That softness faded fast, the flinty edge coming back to Alice’s gaze as she sighed dramatically. “Jaysus, Mary and Joseph, we’re running out of time! Listen, if I wanted to hurt Vincent, I wouldn’t kill him. I’d kill you. You’re still alive, aren’t you?”
Sam took a deep breath, thoughts speeding through her brain... This is it... that gray place Ivan was talking about... Sometimes good people do very bad things...
“Alright then... Let’s go.”
37
SAM FOLLOWED ALICE as they walked the hallways of the storage warehouse, lights turning on and off with their movements as they made their way to the main office on the other side of the building. They were silent as they walked, not that Sam had expected a round of chirpy girl talk on the way or anything. Somehow Vincent’s little sister didn’t seem like the chatty type.
The storage unit doors were getting larger, peaking at garage-door size as they reached the main office. Alice pulled out a small set of keys, sorting through them quickly before settling on a gold one with square edges and opening the door. Sam hung back, scanning the interior of the office from her vantage point in the doorway, watching Alice as she turned on one of the desk lamps and set about unlocking the middle desk drawer. The drawer popped open and Alice rifled through the papers and office odds and ends within. She was clearly searching for something, and Sam hoped whatever it was wasn’t going to be something harmful to her. She wished she’d managed to pinch one of Vincent’s guns before they were separated...
Alice growled quietly, and turned toward the other larger drawers, unlocking the one to her right and quickly sorting through the items inside. Sam heard the faint jingle of yet another set of keys, and moments later Alice was closing the drawer, locking it up again before joining Sam in the doorway.
“C’mon. We don’t have much time.” Alice pushed by Sam and headed for the second garage door unit in the line. She unlocked it, pulling the rope wound around the handle and sliding the door up. It grated sharply in several places, sending painful chills up Sam’s spine. She could see that Alice was suffering, too, but the young woman bit her lip, quite literally, and continued until the door was all the way up.
Sam stepped forward cautiously, knowing that the wave of strong chlorine smell could only mean one thing. And she was right... There in the middle of the storage unit were tables, chemistry equipment, and all the other paraphernalia she’d so often seen in active meth labs.
Alice quickly moved to a large group of pans on the counter. Sam noticed the dials perched on top of the lids...
“Pressure cookers?”
Alice checked the lid on the first one, ensuring that it was tightly fastened. “Will make it look like terrorism?”
“News flash, boo... It IS terrorism.” Sam looked around the storage space. At least ten pressure cookers were on the tables, lids on and obviously packed with whatever these homemade bombs were made of. She sniffed the air, trying to see if the scents emanating from the direction of the tables were familiar enough for her to identify. She needed some idea of what they were dealing with, and how much time she might have if she was still in the area when they went off.
The smell of ammonia was strong, and there was also a layer of acetone smell, like walking into a low-rent nail salon. Sam’s eyes scanned the items on the table... a jar of tiny ball bearings... coffee filters, several stained red... and a small cooler marked “bio-hazard”... pieces of metal pipe, and loose pieces of metal, some of them bent into the shape of the pipe ends... assorted wires... and a number of cheap alarm clocks.
“All of these are going to go off?”
Alice nodded calmly. “Yes, in about...” She trailed off, glancing at one of the many clocks. “Six and a half minutes.”
“Are they spiked with the virus?” Sam looked straight at Alice, trying to gauge her reaction.
Alice remained calm, shaking her head as she replied. “No. This isn’t about that.” She smirked. “Besides, there’s no one about... Would be a waste of valuable materials.” She followed Sam’s gaze to the “bio-hazard” cooler. “Don’t think about trying it, okay? Check the lids on those ones nearest you. Make sure they’re tight.”
Sam nodded slowly and moved to the nearest pressure cooker. She felt the top carefully, made sure that each was sealed tightly.
“So...,” Sam began, moving to the next cooker in line. “How are you even... here? I mean, you were attacked, right?”
