The Werewolf Whisperer (The Werewolf Whisperer Series Book 1)

by Camilla Ochlan

  Xochitl canvassed the contours of her uncle's face. Even in the dim light, she could see the deep worry lines creasing his brow.

  She sighed.

  "Sí."

  "Good." Vern stroked Xochitl's hair and left.

  Watching her uncle gather Bob and the other men, Xochi's emotions fought her reason.

  I barely know these guys. Can I trust them? Ames is a snake. But the others…Lefty…No. They're good men. But what if something goes wrong? What if Miguel…I don't know if I can do this.

  "I hate being left behind." She slapped the steering wheel.

  Xochitl released a long slow breath, put on her game face and strode to the Humvee.

  Bob was issuing firearms to the team.

  "High powered modified 9mm tranq guns, as requested." Bob handed a gun to Vern. "Strong enough to drop a lion."

  "You're not using live ammo?" Xochi asked as she watched Prez and Mick load darts into their weapons.

  "Not if we don't have to," Vern replied.

  "But just in case..." Mick rested his hand on a holstered gun strapped to his right thigh.

  "No lethal action unless necessary." Vern eyed each of the men individually. "Oorah!"

  "Oorah!" Vern's team echoed.

  "Good. Now, Xochitl and Lefty will stay here and monitor the extraction," Vern continued. "Bob, you and Prez are Bravo Team. Mick, you're with me."

  "You okay with this?" Lefty whispered to Xochitl.

  She gave him a quick thumbs up.

  Lefty offered a sympathetic smile and finished syncing his monitoring equipment to the team's cameras.

  "Okay, cameras are up," Lefty said. "Systems are coming on-line."

  "Bravo Leader, you copy?" Vern checked his radio one last time.

  "Copy, Alpha Leader," Bob replied.

  "This is it. Let's move out." Vern waved his hand forward, and the men fell in behind him.

  "Here." Lefty passed Xochitl an earpiece.

  Xochitl placed the small radio device in her ear as she watched the team round the corner of the building and disappear from sight. She leaned over Lefty's shoulder and tracked the action on the computer screen.

  The extreme definition monitor split the screen into four saturated color quadrants like a video game. At the bottom of each square the numbers one through four indicated which camera belonged to which man. The video feed shook as the team double-timed it to the front of the building.

  Xochi blinked away her motion sickness.

  "Base, this is Alpha Leader, over."

  "Go ahead, Alpha Leader," Lefty responded.

  "We're in position."

  "Copy that. Fence coming down."

  With amazing dexterity, Lefty's hand flew over the keyboard, rapidly typing in a series of cryptic numbers and symbols. A few moments later, the security gate deactivated.

  The kid's good.

  "Alpha Leader, fence is clear," Lefty announced.

  "Roger that. Bravo Team, this is Alpha Leader. Move out."

  Xochitl watched the cameras intently. Vern and Mick were first through the fence, followed by Bravo Team. Several cars were parked in the lot between the fence and the pound entrance. Vern stopped halfway to the front of the building and knelt behind an SUV. Vern looked over to Bob and Prez, his hand motioning in front of the camera for Bravo Team to hold.

  "Alpha Leader, west side clear," Bob's voice came over the mic.

  "Hold," Vern responded. "Base, how's it looking on the inside?" Vern asked Lefty.

  Lefty hit a key, switching the view on the computer screen to show long corridors with doors leading into various rooms. Even with Ames' information about light security, the interior of the building appeared strangely deserted.

  This doesn't feel right. Where is everyone?

  The computer screen switched again to show a large, bright room. In the center of the room, a woman, half-dressed in a yellow biohazard suit, fiddled with the straps of a gas mask. Two men in lab coats hunched over a computer stationed on a stainless steel table crowded with laboratory equipment.

  "Corridor's clear. But there are three civilians in lab room five," Lefty said into his mic.

  "I thought there'd be more security," Xochitl whispered.

  Lefty switched the computer screen once more, displaying a room with television monitors along the wall and two men sitting in front of them.

  Security headquarters.

  The men were laughing and drinking coffee, oblivious to the four silhouettes crouched behind cars in the parking lot.

  Xochitl sucked in a nervous breath.

