Chapter 17

 

“How many men does this Clay guy have?” Mal asked.

Ronin had just finished telling them everything and he was pacing restlessly back and forth in the reception area.

“A lot,” he said. “And he’ll probably have more now that the infection has spread.”

“Is he a scientist like Stowe?” Bishop asked.

“No. He’s an old friend of Wyatt. Wyatt brought him in just before I escaped the lab. I don’t know why. But he’s fucking dangerous and not just because he’s a teleport. I overheard a few of the other doctors talking about him. He’s good with weapons, he has hand-to-hand combat skills, and he’s fucking smart. He’s basically a mercenary for hire.”

He raked his hand through his hair before glancing at his watch. “I have to go.”

“We need a plan,” Mal said. “You can’t go alone, Ronin.”

“I have to or they’ll kill Kat.”

“Are Clay’s men shifters or human?”

“A little bit of both,” Ronin replied. “Most of them are just as dangerous as he is.”

“Okay,” Mal said, “here’s what we do. We drive out to the lab, you drop off Bishop and me a few miles from the lab. We’ll shift and wait until dark then break into the lab and get both you and Kat out of there.”

“And me,” Fenton said. “I’m going too.”

Mal shook his head. “It’s too dangerous, Fenton. We can’t ask you – “

“Kat is my friend and I’m going with you. End of story,” Fenton growled.

“The lab is surrounded by a fence with barbed wire at the top,” Bishop said thoughtfully. “We’ll need to snip the wire. Are the grounds patrolled at night?”

Ronin nodded. “Yes, but only by a few men. They have security but it’s not exactly a fortress. The real issue will be once you’re inside. The building is large and Clay will have his men positioned in the lab. He’ll be expecting trouble.”

“So you’ll tell us how to get through the building to the lab and we move quickly and quietly,” Mal said. “If we wait a few hours before we go in, it might catch them off guard.”

“You’ll need to kill them,” Ronin said gravely. “Do you understand that? Clay will give his men orders to kill, not capture.”

“We know,” Bishop said quietly as Willow put her arm around Mal’s waist.

“Mal? Maybe we should go to the police and – “

“No!” Ronin snapped. “If we go to the police, Wyatt will kill Kat.”

“Bren,” she said suddenly. “We should at least talk to Bren. He knows a bit about what’s going on and – “

“No!” Ronin shouted. “Jesus, Willow, are you listening to me? Wyatt is just as dangerous as Clay. He’s – he’s unstable and he’ll stop at nothing to try and cure his wife. If a bunch of cops show up at the lab, he’ll kill Kat!”

“Okay,” Willow said soothingly. “We won’t tell Bren.”

The door opened and they all froze guiltily as the topic of their conversation walked into the office. Bren stared at them curiously. “What’s going on?”

“Hey, Bren,” Willow said nervously. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see if Kat talked to Mr. Haddon this morning.”

“She did,” Bishop said.

“Good. Can I speak with her?” Bren asked.

“She’s not here. She’s at a client’s,” Bishop replied. “I’ll get her to call you later.”

“Or you could just tell me what happened,” Bren said pleasantly.

Bishop glanced at Ronin before shrugging. “We spoke with Clay, he explained that they were trying to help Sandra and we were happy with his explanation.”

“So you’re going to the lab?” Bren said.

“No. We don’t need to. I told you, we were happy with his explanation,” Bishop said. “If you’ll excuse us, detective, we have a very busy day and – “

“I’m Bren Matthews,” Bren ignored Bishop and held his hand out to Ronin. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“Ronin Smith,” Ronin said shortly.

“He’s one of our employees,” Bishop said. “I’m not trying to be rude, but we really are quite busy, detective. I’ll have Kat give you a call later, okay?”

Bren studied each of them before nodding briefly. “Sounds good. Have a nice day.”

He left the office, closing the door softly behind him. Willow gave Mal a nervous look. “Do you think he believed us?”

“No,” Mal said. “But we can’t worry about that now. We need to get moving.”

