Monstrous Intent, page 13
“Keep me updated.”
“Got it,” I say as I slip in and kiss his cheek before getting out. The scowl of surprise on his face is worth it as I strut up to the building feeling like I’m at peak happiness until I remember that the likelihood of me dying at the end of this is oddly high.
Once inside the building, I nod at the hunters like I’d usually do and call for the elevator. I don’t even get inside before Patrick comes jogging up.
“Lake, hold on!” he says, some bruising around his nose that I pretend like I had nothing to do with.
I stop as the elevator doors open and turn to him. “What’s up?”
“Have you seen Jameson or Roger?”
“No, I just got here. Why? Did something happen? They’re an item now, aren’t they? I called it!”
Patrick looks momentarily confused. “Um… no? Are they? Doesn’t Jameson have a wife? And he’s like ten or twenty years older than Roger, maybe more…”
“Oh… well, that’s boring. Then no, I didn’t see them.”
“Neither has anyone else. They haven’t answered calls and messages since Friday. I guess they tracked their phones and it’s showing both Roger’s and Jameson’s phones are here in the building. Sadly, we can’t pinpoint where, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
“So… they… left their phones and disappeared? Isn’t it weird they both did?” I ask.
“Right.”
“Huh… okay.”
“Can I search your lab?” he asks. “I’ve already searched Roger’s office, but none of us have clearance into Jameson’s so some people from the board are coming to get inside.”
“Yeah, of course,” I say.
Shit, shit, shit. Will the board have a keycard to the basement? If so, they could find Jameson’s phone that’s connected to this damn band around my wrist, and then what?
I slip into the elevator with Patrick a moment before I see someone pass through the front door, someone I never imagined I’d see here of all places. Panic clenches at my stomach as I try to step back to avoid looking at them when Patrick sticks his arm out, preventing the door from closing.
The door opens right back up as their eyes lock on to mine.
“We’re calling a meeting and everyone needs to be present,” the man says as I remain staring. “Yes, even you, Lake.”
And that’s when I kick Patrick in the ass hard enough he goes flying out of the elevator while I smash my finger against the close door button until it slides shut. I use Roger’s card that I’d borrowed and hit the button for B3 as I pull out my phone. It won’t work in the elevator so I wait until I’m down on the bottom floor to text Declan.
Me: Change of plans. Please keep the getaway car ready and running.
Declan: What’s happened?
Me: Oh, you know. Normal stuff. Monsters and hunters oh my!
Declan: This isn’t the time for joking.
As I step into the room, I wait for the smell of death to hit me, but there isn’t any. The room looks normal… too normal.
Rushing over to the cupboard, I pull it open, but Jameson’s body is gone. Does that mean his phone is gone too?
I can hear the elevator going back up, telling me that it won’t be long before I have company that I don’t want at all, so I have to hurry. I have to find his phone… but if the phone’s not here… is there a possibility I could shut this off using Roger’s computer? He’s the one who made it, after all, and I know that Jameson has used the computer to adjust settings in it before.
Rushing over to it, I shake the mouse before I’m hit with a password login. Quickly, I call Declan.
“What is happening?” He sounds urgent but I don’t have time to explain anything.
“Call Emma. You tell her to grab those shears and head down to ask Roger the password to his computer. NOW.”
“Okay.” He hangs up and I impatiently stare at the computer as I listen for the elevator to start making its descent.
Declan: 3915
Declan: What’s going on?
Damn, that woman’s good. That wasn’t even a minute.
Typing it in, I’m pleased to see it’s the correct number and pull up the program I’ve seen Jameson use again and again. There’s a device sitting next to the computer Jameson has had me place the band against for a more in-depth analysis when the phone reads that something is off, so I turn my wrist so it’s pressed against it. It makes it harder to use the keyboard, but I have to keep moving and can’t hesitate.
