by Dana Lyons
Stepan shrugged. “I don’t like what I can’t understand. I don’t trust the doctor. He’s too smart.”
Ivanov sat on a stool and spun in a slow circle. “You don’t believe what he can do?”
A long moment passed before Stepan answered. “If he can do what he claims, he’s a madman.”
“You think I’m a madman, too?”
Stepan’s face split with a knowing smile. “I’ve known you for a madman since the day you dragged me into that alley and showed me the dead boy. You’re the kind of madman I can understand. The doctor frightens me.”
“And the woman?”
“Her, too. There’s something about her; I can’t place it. She knows too much, and I don’t know why. I don’t like putting her and the doctor together.”
“She and Lazar are definitely hiding something. She does it well, but you know how I dislike secrets.”
“Like who is the third man?”
“Yes,” Ivanov confirmed. “My little voice tells me there’s a third man.”
He walked to a window. The surrounding forest was a remote section of the Hoia Baiu, a supposedly haunted forest, ensuring no local interested trespassers. A large payment to a water and ministry official bought them temporary access to set up the laboratory.
Everything was air lifted in during the night and assembled during the day. There were no roads in and no way out except by air or by foot. He lifted his chin, pleased with the arrangements. “You have the perimeter cameras set up?”
“There are motion-sensor cams encircling the camp, all up and working except for the occasional electronic dysfunction.” He raised one hand in defense. “You’re the one that had to set up in a haunted forest. There are anomalous energy disruptions here beyond my control.”
Ivanov gazed out the window. “Such is an appropriate work setting for the madman Dr. Lazar, don’t you think?”
Stepan joined him at the window and stared out at the oddly bent trees growing in a clockwise rotation. Fifty yards beyond the window, the woods were dark and forbidding. “Like the woman and Lazar, I see too much mystery.” He shivered. “There are stories about this forest. Madness lives here.”
“Good. Then it’s time to start the party.”
* * *
Dreya cringed. At their base housing quarters Jarvis complained so vocally she was grateful she couldn’t see him and he couldn’t see her guilt.
“You should have told me you were meeting Ivanov. I would have arranged backup,” he reprimanded.
“I know, sir, but a lot was happening at the time and next thing I knew, it was over.”
Jarvis sounded relieved. “Well, we can scrap your protective custody; technically, that makes serving the warrant easier, although I doubt Ivanov will ever be taken into custody.”
“I agree,” she said. “He definitely has an eye for security.” She clamped her lips together, uncertain how much to divulge. A quick glance at Rhys, Simon, and Quinn gave her no support.
Thanks guys. You’re a lot of help.
You know how to handle him best!
It’s up to you what to tell him.
Rhys grinned. The price of alpha.
“Love? Are you there?”
“Yes, sir. About the warrant.” She shot a quick glance across their faces as she spoke. “What if a different outcome happened, one better than serving the warrant and capturing Ivanov? Which, by the way, you’re right. I don’t know how we’d pull that off.”
“What could possibly be better than taking him off the street and shutting him down?”
“If we remove him, his operation would go on, perhaps breaking up into smaller rivalries, but the ground game is too profitable. Every one of his lieutenants would likely continue operations. Same day, new boss.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I won’t have any details until we get there and I can speak with Lazar.”
“These coordinates are extremely remote. You’ll have no backup in this place. What is it called?”
“The Hoia Baiu forest, it’s in the Transylvania section of Romania. You’re right, it’s extremely isolated; there’s no cell service. We’ll take a sat phone.”
“I don’t like it,” he announced.
“It’s drama, sir, for Ivanov. But because he doesn’t know what he’s dealing with—” She shot a glance at Quinn. “For us, it’s perfect.”
A silence expanded, spreading from the cell phone like spilled milk. Rhys stared at his feet as if the call had nothing to do with him. Simon crossed his arms, breath held, a scowl fixed above his eyes. Quinn glared at the phone with a concentration meant to bend spoons.
