To Protect and Serve Ch. 09

One of the scientists prepped an empty chamber, pressing buttons to cause the glass to lift up. Inside was a small concave stand. The other individual lifted the lid off the smaller container and reached her glove-protected hands into the thick liquid, pulling out . . . something oval.

'What the fuck?' Shamira thought. Whatever it was, it was quickly put onto the stand in the larger tube and the glass was lowered. Another few button presses and the tube began to fill with a liquid that was both chemical and magical in nature. Then the truck started up and began to turn. Shamira made a decision and, when it paused to let the warehouse doors open, she jumped back beneath it and let it carry her outside.

Banshee felt the weight of the car shift. She got out and, gun at the ready, popped the trunk. "You realize that you coming back out rather defeats the purpose of us trying to sneak in."

"I think I got the picture," Shamira said as she got out. "We need something with a bigger trunk. The spare tire is really not comfortable --"

"And now we return to the point," Banshee said irritably. "What did you see?" She listened as Shamira gave a detailed description of what she had seen. "What did you think it was?"

"An egg," Shamira muttered, her face showing her confusion. "It looked like a giant fucking egg."

Just then, they got a phone call from Henry telling them to meet up at rendezvous point. As a standing joke, they always met at a Waffle House somewhere, and this time was no exception. Banshee and Shamira hurried over, moaning when they realized they were the last to arrive. Somehow, every Waffle House had a couple of uncomfortable seats at every table, so that was where the latecomers got to sit. Each team gave a quick rundown of what they had uncovered. Henry and Reaper had been tracking down businesses owned by Lacroix and listening to the local rumor mill as much as they could.

The local lord had been neglecting some of his smaller enterprises for some time, and he rarely had his enforcers actually do anything to protect the general public. Sebastian and Valeska had been watching Lacroix's personal estate, noticing a relatively large number of guards for someone with the amount of territory that the vamp actually held under sway. Lacroix himself stayed holed up in his house, apparently sending his security chief Jonas to do the day to day operations.

Shamira finally got to tell what she had seen, which was met with skepticism and confusion. Henry figured it would be best to get Shane on the phone and talk to him. They called up the house and soon she was explaining everything again to a mini-conference of Shane, Clara, the Representative, and Lillian. There was some muttering in the background before Shamira interrupted.

"Clara, you said that you had a theory about this didn't you? Does this make sense to you?" She waited for a moment, picturing her lover thinking.

"Is there anyone around to hear this?"

"I'll turn the phone down, but there's no one else nearby."

"The geologist, the herpetologist, the areas that Lacroix is digging, and now this? I think . . . I think that was a petrified greater dragon egg."

"What?" Banshee said, leaning in and being very intense. "Why would anyone do something like that? There has not been a greater dragon since --"

"Since before the pyramids were ever built," the Representative added. "Only lesser dragons survived the Dragon Wars. Well, the lesser dragons and the spirit of Shadow Wing."

It was Sebastian who noticed Shamira visibly blanch. The woman really did not like being reminded of Shadow Wing and her potential role in the legacy of the last Moon Dragon. "Okay," he said, moving the conversation along, "Why would Lacroix be looking for old dragon eggs? There's no way they could still be viable, could they?"

"The few times that old eggs have been found, they were nothing more than rock or shells. But for Lacroix to have spent this much time and energy . . . how many tubes did you see?"

"A couple dozen," Shamira muttered. "About fifteen filled with that goo. And whatever that stuff was had some magic in it too, not just chemicals and crap. Damn, I should've tried to get samples."

"You might have tipped our hand a bit early had you done so," Shane said. "Though we will certainly want to investigate this further. The question remains, if he is attempting to hatch a dragon -- "

"We're left wondering why," Henry muttered.

"He wouldn't want to use it as a weapon would he?" Valeska asked. "I mean, he's completely unhinged and trying to take territory."

Shamira furrowed her eyebrows. "That doesn't follow though. From the sound of things, that would be WAY over the top. Once we go public, it wouldn't be quite as insane, though it still sounds like hunting mosquitoes with a bazooka. But that's a new idea, and he's obviously been up to this for a while. And masterplanning usually isn't a characteristic of drug addicts. BAD planning maybe, which this kind of is, but it's also kind of involved."

