As for tithing ten percent, that was no longer required. If anyone wished to contribute anything, it should go to the Roseanne Fund. Her friends Mark and Alice were running that and she wanted Alice to meet with every female pack member. The Roseanne Fund specialized in helping abused women and Alice would see that anyone needing help in dealing with what Brody had done to them would be able to get that help.
There would be a lot more changes and she hoped Fred was willing to help her lead the pack. She asked him to give notice wherever he was currently employed and work for the pack, full time. At double whatever his salary had been. Likewise, all those who were currently employed by the pack, as staff at the estate or wherever else, they were to remain employed and continue with their work, if they wished to. At a fifty percent increase in salary.
Fred had been more than thrilled. He’d even confided to her he might see if his vasectomy could be reversed. Missy had told him to be sure Anya would approve and, if so, then she wished him luck. She didn’t tell him she was pretty sure her healing ability could help him. She did have many secrets which she didn’t see any need to share with him or the pack.
Her forearm was healing nicely. The pack’s doctor had done a good job with steri-strips and butterfly stitches, so there would be minimal scarring. Well, she did already have lots of scars. Supposedly, these new ones would not look like she’d been bitten by a wolf. Since she’d had them treated right away, she should be able to explain them away as something much less drastic, unlike when that bear had clawed her up years ago.
She’d keep them covered for a while. Her teammates often wore bandages or wraps for various bumps, bruises and sore muscles. No big deal. She knew they’d fade and turn from their current ugly purple-red appearance to an ivory white in very little time. Then, most people wouldn’t notice them.
And, Gene and Amanda now had the security of being in a pack, something they’d missed for many years. When they’d joined last night, she’d been able to sense the tremendous relief and euphoria which had flooded into them both. Yeah, werewolves really did need to be in a pack. As they’d told her afterward, it was in their nature.
She was able to relate. She had bonded with Mike and her whole life had changed as a result. She appreciated him more and more every day. The strength and power which she received from being mated the way they were? It was everything and made her feel invincible. She believed she was doubly blessed. Witches were known to gain their maximum power and ability when mated to their soulmates. And, also being a werecat, with a supernatural bond to her Mike? Yeah … she was feeling very, very good today. And very, very blessed as well.
Chapter Eight
Wednesday, Mar 11, 2020
Wagner Shen and Antony Ying had returned to New York City. They’d again brought along an entourage but this time they’d needed their lawyer to arrange housing and transportation for them. There were four other witches in their group but none of these had yet been made members in the Zhu-Gung coven. Time would tell whether any would be promoted to that honor. There were two vacancies, with Peter Hui in prison and Richard Hwang deceased.
Their mission was threefold: establish themselves as an organization to compete with the five crime families already there, free Peter and the other eight in their organization who were in prison and identify the witch who had killed Richard. Avenging Richard’s death was of particular importance to them.
They had used their tremendous resources to identify Angelina Dangelmeyer as leader of the New York coven. Wagner and Antony were convinced she would know something about the witch responsible for Richard’s death. Since dealing with that mystery witch was their highest priority, they’d arranged a meeting with Angelina.
She’d been invited to visit them at their lawyer’s office in downtown Manhattan. The invitation had been sent through two other covens and, initially, Angelina had wanted to decline meeting with them. However, when they’d made it known there would be severely adverse consequences for her coven should she refuse, she then reluctantly had agreed.
When she arrived, she brought three witches with her, all elders in her coven. She was an earth witch and she brought a fire witch, a water witch and an air witch. No, she did not trust the witches from Hong Kong. And, yeah … her son Troy had given her a briefing about what this Zhu-Gung organization had attempted doing in New York the month before.
Wagner was an earth witch and Antony was a fire witch. They were seated in their law firm’s conference room but stood when Angelina and her witches arrived. Formal introductions were made and they all took their seats. Pleasantries were not exchanged and refreshments were not offered. This meeting would definitely be confrontational and no attempt was made to suggest otherwise.
Angelina said, “We are here, Mr. Shen, but we don’t appreciate your threats. We will listen to what you have to say but that is all. We will listen. Then, we will leave. If your organization wishes to threaten our coven, I can assure you we are ready and able to deal with that. There are eleven other covens here in the U.S. and they all will support us.”
“Well, this matter can be resolved quite easily,” said Wagner. “You may not have heard about the recent death of Richard Hwang which took place at a nightclub on Long Island. Richard was one of ours.”
Angelina nodded and said, “We are aware the FBI arrested a number of criminals attempting to rob that nightclub and the casino above it. My sources tell me those criminals were members of your Zhu-Gung organization.”
“Ah, well. Some of our members were indeed arrested and are awaiting trial. Whether they were attempting to rob that establishment has not yet been determined. They are all pleading innocent, of course. What we wish to discuss is the witch who we know was there during those arrests and who somehow caused Richard to die.”
Angelina had not heard details from Troy but knew he had helped the FBI locate the Zhu-Gung members, enabling the FBI to then follow them out to that nightclub. Troy had not participated in the actual arrests, however, and she was certain he had not been involved in anyone’s death out there. “You say this Richard died during those arrests? Perhaps the FBI was responsible. Why are you saying any witch was responsible?”
