by A. J. Mayall
He leaped off and swooped into the now-open front door, camera out and snapping photos. He waved to a shrieking Mrs. Benton as she came down in a pair of sweatpants and an oversized police shirt, put on quickly.
“Smile!” He grinned as he took photos, making a point to catch a shot of one of the officers in full wolf form, running through the living room to a backroom, his clothing between his jaws.
Phoenix beamed at the chaos around him, people running about, trying to cover up as he sauntered into the living room.
Cortez burst down the stairs, in his human form.
“You have five seconds to explain what the fuck you think you’re doing!” Cortez walked toward Phoenix with his hand up, fingers splayed, counting down and balling a fist at the same time.
“Friend of the husband, pleasure to meet you. Phoenix McGee, Private Investigator.” He strode confidently, a friendly smile on his face as he extended a hand toward the large man. “Jeremy had some suspicions about Margaret, and I helped confirm them.”
Cortez dropped his hand as Phoenix waved to one of the hidden cameras.
“On the ceiling, that was something else,” Phoenix quipped as he continued waving.
At the monitor, Suzette grinned ear to ear as she watched the lycanthropes dart in panic around the house, in various stages of undress and forms. One by one, they assumed their human shapes and collected their bearings. She knew Phoenix, in a pinch, could hold his own against them all, but she also knew he liked to put on a show, and there were cameras in every room.
Mostly, she hoped he wouldn’t wink and do “pew pew” motions at the camera. While he caused a diversion, getting everyone in a form that would show their identities on camera, she made preparations to upload the information as need be. She had already selected more interesting scenes, specifically those that showed faces or had visual impact, and had sloppily made a reel to go online and to the press. Phoenix was good, but it was nice to have an ace up the sleeve.
One by one, the others filtered into the room. They nodded to Margaret and stood between her and the detective.
“So here we are, gentlemen,” McGee addressed them, watching the men growl and stare at him. “I gotta ask, did you really make the blond guy sit outside the whole time? That’s just mean, guys. I mean, at least let him hold the camera or something. Oh wait, that was my job.” He smiled, and gave Suzette a little “pew pew” motion at the hidden camera.
“Our business is our business, now get the fuck out of it,” Cortez growled, as Maxwell came in from outside, sizing up McGee.
Sam grunted at the redhead. “So what? I saw her first. I’m laying claim to what’s mine. Jeremy doesn’t satisfy her, I can. Nothing against the law about having a little fun on the side, and I’m generous to my pack.”
A smaller, slightly scrawny blond man ran in. “Called Dorian, he’s on his way. Said he was nearby.”
Sam looked down to the runtish looking man, “Shut up, MacKenzie.”
MacKenzie nodded quickly and scooted behind Cortez.
Phoenix smiled as he heard tires screech around the corner, and then into the driveway.
“I believe that’s my employer to talk to you about negotiating permanency to your claim. I have a feeling he isn’t interested in well-used goods.”
Margaret burst into tears as Jeremy stormed in the door. He was red as hot coals, his sorrow having turned to a fiery rage on his way home.
“Margaret! How could you?” he screamed, and stormed at The Pack. “Out of my way,” he hissed at Cortez who moved to the side. “In our house? Our bed?”
“Your ceiling…” Phoenix muttered.
Jeremy turned to look incredulously at the detective. Phoenix blushed, embarrassed, stepping back toward the door.
“Sorry. I’ll be quiet.”
“Thank you, Mr. McGee, you’ve been most helpful,” Jeremy said through clenched teeth as he advanced to his wife.
“I’ll just gather my equipment and I’ll be on my way. Gentlemen.” He nodded to The Pack and walked around the house, fishing out his HandyEyes and putting them back in the duffel, before he walked to the varied computer devices and pulled out the HubKits.
Margaret went pale. “You had my work FlipTop bugged?” she screamed at Jeremy. She shook and looked to the others, now too ashamed to meet her gaze. They were angry, but they were also caught red-handed.
“Do I look like someone who cares? Five men, at once! If you wanted out of the marriage that badly, you should have said something!” Mr. Benton screamed.
