by Robin Roseau
Elisabeth made the rounds, talking to the enforcers. Michaela made rounds, talking to the kids and their families. Carissa stepped to me. “You need sleep.”
“I’m waiting to see when Elisabeth needs me.”
Carissa nodded, and Elisabeth made her way to me. “I want you fresh,” she said.
“I can take a watch.”
“I know you can, but if there’s more trouble, I want you rested.”
“Yes, Head Enforcer.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
Carissa took my arm, and together, we turned for our bedroom. Arriving, we saw Deirdre, Anika, and Joanna were already in bed. I eyed the bed. It was a big bed, and they were small. Carissa wasn’t any bigger, and if she needed rest, she could easily join them. But there was no room for a jaguar.
“I’ll find somewhere else,” I said.
The three in the bed woke and turned to us. I had my hand on the knob when Carissa put her hand on my arm.
“There’s camping gear,” Anika said. “Take our place, Anna.”
“I’m sure there’s room somewhere,” I said.
“Anna, we’ll all sleep better with you here,” Carissa said. “I’ll help Anika and Joanna sleep, but could you help them set the gear out?”
I nodded. Joanna pointed to the corner. I moved there, looked at what we had, and then began setting down ground pads. Joanna joined me, making a little nest for herself and Anika.
“I can sleep here,” I said.
“No,” Joanna said.
“You haven’t had any more sleep than I have.”
“Carissa already told us to sleep on these mats,” Joanna said. “But Deirdre was lonely. We were talking and fell asleep.”
“But-“
“Anna, Carissa told us...”
“Right,” I said after a moment. I wasn’t going to come between the vampire and her humans.
I helped get them settled in. Then Carissa stepped over, kneeling beside their makeshift bed. “Please take the place nearest the window,” she said. I nodded and stood. The vampire stayed behind and murmured to her humans for a minute. Then she kissed them, turned off the nightstand light, and climbed into bed. We got settled, and then Carissa said, “Unless Michaela beats me to it, I am going to destroy whoever did this.”
There was a pause, and then from the floor, Joanna said in a subdued tone, “Good.”
I lay awake thinking about that before sleep claimed me.
* * * *
They let us sleep, and it was dawn before I woke to a touch on my arm. I opened my eyes to see Monique’s face on a level with mine. “Anna.” She looked exhausted.
I glance over her shoulder at the window. “Good morning, Monique,” I whispered.
“I’m sorry to wake you,” she whispered back.
“It’s fine.” I carefully slid from the bed then looked back. Deirdre and Carissa were still asleep, and then I searched and found Joanna and Anika, also still asleep. I leaned to Monique and whispered into her ear, “You’re very quiet.”
She nodded, then tugged my sleeve. I followed her from the room. She closed the door very quietly then tugged me down the hall a little further. “Are you all right?” I asked her.
“Long night.”
“Trouble?”
She shook her head. “Did you have enough sleep?”
“Yes. You haven’t.”
“I’m supposed to go to bed next,” she said.
“Do you have a bed?”
“Somewhere,” she said.
“Take my place,” I said. “If your head enforcer won’t object. I don’t know if Carissa will wake if there is trouble.”
“You would trust me?” Monique asked. “She would?”
“Yes, Monique.”
“Thank you,” she said with a weak smile. “You have time to shower, and then if you can report to whomever is at the front door.”
“Where is Elisabeth?”
“She went to bed about an hour ago.”
“The alphas?”
“Bed a few hours ago.” She glanced away for a minute. “Anna?” She looked back at me. “Would you answer a question?”
“You can ask.”
“Why would someone do this?”
“Monique, that is a very good question. I don’t know. I’m a businesswoman. I’ve never been involved in anything like this. I worry about my own safety, and sometimes I’m asked to help escort someone in New Orleans, but Greg Freund’s people have a much better idea than I do.”
“I asked Portia. She just shook her head and didn’t answer.”
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you think, Monique? What guesses do you have?”
“Those humans didn’t have a clue what they were facing. Someone murdered them, and it wasn’t us.”
“No, it wasn’t,” I said firmly.
“If we were less prepared, they could have hurt us,” she added. “Do you think whoever sent them thought this was going to happen differently than it did?”
“I don’t know. What are your guesses, Monique?”
“Someone wanted the humans dead. That’s my first guess. Maybe revenge.”
“That’s a good theory,” I said. “Or eliminating a troublesome competitor. Maybe there’s a very large contract available someone wanted.”
Her eyes grew wide. “That’s horrible!”
“As horrible as attempting to kidnap Michaela and the pups?”
She thought about it. “Yes and no. I mean. I don’t know. But it’s horrible.”
“Perhaps,” I said. “On the other hand, they were the sort of people to take this job.”
“They deserved what happened to them,” Monique said with every conviction in the world.
“I agree,” I said. “Do you have more theories?”
“Someone wanted us weaker. If so, they failed.”
“Most definitely.”
“It could be one of our neighbors. We’ve had bad experiences with one of the packs in Iowa. Or...” She turned away.
