Body Thief (31 page)
Authors: C.J. Barry
“Then I guess that makes it our job,” Cam said. “Think they’ll use the same strategy as last time and set the explosives on a timer?”
“Definitely,” Griffin said, moving ahead of her. “No heroes in this bunch. They won’t risk getting caught in the blast.”
“Well, then today is not going to be their day,” she said.
Griffin eyed her. “I don’t want to get caught in the blast either.”
“It’s not like we haven’t been blown up before,” she murmured.
“Which just means our odds are worse now.”
He had a point. They quickly checked the two occupied apartments. There were no sounds or movements, and she didn’t hear any signs of people, which was good.
Then they headed toward the front apartment. Old floorboards creaked under their feet, and they had to move more slowly as they neared the apartment door. Cam tuned in to the sounds behind the door.
They moved closer, and Cam harnessed her senses. Three sets of distinct footsteps. All humans. She smelled gasoline—an accelerant. They wanted to make damn sure the blast would keep burning. Probably made for better TV coverage. The good news was that they were still inside, which meant the bombs hadn’t been activated yet.
She whispered, “If we wait them out, it’ll be too late.”
He nodded agreement. “Ready?”
“Oh yeah,” she whispered and shifted into Primary form. She formed her hands into claws. “I’m going first.”
Griffin just grinned and then stepped back and kicked the door in. Cam was inside in a flash. Two of the men were huddled over a large box in the center of the room. The other one was the first to shoot at her, and she recognized his face. He was the one who’d hit her with the Salt Round.
Sucked to be him.
She reached one of the men kneeling over the box and kneed him in the head on her way to the man who’d nearly cost her her life. He took a few steps backward, firing as he went. The payload peppered the walls and passed through her harmlessly until she grabbed him by the face. He screamed for all he was worth.
“You, I don’t like,” she said.
With a mighty growl, she tossed him against the wall, breaking Sheetrock and shaking the apartment windows. He dropped to a still heap on the floor. She took a second to shove a micro GPS unit down his throat before he woke up.
Then she turned around to find that Griffin was grappling with the other agent up against the wall. The man had a gun in his hand that Griffin was trying to shake loose.
“Check the timer,” he yelled to her.
As if she knew what a timer looked like. She scanned the steel box and saw a small digital display. It was set for 15:00 and wasn’t changing. “It’s set but not running.”
Then she walked over and ripped the pistol from the agent’s hand as he glared at her. Griffin pushed him against the wall with his forearm crushing the man’s throat. “Who do you work for?”
The man wasn’t talking, and Griffin wasn’t happy about that. He pressed the guy’s throat harder. “We know you’re XCEL.”
The man’s eyes widened in surprise, but he still wouldn’t give it up.
“Want me to try?” she asked Griffin. “I haven’t killed anyone all day.”
That got a reaction out of the man. He gasped for air, flicked his gaze behind her, and then smiled. “Shifter bitch, die.”
Then she felt a bullet hit her in the back. It tried to bury itself in her, but her body reacted, preserving itself and expelling the bullet. She turned to find the guy she’d flung against the wall holding his gun on her. His eyes were the size of saucers. His little toy didn’t work this time, and he knew it.
Cam advanced on him as he backed up in terror. Unfortunately, she needed the bastard. On the other hand, that didn’t mean she couldn’t have some fun first.
She grabbed him around the throat. He dropped the weapon and tried to kick her. “You are really pissing me off,” she hissed, and then flung him out the front window. Glass shattered, followed by a distinct thud outside. Fortunately, he was still screaming, so that was a good sign.
Griffin had knocked his man unconscious and was feeding him the GPS when she walked back to him.
He said, “I hope you tagged him before you tossed his ass out the window.”
“Hey, I’m a professional.” She shifted back to human form.
“I was a little worried for a minute.”
She grabbed the third man passed out by the bomb and tagged him with a GPS. “I hope these things work, because otherwise, we wasted a perfectly good opportunity to take these ass-holes out of commission permanently.”
Griffin stood beside her. “I’m going to call in an anonymous tip and have the local law enforcement pick these guys up for trespassing.”
She raised an eyebrow. “And what about the big bomb in the middle of the room?”
He said, “The big bomb comes with us.”
Aristotle smiled as he listened to Red go on about how they’d prevented the attack on the clinic. He’d never seen the boy so excited.
“She threw one of the guys right out the front window,” Red said as he continued his animated story. “This is awesome! They stopped the XCEL attack. We didn’t even have to provide the location. They know what’s going on. What could be better than this?”
If they joined our team,
Aristotle thought. But he’d have to be careful. Maybe this was yet another ploy by Harding to locate his operation. One wrong move and everything he’d built would be gone, and along with it, the last gasp for his race.
Aristotle thought. But he’d have to be careful. Maybe this was yet another ploy by Harding to locate his operation. One wrong move and everything he’d built would be gone, and along with it, the last gasp for his race.
