by T S Paul
“Names Jonas Hale, but my friends call me Skip.” Jonas held out his hand.
LJ took it, “LJ Austin. But you can call me Jack.”
“How do you get Skip from Jonas?” LJ asked.
Jonas scratched his head and sat back down. “Not sure. People started calling me that in flight school. Something about a boar. I couldn’t figure it out.”
“A boar? I thought you flew airplanes?” Jack asked.
“Like I said, I couldn’t figure that part out. So where are you from, Jack?” Jonas asked.
“Arkansas originally, but for the past couple of years, I’ve ridden with Satan’s Pelts and the Demon Skulls. I’ve been working as an enforcer and bill collector mostly,” Jack smiled in remembrance of breaking heads and knees at the whim of the gang leaders.
“I heard most clubs are affiliated somehow with this pack,” Jonas remarked.
Jack looked at the big man funny. “Why are you asking? Are you a cop?”
Jonas laughed, “Do I look like a cop? Like I could fit into a cop uniform.”
Pursing his lips, Jack looked suspiciously at the big man and gave him a sniff. “You don’t smell like a pilot. I’m not getting ‘Jay pee eight’ or any of the lubricants associated with airplanes.”
“Seriously? You know there is such a thing as a shower. You should try it sometime, Jack,” Jonas replied sarcastically. Beads of sweat began to form on the man’s brow.
“I heard a rumor that the Pack Council was planning on sending out undercovers to scout out the loner packs. Do you work for them or are you with that FBI team that’s in town?” Jack started to walk around Jonas and the chair he was in like it was a demented game of musical chairs.
“Come on now, dude. Why would a cop try to infiltrate this place? It’s just a pack gathering.” Jonas cut his eyes to the left and right as Jack circled.
“Because cops like to expose secrets. They could be trying to stop something really good,” one of the women from the group stepped closer to Jonas.
Sweat was starting to pour off of Jonas. “I’ll swear on a stack of bibles that there is no way I’m a cop.”
“So will I. Don’t mean much. Bibles are a human thing, and I don’t do human. At least not normally.” Jack replied.
“You all are freaking me out now. Listen, I’m not a cop. All I do is fly planes around the area. Back and forth across the country. I heard about the opportunities here and thought it was a good fit. Why would a cop do that?” Jonas pointed out.
“That’s what a cop would say,” one of the other biker looking men came over to the group. Giving Jack a nod he took up a position directly across from Jonas.
“Can anyone join this party or is it restricted?” The voice of a woman made everyone look toward the entrance.
Gundi Moon stood in the doorway with two members of the enforcer team. “So, is he a cop or not? That is the question before us.”
Jonas started to stand up, and Jack pushed him back down. “Now wait a moment. I came to you with the best references you can get. Just call them. They’ll tell you I am who I say I am!”
“We did. And you’re right all three men described you and gave you glowing recommendations,” Gundi replied.
Jonas relaxed and leaned back in the chair. “Oh, thank God.”
Jack and the others relaxed as well but didn’t let their guard down.
“Here’s the thing though. While your references check out, theirs don’t. Not one of those three men are the ones that we sent there. Somewhere, somehow, all three were replaced by parties unknown. To do that to a Were can only mean government or World Council. Either way is bad news. Bad news for them and bad news for you, Jonas.” Gundi paused to smile. Her canines were exposed as she pressed down with her Beta power. Everyone in the room except for Jack and Jonas automatically bowed and exposed their neck.
Jonas looked around the room and cursed. He tried to correct himself and respond as the others did, but he was too late.
Jack could only smile at Gundi. She cocked her head and pushed harder. Pack Magick can be very powerful in the right hands. Jack smiled again and exposed his throat to her.
Gundi backed her power down and spoke to Jonas, “My two friends here are going to take you downstairs for a little conversation. You are advised to tell the truth to them. We can smell it on you if you lie.”
Jonas was a big man, but his bulk wasn’t muscle. The two enforcers were nothing but muscle. They grabbed his arms and dragged him from the room.
