The Dream Walker (8 page)

Chapter 15

The atmosphere in the War Room was tense. Nico looked around the table at the Warriors. There wasn’t any joviality that usually accompanied a meeting; everyone was silent and seemed lost in their thoughts.

Noah’s cell phone rang, the shrill breaking the silence, but ratcheting up the tension. Everyone stared at it as if it was a snake ready to strike, and it seemed to get louder with each ring. Finally, Blake reached for the phone and put in on speakerphone.

“Hello?” Blake said.

“Is this Noah?” Micah said.

“No, it’s Blake. But he’s here along with the other Saviors.”

There was a beat of silence. “And Nico?”

“I’m here, Mica
h,
” Nico said, his anger seething. While he didn’t have a choice when he first got to Earth to venture away from the Platoon, it still angered the shit out of him to even be associated with that psychopath.

“He’s considered one of the Saviors now, Micah,” Noah said, staring at the phone intently. “No more small talk. It’s Noah. What the fuck do you want?”

“Hello, Noah. If that’s the way you want it, I’ll get right to the point. As I explained to Blake, I believe we have a rather large problem.”

Noah closed his eyes and rubbed his thumb over his forehead. “And that is?”

“I believe there is a group of Colonists, or perhaps Colonist offspring, that are meeting in the area. I don’t know their motives.”

“And how did you stumble on this? And why should I believe you?”

“I stumbled on it quite by accident,” Micah said.

They listened as Micah told them how they had been finding dead animals around the downtown Phoenix area that had been tortured. “It hasn’t been pretty.”

A couple of weeks ago, they had heard cat howls and caught a man in the act of gutting the cat. They followed him, but didn’t see any ash that would be present if he were a full Colonist. The man met up with another man, and they walked the streets together. Micah and Jael followed at a distance, yet couldn’t hear what was being said.

After about an hour, the men turned down a dark alley. Micah and Jael peeked around the corner to see the second man on his hands and knees, reaching under a dumpster. When he stood up, he held a rat in his hands. The man then took the rat and snapped its neck. The two men talked for a moment, the man threw the dead creature to the side, and then left. Micah sent Jael to trail them, and Micah went over to the rat corpse.

Micah said, “I saw black ash on the rat and around the area. Obviously, one of the men is a Colonist. Now the question is, what is the other? A descendant?”

Nico listened intently. Frankly, he had never heard Micah sound so serious and so . . . normal.

“I snapped a picture of the rat. If you’d like, I can send it to you.”

Noah rattled off his e-mail address.

Jael followed the two men to a bus stop, where they met up with another man. All three boarded the bus.

“It really doesn’t prove anything, Micah,” Nico said, as Noah
’s phone chimed, notifying him he had mail.

“I agree, Nico,
” Micah said, “except we’ve seen these same three men around town more frequently with other people. We’re also finding more dead animals.”

Nico exchanged a glance with Blake and knew they were both thinking the same thing: what Micah was saying jived with their findings of an increase in animal cruelty.

“And?” Rayner said as Blake headed over to the bank of computers. The other day Noah had destroyed the white screen that hung from the ceiling, and it hadn’t been repaired yet. Thankfully, there was a white wall, and Blake pushed a few buttons so that the image Micah had sent was enlarged and up on the space for all the Warriors to see.

Blake stepped back, crossed his arms, and studied it.

Nico took it all in. The black ash tainted the white hair of the rat, making it almost a dirty gray color in some spots. There were long markings of black and gray, consistent with human fingers.

“And, I’ve done a little research,
” Micah said. “Apparently humans who kill and torture animals often . . . what is the term? Escalate. Yes, that’s it . . . escalate into killing other humans. And if that’s the case, we could have a bloodbath here in Phoenix in no time at all.”

As much as Nico hated to admit it, Micah was right.

“And if what you say is true, Micah, what exactly do you want from us?” Hudson asked.

There was a long stretch of silence on the other end, and Nico wondered if Micah had hung up or if the phone had been disconnected.

“I think we need to work together on this one,” Micah said. “I know there’s been some bad blood between us—“

Noah stood up so fast his chair toppled backward.
“Bad blood? Are you kidding me? Bad blood is when a neighbor chops down another neighbor’s tree! Bad blood is not gunning down my friends and fellow Warriors and killing one of them in cold blood, you bastard!”

The outburst was met with a moment of silence.
“Yes, Noah. That was perhaps a mistake on my part.”

“
Oh, Jesus,” Noah mumbled, pacing the room.

“
And there’s nothing I can do about past mistakes. I’m hanging up now, but think about what I’ve told you. I really feel as though this is a very large pile of trouble waiting to explode,” Micah said. “Talk it over. Here’s my number.” The click when he hung up the phone reverberated around the room.

