“I…Well, Jason would be fine, sir.”
There was no sign of the other Briarwood men that had shot up Heather’s house earlier. “What happened to Horst?”
“Gone.” Jason gave a grim little smile, leaving the impression that it was gone as in dead, as opposed to gone as in left. “Turns out he wasn’t as clever as he thought he was. Is MHI hiring?”
“MHI is always hiring.”
“I don’t have a resume handy, but I can provide references.”
“You managed to hit me with an ax,” Earl said. “I’ve got to say, that’s a decent resume builder. You’re injured, though.”
Jason gestured at the bandage. “Just a flesh wound. Ryan shot me in the head on account of me not wanting to murder you.”
“He sure had a way with people, didn’t he?”
“Yes, sir. I do okay at fighting monsters, and I’ve got a family to support. I can help.”
Earl thought about it for a moment. There was no doubt the man was a Hunter, even if he was from a shoddy outfit. He’d do. “All right. You’re hired, but let’s call this a probationary period. If we don’t die shortly, we’ll discuss salary and benefits. Gather what equipment you can and meet me back here in ten minutes. Move out.”
Jason seemed honestly relieved. “Thank you, sir. You won’t regret this.”
Nancy waited for the big man to get out of earshot. “When we were bandaging him up, he was covered in prison tats.”
Earl shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d hired a Hunter with a felony record. “I trust him more than Stark already. I’m not hiring him to lead a church choir. I’ll pull his records when I get a chance. If he did something particularly vile, like murdering without a good excuse or hurting women or kids, then I could probably get that snow-blower going again.”
“You’re a man of strange sensibilities, Harbinger. But back to what you were saying. I’ll feel better when the trash behind this is put away. How do you intend to find him?”
There was a sudden banging on the barricade. Men rushed over to peer through the holes. “Where’d he come from?” someone shouted.
“I didn’t see anyone coming!” responded the rifleman guarding the front window. “He came out of nowhere.”
There was more commotion around the barricade. Earl confirmed that his Thompson was ready, then waited. Twenty seconds later, a teenage boy ran over to Earl and Nancy. “Mr. Harbinger, there’s somebody here to speak with you. Says his name is Nikolai.”
“That’s how I intend to find him,” Earl told Nancy. “If you’ll excuse me…Oh, and if this asshole tries to kill me, shoot him full of holes.”
Two men moved a chunk of the barricade for him. Judging from the shape of it, it was what remained of the trophy case that Heather had broken. Nikolai was waiting outside, arms folded, rifle slung over one shoulder. He’d found some clean winter clothing, probably from the Alpha’s closet, and appeared much healthier than earlier.
Earl greeted him. “You’re looking sane.”
“You, on the other hand, look like shit,” Nikolai replied, running one thumb under his eye, indicating the spot where Buckley had tagged him. “You’ve received a few marks, I see.”
Everything on him hurt. “You don’t realize just how nice regeneration is, ’til you don’t.”
“It is rather pleasant. I’ve fed. Our mystery Alpha has a penchant for Spam.” Nikolai patted his stomach. He no longer looked emaciated. “Six cans of lard soaked protein later, and I feel fine.”
“Spam or death…Tough call.” Earl took out a pack of cigarettes. “I’m a jerky man myself. Smoke?”
“No, thank you.” Nikolai studied the blood-soaked walls. The largest identifiable object left in the entryway was a heavily damaged pair of work boots. “I like what you’ve done to the place. Very industrial.”
It was surprisingly awkward, trying to be friendly with somebody like Nikolai. “How about we cut the bullshit and get down to business? You with me or against me?”
“You’re still alive. I believe even you can extrapolate an answer from that.”
“Extrapolate? Where the hell did they teach you English?”
“I’m sorry. The KGB did not have classes in cracker.”
Earl sighed. “Can you take me to the Alpha or not?”
Nikolai nodded his head toward the hills. “He’s out there somewhere. I can feel the amulet. It’s been getting stronger all night. I do not know where he is, but I can take us in the right direction.”
“Can I trust you?”
“No, but you will,” Nikolai answered. “You helped me do something that had to be done. I have regained control. I came here to kill the man that took Lila from me. I will not stop until that is done.”
“Fair enough.” There was no trust, but there was enough mutual respect to get them through the mission. Earl held out his hand. “Truce?”
Nikolai sneered at the extended hand. “Do not patronize me, Harbinger. We kill this zalupa first. Then we can define our terms.”
It would have to do. They’d go back to killing each other as soon as the Alpha was out of the way. Earl kept his face emotionless but decided then that when they were done, Nikolai had to be put down. Both of his personalities were too dangerous to live. Nikolai’s expression was hard, and Earl knew that the Russian had probably come to a similar conclusion.
“Agreed then…” This pained him to say aloud, but Nikolai needed to know. “I think I know who we’re after. We go back a ways. I believe the Alpha’s a man named Kirk Conover. I don’t know if that’s his real name, but that’s what he went by.”
Nikolai thought about it. “The liaison officer at Special Task Force Unicorn?” He seemed dubious. “Unlikely.”
“I don’t know who he’s worked for since the war, but he was some kind of spook. He’s the one that told me you’d be here. He roped me into this, and I trusted him like a sucker. I don’t know how he hid it, but he smelled human, and he appeared to have aged like normal.”
“We met… briefly, but that was long ago. Why would he have attacked my family?”
“He had a special hatred for you. His wife had nightmares about you until the day she died.”
“She would not be the first.” Nikolai scowled. “Who was this woman?”
“Your side would probably have known her as Sharon Mangum. Girl had a human father and a siren mother. She was with me on STFU. I found an old photo of Kirk and Sharon at the Alpha’s home. It was the only personal effect in the whole place.”
“Ah, yes. The Singer. She was right to be afraid. She was considered a very high-value target. Anyone that can so confuse a man’s mind is an extremely dangerous asset.” The Russian seemed unconvinced. “But there could be other reasons the photograph was there. Could it have been planted to throw you off?”
“Maybe, but it don’t feel that way. I don’t know. It’s the only thing that makes sense. I haven’t seen the Alpha yet, but I’ve spoken to him. He broadcasts his voice somehow, probably using magic. He sounded younger, but he talked like he knew all about me. I didn’t get too many details, since you interrupted and drove a snowplow through the wall and blew me up.”
“Yes, that was a good one,” Nikolai said smugly.
“He didn’t sound like Kirk, but he’s using magic, so who knows what else he’s altered. The Alpha said he’d lured us both here. Kirk lured me here. He despised you, knew enough about your history to manipulate you, and had the resources to find you. You got any other ideas?”
“If Conover is the Alpha, then when did he become a werewolf?”
Earl tossed his partially smoked cigarette into the red snow. “I don’t know, but when the Alpha was ripping the curse out of me, he called me father.”
“Ah, now I see.” Nikolai smirked. “So that is why you asked me if you’d spread the curse to anyone during our last battle. It seemed odd that you would not recall having given one of your comrades the curse…” He trailed off, as if lost in thought.
Earl could tell Nikolai was holding something back. “What?”
“You really don’t remember? What’s wrong with you? I did not know werewolves could become senile.”