Lance couldn’t sleep. He lay in bed and stared at the ceiling, flinching at every creak of the bedsprings. He didn’t know how he could hear such small noises when his own thoughts screamed at him. The memory of that man’s begging face melded with Kaela’s shocked, accusing glare. Together, they stared at him from behind his eyelids. His nightmare had come to life.
Monster.
Guilt weighed down more heavily on him than the bitter cold of the room. He closed his eyes, and the man’s face was there, eyes widened in shock then empty and glazed over.
He’d wiped the splatter of blood off his face; the shirt had already dried.
Lance rolled out of bed and dragged himself to the computer chair. The only light in the room came from the string lights spilling in from the entrance and circling the light switch. It was comforting, if only in that it prevented him from being trapped in the dark, underground.
In the dim lighting, Lance scanned his reflection in the dark glass of the computer. He leaned closer, searching for what Kaela had seen that scared her. Maybe it was the same murderous flicker that sparked behind Eric’s eyes, or the hollow gaze of a common criminal. Lance had seen enough of those in his days in the slums.
But nothing was there. Just his own eyes, given to him by his mother, if Eric’s information was correct. Small flashes of memory were all he had left of her. Just the silhouette of a woman cradling him, and even that might’ve been the fuzzy memory of the matron from the orphanage. He chose to believe it was his mother, if for no other reason than to have something left of her. She owed him that much, especially after leaving him behind to overdose with his father.
Can I really blame them? he thought. He’d almost done the same thing just a few years ago.
The chair groaned as he leaned back and rubbed his eyes.
Those men that had tried to kill them must have been Landreau Corp agents. Maybe Eric was dead already. Worse yet, maybe he’d made a deal with Landreau Corp and left them in the dust. And Derek still hadn’t returned. Lance chewed on his nails.
As if on cue, the ladder creaked. Lance froze.
But when Derek reached the bottom of the ladder, he relaxed.
Now it was just a matter of telling him what had happened.
* * *
“So you think it’s Landreau Corp?” Derek asked once Lance and Kaela recounted the events of last night.
After a moment of hesitation, Lance nodded.
“Well, if they attacked you at the hill, then they’re trying to be subtle about it. The Red Rose is always busy, and so is the bar, so our businesses should be fine. I doubt any of Landreau Corp’s assassins would try to attack us in broad daylight… Then again, they did burst into Eric’s place, so maybe nothing is off limits.” Derek sighed and looked up at the sickeningly white lights above him. “Has anyone contacted the cleaners to get rid of the bodies?”
Kaela shrugged. “I don’t know how to get a hold of them.”
“We figured you would know,” Lance said.
Derek shook his head. “Eric usually handled that… Well, you said it was a secluded spot, so maybe they won’t be found… hopefully.”
“Did you meet with Rob?”
Derek nodded. “We met in an alley not far from what’s left of Eric’s place, and I laid out new patrol routes for my men. We can’t prioritize all the other information in the city with Landreau Corp after us, so I told Rob to shut down my bars for now and only focus on Landreau Corp. He gave me his email, and he’ll be sending me updates on anything he and my men find. I… may have made that decision without your approval, Lance. So, are you fine with only getting info on Landreau Corp?”
Lance’s mind went blank. He’d forgotten he was still the temporary leader. That Derek would even bother acknowledging it knocked him off balance.
Lance shrugged. “At this point, I don’t see how we have much of a choice.”
“Anything else?” Kaela asked.
Derek sighed. “I also have some men at the city’s entrances to see if they can spot Eric when he comes back.”
If he comes back, Lance wanted to say. Somehow, he managed to stop the words.
“That’s it?” Kaela scoffed. “We just sit here and wait?”
“What else do you propose we do?”
Kaela bit her lip. “Maybe… maybe we can go to the police chief.”
“And risk going out again?” Lance asked.
“If we can tell her what’s going on, we could have the whole police force keeping an eye on Landreau Corp. Why not?”
“I’ve heard worse ideas,” Derek said. “But we just have one problem.”
“Yeah.” Kaela nodded and looked at Lance. “We need to make sure she doesn’t find out that Eric’s left the city.”
Lance looked at the two of them. “I thought Eric and the chief were on good terms.”
“They are, mostly,” Kaela said. “But if she finds out Eric’s not here, she may try something.”
