“We need to get him out of holding before everything locks down.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“Of course I am. Can’t you see? He’s the only one that can stop this. He has incredible relations with other packs and he’s alpha of the pack that started this in the first place. If we can get him back to the Dire Wolves, it yanks the power right out of Aleksandar’s hands.”
Rayne leans against the table nearest the door. “So you want to break him out? Does this sound at all familiar to you?”
“I—” I fiddle with the ID badge hanging off my hip. “That was different. I needed you for intel. You would have been killed.”
“And now?”
“It’s the same thing. We have no idea how long that Addington guy is going to keep everyone locked up, so we need to act before he cements anything. Hell, we might be able to—”
I must have blinked because before the next word can leave my mouth, Rayne is in front of me with her hand pressed against my lips. She has her head cocked, her eyes narrowed, clearly listening to something I’ve no hope of hearing myself.
“Jack,” she whispers, “and Agent Cruush.”
“Perfect. Maybe they can give us a hand with—”
Her hand presses harder against my lips. “They’re arguing. Come on, back here.” Rayne steps back and I’m inexorably drawn with her as the door abruptly flies open. We’re behind it, not hiding exactly, but shielded from immediate view.
It’s Maury I hear first.
“This is insane. Can they really do that? Can they really just walk in here and take over everything?”
“I suppose so.” Jack sounds flatter and more defeated than I’ve ever heard him.
“And the general? What’s happening up on high?”
“Come on, Maurice, you know as well as I do that the general isn’t really a general. That’s just the title you guys use. This protocol hands over all authority, and we have to accept that.”
“And what am I supposed to tell my agents? You saw them out there. This is crazy. We can’t just start pulling edane personnel in for debrief. Debrief for what? You have to do something about this, Mayor. You can’t let them do this to us.”
I glance down at Rayne. She shakes her head, indicating that we should listen a moment longer. Impatience burns in me, but with one of Rayne’s hands on my shoulder and the other still hovering over my mouth, I have little choice.
I hear footsteps, quick ones with a short stride, as though someone is pacing back and forth across the room.
“I’m sorry. Really I am, but I tried to tell you. I warned you this protocol was no small thing and you pushed me anyway. This is what we have now.”
Maury sighs. “You never told me the military would essentially turn us into foot soldiers for their miniature Genghis Khan.”
I snort into Rayne’s hand. Can’t help it. Her fingers press tighter, but the two men are clearly too wrapped up in their own conversation to hear my sniggering.
“What do you want me to do, Maurice? It’s done now. I have no say in what happens next.”
More footsteps. It must be Maury pacing. Another sigh. “Just get low and stay out of the way. I’ve no idea what’s going to happen, but I need to speak to the general. There has to be something we can do to fight this.” One more circuit of the room and then the footsteps are gone.
In their place I hear low breathing, barely audible at all above the din from outside.
Rayne’s hand slips from my mouth. I push the door shut.
As it swings away from the wall and where we were trapped behind it, I find Jack perched on the end of one of the tables. He has one hand over his eyes. The fingertips gently massaging his temples.
When he sees me and Rayne standing against the wall, he chuckles, soft and wholly without mirth. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Did you really hand over full control of SPEAR?”
He stares at me. “Once upon a time I would have given a lot to have you and I alone in the same room together. Now? Well now, all I want is you, out there on the streets, fixing all this.”
“I was fixing it.”
Rayne clears her throat.
“But I was. I told you I was handling it.”
“According to Agent Cruush, your ‘handling’ of the wolves is probably what started this whole rampage in the first place.”
My next words stutter a little over the sensation of guilt. “The unlawful turnings and attacks are confirmed to be from the new pack flaunting their new pack power. The Dire Wolves were trying to investigate, but without their alpha, the inter-pack politics got a little out of hand.”
“Oh, Lord.” Jack rubs harder at his temples. “So Agent Cruush is right?”
“Hell no, he isn’t. If he had let me bring Wendy out of containment back when I asked we could have avoided all of this.” The confused look on Jack’s face reminds me that he doesn’t have all the facts I do.
I fill him in quickly, explaining what happened between Aleksandar and Pete.
By the time I’m done, Jack is no longer massaging his temples, but staring at me intently. “So getting this Wendy character out would fix all of this?”
Rayne cuts in. “Not everything, Mr. Mayor, but it would at least allow Wensleydale to regain control of his pack which means that Aleksandar can’t use them the way he is right now.”
He frowns. “A few months back I’d ask what you were doing, hiding in here, but it’s pretty clear that you’re going to the holding units. You’re going to break him out, aren’t you?”
“Yup.”
“Even though he’s been sedated?”
“Yup.”
“And even with the military on your back the whole time?”
“Yup.”
Quick shake of the head. “Fine. I guess the least I can do is help out—when you get there, give the personnel on the door this code. Ready?”
I start patting down my pockets for a pen, but Rayne simply nods. Jack rattles off a long series of numbers and letters, and though I manage to hold on to half of them, the sequence is too long without more time to go over it.
Rayne grins and taps the side of her head. “Got it.”
