Then the front door opened, and George’s adrenaline spiked while his inner predator started panting. A man in a lion mask stepped through, leaning heavily on a walking stick but refusing the help from the goon at his side. The gesture with which he shooed the helpful man away was all George needed to recognize him, though his stature also gave a clue.
Castain had just entered the house.
Chapter 28—End of a Hunt
ANDI COULDN’Tsee anything with George blocking the door, but his ears worked just fine, and the information barraging him from the various arthropods in the house helped him get a picture that was almost as good as seeing through the crack George had his face pressed on. Granted, it had a psychedelic quality, a bit like those 3D patterns that turned into pictures once the eyes adjusted, only in Andi’s case it was his entire brain adjusting, ignoring the confines of his body altogether. Moving while his other sight was fully turned on was not advisable, as he had learned the hard way early on in his life, but here, in the relative safety of the closet, with his partner shielding him, it was a good way of gathering all the intel they might need later for when SWAT was ready to go in.
Entering the house had been a calculated risk. They could have just waited outside for Forard to arrive and let him handle the raid. It would have been safer for them, though not for the poor kids trapped inside the house. Even though Andi could pinpoint exactly where they were because the roaches and the pill bugs were going crazy from the pheromones their fear was producing, him and George being inside the house meant they could potentially stop any of the suspects from going upstairs. Not that he really thought they would try once SWAT came at them, but people in a panic tended to overreact, and there was no hostage more perfect than a child. He also sensed three adults with the children who would pose enough of a problem without some bodyguard with a pressing wish to escape waving his gun around.
At the moment the children were upstairs in twos, most probably in the different bedrooms. Houses like this tended to have four to six bedrooms, and Andi could sense eight kids, which made a surplus of two for the disgusting scum waiting in the hall. Or Castain wanted two for himself, which was entirely possible. He wouldn’t be the first dealer who used his own merchandise.
The front door opened again, and George stiffened like a tiger ready to pounce. It could only mean Castain had entered the building. The errant pictures of a few mosquitoes from outside confirmed that an undesirable lump of flesh had just passed by, which caused Andi to start typing on his cell again.
How far out are you?
Forard’s answer was quick.We’re already getting in position. Where R U?
Inside. Three bodyguards, armed. Four civilians, and at least three more people on the second floor, possibly armed. Eight hostages on second floor.
While the dots indicating that Forard was answering started dancing, Andi concentrated on the entrance hall again. He could hear muffled voices and laughter, Castain’s smooth voice saying something affirmative. Andi wanted to puke.
We have the house surrounded. Coming in from all sides. Can U give us cover?
On the ground floor. We try to take out the bodyguards and contain the civilians. Be quick upstairs. Children there. On your count.
Roger.
Andi tapped George’s shoulder lightly, waited for his partner to turn around. When he had George’s attention, he showed him the texts. George nodded, inclining his head toward the door. Andi shook his own, gestured to the cell, indicating that they were waiting for Forard to give the command.
The dots started dancing again.Coming in NOW.
Andi reached for his gun the same moment he heard glass shatter somewhere above. George slammed the closet door open, his own gun already drawn.
“Police! Freeze!”
Screaming erupted, and Andi hurried to get to his partner’s side, using the door as flimsy coverage while trying to get a picture of what was going on. Castain and his three “guests” were already on the ground, covering their heads. Apparently the shouted order from George and one of the SWAT members had taken the direct route to their muscles without giving the brain a chance to interfere. Then again, theywerecivilians, even if their tastes were dark enough to make upstanding citizens gag. Luckily for them there was a difference between hardened criminals and people rich enough to not give a damn about the law.
One of the men was screaming something about police brutality while SWAT was pouring in through the front door, as well as the windows on the ground floor.
Castain was sprawled on the ground, his lion mask lying next to him, staring into nothing with empty eyes. The man who had brought so much suffering and terror to innocent kids remained silent, seemingly unperturbed by what was the end of his life as he’d known it. Andi didn’t have time to ponder whether Castain had another ace up his sleeve, was really that indifferent, or simply couldn’t believe that he’d been caught. In the end, it wouldn’t matter. They finally had him.
The three bodyguards had their weapons drawn as well, pointing them around wildly. From the way they handled themselves, Andi could see they were pros, so he waited for them to realize they were outnumbered and drop their weapons. He really didn’t want a repeat of the shootout at Castain’s mansion. When the first one finally did, the others followed suit, slowly putting their guns on the ground, then lifting their hands in the air. Wise choice. SWAT descended on them like a swarm of angry wasps, cuffing the seven people. George had his gun still trained on them, reading them their Miranda rights.
“You have the right to remain silent. You….”
Andi blocked him out, stretched his other sense to see how it had gone upstairs. The insects were in an uproar,too many heavy boots disturbing the ground, too much screaming stirring the air, and oohh, blood on the ground, food for the roaches and the pill bugs, if only the stomping would stop and the lights would go out so they could come forward to collect their bounty.Before Andi could determine who was injured, Forard spoke into his headpiece. “All clear. Report what’s going on upstairs, Spencer?”
He listened for a moment before he turned to Andi. “Everything good. One of the men tried to run and tripped. He’s got a head wound. They have all the kids and are bringing them down now. Ambulance should be on the way.”
Andi nodded. “Thank you, Forard. It’s been a pleasure, as always.”
Forard grinned broadly, slapped Andi on the shoulder. “It’s a pleasure working withyou, Hayes. All those successful raids look mighty good on my team’s resume. It’s always worth the wait with you.”
They shared a look that expressed everything they couldn’t and wouldn’t say out loud for various reasons.
Their intimate moment was disturbed by somebody contacting Forard through the headpiece and by George, who stepped closer to Andi while holstering his weapon.
“Well, this was a bit anticlimactic.” He grinned.
