Page 70 of Flesh and Fury
“Not a whole lot, Chief,” Eoghan said. “I guess you’ve met Ronald Cummings?”
“Briefly. I’m frankly surprised he’s the best the Agency had available,” Priest replied. “He never really impressed me as a self-starter or a go-getter so I’m kind of surprised that’swho they sent to follow up on my kidnapping. It’s a little insulting if I’m being honest.”
“There are other LEO’s involved. But he basically just said, go find her and sent us out of the office. We didn’t see Kellen at all,” Ari said. “I’m not sure he’s been back to the office and since I didn’t know who was listening, I didn’t ask anyone, even Night. But I wouldn’t worry too much about that one, Chief,” Ari said. “He’s a total coward and I doubt he wants any part of this fight. He’s no doubt out getting his dick wet in someone as we speak.” Ari looked around the room, and Eoghan noticed he looked nervous with all the shifters and strange vampires in the room. The tension was high if he had to say so himself.
“We should probably get going,” Two Trees said. “Flagstaff is a long drive.”
“We’re not flying?” Eoghan asked.
“No. We decided we need to take too many weapons, and paranormals like to avoid planes. And if there are delays for any reason, the vampires wouldn’t be able to travel during the day,” she said.
“That’s true,” Elora said. “I can’t put my clan at risk of being stuck on a runway if there was even the smallest possibility that we couldn’t take off and beat the sun. Then, if we were diverted? No. We don’t do planes unless we’re locked in cargo coffins and even then, only if we’re traveling with trusted partners.”
Eoghan nodded, noticing her accent was more than likely Hispanic, perhaps South American. “All good reasons to drive.”
“Sapphire, go and park your Prius somewhere safe and we’ll pick you up. This is why I didn’t want you taking a Charger. If Katerina or McGillis decide to pull up the GPS onthe car you’re driving, they’d know where you’d been and were going.”
“Good idea,” Ari said.
“No one wants to walk into a trap,” Joe Two Trees said as he smiled at them.
“Okay, everyone!” Priest called out. “Please get your groups together and head out to your states. I know you’ve all brought weapons with you, and I trust that you’re all committed to this very important common cause. Thank you for trusting me and your clan leaders. It’s the spirit of cooperation in this room that I want all of you to take away from this gathering today. I want each and every one of you to know that if it was your tribes, clans, or reservations at risk, you could call on these same brothers and sisters and ask for their help. Thank you so much.”
She looked down at her watch before looking up. “It’s seven-thirty L.A. time. Let’s plan on midnight Pacific time the day after tomorrow as the moment we begin our attack. Does anyone here believe they can’t make it to their destination by then? Juan Garcia and Edward Walters, your two packs have the farthest to go, Albuquerque and Santa Fe.”
“If we drive straight through and trade off drivers, we can do that, Chief. No sweat,” Juan Garcia said. He looked at Edward who smiled sweetly at his lover and nodded before looking back at the others. “We’re good too.”
“It’ll take us longer than anyone to get into place because we’re traveling with vampires,” Priest said, looking at King John and Elora. “Otherwise, we’d be making a go of this tomorrow at midnight. When you get to your destinations, please rest up. Once we go the day after tomorrow, we’re not stopping until every last one of Bradshaw’s bad vamps are neutralized. I’ve already told you what that word means. Your mandate is to spare every innocent life you can. You all havenew phones. Dump your old ones. They’re no good to you anymore. You all know what to do when you’ve cleaned up your city.”
There were murmurs of agreement all around, and Eoghan was anxious to know what he and Ari had missed as she handed them each a brand-new phone. “Use only these,” she said before turning back to the room. “Okay, head out!”
Ari and Eoghan stepped aside with the grizzlies and John. Severin and Invictus, who’d been silently watching from the other side of the warehouse walked over as everyone else began walking out. Only their leaders remained behind to make sure all their clans exited the building without causing a clash with the vampires which was probably a good thing. Finally, Two Tree’s pack and Elora’s clan filed out, new phones in hand. King John walked over and hooked a thumb at the retreating backs of the vampires.
“I will see you in Flagstaff,” Elora said, giving them one more insolent up and down. “You sure you don’t want to ride with me,novio?” she asked staring right at Eoghan. “We could have so much fun together.”
“No thanks,” Eoghan said. “I’m good.”
“No snacks for the road, Elora,” King John said. “You’d better see to your vampires.”
“Oh, poo,” she said, winking at Eoghan before turning and clipping out on her tall stilettos.
“Have a safe trip,” the king said, rolling his eyes as he turned to them. “Sorry about that. I’ll be riding with Elora’s clan.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice almost to a whisper. “I don’t like her but she’s a means to an end and I am glad she agreed to come from Vegas. I’m only happy there will be some vamps on this terrible journey. I’ll see you at the end of the line in Flagstaff.” He pressed a hand over his heart and bowed before throwing his hand out in a flourish. “Farewell,until we meet again.” With that, he spun around and vanished at vampire speed. They saw him a split second later standing beside Elora at the back of the semi which the other vamps were climbing into.
They laughed at the king’s antics and then watched Rana, Andy, Vance, Edward, and Juan leave with their clans, giving them each a pat on the back or a smile or in the case, a big hug when it was Rana’s turn.
“Okay, that just leaves us,” Priest said, holding out a hand to Joe and Alo. “We’ll meet you in Flagstaff.”
The two men shook her hand and smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll get set up and do as you asked, laying the groundwork for the attack just as asked, Chief.”
“Thank you, Joe. We should be there just before dawn on the day after tomorrow,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“We’re not going with them?” Ari asked.
The chief shook her head. “The three of us are going to trail the vampire’s semi and stop with them in Lake Havasu. We can spend the day in the desert and then get back on the road after dark when it’s safe for the vampires to travel. I didn’t want them going it alone even though Elora brought along four human guards who travel with them at all times. If something happens and the Agency figures out what’s going on before we get to our destinations, everyone else will be able to flee day or night but our vampire contingent, including the king will not.”
“You’re right, Chief,” Eoghan said.
Eoghan and Ari watched the vampires climbing into the back of a semi-trailer while Joe’s folks did the same. Eoghan was amused to see several couches and a portable toilet strapped in at the back of the semi, along with overhead lighting and an AC unit. After everyone but the chief, Severin,and Invictus pulled out of the parking lot, Eoghan glanced at the dragons.