by Terra Wolf
“I'm not worried about you, man. More about what's down there. I hardly go down there if I can avoid it. It's also where they keep the test subjects. Makes me uncomfortable.”
“Test subjects?” I tried to think back to what Clara had said. Formula and kids. I also thought of Camden. The rage boiled inside me, but I tried to keep it in the best I could. I was here for information, I couldn't make any further decisions without it.
“You mean the children? Do you have a daycare down there or something?”
“I wish that's what it was. No, it's nothing like a daycare. And how did you know about the kids?”
“Clara just mentioned something about it. She thought I was going to be working down there, I guess.”
“Oh, yeah. No, I’m the only one who has clearance down there. Like I said, I avoid it. There're no entrances and exits down there so we don't need heightened security. Everything that's important is up here.”
I didn’t push any further, I could tell he was getting suspicious.
“Okay so your post is next to lab B. You just stand here and let me know if any of these geeks looks strange.”
I nodded.
I needed to get downstairs, but that would take time.
Chapter Twelve
Harrison
The next day I was watching a lab tech take notes. He looked younger than me and kept swishing blood around in a vial. It was making me nauseous. I knew that must belong to someone downstairs. I had to find out more.
Frank was walking by me, doing his third round for the day.
“Frank,” I said, stopping him with my arm. “Do you know what they make here? That kid has been playing with blood for over an hour. It’s weird. He looks fascinated.”
“All these science types are.”
I had to keep pushing. “They’re weird. But really, what are they looking for? I mean if you’ve got some crazy viruses in here, we should know about it. Working here and all, I don’t want to get sick.”
He sighed and shook his head. “You’re curious, do you know that? But I guess you’ve got a right to be. Come on, I’ll show you downstairs. But don’t you dare say anything to anyone, or losing your job will be the least of your worries.”
I pretended to look afraid, but instead I was on high alert. I didn’t expect it to be this simple. This was too easy. Frank knew more than he was letting on. I couldn’t tell if he was showing me because he was proud of what they were doing here, or if it was a set up.
He took me down a long hallway, which looked like just like all the others, but at the end, there was a door that said biohazard. We walked through it into an elevator with the same symbol on it. When we entered, there were only two buttons, up and down. I balled my fists in preparation for an attack, what if he was taking me down here to test me? Had I blown my cover?
“Listen, you can't tell Sable that you saw any of this. But I get you wanting to know. You're going to be protecting these lab techs with your life, it's important to know what you're protecting.”
“What am I protecting?”
The elevator doors opened and I was horrified by the view in front of me.
He only said one word. “Secrets.”
For me, there were no secrets here. Just cages. What they contained was even worse. Down the right side of the long dark hallway were people, dressed in regular, everyday clothes for the most part. On left hand side? Animals, or people in hospital gowns looking gaunt and frail. I tried the best I could to hide my disgust. But it didn't go unnoticed.
“I guess you figured out by now?”
“Sure did,” was all that I said. I looked at him, examining his every move. This wasn’t a ploy to hurt me, but something still felt off.
“Fucking shifters. The subspecies. I hate being down here. Just smells bad. They don't live any better than animals do.”
He didn't know anything about us. All he knew was these people in cages, and the only reason they lived any less of a life than he did was because he was forcing them to. I could feel the bile coming up in my throat as I passed by the cage of a bear who looked just like me. As he prowled back and forth, he stopped directly in front of me and threw his nose into the air. He knew what I was. Part of me thought he knew what I was doing. He roared in anger, looking at me as a traitor to our own kind.
“I've never seen him do that before,” Frank said as he took out a baton and hit the side of the cage. So he didn’t know what I was, or he was just a really good actor.
“This place is insane.” It was the only thing that I could say that was both truthful yet playing along in my role. I had to keep my cover. I couldn’t compromise the mission just because of how I felt. And as I looked into the sad and almost empty eyes of that bear, I felt a kinship toward him. This just as easily could've been me. I mean, I would've been harder to take down, probably, but not hard enough.
“What are they doing with them here?”
“Testing them, figuring out a way to eradicate them. It's on the plan.”
“Plan?”
“The plan for humans to be the superior species once again.”
Chapter Thirteen
Harrison
“That's some serious shit, man.”
I just finished showing the guys everything that I'd seen. I had stayed on for the rest of my shift, taking pictures and finding various exits. Frank had even taken me into the control room, so I could see how everything worked with the security system. Getting in was going to be easy. Now I just needed to decide what the hell we were going to do once we got out.
We sat around the conference table in a hotel that Sarge had booked. We couldn’t risk me being seen at the precinct anymore, so this was the next best thing. I had even checked the room for bugs. We couldn’t be too careful.
“So that’s really what they think of us? That we’re just some animals?”
“I guess.” I shrugged. It was definitely the impression that they had given me. Or at least, some of them had. The receptionist honestly had no idea what they were doing, and while Frank seemed to believe in the cause, he didn't really know what shifters were like.
