Page 4 of Ghost
CHAPTER TWO
Ray
“Well, hell. When you saidthere was some serious shit going down in these cases, I have totell ya, this wasn’t anywhere on my radar,” Ray said as he set oneof the files back on the kitchen table. “The Noah Group performinggenetic manipulation within babies’ DNA in utero and even earlieris the thing of sci-fi movies. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it,even with the proof right in front of me.” He ticked off on hisfingers: “A human lie detector, mindreading, x-ray vision, healingabilities, talking to the dead, telekinesis, telepathy, andchameleon-like capabilities are all hard to believe. I’ve seen alot as a Marine and detective, but this is off thecharts.”
“There are more variedabilities among a guy we met named Apollo and his team in NewOrleans and countless other survivors scattered all over the worldwho’ve yet to be discovered,” Brick said. “Apollo happened along ona case we were working and thought he was coming to the rescue whenthe Noah Group tried to nab our guy. Turns out he leads his owncrew of survivors and was key in our taking out another would-belab.”
“And this all begangenerations ago with the Navy?”
“Yes. Originally, the Navyhired two geneticists, Dr. Isabelle Noah and Dr. Frauste, to lead ateam of scientists in an attempt to create the perfect warrior,”Brick explained.
“Unfortunately, they didn’tkeep close enough tabs on their experiments, and by the time theyrealized the program had gone off the rails, the damage was done,”Elias said as Julia set three more beers on the table.
“Thank you, ma’am,” Raysaid.
“You’re welcome, Ray, andcall me Julia.”
“Okay, Julia. If you don’tmind me asking, was Darren okay when you checked in onhim?”
“Yes, he’ll be fine. Justneeds a bit of time to regroup.”
“I didn’t mean to scarehim.”
“Of course not. This is alla shock to you. Elias thought it would be best to explaineverything to you in person, but it’s become so commonplace for usthat I didn’t clue in that you had no idea what would happen when Icalled Darren out of hiding. We were training while the kids wereat school.”
“Right, the children.” Raychuckled. “I’m going to need a diagram to keep this straight. Letme see if I got this right. Ben is Jason’s son and Gunner’s nephew;Sammie is your son; and Frank is Stryker and John’s adoptedson.”
“Right,” Julia confirmed.“Frank is the only one of the children at this location withabilities. There’s another boy, Freddie, who has them, and he livesout at the ranch with the other half of the team. We brought himback from California with Harris and his sister, Jennifer,” sheexplained. ”Freddie can speak to spirits of the dead.”
“Though we aren’t sure whatFrank’s abilities are yet,” Elias explained. “He hasn’t shown morethan a keen intellect.”
“And now different factionsof this Noah Group are hunting down the survivors in order to usethem in some messed-up plan to gain power?” Ray asked.
“Yes,” a voice said frombehind him. When Ray turned, he found Darren standing a couple offeet away. “We’re pawns in a sick game of chess where whoever hasthe most genetically modified survivors under their controlwins.”
“Good to see you again,”Ray said as he stood.
It was easy to see Darren wasn’tcompletely comfortable with Ray’s presence. The detective was alarge man, but he tried to appear less menacing.
“Hello, Detective,” Darrensaid.
“Ray, please call me Ray.Look, I’m sorry for the way I reacted earlier.”
“It’s understandable. Notevery day you see a man appear out of thin air.”
“True, but I’m still sorryI scared you.”
“Ghost, come join us,”Julia said. “Want a beer?”
Darren grinned. “You’re not going tolet that nickname go, are you?”
“Not a chance; it’sperfect. You’re part of the team, so you’ll get treated like one,”she replied.
“Ghost. I like it,” Brickagreed.
“Figures you would,‘Brick,’” Darrenjoked back.
Ray couldn’t help but feela warmth spreading through his body as the handsome mansmiled.Hell, what’s wrong with me? Idon’t do complications, and I’m sure as hell not sticking around inMarshall long enough to get to know the guy.Still, he found himself pulling out the chair beside him soGhost could sit down.
