All American Rejects (Users #3) Read online

  "Two days ago," Vince said. "He came here asking if we'd seen Ryker and Barber."

  "Ryker and Barber?" Carter echoed. "Why only Ryker and Barber?"

  "I don't know, but I told him I hadn't seen them, and if he comes back," Vince spouted out, fumbling over his words before collecting himself. "Look, I just don't want to get involved in whatever you guys have going on. I registered, we've all registered. We don't want any trouble, or unwarranted attention, from the All Americans...or the government."

  "What are you not telling us?" the ever perceptive Ryker asked. "You're scared out of your wits, but it's not because Alaric came around asking about us. There's something more. Something you're hiding."

  Vince sighed. "Carol showed up here a few days ago. She was talking all kinds of nonsense, something about how she had been taken prisoner by the All Americans," Vince said. "She said there was a lab downtown, they were holding Users there against their will, that she escaped, and came here looking for help."

  "Where is she now?" Carter asked.

  "I turned her away," Vince said.

  "You turned her away?" Carter's hand balled into a fist and he struggled to keep it from bursting into flames.

  "What else was I supposed to do?" Vince said. "This whole thing sounds like bad news to me, and I'm not getting involved with the All Americans and whatever they've got going on."

  "Since when are you such a coward?" Barber asked.

  "Since Users started disappearing. Our meetings have gotten smaller and smaller each day," Vince said.

  "Where did Carol go?" Carter asked in a low growl.

  "I think she went down to the shelter in Pioneer Square," Vince said.

  Carter grabbed Vince by the collar of his shirt and pulled him in close, so their noses were almost pressed tip to tip.

  "You better hope she's still there," Carter said. "Because if she's not, we're coming back here and taking it out on you."

  *****

  Pioneer Square was always lively, and today was no different. It was a place where the suits of society meshed with the homeless. You might pass a millionaire at one moment and a man without a penny to his name the next. It was the kind of place that just buzzed with energy. The old cobblestones that lined the walkways were over a hundred years old, and below that ran a series of tunnels known as the Seattle Underground. The Underground was little more than a tourist trap nowadays, but in the past it had been like the catacombs of some ancient city. Word was the place was haunted. Carter didn't care to find out. He had enough of his own ghosts.

  "So where is this place?" Barber asked as they reached the center of the square.

  "You never spent a night at the mission before?" Carter asked. He pointed kiddie corner to the building across the street.

  He was thoroughly amused. Carter thought all junkies had spent a night or two at the shelter in the old mission downtown.

  "I never spent much time in this part of town. I stayed up on the hill mostly," Barber said. "But I didn't spend as much time on the streets as you did though. I was in and out of foster care most of my life until Walt took me in."

  Carter winced. The mention of the Compound's dead leader brought up the painful memories, they were still as fresh as an open wound in his mind and just as agitating. Carter took it especially hard at a time like this. If only Walt were still alive, he'd know what to do. The man was a born leader, not like Carter, Walt would have been sure of what they were doing. He wouldn't have all the doubts that Carter was feeling at that moment, made all the worse by the chemical imbalance in his brain and the lack of medication to counteract that imbalance.

  They crossed the street and then lined up at the crosswalk directly across the street from the old mission. Carter tried to imagine what kind of motley crew they must have appeared as, to those that passed by them on the streets. Ryker with his perfectly placed hair, despite the rain and his clothes being in tatters, still appeared the smoldering vision that made the ladies weak at the knees. The lanky Evan lumbering over his companions by a sheer foot. Carter, with his five o'clock shadow, was the old man of the group, only in his mid-thirties, it was a feeling he was not used too. Then there was the kid with the spiky blond hair and worn leather jacket. Barber looked like he came straight off a bad punk rock cover.

  A neon electric sign in the shape of a cross glowed in the window above the mission's door. The cross street's light turned red and they got the walk signal that it was time to go. They made their way straight into the mission despite the long line of vagrants that ran out the door and along the sidewalk down the street. They were already lined up for their free breakfast meal.

  "Hey guys, no cutting," one of the mission's volunteers said.

  "We're not here to eat," Carter said.

  "Speak for yourself," Evan said, and Carter's stomach growled.

  They were all hungry, but Carter wasn't going to allow them to stop for food at that moment. He was a man on a mission.

  "We're here to find a friend," Carter said to the volunteer.

  "What's her name?"

  "Carol. She's a middle aged lady, short with brown hair." Carter raised a hand about chin height to indicate how tall the woman was.

  "Yeah, she's working in the kitchen, but I can't let you guys back there," the volunteer said. "We don't let the patrons back by the food."

  "How saintly of you," Carter said as he pushed past the man.

  "Hey, pal. I said you can't go back there." The volunteer grabbed Carter by the hood of his sweatshirt.

  Carter turned on him dangerously, ignited a fist, and let the flames crackle in front of his face.

  "Don't touch me," Carter said and he shoved the man roughly against the door with his other hand; the one without the fire on it. "And we're not homeless," he said as he and his companions walked into the mission like they owned the joint. In truth they were temporarily homeless, but the man at the door didn't need to know that.

