by A and E Kirk
“Because I wanted to keep Ayden occupied,” Matthias said. “He’s still upset over leaving Aurora alone and Jayden is the best one at dealing with him when he’s like that.”
Blake rolled his eyes. “But other than Jayden, Tristan is the only one good enough with computers to do a search on the security feeds.”
“Oh,” Matthias said, frowning. Then he unfolded his arms and sat at the desk. “Okay. I mean how hard can it be?”
He stared at the three screens. They were split into four sections, each frozen on a scene in a different area of the Novo compound with a timestamp from early yesterday listed on the bottom.
“Maybe we should get the security guard back in here again,” Logan said.
“No,” Matthias said. “If we do find Tristan talking to Heather, we don’t want the guard to see him and start asking questions.” Matthias glanced around. “There’s no keyboard. Or mouse.”
Logan tapped his finger on the glass table. An illuminated keyboard showed up built into the glass. Logan pointed to the two rectangular sections to the right and left of the keyboard. “With your finger, you can use those like a mouse.”
“Oh. Thanks.” Matthias clicked on each of the screens. The video feeds came to life and the timestamp started moving forward. Matthias smiled. “See. Now we each watch a monitor and look for Tristan.”
After several minutes where none of them saw any sign of Tristan, Blake said, “This is going to take forever. Can you speed it up?”
Matthias clicked a right-pointing arrow next to the timestamp. The video feed moved faster. Still no sign of Tristan.
“What if he’s never in any of the camera sights?” Logan asked.
“Seems unlikely,” Matthias answered.
“Speed it up more,” Blake said.
Matthias clicked the forward arrow a couple of times.
“Not so fast. I can’t watch them all. Here, let me do it.” Blake pushed Matthias’ hand aside.
“No. I’ve got it,” Matthias insisted.
As Matthias and Blake fought for control, one of the screens froze.
“See what you did.”
“Me? That was you.”
The other two screens went black.
“Great.”
“That definitely wasn’t me.”
“Who else?”
“Could be aliens. Now what?”
Logan leaned over the keyboard. “Maybe if we hit the back button it will reverse. No, that didn’t work.”
“How about escape?” Matthias said.
“Dude, you think Tristan escaped? Then what are we doing here?”
“No, the escape button.”
“Novo has an escape button? Hope the patients don’t know about that.”
“Perhaps I could be of assistance,” came a deep voice.
The Boys jumped. Matthias almost fell out of the chair.
“Jeez!”
“What the hell!”
“You!”
Eros leaned casually inside the doorway, a faint pink haze quickly dissipating around him, leaving a fresh springtime scent lingering in the air. He wore a blazer with a Novo logo on the breast pocket and a self-satisfied smirk on his lips.
“Never fear, gentlemen, I have what you need.” Eros winked and moved aside.
The female guard who had escorted them earlier entered the room. She stared with adoration at Eros, then reached a hand to touch the shining waves of the demon god’s dark golden hair. But Eros gently turned her away and led her toward the desk.
“At the moment, it is your brain I so desperately desire, my dear.” Eros motioned for Matthias to vacate the chair, then guided the woman into the seat. “Now if you would be so kind as to locate him.”
She sighed dreamily. “Of course.” Then her voice lowered to a throaty invitation. “Anything for you. Absolutely anything.”
Eros motioned to the monitors. Reluctantly, she turned her ardent gaze away from him, but within moments had the screens working and rapidly clicked through footage.
Matthias grabbed Eros’ arm and dragged him far away from the woman. “What are you doing here?”
“You requested to find Tristan’s movements and whereabouts over the last twenty-four hours,” Eros said. “This woman can help do so.”
“How do you know what we want?” Matthias demanded. “What the hell is going on?”
“Found him,” the guard said.
Eros and the Boys crowded around and watched her scroll through the footage.
“The last sighting I have is at a nurses station,” she said. “Then nothing. But, wait a minute.” She frowned. “That’s odd. I think someone erased some footage.”
