Page 54 of Warrior Unraveled

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This was officially Wesley’s fifth trip in the Stealth Guardians’ portal, and he was getting more and more used to it. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad way to travel after all. Or maybe the fact that he was clutching his backpack, which contained all his tools of witchcraft, made the trip bearable.

After transporting to a warehouse somewhere in Baltimore, Hamish led them to a car parked close by, and together with Manus and Enya, they drove off.

Anton Faldo lived in a fancy suburb of Baltimore, among large mansions with manicured front lawns and mature trees giving shade.

Hamish stopped a block away from the house and turned off the engine. Several police and forensics vehicles were still parked outside, but it appeared that they were packing up. The coroner’s van had left already.

“We’ll wait here, until they’re gone,” Hamish said. “Shouldn’t be long now.”

Wesley sat in the passenger seat and turned sideways now, so he could look at all three Stealth Guardians. “So, I take it Anton Faldo is human?”

Hamish nodded. “Was human.”

“And an emissarius, a spy.”

“He worked for us, yes,” Hamish said.

“And he knew what you are?” Wes asked.

“Faldo did,” Hamish replied.

“But not all of them do,” Enya said. “There are some whom we’ve entrusted with our secrets, mainly because they’ve stumbled on them one way or another. Others know nothing about who we are or what we do. And we try to keep it that way.”

Wesley nodded. “A bit like how we operate at Scanguards then. There are humans who know about the vampires. But we also have people working for us in our human divisions who’re unaware of who they really work for.”

Hamish turned toward him. “So how many are there at Scanguards?”

“How many vampires?”

“Yeah.”

“In San Francisco there are quite a few, plus hybrids, humans, and of course, me, a witch. But we have offices in several major US cities, though San Francisco is our main hub. It used to be New York, but since Samson, the boss, lives in San Francisco with his family, things shifted.”

“Family?” Manus piped up from the back seat. “You mean he’s married or whatever the vampires call it?”

“Blood-bonded, yes, to a human actually. Three kids, all adults now.”

Manus exchanged a look with his two colleagues. “I thought vampires couldn’t procreate.”

“They can if they bond with a human. But even between two vampires it’s possible now. Long story, but—”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to tell us some other time,” Hamish interrupted and pointed through the windshield. “Faldo’s place is clear. We’d better get going.” He motioned to Enya and Manus. “I want you two to cloak yourselves and head for the house. Wesley and I will exit the car normally, and once I’m sure nobody is watching, I’ll make us invisible. We’ll meet you at the back of Faldo’s house.”

“Got it,” Manus said.

An instant later, both he and Enya were cloaked and ready to go. Wesley heard them shift in their seats. A few seconds later, there was silence. They’d left the car without opening the doors, simply passing through them.

“That’s a freaky skill.” Wes said. “’suppose that can’t be taught, can it?”

Hamish chuckled and shook his head. “Nope. It’s just for us. And it’s come in handy once or twice.”

“I bet more than once or twice.”

Hamish shrugged. “Let’s go. See that high hedge and that tree on the sidewalk? We’ll head that way and I’ll cloak us once we’re in between the hedge and the tree. It should give us enough cover.”

“Sounds good.”