She tried to meet the gaze of her lovers, but they just backed away, and moved toward the door since Benton ordered them out of his home. Wolves, at their core, respected territory.
Once everything had been gathered, Phoenix nodded to Jeremy and headed back outside, where The Pack was gathering around their Omega, berating him. Dorian had arrived shortly after Jeremy, his imposing form despondent.
“How the hell was I supposed to know he was coming? Fucking Omnus can fly, so fuck you guys!” Jack yelled back, standing up to Cortez.
Dorian growled, “Rookie or not, Omega or not, Pack or not, dragging him out here while you gang-fucked a married woman is not fucking acceptable!”
McGee nodded and waved back at the others. The grin on his face could have launched a thousand mega-churches. He took a moment to turn his back to The Pack and held out his phone for a self-recording.
Pressing the red button, he piped up, “Hey, Jeremy, do you mind if I use any of this footage for promotional purposes?” Being this angry at his wife, he knew how this was going to go.
“You’re damn right you can! Spread the word as far as you can, McGee!” shouted Jeremy as he stumbled from the front door, bursting into tears and falling to his knees.
Phoenix nodded, and waved to The Pack who looked on in horror at the knowledge what they had done was going to be leaked. The detective smiled to the camera and made sure Jeremy and The Pack were over his shoulders in the distance.
“This is Phoenix McGee with another happy…”
He stopped and looked a bit abashed, hearing Jeremy sob.
He tried to rescue the shot. “Well another satisfied,” he chuckled and muttered under his breath, “well, we know she is. Ahem. Another case solved!” He tried to give that same smile again, but just ended up goofy and childish. He then added, “Moral of this story: Once you go bark, your marriage does dark.”
The Pack looked at each other, then slowly approached McGee. Sam spoke up.
“Listen, can we talk to you about possible…compensation…for public silence?” His face curled into a crafty sneer, looking down at the thin red-haired man.
Phoenix held up the phone. “It’s still recording, just so you know. So, here’s what’s going to happen. Are you listening?” he muttered back to Sam, and then yelled back at The Pack. “All of you? Don’t think I don’t know how acute your hearing is. One of my best friends in grade school was a werewolf.” He watched them as they looked to each other, and then nodded to the detective.
“Good,” Phoenix began, turning off the phone. “First, you didn’t break any laws, so I won’t report you to your department. Second, I didn’t break any laws either, so you won’t hassle me. Third, I will release this online. I’d be crossing your fingers praying it doesn’t go viral. HiveMind hadn’t had a good video in a while, so…”
He smiled and looked to Jack. “I heard them call you Omega. I know how packs treat Omegas, and you weren’t with them. I didn’t have cameras outside the house, and you weren’t in the selfie shot. You’re welcome.”
Jack blinked. He had deniability about being there. He looked to Cortez, then to Sam and frowned. He wondered if he was going to take the “Get Out Of Jail Free” card he’d just been handed.
Dorian stepped up, bumping his chest against Phoenix’s nose. “Is that really how you want this to go down? You stepping up on one of the most decorated units in the Rouge Mal Police? Remember your place, Private Dick. You rel
ease it? Hurt my Pack? I’ll break you next time I see you.”
Phoenix turned on his heels and lifted off the ground. Lee, still nursing his shoulder, yelled up at him.
“You fucking used powers on me! Omnus asshole! I’ll have you brought in alone for that!”
Phoenix stopped as turned in midair, letting anger show in his expression.
“You tried to rend me in two on the roof. Also, I’m not Omnus. The name is Phoenix McGee. Look me up when you get back to your precinct. As I see it, I was defending myself against a Stygus who didn’t know how to control himself. From the video evidence on how fast your turn with Margaret was, I think that is a recurring theme in your life, Officer.”
Lee snarled and began to shift up. Sam grabbed him and growled, “Lee. Lee. Damn it, Ken! Shut the fuck up and get in the van.”
He stared back at where Phoenix had been but the detective was long gone.