He was just following orders.
Doing what he was told. I wanted to shake him.
Every horrible thing he said about shifters had been fed to him. I could feel it. Everything he believed was a lie.
He told me about how shifters were going to take over the human race, how we wanted to destroy humans. None of that was true. My mom was human. Why would I want to hurt them? I'd been so disgusted and upset that I hadn't even gone back to the house yet. I couldn't face Penelope without a plan. Besides, I had to face what they wanted to do to me.
To my son.
I needed other shifters to hear me first before I went home and sounded completely insane. We needed a plan, some way to get in there to free all those people while shutting down the facility. We needed a legal way to do it first. Sarge had been clear about that. We had to attempt to do the job cleanly, and that if that didn't work out, he would turn a blind eye. And I was okay with that.
Jackson spoke, something he rarely did. “I had tech do some more digging into your mystery man. Turns out this Purest place has big money, political ties too. I don’t think we’re dealing with just some private company agenda. I think this is bigger than that.”
“You mean you think this is government funded?” I couldn’t believe it, our own government turning against us.
Gavin nodded, “No big political leaders right now are shifters, even the head of shifter rights is a human. That’s saying something. This one place can’t be it. There must be more.”
I felt sick.
Sarge looked pensive. “I feel like they need a distraction.”
Grady looked at him. “A distraction from what? Sarge, they’re out there killing people. Leaving us little gifts like they’re some psychopath. And then it turns out it's the freaking government? Funneling money through some private agency? This is insane!”
&nbs
p; He was right, it was insane. But without a plan, it would be just as crazy to go after them. We needed some way to make sure that they didn't figure out that we were coming for them. I was just the first step.
“What about a diversion?” Gavin said. “What if we say that we've caught the murderer? Leak something to press? That way they think that there's no way we’re on their scent. Maybe they'll make a mistake. Drop a body somewhere new. Somewhere we can catch them.”
It wasn't a bad plan. We all knew that murderers made mistakes when they got too comfortable. It was something we had seen time and time again in our cases. Gavin was right. If we were lucky, this could give us a break.
Sarge spoke. “Where are we with the last victim? Has she been identified yet?”
Grady nodded. “Yeah, she's a college kid from the local medical school. Turns out her roommate went missing two weeks ago. She still hasn't been found. The families assumed that they went on a trip with the other. I guess they thought they were in a relationship, and hiding it from their family, so they didn't tell them when they were going. The family was obviously devastated. They hadn't even really been looking for her, poor girl.”
“Do you think the family would be open to a press conference? Convince the press that we found her killer and all these bodies are going to stop showing up on our doorstep? I think that's the perfect opportunity for them to try to get away with it. The perfect chance for us to stop them,” Gavin added.
Sarge spoke in his deep, gravelly voice. He always caught our attention, even when he didn't mean to. “I'll talk to them. But I'm sure they understand that if it's going to help their daughter’s case, they’ll do it. Just make sure that you do your job as the undercover agent and find something for us. I want to catch these bastards and quickly nail them.” We all nodded in agreement. I didn’t want to spend any more time in the lab than I had to. I just wanted to be home with Penelope and Camden.
Sarge turned to me. “You’re going to stay here for the next week. No more home time. Sorry, man.”
I knew it was coming, but it still hurt. I wanted to be home. I wanted to be with Penny.
Chapter Fourteen
Penelope
“Harrison, oh my God, are you okay? You didn’t come home and I was so worried!” I had been pacing for hours, cradling Camden in my arms while I walked. He liked at it, least. I felt like I hadn’t slept. There were bags under my eyes. Being without Harrison was harder than I thought it would be. I was trying to be strong, but in the end, I just wanted him here with me. Another night like the other night would be a welcome distraction. The feel of his hands on my skin, the way he smelled, the way he worshiped my body.
I needed to feel that again.
But finally, he had called. Hopefully, he was coming home and we would have answers.
“Hi babe, I’m sorry, but this situation is way worse than we thought.”
“What does that mean?”
“That I’m not coming home tonight. That this is a burner phone, and they’ve given me a new truck.”
“What?” Shit. Now I was truly all alone.
“I can’t implicate you, what if I’m being watched? We have to be careful. I would die if something happened to you.”
I sighed heavily. I felt the same way. “I know, it’s just, how long?”
“I don’t know. We have a couple things in motion, so hopefully just a few days. Then we can put all of this behind us, I promise.”
I chewed on my lower lip.
“Don’t be nervous,” he said.
How couldn’t I be? The man I loved was risking his life to protect me and my son. I was terrified.
“I have to keep you and Camden safe, you two are my life now.” His words rushed over me. What if something went wrong, what if this was the last time I talked to him?
“Harrison?”
“Yeah?”
“I think I love you.”
He paused for a moment. “I love you too.”
“You need to come home safe, do you hear me?” My voice cracked slightly. I knew he heard it.
