KnightForce Deuces, page 22
Silas thought of his pups, the manner in which they stood and watched without asking a lot of questions. The respect they showed during their first celebration made him proud. “The children did well, better than I thought. Celebrating lives of pack members is the best way to teach our young of the inherent value of life and love. And you’re right, we need to be reminded often.”
The screen flashed. Silas shifted in his chair as General Miller’s face cleared. “Good evening, Sir.” Miller’s retreating hairline, sharp gray eyes and the lines across his forehead reminded Silas of Froggy. How old was Miller? Silas wondered looking at the man for clues. Wide across the chest, Miller was no slouch and filled out his uniform. He sat with a regal bearing Silas suspected had been drilled into him from the military. Like most shifters, Miller looked younger than his age and as long as he did his job, his age was irrelevant.
“Evening Miller. The hour is late, who is joining us this evening?” Silas asked.
General Miller stared at Silas. “May I speak?” he asked through their mental link.
“Yes.” Silas continued to watch the screen. There were people entering the room behind the General and taking seats at the table.
“I sent a message mentioning half-breeds in the military coming out? I included the names of high-ranking officers.”
Silas recalled Jacques mentioning something along those lines. “Yes.”
“Lt. General Crall will be in this meeting. He contacted me today after he heard an announcement through the airwaves. He’s a half-breed and wanted to meet you. I believe there are more officers in the forces who are unidentified half-breeds who have been able to hide their wolf. I’m not sure if you want to have them register or remain anonymous. Both options provide benefits. The military hasn’t officially required full-bloods to identify ourselves but they know who we are.” Silas sensed Miller’s pride in his full-blood status.
“Trained half-breeds can subvert their wolf side for long periods of times, so I’m not surprised to discover many are in the military.” He thought of Tyrone and Tyrese. No one knew they were half-breeds until Tyrone almost died in the war and was in the hospital, that’s how good those two were at hiding their wolf.
“Having invisible pack members in high places could be a good thing if we can work out a few things. I’ll give the matter some thought and get back with you,” Silas said.
“Yes, Sir.” Miller looked around and the view expanded. Silas saw four additional men seated at the table. Melch was one of them. Not that Silas was surprised, he assumed Melch would go higher up the chain to get the answers he sought.
No one spoke.
Silas glanced at his watch. It had been a long day and he wanted to cash in those promises Jasmine made earlier.
“Gentlemen, you asked to talk with me, I’m here but not all night,” Silas said without mentioning Hawke who sat next to him.
General Miller sat back, his gaze fell on the others seated nearby.
Melch spoke. “Yes, thank you again for your time. A serious matter arose when we examined the men who attacked you the other day. I’ve called your office and spoke with your administrator numerous times but haven’t received the answers or help we hoped for. We have questions and may need your help.” He paused. “First, to my right, is Lt. General Crall.” The pale man with piercing blue eyes nodded.
“Pleased to meet you, Sir.”
Silas nodded as he looked into the eyes of the half-breed officer. The man appeared calm and poised. If Miller hadn’t told Silas the officer was a half-breed, he didn’t think he would’ve known without scanning the man.
Melch continued. “On his right is Colonel Summers.”
The African American nodded and stacked papers. “Pleasure to meet you, Sir.”
Silas nodded and tried to read the man but after his greeting, Summers kept his eyes averted as if Silas could bespell him as vamps did.
“To my immediate left is Kalid, he was at our initial meeting,” Melch said.
Kalid looked up at the monitor and then away. “Good to see you again, Sir.”
“And to his left is Major General Miller.”
General Miller saluted Silas. “Great to see you, Sir.”
“Do a sweep, I want to know who is listening in on this conversation,” Silas told General Miller.
“Yes, Sir.”
“The hour is late so we will go right into the purpose of this meeting,” Melch said and waved to the Colonel.
Summers’ dark complexion glowed beneath the overhead light. Silas wondered why sweat beaded on his forehead, was the room hot? None of the other men appeared to be bothered by the heat.
“I don’t sense any others nearby but the walls are thick. Would you like me to leave to complete a more thorough search of the area?” General Miller asked.
“No, not yet. Scan the Colonel, is he sick?” Silas said.
“Scared, yes. Sick? I’m not getting anything unusual from him,” Miller said.
“I’m coming in through the link.” Silas merged with the General, did a quick sweep to insure the General had not been compromised. Pleased, with the General’s wolf, Silas did a quick scan of every person in the room. When he scanned Lt. General Crall, he calmed the man’s wolf and communicated with the beast for a few seconds. Then he scanned the room for additional cameras and shadows.
“Sir?” Summers said.
Finished with his scan, Silas looked at Summers. “What did you say?”
“I asked if you were aware of these altering drugs before the attack?”
“Yes, I heard about them,” Silas said.
“Are you aware there are traces of various canine DNA in the drugs?”
“Yes, I was told that as well.” Silas frowned as he watched Summers. “Excuse me.”
Summers looked up from his papers. His brown eyes sharpened as he gazed into the monitor. “Yes?”
