Nocturnal Revelations

by Amanda S Green

  “But she is getting better?” His concern for his younger cousin, his childhood best friend, shone through.

  “She is. I swear it.”

  He relaxed, relieved.

  “We’ve run the images through our databases, Jael,” Flynn took up.

  “And?”

  Hope sparked when she saw the gleam in his eyes. She knew that look. She’d seen it often enough when she served under him while still on active duty. It was the look he had before a mission, one where he knew they had their target pinpointed and without a hole to bolt to.

  “Still no hit on the shooter. The tech geeks think he’s had his record erased by someone with skills,” Mateo said. “But they think they’ve found a thread and are working on pulling it.”

  “The other one?”

  “We got a hit.”

  Jael schooled her expression not to react. She knew that tone of voice. Worse, she had a feeling it meant they’d confirmed everything Ellen and Mac told her. If so, they were about to go to war with the lycans and heaven help them all.

  “And?” she asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer.

  “He joined the local pack around the same time Wilcox did. Before then, he’d been a member of the Montana pack. The local pard leader told me when I contacted him that he’d been nothing but trouble while there. It got bad enough, the pack leader gave him a choice: meet in the Circle or leave, never to return. He chose to leave.” Mateo glanced at his notes before continuing. “He drifted for a bit and our records don’t have much about him for the next few years. Then he landed here and joined the pack.”

  “Mac said she recognized him from when she met Wilcox in the Circle,” she said.

  “Then we have all we need to grab him up.” Flynn glanced down at the table and then at the two of them. “Mateo, you have an op to plan. I want that bastard in our custody ASAP. If you can grab him up tonight, all the better. It will give us something to tell Culver come morning.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  “Jael, you now have command of Mac’s squad. I’ll inform Norwood. He’ll understand, especially since we need him to continue with the DPD side of the investigation. Too many questions will be asked if the two of you are pulled off again.”

  She admitted that much was true. It had taken Mac months to convince Sears and the others there was nothing untoward, much less paranormal, about her. She’d simply been very, very lucky when she woke in the morgue after Wilcox attacked her. Fortunately, there were other examples of people being declared dead, only to wake up later. Still, it wouldn’t take much for them to start wondering if they were wrong.

  “The only question,” Flynn continued, “is if you do so in your current rank or if I mustang you to officer territory.”

  Her eyes went wide. Hands raised before her as if to ward off a blow, she took a step back. The moment she did, Mateo burst out laughing. Flynn grinned. She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. She wasn’t an officer, never would be an officer and they knew it.

  “Sir, you know it’s not wise to threaten the company’s gunny, much less the master guns,” she said as she took another step back.

  “No, but a lowly lieutenant is something else.” He grinned devilishly.

  “General, I swear I will leave the Reserves if you do.”

  “And I will block it, with the blessings of the President.”

  “Please, General, I’m not an officer.” It was as close to a whine as she’d done since being a teen.

  “Then I don’t want to hear any bellyaching about stepping up and commanding the squad until your captain is back to duty. Is that clear, Master Guns?”

  “Sir, yes, sir.”

  She’d agree to just about anything to avoid being mustanged. And, damn it, he knew it.

  “Then I will leave the two of you to plan the op. Mateo, keep me informed. I’m going to run by the hospital to check on your cousin.”

  “Take someone with you, sir,” Mateo said. “Until this is over, none of us goes alone.”

  Jael fought not to smile at the look Flynn gave him. Then the general nodded. Just to make sure, Mateo called upstairs to have the general’s driver and an escort standing by. Then he turned his attention to Jael and his worry shone through.

  “Mac really is going to be all right?”

  “She is.” She grinned. She’d told the rest of the family her friend’s news. Might as well tell him. “She’s also about three months pregnant.”

  Mateo’s jaw didn’t drop but she knew it was a close thing. He looked at her in surprise and she nodded once. The moment she did, he pulled her close, hugging her as she knew he wanted to hug Mac. Then he stepped back, worry reflected in his dark eyes.

