Strange activity requires fallback observation.
The body of the intruder is still in the Watch,and around him an argument volleys back-and-forth between Seth, Luca, Cole and Finn, none of whom seem willing to agree on how he got in and how he got this far up.
Kade stares at the body.
‘That’s a fucking Paranatural!’Seth yells again, pointing directly down at the man Kade shot in the face while Finn shakes his head, poised to correct the term.‘They’re not cute or whimsical, they’redangerous!’
‘Brightlings,’Finn corrects sternly while Cole and Luca engage in quieter, more serious back-and-forth about how the intruder managed to get through the levels so fast, ‘are not monsters, and I’m not arguing that he was clearly more than human, far from it, but you can’t just—’
‘That fuckingthingkilled my brother!I want it cut open.’
‘It?’Even Cole, pragmatic non-believer that he is, looks over at that with a line between his eyes, frowning.‘That’s way out of line.’
‘Are you serious?I’m supposed to care about itsfeelingswhen—’
The steel door in the nearby wall slides sideways open, bars directly behind it like a prison cell, but they too roll left.Everyone in the room falls silent as the boss of Iron Star enters the Watch.
Riley Harker is an inch shorter than Kade with wider set shoulders.His dark-blond hair is pushed back from his face, typically wavy.He’s wearing dark blue jeans and a black henley beneath the same leather jacket he’s had ever since Kade can remember, now almost charcoal with age.His boots aren’t like Kade’s, they’re western, well-worn and faded too just like the jacket.If you didn’t know him, you might not look twice.
No flash, no rings.He’s not even armed.
And yet, despite all this, his presence instantly brings everyone, including Kade, fully to attention.Riley never raises his voice.He doesn’t deal violence the way other men do and to the untrained eye, he’s not threatening at all.
The room holds total silence until he speaks.
‘How many dead?’It’s soft-spoken, eminently calm, yet Kadeknowshe’s in trouble, he can feel it.
Luca glances at Kade, subtly signs,I think he’s mad.
Kade swiftly rolls his eyes as if to say,you think?‘Eighteen, including Gage.’
‘Injured?’
‘Twenty-two.’
Seth and Luca move respectfully back when Riley approaches the body of the intruder.Kade watches his boss closely, curious.
Riley stares down when he gets close enough to see it, and for several tense beats, he doesn’t move at all.His expression is completely shuttered, no movement but the slow, steady rise and fall of his chest.
‘Who got him?’
Kade steps forward.‘I did.’He’s trying to meet Riley’s gaze, but it’s fixed down, stuck hard on the body and with no reaction, Kade’s nerves give an unpleasant twist.He presses the inside of his wrist, massaging it, a habit that usually helps.‘I know you’re mad, but—’
Cool blue eyes snap up, giving a warning that Kade takes, falling silent.Riley then looks to Finn, expression mild once more.‘He was alone?’
‘As far as we know, sir.’
‘Show me the footage.’
‘The Mesh malfunctioned at various times.’
‘Show me anyway.’
Riley goes to the consoles with Cole and Finn.
Kade crouches down beside the body, reading what he sees and processing, desperate to havesomethingto show his boss.Answers, ideally.That way he won’t feel like shit for breaking protocol.Kade lifts the tee, finds no visible armour underneath, proving right his initial impression that this psychopath came in here totally bare, but that’s not what’s troubling him.
The skin is tacky with blood, but there are no bullet holes on his chest.None.Kade pivots down to the ankles and pulls off both boots.
