Sharkbait Down Under Ch. 31-40

"You? Why?"

"It's my mate who is missing; no offense, because I know Vicki loves you like she does her mother, but she is MINE."

"I have met Cyprian before, and I was part of previous negotiations," I countered.

"Yes, but I was part of the negotiations with Master Allesandro in Australia, the negotiation done at the behest of Master Cyprian to create a new model of cooperation. I still believe Master Allesandro was sincere, and that is why I believe Master Cyprian isn't involved. Logically, he has nothing to gain from open warfare with werewolves. I believe the Master will be shocked to hear our suspicions about Master Vespucci."

"And if he's involved?"

"If he is, it's better for me to kill him, Aunt Adrienne."

"It can't be better! Vicki needs you, Nicholas! You're young and have your whole lives ahead of you!"

"Back up a little and look at it from the outside, Luna. You aren't just Vicki's aunt; you're Luna of a Pack in the Midwest Region, subject to Council laws, and bound by the treaty between werewolves and vampires. Me? I'm a wild card. I'm not a member of any Council, I'm not signatory to any treaty, and I have no history with Master Cyprian. If things go bad, the Werewolf Council can write it off to a crazed mate who blamed Cyprian for Vicki's disappearance. You can recover from that short of all-out war. If YOU kill him, you pull them all in with you."

I sat down, thinking about what he said. He was right, dammit. "Can you do this?"

"I didn't fly all the way here to fuck spiders," Nicholas said. "If those bloodsuckers have Vicki, I'll find out. You're right; we've got nothing to go on and no idea where the girls are. If I can shake loose a lead, it's all worth it."

I stood up and looked in the eyes of the man my niece was mated with, and thanked Luna for giving her a good match. He was young, but he'd walk through Hell with a jerrycan of gasoline to rescue his mate. You had to respect that. "Together," I said. "I'll make the appointment, you go in, and I'll back you up." I held out my hand to him, and he shook it firmly.

"There is no way I'm letting two Alphas go to New Orleans without backup," Alpha Steven said.

"We need people who can handle a sword," I said. "We won't be able to get enough wolves in the building to take them down that way."

"Hammer will go," Nicholas said. "He loves those girls, and he's got more combat experience than anyone."

"I'll go as well," Brent said. "Ever since Vicki started dealing with the Vamps, Alpha Leo has had our warriors training with swords and machetes."

I looked around the room; my solo tour was now a small band, but I understood the reasoning.

We bought the plane tickets, and thirty minutes later, the four of us were on the way to the airport. "When are you going to tell Cyprian we are coming," Nicholas asked.

"We're not. You're going to show up with an introductory letter from me. We'll be a block or two away," I said.

"How are you going to get in there? I heard you talk about the defenses at the vampire compound," Brent said.

"That's my problem," Hammer said. "I know a few people, and I can get ahold of some things that aren't street-legal. I'm going to spend a little bit of Adrienne's cash when we get there."

I could just imagine what Hammer had in mind. I knew he joined the SEALs so he could blow shit up, and that hadn't gone away with time. We caught our afternoon flight, landing in New Orleans just after dinnertime. Our driver, the mate of a Pack Warrior in Mexico with us, had arrived an hour earlier and procured a rental Suburban. She also brought along gold coins and bearer bonds, the untraceable funds we'd need to purchase what we needed.

Using GPS, she drove us to a pier, stopping in front of the gate. "I have to take it from here," Hammer said. "Go pick up something for dinner, and be back here in an hour."

We found a seafood house and sat in the car, eating shrimp po'boys while waiting for the hour to be up. When we returned, Hammer was standing next to a few wooden cases and a bunch of bags. I rolled down my window. "Did you get everything on your Christmas list?"

"And then some," he said. Hammer and Brent quickly loaded the gear in the back, and we drove off. Hammer spotted a shut-down gas station and had her pull us around behind it. We all got out, and Hammer opened the door. "There will be metal detectors when you go in, meaning we can't use standard weapons. Add to it that guns will piss them off instead of killing them, and our options are limited. Nicholas, take off your shirt and pants."

He tossed them on the seat as he stripped down. Hammer pulled a machete from the case, held in a canvas scabbard. "Won't that show up on the metal detector?" Nicholas raised his eyebrow as he looked at the two-foot-long weapon.

