Obsessions: A Monster Squad Novel 7

by Heath Stallcup

  “Thank you,” she sniffed as she dabbed at her face.

  “You are most welcome.” Kalen stepped aside and allowed her to take the chair. “Not to change the subject, but you said that I had invaded your dreams.” She looked up at him expectantly. He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I honestly thought that it was you who had invaded mine.”

  Her eyes went wide with shock and she stared at him. “I wouldn’t…I mean, I couldn’t even if I…”

  “I understand. And neither could I.” He sighed heavily as he sat down. “Perhaps it was happenstance that we shared a similar dream?”

  She looked at him and shook her head. “What did you dream?”

  Kalen’s face flushed and he shook his head. “I don’t really remember.”

  “You too, huh?” She chuckled as she wiped her nose again. “Yeah, mine was pretty steamy too.”

  “Did you rip out my throat in your dream?”

  She gasped as she turned to him again. “No!”

  He nodded. “You did in mine.”

  “Oh, my God…” Raven suddenly stood and was searching for the door. “I need to leave.”

  “No, wait!” Kalen jumped up and stood between her and the door. “Please don’t.”

  “No, Kalen, this was a mistake. A giant, horrible mistake.” She tried to maneuver past him, but he sidestepped and stood in front of her again. She opened her mouth to protest when he leaned down and kissed her.

  *****

  Derek Youngblood stood in the living room of his childhood home and spun in slow circles. His mind raced as he tried to take in everything that Laura had told him. “And you just…shot him up with this stuff?”

  “Yes, Derek, I did.” Laura groaned as her brother seemed to slip into shock. “But I did it to save his life.”

  “Yeah, but at what cost?” His voice was raised and nearly at a panic level. “And why the hell would you tell me?”

  Laura sat on the edge of the couch, her hands tucked neatly between her knees. “Because I think I’m going to have to go back and face the music for what I did. Dad’s going to need somebody to make sure he takes his medicine…and to keep an eye on him. Somebody to keep him grounded.”

  “Oh, my God!” he screeched as he continued to spin in slow circles. “You want me to be responsible for your screw up? Isn’t that just priceless?”

  “My what?” Laura glared at her brother, her head slowly tilting to the side. “Did you just say that saving Dad’s life was a ‘screw up’?”

  “Yeah, I did. No, wait. I mean…I meant to say that…yeah, you…well…” Derek couldn’t wrap his own mind around his thoughts, but the way Laura had twisted it back on him had him completely puzzled. “You did screw up. You know it and I know it. It was Dad’s time. He had come to terms with it.”

  “But now he doesn’t have to.”

  “Oh yeah. And he’s supposed to just walk out with a clean bill of health and live forever and nobody will be the wiser for it.” Derek threw his hands into the air and glared at her. “How the hell am I supposed to explain that one?”

  “You don’t have to, D! Medical miracles happen all the time.”

  “Not like this they don’t!” He finally stopped his spinning and sat down hard on the brick hearth of the fireplace. “Jeezus, Sis, what have you done?”

  “I saved his life.” Her voice was soft and low, nearly pleading for her brother to understand her actions.

  “At what cost? What if he does change? What if he likes the strength and power too much, and I can’t stop him?” Derek shook his head. “If he decides to stop taking the meds, you know I can’t force him. He’s more pigheaded than you are.”

  “What do you want me to do, D? Shoot you up with the stuff too so you can overpower him?” She gave him a sideways look and Derek nearly fell off the hearth.

  “Hell no! I don’t want nothing to do with that stuff.” He suddenly came to his feet. “In fact, as it is, you have me scared to death that if he scratched me or got mad and spit on me that I might get it.”

  “It doesn’t work that way, Derek.”

  “How the hell am I supposed to know? It’s not like I work with this crap every day.” He began pacing, his eyes shifting back and forth as his mind raced.

  “Will you just calm down?”

  “Calm down? She wants me to calm down. You shoot our father up with werewolf venom and you want me to calm down. Sure, I’ll just get right on that!”

  “I’ve got a valium if you think that will help.”

  “No way, Jose. It’s probably got vampire DNA or something in it. I’m not taking anything from you.”

  Laura chuckled and leaned back on the couch. “Vampires carry a virus as well. You can’t get it from a valium.”

  Derek froze in place and slowly turned to face her. “Vampires? You mean to tell me that they’re real, too?”

  *****

  Jack rounded the corner and tapped on Mitchell’s door. “Come.”

  He stuck his head inside and nodded to his ex-commanding officer. “You got a minute?”

  “Not really, but I’ll make one. Take a seat.” Mitchell poured him a cup of coffee and set it on the edge of the desk. “What’s on your mind, Chief?”

  “I just got off the horn with Viktor.” Mitchell gave him a concerned look and Jack cut his question off before he could ask it. “Nadia is fine and so is the baby. No, this had to do with Rufus.”

  Mitchell leaned back in his chair and raised a brow. “So he’s definitely alive and kicking?”

  “And captured.” Jack took a sip of the coffee and cradled it while he recounted the tale that Viktor had told him. When he was finished, he decided to drop the bomb. “I just recently got wind from the Wyldwood that our big dark threat is some chick named Lilith. Ever heard of her?”

