Page 39 of Fox in Plain Sight

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Yankee opened the sliding side door of a dark van. “Hop on in.”

Nick got inside and offered his hand to Michelle to help her up.

Yankee hopped in and pulled the door shut behind him. He sat down on the bench opposite Nick and Michelle’s. “Okay, Fox, let’s talk.”

Michelle stared at Yankee. “Fox? Who’s Fox?”

“He is,” Yankee said, pointing an Nick.

Michelle glared at Nick. “Your name is not Nick Young?”

“I’ll explain later.” Right now there were more important things to discuss.

Yankee should his head. “So she doesn’t even know your code name? I thought she’s your girlfriend. Does that mean she knows nothing about your premonitions either?”

“Premonitions?” Michelle echoed.

Nick sighed. “Thanks a lot, Yankee. Way to break the news.” He squeezed her hand in reassurance, but this wasn’t the time to go into long explanations about his special gift.

“You have premonitions?” she asked again.

Nick nodded. “I’m not the only one. Yankee has them too.”

Yankee nodded. “Yeah. But one of them, I’ve been getting over and over. The premonition about the inferno, the destruction, my skin melting from the intense heat.”

Nick’s jaw tightened. “You’re actually at the explosion site when it happens? I’m not.”

“What?” Yankee asked.

“I’m somewhere at a lake, on a porch of some fancy mansion.”

“Tell me more,” Yankee insisted.

“I’m in front of my computer. Somebody I can’t see gives me iced tea to drink. I think it’s poisoned, because as soon as I drink it and try to type something into the computer, my hands are paralyzed. I can’t do it. I can’t stop it. I’m helpless. On the screen, I can see the explosion. Then the shockwave hits the lake and catapults five sailboats right out of the water, turns them into matchsticks. It’s all I see before I get slammed against the side of the house.”

“Sailboats on a lake? Wonder whether that means anything…” Yankee mused, rubbing his chin. “Could be a location. And the person who gives you that iced tea that paralyzes you? Can you remember anything about him? Or her?”

Nick shook his head. “I only see a hand. It’s a man, I can tell that much.”

“Any rings, scars?”

“I don’t remember any.”

“Next time you have the premonition, focus in on that. We need to find out who’s behind this. In my visions I don’t see any man. You might be the first one who’s gotten a glimpse of our enemy.”

“Next time?” Michelle interrupted, her gaze bouncing back and forth between the two of them. “You guys are psychic?”

Yankee cleared his throat. “Something like that. But let’s not get sidetracked here. Since it’s pretty clear that we’re seeing the same thing, it’s important that we get Stargate back together. Not only are our enemies trying to pick us off one-by-one, they’re also planning something major. We have to prevent it. Problem is we don’t know the others or where they’re hiding.” He motioned to Nick. “I was lucky to find you.”

“I’ve been working on a solution for that for a while.”

Yankee slid forward on the bench opposite Nick’s. “What solution?”

“Sheppard kept a private file on all his Stargate members. Names, pictures, backgrounds. Separate from the CIA’s classified personnel file—which I have the feeling has been destroyed by our enemy already.”

“And Sheppard’s file? You think it still exists? Wouldn’t whoever killed him have destroyed that one, too?”