Wayward Son

by Heath Stallcup

  “My weapon? It wasn’t loaded.” Gregory pulled the pistol and cleared the chamber, showing that the magazine and chamber were both empty. “Just in case you had gotten my weapon. But there were two security guards a few feet away that you couldn’t see with fully loaded M-16s ready to open fire.”

  Mick swallowed hard. “Gotcha, mate. Good thing I have a nice, wide yellow streak, eh?”

  Gregory raised a brow at him. “Somehow, I doubt that.” He turned to leave, “Have a good night, sir.”

  “Yeah. You, too.” Mick pushed the door shut and fell onto the narrow bed. “Holy shit. What have I gotten myself into?”

  20

  Mark studied the monitor at his station then turned back to the big screen. “Captain, can we get a wider spread on the satellite image?”

  Jericho typed in the commands and the pair waited while the imager refocused, bringing the industrial area back under scrutiny. The image focused and Mark tapped the man on the shoulder, “Switch from IR to thermal.”

  Jericho gave him a confused look but typed in the command. Moments later, the image glowed with hotspots. “The drone has too narrow a spot beam for this.” Mark sat at his station and began tapping his keyboard. “Let’s see if this works.”

  He overlaid the tags applied earlier from the drone and watched as each member of the two squads came up with red triangles above their heat signature. “And then there’s this.” He typed another command and a green triangle appeared over the heat signatures that weren’t already tagged. “That’s our bogeys.”

  Jericho shot Tufo a toothy grin. “Major, I don’t know how you did that, but—”

  “Pure freakin’ genius, Cap.” Mark tapped the side of his head. “Big kidneys.”

  Jericho keyed his coms. “Team Leader, OPCOM, we have your bogeys on thermal. If you boys will step aside, we can exercise the Predator.”

  Mark and Jericho both watched as Spalding and Apollo ran through the warehouse in pursuit of a fast mover who seemed to simply run through the wall. Both Spalding and Apollo slowed and nearly stopped at the wall, then took up the trail again. “Copy, OPCOM. All units prepare for drone strike.”

  Jericho watched as the squad members stepped out of the fray and took up defensive positions along the side of the main warehouse. Jericho turned to the technician directing the drone pilots. “Make it rain.”

  “Bringing the rain, sir.”

  Mark watched as white lines of heat crossed the image on the big screen and fast moving heat signatures seemed to splatter with each pass. After the second pass, the fast moving targets broke away and began to scatter throughout the open yard of the industrial area.

  “Engaging targets,” Bravo Two announced.

  “Targets engaged,” Bravo Three seemed to echo.

  Spalding’s voice came across the channel again. “Bravo Four, eyes open for Sheridan. He exited the warehouse through a second-story window. Possibly headed your direction.”

  “Scanning.” Tracy eyed the area with his scope and waited for any kind of movement. He caught a glance of heat between two buildings and zoomed in with his scope. He continued to watch the narrow area and saw the faint glow of heat once more. Placing the crosshairs on the largest part of the red, he squeezed the trigger.

  The heat signature disappeared once more between the buildings and Gus cursed to himself. He was almost certain that at best, it was a glancing blow. “Team Leader, Bravo Four. I think he slipped past. I didn’t have a clear shot, but I think I winged him.”

  “If it slows the son of a bitch down, that’s better than we had, Four.” Spalding turned to Apollo. “Feel like chancing a walk in the rain?”

  Apollo listened to the sound of the drone firing on the targets outside and shot the smaller man a stupid grin. “I don’t hear no thunder. I’m thinking it’s safe to go out.” He slammed a fresh magazine into his rifle and motioned for Spalding to go first. “After you, oh-ballsy-one.”

  “Always the gentleman, aren’t ya?” Spalding slipped out the open door and hugged the outer wall of the warehouse. They worked their way westward and searched for any sign of Sheridan.

  Apollo tapped his shoulder and pointed, using hand signals to keep quiet. Spalding turned and caught movement near a small outbuilding. Spalding motioned for Apollo to go left and that he’d go right. Unless the target could fly, one of them was bound to lay eyes on him.

