Specters: A Monster Squad Novel - 8 (5 page)

Jim Youngblood turned and gave his daughter a hurtful glare. “Watch me.”

“But, Dad, they think you’re going to die. You need to let them figure out that you aren’t.”

Jim pulled his jacket from the wardrobe and slipped it on. “Punk, it doesn’t matter what they test or don’t test. I’m not a prisoner here. If I want to go home, I’ll go home. If they don’t like it, then they can kiss my ass.”

Laura threw her hands into the air and cursed. “Dammit, Dad, why don’t you just paint a huge target on your head while you’re at it? No. Why don’t you paint a target on
me
? Just go out there and flag down the next doctor you see and tell him that I brought you the ‘cure’ and it makes you turn hairy in the full moon?” Tears started to form in her eyes as she considered all of the real ramifications.

He paused and turned to her. “Punkin, it don’t matter to them if I go home to die or if I die here. They don’t care if I live or die. Their job is to make me comfortable until the end.” He pulled her to him and stared down into her eyes. “As far as they’re concerned, if I feel good enough to go home to die, then so be it. Now, if I go home and I
don’t
die, I’ll give them all the credit and they can sprain their arms patting themselves on the back. I really don’t give two shits what they do.”

“Dad, I still don’t know the possible side effects from your taking that whole vial. Evan didn’t know. The only thing he could say was ‘oh shit’ and that didn’t sound too promising to me, does it to you?”

Jim hung his head. “Okay, I’ll admit, I may have screwed the pooch. And if I ended up giving myself parvo or rabies by doing it, then it’s my own fault.” He kissed her lightly on the forehead and let her go, turning back to collect the rest of his belongings. “But it was my mistake and I made it. It’s my responsibility.”

“And if it ends up causing you to do something you can’t control? If you end up…” She paused and stared toward the door, lowering her voice, “If you end up shifting at the full moon? If the bane doesn’t work?”

Jim sighed. “Then it’s my own fault. I’ll make arrangements to chain myself up during the moon.”

Laura groaned. “Dad, that may not be enough. What if you end up biting Crystal or scratching her or…one of the boys? Or one of your grandkids?”

Jim paused, his eyes glossing over as he considered the possibilities. He shook his head. “I’ll be careful. I won’t let that happen.”

Laura tried to hold back her emotions but a sob escaped her throat as she tried to swallow it down. “Daddy, please, let me call in help.”

He spun on her, his finger jabbing toward her, “I told you I can handle this, and I will.”

She watched him shove the rest of his belongings into the plastic bag and brush past her as he left the room. She collapsed into the chair and shook as the door shut behind him.

*****

Mark signaled McKenzie to advance just as someone walked outside the office. He watched as the man raised his hands, quieting the crowd. “We only need one of them alive to trade for Miss Jennifer. Choose the ones to die.”

“Screw that. Deploy flash bangs.” Each of the four operators tossed their grenades then turned their eyes away from the area, covering their ears. Once the reports of the grenades sounded, each man turned back to the task at hand.

Mark and Chad advanced, dropping targets closest to them, carefully picking those with weapons first. Lamb and Jacobs worked from the overhead dropping the armed targets at the rear of the group. Spalding and Little John didn’t allow the diversion to be wasted. They had heard the clang of the M84’s metal canister hit the concrete floor and dropped to the ground, eyes clenched shut, hands covering their ears. Both men recovered and came to their feet looking for weapons.

Donovan and Tracy weren’t so lucky. Deafened by the hundred and eighty decibel blast, both men were disoriented. Knowing what had occurred, neither man panicked, but instead dropped to the ground to avoid being caught in crossfire.

Little John sprang forward and caught Martinez in a chokehold, pulling him to the ground and twisting his neck until the vertebrae gave an audible crunch and the man twitched once before going limp. He pulled the sidearm from Martinez’ holster and slid it to Spalding who began taking headshots of the men closest to him.

Little John knew that they had to act quickly. These wolves would recover quicker than your average human from the effects of the stun grenade. He snatched a rifle from the hands of a dead wolf and took aim at the closest man standing near him. He opened fire and watched as the man stumbled and fell, the simunition splattering the side of his head with colored paint balls. John’s eyes widened as he remembered that the wolves weren’t using live ammunition.

He quickly turned the rifle around and beat the man upside the head with the stock, shattering the plastic and splitting his skull open. He stood holding the weapon like a club as the other four operators leveled the small army around him. He glanced around the falling bodies and saw Donovan and Tracy slowly coming to their feet, shaking their heads as they fought off the effects of the M84.

“Clear!” McKenzie yelled.

“Clear!” Tufo called.

“Clear!” Lamb echoed.

“Clear!” Jacobs repeated.

Spalding pulled Gus Tracy to his feet while Little John helped Donnie up. “You hit?”

“Negative, but I can’t hear for shit.” Donnie stuffed a finger into his ear and wiggled it around.

Mark stepped forward and kicked over a body. “I need an ID on a Brit named Bigby.” He pulled a photo from his pocket and handed it to McKenzie. “Chief Thompson thinks he’s Apollo’s shooter.”

Spalding stiffened and began walking from body to body, flipping them over to see the faces. It didn’t take long to check them all. “He’s not here.”

Lamb asked the obvious question. “What are the odds he wasn’t the shooter?”

Spalding ground his teeth and shook his head. “I suppose it’s possible.” He pointed to Martinez. “I’m pretty sure he was in charge.”

Mark sighed as he stared at the carnage. “Maybe we should have left one of them alive.” He caught Spalding’s glare. “You know…for questioning.”

“They can’t lie to us if they’re dead.”

