Gathering Storm (34 page)

She cracked the
one eye that could see. She tried to laugh, but it didn’t work out.
“Don’t look so worried. I’m not dead yet.”

“
Great Paddy knows, if you’re no’, ‘tis no’ for lack of
tryin’. We got to figure out a way to get you to the Whister on the
rugby field.”

“What was that
about a winch and pulley?”

“Elora”,
Ram
breathed, his face and voice
full of concern. He wasn’t in a mood for kidding around, “Where’s
Helm?”

“I left him
downstairs with Monq locked inside Fire Testing. Glen’s
guardian.”

Ram’s eyes
closed with relief and he drew in a big ragged breath. His family
was alive and, given the looks of Jefferson Unit, that was both
blessing and miracle. His brain did a reboot and started
functioning again. “Wheelchair.”

“
Hmmm.”

Some of the
trainees had gathered outside the Operations door. Ram looked up at
them. “We need a wheelchair from the clinic right now. ‘Tis the
only way to get her to the Whister.”

Two of
t
he boys ran off toward the
clinic.

“
Ram. You can’t
take me on the Whister.”

“
Why
no’?”

“The Equalizer is
about to
wear off. There’d be
too many questions about my physiology. The med staff here can take
care of me.”

“
Auntie?”
Elora
turned when she heard Rosie. When Rosie saw Elora’s face she
whimpered. “What can I do?”

Elora reached
out with her good hand to pat Rosie. “It’s not as bad as it looks,
precious. Where’s your mother?”

“
Home.”

“Could
you get her for me, please?”

“No. She’s
watching Helm.”
As Ram and Elora
looked at each other a silent communication passed between them.
“That’s the best news I’ve had all day.”

When Storm and
Kris reached the Whister, Elsbeth, and the doctor who
self-appointed himself to accompany them, got on board and helped
secure the stretcher to the gurney that was designed for just that
purpose.

The outside
lighting was good, but not good enough that it didn’t take
Storm a while to realize that Wakenmann
was sitting in the pilot’s seat, wearing a headset and looking
awfully young, but supremely capable. The second stretcher,
carrying Storm’s look alike, was likewise fastened to the second
gurney. It was a tight fit with two patients and three
medics.

Storm tapped Wakey on the
shoulder. “You know where you’re going?”

Wakey nodded.
Kris slid the panel door closed and ran around to get into the
co-pilot seat. Storm gave Wakey a good-to-go sign. In response, the
kid touched his head and lifted off.

Storm stood on
the rugby field and watched the Whister
’s lights speed toward Manhattan. He wished Sol was there
because he would know exactly how to take people to a civilian
hospital, shut down rumors before they got started, and put the
press in lockdown.

CHAPTER
25

When Storm
pushed through the Courtpark glass door
to reenter the building, he told one of the trainees to go find
Glen.

“
I know where he
is, sir. He’s working on trying to get the front entrance open,
sir.”

“
I see. Is Monq
helping?”

“I don’t think
so, sir.”

“Well, if not,
then go get Monq and tell him I said to get that door
open.”

“
Yes,
sir.”

The kid ran off,
delighted to be given a direct command by a legendary
hunter.

Deliverance got
side
tracked after sending Rosie
to see if they’d found the right Storm, which was not that unusual.
Litha had threatened him with a watch a few times, but he’d just
laughed and said, “Babe, I love you, but a clock attached to my
beautiful body? Not gonna happen.”

He encountered a
gr
oup of suburbanites on a
twenty-five year high school reunion trip to New York and was
invited back to their hotel. What was an incubus to do? The lovely
ladies had spent too much time reminiscing at Harry’s Bar and had
to look at key cards to remember the name of the hotel where they
were staying.

Only after the
demon was sure that everyone was thoroughly satisfied with his
services, did he remember he was late to pick up Angel and take him
to the vineyard for the night.

After Storm told
that kid to get Monq to help with the front door he started toward
Operations to check on Elora. He
hadn’t taken two steps when the demon popped in beside him and
slapped a fur lined handcuff on his wrist. Storm didn’t have enough
time to top off a proper fury about being startled before the demon
said, “Time to go.”

“
WAIT!”

“
What?”

“Unlock this
thing and have a look around.”

Deliverance
scanned the Hub
slowly, taking in the result of the mayhem. “Was there a
party?”

“
Take. This.
Off.”

Recognizing that
tone, t
he demon looked Storm
full in the face. “It’s you, isn’t it?”

Storm just
raised the cuff in front of his father-in-law’s face and stared
with a seething impatience that was barely under control.
Deliverance grinned and inserted the key as he said, “What a
relief. Litha’s been in a really bad mood while you’ve been
gone.”

Storm
said nothing, just walked away thinking
he would be reincarnated a hundred times before he forgave the
incubus for robbing him of seeing his child grow up.

During the time
it took to convince the demon to remove a purple fur lined
handcuff, which registered with Storm as familiar, Monq had the
front door open for business
,
only a minute or two before Kay returned from his trip to Houston
to commune with his wife.

Between the
reduction in residents and the late hour, he’d been expecting that
he wouldn’t see anyone
other
than the minimum security on duty until the next
morning.

It would
be
hard to say what was more
surprising initially, the fact that the Hub was full of people, or
the fact that the building looked like what it had been a half hour
earlier – a war zone.

Kay shoved some
rubble out of the way with his boot,
dropped his duffle at his feet and whistled as he looked
around. When Storm came striding toward him, he said, “What’d I
miss?”

