by Dean Murray
"This is never going to work, you know that, right?"
I started to respond to Mallory's question, but Donovan beat me to it. "No, Mistress Paige is right. This is the only way. It's by no means guaranteed, but it does have a possibility of being successful. We need to do exactly as she says and pursue the war against the Coun'hij with every resource at our disposal."
I rewarded Donovan with a smile. "I know you're exhausted, Donovan, but while Mallory gets everyone back on the road, I need you to take a look at the communications equipment. Once that is done, you can go take a nap."
"Is there a problem, Mistress Paige?"
"I'm not sure, but Jaclyn said that she had to call my phone because she couldn't get ahold of Alec's phone and Mallory had to flag Ruby down just now."
"Very good, I'll check up on Master Alec and then I'll look into the communications suite right after that."
"I'll go ahead and check him, if you don't mind, Donovan. That way if I have any questions I can ask them before you go to sleep."
Donovan turned to go, Mallory half a step behind him, but I stopped her with a word. "Mallory, as soon as things calm down I need you to spend some time examining all of our surviving hybrids. I want to know if anyone is hiding an ability like Lori has been doing for the last few years."
"It's very unlikely. I've interacted with nearly everyone at this point. If they had an ability of any real power I would have seen it already. I only need to really examine someone if I'm looking for potential or if their ability is very weak."
"I know, Alec indicated as much, but I want you to look all the same. Just because someone's ability doesn't have a lot of raw power doesn't mean it can't be useful to us. Given the way that things are stacking up, I want to know about every potential weapon in our inventory."
"Understood, I'll get started on it as quickly as I can. What do you want me to tell everyone about Alec? They are going to ask now that they know I've been in to see him."
"Tell them the truth. Tell them that you've been in to see him and that while his injuries are severe, he is in stable condition and based on the inherent advantages of being a shape shifter, only a fool would expect anything other than that he would recover from any wound which hadn't killed him already."
"The truth?"
"Yes, the truth. A certain version of it at least. You're going to have to sell it, Mallory, or they are going to start asking questions and if that happens it's only a matter of time before they trip you up."
For the first time since the ambush had gone south, Mallory smiled. "I've been dancing rings around the truth since before you were born, Adri. I'll make it work—I just needed to know what the official party line was going to be."
Once both of them were gone I turned down the privacy box so I could hear Donovan working in the computer closet just through the wall, and then I began examining Alec. It was eerie to be next to him while he was so stiff that I could occasionally hear his muscles creaking from the strain he was putting on them. Alec would never knowingly hurt me, but all bets were off if he started thrashing around in the throes of some nightmare.
As much as it pained me to consider tying Alec down, we needed restraints. It was the only way to make sure that he didn't accidentally hurt Donovan or me. Not only that, it might actually help him. If he started thrashing around he might re-open his wounds. I added it to the list of things that needed to be done as I put the stethoscope in my ears and warmed the metal against my arm.
His heartbeat sounded fast to me, and he felt feverish, but his color looked good and he seemed to be breathing as normally as you could expect for someone locked inside of a supernatural nightmare.
I left my hand resting lightly against the bare skin of his uninjured shoulder and wished that I had time for tears. Maybe if I'd had a few more minutes I would have convinced myself there was time to break down and cry, but a second later Donovan stepped back inside of the room and turned the privacy generator back up.
"I have bad news, Mistress Paige. The communications array has been rendered inoperable."
"How is that possible? It's been working for the last several hours. Things don't just stop working."
"Indeed, that was my thought as well. I've examined it in detail and it appears that one of the shots that punched through the skin of the RV caused ancillary damage to the communications equipment, damage that didn't manifest itself until recently when a jolt in the road caused some of the wiring to finish pulling loose."
"Appears?"
"Yes…appears. The odds of something like this happening seem very slim. I worry that we might have a saboteur amongst our number."
I could feel a headache starting to build. It was bad enough that we had the entire might of the Coun'hij trying to hunt us down. The possibility that we had been infiltrated, that someone had made it past all of our precautions, that they had managed to swear fealty during one of the windows when Shawn hadn't been around to measure their intent, that they were such a good liar that nobody had picked up any unusual vibes from them, was enough to make me want to scream.
"I'm out of my depth, Donovan. I don't know the first thing about running some kind of counter-intelligence operation. What do we do now?"
"We need to confirm who has been inside of our vehicle since the ambush and then we need to keep those individuals away from each other. Given just how good a liar we must be dealing with if this really was sabotage, there is little chance that we'll be able to catch them by way of casual questioning and it would be wrong to use harsher methods on people who haven't done anything wrong. Our best bet is to make sure that their access to our operations is limited enough that if they strike again it will be obvious which of them is our culprit."
"Okay, that makes sense. Anything else? Can we get the equipment working again?"
