All the volunteers were stationed around the neighborhood in cars. Sam had sent out the best photos they had of Cassius, mostly screen shots from the few press conferences he attended, lurking in the background near Commissioner Bealer. He hadn’t done anything significant to change his appearance since washing up in Portland when Luke had discovered who was pulling the strings last fall.
Luke, Pablo, Pieter, Delilah, Sam, and Archie split up between Luke’s and Pablo’s vehicles, parked several blocks away before moving to closer positions. They used the FRS radios Luke had acquired to communicate with each other, Sam sending out orders via text to the outlying teams.
“You read there, team Pablo?” Luke asked through his radio.
“Oh shit, forgot about something,” Pablo said over his radio. The heavy whump of his door closing announced he’d stepped out of his truck.
Luke watched as Pablo walked around back, opened the canopy top, and pulled out a bag. Bending over, he slapped something over his license plate, repeating it at the front of his truck, then the front and back of Luke’s Volvo.
When he got back into his Toyota Tacoma, he spoke through his radio, “Forgot I had Jorge make us some magnetic license plate dummies. Thought it might be good to have fake plates in case they tried to track us down via our vehicles.”
“I hope the numbers aren’t attached to civilian vehicles,” Luke responded.
“No, he made sure the numbers weren’t in use.”
Sam joined in. “When we’re done, we should see if we can get into the DMV system and register them to aliases. That way, if cops run the plates, they won’t come up as void.”
“Great idea,” Luke said. “We ready?”
Pablo called back that his car was ready. Luke looked in the rear view mirror and got the nod from Archie. Sam nodded from the passenger seat. He took a slow, deep breath through his nose, letting it out of his mouth. If they could get Cassius, they might be able to halt the vampire invasion, at least for a while. Tired of reacting to Cassius’s machinations, today presented the first opportunity to get ahead of the bastard, and Luke didn’t want it to go sideways. He tamped his nerves down, hoping they had enough plan in place to get the job done.
Licking his lips, Luke keyed in the radio. “Alright. We’ll come in from opposite sides. See you there.”
Luke put the car in drive and pulled onto the side road, about to roll out onto Northeast Glisan so they could wind their way through the Laurelhurst neighborhood with its swankier old Portland houses.
“Crap,” Sam said.
“What?” Luke asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
“One of the watchers says a bunch of cops just came through. Looks like they’re heading toward our house.”
“Alright, let everyone know. We’ll go in slow and stop if we need to,” Luke replied.
When they made the first turn, they pulled over as another wave of cop cars passed them, lights on. Luke squinted and furrowed his brow. It was likely a coincidence, but having an armada of cop cars and their accompanying police officers near the house they’d planned to raid and potentially use their shotguns in wasn’t good. They’d have to go in without the firearms. There’s only so many times neighbors can play “gun or firework?” before they call the cops, and with them this close, there’d be no time to escape. He needed to acquire land closer to town so he could set up a training spot. Hand-to-hand combat training was a critical priority.
He was sure Delilah was fuming at potentially missing yet another opportunity to end Cassius. Luke keyed in his radio, switching over to the call signs they’d been using since their raid on Wapato jail last fall. “Hey Pooch, what’s the word where you’re at?”
“Lots of cops; they’ve got streets blocked off,” Pablo replied. “I’m not sure we can get through at all.”
“Well, fuck.” Luke kept that just for those in the car.
As they rounded the corner, Luke saw the blockade ahead and pulled over, throwing the Volvo into park. “Any thoughts?”
“We’re not getting through in a car,” Archie said.
Sam turned toward Luke. “I can try walking through, say I live in the neighborhood. If they block me, we’ll know it’s serious. But if I can get through, I can work my way over and try to see what’s up.”
Luke turned to Sam. “I don’t know…”
“I’m probably the best candidate. They’re not going to pay much attention to a short, chubby, Asian woman. I’m wearing stretchy pants and a sweatshirt. I look like I was out for a walk or something.”
