Blood & Thunder (17 page)

“Why you trying to drown me?” he grumbled, still half asleep.

“Because we’re going to be late, and I’m
never
late!” He took Dex’s toothbrush and shoved it at him. “Now brush your teeth. We’ll shower at work.”

“Coffee?” Dex asked, looking like he might pass out.

“You have an addiction,” Sloane said, grabbing his toothbrush. “We’ll get coffee on the way there, but you need to move your ass.”

Dex nodded and went about brushing his teeth. While he was doing that, Sloane managed to brush his teeth, take a piss, change, and grab Dex’s clothes. “To hell with this. You’re changing in the car.” As soon as Dex finished using the bathroom, Sloane snatched Dex’s backpack from the armchair and stuffed a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, socks, and Dex’s Chucks inside. He slung the backpack over his shoulder, grabbed Dex, practically carried him downstairs, swiped Dex’s keys from the bowl near the front door, and pushed Dex outside to lock up.

Dex stood yawning next to him. Either he wasn’t aware he was standing outside barefoot, in nothing but his boxer briefs and a T-shirt or he didn’t care. A little old lady walking her tiny dog gasped as she shuffled by. Dex waved at her, another yawn escaping him.

“Hi, Mrs. Bauman.”

“My God, how have you survived this long?” Sloane ushered Dex down the stairs toward Sloane’s Impala parked in front.

“Coffee.”

Sloane pressed his lips together to keep himself from responding. He shoved Dex in the car, thrust his backpack at him, ordered him to get dressed, then climbed behind the wheel. At this rate, after picking up some drive-through coffee and a breakfast sandwich, they’d have enough time to hit the showers and dress before heading to their morning briefing. He took a deep breath and pulled out into Barrow Street. Provided traffic wasn’t too bad, they could make it in under twenty minutes. They were okay. He hated rushing, but he hated being late even more. Dex changed in the seat beside him, albeit somewhat awkwardly, and they’d had a close call when Dex almost smacked Sloane in the face trying to get his jacket on.

Not long after, Sloane’s panic had eased, they’d had their coffee, and eaten, with Dex insisting on feeding Sloane his Tater Tots so Sloane wouldn’t have to take his eyes off the road. The whole thing was very couple like. Sloane had even let Dex tune into
Retro Radio,
laughing at his partner’s antics as Dex played air guitar and sang along to “My Sharona.” Dex made stupid sex puns to go with his lewd gestures, and Sloane went along with it. He’d never had this much fun driving to work.

Luck was on their side and they made it on schedule. Soon they were on their floor’s male locker room, showered, and getting dressed. Dex was in his baby-blue boxer briefs, and Sloane did his best to concentrate on tying his bootlaces and not his partner’s ass, which happened to be at eye level.

“Shit. I left my toiletry bag in the showers. Be right back.” Dex headed back to the shower as Agent Taylor was heading toward Sloane.

“Hey, Daley.”

“Hey, Taylor.” Dex gave the Therian agent a nod as he walked past him, and to Sloane’s surprise, Taylor’s eyes followed Dex. Sloane finished tying his boots and stood, rounding his shoulders.

“Damn. How do you work around that ass and not want to pound it?”

“Excuse me?” Sloane closed his locker, his glare pinned on the back of Taylor’s auburn head. Taylor turned to him with a leer.

“Come on, Sloane. From one Team Leader to another, I’m not even into Humans, but I’d tap that. And those lips? That mouth was made to have a dick in it.”

Sloane shoved Taylor up against the lockers. “Show some respect.”

“Hey, what the hell, man?” Taylor tried to move, but Sloane held him in place with an arm to his chest.

“Dex is my partner and my friend. I hear you talking shit about him to anyone, I see you trying to fuck with him, and you and me are going to have problems. Understood?” Taylor had a reputation for being a player and a certified asshole, not that Sloane cared who the hell Taylor fucked, but if the guy was getting any ideas about Dex, Sloane was going to put a stop to it right here and now. Taylor eyed him warily, as if he wasn’t sure if Sloane was kidding or not. Sloane was far from kidding. “I asked you if you understood.”

Taylor threw his hands up. “Yes! Fuck, man. I didn’t know you two were so close.”

