Scarlet (24 page)

"You're the one who contacted IPTT," Red reminded her. "My guess is that's exactly what Roark wanted."

Maggie frowned, fear replacing her righteous stance. "It was for your own good. Morgan should've never left you in control."

Red's body began to heat. It felt like scorpions were scurrying beneath her skin. Pain racked her. She groaned as the wolf tried to break out. She sucked in a breath and held it.
Not now. Please not now.
Maggie took a step back, her eyes widening at the growing threat. It was her fear that allowed Red to pull herself back together.

"You forget I wasn't the one who convinced Kane to kill. I didn't even know him then, and I'd certainly never heard of Nuria. Sometimes I wish that were still the case. But it's not. So before you go accusing me of all the wrongs that have been perpetrated on this town, you need to take a long, hard look in the mirror. Everyone here does. You're all responsible for the things that have happened, because you could've done something about it and chose not to."

Maggie's face flushed and her nostrils flared. In the end though, she couldn't meet Red's gaze. "You'll still have to make a statement while the deputies search your room."

"Let them search. They aren't going to find anything other than a few days' worth of dirty clothes. I didn't bring much with me."

"You still have your weapons," Maggie reminded her.

"Yes, I do. The ones I don't wear are packed in a duffel bag under my rest pad. They haven't been fired in quite a while. Hopefully the deputies dust while they're searching under there."

"I'm surprised you can make jokes at a time like this."

"I don't find any of this funny. Particularly the part where you. a civilian, take me in for questioning." Red started walking, and Maggie had no choice but to follow. "You forgot one very important fact."

"What is that?" Maggie asked.

"If I was going to kill the guy, I wouldn't do it on my doorstep. And you damn well would never find the body."

*    *    *

Maggie and a deputy named Sams grilled Red for the next two hours. Sams did most of the questioning with Maggie interjecting often. They hadn't bothered to take her into Morgan's office or into the back room. Instead, they'd kept her front and center so the people who wandered by could hear what was being said. That included the three remaining recruits she'd hired. Red found that the most humiliating of all, which was probably Maggie's intention all along.

The deputies who'd been searching her room, returned empty-handed. She knew they would. They looked somewhat disappointed. Thanks to the new murder, the International Police Tactical Team was due to arrive tomorrow. She had to do whatever it took to keep them away from Nuria. at least until she could control the environment. That meant one thing—meeting them on their home turf.

Decision made. Red stood, cutting Maggie off midsentence. The chair she'd been sitting in fell back, hitting the floor with a loud clang. Everyone around her jumped. She didn't bother to pick it up.

"We're done here," Red said to no one in particular.

"I'll tell you when we're done." Maggie rose to stare her down. It would've worked better if Red hadn't been five inches taller than the petite woman.

Red glared at her. "No, you won't. I've put up with your bullying and underhanded behavior long enough. I can't believe I fell for your nice act when I got here. In fact," she said, looking around, "I can't believe I thought I'd found a home in this town. Morgan's only been gone for a few weeks and look at you all. Making power grabs and throwing out baseless accusations. You're trying to undermine his authority. You're trying to undermine me. Well, enough is enough. I'm not putting up with it anymore." She strode toward the door.

"Where do you think you are going?" Maggie called out after her. "Deputy Sams is not finished with you yet."

Red looked back over her shoulder. "To IPTT to clean this mess up."

The three recruits were waiting for her outside the sheriff's station. They must have slipped out the back door during her interrogation with Maggie and Sams.

"That's telling her,'" Takeo said.

"What do you want?" she asked, eyeing them.

"Are you really leaving?" Juan asked.

Red nodded. "I don't have a choice." She hated to bring this mess to her grandfather's door. She could only imagine what was going through his mind. Would he believe her when she claimed innocence once more?

Demery looked at her. 'There's always a choice, mon. You could stay."

"You don't get it," she said, shaking her head.

"Then explain it to us," Takeo said.

"If I don't go, then IPTT will send a team here. Despite what's been happening to me, I cannot afford to let them poke around. They might accidentally uncover something. It's not like they'd have to look too far." She gazed at Demery, who wore his protective suit.

"She has a point," he said, looking down at his special clothing. "It would be hard to explain this, if someone asked."

"Exactly," Red said.

'Takeo. you and Juan blend in a lot easier, but what happens if your chimera feels threatened and attacks? How would you explain that?"

"I..." he said, pausing to think of a logical explanation. "I suppose that would be a little difficult. I'd have to kill the person."

"Yeah, and I'm sure the tactical team wouldn't notice a missing member." She snorted. "I appreciate that you guys are sticking by me, but that might not be the smartest move. Right now, someone is out to get me. And if it's the someone I think it is, no one around me will be safe."

Juan approached. "You can't go it alone."

