In Ho clutched the phone in his hand. His teeth gnashed, fist shaking as he waited for his brother to respond. Damn him! Why did he have to go off on his own and make things worse?! The last thing he needed was Daniel going off the deep end because of his stupid little stunt! For whatever reason, after years of keeping to himself, that self-centered little boy had finally found someone to care about other than himself. If he lost that now, after everything he’d been through, there was no telling what he would do!

    “Hello?” a voice filtered over the line after several seconds of muffled noise. He froze, going ramrod stiff in his seat.

    “Who…Who is this?”

    “I believe you have something we want. And, likewise, we have something you want. I think we can come to an understanding, don’t you?” the voice asked. In Ho glanced up at Daniel as he made his way back from the bathroom, a worried look on his face. He slid into the chair across from him, tossing his cell phone onto the table.

    “I can’t reach Claire. She called a while ago and now she’s not picking up,” he said, frowning when he finally recognized the look on his face. “What is it? What’s going on?”

    “Hello?” the voice asked. In Ho swallowed hard, sweat dripping from his temple and disappearing beneath his collar. What the hell was he going to do? How was he going to tell Daniel that his own idiot of a father had just gotten his girl kidnapped? He would turn into an atomic bomb right in his seat and there would be absolutely no stopping him.

    “I’m here,” he answered carefully.

    “You have until midnight tonight. Bring him to the Reinhardt Airfield. If you try to run or go to the police, we’ll get rid of them both. Am I understood?”

    “Yes. I understand perfectly,” he said. The call disconnected seconds later. In Ho blinked rapidly as he placed the phone between them. Daniel gave him a confused look.

    “Want to tell me what’s going on?” he asked. His uncle remained silent. The atmosphere was so tense you could cut it with a knife. What could the caller have said that would upset him so badly? “You’re not going to talk to me?” he tried again. In Ho fisted his hands against the wood, obviously wrestling with his response. Tired of waiting, he opened his mind, slipping into his thoughts with the ease of a practiced cat burglar. His uncle’s thoughts whispered into his mind until they’d become his own, his fear and apprehension twisting until he felt them as if they were his own. What he saw, the accident and voice he’d heard, caused his blood to run cold. Rage bubbled up inside of him until his powers had no choice but to expand as well, swelling until they burst, sending a shockwave through the cafe that caused every light bulb to explode overhead. Patrons and waitresses screamed, ducking and running to avoid the shower of glass and sparks. Daniel got to his feet. “Tell me this is a joke,” he growled in a voice so deep it was borderline demonic. In Ho stared up at him in slack-jawed wonder. 

    “Daniel, please. Just calm down and let me explain.”

    “Explain what? That your stupid brother kidnapped my girlfriend and then got them both ing kidnapped?!” he shouted. Despite the commotion and panic, several people stopped to stare at him. And he couldn’t be bothered to care. Claire was in danger. And it was all thanks to his family. He was about to lose the only person to love him since they’d murdered the first. Without another word, Daniel turned and stormed out of the building, ignoring his uncle who shouted after him. Before he could climb into his car, In Ho grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to a stop.

    “Listen to me, Daniel. What your father did was stupid, yes, but he was only trying to help you–!” he said, his speech ending in a startled scream as Daniel sent enough psychic energy into his brain to put him on his . He dropped, releasing the door and placing the of his hand to his eye socket to abate the migraine that almost immediately took place. Daniel slipped into the driver’s seat of his Mustang, started the engine, and squealed away from the curb before In Ho could recover. 

    “This isn’t making any sense, Chang. If he’s as dangerous as you believe him to be, why did we resort to kidnapping his family? We’ve run this business on certain standards that have never involved resorting to crime. Why now?” Edward glanced up from his computer at Anton Semenov, one of his many Russian associates. He’d taken the man on as a partner two years prior simply for his innovation and skill with electronic engineering. And, just like every other bull associate he’d hired over the years, Semenov was starting to grow a conscious and a sense of free will. Two traits that were never required for the job.

    “It isn’t necessarily illegal. We’re just…holding them until their friend shows up.” Anton didn’t look as if he believed him, scrubbing a hand through his blonde hair as he stared over at Daniel’s woman and father who currently lay in a heap on the floor.

    “This is illegal and I don’t want any parts of it. Are they even breathing? Have you given them medical attention?”

    “None of that matters. Just relax and worry about getting our systems up and running before he shows up. We need to be prepared for his arrival. He’s not like his brother, Anton. Capturing him won’t be easy.”

    “And why do we have to capture him? Can’t we just ask him for his cooperation?”

    “We tried that years ago and his father decided to hide him from us. Look, don’t worry about how this is handled. Just focus on your research and matching it with our technology. If we successfully take Daniel Kang we’ll have an entirely new field of psychical weaponry, defensive technology and more to study and put into trial. Think of the possibilities and leave everything else to me,” he said. Anton was shaking his head before he could even finish. 

    “And just what the hell are we going to do with them if he doesn’t show up? Did you consider that, Chang? This is blatant kidnapping, and on American soil, too?! Why are you always acting so brash?! This is a team effort, or have you forgotten that?”

    “We’ll dump their bodies in the closest river is what we’ll do,” he snarled back. “Please don’t start with that team bull, Anton. This is my project and my experiment. It alw