Harvest Hunting

As usual, we were taking two cars: my Jeep and Morio's SUV. Menol y, Vanzir, and Roz were riding with me, while Tril ian, Smoky, and Camil e rode with Morio. I put in a cal to Chase to meet us there.



As we headed south on First Avenue, the streets were fairly clear. A few gangbangers--probably the Zeets--were hanging around, but the night was too wet and chil y for much outdoor activity. We passed the piers to the ferries on our right, and the back side of Pike Place Market on our left, and continued along past the Seahawks Stadium and Safeco Field, also on our left.



As the streets wore along, the charm vanished, and the darker, seedier aspect set in. We zoomed along on the overpass leading over the BNSF train yard--a maze of tracks and boxcars in weathered pinks, greens, whites--al colors from so many different companies and places. The thought of being stuck down there, on foot, gave me the creeps.



We weren't just near gang territory but also vampire territory--and not vampires like Menol y, who did their best to keep themselves in check, but vampires like Dominick and Terrance, who led the cry for vamps to quit trying to assimilate and to create their own culture that didn't try to mimic human culture.



Menol y had been tossed out of Vampires Anonymous, the one group where she might have done some good against the fanged dangers, because Wade--the leader of the vampire self-help group--was afraid she'd spoil his bid on becoming regent over the Northwest Vampire Dominion. We hadn't heard lately how his campaign was going, but I had the feeling next time they met, there would be hel to pay on his part.



As the overpass glided back to street level, I pul ed into a side parking lot shortly after we passed South Dawson Street. We were parked right next to the Emporium Meats warehouse.



"Here we are. And it looks like we're going to have company." I nodded to the parking lot. There were at least five cars that we could reasonably assume belonged to the shifters.



"Camil e and crew are here," Menol y said, as Morio's SUV parked alongside my Jeep. "We're too near Dominick's for comfort."



"Not only that, but take a look across the street--there appears to be a new club in town," Roz said.



We glanced across the darkened road to the neon sign that glowed green. THE ENERGY EXCHANGE. Somehow, I didn't think it was a pay station for Puget Sound Power and Light. No, with a name like that, the joint could dabble in several things, none of them registering good on my internal danger meter.



"I don't like the feel of that," Menol y said. "But I don't think it's vampire."



"No, it's not." I slid out of the driver's seat and stood there, staring at the glowing neon tubes. "There's something . . ."



Just then Morio and Camil e wandered over, gazing at the club's sign. "Sorcery. I can feel it."



"You think Van and Jaycee run that joint, too?" Seattle was becoming a scary place to live. Even as more and more Fae were drawn here, so it seemed were the lowlifes of the Supe world.



"I doubt it, since they're Tregart. But I bet they frequent it." Camil e glanced over her shoulder at the warehouse. "We'l have to worry about this place later. We need to get into the warehouse and see if they've got Amber and the men."



"How we going to do this?" I considered the building. Morio was right--there was an entrance to either side, and the dock had its own door--as big as the entire loading bay. It operated like a garage door, and I wondered if there was a mechanism on the outer wal to open it.



"My guess is they keep that locked from the inside," Vanzir said, fol owing my gaze. "But the side doors shouldn't be hard to break through. The locks look old, and I doubt if they've bothered to buy new ones. After al , who would ever suspect them?"



"Wilbur told me, when I escorted him home, that coyote shifters are arrogant. They never think anybody's going to be able to keep up with their tricks.



So let's give the side door a try." Roz gave me a little push and, in a bad Humphrey Bogart impression, said, "This is your department, dol . How's about you go first?"



I motioned Camil e and Morio to the rear. "You two stay back there. We fight better without men down, and Camil e sure doesn't need to be caught by a flurry of Wolf Briar again. Menol y, you and Smoky up front with me. Vanzir and Roz, bring up the middle."



