The Guilty Innocent

by D N Simmons

  “I'm not laughing at you to make you feel bad. It's just, you looked so cute holding your little gun, simply adorable. I see why Warren adores you so.” He chuckled once more, then his expression grew serious, he looked at me eye to eye. “Natasha, tonight will be very dangerous, some might even die...you do not have to do this,” he was very sincere, but that didn't stop me from becoming angry.

  “Not you too!” I said annoyed. “Is it because I am a human?”

  He looked away, then he faced me again. “Not exactly. Yes, you are a human, but we are also dealing with humans, and from what I have been briefed on, the use of silver and K-13 ammo puts us all on the mortality level. However, it is evident that you have never done anything like this before, I don't want you hurt or killed.”

  “These assholes killed my best friend! They've tried lo kill me and my friends and everyone I hold dear to my heart! And do you honestly think they will let me leave Russia unharmed?” I asked him. He seemed to think on what I said, then he shook his head slightly. “I do this because I have to, I do this because I want this all to end. I will be able to fend for myself, I am not a liability!” I said passionately.

  Adrian's eyes widened slightly as he looked at me, then a smiled spread across his full shaped lips and he began to chuckle. “Warren told me you had a lot of spunk, but I never imagined you were such a little firecracker. Okay, you have me convinced, if there is one thing that holds true, humans are resourceful...watch your ass.” He rose from the armrest and walked over to his companion, Nagesa. The two men began to talk. A few of the other shape-shifters looked at me, I was sure they heard what I told Adrian, I hope they knew that I meant every word that I said.

  Xavier and John had come out of the bedroom, fully dressed head-to-toe in black. Their hair was wet and Xavier had his long brown hair slick back and tied into a ponytail, he was wearing a black t-shirt and drawstring pants that I assumed was Sergio's. John's blond hair was combed back, he was wearing a pair of tight fitting black jeans and a skin tight black t-shirt, which was no doubt, Devin's. John looked a little bit uncomfortable in his clothes, but he continued to walk towards his weapons. Xavier picked up his guns, then walked towards me.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked me. I looked at Xavier and nodded my head slowly, I put my arms around him and pulled him into a deep embrace. His strong arms wrapped around me as he held me tightly against his warmth. “Do not worry, I will protect you with my life,” he said softly. “Natasha?”

  I looked up at him. “What is it?” I asked.

  “Promise me you will not try to take anyone, stay close to me, but far away from harm, do you understand?” he looked deeply into my eyes. I nodded my head. “Good,” he said, nodding his head, relieved.

  Xavier leaned down and kissed me deeply for several seconds. When he released me, I did not want to let him go. I looked around the room and everyone appeared to be prepared. Adrian held a gun in each hand, one was a machine gun, the other a sniper rifle, they rested on his shoulders as he watched Xavier and me.

  “Are you two ready?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.

  “Yes.” Xavier said, then he paused, he appeared to be thinking, then he spoke. “Let us not forget we need the woman, Lidiya alive, she needs to be taken into custody. She is the only one who can testify in court about Annette's murder and Darian's set up. Plus we need to gather all information on those crooked politicians, that will help us defend Darian, come on.”

  Xavier took my hand and led us towards the door. Everyone walked out of the cabin and began to climb into the two huge trucks. Nagesa's team took one truck and Adrian's team took the other. Xavier drove ours to the mansion, the seven of us were silent the ride over. I wondered if everyone was doing what I was doing, and that was mentally pumping myself up to go through with this.

  When we were within the one mile radius from the mansion's perimeter, Xavier pulled the truck off the road, driving into a wooded area, he turned off the lights and everyone climbed out. I watched the other truck continue further down the road. They were going to attack from the southeast side of the mansion. Adrian led us through the trees until we saw the tiny lights of the mansion from about five blocks away. Adrian laid in a military prone position on the ground, as did Xavier, Daniel and Miko. Annabelle, Carmen and I crouched low to the ground. We were all wearing ear pieces and microphones, which I thought was kind of cool. We waited silently for the confirmation that Nagesa's team Bravo had made it to their positions. Five minutes passed before we heard word from Nagesa.

