Moon's Web

by C. T. Adams

  Chapter 17

  A THICK BRITISH accent made me stop cold for a second. “I’m sorry to make you go to this trouble, old boy.”

  He actually did smell sorry. I flipped my head forward to lower the welding hood in front of my eyes. “It’s not a problem, Ivan. It’s only two rooms.” I fought to keep my eyes open as I welded the last steel bar to a frame that would be installed over the massive Siberian bear’s window. I’d forgotten just how bright the arc is with wolf eyes, even wearing a hood. My eyes were watering, but at least the final weld was complete.

  I stood up, leaving the grate to cool. It wasn’t pretty, but it was functional. We’d used rebar scraps from the basement, but I didn’t have a grinder. We could replace it later when we did the rest of the windows, which would get done come spring.

  I stripped off the hood and thick leather gloves. Then I unplugged the little squirt welder from the outlet before wiping the sweat from my eyes with the back of my sleeve. “It never occurred to me that bears sleep with the windows open. I would have thought you guys hibernated.”

  The big, bald man towering over me chuckled and the scent of oranges burst from him and blended nicely with his normal scent of cranberry cocktail. He and two other Wolven agents had arrived overnight and we had all been working furiously to finish the security system.

  I was more than happy to be occupied. Sue had slept in a different room last night, until she could “get a handle” on her reaction to the pining. There was still no word on Amber, and everyone was getting a bit worried, with the exception of Lucas. He said that even without her around, it can be handled successfully on both sides, but we have to limit contact. Unfortunately, that meant that Sue was afraid to touch me at all, and I didn’t dare open my mouth around her. The last few things I’d said had been sarcastic and biting. It was the pining talking, but I knew it still hurt.

  I brought myself back to the balcony when Ivan spoke. “Even real bears don’t sleep all winter, old chap. I usually get my twelve hours. That’s all I need. I believe Charles sleeps even less than that. He’s a polar bear, and they spend most of their time in the dark.”

  A second man, also huge, walked toward us. His waist length black hair fell loose around his shoulders. “How are you guys doing over here?”

  “Almost finished, Raven,” I said. I stood up and immediately felt somewhat…inadequate. Raven is a solid 6′6″, and Ivan even bigger. Jocko is the only man I know big as these guys. But Lucas had been right. They were perfect for guarding the place. They were huge, menacing, and had brains to match the brawn.

  Raven nodded. “The control center is all done—nice design, by the way. I’ll have to steal it for my other systems. I’ve showed Yurgi how to watch the screens and gave him a radio. That will allow the rest of us to wander around during the meeting. We’ll keep in constant contact with each other. Emma is already perched on the roof—doing what she does.”

  Ivan shrugged. “She’s an owl. She flies. She eats. That’s about it.”

  Raven smiled. “You forgot, she kills. That’s why she’s here.” He shook his head. “She’s been a hard one to tame—no self control.”

  Ivan slapped his shoulder. “You’ve done quite well, Raven. We would have been forced to put her down if you hadn’t offered to train her for Wolven.”

  “This is her first real assignment. I know she’s skilled. I just don’t know if she’s ready. I wished we had some way to test her—test this whole damn system before the delegates get here. Ahmad’s entourage is due to arrive soon.”

  I couldn’t stop the smile and it made the two agents stare at me suspiciously. “I’ve already arranged for a little test. But you’ll have to bear with me a bit.”

  I explained about Scotty’s visit to the hotel and that I had instructed him to try to get in again. But this time, there would be cameras and people watching for him.

  “We’ll all stay in the control room, and see how the rest of the staff does. We can’t be everywhere all the time, and the others should be our extra eyes and noses. We’ll cut Yurgi loose to mingle with the pack. Scotty is smart and good—understand that. He looks like a kid, but he’s got a dozen assassinations under his belt. He only has one assignment: sneak in to the hotel, find Nikoli and Lelya and shoot them both twice in the chest with paint balls. He knows I’ve installed a system, but not the details. I gave him photos of the marks and told him when to be here. Nikoli and Lelya know the hit will happen, so that they could wear old clothes. But they don’t know when or where.”

