G.H.O.S.T. Teams (Book 2) Shifters (3 page)

“I have a good teacher,” she tried.

“I’m starting to think that I can’t take all the credit. There seems to be a bit of natural aptitude at play here.”

“Maybe I have a gift,” she playfully countered.

“Or maybe you’ve been holding back in class. It seems to me that you are stronger and faster than you want me to know. Why is that?”

“Why am I fast or why don’t I want you to know?” she smiled.

I gave her a small smile before replying, “I’ll take either answer.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier if you just make your accusation?” she asked, a hint of anger building in her voice.

It was unusual for Erika to be so emotional. I’m not saying that she didn’t have feelings, but she often controlled those feelings to an impressive degree. I was starting to think that mood swings were also part of whatever she was hiding from me.

“Come on Erika, it’s not like that. I just want to understand what I’m dealing with.”

Even as I said it I knew it was going to be taken the wrong way. What can I say; sometimes I have a way with words.

“Did you just say ‘what’ you’re dealing with?” she barked.

“I didn’t mean…” I sighed, “This isn’t going how I planned.”

“Oh. You had a plan for this attack?” she asked. 

“No. I don’t want to attack you. I just want to understand. Frankly, I’m a bit insulted that you feel like you have to hide this from me.”

“Sorry you’re insulted,” she snapped, crossing her arms in frustration.

“Stop making this weird. I’m still gonna try to sleep with you.”

There was a moment of silence as we both took in the absurdity of my statement. Thankfully she broke the tension with a laugh and I joined in.

“At least there’s that,” she tried.

“I just mean that I know who you are. Telling me your secret won’t change that. But I’d like to know what you’re hiding from me. Please?”

“What if I’m not ready to tell you yet?” she asked.

Her voice was soft and there was a bit of worry in her eyes. I kind of felt bad for pushing her. I sighed and gave her a warm smile.

“Then I guess I get to feel like a jerk for trying to hurry you.”

“You are a jerk,” she laughed and punched me in the arm.

“Tell me about it.”

We rode the rest of the way to the office in silence. I wanted to ask more questions, but she’d made it clear she wasn’t ready to talk. As someone with a dubious past, I could understand not being ready to share details. Heck, no matter what Erika’s secret was, I had a feeling that it would pale in comparison to the things I have done. No matter her past, the safe money said that I was still the biggest monster on this team…by far.

We were heading south on Fifteenth Street and I could see the Washington Monument in front of us. As always, that five hundred and fifty-five foot monolith brought back childhood memories of visits with my mother and made me smile. It was still closed due to the quake damage, but as soon as it opened back up I was taking a trip to the top. If it didn’t happen soon, I might have to sneak in there myself one night.

Just before we hit Constitution Ave, Vlad turned left into the underground parking structure of our building. The GHOST offices were in the southwest corner of a US Department of Commerce building. It was a huge six-story stone and marble structure that did nothing to stand out from every other government building in the city. Exactly the kind of blandness one wants from the building that holds the government’s secret paranormal police force. Especially since we were situated on a very heavily tourist traveled corner. Hiding in plain sight, as they say. Even the gargoyles sat unnoticed as they nestled into nooks upon the roof. 

The parking garage gate opened slowly and I could still see the shiny metal spots on its underside where it scraped against Vlad’s roof a few weeks back. I had been in a terrible hurry and didn’t have time to let the gate fully open. Since there was no such emergency today, Vlad allowed to gate to swing all the way up before pulling into the garage, heading down the ramp, and turning immediately to the right. We drove through a pair of large marble pillars, which didn’t even shimmer in response. Vlad knew we often leave in a hurry, so he backed into my assigned space against the far wall. I could see the security guards glaring at me from across the garage.

You see
, the first time I brought Vlad in here everything went crazy. Turns out that his dragon spirit sets off our magical security system. I asked someone to clear Vlad with security, but I was told that such a thing was “impossible”. I’d assumed they were just blowing me off. But it turns out that if they cleared Vlad’s soul, it would open up holes in the security system that a dozen other threats could exploit. Even with the vast resources and powers at the disposal of the GHOST organization, they had no way to safely allow Vlad on the premises.

But the day after I saved the world, I drove him right into the parking garage. There were no alarms, no flashing lights, and not even a hint that he shouldn’t be there. The security guards freaked out. They started checking the system, convinced that something must be wrong. When I approached, I was asked to wait while they checked everything out. They even called my boss upstairs and demanded an explanation. Needless to say, my boss didn’t take too kindly to their tone and he let them know it. I was however ordered up to his office immediately to explain how Vlad was doing what he was doing.

