Specters: A Monster Squad Novel - 8 (23 page)

“Sir?” The logistics officer gave him a questioning shrug.

“They’ll be much more likely to
loan
a drone to NORAD for use in U.S. airspace than they would a black operation like us, Lieutenant.”

“Aye, sir.” The man smiled as he began processing the request. “And the Word of the Day is?”

Mark looked at his PDA and frowned. “Trojan? Who uses a condom as their word of the day? That’s just gross.”

“Perhaps they meant the people, sir? Or the horse?”

Mark shrugged. “I’m going with the rubber.” He shot the lieutenant an evil smirk. “They’re all dickheads at NORAD anyway.”

“Aye, sir, and I’ll be sure to have that stricken from the hard copy, Major.”

Mark shrugged. “Like anybody reads them.” He sat up straighter in the command chair and motioned to the clock. “Mark the time and tighten your assholes. It’s time to make the doughnuts.”

*****

Rufus slipped through the door and hovered near where Jack and his crew were still staging. He listened intently for any clues as to where they were going. He knew that his brother was doing his best to glean information as well, but he feared that even if they could pinpoint exactly where Lilith was, they would be too late in getting there. Those damned elves and their portals made travelling far too easy over great distances.

He listened, straining his ears until he heard one of the men say Oregon. His stomach fell as he tried to calculate how long it would take for Viktor to return and for the pair to travel across the continent. He slowly shook his head then swallowed hard.

Rufus stepped back through the doorway and toward the crowd. He motioned to Jack. “A word, if I may?”

Jack paused and dropped his gear on the table. “I’ll be right back.” He quickly closed the gap between the two and dropped a steely eyed glare on the vampire.

“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard one of the men mention Oregon? If this is where Lilith is currently hiding, I would very much like to be a part of the raiding party.”

“It’s not a raiding party. We’re going there to destroy her.”

“Yes, of course.” Rufus glanced to the side and lowered his voice. “Jack, I have not mentioned this before, but I feel I must be most forthcoming with you.”

He crossed his arms and stared down at the man he once trusted, his gaze indicated he never would again. “By all means.”

Rufus cleared his throat and tried to choose his words wisely. “After you… left my employ, I met with the council. They were quite clear in their decision. They would only entertain removing the edict if I were to remove the threat of Lilith.”

“That’s what we’re going to do. Lucky for you somebody else gets to put their neck on the line and you still benefit.” Jack shot him a smirk and turned to leave.

“
Non
, Jack, you do not understand.” Rufus reached out to stop him but held himself short. “The council…they will know. If I am not a part of the force, they
will
know. The edict will stand.” He maneuvered himself between Jack and his people. “I know you,
Monsieur.
You are many things, but you would not do anything purposefully when you know it would cost the life of another. Even if you hold nothing but disdain for that person. You simply would not allow yourself to be so callous.”

Jack hiked a brow and studied him. “You think you know me that well, do you?”

Rufus gave him a sad smile. “
Oui
. I know you that well.”

Jack inhaled sharply and let it out slowly, his eyes pinched shut. “Let me guess, you want to bring dear old dad in law and your deadbeat brother along as well?”

“My brother,
oui
, but Viktor is running an errand for me.”

Jack’s gaze narrowed. “Where is he? You didn’t tell me he was going anywhere.”

Rufus held up his hands again to calm the man. “He went to speak with his contacts at the Vatican. In case we cannot stop her, perhaps they can empty the churches. Minimize the damage she can do. That is all.”

Jack’s Bullshit-O-Meter pegged, but he did his best to give the man the benefit of the doubt. He ground his teeth together and clenched his fists. “Fine. Tag along if you must, but stay out of the way. It’s bad enough Second Squad is coming, too. I don’t need to babysit anybody else.”

“
Merci
.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” Jack turned to gather his gear. “We have to survive this assault first.”

*****

Bigby watched the hangar from the building across the street, his notes jotted down in the pocket notebook of his breast pocket. He tried to ignore the sighs of boredom coming from across the nearly empty office space.

“Tell me something.”

With clenched teeth he lowered his binoculars and turned to the werecat. “What?”

“Why are you really doing this? You told Simmons to piss off, so it’s not for money. Your army was actually his hired goons, so it isn’t loyalty.”

Bigby closed his eyes and tried to count before he said something he regretted. “What would you know of loyalty?”

“Quite a bit actually.”

“Well, you know nothing of mine. So try shutting your hole before I shut it for you.” He lifted his binoculars again and studied the hangar.

“I’m just curious. Indulge me. Nobody’s paying you for this job, and you’re obviously a mercenary.”

“A what?” He lowered his spyglasses and stared at the man. “You called me a mercenary?”

“Well, yeah. You whored yourself out to Simmons once then double-crossed him. That says quite a bit for your loyalties.” Mick smirked at him, a self-satisfied grin forming.

“Listen to me, pup, and listen well. It will do you good to watch your tone with me. First off, I’m nobody’s whore. I got into this mess because of loyalty. Loyalty to a good man. A man who saved my life plenty of times.”

“Ah, yeah. You mentioned that. The boys across the road killed him, yeah?”

“Yeah, they did.”

“And that’s why they have to pay? Because your mate turned against them and paid the price? So now you have to as well?”

Bigby took a step toward him then caught himself. He stared at the cat lying on the floor appearing relaxed, a stupid grin painted across his face. “You’re not worth it.”

He turned back to the window and continued staring at the hangar.

“No, go on. Tell me. Tell me how your mate screwed up so that now you have to go on a killing rampage, because I really don’t get it.”