  Raven looked dubious. His scent bordered on angry, but he was curious as well. “I don’t know, Tony. Can you trust this kid? Can he be bought?”

  I shrugged. “Can I trust him? No. Can he be bought? Sure—that’s what he does.” I chuckled darkly. “Don’t think he’s doing it for free! Although, the challenge of the job did appeal to him. No, he’s getting well paid—three grand in gold coins. Plus, the death threat if he didn’t do it also helped. He’ll stay loyal for a bit.”

  I heard Lucas’s voice behind me. “What’s the scoop, guys? You look way too serious all of a sudden. Where’s Emma?” His scent took on a sharp edge that I didn’t recognize.

  Ivan looked amused. “It’s not Emma, Lucas. Your new acquisition has arranged for a unique system test. I think the idea is smashing!”

  A few minutes later, Raven, Ivan and I were all squeezed tightly into the tiny control room. Lucas agreed to stay out among the pack in case any of them found Scotty. They wouldn’t know it was only a drill, and Lucas would keep them from killing the kid.

  I’d considered telling Asri about the test, but didn’t. Hell, she’d been so preoccupied since her meeting with Lelya that I’d had to make the arrangements for the staggered arrivals myself. Sue had tried to talk to her twice about knife training, but all Asri did was walk the halls, muttering to herself. It was annoying as hell, but I sort of understood.

  I caught her staring at herself in the mirror at the top of the stairs once this morning. She was standing sideways and kept pressing her stomach. When I combined it with the conversation I’d accidentally overheard between Lelya and Lucas, it made sense.

  “No, Lelya! Absolutely not! I need every agent I’ve got for the meeting. We’re short-handed enough as it is.”

  Lelya had sighed. “Yes, I understand that, Inte…I mean, Lucas. But you must understand that Nikoli doesn’t know. I’m uncertain what his reaction will be if he finds out and Robart is within striking distance. At the very least, the meeting will be disrupted. I just thought that if Robart were to drive the limo for the delegates, he could be both useful and…distant.”

  Lucas sighed. “Do you think it’s that bad?”

  “He’s already lost Mila, Lucas—and now this. I don’t believe Niki will dance in the streets. But he might be willing to dance on Robert’s grave.”

  So, Bobby was relegated to chauffeur while the rest of us prepared to be boarded. I tried not to think about Sue. She had decided to talk to Lelya about her findings at the restaurant, on the premise that Nikoli was busy with the meeting. I hoped it was going okay. I wished I could tell—but that damned black wall was still in my head and Amber hadn’t shown her face since we’d arrived.

  We watched people moving from place to place in the hotel. The decorations sparkled, and floors and brass fittings gleamed with fresh polish. The pack members all had uniforms now and looked like a proper hotel staff. Boris looked proud as Celia ordered her staff around. She was inspecting each room and sending people scampering when she found dust or trash.

  The cameras covering the conference—now banquet—room were working perfectly. We’d stolen the signal from Nikoli’s computers and added it into our system.

  “Hey! Look at that!” Raven was pointing to a camera from the basement. We’d only had time to add a couple. A smiling Scotty was giving a thumbs-up to the camera. Then he melted into the darkness.

  “How in bloody hell did he get in?” Ivan was livid. He was responsible
for securing the basement accesses. He started for the door and I grabbed his shirt sleeve. I made sure not to touch skin.

  “Don’t, Ivan. We’ll ask him when we see him. We’ll still have time to close up the hole. Let’s see how far he gets.”

  Ivan nodded grudgingly. He muttered under his breath as we continued to watch. “I’ve been head of security for the Chief Justice for a hundred years! Nobody gets through my perimeter.”

  Raven raised his brows and a shock of amusement swept the room. His laughter was similar to Sue’s, a tangerine-y sort of scent. “Well, unless he’s a bird and flew down there, someone did.” He stopped at stared at me in shock for a second. “Is he a bird?”

  I shook my head. “He’s human, and he doesn’t even know Sazi exist. I told you—he’s good. Not as good as I am, mind you, but good. I would have been in before now. I would have cased the place as soon as I got the job.”

  Raven looked at me askance. “What—do you break into buildings to shoot people often?”

