“A magnet is what he placed on the last report
we received a few months past.”
Roderick frowned. “Magnet? Why would he be
interested in a magnet?” He stared harder at the location where
Lancaster spent his last second alive.
“He did not say, Sir.”
With the organization missing deadlines and
unable to raise enough capital to fill their few remaining orders,
this wasn’t the time for Lancaster to die. Roderick hated to admit
it but he depended on Lancaster’s ability to get things done. No
matter how questionable the methods utilized, the man delivered on
time.
“Is this monitor working correctly? How do we
know he’s really dead?” Roderick asked.
“I can go and check into it personally for you,
Sir.”
Roderick tapped his fingertips on his thigh.
Did he really need to know if Lancaster lived? He thought about it
for a few moments. “Lancaster has access to the notes from the
majority of surgeries, as well as the marketing contacts. While I
don’t like the idea of seeing him, we need the information in his
mind.” He shook his head. “Find out what you can but don’t travel
to West Virginia. If Boris is dead, so be it. But if he’s in jail
or prison or in a hospital, bring him back here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Roderick sat looking at the screen for a few
more minutes and then clicked a few keystrokes. The monitor changed
and various colored lights lit up all over the globe. But only
three were the colors signifying Liege Lord. Once they ruled the
world. Kings, Presidents, world leaders sought their favor and paid
handsomely for their advice. He released a long sigh. Now they hid
underground like cockroaches in fear of Lord Barticus and La
Patron, men who should understand what they had tried to achieve
through the years.
Thinking of Barticus, Roderick flinched. That
Alpha’s reach was long and he would never forgive them for what
happened to Asia. At the time, he agreed with the others to keep
her identity a secret because she had been a superb test specimen
and critical to their research. They never found anyone who handled
their experiments as well.
The products they developed and surgical
procedures they perfected came with a high price tag. They knew
Barticus would be a brutal enemy and they kept tabs on him through
the years. But he never thought the man would be this unrelenting
and vicious. Reports of Barticus’ treatment of anyone involved with
the labs during that time sent a chill down his back. He’d rather
die than spend the rest of his days in a dungeon as that man’s
plaything. No stone was left unturned and anyone who ever worked
with him who refused to talk disappeared. Prokam wore a neck brace
and had the kill chip embedded in his brain to protect them both.
Otherwise, Roderick wouldn’t allow his servant entrance into the
same room.
Koolong and Dr. Crysman, the two remaining
Liege, were in the shadows working on funding and another project.
Dr. Crysman, a well-known chemist, thought he was close to creating
some type of compound that would mask the scent of humans and
dual-natured beasts which would give them the advantage in an
attack. Roderick would contact him for the testing results of that
project. Koolong, an Asian businessman, worked with various
factions of governments selling their products and gained ground
every day. Not enough to return them to their former glory but he
believed it would happen eventually. Roderick decided against
telling them of Lancaster’s demise, it wasn’t good for morale and
neither man had spent much time with Lancaster.
“Sir, there has been a confirmed visual of Lord
Barticus’ men in the area above ground,” Prokam said through the
intercom.
Roderick made a few clicks on the keyboard. The
image on the wall disappeared. He released the flash drive and
placed it in the case before stuffing it into his pocket. Rising
slowly, he looked around the small room, his temporary home for the
past two weeks. Never in his wildest imagination did he ever think
he would be at such a low point, hunted constantly like an animal,
forced to run and hide.
Anger, hot and potent rose in his chest. He
pulled out his cell and looked up the information that had been
sent to him recently. A video and photo of three human men bulked
and moving at inhuman speed. Lancaster claimed they found some type
of formula that allowed them to fight full-bloods and win. The
grainy satellite picture didn’t show the details of their faces but
it was enough to know these men were not ordinary.
“Is this what killed you my friend? Or did you
involve yourself in human affairs again as with the Griggs woman?”
