They waited near the door. In Werewolf form, they doubted they could break it down, but Kim and Kae had been well-trained in how to breach a locked door. Kae jogged down the hallway, stopping short of the entry.
He dropped to all fours and crawled, well below the bullet holes. He crouched, popped up, and back-kicked the door at the point of the lock, bursting it inward. He dove to the side as two Werewolves flew past him.
A single shot rang out, thudding into a meaty target, but with a growl and jaws snapping, the next sound was of a rifle clattering to the floor.
Kim and Kae leaned into the doorway and looked inside. Felicity and Marcie were hugging the children and pulling them aside as two frenzied Werewolves killed their prey.
With a few final shakes, they each dropped a dead body to the floor. Timmons and Sue changed back into human form, standing naked and covered in blood.
Kim went into a side room where she knew towels were stored, bringing one each for Timmons and Sue. The Werewolves had never cared about being naked in front of other people.
They still didn’t care as they wiped themselves off. Timmons threw the towel over his shoulder, but Sue wrapped up. Felicity, Marcie, and Kae were too distracted by hugging each other to notice.
“Come on, Uncle Timmons,” Kimber said, adding a stink-eye for emphasis. “And thank you both,” she added softly, while trying to usher Felicity, Marcie, Kae, and the kids out of the room.
They made their way downstairs and outside. Kim grabbed Sergeant Boris. “There are two bodies in the mayor’s private rooms upstairs. Get them out of there and clean up the blood. And the former mayor is in the hallway downstairs. With reverence, send a detail to cover him with a sheet and bring him out. We have work to do burning the wicked while celebrating the life of Billy Spires, Mayor of both New Boulder and North Chicago,” Kimber told him.
***
Ted was alone. He’d changed back into human form and gotten dressed. He was sitting on the ramp of the intruders’ pod. The FDG had set up a perimeter in case there was another incursion, but Ted was certain there would not be any more.
They only had one vehicle when they snatched Terry Henry earlier that morning.
Ted looked into the pod, nearly identical to the ones they used, but there was a difference. This one smelled like death.
The Werewolf tucked his nose inside his shirt as he boarded to check the systems. He tapped on the interface and it came to life. He had watched Akio operate the system for more than twenty-five years, but had never gotten the opportunity to operate it himself.
He’d always been too reserved to ask. But now, he was free to dig into it.
Ted pulled up screen after screen, finding the interface simplistic for one of his intellect. He started digging deeper, wanting to see into the ones and zeros of Kurtherian technology.
The system wouldn’t let him get there, but he kept trying.
He wondered if access would change in flight. So he closed the rear ramp and took the pod skyward.
Ted programmed the flight computer to take him back to Mammoth Cave. He worked the interface, not noticing the acceleration as the craft raced into the southeastern sky.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Terry’s Prison
“I can’t get the lock undone. Oh, no! He’s going to know, and you can’t help me!” Yanmei accused TH. “Why did I start to trust you?”
She kept fumbling with the lock. Terry knew that he could pick it, if only he had a hand free.
“Relax. You need two thin strips of stiff metal. Or a bolt cutters,” he suggested. She glared at him. “I’m sorry, but you’re committed now, and the best chance you have to save yourself is by freeing me. Now go find something before he comes back!”
She was terrified and it showed, having lost the confidence of her earlier persona. Fu was cowering in the corner, covering her head with her hands.
“Does she understand English?” Terry asked.
Yanmei shook her head.
“Then she doesn’t know you tried to release me. Yell at me in Chinese that my chains are tight and that I’ll never escape. Then call me names and spit on me or kick me. In her mind, all she’ll think about is how you have done your duty.”
Yanmei thought for a moment, then nodded almost imperceptibly. She started screaming at Terry, then spun and tagged him mid-chest with a wild roundhouse kick.
He gasped in pain at the unexpected impact. He thought she would pull the kick, but she didn’t. She hit him with everything she had. Terry saw Fu look up.
