There had been mixed reactions at the beginning from the parent clans. Gelan’s mother and Dramok father in particular had protested it.
Ten days prior, Matara Asilef had glared at the pair over the vid transmission. “You must be joking. You haven’t spoken in what, seven years? A few days back together and you decide you’d make good clanmates?”
Dramok Kehah weighed in. The father Gelan most closely resembled scowled, putting deep lines between his brows. “You couldn’t be bothered to stay in touch all that time, yet now you can’t live without each other? You know we like Wynhod, my son, but this is most suspect.”
Asilef nodded, her curls springing up and down from the violence of her motion. “Exactly. It’s too soon. You need more time.”
“I disagree.” Gelan’s Nobek father Rovew had his turn next. “If after all this time they have reconnected to the degree that they are driven to clan, then I think the bond is secure.”
“Gelan is mature beyond his years,” Imdiko Hasbu asserted. “He is also old enough that our permission is not required. I appreciate the respect of seeking our blessing however, my son and my son’s Nobek.” He smiled.
Asilef rounded on her clanmate. “Wynhod is not his Nobek yet.” Her eyes widened and she turned to Wynhod. “Are you?”
He bowed his head. “He has not asked formally. We have only exchanged our intention to clan.”
“Well, why not keep it at that level for a little while? You’re still young. Gelan hasn’t even reached his thirtieth birthday yet.”
Rovew pointed out, “He will soon. He shouldn’t get much older before seeking an Imdiko anyway, and having a Nobek like Wynhod would attract more interest.”
Asilef stared at her Nobek. “Mother of All, why are we talking Imdikos now?”
“As a rule, that breed clans young. Gelan and Wynhod don’t want to be too much older before finding one. A significant age gap can make things difficult.”
Hasbu nodded his agreement. “When I came of clanning age, men only ten years older who courted me seemed ancient and out of touch. I and my friends didn’t have the sense to appreciate older Dramoks and Nobeks, and we rarely took their suits seriously. It is time Gelan started his clan.”
Asilef wasn’t convinced. “So why can’t he remain merely intended to Wynhod while they search out their third?”
Wynhod’s voice was quiet as he spoke to Gelan’s mother. “Am I not worthy of being Gelan’s Nobek?”
Asilef gaped at him and waved her hands in horror. “By the ancestors, Wynhod, you know I’ve always loved you like a son. That we’ve exchanged regular coms throughout the years should tell you I would be thrilled to have you as part of my family.”
“Then why are we arguing about this?” Hasbu sighed.
“Because I want them to be sure of each other before making a lifelong commitment!”
Meanwhile, Gelan turned to Wynhod in surprise. “You kept in contact with my parents after I left?”
Asilef gave him a reproachful look. “Yes he did, my son. Sometimes he was better about it than you.”
“I told you, I love her chafga casserole. I had to remain in her good graces.” Wynhod smiled winningly at everyone.
His statement cracked them all up, easing the tension. By the end of the conversation, Asilef and Kehah were still reluctant about the clanning of their only son, but Gelan thought they would come around. His parents genuinely approved of Wynhod.
The Nobek’s surviving Dramok and Imdiko fathers were also torn about the sudden re-kindling of Gelan and Wynhod’s relationship. However, their concerns weren’t nearly as intense.
After a few days, all the parents had accepted that the two would clan. Asilef even laughingly agreed to make her casserole for the reception after their official ceremony.
His impending clanship with Wynhod was another reason Gelan felt impatient to get the Delir case resolved. Somehow he felt it would not be a good omen to begin their lives together with something of such great import distracting them from each other.
He scowled at the four faces snarling at him from the vids. Anam, Huk, Wason, and Behor. If he could catch just one…
Wynhod grinned, his handsome face a jarring counterpoint to the sneering vids he peered at Gelan between. The Nobek propped his feet up on his desk. His look possessed pure deviltry as he said, “Well, officially clanned or not, I’m okay as long as I get to fuck you on a regular basis. But now that we’ve won the parents over, they are getting a bit impatient.”
