F. Paul Wilson: Bloodline

He reigned in his irritation and forced himself to relax. He wasn't on the clock, nowhere he had to be.

Chill.

Then he felt a chill—literally. A vaguely familiar one, last experienced in January when Rasalom had paid him a visit to sup on his rage, grief, and despair. Emma was gone and Gia and Vicky were on the fast track to join her. Jack had provided a movable feast of negative emotions.

And this was very much like the chill he'd experienced as Rasalom had fed.

Was he nearby?

8

Alarm raced through Dawn as she noticed another man sitting in the driver seat.

"What—?"

"Not to worry," the first man said as he climbed into the front passenger seat and slammed the door. "This is my driver, Henry."

Henry nodded without looking around. Dawn heard the doors auto lock. She tried her handle—useless.

"Am I locked in?"

"What?" The man laughed, sounding embarrassed. "Oh, sorry. Child locks."

"You have kids?"

"Not yet, but I've had some young passengers recently. Don't think of it as keeping you inside—consider it protection against anyone getting in from outside."

"This is so totally weird. I don't even know your name."

He reached his hand back. It held a card. She took it and angled it into the scant light coming through the side window.

MR OSALA

That was it—no phone number, no address, just his name.

"It doesn't say you're a detective."

Henry put the car in gear and they began to move.

"That's because I'm many things. Sometimes I'm an investigator, and sometimes I'm a guardian—like now."

"You mean like a bodyguard?"

"Exactly."

"Are you taking me home?"

"Not at the moment. That would be unwise. Jeremy knows wh^re you live."

""Yes, but-—"

"Your mother wanted me to keep you safe, and the best place to do that right now is my place."

A warning bell rang.

" Your place?"

Another laugh. "Not to worry, I have no designs on you. You'll be staying in a beautiful duplex penthouse on Fifth Avenue where my staff will take excellent care of you."

Duplex penthouse? Fifth Avenue? Staff?

"You sound like totally rich."

"I am."

"Then why—?"

"—am I helping you? Because that is my mission in life—I exist only to help those in need. I was helping your mother, now I'm helping you."

She hesitated to ask, but he knew everything already, so why not?

"Do you think you could help me get an abortion?"

A pause, then, "I don't think that would be a good idea at the moment."

"Are you totally kidding? I thought you knew the story here."

"I do. I know—how shall I put this?—I know that the child you carry is also a sibling."

Dawn thought about that. Yeah, he was right. How totally gross and sick.

"Right. So then you can understand why I want it gone."

"Yes, but the child is your protection. Jeremy wants that child and will do you no serious harm while you carry it. Think of it as an insurance policy. If you abort it—"

"But I want it gone, out of me. He told me he'd been fixed but that was obviously just another of his lies."

And I swallowed every single one, she thought.

She wanted to retch. Lies weren't the only things she'd swallowed.

"There will be plenty of time to terminate the pregnancy once he's caught. As soon as we hear of his capture, I shall personally take you to a private clinic that will fulfill your wish."

"When do you think that'll be? I want this so over with."

"Not too long. And who knows? In the meantime you might change your mind and spare the child."

"Spare? Are you kidding?"

"Well, it's not the baby's fault. Why take it out on him or her?"

Him or her… she'd thought of it only as an it .

"You never know," Mr. Osala was saying. "Your baby might turn out to be someone famous. An Einstein or a Madame Curie—someone who'll change the world."

Change the world'.'' Where had she heard—?

Our baby is the Key. He s gonna change the ivorld !

"Jerry said something like that. Why doesn't anybody want me to get rid of this baby?"

Mr. Osala half turned and his hand darted toward her. For an instant she thought he was going to hit her, but his fingertips only brushed her forehead.

"Hush, now. You're exhausted. Get some sleep."

An overwhelming lethargy enveloped her. She fought to keep her eyes open but the lids suddenly weighed like tons.

Mr. Osala, the car and its driver, her cares… they all drifted away.

9

The odd chill faded, so quickly that Jack wondered if he'd imagined it. Whatever had been slowing traffic on the bridge must have been cleared because the cars began moving again.

Jack shook off thoughts of Rasalom and cruised into Manhattan. He parked the car in the garage down the street and walked to his apartment. Along the way he glanced at a flyer tacked to a tree. He passed it, stopped, then stepped back.

A picture of Dawn and a reward for any useful information.

He yanked it free and took it with him.

Entering his apartment, he didn't turn on the lights. Simply sat in the dark by the front window, watching the street as he let his thoughts wander into darker places.

He tried to keep them from Emma but they strayed there anyway. How much oDNA would she have wound up with? Would it have affected her, commandeered the helm of life as it seemed to have done with her father's? Would she—?

A familiar figure stepped into view on the street below—not the only pedestrian, but now the only one who mattered. He wore a homburg and an overcoat, and used a walking stick. As usual the brim of his hat shadowed his face, but Jack thought he caught a glimpse of a gray beard this time.

Let him stand there and stare all he wanted. Jack wasn't going after him. Not tonight.

He turned away and thought about where next to search for Dawn. The flyer meant he wasn't the only one looking for her. Hank Thompson had to be as well. And he had loads more manpower than Jack.

But somehow Jack had to find her first.

And then what? What would he do if he succeeded? If she'd gone ahead and already aborted the baby, he'd need do nothing. But if she hadn't, if for some reason she intended to have the baby, what then? If she was indeed carrying this so-called Key to the future—a future hell on Earth for humanity—he'd have to convince her to end the pregnancy. And if he couldn't…?

He didn't want to think about that now. He'd worry about it after he found Dawn—if he ever did. One thing he knew: He'd keep looking.

After all, in some odd, distant way, she and her baby were family.