Chino watched as he reached for a radio clipped to his belt. “Captain Bennett. This is Takemoto. What is your location? Over.”
Only a few seconds passed before the radio clicked. “This is Bennett. I’m in the control center, Takemoto. Over.”
Chino watched Takemoto smile as he nodded slightly at him. It was the first time he’d seen that emotion from the cat. “Paladin Cortez is headed your way.”
“I’ll be here.” She clicked off the radio.
“Thank you. Where’s…”
Takemoto pointed. “If you continue down this corridor, you’ll run into the control center in about five hundred yards. Just follow the corridor straight and don’t branch off.”
“Thank you, Takemoto.”
“Yes, sir.” Takemoto saluted and Chino reciprocated before turning to go.
Chino left the man standing in the hallway and continued down the corridor. The palms of his hands itched and for Cortez, it was a sign that he needed to shift. Generally, he didn’t feel the itch so strongly unless his shift was imminent but for some reason, his body was telling him it was time. That was very strange. Something was going on. He picked up his pace, striding as quickly as he could down the hallway on two legs. He saw the sign for “Control Center” seconds before he heard the first snarl. Chino felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise almost immediately and he pulled one of his Glocks from its holster, beginning to run. Just as he got to the double doors of the control room a splash of blood washed across the small square window in the door.
“Son of a bitch!” Chino hit one of the doors with his shoulder and bounced back, only then noticing the keypad on the wall and realizing only too late that it was locked. “Fuck!” Pain lanced through his shoulder and upper arm and he holstered one of his weapons before reaching out to try the door. It caught and refused to open so he pounded on it trying to see through the blood sliding down the window.
“This is Paladin Cortez. Open the door!” Shots rang out from inside the room and a millisecond later, the metal door in front of him clanged several times with the sounds of bullets hitting it. Someone is firing at me! Snarls of big cat and the shouts of the other occupants were drowned out by more gunfire.
Chino had just registered the dual scents of fear and anger when the door in front of him slammed open, hitting him full in the face. Pain exploded in his nose and forehead as his body hurled backward. He fell on his ass, blinded by blood that poured into his eyes as a massive yellow panther leapt out of the room, caught him in the side with long sharp claws, and fled down the corridor behind him.
Chino swiped the blood out of his eyes just as he heard a moan coming from inside the room. The scents of gunpowder and blood poured out, nearly overwhelming him. He righted himself, clutching his side as he realized the panther had ripped into his muscled belly. He looked down and noted the streaks of blood on his shirt where he’d been clawed. Fuck. He ignored the gashes in his flesh and drew the second Glock, holding both of them out in front of him as he pushed into the room. What he saw sent a chill through him. Captain Bennett, dressed in her gray jumpsuit, minus the red beret, was bending over the body of a female askari wearing the same uniform. Blood seeped through Bennett’s fingers as she covered a belly wound.
“Help me. She’s dying,” Bennett said, the moment she saw Chino.
He rushed over, holstering his weapons when he realized there was no immediate danger. He searched the bank of control panels and, locating a red button marked Alarm, he pushed it. Instantly, flashing red lights came on in the room and only a second later, a loud intermittent alarm went off, echoing in the control room but also down the halls.
Chino squatted beside Bennett and the other askari and put two fingers to the prone woman’s neck. He detected no pulse and he looked down at Bennett who had repositioned her hands over the woman’s wounds. He reached for her shoulder and laid his hand there. Bennett raised her face and Chino could see the grief and shock in her glowing green eyes.
“She’s gone, Bennett. I’m sorry. The bullet probably hit an artery. I think she bled out,” he said quietly.
Tears instantly appeared in Bennett’s eyes as she stared at him for a moment. “It’s not possible. Gretchen Hightower was my best friend. There’s only a few of us on base.” A tear slipped down her cheek as Chino realized she had to be talking about how many women were on base. Come to think of it, she was only the third or fourth woman he’d seen at Base Camp.