“Ah, yes. Well, you see, Ms. Dangelmeyer, I was there that night,” said Wagner. “And, I sensed the presence of that witch. It was not the first time I had sensed that particular witch and I’m quite certain they indeed were responsible for killing Richard. They may also be responsible for bringing the FBI out there, something we intend to determine. Our coven will not tolerate interference with our activities.”
Angelina looked at the witches she’d brought with her. She knew they had no idea what had happened at that nightclub. She herself knew, however, the witch they wanted had to have been Missy McCrea. “That’s very interesting, Mr. Shen. But all I can say is, whoever that witch may have been, they have never been a member of our New York coven.” She was choosing her words carefully to assure all her statements were truthful.
Wagner looked at Antony and back at Angelina. “Really? What about one of your many non-member witches?” While only thirteen witches would be official members of a coven at any given moment, all covens had many non-member witches associated with them. There were those who had retired, those who had never officially joined or been chosen as members, many who were latent witches, etc.
“I can assure you that no witch from my coven, be that a member or a non-member, was responsible for what you are saying happened to your associate.” Angelina made a show of looking at her other witches and then back at Wagner and Antony. “Was this Richard of yours a witch? You didn’t say. If some witch killed him, as you suggest, we cannot speculate as to whom they could have been. New York City and Long Island have millions of people. Some of them may be witches. Not every witch is associated with my coven.”
“While that may be true,” said Wagner, “I’m confident you know who this witch might be. I’d like you to speculate, Angelina. Who do you think killed Ric
hard? This witch was no ordinary witch. Any witch with the power and ability to defeat Richard would have to be someone known to you.”
“Well, I think we’re done here!” announced Angelina as she stood up. “I’ve stated we will not speculate and I’ve warned you we will not be threatened.” Her other witches then stood up as well and the four of them turned around and left the room. Then they left the building.
Wagner looked at Antony and said, “She knows who it is. I believe her when she says this witch is not one of her associates but she knows who we’re talking about.”
“I agree,” said Antony. “But she does not seem very worried about the consequences for not telling us. Perhaps she believes her warning will stop us.”
“She will find she is not ready or able to deal with the wrath of the Zhu-Gung coven. Then, she will tell us about this witch we are looking for.”
-----
Emily Robinson and Missy were returning to their barracks after rifle practice on the range. Emily asked, “Do you think I’m ready? I mean, this match is for the championship. I’m only a plebe. Maybe I shouldn’t even go …”
Missy laughed and said, “You’re more than ready and have definitely earned your place on our team. Are you sure it’s not because we’ll be in Kentucky until Saturday night? I know it’s Parents Weekend and you’ll be missing some of the events back here.”
Emily sighed. “Well, I suppose that’s partly it. But not really. My family will go on the tours here without me. They’re all coming and they’re excited about this. They’ve finally adjusted to my being a West Point cadet.”
“Even Scott?” asked Missy with a smile. They had slowly pulled away from the others walking back and were able to talk freely. “Is your brother no longer worried about the U.S. government being a threat to witches?”
“Even Scott,” giggled Emily. “A lot has happened since I first came here last summer. He doesn’t know all the details about what you and Tracy have done but he’s learned enough. Our coven leader Angelina sings your praises now. And, it was wonderful when Donald visited during Christmas.”
Missy knew Emily was aching to tell Donald about her twin brother and her grandmother being witches. “Are you going to ask permission to reveal your secrets or will you merely beg forgiveness after they learn Donald knows? You are going to tell him this weekend, right?”
“Yeah, I definitely will be baring my soul. It’s the only way I can continue having any relationship with Donald. My family will just have to accept that I know what’s in my heart. Besides, I think they will trust him.”
“Well, if it will help, tell them I trust him. So does Tracy. We give you our permission to share all about us being witches as well.” Missy had discussed this with Tracy and they both were fully in agreement. Tracy had been Donald’s team leader the previous semester and was delighted with the budding romance between he and Emily. “We ask that you avoid explaining how we have our government friends and have helped them deal with terrorists. Donald will learn all of that eventually but it’s probably enough for him now to just learn witches exist.”
“Thanks, Missy. And don’t worry. I agree. No need to overload the poor guy with your secrets. Just explaining about my family’s secrets is more than enough.” Emily chuckled. “That, and of course I’m hoping to seduce him during spring break.”
Missy laughed and said, “I’m sure you will, Emily! And, once you do, I doubt he’ll be thinking about witches or any of your family’s secrets. He’ll be way too overloaded with all the wonders to be experienced making love to you.”
Missy stopped by Tracy’s room after leaving Emily. Due to being at practice out at the range, she’d missed their languages class together with Major Khan and had not seen her all day. Nor had she had any chance to talk to her the day before. Since Nell wasn’t there, they now had some privacy and could talk. Score another plus for Nell and Ron’s budding romance.
“Hi, Missy! I’ve been waiting to hear all about Gene and Amanda. Did you convince their Alpha to allow them to stay in his territory?”
