Commander Read online

  "The answer is, yes you can, if they merge their blood with you."

  "Then yes, in a heartbeat yes. The ability to be able to talk to them if/when you don’t know where they are, is every parent's dream."

  "Be aware they can shut it off and remember there is a radius that it is effective. With what just happened it wouldn't have helped, you still wouldn't have found them."

  "Understood, but still a few miles, a lost kid in a mall, this would make doing amusement parks much less stressful. So yes, and the kids too."

  McKenna blinked. "Shouldn't we ask them?"

  Toni snorted. "You aren't a mom. Trust me, they'll be all over it, and I'm more than willing to offer bribes to get this one even if they weren't. Besides you said Charley did it right?" McKenna nodded. "They'll be doubly eager to do this. They idolize him, almost as much as you."

  "Oh. Okay then," she reached for the knife she'd slipped into her kilt pouch. "Want to do it now?"

  "Yes, but let's get the kids in here so they can watch." Toni rose, tapped on the glass and beckoned the kids inside, and came back to sit down.

  In less than a minute all three were in gathered around the table, pizza sauce tracing their mouth, faces red from the running around. McKenna noted none of them had changed and didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.

  I need to remember to follow up asking about getting a therapist for all of them, me included, but that part has already been arranged. I've got the first meeting tomorrow. Maybe I can ask her to talk to Charley too?

  The idea had merit and she filed it, focusing her attention on the here and now.

  ~More blood, seems my life has revolved around it lately. And you've been awful quiet, Wefor.~

  [You haven't needed my input, and you've made your discomfort with both my presence and the other aspects of being a commander clear.]

  A rush of guilt flooded her, but she forced it down and answered.

  ~Yep, so thanks.~

  Focusing her attention back to the here and now she looked at them. "I found a way to talk mind to mind with people that can shift. Your mom wants to do it with me, and then with you guys so you can talk mind to mind."

  "Oh, can I do it with them too? I’d like to have someone to talk with." Charley asked, his face lighting up, and the level of wistfulness in his tone sliced across her.

  McKenna had to bite back her immediate response giving him permission, it wasn't her choice.

  Toni glanced at him, then back at McKenna, indecision clear on her face. "Let me try it first? Then with them before I answer?"

  Charley’s face slipped back into that neutral mask she saw whenever other adults were about. Her eyes narrowed.

  ~JD? Did you ever run any checks on Charley’s parents?~

  His eyes flicked to her, then over to Charley, a thoughtful look on his face.

  ~No, but I’ll put in a request. Something isn’t right about his reactions.~

  She nodded and turned back to Toni. "Ready?"

  "Yes. How do we do this?" Toni chewed on her lip and dilated eyes locked on the knife in McKenna’s hand.

  McKenna snorted. "Quit stressing. Basic blood brother crap. Here." She drew it against the fleshy pad of her thumb, a weal of blood pooling up and handed the knife to Toni.

  With a frown of concentration, and a hiss as the knife opened her flesh, she mimicked McKenna’s actions. Toni’s eyes were narrowed as she looked up at her. "Now what?"

  I’m a bit worried at how fast this became common place to me.

  McKenna took her hand and pressed their thumbs together, wounds spreading apart, the blood mixing.

  "That’s it?" Toni asked her brows raised.

  "Yep. That’s it. Give it ten minutes. Now, want me linked with your kiddos?"

  "Yes. Come here, monsters." The two kids were both wide eyed and almost bouncing with excitement. Toni made careful cuts in their hands, and McKenna pressed her palm to each of theirs, then watched as they did it to Toni. Before any of the adults could say anything, the twins slapped their palms together.

  In her head McKenna heard JD think.

  ~Wonder Twins Powers Activate.~

  She snorted, shaking her head as everyone looked at her.

  "Charley, do you still want to?"

  Charley froze, as if scared to express what he really wanted, then nodded slowly.