Yanmei ordered her to do something as the smaller woman bowed and although scared, she opened the door and bolted. The door stood open as the Weretiger continued to berate a stunned Terry Henry Walton.
She stopped when she felt that her servant was sufficiently far away, in a direction opposite of where Kirkus was in a secondary tunnel that led from Broadway to the Giant’s Coffin in the chamber next to the hospital ruins where Terry’s prison room had been carved.
“Where’s my stuff?” Terry wondered aloud.
“He has it. You don’t need it so don’t think about it,” she cautioned.
My whip and knife, Terry thought. Relics from the past. They can be replaced. We need to get out of here.
Mammoth Cave
Char gracefully moved to the front of the formation. She walked as if her feet weren’t even touching the stone floor. She trod lightly to avoid triggering any more traps, but she moved with a deadly purpose.
The bridge had fallen, but a narrower strip of stone remained. A wire along the wall signaled how the Forsaken and his minions had moved through this tunnel without causing a collapse. A permanent trap for the unwary.
Or maybe it had always been weak, and the collapsing bridge wasn’t a trap at all.
Cory was almost as light on her feet as she moved to the front, followed closely by Aaron, but Gene growled and blocked their way with his body. He stood on two feet, almost filling this section of the cavern. The Werebear hobbled along behind Char, keeping one paw wrapped tightly around the wire.
Cordelia tried to close in behind Gene, but a warrior held her back. “If he falls, he’s going to tear that wire out of the wall,” he whispered.
She nodded, itching to catch up. When Gene stepped onto the solid floor of the other side, Cory was off like a shot, almost running along the narrow ledge. Aaron danced after her, studiously avoiding looking down, while Clovis ran along the edge, completely immune to the fear of falling.
Char moved on. Terry’s aura was growing in her mind, and the Forsaken was not between her and her husband. He was below them and running parallel.
The Weretiger was still with TH. She was close, but he was alive. With each step that Char took, she closed the distance between them.
Gene joined her as she continued down the long and relatively straight Gothic Avenue.
Char stopped and grabbed a handful of Werebear fur to keep him from walking past. He groaned as he sniffed and looked without seeing anything. Char picked up a small boulder and rolled it down the middle of the tunnel. It rolled until it angled away from the crowned floor and bounced off the wall a couple times, coming to a stop fifty feet from where Char stood.
She repeated her trap-finding efforts, settling for throwing a handful of rocks at the wall. The fireworks started on the second throw when a gout of flame burst from the wall, filling the tunnel in front of them with fire.
Char grabbed Cory and dove to the ground. As fire continued to belch into the tunnel, it became difficult to breathe. The acrid smoke trailed along the ceiling until it found its way out.
“Hit the deck!” Mark’s order echoed down the tunnel.
It became difficult to see as the smoke burned their eyes.
“Keep your eyes closed,” Char told her daughter. Cory didn’t argue as she struggled to breathe, even with holding her shirt over her mouth and nose.
Someone started firing at the back of the formation. Char couldn’t see who or where.
“Target!” a voice called, followed by more gunfire.
“Target!” a second voice called before he opened up into a void in the tunnel wall.
Char concentrated, not finding any lifeforms. There shouldn’t have been any targets, but she had to trust that the warriors had seen something.
“Cease fire!” the captain called. “What the fuck are you idiots firing at?” Mark crouched as he stalked up and down the line of warriors.
“That’s just smoke, you morons! Stop wasting ammo!” Mark bellowed before giving the “all clear.”
The Landing Pad Outside Mammoth Cave
First Sergeant Blevin sat next to Corporal Heitz. They watched the only ground avenue of approach to the pods that led in the direction of the cave entrance. They’d turned the jeep off to save fuel while they waited.
“Keep your finger off the trigger. The first people up that path are going to be ours. You mark my words,” Blevin told his old friend.
“My baby doesn’t have a trigger, only this beautiful butterfly lever. And I haven’t cocked it yet, either, so cool your jets,” Max replied with a cackle.
