Bite Back Box Set 1

by Mark Henwick

  “Matt, that’s fantastic.”

  I called Bian on her secure number. Skylur answered.

  Shit.

  I steeled myself.

  “Amber, another situation it would seem,” he said, deceptively mildly.

  “I’m sorry, Skylur. No excuses. But I cannot, will not come in while there’s a chance of getting Jen back. She’s kin. And listen.”

  I replayed the recording.

  “We think they’re at a disused factory out near Longmont. We’re going to investigate. Some backup against Matlal would be welcome,” I said.

  “It’s not enough yet, Amber,” he replied. “You could be completely wrong. Or Hoben could just be using Matlal’s name to make his trap sound credible. I can’t commit resources yet. I’ll retain this phone, and if you find Hoben or Matlal’s people, I will send a team. Hold on.”

  There were sounds in the background.

  “Amber, I’m going to have to leave it there. You realize the situation you are putting me in? I believe Bian explained the political dynamics last night.”

  “Yes. I’m sorry. I will do everything I can not to get caught. But what about if I call back and you’re busy? Shouldn’t I be able to get through to Bian?”

  “It seems you have been entirely too able to get through to my Diakon. I am reviewing this as we speak. You’ll have to take your chances with me.”

  “But—” The line was dead.

  Oh, crap, now I’d gotten Bian in more trouble as well. And unless something miraculous happened, we were on our own.

  I was interrupted by the arrival of the Weres, in human form, of course. For all their menace and growling restraint during my previous experience on Larimer’s ranch, they were more like a bunch of pups today, full of high-fives and knuckle bumps. They were positively looking forward to Matlal trying to take this place. His involvement with a rival pack had seriously pissed them off.

  I ran around, organizing us into two cars to give us flexibility. As calm as things seemed with my team, I thought it was better for Pia to go with Alex and David to come with me. Plenty of sensible little decisions to keep me occupied. Anything to stop thinking about what was happening somewhere in Denver.

  The repeater arrived by courier, and David helped me set it up and test it.

  One last thing.

  I turned to Tullah. “I need the laptop,” I said.

  “It stays with me,” she replied. Leaving the apps running, she closed it and clutched it to her chest, glaring at me again.

  Chapter 45

  Tullah refused to hand over her laptop. She wasn’t going to be persuaded and in the end I gave up. We were just checking at the moment anyway. I could send her back if it got dangerous, couldn’t I?

  David drove. It allowed me to work through the equipment we’d loaded into the car. In addition to the military equipment, we had my surveillance kit that I’d bought for Campbell Carter’s case. It seemed like half a lifetime ago. I reminded myself how to set up the laser listening devices. I had a feeling we’d be needing those. If this factory was the right place. Of course it was, I told myself.

  As we headed north out of Denver on I-25, the sky darkened and a light rain began to fall.

  I stripped and reassembled my guns. Again and again. Tension gathered in every muscle. Time was slipping through my fingers like smoke.

  At Longmont, David found the road past the factory. Alex held back a ways and we both drove past. The factory was set back, behind barrier gates, and mostly out of sight of the road. There was someone in the gatehouse, but they didn’t even look up as we passed. A small twin engine plane passed over us at low altitude, heading out from the airfield.

  At the end of the road, we turned and drove back slowly. The building was obscured from the road by trees. Halfway along, I got David to stop and I jumped out with a laser surveillance scope. I fixed it to a tree and aimed it at one of the windows in the right-hand building, where I’d spotted a flicker of activity.

  We reversed direction again and David parked well out of sight of the factory. I fired up the main system and tuned in to the scope transmitter. It was bouncing a laser off the window and measuring any vibrations. Noises inside and outside the building were turned into electrical signals and then converted back into noises on the main system speakers.

  I put a microphone outside to pick up sounds like aircraft taking off, and the system removed those noises from the stuff it was getting from the window, leaving us listening to sounds only from inside the building. Sweet. It was the kind of system Matt would approve of.

  Alex and Pia joined us in the Ford.

  “Athanate,” Pia said as soon as we tuned into sounds of talking from the building. “House Matlal, discussing the Assembly. Amber, there’s no legitimate reason for them to be here, just as there’s no legitimate reason for them to want to know where the Assembly is being held.” She went shades paler. “This isn’t just about you. Oh God, they’re actually planning to do it, they’re planning to attack the Assembly.”

  “Call Bian’s number,” I said to her. “Skylur has her phone. This has to be worth some backup.” I turned. “David, walk down there and find a place for this second scope. It needs to be pointing at the office building on the left. The angle needs to be almost straight on or the signal will be too weak. Keep out of sight and stay there while we try a few windows.” He nodded and walked back the way we’d come. He’d put on an old jacket from his bag, which hid his black uniform, and the trees hid him from the factory.

  In ten minutes we had the second scope up. The office building was quieter, and we got David to change windows until we finally picked up sounds from the top floor. The signal was much weaker, making it sound like we were listening to a badly tuned radio.

  Pia couldn’t get through to Skylur. I punched the seat in frustration and she laid a quieting hand on my arm. “I’ll call again in five minutes. Let me listen to this first.”

