Switch (6 page)

Pete stepped out of his apartment, flipping the collar of his jacket up to protect himself from the drizzle. The streets shimmered in the glow from the street lamps. He walked quickly since it was already eleven thirty and everyone would already be there. Figures he’d be late – again. A vibration in his pocket had him pulling off into an alley. He looked around before reaching in and extracting the small cell phone.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?” the voice demanded.

“Easy, mate. I’m on my way,” he assured him.

“Is Bridgette with you?”

“No,” he answered, quickly reassuring him. “But not to worry, she said she’s willing to meet later tonight. She just can’t come to the pub.”

“She working?”

Pete cringed at the distaste lacing those words. “Uh, yeah.”

An angry sigh filtered through the phone. “Fine. Get your ass over there now.”

“I’ll see you in a few.” He shut the phone, stuffing it back, deep into his pocket. The amount of shit he could get in for having one was not something he liked to think about. No one, especially not one of the lower casts, were to have a cell if they weren’t in the army. His contacts made sure to drill that into his head. ‘Keep it a secret’ was one phrase he’d heard more times than he could count.

He stepped out of the alley, picking up his pace. How in the world was he going to get these guys to a meeting with Bridge? At first he had contemplated bringing them to her work, maybe getting a room upstairs so no one would see them. But after hearing the way the General just sounded he didn’t think it was such a great idea anymore. Not that he didn’t understand where he was coming from. Since Bridge had taken that job it had pissed the hell out of him. Sure there were worse places, or so she continually reminded him, but that didn’t make it any better.

Bridge had been his friend since he was young. He could hardly remember a time that he didn’t know her. For years now she’d been alone, making her own way, and even though Pete wasn’t family, he felt it was his duty to keep an eye out for her. He knew how lonely it could get without family, even though technically he still had most of his.

Her sister, Charlotte, had been three years younger than him, so he never really knew her, but he could tell it was her loss that troubled Bridge the most. They had been close, as close as sisters can be. He recoiled at the thought of losing one of his brothers, especially back when they were younger.

“How’s it goin’, McKay?” He looked up to see Tommy Boy walking toward him. He had no idea what his real name was, unless of course it was actually Tommy Boy, though he highly doubted it. Tommy was a regular scam artist, but didn’t give Pete much trouble. For some reason he liked the guy.

“Tommy, mate,” Pete greeted, grasping hands. “Where you off to this lovely evening in
New Berlin?”

Tommy smiled. “Got me some cash, so I’m headed over to the Red Lounge. Want me to say hi to Bridge for you?”

“Yeah, let her know I’ll see her later,” Pete replied.

“You snogging that yet?”

“Watch your mouth, mate.” He gave him a quick slap on the shoulder and started walking again.

“Where you headed?”

“The pub,” he called back without looking.

“Tell the boys I say hi, yeah?”

He waved his hand in the air in reply. How Tommy Boy got enough money to go to the Red Lounge wasn’t something Pete wanted to know, but he knew it couldn’t be good. Turning the corner, he sped through a back alley, coming out the other side right next to the pub. Loud voices and the clinking of glasses could be heard from the street. A few men outside smoking called out greetings as Pete made his way inside.

The pub was packed. Music played in the background, drowned out by the sound of raised voices and the clack of balls from the pool tables. The air was stuffy but at least it was dry. Pete shook out the damp cold sticking to him, pushing his way through the crowds. Greeting people as he went, he finally reached the back table where the boys all gathered.

“‘Allo, ‘Allo,” he called out.

“McKay!” a few voices hailed in return. A full pint of beer was pressed into his hand before he even sat down.

“Where you been?” Trent asked, leaning in close. His older brother was constantly worried and paranoid. Pete flashed him a carefree grin.

“Just running a bit late is all,” he said. “Not to worry.”

“Running a bit late,” laughed Seamus. “I bet. Who was it this time, Chloe? Rebecca?”

Pete shook his head, smiling from ear to ear.

“Danielle,” piped in his younger brother Garrett. Pete took a large gulp of his beer, welcoming the cool slide down his throat. His brother and best friend starting laughing as he avoided their eyes.

“Danielle?” Seamus sputtered. “Jesus, boy. I don’t know how you do it.”