“I see,” Jarvis said at last.
Everyone exhaled.
“I see how a remote forest could be to your advantage. So, you have a plan for this ‘better outcome’ as you put it?”
“I’ll know more once I talk to Lazar. But I’d count on him pulling something from his hat.”
“That doesn’t disturb you?”
She answered carefully, not too fast. “No.”
“What about Kingston? Is he in?”
“Yes, sir. He’s going in natural.”
She could see Jarvis tuck his chin, staring at the phone as if a monitor would sprout, displaying a visual of Quinn in animal form. She added, “What that means is, I have unexpected backup. More than that, I have exceptional, unexpected backup, the kind I can count on. I’m not afraid. Ivanov thinks he owns this position. That’s his second mistake.”
“What’s his first mistake?”
She grinned and shook her head, feeling genuine sympathy for Ivanov. “His first mistake is Lazar.”
* * *
Lazar sat at his desk in the new lab facility, working on the final touches of his software program. Ivanov’s DNA was washed and preserved for the next step in the process: creating a karyotype of his chromosomes so he could look for abnormalities. He already expected to find one specific abnormality and glanced at the small trash can by the water cooler.
He drinks twice every time he comes in.
“That,” he murmured, “definitely provides an opportunity.” He took a break and walked to the window. Short of either the Antarctic or Sahara wastelands, this particular piece of forest Ivanov chose was the most remote location on Earth.
The abnormalities in nature fascinated him. Trees grew in odd shapes because of electromagnetic fluctuations; undoubtedly the land was filled with several ley lines and other Earth energy anomalies. This had caused chaos in some of the lab equipment, requiring him to make minute adjustments to compensate.
But there was more at work here than ley lines. He’d already seen anomalous lights appearing in the woods outside the housing trailer. His first night here he went to the lab around midnight to remove samples from the centrifuge when an animal noise from the black of night caused the hairs on the back of his neck to lift. He wasted no time in the lab before returning to quarters and locking the door.
Some people walked into this forest and never returned. Some returned completely changed.
Perfect.
10
Rhys pulled off the road at the closest edge of the Hoia Baiu forest. They all got out and Dreya spread the map on the hood of the car. “Here’s the lab, and here’s where we are now.” She measured the distance. “Over fifty miles. Can you be there by tomorrow?”
“Easy,” Quinn said.
She didn’t like him being wolf for such a long period of time. Before she could speak, he said, “Stop worrying. I’ll hunt and eat every night, then transition to human for a period of time.”
“Naked in the woods. I hate to see you exposed to the elements.”
He smiled and kissed her quickly on the cheek. “Check my file; I’ve done the survival training. I can live out there with nothing, but being wolf gives me a huge advantage.” He grinned, his sense of humor alive. “I won’t have to eat worms.”
She wrinkled her nose at the image of him dropping a wo
rm into his mouth, but the alternative was him ripping apart a wild animal. “I won’t contact Ivanov until you reach the site and give us recon.”
“Check in every night,” Simon reminded. “I want to know you found water and you’re drinking enough.”
“Watch out for traps,” Rhys added. “The Ivanov kind.”
Quinn lifted his chin in affirmation. “Roger that.”
They were off the road in an abandoned stretch of nowhere. Quinn stripped and handed his clothes to her, piece by piece. “Fold them for me?” Gotta go.
He leaped and landed on all fours before slinking into the forest. When she couldn’t see him anymore, she cried out Be careful.
No worries. I’ll see you there.
And then he was gone, a ripple in her mind as he sped through the forest at a ground eating five miles an hour.
“I think he’s going to be okay,” Rhys said. He squeezed her shoulder.
His and Simon’s presence gave her hope they were right. But as she stared at the place she last saw Quinn, a rising sense of dread filled her chest and closed around her heart.
* * *
He loved being wolf. The forest ground was soft under his feet, the smells alive in his nose, his ears twitching to detect the sound of any threat to wolf. Fortunately, wolf’s greatest threat was humanity, and in this part of the woods, none existed.