Pulling up the properties on it, I don’t see anything that allows me to shut it off or disconnect it. I come across the GPS part of it and quickly flip that off, but it’s not enough. I need to be able to shut it off completely—
The door swings open, and I turn around and look at the man who’s entered the room.
“Fancy seeing you here!” I say with a smile. “I was kind of hoping I wouldn’t see you again for a while.”
“Possibly because the last time you saw me, you tried cutting my head off,” he says.
I lean in a little, pleased to see the scar tissue across his throat. “That’s a beautifully clean cut!”
“Thanks,” he says sourly as he takes a step toward me.
I pull my arm away from the computer and quickly shut the thing down so he doesn’t have access to it. “Well… while I love seeing you, I love not seeing you even more, so I’ll be going.”
“Oh, little brother, where do you think you’re going to run to?” Basil asks.
I point up. “Out of here… out of this awkward conversation… just… out, I guess.”
He steps up into me, watching me closely. Basil is older than me and strong enough to hold his ground, but with me like this? He could tear my head off without much of a thought, and there’s little I can do about it.
“So… how have you been?” I ask. “Bad, hopefully?”
“Why’d you kill Jameson?” he asks.
“He shot me.”
He seems to think about that for a second. “While not ideal… I still prefer you dead over him.”
“Funnily enough, that’s how I feel about you,” I say. “Now I’m going to—”
Basil grabs my wrist and yanks me forward. “How pitiful that you thought you would be protected here. But instead, you led us to a wonderful opportunity to expand.”
I stare at him for a moment as this slowly, ever so slowly, starts to sink in. “You’re working with the board… they don’t realize what you are, do they?”
He grins at me. “Of course not. They have absolutely no idea that we’re using them. We’re like parasites, eating them from the inside out. By the time they realize what’s happening, it’ll be too late.”
“Fun, fun. I hope you guys have a good time. It was wonderful getting to catch up—”
“No matter how much I hate it, you’re still my brother. And Mona wants you.”
“Well, Mona can’t have me. Tell her I’m dead,” I say.
His hand around my wrist tightens until it’s nearly crushing. Pain spikes into me as I stare at him. He towers over me, but I’d rather be a tiny guy than a towering dick.
“This wasn’t a question, Lake,” he says as he drags me out into the hallway and gets into the elevator with my unwilling body. Honestly, I let him take me up because the closer I am to the door, the closer I am to escaping.
Once upstairs, he releases my wrist but the tension in his body alone tells me that he’s going to murder me if I don’t oblige. Grudgingly, I follow him into the meeting room where my worst nightmare stands.
“Dear god, you look hideously evil today, dear sister,” I say even though she looks pristine like always.
“I see you’re still absolutely dreadful,” Mona says. “You’ve caused quite the stir killing the human.”
“He shot me twice,” I say. “He’s a bit of a dick.”
“I don’t blame you. I nearly ate him the last time I saw him,” Mona says as she remains seated. “Lake, it’s time for you to return to my side.”
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ve retired,” I say with a smile. “I actually have decided I want to be a librarian. I will eat anyone who is loud.”
She continues to eerily stare at me, like she’s trying to comprehend what I’m saying. “Lake, I know you’ve had your fun freedom, but it’s time you returned.”
“And I’ve said no,” I say.
Basil is dead silent. Honestly, it’s probably hard for his small brain to realize that I’ve disobeyed our sister, but I’m done.
“You have one last chance, Lake. I will not force you. If you are not willing to come then I cannot trust you to stand by my side, but I hope you will come to your senses.”
“Thanks, you were always my favorite sister,” I say as I turn to open the door, but before I can, Basil puts his hand on it.
Mona’s voice comes from behind me. “I’m sorry, Lake. But this is the end of your story. I will miss you—”
Snatching up the knife I’d stolen from Declan, I slam it into Basil’s chest, trying to go for the heart. He howls out as he jerks back, stepping out of reach of a second swing.
“You stabbed me,” Basil says like I don’t already know this.
