Tobias and three others had kept the hotel under observation for the past three weeks. Their room stank of stakeout food and testosterone. Weapons littered the room, like other people scattered about clothes. Some even in various states of disassembly, in the process of being cleaned. Not much talk was going on. Three weeks of waiting for the targets to show face had turned most conversation stale.
Tobias sat in a soft leather chair, pondering for what seemed the millionth time, how upscale this hotel was. That kind of money, to furnish and staff a hotel this size, doesn’t appear from thin air. He had one of his men trace the accounts used, all over the world, including the Cayman Islands and Switzerland, all the way to the earliest bank accounts in Greece.
The theme of the hotel was decidedly nautical, with hues of dark blue and hard wood accents. The paintings in the halls were beautiful, but disturbing if one looked closely, an example of this was a painting of men diving to their death from an ancient trireme while gorgeous women sat on nearby rocks. Some of those women were eating the men, with all the appearance of a passionate embrace, but the telltale blood doesn’t lie.
Tobias was eyeing one of those very paintings. Studying the artwork with critical eyes. Eyes that appreciated the dynamic of predator and prey, yet was displeased with the substandard quality of the piece itself. Odysseus had the right of it. Control of oneself by natural or artificial means to enjoy a dangerous and forbidden pleasure.
It was not unlike the Hunt. Tobias was obsessive about the challenge and the pure thrill of putting himself against something that could have the potential to end his life, only to have its own ripped away in whatever way he deemed fit.
Tobias felt the air shift and stir with feral excitement, his own, and that of the prey he was here for. He knew one of his boys was about to speak. Announcing a fact he already knew, the prey were indeed here, and they had brought a meal to go.
“Holy Fuck, T, they’re here, count six tangos and two civys. Tangos are all female, as intel predicted, and the civilians are both male. I don’t know whether those two shit sticks are lucky or unlucky motherfuckers. Damn them tangos are fine.” The report came from one of the first people he had recruited to this expanded, fucked up family. He was almost literally glued to the monitors they had set up to catch the feeds from the hotel cameras.
Tobias chuckled slightly. “You are eloquent as ever. The world remains riveted by your precision and attention to detail. Do try and remember all the training that you went through to be here with all these other excellent specimens of humanity.” Tobias could feel a hunger pulsing in his veins. He knew there would be death and at least a tiny thrill, hopefully this hunt would lead him to yet bigger prey. His instincts told him this would be a good day. After all, how many men would be able to say they had sirens beg them for their lives?
Taking a breath that spread the thrill through his body, Tobias spoke again with more seriousness. “ Alright boys and girl. This is not a hard target. I expect no heavy or armed resistance. Intel tagged the targets as sirens and they will likely assume we don’t know dick from elbow and use the go to of their song. They should have no clue we are hunting them specifically. We know from experience that you three are susceptible to it, while I remain clear of influence.”
Tobias moved over to a hanging blueprint and continued the brief while extracting a black marker from his uniform top. “This is the room layout, pretty standard for the penthouse suite. Bathroom is immediately on the right of a short hallway which opens into the primary living room, it’s a wide open space that has two couches and a tv stand. There is a closet on the back right but no other dead space or anything tall to hide behind while standing. At the back of the living room relative to our point of entry is the bedroom. Again a large space with some furniture and a bed.”
Shifting his attention to the three people before him he continued without pause, pointing to the sole female of his team. “Firecracker, you are rear security, to be sure no trailers come in behind us without receiving your famous hospitality.” Pointing to a man who had been with him from the very first, he smiled wickedly. “Bolt, you are breach man. Let’s just hope those skills have perked up since you tried to break into my house all those years ago.”
The group chuckled as tension that had been building eased slightly. “Fuck you, Top. You know I’m the best. From hacking an electronic lock to mechanical and explosive breaches, I am your guy. No one is faster to the bang than me.”
Firecracker snorted in a harsh manner. “That’s what she said. A pity she sounded so disappointed, must have been a weak bang.”