Lance gave the ground a lazy kick. “So, we go to the police chief, ask her to keep an eye on Landreau Corp, and… what then?”
Derek shook his head. “Play the waiting game, I guess.”
“And if we get attacked?” Lance offered. The thought of that killing calm returning sent a chill down the back of his neck. He almost put a hand on his stomach, where it twisted every time that calm settled over him, like a parasite writhing within.
Kaela shrugged. “It’ll be the three of us. As long as we can make it to the police station, we should be safe enough. Landreau Corp wouldn’t be stupid enough to invade an entire precinct full of armed men and women.” She laughed a little at the ground. “And if they are that stupid, then all the better for us.”
“As long as we go in the middle of the day, we’ll reduce our chances of getting attacked.” Derek furrowed his brows and focused his gaze across the room.
“We have a few hours until daylight, so I think it’s time to get some sleep before we get out of here.” Kaela turned toward her bed, but Derek stopped her.
He reached into his coat and removed a leather sheath with straps hanging from it. “The strap goes around your thigh.”
Kaela grabbed the sheath from Derek’s waiting palm. She lifted the part of her dress that wasn’t ripped and strapped it around her thigh. “Wow,” she said as she walked in a circle. “Not bad.”
“And now”—Derek removed a long, slender blade—“your weapon.”
Kaela hesitated as she reached out to grab it. The forearm-length blade looked sharp enough to cut anything, and the hilt was a slim silver grip with a cat’s head engraved at the end.
“Thanks,” Kaela said as she took the blade and sheathed it. Her dress covered it perfectly. “It’s like it’s not even there.”
Derek smiled and nodded. “Don’t thank me. Rob said he thought of you when he saw it, so he wanted me to pass it along.”
“Why?”
Derek shrugged then looked at Lance. “As for us…” He pulled a handgun from the back of his jeans and offered it to him. “He said pistols are the best he can give us for now. He’ll try to get something more useful later.”
Lance stared at the handgun in Derek’s palm, but as he reached his hand out to grab it, that man’s face flashed in his mind again. “I don’t want it.”
Derek furrowed his brow. “Well, you’re going to need something to defend yourself with.”
Lance wished he had his switchblade back. Then again… The man’s face reappeared, the image of blood spurting from his neck sending bile to his throat. Maybe it was for the best that he didn’t have a weapon at all.
“Would you look at me,” Kaela said, lifting her skirt to show off the knife. “I look badass.” She stood in a fighting stance and took the knife out, swinging it and adjusting to the weight. After a few swipes, she sheathed it again then smiled at Derek.
“Well, I’ll keep it with me in case you change your mind,” Derek told Lance, returning the gun to his jeans.
When it was out of sight, a pressure left Lance’s chest. Instead, a knot formed in his stomach, as if it protested his refusal of the firearm. He shook the feeling away.
“Rob also gave me these.” Derek took out two pagers, handing one to Kaela and dropping the other into Lance’s hands. “In case we have to separate and need to contact each other.”
Kaela leaned against Derek, one arm on his shoulder. She raised a single eyebrow as she asked, “Rob didn’t happen to send any alcohol for me, did he?”
* * *
Lance stepped forward, his mind free but his body moving without his approval. A man lay in front of him, dressed in all black, one arm limp at his side, the other held out in some measly attempt at defense.
“Please,” the man begged, his voice shaking. “I don’t want to die.” His voice echoed across an empty field. The moon shone down on them like a spotlight on a performance.
Lance stepped forward again, his foot digging harder into the ground when he tried to reverse his direction.
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This scene was familiar. Something clicked in his brain as his hand gripped the knife tighter.
No, he thought. No, not again.
“Please!” the man shouted, his voice distorted. “Please!”
That face haunted him. Plagued his mind.
“I didn’t mean to!”
Lance tried to open his mouth, tried to explain, but his tongue turned to stone.
Step after step, the man’s demise drew nearer. Lance tried to drop the knife, to speak, to do anything but hover over the vulnerable man.
His face burned into Lance’s memory, forever staining his thoughts with blood.
“Monster!”
In one swift motion, Lance swiped the knife across the man’s neck. He sputtered and gagged, blood shooting from an artery.
Lance breathed for what felt like the first time. The knife fell from his hand.
