“Our ride is here,” she shouted, and trotted toward the exit door at the rear, grabbing a fuchsia suitcase from the floor on the way.
He shook his head, and grabbed his things to follow his team. Whatever that long look had meant, there was no time to deal with it now.
CHAPTER 12
As darkness cloaked the Port of Wilmington, Tatiana was crouched behind a large shipping crate. The glowing green numbers on her watch told her that she and the team had taken their positions about ninety minutes ago. Pressing a button on the wireless communicator parked in her ear, she checked in with the rest of the operatives.
“Anybody seen any action?” Her voice was a low whisper as she asked the question.
“Not me.” Marcelo answered first.
“Nothing here, Lieutenant.” That was John.
Hearing that deep voice in her ear touched her in ways she didn't want to admit. Knowing he was probably still angry with her over the way she'd acted had an effect on her as well. She sighed, knowing none of that mattered now. Any reconciliation, if one could even happen between them, would have to wait until after the mission.
Stifling a yawn, she sat down on her knees. Her calves complained at supporting her weight on the hard, pebbly asphalt beneath her, but it wasn't as if she were there to relax. She needed to be ready to spring to her feet the moment something happened.
Her eyes scanned the horizon, looking westward. Junjie was covering that position, and he hadn't responded when she checked in.
That's when she saw it.
A single, red beam of light, flashing only for a fraction of a second.
It was the signal she'd been waiting for. Someone, or something, was approaching from the west.
She waited.
A blue beam flashed next, four quick times in succession. Then, it was extinguished just as quickly as it had appeared. If she hadn't been watching for it, she might have missed it.
Engaging her communicator again, she made a report.
“Agent Yu has signaled that four perps are approaching on the west side of the terminal. Get that field up quickly, Agent Spirelli.”
“Yes ma'am,” Marcelo answered.
A brief glance up allowed her to see the purplish tinge overhead. The crescent moon above turned an eerie shade of lavender, and she knew the sorcerer was at work.
“Everyone hold your positions. If you get a visual, signal.” She kept her voice low and even.
Cautiously, she raised herself about a half an inch up, just enough to see through a hole in the large shipping container she was posted behind.
And she saw him.
About seventy yards away, beneath the eaves of the warehouse, stood a lone figure. His stance gave him away as a man---his jeans clad legs were splayed almost defiantly. In the dim light, her tigress vision kicked in, and she could see him as if it were daytime. He wore an oversized black hooded sweatshirt, with the hood pulled up. His hands were shoved into his pockets, and with every inch of exposed skin covered, it was impossible to determine his ethnicity. Since she was seeing him in profile, she couldn't make out his face.
She didn't know how long the mysterious figure had been standing there, but if he'd heard her whispering, he didn't let on. His head tilted down, as if he were inspecting his black sneakers.
Tension gathered in her neck and shoulders, her muscles seizing up like five o'clock traffic on I-40. She could feel beads of perspiration popping out on her forehead, and she swiped away the dampness with the back of her hand. She had to let the team know what she was seeing, but without drawing attention to herself.
Even as she wondered who the hooded man was, and what role he played in this unfolding drama, she aimed her PHOENIX issued pen beam west, toward Junjie's position, and activated one brief red flash, followed by one blue flash.
Junjie's voice came through her communicator almost immediately. “I'm headed your way, Lieutenant.”
She wanted to tell him to stay low, but didn't. With a perp so close by, she couldn't risk speaking.
Wanting dearly to stretch, she shifted onto her bottom as quietly as possible and extended her legs in front of her. Looking east, she could see Junjie low crawling in her direction. With her superior night vision, it was easy to make out his face in the dark.
When he stopped near her feet, staying low behind the haphazard grouping of shipping crates, he peered between them.
She guessed he could see the guy, because he turned questioning eyes on her. Shrugging, she shook her head to let him know she had no clue to the man's identity.
Junjie donned night vision goggles to get a clearer look at the man. Then, without a word, he produced a special tranquilizer gun, equipped with night vision sight. She recognized the weapon, since she'd used it before. It was a high powered piece of equipment. The gun was already loaded, so as she ducked, he popped up above the crate and quickly fired a dart.
“Shit!” A curse rang out in the darkness.
A quick glanced around the crate, and she saw the man, lying prone on the concrete.
“Well, we bagged one.” Junjie spoke both to her, and into his communicator at the same time.
“Good,” John responded over the frequency, “because two are coming into my territory now. Both female.”
“Cover me, Lieutenant. I'm going to drag him over here.”
She nodded, and Junjie darted to the fallen man. As she watched, he carried the guy over to where she waited, and placed him on the ground.
As he landed, the hood fell back, and she could see his face clearly.
Her hand shot to her mouth. “Oh my God.”
