G.H.O.S.T. Teams (Book 2) Shifters (22 page)

“Technically nineteen, although, only seventeen of those are officially recognized degrees. I sort of invented the other two fields,” he shrugged.

“What the hell? Are you serious?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, that’s ridiculous,” I laughed. “So, clearly you like school.”

“I’m a bit of a fan, although there is so much more to it than just learning. It’s being around those people and a constant influx of fresh ideas and opinions. And, of course, the college itself is just magical. I mean that in the real and philosophical sense. Old buildings have a way of taking on a personality and over time the entire place almost feels alive,” he smiled.

“Sounds like a neat place to visit.”

“It is. I’d be happy to show you around some time. Check out all my old haunts. Heck, we can even stand on the mathematical bridge, watch the river Cam flow by, and let our minds wander. I can’t tell you how often I ended up there.”

“Why? Is that some huge spectacle of a bridge or something?”

“No, it’s actually small and simple. But it is the bridge that connects the light and dark sides of the school. While that could be significant in and of itself, there is more to it. When you stand there you can almost feel the forces at play. Like the light and dark are tugging at each other. Similar to my family, I guess,” he said.

“The struggle of the light and the dark, huh? Yeah, I think I can understand that. Our lives feel very different, but oddly similar. So, after a while you left school and joined up with the GHOSTs?”

“Yeah, as I mentioned back in the gym, I joined the GHOSTs about seven years ago. They were forming a new team and I knew enough about their organization to make sure my name made it on the list of candidates. When I got accepted, my grandmother was so pissed. It wasn’t at all how she wanted me to spend my time. But, the GHOSTs are a powerful enough organization that she has trouble manipulating things. So, in a lot of ways it’s an escape from my family.”

“Good to know that some things are beyond her power.”

“Not much. She is frighteningly powerful. Back in the day she even studied with Merlin. I have heard it said that she was his most promising student. Having seen her former teacher in action, I’m sure you can appreciate the level of scary we are talking about,” he stated.

“Okay. That’s much worse than I was thinking.”

“If only you knew. Luckily, her vast network of manipulation keeps her fairly busy. She spends far more time in the Veil than she does on this side.”

“You’re starting to make me enjoy my orphan status. Thanks.”

“Anytime,” he laughed, “So, I’ve been with the GHOSTs for the last seven years and here we are. Reunited with old…acquaintances.”

“Acquaintances, huh? I thought you said we were basically family?”

He shrugged uncomfortably, “Look, obviously I’m an elf, and I get that we’re not really related. But you know, brothers of the program and stuff.”

“Oh yes, brothers of the program. I get that. Heck, all of the monks in the temple were referred to as brothers, so I get it.”

“Yeah, sort of like that,” he tried.

“It’s nothing like that!”

He almost looked a bit disappointed. “I know I hardly know you, and this has to be a lot to process. More than anything, I just thought it was important that you know about me.”

“And that’s why you came out here, right? To learn about me?”

“Exactly,” he smiled.

“Well, you clearly missed something rather important in my file. I’m a white guy who was adopted by a Chinese man and his Japanese wife.”

“Nope, I caught that part,” he replied.

“I guess the subtext wasn’t clear. Especially when it concerns my family. I would have thought you’d understand my thoughts on this matter.”

“And those are?”

“That family is about a hell of a lot more than blood. Now get out of that damn chair so I can hug my brother.”

A wide smile crossed his face, “Fine. But if you start calling me Rainman, I will shoot you.”

“I definitely believe you, definitely.”

“Without the tags,” he added. 

‘Ohana’. It’s the Hawaiian word for family. I remembered my mother talking about it when I was young. It’s often used to explain your extended family, those not related by blood. Adopted kids learn this lesson early. We learn that it’s love, not blood, that makes our family. So, maybe from the outside this doesn’t make a lot of sense to you. But, as I hugged that wily little elf, my heart knew what genetics would never understand: this was my brother.

We talked for hours, most of which was
me retelling stories of our folks. His face lit up as he listened and soaked in every word. There was no doubt about how much they meant to him. I understood what it was like to lose your parents. So, as we joked and laughed and remembered, it was almost like we got a piece of them back. The darkness of my soul retreated a little further into the depths.

When we finally crashed for the night, I scoffed at Vector’s plan to return to his quarters in HQ. He was family, and that meant he always had a place here. I made up the guest room and we wished each other good
sleep. It took a while before I finally dozed off, the excitement of the evening keeping REM sleep at bay. But finally, after thinking about how tough it must have been for my parents to lose their second kid, I found calm in the idea that their boys had found each other.

