The Torn Soul (The Sheynan Trilogy Book 3)

by Dylan Birtolo

  Susan shook her head from across the table. “No, we already covered that. Trying to walk in with him under guard is worse than going in blind. It’s too easy to draw attention to us or trip an alarm.”

  Darien held up his hands and tried to explain his thought process. He felt like he was onto something and wanted to get the idea out before it fled. “I wasn’t thinking that. You’re right on that score. But what if we split up? Have one group go after Karl while the other group gets ready to raid the base? We can wait until you guys secure Karl, and then use whatever information we can get from him as we’re running the raid.”

  “He could very easily lead us right into a trap that way.”

  “I thought you said Hales could get the information out of him. ‘Very convincing’ were the words I believe you used.”

  Gregory spread his hands out in front of him and looked up at Garth. The older man smiled in a way that made Darien’s blood turn cold. He didn’t think he wanted to know what the older man did that was so convincing. If they did split, he’d have to make sure someone went with Garth to keep him in check and prevent him from crossing a line. Darien didn’t trust him. He felt like he was dealing with that old logic problem with a boat, a fox, a chicken, and a bag of seed.

  “I think that might be our best possibility for success. I’d agree with this plan, but Keegan and I would have to be with the group going into the facility. I want to see with my own eyes how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

  Darien turned his attention to Alyssa. She started to respond but then looked at her companions.

  “Give us a moment to discuss.”

  The three of them peeled off and left the motel room, going next door to the room they had rented. Darien got up from the table and gestured for Susan to follow him outside. She raised an eyebrow, but obliged. When the door was shut behind them, he turned to face her.

  “I need you to go with Garth.”

  Susan shook her head from side to side.

  “You know I’m not doing that. Wherever you go, I go. I’m not letting you go in there alone with only these other shifters to back you up. I don’t trust any of them, not even Alyssa. If Richard was here and going with you, it might be different. But you can’t go in there alone.”

  “If you don’t go with Garth, there’s no telling what he’s going to do to Karl. As much as I want to be free and have everyone off our case, I don’t want it to come at the price of torturing a man. Did you see the way he smiled when Gregory talked about being convincing? I need you to keep an eye on him.”

  “Why not one of Alyssa’s goons?”

  “We both know Vladimir will never leave her side. You can bet he’s going into the facility. Felicity’s the only other person who can sneak in like I can, so we’re going to need her on that side of things. You’re the only one who can keep an eye on Garth.”

  Susan chewed on her lip and glanced to the side. Darien knew she was trying to come up with an argument and trying to find a way to poke holes in his logic. He reached out and pulled her close to him, talking softly in her ear. She returned the embrace as she listened to his words.

  “I know you think I’m just doing this because I want to keep you safe. I promise, that’s not it. I know you’re with me every step of the way and I made you a promise I wouldn’t risk myself just to keep you out of danger. I meant it and I’m keeping that promise. But I need you with Garth more than I need you watching my back in the facility.”

  For a few seconds they just held on, drawing strength from one another. Susan took a deep breath and pulled away so that she could look Darien in the face.

  “All right, I’ll do it.”

  “Thank you.”

  They went back into the room and took their seats at the table. Keegan had finished sharpening his blade and was now playing with it, tossing it from one hand to the other and adding in the occasional spin in the process. Garth stood near the table with the television set, swirling a glass of the scotch that he brought. Every few spins he lifted it to his nose, inhaled deeply, then took a sip, savoring the taste.

  They didn’t have long to wait before the three members of the Arm came back into the room. Alyssa sat down and folded her hands on the table in front of her as her companions stood standing near the door.

  “We discussed it, and all three of us will be part of the group that raids the facility. We’ll entrust the…” she paused and looked at Gregory across the table, making sure she had his full attention before she continued her sentence. “Information gathering to your associate. My people want nothing to do with it.”

  “I’ll go with Hales.”

  Darien smiled at Susan, thankful that she said it as a volunteer rather than it sounding like him issuing a command. He was also glad that she agreed with his logic and could keep an eye on him. Garth prided himself on being a gentleman according to his numerous recountings of his adventures. Darien was counting on that and trusting it would make him less likely to push the boundaries of what was acceptable in front of Susan. Even if Vladimir had consented to go, having Susan along just gave him the inclination that things would run more smoothly.

  The fact that she wouldn’t be actively breaking into a possibly heavily secured military facility was a bonus.

  “Now that that’s settled, let’s iron out some details. I think we should hit them tomorrow.”

  Chapter 26

  Darien shivered as he crouched down in the woods across from the facility. The street lamps were on and bathed the mostly empty parking lot in a pale, haunting light. In the hour since they’d arrived at this location, no one had gone in or come out of the building. It looked like whoever was inside would be there until the morning shift arrived.

  There was still no call from Susan. They had to be at Karl’s house by now. She was supposed to call after they subdued Karl, that way Darien and Felicity could get a head start on getting into the building while Garth demonstrated how convincing he could be. The problem was, if something went wrong, they’d have no way of knowing. Darien tried to push that thought from his mind as he spun his phone around in his hand.