  I turned to him in surprise. “You mean Lucas didn’t tell you?” When he shook his head, I laughed. “I’m an assassin, Ramirez. I’m one of the bad guys. It’s why I design such kick-ass security systems. I’ve seen ’em all, I’ve beat ’em all. Nothing is fool-proof. We’re just trying to make it tough enough that the other bad guys go next door instead.”

  Ivan and Raven gave each other significant looks over my head. I ignored them, keeping my eyes flowing across the screens. “Heads up! He’s on the Main Level, Camera Two. Where are our marks?”

  Their attention returned to the task at hand. Ivan replied. “The targets are stationary. Level Two, Camera Four. They’re together, talking.”

  Okay, outside of the ballroom. One floor to go, kid.

  “Wait! What was that?” Raven pointed to the roof camera. A flash of white had hit the lens, causing the whole thing to jiggle and veer off angle.

  “A pigeon?” I offered. “Looked like a bird hitting the lens.”

  Ivan started to zip up his coat. “It looked like an owl. Emma doesn’t hit cameras unless she’s thrown into them. I’m going up.”

  Another flash on the camera was thin and brown and moving fast. An ear-splitting screech found our ears, which was a concern, since the cameras don’t pick up sound.

  “We’re all going up!” Raven commanded. “She needs help.”

  We left the door to the control room hanging open as we bolted up the stairs at Sazi speed. I think that both Ivan and Raven were surprised that I not only kept up with them, but I had my gun in my hand before they did.

  The sounds of a furious battle raged. Powerful flapping and shuddering thumps urged us on. We’d just reached the roof access door when a blood-curdling, ear-splitting screech cut the air. Then there was silence. Raven tried the door, but it was locked. He raised a foot and kicked it open. Snow was falling lightly onto the rooftop. The wind sent flakes swirling around a fallen figure in white. Raven and Ivan walked carefully toward the white bird, as big as a full grown eagle. One wing was at a wrong angle and a patch of red stained the fluffy feathers.

  “Ah, Emma,” Raven said sadly. “What did this to you?” I had stayed near the door to watch our backs, but now moved forward. The bright yellow beak was open slightly under wide eyes that stared into nothing. I could see now that the head was completely separated from the body, and a neat hole was carved in her chest. I felt nothing in particular at the woman’s death, but it was obvious that both Ivan and Raven were grieving.

  I started to look around the roof before the increasing snow buried the clues. “It’s getting worse out here. Take her inside, Ramirez. Ivan and I will see if we can find the killer.”

  I took a deep breath. The scent of blood was on the wind, but there was something else, too. “I’ll be damned!” I exclaimed. “It’s that same nasty scent. The third time now.”

  Ivan raised his big head and took a deep breath. “It’s ruddy powerful. But I don’t recognize the smell. What about you, Raven? Raven?”

  The dark-haired man was smoothing feathers on the still-warm body and putting a wing gently back into place. I couldn’t smell anything over that awful odor, but his eyes were wet, and I didn’t think it was from the snow. “Huh? I’m sorry, guys. I need…to take her inside. We’ll call off the test. I’ll get Lucas.”

  He carried the bird carefully, putting the head on top of the chest. When he’d disappeared into the hotel, Ivan shook his head. “I told him not to get attached to that one. But he’s just like his father—always putting his heart before his head.”

  “We might as well go back inside, too. There’s not much to see out here. It looks like the whole battle was in the air. The only prints are ours. Could it have been another bird?”

  Ivan sighed angrily and shrugged. “It could be a personal vendetta. Emma had a lot of enemies.”

  “Maybe. Or the killer could be targeting other Sazi. Nikoli is a delegate, and Lucas was one.” I took a deep sniff and, predictably, sneezed. “The scent is identical and…” I reached up and pulled a small piece of fabric off an overhead line that just caught my eye. “This looks like raw silk. It’s the same stuff as when Babs disappeared.”

  Ivan’s face was shocked. “Babs Herrera? I didn’t know she was missing! When did that happen?”

  “Only a couple of days ago. It’s how Lucas managed to drag me into this mess. Babs is the one who turned me.”

