Invisible Recruit: Invisible Power Part 3

I stood to shake off my lethargy. Noziaks don't mope. Well, not for long. All I managed to accomplish though was to set off the bongo drums in my head.

I squared my shoulders before I spoke. "Jaylene's wrong."

"About what?" Mandy stepped forward to defend her ally. I had to give her credit for being willing to mess with me after what she'd seen me do.

"It's Vaverek two, IR Agency zip." I let my gaze rest on each of them individually, even sightless Kelly before I spoke again. "Vaverek is still holding my brother hostage and Van's time is running out."

"If he's still alive."

Leave it to Chiquita-girl to stick the blade in and twist.

"Yeah, if he's alive." Like it or not I had to agree. Every hour that Van remained a prisoner meant that whatever torture he was going through would be successful. And once that intel was extracted, Van was no longer needed.

Think about him. Not me and my screw up.

My brother knew a heap-lot about the preternaturals who worked with humans, particularly in Europe, even if those humans didn't know who, or what, were rubbing shoulders with them. Expose those non-humans and all h.e.l.l would break out; pogroms, witch-hunts, ma.s.s stakings of anyone a.s.sumed to be a preternatural. The Council of Seven would no longer be able to hide the existence of non-humans and neighbor would be eyeing neighbor worldwide.

"You look like you have a plan." Vaughn's voice shook me from my dark thoughts. "It'd better include all of us."

Not what I wanted right then. What I had in mind was better accomplished witch-to-warlock. Alone. "Yeah, I do."

"Going to share?" Jaylene nudged.

"Vaverek may have won this round." I scuffed my beat up shoe against the sidewalk, wondering how I was going to get what I wanted, a free hand, only make it seem like someone else's idea. "But there are five of us, six including Stone."

"Don't forget Ling Mai." Kelly came to her feet.

Jaylene snorted. "Yeah, she's a nuke all on her own."

Ling Mai was the head of our agency and Jaylene was right. Our secret weapon working behind the scenes.

"So we have seven to one." I was just warming up. "Surely between us we can find and nail this b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

Mandy played devil's advocate. "Paris is a big city."

"But we've already destroyed a city block and the morning's still young." Use humor to deflect them from looking too closely at what I wanted to do, which was a solo mission.

Stone stepped into the mix. "You're saying let's get a move on it."

"Yeah." I nodded. "Play to our strengths. Ferret out where this guy's hiding. How he connects with the troop he sent after us. Rattle some people."

Stone shrugged, then shot a lightning fast, and s.e.xy grin at Vaughn. "Princess, you should have some contacts here from your days as an amba.s.sador's daughter."

"d.a.m.n right I do," she purred back. "Bet I get a lead on Vaverek before you do."

"You're on." Stone had to have some Irish in him to rise to the bait that easily. Either that or there was an unstated sub-bet going on, not that I needed the details.

But at least two of them were heading out on their own. Three left to take care of.

"I don't know a lot of French but I do know the underbelly of a city." Jaylene stepped forward. "I'm sure I can shake loose something."

"I can help," Mandy said, looking resigned. "I speak French."

We all glanced at her. Chiquita had hidden depths. Who knew?

"What about me?" Kelly piped up. "Once I get my sight back I should be able to do something."

"We need a coordinator. Someone we can all report to who will also be able to track all of us so no one runs into another Vaverek ambush."

"Playground monitor?" she replied with a small smile.

"Call it what you want, we still need you." Leave it to Vaughn to make a c.r.a.p job sound like the lynchpin position. "We're stronger as a team. Less risky for all of us."

"I agree," Stone added, looking straight at me. "Now's the time to use what we have together. No individual heroics."

He looked at me in particular but waited until each of us nodded in a.s.sent. My nod must have been the least impressive, and Stone's frown indicated he'd noticed. But he said nothing.

"I'll go back to the Campanile then." Kelly's tone saying she'd make the best of being stuck at the cheap hotel we were staying at while the rest of us went hunting.

Stone threw a kibosh into my plans by clearly announcing, "Alex, you head out with Mandy and Jaylene. There's safety in numbers."

Yeah, right, as if I didn't know what he really wanted-them to keep an eye on me. I guess I should have been grateful that he didn't pull me off the team right then and there. On the other hand, knowing Stone as I'd come to know him over the last few weeks, I bet he was giving me just enough rope to hang myself.

Then he added, "Just in case your warlock was the one who set us up here, I want zero contact with him. By anyone."

Now Stone was a mind-reader? I plastered a yeah-okay smile on my face that didn't mean squat because I didn't trust my voice to sound like I was really going to do what he just ordered me to do.