Sam was probably right. Between four men, one of whom was Latino and two others with accents, and a tall Black woman, Sam was probably the best choice to slide past Portland’s police if it was going to work.
“OK, go. I’ll tell the others to hold up.”
Sam nodded and pulled up a map on her phone. “Need to get a house number by the target house, so I sound like I belong.”
When she found what she was looking for, she hopped out of the car and walked toward the police barricade, looking like a neighborhood lookie-loo. They waited in silence, trying to look casual by playing on their phones. Luke wasn’t sure how long Sam was gone, but he was starting to wonder if he’d need to go in after her. Fortunately, he was relieved of the decision when he received a text from Sam.
On my way back now. The cops are switching off their lights and getting back in their cars. Bad news, but I’ll relay that in the car.
“Sam’s coming back,” Luke informed Archie, his finger tapping out a staccato beat on the steering wheel.
Soon, the cops making up the blockade around the neighborhood switched off their lights and turned around so they could leave the neighborhood. Luke lost count of how many cop cars passed before Sam jumped in the car, startling him.
“Sorry about that,” she said, buckling in. “We gonna try to follow them?”
Luke turned to her. “What are we following?”
“A larger, unmarked, black SUV. Cassius got into it with that city commissioner, Bealer.”
“Well, shit,” he muttered as a line of unmarked vehicles drove by.
Sam keyed in her radio. “Any unmarked SUVs coming your way, Pooch?”
“Yeah, a handful,” Pablo replied.
Luke hit the steering will, unleashing another string of creative invectives. “Fucking hell! We’ve been out-fucking-maneuvered again.”
“I wasn’t able to get the license plate, and they all look the same with those tinted windows,” Sam replied. “Do we try?”
“No, we’ll just waste our time. I’m sure as soon as they get to some major crossroads they’ll split up. We don’t have enough cars to follow, and I don’t want our vehicles marked by the authorities. You win another round, Cassius.”
Luke huffed then keyed in the radio. “Spartacus to Pooch. Abort mission. Debrief over dinner at the usual spot. Everything’s on me.”
Sam reached out and patted his leg. “Sorry, Luke.”
Archie leaned forward and squeezed Luke’s shoulder from the backseat. “We’ll get him next time, mate.”
Luke shook his head. “I’m more worried about Delilah. Two near misses in a couple weeks is going to be hard on her.”
Sam nodded, frowning. “Yeah. She’ll need a hug.”
“Or a punching bag,” Luke mumbled.
Luke turned the engine back on, making sure the cops had all disappeared before pulling back into the street. Once he got out of Laurelhurst, he took the shortest route to the Howling Moon Brewpub. He wanted to go over everything with the crew and enjoy a bite of dinner.
* * *
After they arrived at Pablo’s brewpub, they took their normal back booth with its many noise-canceling features. As expected, Delilah was furious at yet another failed attempt at Cassius, but Luke, Sam, and Pablo were able to calm her down in the parking lot while Pieter, Archie, and a couple of the watchers went inside to start on drinks.
Delilah remained silent, not really touching her food. When the plates were cleared, and Delilah’s food was boxed up, they ordered another round, sending the watchers to another table so the leadership team, as Luke was coming to think of it, could discuss things privately. Although the werewolves who joined them were trustworthy, they were too new to be integrated into the inner circle.
Archie, a former WWII tank driver, had earned Luke’s trust over the last several weeks while preparing for their assault on the freighter. The English ginger was a welcome addition to planning and leading their expanding teams.
Luke waited until he had everyone’s attention before starting. “We now have confirmation of what we’ve only suspected. Cassius is directly tied to Commissioner Bealer and the Portland Police Bureau.”
“Remind me who this commissioner is?” Pieter asked.
“Oh, yeah. That happened before you landed,” Pablo said.
Sam turned to Pieter. “Bealer is one of the five city commissioners and the one in charge of Portland’s police. We raided a house with a vampire nest a few days before you arrived and found a very interesting setup.”
Luke set his beer glass down. “It was basically a vampire party house. Sex upstairs and drugs in the basement. It’s a good way to recruit thralls and get some fun meals.”