“I need to speak to Ava first,” Bishop said.

“We don’t have time,” Ronin said.

“I’ll call Ava,” Willow said quickly before glancing at Fenton, “and Ginger and have them come to the office right now.”

She hurried toward reception, stopping to pat Ronin’s arm. “Don’t worry, Ronin. We’ll get her back.”

 

* * *

 

“Please be careful, Bishop,” Ava said softly.

Bishop stroked her long red hair before placing a gentle kiss against her mouth. “I will, baby. Don’t worry.”

“Promise me you’ll come back to me, come back to us,” she said as she placed her hand on her stomach.

“I promise.” He rubbed her belly and rested his forehead against hers. “I love you, Ava.”

“I love you too, Bishop.”

He hugged her, burying his face in her hair and breathing in her scent before bending and pressing a kiss against her stomach. Behind them, Ginger was clinging to Fenton. He was rubbing her back and whispering into her ear and, blinking back tears, Ginger nodded before kissing the cheetah shifter.

“Time to go,” Mal said.

Willow had both arms wrapped around his waist and he smiled at her when she refused to release him.

“If you die before we’re actually married, I will never forgive you, Malcolm Burke,” she said.

He kissed her and gave her another small grin. “I’m not going to die, Willow. But if I do, I’ll just hang around as a ghost.”

“Not funny,” she said in a quiet voice.

He grimaced and hugged her hard. “I love you, Willow. I’m not going to die.”

“I love you too, Mal,” she said. “Please let me come with you.”

“No,” he said firmly. “You stay right here, Willow. Do not go anywhere near that lab. If we’re not back by tomorrow morning, call Detective Matthews and tell him what’s going on but stay away. Promise me.”

“I promise,” she said.

He tugged her hands from around his waist and stared at her crossed fingers. She scowled and uncrossed them before saying, “Fine, I promise, Mal.”

He kissed her again and cupped her face. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

 

* * *

 

“Hello, Ronin.”

“Where’s Kat?” Ronin glared at Clay.

“She’s safe. Pat him down.”

“We did. He’s clean.” The massive blond man standing next to Ronin replied.

“Pat him down again,” Clay replied.

Ronin lifted his arms and waited impatiently as the man patted his body down. “I want to see Kat.”

“Wyatt’s waiting for you in the lab.”

Ronin’s face paled slightly. “I want to see Kat first.”

“Yes, I imagine you do. Let’s go,” Clay said.

Ronin hesitated before following Clay down the hallway. The blond man followed and the three men entered the elevator. Clay pushed a button and it carried them down to the basement level. The doors opened and Ronin faltered when he saw the wide double doors that led to the lab.

“Keep moving, Ronin,” Clay said before prodding him in the back.

He took a deep breath and stepped out into the hallway. Clay pressed a plain white card against the control panel next to the door. The light turned green and he shoved the doors open. The blond man pushed Ronin into the room.

“Ronin, so good of you to join us,” Wyatt said cheerfully.

He was standing next to a hospital bed and he patted it. “Hop on up here and we’ll get started.”

“I want to see Kat,” Ronin said.

Wyatt cocked his head at him. “But of course you do.”

There were four other men in the room, all of them wearing white lab coats, and Wyatt motioned to the man closest to the door at the far end of the room. The man disappeared and Wyatt smiled at Ronin before beginning to lay out several surgical instruments on a small tray next to the bed.

“Are you not even going to ask about Lora?”

“Lora is dead,” Ronin said.

Wyatt growled at him. “Lora is most certainly not dead. In fact, now that you’ve come back to us, I’m certain she’ll be feeling like herself in no time.”

“It’s not going to work, Wyatt,” Ronin said. “There is no hope for her.”

“Don’t say that!” Wyatt shouted. “She can be cured. You can cure her. I just need to find the way.”

The door opened and Kat stumbled into the room. “Ronin!”

She shook off the grip of the man holding her and darted across the room. She flung her arms around the bird shifter and kissed him repeatedly.

