Protected by the HERO (36 page)

“Ok look at this, one umbrella company after another leading back to – ta-da! – the Zambino crime family. Now we know for sure. Besides, this means they are definitely shipping things on the side through my boss’s warehouse. I don’t know if they are forcing him or if he is a willing participant, but this should be enough. I mean these financial records are...” she was interrupted.

“How did you get financial records on your phone?” he asked reasonably. She felt a slight blush.

“I uh, I guess, I, um, hacked them. Phones are just as good as computers if you know how to use them. Especially since I had our company records here to work off of,” she told him.

“I am impressed. It makes me wonder though. Could the mob find out about this place if they had someone who could do what you do?” he asked worriedly. Elizabeth was immediately worried; she had not thought of that. She got back on her phone and it only took a minute.

“This is a public site. It does basic searches on families and names,” she told him. She slid the phone over to Kurt and he scrolled through the page.

“Shit, there it is. Ok then I have some work to do. Nice job Beth,” he called her. He then leaned down and kissed her cheek.

“If they are going to come they are going to get hurt getting here,” he said.

She did not know what he meant and finished her lunch while he went back into the bedroom. She scrolled down the phone while she ate and saw that it had his record on it. His military record. It was impressive, even to someone who did not know much about it, like her. She backed out of the site and cleared her phone. Then she put it on airplane mode to charge faster. He came out with a pack of things that clanked, and he had a gun on his belt.

“The house itself is pretty secure. I have metal sheeting in the walls and the glass is high impact. The doors are heavy duty as are the locks, so the cabin is good,” he told her. She thought he was trying to reassure her and it was working. He continued.

“I am going to set a few traps and use some brush to hide the gate. Just in case. I can’t imagine them being so quick they will be here tonight. From what I have heard mobsters are not as smart as accountant hackers,” he said the last with a grin. She blushed a little but smiled. Then he left.

He sure was focused when he decided on something, she thought. After a little while she decided to take a shower. She got cleaned up and put on some fresh clothes. She dressed in red leggings, blue jogging shorts and a white tank top with a light sweat jacket over it. It was comfortable and one of the few things within reach when she was frantically packing the day before.

Elizabeth did more research on the mob and found out about the big guy in the suit. She saw his picture. He was rumored to be a lieutenant for the mob with a long list of possible dead bodies following his history. It was scary stuff, so then she switched to more information about the mob’s financial history. They really were not that good at hiding their tracks from the feds. It amazed her they hadn’t got busted yet. She ended up spending several hours playing around online and by mid-afternoon when Kurt was not back yet she decided to see what was for dinner. There was plenty to choose from, so she started preparing a big meal.

*****

She found enough stuff to make a stroganoff with, as well as enough veggies for a decent salad. She munched on veggies while cooking and played some upbeat jazz on her phone. She trusted Kurt, and trusted the fact that they were pretty well-hidden. Even if the mob found out about the cabin it would take time for them to get there. Elizabeth found some extra pepper to add zip to the meal. She knew she was just keeping busy to keep from freaking out, but figured if she could hold it together now she could freak out later.

Kurt came back in early evening looking pleased and tired. He sniffed a few times and smiled.

“I though I smelled something good coming up the path. Thank you, I was thinking sandwiches again,” he said with a relieved smile.

“Well, I got tired of researching and figured you were out working so hard I figured the least I could do was keep the food coming,” she explained. She took a gulp of beer. She had already had two since she’d started cooking and was a little buzzed. He got one fore himself.

“You’re looking good. I am glad you went ahead and showered if you wanted to. Sorry I didn’t offer earlier, I wasn’t thinking. Do you mind if I go grab one?” he asked politely.

“Feel free. It will be another half hour before this is done,” she told him. So while he got cleaned up she finished the dinner and it was ready to go when he was done.

Dinner went well. They ate and drank and laughed. She told him more about the mob’s financial illegalities and he told her about the traps and safeguards he had set. She really did like him and realized she was not talking with her foot in her mouth as she usually did. She either was getting comfortable around him, or it was the beer. After a moment’s thought she figured a little of both. It got closer to sundown and he began getting ready.

“Ok, I will probably try and get out for a while. From what I remember of locking myself in I eventually eat and go to sleep. I cannot get out though. That is why this cabin is so armored. It was not because I was paranoid of what was outside, but what was inside. You will have the run of the place but do me a favor. Once it is locked up, do not go outside. I realize it is what women are taught to do in horror movies, but do not go outside. If anyone does come they cannot get in. They will not have the firepower strong enough. Not to mention just getting this close will mean they are wounded and not too functional. I left some nasty traps,” She nodded, her fear beginning to push aside the buzz from the beer.

“No worries Kurt. I am not going to step a foot outside. I will sit here and listen to my headphones and hopefully fall asleep. That way they can knock all they want, I won’t hear them,” she told him. He recognized she was putting on a brave face. He gave her a quick embarrassed hug and a kiss then got ready to lock himself into his room. Once he was all set he sighed.

“I hate to say it Beth, but I am sort of glad you are here. I know it is selfish, but I have never had company on one of these weekends. It helps to have something else, someone else to think about. I just wish we could have got together under other circumstances, you know,” he said to her seriously. She nodded.

“Me too.”

They hugged again. He removed his shirt, handed it to her and went into his self imposed cell. She waited in the hall for several minutes, waiting for she wasn’t sure what. When it was time he warned her.

“”It…it’s coming Beth. Maybe now would be a good time for your head phones...” she heard him call out. She went back into the living room and did just that. Soon she could hear faint howling over her music and turned it up. There was faint thumping and she could tell it was from him attacking the door of his cell. She squeezed her eyes shut and sat. Trying to ignore what her friend was going through.