  “The baby?”

  “Is fine.” She waited until he motioned for her to continue. Since they were alone, she broke with protocol. “Mateo, she was damned lucky. I’m not going to lie. She had her vest on. Otherwise, she’d probably be paralyzed, assuming she lived. The shooter tried for a kill shot to the back. But luck was on her side, luck and her shifter physiology. As long as she doesn’t do anything foolish—and as long as the shooter doesn’t get another chance at her—she’ll fully recover and carry the baby to term.”

  “A baby.” He grinned gaily. Then he sobered. “Let’s get to work. There’s a lot to do and not much time to do it.”

  As if that was their signal, the door opened and members of their two squads entered. They took places around the conference table or leaned against the wall. Jael looked around, taking a mental roll call. It didn’t surprise her to see most of Mateo’s squad present. She had a feeling the others were busy elsewhere in the warehouse, getting it ready, setting up equipment and verifying security. As for her own squad, half a dozen were present. The others were either on their way or already working under orders from General Flynn.

  “Listen up!”

  Instantly, the room fell silent and all eyes turned to Mateo. He stepped to the front of the room and Jael allowed herself a small smile. The man had a long way from the wet behind the ears second lieutenant she remembered. Like his cousin, he matured into a natural leader. Now he was a man with a mission.

  “You each know what happened to Captain Santos. She was ambushed in her own home and shot by an unknown assailant. DPD has done an excellent job running down leads and trying to identify the person or persons responsible. However, they are operating at a disadvantage. The latest information on the case has revealed a connection to the local lycan pack. That’s why we’ve been called in.” He turned to the whiteboard behind him and swiped a hand across the surface, pulling up pictures of the shooter and the man from the rental agency. “Master Gunnery Sergeant Lindsay has been placed in command of Delta Squad by General Flynn. There are a number of reasons for it, the most pressing of which is that Lt. Norwood needs to maintain his part in the investigative team for DPD. Master Guns, why don’t you bring us up to speed?”

  Knowing better than to argue, she stepped forward and then turned to face the room. “You already know the basics. This man.” She pointed to the picture of the shooter. “Rang the bell and when the captain answered the door, he shot her four times at point blank range. Three of the shots missed her vest and struck her in the neck, side and shoulder. The fourth shot hit her mid-back. Fortunately, her vest stopped the bullet, preventing more serious injury.

  “The shooter drove off in a white van DPD traced back to a local rental agency. More on that in a moment.

  “As for the shooter, Captain Santos has said he seemed familiar, but she hasn’t been able to recall why. DPD has detectives scouring her files, the court case she was scheduled to testify in and her electronics, looking for a clue. So far, nothing.

  “This man.” She tapped the picture of the second man. “Rented the van used in the shooting. He used a fake ID, a very good one that fooled the agency. We were drawing a blank on who he is until the captain saw his photo and recognized him. She didn’t have a name, but she had seen him se
veral times before with members of the local pack. He had, in fact, been present when she met Samuel Wilcox in the Circle after the lycan attacked her. Her identification of him as a lycan was confirmed by her grandmother, Ellen Santos.” She turned to Mateo. “Sir?”

  “Thank you, Master Guns.” He studied the images for a moment before continuing. “With the information provided by my grandmother and cousin, we narrowed our search. Approximately two hours ago, we got a hit on this man.” He tapped the second image. “His name is Gregory Edward Bartholomew. He’d injured his back in a training exercise while in the Army and his rehab didn’t bring him back up to standard. He appealed the finding he was unfit to perform and lost. Until that moment, there was nothing out of the ordinary on his record.

