Challenges (Frank Kurns Stories of the UnknownWorld Book 4)

by Natalie Grey

  Bobcat leveled off the top of the grain scoop and eyeballed it. “Eh, close enough.”

  Brewing was as much an art as a science, after all. Plus, he had a secret weapon. He gave a look over at the myrcene oil and grinned as he dumped the wheat into the boiling water. He inhaled, waving the steam toward his nose. It was already smelling sweet.

  The hops lay nearby and he dumped scoops of those into the wort as well.

  “One, two, three… Eh, add a bit more.” His list lay nearby with the measurements, and he took a moment to scrawl and a bit next to one of the types of hops.

  Art.

  Excellent. He sat back on a couch and took a pull of one of his latest beers. It had been a rousing success, yet another reason to suspect that he was going to win this competition by a mile.

  He indulged in the happy daydream of Yelena throwing her arms around him in front of everyone. Good beer to drink, Yelena’s adoration, and bragging rights—it really didn’t get much better than that. Throw in some tinkering on his newest vehicle and he’d call that a perfect day, in fact.

  He was especially going to enjoy leaving Barnabas in the dust. What did Barnabas know, anyway? He was relying on outdated techniques. The world of brewing had moved on, and Barnabas would be telling Marcus just to use the old Trappist methods and nothing else.

  It was definitely William who was the wildcard. Bobcat narrowed his eyes and considered. Yes, William and Pete.

  “ADAM?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you know if anyone looked up the myrcene oil? You know, since I didn’t block it?” He had minor regrets on that front.

  “There have been no searches for myrcene oil or returning results including myrcene oil since then.”

  ADAM waited for Bobcat to ask the relevant follow-up question: “And were there any before then?”

  But Bobcat did not ask, and ADAM, in the spirit of competition, did not feel it sporting to offer the information that William had already procured some of the oil.

  Romania

  “Okay.” Ecaterina stabbed her finger down on a crudely-drawn map. “This is where Ioan is hiding out, according to Andrei. It’s this big old house that hasn’t belonged to anybody in years. I thought it was just filled with squatters, but apparently not.”

  “Big old house, huh?” Nathan narrowed his eyes. “I don’t like the sound of that. He could be hiding anyone in there, or anything.”

  “We don’t think there are many people there now,” Ecaterina explained. “As far as we can tell, Ioan left the day-to-day running of the operation to three men in town: Andrei, Grigore, and Mathieu. Andrei says Grigore was supposed to be in charge of them. Apparently he’s a nasty piece of work.”

  “So we should only have…what, six people?” Nathan shrugged. “Or five. Ioan’s here now, or at least I’m going to assume that was who was in the car. Andrei, Grigore, Mathieu, and probably a bodyguard or two.”

  “Exactly, and we want to hit now before Ioan calls in anyone else. He might not, but why take the chance?” Ecaterina shrugged.

  “You have three Wechselbags,” Yelena pointed out. “You can take on way more than six guys.”

  “No sense taking any chances,” Ecaterina said unequivocally. “I’d rather it be stupidly easy.”

  Nathan leaned back against the wall and grinned. He was proud of her. Too often people running their first missions would try to do things the hard way, thinking that it was more heroic to fight more people. They risked a lot of lives that way, and he was pleased that Ecaterina wasn’t falling into the same trap.

  “Nonetheless,” Ecaterina said warningly, “I am guessing Ioan can call on backup pretty much immediately. I’ll bet furs aren’t the only thing he sells, and I’ll bet that also means he is prepared for things to go wrong at a moment’s notice.”

  “So what do you propose?” Alexi frowned.

  “Andrei will almost certainly have told Ioan about us,” Ecaterina explained. “He will probably even have told Ioan that I can shift into a wolf, but there’s no way to know if Ioan will believe him. Either way Ioan now has a target, and it includes two noncombatants.” She nodded at Yelena and Christina.

  “I can fight,” Yelena said, irritated. “I’m getting really good with a gun, and I’m a pretty good boxer.”

