Sere from the Green (The Shape Shifter Chronicles Book 1)

by Lauren Jankowski

  “Yet you’re still troubled,” Lilly observed. Jet leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. He rubbed his hands together.

  “I’ve been thinking about what Remington told me and the more I think about the flashdrive theory, the less sense it makes,” he thought out loud. Lilly stood from the chair and sat on the desk instead, looking to her troubled husband.

  “How so?”

  “Supposedly it overrides any program, deciphers any language or code, and slips past any security program. Working on that theory, it can access any computer in the world and it turns up here? Why not some big city? Certainly it would be more useful there,” Jet explained and leaned back, twisting the chair back and forth. “And why is Adara only concerned about it now?”

  “You think the flashdrive is part of something bigger?” Lilly asked.

  “I think the damn thing might be some kind of diversion,” Jet responded. “And I think it’s being used to stir up unrest among the assassins and direct our actions to a certain extent.”

  “It’s not outside the realm of possibility,” Lilly agreed. “I still feel we should try to retrieve the flashdrive, if only to ensure it not be used for more nefarious purposes.”

  Jet nodded. “I agree. The flashdrive is still a powerful tool, one that we cannot allow to fall in the wrong hands. And I’m not comfortable with the possibility of an assassin coup. As reprehensible as Adara is, she is the devil we know. She brings a certain amount of stability to the assassins and she doesn’t want a war with the protectors or other shape shifter factions.”

  Lilly was quiet for a moment. “I am concerned about the possibility of this being another trap or a setup.”

  Jet shook his head. “I considered that, but there are just too many witnesses. I think that this flashdrive has served its purpose and whoever created it probably wants to retrieve it. This could be a chance to catch a glimpse of whoever is behind all of this.”

  “You’re sure about this?”

  “As sure as I can be,” he replied as he sorted through some papers on his desk. He picked up the phone and pressed the intercom button.

  “Remington?”

  “Yes, Jet,” Remington’s clear brogue came from the other end.

  “Send them in.”

  “Right away, sir.”

  Two minutes later the four women were in his study. Isis looked the least thrilled to already be back inside the room. He pretended not to notice as he opened a file in front of him.

  “Okay, I assume you have all been briefed on this flashdrive,” Jet began. “According to some reliable sources, it’s been dropped at the museum and is hidden in something very old. The four of you are going to retrieve it before anyone else can. You’ll be attending the annual fundraising ball tonight; dress formally. We have contacts working in the museum, so you will be able to move about freely but be sure to exercise caution all the same. You will be in constant communication with these,” he explained as he set four ear coms on the desk.

  “You’re not going to turn into a mouse, are you?” Shae teased. “I could just carry you around in a fancy handbag.”

  “Shae, this isn’t a joke,” he stated. “Be on your guard. Onyx and possibly Gia could be there as well. There is still unrest among the assassins.”

  Jade brushed some dark hair behind her ear at the mention of Gia and Jet could tell from the small motion that she did not like the idea of running into her former ally.

  “Where exactly is it? You only said that it is hidden in something very old. We’re going to be in a museum. Practically everything in that place is ancient,” Jade put in after being silent for a moment.

  “You’ll have to look for something that doesn’t belong, which I realize will probably be difficult. I wish I could give you more to go on,” Jet said. “According to our contacts, the museum just acquired some new artifacts recently, which they’re in the process of preparing for display. I recommend looking through those first.”

  “The source is Sly, isn’t it?” Jade said, looking up from the file she had picked up off the desk.

  “Could you three excuse us for a minute?” Jet asked. Isis and Shae were the first two out of the room. Jet could already hear Shae teasing Isis about dressing formally. He glanced over to Lilly, who was studying Jade.

  Jade tilted the chair back and stuck her thumbs in her brown pants. She was wearing an olive-colored top with a tree of life design on it. She looked to them expectantly with her dark eyes. Jet moved around the desk so that he was across from her and next to Lilly. He rested his weight on the sturdy surface and folded his arms over his chest.

