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THE NEXT MORNING SILAS received a briefing from General Miller. He tagged Jasmine and Angus to listen in through their links so they could discuss it afterward.

“Are you telling me they all got together, discussed this and agreed to plot against us?”

“Not all of them,” General Miller said. “Admiral Blue and General Williams were against it, but this new Administration jumped the gun demanding an accounting. Both the General and Admiral were surprised to hear it came from the White House and not the Joint Chiefs.”

“So the White House did this on their own? Demanded a count of the pack within 30 days and the penalty?” That was information he would pass on to the Pack attorney.

“As far as we can tell. It didn’t come from the Joint Chiefs. Admiral Blue and General Williams aren’t that involved with whatever plans the others are taking against the pack but he still gets updates from an involved source. In the meeting, they discussed how to get an accurate account but short of you being involved, everyone agreed it was throwing money and resources into the wind.”

Silas silently agreed.

“Here’s something of interest, Sir. There’s a new effort to recruit full-bloods and breeds from Canada and Europe to form an elite team similar to the Knights. I’m not sure who’s doing the training or is in charge but from what I’ve been told, so far it’s a circus. No loyalty among the recruits and they’re having a difficult time building them into a cohesive unit.”

Silas wasn’t surprised. If the recruits wouldn’t obey an Alpha, the chances of obeying a human were slim to none. “I hope you explained to them how dangerous that is. Those rebels could turn on them in a heartbeat and destroy them.”

“They know, but feel they’ve got it under control and aren’t listening to anyone,” the General said, his tone sad.

“Probably the same devices they used on the Knights in Honduras. Maybe that was a test run, which means someone on the Joint Chiefs knew about it all along,” Silas said.

“I thought the same thing, Sir.”

There wasn’t much Silas could do to help the recruits at this point. The idea of any wolf under the control of any device didn’t sit right with him.

“Also General Blue believes a counter-intelligence operation is being planned but doesn’t have any confirmed information.”

“To gain a count?” Silas asked for clarity.

“No, Sir. That was never their mission. The mission of the Joint Chiefs is singular. To discover the weaknesses of our pack. Once identified, set up defensive measures.”

“I’ll alert Jasmine, so she can pass the word onto her army of bitches around the country about this. They’re the best intelligence group in the world.”

“If or when a counter-intelligence operation launches, they’ll be fully equipped with the latest technology with the ability to listen in on conversations from a distance,” the General warned.

“I’ll inform the Alphas to pass it on, all pack communication is to be done via links,” Silas said, appreciating the heads up.

“That’s a good idea, Sir. If they cannot over-hear conversations, be prepared for them to be more visual, out and about. Soon as I know more, I’ll let you know.”

“Appreciated,” Silas said, still reeling over the White House sending an order for a pack census. “Wait. I need everything you can find on Taurus, a full-blood rebel. He moved his pack to Canada. He uses another name as well.” Silas repeated the information he’d heard from David, Quinn, and Jackie.

“Yes, Sir, I’ll look into it.”

“That was interesting,” Angus said walking into Silas’ office. “A counter-intelligence operation in the making, the White House issuing 30-day demands, and the U.S. military recruiting full-bloods from other countries.” He sat in the chair in front of Silas. “I think they just got their new test subjects.”

“True. Once they perfect whatever new tool they’ve been developing on those unsuspecting recruits, they turn on us.” He slammed his fist on the desk. “They are taking this too far.”

“True. Which do we address first?” Angus asked. “The intelligence op?”

“Yes, for now, Lyle and our people in Congress are looking into the situation with the demands from the White House.” Silas snorted. “Thirty days my ass.”

“How do we stop them from infiltrating the pack?” Angus stared at him for a few seconds. “Hawke can break into their files... corrupt their information. Or we could do some counter-intelligence of our own using the chameleon.”

Silas had been cautious, not wanting to use the bracelet in the States unless the situation became critical. Were they reaching that point? If the government approved of testing full-bloods for the sole purpose of eliminating the pack, was it time to go on the offensive? He’d never done that before and didn’t relish the idea of doing it now.

