Scintilla

by Elizabeth Noble

  “This is the desert, not a lot of oceans here,” Brandon said.

  “Selkies live around here, they’re just not that common and there are five types of jinn. Like with werewolves only about half the stories are true.”

  “What sort is Fahim?” Brandon asked.

  “He’s an effrit, the best kind according to him. There’s also a rare type that is usually female. They’re not generally harmful, but if she’s in love with one of the men she could be working with them,” Raul explained. “And there is really no way to know by simply looking at them. Leprechauns are generally more interested in money, but for the right price….” His voice trailed off.

  “So, this girl or woman, if she’s even a she, could be one of a few types of jinn, a prism, leprechaun or selkie, or a non-magical human which is less likely.” Brandon held up fingers as he spoke.

  “Uh huh. That about covers it,” Raul said.

  “Good job narrowing that down,” Brandon grumbled and went back to work.

  Raul called Janey. “Have you found out anything about the girl who says she’s from the Philippines?”

  He heard Janey blow out a disgusted breath. “Yeah. Found out she walked out of where she was being held about a half hour ago. There is nothing on any security camera.”

  “Prism?” Raul asked.

  “No. We can’t hold an alternate image for more than ten minutes tops and we’re more likely to obscure our faces, not change them for a camera. There were cameras everywhere and no one came or went that even remotely looked like her,” Janey said.

  “I think she’s involved. Maybe she’s a jinn—”

  Janey cut him off. “A sila? That would be odd.”

  “But not impossible. Or a selkie.”

  “That would make more sense. Either way I don’t suppose it matters. She played the part of a victim until she didn’t. Should’ve seen that coming.”

  “Thinking a fifteen-year-old kid found with human traffickers was anything but an innocent victim wasn’t wrong,” Raul said kindly. “You’re not perfect, Janey. We’ll find her and them. The fact she got away actually confirms my theory she’s part of the ring. Any ideas on the tattoos?”

  “They remind me of those coexist bumper stickers,” Janey said. “I’m running the pattern through a database that keeps symbols used by gangs, triads, various mobs that sort of thing. No hits yet.”

  “Raul, look at this,” Brandon interrupted the phone call.

  “I’ll call you back.” Raul moved closer to Brandon again. “Whatcha find?”

  “El Paso, Texas.” A map showed up on one part of the monitor Brandon sat in front of. Images popped up beside it. “A homeless shelter for teens. Less than a block away is a little church, look at the sign next to the door.”

  Raul peered at the sign. It was simple, probably made of aluminum and bolted to the wall beside the door. The same symbol as the tattoos was at the top. Underneath was the words ‘All are welcome’. The same phrase was repeated, line after line, dozens of times and each line was in a different language.

  “Half a block down is a little grocery store, same symbol on the door. There’s a bar, same thing, another store, same symbol. It looks as if within a few block radius of the shelter there are all sorts of businesses with the same symbol on the door,” Brandon said. “And, look at this. It was taken about a week ago inside a tattoo parlor.”

  “Holy shit.” Raul stared at an image of the Filipino girl handing out flyers and another one where she was walking into a ratty motel with her arm around the shoulders of one of the boys Raul found with Brandon. “She’s baiting them.”

  “And giving them tattoos.” Brandon nodded to the monitor when another photo materialized. “Why the tatts? A gang?”

  “I don’t think so.” Raul shook his head. “Could just be camaraderie thing, a badge of surviving. There’re probably many more kids with that tattoo than are being snatched. I think those are a fortunate coincidence. That neighborhood is her hunting ground.”

  “So, we get her, and she’ll lead us to them,” Brandon said.

  Raul swung off his chair. “Yep.” He moved behind Brandon and rubbed his shoulders. “C’mon.”

  “Where’re we going?”

  “We’re going to pack some of Yaya’s road trip supplies then we’ll go to the warehouse then El Paso. Time to hunt for real.”

