Specters: A Monster Squad Novel - 8 (8 page)

They would have their own transit time once they realized he wasn’t coming. Bob could only pray that there would be enough time for him to make his journey and make contact with the targets before things got way out of hand.

5

The helicopter touched down just north of the hangar and Mick raised his arms to remove his headgear. He paused and turned back to the pilot. “I meant what I said. Nobody else needs to die this day. Don’t be a hero.”

The pilot raised his hands in defeat. “You know I can’t be quiet about this. You killed a good man. They will come for you.”

Mick nodded as he pulled the headgear off. He patted the pilot’s shoulder. “Tell them good luck.”

He jumped from the helo and stood back as it lifted again, making a quick hop across the base and to the hangar where he knew that Laura was. Mick pulled the wallet and ID he had taken from the dead pilot and began to jog across the base toward the Base Exchange. He’d have a little time, he assumed, before anybody could be gathered and sent to find him. He also knew from previous experience that the BX offered a barbershop and a uniform shop. Losing his facial hair and getting a military haircut might help him to blend in. A set of camo BDUs would help even more.

As he approached the BX he noted the numerous soldiers coming and going, nobody seemed to really look at their face. “This should be easy enough.”

He entered the barbershop and reached for a number. “No need son. I have a chair ready.” The older gentleman slapped the hair crumbs from the leather seat and Mick stepped up onto the chair. “What’ll it be?”

“Shave and a haircut, my good man.” Mick flashed his best smile.

“I was going to say you weren’t sporting a regulation cut.” The old man wrapped the cotton drape over him and began to lift the chair. “You Special Forces or something?”

Mick raised a brow and had to fight back a laugh. “Me? No way. I was just…on extended leave. Had a death in the family.”

“You ain’t from around these parts, are ya?” The old man pulled out an old-fashioned lather cup and began swirling his brush in it. He placed a hot towel across Mick’s face to soften his beard.

“You got me there, pops. Definitely not from around here.”

“I’d have to guess the Northeast or something. Funny accent.”

“My mum was Aussie.” Mick smiled under the towel as the old man continued to make lather. When he lifted the towel and began brushing the lather across his face, Mick sighed. It had been many years since he’d had a professional shave.

“We’ll get you all proper like in no time, son.” The old man was definitely skilled and knew his craft. Mick felt completely relaxed as he pulled the straight-edge razor over his face. He made quick work of the stubbly growth and the trimmed goatee. He knew he was done when he wiped away the excess lather and placed a fresh towel on his face.

Minutes later, he was spritzed with aftershave and sitting upright, having his curls trimmed off into a nice high and tight taper. When the old man was finished, Mick reached into the stolen wallet and withdrew a handful of bills. He handed it to the barber and winked at him. “Keep the change, mate.”

He whistled a tune as he stepped out of the barbershop and made a hard right. He glanced about to see if anybody was going through the area checking people. Satisfied, he stepped into the uniform shop. “It would seem that my bags were misplaced on the flight home. Can I pick up a spare uniform?”

“With proper ID, we can get you suited up.”

Mick reached for the stolen wallet and flashed the ID at her. “I just need one set of BDUs until my stuff arrives.”

The lady pointed toward the back. “It’s all back there, sorted by size. Get what you need and I’ll get you checked out.”

Mick whistled another little tune as he went from shelf to shelf pulling out what he wanted.

*****

Mitchell cursed and threw his coffee cup when he got the news about Mick. “Why the hell didn’t you find a way to get word to us?”

The pilot squared his shoulders and stared straight ahead. “Colonel, the man is a pilot. After he killed Lieutenant Davis, he assumed his spot at the stick. He watched everything I did. I had no way of sneaking off a message.”

Mitchell hung his head and nodded. “Very well, Captain. Dismissed.” He picked up the phone and dialed security. “Pull any images that you can of that pilot that came here with Laura and Jenny and get it out to the security forces on the base. Tell them to assume that he’s armed and extremely dangerous. Do
not
engage. They are to contact us for response immediately.”

Mitchell leaned across his desk and shook his head. “It’s all just going to hell at once.” He glanced at the secret hiding place where he once kept his scotch. He really wanted to pull the bottle and suck down about a third of it, but he had to keep reminding himself that he didn’t have it anymore. He had donated it to the effort to save Mark.

He collapsed in his chair and reached for his coffee pot. “What the…” He noted the broken coffee cup on the floor. “Great.” He pulled out the ugly Boston Red Sox coffee mug that Mark had given to him just to get under his skin. “Gonna make my coffee taste like crap, but oh well.”

He sat back and tried to put things into perspective. The vampire council is apparently on the warpath. Laura has left. Mark is playing cowboy. There’s some new big bad threat on the horizon that he’s being left out of the loop on. His wife’s childhood bestie just killed one of his pilots and escaped after trying to help her dad kill them off. And it seemed like so long ago, but it was really just a matter of days since Mark lay on Evan’s operating table fighting for his life. Matt took a sip of his coffee and tried to wrap his mind around it all.

“I picked a hell of a time to quit drinking.”

*****

Allister sat stoically as crate after crate was brought into the area that the vampire said they could utilize as their work center. Furniture was brought in, computer stations, a large table and chairs. Couches were brought in and placed along two walls. He watched as two men came in carrying a flat, black rectangle. The man approached where he was sitting then paused. “Uh…I think we can mount this over here.” They quickly turned and bolted the thing near the ceiling on a nearby wall.

After the deliveries had been made and the men left, Allister caught the scent of something he hadn’t smelled in a long time. Sulfur permeated the wooden crates. He approached cautiously and pulled the top from one of the boxes. Layered within were white vests with white balls inside, bathed in a light blue liquid. Multiple strings ran from every side of them and he dared not pick them up lest they be poisoned. “Demon witchcraft.”