In a flash of light, the man’s face appeared in Lance’s vision, his expression twisted in blank horror as his eyes stared past him.
Lance opened his mouth to scream, but no sound came out. Nothing.
With a gasp of air, Lance shot up in bed, his hair wet with sweat and clinging to his face. His eyes darted around the brightly lit room.
He exhaled, his heart racing. The remnant of the man’s face flashed in his memory, but he shoved it down. His stomach turned.
Lance put his head in his hands. Voices rang out. He looked up.
Kaela was sitting in the desk chair while Derek leaned against the wall beside the entrance. Neither seemed to notice Lance was awake.
“Oh-ho-ho, if the chief really did send those guys after us, then Eric’s gonna raise some hell,” Kaela said, fire in her voice.
“Right, well, Eric’s not here right now, so it’s up to us to get to the bottom of this,” Derek said, his voice lacking the same fire. “Are you sure you couldn’t find anything?”
Kaela shook her head. “Not a thing. You’d think Eric would’ve left something in here for us.” She popped her neck. “If we could just get in contact with the cleaners, this would be so much smoother.”
Lance groaned and stood from the bed. Kaela and Derek both turned their attention toward him. “Can someone tell me what’s going on?”
Kaela turned her chair to face him, revealing a newspaper. “Yep. Derek here was nice enough to bring me this lovely little piece.”
Kaela threw the newspaper to him, and Lance barely managed to catch it. A chill crawled down his spine as he read the headline:
Two Police Officers Found Murdered outside of Arachna.
Kaela pursed her lips. “Seems a bit odd that our local newspaper would manage to get information on two bodies in the middle of a low-traffic spot in Arachna in just a few hours.” She frowned as she grabbed her knife sitting next to the computer and inspected it. “I have a feeling the chief got paid off by Landreau Corp.”
Lance didn’t look up from the paper. “Maybe… Maybe they acted on their own.”
“I don’t know, but something’s off about two police officers dressed in black randomly trying to kill us, don’t you think?”
Lance laid the paper next to him on the mattress then rubbed the crust out of his eyes. “You don’t think Eric…”
Kaela’s mouth formed a thin line, and Derek shifted his weight, suddenly very interested in the ground. Lance didn’t know whether they were thinking the same thing or refusing to, but all of this had started when Eric left—not being able to contact the cleaners, the police officers attacking them, Eric going off suddenly to make a deal with Landreau Corp. All of it screamed betrayal, regardless of what Kaela and Derek thought.
“Anyway,” Lance continued, clearing his throat. “What do we do now? Are we still going to the precinct?”
“Yeah,” Derek said suddenly, biting his lip. “Yeah, we definitely are. I might have an idea.”
“Then let’s hear it,” Kaela said. Her tone of voice was as playful as ever, but her eyes were dark and tired. Last night was still affecting her, but she was playing it off like it was nothing.
Lance wished he could do that so skillfully.
“Did they give the names of the officers?” Derek asked.
Lance picked the paper back up and scanned the article until he spotted two names. “Officers Terrance and Harper.”
Derek seemed lost in thought for a few seconds then snapped out of it. “Lance, you and Kaela will go into the precinct while I find a way to sneak in. Maybe I can search Terrance and Harper’s offices, see if there’s any evidence that they were planning this without the chief’s knowledge.”
“Got it,” Lance said.
“Aye aye,” Kaela remarked, saluting him.
“Once I have everything, I’ll contact you with the pager. You both need to get as much info as you can from the chief. Find out what she knows. If anything goes wrong, I’ll get us out of there.”
“Sounds good,” Lance said. “It also sounds like if this goes wrong, we’re all done for.”
“Yeah, well, we’re all done for if we don’t do anything either,” Kaela interjected.
“Very true.” Dead one way or dead another. If he ever got the chance to see Eric again, he would have much to answer for. A whisper spoke in the back of Lance’s head, and his stomach twisted. “So… we’re clear on what we need to do?”
Derek and Kaela nodded.
Lance shook his head. Best-case scenario, the chief hadn’t stabbed them in the back and could help them spy on Landreau Corp. Better than nothing. “Then let’s get going.”
* * *
Lance had washed his bloodied shirt in the sink then dried it under the hand dryer. He wasn’t sure how much he’d actually washed out, but whatever blood remained was hidden in the dark fabric.
