Renegade (Ministry of Paranormal Research & Defence) (28 page)

And then the window to the side exploded. A figure, a whirlwind of teeth and claws and fur came bursting through, landing in front of me and spinning to face the vamps.

Marie drew in a double lungful of air and roared loud enough to shake the room. One word, full of rage.

“
Mine
!”

She lashed out, her claws raking Tunbridge's face to the bone. The gun dropped, clattering to the floor. Marie turned to the other bully boy vamp and flattened his nose with a powerful blow that sent him flying. Again she roared.

“
Mine
!”

I scrabbled forward and snatched up the SIG, pointing it and blowing a hole in the older vamp's thigh. Another werewolf leaped through the broken window—Cam—followed by a third I didn't recognize. This one had rich, brown fur and was big enough to give Cam a run for his money. The older vamp died quickly as the pair converged on him.

Marie skidded across the floor and pulled me into her arms, making desperate whining noises. She bent and licked my face as I smiled up at her.

“
Mine,” she said softly.

I pulled her close and buried my face in her fur. The adrenaline was gone in the rush of relief and had left me weak and shaking.

“Yours,” I agreed, hugging her with one arm.

“
Hey,” said another voice. Anna. “You want to back off a little so I can give him the once over?”

Marie loosened her grip and moved around so I could see Anna and John. Bolt was there too, covering everyone with his SMG. Cam and the other werewolf were gone, through the door and into the house proper. A brief scream and a vampire flying past the door on a trajectory which was almost flat suggested the two of them weren't wasting their time.

“Anything I should know?” said Anna. She ran her cool hands, clad in black latex gloves, around my neck.

“
Broken arm,” I said, my voice unsteady. “Couple of cracked ribs.”

“
No neck injuries? Nothing spinal?” she asked.

“
Nothing a week at the beach wouldn't fix.”

“
Good,” she replied. “We can move him. Let's get him up.”

There was a brief burst of gunfire from further inside the house. Then a much louder roar. Sounded like a grenade going off.

“Cam!” Bolt yelled. “We are decamping!”

The two werewolves came running in the door, Cam pausing long enough to fire a couple more grenades from his launcher.

He turned and gave me a grin. Blood was leaking sluggishly from a wound in his upper arm.

“
You ok?” I asked.

“
Just a flesh wound,” he replied with a passable imitation of the Black Knight.

Marie and Anna hauled me to my feet, sending flashes of pain through my body. I grit my teeth and moved towards the broken window, supported by my mate.

Bolt ducked out in front of us and said something in Farsi that sounded like a curse.

“
We have a problem, boss,” he said.

Outside I could see the grounds of the house. Why did all these vampires live in such big houses out here? Did no vamp live in a two-up, two-down? Come to think of it, the image was ridiculous. Vamps lived in big houses. It was as simple as that. I realized that my mind was drifting and snapped myself back to reality with a shake of my head.

The grounds sloped away into the darkness. Darkness broken, however, by headlights.

Several vehicles were driving towards us, bumping across the uneven land.

“I'm guessing that's not friendly,” I said.

“
Probably not,” said John.

“
Can we run?” I asked.

“
We could,” said John. “You probably couldn't.”

Suddenly Marie turned under my arm and swept me up, cradling me like a baby, my bum arm tucked between us. She took off running like a whippet.

Every jolt made my injuries yell in protest. I kept my teeth clenched to avoid crying out in pain. Marie leaped over something, coming down with a surprisingly soft thump. Then she ran again. I risked a look over her shoulder. Anna and John were keeping up with us, barely, with Cam and the other werewolf behind them, both bringing up the rear. About half of the sets of headlamps were headed towards the house. The lights from the grounds showed them as more Humvees. The rest, four in total, had veered off to intercept us. From the speed and distance it looked like we would reach the wall first, but not by much.

Marie leaped, catching the top of the wall in one paw and swung us both over. Anna and John cam next, boosted over, I assume by the two werewolves. Then Bolt and finally Cam and our new friend, whoever he was. By now there were already scattered voices yelling at us to stop. Marie put me down and I managed to keep my knees from buckling and my stomach from heaving.

“
Stop
!” came an amplified voice from above. A painfully bright spotlight shone down and the helicopter noises got louder.

“
Stay where you are. Drop your weapons and put your hands on your heads.”

Vehicles were coming towards us on the road that ran alongside the wall.

“Aw fuck.” I said. “So close.”

My SIG hit the ground with a soft thump, followed by everyone else's weapons. I grunted in pain but managed to get my hands up.

“Sheriff's Department,” boomed the voice. “You are under arrest.”

“
Sheriff?” I said puzzled. For an instant my mind threw up and image of Robin Hood and I had to suppress a tired laugh. At least we hadn't been captured by the vamps. The vehicles rattled to a stop and uniformed figures jumped out. We were handcuffed and pulled towards the biggest vehicle, a paddy wagon. The guy who had me by my arm saw me grimace when he pulled.

“
Careful,” I hissed. “That's broken.”

“
I don't care,” he said in a low voice. “And you shouldn't either. Just get in for God's sake.”

The deputy helped me into the back along with everybody else as the helicopter circled, keeping its spotlight on the ground.

