“I got sick of hearin’ that shit a long time ago.”
“Yeah. Me too.”
“What about your Army buddies?” Rico asked. “Can’t they check around to see who’s left besides us and the Vigilant?”
“They barely know which end is up,” Cole said. “The IRD is doing their best to stomp out the fires, but they can’t wrap their brains around what’s starting them. Soon as we realized they don’t have much more than big guns in their pockets, Paige and I got away to find some answers on our own.”
“What about that little toy you brought in the basement? Pretty high-tech stuff. Or is that something you whipped up?”
“It’s some good tech. We might’ve been able to put something like it together, though. Still, it’s . . .” Cole felt his stomach clench. The tendrils hurt like hell, but that was nothing new. He’d reached an understanding with them. Somehow, he just knew they weren’t about to kill him. Even if they weren’t connected to a spore, they still had a purpose, and choking out their only food source didn’t serve it. No, this clench came from realizing he might just be even dumber than he’d thought. “Shit, I can’t believe this.”
“Believe what?”
“Paige and I ditched the car the IRD gave us, checked everything we were carrying, just about tore apart the clothes we were issued, and even picked through our boots to make sure we weren’t being tracked or bugged by those guys. They gave us that device to field test and we kept it because it could be useful, even as a bargaining chip.” Cole shook his head, suddenly feeling every bit of the weight that the last few months had dumped onto his shoulders. “I bet that device has got something else in it. Maybe that was the whole reason Adderson gave it to us.”
Clapping him on the shoulder, Rico said, “Could be. I was the one watching the screens when you carried that thing past the sci-fi setup in the front of that house. Our expensive computer shit picked up on a signal right away. Since it was you, I squelched it without raising the alarms.”
“Funny. I guess from being out there stabbing werewolves, getting bitten by vampires, and dodging gargoyles, the more modern ways of being hunted don’t register as much. Should’ve seen that one coming.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I would’ve thought to look for some electronic shit inside the little electronic box, but that’s me. I’ve spent a few more years hanging around with criminals or other sorts who think about wiretaps and that kind of crap.”
“Jessup put you in charge of watching the computers?” Cole asked. “You really have them snowed.”
“Nah. Just told ’em I learned a few things from hanging out with you.”
Those words, coupled with the approving nod from Rico, told him that the big guy actually thought of him as something other than cannon fodder.
“Don’t be so surprised,” Rico said. “Word spreads. That’s how it’s always been with us. With you and Paige stepping up the way you have, the rest of us are bound to know who you are.”
“You were there for a lot of it too.”
“And don’t think I don’t remind them of that whenever they try to pressure me into signing on all the way with these Vigilant creeps.”
“So you don’t trust them?” Cole asked.
Rico glanced down the street toward the Vigilant’s building and then turned away as if he was certain they were looking straight back at him. “Since you told me about that bug, I know I can trust you. Speaking of trust, where’s that rock?”
Cole looked across the street, couldn’t find the figures that had been stalking him previously, then shifted his eyes toward another lot. Soon, the figures stepped out from around another house and stayed there to make sure they were seen. Cole waved at them, which was enough for the two figures to part ways. One came straight at Cole and Rico, while the other doubled back down the street. As soon as the second figure stepped out of the shadows, Paige waved at Cole and continued down the street toward the car.
Rico kept his hand on the butt of his holstered Sig Sauer while watching the first figure approach him. “That’s one of the new guys. Waggoner. He one of yours?”
“One of Paige’s, is more like it. She met him in Atoka.”
Waggoner was a tall man sporting a full beard. He hobbled across the street wearing several layers of jackets, thermal undershirts, and flannel to fight a winter chill that struck Cole as mildly bracing at the worst. Judging by the weight of his clothes, Waggoner seemed to be more concerned, anyway, about having the maximum amount of pockets rather than being warm.
“He’s been with us for a few months,” Rico said as his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “He’s been a spy that whole time?”
“Nope. He just got a little freaked out by some of the stuff he heard in that big clubhouse of yours. When he called Paige a few weeks ago, I was just as surprised as you are.”
By now Waggoner had made it across the street. After throwing a quick nod at Rico, he hobbled over to stand out of the big man’s reach. “Hey, Cole. Good to see you. I would’ve said hello earlier, but . . . you know.”
“Yeah,” Rico said while eyeing the little box in the other man’s hands. “I know. You’ve been busy stealing from us.”
“You don’t even know me, mister. I’ve seen you around plenty of times, but you ain’t even seen fit to shake my hand.”
“You’re still wet behind the ears, boy,” the big man replied. “Just carved your own weapon, right?”
The man nodded meekly at first, but quickly straightened up and lifted his chin.
“I don’t care what anyone else said about him,” Cole said evenly, “I can tell you he’s a stand-up guy. Even after he got injured in Atoka, he still wanted to ride with Paige to face off against those Full Bloods.”
Rico grunted. “Bein’ stupid should never be mixed up with bein’ brave. I already heard about you saving a bunch of people stuck in a panic room during the Breaking Moon, so I guess you do have some redeeming qualities.” Looking down from Waggoner’s eyes, he said, “Tell me how you got that.”
Waggoner shifted his weight off his left side while pressing a hand against one leg. “Half Breed tore into me in Atoka. Nearly crippled me, but some friends patched me up before steering me toward this place.”
“Not that, numb nuts! The fucking box in your hands!”
Waggoner tightened his grip on the metal container. “I was coming down to see if anyone needed help when that Full Blood in the basement broke loose. As soon as I got to the bottom of the stairs, Jessup handed it to me and told me to put it away.”
“So instead you sneak out with it? Didn’t anyone stop you?”
“They were all too busy trying to get a look at the Full Blood or get to a weapon in case it tried to get upstairs.”
Before Rico could get close enough to grab hold of the other man, Cole stepped between them and said, “I told him to try and get ahold of the Jekhibar when we called to let him know we were headed out here. We need that thing.”
“And I agree with him,” Waggoner said. “I’m a grown man. I don’t take orders from much of anyone and I don’t need someone else to fight my battles.” Looking Rico dead in the eyes, he added, “I’ve heard plenty of things about you. Why the hell would you pick sides with these crazies?”
“Because there’s a fight that needs to be won. We can worry about settling up with each other after that’s finished.” Rico’s gaze didn’t lose any of its fire when he shifted it toward Cole. “Why didn’t you just come to me with this?”
“Why didn’t you answer any of the calls we made when we needed help clearing out St. Louis and Topeka?”
“I left you all the Snappers I had.”
“And they work great. We need more than bullets, though. That’s why—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Rico sighed. “That’s why you broke off from the IRD. You gonna give me that box or are you gonna make me take it from you?”
Waggoner didn’t look like he was cowed in the slightest by Rico, and he didn’t look to Cole for affirmation before handing over the metal box. Rico took it, opened it, and snatched the bent metal wedge from it. Tucking the box under an arm, he reached into one of the pockets of his heavy leather biker jacket. When Cole first met the big man, that jacket had patches of canvas to fill in the spaces that still needed to be covered with tanned Half Breed hide. Now the entire jacket was solid leather, stitched together from several pieces that fit like a puzzle wrapped around his entire upper body. From his pocket, Rico took a small plastic bottle of eye drops. Recognizing the color and oily texture of the fluid inside the bottle, Cole knew it did a lot more than moisturize and rejuvenate.