by Noah Harris
“How good are you getting with ‘mech’? Could you be a plane?”
“A plane? No way. I might be able to manage a drone. Besides, I don’t even know where I’d be going once I get there,” he complained, exasperated.
“Once you get there, you will be able to feel your cells much more strongly, I promise.”
“Still, I have to fly the old-fashioned way? I can’t believe this. We’re shifters, and we can’t even do better than this.”
“We’re shifters, yes, but we are still just mortal creatures, Nick, not omnipotent. We may live longer, and with more style, but we still have limitations, and we still die.”
“I wish I could be a dragon like Henri was that day,” Nick pondered.
“Not constructive, and if you’re wishing, just wish to hold your ether form longer. NORAD would shoot a dragon down pretty quickly over the Atlantic Ocean, don’t you think?”
“Funny. Look, I gotta go. I may have to fly, but I have an idea.”
Nick hung up and quickly dialed Forrester, who gave him instructions for a private plane that could leave within the hour. He may have to fly conventionally, but he would do it as quickly as possible. Who knows what they could be doing to Jared. He boarded the plane as per Forrester’s instructions, and during pre-check, received a text from Michael with a large attachment labeled, ‘From Intel.’ It contained more information about Xerxes and Druje—they were siblings, very old money, multiple companies, with a long list of holdings around the world. He never would have found Jared, but when he examined the sheet for the area surrounding Paris, he found that there were only twenty properties listed. Still too many to check each one individually, but a much smaller pool than the hundreds they started with globally. In the air, Nick spent the time reviewing the maps of Paris and the properties, until he felt he could navigate by air if he had to. He also noticed the clustering of properties. Of the twenty, eleven were in the heart of the city, four to the south, three to the west and three to the north. None to the east. Not wanting to, but knowing that his physical shape was of great importance, Nick forced himself to eat, and then slept the remainder of the flight, storing up his energy.
Once he deplaned, the smells of Paris hit his nostrils. Not the croissants and perfume variety, but stale air and jet fuel. He paused on the tarmac, trying to focus, to find his cells, but it was too noisy and full of distractions. He needed somewhere quieter. The pilot assured him the plane would wait here until he returned with Jared. It was a private hangar and they didn’t care how many days it took. They had worked for Jared’s family for years, and also seen him grow from a boy to manhood. With gratitude, Nick thanked him quickly, but still ducked behind the hangar to shift. He didn’t know how much the staff knew, but, whenever possible, it was just good protocol to avoid shifting where there was the possibility of cameras.
Nick changed again to an eagle, and wondered if they even had them in France. He wished he knew some local birds, but the eagle form would be easier anyway, since he was already used to it. By now, it was again night, so let’s hope the birdwatchers of Paris had better things to do than be out with their night vision goggles, scrutinizing the appropriateness of bird species in the area. He took off, and it felt good to just fly. The release of stress from his body allowed him to be more balanced by the time he landed, which was in a small park within ten minutes of the airport. He set down in a soft patch of grass where no one else seemed to be around. For a few minutes, he tried Isda’s location exercise to no avail. Great. He could try all twenty addresses, but that would take forever. He decided, in the end, that he was using energy to hold his eagle state, so he switched back to human to preserve it, and ensure he would have the maximum available for use later, should he need it. As soon as he did, he immediately felt his cells. Weakly, but he felt them. Isda had been right!
Nick sat down in the grass, planted his palms in the cool greenery, as if bracing himself against the planet, and stared up at the moon. No stars were really visible this close to the city due to excessive light pollution, but he closed his eyes anyway and focused on his cells. Nick imagined them rejoining with his body. He felt it more and more strongly, until a car drove by and broke his concentration. This was the same as it had been with his other skills. When he was first learning them, he needed absolute focus, but as he got better, he could do them despite more distractions. Once the car had fully disappeared down the street, he focused and again picked up the feeling of his own cells… from the north! Definitely from the north! That was excellent news, since there were only three properties from the list to the north. Hopefully, he would be able to tell which one on his own, but if not, he could check them all if he had to do so.
