Chapter 1
“Gentlemen, we have a problem.”
Peter looked over the six men gathered at his conference table as he got up from his chair. Everybody focused on him, except Rooney, who was peering at his laptop, as usual.
“As you know, I’ve just gotten back from the convention in San Francisco. I’d hoped to bring some good news, but it’s actually the opposite. I’ve had the chance to discuss our recent problem with the directors of all headquarters in the States, and it turns out, we’re the only ones whose fighters are being abducted right off the streets. Although they did share some freaky stories, from skyfolk dropping dead for no apparent reason in Austin, to a mysterious man who kills with a touch of his hand in Santa Fe.” He gave a skeptical smirk. “But none of it was similar to what we’ve been dealing with for the past four months. I think we can say with confidence that whatever is going on, its center is here, in New York.”
He paused to open a bottle of water and take a swig. The men waited silently, frowning, except for Skull and Phoenix with their usual flat expressions.
Peter let out a quiet sigh and sat back down in his chair, as if he suddenly felt tired. “God, I hate those meetings. They’re nothing but headache. I need to hear what’s on your minds.” He drank some more water and looked at the others. “Over the past week we’ve received responses from all the skyfolk organizations in town, except for the Devil’s Whores and Black Eagles.”
Rob interrupted him, arching a brow, “You have the Whores’ contacts?”
“I have a way to leave a message for everyone in case of a global emergency. As I said, I haven’t gotten a response from these two, while some of the others have confirmed that their fighters have been attacked or abducted by men in black tactical clothes, driving black jeeps. The Commandos, they call them.
“Overall, aside from our losses, it’s fifty Beasts and forty-two Ghosts that have gone missing. Of course, when it comes to Beasts, there’s always a chance they’d run into one of ours and no one found the bodies…” He gave Phoenix a pointed look, and the one-eyed fighter switched his gaze somewhere else. “But the point still stands: ten of our men have disappeared without a trace, the number of missing Ghosts has grown in the past months, and it’s no coincidence.”
Luke raised two fingers. The middle-aged office guard looked grotesquely small next to Skull’s bulky figure. “You said the others saw those men too, but did they manage to follow them anywhere?”
Peter’s expression turned sour. “They said the jeeps vanished into thin air or shook off the tail in some busy area. And you know what? It sounds like a clue, how it’s exactly what our patrols have reported.”
Luke’s face creased in puzzlement. “I don’t see how that’s a clue.”
“Look at it this way. Every time our men have encountered these guys, they simply disappeared somewhere along the way. And not just the men but even the jeeps.” The others nodded slowly, still confused. “We could drop on them, of course, but the chances of them surviving are slim, and the chances of us getting shot full of bullets are high. But I don’t think it’s luck that helps them get away every time. It’s all part of a plan. They have a way of hiding from us, and we just need to figure it out. We have to stop trying to chase them, and start watching them instead.”
Luke nodded, scratching his gray stubble. “We tried the drones, like you suggested. Got one of them shot down, so we’re keeping our distance now, and the other couldn’t follow them in a busy area.”
“Shot down with what?” Peter asked.
“Handgun,” Luke said, getting a nod from Peter. “What about the ones who haven’t responded? You think they could be involved with whatever’s going on?”
Peter perked up. “Maybe…” He got up and started pacing back and forth. “I actually haven’t thought of that. I mean, not the Black Eagles, ’cause those demons are too proud to ally with anyone. I’m still surprised they came to the battle at Eugene’s. But the Devil’s Whores… They’re the weirdest sect of Beasts I’ve ever heard of. Who knows what’s on their agenda. Well, let’s not paint the picture any darker, because we’ve never been able to catch even one of those bastards anyway.” Peter paused, running a hand through his hair. “How’s Chris?”
“Still unconscious,” Luke said. “The injury was too serious. Been to all the doctors already. Yesterday we…”
Pain straightened up from the keyhole, stretching her back with a grimace. Getting too old for eavesdropping. She shook the pack of gummy bears in her hand and dug into it, humming to herself.
The door flew open, revealing Peter’s face. His dark gaze settled right on her, as if he’d known where to look before he opened the door.
“This keyhole opens up quite a view, you know. You should do something about it,” she said, shooting the others a smiling look as they stared at her leaning casually in the doorway.
“You do realize that if I wanted you to hear all this, you would’ve gotten an invitation?” her boss said without a trace of the usual humor in his voice.
She nodded, giving him a carefree smile. “I prefer to think that my invitation got lost in the mail, as I’ve got just the information for your meeting.”
Peter’s graying eyebrows rose in something between a question and a threat, and she quickly added, “It’s regarding the Devil’s Whores’ lack of response.”
“Enlighten us, please,” he said through his teeth, and she suppressed the urge to shrink back,
