Maximus: #1 (Luna Lodge: Alpha Squad)

by Madison Stevens

  Ken set his glass down with a sigh. “Dial it down, Wolfy.” He sighed. “This is the islands. Aloha spirit, brother. You all should settle down here and take up easy living, especially now that the Horatius Group’s all done.”

  The blasting hard rock music filling the air didn’t strike Maximus as being part of the aloha spirit. There were times having such good hearing was a literal pain, but he did his best not to show it. He didn’t want Ken to think he had any advantage over him.

  Maximus also didn’t bother to correct Ken about the Horatius Group. Most humans didn’t appreciate there were at least three distinct groups of hybrids with different enemies. The groups included the Luna hybrids led by Titus, a faction led by a hybrid named Remus who had disappeared into the Pacific Northwest, and Maximus’s group. High-level government officials understood the difference and that the Phoenix Corps wasn’t a subsidiary of the Horatius Group. He wasn’t sure if that confusion was useful for the different hybrid groups in the long run, but confusion on the part of humans might help him for this mission.

  Maximus inclined his head toward the rest of the bar. “You telling me all these people embody the aloha spirit? I’m not an expert on prison tats, but I’m pretty sure that guy at the end of the bar has killed a lot of people. I suspect most of them didn’t have it coming.”

  “Don’t judge. Some people are farther along than others in developing the spirit.” Ken tugged on his collar with a smile. “I’m from a pretty rough part of Baltimore, and even I find myself more relaxed since moving here. It’s all in the mindset, brother. It’s hard to be a complete pile of trash when you’re in paradise.”

  Maximus didn’t know if this was an exercise in banter or delay. He breathed in deeply through his nose, trying to pick up any suspicious scents, but the stench of the patrons and the aroma of the alcohol and food was almost overwhelming. Hints of guns and blood weren’t a surprise considering the number of armed people there.

  “My kind will never be safe until our enemies are annihilated,” Maximus said. “They didn’t have the aloha spirit when they created us as slaves. So, no, I’m not going to dial it down.”

  “Yeah, that’s the problem with this world. Everybody’s always living in the past.” Ken clucked his tongue. “But I understand you. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to run from some bullshit in my past. And don’t worry. I respect you and, more importantly, I respect your money, and I do appreciate a man who pays in advance. Don’t worry, brother. I’ve got something nice for you.”

  “What do you have for me, then?” Maximus asked.

  Ken looked past him before leaning in. “There’s an old decommissioned Army facility out in the forest. I think they stored grenades or bombs or poison or some crap during World War Two there. Don’t know the fine details, but word on the street is that something’s going on there all of a sudden, and some local gentlemen who don’t always embody the aloha spirit moved some money around related to that place.” He grinned. “None of that’s obvious, though. You’d have to know what companies are in front of these guys to even pick up that they’ve been pulling some strings. Which is why you’re lucky your money made its way to me and not some other loser who talks big but doesn’t know crap.”

  “Do they still have explosives or chemicals there?” Maximus asked. “Is this about arming someone up?”

  He was dubious of that. Decades-old explosives could be dangerous, but they weren’t reliable. The Corps didn’t need vintage weapons or old poison gas. They could easily source something modern and deadly.

  Ken shook his head. “Nah. They haven’t had anything like that in a long time, which is why it’s so odd, especially with the timing.”

  “Timing?”

  “Yeah. There is some big hot-shot star filming a commercial on the island. Someone was trying to get permits to film in the area near the old Army buildings, but some of that money sloshing around made that not happen. And I’m confused why anyone cares that much about stopping a commercial.” He took a drink. “It’s way too much. It’s how you can tell it’s some new arrivals throwing their weight and money around. They don’t know how to work the local channels enough not to be seen. If they were more careful, people like me wouldn’t sniff them out.”

  Maximus nodded slowly. “That sounds good enough for me to look into.”

  “You gonna kill some people?” Ken didn’t sound bothered by the idea.

