Breaking Phoenix (Blackjacks Book 1), page 17
Court watches in confused silence as the Blackjacks drop to their knees and join Bastian on the forest floor.
'What the fuck you looking at?' Davyn asks gruffly. 'Dig.'
With no idea what he's digging for, Court decides it's better to join in than piss off Davyn. He pulls handfuls of soil and leaf debris away but doesn't get far. His fingers hit stone. He tries to dig around it but it's a lot bigger than a rock. It's a wall or structure of some sort. 'I think I got something.'
Bastian crouches down behind him and wipes more dirt aside. 'It should do. Get out of the way.' Court moves aside as Bastian pulls off his gloves. He places his tattooed hands on the stone palm down and closes his eyes. Court knows better than to ask what he's doing.
Bastian opens his eyes and smiles at Court. His chocolate brown eyes are glowing, the irises swirling with browns, golds and greens.
'What is it?' Court asks.
'A door. About twenty metres behind Nix. It's locked but nothing I can't handle.'
'I'm afraid to ask.'
Bastian grins as he gets up and brushes off his leathers. 'I have a heightened sense of touch. I can read a structure or an item by touching it.'
Court follows the team in the direction Bastian pointed to. 'Read?'
'It's hard to explain. Take a building for example. By touching it I can tell how large it is, get a plan of the layout in my head. I can even tell if there is movement inside, like someone walking around.'
'That's incredible. Must come in useful in this line of work.'
Bastian nods. 'You could say that. You see, I can also see a map of locks and security panels I touch.'
Shep slaps Bastian on the shoulder as they catch up with the others. 'Bastian is one of the best thieves you'll ever meet.'
Bastian sneers at Shep. 'Was, my friend. Was. I'm retired,' he explains to Court. 'But yes, I made a living from it.' He shrugs and grins again. 'All in the past now.'
'Found it,' Davyn says, cutting off the string of questions Court wanted to ask. He would never have guessed Bastian's past was anything like that. He glances at the heavy tattoos on his hands and realises there's quite a bit he doesn't know about Bastian. Hell, he barely knows anything about any of the Blackjacks. He did though. He worked with them for over a decade. He must have known what Bastian did before the Blackjacks.
They wipe the debris away from a steel door embedded in the ground behind a rocky outcropping. Court stares at the door then stumbles back as an image hits him like a physical blow to his gut. He's been here before. He knows he's been here. 'There's a set of metal stairs.'
Nix appears in front of him. 'Close your eyes. Tell me what you see.'
Court tries to focus on the stairs, but the memory is shoved from his head by a ball of pain. 'Fuck!'
Nix grips his arms firmly and squeezes. 'Hey. Look at me.'
He breathes past the pain and focuses on her face. The pain eases, taking the memory with it. 'I could be leading you all into a trap.'
She smiles and let's go of his arm. 'How about we go find out?'
Bastian waits for Nix to nod at him before he places his palm over the control panel. He closes his eyes and frowns. A few seconds later he nods. 'Got it.' He taps in the sequence and the locks disengage. The hatch slides to the side showing metal stairs.
Fallon grimaces as she leans over the edge. 'Air is stale. Doubt there's anyone down there.'
'It's empty,' Bastian confirms.
Nix moves to the edge of the stairs with Court. 'You can stay here.'
He shakes his head. 'Not a chance.'
'Thought you'd say that. Dav, take the lead with me. Shep and Fallon follow the others.' Court watches as she disappears down the stairs followed by Davyn. He said he's going, but that doesn't mean he wants to. He knows without a doubt he spent some time here. Willow and Bastian go next leaving Court standing at the top of the steps.
'You good, buddy?' Court forces a smile, but Shep isn't fooled. 'We've got your back.'
He adjusts his grip on his gun and steps down.
36
After a few steps Nix's enhanced night vision kicks in. They reach a fork in the tunnel and wait while Bastian does his trick. 'Left. It opens up a few metres ahead.'
'Still alone, Shep?' Nix asks.
'No vamps. We're good.'
