Chapter 113

Grace

My stomach churned at the thought. If any of them were a part of Eason's kidnapping and they'd escaped, it really would be on my head. I scrambled for my phone, but Charles put a hand on my shoulder.

"I have eyes on all of them. Some of them are even in custody in several different police stations."

I shuddered as the relief weighed down my shoulders.

"Then who?"

"Likely the same people who drove those vans out to pick up the people with explosives," Charles said. "No other explosives have been set."

"Yet," Ethan said. "The ones that are being smuggled in like that are a part of my father's plan to make sure she steps down.... and kill off as many people for shock value."

Charles nodded. "The buses and the train?"

Ethan nodded.

"We're working on that. For now, we need to focus on finding Eason. If Alpha Shadow wants him that bad, so long as he's in the city, he's not going to detonate a damn thing."

Charles paused. "How likely is it that Alpha Shadow will have agents watching for your father to make his move on Eason."

Ethan paled. "Likely."

"Shit," Charles cursed.

"The CCTV was supposed to be set up while... Devin was in control."

The words felt bitter and dry in my mouth, another mark of my guilt. I remember him saying that he was getting a loan for it. I remember giving him the seal. I remember never asking for it back and the bill that had come soon after the divorce. My eyes stung as I tried to blink back the tears.

"We'll see where the project stands after this is over. What else do we have?" Charles asked. "Any specific buildings you know have surveillance outside? Street corners? Traffic lights?"

I blinked, trying to think. I shook my head. Nothing came to mind, and all I could think was that Eason would probably know.

I gasped and shot to my feet. "The handbook!"

"Handbook?" Charles as I pulled out my phone to call Amira.

"Amira said that Eason gave her a handbook. It had that speech I gave over the emergency broadcast and all this other information in it. If he put it anywhere it would be there... or in the Shared Drive."

Charles smiled lightly and nodded. "Good. Get Amira on the phone and see what you can find out."

He turned back to Ethan as I walked away. "Do you remember any names in particular aside from the families on the list?"

My thoughts raced as I waited for Amira to answer.

"Alpha Wolfe?"

"Amira, I need to know what sort of surveillance we have on the city. Cameras, any piece of the CCTV network that was set up. Is it in the handbook at all?"

I chewed on my lip as I heard her hustling through the halls to get back to my office.

"Yes," Amira said. "There's a map and an access code. The last note says that the entirety of downtown is covered and most of the main highways as of... September of 2018."

I bit back the moan of grief. Based on the timing, it was one of the last things Eason had done before I kicked him out. I turned back.

"Charles, there's partial surveillance." He came over as I sniffled. "E-Eason set up downtown and most of the main highways."

He smiled. "Good. Get George access. Is it electronic or magical?"

"Magical," Amira said. "But it's compatible. There are instructions about how to access it remotely from a laptop."

"Give me your phone."

I nodded giving it to him. He went to the door and called down the hallway to hand off my phone to George.

"You did good," Charles said and led me back to the table. "Take a seat, okay?"

I nodded shakily, but I couldn't look at Ethan.

It felt like forever before George came back in.

"We got a partial heading. I sent a unit after it and sent out the call to lockdown the city. No one is getting in or out. We're still looking for the other police vans. The surveillance helps give us a heading, but based on the time, they've probably already ditched the vans and moved the explosives."

My gut clenched with guilt even as a faint glimmer of hope began to flicker within me. The vans had been my fault, too. Not even just by happenstance or because I wasn't paying attention, but because I thought I knew better and I just wanted to prove a point.

Willful...

Stupid.

"If they were taking him out of the city, they might have already, using magic."

"They had the same car..." George said. "But that model isn't made for portal driving."

"Unless you have someone on board who can cast a barrier, I know," Ethan said. "But Alpha Shadow has witches posing as werewolves. If he's the one who picked up Eason, or if one of his operatives was with them, then they're already gone."

His words sent a chill down my spine. Magic was a realm where werewolves were vulnerable, as our abilities were primarily physical, and we had no resistance against witchcraft. Lycans were different. A chill went through me.

And you'll have no one to blame but yourself...

"What coven?" Charles asked. "Mixed? Solo?"

Ethan furrowed his brow in deep thought. "No. Alpha Shadow and the WSU contracts with a cover to the north. I don't know the name, but part of me thinks that Alpha Shadow is part of them. I've heard him mention Black Heart Cave a bunch of times."

Charles growled. "Fuck."

"Does that mean something?" I asked. "Do you know where that is? Is that where they're taking him?"

"No," Charles sighed. "Black Heart Cave is a... nickname for the main city of the Noir Coven. Their city is underground, and they're known for contracting with just about anyone if it'll make them money."

He snarled. "I should have guessed when you said Alpha Shadow is a witch."

"And doubly so," George said. "Alpha Shadow can't be persecuted under werewolf law either."

"What?"

"The States' isolationism isn't just against lycans," Charles growled. "Don't worry about it. When this is over, I'm going to have a pointed chat with that fucking idiot."

When...

I swallowed. "What now? We can't just wait here while they escape with Eason."

"The Enforcers will get back to us if they find the car. Until then, we need to get as much information as we can." He looked at Eason. "Do you have any names you can give me? A heading? A description?"

He shook his head. "I've never actually been in a meeting with any of them. I've mostly been on inventory duty..."

He bit his lip. "Wait. There was something, about the Enforcer jeeps and vans. The order to get one came from them."

Charles murmured to himself. "Manufacturers... maybe they needed the cloaking spell infrastructure..."

I looked at Ethan. "Why would a coven like that work with Alpha Shadow and the Blood Moon? What's in it for them?"

Ethan shrugged. "Money? Materials?"

"The States doesn't have any natural resources that would be of interest to witches except..." Charles' eyes widened, and he pulled out his phone.

"What's wrong?"

"Werewolves make up a pretty large population, not bigger than humans, but big enough and more valuable... especially if they're of mixed blood with lycans."

My stomach lurched.

"You mean... the President is s-selling werewolves to them? Why would they need people?"

"Capital, too," Charles said as he put his phone to his ear. "There are certain... potions and rituals that require powerful sacrifices. I can't be sure, but if there's a coven that would quantify a life like that, it would be Noir."

He turned. "Seraphina? Yeah, I need you to look into Noir's activity along the border. I've got reason to believe that... yeah?"

I swallowed, staring at Charles as he started to take notes. "I thought so. Find out everything you can about their magical activity, their affiliations, and what you can about their ties to the WSU and the Blood Moon. Also, get Mimi to do a scan of the city of any wayward spellcasting: cloaking spells, secrecy, that sort of thing. Thanks."

Charles turned back, clenching the phone in his hand.

"Ethan stays under close watch. Make it well known that he's in our custody and not in a bomb shelter." He looked at Ethan. "I don't believe for a second that Alpha Shadow sees you as expendable. You'd be worth a shit ton of regular werewolves. If there's any chance of slowing his plan down, we have to take it. Be on alert for witches masquerading as werewolves trying to find. Capture them alive if you can."

The Enforcers nodded in agreement. Then, he turned to me.

"You and I are heading back to City Hall." He lifted his chin. "You have something only you can do."

"And what's that?" I asked, skeptical and unsure.

"Be alpha."