Red Hood: The Hunt (10 page)

Almost like she heard the whole thing from down the hall, she appeared before the group as soon as the Chief asked where she was.  Her descriptions of her gut feeling matched what I had told them to a T and she offered none of the information I withheld about Marcus and Slater.  She gave me a reassuring and almost imperceptible nod to let me know she had my back.

It was late morning by the time we got out of there.  Now we had a dead cop and another dead end.  Things got even worse when the Mayor called while Victor, Red and I sat in the break room, decompressing.

Victor answered the call as Maireni moved from the table when he got a squelching earful of static. “Yes Madame Mayor?  Yes... no... for when?!  You do realize that is during the... you do.  Ok, we'll adjust our plans accordingly.  Yes... thank you.  Goodbye.”

He looked pale as he muttered under his breath, “Shit.”

I furrowed my brow in concern.  “What is it?”

Red answered for him... of course she heard, “Slater informed the Mayor that something important came up and he'd have to postpone the negotiations two weeks.  He understands it would put them at the full moon, but he assured her that his lodge and safe rooms were well fortified.  He couldn't do it after the full moon because he was heading out of the country for a couple months.  She didn't want to delay the talks on the silver shortage for months so she agreed.”

I echoed Victor. “Shit.”

The next two weeks went by excruciatingly slow.  Harrison's homicide investigation hit a dead end.  However, the Internal Affairs investigation that the Chief had himself started on Harrison did turn up evidence to implicate him in the breach.  Though there was nothing but circumstantial evidence that it was part of a concerted effort to target me.  The money trail went cold because the deposit into Harrison's account was through an international shell company that we were still trying to track back.

Red and I had upped the heat at my place.  Trying to one up the teasing on the other just to remind each other that we had said not until the talks were completed.  That was what truly made time crawl by, I found her beyond fascinating, we had let each other into our lives, sharing things I never thought I'd ever tell another person.

She occasionally joined me during my gym sessions and even sparred with me and a few other officers... at the same time.  For all her enhanced speed and strength, I think her guile was her most dangerous weapon.  She fought using misdirection and inhuman moves you wouldn't expect... right up to her mock killing blows which were a straightforward display of strength and lethality.

I still get a kick out of the memory of her holding McAlister up by the throat with one hand when he rotated into the fight and made him say uncle after he promised, “I'll go easy on you, little lady.”  Honest to God, she made him say, “Uncle.”  He was just dangling there, ineffectually slamming his forearms against her arm, and kicking her ribs as she said, “Say Uncle, officer.”  After a few seconds, he stopped struggling and then said, “Uncle already.”  She grinned and dropped him into a heap on the ground.

I was the only one to surprise her with a leg sweep after I smiled at her and bit my lower lip.  I spun in her distraction and knocked her legs out from under her and wound up on top with my forearm to her throat.  She had smiled broadly as she squirmed beneath me, heating me up as she said, “Oh my Detective McQueen, you seem to have pinned me.”  The little minx had let me do it then she was punishing me with her mock squirming.  I flushed with heat and rolled off.

I muttered under my breath, knowing only she would be able to hear over the other officers laughing and crude comments, “You are an evil, evil woman, Red.”  This got me that explosive burst of startled laughter that was such a treat to hear from her.

On the way to the showers she walked past and said, “It was you who wanted to wait.”  For all her speed, she couldn't outrun my snapping towel.

Then finally, the day of departure came.  It would take us almost two hours to get to Slater Mining headquarters up in the mountains.  The Mayor rode in the armored, unmarked SUV that we checked out of the motor pool.  The Mayor's 'security consultant' insisted on it.  We just thought it was silly since there was no threat against the Mayor but then Red mentioned that it was during a full moon and it was best to take precautions.  I glanced in the rear view mirror at the silver panic cage behind the back seats that was big enough for two people if they crammed in.

Maireni rode in the back seat with Mayor Fleming, Victor with me.  The main change to our original plan is that there were two sets of riot gear on top of the panic cage and half of our magazines contained silver rounds.  We had two marked police cruisers as escort, one in front of and one behind us.

Victor got on the radio and after a radio check he said, “Ok Brandon, the package is secure, let's head out.”

Beatrice chuckled as our little procession headed out toward the East gates to cross the Murrow floating bridge.  There was talk of one day building a second bridge across Lake Washington farther north by Evergreen Point. I hear they have been talking about it for decades, but the cost of maintaining the city wall and the additional cost of manning another city gate precluded its construction.