  Instead, he chose to keep his attention on his companions. Felicity was at his left, wringing her hands as she kept glancing up and down the street. Darien couldn’t help but wonder if this was her first mission. He hoped that her nerves wouldn’t get the better of her when push came to shove. Alyssa vouched for her capabilities, and while he may not trust her, he did have faith in her judgment. She was crouched down on the other side of Felicity, arms curled over her knees as she stared at the building. Vladimir stood behind her as ever, just over her left shoulder. His attention wavered from the building to the Shadows on Darien’s right.

  Gregory sat on a rock, his elbow on his knee and his hand reaching up to cradle his chin as he waited. He was the type of man more than willing to be patient for a scheme to pay off. Darien had personal experience with that trait of his. On the other side of him was Keegan, still as a statue and holding his bow in one hand with an arrow nocked on the string. His stillness was almost supernatural to observe.

  Darien’s phone vibrated, snapping his attention back from his companions. All eyes turned towards him as he looked down and read the text message. He passed it around so everyone could see that Susan and Garth were successful and he was about to start asking questions. He double checked to make sure that the taser Gregory’d acquired for him was firmly attached to his belt. Satisfied that he was ready, he looked down at Felicity. She gave him a small nod, and they both shifted.

  A dragonfly and a yellow jacket both flew away from their shelter in the woods, making their way across the street. Not a single car passed underneath them as they crossed the road and made their way towards the building. There were a couple of vents on the far side of the roof, one of which would hopefully give them the access they needed.

  Movement caught his attention as something passed in front of the streetlamp, but Darien didn’t get a good look at it. The next in
stant he was careening to the side, tumbling in the wake of a nighthawk that swooped out of the air, catching Felicity in its beak. The creature banked away, flying into the night sky and being no more than a silhouette before Darien realized what happened. He turned towards the nearest vent and flew as fast as he could. He glanced over his shoulder, trying to see if the nighthawk was coming back for a second meal. As soon as he reached the grate for the vent, he squeezed through the opening, not caring what was on the other side.

  In the relative safety of the metal vent he hovered, trying to calm down. Just like that, Felicity was gone. Was it another shifter patrolling the grounds, or was it just a nighthawk? They had them around here and they were nocturnal by nature. He had no idea. If it was a shifter than their cover was blown even before they got into the facility.

  That thought propelled him forward as he dropped into the ventilation ducts and made his way to what he hoped was the central hallway. Speed was critical now. The wire mesh was too small for him to fit through, but there was a small gap in the corner of the duct where it met the mesh. The hard edges scraped at him, but he forced his way into the opening. The wall here was thin, and felt like drywall. Darien chewed through it, working his mandibles to create a hole large enough to break through.

  Soon, he had to turn his face to shield his eyes from the glaring light in the hallway beyond. He took a moment to listen, trying to hear any footsteps. All he heard was the hum of the fluorescent lights. Poking his head through the opening, Darien saw the door leading outside with a security station directly across from it. A guard sat behind the desk, watching various monitors in front of him, awake and alert. There were six different screens in front of him and his head worked a circuit as he moved from one to the next without letting his attention waver.

  Darien crawled into the hallway, keeping up near the edge where the wall met the ceiling tiles as he made his way behind the guard. Once he was out of the other man’s field of vision, Darien dropped to the ground, standing just behind his chair. He shifted back into human form, standing back enough so that his shadow didn’t fall over the guard’s hands. Darien pulled the taser off his belt and pointed it at the guard’s back. Thankfully, the man was leaning forward as he studied the screens and his back wasn’t protected by the chair. Darien squeezed the trigger and the prongs shot out, sinking into the man’s back.

  The current shot down the wires and the man jerked several times before he fell off the side of his chair. Darien dropped the gun on the floor, grabbing the man with both hands and pulling him back into the corner. Pulling some zip ties out of his pocket, Darien bound the man’s wrists and hands, then took some napkins resting on the table and shoved them into his mouth. It would have to do for now. Once the others got inside, they could find a better place to stash him.

  Darien moved to the security console and looked at the controls. He powered down the cameras, but there was no way that he could tell if that just powered down the monitors or if it shut down the cameras as well. He didn’t have time to figure it out. Once that was settled, he pressed the button to unlock the door and sent a quick text to Alyssa. The latch in the door thunked open, the heavy sound echoing all the way back to the guard station. It swung open, and his companions entered the hallway.

  When they reached him, Keegan immediately moved to the guard, shaking his head and cut the zip ties free. Pulling some cord from a pouch on his belt he began restraining the guard on his stomach with both his wrists and ankles tied together behind his back. Alyssa came over as Vladimir checked out the hallway leading deeper into the facility.

  “Where’s Felicity?”

  “Nighthawk, on the way in. No idea if it was a shifter or not.”

  Gregory happened to be standing at Alyssa’s shoulder when Darien gave the report. He chuckled once.

  “Didn’t expect that one.”

