by A. J. Mayall
“Jack, Donnie, get in the fucking van. We’re leaving!” Dorian commanded, grabbing Donatello around the arm and pulled him up, against his body. Donatello looked at Suzette, the rage in her eyes, bloodshot from fury. Her eyes met his and she swung her chain in a wide arc. Jack was left on the ground, scrabbling to get up.
Basseri groaned, curling up as Suzette returned to the beatdown she had been giving him. He reached with a burned and blasted hand toward his holster, out of the sight of Suzette. She raised her foot over him, preparing to slam her foot into his skull, to put an end to the monster, when she found herself facing the barrel of a gun. She was already mid-stomp when she felt impact, and heard the bang of the hammer, the flash of the bullet leaving the chamber.
Jack pounced on her, pushing her out of the way. When the bullet pierced his gut though, he found the strength leaving him. He curled and moaned, blood spurting from the wound. Basseri, wounded, tried to get to his feet, lifting the gun with shaky hands. Jack began the painful process of shifting into his werewolf form while injured, using his body as a shield as he attacked. Round after round was pumped into his chest, two managing to form exit wounds out his back. Jack bear-hugged the man; using his remaining strength, he lifted him over his head and dropped him on his knee. Basseri screamed as his spine cracked, and Jack fell, whimpering.
Suzette ran to him, adding pressure on the wound over his heart.
There was a sizzle and Jack growled out in pain, “Ring! Take it off!”
He held his hand on her wrist and pulled her hand away, showing the silver ring he had given her. He smiled weakly as his skin paled under his fur. Suzette pocketed the ring and held him over the heart, cradling him in her lap.
“You’re going to be Okay, Jack. Do you hear me…?”
He nodded and snorted, coughing up a bit of blood. “Shot in the heart, collapsed lung, three in the intestines. I think he,” he grunted and yowled out, “got me in the liver twice.”
“Jack, don’t you die. I haven’t told you…”
“Die…? Suzette…”
“Jack, we’ll get an ambulance.”
“No. No doctors for me. Just glad I could help you.”
“Like hell!”
“They weren’t silver…”
Suzette blinked and looked at the wounds, the body already healing. “You son of a bitch.” She laughed, slugging him in the shoulder. “We need to get Phoenix a doctor, he’s barely hanging on.”
Jack shook his head as he began to crawl over to the red headed detective. He pushed a finger into the wound on his belly, reopening it wide, howling in pain as the blood gushed. He rose up and fell atop Phoenix, pressing his bleeding wound at the unconscious man’s shoulder wound.
“I saved three folks already with my blood, four’s even better…”
Jack’s eyes lidded as the blood loss was enough to make him fall into unconsciousness. It was soon after that Phoenix came to. The weak infusion of werewolf blood was forcing his torn flesh to re-knit, although at a much slower pace than it would for Jack.
“Ooozeehhtte…oour boyfreeen issh umphin’ eeyee eeg.”
She walked over to Phoenix and nudged his ribs with her foot. “That’s a rain check for an ass-kicking when you’re back on your feet.”
She petted Jack’s neck and reached back into her pocket, putting the ring back on and returning to Basseri. He lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling, legs twitching uncontrollably.
Jack stirred as Suzette lifted her boot again. “Suzette…don’t. Let me arrest him,” he growled.
“You don’t know what he’s done, what he’s capable of.”
“My liver disagrees with you. Trust me; he’s not getting away with it this time.”
“He won’t.”
There was the rev of a car engine and Jack huffed, trying to get up. Phoenix used what little strength he had to hold him tightly, wound to wound. It wasn’t much, but without the steady werewolf blood flow he knew he didn’t have a chance at survival.
“Sorry, I need you for this dance card,” he whispered, closing his eyes.
Guess Levicia sped down the alleys, looking toward the GPS readout on the center console. She narrowed her gaze as she saw a mass of people pile into a large black van, it hurriedly revving to speed away. In a fluid motion, she swiped the contact for Reginald Gemini and grabbed two pillows from her passenger seat. She quickly put one behind her head.
“Ms. Levicia?” Gemini said, his voice filling the interior of her car.