“And another thing,” Red added, his face flushed with renewed hope. “They broke the old man out of the detention center. Right under Harding’s nose.”
Aristotle leaned back in his chair. That didn’t sound like anything Harding would approve of, even as a ploy. Why would he bother to go to such trouble?
“They broke their relationship with XCEL?” Aristotle asked.
“Oh, definitely. There’s an XCEL contract out on them,” Red said. “Plus they haven’t been back to Griffin’s apartment in the last twenty-four hours. And one of the other XCEL agents is also MIA.”
This was no ploy. XCEL didn’t put out contracts they didn’t intend to fulfill. And if Mercer and Camille broke off their relationship, they must know that XCEL was involved.
That would make Harding very pissed off. As much as Aristotle enjoyed that thought, he also knew the danger it brought to the only outsiders who might be able to help him.
He pulled his heavy sweater around him. “Did you find a place to meet?”
“Yes.”
“Set up a meeting with the two of them, myself, and you.”
“I will,” Red said quickly. “Aren’t you happy about this?”
Aristotle smiled. Disappointment had tempered his enthusiasm long ago. “I am.”
“You don’t look like it.” Then Red frowned. “Are you sick?”
He’d been sick for years. Today was worse than yesterday, and tomorrow would be worse than today. But that was old age. No one to blame, and no sense in being angry about it.
“Set up the meeting.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
H
arding was taking out his fury on the phone with his partner. “How could this happen, Braxton? How did they know where the attack was going to be and when? How?”
arding was taking out his fury on the phone with his partner. “How could this happen, Braxton? How did they know where the attack was going to be and when? How?”
“Our files must have been hacked,” he said, his voice frustratingly calm. “We’ll need to double encrypt the orders next time.”
“Screw encryption!” Harding yelled, and then glanced up at his office door. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “You handle this personally from now on. You deliver the orders, forget technology.”
“Well,” Braxton said, unhurried, “I suspect that the hacker works for you. The breach is your fault, not mine.
You
handle the orders.”
You
handle the orders.”
“I can’t do that,” Harding hissed. “That’s why I have you.”
“Afraid to get your hands dirty?” Braxton asked.
Harding squeezed the life out of his cell phone. “If I do, then there will be no one on this end to change policy, will there? We made a pact. No matter how bad it got, we would each do our part.”
Braxton sighed. “I’ll deal with it.”
“You better. I want another attack as soon as possible, a successful one.” Harding stabbed his desk with one finger. “I want death and destruction. Are we clear?”
“Always a joy working with you.”Then Braxton disconnected.
Harding ended the call and set down the cell phone before he broke it. For long moments he sat, fists clenched, working to cool his temper. He’d known there would be problems, but he couldn’t allow one rogue agent and a malicious shapeshifter to destroy that. They would win, and he would lose.
Harding stood up to fend off the anger that was edging out his virtuous plan. He was so close, he could taste it. He was the righteous one here. He was the only one who could save humanity.
It was all at risk now because of one dead man walking. He pondered his options and settled on the one with the best outcome. If XCEL couldn’t find Mercer, Harding knew exactly who could. He dialed a number he hadn’t used in a long time. John Parker picked up on the third ring.
“Well, well. If it isn’t my old
buddy
, Director Harding,” he said over a lot of background noise.
buddy
, Director Harding,” he said over a lot of background noise.
Harding felt his blood pressure rise just talking to a Shifter. “I have a job for you. How fast can you be in Jersey?”
“When you ask so nicely, how can I refuse?” Parker replied with a distinct slur. He was drinking in a bar with all the other lowlifes.
Harding tamped down his aversion. “We had an agreement, Parker. I get your ass out of trouble, and I own you. Forever.”
“Deal with the devil, that was,” Parker said with a laugh. “What do you want?”
“Mercer’s head on a platter,” Harding said. “Yesterday.”
The background noise got a lot quieter. “Serious?”
“ Yesterday,”
Harding repeated.
Harding repeated.
There was a long pause. “I’ll be there when I can.”
“You brought a bomb into our hotel? Are you crazy?” Ernest sputtered.
Griffin shoved the box under his hotel bed. “Would you rather I leave it in your car in the parking garage below us?”
“No! I mean—” Ernest stopped and shook his head. “Never mind. Why am I even arguing? My car, hotel. Doesn’t matter. It’ll still kill me. Although, I’ve always wanted to die in my sleep.”
“You might get that wish,” Griffin said, and walked over to the door between the adjoining rooms. He peered in and saw Cam talking to her father. His skin was a faint shade of blue, his eyes sunken, and his movements few.
“He’s worse.” Griffin quietly closed the door and turned to Ernest.
“He’s dying,” Ernest said.
“She has a brother,” Griffin said. “He’s somewhere in the US. XCEL was supposed to be looking for him as part of her cooperation.”
Ernest’s expression turned into confusion. “Harding approved that?”
Griffin replied, “I didn’t ask Harding. I didn’t tell anyone. Except you.”
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