  Toni took a deep breath, carefully not looking anywhere but him, and handed him the knife. The smile that light up his face made him look like a child, and McKenna felt her eyes burn. With his tongue between his teeth he made a careful cut on his hand, she could see the white line where the cut had been made this morning, then held out his hand to the twins.

  Jessi grinned and slapped her hand against his, and they both winced. Jamie laughed at them and waited, then carefully pressed his hand to the cut after Jessi pulled away.

  In her mind a small switchboard lit up. Not with names, just she knew who each light belonged to.

  ~Wonder what happens when I get more people?~

  [As a commander you automatically adjust to activate the groups or individuals you want.]

  Wefor’s voice filled her mind, and McKenna blinked.

  ~Um, thanks.~

  She flipped Toni and the twins to on.

  ~Hey, guys.~

  Three people whirled to look at her with wide eyes and shocked expressions.

  ~I heard you in my head.~

  The three-way stereo made her cringe and hold her head. "Okay note to self, do not do that."

  Toni burst into peals of laughter and the kids looked at each other, a stream of chatter bouncing into McKenna’s head.

  ~Oh god, mute.~

  The frantic thought and the stream of babble between the kids went silent, though she could sense it, it no longer intruded into her thoughts. McKenna looked at Toni who all but glowed.

  Before she could ask what Toni thought, her phone rang, and she jumped. With a frown she pulled it out to look at it. A number local to Placer County, but not her. With a resigned sigh she answered the phone.

  If it is a telemarketer or a reporter, I swear I’m hanging up.

  "This is McKenna Largo."

  "Ms. Largo. This is Roy Wallace, the section manager for Child Protective Services. I’d like to talk to you about Charley Davis."

  Chapter 7 - Preparing for War

  Still more information is coming out about the presence of the virus in all shifters. Experts are starting to argue that it isn’t a virus after all. They agree the behavior is similar to viruses in how it infects cells and spreads; the difference comes out in the spreading behavior. Normal viruses cause cells to rupture and send out the infection, but this only sends out one other virus which then goes to the next cell leaving the previous cell intact with the infection still attached to it. This behavior is perplexing everyone, but with the virus refusing to be active outside its host blood, the amount of testing is limited. ~ NA Science Article

  McKenna felt like someone had punched her in the gut at the words.

  "Yes? How may I help you?"

  Can I throw you in the river and make you jerks leave me alone?

  "I would like to arrange to meet with you and Mister Davis at your earliest convenience to discuss this situation."

  No, I don’t want to. I have enough stress, go away.

  McKenna closed her eyes and with an effort forced all the emotion out of her voice. She could feel the eyes of everyone else in the room though she doubted anyone else had heard his words.

  "Of course. But I must warn you, I am keeping him."

  "We will discuss that. Is tomorrow a good time? I have your address on record. I can be there tomorrow about noon?"

  The words burned her mouth, but she said them anyhow. "That sounds great. I’ll see you then."

  She hung up and looked at the people staring at her and for a moment her mind froze, not wanting to ruin their day, or depress Charley.

  "Charley and I have an appointment tomorrow to make sure
the state sees things my way."

  JD bristled and for a moment seemed to get larger, then froze. "Want me to be there?"

  Oh, the idea sounded so good, but had an entire other set of risks.

  "No, I’ll see what I can do by myself. But swing by around three and either rescue me or help me bury the body?"

  JD and Toni laughed. "Deal," he said as he helped himself to another piece of pizza.

  "McKenna," she focused on Charley. "Are they going to take me away?"

  "Nope. We just need to convince them, I’m the only choice."

  He nodded, some of the brightness that had laced his face earlier fading as he looked at the twins. "May we go outside?" The twins turned glowing faces towards their mom, the implications of the phone call bypassing them completely.

  "Sure, go." The kids grabbed one of the remaining pizza boxes, disappearing outside. McKenna followed Charley and swore softly to herself.

  "What are you going to do?" Toni asked. "I guess I missed out on what happened."

