After a few rings the connection was made.
“Jason Sorrenson,” droned the voice on the other end.
“That’s so pretentious when you answer that way,” Cole said. “Can’t you say hello like a normal human being?”
“Cole?”
“That’s me.”
“Jesus, man, we were starting to think you’d gotten lost or weren’t coming home,” Jason exclaimed.
Cole chuckled and ran his fingers over his eyes. “Afraid I’d get addicted to maple syrup?”
“That or hockey. What have you been doing? Are you still in Canada?”
“No. Actually, I’m back in the States.”
“You need a ride from the airport?”
“Not that state,” Cole added. “I’m in Chicago.”
After a slight pause, Jason said, “That’s not a state, moron.”
Cole laughed a bit too hard at the snide comment, but couldn’t help himself.
“So why haven’t you come home?” Jason asked. “A pool just got started around here that you shot yourself through some part of your body and were too embarrassed to call from the hospital.”
“What did you have your money on?”
“The right shin. A grazing shot through the right shin. I know it sounds a little obscure, but it’s a better payoff.”
“Asshole,” Cole muttered.
“Hey! You don’t even want to know where Nora put her money.”
“Is she upset?”
“She misses you.” Cole had no trouble picturing the cruel grin on Jason’s face as he added, “Kind of like a pet.”
Before Jason asked about it again, Cole told him, “There was…an incident in Canada.”
“That doesn’t sound good. Are you all right?”
“Yeah. It was messy, but I’m okay. Have you heard anything on the news about…”
Once a few seconds had ticked by, Jason asked, “About what?”
Cole realized then that he couldn’t explain anything to him. He knew better than to try and lay out the facts that he’d been attacked by some sort of monster and was now in the care of a Skinner. Jason wouldn’t believe it. Nobody in their right mind would believe it. He, on the other hand, had no choice but to believe. Even if he might somehow manage to convince Jason, it seemed a cruel thing to do; kind of like dragging a preschooler off the playground so you could explain topics like rape and war. Unless there was a good reason, it was just mean to tell so much to someone who was so unprepared for it.
“Come on, Cole,” Jason prodded. “About what?”
“About some stupid American shooting himself in the right shin.”
“Yes! I just won enough to pay off my new home theater.”
“Glad I could be of service,” Cole replied.
After the laughter died down, Jason asked, “When are you coming home? A lot of us were really worried when we couldn’t get ahold of you. I might have been worried too, if I didn’t already know that piece of crap phone you insist on carrying couldn’t get a signal beneath an antenna.”
“Leave my phone out of this. It wasn’t her fault. Things have…changed.”
“Now that really doesn’t sound good.”
Although there was nobody to see the wince on his face, Cole knew his voice would reflect it. “There’s a lot going on, but I should tell you I probably won’t be back for a while.”
“Aw, damn it. Are you sure?” Jason moaned.
“Yeah. If you want, I can sign into the system from here and—”
“We’re too far along now to start sending stuff out of our own system. All we need is one asshole kid to get hold of one of those screen shots or some of those character models and it’ll be all over the Internet.”
“Free publicity,” Cole pointed out. “It’s never a bad thing.”
“Sorry, Cole. You’ve earned the time off, but this is a hell of a bad time to take so much of it.”
“Yeah, I know. I wouldn’t even ask if it wasn’t something really big.”
“Big enough to maybe give you some ideas for the next pitch meeting?”
Cole chuckled and let out a breath. “Hell yes.”
“Then do what you gotta do. I know you wouldn’t put me in this spot unless you had a good reason.”
“Thanks, Jason.”
“Can you at least e-mail me those bugs from Hammer Strike tomorrow?”
Cole nodded, then reminded himself yet again that he was alone and said, “No problem.”
“How long are you gonna be gone?” Jason asked.
That was the question he’d been dreading since he dialed Jason’s number. “Honestly, I don’t know. It may be a while.”
