Tales Of The Sazi 05 - Moon's Fury (8 page)

Lucas turned around, holding a short stack of white foam containers with lids. He shook his head with a smile. "Nope. You're just going to be you …with a bit of a twist. Your story is you've gotten burned out, which isn't that unusual, considering your beat. I presume you already gave notice after Josef gave you your orders?”

"Yeah, but I haven't said anything about being burned out to anyone. I just told Reggie—my partner—that I needed to find better money. He nearly offered to walk with me, but his wife is about to have twins. I'm single, with no kids, so I'm more flexible." He wasn't even sure why he said that last part, but it didn't hurt anything.

The Wolven chief returned to the table, put down the stack of containers—causing an odd look from both Cloudsfall and Carlotta—and took his chair again. "No problem there, on either side of the question. You found some information on an offshoot of your family …pick something logical. An old bible in the attic or some such, with information about a black sheep that got disowned. It happened all the time in the last century…trust me. You drove to Texas to meet up with your buddy Will, taking along an old girlfriend and discovered—" He swept both arms outward and smiled with something approaching wonder. "—
paradise!
Texas is
amazing!
It's peaceful, the people are terrific, and the worst crime in town is the occasional cattle rustler. It's everything you've ever dreamed of, but just didn't know it. You are going to draw on every acting lesson you've had in your life this week, Agent. You're
in love
with Santa Helena and are going to tell every person you meet just that.”

"Actually, that's not true at all." Cara's voice was matter of fact, sounding very much like a cop. She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, causing the badge on her pocket to flash sunlight in his eyes. "There's crime here—lots of it. Meth, both labs and users, is bad all over the county, we're the back door for illegal immigration heading north and I'm fighting a losing battle with keeping the San Antonio gangs from recruiting in the schools. It's not just picking up estrays and truants down here. I'm understaffed, underfunded, and overworked. I turned off my radio for the meeting, because my dispatcher knows she can call the restaurant to get me. But if I turned it on, you'd probably hear the same codes you're used to hearing back home—robberies, domestic violence, drug busts, and even the occasional murder.”

A light dawned in Adam's head. "Okay, so let's go a different route. I'm just here visiting Will, but suddenly am swept away—seeing a place that can still be saved. A place where I can make a difference and help it not become Franklin Street." Lucas and Will both smiled, but Cara looked uncertain, so he added in total seriousness, "You wouldn't want to see the beat where I work. It'd make you
welcome
the San Antonio gangs into town." She looked startled when both Will and Lucas nodded in agreement. He was getting into the idea of going undercover again. It had been a long time. "Okay, yeah. I can do that. But—" He shook his head and grimaced a bit. "That might be too much of a stretch for Vivian. She's not that good an actress, and no matter how much money she gives the theater guild she never will be.”

He noticed a confusing mix of scents from the sheriff and turned to see her staring at the side of his face with near sadness, mixed with anger. She shifted her eyes when they met briefly and smelled suddenly embarrassed. He'd thought it was just that she didn't like the plan, but could it be she was jealous? That's sure what it smelled like. But he hadn't considered whether she was attached, either. He hadn't noticed a ring, and now her hand was tucked underneath her arm. Would it piss him off to find out she was married? He realized with surprise that it just might.

"She doesn't need to be," Lucas said with a serious expression. "She's going back to Minneapolis with me in a few days …whether or not she realizes it. I don't know her very well, but I know her
type.
She couldn't exist in a small town any more than a wolf could live underwater. No, we want Ms. Carmichael to act just
exactly
as we know she will. While you're waxing ecstatic about the town, she'll be making snide remarks and being a general pain. By comparison, you'll be a breath of fresh air to those who love living here and, at worst, you'll be looked at as naive by those who feel they're trapped. That's all fine.”

Cara cleared her throat and raised a finger. His eyes dropped automatically, before he could even register the motion in his brain. No ring. "But won't people ask questions when she moves back down here—
especially
if she made rude comments?”

