Renegade (Ministry of Paranormal Research & Defence) (14 page)

We'd entered US airspace—illegally—and were about to land—illegally—on US soil. We would bypass customs and immigration checks—illegally—and, purely because the vampires wielded incredible amounts of money, we were going to get away with it. In America more than almost anywhere else in the world, money is power. Life, my Dad was fond of saying, is like a shit sandwich: The more bread you have, the less shit you eat. The vamps, it seemed, had so much bread they didn't eat any shit at all.

A part of me hated that the vamps wielded so much influence, whilst another part of me acknowledged just how difficult rescuing Marie would be without that self-same influence.

Even with help from Lucia and Huang this would be an uphill struggle. We had very little to go on and it was a big country. Huang had thought that the vampires who had taken her were actually working for a scumbag leech who lived in a sprawling estate in Tennessee. This leech went by the name of Antonio DeClerc and claimed most of the state as his. This was something new, too. Each state had it's own little fiefdoms, vampires who competed or cooperated depending upon their whims. It meant that I could count on having to face only DeClerc's vampires. The other vamps in the area would simply ignore us, waiting to see how it turned out so they could decide how best to take advantage of our presence.

"We'll get her back," said Anna, slipping into the seat next to mine.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and turned to my old friend.

"Of course we will," I replied.

"You looked depressed," she said.

"Just thinking."

She nodded and kept her gaze level.

"I'd worry more about the vampires that took her," she said.

My face creased into a humorless grin.

"I just hope she leaves us some vamps to kill. I'd hate to get there too late for the party."

She stared at me for a few seconds before nodding.

"Watch out, here comes the flight attendant with the boobs," I whispered.

The flight attendant had been showing her cleavage to all of the guys—including Cam—throughout the flight and was getting on my nerves. Not that I minded being flirted with, but this was dumb corpsebait, probably annoyed that none of us men were vamps she could try to get into bed.

"We'll be landing in a few minutes." she simpered with that annoying type of voice that turns every statement into an invitation to wild sex. The woman could make 'good morning' sound like sexual harassment.

Since the last time she'd wiggled past us she'd undone another button on her striped blouse and now I could see the lacy edge of her pink bra.

"If you'll fasten your seatbelts and return your seats to their upright positions, thank you." she continued.

As she wiggled away Anna leaned in close to me.

"I'd have to check but I think she's a bit disappointed that nobody asked her to join them in the toilet," she whispered.

"Are you kidding?" I whispered back. "I wouldn't fuck that with somebody else's dick."

She left, laughing, and moved back to sit by her husband. With my seatbelt fastened I went back to staring out of the window.

C
HAPTER

35

We'd made it to a little depression where we could stop and take stock. I turned to look at my new companion. He was about my height, but much broader in the shoulders and chest. His fur looked almost black in the moonlight and his eyes glinted yellow.

"What was that?" I growled in my lupine voice.

"Unners," he growled back. "Yoo-muns.

I was stunned. Human hunters? Hunting werewolves?

The wolf was wounded; a shot had hit him in the upper arm and gone right through. A bloody, painful wound but not a major problem. It would, however, slow him down.

I caught the scent of the hunters, upwind of us. Dumb idiots.

"Wait here," I said.

I rose and skirted around the hollow, circling the hunters. Their scent carried clear and sharp through the forest: gun oil being the most pervasive scent beneath the pall of alcohol. The hunters had made a party of it and they reeked of beer. Beer and guns, what a wonderful mix. Serious hunters would have been disgusted at the idea.

I crept forward until I could see them. There were four of them: two were puzzling over a hand-held electronic device, one was picking his nose and staring off into space, and the fourth was drinking from a can of beer.

I picked up a small stone and lightly lobbed it over to my left.

When the four hunters turn towards the noise I leap into the clearing. I keep a tight grip on my instincts. I don’t want to kill these humans. The first hunter is down, his rifle flung into the trees, his wind taken by a punch to the gut by the time the group realizes I’m behind them. The second joins his friend by the time they start to turn. The third is on the ground as the last—the nose picker—is bringing up his rifle. I grab the barrel and yank as it goes off, the shot hitting a tree behind me. His rifle whirls into the darkness. I grab his bright orange jacket and yank him towards me, teeth bared, growling. I smell the earthy scent of his bowels letting go.

“Don’t hunt werewolves,” I growl into his face.

Then I throw him on top of his friends and I am gone.

C
HAPTER

36

“
Well that’s great,” I said, peering out of the Swan’s tiny window. “We’ve got a protest going on.”

