She crossed her arms and glared at him. "This is our mission. We're the ones risking our asses to save these kids. We're the ones who will be left behind if it tanks. I don't give a damn about protocol. I want to talk to this guy, now. If you want our help on this, that is."
IPI's plan could not succeed without her and her brother, and the agent knew it. They could do things no one else could. It wasn't even just their para-powers, though that gave them an edge no one could compete with. They'd been in training for this, or completing these types of missions, their whole lives.
Lucy didn't back down as Morrison struggled between towing the company line and blowing the mission, versus giving her what she wanted. She wished she could borrow Sam's power for just a moment and read the guy's mind.
Sam. Is she okay? Is the baby okay? Lucy couldn't afford too many thoughts for her best friend. She had to focus on the mission, and on getting home safely, so that she could be there for the birth. If she wasn't already too late.
Morrison stood and walked to the back of the plane. "You coming?"
Score! She winked at Luke, who grinned like a fool, and followed Morrison to a locked bathroom.
"You've got him locked up in there?" She hoped it wasn't like in the movies—the captive sitting on the toilet without pants, chained to the plumbing. Not that she wanted the guy crapping his pants, but she didn't need to see his junk, either.
Morrison waved his hand around and laid on the sarcasm. "Do you see many options for a secure containment here?"
"Guess not. He's got clothes on, right?"
The agent rolled his eyes and opened the bathroom door to reveal a bald man with tribal black tattoos over his head and around his eyes—fully clothed—on the toilet. His hands and feet were handcuffed together and a rope around his waist secured him to the plumbing. His black eyes bore into hers over a silver strip of duct tape.
Lucy reached over and yanked it off, pulling more than a few whiskers from his short black beard and mustache. She spoke before Morrison could throw a fit. "I can't question him if he can't talk. Now, if you'll excuse us, I don't think we have room for a party in here."
She shouldn't push so many of Morrison's buttons, but it was just too easy—an ...entertaining distraction.
Morrison left and Luke took his place. He gave her the look, the one that said, "Shut up, Sis, I'm not leaving you alone with this guy."
Luke had her back, and there was no one in the world she trusted more.
Time to get this party started. "Hello, and welcome to the hostage tour. I'm Lucy, your tour guide. And this is Luke. What's your name?"
Her attempt at levity fell flat on the man whose eyes looked dead.
"Beleth." His voice came out like black oil, low and deep.
Lucy knew enough mythology to know that name. "Beleth... that's the name of a demon or fallen angel. What? Parents didn't like you?"
The power of the large man, a block of solid muscle, surrounded Lucy and pushed against her almost viscerally. It wasn't a para-power, just his physical presence and energy holding her in its grip. She tried to shake it by baiting him. To no avail.
"Okay, no chit chat. Fine by me. Look, we can help you. We can offer you security, freedom, even protection, if you help us free those kids. I just need to know what we're up against. Who's guarding them? How many? Does anyone have para-powers? What's the best way in? That kind of thing. Just information. You don't need to do anything else."
Drake would have been mighty useful about then. He could just compel the guy to tell them everything, if he hadn't been stripped of his powers and then abandoned Sam and their baby. Damn him.
Beleth didn't twitch a muscle as he spoke, his face and body as solid and still as granite. "You're a fool if you think that you can stop what is happening, if you think you can stop paranormals—those gifted with power. We won't let you destroy us."
Lucy listened with her own power and knew he believed everything he was saying. To him, it was the truth. "My brother and I both have para-powers, and yet we're working with IPI to help these kids. Would I be working with them if they were trying to destroy paranormals? We're trying to help, to give people a fair life, to give them freedom. The children in that facility don't deserve to be kept prisoner and used."
A pocket of turbulence shook the plane and jerked Lucy from her feet. Before she could crash into the wall of the small bathroom, Luke used his para-power to solidify the air around her and catch her.