“You are under arrest for breaking and entering,” said a huge guy standing by the open door. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you do say can and will be taken down and may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided for you. You have the right to remain silent....”

He went on, droning the list of our rights as we were loaded, one by one, into the back of the van.

I was utterly drained, sitting, trying to find a position which didn't make me feel like somebody was gripping my arm in a pair of bolt croppers. Eventually I gave up and leaned back against the wall of the van. I had no illusions. If the vampires wanted us, they'd probably get us.

The last two people into the back of the wagon were two burly men in sheriff's uniforms. Both were holding old fashioned shotguns with wooden stocks and pumps. The doors closed and the van started to move.

Marie was sitting opposite me, back in her human form. And she was smiling. The big brown werewolf had changed, too, revealing a dark-skinned human form not much smaller than the wolf. He was grinning.

“
Someone want to let me in on the joke?” I said wearily.

“
Hey Tyler,” said the werewolf. “Nicely done. Terry and Kyle make it through, then?”

The guy in the sheriff's uniform was going down the line, unlocking everyone's cuffs. When he got to me he paused to lock eyes.

“You must be the Jack we've been hearing about,” he said.

“
That's me,” I replied.

“
Well, this is going hurt, man,” he said as he bent over me. “Sorry about the rough handling out there.”

I grimaced as he removed the cuffs.

“You okay, bro?” said the sheriff.

I sat back, cradling my arm in my good hand.

“Fine,” I said. “Or I will be after a couple of weeks on the beach sipping
piña colada
s.”

“
Hey, if this goes the way I think it will I'll join you,” he replied with a wry smile.

When he unlocked Anna she darted over to sit next to me, taking my arm. She ran her fingertips across the skin.

“Brace yourself, boss,” she said, then probed the bone by pushing in with her fingers.

A lance of pain shot through me.

“Oh yeah, definitely broken,” she said. “Feels like it's in the right place, which is a godsend at least.”

She unpacked her medical kit and began to pull items out. She started with a roll of foam-covered metal which she unrolled and folded in half and molded to the underside of my arm.

“Just a splint,” she said, “to keep you from doing any more damage.”

She wrapped the arm and splint in dark green bandages.

“Should hold you for a while,” she said. “I'm guessing you won't want pain medicine.”

“
Not unless you can give me something that won't knock me out.”

She was checking my face and neck.

“Yeah, got all the acetaminophen and ibuprofen you want. Anything stronger and we risk you going to la-la land.”

“
If it'll take the edge off.”

“
Yep. You seem to be okay otherwise. Eyes and speech as alert as you'll ever get.”

I smiled weakly.

“Sense of humor, a bit low but we can put that down to fatigue. You aren't going back in command yet. John's got that.”

I caught John's eye and gave him a nod, receiving one I return.

“Once we get you somewhere safe we'll wrap those ribs,” she rummaged in her bag and came out with a couple of pills and a water bottle. “Here, these will help a little.”

The sheriff—Tyler—was talking on his radio, a look of concern on his face.

“Something up, sheriff?” I asked.

“
Yeah, a little,” he replied. “Seems we've had a group of State Police officers turn up at the office. They're claiming jurisdiction and want us to turn you over when we arrive.”

“
Well that puts a spanner in the works,” I said.

I swallowed the pills and wondered what now.

“Do the State Police have the right to take custody?” I asked.

“
They would if she was genuinely wanted, but she's not,” replied Tyler. “The guy who came into my office today said they were looking for Ms. Marie here because of crimes committed in Atlanta and that makes her the jurisdiction of the US Marshals' service, not the State Police, which is how we're going to get away with this.”

“
With what?”

“
About four miles ahead, the road goes through a dense forest. The view of our helicopter will be temporarily blocked. Somebody just happened to have left a spike strip across the road. When we hit it you'll overpower me and my three deputies and make your escape. The person who left the spike strips just happens to be waiting with some SUVs to take you to a safe house in pack territory. I'll give you about five minutes head start then call the Marshals. Of course, they'll have never heard of Ms Marie so the confusion and argument should buy you all the time you need. And one more thing. If you decide to pay us a visit again, I'd appreciate it if you stopped by to say hello first.”

I glanced up and met his smiling eyes.

“Sounds good to me, Sheriff. Thanks for all your help.”

“
No problem.”

He listened to his radio for a few seconds, then nodded.

“Brace yourselves, this is going to be rough.”

The first thing we heard was the bang of tires bursting. Then the vehicle shuddered and bounced as it hit the road on its rims. We were thrown forward by the sudden deceleration and then sideways as the van slewed around in a half circle. We came to a shuddering stop.

John stood up and took the shotgun from Tyler.

“
Now, if your deputies would care to take a seat we'll make a run for it,” he said.

We finished relieving the deputies of their weapons and jumped out the back of the van. Behind us had been a sheriff's patrol car, all four tires punctured by the same spike strips as had brought the van to such a shuddering stop. Standing on the side of the road by a motley collection of off-road vehicles was a group of young men.

“Kyle!” said Marie. “Glad to see you again.”

“
You too, Marie,” he replied. “But we need to get moving. We don't have long apparently.”

Above us the helicopter was visible through the trees, pointing its spotlight down on the road ahead.

For the first time since we'd left England, I felt relaxed about the chances of us getting out of this alive.

C
HAPTER

49