The Monster Hunters

  “Thank you kindly, ma’am,” Earl said as Aino approached. “But the wood-chipper on wheels was Aino’s idea. I do believe the county owes him one hell of a Christmas bonus.”

  Nancy looked over Aino, who wasn’t much cleaner than Earl. “I’ll make sure he gets a parade and the keys to the city.”

  “Forget the keys. I’ll take paid vacation,” Aino said. “Someplace with no werewolves.”

  There was cheering and shouting from inside the gym as word spread about the vulkodlak. “Don’t get too excited just yet,” Earl warned. “They’ll be back. This isn’t enough to account for every dead body in town. The ones I hurt ran, but they’ll be back. The tractor’s toast, but we can use it to shore up your barricade, which should make it tougher to break in. But we’ve still got bigger problems.”

  “You’ve got no idea,” Nancy muttered as a large figure ducked under the barricade to join them outside.

  Earl frowned. “Agent Stork?”

  “Stark,” the MCB man corrected automatically before launching into a spittle-flecked tirade. “Damn you, Harbinger. The only reason I don’t shoot you on the spot is because of all the rednecks with guns in there who think you’re some sort of . . .” He searched for the word.

  “Hero?” Earl pointedly looked at the splattered walls and spread his hands. “Well . . . duh.”

  Stark’s face was flushed and angry. “Let me tell you something. When we get back to civilization, you’re going down. I’ll make sure—”

  “Cram it, fatty,” Nancy said. “Come on inside, boys. It really stinks out here.” She led the way back through the hole.

  It was obvious Stark wasn’t used to being told what to do by civilians. He just glared as Earl casually bumped into him, staining Stark’s armor red, but the agent held his tongue. The original doors had been torn to splinters and then replaced with the boards from the bleachers, bathroom stalls, and everything short of the kitchen sink. Judging from the looks of things, they’d gotten there just in the nick of time.

  It was much warmer inside, so warm in fact that Earl’s frozen face began to tingle like it was being stabbed with dozens of tiny needles. Despite the blood on his clothing, complete strangers manning the barricade slapped him on the back. Earl was not used to so many people looking at him like that. MHI tried to keep a much lower profile. Frankly, the attention made him uncomfortable. Someone passed him a gym towel, and he used it to scrub his face clean.

  “Shoo! Give these men some room.” Nancy ordered. The crowd drew back automatically. She’d obviously established herself as the leader during the night. “You said we’ve got more problems. What else can go wrong?”

  There was enough background noise that he wasn’t worried about anyone overhearing anything they shouldn’t. “The man that started this is still out there. I need to find him. If I don’t, he’ll just do this again someplace else.”

  “I can send some people with you,” Nancy said. “You’ll need—”

  Earl raised his hand. He was going after an Alpha; a mob would just get in his way, and most of them would probably get killed in the process. These people had guts, but they didn’t have training. He needed Hunters. “It’s not safe yet. There will be more vulkodlak coming, and they’re fast and tough to kill. Plus, he’s still got some other critters he could throw your way. You need every shooter you’ve got here.”

  “I’m coming,” Aino stated. “There’s nobody to miss me.”

  Earl didn’t know how to respond to that. Aino was a sturdy fellow in a fight, that was for sure, but he had to be about the age of Earl’s kids, as in too damn old to be fighting monsters. “You did real good back there, but you—”

  Aino raised his voice. “Just mulched half the people I know.”

  “No doubting that, my friend. We’ll talk about it, but I need you to translate Aksel’s journal for me first.”

  The curmudgeon obviously didn’t like it, but he understood. Aino nodded his blood-matted head once and walked off, determined to get to work.

  Stark had to butt in again. “I don’t think you’re going after anybody. I think you’re the one behind this, and I think you’re going to run off to cover your ass. How do I know you’re not going to go destroy the evidence?”

  Despite the sheer stupidity of that assertion and the sudden desire to slug Stark in the mouth, Earl just smiled and said, “Well, then, Agent. How about you come along to keep an eye on me? You are, after all, a highly trained professional.”

