Blood & Thunder (THIRDS 2)

“I don’t like this,” Ash said. “Something’s not right here.”

Dex turned to address Cael. “Recon have any luck tracing the call?”

“No. Most likely the call was made using a burner phone.”

Sloane finished eating in record time, popped a mint into his mouth, and stood to snatch a ballistic helmet off the wall. He handed it to Dex with a wink, knowing his partner would have pretended he’d forgotten it. “Cael, get a hold of the registration office’s security team and get us into their system. I want access to that feed, along with all their security footage.”

“You got it.” Cael got to work while Sloane addressed the rest of the team.

“Let’s get in there and see what the hell’s going on. I want that device found.” As he said the words, Hobbs grabbed one of the EOD X-Ray kits and handed it to Calvin, another to Ash. He put a hand to one of the weapon’s cages and removed the large backpack containing his EOD Packbot. As soon as he’d strapped it to himself, he grabbed another EOD X-Ray kit and held it up to Sloane with a big grin, making Sloane smile. Hobbs loved his toys.

“Okay, let’s go.” At Sloane’s signal, Letty opened the back doors and the team exited the truck, standing by while Maddock faced them.

“Recon agents are here. They’re setting up a blockade around the perimeter. We’ll keep you all informed. If the Order is responsible for this, I want to know about it. Keep me updated and watch your backs.”

Chapter 4

LIKE MOST of the surrounding federal buildings, the CDC Therian registration office was a Greek revival style structure made of stone. Above all its center windows were depictions of Greek physicians, along with some Greek style ironwork on its front doors. The building had two entrances, one on Worth Street and the other on Centre Street, with more offices and windows than Sloane cared for.

Destructive Delta hurried to the building, and Sloane cursed under his breath. Goddamn revolving doors. He hated these things. He pounded on the glass on the exit door to the right of it. A confused-looking guard promptly opened it. The guy quickly jumped to one side as Sloane and his team flooded inside. Sloane motioned for Letty to lock up the front doors. The second security guard posted on the other side gave a start. Ash was right. Something was wrong. Normally when someone reported a bomb, people got gone. They didn’t linger about looking more confused by the agents coming to answer the call than at the thought of being blown up. The team spread out, investigating the lobby for any possible threats, with expert speed and precision. In less than five minutes, they came back to him.

“We’re all clear,” Ash stated. Sloane approached the large reception desk ahead of him, and the petite redhead sitting behind it, looking on with wide eyes.

“Can… can I help you?”

Sloane leaned over, taking note of the young woman’s nametag. “Ms. Beverly, I need you to listen carefully to me and remain calm. Can you do that?”

The young woman’s brown eyes widened even more, but she nodded fervently.

“Good. I need you to start an evacuation procedure immediately. There may be an explosive device in this facility.”

“Oh my God,” she gasped, snatching up the telephone and hitting a host of blinking buttons as well as one underneath her desk. Sloane turned to his team.

“Letty, Rosa, Dex, you start evacuating the building. Hobbs, Calvin, Ash, find that damned device. Give a shout when you do.” His team broke off, and Sloane turned to the numerous security guards flooding out from several directions. “Who’s in charge of security?” Sloane asked. A guard in a white and black uniform stepped up.

“I am.” He held his hand out to Sloane. “Allan Jeffrey. What’s going on?”

“Allan, my name is Agent Sloane Brodie with the THIRDS. We have reason to believe there may be an explosive device inside the building. I need your team to help my guys get everyone out. Also, you should have received a phone call from one of my agents, an Agent Cael Maddock. I want you to give him access to your security network, its feed, and any footage we may require.”

“Yes, of course.” Allan turned to one of his guards. “Javier, you heard him. Get everyone out, and get Agent Maddock his access.”

With Javier running off, Sloane turned his attention back to Allan. “Has anyone unscheduled come in or out of this facility?”

Allan shook his head. “All visitors either have an appointment or have to be cleared by someone in the building. There’s a log at the reception desk visitors and employees fill out when they come in or out.”

“I’d like to see that list.”

Allan gave him a nod and led him to the reception desk where he handed Sloane a tablet. The log had six columns, one for date, name, time, species, company name, and purpose of visit. The majority were registrations, the rest employees. “Allan, can these dates and times be doctored?”

Allan shook his head. “They’re automatically inserted by the system to prevent falsification. As soon as a name is submitted, the system logs the time.”

“Excellent.” One less thing to worry about. He scanned the list of names when one jumped out at him. A Therian registrant under the name Zeph Hyacinth. Why did that strike him as odd? He tapped his earpiece. “Cael?”

“Cael, here.”

“Can you search the National Therian Database for the name Zeph Hyacinth?”

“Sure.”