“I promise. Kiss Camden for me.”
“I will.”
He hung up, and I scrolled through my phone to find the only picture I had of the three of us. I smiled as I looked at him holding Camden with his other arm around me. I didn’t want it to be our last family picture.
It couldn’t be.
Chapter Fifteen
Harrison
“We have some new information.”
Sarge called me, which I knew wasn't good. Immediately, my concern ran to Penny and Camden.
“What's wrong with them? What happened?”
“This isn’t about your girl. There's another girl, one that I'm sure you saw in the cages. I need you to retrieve her.”
“You want me to go on a rescue mission? I thought this was recon only.”
“So did I. But it turns out that we’re not the only ones interested in Purest. Besides, all this information you’re getting so quickly? You’re good at your job Harrison, but not that good. I think someone is onto you. This is additional help if you need it.”
I didn’t say anything. I agreed with him, it was all too easy. I had to be more careful, watch more closely. I was missing something.
Sarge spoke again. “Someone that we’re all too familiar with has someone missing from his family. He thinks that they took her. And he’ll do anything to get her back. If this mission goes south, this is your option for a backup plan.”
A backup plan? He meant an illegal one. “Something off the books? Who is this guy?”
It wouldn’t be the first time we got help from the other side. It pissed me off, but sometimes the enemy of my enemy of my friend thing was very real.
“It's probably for the best that you don't know. I don't want you to get caught up in more trouble than you can handle, Harrison.”
“More trouble than I can handle? What the hell is all this about? And be honest with me, Sarge. Who is this?”
I heard him sigh on the other end of the line. Clearly he felt that whatever I was asking was too much. It wasn’t like Sarge to keep me in the dark. It usually meant that big things were coming. We all had our pasts, but Sarge’s was darker than most. He had seen things that others on the team hadn't. He'd been around during darker times of the city. And sometimes he tried to keep those things from us. And while I valued that about him, this was too much. If I was going on some sort of mission for him, I needed to know the truth.
“Fine. It's for the Marconi family. Like I said, someone to back you up if you need it.”
The Marconi family. Just hearing the name made me shudder. They were serious mobsters. People that we had taken time out of our lives to put away. I couldn't believe that he wanted me to work with them. He must have really thought my life was in danger. And I couldn't deny that also made me nervous.
“So who exactly am I going to pick up for him? If I'm breaking somebody out, I need to know all the details. You and I both know that I've already looked at all of their surveillance, and while it's not bad, it's not good either. Surely I can’t just waltz in there and take somebody out with me. I'm going to need a plan. And the last thing I want is to blow my cover for some stupid family that has only made my job harder over the years.”
“I kinda thought that you would feel that way. But this gives you an out. One that I have a feeling you might need. I don’t want you going in there completely unaware, or even worse, what might happen to you if this goes south. You have to make the right choices for you, but at the same time this is a good option, one you should take.”
I knew what that meant—I didn't have a choice. He already made the deal with the devil, and I was just fulfilling his obligations.
“All right, who's the girl?”
“His niece. She's not really involved with the family. She won't know who you are or why you're rescuing her. But it's important that she gets out. They have it on good authority that they've been testing
on her. I don't know what that means for her. I don’t know if she'll act a certain way, or if that just means she’ll go with you more willingly. I don't have any details for you, but I wish I did.”
So did I.
“I'll send you everything you need to know about her, any information we have on her, but from there it's up to you. Think you can handle it?”
I sighed, thinking about how I could've gone soon, about how I could've been with Penelope and Camden, and how this job had almost been over. But of course, Sarge had to drag me back in. But he knew he was right; if things went south at the facility, I needed an exit strategy. And one of the most powerful mob families in the city owing you a favor was the best exit strategy that anybody could get. I would do whatever Sarge wanted, and he knew it.
“I'm in. Give me the details before going tomorrow. I’ll have a job done by the end of the week. But Sarge, this means someone needs to check up on Penny. If I get found out and she's hurt as a result…”
He interrupted me. “You’ll kill me. Don't worry, I understand.”
I ended the call, but I knew that he truly did understand. I would do anything to keep Penny and Camden safe, even compromise the mission. They were my first priority.
Chapter Sixteen
Harrison
“Hey, Green!”
I turned around to see Frank standing at the other end of the hallway, just beyond my post. A couple days had passed. I’d been working all the shifts they gave me, waiting for a break to get downstairs.
I was desperate to go home to Penny and Camden, but nothing had moved yet. I had even considered meeting up with them in private, but I couldn’t risk them.
I'd been standing guard all day. I was more than halfway through my shift and I hadn't heard anything more about the girl I was supposed to find. Sarge had sent me the file the night we spoke, but I had no idea which cage she was being kept in, or the type of shifter she was. There was no way to know which prisoner to release. I'd been pretty pissed that Sarge wasn’t giving me better information, so I told him to text me something by the end of my shift today. But so far, nothing.