He continued to stare at the picture. Would Lancaster have taken
such a drug? Roderick doubted the man would have placed himself at
risk. Although lately, Lancaster’s infrequent communications had a
fatalistic tone. If Lancaster aligned with a group, there would be
some type of trail, loose ends he could use for money.
Wheels turned in his mind as he tried to think
of a way to buy time and space to rebuild his organization. If
Lancaster had contacts in the States for this drug, he would have
left that information in one of their hidey holes. Roderick could
fly into the States under the radar, grab the formula and product
if there was some on hand and then return to Romania. The more he
thought of retrieving Lancaster’s final effects, the more he liked
the idea. Prokam looked enough like Lancaster to play the role he
had in mind.
Roderick looked at the picture again and then
slid it in his pocket. “Prokam,” he called. “There is something you
need to do.”
Chapter 25
Silas watched as Jasmine opened the door and
embraced Asia. The two remained locked together for a few moments,
no doubt talking through their link. He nodded to Hawke who
followed his mate into the room.
“Care for something to drink?” Silas asked
Hawke as the large man passed the two women who stared at each
other without making a sound.
“Yes, water would be appreciated,” Hawke said
glancing over his shoulder at his mate. Silas headed into the
kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water and a bottle of beer and
returned to the living area where three platters of baked goods sat
on tables.
He handed Hawke the bottle. “Help yourself to
anything here.” He waved to the baked goods that made their home
smell like vanilla and cinnamon. “Jasmine loves to bake and made
these.”
“Looks good,” Hawke said taking a small plate
and took one of everything before sitting on the
loveseat.
Jasmine and Asia joined them. Asia filled a
plate and sat next to Hawke. Jasmine returned from the kitchen with
a pitcher of sweet tea and handed Asia a glass.
“Thank you, these are delicious. One day I’d
love to learn how to make this.” She held an apple fritter in her
hand.
“Let me know when and we can make a day of it,”
Jasmine said taking a seat next to Silas before pouring them both
glasses of tea.
Silas brushed a kiss against her lips in thanks
and then spoke to his guest. “I asked you here for several reasons.
First I want to thank you, both of you for your service to us, our
den and our Nation. The past few days your loyalty and commitment
to the Wolf Nation has shone bright. The Goddess could not have
given me better teammates to complete her mission here. For the
sake of time and to avoid repeating myself, again I say thank you
for the sacrifices both of you have made.”
Asia’s eyes widened when he began and then she
looked away, now she smiled. “It’s an honor to serve both the
Goddess and your den.”
Hawke placed his arm around Asia. “Yes, we are
honored to be chosen to serve.”
Jasmine cleared her throat and looked away.
Silas glanced at her, took her hand and squeezed it.
Silas looked at Asia. Yesterday had been doubly
hard for her. First, her mate almost died from the poison and then
her system shut down from double doses of that vile chemical. He
and Jasmine had worked in tandem flushing the potent mixture from
her system. But they noticed a difference in Asia that hadn’t been
in anyone else.
“When the poison entered your system Asia,”
Silas said, choosing his words carefully. Hawke and Asia stared at
him. “Something happened.”
Asia frowned.
“Happened?” Hawke said.
“Yes.” Silas shook his head and met Hawke’s
gaze. “I’m trying to find the words but I’ll just put it out there.
By the time I linked with Jasmine to help, the lethal toxin had
been in your system for over 30 seconds and should’ve killed you in
half that time. It was that potent. We tried everything and
couldn’t stop it or reverse the damage.”
Hawke’s lips pursed and then he nodded slowly.
“The real threat to the poison is the accelerant. It speeds past
the antibodies and attacks the major organs, causing the body to
collapse and suffocate. I linked with her immediately and saturated
her system with energy, which slowed it down.”
“Yes, but Asia was hit with the poison directly
the first time. Even with our combined energies we couldn’t stop
the poison from damaging her system. When the second hit came, I
thought we’d lose her for sure. I still don’t understand how your
body works but it’s a gift from the Goddess and new technology,”
Silas said meeting Asia’s stunned gaze.