“Can you get it back?” Matthias asked.
“I think so.” The woman worked her fingers over the keyboard. Moments later she smiled. “Got it.”
The monitors all showed Tristan entering the Recreation Room, sitting at Heather’s table, Jane going bonkers, Tristan’s attempt to escape, and finally the large male nurses jabbing Tristan with a needle, his collapse, and subsequent removal by the men.
“Jeez, they’re big,” Logan said.
Blake shrugged. “Not that big.”
“Where did they take him?” Matthias asked, his voice anxious.
The woman worked the keyboard, but after a few moments, she shook her head. “I can’t find anymore footage of him anywhere.”
“Nothing?” Logan said. “But he couldn’t just disappear.”
“He’s nowhere I can detect,” she told them.
“Do not fret my dear,” Eros said. “It is because someone disabled the security cameras angled near the old basement entrances.”
The woman smiled at Eros. “That could be true, but no one uses those entrances anymore. They’re sealed off and unused by any Novo personnel.”
“What basement?” Matthias asked, looking from the woman to Eros.
“Where the demons are keeping Tristan,” Eros said.
Matthias shot Eros a scathing look. “Demons have Tristan?! Why didn’t you tell us?”
“I just did,” Eros said amiably. “And they are running out of patience which I already mentioned to Aurora.”
“Aurora? What good does that do?” Matthias shouted. “You should have told us!”
“But your desire was to track Tristan’s movements. Which is why I provided assistance.” Eros lightly touched the woman’s shoulder.
“Assistance?” Matthias said. “She’s now become a liability we have to worry about. We’re trying to keep everything low key. If she tells someone, we’re in trouble.”
“Wait a minute, demons?” Logan said with doubtful scorn. “There can’t be any demons at Novo.”
Eros raised a mocking brow. “I am here.”
“Yeah, but—” Logan froze. Then turned paler than usual and began fiddling with his tie. “Crap.”
Matthias leaned over the guard’s shoulder and pointed at the computer screens. “Find Ayden and Jayden Ishida. The others we arrived with. They’re here on Novo grounds somewhere. Do it now.”
The woman gazed lovingly at Eros, and when he nodded, she set about working on the computer again. “Here they are. Near the west pool walking with a patient.”
They watched Mr. Grant scurry ahead, Ayden and Jayden following, then the three stopped behind some trees to talk to a girl hiding behind the foliage.
Matthias squinted at the screen, then scowled and slammed his fist on the table. The computer screens flickered. “No bloody way,” he groaned.
Logan’s jaw dropped.
Blake smiled. “Hey, look. It’s babe. How did she get here?”
Matthias’ cold eyes shifted to Eros.
The demon god shrugged. “Did I not mention, I teleported her to the premises?”
“No,” Matthias glared. “You seemed to have left out that detail, along with a whole lot of other pertinent information.”
“Well
,” Eros said, clearly miffed. “No need to evoke hostility. You have no understanding of the perils I have been through. The situation was dire. I knew the demons holding Tristan were utilizing the subbasements, but the place is an utter maze and Aurora can pinpoint their exact location, thereby making her the most logical individual to rescue your dear comrade.”
“Or cause a bloody disaster like she usually does.” By the time Matthias looked back at the screen, Aurora wore a Novo cap on her head, with the majority of her bright red hair stuffed inside.
“The guy with the leather jacket doesn’t seem very happy.” The guard leaned forward. “And what is the other guy doing with his thumbs? Ew. Doesn’t that hurt?”
“Yeah,” Matthias said. “Aurora is a pain.”
“Despite your usual negativity, she is your best hope,” Eros said with a frown. “Since the demons holding Tristan will not tolerate his existence much longer, his life faces imminent peril. Once Aurora finds him, I can find her.”
“How?” Blake asked.
Eros shrugged. “I have a unique set of skills.”
“You’re a demon,” Logan said. “Your skills are to track her so you can kill her.”
