by R. Lee Moore
There was a slight pause on the other end of the line.
“Personal?” came the cautious reply. “How personal?”
“Five hundred thousand dollars personal,” King replied. She locked her eyes on Tamina, and the hatred that grew within them soon began to lace the tones of her voice. “There’s someone I want out of my life, but she needs to suffer. I need her to suffer every agony you can give to her for everything she's done to me. I want her blood. Her life.”
Another pause, followed by a soft and amused, almost approving laugh from the whispering voice on the other end of the line.
“And you're willing to return everything we gave you to see this done?” the voice asked.
“Is it not enough?” King snapped. “You want more? Whatever it takes to get this bitch what she deserves and out of my life.”
Tamina might have been flattered if the whole thing wasn't so disturbing. It wasn't hard to figure out who Jennifer King was talking about, but she thought that was probably what was keeping the people on the other line and interested. The pure unadulterated hatred the woman had for her was what was selling the whole thing. She could live with that.
“I'm afraid that we won't be able to help,” the voice said. “Perhaps if you had come to us sooner we may have been able to work something out. However, recent events have caused complications we're uncomfortable with. We're moving on while our anonymity is still intact. I'm sure you understand. We'd like to help, but it's not possible. We've already disposed of all of our equipment and personnel.”
King flicked her eyes between Harris and Tamina. A frantic desperation had begun to overwhelm the hatred and anger with her. She found no sympathy in ether of them. Only expectations.
“I-I don't care,” King shot out tightly. “I'll record it on my phone if I have to. I just want it done. I want her to suffer and die, and I don't care what it takes. Name your price.”
There was no reply. Not at first. The tension in the room hung thick and heavy in anticipation. This had to work, Tamina thought. King had been believable enough, but she wasn't sure if it was enough to convince these people, these monsters to take the bait.
“I love revenge,” the voice whispered. “If you can get this person to Whiteman Airpark, you have two hours and not a minute more. Any longer than that and you'll have to find another way to deal with your personal matter. We won't be here.”
The line went dead, and Jennifer King collapsed forward onto the table sobbing and shaking. It had been a near enough thing, Tamina thought, but the woman had managed to pull it off and save her own life. For a brief moment Tamina almost had a pang of disappointment. King had given her what she wanted, but now she was going to escape the justice she truly deserved. She'd go to prison of course, but in Tamina's opinion, that wasn't enough. Not by a long shot.
“Sergeant, could you make arrangements with Lieutenant Decker to take this woman back into custody,” Harris said rising to his feet. “I don't want this thing anywhere near me any longer than is necessary.”
Tamina scooped up and holstered her pistol, and rose up from her chair with a nod of her head. She'd make sure Decker got everything he needed to put King into the deepest darkest hole he could find for as long as humanly possible. She followed Harris out of the room, pausing only long enough to bounce the woman's head off the table before she left. Captain Harris declined to notice.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The whole office had become a swarm of activity. Two hours wasn't a lot of time to work with, but it was all they had. Captain Harris disappeared into his office leaving Tamina to deal with making sure Decker had everything he needed to take King back into LAPD custody. Whatever he might have thought about the arrangement Harris had made with King, Decker kept to himself. He'd just nodded his head as Tamina explained the situation to him, and vanished into the interrogation room with his officers to get the process going.
Once that was done, Tamina met up with Carson in Harris' office, and waited with silent anxious anticipation as the Captain finished made a flurry of calls to anyone and everyone he could think of. Getting a Strike Team or two on short notice was generally pretty easy. The teams always had people on standby for just that reason. Harris didn't seem satisfied with that though. He was looking to bring the full force of Supernatural Affairs to bear.
“I've notified the Director,” Harris said as he hung up his phone. There was a fire in his eyes that made it look as if his mind was racing a mile a minute juggling his thoughts between multiple tasks at once. “He's cleared his schedule in Washington so that he can focus all his attention on what we're doing out here. He's going to be watching us, and you specifically Tamina.”
That made Tamina wince a little, even if she kind of understood the reasoning behind the attention she was apparently receiving. This was going to be the first real test of the Director's initiative. If the operation failed, if she failed, it would likely put the whole thing in jeopardy.
“Yeah, no pressure or anything,” Tamina muttered to herself. “Well if this goes south I guess I can always go back to the Rez. Join the militia or something again. My mom will love that.”
“Let's hope it doesn't come to that,” Harris replied seriously. “I'm making you and Timothy point on this. We've got three Strike Teams gearing up and getting ready to roll out, I'm still waiting on the air support authorization, though.”
Strike Teams were good, Tamina thought, but they were targeting an airfield. Air power was going to be crucial in making sure they wouldn't get away. Even if that meant blowing planes out of the sky.
“What about K-9?” Carson asked. Tamina thought that was a good idea. The other side had werewolves, bringing their own would even the odds.
“Don't call them that please,” Harris replied testily. “Captain Ramirez already has that covered. Each team will have its own contingent of shapeshifters with them when they arrive on site. Tamina, you have more tactical experience in this area, what do you suggest.”
