“This is Tim Oberto with Justice North,” Tim declared. “Open up.”
“I’m sorry but I can’t do that. The warden ordered a full lockdown of the facility, sir. We’re not permitted to allow anyone entry.”
“Tell him we’re here, you idiot!” Tim shouted. He turned his head toward Justice. “Sorry. He must be new.”
“The warden is currently in DC at a conference until tomorrow, sir. You will need to call his cell phone and he’ll have to send me a message to void the lockdown if he agrees to let you inside.”
“Un…fucking…believable,” Trey muttered. He stepped closer. “Hey, moron, this is Justice North out here in case you aren’t looking at your monitor or lost the ability to hear my boss when he speaks. That means he’s higher ranking than the warden. Open the damn gates or losing your job is going to be the least of your troubles. I’ll personally kick your ass if you make us wait out here any longer.”
They didn’t open.
Justice snarled. “I demand you allow us inside right now or we’ll drive through the gates.” He motioned and the team of New Species surrounded him. They all glowered at the camera. “You don’t want that to happen. It will anger us even more.”
The buzz was loud as the locks disengaged. True rushed forward as soon as they opened wide enough to fit his body through. The teams followed him, staying closely grouped together. The courtyard was empty but a side door to the large building opened and a human in uniform rushed outside. Within seconds another human male followed. That one wore slacks, a dress shirt and was quite a bit older than the guard.
“Stop right there,” the gray-haired human called out.
“What is the meaning of this, Jeff?” Justice took the lead, facing off against the shorter male.
“We’re under lockdown, Mr. North. I apologize for Dill’s rudeness but we weren’t expecting you.”
“Why wasn’t someone answering the phone and what caused the lockdown order?”
The human remained quiet.
“Answer him,” Tim grunted.
The human looked ill at ease. “I’m not sure. That order came directly from the warden. It’s standard procedure to shut off the phones and cut contact with the outside world.” He patted his front pocket. “We’re only allowed to stand down from the alert when the warden calls me directly on my cell.”
True was impatient. “Why did your guards come after Jeanie?”
The male paled, glancing at him. “Um, who?”
“Jeanie Shiver,” Tim elaborated. “I placed a pick-up order on her but then canceled it. It seems two of your men entered Homeland under false pretenses and tried to take her by force. It was a big mistake and now the only guard we have in custody is dead and unable to answer questions. We’ve come to take the other one into custody and to find out why they deceived the gate guards at Homeland and discover who sent them.”
Jeff paled even more. “Um, well…”
“This is where the vehicle they drove was parked,” Smiley yelled from across the courtyard where he stood in an empty parking space. “This area scents of the same human males who were at Homeland. The oil on the ground scents of the same van that brought them to Medical.”
“We did send a team to pick up medical supplies,” Jeff admitted, “and a woman prisoner. I didn’t know her name. She didn’t have a file with her name.”
“Why the hell would your men lie to the gate guards at Homeland by saying they’d just come for medical supplies but then break into the men’s dorms to retrieve a prisoner?” Tim yelled. “They tranq’ed a New Species to nab her.”
Jeff backed up a few feet. “I didn’t know. I didn’t order that. I’m just the assistant warden.” He raised his hands in a defensive gesture. “We received official orders to print paperwork for the transport of a high-priority prisoner and to go into lockdown in preparation for receiving that transfer.”
True snarled, ready to tear the building and everyone in it apart. He’d sworn to keep her safe. He should have been there to protect her, yet he’d failed.
“That’s her male and he’s highly agitated. Your guards tried to take her from his home. One of them died during that attempt. Now, we’re here for the other one. Take us to him,” Justice demanded.
“The warden said—”
“I don’t give shit what the warden said,” Tim ground out. “Justice North just gave you an order. Lead us to the other man who was at Homeland or we’ll go in there ourselves and get him. It was a major fuckup. I’m personally going to come down here tomorrow and go over how you train your damn staff. You’re a bunch of idiots. I canceled the request for her transfer.”
Jeff sputtered. “This isn’t my fault.”
True grabbed the male before he could kill the impulse but he managed not to shake the life out of him. “Where is the human? Stop stalling!”
“True,” Fury growled. “Stop.”
He released the human with a shove and spun on the Species. “Why did they want Jeanie? Do you know a female died here?”
A motion in his peripheral vision drew his attention. Trey Roberts reacted faster than he did when the human guard pulled a weapon from the back of his waistband and pointed it at True. The task force team leader kicked out, slamming a boot into the man’s arm. The Fuller guard yelled as bone snapped.
“FUCK!” the guy screamed. “Why’d you do that? Ouch. Mother son of a fucker!”
“You were going to shoot him,” Trey accused.
“The warden said no one goes inside.” He dropped to his knees, cradling his damaged arm with his other hand. “My men won’t let you in. I told them to shoot if anyone attempted it.”
“Why would you do that, Dill?” Jeff gaped at him. “This is Justice North and the task force team. There is a group of New Species with them. Tell your men to stand down. They can’t shoot at them.”
The injured human glared at the assistant warden. “We’ve been ordered to keep the building secured. No offense, sir, but fuck you.”
“There was no high-priority prisoner transfer. There is no prisoner! This prison belongs to New Species. The lockdown is over when Justice North says it’s over!” Jeff turned his head and stared at Tim. He looked shaken. “Dill is in control of the other guards. I’ll tell them to stand down but I don’t know if they’ll listen to me.”
“They won’t do anything you say. You’re nothing but a pencil pusher and an ass kisser,” Dill wheezed. He glared at Trey. “You snapped my arm, asswipe.”
True growled. “They wouldn’t shoot us. It’s our prison.” He advanced on the building. He was going in there to get the guard who’d attacked Jeanie, even if he had to go through the humans who worked there to find him.
“Hold,” Justice demanded.
True ignored him, increasing his pace.
“Cover him!” Tim yelled.
The task force team spread out behind True. He heard the assistant warden issuing orders for the guards inside to stand down. He reached the closed door but it was locked. He snarled and shook the handle but it didn’t turn.
“Move,” Trey insisted.
He glanced back as Trey pulled his gun and pointed it at the lock. True stepped aside. The blast was loud as the male shot the lock three times. He reached for it but Trey shook his head.
“Let me go first. I’m wearing Kevlar.”
Darkness pushed his way forward. “So am I.” He didn’t ask before grabbing an assault rifle from one of the task force members. “We’ll go in together.”
Trey glanced at the weapon. “You know how to use that? I didn’t think you ever went on missions.”
Darkness grimly nodded. “Unfortunately I do know how to use it. I never miss what I aim at. I gave my word I’d take responsibility for the female and that also means assuring her safety by retrieving the male who tried to steal her.”
“There should be two more guards on duty.” Trey exchanged his clip for a new one. “That’s protocol to have three guards and one administrator each shift but who knows what the hell is going on. I think they tossed the damn rule book out the window today.” He made a hand motion to his team. “They’ll spread out behind us and encircle the building.”