Shifting Focus (A Paranormal, Urban, Fantasy Novella) (Focus Series Book 2)

by Alex Bostwick

  Except to scare the shit out of someone who was following me, of course.

  I felt something stirring in me. I realized that I didn’t know Rick that well, that we had only met the previous day, but I trusted him. More than that, I wanted him. Maybe it was misplaced emotions leftover from my encounter with Jason, but I didn’t care. I opened my mouth to tell him so.

  “Rick,” I began.

  “You’re not going to like this, but I have an idea,” he interrupted.

  “Rick, I—“

  “I’m going to impersonate Jason.”

  Thoughts of sex left my mind in a flash. “What?”

  “Hear me out.” He took a deep breath, pulling his chair closer to mine. My knees were in his lap now, my feet dangling over the side. “It’s the only way to get a better picture of what we’re up against. I shift into Jason while he’s not in the building, head into his office, and clone the hard drive of his computer. I have the equipment for it. Should only take about ten minutes, tops.”

  I shook my head violently. “It’s too risky. What if Jason shows up again? What if security notices that he’s coming and going an awful lot?”

  “How else are we going to find out what he’s up to? You can’t move freely in the building anymore.”

  “If we wait until the day after tomorrow, I’ll be observing the Fire faction. I’ll find a chance to get into his computer, and take care of it myself.”

  “Honestly, Nora, you’re a badass lady and good on your feet, but there’s no reason to risk your life a second time like this. If I get caught, you still have a relatively high level of access. You can pick up the ball and run with it if I go down. At this point, I can’t really act on my own. If you’re caught, I have to start over and find someone else that can give me access. And I don’t want to do that.” He swallowed heavily. “I’m glad I picked you. Not that, like, I’m glad that I tried to use you or anything,” he went on hurriedly. “I’m just glad we met, is all.”

  I reached over and squeezed his hand. “Me too. It’s been a long time since…” I trailed off.

  Rick leaned over and slung an arm across my shoulders. He slid me off the chair and onto his lap. I draped an arm around his head.

  “Since what?” he asked, his voice suddenly husky.

  I wiggled against his legs. “Take a guess.”

  Rick pulled my head down towards his and kissed me. A soft sound of pleasure was stifled in my throat. Gently, after what was likely quite a while but still felt disappointingly short, he pulled away. Flushed with excitement, I was not ready for things to end.

  Rick cleared his throat pointedly. “Do we have time for this?”

  Knowing that we didn’t, not caring that we didn’t, I lied. “Yes.”

  Softly, he leaned forward once more and kissed me again, briefly. “No, we don’t,” he said, sighing heavily. A disappointed growl escaped my lips. “I know. Trust me, I’ve been thinking about it since I first saw you. But we have important things to do. There’ll be time enough for this after we finish.”

  “There’d better be.” I felt… cavalier. I was never one to be so aggressive. It wasn’t very much like me, but I liked it anyway. It felt good to be straightforward and honest about what I wanted.

  Rick smiled, and I stood up. He rose from his chair. “Do you happen to have a pitcher of ice water to pour down my pants?”

  I shook my head. “Nope. You’ll just have to suffer.”

  He sighed dramatically, throwing his arms up in mock indignation. “Let’s get to work.”

  ***

  Late that night, just before eleven-thirty, we sat in my car in Focus’s parking lot. Jason had walked out of the building an hour before, looking tired but still intimidating. Rick had taken a good look at him, and was about to shift.

  “Okay. It doesn’t look like he’s coming back tonight,” he said. “Wish me luck.”

  “Wait a sec,” I told him. I leaned across the seat, and planted a soft kiss on his mouth. He reached for my hand, raised it to his lips, and kissed it. “Didn’t want to kiss Jason.”

  He grinned. “I get it.”

  “Be safe.”

  “Sure thing.”

