Knight Rescue (Rise of the Wolf Nation Book 1) Page 9

  “Today, you received the third invitation from the White House. Each time the person extending it on behalf of the President explains how important it is for you to meet with him. I know you’ve turned them down in the past but I think Something’s going on and you need to accept.”

  Silas had no interest in meeting any government officials right now. Their duplicity stank to high heavens and he would make them pay for what they’d done. But he understood his duty to the Nation. His people lived in this country under the American flag and the President was the leader. Despite how distasteful it was to sit at the same table with those who authorized experiments on his men, he would go.

  “If Crall gets the men out of here tomorrow, we should be back soon after. Set something up for after that,” Silas said and thought about it. “No. Wait until Crall has them on the plane and then accept the invite.”

  “Yes, Sir. Will you tell Jasmine, or should I?”

  “She would attend with me,” Silas murmured. For a few seconds, he enjoyed the visual of his beautiful wife, elegantly dressed, walking beside him. The idea pleased him. “I’ll tell her.”

  He and Jacques spoke for a few more minutes before disconnecting. Silas glanced at the clock. He needed to get across town to pick up the body at Puedes’ home before morning. Rolling out of bed, he morphed into a larger human with tattoos and long hair. He grabbed the keys to the rental and headed for the car.

  PUEDES LIVED IN AN area several miles from the outskirt of Tegucigalpa, the capital, on a long dirt road filled with homes similar in style. Understanding the high crime rate of some of these neighborhoods, around four in the morning, Silas drove down the dark road, pleased there were no lights in any of the homes and parked a block away. He sensed no humans or full-bloods on the streets or nearby.

  Dressed in all black, he jogged toward the house, entered the security code for the gate and used the key Angus had given him to open the front door. Without turning on lights, Silas made his way to the bedroom, picked up the body and left as quietly as he arrived.

  With thoughts on his upcoming conversation with the Knights, he rounded the corner and saw his car. Before he could move out the way a full-blood slammed into him, knocking him and the body he held onto the dirt path.

  “What are you doing around here in the dark, carrying a body,” a full-blood, dressed in all black with a red wolf on the front of his shirt, asked. Dark eyes, gleaming with mischief peered down at Silas.

  “Going home. My friend called for me to pick him up, I’m taking him home,” Silas said unsure if they sensed his wolf or they simply attacked humans for being on their turf.

  “Not without paying the fee.” One of the full-bloods stepped closer, dug into Silas’ pocket and pulled out his wallet. He held the money so his partner could see. “Is this all you have?”

  Silas nodded, wondering just how far these assholes would take this. The Goddess demanded they keep their dual-natures hidden from humans which kept his people safe for centuries. Attacking humans was a sure way to alert the rest of the world of their existence. Even though he had no jurisdiction here, he wouldn’t allow these two to attack humans, period.

  “Take him to the ATM, have him pull out more money or we kill his friend,” the other said in a heavy accent. He wore a chain with the letters TAG that swung against his chest as they laughed.

  Silas was grabbed by the arm, and pulled to his feet.

  Tag, the name Silas assigned to the chain wearer, knelt next to the body Silas had dropped, holding a knife near his throat. It wasn’t that Angus needed that particular body to transition back into his own, one of the upgrades to the chameleon allowed him to transition with anyone. But they didn’t want to damage or destroy any of the bodies they borrowed for this mission.

  “Take the money and let us go,” Silas said in what he considered a reasonable tone. His beast had grown considerably restless since talking to the Knights and sensing the poor conditions of their beasts. He tamped down his more aggressive impulses of breaking these two in half and focused on finishing the mission without leaving a body trail.

  The full-blood holding the knife stood and walked slowly to Silas. “You with the Sups? Talking shit like that get you killed.” He snatched the bottom of Silas’ tee shirt and yanked it up. “They didn’t mark you?” He took the knife and lightly drew a squiggly line with the tip. “Now you’ve got their symbol on you which means you broke the rules by coming in to Red Wolf territory.