Grateful to the moody October night for the rich darkness that surrounded us, I led the way across the parking lot to the concrete steps, up to the walkway that ran the length of the warehouse. Briefly, I wondered if it curved around to the sides, but we didn't have time to check it out. Not right now. I headed over to the left-side door and knelt beside it, flashing a penlight on the lock. It was old and looked like it hadn't been used for some time.



Gesturing for the rest of them to stay there, I tugged on Menol y's arm, and we bent low, crossing to the right-side door. The lock on this one was oiled and rust-free. Yep, this was the door they used to enter the building. I'd bet the bank on it. Once again, we crossed back to the left, and I hurriedly whispered my thoughts to the others.



"If we go in here, they won't necessarily be expecting us. If we take the lesser-used route, we may buy ourselves time to root around without being caught. And while I expect we're going to have a fight on our hands, I'd prefer to get in, grab Amber and the guys, and get out again before anybody catches us."



It wasn't entirely true--I real y wanted to pound the crap out of them, but hey, the less stress, the better. Why make waves that might attract Stacia if we could be sneaky? Granted, we weren't good at sneaky, but we'd give it the old col ege try once again. Why I thought this time would be any different than usual, I didn't know, but then again, I was always being accused of being an optimist.



Camil e nodded. "Good thought. Spring the lock."



I pul ed out my picks and began mucking around with the lock. It was simple, no big-assed deadbolt, and it looked like the original that had come with the building. I took out my tension wrench, inserted it in the lock, then slid in the pick as I pressed my ear to the door and began working the pins.



Click. Click. Click. The pins fel into place.



Yeah, I was good at this. It occurred to me that between my glamour and my ability to pick locks, I might do better as a thief rather than a private investigator. Gods knew, I had few enough cases lately. Of course, if I spent more time advertising and hunting for clients, I'd be pul ing in more work. Then I'd have to find the time to do it. Content to leave matters as they were, I finished jimmying the lock, and the latch sprang.



"We're good to go," I whispered. "Just try to keep the noise level down." I turned off my penlight and sucked in a deep breath.



And then we headed inside.



The door opened into a long passage that was dimly lit by flickering florescent tubes that ran the length of the hal way. We wouldn't be able to hide in this light, but considering that the corridor was empty, right now it wasn't a worry. I edged through the door, looking for traps, but the place was deserted.



Motioning the others in, I glanced down the hal to make sure that we wouldn't be surprised if somebody came around the bend. The corridor ended, turning to the right, but between the turn and us were three doors to worry about--two on the left side and one on the right.



As Morio closed the door behind us, I sucked in a deep breath and did my best to softly creep along the tiled floor. The tile hadn't seen the end of a mop in a long, long time, and the dirt was ground in, years old by the look of it.



When we came to the first door, this one on the left, I pressed my ear against the wood and listened.



Nothing.



I tried the knob, but the door was locked. Thinking that maybe one of these might lead to our missing Weres, I pul ed out my pick set again. Two minutes later, the door was open, and we were staring into a room that had a desk and not much else. Except for one hel of a dust bunny problem.



We moved on to the middle door on the right. This one was unlocked, so we listened careful y again, then I cracked it, ever so slightly, and paused.



Nothing. No sound, no indication there was anybody in there. I eased the door open another few inches and peeked around the corner. The room was dark but ful . Motioning for everybody else to wait outside, I tapped Menol y on the shoulder to fol ow me.



Deciding to chance it, I pul ed out my penlight and sent the narrow beam around the room. It was jammed ful of boxes and bags of al sizes. Hmm . . .



stockroom? I slid through two stacks of boxes and stopped to examine the lettering on one. It was ful y sealed and was marked as containing canned peaches.



"Peaches?" A quick gander around showed the rest of the boxes to be fil ed with tinned fruits, vegetables, tuna, peanut butter, and a number of other goods. "What, are they planning on this becoming their fal out shelter?"



Menol y poked me in the ribs. "Shush. Who knows what they're up to? But seriously, there's enough food in this room to feed a family of four for a year."



She frowned. "They believe in some post-apocalyptic future or something?"