“I know.” Gelan sighed. Asilef was becoming increasingly vocal about the ceremony too, wanting to plan it to the tiniest detail. “My mother is already asking for a guest list and good locations for the ceremony. If we’re not careful, she’ll have it as elaborate as one fit for an Imperial clanning.”
“As long as she makes that casserole, she can arrange whatever she likes.”
Gelan laughed and shook his head. “It is so easy to read you. You either think with your stomach or points below.”
“And that’s a problem because…?”
Before Gelan could reply, his emergency com went off. He and Wynhod were on their feet in a second.
“Investigator Gelan here.”
“Nost. We’ve got major activity at the Delir lab.”
“On my way.”
He and Wynhod raced out of the department and down the corridors.
Chapter 12
Gelan, Wynhod, and Nost arrived at Undercover Ops’ surveillance command post, half a mile away from Advantage Industries. A massive complement of enforcers and snipers came with them. Gelan and Wynhod let Nost lead them to where his men had been stationed for the duration of their stakeout. There they found the site commander, a Nobek named Gij, waiting for them. He sent the enforcer squads to cover the Advantage cavern system’s access points.
“What’s happening?” Gelan asked once they’d been deployed.
Gij grimaced, the lines in his wide face deepening. “It looks like they’re trying to pull out the Delir operation. Nearly thirty men are loading machinery and bins onto shuttles, and about fifty armed men showed up to stand guard.”
He took Gelan, Nost, and Wynhod to a viewing station, where all the surveillance equipment feeds played. The main entrance into Advantage Industries was a hub of activity, all right. Brutal-looking men with percussion blasters at the ready were lined up, watching as hover carts flew out of the cave mouth, laden with equipment and bins. Other men were quickly loading five large transports and sending the emptied carts back into the plant’s interior.
Gelan’s heart hammered. “By the ancestors. I knew they were using military-grade blasters, but the transports are battle armored too. Where did they get that shit?”
Wynhod looked over the situation, his eyes alight. “It’s going to be a hellacious firefight.”
Gij grinned at him. “Sorry to break it to you Enforcer, but I’ve order in a shockwave-capable shuttle for those nasty boys on the outside. However, it looks like there are a lot of people inside that building too, so you might still get some action.”
Nost told him, “Investigator Gelan has pulled in everyone from all shifts to get this done. Whenever you’re ready, site commander.”
Gij nodded. “I think we should get this going before we lose all our evidence.”
“We’ll get into position,” Gelan told them.
He and Wynhod left the command post, hurrying to the ridge that surrounded the Delir lab and its cover company. Soon they were creeping stealthily to a spot where they would be able to shoot at anyone who tried to escape once the shockwave hit. They were still several yards away when the Nobek pointed to a small rise in the landscape.
Wynhod said, “That would be good cover for you.”
“Are you kidding?” Gelan pulled his blaster out of its holster on his belt. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Why should you enforcers have all the fun?”
He kept going, passing the concealment for something closer to where the action
would be. The Dramok was more than ready for a fight. In fact, he’d gotten semi-erect just thinking about the potential battle ahead. His fangs kept descending, like those of the Nobek enforcers he joined behind a rocky outcropping.
Wynhod slid next to him, his own blaster out and ready. He looked carefully around at the other men. The attack force spread out along the ridge that rose over the caves hiding the manufacturing plant and the men guarding it.
The Nobek leaned close to whisper so no one else could hear, his lips moving against Gelan’s ear. “Do me a favor, my Dramok.”
Gelan choked off a growl though he was sure Wynhod was about to ask him to stay back when the fighting commenced. Not that he had any intention of that happening.
Fixing his partner with a narrow glare, he snarled, “What?”
“Never let anyone challenge your breed designation. I want our clanship to stand.”
