by Sydney Addae
The animal made a purring sound and Angus smiled. “This could only happen to me on the way to take down the Liege. Talk about timing.”
“I knew there was something at that lab, just didn’t think it was… what is it?” Chacal glanced over his shoulder at the beast.
“I’m not sure. They mixed him up with some things, its got metal in one of its legs, and that blue metal on its body. No camera, no computer chips.”
“What did they plan to do with it? How would they control it without the chip?”
“Don’t know. Maybe they planned to come back for him and do that later. I don’t think he’s wolf though.” Angus shrugged and pulled onto the road.
“Those teeth? Did you see them?” Chacal asked.
“Yes. But I think they’re engineered or something. Can’t be too sure. Don’t want to get too close.” Angus looked in the rear view mirror at the ugly beast and felt sorry for it.
“What are you going to do with it? Can’t just let it loose.” Chacal stared at him.
Angus looked at Chacal and smiled. “You need a guard dog, some companionship.”
“No. I do not. Think of something to tell La Patron when you return stateside with this… thing. Customs ought to be interesting. Because if those chemicals that burned through its skin to the bone did not kill it, I don’t know what will.”
Angus hadn’t thought about that. The thing had regenerative powers like a shifter.
Chapter 23
The miles seem to stretch forever as they made their way toward the rendezvous. Her blood sang in anticipation of coming face to face with the men who had made her life hell. Angus’s idea of a prolonged kill suited her mood. She would return to the line more than once to beat either man down for the damage they’d done to her life and then for her mate and then for Gunnolf. Bastards ruined the lives of too many people in the name of greed.
Hawke’s hand covered hers. “When we reach the farm do we drive up to the door?”
She hadn’t thought much about their approach. “I assumed that’s what the three of us would do and allow Ulric’s men to surround the perimeter so no one leaves. Have Angus tell Ulric to search for an underground entry point. I’m sure there is one. Lancaster would never have just one exit. The man always had a lot of ways to leave without being caught. He’s slick.”
“We just need one of them to break the covenant and then we shoot the rest of the bastards, or blow them up. They won’t survive without the covenant in force.”
“I’d like to see the light die in Lancaster’s eyes for what he did to you, but as long as he dies, and never touches another pup, I’ll live without that visual.”
Hawke squeezed her hand.
“Feels good, doesn’t it? Finally going after them? Not their labs, or old buildings. After all this time we’re going to kill another one of the bastards,” Asia said.
“Why hadn’t you gone after them before after your rebirth?”
“Too busy working with La Patron. Liege kept us on defense, and it took a while to enter the game. Now, we’re on offense, going after them and it feels great.”
“I can imagine. Time of reckoning.”
She nodded, thinking of her years living in the Liege facilities, the missions she completed, the blood she shed, the surgeries. A shudder ripped through her when she recalled all the surgeries she endured. Gordon and Lancaster’s throats should be ripped out for approving each time the doctors cut her open.
Hawke stroked her arm. “It’s okay. We’re going to close a chapter in the Liege’s diary and shut down LOBO. No other pup will be taken and experimented on again. I promise we will shut this down.”
Asia exhaled and looked at the greenish-brown landscape fly by. “I know. There is a part of me that feels this cannot be happening. I want to pinch myself. Understand, I’ve hated them for so long, they’ve always been there, in the background like cancer. Today, a part of that cancer dies.”
“It’s happening and you’re front and center.”
She kissed the back of his hand and continued to look out the window. “Ulric told Angus they have bluebirds and hybrids at the farm?”
He nodded.
“I was thinking...”
“What?”
“If we fight them, it will delay us which will give Gordon and Lancaster time to escape.” She turned to face him. “But if we fight and get captured, they’ll take us inside and then we can find them faster.”
“Get captured? How? They know we can defeat the bluebirds and hybrids.”
“They don’t know the tranquilizer no longer works. Plus, it’s just to get inside without wasting a lot of energy outside.”
