Agents Santiago and Faulkner approached us when we sat down.
“That didn’t seem to go too bad, “Lucas remarked.
“No. He was downright pleasant. The least painful dressing down I’ve ever gotten. He even offered us jellybeans.” I replied.
“Northcutt wasn’t concerned with the shooting, or our failure to apprehend the second subject. He was only interested in making sure we did not continue the investigation. Which, in of itself, is telling.” Agent Ruthersford added.
Agent Faulkner pursed his perfect lips. “Hmmm. Maybe you should think about laying off Theo. Patrick’s killer is dead. I see a lot of downside to pushing this and not much upside.”
Teddy looked at him coldly, “Someone out there is turning humans into time-bombs, and I am not stopping this until I find out why and shut it down.”
Lucas smiled and shrugged his shoulders glancing at his partner. “Well, I tried. You can’t say I didn’t try. You’ll want to hear this then. Tell ‘em ‘Licia.”
Agent Santiago sat down on the edge of my desk and hiked one leg up without crossing them. It wasn’t strictly necessary since she was wearing trousers, but it was a distinctly male, and extremely distracting posture. “I was able to finally get some information about Vanessa.” Her voice was low and throaty. “She’s stepped on enough toes now that some of the other packs are getting sick of her shit.”
“So they dimed her out the cops?” I asked incredulously. That didn’t seem like something criminal gangs would do. They all hated the police more than each other.
Alicia gave a raspy chuckle. “Of course not. But a little birdy told Alicia the Werewolf that Vanessa might be meeting with someone tomorrow night at Green Shoal Park. Around midnight.”
“Who is she meeting with?” Teddy asked.
Alicia shrugged, “Don’t know. Someone important. I can’t ask too many questions.”
“So, we know the Black Mesa pack and the Tattoo mages are both connected to the abandoned warehouse on Crenshaw. We know Vanessa took over the Black Mesa pack about the same time they became connected with the warehouse. We think that Black Mesa is doing the day-to-day for a higher up. And we know that Vanessa is meeting with someone important tomorrow night.” I summarized.
“It reasons that she would meet with our mysterious patron. And either they or Vanessa herself, might have the answers we are looking for.” Teddy responded.
“It sounds to me like the perfect opportunity for another stakeout. No chili dogs this go around. That’s strictly a daytime thing.” The relief of not getting yelled at was washing through me and the prospect of a new lead had me positively giddy.
Agent Ruthersford looked grim. “Vanessa is an extremely powerful were if she can keep Betas like Juan in line. She won’t be alone either. And we don’t know anything about who is meeting with. To make matters worse, I am going to have to do this one off the clock.”
I rubbed my hands together. “It’s my second day and I am already doing things off the clock!” I said approvingly. Alicia snorted.
Teddy grabbed me by the shoulder, “Have you been paying attention at all? This isn’t a game Cash! These things are cold-blooded killers. You almost died today. I almost died today. I can’t ask you to come with me.”
I gently shrugged off Teddy’s hand. “I wouldn’t be much of a lawman if I let my fancy pants partner face down the villain alone, would I?”
Theodore’s gaze softened. “Hopefully, it will be less of a showdown and more of an information-gathering expedition. At least sleep on it.”
My mind was already made up, but I nodded respectfully.
Agent Faulkner interjected. “And you boys won’t be totally alone. I think Agent Santiago and I might find ourselves in the area that night. If any field agents find themselves in trouble and radio in a 496. Hypothetically.”
I smiled knowingly. I fucking loved cops.
Agent Ruthersford took a deep breath and let it out. “Well, this mountain of paperwork isn’t going to do itself.”
Faulkner and Santiago stood. “You two up for some choir practice tonight? Alicia and I were thinking of hitting the Smokey Oak.”
“We still need to debrief Cash about the incident. It’s no good holding it in. Better to let it all out.” Alicia purred, looking me dead in the eye. Yeep.
“Oh, he let it out alright. All over that alley.” Faulkner pantomimed spewing.
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Teddy looked at me appraisingly. “I’m game if you are Cash.”
I looked at Lucas and then Alicia, who was still eyeing me, well, wolfishly. Come on Cash, you’re a grown-ass man. “My calendar is clear, 8 o’clock?
We all agreed. Faulkner and Santiago sauntered off to do beautiful people things.
“Now that’s settled, open up that laptop, and let’s get cracking.” Teddy walked me through the software for report writing. It was similar to what I was used to and before long I was happily pecking away. I had plenty of experience writing reports. Less so with lycanthropic transformations, but there was a checkbox for that.
Tina came over and set a cup of coffee down on my desk. I looked up and smiled at her. “Thanks,” I said, taking a sip. “I really need this.”
She smiled and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I heard you had a run-in with a were. It’s only your second day! You clearly don’t waste any time.” She laughed nervously. “What happened?”
I retold Tina the events of the morning, and even though I tried to downplay the danger, she still gasped when I got to the part about WereJuan attacking. “You could have been killed!
She gave a small clap when I told her how I finally shot the were coyote down. “Cash! That was amazing! I can’t believe you had to face down a were so soon after you started.” She looked over at Agent Ruthersford with narrowed eyes. He ignored her and continued typing.
“Yeah, it was pretty wild. Have you ever seen a were transform?” I asked her.
“No. Never! What was it like?”.
I described it to her, leaving out the part where I barfed all over the alley. She was appropriately impressed. I couldn’t think of anything else to say, but Tina was still standing next to my desk. After a few moments, I asked, “Is there anything else I can do for you, Tina? I do need to get this report done.”