He glanced around the room. Another askari was lying motionless on the ground with a bullet wound in his chest. Blood blossomed on his gray uniform over the heart and pooled beneath him. The last askari was slumped over the control panel, the back of his shirt shredded by long bloody claw marks similar to the ones on Chino’s torso.
Chino stood up and walked over, checking first the body on the floor, confirming he was dead as he palpated his carotid. He stood and walked over to the askari at the control panel. He pulled the man’s shoulder back to get a look in his eyes and then realized his throat had been torn completely out. It was obvious he’d been attacked by a shifter in cat form. He checked the man’s vitals realizing it was unnecessary. The askari was clearly dead. Chino heard a sigh and then turned back to see Bennett standing up. Her head was bowed and she’d placed her bloody hands on her hips as she looked down at her friend’s body.
Chino reached for the radio he’d been given and called for help. Takemoto immediately answered.
“Takemoto!” The man was out of breath as though he’d been panting.
“Takemoto, this is Paladin Cortez. The control center has been attacked. We have several casualties and there’s a yellow panther responsible. I need backup immediately!”
“Yes, Paladin. Sit tight. We heard gunshots even before the alarms. We’re already on our way.”
“Roger that.” He clipped the radio back on his belt and turned to Bennett. “Can he be trusted?”
Bennett blinked at him several times and then nodded. “Yes. He’s an asshole but I’d stake my life on his loyalty to the king.”
“Sorry but I’ll be totally blunt,” Chino said, frowning. “At the moment, I don’t give a flying fuck about the king. He’s not here. I need to know if Takemoto is to be trusted.”
She nodded shakily. “Yes.”
She looked like she was about to faint and Chino walked over to her and took her by both shoulders, sitting her down in one of the chairs at the control console. “You’re in shock, Bennett. Sit here and tell me what the hell happened.” He looked around the room, noting that it wasn’t a large space, probably only twenty by twenty-five feet. Over the control console was an entire wall of TV screens, some of which showed scenes outside of the building but also the inside of Base Camp. He recognized the mess, the gym with its large mat area and boxing ring, and even an indoor swimming pool. There were also various corridors and common rooms where askari gathered in groups. All the rooms were bathed in flashing red light and the askari in the common rooms were pulling radios and guns, waiting for orders, probably from the control room.
On one monitor, he recognized Takemoto running down a hallway followed by at least ten askari, all brandishing weapons. He really hoped Bennett was right and that the man could be trusted because they were about to meet him and his backup face to face. Chino glanced at all the monitors again. The large panther was nowhere to be seen. For that matter, the man might have shifted back to human by now, making it impossible to identify him. Dammit.
“Who was the panther, Bennett?”
“Cleveland, Bill Cleveland. He’s a recent…” Before she could finish her sentence, several beeps came from the control panel and the door lock disengaged. Takemoto and the other askari burst into the room.
Chino held up both hands as he approached the Asian askari. “Put your weapons down. We’re the only ones here.”
Takemoto holstered his weapons and nodded at the others to do the same before he turned and saluted Chino. Chino returned the salute and t
hen glanced at the other askari Takemoto had brought with him.
“The attacker is Bill Cleveland. I want him located. He’s responsible for the deaths of your brothers and sister here,” Chino ordered. “He was in golden panther form when he was last seen. I want him taken alive. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir,” one of them said. The telltale green circles marking them as askari glowed as they nodded and turned to file out of the room back the way they’d come.
“Will they find him?” Chino asked Takemoto.
Takemoto looked him squarely in the eyes. “Sir, if he’s on this base, we’ll find him even if he takes off into the desert. You can be assured of that.” Takemoto walked over to the control panel and pushed a button, leaning close to a microphone which stood up from the panel.
“Attention base. This is Askari Takemoto. Be on the lookout for Askari Bill Cleveland. He was last seen in golden panther form leaving the control center. He’s responsible for an attack on the control center and murder. I need him taken alive. Consider him armed and dangerous.”