A heavy sigh drifted through the earpiece. “As your boss, I’ve got to tell you this may cause some bigger problems than just Hammer Strike.”
“I know,” Cole replied.
“As your friend, I just want to make sure there’s nothing else I should be worried about.”
Anything he should be worried about.
That one made Cole smile.
Once again resisting the urge to drop the bomb that vampires and flesh-eating monsters actually existed, he said, “No. I’ll check in before too long.”
“I’m going to get back to sleep now, since some of us need to go to work in the morning.”
“All right, Jason. Take care.”
The connection was cut after a short beep and a snap of static. Cole looked at the screen, but didn’t know what he expected to see. After putting the phone in his pocket, he dug out Gerald’s satellite model. He went through the motions of choosing one of the few numbers in the phone’s memory and hit the button to get the call rolling. It was answered after one ring.
“MEG Branch 40.”
“Stu?”
“Yeah,” the voice on the other end replied. “Is this Cole?”
“Yes it is. Doesn’t anyone else answer that phone?”
There was a tired chuckle and the familiar clack of fingers on a keyboard. “I practically live here. Besides, this place has one hell of a computer setup.”
“Really?” Cole asked. “What’ve you got?”
“More than enough to keep tabs on lunatics like you. Also, I can play in three different Sniper Ranger 2 matches at the same time.”
“Sniper Ranger 2? What about Sniper Ranger 3?”
That question caused Stu’s voice to slip into a more relaxed tone that hovered somewhere between a whine and a yawn. “Three’s not bad, but it’s got a crappy single player component. Two’s got a lot more variety in multiplayer. Do you play?”
“Yeah. I worked on the teams that developed both of those games.”
Cole couldn’t be certain, but he thought he heard the sound of a desk being rattled as Stu sat up at attention. “What? You work at Digital Dreamers?”
“Yeah. At least, I hope I’ll still be able to work there when I decide to go back.”
“Why would you ever leave a job like that?” Stu asked with genuine bewilderment.
“Things just sort of happen, you know?”
“Oh…yeah. I suppose I do know. Still…awesome job! What did you do over at Dreamers?”
Chuckling while looking up at the clear night sky, Cole replied, “I worked on the single player campaign for Sniper Ranger 3.”
“Of…course you did,” Stu groaned. “I’m such a tool.”
“But you’ve got good taste in games. Besides, you’ll forget all about Two and Three once you get your hands on Four.”
“There’s a Sniper Ranger 4 coming out? When?”
“That’s classified…but it might come out sooner if I decide to go home and get back to work. You think I should do that, Stu?”
There was a heavy pause as Stu caught his breath and truly thought about the question. It wasn’t long before he said, “That’s your call, dude. Sounds like you’ve got one hell of a job waiting for you, but me and everyone else over here at MEG are always wishing we could work our way into partnering up with o
ne of you guys.”
“What do you know about…about these guys?” Cole asked.
“We’re not told a lot, but we are given the occasional lead every now and then.”
“What sort of lead?”
“Every so often we’ll get a reliable tip about where we can find someplace that’s crawling with spectral activity. There were a few demon hauntings that still give one of our founders nightmares, and we wouldn’t have known about those if not for you guys. Personally, I got to study a real Chubacabra that one of Paige’s buddies across the border ran into.”
“A what?”
“Chubacabra,” Stu repeated. “You know. A Goat Sucker. They’re in all the tabloids, but they’re real enough. I saw it myself. None of the zoologists believe me, but that doesn’t matter. None of us are here to get published in a scientific journal. I’d bet the magazine we put out on the Web gets read more than those Ivy League rags anyway.”
Cole shook his head and laughed. “There’s a lot going on that I never knew about.”
“Yeah,” Stu sighed. “Ain’t it great?”
“Sort of.”
“Whether anyone knows about it or not, you guys do a hell of a lot of good. Especially now with all that’s been going on.”
“What’s been going on?”