They follow the corridor to a central room. Court stops at the entrance, clearly not keen on stepping inside the room. Twelve glass containment cells take up the far wall. Each one is damaged, either by time or intentionally. Banks of computer screens fill the left wall, but like the cells, they haven't been used for a while.
Bastian walks to the centre of the room and crouches down to place his palm on the stone floor. 'There's a smaller room back at the right fork, but it's empty. This seems to be the heart of whatever this place was.'
'Our boy spent some time here,' Shep says as he checks out the screens. 'Your scent is strongest on the far left cell.'
Court slowly approaches the cell Shep mentioned. Compared to the other eleven, the damage to his cell is severe. It looks like he shoved his fist through the screen. 'I broke out of here.'
Nix picks up a thick shackle from the floor of the cell. 'It looks like it was powered.'
He looks down at the scars around each wrist. 'It burnt if I pulled against it.'
Her throat dries at the thought of him secured in that glass container like a specimen in a jar. 'They must have electrified it so you couldn't break out.'
'So how did I get out?'
'Maybe there was a power outage,' Nix says. 'Maybe someone let you go. The important part is that you did get out.'
'I don't understand why they abandoned this place. I wasn't here alone so where is everyone else? Can't see them letting them go.'
Nix shrugs. 'We may never know. That doesn't mean we're not going to try to find out. Shep, do your thing on the system. Take anything that could be of use. Dav and Bas, check out the other room just in case. Willow and Fallon, head back outside. See if you can spot any other structures like this from the air. Keep to within a few miles.'
The teams head off and Shep disappears behind the bank of screens against the far wall. Nix examines Court as he stares at the cell that held him. She's trying so hard to keep her walls up, keep her feelings for him buried deep within, but after seeing this place she's having a hard time remaining emotionless.
Every time she looks at the cell, she pictures him in it. What the hell did they do to him and why? 'Is anything else coming to you?'
He shakes his head. 'Fletch is right. It's like there's a block or wall up. Someone doesn't want me remembering what happened. Kind of on board with that after seeing this place.'
Nix stops her hand from taking his, stuffing it in her pocket instead. 'Anything Shep?'
'Nope,' he mutters from behind the screens. He gets up and dusts himself off. 'Except for a few spiders that I'd rather kept to themselves there's nothing. Hang on.' He ducks down and reappears with a cigarette butt in his gloved hand. 'What do we have here? Don't they know smoking is a nasty habit?'
Nix smiles and fishes in her pocket for a tissue. Shep wraps the butt in the tissue and hands it back to her. 'Nasty habit, but hopefully it'll give us some answers.'
'You really think you can find a match from that?'
Shep yelps and swipes frantically at his hair. 'Fucking spider.' He pulls out his gun and directs it at the creature scuttling to the safety of the shadows. 'Do that again and I'll put a bullet in your hairy ass.'
'What the fuck are you doing?' Bas asks as he comes back with Davyn.
'Spider. Big ass spider.' He holds his hands out to show him how big it was. Bas frowns at him, clearly not believing for one minute that the spider in question was the size of a small dog. 'Okay, so it may have been a smidge smaller than that, but it was hairy. Anyway, Ethan and his team have access to a substantial database. There's a chance he'll find a match to the owner of the butt on his system.'
'Did you guys find anything?'
Davyn shakes his head. 'Storage room. Nothing in it.'
'Time to go,' Nix says.
'We gonna blow this place?'
She shakes her head. 'Love to, Shep, but I'd prefer we didn't announce we found this place. Bas, I'll leave you to lock up again.'
Shep stops in the doorway, his usual grin gone from his face. 'We got company heading our way.'
37
Court pulls out his gun again as he steps out of the tunnel. Davyn and Bastian are standing to either side of the entrance, scanning the sky for their unwanted company. He can't see anything yet, but Shep's abilities must be accurate. The team had moved out without question.
Shep joins them and closes his eyes for a second. 'West, Boss. Coming from there,' he says, pointing up.
Nix shakes her head and gestures back towards the farm. 'Just what we need. True Order fighters dropping in on us. Everyone move.'
Fallon, Nix, and Willow take to the air while the rest of them cover as much ground as possible. The farm appears on the horizon just as Nix shouts that the Order have arrived. Before any of them can react, Fallon crashes to the ground in front of Court with a large vampire on her back.
