by Geonn Cannon
Dale hummed and shrugged. “Well, I’m never going to root for you to die young. So we can just play it by ear.”
“Works for me. And if you ever need to talk about it, I’m open.”
“Good to know.”
An officer came out of the command center and spoke to an officer. Ari watched him, expecting him to motion her over, but he went back inside without even looking in their direction.
“The two of us sitting here like this kind of defeats the purpose of talking to us separately, doesn’t it?” Ari asked.
Dale shrugged. “Let them try to pull me away.” She looked around the lot. “Any sign of Mom and Milo?”
Ari shook her head. “They probably did the smart thing and headed home to lie low for a while. Smart of them. Wish I’d done the same. An anonymous call to the police and they show up to find all the bad guys tied up waiting for them.”
“Like Batman.”
“She-Wolf,” Ari said. “I’ll start designing a mask.”
Dale put her head down on Ari’s shoulder. “I’m glad you didn’t go through with it. I absolutely would have supported you if you had. But I’m very glad you didn’t.”
“Me too. And I did kill Katherine Gavin.”
“No, she committed suicide,” Dale said. “Besides, she was living on borrowed time anyway. She’s the one who came out of her hidey-hole after all this time. She should never have crawled out of it in the first place. But maybe now that she’s actually dead, the hunters funding will dry up.”
“Here’s hoping,” Ari said, even though that meant her mother’s source of income was also in danger. “Roemer and Hayden are in custody. We’ll probably still have the weekend warriors to worry about, and we don’t know where the book of essays ended up. That’s worrying. But for now, I think we’ve earned a day off.”
“We can go in to work late tomorrow.”
“Today, technically,” Ari said.
“Right. Sleep in ‘til noon.”
Ari smiled. “You’re too good to me, boss.”
Dale found Ari’s hand and held it in hers. Ari covered their linked fingers with her other hand. She didn’t have any intention of moving until someone with a badge forced her to.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ari spent the next few days rushing from one office to another, rarely knowing who she would be speaking to until she was sitting in front of their desk. She gave her statement multiple times, starting with Eva Cardoso hiring her, to the tip that led her to the abandoned building near the stadium. She left out any mention of Milo or Gwen’s kidnapping, having decided it was easier to just erase them from the narrative all together instead of trying to explain why the kidnappers thought they were also werewolves.
To her surprise, Roemer and Hayden dropped the werewolf accusations once they were in custody. They were “confused” and “misled” by Katherine Gavin, who they now believed to be suffering from dementia. Her behavior from a decade ago, which resulted in the murder of her own daughter, helped sell the idea that the woman was on the verge of a mental collapse. The men were spared a mental evaluation but charged with kidnapping and attempted murder.
Gwen and Milo were both adjusting to their regained freedom. They went out as wolves every night, sometimes not returning for days. Milo said they’d been as far as Mount Baker, camping out under the stars and running with actual wolves. It was therapy for both sides of their psyches.
Before long, it seemed like the entire mess was in the past. Anyone who remembered the livestream thought of it as a vicious hoax, as Ari and Dale had both predicted. A few days before Halloween, Eva got in contact and asked Ari if they could meet at Union Square. Ari agreed and they set the meeting for the next day.
When she arrived, Eva and Marin were seated on the stone edge of the water feature next to the stairs. The sisters got to their feet when they saw her, and Eva greeted Ari with a hug.
“I never got a chance to thank you for getting my sister back,” she said. “I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”
“Consider any debt repaid.” When Eva let go, Marin took her place. Ari laughed and returned the hug. “Oh, hey, lots of hugs today.”
“Sorry,” Marin said, stepping back and wiping at her eyes. “I dealt with a lot of what was going on by shutting down. I didn’t let myself believe it was actually real. It’s the only thing that kept me from going crazy. Once I was free, though, it’s like my whole brain said, ‘okay, let’s process this.’” She tucked her hair behind her ears. “I know things would have gone much, much differently if it wasn’t for you. I wanted to actually tell you that in person, face to face.”
“I appreciate it.”
“We were also wondering about the woman who was there with me,” Marin said. “She said her name was Val. Is she...?”
“She’s okay. She’s dealing with the fact she was abducted and held prisoner for six months. Therapy. She’s staying with my mother until she can get back on her feet.”
Marin shook her head. “I keep thinking about her job, her apartment... I mean, she must have lost everything.”
“Her apartment was long gone,” Ari admitted, “but the building manager put most of her stuff in a storage locker in the basement. The electronics and a lot of her valuables had mysteriously gone missing, but a lot of sentimental stuff was recovered. And she has most of her clothes. That’s not much comfort, but after living in a dirty T-shirt and sweats for months...”
Eva had a hand on Marin’s back, a constant and supportive pressure. “I can’t even imagine,” she said, looking at her sister with an expression that, to Ari, meant she was at least doing her best to try. It was also clear that they were talking about Val because it was easier than talking about themselves, or Marin’s recovery.
“My mother has pretty deep pockets,” Ari said. “She’s made it clear that Val doesn’t have to worry about anything.”
