Saint’s Passage: Elemental Covenant Book One

by Hunter, Elizabeth

  “Like I said, it’s not on the map—probably ’cause it’s part of the base. Outside the fences though. There’s a canyon on this side of the range.” He pointed to the north. “That’s where they’d do bombing runs way back in the day.”

  “But you’re sure it’s outside the security fence?”

  “It was inside until about twenty years ago. A big storm wiped out a bunch of the fence line and they decided to move it in. Canyon’s still there though, along with an access road that goes about halfway down.” Jitters’s finger ran along what looked like a ridge. “There’s a road that slopes down here, and if you keep following it, it leads to the northeast corner.” He drew a line. “It’s rough, but it’s below the surface. You’d be digging up basically, so they won’t see you. And you’re only about a quarter mile from the fence line.”

  Brigid watched him. “How do you know about this?”

  “Oh, when that base was abandoned in the sixties, they left a lot of equipment in that back corner.” Jitters looked around his compound. “Used to be you could go in and buy scrap, parts, that sort of thing. Got quite a lot of building materials for this place that way. Not sure if it was strictly legal and all, but the guards there, they’d let you in if you had cash. I noticed the access road when it was still inside the fence line.”

  “Has anyone checked on it recently?” Brigid asked.

  “I think so.” Carwyn frowned. “I have a distinct feeling that Watchdog_46 knows about that road. The angle on some of his photographs would seem to match.”

  Daniel asked, “Who’s Watchdog…?”

  “Watchdog_46?” Carwyn asked. “He’s the local conspiracy theorist. Believes in UFOs, men in black, faked moon landing, crazy things like that.”

  Brigid looked at Oso, Jitters, and Wash, who still hadn’t spoken. They were staring at Carwyn as if he’d slapped their mother.

  “Not that all those things are that far-fetched,” Brigid quickly added. “After all, with all that security, they must be hiding something.”

  Solemn nods were Brigid’s only response.

  “So we tunnel in with Carwyn’s… equipment.” Brigid barely concealed her smile. “Then we do some poking around. I’ll do that. Take a look at the guard situation, find where the kids are being kept. Check out the camera situation, things like that.”

  “I can help with that,” Daniel said. “If you want.”

  Wash said, “Yeah, Daniel’s quiet. He’s real good at that sort of thing.”

  Brigid nodded. “Okay, but that’s all. First night, we’re in and out. Reconnaissance only.”

  “When do we get the kids?” Oso asked. “We gonna get them all at once?”

  “That will all depend on what we find at the range. We don’t know enough yet.” Brigid shook her head. “We were only supposed to be getting one teenager, not a dozen little kids.”

  Daniel had the smarts to look guilty.

  “Speaking of Lupe, here are the rules,” Brigid said. “She is not going near any of this. I don’t know if all of you know, but she’s undocumented, which means if things in there go to shit and she’s caught, she’s in a lot more trouble than any of you lot.”

  Oso raised his hand. “I’m a citizen.”

  Wash raised his hand. “So am I.”

  “I know you are; that’s why you’re going to be with us. I’ve already done a background check on both of you.”

  Wash frowned and darted a look at Daniel. “Danny, you know about this?”

  The young man shrugged. “She didn’t ask me, dude. I guess she’s gotta be careful with the kids, you know?”

  “I don’t care about your past drug convictions, Mr. Owens.” Brigid glanced at Wash. “I care that you don’t use again, especially around any of the children.”

  Oso was looking uncomfortable. “You don’t even know my name.”

  “No, but I have a friend who was able to hack into the LAPD’s system.” She glanced at his arms. “Your tattoos are distinctive, Alfred.”

  Oso’s nostrils flared, but he said nothing.

  “I’m not interested in your pasts as long as you don’t pose a danger to children, but let’s not be naive, gentlemen.” She looked around the table. “We all know that I can’t take that for granted.”

  There was silence for some time until Jitters said, “That’s understandable, Ms. Connor. Especially for little kids like this who are probably scared out of their minds. We gotta make sure we don’t make them even more scared getting them outta there.”

