"Agreed. Final thing: if we want to fly out of here with the Shrike, you let us go."
This time she shook her head. "Not happening. Word from our agents in Sanwa City is that a delegation is already underway to see Presidente Carter with a formal demand for the return of the helicopter—and you, your family, and Angela here. We can say you and your family ran away or were shot escaping, but Carter isn't going to want to risk war with both the Commonwealth and Aztalan Empire at the same time. Much as I hate to admit it, in a week, maybe two, we're gonna have to give the aircraft back."
"Or burn it," said Tavi with heat.
Without turning to look at her, Morgan raised her palm to silence the other woman. "I'll agree to this much. You fly us to our main patrol base in the Sonoran Desert, Fuerte Águila Orgullo, and when you do move on, we'll give you horses and gear to go wherever you want, but you can't stay here. You're toxic now."
"You’ve named your main patrol base Fort Eagle Pride?" Casey asked with a huge grin, his eyes shining with amusement. "Really? Was Fort Bad Mofos already taken?"
Angie rolled her eyes. He’s like a six-year-old.
"How many?" Rowan asked.
"Tec, myself—" Morgan glanced at Tavi and then Shane. "And Shane, as well as two sections of Norteno soldiers. That should be more than enough."
"I'll come," Tavi said.
"No. I want you here, in charge."
Tavi looked away but kept her mouth shut.
Rowan inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring as he stared at her. Finally, he nodded, holding his hand out. "Agreed."
Morgan gripped his forearm, he gripped hers, and they shook on it.
"Well then," mused Casey, moving closer to Angie and stretching huge arms overhead, the joints popping as he groaned loudly, "I guess Air Werewolf is flying tonight after all."
Angie stepped away from his armpits.
Less than thirty minutes later, Angie, Erin, and Jay, all holding steaming cups of coffee and sitting atop a short stone wall circling the Brujas garden, watched the Shrike fly overhead and head south, bearing Casey and Rowan as well as Tec, Constance, Shane, and two sections of Norteno soldiers. Tavi, her stick firmly up her ass, remained behind.
"Weird world," Jay offered. "Never thought the Brujas would become clients."
"I wouldn't say ‘clients.’" Angie held her coffee cup in both hands to warm them. The early desert morning, sunrise not yet begun, was colder than she was used to. "More like a necessary evil. Well, maybe not Tec. He's … different. I think we can trust him."
"I don't trust anyone that good-looking," Erin said, sipping her coffee. "Dude's hiding shit, and it's more than just were-jaguar stuff."
He was clearly hiding stuff, Angie thought. "You think he's good-looking?"
Erin nudged her with her shoulder, smiling shyly. "Duh. You don't?"
"Never thought about it," she lied.
Jay coughed.
"Right, that's why you pretend not to stare at his butt when he walks past."
"I do not."
"It is a bit small, but whatever."
"Hello. I'm right here," Jay said.
Erin pursed her lips. "Ooh, poo’ widdy Jay Jay isn't the best-looking man in da house anymore."
Jay reached over and yanked on a strand of Erin's curly red hair, not enough to tip her off the wall but just enough to make her cry out and almost spill her coffee.
Then all three remained silent for a bit, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, it was Jay who spoke. "Weird, weird world."
"Trust Rowan," Erin said. "He's always got our six. He'll take care of us."
"He didn't take care of ..." Jay's voice trailed off, and he jumped down from the wall, jamming his hands into his pockets and staring north, his back to Angie and Erin. "Never mind," he said in a soft voice.
Erin dropped down beside him and hugged him fiercely. Jay’s back shuddered.
Angie felt like an intruder, coming between them and their grief for their dead brother Lewis. "They'll be back in an hour," Angie said.
Erin nodded. "We'll make new plans when they do. We're gonna get the heck out of here." She motioned for Angie to move closer, which she did, tentatively. When she came within reach, Erin pulled her into the embrace between her and Jay. "And you're coming with us."
Jay slid an arm around Angie's waist and gave her a quick squeeze. Happiness coursed through Angie's midsection, spreading outward.
She was no longer cold.