Marin said, “It shouldn’t be too hard for her to find a new job, right? She has a great explanation for why she had to leave her last job.”
“Sure,” Ari said, “but she really did love that job and her patients. Part of her feels like she’s abandoning them. I’m sure it’s all going to work out in the end. It’s just the process of getting there that’s rough. The important part is that she has a strong support system.”
Marin looked at her sister and smiled knowingly. “It’s vital.”
Ari smiled. “I think she’s going to come out of it okay.”
Marin wiped at her eyes. “I also wanted to ask for business cards. I know a bunch of people at school who might be able to use your services. And there are other canidae out there who should know about you.”
“Oh.” Ari panicked and patted her pockets. She was positive she didn’t have any cards but, when she checked her wallet, she found a dozen slipped into one of the larger pockets. She smiled and said, “Thanks, Dale.”
“Support system?” Eva guessed.
“The best in the world,” Ari said as she handed over the cards. “The only rule to getting over this sort of thing is that there aren’t any rules. There’s no deadline, no right way to get back to normal. Normal isn’t even promised.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Marin said. “Thank you. For everything.”
“You’re welcome,” Ari said. “Take care of each other.”
She turned to watch them walk away, basking in the pride of a job well done.
“They’ll be okay.”
Ari almost jumped out of her skin, spinning as she took two giant steps to the right away from the voice. Conrad Rigas was lucky she’d recognized his voice or else she would’ve lashed out at him. He didn’t look afraid; he was half-smiling, with both hands in his jacket pockets.
“Where the hell did you come from?”
“Didn’t you catch my scent?” he asked, his voice far too casually.
Ari frowned. “No. I didn’t. Why didn’t I?”
“The same reason you didn’t smell the hunters
back when the Cardoso girl got abducted.” He took his right hand out of his pocket and held out what looked like a thermos with a metal dome on the top. “This is an AOD,” he explained as she took the object and turned it over in her hands. “They put it in the cupholder of their trucks when they’re driving around and it disperses ozone. Hunters use it to mask their spray.”
“I thought they used deer piss for that.”
Rigas shrugged. “It’s the future. There’s a machine for everything now.”
She handed it back to him. “So there’s no way to stop people from buying this thing?”
“People protest products all the time, get them removed from the shelves. But there are a variety of things like this on the market, so it really doesn’t seem worth the trouble.”
“Great,” she said. “So hunters have a way to make themselves invisible to canidae noses. That’s really good news.”
He shrugged. “It kind of is, to be honest. Firstly, I only found those things in the cars impounded after Roemer’s sad little assaults. It seems like hunters in general haven’t wised up to using this stuff.”
“Let’s hope their ignorance holds for a little while. I don’t want to worry about ghosts every time I go out for a run. Thanks for the update, I guess.”
He coughed softly and stepped closer. “Actually, there’s something else.”
“Yeah?”
“I told you about the Book of Simon. How it could be used to mobilize canidae all over the world to stand up and fight against the hunters if that video actually revealed we existed to the world.”
She tensed. “Yeah...”
“You stopped that from happening. Things have quieted down. There’s still a few odd YouTube videos, but they’re blending in to all the other conspiracy stuff that no one ever pays attention to. So I think it’s safe to say we’re out of the woods. So...” He reached behind his back and pulled something from the waistband of his pants.
It was a book bound in red leather, gold lettering on the cover spelling out something in writing so flowery she couldn’t even tell if it was in English. He held it out to her.
“The Book of Simon?” Ari asked.
“The only one still in existence. Trust me, I looked. It could be a weapon in the wrong hands, but I think you’re the right person to keep an eye on it.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “Gwyneth Willow is responsible for ninety percent of the victories we’ve had against hunters in the past thirty years. She funded action against them. She traveled the world, using money she skimmed from their own accounts, and tried to find ways to stop them from killing us all. She dropped out of sight recently, and a lot of us were worried, but now I think it’s because she had a successor lined up.”
Ari raised an eyebrow. “I’m not going to turn into some James Bond, Indiana Jones hero to the canidae. I’m staying right here in Seattle, I’m going to live my life.”
Rigas shrugged. “Trouble has a way of coming to you, Ms. Willow. Whatever the future holds, I want you to be in charge of that book. Keep it safe.”
“I’ll do my best,” she said.
“All I can ask.” He looked up at the sky, framed by the tall buildings around Union Square. He breathed deeply and then lowered his gaze back to her. “The world is a little brighter today, a little safer for all of us. Because of you. There will always be dangers to those like us, but with the right defense, we can all survive to see another day.”
Ari blinked. “Uh. Yeah.”
He smiled and touched his brow in a salute. “Stay safe, Ms. Willow. I’ll be around.”
She nodded and watched him leave. She still wasn’t entirely sure she liked him, but he seemed relatively harmless. He would be a decent asset to keep around if she really was going to follow in her mother’s footsteps. And he was right, trouble had a way of finding her. It might even kick into higher gear if hunters found out she had Simon Lehner’s book.
She looked down at it, drummed her fingers on the leather, and tucked the book tight against her side as she left the square.