“Why are you sweating? Is it hot in that room? Is your chair uncomfortable? Or are you ill? I’m curious,” Silas asked frankly.
Summers’ eyes widened and then he removed all expression from his face. “No, I’m fine.” He paused. “Thank you.”
Melch and Kalid looked down at the table. The two Generals continued looking at the monitor.
“I viewed the video, Melch sent. Seems there is some kind of outbreak going on, any idea what started it?” Silas asked, going on the offensive.
“We were hoping you could shed some light on that matter,” Summers said looking at the others in the room.
“Really? Why?” Silas asked.
Summers looked at Crall. The General cleared his throat and leaned forward with his hands clasped together. “With all due respect, Sir. One of the canine strains found in the drug is wolf.”
“And?” Silas wanted to see how far they would go to avoid discussing his true identity and position.
Crall’s face whitened but he pressed on. “Have there been any attacks on your pack? The canine trace is hybrid mixture, wolf and human.”
Silas slapped Crall’s wolf. The Major General jerked in his chair and wrapped his arm around his waist. “My pack? Hybrid? Like a half-breed? Is that what you mean?” Silas asked in an even tone toying with the General.
The General’s face lost color as he licked his lips and looked at the pages in front of him. “I have a report here that says there is a nation of half-wolf/half-men residing alongside us in this country and that you are the leader.” He looked up, met Silas’ gaze and cried out in pain as he slid to the floor.
Melch and Kalid jumped up and moved to help him. “Are you alright?” Melch asked. When Crall moaned from the pain, Melch snapped at Kalid. “Call out, we need an ambulance.”
“No,” Crall said. “Just give me a few minutes.”
Instead of watching the General on the floor, Summers watched Silas and Hawke.
“I apologize, Sir. I had no idea he would say what he did,” General Miller said.
“No matter. He was right, it’s in the files over there. But he has not pledged his loyalty to me yet and should never have spoken. That mistake will cost him,” Silas said as he continued antagonizing the General’s wolf.
“Yes, Sir.”
Silas looked at his watch. “Are we done?”
“No… Sir. You have not answered the last question. Has there been any attack on your pack?” Summers asked in a steady voice.
“Define pack?” Silas said as he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.
“Please stop with the games. We know who you are and what you do. So just answer the question please,” Summers yelled. “Did this start with your people?”
Silas grinned, enjoying this meeting more than he imagined. Crall’s wolf submitted instantly but the human side of the man refused to acknowledge another man’s authority. By the end of the night he would or die. Melch and Kalid were amusing in their attempts to help Crall, when the only person who could help the General sat across from them on the monitor. Summers’ was losing his cool and soon the real conversation would start. Silas looked forward to it.
“No. This is all yours,” Silas said.
“But… what about the DNA?” Summers asked.
Silas shrugged. “They used a part of a wolf, which has nothing to do with me or my people.” He released General Crall gradually and the man crawled back into his chair, ignoring pointed looks from the others.
“He’s angry with you and doesn’t understand or appreciate the concept of pack or Alpha,” Hawke said
Silas watched Crall smooth his hair back into place then gulp down a bottle of water without looking in Silas’ direction. “I agree but he will.”
Tired of the back and forth, Silas leaned forward, his face filled the screen. The water bottle in General Crall’s hand froze midair. Melch stopped talking to Kalid and stared at the screen. Summers straightened in his chair and General Miller continued to stare at Silas.
“Time to cut through the BS. You have a clusterfuck on your hands and it didn’t start with or from me. It started with some power hungry bastards out to make a fast buck. At some point, a connection was made with Boris Lancaster and the individual who created the drug. I suspect he gave these industrious criminals a base compound that would allow animal DNA to survive, short-term, inside the human body. The DNA takes a dominant position and destroys everything else. During the temporary high, people can do extraordinary things, some we’ve seen on the news but in the end they die unmercifully.” He paused. “You have yourselves to blame. Somewhere, someone on your payroll started this genetic bullshit. I know Lancaster, he supplied the government with all types of things through the years. Many were used against me and mine.
Now, your experiments are biting you in the ass. If none of you know, someone does. This shit started in your backyard, you need to clean it up.”
Summers blinked a few times and then looked at Melch.
General Crall leaned forward. “Sir, I assure you I don’t know anything about what you just said.” He held his hands up. “I’m not doubting what you said, it’s highly probable. I just don’t know where to begin looking and people are dying, even those not taking this damn shit.”
“That’s the rub, isn’t it? Your house is dirty and you don’t know where to begin cleaning. But it’s your house, not mine. I can’t help you with that,” Silas said to Crall.
“What makes you so sure this didn’t start with your people?” Summers asked, his tone combative. “There’s no way you can know what they’re all doing all the time. What if someone close to you is behind this?” He pointed at Hawke. “It could be him for all you know.”
Silas realized Summers didn’t have access to the complete Wolf Nation files and relaxed a bit. “It’s not. Now, is that all?”
“Can you at least point us in some direction?” Melch asked.
