The Frenzy War (24 page)

“Are you finished?”

Raphael seemed to take a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Have the families doubled up with each other?”

“Most of them.”

“Have you deployed our available people to search the grid?” Raphael nodded.

“We still don't know if Rhonda's given us up. The next attack should tell us. If she hasn't, then there are only three likely targets: your home, mine, and here. Since you and I have evacuated our homes, this is the most likely spot.”

Raphael's body seemed to relax. “Are we calling another war council?”

“No. Assuming Rhonda hasn't given up the names of other Wolves, the Torquemadans must be watching us here. If the same Wolves come here more than once, they'll identify our people and follow them. For the moment, we're the only targets. Call each delegate, and order him to contact his constituents by phone. We'll provide text message updates as necessary.”

“They'll want to be involved in the decision making.”

“Why should they be? I'm the alpha, and we're at war. Between adapting to new living arrangements and searching the grid for our enemies, they have enough to do.”

“What if the delegates ask why you sent your family away?”

“Right now you and I are the primary targets, so I fear for my family's safety. Any Wolf who shares my fears about his own family may do the same. But everyone must be made aware that a sudden exodus of our children will not go unnoticed by the authorities, and I have reason to believe we face a far greater threat than the Torquemadans on the horizon.”

S
itting at the middle of the long conference table while Landry plugged in a portable space heater he had found, Mace opened his briefcase and took out a notepad and some pens. “Arm yourselves.”

Candice tore off a page for herself and another for Landry and slid the pad to Shelly. Landry took his seat between Mace and Candice as the FBI agent pushed the notepad beyond Norton to Karol. Shelly and Norton each produced an electronic writing tablet to use instead.

“We're obviously working under less than ideal circumstances,” Mace said. “But we'll straighten those issues out. This is a joint NYPD and FBI task force. Our objective is to identify and apprehend the perps behind the abduction of Rhonda Wilson, the murder of Jason Lourdes, the murder of an unidentified male at the Lourdes' home, as well as five
canines, and the murders last night of Marshal and Deidre Wilson, Detectives Cato and Soares, and PO Lewis. These murders are being treated as the work of drug dealers, organized crime members, and terrorists.”

“Next thing you know, it'll be Martians,” Willy said.

“We need to operate under the radar. As far as the department is concerned, we barely exist. Seeing as how New York City is the law enforcement mecca of the world, we have to run our investigation without tripping over any other agencies or tipping them off about what we're up to. As much as possible, we need this operation to be clandestine.”

Norton leaned forward in her seat. “Captain, I just want to clarify to everyone here that Special Agent Norton and I are here to offer support only. You're calling the shots.”

Cover that ass fast, lady,
Mace thought. “So noted.”

Shelly opened his briefcase. “As to the clandestine nature of this task force, I have nondisclosure agreements for everyone to sign before we proceed.” He handed one copy of the agreement to everyone but Mace. “This stipulates that you may not discuss the details of this operation or any discoveries made by it, even in general terms, with anyone other than your superior officers, except in a court of law. If you violate these terms, you will be subject to severe penalties, including but not limited to termination and prosecution.”

Willy flipped through the pages of the agreement. “This sounds like bullshit to me. Are we serving together or not?”

Shelly's voice remained a monotone. “Everyone sitting here realizes this is an extraordinary situation in which we find ourselves, with implications reaching far beyond this city's
safety. The government has a clear mandate regarding national security, and these agreements pertain to that mandate.”

“Well, I notice we each got only one copy. That seems a little shady to me.”

“Captain Mace is in charge of this task force. He was given authority to choose his own team. If you want to serve on the team, you need to sign the agreement. It's that simple.”

Willy glanced at Mace.

“I already signed one.”

Blowing air out of his nostrils, Willy picked up his pen, signed and dated the agreement, and tossed it across the table to Shelly.

One by one, the other men and women signed their agreements and returned them to Shelly, who placed them in his briefcase.

“We're obviously a small unit,” Mace said. “Landry will man base camp in the day, Smalls at night. Congratulations on that promotion, Smalls.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“I'll cover a swing shift except when one of them takes a day off. Lieutenant Diega, Detective Wilson, and Special Agents Shelly and Norton will work the field. I don't intend to be landlocked, though.”

Landry smiled. “Day shift? Night shift? We're all going to be working long days, Tony. We should get some cots in here.”

“Good idea. We're all on call 24/7, and if the last two attacks are any indication, these assassins are a night crew. Every unit and agency investigating the three attacks will copy us on any developments as they occur, but as far as
they're concerned, we're just doing deep background research. We're to share nothing with them and obviously nothing with the press. No one knows we're here, and I want to keep it that way.” He took a moment to gather his thoughts. “The department and the FBI only acknowledge the existence of people with unusual DNA who have been classified as Class L humans.”

“Preliminary reports confirm that a RPG was used to destroy the Wilsons' house last night,” Norton said. “Most likely, it was fired from inside a van or from the back of a truck. The scattered remains of five people were discovered.”

“Human people?” Willy said.

“Yes.”

Mace focused on the female FBI agent. “Has Quantico made any determinations regarding the corpses and carcasses?”

“Nothing conclusive,” Norton said.

I bet.
“Did they at least narrow down what type of animals they were?”

“Nothing conclusive.”

“The perps call themselves the Brotherhood of Torquemada, which is a secret society descended from the Spanish Inquisition.”

