adrenaline. The woman seemed reluctant and afraid.

The middle-aged man barked out some orders. "Garrett, check the houses on the left. I'll check the ones on the right. Alyssa, look over the grounds."

Garrett clicked on his flashlight and shone it around. "I don't see Connor anywhere."

"He's here," the older man growled. "And he won't be alone."

Alyssa shuddered. "I don't understand why we had to involve them."

"They're better at killing Malcontents than we are," the older man grumbled. "If you see any of them, keep your distance. And keep your psychic guards up. Especially you, Alyssa. They prefer to target young women."

"I know," she said quietly.

Olivia felt sorry for the young woman. She was clearly terrified. The young man, Garrett, was excited, and he sprinted to the houses on the left. The older man strode toward the houses on the right. He'd mentioned Malcontents. Was that a gang? Were they the ones who'd committed the murders? And what was the deal with psychic guards?

Alyssa remained close to the car, swinging her flashlight back and forth. "Great," she muttered. "You just stay here, all alone, with a bunch of murdering Malcontents close by."

Olivia wanted to know who these people were, so she stepped out of the cornfield and moved slowly toward the woman. "Alyssa?"

The woman squealed and dropped her flashlight.

"I'm sorry." Olivia held her hands out so the woman could see they were empty. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Alyssa drew her gun. "How did you know my name? Are you one of them? Did you read my mind?"

Olivia raised her hands higher. "I heard your conversation with the other two men, and they used your name. I'm with the FBI. Would you like to see my badge?"

"You're FBI? You're not one of them?"

"Who are they?" Olivia assumed she was referring to the men who had teleported in. "Are they the Malcontents?"

"Alyssa?" The middle-aged man came running back. "I heard you yell." He spotted Olivia and drew his weapon. "Who the hell are you?"

She cursed silently. She should have remained hidden in the corn. "I'm Olivia Sotiris, FBI. Who are you?"

"CIA." He moved closer. "Show me your badge."

She did, and squinted when he beamed his flashlight in her face.

"Ms. Sotiris, what you are doing here?"

What did he think? She was on a picnic? "I'm investigating a multiple homicide. May I see your badge, please?"

"I don't have time to fool with this." He holstered his weapon. "We're taking over this investigation, Ms. Sotiris. You may leave."

His attitude was seriously annoying her. "This is an FBI matter. The local sheriff requested our help."

"I don't care," the CIA man snarled. "Get the hell out of here."

"I don't take orders from you, Mister...?"

"Whelan." He stepped closer to her. "And you will do as I say. We're a special presidential task force assigned to this mission, so you have no jurisdiction here."

She lifted her chin. "I suggest you rethink the situation. You could use our help. There are only three of you, and there are about a dozen of...I don't know who exactly they are."

Alyssa inhaled sharply. "Did you see them?"

"If you're referring to the guys who magically materialized in the front yard over there, yes. They're heavily armed with guns and swords."

"Did they see you?" the CIA man asked.

Whelan, he'd said his name was. Somehow that sounded familiar. "No," Olivia answered. "Who are they? Did they commit the murders?"

Whelan snorted. "No. They're hunting the murderers. But don't make the mistake of thinking they're innocent. Do yourself a favor and get out of here before they see you."

"I can help - "

"Forget it, Ms. Sotiris. You'll have no defense against them. They can take over your mind and make you do whatever they want."

She gulped. Was that what had happened to Harrison and the sheriff?

"They're dangerous," Alyssa whispered. "We've lost two members of our team because of them."

Olivia winced. No wonder this woman was so afraid. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Oh, they weren't killed," Alyssa said. "They're just...gone."

A shiver skittered down Olivia's back.

"Get a grip, Alyssa," Whelan growled. "And you, Ms. Sotiris, you've wasted enough of my time."

Olivia stumbled back a step when a spurt of heat shot across her brow. Her mind went fuzzy, then sharpened with a sudden compulsion to leave. "I must leave." She wandered down the road to the driveway.

What was she doing? She glanced back and saw Whelan and Alyssa following her.

Keep going. Leave.

She shook her head. This wasn't her decision.

Go to your car and leave. Now.

She turned onto the driveway. Dammit, what was wrong with her? She kept walking toward J.L.'s car. She glanced toward the cornfield, wishing he and Barker would emerge. She looked in the other direction and spotted the mysterious men who had materialized earlier. They were leaving the barns and the storm cellar. They were headed in her direction.

She veered toward the cornfield so they wouldn't see her.

No. Go to the car. Leave now.

Her steps slanted back toward the car. Damn! What was she doing? She felt exposed.

She pulled J.L.'s keys from her pocket and hit the unlock button. The car's headlights flashed. She winced. Those guys would see her for sure now.

Hurry up. Leave.

She walked up to the driver's side door.

"Olivia?" someone shouted.

She froze. Robby? She turned and saw a man break apart from the group that had materialized. He sprinted toward her, passing through the light of the second house.

"Robby," she whispered. It was him. He was wearing a kilt that swished about his knees as he ran toward her.

"Ms. Sotiris, leave now!" Whelan yelled.

She saw the CIA man and Alyssa walking up the driveway. It was Whelan who was making her leave. Somehow, he was projecting commands into her head.

A hot blast seared her brow, and she flinched.