The Supernatural Bounty Hunter Files: Special Edition Fantasy Bundle, Books 1 thru 5 (Smoke Special Edition)

by Craig Halloran

  The two firemen grabbed her and pulled her back. “Ma’am!” said the female officer. “You can’t rush in there. Our people are on the scene. Let us handle this.”

  “Let me go! I’m FBI!”

  “Then you understand standard protocols.” The woman made sympathetic gestures. “Just trust us, and I’m sure everything will be okay.”

  Sidney’s body slackened, and she eased out of the grip of the men. “Okay.” It was torment. She couldn’t stop visualizing her family being burned to death. In her gut, she knew something was wrong. She could feel it. This can’t be happening. Please don’t be happening because of me.

  “Come on,” said the female officer. She was a veteran lady with silver-black hair showing underneath her blue ball cap. “Guys, get her a blanket. She’s shivering.”

  Sidney didn’t even realize she was trembling. The firemen put a blanket over her shoulders, and she sat back on the hood of a black and white squad car. A stiff breeze kicked up, blowing the smoke into her face and stinging her eyes.

  “Phew,” the policewoman said, covering her nose. “I can’t stand the smell of melted plastic.” She squeezed Sidney’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be all right, uh—”

  “Sidney.”

  “I’m Kate McFadden,” the woman said, offering her hand. “I’ll stick around, if you don’t mind. Besides, I could use the overtime. When things like this happen, they need a little crowd control anyway.” Her head swiveled around, and her eyes locked on a pair of reporters sliding through the police barrier. “Oh, no they don’t. Excuse me.” She darted away. “Hey! Hey! You two better get back behind that barrier. I’m not warning you again.”

  Sidney checked her messages again. Nothing from Allison. She sent another text out anyway and remained seated. She couldn’t fight the fear swelling up inside of her. At this time of day she couldn’t imagine Allison and Megan being anywhere else. All she could do was hope that maybe they escaped the fire, and Allison lost her phone in the process. Of course it wouldn’t be beyond Allison to ignore her calls, especially after the fight they’d had earlier.

  She said a prayer and started walking around the lot, searching the faces. Families and children were scattered all about. Tears streaked down a lot of faces. One woman was wailing. A man was arguing with the firemen and police officers. If Sidney had to guess, the apartment complex housed about fifty people, and judging by the looks of things, everything was gone. Her little thread of hope turned to despair as another section of the building collapsed in a whoosh of smoke. People started screaming.

  A voice of authority caught her ear, and a handful of firemen gathered on a section of steps that hadn’t burned in the fire. They vanished into the building with a pair of hand-carried gurneys. Teeth clenched and nails digging into her palms, Sid watched for them to emerge again. The female officer, Kate, stood by her side, humming. Sidney eyed her.

  Kate stopped humming and said with a sympathetic look, “Sorry, but I get nervous sometimes.”

  “It’s all right.”

  The second-floor fire exit door opened, and a group of firemen carrying two loaded gurneys made their way down the stairwell. Sidney started forward, but the officer grabbed her arm.

  “Sidney, stay put, and let me take a look. It could be anybody.” The woman ducked under the barrier tape and headed straight for the firemen.

  Sidney felt her heart pounding inside her chest. Please don’t be them. Please don’t be them. Her keen hearing caught the brunt of the firemen’s conversation. One said, “Pretty sure it’s a woman and a little girl.” Sidney leapt the barrier and charged over. Kate cut into her path, but Sidney slipped away. She jerked the blankets off the gurneys and choked out a sob at the sight of the lifeless charred remains.

  CHAPTER 24

  Sidney swayed over her buckling knees.

  Kate caught her beneath the arms and steadied her. “Come on now. Come on. You don’t know that’s them for sure.” The policewoman turned Sidney away as the firemen covered up the bodies again. “Just walk away. Walk away.”

  Sid shuffled through the parking lot and swallowed back the bile building in her throat. The strong stench of burning flesh hit her nose, and she began to gag. She covered her mouth with her clammy hand. Get a grip, Sid. Get a grip.