Eros fluttered a hand to his chest. His bottom lip jutted out in a pout. “Your distrust is ill conceived. I have already saved so many. You have no comprehension.”
“Enough,” Matthias said. “For now we need him. Unfortunately. Let’s go get Ayden, Jayden, and the moron, find Tristan and get the hell out of here.”
“They’re leaving,” the guard said.
The group watched Aurora take off running, putting her hand on her head to keep the Novo cap from flying off. Ayden and Jayden followed.
“Where is she taking them now?” Matthias said, irritated. “Other than into danger, no doubt.”
“Toward a storage building,” the guard said. “But the cameras will lose them any second.”
Aurora, Ayden, and Jayden turned a corner, out of sight. Despite the guard working the keyboard and changing up the images on the screens, there was no sign of the trio.
“She has located Tristan,” Eros said. “Let us go.”
He headed toward the door, Blake on his heels.
“Blake,” Matthias said. “Where are you going?”
“With demon dude to save our friends. Duh.”
Matthias looked at Logan, who shrugged.
“What other choice do we have?” Logan said.
After taking a moment to make a highly aggravated noise, Matthias headed toward the door, but Logan hesitated and looked at the guard. “Uh, what about her?”
Eros approached the woman, took her face gently in his hands and kissed her softly, lingering long enough that the Boys gave each other suspicious looks. When he finally lifted his lips, the woman’s eyes fluttered, and she sighed with pleasure.
“After you remove any footage of the redheaded girl,” Eros told her, “you will retain no memory of our encounter today or of these young gentlemen. Understood?”
“Of course, Dr. Oser.” The woman smiled, then turned around and typed on the keyboard.
Eros walked out the door with the Boys in tow.
“You’re sure that’s going to work?” Logan asked.
“It has never failed.”
“Impressive, dude.” Blake nodded. “Now let’s go save the damsel.”
“We’re saving Tristan,” Logan said.
“Why did she call you Doctor Oser?” Matthias asked.
As they entered the halls of Novo, Eros shrugged and in a blink of the Boys’ eyes, Eros changed his attire. Instead of the Novo blazer, he wore a shirt, tie, and a white doctor’s coat.
“I am a being of many talents,” Eros said. “And today my specialty is helping you save the day.”
“Out of the goodness of your heart, right?” Matthias said with sarcasm.
“What other reason would I have?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet,” Matthias answered. And that is what worried him most. But he followed the demon god anyway, knowing Logan was right. They didn’t have much choice.
When Eros led them down into the creepy and, apparently, abandoned bowels of Novo, Matthias’ misgivings heightened. Trusting a demon, one who had put them all in so much danger since they’d met him, one of the most powerful on earth, one which the Mandatum would do just about anything to get back into hell, meant he and his team teetered on a very dangerous tightrope. But Tristan’s life was on the line. And right now, nothing else mattered.
“She’s just in here.” Eros led them into a room, their steps leaving footprints in the deep dust.
There was no moronic redhead in the room. In fact, it was entirely empty.
Shadows pulled into Matthias’ fists. “This better not be some sort of trap.”
“There,” Eros told Blake as he pointed at the floor. “Blow it right there.”
Matthias’ brow wrinkled. “What do you mean ‘blow it?’ Wait one minute.”
The explosion knocked Matthias off his feet. Logan blasted back into a wobbly hover, bow drawn and pointed at Eros. The demon god rolled his eyes.
Matthias coughed and swatted away the dust and debris. “Bugger all! Why did you blow it?!”
Blake pointed at Eros. “Demon dude said to blow it!”
Matthias shoved to his feet. “He stalked Aurora, stole the Flint files, and nearly brought us Hell on Earth! Don’t listen to him!”
Eros raised a finger. “I successfully stalked Aurora, stole the Flint files, and stopped Hell on Earth. I’m exactly the ‘dude’ to listen to.”
“Shut up!”
“You nearly killed us!” Tristan screeched.
“Dude!” Blake startled, a smile dazzling his face. “You’re alive!”
“No thanks to you!”
