Bill. She stopped the agent. "I need a word with this one, for just a sec."
The agent looked around, then looked back at Lucy and nodded, shoving the guy toward her.
"You're Bill, yes?"
The man stuttered and nodded.
"Any other Bills work here?"
"N-no."
"Good." She raised her knee and slammed it into his crotch, then pulled back and kneed him in the gut. She held his shoulders as she did, pushing hard, then leaned in closer to whisper in his ear. "That's for Mr. K. I'm going to make sure you are kept in a very special place after this, as payment."
The agent stood wide-eyed as Lucy shoved Bill, who whimpered and slobbered and couldn't stand up to walk properly, back to him. "He's all yours. Make sure he gets extra special accommodations, will you?"
The agent nodded and pushed Bill ahead of him and toward the others, and Lucy resumed her walk to the edge of the cliff.
Beleth stood there, smiling. "Thank you for setting me free. You could have killed me." He still had the unearthly calm about him, but now it soothed rather than aggravated.
She'd learned a lot from him, from Mr. K, from this whole experience. "You had plenty of chances to kill me as well, but you held back. I think that makes us even."
"Yes, it does. You're not the same girl you were when we first met. The fire in you is still hot, but it is tempered by a new stillness. Never let that go." He turned away from her, his wings fluttering.
"Are you leaving?"
"Yes. IPI is no longer my place."
"Where will you go?"
He shrugged. "Somewhere far away. Away from the memories."
She understood and wished she could do the same. So many memories. "Have you told your son, Drake?"
He shook his head. "No. This isn't the place. I must give him time to recover, then I shall come to him. In the meantime, I have other things to attend to."
"Then I'll see you again?"
He hesitated. "Yes, you will."
She looked at the sphere in her hand and knew with certainty what she had to do. She tossed it to Beleth, who caught it mid-air. "Use it well."
He nodded and took to the sky. "Thank you."
She watched him go, until the sun hurt her eyes, and then headed back to Luke, who sat with Hunter, Sam and Drake.
Hunter reached for her hand and pulled her to his side. "They're already covering it up, trying to make it look like a terrorist attack. As if people have never seen a terrorist attack. As if all terrorists have powers."
She stroked his hand. "People have seen Steele use his powers on the TV."
He shrugged. "Special effects."
"You think they'll buy it?" Were people really that gullible?
"Some will: those who would rather not worry about it. Others won't, but they'll forget in time. And a few will have more fodder for their conspiracy theories."
Sam looked at the baby in her arms. "Doesn't sound too bad."
"Yeah, except that they'll blame us for it, the ones who remember. The first time they find out about paranormals, and they find them trying to destroy the world, killing innocent people." Hunter shook his head.
"Brad was telling people about Rent-A-Kid though, showing them we could be good," said Sam.
Luke nodded. "And people will really want to listen to him after this."
Hunter didn't look convinced. "Yeah, but he'll have the government against him, and IPI. He won't get far."
Lucy looked at Ana. What kind of world did she want her God-child raised in? They were finally free; she didn't want the world hating them. She looked around and spotted the camera equipment that Steele had used. It still blinked a red light. Might it still be on? Still linked to the TV channels?
She stood and pulled Hunter up with her. "Perhaps we just have to help Brad out."
"How?" Sam looked in the direction Lucy pointed and smiled. "Should we tell them?"
Lucy touched Mr. K's seed in her pocket. He had taught her not to hide secrets, not to hide in order to make things easier.
She nodded. "It's time. Let's give the world the right story to believe."
Sam looked down at Ana again and whispered something that Lucy could barely here. "Without faith, there is no trust." She stood with Lucy. "Let's do it."
They reached the camera and Luke, Hunter, and Drake checked the controls.
"Ready?" asked Lucy, offering her hand.
Sam shifted the still sleeping Ana to her other hand and clutched Lucy's. "Ready."
Drake smiled. "Action."
Chapter 134 - Drake
Drake tugged his suit on over his shoulders and adjusted his bow-tie for the tenth time. He wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and paced the room. Outside his window, the sun shone on a perfect summer day.