America was home, his country. He’d fight to the death to keep the flag flying over the land of the free, and the brave. They were countrymen, brothers in arms against any rival threat, except the pack was being treated as an intolerable step-child or distant cousin. Necessary in times of turmoil but treated poorly during times of peace.

“It’s something to think about,” Silas said slowly thinking it through. He looked at Angus. “What are you thinking?”

“Who are the Joint Chiefs handling the counter-intelligence ops? Did Miller say?” Angus asked.

“Admiral Bents and General Strait.”

“Do we know anything about them? I can pull information and have them watched by one of our people inside. Maybe we can make the change at their home.”

“That’s a problem. Where do we leave the exchanged bodies? At their home to be found by a wife or kids? I won’t do anything to tip anyone off that we have this capability, you know that.”

“I do and I appreciate how careful you are with it.” Angus paused. “You do know it won’t work on everybody, right? I have to realign the crystals to make it work.”

“You have a mate and three sons, I won’t ever take chances with you or your den.” Silas stared at Angus for several seconds. “Believe me, for a chameleon, they’ll come after you, your family, me, my family, our pack, everyone we know and love. In the wrong hands it’s...”  Silas shook his head as words failed him. As much as he appreciated the chameleon, it scared him more, very few people in the world knew of its existence.

“Yes, you’re right. We must be careful.” Angus sat with his fingertips pressed beneath his chin. “What if we go in as a lower staff member, high clearance, who lives alone? That person can do a quick touch scan of team members, maybe the General or Admiral, it’s a quick way to get the information we need.”

That had been the plan in Honduras. It worked until the house they were staying in exploded.

“Look into it, find at least three potential candidates. It may be our best chance to see what’s going on and how far the government is willing to go to destroy us.” It hurt to say the words, but he needed to be realistic. These were different times.

“On it,” Angus said, standing. When he reached the door, he looked at Silas and spoke through their link. “I understand what you’re saying, but understand I’ve pledged my life and my den’s life to this pack. We will all do whatever is necessary to help it and you survive.”

Their gazes held for a few seconds before Silas nodded.  Angus left Silas staring at the closed door.

“I would never allow that kind of sacrifice, it would tear me apart,” he told Angus with a heavy heart.

###

A COUPLE HOURS LATER Silas finished his meeting with Matt and Dr. Passen, he explained the situation and wanted them on alert to any new technology or chemicals that may be used against them. He instructed them to contact pack hospitals and clinics to see if anything unusual had been reported. There were several possible avenues of attack and Silas wanted to be as prepared as possible.

Jasmine walked in, kissed his forehead and sat on the edge of the desk. “The twins and Cameron just left,” she said.

“They contacted me,” he said taking her hand. “They’ll be fine.”

“I know,” she said and then smiled. “Wonder how many pups will arrive in the future from this trip?”

“Hmm,” he said and exhaled. “What did you think of Miller’s report?”

She looked down at him. “Nothing was a surprise, not really. What did you think?”

“They’re doing something, using those recruits as test dummies to perfect a weapon against us.” He looked up at her. “If they’re doing that, how do I stop them from testing on pack?”

“Good question, how will you handle it?”

He told her about Angus’ idea and his reservations.

“Both points have merit. You’ll need to weigh it, in the end I’m confident you’ll do the right thing.”

“If we can save a life... prevent them from...it’s... it’s just inhumane.” His chin hit his chest. “How can they justify doing such things to people? To human beings?” His heart squeezed so tight, it hurt to breathe. All day he’d been agonizing over their barbaric behavior and couldn’t understand it.

“Silas, it’s not just our people. For ages, experiments have been going on against humans, animals and everything in between in the name of science,” she said wrapping her arms around the back of his shoulders before placing a kiss on his forehead. “It’s a part of their nature I guess. We have to accept that there will always be someone whose fear and curiosity will always drive them to seek ways to destroy us. Knowing that moves the ball in our court.”

“Huh?” He took her hand and pulled her around so he could see her clearly.

“Here’s the thing, they’re always going to do this.” She met his gaze. “Always. All the time. Forever. Never stop. Won’t quit. Every day.”

