from the looks of things, they’d gotten there just in the nick of time.
It was much warmer inside, so warm in fact that Earl’s frozen face began to tingle like it was being stabbed with dozens of tiny needles. Despite the blood on his clothing, complete strangers manning the barricade slapped him on the back. Earl was not used to so many people looking at him like that. MHI tried to keep a much lower profile. Frankly, the attention made him uncomfortable. Someone passed him a gym towel, and he used it to scrub his face clean.
“Shoo! Give these men some room.” Nancy ordered. The crowd drew back automatically. She’d obviously established herself as the leader during the night. “You said we’ve got more problems. What else can go wrong?”
There was enough background noise that he wasn’t worried about anyone overhearing anything they shouldn’t. “The man that started this is still out there. I need to find him. If I don’t, he’ll just do this again someplace else.”
“I can send some people with you,” Nancy said. “You’ll need-”
Earl raised his hand. He was going after an Alpha; a mob would just get in his way, and most of them would probably get killed in the process. These people had guts, but they didn’t have training. He needed Hunters. “It’s not safe yet. There will be more vulkodlak coming, and they’re fast and tough to kill. Plus, he’s still got some other critters he could throw your way. You need every shooter you’ve got here.”
“I’m coming,” Aino stated. “There’s nobody to miss me.”
Earl didn’t know how to respond to that. Aino was a sturdy fellow in a fight, that was for sure, but he had to be about the age of Earl’s kids, as in too damn old to be fighting monsters. “You did real good back there, but you-”
Aino raised his voice. “Just mulched half the people I know.”
“No doubting that, my friend. We’ll talk about it, but I need you to translate Aksel’s journal for me first.”
The curmudgeon obviously didn’t like it, but he understood. Aino nodded his blood-matted head once and walked off, determined to get to work.
Stark had to butt in again. “I don’t think you’re going after anybody. I think you’re the one behind this, and I think you’re going to run off to cover your ass. How do I know you’re not going to go destroy the evidence?”
Despite the sheer stupidity of that assertion and the sudden desire to slug Stark in the mouth, Earl just smiled and said, “Well, then, Agent. How about you come along to keep an eye on me? You are, after all, a highly trained professional.”
That caught Stark by surprise. “Well…I…I’m needed here for…command and control.”
“Not really,” Nancy pointed out. “We had that handled just fine before you showed up.”
“But…somebody needs to get in contact with MCB headquarters…in case the lines open up.”
Nancy put her hands on her hips. “Don’t forget your phone then. You’ll get better reception outside anyway. I’ll be sure, when the rest of your people show up, to tell them how brave you were to try and protect us poor defenseless types from all those horrible monsters. That sounds much nicer than me telling them about how you were basically useless and spent your time trying to boss yourself into a spot in the basement.”
Earl looked between them. He didn’t know what had transpired, but apparently it was making Stark uncomfortable, and therefore Earl approved. Stark spoke very slowly. “You wouldn’t…”
“Whatever you are, you’re still a government employee. And I know government employees, since I myself am a politician. From the way you’re used to throwing your weight around, I’m guessing you’ve got a pretty high- level job, but I’m also assuming a tragedy like this will bring out some even higher-level scrutiny. Regardless of who you work for, I bet they won’t like the fact that you were trying to throw some children out of the bomb shelter to get murdered to make space for your ugly ass.”
“I…well, I…I mean…” Stark looked at Earl and sighed. “Shit.” He’d just been deftly outmaneuvered. “I’ll go round up some cold-weather gear.” Dejected, Stark stomped off.
“You know, I didn’t really want him along,” Earl pointed out as he watched the agent retreat. “I was just trying to shut him up.”
“Better you than me. If he gives you any lip, maybe you could accidentally push him into the snow- cutter?”
“Tempting. Well, at least MCB are usually handy in a fight. I could use some real Hunters.”
A very deep voice intruded on their conversation. “Mr. Harbinger?”
Earl turned, and then had to look up. Way up. The man was huge, bigger than Pitt or Gregorius, bigger than his largest Hunters. The man had to be nearly seven feet tall and was built like an NFL lineman. His enormous shaved head was wrapped in a bandage. He had one lazy eye and the facial scarring of someone who’d once suffered a severe cranial injury. Despite the fact that he was an extremely memorable specimen, and Earl was positive they’d never spoken, there was something oddly familiar about the man. “Do I know you?”
“I believe I hit you in the back with an ax earlier. Just wanted to say sorry about that.”
Earl nodded. The other Hunters. “Briarwood, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, sir. I’m the last, though. Name’s Jason Lococo. Most people just call me Loco.”
“Most people are stupid, too. What do you prefer?”
“I…Well, Jason would be fine, sir.”
There was no sign of the other Briarwood men that had shot up Heather’s house earlier. “What happened to Horst?”
“Gone.” Jason gave a grim little smile, leaving the impression that it was gone as in dead, as opposed to gone as in left. “Turns out he wasn’t as clever as he thought he was. Is MHI hiring?”
“MHI is always hiring.”
“I don’t have a resume handy, but I can provide references.”
“You managed to hit me with an ax,” Earl said. “I’ve got to say, that’s a decent resume builder. You’re injured, though.”
Jason gestured at the bandage. “Just a flesh wound. Ryan shot me in the head on account of me not wanting to murder you.”
“He sure had a way with people, didn’t he?”
“Yes, sir. I do okay at fighting monsters, and I’ve got a family to support. I can help.”
Earl thought about it for a moment. There was no doubt the man was a Hunter, even if he was from a shoddy outfit. He’d do. “All right. You’re hired, but let’s call this a probationary period. If we don’t die shortly, we’ll discuss salary and benefits. Gather what equipment you can and meet me back here in ten minutes. Move out.”
Jason seemed honestly relieved. “Thank you, sir. You won’t regret this.”
Nancy waited for the big man to get out of earshot. “When we were bandaging him up, he was covered in prison tats.”
Earl shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d hired a Hunter with a felony record. “I trust him more than Stark already. I’m not hiring him to lead a church choir. I’ll pull his records when I get a chance. If he did something particularly vile, like murdering without a good excuse or hurting women or kids, then I could probably get that snow-blower going again.”
“You’re a man of strange sensibilities, Harbinger. But back to what you were saying. I’ll feel better when the trash behind this is put away. How do you intend to find him?”
There was a sudden banging on the barricade. Men rushed over to peer through the holes. “Where’d he come from?” someone shouted.
“I didn’t see anyone coming!” responded the rifleman guarding the front window. “He came out of nowhere.”
There was more commotion around the barricade. Earl confirmed that his Thompson was ready, then waited. Twenty seconds later, a teenage boy ran over to Earl and Nancy. “Mr. Harbinger, there’s somebody here to speak with you. Says his name is Nikolai.”
“That’s how I intend to find him,” Earl told Nancy. “If you’ll excuse me…Oh, and if this asshole tries to kill me, shoot him full of holes.”
Two men moved a chunk of the barricade for him. Judging from the shape of it, it was what remained of the trophy case that Heather had broken. Nikolai was waiting outside, arms folded, rifle slung over one shoulder. He’d found some clean winter clothing, probably from the Alpha’s closet, and appeared much healthier than earlier.
Earl greeted him. “You’re looking sane.”