Donovan hesitated before finally shaking his head. "I'm afraid not. Even if it was a possibility, the chance that it's been tampered with would preclude our using it. I'm simply not expert enough to guarantee that it hasn't been modified somehow to serve as some kind of tracking beacon."
"Is it even going to be possible for us to remain untraceable without that equipment?"
"No. Our IT assets can do quite a bit in that area, but much of our current security protocols are designed around the capabilities of this particular equipment. I simply don't think there is a reliable way to mask and scramble our signal while using stock cell phones."
"You realize that means all our saboteur would need to do if they wanted to lead the Coun'hij to us is leave their cell phone on?"
"Assuming we really do have a saboteur…then you are completely correct. We need to collect the cell phones of all of our people and turn them off. Also, we need to take measures in case we've already been found on a satellite feed. We're not going to be safe until we've changed vehicles somewhere that would preclude any kind of remote surveillance."
"If we have a spy in our midst. We're going to have to assume that we have one because to do otherwise would be like committing suicide. Even though taking people's phones away is going to cause a lot of ill will. I really hate this kind of double- and triple-think, Donovan. Well, a deal is a deal. Go get some sleep. I'll get Mallory started collecting everyone's phones."
"If we simply drop off of the radar we're going to end up causing an incredible amount of concern among the rest of our people, many of whom have just escaped from enforcer kill teams."
"Yeah, I know. That goes double for anyone who already knows that Alec was injured in our ambush or who manages to get in contact with someone who knows. Don't worry, I've got an idea there too."
Ruby was back sitting in the driver's seat, but by some miracle we hadn't started moving yet. Under other circumstances that would have frustrated me to no end, but it had worked out in my favor this time so I didn't say anything chastising to Mallory when I found her standing outside of the other RV.
I pulled her inside of her vehicle and shut the door to the bedroo
m so we could speak without being overheard. "Donovan thinks that there is a chance that the communications suite in the other RV was sabotaged. I'm going to need you to collect everyone's phones before we get back on the road."
"You don't ask for much, do you?"
"Believe me when I say that I would pursue another course if I felt like it was even remotely possible it would keep us all safe."
"This is going to require more than just my say-so."
"Is my say-so going to be enough?"
"We'll never know until we try."
I took a deep breath and nodded before turning to lead the way back outside. I found Vik and our unnamed driver waiting not too far away from the RV, and waved them over.
"I need each of you to go gather up as many of our people as you can—please hurry."
It took less than three minutes for a respectable crowd to gather, but I was fidgeting the entire time. It was more than just the fact that we needed to be back on the road and headed towards our meeting with James and Dominic. I was exhausted again and not entirely sure that I would stay awake if I sat down in the camp chair that Mallory offered me.
I'd been feeling pretty good initially when I'd woken up from my nap, but sometime between the time when I'd hung up from the call with Jaclyn and when I'd exited the RV all of my energy had drained away. It was one more thing to worry about and I made a mental note to make sure that Donovan, Mallory and I all checked each other at night while we were sleeping. If Dream Stealer really was capable of going after more than one person at a time then none of us were safe.
I looked around the group gathered in front of me, and then began speaking. "You may have noticed that our phone service has been spotty. It turns out that our communications equipment—which is integral to the security measures we've put in place to keep the Coun'hij from being able to track us by way of our cell signals—was damaged during the ambush. Donovan kept it running for as long as he could, but it's officially beyond repair.
"Given our current circumstances, it's going to take some time before we're going to be able to get replacement equipment installed. I hope that you've all been complying with the communications protocols that force your phone to only connect to the cell network through the RV's communication suite, but given Alec's current injuries, it's just too dangerous to the group as a whole to leave unregulated cell phones out there. Mallory will be organizing groups of three individuals to go around and collect everyone's cell phones."
A murmur of unhappiness swept through the assembled group of shape shifters, but I almost thought I was going to get away with it until a big guy towards the front of the group spoke up.
"And what if we decide we're not going to give you our phones? I didn't sign up to be some kind of slave."
I recognized him from back in Utah. I couldn't remember his name, but he was one of the hybrids who had come through and sworn fealty to Alec. I thought he was from Louis' pack, but I wasn't positive about even that.
I'd known something like this was coming, but honestly I'd been hoping to make it a little bit longer first. Oh well, no time like the present.
"Nobody said anything about anyone being turned into slaves. I could bring up the fact that you swore fealty to Alec, but I won't. Alec doesn't want anyone here who doesn't want to be here and I feel exactly the same way. You're here because this is where Alec is. You're here because he offers you his protection in return for your loyalty and service to him."
The rabble-rouser in the front was grinning like I was headed exactly where he'd wanted me to go, but I refused to let that rattle me. I couldn't just keep my feelings off my face, not when I was dealing with a bunch of shape shifters. I had to not feel doubt or all was lost.
It should have been impossible, but I simply refused to give those negative feelings any room inside of my head. Alec was going to be okay. I was going to see to it.
