KnightForce Deuces, page 2
“Give me 15 minutes to wrap this up and I’ll be there.”
“Solid. Rose is still out, so come on back when you get here. I’ll be in the conference room.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Silas turned in his seat and pulled up the monitor in his office. After a few clicks, he sent Alpha Chase a message. A few moments later the Alpha appeared on the screen.
“Please forgive my tardiness, Sir. I’m in the car on my way to a meeting with the Governor. How may I assist you, Sir?”
“Have you heard anything from Angus since he arrived?” Silas didn’t want to call his litter-mate every hour but that last visit to Colorado when he was captured still made him nervous.
“No, Sir. But there hasn’t been any news of unexplained bloodshed either, so it’s not a bad thing.” Chase smiled which eased the tension in Silas’ gut.
“True. How is the situation with the rebels?” Silas had sent Asia, Tyrese and Angus to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to squash a rebel uprising last week. Angus had been taken, almost drained of blood and left to fend for himself by two humans seeking proof werewolves were real.
“Nothing since KnightForce dealt that blow last week but we’re keeping an eye out for them, Sir.”
“Angus believes the rebels are receiving wrong information about the national pack and how we plan to move forward. We cannot punish them without an equal attempt to speak the truth then they can decide to submit to their state Alpha or become outliers like the rebels. Hawke’s been working on a method that will allow us to do that in a way that cannot be altered or intercepted.”
“That’s wonderful news, Sir. Glad we are addressing that issue head-on. Many half-breeds are scared to join the Nation because of all the lies. I look forward to the day the integration of the two is behind us. My workload has doubled but I have more pack to ease the load as well,” he rushed to say.
“Growth brings change and change is never easy,” Silas said looking at Hawke in the doorway. He waved him inside. “My appointment has arrived, we will talk soon.”
Silas disconnected and looked at the file Hawke held. “Your news first, I hope it’s good.”
Hawke grinned. “I believe you will be pleased.” He opened the file. A solitary disk lay inside. “The Alphas must make some adjustments on their radio station equipment to get the right pitch for the airways. Messages are recorded on this disk and then played two-three times a day, rotating the times each day. It’ll work. ”
Silas picked up the disk and looked at it. “You tested it?”
Hawke nodded. “The only difficulty I see is if the radio stations haven’t updated their equipment. This is cutting-edge and requires matching equipment.”
Silas replaced the disk. “If everything is ready I will alert my Alphas of this new method of communication.” Silas paused and then told Hawke about his earlier conversation with the Pentagon General.
“Strange they asked for me and not Dr. Passen who was here when the bombs detonated. All of my information is secondhand, whereas he has firsthand knowledge.”
“Good point. I told them you were working on a priority project for me and unavailable,” Silas said. “Plus, I don’t trust them.”
“There is no reason to trust them. Although we’re not enemies, we’re like distant cousins forced to share the same space. No doubt they are aware of our population increase and the knowledge that some human women can bear our pups. That probably didn’t go over well. Throw in the longevity of our lives, compared to theirs and our ability to protect our young, there will never be complete trust between our nations. They want what you have and some in our pack want the freedoms the humans have.”
Silas agreed. “Eventually we will meet with them about the research on the bombs but it will be on my terms and when I’m ready.” He stood. “I’d like to see a demonstration of the disk and then I’d like to make a recording for distribution.”
Chapter 3
Tyrese sat facing Asia at the long, polished mahogany conference room table. The past three hours, they had sorted through the list of former Alpha trainees trying to match them to Alphas and areas across the country. In two hours, he and Danielle would head out to pick up Aunt Renee from the airport. Dani’s excitement over meeting his aunt pleased him. She and his aunt had spoken on the phone numerous times finding common ground in their love for travel and various customs of people in different countries. This morning Danielle reminded him of the time they’d leave for the airport. And a few minutes ago she gave another reminder.
“Crescent Blue.” Asia’s lip quirked as she read the name on the file and then opened it. Tyrese continued reading the credentials of the trainee in the file in front of him.