  “Yes, but you haven’t gotten any upgrades for healing yet,” Ecaterina said. “And we need someone to watch Christina. Will you do that for us while we take on Ioan’s crew?”

  Yelena knew there was no reason to argue with this. Her pride was stung, but Ecaterina was right. Three of the four adults in this room were much better suited to combat than she was.

  “You’re really not missing much,” Ecaterina said softly, “if that helps. People talk a lot about the fights Bethany Anne’s team gets in, but fights are just messy and bloody. You are also integral to the plan.”

  Yelena nodded silently.

  Nathan nodded as well. Ecaterina didn’t have the silver tongue of an experienced leader yet—she would have headed Yelena’s concerns off at the pass if she had—but she had the good sense to recognize those concerns when they surfaced and address them directly.

  “So what am I doing?” Yelena asked.

  “We’re all going to go into the forest,” Ecaterina explained. “We’ll make sure they see us. As soon as we’re there, you’ll take Christina and go to a hunting stand Alexi built. No one else knows about it, and that way you’ll be out of sight. Stay there until we come into the hunting stand to get you. Don’t move until then.”

  Yelena nodded.

  “Meanwhile, the rest of us will go through the forest and pretend that Bellatrix or Ashur has gotten snagged in a trap. While we seem to be distracted by that, we think they will attack us.” Ecaterina looked around. “And I personally think Ioan will confront us to show his superiority before he has us killed. That’s when we strike.” She stood up and looked between Alexi and Nathan. “I think it’s important that we deal with them as fast as possible on the off-chance that he does have more people waiting in the wings. No words, no explanations, no speeches—we just deal with them.”

  Nathan nodded. He could feel his smile widening. “It’s a good plan,” he told her honestly. “Let’s go rid this town of Ioan.”

  QBBS Meredith Reynolds

  “Let me just check again,” William said worriedly.

  Pete groaned. “You’ve been over this ten times. I’ve been over this ten times. The proportions carry over. You’ve worked out all the timings. The equipment is ready.” He took William by the shoulders. “Enough worrying about beer. Have a beer.”

  “I just—”

  “Nope.” Pete turned him around and marched him over to the bar. “Sit. As your mentor in this process—”

  “Assistant.”

  “Mentor.” Pete glared. “As your mentor, you should listen to me when I tell you to stop worrying. We can brew anytime.” He set a mug of beer down on the counter. “Drink.”

  “Right.” William drank. “God, this is good. See, this is why I’m worried. This was Bobcat’s last one. Sure, we have the oil, but he’s a good brewer.”

  “So he’s a good brewer.” Pete shrugged. “Wouldn’t be much point in a contest if he sucked at it, would there?”

  “I…guess not?”

  “Right. Meanwhile, you’ve worked out all the hop concentrations and we’re good to go. I’m telling you, you’ve made a winner. Whatever this myrcene oil crap is, we’d have a good beer anyway without it. Stop making yourself crazy.”

  “Right.” William nodded. He drained his beer and set it down. “Then let’s get to brewing.”

  “Excellent.” Pete clinked his mug against William’s empty one. “Be with you in one sec… Right, okay.” He wiped at his mouth. “Let’s get to brewing, indeed.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Romania

  The group dawdled on their way to the forest. It was a nice afternoon so there was no reason to hurry, and Ecaterina and Nathan made a
big show of introducing Christina to the forest, as well as the dogs pretending to be total pushovers for anyone who would rub their bellies.

  “It’s not entirely an act, you know,” Nathan told Ashur.

  Ashur chuffed at him contemptuously.

  “You are!” Nathan asserted. “A total pushover for tummy rubs.”

  Ashur asserted that he would push Nathan over, and then Nathan would give him tummy rubs and Nathan would be the pushover.

  “That’s…not how that works. Oh, you know what, I give up.”

  Ashur gave a self-satisfied grin.

  About halfway to the forest, Ecaterina and Nathan exchanged a pleased look.

  Alexi made sure not to look around himself, “What is it?”

