I placed the glasses on my face but nothing happened. “What…” before I could finish me question red lights flashed in my eyes blinding me momentarily.
The word connecting floated in the air in front of me followed a moment by:
Connection to A.I.M.E. Mobile established. Hello, Terry. How may I be of assistance?
“I’m connected, Nick. Now what do I do?”
“Amy. has voice communications capability through the glasses. Go ahead and ask for live visuals.”
So I did and three windows appeared in my field of view. Two showed the city zooming by while a third had the top of a black SUV along with a good portion of the road ahead of it. “Is that us in the SUV?” I asked.
“Affirmative,” Amy said. “Protecting Terry is my prime function. I will always allocate resources to that goal while performing other tasks. The Nick Protocols demand I do just that with no allowance for deviation.”
“Oh, well, okay then. Carry on,” I replied.
The view of the two drones moving toward danger came to a stop when the building came into view. From the front there was no sign of danger. One drone, which was designated Remote 1 on my screen, lowered and moved to the left while the other drone, A.I.M.E M, moved to the right. They circled the building without spotting any trouble.
“I think you are going to have to go in,” I said. “Can you send one drone through the parking garage and the other through the front door?” I asked.
“I can try,” Amy responded.
The view from Remote 1 shifted as the machine lowered and entered the parking garage. For the first time I saw signs of battle. Chunks of concrete lay scattered on the ground and gouges marked where they had come from in the walls. Vehicle, both police and civilian models, had broken windows and bullet holes torn into their body. Dark red stains splattered about showed signs of people being injured, but no bodies could be seen.
A.I.M.E M reached the front door which was closed. An arm moved up from the bottom of the camera view and a pitcher claw opened then closed on the handle. The door opened easily, and the drone entered the building. Now we had to figure out where it had to go.
“Where in the building are you?” I sent to my turtle.
“Third floor.” Was the only response.
“My Tua is on the third floor,” I said.
“Affirmative,” the AI replied.
“Do you see her?” Tabitha asked in a rush. Is she all right?”
“I don’t know yet, Tabitha. The drones haven’t made it that far yet.”
“Come closer and watch on my screen,” Nick said as I heard her shift in her seat.
The drones went up. A.I.M.E. M took the elevator using the arm to press buttons. The smaller drone, Remote 1, took the stairs up while moving cautiously up and around. Both drones found trouble at the same time as people dressed in black fired down from the fourth floor and the elevator doors opened revealing a were turtle Tua in human form and bleeding profusely from several wounds.
Chapter 6
My heart stopped and my words froze in my throat.
“What’s wrong, Terry?” Miranda asked.
“Izzy is hurt,” Tabitha said. “It looks bad, Miranda.”
“We’ll be there in a minute,” Miranda replied.
As I watched the Remote 1, one of the smaller drones, shot straight up at amazing speeds. The people firing at it could not keep up with it. A.I.M.E. M slowly moved forward scanning the hallway for targets. Izzy looked up and her eyes went wide when she saw the drone. Even injured my turtle raised her gun and fire a shot.
The drone was quick enough move out of the way of the bullet. Then Amy spoke to me. “Please tell your Tua I am on your side. I have opened a communications channel between your glasses and the drone.”
“Stop, Izzy. The drone is one of the good guys.”
“Terry?” My turtle thought to me.
“That’s right,” I said out loud. “The drones beat us hear, but we’re pulling up now.”
The tires of the SUV locked up, and we skidded to a stop at the front door. “Everyone out!” Miranda shouted.
The doors were flung open, and we all rushed out of the SUV. Miranda pulled a pair of Desert Eagle .50 caliber pistols from holsters strapped low on her thighs. My eyes bugged out at seeing the beauty with the hardware.
“What?” Miranda asked me.
“Where the hell did you get those?” I asked.
“Same place you got your shotgun, which seems to be missing at the moment.” Her eyes trailed down to my empty hands and her eyebrow rose accusingly.