You see, what they told me was true, from their point of view anyway. The GHOSTs didn’t have the ability to safely clear Vlad with security. But, after saving the world, Visine and I found a nice bar to drink away our pain. Somewhere between hammered and coma, Merlin showed up to thank us for freeing him. He said something to the effect of being in our debt. Now I am guessing that he was actually using it as a figure of speech, but between the alcohol and our excitement about being alive, Visine and I took it as an invitation to make a wish.

Visine got some never-ending bag of beer and I got Vlad cleared with security. Maybe it’s not how you would have used your wish from the most powerful wizard that ever lived, but Vlad is my friend. No one understands how Merlin did it, but as far as GHOST HQ is concerned, Vlad is supposed to be there. The security guards, however, still didn’t like me. Especially after the
ass-chewing they got for the way they handled things with the boss.

As Erika and I walked by, I gave a friendly wave to the guards and Vlad even honked his horn to say hello. I’m sure it goes without saying that they were not amused. But it’s the little things in life that make me happy. As we got onto the elevator, we saw the team van pull in and we knew they’d be right behind us. In anticipation of Kara’s request, we headed down to the infirmary. I didn’t mind doing things to help my team feel useful. Plus there was often a doctor or nurse on shift that was easy on the eyes. We took the elevator down to sublevel two and turned into the first door on our left.

Sickbay was a large sterile looking space. There were beds along each wall, an office in the back, an MRI and X-ray room next to it, and various pieces of equipment scattered about. Almost everything was white or cream colored including the doctor’s lab coats. At the moment there were no patients inside. Erika and I sat on the first set of beds and waited for someone to head on over.

The doctor on duty was someone I had seen a few times, although I couldn’t recall her name. Luckily Erika chimed in before I took a guess.

“Hey Tanya, how are you?” Erika asked.

“Good, Honey, how are you two feeling?” Tanya replied.

Tanya stood about five-foot-ten before her heels. She had long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, and dark eyes. Her skin looked smooth and tan and she always greeted us with a warm smile. She was in her mid-forties, but it was clear from her figure that she took care of herself. A tan blouse and medium length blue skirt were hidden under her lab coat and her shoes were a soft shade of pink. Although she clearly looked Mediterranean, she spoke with a slight southern drawl.  The latter was probably the reason that she called everyone “honey” or “hun”. I didn’t mind though. There was a sweetness to her.

“We’re fine. Just a few cuts and scrapes,” Erika smiled.

“I don’t know what she’s talking about Doc, I only came down here to stare into your eyes.”

“Honey, you wouldn’t know what to do with me if you had me,” Tanya smirked.

Erika started to laugh, and Tanya joined in. I couldn’t help but smile. Tanya always gave as good as she got. Some of that southern spunk I guess. She drew the curtain between our beds so that Erika had a bit of privacy and then started looking her over. I hollered out the occasional offer to help, but they humorously dismissed me and made it clear where I could stick my help. Once she was done with Erika she asked me to remove my shirt and pants and started cleaning my wounds. It was a precautionary step to make sure the magic didn’t seal in anything that shouldn’t be there. I was sitting on the bed in my underwear when Kara walked in. As she walked by, I playfully raised my eyebrows a few times and she laughed.

Once the doc was done, Kara started mumbling and waving her arms about. Slowly but surely, a blue light started to glow around her hands. Then she would wave them over us each in turn. I could feel the pain fading as she passed her hands over my body. A few more passes and my scrapes and cuts were almost completely faded. By tomorrow you would hardly know I had been hit. Erika was also feeling better. We both got dressed, thanked Tanya, and headed upstairs with Kara. Apparently Dutton, the boss, had sent word down that he wanted to meet with us all before we started paperwork and such. So we headed up to the fifth floor and walked down that long hall.

There were a couple of doors on each side, the last on the right leading to a conference room that we had used a few times. At the end of the hall there was a pair of large double doors that led to the boss’s office. But, just before you got there, a reception area seemed to fade into view on the left. There was a simple desk and receptionist whom I lovingly referred to as Ms. No Nonsense. Her long brown hair was pulled tight into a bun and her face had sharp features that reminded me of Margaret Hamilton…the Wicked Witch of the West. She wore a dark brown jacket over a peach shirt and had black-rimmed glasses. As always, her thin lipped smile looked menacing and before I could say a word she spoke up.

