Risk

by Jaime Johnesee

  “Thank you.” I sat and put on my seat belt as he shut the door and went around to the driver’s side.

  He slid behind the wheel, buckled in, and started the car.

  “We are going to stop these fuckheads.” He wasn’t really saying it to me. It was more like a promise he was making to himself.

  “Damn straight, we are.” It was all I could think to say.

  “Let’s get you back to your team. Maybe you guys can think up some way to catch this guy I haven’t. Your geek-speak pals called. They said they found something interesting on the web around the account. I was told to tell you it was like a worm and a Trojan got together and had a baby.”

  Poor guy, he looked lost. I took pity and explained. “Basically, the killer used a mirror of sorts to make us think the account was empty, but the virus wasn’t there for us. Someone else is in on that account and they were trying to snag that person.”

  “So they rigged up a trap for an AWFA member to walk into?” Guzeman looked surprised.

  “Looks like.”

  “Why Daniels?” He scratched his head.

  “No clue just yet. It makes no sense. She wasn’t high up in the org. She was new and didn’t even believe in supers. Not to mention the fact that our killer had already got to people way above her pay grade. Why go backwards for her?” I scratched my own head, metaphorically.

  “Maybe she knows something. Something she doesn’t know she knows.”

  “It’s possible, but what could she have seen that made the killer risk everything to take her out? And what the fuck is up with that damned jaguar statue?” This whole thing made no sense and it was giving me a headache.

  “These are answers I don’t yet have. Though I think they’re ones we are going to want to get. Soon.”

  “Has ERT found anything that can help us?”

  “Just that the zip ties used at both scenes weren’t that readily available. They’re part of a batch that was created just in the last five years, and they’re made specifically for park rangers.”

  “Well, it’s something.” I didn’t see how it would help much. There were far too many state parks with far too many revolving employees for that to have narrowed the suspect pool down at all.

  “Hey, sometimes it’s the somethings that can be what nails an asshole like this.”

  I knew he was right, but it didn’t help the fact there was nothing I could currently do to nail said asshole.

  We pulled into the garage and he let me out at the elevator. “Hey, I’ll see you inside. I’ve got to grab some dinner. You want anything?”

  “No, thanks, Sal.” I stepped out of the car and shut the door.

  He pulled away as I walked to the elevator bank. The doors opened to reveal a man reading a book as he leaned against the back of the car. I stepped in and hit the button for my floor.

  The doors closed and the man dropped the book and I recognized him immediately. “Hello, Agent Reece.”

  “What the fuck?” I jumped and took a defensive position.

  “I’m Wilhelm Von Karolinas. I believe we have mutual friends?”

  “Where have you been and what the fuck is going on with forcing vamps to register?” Seeing the head of the Vampire Council and my own personal least favorite politician had blunted my manners.

  I really had no right to ask him these questions, but I had so many supernatural pals that would have their lives turned upside down because of this bill and I think his ass should be out there doing something for his people.

  “Relax, it’ll never become law. Over three quarters of our congress and senate are super. They’re just seeing how the public reacts. Vampirism will be classified as a genetic disease and will fade into the shadows. If we ever truly believe the humans can handle the truth at large, we will come out from under the bed.”

  “You’ve been talking to Bob.” My zombie pal referred to supers making themselves known as coming out from under the bed.

  “I have. Smart kid for someone who’s dead.”

  “Hark, who’s talking!”

  “Hey, we vampy types aren’t dead. We just can’t make red blood cells, or didn’t you hear?” He winked at me and I decided I was done with the banter and all the crap.

  “What I hear is that your bullshit is going to bring war once you scare the ever living fuck out of the humans.”

  “It’s possible, but we have to start revealing ourselves somehow. It’s getting more and more difficult to hide. The amount of social media alone that we have to scour for pictures, videos, and documents proving our existence to humans is insane.”

  “No. What’s insane is the leader of the super realm allowing everything to blow up in our faces. Do you even comprehend the motherfucking shitstorm I’ve been dealing with? Why don’t you join me and see pictures of the shifters Grisly tore apart or how about the latest pics of the AWFA members some disgruntled fuck is forcing to eat themselves.”

  “How is any of this my fault?”

  “If you’d led your people properly, perhaps there’d be less fear out there for supers and AWFA wouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”

  “Samantha, do you really believe that I could have stopped a sociopath like Grisly or this new killer?”

  He had me there because I didn’t; he couldn’t.

  The truth was that AWFA and their intense hatred was responsible for bearing both murderers. My anger at Wilhelm Von Karolinas was more about how I felt he’d abandoned us than it was over him having any part in these murders.

  “You need to talk to your people. Grace is freaking. This is some bullshit, you know that, right?”

  I was pushing things. I didn’t know him well enough to speak to him this way, but I really didn’t much care who he was. I was always going to be me, even if that meant saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. He hit the stop button on the elevator.

  “You remind me of another friend of Bob’s. Both of you seem to think you can be rude to me.” He moved forward and I dodged his grab, took hold of his wrist, and sent him down to the floor, holding his arm up behind his back to a very uncomfortable angle.

