Bureau Under Siege

by A. K. Michaels

  Sam raised his eyes from the screen. “No, no more movement anywhere and none of the teams on guard have reported anything hinky. So, I guess this is where we meet with the teams and decide where we go from here?”

  “Give me a few minutes to check my emails for anything urgent, then we’ll head down and see Matthew first. After that we can get Creed and the squad leaders in the conference room to discuss how we rid ourselves of this Mikhail.” Ronan turned to leave, stopped and asked Sam, “Oh, will you check with Esther and her new friend if we should be worried about anything magical? If so we’ll need them along.”

  “Will do,” Sam replied, already reaching for his phone.

  Starr was up ahead, waiting on him. “Are we taking the fight to them or waiting to see their next move?”

  Walking ahead and into his office he thought for a second or two before answering, “I think we need to take it to them. I don’t like sitting around doing nothing and waiting to see what they’re going to do.”

  Taking his seat at his desk he opened his emails and trolled through, nothing important jumping out at him. Starr sat down across from his, chewing on her bottom lip. Although she was obviously thinking, worried perhaps, it still looked so erotic to him that he shook his head to rid it of the dirty thoughts that popped in.

  “What’re you smiling at?” she asked, her head cocked to the side.

  “Oh nothing...” his words cut off as Matthew came running down the hallway and barreling right into his office.

  “Boss, sorry, but you need to see this.” Matthew held out his tablet across the desk and Ronan took it.

  On the screen there was a lone man, probably a Vampire, being led towards their offices, flanked by one of Creed’s teams. “What the hell? Who is he and what’s going on?”

  Matthew frowned. “He’s one of Mikhail Karloff’s men and he says he’s got a message for you and Creed. I’ve already phoned Creed and he’s on his way, says he’ll meet you downstairs.”

  Ronan got up slowly. “Starr, go and get Sam, tell him to come downstairs too.”

  Starr moved with speed born from her supernatural abilities, almost knocking Matthew out of the way as she sped passed him. Ronan handed the tablet back to Matthew. “You can go back to your department. Keep every eye you can on cameras, I don’t know if this is some kind of decoy. They could attack while we’re distracted with this guy.”

  Matthew took the tablet. “I don’t think so. He’s the only one we saw leaving the warehouse. I can’t swear that he’s the only one that left but we’ve got no other reports from any of the teams out there that they’ve seen any more movement.”

  “Just want to make sure. We don’t want a repeat of yesterday.”

  Ronan picked up speed as he left the office, Sam joining him as he jogged towards the stairwell. He noticed Starr was also there, behind Sam, and he wished she’d stayed in the offices but knew she would’ve just sneaked down anyway. At least this way he was aware of exactly where she was in case of any trouble.

  “What’s going on?” Sam asked as they took the stairs three and four at a time.

  “No idea, one of Mikhail’s men is being escorted here and says he has a message for us.”

  Sam snarled, the noise echoing in the enclosed space. “Can I rip his heart out?”

  Ronan chuckled. “Oh, I think Creed may get there before you, but let’s wait and see what he has to say.”

  None of them spoke again until they exited in the garage, making their way outside from there. After all, their entrance had been destroyed the day before and was now boarded up. As they slowed down to a walk Ronan saw Creed already standing waiting. The tension in the guard’s body was clear for them all to see.

  “Creed,” Ronan acknowledged the Vampire, noting him turn and nod his head slightly.

  Creed talked through, what appeared to be, clenched teeth, “I don’t know him, he must be new.”

  Ronan looked up the street, his enhanced sight taking in the rather young looking man being herded their way. He saw the silver handcuffs on his bound wrists in front of his body. The look of pain on his face telling him various things.

  The Vamp was young, possibly newly made, he wasn’t strong, he wasn’t “hard” and he most definitely wasn’t experienced in battle. He looked vulnerable but Ronan pushed that thought aside. He was one of Mikhail’s men so that meant he was the enemy, not a friend, no matter how he looked.