  “You don’t need to worry about what I’m going to do with the info. You got paid, and you gave me info. Our relationship ends there.”

  Ken shrugged. “I don’t care either way. Was just curious. Don’t burn down the forest, but other than that, you can do what you want to whoever you want, but be careful.” His smile wavered. “Just because it’s paradise doesn’t mean there’s not a lot of hidden darkness here.”

  “Sure.” Maximus stood. “I’ve seen Hawaii 5-0, too. And you’re sure this commercial isn’t a cover for something?”

  Ken laughed and shook his head. “Brother, I’m not hundred percent sure about anything, but it wouldn’t be the first time someone decided to launder a little money around here with the help of Hollywood.” He raised his glass. “Good luck to you. For what it’s worth, I hope you find who you’re looking for, and I hope you mess them up good.”

  Maximus scoffed and turned away. Hybrids couldn’t rely on humans, and his Alpha Squad was even more isolated than others of his kind, but for now, at least, he had some leads.

  He headed out of the bar, not bothering to look back.

  CJ stood from his crouch near the door, frowning. “I couldn’t hear anything with all that music.”

  “I’ve got what we need,” Maximus replied. “We’re not making our next move until tomorrow. There are some things I need to do in prep.”

  “You’ve got a target then?”

  “Yeah.” Maximus grunted. “Local bureaucracy.”

  Chapter Four

  Selena could do this. She had to do this. Her job was on the line, and she didn’t want to give Bill and Chris the satisfaction of thinking she’d failed. All she needed to do was take care of the mix-up.

  She drummed her fingers on her knee as she sat in the cramped waiting room. She’d been lucky to get another appointment at the office issuing shooting permits, even though the county worker she’d talked to over the phone about the previous permit was conveniently on vacation after revoking it.

  It took a lot of self-control, but she had been nothing but polite. She was sure there was just some mix-up at the office. Yelling at some secretary because of her own asshole boss’s pressure wasn’t Selena’s style.

  A hint of suspicion made her question why the employee she’d dealt with before was now suddenly on vacation, but she quashed it. It wasn’t like anyone would go out of their way to interfere with a commercial shoot. What possible motive could they have?

  Selena frowned. Chris and Bill were both dicks. If they’d wronged some previous production assistant, such a person might have prepared some sort of revenge plot against them. They were both annoying enough the idea wasn’t impossible.

  She shoved the thought away. It was ridiculous. There was no conspiracy, just a simple mistake. She would talk to someone in charge, get the permits restored, and the filming would go on. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about her idiotic director or Chris Silvers. The first step would be getting the local government to admit they’d made a mistake. Not an easy task, but more likely than launching a revenge plan.

  Selena blew out a breath glancing over at the empty service window. Why did she have to wait? There was no one there. Had they called her there just to mess with her? Maybe this whole situation could be explained by bored bureaucrats messing with a mainlander from Hollywood. She almost couldn’t blame them.

  Selena sighed. She couldn’t let paranoia control her. A simple mix-up, nothing more. It had to be that, or she wouldn’t be able to fix the problem.

  A huge shadow appeared behind the frosted
glass door leading out to the hallway. Maybe Bigfoot had shown up to get some permits of his own. They probably wouldn’t jerk him around. The door opened, and a bear of a man stepped through. Not quite Bigfoot, but maybe some Sasquatch DNA in there given his height.

  Selena’s breath caught at the man’s rugged handsomeness. Everything about him appealed to her, from his broad shoulders to his dark hair and beard. She swallowed as her heart kicked up. Even his indoor sunglasses came off hot rather than pompous like they would have on Chris.

  She bit her lip. It might not be love at first sight, but it was some solid lust. It’d been a long while since she’d visited anything but self-service land in bed, and she wouldn’t mind tall, dark, and rugged providing her with some full-service help.

