22. Spectre
When Jameson called me in, I knew something had gone very wrong. I was never called in and the last I heard was that Powertrain had gotten a visit from his past, which meant his present was now in danger. And from what I heard, as much as I didn’t like it, my daughter seemed to be in his future.
Either way, getting a call from the President of the RBMC to stop what I was working on to show up for Church, didn’t sit well with me. I hadn’t shown my face in Church since Bulldog passed on. It had been over ten years since half these members had seen me last. I got tense looks as I wandered through the foyer and toward the back of the clubhouse where I knew Jameson was waiting on me.
As I walked past one of the rooms a voice stopped me. “Well aren’t you a sight for sore eyes? Came to visit your family for once, did ya?”
I turned to find Helsing, our Chaplain, standing in the middle of what looked to be the kitchen. He held a coffee mug in one hand and carried a notebook in the other. He was wearing purple clogs, a care bear t-shirt and what looked like swirly poop pajama pants.
“What the fuck are you wearing?”
“It’s six o’clock in the morning, friend. Do you know where your children are?” He clipped, doing a reference to an old ninety’s news commercial.
“You’re not funny.” And it wasn’t amusing, not in the least bit, but Helsing liked to be a smartass.
“You know, I try,” he shrugged, handing me his mug. It had the words, Don’t Talk to Me, written on the side. I narrowed my eyes on him, but he ignored me as he poured another cup of coffee. When he turned to me and I raised a brow, as the new mug read, I Ride so I don’t Choke People.
“Drink up,” he said. “You’re gonna need it.”
I took a sip of the coffee and quickly spit it out. “It’s bitter as fuck!”
“It’s Irish. A little whiskey in your coffee never hurt anyone.”
I set the mug down and sighed. “You don’t change, do you?”
“Never have, never will.” He brushed past me.
I’d known Hellsing for a long time and for what it was worth, you had to respect him. He”d come from the same school as Exorcist, our former Chaplain, and he”d fought some wicked demons in his day. And yet even with all the devils at play, he kept his light heartedness. He found everything amusing and his smartass comments were his defense to pretty much everything. As much as he seemed empathetic and loyal to the RBMC, I wouldn”t ever cross him. I heard a Reaper did once, and he paid heavily for that. Because as normal as he wanted us to think of him as, we all knew that Hellsing wasn’t who he made himself out to be. He was still our brother though, and we would still protect him even if it meant protecting him from himself.
I followed him down the hall. “Don’t tell me the Prez call you in as well?”
“He called Church, didn’t he? Do you honestly think I’d look like this if I wasn’t yanked out of my warm bed at the crack of dawn.”
“You know what, I’m not sure anymore.” I shook my head in defeat.
We walked into the Royal Bastards conference room, and I immediately took note of the changes Jameson had made. The room was different, higher end and expensive looking.
At the center of it all stood a new steel conference table, its sleek surface gleaming under the overhead lights. It was a bold departure from the old wooden one his father had bought. But it wasn”t just the table that caught my eye. The entire room had been outfitted with high-end tech, from the state-of-the-art projector mounted on the wall to the sleek touchscreen panels embedded in the table itself. It was a far cry from the outdated equipment we had been using before. Old photos of the club hung on either side of the walls, and a sense of nostalgia ran through me as the still black and whites instilled memories of past days.
“Dad?” The word tore me from my memories, and I turned to look at Macabre. My son had gotten older since the last time I saw him.
“Ethan,” I tried to keep my voice from craving but that was near impossible.
He simply stood there, staring at me, and for an instant I didn’t know how to react. It wasn’t until Hellsing gestured at me that I walked up to my son, clamping my hands on his shoulders.
“It’s good to see you,” I pulled him in for a hug, and although stiff at first, his arms eventually came around me and he became that young boy I left years ago.
We patted each other on the back, pulling away so that the emotions wouldn’t get the better of us.
“Your hair turned white,” Macabre muttered.
“How’s Belle?”
He nodded. “She’s safe. We’re good.”
“I thought you would be. You’ll be alright here.”
“Whisper,” his voice cracked, and I nodded, giving his shoulder a squeeze.