  She frowned in concentration. Eventually, she shook her head. “It’s not Athanate.”

  “A group of men,” Tullah said. “I think they’re playing cards or something like that.”

  That seemed right. There was a rhythm to the talking. I could visualize the cycle of a deal, bets, jokes and boasts, but the words were blurred and indecipherable.

  Was that Hoben’s voice? Hoarse and raspy. The building had been stripped of carpets. I could hear cheap chairs scraping against a concrete floor.

  Every now and then, the tone changed. One person would call out something and the others laughed. It didn’t have the feeling of lighthearted laughter. It was something darker; sexual. Nausea threatened again. I couldn’t think of Jen in there. I had to focus on this as a military operation. How to assault the building, get my team and the hostage out. The hostage.

  Focus. Three interconnected buildings. The hostage probably top floor of the office building. Go straight in and whoever was in the other buildings could just surround the place. But how to trap them inside?

  Pia got through and spoke to Skylur. It was in Athanate and so brief my heart sank.

  She turned to me, looking puzzled. “Bian is coming with a small team.”

  “Thank God. What’s the problem?”

  “It’s the day of the Assembly, Amber. The delegates are being brought in now. As Diakon, Bian is in charge of security overall. She can’t be out here. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  I couldn’t spend time puzzling over it. I turned my attention back to the building.

  I got David to realign the first scope and we got the best signal of all from the middle building.

  “Athanate again,” Pia said. “Checking something. Like an inventory.” She frowned. “Ammunition. Guns.”

  I called David back and slipped out into the trees myself. Top had always said time spent in reconnaissance was seldom wasted. What would he have done here? I would never have perfect information, so how much time did I spend before deciding?

  Heavy cloud
s were making it darker and squalls battered at the trees. Light, cold rain was still falling. Aircraft had stopped flying from the airfield and from the color of the clouds, I suspected the rain would get heavier.

  I ignored it and settled in where I could use my binoculars to look over the buildings and grounds. Most of the area inside the perimeter was given over to car parking on the left and stacked containers on the right. There was an expanse of open space in front of the buildings—far too much.

  An armed security guard came out of the middle building, looked up at the sky and went back in. Good.

  The mission clock was ticking in my head. Less than three hours to the deadline. There was no way I could risk getting any closer, which meant I was working on guesses.

  I had one small team with no expertise in this kind of operation, and another small team yet to arrive with an agenda of their own and unknown capability.

  And matters had gotten more complicated. There were now two missions here. Get Jen out and prevent Matlal’s troops from attacking the Assembly. Mission creep.

  I refused to think of the possibility that Jen was not here, captive in the left-hand office building on that top floor. Mission one was to get in there and get her out. That was for me.

  Mission two was more difficult. There could be any number of Matlal’s people in those buildings.

  But as I lay watching and thought about it, I realized the good news was that they were treating this like a military operation. The better news was that I was good at those and they weren’t.

  And I knew there’s nothing like gunfire to focus your mind, even if what you end up focusing on is entirely the wrong thing.

  The deadline marched closer and some short cuts would need to be taken, but a plan formed. I slunk back to the cars.

  “Alex,” I said. “Can I buy a truck and some tools from you?”

  Chapter 46

  Bian arrived in a box van as Alex drove off to get my shopping list.

  Without much thinking about it, I gave her a hug.

  “I hope you’re not in too much trouble because of me,” I said.

  She shook her head. Jason, Paul and Tom climbed down out of the back of the van, which had a full medical setup in the back. I guessed that Athanate healing went only so far. It was a welcome addition.

  “Just the three?”

  “Yes.” End of that conversation. “Amber, I’m here for a specific role, not to rescue Jen. My overriding goal is to get full evidence of senior House Matlal involvement in an attack on Haven and prevent you from being taken. I can help you only if it does not conflict with those goals.”

  “Very specific instructions,” I said. They were like Ops 4-10 objectives. “But that’s a hell of an ask.”

  “It’s what’s been agreed.” Bian was pale, but adamant. She refused to say any more about it.

  “Okay,” I said. “You’re designated Group 1. I anticipated your team might need to be separate anyway.”

  Bian began to relax slightly as I gathered everyone and went through the plan for the first time.

  Tullah listened in, but there was no way I was letting her come in with us. Even if we’d had spare weapons, she hadn’t been trained in their use. She was pretty mean with her hands and feet; no daughter of Liu would be anything less, but that wouldn’t help in a firefight.

  As I wound down, Bian laughed softly. “And I thought you were only slightly crazy, Round-eye.”

  “I’m not the one running around with an oversize kitchen knife, Pussycat,” I replied, and listened to the chuckles. Good. I didn’t doubt the team was aware how dangerous it was, but they had to believe they could do it, to give us any chance. They had to be in good spirits.

  For a unit, we were a contrast.

  The Fang team had come in their black combat uniforms and Kevlar vests. But in addition, their helmets had SWAT team infrared goggles on them, and there were matching lights on their P90s. They had enough ammunition for about fifteen minutes, if they were careful. If we took longer, or they weren’t careful, we were finished anyway.