“I’d like to thank all of you that got involved. It shows strong pack behavior to defend it like that. Whether he’s a cop or not, you hung together and forced him out of his shell. That takes power and determination. I’m proud of you,” Gundi turned and left the room.
The other biker stepped over and shook hands with Jack. They exchanged names as they sized each other up looking at tattoos and patches. “What do you think they’ll do to him?”
Jack shook his head. “It was a test. I’ll bet you a million dollars we see him tomorrow.”
“What kind of test?” Robert ‘Big Red’ Wall, asked ignoring the mention of a bet he couldn’t win.
“Teamwork or even protecting the pack. She wanted to see how we could handle ourselves and we passed,” Jack replied.
“That is one fine looking woman.” Big Red pointed out. “I can think of several things she could help me with.”
Jack nodded. There were hundreds of things he could do to her as well. Some she wouldn’t enjoy in the least. A plan started to form itself in his head. For once, the voices were silent.
<<<>>>
“What do you mean you were captured by a vampire and brainwashed?” I asked my newest agent.
George Blake waved his hands in front of his face like a maniac. “I did as you asked. I found someone willing to talk about the pack and all the stuff from the file. This guy, Eddie, he runs the records department at City Hall. He took me into his office and made me tell him my entire life. I talked to him about stuff I did as a kid.”
Blake bowed his head and rubbed it. “It was the craziest thing. I couldn’t stop talking. He just watched me and nodded like one of those stupid bobble-headed toys. When I was finally able to stop he told me that you sounded interesting. What’s so interesting about you?”
Looking at Cat, I smiled and rubbed my fingers together. Blake was so out of it he didn’t even realize he said that part out loud. Cat and I had a running bet on this new guy’s attitude about the team.
“Can you describe this guy, Blake? What did he look like?” I asked.
“Short. He was really short. And pale. He looked like he’d been living in a cave. That room he worked in was sort of like a cave. It’s in the sub-basement. I had to take the stairs to get down there. You were right that nobody wants to talk over there.” Blake muttered.
I pursed my lips, “His name was Eddie?”
Blake stopped rubbing his head and looked up at us. “Edward Moo. He was really clear about that. He said something strange about you… He said you should watch your back, darkness is coming.”
We’ve been hearing that sort of thing for a while now. Cat heard it from a Voodoo Mambo most recently on a case.
“Why do you say he was a Vampire?” Cat asked.
“Because the bitch bit me!” Blake pulled back his shirt to expose his neck.
We both peered down at his unbitten, perfectly smooth neck. “OK. If you say so.”
Chuck pushed past the both of us with a swab in his hand. Adding a drop of reagent to the tip, he swabbed Blake’s neck. He carefully clicked the top closed on the swab and stepped back. “Let’s see what the mass spectrometer says.”
Blake shivered and shook. “That was cold.”
“Why don’t you sit and rest for a while, Blake. Take a pad and if you remember anything else write it down. We can afford for you to rest a little while,” I instructed.
He took the pad and then spoke, “Oh, when I told him I was with the Magical
Division he asked how Jack was doing. Who’s Jack?”
“Special Agent in Charge Jack Dalton. He was my predecessor here. Good work Blake, thanks.” I stepped away and headed straight to the main terminal. If he mentioned Jack, he might be in the database.
A short time later Cat found me sitting in one of the cockpit chairs watching Blake sleep.
“What’s up chum?” Cat asked me.
I looked up at her and sighed. “A quandary. Jack’s files do mention an Eddie Moo. Only he called him Edimmu. It seems he literally ran into him on a case here in the Jackson area. The details are really sketchy, but he wrote that the Vampire that helped him claimed to be the oldest on record and that he was in hiding.”
“So, there was a Vampire. I sniffed Blake but didn’t get anything,” Cat told me.
“Remember when we found Ana in Pensacola? She told me that ancient Vampires can hide their scent from Weres. So this guy has been hiding out in the middle of town here for years. He lets Jack see him, and then he actually speaks to Blake. Why? Why expose himself now? Do you think Moon and his crew know he’s in town?” I asked her.
