Obsessions: A Monster Squad Novel 7 (18 page)

Laura stabbed the needle into the port and injected the serum. Jim watched the port drip the solution into the tube feeding his arm. He stared as the saline changed color slightly and fed to his wrist then into his body. He took a deep breath and stared at his daughter wide eyed. He waited for something to happen. A pain to wrack his body. An explosion of energy. An electric jolt to shoot through him.

Nothing happened.

Laura packed away the vial and dropped the syringe into the sharps container in his room. “There ya go. Step one.”

“Step one?” Jim looked at his arm and lifted his sheet to see if he was growing hair in any funny places. “I don’t feel any different.”

“You won’t. Not for a little while. You have to give it time.” Laura glanced at her watch then patted her dad’s leg. “I have to make a call. You rest, and I’ll be back in a moment.”

“You mean I sent Crystal on a wild goose chase for nothing?”

Laura shook her head. “How would you explain your daughter having a ‘cure’ in her bag? It was for the best that you sent her on her way.” She opened the door then leaned back into the room. “I’ll be right back. I just need to call…my boyfriend, and tell him how things are going.”

“You do that,” Jim shouted after her, “and tell him I want grandkids!”

*****

Mitchell escorted Jenny through the lower levels of the base and hesitated as they stood outside the solid steel door. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She clung to his arm and tightened her grip, her eyes glued to the dull silver door before them. Slowly she nodded her head. Her voice was a hoarse whisper as she spoke. “Not really.” She turned and he saw the fear in her eyes. “But I have to, Matt. I have to break through this fear that’s…buried deep inside me.”

“We can do this later.” Mitchell pulled her aside and held her tightly. “You don’t want to overdo it too soon. Sensory overload and all that.”

Jenny trembled in his arms but pushed away slightly. “I need to. I walked through the entire place and met the people. They’re truly lovely.”

“Lovely?” Matt chuckled and shook his head. “I can think of a hundred different ways to describe the people who work for me and lovely just isn’t one of the words I think I’d choose.”

She punched him lightly for teasing her. “You know what I mean. They treated me with respect and kindness. Not at all what I…” She trailed off, her eyes falling on the door again.

“I understand, Jen.” Matt slipped from beside her and entered the code in the keypad next to the door. “Just remember that, if at any time you want to leave, say the word.”

She nodded fearfully and stepped forward, squaring her shoulders and screwing up her courage. “I’m ready.”

Mitchell pulled the door open and stood to the side. Lights came on automatically overhead and Jennifer stood once again in the place where her nightmares originated. She stared wide eyed at the equipment that had once been her icy prison. The machines, now silent sat quietly in the dim light, the cameras no longer blinking, the monitors all shut down. She stepped closer and ran a hand along the cooling lines that had once fed the machine that kept her frozen. They weren’t cold and it surprised her.

She turned slowly, her eyes taking everything in at once. “It’s much larger than I remember.”

“The power was out when you were here last.” Mitchell tried to inflect as much compassion as he could in his voice. “And I’m sure you were still in a state of shock.”

She nodded almost imperceptibly as she walked around the chamber that had held her for nearly a decade. She shivered involuntarily and lifted her eyes to his. “I-it’s not as scary as I thought it would be.”

Mitchell gave her a weak smile. “Yes it is.” He stepped forward and took her hand. “You’re scared to death right now. I can feel it.”

Instinctively she leaned into him. “I was so angry for so long…”

Mitchell nodded, completely understanding. “I wanted to let you go so many times. They wouldn’t let me.”

Jenny sniffed back her tears and turned her face into his chest. “I’m ready to go now. I don’t ever want to come back here.”

“You never will. I promise.” He stroked her hair and withdrew her from the cryo unit. He found his own hands trembling as he pushed the door shut. Once it clanged shut and he entered the code to lock it he turned and found her staring at him. “Are you okay?”

“I will be. I just need to get away from here.” She wrapped her arms around his middle, and he walked her to the elevators. “I have to admit something.”

“Something tells me that I’m not going to like this.”

She pulled him closer and they slowed their approach to the elevator. “The anger I felt toward you? The mixed emotions? The lack of trust? All of that disappeared once we mated. I don’t know exactly what caused that, but I’m really glad it did.”

Mitchell held her close and kissed her. “Me too.”

*****

“You
will
stand down until further notice, do you understand me?” Walter Simmons growled through the phone.

Bigby leaned back in his chair and pinched at the bridge of his nose, a headache forming behind his eyes. “And why is that, sir?”

“I just got word that my daughter is inside their compound and she is
mated
to their leader! You are to take no action until I can get you more backup. I want her safety ensured above all else, do you understand?”

Bigby sighed heavily and slumped in his chair. “Understood, sir.” He glanced out the window at the men doing hand to hand training and dry fire drills. “What are we supposed to do until you can procure backup?”

“I’m wiring you money. You said something about needing supplies? Use it to get them. And if you have plans for that building that they’re in, build a mock-up. I want those men to know every inch of it.”

“A mock-up? Seriously?” Bigby groaned. “Do you have any idea how long that will take?”

“I don’t care! Until I am guaranteed of her safety, you are essentially shut down, do you hear me?” Simmons was practically screaming over the line.

Bigby stared out at the men and measured the odds of successfully taking the hangar with the crew on hand. If he ignored Simmons’ orders and went ahead as planned, he could avenge Sheridan and take out the damned Monster Squad once and for all. Having to make special arrangements to save the girl? It might be too much.

Bigby opened his mouth to protest but found another thought forming as he spoke. “As you wish, sir. We’ll begin building the mock-up as soon as we can get the supplies. How soon until the backups arrive?” His mouth said one thing, his mind raced in another direction. Who says they had to make every effort to save the girl? Collateral damage and all that. It happens all the time. And if she was truly mated to Mitchell, then she may well be the easiest way to cut the head from the snake.

