Smoke & Mirrors

by Charlie Cochet

  “Because then they’ll have my blood, my records, and they’ll want tests, and then the guys who had my parents killed will show up to kill me and Sloane.”

  Seb stilled, and Hudson stared at Dex over his glasses. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Jesus.” Seb turned to Sloane, shaking his head in disbelief. “You guys ever think of maybe taking some time off from all the crazy?”

  Sloane took a seat in the chair beside Dex. “Buddy, you have no idea.”

  “I know. It’s a lot to take in.”

  Dex told Hudson everything, leaving out only Sparks’s identity. He trusted Hudson with his life, but the four of them, they were connected through their bonds, through their experiences, and what Shultzon’s superiors had planned for them. Just because Hudson wasn’t Human didn’t mean he wouldn’t be targeted. Dex wasn’t taking any chances. Dex watched Hudson as he slowly sank into one of the chairs. He was quiet as he took it all in. Seb, for all his bulk and muscle, was sharp. He narrowed his eyes at Dex.

  “That’s why you brought me here.”

  Hudson looked from Seb to Dex and back. “What are you talking about?”

  Seb continued, addressing Dex as if Hudson hadn’t spoken. “These people who are after you, they’re dangerous. By coming here, you could have put Hudson on their radar. You brought me here to protect him.”

  “I’m sorry,” Dex replied sincerely. “But I can’t go to a hospital. Not anymore.” He turned his attention to Hudson. “I trust you, Hudson. Whatever’s going on, it’s bigger than all of us. Who’s to say you and Seb wouldn’t be next? Right now they’re just targeting Humans who’ve been marked, but what if they start looking at Pre-First Gens?” Dex moved his gaze to Seb. “What if your DNA changes Hudson?”

  Seb looked stricken. “That was three years ago. If that was the case it would have happened by now.”

  “But you don’t know for sure. No one does. You need to keep an eye on it.” Dex turned his attention back to Hudson. “I’m sorry for bringing you into this mess, Hudson, but I have no one else to turn to, no one else I trust more. If I end up under your care, I know you’ll do what is right. I know I’m asking a lot from you, and I’ll find a way to repay you, but please. I need you to be my doctor. Off the books.” Dex waited quietly as Hudson went pensive. His tension eased somewhat when he felt Sloane take his hand and squeeze.

  Seb began to pace, his anger rising. “This is ridiculous. How could you come here and put him in danger like this?”

  “Seb,” Hudson called gently.

  “That was an incredibly selfish move on your part, Dex. These people don’t care who they kill. How could you bring them down on us?”

  “Sebastian, stop!” Hudson stood. His expression softened as he spoke to Seb. “I know you just want to protect me, but I make my own decisions. If everything Dex has told us is true, then I have an obligation to do my part. As a doctor, I can’t turn my back on those who need my aid, especially friends.” Hudson gave Dex a nod. “You have my word. I will do everything I can to help you.”

  Seb ran his fingers through his hair as he paced before he came to some sort of conclusion. “Fine.” He faced Hudson. “Then you better get used to having me around, because I’m not letting you out of my sight with those assholes out there.”

  “Seb, I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself. I may be the medical examiner, but I’m also a THIRDS agent, and—”

  “This isn’t up for discussion!” Seb thundered, marching up to Hudson, grabbing his arm, and pulling him against him. “I don’t care if you hate me. I don’t care how many times you tell me to fuck off. I am not going away, and I sure as shit won’t let them put their hands on you if I can help it, so I suggest you get that into your pretty little head right now, Dr. Colbourn, because you’re going to be seeing a hell of a lot more of me. You got that?”

  Hudson nodded.

  “Tell me you understand.”

  Hudson swallowed hard, his cheeks flushed. “I understand.”

  “Good.”

  Seb released him before he stalked off into the living room, muttering under his breath. No one said a word. Dex was impressed. He and Sloane exchanged glances. They’d never seen Seb like this. Hudson apparently quite liked it, if his blushing cheeks were anything to go by. Well, he learned something new about their doctor friend every day. Hudson cleared his throat and went on to tend to Dex’s wound.

  “It’s extraordinary,” Hudson said, inspecting his arm.

  The wounds were reduced to mere stings. More a discomfort than anything.

  “What’s that?” Dex asked. He looked at his arm and frowned. “Holy shit.”

