Repercussion: The Clandestine Saga Book 3

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3

Cadence hadn't slept well. That was nothing unusual. She hadn't slept well for quite some time, particularly since the night she had pointed a loaded g*n at her ex-boyfriend and pulled the trigger. Even though Jack's death had been an accident, it still haunted her.

She had been told eventually she wouldn't have to sleep as much as a human. Eight months into her Transformation, she was not there yet. She had been lagging all day from a lack of rest. For once in her life, she wished she were actually a coffee drinker.

By the time the girls arrived at the address Cale had given them around midnight, she was ready to crawl back into bed. The warehouse was in one of the more rundown parts of town. Though it looked like some of the businesses nearby still operated here, this particular building could have been abandoned for quite some time by the looks of it.

When Cadence dismounted from her F4CC, Aurora and Meagan pulling in behind her, she was aware that Dr. Ryan had yet to arrive. "Beginning to see a trend here," she shot over to her teammates. She was slightly annoyed, since punctuality was so critical to her, but she also realized that he was wearing a lot of hats and something like surgery could potentially throw everything off. Despite his heavy involvement in Vampire Hunting, Dr. Ryan was still, in fact, a practicing surgeon, and most of his patience were, in fact, human.

Cadence's instincts told her instantly that there was nobody home--no Vampires anyway. Had there been a bloodsucker inside of the building, she would have known immediately. She began to survey the area, walking around the exterior of the building. Her team split up, knowing they could easily contact each other if necessary. She followed her instincts, letting them guide her. She noticed immediately that there were two doors on what was considered the front of the building. One of them was a normal pedestrian entrance, the other a large garage door where trucks could potentially pull-in, which seemed a little odd to her. She thought that would be located in the back. There were also a couple of windows. On the side of the building, there was another pedestrian entrance and a pair of windows. On the back of the building there were two more cargo-type doors, and another pedestrian entrance. There was also a row of windows at the top of the building, which appeared to be only two-stories tall, and a few on the bottom floor as well. A few of them were boarded over, another indicator that the building had been out of use for a while.

As she rounded the last corner, approaching the front of the building again, Cale caught up to her. She heard him before he actually reached her and knew instantly who it was. "So sorry I'm late," he apologized stepping up beside her.

Cadence's eyes glanced away from the building momentarily, falling on him for only a second, and then returned to the concrete structure before her. When she was in Hunter mode, it was very difficult to get her to break concentration. "It's okay," she replied, her mind beginning to calculate the risks and opportunities that lay before her.

"I had an emergency appendectomy," he continued, "and well, I told the team to come on without me, but they wanted to wait." Cadence nodded as she moved toward the door on the front of the building. "They're in the back, with Aurora and Meagan." He eyed her carefully before saying, "Are you planning to go in through that door?"

Cadence gave the door a swift kick, which sent it swinging open, before the doctor continued. "Because we're not sure there's no one here."

"There's no one here," Cadence assured him as she made entry. Her night vision immediately amplified in the darkness, and she took in the layout of the first floor. There were several wooden crates and other containers located across the wide expanse of the bottom floor. Some of them appeared to be sealed shut while others looked to be empty. There were also pieces of smashed containers, office furniture, some electronics that must have been part of the day-to-day function of this business at one time, and more paper and files than she had ever seen strewn about in any one place. She saw a metal stairwell leading to the second story and a service elevator in the back of the room. The space was a good size. Cadence estimated the bottom floor to be at least 8,000 square feet, and the upstairs must have been equal. That was a lot of ground to cover.

She crossed over to the back of the building, picking her way around and through the crates and other debris without so much as touching anything over the size of a piece of paper. Cale followed in silence, having caught on to the idea that Cadence didn't like to talk while she was working. She immediately approached one of the garage doors in the back. There was a space in front of the door that indicated that the Rogues had been pulling a vehicle inside. Though there was still rubbish on the ground here, it was smashed, and she could see tire marks on much of it. She nodded her head and approached the other door. It didn't appear to have been used recently. She compared the distance from this back door to the one in front, took in the barriers between the two and considered the possibility of driving in one way and out the other. It didn't seem feasible for most vehicles, but she decided to photograph the area anyway so that she could study it more closely later. She was able to do this through her IAC.

After a few moments, she made her way to the staircase, Cale behind her, still silent. She bounded up the stairs, silently, in a few steps, and realized the top floor was nothing like the bottom. Here, most of the storage appeared to be cardboard boxes. They were stacked floor to ceiling in rows. Though there appeared to be some areas where the dominos had come tumbling down, for the most part, they were still in their original formation, with only a foot or two between where one could pass by. After Cadence made her way around the perimeter and began to track up and down the rows, Cale whispered, "We don't believe they are using this area."

