Part 19 (1/2)

The dog loped forward, then came straight for me.

I pushed myself back off the Fenris and hit the remote control. As the Hitachi hound leaped over the car's nose and landed on the roof, four chirps sounded. Before their echoes died, I hit the ground on my back and the Fenris' defense system kicked into overdrive.

I saw the dog in silhouette for a second before all its fur spontaneously combusted. It flashed over, blackening the chrome as the putrid gray cloud drifted up. Then I noticed that the red dots in the eyes had dilated to different sizes as the dog's muscles convulsed. Spraying battery juice and chips against the alley wall, the left side of its head suddenly exploded outward, spinning the cybermutt around and toppling it off by the pa.s.senger side of the car.

I lay back for a moment as a cough punched pain through my chest. Hitting the remote control again, I disarmed the Fenris and crawled toward it. I reached up for a door handle, but the trim burned me. I sank my right hand into the sleeve of my jacket and tried again, this time successfully prying the door open.

I started to pull myself into the Fenris and was far enough gone that I didn't even consider what I was doing to the interior. I did know I couldn't drive, but the eel phone would let me call Raven or Val or Stealth and get me some help. Bracing myself with my left arm against the floor, I straightened my legs and grabbed for the phone.

Selene's kick to the back of my knees dropped me to the ground. I twisted around and sat half-upright against the car. I hugged my left arm against the aching hole in my chest and looked up at her. I tried to say something smart, but a cough cut in and hijacked my throat.

”You did well, Mr. Kies. You should have died long before this.” She looked over the hood toward the steaming mound of dog flesh and metal over by the alley wall. ”And you cost me Cerberus. That wasn't nice.”

I half-smiled despite the rifle tucked under her arm. ”I suppose you know this means I probably won't be having dinner with you again.”

”That was a consideration,” she said and her smile made me remember why I'd wanted to have dinner with her in the first place. ”Had you been anyone else, I might have not decided to hunt you.” She licked her lips. ”Pursue, yes, but not hunt.”

My vision began to tunnel slowly. ”Lone Star has a file on your activities, you know.”

”No it doesn't, Mr. Kies. One of our board members is a major Lone Star stockholder.” Her rifle swung into line with my heart. I didn't care what Stealth thought, it didn't look much like a toy from my vantage point. ”The game is over.”

Selene crouched down and brushed hair away from my forehead. She dug her left hand into her jacket pocket, then brought out something that briefly flashed silver. Her hand returned to my head and I heard a click. Through the shadows I saw her draw away holding a lock of my hair. ”You make me glad I didn't get my bloodlock from Albion.”

The eel phone started to ring. ”Mind if I get that?” ”Go ahead, if you can,” she said as the world went dark. ”Even if help were on the way, you'd be dead before they found you.”

The sound of another bullet being jacket into the chamber of her rifle was the last thing I heard.

V.

I discovered, upon wakening, that reincarnation had to be true.

I felt like a retread.

Fearing the worst, I opened my eyes and found myself lying in the bed I used at Raven's headquarters. I tried to take a normal breath but something tight was constricting my chest. Lifting the blankets I saw bandages wrapped around me. I also noticed an oxygen tube held tightly beneath my nose and a plasma bag running fluid in through the needle stuck into my right arm.

”It was clean, Wolf.”

I dropped the blankets and saw Raven standing in the doorway. He's taller than me, and broader, but not in a steroid mutant kind of way. He just looks tall and muscular, an Amerindian Hercules from the tips of his toes to the top of his head. He has the copper skin, long black hair, and high cheekbones to make the image stick, too.

In fact, only two things ruin it. The tips of his elven ears poke up through his hair, which is the only clue to his race. An elf built like Raven is decidedly rare, and Raven is rarer still. His eyes bear that out.

They always manage to look straight through me. They're dark, like chips of obsidian, but they have these funny lights in them. The best way to describe it is that he's got a bit of the aurora borealis trapped in there. The lights are blue and red and I like to think they flash in time with Raven's thoughts, which means they're always moving very fast.

I nodded and gave him a smile. ”Did you do your stuff to my ribs?”

He folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door jamb. ”The bullet had pulverized approximately twelve centimeters of rib and microperfo-rated your lung. You were in shock and were not stable, so I decided not to crack your chest. I was left no choice. I used magic to reinflate your lung and knit the bone shards back together. The IV is to get fluids back into you.” Color rioted through Raven's dark eyes. ”Your natural healing process is fast. You should feel better in a couple of days.”

Raven is the only other living person who knows all about the Old One, and the reference to my natural healing process told me the Old One had been at work. /will have you healthy soon, Longtooth. I did not need his help.

I threw the blankets off, then pulled the sheet around me and sat up. The room swam, but I steadied myself against the footboard before I could collapse. ”I have to get up, Doc. I know who killed Albion. I know why. Can't wait. More people will die.”

