41. Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Running was enough to convince the other recruits of their guilt and the men didn’t take more than a dozen steps before they were piled on and cuffed.

‘Great takedowns,’ Marks praised with an easy grin. He put the two men against a wall – under guard – then sent more recruits to the basement to fetch the other conspirators. Soon all of them were sitting against the wall and Sergeant Marks was making the call for the Sitka police to come and get them. He collected the syringes from the men who’d been coming for Danny, Harry and George. Connor had kept the syringe he’d found near Margi so we could have it analysed when we got back home, but we handed over the ones that had been used on Danny and Sidnee.

Tension gradually eased from my shoulders, and I almost cried with relief when Sidnee and Margi walked down the corridor. I hugged them both then hugged Sidnee again. I grinned as I noticed Margi making a beeline for George. He looked relieved to see her and swept her into his arms.

Sidnee was almost jumping up and down with excitement. ‘We stopped the bad guys!’ she crowed.

‘Yeah, we did. But not all of them – now we have to stop the rest,’ I said firmly.

She stopped bouncing and the happiness drained out of her as if a switch had been flipped. She nodded grimly. ‘Damn right we do.’ She had a huge stake in bringing them down; because of her ex, Chris, this was personal. She moved closer. ‘I got a text from Thomas. He said that Engell is good people, but he isn’t ex- MIB.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘He still works there in internal affairs.’ She lowered her voice even further. ‘But Thomas says we can trust him. He was probably working to bring down this whole thing from the inside. We could have been working together the whole time.’

I frowned. ‘Fischer definitely told Marks that Engell was former MIB.’

‘That’s what Fischer had been told. It looks like Thorsen and Eben weren’t the only ones undercover. Now we know about Fischer, I reckon him telling Marks was an asshole move designed to make Marks feel uncomfortable with a bogeyman living in the same building.’

I grimaced. ‘Quite possibly. Fischer is such an asshole.’ I blew out a breath. ‘Where is Engell? Do you think we should talk to him?’

‘I tried to find him but no one has seen him.’

‘You think he’s okay?’

Sidnee shrugged. ‘I think he’s like Batman and his services are no longer required here.’

She was right. Sirens were getting closer and soon the police arrived. Sergeant Marks spoke to them and then the interviews began. During mine I focused mostly on Miller and Thorsen’s actions, but I did mention their cocaine habit and floated the idea that money might have been a factor in the kidnap plot. Wide-eyed, I casually mentioned that my family in England were super-rich. It was enough to plant some seeds.

Having three victims to hand as well as the raft of evidence we’d already collected – and witnesses who were in law enforcement and knew how to make a concise statement – meant that things moved quickly.

The police wanted those who had been drugged to be tested at the hospital, but we all refused. There was no need for any of us to have our supernat blood analysed outside of our own labs, and the police already had enough to go on. They soon hauled Fischer and his men away, although annoyingly none of that lot seemed overly concerned. They probably thought they’d be free by the end of the day. I hoped that Engell was out there somewhere making sure they weren’t.

Exhaustion hit me like a tonne of bricks, but I had to find Fluffy and my damned cat who had definitely not been in the basement when Sidnee and Margi left. I wasn’t really worried about Shadow; if this experience had taught me anything, it was that my freakish lynx could absolutely look after himself. And me.

I ran outside and called for Fluffy. I knew he’d been tied up somewhere nearby until I could collect him. He barked instantly and I pinpointed his location; the poor boy was tied to a tree and the grooves in the ground left by his pacing showed that he’d been trying to get away. There had been too many observers around for him to shift.

I ruffled his ears and patted him. ‘Are you okay?’ He gave a low whine but wagged his tail. ‘I hear you. What a mess. I’m sorry – but if it is any consolation, they got us too.’

I unclipped his lead and removed it from the tree. Fluffy yipped and leaned against me gratefully as I sank down and gave him a full body cuddle, something I needed as much as he did. I buried my face into his fur and clung to him for a long minute. Eventually I gave him one last squeeze and stood up. ‘Do you mind helping me find Shadow? He’s had a big night and I’m afraid he’s disappeared. Again.’

Fluffy whined again and looked concerned; in truth, most of the time Shadow was more his pet than mine. He took off like a shot and ran straight to Connor’s truck. The first thing I noticed was the open back window that had led to trouble in the first place. ‘He escaped from there and the basement, Fluffy. I don’t know where he went.’

When I turned away, he barked again. ‘Fine,’ I huffed. I opened the door – and lying on the passenger seat where we’d left him earlier was Shadow, curled up asleep. Another layer of stress disappeared.

‘You little beast.’ I reached in and stroked him softly. He didn’t move; he must have been completely worn out after his escapades. I leaned over to shut the back window then closed the door. No more adventures for him tonight.

