INCURSION: Knightmare (Knight's Bane Trilogy Book 1) Page 19

  Six sent Heavy and God up to the house with the firemen just to make sure the emergency crews let the blaze fully consume the house.

  By three o'clock in the morning, the flames were out. The team rode back to the hotel to get some sleep before they would begin to tackle the mountain of information that was in the back of their War Wagon.

  21

  DO-RIGHT

  HOTEL, TRINIDAD, COLORADO.

  It was a cold, foggy morning when Spooky woke up to pounding on the ramp door. He stiffly climbed out of his chair in the War Wagon and walked to the back. As he looked out the gun port, he saw Six holding two cups of coffee in a cardboard drink carrier. The young agent unlocked the ramp and dropped it to the parking lot, raising dust as the ramp hit the pavement.

  The lead agent climbed up the ramp and handed the coffee to the junior analyst. "Have you started working on anything yet?" Six inquired.

  Spooky took a long drink of coffee. He finally spoke, "Ahh, the nectar of the gods. Normally, I'm an energy drink guy, but this is perfect. No, I haven't started working on anything that we got last night."

  He looked down at his wrist computer and said, "It looks like we've got some other information, though. When we found out that the pharmacist was involved, I asked HQ to run a telephone records dump and to correlate it to major activity, known friends, and a couple other parameters. It looks like they just sent me a file."

  Spooky walked over and dropped into his workstation seat. After only a few moments of typing, he soon brought up a document and displayed it on his main screen. The analyst looked it over carefully and pointed out interesting facts.

  "Look there," Spooky said as he pointed to a telephone number in his document. "Our giggling vamp had never contacted this particular phone number until after the slaughter of the sheriff, mayor, and FBI guys." He gestured to another number and continued, "He also kept frequent contact with this hospital number."

  Spooky bent over and typed furiously, muttering as he went. "Let's see... If we cross populate here... What if we looked at it this way? Oh, that's interesting!" Six could not keep up with whatever his specialist was doing between his dual monitors. The team leader finally gave up and sat back to savor his coffee. He figured that Spooky would let him know when he found something interesting. Six closed his eyes.

  "That's IT!" Spooky's shout startled Six, and he spilled now-cold coffee over his hand. The agent was looking at him expectantly.

  Six looked back at his electronics genius and said, "What do you have, Spooky?"

  He turned and pointed at three phone numbers buried amidst the multitude of screens and windows. "This top one is the deputy mayor's number—her private office line. He's been making several calls a day to her since the slaughter. According to her private schedule, he's also been in to see the now-acting Mayor Desiree Marshall three times. There isn't any reason for him to be talking to her quite that much, especially with no other history within the last three years."

  He pointed at the other two highlighted numbers on his screen. "This top one goes to a specific line in the hospital. It just so happens that this one is the private office line of the county coroner, Bill Stewart. They talked occasionally before, but it ramped up all of a sudden after we took out that ambush."

  Spooky paused to sip his now-cold coffee, and then looked at the cup in disgust. He set the cup down and continued. "This one was harder to run down. It seems to be one of those burn phones. Unfortunately, for our quisling coroner, he didn't, in fact, throw it away. In fact, it's on and still broadcasting. We've traced it to the hospital, and it's most likely in the morgue with him. How stupid can you be to buy a throw-away phone and keep it? It seems like these are the only two people that are connected to the drug guy's vamp side."

  The lead agent nodded and smiled. He clasped Spooky on the shoulder hard enough to make him wince. "Great work, Spooky," Six said. "We still need to process the rest of the information just to make sure we don't miss anything. We'll do that at the base ops. Until then, go take a shower and wake up. We'll need you in top form, and it's been a while since you've left that seat. I'll stay put until someone else comes out."

  "Will do, boss," Spooky replied with a sheepish grin.