  "No hay pedo. Mira." Lefty typed away on his new toy.

  If Xochitl hadn't been so focused on the screen, she would have missed the slight waver of the television monitors in the room. Where once they had shown Alpha and Bravo Teams outside the facility, now all they showed were cars in the parking lot.

  "Compliments of Ames," Lefty muttered to her before speaking into his mic. "Loop feed initiated. You're good to go, Alpha Leader."

  "Roger that," Vern responded.

  Once again, Alpha and Bravo Teams' cameras were on screen. Vern's hand motioned for Bravo Team to move forward.

  Their tranq guns aimed, Bob and Prez scurried toward the front doors.

  Reaching the entrance first, Prez looked through a side window and immediately turned his view to Bob, throwing up a fist to halt him. "Base, Tango heading this way."

  "Copy that." Lefty switched the screen to Bravo Team's cameras and the foyer of the building. "Stand by."

  A rotund man dressed in a security uniform waddled toward the main entrance. Stopping at the door, he unclipped his cell, dialed and pushed on the lever.

  "Tango coming out," Lefty whispered into his mic.

  Xochitl's heart raced as she watched the security guard open the door, his profile coming into view on Prez's camera.

  "Hi babe, call me when you—"

  In one swift motion, Prez raised his gun, shot the dart and pulled the incapacitated guard away from the door — with barely a sound.

  Bob moved in, snatched the dropped cell phone from the pavement and hoisted the guard's legs. "Oof," he grunted.

  "Why do we always get the flab asses?" Prez complained.

  Bravo Team hauled the guard behind a dark colored sedan and dropped him on the ground. They checked their surroundings once more before moving back into position by the front door.

  "Tango down. Bravo Team in position," Bob said.

  "Copy that, Bravo Leader," Vern replied. "We're moving to you." Vern motioned to Mick, and the two men bolted for the building entrance.

  "¡Híjole!" Xochitl mumbled.

  "Todo bien." Lefty smiled.

  "Hey!" Prez's voice came over his mic. "I snagged the guy's access card." His hand came into view as he passed the card to Vern.

  "You doing my job now, Prez?" Lefty asked.

  "Someone's got to," Prez shot back.

  "Quiet," Vern said and swiped the key card on the security panel.

  Xochitl heard a click and saw Vern jerk the door open. Gun raised, Vern pivoted his body left then right, checking the area. He motioned for his men to follow.

  "Base, where to?" Vern asked. "Over."

  Lefty pulled up the building schematics. Xochitl noticed a large area that reminded her of the warehouse where Memo had imprisoned her.

  That's gotta be where they're keeping Miguel.

  "There." She pointed to the spot. Lefty nodded.

  "Alpha Leader," Lefty relayed. "There's a large room on the left at the end of the corridor. Looks good for housing fifty Weres."

  "Copy, Base," Vern said. "Locate the main office."

  Main office? What about Miguel?

  As Lefty searched for an office, Xochitl scanned the computer screen, looking for any sign of her brother. Nothing but bright laboratories equipped with state-of-the-art scientific machinery flashed by.

  Who's running this joint? Frankenstein?

  Lefty stopped the slide show of
rooms on a door designated with the placard Dr. Lynn Weisman.

  "Alpha Leader. I've got the office of a Doctor Lynn Weisman. Might be the person in charge. It's to the east of the main corridor. Last door on the right," Lefty said.

  "Copy that," Vern replied. "Bravo Team, you check out the west room. We're on the right. Base unlock the door when we arrive."

  "Roger, Alpha Leader," Lefty and Bravo Team replied.

  The two teams made their way down the long hallway with rapid efficiency. Dizzy once again, Xochi wasn't sure if the cause was the jarring camera motions or the computer split screen.

  Or maybe it's because I've been sidelined while someone else does my job.

  Xochi leaned over the Humvee, rested her forehead on the hood and clasped her hands behind her neck.

  "You okay?" Lefty asked.

  Xochitl nodded. "Anything yet?"

  "Just a lot of numbered doors...Hold on a sec. What's that? That's not on the schematic."

  Xochitl popped up her head. Vern and Mick were moving down the hall, methodically checking each door before proceeding forward.

  "What?" She searched the screen, trying to see what Lefty was seeing.

