Marcus Pelegrimas - The Breaking

“Well,” Cole said as he and Paige were escorted by Adderson and three soldiers carrying large caliber machine guns, “at least we don’t have to worry about news choppers getting too close.”

Dressed in simple khakis that could have been lifted from any Middle East conflict over the last couple of decades, Adderson displayed nothing but the IRD insignia and a colonel’s eagle pinned to his shirt. “You obviously haven’t been watching the news,” he said.

“No. We’ve been busy.”

“I’m sure you have, but it’s all out there. These creatures have taken over entire towns, which has made our jobs that much more difficult. What happened in Atoka is still under review. In the last twelve hours several Class Two shifters have been spotted throughout the country.”

“Half Breeds,” Paige said to Cole.

Grimacing as if her use of such common terminology hurt his ears, Adderson continued, “There have also been several reports of spontaneous transformations occurring in neighboring states.”

“Do we really have to go through all this official talk?” Cole asked. “You’re just adding syllables and wasting time.”

“You want me to cut down on the syllables? Fine. How’s this? FBI. Manhunt. Escaped prisoner. Oh, sorry. Was that last one too long for you?”

“Nope,” Cole replied. “Point taken. Continue.”

“You’re taking care of that escaped prisoner thing, right?” Paige asked.

Adderson nodded. “Already done. Just try to steer clear of Colorado for a while.”

They’d reached the center of the IRD barricades, which put them within eyeshot of a crude stone statue. Esteban still crouched on all fours and snarled at something roughly at Cole’s eye level. The Full Blood’s stone covering was a little dusty but mostly intact.

“We want to contract your services on a regular basis until this crisis is dealt with,” Adderson said to her.

Paige looked around at the uniformed soldiers. “Don’t you have enough bullets to throw at these things?”

“Bullets don’t help. I don’t need to tell you that. Since you and your associates are the only ones to have hurt these creatures, I’ve been authorized to make an offer. You’ll be compensated for your efforts, but trust me when I tell you we can’t afford to take no for an answer. Things have gone way past the point of people like you sneaking around and covering up vampire raids as gang fights, or werewolf sieges as wild dog attacks. We’ve already been covering those tracks and now our entire unit has been forced into action, so you might as well come along for the ride. It’s either that or get rolled over by the machine you see around you.”

Paige closed her eyes, unable to think back to simpler days when changing a license plate or laying low for a while was enough to shake unwanted attention from the authorities. “I’ll have to contact some of the others to see what they think about this.”

“You could always give us their information so the IRD could—”

“Or,” she cut in, “I could do it myself. Nice try, though.”

“I’ll give you time to think it over, but don’t take long. We’re launching an offensive within seventy-two hours, with or without your help. Between you and me, your help could save a lot of soldiers’ lives.”

“Or you could just stick to lying to the media and keeping the cameras away from us while we do our job.”

Adderson shook his head. “Too late for that. And before you tell me about how tough it is being a Skinner, just know that I’ve got an appointment with several highly ranked officials to try and convince them not to carpet-bomb areas that show signs of getting half this bad.”

“So there really have been Half Breeds sighted?”

“In six different states. There are unconfirmed reports of sightings escalating internationally as well. Canada, the Czech Republic, and Finland have all made reports that coincide with Class—” Recognizing the exasperated look on Paige’s face, Adderson crossed his arms and said, “—Half Breeds, and at least one Full Blood was spotted. That’s just the first wave of intelligence, with more coming. We need expert help. We’ve got resources you could never match, and it’s not like you people could deal with this problem on your own anyway. Shouldn’t be much to think about, but I’ll let you talk to your partner.”

“Where’s Rico?”

Adderson pointed to a tent that had been constructed near a portable toilet and said, “Right over there getting medical attention, not that he seems to need much. That’s a trick that could do my men a lot of good, you know.” When he didn’t get a response to that, he added, “Naturally this offer extends to him as well. He was a definite asset to us here. Take a few minutes and talk it over. You know where to find me.” He walked away and took his escort with him, leaving Paige and Cole mostly alone at the top of the hill.

She got to Cole’s side as quickly as she could and leaned in to whisper fiercely at him. “I don’t like this!”

“I hit that point when we were met at the Casa Bonita Club by G.I. Joe and a freaking tank,” Cole snapped as he ran his hand over Esteban’s petrified back. “So does that mean you told them about the nymphs as well?”

“No,” she said. “I just told them we were calling from a strip bar and to come pick us up. They’re already in this and would have been dragged in sooner or later anyway. This way, we’ve got some say over what goes on.”

“You really think so?” Cole scoffed.

Paige turned away from the pair of modified AH-1 Cobra helicopter gunships being tended by a crew and said if a low voice, “It’s not like we could just wash our hands of this and take a vacation in Finland.”

“At least they could have let us get something to eat while we were at that club.”

“Didn’t you take anything from that buffet in Sven’s Viking Lounge?”

“Is that what that strip bar was called?” Cole asked.

“I don’t know! I can’t read Norwegian or Swedish or whatever the hell was on the signs in that place. It was creepy enough that all those girls knew Vihtori on sight. So …what do you think about Adderson’s offer?”

“First things first. I want my coat back from Canon City’s lockup.”

“Sure,” Paige said. “Let’s push our luck with that. What will you say when they ask about the other prisoners that got away?”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.” Since she obviously wasn’t buying that, Cole added, “You could fire back by asking where to find Esteban.”

“What do you mean?” she asked while slapping the Full Blood statue. “He’s right here.”

“Right. Too bad it’s hollow.”

She cringed, glanced at the group of soldiers clustered around Adderson, and then peeled her hand away from the statue to touch her palms. Cole knew damn well that she wasn’t feeling any heat in her scars either. When she slapped the statue again, it was hard enough for the sound to reverberate beneath the stone surface. “Did they take him somewhere?”

Circling the statue, Cole found the scratches along Esteban’s midsection as well as the multiple smooth spots where the petrifying substance had been administered. “This is the real thing,” he said, placing his palm against the stone.

“Well you’re the expert,” she said in a low, insistent voice. “How did he get out? Is that even possible?”

Cole dug out his phone and tapped a few icons on the screen. “I don’t know, but Jessup may know.” He didn’t get an answer, so he called the next number on his list.

“MEG Branch 40, this is—”

Cutting him off with a hastily whispered identification number, Cole asked, “Where’s Jessup? Have you heard from him?”