He nodded. “It could work. What if they try to kill us instead of taking us inside?”
“Then we’ll need to destroy them. I’ll fall first and if they don’t take me then we’ll know.” She knew he didn’t like that idea and waited for his objections.
“If they take you, I’m following.” His voice deepened as his wolf rose to the surface.
“That is why they’ll take me inside, they know you’ll follow and Lancaster wants you. Remember what Greggor said?”
“No, he said a lot of stuff, not that it matters. If one of us goes down the other needs to run behind that one, maybe get shot as well. Links must be open at all times, I’m serious Asia. I won’t be able to handle seeing you go down otherwise. Promise me you’ll talk to me and my beast the entire time, especially if we get separated.”
She stroked his hand. “I promise. This is the best way to get in quickly. Run it by Angus, see what he thinks.”
A few moments later Hawke chuckled. “He said they have no reason not to kill him so he’ll fight his way through and catch up with us inside. Plus, he wants to check the grounds for another exit. Chacal’s checking to see if there is a floor plan of the building in public records, so far he hasn’t found anything. Seems like we’ll be going into this blind.”
“Won’t be the first time. I had no idea what to expect when I entered Lancaster’s castle and went to the dorms. Pissed me off that I couldn’t leave right away.”
He kissed the back of her hand. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
She smiled in remembrance of the first time she saw him standing tall in the lab. Her wolf had done flips demanding she go to him right then. That hadn’t changed. “Me too. So we go in cold, search for Lancaster or Gordon, grab them and drive back to Radoff’s, is that the plan?”
Hawke frowned. “Not the best, too many opportunities for them to escape. Can Radoff come here?”
“La Patron said it had to be in the place all of this started. But you’re right, grabbing them will be hard enough, transporting back to the basement… that’s pushing it. Maybe we can take them by air, a helicopter? Ask Angus if Chacal has one we can use?”
“Good idea.”
She watched him for a few moments going over the plan in her head. Strategizing was not her strength, she preferred to follow directions and get the job done. Jasmine seemed to think she could do it all so she would give it her best shot.
“Chacal has one and will have it ready in an hour, hour and a half at the most. He’ll drop Angus off and go back to his place to fly it back.”
“He flies helicopters?”
“According to Angus he flies everything, so we have an extraction plan in place. Angus wants to use the bracelet on the Liege to discover the location of LOBO in the states after we take his blood.”
“No. Not unless I get a chance to spend five minutes alone with him first.” Her heart raced at the idea of being cheated the opportunity to meet one or both of the men who enslaved her. “I want to look that bastard in the eye and then send him to hell.”
“Asia.”
“I’m serious. I need this for closure. They stole everything from me, I don’t have a past. Don’t know where I’m from or who my pack was. My mind was wiped to the point you can’t see anything. They fucked me over and over, Hawke. I need to send that b
astard to hell.”
“I’ll tell Angus. Isn’t there a way to use the bracelet to get information without killing him?”
She nodded. “But to get it all you have to take over his body.”
“We’ll work something out, the important thing is to focus on taking them alive, meeting the copter, and breaking that damn contract. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
They turned off the main highway to the road leading to the location. They were five miles from the farm, Asia opened her senses and identified the hybrids ahead. She pointed to the right. “Hybrids in the tree line.”
Hawke nodded and continued driving. “Two Bluebirds ahead. They haven’t moved but we are on their radar. How close do we want to get to the building?”
Asia looked around, identified a couple more hybrids, four total. “Where is Ulric and his pack? I’m not picking up their scent. Maybe we should pull over and wait, go over everything with Angus.” She turned in her seat, looked out the back window and saw nothing but trees and crops.
Hawke stopped the car in the middle of the road and looked at her. “Are you okay?”
Asia exhaled. “I don’t like planning on the run. Usually someone else has gone over the floor plan, can tell us what door to enter, where potential problems are and options to handle them. I keep feeling like I’m forgetting something important which will screw up this mission and that bothers me big time.”
