Truth Behind the Mask Read online

  “Then the cycle begins again, and Erith shouldn’t have to return to that kind of environment.” Rogue shook her head. “You should have just taken her to one of the proper safe houses, Pagan.”

  “I know,” Pagan said. “But I just wanted her with us.” With me, she admitted to herself.

  “You thought with your heart. It’s not the wisest of organs.” Rogue waved her hand to signal the end of the conversation. “You’re done meditating on the error of your ways. Go wash up and then go sort out what we need for our next job.”

  “Have we got any idea of what Phoenix has planned for tonight?” Pagan asked as she wiped her face with a towel.

  “Nothing concrete yet. One good thing at least came out of you storming that apartment to rescue your maiden in distress. We now have a name to link with this Phoenix, and we can check into Baylor’s past and seek out his latest associates. Your bladder will, in all likelihood, be keeping you up all night, young Pagan.” Rogue shook her head at her. “Weak bladder control, some excuse.”

  “Let’s hope I never have to use it.”

  “Indeed.”

  *

  Melina was reading something from a file when Rogue entered the lighthouse after her workout and conscientiously tried not to slam the door behind her as she fumed.

  Melina seemed to eye her carefully before she spoke. “Rogue, please vent some of that anger before you blow something. Is Pagan now fully aware of the danger she has placed us in?”

  “I fear this Erith calls to something other than Pagan’s sense of duty.” Rogue gritted her words out between tightly clenched teeth.

  “It’s taken her long enough. There was a time you worried she’d never find someone to give her heart to.”

  “Now is not the time! We have this Phoenix character starting to cause trouble in the city, and now she decides is the time to find herself someone to get close to? She can’t afford the distraction.”

  “It had to happen sooner or later. You couldn’t hold on to your hope of her not dating until she was over forty.” Melina put down the file and edged her chair closer to Rogue. “What’s really bothering you, Rogue?”

  “We don’t know this woman. She’s no more than a girl. Pagan meets her, and suddenly she’s having to rescue her from the home of a man who just happens to be affiliated with the one stirring up trouble in Chastilian. Am I the only one who is thinking this is more than a strange quirk of fate?”

  “I think you’re the only one seeing a twisted connection where the rest of us see merely coincidence.” Melina brushed a hand across Rogue’s cheek. “I don’t think there’s some nefarious plan here. I think it is merely what it is. Erith needed to be rescued and Pagan came to her aid.”

  “Can it really be that simple?” Rogue dropped to her knees, and wound her arms around Melina’s waist, drawing her close. “Nothing is ever that simple for us.”

  “We Sighted are supposed to see deeper into whatever evidence we are given. I can’t honestly see some hidden agenda in their meeting. I think it was simply meant to be. And if something comes of it, then you have to accept that. This might be the someone Pagan will love.”

  “She hasn’t got time to fall in love with the local city burglar! She has other things that need to occupy her time and energy.”

  “And they will, I can assure you. But I don’t think the heart pays attention when it has something set in its sights. You were meant to take a role on the esteemed Council and follow in your father’s footsteps. Instead, you watch over Chastilian from a lighthouse and run a security firm because your heart led you to me.” She cupped Rogue’s cheek. “And I, for one, am very grateful it did.” Melina gazed at Rogue lovingly, then her face altered just enough for Rogue to catch it.

  “What?”

  “I’ve been doing some research. Years ago, the original Phoenix terrorized Chastilian, demanding protection money, setting fire to businesses that didn’t play his game. Then my parents were killed, he was captured, and his gang just disappeared from the public eye. The Sentinels never knew where he came from or who he was, and they were never able to keep track of his gang either. We didn’t have names for their faces, and we didn’t possess half the technology then that we do now.” Melina looked about her lighthouse and all its computers. “But now we have an abundance of technology that we can use to our advantage. I have been searching for anything I can find out about the first Phoenix and why this new man has taken on his mantle.”

  “A copycat, maybe?”