Stu clammed up so hard that Cole could almost hear his lips slapping together over the satellite connection. In a guarded voice he eventually said, “Let’s just say one of our guys down at Branch 25 called in about some bunch of messed-up animals in a hole somewhere. Far as I know, you guys were already told about it, so I probably shouldn’t say anything else. I’m sure Paige will fill you in. If I step out of line, she might just pull me through this phone and slap the hell out of me. She sounds cute, but…”
“Don’t worry,” Cole said as Stu fought for his next words. “I know what you mean, and you’re right.”
“I got some more calls coming in,” Stu said. “All I can tell you is to take a look around and think about what you might be able to accomplish with Paige and whoever else is there. I knew Gerald and Brad. They were great guys who helped a lot of people. You could do a lot worse for yourself than by joining up with the likes of them. Hope that helps.”
“Actually, it does.”
“Cool. Don’t be a stranger. Maybe we can run through a few rounds of Sniper Ranger sometime. I’d love to school another guy from Digital Dreamers.”
“Another one, huh? Fine. I’ll defend the company honor later.”
“Talk to ya.” With that, Stu broke the connection.
Cole held the satellite phone in his hand and ran his thumb along the chipped plastic casing. He wondered where that phone had been and what sort of impossible things it had seen. As he let his thoughts wander, he reminded himself about Gerald’s face and the urgency that had been in his voice.
A cold breeze got him moving back to the restaurant. He walked in through the door and found himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun.
“Holy shit,” he gasped.
Paige glanced at him over the shotgun and then lowered it. She held her phone up to her ear with her free hand and nodded casually to Cole before getting back to her conversation. “Yeah, go on,” she said into the phone. “What did the MEG guys find?”
Holding up his hands, Cole said, “No problem. Honest mistake. Don’t worry about me.”
Paige smiled and nodded. “Good. Thanks.” It wasn’t clear whether she was talking to him or to whoever was on the phone.
As she turned her back to him, Cole couldn’t help but notice that she’d changed into a pair of black sweatpants and a matching halter top. Although her attire was less provocative than a few outfits he’d seen at the gym, Paige’s curves were even more impressive now that they weren’t hidden by jeans and a jacket. When she walked toward the kitchen, her hips twitched more than enough to take his eyes away from the shotgun she so casually slung over her shoulder.
Suddenly, Paige turned around. The motion was so fast that it was almost painful for him to pull his eyes up to a more appropriate level. “I need to go to Wisconsin. Are you coming with me or not?”
Having just noticed the freckles sprinkled along the smooth, tanned skin just above the slope of her breasts, Cole had to use a completely different section of his brain to form a reply. “Huh? Are you talking to me?”
“I’ve got one of our trackers on the phone,” she explained as she took the phone away from her ear. “He’s found something that may be linked to Misonyk and this Henry thing. It’s a small road trip, but we can see if anything’s hunting you by moving around. If nothing follows us, you should be clear…more or less. You in?”
“Yes,” he said before he had a chance to think better of it.
Lifting the phone again, she said, “Yeah, there’ll be two of us. Where are we meeting?” After a pause, she rolled her eyes and groaned. “Are you serious? Why?…Fine, we’ll see you there.” After hanging up, she tossed the phone onto a nearby counter as if afraid of catching something from it. Then she turned to him and asked, “Did any of those Nymar touch you?”
“Pardon me?”
“Not on your clothes, but on your skin. Even something like this.”
As she said that, Paige reached out to brush her hand along his arm. She was at least a foot shorter than him, but seemed even smaller now that she was in her bare feet. When she looked up at him, her easy smile was framed by a tussled mess of dark hair. She couldn’t have looked better than if she’d spent the day in a spa.
He tensed the muscles in his jaw and forced a breath out through his nose to keep from reaching out and doing some touching of his own. Her fingers lingered upon his wrist and sent a chill straight through him. “I don’t remember,” he admitted. “So much happened that it’s all running together.”