"It's made of an advanced ceramic. Razor-sharp edge, not good if you hit with the flat of it." He used wide medical-style cloth tape to secure the scabbard to his back, where the handle would rest just below his shirt's collar. "Reach back and pull that out. I left the bottom loose, so it's more comfortable and easier to draw."

Nicholas pulled it out, the white ceramic gleaming in the dim light. "Good," he said. Getting it back in was more of a challenge. "If you pull it out, you'll either be dead, or you'll drop it before you leave. The cloth tape on the handle won't hold fingerprints." He quickly attached two smaller knives, one to his left forearm and one to his right calf. The blades on these were about ten inches long.

"Do I get the same?"

"Yes," Hammer said. I pulled my dress off, and he attached a shorter knife, more like a Gurkha blade, between my shoulder blades and under my bra strap. I had another knife hanging from a chain around my neck, the sheath between my breasts where I could pull down to draw the blade. The last knife I attached to my left thigh.

"What about you two," I asked as I pulled my dress back on.

He tossed Brent one of the bags. It only took them a few minutes for the two to dress in the matte-black combat armor with the helmets. Semi-automatic combat shotguns were last out. "Shouldn't you be using rifles," Nicholas asked.

"The shotguns do more damage in a short time," I replied. "It won't kill them, but it will slow them down until they can use the swords." The last item to come out of the bags was a pair of Katanas, which they put in the back seat on the floor. "What else did you buy?"

Hammer smiled. "Rockets, satchel charges, and thermite grenades. If we have to fight our way in, I'll make a new entrance."

Of course, he would. I shared all I knew about Master Pontalba's hideout; I hadn't seen much. We used a satellite view of the buildings on my tablet. I drew the hallways to Cyprian's office, the cameras, and the guard posts I'd seen as we drove towards Bourbon Street.

We stopped two blocks away, and I handed Nicholas the introductory letter. "If you can't get in, call me," I told him.

"I got this, Aunt Adrienne," he said. He stepped out of the SUV, adjusted his suit, and walked towards Supreme Vampire Pontalba's headquarters.

Ch. 38

Alpha Leo's POV

I had very little time to make my escape before someone would wonder why Alpha Stan wasn't responding, and a search would quickly find him. I had to get out.

The silver would prevent the link, but that wasn't enough. In the bar, I found some large cloth napkins. I used one to gag Stan, tied one around the knife wound in his thigh to stop the bleeding, and two more to bind his legs together. I saw keys hanging near the door; I grabbed the one for the 2010 Ford Mustang GT500 and pocketed that as well. I slipped out the office door, locking it behind me, then ducked into my room. I grabbed what I needed, putting them into my North Face winter jacket, and left the bag on the bed. I went back out to the hallway, trying to act like nothing was going on as I walked through the Pack House.

I only saw a few people, and I smiled at them as we passed. They bowed their heads respectfully and went on, which was good. I passed by the kitchen, where people were still cleaning up, and entered the large garage attached to the house. The building had thirty or so bays and a full-service area at the back. I pressed the remote car open, and the red Mustang's lights flashed from the second bay. Climbing in, I adjusted the seat then used the door opener. I started the car as the door was rising, driving out and closing it again as quickly as possible.

I was on edge as I drove out the access road towards the guard shack near the state highway. I had to slow down, but the guard waved me through without a second look. As I turned south, I let out a breath I'd been holding.

I used my phone to access the navigation program and set it for my next destination. I didn't know if I would make it from New Hampshire to the New York Adirondacks before someone found Stan. Then, I didn't know what he would do when he woke up. Best case, he wouldn't want anyone to know I got the best of him, and he'd keep it to the Pack. We both knew that in a fight between us, I'd win.

Worst case? He'd say I went feral and attacked him. He could pull in all his regional allies and the Council, hoping someone would kill me on sight.

With that in mind, I drove away as fast as I could. That meant just five to ten miles an hour above the speed limit because getting pulled over for speeding in a stolen car wouldn't be good either. I had to hope that Stan wouldn't involve human law enforcement, but he just might.

Staying to the main roads, I avoided crossing into any Pack lands on my way to the Lake Placid area. I was lucky that we were close to the Winter Solstice, as it was still pitch black when I made the turn onto the road leading to the Keene Valley Pack. I found a place to pull off the road, then hid my clothes in the woods before I shifted.