  As they drew ever closer they could all see the man’s eyes almost closed from the sun. Definitely a newly turned Vampire, Ronan thought and moved into the shadow cast by their building. The Elite Guards pushing the man the last few yards towards them. The relief on his face as he left direct sunlight was not in the least surprising.

  “Who are you and what do you want?” Ronan barked out, his voice full of authority, his face cold and hard as he stared at their prisoner.

  The new Vampire squinted over at them fearfully. “Uhm, I’m Frankie, I’m with a man called Mikhail. I’m not really sure who he is and I have no idea what the hell’s going on.”

  Ronan stepped forward. “What do you mean? How can you not know who he is, he brought you here didn’t he?”

  Frankie shook his head. “No, I live about an hour away and was on my way to work yesterday when these two guys attacked me. Fuck, they bit me,” Frankie stated and moved his shirt collar out of the way, “here, right here on my neck. What the fuck was that all about? I lost consciousness and next thing I knew I was waking up in some shithole with a load of freaks around me drinking blood. They tried to get me to drink it too but I didn’t. It was gross at the time, but now, I fucking have no idea what’s happening ‘cause right now I could sure use some. What’s wrong with me?”

  Creed cursed under his breath though they all heard it as Ronan stepped closer to the man in front of them. “You got any I.D. to prove you are who you say you are? That you’re from here?”

  Nodding towards his crumpled jacket Frankie said, “Yeah, ‘course I do. In there, my driving license, my pass for work, and I think there’s even a bank card there too.”

  Ronan stuck his hand in, bringing out a wallet full of everything they needed to verify the man’s claims. “Feck!” Ronan turned, handing the wallet over to Creed.

  “What a lowlife! He’s not sacrificing his own men,” Sam snarled and Frankie tried to take a step back.

  Frankie almost whimpered, his voice full of worry. “Who are you and who is this Mikhail, or, what I should be asking is what is he?”

  Creed motioned with his head towards the handcuff. “Take those off, he’s no threat to us.”

  One of the guards, who already wore black leather gloves, stepped forward to remove the shackles. Frankie started rubbing his wrists as soon as he was free of the silver.

  Frankie said a quiet, “Thank you,” to Creed who stared at him for a moment longer before asking, “You have a message for me?”

  “Are you Ronan? Or Creed? Those are the two names I was given and they said they would kill me if I told anyone but those two.”

  Creed nodded. “I’m Creed and that,” he pointed to Ronan, “is Ronan, so talk, what’s the message?”

  Frankie cowered under Creed’s stare. “This isn’t me talking, so don’t get angry with me. This Mikhail said I’ve to tell you if Creed hands himself over by noon today there’ll be no more war. He’ll take Creed and leave the area, the city and the country. He’s to present himself at the warehouse dressed in nothing but a pair of shorts, no shoes or other clothing. Said he was too sneaky and would probably have weapons hidden if he wore clothes and said it would save them stripping him to…torture him.”

  Frankie looked between Ronan and Creed, terror now in his eyes. Ronan turned to Creed, “Okay, so now we have a time frame. We need to get organized and hit them before noon. Go and get every team leader in the conference room and I’ll be there soon.”

  Creed turned away, moving so fast he was nothing but a blur. Frankie’s eyes widened and he looke
d shocked as the Elite Guard disappeared. Ronan turned to Sam and stated, “We need someone to look after him. You know what’s gonna happen when he’s fully turned so he needs to be kept secure until he’s over the worst. Assign him a guard and also someone to teach him our ways.”

  Frankie blustered, trying to step away. “What do you mean? What’re you talking ‘bout? I have a life and a job I need to get back to! My boss is gonna be so fucking angry I just didn’t turn up, I...”

  Ronan stepped forward, grabbing him by the shoulders. “Frankie, I’m sorry. This shouldn’t have happened to you but it did and there’s no other way to tell you, but those men are Vampires and they’ve turned you. You won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Not until we deem you safe to be around humans. It’s a lot to take in but I don’t have the time to sugar coat things so you’re just gonna have to deal with it.”

  Shaking his head Frankie tried to get out of Ronan’s grip. “No! Don’t be so stupid! I’m human!”