“What is it?” Junjie's voice held concern.
Trembling, she whispered,“I know him.”
The shock and anger she felt at seeing him here were so great, her world reeled and swayed like a tree in a hurricane.
She could feel her canines extending in her mouth. The tigress wanted out...wanted to hurt the man already passed out in front of her.
She'd left her mark on him so long ago...now she wanted to finish him off.
CHAPTER 13
“How long will the tranquilizer keep him knocked out?” She could barely contain her rage as she looked on the face of Wyatt Rogers. Four jagged, flesh colored scars ran in parallel lines down the left side of his face to his neck. They were the marks she’d left on him, so he’d never forget her warning.
“I don’t know. It varies from person to person.” Junjie pulled out a zip tie, and prepared to restrain Wyatt. “Better do this now, to be on the safe side.”
Before he could grab his wrists, Wyatt bolted upright. He looked confused for a moment, until his eyes fell on her.
“Agent Yu, go seek out the ladies you saw earlier,” she said, keeping her tone calm and even. “I’ll handle him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Go!”
Junjie stood and sprinted away. As soon as she was alone with Wyatt, she spoke through anger clenched teeth. “I thought I told you to disappear.”
“You told me never to get near Tara or Ava again, and I haven’t.” He frowned as he tried to stand, and instead slumped back to the ground.
Making no attempt to keep the irritation out of her voice, she asked, “What the hell are you doing here, Wyatt? What’s your power?”
He looked away for a moment. “I don’t have a power. I just know how to make use of people who do.”
So he was the illustrious Merchant. If she weren’t so disgusted, she would have laughed in his face. “Please. You mean to tell me you could hatch an antiquities smuggling plot, but you couldn’t hold down a job to take care of my sister and niece?”
He shrugged. “I’m not cut out for a nine to five.”
She’d heard that lame excuse enough times. “Whatever, Wyatt.” She stood. “I’m taking you into custody.”
He faced her again, looking up to where she stood over him. A sinister expression came over his face. “I’m afraid I can’t let you do that, Ta
tiana.”
She watched him, and noticed he was looking behind her.
She cursed inwardly, realizing she shouldn't have let anger rule her decision making.
Spinning around, she saw the petite young woman barreling toward her only a moment before she made impact. Both women went crashing to the asphalt, just as Wyatt slithered away on his butt to avoid the collision.
The younger woman pinned her to the ground, swinging, scratching, and spewing nonsense. “Mama needs this!” Her shrill screams filled the night air around them.
Tatiana had no idea what she was talking about, but it didn’t matter. When that girl jumped on her, she was asking for it. Tatiana lurched upward, lifting her hips and torso off the ground. As the young woman tumbled off of her, she rolled over and grabbed her ankle.
The girl continued to scream, kicking and scrambling to get away. Even as she struggled, Tatiana could see her body fading in and out, like a lamp with a shortage. The girl was definitely a sublimer.
Tightening her grip on the girl’s ankle with the left hand, she used her other hand to grab the pistol containing Marcelo’s potion. Just as she gripped the trigger, the girl escaped her grasp and crawled away.
As the girl got to her feet, Tatiana stood and fired the pistol. The liquid propelled through the air, hitting the back of the young woman’s bare arm. A yellow glow emanated from the spot where she’d been hit. Seconds later, her flight sent her careening straight into a shipping crate, and she slid to the ground, whimpering.
Tatiana looked around for Wyatt, and saw him crawling away toward the east. The way he dragged his right leg behind him indicated he’d been injured by the dart Junjie had fired at him.
The urge to shift grew strong, as the tigress inside her delighted in the idea of making a meal of him. Her better judgment told her to maintain her human form, since PHOENIX had rules against using unnecessary force. Besides, a man as rotten and foul as him would probably upset her stomach for weeks to come.
Taking off at a run, she caught up to him easily. She gave his hooded jacket a hard jerk, pushed his face down into the rough asphalt, and climbed onto his back.
Pulling a zip tie off of her tactical belt, she bound his wrists. “There is nothing I’d like more than to shift right now, and shred your ass like paper. But I’m going to do the right thing, and turn you over to my bosses.”
He tried to say something, but the pavement she kept him pressed to muffled his words.
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear it. I’m sure you’ll make lots of new friends in the PHOENIX pen. You never know what kind of powers your cell mate will have.”
Attaching a rope to the zip tie around his wrists, she unceremoniously dragged him, belly down, across the lot. Once she’d reached the young girl, she bound her wrists as well, and let her walk to the containment truck.
**
John stood rigid, his back pressed against the aging metal wall along the south side of the shipping terminal's warehouse. The grayish blue paint peeled, revealing the rusted steel beneath. A breeze blew off the Atlantic, carrying with it the scent of salt and metal that curled up his nostrils. As he stretched his neck to peer around the corner, he could see the petite female shape. She stood in the shadows, just outside an orb of yellowish light cast on the asphalt by an overhead light.