Nick returned to his eagle state and took flight, in a northward direction. He imagined the maps of the streets in his mind as he did so, figuring out where he was in relation to the three properties by the largest roads and tourist landmarks, which were visible from the air. Once he got to the north side of the city, he landed again, but this time he stayed in eagle form, and could still feel the direction. The three properties on the north side of Paris included a warehouse, a large estate used for parties and lodging while in town, and an old, stone church. Nick now perceived that the stone church was the location to which they had taken Jared. After about twenty-five more minutes of flight, he finally found it, north of the city. He landed, already a little tired, cursing the fact that he was still on any Nydor. He wished he were fully weaned off it already, but cutting off altogether would have made the headaches immobilizing, so he was still stuck with the limitations. Just wait until he was at full power! It was all he could hope for, but it wouldn’t be today. Today, it was just Nick, the newbie shifter who was still learning. It was lucky for him he was as strong as he was, or he wouldn’t have made it this far. Still, whether he could make it the rest of the way would determine Jared’s fate, and Nick knew it, so the pressure was intense.
He would have loved to just fly in the window and start smashing up the place, but Nick knew he only had one shot at this. He had to be smart about it, and plan it out. First, he would need to figure out which room Jared was in, check the exits, and the number of guards. They were sure to have shift traps, and those damn cages! Was there any way to tell where they were and avoid them? None that he could tell. This expedition may be short-lived, but he couldn’t live with himself if he didn’t try, even if he died in the process. Jared had saved him when he needed it, and he’d be damned if he would leave him in the same position without at least trying to free him. If only I’d thought to ask Forrester about those cages when I was there! They were both in such a hurry, and everything since then had been so rushed, and sloppy. Score two for Michael about inexperience and going off half-cocked. Nick decided in that instant to just slow down. If he could confirm they had Jared, that he was okay, and seemed in no immediate danger of them killing him before morning, it might be more prudent to take a few hours, get back in touch with the team, and see if there was any new information that might prove helpful. It would give him the best shot at success.
Nick found out quickly that the large, stone church was like an anti-shifter Fort Knox. The very second a wing even grazed the perimeter, all the floodlights went on in the area. No bird exceptions here—great. He flew two laps around it, staying just beyond the perimeter, and due to his keen vision, could still see in many of the larger windows. This allowed Nick to rule out about forty percent of the building. Landing on a branch just beyond the outer wall, he watched the east side of the building for about twenty minutes, counting people—kitchen staff, guards, and others. He imagined they were likely to have an interior security room full of guards, and full of cameras like at the Finley estate, so he would never really be able to be certain of their number, but better to at least know where the first wave was posted. He wondered what form he might be able to take, once he got inside, one that they wouldn’t notice. A mouse or a snake seemed too obvious. Maybe an insect, but they m
ight try to squash him. Then, it occurred to him… ‘mech’. He always defaulted to animals because they were easier for him, but objects were even less noticeable, and he wasn’t sure if the humans knew about them or not. Only a handful of shifters, like Isda, were good at it, so it may not have been widely known. Even if they knew, they would be less practiced at spotting it. It seemed slow, annoyingly so, but more likely to succeed. If Nick could learn to be more patient to accomplish his goal, it just might pay off.
