Double Trouble (Taz Bell Book 5)

by Sharon Green

  "What about the people that crazy rogue put under his control?" I asked, preferring not to think about a war with uncaring magic users. No wonder it was the State Department that dealt with them…

  "Taz, they destroyed the rogue," Amiol said gently, as if explaining the alphabet to a child. "As soon as he was gone his control over his victims disappeared, so now we can release the ones in here. I'm afraid that Allison and her people will have to deal with the ones they arrested."

  Fainis shook her head with a small sigh coming out, most likely an indication that she was glad she wasn't in Allison's shoes. Then she and Amiol turned back to the rest of the café and spoke another spell, and a moment later we were in the midst of bedlam.

  More than half of the people seated at other tables came to their feet with yells of some kind. Everyone else looked confused or shocked, as if they had no idea of what was going on. Allison's people began to spread out and talk to those who were wildest, and that was when my phone rang. I knew I'd never hear Allison, who was the one calling, in that insanity, so I went to the door and stepped outside.

  "Okay, Allison, now I ought to be able to hear you," I said, seeing that my companions were following me through the door. "Our special visitors were here and did what they had to, and now they're gone. But the rogue is also gone, as in vanished without a trace, and now his victims are out from under his control."

  "Will that also apply to the people we arrested?" Allison asked after a second of hesitation. "Not to mention my associate, the one who was feeding the rogue information? And no one has told me who those people were. All my contact said was that there would be people sent immediately to see to the problem."

  "Apparently the rogue was a light elf who was completely insane," I told her, understanding why she sounded kind of lost. "The three men who came here were also light elves, and they destroyed the crazy one before leaving. And yes, I'm told that your prisoners and associate also ought to be free as well. And it wasn't their idea to join the rogue."

  "What a mess," Allison said, the trace of a moan in her voice. "I don't even want to think about what we'll have to do to get this all straightened out."

  "One of the things you ought to be doing is sending people to any other internet cafés the rogue visited this morning," Freemont said, having heard Allison's comments. "The freed slaves here are frantic because they don't know what happened, so any others ought to be the same."

  "Yes, I'll have to do that," Allison all but muttered, her voice now sounding even more tired. "And I'll have to get back to you about the light elves. Later, though…"

  And then she was gone from the line, so to speak, even though there wasn't a line for her to be gone from. I turned off my phone with something of a sigh, hoping she was able to cope with the insanity without going crazy herself. And then a different kind of insanity descended…

  "Watch it, those are shapeshifters heading for us!" Eric warned just I looked up to see five men running toward us, with a sixth coming right behind them. I could also tell that they were shapeshifters, but other than that they were strangers. I had enough time to see Freemont step back with George positioned in front of him while I put my phone away, and then the attackers were on us.

  The one on the extreme right might have intended going around behind us, but a glance showed me Bari putting a hard side kick into his groin. That made the attacker fold to the ground, and then I had my hands on the shirt of the one closer to me on the right. I picked him up and slammed him into the one on my left, and it wasn't just the two of them who went down. The one on the left fell toward his right, which knocked out the fourth attacker along with the other two. Eric had thrown a fist into the face of the fifth attacker to put him down, and all that broke up the attack in the best way possible.

  And then Amiol was speaking a spell, a few seconds after Oldon had sent his power toward the sixth one beyond the five attackers. As soon as Amiol finished his spell the five on the ground went suddenly unconscious, and that was the end of the attack.

  "Amiol, that spell was beautiful!" Fainis exclaimed in an amused voice. "I never would have thought of using it in that particular way."

  "Being with our team has changed my way of thinking," Amiol answered, sounding really pleased. "I am partially responsible for our safety, after all."

  Fainis said something else with enthusiasm, but I'd stopped listening. Oldon had caught the sixth fish, and was now reeling him in.

  "This one sent the other five at us," Oldon said, his voice coming from under his day hat's veil. "I didn't know if my power would be strong enough to snag him, but it seems it was."

  Considering how much power Oldon had, I wasn't in the least surprised that his try had worked even though it was daytime, when his power was supposed to be a lot weaker. I was just really glad Oldon was on our side as his fish walked up to us…

  Chapter Twenty-one

  "Who are you, and why did you and these others attack us?" Oldon said to the fish he'd caught.

  "I'm Bob Morton, and we were paid to attack you," the man answered immediately.

  "You were paid?" Oldon echoed, a puzzled sound to his voice. "Who paid you, and for what purpose?"

  "Don't know the dude's name, he never said," Morton answered, his voice showing no emotion. "Don't even know what he looks like, not when he had a bandanna over his face. Tall dude, but definitely not a shifter. He said he wanted the female shifter killed during the fight, plus any others who got in our way. Paid a good chunk a change in advance, said there would be the same after the job was done."

  "Were you supposed to meet him somewhere after the job?" I asked at once. "If not, how were you supposed to get the rest of the money?"

  "You heard the lady," Oldon said. "Answer her questions."

  "We were supposed to go back to the alley the dude found us in," came the immediate answer. "He might have been lying about meeting us again, but that didn't bother us. If he was lying, we'd just have to track him to wherever he is. We all got his scent, so tracking him would be easy."

