Page 47 of Etched in Stone
“Oh that's easy. That arrogant son of bitch took a helicopter here. And once threatened with arrest, the pilot was more than happy to share his flight plan and his boss's itinerary. He's even willing to give us a flight back.”
“Us?”
“Hell, how else am I supposed to get to know my cousin before she takes a trip off planet? At
least that's what I told my wife. I swear, I do not feel guilty. I do not feel guilty.”
An hour later and she was airborne, on her way to a field in Pennsylvania.
1 8
FR E L INR AY
There was something definitely going on. Ray had lost track of how long he'd been kept in the white room. The lights started to flicker and the circuit that fogged the window had blown and cleared the glass. Ray roused himself from stone sleep to look out at the hallway beyond. There wasn't much to see. He was pretty sure there was a row of cells similar to his.
A man sprinted down the hallway as if his life depended on it. There was gunfire a few rooms away, and then ominously, it stopped.
A form entered the far side door, and as it grew closer, Ray thought that he was hallucinating. It couldn't be, but it was. Another of his kind was storming down the hallway. Ray knocked on the window. There was no doubt now. Tas stared back at him with a look that was half rage and half wonder.
“Tas! I thought you were dead.”
Ray's throat closed up and his breath came in short gasps. His brother was alive! Tas said something, but the room must have been soundproof. Ray could hear nothing.
“I can't hear you. It's- You have to push the button.”
Tas didn't push the button. He turned his fist to stone and smashed the door lock. It swung open easily.
Ray opened his arms wide to embrace his brother. Instead, he was treated to a punch in the face. It wasn't a stone punch, though, which might have done serious damage. No, it was just designed to knock him on his ass.
“Not yet. I'm pissed at you, and I'm busy. We’ll deal with this later.” Tas stormed off, leaving Ray sitting there on his ass, stunned.
“I’ll find you on the ship,” Ray said, finding a few words.
'Don't fucking die before then,” Tas yelled. “I haven't beat the shit out of you yet.”
Ray just laughed and stood up. He was pretty sure that Tas's line of destruction would be easy enough to follow to the way out. He found the elevator but rather than take the actual lift, he just climbed the shaft. With a few flutters of his wings, he made a speedy ascent and soon emerged from the top, where Tas has obviously stone punched the gate to open it.
Half of him wanted to follow Tas and get the story of how he'd survived and where he'd been for
the past eighty years. The other half was desperate to get back to Jesse, to make sure that Pablo still didn't have his hands on her. He stormed out of the entrance to the base, expecting some sort of resistance. All he saw was a peaceful farm, displaying a brilliant fall picture of golden and red leaved trees.
First, he had to find out where exactly he was. Then find a phone to call. Maybe she could find a way to meet him. An engine revved and a large black SUV with tinted windows came barreling down the road. He reached to his belt where he kept his perception filter. A few seconds later and he would appear to be a middle aged man wearing a pair of jeans and a large wing collar shirt. Sure, it was a little dated, but it might pass muster better than gray winged monster.
The vehicle pulled up beside him and Ray braced himself for a fight. There was no telling if the driver or passengers were going to come out shooting, and despite tough skin, Ray was not actually bulletproof.
“Yo. Need a lift?” As the window cracked down, Ray clearly saw Tommy in the driver's seat. He was grinning from ear to ear.
Not in the mood to look two gift horses in the mouth in one day, Ray circled around and opened the passenger side door. Jesse poured out and into his arms. He kissed her soundly until Tommy cleared his throat.
“Your friend, eh?” Tommy said. “Maybe here's not the best place for a long reunion?” He was right. Ray put Jesse back into the front seat and climbed into the back seat.
“Glad to see you too, but how did you get here?” Ray asked as Tommy took off down the road.
“I'm a full service lawyer, don't you know?”
“He called up Margaret to get Pablo. She's going to ‘lose’ his paperwork.” Ray sighed. He hadn't meant for Tommy to get involved. He was a recent father of twins, and if Pablo ever got out, the Rose Syndicate could choose to go after him too. The more connections he had, the more they had to use against him.
“I mean, we were just sitting there, staring at the farm,” Tommy said, “hoping to see someone coming or going. Think of rescue plan, and then you come sauntering out like you own the place.”