  ◆◆◆

  Brandon watched the warehouse loom into view from the passenger side of Raul’s van. “Why are we here?” He asked when Raul stopped the van behind the warehouse where Brandon had been held a prisoner. “Do we have to go inside?”

  Raul reached over and gave Brandon’s knee a squeeze. “No, of course not. What we are here to do is reverse map their route. This was the destination. We know they traveled between here and El Paso, at least three times.”

  Brandon nodded. “Yeah.”

  “There is no reason to think they’d take a different route each time, but they would take the most isolated route. Then, they don’t fix what isn’t broken. As long as there’s no trouble they’d continue to use that route,” Raul explained.

  “If we look at satellite images of the area between here and El Paso we could probably calculate the route faster and more accurately than regular maps,” Brandon said. “If we try to access the internet from here, that could tip them off.”

  “Brandon, they needed you to find them shipping methods. I don’t think that’s a concern.”

  Brandon laughed. “Okay, point taken.” He looked out the window. “We need to find somewhere with Wi-Fi unless you got enough data for an extensive search.”

  “I put one of those Wi-Fi hotspot gizmos in here.”

  “Okay, then start driving.” Brandon took his laptop out and booted it up.

  “How far?”

  “It doesn’t really matter, we just don’t want to be in one spot, just in case someone is watching. Drive around but try not to follow the same route.” He looked over at Raul. “This won’t take long.”

  Raul shrugged and turned onto the first crossroad they came to. “Okay.” He tapped the steering wheel with his thumbs and drove them in circles around the general area of the warehouse.

  Each time Brandon glanced up at the ball compass mounted to the dashboard it pointed to a different direction. As often happened when Brandon immersed himself so deeply in a search, the outside world faded away and he lost track of time. Unlike shorter, easier activities, he could complete in public if he had to, this was something he’d normally only perform in a locked room with special equipment, but he felt safe knowing Raul was watching over him. It was likely no one realized how vulnerable Brandon was when he worked this way, since he didn’t look any different to an outsider, or so he’d been told.

  His vision grayed out and was replaced by digital maps, satellite images and a view of the world most people would never be able to see. The motion of the van which at first had been an anchor to the physical world began to irritate and annoy him. A slight burn inched up his esophagus while he sensed a little sting under his tongue making his mouth water. The satellite view of the desert he was studying suddenly tipped upward, morphed and rippled. Brandon sucked in a deep breath and scrunched his eyes shut. The van lurched, making him grab the sides of his laptop.

  “Hey, whoa, let go.” Raul’s voice sounded far away and more stern than normal.

  The second Brandon stretched his fingers away from the laptop it was pulled away from him. He heard the lid being closed. Raul’s strong, warm fingers gripped Brandon’s chin and turned his head.

  “Open your eyes and look at me,” Raul commanded.

  Brandon cracked his eyes open and mumbled, “Oh, shouldn’t do that moving… I’m….”

  “Yep.” Raul shoved out of the van and Brandon wondered when he’d stopped and parked. In the next instant Brandon’s door opened and Raul was pulling him out.

  “You need air.” He pushed a bottle of water into Brandon’s hand. “Drink.”

&
nbsp; Brandon leaned against the side of the van and drank. Another few minutes elapsed before he felt normal again. He looked up at Raul who stood scrutinizing him.

  “Sorry.”

  “What happened? One minute you looked like you were in a sort of trance, but seemed fine then the next, I glanced over and you were sweaty and shaking and a very unflattering shade of green.”

  Brandon shook his head. “I’m not sure. Maybe the motion from driving? I had to go in pretty deep to get the data we needed. Usually, when I do that I’m in a reclining chair that is stationary and my equipment is above me.” He rubbed his forehead and frowned. “The chair is specially fitted with an anchoring system.”

  “How does that work?”

  Brandon licked his lips, he had to concentrate on maintaining his stream of thought. “It, um… would help me by regulating my charge. A guide and anchor to the real world. They… it’s not….”

