"Hey," Valerie whispers, her voice a little hoarse. "Do you love my father?"
Ryan gives her an almost amused look. "Yes, I suppose so."
"Okay," she says, and her trembling eases.
Kyra hasn't signaled again. That means she's only spotted the one car. Leo and Mitchell—presuming they both lived through the wendigos—are the only ones on their way. That's good. He doesn't see them yet, but they've probably taken up cover on the opposite side of the street. Nick had given them a quick tactical assessment, letting them know what Leo and Mitchell were most likely to do. If it weren't for Valerie being prominently displayed as bait, they would probably go around to the back, but Leo at least won't risk that. A minute later, Kyra drops down into the room through the hole in the roof. "They went around that building across the street."
Ryan nods. Nick had predicted that; he said that Leo and Mitchell would take cover there and try to assess the situation from a distance. They've certainly seen him by now, so he sends Kyra to safety and then calls out over Valerie's shoulder. "I know you're out there, so why don't you come out and we'll have a nice chat?"
After a moment, Mitchell emerges from the ruined building across the street, hoisting his rifle over his shoulder. "I know you won't kill her," he says. "You'd lose your human shield."
"Oh, that's absolutely true," Ryan says, keeping his tone pleasant. "I would just wound her, severely, forcing you to choose between saving her and coming after me."
"There are two of us," Mitchell says, as Leo emerges from the building behind him. He's covered in dark wendigo blood and holding two handguns. "It wouldn't be much of a choice."
"That's true, but I'd much rather take on one of you than both," Ryan says. He gives Valerie's throat a little squeeze and she chokes out a high-pitched noise involuntarily. "But if you'll just step inside my humble abode, we can talk this over like civilized people."
Mitchell seems to think about this, scanning the surroundings. "First tell me how you captured her."
"It's all her own fault, very sad," Ryan says, laughing. "She came to me for help after you decided to murder your own son and she couldn't find a way to stop you. I didn't help, of course, because I wasn't about to risk my own skin for that bastard, but I gave her just enough to trust me. So when you decided to do the same to her sister today, she came to me again. I knew it was only a matter of time before you got here."
"And for some reason you want to talk," Mitchell says.
"Well, I'd like to propose an exchange," Ryan says. "I'll tell you where you can find Maya…if you'll give me a few other things."
"Like my son?"
"Please, I don't care about your son," Ryan says. He squeezes Valerie's throat hard, and she makes another choked noise. "Are you coming in or aren't you?"
Mitchell nods and walks forward. Leo goes with him, but he ranges out to the side, covering him in case any of the werewolves are on the perimeter. He's a little battered but not severely wounded, and Mitchell doesn't have a mark on him. Ryan assumes that the two of them probably pulled out as soon as they realized Jackie had tricked them, leaving their men to get slaughtered by flesh-eating monsters. It seems like them. They had obviously gotten at least one of the Larsons to tell them where the Callaghan pack was holed up, but they don't seem to have brought him with them.
Ryan keeps a close eye on them as they enter through the lobby and then moves over to the corner so they won't be able to get behind him. They come into the hotel room a minute later and look around somewhat skeptically. "Nice place you got here, Callaghan," Mitchell says. "Looks like it could collapse any minute."
"Yes, better digs is indeed on my list of demands," Ryan says. "Leo, how are you? I lied, by the way, and I do intend to kill you at my soonest opportunity."
"That ought to be fun," Leo says, smirking. "What else are your demands?"
"I really only have one, which is to get out of this hell hole, but I know you aren't going to let me do that," Ryan says. "God forbid I tell everyone that the entire war they've been fighting was based on a lie you told. So if I can't have that, I expect to be compensated for my silence. Which, to be honest, you could have just done from the beginning. It would have been a lot easier, though I suppose you enjoy being a tin-pot dictator." He's walking as he talks, sliding along the wall to get closer to the exit. The point is to get Mitchell to the right place, not get out of the room—but Mitchell doesn't know that. "So, my demands. A house with four walls and a roof. First pick of the supplies every month. Guaranteed immunity from the patrols, of course. That ought to do for a start."
