“And perhaps a pastry?”
Emil’s expression turned sour. “Don’t push your luck, Petru. However much we all hated you a few days ago, it’s nothing like the intensity we feel now.”
The smile turned to another pout. “I’m sorry, but you can’t blame me for any of this. I had no idea he’d strike in such a…splashy way.”
Alex sat forward and glared. “None of us did. It doesn’t change the fact that you’ve participated in worse over the centuries, while serving his vile agenda.”
“The past isn’t changeable. I said I’d help—and that’s what I’m here to do.”
Sitting back again, Alex nodded to Val. An image emerged on the TV screen and everyone stopped talking and focused on it.
“This is Syria,” Val said, without any introductory information.
On the other side of the room, as far away from Craig as possible, Trey shook his head. “Fuck me, of course it is. Why the hell not? Dracul seems to enjoy being mired in muck.”
Alex nodded. “He feeds off conflict and misery, almost as a source of nourishment. Plus, it’s easier to do what you want when, all around you, humans are distracted by their own violence and chaos.”
Val continued with his briefing, flashing other murky images on the screen, including a short video lit up with various colors. “Our surveillance detected a small amount of activity in the last day, a couple of trucks arriving and disappearing into what looks like a relatively small building. Prior to that, we spotted a plane landing in a remote part of Northeast Lebanon. We don’t have any clear images, but there were at least ten people debarking. Heat signatures read human, with one exception.”
“A hybrid. Merlin, no doubt,” Harry, the doctor, chimed in.
Craig asked the obvious question. “Does any of it look like the baby?”
“Hard to say,” Val answered. “With the bodies clustered so close together, Idris would be lost in the scrum. It makes sense that this is where they went, though. None of the other locations showed any activity at all.”
Petru waved his free hand. “I told you he’d pick one of the less-obvious choices. He doesn’t lack for toughness and God, is he patient. I was always advocating to keep hitting you hard in quick succession. He was the one who waited and planned for the best moment. It was a strategy that worked…up until it didn’t. If he hadn’t played games, you wouldn’t have caught us unawares in Wales.”
The man took a long slug of his coffee, seemingly certain of having captured his audience. Craig was surprised at the restraint the aliens were showing. Even Craig’s turn-the-other-cheek mother would have slapped the guy on the back of his head at that point.
“The old building is misleading. Inside is a staircase to an underground labyrinth filled with a sufficient amount of electronic gadgets and weapons to give even you a massive hard-on, Val.”
The enforcer sneered. “Beating you to a bloody pulp would do just as well. And you’re here already, so…” He bared his teeth, his fangs shining.
The sight sent a shiver down Craig’s spine. Knowing and seeing the true nature of these creatures were two different things. His reaction, though, was kind of reassuring. He wasn’t as sanguine about all of this new reality as he’d thought he was.
“Gentlemen.” Alex’s voice was like the crack of a whip, even without him raising its volume. Turning to Petru, he said, “We need a sketch of the layout and as good an estimate of the inventory as you can manage. Be careful, as you’ll be coming with us.”
If that was intended as a threat, Petru didn’t appear to take it as one. “Thank you,” the man said in response, all trace of his baiting tone gone. “I want a chance to get Andri out myself.”
It was on the tip of Craig’s tongue to ask to whom he was referring, then decided he didn’t care. “What’s the plan?” he asked instead, unsure of his right to do so, although really…if they’d expected him to sit quietly, they didn’t know him at all. “Do you have any fancy gadgets that will tell you how many men you’re going up against?”
“Not at a distance,” Val replied with an extra measure of grim to his expression. “If we get any closer, we’ll tip our hand. We’re only going to have one shot at taking them down.”
Craig did a quick head-count. “You thinking that the twelve of us are going?” As he asked the question, he realized that Kitty was probably in no condition, given her shoulder wound, to fight another battle so soon. The doctor, Harry, would be formidable against a human adversary, but he might not be much of a fighter overall. Trey and Anderson were wildcards as well. Although they were damn good cops, this was war.
Alex turned his attention to Craig. “Actually, Sergeant, we were hoping you could be persuaded to stay and hold down the fort, as it were. Mackie and Annika can’t go, naturally, and we need a sufficient force here to guard them in case Dracul launches another attack. We take nothing for granted at this point.”
Okay, the freaky whitest of white girls and the pregnant boy—something he was still trying to wrap his head around—had to be protected. He got that, except…
“Before I was a cop, I was an Army Ranger. I did multiple tours oversees. You need a guy like me when you take down this fucker in his lair.”
Trey interjected. “He’s right, Alex. As much as it pains me, Karl and I would be better suited playing defense. If the shit hits the fan again, you’re going to need the kind of juice we have with the force.”
Karl nodded and pulled Kitty’s hand up for a quick kiss. “I’m not leaving her. No offense to your loved ones, but this is where I belong.” When the woman started to open her mouth, he overrode her. “This isn’t up for debate, honey.” Kitty frowned, yet said nothing.
Trey smiled at his partner before saying, “Plus, if I’m here, it makes it easier for me to tell Demi he’s on the no-fly list. I’m not letting him take any more chances. Christ, when I think how he tried to take on those fuckers by himself…” He shuddered and downed more coffee, but not before Craig saw the sheen of tears in his eyes.
“I will emphasize to my son how important it is for him to watch over his father, as well,” Harry chimed in. “I, of course, will be going. And I’m sure Dr. Paz will insist, too.”
“He’s not a warrior,” Christos observed. “All non-combatants—you excepted, Harry—should stay behind.”
Harry turned to stare at him from over his shoulder. “He acquitted himself very well in Wales. Plus, Dafydd…” With a nod, he swiveled his head back around again.
“Harry is right,” Alex agreed. “Paz will not stay behind when the lives of Dafydd and Idris are at stake. I suspect we’ll need the extra pair of medical hands, as well,” he added in a low voice.
Christos made that growling sound that Craig had first heard back at the soup kitchen. It must be killing the guy to have his lover in the hands of a vicious predator—not that there were any words of comfort to give, so Craig didn’t even try. No one did.
“The boys won’t want to stay behind, Alex,” Emil said after a few moments of silence.