  Eric and I exchanged a raised-brow look, and even if I couldn't see Oldon's face I had the impression he was doing the same thing.

  "It looks like the 'dude' wasn't bright enough to know how vulnerable he is," Oldon commented. "I wonder if we'll know him once he's found."

  "I'm willing to bet we'll know him," I said, having a pretty good idea about who the fool was. "Right now what we need is the police, so I'd better get to calling them."

  I pulled out my phone again, got an operator, and asked to be connected to the police. The call was put through quickly, and when I heard someone answer I didn't beat around the bush.

  "Good morning, Sergeant," I said. "My name is Taz Bell, and my teammates and I have caught a group of shapeshifters who attacked us. Can you please send some officers to arrest these rogues?"

  I then told him which mall we were in, and once he had the information his voice changed.

  "I'll get the officers on their way to you right away, Ms. Bell," he said, now sounding a lot friendlier. "It took me a minute to realize who you were, but now I can say 'thanks for the help, Rogues, Inc.' I can't tell you how glad we are that you chose to live in our city."

  I thanked the man for saying something that nice, then we both disconnected. My teammates had all heard what had been said, and they seemed as pleased as I was.

  "The officers should be here in just a few minutes, so we'll be able to tell them a few things before they haul these fools off," George said. "But I have a question for this idiot, Oldon. Please ask him if the one who paid him and the others was wearing gloves."

  "You heard the question, rogue," Oldon said to his captive. "Answer the man."

  "No, the dude wasn't wearing gloves," Morton answered, still completely calm. "Who would wear gloves in this kind of heat?"

  "Someone with a brain," George responded, and I knew what he was talking about. "We know he handed these rogues money, so his fingerprints should be on some of
the bills. Now we only need to know if these fools still have the money."

  Oldon ordered Morton to tell us if that was true – in detail - and Morton confirmed the idea.

  "Yeah, we didn't have time to buy anything," the rogue said. "We had to stay in that car he gave us, to be ready to go once he knew where the female was headed. He had somebody following her, he said, and once he knew where she was he would send us in. And he did."

  "I'm surprised this fool is still alive," George said then, voicing my own thoughts. "If the perp has someone following us, why didn't he use a gun to take out this fool once we'd caught him?"

  "It's possible the one following isn't the gun-using sort," Eric put in. "If the perp had someone like that, he would have ordered the hit rather than just the following. And we'd better find that dude fast, before he can find someone who doesn't mind using a gun."

  We all made sounds of agreement, then turned to see a squad car pulling up. Behind the car in the lead were another two ordinary cars, and behind that came a large prisoner van. We waited for everyone to park and come over, and then we told the detectives in the lead what had happened.

  "So you don't just want to arrest these rogues," I finished up. "You want to bag the money they have so forensics can check for fingerprints, and then try to use a couple of them to see if they can follow the trail to the perp who paid them. If you think you want us to, we'll be glad to go along."

  "I don't think your going along would be a good idea," the man who had introduced himself as Detective Gerrity said slowly, as though thinking things through out loud. "Since you and your team were the targets of this attack, your being present when the guilty man is found could be considered tainting the evidence. Do you understand what I mean?"

  "Unfortunately I do," I answered sourly, definitely seeing his point. "The man behind all this has to be someone we know, and if we're there when he's found he can claim we set him up. That means we'll be going home instead, but that's not the disappointment it sounds like. By the time we get home it ought to be lunchtime."

  That observation made my teammates – as well as Bari and Fainis – brighten up a good deal, but George's look and nod to me helped me even more. George would go along with those tracking the perp, but no one would know he was there.

  One of the new shapeshifter police officers came over when the detective called him. When the newcomer heard they were going to be tracking someone by scent, he had Morton point out the two best scent-trackers in the group. It turned out that Morton himself was one of the two, and the rogue quickly chose the second tracker. Oldon had released the rogue from control, but he'd first given Morton orders to cooperate with the police.

  When Amiol canceled his spell the two trackers were put into one of the cars, the rest into the van, and then the whole group left the scene. The rogues hadn't been happy to have men like themselves put the ceramic cuffs on them, but there had been nothing they could do about their unhappiness – and shock. It seemed that they hadn't known how many shapeshifters had been added to the Atlanta police force…

  "At least we'll know what happened as soon as George gets back to us," Freemont observed once everyone official or guilty was gone. "Now all we have left to do is let Jack know we're on our way home."

  "Let's not forget to tell Shell, too," Oldon put in, his voice amused even if his face was covered. "I'm already salivating over the thought of my lunch."

  We all agreed we felt exactly the same way, and then I made the call home. Shell answered right away, got the word, then assured me he and Jack would be ready when we arrived.

  Amiol joined Fainis in her car again while the rest of us piled into our car, and then we headed home. But not before we took a good look around, just in case the one following us was still doing the following. Once we moved into the residential area our house was in we paid even more attention to those behind us, but our follower seemed to have given up.

  "Probably because he and his boss know they can find us again whenever they want to," Eric observed as I turned into the back driveway. "From now on we'll have to keep our eyes open whenever we leave the house."

