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“Oh, I love soup,” Hen said, just as the elevator pinged and doors opened.
20
“They’ve been heresince before the sun went down and the sidewalks rolled up for the night,” Wit said through his comms as he and his team hid in the shadows along Main Street in the blink and you miss it mountain town of Ponderosa Peak. “Not a bit of movement inside that building or out here, for that matter.”
“I still have heat signatures inside, though,” Killion said. “Two of them. They haven’t moved since we arrived.”
“It’s been hours,” Hen recognized. “Who sits in one spot that long?”
“Maybe they don’t have a choice,” Rip added. “Could be restrained.”
“Alpha team secured the perimeter,” Killion went on. “I’m sending what I can see to your phones. Make of it what you will.”
Hen reviewed his screen with surprise. “They’re just sittin’ right inside that door.”
“Yeah. Like they’re waitin’ for us,” Wit concluded and slid his phone back into his pocket. “I think it’s just one person. That other thing looks too small to be a person, and it’s sittin’… weird.”
“We are out here in the woods,” Ryker spoke. “And it’s pretty damn creepy out here. Too silent. Too… something.”
“I know what’s in there.” Ronan’s voice dropped to a low and menacing tone. “And I don’t know if we have the right ammo to fight it off. You know what lives in places like these, right? Shapeshifters and vampire shit. The undead.”
“What the hell is a shapeshifter?” Rip asked.
“Like in that movie,” Nico said. “That small thing in there is a wolf. The minute we walk in there, he becomes a man. I’d say we have two potential combatants.”
Jazz turned to Bozz. “Why the hell do we keep that guy around?”
Bozz shrugged. “Entertainment.”
Wit snickered. “And y’all thought I was a little off my rocker.”
In unison, the team said, “You are.”
“Well, at least y’all agree on somethin’ ’cause you ain’t gonna like this.” Wit stood, weapon at the ready, and he moved in on the target. “I’m done waitin’. Hope you brought some silver bullets for the vampire.”
“You’ve seen the movie too, then.” Nico fell in behind Wit. “Got your six.”
“Alpha team, get ready to breach the rear of the building,” Cane called out through the comms as he too, fell in line. “Looks like we’re going in. Watch out for fucking fairies and werewolves and whatever other shit may come flying out of there.”
Wit and his team had approached the front of the building and lined up along the front, splitting in two, flanking each side of the entrance.
“Let’s hit it,” Wit said, and he moved in.
Hen tried the door. “Locked.”
Wit moved out from the wall and kicked the door in, weapon immediately trained on whoever had been sitting in the same spot for hours on their imaging gear. The space wasn’t quite as they’d thought, but close. They’d entered upon a front reception-like area with a wide, wood reception counter front and center. Seated behind that counter was a man, dog seated at his side, both staring back at Wit and the team as they trickled in.
Wit’s head tilted to one side, and a bewildered look took over his expression as he took in the man in front of him. Something about him was familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. It was as if he knew the man, but how?
“Took you long enough to get here. Been watching you guys sit out there for hours,” the man said, scratching his dog’s head. “And what’s with the door? Why didn’t you just use your key? You both got one.”
He knew Wit and Hen, it seemed, but they didn’t have a fucking clue who they were staring at despite the nagging familiarity.
“Keys?” Wit asked.
“From the envelopes,” the man answered. “I know you got them, or you wouldn’t be here.”
“Do I…”
