The Powerful Pride of an Immortal (Immortal Supers Book 4) by Kurtis Eckstein (ebook reader for surface pro .TXT) 📗

in hazmat suits began showing up before intentionally trying to pull back on the reflexive response, since it shouldn’t be necessary anymore. But that didn’t stop my own body from remaining ablaze, as I got up and started walking in the direction Lexi and Heidi had gone.

When I got to the edge of the devastation, I saw crowds and crowds of people, along with ambulances, fire trucks, and police cruisers all over the place, as if every single emergency response vehicle in the entire city was somewhere on the perimeter.

And really, that probably wasn’t far from the truth.

Even though the bomb explosion I had seen in a vision, just before I did something about it, was more than twice as big as the one I’d actually created, the area of destruction was still massive. And out of everything that had happened thus far, this was probably the most significant event.

The mall attack was child’s play in comparison.

Thankfully, between all the activity, and the fact that most everyone had blue flames on them earlier, no one paid me any attention. However, I didn’t see Lexi or Heidi anywhere. I knew they should be fine, and I knew the smart thing to do was for them to leave the area entirely, especially since Lexi needed medical attention, but still.

I was anxious again.

Tyrone was someone Lexi had obviously known for a while, so I knew I had no reason to worry, but I couldn’t help the unease beginning to plague me. And it wasn’t like I could have gone with them. Without knowing ‘how’ I was doing what I was doing, it was too risky. Because if those flames went out, Lexi was a goner, and probably Heidi too.

It wasn’t until a familiar voice called out to me that I felt a little bit of relief, though unfortunately it wasn’t who I was hoping for.

Jackie Hendricks was waving her arm at me, having paused once she spotted me. “Sam!” she called again, prompting me to turn fully toward her.

It was strange, because the middle-aged woman with brown hair and green eyes, who looked more like she was in her mid-thirties than mid-forties, was dressed the most casual I’d ever seen her – just jeans and a dark gray t-shirt.

She began walking again when she saw I noticed her, with me jogging up to meet her.

“Are Lexi and Heidi okay?” I asked urgently. “They went with Lexi’s coworker, Tyrone.” I immediately felt kind of stupid, because of course Jackie would know who that was.

She nodded reassuringly. “Yes, I sent them to the hospital with a couple of guards over a half-hour ago. And Tyrone is over there,” she added, pointing to my right.

Sure enough, I spotted him a good hundred feet away, standing amongst four officers. I sighed heavily in relief, focusing on her again. “Now what?” I asked seriously.

Her expression became more serious. “Well, thankfully this has all turned out differently than I assumed it was going to.”

I gave her a confused look.

She grimaced. “When you said ‘bomb,’ and then when the call disconnected, I assumed the worst – that everyone was dead. That you’d be the only one left.”

I mimicked her expression, grimacing as well.

“But thankfully, that’s not what happened. And since there’s polonium everywhere, you’re also off the hook for the explosion too.”

I looked at her in total shock. “What are you talking about?” I said in disbelief.

She frowned. “Unfortunately, considering the level of destruction here, this is the type of situation that might have caused legal action against you, pending an investigation into what actually happened here. You’d be taken in, interrogated, and held indefinitely, until they could prove you were innocent.”

My eyes widened in shock. “The James Willard Act,” I replied quietly. “Guilty until proven innocent.”

She nodded, grimacing again. “Your newly obtained Immunity probably would have spared you, in the end, but it wouldn’t have prevented them putting you through hell first. However, most of the destruction is property damage, and with the presence of polonium, coupled with eye-witness reports, this has turned into something else entirely. You’re a hero, though of course no one will ever know about your involvement, per your privacy preferences.”

I nodded in understanding, having no problem with that. “So now what?” I asked a second time. “Because this can’t happen again. This has to stop.”

She nodded. “Now, I need you to come to the office with me, so we can go through a detailed rundown of what happened. We’ve also got people talking with Lexi and her sister, though of course Lexi’s medical care comes first. After that, we’re going to double our efforts on hunting this terrorist down. All we need is the right lead to nail him, and we’ve recently had a valuable asset agree to help with this case.” She paused to reach into her pocket for her phone. “But enough of that for now. I assume you might want to call home, so you can use my phone. And we can talk more at the office.”

“How’d you know mine was broken?” I wondered while accepting her offered device.

“Everyone’s phone is dead,” she explained. “Anyone who was in the blast zone has a dead phone. We can’t be sure at this point, but my suspicion is there was magnetism associated with the explosion – whether that came from you, Lexi, or the bomb, I don’t know.” She paused, glancing around. “Now, let’s go.”

I followed her over to a couple of guards in riot gear, both of whom appeared to be waiting on her, and then to a building where we took an elevator to the roof. On the way, I went ahead and called Freya, giving her a quick rundown of everything going on.

Needless to say, she was frantic.

Enough so, that she decided to take drastic measures until we had a better idea of the current situation.

“I’m taking everyone and going away for a day or two. I can’t say where, just in case, but I’ll keep Eden, Rose, and Lily