by Meg Ripley
People were out of their seats now, clamoring to find out exactly what their leader wanted of them.
“Friends, please!” Ben shouted. “I will be speaking with each of you. There is plenty of time, and there are jobs for all of you. You can all help our cause.”
Things settled down somewhat, but a massive ring had formed around Ben.
Erica and Jack hung back. “I don’t like the sound of this, and I can’t believe they’re actually going for it,” she whispered. “Please tell me I misunderstood.”
“I don’t think you did.” He gripped her hand under the table. “Those cars have bombs in them. I’m guessing Ben has them set to go off at a particular time. The ones that haven’t been sold will be driven across the country by his followers. He’ll probably have them headed toward national landmarks, churches, schools, places where they’ll really make an impact.”
“We’ve got to find some way to stop them.” Erica thought back to their briefing when they’d first met in those rural cabins. It had only been a few days ago, but it felt like another lifetime. “Ben’s dealership is a small one, but he’s had to have sold hundreds of cars in the couple of years he’s been operating. If all of them are active, we’ve got one hell of a problem on our hands.”
“Ben likes you, and you’re better at pretending you’re on his side. You go up there and see what mission he wants to give you, and I’ll head outside.” Jack turned for the door.
Erica grabbed his arm. “Don’t you think that’ll be a little obvious?” she hissed.
“Everyone’s pretty well occupied.” He tipped his head toward the crowd. Some of them had already stepped away from Ben, apparently because they’d gotten the information they needed. Two people nearby were celebrating their upcoming trip to Mount Rushmore.
“Still, if he actually has everyone assigned, then he’s going to wonder where you are. We can’t blow this now.” Jack had reacted strongly when he thought Erica was the one Ben had hit. If he was feeling protective, he might do something stupid because he thought it would keep her safe. They couldn’t risk that.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. Tell him I’m sick to my stomach or something. I’m heading out to the cars that are parked here to see if I can find out if we’re right about the bombs. You go to Ben. See if he’s got some sort of master list of where the sold cars are and where the unsold cars are headed. There’s got to be one somewhere.” Again, he stepped toward the door.
“Jack, we both signed on knowing we would be taking risks. Don’t throw yourself into the fire because you think you’re leaving me safe in the frying pan.” She reached out to him with her mind, determined to make him understand—whether through words or through mental energy—that she didn’t want to lose him. It wasn’t worth it.
His lips twisted as his eyes skimmed her mouth. “I’ll be fine. We both will. If anything goes sideways, you get Winston on the line.”
Erica nodded and headed for the crowd. Her stomach churned at all the elation in the air. She wanted to put out a wavelength of peace and harmony, the kind of stuff these people had thought they were going there for, but she knew the energy it would take would only be wasted. They weren’t going to listen to her. For now, she had to do what her job dictated and pretend she was going along with this plan. In the back of her mind, though, she could only hope that Jack was safe enough.
Ben was handing out small slips of paper. Erica watched as the people around her took them, noticing that each one had a location and a departure date. Some of them had addresses, others were names she recognized. A woman next to her had one that listed the Lincoln Memorial and a time of eleven p.m. Another listed Millennium Park in Chicago, leaving at six the next morning. Erica wiped her face of all the horror she felt knotting up inside her body as she drew closer and closer to the leader.
“Ah, Erica!” he beamed when it was her turn. “I know you’re still new to the fold, and you probably weren’t expecting this trip.”
“Yes, you’re right. I was worried when you made your announcement because yesterday, you said you wanted me to learn my way around the kitchens. I wasn’t sure what the right thing was to do.” She gave him a vacant smile as she tried to reach out to him. There had to be some way to find out more about his plan.
Ben’s mind was well-guarded, though. “Don’t you worry about any of that; I’ll find someone else to do it. I’ve paired you up with Lucy. The two of you won’t have a very far drive, just into town at a rather prominent church. She’s already got the assignment.” Ben pointed to a woman on the other side of the crowd.