Adam shook his head, possibly too vigorously. "She won't
be
moving back down here. I decided that when I learned on the way down she was trying to push her way in as alpha female. I told her in no uncertain terms that there was
already
an alpha female. I won't stand for any power plays. Besides, after meeting you I know me and my pack members will be in good hands."

Lucas and cloudsfall wore the same startled expression that was probably on her own face. "You heard right," he continued with a single nod, "I don't plan to be the alpha male down here. But if you're in need of a second, I'm your man.”

Lucas sighed. "I figured you'd probably say that, Adam, but I'd ask you to reconsider. Your people are going to need
both
an alpha female and an alpha male for a time. If you later want to step down, that's fine. But Cara might not survive leadership challenges from some of the Minnesota pack, so

—" She felt her eyes widen at that but she didn't comment as he closed his mouth suddenly and pursed his lips. She didn't know much about timber wolves, but a
lesser
wolf could take her out? That was a little scary.

Then he started to tap one finger in the air. "Actually, you know what? I'll need to check with Charles for verification, but I think there's precedent to make some temporary changes to the rules down here. When the bears moved out of Bavaria to join the Siberian group early in the last century, there was so much infighting that the council set up a
no-death
period. No challenges …leadership, mating, or otherwise would be to the death, until the people became properly integrated and
every
challenge had to have a Wolven official present, just to be certain there were no…
accidents.”

“That would be a
great
idea!" Cloudsfall said with a smile. "I can tell you that it's going to get pretty ugly down here when this pack finds out. They're likely to wind up drinking too much and saying things that'll get them killed by the Minnesota people.”

Outrage flooded her and the noise that escaped her would have been considered rude in most circles. She didn't care, though.
"Excuse me?
That's not saying much for my people, Will! You're making them out to be pissy and petty, and they're not!”

The Comanche Ranger snorted and shook his head with chin dropped and eyes bordering on insulted. His power rose until it nearly singed the air. "You gonna tell me Paco doesn't have a mouth on him after a few tequilas, Cara? Get
real!
People down here are used to it, but trust me when I say that the lowest of the people moving down here are bigger dogs than Paco—and he'll get his ass kicked. I'll bet there's not a single member of the Minnesota pack who can even
get
drunk." He looked at her with cold sureness. "Other than you, Cara, there's not a person in this pack who's not going to wind up on the
bottom
of the combined puppy pile.”

After Cara was able to close her dropped jaw, she looked around at the three men with horror.

"Is that true? Are y'all planning on moving down people who are going to completely eliminate my pack structure? If so, then Will's right. My people will probably fight and
die
before they're willing to be turned into the kicking dogs—omegas to a bunch of outsiders." Could this be what Ten Bears, or whoever the hell he was, had referred to? Was she going to be forced to send her people into a losing battle with other Sazi? No. She was their alpha and would protect them before she'd send them into danger. "I
demand
a say in who comes down—their powers, their abilities and…
cultural attitudes.
Like it or not, human prejudice is an issue, too.”

She leaned back after her little diatribe, fingernails digging into her palms. She struggled to keep her face blank, her body appearing loose and confident, and her emotions minimal. The silence was deafening and the lack of scent from both Will and Lucas was unnerving. But Adam was bleeding enough emotion for all of them. He bounced from excitement to anger to worry and fear. It was a heady combination of smells that nearly made her sneeze. He didn't say a word, but Cara could tell he was annoyed by how the muscle at the back of his jaw was flexing and how he was struggling to keep his magic in check. It roiled the air around him like an electric cloud. Still, she couldn't hear his teeth grinding, so that was something.

After a few tense moments where everybody tried to ignore the heightening energy and battle scents, Lucas nodded. "You're right, Alpha Salinas. You deserve a voice in who comes down here. The council didn't discuss the issue, but I'm sure Councilman Molotov would agree. I know
I'd
want to debate the matter if I were in your shoes." He paused and took a slow breath, obviously thinking hard. He slapped his open palm down on the varnished wood tabletop. Even though it was done lightly, Cara jumped. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. In a few minutes, we're all going to walk out the front door, visible as the sun. We're going to be laughing like old buddies who have just had a friendly lunch. If anyone is on the street that either you or Will recognize, Ms. Salinas, you're going to invite them over and introduce us.”

