Storm of Lightning Read online

  “Give us the step-by-step,” Gervaso said.

  “He’s getting out. They’re still talking . . . still talking. . . . He shut the door. . . . The chief’s pulling out of the driveway; Taylor’s dad is waiting . . . waiting. . . . He waves. . . . Okay, he’s walking to the front door. He’s taking out his keys.” His voice fell to a whisper. “He’s on the front porch. . . .”

  Gervaso raised his hand to stop Ian from talking. We could hear the sound of Mr. Ridley’s key enter the doorknob. The handle turned, and a moment later the door opened. Mr. Ridley stepped inside, reaching for the light switch. He flipped it several times.

  “What the . . .”

  Still in the dark he shut the door and locked it. Then, as he turned, he saw us. Or at least our glows. For a moment he froze; then he reached for his gun before realizing that he wasn’t carrying it.

  “We’re not here to hurt you,” Gervaso said. He turned on the lamp on the sofa’s end table.

  Mr. Ridley looked at us anxiously. “Who are you?”

  “We’re your friends.”

  “I know my friends,” he replied. “I don’t know you.”

  “Still, we are your friends,” Gervaso said.

  “Why is their skin glowing like that?”

  “We’ll explain later,” Gervaso said.

  “Mr. Ridley, you know me,” I said.

  Mr. Ridley’s eyes narrowed. “Vey. What have you done with my daughter?” His hand clenched into a fist.

  “You should have a seat,” Gervaso said, motioning to an armchair across from us. “Please.”

  Mr. Ridley stood for a moment, as if not sure what to do. Then he slowly went to the seat and sat down. He looked at us for a moment, then asked, “What cartel are you with?”

  “We’re not with a cartel,” Gervaso said.

  “Are you the people my wife said are going to kill her?”

  “No. We’re here to protect her from those people. Like I said, we’re friends.”

  Mr. Ridley just looked confused. “Did you take my daughter?”

  “Again, you’re confusing us for the other side. Michael rescued your daughter. We’re the ones who brought her back.”

  “Back? Back where?”

  “I’m right here, Daddy,” Taylor said, turning the hall light on. Tears were running down her face.

  Mr. Ridley swung around. For a moment he just stared in disbelief. Then he said, “Taylor!” They ran to each other and embraced. “My girl. Oh, my girl.”

  They held each other for several minutes. “I’ve missed you so much,” Mr. Ridley said. “I can’t believe you’re really here.”

  “I’ve missed you, Daddy. More than I can say.”

  He leaned back, kissed her on the forehead, then hugged her again. “I just can’t believe you’re really here.” After another minute he looked into her eyes. “Please don’t ever leave us again.”

  “She didn’t leave you,” I said. “She was kidnapped. The day before you came to see me.”

  He looked back at me. “Who kidnapped her?”

  “A group of people called the Elgen.”

  He looked back at Taylor. “Did they hurt you?”

  She hesitated, then lied. “No.”

  “Thank God. I thought you ran away. The texts I read . . . they broke my heart.”

  “I’m so sorry. Michael told me the Elgen had done that. They must have made it look like I’d run away so you wouldn’t get the police involved.”

  After a while he looked back at me. “You knew she’d been kidnapped?”

  I shook my head. “No. I only suspected it.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It wasn’t that simple,” Gervaso said. “This organization is very secretive and very powerful. It’s also international. If the police had gotten involved, the Elgen would have taken your daughter to some remote part of the world where no one would ever find her again. Michael did the right thing.”

  Mr. Ridley turned back to Taylor. “Why would they kidnap you? They didn’t even ask for a ransom.”

  “They kidnapped her because she’s special,” Gervaso said. “Just like Michael.”

  “What do you mean, ‘special’?” Mr. Ridley asked.

  Gervaso looked at him intensely. “What I’m about to tell you is going to be a little difficult to believe.”

  Taylor took his hand. “Dad, you need to listen very carefully. What we’re going to tell you is really weird.”

  “How weird?”

