by India Kells
When he’d returned from war, broken and alone, studying had been his saving grace, his new purpose, but one that had its limits. Sharing his passion with others was his true purpose, and one that brought him a sense of peace during restless nights.
Chicago had become his home when he’d started university, and that link had deepened with the urbex. It was like going under the skin of a mythical beast—the more he explored and dug, the more he wanted to know and inspire people to become as obsessed as he was.
The attention of the participants intensified, and it felt like a drug to him, as if everyone were on the edge of their chair, hanging on to his every word. He checked the blond beauty to see her leaning forward as well, her lush mouth open, her attention solely on him. He suddenly felt like they were the only people in the room. How could a woman he’d briefly exchanged a few words with hook him to such extent?
It was time to wrap up before he realized it. Students swarmed around him, pulling at him with more questions and he lost sight of the blonde. The crowd trickled out until, to his surprise, the only two people left in the room was himself, and the blond, now standing by the door.
“Would you have a few minutes for me, Professor Radcliffe?”
His dick jerked, his imagination going straight to the gutter before professionalism and civility took over. “Are you here to sue me because I bumped into you? If that’s the reason, you didn’t have to stay for the whole lecture.”
She shook her head and approached with a full-blown smile. “I’m fine. It takes more than that to hurt me. And let me remind you that you caught me before I fell. I didn’t get the chance to thank you for that. You have quick reflexes, and that saved me a few bruises on my butt.”
Crossing his arms, he leaned against the desk behind him. “So you came to thank me? Endured my entire lecture to do so?”
“I was surprised twice. I very much enjoyed your lesson. I didn’t know they taught urban studies at university.”
“Most of humanity lives in urban areas, which makes it a fascinating field of study. You can see it through the filter of history, environment, architecture, social studies, or health.”
“And it’s clear that history and architecture are the two filters you’re most interested in.”
As she spoke, intelligence and interest shone through her eyes, and something more Luke couldn’t put his finger on. “You said I surprised you on two things. What is the other?”
A faint blush came to her cheek, almost indiscernible. “I thought with all your accomplishments, you’d be older.”
“I’m not that young, lady.”
At least she had the good form to wince. “Okay, a lot older. Like decrepit.”
Luke couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, I doubt my previous self would’ve been able to stop your fall. Now, there’s one question I’d like to ask, apart from your name. Why were you looking for me?”
The easy-going, almost flirtatious connection dissipated, and a newfound intensity took its place. “I work with a security company in Chicago who’s looking at securing buildings recently broken into through the old tunnels. We researched on our own, but we need to better understand those tunnels, and your name was mentioned as the best around. We need your help.”
All his good humor fled at her words. It wasn’t the first time that a security firm had come to him for consulting work. Some even came in disguise, hiding the fact they were criminals, wanting to know more about the underground network and how they could use it for their trafficking. He didn’t know which of them this woman was working for, but he had no intention of accommodating her.
“Miss-whoever-you-are, I have a lot of work to do here, and have no time for side jobs. If you want more information, you can read any of my papers that are available online.”
Luke prepared himself for some arguing, but the lady only nodded. “I understand. Please, allow me you give you my card if you ever change your mind.”
The nameless woman came closer and put a business card on the desk beside him before leaving. The sound of her heels soon vanished, and Luke exhaled, a little disappointed after expecting the usual argument.
As he went behind his desk to put his stuff into his bag, the business card lay there ominously, calling to him. When he took it, twirling it in his fingers, noting the only thing printed on it was a name and phone number which was as mysterious as the woman herself.
Noctem Consulting
He should tear it up and throw it away, but instead, he slid it inside his pocket. Who was this woman and this company? Why did they want him to do a consultation?
Luke was only a civilian now and he wasn’t the Vigilante but with his instincts screaming at him and so many questions forming in his mind, he wouldn’t stay idle while lowlifes hit his city, even if they did come in the form of a stunning, unforgettable blonde.
Chapter 4
Dripping in sweat, arms throbbing, and lungs on fire, Sloane abandoned the punching bag and paced, her wrapped hands on her hips.
The exertion felt good, grounding her, and as many of the team members were using it at the moment, it was a noisy atmosphere.
On the mat, Lance, Joshua Chadwick, and Melina Gardner were repeating attack drills over and over, until muscle memory kicked in. Preparation and constant training were vital, as in the field, they not only fought criminals, but often, the police as well. Apart from each other, they had no allies.
Sloane grabbed a bottle of water from a concealed fridge and gulped it down. She had more energy to burn but decided against pushing herself. Night would soon take the city and she needed to be on full alert.
Immediately, she wondered what Professor Radcliffe was up to. The man had made an impression on her, on so many levels, but only one she would acknowledge. He had the knowledge she was desperate for, the knowledge she needed to stop the trafficking of Phantom, and even to trace it back to the source, the mysterious lab where the drug was coming from.
“Hey, you want to spar with me?”
Jerked from her thoughts by Melina, Sloane shook her head. “Nah. I’m done here.”