“Where's the Merchant? He should be here by now,” the women commented in a harsh whisper. She was talking on a cell phone. “We just have to wait for Ariel and Juno to make the drop.”
Those names...he knew those names, but for the life of him, he couldn't recall what their significance was. But she kept talking, and he kept listening.
The woman spoke again.“Man, after we make this one, Mama can finally get her nurse.”
It occurred to him that it was pretty strange for an antiquities smuggler to be standing around, having such an inane conversation. Then again, to each criminal, her own.
Taking a few steps back, he engaged his communicator. “J, I've got one female in my sights, and I'm eavesdropping. I think the guy you've got may be the Merchant.”
“You're probably right,” Junjie answered. “Plus the Lieutenant says she knows him. I'm taking on his form to take down one of the other two ladies.”
His muscles were locking up on him, from holding his position so long. Wanting to stretch his legs, he backed up a few more steps. He moved toward the rear of the building, where another light shined down on the pavement.
And backed right into someone.
Whirling around and drawing his handgun at the same time, he faced the person. They were right in the circle of light, so it was easy to see her.
She looked at him for a moment, then crossed her arms over her chest.
One word escaped her lips, and it was tinged with anger and surprise. “You.”
Taking in her face, and the smug expression she wore, he thought he might pass out from shock. “Miranda? What in the name of Sam Hill are you doing here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she shot back, waggling her index finger in his face.
Immediately, he recalled why he'd broken up with her in the first place. He swatted at the dangling finger, taking in her all black clothes. “Don't do that. Now, explain yourself.”
“I've got business.” Miranda looked down, as if noticing his tactical suit for the first time. “And I don't even want to know why your ass is out here in that getup.”
Synapses began firing in his brain. I've got business. Her words echoed in his head. Then he remembered the high pitched voice he'd heard a few moments ago, referring to “Ariel and Juno.”
Fragmented memories came flooding back in an instant, and he knew what was going on. “Tempest,” he murmured allowed.
Miranda's eyes widened. “Wh..what are you talking about?”
“You told me years ago, when we dated.” As he spoke, he switched his firearm for the water pistol containing Marcelo’s potion in one smooth, swift motion. “ I hadn't thought about it again, until now. You and your sister's names all came from Shakespeare's play, 'The Tempest'.”
Her eyes darted around nervously, but she tried to play if off. “What are you going on about, John?”
Aiming the water pistol at her forehead, he poised it to fire.
She snorted. “A water pistol? Really, isn’t that a little juvenile?”
Before her words died on the night air, he pulled the trigger.
The liquid hit her above her right brow.
The yellowish glow Marcelo had described appeared on the spot where she was hit, like the beam of a flashlight passing through a sheer curtain.
A look of confusion came over her face.
“Let's go, 'Randy'.” Securing her wrists behind her as she mewled a weak protest, he concentrated on moving her. Making a lifting motion, his hands stretched wide, he raised her up off the ground and propelled her toward the containment unit about 100 yards to his east. As he lowered his hands, she lost altitude in the distance. A flashing green light, the signal, told him she'd been taken into custody.
A high pitch shriek erupted behind him, splitting the night air like a sharp knife through canvas.
As he turned to the source of the sound, he saw Iris leaping at him. The glint of something metal caught his eye.
He sidestepped as she entered his space, but not far enough.
A sharp pain pierced his left shoulder, and he groaned aloud.
He stumbled, looking to see what was causing it.
The carved handle of a knife stuck out of his shoulder.
Weakness overcame him, and he dropped down on the pavement. His eyelids felt heavy, but as he looked up, he saw Iris standing over him.
He also saw Marcelo, creeping up behind her with his pistol drawn.
As his eyes slid closed, he heard her gasp. Then, blackness fell over him like a heavy cloak.
CHAPTER 14
Tatiana stood over the gurney in the mobile medical unit, looking at John. His shirtless form lay str
etched out on it's surface, a large bandage over the wound in his left shoulder. The medics had cut the top of his tactical suit away to access the site. She had to admit, she was enjoying seeing him half naked and sprawled out before her, she only wished he hadn't been hurt.
Now that Wyatt and the 'criminal sisters' were safely locked in the containment unit and on their way to a PHOENIX detention center, she could finally talk to him.
Thinking back, she still couldn't believe John's ex girlfriend had led all her sisters into a life of crime. Sure, Miranda had been a total bitch, but that didn't necessarily make someone a delinquent. In a way, she was relieved—Miranda would be locked away, and they'd never have to risk running into her and her loud mouth on the street again.
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