  “What?”

  “When I was being held hostage, those men would make me sit in an office chair, with wheels,” Brandon said. “It spun too.”

  “Is that important?” Raul asked.

  “Maybe. They would move it around and I was always off balance and slightly queasy. I thought it was the drugs they gave me.”

  “But maybe not. Do you think they knew that would happen?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t know, so I don’t see how they could’ve known beforehand. They could’ve figured it out from the way I acted I guess,” Brandon said softly.

  “Somebody knew enough to provide you with equipment to prevent that reaction,” Raul pointed out.

  “I’ve always had my gear.” Brandon shrugged. “I always thought it came from the school where I was trained.” He grinned. “I did find a promising potential route they likely took.”

  “Alright, let’s find a gas station to top up the tank and get to it.” Raul patted Brandon’s shoulder and waited until he was back in the van before climbing into the drivers’ seat.

  “There’s a gas station and a couple stores and restaurants about three miles back,” Brandon said.

  Raul nodded. “I know the place.”

  Brandon reached for the tablet Raul used for maps and navigation. “I’ll input our route to El Paso.”

  Moving lightning fast, Raul reached out and gripped Brandon’s wrist. “Maybe I should do it the old-fashioned way?”

  “Naa. This is easy. Nothing like being submerged in the digital world.” He pressed one finger to a port and a few seconds later a map appeared on the screen.

  The gas station was next to a small plaza obviously set up for travelers taking a more adventurous route than the main highway. Brandon had also discovered there were areas people went to hike and camp.

  “It’ll take a little less than an hour to get to the section of roads that are more remote,” he explained to Raul.

  “Probably not even that long,” Raul said.

  Brandon went into the store to purchase a few items for their drive while Raul filled the tank. He had the back doors of the van opened and was securing some extra gas cans when Brandon returned.

  “The route we’ll take won’t have gas stations or stores or anything but desert, so I always like some extra gas.” Raul took Brandon’s bags and stored them in a shallow bin, He didn’t say anything, only smiled and raised his eyebrows when he obviously saw the bottle of lube Brandon had bought. Werewolves neither transmitted, nor contracted STDs and Brandon wasn’t going to end up with an unexpected pregnancy, so condoms weren’t needed.

  Brandon smiled shyly. “Nothing wrong with planning for contingencies.”

  “Nope.”

  As Raul predicted it took less time than evidenced by the maps and digital images Brandon saw until they were alone, surrounded by nothing but dark sky, stars, rocks, cactus and what seemed like a never-ending expanse of desert. “It’s like another planet,” Brandon said softly.

  “Pretty cool, isn’t it? We’ll stop at the halfway point. If they were to make a stop that’s the most logical place.”

  “Do you think we’ll find anything?” Brandon asked.

  Raul shrugged. “I guess it depends on how messy they are. I’ve driven for miles on back roads in the desert and never seen a thing that would make me believe I’m not the only person left on Earth. Then I’ve gone through other parts littered with so much crap you could have a garage sale if you gathered it all up. Not to mention the odds of us stopping exactly where they did are probably pretty slim.”

  Brandon nodded and fell quiet for a time, watching the scenery roll by. Every so often he’d lean out the window to look up at the sky. “I love this view. You can’t see the sky like this in the city.”

  “No, you can’t. It’ll be chilly, but if you want, we can sleep outside under the stars.” He nodded to the back of the van. “If not, we can bunk back there. I have air mattresses.”

  “Mattresses, plural?” Brandon teased.

  “Never know when I might need an extra. Or if one springs a leak.”

  Brandon took a deep breath before putting into words what had been on his mind for the last two hours. He felt that if he didn’t start the conversation now he never would. “I’ve been thinking about how to get to the ringleader.”

  Raul glanced at him. “Yeah? Okay, let’s work on a plan. What’s your thoughts?”

  “The best way would be to get on the inside, be one of them, right?”

