The Dream Machine: Book 6, The Eddie McCloskey Paranormal Mystery Series (The Unearthed) by Evan Ronan Page B
Authors: Evan Ronan
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remember you not sharing something with me?"
"Don't be an ass. Alpheus White. Career criminal. Loves the action. Armed robbery, aggravated assault. He is currently serving a term."
"No, he's not. He's here." I looked the building up and down and noted the lack of any fence around the property, the forcable electronic security doors, the limited number of security staff I'd seen. "This isn't a prison, it's a hospital."
"He's on lockdown on a secluded wing, on a secluded floor. Guards on him twenty-four seven."
"The last time you and I worked together, there was a wild card. I warned you but you and Pater didn't want to listen. Eamon Moriarty, the same guy that iced my brother, was the wild card. He almost killed me in Oregon and now he's vanished."
“He didn’t almost kill you.”
“He left me defenseless when I was about to face you and Riehl. Same difference.”
“Did you ever stop to think Eamon wasn’t trying to get you killed?”
That was like asking me if I’d ever considered two plus two was three. “No.”
“Think about it. He had to choose between helping me and Riehl or you. We’d worked with him, developed a relationship. We trusted each other. He saved our asses on a couple of occasions. Then there’s you. You made it abundantly clear you would hurt, if not kill, him if you got the chance.”
I said nothing as the old anger at Eamon boiled to the surface. That son of a bitch kid deserved to die for killing my brother.
Manetti went on. “He had to choose between you, his sworn enemy, and his only friends in the world. He chose us. Do you blame him?”
“He deserves to be in a prison. Not a fucking cushy hospital and not jetsetting with a team of federal agents, essentially living a free life. He deserves to rot.”
It was Manetti’s turn to say nothing.
“He’s dangerous—”
“We agree with you there.”
“And the monster is roaming the quiet countryside.”
Manetti's lips formed a thin line. "We're looking for him, Eddie."
“So back to the criminal you have secluded here. My wider point is, let's call a spade a spade. He's a dangerous criminal. Let's assume he can and will screw this up for us." I wasn't liking this one bit. "Why is he here?"
"He's participating in the research."
"No, he's actively planning his escape."
She grimaced. "Probably. But that's not our concern."
"But why is he here?"
"Classified, Eddie."
"Naturally." I gave her a look. "But you know."
"Maybe."
The bureaucracy was stifling, excruciating. I felt like I was trying to turn an aircraft carrier...inside a lake as opposed to an ocean.
Did I need to know about this guy? Probably not. But better to know what might be in your blind spot than not. "Does he have any contact with Alison?"
"I doubt it."
"Does she know he's here?"
Manetti thought about it. "We should ask."
"Why the hell is he here?"
Manetti just looked at me.
"Same question for all the other patients here."
She nodded. "There are a dozen others."
"Any other criminals?"
She shook her head.
"Anybody else we should worry about?"
"It's worth finding out, Eddie. But let's not lose sight of the primary objective here. It's you and me and we're running down what information we can glean from Alison's dreams."
"I feel like Tom Cruise in Minority Report."
"You know what the difference between you and Tom Cruise is?"
"I've got about six inches on him."
She fake-laughed. "The difference is a bazillion dollars."
"Just me and you?"
"We have a tactical support team off-site but they're behind the emergency glass. We only break it if we need them. The leg work is on us."
"How far off-site?"
"Boots on the ground here in twenty minutes."
"Good to know."
***
We had a few minutes before the briefing, so I used the time to call Sumiko.
She was in her car. "I'm headed back home. There was another attack last night."
Was the whole world going to hell? Sumiko lived in a nice town way out in the middle of Pennsylvania. Where it was
"Don't be an ass. Alpheus White. Career criminal. Loves the action. Armed robbery, aggravated assault. He is currently serving a term."
"No, he's not. He's here." I looked the building up and down and noted the lack of any fence around the property, the forcable electronic security doors, the limited number of security staff I'd seen. "This isn't a prison, it's a hospital."
"He's on lockdown on a secluded wing, on a secluded floor. Guards on him twenty-four seven."
"The last time you and I worked together, there was a wild card. I warned you but you and Pater didn't want to listen. Eamon Moriarty, the same guy that iced my brother, was the wild card. He almost killed me in Oregon and now he's vanished."
“He didn’t almost kill you.”
“He left me defenseless when I was about to face you and Riehl. Same difference.”
“Did you ever stop to think Eamon wasn’t trying to get you killed?”
That was like asking me if I’d ever considered two plus two was three. “No.”
“Think about it. He had to choose between helping me and Riehl or you. We’d worked with him, developed a relationship. We trusted each other. He saved our asses on a couple of occasions. Then there’s you. You made it abundantly clear you would hurt, if not kill, him if you got the chance.”
I said nothing as the old anger at Eamon boiled to the surface. That son of a bitch kid deserved to die for killing my brother.
Manetti went on. “He had to choose between you, his sworn enemy, and his only friends in the world. He chose us. Do you blame him?”
“He deserves to be in a prison. Not a fucking cushy hospital and not jetsetting with a team of federal agents, essentially living a free life. He deserves to rot.”
It was Manetti’s turn to say nothing.
“He’s dangerous—”
“We agree with you there.”
“And the monster is roaming the quiet countryside.”
Manetti's lips formed a thin line. "We're looking for him, Eddie."
“So back to the criminal you have secluded here. My wider point is, let's call a spade a spade. He's a dangerous criminal. Let's assume he can and will screw this up for us." I wasn't liking this one bit. "Why is he here?"
"He's participating in the research."
"No, he's actively planning his escape."
She grimaced. "Probably. But that's not our concern."
"But why is he here?"
"Classified, Eddie."
"Naturally." I gave her a look. "But you know."
"Maybe."
The bureaucracy was stifling, excruciating. I felt like I was trying to turn an aircraft carrier...inside a lake as opposed to an ocean.
Did I need to know about this guy? Probably not. But better to know what might be in your blind spot than not. "Does he have any contact with Alison?"
"I doubt it."
"Does she know he's here?"
Manetti thought about it. "We should ask."
"Why the hell is he here?"
Manetti just looked at me.
"Same question for all the other patients here."
She nodded. "There are a dozen others."
"Any other criminals?"
She shook her head.
"Anybody else we should worry about?"
"It's worth finding out, Eddie. But let's not lose sight of the primary objective here. It's you and me and we're running down what information we can glean from Alison's dreams."
"I feel like Tom Cruise in Minority Report."
"You know what the difference between you and Tom Cruise is?"
"I've got about six inches on him."
She fake-laughed. "The difference is a bazillion dollars."
"Just me and you?"
"We have a tactical support team off-site but they're behind the emergency glass. We only break it if we need them. The leg work is on us."
"How far off-site?"
"Boots on the ground here in twenty minutes."
"Good to know."
***
We had a few minutes before the briefing, so I used the time to call Sumiko.
She was in her car. "I'm headed back home. There was another attack last night."
Was the whole world going to hell? Sumiko lived in a nice town way out in the middle of Pennsylvania. Where it was
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