“You don’t think they might’ve been turned into vampires already, do you?” suggested Drew.
“No, we saw that happen in the bus tunnel,” answered Jason. “They wouldn’t be up and moving already. It takes a little time to process, I think.”
“We have to do something,” said Amber.
“Well, ev’rybody’s standin’ still,” Wade murmured. “Think I can pop that asshole behind ‘em as long as nobody’s movin’, but I dunno what good that’d do.” He quietly drew a bead on the vampire just the same, figuring he made for a higher priority target than any of the others.
“Are you sure?” Bridger asked. He looked from Wade to the agents and back again. “How good are you with that thing?”
“Pretty good,” he said, “presumin’ y’all crazy black helicopter CIA types keep y’all’s weapons sighted in properly.”
“Rachel’s on the other side of the building fighting a bunch of werewolves,” said Jason. “Her and another angel. I can’t tell which side’s winning.”
“Sounds like that’s above our pay grade,” Wade decided. His eyes stayed on his target. “Lorelei an’ Alex said they’re fixin’ to start some shit down there. I reckon if they do, I better be ready to nail this one asshole here. Maybe Amber, Bridger and I can provide coverin’ fire for their buddies t’ make a run for it. You two down with that?”
“Yeah,” Amber nodded, taking up a spot beside him.
Bridger moved to another window, his pistol drawn and ready. “On it.” He didn’t bother asking why Wade had suddenly taken charge. The younger man had plainly been through more training and firefights than Bridger and Amber together.
“What do we do?” asked Jason.
“Watch the hallway an’ the other window,” Wade instructed, gesturing to the other corner. “If one of us goes down from a gunshot or whatever, take care of it. But mostly ah figure they ain’t gonna settle f’r one angle of attack. We need to be able to put up some sort of defense, so that’s y’all. Hopefully they don’t think t’ just send in someone downstairs to shoot up through the floor,” he added.
Drew and Jason shared a grim look. Amber felt much the same way. She glanced back at them, and at her boss. “How does Hauser look?” she asked.
“Out, but he’s breathin’,” said Drew. “Don’t worry. If he wakes up, I’ll just punch him out again.”
Amber opened her mouth to object, but then couldn’t think of a reason why.
* * *
“Molly, I gotta let the leader guy go,” Onyx whispered. “Those two hostages gotta take priority here.”
If the redhead heard, she gave little indication. Onyx didn’t dare break Molly’s concentration, either. Not at this point in her spell. She frowned, shifting her tools in her hands for another round of confusion hexes on her new target.
Onyx shivered in the cold. Bundled up for a night in wet woods or not, the night only grew more unpleasant under Molly’s magical guidance. Eventually, Onyx knew, adrenaline would kick in and she’d forget about the cold, but until then it was goddamn freezing out. Rather than blocking out the rain, the tree above them served only to collect the water into great big drops that fell across them both.
“You about ready for showtime?”
Molly kept murmuring. She gave the slowest of nods, holding up two fingers, and then dropped back into meditation again.
Two minutes, Onyx thought. Please let this all hang on for just two more minutes.
* * *
“Patience, please,” Wentworth urged his companions. “I have heard everyone out. Fear not. This impasse will resolve itself.”
“Impasse?” scowled Unferth. “What impasse?”
“The one with-ah, that is-I mean our tactical quandary.” He gestured to the pair of FBI agents kneeling before Marco and his gun, and the building beyond.
“Sir,” Rupert broke in, “there’s no impasse. We simply need you to give the order to attack.”
Murmurs of agreement rose around Wentworth. He found more agreement than he expected. In fact, he couldn’t find a single dissenter. His eyes went back to the darkened building before them. Sure, there was still the fight on the other side, but that was planned. That was the whole reason he agreed to work with the mongrels in the first place.
Why not attack?
“Hey, uh, boss?” asked Marco as he turned his back on the hostages.
“Marco, turn around!” Wentworth snapped. “Keep your eyes on the prisoners!”
“Oh, right, sorry,” Marco blinked, shifting his attention again. Then his head tilted curiously. “Um, but, boss…?”
“Very well,” said Wentworth to his allies. “If they wish to hide, we’ll just have to dig them out. Unferth, Rupert, each of you will take four-“
“Boss!” called Marco again.
“What?” Wentworth growled. He turned once more to Marco, only to see the other vampire pointing toward the partly open door to the front entrance.
Guns and other weapons came up at the ready. Wentworth held out his hand to signal for readiness. “Hold,” he warned.
“Hey out there!” came a voice-Carlisle’s voice. “Don’t shoot! We’re good. Just want to talk.” The door remained only partly open, affording no one a view of the speaker behind it.
“Show yourself!” demanded Unferth.
“I’m kinda not in the mood to get shot,” Carlisle replied. “And someone other than Unferth should do the talking.”
“I will speak,” called out Wentworth as he stepped forward. “Where is the demon, Lorelei? I would treat with an equal.”
“That’s too bad. I’m all you get.”
Wentworth’s eyes narrowed. He looked to his compatriots, but found no one offering a helpful sign. Surely a demon would not hide behind a mortal boy like this. Perhaps she fled when she saw the numbers arrayed against them?
“Then you know what must happen here,” said Wentworth. “Our quarrel is not with the demon, but you concern us greatly.”
“Yeah, I guess. You don’t need to involve all these other people, though. You don’t have to hurt anyone else.”
“That remains to be seen, Mr. Carlisle,” Wentworth said. “Many have been hurt on both sides of this conflict. Only you can put an end to this.”
“Pretty sure I’m not gonna like how that goes.”
“You will enjoy it less if we must come in there to get you. That way ends only in pain and death for everyone. Surrender yourself and I give you my word we will not hurt anyone else. Your lover and any of the others inside will be free to go.”
“Are you mad?” hissed Unferth. “Let’s just go in and get them all!”
“You already tried that, remember?” Wentworth murmured. “We know he is dangerous in his own right. We know little of what else lurks inside. If we draw him out, we may eliminate him before taking the rest. Better to fight our enemies piecemeal than all at once.”
“What if this is a trick?” Unferth pressed. “What about the demon?”
“I should hope everyone here is watching for treachery, Unferth,” Wentworth answered. “Wouldn’t you at least prefer to deal with it on our own terms?
“Still. Curious that it’s Carlisle speaking,” Wentworth mused. “One would expect the agents holding him to take the lead. Or the demon. Perhaps this is her plan of escape?”
He called out again, “Mr. Carlisle? What say you to my offer? Shall we let the rest of these poor folk off the hook?”
“Let one of them go first!” came the answer. “Show me some good faith and I’ll come out.”
“I’m afraid that would be unwise on my part, Mr. Carlisle. If I give you one, I’ll have only the other to bargain with.” He gave a rueful smile and a single shake of his head. “That is not good strategy for me. You’ll have to accept my word.”
“For what that’s worth,” Rupert snorted quietly.
“Mortals,” Wentworth sniffed. “We owe them nothing.”
“Alright, fine!” Alex called out, waving one hand from behind the door. “I’m coming out. Don’t shoot!”
“We wouldn’t dream of it,” assured the lead vampire.
The door stopped opening. “Not funny!”
Wentworth sighed. “Mr. Carlisle…?”