The next big hurdle in his strategy was to figure out how to get Jared out, and get them both back to the airport where the private Finley jet waited in the hangar. As Nick watched further, a kernel of an idea began to form. He noticed the pattern of different service and delivery people still arriving. It was nearly eight o’clock, local time, and the myriad of people who, in a structure such as this, made it run at night as if powered by elves; were coming and going—restocking, cleaning, and preparing for the next day. Most trucks were at the south entrance, but it was so full, that one particular laundry delivery truck was parked to the east. Nick first noticed the driver’s particular habit of chain-smoking, which made his work take five times longer than necessary, and then he overheard the house staff instruct him to bring in all the linens first, fold them each and place them in the holding closets on the cellar level. He was then to return and do the same with the towels. From the size of the bins, that should be three trips, with twenty to thirty minutes between each. An overall window of an hour and a half for a vehicle, which had its radio playing while the driver smoked nearby, so it was clear he had left the keys in the ignition. Now, that just left his concern about the cages, otherwise the plan was to grab Jared and run for it.
When the driver went inside with the first load of sheets, Nick turned to ether and made his way from the wall to the vehicle, returning to his base form once inside. Not only were the keys left inside, but a cell phone sat on the center console in the drink holder. Jackpot!
19
Nick lifted the phone from the central console, crouching down as far as he could in the seat and watching the side door as he did so. He dialed Michael’s number, and was relieved when he answered. Nick filled Michael in very briefly, acknowledging that time to talk was short, and they couldn’t really help him much further. He mainly wanted them to know he had found the correct location, and was planning to go in and get Jared. He confirmed he would call if and when he got back to the plane, so they knew to expect his arrival. That way they could at least be sure there was no ambush on the other end. Michael was fine with all of it, so Nick advised that another reason he was calling was to get Forrester’s number, if they could retrieve it. Nick didn’t have it committed to memory, and couldn’t bring his own phone while he was traveling as an eagle.
As soon as he had it, Nick dialed Forrester frantically, asking more about how the cages worked, in case he encountered one. Forrester asked him to hold while he consulted with the security staff, and returned with unfortunate news. He stated they would not release those details, as to do so would yield too large a competitive advantage. They trusted Nick as an individual to go and recover Jared, but they didn’t want all the shifters knowing their secrets. Simply put, they didn’t trust the rest of the non-humans. Forrester would have helped himself, but he didn’t know the precise inner workings. He knew it worked from a switch. Recalling a conversation, he had with Mr. Finley the year prior, he did offer one piece of useful information.
“I don’t think it works as well if you’re wet,” he informed.
“Like how much less?” Nick asked.
“I don’t know, sir. I got the impression it still functions, but just less effectively, perhaps,” Forrester responded.
“Will I get electrocuted?” Nick asked.
“I don’t know. I really do wish I knew more,” Forrester said glumly. “Have you seen Jared? Is he okay?”
“I haven’t seen him yet, but I think he’s okay.” Nick tried to ease the man’s worry.
He hung up quickly, still watching the side door. Great, now I need to find a way to get wet, go inside in shifter form, try to stay hidden as an object, somehow find Jared in the remaining rooms that haven’t been ruled out, and escape out here with him. This will take forever, and I’ve got about an hour and ten minutes remaining before the vehicle solution is gone. They could go for another vehicle, but the other entrance was busier, and there was no guarantee of keys—no, he needed to make this work. Just then, Nick spied the extra uniform on the back seat. They’d be expecting a shifter, probably not looking as hard for a human, French service worker. He took the uniform off the back seat and slipped it on. He was tempted to take the keys, to be sure he retained them, but if the real driver saw they were missing, all bets were off. He slid out of the vehicle and stood behind a tree just in time for the driver to return.
Nick waited patiently while the man flipped on the truck radio and smoked yet another cigarette. If he could just keep from dying of lung cancer long enough to get back in the house it would help! Next, the man took a large, wheeled bin of towels (the first of two), and trundled them to the basement, presumably to fold them and place them into the proper closets and shelves. Nick didn’t care about the particulars, he was just grateful when he was gone. Nick grabbed a small stack of towels, just enough to cover up that the sleeves of the uniform were too short for his arms, took a deep breath, and walked into the converted church. So far, so good. He walked in far enough to realize that the corridor was one of several spokes leading to a few larger, more central rooms. It fed into one circular, interior hallway which ran clear around the interior of the church, opening onto a great prayer room. He walked quietly along the hallway, carrying the towels, trying to look as if he was going somewhere with purpose, he was looking into each room with a sideways glance as he did so. When he got about three quarters of the way around, a woman stopped him abruptly.
