Page 6 of Black Bird

“One day, you’re gonna come in and not have a damn chair at all. One day, I’ll take the greatest joy in ripping that piece of shit apart and beating you with every—”

“Kane! Northwood!” a deep voice rang out from the office across the precinct. Athan raised his attention to the captain, who leaned outside his door to wave them both over. Captain Foley was an esteemed individual, a decorated veteran, and a no-bullshit type of boss. Athan respected him, and he might argue that Foley was one of the few people he’d met in his lifetime that he could actually say he liked. Liked enough that he sometimes felt guilty for keeping so much truth from him about the world humankind knew little to nothing about.

Rhaena shot him a look as they raised from their seats and made their way past colleagues who glanced toward them as they followed Foley into his office.

“Shut the door behind you, Northwood,” he said softly as he rounded his desk, his six-foot frame coming to rest almost gracefully as he lowered into his chair. Athan took one of the seats across from him and Rhaena followed suit, dropping into the one beside him. “I read your report on EverLife. Were you successful in getting any further information on that over the weekend?” Foley’s long fingers twined together across his desk.

“No, sir. Just that nothing was taken, and the break-in was sabotage. Cameras were cut near the labs and what footage we did get; the suspect was masked.” Athan straightened in his seat.

“Anybody give you any reason to believe it was an inside job?”

“No, sir. But I’m still working on it.”

Foley turned his attention to Rhaena. “What about you, Gloves?” Athan tried to hide his amusement. Rhaena hated that nickname. Had earned it sparring with Foley’s best men. “Did you find out what they contaminated the specimens with?”

“According to the lab supervisor, the blood was tainted with influenza. A strain strong enough to resist antibodies.”

“The higher ups want to know if we suspect this coming from some terrorist group.” Foley leaned forward and glanced between them both.

“We don’t believe so, sir,” Athan offered.

“And what about the murders? Do we have anything that could tie them in?”

They both knew. Neither one looked at each other. The bodies that were mounting up were because of the lack of blood coming out of EverLife. Forensic teams hadn’t been able to peg it on any one suspect, nor any animal that matched the many strands of DNA that was left on the wounds or the crime scenes. They knew who was responsible and itwas becoming more and more taxing to make excuses to cover this shit up.

“I think they’re connected sir, but I haven’t been able to find the proof I need,” Athan said, trying not to fidget beneath the captain’s stare.

“What makes you think that?” Foley asked, pinning him harder.

“Just a gut feeling.”

Captain Foley’s dark skin beaded with sweat, and he rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t go on gut feelings, Kane. I need you to find whoever is doing this shit before the feds start trying to get their hands in the pot.”

“I understand, sir.”

“That being said, here’s a little gift.” He tossed a file across his desk and Athan leaned forward to grab it. “I need you to go to the hospital uptown and question the only surviving witness we have in all this mess.” Athan narrowed his eyes and lowered his brows in confusion, Rhaena doing the same.

“Witness?” Athan asked, a sick feeling twisting in his gut.

“Yep. Some bum found her across town in an alley, barely alive on Saturday. I got word from a source that she’s finally awake. This might be the only lead we’ve got, and we need to follow it. Whether it ties these two things together or not doesn’t make any damn difference to me.” Foley leaned back in his seat and Athan’s pale face grew two shades lighter as he opened the folder.

The inaudible whispering fluttered in the back of his head as he peered down at the face that had haunted his dreams over the weekend. Her lifeless hazel eyes flashed in his mind, and he stared at the ones that matched the photo that he now held in his hands. All sound drowned out around him, and bile threatened to creep up his throat. He glanced to the right of the page. His mystery victim had a name.

Sarah … fuck. Oh, fuck.

“Kane …” Rhaena’s soft voice broke his concentration. He tore his eyes from the photo and looked over at her. “Did you hear me?”

He swallowed hard. “No, sorry. What?”

“We can ride together.”

“No.” He snapped the file shut and raised from his chair. “I’ll go alone this time.” Foley stared up at him, his brows drawn.

“You alright, kid?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. Thank you. I’ll get it done.”

Athan moved past the back of Rhaena’s seat, and she turned in it to watch him as he opened the door. He said nothing. Didn’t even look at her as he stormed back toward his desk. She had caught up to him by the time he had bent over to grab his helmet, gun, and badge.

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