“Yes.” Alice’s response was clipped, and she kept her eyes fixed on the cooker in front of her. Sam could see the tight set of her jaw and the tension in her body as she moved on to the net-to-the-last cooker. “All I know... is what John told me... that I was treated the same as Vincent. I don’t know anything else.”
Alice checked the final seal, then looked at her watch. “Good. Three minutes. Open those two containers there. I’m going to set the timer.”
Sam looked to the two large containers shoved under the tables. She popped the lids and was assailed with the noxious odors of chlorine and ammonia. This was not going to be a small fire... It was going to be a massive explosion... A meth lab explosion times a thousand.
“Jesus, it reeks in here!” Sam whirled around, though she recognized the voice immediately.
Prutzmann stood in the doorway, a smirk of a grin on his face as his eyes scanned the space, his gaze finally settling on Alice. “You ladies have been busy.”
Alice blew him a kiss. “Don’t be a condescending prat and grab that cooler. We don’t want any accidents.” She winked and returned to her wiring.
Sam stepped back as Prutzmann strode by, though he was still close enough to brush her arm. She sensed another presence in the hallway, though she couldn’t scent anything at all... Vincent.
Sam inched towards the door, and Vincent. He wasn’t looking at her, though, his gaze fixed on his little sister. Alice, for her part, seemed oblivious to his presence... Until she finished her little wiring project and turned around. The smile faded from her face, and her color drained away. She looked almost gray in the dim light, and a cold, hard glint had come into her eyes as she looked at Vincent. Sam shivered slightly... it was hard to tell whether Alice hated her brother, or simply didn’t care... Sam wondered which one would ultimately be better.
Vincent opened his mouth to speak – but was cut off as the lights came on throughout the storage warehouse. A loud bang echoed from the garage entry area and the sound of footsteps and men’s voices could be heard moving through the hallways.
The four all exchanged looks, then Prutzmann voiced what they were all thinking.
“Looks like we have company.”
38
BEN WATCHED THE LIGHTS of the train fade away. He should have gotten on... He promised Sam he would... But when the doors opened, and the chimes rang, and the voice spoke... He found himself vaulting out of the doorway back onto the platform, listening to the doors slide shut and the whir of the train as it started moving away.
Now he stood here at the railing, watching for... he wasn’t sure what. Ben was expecting there to be an explosion, had expected one long before this... I wonder what’s keeping them, he thought... I hope she’s alright... I hope THEY are alright...He loathed to admit it, but Vincent was starting to grow on him a bit... He might even be able to be friends with the guy... Might.
The inbound train was pulling in across the platform and Ben turned briefly to glance as a lone figure got off the train. Tall, with a slim athletic build and dark hair, the man walked with purpose toward the stairs leading to the street below. There was something familiar about him, too... Something... He shrugged it off as the sounds of vehicles racing below caught his attention. He quickly turned back, watching several black sedans race to the corner and turn onto Roebling... in the direction of the storage warehouse.
Shit... Shit, shit, shit! Something was definitely going wrong. Ben fumbled with his phone, wrestling internally whether to call Sam or not... He could warn her, but the
sound of her phone ringing could tip them off to her position if she was hiding. Ben took a deep breath and decided to wait another minute. She may already be out, she may be on her way back...
And that’s when it hit him... Out of the blue, like lightning in a clear sky... The man who got off the train... was the same guy who had tipped him about the Bund Rally...
What the fuck was HE doing here?
39
“C’MON!” PRUTZMANN’S voice was harsh and deep as he held his hand out for Alice’s. She quickly popped the timer on the center pressure cooker and took his hand, running out of the space and into the hallway.
“Which way?” Sam looked between the two, waiting for an answer as to where they were going.
“You two go out the back,” Prutzmann answered. “There’s a small glass door that leads through the back onto Havemeyer. Break the glass if you need to, it may have been locked down.” He paused, his gaze shifting to Vincent. “Good luck.”