“Mr. Dutton will see you now,” she said.

Freddy and Danny had been waiting on the little couch and chairs and they stood to follow us in. The double doors opened of their own accord, as they always did, and revealed an enormous office that struck me as a little over the top. Everything was oversized and looked expensive. Hefty wooden bookshelves were set into the walls and deep red curtains and warm lighting kept the mood rich, but not dark.  Various oversized leather chairs were scattered about, two of which sat right in front of the boss’s desk. Dutton’s desk was huge, completely made of wood, and it had that stained and glossy old-world feel. There was even a decorative quill pen on top.

The man himself sat in a high-backed leather chair and leaned his elbows on his desk, a cigar in his mouth, and a grimace on his face. He wore a light tan jacket and matching vest over a white shirt and maroon tie. Although he was sitting now, I knew that Dutton was a bit shy of seven feet tall. The man was built like a muscular Andre the Giant. He had dark brown skin and even darker eyes. His head was bald and his face was clean-shaven. Dutton was somewhere in his fifties, but he normally scolded me with the energy of a much younger man.

Thanks to the oversized furniture and the unknown gentleman’s diminutive stature, I hardly noticed the second person in the room. Shortly after we had all shuffled in, he hopped up from one of the chairs in front of Dutton’s desk. There was a fluidity to his movements and a precise muscle control that I noticed instantly. He stood maybe a bit over five-foot tall with fair skin and stark white hair down just past his shoulders. He appeared young, maybe twelve or thirteen, and I noticed a pair of wooden pistol-handles peeking out from under his jacket. He looked me right in the eyes and smiled.

“You must be Bruce Chang,” he stated.

As a white man named Chang, I always appreciate someone saying my name rather than questioning it. His voice was high and it fit right in with his young look. He was skinny, but not scrawny, having a wiry frame. His black slacks were tucked into tight knee high brown boots. He wore a plain dress shirt and skinny black tie under his olive drab jacket. The coat had double buttons down the front, on the shoulders, wrists and pockets. It looked like some fashionable British motorcycle jacket. But even with its form fitting nature, he clearly used it to hide the pistols he carried, one under each arm. There was a strange look in his eyes, almost as if he knew me. I didn’t think we’d met before, as I assumed I would remember a white haired twelve-year-old.

“Am I famous already?”

“You’re known in certain circles,” he replied.

“Agent Richardson is the tech specialist for Team Eleven,” Dutton added, his voice boomed, slow and confident as always. “He is in town delivering your tags, but since you are still short a team member, he will be joining you on your current assignment.”

My team couldn’t hide their excitement at the mention of our tags. I’m sure I’d find out what they were soon enough, but at the moment I cared more about this strange young man who was to join us in the field. Before I could start asking questions however, Danny spoke up.

“Mr. Dutton sir, do you have our tags with you?” he asked.

“They are downstairs being charged. You will all have them soon enough,” Dutton replied.

“Thank you sir,” Danny squealed.

I raised an eyebrow at him but he didn’t care. Nothing was going to wipe that smile off of his face. The rest of the team also seemed quite pleased at this turn of events. Before everyone ran downstairs to check under the Christmas tree, I figured we better find out a bit more concerning our temporary team member.

“Agent Richardson is it?”

“It’s actually Hunter, Hunter Richardson,” he replied.

“Hunter huh? I’m sure we’ll find something more fitting.”

“If you say so,” he replied, raising an eyebrow.

“You any good at what you do?”

“I’m above average,” he replied.

Freddy decided to chime in, “Mr. Richardson is being modest. I have read several of the case files concerning Team Eleven. In fact, I recall last winter…” I cut him off.

“How about you let the kid talk, Freddy.”

My voice was low and I never looked over, but Freddy took the hint and went silent. Hunter and I were sort of locked onto each other, a sizing up ritual among warriors. The little guy didn’t seem in the least bit intimidated, and in fact looked perfectly relaxed standing in front of me.

“He’s right, we’re pretty awesome,” Hunter said.

“Are you now?”

“Well, I am sure you have heard what they say about Team Eleven?” he asked.

“What’s that?”

“We’re so good, they gave us number one twice,” he winked.

That one brought a small smile to my face. But no matter how much I enjoyed his wit, I wasn’t taking someone untested into battle with nothing more than Freddy’s say so that he was good.

“While I can appreciate your double-oneness, I’m not comfortable taking you into combat until I know you can handle yourself in a fight.”