“Babe!”
OPERATION:
Brains Matter
LOCATION:
Novo Pool
“No, Blake, we are not having a wet speedo contest,” Tristan said, happy he and the guys had finally gotten together, but irritated that Blake carried him in his arms.
One, it was embarrassing, although, admittedly he still felt weak and somewhat groggy, the drugs clearly not out of his system yet. And two, he was forced to listen to Blake flirt with Heather. Not that she seemed to mind.
“Don’t worry,” Blake told Tristan. “Next to me, every guy feels inadequate in a speedo. Heather understands.”
Heather smiled up at Blake then gave Tristan a sympathetic nod. “Sure, Blue Eyes. It’s okay.”
“I didn’t say I felt inadequate,” Tristan said, but Blake and Heather weren’t listening.
When the group burst out of the underground horror of Novo and into the fresh air surrounding one of the pristine pools, Heather squealed with delight and scurried to the edge, splashing her face with cool water. The smell of chlorine mingled with jasmine and a bundle of floral scents, while a fountain gurgled a tranquil, melodic beat. Poolside, patients reclined on lounge chairs.
Tristan saw his dad at the far end of the pool. He wasn’t alone. Five men surrounded him, three of which held automatic weapons.
Maybe Novo already knew about the demons kidnapping Tristan and had given his dad an armed protection detail. He sighed with relief, but then Aurora grabbed Ayden’s arm.
“The people talking to Mr. Grant are demons.”
Ayden raised a hand to shade his eyes. “There are two nurses and three guards.” He paused, then added warily, “Armed guards.”
A jolt of fear washed away any lingering grogginess. Tristan squirmed out of Blake’s arms and looked from Aurora to his dad then back at Aurora. “They’re not possessed humans?”
“No,” she said. “They’re just demons. Those same ugly haptogian mols. Fat heads, tails, bunch of tongues, even more teeth.” She turned to Eros. “You can see them, right?”
“Of course,” Eros said.
Then Jayden start
ed talking excitedly about the code, the brilliance of Aunt M, and the wristbands hiding the demons’ true form, and how the shipment was only sent to Novo.
“A test run?” Logan said. “That’s good.”
“Except for the fact that demons are holding guns on my dad!” Tristan growled and started forward. “Let’s go.”
“Whoa.” Matthias blocked his path.
Tristan fisted his hands and fought the urge to punch Matthias in the face. How dare he keep him from saving his father.
“We have to be careful,” Matthias said evenly. “No one else can see them so we can’t just attack. And they have weapons. Let’s get a plan together.”
While the rest of them argued caution, Tristan’s anger grew in exponential proportions. On some level he understood their reasoning, but that quickly became smothered by a growing rage.
Matthias held up a hand. “Just wait a minute.”
Before the Aussie could continue, the situation escalated.
“No,” Mr. Grant said, sounding anxious. “For the last time, I don’t know where Tristan is, and I’m not going with you. I’ll wait for him here. I don’t need any sort of treatment.” Two demons manhandled Tristan’s dad. He struggled but was no match for their brute strength. “Put that needle away!” he shouted.
Treatment, Tristan thought. Like Heather’s treatment? They could destroy his father’s mind all over again, and this time, Tristan would lose him for good. Fury flashed hot.
“Hey!” Tristan yelled. “Leave him alone!”
Matthias groaned.
Tristan couldn’t care less.
Then his dad smiled and waved. “There’s my son now! And my doctor. Hello, Dr. Oser! This is excellent. I’ve been wanting you two to meet.”
They all turned to Eros.
Tristan felt his blood boil. “You messed with my dad’s head?”
Eros raised his palms and backed up a few steps. “I saved him. You should be thanking me.”
Thank you? Tristan thought, I should kill you! He made a fast move toward Eros.
Ayden got in his way and grabbed his arms. Tristan thought about punching him too, but when Ayden murmured, “Not now. We’ve got other problems,” and nodded toward his dad, reason penetrated the rage.