“You shouldn’t have come,” she whispered.

“Are you kidding? I couldn’t let my kitten have all the fun.” He tried to give her a cocky grin but she could see the fear in his eyes.

She kept her arms wrapped around his waist as she turned to Wyatt. “What are you going to do to him?”

Wyatt laughed. “Surely you’re not that stupid, Ms. Frost.”

He finished laying out his tools and picked up a large syringe filled with a dull red liquid. “You’ve seen your love, Ronin. It’s time to get started.”

“Let Kat go and as soon as I know she’s safe, I’ll help,” Ronin said.

Wyatt laughed. “Do you really believe you still have a choice? You know as well as I do that I cannot let Ms. Frost leave here. Unless, that is, you help me find the cure. Once Lora is saved, I’ll let the both of you go with a substantial amount of money. You can spend your life with her, wherever you’d like, without a care in the world.”

“We had a deal,” Ronin said. “I come to the lab, you let her go.”

“I didn’t make that deal,” Wyatt said.

Ronin glanced at Clay and Wyatt shook his head. “Clay had no right to make that deal. He’s just the hired help.”

He sighed impatiently before gesturing at Clay. “Take Ms. Frost so we can get started please.”

Clay moved toward them and Ronin stepped in front of Kat. “Clay, take her out of here. Please.”

Clay hesitated and Wyatt said, “I have your brother, Clay.”

He stiffened and swung around. “What did you say?”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Wyatt said. “Did you think I haven’t noticed your growing distaste for the job I pay you to do? Three weeks ago I took your brother as, let’s call it, insurance that you would finish the job. You’ll do what I say or you’ll never see – “

He jerked as Clay vanished before reappearing in front of him. He slammed Wyatt on to the bed and snarled at him. “Where is my brother?”

“Kill me and you’ll never find out,” Wyatt growled. “Let me go.”

Clay, his face twisting, released him and Wyatt pushed off the bed before smiling at him. “Your brother is safe. Although, the man I gave him to has been enjoying using your brother’s abilities for his own personal gain.”

“You fucking asshole! I’m going to kill you!” Clay shouted.

“Careful,” Wyatt said. “I’m the only person who knows where your brother is. Remember that, Clay. Help me and I’ll release your brother. Easy as that.”

Clay drew his gun and pressed it against Wyatt’s shoulder. “How about I pump you full of holes? Not enough to kill you, just leave you in agony until you tell me where my brother is.”

“I’ll never tell,” Wyatt said in a sing-song voice before grinning at Clay.

Clay’s finger tightened on the trigger before he turned and stalked toward Ronin and Kat.

“Clay, don’t,” Ronin said.

“I have to,” he snarled at him before yanking Kat out of his grip.

“Take her behind the glass,” Wyatt said. “Let her watch.”

“No!” Ronin said quickly. “She doesn’t need to watch this.”

“I think she does,” Wyatt said. “Go on, Clay.”

“Ronin!” Kat’s nails turned to claws and she raked them across Clay’s face. He grunted in pain and shoved the gun against her temple.

She hissed at him as her body swelled and her eyes turned dark yellow.

Wyatt laughed. “Better calm your kitty-cat down, Ronin. If she shifts, I’ll have Clay kill her.”

“Kat, stop,” Ronin pushed Clay away and cupped her face, his fingers stroking the fur that was growing on her cheeks. “Stop, sweetheart. It’ll be okay.”

“Ronin,” she whispered and he bent his head and kissed her.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you too.” She blinked back her tears as Clay took her arm in a hard grip and yanked her toward a door next to a large window. He shoved her into the room and locked the door behind them before flipping a switch next to the window. Kat stared through the glass, her body trembling, as Wyatt’s voice drifted out of speakers set in the walls.

“Undress please, Ronin.”

Ronin stripped off his clothes and Wyatt gave him a pleased look. “Excellent. Hop up on the bed, make yourself comfortable.”