  That caught Stark by surprise. “Well . . . I . . . I’m needed here for . . . command and control.”

  “Not really,” Nancy pointed out. “We had that handled just fine before you showed up.”

  “But . . . somebody needs to get in contact with MCB headquarters . . . in case the lines open up.”

  Nancy put her hands on her hips. “Don’t forget your phone then. You’ll get better reception outside anyway. I’ll be sure, when the rest of your people show up, to tell them how brave you were to try and protect us poor defenseless types from all those horrible monsters. That sounds much nicer than me telling them about how you were basically useless and spent your time trying to boss yourself into a spot in the basement.”

  Earl looked between them. He didn’t know what had transpired, but apparently it was making Stark uncomfortable, and therefore Earl approved. Stark spoke very slowly. “You wouldn’t . . .”

  “Whatever you are, you’re still a government employee. And I know government employees, since I myself am a politician. From the way you’re used to throwing your weight around, I’m guessing you’ve got a pretty high-level job, but I’m also assuming a tragedy like this will bring out some even higher-level scrutiny. Regardless of who you work for, I bet they won’t like the fact that you were trying to throw some children out of the bomb shelter to get murdered to make space for your ugly ass.”

  “I . . . well, I . . . I mean . . .” Stark looked at Earl and sighed. “Shit.” He’d just been deftly outmaneuvered. “I’ll go round up some cold-weather gear.” Dejected, Stark stomped off.

  “You know, I didn’t really want him along,” Earl pointed out as he watched the agent retreat. “I was just trying to shut him up.”

  “Better you than me. If he gives you any lip, maybe you could accidentally push him into the snow cutter?”

  “Tempting. Well, at least MCB are usually handy in a fight. I could use some real Hunters.”

  A very deep voice intruded on their conversation. “Mr. Harbinger?”

  Earl turned, and then had to look up. Way up. The man was huge, bigger than Pitt or Gregorius, bigger than his largest Hunters. The man had to be nearly seven feet tall and was built like an NFL lineman. His enormous shaved head was wrapped in a bandage. He had one lazy eye and the facial scarring of someone who’d once suffered a severe cranial injury. Despite the fact that he was an extremely memorable specimen, and Earl was positive they’d never spoken, there was something oddly familiar about the man. “Do I know you?”

  “I believe I hit you in the back with an ax earlier. Just wanted to say sorry about that.”

  Earl nodded. The other Hunters. “Briarwood, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir. I’m the last, though. Name’s Jason Lococo. Most people just call me Loco.”

  “Most people are stupid, too. What do you prefer?”

  “I . . . Well, Jason would be fine, sir.”

  There was no sign of the other Briarwood men that had shot up Heather’s house earlier. “What happened to Horst?”

  “Gone.” Jason gave a grim little smile, leaving the impression that it was gone as in dead, as opposed to gone as in left. “Turns out he wasn’t as clever as he thought he was. Is MHI hiring?”

  “MHI is always hiring.”

  “I don’t have a resume handy, but I can provide references.”

  “You managed to hit me with an ax,” Earl said. “I’ve got to say, that’s a decent resume builder. You’re injured, though.”

  Jason gesture
d at the bandage. “Just a flesh wound. Ryan shot me in the head on account of me not wanting to murder you.”

  “He sure had a way with people, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, sir. I do okay at fighting monsters, and I’ve got a family to support. I can help.”

  Earl thought about it for a moment. There was no doubt the man was a Hunter, even if he was from a shoddy outfit. He’d do. “All right. You’re hired, but let’s call this a probationary period. If we don’t die shortly, we’ll discuss salary and benefits. Gather what equipment you can and meet me back here in ten minutes. Move out.”

  Jason seemed honestly relieved. “Thank you, sir. You won’t regret this.”

  Nancy waited for the big man to get out of earshot. “When we were bandaging him up, he was covered in prison tats.”

  Earl shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d hired a Hunter with a felony record. “I trust him more than Stark already. I’m not hiring him to lead a church choir. I’ll pull his records when I get a chance. If he did something particularly vile, like murdering without a good excuse or hurting women or kids, then I could probably get that snow-blower going again.”