  The young agent peeled himself back out of his chair and grabbed his clothing bag and opened the ramp. He walked down the ramp and brushed past Boomer as she headed toward the War Wagon to speak to Six.

  TWO HOURS LATER, most of the team was in the conference room sorting through the mountains of paper and electronic data that they had collected the night before. Spooky had his forensic computer tools running overtime and was merrily mining all of the electronic data that he could retrieve from the former pharmacist's phone and computer. Ghost, assisted by Heavy and Boomer, led the effort to gather any usable data from the paper files. Doc was on the phone with her Vatican contacts in an effort to hunt down some research of a more esoteric nature.

  About a mile down the road, Six walked into the acting sheriff's office with Deputy Christian Folsom in tow. Six reached out to shake the sheriff's hand while the deputy stood at attention. The deputy looked like had not slept for two full days, and the two days' growth of beard and tousled hair was far from the clean, professional looks he normally wore. His wrinkled and smudged uniform attested to his sleepless night. The acting sheriff looked almost as bad as her deputy. The dark circles under her eyes and wrinkled uniform showed that her past couple days had been rough, as well. She motioned for the two men to sit in the seats across from her as she sat behind her desk.

  She looked at her deputy with care in her eyes. "How are you doing, Deputy?" she asked with a tone of concern in her voice. "I'm so sorry for your loss. We'll do everything we can to help you get through this... that's what your Trinidad family is here for."

  Christian wearily nodded and then spoke. "Honestly? I'm numb. I don't think I've hit the full impact yet."

  The sheriff nodded. She kept her voice smooth, but it grew cold and hard. "You should be off work now. What are you doing in uniform? What is this about you responding to the scene last night at Virgil's house? Have you completely lost it?"

  The DHS agent took this opportunity to speak up, earning a grateful smile from Christian and a cold glare from the sheriff. "Sheriff Sweeney, I believe that I can answer all of your questions. Your deputy was a great help to us last night as we ran down some local sources that seem to have been involved in the original murders that brought us here, as well as the murders of the sheriff, mayor, and FBI agents. Those sources were also involved in the murders of the deputy's family and the older couple that night. Deputy Folsom offered his services, and I made the choice to bring him on board in our investigation."

  The sheriff turned her glare on her deputy, and then returned to the agent. "You caught the suspects in the death of his family. In fact, you told me that you have been able to track down several of the people that are turning my city into a slaughterhouse. How can a junior deputy, just out of POST training, actually help you?"

  Six shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, sheriff. I cannot give you specific information, as it is classified way above your pay grade. But I am here to tell you that as of last night, and for the foreseeable future, he needs to be officially seconded to my team." Six continued, "Deputy Folsom will be acting on our authority, and I expect that he will be temporarily removed from his duty shifts until he is no longer working with my team. I realize that you would normally be providing compassionate leave, but he is not currently taking it. He will be working for me."

  The sheriff stood and shook her finger at Six. Her voice rose to a shout. "How dare you come into my town, into my office, and treat me and my department like this. You do NOT have the authority to unilaterally second one of my deputies. You sure as hell do not have the authority to keep him from compassionate leave after his family was slaughtered by the guys you are chasing. I'm about done with you and your team using my town for a shooting range. Get out of my office. And ge
t out of my county."

  The federal agent calmly stood and reached into the breast pocket of his fatigues. He withdrew his credentials and slowly opened them in the sheriff's line of sight. "I assure you, Sheriff Sweeney. I have the full authority to do what I am doing. You do not want the shit storm that I can rain down on your county. I, Special Agent Burt Holstein, of the Department of Homeland Security, formally require you to assist me and my team to accomplish our mission. You are to help us within your legal and lawful power, and you will not interfere with, or retaliate for, the work that Deputy Christian Folsom will be performing for my team. Do you understand?"

  Six was glad to see the faint greenish glow emanating from his credentials. He was getting a handle on this esoteric-hero stuff. The sheriff's eyes glazed over briefly, and then her face re-animated. The anger and resentment visibly drained from her. She was calm, but her posture still seemed tense.

