Rack & Ruin (THIRDS 3)

“This is Agent Sebastian Hobbs. Seb, meet Mr. Reyes.”

Seb let out a fierce roar that made Reyes scramble to his feet so fast, his chair toppled behind him. He tried to move away, but the chains kept him from getting far.

Sloane turned his attention to Cael, who stood by the door. “Would you bring in Hobbs and Ash?”

Cael returned shortly after with Hobbs and an agent who was a lion Therian but not Ash. While Seb continued to scare the pants off Reyes, Sloane approached Cael. The concerned look on the young agent’s face was worrisome. “Where’s Ash?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since we left the BearCat. He returned his equipment to the armory, but he wasn’t in there when we arrived, so he must have gone ahead. This is Agent Ford from Beta Ambush.”

Damn it. This wasn’t looking good. Sloane prayed Ash wasn’t d

oing what he thought he was. He had to hurry this along. He thanked Cael and resumed his seat. He smiled at Reyes who crawled onto the table when Hobbs and Ford joined Seb. Ford’s roar had Reyes frantically clawing the table in his attempt to get away.

“Okay, Angel. Here we have two tiger Therians, a lion Therian and,” he pointed to himself, “a jaguar Therian. Now, imagine we’re hunting you with the intent of not letting you live.” Seb, Hobbs, and Ford crowded Reyes who looked like he was about to shit a brick. Ford roared and Seb hissed. They both pawed at the table. Hobbs jumped up onto the table with ease, and Reyes let out a shriek. With a snarl, Hobbs lay down and simply stared at Reyes.

“This is intimidation,” Reyes whispered hoarsely, sweat dripping down his face.

“No, this is a glimpse at your near and not so distant future. Except when that happens, you won’t stay alive as long. The Coalition wants justice for what you did, Angel, and they’re going to do everything they can to get it. There is nowhere you can hide.” Sloane sat back and scratched his nose. On his signal, Hobbs rose. He lowered his head slightly, his tail swinging, and his pupils going wide.

“Oh, looks like he’s going to pounce. I think he wants to play.”

Reyes whimpered and curled up on himself. It was obvious when the guy decided to take over the Order he hadn’t known what he was getting into. Sloane had no doubt Reyes intended on sitting in his cushy digs giving orders. It was all very well to start a war when you never planned on joining your men on the frontlines. “All right! I’ll do it! Just get them to back the fuck off. Please!”

Sloane nodded, and the door opened. Hobbs jumped off the table and hurried out of the room. Seb and Ford followed. Once the door closed, Reyes gingerly slipped off the table. A few taps later, and Sloane brought up the documentation necessary for Reyes’s statement along with a clean document. He handed Reyes a stylus.

“Take your time. We want to make sure you don’t leave anyone out.”

Reyes cast him a daggered look but swiped the stylus from him. He put his chair to rights, sat down, and started writing. As Sloane watched Reyes give up his organization, he told himself this was just the beginning. With the Order permanently disbanded, the Coalition would be next.

The moment Reyes had finished scribbling the final name, Sloane swiped the list, took a look at it, and sent it to Lieutenant Sparks and Sergeant Maddock. Almost as soon as he’d sent it, the table flashed red, and a band scrolled across the top with an APB for each member on the list. Sloane thanked Reyes and told him to hang tight before slipping out of the room. Maddock was waiting for him outside.

“Good job, son.”

“Thank you. I’m concerned about where we should hold him. I’m certain the Coalition knows we have him in custody.” And if they didn’t, something told him they’d know soon enough.

“You’re right. Keep him in the interrogation room until I can speak to Lieutenant Sparks. Right now, she’s holding an emergency briefing.” Maddock met Sloane’s gaze. “Whatever it is. It’s not good.”

DEX SAT at the conference table in the briefing room facing the front where his dad and Lieutenant Sparks stood talking quietly. The large screen on the wall behind them flickered to life but remained blank. Whatever was going on, it couldn’t be good. If the lieutenant was holding the briefing, it was usually serious business, and her grave expression didn’t bode well. Tony looked momentarily stunned by something the lieutenant said, and Dex knew it was bad. Sparks took the podium and held a hand up. The room immediately plunged into silence.

“What I’m about to show you will be difficult for you, but I ask that you remain calm until I’ve explained the situation.”

An image flickered to life on the screen, and the room erupted into gasps and murmurs. Dex stared at the bound-and-gagged agent in disbelief. Sloane was on his feet instantly and in front of Dex, Cael gasped, “Oh my God. Ash.”

“What the hell is this?” Sloane demanded.

Lieutenant Sparks patiently addressed Sloane. “I will explain, Agent Brodie. Please, have a seat.”

Dex couldn’t tear his gaze away from the screen where he saw Ash bound and gagged. The most unsettling part was how they had beaten the shit out of the fierce Therian agent. His face was swollen, his lip split, a cut trickled blood from his nose. He was bruised and covered in blood and sweat. His head hung low, and he looked as if he was out cold.

“Agent Keeler is a member of the Coalition.”

Something about the statement and the matter-of-fact way the lieutenant said it struck Dex as odd. The room once again erupted into murmurs.

“Ash is the mole?” Cael asked, his voice barely rising above those around him but loud enough for the lieutenant to hear.

“Not the one we’ve been looking for,” Sparks replied. “Agent Keeler is the mole we planted. He’s been working undercover. The objective was to send an agent to infiltrate the Coalition, discover the mole from the inside out. Keeler’s combat skills, field experience, and brash character made him the perfect candidate for the assignment. We knew the Coalition would jump at the chance to recruit him if they believed he could be swayed to fight for their cause.

“I instructed Keeler to play sympathetic to the Coalition’s purpose. It didn’t take long for our mole to make contact. Keeler received an anonymous text giving him a date, time, and place. He showed, spoke to someone who wasn’t the mole but had contact with him or her. Keeler negotiated the terms. He would join their ranks and provide intel so long as Coalition members kept their distance from THIRDS agents, specifically his team. To maintain the illusion he’d gone rogue, it was necessary for Destructive Delta to be kept in the dark. I then fed Keeler inside information to pass along.”