Harris reached over to a cabinet beside him and pulled out a map of the city and laid it out flat on his desk in front of her. She peered over it and traced out a few routes through Pacoima to the airpark going through every tactical possibility she could think of. It would have been better if they'd had time to scout out the location, but that would take up more time than they had left. They had to move fast, even if it meant moving in semi blind. She was going to have to rely on brute force to make up for the lack of Intel.
“If you can get me an unmarked car, I can come in from the south here. Meet up with whoever is there and try to keep them in place as long as I can,” she said. She wasn't thrilled with the idea, it meant going in alone to not arouse too much suspicion, but it was all she could think of. “Spread the teams out in the other three directions as out of sight as possible. Have to be pretty far back to keep whatever wolves they have from knowing we're coming before it's too late.”
Harris frowned slightly as he looked over the map and listened to her plan.
“Putting yourself in the middle of all that by yourself is too risky,” he said. He was right, but being right didn't give Tamina any other options. “I'd feel better if Timothy went with you.”
Tamina shook her head. The only person she could bring with her that wouldn't arouse suspicion was Jennifer King, and that wasn't going to happen. Besides, she thought, they'd take one look at Carson and instantly peg him for the Federal agent he was. The second that happened, it was over for both of them right then and there.
“Nah,” Tamina said thoughtfully. She wouldn't mind having him with her, he'd proven he could fight when he needed to, but she'd have to go it alone. At least at first. “He can follow me in, but he'll have to hang back until I give the signal. We'd both just get killed the moment we drove up otherwise. He kinda sticks out.”
Harris frowned as he listened, and slowly shook his head. Tamina knew what he was thinking, but it wasn't going to change anything. She had to go in alone to pin th
em down for as long as she could to give the Strike Teams the time they needed.
“Not too fond of the whole idea myself,” Tamina continued. “Don't see any other options though. They're expecting me and King. I can get away with it just being me, but I can't get away with anyone else with me.”
“I'm not saying I don't understand your reasoning,” Harris said with a sigh. “I just don't like it.”
“Well,” Tamina offered. “If Siobhan is still around, she can ride with Carson. If things go sideways, a werewolf would be at my back a lot faster than he could.”
She looked at Carson for any objection, but the man just nodded his head in agreement. He'd seen Siobhan in action earlier in the day, so he knew what she could do when she wanted.
“Fine,” Harris said begrudgingly. “Go and get ready. I'll make sure we've got air and follow in a command vehicle to coordinate everything.”
Tamina nodded and turned on her heel to leave.
“Tamina,” Harris said halting her in her tracks. “This is a clean sweep. No survivors. Kill them all.”
It didn't take long to get organized once she left the office. Collecting some gear from the trunk of her Firebird, Tamina scoured through the Department's parking structure for a suitable unmarked vehicle. There were a lot of vehicles, but almost all of them screamed Federal Agent, and she needed something a bit more subdued and nondescript that wouldn't draw a lot of attention.
Once Tamina found one she liked, she stripped down to the waist, and slipped on a light protective vest with ceramic plates that she covered back up with her shirt and jacket. She wanted Dragonscale, but for as much protection as it would have provided, it would have been a bit too bulky and almost impossible to conceal. She'd had to make due with what she head.
She made sure to check each one of her weapons, and then carefully tucked her sidearm and the AR12 beneath the front seat with as many full magazines as she could reasonably conceal. They had to be within easy reach if she needed them, but out of sight at the same time. It was a fine line between the two. The only weapon she allowed herself was a slim pair of combat knives tucked comfortably in a single sheathe at the small of her back. She couldn't even risk carrying her holdout. Too much of a risk with how strong a werewolf's sense of smell was.
Going in unarmed normally wouldn't have been Tamina's first choice, but any werewolf that got close too soon would be able to smell them on her. The best she could do was keep them as easily accessible as possible and try to keep any of the shapeshifters far enough away that they wouldn't notice.
She didn't know why she did it, but when she slid into the driver's seat of the unmarked car, she pulled her phone out and sent Giovanni a message. Just a quick note telling him she was heading out and that her phone would be off. It bothered her a bit that she'd felt the need to do that, but she hadn't been able to stop herself. She'd worry about that later, she thought as she stuffed her phone back into her pocket beneath her vest. No time for distractions.
“I'll be right behind you,” Carson said, poking his head into the drivers side window and handing her an ear-piece. “Not sure how comfortable I am having a big werewolf in the front seat with me, though.”
Tamina glanced up into the rear-view mirror and smirked at the lanky red-furred werewolf in custom fit body armor stalking anxiously back and forth in front of the second car.
“If you get nervous, scratch her behind the ears,” Tamina said as straight-faced as she could manage. “You'll be fine. Now get out the way, we have to go.”
“I'm not scratching a werewolf behind the ears,” Carson said sourly, stepping back away from the window letting Tamina pull out of the space. “And don't get to far ahead of me. Stay in visual range, sergeant.”
Tamina waited at the entrance to the parking structure for Carson and Siobhan to get ready and pull up behind her. Then with a deep calming breath she gunned the engine and raced out through the checkpoint and roared down the streets leaving Carson struggling to keep up.