“Good. I don’t know how long my authority will hold over there so you need to be fast. It’s probably already been blocked off, but that’s the most I can do for you right now. Get a move on.”
“Hey, Jack.” I wait for him to look my way. “Thanks for this.”
“Just fix it,” he mutters. “We were on a knife edge before, this is going to tip us one way or another.”
“You’re doing a good job, you know.” My voice softens and I fight the urge to touch his shoulder. He’s so slumped over and drawn in, all of that height means nothing with him so curled in on himself. “Hey…none of this is your fault.”
“I’m supposed to protect the people,” he murmurs. “All the people of this city. I haven’t been able to do that. I might even have made it worse.”
Rayne opens the door. “Well, this is a good step toward helping. Danika, if we’re really going to do this, we need to do it now.”
She’s right. With one last comforting smile at Jack, I follow her out of the room.
Halfway along the corridor, Jack stops me with a hand at my elbow. He drops a set of keys into my hands. “My car is around the back of the building in the private spaces. Take it. If you’re subtle about it, none of the soldiers will stop you and you’ll be able to get there in good time.”
“You sure? What about you?”
“Right now the safest place for me is inside this building. I’m not going anywhere. Just…” He squeezes my elbow. “Don’t wreck it, okay?”
“The car? Um. No promises.” I slip free and hurry after Rayne before he can respond.
Chapter Eighteen
Hawk meets us outside the building. Perhaps wisely, after seeing all the armed soldiers gathered outside HQ, he elected to stay outside and watch from above. I fill him in as best
I can, but he’s almost hopping from foot to foot in his haste to share his own news.
“The Omega teams finally got to Solo and Chalks and will move them to a more secure location.
“Can Pete shift yet?”
A shrug. “Solo left when Omega arrived. He’s looking for Duo.”
“Anything from Erkyan or Willow?”
“They aren’t on comms anymore.”
I look out onto the street, eyeing the empty roads surrounding HQ. “Probably for the best. We don’t know if EMCU have our frequency. I’d rather not have them listening in.”
Even as I say it, a huge armoured tank rolls down the street. I’ve no idea what the Army expected when they set out, but the grinding caterpillar tracks and the heavy tank gun up top suggests the worst. A line of armed soldiers walk alongside, guns held in ready positions out in front.
My stomach knots uncomfortably. “We’re going to the containment units, Hawk. Will you track down Erkyan and Willow? I know they’re probably fine, but we need to find Duo.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve got to do this. We’ll check in later.”
He nods and vaults upward with a little flex of his knees. Soon he’s nothing but a slight smudge against the dark of the night.
Rayne leads the way to the underground car park.
More soldiers down here, standing in subtle but strategic positions near the exit and entrance barriers. Others guard the lifts leading into the building itself, and a few more walk in amongst the cars.
I prepare to drop to a crouch, but Rayne starts walking, straight across the open space without a care in the world.
I scurry after her. “What are you doing?”
She plucks the keys from my hands and opens the doors to Jack’s Jaguar. “We aren’t doing anything wrong as far as these guys know. No need for us to draw attention to ourselves by acting strangely.”
Again, she’s right. None of the soldiers disturb us as we guide the car through the parking structure, and even at the exit barrier, they pause only long enough to give us a cursory glance.
Rayne drives and I sit in the passenger seat with my hands performing nervous flutters and tricks in my lap. I find myself fiddling with my ID, my kit belt, my fingernails. I can’t keep still and, even as we pass through the barrier and get onto the street, my anxiety only seems to increase.
“Calm down, Danika.” Rayne never takes her eyes off the road, but I get the feeling that she’s watching me intently.
“I can’t. I just…I did this. I should have insisted with Maury. I should have been more help to Pete. This huge mess is only getting worse because I fucked up.”
“You didn’t mess up.”
I chance a smile. “You’re right. I said ‘fucked up.’”
Rayne chuckles. “Just try to think about what we’re going to say to Shakka when we get there, okay?”
Oh, yeah. That.
There are several ways I can handle the warty little goblin. Outright threats seem to work pretty well, but less so in recent weeks. Perhaps he’s simply becoming used to my offers to string him up by his toes. Bribery is often a good one, especially for goblins, but SPEAR pays him well enough that all his needs are met. Information? Perhaps there is something I can give him, or a trade. Despite all his money, he still spends time complaining about this, that, and the other.
It’s only when we reach the holding facility that I realize what has happened.
Rayne takes us through the security checkpoints by flashing her ID and my own, as well as typing the string of numbers from Jack into a keypad. At each checkpoint, the number, not our IDs is what gets us through, and I silently thank Jack for his help.
The car stops in a reserved parking slot near a pair of reinforced metal doors, and before Rayne can step out I clear my throat, short and sharp. “Hey…thanks.”
She smiles. “Whatever for?”
“Distracting me. For helping me with that talk about Shakka. For being calm and constant when all I want to do is…bah. Just, thanks, okay?”
The smile broadens. “I didn’t do anything, Danika.” She’s still smiling when she climbs out of the car and zips around to open my door.