  Silas bit back a sigh at the dramatic drivel the wolf spouted. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t matter, you should always check for information regarding an area before you enter. Tourist or not, you broke the rules, now you must pay.” He lifted the knife as if he planned to stab Silas.

  “Are you fucking crazy?” Silas snapped as he punched the guy in the face, sending him flying back against the car. Moving quickly, he grabbed the punk’s arm, bent it backward, it snagged against the hood. When the full-blood tried to move, his arm broke. “You don’t attack humans like this. What the fuck’s the matter with you?”

  Silas ducked the blow from the other full-blood and smashed him in the face with a back-handed blow. “I can’t believe you assholes would try to kill innocents to make a fucking point.”

  “Who the fuck are you?” the full blood with the broken arm asked while scooting backward trying to fix his arm.

  Silas didn’t answer. Instead he walked toward the body he had dropped a few minutes ago. Before he reached him, one of the full-bloods slammed into him. The other with the broken arm joined in. They threw punches, several connected with Silas’ face and side.

  Enough, he thought.

  Anger whipped through him as he pushed both men off, stood and grabbed the one with the broken arm by the head. Without thought, Silas snapped Tag’s neck and let him fall like a sack of flour to the ground.

  The other full-blood tried to run, but Silas caught him, snapped his neck and tossed him aside. He picked up the knife and tossed it blade down into the torso of the full-blood who cut him.

  He picked up the body he’d retrieved for Angus, continued to the car, placed him in the back seat and drove to the rental house where he placed the body in Angus’ room. Just in case someone had seen the car on the road, or in the area, returned the rental car to the lot to prevent anyone making a connection, and following him to the house . Afterward he walked to Keener’s home to wait for Crall to arrive.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  THE NEXT MORNING, TRAFFIC out of town crawled. When Silas reached the research lab and parked he was surprised by the short line to enter the building. He contacted Angus but released their link when he realized Angus was asleep. Next, he contacted Hawke to remind him of Crall’s arrival and to see if anything happened to cause this delay.

  “Gang war escalated overnight,” Hawke said. “A couple bodies were found, necks broken. One of the dead was related to a local legend and his family’s calling for blood.”

  Silas closed his eyes briefly and released a long breath. Last night, once he arrived back at Keener’s place, he and Jasmine started talking. He’d forgotten about the two thugs who tried to rob and kill him which now created another problem.

  “The other gangs are denying they had anything to do with it but since there was retaliation, someone’s missing from the Sups, I’m not sure it matters. They’re at war, bodies are being discarded. Policia doesn’t get involved in full-blood violence, they’ve got to handle it themselves. Since the Sups were at the lab yesterday, security’s tight. It’s been locked down again.”

  “Locked down? That won’t stop the General from coming to get the Knights, right?” Silas moved forward in the line, praying he hadn’t undone their plan with those assholes last night.

  “It shouldn’t, he’s a General after all. Fortunately, the Commander isn’t here and neither is Franz so I’ve coded Crall’s arrival as a need to know only basis. He should be here in a couple hours. Ho
pefully things will have cooled down by then,” Hawke said.

  “Can you stay on duty until after he arrives? Make sure things go smoothly?” Silas asked as he handed Keener’s ID to the security guards, allowed them to search his belongings and then walked through the metal detector.

  “Yes, I slept here after my shift last night, so I’ll be here all day,” Hawke said.

  “About those two bodies,” Silas said as he opened the pharmacy. He told Hawke what happened.

  “Don’t blame you. These full bloods are out of control attacking humans. They want the Goddess on their asses?” Hawke said.

  “Right. But it started a war that could impede our mission of search and rescue.”

  “If they’d have stabbed you, your beast would’ve taken over and the end result would’ve been the same. Let the locals wage their war, as long as they don’t bring it to us,” Hawke said in an implacable tone.

  None of his team liked the idea of him being in what they considered danger, which was why he’d only shared the altercation with Jasmine until now. Too often they forgot he was a warrior forged by blood and war. His short history with a mate and den dimmed against the long shadow of his life filled with Alpha challenges and bloodshed.

