«Looks like they're a couple now. This guy moves fast. Good collar, my friend.» Mario lowered his binoculars. «What do you sense from them?»
«Vamp,» Steel said shortly. «Not too old. The guy…maybe a few centuries. The girl is new though. A lot of unfocused energy around that one.»
Mario gave him a sharp look, but didn't say a word. They went through the motions of signing the paperwork Steel had prepared. If he sent it in to his superiors at the AC, it would net him a hefty bounty, but this particular file would never see the light of day. It would be destroyed tonight, before anyone else was killed because of his work for the AC.
«So, you want to grab a beer?» Steel asked, as he usually did after they'd finished a job. Mario always refused and this time was no different.
This was it then. Steel had done his part, but he couldn't leave the others to face Mario on their own. Plus, there was still a small part of him that needed to see the proof of Mario's treachery with his own eyes. Steel took his leave of the other man, but didn't go far. He would wait in the wings, just in case.
«Soon now.» Cameron spoke in a low voice to Matt. They'd used Matt's ability to communicate with Christy and Sebastian to good advantage already. Cameron sensed the slight stir of energy when Mario showed up and was able to stage the scene, alerting Sebastian and Christy. They'd done their part, traipsing out to the car and back, letting Gonzalez get a good look at them. «Tell them to prepare. Steel just left, but he didn't go far.»
The things Cam could sense amazed Matt while he played go-between for the fey and the couple inside the small cottage. This was tough on Christy, Matt knew. He could feel the echoes of her fear in his mind. The poor woman had been through a lot and though she'd stood strong through it all, at some point, Matt was afraid she was going to break. No one suffered through years of abuse without residual effects of some kind.
«Cam says Steel just took off, but he didn't go far,» Matt relayed the message. «Gonzalez is still hanging around. Cam thinks it won't be long before he makes his move.»
«I hope Steel knows what he's doing.» Christy's worried tones came back to Matt.
«Don't worry about him, Chris. He's a SEAL, and not the shifter kind either. Those boys know how to take care of themselves. My brother has some spec ops friends who work for us from time to time and to a man, they're every bit as resourceful as the were, even though they lack our native abilities. For mortals, they're damn ingenious.»
«Watch now, the sorcerer is making his move. Tell them to be on guard.» Cam's voice came to Matt's sensitive ears in the merest whisper. «Our boy just jumped the fence in a single bound. Nice trick, that, for a mortal mage.» Cameron sounded suspicious, but continued to give Matt the other man's track.
«He's coming,» Matt passed on the details as Cam relayed them.
There was a yard in front of the cottage, between it and the larger warehouse. It was an open space, with only a few strategically placed shipping containers and metal crates they'd positioned ahead of time. Cam and Matt hid behind one of these, waiting for Mario to get into a spot where they could ambush him.
But this wasn't your typical ambush. It was more magical than physical, though both aspects would have to be watched. They'd agreed beforehand that Matt would stay in human form. For one thing, he was an effective fighter in both his forms, but as a human he wouldn't have the extra telltale magical energy around him that might tip off Mario to the trap. Of course, changing to cougar was always a possibility if things went not quite as planned.
«He's not going for the cottage. Something's wrong. Our boy isn't playing by the rules. Warn them.» Cameron moved to get a better view and Matt was chilled by the dangerous glint in his eyes. The lighthearted fey he'd seen to this point was suddenly all warrior and as deadly as they came.
The cottage was a decoy. Sure, the couple had gone into the small building, but they'd quickly gone out again through a secret, underground passage that led to the edge of the warehouse and then into the far end of a large, empty shipping container positioned right outside the warehouse's large doors.
Vampires had a habit of outfitting their properties with secret passages in order to keep them out of the sun. Perhaps Mario had guessed that, though there was no reason for him to single out the particular shipping container where the couple was hidden. The warehouse would have been the obvious choice if he didn't fall for the cottage and the trap they'd laid within its sturdy little walls. They'd prepared accordingly though, leaving Hiro, Ian and several others inside the warehouse to keep the mage busy while Cameron did his work, but Mario moved as if he knew exactly where the couple was, and that didn't fit with their plans at all.
«He's heading your way,» Matt warned them. «He's not making for the cottage or the warehouse. He's heading right for you. I wouldn't recommend getting caught in that tin can.»
The shipping container was large, but not big enough to maneuver in, should the fight come to them. Sebastian had considered this when they devised the plan and thought it worth the risk. He also had two clear exits from the container, and an ace in the hole-Matt on the outside, able to relay just where the mage was headed.
«He's coming in from the south,» Matt said.
«Let me know when he's at the door. We'll go out the north end and circle around him, but I don't want to move too soon, in case he has some way of tracking us.» Sebastian reasoned that for the mage to home in on them so quickly, there had to be something about them that he sensed and was able to follow. Timing was critical. Move too soon and the mage would adjust his course to intercept. Move too late and be caught in the box.
«He's almost there. Any second now.»
Sebastian kept one hand on Christina's back, ready to push her out the door, should it become necessary. He didn't like the way this was playing out, but they'd make the best of it.
«Cam says something's happening. Get out of there now! Now!»
Matt's warning came a second too late as Sebastian felt his world turn upside down.
He had time enough only to shove Christina out the door before the shipping container became a rolling maelstrom of death and destruction.
«Holy shit!»
It took a lot to take down a vampire of Sebastian's skills, but a crashing, rolling, ton of steel with wildly flying doors could do it. Matt saw one of the swinging metal doors clip Sebastian in the temple as the shipping container thundered away, rolling like a giant, steel tumbleweed. When the thing came to a rocking halt after a revolution and a half, it was yards away, creaking ominously. Sebastian was nowhere to be seen and Matt couldn't feel the vamp's presence in his mind. Sebastian was either dead or out cold.
Christy sat alone, her small face white with terror as Mario walked calmly toward her. Matt willed himself to change, but found he was frozen in place by some kind of magic that not only restrained his shift to cat form, but also glued him to the spot. He could move his jaw just enough to whisper to Cameron. The fey's face was grim, his concentration total as he cursed under his breath.
«I can't move.»
«I know, lad. I'm working on it. Can you still communicate with the lass?»
«Yes, but Sebastian's gone.»
Cameron's face grew darker, but he seemed able to move his hands. He made small gestures that Matt couldn't follow, but knew they had something to do with his way of spellcasting.
«Talk to the lass. Ask her about the mage. Blast! This angle is all wrong. I can't work from behind him. I need to see his face. I need to know about his mark. Ask her.»
The command in his voice was clear, as was the frustration. Matt understood it well as he touched Christy's mind, finding a choking whirlwind of terror.