  Rick sucked in a breath, and, within seconds, his skin was rippling, waves pulsing beneath his flesh. His jaw squared off, his eyes lost their lovely powder blue shade, he grew an extra few inches (and gained about forty pounds of muscle), and, before I knew it, I was sitting in the car with Jason Butler. His clothes were a little too tight—where Jason did his shopping, I’ll never know, but it certainly wasn’t at Macy’s—but the security guards wouldn’t look too closely. There was no mistaking Jason when you saw him.

  “Later, babe,” he growled in Jason’s voice.

  “Later.”

  And, with that, he left the car and strode into the building.

  Several minutes passed, during which I imagined Rick getting burned alive for impersonating a member of Focus. Stop, he would cry in a voice that wasn’t his own, it’s me, Jason! But the security personnel, savvy in detecting all methods of infiltration, saw through his ruse, and jets of white hot flame engulfed Rick before he could protest further. My friend the skinchanger, reduced to a pile of ashes.

  He’s fine. Grow up a little bit.

  Seconds ticked by, and I waited to hear from Rick. I had given him the general layout of Focus’s offices, and they weren’t exactly complicated. He couldn’t have gotten lost. It was possible that he was simply around other people, and wasn’t free to talk.

  “Hey, Rick. Clear your throat if you’re around other people.”

  I heard a brief cough through the earpiece.

  “Okay, now clap your hands.”

  Silence.

  “Rick, I need you to clap your hands. It’s important.”

  Another, louder cough.

  “You’re no fun.”

  Messing with Rick was supposed to ease my tension. It didn’t do much, but at least I knew he was all right.

  “Hey, Rick. I was wondering; have I actually seen what you really look like? Or did you just shift from a middle-aged man into something else? Do you have to go back to your original body in between shifts?”

  A subtle grunt that sounded noncommittal. Interesting.

  “I mean, I don’t mind. You look great. Very handsome. You have that whole werewolf heartthrob thing going, like in those vampire romance movies that make teen girls lose their minds.”

  I thought I heard him exhale rather sharply through his nose.

  “I just thought that you might actually be some skinny kid. I wouldn’t mind, though. I’d just be afraid I’d break you in half, you know? Now that I think about it, how would you even age? Couldn’t skinchangers kind of live as long as they want to? I mean, if you get to be eighty years old, just shift into a younger body. Or does it not work that way?”

  “Nora, you’re adorable.”

  “Oh! Hey Rick.”

  “I’m in the office now. There were guys hanging around the central office.”

  “That’s Gabriel’s. He must have had a meeting.”

  “Should we bring him in on this eventually? I’m copying the files now, by the way. Should be out in a few minutes.”

  “Nice.” I thought about his question for a moment. Gabriel had been my friend since I was still in pigtails. He had made sure that I was well-cared for, had taught me how to control my magic, had paid for my education, and had given me a purpose for my life. I didn’t generally keep secrets for him—I mean, I hadn’t exactly gone into explicit detail about everything, but it was no more than the things most people keep from their parents. Boyfriends, late night parties, that sort of thing—though there had been little enough of that.

  Gabriel could help us. He could provide insight, resources, access—hell, he could probably get a confession out of any suspect we brought him.

  But I also had no idea how far this corruption went. I didn’t want to think that Gabriel had been compromised, but there was every ch
ance that he was. He may not even be aware of what he was doing, if the Spirit faction was involved—a possibility I barely wanted to consider. Anyone who was willing to sacrifice the lives of thousands or millions wouldn’t have any qualms about using their abilities to control a few minds. If I told Gabriel what we suspected, the consequences may outweigh the benefits.

  “Not yet. Not until we’re sure he isn’t involved.”

  “Okay. I’m looking through some of the files while the transfer is running.”

  “Yeah? Find anything good?”

  “Not yet. What’s new with you?”

  “Oh, you know. The usual. Big date night. I’m thinking about hitting the club later.”

  “Yeah?”

  “No, dingus. I’m scanning the parking lot to make sure Jason isn’t going to show up and burn the building to the ground when he sees you.”

  “’Dingus?’ Really?”

  “Shut up. Don’t make fun of my vernacular.”

  “Don’t make it so easy.”