  Apollo took off at a trot, keeping his head low. Spalding branched off and rounded the other corner of the building. Both men breeched the rear of the building at the same time and stood staring at an empty space.

  “Where the hell did he go?” Apollo stared back over the open ground leading back to the main gate and the litter of bodies left by the drone. “Surely he wouldn’t have tried to go out there?”

  Spalding scanned the area and shrugged. “I’ve got nothing.”

  “I know I seen something.”

  A dark figure launched itself from the roof of the outbuilding and tackled Apollo, taking him to the ground once more. Spalding turned and saw the two massive figures rolling on the ground and brought his weapon to bear. He laid his finger on the trigger but couldn’t bring himself to pull it. The odds of hitting Apollo were just too high, and he’d worked too hard to get the man a reprieve.

  Spalding slung his rifle over his back and leapt into the air, hoping to tackle the wolf and roll it off of Apollo. Instead, he was clotheslined in midair and sent spiraling away.

  Apollo punched, clawed, kicked and would have bitten if he were close enough. The beast rolling atop him seemed unfazed by the cascade of blows striking it about the head and neck. On the rare occasions that Apollo was rolled to the top, he’d try to push away from the beast. Any effort to put distance between them was futile. The wolf had too long of a reach and claws that could grip his clothing and flesh to prevent him from escaping.

  Apollo pulled his pistol and tried to bring it to bear on the monster’s head, but the weapon was slapped away and sent skittering across the concrete. Blow after blow, punch after punch, Apollo tried to weaken the beast, to inflict as much damage as he could before the hairy bastard ripped his heart out. Each strike seemed to only sap his strength and leave the monster unshaken.

  Apollo was able to grasp the handle of his knife and rather than use the blade, he used the handle as reinforcement for his punches. He felt either his knuckles break or the monster’s teeth shatter as he punched it across the jaw, the blade dragging a ragged cut along the length of the snout. The monster howled in pain, fueling Apollo’s resolve. He beat at the monster’s face and chest, each punch slicing small bits of flesh from the beast’s hide.

  Feeling drained and winded, Apollo felt his hand pinned to the ground as the monster loomed over him. Bits of bloody flesh and broken teeth showering his face as the creature snarled at him.

  Apollo closed his eyes, unable to watch as the monster ripped his throat out. He inhaled deeply and yelled for all he was worth. If he was going out at this bastard’s hand, he wouldn’t go silently.

  A gunshot echoed between the metal buildings, and Apollo felt the weight of the monster collapse onto him. He fought and struggled for air as he worked his huge arms up and under the hairy creature. He pushed as Spalding pulled the massive carcass from his prone body.

  “Sorry it took me so long. I lost my pistol when I tackled Scooby.” Spalding held out a hand, offering Apollo help to his feet.

  Apollo lay on the ground sucking in air, struggling to regain his breath. “Took you long enough.”

  “Get up, you sissy.” Spalding pulled the big man to his feet and was nearly pulled to the ground. “This is yours.” He handed the pistol to Apollo.

  “I guess I owe you my life. Again.”

  “I don’t think so, brother. You dove off that cargo box and saved my bacon.” Spalding clapped his shoulder. “I think we’re even.”

  The ripping sound of the drone firing on another set of targets snapped both men back to the present. Spalding t
hrew himself against the side of the small outbuilding. Apollo grabbed him by the tactical vest and hauled him back toward the main warehouse. “I don’t think this will protect us.”

  Spalding hunkered in the shadows of the main warehouse and glanced out over the industrial park. “Team Leader, OPCOM, sitrep?”

  “Mopping up now. Bravo units are tagging the stragglers.”

  Spalding sighed and slumped to the ground. “Remind me to bag Sheridan’s head as a gift for Jack.”

  “Brother, I’ll help you cut the damned thing off.”

  *****

  Thorn lay down on the expansive bed in the penthouse suite and stretched out. He sighed as he allowed himself to slowly begin to shut down in preparation for dawn. The heavy curtains blocked all sunlight and he was more than ready to sleep.

