Previously...

The voice from the back sent chills down Jim’s spine. “From an old friend,” Luke offered, a malicious smile on his face. “Among other things, he told me to give his regards to you and your family.”

Jim sucked in a breath and clenched his fists, because he felt if he didn’t do something to hold himself together, he would assuredly fly apart.

And if a message from his mother’s killer was hard for him, he could only imagine what it was doing to his father.

Chapter Four

Jim stared at the door to the interrogation room uneasily. “Are you sure about this?” he asked for the third time.

“She’s the best we have, Jim.” It did not escape Jim’s notice that his father had not answered the question. “She’ll get more information out of him than either of us would,” he continued, still not answering the question.

Both their eyes tracked to the adjoining room which was designed to allow observation of interrogations.

“Better not go in,” Jim muttered to himself. His control was stretched thin as it was.

“She works best on her own,” Win reminded him. Still, neither man could leave the hallway. With a sigh, Win retrieved two chairs from an unused room and positioned them so that they wouldn’t have to stand while waiting for the door to open. Both men looked up sharply when they heard noise in the stairwell. Trixie pushed open the heavy door, and Shadow followed in her wake, one bouncing in anticipation, the other making no noise at all.

“Mart said you were down here,” Trixie explained. “Well? Have you learned anything from Luke yet?”

Despite the strain he was under, Jim couldn’t help smiling at Trixie’s enthusiasm and impatience. There was just something about Trixie that put a smile on his face more often than not. Of course, there was also something about Trixie that put a sprinkle of grey in his hair, too, but, as always, the heightened drama that followed Spit-Fire wherever she went was a small price to pay for the privilege of being a part of her excitement.

“Why are you interviewing him, anyway?” Trixie demanded. “I thought we were going to turn him over to the PD. They’ve been looking for him forever.”

Jim reached out and tucked her into his arms. He leaned back against the cool cement wall, Trixie’s back pressed to his front. “Siren’s in with him now,” he told her, his mouth close to her ear.

Trixie squirmed impatiently, twisting out of his grasp. “Then what are you doing out here?” She started toward the door to the observation room, but halted when Jim gently tugged on her arm.

“Let’s give her a few more minutes,” Win suggested, locking his eyes with Trixie.

She chewed on her bottom lip, but didn’t protest when Jim brought her back beside him. “These are the interrogation rooms,” Trixie told Shadow. “This one is set up with an observation room and a two way mirror.”

Shadow nodded, his countenance dark.

“We don’t use the rooms often,” Win said quietly. “And they’re only for interrogating.”

Shadow seemed to relax at the words, but still eyed the doors warily.

Jim felt the instant Trixie made her decision. “Shadow and I will observe. You two can stay here,” she told the Frayne men.

Win and Jim exchanged a look. “I’m coming,” Jim sighed, his tone heavy. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he knew that he wasn’t going to like whatever he was going to hear in that room. And that his father would like it even less.

Win nodded, but rose from his chair. “I’ll wait in my office for Siren’s report.” Jim winced, looking at his father’s face. Win knew more, much more, than he was letting on.

But Trixie was tugging on his arm, and had her hand on the door knob of the observation room. “Come on!” she urged. Jim allowed her to lead him into the room, and Shadow trailed behind them.

They filed into the room, eyes trained on the two-way mirror lining one wall. Jim found himself momentarily distracted by the sight of Siren, but tore his eyes away before he could fall under her spell. Diana Lynch was a beautiful woman at all times, but when she turned on the charm and decided to make the most of her assets, she was truly formidable.

Luke, however, had not been able to escape her spell. Even through the window, Jim could detect a faint gleam of perspiration covering his face, and he was squirming in his chair. Diana leaned forward, drawing Luke’s eyes to the modest yet tantalizing v-neck of her lavender sweater.

Luke tapped his foot erratically. “I...I already told you. My message was for Winthrop Frayne, and I delivered it. You can’t keep me here.”

Diana sat down in the chair facing him. “I understand, Luke,” she said, her voice warm with sympathy. “I think it’s wonderful that you want to keep your word. Loyalty is a very desirable characteristic in a man.”

Luke flushed with pleasure. Beside Jim, Trixie bit back a snort. “Oh, geez. She’s really laying it on thick, isn’t she?”

“Hey, whatever works, right?” Shadow said, his eyes trained on Luke.