  “Do you remember what happened to your car?”

  “I liked that SUV. It had great mileage for its size.”

  “What model was it? A 2010 Earth Murderer?”

  “Don’t tell me you’re one of those environmentalist nutjobs.”

  “Rick, I’m one of those environmentalist nutjobs.”

  “Curses. You know that this means we are no longer friends.”

  “I’ll have to drink myself to sleep tonight.”

  “I think the phrase is ‘cry myself to sleep.’”

  “Not the way I do it.”

  “Hey… Nora. The file transfer is done. But… have you ever heard of something called Overwatch?” Rick’s voice sounded uncertain, losing its normal joking quality. The term was unfamiliar, but sounded vaguely military in nature.

  “No, I haven’t. Why?”

  “It’s a folder on Jason’s computer. There are documents in here… hang on. I’m reading.”

  “I didn’t know you could read.”

  “Shush.”

  Seconds ticked by, feeling closer to hours than minutes. I hoped that whatever Rick found would turn out to be good news. Jason was terrifying enough without additional evidence of his treachery. Finally, after five minutes that surely took several days, Rick’s voice broke the silence.

  “Nora, I think Jason’s innocent.”

  “What?”

  “There’s a file here, Case #000. It’s detailing Jason’s investigation into a catastrophe that is going to be perpetrated by an unknown party within Focus. He’s been following this thing for the past two weeks. He’s not involved in the conspiracy, Nora—he’s trying to stop it.”

  Hope flared in my chest, bright and electrifying. I sat up straight in my seat, feeling more excited than I had for the past two days. I acknowledged the fact that Rick and I had been wrong, and were possibly idiots, but didn’t care. My elation at having a potential ally, one as strong and scary as Jason, could not be contained.

  “Rick, this is incredible. We aren’t alone. We might not have to do this without help!”

  “I know! Well, more like Jason doesn’t. I think we’re joining him, not the other way around.”

  Rick’s voice was giddy with enthusiasm. A bona fide badass with years of combat experience under his belt flipping from the enemy to the ally column tended to have that effect.

  “How can we reach out to him?” Rick asked.

  “We shouldn’t approach him at headquarters. It’s too risky to—“

  “Someone’s coming,” Rick cut in, his tone hushed. I silenced myself immediately.

  I heard shuffling in the background through the earpiece. I pictured Rick preparing to defend himself. The trouble was that Focus was full of wizards capable of wildly different but equally deadly magic. One-on-one, Rick didn’t stand a chance against virtually any of them, unless he surprised them.

  But…

  I whispered into Rick’s ear. “Remember that you’re Jason. He’s one of the leaders of Focus, and probably the most intimidating person I’ve ever met. You can scare them off.”

  I heard a snort in response. Evidently, Rick had already thought of that. Anxious silence stretched for several seconds.

  “Can I help you, gentlemen?” Jason’s voice rumbled from Rick’s mouth.

  I heard a murmur in response, pitched higher and apparently stammering.

  “I came back to take care of a few things. That does not explain what you are doing here.”

  More background stutters, impossible to comprehend.

  “I’ll be back on duty tomorrow. I trust this can wait until then?”

  The reply was short and terse, and I heard the sound of a door closing. Then Rick cut back in.

  “They’re gone. I need to get out of here. I think they’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Who were they?”

  “No idea. Couple of guys who fed me a line of bullshit about needing to confirm shift appointments. They were lying, big time. I think they were hoping to do exactly what you and I did.”

  “Trying to spy on Jason, you mean.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, we can’t let them confirm what Jason knows. It’s better if they have no idea how much or how little he has to go on right now.”

  “Agreed. Luckily, I came prepared.”

  “Huh?”

  “File transfer is done. I’m going to wipe his computer.”

  “How?”

  “Electromagnet. Nice little doohickey I picked up a while back. Stick it onto the hard drive, turn it on for a few seconds, and problem solved. It can be loud, though.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You need a hell of a magnet to wreck newer hard drives. This one can lift about four hundred pounds. It’s not just going to corrupt the hell out of the data, it’s going to physically pull the magnetic components towards it. I can set it on a delayed response, but I’ll need to be out of here before it turns on. Warm up the car, honey.”