The moment we crossed over Mercer Island and into Bellevue Beatrice put a hand on my shoulder from the back seat.  “Detective, in all the preparation this morning, I didn't get lunch.  Would you mind stopping at the golden arches before we head into the mountains?”

I started to voice my opposition to it, “Ma'am, we have a set schedule and...”

She cut me off. “Again, it is Beatrice, and poo on your schedule.”

I caught Red's eyes in the mirror and she gave an almost imperceptible nod and I sighed in frustration.  “Fine, you two are impossible.”

I glanced at Victor and he was already on the radio. “Brandon, the Mayor is feeling a bit peckish, could you find the nearest Mickey D's, please?”  As we got off the Interstate I couldn't help but stare at the buildings we passed as I drove.  It always catches me off guard to see buildings without FMBs.  The few we see on houses or apartments are for the few Clean Bloods who live among the cursed.

Then my blood ran cold thinking about what Maireni had been warning about.  If Marcus was truly trying to infect the entire human race so he could wield power over everyone as Alpha, he was already half way there.  In most of the other countries in the world, almost seventy percent of the population had the lycan infection.  The United States was at almost thirty percent and growing since the infection had only crossed the ocean relatively recently in terms of how long the curse has been around.

Just Bellevue alone had an army of over one hundred thousand infected.  If Marcus were able to compel them all to attack Seattle on a full moon, the city would be lost.

I shuddered remembering the news reports about Spokane on the east side of the state.  Four years back, they had a single gate failure when a migrating pack of Ferals attacked the city.  The breach cost the city almost a quarter of their population.  Either dead by wolf attack or infected.  It took almost two years and three internal outbreaks caused by infected who were scared of being exiled who had spread the contagion on full moons when they couldn't restrain their wolf.

That is what prompted the new rules in walled cities, the monthly blood screening.  Every man, woman, and child in the cities had to be tested to ensure the same thing didn't happen there.  The Seattle locals have started calling it “Prick Day” in passive aggressive protest.

The escorts peeled off to the exit of the drive-thru and I pulled up to the menu.  Beatrice said, “A quarter pounder, fries, and a cola sounds great.  The city is footing the bill so order what you want people.”

I ordered three-quarter pounders, three fries, and four colas, then took a deep breath and said, “And five Big Macs and four large fries.”

The Mayor's eyes widened but not as wide as when we all watched Red devour all of them.  The cute little, “Thank you,” we got from her when she was done was priceless.

Then we were on the road again, none of the cities or towns between Seattle and Slater's headquarters were walled.  You'd never know the people we passed were cursed.  That was the worst of it all.  They were just as human as us, well except Red, it was just that pesky 'turning into an inhuman killing machine' three nights a month that set them apart from us.  Again my mind drifted to my sister Prue.

We traveled north, deep into the Cascade Range, past Mount Baker.  My head swiveled on my shoulders when we drove past Hidden Lake Peaks and an overgrown dirt road with a barricade that was falling apart.  It was my parent's land, no I guess my property now.  The land Slater wanted.

Five minutes later we were pulling up to the Slater Mining Headquarters.  I don't know exactly what I was expecting being in the mountains and all, but it wasn't the three story modern office building sticking up in the middle of a sea of mining equipment in a large clearing.  I idly wondered why there was so much equipment here, shouldn't it all be at the mines?

The building must have been a hundred thousand square feet, all gleaming steel, and glass.  The most glaring thing was, of course, the lack of FMBs.  That is what I am used to seeing, for my entire life, every building in the city had FMBs.  I rarely ever traveled outside of the city, and seeing the lack of FMBs outside of the walled cities always shocks my system.  Like a primal response to something, my brain saw as not right.  Those bars were just a fact of life for me and most Clean Bloods, they equaled safety.

I saw nestled into the tree line, a huge timber framed lodge that looked like something from a camping getaway brochure.  It at least had FMBs and I found myself relaxing some tension in my shoulders I didn't realize was there.  We pulled up to the lodge first, as that is where we would be staying.  Victor told the four uniforms, “Can you get all of our gear and Mayor Fleming's things into our rooms, please?  Then we'll see you guys in a few days.”  They hopped to it as a matronly looking woman came walking out of the lodge to meet us.

