She had stopped moving at that incredible speed to pick Dorson up. The woman had steel skin and obviously possessed superhuman strength. She lifted the man up and hurled him through the window of the living room with such force that when his head struck the window frame, the wood simply cracked.
This wasn’t merely any woman but the damn Steel Dragon.
Trevor sat, raised his hands in the air, and spread his fingers wide. “I’m unarmed!” he shouted.
Martin had a totally different tactic. Rather than surrender, he yanked the fat kid to his feet and put a gun to his head.
“I know you’re fast but you’re not that fast,” he said to the Steel Dragon and the whole room froze.
“Let him go,” her partner said, a black guy with a thin mustache.
“Fat fucking chance,” the thug responded, tightened his grasp on the boy’s neck, and pressed the gun more firmly against his temple.
“We’ll tell you everything,” Trevor said. “Names, places, you name it. But don’t kill us! Please. No one was supposed to get hurt. We didn’t even kill the cops out there.”
“Look at my father’s face,” the Steel Dragon bellowed. “Look what you’ve done to him.”
Terror swamped him. Looking into her eyes was like looking into hell itself. There was nothing there but fire and fury and rage and he felt his bladder let loose. Still, he continued to talk. “That wasn’t us! Honest! That was Dorson, that asshole you threw out the window. Please, ma’am, I’m telling the truth. We were supposed to pick these folks up and get them somewhere safe. I swear it.”
“That’s kidnapping,” the black cop said.
“You two need to step the fuck into the back yard if you want this guy to live,” Martin said and still held Brian tightly.
“Everyone needs to calm down,” Trevor shouted. His hands were still raised. The black cop had his gun aimed at his chest now, while the Steel Dragon stared balefully at Martin and his hostage.
“He’s right, Kristen. Now’s not the time to do anything rash.”
“Listen to the fucking cop,” Trevor said.
She looked once at Trevor, disdain barely hidden behind her silver features, then drew her gun and put it on the floor. Unlike her clothes, the weapon wasn’t silver. He assumed that meant it still worked.
“Look. We don’t want anyone else to get hurt,” she said and raised her own hands in the air. “We want to help you guys. It sounds like someone set you two up, right?”
“Damn right,” he responded quickly. “We were supposed to be picked up by the boss. We thought the family wanted to get away from the cops. Seriously. This is all a misunderstanding. We don’t want your family hurt any more than you do.” One of his gifts was that he could lie as easily as he could tell the truth. He’d even passed polygraph tests. Most people felt something when they lied, but not him. Statements were categorized not into truth and fiction but into things he could say that would help him and things that wouldn’t.
“Stop talking.” The black cop gestured with the pistol still aimed at his chest and he nodded. He’d said his piece and hopefully, it would be enough.
Suddenly, he felt like it would be okay. A wave of relief washed over Trevor. His worry seemed to slowly seep away.
“We don’t know what’s going on here, but we really don’t want anyone else to get hurt—not our people and not your people,” the Steel Dragon said to Martin and took a step toward him.
“Bullshit,” Martin said, although his voice lacked conviction.
“It’s true, really,” she said in a soothing tone. “We know you two didn’t mastermind this whole thing. We have questions and you have answers. Let’s work out something mutually beneficial. Like you said, you haven’t killed anyone, so there are no charges that can’t be worked out through a plea deal. Let’s all relax and talk through this.”
To Trevor’s great surprise, the other man nodded at this—hesitantly at first but then with more feeling. He hoped the goon felt the great sense of relief and calm that he did and that these cops weren’t there to hurt them, but to protect them. They wanted to know the truth, but that was only fair. He knew precious little about this whole operation, and he could empathize because he too wanted to know more about what was going on. Maybe he really could help the police.
“So take the gun away from Brian’s head, drop it on the floor, and we’ll all be fine.”
Martin hesitated and for a moment, Trevor thought he saw the man battling the sense of calm. Finally, he relented and lowered his weapon.
The fat kid exhaled and fainted. His captor managed to slow his descent so he didn’t crack his head on the coffee table. That, Trevor decided, was how he would describe the whole tableau if he ever stood in front of a jury. As soon as Trevor made that decision, his brain believed it to be the truth.
“We have more police coming, so we need to put you two in cuffs. It’s for your own good. We don’t want anyone to see those cops you hurt out there and get the wrong idea.”
“Yes, officer. Thank you, officer.” Trevor stuck his wrists out to the black cop. The man pulled him to his feet and cuffed his wrists behind his back. Even that felt strangely soothing to him. He felt like the chance for violence had passed. It was a huge relief. “We didn’t hurt those police, by the way. It was Dorson—that’s the guy you threw out the window—and Hector. That’s the guy who you, uh…that’s the guy in the kitchen.” He only wanted to be helpful. Martin didn’t need to take the fall for that. It had merely been orders.
“You too,” Kristen said to the goon, who nodded and let her cuff him.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
The smell of strong coffee and nervous sweat permeated the station. Kristen didn’t think she’d ever seen so many officers jammed into the building before. There was no way they could all fit in the lounge so instead, they milled around the desks, argued about who the shooter could have been and what kind of monster would go after a cop’s family, and generally gave Frank Hall one hell of a hard time.
