CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“ W hat do we have?” Kurt asked as they stood outside the hotel, waiting for their rental car to be brought around.

Sure, they could have teleported here and there, but this was Los Angeles, and they didn’t really know where they were going. Plus, appearing out of nowhere in crowded places wasn’t a good idea.

Instead, they’d rented a black SUV and were going to drive around the damn city looking for a needle in a haystack. Should be as effective as throwing darts into the wind.

But that was the recon life. You started at zero.

Oliver pulled out his phone and began scrolling through the intel that Darren had sent through earlier.

“We’re headed to a couple of BioZen’s properties. The team found documentation online about a newly rented spot. It wasn’t immediately obvious as it went through several changes in ownership including some offshore accounts before they traced it back to the pharma company. Dodgy assholes,” Oliver said, as Ben took the phone from him.

“Looks residential. Could be Phillips’ house,” Ben said.

“Well, we’re not out to scare wives and kids if he has them, so let’s just observe and see what we find,” Kurt said, rubbing the scruff on his face.

“Agreed.” Oliver nodded.

“Yeah man. We’re not the monsters here,” Ben added.

Kurt snorted. “Shame humans don’t realize.”

“The ladies don’t mind us biting.” Oliver smirked.

“No they don’t.” Kurt grinned. “And I don’t mind providing the service.”

“You ever go to one of the prince’s infamous orgies?” Oliver asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Kurt grinned wider. “God, I miss those nights. Talk about Uber Eats.”

They all burst out laughing as their rental SUV pulled up alongside them.

A young man in a hotel uniform handed him the keys, and Oliver tipped him a few dollars while Ben and Kurt loaded it with a couple of bags he knew contained their tools of the trade—aka weapons and shit.

He went around to the driver’s door and got comfortable adjusting mirrors and the seat. When he pulled away from the curb, Ben handed him a pouch of plasma with the seal ripped open.

Oliver squeezed it into his mouth and moaned.

Two hours later, they’d scoped out the two large BioZen properties and, as expected, the security was tight. However, they’d been able to get close enough to assess there were no new constructions at either place.

“It’s still an assumption,” Ben said. “They could be utilizing current facilities that we don’t have eyes on.”

“Not for something like this,” Kurt said. “They’d have super tight security like we saw in Seattle, to keep it away from most of their employees’ eyes. It’ll be a pretty big operation, I’d say, and hard to hide. I’ve got my money on it being in a different, undisclosed location.”

Oliver nodded as he leaned on the steering wheel. He agreed with the Moretti soldier. He stared into the rear parking lot of the pharmaceutical company and tried to put himself in Tomassi’s shoes.

Think like the enemy.

“Let’s go look at this other address and see if it is Phillips’ home and then work out a plan,” he said.

They drove a few miles away and slowed as they entered the quiet residential area. He turned off the headlights and let the vehicle slide to a stop.

“Two Joes up ahead.” He spoke quietly.

“SUV across the road,” Kurt added, as they all scanned the environment and quickly identified the private security surrounding the scientist’s house.

“Do we think it’s him?” Oliver asked.

“Yeah. Let’s drop the tracer and get out of here. We want to be as covert as possible on this,” Ben replied, referring to the plan they’d agreed on during the drive.

They didn’t want to draw attention to the fact they were in California and this way they could have some visibility on what was happening during the day if it was the scientist’s car. Hopefully, he’d lead them directly to the new location. Unless they were all completely off track. If so, they would have to reset.

They still had no idea where Xander Tomassi was, so if they were right, this was their chance to get a step ahead for a change.

“Who’s going in? Shall we toss a coin, or should I do it while you two paint your nails?” Kurt asked.

Ben grinned.

“I’ll go, you idiots,” Oliver said. He held out his hand and Kurt dropped the magnetic device in it. “Don’t fall asleep.”

He heard their sniggers as he teleported out of the vehicle, then tele-jumped, as he called it, to get a little closer.

Once he was near the house he glanced around. Two security men, dressed just like him in head-to-toe black, stood near the driveway. Oliver stood silently in the shadows watching them for a moment until he was sure they were human.

His eyes slid to the SUV across the road where two sizable human men sat quietly sipping shitty coffee out of a flask.

At least he imagined it was shitty, and they had donuts in the console to match.

Once he was sure he hadn’t drawn anyone’s attention, he turned his focus on the house. It was a large four-bedroom home by the look of the structure. Nothing fancy. The landscaping was pretty simple and one of those lock-up-and-leave type homes.

Not that he was Mr. Nine to Five and knew these things from direct experience. Like all the assassins at The Institute, they were trained to assess everything fast, even if the situation wasn’t one they were familiar with.

He took a step out of the shadows and further down the drive. Bingo. A brand-new silver Lexus sedan. He teleported beside the vehicle and crouched.

Then waited.

Silence.

Did they invite you in for a midnight snack or are you just slow these days?

Fuck off, Ben. Oliver grinned.

He slipped his hand under the vehicle and waited for the magnet to connect.

Tap.

If any of the security guys had seen or heard him and ended up pointing a gun at his head in the next thirty seconds, it would be fine. He had back-up, but he’d still prefer to do this unnoticed.

He stood and looked around, confident he hadn’t been seen, and teleported back to the seat inside the SUV.

“Jesus, give me a flipping heart attack,” Ben said, slamming himself against the passenger door.

Oliver grinned, turning on the engine. “I’m sorry, do you have a swear jar at home now you’ve mated?”

“Fuck off.”

“It’s all starting to make sense now.” Kurt shook his head. “How did you two ever get anything done working together?”

Oliver shot Ben a grin, then quietly moved the vehicle out of the road, flicked on the headlights and they sped back to the hotel.

OLIVER THREW THE KEYS to the valet as Kurt grabbed the bags and they all walked back into the lobby.

They got a few looks, but that wasn’t unusual. Three huge vampires dressed all in black looking like a bunch of, well, assassins, were likely to get noticed. If the humans had any idea the level of metal Oli and his colleagues were carrying, they would scatter like mice.

If the humans knew they were vampires, they’d scream.

Oliver let slip a half smirk.

Still, it wasn’t funny. It was their job to ensure humans didn’t find out about them. For as long as possible. He couldn’t imagine a time when humans could be trusted.

“Beer?” Ben asked, nodding to the bar.

“Yeah, there’s nothing we can do until morning, when Phillips leaves for work. Shower, then I’ll meet you both down here,” Kurt said.

Every part of Oliver’s body was screaming to go to Piper’s room. He wanted to know if she was still here.

Liar. You want to taste her again.

Ari had said keep an eye on her, so perhaps he’d pop by for a visit.