Kell shook his head. “No, but…What?”
Nik was frowning into space. “That name is familiar.” He concentrated a few seconds, then nodded. “I think he’s on that payroll list Gadget sent us for Tex-La Shipping, working with Michael Benedict. Security, I think. I remember him because there were two people with that last name.”
“Damn it.” Kell shoved away his beer. He’d love to drain it, but he had a feeling his long day was about to turn into a long night. “Everything leads back to this guy. Now I really want to talk to Felderman. You ready to meet the esteemed governor of Texas?”
“Hell yeah.” Nik took a sip of his bourbon and pushed back his chair, but stopped to pull his cell out of his pocket. The screen was lit with an incoming call. He raised an eyebrow at Kell as he lifted the phone to his ear. “What’ve you got, Robin?”
Kell strained to hear, but the noise in the bar was too loud. He didn’t like the deepening frown on Nik’s face, though, and despite his earlier avoidance, he took a swig of beer.
After a lot of non-illuminating grunts and curses, Nik ended the call. “We have one big clusterfuck now.”
Not good. “Spill it.”
“We need somewhere else to talk, where it’s quiet and there are no ears. Wonder if the hotel has a room available?”
Archer reached into the pocket of his dark-green shirt, which looked suspiciously like silk, and held up a keycard. “Already got one, across the hall from Felderman.”
“Nice work.” Kell hadn’t given the kitties — or Robin, either — enough credit. They were smart, and he needed to stop being threatened by them. It was going to take all of them to untangle this monumental pile of chaos.
They didn’t talk on the ride to the sixth floor or on the walk down the long corridor. Kell paused outside Felderman’s room and listened. The drone of a television seeped through the door, but nothing else. He studied the hallway they’d just traversed. The governor hadn’t chosen the room with any quick getaways in mind. The room was at the dead end of the corridor, and the nearest exit lay halfway back to the elevator.
Archer unlocked the door to Room 602, and they followed him inside.
Kell pulled out the chair from behind the small desk and waited till the others were settled. “OK, let’s have it.”
“You were right — Mori went to Benedict’s house in River Oaks. Once Robin had the address, she was able to find a trace of Mori’s scent.” Nick got up to pace. “The house is a big fortress. Since she was in flight mode, Robin took her time looking at what security setups she could see from outside. The whole place is wired, with cameras all around the grounds.”
Kell wasn’t surprised. If Benedict was involved in something like the Zemurray bombing, he had every right to be paranoid. Plus, the filthy rich, unlike himself, actually had material things worth protecting.
“Did Robin see Mori?”
Nik sat on the bed nearest Kell and nodded, his expression assessing, cautious.
Kell’s adrenaline surged. It was bad news. “Tell me.”
Archer moved closer, propping himself against the room’s armoire/TV stand.
“As near as Robin can tell, Benedict has Mori locked in a small room in the attic on the back of the house. There’s an undersized dormer window that appears to be secured with a steel locking system. Robin judged the window glass was that fiberglass-reinforced hurricane material.”
Kell let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. This would require an extraction, but it was doable. “Then we should—”
“There’s more.”
His breath caught again. “Go on.”
Nik’s gaze was weighted. “Robin was able to hear a little bit of a conversation between Mori and Benedict. The room’s wired with cameras, and he apparently can watch her and talk to her via a monitor. He plans to keep her in the room indefinitely as kind of a sex slave, although Robin couldn’t hear details. Even with her shifter hearing, she wasn’t able to get everything through that glass. He’s refusing her clothing or food until she submits to him — although the words Robin heard were a lot cruder than that.”
Michael Benedict was going to pay. Kell’s thoughts went where they shouldn’t, way past proving Benedict guilty of terrorism and all the way killing the man. Slowly and painfully.
Nik paused and seemed to measure his words, his gaze searching Kell’s face. “Was Mori wearing one of your shirts?”
A cold ripple went up Kell’s spine. “Yeah, a Ranger T-shirt. Why?”