  “What is it?” Sloane quickly got up to see for himself. “How’s that possible?”

  “What?” Seb approached, took one look at Dex’s arm, and shook his head. “That’s not possible. How can you be healed already? That kind of wound would take days to heal.”

  “It’s your new body.”

  Everyone turned to find Sparks standing in the doorway.

  “Lieutenant?” Hudson seemed to quickly put two and two together. “You know about this. About Dex’s mutated DNA.”

  “Yes. I can’t get into the history of it now.” She looked over at Dex and gave him a nod. “Recruiting Dr. Colbourn was a very smart move. We’ll undoubtedly be requiring his assistance in the future. We’ve got bigger problems at the moment.” She looked to Dex and Sloane. “The trap we devised failed, though not entirely.”

  “Trap?” Sloane frowned. “Wait, the frat boys. That was a trap?”

  “My operatives. They’ve already been released from custody. The belief was that whoever wants you dead would take this ideal opportunity to go after you. Instead, they used Taylor.”

  “Taylor?” Hudson looked confused. “I thought this whole mess was a result of Taylor challenging Sloane for Dex.”

  “I’m convinced it’s what they wanted us to believe,” Sparks said with a sigh. “Unfortunately, whatever they did to him still has him in a completely feral state. Sergeant Maddock is attempting to get Taylor to shift back.”

  Sloane came to stand by Dex, his hand on Dex’s shoulder. “Wait. Shultzon said they’d send someone to kill us both. Someone whose desire for my mate could easily be turned into deadly jealousy. They somehow got to Taylor.”

  Seb nodded. “Well, it’s no secret Taylor’s wanted Dex since he joined.”

  “Considering the Therian-control drugs these guys have been messing with for years,” Dex pondered, “I’m not surprised they’d pump him with something to get the results they wanted.”

  Sparks approached Dex, and he wrinkled his nose. “What’s that smell?”

  “What?” Sloane sniffed the air. “It’s sweet.”

  Dex had smelled it before. It had been faint, but he remembered thinking it was gross because it had a hint of something he didn’t like.

  “It’s licorice,” Dex said, giving another sniff.

  Sparks waved her hand in dismissal. “Oh, that. Admiral Moros, the Chief of Therian Defense is at HQ. It’s where I just came from. He wears this hideous ointment for his joints.” Sparks sniffed her hand with a frown. “We shook hands.”

  Where had he smelled that? Dex closed his eyes, racking his brain. It was important he remember. He didn’t know why, but it was important. His brain was fuzzy, the last few months messing with his head. The seizures, the passing out, the kidnapping….

  “Dex?” Sloane ran a hand over Dex’s head. “What’s wrong?”

  “I smelled that somewhere.” Somewhere dark…. His eyes flew open. “Oh God. It’s him.”

  “What?” Sparks grabbed his shoulders. “Explain.”

  “The Chief of Therian Defense. He was in the facility where Wolf held me.”

  “Are you certain? This is an incredibly delicate situation, Dex. If you’re wrong—”

  “It was him! I remember the smell. I thought about how much I hated the smell of licorice. Had one too many shots in college.
It had to be him. He’s a tiger Therian, isn’t he?”

  Sparks’s eyes went wide, and for the first time since Dex had known her, she looked truly scared. “Oh no.”

  “What?” Dex asked, following her as she took off. He called out over his shoulder. “Seb, look after Hudson. We’ll be in touch!” Dex didn’t wait for a reply. He and Sloane ran out of the house after Sparks. He’d never seen her move so fast, but Dex caught up. He grabbed her arm and spun her around, surprised by the tears in her eyes. “What the hell is going on?”

  “He’s with Tony! He said he showed up when he heard about Taylor going feral, and he wanted to interrogate him himself. Said he had to make sure there wasn’t a breach in THIRDS security.”

  Dex’s heart leaped into his throat. “He’s going to kill Taylor to keep him from talking.” Which meant he would kill any witnesses. “Dad….”

  They ran to Sparks’s car, a shiny black Firebird Trans Am parked at the curb. They climbed into the muscle car, and Sparks burned rubber. They weren’t far from HQ, and Dex tried to call his dad’s cell phone.