Red balked. "I've spent my whole life going it alone. It's a road I'm very familiar with." She didn't like it, but it was the truth. She'd let herself get comfortable having Morgan around. He'd been her strength. Looked out for her. Now that he wasn't here, she needed to stand on her own two feet again.

Juan nodded. "What would you like us to do while you're away?"

She wanted to tell them to run, get as far away from Nuria as possible, but she didn't think they'd listen. She knew she wouldn't if their roles were reversed. In the end, Red could only think of one thing for them to do. "I need you to keep your eyes open. Anyone starts acting strange, make a note of it, but do not approach. I repeat, do not approach the target. We need to prepare Nuria for IPTT's arrival."

"I thought you said they wouldn't be coming, if you went there first," Demery said.

"No." She shook her head. "My going to them will only delay the inevitable. They will eventually descend upon Nuria but hopefully it'll only be a few team members and not an entire unit."

"Do you think Roark has someone working from the inside?" Takeo asked.

Red sighed. "I don't know. It happened the last time, but I don't know if that is what's happening now. No one I've seen
has been acting suspicious. I know that doesn't mean a lot. but there were signs the last time. This time there haven't been. It's like we're dealing with a ghost."

"We'll make sure to keep an eye on everyone." Juan looked at Takeo and Demery. They both nodded in agreement. "We'll report our findings when you get back."

"You
are
coming back. Right?" Takeo asked.

Red didn't answer. She wasn't sure what to say, since she'd seriously considered staying at IPTT. She was sure her
grandfather, Commander Robert Santiago, would give her
her old job back. The danger to her still remained, but with the change in the Nurians, she thought it might be safer with the team.

She looked at Takeo, Demery, and Juan. It was easy to see
their concern. They knew without her saying a word that she was seriously thinking about abandoning them. They waited patiently, preparing to gauge her sincerity. If she lied now, they'd know it.

Red sighed. "I'm not sure," she said eventually. "If I decide to stay, I will contact you to let you know." It was the best she could do.

*    *    *

The  drive to IPTT headquarters took hours. She'd borrowed Jim Thornton's maglev shuttle or it would've taken even longer. The gold dome glowed from within as she approached the 150-foot-high monolith. Concrete dormitories branched out from the central hub, which housed a thousand people.

She could see the rows of stainless steel beams marking the entrance to the main headquarters. The pyramid glistened under the artificial light in the biodome. There was nothing welcoming about the design. It was meant to intimidate and protect the sloped walls from hydrogen car bomb blasts.

Red watched the recruits being put through their paces. They trained in shifts, so while some slept, others worked. It made the International Police Tactical Team a hard place to attack. Her stomach fluttered as she circled around the back to the shuttle parking area. It had only been a little over a month and a half since she'd left, but it felt like a lifetime ago.

The agency, which was in its 150th year of existence, had been the only real home she'd known. Red didn't realize how much she'd missed it until now.

She parked the shuttle and stepped out. Two tactical team members approached. She didn't recognize either one, which wasn't a surprise. There were too many to remember everyone.

"State your business," the first man said.

"I'm here to see Commander Robert Santiago."

"Name," the other man said, hitting a button on the navcom hugging his wrist.

"Tell him Gina Santiago is here to see him."

The men's eyes widened and they looked at each other, suddenly unsure of protocol. "We-we'Il let him know that you're here."

"Is he at headquarters or home?" she asked, showing the men more patience than she felt. Red wanted to see her grandfather. She needed to be around someone who'd let her cry on his shoulder. Someone who loved her and didn't look at her with fear in his eyes.

"He's at headquarters, ma'am," the second man said.

'Thanks," she said. "I'll find my own way there."

He stepped in front of her, blocking her exit. "Um, we can't let you do that, ma'am."

"Why not?"

They looked at each other again and shifted uncomfortably. “Because you're a civilian."

His words caused Red a fresh flood of pain. For a second, she'd allowed herself to forget she was no longer a tactical team member. No longer part of this great complex. His words brought home just how alone she was.

"Of course," she said, motioning for them to lead the way.

Red followed the two team members into the front doors of IPTT headquarters. The first thing she noticed was they'd changed the scent that pumped through the A.I. filtration system from the stinky sharp mint to a soft buttery vanilla. Red inhaled, letting it seep into her body and calm her tense muscles. It was a nice change.

She stepped up to the weapons detectors and stripped off her pistol. It was the only weapon she carried these days. As she stepped through the detectors, a green beam showered her  from above, scanning the length of her body.

"Foreign material has been detected on the boots," a computerized disembodied voice said.

Without thought, Red unlaced her boots and dropped them into the nearby recycling bin. A pair of blue booties shot out of a slot. She slipped them on and walked through. A readout appeared on the other side of the scanner. Red went to pick it up, but one of her escorts beat her to it.

 "She's clean," he said. "No biologicals or explosives detected.