you. Some prefer dead, some alive, but then youâve probably already figured that out.â
âNo,â Darcy said. âI havenât figured anything out. I was sleeping and this maniac boarded up my house and he . . .â She swallowed and faced Billy, eyes wide.
Thank you, Billy. Youâre like an angel. I could kiss you right now!
He felt heat in his face and looked back at Kinnard, whose mind he could not read, thanks to the glasses.
âObviously you know more than we do,â Billy said. âTell us.â
âHow much do you know?â
âJust tell us everything,âBilly said.âWe need to know what you know.â
Kinnard nodded and walked to his right. âFair enough.You were both part of an experiment that went all wrong thirteen years ago. Iâm sure you remember that much.â
âIâm not sure I want to hear this,â Darcy said, eyes misted with tears.
Billy nodded. âLike I said, tell us what you know. All of it.â
âWhat I know was told to me by David Abraham, the director of the monastery, but then you both know that. What you may not know is that heâs no longer with us.â
âDead?â Billy blinked.
âLong story I wonât go into now.He told me about Project Showdown.â Kinnard paced, face toward them. âAn incredible story about a project sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church that left Paradise, Colorado, in shambles and thirty-six orphans homeless. Damaged for life. The project was designed to study the effects of isolation and indoctrination on children. An attempt to create ânoble savagesâ destined to live lives pure enough to change the world. Three of youâyou two and a boy from Paradise named Johnny Drakeâcame away not only damaged but gifted. Of course, I believed none of it. Until I met Johnny Drake.â
âSo you know him?â Darcy said. âIf heâs still alive, how could Billy and I be the last two?â She glanced at the carpet stain left by the assassinâs head wound.
âJohnny wasnât technically from the monastery,â Billy said. âWeâre the last two orphans from the monastery.â
âCorrect,â Kinnard said. âAnd if Johnny is right, youâre the only other two who have . . .â He left it there.
âThis crazy power,â Billy finished.
Kinnardâs jaw flexed. âSo itâs real, then. The three of you received inhuman powers from the books you wrote in as children.â He lifted a hand and ran it through his hair. âYour powers are the same as his?â
âYouâre wearing glasses,â Billy said.
âI learned that from Johnny. The effectiveness of the power has something to do with eye contact. Johnny never subjected me to his . . . his gift, but Iâve seen it work.â
âWhat in the world are you talking about?â Darcy demanded. âI donât know anything about Johnny or gifts.How did you happen to find meâusâanyway?â
âI made a vow to David Abraham. No contact until you came out, so to speak, but the minute I heard what happened to Billy in Atlantic City I left Washington.â
âHow did you know to come here?â Billy pushed.
âIâve had a team keeping close tabs on both of you ever since my last meeting with Johnny, nearly a year ago. Your car is tagged with an electronic signal.â
Kinnard turned to Darcy. âYou think that the executive board at your plant doubles employeesâ salaries every day?â
She stared at him, confused.
âJust an educated guess at this point, but I think David was right. I think your powers have to do with your voices and ears and eyes. Johnny can make a man see; Billy can hear thoughts, canât you, Billy?â
So he did know. Billyâs mind flashed back to the courtroom. A person who knew what to look for might easily suspect what Kinnard had just
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