  "His parents disappeared when he did, and no one came to get him even after the hours it took to get me cleared. I refused to let him get dumped into the foster system, and I might have thrown my weight around."

  "Your weight?" Toni repeated arching an eyebrow.

  McKenna felt heat rise in her cheeks and wished for a whiskey with an edge to burn away her doubts. She looked out the window watching Charley.

  "I might have mentioned that if they took him, I'd call a press conference and make it very clear that they had just taken a traumatized child from me, the most famous person in the world." McKenna cringed, refusing to look at Toni.

  The burst of laughter had her head jerking up and looking at Toni with her eyes wide. Toni had her hands over her mouth, eyes sparkling, and laughter kept slipping through.

  "You aren't mad at me?"

  "Are you kidding? That is awesome," Toni exclaimed leaning forward. "I've run into the idiots at CPS before when Jeff was killed. Someone reported me as being unable to care for them. Trust me by the time I got them to go away, I would have skinned them all alive. So, anything you do to protect a child from their rule bound incompetence is good with me." She shrugged and took a sip of beer. "McKenna, anything you do to keep a child, I'm never going to find offensive. Hell, at this point you might have to murder the pope in front of me before I'd get upset, and even then, I'd consider if you had a valid reason."

  Toni stopped setting her beer down. "McKenna, you brought my children back to me. I will never be able to express my thanks for that. You'll have to work damn hard to push me away."

  McKenna felt her face get even redder and pushed away from the table to get some water.

  "I need to get Charley some clothes and stuff. So, we should head out relatively soon to hit a few stores." She paused then glanced at Toni. "Is Walmart or Target okay to buy stuff for a ten-year-old?"

  Toni chuckled as she rose. "Yes, he'll find lots of stuff there. Don't worry about it. Kids, and boys more often, don't tend to be picky about their clothes."

  "Oh, good. JD, wanna come with?"

  "Well it is my car, so unless you're headed back to your place, then back out, yes," his voice dry as he caught her eye, a smile lurking at the corners.

  "I give, I can't win tonight," McKenna said, throwing her hands up in the air and then stalked out with both JD and Toni laughing at her.

  She stuck her head outside and called out to Charley. "Come on, kiddo. We need to get you some clothes and other stuff."

  Charley whirled to her and nodded. In her mind, she heard his voice.

  ~Why didn't you just call me in my mind?~

  She blinked and shrugged.

  ~It didn't occur to me. Still all new to me too.~

  Charley's laugh sounded like chocolate and silk in her mind. McKenna shivered at the feeling and headed in.

  "Okay you two lugs, let's get to spending money." Charley rushed in with the twins following. All the Diazs demanded hugs from everyone before they let them leave. Once back in the Hummer, JD headed out even as McKenna turned to talk to Charley.

  "What do you need besides some clothes?"

  He shrugged, suddenly refusing to look her in the eyes. "Not much, just some basic clothes, I don't need anything special."

  Behind her smile, she raged at his parents and shot a thought at JD.

  ~I really, really want to know the story behind those assholes.~

  ~Me too.~ JD replied his voice a tasting dark.

  "Well, I need to get you something special. You helped a lot Charley, you made the kids feel safe, and you trusted me. I think you're the hero."

  His pale complexion turned strawberry red as he yanked his eyes away from her and looked out at the scenery as they drove.

  "'I’m not. But, kay," he muttered refusing to look at her, but she had a half smile in his reflection.

  "So, you know the social worker is coming tomorrow."

  He nodded, a jerky movement, the flush fading from his skin leaving him paler than before.

  "I'm assuming you want to stay with me?" A hint of uncertainty crept into her voice, but she never quit looking at him, even if the odd angle made her body and safety instincts protest.

  His head jerked around to look at her. "Yes, please yes."

  "Good. Then we are getting you clothes, some other stuff, and making sure you don't feel like some unwelcome visitor."

  "Okay. So, what do I call you?"