Takemoto clicked off and returned to where Chino stood glancing around the room, taking note of his fallen comrades with a frown. He finally looked at Bennett. “Can you tell us what happened, Captain?”
“I’d been here for the last hour going over tapes from the medical examiner’s office with Curry, trying to see if I could identify any of those involved when Cleveland knocked at the door,” Bennett said.
“He didn’t have a key code?” Chino asked, standing beside Takemoto.
“No, he wasn’t assigned to the control room and only those assigned, Curry and Thomas there…,” she said waving at the two dead askari before going on. “Takemoto, and myself have the code which is changed every other day. Hightower went to the door because she recognized him.”
“How do you know that? Did she call him by name?”
“Yes. She looked at him through the window, and he waved. He smiled at her and spoke through the door. He held up some paperwork and pointed to Curry.” Bennett swiveled her head and pointed to the body of the man who’d been clawed, slumped over the console. “That’s Curry. He’s a lieutenant. The highest ranked officer in here. He’d been the one going over the tapes with me,” she repeated, obviously flustered.
“So, Hightower let him in,” Chino said.
“Yes. That’s when Cleveland shot her, point blank in the chest,” Bennett said shakily. “He then turned to Thomas but neither of them ever stood a chance.” She glanced at the body on the floor who Chino assumed was Thomas.
Takemoto reached out and put a steadying hand on Bennett’s shoulder. “You’re doing fine, Captain.”
Chino stared at the man, observing how Takemoto handled himself. From their first meeting, he’d thought the tall Asian askari was a dick. As he watched the way he treated Bennett, he was impressed. They’d obviously worked together a long time and the captain trusted him. Perhaps he’d been wrong about him all along. Something niggled at his knowledge of the man, however. The most prominent thing being that he’d whispered that Nelson had been noticed missing from his bunk that morning when he’d actually been gone much longer, at least several days. What’s your game, Takemoto?
“Check with the perimeter doors and exits,” Chino ordered. “I want to see if he’s gotten out.” Before anyone even touched a radio, Takemoto’s hummed to life.
“Askari Takemoto, come in!”
Takemoto frowned and grabbed the radio off his belt. “This is Takemoto. Over.”
“Askari Takemoto, this is Santana, at the south exit. Two minutes ago, Askari Cleveland exited the building in uniform.”
“Fuck!” Chino cursed, listening closely as Bennett stood there wiping her hands. She’d resettled her burgundy beret to the top of her hair as she wiped away Gretchen Hightower’s blood from her hands.
“He was in human form, Askari? You’re sure it was him?” Takemoto asked.
“Yes sir. I saw him myself. It was before your announcement and before the alarm was activated, sir.”
“I understand. Thank you, Askari Santana.” Takemoto replaced the radio on to his belt.
“The south exit leads to desert, I assume,” Chino stated.
“All the exits lead to the desert, Paladin Cortez,” Bennett said, grimacing slightly. “But the south exit leads out to the motor pool. I will take you there.”
“Let’s go,” Chino said. “You’re coming with us, Takemoto.” He eyeballed the tall Asian who shrugged and then nodded.
“Thank you, sir. I was hoping you’d say that.”
Chapter Eleven
“W hat did you say?” Damiano blurted, realizing as he spoke that the boy hadn’t said anything out loud at all. The Seer had not spoken a word out loud.
“I didn’t say anything, sir.” “Be careful what you say aloud. Stevens is listening outside the door. I’ve rarely spoken aloud because I haven’t known who to trust until now.”
Damiano realized Theo had spoken out loud to intentionally make it sound as though they were actually having a conversation. “Repeat what you just said then.”
“Our Majesty awaits your help, Primero. He’s been waiting a long time.”
Damiano nodded. “Then, we will carry on two conversations. One out loud for Stevens and one where you will explain exactly what you mean about Pasha Raab.”
Carefully schooling his words, Damiano spoke out loud. “You will speak to me. I want to know what happened to the doctor. Paladin Stevens said you were the last person who saw and spoke to the doctor. Is that true?” “Tell me what the fuck you mean about Pasha Raab, boy!”
