Trying Times (The Valens Legacy Book 14)

by Jan Stryvant

  "The president will see you now. Please follow me."

  Getting up, they followed her down the hallway and into a large meeting room. Sean noticed that Carl was there, along with the president. He didn't recognize any of the others.

  "Sean." The president came over and shook hands with him. "I'm sorry you had to wait, but I had to summon a few people."

  Sean smiled and nodded. "I understand, and I'm sorry to barge in on you like this. Allow me to introduce you to my wives, Roxy, Roberta, and Cali, whom I'm sure you remember, and this is my wife Estrella, whom I know you haven't met prior to today."

  The president smiled and greeted each of the women in turn.

  "This is my friend John, my computer and security systems guy, and his assistant Cenna. I believe you all know Steve, Terri, and Tisha."

  The president shook hands with each of them, greeting them warmly, then introduced the others in the room.

  "This is Jill, the secretary of Homeland. Vincent Kensington, the director of the Secret Service, Carl Mince, whom I believe you already know. Peter Cohen from the US Marshals office, Tom Matthews from the NSA, and Linda Welsh from the CIA."

  The President then directed everyone to be seated and sat down at the head of the table.

  "Now to what do I owe the unexpected honor of three lions showing up so suddenly?"

  "Did you know we're at war with Germany?"

  "What did you say?" Jill said, sitting up suddenly as everyone else in the room did the same.

  "I guess that's a no," Sean said.

  "I'm not sure I follow you, Sean," the president said.

  "The guns provided to the two groups that attacked us last week came from Germany, and were supplied by the German government," Sean said, looking at them. "We also busted one of their intelligence operations here in DC, which is where we think the demons discovered I was in the Onderwereld."

  "Do you have any proof?" Jill asked.

  "John?"

  John smiled and held up his laptop. "I hacked into the German Embassy. I've been finding all sorts of interesting things."

  "Can I see that?" Tom asked.

  John slid the laptop over to him. "You can keep it. The readme file on the desktop has all the passwords and access codes. I figure you guys at the NSA are probably the only ones who can get past their inner firewalls."

  "How'd you get in?"

  "Data bomb and a nasty virus. We compromised one of their intelligence assets, and they haven't realized it yet."

  Tom picked up the laptop and looked at the president. "I have to go, Sir. May I be excused?"

  "Of course."

  "Can I borrow you for a few minutes?" Tom asked John.

  "Just as long as you return him when I leave," Sean said.

  John got up, taking Cenna with him as he followed the NSA head out the door.

  "Linda, what's your take on this?" the president asked.

  "Starting with what we know, the European Union has been jockeying for power against us economically for some time now. Anything that hurts us obviously helps them."

  "So you think this is all about money?" Estrella asked.

  "Money and power," Linda replied. "To many people, there isn't anything beyond that, and historically, countries take that to the extreme."

  "I'd think they'd be a bit more worried about their safety," Sean said.

  "Seeing as they're separated from both us and the demons by an ocean, I doubt they're all that worried about what's coming," Jill said. "At least not yet."

  "Why Germany?" Terri asked.

  "Because they're the dominant power in the EU," the president supplied. "Between them and the French, they pretty much control the whole thing."

  Linda continued, "If I had to hazard a guess, they figure if they attack you, they hurt us without actually acting against us. After all, it's been made very clear that lions are not part of this country, or any country. They are their own entity."

  "So they get the benefit of hurting us economically by hindering our defense efforts, but without any of the risks of doing the dirty work themselves," Jill agreed.

  Sean nodded. "Okay, I guess that makes sense, in a twisted sort of way. You might want to let them know they've either got a traitor or a possessed person on their staff."

  "You're not going to deal with it?" Carl asked, looking a little surprised.

  Sean sighed. "I thought about it; trust me, I thought about it long and hard. But I was reminded that the djevels are the far bigger threat, and I need to stay focused on what really matters."

  "Besides which," Estrella said with a smile, "us lions really don't want to get involved in that kind of thing again."