Bigby clenched his teeth as he stared at the carpeted floor, his binoculars hanging from his neck. “It wasn’t like that.” His voice was barely a whisper.

“What wasn’t?”

“The bloody vamps got his family. Held them. Threatened Sherry if he didn’t…if he didn’t do what they ordered.”

Mick sat up straighter and cocked his head to hear better. “Go on.”

“They wanted him to kill another vampire. A vamp that had gotten hisself in tight with the Yanks. He was the leader of the
Beastia
clan.” Bigby turned and Mick saw the pain in his eyes. “They had his mum and his sister. Threatened to rip their innards out and mail them to him if he didn’t do it.”

Mick got to his feet slowly and studied the man as he spoke. For the first time since meeting Bigby, he saw an emotion other than hatred or rage. “What happened?”

“The Yanks. They got wind of the deal. They ruined Sherry.” He tilted his head back and stared through the ceiling. “Oh, they managed to get to his family and put them all in some kind of witness protection in the middle of nowhere. But they killed Sheridan. For all intents and purpose, the man was dead.” He turned and glared at Mick. “He stopped taking the bane. Found out that he could shift at will once he did. Then he came and found me.”

“Why?”

Bigby snorted. “To get the band back together, of course. Why else. Once an operator, always an operator.”

“I mean, to what purpose?”

“Imagine, boy. Monsters hunting monsters? For profit?” Bigby laughed. “Yeah, it was a dream, but he sold me on it.” He shrugged as he marched the short distance back to where Mick stood. He picked up a bottle of water and twisted the lid.

“I’m not following.”

“Aw, Sherry didn’t have to sell me on the idea. I’d have followed him to the gates of Hell. But the other boys? Yeah, some of them needed convincing.” He took a long swallow and shook his head. “Some couldn’t be convinced.”

Mick saw the look on his face and knew without a doubt what became of them. “He killed them.”

“Made it look like an accident, but yeah.”

“And yet you followed him? They were your mates.”

“And he was my commanding officer. Like I said, to the gates of Hell.”

Mick leaned against the wall and let him continue talking.

“I couldn’t bring myself to stop taking the bane. Yeah, I knew I’d be stronger and faster, but to me, I felt like I’d be a slave to the moon, ya know? So I kept taking it. Not Sherry. He said he needed the added strength to overcome his wound.”

“What wound?”

Bigby hitched his jaw toward the hangar. “The one his ‘best Yank friend’ gave him. Shot him through the foot with a silver round. Ruined the bones of his instep, the bastard.”

Mick grimaced. “Damn. Some friend.”

“Look, if it’s all the same, I’d just as soon not talk about it anymore. Just accept that they have it coming.”

*****

Jameson leaned back in the chair and watched as the helmet cam feeds shimmered. The Titans had turned off their active camouflage and were now visible to their potential targets. Pandemonium broke out as targets began to panic and break away from the main groups.

Ingram let out a whoop as the first volley of rounds struck the main body of fangers and their bodies ashed almost instantly. The Titans had flanked the slow moving group and were firing at 45 degree angles into the advancing group. As they broke away and tried to retreat, the lead fangers ran into those in the rear causing even more panic. A tertiary group of Titans closed the gap and began mowing them down as they were bunched into a ball.

Ingram watched as the Predator came online and dropped a silver nitrate bomb into the main mass of bodies. They quickly dissolved into a large fireball of ash.

Jameson propped a foot up on the console and shook his head. “This isn’t a test, Robert. This is shooting fish in a barrel.”

“I know. It’s awesome, isn’t it?” Ingram laughed as the Titans continued to engage and decimate the ever shrinking group of vampires.

Small groups of one or two would break away and try to make a run for it only to be run down and find a blade sunk between their shoulders, ashing them before they could hit the ground.

The entire encounter was over and done in a matter of minutes. Jameson watched as the few surviving humans were rounded up and shot, their bodies piled onto the embers of the vampires and doused with motor fuel. He stood from his chair and pulled his jacket straight.

“We’ll need more than this before we pit them against a more dangerous enemy.”

Ingram spun in his chair and glared at him. “What are you talking about? This was flawless.”

“This was no challenge.”

“So?” Robert shrugged. “They’re too well trained. They’re too fast. They’re too
efficient
at their jobs. That gives you doubt in their ability to remove the squads?”

“The squads
shoot back
, or have you forgotten?”

“No, I haven’t forgotten. But you were the one who thought that this should be the go-no-go test for these boys. Have you forgotten that?”

Jameson stared at the screens again and shook his head. “Gypsies.”

Robert paused, his brain not understanding the response. “Say what?”

“These were gypsies, Robert, not warriors. Just…nomads. There was no fight in them.”

“What are you saying?”

“I’m saying there was no fight in them. This wasn’t a test of anything but how quickly our boys could pull the trigger.” He marched to the screen and pointed to the ash piles scattered across the fields. “Not one of them attacked. They all ran.”

Robert turned and stared at the ash piles. They were all meters away from the Titans and where they were staged. He pulled his remote to him and rolled back the footage. As he replayed the carnage, it finally sunk in what Jameson had picked up the first time. He sat back in his chair and sighed heavily.

“Do you see it now?”

“Yes.” He ran a hand across his face and stretched his neck. “I really thought that…” He turned and faced Jameson. “How are we supposed to give them the experience they need? What can they face that will challenge them enough to prepare them for the squads?”

Jameson leaned against the concrete column in the center of the room and shook his head. “I have an idea, but I don’t think either of us would like it.”