The Pack (14 page)

Shamira found out during her visit to her father's office that the Mars Planet Police members were no longer able to keep their restraints on the crime rate. It was also becoming known that Police were being murdered at an increasing pace with weapons much more advanced than their own. Since the Mars Planet Police didn't have the enhancements the Elite had, they were much easier targets—not to mention a direct way to gain control of the Sectors.

They parked in an underground parking lot, and Valens took out covers to drape over their bikes. The parking lot was spotless and had video advertisements on the polished metal walls.

Valens turned to Shamira and said, “Okay. We're going to meet Hedi and Anthony. Hedi is a computer genius and has hacked into Monev's database to create fake entry card keys for us. Anthony is what they call a runner. He's pretty strong and has run goods to all facets of the organization. He knows all their dirty little secrets. Hedi's parents were members of the Mars Planet Police Force.” Valens looked at Mitch who nodded in agreement, and continued, “She found her father dead in his sleep with her mother missing and was taken before she could run. Anthony has a brother being held by Monev, and his dad was the lead for the Mars Police on Sector Two.
He's also one of their best and oldest runners at age sixteen. Most runners don't last that long, so give them the respect they deserve. They're risking their lives and the lives of their families to help us.”

Mitch threw an angry gaze at Shamira. “Yeah, well, just tell
her
to keep her attitude in check. They aren't going to tolerate her lack of gratitude, dude.”

With a tightening of her lips, she choked back her response.
I'm so not in the mood for this,
she thought before regulating her voice to respond. “Are any of the members of Monev going to be there tonight?” She returned Mitch's angry gaze.

“There are several of them that come here a lot. I think Thor and his cronies hang out here the most. They like the torture chamber. It's one of their favorite spots, and Shadow Hell is the only one of their clubs that has one,” Mitch said.

“What's the torture chamber?” Shamira asked.

“You don't want to know. Just know you don't ever want to go there,” Valens said, and then started walking toward the stairs with Shamira and Mitch in tow.

Arriving two levels up, they walked out the door. Mitch stood in front of what appeared to be an office door. The only door in the hallway, it was wooden with a metal plate on it that said “New World Technologies.” She couldn't believe how bold they were.
Why hasn't anyone put two and two together?
She closed her eyes, focusing on the sounds and smells around her. The faint scent of dream tickled her nose. She heard nothing but their breathing. It was definitely too
quiet.

Valens slid in his key, and they followed him into what appeared to be an ordinary office. She looked at Valens and started to say something, but before she could speak, he raised his hand up to his mouth to tell her to be silent. Listening now more intently for hidden sounds around her, she heard the very faint beat of music. Her hearing was more sensitive than that of the average person, and she was sure the boys did not hear the music. She looked beyond the walls in front of her and pushed her eyesight behind the reception area. Seeing the elevator beyond the door on the left of the receptionist desk, she wondered if that's where they were heading. Looking up at Valens to see him pointing in the direction of the elevator, she nodded at him.

Thinking for a moment, she wondered how they planned on getting out of there. She'd brought some of her gear, but these walls were thick, like they'd built this place with the intention of it staying hidden from any device that may try to see beyond the obvious, like some kind of bunker.

The elevator took them up five floors. Shamira turned to Mitch and whispered in his ear, “Do you have a way to get out of here if we get in trouble?”

Mitch turned to her and smiled for the first time, then winked at Valens. Valens smiled and tapped his fist against his heart. She placed her hands in her pocket and looked through the elevator doors to see completely empty levels of floors, realizing the entire
building was nothing more than a front. She zipped up the form-fitting leather jacket and adjusted its bottom over her tight, shiny black pants. Bending down, she pulled up her boots to prepare for whatever waited for them at the end of the elevator ride.
What have we just walked into?
Shadow Hell was definitely starting to fit its name.