  “We need to know that you’re all right to go on this mission,” Jet began. “We know Gia was your teammate and we know how you feel about betrayal.”

  “You two don’t need to worry. I’m fine. Really,” Jade replied. “I’ve been doing this a long time and I know what comes with the territory.”

  “Jade, are you absolutely certain?” Lilly asked. “If you wanted to hang back, we would understand.”

  “Nah, someone has to keep those three in line and out of trouble,” Jade said with a small grin. Lilly exchanged a look with Jet, smiling. There were few shape shifters as dependable as Jade and the two were beyond grateful that she was part of the Four.

  *~*~*~*~*

  Jade and Shae walked in the front door of the ball at eight-thirty, Jade wore black pants and a white top with a tasteful draping neckline. Shae wore something similar, but her top was gold. Alex and Isis went in through the loading dock, let in by a flustered-looking woman in a nice business suit.

  “Elevator to the second floor is this way,” Alex muttered under her breath, gesturing for Isis to follow her. As she followed her teammate, Isis glanced over at Alex, wondering if she should try to strike up a conversation. The only thing the two of them had in common was that they were both people of few words who had a love for books. Alex was much more into history and historical accounts than Isis, who preferred novels.

  “Visual sweep confirms what the contacts suggested: security’s pretty tight up front and in back, but it’s weak on the side,” Shae’s voice crackled through the static in their earpieces.

  “Typical,” said Alex as they paused in front of the elevator. She pressed the button and glanced over at Isis. “You know the plan, right? No sightseeing, we need to be as quick as possible.”

  “Uh huh,” Isis replied as she waited for the elevator car to arrive. The door slid open and the two women stepped inside. Alex pressed the button and the door closed again. As the car started to ascend, Isis turned her eyes to her feet and shifted her weight a little.

  “You don’t need to be nervous. Jet and Lilly’s sources are solid,” Alex commented. “This will likely be a boring mission.”

  “Yeah, I’m new to the whole world of espionage or whatever the hell you call this,” Isis replied. “You’ve probably been on hundreds of missions before. I bet this is routine for you.”

  “Actually, it’s my first time in the field.”

  Isis looked over at her teammate, surprised. “What? Really?”

  Alex scoffed. “No!”

  The door slid open and the two women stepped out onto the darkened second floor. There were a few pools of light, illuminating various artifacts and it was eerily desolate.

  Isis looked around, never having been in a museum after hours. There was no room for error on this “trip,” but she felt woefully unqualified and unprepared for such an expedition. Isis noticed she was in the Egyptian wing of the museum.

  “I’ll look left, you take right,” Alex whispered as she moved off in the opposite direction. Isis swallowed and let out her breath, heading deeper into the shadows. Everything smelled old and it was quiet throughout the upper floor. Soft pale light spilled over the various artifacts that sat behind glass. The artifacts stared with dead eyes at whoever passed their exhibit. There were many kinds of intricate urns and exquisite sarcophagi recreations. Out of the corner of her e
ye, Isis thought she saw a figure but when she turned, there was nothing. She let out her breath, suppressing a shudder. This place was giving her the creeps.

  “Found your namesake yet?” Alex’s humorless voice crackled in her ear.

  “Fairly certain the guardians would take offense to that,” Isis muttered. “I haven’t found anything. Nothing stands out and I don’t see anything that could contain a flashdrive.”

  “Me neither,” Alex replied, falling silent for a moment. “Neither did Jade or Shae. Looks like this outing might be a bust.”

  A thought struck Isis as she looked down at her feet. “What if we’re looking in the wrong place?”

  “What?” Alex asked.

  “It’s kept where ancient things are but doesn’t belong, or something like that, right?” Isis thought out loud. She stopped moving in front of a photograph of archeologists with pyramids in the background.

  “Yeah, and . . . ?” Alex replied, the static crackling even more.

  “What do they keep in the basement?” Isis asked after a moment, glancing behind her. She really didn’t like this place, it reminded her too much of the night she had almost been killed.