“Benedict had it, holding it up on the monitor. Robin couldn’t hear his words, but whatever he said, it scared Mori. My guess is, he’s threatening you as a way of controlling her.”
Not happening. Kell propelled himself off the chair and charged toward the door. “Fine. That sonofabitch wants me? He’s getting way more than he bargained for.”
Archer stepped in Kell’s path and planted a baseball mitt-sized hand in the middle of his chest. “Not without a plan.”
Nik sighed. “There’s one more thing. Mori’s injured.”
The chill returned to Kell’s spine. He knocked Archer’s hand away, and turned back to Nik. “How badly?”
“There’s a burn on her back Robin says will leave a scar even on a shifter. Worse if infection doesn’t set in.”
Archer gave a low whistle. “Damn. Yeah, we heal most things fast, but a deep burn is hard to overcome. Could Robin tell what kind of shifter Mori is? Or how she might have been burned?”
“That’s a no on the shifter question, but Robin’s guessing a pretty large animal. Mori’s tall and athletic. But the injury…” Nik shook his head and shifted his gaze back to Kell. “She wasn’t just burned, man. Robin says it looked like she was branded — you know, like with a branding iron. B for Benedict.”
Kell’s breath left him, and if his back hadn’t turned into one big stress-filled spasm, he’d have thought he was dreaming. “What kind of sick fuck does something like that?”
“The head of a shifter group,” Archer said, his expression grim. He’d moved back to block access to the hotel room door, and Kell gauged his chances were slim of getting around the man without one of them getting hurt. “Chances are if Mori’s a shifter, so is Benedict. My guess would be that he’s the leader of their clan, or pack, or whatever her species has. The leaders hold all the power; they’re all arrogant fucks, but we learn to live with them.”
Kell took a step toward Archer, his thoughts focused on getting Mori out of that bastard’s house if he had to burn down River Oaks to do it.
“Kellison.” Nik’s voice was soft. “Rein it in. We charge in there without a plan and we’re all fucked. You know that, man. You know that.”
Kell closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His head had begun to pound in rhythm with his back. Nik was right. He’d get them all killed if he didn’t rely on his training. Another mission plan. Another extraction. He’d done it many times before.
He nodded, and hated the look of relief Nik exchanged with Archer. “Sorry. I’m good.” And had issued another fucking apology.
“I say we don’t go in until daylight.” Nik sat back on the bed, apparently convinced Kell had gotten himself under control. “We need to be able to see since we’re dealing with a lot of unknowns.”
Kell’s mind ticked through what he knew of Benedict. Tomorrow was Friday, a business day, and with any luck, Benedict would go to work to keep his schedule looking normal. If anything else happened to Mori, Robin would let them know.
“Maybe even mid-morning.” Kell reclaimed his chair at the desk. “It gives us planning time, and if Benedict goes to his office in Galveston, it will minimize our risk in getting Mori out.” Then they’d go after the SOB knowing she was safe — whatever she was.
Kell wished he could chastise himself for not realizing Mori was a shifter, but he’d seen nothing to indicate it. Nothing. And now that he knew, her behavior puzzled him even more.
“Archer, I need an honest answer from you.”
The shifter’s brows rose, and Kell felt shame that he’d treated both Archer and Adam like obligations rather than partners — even more so than Robin. “What’s the question?”
Kell weighed his potential embarrassment against his need to know the truth. Truth won. “If Mori’s a shifter, knowing how strong you and Adam and Robin are, she could have taken me out anytime she wanted, right?”
Archer’s expression was cautious. “Well, yeah. If she’d really wanted to get away from you — or kill you, for that matter — she could have. Obviously, she didn’t want to. And the fact she hasn’t taken Benedict out is what convinces me he’s a shifter as well, and probably her alpha.”
Which was the conclusion Kell had come to as well. Mori had to know Kell was in over his head. “Why stick with me as long as she did? Why go through all the shit with the handcuffs?”