Cat nodded. “They have to. If he’s been here any length of time, they’d notice. I like to think I would. But more than twenty thousand of us couldn’t smell Anastasia even when she was right in the middle of us. Maybe he was lonely.”
I gave Cat a look. “Seriously? You are an ancient Vampire with who knows what kind of superpowers and the only person you can make talk to you is that guy?” I pointed at the sleeping human.
“True. So back to square one. We know nothing, and we can’t find the killer,” Cat answered.
“Pretty much. I am going to try and call Ana though. The director told me she was on her way back to us. Maybe she’s got cell service now,” I told Cat.
“Good idea. I’ll put Chuck on tracking down Eddie, and we’ll get back to it.” Cat shook her head and walked past the sleeping Blake.
I leaned back in my chair and pulled out my cell phone. Ana had promised that her number would always be the same.
The phone rang a number of times until I heard a familiar voice on the other end, “Hello?”
“Ana! How’s it going? Director Mills told me you were on your way back to us,” I informed her.
“I am,” she replied. “My plane’s over the Pacific right now. You’re still in Tennessee, right?”
“We are. Let me know when you get in. I’ll send the new guy to pick you up. I assume it will be at night?” I asked her.
“It is. The Director wants to play the game. How’s the hunt going?” Ana asked.
“Not well. We keep hitting roadblocks at every turn. That’s the reason I called. Agent Blake, the new guy, found a Vampire in town. At least we think it was a Vampire,” I replied.
“What sort of Vampire? Ana asked me.
“Something is off about the whole situation. He told Blake that his name was Eddie Moo, but I found him in Jack’s files. In those, he told Jack his real name was Edimmu. I’m at a loss whether to believe either account. I mean he controlled Blake pretty well and Jack, Jack is human too. This guy went out of his way to send a message to me that I don’t really understand…” I didn’t get to finish my thought because Ana cut me off.
“Agatha! What did you say his name was?” Ana asked me.
“He called himself Eddie Moo,” I told her.
“And Jack said his name was?” Ana asked again.
“Edimmu. The name sounds really similar. I looked it up. It’s an ancient name of a Vampire-like God. Are you saying this is a real guy?” I asked.
Anastasia sighed. “The first of us, if you believe the stories. We’ve been searching for him for centuries, and you find him by accident in BFE. What are the odds? Agatha, you need to lock that file down under a code word security lock. It’s crucial. If it gets out, you could be hip deep in searchers and bounty hunters. Edimmu is as ancient as you can get.”
“I was going to check out my house in California, but I’m changing my itinerary as we speak. Expect me at your location in a day or two. The council meeting I was just at, spoke about the hunt for Eddie. This is a big freaking deal in the Vampire world.”
She hung up the phone leaving me staring at mine. How is it all the crazy stuff happens to my unit?
Chapter 14
Aaaaaay!
Blake’s scream made the three of us jump to our feet and run toward Anastasia’s room. I gave our newbie leave to take a nap. He was still really stressed out about being a juice box for a hungry Vampire.
The door opened just as I reached it. Both my hands were glowing, and I could feel Cat and Chuck’s energy as they started their shift to warrior form.
Blake’s eyes were wide and his mouth open as he screamed again.
“What’s wrong? Is it the Vampire?” I asked him, fireball at the ready.
“It tried to kill me! Evil!” Blake pointed into the room as he pushed past me. He ran into the main investigation area and huddled on the couch.
I peered around the door frame. Scanning with both my Magick and that of Defender’s I couldn’t feel anything. Elder Vampires couldn’t be detected by Magick, so that wasn’t unusual. My left hand held low on my body was cupping a fireball. It was a technique I picked up in another dimension.
“Get ready,” I muttered to Cat and Chuck. Taking a step, I entered the room.
“What the hell is his problem? I just wanted a small snack and to say hello!” Fergus stood right in the middle of the small bed looking up at me.