“You’re just so stabbable. I’m sorry. Now pretty please let me leave. You know I’m your favorite baby brother—”
“Can I kill him?” Basil asks.
“Just please don’t make a mess,” Mona says.
“Mona? Why? You were always my least favorite. You wouldn’t actually let me die, would you?” I ask.
She hesitates, not because she loves me but because she knows I’m quite useful to have on her side. “Fine. Basil, just detain him for now.”
I stab him just a wee bit again. “Bye, fuckers,” I say as I slip through the door into the lobby.
“Hunters! This man is a chimera. Detain him immediately,” Mona says as I look out into the lobby of hunters.
There’s a moment of confusion on their faces as they eye me. But Patrick is closest to me and grabs for my wrist. “Lake?” he asks. “Lake’s not—”
I jerk him forward hard and yank his gun out, pointing it at Basil and pulling the trigger. It does absolutely nothing as I realize I have no idea how to use it and chuck it at Basil. He smacks it out of the way with a look of rage, but he can’t shift right here or they’ll know what he is.
Deciding that my time here is done, I run down the steps and race out into the road where I grab the door handle of Declan’s running car only to find it locked.
“Unlock it! What are you doing?”
“I forgot it locked itself when running!” Declan says as he looks around for the unlock button. I look back at the building where a confused group of people are wandering out.
I punch my fist through the window, manually unlock it and let myself in.
“You didn’t need to break the damn window; I was getting there!” Declan yells as the engine roars and he takes off.
“Well, you weren’t unlocking it fast enough! Here’s your knife. I borrowed it.”
He takes his knife before wrinkling his nose. “Why’s it all bloody?”
“That’s how it looked when I got it.”
“No, no it didn’t.”
“Okay, I love the enthusiasm, but we’re royally fucked, okay? So please, faster speed right now before we die.”
“The traffic is so dense that I can only go so fast,” he says.
I glance in the rearview mirror, anxiously looking for what I know is about to come. “I know you’re saying that, but the oncoming traffic lane looks semi clear.”
He waves at the ten oncoming cars barreling toward us. “Does it?”
“I might have stabbed an extremely high-level chimera in the chest with your knife. I might have told the high-level chimera to fuck himself. And I might have just stabbed him again before coming out here. So yes, please, let’s try our hand at going a wee bit faster because there’s someone chasing us.”
He glances in the rearview mirror as the “someone chasing us” finally becomes visible enough he can see.
The chimera is the size of a large horse, doglike body and as black as the darkest night. The sun shimmers off his iridescent scales as it crushes cars beneath his weight to reach us. He has talons instead of claws that will shred a person with a swipe.
“Hell, Lake. What is that?”
“Doggy?”
“This isn’t the time for jokes!”
“Fine! You have so many rules.”
“Drive. I have a gun in the back.” He shoves me toward the steering wheel as he starts climbing into the back seat.
“I’ve never driven a ‘ve-he-cull’ before,” I admit as I look at all the flicky things and the steering wheel with its steering capabilities.
“Why are you saying it like that?” he asks.
“I don’t know, Declan. You refusing my love is stressing me out,” I say as I settle into the seat and press on one of the pedals. Apparently, the wrong one because I nearly send us through the windshield and Declan grunts as he slams against the back of my seat.
“Oh, my refusal to love a monster is stressing you out, not the, you know, monster chasing us.”
“Yeah, that’s just my big bro Basil.”
“WHAT?” The level at which he yells this is a bit uncalled for. He grabs a handful of my hair, which is not helpful at all while I’m mastering driving.
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
“Which part of this is FINE? That’s your literal brother?”
“Yes! His name is Basil. Really, it’ll be fine. He’s got shit stamina. Now the other one that’s chasing us, I’d be more worried about. That one is my cousin Sy. He’s like if Spiderman was a monster. I mean… look at the fucker leap.”
