Page 39 of Saint

“I’ll be damned,” smirked Ryan.

“We were spinning our wheels when Suzette came by and shared that important little nugget. I can’t believe we missed that,” said Stephanie as they walked toward the waiting boat.

“Sometimes, when you’re so close to a project, the obvious isn’t so obvious,” said Ryan. “You guys did an incredible job with this. Between this and whatever the boys were working on all day, we should be able to find this woman and end her.”

“I sure hope so,” said Stephanie. “I think our new teammates and friends deserve to rest. They’ve been running for a long time, looking over their shoulders and never quite sure who to trust. That feels like an awful place to be.”

“Is that where you were, honey?” asked Doug. Stephanie looked at him and nodded.

“I guess I was,” she said quietly. “It’s been nice to plant some roots and to have my own home. Even if it’s without Brax.”

“He’ll come around, sweetie,” said Doug. “Sometimes, these boys are slow as molasses. He’s afraid, and he doesn’t know what to do about it. Maybe he should speak with Saint.”

“He’s afraid of me?” asked Stephanie as Ryan began driving toward the main property. Doug touched her cheek and smiled.

“He’s afraid of love, Stephanie. He’s afraid to love.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

The team stood in the auditorium, ready to deploy the first video of Misha/Michelle. Crowded with people, Brax caught sight of Stephanie standing with Marilisa, Ryan, and Paige. He wanted to speak with her but not with others around.

“It’s ready,” said AJ, looking at the leadership team. Eric nodded at Hex, Cam, and Luke and then gave AJ the signal.

“Launch it.”

“Good afternoon, everyone. We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this strange and disturbing video from a woman named Michelle Fryar. Fryar, a former member of the CIA and DOD, recently was terminated for strange behavior and threats against citizens that seem bizarre at best. We’re turning to our D.C. correspondent, Vivienne.”

“That’s right, Janet. This is bizarre, to say the least. Ms. Fryar went before the United Nations just a few weeks ago, claiming that radioactive particles could be used in the body to enhance certain skills, such as speed, intuition, intelligence, among others. When I spoke to her former boss at the DOD, he had no comment but said that he hoped Ms. Fryar would seek help.”

“What exactly is she claiming, Vivienne?”

“Well, Janet, that’s just it. No one seems certain of her claims at all. She spoke about individuals who already exist with unnatural speed and strength but has indicated that some of the radiation-exposed people can manipulate nature. She even went so far as to claim that they can control wind, rain, that sort of thing.”

“Obviously, Vivienne, there is no evidence to prove any of this.”

“That’s right, Janet. We believe that this individual is dangerous to herself and to others. In fact, as recently as yesterday, she was speaking erratically to a waiter. We spoke to him this morning.”Camera switches to a street in New Orleans with a man in a waiter’s uniform.

“Yeah, she was kinda crazy,”he laughed.“She was talkin’ ‘bout super-powered people and that she was gonna create a whole new society of super soldiers and control the world. I’d say that’s somebody who got dropped on their head as a baby. Maybe she ain’t on her medicines like she should be.”

The eyes of the entire team turned to smirk at George, who only shrugged. It wasn’t his finest performance, but it was close.

“Well, I suspect this won’t be the last time we hear from this woman or see her. Authorities confirm that she has since left New Orleans and believe that she could now be on the East Coast, perhaps in the D.C. area once again.”

“Well done,” smiled Luke, looking at all the players.

“It’s good to still have some contacts in the industry,” smiled Harper. The wife of Ben Robicheaux, she’d once been a writer for a regional magazine. “They were more than happy to have a scoop on someone that could be a headline.”

“She’ll be a headline,” nodded Eric, “and she’ll be pissed off when she sees that. We already know that she’s unstable, so be prepared for her to really let loose. What we have to pray for is that she doesn’t possess any documents or data that could lead anyone to all of us.”

“If that happens, we’ll leave,” said Kane.

“No, you won’t,” said Eric, shaking his head. “I won’t fight you, Kane. But y’all need to be here with us. Your twenty or thirty folks are nothing compared to our hundreds. We win when we fight together. Not apart.”

Kane just nodded, smiling at the man. He’d done the right thing by bringing his family here. They were safe, at least for the time being.

“Let’s go. Dinner is in the grove, probably for the last time. Summer is heating up early this year, and it’s gonna be a scorcher,” said Luke.

As the groups filtered out of the auditorium, Brax tried to keep his eyes on Stephanie. When they were all outside, he stood tall, trying to catch a glimpse of the top of her head.

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