“But, I feel fine.” Asia looked at Jasmine. “I
sensed you and La Patron working on me. I was able to stand and
fight later.”
“Yes, which is a miracle and explains why the
Liege were desperate to recapture you. It also helps me understand
Lord Barticus and his dealings with Nicromja better,” Silas said in
a thoughtful tone.
Asia’s frown deepened. “Nicromja? My dad? What
do you mean?”
Jasmine leaned forward with her hands clasped
together on her knees. “What Silas is trying to say is we didn’t,
couldn’t save you last night. The poison was too fast and had done
a lot of damage. But your body… you have ninja blood cells or
something inside. After we failed and couldn’t stop the poison,
something must’ve triggered your warrior cells. They exploded
through your body and destroyed the poison, we flushed out the
trash. Then your natural healing kicked in. It was quite a
sight.”
Silas chuckled at Hawke’s surprised expression.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. Your body has a
built-in immune system that destroys anything that would destroy
you… does that make sense?” he asked trying to explain the
unexplainable. Was she immortal? He didn’t know but she was damned
hard to terminate. The Liege had thrown everything at her,
including enough poison to take out hundreds of humans.
“So, my antibodies destroyed the poison, not
you?” Asia said slowly.
Jasmine nodded. “Yes. We flushed your system
and when you returned to the compound, Hawke was supposed to
finish. But you were so tired, you fell asleep. Rest is the best
medicine after what you went through.”
“Lord Barticus?” Hawke asked.
“According to Barticus his physiology was
altered by the priests of Nicromja.” Silas looked at Asia. “She is
his daughter. I think she inherited something that allows her body
to heal and regenerate in ways no one else can. Asia you are
uniquely you.”
Asia’s jaw dropped and then she snapped it
shut. “Thank you, Sir. I had no idea. I mean I had an idea, just
not to that extent.”
“She is quite unique,” Hawke said pulling her
close and brushing a kiss against the top of her head. “Thank you
for sharing that with us, knowing she has those innate abilities
puts my mind more at ease, especially with her traveling all over
for KnightForce.”
Silas nodded. “Jasmine and I were surprised and
happy to see the damage reversing, it made our jobs easier.” He
looked at his mate and pulled her close. “Plus, Jasmine refused to
accept any other outcome.” He kissed the top of her head and
blessed the Goddess again for saving Asia. Jasmine had broken down
when she realized she was losing Asia. Her tears had crippled
him.
“That’s right,” Jasmine said smiling at
Asia.
“Thank you, Mistress,” Asia said returning her
smile.
“My thanks as well,” Hawke said.
Pleased with the conversation so far, Silas
continued. “The Liege suffered a blow with the death of Boris
Lancaster. Not that his demise has been made public but I informed
Barticus so he could focus his energies on those remaining. Thanks
to you, he’s aware of Crysman and Koolong, those two Liege lords
who flew under his radar before. He is hot on Roderick’s trail and
believes he will apprehend the slippery devil soon.”
“Crysman,” Hawke said shaking his head.
“Another world-renowned scientist. How do they convince these men
to work with them? At some point they must know the ceiling would
crash around them.”
“But in the meantime, they are allowed,
encouraged even, to play god with others and develop horrific toys
or chemicals that would wipe out mankind. For some, the ability to
create anything you want is too hard to pass,” Asia said in a soft,
yet certain tone.
No one spoke for a few seconds.
“Lancaster was a small man with huge dreams.
Nothing would have ever been enough for him. I think he despised
himself, his beginnings, possibly his father. For some reason he
never thought he was good enough. Maybe the time period he lived in
didn’t foster the idea of moving up through the ranks. But he
always believed in a class structure and hated not being in what he
considered the upper crust. It drove him,” Asia said.