  Mitchell shook his head. “No, but something tells me I’m about to.”

  “She’s apparently the original badass bitch created by God to be Adam’s mate, but she rejected him and turned her back on God. She ended up with the fallen angels and…well, she turned to the Dark Side.”

  “Joy. So what is she supposedly up to?”

  “World domination, slavery of all mankind, that sort of gig. And she’s the one holding Rufus.”

  Mitchell’s eyes widened. “Damn, when your boss steps in it, he really steps in it, doesn’t he?”

  “He’s not my boss any more. But Viktor wants me to help him save the bloodsucker.”

  “And you’re going to do it because it’s Lilith that has him, right?” Mitchell could see where this was going.

  Jack sighed and ran a hand across his face. “If this gal is everything she’s made out to be, I don’t know if my junior cub scouts can handle her.”

  Mitchell nodded as he sipped his coffee. “But the Wyldwood thinks they can?”

  Jack shrugged. “She claims that it was foretold. These are the chosen warriors, and I’m supposed to lead them into battle.”

  “And you have your special weapons?”

  “Angel weapons.” Jack hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “The big guy we brought back with us is a Nephilim. That’s the offspring of an angel and a human.”

  “Yeah, I know what a Nephilim is.” Mitchell gave Jack a curious stare. “But I thought they were extinct. Old Testament legends.”

  Jack shrugged again. “I guess there’s at least one angel that thought it was worth creating another kid.”

  “And this Nephilim is working with you?”

  “Our new right hand man. He’s stout as hell, pardon the pun. And he doesn’t know what fear is.”

  Mitchell considered the creature they were going against. “Let’s hope he doesn’t learn it once he meets up with her.”

  “Yeah, well I’m about to gather my troops and gear up. You think you can have a team standing by as backup? I know we don’t have any angelic weapons to arm them with, but I’d feel a lot better if I knew we had backup waiting.”

  Mitchell nodded. “We have
a couple of blips on the boards but if push comes to shove, I’ll divert a team to you. It sounds like this should be a priority anyway.”

  “I appreciate it, Skipper.” Jack stood and turned for the door. “For the record…this is the first op I’ve ever gone on that I’ve actually been worried.”

  *****

  Dom pushed Chad McKenzie back away from the leader boards. “You’re staying here.”

  Mac grew red in the face. “No, that’s bullshit! I’m still a member of this team. I deserve to—”

  “You’ve been sidelined.” Dom pulled his pack up and slipped an arm into it. “Maybe sitting by the wayside will give you the chance to see how a team handles things.”

  “You can’t do this.” Mac puffed up and stood between Dom and boards. “Major Tufo put me on this team and I…”

  “I chose you for this team, and now I’m choosing to bench you until further notice.” Dom picked up his carbine and checked the optics. “When I see an improvement in your attitude and your ability to work and play well with others, then I’ll reconsider your position with my squad.”

  “So what am I supposed to do until then?” Mac stepped back, his eyes pleading with Dominic.

  “I don’t give a shit what you do.” He packed an extra magazine into his chest pouch then turned his attention back to the man. “If I were you, I’d work on my interpersonal skills.”

  “This ain’t right.” Chad slowly walked back from the boards and pushed his way out the door.

  Hammer slid in next to Dom and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Do you think you could have been a little gentler with him?”

  Dom gave him a surprised look. “He’s a grown-ass man. He should be able to handle the truth.”

  “Should be. But can’t.” Hammer shrugged. “I hope he doesn’t piss on your pillow while we’re gone.”

  Dom shot a quick stare toward the closed door that Mac had slipped through. He slammed a magazine home and chambered a round. “I’ll kill him if he does.”

  *****

  Bigby sat in his office cleaning his weapons while Martinez and his men continued their construction of the mock-up. He continued to play things out in his mind. How things had gone terribly wrong for them since Sheridan had made it his own personal mission to bring down the Yanks. How he had screwed the pooch by bringing in the huge fuzzy.

  Bigby threw the cleaning rod across the counter and gripped the top so hard that he feared his knuckles would break. He blew his breath out slowly and unclenched his jaw. He’d never been one to be judgmental or racist. But after having Apollo turn on them, he wished he could think of a worse thing to call him. He wished he could kill him over and over and over again.

  He closed his eyes and replayed the moment his bullet shattered the thick plate of Apollo’s skull and sent the pink mist into the night air. He slowly allowed himself to relax as he replayed the moment. His only regret was that he didn’t have the monstrosity of a man chained down so that he could have taken his time with him and did him up proper-like with his blades. “Aye, mate, I would have enjoyed making you scream.”

  “We’re about done with the first floor if you want to check it out.”

  Bigby opened his eyes and saw Martinez standing in the doorway. “Why would I care?”

  “I just…we’re about to start on the second floor.” He hooked his chin back out toward the warehouse.

  “So get to it.” Big spun in his chair and slid his pistol off the bench. “I’ll look at it once you’re done.”

  Martinez watched the man as he went through the motions of breaking down his weapon again. “Very well.” He disappeared back into the warehouse, leaving him to his thoughts.