  The sheriff nodded and gritted her teeth. After a few moments, she responded, "I understand. And I can't wait until you are out of my county."

  The agent's tight smile never reached his eyes. "Believe me, I can't wait either," he said. He motioned for the deputy to stand and then turned and walked toward the door.

  As they walked out of her office, he looked at the deputy and said, "Let's stop by your supply room to get you a couple new uniforms, and then we'll drive by your house to pick up some clothes and toiletries."

  AN HOUR LATER, the two men arrived at the base ops in the deputy's pickup truck. Six and Christian walked into the conference room and were met with a massive pile of paperwork that threatened to collapse and bury those around the table under old records. The lead agent looked around and said, "Alright team, the good deputy is officially ours, at least for the time being. What do we have?"

  Ghost spoke up first, "We've confirmed our earlier suspicions, bossman. Acting Mayor Desiree Marshall is certainly one of the vampire's creatures, most likely a familiar. Spooky also traced down the other phone. It belongs to our twitchy friend, Bill Stewart, the coroner. He's likely another familiar. We confirmed both of these connections through the electronics we confiscated as well."

  "Great job," Six said with a smile. "So what do we know about familiars? Doc? Ghost?"

  The priest looked down as she read from her notes, "My researchers at the Vatican tell me that familiars are typically humans who are enthralled by the vampire through a psychic hold, or who willingly give themselves to the vamp. The stronger the vamp, the stronger the connection and hold. If this master is the one who made them familiars, then they should be well connected."

  "Great, but how do we break them? Silver? Stake?" questioned Six.

  Doc shook her head. "No. These are actual, unmodified humans. Their one weakness is that they get real twitchy and cannot help but react when someone presses too far about their master. Indirect questions make them act as if they are in the throes of drug withdrawal. They start getting nervous ticks, and even have a hard time talking. Direct questions seem to just set them off, so ask them questions."

  Ghost asked a question. "Can familiars be cured? Can the vampire's hold be broken?"

  Again, the priest shook her head and continued, "No. The only way they can be 'cured' is to kill the master that they are connected to. Unfortunately, this often drives them completely insane. This mental break has been permanent for every subject the Vatican has seen. But sometimes, it's the best way to make them talk."

  Six looked at the team and said, "Let's get this party started. We can either wait until the vamps attack again, or we can have a chat with their pet familiars, and step up the action. Anyone favor waiting?" He looked around to see his team shaking their heads.

  "Pre-emptive strike it is. We need a location and plan of attack for the two pets. We'll have to hit them simultaneously, or they will get spooked. Do we know where they currently are?"

  Spooky waved to get the team leader's attention. "Yeah, boss. The mayor is in her office at city hall, and according to her calendar, she is scheduled to be there all day. The quisling coroner is also in his office. This should be a simple divide-and-conquer."

  Six started dividing the team. "Ghost and Heavy, you guys and Do-Right are Alpha Team, with me. We'll be talking to the Mayor. Spooky, you'll be driving the War Wagon and monitoring status while we are inside." Spooky started laughing, trying to keep quiet, but failing.

  Six tried to ignore the young genius and continued with his assignments. "Doc and Boomer, take God with you. You guys are Beta Team. You go have a chat with the creepy coroner. Everyone be on their guard. We need to find out where the master vampire is, and what he's planning.

  "Be ready to move out quickly. We may have to act on information faster than we had planned. Any questions?"

  Ghost raised a hand. "Yeah, boss. What is our load out for this?" he asked. "I'm not sure the full tac gear is appropriate for these interviews."

  Six nodded in agreement with Ghost. "Good call," Six said. "Load out is the following: no rifles; no machine gun, Heavy; pistols only. This means no tactical armor. Simple fatigues, and make sure you take your credentials and your sidearm. Anything else?"