Noah picked up his chair and sat down. He sighed heavily, leaned back, and shut his eyes.
“I’m not up for making decisions on this,” he mumbled. “I need some help with this one, guys. And Annis.”

“
Very well,” Annis said, meeting Nico’s gaze. “I’ve never heard Micah sound so serious or sane.”

“
My thoughts exactly,” Nico said. At least he wasn’t imagining it.

“
And what if this is nothing but a trap to gun the rest of us down?” Jovan said. “I’ve had enough holes drilled in me by that asshole.”

“
And what if he’s telling the truth? What if we can prevent senseless human death, not to mention saving a kitty and a rat or two?” Nico said. Glancing at the picture of the dead rat, its little yellow teeth hanging over the bottom lip, he decided maybe the species wasn’t worth saving. They looked like nasty creatures. He really didn’t want to tango with Micah, but every fiber within him was screaming that Micah was being honest.

There was silence around the table, then Hudson said,
“The only way we’re going to find out is if we meet him and have him show us exactly what he’s talking about.”

“
Agreed,” Rayner said. “But we go armed. And we meet in a public place.”

“
We were on the damn street when they opened fire on us, Rayner,” Cohen said. “You don’t get much more public than that.”

“
I’ll go,” Nico said. He knew the Platoon would love nothing more than to string him up by his balls from the nearest telephone wire for leaving them and siding with the Six Saviors, but he felt he should be the one to see if Micah was telling the truth. The first step was meeting with Micah and seeing exactly what he was talking about with their own eyes. Nico was willing to be those eyes, despite the danger from The Platoon.

Micah was also aware of the whereabouts of the females who had traveled to Earth with them. He had put the two females away somewhere, and Nico cringed when he thought of what they might be going through. Their purpose was to carry on the SR44 race, and he hoped Micah wasn’t doing that forcefully. Perhaps they could glean some information on where Micah had them stashed.

“As will I,” Annis said. Cohen grimaced, obviously not happy about her decision. “I’ve never heard Micah speak like that. Everything was different. I’m willing to risk it to see what he’s talking about.”

“
If you’re going, then damn straigh
t,
I am too,” Cohen said, taking her hand in his. They smiled at each other.

“
Someone needs to look out for the Healer, so I guess I’ve got your back, Cohen,” Rayner said.

“
Aw, fuck it. Let’s just make it a party,” Hudson said.

Jovan nodded.
“That’s fine, but my party clothes are going to consist of a lot of body armor. And stuff to kill with.”

“
You won’t be very fashionable,” Hudson said with a wink.

“
Oh, I think you’re wrong. I think I’m going to be very trendy.”

Nico looked at Blake.
“You in?”

Blake sighed.
“Sure. What the hell. It’s not like I’ve got a date or anything.”

“
You haven’t had a date in over a year, half-breed,” Jovan said.

As the Hudson, Jovan, and Rayner rode Blake about his lack of female companionship, Nico couldn
’t help but laugh. Blake took it all in stride, but Nico could sense his tension—as well as Annis’s—at the subject. Cohen stood and pulled her to her feet, and they left. The barbs to Blake didn’t stop.

“
I think he’s looking to become clergy,” Hudson said.

“
No male should go that long without female companionship,” Rayner said.

“
No kidding,” Jovan said. “You must have bad case of blue—“

“
All right,” Blake said, holding up his hand. “Got it. Now all of you shut the hell up.”

Everyone chuckled, and they stopped harassing Blake.

Nico felt better knowing the Warriors would be joining him. He really hoped his feeling on the matter was right. He was eased knowing that Annis was thinking along the same lines as him.

“
Okay, then it’s settled. We’ll meet him,” Noah said. “Blake, you and Hudson figure out the logistics of where the party is going to take place. Make it tomorrow or Thursday.”

Noah stood and stretched, the yellow T-shirt straining against his large chest.
“I’m done. Anyone else got anything they want to say?”

“
Yeah,” Jovan said. “When’s dinner?”

Chapter
16

The Hummer pulled up to the side of the street, and Nico and Blake got out. They made their way down the sidewalk. Downtown Phoenix was teeming with people, despite the summer heat, or maybe because of it. Oftentimes people hunkered down indoors during the day and came out when the sun went down.

A trickle of sweat ran down Blake’s back, and he knew they looked a little out of place with their jeans, leather jackets, and boots. However, it was tough to hide guns and knives under a tank top.

They headed inside the Black Cuff. They had been sent in early to do recon and make sure that The Platoon was playing by the Saviors’ rules. Under no circumstances would they be walking into an ambush again.

Blake scanned the crowd. Bodies gyrated in time to the techno music pulsing through the speakers, the strobe lights going full force.

“
See anyone?” Nico asked.

“
Nope.”

“
Me neither.”