  “We’re being followed. I’m guessing it’s Grigore; he has a very smug look about him.” Ecaterina stole a glance behind her in a shop window and tried not to laugh as Grigore darted artfully into a doorway. “Yeah, he’s real spy material. Super sneaky.”

  Even Yelena had noticed him by this point, and was trying not to laugh.

  As they approached the forest, they were still calling loud hellos to their neighbors and waving delightedly, never once looking toward their incredibly obvious follower. They walked slowly, and it was only when the trees closed around them that Ecaterina handed Christina to Yelena and they all started to run.

  “Come on, come on.” Alexi bundled Yelena and Christina toward the hunting stand. “This way. And…there we go, nice and comfy.”

  “Are you ready to hide?” Yelena asked Christina. “I don’t think your mom’s going to find us, do you?”

  Christina giggled.

  “Yeah, and there are a bunch of other people playing too, so we’ll have to be quiet when all of them go past, okay?”

  Christina nodded solemnly.

  “Awesome.” Yelena held the little girl close as Alexi hurried away again to rejoin the rest and continue their very loud, very easily-followed trail through the forest.

  Not long after, she watched Grigore bumble by. He was snapping branches, almost as loudly on his own as the rest had as a group, and he swore every time something snagged his expensive pants.

  He clearly had the idea that someday he would run an organization like Ioan’s, and Yelena rolled her eyes at him. She’d seen a lot of men like Grigore in her day. They always ended up petty and mean, taking out their frustrations on their families and pets because they didn’t have the wealth and power they thought was theirs by right.

  It was a good thing Ecaterina was taking this group out. Yelena held her finger to her lips and nodded to Christina to stay quiet even though Grigore was gone. Ecaterina was right, she was doing something very important. She was keeping Christina safe.

  Her arms tightened around the little girl and she kissed the top of Christina’s head. At her side, in its holster, the gun was waiting.

  Just let anyone try to hurt Christina. She’d make sure they didn’t live to see another day.

  ***

  Ioan adjusted his cuffs as he strode down the hallway to his study. He stopped when one of his bodyguards came out into the hall to incline his head respectfully,

  “Sir, Constantinou’s team from the castle will be ready as soon as they are alerted.”

  “Excellent.” Ioan looked at Mathieu.

  Since he had brought Andrei’s limp body upstairs, the man had been pale and prone to jumping at small noises. He bowed his head instantly when Ioan looked at him.

  Good.

  “Mathieu.”

  “Yes, sir?”

  “I will require you to stay here and alert Constantinou’s team, as well as make an emergency call to report the vicious attack these people are about to make on us.” Ioan looked smug. “As soon as I give the signal, tell Constantinou and his men to surround the group.”

  “Yes, sir.” Mathieu bobbed his head nervously.

  The problem with his excessive deference was, of course, that Ioan could not see the expression in his eyes.

  “Mathieu, I understand that you are shaken by what happened to Andrei, but you must understand that Andrei has put all of us in danger. He gave these people our address and they will call in the police, who do not care whether or not you need your family, and who will perhaps arrest you. I will try to keep us safe, but you must remember it was Andrei who put us in this precarious situation.”

  “Yes, sir.” Mathieu met his eyes briefly and swallowed hard. He nodded.

  “Good. I will send you a signal in a few minutes.” Ioan nodded to his guards and they headed into the forest.

  ***

  It wasn’t long until they found a trap.

  No one had to look behind them to know that Grigore was still following. Anyone with ears could hear the sound plainly as the man struggled and swore his way through the bushes.

  His path had not wavered at all since they had started into the forest, and Ecaterina knew he was too stupid even to have counted the figures below to notice that there were fewer people now than he’d followed to start with.

  If Ioan was trusting his organization to people like this, he deserved to lose everything from stupidity alone.

  She rolled her eyes.

  When Bellatrix pawed at the ground and whined, the whole group gathered around.

  “This is it,” Alexi said grimly. “Are we ready?”

  “Ready,” Ecaterina said. She turned to look at Ashur. “You ready too?”

  Ashur chuffed.

  “Good.” Ecaterina took a long stick and reached out to tap the trap.