As short as it was, the twenty or so minute drive weaving in and out of freeway traffic gave Tamina enough time to focus herself fully on the mission at hand. By the time she'd pulled off onto the Osborne street exit, any bit of nervousness or anxiety that tried to creep up had already been ruthlessly put down leaving only the cold dispassionate determination behind. Anything else would have just gotten in the way.
As she turned off Osborne and started down the empty long winding road towards the gates, she was vaguely aware of the radio traffic over her earpieces letting her know all three teams were settling into positions around the airfield. They'd had to keep their distance to avoid alerting the people they were after of their presence. It would only take them a few minutes to get on site once everything kicked off, but Tamina would be on her own with only Carson and Siobhan for backup until they got there. A lot could happen in a few minutes.
When she pulled up to the entrance, the gate was wide open and the guard station was empty. The lights were on and there were signs that there should have been someone there, but there wasn't. There was a warning voice in the back of her head that prompted her to pause and assess the situation. Whoever was supposed to be here was either long gone, or more likely dead and tucked away somewhere out of sight. People like the ones she was dealing with wouldn't take the chance of leaving a potential witness behind. If there'd been anyone here, they were already dead. Nothing she could do about that.
Steadying herself, Tamina pulled through the gate and began creeping through the rows of parked single engine planes arrayed out in front her on the tarmac. There were no lights on anywhere. They'd all seemed to be turned off leaving her surrounded by a foreboding darkness penetrated only by the headlights of her car.
As she drove through the airfield towards the runway, she had this sense of being watched while being all alone and isolated at the same time. As unpleasant as the sensation running down her spine was, Tamina had to push it aside.
She was driving into a trap set for her by the very people she'd been hunting. People who made a living filming the torture and murder of innocent men and women all over the world. She knew what they had planned for her, but they didn't know what she had planned for them. Hopefully that would be enough for her to get out of all this alive.
There were lights on the far end of the runway, there were several planes in a long row, a collection of parked vehicles and a thick knot of people busily making preparations. There were more of them than she'd expected. A lot more, and all of them were armed to the teeth. As she drifted closer, she could even see the massive shadowy outlines of fully shifted werewolves prowling in the darkness along the perimeter.
The moment they saw her coming, a wolf darted out of the shadows and started loping towards her. A pair of men turned at the wolf's sudden movement, and followed quickly after it.
Tamina jerked her car to a sudden stop and her thoughts began to race with all the possibilities. She was far enough away from the crowd that the two men had to jog across the runway to get to her. The wolf on the other hand, ate up the distance between them far too quickly. She had to do something before it got too close. All it would take was the beast getting close enough to sniff out the weapons she had in the car, and everything would go to hell.
Tamina flung her door open and shot up out of the car with the biggest, most brain-dead smile she could manage plastered all over her face. She gave the oncoming wolf a frantic cheerful looking wave that stopped the beast in its tracks just on the very edges of the car's lights.
“Hi!“ Tamina called out as brightly and innocently as she could. “I think I'm lost. I'm supposed to meet someone here, but I don't see them anywhere.”
She could see the wolf pacing in front of her with its muzzle raised into the air taking short and sharp sniffs at the air. Tamina held her breath and shifted herself behind the car door hoping that she was still far enough away from the wolf to keep it from noticing anything. She made a show of nonchalantly leaning agai
nst the car, hoping the wolf wouldn't notice her hand slipping into the side of the door and wrapping around the small holdout stashed there.
The two men rushed up to flank the large wolf. Both of them had the same distinct eastern European look to them. Dusky olive skin, short black hair cropped in a vaguely military style, and wary hardened eyes piercing into her from across the distance. They held their weapons loose in their hands low in front of them, but Tamina recognized the familiarity and ease both men had with them. These weren't amateurs, they were professionals. She couldn't tell if they were human or supernatural, but it really didn't matter. If they got too suspicious, she'd be just as dead.
“Hi,” Tamina repeated waving her hand as friendly as she was able. “I'm supposed to meet Jennifer King here. She said she had some work for me. Do either of you know who or where she is? I'm a bit confused here.”
Both men visibly relaxed, and one of them even offered a faint smile in her direction. The two of them looked Tamina over and gave appreciative looks at what they were seeing.
“You're one of King's girls then,” one of them said approvingly. There was a familiar accent there, but Tamina couldn't quite place it. She'd heard it before though on the other end of the phone when Jennifer King was arranging things with them on the phone. “Vanya's going to love you. Come on, leave your car there, and I'll introduce you, so you can get to know each other before we get started.”
“I can't leave my car in the middle of a runway,” Tamina replied. She had to buy some time and keep control of the situation as much as possible. They had to follow her lead, not the other way around. “It's a rental. What if one of those planes runs into it? Besides, I think I'm supposed to wait for Jennifer. She gets real upset when people do things she doesn't tell them to do.”
Both men smirked sharing a knowing laugh, and the wolf between them started creeping its way forward towards the car. Tamina tensed up and her eyes locked onto the creature watching its every movement intently. She couldn't let the thing get close.