“Right. Shit. I should have thought of that. Be right back.”
“We’re going in to call the elevator,” Miranda said. “We will meet you inside.” With that, three of my Tua stepped into the police station while I retrieved my shotgun.
As I shut the rear hatch, I heard a noise that reminded me of a jet airplane. I looked up, but saw nothing. Then the world became loud, hot, and turned upside down.
I rolled to a stop face down on the pavement. A long moan left me as I lifted one arm and placed my palm on the ground then the other. I pushed up, and it hurt, a lot. I kept pushing until my head was up enough to tilt it back and look up.
The SUV was upside down and on fire. To make matters worse, it was also pressed against the door to the police station.
Pain thumped through my head and a constant ringing was all I heard. Why was I on the ground, was the thought bouncing through my head. Then I would look up again and see the truck, feel the head pain, hear the ringing, and look back down resetting.
I looked up again trying to figure out why I was on the ground. A small white drone hovered in front of my face. I couldn’t hear its four propellers over the buzzing. It moved, and I tracked it by turning my head. The drone stopped inches above the ground and directly over a set of black glasses.
“My glasses,” I said, but I couldn’t hear my words.
Slowly, I climbed up to my hands and knees. After a quick break I sat back on my heels and took another break. Then I reached over and grabbed the glasses placing them on my head.
YOU NEED TO MOVE NOW!
The words flashed in front of me for a second before a window opened ups showing me three armed men crouch walking toward a guy sitting on his knees in the middle of the road.
It took me a second to realize the guy on his knees was me and I was about to be murderer. That sobering thought brought me back enough to slam open the wolf and serpent gates.
Power flooded through me. I activated Wolf Sense and my senses sharpened as clarity settled over my mind. From my ears I heard the stealthy footsteps a few feet away. The smells coming off the men told me I wasn’t dealing with shifters. The ringing died, and I heard the AI shouting my name.
“Hold please,” I said.
My arm shot out to the side knocking the feet out from under the lead attacker. I rolled back and bullets tore into the blacktop where I had been. Springing up to my feet I dashed forward shoulder checking the biggest of the three. Then I spun and kicked the last standing person in the chest as hard as I could. He fell back and rolled away.
The first guy jumped to his feet, and I grabbed his throat with one hand and his weapon with the other. Yanking down I pulled the gun from his grip and the throat from his neck. Spinning, I dropped the weapon and threw the throat into the face of the big guy. He flinched back, and I capitalized by punching him on the head three times. He collapsed, and I heard his heart stop and his damaged brain was no longer capable of generating a signal to send down south.
The guy I had kicked was still down. His breathing came in ragged gasps and I figured he was either down for the count or not long for this world. Both worked for me.
With the initial threats gone I closed the gates and pain slammed into me. It was a lot less than before, bit still sucked.
“Amy, what’s the best way to get inside, anbd how are my Tua?” I asked.
A window popped up showing me
the view of Tabitha pressing on Izzy’s wounds while Miranda kept her guns up and ready.
“As you can see, your Tua are together. Going through the garage will be the fastest way to reach them, but also dangerous,” Amy said through my glasses speakers.
“I’ll take it,” I said. "Coming through the garage and up the stairs. Lost my shotgun so I may need help,” I sent to Miranda.
“I’ll be ready when you say to go,” She replied.
“Amy, lead the way, please.”
The small white drone dipped down to eye level then took off at a slow pace. I ran and quickly caught up. “Faster,” I shouted.
The drone rocketed forward allowing me to sprint at full speed. In a few short seconds, I rounded the corner entering the parking garage. The drone didn’t slow as it went to the entrance and into the building. My pace didn’t slow as I crossed the threshold. A window was still up showing me what the drone saw. There was a clear path all the way to the stairs.
Stopping at the door I wondered what the next step should be. As much as I love action movies being an action star in my life is new. Do I throw open the door or try opening it quietly and sneaking in. I opted for the third option which was something I still needed to get used too.