Gelan stared at Wynhod, confused. His mind had fixed on the coming battle, and the fact the Nobek wasn’t trying to talk him out of being a part of it left him puzzled. As hard as he tried to figure out what Wynhod had said, he couldn’t quite decipher it. He was too riveted on capturing the lab.
The site commander’s voice in his earpiece ended the attempt. “Officers, take up your positions and prepare for battle. The shuttle with the shockwave will arrive in less than a minute.”
Gelan shifted so that he faced the ridge, ready to spring up and fire on targets at the signal. He flipped on his helmet visor, which gave him a ghostly image of the scene on the other side of his protective barrier. One of the transports being used to take pieces of the lab away was apparently at capacity. Its hatch closed and engines cycled up as it readied to depart.
The hum of a nearing shuttle alerted him that the attack on the lab was imminent. It streaked overhead and past, drawing to an abrupt halt over the gang’s guards and transports. A buzzing sound filled the air.
All of the guards and many others dropped instantly. People on the edge of the shockwave staggered and tried to run for the cave, pulling blasters from holsters. The running transport rose off the ground a few feet and moved forward, no doubt attempting to escape. The police shuttle fired on it, knocking it back to the ground.
Several men rushed out of the cave. At the site commander’s signal, Gelan and Wynhod rose with the rest from their hiding places and opened fire. Return blasts shivered the air before them, buffeting their bodies hard. Their protective armor kept anything from doing mortal damage, though they jerked from the force.
The battle went on for what felt like forever, though Gelan knew it was only a few minutes. The police shuttle hovered out of blaster range over the cave, ready to unleash another shockwave should any of the gang venture out. They had their deadly enemies pinned in.
Site commander Gij signaled the next offensive. “Forward squads, advance on the cave’s main entrance.”
Gelan would have given anything to be at the front of the fight, but he was not part of an enforcement squad. He knew better than to disrupt their tactics, so he let Wynhod lead him out, moving to the far edge of the group. What the hell; it was still better than staying behind and watching.
Shots fired from the mouth of the cave where the gang had taken shelter from the shuttle. Gelan returned fire, part of the barrage the enforcer squads sent at the lab defenders as they closed the distance. Men on both sides were going down now, some officers taking head shots where the protective armor could not defend them. Rage at seeing good men die poured through Gelan’s body. He shrieked at the criminals as he came on, only a couple of steps slower than the also howling Wynhod.
He was so intent on leveling the gang members that the deep thud coming from within the cave and shaking the surface beneath his feet didn’t immediately register. Wynhod spun around and launched himself at Gelan, knocking him to the ground. The Nobek crouched over him, shielding his body with his own.
His partner yelled, “Stay down! The bastards are blowing the facility!”
Fire, rock, and tremendous heat suddenly blew from the cavern’s entrance. Metallic, stone, and human debris flew and rained down over them. Gelan wrapped his armor-padded arms around Wynhod’s head, trying to keep his Nobek from taking a hit to the skull from the larger bits. Meanwhile, Wynhod sheltered him with his body, protecting his Dramok.
After a few moments, the rumbling of the earth passed. Wynhod moved, and Gelan released his hold on his partner so that they could look at each other.
“All right?” the enforcer asked.
“Yeah. You?”
Wynhod grimaced. “I’m good, but there’s probably no one left to shoot.”
“Try not to let it ruin your day, my Nobek.”
They grinned at each other. Wynhod climbed to his feet, and Gelan accepted his hand up. They stood and looked at the carnage.
The cave entrance was much larger than before. Now it didn’t look so much like a cave as a gaping mouth, as if the earth itself shrieked silently over what had been done to it. Twisted metal pieces, a moonscape of scattered rocks and stones, and burnt body parts lay everywhere. Gelan decided Wynhod was right: there was no one left to shoot.
“Shit,” he breathed. “Well, at least we got that undercover footage. That’s all that’s fucking left here.”
“And whatever they managed to load into those transports,” Wynhod said sympathetically. Gelan brightened a little. He’d forgotten about that.