“Interesting name,” he said without looking up.
“Born in Canada, moved to Philadelphia, graduated from MIT,” she said slowly. “Made high marks in training, graduated in the top five percent. Unmated.” She paused for a few minutes. “Looks good, where do we put him?”
“With an Alpha in the north, he’s used to the cold,” Tyrese said looking at the photo of the dark-skinned trainee from his file. The man reminded him of the rap star turned actor, LL Cool J.
“What about Alpha Chase? Colorado has winters, or to Wyoming with Alpha Crimson?” Asia said looking at the national map.
“Who are we sending to Alpha Samuel in Pennsylvania?” Tyrese asked remembering Borian, Alpha Samuel’s Beta. The three of them working together would form an interesting triad.
Asia looked at him. “Hadn’t thought of him but this might be a good match.” She wrote Blue’s name next to Alpha Samuel. “I need to check on Bruce and the others from the underground lab, he would be surprised to know I’m mated with my own den.”
Tyrese recalled the janitor who saved Asia’s memorabilia and showed them the secret passages to the underground waterways, saving them a lot of time. The old man led the remaining wolves who had been born and raised in the labs by the Liege.
“Bruce always believed in you, that’s why he helped as much as he did. I doubt he’d be surprised you finally settled but it’d be a cool surprise to call him to say hi.”
“Since Pennsylvania is in my area, I’ll plan a trip and see him. Samuel sent a request for assistance a couple days ago, La Patron talked to him about it. Since he didn’t pass it on to us I assume it’s okay for now.”
“Only emergencies like the bombings last week will be processed. He wants this group organized and in the field as soon as possible,” he said.
Asia picked up the next folder. “That works for me. After we make these assignments, the trainees return here to learn the administrative part of the job and then the Alphas are responsible for finding office space for each team, right?”
“Yeah but each of these guys will hire their administrators to run the office while they go out in the field. I’m thinking each office should have three team members as a base group, what do you think?”
“Three is a good number, larger populations will have more. These KnightForce leaders will divide the state and make assignments accordingly,” Asia said reading another file. “Alpha Theron needs a bilingual team, do you have any Spanish speakers in that pile?” She tipped her chin toward some files he placed to the side.
“Yeah a few.” Tyrese grabbed a short stack and passed the top three over to her. “Theron took on those breeds from Mexico and is still having problems near the border with rebels. He’ll need at least 10 people to start.” Theron had been attacked by rebels when he brought the small Mexican pack across the border into Texas. Tyrese wondered if those rebels had ever been caught.
“Thanks, who are we sending to Alpha Jayden in Maryland?”
“A trainee from Colorado, Ethan Mope. Former Marine, high clearance, specialist in a lot of fields. Unmated.” He passed her the folder.
She looked at the picture and read through his credentials. “I remember this one, La Patron suggested this match, looks good.” She placed it on the assigned pile.
“Have you heard from Meeks?”
“From the bombing case last week?” Asia glanced at him and then back at the file.
“Yeah, I wondered what happened to the neighbor, what was her name?” The ghost of Corrina Griggs rose along with her creation of flesh-colored bombs in Maryland and Virginia within the past two weeks, hundreds of lives were lost.
“Mrs. Beeman. Meeks did not contact me, Agent Day sent a message.”
“Oh, how’d that happen?” He wondered what Hawke, her mate, thought about that but didn’t go down that road.
“I gave him my email address.” She chuckled. “They searched her house, found a lot of hate propaganda stuff. Seems this wasn’t about La Patron after all, just more humans unhappy with the government taking their opinion to the extreme.”
“Such a waste, a lot of innocent people died and since no one came forward to press their message, you gotta wonder why they went that route. Did she have an explanation?” he asked.
“When they took her in, it didn’t take long for her to tell the whole story. She got involved in the radical “hate the government” group five years ago. Seems they just wanted to bring attention to the injustices being forced on them. I think they had plans to take out government buildings or something like that. That’s why they wanted the bombs. Xavier Rush’s name came up quite a bit, not his new name so I’m assuming she knew him before he went into protective custody.”
