Part 15 (2/2)
I blinked at him in surprise. ”What?”
”I'm a Hunter in good standing, remember? You, Jace, and Oliver are the only ones here not in their database, which they study as thoroughly as any Bible. I say we go in and a.s.sess the situation. If Cort and Ritter get close enough to the building, you should be able to communicate with them while we're inside.”
We all looked at Ritter, whose frown showed concentration. ”No,” he decided. ”Any little thing will set off that mob. The four of you against all of them is too dangerous.”
”What if we all go in?” Cort closed his laptop and put it under the seat. ”Oliver can mask you and me so they'll let us in, and together all of us should be enough to get Brody out.”
I should have been offended that the addition of only two would make such a big difference, but I'd seen both of them fight. Cort wasn't as good as Ritter, but he was still a far cry better than I was without channeling the combat ability, and he made Oliver look like a child. The three of us with Jace were a fair fight against twenty-three Hunters-as long as we could keep from getting shot. If Keene were at full capacity, I'd say the fight would be grossly unfair for the Hunters.
Again Ritter considered the odds and apparently found them acceptable. ”Okay, we go in. Close enough for Erin to easily channel Oliver's ability, but in two separate groups so we don't appear to be together. Then when I give the signal, Oliver will project his illusion of the SWAT team. As the Hunters scatter, Erin and Keene, you get Brody out while we provide cover.”
”Let's just hope they don't start shooting when they see the SWAT team,” Jace mumbled.
Keene frowned. ”Unless you know the handshakes, the Hunters won't let you in.”
”I know them,” Cort said. ”At least the ones that were current three months ago. We can run through them again to make sure.”
”I may have to drop your cover to make the police appear.” Oliver's face was slightly flushed.
”I could take over,” I put in. ”Or help you call up another SWAT team.”
Ritter shook his head. ”I want you to concentrate on masking Jace at least until we get into the crowd. They may have a camera in there recording who arrives, and I don't want him identified later.”
My stomach lurched. I understood what Ritter was saying. Despite his show of maturity at the compound last night, neither of us was confident that Jace would keep a low profile today.
”I also want you ready to mask Brody if needed,” Ritter continued. ”Walking him out might be our best plan.”
”Wait, what about me?” Oliver asked. ”I don't want to be in their files, and if I'm covering Ritter and Cort, I can't mask myself.”
”You'll be wearing a disguise,” Cort a.s.sured him. ”You won't be in their faces like Jace will, and they won't be on the lookout for you like they are for us, so it'll be more than enough. Most of them aren't very bright.”
”We'd better hurry,” I said. ”Brody's more afraid now. I-something feels odd in him.”
Keene grimaced. ”They're probably telling him exactly what they're going to do to him. They like to scare their victims first.”
Ritter put the Land Cruiser in gear, driving to a mom-and-pop store two doors down and pulling around behind. The store was closed on Sunday in this small town, but our vehicle didn't look out of place. From there we could see that the Hunter meeting house did extend farther back than it appeared from the front. All the windows there were shuttered.
”I wish Mari were here to keep the engine running,” I said, as Jace reached behind him for the bag carrying the bulletproof vests.
Ritter arched a brow and tossed me a handful of magazines and a silencer for my nine mil. ”She can find you. Call her.”
I shook my head. ”I'd rather not experiment with her coming this far.”
”She did it before in the jungle.” Jace shrugged on his vest and replaced his coat.
He was right, but there were a lot more variables in s.h.i.+fting across several cities than through a jungle, weren't there?
”Text her.” This from Cort.
I studied him a moment, remembering Oliver's pa.s.sionate rendition of him. Did he look at Mari as a woman or an experiment? Or a friend?
I opened the door and climbed from the Land Cruiser, going around the other side so that I was between the SUV and an outcropping of the store. Ritter and Cort kept watch, their guns ready. Making sure there was plenty of s.p.a.ce between me and the Land Cruiser, I pulled out my phone and texted Mari. Can you come here? We need a getaway driver. It's about 70 miles.
I counted heartbeats as I waited for a return text, but a soft pop and the slight displacement of air told me she hadn't bothered.
”Hi guys.” She flipped her long black hair over her shoulder with one hand. ”Thank you for getting me out of there. Nothing is going on at the compound, except me freezing to death.”
”Well, the Land Cruiser is warm for now.” Ritter motioned her inside. ”But leave the engine off until you see us coming. We don't want anyone to get suspicious.”
”You can turn it on briefly if you need to,” Cort added, b.u.t.toning his coat so his vest didn't show. ”But we shouldn't be that long.” I followed his example with my own coat. Enough b.u.t.tons to hide the vest from casual observation, but not so many that it would prevent me from reaching backup weapons. I'd already put the nine mil in my pocket.
”Are we taking the earbuds?” Jace climbed from the Land Cruiser.
”The earbuds and radios won't be any use in that crowd,” Ritter said. ”Too obvious. Just watch me for the signal. Erin will communicate anything that might change.”
Seconds later Keene, Jace, and I emerged in front of the store and strode down the sidewalk. The others would follow after we got to the wide porch in front of the meeting house. No more cars had arrived outside, for which I felt grateful. I wore a dark wig from the supplies, and Jace sported nerdy gla.s.ses and had slicked his hair back under a cowboy hat. I went further with Oliver's ability, changing his skin to a ruddy color marked by acne scars. His clothes were straight off a farm and he smelled of chicken p.o.o.p.
”Chickens?” he whispered. ”Did you have to?”
”It'll keep people away,” I said. ”The illusions aren't tangible.”
”I'm going to get you back, you know that.”
”Oh, is the smell making you sick?” I mocked. ”Let me know if you're going to throw up so I can jump out of the way.”
”Erin,” he groaned.
I shrugged. This wasn't a party we were going to, and he was my responsibility every bit as much as I was his.
Keene chuckled. ”Quiet now. It's game time.”
BEHIND US, I FELT RITTER and the others moving down the walk. Oliver's sense of self-preservation had somehow given him a way to extend his illusions to himself as well, because I didn't recognize any of them by sight. Keene reached for the door.
A big blond man with muttonchop sideburns and hat hair stood guard just inside the squat building, a rifle over his shoulder and a pistol at his hip. His hand rested on the pistol as he greeted us, ”Welcome, fellow Hunters. Why do you come to this place?”
”To receive the brotherhood and support the Hunter Circle.” Keene reached out a hand and they shook. This time I paid close attention, watching as Keene returned several taps with his fingers.
”Do you wish to join the Hunt and protect the mortal world?” The reverent way the man spoke, I knew Hunt was more than symbolic.
”Yes. That is why I've come. To join with my brothers to the end of the Hunt.” More handshakes, this time too fast for me to follow.
”To the end of the Hunt,” the big man finished, his hand dropping to his side. ”You and your guest may pa.s.s.”
”It's a real one tonight,” he added as we came inside. ”First we'll cut him and watch him heal, proving his link with the devil. Then we'll do our duty.” Blood l.u.s.t rolled off him, and for a moment I felt as if I'd gone back in time when entire towns gathered to kill helpless victims accused of witchcraft. Or more recently when men in white robes and pointed hats planted burning crosses in front of humble dwellings. Ignorance and racism in all its ugliness.
I'd stopped moving and Keene's hand shot out to grab me. ”Come on, dear. We don't want to miss this.”
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