Earl turned, and then had to look up. Way up. The man was huge, bigger than Pitt or Gregorius, bigger than his largest Hunters. The man had to be nearly seven feet tall and was built like an NFL lineman. His enormous shaved head was wrapped in a bandage. He had one lazy eye and the facial scarring of someone who’d once suffered a severe cranial injury. Despite the fact that he was an extremely memorable specimen, and Earl was positive they’d never spoken, there was something oddly familiar about the man. “Do I know you?”
“I believe I hit you in the back with an ax earlier. Just wanted to say sorry about that.”
Earl nodded. The other Hunters. “Briarwood, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, sir. I’m the last, though. Name’s Jason Lococo. Most people just call me Loco.”
“Most people are stupid, too. What do you prefer?”
“I…Well, Jason would be fine, sir.”
There was no sign of the other Briarwood men that had shot up Heather’s house earlier. “What happened to Horst?”
“Gone.” Jason gave a grim little smile, leaving the impression that it was gone as in dead, as opposed to gone as in left. “Turns out he wasn’t as clever as he thought he was. Is MHI hiring?”
“MHI is always hiring.”
“I don’t have a resume handy, but I can provide references.”
“You managed to hit me with an ax,” Earl said. “I’ve got to say, that’s a decent resume builder. You’re injured, though.”
Jason gestured at the bandage. “Just a flesh wound. Ryan shot me in the head on account of me not wanting to murder you.”
“He sure had a way with people, didn’t he?”
“Yes, sir. I do okay at fighting monsters, and I’ve got a family to support. I can help.”
Earl thought about it for a moment. There was no doubt the man was a Hunter, even if he was from a shoddy outfit. He’d do. “All right. You’re hired, but let’s call this a probationary period. If we don’t die shortly, we’ll discuss salary and benefits. Gather what equipment you can and meet me back here in ten minutes. Move out.”
Jason seemed honestly relieved. “Thank you, sir. You won’t regret this.”
Nancy waited for the big man to get out of earshot. “When we were bandaging him up, he was covered in prison tats.”
Earl shrugged. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d hired a Hunter with a felony record. “I trust him more than Stark already. I’m not hiring him to lead a church choir. I’ll pull his records when I get a chance. If he did something particularly vile, like murdering without a good excuse or hurting women or kids, then I could probably get that snow-blower going again.”
“You’re a man of strange sensibilities, Harbinger. But back to what you were saying. I’ll feel better when the trash behind this is put away. How do you intend to find him?”
There was a sudden banging on the barricade. Men rushed over to peer through the holes. “Where’d he come from?” someone shouted.
“I didn’t see anyone coming!” responded the rifleman guarding the front window. “He came out of nowhere.”
There was more commotion around the barricade. Earl confirmed that his Thompson was ready, then waited. Twenty seconds later, a teenage boy ran over to Earl and Nancy. “Mr. Harbinger, there’s somebody here to speak with you. Says his name is Nikolai.”
“That’s how I intend to find him,” Earl told Nancy. “If you’ll excuse me…Oh, and if this asshole tries to kill me, shoot him full of holes.”
Two men moved a chunk of the barricade for him. Judging from the shape of it, it was what remained of the trophy case that Heather had broken. Nikolai was waiting outside, arms folded, rifle slung over one shoulder. He’d found some clean winter clothing, probably from the Alpha’s closet, and appeared much healthier than earlier.
Earl greeted him. “You’re looking sane.”
“You, on the other hand, look like shit,” Nikolai replied, running one thumb under his eye, indicating the spot where Buckley had tagged him. “You’ve received a few marks, I see.”
Everything on him hurt. “You don’t realize just how nice regeneration is, ’til you don’t.”
“It is rather pleasant. I’ve fed. Our mystery Alpha has a penchant for Spam.” Nikolai patted his stomach. He no longer looked emaciated. “Six cans of lard soaked protein later, and I feel fine.”
“Spam or death…Tough call.” Earl took out a pack of cigarettes. “I’m a jerky man myself. Smoke?”
“No, thank you.” Nikolai studied the blood-soaked walls. The largest identifiable object left in the entryway was a heavily damaged pair of work boots. “I like what you’ve done to the place. Very industrial.”
It was surprisingly awkward, trying to be friendly with somebody like Nikolai. “How about we cut the bullshit and get down to business? You with me or against me?”
“You’re still alive. I believe even you can extrapolate an answer from that.”
“Extrapolate? Where the hell did they teach you English?”
“I’m sorry. The KGB did not have classes in cracker.”
Earl sighed. “Can you take me to the Alpha or not?”
Nikolai nodded his head toward the hills. “He’s out there somewhere. I can feel the amulet. It’s been getting stronger all night. I do not know where he is, but I can take us in the right direction.”
“Can I trust you?”
“No, but you will,” Nikolai answered. “You helped me do something that had to be done. I have regained control. I came here to kill the man that took Lila from me. I will not stop until that is done.”
“Fair enough.” There was no trust, but there was enough mutual respect to get them through the mission. Earl held out his hand. “Truce?”
Nikolai sneered at the extended hand. “Do not patronize me, Harbinger. We kill this zalupa first. Then we can define our terms.”
It would have to do. They’d go back to killing each other as soon as the Alpha was out of the way. Earl kept his face emotionless but decided then that when they were done, Nikolai had to be put down. Both of his personalities were too dangerous to live. Nikolai’s expression was hard, and Earl knew that the Russian had probably come to a similar conclusion.
“Agreed then…” This pained him to say aloud, but Nikolai needed to know. “I think I know who we’re after. We go back a ways. I believe the Alpha’s a man named Kirk Conover. I don’t know if that’s his real name, but that’s what he went by.”