Ronin hesitated. He glanced at the two armed men standing next to the double doors before eyeing the group of obviously nervous scientists.”

Wyatt held up the syringe. “You know what this is, don’t you, Ronin.”

“Yes,” Ronin spat.

“You don’t cooperate and I’ll inject this into your precious cat shifter instead of you.”

Ronin paled and glanced behind him. Kat was pressed up against the glass and he gave her a small smile before walking toward the bed.

He laid down, staring at the ceiling as Wyatt and a second doctor strapped his arms and legs down with wide leather bands.

“Camera on, please,” Wyatt said. He squeezed Ronin’s arm before smiling at him. “This is going to sting a bit.”

He slid the needle into Ronin’s arm and injected the liquid. Ronin continued to stare at the ceiling as Wyatt leaned over him. “Don’t fight the change. It’ll be easier and faster if you don’t.”

“What did he just inject him with?” Kat asked Clay.

“Lora’s blood,” Clay said. “He wants him infected so he can take samples of his organs and tissues.”

“What the hell for?” Kat said angrily. “How is that going to help?”

“The samples that he takes will heal. Not as quickly as Ronin regenerates, but they will eventually heal. Wyatt is hoping to use them to create a vaccine to heal his wife.”

“He’s done this before,” Kat said.

“Many times,” Clay said grimly. “He hasn’t unlocked the secret to Ronin’s healing abilities but he’s confident he will.”

“If he hasn’t done it by now, he’s never going to…”

Kat trailed off when Ronin made a sudden harsh cry of pain. His body arched, the muscles in his arms and thighs bulging as he strained against the restraints. She watched in horror as his body swelled and feathers sprouted from his skin. Ronin screamed in agony and she made a soft scream in sympathy.

“Ronin!” She banged on the glass, tears running down her face, as the leather restraints snapped and Ronin fell off the bed. He jumped to his feet and she heard his bones crack as they stretched to impossible lengths. More feathers were sprouting across his back and he fell to his knees, his back bowing, as his entire body rippled. He screamed, the shrill cry of an animal in agony, and she pounded on the glass again.

He snapped his head toward the sound and she shrieked in horror. Ronin’s eyes were blood red, the pupil a small circle of black in the sea of red, and his face was starting to change. His jaw was lengthening as his beak appeared and she stared in terror at the large jagged teeth that were growing out of it. He snapped his beak and made a predatory cry of hunger before turning to face Wyatt.

The bear shifter stared calmly at him and Ronin, his arms beginning to turn to wings, leaped for him. There was the sound of a gunshot and Kat screamed when Ronin flew backwards. A small dark hole was in the middle of his forehead and his eyes stared lifelessly at the ceiling as one of the guards lowered his weapon and returned to the far side of the room.

“Quickly!” Wyatt shouted. “We must move quickly!”

The group of scientists heaved Ronin’s body on to the table. Feathers floated everywhere as Wyatt and two others sliced and carved into Ronin’s body.

“I need a large sample of his brain,” Wyatt snapped as he sliced Ronin’s abdomen open. Moving quickly, he yanked out a large organ, it was reddish brown in colour, and dropped it into a silver pan.

“Liver,” he said. He pulled out Ronin’s large intestines and sliced off several pieces as Kat made a moaning gasp of dismay. When the bone saw started, she stumbled back and screamed breathlessly when she felt Clay’s solid body behind her. The scientist was cutting into Ronin’s skull and when Clay turned her and yanked her against her chest, she buried her face into his shirt. She threw her hands over her ears, trying to block out the sound of the bone saw, as Clay put his arms around her and rubbed her back almost soothingly.

“He’s starting to smoke!”

“Goddammit! Did you get the brain?” Wyatt shouted.

Kat, unable to help herself, tore away from Clay and turned back to the glass as the scientist with the bone saw shook his head. “No, I haven’t got through the skull yet.”

More smoke drifted from Ronin’s body and Wyatt shook his head. “We’ll get it on the next go.”

