Plus, he now had ready slaves for new projects; Bobby Ray wouldn't like jail one bit, and Darnell had incriminating evidence.
Bobby Ray, Reverend Killebrew and anyone else he'd involved in this crime belonged exclusively to Senator Darnell Cheatham, and they'd damn well better ask how high when he told them to jump.
He needed a new base of operations for this developing venture—his wife and kids needed to stay out of this. They sure didn't need to know anything, in case somebody asked questions. Right after breakfast, he'd start looking for a suitable rental—or maybe a place to buy.
Yeah. Something rural, where he could set up a compound. He had connections in real estate; somebody could find a place large enough—and get him a good price on it, too.
"You're joking." Val spoke to one of Burke's associates at the law firm. At the man's urging, he lifted the remote and turned on the television in his bedroom while getting dressed, to watch the video the TARF animal rights group had recorded at the Franks ranch.
"The stench is horrible," the woman, identified as Laura McGrady, told the reporter. "Apparently the County Sheriff was called multiple times regarding the condition of the animals and the way they were treated, and nothing was done. We've tried to contact his office, but nobody will talk to us. The Agriculture Department says they can't provide information on an active investigation, so we have no other information to go on."
"Who reported the conditions?" the reporter, a young woman with shoulder-length, dark hair, asked.
"A neighbor, who has asked not to be identified."
"Did you see evidence of the lightning strike and the earthquake?"
"Of course. Even with the rain that night, there are marks where the bolt hit, and you can see for yourself what kind of damage the earthquake caused."
"They've done nothing to clean up or dispose of the dead cattle?"
"No. They're all still there, and it has to be a health hazard by this time. I know it may be hard on the owners, having a family member die by lightning strike, but word has it that he was hit because he was carrying a rifle, and he was the one who was shooting to spook the cattle in the first place. This, of course, was after the Department of Agriculture discovered that all the animals were infected with foot and mouth disease."
"You believe this was planned by the owners?"
"I think so, yes."
"We'll follow up on this developing story," the reporter spoke directly at the camera. "Thank you, Laura, for being here with us today."
"Damn." Val hit the power button on his remote and tossed it on the bed. "Gonna be a long day after a long night."
"Well, the Franks ranch made the news—again," Val dropped onto a barstool. He'd had no sleep—his wolf had been out most of the night with the pack, and now, shortly after showering and dressing in clean clothes, he had a new serving of trouble to deal with.
"Mona told me some TARF people were there last night," Janie sat wearily at one end of the island, sipping coffee.
"Well, they and their video were on the Dallas news this morning. At least the full moon is over if the place gets swamped with gawkers and news crews."
"There's something else," Janie set her coffee mug down with a sigh.
"What's that?"
"Hunter's aunt was killed last night, along with seven other people. We didn't know that she was Wiccan—and didn't know to ask about anything like that. She was out with her friends last night for the full moon, and it looks like they were killed because of their religion."
"You think it's a hate crime?"
"I do, and so do Lance, Mona and Mac. No idea whether it can be officially described as a hate crime, but that's what it was."
"Has the boy been told?"
"Not yet. I think Mac and Erly got him in bed. He's asleep, but who knows how long that will last?"
"Well, this day is off to the worst possible start," Val mumbled as Mary Kate set coffee and a plate of food in front of him.
"I don't know the status of the investigation. Del's division called the Rangers after they learned the locals, including civilians, were all over the crime scene," Mac explained to a more-than-exhausted Ari.
"I feel sick," Ari mumbled as she sat on the side of her bed, refusing to look at Mac.
"So does Nico. I have no idea how Hunter will react when he finds out. Erly and I got him into bed. I told Erly afterward; he was pissed."
"And so am I."
"I know. Look," Mac knelt down and placed a hand over one of hers. "Maybe I should have listened to you last night. We could have tracked the murderers. Instead, their crime will likely be impossible to investigate, because of the local fiasco afterward."
"Has Del gotten any updates?" Ari finally lifted her eyes to Mac's.
"Not much, and he's dead on his feet. Everybody needs sleep, including you. If you want something to eat before you turn in, Mary Kate is in the kitchen."
"Food isn't going to make this better, I don't think. Hunter will be devastated. That's the only family he had left."
"I know." Mac patted her hand after letting it go. "Try to sleep, Ari. I don't think things are going to get better from here on out, so rest while you can."
Ari watched him walk out of her bedroom and close the door. Her hand still tingled and felt warm from his touch. The rest of her, however, felt a chill she couldn't cast away. Ari? Nico sent.
I'm here, Nico.
I feel cold. And scared.
I do, too. Will it help if my lion sleeps in your room?
Will she sleep on the foot of my bed?
If that's what you want.
Yes. Please.
Minutes later, Ari's mountain lion padded silently into Nico's bedroom. She found raven Mac already there, perched on Nico's headboard. Ari leapt onto the end of the bed while Nico watched, then made herself comfortable, curling up in a large, tawny ball.
"Sleep," Mac croaked.
"Yeah." Nico pulled covers up and dragged his pillow into a better position. Mac fluffed his feathers and settled down to nap, too.
