I didn’t have a link with Alpha Steven, but others in the car did. “Alpha Steven agrees. If you do not interfere with us, the Alpha will let you go and inform Master Cyprian of your assistance,” his warrior said. It was a good deal, especially since Cyprian would be establishing the new Mexican Coven. She was bound to survive if Alpha Steven vouched for her. “We’re pulling off the road soon.”
I took the machete out of its sheath, placing it against Esmerelda’s neck, one hand on each side. One move and she’d decapitate herself. She was short enough that you’d never see the blade through the windshield. “I want to believe you, but I can’t trust you just yet,” I said. “When it goes down, don’t move a muscle.”
“I’m the one placing blind trust in you,” she said. “Your kind can find solace in death. I’m already dead, and Mateo can heal me and torture me again until he tires of my screams. You have the information. Kill me now if you don’t trust me.”
“Trust, but verify,” I responded.
We came to a halt, and everyone else got out. The back of the SUV opened up, and one of the warriors started handing out guns from the bag to everyone. “Fire a couple of rounds, and make sure they work,” Alpha Steven said. “Once you’re satisfied, top off the ammo and put them in the bags so they stay with you when you shift.” A line of people moved away, pointing their firearms into the darkness as they did their test firings.
As one, they spun and opened fire on the car containing the vampires. Twenty shooters opened up, firing pistol and rifle rounds at the five trapped vampires as fast as they could. The shooting sounded like thunder for a few seconds, and then it stopped.
A dozen men and women ran forward, from the woods and hiding places in the cleared section, flaming cloths stuffed in gasoline-soaked bottles that smashed inside the bullet-riddled vehicle. It didn’t burn like gasoline; the wolves had dissolved bags of Styrofoam peanuts into the gas. The foam turned it into a thick, sticky, napalm-like substance.
Five seconds after the first shot and the SUV was in flames. The five vampires inside tried to get out, but the burning goop was melting their flesh. The second group fell back, allowing the shooters to continue firing as they tried to get out. The flames and the bullets were too much to heal from, even for a powerful vampire. Ten seconds later, all movement had stopped.
Esmerelda hadn’t moved, but I saw a smile appear on her face as she watched her nemesis die.
“There never was a meeting, and you don’t have any money with you, do you,” she asked.
“This has always been a one-way trip for Mateo. We found out the girls are prisoners of Master Vespucci in Mexico City. He should be dead by now.” I let go of the machete, bringing it back over the seat.
“Good,” she said. “Thank you for trusting me.”
“I’ll be back,” I said. Walking out, I went to each of the smoking corpses, hacking the heads free of their bodies to make sure they didn’t come back. The men tossed their weapons into the burning car, letting the fire destroy the evidence. When I finished, I dumped the machete in the back seat. “We should go,” I said.
We loaded into the vehicles, and one of the warriors used a tree branch to erase the tire prints. He hopped into the van while Alpha Steven got in the back with me. “Done, no issues,” he texted to Leo from a burner phone.
Less than five minutes after pulling off the road, we were on our way back to Cancun.
**********
Hammer’s POV
Maribel and I alternated shifts watching the office building throughout the day. We counted a dozen people going inside, mostly in the late afternoon, while only one person came out. “Do you want me to follow her,” Maribel asked? We’d seen the woman go in just before sundown, leaving about thirty minutes later.
“No,” I said. “We can’t give any tips that other supernaturals are around, not this close to the attack.” I watched the vampire walk back up the street, carrying a black bag over her shoulder.
Picking up the radio, I asked Ken Waltrip if he and Matt had seen any activity out the back. “Nothing,” he reported. “The windows are painted black, so I can’t see anything.”
At six, I made a call to Alpha Leo to update the team on the situation. “We know the girls are inside, and we think about a hundred vampires are with them. Is it a good idea to attack against those odds? Why not wait until the number thins down again?”
“Master Pontalba says they can handle that number of newborns, so we proceed as planned. We’ll stage the vehicles in the parking lot of your hotel and drive from there. You and Matt will stay on overwatch, in case any of the vampires try and go out the windows.”
“What about Ken?”
“He’s following the assault team heading to the emergency exit in the back of the office building.”
“I should be going in the front door, Leo. I have more experience than anyone in taking down buildings.”
Leo just laughed. “You’re not the only one with experience in the sandbox or Afghanistan, Hammer. I need you covering their asses as they roll in.”
Dammit. “Yes, sir.”
“We’ll be in the lot at six-fifty. Tell Maribel that Anna will meet her in the lobby then.”
“I will. I’ll call you if anything changes.” I hung up the phone and went back to my scope. “Maribel, I’m supposed to tell you that Anna will meet you in the lobby at six-fifty.”
“This is going to be fun,” the little mermaid said.
“What are you going to do?” I’d never dealt with mermaids before.
“It’s easier to show you than explain,” she said. “You should eat something.”
“I can never eat before a mission,” I said. “I’ll take some Gatorade, though.”
She went over and took one out of the insulated compartment in my bag. “Thank you,” I said as she handed it to me. “We have fated mates, but how do mermaids find each other?”
“Mostly by arranged marriages, but some of us find someone to love on our own,” she said. “We don’t live in large groups, and our families live on the coasts around the world. Unlike wolves, we cannot turn someone, and a male mermaid getting a human female pregnant results in a human child. We cannot reproduce a mermaid unless the mother is a mermaid. Our elders strongly encourage only mermaid pairs.”
“Have you found someone?”
She blushed and shook her head. “No, and I’m not in a hurry to find a man.”
“Werewolves hold annual get-togethers where they hope to bring mates together. Do you do anything like that?”
“No, but I’d like to see it.” She let out a breath, moving a stray hair from in front of her face. “We don’t have anything like the Pack structure you have. No one wants to listen to another, and that hurts us. Maybe what Vicki is planning for Australia will carry over elsewhere.”
“I’d hope so.” She asked me about my love life while we waited. I talked about my first marriage and my wife’s loss, and then my whirlwind romance with Susan. “Once I made the change and became a werewolf, it was like everything magnified five times. I can FEEL her love for me, and I’m hopelessly in love with her. I’d die without her.”
“It sounds wonderful,” she said as she wiped away a tear.
“It is.” I squeezed her hand as I kept watch on the building. “When this is all over, talk to Leo and Adrienne, or Vicki and Nicholas. I’m sure they’d love to do something to help you out.”
“I will.” Pretty soon, it was time for her to go. “Stay safe, Hammer. Your mate needs you.”
“I’ll talk to you when it’s over,” I promised. The door closed, and I went back to overwatch. No one had gone in or out since sundown.
“We’re in place,” Leo said over the link. “We’ll be using our vehicles to take down the gate and the doors. The vamps will follow us in since we have to secure the entrance to the basement.”
“Roger that,” I sent back. I kept watch, and a few minutes later, I saw Maribel and Anna walking down the sidewalk towards the office building. Maribel stopped a block short of it while Anna kept going.
And then they began singing.
It was beautiful, and I opened my window to hear it better. I didn’t recognize the melody, the words, or the language.
Then I started to notice the humans.
They were staring at the girls, and it was like they went into a trance. People stopped what they were doing and stared at them. All movement stopped; traffic ground to a halt, and they started following the mermaids away. People in cars got out, and people in businesses came out onto the sidewalk. Like Pied Pipers, the girls led all the witnesses away. “Fuck me,” I said as I watched it. I was glad that we weren’t susceptible; it was a powerful ability.
“We’re moving,” Leo sent.
I watched as a line of vehicles moved out of the lot. The first five of them crossed the street; they would link up with Ken to attack from the rear.