15
“You’d better be right about this,” Zane warned.
Oliver squared his shoulders and lifted his chin slightly. They stood next to Zane’s Hummer which was parked outside of Oliver’s house. The sun had set only a half hour earlier.
“She’s telling the truth. You have to believe her.”
“I don’t have to do anything. The only reason I’m even authorizing this is because the whole story intrigues me.”
“If Gabriel were here, he would—”
“But he isn’t here,” Zane cut him off. “I’m in charge right now. And I expect my orders to be followed.”
Oliver bit back his next remark. Zane could be such an a*shole sometimes. And now that he was subbing for Gabriel, who was visiting Scanguards’ New York headquarters to assure himself that everything was running smoothly, Zane was downright unbearable.
“Understood.”
A black Porsche careened around the corner, barreling toward them. Neither he nor Zane flinched. When the car came to a stop only inches from them, Oliver shook his head.
“He loves to make an entrance,” Oliver said and watched as the car door opened and Amaury emerged.
A wide grin spread over his colleague’s face, and the light evening breeze blew through his long dark hair. His piercing blue eyes were even more brilliant at night than during daytime.
“Right on time,” Zane acknowledged and raised his hand in greeting.
Oliver took a step toward him. “Hey Amaury, thanks for coming.”
“Didn’t want to miss the action.” Amaury’s gravelly voice echoed in the quiet side street.
“We’ll see if there’s any action to be had,” Zane cautioned. “Amaury, you’ll ride with me. Oliver, you’re taking Cain and the girl.”
“She has a name.”
Zane cocked an eyebrow. “Ursula then. We’ll follow you, Oliver. And she’d better not be leading us on a wild goose chase. Call me when you’re in the car, and keep the line open. I want to hear everything that’s going on.”
With a tight nod, Oliver turned and walked back up the stairs leading to the entrance door. After Cain had given him all the information pertaining to Ursula’s background, he’d contacted Zane to ask him for help, knowing that if he did anything without Scanguards’ support, he would put not only himself, but most likely others in danger. That by others he was primarily thinking of Ursula was something he kept to himself.
When he entered the living room, Ursula shot up from the couch, and both Cain and Blake looked at him expectantly.
“Zane’s agreed to it.”
Blake grinned. “Excellent! Some action!”
“You’re not coming, Blake.”
“What?”
“You heard me. Nobody is in the mood to save your ass tonight.”
It wasn’t exactly how Zane had put it, but since they didn’t know what they would be facing, they had agreed to leave the human behind. It was bad enough that they had to take one human—Ursula. Two could distract them when they ran into trouble.
“That’s totally unfair!” Blake complained.
“Life isn’t fair. Get used to it.” Then Oliver motioned to Cain and Ursula. “Let’s go. We’re taking the minivan. Zane and Amaury will follow in the Hummer.”
As Ursula walked past him, their gazes collided. A silent thank you shimmered in her eyes. He hoped that he wasn’t wrong about her, and that she wasn’t leading them into a trap.
Moments later, they were in the van, Cain sitting on the back bench, Ursula in the passenger seat. Oliver gunned the engine and shot out into the street. As he passed the parked Hummer, he speed dialed Zane’s cell phone. It was answered before it could ring even once.
“Lead.”
In the back mirror Oliver saw Zane’s Hummer follow him. “I’m heading down to the Bayview to where I ran into Ursula.” He glanced at her from the side. “After that, she’ll have to guide us.”
Ursula nodded nervously. “I’ll do my best.”
“You’d better,” Zane’s voice came over the loudspeakers.
“She will,” Oliver said with determination before concentrating on the heavy evening traffic downtown.
They rode in silence until he crossed the 3rd Street bridge behind the Baseball park, passed a few swanky new housing developments, and then entered the less savory neighborhood of Bayview.
The area didn’t have much going for itself. It was crime-ridden, and even the recent extension of the rail line—the MUNI as it was called—down 3rd Street did little to improve the area. If anything, it made it easier for the thugs to get around.
Oliver would know: he’d grown up here. And he didn’t relish being back. It reminded him of the sins of his youth, the gang of thugs he’d consorted with, the crimes he’d committed. With every block that brought them farther into the heart of the neighborhood, he felt his shoulders and chest tighten.
Only a night earlier he’d been down here, feeding on a down-and-out youngster. He felt disgusted at the thought now. Why had he even come down here? He’d avoided the neighborhood ever since he’d started working for Scanguards, but ever since his turning two months earlier something had drawn him to it again. Had he sensed that somebody here needed his help?
He shook off the stupid thought. He wasn’t psychic, nor had he any special gifts like Samson or Gabriel, or even Yvette. Perhaps he had simply considered the Bayview an easy hunting ground where he could still his lust for blood. Nothing more. Only tonight, he wasn’t here for blood, even though he’d left the house on an empty stomach. He felt it growl now, but he pushed back the hunger. For a few hours, he would be all right. Then later, when this raid was over, he would feed. The memory of drinking the bottled blood the night before still haunted him: it had left him empty and unsatisfied. And he had no intention of repeating the experience.
Oliver slowed the car. “This is where I was when Ursula asked me for help.”
“Okay. Which direction did she come from?” Zane asked over the open line of the cell phone.
“East,” he answered and pointed toward the intersection.
“Yes, I think so.” There was a hesitation in Ursula’s voice.
When he looked at her, she nodded quickly. “I’m pretty sure.”
Oliver turned into the next street and kept the car at low speed, giving Ursula a chance to find her bearings.
“Do you recognize anything?” he asked softly.
Her gaze darted around, first to the left then to the right, then straight out front. Her hands fisted at her thighs. “Yes, it looks familiar. But I was running. And afraid.”
“Try harder!”
At Zane’s harsh command, Oliver noticed her flinch.
She instantly pointed her finger to a target in the distance. “That way. I noticed that boarded up shop.”
Yard by yard, they progressed through the area, slowly reaching the edge of the neighborhood where it bled into the worst of what San Francisco had to offer: Hunter’s Point, a place no tourist ever saw, a place even most San Franciscans never ventured into. Few people lived here, and many of those who did lived in desolate public housing projects. Closer to the Bay, many of the plots of land lay bare; others were occupied by old warehouses and industrial complexes.
Not far from India Basin Park, Ursula’s breathing suddenly changed. “Stop,” she whispered.
Oliver brought the car to a stop and confirmed with a look in the mirror that Zane had done the same. “What is it?”
Her hand trembled when she pointed it toward something past the windshield. “There. The sign for the import/export company. I ran past it.” She swallowed. “The building where they held me is just around the corner. Right on the next block.”
Oliver put the car back in gear and inched forward.
“No. Don’t go too close,” she begged.
He glanced at her. “You’ll have to point out the building to us, and since I doubt you want to get out of the car, I have to drive closer to it.”
Oliver noticed her jaw tightening in concert with the rest of her body as if she was trying to steel herself against an invisible attacker.
“Don’t worry, if anybody approaches us, we’ll speed away.” And then he and his colleagues would come back later without her. But he didn’t tell her this.
“Which building is it?” Zane asked.
Oliver turned the corner, slowing to a crawl, then his eyes followed Ursula’s outstretched hand.
“That one.”