Forbidden

Chapter Four: The Renegade

Constance

            I stared aimlessly at the projection screen as Dr. Arthur rambled on about some ancient piece of history from the American Revolution.  I really wanted to like this class.  I knew how important it was to know this nation’s history, but I was having a very hard time getting into it because of the monotonous Dr. Arthur.  My history teacher from high school could have given him a few pointers on how to make things more interesting and keep bored students engaged.  Everyone had loved her and her classes.  She always thought out of the box.  Truthfully, she was probably the only reason I was even passing this class.

            “—I’ve paired everyone ahead of time.”  I instantly refocused on him, realizing he was going over the main project he’d outlined in the syllabus at the beginning of the semester.  Collective groans reverberated around the room at his diplomatic decision to rip apart friends and acquaintances for this project.  I glanced at Jamie who was staring back at me with the same horrified look I was sure was mirrored in my own expression.

            “Now, now,” he started.  “It’s a good thing to meet new people, to break the monotony.”  How ironic.  If only he could take his own advice.  He clicked away at his computer and the slideshow he’d had up was replaced by a list of paired names.  “Find your name and the number it is paired with and write your number down.  It’ll be important later,” he explained.

            I scanned the list and found my name at the very bottom.

            My heart nearly dropped when I recognized the name paired with mine.  I looked across the classroom at the smirking Gabriel Kingly and groaned.  The universe had a sick sense of humor sometimes.

            “I’m going to call out each number, and when I do, I want the students whose names are paired with that number to stand up and pair up.  Once everyone’s paired, I’ll go over the project instructions.”

            “This sucks,” Jamie pouted, starting to gather her items.  As did nearly everyone else.

            “I love you,” I whispered back.  “We’ll get through this.”

            “I hate this professor.”

            “Hate’s a strong word.”

            “Okay, fine mom!  I really dislike this professor and wish he wouldn’t be so archaic in his lectures.”

            I laughed softly.  “Suck it up buttercup.”

            She stuck her tongue out at me.

            “Number 4!”  Dr. Arthur called.

            “That’s me,” she sighed standing up.  “Ugh!  No,” she groaned when she saw the girl she was paired with.  “It couldn’t have been some guy I could have batted my eye lashes at and gotten to do most of the work?”  As feministic as she sounded, she was one of the hardest working people I knew.  Her sense of humor and mouth sometimes got her into trouble.

            “Better this way.  You know how Matt gets.”

            “You’re right, as always.  Well, I’ll see you after class.  Bye best friend.”

            It felt like eternity when the last number was called.  Before I could think about standing up, Gabriel was already stalking towards me.  Well, at least I didn’t have to move any of my things.  Setting everything back down, I opened my notebook readying myself to be as interested in Dr. Arthur as a bee was to pollen.

            Gabriel’s large frame settled into the small chair next to mine moments later and I nearly shrieked when he slid into the seat because his knee and shoulder pressed firmly against mine.  He was a giant!  How in the heck did he even fit into the damn chair without getting stuck, or breaking it?  His broad shoulders took up more space than the chair allowed and his arm was pressed firmly against mine from shoulder to elbow.  His leg nearly the same from lower thigh to knee.  And the poor man couldn’t even think about moving because his knees were pressed into the backs of the seats in front of him.  Geeze!  I immediately moved as far away as my seat allowed, trying to ignore the intimate heat sizzling in my veins.  Thankfully, it was enough and the seemingly innocent contact was broken.

            From across the amphitheater I saw Jamie’s expression.  Her eyes were nearly bugging out of her face and her mouth was formed in an ‘O’ as she stared in shocked appreciation of the giant Greek god-like man next to me.  This was definitely not going to end well.  I knew she wasn’t going to be able to keep her mouth shut about this and Kevin would end up having an aneurysm over it.

            In my cramped space, I intently listened to Dr. Arthur, ignoring Gabriel even as he stared brazenly at me.  Not once did he acknowledge the history professor.  Not once did he make a move to take any notes.  It was a bit intense.  Uncomfortable.  And it made it so difficult to really pay attention to what Dr. Arthur was saying.  And my temper started to flair.  Who the heck did he think he was?  Was he trying to make me uncomfortable?  What was his problem?

            “Here’s the list of subjects to choose from for your project.  I’m going to give you and your partners five minutes to agree on four to five of the subjects listed because each group will be researching a different topic.  So, once a subject is spoken for, no other group can choose it.  Any questions?  Okay, your five minutes starts now.”