In the morning, I woke to the noises of work happening downstairs. I only made it halfway down the flight when I saw Vector sitting on the floor, pieces of my security system surrounding him and covering the coffee table. He looked up at me and I raised an eyebrow.

“I couldn’t take it,” he said.

A laugh was the only response I could offer as I turned around and headed back upstairs. A shower, shave, and all the other parts of the morning routine followed before I made my way back downstairs. Vector had most of the pieces cleaned up and reassembled. He huffed something about “almost finished” as I walked by. I just waved an “okay” and continued on into the kitchen.

“How about I dazzle you with my cooking skills to thank you for fixing my security system?”

“Sure,” he replied, his attention still on the system.

“Strawberry or brown sugar?”

“Huh?”

“What flavor of poptart do you want?”

“Is that what you meant when you said ‘dazzle me with your cooking skill’?” he asked.

“Absolutely. What about me could have possibly led you to believe I could cook?”

“Good point. I guess the fancy kitchen got my hopes up.”

“Yeah. That’s a red herring. It came with the house.”

“That explains that. I assume the rest of the furnishings were also part of the house purchase?” he asked.

“They were. How did you know?”

“Doesn’t feel very ninja.”

“Yeah. One day I’m going to care enough to do something about that. One day.”

“I’m sure you will,” he smiled, “If it makes you feel any better, everywhere I lived has ended up looking like someone set off a bomb in a workshop. I’ve always found comfort in being surrounded by any number of projects that I can work on at any point. That’s probably partially to blame for your security system,” he said.

“Whatever makes you happy, bro. Let me know what I owe you for any parts you had to buy?”

“Don’t worry about it. Seriously, it was my pleasure. That piece of software your buddy wrote was intense. I couldn’t stand the idea of it working with such crummy hardware. Now, you have the hardware to match his software. You couldn’t find a better security system out there. Let’s see someone get past this one,” he said, through maniacal laughter.

“Yeah, that fills me with confidence. But I mean it about the money. In fact, I have a trust fund, and it seems like half of that should probably be yours. I’m sure if mom and dad knew you were still around they’d have…” He cut me off.

“Stop right there. I appreciate the thought, but money isn’t an issue in my life. I did mention that I was raised in a castle, right?”

“You did.”

“Well, contrary to the plethora of American jokes, everyone in Britain doesn’t actually have one of those,” he winked.

“Really? The BBC has led me astray.”

“They can be tricky.”

“I’ll keep my guard up in the future. So, have you gotten any news from your surveillance program? Did we get a hit yet?”

“Nothing yet. It will ping me if there’s anything to report,” he said.

I nodded and slid two pairs of poptarts onto plates, tossed them on the island next to a couple of glasses of tea, and breakfast was served. Vector finished a last bit of tinkering by the window and joined me. We didn’t talk much, just sat there, eating in comfortable silence. After which he headed upstairs to hit the shower, and I cleaned up the dishes. A short time later he slid down the banister ready to go. I assumed he’d arrived via a taxi or something last night, since he didn’t have a car out front. Vlad, as always, was more than happy to drive us both into the office.

“Morning, pal,” I said, as I jumped into Vlad, sliding my tag over my neck.

“Morning, boss. Morning, Vector. Aren’t you boys a little old for sleepovers?” he asked.

“Once I heard about his breakfast layout, I couldn’t resist,” Vector smiled.

“Ah, the amazing poptart toasting skills of a ninja. The boss swears he has a gift,” Vlad said.

“The key is taking them out of the toaster at the slightest hint of browning.”

“That explains why they were so amazing,” Vector mocked.

“Don’t be jealous.”

“Too late, boss, I already dream about being you when I grow up,” Vlad said.

“Me too,” Vector added.

“Oh, both of you shut up. I think I liked it better when I was an only child. Speaking of which, Vlad, I’d like you to meet my brother, Hunter Richardson, who we will still be referring to as Vector.”

“Huh?” he said.

“Turns out that we were separated at birth.”

“I can see the resemblance,” Vlad mocked.

“Doubtful,” Vector laughed, “I got the brains and the looks.”

“And I got what exactly?”

“Obviously you got the cool car, boss,” Vlad said.

Vector laughed and Vlad joined him. I shook my head at the both of them and waited patiently while the noise died down. Then, we told Vlad the story of our youth and of our parents. He was actually quiet and respectful during the retelling, only stopping us occasionally to ask the odd question. We had the AC blowing full blast as we pulled into the GHOST parking lot. It was just past ten in the morning but already the temperature and humidity were on the rise. Washington DC’s hot and sticky summer was showing up with a vengeance. I was sure that wouldn’t help tensions among the wolves.