  “Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to touch a cop without consent? We find things like that far ruder than the honest observation I gave you. If you don’t like what people are saying, then maybe you should do something to change what they have to say.” I stood up and offered him my hand.

  He accepted it and I helped him up.

  “My apologies. Though you may be right in what you say, it might behoove you to speak to your elders in a politer fashion.”

  “Buddy, I’d rather be known for being honest than being polite. Ted Bundy was a polite fellow, you know.”

  “The serial killer?” Confusion crossed the vampire’s face.

  “Yes. He was quite a gentleman. Until he was knifing you to death and fucking your corpse. I believe that’s where his gentlemanly ways stopped. Of course, they may have stopped somewhere before then; it’s so hard to tell for sure.”

  “You’ve been in the CID too long.”

  “Maybe so. It doesn’t matter. What are you doing here?”

  “I’m going to talk to Grace.”

  “Oh. Well, why didn’t you just fucking say that to begin with?”

  “I was afraid to stop you.” He smiled tightly at me.

  “Yeah, well, sorry if I was a jerk. Even if you do deserve it.”

  “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

  “Touché. Now, go be smart and listen to Grace. I have to clean up a horrific mess caused by some very bad people.”

  “You take care of your mess and I’ll take care of mine. You’re lucky I find you amusing, Agent Reece. I don’t usually allow anyone to talk to me in the manner you have just done.”

  “Well, then, Mr. Von Karolinas, I’ll consider myself privileged and feel badly for you.”

  “Why feel badly for me?”

  “Well, any leader that doesn’t allow their people to question them is a le
ader who is making mistakes.”

  “How so?”

  “When you allow your people to ask questions they discover your weakness; as a leader, knowing your weaknesses is a strength in and of itself. Your people can help you become a better leader. If you’re not open to critique, then what else have you closed yourself off to?”

  I had no idea what I was doing. I was trapped in an elevator with the most politically powerful super in the state of Alabama and I was critiquing his leadership skills. Either I was so stressed out my brain had a meltdown or I had a death wish. Still not quite sure which.

  Since he seemed speechless, I punched the emergency stop back in and the car whirred back to life.

  The doors opened on ERT’s floor and Wilhelm stepped out. “I hope to see you again someday, Agent Reece. Good luck catching your sociopath.” He nodded, turned crisply, and began walking away.

  I am so glad I’m not a vampire.

  Me, too. I don’t even like blood all that much.

  Not now.

  I was only stating my thoughts. You must acknowledge me at some point.

  I get that, but right now all hell is breaking loose and I need to be the one to try and round the hell back up and put it where it belongs.

  Good luck, Samantha.

  Thanks.

  It was going to take me some time to get used to her talking to me. The last thing every shifter needed was an argument with the invisible animal voice inside their head.

  I was starting to learn just how exhausting it could be. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. At least pulling rank on her had cut some of the crap I was having to deal with from my jaguar side. The bunny cravings being the least of it.

  There were times I felt trapped with Jix. There were many times I wished her gone. On the other side of the coin, there were many times I was grateful for her. She helped me through the first shift and had taught me to live up to my potential.

  This mess with Ben had torn our friendship to shreds.

  His leaving was the best thing that could have happened to us all. In time, she’d forget about her mate and I’d be able to live my life without her romantic interference.

  I just wish he’d given me more notice than, “Hey, I’m leaving, bye”.

  I had wound up thinking of Ben as a friend of sorts. Sure, it’d started off rocky, with a misunderstanding and some crappy decisions, but eventually— Who the fuck did I think I was kidding? There was never a real friendship with Ben. It was nothing more than some weird chemical sire bond type thing and, in the end, it wasn’t healthy. His leaving was the best thing for all of us.

  Yeah, healthy as fuck.

  The elevator doors opened, snapping me from my thoughts, and I moved out into the hallway, heading for my desk. I was intercepted by Quinn and Alex.

  “Hey, we were pouring back over the ERT reports and we found a discrepancy in the tox screens between the first recovered victim and the second.”

  “Do we have the vic’s medical records?”

  “Yes, and the people he was with said he didn’t take anything that they saw.”

  “What kind of drug was it?”

  “It was a sedative.”

  “Maybe our unsub was perfecting his drug cocktail?”

  “It’s possible, but the one he had was super effective.”

  “Maybe that’s what the problem was. Maybe they were too spaced out.”

  “Okay, so if he’s wanting them more coherent, then he probably had specific questions for them.”

  “Obviously.”

  “What’s he looking for?”

  “Aside from the account, I can’t think of anything.”

  “Any suggestions?”

  “Aside from the usual, BOLOs at all airports, train stations, and bus terminals, no.”

  “Let’s get started on the usual while we work up a list of the unusual.”

  “On it.” Alex called it in while Quinn and I began to brainstorm.

  “Why the extra sedative? Why the jaguar statue? What the hell is this guy’s game?”

  “I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense. You said he talked of the awful things AWFA did to him and other children?”

  “Yeah?”

  “What if Grisly, this fellow, and others like them were infected as kids and raised in AWFA?”