“We don’t have to be close. Like I said, he’s my partner. You want to get laid, do it on your own time and away from my fucking team.”

“Can you believe Howell was using my shampoo? Dude doesn’t even have any….” Dex’s voice had Sloane moving away from Taylor. His partner looked from Sloane to Taylor and back. “Hair. Everything okay?”

Taylor grinned widely, his intense gaze on Sloane. “Everything’s copacetic, Agent Daley. See you on the field.”

“Sure.” Dex watched Taylor stroll off whistling to himself, before he turned to Sloane. “What was that about?”

“Just straightening something out. You gonna get dressed, or you plan on hanging out in your undies all day?”

Dex pulled his uniform out of his locker and gave him a wink. “Don’t want other dudes checking out my sweet ass?”

Despite his jokes, Sloane knew his partner was oblivious to the ogling he received from both his male and female coworkers. For all of the THIRDS’ rules on fraternizing, the place was incestuous. It wasn’t so much that their employer didn’t know agents were sleeping together, but as long as there was no evidence of it, they could pretend it wasn’t happening. “Come on. Cael should have something from Allan and the CDC registration office by now. I want to see—”

The panic alarm blared through the locker room, the emergency lights flashing. Something serious had gone down.

“Shit.” Dex finished tying his bootlaces, and they made a run for it, rushing through the bullpen and out into the hall toward the elevator. On the way down, Sloane fastened his earpiece and connected. It beeped once and he tapped to answer.

“What’s going on?”

Maddock’s deep voice answered somberly. “There’s been an explosion.”

“Where?”

There was a slight pause and for a moment, Sloane thought he’d been disconnected. “Sarge?”

“Sorry. At the Therian Youth Center on the corner of East Tenth Street and Avenue A, by Tompkins Square Park. I don’t know for certain, or how many, but there may be casualties. Suit up. We’re heading out.”

Sloane stood numb for a moment, before turning and slamming a fist into the stainless steel elevator wall. “
Fuck!
That piece of shit!”

“Hey, calm down.” Dex’s gentle words had Sloane taking a deep breath. His partner’s hand came to rest on his shoulder, and Sloane shook his head.

“Kids, Dex. He put a bomb in a kids’ center.” Sloane pressed his head against the wall, his hands curling into fists. No matter how much he’d seen, how long he’d been on the job, there was no preparing for something like this.

“Do we know if it was him?” Dex asked as the elevator pinged. Sloane stormed out toward the armory with Dex at his side.

“I know it is. I can feel it in my gut. There’s a special place in hell reserved for Isaac Pearce, and I’m going to be the one to put him there.”

“Hey.” Dex grabbed Sloane’s arm before they reached armory’s huge metal doors. When Sloane didn’t turn around, Dex stepped in front of him. “We all want this bastard as much as you do, and we’re going to get him, but I need to know you’re going to be able to face him and not lose your shit.”

Sloane wanted to snap at Dex that he didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. No one wanted to get his hands on Isaac Pearce the way Sloane did, but his partner was right. As much as he personally wanted to bury Isaac, he had a job to do. His badge weighed heavily on him, and with a grunt, he stormed into the armory to suit up. He had to keep a level head. Something told him he was going to need it.

As soon as the team geared up, they headed out to the BearCat where Maddock instructed Hobbs to take FDR Drive. Hobbs gave Maddock a curt nod and dashed around to the driver’s side, with Calvin joining him on the passenger side. They all climbed into the BearCat, the doors slamming behind them before they took their seats and buckled up. The BearCat’s engine roared to life, and they were soon weaving through traffic, sirens blazing and lights flashing, though their sirens weren’t the only ones that could be heard. Maddock tapped away on his tablet, most likely bringing up their target location.

“Cael, what can you tell me about the center?”

Cael followed Maddock’s lead, scrolling through the information Themis was providing him on his THIRDS issued tablet. “It’s a nonprofit organization providing emergency and transitional housing for Therian youth. Their funding comes from either direct donation via individuals, fundraising, or businesses, with some private grants. They also have a strong educational program, with over two dozen staff, from a couple of physicians and psychologists, to art directors and social workers.”

“Structure?”

“Five floors, including a rooftop court. We’re talking a hell of a lot of rooms. Recreation rooms, dormitories, swimming pool hall, classrooms, lunchroom….”