  Heat assaulted Selena’s cheeks, and she averted her gaze as the new arrival looked her way. She was grateful for her padded bra. It wasn’t like she didn’t see hot men all the time back in L.A. She wasn’t sure why this man was setting her off. A combination of stress and frustration, perhaps. More likely the fact that L.A. was full of pretty people. Men, women, they were all pretty. This guy was full-on sexy mountain man, and she wanted nothing more than to conquer that mountain.

  The man’s attention lingered on her for far too long, so long she glanced down to make sure her body wasn’t betraying the truth. He finally walked over to the other side of the small waiting room and sat. His huge frame was almost comical in the already small chairs.

  Disappointment chased down the lust. It didn’t matter that the man was built like a Greek god. She had a job to do. She didn’t have time to hit on random men, no matter how great they looked. They could chat after she sorted out her permit situation if he was still around.

  Selena flipped through her documents, including a printed-out map. It slipped away from her folder. She snatched at it, pushing it farther away. Her map ending up halfway across the room was very on-point for her day.

  Mount Hotness rose from his chair and crouched by the paper. He picked it up and offered it to her.

  “I think you dropped this.”

  His voice was deep and sent a tingle through her body. Of course a man that big sounded like that.

  “Uh, thanks.” Selena took the map with a smile and tucked it back into her folder.

  A sharp-nosed woman in cat eye glasses approached the service window. She pursed her lips in obvious displeasure before speaking. “Miss Cody?”

  Finally.

  Selena stood and hurried to the window, a vanilla folder in hand. “That’s me.”

  The woman glanced down at a form sitting in front of her. “You’re here about filming permits in the forest reserve?”

  “Yes.” Selena nodded slowly. “There’s been a mix-up. I’d already gotten permits approved by Tom, but now your office is saying they’re rejected, and Tom’s on vacation, and you know how things go.” She chuckled and offered the folder. “But I’ve already got things stamped in here. I’ve also printed off the email chain.” She pointed at the folder. “It’s all in there. I just need you to officially reissue the permits.”

  The woman thumbed through the folder, a bored look on her face. “Oh, I see. I can’t help you.”

  “What? You can’t? Why?”

  “Tom made a mistake. You’re missing some forms.” She rattled off a couple of form numbers.

  “Excuse me?” Selena took a deep breath, trying to keep calm. “Tom clearly stated in the email chain that I had everything I needed. He said those other things were formalities, and that no one ever required them.”

  The woman shook her head. “Why would we have forms that we didn’t require? That doesn’t make sense.”

  “But Tom said—”

  “Tom isn’t here.” The woman scoffed. “We’re a government agency, and we need to follow county and state regulations. Those regulations require those forms. You didn’t go through the proper procedures when you obtained the permit, so they were revoked. It’s as simple as that, Miss Cody.”

  Selena glared at her. “I did follow the procedure, and Tom said I did.”

  “He made a mistake.” The woman pursed her lips. “Are you incapable of listening?”

  “Then I’ll correct my problem. Give me the other forms, and I’ll get them filled out.” Selena pinched the bridge of her nose. “Please.”

  The woman shook her head. “You don’t understand. It should never have been approved. They never finished cleaning that area up after the war. It’s dangerous. I apologize for the misunderstanding, but the old military storage facility in the area makes it far too risky. It’s simply impossible for you to get a filming permit for that area.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.” Selena threw up her arms. “I scouted the area we’re going to do the shoot, including checking out satellite pictures. There are waterfall pictures from people who have already been there. There’s no military stuff anywhere close to where we’re going to film. If we need to take a different route to get there, we’ll take a different route.”

  “This isn’t negotiable.” The woman frowned. “Don’t be difficult about this. Regulations are regulations.”

  “Okay. Fine.” Selena sucked in a breath and tried to recalibrate her mind for a different strategy. “I’m very close to losing my job over this. Is there anything I can do? Some way to convince you to give us the permit? We can sign whatever documents you want about not going near any old Army storage places. Waivers, the works. Trust me, the director is obsessed with the waterfall. We just need to get to a certain part of the forest for a particular backdrop.”