  “Like aliens, UFO weird,” Ian said.

  Mr. Ridley glanced back and forth between us. He looked skeptical. “You’re going to tell me she was abducted by aliens?”

  “No,” Gervaso said. “Not aliens. Worse.”

  “All right, try me.”

  “We don’t have time to explain everything, but your daughter was born different from other children. She’s electric.”

  He looked at us, then back at Taylor. “I don’t understand.”

  “Michael and Taylor are both electric,” Gervaso said. “So is Ian. They are three of seventeen electric children who were part of a failed hospital experiment. Electricity runs through their bodies. That’s why they glow. It also gives them special gifts.”

  “What kind of gifts?”

  “Michael?” Gervaso said. “Show him something.”

  I held out my hand, then pulsed, creating a grapefruit-size lightning ball.

  Mr. Ridley stared in disbelief. “How did you do that?”

  “Like I said, they’re electric,” Gervaso said.

  He turned to Taylor. “You can do that?”

  “No. I have other powers.”

  “Like what?”

  She took his hand. “Think of something.”

  “Like what?”

  “Anything. It doesn’t matter.”

  “All right.”

  Taylor closed her eyes. “You’re thinking this is crazy. And you still want to hit Michael for not telling you I was kidnapped.”

  “That’s good to know,” I said. “I saved your daughter. You should want to hug me or something.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” he said. “And you could have guessed that.”

  “Then think of a number,” Taylor said.

  He looked at us all skeptically, then said, “Okay. I’ll play along.”

  She closed her eyes for a moment, then said, “You thought of number three thousand, two hundred and sixty-eight, our address. Then you changed your mind and decided that you’re not going to think of a number so you can ruin my trick.”

  Mr. Ridley looked at her. “How did you do that?”

  “That’s my gift. I can read your brain’s electrical signals—your thoughts. I can also reboot people’s brains.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Remember that time when Ryan was in the final round of the spelling bee and the best speller in the state suddenly choked and kept asking over and over again for the word?”

  “Yes. . . .”

  “That’s because I kept rebooting him.”

  “You were only eight.”

  “That’s about the time I was figuring out what I could do,” she said.

  Gervaso said, “The people who made these children electric have been hunting them down. Michael and Taylor were the last ones they found. They tried to kidnap Michael, but something went wrong and they took his mother instead. They knew if they had her, Michael would come after her, which is the same thing the Elgen did to your wife. Only they framed her and, we assume, leaked the information to the police. Probably an anonymous caller.”

  “You’re right, it was an anonymous caller,” Mr. Ridley said.

  “They knew that if she was in jail, Taylor would come to save her. And that’s when they planned to capture her.”

  “That’s what Julie was saying,” Mr. Ridley said. “She said they were just using her to get Taylor.”

  “She’s telling the truth,” Gervaso said.

  “Do you kn
ow my wife?” Mr. Ridley asked.

  Gervaso nodded. “I met her three weeks ago. In Mexico.”

  “So that’s why she went to Mexico.” He turned to Taylor. “Did you see her there?”

  Taylor nodded. “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t she tell me?”

  “She was going to, at the right time.”

  “She said she didn’t know where you were,” Mr. Ridley said.

  “She didn’t. I left Mexico before she did.”

  “Your wife did as she was instructed,” Gervaso said. “To protect you and her. Had you known the truth, you both would be in jail right now. Or worse.”

  Mr. Ridley raked a hand back through his hair. “This is unbelievable.”

  “The Elgen think we’re going to try to break your wife out of jail. But we have a different plan. You’re going to post bail and get her out.”

  “I don’t have that kind of money. Not even if I put my home up as collateral.”

  “Which is what you’re going to do,” Gervaso said. “You’ll still be about ten thousand short. But you’re going to suddenly remember that you have a special investment account that has fifteen thousand dollars in it. Then, after she’s out, we’ll take all of you to a safe place.”

  Mr. Ridley thought a moment; then he said, “Just a sec.” He walked over to the coat closet near the doorway and reached inside.