Vincent nodded, his eyes dark as he replied. “You, too, John.” Alice seemed startled by the familiarity between the two and was about to speak when Prutzmann pulled her hand and started down the hallway. “C’mon, baby, we have to run.” And run they did, disappearing down the hallway and around the corner.
Vincent watched after them for several seconds before Sam pulled on his arm.
“Vincent... ticking clock here.” The sound of Sam’s voice shook him out of his thoughts, and Vincent quickly grabbed her hand and they started running for the end of the hallway.
“John said it was at the back... And Havemeyer would be in this direction.”
“You guys talk while you fight, huh?”
Vincent chuckled as they reached the end of the hallway and the glass door Prutzmann had spoken of. “As I recall, the last time we fought, we talked a lot, too.” He pushed and pulled at the door, trying to get it to open.
“Yeah, and then we made out. Please tell me you guys didn’t do that, too.” Sam tried to maintain a serious face as Vincent glared at her, but it was no use.
“No. We did not.”
Sam chuckled, her gaze falling on the fire extinguisher attached to the wall nearby. They were running out of time to get away from the building... “Vincent?” He looked up and she jerked her chin towards the fire extinguisher. “I think that’s the key for the door, don’t you?”
Vincent glanced at the fire extinguisher and realization quickly dawned. He stepped over and pulled it from the wall. He went to the door and slammed the base against the glass once... twice... on the third time it cracked, and by the fourth slam it shattered. Using the fire extinguisher, he swung it along the inside, breaking out the pieces and clearing a space for them to get through. There was shouting coming from the hallway behind them... alarms starting to go off... and for a moment as she followed Vincent through the doorway, Sam wondered if Alice and Prutzmann had made it out... and as they ran away from the building toward Havemeyer and the church, and as the first booms of the explosion began to echo behind them, Sam found herself hoping that they had.
40
BEN’S HEAD WHIPPED around as the first sounds of explosion began to echo toward him. He couldn’t see anything after the first boom, or the second... but the third was massive, and an almost greenish fireball rushed up from the warehouse, pluming into an eerie mushroom-like cloud above the building. Several more booms were echoing in the background, and Ben began to wonder just what kind of explosives Sam and Vincent had had at their disposal in there, especially since they’d gone in empty handed.
Fire station sirens started going off, one not far away, and moments later Ben could hear the distant sounds of fire trucks approaching. Soon their flashing lights would begin illuminating the night, their harsh sirens waking those who hadn’t already been awoken by the massive explosions. Ben started praying that the next train would be there soon, that it wouldn’t be diverted away by an overcautious driver or a barely-informed MTA dispatcher. He really wanted to get out of there, and even kicked himself a couple of times for not taking that previous train.
If Sam and Vincent had made it out, they would be coming soon... running up those stairs to this platform... and the train –
Suddenly, the din of the sirens was overwhelmed by a sound that Ben had thought he would never hear again... had prayed he would never hear... For a moment, he thought he’d heard wrong... until it pierced the night again and he felt the hair on his body stand on end... He looked up at the full moon and gulped as more howls joined the first... and he found himself fervently praying for three things... that Sam and Vincent would get here quickly... that the train would get here shortly thereafter... and that the pack of werewolves obviously gathering in the area right now wouldn’t catch his scent and join him before the other two things happened.
He was really, really praying for that last one.
41
SAM COULD FEEL THE heat on her back as they ran from the explosions. She didn’t dare look back, though the reflection of the third blast was visible in the windows of the buildings ahead of them. Sam could hear the sirens going off at the area fire houses, and the fire trucks and police vehicles making their way to the area at top speed. The glow of the fire was illuminating the front of the church and she hoped that whatever happened with the fire didn’t spread in that direction...
Vincent started to slow as they neared the steps leading to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel church, coming to a stop and sitting down quickly on the stairs. “We can only stop for a moment, love.” He pulled her hand, bringing Sam down to sit beside him and pulling her close. “We have to get to the train.”