  Alyssa pursed her lips tight together. She closed her eyes and her hands clenched tightly, but she didn’t turn to face him. When she was able to open her hands, she turned away from Gregory and walked up to Vladimir to whisper in his ear and share the news. Darien checked his phone. There were a few more texts from Susan.

  “Looks like your man’s as convincing as you thought. Karl says there’s an elevator off the main hall that goes to the subterranean floors. It’s got a security code, but according to this, the guard station can override it.”

  Darien turned back to the guard station scanning over the various buttons. Of course, it would be too easy if one of them said “elevator access”. Most of the controls seemed related to the cameras. He couldn’t find anything specific to the elevator. He pushed the chair back and looked under the desk. Sure enough, there were two buttons there. One of them was probably an alarm, and the other was hopefully the elevator controls. Darien looked closely at the two of them. One was more worn and dirty around the receiver, so he took a chance and pressed the button. A ding echoed from down the hallway as his reward.

  Snatching up his phone and the taser, Darien walked down the hallway, just behind Alyssa and Vladimir. He loaded a new cartridge into the gun as they made their way towards the elevator. They got there just in time for Vladimir to catch the door by shoving his arm through. It touched his arm and then the sensors triggered for the door to open again. Darien noticed that the elevator doors were sculpted to look like the rest of the wall.

  “Any more messages about what we can expect?”

  Darien looked down at his phone, but nothing new had come in from Susan. Once they stepped into the elevator and went underground, he was liable to lose all reception. This was their last chance to get any information. He sent her a quick text letting her know he was about to be cut off, and if there was anything to share with him, now was the time. The group waited in silence, with Vladimir standing in the doorway to the elevator, holding it open. Thankfully, it was not wired for the alarm to sound if the door was held open too long.

  When his phone vibrated in his hand, everyone crowded around to see what Susan had to share. Darien held the phone out so they could see the messages as they came in.

  You want B3. That’s where the important offices are.

  Security high, mostly shifters. They’ll know you’re there as soon as you get off the elevator.

  Their hub can lock down the floor. Once you get off, you need to reach it to use the elevator again.

  Be careful, and text me when you’re back.

  Darien tucked the phone back into his pocket and looked at his companions. Alyssa and Gregory had their guns out and did a quick double-check to make sure that they were loaded and ready. Vladimir carried nothing. He was probably not going to stay in his human form much longer. In fact, Darien was surprised he hadn’t yet shifted. As for Keegan, a grin touched his lips and he looked more entertained than anything else as he rolled his bowstring between his fingers.

  The five of them climbed into the elevator and Darien pushed the button for B3. He closed his eyes and focused his breathing, paying attention to his surroundings without relying on his sense of sight. He could smell Vladimir’s sweat, and could feel the heat coming off the group of people surrounding him in the enclosed space. Most of all he heard the chimes go off as the elevator descended, until it slowed down and the chime went off for the third time.

  Chapter 27

  The doors slid open and the entire group burst into motion. The opening was barely wide enough for him to fit through when Darien turned sideways and pushed through, diving to the side. The last place he wanted to be was right in the middle of that opening as the chaos began. Vladimir was close behind him, his thundering step heralding his exit as he let loose a roar and shifted into a German shepherd and leaped forward. A large black cat met him in the middle of the air and they tumbled to the ground, a ball of fur, claws, and teeth. It was drowned out by gunfire as the others emerged from the elevator, entering the fray.

  Darien took his first good look around the room. The elevator opened up into a large receiving ar
ea dotted with large square pillars. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all cement, a testament to the purpose of form rather than function. Across the room on the other side was a doorway leading to the more standard-looking fluorescent illuminated hallways one expected in an office building. Between them and their exit stood three people with guns, a pair of coyotes, a chimpanzee, and a bull. All they needed was a penguin and they could open a zoo.

  Now that combat was engaged, the bull charged the elevator door. If any of Alyssa’s or Gregory’s shots hit the beast, it didn’t seem to care. It charged forward, intent on crushing Keegan who was still in the elevator. He fired off an arrow and it sank deep into the bull’s shoulder, but that did little to slow its charge. He pulled out another arrow and shot it, aiming for the head, but the bull twisted its neck and the missile glanced off and only left a scratch. The bull crashed into the elevator with a screeching sound of metal being torn, but it was impossible to see what became of Keegan.

  A quick glance around the pillar showed that the other animals were charging while the shooters tried to keep them pinned. Alyssa and Gregory returned fire, trying to take out their marksmen, but so far the pillars were the only casualty. A chunk of cement flew off the pillar Darien was hiding behind, filling the air with dust, forcing him to blink and rub at his eyes in a vain attempt to clear them.

  One of the coyote’s ran up to the side of the pillar and began to growl, but the sound quickly changed into a yelp of pain as Alyssa changed her target before ducking back behind cover. Darien rolled to the other side of the pillar, not surprised to see the other coyote only an arm’s length away. He pointed his taser and fired, catching the canine in the chest. Its entire body twitched as it fell to its side. Darien fumbled with the weapon, trying to fish another cartridge out of his pocket and load it.