 Iva rolled her eyes and sighed. Raul reverted to human form but didn’t back away from their prisoner until Iva gave him another gentle push. “Back off, or you’re leaving,” Iva said in a low, level voice. Raul took one step back. “Brandon is a scintilla. He knows me, so you need me. Go busting in there could be dangerous if he panics.” “Know him or not, if you lose control again you’ll be sitting outside,” Iva warned. Raul believed her. More importantly their prisoner appeared to believe Iva was protecting him from Raul. Janey uncuffed their perp while the Marshal kept his gun on him. There were two more of Iva’s officers, plus Raul and Fahim. They surrounded the man while he entered the door’s code. The minute the door was open the man was re-cuffed and taken away. Iva went in first, Raul on her heels. Raul wasn’t sure what he expected, but the sight greeting them made his skin crawl. Fahim’s description had been watered down, that much was clear. There were five teens, three girls and two boys. They were all naked and huddled in a corner. One of the boys tried to pull a filthy mattress over them. Brandon was standing between them and the door. Bruises were scattered over his chest and a larger, fresher one bloomed across his hip. His hair was matted and greasy. Raul’s nose told him none of them had taken a bath or shower recently. Sparks cascaded through the air from a wave of electricity that rippled between Brandon and the cops. His eyes weren’t focused, he shivered, and Raul could see he didn’t recognize the fact he and the kids were safe. “Don’t go near them!” Brandon shouted. He spread his arms wide and the little sparks turned to longer, more powerful bolts of static. The wave separating Brandon from the cops changed from a bluish hue to whiter. The power he wielded was building. A freaked out, utterly panic-stricken scintilla was dangerous and without the right equipment a physical confrontation could prove deadly to the attacker. Maybe to others nearby as well. Raul darted forward so he was between Brandon and the others. Holding out both hands he spoke in a rush. “Whoa, easy, Brandon, remember me? Raul. It’s Raul. We spent a week together last year, been writing each other since.” He took a tentative step forward. “Sparky, remember that?” “You’re done stealing children,” Brandon screamed and leaned toward Raul. The electric wave brightened and rippled faster. Behind Raul Janey said in a soft voice, “I’ll get a rubberized blanket.” He heard her leave the room. Raul nodded, keeping his eyes on Brandon. “I just want to get them home, to their parents. Safe. I want you safe.” He swallowed hard and continued. “I don’t want to get fried, but I’m not leaving you or these kids here.” He bit his lip and took another step toward Brandon. Brandon didn’t lower his hands, but he didn’t power up the wave more than it was. He gulped and slowly looked at the other people. Raul took another tentative step to Brandon. “You gotta power down, dude, or we aren’t getting anymore pitchers of sangria.” He was close enough to the wave the hair on his body stood up and he felt tingling. “Don’t move!” One of the younger officers barked from behind Raul. He must have returned to assist with what was inside the building and probably hadn’t heard Raul’s statement about Brandon being a scintilla. Now he’d stepped into a tense scene. Brandon glared at the Taser and his hands sparked. He pointed his Taser at Brandon. “Stand down,” Iva ordered. “Crap!” Raul spat. He snatched the blanket from Janey the second she re-entered the room and holding it out like a toreador’s cape he went from a standstill to full speed in two strides. Brandon’s demeanor changed in a split second. He’d been sliding toward placid, but that was gone. The Taser’s prongs shot through the air straight toward Brandon’s chest. As they were about to make contact he swatted at them. The back of his hand connected with the charged weapon causing tiny bolts of electricity to explode outward and ricochet around the room. There were people diving to the floor, the kids started screaming and the air all around them popped and snapped as if they were inside a thundercloud. Raul tackled Brandon, breaking his contact with the Taser. He wrapped the blanket around Brandon and forced him to the floor, covering Brandon with his own body. It was all over in a few seconds. The young cop stood, shaking, and babbling out apologies. Janey grabbed the Taser. When Raul hauled Brandon up, still holding him tightly, he sputtered, “Jesus Christ, don’t they teach you at the academy not to Taser a scintilla?”    
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
 Welcome to My World
|
RSS Feed
