by T. G. Ayer
Grunting as Mac guided her to the sofa in the living room, Vee said, “I don’t think so. If it hadn’t been for Akil, I’d be dead.”
Syama glanced over her shoulder. “No shit.”
“No shit,” Vee replied, sitting upright to glance over at Akil.
He looked so forlorn and broken, his human skin blotchy with blood, his single white-feathered arm lying at an odd angle on the carpet, bright red blood soaking the pure white of his feathers. Just when she was about to suggest they call Devi to bring a doctor in, the sirin’s form began to shimmer, his human body disappearing in a puff of silvery dust.
Syama let out a shocked cry, then a sigh of relief. “Please tell me that was the sirin-bulance, and they’ve taken him home to fix him?”
Vee choked back a laugh as Mac opened one of the drawers on the sideboard beside the door. The room still bore her mother’s decor—warm reds, oranges, and teals, soft red leather sofas, and deep burgundy rugs. It was lush and comforting and Vee—for the first time in years—found herself missing her mom.
Mac sat beside Vee, motioned for her to remove her shirt and she sat there in the kitchen in her white lace bra, wincing as Mac cleaned the wound with a solution that stung so much even the strongest of men would turn to babies at a single touch.
“Tell me what it sounded like,” asked Mac as he removed a small pad of gauze from a packet.
“A hollow popping sound.”
Vee suspected she knew the weapon responsible, and when Mac said, “Long-range sniper rifle with a silencer,” she wasn’t surprised.
Her lips formed a thin line as she watched Mac winding a bandage around her arm. Her flesh throbbed but she was going to be okay. The assassin had gotten way too close.
“Someone just tried to assassinate me,” she said, disbelief and rage filling her tone.
Mac grunted and studied his bandaging skills and Vee stared at the white fabric for a moment. Something about it was bugging her but, she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“If he meant to kill you and he failed, then he’ll likely return to finish the job.” Mac’s eyes were firmly on Vee’s. “You will have to watch you back.”
Vee nodded. Not like she wasn’t used to having to watch her back. In her line of work, that was part of the job. But at least she knew one thing. The killers had shown their hand.
If they wanted her dead then it was proof she was on the right track.
Chapter 42
The morning was bright and sunny. Which totally didn’t fit Vee’s mood.
Mac and Syama had insisted on Vee taking a break, and as much as she’d denied the need for it, once her head had hit the pillow she’d passed out. The stress of the last few days had taken its toll, and her body hadn’t been able to keep up.
Plus, she suspected that the use of her Apsara power had had more of an effect on her than she’d realized. She’d been tempted to try to practice using it but both Mac and Devi had insisted she wait.
Apparently the side-effect of forcing her powers while they were still warded was brain damage.
So, she made the smart choice and heeded their advice.
Now, she was studying her reflection after having completed a shower, and then dressing her wound again. She’d gotten used to using one hand to clean, dress, and wrap injuries and this one wasn’t anything more.
She taped the free end of the bandage and stared at it, frowning, as she tried to latch onto the image that hovered in the corner of her mind. Something about a bandage or an injury.
And then, the memory of two bandaged fingers flitted into her mind. Bandaged fingers belonging to a certain professor, who still remained high on Vee’s suspect list.
Menon.
Vee dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen, turning Menon and the claws over in her mind. There was no point in calling the coroner because he would never be able to tell her which of the killer’s digits the claws had come from.
She wouldn’t call Rossi. Not just yet. She needed a little more information to validate such a claim.
So she rang Brent instead.
“Hey, Vee.” He sounded distracted.
“Hey, I need you to check something for me,” Vee said as she put water to boil for a pot of tea.
“Sure. Fire away.”
“Can you do a background check on the list of people I just texted to you?” There was a pause as Brent checked the phone. While she waited she dropped tea leaves into her mother’s battered old stainless steel teapot and placed it on the stove.
“Got it. What am I looking for?”
“Get me a list of all properties owned by Menon. I’m suspecting that will be a short, if not non-existent, list.” Brent’s grunt urged her to continue. “I’m looking for an industrial property owned by Menon or someone connected to him, either close or distant.”
“So you want me to check out the professor, his students, and his co-workers.”
“And the college board, anyone he went to school with or worked with in the past. Roommates, lovers . . . cast a wide net.” Vee nodded. The sound of the boiling kettle filled the room but she barely heard it.
“Err . . . That’s going to take a while. I’ll draw up a list of warehouse and industrial building-owners or leasers, then cross-reference with people connected with Menon.”
“Yeah, I suspected it wouldn’t be a five-minute job,” sighed Vee as she grabbed the kettle and poured boiled water over the tea leaves the way Radhima liked it. Her heart lurched at the thought and she blinked away both memory and the tears that threatened to come with it.
“Sorry,” Brent was saying in her ear, “I’ll get back to you as soon as I hear something.”
Vee rang off and pocketed her phone, then switched on the stove, leaning against the table as the tea simmered. She was restless, unable to wait until midnight, until the moment when she faced Kasipu down. She hated that her grandmother would have to stay within that demon’s clutches for another whole day.
Why had he made her wait two days?