“So she implanted the bombs?”
“The first two, yes. The rest wanted theirs attached to their skin on the outside, she was on her way to do those when you took her stash.”
Tyrese thought back, running through the night to their SUV and then calling the bomb squad. “That was pretty awesome, wasn’t it?” He grinned.
“Yep considering the bombs weren’t armed, you took quite a risk.”
He frowned.
She laughed.
“Funny.” Tyrese liked this chilled version of Asia, she seemed more approachable, laughed and listened to people. The deadly side of her hadn’t left but she seemed balanced in a way that had been missing before she found her mate.
“Have you heard from Angus?” Asia asked reminding him that she could only mind-connect with three people - her mom, his mom and her mate.
“Not directly. Silas said he found the guy who stole his blood. He’s dead.”
Asia nodded unsurprised. “Here’s another good one for Alpha Theron. Lorenzo speaks, writes and reads Spanish and practiced law in Arizona. Unmated.”
Tyrese agreed. “I’ll write his name next to Theron.” He looked at her. These days she wore her hair long and loose. “When are your parents coming?” Damian, in particular, was excited with the impending visit of Lord Barticus and his mate Amynta. He bragged of talking to them often and received quite a few packages from them in the mail. Having exceedingly rich grandparents wasn’t a bad deal.
“Next month, we’re going to take a small vacation together in the Caribbean. Sarita talks about going to the beach all the time. I’m surprised one of the kids didn’t tell you about it.”
Tyrese smiled thinking of Sarita, Hawke’s daughter. The little girl had been found by Cameron while searching for rebels and the Liege. She and another boy, Tyrese couldn’t recall that pup’s name, had been brought to the compound during the Christmas holidays. His mom had a time teaching his younger brothers and sisters about the meaning of Christmas.
“No, they’ve been keeping secrets again.” He paused. “Sarita’s cute as a button by the way, definitely Alpha material.”
“Alpha? Maybe, she does has a strong personality. I watch her with the other kids and next to David, they follow her lead. But she doesn’t tell them to take her instructions, they just do.” Asia stared at him for a few minutes and then shrugged.
“Lots of fireworks in her future.” He looked at both lists. “Ten more and that’s it.” He split the small pile in half and slid five across the table.
The door opened, Tyrone walked in with an aggravated look, pulled out a chair and sat down. “What the hell is wrong with people? A liaison is the person who helps half-breeds, not full-bloods looking for mates. My program is not a damn dating office.”
Tyrese laughed.
Asia frowned. She stopped reading her file and looked at Tyrone. “Dating office? How’s that possible?”
Tyrone leaned forward, placing his arms on the table. “It’s not, that’s the problem. I’ve hired 20 well-qualified half-breeds as liaisons. Before they can set up their offices they’ve had a rush of full-bloods asking about possible mates and if there was a way to meet half-breeds.”
Tyrese stared at him for a few seconds. “That’s not a bad idea.”
“Hell no,” Tyrone snapped, standing so fast the chair beneath him fell backward and crashed.
“Hear me out. Wait! Let me finish.” Tyrese held up his hands.
Tyrone didn’t answer.
“If you enter the status of the half-breeds as they enroll, the information is already there. By playing up the possibility of finding a mate among half-breeds, it may make it easier for full-bloods to accept everything that’s happening. Fewer rogues…maybe?”
“Or pour gas on a simmering fire,” Tyrone said. “A lot of half-breeds are scared shitless as it is and you think I should mention that their mate may be a full-blood?”
“Yeah, like mine is a full-blood. Or mom’s. It’s a part of their reality and that possibility should be told to them upfront. If they decide to go rogue and disappear off the radar, at least they’ll know there’s a possibility of running into a mate somewhere down the road,” Tyrese said and then shrugged.