More tension eased with the back and forth quips and Bolt’s sputtered protestations. Ready to bring the focus back to the brief, Tobias continued. “Ira, you’re point man. When you make entry, be swift, be sudden and be god damned violent. The quicker the Targets are down or secure, the sooner we can extract and hand the leftovers to Intel. I want to, at least, keep one breathing, but it won’t break my heart if the result is all Targets down. I see you good boys and girl have your kit all set and weapons together. I’m so proud of you kiddos. We will be cosplaying as the Federal Bureau of Investigation, so if engaged by civilians, act more an asshole than usual. Also, use Fed speak where appropriate. We want the management and anyone not in the know to believe this is nothing but an FBI snatch team.”
Nods of understanding came back from his team as he spoke. Thinking it was time to wrap this up, he concluded the brief. “For movement to target room, we will be moving up by elevator, mainly to be seen by civilians, but as we extract, we will do so via stairway with any sources of intel we can carry. The Op should be fast and brutal. Put hesitation out the door. These things aren’t human, and have no worry in the world about making you into a hot meal. No mercy, shoot to kill, and we will sort out who’s dead and who’s not when the gun smoke and blood clears up.”
A chorus of three voices responded, loud and proud, “Hell, Yeah!”
Smirking, Tobias made a motion with his hands, indicating to keep calm. “That’s the enthusiasm I like to hear. We roll out the door at 0100 sharp so catch a nap, play music, fuck a hooker, whatever you need to do to be sharp, loose, and ready. This game is for keeps and you all know I don’t lose.
The other three hit their bed and slept with a comfort and quickness only one who has been close to death can have. Only Tobias remained awake, pondering variables and outcomes. He knew the Targets wouldn’t be asleep, Sirens don’t need sleep, they will, however, be assuming the majority of humans will be asleep or inebriated. They weren’t wrong, but it also meant their guard would be at its lowest point. The whole point was to maximize the effectiveness of surprise on the Targets and make clean quick kills. Speed was even more the essence now than with regular people. Sirens had resilient bodies and a redundant nervous system that was similar to an octopus. Damn hard to put down, and have them stay down.
Tobias would have been concerned for the safety of the two men, had a worse situation, relatively, ran into them. Their parents just happened to be in the area, and decided a walk on a wilder, richer, side was a good thing. Not so for those boys it would seem. Though they would never understand how lucky they were. Honestly, did they think that really happens outside of cheesy movies and bad porn?
Tobias’s thoughts were interrupted by a soft chime from his phone. The message was from Intel, and was to the point. The message read, “+ 1 H/ 2 T.” This, Tobias translated as one hostage and two new Targets in addition to the six already present. While unlikely, this eventuality was one he had planned for. The only question in his mind was if the hostage was a to-go meal, or a prisoner. If a prisoner, he would soon find out why. Time to get rolling. If it was a meal, the sirens wouldn’t wait long before chowing down.
With a loud booming voice Tobias roused his team from peaceful slumber, “Up and Out!” The three moved automatically, as if they hadn’t been sleeping at all. They were in uniform and ready in under a minute, impressive even by military standards.
The three had been tangled in the same bed like young siblings. This defied logic that said they should be competing for Firecracker’s attention. They were all single, no family. They should be quick to form bonds of attraction. Instead, battle forged bonds of family. They were now as much his children as Elisa and Aisleah. “Change of plan kids, we roll out time now. Intel updated me we have two new Targets and one hostage. That means whoever it is, is either a happy meal or someone we don’t want them hanging onto, or potentially getting away with. Granted, a snowball thrown into a volcanic eruption would stand at better odds of not melting than the Targets getting away, but no chances should be taken. If it has a dick, don’t shoot it. Yes, I’m looking at you Firecracker, don’t even roll your eyes at me. Now, is game time. Get ready for the kill, kids. Get angry, get vicious, get hungry. The one with the least kills buys the teams beer after exfil.”
Tobias shrugged into his plate carrier and slapped on the FBI patch on the chest plate. Picking up his rifle, he led his team out. Holding the door open, he let them pass, thumping each of the three on the shoulder as they moved past him into the hallway. His team adopted a loose diamond formation while waiting in the hall, Ira on point, Bolt on the left, Firecracker on the rear.
Tobias’s position at the right was waiting for him as he entered the hallway, giving a hand and arm signal to move out. Reaching into his thigh pocket with his right hand, he pulled sets of ear plugs from it, tossing a pair to each of the others, soundlessly. “Headsets go over those. Don’t risk hearing them. All verbal communication with be through the mics at your throats. The headphones are keyed to pick up those, specifically, and the mics are designed to pick up your voice and your voice only. Masks up, cameras in this hall are disabled, but not so for the rest of the hotel.”