Shep, Davyn, and Bastian split up as Court moves towards Fallon. She's on her back on the ground fighting the Order male in a tangle of limbs. Court doesn't get a chance to check on her. Another male lands in front of him, knocking the gun from his hand. The Order fighter smiles widely. 'You're him.'
'Not sure who 'him' is, but let me guess. You want me to come with you?'
'Yes.'
Court shakes his head. 'I’m good, thanks.' He ducks behind the vampire, and drives his knife into the guy's wing, burying it deep in the main bone. His opponent snarls in pain and lashes out with his other wing. Court smiles to himself. Shep was right. Keep the fuckers on the ground and you've got the advantage. Court kicks out, striking him in the chest. The injured fighter crashes back against a tree. Before he can convince his body to move, Court rams his knife in his heart. He pulls it free, locates his gun, and hurries over to help Fallon.
She's got the fighter in a headlock, but his wings are doing their best to decapitate her. Court lowers his gun as Fallon breaks the guy's neck and dumps his body on the ground.
She wipes her auburn hair away from her forehead and looks around. 'Where's everyone else?'
'Back at the farm hopefully. You okay?'
She nods. 'Never better. Nothing like taking out a few Order fighters to brighten up a girl's day.'
They follow the others, Fallon keeping to the ground thanks to a damaged wing. They pick up the pace when they hear gunshots up ahead.
Court growls and raises his gun as a tall vampire steps out from behind a tree. The man's eyes lock with his as the vampire's green wings spread wide behind him. He smiles as he raises his weapon to point it at Court.
'You're not leaving here.'
Court's jaw pops as he clenches it tightly. 'That's not your decision I'm afraid.'
He walks around Court, slowly turning him so his back is up against a tree. 'There's nowhere for you to go. You come with us and I promise I won't hurt your mongrel friends too much.'
Court is vaguely aware of Fallon and the others engaging with different True Order fighters, but at the moment Court's attention is on the brute in front of him. He's familiar. Court doesn't know how, but he remembers this vampire.
The green-winged guy rushes Court. The first punch glances off Court's chin. The second punch doubles him over and expels the air from his struggling lungs. He drops to his knees and looks up at the large vampire in front of him. He tries to get a clear lock on his eyes, but this guy is no fool. He laughs and backhands Court. 'You think you can pull that eye trick on me?'
He smiles down at Court. He has every reason to smile. He's one strong fucker.
Court pushes the pain to the back of his mind. He ignores the protests from his body and stands up straight. His eyes glow with rage as he stares at his opponent. In those brief few seconds, Court sees everything he needs to. Surprise. His opponent didn't expect him to get up again. The vampire tries to stand tall, but it's too late to redeem himself. Court has him where he wants him.
'You're... in... my... way!' Court takes a lurching step forward with each word, striking the green-winged vampire wherever he can hit. On the fourth step, he swings his fist at the man's face.
The blow strikes home sending him crashing back against a tree. Court wants to finish the job, but Fallon is in trouble. One of the Order's fighters has her pinned to the ground. He races over to her and pulls the guy away then helps her up. The fighter pushes to his feet and draws his gun then fires. Before Court and Fallon can react, an imposing figure leaps in front of the gun.
Davyn drops to the ground followed a few seconds later by the fighter when Nix appears from behind him and fires. Court hurries over to Davyn. Blood is darkening his t-shirt where the bullet entered his upper chest.
Court keeps pressure on the wound as Nix hurries over to the others. She comes back over and crouches down beside them. 'Shep and Willow are going back for the cars. The Order has fled. We took out all but one of their fighters.'
'The green-winged one. He's...' Court looks around. There's no sign of him. 'I thought I knocked him out.'
She shakes her head. 'He's gone.' She kneels down beside Davyn. 'You okay?'
Dav nods, but he's losing blood fast. 'Everyone okay?'
'Bas was hit too. Shep and Willow were taking him back to the cars when you were hit. Fallon?'
'I'm okay, Boss. One of them got a lucky hit on my wing. Knife wound. Dav saved me and Court by launching himself in front of the fucking bullet. Idiot! Why the hell did you do that?’
