The Frenzy War (33 page)

Gabriel stared hard at Mace. “Who else shares your beliefs?”

“Let's save some conversation for dinner.”

Willy pulled over to the Fifth Precinct parking lot and stared straight ahead.

“Do you plan to never speak to me again?” Karol said. “That's how boys act in elementary school.”

“I don't know if I should talk or howl.”

“You're a dog. Maybe you should bark.”

He turned to her, mouth open to speak, only to see her smile. He felt his anger dissipating and did his best to summon it back. “Don't do that. This is serious shit.”

“You're right; it's my life.”

“You're Gabriel's plant—”

“Gabriel didn't enlist me for this assignment. Mace did.”

“And if I don't tell Tony, I'm an accomplice.”

“Maybe I should just leave the task force? Or resign altogether?”

“That would make things a hell of a lot easier.”

“I can't do that. You may hold my life in your hands, but this isn't just about
my
life. It's about the lives of my people. Innocent people, like Jason Lourdes and Rhonda Wilson and their parents. I have to do everything I can to stop these murders.”

Willy took a deep breath. “Wolves, not people.”

“Good night,” she said in an icy tone.

Willy watched her get out of the SUV and enter the lot. Bowing his head, he sighed. Then he drove away.

Mace and Gabriel sat opposite each other in a booth located at the back of the diner, which was only one quarter full, sipping watery coffee. Framed photos of movie stars covered the walls.

“You have kids, right?” Mace said.

“Two sons.” Taking out his wallet, Gabriel removed photos of two boys and laid them side by side on the table for Mace to see. “Gareth and Damien.”

“Good-looking boys. Twins?”

Gabriel put the photos back in his wallet. “Yes. How about you?”

Mace took out his wallet and set a photo on the table. “One daughter, Patty, named after the policewoman Janus Farel murdered.”

Gabriel studied the photo. “She's beautiful. How old?”

“Almost two. Yours?”

“Six. I remember when they were two. It was a fun age.”

“I ordered increased patrols around your apartment and your brother's, but as far as we can tell, neither one of you has been home since this started. Neither have your wife and children.”

Holding Mace's gaze, Gabriel offered a slight smile. “You haven't convinced me that I should confide in you.
How do I know that you're not recording this conversation?”

Mace reached inside his jacket and took out an envelope from which he removed a stapled document that he offered to Gabriel, who skimmed it.

“That's a copy of a nondisclosure agreement I signed. It was prepared by the higherups who authorized the task force I'm running—the task force charged with stopping the Brotherhood of Torquemada. It forbids me from divulging any facts related to this case to anyone not in the task force or to whom the task force answers. If I'm wearing a wire, I've already hanged myself for treason.”

Gabriel handed the document back. “Why would you take such a risk for me?”

“Like I said, Angela saved my life. Even though I did the same for her, I feel like I still owe her. Also, I took an oath to serve and protect. I know the NYPD didn't have your kind in mind when they drew up that oath, but I see you as human. I believe what Angela told me, that you're a peaceful people who only want to be left alone, that Janus was a rogue. You deserve protection as much as the rest of us do. The Brotherhood of Torquemada is a terrorist organization, plain and simple, and they've killed three cops. The department wants them stopped, and the feds want your existence kept a secret. Their interests—my interests— intersect with yours.”

Gabriel drummed his fingers on the table. “My sister told you too much. We have rules against that, punishable by death.”

“She helped me stop Janus … your Berserker. I couldn't
have killed him without her. Surely she deserves special consideration?”

“Angela's always been a rebel. She's broken rules before.”

“Like mating with a human?”

“I'm used to making allowances for her.”

“If you're already an endangered species, maybe you need to lessen the severity of your laws.”

Gabriel showed Mace the palms of his hands, his fingers spread out. “Despite our similarities, our species really are different. In my society, we vote on important developments, but we don't legislate.” He closed his hands into fists. “Our laws are instinctive. After centuries of hiding from your kind, our sense of self-preservation is inbred. Angela has always operated against those instincts.”

“And Raphael? It seems to me he's playing his own game, one that poses as great a threat to your survival as Janus's did. One of my men saw your Wolves in action. Two of them almost killed him. I want to keep your people safe, but I need to keep mine alive.”

“The burden of leadership. My brother has always been loyal to me, but this is a stressful time. You mentioned feds. How bad is it?”

“I can't say for sure. At the start of this, those two FBI agents and a high-ranking police official asked me to head up this task force. I was led to believe that individuals within the bureau suspect the packs exist. I don't know how many. The agents are part of my team, but if I had to guess, I'd say they pushed NYPD into this arrangement. All the evidence gathered so far has been sent to Quantico. As we speak,
those carcasses are being dissected and DNA is being analyzed and compared. Whatever methods you've employed to cover up your existence in the past won't fly in Virginia. We may be able to stop the Brotherhood, but what happens when the government gets involved?”

“One thing at a time. How many people are in your task force?”

“There are nine of us.”

“How much do they know?”

“Everything to varying degrees.”