She wondered if most families taken into protective custody felt the way her dad probably did. He’d been a cop for thirty years, and although he’d never made SWAT, he still knew a number of the officers there. Despite the fact that he’d been targeted in his own home, he acted like he owned the place, glad-handed people, and asked about their folks. Looking at him, it was easy to forget that he’d almost been kidnapped by an unknown enemy less than an hour before.
The rest of the family dealt with their stress in more predictable ways. Her mom nursed a cup of coffee despite the later hour and stared into the middle distance. Brian zoned into a game on his phone—typical behavior, but she’d have to talk to him later.
Captain Hansen came out of her office, climbed onto a desk, and waited for the room to quiet. It didn’t take very long. “All right, so first thing’s first—Officer Hall and Officer Washington, the force owes you a debt of gratitude. You saved the lives of two officers. Because of you, they get to go home to see their families tonight. Plus, I guess we’re happy you saved the retired one. Some of us would’ve been sad to see him go.”
The woman nodded at Frank as the crowd laughed and broke into applause and cheers. She waited for them to quiet before she continued. “Here’s what I can tell you. Three hours ago, four hostiles tried to take our dragon’s family hostage. She didn’t let them.”
More cheers followed.
“Kristen Hall and Jim Washington called into the station, confirmed orders, and went to Hall’s residence—at least that’s the story if any reporters come around. They apprehended three of the four hostiles. One was injured but seems to be stable, so good job there.”
“The one Hall chucked out the window got away?” the Wonderkid asked.
“That’s right. Because of all this, the Halls will be under our watch for a while. We obviously can’t have the Steel Dragon hovering around them while this sniper is hunting her. Which brings me to my next point. Kristen Hall, you’re on office duty u
ntil this is all resolved.”
The cheers and humor were sucked out of the room as if by a giant vacuum.
“What? But that’s ridiculous!” Kristen protested.
“What it is, is an order. And I’m telling the room so everyone understands that if you take Hall out, you risk your own life and your job. If she gets in a cruiser, you answer to me.”
“This is bullshit.” She was furious. A few other officers—those nearest her—took up her chant.
“If you have a problem, see me in my office. In fact, that’s an order. You, Wonderkid, and Drew—my office. Now. Everyone else, get back to work.”
A half-hearted cheer went up and was quickly replaced with grumbles about paperwork.
In the office, she quickly found that not everyone was as forgiving as the captain had seemed to be.
Drew wasn’t normally one to show much emotion, but he showed it now. He paced like a wolf stuck behind a chain-link fence.
“Hey…Drew,” she began haltingly.
“For the record, I recommended full disciplinary action against you two. The captain might not want to put a smudge on the Steel Dragon’s record, but I disagree. Running off was reckless, stupid, and beyond dangerous.”
“Yeah, but if we didn’t do it, Hall’s family would be dead,” Jim replied.
That only earned a growl from the other man along with a reluctant nod. “I know. And really, I don’t know what two regular cops could have done against four armed thugs. It’s only… Don’t you see you’re being manipulated?”
“And what is my alternative?” She was on her feet now. “Let my family be taken prisoner?”
“Obviously not.” Captain Hansen sat at her desk behind steepled fingers. “We won’t dissect your actions, but we also won’t let it happen again. This sniper is hunting you, Kristen. From here on out, you need to be a regular cop.”
“A regular person won’t be able to stop this killer.”
“Kristen, look, I understand that protecting the people you love is a huge part of who you are.” The anger had left Drew’s voice and been replaced by a pleading tone that Kristen didn’t quite know what to do with. “Until now, I’ve seen it as a huge strength.”
Jim laughed. “I hear that. Going into a firefight knowing the Steel Dragon has your back is a great feeling.”
The team leader smiled for half a second before his frown returned. “Not least of all because we know you’d do anything to protect us, but that’s the problem.”
“How is protecting my friends and family a problem?” she asked.
“Because this enemy is obviously smart and will try to turn your strengths into weaknesses,” Captain Hansen said. “For all we know, that shot was aimed at your arm to get you to the hospital instead of kill you so they’d be able to snatch your family.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little paranoid?” Jim raised an eyebrow.
“No, I don’t, Wonderkid. I really don’t. In fact, I think the smartest thing we can do is be as paranoid as possible. A piece of evidence has already gone missing, which is troubling in itself. I think the safest thing we can do is get Kristen out of here completely. I want you to check into a hospital in the suburbs until that shoulder is healed.”
“Respectfully, ma’am, that won’t be necessary,” Kristen said and chose not to acknowledge the dragon-scale bullet in her pocket.
“It’s well within my power to put you on medical leave.”
“Even if I’m unhurt?” She yanked the bandage off her shoulder.
The two men’s gasps were yet another reminder that she was no longer human.
“Don’t be ridiculous Hall. It’s been less than twenty-four…” Captain Hansen trailed off, her mouth agape.
“The wound… It’s already closed?” Drew was incredulous.
Kristen nodded. “It’s still stiff but it won’t be by tomorrow morning.”