  His face set into a knowing look. “Oh! You’re that one! I’ve been looking for you! Charles says you’ve got an interesting future ahead of you.”

  I snorted and dropped the silk into my pocket until Bobby could inspect it. “Like he would know.”

  Ivan grabbed the back of my coat before I reached the door, being very careful not to touch me. He stepped forward and nodded his head. “He would know, Giambrocco. Our Chief Justice is also our most powerful seer. He told me that you’re going to be one, too. I was instructed to make sure that you stay alive until the meeting. But he didn’t tell me your name. I’ve just been looking for a dark-haired wolf.” He snorted. “There are a lot of them here.”

  I furrowed my brow, but I had an uneasy feeling. “You’re supposed to guard me? Why?”

  Ivan snorted and returned his big Baretta semi-auto to the holster. “Don’t you understand? It’s why they’ve all come to Chicago—why we’re going to all this trouble. The council wants to meet you.”

  Chapter 18

  I DIDN’T HAVE much time to dwell on Ivan’s statement because of the commotion going on in the main lobby. Raven and Emma’s remains were nowhere to be found, but Scotty had apparently arrived, if the shouts and screams were any indication.

  We sprinted down to the second floor and caught the tail end of the incident. Lelya was wiping pink paint from one arm and the side of her neck. There was a bit of pink on a nearby lampshade. Not bad, but not enough for the prize. He hadn’t tagged the artery.

  Nikoli was untouched, but…Yurgi was being helped from the floor, and had two neat splats of pink right over his heart. The rest of the pack had gathered in a circle around the three.

  I could hear the shock in his voice as he looked at his shirt. “Is…is paint?” He touched the pink and looked at Nikoli in surprise. The pack leader was chuckling. “It is game being played?”

  I realized what had happened. Scotty had gotten Nikoli in his sights, but Yurgi saw. He jumped in front of Nikoli as the shots were fired. Scotty had managed to get off two more shots at Lelya, but missed the kill, before he was jumped. I glanced across the lobby to see that Lucas was helping Scotty to his feet. Boris and Celia had apparently taken Scotty down. The kid was lucky that Lucas had been nearby. Boris looked furious.

  Nikoli’s face moved from amused to surprised. Then it softened for a moment—became serious, because he suddenly realized the import of what had just happened. Yurgi hadn’t known it was a drill. I couldn’t smell it from my position, but the looks between Nikoli and Lelya said a lot. They were proud and please
d.

  Nikoli straightened his back and approached the stunned Omega. He put a firm and warm hand on Yurgi’s shoulder. “Yurgi Stefanovich Kroutikhin—you have saved my life and that of my mother this day. You are Omega no more, my…” He glanced at Scotty, who was watching with interest. I knew he had been planning to say “my wolf,” but the presence of a human changed that.

  “My…friend. Come, we will discuss your prize, and clean you before the guests arrive.” He walked by Lucas and raised his brows. “Quite an impressive display. You are correct that we have been lax. I will discuss this with my people and we will be more prepared by nightfall.”

  Lucas nodded upward in my direction. “Thank Tony. It was his idea.”

  Nikoli glanced at me and Ivan and nodded thoughtfully. Then he wrapped an arm around Yurgi’s shoulders and led him away.

  Lelya clapped her hands sharply. “Let’s go, people! Celia, have this lampshade replaced. The rest of you—straighten the carpet and look for any more paint. We have guests arriving soon, and I want this place clean and ready. And…” she said, staring at each person in turn, including the children. “We will be keeping a closer watch for strangers, correct? Use your eyes, your ears, even…” She shot a significant look at Scotty, “Your…noses to check for anything out of the ordinary.”

  She walked over to Scotty and Lucas. She gave Scotty a stern look. “You really should cut back on the cologne or use unscented soap, young man. It’s quite strong. I knew you were in the room somewhere. You’re just asking to be caught.”

  Scotty’s eyes stared into the older woman’s and he suddenly realized that she wasn’t a sweet, fluffy sort of mother. She was quite serious. Scotty lifted his arm to his nose and sniffed. Apparently, it was strongly scented, because he swore and muttered. He nodded and dropped his head. Lucas chuckled and led the kid over to where Ivan and I were descending the stairs.