  “This is Bravo, I'm at check point “B” ready when you are, over.” Nagesa said over the ear piece. I had to admit this was pretty exciting, but terribly horrifying at the same time.

  “This is Alpha, roger that,” Adrian replied as he peered through his scope, Xavier, Daniel and Miko did the same, they appeared to be locking in their targets. “We have seven targets in sight, how many targets do you see?” Adrian asked. I was amazed at just how professional they were. I think it was safe to say that some of the other shape-shifters were impressed as well.

  “Alpha, we have ten targets locked in sight, ready when you are, over.” Nagesa repeated, his voice was smooth and measured as if he had not one worry in the world.

  “Copy, fire at will.” Adrian said, then he stared more intently through his scope, his fingers squeezing the trigger slowly. I was beginning to feel really nervous, the reality of everything was hitting me like a Mack truck, many people would die this night. I closed my eyes and prayed silently for my friends and myself. Even though all of the guns had silencers on them, I could hear the bullets being shot out through their rifles as Adrian, Miko, Xavier and Daniel assassinated the guards.

  “This is an even better position than I anticipated, we don't even have to move to take out the guards in the front, I can see them just as well from here.” Adrian said triumphantly then he glanced at Daniel. “Daniel, did Miranda take out the two in the tower?” Adrian asked.

  “Yeah, but I see two more by the garage.” Daniel said as he peered through his scope.

  “Good, you know what to do,” Adrian said. Daniel nodded, then his finger pulled the trigger twice. “Excellent.” Adrian said, satisfied.

  “This is bravo leader, all targets have been eliminated, we are now in route to the main hold, over.” Nagesa informed.

  “Roger that Bravo, we're moving out.” Adrian said, then he gestured for us to follow him. We ran through the woods towards the mansion. Adrian motioned for Carman and Annabelle to head out before us and in a movement too fast for me to see, they were off without a sound. I was astounded by how fast the supernatural race could move. The others kept up speed with me, I appreciated that. We reached the perimeter of the mansion, I could see Nagesa's teams from across the courtyard. Adrian did a few hand motions and Nagesa nodded. Nagesa turned to Miranda and I could see them talking, Miranda nodded and ran off. A few seconds later the lights went off in the mansion.

  “Let's move out!” Adrian said into his microphone. My mind went blank, this was the moment of truth...lord help me! We converged on the mansion and Adrian, Xavier, Nagesa and Tony began to toss gas grenades through the windows. Guns were fired from within the mansion and we hit the ground. Dozens of mobsters came running out of the mansion, some were coughing and gagging, but all fired their weapons at us. Xavier grabbed me and pulled me behind him as he fired his weapon, taking out two Japanese men who I assumed were yakuza members.

  My heart was racing, I could feel my pulse in my temples. Bullets whizzed by me as Xavier shot back. Adrian ran across the courtyard blasting his two guns, taking out four of the mobsters, he rolled then dashed behind a tree to reload his rifle. I caught a glimpse of his expression, if I didn't know any better, I'd swear he was enjoying himself. I watched the others move so gracefully, most of their movements I could not see, only the people they attacked falling down. I did see Miranda and who I assumed was another shape-shifter attack each other. They were so fast, that I scarcely
saw their movements. The fight ended with Miranda standing over the motionless body of the shape-shifter. Blood dripped from Miranda's hands, I looked at the body to see that the eyes were open. Miranda looked up at me, and smiled slightly before darting off towards the mansion.

  “Natasha, duck!” Xavier's voice made me concentrate on myself, I did not hesitate one nanosecond, I fell to the ground and Xavier shot down two mobsters that were trying to sneak up on us from behind. “Come on!” he said, then he grabbed my hand and we ran to the other side of the mansion where there was less activity. Xavier peered into a window then broke the glass with the butt of his gun. After checking for safety, he helped me inside, then climbed in behind me.

  “Duck!” he yelled, and I did, I looked up at him as he dodged a bullet, he shot back and I heard two people scream out in pain then go silent.

