by M F Adele
“It’s okay Papi. I was just calling you because I got Father’s letter last night.”
“Oh, good! Good! You’ve met your mates then?” He speculated, sounding happier than you would expect from the Devil. He loved me though. He only ever wanted me to be happy, so of course he’d be thrilled that I’d found my mates.
“Yes, Sir. Did you know the Druid is missing?” I kept my voice level, but for some gods awful reason I had to swallow a lump in my throat before I spoke. I was still so angry with him, even with the knowledge that he was missing. Knowing my mate could be in danger was profoundly upsetting. And confusing. It fueled my anger in a different direction. I was going to kill whoever was holding my Druid captive.
“No. How long?” He became very stern and serious abruptly. His mood swing made it clear that he didn’t know. “I haven’t spoken to York in quite some time.”
“A little over two years, Papi.”
I heard his intake of breath before he rushed out, “You must find him, My Little Devil, and there’s no need to be sweet when you do. He wouldn’t just disappear without saying a word. He would have warned you if he had time.”
That chilled my blood. Papi was right. My heart pounded erratically in my ears the harder I thought about York and everything he could’ve been going through for the last two years. That’s a long time to be missing and have no one find you. My chest burned painfully at the thought. Briggs turned to me with a concerned look on his face, but Stone spoke up before either of us could. “We’ll find him, Sir, and there will be nothing sweet when we do.”
Shit, I had completely forgotten to ask about the bugs. “Papi, Father said he found some pests around. Are you having any issues?” The guys both looked at me again and I placed my index finger over my mouth. I needed to know if his phone was bugged. If it was, then we’d already said too much.
“No, I haven’t seen any pests since his last visit, but I’ll check again. There are other ways to cross the distance, My Sweet Little Devil. You don’t always need to go sailing to do so.” He hinted, reminding me gently that I only needed to call the flames of Hell to talk to him.
“Yes, Papi. See you after my trip. I’ll bring back a souvenir for you.”
“I love you, Little Devil, stay safe during your travels.” He ended our call after that. My mind was still spinning, but I knew one thing I needed to do, and I needed to get it done as fast as possible.
I hit the side button on my phone once more, “Call Franklin.” When it started ringing I looked to Stone and Briggs. “I hope you guys aren’t too attached to your phones because we’re gonna have to ditch them in a moment.”
Stone tossed his phone right out the window like it was no big deal, straight into oncoming traffic. I was surprised it didn’t hit a car. That would’ve been funny for us, but not so funny for the driver of said car. He apprenticed under Papi so he understood the code. Briggs should too, but we needed to wait a few more miles in between tossing another phone. They couldn’t be found too close together. We’d need to switch direction at some point so we didn’t lead whoever could be tracking us to where we were going. Could be. I wasn’t one hundred percent positive, but I’d rather be safe than sorry.
“Madam,” Franklin answered on the third ring. “What can I do for you?”
“I’ve spoken to Nathaniel and Samuel, and they seem to be having a pest problem, Franklin. Please call the exterminator and have him come by tonight at ten. Cash in hand, the highest grade poison he’s got, and tell him to spare no expenses. I need him to sweep the entire estate. You know how much I hate creepy crawly things.”
“Yes Madam, I’ll have the appointment set as soon as you hang up. Anything else?” Franklin reminded me subtly. He's always on top of things. I think I’d be lost without him.
“Uhm, yes, also have him set a couple of high quality traps. Throw the old ones out.”
“Understood Madam, it will be done.” Someone remind me to give Franklin a raise.
“Thank you, Franklin. That’s all I need.” I hung up and motioned for Briggs to toss his phone out. He looked down at his hand, shrugged his shoulders and slung his phone like a frisbee at the trees.
“Whats-“ Briggs started but I covered his mouth with my hand. Stone gave him a wide eyed look and zipped his mouth shut. I released Briggs after that and Stone took us off the interstate. The exit had no gas stations or fast food joints. It was a disaster of a two-lane road going in either direction. Trees grew just feet from the road, their roots breaking up the concrete and their canopies reaching across the road. It felt like we were driving through a tunnel.