  "There." Lefty switched to a camera angle at the farthest point from Alpha Team's position and zoomed in. "See it?"

  "The wall?" Xochi asked.

  "Not a wall. A door," Lefty said. "Look on the floor."

  Xochitl focused on the floor in front of the not wall.

  "See." Lefty pointed to the screen. "The light changed direction, reflected off something. That's a shadow. Someone's moving behind that 'wall.' I'm sure of it."

  Xochitl waited a moment. The light flickered. Something moved, casting a fragmented shadow across the floor.

  "It'd have to be several inches thick, right?" She turned to Lefty.

  "Yeah. Probably reinforced steel too."

  "What do they got behind that thing?" she asked. "King Kong?"

  "Come again?" Vern's voice broke in.

  "Sorry, Alpha Leader." Lefty brought Vern's camera back on screen.

  Alpha Team was approaching Weisman's office.

  "Found some kind of façade at the end of the corridor," Lefty continued. "It's not on the original plans for the building."

  "Know what's behind it?" Vern asked.

  "Not sure. But someone or something's there."

  "Copy."

  Xochi followed Vern's sightline as his camera rotated bringing Mick into view. Across the corridor from Vern, Mick rose from a crouched position to look through a small window near the top of the door.

  Mick's camera panned the inside of a stark, white room. Void of people, only large glass cabinets, stocked with vials of liquid, lined the back wall.

  "Last room. All clear," Mick said.

  "Copy. Go check out Lefty's fake wall," Vern said.

  Xochitl glanced at Vern's camera as he motioned for Mick to move forward down the hall.

  "Roger that," Mick replied.

  "Base, I'm at Weisman's office," Vern said.

  "Copy, Alpha Leader." Lefty hit the command key, and a buzz came over the coms.

  Vern entered Weisman's office. The spill of light from the hall lent minimal visibility to the room. As Vern moved about the space, Xochitl could only make out two chairs positioned in front of a large wooden desk.

  Her uncle eased behind the desk and switched on a lamp. "That's better."

  Vern's hand came into view. He held a small digital camera. He sifted through papers and files and rummaged through drawers, taking pictures of every document and letter he could find. Off to the side, Weisman's laptop dinged and the screen flashed. Lefty had started his hack.

  They were working so fast, Xochitl couldn't discern much from the various documents. Virus, bioengineering and chip were the only terms she recognized.

  "Base, we're at the west door," Bob's voice came over his mic. "How we lookin'?"

  Lefty brought Bravo Team's cameras back up.

  "Stand by," Lefty replied, as he tried to find the security feed.

  "Well?" Prez pressed.

  Xochitl glanced at Lefty. His face was screwed up with concern as he focused on his computer.

  "Shit," Lefty mumbled.

  "What?" Bob, Prez and Xochi said in unison.

  "Bravo Leader, we have a problem." Lefty's voice rose in pitch.

  That's not good.

  "Go ahead Base," Bob said.

  "Seems there are no security cameras in that area. You're going in blind." Lefty wiped the perspiration from his brow with his sleeve.

  "Fuck!" Prez spat. "So much for controlling their shits, Lefty."

  "Enough," Vern's voice broke in. "Bravo Leader, proceed with caution. We'll head your way in a minute. Almost done here."

  "Roger that, Alpha Leader," Bob replied.

  "Stay frosty, boys," Mick added.

  Xochitl chewed on her fingernail as she waited for Bob and Prez to enter the westernmost room. Prez swiped the key card, and a muted buzz sounded indicating it was unlocked. Gun raised, Prez leaned into the door and pushed it ajar. He moved through the doorway, turning right then left to check his surroundings.

  "Clear," Prez whispered.

  Bob, his gun at the ready, slid in behind Prez and began looking around.

  In stark contrast to the bright fluorescents in the corridor, soft illumination cast down on the men from above. The room's vastness was obvious, despite the dim lighting.

  Lefty whistled. "It's gotta span half a football field."

  "And almost as wide." Xochi chewed on her lip.

  Just like Memo's warehouse, only bigger.

  The men slowly made their way through the room, their cameras panning about the space.

  "Are you getting this, Base?" Prez asked.

  "Sure am," Lefty responded. "What the…?"

