Russian Winter: CATU Book 2 Ch. 04-05

CATU Building

Howlong ago was this?" Roger asks. He is holding a report transferred from the FBI.

"Nearly twelve hours ago sir," the agent says.

"Get me McMillan on the phone." Roger returns to his office to see Doug Wiltkins, head of Tactical, waiting for him. "Doug, what brings you up here?" Roger asks.

"I figured you were going to call me sooner or later. Are these power plant attacks being classified as terrorist attacks?" Doug inquires.

"There has been two so far, but—"

"Three," Doug corrects.

"Three? Where?"

"Boise Idaho. It was another electrical power plant, about five hours ago."

"Where'd this information come from?" Roger asks.

"CIA. The NSA is keeping closed lip about anything. I thought with the President's order, no one would try to withhold information," Doug said questionably.

"Old habits die hard I guess."

The phone rings interrupting the two men. "Excuse me a minute," Roger says. "Cornelius."

"Roger," Frank McMillan, Director of the FBI says. "Was the information helpful?"

"It was, but I need a favor from you."

"Of course, the FBI is at your disposal."

"We need up to the minute information as you get it. Also dig up anything you can find on Jonathan Roberts."

"Got it, no problem."

Roger gives his thanks and hangs up, before turning his attention back to Wiltkins. "No witnesses and no trace of who they are," Roger states.

"It's going to make it hard to find them or their next target," Doug says, almost reading Roger's mind.

"We don't have the man power to guard every power plant either. However, they seem to only be operating in the northwest right now, which can be to our benefit. I want you to take a team and see what you can find. See if you can find a trail and track them down. I'll get clearance sent to any offices you need personnel from."

TheMarriott wasn't too bad for a hotel. Spencer and Sam felt like they really were on vacation, almost to the point they wished they could leave the world's troubles behind. Sam stands in front of the window, starring out at the snow falling. Without looking back to where Spencer still lay, she says, "It's hard to believe I may have a sister."

"It's a hell of a way for you to find out," Spencer replies.

"Yeah, you're telling me."

"Don't worry, we'll find her and your father."

"Finding someone in Russia or any country other than America isn't easy. What if we are too late like with Sara?" Sam turns from the window; tears well up threatening to spill over. Since the murder of the friend Sara McKinsey, Sam was never really ready to grieve. Now with the prospect of her father following a similar fate, her emotions were ready to crumble.

Spencer crawls out of the bed and wraps his arms around her, pulling her in to hold her close. "Whatever has happened with him, we'll find him. This time we are better resourced," he says.

Changing the subject she says, "Imagine how mad Maykov is going to be."

"She'll either stay quiet or express her anger," he adds.

"We better get this investigation started."

"We'll start with Maykov, see how helpful she is."

Strandonsits in his office, finishing up a phone call. The order the President issued has been making things difficult. Until this information sharing came about, the agencies could pretend they knew nothing about a person or situation. Now if another agency suspects they're lying, a special team comes in and does a search. The President was serious with this one too, if caught the person responsible faced prison time.

He sits there lost in his own thoughts when he suddenly feels a presence. Turning, he sees a figure sitting in a chair.

"Detaran, what can I do for you?" he asks.

I've come to see what progress has been made.

"Commander Jiang Chi is doing a good job. Everyone suspects some form of attack, but no one can point a finger."

Excellent. Delgrious made a good choice in selecting you.

"The reward is pleasing. CATU has sent two special agents, their best two, to Russia."

Yes, we know of this and they are being taken care of. Just keep everyone concerned occupied and soon you will be able to reap your rewards.

"As you wish, I—"

Detaran was already gone. Strandon sinks further into his chair, his promised rewards running in his head. A large smile runs across his face.

When there is hell on Earth, I'll be sipping drinks far off from here.

———5—————————

Boulder Colorado

Reportinglive from Boulder, Colorado this is Sarah Brickett. As you can see behind me, the Boulder Hydro Dam has been destroyed. The National Guard has been called in to help find victims from the town below.

At approximately four-thirty this morning, just after shift change, the dam suffered an explosion. One hundred and thirty-three workers are confirmed dead, two are missing. The death toll for the town below is still unsure.

This is the fifth power plant in a line of mysterious explosions, as the FBI is calling it. As you can see behind me, members of the newly reorganized CATU are investigating. In this reporter's opinion, this mystery is the work of a terrorist cell operating here in the U.S.