“Amy, show me the view from the stairwell,” I whispered hoping the glasses could pick up the sound.
The window showing the view of me against the door snapped shut, and another popped open. I saw an empty stairwell which made my heart jump. Did they already move in on Miranda, Izzy, and Tabitha? Then the drone moved forward, and the view shifted downward. The image took on a downward panorama that gave me a view of the front of the drone that stretched down to below it. It was disorienting for a few seconds as I adjusted.
The figures in black were on the landing below. Four I could see were pointing their weapons in three directions, one up, one down and two at the door. There had been seven before so three were unaccounted for.
“I’m going to pull from you and Tabitha,” I sent to Miranda.
“Understood, I’ll let Tabby know,” Miranda replied.
My awareness shifted to the marks on my chest of which there were now four. Choosing just the wolf and snake gates I opened them a quarter each. Power flowed from my Tua into me causing me to take in a sharp breath. Thanks to the Connection skill the amount of drain they felt was less than what I received so they were still combat capable.
“Amy, you go first so I can see what’s happening on the other side of this door,” I whispered.
The drone behind me zoomed up stopping by the edge of the door that would open into the stairwell. Slowly, I turned the handle until there was a soft click. Holding for a second I waited to see if there would be a reaction to turning the handle. Nothing happened. I pushed in slightly and the door exploded with gunfire. Falling back, I rolled away and out of the line of fire. A bullet hist my arm, but it didn’t penetrate my armor. The drone shot up and moved away.
“I got you.” Came Nick’s voice in my head. “Damn this is awesome!”
A man in the stairs screamed followed by another. In the window showing the box panoramic view from the drone above I saw one person get pulled violently off screen then a woman’s scream followed.
“What the…”
“Go now!” Nick shouted in my head.
I ran at the door faster than humanly possible and slammed it open. The closest person had his back to me, so I continued moving until we collided. My shoulder hit him in the center of his back sending him sprawling to the ground. Leaping forward I grabbed the next person and yanked her forward throwing her off balance. Then I slammed my palm into her forehead snapping her head back enough to daze her but not kill. My fist connected with her temple and she crumpled.
The next person in line stood one stair up from ground level. He fell forward without me touching him and Nick walked down. The Nick that stopped in front of me was not the same Nick I had seen before. She was shifted into her brand spanking new Tau-Ferret form.
Her face was the normal human Nick face with chestnut brown hair streaking up her cheeks. Her body was thin and cut with lean muscle, and she was a foot taller. She was a vision of beauty that made me wonder once more why I hadn’t had sex with any of my Tua while they were in this transformed state. I would have to rectify that sooner rather than later.
Nick walked up to me, grabbed my crotch with one hand, the back of my head with the other and kissed me. I returned her kiss with as much gusto as she was giving. Feeling her sharp fangs against my tongue turned me on like I wouldn’t have believed. Then she broke it off. “You will fuck me when I am transformed like this,” she said. “I wish there was time now.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied which got a chuckle from Nick.
“Come on, the way is clear.” Nick turned and sprinted up the stairs.
Following my Tua we came to the third floor and went through the door without slowing. The sight of Izzy still bleeding on the floor caused me to stop. Seeing her in that state hurt my heart. While Izzy said she didn’t want a relationship like what I shared with Miranda or Tabitha that didn’t change the fact that I loved my turtle.
“Hey, Terry,” Izzy said as she looked up at me. Her skin was pale and her voice was almost a whisper.
“Hi, Izzy,” I said as I lowered myself to the floor next to my turtle. “How are you holding up?”
“Been better.”
“Let’s see if we can’t fix that,” I said.
The same way I could draw from my Tua, I could also give back as well as redirect. It was an ability I discovered in order to heal Miranda, and now I would use it on Izzy. I opened the wolf and serpent gates more stopping at fifty percent. Then I opened the ferret gate to fifty percent. Then, with a force of will the energy coming into me left through the turtle gate.