CHAPTER 6
Suzette groaned as another call lit up her desktop. It had been three days since they released the video online and anonymously linked it to the local news station, edited for time and some content. On the second day, after they released it, it was on the nationwide morning shows.
It had gone viral. The phone rang at all hours. Newscasters and bloggers wanted interviews, young fans of the video who wanted to hear Phoenix say “Once you go bark, your marriage goes dark!” for a ringtone. For Suzette, this was hell.
Phoenix stumbled downstairs, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He wore flannel pajama pants and a two-sizes-too-big black t-shirt. Suzette glared, her hair down and unkempt, her blouse disheveled from the constant back and forth of noting calls and filing requests.
“I’ve had over seventy-five calls while you slept in. I really hope you’re happy, Phoenix.”
He held up a hand and scrunched up his face, walking behind her desk and pouring himself a cup of coffee. He kept the hand up until his fourth mouthful of the black liquid and then blinked a few more times.
“You must be exhausted. Not having decaf for a change?”
“Just a half cup, then I’ll hit Gen’s.” He paused, letting the coffee hit his system and then opened his eyes. “Okay, I’m human. Seventy-five? Seriously?”
He pulled up a chair and noticed the back storage room was full of rolls of green plastic, particleboard, and two-by-fours.
“Do I want to ask?” he mumbled.
“Hector’s coming by soon to help put it together. You need a place to sit and teleconference from, so he’s building a quick green-screen area. Try to see if they’ll compensate you for your time. I’ve got people ranging from missing cats to unsolved murders calling in, and frankly, I can’t tell the trolls for the authentic cases. This had better calm down soon, McGee. I’m fine with a spike in business but this isn’t manageable.”
“You’ll do fine. I need to call Jeremy to schedule payment anyways.”
Suzette nodded. “Wonder what he’s going through right now? Most of the comments on the video are in support of him, though. His wife isn’t doing as well, except for the young teens who want the uncut footage.”
“No. As awesome as that would be, it wouldn’t be right, and you know that.” He paused. “Maybe in a few weeks.”
She grinned and grabbed herself a cup of coffee as well. The desk lit up announcing more calls. Phoenix made a slicing motion to his neck and Suzette sighed in relief, turning off the program and letting silence fill the room.
“Thank you.”
“Back at you, Suzette.”
Deputy Chief Joe Linville of the Rouge Mal P.D. paced. The Chief was holding a press conference about the video, and they had made a public statement about the suspensions of Sam Maxwell, Ken Lee, and Diego Cortez. He lifted a paperweight in the shape of a log and slid a few papers under as he looked across the station at The Pack’s still active members.
Trust in the department toward the team had dwindled, and frankly, officers were eager to hear anything they could give to Internal Affairs right now. Normally, the idea of throwing a fellow officer under the bus was sacrilege. After the recent events, the tighter scrutiny, everyone was looking out for themselves. If ratting out another officer, especially one low in the social order, meant IA didn’t come sniffing around you, so much the better.
Being the one of two members of The Pack that didn’t participate in what had been simply called ‘The Incident’ around the office kept Jack off the others’ radar. He had been honest with the Chief and IA about what had happened. The Pack hadn’t been happy about that.
Dorian followed Jack, the smiles turning to frowns, gazes shifting away from the large black man. Although he hadn’t taken part, he was Beta of the pack, which carried with it being close-knit with Maxwell.
“Jack. You. Me. Lunch.” Dorian said, slinging an arm around Jack’s shoulder and leading him outside.
Linville, seeing this, looked up and waved the two of them into his office.
“Hoffman, Franklin. In here, now. Close the door behind you.” He sat back, pointing a finger to each of the seats across from his desk. The officers obeyed and sat, Dorian’s seat creaking under his weight.
After twenty seconds of uncomfortable silence, the Deputy Chief spoke up.
“This is a real shitstorm, and I need to know how you’re gonna clean this up.”