  “He has a gun,” Ian said.

  Mr. Ridley turned back around, holding his police revolver.

  “Daddy!” Taylor said.

  “Just stay calm, honey,” Mr. Ridley said. “I know what I’m doing.” He looked at me. “Let me tell you what we’re going to do. I’m going to turn you in to the police, show them my daughter, and they’re going to let my wife go.”

  “No they won’t,” Gervaso said calmly.

  “Dad,” Taylor said, “put the gun down.”

  “Six bullets in the chambers,” Ian said.

  “You’re making a mistake,” Gervaso said. “We are not your enemy.”

  “You’ve had my daughter, and now you’re using me to get to my wife.”

  “We’re trying to protect Mrs. Ridley,” I said.

  He scowled at me. “I don’t know how old you are, Vey, but you’re not too young to be tried as an adult for kidnapping.”

  “Dad, Michael didn’t kidnap me. He rescued me.”

  “Put the gun down, Officer Ridley,” Gervaso said.

  “That’s not going to happen.” He pulled a cell phone out of his pocket. “You can tell your crazy story down at police headquarters.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” I said to Gervaso. I reached out my hand. “Your phone’s no good. I’ve already scrambled it.”

  Mr. Ridley looked down at his phone, then back up. “What are you doing?”

  I took a step toward him. “Now put the gun down or I’ll take it from you.”

  He looked at me anxiously. “Stop right there. If you don’t think I’ll shoot, you’re mistaken.”

  “No, I just don’t care if you do.” I put my hand out. “Try it.”

  He leveled the gun at my chest. “Don’t try me, Vey.”

  “Dad, don’t!” Taylor shouted.

  “Go on, Mr. Ridley. Shoot me. At least try to.”

  His hand was trembling. Finally he said, “You’re just a kid.” Then he pointed the gun at Gervaso. “But he’s not.”

  That’s when I blasted him.

  Officer Ridley groaned out as he woke on the couch we had laid him on. He looked at me. “What did you do to me?”

  “I did what I do. I shocked you. You gave me no choice.”

  “Could you have electrocuted me?”

  I nodded. “If I had to.”

  He was quiet again.

  “That was really stupid,” Gervaso said. “Use your head, Officer. You’re wasting valuable time.”

  “He’s right, Dad, we don’t have much time. You have to trust me. If you don’t get Mom out of jail, the Elgen will kill her. You can’t let that happen.” Her voice cracked. “And you’ll lose me again too.”

  “Trust me,” Gervaso said to Taylor. “The Elgen will kill your father, too.”

  Taylor took her father’s hand. “These are my friends, Dad. They’ve saved my life. You have to trust them. You have to trust me. You just have to.”

  He was quiet as he thought for a moment; then he said, “Read my mind again.”

  Suddenly a pleasant smile crossed her face.

  “What do you see?” he asked softly.

  “A memory. I was a little girl. You’re reading me a bedtime story. Love You Forever.”

  “That was our story,” Mr. Ridley said.

  Taylor nodded. Then her expression changed. She let out a small gasp; then she began to cry.

  “You really can read my mind, can’t you?” he said.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Mr. Ridley turned to me. “When Taylor was four, she fell into the water at Boise Creek Falls. I dove in and saved her.”

  “You’ve always been there for me,” Taylor said. “Please, don’t let me down now. I need your help to save Mom.”

  He looked at her for a moment, then took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Everything’s been so crazy lately, I don’t know what to believe.” He breathed out slowly. “But who should I believe over my daughter?”

  I looked at Taylor. “Is he telling the truth?”

  She looked at me. “Yes.”

  “What do I need to do?” Mr. Ridley asked.

  “There’s a bail bondsman on Cole Street,” Gervaso said.

  “Hot Dawg Bail Bonds,” Mr. Ridley said.

  “That’s the one. Go there first thing in the morning and talk to Troy. He already has all your paperwork complete. He’ll help you post bail. I’m sure you’re familiar with the procedure.”