  “It’s for storage mostly. And I think there are some restoration rooms down there,” Alex replied. “Might be worth a look.”

  “I’m on it,” Isis quickly volunteered as she began moving toward where the stairs were, thankful to get out of the shadowy surroundings.

  “Just be careful and make sure you don’t attract attention,” Alex sighed and Isis almost smiled at the resignation in her tone.

  Isis crept to the stairs that would lead to the first floor of the museum, using every skill Electra had taught her about remaining invisible to unwanted attention. She was most worried about the guard who would probably be positioned on the stairwell. When she reached the stairs, Isis peered over the banister, shocked by whom she saw.

  Coop, the man from the club, was standing at the bottom of the stairwell. He was wearing a red security uniform. He really looked the part; he even had a walkie-talkie. Isis didn’t know what to do. Running into him was a little too convenient to merely be a coincidence. Suddenly, he looked up to where she was and nodded his head, beckoning her to come down. Isis had the unsettling feeling that he had known what was happening on the second floor all along. She swallowed and made her way down the stairs, never taking her eyes off Coop. There was no point in hiding if he already knew she was there. If she went down, there was the possibility of fighting her way past him. It was risky, but it was the only option open to her.

  “Are you stalking me?” Isis demanded when she reached the bottom of the stairs, glancing around to make sure nobody had seen her. Luckily for her, the people were too busy talking about themselves to care about her or the security guard.

  “Why would you think that?” the man asked, his gaze glued to the crowd of people.

  “Because you turn up everywhere I go—”

  “You could be stalking me,” he was quick to counter as his eyes scanned the well-dressed crowd.

  “And you appear to know an awful lot about me, whereas I know next to nothing about you,” Isis finished, smiling and nodding at a few random people who walked past them.

  “Believe me, Ms. Benson, I’m not stalking you,” Coop answered, suddenly tilting his head down as if he were hiding from somebody. Isis frowned at his strange behavior, ignoring Alex’s constant inquiring about her position.

  “What are you doing?” Isis asked. Coop glanced up, became very rigid, and turned his gaze away again.

  “I can’t talk right now,” he whispered. “But there is much you need to be informed of. I’ll call you when I can. Be careful on this mission, Ms. Benson. You’re not the only one looking for the flashdrive.”

  “You don’t have my . . .” Isis trailed off when Coop hurried away, vanishing from her sight, “number. OK.”

  She glanced back toward the crowd where he had been looking and noticed a very chicly dressed and obviously very wealthy man look away. A few people walked hurriedly past her, but Isis didn’t pay them any heed. She had a mission to complete and didn’t feel like staying in the museum one minute longer than she had to.

  “Isis, I’m going to lift an ID badge off one of the employees,” Jade’s voice filtered through her earpiece. “There are a few in attendance tonight. I’ll pass it to you before you reach the door.”

  Isis swallowed and started making her way through the crowd, doing her best to remain inconspicuous. She slipped by people, careful not to bump into anybody. The tiled floor was slick and Isis mentally swore about a million times on her way toward the entrance to the basement. Spotting Jade out of the corner of her eye, Isis continued moving toward a darker hallway. Jade was moving confidently through the crowd, a flute of champagne in her right hand. Isis swallowed as the older protector got closer until she passed in front of Isis and the younger woman felt a slick card pressed into her palm. Both women continued moving in separate directions.

  Isis looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching before she stepped over a thick rope and moved into an unlit hall of exhibitions. The door to the lower levels was tucked away where two different halls met. Isis found the door and swiped the badge through the slot, watching as the light went from red to green and the door clicked open. Isis pushed the heavy door and slipped inside, freezing when the hallway automatically lit up.

  “Please tell me I didn’t just set off an alarm,” Isis hissed into her earpiece, not moving from where she stood in front of the door.

  “No, you’re still clear. The lights in the lower levels are automatic, but security is fairly lax,” Alex reassured her. “The more advanced systems are on the first and second floors. They’re trying to get funding to install a better security system. Try to stay out of the artifact storage section. I know there are a couple security cameras in there and we don’t have the resources with us to get around them.”