“Mr. Gemini, I’ll be late coming back, and you will need to file a requisition for a new car.” She frowned, slamming her foot to the floor.
“What’s going on?”
“Ever meet someone you need to punch with a sedan?”
Dorian looked forward as he pulled the van into the alley, speeding up, only to be blinded as a heavily built black car turned on its high beams, blinding him. He screamed, trying to brace for impact.
“Newest model please, sir.”
“Ms. Levicia!”
She calmly looked forward, putting the other pillow in front of her face, dropping it the split second she felt impact, and letting her body go limp. The airbag deployed, as the sound of the scraping of metal on metal echoed in the alley. It punched out, Guess’ face pushing forward and safely held between the two pillows.
She exhaled as the bag deflated, ears ringing from the loud crash. She cocked her head, finding a man on her windshield, having been thrown from the passenger seat. She noted his name tag, “MacKenzie”, and shouldered at her door, forcing it open.
“I believe I’ll need your insurance information…”
Phoenix winced when the sound of crashing metal echoed through the workroom, still pinned under the barely conscious werewolf. He looked up, lifting a hand to place it in that of Gypsy Moroux, who never left his side.
“Thank you,” he mouthed, “for everything.”
She simply nodded. Suzette walked through her afterimage assuming he was trying to get a hand up. “You feel good enough to stand?”
He shook his head. “Feet are shattered; the wolf blood is dimming the pain though. Endorphin rush. Get Jack and Basseri outta the room; I might be able to hit the Cloister now. Last minute of this bonding…well, I hope you don’t mind if I’m the other woman, Suzette…”
“Ready to cash in that rain check so soon?” she asked through a scowl before pulling Jack off Phoenix, smacking him on his furry shoulder. “Wake up; I can’t pick up Basseri and you.”
Jack groaned, his head spinning. With a short stagger and a grunt, he picked up the prone figure of Dominic Basseri. He was careful to support the back as much as possible, but the uncontrollable twitching making it difficult.
As they approached the door, Jack groaned, seeing the number pad.
“4 9 2 3 5 7 8 1 6.” Phoenix yelled out.
“How the hell did you guess it?” Jack called out over his shoulder. “I thought you were too injured to use your powers.”
“Little bird told me; also…MacKenzie did it, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, birdie tell you that too?”
“Nope, that’s just good old Sherlocking. Grid those numbers up, three by three, and they all add up to fifteen. It’s a Magic Square puzzle. He loves puzzles.”
“Phoenix, stop being creepy,” Suzette called, putting in the digits and opening the door.
“I had a bag over my head; I needed to keep my mind focused on something.”
“Get your ass fixed, now!” she said, slamming the door shut behind them.
Phoenix smiled, feeling his jaw, hoping it wouldn’t leave a scar as he closed his eyes, focusing his will on opening the gateway underneath him, riding the adrenalin and feeling it hold the pain deep down. Light emanated from underneath him and he slowly sank into the white-blue aura, vanishing as the gate closed with a snap, leaving the workshop empty.
CHAPTER 20
Guess Levicia circled the police officers, taking photographs with her
phone, and uploading them to her fliptop. The wreck had left her slightly dazed, but she knew a few moments would be enough to clear her head. She stepped over the groaning form of Cortez, nudging his broken ribs with the tip of her shoe. As she looked inside the broken window and saw O’Halloran and Bellacino, she took another snapshot, and sent it off. She stepped back and leaned against the brick wall; three quick button presses later she found herself speaking with Emergency Dispatch. She rubbed her throat and inhaled, putting on her best panicked outburst.
“Officers down, I’m on the scene! I…I see Douglas O’Halloran and Donatello Bellacino! I think they tried to steal this transport van or something. Oh my God, there’s so much blood. They wrecked my car!”
She scowled and rolled her eyes as the dispatch officer tried his best to calm her down, mentally thanking the Academy for recognizing her performance. She gave the address, beginning to look through the gathered officers, peering for someone in particular.
When Sam Maxwell kicked open the back of the van already in his werewolf from, he ran for the safe house once more. It had to be the fucking Omega. It didn’t make sense; the Omega was supposed to have the strongest bond with The Pack.