Chapter 7
Just as Angie had predicted, Rowan and Casey flew back less than an hour later after having successfully dropped off their passengers at Fort Eagle Pride on the disputed southern border. The sun was rising in the east, turning the desert sky crimson as Erin ran into her brothers so forcefully that the three of them almost fell over. Casey, laughing, called her a goose and told her that it had been just another uneventful flight, but Angie could tell he was touched.
"You see anything out there?" Jay asked.
Rowan shook his head. "Lot of sand and cacti, although the Nortenos are understandably upset that one of their OPs went silent. Other than that, nope. You see one hardened base surrounded by sandbagged walls and guard towers, and you've seen 'em all."
"That's it?" Angie asked.
Rowan put an arm around Erin's waist, leading all of them into the Brujas cafeteria for breakfast. "We didn't go to the OP, Angie, just the main base. And we only touched down long enough to unload our passengers. Morgan and Tec can sort out their own shit now. We're done."
As they ate breakfast, they debated their options. Rowan admitted he had never really expected to fly away with the Shrike and that horses and equipment were all that he had been hoping for. Their most likely destinations for starting over were the blue mountains of Great Appalachia or the Midlands. The Western Union remained a possibility, but Rowan was worried because it shared a border with the Commonwealth, and he wanted to go somewhere that no one had even heard of the Seagraves. They'd hide their werewolf nature this time ... if they could.
Angie, to her immense relief, was included in the discussion. As Erin had said, she was coming with them. Jay especially warmed to her, and she didn't miss out on the fact that the other Seagraves left a seat next to Jay for her. A part of her resented being set up, but another part wanted to know Jay better. She let it go for now. What would happen would happen, and the future, for once, seemed bright.
The rest of the day passed without incident. Angie visited the infirmary to have her stitches checked. Leaving the infirmary, she saw Jay in the garden, sitting cross-legged and wearing only gym shorts, his eyes closed in meditation. He seemed to be humming to himself. Jay was a bit odd, but he did have a nice bod. When his eyes flashed open and he stared right at her, her face warmed. Busted! She waved and hurried away.
When the sun went down, she went to bed early, pulling the sheet up past her chin as the temperature cooled. For the first time in months, she began to feel normal once more. Even the Other had been silent since arriving here. It still shared her body with her; she could feel its telltale presence in her psyche, but it didn’t intrude on her consciousness or try to communicate with her again. Peaceful coexistence. Within minutes, she was fast asleep, her dreams forgettable—until a commotion outside her door woke her, voices raised in argument, especially Casey's.
It was dark, but she stared at the glow-in-the-dark hands on her father’s watch: just after two a.m. "God, it's too early for this crap," she mumbled, her mouth dry as she slid out of bed. She stumbled into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and then opened the door to the hallway.
Two Norteno soldiers stood there, one holding a lantern. Both men faced Rowan and Casey. This time, Rowan had put on a T-shirt and pants, but Casey stood there in his tighty-whities again, glaring at the soldiers. Something was clearly wrong.
"What is it?" she asked.
One of the soldiers, little more than a baby-faced teenager, turned to her. "The Mago Diputado needs the pilot. She said right
now!"
"We're not your air force," Rowan snapped. "We don’t take orders from your Mago Diputado."
Other doors opened, and Jay and Erin came out.
"Goddamned right we don't," snarled Casey. He towered over both soldiers, clearly intimidating them. The other soldier, an older, heavier man, nervously unslung his rifle, gripping it tightly. Angie, seeing the potential for bloodshed, stepped between them, placing her hand on the older soldier's forearm. "It's okay. If we can help, we will."
The man’s eyes darted to Casey, but he lowered the barrel of his weapon to the floor.
Rowan sighed. "Fine. Let's go see your Mago Diputado."
"I'm coming," Angie said.
"Of course you are," Rowan said. "Being agreeable is your plan. You too," he said to Casey. "And for God’s sake, put on some pants."
Three minutes later, the two soldiers led Angie, Rowan, and Casey into a TOC bristling with activity. Tavi, wearing sweatpants and a green army T-shirt, stood beside the radio operator holding the handset, her hair disheveled from sleep. At their entrance, Tavi's head snapped to them, and Angie saw the tightness in her eyes. She's afraid. Something's wrong. Tavi, not bothering to acknowledge their presence, keyed the handset.