Someone shouted Blake
’s name, and he turned to see Brandy, one of the waitresses at the club. Blake had almost slept with her about three months ago but hadn’t because he was in his “I want a relationship and love” stage. Blake had seen her on numerous occasions when he and the other Warriors came into town to let off steam. As she approached, he noticed her uniform: a black corset showing off her ample assets and tiny leather shorts. Her brown hair was piled on top of her head, and her face was free of makeup. Usually, she overdid the war paint, but she was definitely prettier without it. Now, he would absolutely have to reconsider their relationship and maybe move on to the sex-without-attachments phase.

“
Hey, Brandy,” he said. “Thanks so much for doing this for us. I really appreciate it.”

She smiled.
“Sure, Blake, anytime. I’ll show you where the room is. Oh, and hi Nico!”

Nico grinned and waved.

They followed her down a hallway with walls painted black. Blake continued to scan the crowd for The Platoon. So far, so good.

“
The room hasn’t been used in over a year, so it’s pretty dusty,” Brandy said. “We don’t do too many private parties anymore.”

She stopped at the door and took out the keys from her pocket. She struggled with the lock for a moment, and then they heard it pop. Opening the door, she flipped on the light and they stepped in.

The walls were painted black and littered with graffiti. In the middle of the room, there was one long table that sat eight and four chairs. Blake looked around searching for the most important part of the room: the door leading out to the alley.

Something shiny on the far wall caught his eye—a doorknob. With the walls painted black, the door had all but disappeared. He walked over to it and flipped, spun, and unlatched the three locks. The door wouldn
’t open. He gave it a good push and was met with a blast of hot night air that smelled like rotting garbage. He stepped out into the alley, noting the dumpster and its foul odor.

The alley was open on both ends, each side leading to a street. If things went south, they had their escape route.

Blake went back inside and got a little irritated when he saw Brandy flirting with Nico. They laughed about something, and Blake cleared his throat.

“
How’s it look out there, Blake?” Nico asked.

“
It’s perfect.” He strode over to Brandy. “You know who we’re here to meet, right?”

She nodded.
“I’ll keep an eye out for them and bring them back. I really hope you guys don’t trash the place though.”

So did he.
“We’re cool, Brandy. Just a business meeting.”

“
Uh-huh,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I don’t believe that for a second. And I don’t want to know anything.”

Blake smiled.
“That’s good, because I wasn’t going to tell you anything anyway. You know what they say: ignorance is bliss.”

Brandy laughed.
“See? I knew there was something going here besides a ‘business meeting.’ I can smell trouble a mile away.”

“
And what does trouble smell like?”

She leaned in and put her face right next to his neck. She was so close he could feel her breath against his skin.
“It smells like you,” she whispered. “Scary, yet delicious.”

The blood in Blake
’s body made a mad dash for his cock. Jesus, he didn’t need to get cranked up before this meeting. He had to be focused. He had to concentrate. And he certainly didn’t need an erection.

He took a step back and smiled at Brandy.
“Well, you smell pretty good yourself.”

Lame. That was lame. He glanced over at Nico, who rolled his eyes. Even Nico, who had a thimble’s worth of experience with women compared to Blake, knew a mood-crippling line when he heard one.

Blake closed his eyes for an instant.
Focu
s
.
This wasn’t about getting laid; this entailed an epic meeting that could result in blood shed and mayhem.

He reached into his pocket and handed her five hundred dollars.
“This is for you.”

Her eyes widened.
“Blake! I can’t accept this! The room rent is only one hundred and fifty!”

“
Buy yourself something nice with the rest, okay? I really appreciate it.”

Blake had another wad in his pocket that he would leave if they had to do any clean-up. If they did, he hoped it didn
’t involve any blood or bodies. He didn’t think it would, because a body of a Savior or The Platoon falling into the hands of any type of government equaled bad news. There would be an autopsy, which would include blood work. The blood work on any one of them would come back all hokey. At that point, the FBI would most likely be called in to confiscate the body. It would just be another layer to understanding the aliens who walked the Earth in human form, and they didn’t need that.

He just hoped The Platoon understood that, and he made a mental note to mention it.

“Thanks, Blake. This helps me out so much.” She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him on the cheek. “Let me know if you want to get together later, okay?”

Blake nodded.
“Probably not tonight, but I’ll be in touch soon.”

“
Okay, honey. See you later, Nico!”

They both watched her sashay out of the room.

“Nice legs,” Nico mumbled.

“
I know. Nice everything.”

“
Nice line, too.”

“
Shut up, Spidey.”

Blake pulled out his phone and called Noah, who was waiting in the car parked a block down keeping an eye on the door to the Black Cuff.
“We’re set. We didn’t see The Platoon on our way in, and the room is secure.”

“
Okay. We haven’t seen them go in either. I’m on my way in now.”