"I don't know." I opened another box that wasn't marked as food and had simply been shut by tucking the corners of the flaps under one another. Holy crap! I jumped back before I could stop myself.



"What?" Menol y leaned in past me to take a look. "Motherfucking pus bucket. What the hel are they planning?"



Staring at us from the depths of the box were sticks of dynamite. Plural. As in, I had no idea how many, but too many to count offhand.



"I have no idea, but I sure don't like the way that looks. They aren't primed for use--the blasting caps must be in a different box, but fuck, this stuff goes bad." I'd already been whispering, but I lowered my voice again. "We don't know how long this has been here. Dynamite degrades. I don't know just how much I trust being in a building ful of this crap."



"There's a door on the other side of the room." Menol y nodded in the direction of the opposite wal . "I'l take a quick listen, and then we'l get out of here." She silently glided over to the other door and pressed her ear against it. Then, just as silently, she backed up without opening it and motioned toward the hal way where the others waited.



As she shut the door behind us, I leaned against the wal --the opposite wal , considering that the room we'd just vacated held enough dynamite to take half this building out of commission--and let myself breathe.



"We have to be very careful. The Koyanni apparently like to play with things that go boom. As in dynamite. As in at least one ful box in that room. They also have enough food to stock a corner grocery store--looks like they're stockpiling. I have no idea why, but consider them armed and dangerous. And for the sake of the gods, do not send anything that explodes into that room. No lightning bolts, no energy bal s, or we could blow this joint sky high."



"There's a door on the other side of the room," Menol y added. "And I heard someone on the other side. I suggest we very quietly make our way down the hal and see what's around the corner."



We slipped down the hal , doing our best to limit our noise, until I reached the end of the corridor. I motioned for them to hold up and inched a look around the edge. The passage turned to the right and continued for the length of what looked like a room before a fork branched off into another hal to the right.



It was hard to tel what was at the opposite end of the corridor--probably another hal way. The building was big but not unending. I nodded for the others to fol ow me, and we slipped around the corner and headed for the next hal way.



We were almost there when a thin, wiry man came barreling around the corner. He was reading something on a clipboard and ran right into me before bouncing back, openmouthed, as he realized what he was seeing.



"Crap," I said. We were going to be outted by a geek.



But he didn't stand there gawking and yel ing like an amateur. No, instead, he whipped out something that fit in the palm of his hand as he let out a loud shout that sounded like a cross between a yip and a howl. So not a good sound. But before I could say a word, Morio returned the cry, howling at the top of his lungs even as he began to grow into his ful demonic form. Eight feet of humanoid fox demon was a sight to behold.



"Double crap," Menol y said and launched herself forward, but before she could reach the dude, he lifted whatever it was he was holding and pressed a button. And al hel broke loose.



I reached out just in time to meet an oncoming wave of what felt like electricity. Or maybe it was pure joy juice or whatever the fuck, but a thousand stabbing needles forked their way through my body, and I went down like a wet noodle. As I lay convulsing on the floor, Menol y leapt past me and then, before I could hear the satisfying crunch of our enemy's broken bones, she joined me on the floor, her eyes flashing red even as the jolt kept her from moving.



"You die!" Smoky flew past me, and once again, I heard the charge go off, but this time there was the sound of something wet smashing against one wal , and Smoky's raw laughter fil ed the hal . Meanwhile, Camil e helped me stand as the flickering tingles played across my nerves like a freaking torture machine.



"Can you stand? Can you hear me?" She wrapped her arms around me and helped me over to the wal so that I could lean against it. Menol y joined us-



-apparently the effects didn't last as long if you were already dead.



I nodded, trying to catch my breath. "Yeah . . . yeah . . . I'l be okay. Real y." I glanced over to where Smoky was standing, near the end of the hal , keeping guard. The guy was a puddle on the floor, blood pouring out of every orifice he had. Smoky had not only tossed him like garbage, he'd raked him with his claws. So much for the front man.



Camil e gingerly picked up the weapon he'd been using and handed it to Roz. "You're the expert on weaponry. What is this?"