  “Shouldn’t you call Viktor?” Foster asked from the doorway leading to the next room.

  Thorn shook his head. “It’s the full moon. He won’t be able to answer this night.”

  “Isn’t it daylight there yet?” Foster tried to calculate the time difference in his head.

  “Non. It is early night there, just as it is dawn here.” He leaned up on his elbows and nodded to Foster. “Go, sleep the day away. Soon I will set the wheels in motion.”

  Foster leaned against the doorjamb and eyed Rufus. “You remember when I told you that there was something I needed to tell you? Before we went to meet the Council?”

  Rufus lay back on the bed and closed his eyes. “Oui.”

  Foster swallowed hard and studied his brother. “When I came out to your place…when you summoned me?” He cleared his throat and prepared for the worst. “The Council wanted me to give them the location of your island.” Foster waited for Rufus to explode. He fully expected a tirade, perhaps even a physical attack. He continued to stand in the doorway and study his brother’s prone body. Rufus almost appeared dead. Perhaps he had already fallen asleep?

  Foster rubbed his hands together nervously and stepped into Thorn’s room. “Did you hear me, brother?”

  “Oui, I heard you.”

  “They had me take a tracking device with me.” Foster watched nervously, waiting for Rufus to become enraged. He swallowed again and stepped even closer. “I was supposed to activate it once I got there. Except…I couldn’t. I tossed it into the ocean.”

  “Oui. I know.”

  Foster stood silently, his mouth open in shock. He continued to stare at his brother’s body lying so peacefully on the bed and he couldn’t think of a reply. He heard his mouth speaking without realizing what he was saying. “What do you mean, ‘you know’? How could you have known?”

  Rufus sighed and sat up, eyeing his brother. “Do you not remember that I have spies within the Council? I knew you would have the tracking device before you did.” Rufus gently shook his head as he stared at Paul. “They threatened you with the true death if you did not reveal my location. I know this. Yet, you still did not tell them. I wonder why that is?”

  Paul swallowed hard and averted his eyes. “Because, you are my brother.”

  Rufus chuckled lightly and lay back down. “We both know that at the time, you did not think of me as ‘brother’. So I had to ask myself, why wouldn’t Paul Foster do as commanded by the Vampire Council? What was in it for him?”

  Paul shrugged. “There was nothing in it for me. Except the promise of the true death.” Foster walked further into the room and sat at the edge of the bed. “But somewhere along the way, I came to realize…you may have control of my people. You may have tripled your strength because of my acquisitions. You may have been the brunt of my anger for…how many centuries?”

  “Too many.”

  “Yes. Too many.” Paul shifted uncomfortably on the bed and looked to Rufus. “But somewhere along the way, I figured out that…you are my brother. Our father loved you as though you were a natural born son. And you’re truly everything he wanted in a son.” Paul sighed and ran a hand over his face. “I was faulting you for my own shortcomings.”

  “And this realization caused a change of heart?”

  Foster shrugged, unable to put into words exactly what he felt. “I knew that I had to choose a side. And if there were a side that involved you? I’d be a fool to go against you.”

  “You chose wisely.”

  “Well, things certainly worked in my favor once I did.” Foster stood and went to the bar. He poured a cognac and leaned against the counter. “Once I threw in completely with you, things stopped going against me. I started seeing things differently as well.”

  Thorn sat up in the bed and watched Foster intently. “Such as?”

  “Such as…being a Beastia wasn’t all that horrible.” He sipped his cognac. “And when that bastard Thompson turned against you, you made me your Second. I realized then that you wanted to believe in me. I guess it caused me to step up.”

  Rufus glanced at the clock then turned to Paul. “While I find pleasure in the fact that you have come to accept certain truths, the hour is late and I must rest. We have a big day tomorrow.”

  “True.” Foster tilted the glass and drained the cognac. “I’ll leave you be.”

  “Good morning, brother.”

  “Good morning.”

  *****

  “When do you plan to leave?”