  Bian had none of that. She wore her close-fitting trousers and a high-necked jacket, also black. The material was silky, completely matte, and as the light began to fade her face and hands seemed to float in an inky emptiness. She carried a backpack in the same material. Her sole weapon was her katana. More suited for my role, she explained when I asked, without really explaining anything.

  David and Pia were in black combats with P90s, they had Kevlar vests too, but they had no helmets, none of the Fang team’s swagger and not much ammunition. I had specific tasks for them, and hopefully they wouldn’t need to use the guns much.

  Time. Praying Alex would get back soon, I started the plan. I sent a text to Jen’s phone, saying I would tell Hoben where Altau was and asking him where I needed to show up.

  He called back, hoarse, mocking.

  “Get out to Cherry Creek Reservoir and call again,” he said.

  That was on the opposite side of Denver.

  “Cherry Creek?”

  “You got a problem with that?”

  “No.”

  He ended the call.

  They were all looking at me.

  “We’ve got the wrong place,” Pia said, dropping her head into her hands.

  “No.” Their heads came back up and tracked me. I had doubts, but I couldn’t let them show. “No, this is where Jen is. Cherry Creek is where they want me. Different things. Nothing’s changed.”

  I called Alex’s house and asked one of the Were to drive my cell out to near Cherry Creek. I lost the ability to connect to calls, but it was going to be over before he got there. All I wanted was Hoben to be tracking the cell and seeing me do what he asked.

  I went through the plan again, checking that everyone knew what was required.

  Alex came back with one of his Mack trucks. All $150,000 of it.

  I cringed, but there was no going back now.

  As if I needed a distraction, I saw Alex’s startled look when he saw Bian, and the almost guilty way he glanced at me. Crap, they did have a history. Something I would have to deal with later.

  More problems; Alex told me he was coming in.

  “Felix gave you a direct order, not to get involved.”

  “Doesn’t work like that for me.” He ducked his head. “I’ll explain to Felix when we’re done. You’re wasting time. I need to know what to do.”

  I went through it the final time. Adding Alex in made good sense, and I could keep him with David and Pia in Group 2. Relatively safe. Or as safe as he could get in a building that would be humming with bullets.

  “To recap,” I ended up, “the good news is they’re running this as a military-style operation, but badly. They’ve split up the troops in the factory on the right from the assault weapons in the warehouse in the middle and from the hostage in the left-hand office building.” My heart skipped a beat over the word hostage. “The security guards are armed with light weapons, but they’re not patrolling. There’s one guard on the gate and others in the warehouse or factory.”

  We were standing in the back of the truck. Rain drummed on the metal around us. It was getting heavier.

  “The tasks I’ve allocated are designed to exploit their mistakes and achieve the objectives despite the fact they outnumber us.” I tried to catch people’s eye like Top used to and make them believe. “Accomplish your tasks and the mission will succeed.” I paused. “Any questions?”

  There was a general shaking of heads. Given their inexperience, I had taken them through it enough times that I was sure they knew what had to be done, even if they were concerned at the priorities allocated to them. I couldn’t help that. I was the one with training for this type of job, which meant my primary goal landed on my shoulders. I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Once this was rolling, I wouldn’t have time to be afraid for myself, let alone Jen. My instincts were honed with ten years of training and I had to trust them.

  Tullah l
ooked distant, but resigned. I’d given her the role of waiting outside and relaying progress to Skylur. That would be important if things went wrong, but I hadn’t added that.

  Pia concerned me. I stopped in front of her and she flinched.

  “Being Athanate doesn’t mean I’m not afraid,” she whispered, looking down and fiddling with her P90.

  I lifted her face gently until she was looking at me. “Being scared doesn’t mean you’re not brave. You’ll do fine.”

  She took a deep breath and nodded.

  I stepped back. “In the rigging, please.”

  As I had specified, Alex’s truck had webbing, like the netting on a climbing wall, fastened down the middle. Everyone except Paul wriggled their arms in and got ready to brace. Instant crash protection. Paul just sat on the back, ready for his first task.

  I pulled on my old army harness, checked that all my weapons were secure. I had the MP5 strapped to my right thigh. On the left thigh was my Tactical Assault Weapon, the brutal cannon we called the BFG in Ops 4-10.

  I couldn’t believe the harness had come with Top’s parting gift of weapons, but there it was. It still had the Mike 6 designation inked on a strap.

  I climbed into the driver’s seat and drove down the road towards the gatehouse. The mission was green to go. It was too close to the deadline, but it hadn’t been possible to get everything organized quicker.

  Something felt unfinished, unready.

  My hand strayed over my harness straps. Old familiar catches and Velcro, all fastened. And a little pocket, right there. My fingers slipped inside. My tin of camo paint was still there.

  Something I’d kept chained woke in me, wanting to howl. I stabbed fingers into the tin and smeared savage lines across my face. This wasn’t to hide. War paint. Let them see me coming. Let them know death’s eyes were looking for them.