It amazed her that she could so calmly accept the fact that this man was actually a werewolf. Well maybe not calmly, but accept it. Everything she had read or seen, (she had researched werewolves too) told her that usually a person would not believe that werewolves exist, simply because it was just impossible. Except she had
seen
it. He had begun changing in front of her. As illogical as the whole idea of werewolves was, it was more illogical to her to deny the evidence of her eyes.

As the music softened she could still hear him and she began to do math problems in her head to distract her. She also went to get another beer. Her job was to sit tight not matter what, she reminded herself. Maybe a little sleep aid would not be a bad thing. After another half an hour she turned her music down and couldn’t hear anything coming from down the hall. She took her headphones out and then could hear a faint whimpering. It sounded like a crying puppy.

Elizabeth slowly moved down the hallway to the door. She was startled to see a paw that was vaguely human shaped sticking out from below the door. She had not noticed there was a few inches clearance below the door. Not enough to get the whole paw through, but enough to reach out a little. She crouched down and the whining became a little louder. Her heart felt squeezed with her regret and sadness that anyone would have to go through this. The she got an idea.

“I’ll be right back, don’t worry, you are not alone,” she said softly. She went and got a pillow and blanket from the bedroom, and then went and set them in the hall. She got comfortable next to the door and softly spoke to the werewolf her friend had became. Soon she was stroking the soft fur on the paw sticking out under the door. He did not react except his whining softened to almost a woof of agreement that everything would be okay. She spoke softly and she did not know how long it was before the paw lost its tension and relaxed. Soon after that she heard faint snoring. He had gone to sleep.  It was not long before she was asleep there in the hall too.

*****

Elizabeth awoke to her name. She had been having a strange dream about being at the side of a stream and laughing while a wolf played in the water. That was interrupted by the sound of her name. Well, not exactly, she thought. Part of her name.

“Beth, Beth, are you there Beth? I gave you the keys, right,” Kurt asked through the door. She realized it was morning and sat up.

“Yeah, I have ’em, just a sec,” she told him. She dug into her shorts pocket and pulled them out. She slid them under the door to him.

“Here you go, sorry about that,” she apologized. He opened the door as she was yawning. He looked down at her with a strange smile on his face and offered her his hand. She took it and allowed him to haul her to her feet. She sighed and smiled.

“Sorry, I hadn’t planned on falling asleep,” she told him.

“I am glad you did. That was the calmest night I have ever spent as a werewolf. Between that and dinner I owe you. So if those mob boys show up, it is on the house.” He leaned in and kissed her lips gently.

“Thank you,” he said with a soft kind voice. Then he was off to the bathroom. She stood there with a hand on her lips for a moment before shaking her head and taking the blanket and pillow back to the bedroom.

They ate and had breakfast quickly before he set up for the day. Setting up consisted of making sure a large number of weapons were prepared and ready to go. He got that done in what, to her, had to be record time. She was positioned at the front window watching the road. If they were coming, Kurt was sure it would be early. They did not know the terrain and could not be sure what he would be prepared to do. The Big Guy in the suit would want plenty of time to take care of business. It made a sort of sense to her. Kurt placed guns at every window with ammo for reloading, then got a cup of coffee for them both and came over to join her.

“So now we wait. It is the worst part of ambushing. You never know for sure when they are coming, despite any intel you may have,” he confided to her. It occurred to her, late she thought, that this was not his first rodeo.

“I am sorry to get you into this. I should have just gone to the cops. The last thing you need is to go into combat. You have enough problems,” she told him. He chuckled.

“Honestly, I am pretty optimistic and it is my pleasure to take care of this for you, and me when it comes right down with it. They made a mistake that put me with you. They had no way of knowing for sure you would be with me based on what the guy in the deli told them. It is not like we left together. They are making the mistake of assuming everyone acts like they do. I mean, I imagine if they had to go on the run they would all leave by different doors with an overnight bag,” he said. Elizabeth could not help laughing.

“True, except their assumption ended up being true,” she pointed out.

“Maybe, but considering the odds of it actually being right, they got lucky this time. Still if they know where this place is and they are working off of their assumptions about us, they have to come here. I would. Just check each possibility off of the list until one pops. Well if they show up here I will give them pops,” he said with a grim smile. I was going to comment on that when we both saw dust coming up the road.

“Shit, here we go. I was hoping I had been wrong. Do you know what to do?” he asked Elizabeth. She shook her head.

“No, other than stay out of the way,” she told him.

“Hell no. You are going to be my eyes if things heat up. They can’t shoot through the windows or through the walls unless they have a rocket launcher and I am sure they won’t have one of those. So when things get really hopping you keep your eyes out. If you see someone trying to go around the cabin, you let me know. Do not be shy, shout it out if you have to, ok?” he asked. She nodded feeling her fear rise up higher in her.

They watched as three cars pulled slowly up the dirt road. They stopped maybe twenty feet behind her car and his.

“I wish I had a cigarette,” she said.

“I didn’t know you smoked,” he responded with a glance.

“I don’t, but it seems like a good time to start,” she said absently while watching the men getting out of the cars. He laughed a short bark and she realized what she had said was funny. Elizabeth had actually meant it. The Big Guy in the suit was up front followed by six other guys in suits. They seemed completely out of place in this wooded retreat.

“Kurt Landan. We know you are in there. We can see you. Just give us Elizabeth Darley and you are out of it. She is the one we need,” the Big Guy shouted up at them. Kurt snorted and chuckled.