‘I’m regretting it,’ he replies as he presses his hand to the wound.
Court takes the field kit from Nix and tears the wrapping off the thick bandage. He curses as Davyn falls back, hitting the ground with a thump. Fallon scrambles over to them, the knife wound in her wing still oozing blood.
'You didn't feed again, did you.'
Davyn glares at her, but doesn't bother replying as she pulls down the front of his t-shirt. Court presses the bandage over the bullet wound and Davyn curses in pain.
'I've got him,' Court says to Nix. 'You fly back and grab one of the cars. There's no way he can walk like this.'
She nods and takes to the air, disappearing above the trees. He takes another bandage from Fallon and tapes it in place. 'I can't stop the bleeding.
'He's just lost consciousness,' Fallon says as she checks for a pulse. 'Fuck. It's weak. Bastard needs to feed more often. That's why the wound is still bleeding. He's going to get himself killed if he keeps this up.' She unzips a pocket in her jacket and takes out a transfusion kit. 'Turn his head to the side.'
'Are you sure you're okay to do this?'
'No way we're going to test your blood on him.' She attaches a needle to both ends of the tube, slides one needle into her arm and the other into Davyn's neck. 'That should give him a boost.' She grunts in pain as her deep rust-coloured wings slowly retreat inside her.
'Do you not need to treat the wound first?'
'A few hours in my body is better than anything Fletch can do for them. Feels like there's a damn knife in my shoulder though. Fucking Order bastard.' She leans against a tree and watches her blood travelling down the tube to Davyn. 'We did figure out something though.'
'What?' Court asks as he checks Davyn's pulse. It's not great but at least it's still there. Fallon's blood must be helping him.
'We're on to something. Something they don't want us knowing about.'
Court nods but doesn't feel encouraged in the slightest. Bastian, Davyn, and Fallon were injured trying to figure out what happened to him. If this is the result of prying in whatever is going on, maybe they'll be best to leave well enough alone.
38
As soon as Fletch comes back to his examination room Thea knows something is wrong. Her thoughts instantly go to Court. He went out with the others a few hours ago and she hasn't heard from him since. Not that he would contact her anyway. She hadn't spoken to him yet. He probably still thinks she's angry with him.
'What is it?'
'Can you grab my bag from the cupboard to your left. I just got a call from Willow. They were attacked. Fallon, Davyn, and Bastian are injured.'
Thea freezes for a second at his words, then jolts into action. She grabs his bag and follows him out of the room and along the corridor to the garage. She stands beside Fletch and stares at the ramp leading to the darkness beyond. She wants to ask Fletch for more information, but a part of her doesn't want to know. If Fallon rang him does that mean Davyn is unconscious?
Time crawls as they wait to see what's about to arrive. It's only been a few minutes, but it feels so much longer. The breath she was holding releases a little when headlights appear further along the tunnel gradually growing in intensity as they near. The roar of an engine echoes down the tunnel and eventually Davyn's car bursts out of the darkness and screeches to a stop a few feet from Fletch and Thea.
Fallon climbs out of the driver's seat and pulls open the back door. Fletch gestures for Thea to bring his bag around as he leans inside. 'What happened?'
'Fucking macho idiot put himself in front of a bullet meant for me. It's in his chest but there's no exit wound. He lost consciousness pretty fast. Must not have fed recently. I had to give him blood. His pulse was all over the place.'
'Are you okay?'
'Knife wound to my wing. Managed to get it back inside so it's not too bad. Should heal in me but I'll check it later. The others are on their way back with Bas. There were still a few Order fighters hanging around, so we split up. Shep and Court are trying to lead them away. Willow and Nix are a few minutes behind with Bas.'
'Okay. We're in for a busy night. And I will be checking your wing once Dav and Bas are dealt with. Thea, bring the gurney over.' Thea spots it against the side wall and quickly wheels it over to the car. 'Okay, sis, get him out.' Fletch stands aside as Fallon drags Davyn onto the gurney. He helps arrange him on the trolley then sets about cutting his top open so he can check the wound.