  On Prez's camera feed, two continuous rows of enormous glass enclosures lined either side of the room and ascended nearly to the building rafters.

  Prez's hand moved to touch a cage. "Thick plexiglass. Got to go in ten feet by the look of this one." He continued to scan the container. At its base was a rectangular sliding door large enough for a food tray to pass through. Prez shone his mag light into the enclosure. "Empty."

  "Not mine," Bob's voice came over his mic.

  Xochitl switched back to Bob's feed as Lefty tried to zoom in for a clearer look.

  "Do you see that?" Bob's flashlight lit up the glass cage.

  "Holy shit!" Prez added his light to Bob's.

  "¡Híjole!" Xochi's eyes grew wide.

  Huddled in the corner, dressed in a hospital gown, was a small creature.

  Is that a woman?

  Xochitl couldn't tell. The person had soft features like a female, but her ears were longer than normal and flopped at either side of her head. A layer of coarse, shaggy hair covered her arms and bare legs.

  Bob's light followed the contours of her face, and as it passed her eyes, they glowed amber. "Whoa."

  Xochitl had seen this before with Lucy Lowell's partner. But where Officer Gabe was like a massive beast, this woman seemed more like a small dog.

  The dog woman tilted her head to the side as if she were trying to make out what kind of thing Bob and Prez were.

  Right back at ya, sister.

  "What's that?" Prez turned his head, bringing into view the long warehouse corridor.

  No, not a warehouse. A prison.

  At the far end of the aisle, a bright light illuminated two male figures standing in front of another cell, deep in conversation.

  "Can you make out what they're doing?" Xochitl spoke into her mic.

  "No, they're too far." Bob's hand motioned to Prez to press forward. "We'll take a closer look."

  As Bob and Prez crept down the hallway, Xochitl searched each plexiglass kennel they passed for her brother. She gasped as she witnessed cell after cell occupied with dog-like people, but no Miguel.

  A few "people" were neither puppyish like the dog woma
n nor Werebeast like Gabe. Still afflicted with canine-like features, these anxious creatures paced in their cages like agitated, wild wolves.

  Hyper, aggressive and potentially dangerous.

  Bob's camera feed showed Prez on point, crouched by one of the last cages near the security guards. Prez raised a fist, signaling Bob to stop.

  "Tango fifteen feet ahead," Prez said. "Sounds like they're arguing about whatever's in that cage."

  "Copy," Bob replied. "Can you make out what they're saying?"

  "Just a minute."

  Prez scooted forward a few feet. Xochi held her breath.

  They're gonna make him.

  A short nervous giggle burst from Xochitl. She quickly clasped her hands over her mouth. The guards remained unaware of Prez.

  Xochi exhaled slowly into a tiny grin.

  Big as a house. Quiet as a mouse.

  "You do it." An unfamiliar, pre-pubescent treble pierced through Xochitl's earpiece.

  From Prez's camera angle, she couldn't ascertain which guard had spoken or determine what they looked like except that one man was tall and spindly and the other was shorter and average size.

  "I'm not going in there," a loutish voice replied. "You saw what it did to Jacobs."

  "Gas it. Then go in."

  "Fuck you. You gas it."

  "Weisman wants this one prepped by shift's end. You know how she is when things don't get done."

  "Shit...Fine."

  The spindly guard pulled a canister out of a pouch attached to his belt and bent down at the base of the cage. His hand jerked back, then thrust forward.

  The cell filled with fog. An ear-shattering howl bellowed into their mics.

  "Ahhh!" Xochitl and Lefty shrieked. She yanked her earpiece away from her ear.

  A loud thud brought Xochitl's attention back to the computer screen. Something was throwing itself against the plexiglass of the cell only to ricochet off it like a rubber ball. Desperate to break free, it growled and bellowed — whipping its fellow captives into a frenzy.

  The cacophony of barks and howls amplified as they bounced off the walls. The room was in chaos.

  "Shit's getting crazy back here," Bob hissed over the ruckus.

  "Coming back to you," Prez said.

  But before Prez could move out, the shorter guard spun around and faced him. "Shut the fuck—"

  Without hesitation, Prez shot tranq darts into both guards, dropping them where they stood.