“Predator, erase all on-site video of Timber in the last twenty minutes.”
:Accomplished—
“Now check the—”
Canyon heard a voice behind him and went silent. He turned in his chair, confused. All that was behind him was a thick concrete wall, a filing cabinet and a storage alcove, and he was the only person in the bunker.
A deep male voice spoke, seeming to come from behind the filing cabinet, his words disjointed and hard to hear.“Unnatural sleep… hard time staying... … … meadow …. help needed… ”
Overwhelming tiredness consumed Canyon, dropping his head to the desk. His eyes closed and his mind tumbled into sleep. The tumultuous sound of rock and earth ripping apart filled the room, until a great boom shook the alcove.
Canyon’s body jerked with the sound, but he continued to sleep deeply.
6—Timber
Timber Wheeling strolled through the tunnels under SPD whistling the Mickey Mouse March, taking a shortcut back to the bunker. Faintly, he heard a siren start up from the parking lot, then another and another. He changed course and left the tunnels near the receiving desk.
Something big must be going on, he said to Canyon inruhi.
No answer.
Canman.
No response.
He strode into Receiving, with a word and a wave or fist bump for everyone he saw. SGT Rockford, a tall male with dark skin and close-cut, coily, black hair, was behind the desk at receiving.
He pointed at Timber. “Mac’s looking for you. Sebastian, too.”
“I’ll find them. What’s going on?”
“Missing child on GailAnne Circle.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah. We’ve got all available units heading out now.”
“Let me know if we can help.”
“Will do.”
Timber left Receiving and hurried to the tunnels, following a stark hallway all the way to the bunker. He pushed in the door and strode between shelves full of boxes, speaking to Canyon before he made it all the way inside.
“Bro, maybe Predator can help patrol out. They’ve got a missing—”
Canyon was sitting in his chair, work opened in front of him at his computer, but his head was down on his desk, andhis eyes were closed. He was big, thick through the chest and shoulders, with blond hair cut in a regulation high-and-tight.
“Bro!”
No response at all from Canyon. He was breathing, so he wasn’t dead. Timber walked around him, taking everything in, then shook him by the shoulder, then checked his pulse. It was strong and regular.
“Bro?”
Timber peeled one of Canyon’s eyelids open. Canyon didn’t respond in any way, he only continued to breathe deeply and evenly, the eye unfocused. Timber let it close.
He inspected the room. Nothing was out of order, there were no strange scents, no signs of anyone being there.
“What in the actual fuck?” he said softly, looking around.
