“Pie,” said Rurik, still louder than he’d meant.
Several of the children flinched.
Gram eyed him. “What?”
“Boomer mentioned Corbin got more pies. We can give them to the children,” he said gruffly before clearing his throat.
Corbin grinned and nodded. “Splendid idea. There are more than enough. I’ve already put a call in to have soup ready in the cafeteria. We’ll handle getting the pies there as well. How does soup and pie sound?”
The boy, who was shaping up to be the children’s spokesman, tipped his head as he continued to hold the little girl’s hand. “What is pie?”
“’Tis a treat,” said Striker, coming to stand near Rurik and Duke. “Something tasty. Have you had soup, lad?”
The boy shook his head. “But we know what it is. Some of the scientists and guards would eat it on their breaks. Sometimes, nicer ones would share their food with us. They felt bad about what we were given to eat.”
“What is it you were fed?” asked Striker, his gaze going to the group of children nearest him. Compassion shone in his eyes.
“The guards called it slop,” said the boy. “It had everything we needed nutrient-wise but didn’t taste very good.”
“No, I expect it would nae taste guid at all with a name like slop,” returned Striker. “Well, yer nae at that vile place any longer, lad. Come. You need to get cleaned up and to change into some fresh clothing. Then pie. That’s an order.”
The boy’s lips twitched, and he grinned. He then faced the other children, still holding hands with the little girl. He stared at the other kids but didn’t speak a single word.
“Thank you,” offered the boy.
The other children nodded in unison and stood, the older ones helping the younger and any frail ones.
Rurik stepped back, and Duke did so as well. They merely watched as the other men handled dividing the children into groups.
Boomer joined them, supervising as the children were paired off with various operatives. Some went in the direction of the workout facility’s locker rooms, others went toward the shower facilities in the medical wing, and the rest went in the direction of the sleeping quarters.
Soon, there were no children left in need of supervision, and Rurik let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Thankfully, he’d not been needed after all.
Duke leaned slightly in Rurik’s direction. “We dodged that bullet.”
Rurik nodded.
They had.
Good thing, too; they’d have probably only scared the children again.
What he couldn’t figure out was why Boomer had avoided taking a group of children. He seemed decent enough at dealing with them. A hell of a lot better than Rurik and Duke had been.
“All right, Yankee Doodle and Punk Rock Kitty,” said Duke. “Let’s grab the extra pies and start taking them down to the cafeteria. It’ll keep us away from little people.”
Boomer nodded but didn’t budge. He stared at the spot the children had been huddled in, looking far away in thought.
Rurik and Duke shared a look, but neither said a word as they stood by their fellow operative, letting him work out his own demons in silence.
Blaise Regnier came rushing through the bay doors that led into the medical area. He was part of the Fang Gang and looked like he shopped wherever Boomer did for clothing. The two could be mistaken for brothers or members of the same goth boy band.
Blaise stopped quickly and sniffed the air. He stiffened and then looked to them. “Did a little girl about this high just run through here?” Blaise asked, holding a hand to his mid-thigh.
Boomer snapped out of his trance-like state. “You’re going to need to be more specific. There were a lot of little girls that size here a minute ago.”
Blaise watched them all for a long moment. “She would have just been here in the last minute or so. I turned my back for a minute to get what I needed to suture her face, and she was gone. Maybe she joined the others out here, blending?”
“Anyone else want to know why he’s in there playing doctor?” asked Boomer.
Rurik had seen the vampire in action with the children Team Eight had helped rescue a week prior. Blaise had seemed very capable of dealing with little ones and like he had a great deal of medical knowledge. He had an exceptionally long and extensive past. One that clearly consisted of medical training.
“You said her face needed tending to?” asked Duke.
Blaise nodded, touching his left cheek and drawing a line from his mouth to his ear with his fingers. “She was clawed by a shifter during the raid Team Thirteen was part of. The field medic butterfly-taped the slashes shut after cleaning them as best he could. But the area needs to be addressed. She may even require reconstructive surgery. I’m not sure. I wasn’t able to get a good enough look before she vanished.”
Rurik’s bear side stirred. “Which of our people harmed her?”
“None,” said Blaise. “The enemy did it. From the little bit of details that I could gather, it was a bear-shifter. The damage is extensive and if the records recovered at the scene are correct, she, like most of the children here now, was given the same toxic chemical combination we encountered a week ago. Some of the children have been given heavy doses for years, causing their supernatural healing abilities to be slowed considerably. Some completely. I think she’s one of those children. The injury wasn’t showing any signs of closing on its own.”
Boomer’s shoulders slumped. “None of the kids who were here had cut-open faces. I didn’t smell blood on any of them either. Either of you?”
Rurik shook his head. “No.”
“Nope,” said Duke, his voice tight. “I don’t think the kid was part of the group that was here.”
Blaise stepped farther into the hall. “She needs medical attention. They need me back in there. Can you three search for her?”
“Yes, of course,” said Boomer.
“I’ll check the other exit points from the medical area. She might
