"Any sign of captives?" Jax asked, body tense. He had a bad feeling about this op. Real bad.
"A couple of large square containers have gone in, but they were covered. Could be cages, or they could be nothing. In light of the information we recovered from their computer, not to mention our rescued shifters, I'm betting on the former. And one more thing." Pausing, Nick looked right into Jax's eyes. "There was a woman with them."
Jax's blood froze. The room tilted slightly and he had to remind himself to breathe. Beside him, he was aware of Kira's sudden tension. He had to ask. "Was it Beryl?"
"Zan said she fit the description-tall, long dark red hair. But her skin wasn't burned."
Jax clenched his fists, barely aware of Aric's loud curse. "That can't be. I threw her into the fire and I saw her burn. Unless . . ."
"Unless her powers were greater than you thought," Nick finished. "She was a witch, right? Or is."
"Fuck." This couldn't be happening. That conniving, murderous bitch could not still be alive and working with Chappell on his sick scheme.
But she was, and had been all along. The truth was unavoidable, forming a knot of fresh guilt and shame in his gut. And now he knew he'd have to revise what he'd told Kira.
If he could bend time back far enough, he'd make certain Beryl was dead. And then maybe Micah and the others would be safe right now.
Clearing his throat, Aric leaned back in his chair, shoving a fall of auburn hair over his shoulder. "How're we goin' in? Quiet, or a fast strike?"
"Both carry bigger risk than before, because they'll be ready," Nick said. "What we need is a layout of the building to study first, and Kalen offered to take care of that."
The red wolf frowned. "How?"
"Magic. He'll demonstrate when we arrive." Nick glanced at the clock on the wall, which showed it was just past one in the afternoon. "We're going wheels up in four hours, same crew as before, except Kira won't be going in. She'll stay with Melina in the van."
His mate frowned, but didn't argue. Wouldn't do her any good, because Jax was in agreement with the boss on this one.
"Just so it's perfectly clear, our goal here is to shut down their operation, one facility at a time if need be. Destroy their research, and take out Chappell and his minions if they can't be captured alive. Be ready. A.J., you and Sariel hold down the fort."
"Yes, sir." Their newest man appeared a little disappointed.
Those were the breaks. The human was too green to join the party just yet. Kalen was an exception-he had quite the arsenal of tricks up his Goth sleeve.
The meeting broke up and those who were leaving in four hours went to pack and attend to other business. Jax took Kyra's hand and they headed toward their quarters. As they walked, he put the disturbing news about Beryl out of his mind for the moment and worked up the nerve to address the issue foremost in his mind.
"I have something to ask you," he began uncertainly.
"Shoot."
"It's about our living arrangement. You're always at my apartment and I figured, you know, that's a waste of space and . . ." He trailed off, feeling stupid. "I totally screwed that up."
She grinned up at him. "Are you asking me to move in with you?"
"Yes, I am. Will you?" Jesus, he'd never been so nervous. He felt like a boy asking a girl to the prom.
"Well, I'd need a better reason than it being convenient. I'm sorta picky that way," she said, poking him in the ribs.
Stopping outside the door to his quarters, he turned and pulled her into his arms. "Move in with me because I'm madly in love with my pretty mate and need you with me more than I need air to breathe."
She blinked. "Wow. I believe the only answer to that is yes!"
Picking her up, he hugged her to him and swung her around, laughing. Squealing, she hooked her legs around his waist and held on, then gave him a kiss that fried his brain.
"Dang, get a room." Ryon stepped out of his apartment, closed the door, and walked off.
"We intend to! She's moving in with me," Jax called to his retreating back. His friend waved and kept going.
Without letting go of his mate, he walked them inside and proceeded to show her just how happy he and his wolf were with her decision. They barely got packed and to the hangar on time. They loaded into the two Hueys, a little bit of deja vu unsettling him for some reason. They'd come away from the first op successful, despite his life-threatening injury. He was back to full strength, his shifting abilities restored, if not his Psy gift, so there was no reason to think this op wouldn't be successful as well.
The ride in the flying tank was loud and boring, and he was glad when they landed. They climbed out to find themselves at a private hangar in a rural area outside Dallas that they'd never used before and didn't belong to them. Grant had pulled some strings and two plain, dark vans were waiting. Quickly, they loaded their gear and headed for the hotel close to downtown.
Kalen and Zan had booked two adjoining suites for the whole group so they could have plenty of room to move about without attracting too much attention. Forty-five minutes later the team was gathered around the dining table in one of the suites, where Kalen had placed a hunk of brick, right in the middle.
"So, are we ready to make a model?" Seemed he was talking more to himself than the group, since his green eyes were fixed on the brick. He took a couple of deep breaths, appearing to find his center or something, and smoothed a palm over the pendant on his chest.
Jax and Kira exchanged curious glances, and she shrugged. Sorcerers were interesting, for sure.
"With what, a hunk of stone?" Aric snorted, but the younger man ignored him.