"You know, now that I'm thinking about it," Mitchell says, "I don't give a damn about your demands."
He has his rifle aimed a moment later, and Ryan has time to marvel that after all these years, Mitchell is just as predictable as ever. Mitchell is actually going to shoot him through his own granddaughter, who might or might not survive such a thing. It's exactly how he had guessed that Mitchell would react to the human shield, and that's when Nick drops down through the hole in the ceiling.
They're not armed, of course, because they had no way to get any weapons from the complex. But Ryan has teeth and claws, and he's not worried. While Nick and Mitchell go tumbling to the ground and Mitchell's rifle skitters across the floor, Ryan jumps onto Leo. He's taken off guard, distracted by Nick's abrupt entrance—by Nick living and breathing—and Ryan's fangs sink into Leo's throat before he can try to get a shot off. It's too quick a death for him, and Ryan regrets it a little, but needs must when the devil drives. Valerie screams, more out of surprise than anything else, and Ryan lets Leo's body go. It hits the floor with a thump.
Nick and Mitchell are still grappling, because Nick is strong but even after everything that's happened, Ryan knows he's still reluctant to kill his father. Mitchell has no such restraint.
Then there's a gunshot, and everyone goes still.
Jackie has retrieved Mitchell's rifle from where it went flying, and put a bullet in the ceiling. Her chest is heaving for breath, and her dark skin is still deathly pale. She's clearly struggling to stay upright, but she hadn't missed her chance. Ryan feels another slight surge of almost paternal pride for the young woman.
"You okay, Dad?" Jackie asks, and Nick nods and gets up off the floor, leaving Mitchell on his back.
"Hey," Nick says quietly, "let me have the gun, Jackie. Okay?"
Jackie doesn't even look at him. She's entirely focused on Mitchell, but her hands are shaking.
"Your parents wouldn't want you to be a killer for their sake, Jackie," Mitchell says.
"It doesn't matter," Jackie says. "What my parents want doesn't matter, because they're dead, because you killed them. So why the fuck should I care what you think they would want for me?"
"Do it, then," Mitchell says.
Jackie surprises all of them by pulling the trigger. The shot hits Mitchell in the leg, and he gives a wheezing grunt of pain.
"Beg for your life, Mitchell," Jackie says, keeping the gun up and aimed. "Beg like my mother did. 'Please don't,' she said. 'I have a little girl,' she said. In her dying moments, my mother was still thinking of me. So fucking beg, Mitchell, beg for your life and I'll end it quickly for you like you did for her. Otherwise I'm going to see how many non-fatal wounds you can survive."
"Jackie," Nick says again, but he doesn't dare get too close.
Now Jackie's gaze flickers to him. The gun wavers. Jackie mumbles, "Daddy, I don't feel good." Her knees unhinge and she collapses.
Nick grabs her before she can hit the ground. The gun clatters to the floor. Mitchell sees his chance and lunges for it, but before he can get all the way to his feet on his wounded leg, there's a furious snarl and Maya barrels through the door. She takes the half-standing Mitchell in a tackle so hard that they go through the wall of the motel and into the street. Ryan can hear the crack of half of Mitchell's bones breaking on impact.
"Jackie? Jackie!" Nick is cradling his daughter in his arms, trying to ge
t a response out of her. "Jackie, look at me, talk to me—"
Ryan jerks his head towards the door. "Jared! Get your mother!"
A minute later, Jared comes running into the room with Miranda behind him. She kneels down beside Nick and presses her fingers against Jackie's neck. "Pulse is erratic but there," she says, giving her a quick onceover. "Was she complaining about any symptoms?"
"She seemed short of breath," Nick says. His voice is steady, but Ryan can smell his panic. "And she was rubbing her chest, like she was in pain."
"Okay. Was she—" Miranda frowns. "She's wet. Her hair is wet. Was she underwater earlier?"
"Y-Yeah," Valerie says, her voice breathy. "Mitchell was—he put her underwater. To make her talk."
"Okay, we need to get her back to the compound," Miranda says. "I can't treat her here."
"If there's water in her lungs, can't we just thump her on the back until she coughs it up?" Maya asks, coming back inside, covered in blood.