“We’ll find her.”
“Mom?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t talk much about my raven lately. I knew I was losing her little by little. I spent half my time in and out of that damn hospital. Every night was torture without her, and both Whisper ad I knew that the raven would take her eventually.
“Have you gone to see your mother?” I fixed a glare on him.
“No, Sir.”
“Then you’re too late. I doubt she’d recognize you anymore.”
“What? Whisper said she was fine…she said…
Macabre was about to ask all the questions Whisper and I had once asked ourselves, the denial gnawing at us, but before I could tell him the truth, Jameson walked in, followed by Hoax, Goshawk, and Tick Tock who nodded at me as he took his seat at the table. The look in our President’s eyes said it all.
“Whisper and Powertrain are nowhere to be found,” he muttered.
I was trying to stay calm but inside, I was a fucking mess. I couldn’t lose my daughter, not to this fucking demon.
“This fucker doesn’t scare me; we have worse killers sitting among us. I just need to know the last place they were both seen and Macabre and I will track her.”
Tick Tock spoke next with the only information they had. “Powertrain received text messages last night. The sender was threatening him, leaving him on a wild goose chase. Last he mentioned was Charity Hospital.”
Hoax sent a tablet my way, an array of texts filled the screen. “Does any of this say where he could have gone?”
“One text mentions the old mill, but I checked surveillance cameras for movement. There was none. No one’s gone in or out of that area that we haven’t vetted. And we’ve had heavy surveillance on all our properties for the last two weeks.”
“Fuck!” My eyes fixed on Jameson, and I knew I had to give up the information I had on her. I’d tried to keep the secret for a long time, but it was inevitable. They had to know what they were up against. I couldn’t risk her being overlooked and losing her life.
“You all know my wife was special.” They all nodded collectively, although no one spoke a word. “Whisper has the same power.”
“She’s a shifter?” Helsing asked.
I nodded to him. “You think this fucker stole her because of her power?”
Tick Tock shook his head. “No. I think he’s a fucking murderer who is out for blood. Powertrain’s blood. And he”s using her to get to him.”
“We need a location, Hoax.” Ethan pressured.
“I”m working on it,” he murmured as image upon image popped up on the screens.
“Powertrain and I work in tandem. He always leaves breadcrumbs so I can search for his location later. He made it harder for me this time, but I”ll pinpoint him.”
“I saw what this motherfucker did to that friend of his. It wasn”t pretty,” Hoax said, slowly looking up at Spectre. “Powertrain. Won”t let that happen to your daughter.
“I appreciate the reassurance, brother, but I need you to focus.” I ordered.
As the tension in the room thickened, Hoax”s fingers danced across the keyboard, his eyes fixed on the screen as he manipulated the images and data in search of Powertrain”s location. The air hung heavy with anticipation, each passing second feeling like an eternity as we waited quietly for any sign of progress.
Suddenly, Hoax let out a triumphant grunt, his face lighting up as he pointed to a blinking dot on the map displayed on the screen. ”Got him,” he declared, his voice filled with determination.
“Tick Tock was on the money. Powertrain is at Charity Hospital in downtown New Orleans.” Hoax confirmed, waiting on Jameson’s orders.
“Let’s move!” Jameson ordered and we wasted no time in following orders and gearing up. The sound of leather creaking and metal clinking filled the room as we strapped on our weapons. We were outside and mounting our bikes in a matter of seconds.
”Spectre, you take lead, and Macabre, you are his number two,” Jameson barked, his voice ringing out over the roar of the motorcycle engines. ”Hoax, give ”em the coordinates and keep tracking Powertrain”s movements. We need to know where he is at all times. We’re moving out.”
Tick Tock, his face grim and determined, nodded in acknowledgment, his hand already resting on the hilt of his gun. Beside him, Macabre”s jaw was set in a hard line, his eyes burning with determination.
I couldn”t shake the feeling of dread that gnawed at my insides. This wasn”t just another run for me. This was a rescue mission, and failure was not an option, not when it came to Whisper. My bike roared to life and as Ethan gave me a nod, we took off, the members falling in line behind us.