  “Let me know when Crall arrives, clear the path for him to get here without alerting Lee,” Silas said.

  “Yes, Sir. Angus is in a good position to alert us of any changes in the General’s behavior,” Hawke said.

  “You’re right, but let’s not put him in a position of discovery.” Silas disconnected the link and turned as the door opened.

  “Good morning, General. Good to see you, what can I do for you this morning?”

  The General closed the door, leaving the military soldier outside. He reached inside his pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Silas. “Got anything to counter that?”

  Silas read the name of the chemical and frowned. Neither he nor Keener were familiar with it. “One second, I’ll need to look it up.”

  The General hesitated and then nodded before leaning on the counter.

  Silas read the toxicity report on the chemical and knew this ingredient was killing his Knights. In addition to turning them into zombies, it weakened all their organs and their beasts. It took everything within him not to wrap his fingers around the General’s neck.

  “Hydration’s the only thing,” Silas said slowly. “Flush it out, otherwise it’ll continue on its course.”

  The General cursed and held out his hand for the paper.

  Silas gave it to him. “Sorry, Sir. There’s nothing to counter it,” he said to make sure the asshole understood his options.

  General Lee nodded and looked at him. “Take that off your computer and forget you ever saw it.”

  “Yes, Sir.” He moved to the keyboard and deleted the search. “Done and done.” As soon as the general left, Silas sat at his desk and contacted Dr. Passen to tell him the name of the ingredient. The doctor’s reaction mirrored Silas’ earlier dismay. But at least they could prepare something to counter it.

  Silas updated Hawke on the ingredient and received a confirmation that Crall’s flight was estimated to arrive within the hour. So far, no alarms had been raised which was good. According to General Miller, several Admirals imbibed great quantities of alcohol last night at the dinner party and would probably have late starts this morning.

  The General stuck his head back into the pharmacy.

  Silas stood and walked to the counter holding paperwork he’d considered doing.

  “The base is on lock down until further notice. One of the security guards was killed this morning between shifts. We think it’s gang related but until we’re sure, no one in or out. Eat in the cafeteria or wait for the end of shift.” He closed the door behind him, leaving Silas gut-punched.

  Would Crall be able to enter and take the Knights? He hoped so. Once Crall arrived, Silas would update him.

  CRALL ARRIVED AT THE laboratory with several MP’s demanding entrance. He outranked General Lee and was granted access to the facility. Angus had just entered his office and heard the scrambling outside. Crall and the soldiers entered the secure areas without a word and finally took the elevator down to the basement.

  Silas, Angus and Hawke waited several minutes to hear what happened. Time crawled. Silas couldn’t focus on anything and sat at his desk to wait.

  Had Lee moved the men again? Did he hydrate them to remove the poison from their systems?

  “Got them,” Crall said 15 minutes later. “Surprised Lee didn’t wet himself when I walked in. He tried to double talk, claimed his authority but the Knights belong to us, he knows that. Finally, he stepped aside to let me in the room. They’re all hooked up to IV’s. I’m waiting for him to remove the collars, he’s taking his time but I’ve mentioned court martialling and a few other things to get him motivated.”

  Silas breathed deeply, placed his fingertips to his forehead and thanked the Goddess for her wisdom, grace and mercy. These men should recover.

  “Neck braces off. They’re groggy. If you want to work on their beasts, you can or I can give them a small boost,” Crall said.

  “Can they shift?” Silas asked.

  “Yes, all but one. I’ll help him,” Crall said. “I’ve had Lee taken into custody. He tried to say he found them and brought them here to work on for transport back to the States. When I asked why I wasn’t informed, he stopped talking. There’s a Major here, Franz asking questions, he’s in charge of the base?”

  “Yes, his CO is away. He’s involved with the local wolves. What does he want?” Silas asked.

  “He’s interested in the collars, asked if he could look at one.”