“Everything but
the clean up. Good timing.”

“Looks like
you’ll be
off the hook for at
least a day. No workout tomorrow.”

“
I’m retired. I
work out when I want.”

It took a few
seconds for Kay to process that. When he did, he didn’t look at his
partner. He looked at his boots and said, “Storm?”

“Yeah. None
other
.”

Kay looked away
for a couple of seconds and wouldn’t meet Storm’s eyes. “Where’s
the other guy?”

“Wounded.
Fixable.
Fennimore’s bad though.
Couple of trainees flew them out of here on a Whister. Don’t ask. I
have no idea.”

“It’s a story.”
Glen had walked up just in time to hear that. “I made them learn
how to fly as a punishment. Couldn’t have worked out better if I’d
had Aelsong read our future. Not that she would have.” He stuck out
his hand to Storm. “Welcome back.”

Storm shook
Glen’s hand. “Yeah. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be
here when Sol sees this place. I can just hear it. ‘I go on
vacation once in thirty years and you destroy my unit!’ Where’s
Elora? Did Ram get here?”

“
Clinic. And
yes.”

“Okay. We’re
going to go check on them.” He motioned to Kay to indicate that
“we’re” meant the two of them.

“
That was my next
stop, too,” Glen said.

On the way to
the infirmary Storm stopped, frowned and looked around like he’d
lost something.

“
What’s wrong?”
Glen asked.

“
Where’s Z
Team?”

Glen’s
expression went blank. “Haven’t seen them.”

“
New priority. Let’s go find that kid with the microphone
and see if he knows.”

The door to the
intercom room was open and
a few
trainees, some still wearing helmets and Shieldo vests, were
chatting and joking with Spaz. Everything got very quiet when they
realized that the two famous knights and the acting Sovereign had
arrived on the scene..

Storm looked
them over. “Which one of you is The Voice of the Fray?” He couldn’t
have kept the sneering sarcasm out of his question if he’d wanted
to. And he didn’t.

Storm guessed right, that it was
the kid whose eyes had gotten the biggest. “You, right?”

Spaz nodded.
“Look. As much as everybody in the building might wish that you
were a mute, we
all
know you’re not. So speak
up.”

“Yes.
It’s, ah, me, sir,” he
squeaked.

“
Do you know
what’s happened to Z Team?”

“
Not
exactly.”

Storm was
reconsidering whether or not he was as patient as he had always
believed himself to be. “What
do
you know,
Spazmodoc?”

The other trainees giggled when
Storm called him that and Spaz turned pink.

“Animal House
came to get something from the lab. Z Team saw them and I guess
they thought they were
real
vampire. One of them
tried to use a stake, but it didn’t have much effect. Animal House
talked it over and took them away. I don’t know where. Wherever it
is, there aren’t cameras.”

Storm took in a big breath and let
it out. “You kids need to go to bed.”

“
Yes
sir.”

“
Leave the gear
and weapons in the armory.”

“
Yes
sir.”

“Glen, take a
phone and get outside the cellscram. When you have a
signal
, call Baka and ask him if
his vampire paid a visit to Jefferson Unit.”

“
Okay.”

“
We’ll be at the
infirmary. Come find us when you know something.”

Storm and Kay
swung through the clinic
doors
just in time to see Rosie arrive with a guy sporting a shock of
white bedhead, wearing paisley pajamas. She pointed toward Elora’s
room, indicating the passenger should go in.

Just after he opened the door they
heard Rammel boom. “WHAT THE FUCK!?!”

Storm, Kay and Rosie rushed in to
find Ram holding the newly arrived medic by the lapels of his funky
sleepwear. Storm and Kay moved so that they stood on either side of
him.

“
What’s the
trouble, Ram?” Storm asked.

Ram didn’t let go and didn’t look
away from the guy in his clutches. He practically spat, “Fae.”

Kay and Storm both jerked their
gaze to the guy who was holding onto Ram’s wrists and looking
worried. His messy white hair was covering the ears so they didn’t
think about it. They should have known he wasn’t human. Otherwise,
Rosie wouldn’t have been able to take him through the passes.

“
Rosie?” Ram
called.

“
Yes.” She was
right beside him.

“Where’d you get
this fairy bugger?”

“He’s a plastic
surgeon. We don’t have many working for The Order and Edinburgh
says he’s the best. We want the best for auntie, don’t
we?”

“Who in
Edinburgh said he’s the best? That quack who ‘delivered’ you?” Ram
sneered the word ‘delivered’.

“
No. The
Director.”

Ram’s hold
loosened. He was anything but happy, but Rosie was right. The most
important thing was for Elora to have the best care.

He look go of
the doc and turned to Rosie. “Okay. You did good.”

Storm and Kay
passed a look between them and breathed a share sigh of
relief.

It was
crowd
ed in Elora’s room with two
J.U. nurses, the clinic doc, Ram , Storm, Kay, Rosie and now Dr.
Funky P.J.s, who acted like he was expected to take
charge.

“
So what have we
got here?”

“We’re equipped
to take care of the shoulder, but we’re concerned about treatment
of the cheek bone.”

P.J.
s looked around the
room. “Everybody who doesn’t have a good reason to be in here, get
out.” Nobody moved. At all. “For cripes’ sake.”

Ram looked
around the room at the people present, then pinned the doc with a
glare. “Just do your job.”

Apparently the
man had grown accustomed to heady treatment, but he finally decided
he could work with an aud
ience
and got down to business.