If I’d just been a little clearer on what my relationship with Ben was maybe I wouldn’t be here grounded in the office like a naughty toddler. I envied Quinn his ability to stay on the case. I heard talking and looked up.
Ben was on the phone at the other end of the long table. I turned my attention back to the miracle dehydrator that saved all the vitamins and minerals, but cut down on the wasteful tossing of rotten produce.
It was about as riveting as watching paint dry, but it was better than being chastised further. I’d expected it from Gerry, somewhat, when he found out Ben was something more than my maker, but I hadn’t expected Ben to be upset with me. I’d just saved his life!
Of course, I’d also been the reason the serial killer found him and injured his friend. It sucked, but it was obvious some people saw it that way. I was only trying to get Ben and I out alive. I probably should have stayed and tried to take Grisly down myself, but at the time, it just didn’t feel safe for me to do that.
I was just trying to get out alive with an unharmed witness. I went by the book. Well, so much as the book covers about babysitting your maker whom you haven’t seen in a number of years and are somehow majorly attracted to because of a stupid sire bond. Yeah, good luck finding anything about any of that in any FBI manual.
Could I have done better? Probably. But I did what I was able to do and I wasn’t disappointed in myself for anything other than this Brandon kid getting hurt. I felt guilty an innocent was harmed, but I’d succeeded in not allowing my charge to be killed and eaten.
Okay, so I probably sound like a petulant kid right now, and I apologize for that. I’m just not the sort of person who can let things go easily, if you couldn’t tell, and I’d worked awfully hard on the Grisly Adams case, so being taken off of it infuriated me.
“Sam?”
“Look, I’m sorry. It won’t make it any better the more I say it, trust me.” I scowled.
“No, that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Stop apologizing. I talked to Brandon’s mom; she’s glad you kept me alive and is not going to continue forward on this. She’s glad her son is okay and she is grateful to you for keeping me alive. The councilwoman is actually a friend of my family and has known me since birth.”
“Oh. Thank you.”
“Look, I’m sorry I got snippy with you.”
“Snippy?” I raised an eyebrow.
“You prefer pissy?”
“It fits better.”
“Well, then, sorry I got pissy with you. It’s not like you knew you were leading a vicious serial killing bear shifter to my front door.”
“I honestly didn’t. I truly thought the bear was a shifter neighbor of mine out for a run. I never would have gone to your place if I had known. In fact, it wasn’t until he attacked that we knew he was even a bear shifter at all.”
“I know. Sorry if I was a jerk. It’s just, they told me you broke protocol.”
“They lied. I ran everything by the book.”
“Oh, sorry.”
“Stop apologizing.” I winked after I tossed his words back at him.
“Touché. So what is going to happen now? Do I get to see your house? Are we going to a motel?” Ben grinned and waggled his eyebrows in an attempt to make me chuckle.
“The US Marshals are coming to guard you. They’ll probably fly you right on out of here until Grisly is behind bars or dead.”
“What about you?”
“I’m suspended. Just stuck here until they can spare someone to babysit me.”
“So, that’s it? We’re just going to go our separate ways and hope someone takes down this bastard so I can go home?”
“It’s all I can do. I’m sorry, Ben. I fucked up. Whether I meant to or not, I did.”
“I thought I told you to stop apologizing,” Ben said softly.
“Right, sorry,” I joked halfheartedly.
“I don’t want to go with the Marshals. What happens if I refuse?”
“I don’t know exactly. I’ve never seen anyone refuse before.”
“Will I get to stay with you?”
“I don’t think so. It kind of came out that you’re my sire and we’re bonded. That’s sort of why I was suspended.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, it was a lovely career while it lasted.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. They won’t take it that far. You’re a good agent and you did let your partner and boss know there was a friendship between us, right?”
“How did you know that?” I was surprised.
“Because I know you. It’s not something you would leave out. You’re a mostly by the book type of agent.”
“Really, you think that after all the plotting on the way over here to keep our conversations tonight secret?”
“Really, really.”
“Thanks, Ben. And thanks for calling the councilwoman. I appreciate that.”
He was about to say something more when Gerry burst in the door.
“Sam! The councilwoman called and apologized for being so forceful earlier. She isn’t going to press the matter; you should send her a frigging fruit basket, though.”
“Thanks, Gerry. Am I still suspended?”
“Hell, I never even began the paperwork.” He handed me my gun back and I slipped her into my holster. I’d felt somewhat naked without my gun.
“So, am I still on the case?”
“Yes, why?”
“Excellent. I’m going home.”
“The hell you are! The killer knows where you live, remember?”
“Exactly. We want him, and we can get him to come right to us.”
“I don’t like it, Sam,” Ben chimed in.
“Excuse me, but it doesn’t matter what you like or don’t like, asswipe. This is my call, not Sam’s, and definitely not yours.” Gerry’s brow wrinkled and he looked like he was about to start screaming.