  “At some point during the next year or so, he was turned. We don’t know the particulars—yet. What we do know is he showed up in Montana a little more than a year after his discharge and joined the pack there. From what the pack leader said later, he was nothing but trouble. We all know that’s not surprising from a new lycan. Being turned seems to bring out the aggressive side of a person and amplify any related emotional issues he might have. It finally got bad enough that the pack leader gave him two choices: meet the pack leader in the Circle or leave their territory forever. He chose to leave the territory.

  “He showed up down here around the same time Samuel Wilcox joined the local pack. He’s been here since then.”

  “Do we have a location on him, sir?” Sergeant Lee asked.

  “We have several probables.” Mateo turned and called up a map of the city, highlighting the different locations. “He works at the Dirty Bird Lounge as a bouncer. Two members of Captain Santos’ squad are there and keeping an eye out for him.” He pointed to the second location. “He also works security at Toliver and Associates near downtown.” His pointed out the final location. “He has an apartment here. We have eyes on both locations.

  “We will grab him up as soon as we get confirmation of his location. The strike team will be comprised of members from both squads.” He went on to name who would take part. Then he handed out further assignments. “Those on the strike team, gear up and stand by. We move out as soon as we have eyes on the bastard.”

  “I want a few minutes alone with that bastard when we get him,” Jael said softly as the others filed out of the room.

  “You and me both.” Mateo rolled his shoulders and then sighed. “Go gear up, Jael. You’ll find a change of clothes as well as your gear in the apartment. Then meet me back here. We need to fine tune the op while we have the chance.”

  Knowing he was right, she left the room. As she did, a smile touched her lips, one that would have done any of the shifters proud. She might not change shapes, but she was a hunter and she had the scent of her prey. Soon, very soon, he’d learn how foolish he’d been to target someone she cared about.

  * * *

  “Where are you?” Pat asked the moment she answered the call.

  She heard the frustration in her voice but didn’t care. Jael knew better than to go off on her own, especially during this sort of investigation. Worse, the woman hadn’t checked in for more than three hours. The only reason Pat hadn’t ordered someone to track her cell was she knew Jael could handle herself under most circumstances. Unfortunately, with each hour that passed since Mac’s shooting, she became more and more convinced this was anything but “most circumstances”.

  “I’m at the safe house with Mateo.”

  Pat crossed her office and closed the door. That simple statement set off all her alarms. Damn it, she’d prayed there wouldn’t be a connection to the shapeshifter world in this.

  “Tell me.” She dropped onto the chair behind her desk and reached for a pad and pen.

  “We have an ID on the man from the rental agency. We’ll be grabbing him up as soon as we get confirmation on his location.”

  “Jael.” She all but growled out the woman’s name. That arrest should be made by DPD. Jael knew it.

  “LT, I’ll brief you later. Know this comes from General Flynn and that he will be discussing the situation with Culver.”

  Pat ground her teeth. This was not what she wanted or what the squad needed. Mac was theirs and they needed to be part of the takedown.

  “You aren’t taking this away from us.”

  “I don’t want to and the general knows that. But there is a complication with this perp that requires our stepping in.”

  The blood drained from Pat’s face and she closed her eyes. She had no doubt what the “complication” happened to be. She didn’t need Jael to spell it out for her. The perp was a shifter. It didn’t matter, not just then, whether he was lycan or pure. All that did was they couldn’t risk DPD taking him into custody and risking him revealing their existence to the rest of the world.

  Damn it!

  She beat her forehead against the desktop twice. As she did, she remembered Mac telling her how Jenny Sears, in the company of several of the squad, asked point blank if Mac was a shapeshifter. Oh, they’d tried to make light of it, but they’d had questions about her recovery after being attacked by Wilcox. Being cops, they added two plus two and came up with four. Except Mac had to convince them they had the wrong answer.

  She had to give it to Mac. Somehow, she managed to brush off the questions until the weekend. Knowing it was only a temporary reprieve, she’d spoken with Pat and Jackson, asking what they thought. Neither were happy and neither had any idea how to handle the situation. A simple denial wouldn’t do it but they couldn’t tell the truth either.