  “How about a chip off the old block?” Melina picked up the file and handed it to Rogue. “Xander Phoenix had no ties to Chastilian. It was merely a means to an end in his racketeering. But I’ve found, through housing records and birth certificates freely available on the Internet, that he had family elsewhere, including a son. Zachary Phoenix, aged twenty-three. He’s exactly the same age as Pagan.”

  “So the son is taking revenge for his father’s murder by killing the old gang members? I’d be the first to shake his hand if it wasn’t for the fact he’s taking innocent lives along with those thugs.”

  “The Sighted will be advised about this piece of the puzzle, and the Sentinels will all be briefed. I just wanted to tell you first that I think I’ve found our Phoenix and the reason why he’s here. I don’t think it’s all for revenge on his father’s gang. I think he’s also calling us out. The symbol left at the Quarter announced him, but only his gang and we know exactly who the Phoenix was and what he did.” Melina lifted Rogue’s chin from where she was still poring over the written information. “We need to tell Pagan now.”

  “Do you think she’s aware what this will mean?”

  “That we now have the son of the man who killed our parents terrorizing the city? I think she’ll understand perfectly what that means for us.”

  “Phoenix’s heir.”

  “Pagan’s going to want retribution.”

  “She’s going to have to stand in line. If he chooses to continue in his rampage across Chastilian, I am going to take him down myself. I’m just eternally thankful there were survivors the night his father struck. My own reason for living is right here in my arms.”

  Melina soothed Rogue’s hair from her face. “The Phoenix heir will soon find that the Osborne legacy is still very much alive and able to stand in his way.”

  “You don’t mess with the Osbornes.” Rogue kissed Melina’s nose.

  “Not this time, because now we are a part of a force to be reckoned with.”

  *

  The night was unseasonably cool. Pagan’s breath clung to the air as she regulated her breathing to keep herself as silent as possible. She was crouched on a window ledge sticking out over an alleyway and was listening in on the chatter of two men below as they jostled each other in play fighting, acting like overgrown children while they waited for something. Pagan was waiting with them, intrigued as to what they were doing out so late and in such a deserted area. Their comments soon caught more than Pagan’s idle curiosity.

  “So Baylor’s old woman wouldn’t turn him in, eh?” one voice growled with a chuckle.

  “No, and she never will if she knows what’s good for her, he told me.” The other voice was distinctly younger.

  “What about the daughter? I heard Baylor’s got an unruly bitch.”

  “He said she’s run away, just up and left. He said he was better off without her, said she can do what the hell she likes and he could care less. Then he said she’s old enough to go find herself some poor beggar to screw and get stuck with kids of her own.”

  Melina’s voice was gentle in Pagan’s ear. “Looks like you’ve stumbled upon someone linked to Baylor. Strange there was no mention of the fact she was taken from her home by a Sentinel. That’s very interesting. He could have added that to Phoenix’s list of things to hold against us.”

  Phoenix. Just the mention of the man’s name made Pagan’s blood run cold. Her head still spun with the details that Melina had laid out for her before she
set out for the night. She marveled at how calm her sister had been as she delivered the news that the man behind their parents’ deaths had left behind a son. One who was now following in his father’s footsteps and terrorizing Chastilian in his own right. Pagan could feel the anger once more rise to the surface, and her hold tightened on the wall as if she could somehow vent that fury through crushing bricks and mortar. In just a few words, Pagan’s world had once again turned upside down. He was taking revenge in his father’s name. Pagan, like the good Sentinel she had been brought up to be, had told Melina and Rogue she wanted justice served. Now, in the darkness of the night, watching two of Phoenix’s men go about their schemes, talking about Erith like she was trash, Pagan knew only one thing.

  She wanted this Phoenix as dead as the first.

  Trying to push such thoughts aside for the sake of the watch, Pagan again looked down on the two men. She watched their every move. They frequently checked the end of the alley, obviously waiting for something. In the sparse light she could barely make them out in their black clothing. The flames on their bandanas, however, were a giveaway in the darkness. Pagan wondered if that was a sign they wore, like gang colors, to set them apart. The younger man sported blond hair cut close to his head. The older man was dark skinned and thicker set. Both fidgeted and made way too much noise as they waited impatiently.