"There are three videos on this," Darnell slid a thumb drive across the table to Ralph Hooten. "There's a list of websites on it, too. I want you to share—discreetly, of course, all three with those websites."
"But," Ralph reached for the thumb drive.
"I have a little incentive for you if you do as I ask," Darnell grinned. "Just not here. I put a check in the mail this morning, addressed to you—to take up the mantle in this cause."
"There's a cause?" A light appeared in Hooten's eyes as he took the thumb drive and stuffed it in a pocket.
"When you see those videos, you'll know exactly what the cause is," Darnell replied. "I'll be checking all those websites, too, just to make sure the cause is being represented."
"Damn, this sounds exciting," Hooten said. "But my site gets them first."
"Of course. Order a steak—they're good here and we'll have a small celebration for a better world to come."
"I was able to change sheets on Mac's and Ari's beds, because they're all asleep in Nico's room," Francine told Mona as she settled on a barstool in the kitchen. "Mary Kate and I are off the next two days, and I wanted to get as much done as possible before we left."
"What are they doing in Nico's room?" Mona frowned as she offered Francine a cup of coffee.
"Ari's lion is asleep on the end of his bed. Mac's bird is asleep on the headboard. The door was open slightly, so I peeked in. I didn't know birds could snore."
"Neither did I," Mona said. "On any other day, that would make me laugh."
"Has anything been on the news, yet?"
"I'm afraid to ask." Mona set a mug of coffee in front of Francine. "I doubt anything good will come out of this. I hope Del and Laronda can wiggle their way into this investigation. No doubt they'll be looking for Hunter and Erly as possible suspects. When Burke has his human head back on his shoulders later, I want to ask him about keeping both of them off the news and out of the public eye."
"I don't want the media anywhere near this ranch, or near Nico, Ari and Mac. The public thinks Nico and Ari are dead; they're still targets of whatever this is that's happening. If people learn otherwise, it will drag all of them into the spotlight."
"In addition to Val and Janie," Francine sighed and set her cup down.
"Yeah. Having the video of the Franks ranch mess on television is bad enough. Lance is checking in with our Captain right now, but we're still assigned to help Del and Laronda, in addition to keeping Nico safe."
"Will Lance tell him we have Hunter and Erly?"
"He's leaving that up to Del and Laronda."
"Sounds reasonable. The FBI probably knows what's best."
"It's not the first time that less than human involvement has been hidden by their Department," Mona explained. "Most of the government doesn't know about their division, and they're thankful for that."
"Did you leave any coffee for me?" Lance walked into the kitchen.
"There may be a cup or two left," Mona said. "Help yourself."
"The baby from Rockport—the one that was quarantined—she died," Lance said as he poured a mug of coffee and joined Mona and Francine at the island.
"Was she infected?" Mona asked.
"She was. Things were ah, handled, during the autopsy."
"Damn. How did the parents take it?"
"Not well. I'm worried that this could go viral in very little time. I mean, there are rumors everywhere, but no solid evidence to back any of it up, yet. Now that those murders happened last night outside Swindall, who can guess what the next shock will be?"
"There's no guessing to it. Not anymore," Del walked in, with Laronda close behind. "I've got videos on my phone, but we need to watch them on a bigger screen. It ain't good, as my mother used to say."
"We need to wait for the others—I don't want to watch any of this more than I have to," Laronda countered. "The Department is attempting to track down who released the zombie recordings—only somebody close to the investigation could do that, and it sure as hell wasn't us."
"Videos? Where?" Lance asked.
"They're on every conspiracy theory website out there, take your pick," Del said. "Three separate videos. One may have had some enhancement, but the damage is done. If they haven't hit the mainstream media yet, it won't be from lack of availability."
"Cue widespread panic," Mona lifted her cup and drank.
"That's not the half of it," Laronda warned. "Trust me."
"What in the name of all that is holy were they thinking?" Val's words were hissed through clenched teeth as he watched the recording of Hunter's first turn to werewolf. "That woman should never have had custody—she's exposed him—and us—to the entire world."
"She's dead," Mona reminded him. "Because of what she did. If Nico hadn't warned us, Hunter would be dead, too."
"They're treating Erly as a suspect already—at least the locals are," Lance handed Val a glass of Scotch.
"Of course they're looking for the closest black man to pin it on," Laronda snapped. "Typical."
"Lara, we know the truth of what you're saying," Del told her. "We're in a position to help—and to protect Erly."
"I know." Laronda's shoulders sagged.
"It's not right," Mona said. "It never is. I think I need a hug after watching those murders."
"What do we tell the boy?" Val stared at Lance. "How do we tell him that not only can the world recognize him for who and what he is, but that his only remaining blood relation is now dead?"
"I hope Mac and Nico can help us out with this," Mona said. "This—Mac said it would get bad in a hurry. Well, this is really, really bad."
"Don't show these videos to Hunter." Val rose from a chair in his study, where they'd gathered to watch the videos.
"Not a problem. He didn't have a cell phone, so he can't see them that way, either," Lance replied.
"We need a temporary alias for Erly—and Hunter," Mona suggested.