After fifteen minutes of silence, staring out the window and letting my thoughts run wild, I popped the case off my phone so I could take the SIM card out. Chunking my phone out into the wooded wastelands around us, I exhaled a relieved breath. That’s the third phone this year, and it’s only fucking May.
“Can I talk now?” Briggs pleaded quietly.
“Yes.” I approved as I folded the SIM card up and tore it apart, tossing it out as we maneuvered off the desolate road and into a small town. It was a rural area with a clever little setup. Everything functioned around the downtown area. The restaurants were brightly painted in historical buildings. The vehicles were all beat up. The town square sat in front of a quaint courthouse. There seemed to be a festival of some kind going on. We got stuck in the small town version of traffic, but the town’s police were efficient in keeping it from getting out of hand.
“What was all the code about?” He fretted aloud, sounding anxious and curious.
“Nathaniel said his phone was bugged, but it’s probably someone hacking into it, because he never sets the damned thing down for someone to tamper with it. That’s why I asked Papi if he had a pest problem, and why I called Franklin. He’s searching the estate for bugs and he’ll check all the camera feeds. After he does that he’ll grab some cash and go get new phones under an alias and pick up laptops.” I explained it all to Briggs. I was surprised Charles never went over this stuff with him.
“Who is the exterminator?”
“Franklin is. He’s going to take my laptop and collect everyone’s phones, then take them to a guy he knows to have them searched. If he finds anything he’ll trace it and call Franklin. We also need to check all the cars.” I felt my shoulders sag. “I’m surprised Charles didn’t explain any of the code to you. Did you understand any of it?”
“He explained it, but it’s been years and I’ve never heard it used.” He assured me.
“Well, get used to it, because if what Nathaniel says is true then we’ll be using it more often than any of us thought.”
“What did he tell you?” Stone queried, cutting his eyes to me in the rear view mirror before returning them back to the road.
“He said to keep up my appearance, which means to keep my usual routine going until I see something that tells me otherwise. He also said to trust you guys and trust my instincts.” I knew that wasn’t all he said, but the rest of the letter was for me. We could talk about my mom, and all the wild goose chases we’d been on to find her, later. I wanted to wait until we were all together so I could ask Vaughn about the Summer Realm. I made a copy of the letter and gave it to Palmer before we left. I’d need him to help me research more forms for my hellhounds. I also felt like he’d have some insight into a few other clues within the letter.
“Head east when you get to the next stop sign, there should be a camp ground about four miles up. We can park there and track the rogues.” I almost forgot to give Stone directions. Since we’d all thrown out our phones, I found myself feeling thankful that I knew this area so well. We may have been lost in a couple more miles otherwise. I’d hunted here many times before. It seemed to be a popular spot for rogues to hang out. I worried the campers would eventually become easy pickings. A pack of rogues this size was going to be dangerous and would do the maximum amount of damage if we didn’t get the job done efficiently. That means no stragglers.<
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“Uhm, East?” Stone contemplated as he pulled to a stop at a four way.
“Left.” Briggs chuckled to himself. I felt like there was some kind of joke I’d missed. Stone glowered at him from the driver's seat with flared nostrils. Maybe Stone was directionally challenged. I’d never met a demon who didn’t know his directions. Interesting.
“You’re not good with directions, Stone?” I inquired. I really wanted to know what was so funny to Briggs.
“No, I’m not,” he quietly admitted. His ire about the subject made me giggle. I tried to keep it contained, I truly did.
“I’ve never met a directionally challenged demon before,” I choked out. “It must be difficult to find your way around the Underworld,” I added with mock concern.
Briggs chortled loudly before he could smother it. “And Earth,” he agreed.