It hadn't been that long since I'd become an IR team member and I was actually finding that I liked having these strong, focused women at my side. So ditching them now wasn't an easy step, but I felt it was a necessary step toward getting what I needed. And getting that meant going through Bran.

If I didn't take this chance to follow up on the one lead I had, who knew if I'd get another opportunity to head out on my own. Not that Mandy and Jaylene knew that was my plan, but they would.

First step, shake their company. Second step, find Bran and force him to see me. Third step, save my brother by doing the first two steps.

I could make this work.

I had to.

CHAPTER 9.

Delmore Vaverek stood at his balcony window in the 7th arrondiss.e.m.e.nt glancing at the slate roofs across the street, the glaring white stone walls brightened by the high noon sun, listening to the childish shouts from the gardens of Champs de Mars nearby. But his attention was totally on what he'd just seen.

Was this the reason he'd been sent to acquire this witch? He'd heard she was powerful but merde, what he'd seen was not supposed to be able to happen. Or was what occurred outside his pied--terre the result of something else? What did the Americans call it? A sleight of hand. A scam.

Could this be what he'd been waiting to appear at last?

His cell phone rang and while he was inclined to ignore it, one look at the number had him answering before the end of the second ring.

"Vaverek speaking."

"So you survived your little fray?" The Druid on the other end of the line laughed his nasty, rasping laugh. "You may thank me now."

"I survived but so did all the members of this upstart agency. The same individuals you said would be easy to eliminate."

The sudden silence on the other end told Vaverek he'd earned the druid's attention. "And your people?"

"I would have thought you'd have heard by now." Vaverek wanted to share his own laugh but this man was dangerous, too dangerous to taunt lightly. "They are dead."

"All of them?"

"Oui."

"Merde."

Vaverek allowed himself a smile, knowing the Other could not see him. "Which means you must clean up the details on your end."

"How did you fail?" came the whiplash response.

"Oh, I did not fail." Vaverek lowered his voice though there was no one in his salon to overhear him as it'd been swept that morning for listening devices. Still one could not be too careful. "In fact, I learned more than I expected from this morning's fiasco."

"About the witch?"

"Yes." Vaverek stepped closer to rest one finger along the wavy panes of the two hundred year old window, aware how fragile so much of this world could be. His smile ratcheted up. "You did not share with me all of her amazing abilities."

"Explain."

"When we meet later. Not over the phone."

Vaverek heard the druid catch his breath. Anger? Or antic.i.p.ation? Either way Vaverek was now the one with the upper hand and they both knew it.

"Fine. Until this evening."

"You won't be disappointed."

"I'd better not be." If Vaverek thought he'd gotten off lightly he was wrong as the other added, "And speaking of disappointments, how is our guest doing?"

Vaverek tightened his grip on the phone. "He still breathes." What did the other expect? One minute Vaverek's orders had been to use any means necessary to extract the information wanted, the next the prisoner was needed alive. It'd been a near miss but the orders were rescinded in time.

That rasping laugh again. "Will he be breathing as you conduct the next experiment?"

"I'll make sure he is."

"Good." Vavervek could almost see the druid nodding. "Still on for tomorrow?"

"No. I think it would be better to push it back to Wednesday."

"Because?"

"One day will not make a difference and I have decided to make some alterations to the original plans."

"Such as?"

"I think it would be more effective if his sister were present."

"You are forgetting she is mine. It's part of our agreement."

"I don't plan to sacrifice her. One Noziak's death is all we need."

"And if she is hurt, our agreement is finished. You understand?"

There was no mistaking the threat beneath the druid's tone. "A Were never forgets," Vaverek said.

What he didn't share was the presence of the other at the morning's event. His presence made the stakes higher, the risks greater, but without either the rewards would not be as sweet. How to capitalize on this new piece of knowledge was the key. A game changer as the Americans would say.

"You still there, my friend?" the voice jabbed at Vaverek.

"I am." But not for long. There were pieces to be put in place on the chessboard of life.

"Nothing else to report?"

"No." Not yet. Maybe not until it was too late for the other.

"I shall see you later then?"

"Until tonight."

Vaverek hung up before the druid could say more. No doubt there'd be a penalty for that small show of disrespect but he was willing to pay it to retain the upper hand. Vaverek was not just any Were, but of the Erd clan, the mountain deep Weres that came out of Transylvania before mists were born. The ancient ones. Some said the original Weres.

Soon the druid would be currying Vaverek's favor and not the other way around. Vaverek now had the key.

Alex Noziak.

CHAPTER 10.

"Forgive me, old friend, for this call but it's necessary."

Jebediah "Jeb" Noziak set his mug of thick coffee down on the porch rail of his ramshackle farm, knowing that when Philippe Cheverill called it was not to share good news. "You have learned something of my son?"