We parked in our usual spot and waved at the guards on our way to the elevators. The goodwill had mostly vanished, and today I got the usual grimaces as I smiled. I didn’t mind. Life was easier when you knew what to expect anyway. Our first stop was Sickbay and the elevator took us down to sublevel two. Upon entering the room we were treated to a much happier view today.

Erika was sitting up in bed, although she still seemed to be staying pretty still. Kara was sitting on the bed next to her and they were talking up a storm. I figured that had to be a good sign. We waved and approached.

“How are my favorite ladies feeling today?”

“Much better, thanks. Kara is a miracle worker,” Erika smiled.

“Well, it was that, or I was stuck here alone with these punks,” Kara said, thumbing in our direction, “No way I was going to let that happen.”

“I’ll pretend that was aimed at Vector, since we all know I’m way too cute to be a punk,” I winked.

The girls rolled their eyes and Vector shook his head. I’d call that an instant morale boost, mission accomplished. At that point, a doctor wandered over to check on Erika. He was a short man, round in the belly, and long in the tooth. Grey hair wrapped around the sides of his bald head and thick-rimmed glasses sat on his nose. He had a thin white mustache that matched his lab coat.

“There certainly is a lot of excitement around here. We are allowing Ms. Blackstone to get her rest, aren’t we?” the Doc asked.

“Of course, Doc. How’s she doing?”

“She’s doing fine. With Ms. Tremont’s continued assistance, we could have Ms. Blackstone back on her feet in a couple of days,” he replied.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,” Kara said.

Kara squeezed Erika’s hand when she said it. I wondered if the girls were really getting that close, or if this was just a reaction to the idea of almost losing another member of our team. When Timothy died on our first mission, they didn’t take it well. Heck, none of us did. I knew all too well how much tougher another loss would hit the team. Every case brought us closer, and would make the death of a teammate that much harder. I was going to do everything in my power to keep that from happening. But, I wasn’t so naive to think that we were immune to further tragedy. Yet another reason that I probably shouldn’t try and date Erika. I was having real trouble resisting the temptation. She was just so damn hot.

Vector stood silently beside me, just watching our interactions. I was wondering if I should tell everyone about my newly discovered relation, when his eyes snapped to mine. He grabbed the goggles out of his pocket and slid them over his head. More of the magical world of pottery miming, and he smiled. Pushing his goggles up onto his forehead he grinned in my direction.

“I think I got something.”

“Really? You found something in the video?”

“Looks like it. There was an old tan SUV in the area during two of the abductions. Nothing special about the car, but as far as I can tell, it’s the only vehicle in the area. Good chance it’s our kidnappers,” Vector smiled.

“Well done, bro. Do you know where it is now?”

“It was parked at an abandoned warehouse two days ago. Running a scan now to see if it’s still…” A ping interrupted him.

Vector held up a hand telling us to wait as he slid his goggles back over his eyes. As he did his thing, the girls listened intently, hoping we had a clue to help us. After a few moments Vector’s face went a bit pale. He didn’t remove his goggles this time when he talked.

“The SUV is there now, and it’s a low res feed so I don’t have much detail, but I think they just took someone small into the warehouse.”

“We gotta get there now.”

Kara started to stand up as if she was going with us, but I hollered back at her as we exited, “You heard the doc, Erika needs you right now.”

I didn’t bother to look back to see if she listened. Vector was just in front of me and as we headed for the stairway, Danny stepped out of the elevator. His face instantly registered that something was wrong and he fell into step right next to us.

“What’s happening?” he asked.

“Looks like we just caught them taking another kid. We gotta move fast. Keep up or you’re getting left behind.”

Danny didn’t say another word but pumped his little legs as fast as he could. He was tired of sitting on the sidelines and at this point, if he managed to keep up, I figured we’d give him a test run. But I sure as hell wasn’t waiting for him. Thinking about the bracelet on my left hand, I got our ride ready.

“Vlad, we’re leaving in a hurry, get ready.”

“
Got it, boss,”
he replied.

Three flights of stairs later, we busted into the parking garage. Vlad was waiting right there, his doors open and his engine revving. He must have told the guards what was up because the gate was already opening. As a sports car, Vlad’s backseat leaves a lot to be desired
; mostly, legroom. Danny had managed to keep up, so I knew one of them would have to take the backseat. I was really hoping they wouldn’t fight over it.

Vector, being in the lead, didn’t argue or put up a fuss. Instead, he dove, gripped the roof, and slipped in-between the seats and into the back of Vlad. I slid across Vlad’s hood and swung myself into the driver’s seat. Danny just plopped down into the passenger’s seat as Vlad’s doors started to close. I hit the gas and the sound of squealing wheels filled the garage. Smoke billowed off of his tires as we tore up the exit ramp.