Fire And Steel (The Merryweather Chronicles Book 2) (10 page)

      Buster poked Faux in the chest with a fat index finger and sneered. "I'm not your friend, agent. I'm the delivery man, here with a message. Call your boss, back in D.C. I think you'll find you've been re-assigned."

      Faux said nothing. Just stared hard into the other man's face. He kept at it until the fat man got nervous and backed off a step. He cut his eyes away from Faux's and looked at Teague. "And, as for who will be the acting chief of police, Deputy Teague, I'm here to tell you that the council has decided that you just don't have the experience needed to effectively run the department."

      Teague didn't bother with a reply. He couldn't even pretend to be surprised. He'd expected that they'd find somebody more inclined to hide the truth then himself, but just not so quickly.

      Faux took the noise harder than Teague. He exploded, looking at Buster with enough heat to melt steel. "Just who do you think is going to run this investigation if you sideline your best officer?"

      "I'll be running the police department until a new chief is found." Buster said, getting back some of his bluster. He jabbed a meaty finger in Teague's direction. "You and the other deputies are to resume your normal duties. No more wasting the town's time and money with half assed hunting trips. You're damned lucky nobody got hurt tonight, else I'd be bringing your ass up on charges." Buster said it with a straight face, ignoring the gash on Teague's face and the blood all over his clothes.

      "This is ridiculous." Baker said, trying to insert some sanity into what was clearly degenerating into a brawl if everybody didn't just calm the hell down. "Is the council forgetting about what this is all about? You people have missing kids and missing police officers? There's no white washing this away, Krueger. Not even somebody as stupid as you can think you will get away with hiding something like this?"

      Buster took a deep breath, his face going an even deeper shade of red. His odious presence seemed to fill up the office as he said. “The town is grateful for the state S.I.D. lab's help with what is clearly an internal matter, but we won’t be needing your assistance any longer." He paused long enough to eyeball everyone in the office before saying. "I think you all have places to be. If you'll all please get the fuck out of my office, that'd be much appreciated."

      Teague led the way out, walking without stopping until they were outside the police station. He was off duty, technically, so Buster couldn't have stopped him leaving, had he tried. But the fat man just watched them leave from the open doorway of the chief's office.

      Once outside, Teague let out a long held breath and said. "Son of a bitch."

      Faux looked at him for a long time before shaking his head and saying. "I owe you an apology, Derek. I thought you were exaggerating when you said the town liked to keep a tight lid on scandals. This is insane. And the craziest part is they expect to get away with it." He pulled out his cell phone and looked at the screen. Still no service. He put the phone away and said. "When I get to the motel, I'm gonna make a few calls. I have friends at a few of the national news outlets. This shit will not stand, I promise you that."

      But Teague was already shaking his head. "Won't do any good. You need to call your boss first. Buster is an asshole, but I doubt he'd lie about something like that. I'm sure you're going to get called out of here, same as Baker."

      "Fuck that." Faux said in a low growl. He ran a hand across his face, as if to wipe away the fury and the frustration he felt at how the day had ended. He took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders and twisted his neck to crack and loosen it. Then he looked at both men. "I'm not leaving. There's something bad going on here. Maybe worse than what I was hunting before getting re-assigned. There's no way I can walk away from that."

      Baker was ready to voice the same thing, but Teague stopped them both. "You two aren't thinking clearly. Getting yourselves fired doesn't help anybody. It damn sure wont help those missing kids. Or the ones who'll go missing if those things aren't hunted down and killed to the very last one."

      Baker said. "Then what do we do?"

      "You two are going to do as your told, like good little soldiers." Teague said, giving the police station a grim look. "Same as me. But on our off time, we're going to keep on hunting. If you have any vacation time, I suggest you put in for it."

      Teague dropped Faux and Baker off at the motel, staying just long enough to see them to their doors before heading home himself. Faux stripped down to his underclothes before picking up the motel room phone and dialing out. He didn't bother with calling the Bureau, instead he dialed his supervisor's home number. Assistant Director Campbell answered on the fourth ring, her voice crisp and all business. "Campbell residence? Who is this?"

      "Who is this?" Faux said, a smile in his voice. "I thought I was calling an Assistant Director of the F.B.I., not somebody's janitor."