  "And then we may be able to snag a shadow," Oldon said in agreement. "Unless, of course, the main rogue is taken care of by the police."

  "I hate to say this, but there's going to be a problem with the taking care of," Freemont put in, his gaze unfocused as usual. "I don't know what the problem will be, but he could very well get away with it again."

  "I think that means we have to mix in," I said as I turned the car before backing toward the garage doors. "And we will mix in if we're needed. Eric, please open the doors for us and Fainis."

  Eric released his seat belt and hopped out to open the doors, one for us and one for Fainis. Once the cars were inside Eric locked the doors again, and then we all went into the house. Both Shell and Jack were in the kitchen, of course, and they welcomed us back as we headed for the coffee urn.

  "So… How did it go?" Shell asked as we lined up for the coffee. "Everything's settled now, right?"

  "Our part is settled, yours and mine," Bari said before the rest of us could say anything. "The one who was after us is taken care of, but there's someone else now after our friends here. I think I'll stick around and help out, just in case I happen to be needed."

  "You did better than all right with the help you've already given us," Eric said, sending Bari a warm smile. "I mean it, Shell. You should have seen Bari take out one of those shapeshifters who attacked us."

  "She bested a shapeshifter?" Shell said, surprise and shock in his voice. "How did she do that?"

  "She did it by knowing how to fight," I put in, adding my own smile. "Those five may be shapeshifters, but that doesn't mean they know anything about defense or offense. If you aren't given a chance to use the extra strength you have, you might as well not have it. And it occurred to me to wonder, Bari, if you'd like to join the team on a more permanent basis. Why don't you think about the question?"

  My current teammates made sounds of pleased surprise, but Bari didn't do the same.

  "Thank you, Taz," she said, now looking more relieved than anything else. "I was hoping you would invite me in, so I don't have to do any thinking. I'd love to be part of this team."

  Everybody showed their pleasure at that decision in different ways, but all the comments came to the same thing. We all liked the idea of adding to the team, and Shell and Jack were just as enthusiastic.

  "I’m hoping Bari didn't say that just so she could continue to eat Jack's cooking," Oldon put in, a wide grin on the face we could now see since he'd taken off his day hat and coat.

  "She could continue eating Jack's cooking if she just took a room here," Eric pointed out with his own grin. "That would be easier – and safer – than joining the team, so Jack doesn't have to feel guilty."

  We all laughed at that, but after the laughter I wondered if there was something wrong with me. I'd invited Bari to join us without discussing the matter first with my partners, something I hadn't done before with any of the others. Freemont had looked at me and nodded, his pleasure clear in his expression, but still… When George got back I'd have to talk to him privately…

  We all got our drinks and carried them into the dining room, and by the time our coffee had sugar and cream in it our lunch was being brought out. Heaping platters of those stuffed shells were on Jack's tray, but Shell was the one who had Oldon's meal.

  "Tuna fish, rye bread, and corn chips," Oldon told us as he quickly arranged the various bowls of Whippe in front of him. "I've never tasted any of these things, and I can't wait until I do."

  "Shell, did you tell those people which vampire you're ordering for yet?" I asked as the idea came to me. "Today's meals were provided for an anonymous vampire, but if you tell them about Oldon then tomorrow's will be specifically for him."

  "No, I haven't said anything to anyone yet," Shell answered, frowning at me. "Why don't I like the sound of what you just said?"

  "I
t's possible my paranoia is rubbing off on you," I responded, giving him something of a smile. "Amiol, if the Whippe is messed up in some way, will your spell on this place keep the stuff from being brought inside?"

  "Not unless the one bringing it is the one who messed the stuff up," Amiol answered slowly, no longer reaching eagerly for the food. "It may be possible to keep poisoned things out of the house, but I'm not sure my present spell will do it."

  "We'll have to talk about that after lunch, Amiol," Fainis said as she glanced up from the shells on her plate. "If we look hard enough, we should be able to find a spell to do the job."

  "Let's do that then," Amiol agreed before turning his attention to his own food.

  "We also need to think about whether to name Oldon or not," I said, aware of the way my vampire teammate was looking at me. "No one lives without making enemies, and that goes triple for rogue hunters. But maybe I'm being paranoid for nothing. What do you think, Oldon?"

  "I think I'm going to taste this meal very slowly," the vampire answered, no longer showing any amusement at all. "If I wanted to reach me I'd provide one meal with nothing wrong, so that the second meal – or the third – would be eaten without hesitation. I'm lucky I have you around to do my thinking for me, Taz. That bit about wanting to know which vampire is getting the meals could be meant to quiet any suspicion that they already know it's me who's going to be doing the eating."

  "Let's wait a minute and calm down," I said, hating that I'd ruined Oldon's pleasure. "Instead of getting indigestion because of a possible idea, why don't you call some of your contacts. If this food – and the people providing it – all turn out to be legitimate, someone will hopefully be able to tell you not to worry."

  "That's a good idea, Taz," Oldon agreed, reaching for his jeans pocket where he had his cell phone. He pulled out the phone, went to the list of names, then chose a name and pressed the button. I heard the phone ringing, and then there was an answer coming through.