The sky had cleared, and the moon was still high enough to see my way through the trees. I ran past the NO TRESPASSING- NO HUNTING signs and then the border patrol trail. The scent was relatively fresh, so someone had been through recently. That was good; I might have a few hours before my incursion onto their land was noted.

Leland and Bonnie Carver based his North American Council chairmanship out of a small Pack office building in Keene Valley, and they built a large home in the hills a few miles from the Pack House. His eldest son ran the Pack, and like most previous Alphas, Leland stayed clear of his son's rule. I followed the creek until I saw his house, then made a break for the back of the house.

I stopped and shifted near the patio door, listening carefully for any hints of being spotted. When I was satisfied, I checked the sliding door leading to the breakfast area. The door was locked, which I expected, but the house wasn't alarmed. "Probably thought no one had the balls to break in," I said softly. Holding on to the bottom of the handle, I pulled up a half-dozen times before the lock stopped working, and I could slide the door open.

I grabbed a carving knife from the block on the kitchen counter and headed for the hallway I figured led to the master bedroom. I was almost there when the door opened, and Bonnie appeared in her nightgown. She screamed, and I reacted faster. Pulling her into my arms, I put the knife to her throat and pushed her back into the bedroom. Leland was out of bed, reaching in the drawer for a weapon. "Don't do it, and don't link anyone, or she's dead," I said. "I don't want any innocents to get hurt."

He was smart enough to take his hand out of the drawer without the gun that he wanted. "Put the knife down, Leo. Whatever your problem is, we can talk it through."

"It's a little too late for talk, Mr. Chairman. Back up against the wall." Bonnie was crying, and he didn't have a choice. I moved towards the bedside table, spotting the Colt 1911 pistol he'd tried to reach. Without warning, I dropped the knife and shoved Bonnie into his arms. While he caught her, I took the firearm out and covered them both. "If anyone interrupts us, I'll shoot your mate first. Then I'll kill you before l take as many of them as I can with me. I'm a mantled Alpha with nothing to lose, so that will be a lot. Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Leland said, but his wolf was itching to get out.

"Good. Now, let's go to your office, shall we?" I had the couple walk ahead of me down the hall to his private office. I kept the gun to Bonnie's head as I told Leland what to do. "You have silver cuffs?"

"In my drawer," he said.

"Take two pairs out, and nothing else." He did, and I turned his mate around so he could place the cuffs on her. With her disabled, I kept the gun on Leland as I set his mate in a chair in the corner. I had him cuff himself with his hands in front this time. "Startup your computer, and set up an emergency video conference with all North American Alphas."

"It's seven in the morning, East Coast time! It's not even four in the morning out west, Leo!"

I smacked him on the side of the head with the butt of the pistol, opening up a cut under his silver hair. "I'm aware of how the time zones work, Mr. Chairman. There is an emergency summons code. Use it."

He pulled up the program and sent the coded message. The alert set off alarms on Alpha phones and computers across North America, waking many of them up. The message he sent told them to get onto the videoconference; we watched as one after another came up on the screen. I'm pretty sure they were shocked to see Chairman Carver sitting in front of me as I held a pistol to his head.

It took about ten minutes to get everyone there before I told Leland to unmute himself. "Thank you for joining us," I told them. "I apologize for the wakeup, but I have urgent business with the Council. Five days ago, gunmen in Cancun kidnapped Alpha Vicki Lawrence and five of her friends while they were on location for their television show. A day later, we found the hideout they stayed at before the gang turned them over to the man paying for the abduction."

"We know about the dead gunmen; it was on the news," Leland said.

"Yes. What was NOT on the news was that a werewolf was the one who came to pick the girls up. I knew this man and considered him a friend. He died before I could talk to him, but I know why he was in the area and who he worked for." I moved the gun directly behind Leland's head. "Chairman Leland Carver sent Lawrence Fenwick to meet with Vicki Lawrence in Jamaica. His mission was to present Vicki with the Council's ultimatum to join the North American Council or else. Vicki refused to give her answer that day, as is her right as an independent Alpha."

"That proves NOTHING," Leland said. "Yes, I sent Lawrence down there to give her the information packet. That was all he did."