“It could be almost anyone,” I said. “It could be someone who is offended this pack is led by two women, and one not even a wolf.”
“Or just someone who wanted Michaela.”
“Yes. Anyone, Monique.”
“It’s wrong,” she said, looking back at me again. “Anna, it’s wrong! This isn’t what the world is supposed to be.”
“I know,” I said.
“I heard some of the things you did.” I didn’t say anything. “Thank you for being here, Anna, and for... helping.”
“You are welcome, Monique.”
“Do you think we’ll get to the bottom of it?”
“That depends upon what happens to the leads we have,” I said. “I wish I had better answers, Monique.”
“Thank you for talking to me,” she said.
* * * *
I showered and dressed then headed for the kitchen to find several teenagers present. Cassie was watching over a griddle of bacon, tongs in hand. Ember seemed to have responsibility for pancakes and waffles. Parker was manning coffee, and she had it just the way I liked it by the time I reached her.
“We have plenty of food,” Ember said. “We’re supposed to feed anyone who comes in.”
“You’re good girls,” I said. “I think someone is waiting for me.”
“Elisabeth told us that everyone eats,” Cassie said. “She specifically mentioned you and reminded us how much energy we’re all burning. We have sausages, too.”
“I’ll make a plate for you,” Parker said. “You can pull up a stool.”
I let the girls take care of me. They were efficient about it, and the food was hot and filling.
“Thank you, girls,” I said after refusing more food.
“Ms. Delacroix?”
“Anna,” I said.
“Have you ever heard of anything like this before?”
“No,” I said. “During a time of stress, yo
u honor your pack helping this way.”
“Not like Monique does,” Ember replied.
“It takes all kinds,” I said. “Monique serves the pack one way. You girls serve the pack in other ways.”
“We’re just students,” Parker said. “I’m not even a regular student here.”
“You’re all valued pack members,” I said. “But perhaps incidents like this help drive home how important it is for pack to honor pack.”
They looked at me for a moment and then nodded.
“Good,” I said. “Thank you for the food.” Then I took one more piece of bacon. There was always room for one more piece of bacon.
* * * *
I accepted whatever duties and responsibilities anyone asked of me. Nearly everyone was grim, and if I’d asked, I think they might have admitted they were waiting for the other shoe to fall.
Lara was undoubtedly spending some significant money with Lima Consulting, but then I wondered if the pack could actually come out financially ahead. After all, we had capture intact two very expensive helicopters and a significant amount of high quality weaponry.
So far, the Madison Pack had come out of the exchange ahead. Angel and Elisabeth had both been shot, but they had been clean, and they were already as good as new. No one else had taken so much as a scratch. That was incredibly lucky, given what we’d been facing.
And we’d gotten rid of the evidence. The bodies had safely arrived in Illinois, and they’d been turned to ash within an hour of arrival. The weaponry and equipment was outside Wisconsin borders, and no one anticipated trouble. And the helicopters were in a secured, remote location, far from Bayfield. The sheds were gone, and with them, any evidence they might have held.
But the emotional impact to the pack was significant.
Information came in, sometimes in a trickle, sometimes in a burst.
And things settled down.
Answers
“Mid-Star Aviation,” Greg said, and an image appeared on the computer screen behind him. “They’re based out of Fort Worth Meacham Airport.”
“Texas,” Carissa said.
“Yes,” Greg confirmed. “How is your relationship with your neighbor?”
“Cordial,” Carissa said.
“They give every appearance of a perfectly legitimate operation,” Greg continued, “but they don’t seem to look very carefully at who uses their equipment.”
“That seems foolish,” Angel inserted.
“I believe they require significant deposits to rent their equipment,” Greg explained. “Perhaps more than the equipment is worth.”
“So they may not be interested in buying my helicopters back,” Michaela said. Then she sighed, her wrist to her forehead. “I suppose someone is going to suggest we make them an offer they can’t refuse.”
Greg gave a rundown on the Mid-Start facilities and services before transitioning to personnel. He was thorough, and there were few questions when he was finished.
“Dark Gorge Consulting is based out of San Diego,” he said next.
“A competitor?” Michaela asked.
“Not exactly,” Greg said. “They’re known for extraction services. Corporate kidnappings, things like that.”
“Human?” Elisabeth asked.
“As best I can tell. The CEO is former Secret Service, and he recruits heavily from law enforcement.”
“Great,” Elisabeth muttered. “Connections.”
“Yes,” Greg said. “And tight security.”
“Greg,” Carissa said. “Would you be able to positively track his location?”
“Not one hundred percent.” Another image appeared. “His home.”
“Nice house,” said Angel.
Greg put up a series of additional photographs, including the latest from Google Maps.
I frowned. “This doesn’t make sense.”
“What doesn’t?” Greg asked.
“The people you described sound like the good guys,” I replied. “But we have four of them who weren’t at all the good guys.”
“But they’re the ones who knew what we were,” Michaela pointed out. “Maybe they see us as monsters. It wouldn’t be hard for someone to paint us that way. Just call us werewolves and let people come to their own conclusions. I was once told the FBI knows about us.”
“They do,” Greg said.
