KnightForce Deuces, page 6
He looked at Angus for his update.
“We’ve chosen a former Alpha trainee for each state and for states with larger packs they’ll receive two. Notices have been sent out and they’ll arrive in 36 hours for administrative training. Our offices will be set up by then and we’ll drill them in protocol and procedures,” Angus said.
Silas glanced at his notes. “There has been an increase of Alphas requesting assistance, so they need to head out to the field as soon as possible.”
“Yes, Sir,” Asia said. “Basically the three days they’re here is for them to meet us, go over reports, understand what KnightForce does and doesn’t do and get samples of the root each of them must eat every day from now on.”
Silas nodded. They grew the dark root on the grounds and it was included in everyone’s diet to counteract the poison the Liege used on full-bloods. “Each will receive a sample to take and plant?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Good. Tyrone, update me on the liaisons.”
“The number is almost at 50; I’m having problems staffing the western states Wyoming, Idaho and the Dakotas. They claim only a few half-breed registrants and so far no one is willing to relocate to those areas. But we’ll get them all staffed eventually.” He glanced at Tyrese. “By reminding both full-bloods and half-breeds of potential mates, there’s been reports of increased registrations.”
Tyrese smiled. “Sex and, in this case, mates, sell.”
Silas agreed. “Get me some statistics that I can pass along to the Alphas, good news is always welcomed.” He looked around the table. “Colorado, do you think Brix and Leon can handle the situation softly?” Everyone understood he meant go in beneath the radar, eliminate the rebels and rescue the hostages.
No one spoke but Silas heard their doubts. Leon was as heavy-handed as many of the Alphas. And after refusing to sit and talk bombs with the Feds, Silas didn’t want to raise any flags with the government.
“I’ll take that as a “no.” The Colorado matter is urgent and has to be addressed.” He waited for suggestions.
“I’d like to try and infiltrate the rebels again. The first time, well we know what happened but I still think the initial plan is solid and will work,” Angus said meeting Silas’ gaze.
“How do you intend to rescue the hostages and take on the identity of the kidnapper at the same time?” Silas asked.
“They’ll think I died as well. Make sure Chase has them identify all their captors and when I resurface it’ll be on record.” No one mentioned the possibility that the breeds were dead.
Silas could tell by the light in Angus’ eyes he wanted to finish this mission. “What about the KnightForce trainees, those who will serve directly under you?”
Angus glanced at Tyrese.
“Tyrese and I will split the trainees in half for now. The information Angus receives will assist us in understanding the scope of the rebels. Right now we’re putting out fires without any real knowledge how they’re started or the structure of their base. With more knowledge, our strategies will target the correct root of the problem,” Asia said.
Silas looked at the three of them, certain they hadn’t known Angus wouldn’t be leaving until right then. He liked how they changed plans to accommodate the emergency. “Okay, do it. Tomorrow I leave for Maryland to test the airwave transmissions away from the compound and will return in the evening. When did you want to leave?” He looked at Angus.
“Tonight, as soon as the plane is ready. Just need to pack a few things and let Jasmine know I’m leaving.”
Silas’ brow rose but he appreciated his brother respecting his mate’s wishes on that score.
“And give Byte instructions to stay close to the kids,” Angus added.
Silas agreed. “Rone, how’s Brad working out as your new assistant? I know you wanted to hire someone from the local pack but with all the newborns, it’s best to use someone I’ve already approved to be in the compound.”
Tyrone nodded. “Good, he works hard. The office with computers and databases is different than working security but he’s being a good sport about it. With the babies about to come, I won’t spend as many hours in the office and we’re not training anyone else until later. So he’ll field questions and contact me for emergencies or anything he can’t handle.”
“Pleased to hear that. I’ll scan each KnightForce candidate and give them the mission statement so that we all pursue the same objectives. Let Jacques know the dates and I’ll be there.”
They all stood. Angus hung back to speak with Tyrese and Asia. “Thanks, I know covering my area will make more work for you but I think getting inside the rebels organization is important.”
“It is, just give us a heads up next time,” Tyrese said.
“Will do,” Angus said aware of Tyrese’s aggravation about how things were handled. “I’ll head over to speak with Frogs and Damian to make sure the accommodations are prepared for the recruits.”
“Good, that helps. We’ll whip the office in shape and get everything in order for their arrival,” Asia said looking at him. “Be careful out there. I meant what I said and understand why you’re doing this but the game’s changing everyday so you need to watch your back.”
Hearing her sincere concern touched him. “Sure thing. KnightForces is important. Silas needs us to stand the line, which means we do whatever needs to be done to make that work.” He looked over her shoulder and met Tyrese’s gaze.
“Right,” Tyrese said after a few seconds.
Asia nodded. “Right. But don’t be a damn martyr. Bring your ass back here safe or I’m going to be pissed and you won’t like that.” She turned and left him standing in the conference room.
“Women, so emotional… but, yeah what she said,” Tyrese said giving Angus a fist pound and then followed Asia out the room.