  Tisha nodded. "Yup, been there, done that, got the t-shirt. You guys wanna run the world? Knock yourselves out. We're not making that mistake again, it's just not us."

  Sean noticed everyone on the side of the table looked at each other for a moment.

  "So can you tell us about this intelligence operation you busted?" Kensington asked.

  Sean nodded and spent the next hour or so describing to them what had happened, and when, what they'd learned, and what they'd done about it. They had quite a few questions about things Sean hadn't considered, but between him, Roxy, and Cali, they were able to answer all of them. Steve even supplied the addresses of the houses when they were finished.

  "What about those four young women?" Kensington asked.

  "We're taking them with us," Sean said. "We have access to some people who can hopefully repair the damage that's been done to their minds."

  Kensington shook his head. "I can't believe people like that still exist in the world. The folks over at the FBI are going to have a field day trying to find out where they came from."

  "I just hope they're not Americans." Jill sighed. "I'd hate to think we have that kind of thing going on inside our own borders."

  The president's chief of staff came over and whispered something in his ear at that point.

  "Alright, everyone, Josh has just reminded me that I have another meeting to attend to. Thank you, Sean, for bringing this to our attention. If Germany is in fact stirring civil unrest in our country, there are going to be some very serious repercussions. Thank you everyone for coming. Jill, if you'd walk with me, I've got a few things to discuss."

  Everyone stood as the president left, then Carl and Kensington made a beeline around the table to Sean as the others left.

  "Nice to finally meet you, Sean," Kensington said, shaking hands, then took the time to shake hands with each of the girls.

  "It's nice to see you made it back, Sean," Carl said.

  "Thanks, so how are things in Washington?"

  "Same as ever." Carl sighed. "Sorry we can't help you with the fundies; that's the FBI's job."

  "They're not happy with the president either, Carl. You might want to talk to your boss about increasing the guard."

  "Already have," Kensington said, turning back to Sean. "If we hear anything through our own channels that we think might impact you, I'll be sure to let Steve here know about it. This whole Germany thing is going to cause some shockwaves, I can tell you that."

  "Well, could you do me a favor and find John for us? I'd like to be back in Reno before the next gateway opens. The new guy is great and all, but I worry."

  Carl and Kensington both nodded.

  "I'll go find him," Carl said, leaving Sean and the others to make small talk with director Kensington until Carl came back with John and Cenna. All in all, Sean found that he liked Kensington.

  "Well, let's get our stuff and head to the airport," Sean said once they were all in the car.

  "This whole trip has been something of a letdown," Roxy grumbled as they pulled onto the highway and headed back to the office. "We find out who the guilty party is, but we can't do anything about it."

  "They're not the ones who pulled the trigger," Tisha offered.

  "No, but they provided the guns. Then there's what they did to those four women, and who
knows how many other people. That's just evil."

  "You won't get any argument from me," Steve said.

  "Me either," Sean sighed, "but first things first, we've...

  The limousine slammed forward suddenly, and everyone went flying as the back of the limousine exploded in a bright fireball.

  "Again?!" Steve yelled as the car suddenly changed direction, struck in the side by a tractor-trailer whose path they had veered into, sending them flying sideways down the highway, accompanied by a large amount of horns, screeching brakes, glass shattering, and tires screaming.

  "Hold on! We're going into the divider!" Wally yelled from the front. Sean could hear the engine racing as the limousine was struck a third time by a very large, old model Cadillac. He could see that both the driver and the passenger were wearing crash helmets.

  They slammed into the wall, driven into it by the other car, and slid forty or fifty feet as the concrete peeled the side off with a loud screeching of tortured metal, and then stopped.

  "Everyone, out of the car!" Sean yelled as they suddenly stopped. Shifting into his hybrid form, he crashed through the sunroof above him and jumped onto the roof of the car, to be met by a hail of bullets, as two vans, which had stopped behind them, disgorged a large group of armed fighters.