“Are you okay? Seeing your sister and everything.”
Vincent nodded. “I’m fine.”
“Liar.” Sam nudged him with her elbow. “You can’t possibly be fine... I can see the lines of angst forming on your forehead already.”
Vincent chuckled lightly, then winced, his nose scrunching up. “That smell is awful. What did you ladies blow up?”
“Uh, meth chemicals, ammonia, bleach, God only knows what else,” Sam replied, scrunching her own nose up as she did. “I didn’t mix it up, your sister did. Presumably.” The wind picked up briefly and Sam sensed that the air was clearer and took a deep breath, her tongue tasting the night air... and an all-too familiar scent. “Vincent...”
“Yeah, I smell it, too.” Vincent’s demeanor had changed radically. His muscles were tense and ready to spring, his forehead creased in concentration. “How many do you smell?”
“Depends.” Sam was slowly getting to her feet, her eyes scanning the street up and down, searching for any sign of movement. “Do you want the total number, or just the ones that have already changed into evening wear, so to speak?”
Vincent smirked. “Yeah, I smell those ones...” A howl echoed from several streets over. “And hear them.”
“Benny...” Sam whispered, her gaze turning in the direction of Marcy Avenue and the platform.
“I’m sure he’s already well on his way back to Manhattan.” Vincent was busy checking that his H&Ks were fully armed and ready.
Sam scoffed at that. “Clearly, you do not know Ben Lewis well enough yet. We need to get to that platform.” Another howl joined the first... then another, and another... and they were coming closer. Sam could feel her heart pounding in her ears even as the sound of their howling began to stir something in her. They were all males... their pheromones were drifting to her on the wind along with their scent... Sam could feel the pulling inside of her, the churning feeling in her stomach, the sharp feelings in her joints...
“Sam... Control it, love...” Vincent was watching her closely, even as he finished with his weapons and handed one to her. She nodded, swallowing hard, and took the gun firmly, her hand hefting the weight and quickly adjusting to the feeling. She worked the kinks out of her neck, looking left, then right, and finally putting her head back to look up... at the full moon...
Blood on the moon... That’s what her
grandmother had called it... what her grandfather had feared most... the shadows crossing the face of the darkened orb, a harbinger of bad things on the way.
The gnawing, gripping feeling in the pit of her stomach intensified, spreading it up into her spine. It felt like someone was pulling her spine out slowly, one vertebra at a time.
And this time... this time she wasn’t sure if she could control it... This time, the call of the moon and the pull of the change might be too strong to be contained.
Mo Anam Cara... Sam blinked, the feeling in her body fading slightly as she looked at Vincent. He wasn’t even looking at her, but his voice was crystal clear in her mind... Fight it, my love... Stay with me, and fight it!
“How did you—” Her question was cut short as a howl pierced the night air, followed by another, as two werewolves, fully changed, came around the corner onto Havemeyer.
Sam was transfixed... In the six months she’d actually been a werewolf, and even after all those she had seen put down... She had never actually seen one fully transformed. It was kind of breath-taking... the muscles moving beneath the fur... The mane of hair-like fur around the shoulders and back of the head... the athletic stance, semi-crouched, as they ran up the street... She heard the gunshots, two in rapid succession, and both werewolves reared back, stumbling to the pavement and began to convulse immediately. Sam felt her stomach heave as she watched the creatures struggle, and the sheen of glistening silver began to overtake them, seeping from their pores as their bodies disintegrated into nothing.
There was no time to throw up, though. Sam quickly swallowed and focused her attention on their surroundings. More were in the area, and more were coming.
“Get off the steps! Move back toward the church doors, get the wall behind you!” Vincent handed her a package of extra bullets. Sam fought the heave of her stomach as she looked at the silver liquid moving inside the translucent tips of the bullets. She swallowed hard, taking the box from his hand. Looking up, she found Vincent’s eyes staring back into hers.
The Bloodline Series Box Set Page 43