  “Yeah,” Raul said slowly. “I usually hunt down individuals, not infiltrate, but it would be more effective in this case.”

  “I can join them.”

  “What? No. Brandon, that’s not a great idea. And how can you pretend to be one of them when they know you? Two of your kidnappers and one of the supposed victims have seen you, and not just in passing. There’s going to be no hiding who you are.”

  “Exactly. Think about it, they know who I am and at least some of what I can do. If I go to them and offer to join up. They’ll think I’ll give them even more data than when I was being held captive. Wasn’t that the reason I was targeted to begin with? To get them information? If I go to them, I can offer financials, trade routes, whatever they’ll find valuable and they won’t have a clue whether I can provide it or not without taking me in.” Brandon spoke carefully in hopes his voice didn’t shake too much. “I can do this.”

  “They also know one of your serious weaknesses. One you didn’t even know you had,” Raul pointed out.

  “Yeah, but it’s nothing that can be used against me unless I go deep into the digital world without some sort of anchor. They only were able to force me to do that because I was being held hostage and they were threatening to kill those kids if I didn’t comply. And it’s not as if it’ll kill me, just make me vomit a lot.”

  “They kept you drugged. That kept you off balance and did a good job of it. There’s no reason to think they won’t do the same thing again. All it’ll take is the right combo of drugs and the right threats.” Raul blew out a breath. “Brandon, this isn’t some television show. People who go undercover like that train extensively, they have backup—”

  “I’m not spineless, or weak. I’ve got some smarts and I’m motivated to get these creeps. They got the drop on me the first time. This time I’d be offering my services so there’d be no need for them to have to force me to do anything. No one would know how deep I am as long as I look the part.”

  Raul’s shoulders sagged and he guided the van off the road, stopping far enough into the desert the road was difficult to see.

  “This looks like a good place to spend the night.” He shifted in his seat so he could look Brandon in the eye. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply you aren’t capable. I protect people, not put them in danger.”

  “This is a surveillance van, right? You have equipment to help, don’t you? And other than the girl, they don’t know you. These sila—”

  “If that’s what she is,” Raul pointed out.

  “Can they read minds or anything like
that?”

  “I don’t think so, but I’m not positive. We can ask Fahim, he’ll probably know, or Janey, she’s up on more of that stuff than I am,” Raul said. “We don’t even know for sure what that girl is.”

  “But unless a sila can read minds then none of them will know if I’m faking. Leprechauns, selkies and magical humans wouldn’t know my thoughts either.”

  “Brandon, I don’t think—”

  “Raul, these people took me off the street. They beat me and drugged me and frankly scared me more than I’ve ever been in my life.”

  “They’ll scare you again, seeing them will do that. Remember the line-up?”

  Brandon squared his shoulders. “Yes, I do but someone close enough to me to know what I can do set me up. Someone who I’m supposed to be able to trust, probably someone I think cares about me, even loves me, sold me out. How would you feel?”

  “Pretty damn crappy.” Raul reached over and took Brandon’s hand, holding it for a minute before letting go and opening his door. “Your idea is a good beginning, but I think we need some refinement before we jump in. Let’s put together a workable plan and nail these assholes by their balls.”

  Chapter 8

  Brandon stood outside the back of the van, placing items on the ground Raul handed out to him. He arranged kerosene lamps, a small Coleman stove, the air mattresses and a little portable firepit. Finally, Raul jumped down with his arms full of camouflage netting.

  “Give me a hand with this?” Raul asked. He held out one corner to Brandon.

  Brandon followed Raul around to the side of the van facing the road. “Sure. Why do you have this?”

  Raul stopped and stared at Brandon for a few seconds. “To help hide my van.”

  “Right.” Brandon grinned and nodded. He watched as Raul vaulted to the roof of the van and tied corners of the netting to the luggage rack at each end of the vehicle before stepping off and landing lightly on the ground. Brandon arranged the netting so it draped over the entire side of the van then jogged backward a dozen yards.