Silas looked at him for a moment and then nodded. “Sure. There are online groups who tell members or potential members they need to go shoot wolves, take their blood and then mail it in to receive money and membership. Start with them.”
“Have you contacted any of these groups?” Melch asked.
“No need.”
“There was an incident reported in Colorado, earlier this week…” Melch said.
Silas looked at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence.
“Do you know anything about that?” Melch finished.
“Not really.”
“Your brother was involved,” Melch said.
“No, he wasn’t,” Silas said.
“He wasn’t?” Melch asked.
“No.” Silas refused to place Angus anywhere near the confrontation.
“Colonel Summers and Kalid, leave the room,” General Crall said looking at them and then at General Miller.
“Sir?” Colonel Summers said, frowning.
“Leave the room, I’ll let you know when to return,” the General said watching the door close behind Kalid.
“Yes, Sir,” Summers said as he stood and left the room.
Melch looked at General Crall and then at Silas.
“Vernon Dreft died painfully from complications of this drug. We know he collected blood from a wolf or hybrid. After his death his brother, Henry sold the drug and is setting up a business in Colorado,” General Crall said watching Silas.
“We can send someone in to deal with Henry if you’d like, or allow you to handle it,” the General said after a brief moment.
“Where are you going with this?” Silas asked. There was no way Angus would allow Henry to sell drugs using his blood. The Dreft men had gotten lucky and stole the blood of a 300-year old wolf - potent stuff that would be hard to find again. Which meant someone would continue searching until they found something similar.
“Chase is a good man and a friend,” Crall said.
Silas accepted the olive branch for what it was; Crall would submit to Silas and the Nation. “Don’t worry about Henry. How do you plan to stop this shit from spreading?” Silas asked.
“From what we’ve learned, a major supplier in your area was shut down recently. We confiscated one of the shipments and are tracking down the others. The videos Melch sent you were taken last week, with the exception of Dreft. That was yesterday.”
“So there hasn’t been any more foaming at the mouth and fights?” Silas asked.
“We don’t have information on any new outbreaks, other than the one with Dreft. He’s still in the initial stages of his venture but he will act soon.”
Silas shook his head, they’d played him. Piled on the sympathy and married it to his concern for anything that would hurt his pack. Well done, he would remember this in the future. “You could’ve just asked me to take care of Dreft? Why make Summers suffer through this meeting?”
“A few things had to be verified,” Crall said looking at Silas.
“He would like to connect with you and offer allegiance,” General Miller said.
“After this meeting and Melch is not around. Take him to your office or go to his and I will accept his oath,” Silas said, pleased.
“Yes, Sir.”
“I don’t believe this has played out but I hope your optimism is justified. Men want to be stronger, better and bigger, even if it’s for a short period of time. There are those who would force variations of this drug on men for specific suicide jobs.” Silas paused and looked at Melch’s raised brow.
“Think about it, Melch,” Silas said. “Because someone else has already thought of the flip side of using this in that manner. It may be part of the reason it was created.”
“But you can’t control them,” Melch objected.
“No need to control them. Pull them from prison, give them a shot and set them down in enemy territory. They’ll do some damage and never live to tell what happened,” Miller said.
“But, they’ll kill each other, not the enemy,” Melch said his tone filled with disbelief.
“Not if they’re told they’ll be free after they take out a certain target,” Crall said. “There is some cognition after they are infected.” He looked at Silas.
“They’ve been running these tests,” Hawke said. “Crall knows about them.”
“So it appears,” Silas said, eager to speak with Crall.
“In that case, I understand your concern,” Melch said, backing from his position.
“We have secured samples of the drug. Is there a way to run tests of the serum in a controlled environment to determine overall effects with a representative of your lab assisting? It may provide valuable insight,” Crall asked.
The invitation to collaborate and see a back room operation where drugs and chemicals were created to harm his pack was worth the wait and gave the entire meeting value. Having invisible pack members in high positions opened previously closed doors.
“Thank you, I will arrange that,” Silas said. “Who do you want to send?” He asked Hawke.
“I’ll go,” Hawke said, his eyes lit like shiny marbles.
“Why am I not surprised?” Silas teased.
Crall nodded with a pleased smile. “We hope to work together with you on future projects and strengthen our commitment to live side by side in harmony.”
Silas smiled at the canned response and understood Crall repeated it for Melch’s benefit. “Thank you,” Silas said.
Miller smiled.
Melch looked thoughtful and Crall flipped through the pages in front of him. When he finished he looked at Melch. “I’ve asked all of my questions and made my suggestions, is there anything else anyone wants to discuss before Mr. Knight and his associate leaves?”
“No, Sir,” Miller said, reminding Silas that Crall was the highest-ranking officer in the room.
“You mentioned something about not being able to smell the men? Am I saying it right?” Melch asked.
“I don’t have that in my notes, can I see your copy?” Crall held out his hand to Melch whose face reddened.
“It’s not in my notes, this is based on a previous conversation with Mr. Knight a few days ago,” Melch said.