The team complied, wordlessly, and quickly placed the earplugs in under the headsets they wore and placed the face wrap that was around their necks up about their faces. The earplugs would make it difficult to hear the comms from the headphones, but the combination of the two meant they would be safely insulated from the song of the sirens.
The team moved efficiently through the hallway, civilians and tourists poking their heads out to see the commotion, pulled them back to the tune of curses and slammed doors. They reached the elevators without incident. Ira pressed the button to go up, and they waited with patient grace. Soon enough, the elevator arrived, with a couple inside.
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Without giving the couple the opportunity to exit, they filed in and had them trapped between the four of them. While Tobias knew they were uncomfortable with the situation, it was for their protection, in case they took contact as the couple exited the elevator. Ira pressed the button for the penthouse floor.
While Tobias was secretly savoring the amusement of the couple’s discomfort, Ira began to sing along with the elevator music. Firecracker and Bolt quickly joined in, creating a harmony that was quite pleasant. The couple even smiled and joined in. The entire situation was otherworldly and odd. Tobias added his baritone to the harmony, in a way contrasting, yet completing, Ira’s bass and Bolt’s tenor, Firecracker’s contralto blending in beautifully as well. There were some obvious imperfections in the harmony to Tobias, but he forgave his team and the couple. It did sound pleasant, after all.
Reaching their floor, the couple exited and waved pleasantly to Tobias’s team. Ira waved back and spoke his first words of the night with a deep bass rumble like a mountain yawning. “Don’t die!”. He proceeded to laugh richly, as the look of horror the couple had, disappeared behind shutting doors of the elevator.
“That was fucking hilarious, Ira. Where did you come up with that particular gem?” This came from Firecracker, who was suddenly giggling, uncontrollably.
“Princess Bride, the movie. Granted the roles are backward, but I thought I would take a stab at it anyways and see how it worked out.” Ira shrugged his shoulders, as if to minimize the effect his humor had on the team.
Tobias spoke up in the momentary lull. “It would have truly been funny if they had thought to do those lines for us. Sadly, people now, are either too serious, or not serious enough. I mean, come on, we may be the Feds in black, but I swear we have hearts of gold. Though in two minutes we better have some hearts full of lead and, ideally, not our own. Tighten up boys and girl. Show is about to start.”
The elevator dinged in a delightful tone, announcing their arrival on the penthouse floor. The tension in his team was sharp and volatile, yet under complete control. The smell of adrenaline fueled sweat was pungent to Tobias’s nose. He felt pride at the control and professionalism of his team, as they moved, noiselessly, down the hallway in a tighter diamond formation, with weapons at the low ready.
A hundred feet from the target, they moved into a tight stack at Tobias’s wordless command. Pausing right next to the door jam, Tobias began signaling for Bolt to come forward to hack the lock. Tobias froze, mid motion, as the door began to open. Events moved impossibly fast, as his team seized the opportunity. Ira signaled ready by squeezing hard on Tobias’s thigh, with his non firing hand. Tobias passed the signal back to Bolt, and Bolt passed it to Firecracker, who began pushing them all into motion with her surprisingly strong, yet smallish, body.
A shriek of fright was silenced by rounds from Ira’s rifle. Ira announced, “Short hall, two doors right, one door front,” and the team continued to advance into the suite. Screams of fright and anger came from the living room, as five sirens reacted to the team’s presence. They came forward at the team in a frenzy. The berserk charge didn’t buy them time, or any chance of success, as the team maneuvered along the walls, firing, as every step created a stable platform. Long practice and training had made the process impossibly fast, and rounds rang out, like the hammers of miniature gods, in a quick harsh rhythm.
All was stillness, as bodies littered the floor, as blueish-black blood seeped from gunshot wounds. Ira spake, calling out, “Six tangos down.”
A face mask hid Tobias’s smirk. That’s going to cost him, he thought. “Firecracker, rear security on the bathroom, and point of entry, Bolt point, and Ira second, check the closet, then stack on me for the bedroom.”