"Fort Eagle Pride, this is Brujas HQ, send SITREP," she said in Spanglish. "I say again, send SITREP, now, over."
The radio set hissed with static, and then a terrified male voice came over the air, also speaking Spanglish. "They're over the wall! They're inside. Help us, they're killing everyone!"
Before the transmission ended, they heard the distinctive crackle of automatic rifle fire, followed by what sounded like a wolf howling in rage. Angie stood frozen, her pulse throbbing in her neck. The patrol base Tec and Morgan had gone to was under attack.
Tavi spoke into the radio set again. "Where is the Mago Commandante? Put her on. Who is attacking you? Is it the Aztalans? Where is the Jaguar Knight? Answer us!"
Rowan rushed over, pulling the handset from her. "You're transmitting over them. Calm down."
Tavi, her eyes wide, let go of the handset just in time to hear the terrified voice continue. "—Mother of God, they're monsters!" More gunshots rang out, followed by a scream that was abruptly cut off by static.
"Fort Eagle Pride," said Rowan, speaking slowly and calmly into the handset. "This is Brujas HQ. Come back, over."
Static.
Rowan repeated his request three more times with no response. He set the handset down, his gaze locked on Tavi, and then slowly shook his head.
She gasped, bringing her fist to her mouth.
"What the hell?" Angie said softly. "Monsters? And that howling, it sounded like—"
"Like us," Rowan finished. "Like werewolves, only it can't be. It isn't a full moon and won't be for another…" He glanced at a calendar on the wall. "Another thirteen days."
"We have to go," said Tavi, her voice near breaking. "We have to get there right now, help them."
Rowan sighed, biting his upper lip. "Okay," he said softly, almost a whisper. He turned to Casey, who was silent for once. "How fast?"
"Wheels up in fifteen."
"Fuel?"
"Enough."
"I'm coming too," Angie insisted.
Rowan's lips drew tight. "Angie, you're not ... well..."
Not strong enough, she thought. He doesn't know what I've become. "It doesn't matter," she said, not bothering to try to explain something he'd never understand; hell, she barely understood it. "You'll need my life-sense ability. No other mage can do that."
"What life-sense ability?" Tavi asked in confusion, looking from her to Rowan.
Tavi didn’t know about Angie’s gift, she realized. Obviously, that wasn’t in Angie’s file. For as long as she could remember, Angie could just close her eyes and sense the presence of life around her, often out to a hundred meters or more. Ephix had said she believed it was tied to Angie’s source mage ability, but Angie didn’t have a clue. She ignored Tavi’s confusion. "You'll see when we get there," she said.
Rowan sighed wearily, but she saw the acceptance on his face before he spoke. "Okay, fine. That might be helpful after all." He turned to Tavi. "With me, Casey, and Angie, that leaves you and two sections of soldiers, twenty-five men, no more." He stared at the silent radio set. "Bring your best gunfighters."
Just under fifteen minutes later, Angie stood behind Casey, gripping the back of his seat as he increased the helicopter’s collective. The Shrike's engines thrummed with power, lifting the helicopter into the air, and Casey increased the throttle, dropping the aircraft's nose and moving forward. The Shrike picked up speed and altitude and, moments later, shot over the airfield's perimeter fence, climbing over the walled city as Casey flew south. Rowan once again sat in the copilot's seat, watching the dark terrain ahead of them. Angie knew the Seagrave brothers, like Erin, saw perfectly well at night, one of the by-products of their werewolf condition, but she saw nothing but darkness. Tavi sat in one of the bucket seats behind Rowan, white faced and nervously gripping her seat belt.
She's probably never flown before, Angie realized. "It's okay," she told the young woman. "Casey's the best pilot in the Commonwealth."
"In the world," the big man corrected her.
Crammed into the cabin behind them, increasing the aircraft's weight considerably, were two sections of Norteno soldiers, men Tavi claimed were commandos, the best they had. The Norteno soldiers were grim-faced, wearing body armor, helmets, and load-bearing vests. Each man gripped an assault rifle between his thighs. In the dark, they looked no different than Home Guard soldiers.