  Wash said, “I can put together probably… six or seven people who can help. People who have seen some shit and done similar stuff. Maybe not with the government, but with labs and businesses and stuff. I’ll vouch for them; Daniel can too.”

  “Breaking into research labs and freeing test animals isn’t the same as a detention facility,” Brigid said, “but as I can’t afford to be picky at the moment, consider them on the team.”

  “Fuck! What kind of background check did you do?” Wash’s mouth was gaping. “None of us was ever arrested by—”

  “It wasn’t a legal background check, Mr. Owens.” Carwyn smiled a little. “We have different streams of information.”

  Oso was watching Brigid with narrowed eyes. “What the hell are you gonna do with these kids once we get them out?” he asked. “We’re not social workers.”

  “If the child has a family member in the US, we contact that person. I don’t care about their legal status, family is the best option. If they don’t, then we find their people.” Brigid looked around the table. “It’s as simple and as complicated as that. We get the children out and return them to their families. And we don’t quit until they’re home.”

  * * *

  Lupe was sitting in the corner of Didi’s yard, half-asleep in the corner of a broken couch and covered with a giant blue-and-black-plaid blanket. She looked exhausted.

  The lingering smell of chili filled the air, reminding Brigid that good Irish stout wouldn’t cut it and she needed to drink another pint before she went to sleep at dawn. The blood from the bank was satisfying, but it didn’t last the way that fresh blood did and she couldn’t deny it.

  Brigid walked over and sat on the end of the couch. “Hey.” She patted Lupe’s leg. “Why don’t you go to sleep?”

  The girl yawned wide. “Did you come up with a plan?”

  “We did. Or the beginnings of one anyway.”

  “What do I need to do?”

  “Stay here and lie low,” Brigid said. “Yer not goin’ near that military base.”

  “But—”

  “It’s not up for discussion or debate,” Brigid said. “We’re here; we’re gettin’ the children. The cavalry has arrived. You, a minor with dubious immigration status and a bright future ahead of you, are not goin’ to be taking part in any illegal activities.”

  Lupe looked at her from the corner of her eye. “You haven’t thought this through.”

  “Oh, I’m sure we haven’t. This is an idiotic plan from top to bottom. We’re kidnapping children who have already been kidnapped once. We have no lawyers, no social workers. We’re basically instigating an international incident.”

  Lupe bit the corner of her lip. “But they’re not safe there. Otherwise there wouldn’t have been anyone who was just gone like that girl said.”

  Brigid turned toward Lupe. “I believe you. I believe that girl. And if these children or this place had shown up in any court records, immigration files, or lawyers’ briefs, I’d likely have told you to get a sign and picket the immigration office with your do-gooder friends from the church.”

  But the truth had been, when Brigid had given the name of the girl Lupe met in Los Angeles to Beatrice De Novo, preschool mom, water vampire, and resident computer hacker, Beatrice had been able to find nothing.

  Nothing about a detention center at Miller’s Range. Nothing about contractors using it. Nothing about unaccompanied minors being held in Southern California. According to Beatrice, n
o records of these children existed anywhere in the system.

  That set off every alarm bell for Brigid.

  Lupe said, “They’re not in any records, are they?”

  Brigid shook her head.

  Lupe looked into the darkness surrounding Didi’s compound. “You know, they call me illegal, but what they’re doing is illegal too. I looked it up, and there’re international laws about that stuff. So if I’m illegal, then they are too.”

  “Sounds like maybe you should be a lawyer when you grow up. Shove that law right up…” Brigid caught herself. “…in their faces. You know, just show them that law. Take ’em to court.”

  “Maybe.” She kicked her legs under the blanket. “I just wish my mom could be a citizen. She knows more about America than like, anyone. She’s seen Hamilton a million times and read the book about him and everything. She’s reading one right now about George Washington. Plus she works superhard, and we don’t take anything from anyone really. She wouldn’t even go to a food bank at the church when she lost her job a few years ago.”

  “Your mother sounds like a very admirable person, Lupe.”