***
Marin hesitated with her hand raised, considered leaving the card and going back to her car, but finally decided she’d come this far and knocked on the door. She told herself no one would be home. She would wait a minute and no one would answer and she could escape and no one would have to know how close she came to humiliating herself. Just a few more seconds before she could--
The door opened and Val looked out at her. “Marin.” She sounded surprised, but pleasantly. “What are... how’d you find me?”
“Dale Frye, the woman who works with that private investigator. I wanted to come by and see how you were doing. You look amazing.”
Val chuckled and looked down at her T-shirt and baggy jeans. “Yeah. Amazing what a shower and clean clothes can do for a person.”
“The hair, too,” Marin said, reaching out to touch Val’s much shorter hair.
“Oh yeah. Lopped it all off. And washed it. World of difference.”
Marin smiled. “You look great.”
“You too,” Val said. “Are you, um... coping with everything okay?” She winced, knowing how terrible the question sounded.
“Honestly, yeah. School is being really understanding. The pack is there for anything I need. To an annoying degree, if I’m being totally honest. The biggest problem is that people expect me to have all this trauma, and it really wasn’t that bad. I was abducted, which was terrifying, and I’m probably going to have a delayed reaction to that in due time, but the actual experience?” She shrugged. “I was pretty much just bored for most of the time. And that’s thanks to you.”
“I bored you?”
Marin laughed. “No. You made what could have been a really terrifying situation into something I know I can get over with time. You made sure they treated me well, they fed me. You kept me company. And when I think back to it, the feeling I get most is that I miss you. And I’d... I’d like to see you again. For dinner, or something.”
Val raised an eyebrow. “For dinner?”
“Or lunch.” Marin looked at her watch. “It’s... it’s around lunchtime right now, but we don’t have to go right now. Unless, if you’re hungry, we could...” She wet her lips and looked around for potential saviors. “I mean, it doesn’t even have to be a meal.”
“Are you asking me out on a date?”
“Basically.”
Val took a breath, then let it go without saying anything. She leaned against the door. “You know what I am. Who my father is.”
“I know who you are. As for what you are... you’re a chance to turn a terrible experience into something positive. Yes, I was abducted and held hostage. But I met you. Maybe that will make it worthwhile.”
Val ducked her head and smiled, looked back into the house, and then examined her clothes. “I could run and change real quick...”
“Why?” Marin asked. “I think you look great.”
“Well, you’ve only seen me in filthy rags after months of sponge baths.”
“Yeah, so imagine how little effort it will take to impress me. You look red carpet ready right now.”
Val laughed. She still looked hesitant but, after a few seconds, surrendered. “All right. I am hungry, and I’ve missed you, too. Let me get my shoes.”
“Sure, take your time.”
Val went back into the house, leaving the door ajar. Marin exhaled and let go of her tension and stress, shaking her shoulders with relief. It was just lunch. Just a meal between two people who went through a rough time together. It would be a normal thing, which is what Eva had been pushing her to do. And to be honest, it really felt great to be outside in the fresh air talking to someone. Even if that someone was a person who’d been in the hellhole with her. It was progress. And even if she and Val did just become friends after this, wouldn’t that be just as great as anything else?
Val came back out. She’d put on a long-sleeved shirt but hadn’t buttoned it. She smiled,
the expression nervous but her eyes shining with excitement.
“Ready?” Val asked.
“We’ll see,” Marin said.
“What?”
Marin laughed and slipped her arm around Val’s to walk her to the car. “Nothing, never mind. Let’s go.”
***
Ari came out of the bathroom after her shower to find Dale sitting up in bed, her legs tenting the blanket, Simon Lehner’s book open in her lap. Ari raised an eyebrow as she traded her towel for a long T-shirt and went to her side of the bed.
“You can read German now?”
“Mm-hmm. It’s very easy.” She let Ari believe her for a second before she turned the book so Ari could see the pages. “Translations. German on the verso, English on the recto.”
“Verso and recto?”
“Back and front of the page,” Dale said. “I do know some things. Just not German.” She put the book back down on her lap.
Ari sank back against her pillow, hands folded on her stomach. “So? How is it?”
Dale shrugged. “How is any propaganda? Rah-rah, we’re the best, let’s go to war and kill those people who aren’t like us. I was kind of expecting this to be the good book, versus the essays being the bad book. But it’s not really that simple. They’re both pretty awful. Like here.” She flipped back a few pages. “Here. Simon is saying that humans are actually animals because we’re stuck in one form. Canidae are superior because they were the best of both worlds. He thought eventually humans would die out, so why not help them along?”
“Sheesh,” Ari said. “I can see why humans and wolves got together to stop him. That’s Nazi talk.”
“Mm-hmm,” Dale said, then slapped the book. “I don’t get these guys, you know? Magnusson and Simon Lehner, they were both just scared and decided the only way to get over it was to destroy the other side. They both wrote books for the sole purpose of indoctrinating people to go out and murder strangers. Can you imagine how many lives would’ve been saved if they just tried living together? Why does it always have to be hate? Humans and wolves can come together and live in peace.”