I clamber out. “When this is all over…when I fix this, I’m going to take you back home and—”
Rayne clears her throat. Her expression hardens, enough to set me spinning on my heel, looking for who might be watching.
Two soldiers. Green and black. Rifles.
Suddenly, my hands are in fists.
“Who are you two?” The first of the pair lifts the visor on his helmet to reveal greasepaint-smeared features and a turned down mouth.
“I’m Agent Rayne, this is Agent Karson. We’re leaders of SPEAR’s Kappa unit.”
“Kappa?” The two soldiers share a glance. “What’s that?”
Rayne touches the back of my hand before she speaks again. “We’re a new specialist unit designed for close contact edane encounters.”
“And you’re both human?”
“Well, I—”
“Enough.” I step forward. “We’re here under direct orders from Colonel Addington and Mayor Cobé. There’s a prisoner inside in need of interrogation, and I’d like to get done before others start pouring in.”
The second soldier lowers his gun. Slightly. “From the colonel?”
Rayne chips in. “We just came from HQ where he was giving a briefing. Feel free to check in, if you’d like.”
More quick stares between the pair. The first reaches for a radio clipped to his shoulder.
I speak fast. “But hurry along, will you. We need to get back and report.”
“To the colonel?”
I nod. “And we need to do it before anybody else interrupts him with pointless news. Remember how pissed he was at that call he got while we were talking?”
Rayne blinks, then breezes along, clearly catching my drift. “He doesn’t seem to like interruptions, does he?”
“Nope. I thought he was going to discharge that poor guy.”
The first soldier removes his hand from the shoulder radio. The knots in my stomach ease a tiny amount.
“Just get on with it, will you? We need to be on standby for when other extra mundanes start to come through.”
I grin and flash my ID lanyard at the door panel before they can change their minds. “No worries, we got this. Come on, Rayne.”
With that, we’re both through the door and moving, before either of the pair can say more.
As the doors close, Rayne eyes me up and down. “When did lying become so easy for you?”
“It isn’t. Except to those idiots. Besides, anybody who knows me can tell when I’m lying. I’d never stand a chance against you or even Noel.”
Rayne doesn’t answer that, but a smile rides her lips as we walk down the corridor.
Chapter Nineteen
More and more evidence of the Army’s presence is visible as we walk toward the holding area. Usually there are checkpoints before reaching the cells, but not with armed personnel.
There are still SPEAR agents around, but none of them seem to be moving without some sort of Army escort.
“I’m beginning to dislike green.”
Rayne nods and opens the last door before the cells. She tucks her lanyard back around her neck and ushers me through ahead of her.
Like before, the cells are visible through a huge screen of reinforced glass. On our side, the panel of buttons and switches, as manned by an agent, are covered with coloured dials and LEDs.
Shakka sits on his stool in front of it all, spooning small clots of something thick and red from a wide plastic tub. He studies each clump before dropping it into his mouth, chewing loudly and with gusto. He doesn’t even flinch when we enter.
“You took your time, Karson.” A small line of red drool pools in the corner of his mouth. “Something more important out there?”
“What do you know?”
He grins, showing off his needle-
sharp teeth. That, combined with whatever he’s eating, gives him the look of a deranged, flesh-eating clown.
Gross.
“Well, whatever this new Revival gargoyle shit is, I figured you’d be back lick-split-quick to pick up your…” he pauses long enough to widen the grin, “…pet.”
“Shakka, I swear, I’ll—”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I won’t tell a soul. But you owe me for this.”
My hands are still fists. I don’t remember doing that. “Just open the doors.”
“Say it, Karson. I want to hear the words out of your mouth.”
I grunt.
Rayne sighs. “Don’t.”
“Well?” Shakka’s long, knobbly finger hovers over the button that opens the main doors.
“I owe you, Shakka.”
He laughs. It’s that horrible, high-pitched cackle I’ve heard before. The shudder it sends across my shoulders reminds of me of fingernails grinding down a chalkboard.
“Yes, you do, Karson. Yes, you do.”
“Open the doors.”
A click, and the slow, hissing release of compressed air. At last.
Shakka waves at me as I make my way down the steps. He looks positively gleeful. “Have a good evening, Agent.”
“Stick your head in a dungheap, Shakka.”
He laughs at that. In fact, I can still hear his laughter as I lead Rayne down the centre of the double rows of cells, to where I left Wendy.
I don’t really know what I expected to find in there. Perhaps not my old friend as I know him, alert, lively and eagle-eyed, but certainly not this.
Wendy is prone on his drop-down bed. In fact, to look at him, I’m not sure he’s moved since I left him there yesterday.
His hands and neck bristle with short, coarse fur, as though he has tried to change and simply given up partway. One arm hangs limp off the side of the bed, while the other is half propped up against the wall, from elbow to shoulder. Elbow to fingertips, the rest of his arm kind of flops down like a sad flag without a proper shaft to hold it upright.
His eyes swivel as I open the door but not so much that I believe for a second he can see me clearly. Sure enough, a moment later, his nostrils flare.
Moon Fever Page 16