He held up his hand. “Got it.”

“Do you? Because you always seem... I don’t know, shocked, disappointed, pissed, some kind of way, when you find out they’re still doing what they’ve been doing since the Liege. Baby, it’s what they do. Accept it and then plan our offense and defense.”

His lips quirked at the stubborn tilt of her chin. Magnificent Bitch. “Offense is your network of spies, they keep us updated on any new activity in the area, so we’re a step ahead, right?”

She nodded slowly. “That’s one arm of offense, along with KnightForce. Do we have anything else?”

“A team of lawyers around the country, three Senators and 40 pack members in the House.”

She nodded.

“Pack in every layer of state and local government. Patrols, our own financial base, we own our land, businesses, schools and retail operations outright. Strong digital footprints, Hawke can access any system in the world, which supports your spy network.”

“Can you imagine what this Administration would do with the information identifying governors, state and local officials?” She shook her head. “How are we preparing for the counter-intelligence operation they’re sending our way?”

“I don’t think that operation is to gather a count for the White House. It’s to find our weaknesses to create a defense against us, that’s the Joint Chiefs mission.”

“Both need to be handled,” she said.

“Agreed. Your group will be our first set of eyes and ears.” Thinking it through he took it step by step. “Once identified, we’ll monitor the person, intercept their communications.” He’d have Hawke set something up. “Instead of disarming them, we’ll feed them erroneous information to send back to their base. Or transmit a bug to enter their system.” The more he thought about, he realized she was right. With the information they had, they should be more pro-active.

“What would the bug do?”

“Gather information, alert us to their next steps so we’re one step ahead, corrupt their Intel, disrupt their testing. Since they won’t ever stop coming for us, we feed them what we want them to know. Stay abreast of their technology and prepare defenses against them.” He looked at her and smiled. “I love you.” She got him thinking pro-actively, instead of being upset over things he couldn’t change.

“Those sound good, you’re going to have Hawke run point?”

“I’ll have him start it for sure, maybe let David and Storm handle it once it’s running. David’s always been good with computers.”

Jasmine agreed. “Offense is good but what do we do now? They’re knocking on our door making demands.”

He shared Angus’ idea and his reservations.

“I understand your concern,” she said thinking it through. “But it’s a good way to get reliable information and that’s what we’re going to need to set these traps, right?”

“Yes. And to get accurate information, it would be best to sift through Bents or Strait’s memories to understand who’s doing what and when. I think they’re the key.”

“That’s our goal then. Get the information from one or both of those men,” she said wrapping her arm around his neck and sitting in his lap. “Who would you send?”

“Angus.”

“I agree, he has experience and knows what the bracelet can do best. Do you think we can get inside before they set up their counter-intelligence? Get the names and locations of the people they’re sending?”

“We’ll try. Hawke has to be ready as well to infiltrate their system so we can track them once Angus has the names.”

She nodded and stood.

He held her hand. “Where are you going?”

“To talk to Hawke with you. The sooner we get this planned the better don't you think?”

Silas stood, brushed a kiss against her forehead. “Yes, of course, dear. Whatever you think is best, dear.”

Laughing, she pushed him. “You know I’m right.”

Holding hands, they walked down the hall toward Hawke’s lab. He was seated at a console and didn’t see them when they entered. “Hawke, a moment of your time,” Silas said realizing he’d given the man a huge task to complete earlier.

Hawke looked up and stood. “Of course, Sir, Mistress.”

Silas and Jasmine sat across from him and explained what they wanted offensively and defensively.

“Is there a way to access specific counter-intelligence information?”

“Like who’s assigned to us?” Jasmine added.

“There’s always a way, the challenge is time to figure it out. Some of their servers are like ours with no internet access. That’s where that type of classified information would be stored.”

“I know I’ve got you doing several things, do you need help?”

“Angus is on the way to go over his research with me. David and Storm are working on their projects. I have a team testing that program I told you about earlier. Once Angus arrives I go back into the database for another search.”

Silas nodded. “Let me know when you have candidates, human and pack.”

“Yes, Sir.”