  Luckily, the tables were all still empty. Captain dickhead at the door must have been keeping everyone outside until breakfast was ready to be served. All the better as far as Carter was concerned. He didn't need an audience for what was about to go down.

  "You guys stay here," Carter said.

  "But-" Barber started to protest, but Carter cut him off.

  "I've got this," he assured them.

  A pair of swinging double doors separated the dining hall from the kitchen, and Carter pushed right through them. He cocked his head to the right to a find a pair of surprised looking men peeling potatoes. He looked left and found her. Carol was at a table, chopping carrots on a cutting board.

  "Carol," Carter said.

  She froze in mid chop, leaving the knife stuck halfway through a carrot, as she looked up.

  "Carter?" she asked, surprised to see him.

  "Yes, Carol, it's me."

  "What are you doing here?" she asked.

  "Looking for you," he said.

  Carol seemed disoriented, there was a gloss over her eyes, as if she weren't all there. "Barber, Ryker, and Evan are here too. They're just outside in the dining hall. We came to get you."

  "No, that's okay. I want to stay here," she said, continuing her chopping.

  "Carol, you're not listening too me. The Compound, it has been destroyed. Our friends are still missing. I spoke to Vince, he said you escaped from a lab downtown." There was so much running through Carter's mind that he needed to get her up to speed on, and yet he had so many questions for her.

  Their usually clear cut lives had been thrown into a complicated turmoil. Things were suddenly much bigger than who relapsed, or who had how many days sober. This was bigger than all of them.

  "Yes, I escaped from the lab," she said.

  "How?"

  "I pushed one of the guards," Carol said.

  She was a very powerful Pusher, and Carter knew that anyone would have trouble resisting her if she desired to control their mind, especially those feeble minded muscle-bound jerks working
for the government. Once she got her hooks into the guard, he was sure she had little trouble in convincing him to set her free.

  "Carol, listen to me carefully." Carter grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "I need you to show me where this lab is located."

  "No." She removed her gaze and stared at the floor, as if it pained her to look him in the face. "I will not go back there."

  "You have to. I need to know that our friends are okay. We have to help the others."

  "You can't just go bursting into that place," she said, keeping her eyes on the ground she vigorously shook her head from side to side. "Why would you want to go to the one place we're all trying to get away from?"

  "What if it were you? What if you were still back there?" he asked her. "Wouldn't you want someone to come for you? To not give up on you? You do know what they are doing to the Users being held there, right?"

  Slowly, she raised her head and gave him an empty stare. "I'll show you the way to the building, but from there, you're on your own."

  "That's all I'm asking. I wouldn't force you to go back into that place."

  "Okay." She finally conceded. "I'll take you there."

  "Oh, and one last thing," Carter said. "Can we get some of that food to go?"

  Chapter 8

  They went up town, past the Pike Place Market, toward the Seattle Center, and they didn't stop until they were beyond the fancy high rises of downtown.

  They ate as they walked, scarfing down what Carter and Carol had managed to grab out of the kitchen. With their bellies full for the first time in many days, the group's spirits seemed to be raised considerably. That, and they seemed to be making progress finally toward a goal, instead of lying around in some piss ridden abandoned house.

  Carol lead the way, with the others following close behind. Despite traveling on foot, they made good time, but Carol slowed considerably as they rounded a corner past the movie theater. This part of town was old, not as old as the crumbling cobblestone streets in Pioneer Square, but still an unchanged part of early Seattle history. This section between downtown and the Seattle Center, was one of the first additions to the city once Seattle expanded past the original downtown area.

  Carol stared at a discrete looking office building made of red brick directly across the street from her.

  "That's it," she said. "That's the building."

  "Good, now do you remember what exit you escaped from?" Carter asked.

  "Y-yes," she stammered, but Carter could barely hear her over the hum of the monorail as it passed overhead on its way from the Seattle Center to the Westlake Mall.

  "Show me." Carter grabbed her by the upper arm, but she immediately jerked it away.

  "I said I'd show you the building and I have done so," she said. "I'm not going any closer."

  "Damn it, Carol," Carter snapped at her a bit harsher than he had intended. "We need to know how you got out of the building, so we can get the others out the same way. Without you we're going in blind."

  Carter knew he was pushing his luck. He knew that he had told her one thing and was now doing another, but he wasn't going to allow the cowardice of one person outweigh the needs of the many. Their friends were in that building, and he needed her to show him the way to get them out.

  Carter snatched her up by the arm again, only this time he had a firm grip on her.

  "Now show me what door you came out of," he said in a threatening tone and he squeezed on her arm to let her know that he wasn't about to let her go again.

  That didn't stop her from thrashing about and using her free hand to try and pry his fingers from her arm. His lack of medication was beginning to wear on him, and his behavior was showing it, but he didn't care at that moment. At least, he tried to convince himself he didn't.