He shoved Ronin’s body to the floor and Kat swallowed down the bile that rose in her throat as intestines and blood splattered across the floor.

“Get these to the freezer,” Wyatt barked. “I need to stop the healing process until I can observe all of it.”

The smallest scientist placed the pans of various organs on a small cart and rolled it out of the room as Ronin’s body burst into flames. Wyatt winced and took a step back as the flames licked the ceiling for a moment.

They snuffed out, leaving a few burn marks on the ceiling, and Kat watched the pile of ash anxiously. After less than a minute it began to ripple and the phoenix rose from the ash. He shifted to his human form and immediately ran to the glass that separated them.

He rested his hand on the window and Kat pressed her hand against the glass. Tears were running down her cheeks and he gave her a brief smile.

“I’m okay, kitten.”

“Ronin,” her voice was muted by the glass. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“Not your fault, sweetheart,” he said. “I love you.”

“I love you!” She shouted, and pounded on the glass when he turned and walked back to the bed.

“Help him!” Kat shouted at Clay. “For God’s sake, help him!”

“I can’t,” Clay said. “I’m sorry but I’ll never see my brother again if I do.”

Kat, sobbing loudly, turned back to the glass as Wyatt smiled at Ronin. “Let’s try this again.”

 

* * *

 

“Faster, Fenton,” Mal said in a low voice.

The cheetah shifter nodded and continued to snip the chain link fence with the bolt cutters. When he had a section big enough for Bishop to slide through, he dropped the cutters and squeezed through the fence.

Bishop and Mal followed him and the three shifters crouched on the ground as they studied the large grey building. Night had fallen and the sky was clouded over but all of them could see easily in the dark.

“Okay,” Mal said, “we hit the east side of the building. Ronin says there’s only one guard at that door. We can – “

He stopped as Bishop turned and sniffed the air. The bear shifter studied the dark woods just beyond the fence as Mal said, “What is it?”

Bishop sniffed again. “I think I can smell the – “

“Hyenas!” Fenton said in a low hiss.

Mal turned and growled as the pack of hyenas, there were seven of them, came out of the darkness. Fenton had already shifted to his cheetah and with a low snarl he raced toward the pack. Mal and Bishop shifted, their clothing shredding and falling to the ground, and the wolf and the bear charged for the pack.

Three of the hyenas leaped at Bishop. He batted the first one away with a low roar and a swing of his arm as the second one latched on to his throat. It sank its teeth in, trying to purchase through the thick fur, and Bishop growled angrily before digging his claws into the hyena’s ribs. It squealed in agony and released him and Bishop punched his paw through the hyena’s abdomen. He yanked out a fistful of intestines as the hyena made another squeal of pain before going limp. Bishop threw him to the ground and bared his fangs as the third hyena, hanging off of Bishop’s lower leg like a dog, bit through to the bone.

The bear shifter tore him off with a soft snarl and threw him to the ground before stomping on the hyena’s head. His skull cracked and brains burst from the back of it as Bishop dropped to all fours.

Mal had a hyena pinned to the ground and he tore into the hyena’s throat as Bishop slammed his large body into the second hyena ripping at Mal’s side. The hyena bounced off the fence before scrambling to his feet. He yipped in terror and tried to dodge around the giant grizzly. The grizzly caught him easily and slammed him to the ground before wrapping his large jaws around the hyena’s head and ripping it from his body. Blood gushed out and Bishop dropped the hyena’s head as there was a bloodcurdling howl of pain. Fenton had torn open a hyena’s stomach and he ripped out his intestines and stomach with a muffled growl as the hyena’s back legs scrabbled weakly on the ground.

Mal barked sharply and Fenton raised his head, his eyes gleaming in the dark. The two remaining hyenas turned and ran and Mal and Fenton raced after them. Bishop made a low chuff as the cheetah easily overtook the hyena and leaped on to his back. He tore into the back of his neck as the hyena stumbled and fell to the ground.

