Page 14 of Carler

“No, Sir. It must have been somewhere outside of the area I patrol. It may even have been outside," the guard replied.

What in the hell could have happened that would have shaken the building and not left any damage or sign of what had occurred anywhere?

Carler looked around and saw Viv. It was clear she was also trying to find out what happened. She entered the camera room, where the guards watched the screens from all over. He decided that was a really good idea and followed her, and they began to check one screen after another.

“There!” She yelled as she pointed to a screen. It showed a trash can outside the building that was completely demolished. “That makes no sense unless they were trying to sneak something in and didn't get to it before it exploded on its own.”

“I believe they got to it if the blood and remains scattered around the area are anything to go by.”

“I didn't see that. Your eyesight is amazing. That looks like more than one person scattered around. I hope they were bad people and not some innocent kids who were talked into doing this.”

“We'll have someone run the DNA and try to identify them. If we are lucky, maybe it's Joe Senior, and we won't have to worry about him anymore," Carler offered.

“I doubt if getting rid of Joe will be that easy. Judging by the lid, I believe it was closed when the bomb went off. Maybe they purposely put someone in there to kill them.”

“That's a construction dumpster. It's large enough to hold a lot.”

“You're still using the extra-large dumpsters?” Viv asked.

“Even with our recycling efforts, we have enough trash to fill them. Much of that seems to be trash people are packing in with them.”

“Where does the trash go?”

“It goes to a factory to be sorted. Anything burnable is burned, and the energy is stored. Anything else goes into the recycling piles. Glass and metal are reduced and reused. It's a sophisticated process. In the end, nothing is left unused," Carler explained.

“I wish we would use some of those kinds of processes. It seems for every step forward; we take a step back.”

“The bomb squad is checking to make sure there are no explosives left. Once they are sure, the lab guys will take samples to see where the biological material came from and try to identify it. Our bomb squad will also be going through the hotel level by level to ensure there are no more bombs anywhere," Carler observed.

This whole situation was driving him crazy. Not only could they not find Joe, but they couldn't stop the people he sent from wreaking havoc. Had they been back on their own planet, he felt like none of this would have happened. Now he had more to worry about, he thought as he looked at Viv. Several of his people had their mates, and some even had their children nearby. This cannot be allowed to continue.

All these new and crazy rules that these people from this planet went by made it harder for him to do his job. It wasn't any easier knowing that Viv was watching and possibly judging him by her own standards, which were kinder than his. He was a dragon warrior who followed military rules that would have allowed him to kill Joe on sight. Viv was more concerned with justice and bringing him to be judged and arrested.

That kind of treatment would never stop Joe. If he was in a prison run by humans, he would escape. Why he had left his son in prison was hard to say, but he was probably punishing him for being so stupid. Carler could understand that because the boy had been stupid. He was too stupid to be a criminal, and it was because of him that his father had been brought down as well.

Davy was the one that Joe really wanted, but she was far out of his reach, and he didn't understand that. Yes, he believed they were dragons, but he didn't realize they were from outer space. That was where Davy was safe and protected by her mate. She had brought down her enemy, but her enemy wasn't through with them yet. Carler wondered why the spaceship could not track Joe Senior. He understood, in part, that there were so many people on the planet that looking without a target was difficult for them. They also did not have his DNA, but they could get that from young Joe. As far as he was concerned, whoever was running the ship wasn't trying hard enough. Maybe he needed to give it a go and see what he could do. No ship was in orbit, but ships ran regularly, and there would be one back soon.

Large groups of people were going to their planet, but the Emperor thought it wouldn't be a good idea for the country to be connected to the planet. The planet had been given a different moniker, and the real name was not given out until those leaving Earth were too far away to identify it. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the word got out, but until then, the secrecy would stay intact. None of those going to the planet had any idea that the people who lived there were dragon shifters. That was something else they found out en route to the planet. After carefully considering things, he was happy that he was not the Emperor and did not have to make those decisions.

Most dragons were not power-hungry. They were happy with their earned positions and willing to support their Emperor. Humans were not like that. At least there was a large group that was not like that. They wanted power and money to be in charge of everyone and everything. That was the problem with Joe Senior. He had wanted more power by any means necessary. So, his plan backfired, and he lost everything he had. Now, they needed to take charge and deal with him in a way that would stop him from causing problems.

The bomb team notified him that everything was clear. Now, he would wait for the lab team to tell him who or what had been killed. Security was on high alert, and everyone coming in and going out was being checked. It was surprising to him that many people had not even bothered to come out of their rooms to see what was happening. Maybe they lived in areas where earthquakes were prevalent. It was not good when the building you were in shook, and you didn't even bother to wake up.

Viv sat at her desk and was working on her computer. He wasn't sure what she was doing or what information she might be getting because she wasn't sharing it. At this point, he hadn't been sharing anything either.

“The bomb squad cleared the building and the area. The lab guys are getting samples to test them," Carler admitted.

“One of the guards said that he saw lizard parts around the dumpster.”

Have they blown up a dragon? As far as he knew, none were missing. Had Joe done this, or had the Renegades done this? That was the problem with too many enemies. You never knew who was causing the current issues. They had taken a bite out of the rogues. All the parks were open, and there were very few issues.

Carler still didn't feel comfortable about the rogues and was sure they would start attacking again at some point. In the meantime, the steps they took were keeping things in control.

“Maybe you should go back to bed and get some rest?” Carler suggested.

She shot him an evil glare. “Why don't you go back to bed and get some rest, and I will take over?”

He cannot deny that his female had some spunk. She had spirit, which was a good thing, not something he wanted to change. He did some work since they were waiting for the results in the office. Viv seemed to be doing some work as well. It was two hours later before the results finally came. What had been blown up in the dumpster with some kind of lizard, it seemed that whoever had done this was trying to make a point but not willing to kill anyone. The cameras were all over the outside of the casino and had been shot out except for one they missed. It got a fairly good picture of several people involved in this.

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