"It's not like that," Miranda says. "It's called secondary drowning. The water irritates the lining of the lungs and prevents them from absorbing oxygen. She needs more than what I can do for her here. Even Solomon wouldn't have the right sort of equipment."
"Then let's go," Nick says, standing up.
"We can't just walk into the—" Gabby starts.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do," Nick says. He's already on his feet and carrying Jackie. "And God help anyone who tries to get in my way. Ryan, throw Mitchell's body in the back of the truck, but cover it up. I might need it. Valerie, come with me. The rest of you, get moving—the backup is still on its way. I'll meet you at Solomon's later."
"I'm coming with you," Maya says.
"No, you aren't, and no, we're not arguing about this," Nick says, already halfway to the truck. Gabby and Jared both grab Maya to keep her from following.
"You can't, Maya," Gabby says. "If it was any of the rest of us who might get thrown in a cell, that would be one thing, but they have orders to shoot you on sight."
Maya growls. "You don't even know if they'll let you into the compound. You'll have to stop, to explain—she could be dead by the time you manage to convince them, and even then we don't know if they'll have the right equipment to treat her, if they'll be able to help her at all—"
"Do you have a better idea?" Nick snaps.
"I can turn her."
Nick hesitates. "I don't know that she would—"
"She would," Maya says. "We talked about it, after she got that bad virus over the winter. She said if she ever really got sick, she would come to me."
"Captain Donovan," Miranda says urgently, "we don't have time to talk about this. What do you want to do?"
Nick's jaw tightens. He gives his head a little shake, then turns to her and says, "You—you decide. Make a medical decision. I can't—I—"
Miranda doesn't wait for him to finish stammering. She's already turned back to Maya and says, "Do it."
Maya's fangs are already out and she grabs Jackie by the wrist, teeth sinking down into the flesh of her forearm. The teenager shudders in Nick's arms and draws in a labored breath, then starts coughing. "Easy, easy," Nick murmurs, lowering them both to the ground. He rubs his hand over Jackie's hair. "Everything's going to be okay," he says, as Jackie continues to cough raggedly. "Everything's going to be okay now."
Chapter Eighteen
They evacuate quickly, tossing both Leo and Mitchell's bodies into the truck so the backup detail won't know what happened to them. Valerie drives, while Nick stays in the front, holding onto an unconscious Jackie. Everyone else follows on foot. There are too many people to cram into Solomon's, and there aren't a lot of other safe places. They settle on the library. It's not suitable for a long-term stay, since the roof is mostly gone, but it'll do for a couple days.
They hide in the old stacks. Maya has Jackie cradled in her arms, but she's well and passed out, and Valerie says she mentioned she hadn't slept the night before. "What now?" she asks, watching her sister sleep.
"We can't give the militia long," Nick says. "By now, backup will have reached the motel. They won't find any bodies, but they will find plenty of blood. We're going to have the entire militia in town, every patrol available, by nightfall. We have to act fast to stop that."
"How?" Maya asks. "Everyone thinks you're dead, and a traitor on top of it. You can't exactly show up and start giving orders again."
"I might actually be able to," Nick says. "I'm obviously not dead, which means I might not be a traitor, either. I could tell the lieutenants that it was a ruse to get me in with the Callaghan pack. Make me look like a traitor and hang me, then have me rescued by unknown means to make it look like someone supernatural was helping me."
"Okay, but the problem is, that leaves the monsters as bad guys," Maya says. "And it still gives us no way to explain Leo and Mitchell being dead."
"The wendigos killed Leo and Mitchell," Ryan says, "and we saved Nick from them." He smiles at Nick and says, "Two birds, one stone."
"That's good," Nick says, nodding slowly. "That's very good. We called for backup and were going to head to an abandoned motel that I had been shown earlier this week, while working with the werewolves. Leo and Mitchell were killed there, but you saved me."
"Won't they just say that we only did that because we thought you were on our side?" Jared asks.