Pieter looked confused. “Fun meals?”
“Yeah. Vamps can’t take drugs directly to get high, so they let their humans do them then drink the blood. I’m guessing they were using cheap or free drugs to lure people in. Also, there are those who are attracted to the vampire lifestyle, especially as portrayed through a lot of modern pop culture. I half suspect that vampires are heavily involved in creating an image they can use that’ll make it easier to exploit modern people. They want to be the new Übermensch.”
Several people perked up, looking around the table.
Luke continued, “We can have that chat later. Anyway, we found Bealer down there with a needle in his arm, passed out and high as a kite.”
Luke looked toward Sam, indicating she should take it from there.
Sam nodded, looking around the table. “We have no idea if he’s an addict from before he was involved or if it’s a new development. We don’t know him well, although Holly isn’t a fan. He’s a weak police commissioner. The cops and the police union run roughshod over him. They’re pretty out of control, although it seems someone is exerting some control or at least creating some cooperation since Bealer used a lot of cops to pick up Cassius. That was a pretty good plan to move him.”
“At least we know that was Cassius. I highly doubt they’d use that kind of resource flex for a foot soldier.” Luke took a sip of his beer, settling back in the booth.
“What do we do now?” Pablo asked.
“Nothing for the moment. We need to let people get back into town. We’ll step up training more sweeper teams. If we keep busy on the streets, we might get lucky again. If nothing else, we’ll disrupt their plans the more nests we root out.” Luke turned to Pablo. “Pablo, get my number to your pack real estate agents. We need some dirt to build a training facility on. Also, I want to improve training in hand-to-hand combat. I want everyone to be able to fight and defend themselves properly.”
“I have an idea,” Pablo said. “We could use that lot where we unloaded the trucks. I mean, we can’t fire off guns in the city, but if we put up a large tent and some temporary flooring, it’ll at least give us a space for hand-to-hand training.”
“That’s not a bad idea. Also, we should start acquiring some more shotguns. I’ll keep an eye out for more combat-oriented weapons, but some basic double barrels we can turn into sawed-offs might be nice. They’re smaller and easier to hide when moving about in the city.” Luke shook his head. “And I hate to even suggest this, but should we get some loud fire crackers? If we’re going to be popping off guns in the city, we might need distractions to lull civilians into thinking it’s just more fireworks.”
“Ugh, that’s so fucking annoying.” Sam shook her head. “But it’s probably not a bad idea to take advantage of what’s happening already.”
“If we’re going to be buying more shotguns, I’ll keep pack production up on those fancy shells,” Pablo added. “We’re going to want a bigger supply on hand. It would be nice to have a large stockpile in case we have a bigger operation crop up. Do you think we should add in some other gauges on the shells?”
Luke thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. “No. I want to keep the load as big as possible, otherwise it gets dicey. It’s not the most reliable method, as is. Besides, twelve gauges are common enough. This may be up your alley, Pieter.” He looked at his Belgian friend. “I’d want some higher end surveillance equipment and communication equipment. Our family radios are doing OK, but I’d like to upgrade to some real equipment. Maybe something with a central hub that we can scramble our bands on.”
“Ja, I can do that,” Pieter replied. “I have plenty of connections in Europe where I can source some top-quality gear.”
“You’re welcome to stay here if your father doesn’t need you—at least for a while. Your skills and commando training have been invaluable.”
“This has been very interesting. I’ll see what father has to say. Jan is more than competent enough to finish wiping out the vampires in the south.” Pieter nodded, mulling over the invitation over.
Sam stretched, wiggling side to side. “That would be very helpful training our new recruits. If that’s it, I’d like to get going. Not sure we have much to add to the list after our meeting up at the farm, and I’m tired and miss Holly.”
“Yeah. I think we can wrap it up. We’ll keep in touch, but we should all take a few days off. We need it, and there’s not a lot to be done until we can get more gear and people.”
“But…” Delilah said, leaning forward onto the table.