  Sam nodded to the guards. “Take him to a secure cell and I’ll get people assigned to him.”

  The Vampires took hold of Frankie’s arms, pulling him inside the building. His screams and shouts echoing all around. Starr watched in horror as the man was dragged away. “Holy shit, that is so wrong!”

  Ronan closed the distance between them, placing an arm around around her shoulders. “I know and we’ll do all we can for him but we can’t just let him go. Not until we know he’s not going to go on a blood crazed frenzy. Come on, we’ve got bigger things to deal with right now.”

  “A moment, please, I don’t want to go in there until he’s gone.” Starr almost pleaded as the shouts and screams started to lessen, the echoes not quite as loud.

  Ronan tightened his grip on her, bringing her closer to his side. “We can wait a minute or two, they’ll be taking him down to the basement level so they’ll be gone soon.”

  Starr shivered underneath his grip. “What kind of person would do that?”

  Sam started walking back inside, his voice full of determination. “One we’re gonna put down real soon.”

  “I hope so,” Starr whispered as they followed Sam.

  “We will,” Ronan said and gave her a squeeze, “don’t worry, we will.”

  They walked back up the stairs, all somber and Ronan knew they had their own thoughts on what just happened. His? Well he was beyond anger at what had been done to the man, Frankie. Destined for a life as a Vampire now and not by choice. It wouldn’t be easy for him to adjust but they would do their best to help him make it through.

  Nearing the third floor Ronan took Starr’s hand. “You want to go and rest? We can deal with this, Puff.”

  The resolute shaking of her head told him what she thought of that idea. His hopes dashed of keeping her as far away from Mikhail and his men as he wanted her to be. Pushing open the door they entered the hall and picked up their pace as they headed to the conference room, finding it already full.

  Creed stood at the front, a grim and determined look on his face. One that Ronan had seen before. The look emphasizing the man’s anger that he contained inside. Stopping next to him he leaned down. “You okay?” he asked.

  Ronan looked into his eyes as he barely nodded his head in answer. “Right, folks,” Ronan addressed the people in the room, “we’ve got a deadline to meet and we’re going in as soon as we are ready. We’re going in hard and fast and we’re not looking to take any prisoners.”

  Voices mumbled around the room, “Thank fuck,” was said a few times together with another few expletives. Everyone was ready to take out the people responsible for the deaths of their own.

  Ronan raised his voice as the murmuring continued. “That being said, we’ve just come across a human that was barely turned. One they used solely to send us a message, so, if you come across anyone that is not putting up any resistance there may be a reason for that so use your discretion.”

  More things were said in response to that piece of information. Mainly, “fucking bastards!” and Ronan had to agree, anyone that would do what they had only to use the man to deliver a message were indeed, fucking bastards!

  He lifted his hands to quieten them down, “We need to be very wary, they used explosives yesterday and we know they also are prone to use guns. What I propose if that no team goes in until our Wolves scent the area for any danger from bombs. Once they give the go ahead, or not, then we move in. I assume Creed has given everyone their designated positions?” lots of nods told him he had, “Good, we’ll be moving out in an hour. I want to get this over and done with as soon as possible.”

  Ronan turned to Sam, “We got any more information on whether we’ll be needed Esther or that Najac fellow?”

  His friend shook his head, “We’re good to go. Apparently the two of them were out there at sunrise to do whatever the hell it is they do, but, Esther has said there’s no magic in play and Najac has left.”

  “Good,” Ronan responded and spun his head towards Creed, “You ready?”

  “Yes,” Creed replied in a voice laced with anger and hatred.

  “Don’t do anything stupid, Creed. We go in, we take them out, as quickly and as efficiently as possible.”

  “You’re the boss,” Creed threw over his shoulder as he left.

  Sam hissed, “He’s beyond angry,”

  “He is,” Ronan frowned, “he better not do anything stupid.”

  His friend laughed, “This is Creed we’re talking about. He takes risks like the rest of us breathe.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Ronan muttered.

  Starr stepped forward, “Where do you want me?”