  Bigby stroked the cold metal of the weapon as he field stripped it by memory. “Your mates will soon be joining ya. I guaran-damn-tee you that.”

  *****

  “And I want to be there when the first of my troops strike.” Lilith planted her hands firmly on her hips. “I won’t take no for an answer. I need to watch as their great cathedrals are reduced to rubble.”

  Samael closed his eyes and clenched his jaw. “We cannot risk your being seen at any of the strikes.”

  “He’s right.” Thorn stepped closer and pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “Surely you are familiar with these? Nearly every human these days carry the damnable things, and they all have video capability. They all can take pictures. If any of them happened to record the carnage, and you were in any of the frames, your plan goes up in smoke.” Thorn tapped a button which powered on his cell phone. He held it out to her and showed how simple it was to push an icon and the device instantly began recording. “You could just as easily have one of your troops record the action and transmit it to you at a safe location.”

  Lilith’s bottom lip trembled with anger. “I need to witness the destruction of these interminable icons.”

  Rufus nodded as he slipped the phone back into his pocket. “I understand completely. However, imagine if you can…all of the buildings being decimated and all of them being recorded live and fed to you here or some other safe place.” He slowly formed a smile as she considered his words.

  “All of them?” she repeated cautiously. “At once?”

  “Oui, all of them.” Rufus waved his arms and turned a slow circle. “With the technology they have today, you could watch it all live from one safe vantage.”

  Samael stepped between the two and effectively cut Thorn out of the conversation. “We could set up our own…devices. That way we don’t sacrifice any of the Centurions for the cause. They all go as planned.”

  Lilith paced slowly, her mind digesting the possibilities. She turned and gazed past Samael to the vampire behind him. “And how would we do this?”

  Thorn shrugged absently. “Your people could purchase a disposable pre-paid phone, set it to record and transmit, set it in front of their target and then simply walk in and do their damage.” He gave her a winning smile. “It would be as easy as une, deux, trois.”

  “And where should I observe this from?” She pushed past Samael and stood in front of Thorn, her eyes settling on him.

  “From wherever you like, my dear. You could do it here in your own planning room, or if you prefer the security of a bunker, it could easily be set up there.”

  “What would I need?” Her voice betrayed the urgency and excitement she felt, and Samael placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her. She barely recognized his touch as she pressed the vampire further. “If I were to follow through with this? What would we need to have?”

  Thorn shook his head. “Forgive me, my lady, I am not that knowledgeable in the setting up of such things.” He watched her gaze darken and he thought quickly. “But I believe I know somebody who can.” He held his hand up to stay her outburst. With his other hand he pulled his cell phone from his pocket again. “Allow me a moment, if you please.”

  Thorn turned his back to the pair and dialed the phone. He waited patiently until it was answered. “Rufus?”

  “Ah, brother, I fear I need your assistance.”

  “Are you okay? I feared you were dead. I have called Viktor and he—”

  Thorn quickly cut him off lest Lilith or Samael overheard the conversation. “I need your assistance in setting up a video monitoring system. Something that cell phones can call in and send video to. Is that something you can help me with or would you need to bring in technical experts?”

  The silence on the other end of the line told him that Paul was trying desperately to decipher any hidden code that Rufus may have used. “Let me see if I understand you correctly. You need me to bring you technical experts who have knowledge in setting up a video monitoring system that can be…what now?”

  “A video monitoring system that can accept video from numerous cell phones at one time and play them all in real time.” Thorn glanced over his shoulder at Lilith and gave her a reassuring smile. He made a show of covering the phone, “If anybody can do this and do it correctly, it is my brother
Paul.”

  Lilith nodded slowly as she watched him. “Where would we do this, Mr. Thorn?”

  “Wherever you prefer, my lady. You are already established here. I see no reason why we couldn’t set it up right here in this very room if you liked.”

  She glanced to Samael who grunted and turned his back on the two of them. “Here would be acceptable.”

  “We are at the facility where we trespassed. How soon do you think you could have a technical team ready and in place to install this?”

  Paul cleared his throat and tried to think of appropriate questions to ask for such a task. “How many cell phones will be feeding the system at any given time?”

  “Oh, I am not certain.” Rufus turned to Lilith. “He needs to know how many feeds will be incoming at any given time.”

  Lilith shook her head, unsure. Samael turned and barked at him, “One thousand. We have one thousand Centurions and each have their own targets.”

  “One…thousand?” Rufus repeated.

  “A thousand? Are you fucking kidding me?” Paul nearly screeched through the phone. “I’m not the NSA!”

  Thorn gave a wan smile to Lilith. “Apparently it is quite the tall order.”

  “I don’t need to witness them all. I only want the biggest. Can he do one hundred?” Her eyes had widened and her teeth were bared as she stepped closer.

  “One hundred then, Paul. Can you set up a system that can handle one hundred?” He shifted the phone to his other ear and stood where he could watch the crazed woman and listen at the same time.

  “That’s still a pretty tall order.” He sighed heavily into the phone. “But yeah, it can be done. You do realize that even if we split it into ten feeds per monitor, she’s going to have ten wide screen monitors to try to keep up with.”