      She sighed and said. "What have you stepped in this time, Darius? I've got the Director on my ass because of you and whatever it is you're doing in Oklahoma. How in god's name do you get in trouble in Oklahoma? It's a state shaped like a sauce pan, for God's sake."

      "I miss you too." Faux said. He tried to keep his voice amused, but some of his irritation must have shown through, because Campbell sighed on her end.

      "You have to come in. You're being re-assigned to an organized crime task force. Just like you wanted." She didn't sound happy at all about that. "I want you on a plane first thing in the morning."

      "I'm not going anywhere, ma'am." Faux said. "As a matter of fact, you haven't heard from me in days and are quite cross with me for not checking in like I was supposed to."

      "You don't know what you're doing, Faux." Campbell actually sounded nervous, something Faux knew to be flat out impossible. Campbell made people nervous, not the other way around. She said. "I wont be able to stall them long."

      "I'm not asking you to." Faux said. "Just tell them you can't reach me. That I've gone radio silent. There's something bad happening here, and the local town government is standing in the way of stopping it."

      Campbell was silent for a long moment, then said. "Work fast, Darius. And be careful." She hung up.

      Faux put the phone down and walked into the bathroom, turning on the light and washing his hands and face before grabbing his toothbrush. As he brushed his teeth, he stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He felt like he had more enemies than just the things out in the woods.    

CHAPTER 10

      "Oh, no." Emily said, rising a little in her seat and staring at something across the crowded cafeteria. The music was loud, a popular song by a teen girl with one name that was getting a lot of radio play lately, but everyone at the table could hear the concern in Emily's voice.

      "What is it?" Brandon asked, turning to look in the same direction. "What do you see?"

      Emily said. "The Kruegers just went outside. I think they had Albert with them."

      Brandon came to his feet, staring out over the dancing students. The flickering strobes and the purple lighting made it hard to see much of anything. "Are you sure?" He said, glancing down at Emily. "Did you see what door did they went out of?"

      Emily pointed toward the back of the cafeteria, standing up as well. Claire caught a hold of his arm, stopping him before he could rush off. "We should get somebody."

      "I can't risk anybody else getting hurt." Brandon said, meeting her gaze. "You two stay here. I'll can handle the Kruegers on my own." She made as if to follow anyway and he stopped her. He touched her cheek and said. "Stay here with Emily. If I'm not back in five minutes, get one of the teachers."

      He left before she could argue, slipping through the crowded dance floor in the direction Emily had indicated. He suddenly wished he had brought Rok with him. He'd left the elder God at Highgarden, not wanting his voice inside his head while he was with Claire. He didn't think the romance of the evening could have survived a running commentary from the cantankerous old god.

      He reached the back of the cafeteria. The Kruegers had gone through one of the rear exits. All of the exits were supposed to be locked, except for the front doors, but the Kruegers had found a way around that.

      Pushing through the doors, going out into the cold night, Brandon was a little disappointed that it wasn't raining. He let the door close behind him. The door was an emergency exit and there was no handle on the outside. Brandon let his hand rest on the pommel of his sword as he scanned the darkness ahead of him.

      The narrow alley ran the length of the cafeteria's rear. It was lit by two sodium lamps hanging over the ally on both ends. The lamps put out enough light to keep the alley from being pitch black, but thick shadows danced down the narrow corridor, creating pockets of darkness that anything could hide in.

      The Kruegers stood in one of those pockets of shadow, watching him as he approached. Both of them were dressed as hangmen, like Albert had described. Their faces were hidden beneath their hoods. Both held weapons. Perry had a long piece of rebar, tapping it against the palm of his hand. Luke bounced a baseball bat against the side of his leg, like he was keeping time with the thump of the bass coming from inside the cafeteria. Albert stood behind them, watching from the shadows.

      Nobody said a word.

      The Kruegers leapt forward as one, swinging their weapons before Brandon could attempt to talk them down. Hunting for the emptiness, Brandon met the two boys head on. Stepping under Perry's overhead swing, he snapped his hand up and grabbed the skinny boy by the throat. Perry squawked, eyes bulging in their sockets, and tried to bring the rebar down onto Brandon's back.

      But Brandon twisted, dragging Perry into the path of Luke's bat. The heavy wood smashed into Perry's left arm and boy cried out and dropped the heavy metal bar. It rang like a bell as it bounced across the pavement.

