The Frenzy War (44 page)

Mace's mind raced as he drove into Newark, the Manhattan skyline visible across the water. The Brotherhood of Torquemada had chosen as the locale for its base the largest city in New Jersey, eight miles west of Manhattan. New Jersey: the perfect place for werewolf slayers to hide and still have quick access to their hunting grounds.

He drove along dark streets surrounded by tall buildings, his GPS guiding him away from the city proper, through different wards and neighborhoods beyond the city's ports. He steered the SUV through a neighborhood that consisted almost entirely of abandoned buildings, then drove along a field to a low, flat building with a Cyclone fence that had been ruptured in several places. An SUV, the only vehicle in the parking lot, idled near a loading dock.

Mace pulled up a few rows behind the SUV and parked his own vehicle. He scanned the industrial terrain, then got out and approached the other SUV, glancing over his shoulder at the rusted metal around him. Wind blew loose signs against the fence. Reaching inside his coat, he squeezed the butt of his Glock and stopped a dozen feet away from the rear of the SUV, noting its New York license plates.

Plates owned by the city,
he thought with growing interest.

The passenger door opened, and Gabriel got out. In the dim light from the ceiling dome, Mace could not make out the driver before Gabriel closed the door and walked over to him. He removed his hand from the Glock.

“I'm sorry your wife got dragged into this,” Gabriel said.

“I should have been with her. The explosions at your properties interfered with my plans.”

“They interfered with mine too.”

“But they provided you with a cover so that the Brotherhood and my people would stop tailing you.”

Gabriel made an exaggerated shrug. “Leadership trains you to turn bad situations to your advantage.”

Mace nodded at the SUV. “Who's your chauffeur?”

Gabriel pounded on the SUV's hatch. The driver's door opened, and a female got out. She was silhouetted at first until she stepped into a pool of light from the streetlight beyond the fence.

Mace blinked in surprise. “Detective Williams.”

Karol spoke in a low voice. “Captain.”

He glanced at Gabriel, then back at her. “You're one of them.”

“I'm a cop, but I'm a Wolf first.”

“You planted her,” Mace said to Gabriel.

“My father always encouraged our people to assimilate,” Gabriel said. “When I became his advisor, I encouraged our young to take those measures a step further, to take on positions that afforded them access to different branches of government so they'd be in a position to protect our secret. Karol was one of the first Wolves to join the NYPD but not the only one. She did the rest herself, excelling at her work. You selected her to join your task force; she didn't select you.”

It made perfect sense to Mace.
Survival of the species.
“Everything I confided in you—”

“I already knew, thanks to Karol. Still, I appreciated your honesty.”

Bright light illuminated Karol's features, and Mace heard a car engine. He turned to see another SUV pull into the parking lot. He could not see the driver through the glare of the headlights.

Whoever it was killed the engine. The door opened, and the overhead light illuminated Willy as he got out. The sound of the door closing echoed around the lot, and he walked over to Mace. “I'm looking for the Cheryl Mace rescue party,” he said. “Mr. Domini, are you a ghost now?”

Karol closed her eyes, as if in pain.

Mace felt relieved to see Willy. “You followed me?”

“No.” Karol opened her eyes. “He followed me.”

“I told you when we started this, I'm not losing another partner,” Willy said. “I saw you making a call on your phone back at the Oh-Five.”

“Don't tell me you were jealous.”

“No, I just wondered who you could be reporting to besides Gabriel, since we thought he was six feet under the funeral home.”

Narrowing his eyes at Karol, Gabriel sniffed the air.

Karol raised her eyes to the sky and clawed air near her face. “All right, yes. We're together.”

Gabriel and Mace looked at Willy.

“I guess this is what they mean when they say it's complicated,” he said.

“You knew Williams was a Wolf
and
reporting to Gabriel?”

Now Willy raised his hands. “I'm wrestling with a few issues, okay? Nothing Karol or I have done has compromised the operation.”

Gabriel stared at Karol.

“I'm sorry,” she said. “I didn't mean for this to happen.”

“I'm irresistible,” Willy said.

“Fortunately for you both, we have much bigger problems to contend with,” Gabriel said.

Mace looked from one face to another. “Does anyone else have any secrets he'd like to share?”

“You carried one around for a long time,” Willy said. “A big, bad one.”

“Not by choice.” Mace turned to Gabriel. “Where's my wife?”

Gabriel nodded at the building behind them. “Follow me.”

S
itting on the straw-covered floor, Cheryl tried to ignore the blood around her, but she found she had to close her eyes to do that.

“They're going to kill us,” Rhonda said.

Cheryl opened her eyes. Rhonda sat with her back against the opposite wall.

“They'll probably kill me first, but your head is on the ‘ chopping block too.”

“I haven't seen their faces,” Cheryl said. “I couldn't possibly identify any of them.” She felt guilty for weighing her odds of survival against Rhonda's.

“Michael has a bandage on his face because I bit his ‘‘ ‘ nose off. He's the leader. Henri is the black guy with the shaved head. He's the one who hacked my arm off. And there's a woman with a big nose and long hair. I don't know

her name. If I had to guess, she's not entirely sold on whatever they're up to. They all have accents: Italian, French, whatever. Who knows? Maybe you can use this information after I'm gone.”

