Aztec Treasure Ch. 81: End

Provincial Constable Lynette St. Claire's POV

Trans-Canada Highway, 20 km north of Sault Ste. Marie

The dispatcher's voice cut through the drone of the traffic passing by. I had the unmarked police cruiser in one of my favorite ticket farms, where the laser had a good view of traffic coming north along the lake, and trees hid us from view. "Attention all units, we have a child abduction alert. The kidnapping victim is Maritza Meztli, a one-year-old Hispanic female, taken from Sault Area Hospital approximately fifteen minutes ago. The suspect is driving a silver Honda sedan, last seen on Great Northern Road approaching Fourth Line East. The suspect is armed with a pistol and is a suspect in a shooting at the hospital."

"They're coming our way," Provisional Constable Curtis LeGrange said. He'd been training under me for a month now and was pretty sharp for a rookie.

The dispatcher paused, and when she started talking again, I could tell she couldn't believe what she was reading. "Photographs of the victim have been sent to your cars. The victim may appear as a jaguar cub, yellow with black and dark brown rosettes, approximately twelve kilos."

Someone called her back. "Dispatch, Patrol Fourteen, repeat your last?"

"The victim is a werecat, traveling with Arrowhead Pack werewolves. I can't make this up, Fourteen."

"Holy crap, look at this," Curtis said. He turned the computer towards me; on the screen was a picture of a cute little Hispanic girl in jeans and a t-shirt, along with an adorable Jaguar cub playing on the beach. "I read about her. She and her mother are the only jaguar shifters left in the world."

We could talk about that later. Our position was good to cover a northern escape. "Dispatch, Patrol Five, my unit is just south of the Goulee River on 17. We will hold and watch for silver Hondas."

"Roger, Five. Fourteen, proceed to 556 and hold watch there."

That made sense; if he was going north, those were the only two roads going anywhere. Everything else ran into the lake or ended with the woods. We were in a good spot to watch the road, angled so both of us could see northbound traffic.

A few minutes later, we got an update with a license plate number and clarification the suspect vehicle was a four-door Honda Accord. "Must have got it off the cameras at the hospital," I said as I wrote the plate number down. I had binoculars out, searching the oncoming traffic for silver Honda sedans.

It hadn't been ten minutes before I saw the first car matching the description. The plate number was wrong, but the tax sticker on it was an expired color. As it passed, I pulled out behind him and accelerated to catch up. It wasn't the right plate, but something was wrong. "Call it in," I told Curtis. He got on the radio and called in the plate number. It came back expired, no longer in use. I told Curtis to request backup as I dropped back a little. I didn't want to spook him.

"Backup is four minutes out," Curtis told me. He'd reported in what we'd seen so far; one person in the car, a white male in his fifties. We passed over the Goulee River and approached Karalash Corners when the patrol cruiser turned behind us and came up fast. "Light him up?"

"Do it," I said. He hit the lights and siren, and the man reacted by taking off. "Patrol Five in pursuit of silver Honda Accord, on 17 approaching Karalash Corners. Requesting backup and air support."

"Patrol Ten is secondary," the car behind us radioed in.

The Honda sped up, recklessly pushing its speed to over 170 km/hr. It wasn't getting away from us in an economy car, though. "All units, silver Honda is potentially carrying a young child that may be on the floor or in the trunk."

"The pit maneuver is out," I said. "I hope he doesn't lose control of that thing."

We stayed behind him as he continued north towards the Superior coast. A new voice came over the radio. "This is Air One. I have the pursuit in sight."

My supervisor got on the radio. "All units, drop back and let the air unit track the car. Continued high-speed pursuit is too dangerous."

"10-4, slowing down," Curtis responded. We slowed to a hundred as the Accord kept going. He wasn't getting away, though; other units were converging on our position.

As soon as the Honda thought he'd gotten away, he got off the main road before reaching Havilland. He headed northwest on a service road, and the air unit tracked him as he drove deeper into the woods. "Units in Havilland, head west on Havilland Shores Drive and set up a roadblock at the other end of the service road. Units in pursuit close in from behind."