“That son of a bitch,” Ash growled, shaking his head. “A kids’ center. When I get my hands on that sick fuck, I’m gonna—”

“Take it easy, big guy. We know.” Cael gently patted Ash on his leg, and Sloane saw the gruff agent give Cael a sad smile. It was amazing how Cael was the only one who ever got through to Ash and didn’t come out of it verbally pummeled. Even Sloane would get a coarse reply or growl from Ash. Though right now, Sloane knew how Ash was feeling.

If this really was Isaac’s doing, no matter what rock he tried to crawl under, Sloane wouldn’t give up until he found him and made him pay.

H
E
COULD
do this.

Dex jumped down from the BearCat after his partner, turned the corner, and was stricken by the sight before him. The air was thick, a muddy gray, with debris, ash, and fragments of burning paper raining down like confetti, the sidewalk littered with crushed glass and branches from the once lush trees now standing crooked and splintered. Humans and Therians alike looked on in horror and confusion. Some huddled together, others helped those around them, some ran in a panic, fear etched on everyone’s dirt- or blood-smudged face.

Bodies were scattered all around, some moving, some still. Sloane appeared before him, his bright amber eyes behind his helmet’s visor filled with concern as he spoke, though Dex couldn’t hear a word, only see his lips moving, as if someone had pressed the “mute” button. A shake to the shoulder and the world around him exploded with noise and uproar, sirens wailing, car alarms blaring, kids shrieking, adults crying, shouting, utter chaos.

“Dex! Come on, partner, snap out of it!”

Dex nodded fervently. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

“Good.” Sloane turned, pulling Dex with him as he shouted over the noise into their earpieces. “Letty, Rosa, you know the drill, tag by priority, get the rest of Unit Alpha up here. Calvin, Hobbs, Ash, Cael, we’re going in.”

They rushed through the main entrance, its three colorful doors streaked with gray, past the clouds of dust and billowing smoke. Dex almost ran into Ash who’d stopped dead cold. Stepping around him, Dex gasped. “Oh my God.” Kids were everywhere, on the floor crying, screaming, some bloodied, some looking dazed, a few who weren’t moving, all scattered among chunks of stone, bits of glass, fallen segments of plaster, and ceiling, waiting for someone to tell them what to do or where to go.

“Shit.” Sloane grabbed Calvin and Cael. “Start getting these kids out of here.”

Maddock appeared with a dozen agents behind him. “I put out a call to the other divisions requesting assistance. Emergency services are already here and Beta Ambush is ready for their orders. Where do you want them?”

“Okay, I want one agent per floor along with my team, the rest down here and outside helping Rosa and Letty until the other squads arrive. I’ll take this floor, Ash you take the second. Dex, you and Hobbs evacuate the third and fourth floors, Beta Ambush, you’re on your own for the fifth floor and the court on the roof. Let’s get everyone out of here. I want updates as you get them and watch your step!”

They broke off, Dex running after Hobbs as they took the stairs two at a time while simultaneously checking to make sure it was safe. Exposed wires hung from the ceiling, but not low enough to reach them. The fallen ceiling panels snapped under their boots as they rushed through the fire door. Dex tried not to think about what they might find. From the looks of the place, the ground floor was in worse shape, which told him the explosion had originated there. Every time Dex thought about the man behind this, he had to quickly push it from his head to keep his anger in check. If he thought about the sick fuck who’d done this, he’d be no good to anyone. He had a job to do and terrified kids depending on them.

Kids ranging from young to teens huddled together in small groups or pairs, looking stricken, their dirty cheeks stained with trails from their tears. They were lost, and scared, and when they spotted Hobbs, they flooded over en masse. Hobbs was a huge Therian, a golden tabby tiger in his Therian form, but unlike Ash, Hobbs had a kind face and a tender smile. He knelt down as the kids all tried to talk to him or climb into his arms at once. He hugged them close to reassure them, whispering at them and doing his best to soothe them. Some of them eyed Dex warily, and he couldn’t blame them. They were in this center because they’d been shunned or mistreated by Humans, whether by their parents or other Humans. Hobbs must have said something, because they turned their tearful gazes toward him, uncertain but willing to take Hobbs’s word for it that Dex was one of the good guys.