  “She works harder than anyone else I know. Way more than most legal people.”

  “You know, you should probably drop the whole legal and illegal people thing. Cigarettes are illegal. Drugs are illegal. People are not illegal.”

  Lupe frowned. “Cigarettes aren’t illegal.”

  “I mean the kind that come on boats at night and don’t go through customs, those are the illegal kind.”

  Lupe blinked. “Oh. I’ve never heard of that.”

  She patted the girl’s leg. “Yer a lamb, but I’m oddly fond of you. I like how determined you are.”

  Lupe grabbed her hand. “If you don’t let me go with you guys, the kids might get scared. If a bunch of scary-looking grown-ups in black—’cause I know you’re gonna wear black—like, storm in and try to take them, they’re gonna scream and cry a lot.”

  Brigid pursed her lips. “Fair point. I’ll consider this information. Maybe we can make sure some of the people Wash and Daniel bring are women who can speak Spanish fluently.” She looked at Lupe. “I’m assuming Spanish, but I shouldn’t. What did the girl in LA speak?”

  “Spanish. She was from Oaxaca, but she said some of the kids were from Central America and there was one from like Cuba or something.”

  “But all or mostly Spanish.”

  Lupe nodded.

  “Okay, good girl.” She looked at the tables where a few people still lingered, drinking beers and getting a little loud. “Are you still okay here?”

  “Yeah, none of the people come inside the trailer. It’s just me and Didi.”

  “And she’s okay when she’s wrecked?”

  The girl frowned.

  “Drunk I mean,” Brigid said. “Hammered. Bollocksed. You get the idea.”

  Lupe nodded. “Yeah, she’s okay. She’s never mean or anything. Not to me.”

  “Okay. Carwyn and I will be working tomorrow again, getting the digging sorted out most likely. But I’ll be back as soon as I can tomorrow night.”

  “Okay. I’ll tell Didi she just missed you.” Lupe smiled. “She was muttering something last night about you and Carwyn and the bleeping vampires. But, you know, she didn’t say bleeping.”

  Brigid froze for a millisecond before she realized Lupe thought it was a joke. “Oh, because of all the black clothes I imagine?” She laughed with all her teeth. “Didi should talk to my aunt. She hated the black clothes when I was your age. Always wanted me to wear flowers and that shite.”

  Lupe shrugged. “I like bright colors mostly. Things that remind me of the sun.”

  “When we’re not working, do you know what my husband wears?”

  “Uh… sweatshirts? Basketball shorts?”

  “Hawaiian shirts, the brighter the better.”

  Lupe giggled.

  “I’m not havin’ ya on, it’s true.” She motioned to her chest. “Neon green and orange flowers and pink and blue and all. It’ll sear yer brain. He takes pride in it, no lie.”

  Lupe was fully laughing at that point. “You don’t let him wear his Hawaiian shirts when you’re working?”

  “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, can you imagine trying to keep a low profile with a mountain of a redheaded man built like a steam engine, taller than the front door, and fitted out in a hula-girl shirt?” Brigid shook her head. “Vacations and leisure time only, I’m afraid.”

  “Every time I see him now, I’m going to picture him in a Hawaiian shirt like my uncle wears in the summer. It’ll make him a little less scary.”

  “Oh no, you can’t be scared of him.” Brigid shook her head. “He may be strong as an ox, but that man has the world’s biggest heart. He’s the one convinced me to take your case.” Brigid winked. “How’s it feel going from runaway to client?”

  Lupe looked at her feet. “I can’t pay you.”

  Brigid stood and looked at the girl. “You can pay us by listening, playing things smart, and then going home and apologizing like mad to your mother.”

  “What did you tell her yesterday?”

  “Just that you were safe, you were staying with good people, but it was going to take a few more days to sort things out so you could come home.”

  Lupe’s eyebrows rose. “And she was okay with that?”

  “I have no idea—I made Carwyn call her. Mothers make me run screaming.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  They lay stretched on their bellies behind the rise of the ridge, looking through binoculars they’d borrowed from Didi, who liked to bird-watch.

