Chapter Six
Roman
Oakley yawned for the seventh time, and I sighed. “I know it’s boring, but you have got to get your yawning under control before you put us both to sleep.”
They sighed this time. “I’m trying, but stakeouts are the worst. I can’t help it. I’ve never been so bored in my entire life.”
“So dramatic.”
They stuck out their tongue—giving me a glimpse of their piercing—and flipped me off. “I’ll show you dramatic.”
“Oh boy. Didn’t think you could get more dramatic than this. Now I’m scared.”
“Good.”
I snorted, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw their lips twitch into a smirk.
We were on day three of staking out the location Barney Porter had given us, and I couldn’t even really argue with them.
Stakeouts really were the worst, and this one was even more boring than usual because there was literally no one around.
Normally, there were people to watch and keep an eye on to at least help pass the time.
This stakeout was literally staring at a gray cement building and nothing else.
Barney had been transferred back home to the tower where Garrick and his team were interrogating the man further, but they hadn’t gotten anything else out of him so far. I doubted they would.
I could only hope that his being missing hadn’t been noticed yet because I could guarantee these criminals would switch up their meeting location in a heartbeat if they realized one of their guys had been nabbed.
“At least we have good stakeout snacks,” Oak mumbled under their breath as they reached for the bag full of snacks.
I’d gone to the store every day to replenish our snacks because I knew Oak would complain even more if they didn’t have anything to snack on.
They were always eating lately, and I could only assume their dragon form was growing because they hadn’t put on an ounce of weight.
They were young enough that their dragon could still grow.
Honestly, a dragon could, at any age, decide it wanted to be bigger.
That was why Garrick was so huge. His dragon kept on growing for years after mine had stopped, even though we were close in age.
“I see movement,” Oakley said, snapping my attention back to the task at hand. Oak reached for their binoculars and dropped the snack bag on the floor at their feet. “Eleven o’clock, corner of the building. I think I see… someone with a cigarette?”
I grabbed my own binoculars and focused on the spot they’d pointed out. I could’ve probably seen the area with only my dragon eyes, but the binoculars had night vision, and I wanted to get a clearer picture of what we were dealing with.
It took a few seconds, but I finally saw what they did. An arm sticking out from the side of the building with a lit cigarette in their hand.
“I see it. Definitely an arm with a cigarette.”
“I’ll get out and walk down the street to get a better view.” Oak opened their door silently but glanced at me for confirmation.
Technically, I was the lead on this mission, so I could call them back.
But I knew that’d be a stupid idea, both professionally and personally.
Professionally, we needed eyes on the target, and there was no reason it couldn’t be Oakley doing it.
Personally, they’d be pissed off for weeks—months, even—and possibly never forgive me if I started pulling rank and not allowing them to do anything.
I might’ve been lead, but we’d been acting as equal partners in this, and I wanted to continue the trend.
So I reluctantly gave them a nod, and I watched them for a few seconds, making sure they put their earbud mic in.
After placing mine, I said, “Tap twice if you can hear me.”
I received two taps, and I sighed in relief. We wouldn’t chance the target possibly overhearing them speak—we had no clue what kind of being they were or how good their hearing was—but I was glad they had a way of communicating with me.
I rolled my windows down a tiny bit to see if I could pick up on the person’s scent. If I got a whiff, I’d likely know what species they were, but it seemed that the wind was blowing the wrong way because all I could smell was the normal filthy city stink.
I kept one eye on the target and one eye on Oakley as they settled behind a parked car. Since I knew they knew how to do their job, I didn’t bother telling them to take pictures or report what they could see to me if they safely could.
We had a system in place, or perhaps a code, they could safely execute with only taps if they were in trouble or needed backup.
So, as worried as I was, I kept telling myself all would be fine.
That Oak would be safe, that my viramore was safe, that nothing was going to happen to them just because I allowed them to walk a block and a half away from me.
I waited for what felt like an eternity before Oak’s voice came through my ear in a whisper.