  "Look man, she obviously doesn't want to go anywhere near the buil-"

  "Shut up!" Carter shouted at Barber. "We're all going together. No one is backing out. They've got our friends in there, and we are not leaving a single User held against their will behind. Do you understand me? Do you all understand me?" Carter shot his companions an angry glare one by one. "Now get going." He pushed Carol toward the building.

  She took a few steps, slowly at first, but Carter was right behind her, prodding her on. They crossed the street and made their way down an alley on the side of the building.

  "That's the door right there." Carol pointed to a metal door that was painted red to match the building's brick. The door was closed. Carter eyed the side of the building searching for any sign of cameras, but saw nothing and went right for the door's handle. He pulled, but the door was locked tight.

  "It's locked from the inside," Carter said.

  "Do you want me to pull it off?" Evan asked, raising a hand toward the door, and Carter knew without a doubt that Evan meant to rip it right off its hinges with his Mover abilities.

  "Don't," Carter said. "You'll alert the whole damn building to our presence."

  "Then how do you plan on getting in?" Evan asked.

  "The front door." Carter turned and walked from the alley, out onto the main street, heading straight for the building's entrance.

  "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Barber asked coming up next to him while the others hung back a few steps behind.

  Carol seemed to like the idea least of all. Her eyes darted all over as if she meant to bolt at her first chance.

  "I don't see any alternative," Carter said. "I'm not leaving until I find out if our friends are okay." With that he pulled open the front door and entered the building.

  Inside everything looked normal enough. The walls of the lobby were plain white. There were doors to either side, and an elevator at the far end of the building. Most importantly there was a security gate halfway across the lobby between them and the elevator. Carter walked right up to it as if nothing were amiss.

  "Hello," Carter said nonchalantly to the guard at the gate. "We're here to find the creepy lab where you're holding our friends captive."

  "W-what?" the guard stammered.

  "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Ryker said, but Carter repeated himself word for word, and then waited.

  "I think you're lost," the guard said this time and rose from his seat. "You best get out of-"

  Carter grabbed the guard by the black tie hanging around his neck in one hand, jerked him forward, and punched him in the face with the other hand. The guard crumbled back into his chair, unconscious, but in a sitting position.

  "Let's go," Carter said.

  He waved the others through the metal detector, then grabbed the gun from the holster on the security guards waist, before he passed through the metal detector himself. It lit up and blared loud beeps as he went through, but besides his friends and the unconscious security guard, the lobby was abandoned. They quickly arrived at the elevator door.

  "Going down?" Barber asked eying the two arrows beside the door.

  "Might as well. Where else would you keep a secret lab besides the basement?" Carter asked and Barber pressed the button with the down arrow on it. It immediately dinged and the doors opened.

  "Get in," Carter said to them all, but he was looking directly at Carol.

  They piled into the elevator together, but as the doors began to close, Carol burst forth, squeezing between the closing doors, and was gone.

  "Come back here!" Carter yelled and reached out for her, but it was too late. The doors were closed.

  "Guess she didn't want to come along," Ryker said.

  Carter shook his head and went to press the button that would open the doors, but Barber snatched him by the wrist.

  "Let her go," Barber said. "She's done all she can to help us now anyway."

  Carter sighed. Maybe he had pushed her too far already, but he didn't understand how Carol was able to just stand by while her friends were being held against their will. It was an atrocity that he wouldn't, no he couldn't, stand for. He wasn't about to abandon the only real family he ha
d ever known, no matter how dysfunctional it might be. It was his job, as the head of the Compound to keep them safe, and he had failed miserably. He couldn't help but wonder what Walt would have done given the same situation. He doubted Walt would have ever run away from the fight at the Compound. He would have gone down with the ship like a good captain should.

  "Fine, let's just go."

  "Going down," Barber announced as he hit the button marked with a B for basement.

  They waited anxiously, and it seemed to take forever for the elevator to make it down the one floor to reach the basement level of the building. The elevator slowed, the bell dinged again, and the doors opened.

  Sitting casually with his feet kicked up on a table was a single guard. Startled, the guard jolted upright in his chair.

  "Who are you?" the guard asked going for his gun.

  "Ah ah ah, I don't think so," Carter said. He lifted the gun he had stolen to the guard's face. "Don't even think about it." Carter pulled the guard's gun from its holster and handed it to Ryker.

  "Who are you? What do you want?" the guard asked in rapid succession.

  The room outside the elevator was tiny, but there were a series of hallways spreading out in different directions.

  "Which one leads to the lab?" Carter asked.

  "Lab? I-I don't know. I don't go any further than this room," the guard said.

  "Then you're of no use to us," Carter said and he pistol whipped the man in the head, knocking him unconscious and placing him, rather gently, back in his chair.

  "Would you quit doing that?" Barber asked.

  "Doing what?" Carter fained innocence, but he knew exactly what Barber was talking about.

  "Knocking out all the guards."

  "Well, what do you want me to do with them? I could kill them if you'd rather." Carter said, but he continued before Barber could respond. "Here, let's try this way."

  Carter lead the way down the hall to the left. They were surrounded by concrete, no windows, no doors, just concrete on the floor, walls, and ceiling.

  "This place is built like a bomb shelter," Carter said.