Cheryl stared at her fellow captive. Rhonda was more girl than woman, and yet her eyes revealed the weariness of someone much older. Whatever she was, she had no doubt suffered considerable physical and emotional pain over the last few days. “Neither one of us is going to die.”

“What makes you think so?”

Because my husband is a cop
would have sounded silly. “You've been stuck in here, so you don't know what's going on out there. These people aren't just killers and kidnappers; they're terrorists. People are panicking. The governor brought the National Guard in, and every law enforcement agency you can think of is working overtime to find them. It's just a matter of time before they do.”

Rhonda's lower lip quivered. “What makes you think we have any time?”

Cheryl sighed.
Just my luck: the biggest story of my life and I'm the subject, not the reporter.

Gabriel led the party around the building, Mace and Willy carrying flashlights. No streetlights or work lights illuminated the far side of the property, and they found themselves on a train platform overlooking dense foliage.

“This was a depot years ago,” Gabriel said. “It hasn't been used in decades.”

Mace played his flashlight beam over the bare branches of the trees rising from below. Through the trees, he saw a dull yellow rectangle a little more than a quarter of a mile away. “There?”

Gabriel nodded. “It's a small warehouse complex.”

“What makes you think Cheryl is in there?”

“My brother and his crew tracked the Brotherhood there.”

Mace looked around the surrounding territory. Besides a field of power towers, he saw no other buildings nearby. “This is a pretty isolated area. How did they do that?”

“Don't underestimate our sense of smell or Raphael's determination.”

“Where is he?” Willy said.

“I ordered him to report to me if he located the Brotherhood and then stay away for twenty-four hours.”

“And he just agreed to that?”

“I'm the leader of the pack, and he's loyal to me despite our differences over this situation. He has no choice but to respect my wishes, which are that you, not my people, take these killers down.”

Willy glanced at Karol. “Oh, so Tony and me are on our own, huh?”

“No. I have a personal stake in this as well. Karol and I will help you. We know how to control ourselves.”

“How do you propose we reach that warehouse without being seen?” Mace said.

Gabriel pointed at the trees. “These woods extend right to the edge of that property. We scouted it while waiting for you to arrive. We can get at least that far without being seen.”

Karol jerked her head in the direction from which they'd come. “Someone else is here.”

The four of them exchanged alarmed glances.

Willy shone his flashlight into the brush below. “I don't see anyone.”

“It's Shelly and Norton,” Karol said.

“Tell me you don't smell them from here.”

“I told you,” Gabriel said.

Willy looked at Mace. “We could hide under this platform.”

“No. I don't want any accidental gunfire or anything. Besides, we can use the backup. Let's just wait here for them to find us.”

“We could call Landry and Candice too.”

Mace shook his head. “Landry's at my house. Candice is joining him when she gets off duty. That's where I want them.”

“How did the Frisbees know we were here?”

“They were on the scene in Ossining. They must have followed me.”

“Everyone's following someone.”

A pair of flashlights appeared around the corner. Mace turned his flashlight on himself and waved.

“They don't know about Karol,” Willy said in a low voice.

“We don't know what they know.”

Moments later, Shelly and Norton became visible.

“Is this a private club, or can anyone walk in off the street?” Shelly said. He held a pump-action shotgun in one hand.

“We were just about to call you,” Willy said.

“There was no need,” Norton said.

“Let me congratulate you on your tailing prowess,” Mace said.

“I don't want to insult you, but it wasn't difficult.”

“I've got a lot on my mind.”

“Understood.”

Willy gestured at Shelly's shotgun. “That's some heavy artillery you've got there. Are you hunting bear or the Jersey

Devil?”

“Call me paranoid, but when three members of the task force I'm part of rendezvous outside their jurisdiction only hours after a spouse is abducted by the quarry we're after, I come prepared.”

“I guess it's lucky for us this does fit into your jurisdiction.”

Norton looked through the trees at the warehouse complex in the distance. “Is that our objective?”

“Yes,” Mace said.

Norton returned her attention to Gabriel. “How do you know?”

Gabriel maintained a poker face. “I received an anonymous tip.”

“Then this is unconfirmed?”

“That's right,” Mace said. “But Mr. Domini has faith in the information he received.”

“Even though it came from an anonymous tipster?” Shelly said.

“Yes,” Gabriel said.

Norton turned to Mace. “We never discussed a civilian joining us.”

Gabriel stepped closer to them. “I can handle myself.”

“Do you have a gun?”

“I don't need one.”

“That's fascinating, but we have a vested interest in your survival.”

Gabriel smiled. “If anything happens to me, I'm sure I'll wind up on a slab in Quantico.”

“My wife's life is in danger,” Mace said. “Gabriel's already scouted the terrain out there. He and I are leaving now. Any of you wants to accompany us is welcome. Gabriel?”

Gabriel stepped off the moss-covered platform and flattened brush with his landing. Mace leapt after him. A moment later, Willy joined them. He offered Karol his hand, but she ignored it and landed farther out than he did. Norton hopped down next, then Shelly. Karol took out her flashlight.

For show,
Mace thought. Norton and Shelly had to know Gabriel was a Class L, but there was no reason to believe they suspected Karol was anything but a cop. “Aim your flashlights at the ground, and shield them with your free hand. Keep the chatter to a minimum.”

“Walk two abreast,” Norton said.

Gabriel and Mace proceeded, followed by Willy and Karol, with Shelly and Norton bringing up the rear.