Visions of comic books danced in my head and I had a quick flash of Gerry as J. Jonah Jameson. I tried to hold in my chuckle as my mind completed the picture with Gerry lighting up a cigar and screaming for someone to get him the scoop about Spiderman.
“Something funny, Reece?”
“No, sir. Nothing at all.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You are not to go home, but I will be having Quinn take you guys to a motel and keep watch while you get some sleep.”
“Sounds like a plan. Who else will be going?”
“I could send Sheila?”
“No! Er, I mean no, thanks. Q and I can handle this.”
“Not a fan?”
“Not really. She kind of scares me a little.”
“Little Sheila scares you?”
“She’s really odd, Gerry.”
“Well, you’re her hero, Reece. Makes sense she’d be uncomfortable around you.”
“What do you mean I’m her hero?”
“Remember those bank robberies a couple years ago?”
“Yeah. The one Quinn and I caught the pair because the guy always kidnapped the branch manager the night before the heist?”
“She was the manager’s wife. She was going to be a lawyer, decided to be an agent because you and Quinn saved her life.”
“Huh, I barely remember her. I think we only spoke to her for a little bit because she’d been immediately tied up and stuck in a closet. She saw and heard nothing, right?”
“Yes, that was Sheila.”
“Oh, man, I had no idea. Does Quinn know?”
“He’s a tad more perceptive than you. He figured it out immediately.”
“Why didn’t anyone ever say something?” This explained why she was so keen on me noticing her.
“We figured you knew.”
“I got shot on that case. I barely remember anything from it.”
“You were shot in the leg.”
“It was very traumatic. Okay, so I’m just a dick who forgets names and faces when they creep up on the job.”
“I wouldn’t say you were a dick,” Ben spoke up in my defense.
“No, I really am. I don’t mean to be, it’s just that I learned early on not to get attached. So I tend to detach from witnesses and suspects when working a case.”
“Not a smart way to investigate.”
“What do you mean by that, Fitzpatrick?” I demanded.
“Well, without attachment you can’t feel anything about the people involved in the case you are working.”
“That was kind of the point.”
“Well, if you don’t care about them, how can you keep them alive?”
“That’s my job.”
“So it’s only a job?”
“Hey, Fitzpatrick, you really give as good as you get with her, don’t you?” Gerry sounded amazed.
Then again Gerry hardly ever won a fight against me.
“Well, it’s my job to challenge her and get her to think outside the box.”
“It is?”
“Not really, but I’d be up for the job if there were ever any openings.” Ben grinned and I shook my head, surprised that he’d try to flirt here, in front of my boss.
Especially under these circumstances.
“Kid, you’ve got your work cut out for you. Say, I thought he was just a slight friend, Sam?”
“In my eyes, he is.”
“Ouch.” Ben grabbed his chest and acted wounded.
“What do you see from your eyes, Fitzpatrick?”
“I see a friend I’d like to know better, but I will take it as slow as she wants. I’d rather have her in my life as a friend than not have her there at all. I truly believe, though, that she is my soulmate.”
“Holy hell, Ben, you can’t just say shit like that. I’m not his soulmate, Gerry. We went through this earlier.” I hissed at my maker so he would understand my point.
My jaguar just leapt and grunted like she always did when Ben showed interest. I would be interested to see what she sees in him.
Sometimes I wonder if she can see his jaguar or if she just senses him. Either way she really seems to like him and his cat. I wondered again about her taste.
“Okay, well, soulmate or not, that’s none of my business. What is my business is making sure you guys are safe and alive. That’s where Quinn comes in. Rather, he will, in another three hours. You guys stay here until then. I’m sending Sheila in to take your food orders.”
“You really going to hold me here, Gerry? Just let me go home, I can finish this. Send some guys with me if you want.”
“Sam, do you really think he’s going by your place considering he has to realize you know who he is now? Well, not exactly who he is, but you know he is the killer.”
“I do. He knows I’m a shifter, too, he has to. He smelled me at my place and I have no doubt he got a good schnozzful at Ben’s apartment. Mainly because I got a good whiff of him there, too. Come on, use me to track him.”
“I don’t know, Sam, you’ve been on duty for too long.”
“As we sit here his scent has mostly dissipated. There are still going to be faint traces of it, but only for another couple hours, then it’s gone and there’s no getting it back. Look, I know this won’t track in a court of law, but this sort of crime can’t be fully dealt with in a court.”
“You talking the vamp council?”
“No, I’m talking me. I don’t need a Hunter to bring down Grisly; I can do it myself.” Hunters were vampire boogeymen that were scarier than any CIA trained spy.
“Sam, don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m just being honest, Gerry. You know me.”
“Honest, I have no doubt about, but, Sam, you’re talking about taking on a psychotic serial killer who happens to shift into a very large bear. That’d be like pitting….” He struggled with a comparison.
“David against Goliath?” I grinned.
“Only with a different result.”
“How do you know for sure?”
“One person won’t be able to take Grisly, you’ve seen the remains.”