Stone glanced at us with a flustered look as we drove into the gravel parking lot of the camp ground. He parked the SUV and got out grumbling. Briggs and I shared in one last quiet giggle before we followed him out. We walked around to the back and popped the hatch of my Audi open to view the weapons that Franklin packed for us. Briggs surveyed the area before stripping down, preferring to use claws and teeth. Stone tested the weight and balance of a well made katana, which felt pretty cliche to me seeing as how he looked Asian. I decided to keep my mouth shut. I strapped a couple thigh holsters on and loaded them with throwing knives and two of my favorite daggers. Obsidian blades with intricately carved, bleached bone hilts. Franklin was a weapons master and always knew what would suit me best for my current job. I guessed the guys would be no exception. There were a couple guns left under the black cloth. I assumed those were for Briggs if he wanted to fight in his skin.
Time to focus. We were heading into a big pack for rogues. They normally ran with two or three others, but never this many. I hoped this wasn’t the beginning of a trend, but I wasn’t too worried about it. The Demon at my back looked like the quiet, lithe, and lethal type. He didn’t make a sound as we ambled through the dense trees. His eyes darted around us searching for movement. He was ready for an ambush. The Shifter in front of me was a brute of a male and a colossal wolf. His jet black fur made him appear as a shadow against the darkened forest floor. The trees were so overpopulated here that the branches formed together to look like a green ceiling above us. They let little to no light shine through from the beaming sun overhead. Snarls in the clearing ahead of us caused Briggs to stop. I fingered my knives and extended my nails into my demon’s claws.
I'm excited. It was all I could think as we swiftly approached the worn down path. What made a bitch feel mightier than an outnumbered fight with senselessly overpowered shifters? I’ll tell you. Walking into a hive flanked by sexy killers.
Novak
Saturday Midday
I’d never been to Vaughn’s office before, but let me just say, the whole fucking place was boring. Everything was white or grey or godsdamn white. There was a larger than life picture hanging on the wall behind the front desk in the lobby. It was just three grown ass weirdos smiling at the twelve terribly placed chairs along the walls as you entered. That was the only color to be found in the plain lobby.
We walked past the security guard sitting at the front desk. He was asleep. Vaughn hit the up button for the elevators, and the guy didn’t even stir when the doors opened with a ping. If I didn’t see his chest moving I would have sworn he was dead. I watched him as the doors jarred to a close. No movement, not even a flinch. They hired terrible guards to keep this place safe.
Once we were in the elevator, the fun began. Vaughn swiped Sloane’s badge against the panel below the buttons. The metal death trap whizzed to life, halting when we reached the top floor. There were no guards up here. There were a few plants in the hall that led to several offices, so the white on white decor was speckled with some color. Some. The first two offices we passed were open and empty. There were two more after those with closed doors. I was itching to do a little snooping. Sorry, breaking and entering. Except, we were the keepers of the badge. The only badge in the entire company that opened every single door in the whole factory. It’s really not as fun as I thought it was gonna be.
I knew why I was here though, so as soon as Vaughn got me in that Preston guy’s office, I’d sit down and get to work. I’ll be able to hack into his computer and pull all his information. Every email he sent or received, every website browser he opened, every individual thing he deleted — It would all be at my fingertips. I just needed a few minutes to study the wear patterns on his keyboard and a piece of paper to jot down some possible passwords.
Vaughn stopped at the second door on the right. He rubbed the badge over the shining, black glass piece attached above the fancy metal door knob. A green light flashed and we heard the latch pop open. Turning the handle, Vaughn took a deep breath and shoved at the door.
The door flew open, stopping abruptly at the halfway point, and slammed shut in our faces. That’s interesting. We glanced at each other in states of amusement and confusion, but when I took a deep breath all my amusement died with the exhale.
I smelled the tangy, metallic scent of blood. It came from something that was behind the door. Vaughn slowly skimmed the badge across the black reader one more time. When the green light blinked again he twisted the handle and eased the door open. I poked my head in for a quick glance and regretted it immediately.