Was it to amplify her pain? If he was the type of person the Apsara Scrolls implied then it was most likely that he’d revel in the pain of his victims. And since he appeared to be after revenge, perhaps he’d be angrier and more determined to cause pain to those he believed had caused his own agony.
A questionable agony, considering what he’d done to his brother, not to mention his own son. Was that the reason Narasimha was helping Vee? Perhaps he knew she was up against his old foe, the demon he’d killed in order to save the demon’s son.
As Vee grabbed the eggs from the fridge to fix herself breakfast—or brunch, if she was going to nitpick—Mac walked into the kitchen, his eyebrows waggling at the sight of her meager meal. Despite his calm demeanor there was a stiff set to his shoulders and shadow in his eyes, telling Vee he was in pain, just the way she was.
“Feeling better?” he asked, grabbing a pack of half-boiled frozen potatoes from the freezer--her mother’s working-woman special. She had a lot of those.
Vee nodded. “Where’s Syama and Akil?”
Mac grabbed a pot from the cupboard and dropped the potatoes and a kettlefull of just-boiled water into it before setting it on the stove. “Went out to do groceries.”
“Hellhound transport?” Vee asked with a smile, shaking her head as Mac went in search of something else to cook. He liked full breakfasts.
Retrieving a can of tomatoes, he found a saucepan and an onion, then gave Vee a strained smile. “Got it in one.”
Vee popped bread into the toaster while Mac put the onion and tomato chutney on simmer. The scene in the kitchen was so domestic, so normal, that Vee felt like screaming, a fire building inside of her pushing at her mind, wanting to explode.
Vee turned to him. “What are we doing?” Her voice was a whisper.
“What do you mean?” He turned concerned eyes in her direction.
“This.” She waved a hand at the eggs and potatoes and chutney cooking on the stove and the b
read in the toaster. “We’re just . . . pretending everything is normal, as if all this craziness isn’t happening.”
“Honey, I know this is rough for you, but your strength is important. You need to have your wits about you. You’ve been shot, and you’ve had the strain on your powers with the shield. Do you really think you will have the energy, both mental and physical, to fight this demon if you don’t take care of yourself?”
Vee blinked away frustrated tears. Mac had a point but she didn’t feel like telling him so. Instead she swiped her tears away with the heel of her palm and focused on the eggs.
He touched her shoulder. “I know downtime is bad because it allows for reflection. But you do need it. Use it to plan, to construct your strategy. To figure out a Plan B.”
She remained silent.
Mac moved to the table and began to lay out cutlery and plates. “Or perhaps use it to cry and rail at the gods and curse the demons. Whatever helps.” There was a smile in his voice and Vee found herself offering a weak grin in return.
Mac was right. And he had a way of doing or saying exactly what Vee needed, and when she needed it. She glanced at him as she tossed the eggs and brought the pan to the table.
She’d been so fortunate when her mother had met and married Mac. Of course, Vee had been the typical rebellious vixen at first, but Mac had been consistent and patient, and they’d found common ground in his love for weapons.
Consistency and patience were two things that did not apply to Vee’s mother. Which Vee suspected was the basis of their long-standing friction. Perhaps once this debacle was over and done with, once they got Ma back, she’d make an attempt to heal the rift between herself and her mother.
Syama and Akil returned with the groceries and joined them for a subdued breakfast. The sirin was still finding his way around the modern world and seemed grateful to, if a little afraid of, Syama.
Vee still hadn’t figured out how the owl-aural was going to prove useful. It wasn’t as if he could peck anyone to death with his little owl beak. Sure, he could use his body as armor, but that would get him dead too soon.
Vee studied Akil, and the way he held his arm gently. “Where did you go last night?” she asked softly.
He gave her a weak smile. “I apologize. My injuries were worse than I’d thought and my brood mother called me home for nursing.” Vee nodded, and asking more questions, found herself learning about sirin matriarchal social structure, with the brood mother being the boss lady, and medical care which was given whether you wanted it or not.
They completed breakfast and cleaned up, then headed to the gym for a little more training. The three were sweaty and tired after an hour, with the girls giving the owl much more leeway than they’d have done on any other day. Vee was just wiping her forehead with a soft towel when her phone rang, growling against the bench beside the gym door. She hurried to it to find Brent’s name blinked green and insistent.
“Hey,” she said, swiping at her glistening neck. “What you got?”
Brent didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “I had a list of hundreds of buildings but it whittled down to factories or industrial complexes. Now, I have thirty.” He sounded quite proud of the feat.
Vee pursed her lips. “Thirty?” That was a lot.
“Yeah, I’m not sure how to reduce the search to make it more specific. You have thirty possibilities within the New York City area.”
Vee thought about her excursion with Nivaan. “Anything within the Nevins Industrial Park?”
There was a moment of silence, then a moment of profanity. “How the feck do you do that?”
Vee laughed. “Did you just say ‘feck’?”
“Yeah. I’d have to contribute to the Swear Jar if I say one more.”
“You have a Swear Jar?”
“Yeah. Matthews thought that was a smart idea.” Brent fell silent and then said, “Well, fuck me.”
“Swear Jar, dude.” Vee held back a giggle.
