Ways of Darkness (Wolves of the Apocalypse Book 2)

by LC Champlin

  “Radio waves?” Albin raised a brow. “That is all?”

  “It’s like, well, a TV remote.”

  Grinning, Nathan clapped Mikhail on the back, then turned to put an arm around Josephine’s and Albin’s shoulders. “My friends, we are officially in business.”

  The attorney pulled back as he looked at Nathan askance. Then he shifted to Mikhail. “Seir secured the ReMOT four days ago at the St. Regis. He may have already handed it over to his client.” A realist riding the fence on pessimism, Albin’s glass wasn’t just half empty, it held cyanide rather than water.

  “I assume,” Nathan continued, shoving his hands in his pockets, “the files the Goats stole hold schematics for this frequency modulation device.”

  “They do, yes.”

  “How difficult would it be to make the device?”

  “Um, it’s hard to say, but with the right equipment, not very—”

  “Excellent!”

  “But we need the . . . the music, so to speak.” Mikhail cracked his knuckles from anxiety. “The frequency pattern, that is.”

  A sigh from the depths of Josephine’s soul hissed in Nathan’s ear. “We have to track down files again? Déjà vu all over.”

  Chapter 84

  Turnabout Is Fair Play

  Sick - Adelitas Way

  “On the contrary.” Pausing, Nathan eased into a nearby office chair. “We have the files, or should I say the Goats do. We need only decrypt and sort through them for the frequency pattern. It must be included if the schematics are present.” Hopefully. “Regarding the ReMOT, we know precisely who has it: Red Chief. He told me he knew what the files were for. He’s an intelligent, ruthless businessman who will sell the ReMOT for top-dollar. His client will pay through the nose to keep him from using them himself. Right now, Red holds all the cards.”

  Frowning, Josephine leaned her hip against the desk. “What’s to keep him from using the ‘cannibal control kit’ when he finds the frequency pattern? Only money?”

  Good question. “It may be that his client is more powerful than he is. The reward may be more valuable to Red than cannibal control, which is difficult to fathom—”

  “Or,” Albin broke in, “the ReMOT and frequency are less useful than we assume.”

  The door swinging open cut off Nathan’s response. Red marched in, a frown on his face, Buck and Sarge on his heels. “After that mutiny shit this morning from those fucking ungrateful bastards, you better give me some good news on the files to distract me from stomping a fucking mud hole in Redwood Shores’s ass. I give them food. I give them water. I was even fixin’ to send a generator. And they bite the hand that fucking feeds?”

  Nathan pushed from his chair in time to come chest to chest with the mad warlord. “It’s being addressed.”

  “A-fucking-dressed?” A grin of disbelief flashed in Esau’s red beard as he turned to his cronies. “You hear that? It’s being addressed. Well now, that settles it, don’t it.” The grin dropped; a scowl replacing it, grim as the torture and death that awaited anyone who challenged him. “You best hope it’s addressed, ’cause it’s your job to get those spoiled fucks in line. If you don’t shut that fuckery down, I will. And if I do, your little girlfriends’ll get the shit end of the shaft.”

  If the red motherfucker so much as touched Nathan’s people—“Do as you like, but becoming a fiefdom has a learning curve. Some growing pains should be expected.”

  “Flatten that curve out, or the pain they’ll be experiencing will be a bullet in the face. Now, did you faggots figure anything out with the files?” Esau glared at them, resembling the devil-eyed goat on his insignia.

  Mikhail cleared his throat. “There are still encrypted files, Red Chief. If you could get more access codes from the hostages . . .”

  “Nobody else found nothin’?”

  Unanimous replies in the negative.

  “Well then, get the fuck back to work! You especially, Hotshit.” Red’s hand snapped out and shoved Nathan in the chest. “I want Redwood’s William Wallace bullshit gone.”

  Fucking—Nathan’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the desk to avoid slamming a fist into Red’s jaw. “It’s a shame you handed the ReMOT over to your buyer. It may have decrypted the files.”

  “What do you know about the ReMOT?” Calculating, like a goat about to butt.