            I gave Gabriel an exasperated side glance, knowing he hadn’t taken his attention off of me from the time he’d sat down.  His grin deepened when I made eye contact and I quickly looked away.  As much as I wanted to continue to ignore him, my frustration impelled me to speak.  “So . . . I’m thinking our first pick should be how not to be a creep.  Then if that’s taken, chair physics and their magically endued properties.  And if that’s not an option, how about a lesson in manners?”  At the end of my made-up list, I met his gaze head on, my temper flaring.

            He snorted before bursting into laughter.  And I couldn’t help but join him, because his laughter was contagious.  At least, that was until I noticed the whole classroom had quieted down and was staring at us as if we were crazy.  Even Jamie was looking at me weird.  I abruptly stopped and nearly died of embarrassment.  Just peachy!  I looked away, my cheeks flaring red.  Why had I even opened my damned mouth.  “I’m sorry,” he choked out after some deep breaths.  Slowly, chatter started back up and we were no longer the main attraction.  “I’m sorry,” he apologized again, his tone more sincere.  “And you’re right, I was being very rude.  Allow me to make it up to you?”

            I pursed my lips, my eyes narrowing slightly.

            “Please, let me treat you to a coffee?  Lunch?  Something, anything?”  That wicked smile, the one that made my heart stutter, crossed his face as he leaned in towards me, like we were sharing some sort of secret.

            “No!”  I shot him down immediately, giving no room for argument in my tone, turning my face away from his.  Not only was I still frustrated with his behavior towards me, but Kevin’s warning was still fresh in my mind.

            Instantly, that smile vanished and the air between us became thick.  He turned in his seat until he was facing towards the front of the room, his eyes downcast.

            I don’t know why I cared, but I felt a bit bad for shutting him down so harshly.  “Let’s just pick some subjects, please?”

            “I’m not picky.”

            “Okay,” I drawled, fidgeting with my pencil.

            “Times up!” the professor called out.  “Now, you all remember your number, right?  Good, because I’m going to randomly pick to keep this fair.  Number 40, you’re first!”  Well shoot.  Of course, he would choose us first!  Today really wasn’t my day.

            Glancing up at the list frantically, I haphazardly chose.  “Japanese Internment Camps, please.”

            “Internment camps, got it!”  He typed our number next to the subject and called out another number.

            We didn’t speak or look at each other for the remainder of class and quickly moved away when we were dismissed.  Oh, this wasn’t going to be pleasant.

Gabriel

            I hadn’t expected her to bite.  But I hadn’t expected her to just shut me down entirely either.  As if she couldn’t bear the thought of being anywhere near me.

            I didn’t want it to hurt, but it did.  And I hated myself for that weakness.

            Thankfully, I didn’t have another class today.  I probably would have skipped it if I did.  I was in no mood to sit through any more lectures.

            Throwing myself into my slick, black Nissan GT-R I revved the engine.  It snarled back and I sighed in relief, glad I could take out some of my anger on the drive I had to make tonight.  Squealing the tires as I exited the school parking lot, I raced through town and headed north.  I didn’t have any time to waste if I was going to get to the border in time for the drop.

            The first Wednesday of every month at midnight was the scheduled drop time for shipments of narcotics from the infamous Canadian drug lord, Black Jack.  About a dozen of his runners smuggled hundreds of pounds of narcotics across the northern border to meet buyers from a multitude of states at random, pre-determined locations that changed every month.

            I had to give it to Black Jack.  He knew how to run this illegal business without getting caught by the big dogs in the American and Canadian military.  Not that either party hadn’t tried multiple times to pin this shin-dig on him, but he ran his business without ever having an actual hand in the dealings.  Those who worked directly for him—those who produced the drugs or smuggled them over—knew better than to ever drop his actual name, or maybe they only knew an alias.  They knew no deal the authorities could ever cut would protect them from Black Jack’s wrath. 

            Obviously, Black Jack wasn’t the dealers real name.  That’s one of the reasons they couldn’t pin it on the man they thought was him, because his real name was never mentioned or remotely connected to the drug lord’s name.  No phone calls, emails, texts, or other electronically traceable devices were ever linked to Black Jack.  No video or real time surveillance ever caught him interacting with any suspects caught with his trademark narcotics.  He was always careful.  Always ahead of the game.  And if someone threatened his meticulous routine, they just disappeared.  Never to be seen or heard from again. 

            I wasn’t one of the buyers.  I was one of Black Jack’s muscle men on the American side.  I made sure the drops went smoothly.  That there weren’t tails following us.  That the money owed was given before the product switched hands.  And if something bad were to go down, I was there to protect the product and handle unfortunate circumstances.

