Hawk meets us outside the building. Perhaps wisely, after seeing all the armed soldiers gathered outside HQ, he elected to stay outside and watch from above. I fill him in as best I can, but he’s almost hopping from foot to foot in his haste to share his own news.
“The Omega teams finally got to Solo and Chalks and will move them to a more secure location.
“Can Pete shift yet?”
A shrug. “Solo left when Omega arrived. He’s looking for Duo.”
“Anything from Erkyan or Willow?”
“They aren’t on comms anymore.”
I look out onto the street, eyeing the empty roads surrounding HQ. “Probably for the best. We don’t know if EMCU have our frequency. I’d rather not have them listening in.”
Even as I say it, a huge armoured tank rolls down the street. I’ve no idea what the Army expected when they set out, but the grinding caterpillar tracks and the heavy tank gun up top suggests the worst. A line of armed soldiers walk alongside, guns held in ready positions out in front.
My stomach knots uncomfortably. “We’re going to the containment units, Hawk. Will you track down Erkyan and Willow? I know they’re probably fine, but we need to find Duo.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve got to do this. We’ll check in later.”
He nods and vaults upward with a little flex of his knees. Soon he’s nothing but a slight smudge against the dark of the night.
Rayne leads the way to the underground car park.
More soldiers down here, standing in subtle but strategic positions near the exit and entrance barriers. Others guard the lifts leading into the building itself, and a few more walk in amongst the cars.
I prepare to drop to a crouch, but Rayne starts walking, straight across the open space without a care in the world.
I scurry after her. “What are you doing?”
She plucks the keys from my hands and opens the doors to Jack’s Jaguar. “We aren’t doing anything wrong as far as these guys know. No need for us to draw attention to ourselves by acting strangely.”
Again, she’s right. None of the soldiers disturb us as we guide the car through the parking structure, and even at the exit barrier, they pause only long enough to give us a cursory glance.
Rayne drives and I sit in the passenger seat with my hands performing nervous flutters and tricks in my lap. I find myself fiddling with my ID, my kit belt, my fingernails. I can’t keep still and, even as we pass through the barrier and get onto the street, my anxiety only seems to increase.
“Calm down, Danika.” Rayne never takes her eyes off the road, but I get the feeling that she’s watching me intently.
“I can’t. I just…I did this. I should have insisted with Maury. I should have been more help to Pete. This huge mess is only getting worse because I fucked up.”
“You didn’t mess up.”
I chance a smile. “You’re right. I said ‘fucked up.’”
Rayne chuckles. “Just try to think about what we’re going to say to Shakka when we get there, okay?”
Oh, yeah. That.
There are several ways I can handle the warty little goblin. Outright threats seem to work pretty well, but less so in recent weeks. Perhaps he’s simply becoming used to my offers to string him up by his toes. Bribery is often a good one, especially for goblins, but SPEAR pays him well enough that all his needs are met. Information? Perhaps there is something I can give him, or a trade. Despite all his money, he still spends time complaining about this, that, and the other.
It’s only when we reach the holding facility that I realize what has happened.
Rayne takes us through the security checkpoints by flashing her ID and my own, as well as typing the string of numbers from Jack into a keypad. At each checkpoint, the number, not our IDs is what gets us through, and I silently thank Jack for his help.
The car stops in a reserved parking slot near a pair of reinforced metal doors, and before Rayne can step out I clear my throat, short and sharp. “Hey…thanks.”
She smiles. “Whatever for?”
“Distracting me. For helping me with that talk about Shakka. For being calm and constant when all I want to do is…bah. Just, thanks, okay?”
The smile broadens. “I didn’t do anything, Danika.” She’s still smiling when she climbs out of the car and zips around to open my door.
I clamber out. “When this is all over…when I fix this, I’m going to take you back home and—”
Rayne clears her throat. Her expression hardens, enough to set me spinning on my heel, looking for who might be watching.
Two soldiers. Green and black. Rifles.
Suddenly, my hands are in fists.
“Who are you two?” The first of the pair lifts the visor on his helmet to reveal greasepaint-smeared features and a turned down mouth.
“I’m Agent Rayne, this is Agent Karson. We’re leaders of SPEAR’s Kappa unit.”
“Kappa?” The two soldiers share a glance. “What’s that?”
Rayne touches the back of my hand before she speaks again. “We’re a new specialist unit designed for close contact edane encounters.”
“And you’re both human?”
“Well, I—”
“Enough.” I step forward. “We’re here under direct orders from Colonel Addington and Mayor Cobé. There’s a prisoner inside in need of interrogation, and I’d like to get done before others start pouring in.”
The second soldier lowers his gun. Slightly. “From the colonel?”
Rayne chips in. “We just came from HQ where he was giving a briefing. Feel free to check in, if you’d like.”
More quick stares between the pair. The first reaches for a radio clipped to his shoulder.
I speak fast. “But hurry along, will you. We need to get back and report.”
“To the colonel?”
I nod. “And we need to do it before anybody else interrupts him with pointless news. Remember how pissed he was at that call he got while we were talking?”
Rayne blinks, then breezes along, clearly catching my drift. “He doesn’t seem to like interruptions, does he?”
“Nope. I thought he was going to discharge that poor guy.”
The first soldier removes his hand from the shoulder radio. The knots in my stomach ease a tiny amount.
“Just get on with it, will you? We need to be on standby for when other extra mundanes start to come through.”
I grin and flash my ID lanyard at the door panel before they can change their minds. “No worries, we got this. Come on, Rayne.”
With that, we’re both through the door and moving, before either of the pair can say more.
As the doors close, Rayne eyes me up and down. “When did lying become so easy for you?”
“It isn’t. Except to those idiots. Besides, anybody who knows me can tell when I’m lying. I’d never stand a chance against you or even Noel.”
Rayne doesn’t answer that, but a smile rides her lips as we walk down the corridor.