“Pasha Raab is being held in a secret room in a sub-basement below this one, Primero.”
“I last saw the doctor after he examined Primero Johansen. He said he had a heart attack,” Theo said out loud.
“But he didn’t die of a heart attack, did he, Theo?”
Theo shook his head and frowned. “He was poisoned.”
“Do you know where the doctor is?” Dami asked out loud.
“No, Primero Satriale,” the boy answered quickly. “The doctor is dead by his own hand. He was a very conflicted man, Primero and he drank poison.”
“You must tell me everything, Theo.”
“Meet me outside the palace at 2:00 a.m. If anyone asks, say you want to take a solitary run. No one will question that and I will tell you everything I know.”
“You’ll take me to Pasha Raab?”
Theo nodded. “I will try. No one has seen him for years but I know he lives. Cook takes him meals.”
Damiano nodded. “Well, this has been a waste of time,” he said for Stevens’s benefit. He stood up and walked to the door, opening it to find Stevens standing outside the door playing on his cell phone. “I got nothing out of him.”
“The boy didn’t speak to you either?” Stevens asked, glaring down at Theo.
“He spoke to me. He just swore to me that he knows nothing. He repeated what you already told me.”
Stevens seemed to buy that but of course Damiano knew he would. He’d been listening on the other side of the door with his sharp cat ears.
“Get out of here, Theo,” Stevens growled. The boy shot by him and ran down the hall before Stevens turned back to Damiano. “Well, now that you’ve met Theo, would you like to address the rest of your paladin before the banquet, sir?”
Damn. I forgot all about the fucking banquet.
“That would be fine, Paladin Stevens.” Damiano was almost anxious for the distraction. The very thought that Pasha Raab was still alive and being held captive below the palace was tremendously exciting. Who is holding him captive? It took every last bit of self-control he could manage not to find the sub-basement level of the palace and start looking around. If what Theo told him was true, perhaps the padlocked room he’d seen in the corridor opposite the kitchen would lead him to Pasha Raab.
He found it hard to believe that no one had discovered the previous monarch beneath the palace in
the five years since he’d lost his throne. If so, Paget hadn’t been doing his job. As soon as he finished meeting his paladin, he was going to find his handsome little mate and ask him just what the fuck he’d been doing for the past five years. Either he was blind, deaf, and dumb, or Paget was in on the deception and lies. Dami would find out… even if it broke his heart.
****
Will this banquet never end?
Damiano reclined on a low couch leaning back against fluffy pillows in the king’s large banquet hall watching Miruna Grey fawn all over King Fain as they reclined across from him. He wanted to get out of there so bad he almost couldn’t stand it. Besides, he’d promised to meet Theo outside the palace at two where hopefully, he’d learn everything about Pasha Raab’s captivity. Most of the guests had gone but the king remained, meaning Damiano had to stay.
A servant walked between him and the king, momentarily blocking him from view as he offered the king a water pipe. The king reached out and took the nozzle from the servant and sucked on it. Water bubbled in the bowl of the glass pipe and King Fain released the smoke from his nose and mouth a moment later. He glanced across the space as the servant moved, offering the pipe to Miruna.
“You should try this tobacco. It’s the finest you’ll ever taste,” the king drawled.
Damiano nodded. “Thank you, Your Majesty, but I don’t smoke.” He placed a hand over his heart, wanting to tell the king he had no desire to put tobacco into his body. Big cat shifters weren’t susceptible to the same types of cancers that other humans were but if they smoked, their lung capacity could be affected. He liked to keep his body in shape. He worked out if he was around humans and he ran when he was around cats. The fact that the palace had hunting grounds all around was a thrill to him. He almost wished he could get out and run right now instead of sitting around on a plush low couch, being served delectable food and offered tobacco.
I want to run with my mate.
The Tiger King (Paladin Shifters Book 1) Page 12