Kaela hung from his arm as they walked through the doors of the ACPD precinct. Desks peppered the room, most of them occupied by an officer doing paperwork. A man sat at the large desk across from the entrance.
“Hey, Kaela,” the man said, his face lighting up. His smile wavered for a moment as his eyes scanned her. “Your dress has a tear in it.”
“Hey, Reggie,” Kaela said sweetly, her arm slipping from around Lance’s. She glided over to the desk and leaned on one arm. “I have a favor to ask.”
“Anything for you,” Reggie said. “Just name it.”
Kaela let out an amused hum as she turned toward Lance. “This is my newest colleague. Lance, say hi.” Before Lance could open his mouth, Kaela continued, “I want to introduce him to the chief.”
“Really?” Reggie said, tilting his head to the side like a curious puppy. “Why?”
“It’s business. Can we go see the chief?”
“Yeah. Yeah, sure, I’ll let her know you’re coming.”
“Thanks, Reg,” Kaela said, her voice smooth as silk. She motioned for Lance to follow her as she wove around the desks. Most of the officers sneaked glances at her as she passed. Either they were admiring her, or they were about to attack.
Lance gulped. He didn’t know how to act with so many eyes on him. He glanced at the second level of the building, at the balcony above, wrapping around the room, where many smaller offices were tucked. Some of the rooms had the blinds down and the lights off. One of the doors opened, and Derek appeared for only a second, slipping into the office without a sound.
He’s good.
Kaela led Lance to a door at the end of the room and knocked.
“So, do any of the officers here know about Eric?” Lance whispered.
No officers seemed interested in him so far, and most that had their eyes on Kaela had already turned their attention back to their paperwork.
“Some do, but only that he’s a business partner to the chief. As far as they’re concerned, he’s a perfectly legal info dealer. No more than that.”
Lance considered how close Eric was to being legal. If he didn’t so readily threaten people as much as he killed them, he wouldn’t have as many skeletons in his closet. It was reckless, and they were suffering from the consequences of that recklessness. Maybe power had gotten to him.
Lance sneaked glances at the officers. Some looked back at him, while others didn’t seem to notice he was there. At any moment, Lance thought, they could all turn their guns on them and fire. Two officers were bad enough, but a whole precinct’s worth…
Lance’s palms were sweaty, and when Kaela made eye contact with him, she made a face like she understood. He ignored the image of the man’s body in his head as he turned and looked once more over the officers in the station. If they knew who’d killed two of their comrades…
The door opened, and a woman peeked out from around it. Her badge glistened in the light.
“Kaela,” the chief said, nodding. Her brown eyes darted straight to Lance, and he almost flinched at the unyielding discipline behind them. “Who’s this?”
“Chief Rotoya, this is Lance, a new guy that Eric brought into the group. He wanted me to introduce him to you.”
Rotoya narrowed her eyes and sized him up. Lance puffed out his chest just slightly and kept what he hoped was a professional look on his face. He towered over her, yet she still intimidated him. He was tempted to bite at his nails, so he crossed his arms instead.
“I don’t recall Eric bringing this by me.”
“He didn’t?” Kaela said, looking convinced that she had no idea.
Lance didn’t even attempt to replicate her expression and instead stayed behind her, trying to ignore the unsettling feeling that a bullet could find his back at any moment. He wasn’t sure what scared him more—being shot or hearing that whisper again and losing control.
“That’s unlike him. But then again, he’s never been the most predictable man in the world.” Kaela laughed quietly then dropped her smile. “Don’t tell him I said that.”
“Why does Eric want me to meet, uh… Lance, was it?”
“I’m not sure, I’m just the messenger here.”
Rotoya eyed them both, sighed deeply, then waved them in. Lance followed Kaela inside and sat down next to her in one of the two chairs across from the chief’s desk. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The only eyes on him now were the chief’s. She sat across from them and folded her hands together.
“I know you’re not here to introduce me to Lance. Eric already told me about him, and I know good and well he would’ve mentioned this half-baked meeting.”
Kaela’s smile didn’t falter, but she appeared to be frozen in time for just a moment, meeting the chief’s eyes with a furious intensity. Lance realized he was bouncing his leg and crossed it over the other. He couldn’t bring himself to meet the chief’s gaze, so he stared at the map of Arachna on the wall next to her.