Lucy, a tall woman with her blonde curls yanked back in a tight ponytail, waved the piece of paper excitedly in the air.
“That’s so nice of you. Thank you.” Ben had turned away, and Erica had no choice but to join Lucy. She bit her lip as she ran through what she knew. Ben didn’t have a master list, or at least not on him. He’d only handed out those little slips of paper, most of which had already been dispersed through the crowd. Ben had eschewed electronics on the grounds, at least for his followers. All the departure times indicated arrival times of around noon the next day. If she and Lucy were only going into town, less than half an hour away, that would give her some time to come up with an alternate plan before anything drastic happened.
“Are you Erica? Oh, I’m so excited to meet you!” Lucy wrapped Erica in a bear hug that lifted her off the ground and set her down with a thump. “How great is it that so many women will be involved in a movement like this? You always hear about men making a statement. Don’t get me wrong; Ben is a wonderful guy. We couldn’t have done any of this without him. I just think it’s so great that we get to make a difference, you know?”
“Yeah. Absolutely.” Erica wasn’t paying much attention to Lucy babble on. The woman was either someone Ben trusted implicitly, which was why he’d paired the two of them up, or she was someone he didn’t think was capable of much, which was why they were only going into Hortonburg. She peeked over her shoulder, hoping beyond all hope that Jack had returned, but there was no sign of him.
“And to make things even better, we’re one of the first to go out!” Lucy squealed.
“Wait. What?” Erica snatched the slip of paper from the other woman’s grip. To match up with everyone else’s assignments, they should’ve been leaving late the next morning. The scrap listed a time only an hour from then. “This can’t be right. Most people aren’t leaving until tonight or tomorrow.”
“I know! We’re going to be some of the first ones out the door! Can you believe it? Oh, and I already asked Ben which vehicle he wanted us to take. He said we can have our pick!” She squealed again and clapped her hands. “Let’s head outside and see which one we want.”
Erica hoped her horror didn’t show in her eyes. “That’s even better. Look, I’ve got to run to my room for a second.”
Lucy frowned. “What for? You look fine.”
“I, um, I forgot my bracelet this morning. I wear it every day, and it’s got sentimental value. You know how it is. I’ll meet you outside.” Without another word, she pushed her way through the throng and out the door. As soon as she reached the relatively open space of the hall, she burst into a full run toward her room.
The muscles in her back contracted as she worried whether she was being followed. Lucy didn’t seem the type to come after her, but Erica had realized it was hard to understand or estimate these people. They’d fallen under Ben’s spell, and they believed he was giving them exactly what they wanted. Even worse, they were willing to commit horrific crimes.
Erica reached out with her mind, searching for Jack, and found only the other recruits.
She dove into her room and shut the door behind her, leaning against it for a moment and breathing heavily. It’d been easier to remain distant in her other missions, getting in and getting things done and getting out. But having Jack there had complicated things. She had so much more riding on the line than her job.
She�
��d brought only a small suitcase and her purse, both of which sat on the floor near a set of built-in drawers. Erica quickly dug her keys out of her purse, unfolding a tiny penknife. Unzipping her suitcase, she carefully ran her fingers over the lining until she found the small bulge. The slick fabric parted easily at the behest of the tiny knife. Erica hesitated as she held the tiny transmitter in her hands. It was only for emergencies, only for things going completely awry. Rarely had she needed to use the emergency backup plan that was put in place for every mission. This was one she hadn’t even been familiar with, considering Jack had provided it.
Then she remembered just how many cars were out there. Even if she or Jack managed to find some list that told them how to locate every vehicle, there was no possible way she and Jack could stop them by themselves. Erica pulled the tab that engaged the battery and waited.
“I’m here.” It was Winston’s voice.