He took her hand, placed his finger beneath her chin and turned her to face him. “I’ll take your word for it on how things would go on a normal operation. But we don’t have that this time and have to make the best of what we do have. Links open, merge completely with me. Feed me what you’re seeing and I’ll do the same. Instead of them dealing with one of us, they’ll face both of us no matter where we are. Believe me when I say, I will destroy that building and everything in it before I allow anything to happen to you. At the end of the day seeing you walk out of there is the most important thing for me. They have an idea of what I can do and will try to shut me down. Mated, I am stronger. Merged, you’ll sense their moves just as I will and we’ll work together to keep each other strong. Remember, last time, we weren’t merged, not like we are now.” He brushed his lips against hers. “We can do this. We have to do this.”
Asia leaned into him and exhaled. “You’re right.” She sat up and looked behind her. A line of large trucks pulled onto the road. “Ulric’s here. Find out how much longer before Angus arrives.”
Hawke looked out the window and nodded. “Chacal pulled over and he got out the truck near the main road. He should be here any minute.”
Asia released her breath as the tension unfurled in her chest. Angus would go over their plans and tell them if they’d work or not. She wouldn’t be responsible. Leaning against the headrest, she rechecked the status of the hybrids.
“Hybrids over there moved in a few feet, if you look you can see them.” She pointed toward the trees.
“Yeah. Bluebirds haven’t moved, but as fast as they are, they don’t have to.”
She patted the hilt of her sword and silently agreed.
Angus slid into the back seat and then looked out the window. “Stay. I need to talk for a few minutes. Sit.”
Asia leaned over Hawke to see what or who Angus was talking to.
“Where’d you find him?” Hawke asked in a somber tone that made Asia lean back and look at him.
“Who?” She asked.
“The TerraByte,” Hawke said, looking out the window.
“Found him in that lab with the incinerator.” He went on to explain what happened when he and Chacal returned to search the building. “He won’t leave, if you can give me any information on him I’d appreciate it,” Angus said.
“TerraByte or TB was Griffith’s pet project. He had this weird thing about hunting dogs, and wanted to try the new technology with a few breeds. Problem is Griffith was the brilliant kind of crazy and kept breeding different species. Let’s say he’d start with a Rottweiler and then breed it with another animal like a jackal-wolf hybrid. He kept breeding them until it’s no telling what you have there. For the most part he handled his own experiments, did the surgeries and kept his notes close to his chest. Once Lancaster asked me to decipher a few of Griffith’s papers, I could only make out half. The man wrote in a shorthand he created. Lancaster wanted to incorporate some of Griffith’s techniques, but couldn’t.”
“You mentioned surgeries. This fella has metal in one of his legs.”
Asia gasped. “What? That bastard. If I hadn’t killed him already I’d kill him for what he did to that poor animal.”
“That’s not all, he has blue speckled metal on his body. That, whatever you call it, knocked down a steel door, has razor sharp retractable teeth and regenerative healing powers.”
“And he chose you.” Hawke glanced behind him and smiled at Angus.
Angus looked surprised by that announcement. “Yeah, he did. Not sure why, but he won’t let me move too far without following.”
“Well, from what I remember TB’s are vicious predators that will protect you with their lives which is a good thing based on how hard he is to defeat. The downside is he won’t leave you, even when you change your appearance. Your DNA is imprinted in his mind. Anyone who knows you will see him and it’ll make it hard for you to work incognito. Your spying days as other people are over. One look at him and they’ll know it’s you because he is an original.”
“Ugly you mean,” Asia said when she got a look at the odd looking beast. “Are there a lot of those?”
“Not from what I heard, but like I said it wasn’t my project. Rumor was they scrapped the project before Griffith’s death because no one could control them. When they bonded with an owner it was for life. The Liege couldn’t use or sell them because the TB’s refused to leave their handlers from the labs. I thought they were all destroyed, possibly in that incinerator you found the other day. Don’t know why they left that one.”
