Page 147 of Eight of Swords, Part One

Lachlan reaches back to make sure Jules is firmly obscured, fully covered.

‘Make him stop what?’

‘This. The storm. The blackout. He’s doing it.’

‘It’s weather, Fenwick.’

‘How do you think he fucks with the trackers?’ Fenwick spits out, like Lachlan’s being deliberately slow. ‘He’s a Paranatural!’

Fenwick’s lost it.

‘Julian is a kid, and it’s our job to protect him.’

‘No, that’s your job,’ Fenwick utters, dangerously unstable. His gun is lowered, which is all that keeps Lachlan from pulling his own. ‘My job is to manage the household, and I can’t do it when he’s causing this, locking us out, keeping us in the dark! Do you know what they can do when you push them, Lachlan? How powerful they really are when you hurt them? I’ve seen it. They used fentanyl, they used heroin…’ Fenwick gives a manic laugh. ‘Nothing works but hypochlorite.’

‘We can talk about whatever you want once we get him safe.’

‘Hypochlorite breaks down their mycelial network.’

‘Fenwick! Get it together.’

‘I was there for Project Spectrum,’ he goes on, moving ever closer up the staircase. ‘I was there when the storm hit. I carried my man out when that bitch fried his eyeballs, when she melted everyone from the inside out to get away. It starts with a storm. They call it to them, like witches. You have to make him stop, or we’re all dead.’

‘OK,’ Lachlan simply says. ‘That’s fine. I’ll lock him in his room.’

‘Knock him out or I’ll shoot him.’

Lachlan’s radio comes to life. It’s Rook. The secondary repeater has rebooted. ‘Kestrel, come in. Location on Cascade, repeat, we need a location on Cascade. Do you have eyes on?’

‘I need to answer,’ he tells Fenwick.

‘Knock him out.’

‘Do you know what would happen if I did that?’

‘The storm will stop and no one will die.’

‘Mason,’ Lachlan says again, voice softening. ‘Let’s just—’

Fenwick lifts his gun.

But Lachlan is much faster, and he’s always been a crack shot.

He shoots Fenwick twice, one round through each shoulder. The impact throws him backwards and he disappears down the staircase hard.

Lachlan pivots immediately, shoving Jules up the stairs ahead of him and cutting sharply left at the first corner, pinning him flat against the wall.

‘Stay here,’ he orders.

He radios in his position and requests immediate backup, tells them Fenwick has gone rogue, before edging around the corner, scanning the bottom of the staircase.

‘You’re too close to see it,’ the older man groans, gun still in hand.

Slowly, Lachlan descends. ‘Drop it and surrender. I’ll get you to medical.’

‘Julian is a Paranatural.’

‘Why do you think that?’ Lachlan asks, stalling.