I was sitting in the holding cell, clutching my knees to my chest, while Trent sat at his desk, rifling through some papers.
I took this job to escape jail, yet here I am.
Life sure knew how to lay the irony on thick. I had hoped Drew would come see me and bail me out; the sting of his absence was something I couldn’t ignore. Even though I knew bear shifters were killers based on the footage I saw, a little voice in my head kept telling me Drew was different. He couldn’t be a killer. Maybe he was one of the nice ones. But still, it had been almost two days and he hadn’t shown his face.
How could I blame him, though? The government had chosen to use fire to eliminate the bear shifters of Acadia National Park, and he was their lead firefighter. It was like fate had separated us.
However, there was something about the way the clan of bear shifters had banded together that resonated with me. I had never seen a group of people with such camaraderie, that they were willing to die to protect each other. It was a kind of bravery that was rare, and it touched me. When I first uttered the message I had been sent to deliver, I thought I would have been mauled and torn to shreds. They were indeed angry, but no one had physically attacked me whatsoever. Trent was a little rough while detaining me, but I would have probably reacted the same way. He wasn’t growling or snarling at me like a wild animal. In fact, I had seen no shifting; not one person had turned into a bear.
I hadn’t understood this at first. From the videos I’d been sent, it seemed like they were these ravenous monsters housed in human bodies. But, all the bear shifters I had encountered had been kind and welcoming, even though they knew I was a human. And even when I had told them their entire clan and home was in danger, they had behaved civilly; instead of killing me for working with the government, they had just locked me up.
Something didn’t fit in this story. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something was wrong. There was no way these people were the hideous beasts the government tried to make them out to be. I had been so terrified by the videos, I was ready to believe anything.
I needed Drew. I needed him to come and tell me the truth about the clan. Only he could tell me what was really going on.
But I couldn’t blame him if he felt betrayed. I was sure he must have thought I was a pathological liar or a con artist. He was probably thinking nothing was real between us. But if that was what he thought, he was so wrong.
I wished he would visit me so I could let him know. I would tell him everything, anything he wanted to know. I closed my eyes as they pooled with tears, but I fought them back; I didn’t want anyone to see me cry.
“I hope you’re thinking about all the trouble you’re causing us.”
I knew that voice all too well. My eyes snapped open to see that Trent was gone; I had been so deep in thought, I hadn’t heard him leave. To my surprise, Drew was sitting on the floor on the other side of the bars. My eyes widened at the sight of him and I scrambled on my knees toward the bars, holding onto them.
“You’re here! You came!”
“You wanted me to?”
“Of course I did. I need to talk to you!” I pleaded. “No one will listen to me, but I know you will.”
“Are you going to tell me how you got into this mess?” I nodded. “How do I know I can trust you? You’ve already lied so much.”
“I know, but I had to! I was advised that if I told anyone about the reason I was sent here, I would be killed instantly. They have people watching me, but I don’t think they have an insider in the park because they needed me to infiltrate.”
“Well, I guess their work here wasn’t finished after all.”
I was completely caught off guard. “Wait, this isn’t their first time attacking you guys?”
“A couple months ago, they sent my friend Ramon’s girlfriend, Min, here to infect us with a mutated rabies virus hidden in genetically-engineered ticks. Ramon got infected by a stray one, but Min was able to spot it. They’re both scientists, so they were able to work on a cure just in time to prevent Ramon from succumbing to the virus. The ticks were destroyed before they could infect anyone else and an antidote is still kept here, just in case someone else happens to go rabid. Two trials were run here prior to that incident, and that’s when the virus first reared its ugly head around these parts to begin with. The first time, an alpha and his pack killed two of our staff members. Knox killed the alpha himself, but the others got away. We later found out that the government eradicated them and considered it a failed experiment. The second time resulted in the death of Danielle Peterson. The rogue bear who attacked her died in the holding cell to your right.”
“Wait, so it was a rogue bear with rabies who killed Danielle Peterson? Not one of you guys?”
“Did you really think we did that?” Drew seemed a bit hurt.
“No, I mean, the government tried to make me believe that, and I was so afraid.”
I sank onto my heels and sat back on the floor. I knew the government had played me. They had tried to convince me that these bear shifters were monsters, but they weren’t.
I decided that I wanted to help the clan. But how?
I wasn’t Drew. I couldn’t put out fires and I didn’t exactly know how to prevent them, either. I couldn’t even give them a heads up about the NCPD-CID’s plans, other than what they already told me.
