CHAPTER 12
Hoxson's heart pounded in his chest as he read the email over and over again. It had been sent by an anonymous source and was untraceable, but it was beyond clear who was behind it.
We have your girl. No, you're not getting her back. Please inform the Van de Wauters that you will be terminating your contract with them, effective immediately. Please, fly back to New York as soon as possible. Any interference on your part will result in swift reprisal.
PS – Turns out that we got a two-for-one when we picked up little Adie. I hope the implication is clear ;) And, congratulations!
Hoxson felt himself begin to boil over with rage. Part of him wanted to take the laptop and pitch it against the wall as hard as he could, shift right then and there, and burn the Mendoza's mansion to the ground.
But he forced himself to take a deep, slow breath. He picked up his phone and sent a text to Claude Van de Wauters, letting him know that he needed to meet, and now. The response was moments later, telling Hoxson to meet him at the usual place. Hoxson grabbed his things and rushed down to his motorcycle and was soon tearing down the streets of the city toward the apartment building on the other side of the peninsula.
"What's going on?" asked Claude as Hoxson stepped past the apartment's security team. "Why are you demanding a meeting on such short notice?"
"Because they took Adie."
Claude's handsome features turned grave. To his right was Wendy Van de Wauters, his sister, and the only other surviving member of the clan. Both were fair-haired and fair-skinned, with trim bodies that they both carried with grace. As far as they all knew, Claude and Wendy were the only still-living of the dragon families of the city.
"I'm…sorry to hear that," said Claude.
"And she's pregnant."
The siblings raised their blond eyebrows in unison.
"This is terrible news," said Claude.
"And they want me to tell you that I'm done working with you both, and that the services of the Silver Talons are no longer available to you."
The color drained out of Claude and Wendy's faces.
"And…what was your response?"
"I didn't give them one. I'd prefer to tell them to ‘fuck off' to their faces."
The expressions of worry were quickly replaced by those of relief.
"Then we can go back to planning our take-back of the city," said Claude. "I've just been in contact with a dragon family in Seattle, the Delahunt clan, and they seem apprehensive about getting involved. But I think with a little pressure and maybe some time, we might just be able to arrange a sit-down and-"
"No," said Hoxson, cutting his hand through the air. "No more hiding in the shadows and hoping for a lucky break. The Mendozas have Starwood and they'll have San Francisco before the month's out. It's only a matter of time before they find you and sic their bear army on you both."
"Surely, you're not suggesting that we go on the offensive?" asked Wendy. "We don't have the manpower for that."
"You could," said Hoxson. "If you wanted it."
Claude knew just what Hoxson was suggesting.
"We don't have the funds to hire your entire crew," he said. "The daily cost of security and staying hidden…it's stretched us to the limit."
Hoxson crossed his arms.
"I'm a man of my word, but you and I are just about up for this contract. And right about now, getting my girl back is more important than keeping you two out of hot water – no offense."
Referring to Adie as his "girl" was strange to Hoxson, but it was the only fitting thing to think to call her. After all, she was about to become the mother of his child.
"But you're our only chance at some kind of counter-offensive," said Claude. "If you leave after this contract's up, then you're throwing us to the wolves!"
"The bears, in this case," said Wendy.
"Surely, you can talk to your team, try and work something out."
Hoxson opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself. He wanted to tell them that the Silver Talons didn't reduce their rate for charity cases, that the Van de Wauters would need to pay the regular fee just like everyone else if they wanted their services.
"Let me see what I can do," he said instead.
Relief washed over Claude’s and Wendy's face as Hoxson started off toward the apartment's office. Hoxson pulled up the Silver Talon's call service and dialed in Thorne.
"Yo," said Thorne, the team leader's rugged face appearing on the large screen on the other side of the room. "I'm gonna need a status update on what's going on over there."
Hoxson nodded as his boss got right to the point.
"There're some…complications," he said.
"Don't give me anything vague," said Thorne. "Give it to me straight, Hox."
Hoxson took a deep breath and tried to think just where to begin. He decided to start from the beginning, letting Thorne know about Adie, the marriage pact, kidnapping, and everything else.
And he finished with the most important detail of all: the baby.
"I see…," said Thorne, looking away in thought for a brief moment.
"I gotta fucking do something, boss," Hoxson said. "I'm on bodyguard duty for these two for one more day, then I'm doing what needs to be done."
"Did you fucking say ‘pregnant'?" called out Jace from somewhere in the background.
"Oh, shit," thought Hoxson, realizing that the cat was out of the bag.
"Congrats, Hox!" shouted out Mick as he shoved his face into Thorne's screen.
"Save the congrats for when I've got her back," said Hoxson.
"We gotta do something, boss," said Corvo, the team's number two. "I know we're not do-gooders, but this is something a little beyond the pale."
"Tell them to hire us all on, then," said Thorne. "We're a merc group and we work for whoever pays us. Simple as that."
"They don't have the funds to bring us all on," said Hoxson. "They've got me and that's it. And once they're tapped out, it's just a matter of time before the Mendozas finish what they started a few weeks ago."
"You know we don't take sides in any of this power-play bullshit," said Thorne. "Not how mercs work."
"I know, I know," said Hoxson. "And normally, I'd be right there with you. But Adie...Boss, I'm getting her back tomorrow, contract or no contract. You need to fire me, then fire me. But I'm not letting another fucking day go by."
The expression on Thorne's face seemed to make it clear that he realized there was no talking Hoxson out of this.
"Then we need to come up with some kind of arrangement with the Van de Wauters. Something that'll get us on their payroll but takes into consideration their situation."
"Can't we give ‘em a half-off or something?" asked Jace. "This is Hoxson's baby we're talking about here!"
"We're the top merc crew in New York. If word gets out that we're offering discounts to any clan who's got a good sob story, then that's all we'll be hearing from our clients. No, we need to come up with an arrangement that's of equal value. Maybe something we can leverage into future work."
Thorne looked away for a brief moment before turning his steely gaze back to Hoxson.
"Say, Hox," he said. "How do you feel about the west coast?"
***
The call over, Hoxson strode back into the living room. Claude and Wendy turned their attention back to him right away, and it was clear that they'd been nervously awaiting his answer for the last twenty or so minutes.
"What's the story?" asked Claude. "What did you find out?"
The plan in mind, Hoxson stood in front of the two siblings.
"I need a status report on every available friendly asset in the city."
"You mean, shifters who can fight?"
"That's exactly what I mean."
"Our alliance with some of the fox families is still intact," said Claude. "But I don't know how useful they'll be against biker bears."
"And there's the Marcuse wolf clan in the Mission District," said Wendy. "They owe us a favor."
"I bet if you send the word to some of the other wolves and let them know that they've got rewards waiting for them on the other side of this fight, they'll be chomping at the damn bit to join up," said Hoxson, his arms crossed.
"But this is all a last-ditch effort," said Claude. "If we call in the few allies we have, and we lose, then we're done for."
"Does this mean that you've come to an agreement with the rest of your team?" asked Wendy.
"That's exactly what it means," said Hoxson. "But let's save the details for later. For now, we're going to take out the Mendozas."
"But how?" asked Claude.
"Simple," said Hoxson. "By giving them San Francisco."