G.H.O.S.T. Teams (Book 2) Shifters (24 page)

I moved silently across the crates, because ninjas can do that, and positioned myself above one of the wolves. He was one of the quintuplets, and thusly named GWTwo. Vector must have gotten him earlier because I could see the blood pouring out of a shoulder wound. The lack of an exit wound told me that the silver bullet was most likely burning inside of him. That didn’t seem like much fun. So, because I’m a humanitarian, I decided to end his misery. I dropped down on top of him, stabbing a blade into each side of his neck as I landed. There was a brief howl before the silence. I pulled my daggers free and stepped around the corner just in time to see Vector finish the last of the charging wolves.

The wolf, light brown and white, LBOne, had a crate in each of his powerful hands and he was hurling them at Vector. My brother, clearly realizing that I took care of the other wolf, gave his full attention to his opponent. He never flinched or even seemed to react to the crates as they hurtled towards him. Keeping his gun pointed forward and his body steady and calm, he just moved forward. His step carried him barely out of the path of the first crate, the sound of splintering wood accompanying its crash to the ground. A calm step forward and to his left meant that the second crate enjoyed the same fate as the first, crashing to the ground in a pile of splinters and missing its intended target. Vector then fired once and caught the wolf in the heart. Before the creature even had time to hit the ground, Vector and I were on the move. As we raced forward to save the girl, I didn’t even bother to think about the fact that none of these wolves had reverted to human form in death. Mysteries later.

“You all right?”

Vector glanced at the claw slash across his left shoulder and nodded, “I’m fine. That shouldn’t have taken me so long, but they immediately scattered and I was trying to keep an eye on the girl at the same time,” Vector said.

I could see the spot where she had been, and I noticed that she wasn’t there anymore. Neither were the two wolves.

“I’ll forgive you if you know where they took her?”

“They moved back into the corner, behind that pile of crates,” he pointed.

Before I could even begin to discuss strategy, the wolves stepped out from their cover, DarkBrown holding the girl in front of his body by her throat while TanFour stood at his side. Vector and I continued moving forward, waiting for them to say something or make a demand. After a few more paces, DarkBrown simply squeezed a bit and the girl cried out. We stopped, and I thought about how much I was planning to make DarkBrown suffer. I wasn’t a fan of people hurting kids.

The girl in his grip looked to be about eleven or twelve, with olive skin and dark black hair. She was wearing a red and white polka dot dress that had been torn in several places. Her white socks were dirty and she only had one black shoe on, the other probably lost. But, aside from the claw around her throat and the look of terror on her face, she didn’t appear injured. I’ll admit that I smiled a bit at the realization that we got here before they did whatever they were planning. Since the wolves had exceptional hearing, I knew they could hear my whisper to Vector.

“Need one.”

“Copy,” he said, his guns down at his sides.

After sliding my daggers into the back of my belt, I threw my hands up in the air, “Whoa, whoa, we surrender. Don’t hurt the girl.”

Vector stayed still as I made my way closer, keeping my hands open and clearly showing that I was unarmed. TanFour moved forward to greet me, and probably slit my throat with his claws. But once he was away from the girl and I knew Vector only had one wolf to deal with, we were ahead of the game. A few moments later when TanFour was close enough to touch, I acted. Vector fired as soon as he saw me move.

I hammered my right fist down on TanFour’s nose, causing him to yelp, while my left hand retrieved one of the daggers from my back. TanFour wasn’t slowed much at all, slashing at me with both claws. I stepped in, blocking his left arm with my right, and drove the handle of the dagger up into his jaw. The silver sizzled against his skin and I watched his head rock back. A kick to the groin, an elbow to the face, and the dagger handle into the top of his head, rendered him unconscious. I looked up in time to see Vector’s shots finish DarkBrown, the girl collapsing to the ground in front of him.

I dropped my sleeping wolf and rushed over to check on the girl. My brother had been careful with his shots, hitting the wolf in as many places as it took to prevent its dead body from falling on top of the young lady. I scooped her up in my arms and held her against my chest.

“It’s okay. You’re okay now. You’re safe.”

Her body shook as she sobbed and cried, huddling against me as if she were freezing and needed the warmth. I looked up at Vector and gave him a nod, and he smiled in return. She was alive and unharmed. Assuming that Danny survived the day, we were calling this a win.

Fortunately, while Danny was in a ton of pain, he was going to live. The claw slashes across his chest were severe enough to make things bloody, but not deep enough to hit anything vital. The cuts on his neck were even more shallow, most likely a result of him trying to lean back out of the way. It’s probably what saved his life. But, even with deep wounds and being pinned under a few boxes, he’d kept his cool and managed to kill one of the lycan. Not a horrible first time going into combat with me.

“Not bad, kid.”

“Thanks,” he replied, between coughs.

