“I didn’t meant to—”
Blake squeezed her to him. “Don’t pander to him, Lilo. He’s just fishing for compliments.” Then he tipped his chin in Wesley’s direction. “I’m not sure what you want to do with this information, Wes, but I don’t think it’s gonna help us rescue Hannah.”
“I realize that. But these guys, these Stealth Guardians, they have powers we don’t. They can make themselves invisible and walk through walls.”
At Wesley’s revelation, her chin dropped.
“I figured,” Wes continued, “considering they seemed to be on our side concerning the drugs, we could make them our allies. With their powers—”
“How would you even find them?” Blake shook his head. “We don’t have the time or resources to spend on this right now.”
“But it might help us.”
“It might, but what if it doesn’t? We don’t know who these guardians are. We don’t know their agenda, or whether they’re friendly to vampires. You were the only one they met. And you’re a witch. What if they’re not that peaceful when it comes to vampires?” Blake shook his head again. “With Hannah still in Norwood’s hands, I’m not going to risk a distraction or accidently start a war with a species we know nothing about.”
“I don’t need any backup. I can do this on my own. Nobody from Scanguards would be pulled off his duty to search for Stealth Guardians.”
“Wrong!” Blake poked his index finger into Wesley’s chest. “You would be. And we need you. You’re the only one who knows how to cast a spell or brew a potion. What if we can’t defeat Norwood with conventional weapons? We need you, Wes. I need you.”
For a few seconds Wes seemed to war with himself, but Blake’s plea—laced with compliments Wes clearly appreciated—won him over. “Fine. I’ll stay here. But once Hannah is safe, I’m going to search for them.”
Slowly Blake nodded. “And I’ll support you when you bring it up with Samson. Ultimately he’ll have to approve.”
“He will.”
Without a knock, the door flew open and John appeared. “Showtime,” he announced. “Ronny just got the call. We don’t have much time. They want him to bring the drugs to Fort Mason. In thirty minutes.”
“Did he get assurances from them that they’re bringing Hannah to the meeting?”
Blake released her, hurrying to a cupboard and ripping open the door. Inside were several guns, knives, and stakes.
John nodded. “Ronny played the suffering boyfriend pretty convincingly. He begged them to let him see her. They agreed.”
Blake grabbed several weapons and turned back to his colleague. “Then let’s go.” Then his gaze drifted to her. “Stay here.”
“Please take me with you.”
“No, Lilo. We’ve barely got enough time to get there. There’s no time to implement any safety measures for you. Stay by the phone.” He motioned to his desk. “I’ll call you as soon as we know anything. Promise.”
He was right, of course. She knew that. “Okay. I’ll wait.”
A quick smile and Blake was gone, his colleagues with him. Now all she could do was wait.
38
They’d parked the cars and vans at the end of a cul-de-sac surrounded by greenery. On the other side of it, an embankment covered in trees and shrubs led down to three broad piers, which held old warehouses that had long ago been converted to a center for art and culture with regular exhibitions, artists’ work spaces, and large private events.
Blake and his colleagues walked down the embankment, using the trees and shrubs for cover to get an overview of the warehouses and surrounding area. Besides the three large warehouses on the piers, a small firehouse sat just below the embankment. Five more structures, each almost as large as the warehouses, sat on solid ground near the water.
Blake gave his colleagues the sign to spread out. He’d brought a large contingent of men with him: for every guy that Norwood had, Scanguards had brought three, many of them crack shots, who could take out a target from a long distance. However, everybody had to remain hidden until the enemy showed himself.
John remained next to him, watching a red dot on his cell phone move around a map. “Ronny’s just entering the first gate.”
Blake peered into the distance. “What’s he driving?”
“His own truck. We figured Norwood would be less suspicious if everything looks normal. We put a tracker in Ronny’s shoe to make sure we can keep an eye on him if he has to leave the car somewhere and continue on foot.”
“And the drugs?”
“He told us they came in liquid form, so we filled plastic bottles with colored water.”
“As long as they don’t smell it, I guess we’ll be fine.”
“And by the time they do,” John added, “we’ll already have them by the balls.”
Blake heard a crackling sound over his earpiece. “Positions?”
“This is Wes. My team is at the south end, opposite buildings B and C.”