Ethan stuffed a couple of fries in his mouth before running a hand over his arm.
“Yeah, in the showers before you and Sloane showed up, Dex asked me if I’d design him a tattoo. Something special for Sloane. You should have seen the way his eyes lit up when he talked about it.”
Ethan smiled that dopey grin of his and made a heart shape with his fingers. Calvin chuckled. “Yeah, those two have got it bad.”
Calvin chatted as Ethan finished his colossal meal. They were on their way back to their office when Dispatch put out a call for a Threat Level Orange. A shitload of teams were called in, including Destructive Delta. There was a demonstration that could possibly turn hostile. Calvin and Ethan hurried toward the armory to find the rest of his team already there, including Maddock. They suited up in full tactical gear while their sergeant filled them in.
“All right, team, the HPF and the THIRDS have been monitoring a small group of protestors, which has now tripled in size. The HPF will also be on scene, as there are some Human citizens protesting along with Therians. No feral Therians yet. We’re going in for crowd control. You know the drill. Firearms stay in the truck, nonlethals only. Grab your batons. Letty and Ash will have the control rounds.” Maddock turned to Ethan. “Hobbs, the second you see things are turning ugly, you get in the truck and shift. Hopefully it won’t come to that, but if it does, maybe a couple of roars will get them to back off. Cael, you’re running surveillance. Rosa, keep your medical kit on hand. Dex, I want you up front and monitoring the situation. Everyone be safe, and let’s try and do this as low-key as possible.”
Calvin secured his baton to his utility belt, when he caught Sloane’s gaze. “Everything okay?”
Sloane looked uncertain. He turned to Maddock. “Sarge, maybe Calvin should sit this one out.”
Shit. Calvin closed his locker. “This isn’t a regular callout, is it?”
Maddock shook his head. “It’s about the Ruiz case, and that’s a negative on benching you. I already ran it by Sparks. She wants you out there. We can’t hide every time we make a tough call, or people will believe we don’t have the balls to stand behind our decisions. You’ve gotta be seen.” Maddock’s gaze was intense as he placed his hand on Calvin’s shoulder. “Whatever happens, remember you’re a damn fine agent, son. You keep this city and its citizens safe, even if at times they don’t see it that way.”
Calvin nodded. Lately, it felt like those times were happening more often than not.
Maddock gave him a hearty pat before turning toward the parking garage. “Let’s move out.”
By the time they arrived at Times Square a huge mob had gathered. The majority were Therians, but there were Human protestors in the group as well. HPF was keeping its distance, but at least they were on scene. Beta Ambush and Theta Destructive were already there, with three more teams on the way. They stood close together between the US Armed Forces Recruitment Station and the HPF kiosk, visors down and shields in hand. Taylor and Seb approached Sloane. Seb’s expression was grim as he spoke.
“This isn’t looking good. The numbers have tripled in a little over an hour. There are roughly sixty-eight citizens, with a few instigators getting them riled up. The ones with the animal masks. A couple of the troublemakers are Human, and three are Therian, from what I can tell. I don’t think they give a shit about what’s going on. They’re here to watch it all burn. Insults are the only things they’ve thrown at us so far.”
Sloane nodded his understanding. “Okay. Let’s secure the perimeter and keep this under control. Ash, Hobbs, keep an eye on anyone who looks like they might try to shift. Last thing we need is someone in their Therian form hurting anyone. Let’s have Recon try and get the crowd moving along. If it goes sideways, we get in there.”
They all verbally acknowledged Sloane’s orders. Destructive Delta’s Defense agents joined Seb’s and Taylor’s Defense agents in formation with their shields up, while Taylor, Seb, and Sloane stood to one side to keep an eye on the situation. Each team’s sergeant monitored from their respective BearCat, ready to call in backup should things take a turn for the worse. Their arrival wasn’t welcome. Although no THIRDS agents carried firearms—a sure way to escalate things—their presence was enough to put people on edge. Some of the crowd chanted; some held up signs. Calvin took a deep breath and released it slowly through his mouth. Recon seemed to be doing a good job of getting the crowd to dissipate little by little.