  “It’s near midnight, and that’s only the second patrol.” Brigid passed the specs to Carwyn. “If this is military, it’s sloppy.”

  “I told you it’s not military,” Carwyn said. “And in my experience, mercenaries—”

  “Contractors.”

  “Mercenaries” —he shot her a side-eyed look— “don’t have the organizational discipline that regulars do. These men are guarding children that no one knows about. They don’t expect anyone to challenge them, so they’re playing loose. If I had to bet, there will be one more patrol along the perimeter before dawn. Maximum two. These people will be easy to work around.”

  “Agreed. Are you picking up any sensors?” Brigid asked.

  “No, but you might be better at sniffing those out.”

  Fire vampires were often attuned to currents of any kind. Electrical fencing, bugs, and sensors were things that Brigid had trained herself to pick up.

  “I’ll give the perimeter a quick pass before I head back to the Springs,” she said. “When are you going to start digging?”

  “Tonight. I’ve identified the road that Jitters was talking about. It’s well out of anyone’s sight, and we both know I won’t be visible for more than a minute or two. The real bonus will be that we can park a vehicle back there and no one will be able to see it unless they’re in the air.”

  “Grand. So if you start tonight, you’ll finish—”

  “Tonight.” He shot her a grin. “A leisurely walk in the park, this one is. The only thing softer than sandstone is lava rock. I’ll officially finish tomorrow though. Don’t want the humans getting suspicious.”

  “Once yer in, do you think you’ll be able to get closer, see what kind of manpower we’re talkin’ about?”

  “I want you to do a thorough sweep tomorrow night. You’re better at picking up details, but I’ll do a preliminary survey after I’m in.” Carwyn rolled over and kissed her square on the mouth. “Have you eaten?”

  She shook her head. “I’ve only got two more bags and I’m rationing them until I can get my fangs into some of your mercenaries.”

  “No stab of conscience for the sellouts, eh?”

  Brigid narrowed her eyes and watched two tiny silhouettes move in the distance. “They’re guarding kidnapped children. Possibly trafficking them if we believe Lupe’s friend. These bastards will be lucky if I let them l
ive.”

  “That’s my girl.” He frowned a little. “Still. Maybe have a pint tonight. I can feel your energy, and you’re walking the edge.”

  Brigid rolled to the side and hooked her leg over Carwyn’s thigh. “Maybe it’s not human blood I’m craving.” She reached down and ran her hand up the inside of her husband’s thigh, tracing the line of his femoral artery to his groin. “Maybe I’ve been thinking of sweeter blood than that.” She felt his body respond to her touch, the hard line of his cock growing beneath her hand.

  Carwyn blinked and set the binoculars down. “Wife, are you trying to seduce me in the midst of a dangerous assignment as we surveil our enemy in the middle of the desert?”

  Brigid nodded. “Yes, I am. If my estimate is correct, another patrol won’t pass by this location for another three hours. And the time it’ll take you to tunnel a quarter mile is far less than an hour. Even factoring in a generous margin of error, you have over an hour to kill waiting out here.”

  “You’ve calculated in a margin of error?”

  “I wouldn’t dream of neglecting that.”

  Carwyn reached for the bottom of her black T-shirt and tugged it over her head before he hauled Brigid over his body to straddle him. “I knew I married you for a reason.”

  * * *

  There were no electronic sensors along the perimeter. The technology they were dealing with had stopped advancing in the seventies, maybe earlier. There was barbed wire and an electrified fence, but only in the areas easily accessible from the county road. She ran along the perimeter of Miller’s Range twice, a blurred shadow in the darkness, before she started the extended run back to Liberty Springs, soaking in the damp air that had swept over the landscape in the past hour, leaving a flash of precipitation and the sweet smell of creosote.

  The first time she’d come to the Mojave Desert had been to help a friend solve a murder. That had been years ago. Since then she’d dreamed of that smell, the unique bloom that only occurred in the American Southwest. It was just as she remembered. High on Carwyn’s rich blood, she ran until the incendiary force that lived beneath her skin calmed to a manageable buzz.