She looked like someone's favorite aunt or a young grandmother.  I tensed slightly seeing the spring in her step and powerful strides of a cursed.  Then I loosened back up again feeling like a fool remembering I was outside the walls, most of the people I'd meet out here would be.  I could see that I wasn't very discreet as the woman's well-sculpted eyebrow rose slightly and she restrained a little grin. 
God, I was acting like a bigot wasn't I?

She stepped up to the Mayor and offered a hand and a smooth smile, “Mayor Fleming, I'm Mrs. Remington, I run the lodge for Alister, but please call me Antonia.  It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”  She had honey smooth contralto with an accent I couldn't place, it sounded so much like Maireni's.  I saw Red's eyebrow quirk at the accent too.

The Mayor shook her hand with gusto and giving her politician's smile as she responded, “It's Beatrice.  It is nice to meet you too.  And this overprotective lot here are the head of my security, Miss Maireni Damaschin. And Seattle police detectives O'Neil and McQueen as my escort.”

It was Antonia's turn to cock an eyebrow as she offered a hand to Maireni who accepted it, but they didn't let go as Antonia said something in some harsh European language, “Numele dumneavoastra. Esti din Romania?”

Red just grinned and said, “Da, sunt. A trecut mult timp de cand am fost ultima data acolo.”

The well-dressed matron released her hand with a sad smile and said, “Yes, it has been long since I have been home as well.”

Then she turned to Victor and me and shook our hands. “A pleasure detectives.”  I shook her hand and bobbed my head in acknowledgment.  Her grip was strong, like all cursed, and I gave her hand a little squeeze in apology for my reaction earlier.  She gave me a smile and a sideways tip of her head in silent acceptance.

I took a moment to compare the strength of an infected to Maireni.  While a human cursed has greater strength and speed than a Clean Blood, it didn't feel like the coiled steel of Red's grip.  Which made sense, they didn't have their full strength unless they were in wolf form.

Antonia turned to the Mayor. “Alister... Mr. Slater asked me to show you to his offices.”  She motioned an arm toward the office building.  And we all started walking.  Antonia on one side of the Mayor, Maireni on the other, and Victor and I trailing behind.

The moment we stepped into the building my hackles rose.  There was a metal detector at the door and two security guards in uniform with fully automatic rifles. I had to quell the police officer in me, not my jurisdiction.  Though I thought maybe an anonymous tip to ATF after the negotiations might be in order.  Victor exchanged pointed looks with me.

Mrs. Remington and the mayor walked through the arch followed by Maireni and she set off the detector.  One of the large guards stepped in front of her in the imposing way ex-military often do.  “Ma'am, do you have any metal or weapons on you?”

She took in air through her nose and mouth then with a wicked gleam in her eye held her cloak open to display her arsenal.  Then let it drop back into place and stepped forward toward the Mayor.

The man placed a hand on his weapon on his hip and the other hand on Maireni's chest, “You'll have to leave your weapons here miss.”

She simply said, “No.”  Then it was all a blur of motion, the man started drawing his weapon and Red reached up to snag the hand on her chest as she spun.  I could hear bone splintering as she twisted behind the man, the strap of his  rifle wrapped around his throat.  His sidearm was then in her hand aiming over the man, whom she had bent backward in front of her, at the other guard who had his  rifle half raised toward Red.  I could feel the subsonic growl rising in her throat as she said plainly, “I said no.”

Antonia stepped into the line of fire between them and said in the tone of a chastising schoolteacher, “Boys, these are our guests.  Put your silly weapons away.”  Then she looked at the choking man and his hand bent at an unnatural angle.  “And Peter, get your wrist set before you heal and have to get it re-broken.”

Then she met Maireni's eyes but then down in a submissive manner tilting her head slightly to expose part of her slender neck.  She obviously recognized her as a predator, something not quite human.  Red exhaled and released the man and ejected the magazine from his weapon and performed a one handed field strip of the Glock and let the gun fall in pieces to the ground.  She gave him the frame by the grip and I barely stopped my snort.

The man looked at his hand, then at her as he headed for a door recessed in the hall behind him.  The Mayor did her politician thing as she spoke to Antonia, “I'm sorry about your man, but my head of security takes her job seriously.”  I squinted my eyes as I regarded the Mayor's tone, she had expected this.  She wanted Red to give a demonstration so Slater would know she isn't playing around with the negotiation.  My respect level for the woman had just gone up.