“If you arrest the Torquemadans, there will be a trial. Our existence could still be made public.”

“My superiors don't want that. If we take the Torquemadans alive, we're turning them over to the FBI.”

“Who will keep their imprisonment a secret and torture them. In which case, your government will learn the history of my people, and we'll still be in danger.”

“I was told the government wants to observe you and possibly make peaceful contact with you.”

“Do you believe that?”

Mace considered the question. “No.”

“What will they do, propose a treaty with us? Confine us to reservations? Allow us to sell tax-free cigarettes to feed our families? Or will they pursue a more explicit form of genocide?”

“I don't know. But they know you're in New York. Any of you who stay here do so at your own risk.”

“I've already sent my wife and children away until this is over.”

“Maybe you should consider not bringing them home.”

“My wife is a strong-willed woman—like yours.”

Mace disliked people knowing anything about his personal life, but Cheryl's relative fame as a local celebrity made that unavoidable.

“I read about her interview tomorrow night.”

“Rodrigo Gomez is one of you.”

Gabriel's face seemed to tighten. “I really must have a talk with my sister.”

“I brought Gomez in. I had a personal reason for pressing her on the point.”

“I remember when you arrested him. It was a relief to us. My father was grooming me to succeed him while Gomez terrorized the city. You did us a favor. Then that book came out, and we got nervous all over again.”

“Carl Rice has been an ongoing irritation to me.”

“He made you famous, didn't he? I saw the movie. You looked taller on TV.”

“I get that a lot.”

“We can't keep enough copies of
The Wolf Is Loose
in stock at Synful Reading.”

“That's unfortunate.”

“At least they haven't turned that into a movie yet.”

“I understand the rights have been optioned.”

“Do you see any money from that?”

“No. I refused to cooperate with Rice on either book. I'm just a figment of his imagination.”

“I wonder what he'll write next.”

“You have to help me help you.”

“What would you like me to do?”

“Angela found Janus Farel. You can help me locate these Torquemadans before anyone else gets killed.”

“Julian walked into Synful Reading while Angela was working—just like you did. She had his scent.”

“After tonight, Raphael and his crew have the scents of four of the Torquemadans.”

“If you're right, I'm sure he has his own plans for them.”

“Then you've got to rein him in. Let him track them down, but allow me and my people to handle the confrontation for your own good.”

“If you arrest any of the Torquemadans, you have no way of guaranteeing they won't stand trial. You have no idea what your superiors will do with them, no matter what they say now.”

“Trust me, the last thing the authorities want is to cause any more panic than there's already been. Keeping these guys out of the public eye is a priority.”

“Your plan makes sense, but I can't promise anything.”

Mace took out a business card. “You can reach me here at any hour. Where are you staying?”

Gabriel pocketed the card. “Someplace safe.”

“I can provide you with additional security.”

“The fewer people who know my location, the safer I'll be.”

A deafening sound from outside, like a giant toilet flushing, overwhelmed the conversations in the diner, and Mace noticed the water in his glass rippling. Patrons exchanged terrified glances, and by the time the sound faded, a chorus of car alarms had commenced. Gabriel closed his hands into fists again.

M
ace ran out of the diner onto East Thirty-fifth Street, followed by Gabriel. He saw people running in the direction of the PATH train station two blocks away. Turning, he sprinted in the opposite direction and climbed into his SUV. Before he had turned the ignition, Gabriel opened the door and got in beside him.

“This isn't a ride along,” Mace said as he affixed his strobe light to the vehicle's roof.

“I'll only follow you on foot if you tell me to get out.”

Mace activated the siren. “Strap yourself in.”

Gabriel buckled his seat belt, and Mace pulled into the street. In the distance, orange flames rose high from a parking space and black smoke obscured the view of skyscrapers. Transit police exited the PATH station, and a squad car stopped in the middle of the intersection. People ran from the scene as well as to it.

Mace double-parked. “You stay here.”

As soon as he got out, he smelled burning smoke. Running through the intersection, he flashed his ID at the two POs who had just gotten out of their patrol car. “Keep everyone back!” he said over the screaming car alarms.

The flames and smoke rose from a vehicle in a parking space. He ran close enough to the inferno to feel the heat from the flames on his face. The roof had been blown off the SUV, and the doors and hubcaps lay smoldering in the street, blood and oil mixed on the pavement, burned flesh and clothing spread out like frosting on a cake. The stench of burning skin filled his nostrils, and he gagged. Backing up, he glimpsed something lying on the ground underneath the SUV on the opposite side of the street. Covering his mouth and nose with one hand, he crouched and saw a human hand and forearm with black skin. The end of the forearm looked as if it had been cut from the rest of the arm.

He took out his phone and called Candice. “I'm at the PATH station. It looks like someone blew up an SUV. I'm willing to bet it was our sword-wielding terrorists. Their man probably died, and they knew they'd been spotted, so they blew up the vehicle with him inside it so we couldn't identify the corpse. Only problem is, the severed arm didn't get burned, so we can lift fingerprints. Get Hector and Suzie over here right away.”