There were human ice cubes and jungle cages everywhere they walked throughout the building as they made their way out. A few people were roped up in creative positions as well. Lillian's eyes grew wider and wider as she took in the various ways her and her brother's captors had been subdued. Their rescuers were talented. That much was obvious.

The group stepped outside into the desert sun and she looked around. A small woman stepped from behind a smaller building that was about the size of a tool shed just in front of the large one they had emerged from.  

"This is Tya," Jerome said, stepping toward the woman and holding out his hand. She took it and walked toward Lillian holding out her other. "She is our Oracle. If something happened to us, she would be able to locate us. She is a seer. She gave us your location inside and then stayed back. That way, if we had failed, she would be able to seek help and then return for us."

Lillian nodded and shook Tya's hand. She felt a warm, relaxing sensation wash over her when she touched the Oracle. She smiled. She instantly knew she could trust Tya completely. Another amazing addition to the team.

Everyone's attention turned toward a low hum that could be heard growing louder in the distance. If the car had been able to free itself... maybe....

"It's him," Jackson mumbled.

"How can you be sure?" Lillian looked at her brother, skeptically. His tangle of brown waves riffled in the breeze. He stood erect and with his shoulders back, one arm shading his eyes. It was amazing to think that just moments ago he had been deep under anesthesia. Lillian wondered how he had managed to wake up. She was completely amazed.

"I know him," was the response she received. She struck a very uncanny resemblance to her brother as one of her eyebrows shot up almost to her hairline.

Everyone else stood staring in the same direction they were with looks of curiosity. Lillian shaded her eyes and waited.

Just then the black shape of a futuristic looking car came into view. It kicked up dust as it bore down on them along the dirt road. It pulled up and came to an abrupt stop in front of the small crowd of people. The door opened of its own volition and a mechanical sounding voice came from within.

"Good afternoon, Detective Wolfe," it said. "I assume you will be needing a ride out of this hell hole."

Everyone except Jackson and Lillian looked at each other in wonder. There was no driver. The car had driven itself to them, somehow knowing exactly when to arrive. Lillian smiled to herself as everyone "oohed" and "aahed". Okay. Maybe they weren't doing that, but she could tell they were impressed.

"Everyone! This...." she said, stepping forward and placing a hand on the roof as she turned toward the rest of the group. "...is the first sentient living A.I. in existence today and he's kind of... my baby."

"Dr. Wolfe, I am far from a...."

"Oh be quiet. You will always be my baby!" she patted her hand on the smooth roof of the car, lovingly.

"Lill? Are you responsible for the personality of the car?" Jackson asked her, obviously surprised.

"I hadn't had a chance to tell you everything yet." She smiled up at her brother. "There's still a lot you don't know. The upgrade that gave him life was my doing. I hacked into the network he was on."

"Was?"

"Yeah. About that..."

"Why don't we go to this place you spoke of and you can tell all of us the whole story once we are safe," Anthony said, gently interrupting. He was ever the leader.

"Good call." Jackson grinned at the white-haired young man. "Yeah, there's a lot you guys don't know." He looked down at Macy. She looked back up at him with a puzzled expression.

"Like what?" she asked, her voice soft and girly.

"It seems we both have some explaining to do," he said and then kissed the top of her head. "We'll meet up at this place Lill spoke of. How will you be getting there, anyways?"

Macy smiled up at Jerome. "I'll be flying," she informed him, shrugging her shoulders as if it were no big deal.

Jerome gave her a sideways glance. He unfurled his wings with one swift movement, spreading them out to the sides. "You have nothing to fear, Detective. She is safe with me."

Jackson gazed at him from under hooded eyes. "Yeah. Don't be getting too comfortable with that method of travel," he growled at Macy, eliciting a giggle.

"Jackson Wolfe! Are you jealous?" Her voice went up an octave in her surprise.

"Don't flatter yourself, Blondie," he purred at her. "Let's go!"

With that, he jumped into the driver's side of the car and Lillian followed, climbing into the passenger seat. They waved and took off down the dirt road while the others followed, taking to the sky. They would have made quite an amazing sight had anyone been around to see it.

.........

Lillian directed the car to a place out in the desert not far from her lab. Jackson was puzzled when he got out of the car and saw nothing. They were on a dirt road but there were no buildings anywhere. 

"Follow me." His sister set off across the desert away from the road. Everyone had arrived and they all followed her. No one said anything, although it seemed as though they were headed for nothing but dirt and rocks.

She stopped after about 10 minutes of hiking and turned to smile at everyone. "Okay, guys. Welcome to my hideout." She turned back around and to everyone's surprise, she moved a boulder, or what looked like a boulder, to the side and pulled up on a trap door that led down into the Earth.

Jackson walked forward and looked down into the hole. There were stairs leading down. "How did you find this place?" he asked as one eyebrow crept upward.

"Courtesy of some friends of mine who don't approve of the government's (foreign or domestic) operations here," she said, smiling up at him. "Come on. It's perfectly safe. Everyone watch your step. I'll go down first and get the lights."

She disappeared below the surface, descending into complete blackness. After a moment Jackson saw lights blink on about a story's depth down. He looked back at the others and shrugged. Then he stepped onto the ladder and followed his sister. He hopped off the ladder at the bottom and looked around in amazement. She had a full lab down there. There were computers and equipment he didn't recognize. There was a small kitchen with a refrigerator and a large freezer. There was a small stove and a sink. He stepped toward the back of the kitchen and there was a doorway leading into another room.

He reached over to find a switch and turned the lights on. On the other side of the doorway was a hall leading to other rooms. The doors were all closed. He turned back toward his sister and grinned. She ushered everyone else down into the large lab room and then flung her arms out, gesturing to the place around her.

"This is my safe haven," she said, her grin almost identical to Jackson's lopsided one. "No one knows it's here except my friends who built it, myself, and now you guys."

"It's amazing!"

"It's huge!"

"It feels so cozy!"

Everyone started talking at once as they looked around. Jackson studied his sister, wondering how she was connected to people who had access to this type of thing. She was becoming a mystery to him. There was a lot that needed to be discussed.

Lillian walked over to stand next to him. She crossed her arms and took a deep breath. "Your friends are amazing," she said, quietly.

Jackson nodded. "I've actually just met most of them myself. Macy rounded them up somehow. These are the vigilantes I've been trying to close in on for the past year." Jackson shook his head. Everything had changed so abruptly.

"I guess we should all sit down and get everything straightened out and in the open," Lillian said, turning again toward the rest of the group. "Would you guys like to follow me into one of the conference rooms? There should be enough room for all of us to sit down in the biggest one."

She led them all into the kitchen and through the doorway in back. They walked about half way down the hall and stopped at one of the doors. Lillian opened it to reveal a large room with a table surrounded by enough chairs for all of them to be seated.

Once they were, she put her arms on the table. She looked around at everyone and drew a nervous breath. "I guess I know the most about what's going on, so I may as well start."

 Edited.

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