Scott Sigler - Nocturnal - A Novel

Rex wasn’t going to be some pussy king, hiding in the safe tunnels while he sent his brothers and sisters out to fight. Doing things himself was important. He had to be part of this; he had to have a hand in bringing Savior to justice.

Sly was on the phone. He talked quietly, nodding at certain points. Rex waited patiently for the update.

Pierre just stared up at the building, his head turning slowly from side to side. Rex had learned two things about Pierre. First, he was head and shoulders above the others when it came to hunting. Pierre knew where to move, how to move, and he saw things that others missed. Second, he wasn’t that much fun to talk to. Pierre was a badass, but he was a dumb badass.

Sly slid the phone into a blanket pocket, then stared up at the building just as Pierre did.

“Well?” Rex said.

“Sir Voh and Fort said the Jessups’ house was empty,” Sly said. “Dragonbreath and Devil Dan got their target, they’re on their way back home. Bonehead and Sparky are waiting for the doctor girl to leave. Everyone else said their criminals are heading to the Mason Tunnel.”

Rex nodded. “Tell Bonehead and Sparky to wait another thirty minutes. It’s best if the criminals come to Chief Zou, but if the doctor-lady doesn’t leave, they need to get her. Tell them to bring her in alive if they can. If not, that’s the way it goes.”

“I’ll call them,” Sly said. “It was wise of you to leave Firstborn behind to watch the chief, my king.”

Firstborn had desperately wanted to come after Savior, but that wasn’t smart. Rex wasn’t ready to trust Firstborn. Not just yet. Besides — Firstborn had had decades to do the right thing, but he chose instead to stay hidden in the dirt. He didn’t deserve to be part of this.

A small, blanketed figure appeared on the building’s roof. The figure swung over the edge, dropped to a balcony, hopped from the balcony down to a window ledge, then vanished behind the dark trees as it fell to the ground. Moments later, the blanketed man appeared between the trees, walking slowly down the steep slope to join Rex and the others.

“My king,” Sucka said. “The roof is clear. I tested the access code and it worked.”

Chief Zou had done her job. “Good job, Sucka. Did you see Clauser and Chang?”

Sucka shook his head. “I looked off the roof, but didn’t see them. There are too many buildings — they could be in any one of them. Maybe they already left for the Mason Tunnel.”

“Maybe,” Rex said. “They should have been there by now. Missus Zou said she would take care of them if they didn’t show, but they could still be here.”

Pierre’s long tongue flicked up over his long nose. “Ith okay. If they’re here, I’ll kill them. Are you ready?”

Pierre knelt down on one knee. Rex needed to learn how to scale the buildings like the others, but that would come later. He crawled up onto Pierre’s warm, soft back.

Pierre stood. Suddenly, Rex was eight feet tall.

Rex pulled his blanket tight around his shoulders.

“It’s time for the bully to get what’s coming to him. Pierre, take me to the roof.”

Bryan Fights Sly, Rex, Pierre

Bryan stepped out of the elevator onto the mental health wing’s empty third floor. At 2:15 A.M. the hallway was empty.

He pressed the two-way button on his phone.

Bee-boop: “Pooks, you there?”

No answering tone came. What if Marie’s Children had come while he was at the car?

Bryan walked quickly down the hall. His hands drifted to the small of his back.

If they hurt Pookie, I swear I’ll gut them alive .

Bryan turned the corner and froze. Twenty feet away, in front of Erickson’s door, Pookie Chang lay facedown, hands cuffed behind his back. Standing over him with AR-15s in hand were Jeremy Ellis and Matt Hickman in full SWAT gear.

Jeremy raised the barrel of his assault rifle until it pointed halfway between him and Bryan. “Stay right there, Clauser,” he said. “Put your hands where I can see them.”

Bryan’s hands were behind his back, just a quick grab away from his guns. “Pooks, you okay?”

Pookie looked up. “I’m fine. Seems Chief Zou really wanted us at that crime scene.”

Hickman gave Pookie a light kick in the shoulder. “Shut up, Chang.”

Bryan’s anger swelled. “You kick him again and I’ll rip that foot off your body.”

Jeremy took a step to his right, moving to the other side of the hall to create distance between himself and Hickman. “Hands, Clauser.” Jeremy raised his barrel farther — now it pointed to Bryan’s feet. Could Bryan draw faster than Jeremy could flick the AR-15 up and shoot? No, no way.

Bryan moved his hands out to his sides.

“That’s good,” Jeremy said. “I hate to do this, but I’m under orders from the chief to arrest you on sight.”

What had happened? These guys weren’t even supposed to be here. “Arrest me for what?”

“She didn’t call me to get my opinion,” Jeremy said. “She said if you guys came back, to take you into custody. That’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Bryan evaluated his position. Looking down the hall, Jeremy stood on the left side, Hickman on the right. Pookie was on the floor on the right, just in front of the door to Erickson’s room. Hickman took two slow steps forward, increasing the space between himself and his partner. Bryan knew the maneuver. That was basic positioning, but it seemed so surreal — he did that to other people, people didn’t do that to him .

“Clauser, come on,” Jeremy said, “Make this easy and get on the ground. You know the drill.”

Bryan couldn’t let this happen. He had to get Pookie off the ground, get Hickman and Jeremy ready to fight whatever was coming. “Jeremy, listen to me. Zou’s turned bad. Just give me a chance to explain.”

Jeremy raised his weapon the rest of the way; the barrel pointed at Bryan’s chest. “Get on the ground, Clauser. Now! ”

“I can’t.”

Now Hickman took a half-step forward, weapon also aimed at Bryan’s chest. “Put your hands behind your head and get on your knees !”

This was the how the game worked: start out calm, polite, then raise your cop-voice volume until the perp gets the picture.

These fuckers wanted to threaten him? Threaten Pookie ? Bryan could rush them, draw and hurt them, kill them, he—

He shook his head. He couldn’t lose his temper, not now. “Guys, stop yelling. We—”

That scent, the one he’d smelled on the baby’s clothes, but weaker … he knew this smell exactly — it was the scent from Rex’s bedroom.

ba-da-bum-bummmm

Bryan stepped back. That warmth in his chest …

Oh shit, not now …

Four figures stepped into the hall behind Hickman and Ellis — four figures draped in blankets. In that split second, Bryan saw their faces and knew that his dreams, the monsters in the basement, Rex’s drawings, that all of it was real.

The snake-man (Sly) the dog-face ( Pierre ), a little guy with a giant hooked nose (the one Pookie saw on the roof ) all striding forward along with the tiny Rex Deprovdechuk.

“Behind you!” Bryan started toward Erickson’s door but hadn’t made it half a step before two bellowing cop voices roared at him.

“Get the fuck down!” Jeremy screamed at exactly the same time Hickman shouted, “Do not fucking move!”

Four blankets flared open. Four gun barrels rose.

Bryan reached for his weapons and ran for Erickson’s door, knowing full well in that horrid, frozen moment of time that he couldn’t do anything to save Ellis and Hickman.