  “You’re a man of strange sensibilities, Harbinger. But back to what you were saying. I’ll feel better when the trash behind this is put away. How do you intend to find him?”

  There was a sudden banging on the barricade. Men rushed over to peer through the holes. “Where’d he come from?” someone shouted.

  “I didn’t see anyone coming!” responded the rifleman guarding the front window. “He came out of nowhere.”

  There was more commotion around the barricade. Earl confirmed that his Thompson was ready, then waited. Twenty seconds later, a teenage boy ran over to Earl and Nancy. “Mr. Harbinger, there’s somebody here to speak with you. Says his name is Nikolai.”

  “That’s how I intend to find him,” Earl told Nancy. “If you’ll excuse me . . . Oh, and if this asshole tries to kill me, shoot him full of holes.”

  Two men moved a chunk of the barricade for him. Judging from the shape of it, it was what remained of the trophy case that Heather had broken. Nikolai was waiting outside, arms folded, rifle slung over one shoulder. He’d found some clean winter clothing, probably from the Alpha’s closet, and appeared much healthier than earlier.

  Earl greeted him. “You’re looking sane.”

  “You, on the other hand, look like shit,” Nikolai replied, running one thumb under his eye, indicating the spot where Buckley had tagged him. “You’ve received a few marks, I see.”

  Everything on him hurt. “You don’t realize just how nice regeneration is, ’til you don’t.”

  “It is rather pleasant. I’ve fed. Our mystery Alpha has a penchant for Spam.” Nikolai patted his stomach. He no longer looked emaciated. “Six cans of lard-soaked protein later, and I feel fine.”

  “Spam or death . . . Tough call.” Earl took out a pack of cigarettes. “I’m a jerky man myself. Smoke?”

  “No, thank you.” Nikolai studied the blood-soaked walls. The largest identifiable object left in the entryway was a heavily damaged pair of work boots. “I like what you’ve done to the place. Very industrial.”

  It was surprisingly awkward, trying to be friendly with somebody like Nikolai. “How about we cut the bullshit and get down to business? You with me or against me?”

  “You’re still alive. I believe even you can extrapolate an answer from that.”

  “Extrapolate? Where the hell did they teach you English?”

  “I’m sorry. The KGB did not have classes in cracker.”

  Earl sighed. “Can you take me to the Alpha or not?”

  Nikolai nodded his head toward the hills. “He’s out there somewhere. I can feel the amulet. It’s been getting stronger all night. I do not know where he is, but I can take us in the right direction.”

  “Can I trust you?”

  “No, but you will,” Nikolai answered. “You helped me do something that had to be done. I have regained control. I came here to kill the man that took Lila from me. I will not stop until that is done.”

  “Fair enough.” There was no trust, but there was enough mutual respect to get them through the mission. Earl held out his hand. “Truce?”

  Nikolai sneered at the extended hand. “Do not patronize me, Harbinger. We kill this zalupa first. Then we can define our terms.”

  It would have to do. They’d go back to killing each other as soon as the Alpha was out of the way. Earl kept his face emotionless but decided then that when they were done, Nikolai had to be put down. Both of his personalities were too dangerous to live. Nikolai’s expression was hard, and Earl knew that the Russian had probably come to a similar conclusion.

  “Agreed then . . .” This pained him to say aloud, but Nikolai needed to know. “I think I know who we’re after. We go back a ways. I believe the Alpha’s a man named Kirk Conover. I don’t know if that’s his real name, but that’s what he went by.”

  Nikolai thought about it. “The liaison officer at Special Task Force Unicorn?” He seemed dubious. “Unlikely.”

  “I don’t know who he’s worked for since the war, but he was some kind of spook. He’s the one that told me you’d be here. He roped me into this, and I trusted him like a sucker. I don’t know how he hid it, but he smelled human, and he appeared to have aged like normal.”

  “We met . . . briefly, but that was long ago. Why would he have attacked my family?”

  “He had a special hatred for you. His wife had nightmares about you until the day she died.”