  Nathan’s knees bent a fraction of an inch. Muscles relaxed, hands together at chest height ready for action. “Cheel told me.” Told him almost nothing, rather. “It involves controlling the cannibals.”

  “Sir!” Sarge barked. The human mountain had a finger to his headset. “We have a report from the drone operator. There’s a group of people around a pickup truck. There’s a man with a megaphone in the bed.” Like Ken said, people followed the man with the biggest mouth.

  “Is Carolyn in sight?” Nathan asked.

  Though he glared, Sarge shook his head.

  Had they eliminated her threat, or did she choose to stay out of the line of fire?

  Growling, Red turned on Nathan. “They’re all yours, boy. They’ll be useful to me one way or ’nother.” Imagination supplied the possibilities, none of them pleasant.

  “I need support if I’m to protect your resources.”

  “Are they mine? They reckon they have the balls to roll on their own.”

  “We invested time and resources to win them over. You’re going to let an idiot with a megaphone take over?”

  Wearing the rictus of a skull, Red leaned in. “Nah, you’re gonna stop it, on your own time and dime. It’s fair, since you didn’t kick some sense into ’em when you had the chance. And while you’re out, maybe you’ll think up some other innovative solutions to the cannibals. Ones you saw in them files but might have . . . neglected to mention. Like schematics for the ReMOT, and info on how them brain nets control the oil pukers. That’s fair, I reckon.”

  Nathan kept his expression emotionless. Esau knew. But how? Shit, monitoring software. Of course. Companies used it to keep a Big-Brother eye on their employees’ computer usage. Mikhail, a hardware engineer, wouldn’t think to look for the program.

  Red turned to his allies. “Y’all think that’s fair? I’m givin’ ’em the freedom they earned.” Back to Nathan, Albin, and the others: “It’s what you’uns wanted with yer little insubordinations, right?”

  Head cocked, Buck smiled like a card shark after a win. Red had tested them, but unlike the ambulance quiz, they had failed.

  Anger ignited in Nathan’s blood, flowing out to kindle outrage. “I’ve had enough of the games you call tests, Esau. You claim to be fair, but you’re only cruel.”

  “Hah!” Red’s mad grin returned. “Cruelty? Boy, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”

  Chapter 85

  Unite or Die

  Believer - Imagine Dragons

  Gold eyes watched in the back of Nathan’s mind.

  “Is it fair to blame all the people of Redwood Shores for the mistakes of a minority? With the right resources, I can bring the neighborhood to heel.”

  “I’m the chief,” Esau announced, sticking his thumb in his chest. “I make the judgment calls. Now get yer ass back to work. Take over from that old bitch.”

  Another chest-shove followed, sending a jolt of pain through Nathan. Every shred of willpower went into preventing retaliation. Soon the Goat would fall to the Wolf, a sacrifice on the altar. Very soon.

  Halfway to the exit, Red turned. “I almost forgot.” He dug in a pocket, producing two business cards. “We found these.”

  A flick of his wrist sent them into the air. The motion couldn’t break the staring duel between alphas, however. The cards landed on the floor. No one moved for a beat, then Josephine retrieved them. And gasped.

  Nathan’s attention snapped to them. No, not business cards. Driver’s licenses belonging to . . . Badal Shukla and Marvin Bridges. Alive? Dead? The world went numb with cold. A whistle and roar
in Nathan’s ears drowned all other sound. Acid churned, burning in his gut and sizzling up his throat.

  Snatching them from Josephine’s hand, he stormed up to Red. “I want to see them.” Or their corpses.

  “Course ya do!” the Goat laughed.

  “Now.”

  “First, boy, fix what’s broke.”

  “If you want me to ‘fix what’s broke,’ I need tools.” More nails in more coffins waited if he failed this negotiation. He licked his dry lips and continued, “Since you won’t loan me any of your people, at least give me mine. They’re of more use to you as active participants than hostages.”

  Red scratched his beard as he eyed Nathan. “Well, I s’pose that’s fair. No skin off my dick anyway. Apu stays with me and helps the Commie. You an’ Blondie can have the weedy one and the hippy chick.” Then he marched from the room.