      The sound of the boy's cry should have brought the police running, but nobody was showing up. Brandon flung Perry to the side as Luke wound back for another swing. The larger of the Kruegers was breathing heavy under his hood, and Brandon heard him muttering as he came in for the attack. "Son of a bitch."

      Brandon lashed out with his left foot and hit Luke square in his burly chest. It drove the big boy into the cafeteria wall, bouncing him off of it like a sack of meat. Luke hit the ground, the bat flying from nerveless fingers, holding his head in his hands. Perry was on his hands and knees, coughing and clutching his arm. It might have been broken, but Brandon didn't feel compelled to offer him a hand up. The piece of rebar lay on the ground, forgotten. The whole fight took less than thirty seconds.

      Brandon turned to see if Albert was okay.

      The aluminum bat rang off the side of Brandon's skull, sending him crashing to the pavement. He hit the ground hard, lying flat on his face. The pavement was cold under his cheek. It actually felt good. Brandon's mind was a clutter of images and sounds. There was music and flashing lights. Where was he? Why couldn't he think?

      He tried to roll over and his right knee exploded, sending him onto his back. Brandon stared up at the cloudy sky, trying to scream, but nothing would come out. For a second, he thought he saw something in the sky. A flash that might've been lightning. He prayed to Nina, even though he couldn't remember who she was. His vision was blurry but Brandon could still make out his attacker, standing over him with the bat held up against his shoulder.

      Albert tapped the bat against the side of his own head and laughed. "I'm impressed, Bran. I figured that would knock you out. Guess your head's even thicker than I realized." He laughed. It was an ugly sound, coming from somebody that was supposed to be Brandon's friend. He looked at the Kruegers and his mouth twisted with disgust. "You two morons get up. You're making me sick."

      The Kruegers didn't say anything. Perry stood, cradling his arm against his chest. Luke got to his feet slowly, holding his head and still mumbling curses. He had vomited down the front of his shirt. Glaring at Brandon, he bent and picked up his bat.

      Brandon shook his head to try and clear it and stared up at Albert. At a boy that he didn't even recognize anymore. "Why are you doing this, Albert?" He tried to move, but his leg was nothing but pain from the knee down. The world was spinning and he felt like throwing up.

      Before Albert could answer, the fire door slammed open and Claire stumbled out into the alley. She stood frozen, staring at the tableau before her, before trying to turn and catch the closing door. But she was too slow. Even with his injured arm, Perry was faster than her. He was on her before she could finish turning, catching her arm with his good hand and yanking her out into the alley. Before she could scream, he shoved her into his brother's grasp. Luke got an arm around her waist and covered her mouth with his free hand, pulling her tight against his massive belly.

      She tried to fight back, but Luke growled something into her ear and she went still, staring at Brandon with tears in her eye. Perry pulled an ugly looking switchblade from somewhere and flicked it open. He waved the blade in her face and said. "You wanna shut your fucking mouth, cyclops. Or you're gonna lose the other eye."

      She looked like she was ready to ignore the threat and fight back anyway, but Brandon threw up a hand. "Don't hurt her, Albert. Please." He hated the pleading note in his voice, but he couldn't bare to see Claire in danger. "Please, I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt her."

      Albert laughed. "What exactly do you think you can do for me, Bran? You gonna hold my hand when I cross the street?" He brought the bat down, smashing Brandon's side. Brandon rolled over, biting back a scream. He'd felt at least one rib go when the bat hit, making it hard to breath. Once. Twice. Three more times, Albert hit him with the bat. Every strike doing damage. Breaking bones. He spoke as he swung. "Are you going to check my closet at night for me? Make sure the bogeyman isn't hiding inside?"  He kicked Brandon in the shoulder, driving him onto his back. He sneered. "Are you going to be my friend, Bran?"

      "I AM your friend, Albert." The pain wasn't localized to any one place anymore, spreading out through his entire body, but Brandon gritted his teeth and fought through it. He kept talking. "I'm your real friend, not these two." He heard the rumble of thunder in the distance, too far away to help now, but moving closer. "You have to see that?"

      Albert looked at him and shook his head. "What do you know about real friends, Bran? I've seen a million guys just like you. Rich. Handsome. Everything good comes easy to you. And when the something bad happens, everybody comes running to help you, don't they?" He turned and gave Claire a disgusted look. "The pretty girls just line up to let you cry on their shoulders." He sneered. "Even the deformed ones."