  Saturday came and Pat parked in front of Mac’s house, convinced her friend and partner had lost her mind. Instead of doing her best to avoid Sears and the others until they figured out she wasn’t going to answer their questions, Mac had invited everyone over for a barbeque. Food and drink flowed. Cops relaxed and Pat prayed that meant Sears and the others were going to let the matter drop. Then Jackson tapped a spoon against his beer bottle. With all eyes on him, told them Mac had promised an answer to their questions about what happened when she’d been hurt and now they were about to get it.

  Pat wanted to dig a hole and hide. Why hadn’t they given her a head’s up? God, had they gotten approval from the Tribunal? So many questions and even more fear raced through her.

  Her pulse thundered in her ears. Her chest burned until she remembered to breathe. She sensed her cougar crouching, uncertain whether to hide or ready for a fight. So she waited, praying she’d soon awaken from this nightmare.

  Jackson moved to the back door and stepped inside. A moment later, a howl sounded. Everyone waited, their attention on the house. Pat’s brows knitted. She’d heard just about every sound Mac made when shifted and that howl most definitely wasn’t one of them. In fact, unless she was mistaken, it sounded like it had come from one of the old werewolf movies.

  What the hell was going on?

  Another howl filled the air and a grey and white faux-furred figure leapt outside. For a moment, Pat couldn’t believe her eyes. Then, seeing the stunned expressions on everyone’s faces as they watched Mac, clad in a very bad wolf costume, leap and run around the yard, growling like a zombie searching for brains.

  Mac straightened and ripped off the wolf head and laughed. Tears ran down her cheeks as she pointed from Sears to Nguyen and the others. Relieved, Pat chuckled. Leave it to Mac to handle what could have been a disastrous situation and do so in such a way no one brought up the possibility of her being a shapeshifter again.

  And now they faced the potential of those questions re-emerging. Damn it all to hell and back again.

  “And the shooter?”

  “Nothing more than you already know,” Jael said.

  “Will you let me know when you move in?”

  “I will. Until we have him, keep this under your hat. Let’s not get anyone’s hopes up.”

  “Understood and agreed.” Pat leaned back and thought for a moment. “When is Flynn talking with Culver?”
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br />   “By morning.” Jael paused and Pat heard someone talking to her. “I need to run. We have a possible sighting. I’ll keep you in the loop, LT.”

  “Good hunting.”

  Pat stared into space, wishing she was riding along on the takedown. Then she stood. This was going to be the break in the case they needed. She knew it. But it might also be the piece that took the case from her squad. That meant she needed to find a way to ID the shooter sooner, rather than later. They needed to know they had a hand in capturing the bastards responsible for hurting Mac.

  The only question was how.

  * * *

  The man stepped out of his car and looked around. Everything was quiet, exactly as he expected. It was worth the exorbitant rent he paid to know there’d be no prying eyes and no nosy neighbors. Now all he wanted was some sleep. The last two days had seen too little time to rest and the next few offered even less. At least he didn’t have to babysit that poor bastard for a while. If he’d been forced to listen to the man’s sniveling and crying much longer, he’d have killed him and to hell with what the boss had to say.

  He turned back to the car and reached inside for his phone. A single footstep behind him was his only warning. Instinct forced him to turn and face a possible threat. His wolf pushed against his always tentative control. But too late.

  The silence of the night was broken by the unmistakable sound of a taser. Immediately, his nervous system lit up. His muscles locked. Helpless, he couldn’t resist the hands that took him to the ground. Quickly, efficiently, his hands were secured and his ankles bound. The hands hauled him up as a van pulled alongside of them.

  “W-what?” he managed to say as he was shoved inside.

  “It’s time we have a talk,” a masked man said.

  Before he could form another thought, much less gather the strength to fight, he felt the prick of a needle in his neck. His last thought as the world receded was that he’d fallen for the same trap he’d used so many times before.