“How do you know
that?”
Norton said.

“You and Mint put me in charge because of my expertise in certain areas. This is one of those areas.”

“We know the history of the Blade of Salvation,” Shelly said, “and our research shows this Brotherhood of Torquemada once existed, but you're making quite a leap.”

“The existence of a modern Brotherhood of Torquemada
is the least fantastic aspect of this case. If you accept the existence of—”

“Class L humans …”

“—and you accept a connection between them and the Blade of Salvation, then it's only logical to assume the Torquemadans are the perps.”

“Why?”

“Because the Torquemadans used swords. Blades of Salvation, to be precise. And Jason Lourdes and those five canines were all decapitated by swords. So there's reason to believe at least five Torquemadans are on US soil. Historically, there were six members in the brotherhood at all times, with six apprentices waiting in the wings to take their places. It's possible that unidentified corpse with the missing arm was one of them. If we can identify him and trace his movements, we may be able to track down the others.”

“Unfortunately, his remains were burned to a crisp, so we don't have prints to work with, just DNA and dental records.”

“Two years ago, Pedro Fillipe was killed in Central Park with the other half of the Blade that we found in Terrence Glenzer's safe. I think he brought that half of the sword with him to kill the Manhattan Werewolf. If I'm right, he was a member of the Brotherhood.”

Pushing his glasses up on his nose, Shelly consulted his tablet. “Fillipe was Dominican, but he came from Rome.”

“Both halves of that sword went to a monsignor in Rome. Now, I doubt our assassins traveled here together, but I'm willing to bet they're all from overseas.” Mace looked at Shelly. “Use your resources to search for Europeans and
Dominicans coming here over the last two weeks. Whether they came alone or not, I'm sure they didn't come with families or children.”

“Have you ever heard of looking for a needle in a haystack?”

“I know it's a long shot, but how many big cases have been solved by innocuous detective work?”

As Shelly entered information into his tablet, Mace turned to Norton. “Fillipe was killed with a priest named Francis Hagen. I believe he was staying at Hagen's church in Queens. It's possible that our assassins are all staying at a church, near one, or in separate churches. Make up a list of every Catholic church in the five boroughs. If possible, learn which priests were close associates of Hagen's and concentrate on them.”

“That's a lot of legwork,” Norton said. “I'm going to need more shoes.”

“Make sure they're comfortable.” Mace turned to Landry. “I know you and Candice have your hands full getting this place up and running, but I want you to go through your old research on the Blade of Salvation and follow up with this monsignor. Let's see if he paid for any airfare to the United States.”

Landry nodded as he scribbled on his sheet of paper.

“Candice, the initial reports on the attack on the Lourdes house say that the alarm was shut off. I want to know if the wires were cut, if the alarm company's computer was hacked, or if someone who works there might have given out that information.”

“What about us?” Karol said.

“Gabriel Domini and Raphael Domini are the key to this little war. Synful Reading is closed, but the Domini Funeral Home is still open, and that's where Gabriel and Raphael work together. If the Brotherhood goes after them there, they can take them both out at the same time. I want the two of you to stake out that crematorium.”

“They've both seen me and Karol,” Willy said. “They'll make us.”

“Assuming Gabriel and Raphael are Class L humans, they'll make anyone who's watching them.”

“What if they leave?”

“If they leave together, follow them. If they leave separately, follow Gabriel. And if they don't leave at all, stay put. If necessary, we'll relieve you. That funeral home has to be the next target. We may get a chance to end this quickly.”

“What do you want us to do if we see a bunch of guys in robes carrying swords?”

“Call us for backup, and if you can, don't go in until we arrive.”

“There's an elephant in the room,” Karol said. “Let's say these Class L humans turn furry and grow fangs. What are we supposed to do if we run into them?”

“Our job is to bring in these Brotherhood members, and in so doing, protect the Class Ls. Do not engage the Class Ls.”

Willy looked out the glass partition at the office space. “I don't see any cells or interview rooms. What are we doing with these fanatics if we apprehend them?”

“Dead or alive, we turn them over to the FBI. No collar, no paperwork, as if nothing ever happened.”

“With three of our own dead, I got no problem with that.”

Norton opened her briefcase. “There's one more formality to take care of before we begin.” She took out a pair of scissors and a handful of paper envelopes. “I need a hair sample from each one of you.”

Willy snorted. “Drug testing? Really?”

“Class L testing,” Shelly said. “We have to make sure everyone in this group is what he says he is.”

“Did you two have to give anyone a hair sample?”

“Yes,” Norton said. “But if it will make you feel better, we'll provide additional samples.”

“I'll go first,” Mace said.

Cheryl entered the offices of Manhattan Minute News with Ryan trailing her. They had spent the morning in Bensonhurst, interviewing neighbors of the Wilsons on camera. Ryan carried his equipment down the hall to the editing suites, where he would assemble the interviews into a one-minute segment that would play in rotation on the cable channel throughout the day.

She sat at her desk and opened her e-mail. Dozens of messages materialized on the screen, and she skimmed their subject lines, searching only for urgent items. A fresh message from Colleen appeared: See me now.

Cheryl looked up from her monitor at the glass-faced office. Inside, Colleen juggled a landline and a cell phone while facing her monitor. Cheryl made her way to the office door, rapped on the glass, and entered as Colleen hung up the landline and concentrated on her cell phone.