"As you can see by the timestamp, this video is from forty minutes ago. Watch closely." She tapped the remote, and the camera angle changed, showing two of the cells. One held Juarez, the other Turner. They were in their Human form, each sitting on a steel bench bolted to their cell's concrete floor.
A THIRDS agent in full tactical gear entered the holding area, walked up to Juarez's cell, pulled out a gun with silencer, and shot Juarez in the head, followed by Turner. It was over in seconds.
"What the fuck?" Ash's outburst was joined by similar reactions from the rest of the team. Juarez and Turner lay in pools of their own blood as the agent tucked his gun into his pocket and walked away through the same set of doors he'd come in from.
Dex couldn't believe what he'd just seen. Had one of theirs betrayed them?
"Where is he?" Sloane demanded, taking a step forward. Sparks motioned for him to calm down.
"Agent Chapman is alive and well and currently being checked over in the infirmary. The man in the video is not Agent Chapman. Chapman was knocked unconscious and found bound and gagged inside his locker."
Sparks replayed the video. "It's clear our suspect knows where the cameras are and manages to keep his face hidden, except here." She paused the video and zoomed in. Dex was surprised to find the man had his head slightly angled toward the camera, and what looked like a smile on his face. Wait. He was looking at the camera. Dex gasped. It couldn't be. His reply was a feral growl.
"Wolf."
"What?" Sloane put a hand to Dex's shoulder as Dex gazed up at the screen.
The man's face was just about visible behind the visor of the tactical helmet. He was ruggedly handsome, with a wide smile, bright blue eyes, and Dex immediately recognized the cockiness in his grin. "Motherfucker." He frowned at Sparks. "I don't suppose anyone saw where he went?"
"The agents guarding the holding cells never saw him go in, or leave. A team has been put on the case, but they won't find anything. Wolf is long gone."
"He wanted us to know it was him," Dex said. "Why?"
"And why the hell would Wolf kill these guys?" Sloane added, sounding as if he were trying to make sense of things.
"Good question," Sparks said, tapping the remote in her hand. The screen went black. "Wolf would never waste his time with ordinary criminals. If he killed these men, he was either being paid to do it, or it was personal, neither of which gives us any answers. More curious, is the one hundred thousand dollars in cash he deposited into Dowling's bank account the day before Dowling was killed by these men, who were in turn killed by Wolf."
Dex met Sloane's gaze across the table. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"That Wolf paid Dowling to contact us about something Dowling never got the chance to say?"
Dex nodded.
Ash shook his head. "That doesn't make any fucking sense. It's not like Wolf hasn't contacted Dex before. Why didn't Wolf just fucking call himself instead of sending a messenger?"
"Like we'd be able to have a rational conversation," Dex scoffed. He crossed his arms over his chest. The bastard was too fucking smart. "If Wolf called me, I would have told him to fuck off. My first instinct wouldn't have been to believe him, and he knew that. I hate saying it, but this guy is damn good at what he does. Whatever he wanted to tell us, he wanted us to listen, so he got someone else."
Sparks nodded her agreement. "Killing Juarez and Turner was personal. They interfered with his plans, forcing him to come out of hiding." She looked at Sloane, then moved her gaze to Dex. "Whatever it was, it was important enough for Wolf to risk entering the country and exposing himself to us."
Just as she'd said the words, the emergency lights in the room flashed. Their phones buzzed, beeped, and went crazy.
"What the hell?" The large screen flickered to life, and the hairs on the back of Dex's neck stood on end. Image after image of Hudson popped up on the screen. Photographs of him and Seb, of him at work, at crime scenes, with the team, laughing, concerned, heartbroken, at Gabe's funeral, at Dekatria. They just kept coming.
"What is this?" Cael asked, concerned.
Dex narrowed his eyes. If there was any chance Wolf could hear him.... "If you lay one hand on him, you son of a bitch, I swear I'll--"
The images disappeared, leaving the screen black. Three words appeared in red.
Keep him alive.
The room was silent.
Wolf didn't want to hurt Hudson; he wanted him protected.
Seconds later, the words disappeared and the lights in the room returned to normal. Dex cursed under his breath. "I guess we know what Wolf was trying to tell us." What Dex didn't understand was why. Hudson had never heard of Wolf until Dex told him about his kidnapper and torturer. What was Wolf's angle in all this? Surely he didn't want Hudson protected out of the goodness of his heart. That made no sense. Wolf didn't give a shit about anyone. He worked for the highest bidder, loyal only to himself. Dex removed his phone from his pocket, and made a call. Hudson's cheerful reply eased Dex's nerves.
"Hello, Dexter."