As I stood over him, the sound of GHOST vehicles pulling into the lot reached my ears. Vector had notified them of our position as soon as we found the warehouse. The girl, Rose was her name, was still clinging to my chest as if her life depended on it. Luckily she was barely over four feet tall and maybe seventy pounds, so it was cumbersome but manageable. I kept an arm around her and did my best to make her feel safe. Vector was back over toward TanFour, securing the prisoner and looking over the rest of the warehouse. Once the GHOST paramedics got to Danny, I was planning to join him. A couple minutes later, a handful of people came through the rubber curtain.

The first two were standard security personnel, a man and a woman, both dressed in the dark blue and black uniform. Two men in blue jumpsuits, red crosses on their arms, followed behind. The paramedics rushed over to Danny as soon as they saw him. The guards gave me a quick nod before scanning the perimeter. I really wanted to hand Rose over to one of them, but I found myself hesitating. I can’t explain it. I barely knew this kid, but I didn’t like the idea of handing her to someone I didn’t know. Luckily, two familiar faces walked through the rubber curtain a moment later.

Freddy stepped through first, smiling and adjusting his glasses before waving in my direction. Kara was right behind him, a look of concern on her face. I’d ordered her to stay behind and keep an eye on Erika, but I was really glad she’d ignored me. Stepping forward, I patted Rose on the head, telling her that everything was going to be all right. She was reluctant at first, but slowly allowed me to hand her over. The person receiving her however, looked terrified.

“Don’t worry, uncle Freddy will take good care of you. I promise.”

“Um…yes…um, perhaps someone more qualified…” he stumbled.

“See Rose, he’s more afraid of you than you are of him. You’re in good hands.”

Once we had her settled into Freddy’s arms, I rubbed my knuckles across her chin and gave her a goofy smile. She tried to smile back, but wasn’t quite ready. Kara stepped over and rubbed her head and whispered some soothing words into her ears. But, as much as I would love to let Kara stay here and comfort the girl, Danny needed her more. I got her attention and gestured my head in his direction. She kissed Rose on the forehead before moving over to look at Danny’s wounds. Once I was sure that Rose was stable and Freddy’s scrawny ass wasn’t going to fall over under her miniscule weight, I walked back down to find Vector.

He was just finishing his sweep of the warehouse and heading back towards our prisoner. The sight before me, however, was a bit confusing. DarkBrown’s body was laying there, still a werewolf. A few feet away from him was a man whom I assumed was our prisoner, the former TanFour. He had dark skin and short, dirty, and twisted black hair. Although it’s never easy to tell when they are laying down, I put his height at just over six feet. He was skinny, almost emaciated, and his wrists and ankles were bound in cord. I’d have never imagined that a werewolf would go hungry. But, that was the lesser issue at the moment. The big problem was DB, who was still a werewolf. I worried that the lack of change might indicate that he was still alive and lying in wait. I drew a dagger and started stalking his way when Vector held up a hand.

“You won’t need that,” he said.

“Um, you noticed he didn’t change back, right?”

“Yeah, there’s a good reason for that. Watch.”

With that he stepped up to DB, reached into the fur of his chest, and pulled. The image that followed was hard to describe. The werewolf’s whole body shimmered for a moment and his skin seemed to release as if it were simply a blanket lying on top of him. I don’t know how else to explain it. One minute there was a werewolf there and the next there was a naked man with a huge werewolf pelt on top of him. Vector pulled the wolf skin free and snapped it in the air as one would a towel. He held it up and smiled at my confused face.

“What the hell?”

“These aren’t lycan,” he said.

“They sure look like ‘em”

“There’s good reason for that, they’re skinwalkers.”

“Which is what exactly?”

“As it sounds. It’s a person who walks around in the skin of another. Normally that other is a common animal. I’ve never seen them use lycan skin before,” he shrugged.

“That sounds like a bad thing.”

“Real bad.”

I sighed and looked at our prisoner. The more I looked at him the more I felt like he wasn’t going to be much help. If I were to guess, I’d say he was homeless and a hardcore drug user. In fact, as Vector and I removed the skins from all the walkers, that seemed to be the common theme. I didn’t know who was giving these men their pelts, but clearly they were drawing upon the local homeless population. Sadly, DC has so many that I’m sure no one noticed when these few went missing.

We collected all of the pelts and left the bodies for the security guys to deal with. Once all the walking skins were secured in the back of our van, Vector and I leaned against Vlad and watched the rest of the cleanup. It was hot and humid and not very comfortable, but we needed to make sure everything was finished up properly. I didn’t think there would be any problems, but after our guys got assaulted during the last prisoner transport, I wasn’t taking any chances. Our homeless survivor was still out cold, and it seemed like we’d have to wait until we were back at HQ to question him.

Freddy was walking Rose around, holding her hand and rambling on about things that only Freddy can ramble about. I didn’t catch much of it, but he was describing the various types of pixies and sprites that fly about our local woods. Rose seemed to be in better spirits, the stories obviously helping to take her mind off of things. Once the warehouse was secured and it was time to go however, her mood dampened.

We’d already contacted her parents and they were planning to meet us at HQ. But when Freddy tried to lead her into the team van, she froze. I guess the idea of getting into a large truck after her abduction wasn’t super appealing. Not to mention that we’d put all of those werewolf pelts in the back. So, I gave my brother a look and he shook his head in understanding. He hopped in the back of Vlad and we gave Rose the front seat. She spun around and looked Vector hard in the face before we left.