"Maybe he intended to go public with or without Tribunal approval? Or maybe he was just going to threaten Shane. Even one Greater Dragon would easily tip the balance of power."

"But with several, he could threaten the Tribunal itself," Sebastian whispered. Silence overtook all of them. Such an idea was unheard of, and revolutionary notions against the Tribunal were responded to with quick and generally painful death.

"Regardless, " the Representative continued, "I want you to obtain one of those eggs and have it brought back here for study. Any word on the morning star trade?"

"Not yet," Sebastian replied. "Lacroix never leaves his house."

"But Jonas does," Shamira almost whispered, and for a moment everyone stared at her. "What if we've been barking up the wrong tree? I mean, Jonas is the security chief, right? So any stray weres or magicals that come through report directly to him. He has to know what is going on, and maybe --"

"Maybe he's even behind it?" Henry leaned back. "It's worth looking into. Banshee, you and Shamira trail Jonas the next time he leaves the house. Sebastian and Valeska are going on an Easter-egg-from-hell hunt, and Reaper and I are going to start arranging for Shane's remote enforcers to get down here. I think it's time we turned the heat up under Lacroix."

"Agreed," Shane said solidly. "I'll have Renata start making arrangements to move people down there."

"Could we have Coramen warn her people?" Shamira asked. "If things are going to get hairy, they might want to be on their guard."

"Good thinking. She wanted to go home for a bit and explain her new living situation anyway. Now she can help bolster the colony's defenses as well."

"New living situation?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes. Coramen will be joining the household. She has the skills and the . . . well, skills to be one of us. Very talented woman, which I'm sure she will be happy to explain herself the next time she sees you all. We'll have to set up some new rules, but I think everyone will be happy with the arrangement."

"She's only four inches tall," Reaper muttered. "How . . . never mind. I figure we'll find out soon enough."

"Assuming we all live through this." Inwardly, Shamira was pleased. Like Reaper, she wasn't sure how Coramen was going to be an active sexual part of the house, but weirder things had happened. Many of them had happened to Shamira.

"Oh, Clyde Pritchard has been invited to participate in this hunt. He was more than happy to volunteer his people after his altercation with Lacroix, and he has great influence in the were community. And," Shane's voice became amused, "he said that Shamira might appreciate the help. What exactly did you do that's made him so interested in your approval?"

"I . . . he . . . it's none of your . . . okay, he wants to date my sister."

Everyone except Banshee started to snicker, and even the assassin's lips started to quirk.

"I see," Shane said after a moment of silence. "Does your sister --"

"He asked for permission to court her, that's all. It's still her call. And since when --"

Sebastian covered his friend's mouth with his hand before she could start yelling at the boss. "We'll be in touch." He grinned as Shamira glared at him while he turned off the phone. "You heard the man. Let's get to work."

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A few hours before dawn . . .

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"It's about fucking time," Shamira bitched. "I thought this guy was never going anywhere."

Banshee glared at her. "Yes, I am sure your time went by so much slower than mine, considering the hour long phone conversations with your sister and with Clara."

Shamira suppressed a grin. "Total agony."

"For one of us anyway." Banshee made a point of cleaning out her ear with one fingertip. "Let us give chase."

"Let us give chase," Shamira mimicked childishly. "Who talks like that?" She started up the car.

"I am beginning to think that I liked you better when you were not speaking to me."

Jonas headed northwest of Savannah, finally turning off to Dublin and seeking out one of the seedier areas of town. Jonas was driving alone, which meant that he was very secure or incredibly stupid. When he pulled into what appeared to be an abandoned garage, Shamira and Banshee could both briefly make out a number of police cruisers on the interior.

"Fuck!" Shamira hissed. "Just like the ones that pulled us over up north of Macon!"

"And the proverbial plot thickens," Banshee replied.