Neither did he, if he was being honest. It wasn’t like he had much to offer these girls. He just hoped Danielle was smart enough to be gone before he got back. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her, because he did. Or at least, he liked her enough not to want to be a complete ass. But there was too much going on in his life to be worrying about relationships and things. Christ, he could barely keep himself out of trouble, he’d hate to bring anyone else into his life permanently.

“Next time,” Trent said low enough just for him to see, “you deal with personal shit
after
. Got it?”

Pete turned to meet his brother’s gaze, all humour gone. “I’m here. Everything is fine. Get off my back.” They stared at each other tensely for a moment before Trent looked away. He might be older, but they both knew who was giving orders around here, and it wasn’t him.

“Come on boys,” Seamus said, lightening the mood. “The night is still young, and we got a whole lot of fun ahead of us. Let’s not ruin it, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Pete nodded, shifting in his chair.

“Have you spoken to the General?” Garrett asked. Pete nodded once. “He still coming?”

“He’ll be here,” was all he said. More guys came to join their table and soon the conversations turned to regular things. Trent even seemed to lighten up as he laughed at some ridiculous story Seamus was telling, which Pete knew for a fact was a complete lie. His best friend was notorious for stretching the truth.

“That’s bullocks,” Garrett accused, laughing.

“You think?” Seamus shot back, sitting up straighter.

“Absolutely. There’s no way your measly little arms could lift a car all on their own,” his brother argued.

“Measly?” Seamus gasped. “I’m telling you the truth. The girl was pinned under there and I lifted the damn thing right up.”

“Sure you did,” Trent said, chuckling.

“It can happen,” he said. “They say even women can do it when their kids are trapped.”

“That’s not the same thing,” Trent argued.

“Why isn’t it?” Seamus waved him off. “You guys don’t know what you’re talking about. McKay believes me, don’t you, McKay?”

Pete shook his head with a laugh. “Seamus, you couldn’t even beat me in an arm wrestle if I challenged you. There is no way you picked up a bloody car.”

Seamus sat back, affronted. “You don’t think I could beat you in an arm wrestle? I could win in less than ten seconds.”

Laughter broke out around them. Pete kept his gaze on his best friend, fighting back his own laugh. “Oy! You reckon?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“Then it’s settled,” Garrett said happily. “The two of you, right now, right here. Arm wrestle challenge. Seamus has exactly ten seconds to beat you, or we get to beat him.”

Seamus groaned. “It’s only fair,” Trent added. “Everyone gets a shot if you lose.”

“Fine,” he said, conceding. “But no hits to the face.”

“It might do you some good,” Garrett pointed out. Seamus leaned over and punched him in the arm. Pete shucked off his jacket, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. They placed their elbows on the table, Trent holding their hands together.

“Alright boys. On three,” he said. It was on. Pete wanted to laugh as Seamus struggled to pin his arm. Around them, the others called out numbers loudly, counting down the ten seconds. Just as they yelled out eight, the front door to the pub flew open, crashing against the wall. Pete wouldn’t have thought much of it, but the entire place instantly went silent. He saw Seamus’ face tighten as he looked over his shoulder. They broke apart and Pete turned to see what was going on.

Shit.

At least fifteen New World army soldiers stepped in, their boots loud on the old, worn floors. But that wasn’t what had him concerned. It was the last two people to follow them in. Roman bloody Adamson and Weapon X.

CHAPTER FIVE

The noise stopped as soon as they entered. People froze, glasses halfway to their mouths. It was almost comical, Dinah thought. She looked around slowly, taking in the unpleasant smell and feel of the place. It was a dump. How could anyone want to drink here? She doubted the glasses were even cleaned properly. She looked distastefully at the stained floor and bar, deciding it was probably better not to touch anything. It didn’t look sanitary in the least, even though she was wearing gloves.

She kept her mind closed off for the time being. It was never smart to walk into a room with this many people with her senses open. She would be hit so hard with the thoughts of everyone at once, she’d likely get a migraine. She looked over them slowly. No one met her gaze. Each and every one of them looked down, their faces blank. But she knew they were terrified. She could practically taste their fear.

“Good evening, gentlemen,” Roman said casually, walking further into the room. His boots echoed off the floorboards. “I hope we’re not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all, mate,” someone spoke up. “What can we do for you?”