Michaela stood and walked to the front, studying the images. “Put up his face again.” There was a pause, and then we were looking at a photo of a nondescript man in his mid-fifties. Michaela looked into his eyes for a minute. Then, without turning around, she said, “Before I came here, I understood not all werewolves needed to die, but I also understood many did. If he knows about werewolves, but doesn’t necessarily know the details of individual packs, it would not have been hard to mislead him.” She turned around, and her eyes settled on Carissa. “I am not willing to pass judgment on this man. Yet.”
Carissa nodded just once and then exchanged a look with Kristian. I wasn’t sure what it might mean.
“Family?” Kristian asked.
“No!” said Michaela.
“Family?” Kristian asked again.
Greg turned to look at the fox. It took a minute before she nodded, nearly imperceptibly. “Wife,” he said, and an image appeared.
“She looks young,” Elisabeth said.
“Forty-one. Wife number three. By every indication, they’re deeply devoted to each other.” There was a pause. “He has three daughters.” Three photos appeared. The eldest appeared to be upper twenties, and the youngest was a child.
“Take them all,” Kristian said. “And tell them he can trade for himself.”
“No!” Michaela said, stomping over to glare at him. He gazed at her quietly, and eventually she looked away. “Fine.”
“Don’t threaten to hurt them,” Kristian said. “Just threaten to give them to a vampire to enthrall.”
“Leave the child out of it,” Michaela said. “We’re not monsters.”
“Do we know where they are?” Elisabeth asked.
“Yes,” Greg said. “Daughter number two is attending college.”
“It’s summer.”
“Yes, but she took a summer internship on campus.”
“Where?”
“The University of Chicago.”
“Oh shit.” That came from several voices.
“No way,” Michaela said, spinning around. “No way is he stupid enough to leave her right next door while this went down. No way.”
Greg put up a photo of the second daughter walking across a college campus. “Taken at four PM this afternoon,” he said. “I have a team tracking her.”
“Greg,” Michaela whined.
“Just watching her,” he said. “Standard procedure, Michaela. How people like this act can tell you a lot. If she’d whisked away three days ago, it would tell us dear old dad expected this kind of attention.”
“Where is daughter number one?” Carissa asked.
Greg turned, and his smile was grim. An image appeared on the screen, and half the people in the room leapt to their feet.
“When?” Michaela asked coldly.
“Breakfast this morning.”
“Café du Monde. Right? That’s Café du Monde.”
“It is,” Carissa said.
“It’s a setup.” I’m not even sure who said it. There must have been five or six at once.
“Is the youngest daughter currently visiting relatives in Boulder?” Michaela asked sarcastically.
“As far as we can tell, she’s at home,” Greg said.
* * * *
Discussion went into the night. Phone calls were made. And then Monique drove Kristian to the airport.
* * * *
By afternoon of the next day, tensions were high. But we assembled in the control room. Carissa met Kristian, and the two of them escorted their “guests”, bound and with hoods over their heads, into the room. They were pushed into waiting chairs, secured, and had their
hoods yanked from their heads.
There was a man, and I recognized the CEO of Mid-Star aviation. I didn’t know who the woman was. They both looked scared out of their minds.
Michaela stood. Carissa and Kristian both stepped back. Michaela slowly looked around the room, the two prisoners watching her as she approached. Michaela approached the man first, and then a knife appeared in her hands, faster than my eyes could follow. The man startled, but there wasn’t anywhere he could go.
Michaela played with the knife for a moment before pressing it against his cheek, right under his eye.
I expected him to begin to panic, but he just glared at her. She watched him for a moment then slid the knife under the rope holding the gag in place and efficiently cut it.
“You have no right-” the man started to yell.
Michaela backhanded him. His head rocked, and then he spit blood out of his mouth. Michaela was out of the way before he could do it, then she was back, her hand around his throat. “Do you know who I am?”
“I don’t know who the fuck you are, and I don’t care, bitch!” Then he began to make strangling noises.
“You aren’t necessarily going to die,” Michaela said quite calmly. “We have questions for you, and you will answer them.”
“Fuck you,” he managed to gurgle.
“Two of your helicopters were used in an attempted kidnapping,” Michaela said. Then she released him with a shove. “Know anything about that?”
“Fuck you!” he screamed.
Michaela spun, and this time it was at a speed a human could follow. She spun, her hand descending, one of her knives clenched, coming to a stop with just the very tip embedded in the leg of the woman. She, in turn, began screaming into her gag.
Michaela froze that way. “I was the target, along with my daughters.” She pulled the knife up, and it disappeared. She turned back to the man. “You can imagine I’m not very pleased.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
Michaela stepped back and set a hand on her hip. “I’ll give you a chance. Speak politely, and I might not have to use my daggers again. One more foul word, and someone is getting cut.”
The man clamped his mouth shut.
“Better,” Michaela said. “Photos.” She pointed to the computer screen, and images of the two helicopters appeared on the screen. They were in a hangar somewhere, but I wouldn’t have been able to guess where. “The registration is traced to Mid-Star Aviation. I want to know who leased them from you.”