"Introduce you as…
who,
sir? An investor? An attorney? A friend of Will's?”

Lucas nodded. "All of the above…well, mostly anyway. From now on, though, until this is done we're all on a first name basis. Lucas, Will, Adam, and Cara. That's the only way it'll work. Here's the story on me. I'm an attorney from Colorado who's getting close to retirement. I know some mutual friends of Adam's from Minnesota. I ran into him at the motel and he was on his way to lunch with Will, who he came down here to see. Will invited Adam to the friendly lunch he
already had
scheduled with you, Cara. Now that I've met you all and heard all the great things the town has to offer, I'm interested in investing and think my
mutual friend
of Adam's would be interested, too." He turned to Adam and pointed a finger at his chest. "Who in your pack has the most ready cash, or already has investment properties? We'll need to involve them.”

Adam pursed his lips briefly. "Probably Mike and Sheila Kassner. They've got a string of art galleries in the cities and do some rental renovations on the side. He's loaded but is getting fed up with his partner in the gallery, a family member—not part of the pack. He's actually one of the people who offered to come down.”

Cara furrowed her brows at Adam's statement. She couldn't quite figure out what he meant by a family member who wasn't in the pack. How was that possible? She nearly opened her mouth to ask, but it wasn't important. What
was
important right now was getting the stories straight. Curiosities could wait.

"So, what am I supposed to do besides introduce you guys?”

Now Lucas turned stern again. He looked at both her and Adam critically. "You and Adam will be spending as much time together as possible for the next three days—making up a list of potential candidates for this pack. Adam, I know that volunteers were your
preference
for those who came down, but the reality is that Cara's right. The transition from city to small town is going to be difficult, and Sazi abilities are critical. You'll need to think of your pack as a whole. Which members could start new businesses down here that might prosper, what businesses are
needed
here that wouldn't be seen as an intrusion by the locals? Where to house them, etcetera.”

Cara cocked her head a bit as the phone started to ring in the office again. "Why three days?

What's going to happen then?”

Lucas opened his mouth to reply when an intentionally loud voice came over the answering machine's recorder. "Cara, it's Maggie. You're needed.”

Adrenaline rushed through her. She stood up in a rush without excusing herself and headed into Rosa's office. It was a damned good thing Maggie had raised her voice, since she never would have heard it normally from underneath the invoices and packing slips stacked on top of the machine.

"You there, Sheriff? You're not answering your radio.”

Sheesh!
She really needed to talk to Rosa about fire hazards like covering up the vents on an electrical appliance— especially one this old. She picked up the receiver and tucked it into the crook of her neck while she removed the multihued papers to find the off button so the conversation wouldn't get recorded. Ah. There it was. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Maggie. What's up?”

"There's trouble down at the hospital, Cara. Billy spotted a white van, just peeking out of the brush off Little Coffey Creek Road. He thought it might be a
coyote
dropping off illegals, so he radioed for backup and took up a position to watch.”

Oh, God! Here she was, sitting in a stupid meeting while some of her people might be—"Were shots fired? Is anyone down?”

She heard Maggie's sigh of relief. Even though she seldom showed it, being the dispatcher—

hearing horrible things happening and knowing she couldn't go help—was a huge strain on her.

"Thankfully, none of our people. But by the time Rick arrived, Billy noticed vultures were starting to circle. They found three bodies—cause of death unknown. They looked recent, probably no older than last night, according to Billy, but it was obvious animals had gotten to them. I guess it was pretty messy with claw and bite marks. They're at the hospital now and the coroner's been called. Rick found papers on them and checked them. The IDs are fake, and there was a whole stack of blank ones in a compartment under the driver's seat. So if Will's still there with you, you might mention it. I've called it in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but you know how long it takes to get anyone down here.”