  “Shit. He’s not answering.” He prayed they’d get there in time. He could be completely wrong about the Chief of Therian Defense, but the guy matched Shultzon’s description, though clearly he’d changed some in thirty-five years. Something in his gut warned Dex. He tried to call dispatch and got nothing. “Why can’t I get through to anyone?”

  “I don’t know.” Sparks tapped her ear. “Tell me what the hell is happening at THIRDS HQ. What? Shit. I’m heading that way now. You know the drill. We’re going all in on this. Stay out of sight. I want someone in there with Sergeant Maddock. I don’t give a shit what protocol says. If anything happens to him, you’ll have to answer to me. Do you hear me? Get him out alive!”

  Dex had never seen Sparks like this. He had no idea she cared so much about Tony. Then again, the two had been partners for years, and he was Dex and Cael’s father.

  “HQ has been evacuated. A fire up in the labs. Everyone’s made it out safe, and the fire’s contained, but Tony’s down in the subbasement in the Therian holding cells. Transmission has been cut off. He has no idea there’s anything wrong. It’s a goddamn war zone over there. No calls are coming through dispatch.”

  She growled as she floored the accelerator, and they sped through a red light.

  “Chief’s initiated Emergency Shield Protection Protocol.”

  Dex closed his eyes. He’d heard of the ESPP. It was initiated only if a terrorist attack was suspected. With the protocol in place, no one was getting in or out.

  “How are we going to get to Tony?” Sloane asked worriedly. “The place is a goddamn fortress by now.”

  “My operatives are working on it.”

  She sped in through the back entrance of the parking garage across from THIRDS HQ and brought the car to a screeching halt at the end of the floor. They jumped out of the car and ran after her, meeting several TIN operatives in black suits waiting for them.

  Please, Dad, be okay. Dex and Sloane followed Sparks and the Tin Men through a steel door marked Security Personnel Only. They hurried down several flights of stairs to what appeared to be an expansive subbasement. At the end of one of the many corridors, the TIN operatives stopped at a huge boiler. One of them put his hand to a panel, and something clicked. He stepped aside as his partner took hold of the massive iron handle and pulled. The door opened, and Sparks climbed in. Inside, she turned to Dex and Sloane.

  “Follow me,” Sparks ordered. “This goes through to the parking garage under HQ. We had it built back before the THIRDS opened its doors.”

  She disappeared into the shadows, and Dex quickly followed. Inside it was dark and damp, but Dex didn’t have a problem. He could see ahead of him just fine. Sloane’s hand touched his back, and Dex nodded, knowing Sloane could see him.

  “Whatever happens,” Sloane said quietly, “you be careful.”

  “You too.”

  They were inside the small tunnel for less than five minutes, but for Dex it seemed to take forever. They finally emerged through a grate on the other side. As soon as Sloane had climbed out, Sparks replaced the grate, and they ran through the empty brick corridor to a set of stairs. Dex had never been this far down in HQ. There was never any need for him to be. There wasn’t even anything down here, or so he’d believed.

  Sparks silently opened the fire door at the top of the stairs and slipped out. Dex and Sloane followed. They were on a landing in the emergency stairwell. Dex ran to the next fire door, the one that led to the holding cells. He carefully opened it, hearing the roars, hisses, and howls. The cells had at least half a dozen suspects still in their Therian forms, and something was upsetting them. A gunshot echoed, and Dex’s heart leaped in his throat. He ran out the door to his dad’s scream.

  “What the fuck are you doing?”

  Licorice. Oh God, it made him feel sick to his stomach. Dex rounded the corner in time to see the Chief of Therian Defense shoot his dad in the chest.

  “No!” Dex roared as he barreled into the tiger Therian, sending them rolling on the concrete floor. Dex lunged at Admiral Moros, straddling him and planting a fist across his face. “You son of a bitch!”

  Moros hissed, slamming his hands into Dex’s chest and sending him flying off. Dex hit the floor hard. He rolled and saw Sparks and Sloane holding Tony, blood seeping from the gunshot wound in his chest. Dex pushed himself to his feet to face the asshole.

  “Sloane, get this building up and running! We need a medevac stat!” Sparks ordered before Dex heard her yell at Sloane again. “Dex can handle it. Save Tony!”

  Dex faced Moros, circling him, his fury rising through him. “You’re the one behind all this. Behind the facility, the torture, the control drug, everything. And now you shot my father.”

