«Come now, Mr. Steel, one old soldier to another, wouldn't you like to hear what Mario's been doing behind your back for the past year? I can't believe the Altor Custodis advocates stringing up entire families of were, children included, and murdering them in cold blood. Or staking out a quiet den of bloodletters to die agonizing deaths in the blistering sun. And if you haven't heard about it, that can only mean a cover up on the highest levels of your organization.»
Steel's mouth set in a grim line. «Who? Who died?» His blood ran cold at the idea he might've been the cause of innocent deaths. All the supernaturals he'd been assigned to ferret out and report on in the past year were more or less innocuous folks who were just living their lives, quietly existing. None were killers or had done anything to earn the ultimate sanction, and several of his reports had included small children and babies. «I want proof of your claims.»
Hastings eyed him for a moment before nodding. «I've got files in the house.» He nodded out the window as the SUVs pulled up in front of a small house in the woods on the outskirts of town.
As they rolled to a stop, Steel opened the car door and was out before any of the others, but he wasn't making a break for it. No, he was heading for the house. If innocent people had been murdered because of him and his work for the Altor Custodis, he needed to know.
An hour later Steel sat defeated, with his head down, resting in his hands. He'd seen the horrors of war and police actions, even terrorist hits, but never had he seen evil in its purest form. The photos of the dead ate at his soul. He knew each and every face, from the oldest to the youngest baby. He'd watched them and reported on their doings to the Altor Custodis, believing what he was doing was the right thing. Only it wasn't.
Now innocent people had been killed in grisly ways because he'd outed them. Maybe they weren't human, but they weren't hurting anyone that he could see. There'd been no reason to kill them. Especially not the little ones.
He would live with this on his conscience for the rest of his life.
But there was something he could do in the meantime, to at least try to put an end to such butchery. Steel's life changed in that moment. He'd had a few of these kinds of moments in his life in recent years, but none this profound. When he'd gone from mercenary killer to watcher and guardian after being approached by the Altor Custodis, he thought he'd put away his guns for the last time.
He'd been wrong.
Sighing heavily, he realized he'd have to use those skills he'd perfected over the years to clean house. Somehow, the organization that had been set up centuries ago to watch supernaturals and ostensibly protect humanity had been infiltrated. They weren't only watching and recording anymore. They were killing. And they had to be stopped.
Benjamin Steel was just the man for the job.
Sitting back in his chair, he eyed the man sitting across the room. Hastings had given him the files and left him alone. He respected that. He also respected the detailed accounts these files contained, compiled by a professional. Steel trusted his gut. Hastings was on the level.
«I'm sorry.»
Steel didn't apologize often, but these people had died because of him and he felt true remorse. Hastings nodded once, slowly, acknowledging his words.
«You've got a fox in your henhouse, Mr. Steel. The question is, what are you prepared to do about it?»
He stood, flexing his muscles as his entire body prepared for war.
«I guess I'm going on a fox hunt.»
Hastings stood and grinned. «Then might I suggest you could use a pack of hounds to help out?»
Steel was taken aback, but he guessed he shouldn't have been. Why would the were go to all this trouble to alert him of this mess, then leave him on his own to clean it up? If there was anything he knew about werecreatures, it was that they were very hands on. Wherever the action was, they were in the thick of it.
«The AC doesn't take supernaturals.»
Hastings laughed. «They may not take you anymore after what you've got planned. Did you think of that?»
«The thought did cross my mind, but this has got to be done. The killing needs to stop.»
«No argument there.»
«What do you propose?»
Hastings snapped his fingers and a group of people entered the room. Some, Steel recognized from the take-down squads that had abducted him earlier, and some he'd never seen before.
One man in particular caught his attention. He was young, but built on the large side, even more muscular than most werecreatures were naturally. Steel knew why. This man worked construction with his brothers and they were part of the reason he'd been sent to this area to do surveillance. Thank goodness he hadn't sent in his report yet or this man and his family might very well be dead. It looked like somebody in the hierarchy of the AC was a Venifucus mole and was ordering hits as soon Steel's reports confirmed the identities of the supernaturals he'd been sent to investigate.
The young man walked right up to him and held out one hand. «I'm Matt Redstone.»
Steel shook his hand, liking his forthright manner. «I know.»
Matt's eyes went cold, then brightened as he turned to the room at large. «That, my friends, was the sound of the stakes being raised yet again.» He turned back to Steel with a questioning smile. «So you know about me?»
Steel nodded. «And your brothers.»
«Damn.» Matt shook his head. «Should we worry?»
«No, thank God. I didn't send the report yet and after what I just saw, I never will.»
Matt ran one hand through his shaggy hair in relief. «Well thank the Lady for small favors.» He moved over to a chair and straddled it. «I'm here to offer you some help. From what we've been able to discover, the one who's killing our folk is a pretty powerful magic user. He's killed both were and vampire. Even we don't like to tangle with bloodletters, though most forms of magic bounce right off us. As a non-magical mortal, you wouldn't stand a chance against that kind of firepower without some help. My brothers and I are willing to extend that help.»
«Cougars, right?» Steel sat again, interested in what the other man was proposing.
Matt nodded. «My oldest brother is Alpha of the cougar clan. He's away right now, but I'm authorized to gather the clan in case of emergency and I'd say this qualifies. I can get some volunteers to help out with surveillance, to supplement the people Hastings already has on the case. We're going to need a small army to take down the man who did that,» he nodded with his chin to the files still spread on the low table. «If we do this though, I have to insist on one detail.»
Steel sat back, waiting for the other shoe to drop. «What?»
«No reports. No photos. No record of any kind. I don't want my people to be immortalized in some Altor Custodis file somewhere. Not when there's the potential it could be used later to hunt them.»
«I agree.» That was a no-brainer as far as Steel was concerned. The minute he discovered his tasks for the AC had turned deadly, he'd broken from their path of watching and recording, but never interfering. The time had come to act and he'd damn well do it, regardless of what the rest of the brotherhood had done for centuries. The game was different now. The playbook had to change accordingly.
«I'm glad to hear you say that,» Matt went on. «This is bigger than you might imagine. So big, in fact, we've formed an alliance with a few others you'll need to meet if you're going to be of help to us.»
Intrigued, Steel waited to hear what more the werecougar would reveal, but the PI's cell phone rang and all eyes went to Hastings. The call was short and terse. He could tell something was wrong from the man's body language and clipped questions about how bad more than one person was hurt. Hastings shut the phone with a snap.
«Gonzalez escaped. He's our mage. No doubt about it. He toasted Kevin's and Sarah's asses, but they'll be all right with time. The bastard also broke Melissa's arm.»