“Are you alone in here?” I asked.
Fergus looked left then right. “Do you see anyone else? Where’s my food?”
Concentrating, I willed the Magick away and cooled down my hands. Glancing behind me, I could see that my friends were releasing their beast forms and pulling back on their shift. “Fergus, we could’ve killed you.”
“Like I can’t stop a fireball. I’m a Wizard, remember? Now feed me,” Fergus raised a hoof and stamped it on the bed.
“You just said you’re Wizard. Make it yourself,” I flicked on the light and sat down on the bed.
Fergus hopped up onto one of the pillows and spoke to me, “You and I both know that the Atomos Law of Matter Conversion doesn’t allow for organic transformation.”
I looked down at him in surprise, “Fergus, you amaze me sometimes. Did you just learn that or were you paying attention to Grandmother during class?”
My unicorn’s eyes got very large as he realized what he said in such an offhand manner. He opened his mouth and asked, “Hay, please?”
“There is a way around Atomos’s law. Do you remember what Grandmother said?” I looked at him questionably.
Fergus just looked at me for a moment. “Hay? Feed the Unicorn please!”
“Would you like me to show you how to make your own?” I asked him.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about right now. Do I look like a farmer? I just eat the hay.” My unicorn shook his head and jumped up and down.
“What did you do to him?” Cat asked as she leaned in through the door.
“I told him to Magick up his own food,” I replied.
“That’s right! He’s a Wizard now. Ask him if he knows Harry,” Cat smiled and patted me on the shoulder.
I looked over my shoulder at my friend. “Do you think he’ll know what we’re talking about?”
“Why not? He watches TV a lot when he’s all alone. That’s what Chuck says at least,” Cat replied.
Turning back I looked at the bed. There wasn’t a single unicorn in sight. I quickly glanced around the room. No unicorn. There was a light on in the barn, so I walked over and peeked in.
“Hey! I’m naked in here,” Fergus yelled through a mouthful of hay.
I snorted. “That is a very old and very tired argument, buddy. I only looked away for a moment. How did you get in here?”
“I jumped,” he went back to chewing.
“And the hay,” I asked.
&nb
sp; “No idea.” Fergus didn’t even look at me this time.
Unicorns.
<<<>>>
“You keep that thing as a pet?” I wasn’t sure what horrified Blake more, pets or having a Unicorn as one. Of course, it could be Fergus’s size. But who wants a big unicorn when they could have a tiny one?
“Sure, Fergus has been my companion since I was seven. He’s perfectly safe,” I replied.
“How are pets, regulation anyway?” He asked.
“Fergus is a living, breathing, and talking part of this team. His participation was vital during the Montana investigation. Since you managed to run from room to room, are you able to get back to work? If not I can put you on the disabled list for a couple of days,” I informed Blake.
Blake looked at me and shook his head. “No, I want to work. That thing in the other room freaked me out.”
“His name is Fergus. I’m surprised, actually. Don’t the Mer sisters have a pet shark?” I asked.
“It doesn’t come on land! I’m used to a cohesive, structured, and calm environment. This group of yours is crazy.” Blake’s head swiveled in all directions as he talked.
“Why did you request service with us then? It’s pretty well known that we are different from the other divisions,” I asked him.
Blake cleared his throat. “You went from a probi to the head of a division in a matter of months. This division has momentum. It’s what I want for my career.”
I cocked my head to one side and watched Agent Blake. The man looked to be in his mid to late twenties. I could check his file to find out, but I didn’t need to do that. He was one of those, the style of an agent that only cared about position and advancement. Blake could be a problem or a blessing. He was bound to have some contacts we could use and exploit.
“I can help you with some of that, but this division works very, very hard. Jack Dalton, the first lead and original agent here, did this job alone for more than twenty years. And he like you, was human.” I smiled at Blake.
“Human? What do you mean by that?” Blake straightened up and stared directly at me.
“Everyone on this bus except you was schooled in Quantico. This unit is made up entirely of paranormals,” I informed him.
