Ancient Protector

by Savannah Verte

  While everyone was nearly certain that the vessel had returned to the ship that had exploded, on the offhand chance that everyone was wrong, he rode the wind farther into the channel to the point where they believed the people had been retrieved. Scanning from side to side as he made his way back to the zero point, he found nothing of note that could be the submersible. He double checked several points along the way however as movement along the shore drew his attention. He’d come back to them.

  Circling the fractional pieces that remained from the ship to start, he moved from shore to shore across the channel and back as he scanned the waterway floor from high above. Now that he knew it was there, identifying the plants under the surface was easy. Unfortunately, even with his enhanced vision, there was nothing that gave any indication of where the submersible had gone. It was nowhere to be found.

  At the point where the channel reached the ocean access he debated how much farther he should go. While he certainly could fly great distances, if the submersible had been picked up by another ship and carried off, it would be a pointless expedition. He wondered if he should check in with Afanasi, or FPU for instructions. He decided that he could easily do that soon enough. He would take the first couple miles out to the boundary for International waters before turning back.

  Newly frustrated, he turned, spread his wings, and hoped for a draft back toward shore. The water had become too deep to scan effectively. Wherever the submersible had gone, it had not left a trail, or a clue.

  Along the western shore of the channel he went higher, knowing he would still be able to see if necessary, but not wanting to be noticed if what he believed were true. The movement along the bank that had caught his attention earlier was not so much out of place as out of time. The Back Bay Channel was a freshwater channel, thus a rat along the shore would not be suspicious. However, for all of the activity and commotion with the salvage operations that had been going on, most rats in the area had figuratively jumped ship for quieter tides.

  He knew without knowing that it was no rat that he watched. Anyone else in the area may not, but there was a familiar itch between his shoulders and a turn in his gut that challenged the truth of what he saw. At least, until it stopped moving and looked up to near exactly where he drifted silently on an updraft. Inwardly, he smirked to himself. Sure, rats had uncanny, amazing hearing, but, a common rat would look around, not necessarily up, and certainly not up to try to focus miles above. He was nearly certain that he was not watching a rat, at least not the animal kingdom variety.

  He used the western shore tree line to hide his position, as well as the setting sun to blind the rodent should he continue to search for him above. The only piece of the equation he could not definitively account for was whether or not the rat that he watched was more than he seemed. Most shifters by nature had a sixth sense or a healthy dose of suspicion about such matters. Did this one? If so, they were unlikely to return to form anywhere in the open.

  Arial was smugly confident that he knew exactly whom he had been watching, though confirmation would be nice. Drifting on the breeze, he made a point of letting the wind choose his destination over fixatedly watching the area around the rodent. In any case, he was going to force one of two things to happen. Either a, the shifter below was going to have to reveal himself, or b, it was going to be a long trek back to somewhere else as a very tiny animal. Both options made Agent Marcos grin. Off the clock, he had nothing but time, and nowhere else to be.

  SEVENTEEN

  Fedya blushed fiercely at the lacey gown that laid across the hospital bed. He could only surmise that it was one of the items in the bag he had given. What Marietta must think of him, he could only guess. He doubted though that it would be anything close to the desperation he felt, wanting to see her wear it. He needed to find a way to tell her his truth, it was everything to him now. He knew however that he couldn’t, or shouldn’t…at least, not until they could put the case aside. It would be unfair.

  He had some tall orders to complete for that to be true though. Before she’d charged out of the hospital, he’d talked to Dr. Scott. Her concerns raised his hackles. Unfortunately, they also rang too reasonable to dismiss. He needed to return to the office and get updates out on the possible parties involved, even if he wanted to spend more time with Marietta.

  Passing the wall of windows to the courtyard, he caught sight of her sitting in the sun, tucked beneath a blanket in a fuzzy cream robe. He hoped that was one of his offerings as well as he noticed her snuggled deeply into it. One day, he wanted to have her snuggle into him the same way, but today would not be it. He understood the manic, crazy miss-steps of his junior agent Siminof better now. It was all-encompassing, and something that demanded acknowledgement. Ignoring it was simply not part of the equation. He wish he had understood before he’d berated his friend, but that too was an apology that would have to wait.

  Grudgingly, he moved away, forcing himself not to look back for fear he’d be unable to continue. The lift was actually waiting when he reached it, pre-empting even a glance back up the hallway. It was as though the thing were sentient and knew he needed the nudge.

  Back at the FPU wing inside the Hoover Building, he tried to move expeditiously, updating information and issuing new internals. He was half-heartedly drafting an internal status report on the Back Bay Channel and the last steps for the salvage operation when his phone chimed. It was a one line text that dropped his jaw open nearly to the desktop.

  ::I can see colors::

  It had come from Andrej. Fedya’s heart raced at the implications. He wanted desperately to ask for details, but stopped short of asking as he realized that if Andrej wanted to tell him that way, at that time, he would have. As his friend did not yet know of his own predicament, he’d wait to reveal it live, then proceed to question the life out of his friend for hope that his own situation would, or could, one day resolve.