"You sure we've got enough go-go juice?" Rowan asked.
Casey scrunched up his face and then tapped an indicator on the control console. "Just under half a tank. We're not going to burn too much getting there and back, but when it's gone, it's gone."
"Not our problem anymore," Rowan said.
"How long?" Tavi asked. She had changed into combat clothing and short Brujas cape and wore her hexed saber, the handle of which she fingered nervously. A short-barreled sub-gun dangled from a strap around her shoulder with additional magazines held by her load-bearing vest. Unlike the commandos, Tavi wore no body armor or helmet. Her shade would protect her from anything other than another hexed weapon.
Casey grunted. "At close to three hundred kph, faster than you can say, 'Are we there yet?' Maybe ten minutes. Faster if this tailwind holds up."
Tavi sighed. "No wonder you Coasties kept showing up so quickly during fights." She shook her head. "What we might have accomplished with our own birds..."
"Well," mused Rowan. "I've heard possession is nine-tenths of the law. Who's to say you don't have your own air force now, at least one aircraft?"
"Course you still gotta find fuel and someone as handsome as me to fly it," added Casey.
Tavi closed her eyes. When she opened them again a moment later, Angie saw the strain on her features. If Angie had to guess, she'd say the Brujas Fantasmas deputy commander was her age or younger, a hell of an age to suddenly find yourself in charge. "Just get us there—as fast as you can," said Tavi.
Rowan turned in his seat to face her. "Listen, I don't know what we're going to find on the ground, but it might be really ugly, so we're going to put the bird down to the northeast of the base, maybe a klick out, and walk in."
"No," Tavi said, shaking her head. "Land as close as possible. There may be wounded."
"Listen to me," he stressed, speaking slowly and calmly. "I've been doing dangerous shit like this since long before the Awakening, before you were born. We're not flying over a hot LZ. Even in a stealth chopper, we can take an Aztalan missile in our exhaust, and if that happens, we're going to burn and thunder in. My brother and I will probably make it out of the crash—as well as you and Angie—but your soldiers don’t have shades to protect them. So instead, let's put her down somewhere safe and move in on foot. Don't worry. I'm coming with you."
She opened her mouth to argue but closed it again
and nodded quickly.
"Okay," he continued. "This next bit is a 'no shit' moment. I'm not going in unarmed. You give me something to shoot with, and you leave four men to secure the helicopter—all four out on point, facing outward and providing three-sixty protection."
She unslung her sub-gun and handed it to him, along with her tactical vest and spare magazines. Angie saw several road flares were also stuffed within a pocket of the vest. "I'll talk to the team leader about the four men to guard the aircraft."
"Good. The rest of us, twenty-four, will hoof it in and see what we can see."
"Twenty-five," Angie added.
Rowan's eyes narrowed, but he nodded. "Twenty-five."
"Oh, Angie-baby," Casey said in an approving voice, a smirk on his mug. "I think I dig you. Listen, don't get eaten, okay? There's a shortage of hot, brave chicks in the world."
Angie glared at the back of the big dummy's head as Tavi slipped into the cabin to brief her troops. Angie leaned over Casey's shoulder, peering out the cockpit window. The starlight shone down on the desert but barely illuminated more than the horizon. A digital clock on the control panel read 02:37 a.m. It would be dark for another few hours yet. "Can't you do something about the visibility?"
Casey shrugged. "I forget you don't see at night." He flipped a switch marked "NV," and the entire windscreen flashed to life, illuminating the desert below in shades of green. When Angie leaned over his shoulder to scan the desert below, Casey spoke just loudly enough for her to hear. "Listen, when we touch down, you stick with my brother, hear me?"
"I'm as much a soldier as you."
"Nuh-uh." Casey shook his head. "None of that shit. If this is another pack of werewolves, and they can shift without the full moon, then they’ll rip through these Norteno soldier boys in about a half dozen heartbeats. You stay close to Rowan. Erin would have our nuts if anything happened to you, and Jay ... well … just stay with Rowan, okay? He may smell like wet dog and be a touch senile, but he's good with a gun."
The Awakened World Boxed Set Page 34
