Against The Grain (THIRDS 5)

Oh God, it was true. Cael couldn’t believe it. They’d been set up. Who knew what connections Sparks used to contain the situation.

“Set up? What the hell are you talking about?” Austen stared at them, stunned.

“Sparks,” Dex repeated angrily, his gun still in hand. “She gave us these orders. Worked out the routes, everything. I didn’t want to believe it, but…. Fuck!”

“Where the hell have you been getting your intel?”

Dex told Austen everything, from what they’d learned from Shultzon to Ward and the meds. Cael held firmly on to the case. He didn’t know if they could trust Austen. He wanted to, he really did. They needed all the help they could get on this.

“Shit.” Austen shook his head, his lips pressed in a thin line.

“You knew?” Dex took a step toward Austen.

“Yeah, I knew.”

Dex raised his gun again, aiming at Austen. “So you are working with her.”

“I am. But it’s not what you think.”

“Jesus Christ, Austen! Did you see what happened back there? We’re being hunted.”

Dex threw a hand up, and Cael felt his gut twist. This couldn’t be happening. Granted, there was a lot they didn’t know about Austen and what he did, but could he really betray all of them like this?

“Dex,” Austen warned.

“God knows what they’re going to do to Sloane, and you’re telling me you’re working for the person responsible?”

“Dex.”

“How could you do that to us?”

Austen’s expression hardened. “Would you shut the fuck up for two fucking seconds!”

Dex promptly shut his mouth.

“Yes, I’m working with Sparks. No, she’s not who everyone thinks she is. And I swear on my fuzzy sacks if this gets out, I will beat the shit out of both of you. I don’t care who your boyfriends are.”

Cael opened his mouth to reply but thought better of it. Now was not the time. How Austen knew Ash was his boyfriend wasn’t really important right now.

“Sparks is a Tin Man.”

Dex frowned. “Like, Wizard of Oz Tin Man?”

“Yes and no. It’s just a nickname, ’cause the Tin Man had no heart, and well, TIN operatives aren’t known for being warm and cuddly. Anyway, Sparks is part of TIN—Therian Intelligence Network. Sort of the Therian version of the CIA. They exist, but technically they don’t. We SSAs work for them. Back in the ’90s when the THIRDS opened their doors, Sparks was planted in the THIRDS to make sure everything remained on the up and up. The THIRDS had the potential to wield a shit ton of power, and with the military to fund them and back them up, it made them a force to be reckoned with. Where there’s that kind of power, you’ll find those looking to either abuse it or exploit it. Someone in the Branch of Therian Defense has decided to fund a little side project using the THIRDS as a scapegoat. That is the project.” Austen craned his neck to point at the case in Cael’s hands.

“What is it?”

“The drug you have in your hand is called Peitharchia7. It has the ability to suppress the Human side of a Therian. It also enhances the feral side, making the Therian susceptible to suggestion and, more importantly, commands.”

“Fuck. I was right,” Dex groaned, returning his Glock to his thigh rig.

“And some asshat in the government wants to use it to control Therian soldiers. Take away the Human consciousness but leave the Human body. We all know it’s against Geneva Convention protocols for Therian soldiers to fight in Therian form. This gives them a way around that. It also means that intel will be hard as fuck to extract, because once that shit wears off, the Therian soldier won’t remember jack. Hard to get intel from someone who has no memory of what he’s done.”

“Is it the same drug Isaac injected Dex with?” Cael asked, taking a seat on the cinder block his brother had vacated, the case secured between his knees.

Austen shook his head. “That was a watered-down version. The shit you’ve got there is far more potent. It will fuck a Human up. It’s so dangerous, it has to be used with a preliminary drug.”

“Hold up. There’s another drug?”