  “You think they’d do that?”

  “You saw what these guys did to their victims. They’ve got some serious hatred.”

  “Hatred doesn’t always make a killer.”

  “True, but it’s at the core of all killers.”

  “Touché. This sort of hatred stems from repeated abuse.”

  “Yeah, forgive me for not boohooing over Dr. Lecter’s rough past.”

  “I’m not saying it excuses these guys, not everyone with an abusive past kills people, but it does help to understand them a little.”

  “Yeah, but it’s gotten to the point where these guys use it as an excuse. Which really pisses off folks like me who have been through the same or worse hells and managed to come out of it more or less a decent human being. It makes it sound as though when you’re abused you can’t help but become a mindless killer.”

  “I know. There’s several things that cause a person to become a monster. Abuse is just a piece of the puzzle.”

  “If this guy was taken as a child and raised in a hotbed of hate, shouldn’t we be looking through old missing person’s reports?”

  Alex chimed in, “Would there have been a report if he’d been turned over to them by his parents?”

  “Probably not. Jesus, imagine what kind of monster the parents would have to be to give their kid up to a hate-based movement?” Quinn looked sickened by the thought.

  “If they were turned as kids, it’s possible the parents were afraid of them. Turning is a scary thing and it takes a couple shifts before you gain control. It could be that AWFA offered to help.” I shrugged.

  Wouldn’t be the stupidest way to steal a kid from their parent. It also wouldn’t be the first time that ruse has been used.

  “Is it possible he’s looking for the person that started whatever psycho killer program he was enrolled in? Could that be who he’s hoping to trap in the account?” Quinn subconsciously started rubbing his hands together.

  He did that when he was getting into an unsub’s mind.

  “It sounds plausible. I say we start by running down every lead we have. Hopefully Grace will have found something in the vacuum bags.” I shrugged. Weirder things have happened.

  “We have to catch a break at some point. Accountants brought down Capone, maybe ERT will bring down the AWFA Killer.”

  “Hey, let’s hope something will.” I wasn’t looking forward to more bodies.

  I didn’t want to see someone’s worst nightmare brought to life again and again. I didn’t want to call parents and relatives and explain their loved one had been tortured in a manner beyond the reaches of depravity.

  I hated having to ask parents about their kid’s drug and sex habits. Hated having to grill the victim’s friends about them, as if they hadn’t been humiliated and destroyed enough. In this job, sometimes our victims were breathing, sometimes not, either way many of them were already dead on the inside.

  However, there’s a feeling you get when you put one of these monstrosities—walking around in a mask of humanity—into a cage where they belong; it’s priceless. It’s the main reason I do this job.

  Knowing that I take the people who hurt and kill others and stop them from doing it to any more innocents keeps me going through the painful questionings and the difficult notifications.

  Catching this guy would make me feel a whole lot better about this whole mess.

  “Hey, Gerry just texted me. The Marshals called, Jennifer Daniels is safe at her new undisclosed location.” Quinn put his phone down and picked up his mug with both hands, taking a long sip.

  “Well, at least there’s that.” She wasn’t an irredeemable demon and
I didn’t think she deserved to be killed for her part in things.

  She definitely deserved serious jail time for damn sure.

  “Gerry also says your friend Alonso called to let him know that our trap is set and the bait has been placed. That sounds very exciting.”

  “Not as exciting as it sounds, I’m afraid. They’re going to digitally follow the person following the money.” After watching Q drink his coffee, I decided to take a long drink of my own delicious brew.

  “Here’s hoping we catch him.”

  “I don’t even want to think about the possibility of not catching him.” I shuddered as the images from the scenes replayed in my head.

  “Well, then, let’s make sure we do.”

  I knew the statistics. If this trap didn’t work this guy would bolt and we’d never see him again.

  And I don’t mean that in a good way. He’d probably creep up in some other state and attack AWFA there. Thanks to ViCAP we’ll know if it happens. If that state even inputs the info into ViCAP. Until then, we had to wait and see if he took the bait.

  This trap was our big chance at stopping him. If he didn’t move, we were stuck with nothing.

  Chapter 29

  “HEY.” QUINN HANDED me a can of Fresca.

  “Hiya, thanks.” I took a swig, and put the can down.

  “What is with you and that stuff?”

  I rubbed my eyes. I’d been staring at reports all night, trying to find some pattern or connection that we could use to track the AWFA Killer. I shook myself out of it and answered, “Well, my palate and sense of smell are heightened as a shifter. Certain scents and flavors feel really good. Kind of like the feeling you get after a big huge stretch, if that makes any sense.”

  “Makes perfect sense. Why Fresca?”

  “Since I became a shifter, the grapefruit makes my nose tingle.” I was a little embarrassed to admit it. It sounded like something a kid would say, but it was true. The soda made my nose tingle and it felt seriously refreshing to my palate.

  “That’s the most adorable thing I’ve heard all day.” My brother from another mother chuckled and gave me a half-hug.

  “Shut up.”

  “Find anything?” Quinn picked up the top file on the stack and began thumbing through it.