“Oh yes, sorry. It was just I was wondering if you had any plans for this evening.”
“Yes, actually. Agent Ruthersford and I are meeting Agents Faulkner and Santiago for drinks.”
“You’re meeting with Agent Santiago?”
“I mean, she’ll be there.”
Tina’s face darkened, and she whispered conspiratorially, “You know about her, right?”
“Know about her?” I looked at Teddy for help. He studiously ignored me.
“Yes, she’s not human.”
“Oh, yes. Agent Ruthersford told me. Luckily, I don’t think that will affect my ability to drink bourbon with her.” I chuckled nervously.
I thought I was charming, but Tina was clearly not amused. “You just keep your eye on her. You can’t trust those monsters.” She stalked off. I watched her go.
“Teddy, is Tina racist?”
Teddy answered without looking up from his report. “No. Technically she’s speciesist. She's also territorial.”
“I thought Alicia was the territorial one.”
“One of those things being true does not preclude the other.”
I thought that was the most cultured way to say, “They both are” that I could think of. Teddy truly was one of a kind.
I wrapped up my report. Agent Ruthersford reviewed it and offered a few corrections. I did a little editing and sent it in. We didn’t have anything else to do for the day and so I told Teddy that I would see him tonight and headed for the elevator.
Teddy called me back, “Cash, do you have any paperwork from your father’s estate? Maybe an inventory of some sort?”
“I’m not sure. All my copies went up in the fire, but there might be something on file with our attorney, I can call him.”
“Yes. Do that for me. Evening Cash, see you tonight.”
I headed down to the garage and grabbed my gym bag out of my trunk. I headed back up to the 5th floor to the gym. I found my locker from Tina’s notes and changed out into some shorts and an ancient Texas Protestant University t-shirt. The shirt was a relic from my college days and the orange horned toad winked at me saucily in the mirror. It had been the shirt I was wearing the night of the fire.
The gym was typical for a law enforcement setup. A mix of old, well-maintained equipment with a few new pieces that were either donated or part of some creative grant writing. I had the place to myself and started on the treadmill to warm up. Just as I finished and started on my first exercise, the door from the locker room area opened, and in walked Director Barum.
She was about the last person I expected to see. She was in workout attire and nodded to me as she climbed onto a Stairmaster from the Reagan Administration. She threw in some earbuds and started her virtual climb. I couldn’t help but give her a few curious glances as I went through my routine. She had her short brown hair pulled back in the world’s smallest ponytail. I thought she must conspire with her stylist to keep her hair just the perfect length for that. She was wearing athletic shorts and a sports bra with a huge tank top over top. Seeing her like that upgraded her from “thin and severe” to “strong and athletic” in the old Rolodex.
Dotty was really getting after it. I noticed her pounding out a baseline on the bar with her pointer fingers. Seemed like she was listening to some aggressive music rather than the “Texas Ballbusters Union” podcast like I figured she would be. I finished my last set and headed for the locker room. I was surprised to see Director Barum motion me over. She turned the speed down on the Stairmaster as I approached but didn’t stop. I saw that sweat was coming off of her in thick rivulets.
She took out an earbud. “Cash, I wanted to ask you about this morning.” She looked around and added, “Informally.” Alarm bells sounded in my head. Teddy did not trust this lady, but I had just met her. She had seemed like a bitch in her office, but maybe I was just projecting my own insecurities.
“Sure. What do you want to know, Director?”
She smiled, “Please Cash. When we are off the clock, call me Dorothy.”
I wondered if we were really off the clock since we were both still in the building, but I figured I would play ball. “Ok, Dorothy.”
“Did it happen just like in your report? You rounded the corner and Juan attacked you immediately?”
I briefly pondered the implications of the Director of the agency nonchalantly asking me if I was a fucking liar. I can’t say I cared for any of them. “Yes. Agent Ruthersford and I were both wearing our vests, so there was no question that we were law enforcement. Also, I was familiar with the subject, Juan, from my prior position.”
“Yes, the report said that. You knew him and he knew you. And then he attacked?”
“I believe he said “rawr” first, ma’am.”
She barked out a laugh. The smile on her face seemed genuine and there was a twinkle in her eye before she sobered again. “It’s just surprising. The odds of a single were taking down two AMI agents who were ready from him is very low. Not only that, but we make it a high priority here to avenge any Agency casualties. He was signing his own death warrant.”
I mulled her wording, what kind of government agency was this. “Avenge, ma’am?”
She stopped the Stairmaster. “We don’t take attacks against us lightly. Our very existence is an affront to the more powerful metas out there. How dare us pitiful mortals try to impose our law and order on them? The retribution policy offers some of the only defense we have against these monsters. They would wipe us all out if they thought they could get away with it. Some have tried. Some have almost succeeded. But we have survived and adapted. We have the full backing of some important people in Washington and access to a lot of resources. And every day we bring in more people like you Cash, humans capable of fighting them on equal footing. Now they think twice before rocking the boat. They know it will end badly for them, eventually.”
She dismounted and wiped the sweat from her brow. “It makes me think there may be more to this Tattoo Mage case than I thought.” She chewed her lip. “Anyway, I’m just glad you are OK. I would hate to lose an agent on their second day, but it wouldn’t have been an agency record. Have a good evening Cash.”
“You too, uh, Dorothy.”
And with that, she turned and walked into the lady's locker room. Director Barnum had given me a lot to think about, and most of it was bad.