“It’s me.” Relief washed over Erica. No one should have been able to tap into their frequency, but she still didn’t reveal her name just to be safe. “Listen, we’ve got a situation.” She rattled off the details as quickly as she could.
“10-4. We’ll work on things from our end, but keep me posted. I’ll maintain radio silence unless you contact me first.”
“Right. Over and out.” Erica tucked the transmitter in her pocket, hoping no one would happen to notice, and headed outside.
Lucy was waiting for her in the parking lot as promised. “There you are! Did you get your bracelet?”
“Oh, um, I couldn’t find it. I must’ve dropped it somewhere else. I’ll get it later. What car should we take?”
“This little sports car is cute,” Lucy enthused, “or we could take the convertible. Like Thelma and Louise!”
Bile rose in Erica’s throat as she remembered just how that movie had ended. “Right. Well, you’ve been here longer. I’ll let you choose.” She swiftly turned her head as movement caught her eyes. Erica could swear she saw the tip of a furry tail disappearing behind one of the vehicles.
She dared to lean against the side of the car, even knowing it was probably hiding explosives somewhere under the hood. Erica closed her eyes as Lucy prattled on about her driving experience and reached out once again. The wave of emotion that hit her nearly knocked her down. It was Jack, but it was the side of him she hadn’t had unimpeded access to when she’d known him in his human form.
Erica received his messages clearly, even though they were only in pictures. She could see through his eyes, suddenly much closer to the ground, as he made his way around the grid of vehicles in the parking area. They were massive hunks of metal, all of which smelled like different places and different people. Those scents varied depending on how long the cars had been there, and Erica could sense through the vision Jack was giving her just how much time had passed and where they’d been. More importantly, there was an acrid, sulfuric scent that made adrenaline shoot through her veins. Explosives. They were in every single one of those cars, just as she and Jack had guessed.
“Hey, are you all right?”
Erica snapped her eyes open, breaking off most of her connection with Jack. She knew he was still around, but those vivid images had disappeared. “Yeah. I’m fine. I think my breakfast just isn’t sitting well. What about that car over there?” She pointed to a little blue coupe in the next row.
Lucy turned to look at it. “I guess that would be fine, if that’s what you really want.”
Erica braced her shoes against the ground, wishing for pavement instead of loose gravel as she took off and jumped against Lucy’s back. Her would-be partner was tall and much stronger than she looked. Lucy’s fingers dug into Erica’s arm, trying to unfold her grip from her neck. This was the part of the job she hated, when she knew she was holding someone’s life in her hands. Erica squeezed harder, her disgust powering her muscles as she pressed against Lucy’s windpipe. The blonde woman began to sprout fur along her arms as she began to shift and managed to land a few blows, but she soon sank to her knees. Erica laid her gently on the ground.
The fox that emerged from around the other side of the convertible watched her carefully. Its brilliant eyes looked toward the gate for a moment, and then it began to change. Right before Erica’s eyes, the fox stretched, twisted, and grew. It went from standing on four legs to only two, the brawny form of Jack arising out of the agile fox with ease until he was standing before her as though he’d always been there.
He stepped forward with his now very human legs and gripped her arms. “I think I found something. Come on.”
9
The look on Erica’s face as she watched him transform was a priceless one, but Jack didn’t have the time to tease her about it now. “Lucy won’t be out for long. What did you find out?” He’d grabbed her hand as they ran back toward the building.
Erica’s feet were just as confident as his as they barreled across the yard. “I saw several of the assignments. If my skills at guessing travel times are still sharp, then everything should be going down at noon tomorrow. Or at least that’s one phase.”
He didn’t like the hesitation in her voice. “What do you mean?” There was no doubt in his mind that the cars carried explosives. Whoever had done the work had done it well, and no human mechanic had happened to locate the material so far. Ben knew what he was doing, but that wasn’t good news for them.