Jack was going to learn who the Alpha was, and that they took their orders from places beyond City Hall. His mind raced, and when he saw Jack carrying Basseri, he grinned wide.
“Thanks for bringing Basseri. We got reinforcements inbound. It’s shame they’ll find Doug and Donnie forced us to get lethal on them, especially after kidnapping Mr. Basseri, thinking he was behind some conspiracy. Coupled with a few dead witnesses, perfect alibi, no?” He growled, initiating a stare-down with the smaller werewolf. “You remember your place in this pack, right? We stick together, good or bad.”
It worked on a primal level, working right past the conscious mind, the literal mind, into the wolf. His superior was giving him an order. He was Omega. It was his job to do as he was told. Jack met the gaze and felt his hackles rise. He set Basseri down and waved Suzette away, motioning toward the door.
“Omegas obey, Jack. Isn’t that the defense you used when you were in trouble as a kid? Spring-Heeled Jack the thief, Jack the mugger, lightened sentence because you were just doing what your Alpha told you to.” Maxwell laughed as Suzette gazed at the cringing form. “I read his case file before we hired him, why I gave him the okay; he’s easily bent to the will of a strong mind. He follows orders without question.”
Jack shook his head and lunged at Sam, and while in mid-air he felt all the fur on his body stand on edge.
Click. Tick. Tock.
Phoenix appeared between them, the wind rush from the back room following afterwards.
“Pick on someone your own size, fucker,” McGee said as he reared back a fist, eyes backlit to a point they appeared gold. After bathing in the energies of the Cloister, he was beyond healed, he was overclocked.
Jack slammed into the back of the detective, gravity repelling him from the red-haired man. He looked to Suzette and then to Phoenix, to Maxwell, and then saw Guess in the distance. The two shared a gaze, and Jack nodded to her as she gestured that they get out.
“Phoenix!” Jack hurriedly yelled as he hefted up Basseri again, sirens in the background getting closer. “He knows where everyone is located!”
Maxwell snarled, “You shut up, pup! He’s never gonna find no one, now!”
“Oh yes, I will you son of a bitch.”
Suzette hurried with Jack out the door, Basseri in tow.
Sam pulled back his own fist and thrust it forward with enough force to punch a hole through a car door, as Phoenix’s fist met his.
The pain wasn’t the first thing Maxwell felt; it was the moment of perfect stillness of seeing McGee follow through with the punch. He watched in horror as his elbow exploded out, the flesh of his right arm splitting as the radial and ulnar bones of his arm slid back. The muscle and fat, the fur and sinew folded up and rippled like an accordion. The song the instrument played was plucked on his nerve endings, forcing howls of suffering out of his lungs.
“Where are they?!” Phoenix screamed. He reared his hand up, his fingers in a crude claw that struck across Maxwell’s chest.
“He’ll kill me!” Sam shook, eyes open in terror.
“Look me in the eyes, Maxwell. I can hear the information in the air. Your comrades think there is an officer down here; who am I to disappoint them?” He balled a fist and struck the werewolf between the legs with all his might. There was a squelching, organic sound like over-moistened clay being forced into a container, and then the sound of a tree branch being broken underwater as his pelvis broke in two.
Sam screamed as Guess sought the source of the noise. She pursed her lips, eyebrows rising as she nodded in approval. The werewolf watched his legs flop over to the sides, dragging them behind him as he crab-walked away from the detective.
“I’ll tell you! He’s got this property near the river. Big blue house, you can’t miss it!” he yipped out, voice several octaves higher, a streak of red forming at the zipper and leaving a trail on the tiled floor.
Phoenix leaned in, placing the sole of his right shoe on the source of the puddle of crimson and put his weight on it. The dark splotch on the fabric spread quickly, welling up around the treads of his shoe, like pushing a rubber stamp too hard into an ink pad.
“Address! Now!” he shouted as he twisted his foot, watching the large beast’s eyes roll back in his head, claws digging into the floor.
“End of the street on Adobe Road. Fuuuuuck!”