The captain recovered first. “That changes nothing. There have been multiple attacks against you and your family. We need to discover how they’re connected before you or your family are hurt again.”
“Do we know anything about the kidnappers yet?” Jim asked.
Drew nodded. “They are a small ‘thug for hire’ team. We’ve seen them before and think about half of them are still at large, but we have people looking for them. We’ll catch them.”
“The shooter is another matter,” Captain Hansen stated.
“Did you find any clues in his nest?” Jim asked.
The team leader responded first. “We did, but you’re not gonna like it. For one thing, those shots were fired from about two thousand, six hundred meters away.”
The Wonderkid whistled at the distance. “Damn.”
“Most snipers are listed with a maximum of one thousand, eight hundred to two thousand meters. Two-six is… Are you sure?” she asked.
“Positive,” Drew confirmed. “And I didn’t realize you were a gun-head.”
“I’m not, but my brother plays a ton of video games. He can tell you the specs on almost any weapon ever made, whether or not you ask him. But even in games, you can’t make those kinds of shots.”
“Our shooter can. She has the chops.” Captain Hansen flexed her jaw.
“Wait, we know who the shooter is? That’s good!” A desire for vengeance flared inside her. She saw the same emotion pass over everyone else’s face and immediately reminded herself that she really had to get that under control.
“It’s really not.” The woman dug in her desk and withdrew a shiny silver half-circle about the size of a quarter. “She left her calling card.” She tossed it to Kristen.
She caught it and turned it over in her hand. “It’s…a dragon scale?”
Drew shook his head. “No, only a little silver made to look like one.”
“The assassin’s name is Death. Most of our sources say it’s a ‘she,’ but we really don’t know for sure. This scale has been found at multiple crime scenes across the world. Almost any time a dragon has been shot and killed in the last twenty years, one of these silver scales is there.”
“And no one’s ever caught her?” She was amazed that such a tiny, beautiful thing could symbolize murder on a global scale.
“No one’s really tried.” The captain sighed. “Killing dragons is out of human jurisdiction the world over. You know how they are and how they hate us to pry into their lives. All we know is that Death has an impressive kill list. If the dragons know more, they’re not telling us.”
At that moment, the door to the office opened and Stonequest entered.
He glanced at the scale in her hand, then at her. “So, it is Death.” He didn’t look any more pleased to know who the shooter was than the captain was.
“Tell us you’ve been holding out on the intel,” Drew said and a weak grin slid onto his face.
Stonequest shook his head and crushed any hope that might have built. “All we know is that when Death chooses a target, she doesn’t stop until she succeeds. She’s damn resourceful and beyond dangerous. Kristen, this means your training can’t be at your pace anymore.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we need you to have every possible dragon ability available to you. If Death is hunting you, she no doubt knows what you can and can’t do. You’ve still never taken your dragon form. I have no doubt that she knows this and is operating around it. We need to unlock your abilities if you’re going to live through this. We’ve never had a steel dragon before. This might be the opportunity we’ve waited for.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you’re coming with me.”
He nodded at Captain Hansen and Drew who both nodded to acknowledge Dragon SWAT’s preeminence over human affairs.
“What about my family?” she asked.
“We’ll keep them safe—change hotels, armed guards in their rooms, the works,” the captain assured her.
“That might not be enough,” Kristen protested.
“With
respect, if you can’t activate more of your abilities, I know for a fact there’s nothing these humans can do to keep you safe.”
She glared at the other dragon but she followed him out of the office and into the night.
Her logical assumption was that they’d get into a car or something because Stonequest took her to the top of the parking garage. Once there, however, he approached the edge and turned to her.
“We’re practicing here?” she asked.
“No, but it’s easier to start a flight from up high.” No sooner had Stonequest finished speaking than he transformed. First, his skin seemed to flake away to reveal stone beneath but the flaking continued. More and more thin fragments of stone and dust fell off him as he doubled in size, then doubled again and again. Wings burst from his back like bones made of lava rock. A tail erupted from his spine to spray more stone and dust across the roof. A membrane, clear as crystal, spread between the bones of his wings and he flapped them once. Dust and debris blew across the top of the parking garage but in a moment, it was all gone, vanished to wherever it had come from.
“I really need to learn how to do that.” Her mouth was agape.
“Some dragons learn by simply leaping from a building and activating their powers in a moment of need.”
Her expression wary, she peered over the edge. The parking garage was high but not that high. “I think I could survive that landing in my steel form.”
Stonequest sighed, a truly odd thing to see a dragon do. “This would be easier if you could transform too,” he grumbled. “But until then, climb aboard and hold on tight.”
The ride out of the city was a heady, surreal experience. Despite apparently being made of rock, he flew gracefully and barely flapped his wings as he reacted effortlessly to the changes in the cold air.
Kristen longed to be able to do it as well, but not enough to jump from his back and test his theory about necessity being a good teacher.
They flew for close to an hour, and by the time they reached their destination, she was exhausted.
It was a mansion of some kind. Stonequest said something about “our finest palatial manor,” before he took her to a bed and told he’d fetch her at dawn.
Steel Dragon (Steel Dragons Series Book 1) Page 45