We accelerated to catch up, braking just in time to turn left onto the gravel road. Our SUV could go a lot faster over the bumpy road than a Honda, so it didn't take long before we had him in sight again. When he saw the roadblock ahead, he locked up his brakes.

He was out of the car and firing before we came to a stop. "Hold fire," I told Curtis as we skidded to a stop. "Nothing near the car." We bailed out my side, using the vehicle for cover, and covered him with our weapons.

The man fired a few shots our way, then reached back into the car and released the trunk. As soon as it opened, I saw a spotted cat, twice the size of a domestic one, jump out and run into the trees. "MARITZA IS CLEAR," I yelled. When the man turned and fired towards us, we returned fire. One of my shots hit him in the left hip and knocked him down.

He tossed his gun and surrendered, knowing he wasn't getting away now.

We waited for our backup to move up before we made the arrest. "Suspect is in custody. Air One, can you see where the cat ran off to?"

"Negative, tree cover is too thick."

My Sergeant was almost to the scene. "All units remain in position. DO NOT attempt to locate the werecat. A unit from Sault is bringing her mother up to retrieve her."

That was good news. It took twenty minutes for the ambulance to show up but only fifteen for Maria Meztli. She could barely walk after a recent motorcycle accident, so we had to improvise. Curtis was a big guy, and Maria got on piggyback and told him where to go. They walked for a few minutes as Maria followed her daughter's scent into the woods. She found a shivering Maritza's hiding place under a downed tree, and Maria called her out. She shifted back to a little girl as soon as she was in Mom's arms.

I'd never seen anything like it. Maritza was one cool cat.

Ch. 82

Chase Nygaard's POV

Highway 556 West

I was kicking myself for my foolishness as our group raced west at high speed for Sault Area Hospital.

"How could I be so stupid?"

Rori tried to calm me down; she was in a group that was following at a more normal speed. Only the experienced bikers were with me. "It wasn't just you. I've been with the babies the whole trip, and I picked today to go off and have fun. I should have been there to stop it."

"I thought this trip would be safe for Maria because she was with hundreds of wolves and bikers. Then, as soon as her FBI bodyguard is out of the picture, we strip the protections away! And we do it in Canada, where we don't have our guns!"

"Roadkill already called home and asked them to bring the hardware on the jet coming for Lana, but that means they have to land on the US side."

I would feel better with armed wolves and bikers around. "We need to get Maria across the border by the time the plane arrives, with or without Maritza. She's not up for a search anyway."

I could feel Rori laughing in my head. "You can TRY telling her that she's running away while her baby is missing. Maria will be one pissed-off werecat." I suppose so. "When we get back there, remember this isn't the fault of Brent, Laura, or James. Today is all on us; we were in charge. We thought it would be enough, and it wasn't. Not after two of the men had to go inside the hospital with Maria."

"I could never be mad at a warrior who takes a bullet to protect the vulnerable."

"And Brent is doing all he can to hold it together." The phone rang on my Bluetooth; it was Brent. I opened the link to all the wolves in range. "What's going on, Brent?"

"The children are under guard inside the hospital with James and the police. Maria got a ping north of us from the tracker on Maritza's ankle, but we think it's been disabled now. She left with patrol officers to go to the scene."

"You let her out of your sight?"

"Maria's call. She figures Maritza will be afraid and needs to be the one to bring her out. We don't want any humans to get hurt or for someone to shoot her in self-defense. Maria's also the logical choice to try and link up with Maritza as she heads north."

I didn't like her being away from Pack, but it made sense. With the nearest wolves stuck on a boat on the canal, we were out of other options right now. "Make sure Maria knows to stay with the police and keep her phone on."

"I will. We did get some good news; surveillance video had the kidnapping on tape, and we got a plate number. Sault Police, Ontario Provincial Police, and Customs/Border Patrol are all looking for this guy."

"And so are we, Brent. If Maritza is hurt, this guy better pray that the police get him before we do."

"He shot my Laura. Don't kill him without me."

"I won't. I'm sorry this all got dumped on you, Brent. Do your best, and I'll be back in an hour." I hung up before we got to another set of twisting curves that forced us to slow down. We were riding hard, as were the other groups. Brent's plan made sense, but it depended on either recognizing the car or having Maritza awake to link with us. If the guy sedated her like he did the adults, he might sneak past us.