Phoenix pushed himself off with the foot on the werewolf’s groin, floating in air as he hovered out the door, seeing other police cars and ambulances arrive. A young deputy gazed at Phoenix, who he recognized as the desk sergeant from his first visit.
“Call Linville, tell him to meet at the big blue house at the end of Adobe Rd. Bring ambulances, Basseri had hostages. No time to explain, send that now.”
The officer looked to Dorian, who groaned as an emergency worker taped a gash in his forehead shut.
“Do what he said, Frank. Call Linville.”
Emma stared at Joel. Caroline was asleep on the opposite end of the room. Todd tried to get comfortable with his arms secured behind him. The room had been in a prolonged silence since Joel’s behavior had grown more erratic. Silence and stillness kept him at bay; it also made what time they had pass by slower. Emma sat in the stillness, the sweat dripping off her nose. She wanted a shower, to feel clean again. She wanted to wash the stench of death away. She wanted to wash the fear from her hair. She wanted to crawl into her bed, or any bed she could make her own. She wanted to know Joel wasn’t going to cut them up as they slept. She knew he had to be watched.
Joel looked up at her, smiling kindly, as if the corpses weren’t there and they had cups of coffee in front of them instead of a pile of water bottles. He arched his neck forward; Emma narrowed her gaze and brought the knife in front of her.
“You stay back.”
“Emma, I know we’ve had our differences, but I think my head is coming back around to sanity,” Joel said, in a cool even tone.
“Bullshit, I know manipulation, Joel. You sit your ass back down.”
Joel stood, Emma following suit. “You know manipulation? I know a bluff. You, you ain’t got it in you to cut me.” He stepped forward, Emma holding the knife out and swiping it toward him. She yelled out, waking up Caroline; the room brightened and Emma shielded her eyes with her free hand.
Joel darted in and screamed, cackling like a hyena as he knocked her down, gripping her head in both hands and slamming it against the floor twice. Hot pain shot through his side as Emma stabbed him, discoloring the luminescent walls with his blood. He backed away as Emma staggered to her feet.
Although injured, he was in control of his faculties, and with a simple grip and twist of the wrist, the knife slipped from her hand into his.
“Now I get to leave!” he bellowed as he raised the knife over his head with
both hands, bringing it down at Emma. She dodged to his left, letting him overextend himself so she could kick him in the groin. He bellowed out in pain, tensing his abs and making his wound bleed that much more.
“Fucking whore!” he snapped, and backhanded her with the hand that held the knife, slashing her cheek open, making her scream.
As he drew blood, the room rumbled, like a faint earthquake.
“It works!” he cried out, turning his attention to Todd and stabbing him a few times in the shoulder. In and out, the meaty thud of steel hitting bone, coupled with his cries of pain as he leaned back and kicked at him with both feet. As his blood hit the floor, the walls flickered, first in unison, then randomly.
Emma screamed as the strobe effect of the room intensified, casting Todd as an animated figure, flickering in and out. Every feature on his face was mad with glee, and never a complete image.
She lunged toward him as the room fell into deep shadow, the first time any of them had experienced true darkness in weeks. The darkness had finally come, but why? The light blinded them but allowed them to see. The light made their lives hell, but at least allowed them to share their torments.
Caroline screamed.
The roof shook, sparks flying every which way, giving Emma a moment to see Joel standing over her, but without the knife. Emma grabbed his ankle and twisted it, pulling him to the floor. She held on tight and kicked with both of her legs at his knee until she heard a meaty pop and scream; she had lamed him.
Bright natural light shone in, and a man with red hair poked his head in.
“Are you all right? My name is Phoenix McGee, I’m here to help! Police are coming as we speak! Is anyone injured?”
“Thank you!” Emma called. “Joel went crazy, he cut me, I stabbed him, Todd…oh, God, Todd’s been slashed and Caroline…”
Her heart sank as she looked to the floor. Caroline O’Halloran lay on the floor, the knife buried in her back.
Deputy Chief Joe Linville approached the scene, looking to Phoenix as he looked over the giant device. EMTs worked tirelessly to bring out the injured.