“It’s a witch.”
That was good. We were both way too far away for a witch to hear and scent us, even if they had enhancing spells on them. “Just the one?”
“So far, but they were on the phone. I recorded what I could.” Luckily, we had our own magically enhanced equipment, so hopefully, we’d be able to listen to their conversation later. It’d only be one-sided, but it was better than nothing.
“Good. Any sign they’re waiting on someone?”
“Yes. They said something about a shipment being late. Considering the time of night, I’m hoping this is it.”
I looked at my clock. It was after three in the morning, so Oak was likely right. What were the chances that someone was expecting a legal shipment at this time of night in the exact location we were told a trafficking ring bought their victims?
“Good work. Stay on them. Tell me if they move or you see anything else.”
“Roger that.”
We went quiet for a time, and I got a better look at the witch in question.
She had long blonde hair under a black beanie, a long-sleeved black shirt, black tactical pants, and big black boots.
She had a gun and several knives on display, along with some vials that were likely filled with some kind of potion.
From her body language, I could tell she was pissed off when she took another phone call.
I checked in with Oakley once more before a black van finally pulled onto the street. “Black van, incoming from my nine.”
“Roger that. I see it.”
It pulled up, right next to the building, luckily where I could see, and the girl walked over to meet the driver. She yelled at him loud enough I could pick up some of the conversation, but it only lasted a few seconds.
The driver got out of the van, walked to the rear, and opened the back doors. The girl peeked inside, but I couldn’t see what she was looking at from my angle, and I knew Oakley couldn’t either.
The woman nodded, shut the doors, and waved the van onto a side street.
Before I got out of the car, Oakley said, “They’re moving around to the back of the building. I’ll follow around on the east side, you take the west.”
“Sounds good. Stay safe. Keep your shield spells handy.”
“Always do.”
I hated that they would be completely out of my sight, but this was the only thing that made sense. We had to see what was going on, and this way, the targets couldn’t get away without one of us seeing where they went.
Quickly, I made my way around the side of the building, making sure to keep my footsteps silent. When I reached the back alley, I gave a tap to my mic, and Oak tapped back a few seconds later, indicating that they were in position as well.
I hit record on my borescope—a camera lens on the end of a long, flexible tube—then fed the end around the corner to be my eyes without chancing anyone seeing me. I held a small screen in front of me so I could see what the borescope was recording.
My fingers and toes were crossed that Oak was doing the same on their side. It was always best to have multiple angles if at all possible, so we’d have a better chance of analyzing the situation later. Plus, it was more evidence against whatever crimes were committed.
The van was parked beside a smaller car we’d clocked when we’d first arrived tonight. It must’ve belonged to the woman.
I watched on my screen as the woman went about changing the license plates on the van and car before I heard her ask, “How long do I have till they wake up?”
“Possibly an hour, at most.”
“Shit. Help me give them another dose before you leave. I’d rather be safe than sorry.” She walked over to the car’s trunk, opened it, and pulled out a big black duffel bag. She dug around in it until she pulled out what looked like a medical bag.
The man opened the van’s doors, and this time, I had a pretty good view of the inside. The back of the van was completely cleared out, so there were no seats or anything back there,
But on the floor lay three unmoving bodies.
I moved the borescope around to try and get a better look at the bodies, but there was no chance of seeing their faces from here. Oakley wouldn’t be able to see inside the van from their position, so this was as good as it got. Dammit.
The woman injected something into each victim—which was a good sign they were still alive—before shutting the van’s doors and sending the man on his way.
The man took her car and left without another word, and the woman smoked another cigarette before flicking the butt on the ground, throwing her duffel in the passenger seat, and climbing into the driver’s seat.
I watched her turn the van around in my direction before driving right toward me.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a small twig, ran my thumb over it, and activated the spell inside.
A shield covered me instantly, only this shield was different than your typical one.
It was covered in shadow magic that helped you blend into your background and basically made you invisible unless someone was looking very hard for you.