"Alec is many things, but he's not foolish, and trying to protect people who are actively working to make protecting them more difficult isn't just foolish, it's pointless. Anyone who wishes to retain their phones may do so, but you will not be accompanying the convoy if that is the case. You have exactly two minutes in which to make your decision."
"You can't force us into making some kind of snap decision."
"Forcing you into making decisions is an unfortunate consequence of the fact that we've been traveling for several hours while being unaware that our security precautions had potentially been compromised. Allowing some kind of protracted debate would be irresponsible on my part and would put everyone here in even greater danger than we're already in. That is the last thing that Alec wants to have happen.
"You now have one minute and thirty seconds before the rest of us will be leaving."
A dark-haired woman at the back of the crowd was next.
"Is Alec okay?"
It was the question I'd been preparing for ever since I'd agreed to take over, but I didn't bear her any ill will for asking it. She wasn't trying to cause problems; she was just understandably concerned about our situation.
"He's been shot—not once but twice. If he'd been a human he would have died on the spot. Luckily, you all have much better regenerative abilities than that. He's still alive and you all know that anything that doesn't kill a shape shifter within an hour or two of the injury is something that you'll eventually come back from."
The big bruiser at the front cocked his head to one side. "That sounds suspiciously like what Mallory just finished telling those who asked."
"What are you implying?"
"I think you've hatched a story between the three of you and you're trying to make us think Alec Graves is going to survive when in fact he's going to die at any moment."
I'd been struggling so hard to make sure I didn't feel any despair that I hadn't steeled myself against anger. A wave of rage crashed through me with a suddenness that took my breath away.
"To most of you, Alec Graves is nothing more than a meal ticket. At best you're actually willing to do as he commands in return for the protection he offers, but even so, most of the risk is his. Unlike all of you, I was there before Alec manifested his ability. I stood by his side in the midst of terrible danger even though nothing I could do would make even the slightest bit of difference. I did that because I love him.
"If you think that I would be out here wasting my time verbally sparring with you if I thought Alec was going to die at any moment then you are sadly, sadly mistaken."
It was right on the edge of believability. I could see it on the faces of the people arrayed before me. There was only one thing left to do. I knew it was the only route open to me, but I was still surprised when my mouth opened and the words poured out.
"I'm no more able to see the future than any of you, but I will say this as clearly as I'm able so that there is no room for doubt. Alec Graves is going to recover from this injury. You now have thirty seconds in which to make your decision. Personally, part of me hopes you all stay here, but I know that isn't what Alec wants to have happen."
I turned and walked away without looking back. Two seconds later I heard a rush of people moving forward towards Mallory in an attempt to make sure that they got their phones handed in before the time limit ran out.
Chapter 9
Adriana Paige
Interstate 70
Western Colorado
Donovan was asleep when I got back, but Ruby was still sitting in the driver's seat. "What's going on?"
"The communications equipment is down, so I just told everyone that they need to hand over their phones if they want to continue traveling with us. Now that we don't have a way of scrambling our cell signal it's just not safe for people to be using their phones."
Ruby digested my words for a second and then pulled a slender flip phone from her pocket. "Here, it sounds like you need this."
"Thanks, Ruby. We should be on our way again shortly. We've got some lost time we need to make up."
I started ba
ck towards Alec's bedroom, but stopped after just a couple of steps. "You haven't asked me if Alec is okay."
"I figure there are some things I'm better off not knowing, Miss Paige. What I don't know I can't accidentally let slip. Don't get me wrong, I'm hoping that he makes it through, but either way I'm a lot safer here with everyone else than I would be off by myself."
"Would you be willing to swear fealty to me, Ruby?"
"I…I don't know. I'd have to think about it."
"That's fine. I'd rather it be something you didn't just jump into. It would be subordinate to the oath you've already sworn to Alec or your alpha, but there isn't any rush. Just continue to keep your mouth shut about everything that happened back there earlier and I'll be a happy camper."
"I can do that."
I gave her a smile and then walked the rest of the way back to the bedroom. I checked on Donovan on my way. He was sleeping peacefully, which was good because it meant we hadn't woken him with our chatter and he wasn't being targeted by Dream Stealer.
We were just about to start moving again, which meant that this was probably as good a time to make one last call as any. It was still dangerous, but it couldn't be helped. I dialed the number that had burned itself into my mind the last time that I'd seen it.
"What now?"
Tasha didn't sound particularly happy to be answering my call, but then again I wasn't happy that I was having to call her. I briefly wondered what she would have sounded like if I'd called using Alec's phone. That of course reminded me that we needed to get Alec's sim card out of the communications equipment. People were going to be calling his phone still if they needed something.
"We've run into a problem. Our communications equipment has given out on us, which means that we don't have the ability to scramble and mask our calls. We're going to have to go dark for a while until we can get it replaced."