  A report on the corner of the desk caught his attention. It was an inter-office from Agent Harkeneed about questionable ships passing just outside federal waters. As he read, he noted that one of the ones being watched belonged to Mansuelo Ergas. It couldn’t be a coincidence. He needed more information, and quickly. He set the report aside and went in search of Harkeneed.

  ***

  What felt like hours later, he found the other agent’s desk, but it was empty. Checking his watch, it was technically after hours, but none of them were bankers. He sat to wait as he tried to collect his thoughts, and his questions. The report had said they’d brought someone in for questioning, but there were no addendums. If they were still in the building, the agent might be also. Fedya knew from previous reports, that Ergas was a known drug runner. What that meant, or didn’t, with respect to the Back Bay Channel, he needed to learn, and fast. With luck, they could close the case if they collaborated. It was a high hope he knew. But with little else to go on, it was the only one he had.

  Fedya sat up quickly when a large male entered, making a beeline for the desk in question. “Agent Harkeneed?” he asked as the man passed him.

  “Who’s asking?”

  “SSA Afanasi, FPU. I was hoping for a moment.”

  “FPU, huh? Sure, I have a couple. How can I help you?”

  “I saw your report.”

  “Gonna have to be more specific, Sport. I have put out a ton of reports lately on this mess.”

  “Sport? No, I’m an Elemental.”

  Harkeneed shook his head. “Which report do you mean?”

  “Ships just outside the federal waters?”

  “Gotcha. Same page now. What about it?”

  Fedya was floundering at the man’s comments, but plowed ahead. “You were tracking one that is belonging to Mansuelo Ergas?”

  Harkeneed squinted. “It’s still nearby. What about it?”

  “I am believing that it is for my case.”

  “Come again?”

  “The boat that exploded in the Back Bay Channel was assigned to him also.”
<
br />   “So, you’re saying it’s related to your case.”

  “Yes. I said that.”

  Harkeneed ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry. It’s late. What are you asking?”

  “Your reporting says that you detained a person.”

  “Yeah. We did. One of Ergas’ people, we think. They aren’t saying much.”

  “Hmmm,” Fedya commented, unsure what to say or ask next.

  “They are waiting for someone to get underway and out of our area. That’s all they will comment. Not who. Not when? Nothing else.”

  “Not helpful.”

  “You got that right. They’ve stayed to the international side of the line, and we have no cause to board or seize, so this guy was a break, we thought. We’re going to have to cut him loose though. We’re out of time to keep him.”

  “How’d you gain him?” Fedya queried.

  “Skiff he was piloting is registered to Ergas, but it’s clean. The guy has no record either, so nothing’s going to stick. We have no cause,” Harkeneed chuckled before continuing. “We’re hoping they have to come get him though, cuz we’re keeping his boat for now. That, or he’s got a long swim out to the international line.”

  Fedya frowned. He didn’t need a mastery of the language to understand the message. He debated his next comment before speaking it. “Are we following?”

  “When we cut him loose you mean? Not officially.” Harkeneed smiled. “You want an invite to the party?”

  “Party? No,” Fedya countered. “But, I would offer to aid in the tracking. We are good at not being found.”

  Harkeneed snorted. “That’s the party. I’ll loop you an invite.”

  Fedya walked away completely at a loss, but hopeful that the party in question would be with others who could inform them better. He paused to message Arial to come in. If nothing else, his best tracking agent might be needed soon.

  EIGHTEEN

  Emmers was ready to drop. He didn’t know for sure, but he would bet his life savings that the harpy eagle he had seen out by the channel was not a mere bird. Just in case he was right, he had backtracked miles before daring to shift back long after dark. He felt moderately guilty for raiding a homeless man’s cart for clothing, but worse for himself having to smell it all the way home. Luckily, he’d not been far by then.

  While the advantages of his other form were extensive, the disadvantages were huge. He could not travel great distances, nor could he carry any kind of accommodations. The long trek back to civilization would have been significantly easier with clothing and cash. As it was, he’d had to dodge young boys with slingshots and a stray cat along the way. His heart had nearly pounded out of his chest more than once.

  He was comfortably confident that his transportation to the channel would not be easily found or identified, he had at least been smart about that, but still, at some point he would have to return to claim it. That was going to be tricky if the situation remained unchanged. As he had no way to confirm or deny if his belief about the eagle was accurate, he also had no ability to confirm or deny whom it was, or what they were doing. It could just have been another shifter out for a stretch. Then again, it could have been something more. When the FBI had taken an interest in the case, he didn’t need it spelled out to know that there were possibly other shifters or paranormal beings involved. He could smell a shifter from across the room, and knew the moment the agents had entered that they were not simply humans. What they were had eluded him.

  Showered and changed, he threw the vagrants clothes on the burn pile in the yard for later. Even clean, the smell lingered in his nostrils. He needed to find out where they were at, but didn’t trust that his communications were safe, not after the eagle he’d spotted. He caught a cab on M Street and headed for Hydro Lab.