  Calling up his frameworks, Sean tossed a fireball at the closer of the two vans, then jumped down onto the ruined trunk as he tossed up a shield. He'd been hit more times than he could count, but right now he didn't give a shit. His wives were in that car!

  Dodging to the side of the Cadillac, which the driver was struggling to start back up, Sean smashed the side window with his fist, grabbed the passenger by the chest, dug his claws in, and ripped them out of the car.

  Unfortunately for them, they still had their lap belt on, so only their torso and head came out as Sean threw them to the ground.

  Grabbing the side of the car next, and heaving with all his might, he flipped the Caddy up onto its side, providing cover. Roxy, Cali, and Estrella were already out of the car, and from the way Cali and Estrella's hands were moving, Sean could only assume they were throwing knives. Roxy and Tisha, who was joining them, both had some sort of small automatic rifle and were firing controlled bursts back at the attackers as they moved up to where Sean was, behind cover.

  Suddenly a flurry of ice bolts came flying out of the back of the limousine and through the now smashed rear window as Roberta let loose with a passel of spells.

  Sticking his head around the side of the Caddy, Sean saw two more vans screech to a halt behind the attackers. He recognized them as Travis, his team, and Steve's security team came boiling out of them and laid down a withering field of fire that dropped all the attackers almost instantly.

  Cries of surrender came from the wounded immediately.

  Looking around, Sean found Wally standing there in his hybrid form, scanning the immediate area with a rifle like the ones Roxy and Tisha where holding.

  "What happened?" Sean asked him.

  "We got hit by some kind of rocket!" Wally growled, still looking around for the next threat.

  Walking around the Cadillac, which was no longer running, Sean approached Travis, who already had his people lining the wounded up on the ground, while others checked the dead.

  "Wally said they hit us with a rocket," Sean said.

  "Jordan! Jessie! Check the vans for a rocket launcher!"

  Picking up one of the rifles the attackers had been using, Sean looked at it. "More of those East German AK-74s," Sean said with a growl.

  "Found it!" Jessie yelled from the van.

  "Any idea what make it is?" Travis yelled back.

  "Give me a minute, I'll text Bill a picture, he should know!" Jessie yelled back from the van.

  "Check everyone's IDs," Sean growled, "I want to know who these people are."

  "Hon, you better look at this!" Roxy yelled, causing Sean to race over to where she was. She was standing by the remains of the guy Sean had ripped in two, holding a bloody map.

  "What's that?"

  "A map of our possible routes from the Whitehouse back to the office."

  Taking it, Sean looked it over and growled. It had been printed out on a high quality laser printer, and from the small time stamp in the corner from the map program, it had only been done an hour ago.

  "Somebody set this up," Roxy said. "What's that on the back?"

  Flipping it over, Sean saw a penciled phone number with a few other notes, including the license plate number of the limousine.

  Just then he heard Cenna start screaming.

  "Call that number, see who it is," Sean said and thrust the map back into Roxy's hands as he turned and ran to the back of the limo.

  "He's dead!" Cenna screamed. "They killed him!"

  Looking into the back of the car, Cenna was holding John, who wasn't moving. A piece of metal that must have peeled off the side of the car was sticking out the front of his abdomen. Roberta was sitting there shaking her head, tears streaming down her cheeks, while Cenna was sobbing and shrieking.

  "There was nothing I could do, Sean," Roberta told him. "Cenna was lying on top of both of us when we came to a halt. When I got up, I thought he was okay, and... and when Cenna told him it was safe to get up, he, he didn't move..."

  Sean just stood there, frozen. John was dead. John, who had never once fought anybody, who had just been doing his best to keep people safe. John, who had seen things he couldn't bear to see, but who had stayed on to help his friends because they needed him.

  He was dead because of a bunch of stupid fanatics and a country that cared less about people than they did toilet paper.

  "Travis!" Sean yelled out.

  "What, Sean?"

  "There are no survivors! Understand me, there are no survivors!"

  Sean didn't even register the brief sounds of protest that were all suddenly cut short.