  “Let's go!” Xavier said, then he took my hand and we ran through the huge gourmet kitchen of the mansion. He stopped by the doorway and peeked into the other room. He looked at his weapon to check his ammo. “Fuck!” he looked at me and smiled, “I'm out,” he chuckled. I extended my automatic pistol, he looked at me and shook his head.

  “No, I do not want to leave you unarmed. I don't have any more ammo but I am not defenseless, you keep it,” he said.

  I nodded my head. I was not so sure I could even bring myself to shoot it, but I held onto the gun nonetheless. All of a sudden, a few lights came on in the mansion. It looked as though someone had turned on the emergency lights. Xavier took my hand and led me to the middle of what looked to be a conference room.

  He paused and sniffed the air. “I can smell blood,” he said.

  Then he took my hand and led us out of the room and down a long corridor. We came to a black door and Xavier turned the door knob, but it did not budge, he applied a little bit of pressure and I heard the metal lock snap and the door opened. Suddenly, Xavier turned around, and I turned to see why. There were two tall muscular men standing at the end of the hallway. Their chest began to heave and their skin began to sweat profusely, I watched, spellbound as their eyes changed to a yellowish color and their nails grew into razor-sharp claws. I could hear the unmistakable sound of bones cracking as their bodies appear to elongate, becoming more muscular and furrier. Xavier pushed me behind him, I heard a low hair-raising growl coming from him and I looked down to see his nails become claws themselves. I backed away slowly into the door way and peeked around him. The two wolves began to advance on Xavier and he ran towards them in a movement that was so fast I did not see it. Next, I heard a lot of snarling and growling, Xavier had tossed one of the wolves against the wall, and the plaster gave way under the impact, cracking in a spider web pattern.

  The other wolf grabbed Xavier by his neck, his claws were digging deeply into the flesh. Xavier grabbed the wolf's hand, preventing him from ripping his throat. Blood began to pour from Xavier's wounded neck, soaking the front of his shirt. The second wolf had regrouped and was now ripping at Xavier's stomach causing Xavier to grimace in pain. I screamed and before I knew it, I pulled the trigger of my gun, blasting away at the wolves. My aim was erratic and somehow one of my silver bullets managed to hit the wolf who had ripped Xavier open. I realized that I shot the wolf in his stomach. Talk about a lucky shot! Xavier reached up and pulled the other wolf's claws from his throat. I could hear the wolf's bones cracking as Xavier crushed his hand. The wolf howled in pain and released Xavier. The wolf that I shot began to stagger towards me. Terrified, I screamed and ran through the now open black door, slamming it shut behind me. I ran down the stairs, it was completely dark, I suppose the emergency lights didn't reach down here. I felt my way along the wall as I ran down the stairs. My foot missed one step and I fell the last two steps, twisting my ankle. I bit my bottom lip, to keep from screaming in pain. I had dropped my gun in the fall, and began searching the floor, frantically trying to locate it.

  “Natasha!” two people called my name. I recognized the voices.

  “Sergio! Devin!” I called out. “Where are you!?” I limped through the darkness, leaving my lost gun. I held my arms out in front of me to feel my surroundings.

  “Towards the end of the room, hurry, I can smell another shape-shifter coming close to this room!” Sergio said. That put a little pep in my step and I quickly fumbled and tripped my way towards them. I didn't care that my ankle was killing me. As I was feeling my way through the room, my hand accidentally smacked Sergio on his face and he groaned. Well at last I finally found him.

  “I'm sorry,” I apologized.

  “Don't worry, hurry, untie me!” he said anxiously.

  I forced myself to calm down, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness. I began to make out Sergio's prone form, I could even make out the silver bindings that held him in place. Frantically, I undid the binds, my fingers clumsily working at the chains until they were loose. It was a damn good thing these bindings didn't require a key to unlock them. Sergio hopped off the table.

  “Thanks Natasha. Let's go save Devin!” Sergio said then he took me by the hand and led me over to where Devin laid. Sergio ran away as I began to unbound Devin.

  Devin jumped off of the table and hugged me tightly, almost cutting off my breath. “Thank you, thank you!” he said, obviously relieved that he was now free.