      Brandon tried to surge to his feet, ignoring the pain, but Albert just laughed and hit him with the bat again, breaking the bones in his right forearm. Brandon fell back, biting back a scream. His eyes never left the blade dancing in front of Claire's face. He couldn't understand how any of this was happening? Albert WAS his friend. His instincts couldn't be that bad. More thunder in the distance. Closer still.

      Reading Brandon's face, Albert said. "You're so fucking stupid, Merryweather. So damn self righteous, so sure of yourself that you'll believe any bullshit story shoveled into your peanut sized brain." Albert punctuated his words with swings of the metal bat.

      Brandon tried to roll away from the attacks, but that only spread the damage to his back and shoulders. Breathing got harder and Brandon tasted blood. He knew that he couldn't take much more damage. Not and survive.

      Leaving Rok behind was going to be a fatal mistake. There was more thunder, close enough to bring with it a cool wind and the smell of rain.
Hurry
, he prayed.
I need you, Nina.

      Albert kept talking. "You don't know how hard it was, pretending to be

your friend. Putting up with your pathetic attempts at bonding. At protecting me. So damn condescending to think I needed your help." He laughed. "Have you figured it out yet? Nobody likes you. Nobody cares about a piece of crap orphan. Especially one so vain. With such delusions of grandeur." He used the bat to point at Claire. "The cyclops is only with you because she feels sorry for you. That, and she's so hideous only a loser like you would ever show interest in her."

      The Kruegers snickered. Luke eased his grip on Claire, keeping one arm across her throat in a choke hold while his other hand groped at her breasts through the thin fabric of the Tinkerbell costume.

      At the sight of the boy defiling his love, Brandon seethed. Something white hot, like molten fire, seared through his veins and scorched away all of his fear and pain, leaving him hollow and ice cold inside. His eyes drilled like augers into Luke's and he said. "Take your hands off of her, now!"

      Luke reacted violently, the blood washing from his face as he released Claire and pushed her away from him hard enough to send her stumbling to her knees. The naked fear on the boy's face was overpowering as he backed away from the wounded boy on the ground before him.

      Something like doubt or confusion flickered across Albert's features as he looked from Brandon to Luke. Wetting his lips, he started to raise the bat again, but stopped as the first drops of rain fell from the sky above. He gave the thunderous gray sky and the strengthening rain a sour look and shook his head. Speaking to everybody, he tossed the bat to the ground and stepped away. "Looks like this game is going to be called due to rain, boys." Meeting Brandon's gaze, his voice went cold and oh so distant. "Keep the cyclops close, Merryweather. She's the only friend you've got. Be a shame if she went missing too." He turned and walked away. The wounded Kruegers followed, shooting poisonous glares at Brandon as they vanished into the darkness.

      The scattered sprinkles had turned into a true rain, soaking Brandon's tunic as he rolled over onto his back and stared up into the black sky. His broken bones snapped back into place, the healing powers of the rain washing away the pain until it was only a memory. Claire knelt beside him in the rain, watching the marks and bruises quickly fade away. She stared at the unblemished skin in awe. It was one thing to be told about miraculous things, it was quite another to see it happen herself.

      Brandon sat up, putting a hand on Claire's cheek, before climbing to his feet. He started to go after Albert and the Kruegers, but Claire stopped him. "Please." She said. The pleading note in her voice pierced him and he stopped. She was soaked to the skin, the thin fabric of her costume no protection at all against the cold October rain. Unlike Brandon, Claire wasn't immune to the cold. Her teeth were chattering and he could see that she was miserable. She met his gaze and whispered. "Please, don't go after them. Not tonight. Stay with me"

      Her voice cracked with shivers and Brandon wrapped his arms around her, trying to shift some of his body heat to her. "Let's get back inside, okay?"

      The door they had came out of was closed and locked, so Brandon and Claire were forced to walk around the cafeteria. Brandon kept his hand on the hilt of his sword as they moved down the narrow alley, listening for any sign of their attackers just in case they attempted to ambush them again. The rain began to let up as they reached the front of the building, becoming an icy mist. A long metal awning spanned the bit of road that ran along the face of the cafeteria. The two of them stepped underneath, out of the freezing water, and Claire pulled Brandon into a tight embrace. Fighting off chills, she said. "Did that really just happen? Or am I going crazy?"

      Brandon shook his head, wiping water from his face. He watched the shadows for movement and said. "Are you okay?"