  “She would not be the first.” Nikolai scowled. “Who was this woman?”

  “Your side would probably have known her as Sharon Mangum. Girl had a human father and a siren mother. She was with me on STFU. I found an old photo of Kirk and Sharon at the Alpha’s home. It was the only personal effect in the whole place.”

  “Ah, yes. The Singer. She was right to be afraid. She was considered a very high-value target. Anyone that can so confuse a man’s mind is an extremely dangerous asset.” The Russian seemed unconvinced. “But there could be other reasons the photograph was there. Could it have been planted to throw you off?”

  “Maybe, but it don’t feel that way. I don’t know. It’s the only thing that makes sense. I haven’t seen the Alpha yet, but I’ve spoken to him. He broadcasts his voice somehow, probably using magic. He sounded younger, but he talked like he knew all about me. I didn’t get too many details, since you interrupted and drove a snowplow through the wall and blew me up.”

  “Yes, that was a good one,” Nikolai said smugly.

  “He didn’t sound like Kirk, but he’s using magic, so who knows what else he’s altered. The Alpha said he’d lured us both here. Kirk lured me here. He despised you, knew enough about your history to manipulate you, and had the resources to find you. You got any other ideas?”

  “If Conover is the Alpha, then when did he become a werewolf?”

  Earl tossed his partially smoked cigarette into the red snow. “I don’t know, but when the Alpha was ripping the curse out of me, he called me father.”

  “Ah, now I see.” Nikolai smirked. “So that is why you asked me if you’d spread the curse to anyone during our last battle. It seemed odd that you would not recall having given one of your comrades the curse. . . .” He trailed off, as if lost in thought.

  Earl could tell Nikolai was holding something back. “What?”

  “You really don’t remember? What’s wrong with you? I did not know werewolves could become senile.”

  “Stick it, you vodka-swilling Commie asshole. A demon stole some of my memories a while ago, okay? All I remember is your bomb going off and then waking up on a medevac. I’ve got memories from before, and memories from after, but not those. Quit screwing around. What do you know?”

  “Earlier, you asked me if you’d spread the curse to anyone, not if you’d bitten anyone on your side.”

  Now it was Earl’s turn to be confused. “What’s the di
fference?”

  “Only humans can be cursed. A divine, or even a half-divine, cannot turn into a werewolf. Only bitten humans can be transformed. Surely you knew that.”

  “Of course . . . But . . .” The memories just weren’t there, but there was only one person on the task force that fit that description. “That’s impossible.”

  “Now you see. In your injured confusion, you did bite someone that day, but it was not Conover. That event would have had dire repercussions, and surely you would have memories of the aftermath, of costing your leader his life. No, you don’t recall this, because for you there was no aftermath. Instead it was a minor injury against one to whom the curse meant nothing, who could heal rapidly, and had no fear of being turned. You bit the Singer.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Tell me, did you associate with your teammates after the war? Did you keep in touch? Tell me, Harbinger, doesn’t Unicorn hold reunions?” Nikolai turned away and gave a cold laugh. “And to think that I’d doubted the reports all this time.”

  “That’s enough!” Earl strode over, grabbed Nikolai by the collar and jerked him around, heedless of the fact that the Russian could kill him in the blink of an eye. “What do you know?” Earl snarled. “What happened?”

  “You know nothing.” Nikolai met his gaze evenly. “I know now who we face. After the war, we kept tabs on the surviving members of all four of the American special task forces. I know more about the fates of your former teammates than you do.”

  That was obviously true. Earl hadn’t even ever had a confirmation that there were any other teams active.

  “Of the survivors, most, like you, went on to become PUFF-exempt and lived normal lives, a few were still considered too dangerous and were liquidated, and one went on to become a rather legendary MCB asset. Nothing particularly interesting to my superiors, except that two of the survivors disappeared completely within a few years of your return. One special, one human. They married, had children, and held uninteresting government jobs under an alias. Then one day they just vanished into thin air. It was a precise operation. Their existence was totally scrubbed. But before that, we had watched from a distance—”