  "Come, Roberta," Sean said, helping her out of the car.

  Once she was out, he turned to Cenna. "Pick up his body; we'll take him home with us."

  Cenna nodded and stared numbly at John's body as she continued to sob.

  "Wally," Sean said looking around, "help Cenna. Take John's body back to the office; we'll be leaving for the airport as soon as we can." He turned to Roxy then, who was looking back at him, about as angry as he'd ever seen her.

  "I called the number," she growled.

  "Who answered?"

  "The German Embassy."

  Sean lost it. He completely lost it and roared his anger out at the world. How dare these people do this to him! To his friends! All he was trying to do was protect these people, and this was their response? To try and kill him? To kill his friends? Enough was fucking enough. Somebody needed to be taught a lesson, and he was sure as hell going to be the one teaching it!

  "Travis, Steve!" Sean yelled. "Order everyone, and I mean everyone, to show up at the gates of the German Embassy with all the weapons they can get their hands on!"

  "Umm, Sean?" Steve said worriedly.

  Sean reached down and grabbed his powers. "That's an order, and you will do it now!"

  Glaring, Sean looked around as everyone quickly grabbed their gear and moved off towards the cars and vans the security people had showed up in. There were a half dozen cars and vans there now, as they had all converged on the scene. Sean could hear the sounds of sirens off in the distance as the police caught up with events.

  Sean climbed into one of the vans with Roxy, who was helping Roberta, behind him. Cali and Estrella were next.

  "I'll get the others rounded up and sent after you," Steve said, looking at Sean with a worried expression. "Like it or not, I'll be there. I will be there."

  "Good. Tisha, tell the First to spread the word; all the lycans in Germany have to leave immediately. They're on their own now."

  "Yes, Sean."

  Sean paused a moment and looked up at Steve, who still had that worried expression on his face. "Talk to me, Steve."

&
nbsp; "If I walk in there, I'll never be able to meet with the president again. You need to realize that."

  "Don't you want to go?" Sean growled.

  "Of course I want to go! They killed John! I want to see the bastards die, and I've never killed anyone in my life! But you needed to know, so there, I told you."

  Sean took a deep breath; he had to trust Steve; that was the rule, you always trusted your best bud, and Steve was his.

  "I gotta do this, Steve, I have no choice. But you're right. You decide what's best for you and your girls. Do what you need to do; I trust you. Anyone questions you, tell them you're speaking with my voice."

  "Thanks, and don't worry, I'll cover your ass no matter what it takes."

  Sean nodded as Travis and two of his people joined them in the van. Closing the doors, they pulled out immediately.

  Sean sat there and growled, thinking about John's body lying there, dead. Why the hell couldn't some folks leave well enough alone? Why did they always have to fuck with him? Well, the world was about to learn one hell of a lesson today, and he was going to make sure it stuck.

  He was dimly aware of Travis and Roxy coordinating with the others over the radio. It would take more than a few minutes to get where they were going, and they couldn't just go directly there, as they had make sure everyone else showed up at the same time. Still, all Sean could think about was his dead friend, the poor mindless girls, the others he'd lost over the last year—all of it, over and over again.

  "We're ready, Sean," Roxy whispered in his ear.

  Sean sighed and nodded. "Good, let's go."

  Sean watched as they pulled to a stop in front of the German Embassy, blocking the street. Almost immediately cars started honking their horns as the cars and vans blocking the road disgorged their passengers.

  All of whom were armed, and nearly all of whom were wearing body armor, except for the very large lion who walked up to the front gate and shot the guard right in the head.

  "Tear it down!" Sean roared. "Kill the murdering bastards!"

  At his order, everyone charged the gates, overwhelming the guards immediately as swarms of werewolves and other lycans climbed over the walls into the compound or stormed through the gates.

  Walking in through the now unguarded gates with Roxy, Cali, and Estrella behind him, Sean picked off everyone and anyone who looked important. Anyone who resisted or stood in their way. As they moved into the main building, a number of people tried to stand their ground with weapons in hand.