I felt his hands on my shoulders. ”Valerie traced your location after the Fenris sent a call out to inform us about the attempted theft. While I was trying to call you she learned you were dining with Selene Reece.

The club tried to erase the record of the date, but she caught it. Reece has dropped off the edge of the earth. She'll lay low. We've got time to get you healthy.”

I shook my head. ”No, it's not just her. It's all of them. They've been taking turns.” I looked up into his eyes. ”They own a chunk of Lone Star. I need your help.”

I swear Raven looked back through my eyes and reached some sort of communion with the Old One. I felt the Wolf spirit's vitality surge through me. Doc took my right arm and eased the needle out of it.

”Whatever you need, my friend.”

”Good. First clothes, then back-up.” I smiled as I heard the Old One howl in my mind. ”Then it's our turn to hunt.”

Raven put the call out for help. Tark and Kid Stealth didn't answer, but Tom Electric and Zig and Zag did. Sporting some body armor and my MP-93, I was sure the lot of us could have taken on the world and gone the distance. Tom ended up driving Raven's Rolls, with Iron Mike Morrissey in the navigator's seat. His partner, Tiger Jackson, rode in the back with Raven and me, starting sullen and getting more so every time I referred to his partner and him as Zig and Zag.

Raven agreed to the plan I laid out as we rode through the night. ”I concur, Wolf. Mr. Jackson and Mr.

Morrissey will hold the top of the stairs while Tom secures the front door. You and I will deal with the club's Board of Directors.” Doc nodded solemnly as I jacked a round into the MP-9's chamber. ”And I'll let you do the talking.”

”Good.” I looked at the big black gillette across from me. ”Any questions?”

Zag nodded. ”This hunting club has lots of wheels. If things get ballistic, are we clear to spray up the place?”

I was set to nod yes, but Raven shook his head. ”I'm hoping we don't have to end up shooting. As Wolf has aptly pointed out, we only have confirmation of one member actually murdering anyone. We need to let the Directors know that their new prey is never in season here in Seattle.” He looked at me. ”Right, Wolf?”

I frowned, which brought a smile to Zag's face, then nodded. I agreed only because wanton murder wasn't really my style. I'd shoot Selene without a second 3I'd like to say I stuck with the MP-9 because it was an old friend, but the fact was, I really wanted a cannon. Unfortunately, given how I was feeling, a gun with only a few working parts was all I could handle.

thought, but I didn't know who else in the club had been cap-bustin' on society's ciphers. Purging their members.h.i.+p would only bring heat down on us and it wouldn't hurt them at all. What would hurt, and what Valerie was doing from her haunt in the Matrix, was deducting a healthy ”consulting fee” from their club account- including the cost of burning and burying my suit.

Tom double-parked us, and Iron Mike covered the doorman. I winked at him as I went by. Wearing a black leather jacket, jeans, and combat boots, I wasn't really dressed for the club. The MP-9was stylish, which is why I gave the maitre'd a good look at it. ”I'm here to see the Board. Are they still here?”

He nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. I eased the gunmuzzle's pressure on his bow tie and he swallowed to make sure his throat still worked. ”You can't go in there. They're in executive session.”

”Always seen myself as executive material,” I barked at him. I stepped past and he tried to grab me. I heard a thump, then a sigh. I glanced back at Tiger and saw him tuck away a sap, then headed up the stairs. Tom Electric sat himself on the maitre'd's stool and pinned the man to the ground with an AK-97.

Zig and Zag took up positions at the top of the stairs while I led Raven deeper into the building. With a kick I splintered the lock on the board room door and boldly strode into the center of the room. I did remember the trap door and used the hall light spilling into the room to avoid its outline. All around me I saw hunched silhouettes leaning forward.

”Sorry to be interrupting, Brothers and Sisters. I never got to thank you for your hospitality before.” I sketched a careful bow, ending it abruptly when my rib began to ache. ”When I was invited to dinner I hardly expected to become the center of attention.”

The Grandmaster's sable unicorn kill became illuminated as he spoke. ”What do you want, Mr. Kies?”

”I'm wondering how I get a bloodlock off a chrome-dome like you.” I arched an eyebrow at him. ”If I off you, do I get a chair on your board and have your ugly mug perched behind me?”

Brother Bear took offense at my tone. ”You have no right to be here. Leave at once.”

I swung the MP-9 in his direction. The single shot I let off pa.s.sed just over his head, between the wings of his chair, and exploded the bear's head. ”d.a.m.n, shooting high. That happens after you've had a hole blown in your chest.”

”Your attempt at humor is not amusing, Mr. Kies.” The Grandmaster sat back in his chair. ”I can understand your anger. Will fifty thousand nuyen show you we're sorry?”