“I’m glad we got to come along, and I’m glad I didn’t have to walk anywhere. That would be a huge pain in my ass,” Blevin said.
“Doing any work is a pain in your ass, has been for the past forty years, you lazy bastard,” Max quipped as he leaned heavily against the jeep’s roll bar. He breathed deeply of the fresh Kentucky air. “I like it here, Blevin. The air is nice and clean.”
“Bah. This is the first time we’ve left North Chicago in decades. You like it because it’s different, but then you won’t like it because it’s different. What about dinner? What will you do without Claire’s Diner?”
“Hmm. Starve, I suppose,” Max conceded. “Fair enough. It’s nice, but I like what I like, and that’s Mayra’s cooking.”
“Don’t we all, my friend,” Blevin agreed.
“Incoming!” Gerry called.
Max grabbed the lever and attempted to cock the ma deuce, but he couldn’t pull it hard enough. “Dammit! Come on, you bitch!” Max struggled until Blevin jumped up to help. Together they yanked the cocking handle back and down. Max wrapped his fingers around the spade handles and let his thumb hover over the butterfly trigger. His head swiveled left and right, up and down.
“I’m not seeing anything, Blevin. Where are they?” Max asked calmly.
A shadow descended over the jeep. “Fuckers got in behind us, Max! Light ‘em up!”
Corporal Heitz swiveled the gun mount and leaned down to lift the barrel of the fifty cal to aim at the target overhead. He depressed the lever and the machine gun barked, sending a stream of bullets into the hovering pod.
The aircraft banked away violently. Max let off the lever and thrust his hand in the air, a single digit propped skyward. “Fuck off, you bastards!”
“You showed ‘em, Max. Fuck off, goobers!” Blevin chimed in from the driver’s seat.
***
The pod arrived, and Ted hovered over the area until he saw the other pods in a small clearing. He expertly flew the short distance and slowed as he looked for a place to land.
The fifty caliber bullets clanging on the hull surprised him, making him drag a finger across the control screen. The pod jumped and slid sideways. Had it not been for the fail-safes, the pod would have crashed into those on the ground.
Ted steadied the pod. The bullets weren’t going to penetrate the hull of the pod, which was built to withstand the heat of the atmosphere, as well as strikes from micro-meteors.
Ted crept back toward the other pods. He activated the external speakers. “Why are you shooting at me?” he asked.
“Oh crap!” Max exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me that was one of ours?”
“You old bastard! You’re the one hammering the butterfly trigger. I oughta punch you right in your old crusty face,” Blevin threatened.
“I’ll save you the trouble.” Max slid under the roll bar, showing surprising dexterity. He took a ham-handed swing at Blevin, who dodged it by leaning backward and falling out of the jeep.
Max followed him out until the two oldsters were rolling around in the dirt.
“You ever see anything like that?” Sergeant Nickles asked the warrior next to him. The young woman shook her head as she cradled her rifle before her.
The sergeant cupped his hands around his mouth and projected his voice as strongly as he could. “Land it right here, Ted! LAND HERE!” Nickles chopped his arm down and pointed to the small open area.
Ted tickled the controls, turning the pod and dropping it quickly to land lightly into the tight space. He lowered the ramp and strolled into the open air.
“Where’s everybody else?” Sergeant Nickles asked.
“Oh,” Ted replied, turning back to look into the empty pod.
***
Terry sighed in relief when Fu returned. Yanmei greeted the young woman in Chinese and took the tools that she had brought. As an afterthought, Yanmei closed the door and had Fu lean against it.
With the proper equipment and Terry talking her through it, the first shackle unclasped. Terry gasped when he lowered his arm, the first time in untold hours.
She unlocked the other shackle in seconds.
“Thank you,” Terry said sincerely, rolling his shoulders and flexing his muscles. “Where is he?”
The Weretiger closed her eyes and clenched her jaw tightly. “Oh no,” she whispered.