"Our investigators found Lawrence Fenwick's scent at the hideout in the Yucatan, including on the collars used to hold the girls. His was the ONLY scent that didn't belong there." I let that sink in. "Chairman Carver is behind their kidnapping, and he will pay the ultimate price for hurting my people. The rest of the Council is under notice. Resign your positions. Produce the girls alive and unharmed, and you will live. If you refuse to resign, or if I don't have them back by Christmas, I and my allies will kill every last one of you." Reaching forward, I ended the conference call.

Ch. 39

Luna Adrienne's POV

I left Hammer and Brent in the SUV and trailed behind Nicholas a half-block or so as he walked towards Master Pontalba's lair. I kept walking as he talked to the human guard, who got on the phone with someone else. I kept walking, glancing back to see him going in as I reached the corner.

I walked another two blocks, then turned and walked back the way I came. I didn't see anyone outside the second time I passed. I found an outdoor café closer to Bourbon Street and sat down to have a coffee. The waitress had just brought it when a man, a human I didn't know, asked if he could join me. "I'm old and married," I said dismissively.

"I'm young and familiar," he said as he took a seat anyway. It was a simple way of telling me he was a familiar, a willing human servant to his Vampire master. "Master Pontalba requests that you join Nicholas in a meeting with the other leaders present." My blood ran cold; had they already taken Nicholas out? I cursed myself for getting close enough; the vampires must have scented me and followed me here. I looked around for where they might be, figuring this man wasn't here alone.

"Nicholas is fine. Call him if you need reassurance. The two gentlemen in the black Suburban with license plate NA8=7VY two blocks away should come as well. You might want to have them change first, as that attire isn't suited to the office." He waved the waitress over. "We have to return to work earlier than expected, Miss. Could you put that coffee in a travel cup for the lady, and bring a cup for me as well?" She took care of our drinks while my new companion tossed a ten-dollar bill on the table. When the drinks returned, he stood and held out his hand for me. "Mr. Pontalba has been expecting you."

"I see that," I said. I tried to cover up how flustered I was; our efforts to use stealth to approach were laughable. Cyprian must be on high alert if he's monitoring streets blocks away. "I have to go speak to my friends about this."

"They are waiting for you. Just show up at the entrance when you are ready." He took his coffee and walked off, leaving me wondering what the hell just happened. I had a Pack link with Brent, so I filled him in on everything while I sat there and sipped on my coffee. "What should we do?"

"Call Nicholas, and see if he uses the distress codewords. Meanwhile, we're taking off our combat gear. We'll swing by and pick you up in a few minutes."

"Is that wise?"

"Alpha, if they want us dead, it won't take much to do it. Hell, one phone call to the police, and Hammer and I are never getting out of Federal prison. Reaching out to you like this is a good sign they aren't involved. If they want to talk, let's talk."

I pulled out my phone and called Nicholas. If he answered me with "Luna Volkov," it meant he was under duress. The phone only rang twice before he answered. "Hi, Aunt Adrienne. Did you get the invitation?"

"I did," I said. "It was a little surprising, but we're on our way."

"Good. Vicki's friend from Boston is here, and she's looking forward to seeing you again."

That would be Master Emily. "We'll be there in a few minutes." I hung up just before the SUV parked across the street. I took my coffee and walked across the street, getting into the backseat. I glanced back, seeing the black bags in the third-row seating area that contained their body armor. "He's not under duress," I said.

"Are we packing?"

"Knives and pistols. You're my bodyguards; they would expect that from you." Hammer nodded and reached into a bag at his feet. He strapped a combat knife to his left forearm and put a Glock in his waistband. Meanwhile, Brent had driven up to the entrance. "May as well pull in; they're expecting us." What I didn't say is I didn't like leaving our SUV with its weapons and explosives on a public street in this city.

Brent turned into the parking lot, stopping at the guard shack. "Adrienne Volkov to see Master Pontalba," Brent said.

"Park on the far side of the lot," the man answered. Brent waited for the gate to lift, then drove into the courtyard. He parked in the same place we'd parked when I was last here with Vicki. We waited a few seconds for Brent to arm up, then Hammer got out and came around to open my door. He stayed next to me as Brent followed behind us towards the door.

The large door opened to a familiar person. "Welcome to New Orleans," Master Emily said to me. "This way, please; we have much to talk about."