            This wasn’t my only responsibility.  I also managed the individual drug dealers state side by making random visits to their headquarters.  I made sure they didn’t draw too much attention to themselves, making sure they weren’t desecrating Black Jack’s trademark products to increase profits.  Sloppiness was something Black Jack didn’t like.  And he expected everyone in his employment and all those who sold his products to keep up certain pretenses.  If they didn’t, it was my job to bring justice and order back to the chaos.  Even if it meant taking lives and destroying whole organizations.

            As I had done with Keith. 

            Keith.

            So much of my life revolved around him and it was aggravating.

            Keith was the reason I was here, leading this double life in the first place.  Right out of high school, he had gotten himself into the drug business to make easy money.  However, just as most mortals do when they get caught up in the life, he traded his soul to a demon.  The real Keith was no longer alive.  Just a shell and a name used by the demon who had taken over his body.

            I would have left the damn demon alone, if he hadn’t killed Keith’s innocent family.  Including his sister, who I’d been in love with at the time.  Because of her death, I’d sought revenge.  Allen, Keith’s older brother, whom I had never really been close to, saw this fire in me and used it to his advantage and recruited me onto his team of misfits.  As much as I begged him to allow me to infiltrate Keith’s ranks, he already had an operative in place.  So, I was tasked with Black Jack.

            I was sidelined as I watched the demon-Keith become a successful lawyer.  He had played his cards well.  Had represented the right politicians and law enforcement.  He had played the right political cards and had nearly all of the Montana law on his side and several of the nation’s politicians eating out of his palm.  Some respected him.  Most feared him.  And, that was when Conny came into the picture.

            She was like me.  Leading two lives.  She was the other civilian Allen had been able to turn.  It made perfect sense why he’d put her at the forefront of this operation.  She had been Keith’s first true love—when he was still a human.  Utilizing her, the demon-Keith had been able to hide behind her.  Had been able to use her as a shield.  To continue to be seen as someone innocent and normal.  Someone who had been through an unfortunate tragedy when he lost his family and had risen from the ashes to become something better. 

            He had kept her close.  Had made her a partner in his drug business.  Truly, I believe the demon who had taken over Keith became attached to her.  Like she was a pet.  Many of the lesser demons he’d surrounded himself with didn’t like her.  They hated how the demon-Keith protected her and kept her to himself.

            She had played her part brilliantly.  Led him on.  Never gave away she was working with the authorities.  And the demon-Keith never suspected she was a mole.  Still to this day, I don’t think he knew.

            His attitude towards her changed in an instant, though, as if a switch had been flipped.  There had been word she’d cheated and he went off the deep end.  He nearly killed her.

            Black Jack knew Keith’s marine brother had the American military backing him.  He knew they had reason to take him down for Conny’s assault.  And if they did, ultimately, they’d unveil Keith’s underground narcotics business.  And Black Jack’s operation would be threatened.  Not necessarily threatened by the mortals of the American military, rather by those immortals who were hiding within their ranks.  They would know what Keith was, if they didn’t suspect already.  If he was brought to justice, Black Jack’s underground demon army would come directly into the spot light of the American Immortal Council—a council put in place by the divine who kept order amongst all immortals and dealt out justice when needed.

            Most times, the Council didn’t get involved with the little pissant dealings of demons.  Only when they threatened the secrecy and livelihoods of the immortal world did they act.

            So, before Keith could ultimately bring destruction reigning down on all their heads, Black Jack sent me to reign in Keith’s erratic behavior.  Surprisingly, he had specifically ordered me not to kill Keith.  Just to teach him a lesson.  As much as I didn’t agree with the call, that’s what I did.  Shortly after that blood bath, Keith went into hiding.  I always wondered if Black Jack had hid his favorite pupil somewhere he could keep a close eye on while things settled.

            Unfortunately, I never got details to Keith’s whereabouts and Allen was up my ass, pressing me to find out where his brother had disappeared to.  As much as it was frustrating, I understood.  Much like me, he wanted revenge though, it was on a far more personal level.

            He was uneasy with the disappearance.  Much like I was.  Not knowing where that demon was holed up was disconcerting.

            When I got to the drop sight, I went over the conditions of the drop before the narcotics were shown.  Once the directions were set, the exchange of money and narcotics went off without a hitch.  Before leaving, Nano, one of the runners, gave me the verbal information for a party Black Jack was throwing for his important partners and buyers.  He’d hosted one last year shortly after the Keith debacle.  He’d introduced new and improved narcotics that were mixed together in deadly concoctions or mixed with natural aphrodisiacs or hallucinogens.

            This new line of narcotics was what Black Jack was known for.

            Allen was going to be ecstatic about this.

            The first party Black Jack had hosted, Allen waited too long to make the bust because he’d been waiting for Keith.  His missed opportunity cost him greatly.  His superiors had threatened to discharge him and kick him off the operation entirely.  Somehow, he’d been able to keep his position, but he was in dire straits, needing something to restore his name and put him back in the good graces of his superiors.