As Lance and Joshua were locked in an intricate wrestling hold, Melina lowered her voice. “Are you okay? You didn’t seem to truly attack the punching bags.”
With a sign, she rolled her shoulders. “You know when you feel you’re getting closer to your goal, but a door gets slammed in your face? I miscalculated with the professor. I moved too fast, without doing the appropriate research and background checks, and my impatience punched me in the face. I had to back away, if only to keep the potential lines of communication open.”
Their team doctor winced. “You’re human, Sloane. We all want to close this case, maybe you more than anyone else.”
Her throat closed, but Sloane refused to let it show. Melina was right and knew first-hand the damage drugs could do to individuals, and also to entire families.
“So what’s your next step? You’ve stumbled, but I know you’re not the kind of woman to stay down. What do you know about him?”
Indeed, when she’d returned from the university, she’d jumped on the computer and dug. “Former Marine who used a government program to go to school when he was discharged. Obtained his post-doctorate two years ago and became a teacher soon after. He’s discrete, only posts pictures or drawings on social media.”
It was then she realized that the pictures she’d seen in his office were his. Photographer, artist, scholar, it was an unusual mix for a former Marine.
“A Marine? How’s his record?”
“Stellar. He was offered many opportunities to advance, but turned them down, and instead started fresh. That’s courage in my opinion.”
Melina nodded. “Brawn and brain. What does he look like?”
Sloane elbowed the blonde doctor. “What kind of question is that?”
Far from being impressed by her frown, Melina’s green eyes sparkled like a cat. “Ah, a defensive reaction. That means he made an impression on you!�
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Sloane didn’t know what made her angrier, Melina’s teasing, or the fact that her friend might be right.
Melina’s sudden outburst redirected Lance’s and Joshua’s attention. Both men took a break, and Sloane cursed. The last thing she wanted was to be sidetracked into something she had no intention of indulging in. Melina laughed, explaining the outburst, which made Sloane frown even more.
Joshua scratched the back of his head. “I thought you were having a hot affair with that girl, a barista, or something.”
Sloane rolled her eyes. “That ended months ago. And why do you care?”
Her burly Welsh colleague lifted a hand. “Don’t bite my head off. I just can’t keep up with who you’re with.”
“Damn, you make me sound as if my bed has a fucking revolving door!”
Probably sensing the tension was about to get the better of her, Lance put on hand on Joshua’s shoulder, but peered deep into Sloane’s eyes. “We’re not judging you here. We don’t care who’s in your bed, man or woman. All we want is for you to be happy. And lately, it looks as if you’re going through the motions, caught in your head. We’re just relieved to see you hyped up again.”
Sloane swallowed the rising emotions. She would never say it, but she was grateful for their tight-knit group, even if they sometimes annoyed her like a blood family.
“Listen, I’m only hyped because of the possibility of closing in on our target. Professor Radcliffe is certainly not what I expected, but even if he caught my eye, it doesn’t mean that he’ll get in the way of my job.”
This time, the energy shifted, the circle tightening around her.
Lance, keeping a hand on Joshua, touched her hand next. Melina gripped her waist, their little quartette forming an imperfect, but solid unit.
Lance’s voice was low, but strong. “We never doubted you. We all get the job done, Sloane. All of us. Usque Ad Finem.”
To the very end. At hearing the motto that was inked on all of them, that bonded them in their mission to safeguard and protect their city, Sloane settled more. Betrayal and suspicions had scarred her so deeply, she sometimes reacted the wrong way, even with her own team members. Old habits were difficult to change, if ever.
“Oh! Are we having a group hug? I want a group hug!”
Sloane rolled her eyes as Melina, Joshua, and Lance laughed at Devin, who’d barged in, a phone in one hand, a bag of chips in the other. His comic t-shirt blinding with its colors.
He skipped their way. “What? No hug? You’re a sorry band of pathetic losers. I, on the other hand, deserve a one for the information I’m bringing you. So come here, darling Sloane.”
He extended his arms as if he expected her to participate in his nonsense. “Spit it out, and I may refrain from punching you, geek boy.”
Unfazed, he put his phone in his pocket before putting his hand in the bag of chips and scarfing down a handful. “Hey! Be respectful of the geek, especially one as awesome as I am.”
Joshua shook his head and slapped Devin’s shoulder before leaving the gym. Melina was still laughing when she disappeared into the locker rooms.
Emptying the few remnant crumbs from the bag into his mouth, Devin smashed it into a ball and threw it into a corner.
Lance growled and went to get it before putting it in his pocket. “Stop turning every inch of this space into a tip. I swear you’re worse than a teenager.”
Sloane couldn’t agree more, but more pressing matters needed her attention. “I hope the fact you’re this excited means you found something good.”
Wiping his greasy fingers on his jeans, Devin took his phone out again. “Yeah. When I came in, Lance told me about your intention to use Professor Radcliffe to get more information about the tunnels. I don’t know what you did or said when you finally met him, but I started getting ghost pings soon after.”
Pings were alarms that the group got when someone did a search on their company name, phone number, or vigilantes in general.
“Why ‘ghost’ pings?”