The door burst inward, sending Fu flying across the room and sprawling over the withered corpse. She screamed as she scrambled to free herself. Yanmei opened her mouth and hissed. Kirkus’s eyes blazed with his fury.
Terry’s glowed a faint red. He had been given his chance to fight for his life. “Come on, asswipe, we’ve got business,” Terry snarled.
Mammoth Cave
Char sensed that the Forsaken had joined Terry and the Weretiger. “We need to hurry,” she said over her shoulder. Gene grumbled from behind her.
Cory wasn’t pleased. “Joseph said the closer we get, the slower we have to go. We can’t get in a hurry now!” she said louder than she intended.
Char hesitated. She made a fist and watched it shake. The fury and frustration were seething just below the surface. She had no patience left.
“Merrit, get up here!” she growled.
“Yes, my alpha,” came the immediate response. Even at the rear of the line of warriors, he could sense her rage. It was only that morning that she shattered Timmons’s face for a slight affront.
Only that morning.
Since then, Adams had been killed, Akio and Joseph were both down, and Gene was injured. As he worked his way to the front, he wondered how much more blood it would cost to free Terry Henry Walton.
Before he reached the front, he understood that if it cost all of them their lives, it would be worth the price. They could never let Forsaken dictate the terms of their existence.
This was more than rescuing their alpha’s mate. It was a life and death struggle for what Terry had been fighting for his whole life.
Justice.
“We need to punish them,” Merrit whispered when he reached Char.
“I agree whole-heartedly. Help me activate the traps. Rocks. Throw them, hard as you can.” Char didn’t wait. Between the two of them and Cory, they sent a cascade of gravel into the walls, walking forward a few steps and repeating their efforts. Gene and Aaron stayed close.
Cory looked back when she felt Gene’s hot breath on her back.
“Joseph said to spread out,” she cried.
“Joseph said that as we get more spread out, the more vulnerable we’ll be, if I’m not mistaken,” Char answered while continuing to throw gravel.
“Bring it up!” Char yelled and the members of the FDG tightened up, closing in. Mark brought up the rear with two privates, walking backwards to keep their rifles pointed down the tunnel to their rear.
“How far away is he?” Cory as
ked.
“Not far now, but we have company,” Char noted, pulling both pistols and standing ready. She yelled, “HERE THEY COME!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
North Chicago
Timmons and Sue walked out the front door of the mayor’s building. “Where did the other pod go?” Timmons asked no one in particular.
“Sorry, sir. Ted climbed in and took off before anyone knew what was going on,” Sergeant Boris informed them.
Sue rolled her eyes. “That would be Ted,” she stated definitively.
“Is the area secure? All intruders accounted for? What about our own?” Timmons asked.
Boris waved Sergeant Allison over. “We’ve had a number of civilian casualties. Those assholes fired into any building where they saw people. One of the wolves was shot. Hopefully, she’ll live long enough for Cory to return. The wolf has the worst of the injuries. We lost one warrior in the first volley. No one has died after, that I’m aware of, but we have at least ten people shot. I apologize for the number of warriors who dumped their gear and ran,” Boris said.
Allison saluted when he arrived. “It looks like we’ve lost two of the civilians. The others are getting treatment right now from our field medics.” Allison looked upset.
The FDG had started to train their people in field medicine. Nearly all of them were capable of working as field medics and some of the more gifted were ready to do more, even surgery if they had to.
Sergeant Allen joined the others in front of the mayor’s building. He’d had his people the farthest away from Mayor’s Park and had missed most of the action. He had nothing to report from his end.
“Shonna! Would you like to join us for a quick trip to the mountains? I think our alpha needs us,” Timmons said, stepping away smartly. Allison’s warriors were scattered, as were Allen’s, but Boris had his within shouting distance.
“Mount up!” the sergeant yelled, and his people came running. They’d had a taste of the action and wanted more.
They wanted their shot at payback.
***
“I’m going to paint the walls with your blood and then torch this place,” Terry taunted as he pushed Yanmei behind him.
Nomad Avenged Page 14