  Isis let out a breath of relief and started to make her way down the bright hallway. There were few smells in the air — just chemicals and hints of dust. She coughed, not enjoying the overly sterile environment, and she almost wished she were back at the mansion.

  Isis entered a bright room with window walls. Inside there was an enormous table with a light built into it. Some artifacts were laid around the table, obviously being worked on, judging from the small tools and bottles on the table. Isis was instantly suspicious of the scene, which was a little too perfect. Moving to the windowed door, she rolled her eyes when she found an obstacle.

  “Don’t suppose anyone knows the code for the restoration room?” she grumbled into her earpiece, massaging her brow.

  “Try 07-04-17-76,” Jade’s voice answered. Isis tilted her head and allowed herself a half-smile as she entered in the code.

  “Ooh, I smell a story,” Shae’s eager voice filtered through the earpiece.

  “Dated a restoration expert who works here a while back,” Jade replied. “Lovely woman, very underappreciated in her job.”

  “Well, I hope we don’t get her in trouble,” Isis mentioned as the number pad switched to green and the door unlocked. She pulled on the door, her eyes widening a little in surprise at how heavy it was.

  “Nah, the museum is small and everyone has the same codes. Alex wasn’t lying about the poor state of security in the lower levels. Thieves love this place.”

  Isis entered the room and leaned down, removing her shoes, which she placed in the door to keep it ajar. She glanced around the enormous room, her heart sinking a little when she saw just how many objects there were on the table. Well this fucking sucks, she thought as she approached the brightly lit table and rested her gloved hands on the edge. Her eyes wandered over the objects as she tried to rule out various possibilities, drumming her fingers as she considered what to do. A gleam in her peripheral vision drew her attention to the right.

  A large tome was placed on one of the shelves off to the side, behind glass. I
sis moved over to it and pulled open the door, reaching in and taking the book from its pedestal. There were words etched into the cover in a language Isis didn’t recognize. She brought it over to the table, placing it under a lighted magnifying glass, which she switched on.

  “So, guys, what are the rules about damaging a potentially priceless artifact?” Isis asked as she examined the tome.

  “Um, try not to do that,” Jade replied. Might not have a choice, Isis thought as she raised her eyebrows. Looking around the room, she noticed a set of cabinets nearby. Approaching it, Isis started opening drawers and soon found a set of scalpels. Pulling one out, Isis went back to the table and turned her attention to the book, carefully running the scalpel’s sharp blade around the edge of the thick cover. Peeling the aged page back, Isis felt her face fall when she found nothing. Spinning the scalpel around in her fingers, she carefully turned the heavy book over and examined the back cover. Repeating the same action, she peeled the page away from the cover. Nestled in the center of the thick cover was a tiny flashdrive, smaller than any Isis had ever encountered.

  Isis pulled the flashdrive out and examined it, wondering how the hell someone had managed to conceal it so well and why. Something about the flashdrive itself was strange, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what. It was just a feeling. Twisting it around to look at the back, Isis froze and felt her blood go cold at what she saw.

  Etched into the top was the same symbol she had seen in the warehouse, drawn in a murdered woman’s blood. No. No freaking way, Isis thought as she examined the small flashdrive under the light. Palming the flashdrive, Isis slipped it into a small pocket in her pants.

  A sudden grip on the back of her neck and one on her wrist pulled Isis out of her thoughts and her face was slammed into the table. Before she had a chance to recover, Isis was tossed against the bookshelves. She had never been hit so hard before and for a moment, Isis was dazed.

  She was barely able to dodge out of the way of the fist speeding toward her face. Isis wound up behind her attacker and lashed out with the scalpel that was still in her hand. The person moved faster than her and managed to avoid the slash, leaning forward and striking back with a kick that knocked Isis against the table again. Isis ducked under another kick and backed up a few steps, holding the scalpel in a defensive position. Blood was crawling down the side of her face from a cut on her brow and Isis swiped at it with her free hand.