"We can tie Jonas to the kidnapping attempts, now we just need to tie the kidnapping to the morning star trade."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the garage. Shamira was suppressing a desire to go in with guns blazing, something she had never experienced as a living beat cop in midtown Atlanta. Her hand caressed the handle of her gun as if it were Clara's leg, smooth and hard and promising her great fun.

'You are one sick puppy,' she thought. Finally, the garage door opened again and cars came streaming out and began to separate into two groups. "Crap, now what?"

"There is Jonas's car," Banshee said. "He is our primary target."

"But the last time we saw those patrol cars out on the road, they were going to kidnap people. Us, to be more precise. We can't let them do that."

"Well what do you suggest? We only have one car, so we can't very well . . . Where do you think you're going?"

Shamira was climbing out of the car, the keys still in the ignition. "I can follow one group and report their locations and activities to the new guys coming down, and you can find out where the hell Jonas is off to."

Banshee's delicate features looked troubled. "I do not like the idea of splitting up while in hostile territory."

The younger vampire looked away anxiously. "Listen, this could be important. What if they're off to grab someone to take to a bleeding house?"

"It is too dangerous."

"Our jobs are dangerous. You kill people for a living. But MY job is to protect people."

Banshee sighed. "Stay out of sight, and you are only to report on their movements. No heroics." But even as she said it, Banshee realized that Shamira would do whatever she felt necessary. There was a hunger in her eyes and soul that was unquenchable . . . something that Shane did not fully understand. She would give so much of herself for other's pleasure, but this . . . this need to guard those who could not defend themselves . . . this was a part of her that she kept for herself. It made her difficult to work with, but it was what made her so special.

'No wonder Clara feels for her so,' she thought. Banshee knew what Shane would say or what Henry would say, but neither of them were here. "Be careful," she said at last as Shamira faded into the darkness of an alley and vanished into the shadow world that only she could traverse. Banshee immediately got on the phone with Henry. 'Please let me have done the right thing,' she thought.

Shamira was surprised how easy that Shadow Jumping had become for her. She reached her eyesight down the road, finding shadows and sliding through them, then watching where the caravan of patrol cars was going before getting in front of them again. In the enveloping darkness of the night, she did not seem to tire as quickly, and she began to play with her aspect, appearing on tree limbs, standing on top of building or even briefly on the top of a telephone pole. She grinned as she accomplished balancing acts that a circus performer would have balked at.

'Being a vamp is kinda cool,' she thought. She trailed the caravan until it reached an area she was a little familiar with. 'This is where we were attacked. Do they really have that many strays coming through this area?' She watched as about eight cars began to take up positions near a remote intersection. She snuck away and got Henry on the phone.

"Hey Henry," she whispered. "Listen, I don't know if Banshee --"

"Yeah, she called. What the fuck are you thinking?! You remember the whole point of pairing up is for protection, right?

"These guys are up to something!," she replied. "Listen, they're set up in a classic ambush pattern, and there's a lot of them."

"If there's a lot of them, then it makes it that much important that you get your ass back here right now. You're outnumbered by an unknown quantity."

"I've faced them before. Besides, don't we have more people on the way yet?"

"It's going to take time to get down there. Shamira, it's too dangerous -- "

"Henry, if I'm right, and they ARE here to catch some vamp or stray or faerie for the morning star trade, do you really want to be the one that let them walk into a trap?" Instantly, she could feel the chill emanating from the other end of the line.

" Don't you dare use that line with me," he growled. "Not now and not ever. I know a hell of a lot more about what this fight means than you do. I want the source, and that's back here in Savannah. Now, you WILL get your ass back here in the next three seconds or --"

Shamira didn't even wait until the end of the statement to express her outrage by hanging up on Henry. He wanted the big fish? 'So that's the way it is now? Screw the little guy while you go for the big prize?' Even as she thought it, she knew that she was not being fair to him, but she couldn't just walk away until she had negated this threat or confirmed that they weren't going to catch anyone this night.

Her phone started vibrating before she even got it into her pocket, but she chose to ignore it. She figured she'd probably just bought herself more time in one of Shane's cells, but she could live with that a lot more easily than knowing that some innocent creature was being bled to death when she could have prevented it.