This is Sarah Brickett reporting, back to you."

Spencerand Sam were headed to a small outdoor café located in a popular tourist section of the city. Maykov may have been angry for her reassignment, but at least she stuck to their cover.

They round a corner that opened to a huge plaza. The place is packed with both Russians and tourists. The café was conveniently placed on the street they turned on.

Maykov was already waiting with impatience written on her face. When she notices them she forces a smile onto her face. "How are you enjoying your vacation Mr. and Mrs. Donnelly?" she asks.

"Very well, Miss Maykov," Sam answers.

After Spencer and Sam settle in their seats, she drops the cover. The plaza is noisy enough to not have to worry about eavesdroppers.

"What can I do for you?" she asks.

"We need a lead. This is a big country and time is not really on our side," Spencer says.

"I can go through some of my contacts and see who I can find to assist you. It may be a couple of days before I can find anything out."

"We don't have a few days to wait," Sam says, raising her voice higher than she intended.

A grin forms on Maykov's face at that moment. "I'll tell you what; give me a couple of hours. I have a contact that will be able to assist you and maybe provide you with some information. Meet me back here in two hours." Maykov leaves the two smiling as she leaves.

"She suddenly seems to be in a better mood," Spencer says.

"A little too friendly."

"Will you too be dining with us today?" the waiter asks.

"Sure. We'll have two coffees," Sam offers.

"Very well. The gentleman over there," the waiter points to a man sitting alone several tables over, "asked me to give you this."

Spencer takes the note. The waiter leaves to get their coffee.

"What does it say?" she asks looking at Spencer then back to where the man was sitting, before Spencer can reply she says, "He's gone."

Spencer looks up. "He want to meet us, says he has some information."

"Can't be Maykov already," Sam says.

"It isn't, but he knows who we are and that concerns me."

Spencerand Sam hail a taxi and they go to the address on the note. The taxi takes them a few miles away to a degraded neighborhood, dropping them off in front of an abandoned building.

"Well, here we are," Sam says.

"Be on your guard," Spencer warns.

They make it to the door without incident, as they approach, Spencer has a feeling. His feelings aren't neither bad nor good, but of evil when it was nearby. "Use the hollow point rounds, there's something dangerous here," Spencer instructs.

The hollow point rounds contain holy light, which increases the damage to a creature or demon ofHades. Spencer reaches to knock on the door; it opens before he has the chance. A man stands in the doorway, dressed in rags. "Come in. Come in," he says.

Glancing over his shoulder, Spencer ushers Sam in before following.

"Glad you could come. I have some information for you," the man rubs his hands together. He continues, "If the price is right."

"Who do you think we are?" Spencer asks. He wants to know if their cover was blown. If it was then it opened up a whole new way they were going to play things.

"You're Special Agent Reeds and Special Agent Roberts. Yes, yes, I know all about you. Come. Come."

Spencer's senses are now on fire, he knows something evil was lurking, just not sure where. He always thought of his special talent to be a curse, but over the years he has learned to listen to it. It helped a lot, but unfortunately it was limited because he couldn't pinpoint the source of his feelings. This is one of those times.

"Come on Spence, let's see what he has to offer," Sam whispers.

They follow the man into a large room with a high vaulted ceiling. "Sit. Sit. Yes, sit," the man mumbles on while he takes a seat of his own.

Spencer and Sam take seats themselves; both ready for the moment for danger to strike.

"So what can you help us with?" Spencer asks with growing impatience.

"Money, money. Money first," the man says holding his hand out.

With a nod from Spencer, Sam produces a few twenties, American, and hands them to the man. The man takes them, giggling to himself.

"Information now," Spencer demands.

"Yes, yes, information. You shall have information. You must leave. Leave now and not come back."

"Leave? We just got here," Sam says patiently.

"This, this is your only warning you'll get. Yes, the only one," the man continues to giggle.

"Alright enough of this shit," Spencer says.

He rushes the man grabbing him by his coat lapel and lifts him off the ground and into the wall. "Why did you bring us here?" he demands.

Sam pulls out her gun prepared for anything to happen. The man keeps giggling. The house remains silent except for the giggling. Spencer's senses begin to hit him harder than ever. Suddenly the man stops giggling and looks Spencer straight in the eye. At that moment, the man morphs into a demon. He grabs Spencer in turn and throws him into the opposite wall.

