Available Darkness Season 2

between worlds. It brought us from the hotel to somewhere else, some place he had set up, a well in the middle of some field.”
    “So, you just teleported, then?” Mathews asked skeptically.
    “Do you have another explanation for how we got out of there?”
    Mathews was silent, until he said, “Did you, or your Shadow friend, kill Duncan Alderman?”
    “Shadow’s not my friend. And no,” John said, knowing he probably should have acted surprised to learn of Duncan’s death. It was too late.
    “Why did you kill Cromwell?”
    John swallowed.
    I knew we shouldn’t have left his wife alive. Shit.
    “Well?” Mathews said, tapping his foot.
    “It was an accident.”
    “That’s not what Cromwell’s wife said. She said you were there looking for information. Specifically, you were looking for Hope. Tell me, John, why would you be looking for Hope? You know we have our eye on her, and that everything is fine and she is safe so long as you cooperate. So why were you searching? Were you planning on putting an end to our arrangement?”
    John wanted to tell him she was in danger, but couldn’t tell Mathews that Hope was a vessel. If he did, Mathews would drag her in, might even order her killed to prevent Jacob from getting the crystal.
    John told Mathews the closest thing to the truth he could afford.
    “Jacob’s back, and he knows my weakness is Hope. He will target her, and though you, and some others, are top-notch agents, I can’t say the same for everyone in the FBI. You can’t guarantee her safety; I can.”
    Mathews leaned closer, probably trying to read John’s truthfulness through the visor’s scanners.
    Mathews said something, but not to John. “Send Skinner in.”
    Skinner was the son of an Otherworlder, a gifted Halfworlder with powers to probe people’s minds. He’d been co-opted to work for Omega to avoid detention. Supposedly, he had taken to the task of betraying his kind with glee, though there were plenty, such as Shadow, who accused John of the same thing.
    The door opened, and Skinner stepped inside. He was tall, thin, and a nightmare’s worth of creepy, with closely cropped, jet-black hair and dark circles ringing cavernous eyes. He looked to be in his fifties, but John figured he had to be at least a century older.
    “Not too close,” Mathews said, warning Skinner to avoid John’s touch.
    “I know,” Skinner said in a light German accent.
    Mathews said, “Find out what he’s hiding.”
    John tried not to appear nervous. It was possible that Skinner couldn’t probe him, in which case John might be able to escape further interrogation.
    “OK,” Skinner said, closing his eyes.
    Instantly, John felt the man’s touch as if he were laying fingers inside his skull, probing for fault lines in his brain. John erected psychic barriers inside his mind, keeping his defenses high and hiding Hope’s secret inside.
    Mathews said, “So, what was your plan, John? Find Hope and run away together, live happily ever after while Jacob went about killing whomever he wanted? Was that it?”
    John knew what Mathews was trying to do — distract him with discussion so he couldn’t maintain his defenses. John was far too skilled in psychic warfare, able to carry on full conversations while fending off attempted intrusions for Mathews’ tactics to matter.
    “I hadn’t thought it out that far,” John said. “My priority is keeping Hope safe. After I gave her shelter, I meant to continue tracking Jacob. I will continue.”
    “How do I know you’re not working with him?” Mathews asked.
    “I’m not responding to stupid questions.”
    John continued resisting Skinner’s attempts to break into his mind until finally Skinner turned to Mathews.
    “He’s fighting me.”
    Mathews said, “Oh, is he? Well then, our friend John must have something to hide.”
    “I’m not hiding anything.”
    “Then why don’t you just open wide and let Skinner in?”
    “Sorry,” John said. “I don’t let anyone in my head.”
    “We’ll see about that.” Mathews reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black rectangle — a remote of some sort.
    Mathews thumbed a red button on the remote and the rows of special lights blazed on above.
    John fell to his knees in agony as his skin caught fire from inside. “Stop!” he screamed.
    Mathews clicked off the lights. John stayed on his knees, body shaking in torment and pain. Skinner had shattered the thinnest wall at the edge of his defenses.