Mal was closing in on the remaining hyena and Bishop chuffed again before stiffening. He raised his snout and inhaled deeply as a growl rose from deep within his chest. There was an answering growl from behind him and he swung around. The grizzly standing behind him was on his back feet, and he roared with anger before delivering a blow to Bishop’s chest. His razor sharp claws cut through the fur and blood spurted from Bishop’s chest as he was knocked off his feet.

Dazed, Bishop shook his head and tried to roll to his side as the grizzly stood over him and roared again. Before he could gain his feet, the grizzly fell on him, pinning him to the ground and baring his fangs. He snarled loudly and started to lower his face to Bishop’s throat. The muzzle of a gun was jammed against the grizzly’s temple and there was a loud bang that made Bishop’s ears ring. Half the grizzly’s head disappeared in a spray of blood, brains and fur, and it remained perfectly still, blinking at Bishop with its remaining eye before slowly tipping over and landing with a ground-shaking thud.

Bishop stared at the man standing over him as Mal and Fenton joined them. They both shifted and the man grinned at him.

“Evening, boys.” He holstered his gun and stared up at the sky. “Looks like it’s going to rain.”

Bishop shifted, grunting with pain as the slashes on his chest burned, and glared at the man. “I knew I smelled you before those fucking hyenas went after us. What the hell are you doing here?”

“Thanks for saving your life, you say?” Bren said. “Don’t mention it big guy, it was no trouble at all.”

“I had it under control,” Bishop snarled as he struggled to his feet. He touched the slashes as Mal squinted at them.

“How bad are they?”

“I’ll live,” Bishop said before rubbing at the bite on his leg.

“What are you doing here, Detective Matthews?” Mal asked.

“You didn’t actually believe that I fell for your bullshit story back at the office, did you? I’m a detective, remember? You don’t pass the yearly detective exam if you can’t tell when people are lying.” He grinned at them before glancing at the building again.

“The real question is, what are you three – four if I count your employee, Mr. Smith, who disappeared into that building hours ago and hasn’t appeared since – doing here?”

“How did you even know we were here?” Fenton asked.

“I followed you from the office. Frankly, it wasn’t that difficult,” Bren said. “I watched you be dropped off in the woods about three miles from here, continued to follow your employee, and made myself comfortable in the woods for a few hours. I figured you guys would show up eventually and – look at that - you did. I wasn’t expecting you to cut through the chain link fence of a private property so, before I arrest you all for trespassing and,” he studied the bodies of the dead hyenas, “murder, maybe? It did kind of look like self-defense so I’ll cut you some slack on that one - why don’t you explain what’s happening here?”

“It’ll take too long,” Bishop snapped.

“I’ll accept a brief summary,” Bren said.

Bishop stared at Mal who shrugged. “Briefly – the guy who runs this place, Wyatt Stowe, is some kind of mad scientist whose wife is infected with a virus that turns shifters into monsters. Ronin’s a phoenix, Stowe believes that Ronin can heal his wife even though Ronin tried years earlier and failed, and Clay Haddon kidnapped Kat in order to get Ronin to cooperate. He told Ronin to come alone and that if we or the police showed up, they’d kill Kat. They’re both in the lab and we’re going to rescue them.”

Bren stared thoughtfully at them for nearly a minute before nodding. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Fenton said. “You believe us - just like that.”

“Do I have time to not believe you?”

Mal shook his head. “No. We need to get in there.”

“All right, let’s go.”

“You’re not coming with us,” Bishop said. “You’ll just get in the way.”

“Really? Because I seem to remember that I was pretty helpful not five minutes ago when that bear was about to rip out your throat,” Bren said.

Bishop growled at him and Mal placed a restraining hand on his arm. “He’s right, Bishop. It’ll be easier with him.”

He stared at Bren. “You can’t call for backup. If the police converge on this place and we haven’t found Kat yet, they’ll kill her.”

“Then I’ll wait until we find her,” Bren said. “Let’s go.”