At First Sight (Persephonii Waters Book 1)

by Melanie Brown

  Chapter 25: Rogue:

  The official title given to a Para that has broken the law. But usually refers to Vampyres who are designated to be Hunted. Which means no trial by law. To be labeled Rogue is a death sentence.

  P.P.D: Lakewood, WA. 8:45pm PST.

  It had taken nearly two days to convince Agent Savage that Anton Alexander was the top lead and that his Chylde, Bryce Hawke was the best candidate for the Rogue Maker. Not wanting to put all his eggs in one basket, the Agent had given them a little less than half the task force, to hunt Hawke down. It was another two days compiling a profile and reviewing Anton's statement's and stories, before they tracked down a solid lead. It seemed Hawke liked to stay in the port districts, close to the water, but away from the hustle and bustle of town.

  The small group, lead by Sebastian and his Kiss scoured the port areas along the Washington coast, starting north of Seattle and heading down towards Olympia.

  "We've tracked down a few Kindred that say they've seen a few figures around the dock areas. Nothing too uncommon, except that the buildings around there were recently purchased by a few companies new to the area; something about turning the warehouses into retail space?" Deciding it was time for a short debriefing, the Vampyres had assembled in the meeting room. Once again the small group was left to piece together the information they had gained. Every detail at this stage was important.

  Agent Savage and Parker were once again strutting around the precinct as the week was almost gone with no sign of retaliation from the Rogue. Making comments about foretellers of 'doom and gloom', Agent Savage was sure that the Rogue had run from the area. The senior agent had set about trying to track his movements, focusing his search in the northern reaches of the state. The team was confused as to where and how the lead agent was getting his information, but Parker seemed to have an informant of her own and most importantly the 'ear of the king'.

  The whole team was gathered for the update, even Madison had dropped by to give more insight into her findings. Chase was giving Maddie the cold shoulder, but other than that everyone was working well together. It was a testament to how much the team had grown together as well as how badly they wanted this investigation to come to an end.

  "Despite current hearsay, the northern docks and port areas left little room for a hide out. It's mostly fishing huts and trees, up there. Our best option is Cape Meares, and farther south past Olympia. It will take at least another week to thoroughly check the more populated areas." Miklos had been part of the team searching the port areas above Portland. Though his report wasn't unexpected news, it was just unwanted.

  "Surely there's some way to narrow this down? Time is ticking by here." Chase had been released from the hospital a few days after his admittance with a warning to take it easy. Since he was good for little else but desk work, and Fox had taken over the hunt for the mystery assailant, Persephonii had given him the task of hunting down the Rogue's Business ventures. The rather nondescript Hawkens Enterprises Inc. had sprung up in quite a few places over the last few months, cash purchases and satellite deals aside. If they could find out what Hawke had been doing with his time and money, apart from Turning innocent people, they might be able to locate his current whereabouts.

  "Wait that sounds familiar." Chase flipped through a stack of papers, finally coming to rest near the bottom of the stack.

  "Yep.....Hawkens Inc, has a few packages delivered to a building in the port-warehouse district. From what I can tell they've purchased a few buildings in the area. There are two warehouse buildings and an office building. But only the one seems to be receiving mail." Chase gave Sebastian and the others the addresses. The task force decided to split into two groups, hitting both warehouses as the same time. Miklos, Toma, Kaleb and Talia lead the team on the second building while Sebastian, Nadia, Alin and Gavril lead the team on the first. Persephonii, Chase and Agent King decided to check out the office space.

  In the middle of mobilizing the troops, Agent Savage and Parker arrived. Concerned with the flurry of activity, Agent Savage assigned Parker and a few of his team to head out with Persephonii's group to the office space. Chase was less than thrilled at having to work closely with Parker, but even more so, Persephonii hoped the other woman stayed out of the way. Parker was a research and desk work kind of investigator and was unused to field work; something Persephonii and Chase specialized in. The other woman could become a serious liability if things went south.

  Hawke's Lair: Port District. Cape Meares ,WA. 12:21am PST.

  Sebastian and the team surrounded the dark warehouse, trying to keep the element of surprise as long as possible. As the Agent's donned their gear and readied to storm the building, Nadia made her way to the roof, ready to search the upper floors. It was a joint effort and things were progressing quickly, though the building seemed uninhabited, it was old and likely filled with secret spaces. Sebastian hoped they found the Rogue before he had time to escape. If he was in the building, they would have him.

  It was clear by the supplies and amounts of blood that the Rogue had been in the building at some point, but if he had returned within the last few days it was not readily evident. The amount of chaos and destruction on the lower levels was wild, even to the point that Nadia had commented on the rage and mental state of the Rogue Maker. Clearly suffering from anger issues, the Rogue would be a force to be reckoned with. He would have to call the other teams and let them know as soon as the all clear was given.

  "Building's clear." More than an hour later the Kiss and Agents had cleared every floor, every room, without any additional sign of the Rogue. Contacting Kaleb, who would be on observer duty. Sebastian sighed as he waited for the phone to ring. If the other team had arrived around the same time they had, the Rogue may already be in their custody. Though a bit put out that he hadn't been there to seize the Rogue in person, Sebastian was relieved to know that the end of this Hunt was near.