  After not hearing a response, their leader continued. "Let's load 'em up, then. Stow your heavy gear in the 'Wagon, and Beta can head out across the parking lot."

  The young agent was still laughing as tears streamed down his face. The senior agent glared at him. "What in the hell are you laughing at?" the agent demanded.

  Spooky barely wheezed his answer: "Do-Right. The Canadian Mountie who rides his horse backwards." He devolved into even more laughter.

  By this time, the rest of the team began to chuckle. Doc broke into outright laughter and exclaimed, "I used to love that show!"

  Six looked at Christian. "Sorry, kid. I didn't think they'd catch the reference. Should've known Spooky would pick it up."

  Christian smiled with everyone else. He knew that this laughter was not directed at him. The team needed something to laugh about, and a silly nickname seemed to fit the bill.

  "That's ok, boss. I kind of like it," said Christian. "Frankly, it's how I feel right now."

  The laughter eventually died down and the oppressive weight in the room seemed to have been lifted. With all the death and horror that the team had seen over the last couple of days, they needed a laugh. Christian felt himself give a small smile for the first time in what felt like days. He realized that he desperately wanted to be on this team when they left Trinidad. He only hoped that they saw his value.

  Beta Team walked across the now familiar parking lot as they made their way to the hospital. Waving to the security guard as they passed, they walked down the stairs to the basement. Las Animas County Medical Examiner Bill Stewart was sitting behind his desk, writing notes and working on the unceasing paperwork that his job demanded.

  Doc knocked on the frame of his door. Her voice was warm as she asked, "Hey, Doctor Stewart? Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

  ACROSS TOWN, Spooky pulled the enormous War Wagon across three parking spaces in front of the city/county building. When he noticed his boss's questioning look, the agent smiled and said, "What are they going to do, tow me? I'd like to see them try."

  Six shook his head as the crew popped the hatch and scrambled out of the truck. When they had dismounted, Spooky closed the hatch from inside and sealed the vehicle so that he could begin to monitor his electronics.

  The rest of Alpha Team walked through the front doors of the building.

  Six heard his electronics expert in his ear proclaim, "I'm into the camera system. I've got eyes on you."

  The DHS agent subvocalized a brief "Copy" as the team walked toward the stairs to the second floor. As they approached the mayor's office, Six noticed the mayor's administrator at the desk and two plainclothes police officers wearing suits who were standing at attention outside the door to the mayor's inner sanctum.

  The federal agent smiled his most polite smile and drew his badge. Flashing the cr
edentials at the administrator, he said, "Special Agent Burt Holstein, Department of Homeland Security. I would like to meet with the mayor, please."

  The raven-haired administrator seemed unfazed by the credentials. "I'm sorry, Agent Holstein," she replied. "The mayor is very busy right now and is getting ready to leave for a meeting in the next few minutes. I could maybe work you in... tomorrow?"

  Six continued to smile, but his tone grew colder and harder. "You don't seem to understand. I'm being polite right now, but I'm losing my patience. I will need to see the mayor right now. Not tomorrow. Not later. Now. You can either clear us through the doors, or we will go through the doors anyway. It is your choice."

  The two bodyguards next to the door tensed and took a step toward the agent. Heavy calmly stepped in between the two officers and his boss. Smiling, he crossed his massive arms over his chest. His sleeveless t-shirt and BDU pants only accentuated the mountain of muscle that the bodybuilder was carrying. The big man's deep voice was soft and warning. "You fellas need to calm down right now. You know we're federal agents. Do not start something that you don't me want to finish."

  The administrator swallowed nervously as she glanced back and forth between the stand-off in front of the door and the agent in front of her. Six made the decision for her and continued, "Listen, Miss Adams. I'm going to go in there now. Please feel free to let her know I'm here."

  Six, Ghost, and Christian all walked past the guards. The DHS agent opened the doors, and they filed into the inner office as the administrator frantically called her boss.