KnightForce Deuces, page 8
Chapter 11
Hawke looked at the test results and shook his head. Some of the components couldn’t be found in any of the databases he accessed and he was 90 percent sure they killed Froggy. There simply wasn’t anything else. But he needed proof to present to La Patron.
Dr. Passen walked into the lab and handed him a folder. “I couldn’t find anything. Whatever it was, or is, dissipated before I completed the autopsy.”
Hawke read the file. He whistled. “Cause of death, asphyxiation?” He looked at the doctor. “No air?”
“Yes. Whatever he ingested stopped his red blood cells from delivering oxygen and it killed him.”
“Any ideas what could do that?” Hawke asked reading the rest of the autopsy findings.
“Could be a number of things, all would leave evidence and I didn’t find anything,” the doctor said. “Something passed through his system like a ghost leaving death and destruction behind.”
Hawke looked at him. “Sounds like a finely-crafted weapon. Have you checked for traces of that poison found in the lotions Victoria used?”
Passen frowned. “No, Matt has those notes but he isn’t allowed to return until the quarantine’s lifted. Let me see if I can find the data to run those tests.” He headed to the door and stopped. “You think this is some sort of chemical warfare testing?”
Hawke closed the file and met the doctor’s gaze. “Maybe, it’s too soon to tell. Either we’re deliberately being kept in the dark or we have another enemy without a name. Neither of those are good.”
“You’re right. I’ll go and run those tests.” Passen closed the door.
Hawke sat at the table to read through the file again, certain a clue was in the pages. The door opened and Damian sat across from him.
“You okay?” Hawke asked without looking up.
“Not really.”
Hawke’s gaze met his son’s tortured stare. “He was talking to me and fell dead,” Damian said in a ragged voice. “Who would want to hurt an old guy like that? He was nice to everybody, would help with anything and always listened when… whenever.” His eyes filled and he looked down at the table. “I don’t get it. Why?” He shook his head. “Makes no sense, he should’ve been safe, we should all be safe but somehow he’s dead.” He looked at Hawke with a plea in his eyes. “What’s going on? Are we under attack or something?”
Leaders like La Patron were always under attack, it came with the job description. “I don’t know. We’re looking for clues trying to get answers.” He wouldn’t lie to Damian, especially since he’d been with the man when he died. But there were things he wouldn’t say.
“So is what he died from…” He paused, looked around the room. “Is it contagious?”
Hawke’s chest squeezed. He reached across the table for Damian’s hand. After a few seconds, Damian took his hand and held it.
“Look at me,” Hawke said, his tone even.
Damian met his gaze.
“I don’t know. If it is, we’ll work through this together. Do you hear me?” He shook Damian’s hand. “Together.”
“Yes, Sir, together.”
“Good. Have you eaten or rested?” Hawke asked.
“No. Every time I close my eyes, I see him.” Damian shook his head. “For some reason, I can’t shake it like I did before.”
“With Gordon?” Hawke mentioned the name of the individual who cared for Damian while he was with the Liege. Damian had loved the man as a father and had witnessed his death at the hands of another Liege Lord.
Damian nodded. “This is different. Froggy was a good friend. He accepted people for who they were; no expectations. And he was that way from the first day.” He sat back in the seat with his head bent forward. “He was a good friend.”
Hawke knew his son hurt for the old man but other than what he’d already told him, didn’t have more to say on the matter. Besides, he needed to identify the isolated strains in Froggy’s blood.
“Have they finished in his office?” Damian asked.
“Yes, but La Patron doesn’t want anyone in there, why?”
“Thought I’d take a look around.”
“That’d be good after it’s cleared. You can lay over there, get some rest.” He pointed to the long leather sofa against the wall.
Damian looked at it for a few seconds and then walked over and stretched out. “Maybe for a few minutes.”
Hawke nodded and continued searching for answers. He knew La Patron gave him and the doctor space to go over all the information but would expect answers soon.
A ringing sound went off in the room. Hawke stared at the phone for a few seconds and then answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, sorry about this interruption; La Patron doesn’t want mental transmissions while the quarantine is in effect,” said Matt, the other doctor on staff. He lived in town with his mate, Davian, Jasmine’s ex-husband.
Hawke chuckled. “I can’t remember the last time I used a land line phone, it took me by surprise that’s all. What’s going on?”
“Just got a call from Passen about the chemicals that were used against Jasmine’s mom. He doesn’t have the clearance for me to share that with him but you do. Let’s hope this stuff isn’t being used, it’s deadly but traceable. You’ll be able to isolate and identify it within an hour.”
Pleased to finally have some good news, Hawke keyed in his information and accessed the database requiring his codes.
“Okay I’m in, what am I looking for?” He typed in the name of the compound and soon read the description.
“Don’t be surprised if you or La Patron gets a call over this. Make sure to clear your response, if any with him,” Matt said.
“Will do, thanks. Says here this enters the skin on contact, so it’s contagious?” Hawke glanced at Damian, asleep on the sofa.
“Highly. That’s the reason for the quarantine. I don’t know how it affects half-bloods fully since the pups received trace amounts and they were so young but I think it would kill us. Especially in a concentrated dose.”