  “Of course.”

  “You’ll have to go out the back and take our car.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re being watched.”

  Mr. Ridley looked surprised. “By whom?”

  “By your own police,” Gervaso said. “There are undercover police on both ends of the street. I’m surprised you didn’t notice them.”

  Mr. Ridley looked upset. “So am I.”

  “One of them had an Elgen manual,” Gervaso said. “They might be part of the system.”

  “That’s not possible.”

  “Trust me, everything’s possible. And nothing’s what it seems to be.”

  “Including my daughter,” Mr. Ridley said.

  “Officer Ridley,” Gervaso said, “timing is critical. You must be at the bail bond office by six forty-five. Troy will be opening early for you. Then come back to the house. At eight forty-five you’ll take your car to the jail and wait for your wife to be released at nine o’clock. Everything will need to happen quickly. The moment you post bail, the Elgen will know. They’ll be waiting for you when your wife steps out of the jail. You’ll both be in danger. That’s where we step in. Tomorrow morning I’ll tell you the rest of the plan.”

  Mr. Ridley looked at us solemnly. “Whatever you say.” He put his arm around Taylor and pulled her close. “Whatever it takes to protect my family.”

  “You can count on us to do the same,” Gervaso said. “Now, I’m sure you’d like to spend some time with your daughter, so we’ll leave you alone. We have some things to do to prepare for tomorrow.” He turned to Ian and me. “Let’s go. I need your help getting some things out of the car.”

  As we started to go, Mr. Ridley said, “Just a moment.”

  We all turned back.

  “Thank you for bringing my daughter back. Especially you, Michael.”

  “It was my pleasure,” I said.

  “Good night,” Gervaso said. “And don’t stay up too late. You’re going to need your rest.”

  The next morning, 9:17 a.m.

  Chief Davis was sitting next to his wife at his kitchen table, drinking a coffee and reading the morning paper, when h
is phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number but answered anyway.

  “Davis here.”

  “We seem to have a problem, Chief,” a voice said.

  “Who is this?”

  “This is Captain Marsden.”

  Davis was shocked. “Captain. It’s an honor.”

  “No, it’s a problem. It would seem that Officer Ridley has decided to post bail.”

  The news caught Davis off guard. “What? But he said . . .”

  “I don’t care what he said, Chief. He intends to post bail.”

  “That’s no problem. It will take him at least an hour to do the paperwork and get to the jail. We’ll arrest him on the way.”

  “He’s already at the jail,” Marsden said. “In fact, he’s about to leave with his wife.”

  “That’s not possible,” Davis said.

  “It’s reality, Chief. Either you take care of this or we will.”

  “I’m on it,” Davis said. “We’ll initiate backup plan two. We have two men on Ridley’s street, and we’ll arrest Ridley the minute he pulls out of the jail.”

  “I suggest you hurry, Chief. Because, by my calculations, that’s in about twelve minutes.”

  “I’ll be right there. And don’t worry. She’s going to be wearing a GPS ankle bracelet, so they can’t elude us, even if they try.” He hung up, then set down his coffee. “I’ve got to run,” he said to his wife.

  “Something wrong?”

  “Nothing I can’t fix,” he said.

  * * *

  Davis sped to the jail. As he pulled into the jail’s parking lot, he saw Ridley’s car parked up against the north retaining wall. He pulled his car into the lot opposite Ridley’s, about forty yards from the jail’s front door. As he put his car into park, his phone rang.

  “Davis.”

  “Glad you could make it,” Marsden said.

  “Where are you?” Davis asked.

  “That’s not important. The paperwork is done. Ridley’s wife has been released into his custody. She’s changing her clothes. They’re about to come out.”

  “We’re ready,” Davis said. “His home has been taken care of. I’ve got two officers on their way now. We’ll arrest him as he pulls out.”

  “I’ll be watching,” Marsden said. “If you miss him, we’ll blow up his car.”

  “Don’t do that,” Davis said. “You can’t imagine the bureaucratic mess that will be.”