  “You’re in shock, honey. You’re in shock,” Kate said again, hugging her around the waist. “Just keep walking. Keep walking.”

  On spaghetti legs, Sidney managed to make her way back to the squad car. People were commenting and murmuring. Her rattled mind didn’t comprehend anything they said. She squatted down and leaned on one of the hubcaps, huddled up with her head down. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she shook uncontrollably. “Oh Lord. Oh Lord. Why?”

  “It’s probably a tragic accident,” Kate said in a comforting tone. “But maybe it wasn’t them. You never know. Hang in there.”

  No. Sidney had known something was wrong from the moment she saw the flames on TV. Her instincts had warned her of the danger. Emptiness filled her stomach. “Oh, Megan. Oh, Allison.” She pounded the pavement with her fist. “No. No. No!”

  “Easy now,” Kate said, kneeling down beside her and trying to put a blanket over her shoulders. “You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

  Sidney pushed the blanket aside and rose back to her feet. She wiped the tears from her eyes. “I need to walk.”

  “Sure. I’m right here if you need anything.”

  Hands on her hips, Sid took a shuddering breath and made her way through the crowd into the parking lot. What do I tell Mom and Dad? She could hear their hearts breaking. What if this is all my fault? The last thing she’d ever do was put her family in danger. A memory flashed in her mind. The text that had come with a picture of Allison and Megan and the message that read,

  Watch your step.

  Her blood turned to ice. Wilhelm!

  Had Allison seen something? Maybe the congressman was covering up his tracks. Perhaps something worse had happened over the weekend while Allison was gone. What kind of people play these games? She found herself standing on the sidewalk across from the building. A flood of feelings rushed through her. Anger. Sadness. Despair. Maybe the cop is right. Maybe it isn’t them at all but someone else. She closed her eyes and gathered her thoughts.

  Be patient.

  She’d find the cause in the fire marshal’s report. An autopsy would have to be done on the bodies. There wasn’t any sense in getting anyone upset until everything was confirmed. She checked her phone again. “Come on, Allison. Please. Be alive somewhere else,” she muttered to herself.

  “Excuse me,” said a man who was passing by. He was much older, wearing a fedora hat and a brown trench coat. “Did you say something to me?”

  “No, sorry,” she said.

  “Quite all right,” he said, tipping his hat. “My hearing isn’t what it once was. He gazed at the apartment’s ruins and twisted the end of his grey moustache. “It’s almost a tragedy to see such bad things happen.”

  “Almost?” she said.

  “Oh, why yes,” he said, without looking at her. His voice took on a sinister tone. “You know, Agent Shaw, bad things happen to those who dicker with the Black Slate.”

  Sidney slugged him in the jaw, knocking his hat from his head. He tumbled hard to the ground and lay out, on his back. She pinned him down with her knee and stuck the muzzle of her gun in his face. “Who did this? Who did this?”

  The eerie man with a bleeding lip laughed and spat blood. “I don’t know for certain. I’m just the messenger. Hahahaha.”

  She punched him in the face again. Whack! And again. Whack!

  He continued to laugh. His watch started beeping. “Oh. It seems my time is up, Agent Shaw, but I’ll give you a hint. The Drake send their condolences.”

  “You sonuva—”

  The man convulsed and shuddered, and then his eyes froze upward to the sky. A foamy spittle oozed from the corner of his mouth.

  She checked his pulse. He was d
ead. She checked his coat and grabbed his hat. They had a very musty smell, and the style looked to be at least seventy-five years old. She found a wallet and a paper driver’s license belonging to Dwight Guilden. It had expired over sixty years ago.

  “What’s going on over here?” said Officer McFadden. She had a gun on Sid, and she wasn’t alone either. “What did you do to that man?”

  Another cop checked the pulse and said, “He’s dead.”

  “Agent Shaw,” Officer McFadden said, “put your hands down where I can see them.”

  “Why?” she said, holstering her weapon.

  “Because you’re going downtown until we get this all sorted out. Bart, cuff her.”

  “What? For what?”

  “Assault and suspicion of murder.”