Sam takes aim and begins firing at the demon. The demon holds his hand up and miraculously the bullets stop mid-air.

"What the hell?" Sam says in alarm.

The bullets then explode. The light flash is so bright, it momentarily blinds Sam. Before she can recover a hand grabs her neck and lifts her up before slamming her into the chair. Spencer's first concern is Sam. Unlike him, she doesn't have his abilities, which also allow him to withstand more damage to the body than a regular human.

He pulls his gun and unloads into the creature standing before her. The creature howls then just as quickly turns to face Spencer.I warned you human. You had your chance to take your nose out of things here. Now I, Illkr, will be the one to destroy you.

"Stand in line, you won't be the first," Spencer sneers at him. "Besides you're only a lesser demon. What chance do you think you have against me?"

Obviously you aren't like any of your human counterparts. No, I like you. You don't cower in fear at a challenge. I will enjoy killing you and your girlfriend. Maybe I'll let her watch.

Without using words, the demon summons two more creatures. They appear out of a mist taking full form before his eyes. They're attention turns to Sam lying semi-unconscious on the floor. Spencer reloads and takes aim to fire, but before he has a chance, Illkr is there in front of him. He grabs Spencer's hand and forces him to drop the gun. The two creatures reach Sam before she is able to act and pin they her to the wall.

The demon back-hands Spencer and he flies into a coffee table. As Spencer slowly picks himself up the demon is there in front of him before he has a chance to do anything. Spencer is picked up and slung in the opposite direction. He lands hard crashing into a table against the wall.

I figured you to be some sort of fighter. I'm tired of playing with you, now it's time for you to die.

"No! Son of a bitch!" Sam yells.

The demon walks over to her and strokes her face.Don't worry, you'll be the next.

Turning around, the demon doesn't see Spencer lying where he'd been thrown. Fury burns quickly inside of him. He'd underestimated this human and now he'd gotten away.

"Looking for me?" Spencer asks.

He is in the doorway behind the creatures, holding a knife in his hand. To the human eye, the blade looks like any other, but to a demon it has a faint glow to it. The blade was forged from the rare metal,Mythril. The metal can be found on earth, but only a few actually knew where to look. Curious, the demon without saying words commands the creatures to release Sam and attack Spencer.

The creatures comply and charge him. Spencer using his training and agility he is able to dodge both creatures' claws. With precise movements, he hits vital areas and the creatures drop to the ground before slowly dissipating.

A flash of shock crosses the demon's face. He quickly grabs hold of Sam and places a clawed hand to her throat.Not another move human. I will not hesitate to rip her throat out.

Spencer has no doubt the demon would do it. Even for a lesser demon, this one proved to be quite formidable. Risking Sam's life is not something he intends to do. He drops the knife; it hits the floor with a loud clang masking the sound of a door closing behind the demon.

"Who sent you?" Spencer asks. No lesser demon acts on its own accord; there is always a greater demon in control, pulling the strings.

It doesn't matter; soon all of you will be slaves to us.

"So I guess we are at a standstill here then."

Foolish human. You are at a loss; it is you that has faltered.

Illkr grabs Sam's throat tighter, causing her to try and scream. The sound is cut off by the tighter grip the demon makes. A smile spreads across the demons face.

Spencer returns the same smile, causing the one on Illkr's face to disappear. He doesn't know why Spencer is smiling until a shot rings out. The demon looks down at the hole that appears in his chest. Light slowly begins to spread. He grips tighter onto Sam's throat. Three more shots are fired, causing the demon to cease to exist.

As Sam drops, Spencer rushes to her side. He grabs her and holds her close.

"That was a little scary," she says.

"And a little close," a different voice says.

"Thanks for getting here in time," Spencer says offering his hand to shake. The man, Lieutenant Julius Claude, takes the hand and shakes it.

"How so quickly?" asks Sam.

"He called me as soon as you two landed. I used an Interpol safe house and waited until Spencer contacted me again."

"Just in time too," Spencer says as relief floods him. Loosing Sam as a partner or lover is not a thought he enjoyed dwelling on.

"C'mon the police will be here soon and explaining ourselves will just cause trouble we don't want," states Claude interrupting Spencer's thoughts.