  The woman reached and pushed her glasses up her nose. “I don’t how many different ways I can say no before you understand. We’d need independent confirmation from numerous agencies. This isn’t as simple as you think for something so potentially dangerous. We can’t have you getting yourself blown up. We would be the ones liable for issuing the permits.”

  “But you’re saying that it’s possible.” Selena allowed herself a ghost of a smile.

  “Possible and likely aren’t the same thing. You’re free to consult our website for more information, but this process can take several weeks.”

  “Weeks?” Selena squeaked. She snatched up her folder. “I’ll figure something out. Just you wait.”

  The woman behind the counter rolled her eyes, any hint of sympathy vanishing. “It’s your time to waste, but I think you need to step aside, so I can help…” She frowned. “…the other gentleman. See? You scared him off.”

  She sounded disappointed.

  Selena looked over her shoulder. Her tall stranger was stepping through the door. She raised her hand and was about to call out to him when he closed the door. No wonder the other woman sounded disappointed. Selena could at least empathize with her on feeling sad about the departure of Mount Hotness.

  It was probably for the best. Any chance Selena had of getting him to ask her out probably vanished with him witnessing her rant against the local bureaucracy. Men didn’t like desperate and loud women.

  Selena stomped toward the door. She might not have any dates lined up, but at least she could figure out a way to save her job.

  Chapter Five

  Maximus sat on a bench outside the front of the county building pretending to look at his phone, though not bothering to unlock it. His careful surveillance of the front door was concealed not only by his handy prop but also his sunglasses. Although his contacts provided a decent disguise, he didn’t see a problem with using a little backup, particularly in a place where no one would be suspicious. Sitting there staring at the door would be far too likely to standout given his size.

  The bright sun hung in the blue cloudless sky. A park lay down the street, marked by an impressive Koa tree. Children ran around under the tree, having a great time. From looking around, no one would suspect that Doctor Quinen and the Phoenix Corps were on the island.

  No. They might be on the island. Maximus had to keep reminding himself they hadn’t confirme
d anything one hundred percent. The evidence might point that way, including what he’d learned from the informant, but there were a lot of nasty people in the world who had nothing to do with hybrids.

  Had the serpents come to paradise?

  A pleasant breeze cut through the warmth, and Maximus inhaled deeply. Maui smelled a lot better than most places on the mainland. Alpha Squad’s missions took them far and wide, and not always to the most pleasant places. It was a nice change of pace despite the uncertainty.

  Maximus took in the smell again, smiling. It was the scent of life in paradise. The island scent reminded him how Titus had invited them to another island, a place they could be safe when this was all over if only Maximus would accept the offer.

  Isla Luna had its charms, but it was no Maui. Maximus had already discussed the matter with the other eleven affected hybrids, and they had all agreed with him that it would be best to keep their distance. Titus, Rachel, and the Luna hybrids had been nothing but generous, but the last thing the Alpha Squad hybrids wanted to do was put them at risk. Until they had a better understanding of what was going on, they couldn’t be certain they weren’t a ticking bomb that could threaten all the hybrids or some sort of special target that would bring trouble.

  Alpha Squad’s trip to Hawaii was all about managing some of that risk by helping end one of the last known threats to the hybrids. Everyone knew a lot more about the powers backing the now destroyed Horatius Group than they did the Phoenix Corps. That meant it had been a lot harder finishing them off, even with the government’s recent successes. All it took was one scumbag surviving and finding new sources of money. But Alpha Squad was close as they’d ever been.

  If they didn’t act quickly, the whole painful ordeal could begin again, with another deep-pocketed group targeting hybrids. Making more would take too long, which meant anyone like that would come looking for existing stock.

  A faint growl sounded. Maximus stopped himself once he realized he was the one making the noise. Fortunately, no one was nearby to question the odd behavior. He couldn’t let the unpredictable future upset him. They would take control by making sure that future never came to pass. That all would start right then and there on Maui.