  “I’m a federal agent! I didn’t kill this man.”

  “Then why’s his face bleeding?” Kate took out her taser. “Now, Agent Shaw, don’t make me use this.”

  “Have you gone mad? My family just got burned alive in there.” Seething, Sidney took a pleading step forward.

  Kate pulled the trigger on the stun gun.

  Zzzzzzap!

  Sid’s body twitched, her teeth chattered, and she collapsed hard on the ground. She couldn’t move her shocked and numbing limbs, but she could still see and hear.

  Kate pulled out a card and read the Miranda rights to Sid. “You have the right to remain silent…”

  CHAPTER 25

  Sidney nibbled on her nails. For the past eight hours she’d been in the local PD’s lockup while the FBI got everything sorted out. Cyrus Tweel had picked her up, and it had been a long trip back to headquarters.

  “You can’t cut loose like that, Sid,” Cyrus said, pushing his spectacles up onto his nose. “It’s bad for the agency, and you know we hate attention in the papers.”

  She sneered at him. One thing the weasel of a man lacked was compassion. He was all image. All agency from day one. If they made you walk around with your hat on fire, Cyrus would do it. “I don’t need an academy lecture,” she said, facing the passenger window. “And you don’t know what the hell is going on either, so don’t act like you do.”

  “Why don’t you explain it to me then, shadow agent?”

  She didn’t miss the venom in his voice when he said it. “Ah, that’s it, isn’t it? You’re jealous, aren’t you Cyrus? They picked me over you, and it’s just bugging the crap out of you.”

  “I could not care less about the Black Slate and your little ghost chases. Doesn’t mean a thing to me at all. But as for you? Well, you’re an excellent agent, but this assignment is a joke. Everyone thinks so.”

  “Everyone who, and how do they know about it?”

  “Your special little assignment isn’t a secret. Do you really think a bunch of special agents don’t notice when someone like you,” he glanced at her legs, “goes missing from time to time? The Slate is nothing but snickers at the water cooler.”

  “Oh, I see, so I’m making you look bad, huh Cyrus? I’m sorry.” She reached over and patted his leg. “I really am sorry, little Cyrus.”

  “Geez, cut it out. Even you are above such mockery.”

  She dug her nails into his thigh. “Do you even give a shit about Allison and Megan? How can you sit here and act like you don’t even know them?” She jerked her hand away. “That’s your problem, Cyrus. If it doesn’t help you and your career, it doesn’t matter. You don’t care if your fellow agent’s family just perished in a fire. Jerk.”

  “You know I’m not like that, Sid. Look, I’m sorry.” He steered the car to the exit ramp. “An autopsy revealed that those bodies were not your niece and sister.”

  She straightened up in her seat. “What? And you’re just now telling me this?” She wanted to pound his face in. Instead, she punched him in the arm.

  “Ow!”

  “You’re a rat, Cyrus. Just a little rodent who gets off toying with other people’s feelings.”

  “No, I don’t. I just have my orders. Chief Howard was going to brief you at his office.” He rubbed his shoulder. “Geez, you hit like a dude.”

  She snorted. “You know Cyrus, this was one of the reasons why our relationship couldn’t go any further.”

  “I beg your pardon.”

  “I never could put my finger on it. I mean, you do and say all the right stuff. But between us, I always knew the agency would come first.” She sighed. “You would choose them over me. I could just feel it. And I think the agency, and the authority that comes with it, is how you get away with some bad things you like to do.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like shooting people. Keeping secrets. Manipulating a situation. You thrive on it. I see that spark behind those icy eyes of yours. You delight in it. It disturbs me.”

  Cyrus turned on his blinker and turned into the headquarters garage. His face was stone cold. The brakes squeaked as he brought the SUV to a stop. He turned and looked at her. “I’ll keep that perspective in mind.”

  ***

  “Sid,” Ted Howard said, sitting behind his desk, “we’re trying to help. Honestly, you know that.” He took a swig of bottled water. “It hasn’t even been a day yet. You know how these things go.”

  She sat back in one of the chairs, arms folded, legs crossed, and foot kicking. “It’s a little different when your own family is missing.”