*****

Bigby sat just outside the perimeter of the facility and lay low in the brush. He listened to the stun grenades then the whispered coughs of the rifles as the Yanks cleaned house. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook with rage as he imagined all of the soldiers being decimated. “Fuckin’ Yanks.”

He snatched his duffle from the ground and turned, pushing through the brush and making his way out and away from the carnage.

As he travelled on foot he debated the odds of Simmons sending him more men to do the deed. He still had the photos and the plans that his inside man had sent. He fought with himself as he considered the possibility of raising his own army.

Bigby froze mid-step and stared back toward the warehouse. “Who needs an army?” he chuckled to himself as he turned back and continued on his path.

An army was just more people to have to watch over. More people to have to feed. More people to have screw things up. But one man? One man could slip in and recon the squads. One man could find out for sure if they had really moved. If they did, so be it. Plan from there. If they didn’t…he could stick to his original idea. Poison gas in the air inlet. And with nobody from camp Simmons to stop him, he could act regardless of where the little prat was. What did he care about the old man’s little girl? He couldn’t give two shits about her, especially if she mated with the leader of the squads. Piss on her. She’s as much a traitor as her mate.

Bigby chuckled to himself again as he began making his own plans. He didn’t need an army to do this. He only needed to be careful. And he still had some of Sheridan’s guns stuffed away in case of emergency. He could do this on his own. He didn’t need anybody else to tell him it was okay. He was his own man. He was a major now…and majors didn’t take orders from nobody.

*****

Kalen skipped the meal and went for the showers first. The others tried to convince him to come and eat with them, but he was simply too tired. And after his altercation with Brooke…and the talk with Loren, he wanted to wash away the grit and sleep away the failure.

He slipped off his robe and turned the water on as hot as he could stand it. Stepping under the steaming stream, his mind drifted back to Loren’s visit. She wanted to know why he had covered the viewing stone. He tried to claim that he hadn’t realized he had…but it was obvious. The rag he had tied to intentionally blind her was still in place. He explained that he felt like he was lying to everyone by giving her the ability to see their every action, but she didn’t agree. How could she help and direct their actions if she couldn’t see? She had cut the cloth from his wrist and ordered him not to replace it.

His mind drifted further back to Brooke. Raven. She was so insistent that they couldn’t pursue their feelings and it made his chest hurt. He didn’t understand why. He understood that they were different, but were they really
so
different? He sighed heavily as he thought of her. The biggest part of him ached for her and he couldn’t explain why. She made him feel things that he had never felt before.

Kalen slowly turned and leaned against the tile wall, the water beating against his pale skin, reddening it. He pushed off the wall and reached for the soap. His hand closed on nothing. He opened his eyes and saw that the soap wasn’t where he thought he had placed it. He hung his head and shook it slowly. He was so tired and distracted that he was losing his mind.

He felt long slender hands wrap around his middle and begin to rub a bar of soap against his chest. He immediately stiffened and his eyes shot wide. He spun and faced Brooke standing behind him; her dark hair soaked by the hot water and her dark eyes staring upward, her arms still wrapped around him.

Kalen swallowed hard as he stared at her wet, nude form. She slowly pulled her arms from around him and began to lather his chest. “Why are you here?” He tried to control his voice, but it cracked as he spoke.

“Don’t you want me here? With you?” Her face looked so innocent as she spoke but he could see the mischievous glimmer in her eyes.

He swallowed hard and nodded slightly. “Yes. Now and forever.”

She smiled and pulled closer, her lips barely brushing his as she leaned to his ear. “Forever.”

He shivered even with the steaming water beating his bare skin and he felt his body reacting to her nearness. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, feeling her body pressed to his own. Her skin felt cold next to his, but it only served to excite him that much more. He lifted her chin and he kissed her, his tongue probing her mouth and he felt her fangs extend as her own excitement grew.

His hands slid down her wet back and cupped her bottom, squeezing each cheek in his strong hands and lifting her from the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he felt her press her breasts to him as she deepened their kiss.

She released one hand and slipped it between them to grab his excitement and guide him. He could feel her trying to lower herself in his grip so he loosened his hold on her, lowering her gently onto him.

He sucked in a stuttered breath as he lowered her further still, her velvety wetness gripping him tight. His arms clenched and his hands squeezed her bottom tighter as he raised her gently then lowered her again. She thrust against him harder and he quickened the pace, driving himself more forcefully with each thrust.

Without breaking their kiss, she pierced his lip and sucked at his elven blood, tightening her grip around his neck and bucking against him wildly. Kalen spun and planted her to the tile wall, his legs tense and his arms shaking as he continued to raise her and lower her, meeting her thrust for thrust.

She sucked at his tongue, her teeth scraping his flesh until she threw her head back and screamed, “Forever!”

Kalen leaned forward and bit her neck just as his body released…but she wasn’t there.

He staggered and fell against the tile wall, spinning and looking around the shower. Where had she gone? Where had she…was she… had it all been a dream? He looked to where he had placed the soap and it was still in the tray. He placed one hand against the tile wall and lowered his head, tears threatening to come. He reached up blindly and shut the water off.

Without drying, he wrapped himself in his robe and half staggered to the door. He stepped into the hall and crossed to his room. He opened the door just as the door to the other shower opened and Brooke staggered out, her hair wet and her eyes glazed. She leaned against the wall and ran a finger lazily across her lips. She glanced down the hall drunkenly and their eyes met. Her face paled and her eyes widened suddenly. He couldn’t be sure, but he could almost swear that she blushed before she darted back into the shower.

Kalen stepped toward the shower but caught himself. If she experienced the same thing he did, she definitely wouldn’t want to ‘talk about it’. He turned slowly and pushed open the door to his room. He pushed the door shut and ran the towel over his head quickly. He pulled it away and noticed…blood?