  “What about us!?” someone yelled out and I turned towards the voice.

  “Where are you!?” I called out. “Over here,” the numerous voices called. They continued to call to me, Devin helped direct me to each captive. I freed all of the shape-shifters that were chained down.

  They were all very grateful, some even hugging me once they were freed.

  “Before you all leave, you need to know that there is a war going on up there. It's best if you stay with me until the coast is clear,” I said to them. All of the shape-shifters agreed to stay by my side. I looked at a bright light coming through a tiny window in the back of the room and walked over to it. I looked through the window and saw a man. I assumed he was the vampire, the ultraviolet lighting was a dead giveaway. I see this was the one light that probably would never fail.

  I turned to one of the shape-shifters. “Someone help me open this door please!” I called out.

  “Here I come, Natasha!” Devin said then I felt him next to me a second later, his hands reached for the door handle, he broke the lock and the door opened. The ultraviolet light cut through the darkness of the room and the vampire looked at us. He began to snarl and I saw his fangs extend. If I was not so scared, surely I would have fainted, instead I did the next best thing...I screamed.

  “We're here to help, don't attack!” Devin said as he held his hands out in front of him. The vampire paused and looked at the both of us, his teeth began to recede.

  “Thank you, I can't leave this room, the light has the doorway blocked,” he said with a German sounding accent.

  “Stand back, I'm going to break this light.” Devin said, then his hands became claws and he gave one good upwards thrust into the door frame and the light was shattered. The room was once again blanketed in darkness. The vampire walked out of the room, he stood beside us.

  I turned to Devin. “Where did Sergio go?” I asked softly.

  “He went for Gregor. Come on, we need to get out of here!” Devin said, then he grabbed my hand as we began to make our way towards the stairs, I yelped in pain, he stopped and looked at me.

  “What's wrong?” he asked, his eyes probably trailing over my body as he inspected me, being as he can see perfectly in the darkness.

  “I twisted my ankle when I came down the stairs, I will be okay.” I said as I tried to walk up the stairs, limping pitifully.

  He looked at me, then chuckled. He picked me up and threw me over his shoulder with ease. Then he ran up the stairs, the others followed. The mansion was still dark, some emergency lights were still on which allowed me to see. Xavier was nowhere in sight and that worried me. There was blood all over the hallway, it was at that moment I saw the s
hifter that tried to rip out Xavier's throat laying dead on the floor. I could see his body in the glow of the emergency lights as plain as day. His heart had been ripped out, it hung loosely by it's attached arteries from the pulp-covered hole in his chest. Blood was splattered all over his torso and his eyes stared straight...empty. I felt my stomach lurch and I told Devin to put me down immediately. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I hobbled to a corner of the hall and vomited. Devin came up behind me and patted me on the back.

  “It's okay, Natasha, I can't imagine what all this is doing to you, but for whatever it is worth,” he paused and waited for me to turn and face him. I did as I wiped my mouth with my sleeve. “I want to thank you for saving us, coming here was extremely brave and I admire you for it,” he said then he smiled. I was so filled with emotions, all I wanted to do was cry, but I held that deep inside me.

  “You don't have to thank me, I know you would have done the same. Now come on, you. We don't have time to waste.” I said, attempting to perk myself up and clear my mind of the image I just saw. Devin nodded and all of us walked, well I hobbled out of the mansion into the courtyard. We stopped dead in our tracks when we saw Sergio and a man whom I assumed to be Gregor standing in front of each other. I looked around and saw that the gang was all here, only about three of them looked winded. Some had blood on their clothes, I had no idea if it was their own blood, or someone else's. Xavier had Lidiya in his arms, she was unconscious and Elise stood beside them. I turned to the other shape-shifters and the vampire. “You guys can leave now, it's safe.”

  “Thank you so much. I don't know you, but I do believe he said it best,” the vampire said, pointing to Devin. “You were brave to come here and help us.”

  I smiled feeling more useful now than ever before. The shape-shifters left and the vampire seemed to vanish, though I think he ran off with the others. I turned to watch what was transpiring between Sergio and Gregor.