Izzy took in a sharp breath as the power hit her. The wounds, several bullet holes on her chest and abdomen, stopped bleeding and started to close.
Izzy screamed. Each of her wounds became a white hot pinprick felt from her through our link. I closed all the gates out of reflex and the pain stopped.
“What the fuck was that?” I hissed.
“I think the bullets are silver,” Miranda said as she dropped next to Izzy. I was so focused on Izzy from the moment I entered that I hadn’t noticed where my Tua. Seeing Miranda so close and reacting so quickly startled me. My wolf sniffed at Izzy’s wounds then wrinkled her nose. “I think the bullets were coated in the stuff they used to keep Lycans from healing in the fucked up underground lab. The combination is doing a number on Izzy and may kill her.”
“Not on my watch,” I said.
Chapter 7
“How can we help her?” Tabitha asked me.
“I’m not sure we can,” I said. “But I bet Liz can. She should know about the chemicals used to suppress Lycan healing.”
“That’s a great idea. We should leave right now and get Izzy back to base,” Miranda said.
“I agree,” Tabitha added as she rose to her feet.
“Can’t,” Izzy said in her low whisper. “Have to. Help cops.”
“Where are they?” I asked.
In response to my question Izzy raised her shaking arm and pointed up. “Trapped.”
“Okay, we’re going to get them,” Miranda said.
“No,” I said. “You and Tabitha will get Izzy back to Liz.” I looked up at my newest Tua. “Would you stay and help me?”
“As I understand it, being the Tuatha makes you the boss, boss. You want me here, I’m here. Amy too.”
“Glad to hear it,” I said as I stood.
“I don’t know about this,” Miranda said.
Before giving my wolf a response I opened up to her sensing what she felt. Miranda was worried about me. There was concern directed at Izzy as well, but mostly for me.
“Miranda, I know I’m new to all of this, but I will have to decide and take action if I’m going to be the leader you want me to be. Will you do what
I want?”
Miranda’s face softened. “Of course I will, Terry. I have no doubt you’re becoming the Tuatha we need. I’ll do what you want.”
“Thank you, Miranda.” Leaning over I kissed my wolf passionately.
“Amy,” I said once I pulled away from Miranda. “Task Remote two with leading my friends to a safe exit.” Turning back to Miranda I continued. “The SUV is gone. Can you find some wheels?”
“We saw the explosion. I’ll have an Uber here before we get outside,” Miranda replied. If not for the serious nature of the situation I would have thought she was joking. As it was, there was no time.
“Okay, I’ll leave it in your capable hands.” Before standing I kissed Izzy on her forehead. As much as I wanted to I didn’t dare kiss her on the lips. Not without her giving me permission to do so.
Tabitha stepped up and hugged me tight. “I love you, Terry. Come back safe.”
“I love you too, Tabitha.” Wrapping my arms around my serpent I squeezed tight. The embrace only lasted a second as there was too much to do. “Get our girl home,” I whispered to my serpent.
Tabitha smiled and squeezed my forearms as she pulled away. “We will.”
Nick and I waited and watched as Miranda and Tabitha picked up Izzy and carried her to the elevator. The remote drone assigned to them shot out through the window breaking it. A window popped up showing the view as the drone dropped and entered the lobby by squeezing through next to the flipped and burned SUV. It scanned the room allowing me to see the scorch marks caused by the fire and glass and debris scattered around the room. What I didn’t see were people which eased my nerves.
The elevator dinged a second before the doors opened. Tabitha and Miranda walked in, turned, smiled at me, then hit the button. The doors closed and my women were gone. I knew they were going to be all right with Amy guiding them and watching their backs, but their loss was still felt.
“This is going to take a while to get used to,” Nick said. “Don’t get so down on yourself, Boss. We’re to see them again real soon.”
Dragonshift Page 4