We rode for another twenty minutes before I got an update from Brent. "Alpha, the Ontario Provincial Police are following a silver Honda with fake plates, on 17 heading towards Wawa." That meant Maritza wasn't coming our way since he was already north of where 556 connected.

"Have you contacted Roadkill and the northern loop riders?" Roadkill was leading the men that were racing west for 17 well north along the lake.

"Yes, but he's still an hour away. They are balls to the wall getting there."

If the guy got away, they'd have to chase him down from behind. "They need to keep going. Call the southern group, tell them to wait for instructions at their stop points until we know the cops have the right car. And call me when we know."

"Yes, Alpha." I'd opened the link to the wolves, so we were up to speed. I signaled for the column to pull over, and soon we did, and I had the Brotherhood officers around me. "It looks like he's heading north, not this way. I'm going to take the wolves with me to the hospital. The rest of you wait for the trail group to catch up, then head back to this morning's hotel and order enough food for everyone. I'll call Mongo as soon as I know more." With that, half of us took off again while the rest waited.

The relief was dramatic when we heard from Brent that Maritza had been found safe. "I'm still racing for the hospital. Tell the other groups to slow down and regroup with the RVs at the hotel and arrange for food."

"I know a barbecue place," Brent said.

"Make it happen. I'll be there in thirty-two minutes."

We arrived in twenty-eight, and the parking lot still looked like a cop convention. Shootings and child kidnappings were rare up here, after all. I sent half the wolves to Brent at the crime scene while I ran into the Emergency Room entrance. The wolves with me took over watching the young ones from James, who I sent to watch over his mate upstairs. "Doctor Chance Nygaard," I said as I showed my identification to the woman at the desk. "I'm here to check on my people."

She made a call, and a doctor came out in surgical scrubs a few minutes later. "Dr. Nygaard, I'm Doctor Tom Clarkson. I operated on your wolf."

"How is she?"

"Stable now. The slug was a through-and-through on Laura's left shoulder. It missed the joint but shattered her scapula before exiting. I had to reinflate her left lung and repair the damage, but it was surprisingly like operating on a human."

"The greater size helps, I've found," I said.

"The kidnapper sedated her, so getting her intubated was a challenge. Lance had Doctor Olson from Oxbow Lake do a video call into the operating room, and he helped with my questions. In addition to the gunshot wound, the kidnapper landed on her. She has three broken ribs and one cracked rib, but none punctured her lung."

"She's lucky you were here for her, Doc."

"It's been interesting, that's for sure. Laura should wake up in an hour or two. Doc Olsen said she shouldn't change back to her human form for a few days."

I was about to tell him that. "When we shift, things move around. We don't want to tear any stitches or cause bones to shift until they've healed a bit more. What about the other women?"

"Sleeping it off in exam rooms. The dosage wasn't excessive; the autoinjectors would be good for three to five hours depending on the weight of the person injected. They'll be fine."

There was one other problem, a mate problem. "Laura's husband is still with the police, but he'll want to see her as soon as they let him go."

"I'll be moving her from recovery to a hospital room after she wakes up. He can visit her there."

"Put her in the same room as Lana Black, her FBI bodyguard who was injured last night in a motorcycle accident. It will make security easier for all of us."

"I'll let the administrator know." He waved me through the double doors. "You can wait in the exam room with the two women who were drugged if you want. Let the nurses know when they wake up."

The local police had posted an officer at the exam room door. It took a minute for her to get permission from her supervisors to let me in since I wasn't a hospital employee. She looked closely at my ID when she got the callback. "I heard the Prime Minister got a call from your President when they found out who the guy was that took Maritza," she said. "The Mounties are watching the recovery room and your friend upstairs." The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were a Federal agency, not as active in this province as others.

"Really?"

"Richard Todd was a CIA man stationed in Ottawa. Todd's wanted in the conspiracy against the President. Our government pledged full cooperation with the investigation."

"Good. I'm sorry this landed on your doorstep, officer, but everyone should live except Richard."

"We don't have the death penalty in Canada, and we won't extradite unless it is off the table," the officer replied.

