Louisville, Kentucky
Cole hung up and was immediately slapped on the shoulder from the seat behind him.
“What did he say?” Paige asked. “What happened? Where are they? Is Adderson still alive?”
They were driving in the car they’d taken from the Lariat Club. Cole was behind the wheel, Waggoner beside him, and Paige in the back. It was an uncharacteristic move for her to opt out of the driver’s seat, but that way she could keep an eye on Waggoner while checking over their weaponry. “Adderson and the IRD were deployed to Shreveport, Louisiana,” he told her. “It got pretty rough. Esteban showed up and turned most of the soldiers.”
“Didn’t they get a shot off?” Waggoner asked.
“Doesn’t matter,” Cole replied. “He’s powerful enough to turn a human without having to bite them. With Full Bloods being so fast, it’s hard to say if Esteban is the only one who can pull off that trick. From what we’ve seen, he can do it from anywhere within fifty to sixty yards. Usually goes for the heavy equipment first. Helicopters, large caliber mounted guns. Tanks.”
“They can take down tanks?” Waggoner asked.
“They turn the drivers. Adderson mentioned something about using remote controlled drones on loan from the Air Force, but they can’t come anywhere close to a Full Blood’s speed. It’s a joke.”
“So what happened in Louisiana?”
Cole gave them the short version as the scenery rolled past his window. Louisville, like any other city, was quiet during the day and quieter at night. There were still cars going about their business, but they moved swiftly and drivers gripped the steering wheel as if something would jump out at them at any moment. A few months ago that would have been excessively paranoid. Now it seemed about right.
“So you got some other shapeshifters to work with you?” Waggoner asked.
“Mongrels were against the Full Bloods way before any of this crap happened,” Paige said. “Frank signed on after Cole helped break him out of a prison, and he’s trying to get the rest of the Squams to join the cause.” Before Waggoner asked, she added, “Squamatosapiens are lizard people.”
“And the whole prison thing?”
“Long story. Right now, you just need to worry about getting back to your buddies before you’re gone for too long.”
Waggoner looked out the window, even though they’d driven several miles from the Vigilant base. “Some of the men I knew back in Oklahoma swore by these fellas, but now I’m not so sure about them.”
“Then leave.”
“And go where? I can handle myself and I’ve been practicing with the whole stick thing, but I can’t exactly run like a lot of these younger men. Sticking with a group seemed to be a good move for me. The men I really trusted back home were killed when Atoka was overrun, and now I find out the Vigilant may be backstabbing pricks.”
“Maybe not all of them,” Cole offered.
“Oh, that makes me feel a whole lot better.” Waggoner shifted in his seat. The closer the car got to Spring and Payne, the more nervous he became. “The only ones that haven’t given me reason to distrust them are you two. Mind if I tag along for a while?”
Paige watched him carefully from the backseat, as she had for most of the drive. Much to Cole’s surprise, she said, “We could get you out of town if you like, but I’m not talking about deputizing you.”
“Why not?”
“Yeah,” Cole said. “Why not? I mean, he’s already gotten this far. What’s the worst that could happen if he tries to screw us over or doesn’t work out? The world ends? Too late for that.”
“Nice,” she said. Looking at Waggoner, she finally slumped back into her seat, resigned. “Fine. He comes along for now, but I’m too tired to train anyone for a while. If he can’t take care of himself, we leave him wherever he drops.”
“He likes that idea just fine,” Waggoner said. “From what I heard, it ain’t too healthy to stay with you two for long anyhow.”
“You got that right,” Paige said while leaning forward to nudge Cole’s shoulder. “We also need to talk to someone who knows a lot more about the Torva’ox than we do. Someone who’s already used to working with it or at least storing it.”
“Someone who might have created the Jekhibar?”
“Yep. Someone other than the military or a bunch of radical Lancroft fanatics, who might be able to lend us a hand in fighting the Full Bloods. Someone, I might add, who owes us a few big favors.”
“You want to make the call or should I?”