            As much as it was risky, Black Jack knew how to play the game.  The first and only masquerade party he’d thrown had been incorporated into a political party event.  Many of his partners and big-time buyers were upstanding members of society.  Most having their own protective details who were on the wrong side of the justice system with ways to make people and circumstances just disappear entirely.  And making it even trickier to successfully shut down Black Jack for good.

            Allen hadn’t been prepared to go up against senators, congressmen and other members of upstanding society.  So, he had made the difficult decision to call off his attack and wait for another time.  When he made his move, he wanted to bring everyone involved to justice.

            As much as Allen had been reprimanded for his lack of action, it was probably for the best he’d done what he did.  At the time, we hadn’t known what to expect.  We hadn’t known all the players.  Even now, we still didn’t know how far Black Jack’s reach was.  But this time around, we would have a better understanding of how the event would go and who would be there.  We would be able to quickly find possible weak points in the defenses.  We would be able to strike with more efficiency and have a higher success at catching Black Jack and everyone involved with him.  This time, we would actually have a chance at successfully dismantling a wicked empire.

            Unable to wait to pass along the good news, I made my way straight back to Bozeman instead of going home.  Dawn was cresting when I made it into town and I stopped to get donuts and coffee before making my way to the house Allen had set up as his office.

            Just inside the threshold, I was greeted by Devon, a bear of a man.  There were about a half a dozen elite military men who were assigned to this mission and worked for Allen.  Devon was a formidable marine with an incredibly intelligent mind.  Truthfully, I could see him being one of the few mortals who knew about immortals because, sometimes, he seemed to see straight through me and some of the impossible bull s**t I pulled off.  “Shouldn’t you be at home sleeping?" he grunted, holstering a pistol he no doubt had trained on the door before he’d recognized me.

            “What?  Is it so hard to believe I just missed you guys?”

            “Yeah, it is,” Rick agreed yawning, coming out of the only bedroom used for sleeping.  “You’re always so grumpy after an all-nighter.  That’s why we stopped having you come straight here afterwards.”

            “I smell coffee.”  A very tired Avery walked out of the room where all their computers and tech devices were.  Probably going over endless surveillance tapes, trying to match a face and a name to the ever elusive Black Jack and find any trace of Keith.

            Along with this small base in Bozeman, there were others like them in each state and town we knew Black Jack had influence.  Many of these small bases were run by local law enforcement, and most were successful in obtaining a lot of great evidence against certain upstanding individuals in society because of me.  I had been able to place many micro surveillance cameras and microphones in areas and places within each drug dealer’s headquarters I was responsible for overseeing.  This had led to insurmountable incriminating evidence against many of them.  It had given law enforcement ways to watch people and their behavior.  It had given them insight into the ways in which the drug industry was run and evolving.  I had given them all of this information with one condition, that no one would try to bust any one of these hotspots until Allen gave the order.  There was the fear that if we hit one, the other dealers would just disappear.  That’s why this party Black Jack was hosting was so important.  There would be many important players present, and we would have the opportunity to take them out all at once.

            I placed my peace offerings onto the coffee table before flopping into one of the reclining chairs.

            Avery pounced on the coffee as the others settled down with donuts.

            “What brings you here so early?” Allen asked, grabbing donuts and coffee before taking a seat across from me in another reclining chair.

            “Good news,” I stated before telling them about the event Black Jack was intending to host.

            There was a lot of excited chatter as they started making a list of what they needed to do in order to get ready for this.  It was great, hearing what their plans were and knowing this would soon be over.  As most of the members dispersed to start the long and intense process of putting words to action, Allen stayed behind.  “Any news on Keith?”

            I shook my head.  “No.  Which means I’ll be delivering another shipment to Tevan within the coming week.”

            “With this event Black Jack’s hosting, I want to try to lure Keith out of whatever hole he disappeared into.”

            “And how do you plan on doing that?”  As exhausted as I was, my interest was piqued because Allen’s strategies were unusually brilliant.

            “I want to bring Conny back on board.”

            I stared mutely at him, unsure how bringing the broken ex into the picture would lure him out.

            “Just bear with me for a moment.  He has unfinished business with her.  If he found out you were seeing her, think how irate he would be.  And if you were to take her with you to the event, he would be hard pressed not to show up.”

            It made sense.  “Might be worth a shot, but only if she agrees to this.”

            “Of course.  I’ll reach out to her and I’ll keep you updated.”

            When I left, I didn’t have that same elated feeling as I did when I first arrived.  For some reason, something about the way Allen had talked about Conny and the expectations he wanted from us didn’t sit well.