The eyes on Declan show me that he sees exactly what I’m talking about. Sy is lithe, unlike Basil. The only hair he has runs along the ridge of his neck and back, sticking up in an arch to make him look bigger, even though he’s one of the smallest in the group. He has a long, almost reptilian tail that he uses with fluidity to help him shift and turn with ease. And his clawed paws help him gain traction as he moves after us.
That’s when Declan shoves me out of the way and climbs back in the driver’s seat where I get to see just how fast the car can go.
“Get my gun from the trunk.”
“I realized earlier that I don’t know how to use a gun.”
“What use are you?” he asks.
“Shhh. I’m sexy and sweet,” I say as I pull out my phone and type in “How to use a gun.” I let a nice little tutorial play while I retrieve the weapon. “What if the gun looks nothing like the gun in the YouTube video? Oh shit! I forgot the safety! That’s what I was doing wrong. God, I’m an idiot.”
“Lake, I don’t know why you seem to be having the time of your life, but I need you to focus. I don’t want to die,” he says as he takes a sharp turn and I barely get my hand up in time to keep from smashing my head into the side of the door. “I can’t kill a level five alone. Let alone two level fives. What the hell? Are you a level five?”
“I’m a level A, baby,” I say as I climb back into the front seat and hand off the rifle. “Switch me. I think I’m a better driver than shot, alright? For Basil, the bigger one, I need you to hit his front left leg. He has an old injury there that makes it his weak point, okay?”
“Yeah.”
Declan seems to grudgingly let me take over the driving but unless he’s planning on doing both, he really needs to stop being so greedy.
“I even made that nice little hole for you to stick your gun out!” I say, rather proud of my planning.
“Or I could have rolled the window down,” he says as I steady the car. We’re at least getting out of the city now, making it easier to go in a straight line. Sadly, it also makes it easier for the chimeras who have gained some speed while we were stuck in traffic.
“Don’t miss the first shot. The moment he knows you’re aiming for that leg, he’s going to protect it,” I say.
“I won’t,” he says as he steadies the rifle.
I glance in the rearview mirror as I hear Declan take the shot. The shot is beautiful, and I can’t help but be glad I’ve never been on the other side of that barrel when dealing with this man as Basil’s leg is torn out from under him. He can’t catch himself at the high speed he’s going and flips, crashing hard into the road.
Sy doesn’t even hesitate, he races past his downed cousin, gaining speed no matter how fast I get the car going. He’s really made for this. This is what he does.
“Keep the vehicle steady,” Declan says.
“I am trying, but I am also very limited in my driving capabilities,” I remind him as he takes another shot, but Sy isn’t one to mess around with. Hand to hand, I’d rather go up against Sy than Basil. Basil knows how to fight and has nearly killed me once. But Sy knows how to outmaneuver just about anyone, and like this… like this, I’m not sure I can put enough distance between us.
“There’s no way,” Declan whispers. “It’s like he can read my movements.”
“Right? He’s good,” I say.
“This is very bad, Lake,” Declan says. “Please tell me you have some amazing idea in your head because he’s going to reach us in the next minute if we don’t do something.”
“He is… put your seat belt on.”
“Why?”
“Put it on,” I repeat.
“Hell, Lake. Do not stop this car.”
“If he’s going to catch us, he’s going to flip the car, which won’t kill me, but it’ll kill you in a second. We’re outmatched in a straight line, but he’s too big to move quickly on the ground, get me?”
Declan looks hesitant but gives me a nod. “Okay.”
“He’ll likely jump the car so shoot him in the stomach,” I say.
Declan nods and the moment Sy jumps to land on the car, I slam on the brakes. Sy can’t stop the movement midair and ends up going over as Declan shoots him. He’s twisting his body but unable to avoid the hits as Declan shoots him twice in the abdomen.
I throw open the car door and get out as Declan yells at me.
Sy turns to face me as I stand my ground, really hoping Sy doesn’t realize that I can’t shift.