  Sarge followed, but Buck remained.

  Nathan sat back on the table, heart slamming into his aching ribs. One, two, three—One definition of compromise was mutual loss.

  The lights flickered. In the flashes of light between darkness the faces of those around him again resembled the Dalits’ pale, pustule-covered visages. Then the generators settled and the lights held. The illusion of cannibal faces vanished.

  He locked on the Goats’ IT tech: “We need the ReMOT. If we have it—”

  “Dude.” She raised her hands. “Just stop. You don’t know the first thing about the ReMOT. Even if you did, this is bigger than your little neighborhood. It’s bigger than the whole fucking city. Esau knows what he’s doing. He’s thinking of the long game. Sometimes you gotta take a small loss in the short term to get a win later.”

  Josephine butted in: “Do you mean to tell us Esau’s fine with giving up something that might allow him to control or stop the affected?”

  “I’m gonna say it only once.” Buck propped her hands on her hips. “Long game.”

  Eyes narrowed and arms folded, Albin huffed in skepticism. “Thus far he is sacrificing the ReMOT and Redwood Shores. His long-game goal must be impressive indeed.”

  “Look, I gotta go.”

  She turned to leave, but Mikhail caught her shoulder. “Aren’t you going to help with the files?”

  With a snarl, she backhanded it away. “I got business elsewhere.”

  “Delivering the ReMOT,” Nathan deduced.

  She opened her mouth. Then she sneered. “If you got a problem with it, feel free to stop us. We’ll be at the water plant at 13:30, sharp. But wait!” Head cocked, eyes wide with feigned realization. “If you go, you won’t be able to deal with Redwood’s civil war, and your sheep will be on their own. Ooh, choose wisely.”

  The water treatment plant at Redwood Shores’s point? Done.

  The door closed behind her—then burst open again. Sarge shoved two men into the room. Badal and Marvin! The second they cleared the door, Sarge slammed it shut.

  Everyone converged on the new arrivals. Questions flew.

  “One at a time!” Nathan ordered, shoving in front of the newcomers. Marvin bore a bruise across his right cheek, while a shiner ringed Badal’s left eye. He put a hand on each man’s shoulder. “Thank God you’re both alive.” Relief at their safely and despair at their capture fought for supremacy. “How badly are you injured?”

  Badal wiped his nose with his sleeve. “They knocked us around a little, but they didn’t torture us. We didn’t get much to eat, either.”

  “How did they catch you?” Josephine pressed.

  “We . . .” Marvin took a breath. “We tried to run from the Oshiro, but there was a pack of cannibals.”

  “We were going to head for the soldiers,” Badal put in, “but they were shooting. Before we could get around the cannibals, these guys in masks Tased us—”

  “And threw you in the back of a truck,” Nathan finished.

  Nods.

  “What about Judge?”

  “She ran off,” Badal supplied.

  “Good.” Her training would give her a chance. “Now, I know you’ve been through a lot, and I wish we all had time to process what’s happened. But there’s a community that needs our help.” This won the pair’s full attention. “Can I count on you?”

  “Of course.”

  “Sure, buddy.”

  “Badal, I need you to stay here with Mikhail. He’ll explain what you’re to do.”

  “Just like old times, except for the explaining.” Badal forced a smile.

  “Good man.” Nathan squeezed his shoulder. “Marvin, I hate to put you in danger, just as I hate to put any of us in harm’s way, but we don’t have a choice.” Rather, the choice didn’t bear considering. “We’re going to Redwood Shores. I’ll explain on the way.”

  “Um.” Marvin gulped. Trauma deadened the gleam that once lit his eyes. “Do I get a gun?”

  “I think that can be arranged.”

  “Good.” He relaxed.

  “I get a gun too, then,” Josephine asserted, hands on her hips.

  “Fine.” Nathan swung around to face the others. “We have a crisis to manage. Josephine.” Pausing, he locked stares with the reporter. “Now that you’ve earned the Goats’ trust with your broadcast, use their communications equipment to call the police. More specifically, our friends at the DHS. Albin?”

  “Sir.”