  Kaleb's voice came over the phone, relaying the events as they happened. The second team had been later in arriving as it was farther out. Kaleb kept up a steady commentary, the young Vampyre was the most talkative of his Kiss, Sebastian waited. A few moments later the verdict came down, and with it a sense of unexpected panic.

  "We're clear here too... No recent sign of the Rogue."

  Which left only one other place he could be if their information was correct. With his Liaison and her small team heading right for the Rogue and who knew what trouble.

  Hawke's Lair: Office. Port District. Cape Meares ,WA. 12:01am PST.

  Dark business fronts lined a large, if rather unremarkable beige, stucco and steal building from the late nineties. As a whole, much like the rest of the area, a business center that had seen better days, the majority of which still had for lease signs plastered along their facades.

  While Persephonii hadn't expected some grand mausoleum of a building, she had expected the Hawke to be a bit more modern in his aesthetics. Even Chase commented on the lack of pizzazz. But then Persephonii thought that might be the point, a hideout in plain sight. Where the warehouses were something more secretive this was a front, the start of an operation that would be the face of Hawke's plans. A humble beginning where the true start had been violent and vengeful.

  As the group surveyed the building, looking more like a strip mall come business complex, it was clear Parker thought this was a waste of time. They had a few hours until sun rise and little more than a handful of people. Parker and Persephonii didn't carry guns, which left Chase, Agent King, and four other agents to search the area. The warrants for the buildings allowed entry by any means, but Persephonii urged the agents to caution. If anyone was in there, it would be better to take them by surprise.

  Given that no word had been heard from the warehouse teams, who would have arrived after her team, Persephonii was inclined to wait until they had more man power, or at least the possibility of reinforcements. As it was, they were out manned and out gunned if things went south. Six agents, ev
en if one was retired from the bureau would not stand up long against an enraged Vampyre.

  Having loaded Agent King's S.U.V herself, Persephonii strapped on a few additional defense measures. Her double utility belts now included special additions like vials of ionized, silver solution water, a flash grenade and a few inscribed silver stakes. Neither would kill a Vampyre but it would hurt them enough to slow them down, leaving time to get away. Pulling out a small box, she handed it to Chase, who was donning his own raid gear.

  "What's this?" Chase seemed surprised at the gift, or maybe just the timing.

  "An early Christmas present. I didn't wrap it yet.... I was going to give it to you later, but..." she shrugged, he had needed it for the Edwards incident, it might have saved him the broken ribs at least.

  Opening the box, Chase unfolded the tissue paper and pulled the fabric out, holding it up as the shape of the vest unfurled. At first he looked a bit confused as to why she would be giving him a strange vest when they were about to raid a building, but then he brought the vest closer. Persephonii guessed that he was looking at the weave and the inscriptions woven into the edges and along certain lines of the vest. He looked up realizing what he was holding and gave her a large smile.

  "Gear up...we're heading in soon." Agent King's voice came from the back of the vehicle. To which Chase nodded, thanking Percy and slipping the vest over his dress shirt, snapping the Kevlar vest over the top. You could never be too careful where the Para were concerned.

  The office building was big enough that their meager group would have trouble clearing it if they went in without a plan. There were no schematics, no information except to say that it had been purchased a few months ago by Hawkens Inc. There could be a dozen people in the building, or none. Parker was adamant about 'getting this done' and heading back to Agent Savage who was with the majority of the task force searching Seattle for the Rogue. He had been resolute in his decision to conduct his own search, based on 'his' informants.

  The man was unyielding and it was a very close thing not to put in some phone calls that would have him removed. But Persephonii had persisted through his turning a blind eye and she hated to call in favors. Besides the obvious, that Parker seemed to think Persephonii as her rival and demanded to keep an up close and personal eye on her, she was there in case things did pan out as the 'other' team had thought, and the media needed to be addressed. Persephonii didn't think it would lend them the credibility they thought it would, but Parker was there for better or worse.

  Standard procedure for clearing a building considered five people the necessary minimum to move forward, the current team barely made the requirements. Consisting of Agent King as lead, Chase as her second, Davis and Moore, Alvarez and Phelps, and Persephonii heading up the rear. Parker didn't have a vest or any sort of weapon, which left her by the vehicles as a look out. It was sketchy but with the other two buildings being hit at the same time, Hawke was either in one of them or long gone.

  Ear buds in place, the team made quick plans to clear the building. Agent Moore would cut the power and disable any security measures and the team as one would enter in the far left side door. They would try and be as covert as possible, keeping noise and light emissions to a minimum. A methodical search, two at a time clearing a room, with Persephonii in the back as observer. The five agents and Chase would lead, snaking their way through the interior of the building, left to right. Persephonii would fallow behind marking the rooms with florescent chalk once each one was cleared.

  The procedures were clear: do not advance or pass to unclear areas, and stay with the group at a steady pace. In close quarters line of sight and body language would be key to the teams progress. Remember to coordinate all movements with the group, but keep communications to a minimum; brief, to the point, and exact. Be slow, methodical and thorough, moving at a speed easy to manage. But most importantly; be prepared for an altercation.

