aHunter4Life (aHunter4Hire) (19 page)

No
one on Cygnus had children.

It
wasn’t biologically needed any longer.

He
had often watched human families and marveled at their resilience. Adults and
children communicating together was foreign to most warriors. Because he had
grown up on Earth, he’d had ample opportunity to observe the interaction of
parents and youngsters. He’d wondered how it would feel to have a parent
protect and watch over you. When they had crashed on earth, they’d been
deserted by their teachers and then set upon by government agencies that hunted
them. They were children set adrift in a strange land. It would have been
comforting to have a family.

Now
he had one.

Selena
and
Tarrin
were his family.

“What
have you discovered?” Partlan looked up as Catal entered the room.

Catal
shut the door with a quiet click. He walked into the room. Malac and
Firbin
were busy at computers, while
Breanon
had spread a map over one of the beds.
Ranon
was
sorting through papers and photos on the other bed with Partlan.

He
cleared his throat. “Selena has finally opened up to me. She has given me
information that I find unbelievable, but it’s true.”

“What
is that?”
Firbin
looked up from his computer. “Will
it help with finding the boys?”

Catal
nodded. “I believe so.
Tarrin
is my son. He is a
Hunter.”

Silence
followed his announcement.

Firbin
was the first to speak. His eyes were wide and his voice low. “How is this
possible? Hunters do not have children.”

“We
weren’t supposed to have mates either.” Catal smiled. “Despite the odds against
it happening, it is the truth.”

“It
seems we are more compatible with humans than we thought.”
Partlan’s
voice was dry. “I think both
Ardal
and
Niail
need to know this.”

Ardal
,
their leader, needed to be made aware of the situation. His mate Fiona, was a
doctor. If anyone could explain how this happened, she would. It might be an
aberration restricted to him.
Niail
, a member of
Ardal’s
unit that had crashed on Earth recently, had just
found his mate
Kimi
. She already had two children, so
it was essential that they know whether
Niail
was
capable of being a father too.

“We
may be able to connect with
Tarrin
.”
Catal’s
voice was positive.

“And
let him tell us where they are being kept? It is a good idea, but the boy might
be unable to communicate with us. He is also part human.” Partlan went to the
computer that
Firbin
was working on. “We have found
some information.”

Firbin
moved his fingers over the keys. “We know where the Gordon brother’s storage unit
is located. They said that they had hid the boys there and it is where the
exchange happened.”

Catal
leaned over
Firbin’s
shoulder. “The unit is not far
from here.”

“Do
they have security cameras?”

“Yes.”
Firbin
pointed to a picture of the gated front of the
storage units. “It is an outdated system so it is not online. We will have to
go and get the footage. That is the only way for us to view what is on it.”

“We
should leave now.” Catal straightened up. “Selena has just gone to sleep. She
won’t know we’ve gone. If we’re quick, then we will have the information we
need and be back before she awakens.”

“Malac
and
Ranon
can stay behind.” Partlan picked up his
jacket. “They will continue searching for any mention of these groups that
abduct children.”

Catal’s
stomach tightened. Bile rose in his throat at the thought of what might be
happening to the boys. With a shock, he realized he was afraid. The emotion was
new to him. A Hunter never considered what might happen to him during battle.
He was prepared and trained to die. The thought of something happening to
Tarrin
or Selena, terrified him. It was paralyzing in its
grip. He inhaled a sharp breath and forced his mind to concentrate on the
rescue.

“These
people are adept at hiding their activities from the law.”

“We
cannot waste any time.” Partlan went to the door. “On the way to the unit, you
can try and connect with
Tarrin
. He might not
understand what is happening at first. You may have to make several attempts
before you connect.”

Catal
nodded and they left the hotel. Once they were in the van he focused his
thoughts on
Tarrin
. He pulled out the picture Selena
had given him and reached out with his mind.

Nothing.

It
was as if he were trying to penetrate a brick wall.

He
glanced up at Partlan who was sitting beside him and shook his head. “He is
either incapable of hearing us, or is blocking the connection.”

“It
might not be that.” Partlan lowered his voice. “This is a boy who never knew
about you. He does not have a clue that this type of communication is possible.
It may take a while before you can connect, but you have to keep trying.”

Catal
nodded. “Does
Ardal
know?”

“I’ve
told him. He was surprised, like you, but he said it explains some things.
Fiona is going to investigate it. After we rescue the boys, you will meet up
with him and
Niail
.” Partlan leaned close. “You three
are the only Hunters with human mates, so you all need to understand why you
have been able to father a child.
Ardal
should have
answers by then.”

Catal
exhaled. Everything was different for them on Earth. He had refused to accept
that pair bonds was real. Even after mating with Selena, he had still doubted.
It wasn’t until
Ardal
had found his own mate that
he’d learned to believe. He didn’t need to know the reason behind his ability
to father a child, to accept the truth. He was a father, and soon he would find
his son.

Firbin
eased the van to a stop.

He
parked across the road from the storage units. It was a dimly lit area, with
several of the street lights flickering on and off. It added a surreal element
to the street. A ten foot rod-iron gate blocked the building’s entrance. There
was a chain and lock around the gate, and two cameras mounted on the side of
the building beyond the gates. No other security was in sight. Any surveillance
equipment would be in the main office. They would have to scale the fence and
break into the office to get the tapes.