Going northwest, he crossed a valley, topped a ridge and kept the sun slightly to his left. When he came across the fresh trail of a rabbit, he paused, tempted to hunt.
Get there by late afternoon, find shelter, then recon, hunt later.
He picked up the pace. Hour after hour passed with no effort through the forest of bizarre trees. Some looked to be walking on great legs, others were twisted and moss covered with branches reaching to the next tree as if to a loved one. By early afternoon, as soon as the sun dropped below the ridge line, the deep valley air behind him quickly fogged.
He stopped on a crest as the sun lit the laboratory down in the next valley. The hillside approach to the lab was highlighted for a few moments. Every tree was magnified. He lifted his nose and caught the sterile presence of the laboratory followed by the scent of food cooking nearby. The wind shifted and he identified the bathrooms and living quarters.
A twitch of his ear and he heard human voices eerily projected up the hillside from the valley floor.
Lazar. Ivanov. Stepan.
His hackles lifted and he sank down even though they could never see him at this distance and angle. But they were clear to his senses. The sun shifted and light glinted of something in the trees, lighting up around the installation in a perimeter position.
Cameras. Exactly where I’d put them.
He pulled his lips back, appreciating the wolf’s perspective. He knew exactly how it would feel to crush Ivanov’s neck in his jaws with one snap. He knew how the blood would pour when his deadly fangs ripped through the soft tissues and Ivanov exsanguinated. He knew the stricken look that would ease into Ivanov’s eyes as his lungs filled with blood and his body turned cold.
Dreya’s right. I’m not the same animal who faced Ivanov before.
He retraced his steps, crossing back to the dark side of the ridge, preferring to hunt far from Ivanov’s cameras. He found wild hare and gloried in the feel of something being crushed in his jaws, even if it wasn’t Ivanov. Wolf was pure animal. But Quinn wanted to see what Lazar planned for Ivanov.
I trust Dreya. If she trusts Lazar, so do I.
Searching for shelter, he found a massive pile of deadfall on the underside of a small hill. He explored an entrance and sniffed through a warren of tunnels long established by small game. Further back, the dried tumble opened into a small cave.
He transitioned, standing tall on two legs, and stretched his muscles, shaking through his limbs in their new form. Soon he gathered a pile of the long-cured wood and build a smokeless fire.
I’m settled for the night.
What have you seen? Rhys asked.
So far, only Lazar and Ivanov with his man, Stepan. I also spotted their camera enforced perimeter.
Don’t let them see you, Dreya pleaded. I’ll call Ivanov tomorrow morning. Expect us within twenty-four hours.
Will be here watching; I have a safe place to transition with water nearby. I’ll let you know if anything changes.
The fire kept the small space warm. He shifted to wolf and curled up by the fire pit, tail covering his nose as he stared into the flames.
Lazar.
The doctor had given him the ability to sleep by a fire as wolf, to rip the throat out of a warm-blooded animal, to make love to an incredible woman like Dreya, and belong to a pack with mates like Rhys and Simon, who he loved. All while being genetically honed to a more perfect version of both species.
The diversity of his experiences made for a unique point of view. As his animal and human personas continued to merge traits, Nobility’s constant push of both wolf and human to a higher perception fractured his willingness to kill, both as wolf and human. This fracture resulted in a new concept about killing.
He closed his eyes and relaxed into sleep with a lingering thought—
I wonder what Lazar is planning for Ivanov.
The next morning, he woke before dawn and returned to the ridge to watch sunrise over the laboratory. The smell of coffee, the sound of flushing toilets, Lazar singing in his shower. Lights came on in a second cluster of buildings out of sight from the lab. Stepan exited one building and lit a cigarette.