In fact, Kalen seemed to forget about everyone as he focused all his attention on the object, holding his palms just above it as though warming his hands over a flame. "You're going to reveal to me your secrets, take the form of the whole. Show me," he murmured.
Softly, he began a chant in the strange language he'd used before, the words lyrical and hypnotic. Maybe Latin, but Jax wasn't sure. A blue light enveloped the brick under Kalen's palms, which was really cool. But it was nothing compared to his amazement when the brick began to break down. Grain by grain, swirling around the object like a miniature sandstorm, the brick growing smaller until there was only the sand.
Whirling, it appeared to grow in density. Multiplying and reshaping.
Four walls formed, stretched upward. From the walls, flooring ejected, creating four stories. Then dividers for the many rooms. Kalen chanted another spell and two of the walls disappeared, creating a cutaway section they could see through, like a dollhouse. He left off the roof.
Kalen stepped back, removing his hands, and the blue light vanished along with the wind. There on the table was a replica of the NewLife building, created by stone and magic. The Sorcerer wiped his brow, and then gestured to the model. "This should help."
"Fuckin' awesome," Hammer said, impressed.
Jax and the others agreed. Even Aric, who clapped Kalen on the back. "You're all right, kid. What can't you do?"
The younger man shrugged off his touch. "Plenty of stuff."
Sensing his discomfort, the redhead backed off. "Yeah, that's true of us all. Why don't we take a look at this thing so we can get going?"
With the spotlight off him, Kalen began to appear more at ease. As Nick got started, Jax caught Mac gazing at the Sorcerer with barely concealed sympathy-and perhaps something more. Oh, boy. If the doc wanted to bark up that tree, she might be in for a rough ride, if Jax's glimpse into Kalen's little slice of hell was any clue.
"This is going to prove invaluable," Nick said by way of praise of Kalen's work. He didn't belabor the point, though, to the Sorcerer's visible relief. "The building is located in an industrial area just a few miles from here. We'll park on a side street and go in as before. Luckily, this property has no fence, which will make the approach simpler. However, when we go in, we're going to split up. According to Kalen and Zan, there's a helicopter parked on the roof, so Aric and Ryon are going to scale to the top to cut off that escape route. Ryon, as our Telepath, will let us know when they're secure, and we'll bust inside. Quick strike."
A rumble of varying opinions followed the decision, but none voiced an outright objection. Everyone understood that no plan would be foolproof.
Nick went on. "Looking at the model, the first and second floors have the largest spaces, with the third and fourth floors divided into smaller areas. I'm guessing the bottom floor is reception and conference areas, based on the layout and their business of disease research, and dealing with the public. At least part of what they're doing is legit, and they must have the facilities to conduct studies. That's where the second floor comes in-I'm betting these are the lab and research areas."
"The third floor is basically two long hallways with rows of cubicles," Zan pointed out. "I'm betting these are the holding cells, which are convenient for the lab folks to access their subjects."
Nick nodded. "With the executive offices on the top floor. The setup keeps the captives away from the public, trapped between floors with no easy escape going up or down." He pointed to the model. "When Ryon gives the go-ahead, we'll bust in and take out the guard in the lobby with a tranquilizer. No killing unless necessary, and no elevators in case they cut the power. We'll take the stairs straight to the second floor, where Zan will download the hard drive and then destroy the database. Then on to the third and fourth floors, doing a sweep to make sure any prisoners are liberated and the building is clear, and then all of us back down to the first floor and we get the hell out."
"Seems simple enough," Jax said.
Aric leaned on the table. "Which is usually when we need to worry."
All too true. There was a weighty pause.
"We carrying?" Ryon asked.
"Personal choice, as always," Nick told him. "Some of you have abilities that more than make up for lack of a gun, so use your judgment."
Hammer, Nick, and Ryon were the only ones who opted for man-made firepower this time around. The rest, Jax included, preferred to rely on their own talents. To the skeptic, Jax would retort that they'd been carrying M-16s in Afghanistan and it hadn't made a goddamned bit of difference to the pack of rogue shifters who slaughtered them. They might as well have been using flyswatters.
"We doing this tonight?" Aric asked their boss.
"No reason to wait. We'll head out at midnight; after Aric and Ryon secure the roof, we should be ready to take the building by one." Nick checked his watch. "It's almost nine. Everybody try to get some rest. You'll need it."
Mac and Melina took a bedroom, Kira another. Some of the team spread out on the sofas and the floor, and some sat at the tables, or paced. Jax and Nick were among those who couldn't sleep, and so they leaned against the counters in the small kitchenette talking in quiet tones. Something about Nick's demeanor struck him as off, but he couldn't put his finger on what.
"What's bothering you, Nicky?"
The man gave him a long, searching look, but shook his head. "Just thinking about tonight. Strategizing."
"It's more than that." An awful thought occurred him. "We're going to get our asses kicked, is that it?"
"Not exactly."
"Come on, don't give me that shit," Jax said irritably. "Tell me what's going to happen."
"You know I can't do that, Jax. I don't know everything, and even if I did-"
"I know. You can't interfere with free will. You can't change the future." Damn, this burned.