Del exchanged a glance with Laronda. "We can take care of that," Del said. "Just give us a day or two to get it done. Our division is already working on debunking the zombie and the werewolf videos—they're claiming they're computer generated images."
"How long do you think that will last?" Val asked.
"The ones who visit those websites will believe it anyway—you can't change their minds no matter what. I'm hoping to reach everybody else and introduce doubt. Many are already skeptical of what they're seeing, anyway."
"So it's made its way to the mainstream media?"
"Some sites are carrying it. It's only a matter of time before they all do."
"It's time to show this to Mac and Claudio," Lance said. "I'll be interested to hear what they have to say about it."
Mac's shoulders ached from the tension he felt. Ari had awakened first, dropping off Nico's bed so quietly that she hadn't alerted either.
He'd asked her mentally where she was when he woke; in the shower, she'd replied. Nico woke with a start from yet another nightmare. Mac, already dressed and waiting, understood the pain in Nico's eyes.
Something bad had happened. The Adversary was on the move and beginning to flex his power.
"I know you feel like you've been dragged over jagged rocks," Mac said. "But Hunter needs to hear about his aunt from us—and Erly needs to be with him."
"I'll get dressed." Nico slid off the bed.
"There are two ranches available for a quick sale. One just came on the market yesterday. There's an interested party, but I still think you can get it for a bargain price."
Darnell Cheatham sat in a realtor's office in Austin. Marlon Keating owed him a favor, so he was calling it in.
"Where are they?" Darnell asked.
"The one that was listed yesterday is west of Fort Worth. The other is about an hour and a half west of where we're sitting—in Hill Country. The first was a working cattle ranch—the second is a hunting ranch. The price on the first is considerably less than the second, because the owners fell on hard times recently."
"Bankruptcy?"
"Not yet, but all their cattle were killed in a bizarre accident."
"Oh. You're talking about the one hit by the earthquake? The same one that was on the news this morning, after those animal rights assholes made a video? No, thank you. That one has too much notoriety for me. Let's look at the other one."
"Here's the information, with pictures and descriptions," Marlon pushed a stack of papers across his desk. Darnell lifted them and leafed through the pages. "This looks good," he nodded. "House and outbuildings look to be in good repair. You think we can talk them down on price a little bit?"
"I think we can talk them down a lot."
"Good. Make them a low but reasonable offer, and keep my name out of it, all right? This will be a purchase made by a new organization."
"All right. Do you have a name for it, yet? What about financing?"
"No financing. This will be a cash sale. That should help with talking them down, eh?"
"It certainly will," Marlon agreed.
"You'll be representing Bane Noir Enterprises," Cheatham noted.
"Interesting name," Marlon began.
"I have a particular—fondness for it," Darnell replied. "Get this started. I want that property in my possession as quickly as possible."
"Shouldn't be too difficult—it's sitting empty right now. Owners live out of state and they have a cash flow problem."
"Even better."
"They're looking for you and Erly as persons of interest, but we're trying to intervene without giving your location away," Del told Hunter as gently as he could. For now, the boy looked stunned and in disbelief.
Erly sat beside Hunter in the game room, wearing a grim expression. "They killed 'em because they said 'blessed be, or love and light,' instead of God bless?" Erly finally spoke. "Not a mean bone in Catherine Charles' bod
y, or the others, for that matter."
"It's not a character issue," Mac, who stood behind Del, offered. "It's a war of religions, because it's the easiest way to rile people up and force them to choose sides."
"May as well say it's a species issue, too," Erly muttered. "They suspect there are werewolves. What about vampires and the rest of the shifters?"
"We're trying to keep a lid on that," Del replied. "I just don't know how well-informed the enemy is, or how much proof they can produce or manufacture."
"In this day and age?" Erly asked. "They can make or manipulate anything. Tell me it ain't so."
"We know that," Mac sighed. "We're trying to protect what we can; we just can't protect everybody."
"Erly, I don't feel good," Hunter mumbled before rising and hurrying toward the bathroom.
"I don't care if they come hunting me—I can disappear," Erly tossed over his shoulder as he followed Hunter. "Hunter don't deserve what he got, and he sure as hell wasn't involved."
Chapter Fourteen
"Just lay low for now," Darnell snapped at Bobby Ray over the phone. "If the Rangers come snooping around, I'll see if I can't deflect their investigation. We'll have a new base of operations soon, and you can move in there with your cousin. Did you get rid of the rifles?"
"Yes, sir. We ain't stupid."
"When the move takes place, I'll have more work for you," Darnell told him. "I warn you, though, talk about this to anybody, or speak my name, and you're as good as dead, got it?"
"I got it."
"Good. I'll have a new phone and phone number for you soon, and we'll look into buying a new arsenal for your use. Keep your mouth closed about this, and only discuss it with Reverend Killebrew."
"Got it."
"Good."
"His wolf is shivering in a corner of his room," Erly reported as he filled a dinner plate for Hunter in the kitchen.
"If you can get him to eat, I think I can help with the rest," Val said. "Wolves belong in a pack. We can drop him off at the barn, and Henry and a few others can den with him."
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