The site commander’s voice filled his earpiece. “Teams, check in with your squad commanders, report any injuries. Get a perimeter around this mess and keep an eye out for hostiles.”
Gelan muttered. “I want to see someone walk out of that. Damn it, there goes a shitload of evidence.”
Gij was still talking. “Clear the wreckage of anyone alive. You know your sections. As soon as everyone reports in, I want emergency services, fire control, and forensics report in.”
Since Gelan and Wynhod weren’t part of any of the squads, they simply stood and watched, staying out of everyone’s way. Gelan couldn’t take his eyes off the huge hole where the lab had been.
He told Wynhod, “There must have been something more incriminating than Delir in there for them to blow themselves to oblivion with it. Fifty years hard labor for manufacture and distribution is no picnic, but it’s better than dying. I wonder what secret they were protecting? Or who?”
Wynhod gave him an impatient look. “Since when do you play in theory instead of evidence? You’re starting to sound like that Imdiko psych.”
Gelan narrowed his eyes. “Krijero was right about Latwik. Don’t sell him short.”
“I’m not. I’m just saying there’s no point in seeing a bigger picture when there isn’t one. You saw the military-grade shit they were using. If you ask me, someone simply fucked up in there, getting ready to use a piece of weaponry against us that they couldn’t handle.”
“That’s something else. Where did they get this shit? How is it battle gear got into the hands of civilians, many of whom no doubt have criminal records? Explain that to me. I’ll even let you use small words you understand.”
Wynhod not so playfully punched his shoulder. The armored sleeve took the bruising force out of the blow. “Just wait until you get all the evidence, okay? You’re no brain trust yourself, you know.”
* * * *
Two days after the Delir lab exploded, Gelan and Wynhod sat at their desks, sifting through forensic reports. Most of the machinery used to concoct Delir had been destroyed in the blast, but enough had been loaded onto the transports to get a good idea of what the gang had been working with.
Gelan shook his head in amazement. “Are you seeing these components?”
For once, the Nobek wasn’t griping about desk work. He seemed suitably awed by the evidence. “That was some serious machinery. They knew what they were doing, all right.”
“It was all high-grade, precision equipment. They put a small fortune into this stuff before they blew most of it to hell.”
Wynhod smirked. “No way that gang had the capital to run more than one lab. All the Delir is gone. Of course, enforcement is going to be working overtime while the addicts come off that crap.”
Gelan nodded. “We will definitely see an uptick in violence throughout the territory. Thank the ancestors the media channels agreed to run warnings through the next few days’ broadcasts.”
“Putting the worst of the known affected areas under lockdown should help a little. The hospitals are on alert too.” Wynhod snorted. “Who knew solving the Delir issue would make things harder on everyone?”
“Temporary problem,” Gelan said with no small amount of pride. Wynhod had been right; getting the Delir out of circulation was decent compensation for not getting his hands on the gang leadership. The horror of watching hallucinating addicts in withdrawal attack the innocent was coming to a close.
His emergency com went off. Exchanging a startled look with Wynhod, Gelan rushed to answer it. “Investigator Gelan.”
The dispatcher’s voice came over the frequency. “Investigator, there is a situation that needs your attention. We have a hostage situation involving a Nobek Huk. He’s holding a clan with children hostage. He demands to talk to the lead investigator on the Delir case or he will kill the entire family.”
Nobek Huk. He was one of the third-tier gang members that had gone missing following the raids on the meeting places. One of the men Gelan had been desperate to find.
…holding a clan with children … will kill the entire family.
Remembering the snarling bearded face on his vid file, the man’s thick eyebrows drawn down low over eyes feral with hate, Gelan could well believe Huk would kill children. Such a person would be nearly impossible to negotiate with.
Strapping on his belt with its complement of knives, blaster, and tools, Gelan said to the dispatcher, “Transmit all information to my system. We’re on our way.”
“Confirmed.” Gelan heard the response from a distance as he and Wynhod were already leaving the department.
Clan and Conviction (Clan Beginnings) Page 15