Night's Favour (47 page)

“Why you check time?
 
Is all same.”

“In five minutes, it’ll be time for us to be here.
 
When Morgan told me to be here.”

“So?”

“So.
 
The bitch has probably set us up.”
 
Spencer checked his sidearm, cocking it the putting it back in his holster.
 
“I figure they’ll try and take us from up that hill.”
 
He nodded towards where John was hiding.
 
Christ,
thought John,
I’m going to have a bunch of soldiers up my ass.
 
It’ll be worse than a prison shower
.

“Ah.
 
I must tell joke then.”

“What?”

“Before they get here.
 
Will spoil timing.”

“Sure.
 
Whatever.”
 
Spencer scanned the tree line of the clearing.
 
“We should get out of here.”

“Relax.
 
Your men only expect you.”
 
Volk used a toothy grin.
 
“
They
will be surprised.”

“They’d be more surprised if I wasn’t here.”

Volk held up a hand.
 
“No worry.
 
No worry.
 
Joke.
 
During cold war, Russian and America, not good friends.
 
Not like you and me, hey?”

“Sure.”

“So, they decide on contest.
 
To end war.
 
Very brave men die on both sides.
 
I know American mothers cry for their children.
 
Russian mothers cry too.
 
Is good idea, for contest, rather than all those brave men dying.”

“What was the contest?”

“Ah.
 
So contest was, find the best fighting dog.
 
Put dog in ring, and best of three.
 
Victor, they win.”
 
Volk nodded, a solemn expression on his face.
 
“Mother Russia, we have many strong dogs.
 
Our best men try to breed a wolf with a bear, and succeed.
 
Strongest fighting dog ever.
 
Ferocious animal.
 
Cannot be controlled.”

“I get it.
 
Looks like a dog, fights like a bear.”

“
Da
!
 
Very good, captain.
 
You know this joke?”

“No.”

“Is good.
 
Americans turn up for contest.
 
Is held in neutral country.
 
Švejcarija
.”

“Switzerland?”

“
Da
.
 
Švejcarija
.
 
Americans bring out dog, is long like a sausage, but very big.
 
Dachshund.
 
Many Russians laugh, thinking big joke.
 
Dogs go into ring, and Russian dog is fierce.
 
It leaps at American dog, there is snarling, there is biting.”
 
Volk made slashing hand motions in the air.
 
“In end, only one dog alive.
 
First round, Russian dog is dead!”

Spencer laughed.
 
“No best of three?”

“No best of three.
 
So Russians say, ‘Our best men!
 
They take three years to breed this dog.
 
How did you beat us?’
 
And American man, he explain.
 
Says that it took three years for their best plastic surgeons to make an alligator look like a dog.”

Spencer snorted.
 
“That sounds like us.”

Volk frowned.
 
“You do not get it.”

“I get it.
 
I’m just not laughing.”

“No.
 
You do not get why I tell joke.
 
I tell joke because you say this man, Everard, he looks like a dog.”

“Sure.
 
Looked that way.
 
Bigger, maybe.”

“Ah.
 
But on the inside?
 
He is an alligator.
 
If you try and fight him like a dog, you will die.”

Spencer was silent for a few moments.
 
“Fair enough.”
 
He checked his watch again.
 
“We should get out of here.”

Volk smiled.
 
“We go to finish this?”

“Yes.
 
I’ll take you to Everard.
 
And you’ll give me…”

“A gift, yes.
 
Good.
 
We go to finish this.”
 
Volk gestured with an outstretched hand.
 
“Lead.
 
Slowly.”

Spencer looked Volk up and down.
 
“I thought you’d be over this already.”

Volk’s face twisted.
 
“Is difficult.
 
If I had been shot before the change, it would have been easier.”

“Before?”

“
Da
.”

“Why?”

“Why is the sky blue?”
 
Volk nodded up.
 
“Is just blue.”

“Could it kill you?”

“After change?”

“Yes.
 
After the change.”

Volk looked at Spencer, his mouth turning down.
 
“Why would you ask such a thing?
 
We are good friends, you and I.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”
 
Spencer smiled a flat, dead smile.
 
“We are very good friends, Volk.
 
The best of friends.
 
I want to know because soon I’ll need to worry about these sorts of things.”

“Ah.”
 
Volk sighed.
 
“That is good, Captain.
 
It would be bad if I had to kill you and leave your body here.”

Spencer swallowed, the smile leaving his face.
 
“We have a deal.”

“
Da
.
 
Do not be afraid.
 
I am not hungry.”
 
Volk smiled again.
 
“You will find out soon enough.
 
But no, Captain.
 
Just shooting after the change?
 
Is very hard to kill that way.”

“How are you going to deal with Everard then?”

Volk smiled, saying nothing.

Spencer looked out into the forest.
 
“Fine.
 
Let’s get out of here.”

“Good.
 
Tonight it will be over.”

“Yes.
 
Tonight it will be over.”
 
Spencer led Volk out of the clearing, and John listened to their voices fade away through the trees.
 
He checked his watch, then looked back the way he’d come.
 
No going back that way.
 
He moved away from the tree, then started to jog in the opposite direction to where Spencer and Volk were heading.
 
It would be bad news running into them.
 
Soldiers to the left, sociopaths to the right.