The team moved to their places, Firecracker went prone, watching the bathroom. No one took their weapon off their doors, as they moved with swiftness and precision. Bolt and Ira cleared the closet quickly, being there wasn’t anyone inside the shallow closet.
Tobias was waiting patiently next to the bedroom door as Ira and Bolt got into an abbreviated stack with him. This time there was no interruption as Tobias motioned for Bolt to breach the door.
Bolt moved forward, conducting a sweep of the door to check for boobytraps and anything out of the ordinary. Finding nothing, Bolt looked at Tobias, nodding. Tobias returned the nod and Bolt lashed out with a vicious, and precisely placed, kick, shattering the thin door jam. Pausing briefly, allowing Tobias and Ira to flow past him, before resuming his place.
Tobias pivoted left along the wall, pumping rounds into the only siren in his immediate view. Ira ran into a siren as soon as he entered the room. Despite training and skill, the siren ripped the weapon from his hands. Tobias could hear the bones breaking, and proceeded to toss Ira, like a rag doll, across the room, into the wall at the end of the room. The siren, similarly, ambushed Bolt, but, instead, settled for ripping off the headset and, just lucky enough, one of the earplugs as well.
The siren went immediately into song. Bolt’s body became rigid, helpless to the rather delightful signing that struck the aural centers of the brain, awkwardly, scrambling the brain’s ability to communicate with the body. It could be used to generate simple commands, and the siren wanted them unmoving. Tobias played along, his body becoming unnaturally still.
Anger throbbed in the back of Tobias’s mind. This thing thought it had the right to harm his boys. He would visit vengeance upon it, and make it weep tears of blood. The siren left Bolt, as taken care of, moving over to inspect Tobias. It would prove to be its last mistake.
Once in physical reach, Tobias moved with all the speed his mutated nervous system bestowed. Fully inside his element, time seemed to take on a torpid pace, the surprised blink of the siren took an eternity as Tobias removed a fixed bladed knife from a sheath at his waist. With surgical precision, the knife enacted its lethal bite at tendons in the wrists, elbows and knees before ramming home twice, once in each shoulder separating the ligaments holding the joint in place. This took place in mere heartbeats. The siren couldn’t even react to the speed, let alone the cold, unerringly, calculated series of strikes.
The song stopped, and Bolt dropped, bonelessly, to the floor, unconscious. The only sound to be heard now was sobbing from the siren. Tobias turned cold, emotionless eyes on the crippled siren lying at his feet. Placing his weight behind the blow, he dropped a knee into the siren’s solar plexus to silence it. Keeping his knee there, as the helpless thing struggled to breathe, Tobias grinned like a feral animal. This thing was smart, a good catch. His smile broadened, a good trophy. Pulling a pair of pliers from his right pocket, while replacing the knife in its sheath, he set to the task of keeping its mouth open, as soon as it realized what was going to happen. It attempted to either scream or sing, Tobias didn’t care, so long as it kept its mouth open a short while longer. Gripping a serrated fang, where a human had their incisors, Tobias held the head still as he, excruciatingly slowly, ripped the tooth free, as the airless siren continued its noiseless screams. Tobias chuckled to himself. Loving the fear in the creatures features. He whispered to it gently, yet with a tinge of scolding, “If this is what I’m doing to you, because I’m happy with the fight you put up, think of what is coming when I get around to how angry I am that you hurt my boy.” His laugh continued as the siren attempted a whimper.
The dental procedure completed, he moved to the sweet vengeance he had delayed, to add to its savor. Tobias pocketed the tooth and withdrew a large nail. He promised himself it would weep blood. This, he was quick in the act. It wasn’t anything personal, the thing just had the poor judgement of resisting violently against a superior force. Ignorance was no excuse, not after how fast it’s compatriots had died. The nail drove deep through the tear duct of each eye, producing the desired effect.
That final bit complete, he muzzled the siren to prevent it from singing or speaking. “Room Clear, one tango down, one captured.” Tobias announced. “All tangos downed. Friendlies coming out.” Tobias dragged Bolt and Ira to the living room, after hearing Firecracker acknowledge. He seated them on the couch and broke out the smelling salts.