  The sound of it clanging shut made everyone jump, but Bellatrix and Ashur didn’t miss a trick. Ashur yelped as if he were in terrible pain, and Bellatrix started keening.

  “Okay, quick… Ashur, you come lie down here.” Ecaterina patted the ground next to the trap and smiled when Ashur flopped down in the leaves. “Good, now I’m going to put some of this on you…” She splashed the fake blood on him and it was vivid against Ashur’s white fur. “They won’t even think to question that you’re wounded. No, don’t lick it yet.”

  Ashur informed her that he would be licking it.

  “I know, but hold off. They have to see it. We want them to think we’re all distraught and you’re out of the fight.”

  Ashur agreed that it was probably best they thought he was out of it, or they’d never try to take the group on. He was too formidable an opponent.

  “Yes,” Ecaterina agreed with a straight face. “Exactly. You’ll have to act very well to fool them or they won’t even come close.”

  Ashur flopped his head back dramatically on the forest floor. It was the same pose he always used when his food bowl was empty.

  Nathan hid a snort of laughter behind his head.

  “All right, now everyone start wailing,” Ecaterina instructed. “Make a big fuss, as if we have no idea what to do.”

  She could already spy three more figures making their way through the forest nearby.

  Ioan had come out to play.

  ***

  He heard the yelp and the howl. Ioan’s eyebrows shot up and he looked at the guards in amusement.

  Was it possible? Had they actually been so foolish as to let one of their own team be taken down by traps? His lips curved in an involuntary smile. And one of those magnificent pelts Andrei had mentioned…

  Yes, this was a delicious irony.

  Ioan enjoyed trading in furs. While drugs were always good money, and guns as well, those markets were crowded and vicious and there was always the risk of losing one’s goods to the border patrol.

  Furs, on the other hand…

  Furs were used only by the rich. Ioan’s trade, illegal as it might be, was protected from all but the most zealous customs agents, and even they were easily made powerless by the immense weight of the bureaucracy above them.

  He’d had numerous arrest warrants thrown out and citations wiped off the slate. He had cultivated relationships with the customs agents, the sort of relationships t
hat would last for years if only he continued to slip them some good brandy here, some caviar there.

  If he ever got stopped the rich would demand to know why their furs weren’t available any longer, so he was never stopped.

  Now he was rolling in cash, and absolutely untouchable in a market few others had even tried to claim.

  It was a good place to be.

  And he liked the furs. It was foolish, but they were gorgeous and he enjoyed the sheer luxury of it all. He’d even kept one or two.

  His breath quickened as he saw the wolf lying on the ground, bright red blood against its white fur. It was magnificent, and he was torn—the thought of what he could get for that pelt, not only in cash but in gratitude, was exhilarating.

  On the other hand, he might like to keep this one for himself.

  He pressed the hidden button at his wrist to signal Mathieu. Now he just had to keep the idiots talking.

  “So.” He stepped out of the trees nearby and was delighted to see their shocked expressions. Some attackers they made! They’d been so caught up in their own worry about the dog that they weren’t paying attention to their surroundings.

  The other dog, jet black to the first’s pure white, growled low in its throat.

  “I trust you will control the animal.”

  Ioan had no fear of this situation. Those with numbers and even weapons were still easily cowed by confidence, and he had confidence in abundance. He would simply promise them that all the legal trouble he could get them in would go away if they just left now.

  He was lying, of course, but it would be easy.

  He scanned the trees. Constantinou’s team wasn’t visible yet, but they would be soon. He could see Grigore hiding, waiting for his moment.

  “What do you want?” a woman demanded of him. Her eyes were wide.

  “Ah.” Ioan smiled. “I’m so glad you asked.”

  ***

  Mathieu stared at the phone. His hands were shaking.

  He needed to call the number. Ioan had signaled him, and he needed to call Constantinou. The man would bring his guards around and all of this would be over.

  He wasn’t quite sure why he couldn’t seem to make himself pick up the phone and dial, but something in him was telling him not to do it.