Jack went to speak and Linville held up a hand. “I know you were actually there. Believe it or not, some of us do detective work in the police. I know when you came in, I know when you clocked out. I also know when you came back to your locker a few hours later to change out of your uniform and collect your belongings. Between you and me, I’m more pissed that the rest of the precinct doesn’t have your ass pinned the wall for lying to them. That they missed something so damn basic.” He lowered his hand. “You were saying.”
Jack nodded to Linville. “Chief and IA know. Both decided it would be best if we didn’t let the rest of the precinct know. I didn’t know what the rest were doing; I wouldn’t have gone if I did.” Linville returned the nod, looking to Dorian.
“Rookie is telling the truth. Not happy about what he said, but he ain’t lying,” Dorian said to the superior officer. Linville went to speak, but Dorian raised his hand.
“It’s my turn to lay things out. Like I said, I’m not happy with what Jack said. I’m pissed he spilled it to the Chief and to IA, but he’s a cop. He did what he had to do, but not to save his ass. If you wanna yell at someone for doing something that puts a bad smell under your nose, you take it up with Maxwell. This ain’t Jack’s mess to clean up.”
“Fine,” Linville stated. “As of right now, Jack, you’re the RMPD liaison to the Stygus community. I’m assuming you won’t let your sordid past get the better of you out there?”
Dorian fumed. He had been up for the position whenever Sam had decided to retire, or take a step down in responsibilities.
Jack nodded and sat back in his chair. “Thank you, sir.”
“Officer Franklin,” Linville turned to the larger man, “since you weren’t involved either, you are in charge of The Pack until further notice. Dismissed.”
Jack and Dorian made a beeline out of the office to a corner deli.
“We need to talk, Jack,” Dorian said to him while they waited in line.
After ordering, they sat at a back corner booth, out of the way of prying eyes and ears.
“You bet we do, Dorian, about a great many things.”
“Jeremy, hey, it’s Phoenix. I don’t know how life is treating you, but things have been a little hectic since we did the release you agreed to. I’m calling to schedule payment for services rendered. Call me back whenever you get this. Thanks. Bye.”
Phoenix scowled as he hung up his mobile, looking to Suzette. “No answer again,” he muttered, as hammering filled the back room. “How’s it looking in there, Hector?” he shouted around the corner.
“It’s looking good, man! Should be ready within the hour.”
“Anything yo
u want for lunch? Can’t thank you enough for this, the line’s been off the hook with interview requests. I mean, I know the video is popular, but damn.”
Hector headed to the main part of the office, sweat on his brow, a staple gun in his calloused hand. “Naw, man. I’m good. Glad to help. Well, I mean if you’re offering, but nothing too big. I can have something like this done in no time flat.”
Phoenix grabbed a chilled bottled water from the side fridge, tossed it to Hector, who caught it with his free hand.
“Keep yourself hydrated, regardless.” He nodded to Suzette and pointed to the desk. “Well, you’re the one who’s best at bookkeeping. Find out who’s offering what, and book me accordingly. Get the cash from the interviews and send a payment to your grandmother. Check to see if Club Enedium responded; it’s been a while since I went to meme central.”
Suzette rolled back behind her desk, writing out what she wanted for lunch, and getting Hector’s order from him, after he relented to the generosity. She smacked him upside the head with a sticky note, getting it stuck in his hair.
“That’s for making me deal with all these people!” She scowled as she scrolled through the business correspondence folder, sorting out the investigation requests, the trolls, and the media requests into three separate categories.
Phoenix winced, rubbed the back of his head and bit his lower lip. “Hey, what did I say about physical violence, Suzette?!” he snapped.
“You said it’s hilarious.”
“I mean when you commit physical violence!”
“You said it’s especially hilarious.”
“Against me!”
“Oh. Yeah, you said not to do that. My bad.”
The conversation about plans for The Pack and how to move forward from The Incident had been fruitful. It became clear to Dorian why Sam had wanted the upstart; there was more to him than met the eye.
Jack patted Dorian on his broad back. “Nice to be caught up to speed on everything. I think I’ll be able to help.” The blond brushed his free hand through his crewcut and, when they reached the station, held the door open for his superior. “After you.”