Excitement from the thrill of the hunt coursed through Angus’ veins. Anxious to start, he headed toward the gym where Damian and Froggy worked. Through a series of small windows lining the corridor, he saw a truck at the supply building and did a quick scan to be sure full-bloods were unloading their supplies. Inside, security scanned cargo and then cleared the opened boxes for entry into the compound. It was a tedious but necessary process to reduce the number of unauthorized individuals in the compound. Silas refused to take chances with his den.
When he entered the gym, he stopped and watched Damian spar with someone in the ring on the mail level. “Bring your right hand up a little and be prepared to lean back,” Angus told him.
Damian followed his instructions and missed the punch aimed at his jaw. He took advantage of the opening and completed a three-punch combination on his opponent, knocking him to the ground. The man lay still a while. Damian removed his gloves and offered his hand. His opponent stood, nodded and left the ring.
“Good job. Where’s Frogs?” Froggy was an old full-blood who specialized in working with broken wolves. He had a special touch that could coax the life back into any wolf he focused on. When the former trainer, Stan, was hurt in an explosion at the compound, Froggy had been given the position of training Alpha candidates.
“Back in the office going over assignments for the trainees coming. He keeps everything ready and in tip-top shape but he’s a worry wart,” Damian said grabbing a bottle of water and draining it.
Angus hit the back of Damian’s head, causing him to choke. “Not a worry wart, just careful, a perfectionist. You should take notes.”
“Why? I won’t be working here much longer, I’m transferring to KnightForce.” They walked toward the office.
“Reviewing information, two, three times is always a good trait to make sure you don’t miss anything. I do it, Asia does too, we all do that, it’s a part of processing information.”
Damian nodded but didn’t say anything.
“You settling okay?” He asked Damian.
“Yes, better than I thought. Sarita, she’s my heart. Asia and Hawke are great. I’d like to get out more, see women but I’ll have to settle for the lab techs for now.” Damian grinned.
Angus slapped him on the back. “That’s the spirit, love the one you’re with.” He opened the door and stepped inside the large office with security monitors filling half a wall. Every inch of the building could be seen from this room.
Froggy sat at the desk placing checkmarks on a piece of paper with his usual glass of ice chips and water. The man sucked ice all day no matter the temperature outside.
“How’s it going, Frogs?” Angus asked looking his friend over. Standing, the top of Frogs head hit below Angus’ chest. Small, wiry and brilliant described the man best.
“Good, good, no complaints. Got everything ready for your recruits and this scamp.” He pointed to Damian.
Laughing, Damian hopped on top of the stool and listened.
“Glad to hear it. I’m heading out in a few hours and wanted to make sure this was taken care of before I left.”
“Oh, you leaving so soon, didn’t you just get back a few days ago?” Froggy asked, his dark brown eyes met Angus’ gaze.
“Yeah but I didn’t finish what I needed to do. When I come back, we can crack open that bottle of Irish whiskey I gave you for Christmas,” Angus said. When he first arrived at the compound, Froggy had been the first person he befriended outside of family. They discovered a shared love for the British Isles and talked of taking a trip to see some of their favorite spots one day soon.
Froggy laughed. His reddish-brown hair glowed beneath the light. “I’m saving that bottle for a special date, someone who looks nothing like either of you.”
Angus chuckled. “Be selfish then.” He looked at Damian who sat on the stool smiling. “See you later scamp, don’t give my buddy here a hard time. Tell Hawke I’ll see him when I return.”
“Yes, Sir,” Damian said.
Chapter 9
An hour after Angus’s departure, Hawke and Silas were going over last minute details for his trip to Maryland the next day when Hawke stiffened, his eyes widened and he jumped up from the chair and headed toward the door.
“What happened?” Silas asked following.
Without breaking stride Hawke glanced over his shoulder. “Damian said Froggy fell over his desk. He can’t get him to respond.”
“Is he breathing?” Silas asked as they keyed the security code to open the stairwell and ran down toward the gym.
“Yes, barely. Damian doesn’t know what to do,” Hawke said running faster, slowing down for two security checkpoints before the gym came into view.
When they entered, the scent of vomit hit Silas’ nostrils. He moved toward the office. Froggy lay on the floor. Silas immediately pulled the older man’s wolf. The shift went smoothly but Froggy’s wolf didn’t move. Instead it whined once while struggling to breathe.
Baffled, Silas looked around the room wondering what happened to the older man who’d been with him for decades. Kneeling, he placed his palm on Froggy’s head and sent healing energy through his wolf to revive him.
The beast shuddered and whined once again, only softer this time. Silas sent more energy but could tell it wasn’t helping. Seconds later, Froggy’s life force slipped away beneath Silas’ palm.
“What happened?” Silas asked Damian after Froggy breathed his last breath.
Damian stared at Froggy and swallowed hard before backing away. “I returned after dinner like he asked. He wanted to inventory equipment. When I walked in he started talking about the gym and how we needed to have it available for the KnightForce recruits. Everything was fine for about ten minutes. Then he started coughing, his eyes watered and he couldn’t catch his breath. I asked if he wanted something to drink. He didn’t answer but kept coughing, then he grabbed his throat and fell to the ground. I…I… called Dad. I didn’t know what to do,” Damian moved next to Hawke and stared at Froggy. He pointed at the man. “Is he…how? We were just talking. He seemed fine when I walked in and then…” Damian looked at Hawke. “What happened to him? Was he sick? Is that it?”