The peaceful protest quickly went to hell when Ruiz’s wife appeared. She marched straight through the crowd to the front lines where THIRDS agents were positioned. From the corner of his eye Calvin saw Sloane tense. Some of the protestors had started to leave, but Calvin knew things were about to take a turn. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and his stomach felt like it was full of lead.
“Murderer!”
Mrs. Ruiz marched up to him, and Calvin felt his teammates inch closer. Sloane, Seb, and Taylor were busy keeping the crowd under control as the mob pitched forward under Mrs. Ruiz’s exclamation.
“
Asesino
!” Mrs. Ruiz stopped before him, her nose almost touching Calvin’s visor. He stared straight ahead, his gaze beyond the mass of citizens screaming for his blood. He couldn’t focus on them. Couldn’t look at the Therian woman with tears streaming down her cheeks telling him how worthless and evil he was. Calvin swallowed hard, his jaw clenched tight.
“You’re a murderer! You deserve to be dead! I hope you die,
pedazo de mierda
. You are a Human piece of shit!” She spat at his helmet, but he barely flinched. He didn’t move, simply stood there with his shield held firm in his grip as the saliva ran down his visor. She was in pain. He understood that. Her pain was focused on him. He’d killed her husband. She hadn’t been told at the time he was the one who’d pulled the trigger. Protocol stated the officer visiting the victim’s family was given only the necessary information until the report was written, confirming all the details of the incident. It would be shared with the necessary parties and used in court if he was summoned. Whether she recognized his name from the report her lawyer had presented her with or from his face plastered all over the news, thanks to that damned piece-of-shit article, he was the source of all her pain.
“How can you stand there after what you did? Like nothing has happened? You should be locked up with the other killers. He was a good husband and a loving father. How could you?”
She cursed him out in Spanish. He understood most of it. The rest he was glad he didn’t.
Would they really be satisfied at seeing his blood spilled? Was that what they wanted? An eye for an eye? Did it matter that someone else had died at Ruiz’s hands? That another Therian was in the hospital fighting for her life, that several more were badly injured? All they saw was a monster who’d taken a life and not the man who’d saved seven others. Calvin wasn’t looking for praise. Hell, he wasn’t even looking to be acknowledged. He wished there wasn’t a need for his position, but the sad truth was that there was a need.
Someone would come and calm her. Or at least attempt it. He couldn’t speak to her. That would only fuel her anger. There was nothing he could say that she’d want to hear. Another Therian woman appeared with a little Therian girl and passed her off to Mrs. Ruiz, who held her up to Calvin.
“Look at her! You took her father away! Murdered him like an animal.”
Mrs. Ruiz’s grief had consumed her. Understandably so. Calvin wished he could do or say something to help, but he was well aware there was nothing. Her rage and anguish wouldn’t allow anything else in. He was a heartless asshole hiding behind a badge.
The little girl’s wailing was like knives in his ears. She was clearly terrified and didn’t understand what was happening around her. Was she screaming because her mother was yelling at the man who’d taken her daddy away? Did she understand why her father was never coming home? Had it been explained to her? Had she been told about the monster playing good guy?
Calvin cracked. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re
sorry
?
Pendejo
!”
She placed the little girl on her feet, holding onto her while punching Calvin in the shoulder with her free hand. His teammates made to move forward, but he held a hand up. If they restrained her, she’d struggle, and her little girl might get hurt. All it would do was escalate the situation and possibly cause more harm.
“
Hijo de puta
! Sorry won’t change what you did!”
He was doing his job, trying to keep the citizens of his city safe. This was
his
city as much as theirs. He’d been born here, grown up in a neighborhood where being out at sundown meant risking his life. Where refusing to be swept into the gang life had left him in the hospital more times than he could count. Where being friends with a Therian had left him with permanent scars. He’d bled for this goddamn city, and yet he loved it. They wouldn’t take that away from him.
Ethan suddenly appeared beside them, and Calvin swallowed hard. His expression was stern yet pensive.
Ethan?
Ethan put a hand up in front of Mrs. Ruiz, who remarkably stopped short. She glared up at him and opened her mouth, when Ethan pulled down the throat guard of his tactical vest. He pointed to his classification.
“So what? You’re a traitor to your kind, standing up for this Therian hater!”
Ethan grabbed Calvin’s arm, and before he knew what was going on, Ethan unclipped Calvin’s helmet and pulled it off.