He placed the lid back on the box and resumed his position in the corner, waiting for whoever should return first. He had the distinct impression that he was not going to enjoy his tenure with the humans as much as the Wyldwood may have suggested.

*****

“Do you still have sway with the Vatican,
mon ami
?”

Viktor shrugged. “I do not know. After I returned the unused relics, they didn’t seem much pleased with me.”

Rufus sighed and ran a hand along his chin. “We must at least try,
non
? See if we can convince them of the threat.”

“The Roman Catholic Church does not officially recognize Lilith. She is a…Jewish myth, at best.” Viktor sat and his shoulders slumped. “They recognize that the word ‘lullaby’ may have come from ‘
Lilith abi
’, or ‘Lilith, go away’, but they refuse to acknowledge her as a true historic being.”

Rufus shot him a look of amazement. “Even when she is threatening to send suicide bombers into all of their largest cathedrals? You would think they would care more for their parishioners than the one making the threat.”

Viktor shrugged again. “They may. They may listen, I simply do not know.”

“You must try.” Rufus took him by the shoulders. “I implore you,
mon ami
. You must go to them and make them see the light. Take them one of the vests. Show them. Make them see that the threat is real.”

Viktor nodded. “Very well. I can try. I do not think that I can get one of the vests into Vatican City though. I will have to see if Cardinal Sardelli can meet me on neutral territory.”

“He can still be trusted?”

Viktor nodded. “He risked all to allow us access to the relics. I believe he can still be reasoned with.”

“Very well. Take my jet. Go and be quick. Tell him that the lives of many thousands may be in jeopardy.”

Viktor stood and turned for the door. “And if he can be reached, but he cannot convince those higher than himself?”

Rufus averted his eyes and shuddered. “Then woe be unto any who cross paths with the demons of Lilith.”

*****

“What are you trying to tell me, Punk?” Jim stared at her sternly as she tried to reason with him.

“You heard me, Daddy. I told you everything that Evan told me. You overdosed on the serum. If we don’t give you the full dose of the second stage…” She averted her eyes as they threatened her again.

“I call poppycock on that.” Jim swallowed the last of his coffee and grimaced. “I used to love this stuff, but now it tastes…off.”

“That’s just a side effect of the drug, Dad. And he wouldn’t lie to me about this. He knows how important you are to me. He said there could be mood swings, that you could shift without a trigger, that—”

“And that!” Jim interrupted her. “What the hell is a trigger?”

She blew out a breath and tried to explain to him. “It can be anything from a stressful situation to…to the full moon.”

“Yeah, right. Look, Punk, other than not sleeping too well, I feel fine.”

“Then just take the second dose so we can ensure…”

“I don’t need another dose. I can feel it pumping through my veins, Punk. Would you really want to take that away from me?”

“Daddy, if we don’t, you could shift into the wolf and never shift back. Or if you did shift back, your mind would remain as a feral wolf. You don’t want that, do you?”

Jim shrugged. “I don’t know. I might.” He gave her a crooked smile. “Sounds like it could be fun.”

“Daddy! This is no time for jokes.” She reached for her bag and he stopped her.

“And I’m serious, Punk. I don’t need that second shot. The first one cured me. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?”

She shook with frustration as she tried to think of a way to reach him. “Dad, the longer we wait, the less of a chance it will even work. At best, we’re looking at fifty-fifty.” She pulled her hand away from him. “I’d like to keep you around and
healthy
for your grandkids. And for Crystal.”

Jim leaned back on the counter and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “For Crystal, eh? Who do you think you’re kidding, Punk. You can’t stand her.”

Laura groaned and reached into the bag. She withdrew the syringe and was reaching for the other vial when he stepped away from her. “No, I mean it. I don’t want it.”

“Dad, don’t make me call the boys here to hold you down to take your medicine.” She gave him a childish smile. “You’re as bad as a little kid who doesn’t like the cough syrup—”

“I said ‘NO’!” he yelled at her just before he turned and darted through the back door.

Laura watched him make for the woods and her heart fell. “Oh, shit.”

*****

Mark stepped from the old Humvee and walked into the hangar as McKenzie parked the beast. He noted Second Squad cleaning their gear and reloading their ready sections. Dom glanced up and saw the XO as he crossed the hangar. “Yo, boss, I hear you went cowboy in the field. Hoo-yah.”

Mark slowed his walk and turned toward the team, still grab-assing as they finished their chore. “Yeah, Spalding got his tit caught in the wringer, and I had to pull it out.”

Hammer tossed his gear bag up onto the peg then turned to face Tufo. “I hear the colonel ain’t too happy about it.”

Mark stiffened slightly then shrugged it off. “He’ll get over it. It all works out in the end.”

McKenzie came up behind Mark carrying his gear. “Hey, XO, you gonna stow this crap or you want me to do it?”

“I’m admin. You get to.” Mark shot him a wink then turned for the elevator.

Dom stiffened when he saw Mac enter the hangar. “What the hell are you doing, Chad? I sidelined you.”

McKenzie froze and glanced toward Tufo. Mark spun back and approached Dominic slowly. “He was the only operator still on base and I needed support. I wasn’t necessarily trying to go over your head, Dom, but it was an emergency situation.”

Dom’s features softened somewhat and he nodded to Mark. “Very well, Major. I guess I’m glad he was here to assist.”

“He did more than just assist. We probably couldn’t have done what we did without him.” Mark shrugged. “I may be wrong, but you may want to reconsider his being sidelined.”

Dom gave him a confused stare but simply nodded. “I’ll take it under advisement.”

Mark spun about and headed for the elevator again. Dom and the rest of Second Squad watched until he got clear then he turned to Mac. “What gives?”