"I can spin that," Nick says. "Just tell them that I hadn't been working with you and you had no way of knowing I was anything but a random militia man on the run from a bunch of hungry monsters, but you still sheltered me anyway." He lets out a breath. "We have to take this slowly. If I waltz in there and say we're going to abandon all of Mitchell's policies, it wouldn't go well. So be—be patient with me, with all of us. We can make Cold Creek a good place to live, but it will take time."
"Maybe we can at least make it out of the valley now," Gabby says. "To see what it's like out there, and decide whether it would be better to stay or go."
"That, at least, I should be able to help with." Nick gets to his feet. "I've got to get back. Valerie, why don't you come with me?" he adds, and she nods. "Maya, I'll leave Jackie with you. Take care of my daughter, okay?"
"Always," Maya says.
*~*~*
Jackie jerks awake when there's the blare of a car horn. She flails slightly, and gentle arms grab her before she can fall. The echoes of the noise make her ears ring, and she groans, shaking her head to try to clear it. Once the noise subsides, she's surprised to find that she's not in any pain. Her memory of what happened after leaving the compound is blurry, but she's pretty sure that she should be in pain.
"Hey, hey, settle down," Maya says, and Jackie finds herself sitting up with her face pressed into Maya's shoulder. She smells great. Different. There are layers to it that Jackie never noticed before. She can't even find the words for it. "How are you feeling, you okay?"
"Yeah, I…" Jackie pats down her chest. Her hands feel different. "Am I okay?"
"You should be." Maya smoothes his hand over Jackie's hair. "You were hurt, but you…but you should be fine now."
It takes Jackie's addled brain a few minutes to sort through the facts and come to the obvious conclusion. "You…you turned me."
"I had to," Maya says, her arms tightening around Jackie slightly. "You were hurt. Bad. Miranda said you were dying, so…I'm sorry."
"No, no, don't be sorry," Jackie says. She manages to sit up straighter and rubs a hand over her face. "I'm not angry. I was just a little surprised. I mean, you'd think I would remember a thing like that, but I don't. I don't remember much of anything after Valerie got me into the truck. I think I passed out for a little while, and then…I sort of remember seeing my dad? But it's pretty blurry."
"You were totally out of it by the time that…" Maya shakes her head a little. "Miranda said it was called secondary drowning. That you must have still had some water in your lungs, and it was keeping your lungs from taking in oxygen or something. I guess�
�Mitchell had you underwater for a while."
"Yeah." Jackie takes a breath. That, she remembers. She remembers Mitchell putting her underwater, over and over again. "He wanted to know where you were. I sent him to the water treatment plant. I hoped they would kill him."
Maya takes Jackie's face in between her hands. "You're amazing," she says. "I can't get over how brave you are."
Jackie rubs a hand over the back of her head, but doesn't protest. "I'd thought about it, you know. About the day he would eventually figure out I was the mole. I mean, you can't prepare for something like that, but at least I'd thought about it. Researched the ways he might do it, what he did to other people. And thought about how…I'd have to lie. How lying would be my only chance." She lets out a sick little laugh. "I was actually glad when the wendigos started giving you all that trouble because I finally knew where I could send him."
"I guess that did work out," Maya says, still stroking her hair.
Jackie leans into her shoulder. "How's my dad? Valerie?"
"They're okay. Your dad went back to the complex to explain away his resurrection as an undercover act, and try to rein in the militia before they could firebomb the entire town looking for whoever killed Mitchell and Leo."
"Oh." Jackie swallows. "They're dead, then?"
"Yeah. Ryan killed Leo, and I…you really don't remember what happened?"
Jackie casts back in her memory. In between the haze of pain and exhaustion, she seems to remember looking down the barrel of a gun. "Did I kill Mitchell?"
"No. You were going to, but you passed out. He went for the gun, so I grabbed him and…I'm sorry. I know you wanted to kill him."
"I did, but that wasn't what mattered most of all. What mattered was that he was dead. That he couldn't hurt people anymore, that he would never make another orphan. That was what mattered to me. That's what my parents would have wanted. So thank you. For doing what I couldn't."
"You're welcome." Maya leans down and kisses her on the forehead. "You hungry? We're having a feast since we had all that stuff we gathered up for the run."
The More Things Change Page 26