  “Take all of those with you for my team at the Compound to research. We need to understand how the drug was administered and the role of those collars,” Silas said.

  “Will do,” Crall said.

  “Hawke, I want them out of here as soon as possible,” Silas said.

  “Yes, Sir. General Crall took a truck with him, once he returns to base he can board his flight.”

  “Have they gotten the turf wars under control? Can my men travel safely? Right now, they’re still weak. The poison isn’t completely out of their systems.”

  “General Crall can order additional soldiers, but the city is still under siege. There’s no way to hide the Knights are full-bloods as they travel to the base. It’s possible they may be attacked for being in Sup territory,” Hawke said.

  “Damn-it,” Silas said before taking a deep breath and contacting each Knight. They were happy he’d come for them, and prepared to do whatever he needed. When he questioned their strength, each admitted, somewhat sheepishly, they weren’t at full speed.

  Silas contacted Crall. “Have the doctor, Grenwald, hook them back up to the IV’s to hydrate their systems more. Hopefully they’ll be ready to travel in an hour or two.” Silas explained the turf war and the inherent dangers of immediate travel without sharing his role in the uprising.

  “Understood, Sir. It’s good, really good, to see them. There was a time I didn’t think this would ever happen. I don’t think they did either, Sir,” Crall said passionately.

  “We never give up on pack,” Silas said simply. “Get them hydrated so they can defend themselves if necessary on the way out of here.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Crall disconnected as Silas contacted Angus.

  “Hmm?” Angus sounded groggy.

  “Up and alert. Crall is here and with our Knights.”

  “What?”

  Silas smiled at Angus’ surprised voice. “Arrived an hour ago, I let you sleep a little longer but now I want you to oversee their hydration. It’s the only thing to neutralize what they’ve been given. I want them on a plane back to the Compound as soon as possible.”

  “Why can’t they go now?” Angus asked.

  Silas brought him up to date on the turf war and lock downs surrounding them.

  “There’s a knock on the door, one
second, Silas,” Angus said. Several moments later he spoke. “General Lee is locked up and wants to see me. The messenger from Crall came before Lee’s soldier left and ordered me to the Knights. Lee’s man nodded as if giving me permission to work on the Knights. Whatever Crall thinks, Lee’s not done.” Angus paused. “The chemicals. We were supposed to test that this morning.”

  “Where are the chemicals? Crall can confiscate those as well,” Silas said.

  “I don’t know. Lee has them locked away somewhere. We may need to get those instead of Crall. If he’s looking for the Knights there’s no way he would know about the chemical warfare or any other tests.”

  “Unless someone leaked it,” Silas said thinking it through.

  “But who? The pharmacist? Doctor? Soldiers? None of them would tell Crall. If Crall starts asking Lee will get suspicious and we’ll never know his plans. I think we should let Crall take the Knights and the neck braces. I’ve got a sample of the patch I can send along, but the chemical warfare is something we need to handle,” Angus said.

  “Lee’s asking for you, probably trusts you on some level,” Silas said slowly.

  “Grenwald’s hands are just as dirty as Lee’s. Grenwald’s the doctor who’s been doing the experiments,” Angus said.

  “Peas in a fucking pod,” Silas said growing tired of the treachery and deceit. “Okay, we’ll handle it your way. Just get the Knights well enough to leave, keep Franz away from them. Something tells me our Knights are exactly what he’d love to turn his rag-tag Army into.”

  A soldier entered the pharmacy. “General Lee wants to see you.”

  Silas nodded and walked around the counter. “Give me a second to lock up,” he said to the soldier’s back to stop the man before he got too far. “Lee just sent for me, I’ll use the chameleon to get information on the chemical tests,” Silas told Hawke and Angus.

  Pharmacy secured, he waved for the soldier to move ahead. Silent they entered the elevator and headed down to the basement level and headed toward the containment cells once they arrived. Silas frowned when he approached Lee’s cell. A large sheet of clear, unbreakable plastic separated them. Silas cursed at the inability to touch Lee and activate the bracelet.