  A quick crowbar to the steel fire-door gained them entry. From there Agent King lead the team breaking off to the right with Chase, then Davis and More to the left as Alvarez and Phelps moved forward, they proceeded to clear room after room in pairs. Excess noise was kept to a tolerable level, but as the team neared the end of the first hallway, nearly in line with the front doors, it was obvious the building was inhabited. Even from the back of the group Persephonii could hear a ruckus coming from the back right corner of the building. What sounded like furniture being tossed about and loud talking, muttering really, echoed down the hallways. The noise covered the teams movements. Agent King had to remind the team to clear the rooms as they went instead of rushing towards the target. It would be unwise to leave the rest of the building unchecked, especially with so many rooms to their backs. Persephonii stood at the corner of the hall, a guard for their path of retreat should they need it. Pausing to get out her phone to text Sebastian that the office was occupied, when an office chair broke through the glass divide in front of her. Scattering the group as they had stopped to divide their focus. King and Chase went to cover the suspect while the other two teams snaked their way through to the far side of the building. Their speed was increased but they had made it through to the end of the hall and were making their way back when the chair had been launched in Persephonii's direction.

  With a wall or two between her and her would be attacker, Persephonii was left to retreat from the team, falling back into an office space, more like a break room, that had already been cleared. Parker was calling over the ear pieces asking questions and wanting answers when Agent King demanded she keep quiet and clear the communication lines. Persephonii sent off the text, hoping Sebastian or some part of his team would get there quick. They had no silver bullets or really anything, to take a raging vampyre down. The strength it took to launch a chair through to the hallway showed that whoever it was, was angry and had far more power than the average Para. The mangled chair and wall could attest to his rage.

  Pulling her Para grade taser from its holster, she listened for additional movement. The far wall was once again mostly glass, through it she could see Chase's shoulder up against the far corner of the hallway, mostly blocked by the plastic mini-blinds trying to give a sense of privacy amongst all the glass. Peeking over the ledge of the window, Persephonii was at the perfect vantage point to watch as Hawke made his way through the rubble and glass. He'd knocked a sizable hole in a thin partition wall and followed the path of the chair through the mess.

  Bryce Hawk was a tall, dark man, looking to be in his early to mid twenties. Anton had painted a thorough picture of his Chylde. Persephonii could see he was exactly as his Sire had described him, except for the fact that his mental state had brought him very low. Disheveled and nearly manic, the Vampyre had lost all sense of composure. Short cropped dark hair was tousled, the gel leaving tuffs stiff in the air. His blood red leather jacket was in a contemporary style but torn at the wrists and elbows. Dark washed jeans and loafers were scuffed and dirty, the sharp creases giving way to wrinkles. Bryce Hawke was a distraught man, clearly upset, his cultured persona falling away in the face of his troubled mind.

  He was yelling about unwanted guests, and failed plans. The volume rising and falling in waves, she could make out his staccato mutterings, but they were hardly reassuring. Hawke was trying to lay blame for his failure on everyone but himself, rehashing his plans and their demise on the doctors, on the town, Thane and Anton... even his parents. The small team had found the Rogue Maker, right where they had excepted him not to be. Now they needed to come up with a plan, before his anger was directed at them.

  Agent Davis was tall, thin and looked about as fresh off the farm as Agent King. His 'negotiation skills' came from a few classes and a seminar he had attended. As it was, he was the most qualified to try and talk down Hawke. That wasn't saying much in Persephonii's opinion, but the more Chase argued with Parker the more she was insistent 'her man' be the one to confront him. Even over the communication lines her extreme dislike of Chase was clearly
conveyed. So Parker won the argument, and poor Agent Davis was shuffled to the front of the hallway to commence negotiations.

  His calm cultured, east coast accent came from the hallway. It was his first duty to try and calm Hawke to a level that they could converse with him. Negotiations needed communication and in his current state, Bryce Hawke was nowhere near calm enough. While Persephonii would have offered to talk with him, it was a general rule that direct civilian participation in negotiations was unacceptable. Though a consultant, she still fell into the latter category. If anyone had a chance at understanding and influencing Hawke, it was Sebastian, but he had yet to text her back leaving her to believe he may have encountered his own suspects in the warehouse.

  Starting with introductions and small talk, Agent Davis began to build a connection with the vampyre, limiting the conversation to a series of leading questions about Hawke's night and if 'there was anything they could do for him'.

  The whole nature of the scenario was highly unstable. They had little chance at convincing Hawke to surrender quietly. Even if by some miracle he did chose to turn himself over, there was no arrest team prepared to take him into custody at a moment's notice. No silver chains or holding cell to put him in. He could simply snap any handcuffs put on him and decide to take off one of the car doors if he changed his mind. They had an S.U.V and Chase's sports car, not exactly the vehicles needed at the moment. Persephonii doubted even a reinforced humvee could hold him in his agitated state. The conversation was slow and stilted, whatever the 'dynamic processes of crisis negotiation' may have imparted to the young agent, his tactics were clearly adding fuel to the already burning fire.