Partlan
nodded to
Breanon
.
Breanon
grabbed his assault rifle and left the van. He would take up a position that
would give him full view of the storage area and main office. No one should be
able to get inside without him knowing. He was their lookout.

Catal
picked up a pistol and pushed it into the inside pocket of his jacket. He took
a second gun and put it in the waistband at the back of his jeans. When he was
ready, he heaved a deep breath and then followed Partlan out of the van.
Firbin
would stay and have the vehicle ready for their
escape.

The
fence looked to be wired.

Catal
threw a stone at it and nothing happened.

No
electricity flowed through it. They just had to climb it. Partlan went first.
Catal jumped over the top and landed on the pavement beside him. The low thud
of his boots hitting the ground reverberated through the air. They waited a few
seconds.

Silence.

No
one responded to their intrusion.

They
ran in a crouching position to the rear of the facility. There were long rows
of buildings with garage doors on either side. Chains and locks secured the
doors. The dull glare of the spotlights added a grey tinge to the units. They
went past three rows of buildings before they came to a stop. It was a long
corridor that held units in both directions. Partlan turned right, Catal went
left.

The
office was at the end of
Catal’s
side.

He
looked through a window.

It
was dark inside.

“
I’m
here
,” he advised Partlan.

He
tried the handle, but it was locked. By the time he had pulled out his lock pick
set, Partlan had joined him. A couple of twists and turns and the door opened.
Partlan went in first, gun in hand as he checked the two roomed office. It was
empty.

Catal
rummaged the desk and shelf area in the first room, but there was no taping or
surveillance equipment. He turned the computer on and started to search through
their files while Partlan explored the back room. Catal found the list of
tenants and sent a copy to Malac at the hotel. The rest of the files were
correspondence and financials. Nothing significant stood out.

“
The
security equipment is back here.
”

Catal
shut down the computer and went into the rear office. There was an antiquated
camera system with video tape recorders and several monitors. Rows of tapes
were stored in a bookshelf. Catal picked one of them up. It was a specialized
tape that recorded for at least twelve hours. The quality wouldn’t be good, but
that could be enhanced.

“The
Gordon’s rented Unit 167. It’s in the third row on the left.” Catal pointed to
the monitor that was fixed along that side. “The exchange took place today so
it should have been recorded on the tape in the machine.”

Partlan
rewound the tape machine and started to play back the recording for that
monitor. They sped through the images until they noticed Nathan Gordon enter
the facility. They followed him to his unit. He was met there by a tall,
dark-haired man driving a black sedan. The vehicle pulled up in front of the
storage unit. The man got out of the car and popped the trunk open. Then he
went into the unit with Nathan.

Several
minutes later, he was carrying a bundle of material. He threw it into the
trunk. Nathan followed him with what looked like a rolled up area rug that also
went into the trunk. The men shook hands and then the dark haired one drove
off. Nathan locked the unit and left.

Partlan
rewound the tape.

He
paused it when the vehicle came in sight.

“Is
there any way to magnify the image?”
Partlan’s
eyes
didn’t leave the screen.

“I’ll
send a copy to Malac. He should be able to clean it up.”

Catal
looked around the office for connection cords and then hooked up the computer
sitting on the desk. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he set up a
program to record the image from the monitor. He saved it and then emailed that
to Malac. He then erased all he had done and put the computer back in place.

“The
police are going to need the evidence here to prosecute the Gordon brothers so
we’ll leave it in place.” Catal pulled the cords from the rear of the tape
machine. “Malac can examine the vehicle. A license plate will give us a
location.”

“Good.”
Partlan pointed at the monitor. “Erase the footage of us entering the
warehouses.”

Catal
nodded. “I’ll erase that portion of the tape and leave the recorders off. The
FBI won’t have any evidence of us entering or leaving.”

When
he was done, they left the office as silently as they had entered.
Firbin
had the van running when they returned.
Breanon
took his seat in the front. There was very little
conversation as they drove back to the motel. The next step would depend on
whether Malac was able to get any information from the video Catal had sent
him.

Ranon
and Malac were both leaning over a computer when they came in.

“Any
luck?” Catal couldn’t keep the tension from his voice.

“We
are piecing together the licence number.” Malac didn’t bother to look up. “
Ranon
has hacked into the vehicle registry website. Once I
have enough numbers, we will run them.”

Partlan
went to the second computer and pulled up the video of the man that the
brothers were talking to. It was difficult to see his face because he never
looked directly into the camera. His height and body shape would be useful to
compare to the registry lists.

“Is
Selena still asleep?” Catal glanced toward the closed connecting door.

“She
has been there the whole time you were away.”
Ranon’s
voice was low. “We did not think it was right to go into the room.”

“It’s
probably best.”

Catal
straightened up and went to the door. He cracked it open a few inches and looked
inside. His stomach clenched when he saw Selena curled up on the bed. She had
thrown the blankets off and her knees were tight against her chest. He went in
and covered her up, brushing a finger down her cheek before he left.