“Maybe not, but shouldn’t we at least give it a try?”
“I’ll send some agents with you. Sam, you better watch your back and I hope to hell you’re wrong.”
“You’re not going to let her do this are you?” Ben sounded scared.
“Apparently you really don’t know her very well. I couldn’t let Sam do anything. I’m just trying to stop her from going shifter-cop on us.”
“Shifter-cop?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Like Robocop, but less metallic.”
“I can dig it. Look, I know he is going to be there. I have a hunch that he has me in his crosshairs. The way we keep running into each other could only feel like fate to someone as deeply religious and psychotic as he is. I’ll bet dollars to donuts he will be at my house sometime today, if he hasn’t already been there.”
“Look, I really think this is a very bad idea, but this guy is seriously evil and if this gives us a chance to apprehend him safely you know that I have to take it.”
“I knew you’d see the light, Ger.”
“I’m not done yet. That said, I want you to know that you are not in charge of this sting. You are solely bait in this trap, you hear me?”
“Yeah, I hear ya. I agree to your terms so long as you agree on letting me have some say on who is backing me up.”
“That’s fine.”
“I get to come along, Sam. Tell your boss that. You know I can help you track him.”
“Mr. Fitzpatrick, you aren’t going anywhere. If we bring this guy in alive it’ll be your testimony that’ll land him in jail. I’m not putting any civilian, especially you, anywhere near him. That’d be like putting chocolate too close to the dog and expecting it not to be eaten.”
“You really shouldn’t feed dogs chocolate, sir.”
“I know that, Reece! I’m not a moron! I’m using a metaphor here.”
“So long as you know.” I shrugged, trying to mask my smile.
Sometimes it was fun messing with Gerry.
“At any rate, Fitzpatrick, you’re not going anywhere. You’ll be staying right here where you’re safe. We need your testimony.”
“Are you really that stupid? Do you really think this guy is going to go quietly? Do any of you honestly believe this ends any other way than suicide by cop?” Ben was starting to get riled up.
“Doesn’t matter what I think, I have a job to do. I will not go in there with the mind frame of an executioner. Once I do that then I’m no better than the guys I’m tracking down. And you, Ben, will stay here while I do. I can’t track him down if I’m worried about you getting caught in the crossfire,” I stared him in the eyes while I spoke.
He had to know I meant every word.
“Sam, come on. You know I can help you track him and—”
“What I know is that you don’t have a badge. You’re a witness, not an agent. You’ll be staying here. That’s it.” I turned to leave then stopped and looked back at Ben. “Look, I appreciate your wanting to help, but you don’t have the qualifications to be there.”
“This isn’t regular FBI business. This guy is strong, he is big, and he is mean. Worse than all that, he sees you as an abomination and a potential target. I don’t think it’s right for you to go it alone.”
“I won’t be alone, I’ll have full department backup. Not to mention Quinn.”
“Humans are not the same.”
“Speciesist! Humans can take down a shifter just as easily as you and I, besides they will all have these amazing pieces of technology we call guns. Bullets stop shifters and humans alike. Now, you’re staying here, we are doing this by the book, and I’m bringing Grisly in.”
“Sam, he is going to kill you.”
“Ye of little faith.” I turned back to the door and continued walking out.
Once the door closed behind us, I asked Gerry to make sure that someone stayed on the interrogation room door, and Ben, until the arrest was over.
I KNEW THAT BEN WAS RIGHT, Grisly wasn’t going to let me take him in peacefully. There was absolutely no way he was going to let me walk up and handcuff him. I also knew I had to try. It was like I told Ben; if I just went gunning for the killer then I’d be no better than him. That said, I wasn’t stupid. I was going in locked and loaded for bear.
Literally.
If I was going to have a chance at this, I was going to need good people behind me. I was lucky, I had the best. I called Quinn in and he agreed to bring Chad. While I waited for them to arrive I called Josh and filled him in. He actually made it to the office before the O’Reilly brothers.
When everyone showed up I led them all into Gerry’s office and we began to coordinate the apprehension.
“So, let me get this straight, we’re pulling a Scooby Doo?” Josh asked after I explained my plan.
“What the hell is a Scooby Doo?” I just had to know.
“When one member of the team acts as bait or a distraction while the others close the trap around the monster.”
“Uh-huh. I prefer to think of this more as a professional sting operation than a Great Dane’s escapades,” Gerry said.
I smiled, there was something sort of fitting in being compared to Scooby.
“At any rate, we will have to make sure we have eyes on you at all times. I don’t like the idea of him getting close to you.” Chad had stayed pretty quiet, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with my plan.
“I don’t like the idea of him getting close to me, either,” I lied.
My jaguar wanted this hunt badly. She was aching to get her teeth and claws into him. She hadn’t had a good chase in some time and a good fight in far longer.
“Then it’s settled. We keep eyes on Sam from all directions. Quinn, do you want to be in the house with her?”
“I think that’s a good plan.”
Shifters Page 15