“If you start to get queasy let me know, man. This place is fucking gory.” I had to give him some kind of warning. The last time we were anywhere half this bloody he almost puked on me. Not happening today, buddy. You could never fully comprehend how much blood the human body could hold until you saw it all on the outside. If I had to give a rough guesstimation, I’d say there were around ten pints pooling on the floor of that poor guy’s office.
Vaughn gagged when he stepped inside the once white room. I did my best to avoid stepping in the blood while actively trying to move away from him. The scene in front of us was nightmare inducing. The door was stopped by the torso of what used to be a man. One leg was on his office chair while the other leaned against a potted lime tree in the corner. How do I know it’s a lime tree? It’s got little green balls on it. Maybe it wasn’t a lime tree, but it was some kind of fruit tree. Also, not the point.
I tiptoed around the room to get a better view. There was an arm hanging out of the bottom desk drawer, the one that should’ve been locked. The wrist joint was wedged between the desk and the drawer top. I knew before I even looked inside that whatever was kept safe in that drawer was long gone. It must have been real fucking important to someone.
I looked up from my inspection to find Vaughn staring at the top of the desk in absolute horror. When my eyes followed his line of sight, a full body shudder flowed through me. There’s a dick on the desk. Just… a loose, dismembered dick, flopped haphazardly across a cell phone. “I’m telling you right now, Vaughn. I’m not touching it.” He fought a grin despite the macabre scene we were in.
“Let’s call Sloane before we touch anything. I don’t know how she wants to handle this, and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t expecting us to walk into a murder scene.” Logical. We should call her. We also needed the information on that computer before the cops confiscated it as part of the evidence.
“Okay,” I agreed, not focused on him at all as I walked around the room. I avoided stepping on the bloody parts of the floor as I tried to take stock of what could’ve been moved or anything that might be missing. I didn’t see anything though, so I started wondering if this guy was a loose end or a coincidence that had nothing to do with what we were looking for.
“Franklin,” Vaughn acknowledged as he fumbled to hit the speaker button. “We just got into Preston’s office at CBP and this place is a battle zone. He’s dead, or someone else was murdered in his office. Sloane’s phone is going straight to voicemail. What should we do?”
“Take the computer and anything else that looks
like it could be of use.” Franklin exhaled loudly before he proceeded with our instructions. “Go through all the drawers, shelves, books, and any cabinets or closets. Take all the files in his desk and check to see if you can find a cell phone or a wallet. Sloane has boxes in her office. They’re full but you can empty a couple of them to use. Just stack her stuff on the floor and I’ll put it up on Monday.” A door closed in the background of the phone call shortly before a laptop beeped on. “And don’t leave any fucking fingerprints. Wipe the door handles down and the elevator buttons. Wipe down everything in that office that you touch too. Call me back as soon as you leave so I can clean up the security feed. Leave the office door ajar so the guard finds it on his next round,” he paused, then added, “You have an hour to get it done and get out before he wakes up to do his next check.” He hung up after that. Awesome. Fantastic fucking Saturday.
“Okay,” Vaughn dragged the one syllable word out for a full four seconds before he jumped into motion. “Your lighter on your feet and can handle this,” he motioned his hand around the room, “So I’m gonna go to Sloane’s office and empty a couple boxes. Stack whatever we’re bringing with us outside of the door and I’ll load it up. Then let’s get the fuck out of here.”
He looked down at his feet and saw that he was standing in blood. I sniggered at his disgust. Guess we’re packing our shoes up too. Vaughn arched his head back and stared at the ceiling as he pulled one foot from his shoe using the toe of the other, and took a large step backwards. Once he had his clean foot on the carpet, the other still planted in a pool of blood on the office floor, he took his shirt off and wrapped his hand up so he could brace against the door frame. Then, he lifted that blood covered shoe my way and I rolled my eyes at his squeamish behavior.