The elevator opened to reveal an entirely different world spawning out before them. Music, loud and throbbing, filled the elevator. They were drenched in the dark purple hue that was Shadow hell. The smell of smoke and fire drowned out the faint smell of sweat from the crunch of bodies before them. She noticed the built-in fire pits on several walls that had videogames playing. The players were on platforms just above the built-in flames in the walls, obviously using scream to give them an edge over the games they played. She sniffed for dream, and it was so faint she realized that for this high status club, dream was not the poison of choice. The smell of stale burning flesh filled Shamira's nostrils, strangely mingled with the scents of flowers.
I'm going to be sick.
Unconsciously, her hand went to cover her nose, and Valens grabbed her wrist before she could complete the movement.

“Act natural, like you can't tell what you smell,” he whispered in her ear.

“Can you?” she whispered back.

“We can't smell like you. I smell flowers. C'mon,” he said and followed Mitch.

As they walked through the crowded floor, Shamira noticed a muscular pale blond man dancing with three gyrating females on the floor. The man stood several inches above all the people on the floor, brawny and ripped. She figured he was about the same height as her dad, if not taller. If she were a betting girl, she would say he was in the gang in some way, and from his looks, he could be this Thor that Valens had mentioned.

Looking ahead, she spied Mitch slipping in a side door on the right of the bar. The bar extended the length of the club. It had open spots for tables and large, comfortable chairs for mingling. She glanced up at the ceilings to see women in cages suspended by chains from the ceiling, held just high enough that they could not be bitten by pit-tigers nipping at their toes. One woman had streaks of tears falling from her eyes while she struggled to keep her legs bent and out of the jaws of the vicious pit bull/tiger male. Shamira's eyes watered in frustration.
One day I'll end this,
she swore.

Valens tugged her by the jacket, and she walked forward. She followed him through the doorway. Mitch was standing in the hallway, which was painted black and had video walls with pictures of people burning in the fires of hell on them. Some had music videos and flashed the dancing and gyrating bodies on the dance floor. Shamira blinked, and a tall, brown-skinned boy with a light mustache came up and hugged Mitch, then punched him playfully on the arm.

“You came! I can't believe it,” the boy said, and he easily lifted Mitch from the ground then shook him like a ragdoll.

“Put me down, you giant. Hey, this is Anthony. He and Hedi are going to join us in the private viewing room. We can see the action from there and get a feel for where everyone we need to know about is,” Mitch said with a smile.

Humph,
Shamira thought,
Mitch really does have friends I guess, though I can't see why.

“Hey, Valens, I've seen you around. Glad you saved Mitch. He's a good kid,” Anthony said and slapped a huge hand on Valens. Valens was caught off guard by Anthony's strength and jutted forward a few inches with the force of the friendly slap.

“Well, Shamira was the one that initiated the rescue,” Valens said and looked at her. She looked at Anthony, unsmiling, and then shrugged nonchalantly.

Anthony sized her up, and then a look of disbelief crossed his face before he said, “Thanks, Shamira. Follow me. It's not safe to hang out in the hallways here.”

They followed him to a private lounge. It had large, comfortable couches and viewing screens on the three walls that sat across from the couches. Each screen had a real-time video of all the rooms that were obviously hidden and not on the main floor.

“Shamira, I guess you haven't been to this place before. This room is called the sanctuary. It's a place for high paying customers to voyeur through the secret rooms of the club while they select a victim for their night of private fun—a place where we sell memberships to the atrocities that can be enjoyed only by high paying customers.
You'll be shocked to realize that even some of the Security Elite have paid to enjoy some of Monev's merchandise,” Anthony said with a look of distaste visual on his darkly handsome face.

Shamira directed an angry gaze at Anthony and asked, “What are you talking about, some of the Security Force Elite? That's impossible.”

“I didn't stutter. I said some of the Elite have been here. Not obvious, but I would know them. If you are looking for some of Monev's most influential, check out Thor down on the dance floor.” Anthony eyes turned to the screen in the middle of the wall, “He's the head of the drug trade division. He doesn't personally touch the stuff, but he markets it to the people of influence here on Mars and on Earth. People of influence seem to go for scream. They like the edge it gives to their gambling. Little do they know that Monev laces it with highly addictive byproducts of dream. His cronies, Kip and Stan, run the sales to the average guy here on Mars.”