Archer leaned against the wall leading into the entry foyer. “Look, a lot of clans or packs expect women to be docile. Mori’s probably spent her whole life having independence drilled out of her. We’re also taught not to reveal what we are. So she was into you enough to stay, maybe hope you could help her. When she realized you couldn’t, she took off, maybe to protect you and her both.”
Kell thought of how many times she’d tried to push him away, saying it was for his own good. She’d gone to Michael Benedict, at least in part, to protect him.
“Let’s figure out how to get her out of there.” Kell caught Nik and Archer exchanging relieved looks. “I can still function, guys.”
He reached behind him and opened the desk drawer, pushed aside the room service menu and Bible, and pulled out a few sheets of hotel stationery and a cheap promotional pen. “Is Benedict was still on the property?”
Nik shrugged. “We’re assuming so. Robin didn’t get a visual, but there are two cars in the garage, including the sedan he’s been driving to Galveston.”
Kell wrote names on the pad. “Archer, you’re our link to Gadget. I need you to go onto the River Oaks estate now, probably on all fours, and assess the security setup, including the roof and access to that attic window.” He paused, wondering how high cougars could jump. “Also, get a guesstimate on how many people he has on staff at the house. Tell us when he leaves, and who’s left after he leaves. You want to bring Adam in from New Orleans?”
Adam was Archer’s younger brother, born a year later, but close enough in looks to be his twin. He was quiet and reserved, almost shy with people. Content to follow in his gregarious brother’s wake. They were almost inseparable.
Archer thought a moment. “No, it would slow us down waiting for him to get here and come into the operation late. Besides, Gadget needs help in New Orleans, just in case we have to change direction fast.”
Kell nodded. “Call in or text every piece of information you get so Nik and I can develop the extraction plan and a timeline.” He watched Archer Velcro-strap his cell phone around his leg, beneath his pants cuff. It was the same method Robin used to keep her tiny little phone with her when she shifted. “Before you do anything else, see if you can find a way to let Mori know what’s going on without being picked up on the cameras or microphones. She needs to act as normal as possible to anyone who’s watching, no matter what we’re doing outside that window.”
“What about Robin?” Archer asked. “Want her following Benedict?”
Kell considered it. While a pair of eagle eyes on Michael would be helpful, they probably needed all hands for the operation. “No, call Robin on the way to River Oaks and tell her to stand by. I want her ready to go inside that attic room as soon as we’re able to shut the cameras down. You will get the window open so Robin can reach Mori. Nik and I will take out Benedict’s staff.”
Archer got up, fished his car keys from his pocket, and handed the hotel room keycard to Kell. “You might need this. Leave it in the room when you’re done. I need to change into cat burglar clothes” — he waited for the eye rolls from Kell and Nik — “and then I’m on my way to Casa del Benedict. You going to Nik’s place soon?”
Kell and Nik exchanged glances and tacit agreement.
“We have some time before daylight, so we need to pay a little visit first.” Kell’s voice was grim. “It’s time to meet the governor.”
CHAPTER 20
Kell’s watch read 2:00 a.m. when he slipped out of his room and across the hall, with Nik waiting in the open door behind him. He scanned the hallway ceilings for security cameras, but if they were there, it wasn’t obvious. This hotel was nice enough, but it was the type of place businesspeople stopped overnight because it was convenient to Intercontinental. Customer security didn’t rate as high a priority as a bar, room service, and an airport shuttle.
Kneeling in front of the door to Room 601, Kell ran his fingertips along the bottom of the raised pad where customers slid their keycards. He felt the tiny DC port in the middle of the underside. So far so good.
From his pocket, he took a small electronic device that looked like a jerry-rigged cell phone. Gadget had developed it after seeing a similar thing sprung by a hacker at a computer conference the year before, and had sent it with Archer. Two six-inch black wires led from it, ending in a small plug designed to fit in the bottom of keycard locks.
Plugging the device into the lock port, Kell turned on Gadget’s gadget and powered it up. After a few seconds, the lock released with a soft whir. He removed the device and nodded at Nik, who pulled out his handgun and held it pointed downward, pressed against his right leg.