“Oh, shit.”
“Do you have to pay for ‘shit’?”
Brent laughed. “Hope not, but it’ll be worth it.”
“Hit me with it.”
“So, we have only one building—LactoPowder Inc.—on this list, located within the Nevins Industrial Park. It’s been vacant for eighteen months with papers for demotion still unserved.”
“They were lucky.”
“Nah. Just their location. The demo team’s working from the front and this factory—a milk powder production plant—is located near the back fence.”
“That explains why the killer disappeared from the lot. Someone must have come to pick him up if the lot is located so far inside the complex,” Vee muttered to herself.
“What was that?”
Vee filled him in on her field trip and told him to relay the report to Rossi. “I’m going to gather my team and go in. ASAP.”
“You want backup?”
“What do you think?”
Chapter 43
They’d come prepared with Vee bringing along a box of comms equipment. Vee had also brought the chakra as well as her smaller more unobtrusive defensive weapons, plus a collection of explosives stored in her messenger bag which she’d slung crosswise on her body.
They parked a block up the road, outside a boarded-up bar, and got out.
Nivaan had joined them, bringing a second vehicle just in case, and both the cars were hidden around back, invisible from the road. They’d come in the middle of the day, despite the possibility of being seen. Vee didn’t want to wait any longer, considering the likelihood of more deaths.
Deaths she’d rather avoid.
Brent had just confirmed he’d crashed the video surveillance of the park which would prevent security coming out to investigate. Vee suspected the security wasn’t all that great within the park but they couldn’t be sure. So, better safe than sorry.
She handed the comms out and studied Akil. “What happens if you’re flying around and you see something? How will you tell us?” She was still worried about his strength after being shot, but she wasn’t about to question him in front of everyone. As it was, she knew he felt a little intimidated by Syama, and the mahabidala only made it worse.
Akil tipped his head in his owl-like way. “I will have to find a place to land in order to speak to you over this device.” He tapped his ear. The boy had been reluctant to wear the black camo gear, insisting he didn’t do well in dark colors. But he’d relented and now, looking at him, Vee had to admit that the black did wash him out somewhat.
“Okay.” Vee was hesitant, wondering if Akil would prove a hindrance. Still, Syama couldn’t speak in her hellhound form and they’d been fine so far. She nodded at him and gave him a supportive smile. “Just be careful. No more heroics.”
He tilted his head and gave her a small smile.
She glanced at the two lions. “You two can get there yourselves. Syama will have to take me. Seems I’m the most useless of this lot.”
That receive a round of chuckles. Then Nivaan and Krish headed down the road. Vee was curious at their process of shifting—with Syama’s so different from Akil’s, one never knew what the next shifter transformation would look like. Unfortunately she didn’t get to view it, as the two brothers disappeared along the road.
Giving Akil a nod, Syama transported Vee to a building a block away from LactoPowder, and waited for the two lion-shifters and the owl to join them.
Nivaan looked tense and Krish’s cheeks looked a little red. Probably received a good brotherly telling off.
Vee hid a smile. “Let’s spread out and check all the entrances. Report what you find and be prepared to enter on my mark. Backup should be here soon . . . we should hear them on the comms once they arrive.”
Akil took flight and Syama paired off with Krish, heading around the building. Leaving Vee with Nivaan.
She gave him a smile, having barely spoken to him since he’d arrived. “Are you okay?” he asked, giving her arm a glance.
<
br /> “How did you know?” She hadn’t mentioned it. And certainly hadn’t been of the mind to report it in to him. When he lifted a brow, she guessed, “Syama told Krish. Right.”
He nodded. “Are you okay?” His voice was a little more stern now, and she wondered if he was going to insist on being a doctor to her now.
“We’d better get moving.” She shifted her gaze away from his face, thoughts of the baby and the woman she’d heard on the phone filling her head. She supposed the easiest thing to do would be to ask, but what would that imply? That his marital status mattered to her? And if she did admit it mattered, would that imply to him that she was interested? He owed her nothing.
Vee shook the thoughts from her mind. There was no time to think about emotional crap right now. And, probably not ever. Relationships were too complicated for Vee and she had enough complications in her life with her mother and Mac, not to mention her job.
After checking on their side of the building, Vee and Nivaan hunkered down behind a stack of pallets. Vee tapped her comms and asked for Syama to come in.
All she heard was silence.
Nivaan did the same trying to contact Krish but he got the same. Nothing.
“We have to go inside.” Nivaan nodded and waited as Vee called her position in to the FBI task team. She didn’t get a response from them either, but she just prayed that they’d heard her.
Inside the building, the light changed, the windows all the way up to the roof having been covered in black paint. Even the skylights were blacked out.
“That’s a sign if ever I saw one.” She glanced pointedly at the windows and Nivaan nodded.
“Something nefarious is afoot,” Nivaan murmured as he followed Vee. He sniffed the air and met her gaze. “His scent is strong. Been here recently.”
She hid a grin then sank behind a giant steel tanker. She shifted her vision and began to scan the aural patterns around her until she picked out the one belonging to the killer. The familiarity of it was like a kick to her gut. Not a good sign.