“Not exactly. Sometimes I have to wonder whether those Fabulous Fates and Drew Martinson are in cahoots, conspiring.”
“Oh, oh!” laughed Tracy. “He does take advantage of you, Missy. But then you always manage. Somehow. So, what happened?”
“You’re looking at the new Alpha of the New England werewolf pack.”
Tracy was actually caught off guard and quite surprised. “Wow! For real? You’re the Leader of the Pack? Like that song from the sixties? Except you’re a girl, of course!” Suddenly she began laughing hysterically. “I did not see that coming!”
“Gene and Amanda were very happy to join my pack. As did another eighty-odd werewolves. I can assure you there was nothing humorous about the occasion. Everyone was very serious when they swore their allegiance to me.”
Tracy had difficulty controlling her laughter. “Is there a secret hand shake? Or, should I say … a secret paw shake?” That set her off again with more hysterics. “Oh, wait! Of course, you can’t tell me … then you’d hafta kill me, right?”
Missy shook her head and smiled. Tracy’s silliness could often be infectious and, now that she was seeing this whole werewolf pack thing through her friend’s eyes, she supposed it did seem somewhat ridiculous. “No, no … it’s not like that. But I did have to kill the previous Alpha. That’s why they made me their new one.”
That sobered Tracy up. “Oh, oh … really? You do realize I know absolutely nothing about werewolves or their packs. Witches don’t normally have anything to do with them. We can always sense their presence, of course. That helps us then avoid them.”
“Ha, ha. Like you tried to avoid me when we went through Beast training together?”
“Oh, no. I sensed you were a witch but also something more than that. I was nervous since I knew you were also something other. I didn’t know werecats even existed back then.” They’d had this conversation before.
“Well, anyway,” sighed Missy. “He was a real tyrant.” She went on to explain all about how things had gone when she and the Tremblays had presented themselves to Brody Monday night.
Chapter Nine
Friday, Mar 13, 2020
Robert’s team was gathered in the conference room at Hanscom, reviewing the latest reports from Germany. There had been a bombing at a large nightclub in Munich and WIJO was claiming credit for it. There were twenty-one dead and over fifty wounded. The investigation was ongoing and it had not yet been determined just how the bomb had been placed there, avoiding security.
The CIA representative on the team did have a list of names of all those who had been killed. He passed that around the room and emailed a copy to those at “P” Branch.
“I’m really sorry, Robert,” said Dale Hewson. “I know you were hoping things would stay quiet for a while but the world is just too big and there’s always going to be a crisis somewhere. We want you and Connie to ignore this. Go off and enjoy your honeymoon. Let the rest of the team here deal with this and whatever else comes up while you’re away.”
Robert smiled and said, “Yeah. I know. Even though there will be plenty for me to do when I return, I’ll try to ignore this. I know the rest of you will manage well enough without me. And, General Blake will have his invisible spy back in Afghanistan. I’m sure she’ll wreak a little havoc over there with the WIJO leaders about this latest attack. She warned them.”
Lieutenant Colonel Schermerhorn said, “Yes, she did. And, we’ve been letting Congressman Barrows brief Congressman Miller with some more details about her. We’ve even told him it’s okay to mention her identity and how she’s at West Point. Since the WIJO leaders already know all that anyway, letting it leak back through Miller when he tells his girlfriend Ayleen will give him further credibility. She’ll report that to Abu Habib and he’ll be pleased with having it confirmed.”
“The more Habib is convinced Miller’s info is reliable,” agreed Les Gooding, “the more we ca
n take advantage of that. Whatever misinformation we leak to Miller will find its way to him through Ayleen.” He and Marsha had called in from “P” Branch’s Washington D.C. office. “We want to keep WIJO on the defensive as much as possible. Hopefully, that will interfere with further acts of terrorism.”
Marsha said, “Since the WIJO leaders also know about Oliver and Candace, we’ve been wondering how having them make an embassy visit somewhere might help. You know … to keep WIJO on the defensive.”
“Well, you can have them go to our embassy in Berlin,” suggested Gene. “That might give those terrorists in Germany something to worry about.”
Amanda said, “General Blake had Colonel Chory introduce them during the visits they made to the embassies in the Mid-East. But Germany is outside that theater of operation. Maybe Gene and I can help since we know some folks at our embassy in Berlin.”
“Yes. And we have another reason for wanting to go there and go after those terrorists in Germany,” said Gene. They had been studying the list of names which the CIA representative had provided. “One of the couples on this list which was killed in that nightclub? We actually knew them. They were werewolves. The man was the son of the Beta in the pack which Amanda came from. And, the woman was originally in my pack in Montreal. She was the girl who went to Germany twenty years ago in exchange for Amanda coming to live with my family.”
This was a surprise and brought several comments and condolences from those in the room and on the phone. Having the tragic outcome from a WIJO attack affect some of their own personally made it all the more horrific. There was a lengthy discussion. While Gene hadn’t known the girl very well and Amanda had barely known the man who died, she had known the man’s father quite well because he was a close friend of her father’s. The team was interested in finding ways they could help.
Missy Goes to Hong Kong (Missy the Werecat Book 8) Page 6