“Passen told you about the autopsy. Froggy died within 30 minutes of contact, even his wolf wouldn’t respond. Does that sound like this chemical?”
“He didn’t mention Froggy’s wolf not responding but I should’ve guessed with La Patron in the room. He would’ve tried to save him through his wolf.”
“Have you ever heard of anything that would destroy both so quickly?” Hawke asked reading more data about the poison.
“No. Sounds like someone’s experimenting on eliminating dual-natured people and understood they must kill both for death to occur. The question is who would benefit from that and who would go through the expense to create an extinction drug against us?”
Hawke could only think of one group but didn’t mention them. “It’s something to think about.”
Chapter 12
Jasmine and Asia sat in the main room of the bomb shelter watching the children play games and watch movies. Her mom and Jacques were in one of the back rooms resting. Jasmine’s concern for Rose kept her tense. When they received orders from Silas to move below, she noticed how pale her daughter-in-law became. How could they be quarantined when Rose could have the baby any moment? Tyrone left after they were settled and Rose’s fear skyrocketed. Fortunately, Tyrone returned soon and stayed in the room with his mate keeping her calm. Being in a crisis situation didn’t help.
Danielle worked on the laptop scouring through camera feeds for Tyrese, who worked with Hank, looking for clues on who killed Froggy. Poor Frogs, every time Jasmine saw him in the compound, he always sent her a smile and took her teasing in stride. He had been a perfectionist, demanding but always produced great results.
Asia looked at her. “You’re worried?”
“Yes, Silas hasn’t contacted me since he sent us here, which means he doesn’t have any more information on how Frogs died.”
“It’s only been a few hours,” Asia said.
“Six; the kids have already eaten supper and are ready for bed. I didn’t want them to sleep down here but we need to fix up the beds,” Jasmine said looking at the kids. Her mind was on all the things she needed to handle - her mom, Rose, the kids.
“I’ll take care of that.” Asia stood and left before Jasmine could respond.
David looked over at Jasmine, stood and walked to her. “Are we staying here?”
Jasmine nodded. “Yes baby. We’re going to sleep down here tonight.” She ran her hand through his thick dark hair.
“Is it because of the bad people?”
Her hand stopped. “What bad people, son?”
“From today.”
Jasmine frowned. “Bad people were here today? When?” She leaned forward and met his light brown serious gaze.
“When we were playing, bad people came and left. But I don’t know them. Just that they were bad or doing something bad.” He shrugged and turned to leave.
“David, wait.” She hadn’t meant to raise her voice and surprise him but she needed him to stay with her a little longer.
“Silas, David says bad people were here earlier when they were playing outside. I remember him taking Sarita’s hand and running to the patio. He told Tyrese something about a bad feeling.”
“What?”
Jasmine exhaled slowly, waiting for him to calm down.
“Someone was here while my pups were outside and you didn’t mention it to me?”
She didn’t bother responding to his absurd remark and opened her link so he could hear David’s responses. “Where were the bad people, son?”
David shrugged. “Somewhere, I didn’t see them.”
Jasmine frowned. “How did you know they were here, then?”
“I…felt them.” He frowned and then looked over his shoulder at the others.
Acting on a hunch, Jasmine waved the other four over. “Did any of you feel something bad today?”
Sarita nodded.
“Not bad, just different,” Jackie said.
“No, it was like an ugly picture,” Renee said, “didn’t feel right.”
Adam stared at the others and then shrugged.
“You didn’t feel anything, Adam?”
“Yes, but it didn’t bother me,” he said.
Curious, Jasmine took his hand and met his gaze. “Why didn’t it bother you?”
“Because you and Nana and Aunty were right there and then Rese came and my Daddy’s here.”
Touched, Jasmine placed a kiss on his forehead. “That’s right, none of us would allow anything to happen to you but I’m happy you had a warning on the inside,” she touched his chest, “to let you know someone bad was near. The next time you have that feeling, I want you to let me or one of us know so we can check things out, okay?”
“Yes, Mama. But David said whatever it was wouldn’t stay long,” Renee said.
“Oh?” Jasmine looked at him. “Why did you say that?”
“They were outside and couldn’t come in, so they had to leave.” He walked off and the others followed.
“Well, I’ll be damned. If they never came inside the compound, how’d they get to Frogs?” Silas said sounding mystified.
“Did you check the food and water? Air?”
“Yes, those were the first things checked.”
“What about deliveries? That would account for them leaving. Here’s the thing - when David sensed the problem, he didn’t run to the adults. He went to the other kids. That’s why I didn’t think much of it,” Jasmine said.
“Did you ask him why he didn’t come to you right away?
She thought about it. “Not directly. We need to have a talk with the kids. What if they can merge like the twins? If they are developing skills, we need to know.”
“Later, I promise to revisit this thing with the pups, right now we need to track those bitches and find out what they used to kill Frogs so we can counter it.”
“I agree. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“You just did. Now we’ll focus on footage from outside the bubble. There has to be a connection somewhere. We’ll find it - until then I want to minimize all connections.”