  “How come Baylor’s joined us down here? He’s kind of old to be a member of Phoenix’s team.”

  “Word has it he had connections with the gang years ago when the old Phoenix was here. When he got killed, the gang scattered and Baylor went into hiding too, for a while. As soon as the call went out that the new Phoenix had arisen, only Baylor came back to serve.” The younger man sounded impressed with the knowledge he’d garnered.

  “Those are some credentials. I’d better treat him with more respect than just thinking of him as a stupid wife beater.”

  Both men laughed, then hastily hushed each other as their amusement sounded loud in the night air.

  “Intriguing,” Melina muttered over the comlink. “This Phoenix tried to recruit his father’s cronies as well as new staff. I wonder if the son has had more luck finding the exact ones who betrayed his father than we’re having.”

  “So what time is the shipment due again?” the younger man asked.

  “The same as it’s been every time you ask me, dumbass! Midnight.” The older man rubbed his hands together gleefully. “I hear it’s a major cache this time, sent with love and kisses from an old friend of the Phoenix family. I heard they broke into a military compound for these gems.”

  Pagan’s eyebrows lifted behind her face mask. She heard Melina gasp.

  “What the hell have they gotten hold of?” Melina grumbled. “Great, now among all the other things I’m checking into, I need to have eyes on the military bases too. I’ll get Uncle Frank to call around. He’s ex-military, he has connections there. Pagan, you’re going to have to slip in closer when they move so that we can see what gifts are being exchanged here. Rogue, hold your position until the vehicle comes. You’re more exposed on that side of the alley.”

  “So Phoenix is upping the stakes even more?” Rogue whispered through the comlink. “Any hopes this is a rocket we can strap the bastard to and launch him into space?”

  Pagan tried not to laugh out loud and instead held her pose as still as a statue, molded to the brickwork as if she were a living part of it. Her gaze never left the two men below her.

  At precisely twelve o’clock a truck rumbled into the alleyway and the two men ambled in its direction, flagging it down. Pagan followed from above, edging along the window ledges, using them like stepping stones until she could climb down the side of the wall to get a better view. She clung precariously to a ledge where a crack left a secure hand hold in the wall. She made sure she could see the license plate so that Melina could run it through their databases. Pagan once more marveled at the amount of hidden technology she had concealed on her that let the Sighted back at the lighthouse truly see. The mask was just one vital part that allowed the Sighted to see what the Sentinels saw. The city’s closed circuit TV cameras were another way the Sighteds watched over Chastilian, but Pagan was disappointed that not every corner employed them. This area of the city was blind to what was taking place below.

  The man who drove the truck jumped down from the cab and swaggered around to join the two men eagerly waiting for him.

  “Greetings, boys.” He casually flipped open the doors at the back of the truck, revealing its contents. “Think your Phoenix will be pleased with this offering?”

  Pagan leaned out carefully to look into the truck bed. Her eyes widened at what she saw. Five handheld missile launchers, complete with boxes of ammunition, lay in the truck.

  “I’d say he’ll be overjoyed!” The older man clapped his hand across the back of his companion and they all laughed as money exchanged hands. “Oh, the fun he could have with these babies! Who needs bullets when you can bomb?”

  “Seize and capture, Sentinels!” Melina said sharply.

  Pagan and Rogue dropped down from their positions. Pagan landed on top of the blond thug and managed to knock him out with a few swift punches. She rolled away from the boot that the driver aimed at her rib cage. He tried to turn and run, but Pagan dove and grabbed at his legs, tackling him.

  Rogue brought the older man to the ground with a few well-aimed punches and had him tied up in moments. Pagan crawled up the struggling truck driver’s body to drag his arms behind his back and tie plastic cords to his wrists.