Dinah followed the voice to its owner and stilled. Her breath caught in her chest as she looked at him. Dear God, she thought, he was gorgeous. Sleeves rolled up to reveal more tattoos than she could decipher, and eyes greener than any she’d ever seen, set in a chiselled face wearing a tight smile that did not reach his eyes. His hair was buzzed short, and yet she had an unnatural urge to run her hands over it. What the heck was her problem?

To her surprise, the guy glanced her way, their eyes locking. She watched as his widened a bit as they stared at one another. She felt fidgety all of a sudden under his gaze. It was making her hot for some reason, and for the first time in a long time, she wished she could take her damn mask off so cool air could hit her face.

“We were just in the neighbourhood,” Roman replied, grabbing the guy’s attention again. Dinah let out her breath, grateful for the interruption.

“Not really your kind of neighbourhood, wouldn’t you say?” the guy said, turning slowly back toward Roman.

Roman laughed. “No, I suppose it isn’t. And yet, here we are. I wonder why that is?”

The guy looked around at his friends who were suddenly on their feet around him. Dinah sensed trouble. “I wouldn’t know, mate,” he said calmly.

“Shall I tell you? It is because we recently heard word of a meeting taking place here tonight, at midnight.”

“The only thing happening here is drinking and a poor game of arm wrestling.”

Roman and the guy stared off. For some reason she had the urge to step between them, but she remained by the front door. Roman had given her strict instructions to stay out of the way as much as possible. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate properly if he was worried about her safety. Still, the urge was there and it bothered her.

“I doubt that,” Roman said, no longer smiling.

“It’s just our regular hang out,” he held.

Roman tilted his head. “Well then you won’t mind if my colleague here has a look around, metaphorically speaking of course,” he said, donning a wolfish grin. “X!”

Dinah moved forward, letting her mind open up. It was a good thing she did, otherwise she wouldn’t have heard his intention in time. The bartender reached for the shot gun hidden underneath the bar, pointing it in her direction just as she reached for the gun at her hip. Dinah quickly pulled it and aimed, firing right at his head. The bullet entered his skull in the middle of his forehead before he could even get his finger on the trigger. The shotgun fell with a bang just as the man hit the back wall, sliding down to the floor out of sight. The soldiers around her drew their weapons, levelling them at the rest of the patrons.

Roman moved into action immediately, walking back behind the bar to retrieve the shotgun. His face was flushed with anger.

“Anyone else feel like doing something stupid?” he growled. Dinah didn’t wait to see what anyone else had planned, knowing that all of them were too scared to even move. She approached the guy as she placed her gun back in its holster. The men surrounding him looked at the floor. She stopped just in front of him. He was a lot taller than her so she had to look up to meet his eyes.

Two bright green orbs looked back at her, narrowed in suspicion. She didn’t like the funny way he was staring at her, or the way her pulse had picked up. His eyes dropped down the front of her and very slowly rose back up. Dinah’s face burned behind her mask. When they reached her face again he was looking at her knowingly. It took her a second to figure out what his problem was, but then she realized – he knew. No one else had ever figured it out, but this guy had. The problem with knowledge was that sometimes it could get you in a lot of trouble. And in this case, it would get him killed.

She pushed her senses toward him, searching. What she found there made her even more worried than the fact that he was on to her. She pushed harder. Turning her attention to the others around him, she focused on a larger guy, not as tall as the one in front of her, but thicker in the shoulders. His hair was a dark shade of blonde, reaching just below his ears in waves. They looked similar, and she wondered if perhaps the two were related. He was older though. She could tell from the lines in his face. Not by much, probably early thirties. He didn’t meet her eyes, but when she searched him the same thing happened.

Dinah cursed inwardly, moving on to the next guy. He was skinnier and a bit shorter than the green eyed guy. His hair was a reddish brown, with light freckles across his nose. His eyes were a light blue. Not as vibrant as hers, but more like the sky on a clear day. They were focused on the table before him. She pushed, gaining a bit more distance than the other two, but still coming up against the same thing. One word came through though, ‘general’. It would have to do, she decided. Dinah looked back to the green eyed boy and saw a smug smirk on his face. She narrowed her eyes, staring at him for a second before walking toward Roman. She motioned for him to follow her a little distance away from everyone.