  ***

  Arial landed a click off the Hydro Lab grounds, settling into a tall tree to wait. If he was right, the rat he’d spotted, would be arriving soon. The sensation was too similar to the one the ‘good doctor’ had left him with a few days before at the FBI. He would be disappointed to be wrong, but if he was right, the doctor was a shifter with keen ears, and he needed to make his final approach after the coast was clear.

  The cab was unexpected, but the doctor emerging wasn’t. What are you up to Dr. Emmers? he thought to himself quietly as he watched the man carefully scan the property before turning toward the door. A second vehicle was parked in the shadows of the far lot. Perhaps he was meeting someone. Arial moved to the roof after the door had clicked closed. His vision was easily his best asset, but his hearing wasn’t too shabby if he were in reasonably close proximity. He could only hope that the conversation would be loud enough.

  “Were you followed?” he heard the doctor challenge someone.

  “I’ve been here all day. I doubt it.”

  “Eli, I’m serious. Did you check?”

  “What’s got you all squirrelly? No, I didn’t check, but if they had reason to follow me, they’d have been in here by now. I’d say it’s safe.”

  “I’m damn near certain that I was being watched earlier.”

  “Where?”

  “At the channel.”

  “I already told you I’d check it.”

  “And I told you I’m the boss. I don’t answer to you, you answer to me.”

  “Potato – potato. WE answer to someone else…so stuff it, Canton.”

  “Did you tell him to move out?” the doctor asked. “The channel is nearly clear, but it’s not safe. We won’t be able to use it for months, I’d guess.”

  “I assumed as much. Yes, I told him, but he’s looking for someone who’s missing. They’ve already moved the other operations up the coast. He’s chapped that he doesn’t yet have what he needs.”

  “How many does he fucking need, Eli? There were a clean three or four dozen before the explosion.”

  “He didn’t say. I didn’t ask. He’s got to have somebody specific for someone named Vodnikski. He’s all mumbling and angsty about getting an invite of some kind. How the hell should I know?”

  “We’re all going to end up dead…or worse, arrested.” Emmers countered.

  “You thinking to cut ties, Canton?”

  “You’re not? Eli, this was never supposed to get to this point. As it is, we’ve all but tied our own nooses for the hangman. I’m not sticking around to pick the tree.”

  “Dr. Scott is home.”

  “That really doesn’t help. I thought it was about if she’d figured it out or not. Now, I’m thinking if she knows is just one more person. This whole thing is getting ready to blow. I’m not sticking around to be shrapnel.”

  “Geez, Canton. Who else could know?”

  “I’m not waiting around to find out,” Emmers announced. “I’m collecting a few things and going to do a magician.”

  Arial heard the grunts and shuffling below. He debated going in, but waited, just in case. He picked up one side of what must have been a phone call delaying his departure to go for back up. “It’s Hastings. Emmers is out, as directed. No exposure risk. I’ll take care of the Botanist before I meet you. I have no knowledge on the other. Anything else?”

  Arial waited through a long pause as he could not hear the other party on the phone.

  “Sounds good.”

  *click*

  Arial vacillated on what to do. He was fairly certain that Dr. Emmers was likely dead. He could follow the one called Hastings, but presuming that ‘the Botanist’ was in fact Dr. Scott, he needed to report in and make sure she was to safety first. Silently spreading his wings, he made note of the vehicle as he lifted for the draft and headed out. There were far more questions than answers, and evidently, a new port of call for Mr. Ergas.

  NINETEEN

  Fedya walked back into his office as Arial was climbing in through the window. “What are you doings?” he challenged. “Did you get my message?”

  Arial’s eyebrows scrunched together. “Fedya? I cannot carry my phone or a computer when I fly.
As I’m just coming in, no, I have not gotten any messages. What did you need?”

  “Agent Marcos, we might be needing you to follow a someones who is being let go by Agent Harkeneed,” Fedya retorted with an odd tone. “We cannot be keeping them anymore.”

  Arial canted his head sideways. “How soon?”

  Fedya shrugged. “Harkeneed will text to me.”

  “So you have time to hear what I’ve learned?”

  “You have learned somethings? You should have said that.”

  Arial groaned. “I would have,” he answered, flagging his hands. “Never mind. What I’ve learned is that the doctor at the Hydro Lab is…I mean was, a shifter.”

  “Was?” Fedya interrupted.

  “Yes. I’m pretty sure that he’s dead. Though, we will need to check that out. Someone else there, named Hastings, did the deed. At least, I believe so based on what I heard. They are working for Ergas. There’s someone else involved called Vodnikski. Ergas is trying to get an invitation from them and that’s got something to do with the trafficking. By the conversation, there were several dozen taken before we found out and the boat exploded.”

  “Dear Goddess!” Fedya exclaimed.

  “Hold the Goddess for now. We need to get Dr. Scott into protective custody. I believe the one called Hastings is going after her next. AND…” he held up a hand to keep Fedya from cutting in again, “they are looking for someone who is missing so they can get out of the area. They have already moved operations up the coast.”

  Fedya dropped hard into a wingback chair near the door. “Up the coast is still Federal. It changes nothing.”

  “Dr. Scott?”

  Fedya pulled his phone and texted Andrej.

  ::Bring Dr. Scott to FPU. We believe she is in danger.::