  “That was easy enough,” Rogue said, moving around the truck and punching the truck driver in the nose as he started spouting obscenities. “Watch your mouth. There might be ladies present.”

  They made sure the men were all securely immobilized and then left them propped up together to await collection by the police.

  “Directions, Sighted?” Rogue asked as she looked in the truck at the weapons.

  “Take it to Akramon. He will know how to take care of it. He has the facilities,” Melina replied. “I’ll contact him so he’s aware of you coming bearing gifts.” Melina was silent for a moment and then said, “It appears the truck has a tracking device attached to it. Its GPS signal is flashing on one of my screens. Looks like whoever supplied the weapons likes to keep an eye on his men. It also means we can backtrack the signal and find its source. You might want to disable the device, though, for this evening, I’ve got all I need from it here.”

  Pagan reached into the vehicle. She found the GPS attached to the steering wheel column. “Got it.” She brought the small metal bug back to Rogue. Rogue smiled at her.

  “I know exactly where this will be best served,” she said and headed toward the truck driver, who was still spewing profanities at her. She grabbed his already broken nose, forcing his mouth open so he could breathe. As he gasped for air, she shoved the small tracker in his mouth and clamped his jaw shut. He gagged, tried to scream, and then swallowed it.

  Rogue patted him on the head harshly. “Be thankful I didn’t have any soap with me,” she said as he lay panting and retching. “Hey! Stop it! We don’t want you bringing that bug back up. We want you tracked all the way to the jail cells.”

  They heard police sirens. “I’ll drive,” Rogue said as Pagan went to scramble into the truck.

  “I know, I know,” Pagan grumbled and moved around to the passenger side.

  “Akramon is waiting for you,” Melina said. “Safe journey. Be mindful of what you carry in the back.”

  Pagan sat back to enjoy the ride, her eyes blurring at the endless lights that decorated the city as they drove through Chastilian and on to Akramon’s warehouse to the awaiting Sentinel there. “I think Phoenix has just upped the ante. Missiles do more than set a place alight,” she said.

  “Let’s hope that this was the only shipment that was delivered tonight.”

  Pagan spared Rogue a sideways glance. “Something tells me we wouldn’t be that
lucky.” She saw the grim line of Rogue’s lips and knew that she had been thinking the exact same thing.

  *

  Akramon drove them back as close to the lighthouse as possible without arousing suspicion in the quiet hours of the morning. The windows were blackened to hide the masked occupants inside.

  Pagan heard Melina come back online in her comlink. “Pagan,” she said, “We have a small problem.”

  “What’s wrong, Mel?” Pagan asked, her heart instantly beating faster.

  “It would appear that a certain Fox has left the den.”

  “Damn it!” Rogue growled from the front passenger seat.

  “Do you have a fix on where she is?” Pagan just wanted confirmation of her worst fear.

  “She’s gone back home,” Melina replied.

  Pagan sighed in resignation. “Her dad isn’t out of jail yet, is he?”

  “No, but it’s late, and she’s out in the city on her own.”

  “Something tells me that’s nothing new for this particular fox,” Rogue muttered.

  Pagan looked out into the city. “Let me out here, please. I’ll escort our runaway home myself.”

  “Sure you don’t want backup in case she proves to be a handful?” Rogue settled herself more comfortably in her seat, apparently not having any intension of following Pagan at all.

  “I think I can handle her myself.” She pointed to a street sign. “I’ll get out here. There’s a lot of good cover that I can hide in until I reach her building.”

  The car drew to a halt and Pagan got out swiftly. “Thanks for the ride, Akramon. I hope the next time we meet it will be in better circumstances.”

  “Take care, little one,” he replied with a smile. “You’ll have to bring this girl to meet the family, let us welcome her into the fold, seeing as she is so sweet on you.”

  Pagan paused in closing the door. She shot a suspicious look at Rogue. “Have you been talking about me?”

  Rogue pointed a finger to her chest. “Me? Never. Not a single word has passed my lips about you and your hot little redhead.”