The morning passed, and Quinn never moved as he remained with his muzzle on his paws with eyes, ears, and nose focused on all activity. Ivanov appeared with Stepan and they walked to the lab. In answer to his curiosity, Dreya told him I just called Ivanov. He’s going to pick us up outside of town in a helicopter.
Presently, Ivanov and Stepan exited the lab and walked to a barren area near the lake and waited. Soon, a small helicopter arrived and picked them up.
Once the helicopter left, Quinn went the long way around the cameras and approached the lab from the front. As he cautiously crept around the side of the building, he smelled and heard Lazar moving around inside. At the front door, he pawed at the lever handle until it opened.
He stood in an entry area with a glass pneumatic door and a key pad in front of him. Lazar worked at his desk entering data on his laptop, then he darted over to a machine and pressed buttons. He was so absorbed, he never noticed the two-hundred-pound wolf watching.
Once upon a time Quinn wanted to kill Gideon Smith, who gave him the corrupted Nobility formula in a murder attempt. Then, he wanted to kill Lazar, for the doctor’s I’m-smarter-than-God arrogance offended the human in him. But the wolf, the predator built by nature for killing held no reason to kill Lazar.
Suddenly, Lazar saw him and stopped to stare.
Quinn cocked his head. Do you see me, or do you see wolf?
Lazar’s initial frozen reaction softened. He smiled, then mouthed, ‘Quinn’. He pointed to the keypad and held up his hand: four fingers, two fingers, five fingers.
Quinn notched his nose in response, turned and left. Just saw Lazar. He says hi. Going to my shelter.
Dreya answered. We’re lifting off now. See you soon.
He circled wide around the camp away from the helicopter’s approach. The sound of the helicopter blades, even in the distance, frightened wolf, an instinct built into his DNA from wolf species’ experience with humanity. He made it to the top of the ridge with a shiver banging down his spine and slinked over to the eastern flank, tail tucked, relieved to be out of range.
He hunted in the late afternoon and feasted again on wild hare, plentiful on the hillsides, before taking a long drink at the stream. After returning to his cave he transitioned, grateful to be back in human form.
Miss you guys. What’s going on?
While he waited for a response, he gathered another night’s worth of kindling from his enclosure and stacked it by his fire pit. He explored a
nd discovered a larger exit through the deadfall and slipped out as human to wash in the stream.
The cold water was a shock, a welcome sensation to his nervous system, and he waded into the deepest section and dipped down to let the chilly water sluice over his head.
He climbed out and wiped the water from his eyes just as he walked into a circle of five wolves.
* * *
Dreya’s sense of dread increased as the helicopter flew to the alb. She felt the energy emanating from the forest as though it were sentient, touching her like one of her pack. Jarvis’ words, “I don’t like it,” came to mind. I don’t like this place. I sense danger; stay sharp.
Rhys added Echo that. Me, too Simon agreed. Or maybe it’s the company we keep.
Ivanov sat across from them, his eyes conducting a continuous examination, mostly of Dreya. It was as though he wanted to see into her mind. She closed her eyes and refused to shiver in his presence.
Ivanov’s creeping me out. And I miss Quinn, I don’t like him being alone in that forest. Let’s finish this and go home.
They landed next to a small lake in a spot barely big enough for the helicopter. Nearby, a cluster of mobile buildings attested to Ivanov’s commitment to nothing but the best.
They stepped out of the helicopter and ran, hunched over, for the cover of trees. The helicopter lifted and soon exited from line of sight. She couldn’t help thinking. We’re trapped.
But not alone Rhys clarified. Do you hear Quinn?
I think he’s hunting Simon answered. Remind me why we’re here?
His dry sense of humor kicked up and she had to remind herself not to laugh. Ivanov thinks this is his party, but this is all Lazar. Follow my lead.
“Agents, welcome to my humble laboratory,” Ivanov announced. He waved his arm to encompass the camp. “The largest building is the lab with Lazar’s office and the kitchen; he usually cooks. I suppose if we can trust him with our DNA, we can trust him with our food?”