“He’s right. Better to tell them and explain what a mate is, what happens when the connection is made. All of that to equip them for life under a La Patron Alpha,” Asia said.
Tyrone returned to his chair and then steepled two fingers beneath his chin. “I see what you’re saying and, in a convoluted way, it makes sense. Sex sells and would soothe the beast. I’ll talk with Rose about it, see what kind of angle we can work out. Mate status of all full-bloods is already in the database, which makes it easy for the half-breeds to check them out as well.”
“Glad I could be of help…daddy,” Tyrese said, smiling.
Tyrone straightened. “Yeah, any day now.” He met Tyrese’s gaze. “I’m ready.”
Tyrese nodded, understanding the commitment Rone made to his den. “I know, whatever you need, I’m here.” Although Tyrese and his mate Danielle planned to wait before adding to their den, he understood and sensed the pride flowing through his twin.
They touched fists and shared a quiet moment.
“So, what’s happening in the world of KnightForce?” Tyrone asked.
Chapter 4
“Renee,” Jasmine squeaked. Opening her arms wide, she moved quickly and met her sister in the hall, embracing her. “They told me you were at the gate.” They hugged again. Jasmine noticed the dark rings beneath Renee’s eyes and how much thinner she felt but didn’t mention it. Not yet.
“There was even more security to get through this time than before. I didn’t see any armed guards but I wouldn’t be surprised. Do all rich people live behind walls like this?” Renee leaned back, waiting for an answer. The silky, soft fabric of her lavender blouse caressed her figure and leant elegance to her appearance. Jasmine met her gaze, her heart dropped at the sadness in the depths of Renee’s stare.
“Can’t speak for all rich people but Silas feels this is what he needs to do to keep me and the kids safe. So…” she shrugged, threaded her arm through Renee’s and pulled her toward her suite where she planned for them to eat a quiet meal with their mother, Victoria. Between her and her mom, they’d fix those shadows in Renee’s eyes.
“Tyrese will put your bags in your room. C’mon, Mama’s waiting for us,” Jasmine said.
Renee stopped. Her dark brown eyes snapping, reminding Jasmine of Adam when things didn’t go his way. “Where are my babies?” She looked down the hall. “This place is so big I get confused every time I visit. Where’s the nursery?”
“They’re taking their naps. Believe me you don’t want to interrupt that. By the time we finish eating, they should be almost ready to wake.”
“Okay, good. I’ve got some new games I want them to try.” Grinning, she rubbed her hands together.
Jasmine groaned but appreciated the spark of excitement building in her sister. “Where did you get these from, the computer department at your school?”
Renee chuckled as they continued down the hall. “Actually you’re almost right. I challenged my students to create brain teasers for extra credit. The kids will test the projects and I’ll give grades based on those results.”
Jasmine opened the door to her suite and entered behind Renee. “You’re a mess. They’re babies, not test subjects.”
“Maybe but they are the smartest –”
“Babies you’ve ever seen. I know. You tell me that every time we talk.” Jasmine waved Renee toward the family room where their mom waited.
“Mama,” Renee said moving quickly to hug a very pregnant Victoria seated in the middle of a long sofa. “You look beautiful! Seeing you glow like this almost makes me change my mind to want kids.”
Victoria gasped and clasped her hands together. “That’s wonderful news.” Her face lit up as though she’d received a surprise gift. Luminous hazel eyes stared up at Renee with pleasure.
Jasmine shook her head as her sister’s mouth dropped open. Renee couldn’t have babies naturally. She had a hysterectomy a long time ago and referred to adopting, something she and her girlfriend Mandy considered at one time. Her mom must’ve forgotten.
Renee jerked back. “Almost. As in not going to adopt but allowed the thought to fly through my mind very briefly.” She waited until Victoria toned down her excitement and then sat next to her and took her hand. “Are you happy?”
Jasmine watched the two of them on the sofa and her heart swelled with love and gratitude. All families had trials but she could always count on Renee to be there for her as they’d always been close. And more lately also her mom.