“I’ll get on the phone as soon as we hang up. I’ll have them en route to you as soon as possible. I may have to buy mercenaries for this. Are you okay working with hired killers?”

Bigby chuckled. “I’m used to hired killers, sir. I know them best.”

“Excellent. Just sit tight then, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I have something solid.”

Bigby nodded into the phone. “Standing by, sir.”

He hung up the phone and stared out at the men training in the warehouse. Bigby stood and slipped Sheridan’s beret on once more. It was time to fill Martinez in on the turn of events.

*****

Thorn slipped up the slope and rolled in the tall grass to settle in next to the chain link fence. The sun had just set and the ground still radiated it’s warmth as he lifted the binoculars to his eyes and scanned the old auto manufacturing facility. He dropped a hand behind him and waved the rest of his party forward.

Foster slithered in beside his brother and lifted his own set of binoculars to his eyes. “Anything?”

“Not yet. But there are a lot of vehicles parked around the perimeter for this to be abandoned.”

“Agreed.” Foster scooted further to the side then tapped Thorn on the shoulder. “At the corner. In the shadows.”

Rufus redirected his gaze and noted the two men standing near a steel door, their eyes scanning the parking lots. “Why would an abandoned building need guards?”

“Especially guards who weren’t in uniform.” Foster slithered back down the slope then stood, dusting off his clothes. “I think it’s time we got a closer look.”

“I can almost assure you that Lilith has been made whole, brother.” Rufus slipped his binoculars into the case he wore on his belt. “But you’re right. We need to know for sure before we contact the human hunters.”

Foster planted his hands on his hips and stared at his brother. “I don’t suppose you would trust this part of the mission to some of the enforcers?”

Thorn shook his head forlornly. “As if they would know what to look for.”

Foster sighed heavily. “True enough.” He cast a doubtful look back toward the building. “Our best bet is to come in at the roof and hope for a skylight.”

“And if there isn’t one, we drop down on the guards and kill them.” Rufus motioned to Foster. “After you.”

Paul grimaced. “Of course.”

*****

“So this is the breakdown.” Spalding paced slowly in front of all of the Monster Squad operators. “I sat down with Major Tufo and we worked out a tentative roster. As of now, squad two is moved up to squad one. We will not be taking the unit designator of Bravo, though. We’ll stick with Delta for coms. Squad Three is now Squad Two. We will not be forming a third squad any time soon.”

Lamb stood up and raised a hand. “Spank? Are we not gonna try to replace Carbone and Apollo?”

Spalding shrugged. “Not any time soon. We have too many irons in the fire to try to replace two squad members. It’s easier just to go back to two squads.” He flipped the page and scanned his notes. “Squad Two will be keeping their personnel and adding Wallace and Gonzales. My squad will be picking up Gus Tracy. Any questions?”

Dom stayed reclined but motioned with his chin. “How’d I get so lucky as to pick up two and you get one?”

Spalding shrugged. “We had an odd man left over. Major Tufo thought that, since your team was heavy with newbies, you could use a couple of more experienced operators to help train them.”

A round of groans and mumbled epithets came from the newer operators assigned to second squad, but Dom held a hand up to hush them. “Probably good thinking on his part, but you know if we could get Phoenix to step up to the plate, we could round the teams out evenly.” Dom shot Spanky a mischievous grin.

“Good luck with that. He’s got his hands full with his own group.” Spalding flipped his notes shut. “Look, I could stand up here and bore you guys with a lot of the thought processes that went into the split, but the short end is, this is what the major came up with, so this is how it’s going to be. To be honest, I like the idea of having an extra man when boots hit the ground.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Dom stood and eyed his squad. “T.D., you and Popo work with Marshall and Erickson and work out a rotation for breaking in the new guys.”

Chad McKenzie stood up and gave Dom a hurtful stare. “Haven’t we proven ourselves yet? Jesus, you’re still treating us like we’re wet behind the ears here.”

Dom pointed a meaty finger at the man. “As far as I’m concerned, you
are
still wet behind the ears. You’re supposed to be a damned operator, so man up, grow a set, and act like one. What’s our motto? Bleed in training so we don’t bleed on the battlefield. So go bleed, asshole.”

Ben Charmicael, the other new operator with Second Squad groaned. “Thanks, Mac. Your whining just got us an extra ass pounding in the trainer.”

McKenzie shot him a dirty look. “Hey, maybe you’re willing to be treated like a nub, but not me. I earned my stripes. I’m every bit as good as the rest of these—”

“Check yourself,” Spalding interrupted. “Your little tantrum is liable to get you sidelined.”

McKenzie clenched his jaw so tight that his jaw ticked. He exhaled hard and nodded to Spalding. “Roger that.”

Spalding stepped back to the front and raised his voice, “Okay, hunters, get your gear together and get ready to train with your new battle buddy.”

*****

“Isn’t technology grand?” Lilith stared at the computer screen and smiled to herself.

“I’ll take boots on the ground any day to…this,” Samael snarled at the contraption that she continued to stare at. “Just because it is new does not make it grand.”

“Oh, is somebody feeling unnecessary?” She stroked his chest as she poked at his fragile ego. “The big, bad angel is feeling left out.”

“Stop.” Samael stepped away from her and stared at the demon centurions as they continued to pack their suicide devices into crates and into trucks.

“I can track their movements with this. I can actually
see
them unload the devices at the drop spots. Once the time comes for us to strike, I’ll be able to watch them come in and resupply themselves.” She nearly squealed with delight.