Despite the strain he was under, Jim registered Shadow’s reaction with faint surprise. Few men could resist Diana's charms when she decided to employ them, yet the mysterious stranger seemed impervious. Well, maybe not entirely impervious, Jim decided, noting from the corner of his eye the minute tightening of the Shadow’s jaw. Jim himself had had years to learn to control his mind and reactions. The Shadow seemed to do it automatically.

Jim’s focus was quickly claimed when Siren spoke again. “We can protect you, Luke. You’re not in this alone.”

Jim’s hands closed into fists. This was why he shouldn’t be observing. This was why he wasn’t the one conducting the interview. This was why his father was upstairs in his office. The very idea of helping someone who worked with the man who had taken Katie Frayne away from them was unthinkable.

Luke’s laugh was hollow. “You can’t help me,” he said, his voice desperate. “You know what he’s capable of.”

Diana frowned, but it only heightened her beauty. “What do you mean, Luke? What is he capable of?”

He stared at her. “You really don’t know?”

Jim’s stomach churned as he watched the emotions play across Luke’s face. Whatever Luke feared from his employer, it was stronger than his fear of what the Fraynes would do to him if he didn’t co-operate.

Ever-perceptive, Diana, too, tracked his emotions. Placing her hand on his and leaning in close to him, she played her final card. “Please, Luke?” she pleaded, her voice soft.

“It’s probably already too late,” Luke muttered. “If he knows I’ve been taken, it’s too late for me, and there’s nothing that you can do to help me. Nothing.”

Diana frowned. “No one enters this campus without our knowledge. He won’t follow you here.”

Luke swallowed. “He doesn’t have to. He doesn’t have to be anywhere near a person to…” he stopped, obviously realizing that he’d said too much. He shuddered and stared at his shaking hands. “Oh, God. Are the shakes a symptom of the plague? He probably already knows.” His eyes grew wide and darted around the room, intent on finding an escape route.

Diana's eyes tracked to the two-way mirror. Though she was an excellent interrogator, she stayed far away from all physical aspects of the job, such as restraining a detainee. Eagle, Spit-Fire, and Shadow reacted as one and flung open the door to the interrogation room.

Luke struggled only for a moment before being firmly gripped on either side by Jim and Shadow. Trixie stood in front of him, staring him down.

“Luke,” she demanded, hands on hips.

Luke tugged at one of his arms and fixed his eyes on the door behind her.

“Luke,” she repeated. Though she lacked Diana’s sensual power over men, she had mastered her own air of command, and she employed it fully. “You need to calm down. We have an excellent doctor on staff who is equipped to deal with whatever physical concerns you have. You need to co-operate, though.”

Luke’s shoulders slumped and he allowed Jim and Shadow to lead him from the room.

“Is Brian back yet?” Trixie whispered to Jim.

“Pulled in shortly after we did,” Jim assured her. “He’s going over some charts in the infirmary right now. You don’t think he’s actually sick, do you?”

They paused as Win and one of the older students met them in the hallway.

“We’ll take him from here,” Win informed them.

Wordlessly, Jim and Shadow transferred the cuffed prisoner to the elder Professor Frayne and watched as they headed for the infirmary.

Trixie snorted. “Sick? No. Bobby’s a better actor than he is. There’s nothing wrong with him. He really was scared, though,” she continued thoughtfully.

“Well, I should hope so!” Jim responded. His eyes turned grim. “He should be scared of us.”

“No,” Trixie disagreed, ignoring the tension radiating from him. “I mean, yes, he should be scared of us. But he isn’t. He’s definitely scared of someone, though.” Her expression turned thoughtful.

“He is scared of you.” Shadow’s quiet voice surprised both Jim and Trixie. “It’s just that he’s more scared of someone else.”

Jim’s mouth tightened to a straight line. “Medico,” he said, the name burning like acid on his tongue.

Trixie’s eyes snapped with fury. “Why? What hold does Medico have on him? Doesn’t Luke know that we can protect him?”

“There are two possibilities,” Shadow said quietly. “Either it’s irrational fear talking, or he’s justified in fearing Medico more than the Professor.”

Jim’s eyes blazed. “He doesn’t know us very well if he thinks that he’s any safer with Medico.”

Trixie placed a hand on Jim’s arm. “We’ll figure it out.” She rubbed his upper arm soothingly. “All of us.”