It was going to be a long day.

☽ ◇ ☾

John rested against a tree.
 
He’d been jogging for about fifteen minutes, enough to work up a sweat and put some distance from the clearing.
 
Being alone in the forest complicated things a little — he had to get to where Val was.
 
He pulled out his phone, checking the Find My Friends app.
 
The little blue marker showing where Val was had stopped moving.
 
A short chopper ride was still a hell of a long walk.

He dialled a number, waiting as it rung a couple times.
 
A woman’s voice answered.
 
“Did you find him?”

“Jesus, Danny.
 
What’s this?
 
No hello?”

There was a moment of silence from the other end.
 
“Hello.
 
John.
 
How are you.”
 
Her voice was flat.

“That’s better.”
 
John grinned to himself in the forest.
 
“What are you wearing?”
 
The line went dead.
 
John looked at his phone, then dialled again.

“John.”

“The one and only.”

A sigh came down the line.
 
“Did you find him?”

“Yeah.”
 
John nodded to himself.
 
“I found him alright.”

“But he didn’t turn around.”
 
It was hard to tell what was going through Danny's mind without seeing her face, but if John had to pick it she sounded a little relieved.

“No, but we didn’t expect him to.
 
I’ve got the next best thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Wait.
 
Is Melissa there?”

“Yeah.”

“Put me on speaker.”
 
John waited as muffled sounds came down the line.

“You’re on.”

“Christ.
 
I sound like I’m in a goldfish bowl.”

“You wanted to be on speaker.”
 
John was sure Danny sounded exasperated.

“Miles.”
 
It was Carlisle’s voice.
 
“What’s the situation?”

“Hi Melissa.
 
Look, the situation?
 
It’s a bit more complicated than we thought.”

“How’s that?”

“Well, there’s good news, some more good news, and some bad news.”

There was a pause, then Danny said, “What’s the bad news?”

“Yeah, I always want the bad stuff up front too.”
 
John looked at his watch.
 
“I couldn’t follow Val to where he was going.
 
There was a helicopter, and they flew him off somewhere.”

“Shit!”

“Yeah.”

Carlisle spoke up.
 
“What’s the good news?”

“Good news piece number one.
 
I know where Val is.”

“What?”
 
There was a rustling after Danny spoke.
 
“I’ve got a piece of paper.
 
Spill.”

“Relax, there’s no address.
 
It’s in the woods.”

“The woods?”

“Well — it’s not on Google Maps anyway.
 
How cool is this?
 
Val’s been taken to a secret lair.
 
In the forest.”
 
John checked his phone; the line was still open.
 
“Hello?
 
You guys don’t think that’s cool?”

“This isn’t a movie, Miles,” said Carlisle.
 
“It’s not cool.”

“It’s a little bit cool.
 
How many people are villainous enough to have an actual lair?”

“Ok, ok, it’s cool,” said Danny.
 
“You had some other good news?”

“Sure do.
 
This is even better.
 
The bad guys, right?”

“Bad guys?” said Carlisle.

“Yeah, guys in black.”

“Right.
 
We call them suspects.”

“That’s because you have no soul.”
 
John checked the forest around him.
 
Still no company —
good
.
 
“The ‘suspects?’
 
There are now two warring factions.”

“What?”
 
Danny sounded surprised.

“Val and I think that the main party is Elsie Morgan, of Biomne fame.
 
The guys in black?
 
They’re a second faction.”

“How you figure?”

“Saw one of them arguing with the janitor from the hospital.”
 
After a moment, John checked the phone again.
 
Coverage out here was a bitch.
 
“Hello?”

“We’re still here.
 
I just want to check what you just said,” said Carlisle.
 
“You say you saw a soldier arguing with a janitor.
 
In the woods.”

“Yep.”
 
John grinned to himself again.
 
“Except he’s not a janitor.”

“He’s not?”

“No.”

“Then who is he?”

“Some Russian guy.”
 
John cleared his throat.
 
“God damn allergies.”

“A Russian janitor?” said Carlisle.

“Look, the important thing is that he’s a werewolf.”

“What?” said Danny.

“Is the line bad?”

“The line’s fine.
 
You’re not making sense.”

“Ok.”
 
John rubbed his face.
 
“They were talking.
 
Sounds like the janitor is some guy named Volk, who’s a Russian.
 
He’s made a deal with the boss military guy.”

“Captain?”

“Yeah, captain.
 
Sure.
 
His name’s Spencer.”

“The guy from the hospital?” said Danny.
 
“I thought you said it was a janitor.”

“Spencer’s a soldier.
 
The janitor’s Russian.”

“Wait,” said Carlisle.
 
“Let me see if I’ve got this.
 
There’s a captain — Spencer — who’s teamed up with a Russian werewolf named Volk.”

“That’s what I said.”
 
One of them sighed.
 
John wasn’t sure which one.

“So how do you know this Volk is a werewolf?” said Carlisle.

“Said he was going to turn Spencer.”

“Christ.”

“Yeah, just what we need.”
 
John stood up.
 
“We need to get moving.
 
I’m going to come to you, then we’ll head out.”

There was a pause on the line.
 
“Does Val know we’re coming?” said Danny.

“No.”
 
John sighed.
 
“He wouldn’t have gone along with it if he thought it was more than me.”