“This may sound weird, but did any of them…spit on you?”
Wincing, Cole replied, “No. I would’ve remembered that. Why?”
“Just to be safe, give me your wrist.”
“Which wrist? This one?”
Cole extended his right arm. Paige gently took hold of him and brushed her fingertips against his skin. The longer she touched him, the more Cole was worried he might slip and say something he couldn’t easily explain. Finally, she encircled his wrist with her fingers and ran her other hand along his arm so she could push up his sleeve. Every inch of the way was a test of his resolve.
After a quick look at the veins on his wrist, Paige smiled at him even wider. She didn’t take her hands away just yet. “There would have been some black showing up on you by now if any of them tried to infect you, so you should be all right. Just so you know, Nymar can produce venom like a snake. They’ll spit it at you, and if it gets in your eyes, well, that’s really bad.”
“It is, huh?”
She nodded slowly and kept her eyes locked upon his. “You did really well tonight,” she said as she patted his wrist and allowed his hand to slip free. “You didn’t panic and you kept me covered.”
“I didn’t panic? You must not have been watching me very closely.”
Paige laughed, but then pulled away and turned her head. He might have been overly tired or overly optimistic, but he thought there was some color flushing into her cheeks. Before she pulled even farther away, he reached out and closed his hand around her wrist. Before he could unleash the smooth talking he’d planned in his mind, Paige lifted his wrist straight up, to effectively and painfully lock the joint.
“Sorry,” she whispered as she loosened the hold. “Reflex.”
Now he was the one to back off. “It’s all right. My fault.”
The way she looked at him now, Paige might as well have been staring at him through a microscope. Slowly, her eyes wandered down along his body and then worked their way up again. “It may get rough around here, but I’d really like it if you stayed. I can keep an eye on you better that way.”
“Well,” Cole replied in the coolest tone he could manage, “maybe I
should come along to keep you covered.”
Paige smiled and patted his cheek with her free hand. As she turned around, she put just enough muscle into her final pat to make it something close to a smack. “You’re cute,” she said. She picked up the shotgun and angled the barrel to keep it from scraping against the floor as she walked away.
Even after some distance had been put between them, Cole could still smell the scent of her hair and feel the bit of sweat that had been on her scarred, yet soft hands.
“I’m going to jump in the shower,” she said. “You’re welcome to stay here tonight if you want. There’s a cot in the freezer. It’s a walk-in and the refrigeration unit doesn’t work, so I was going to use it for a safe room since it’s got the thickest door in the place.”
“Sounds too good to be true,” Cole groaned. “By the way, what are the odds of that thing really tracking me all the way from Canada to Chicago? I mean, aren’t there enough smells in this city to cover mine up?”
Paige stopped and cocked her head to one side while keeping her back to him. Her hips shifted, drawing his eyes and holding them for the duration. “I once had a shapeshifter follow me for three months and across twelve states, but that was different. I wanted it to follow me. I’d say there’s about a ten to fifteen percent chance of that Full Blood losing interest in you. If you wanted to be safe, I could always teach you how to handle one of those things if they did find you.”
“You mean like train me in the ways of the Skinner?” Cole asked in a voice ripped from every cheesy movie trailer he’d ever heard.
Paige walked toward a door at the back of the kitchen that led farther into the restaurant. Since she still wasn’t looking back, he allowed himself to fully savor the way the sweatpants hugged her tight, rounded backside.
“I don’t need a partner,” she told him as she came to a stop near one of the back rooms, “but having one would make things a whole lot easier.”
“I think you’re forgetting something. I program video games for a living.”
“That was before, Cole. There’s too much out there for a man like you to just turn his back on it. If you’re waiting for a sign or a prophecy or any of that sort of crap to let you know what to do, you’ll be waiting a long time. I think you’ve already seen enough to know what you want to do.”
Skinners: Blood Blade Page 13