“Ben gave Lucy and me a special assignment. We were supposed to leave almost right away, and we were only going to a church in Hortonburg. I’d guess he wanted to get rid of me quickly, since I’m new, and you were probably going to get a similar assignment as soon as he saw you. For all I know, he’s doing it in waves. Shouldn’t we be heading away from this place?” she asked as they ducked back inside the building.
Jack yanked her to the left and down a hall before a group leaving the common area could spot them. “Sure, that would be great. But then we wouldn’t be able to get to this.” He reached for a door around the next corner, but the knob twisted before he could touch it.
The mechanic was standing there, his eyes wild. He immediately readied himself for a fight, his fists curling and his feet braced. Jack didn’t hesitate, either. He launched himself at the man, knocking him backward into a metal desk. The mechanic’s fists whipped through the air, missing Jack’s head by only a hair’s breadth. Jack’s fox fought to get out, eager to sink its razor-sharp teeth into this evil man’s flesh, but Jack resisted. His human form was bigger, and the mechanic didn’t show any signs of shifting. The scent of grease and sweat filled his lungs as they grappled. Finally, Jack swung his head back and smashed it into the other man’s face. The mechanic collapsed, and Jack let him fall to the floor.
Erica’s had the foresight to shut the door behind them, and she flicked a small lock that should keep them safe for at least a short while. “I wish he could at least tell us what’s going on,” she remarked as she took in her surroundings.
Jack rubbed his arm as he straightened. The small room was filled with computer equipment. The heat from the devices and the closeness of the room gave off the distinctive smell of plastics and electronics. It was unmistakable now that he knew it was there, but before it hadn’t looked like anything more than a janitor’s closet. “I don’t think we need him. We’ve got most of it figured out.”
“I thought you said there wasn’t a place like this here,” she pointed out as she sat in front of one of the computers and began hacking the password.
“Yeah, because I was looking in my human form. I shifted almost as soon as I left the common room, and my nose led me here before I even made it out to inspect the cars. I should’ve done that as soon as we arrived, and then maybe I would have figured out Ben’s plan before it was too late.”
“We don’t know that it’s too late yet,” Erica said through gritted teeth as she rattled away on the keyboard. “I guess Ben is only anti-electronics when it comes to his recruits. God, they followed him so blindly. I can’t tell you how m
uch it worries me that terrorists like him can brainwash people by offering so little.”
“I wouldn’t say that.” Jack leaned down to look over her shoulder. “They couldn’t deal with everyday life anymore, and he offered them something better. Religious extremists are basically motivated the same way, just in different dressing. There you go,” he said as Erica finally made it into the system. “Those look like coordinates.”
Erica pulled the transmitter from her pocket. “I’ll start feeding these to HQ. They’re going to have to activate every specialist in the DHS to stop this from happening.”
“And probably all the local police, too, but it’ll be worth it. It’s hard to tell without getting inside the vehicles and inspecting them individually, but there’s no telling just how much damage Ben is planning to do.” While she began reading off what information they had to Winston, Jack used the password information she’d decoded to log in to one of the other computers and search for more data. Coordinates were great, but that would only help so much if they didn’t know who and what they were looking for. “I’ll see if I can find a roster of everyone here and maybe a list of cars.”
Winston’s voice came through the radio. “The local police are working on shutting down the roads nearby. That’s going to help us filter through any vehicles that might have already been sold. We’ve got satellite imagery on the compound as well. I’m working on getting a force activated to get in there. What kind of explosives are we looking for? I need more details on that.”
Jack and Erica exchanged a look. She knew; she’d seen those images. Jack had been startled to realize how easy it was to get inside her head when he stood on four legs, but he shouldn’t have been. Shifters who shared the bond of a mate or clan could telepathically communicate with each other in an even more articulate way, and Erica certainly wasn’t an ordinary human. Winston wouldn’t be surprised at all if Jack told him he’d smelled out the bombs, but Jack had no way of knowing if Mr. Worth was sitting right there with him. Someone probably was.