I just smiled at her. "Richard is a dead man; he doesn't know it just yet. He'll be dead soon."

"If that's a threat against him, I have to report it."

"It's a statement of fact, Officer. There isn't a thing anyone can do to stop it now." She still had her mouth open when I walked past her into the room. Possum was on the exam table, while Three Tequila was on the gurney. I checked their vitals and their charts, agreeing with the doctor they would both be fine.

One of my Omegas volunteered to go back to the hotel and drive an RV back so we could get the kids out of the waiting room. Brent said he might be stuck out there for hours, so I agreed with her but sent two warriors along for protection. I would move them out but not send the RV to the hotel until the others arrived.

I'd been in there for ten minutes when the officer stuck her head in and got my attention. "Sir, there are people here who wish to speak to you," she said. She looked a little guilty. "I had to report what you said about Mr. Todd."

Ch. 83

Chase Nygaard's POV

Sault Area Hospital

I was escorted by another officer upstairs to a conference room. In the room sat the Sault Ste. Marie Police Chief, the Ontario Provincial Police Northeast Sector Superintendent, the RCMP Ontario Division Chief Superintendent, the Hospital Chief of Staff, and representatives from Diplomatic Services and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. "Thank you for seeing us," the Police Chief said.

"First off, thank you all for recovering Maritza safely and capturing her kidnapper."

"You are welcome," the OPP Superintendent replied. "That brings us to the problems."

"What problems?"

"The kidnapper will arrive here in a few minutes. The doctors will treat a gunshot wound, plus other injuries he sustained. I wanted your assurances that you and your people will not make any attempts on his life while he is here."

"I can't promise we won't yell at him, but I've given the order. None of my people will harm him," I said evenly. "They don't have to."

"What do you mean," the Police Chief said. "You told my officer he was a dead man, and none of us could stop it."

"How much do you know about werecats," I asked.

"Very little, just what I've read in the papers," he said.

"Maria reported that Richard Todd had two puncture wounds in his right ankle from where Maritza bit him during the kidnapping," I said. A few of the people around the table had wide eyes as they were figuring it out. "The bite of a werejaguar in cat form, just like a werewolf bite, is fatal to humans without extraordinary measures. He will get a fever tonight; you can try and hold it down, but it won't work. He'll die sometime tomorrow, driven mad and suffering with every labored breath. Any interrogations you will have to do tonight while he's still lucid. He deserves every moment of the agony coming to him."

They didn't like this answer, especially the Chief of Staff, who started getting up from his chair. "You have to do something! You're a DOCTOR, dammit! You took an oath!"

I stared at him until he sat down again. "I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire. You can use ice baths for the fever, but they will eventually stop working. There is simply nothing I can do to stop his death."

One of the intelligence guys thought he knew better. "That's not true; you saved that deputy who got bitten in Duluth. You have a responsibility to do the same here. You don't want that poor child to be a murderer."

I rolled my eyes. "Maritza acted to protect her friends; killing a man in the act of kidnapping is far from MURDER. I'm going to buy her all the ice cream she wants as soon as we're together because she was a brave little warrior today."

"This isn't a joke," the Chief of Police said.

"I said I couldn't help. Look, I need two things to save someone who a werecat has bitten. First, I need four to six units of werecat blood. There are exactly two werecats left in the world; one is a traumatized toddler too young to donate, the other an injured teen female. It is unlawful to compel Maria to give blood, and there is no way in HELL she will do anything to help the man who took her daughter."

I didn't convince the doctor yet. "Couldn't you use werewolf blood?"

"It doesn't work; we tried with the President's husband. Although we are both shifters, our blood isn't interchangeable for humans. It's more than just type and match," I said. "The other thing we need is his mate. We think only the mate bond can pull the new cat through the change. It could be any of the billions of people in the world, but most likely, he doesn't have one."

The Chief of Staff was running numbers in his head. "It wouldn't be a werewolf?"

"There are fewer than fifty single female werewolves in the entire world. How many of them would be willing to drop everything and fly here to see if their mate is a traitor and a child kidnapper? They would be better off to let Todd die and wait for Luna to assign them a second chance mate." I let that sink in. "Richard Todd will die, and none of my people will do anything to hasten his demise."