  “Close behind me,” he answered while walking out the room. “Come on, I want to check with Matthew that everything is still quiet over there.”

  “I’m going to suit up.” Sam told them, breaking off and heading to the locker room.

  “See you downstairs,” Ronan answered as Starr followed him to go and find Matthew.

  “I’ll be ready. I want this over and done with so I can get my party organized!” Sam grinned and Starr laughed.

  Ronan sobered them both up, “Sam, the burial of our Wolves comes first. Once that’s done we can have your party.”

  Grief ran over Sam’s face. “I know, Ronan, I know.”

  As Sam left their sight Ronan sighed, “That’s going to be one shitty day. I still can’t believe we’ll be burying Drake.”

  Starr rubbed a hand at the base of his back, “We’ll get through it, Fang.”

  Ronan gave her a small smile, “Thanks,” was all he said.

  Chapter 11

  Matthew confirmed there had been no further movement, apart from the large double doors leading into the building that were now lying open. Ronan scowled as he looked at the monitor, “Now, is that in preparation of them expecting Creed to just give himself up. Or, do they know we’re coming for them?”

  “I’m not sure, boss.” Matthew answered, confused.

  “I was just talking aloud,” Ronan looked over at Matthew and saw the boy relax, “I want you in on the comms links and you tell us immediately if there are any changes. Okay?”

  Matthew was nodding his head vigorously, “Of course, I’ll have every man I’ve got on it.”

  Ronan patted the young Wolf’s shoulder. “Thank you, Matthew, gotta go, will check in with you before we go in.”

  Starr slipped her hand in his as they walked away, “Everything’s going to go as it should. Don’t worry.”

  Raising an eyebrow he looked down at her. “Who says I’m worried?”

  Squeezing his hand she stared up into his eyes. “I do, I can feel it, sense it. Our bond is growing stronger, Fang.”

  “Really? Well, I’m not so sure I like this. I’ve got a rep to keep up and you knowing when I’m worrying kinda rids me of the cool, calm and in control persona I’ve got going on.”

  Starr giggled, “Your secret’s safe with me.”

  Ronan grinned at her smiling face
. “Good, ‘cause I wouldn’t want to have to lock you up to keep my worrying from getting out. Though, if I kept you locked up in our bedroom it may not be a punishment.”

  “That’s a dream, not a punishment!” her words entered his head and he replied instantly.

  “Dream on, baby, dream on!”

  She pinched his arm as the made their way downstairs. They were a little early but already there were teams standing around, expectation in the air as they waited.

  Serge walked over as soon as he saw them, sadness and anger on his face, which made for a weird combination. “As soon as this is over we’ll be taking Drake and the others back to Pack Land for burial.”

  “I know,” Ronan said quietly, “we’ll be coming too. I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

  Serge growled deep in his chest. “Me either, he was one of the good guys. I’m gonna miss him.”

  “Me too,” Ronan responded and felt Serge’s pain roll off him, “we’ll make ‘em pay, Serge.”

  “Fucking right we will,” Serge almost spat out. “We’re moving out now, the Wolves are going ahead to make sure that fucker doesn’t have any surprises waiting on us.”

  Ronan clasped Serge’s arm, “Good luck and be safe, Serge, don’t take any chances.”

  “Don’t worry, we won’t, see you in a bit.”

  With that Serge walked away, his fellow Wolves falling in behind him.

  “They’re not driving?” Starr asked.

  He shook his head, “No. They’re going along the entire route we’ll be using, just in case they’ve left any devices tucked away.”

  “Shoot, I didn’t even think of that!” Starr exclaimed. “Do you think they may have? What do we do if they have?”

  “We have specialists that can deal with it, Serge being one of them.”

  Starr shivered. “I don’t like bombs, shit, I don’t even like fireworks all that much.”

  “Really? I quite like watching them from the roof at New Year ‘n such. The city puts on some great shows like for Fourth of July and we get a great view from up top.”

  Again she shivered. “Nope, that’s why I stayed inside the last few times you went to watch. I know I said I was tired, or had other things to do, but the truth is I just don’t like them.”