  They traded cold smiles.

  “Semper paratus, Mr. Serebus.”

  “Carpe jugulum.”

  On their own. Unleashed.

  Chapter 86

  Devil’s Advocate

  Back from the Edge - James Arthur

  As everyone occupied themselves with the tasks Nathan had assigned or that they had invented, Nathan took Badal and Mikhail aside behind a ZIM shipping container in the parking lot. Whether it transported human cargo was a question that could go without answer.

  “Badal, Mikhail,” Nathan began, voice low as he gave the area a last survey. “You’re going to have to remain here for a while. I’m sorry.”

  They regarded him in dread and defeat.

  “Can’t you bargain with him to let us go with you?” Badal whispered.

  Shoulders wilting, Mikhail shook his head. “There’s nothing to bargain with. We’re no better than slaves to Esau Seir.”

  “I had to compromise with him.” The desertion made him want to roar from frustration. “It’s only temporary until the authorities come. Red is going to leave the base soon. His best personnel will go with him. That’s your opportunity.” He paused to meet each man’s gaze. “You need to disappear as best you can. This is especially critical when the police or military arrive, since the Goats who are holding down the fort will be desperate. They—” They would turn their human cargo into human shields.

  “They what?” Badal grated.

  “They’re ruthless, Badal. Don’t become their hostage again.”

  “I didn’t try to get caught the first time.”

  “Yes, sir,” from Mikhail.

  With a pat on each engineer’s shoulder, Nathan smiled. “We have to do what we can with what we have.”

  The trio dispersed to resume their projects. As Nathan approached the white moving van, Sarge emerged from a side door of the office building. Face as stony as a gargoyle’s, he bore down on Nathan.

  “You.” Sarge drew up a yard from his semi-captive. “I would have enjoyed kicking you into dog meat.” After a glance about, he shoved two brown paper bags—the kind that usually concealed alcohol or condoms—against Nathan’s chest. Then the Goat marched off.

  A trick? Nathan located a place near another shipping container out of view from the mercenaries. There he opened the packages, which Sarge had double bagged, to find two flash-bangs and two fifty-count boxes of Federal .45ACPs. A scrap of paper stuck out of one.

  Smoothing the page on his thigh, he stared at the scrawl. It read: Don’t fuck this up.

  ++++++++++++

  When the merc-turned
-chauffeur dropped Nathan and Albin at Redwood Shores’s perimeter, he related, “Truck’s in the middle of the place. Hustle!”

  “Helpful,” Nathan muttered as he trekked up the sidewalk.

  The van had let Josephine and Marvin off a quarter mile to the southwest. They knew their assignments. To everyone’s surprise, Sarge had allowed the group the use of select Red Devil Goat resources. With care and persistence, the reporter and economist would use them to significant effect.

  Four blocks in, shouts rang ahead. No screams or cries. No gunshots.

  Nathan held up his fist. He pointed at Albin and made a circular gesture. The blond nodded before trotting off.

  Concealing his handgun under his jacket, Nathan strode toward the disturbance with the quickest pace he could manage. When he rounded the corner of the block, he halted.

  Eduardo was standing in the bed of a GMC Sierra. He’d located a bullhorn and was using it like a Third-World dictator as the pickup rolled down the street. A parade of people followed: his core supporters and a score of new members.

  “If you care about your family,” the would-be savior proclaimed, “then come with us! We need to stand up to these bastards who want to make us slaves. Carolyn doesn’t care about us. The raiders cut her a special bargain, then she threw us to the wolves!”

  His crowd yelled agreement.

  “Goddamned fools,” Nathan hissed, grip tightening on the Rock Island Standard under his shirt.

  “Come out and follow me if you want to live.” Eduardo’s face shone with sweat in the mid-morning sun. “Let’s show Carolyn and those bastards who we are!”

  Teeth bared, Nathan left the shelter of the fence to stalk into the street. “Eduardo! You’re a damn liar.”

  The GMC rolled to a stop as the troublemaker in the back sneered. “Look, it’s the convenient stranger who rode into town just in time to work out a deal with criminals.”