“Emergencies only, got it.” She didn’t like it or understand his reasoning for shutting down communication but she’d go along for now.
Asia corralled all the kids. “Come on and pick out your beds.” They jumped up and ran to the room with multiple twin beds. Jasmine had remodeled the room when the babies were born. The beds were close together so there could be more floor space to play in case they were ever confined to this one room.
Jasmine went to check on her mama. Victoria had been whining all day, requiring her mate’s constant attention. Jasmine wasn’t sure what was going on but needed to make sure Victoria wasn’t having health problems. This was one time she hoped her mom was playing diva.
Jacques answered her soft knock.
“Mama okay?” Jasmine asked.
“She’s sleeping. Not well, the pups are more active than normal but she’s trying.” Jasmine could tell he wanted to get back to her mom. “Let me know if you need anything.”
He nodded in agreement and closed the door after she walked off. Down the hall, Rose and Tyrone had a room. Jasmine tapped on the door.
Tyrone opened it and she shook her head at his haggard appearance. “Let me sit with her while you get some sleep. If she has those babies, you won’t be in any shape to go through the birth with her.”
He yawned, looked behind him and then nodded. “Just a couple hours, that’s all I need.” Jasmine patted his cheek and walked inside. Rose lay on her side and offered a half-smile, half-grimace.
“Thanks, he wouldn’t listen to me. I’ve been telling him to get you or Danielle for the past hour so he could rest.” Rose stared at her mate and then looked at Jasmine. “I think…” she froze and then released her breath slowly. Recognizing the signs, Jasmine moved close to the bed and took Rose’s hand.
“How long have you been having contractions?” she asked Rose.
“What?” Tyrone said from the other room and then re-appeared in the entrance.
“A few hours now. I wasn’t sure if this was the real deal or like the other time, when it turned out to be a false alarm.”
Jasmine nodded and watched as Rose breathed through another contraction.
“Mama?” Tyrone said from behind her.
“Huh?” She said without releasing Rose’s gaze.
“What’s going on? The babies? Are they coming now?”
“Maybe.”
He gasped. “Please ask Silas to allow Matt to deliver the baby. He hasn’t been contaminated and neither has she… please convince him to allow Matt to come inside,” Tyrone said.
“Rone…” He didn’t realize what he was asking. Silas refused to allow his godson entrance and he was the state Alpha.
“Who’s going to deliver the baby, Ma? You? Me? Asia? Because that’s all we have right now.”
“What about Jacques?” Rose said. “I’m sure he’s done something similar before.”
Jasmine’s mom wouldn’t allow Jacques to stand close to another woman, let alone deliver babies regardless of family connections. Being pregnant had brought every insecurity and vulnerability to the surface to the point her jealousy was on steroids.
“Silas, this is an emergency. Rose’s contractions are coming closer together. It’s time for her to have the pups. Can Matt come and deliver the babies?”
“No.”
No? That’s it? No explanation. Maybe he didn’t understand what could happen if something went wrong with the birth.
“Who will deliver the babies, then?” she asked.
“Jasmine, I’m busy here.”
She inhaled and then released it slowly. Seeing the grimace on Rose’s face, she stepped to the corner, allowing Tyrone to take her spot while she discussed the matter with her mate.
“Send for Matt, Silas. Have someone bring him through the underground tunnel dressed in hazmat gear till he gets to this level.”
“No one in or out until we find the cause of death, don’t you understand?”
“I’m trying to work with you on this, Silas.”
“Good.”
“Not so good because you don’t seem to understand what will happen if my daughter does not deliver these babies in a healthy manner. I’m not qualified to deliver babies, neither is anyone else.”
“Jasmine...”
“Do you seriously expect me to risk not only my son, who may die with the loss of his mate but my grandchildren as well? We both know I can’t do that.”
“The quarantine keeps everyone safe –”
Her stomach tightened at his stubbornness. “I can assure you I don’t give a damn about your quarantine right now. My daughter is in pain and about to give birth to my grandbabies. So send for Matt now damn it!”
“Calm down, Jasmine.”
“Fuck that. You’ve never given birth, so you don’t sit or fucking stand wherever you are and deny her the care she needs. Get the damn doctor here now or I’ll go get him myself. I’m serious about that.”
“He’s on his way.”
She exhaled and looked behind her. Tyrone and Rose stared. “What?” she asked.
“Nothing, just things got hot in here for a minute there,” Tyrone said looking around the room and then back at her. “I assume Matt’s on his way?”
Jasmine sensed the heat, cleared her throat and straightened. “Yes. I don’t go against my mate’s judgement often but this is an emergency.”
Rose extended her arm. “Thank you, mom.”
Jasmine’s eyes filled as she accepted Rose’s hand. “No need to thank me, just have those babies wait a few more minutes and we’ll be good.”
“Jasmine.”
“Not now, Silas, I’m too angry.”
“Davian has to come with him, do you understand what that means?”
She didn’t respond.
“Cameron has to babysit Tomas and your ex-lover will be in a confined space with you for an indefinite time. My wolf will be distracted.”