  “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours yet,” Cyrus added. He was sitting in the seat beside hers, facing Section Chief Howard. “Give our people, your people, a little more time. They’ll turn up.”

  “Yes, they’ll turn up dead if I don’t get moving.” She started up out of her seat.

  “Sit!” Ted said, rising up from his chair. He lowered his voice again. “Please, Sid. Let’s work on this together.”

  Reluctantly, she took a seat. “I know you don’t have anyone on this. You don’t have time for it. I’m only here because I got carried away and busted that freak Dwight Guilden in the face. What about his autopsy? Certainly you checked on him.”

  Ted and Cyrus looked at each other. Cyrus shrugged.

  “You two are dropping the ball,” she said. “How did you do an autopsy on the burn victims but not follow up on the man who got me arrested for attempted murder? Huh?”

  “The man, Dwight you say,” Ted said, checking out some papers. “He’s at the county morgue. The burn victims went to the state where we have better connections. Look, I’m sorry. I’ll get a man down to county as soon as I can find one.”

  “No hurry, Ted. He’s dead, so I don’t think he’s going anywhere. At least not until the Drake make him disappear, just like they did with my niece and my sister!”

  “Keep your voice down, Sid. Please. You aren’t being yourself,” Ted said. “It worries me.”

  No, she wasn’t, and she knew it. Instead, she was coming unglued. It wasn’t like her. But this was different. Her family had been taken. And by the sound of things, the two men she knew best in the agency didn’t believe her.

  “Look Sid,” the chief said, “run this by me again. This Guilden fella. What exactly did he say?”

  Cyrus took out his notepad and added, “Yes, walk us through it one more time. Word by word.”

  She got up again. “I’ve got a couple of words for the both of you.” She pointed at each one. “Screw you, and screw you.”

  “You better button it up, Sid!” Ted said.

  “I’m a shadow agent. I don’t have to be here.” She headed for the door. “You have no idea what I’m up against, because if you did, you’d be in the thick of this with me.” She swung the door open and marched straight out.

  Sitting behind her desk, Jane gave her a disapproving glance and opened her mouth to speak.

  Sid cut her off and shot her a hard look. “Not a word if you know what’s good for you.” She made a bead for the elevator and noted the group of male agents mumbling and watching her go. “Worry about your own sorry cases, you bunch of jackasses.” She punched the el
evator button, tapped her foot on the tiles, shook her head, and blasted through the door to the stairs.

  I’m beginning to hate this building.

  She jogged down four flights, crossed through the lobby, and pushed her way outside through the main entrance doors. Taking the steps two at a time down onto the street, she realized something. I don’t have my car!

  CHAPTER 26

  Sidney stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets and meandered down the sidewalk. They’re idiots. Then again, maybe I’m the idiot. Throughout all of her career, everyone had preached teamwork—until the Black Slate. Now, it seemed no one wanted anything to do with her—or it. She felt like an outsider looking in. It hurt. It made her angry.

  She took a breath and tried to flag down a taxi. It was getting dark now, and the busy streets had begun to thin. She didn’t see a taxi anywhere and cursed. Get ahold of yourself. What would you do if you were in their shoes? She had never bent the rules before, but now things were different. Everything she knew about life was turned upside down.

  “Hey! Hey! Taxi!” She dashed into the street as one went by. The driver waved. She smacked the back of his trunk with her hand. “Thanks for nothing!”

  She headed back onto the sidewalk. A woman and her son were staring at her with widened eyes. What are you gawking at? She didn’t say it. Instead, she tucked her chin down, picked up the pace, and marched down the street. She took out her phone. I suppose I could call a cab. She pressed the info button.

  “How can I help you?” said a male computerized voice.

  “I need a—”

  A nearby car let out an awesome exhaust note.

  Vrrrrooom! Vrrrrooom! Vrrrrooomm!

  Sidney turned around. Her phantom-black Dodge Hellcat with orange highlights awaited in the street.

  Smoke was in the driver’s seat. He rolled down the window. “Need a lift?”