But I could find out…
“Hey, do you have a laptop at home?”
“Yeah, I have one. What for?”
“I’m going to hack into the NCPD-CID’s communication signal and listen for their plans.”
“Wait, you’re a hacker?”
“Oh yeah, we haven’t gotten into that…”
“Yeah, so before I get anything, you’re going to tell me exactly who you are and how you got involved in this.” Drew did not move from his sitting position and had his eyes fixed on me.
I was feeling antsy; I wanted the computer as quickly as possible. The longer we weren’t listening to their conversations, the less information we would have. But he was right. He had been honest with me, and to build back our trust, I had to come clean.
I sighed.
“Kathleen Boland is my real name—and I really do hate being called Kathy. I’m Irish, and the story I told you about my parents is true. I did move here when I was thirteen. I was in a foster home and it’s true that I moved out when I turned eighteen. I really do couch surf every three days throughout West Virginia. While I was in foster care, I had parents who were hardly home, and the older kids looked after the younger ones. I found their computer one night and found my way into a hacker chatroom, where the members taught me everything I know. I learned enough to be able to complete jobs successfully without being caught. I started by doing good. The hacker chat room I was a member of dealt with taking down sex trafficking auction sites, and I had been happy to help with the cause. I wasn’t paid for my work, but it was rewarding. The job never ended, though, because when one site went down, another five would pop up. I used that to gain experience, and when I turned eighteen, a fellow hacker referred me to a site where people would post jobs for individuals, organizations and websites they want hacked.
If you are caught, you don’t get paid. If you don’t complete the hack, you don’t get paid. When I moved out, hacking was my only source of income and the money always got transferred to me through PayPal with made up names and emails. I wouldn’t be surprised if even the accounts were made up or prepaid to avoid tracking.” I snickered.
“As for how I got involved in this particular clusterfuck, one day, I noticed a posting for a government hacking of the NCPD-CID. The client was looking for a hacker to infiltrate their private encrypted files and look for anything strange. The person just wanted the findings reported back, and he or she was willing to pay a thousand dollars, which is pretty low for encrypted private government files. I really needed the money, though, so I decided to go for it.
I usually take extra precautions when hacking into government files, but for some reason, I was cocky that night—too cocky because I got caught and erased the info a couple of seconds too late. They were able to trace me and caught me. But instead of being brought to jail, I was brought to the NCPD-CID, where they gave me this job. I just had to infiltrate Acadia, scope you guys out, and report back to them. Then, they showed some surveillance videos of Danielle Peterson’s death and your clan shifting under a full moon.”
“They were trying to make you think we killed Danielle Peterson.”
“Yeah, I realize that now. Then, they gave me the message to deliver to you. So, no, I am not here on vacation, and the name of the Couchsurfer host I gave you is actually the woman who’s home I got arrested in.” I laughed.
“Well, I bet you got a good review for that, huh?” Drew chuckled. “So, that’s it? That’s your story? The full truth?”
I nodded and gave him a half smile, hoping my honesty would help win back his respect for me. He paused for a moment, but then returned the gesture.
“You know, I was fully prepared for more lies. It would have made it so much easier to just let you rot in here.” I winced at his harshness, but I understood where he was coming from. “Now, I just want to bust you out of here.”
“And risk getting yourself in trouble? I’ve caused you enough headache.” I shook my head.
“If only there was a way to get you in Knox and Trent’s good graces…” Drew was thinking and so was I.
“Wait! The hacking; we can have them here when it happens! You would have to set it all up, but as long as your computer has speakers, they’ll be able to hear the information, too, and verify that it’s genuine.” I immediately perked up. That was my way out.
“That won’t be as easy as it sounds. Knox all but told me to just let you go. He really believes you betrayed us, and he is not one who forgives easily. It will take some convincing to get him and Trent here, but I’ll do my best.”
“I’m sorry I’ve caused you guys so much trouble. I was just doing as I was told; they threatened to kill me if I didn’t cooperate.”
“I know.” Drew reached through bars and stroked the side of my face. I melted into his hand, rubbing my cheek against it.
“How are the fire preparations going?”
“They’re coming along. All the supplies have been ordered and we are putting everything into place. But enough chit chat; I’m going to go grab my laptop and then I’m going to have Knox and Trent meet me just outside the holding lodge so I can talk them into coming.”
I nodded again, and Drew finally rose from his sitting position. With one last look at me, he ran towards the door and disappeared.