The next question was, had the governor used the interior lock as well? Kell turned the door handle and pushed slightly. Their luck held; the door opened with no pesky chain or lever latch.
Standing, Kell pulled the Beretta from its shoulder holster and paused with the door open about a foot, listening. A canned-laugh track sounded softly from the television, but all else was quiet.
Three steps, and he was able to peer around the corner of the entrance foyer into the room itself. Felderman sat on the edge of the king-size bed with his back to the door, facing the window. The curtains had been left open to reveal a smattering of streetlights and the blinking red light of a plane descending toward the runways that lay only a few miles to the north.
On the bed next to the governor lay a gun — a compact Smith & Wesson, from the look of it. Kell stepped aside so Nik could see the setup; then they both raised their weapons.
“Governor?”
At the sound of Kell’s voice, Felderman gasped, jumped to his feet, and turned to face them, without so much as a glance at his gun. “Who are you? How’d you get in here?”
While Nik kept his pistol trained on Felderman, Kell reached across the bed and took the governor’s handgun. He removed the ammo clip and made sure the chamber was empty before wiping it clean of prints with his shirt tail and tossing it back on the bed.
Then he pulled his own weapon and kept the frozen, silent politician in his sights while Nik did a quick search of the room for listening devices or cameras. Benedict would want to keep tabs on his man.
“It’s clean, unless he’s wired.”
Kell nodded. “Who knows you’re here, Governor?”
Felderman swallowed hard. “Nobody. Who are you?”
If the governor had left the hospital early to slip away from Benedict’s grasp, Kell might get him to talk. He hadn’t taken Travis Milkin’s call, but Milkin obviously knew where he was, which meant time was limited. “Never mind who we are, Governor. We have questions, and we need quick answers. Sit.”
Felderman hesitated and his gaze shot to the phone on the desk.
Nik reached behind the desk and unplugged the phone, then turned off the television. “The faster you talk, the faster we leave.”
Felderman sat in one of two chairs nestled against a small round table in front of the window. Kell sat on the bed in the governor’s former spot, facing him. He holstered his weapon, hoping it would help Felderman relax. Besides, Nik had his back.
Felderman’s gaunt face developed a tic that jerked the right side of his mouth in irregular spasms. “I’ve told everything I know. It was that Co-Op woman. Emory Chastaine. She was behind it.”
Kell sighed, long and loud and put-upon. “Well, see, that’s where we have a problem. I happen to know she wasn’t behind it, and I’m very curious as to why you’d say she was. Do you know Michael Benedict?”
“Of course I do,” Felderman snapped, but however impatient his words were, his body language spoke differently. His hands shook as they clutched at the wooden arm of his chair, and one thin leg began moving in restless jitters. “I know all our Texas major business owners.”
Nik walked behind Felderman and rested his hands on the man’s shoulders. In an instant, Felderman stilled all his nervous movements, his breath held as if waiting for Nik to choke him. What the hell had Benedict done to the man? Kell had never liked Felderman much as a governor and thought him just another blowhard politician, but this man was a pathetic wreck.
Nik’s face bunched in a frown as he massaged Felderman’s shoulders in a soothing motion, trying to get a psychic reading.
“Governor, what do you know about the jaguarundi?” Nik asked.
Felderman jerked away from Nik’s touch, rose to his feet, and shuffled away until his back hit the wall. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Kell motioned for Nik to take over the questions. Whatever he’d seen, mentioning the jags clearly struck a nerve.
Nik retreated to the other chair and motioned for Felderman to sit down. The governor sat, but his legs were tensed to jump again.
“You were kept in a dark room,” Nik said softly. “You were bitten repeatedly by two jaguarundi shape-shifters. You need to tell us their names, what they said to you, and what your agenda is supposed to be now. What is it they want you to do besides implicate Emory Chastaine?”
Omega Force 01- Storm Force Page 15