Rack & Ruin (THIRDS 3)

“They were floating.”

“Back to Austen.”

Sloane held back a smile. King of Evasive Tactics. “Like I said, I thought he was going to run. I bought him the pizza and soda—extra-large slice mind you—and we got to talking. He asked me dozens of questions about the THIRDS and was so excited he could barely sit still. As it happened, there was a robbery while we were in the pizzeria. A tiger Therian came in with a knife and started threatening everyone. I told Austen to get under the table and not come out until I said so. Then I got up and tried to talk the guy into putting the knife down. The guy didn’t take it well and came at me.”

“Shit. What did you do?”

Sloane shrugged. “I did what I had to. I took him down. Body slammed him into the linoleum.”

“You took down a tiger Therian?”

“I’ve had practice.”

“Hobbs?”

Sloane nodded. “The bigger they are, the harder they fall. And while in their Human form, they don’t always land on their feet. Anyway, the THIRDS came and took the guy away. I told Austen to come out and introduced him to the team. You should have seen his face. It was as if I’d introduced him to the Justice League or something.”

Dex gave him a wicked grin. “Your geek is showing.”

“Shut it.”

Dex cackled and sat back. His expression softened. “I can’t say I blame him. I would have been pretty starstruck too. Big sexy badass.”

Sloane chuckled. “Well, I don’t know about badass, but after that, Austen kept showing up everywhere I went. My biggest worry was when he showed up on calls. I was afraid he’d get hurt. I knew he wouldn’t quit just because I asked him to. Stubborn little shit. So I started giving him small jobs with no risk involved. He loved it. And he was good at it. I spoke to Lieutenant Sparks, introduced them, and next thing I know, she’s giving him a job. He’s been working with us since.”

“Do you think what Austen says is true? Do you think some of the Coalition members have gone rogue?” Dex finished his coffee, and Sloane paid the tab, ignoring Dex’s grousing on having Sloane pay for his jumbo breakfast.

“If Austen says that’s what he heard, I believe him. First thing, we’re getting on this lead. We need to let Cael know so he can get the algorithm set up. I want to know why these particular Order members. What is the Coalition up to?” They got into Sloane’s car and headed for HQ. They’d shower and change there. Sloane had to fill Maddock in on what was going on. Something was about to give in this case. He could feel it.

Chapter 11

THE NEXT morning, they finally lucked out.

“We got something.” Cael came rushing into their office and hurried over to Sloane’s desk. He entered his code into the security panel on the right-hand side, and Cael’s desk interface replaced Sloane’s. A few taps later, and Cael was bringing up several windows.

“We ran Craig Martin’s and Alberto Cristo’s names through Themis like Austen suggested. At first, the only hit we got on them were some minor assault charges when they were teens. Then I ran their names through Themis for known associates, as you said, and I got a shitload of hits. Not only were they both members of the Order, but get this, during the riots in ’85, a gang of Human youths calling themselves the Westward Creed went on a spree, assaulting Therian citizens left and right. The assaults were random and small-scale, but they soon escalated the violence until the gang members were arrested for causing the deaths of several Therians.”

“Martin and Cristo were members of the Westward Creed?” Sloane asked.

“Yeah, but Cristo got out before anyone d

ied. As for his friends, the charges were dropped due to missing evidence—or more likely due to the corrupt Human judge given the case. The judge was forced into retirement once the new Therian laws were passed.” Cael tapped Sloane’s desktop, and it split into eight screens with pictures and arrest records of the gang. The first one was of a young Craig Martin. Another photo jumped out at Sloane, and he sat forward.

“Hold on a second. That guy there.” Sloane pointed to one of the mug shots. An eighteen-year-old punk named Angel Reyes. “Look at his tattoo. It matches Austen’s description of the one he saw.”

Dex came to stand beside Sloane. “Shit. You think that’s the guy trying to take over the Order?”

“How many guys in New York have a tattoo of a multiheaded mythological Greek serpent over their face and neck?”

“True.”

Cael slid his hands across Reyes’s file, and it expanded, taking up the length of the desk. Several additional files popped up. He opened a side panel and ran a current search for Angelo Reyes. “Dude lives in the Bronx.”

Sloane tapped the address, and once the information menu popped up, he had Themis send it to his tablet. “Cael, can you bring up the list of victims from the riots?”

“Sure.”

“Martin and Cristo’s deaths weren’t an accident, and I’m willing to bet they won’t be the last. I think these victims are connected to members of the Coalition, and someone’s decided to take advantage of this war against the Order to get revenge. That would explain the rumors Austen’s been hearing of members of the Coalition going rogue. Somewhere along the way on their little vigilante crusade, something changed. The only problem is, we don’t know the identities of any of the Coalition members. No faces, names, or info we can run through Themis and cross-reference with the list of victims.”