“It may not be the best story, but it’s a good enough one to tell in front of all the officers that were obviously trying to listen in on what I was saying. Surely you don’t want me to waltz in here and announce the more illegal dealings you’ve ignored for Eric’s sake, do you, Chief?” Something like annoyance tinged Kaela’s voice, and Lance casually glanced at the chief.
Rotoya relaxed and leaned back in her chair, one side of her lip quirked up in an apparent smile. Her wide frame took up most of the chair. “Fair enough… So what’s the real story here?” Even someone as professional as her was used to Kaela’s hostile tone.
Lance scratched his lip to hide his own small smile.
“Well, we actually had something we wanted to talk to you about, Chief,” Kaela said, adjusting a wrinkle in her dress. “You see, Eric’s been—”
“What a coincidence,” the chief interjected, placing both hands firmly on the desk and standing. “I find out just this morning that two of my officers were killed last night, and here you come, knocking on my door, which you’ve never done before.”
“What?”
Lance kept his eyes on the chief as she stared at Kaela, watching for any small tidbits of information she revealed in her body language, just as Derek had shown him that day in the bar.
Thankfully, Rotoya seemed too focused on Kaela to even notice Lance.
“Officers Terrance and Harper are dead. Harper was shot twelve times, and Terrance’s neck was slit open. I happen to know a man that has killed his fair share of people. That same man hasn’t contacted me for days and has now apparently sent his lackeys to come ask me for a favor. Looks pretty suspicious to me.” She opened a drawer, and Lance prepared to attack. But instead of a gun, she pulled out a newspaper and slapped it on the desk. “Reminds me of another mysterious death that happened only a few days ago.”
Lance tensed at the sight of the headline. The same one that came out the day after Malcolm Landreau died.
Kaela looked down at the paper for a second then back up at the chief, straightening her posture.
“I’m starting to wonder,” the chief continued, sitting back down, “if Eric decided to skip town and leave his bumbling idiots behind to clean up his mess.”
It took everything in Lance not to look at Kaela. He had to admit those same suspicions swirled around in his head, even now.
Eric might just be using you for bait anyway. Lance had allowed Kaela to convince him of that, not realizing that he might have just been using them all as bait the entire time.
Lance shook his head. He could worry about that later. His heart pounded in his chest, and sweat beaded on his forehead.
“Chief, I think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself here,” Kaela said. “Eric may have killed Malcolm Landreau, but he would never kill two of your officers. If he had, their bodies would never have been found.”
“I may not be the paragon my men think I am, but I made a promise that I would keep them safe. That I would make sure they could go home to their families.”
“Which Eric has contributed to. He funded better gear and weapons when the city wouldn’t. He gives you information you want for investigations for cheap. Why would he kill two of your officers, especially now, especially after all he’s done?” Kaela stiffened.
She was getting heated. Lance couldn’t tell if it was because of the chief or if she was also realizing she might’ve been bait this entire time and was funneling that anger into her performance.
Rotoya’s stone-faced disposition faltered, but instead of calming down like Lance expected, her eyes filled with rage. “Then why the hell can’t I contact Eric?”
Kaela spoke, but Lance didn’t listen to what she said. The pager beeped in his pocket, and a wave of relief washed over him. Lance cleared his throat to mask the sound. The chief glanced at him but paid no mind to the beeper, if she even heard it.
Lance bumped Kaela’s foot with his own. The signal that Derek was done. He hadn’t taken very long… Lance wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. At this point, it didn’t matter. Rotoya was looking more agitated as the seconds passed.
“Rotoya…” Kaela paused, her mouth still open, as if the words were scared to come out, scared to face the awaiting chief. “If you’ll just let me explain what is going on here, I think we’ll both realize we’re still on the same side. There’s a much greater threat that we have to deal with right now, and if I had to guess, I wouldn’t put it past them to be the ones that killed your officers.”
The chief closed her eyes and sighed, settling back down in her chair. “Fine.”
Lance let go of a breath he didn’t realize he was holding, and as Kaela began to speak, he focused on Rotoya’s reaction. This would be it, the moment that revealed if she was working with them…
Or with Landreau Corp.