Her phone stared vibrating again, so she checked it, figuring it was just Henry refusing to give up. 'Crap,' she thought. 'It's Shane. I guess I could just not answer it.' She mentally sighed and flipped it open.

" Have you completely taken leave of your senses?!" came Shane's angry voice before she could could say anything. "Are you still trying to get kicked out of the house? Every minute you spend ignoring Henry's order will be an hour in the cell. Your recklessness is putting the entire operation at risk."

"Risk? I'm just keeping an eye on the bad guys. I thought that's what we were supposed to be doing."

"You are supposed to be observing Lacroix, not chasing his lackeys across hellfire and creation. And you are most assuredly not supposed to be doing it alone. Banshee showed poor judgment letting you do this, so she'll be punished as well."

"Why don't you stop threatening us and let us do our job? Don't take it out on Banshee because you're pissed at me."

"The senior partner on every squad is responsible for his or her decision. Banshee admitted to Henry that she did nothing to discourage you, so she must be held accountable. Now jump back to Savannah or --"

"I can't," Shamira whispered. "Something's happening. One of the cruisers just turned their lights on." She stared through the dark woods. "Man, I think the backseats of the cars are spelled, because it's dark as hell out here but I can't see in."

"Shamira, this is incredibly dangerous. You shouldn't --"

"They're pulling over a bus . . . no, an RV. One of the other cars is creeping in behind it." Shamira didn't like the looks of this. RV to her said "family." She saw an officer talking to the driver of the RV and heard them talking. The driver sounded confused, then alarmed when the officer started shining a flashlight in his eyes. There was something wrong about that light . . . it reminded Shamira of the glow given off by those . . . "Detection devices," Shamira muttered. "He's making sure they're magical."

"What? Shamira talk to me!"

Shamira saw another two fake cops sneaking up on the RV. With no warning, they opened up the side door and charged inside, with all their comrades rushing to support. Then Shamira heard screams, and they chilled her to the bone.

"They're attacking them!" Shamira growled into the phone. "Dammit Shane, I heard kids!" She heard Shane screaming at her to wait for backup, but she was no longer listening. Her phone fell to the pine-needle covered turf as she hurried to join the battle, Shane's voice becoming nothing more than a distant murmur in the South Georgia wind.

She hurried through the woods, taking inventory of what was facing her. Two guys per car and six cars equaled twelve opponents. Two had gone into the RV now, and one was holding a gun at the head of the driver. He had to go and quickly. She looked out with Shadow Sight and saw the two remaining cars pulling up, cutting off both avenues of escape for the trapped family. One man was still in one of the original two vehicles, leveling a shotgun at the vehicle parked in front of it using the crook of the cruiser's open door as a brace. .

'Gotta take out the heavy lumber,' she thought. She saw the shadow underneath the car and jumped to, then rolled out the other side, standing up behind her quarry and breaking his with a quick turn of her hands. For a moment, she felt greatly disturbed by how easy that had been.

It was the second time in the last two months where she had broken someone's neck, and she was beginning to believe that become a vampire either was changing her more than her compatriots would admit or that she had been repressing more feelings than even she could comprehend. No more time to think about it.

"We got company!" shouted a voice from further down the road as two men clambered out their patrol cars. One was pulling a car out while the other held some kind of amulet. For some reason, the amulet made Shamira more nervous than the more traditional weapon. And when it shot a burst of flames out, she was just barely able to physically jump out of the way, hurdling the car and using it as cover.

Shamira heard screams coming from inside, and her mind started into overdrive. She was surrounded, and these guys could kill her. The ones in the RV would probably take hostages and . . . 'The RV!' she thought. She looked and her opportunity in the form of a tiny but dark bathroom towards the back of the vehicle. She rolled under the police car and then Shadow Jumped into the RV. She appeared in the bathroom and then put her ear to the door, listening intently to everything outside.

The fake cops were shouting, having just been alerted to an attacker that had mysteriously vanished. She smiled as she identified the rough locations of her enemies. Two up front now, and one back here. She heard the muffled screams of several occupants, and one set was getting nearer.