A fit of gagging and protests made the conscious state of Ira and Bolt clear. “Have a good nap, boys? Time to wake up and pull hallway security.” Cursing, they moved to position. Ira, notably, having switched firing hands to accommodate the broken index finger of his firing hand. “Pick up, Firecracker, and on me, I need a battle buddy to come to the bathroom with me.”
Firecracker stacked on Tobias at the bathroom door. Squeezing her thigh, she came forward, readied to kick the door. After sweeping it for boobytraps, she gave him a sharp nod and he returned it. The door practically came off its hinges, as Firecracker kicked it in. It was obviously empty of sirens, even before the automatic light kicked on. What stood out was the civilian stuffed in the bathtub full of ice water. He was a spindly blond male in the six foot range. The skin had normal coloration and no sign of cyanosis or other hazardous health risk. “Pull him out, Firecracker, start CPR, he should be fine if we are quick.”
Firecracker complied, but paused after pulling him out. “Uh, Top? He is breathing and warm. He also has a nasty bite mid neck that looks to be getting infected. I’m using the antivenin Intel gave us.” A quick injection into the muscle of the shoulder was methodical and swift.
“Well, maybe Prince Charming needs a kiss?” Tobias was only joking, but Firecracker didn’t hesitate kissing the young man passionately. “Care to explain, Firecracker, or is his face so interesting as to warrant such close inspection?”
With a suddenness that surprised them both, the young man shot awake, tearing himself away from Firecracker and attempting to run for the open door, only to slip on the wet floor and render himself unconscious once more. Snorting, Tobias spoke, “Sorry to disappoint you, Firecracker, I don’t think a kiss will fix or wake him this time.”
Firecracker stared at the young man’s bare ass. Considering a moment. “I wouldn’t give him another shot anyways, he’s a shitty kisser and screams like a girl.” Ira and Bolt laughed hard out in the hall, having heard everything.
“Alright give the poor boy a break, he happens to be a friend of a friend of a friend. In other words, someone I’ve flagged, to let me know when they leave the country. This boy had an exciting trip, and now gets snatched up by sirens? There is too much to call coincidence, here. He is coming with us.” Tobias frowned, thoughtfully, wondering what the boy’s story would be.
Tobias’s reverie was disrupted by a deep groan and stirring on behalf of the young man. “Well, well, sleeping beauty wakes again. Stay calm, kid, we took care of the kidnappers. You’re as safe as you can be. We gave you antivenin for the bite, so you should come out fine from that.”
The young man sat in a daze, looking from Tobias to Firecracker and back again. “What... where... when, am I still alive? Did she kiss me? How did she know that would work? Does she know magic? My head really, really hurts. How, and why did you save me? Do I know you?”
Tobias drew himself to his full height and put a pinch of imperiousness in his voice, and cold light in his eyes, as he looked down on the young man. “I know you, Callan, but you don’t know me. I have seen you fleeing the country illegally and entering under false pretense.” Tobias couldn’t keep it going with the horrified look on Callan’s face, laughing whole-heartedly. “Yes, Callan, I know you. I’ve kept track of you for some time, out of curiosity, since certain elements of horrible people and creatures took an interest in your family. You took enough precautions that we lost track when you met with Arty at the Excalibur bar in San Francisco. If you need help getting somewhere specific there are more of my team in town. I would think Arty had a plan, so we will take over from there, if you can fill us in.”
Callan looked hesitant, but after closing his eyes for a moment, he relaxed. “You speak truth. What you did answer, you answered honestly. I was to be on a boat for an island in the Bahamas by now. Those things must be working for Her.” A shiver ran its course throughout Callan’s body.
Decision made, Tobias spoke. “Alright, lets bag that bitch in the bedroom. We won’t need to be gentle. Alive is the standard, unharmed is not. Callan, go get something on. I don’t care if it’s women’s clothing, we are in San Francisco, after all, you’ll blend in fine. Ira, Bolt, push down the hall and secure the stairway when we are complete, here. Firecracker and I will be bringing the bag. Callan, you’re walking center of us. Let’s move boys and girl, Bolt and I got the drinks tonight, we tied at one.”
They pulled out of the hotel without incident. The news the next day disagreed, as it was released that a shoot-out with an FBI team had killed a terrorist cell, hiding and holding hostages at the Siren’s Call Hotel. Tobias chuckled as he watched. They had no idea how bad things were going to get.