Morrison stood and walked to the back of the plane. "You coming?"
Score! She winked at Luke, who grinned like a fool, and followed Morrison to a locked bathroom.
"You've got him locked up in there?" She hoped it wasn't like in the movies—the captive sitting on the toilet without pants, chained to the plumbing. Not that she wanted the guy crapping his pants, but she didn't need to see his junk, either.
Morrison waved his hand around and laid on the sarcasm. "Do you see many options for a secure containment here?"
"Guess not. He's got clothes on, right?"
The agent rolled his eyes and opened the bathroom door to reveal a bald man with tribal black tattoos over his head and around his eyes—fully clothed—on the toilet. His hands and feet were handcuffed together and a rope around his waist secured him to the plumbing. His black eyes bore into hers over a silver strip of duct tape.
Lucy reached over and yanked it off, pulling more than a few whiskers from his short black beard and mustache. She spoke before Morrison could throw a fit. "I can't question him if he can't talk. Now, if you'll excuse us, I don't think we have room for a party in here."
She shouldn't push so many of Morrison's buttons, but it was just too easy—an ...entertaining distraction.
Morrison left and Luke took his place. He gave her the look, the one that said, "Shut up, Sis, I'm not leaving you alone with this guy."
Luke had her back, and there was no one in the world she trusted more.
Time to get this party started. "Hello, and welcome to the hostage tour. I'm Lucy, your tour guide. And this is Luke. What's your name?"
Her attempt at levity fell flat on the man whose eyes looked dead.
"Beleth." His voice came out like black oil, low and deep.
Lucy knew enough mythology to know that name. "Beleth... that's the name of a demon or fallen angel. What? Parents didn't like you?"
The power of the large man, a block of solid muscle, surrounded Lucy and pushed against her almost viscerally. It wasn't a para-power, just his physical presence and energy holding her in its grip. She tried to shake it by baiting him. To no avail.
"Okay, no chit chat. Fine by me. Look, we can help you. We can offer you security, freedom, even protection, if you help us free those kids. I just need to know what we're up against. Who's guarding them? How many? Does anyone have para-powers? What's the best way in? That kind of thing. Just information. You don't need to do anything else."
Drake would have been mighty useful about then. He could just compel the guy to tell them everything, if he hadn't been stripped of his powers and then abandoned Sam and their baby. Damn him.
Beleth didn't twitch a muscle as he spoke, his face and body as solid and still as granite. "You're a fool if you think that you can stop what is happening, if you think you can stop paranormals—those gifted with power. We won't let you destroy us."
Lucy listened with her own power and knew he believed everything he was saying. To him, it was the truth. "My brother and I both have para-powers, and yet we're working with IPI to help these kids. Would I be working with them if they were trying to destroy paranormals? We're trying to help, to give people a fair life, to give them freedom. The children in that facility don't deserve to be kept prisoner and used."
A pocket of turbulence shook the plane and jerked Lucy from her feet. Before she could crash into the wall of the small bathroom, Luke used his para-power to solidify the air around her and catch her.
Once steady, she smiled at him. "Thanks, Bro. Owe ya one. Guess we're getting some weather. Great."
Beleth seemed unaffected, and continued speaking in his commanding voice. "What will happen to them once they are free? Will you release them into a world that would reject them as freaks and use them to test and experiment on? And what will happen to the powerless? Children with no control will create chaos everywhere they go. Some have powers that are benign and harmless, but what of those who are dangerous? Can you imagine the headlines? Angry ten-year-old sets fire to entire class. Overactive toddler freezes her teacher to death. Three-year-old throws temper tantrum and destroys an entire apartment complex. You really want to be responsible for that kind of damage?"
The Seeker had given Lucy a similar speech before they revolted and broke free of Rent-A-Kid. Before he'd died saving Sam. He, like Beleth, truly believed that paranormals needed guidance and protection, for the safety of everyone. Lucy didn't disagree with the premise, merely their methods. They'd impregnated her best friend without her consent, and experimented with genetics, not to mention drugging them into compliance.
Luke shifted behind her until he stood next to her—a cozy arrangement in the cramped quarters. He spoke to Beleth. "They will be protected, and given a new home. They won't be a threat to themselves or others and they won't be used and experimented on. We will protect them."