  “You got it. But call me ‘honey’ again, and you lose a limb.”

  “You’re a sweet girl, Nora Tress.”

  “Yeah, I’m sugary all over. Get back here. We need to get to Jason’s house.”

  “It’s kind of late for a visit, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, but we need to contact him. Can’t call him; we don’t know if he’s being tapped. You might have spooked them for now, but if whoever is behind this is willing to kill millions of people, they won’t have a problem bumping off an old veteran.”

  “You think he’s going to be targeted?”

  “He will if they check his computer and find it’s been wiped.”

  “Shit.” Rick paused for a second. “Are we sure we want Jason to be in the line of fire?”

  I sighed. I didn’t want to make this call for anyone else, but what choice did I have? “He’s already put himself on the line, Rick. I think it’s safe to say that he knew what he was getting into when he started investigating this. The best thing to do right now is wipe that data and get to Jason as soon as we can. They already suspect he’s onto them, assuming that those two guys who came to visit you are involved. And if they aren’t, then nobody will know until they try to access his computer. Either way, it’s only a matter of time before they try to put him down. At least this way he won’t be alone, and the sooner he knows that he isn’t, the better for all of us.”

  Rick digested what I had said for a few moments. “Okay. Let me do this thing. It’ll shut back off after ten seconds, which is enough to nuke the drive, but shouldn’t mess with anything else in the office. Unless, you know, I’m wrong. Not all of us studied physics.”

  “Can’t sit here all night debating it, Ricky.”

  “You’re going to pay for that, honey.”

  “Make sure you’re alive to cash in your debt, then, Ricky.”

  “Fine,” he breathed. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

  “Incidentally, how did you manage to get a hard drive
and a SATA enclosure past security?”

  “I put it in my pocket.”

  I laughed out loud. “You know. I couldn’t fit fifteen folded up pieces of paper in my pockets.”

  “I vividly recall you removing documents from the general region of your posterior, so I assumed that was the case.”

  “Shit like that is the reason feminism is still a thing.”

  “I thought it was about fair wages, equal treatment, that sort of thing.”

  “No, I’m pretty sure it’s mostly about lady jeans pockets. I’ll have to ask the others at the next meeting.”

  “Okay. I’m out of here.”

  “Be careful.”

  After a few seconds, I heard him whisper, “Looks like they’re not hanging around right now. I probably won’t talk for a few minutes. See you in a bit.”

  “Luck.”

  “Thanks babe.”

  I chewed on my lip, anxious and impatient. I wanted Rick to come back safely, and to get to Jason’s house before anything happened. Jason would either already have a plan in place, or would at least have more information for us. Together, I was sure that we would be able to come up with a way to move forward.

  A few agonizingly tense minutes later, I saw Jason stroll up to my car, casually open the passenger door, and sit next to me. A few seconds after that, he had shifted back into his familiar body.

  “Lady,” he said by way of greeting.

  “Sir,” I replied.

  We grinned in unison, excitement nearly tangible in the atmosphere.

  “Let’s go see Jason, Nora Tress.”

  Chapter Six

  Jason didn’t live too far away, which was a relief. In the suburbs, you were either fifteen minutes or an hour away from everywhere else. We pulled up to his house, a handsome ranch with tan siding. One car, presumably Jason’s, was in the driveway. I checked around the neighborhood, rubbernecking in every direction for signs of trouble. All was silent.

  Rick and I headed for his front door. On the way, I noticed little things about the property. The lawn was perfectly manicured. Two flowerbeds, sporting mums in a riot of colors, thrived on either side of the walkway to his porch. A pretty wreath hung from the door, with a small wooden sign that read WELCOME, decorated in paisley designs. This didn’t look like the house of a bachelor, or a grizzled warrior. It looked like a home for a pair of rapturous newlyweds.