“Ethan, what are you doing?” Calvin gasped. He was turned around and froze when he felt Ethan’s fingers on the back of his head. There was another gasp, and he was stunned to discover it had come from Mrs. Ruiz. Calvin turned and took his helmet from Ethan to swiftly secure it on his head.
“What is that?” Mrs. Ruiz asked Ethan.
“He can’t talk,” Calvin replied so only Mrs. Ruiz could hear him. “He has selective mutism. Ethan and I grew up together. That was the result of real Therian haters. In high school, I was jumped by a bunch of senior kids. They carved the tiger Therian classification into the back of my head because I wouldn’t stop being friends with Ethan.” A lump formed in Calvin’s throat, but he pushed through. “We’ve been fighting for our friendship since we were kids, and now we’re fighting for more. I love him. And I would give my life for him. So you have to believe me when I say I didn’t do what I did because I hate Therians. I did it to protect the citizens of this city. Whether they deserve it or not, I couldn’t let anyone else die. When I say I’m sorry for your loss, I’m not quoting some procedural manual. I say it because I understand your pain, and I
am
sorry for what you’ve lost.”
Mrs. Ruiz swallowed hard, tears in her eyes. She nodded. A tall, broad-shouldered young Therian pushed through the crowd, cursing at Calvin in Spanish. The venom rolled off his tongue as he called Calvin every filthy name in the book.
“
Lla callate
, Hector,” Mrs. Ruiz ordered. “
Basta
.”
“
Pero
,
tía
—”
“
Vamos
.
Ahora
.”
Hector glared daggers at Calvin before thrusting a finger in his direction. “This isn’t over.” He marched off after his aunt, and it wasn’t until they’d disappeared in the crowd that Calvin let out a huge sigh of relief. With Mrs. Ruiz’s departure, soon the rest of the mob began to move along. Whether she’d said something to the protestors or not, Calvin was grateful everyone was leaving without incident. Not one arrest had been made. Once the crowd was gone, with only a few stragglers left, the teams broke up and gathered near their respective trucks. Calvin waited for Sloane to give the order before following the rest of his team into their BearCat. Everyone was silent, and Calvin subtly squeezed Ethan’s hand. Ethan was about to step into the cabin when Maddock called out to him.
“Hobbs, take a seat on the bench. Ash, drive us back to HQ.”
This couldn’t be good.
Ash silently and quickly made his way into the front cabin while everyone buckled up on the bench. Maddock sat across from them. He was pissed.
“What the hell did you two think you were doing?”
Ethan held a hand up, and Maddock pinned him with a stare.
“No, this is on both of you, but what the hell got into you to make you think it was okay to remove your partner’s helmet? We’re in the middle of a possibly explosive situation, and you paint a target on your partner’s head? For all we know, someone out there could have had a loaded weapon. You know better than that, Hobbs. Hell, rookies know better than that.”
“He got through to her,” Calvin said, hoping to take some of the heat off Ethan.
“And a bullet could have got through
you
,” Maddock snapped, fuming. “You were strictly ordered not to engage. And with the widow no less? How did you expect that to go? Tell me. I really want to know what the hell was going through your heads.”
“I know, but that crowd was on the verge of rioting. They were waiting on a signal from Mrs. Ruiz. She’d already made physical contact.”
“And you two decided to take it upon yourselves to break protocol on the chances she would listen?”
“The media’s making out like I killed her husband because I hated Therians. The fact I was Human and had possibly killed him out of hate made me a monster. Monsters are easy to target. Ethan showed her she was wrong.” He looked up at Ethan, who gave him a somber nod. There was only one way he could make his sergeant understand. “Okay, you might as well all know. Chances are it’ll end up in the fucking news.” He was pretty sure he’d seen a couple of cell phones out, probably recording him in the hopes of making him look even more of a dick. Everything always seemed to end up on the Internet one way or another.
Calvin told his teammates about his scars and how he got them, sparing them the grisly details. They didn’t need to know about the blood or stitches, or the nightmares he had for months after it happened. “That night, I thought I was going to die. The cops would have written me off as another victim of gang violence. It wasn’t uncommon in our neighborhood, and considering my record for ending up in the principal’s office for fighting, they might have even alleged I was part of a gang.”