As the supersonic jet taxied I could see a respectably sized group of people on the other side of the fence. Signs like “V
AMPIRES
O
UT
!”, “M
OTHERS
A
GAINST
M
ONSTERS
” and “N
O
B
LOODSUCKERS
A
ROUND
O
UR
C
HILDREN
” were being shaken in the approved ‘up and down’ manner. Actually, looking at the group through my binoculars I could see that the sign actually read “M
OTHER’S
A
GAINST
M
ONSTERS
” but you can’t have everything, unless the person holding the sign was trying to let people know that her mother was against monsters. Anything is possible.

Ordinarily I would be delighted to see our American cousins out and fighting back, but this time was different. Of course, the protesters didn't know that their target was a vampire who completely agreed with them. It could be dangerous.

“Orders?” said John, taking a turn with the binoculars.

“
Okay,” I said. “Nothing new, we’ve all done CP before. I want standard formation, Anna is the subject so Jason will take Anna’s place in the … yes?”

I trailed off because Jason had raised his hand.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Jack,” he said.

“
You never did Close Protection training in the Parasite Regiment?”

He gave me a long-suffering look.

“No, we left that up to the Royal Latrines,” he said sarcastically. “Of course we did
some
training but it was like a one afternoon course and then it was off to jumping out of planes and practicing how to kill Johnny Foreigner.”

I paused and thought quickly.

“Okay. Jason, back to basics. CP is Close Protection, that means it’s up to us to protect the subject, in this case Anna.”

Jason nodded and inclined his head to Anna.

“Cam will take point, Bolt off to the front and left, I’ll take front and right. John, I want you on her right. Jason, you’ll take left flank, Take your cues from John. I want you about three feet from her left shoulder and about two feet behind her. If anything happens, you and John are directly responsible for her safety. Get her on the ground and cover her. When it’s time to move again follow John’s lead and do whatever he tells you to do.”

“
Okay,” he said.

“
We’ll be making our way at speed, through the airport, to the limousine so thoughtfully provided by our hosts. On the way we’ll be picking up a friend or two. When we get there, John will get in first, then Anna, then you, then the rest of us. Clear?”

“
Yessir,” he replied.

“
Boss,” said Cam. “His title is ‘boss’. ‘Sir’ is for officers and others who don’t work for a living.”

I hid a grin by turning back to the window. Cam had picked up on that particular rank prejudice fairly quickly.

“Okay, I want this fast and efficient. We’re supposed to be professional security guards so let’s at least pretend like we know what we’re doing.”

There was a chorus of affirmatives.

“Comms check,” I said, pushing the transmit button on my radio.

One by one my team clicked their radios in response, each burst of sound coming through my earpiece loud and clear.

“Okay, check. Let’s move.”

Cam stalked to the front of the narrow passenger cabin where the flight attendant with the boobs was opening the door and giving the big werewolf her brightest smile. He ignored her and stepped out into the tunnel. After a second we heard the double-click of his radio: the all-clear.

C
HAPTER

37

The male werewolf led me through the trees, clutching his wounded arm. I’d done my best, tearing his t-shirt into strips and binding the wound as well as I could, but he’d need to get some medical attention pretty soon. The hunters had been using silver-tipped rounds by the look of the wound.

The male had beckoned me to follow him and, lacking any other options, I’d decided to do so. Maybe the male would have a phonebook or internet access and I could get in contact with the Ministry or, failing that, the Embassy.

The male’s house was fairly big and looked like it had been carefully tended, with a very neat lawn and garden surrounded by a white wooden fence. It was also surrounded by the scent of several other werewolves.

I had thought—hoped—that the male might have been a loner. My adrenaline stared flowing and my stomach tightened. If this was pack territory I could be in a lot of trouble.

The male stopped, sniffing the air. He turned and made a questioning noise and I tensed further. Suddenly he gave a short, barking laugh and beckoned me inside, shaking his head and chuckling.

Not exactly reassuring but at least he seemed to understand why I was tense.

He led me around to the back of the house and opened a door. I noticed that the handle was larger than you’d normally expect—so he could operate it with his paw, I decided—and we stepped into a kitchen straight out of one of those home and garden magazines. Blue and white checks and spotless surfaces were the dominant themes, from the curtains over the sink to the tablecloth on the table. Seated at the table was a handsome woman with silver hair and a happy, careworn face. Her expression became concerned when she saw the bandage around the male’s arm.

“Perry!” she called over her shoulder as she stood up. “Kyle’s home and he’s hurt! Bring my things.”

“
Oh Lord,” came a male voice from inside the house. “Hunters again?”

“
And he’s brought a friend with him,” she called back.

Kyle gave me a sheepish look and shrugged.

“Come on, dear,” said the woman. “Take a seat and visit with us for a spell.”

She gently took my arm and led me over to the table. A small man with graying hair and spectacles bustled in, carrying an old-fashioned leather doctor’s bag. He gave me a puzzled smile and placed the bag on the table.

So far I was suffering from culture shock more than anything. This pleasant family scene was not what I had expected from a halfbreed pack.