Hawke placed his hand on Damian’s shoulder. “I don’t know yet, pup. We’ll run some tests and figure out what happened. You did good, calling for help as soon as you realized something was wrong. Proud of your quick thinking.”
“Yes, thanks Damian.” Silas bent low over Froggy and inhaled. He breathed in his scent again. “Hawke, smell him. Take it slow and filter through everything then tell me what’s off about his scent.”
Hawke knelt next to Froggy, placed his nose next to his opened mouth and inhaled. He frowned and inhaled again.
Silas looked at Hawke and placed a protective shield over the compound. He contacted Hank, his security chief, with instructions to lock everything down. No one in or out.
“Small traces of something that shouldn’t be there. I’ll take him to the lab –”
“No, not the lab. Too many people. Have a team in full gear go through this room, bag and tag everything. Take him to a secure area, limited staff, draw his blood and find out how the hell this shit entered my compound. I want answers now!”
Silas stood. “Until I know what happened, we are quarantined.” He turned to Damian. “You’ll be staying in the lab for now.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Heart heavy, Silas stared at Froggy’s wolf and sighed. “Hank’s pulling the cameras to see who entered, or if anyone tampered with anything. Damian find out what he had for dinner, who prepared his food, or came in contact with it.”
“Yes, Sir.” Damian shot out the room.
Hawke turned the wolf over and examined him. “Can you return him to his human form please?”
Silas released his hold on the wolf and he reverted to a man.
“A team is bringing a gurney to take him below. Dr. Passen is handling the autopsy. I’ll do the blood work. Whatever he ingested or absorbed into his system destroyed both the man and the wolf in less than 30 minutes. Like everyone else here, he’s been eating the root I brought from the continent, so this is different,” Hawke said standing.
“Jasmine?”
“What’s going on?”
“Froggy died. Not sure what happened yet but I want you, the kids, Rose, Danielle and Victoria to go below ground. Everything there is tamper proof. I’ll have Tyrese and Danielle come to the nursery to help with the kids.”
She didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “Baby, I’m sorry about Froggy, I know you go way back with him. Let me know what you find out, okay?”
He released a breath, pleased she wouldn’t fight him on this. There was a bucket full of things he needed to tackle. “Of course, stay open and listen in from time to time.”
“Alright. Love you.”
“Love you too.” Silas stood back as two men in hazmat gear rolled a gurney in the office and loaded Froggy onto it. Hawke left with them.
“Tyrone? Tyrese?”
“Sir?”
Silas filled them in on what happened and gave them instructions to get Jasmine and the pups to the tunnels. Next he contacted Jacques and sent him to the tunnels with Victoria.
Hawke?
“Sir?”
“Tell Asia I want her and Sarita to accompany Jasmine and my pups. No one is to enter without clearing it through me. Tell her she’s in charge of security.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
A few minutes later his forensics team entered. He made sure they understood what he wanted done and left the room. What happened to Froggy? Nothing looked out of the ordinary. It made no sense.
Silas cancelled his trip to Maryland. He contacted Cameron and shared the little information he had. No one would be allowed inside the complex, not even the state Alpha. Cameron agreed.
Movement inside the compound was restricted to work areas and living quarters to cut down on cross contamination. Since Silas had no idea how the poison was administered or when, he shut everything down while they continued their investigation. There was a remote chance this was an isolated incident but he took every precaution just in case.
News of Froggy’s death swept through the compound. The older wolf was well-liked and highly respected. Silas read questions in the eyes of his staff. How was Froggy killed? This place was a fortress and yet a beloved member of their pack died.
Silas wanted answers just as much as everyone else. He returned to the gym and searched each level for clues. Nothing. He bypassed Froggy’s office, allowing forensics time to do their job and went to Froggy’s personal rooms. There were photos of him and Detective Jenkins, a police officer killed by Corrina Griggs. A photo of him and Stefan, the former Alpha trainer and several pictures of Silas, Jasmine and his pups. A few of Damian holding Sarita and Hawke with Asia. The place was neat and clean, just as Silas suspected it would be given Frog’s personality. There were no letters or mail, nothing from outside the compound. Silas wasn’t sure if that was normal and wondered if Froggy stashed his correspondence elsewhere. Inhaling, Silas filtered through scents to locate anything out of the ordinary and came up empty. He checked the time and returned to the lab hoping for an update.
Tyrese and Tyrone joined him. A few moments later Damian walked into the conference room with his report.
“Talked to the cook, she took the news really hard but she cooked him a steak, medium rare and French fries. He ate it all, they talked and joked a bit. Claims he looked healthy and had no complaints. She said he planned to come back for dessert later after doing some work in the gym,” Damian said.
“The autopsy will confirm that,” Silas said. Stumped, he sat on the corner edge of the table. “Tyrone go to your mate, don’t return here. If Jacques tries to leave, remind him that I want him with his mate.”
“Yes, Sir.” Tyrone left.
“Tyrese, Hank’s going through camera footage searching for anything out of the ordinary, go, be another pair of eyes.”