She was saying something in French which he didn’t understand, but she did not seem overly alarmed. She just waved her hand back, gesturing behind him, and he could tell from her body language that she thought he was lost and was just directing him to go back in the direction he came from, or something like that. Behind her, he could see a large closed door, the first one he’d seen and since the hall had only a quarter of the way to go, Jared had to be in either the room behind the door, or the one just beyond that. He could feel the pull of his own cells strongly now, so he was definitely in one of them
“Oui,” Nick said, nodding. Yes, was one of the three words he knew in French. He’d seen television after all. So, he nodded and backed up, as if correcting his error, going back just far enough until she was out of sight. He went into a side room to set the towels down, and at that moment, a few other staff members came down the hallway. They wore business clothes and seemed in a hurry. He didn’t think they were likely to fall for the lost linen service routine, especially without any further verbal discussion, but also he couldn’t account for carrying towels this far away from where he should be. Damn the hairpin table legs; he couldn’t even hide behind the table! Mentally reverting back to his first ‘mech’ plan, Nick quickly set the towels down out of sight of the door and shifted himself into the first object he could think of, a large vase. It looked a little out of place in the room, but who would be looking for such a small detail?
The business people continued down the hallway, turning to the right and cutting through the large prayer room to reach their unseen destination on the opposite side. Nick couldn’t see well as the vase, another reason he didn’t like ‘mech’ shifts, so as soon as they were out of earshot, he decided to just go for it. He shifted straight to ether, knowing as soon as he did so, he would have about four minutes, or slightly more, to find Jared in one of those rooms, but the longer he stayed in ether form, the harder time he would have running out. He floated out the door and down the hallway, misting himself through the large, ancient keyhole which would have taken one of those large, metal keys w
ith teeth. Once through the keyhole, Nick found that Jared was not in this room, but saw two doors, one on the right wall, which would put that room right next to the large prayer room, and one in front of him. He passed into the one to the right, and quickly realized it was the security room. They watched over the great hall primarily, and cameras flipped periodically from a series of other locations throughout the building in rotating fashion. Clicked to the kitchen, clicked to outside, clicked to the hall. Nick realized it was partially by luck that he hadn’t been detected walking in the wrong section with the towels. It probably clicked at just the right time. Finally, some luck!
Nick left that room after less than thirty seconds and moved to the other one right next door, expecting to find Jared there. Time to make a run for it! Unfortunately, the room was empty. Not knowing what else to do, Nick moved back into the security room, estimating he was at least at two minutes by now. He watched over one guard’s shoulder as the cameras clicked from location to location. Finally, he saw Jared sitting on a sofa in a room alone. It was stone on three sides, which meant it was an exterior wall after all. The window was a diamond shape, and Nick recalled only one upper corner of the building that had windows like that. How was he supposed to get him out from up there? Feeling the pressure to conserve his strength now, Nick floated quickly back to the truck and turned into human form again, only this time he was sans uniform. Getting his bearings, Nick estimated Jared was in an upper room on the northeast corner. He wished he could just turn into something larger and fly him out. He got back into the truck so he was hidden from the cameras, and at that second, the driver returned for the third bin of towels. Fortunately, he thought he’d forego lung cancer for the moment, because he skipped his every-ten-minute smoke break. Nick shifted to a pencil sitting on the front passenger seat, but the driver never even saw him before he left to complete the final batch. That meant they were down to about twenty-five minutes. Time to grab and run! Nick shifted himself back to ether and flew to the northeast corner. Still not seeing Jared, he entered a window to begin searching each of those rooms. In the third one, he finally found him, but as expected, there were cameras everywhere!