“Well, it means that someone isn’t opening just any web browser to do research but took the time to hide under a few protective layers. If our guard wasn’t up, those pings would’ve remained undetected.”
Lance crossed his arms, all business. “You know who did the search? Professor Radcliffe?”
Devin smiled. “Wasn’t so straightforward, but yeah. He didn’t use any of his official computers or phones and would have remained a mystery if I hadn’t done the initial search for Sloane on the dear professor earlier. No offense, Slo, but I went deeper, and found a nickname linked to his military past. When I cross-verified the information found on the ping, the intruder’s name made sense. The only mistake he made was using his team’s nickname for him.”
Sloane’s curiosity spiked. No surprise there, a Marine with his service record would certainly take precautions to hide his identity. “His nickname?”
“Yeah, Hollow Chaser.”
Her heart stuttered at the name. The chaser of holes, tunnels, and caves. It represented his dedication and was proof his passion had taken root way before university. Had it been a passion as a young boy or did he find it, gun in hand, during his combat in Iraq and Afghanistan? She shouldn’t ask those questions, they were too personal, and she needed to focus on what could be useful.
“So he used his alias to dig up information on Noctem Consulting. Big deal. I left the card with the phone number. He probably saw what we made available.”
Lance didn’t seem impressed, nor was she.
“First point of interest, not only did he check out Noctem, but he also did extensive research to make sure we weren’t linked to some conglomerate or a terrorist group. It seems it’s not the first time the good professor has had a request for help. It’s probably one of the reasons he turned you down so fast, I guess. The guy is careful and has been burned before.”
“Do we know if he accepted any of those offers?” Sloane was worried about the possibility of having other people battling her for his expertise.
“That’s my second bit of good news. He used another device to do his research, but it allowed me to wiggle myself into a teeny crack, big enough to access part of his personal email account. The emails date from the last three years and have been deleted since, but you know me. Nothing can be deleted forever. Some are small criminals with big egos. I’ll forward the list to the team for verification, and one name led to another until I found the tail end of a fucking snake: the Maximon Group.”
Every cell in Sloane’s body went into high alert at the name. When the rumors of Phantom hitting Chicago became scarily real, the entire team had been on edge, trying to discover the identity of who had won the exclusive bid. The winner turned out to be Mr. White, the elusive head of Maximon and a dangerous man. He’d attacked one of the Vigilante team members, Sam, and his girlfriend, Orla Karlsen, a hotshot journalist at the Chicago Tribune. Orla had almost been killed in the process, and Mr. White had escaped. He remained their target, along with bringing the entire distribution network down.
“White contacted Radcliffe directly?”
Devin huffed. “That would mean White is stupid, which he isn’t. No, one of his minions is doing the talking and sending an email every week, and lately, the tone is hardening, sounding more like a threat. I can show you the emails if you like.”
“And what’s Radcliffe’s answer?” Sloane could guess the answer already.
“The first few times, a resounding no, and after a while, Radcliffe sent all of them to the trash.”
Lance paced. “It was a damn dangerous move. And a dumb one.”
Sloane didn’t like the tone at all. “Hey! How could he know that ignoring that request would be dangerous? It’s not like he has a single clue what he’s facing!”
“Whoa, Slo! Don’t turn feral on me! What’s up with you?” Lance lifted his hands as if preparing for her to go to for his throat, and Sloane had to take a step back. Her reaction was way over
the top, defending a man she knew nothing about.
“Sorry about that. It’s just that I hate seeing an innocent man so close to being hurt by White. That monster has destroyed enough lives at it is.”
Lance frowned, and Devin looked at her as if she’d sprouted a second head, but her friends let it pass.
Their hacker in residence stepped forward. “Okay, now that we’ve all agreed White is the devil incarnate, there’s one last thing, and please don’t tear my very handsome face off, but there’s more bad news. Or good news. It all depends on your perspective.”
Dread settled deep in her belly. “Spit it out, Devin. And make it quick.”
“Okay, okay. I came across communications between White and one of his henchmen. They’re tired of Radcliffe’s refusals and are about to make a move on him. I think that White’s intention is to rapidly expand and increase distribution.”
Sloane started moving. “When are they planning to attack? It’s going to be a kidnapping, I presume?”
Devin followed with Lance on his heels. “Soon, but I couldn’t find when it will take place. Just that money was exchanged, and people called. I’ll keep checking, but I can’t answer that question yet.”
Sloane went directly to the gear room as Devin headed back to his computers. Lance was on the phone. “I’ll get more eyes on the situation for you. Devin is probably checking where Radcliffe is. How do you want to deal with it? Suited or not?”
One look at her watch told her that night had already fallen. And to be honest, she wasn’t sure there would be enough time to convince the professor as the mysterious blonde, so the wild, pink-headed woman in the Vigilante suit would have to do for now.
“Protection for now, and we can come up with a new way to approach him tomorrow as Noctem Consulting. Convince him that we’re the good guys. Well, the better guys.”
Lance nodded. “Good call. I’ll keep you updated on the latest. Stay safe, Sloane. Keep your guy safe.”