Cadence just nodded, still absorbing it all. She walked over to one of the windows that faced the front. She could see a few of Cale's team members standing outside. She assumed they'd already made similar inspections and didn't feel the need to come inside. She also heard footsteps on the floor below her and knew those were her own teammates. She had her IAC visuals turned on and could see everything Aurora and Meagan were doing. Their walk was similar to her own except for the fact that they were speaking to each other and collaborating.

She observed the view to the road from here, which was partially obscured by the large trees that surrounded the building on all sides. Though there were other buildings nearby, the trees blocked any kind of useful view. Not only was there no good way to observe the building from afar, anyone inside the building would also have a hard time detecting an outside threat, which could work in their favor.

After several moments of silence, Cadence nodded her head slowly and made her way back down the stairs. Without saying a word, she passed by Aurora and Meagan, who were talking quietly about their observations, and walked back outside.

Cale caught up to her outside beneath an expansive oak tree. He hesitated to say anything, unsure whether or not she was still working. After a moment, he finally whispered, "So, what do you think?"

Cadence smiled. "I think it's fine. I mean, I think it's doable." She was nodding, her hands on her hips. Glancing down momentarily, she realized she had collected some cobwebs on her black capris, and she absently swiped at them as she returned her attention to the doctor.

"Good," he smiled, still not quite sure exactly what that meant. He paused again, trying to get a read on exactly how she operated. After another long break, he asked, "So, do you think we can come up with a plan of attack, or..."

"Yes, absolutely!" Cadence agreed. She realized, suddenly, that he had no idea how to communicate with her when she was "in the zone" as she often referred to this mind set. She began to come back around and take on her typical disposition. "I'll want to consult with my girls, but I think it should be fairly simple, honestly. I mean, covering the exits on the ground floor is going to be our biggest concern. Of course, the windows on the top floor should all be considered exits as well. Vampires can easily leap from that height, no problem. What would you think about torching that upper floor so they can't use it?"

Cale's eyes widened. "You mean, lighting it on fire?" He waited for her to nod before continuing. "Oh, wow, I hadn't thought about that. But, won't that alert the authorities? And there are so many trees around here. We could end up taking out another structure. Oh, gosh, Cadence, I don't really think that's a good idea at all."

Cadence was surprised to hear him disagree with her plan. "Don't you have someone to run interference?" she asked, referring to the job that Elliott typically did for the Kansas City team, which involved brainwashing any human who may come into contact with a member of one of the Ternions into believing that what they were witnessing was perfectly normal.

"Sure," Cale admitted, crossing his arms across the light purple shirt he wore, clearly considering her recommendation. "That's Nick's job. But what does interference have to do with setting the building on fire?"

"Well, I think the trees are far enough back that secondary structure damage isn't going to be an issue. If you have someone who is good at running interference, you don't need to worry about the firefighters or other emergency response personnel questioning how the fire began," she explained.

He considered her words, rocking back and forth and taking it in. He held one hand to his chin, and shook his head from side to side slowly. Cadence couldn't help but notice he was somehow even more attractive when he was deep in thought. Finally, he said, "I don't know, Cadence. That seems sort of extreme for us. Do you think there's another way?"

As he was speaking, Aurora and Meagan approached. "Whatcha thinkin' girl?" Aurora asked, eyeing Cadence.

"You tell me," Cadence replied, wondering if their thoughts were the same as hers.

"Gotta match?" Meagan asked, her hands on her hips. All three of them were dressed in black and only Aurora's bright red hair stood out in the darkness beneath the tree.

Cadence snickered and turned her attention to Cale, waiting for him to answer. His teammates began to wander over as well. She recognized Nick and Phoebe. There was also a tall, thin African American male and a tiny female that instantly reminded Cadence of a pixie. Even her bright blond hair was cut short like a fairy.

The Reno Area Leader addressed his team before replying to Meagan's question. "Well, guys, the ladies have finished their observation. What do y'all think about setting the top floor on fire?"

"What?" Phoebe exclaimed. The rest of the team looked equally shocked, glancing at each other wide-eyed. "Why?"

"To eliminate the exit points," Meagan explained. "Those windows are all means of escape."

"Wouldn't it be less obvious if we just cover them from the ground?" the pixie asked, running thin fingers through her blond bangs.

"Less obvious but not as effective," Cadence replied. "We have other options," she offered, addressing all of them. "But as far as initial gut feeling, we all came up with the exact same thing. Set that top floor on fire so they can't use it to hide or to escape, cover that back vehicle exit, and the front cargo door, and load up on heavy weaponry to cover the pedestrian exits." She glanced around to see if they were still following her before continuing. "Personally, if it were just me, I'd put Meagan in the front, Aurora in the back, and I would go in, guns a'blazing. I'd set that top floor on fire, and hopefully I'd get them all before they could get out one of the ground floor exits. But, if they managed to get out, I'd know my girls would catch them on the way."