I still needed to retrieve the papers – if they’d stayed hidden. The police were searching the lieutenant’s office and I was sure someone was searching Fischer’s home, but the documents weren’t meant for human eyes and I needed to get them to the right people. Gods, I was tired.

I dragged myself and Fluffy back inside the academy. Connor was waiting and since there was so much confusion, I took them both into the break room to see if the bag was still there.

The room had been torn apart and for a moment I lost hope. My rucksack was still on the floor by the sofa; it had been opened but not emptied. The snacks on top must have been enough of a deterrent. I breathed a sigh of relief but just to make sure, I took out everything I’d used to hide the papers. They were all there! I gave a fist pump and Connor pulled me in for a congratulatory hug – which became a scorching kiss.

‘Hey, no fraternising here!’ Sidnee’s teasing voice interrupted us.

We pulled apart with sheepish expressions. ‘Soon,’ I whispered.

‘Yeah, soon.’ He rested his forehead against mine and we breathed together for a moment then he pulled back, reluctance in every line of his body. ‘This has been a clusterfuck,’ he said. ‘But you have to finish what you started.’ He looked at Sidnee. ‘Both of you. A few more weeks and your education will be officially complete. You’ve got to push through.’

I sighed. ‘You’re right, but my need for home is strong.’ Really, really strong.

‘Home will be waiting for you,’ he murmured.

He gave me another long slow kiss and Sidnee huffed audibly. ‘You guys are killing me,’ she grumped.

‘Sorry,’ I apologised.

Her eyes softened. ‘Don’t apologise for being in love. I’m fifty shades of green.’

Connor grinned. ‘I was going to make a joke but my brain realised it was inappropriate before my mouth got there.’

Sidnee looked at him. ‘And now I want to know what it was.’

He considered for a moment before shaking his head. ‘Nope. I’m taking it my grave.’

‘To your coffin more like,’ Sidnee snarked.

‘Something like that.’ He stood. ‘I’ll speak to you later,’ he promised me. ‘Keep your phone handy.’

‘You bet.’ After all that had happened, I wouldn’t be going anywhere without a way to get help in an emergency.

‘I’ll take these papers to Gunnar,’ he said.

‘Okay. tell him he might want to share them with the Nomo at Ugiuvak.’

‘Roger that.’

I slid onto my knees to give Fluffy another cuddle. ‘Take care,’ I murmured to him. ‘I’ll be waiting to see you, Reggie.’ He licked my face then trotted off next to Connor. They may as well have taken my heart with them. I sighed. ‘Man, I miss them.’

‘They literally left two seconds ago,’ Sidnee laughed.

‘Yeah. I don’t know about you, but I’m bone tired even though it’s night time!’

She laughed. ‘I’m feeling weird and wired. I think I’m still shaking off whatever they gave me. I’m tired but I have one hell of a buzz.’

I sat up. ‘Should we get you to a healer or the hospital?’ Did the unknown drug have side effects we knew nothing about?

She shook her head. ‘You know I don’t do doctors unless it’s absolutely necessary. Hospitals creep me out.’

‘Why? They’re there to help you.’

She crossed her arms and somehow looked smaller and younger; her shoulders curved inwards so much they were almost concave. ‘When my parents were killed, I spent hours in a hospital all alone. No one told me what was happening or what to do or where to go. Eventually a nurse noticed me and asked me what I was doing. I broke down and she took care of me. She was the one to tell me my mum and dad were gone, then she called social services. You know the rest.’

I did. Sidnee’s parents had died when she was a teenager. Because she wasn’t a child – and she was a half-blood to boot – no one would take her on. That’s how she’d ended up with Gunnar and Sigrid in Portlock, Alaska’s last-chance saloon for supernats.

Supposedly, no one chose to go to Portlock though I didn’t understand why because the people there were amazing. Okay, I could have done without Stan’s shitty jokes, Liv’s scary demeanour and the beast beyond the barrier… but I never wanted to be anywhere else. It was home, for me and for Sidnee.

Her story broke my heart. She was a wonderful person, a true and loyal friend, and I was so angry for her. Deep down that anger had to live in her heart as well; she put on a good show, but my bestie had deep and powerful issues. Someday she’d have to deal with them. ‘Okay,’ I said softly. ‘No hospital.’

‘No hospital.’

I changed the subject; she needed a break from her thoughts. ‘We saved the academy.’

‘I guess we did. I wonder what that’ll mean? Do you think it’ll be business as usual tomorrow, what with the lieutenant and a load of recruits being arrested? Will we even have class?’

I sighed. ‘I have no idea, but I’m going to bed. I’ll worry about it tomorrow.’

She slipped her arm through mine and we headed towards our dorm. ‘Sounds good. Let’s do that.’

So that’s what we did.