Anthony pointed them out, “There they are—those guys in the body exchange room, picking out a new face for Kip's girlfriend. Kip is known for his fetish of having a different woman every couple of weeks or so, and his current girlfriend, Flame, indulges him by changing her look anytime she sees him searching out a new woman.” A look of digust clouded his face.

“Let's go after this Thor. He will have the information we need. I need to find out where they may be holding the kids and who their leader is,” Shamira said and followed Anthony's gaze to the
screen that showed Thor dancing and kissing the women glued to his large frame.

Anthony looked her up and down. “He'll be easy for you to catch. He likes them young, beautiful, and shapely, and you fit the bill perfectly.”

Shamira didn't like the way Anthony inspected her. She stifled a squirm, and moved her gaze from his head to toe.

He smiled in appreciation of her grit, “If you want to play bait, we can trap him alone,” Anthony said.

“We'd rather not use her as bait. Is there another way? Hedi is more experienced at luring men and a bit older. We can ask her,” Valens said. Shamira turned an irritated gaze on him.

“He's had Hedi, and she barely recovered. Trust me, she doesn't want to go anywhere near him. She's been through hell here over the last year. We just want out,” Anthony said. He crossed his arms, indicating to Valens that Hedi was off limits.

“I can do it. I can handle him,” Shamira said evenly, glaring at Valens as if to dare him to say anything.

“You can do what?” asked a tall red haired girl with flawless skin and full lips when she entered the room. She closed the door behind her.

“She's going to lure Thor away so we can find out where they're hiding the kids. Hopefully, he can give us the name of the leader of Monev,” Mitch said.

Hedi caressed a hand down Mitch's face and turned to Valens.
Her face turned to look at Valens, hungry while she gazed at him. Shamira took a deep breath and reminded herself he wasn't hers anyway.
I don't want him,
she tried to convince herself, but jealously filled her blood, and she turned away.

“He'll like her, but he'll hurt her. She looks too weak.” She flipped her long hair back, and touched Valens arm. “Valens, it's good to see you again. Thanks for saving Mitch for us,” she said sincerely to Valens.

Valens replied with a smile and crossed his arms. He looked at Shamira and subtletly moved out of Hedi's reach.

“Hmm. Well, I'm impressed. Maybe she
can
handle Thor. I couldn't,” Hedi said, her voice lowering as she looked Shamira up and down.

“Don't worry, Hedi. We aren't leaving without you two. I have a place for you to be safe—a place they won't find you,” Valens said.

Hedi leaned closer to him and hugged him, her face buried in the crook of his neck. Shamira's fist balled up. She took a deep breath and reminded herself again that he wasn't hers. Valens stood still and hesitantly returned Hedi's embrace.

“I'm sorry. I had started to give up hope of ever escaping. I'm too afraid to wish it. They have recaptured others so many times. What they did to those others… I can't even begin to get the nightmares out of my dreams. It's what has kept many of us from fighting. Kids don't last long in this place, but I refuse to die here,” she said with tears in her eyes then she turned out of Valens' weak
embrace. Mitch came over and took her in his arms, and Anthony patted her shoulder.

“Is there a place I can lure Thor that's near an exit? You know… a place where we can get out undetected and fast?” Shamira asked in order to refocus on their purpose.

“I know the perfect place—the employee exit. The only problem is, there may be guards there. If there are, we have to go down the side of the building, and since none of us can fly, that's not possible,” Mitch said, scratching his jaw in thought.

“I have something we can use if we have to go through that window. If it comes to that, one of you has to take Hedi down. I can take Shamira. Here, put these on your hips. I brought them in case it got sticky getting out of here. Just push this button and it will do the rest,” Valens said. He handed them a metal clip that they hooked into the belt loops of their pants.