Jim’s response died on his lips when he felt the vibration of his communicator. Simultaneously, Trixie checked her own com device.

“Infirmary,” she stated after checking the read-out.

Jim’s eyes widened for a split second before he took off, running in the direction of the stairs. Trixie and Shadow followed close on his heels.

By the time they had climbed the two flights and navigated the hallway congested with students, they could see a crowd gathered outside the infirmary. Winthrop Frayne was holding up a hand, trying to quiet the restless group.

“Dr. Belden is taking good care of your friends,” he said when the noise had diminished to a low rumble of anxious whispers. “Until we know what the diagnosis is, however, they will remain in quarantine.”

Jim’s eyes bulged. Quarantine? In the twenty years of the school’s existence, never once had there been need to quarantine students. A low murmur of dismay ran through the students of the close-knit academy.

“All students are required to return to their rooms for the night. In the morning, there will be an update on the condition of the patients.” He smiled kindly at the group of worried students. “It’s just a precaution. You know that we have one of the finest physicians in the country here. Now, please head to your rooms.”

The students reluctantly dispersed. Jim, Trixie, and Shadow waited until the hall had cleared before approaching the headmaster. “What’s happened?” Jim asked, glancing past his father and through the glass door leading to the infirmary.

Win ran a weary hand through his crisp red hair. “What didn’t happen!” he muttered. He shook his head. “In the span of ten minutes, six students came to see the Healer, all complaining of fever, sore throat, and nausea.”

“The flu?” Trixie asked.

“If it is, it’s an extremely aggressive variant.” Dr. Brian Belden appeared in the entrance of the infirmary, wiping his hands on a paper towel. He turned his attention to the headmaster. “I don’t like this,” he told Win. “The symptoms are too severe, and appeared too rapidly for this to be the common flu. I think it would be best if I tested some blood samples.”

Win nodded, granting permission. Brian gave Shadow a cursory glance before returning to his patients, but didn’t wait for an introduction.

“Wait a minute,” Trixie said suddenly, grasping Win’s arm. “What about Luke? Is he in the infirmary? Does he have the flu, too?”

Win turned restless eyes to the infirmary. “He’s in there. I thought he was imagining his symptoms, but Brian seems to think he might actually be sick. He’s in a separate area from the students, and Steel is guarding him.”

Jim breathed a sigh of relief. Though Steel was only sixteen, he was literally strong as steel. At least, his body was. Luke couldn’t hurt him, and there would be no way for the prisoner to escape.

“Do you want us to help with the sick students?” Trixie asked, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

Win smiled at her, his affection plain. “No. Honey and Diana are already in there. I’d rather not expose all of my staff to whatever is going around, so I was hoping that you and Jim would stick close to the other students. They’re bound to be edgy tonight, and some of them might need to talk to someone.”

Jim nodded, knowing that many of the students came from troubled backgrounds, and that their insecurities were more likely to flare up in times of stress. “Maybe we should gather them all in the lounge and watch a movie together?” he suggested.

Win shook his head. “No. Some of them may be infected with a virus, and we want to contain it as much as possible. I’m hoping that they’ll stay in their rooms as much as possible. If you and Trixie want to patrol the halls and check on them periodically, that would be better.”

Jim felt Shadow shift. “It sounds as if you have everything under control here. I should be moving on.”

Jim felt a stab of relief. Though he wasn’t proud of himself, he couldn’t help wishing that they’d never met Shadow. There was something about the man that was vaguely threatening, and it made him uncomfortable. The fact that Trixie seemed perfectly at ease with him only made the situation worse.

As if on cue, Trixie exclaimed, “No! You can’t leave yet. We haven’t even gotten to know you, or thank you properly for your help today.” Jim’s heart clenched as she turned her pleading blue eyes on the dark man. “You have to stay!”

Shadow regarded her silently, and then immediately turned his attention to Win when he spoke. “It’s your decision of course,” Professor Frayne said, “But I really do think it would be best if you stayed.” He paused and waited until the younger man looked him in the eye. “I know you can help us, and I’d like the opportunity to help you.”

Shadow’s indecision was displayed only in his continued silence and rigid posture.

With a sigh, Jim said what he knew in his heart was the right thing. “We can always use more good guys around here.”

Shadow raised an eyebrow. “You think I’m a good guy?” He shook his head. “Maybe I should stay. You obviously don’t know me very well.”

Jim grinned. “Let’s change that, then.”