“Well, damn,” Angus said, shaking his head. “Lost a two hundred year career overnight. I guess it’s time to retire in the mountains with my dog or whatever the mutt is.” He chuckled not seeming the least bothered. “Can he understand what I’m saying? I tried to link to him and he looked at me, but that was all.”
“Maybe, I don’t know for sure. But he is intelligent and will protect you at all costs, which, given the fact the blue birds are stirring, isn’t a bad thing.” Hawke opened their link and briefed Angus on their plans. After a little fine tuning, Angus changed his appearance to a young, muscular, blonde male and stepped out the car.
Asia and Hawke stepped out as well. “You need to introduce us to him, let him know we are your friends. Kind of like open his circle of safe people for you to be around,” Hawke said to Angus taking Asia’s hand.
Angus knelt in front of the TerraByte and stroked the top of his head for a few seconds. The beast looked at her and then Hawke as if checking them out before returning his gaze to Angus. “Byte, that’s his name,” Angus said standing. “I told him to only attack the beasts I attack and no one else. Ulric would think I issued an Alpha challenge otherwise.”
Asia unsheathed her sword, glanced at Byte who growled as he faced the building. “Appreciate that.”
Angus took off, Byte followed in a burst of speed as the first bluebird reached them. Ulric and his pack fought the four hybrids and the other bluebird remained in place.
Byte leapt forward, grabbed the bluebird by the neck and tore off a chunk of skin, revealing flesh, bone and glints of metal. The bird dropped to the ground. Byte bit into the neck again ripping and tearing while the bird tried to dislodge him. His tough skin prevented the poisonous nails from penetrating and each tug from the bluebird made the tear worse. Asia stood fascinated by the long sharp teeth stained with blood in Byte’s mouth. The bluebird tried several times to rise from the ground, its head lolled to the side with a gaping wound.
Angus sauntered over and cut off
the head with a solid swing, sending it rolling a few feet. Byte jogged to the head, sniffed a few times and then bit into it. A few seconds later he tossed it aside and took off after Angus, who ran toward the building.
The whole fight lasted a few minutes. Asia couldn’t believe how fast and strong Byte had been. Hawke squeezed her hand and took off. A few seconds later she caught up with him.
“I want one of those,” She said as they passed Angus and Byte destroying another Bluebird.
Chapter 24
Boris sat in the chair in the lower chamber watching the battle outside. Hawke, his prized achievement, fought with the strength and cunning of ten hybrids. He sighed in regret. They could have gone far together, taken the world by storm. With Hawke’s genius and his connections, there was little they couldn’t eventually accomplished, even unlocking the secrets of the chameleon. He had been right, Hawke and Angus were mated. It was obvious in the way they fought as a team. Such a waste. Pity they chose to fight against him and his comrades instead of joining the winning team as many other full-bloods had.
“We are on the way, and it happened the way you suspected it would. Gordon attempted to leave with Damian and was stopped. What are your instructions?” a hybrid said through the intercom.
Lancaster touched his jaw with his fingertips reminding himself of the last confrontation with Gordon and continued watching the monitor. He laughed. Someone found Griffith’s toy. The beast refused to die no matter how many times they tried to kill it after Griffith’s death. No one knew what the former Lord had done to this animal since he worked on it alone. The man had created a monster they couldn’t control. Boris leaned forward and watched the beast rip a chunk out the neck of the bluebird. Impressive. “Seems like the animal found a master,” he murmured. Griffith had introduced the thin, metallic fiber that coated the bluebirds after testing it on his pets. They had never been able to recreate it to the degree of this beast’s coat or re-engineer the retractable metal teeth. Griffith had been a pisser for sure, Boris didn’t mourn his death, but in other ways the man had been brilliant.