  “It’s his own fault.” Moros spat out a mouthful of saliva mixed with blood. “He should have gone back upstairs like I told him to, but he wouldn’t leave his post. I couldn’t have any witnesses.”

  Dex glanced at Sparks, who had her forehead pressed against Tony’s as she comforted him. A white rage rose inside Dex. Not again. “You took my parents. I won’t let you take him too.”

  Moros laughed at him. “And what are you going to do? I’m a Therian, and a tiger one at that. You’re no match for me, and your boyfriend isn’t here to protect you. You think because you’re infected that it makes you like me?” His steel-gray eyes filled with fury. “You’re an abomination! Neither Human nor Therian.” Moros unbuttoned his Naval officer’s jacket and tossed it to one side, the medals clinking against the floor. “You’re going to join all those other abominations in hell.”

  “They were innocent people! My parents were innocent. And for the record, I’m nothing like you.”

  “The Therian species is superior. This war between us and the Humans is only beginning. Everyone wants to be at the top of the food chain. I couldn’t have Humans running around with Therian traits, with our eyesight, our strength, our healing abilities? How long would it take Human military officials to decide they needed an army of freaks like you?” He rolled up his sleeves and ran a hand through his silver hair.

  “Humanity has had its day, Dexter. Not you, TIN, or anyone else is going to stop Therians from being the true kings of this world. You think I’m alone in this?” He laughed bitterly. “Do you really think everything will stop if I’m in prison or dead? You stupid, naïve little boy. Playing soldier in a war you’re not ready for.” He motioned for Dex to advance. “Come on, then. Come join your parents in the afterlife. They failed, and so will you.”

  Dex let out a fierce roar as he charged, pain shooting through his body like electric charges striking every muscle and nerve ending. Claws pierced his fingers as Dex launched himself into the air, jumping and coming down on Moros, who dodged away, but not before Dex’s claws scraped at his face.

  Dex landed on his feet with a hiss. He looked up at Moros, who stared at him, eyes wide as he touched his bloodied
cheek. With a war cry, Moros attacked, and Dex moved swiftly, staying out of Moros’s grasp. One hand to the throat, and Dex was dead. This man was responsible for the death of his parents, for the innocent couples whose only crime was to love without prejudice, only to die at the hands of this monster. It was all about greed and power. That was all it ever was about.

  Dex ducked under Moros’s fist and swiped his claws, tearing at Moros’s pant leg and drawing blood. The man was strong as hell, but Dex was strong too. He drew on his newfound strength, on his speed and agility, on all the training he’d been doing over the last few months. He struck as hard as he could whenever Moros left himself vulnerable, retracting his claws and driving his fist against the man’s kidneys, his ribs, and then releasing his claws, striking wherever he could. Moros roared with fury as he tried to get his hands on Dex. Tiger Therians were big, fast, but all that bulk and muscle, their size could be used against them. Ash had taught Dex that, and now that Dex was faster, unrelenting, his body pulsating with Therian blood, he grabbed fistfuls of Moros’s clothes and jerked him, sending him sliding across the floor.

  The alarms beeped as the building’s security-measure protocol was removed. Moros screamed, a wail of frustration and anger. Instead of heading for Dex, he changed trajectory.

  “No!”

  Dex sped toward Moros as he headed for Sparks and Tony. Sparks was applying pressure to Tony’s wound. Dex could see his father trying to move Sparks out of the way. They’d both be killed. Images flashed through Dex’s mind. His parents had been taken from him too soon, but he’d found love again. His parents had made sure of it. Sparks brought Tony against her, shielding him with her body. Dex raced across the floor, sliding on his knees in front of Sparks as Moros raised his own claws, his fangs bared.

  Moros’s eyes went wide, blood bubbling up and spurting from his lips. He staggered back, his hands going to his gut. Dex’s chest rose and fell as he tried to catch his breath. He watched as Moros gaped at Dex before falling to his knees, and even then he still tried to crawl over to Tony. Dex retracted his claws as he walked over, his jaw set as he put his boot to Moros’s shoulder and kicked. The guy dropped onto his side before rolling onto his back, his guts spilling through the tears in his abdomen. The EMTs reached Tony and hurriedly got to work under Sparks’s orders. Sloane came running, stopping beside Dex and putting his arm around him, his deep frown on Moros.