  The question caught McKenna off guard and she didn't know how to respond.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, my step-dad made me call him Mr. Davis, and mom, well it was Mom or mother. And teachers get really funny about you having to call them mister this or misses that. What do I call you?"

  She shrugged. "My name is McKenna, I’m fine with you using that."

  He shot her a funny glance, and she grinned at him, a wicked thing that promised mischief.

  "We turned into animals, made it through being kidnapped, and are about to face down a government agency. I think we can break tradition, and you can call me by my name."

  JD made a choking sound that she ignored as Charley grinned.

  "Thanks, McKenna."

  The rest of the trip bordered on dull, which suited all of them just fine. No bad guys, no changing into an animal, no attack of reporters, only purchases, and spending lots of money.

  They headed back to the house, Charley by this time exhausted with all the excitement of the day. They put stuff in her spare dresser, setting up the room for him, still in a sleeping bag on a camping mattress, but they would fix that soon. She would let him order something from IKEA and get it in the next few days. There was one in Sacramento, and they could go down there to shop then get it delivered.

  "Hey, Kenna, I'm heading home. You sure you don't want me to stay? I don't mind."

  She smiled at him, leaning against the counter. "Nah, I'm okay and you don't need to stay to protect me."

  He gave her a lopsided smile. "You're my best friend. You just got out of hell. Not like it is any imposition on me. And Charley's great. And he's good for you. Want me to come over tomorrow to help you deal with the social worker?"

  "Meh. I'll be fine. Kirk actually gave me some good advice. Speaking of that. They've offered me a transfer. But at this point I don't want another partner. We work too well together and now with this mind speak stuff, breaking us up would be stupid."

  "So, what's the offer?"

  "Narcotics."

  "Huh," he said leaning against the wall. "I don't have an issue with it, and a lot of the stuff needs to get off the streets. That mean you're thinking about it?"

  "Well, no desire for Vice, and we both know how much I love the public relations crap," she rolled her eyes as she spoke and he snorted. "So, yeah Narcotics. I could at least see the value in it. Not to mention I suspect we are two of the healthiest cops in the department at this point."

  "No kidding there." He stood. "Then I'll get going on t
he checks on Charley. You said you have counseling the day after tomorrow."

  "Yep, dragging Charley with me, see if she'll talk to him."

  JD nodded. "Sounds good. Okay. Question—how many acres did you buy from Jeremiah?"

  Tilting her head looking at him, McKenna answered. "Ten acres. Is an odd shape, more L shaped than square or rectangle. Why?"

  JD shrugged avoiding her eyes. "No reason, just an idea. I'll call you tomorrow if I find out anything."

  "Sounds good. Hey, want to test the mental talk and see how far away we can still communicate?"

  "Yes. Be a good idea."

  They talked randomly as she sat out on the deck, sipping whiskey.

  ~Well, you're home and I can still clearly hear you. Interesting. This has possibilities. What are you, four miles away?~

  [Designee JD is 3.85 of your miles in a straight line.]

  Wefor's comment in the middle of their conversation startled McKenna and then annoyed her that it startled her.

  I have a being in my head, I need to get use to this.

  Directing her thought to the mindspace.

  ~Thanks, Wefor. Can you always tell how far away people are?~

  [Within reason. The Designee Toni is over 20 miles away. The distance is known, and you can be guided to her, but her location can’t be pinpointed exactly without transponders.]

  More information to file in her head.

  ~JD what do you thin-~

  A scream from the house ripped through her thoughts, and she jumped up racing into the house, straight to Charley's room.

  Bursting in, claws ready to emerge from her skin, she looked around for the attacker, heart pounding and every visual crystal clear.

  The room lay empty, except for Charley tossing and turning on the mattress, whimpering softly, sweat slicked hair sticking to his face.

  Her heart quit pounding quite a hard, and she went over, crouching down behind the tossing boy.

  "Charley, wake up. You're okay."

  Her words pulled him out of whatever dream he was caught in and he sat up, panting, eyes wide looking at her.