  Laura looked into Evan’s eyes and cupped his face. “As soon as Matt knows I’m ready.” She stroked his cheek with her thumb and knew that her eyes reflected the same sadness that his did. “I’ve needed to get away for so long and getting Jenny back here was my ticket.”

  Evan closed his eyes and turned from her. “It was hard enough saying goodbye the first time, I don’t know if I can stand saying it again.”

  “I told you I’d be back.” Laura tossed her bag onto the small pile and turned back to him. “Look, most of my stuff is either in storage or shipped home already. I can leave some of my stuff here for when I come back. That way you know I have to return. There’s no way I’d leave my favorite sweater with you and not come back for it, right?” She painted a cheesy grin on her face, but the desired reaction failed to manifest. She stepped closer to him and pulled him into an embrace. “I promise you, it’s not forever.”

  Evan wrapped his arms around her and squeezed gently. “It will feel like it.” His whispered breath tickled the side of her neck. “It seemed like forever while you were gone searching for the woman.”

  “It may have felt like it, but it truly wasn’t. I wasn’t gone but a few days.” She kissed him gently on the cheek and he leaned in closer.

  “A moment away from you feels like an eternity.”

  “Then come with me.” She leaned back and stared deeply into his eyes. “We can travel by night. We can hole up during the day and you can sleep.”

  Evan shook his head and sat down hard. “I promised Mitchell. And my work…”

  “Your work can wait.” She sat next to him and pulled his hand into her own. “Come with me, meet my father. Meet my brothers.”

  Evan snorted and cocked a curious brow at her. “They’d fight each other over who got to stake me first.”

  “No they wouldn’t.” She smiled at him and laid her head on his shoulder. “I told my dad about you. I’ll be honest, he wasn’t thrilled at first, but he slowly came around.”

  “What convinced him?”

  “Everything, I think. The fact that you’re helping us. That you don’t…didn’t drink human blood.”

  “I still wouldn’t if there was a choice,” Evan corrected.

  “I know. And as far as dad knows, you’re still Beastia.”

  Evan ran a thumb across the back of her hand absently. “And your brothers? You don’t think they’d pump me full of hot silver the moment they met me?”

  She laughed and shook her head. “They enjoy breathing too much. They know that if they did anything to hurt you, I’d kill them.”

  “Ah, sisterly love.” Evan returned her smile and moved his caresses to her hair. “I really
wish I could. But Mitchell thinks there’s something big brewing and wants me working on new weaponry. I really need to make that a priority.”

  Laura sighed heavily and leaned away from him. “Evan, the world will always have some kind of major threat rattling its saber and threatening to destroy everything. You need to decide to live a little for yourself.” She lifted his chin with her thumb and stared into his eyes once more. “For me.”

  Evan nodded and leaned into her once more. He wrapped his arms around her and enjoyed the warmth she radiated. “Maybe after a little bit, I can come out and visit you?”

  She lowered her eyes and nodded, knowing that he’d never leave the safety and security of the hangar. “Sure. That sounds really swell.”

  *****

  A banging at the door stirred the two lovers once more. Lilith stood and wrapped a robe around her before going out to the main doors. She looked back at Samael who stood nude in the doorway of her bedroom. “I have no idea.”

  “Turn them away, I need to rest this body.”

  Lilith stared at the Fallen One and smiled. In the short time that he had been back, he had nearly converted the dead flesh of Damien Franklin into an exact duplicate of his old body. She marveled at his chiseled chest and abs, the strength of his arms, the corded muscle of his legs. She had no idea how he did what he did, but she didn’t care. Her angel had returned to her.

  She turned toward the offending noise and strode with purpose. Reaching for the knob of the metal door, she pulled it open and was nearly run over by a burly, bearded man, a knit cap atop his head. He reminded her of the pictures she had seen of a lumberjack, only…not in this area. “Where the hell is he?”

  “You need to leave. You are not welcome here.” Lilith raised a hand to grab the large man when he swatted her arm away.

  “Don’t toy with me, woman. Where’s that damned vampire? He has a whipping coming.”

  Lilith stared at the burly man and recognition crossed her features. “Gaius?”