Luke captured Delilah’s gaze. “We lost him, Delilah. For now. That’s our only focus at this point. We’ll sweep Portland clean and see where he turns up, but I want better surveillance gear to help us out. Go home, see if Rosa is still available for your date. You could use some relaxation. It’ll keep you sharp and ready to go when we track that fucker down. ‘K?”
Delilah took a couple deep breaths before sitting back and sighing. “I guess. I just wanted this so bad.”
“I know, but a couple good night’s rest will get you ready for when our next shot comes. Anyone have anything to add?” Luke looked around the table, seeing nothing but shaking heads. “In that case, let’s wrap this up so everyone can get back to their evenings. Delilah, mind if I hold you up for a moment more?”
Delilah nodded. Everyone else headed out.
“I won’t keep you long,” Luke said.
“Can I check in with Rosa first?”
“Go ahead.” Luke waited while Delilah texted the pretty Honduran woman she’d been seeing. He hoped canceling tonight’s plans hadn’t thrown a wrench in their dating, but he knew from experience that hyper fixation could take a toll on aspects of a personal life. The small smile on his friend’s face hinted things might be OK. “All good?”
“Yeah, she said I could make it up to her by bringing dinner over to her place.” Delilah relaxed some, looking warily at Luke.
“I just wanted to say, I’m sorry we didn’t get him tonight. This looked like a great opportunity… But we’ll get him. You and me, we’ll work together to make this happen. My only goal right now is to help you dust him. It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done to help me.” He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it.
She smiled weakly. “Thanks, Luke. That means a lot. I’ll try to be patient. I want to do this right and not get anyone hurt.”
“Good. Go have fun with Rosa, take a few days to relax, and we’ll come at this fresh and ready to kick ass.”
“I’ll talk to you soon.” Delilah took off, leaving Luke alone in the booth.
Deciding to free it up for customers, he moved up to the bar, ordered another Kenton Brown Ale, and pulled out his phone.
Hey, Maggie. Raid was a dud. Is it too late to swing by and pick up the kid?
Yeah. She was tired and went up to bed. I can bring her by in the morning.
There was a break, then three dots appeared, indicating she was typing something else. I’m going up to the farm for a few days. Some of the wounded are being moved there for recovery after their surgeries at the Coast Pack’s clinic. I want to assist and make sure our supplies are good. Would you like to accompany me? If you don’t have a bunch of stuff going on…
Luke smiled, butterflies invading his stomach. He didn’t have anything that needed doing. With clean litter boxes and plenty of food, Alfie would be fine on his own for a few days as he had many times before. He’d get a chance to talk with Maggie and see if he could clear up some of his confusion.
That sounds like a good plan. I’d like to spend more time with you. There’s nothing I can’t do here with a phone and a laptop I can’t do up there. Let’s do it. He looked at the message he’d just sent, adding, Sorry. Looks like I was pep talking for a mission. I’d love to spend a few more days up at the farm with you.
He grabbed his beer and took a drink, enjoying Pablo’s excellent interpretation of an English Brown Ale. He was looking forward to seeing Maggie again, even if he’d just seen her a few hours ago. To be fair, he hadn’t known what was going on for most of the time she’d been flirting with him until she’d been more direct. He’d like to spend some intentional time with her. But, she’d been away from home for a while, floating out with the refuel ships until her medical skills were needed after the freighter assault.
Luke texted, You just got home though. Is this OK with your partner? I don’t want to cause friction.
They understand I’m a doctor and the pack’s medical needs are important. But if it makes you feel better, Zel’s themfriend was out of town while I was gone, so Zel is going to use the couple days to spend it with them. It works out for everyone, Maggie replied.
Smiling, Luke ordered a crowler of the brown ale and paid the squad’s tab. Since he had the night to himself, he’d go home and watch a movie. Alfie would appreciate the quality time. It would be nice to get a solid night’s sleep in a bed that was his own and didn’t rock up and down in the ocean swell. Then, he was going to spend some time with a beautiful woman.