“Aren’t you a little young to work for the government?” Rose asked, her face skeptical.

“I’m older than I look,” Vector smiled.

“Really? Because we look the same age,” she stated.

“Rose,” I asked, “how old are you?”

“I’m twelve,” she smiled.

I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. Vector just shook his head and leaned back in his seat. Rose looked up at me, slightly confused.

“What’s so funny?” she asked.

“He thinks he looks fourteen.”

“No way,” she insisted.

We both started laughing and Vector just sighed, “Surely the fact that Rose is inside of a dragon is more fascinating than my age.”

“What dragon? This is a car,” she insisted.

As if on cue, Vlad introduced himself, “Hello Rose, my name is Vlad.”

Needless to say, Vlad not only drove us back to the office, he also kept Rose entertained. Luckily for us, she seemed a bit young for her age, and Vlad’s silliness was more than enough to keep her engaged. After a while I wasn’t even sure she remembered that Vector and I were still in the car with her.

Vector was quiet in the back, and I looked out the window, letting my mind wander. We pulled into HQ, Vlad parked, and Vector and I escorted Rose upstairs. Without knowing whether her parents were normal or supernatural, we figured a regular office setting was best. So, we found a small conference room on the first floor, which is actually the second, and returned Rose to her family.

Yeah, that probably sounded weird. Have I ever explained our odd floor numbering system to you before? Well, the actual first floor of the building is the lobby. It’s open to the public and allows access to the other non-GHOST government offices in the other wings of the building. Above that we start our count, from one to five, referring to all the floors above ground that actually belong to the GHOSTs. Obviously Dutton’s office is on the top floor, the sixth story that we call the fifth floor, and everything in between is mostly boring, mundane-looking office space. That’s where more routine work is done, and it provides a normal space in case we have to be shown off to anyone who doesn’t know about the supernatural world.

There are two parking levels underground, the top level where Vlad and most of the other normal vehicles park. The second level is a much larger space and provides room for all of the trucks and vans we use in the course of our work. Below that are the multiple sub-levels of the building. I believe we’ve taken you as far as sub-level six, the armory and the gym. Perhaps one day I’ll show you what’s below that. But for now, I’ve probably bored you enough with architecture talk.

Rose’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Garcia, were understandably emotional about the return of their little girl. It turned out that Mr. Garcia was a member of the Potomac Pack, and his daughter had inherited his wolfness. They thanked us profusely and Rose hugged
me and Vector goodbye, before a few agents took them away for some routine paperwork. I won’t lie; it felt really good to reunite a family. I took a second to enjoy the moment and then my brother and I headed down to Sickbay. I knew that’s where we would find the team.

Down to sub-level two and a left into Sickbay showed us three teammates in beds, and Freddy standing watch. Kara wasn’t injured like Danny or Erika, but you could tell from her face that she was worn down. The non-stop magic and very little sleep were catching up to her. For the first time since I’d met her, she actually looked her age. She waved as we entered and indicated that she needed just another minute to pull herself together. Her head promptly fell back onto the pillow and her eyes closed.

Danny was hooked up to machines and a doctor was looking him over. This M.D. was a young Asian man wearing glasses and the standard lab coat over light green scrubs. He glanced our way but didn’t say anything. Erika actually looked much better. She was sitting up, her body more relaxed and clearly in less pain. Her eyes met mine and she gave me a smile that I felt through my whole body. I hadn’t realized just how worried I’d been until that moment. It was nice to relax. Freddy started recounting the sprite stories he was telling Rose, and Vector pretended to listen so that I didn’t have to. After a couple minutes, the doctor finished with Danny and wandered off, and Kara opened her eyes. I knew people were tired, but we needed information.

“Okay, clearly we learned a lot today. So, who wants to start explaining the skinwalkers?”

“Yes, well, a skinwalker is most often a person who wears the skin of an animal in order to take their form. Many Native American tribes practiced this ritual, often as a means to bring themselves closer to nature. But, while anyone can wear the pelt and assume the form of the animal in question, it is a rare gift to be able to create such a suit,” Freddy started.

“He’s right,”
Erika said, “Only the most powerful of medicine men can make a walker pelt. It requires the forging of a ceremonial dagger, the handle of which must be carved from the bone of the same type of animal they are skinning.”

“So, you’re saying we’re looking for a Medicine Man with a werewolf bone knife?”

“Yes, and this totally explains the anger…and other things… that the shifter community is feeling,” Erika added.

“How’s that?”

“The wolf is in pain and being torn free of its host. There is nothing left but rage,” she said.

“Okay, so why use kids?”

Erika started to speak and stopped herself. Her face was a combination of disgust and sadness. She looked over at Freddy, hoping he would continue. He took the cue well.

“There is no record of someone creating a lycan walker-skin before, so we cannot be positive. But the children would provide the highest probability of success and we believe that they would survive the process,” Freddy tried.