Page 28 of Memphis Heat
Miller’s teeth flashed in a hint of a true grin this time.“Didn’t you seeMen in Black?”
Chapter Three
“Close the door,” Snorrasan ordered without looking up.“Have a seat.What have you got to report?”
Butch Carson threw himself into the nearest chair, the set of his shoulders reflecting his mood.Tired.Frustrated.And no farther ahead than they’d been a week ago.“We got nothin’.Not even a hint of anything illegal.Apparently, even for werewolves, we still smell like cops.”
Amanda Black grinned.“Maybe you just smell.We did better.Noticed the same six guys selling AKs way cheap both days.Talked them up a little, bought six for cash, along with a couple crates of ammo.Old Soviet surplus, as we suspected.Asked about a volume discount.Told the boss we’re looking for more, and he said they can give us a discount price on a truckload.”
“Thank God one of us got somewhere.”Regan sighed, rubbing the shoulder of one arm as if to loosen tight muscles.“Maybe we didn’t just waste an entire weekend.”
Butch shifted in his seat, bringing his elbows to the table.“How the hell’d you get anything outta that tight-lipped bunch?No one would even talk to us.”
“Not your fault, Carson.Black looks really hot in camo,” Callahan explained.“And she smells like she’s in heat.”Which she was.
“I made that work for me,” Amanda added.
“She did.”Callahan watched her through half-closed eyes.The woman was like a drug to him.He simply couldn’t get enough of her.Even working a case, there was nothing about her that didn’t make him hard as a fucking rock.“She came up with this Tennessee State Militia angle.Apparently we’re like one of those white supremacist nutcase factions, only the integrated, werewolf version.”
Amanda snorted.“The idea is when the federal government collapses, the weres will come out of hiding.We’ve got to be ready to take over, restore order, and offer the world a new reality.We’ll have to keep the looters and rioters at bay, so we’ve got to arm ourselves.Weres are powerful, but not more powerful than AK-47s.We need guns, ammo, and body armor.We’re looking for some heavier grade firepower.We make this buy, flash enough cash, and they’ll be ready to offer us more.”
Regan nodded slowly.“And to sell that, we’re going to need a facility.A training compound.Soldiers, uniforms, offices… we need to look official.Get them to make a delivery, then track them back to wherever they’re warehousing this stuff.Find Jarod and Belle.”She didn’t addbefore it’s too late, but she didn’t have to.They all knew they were racing the clock.
Agent Miller tapped on his keyboard and pulled up a topography map.“Got just the place.Compound outside of town, up in the hills.Right about here.Raided it a few months back.Built to house about twenty families, but it was nearly empty when we got there.Minimal damage from the raid, and we kept it out of the news.”
Snorrasan issued a low, guttural laugh that somehow managed not to convey any humor whatsoever.“How’d you manage that?”
“Easy.They went broke.Only three members left.We brought ‘em in on tax evasion.Property forfeiture under assets seizure.No carnage, no media, and we have the keys.We can walk right in through the front door.Best part?Place is still intact.All we need is some troops who look like bad National Guard knockoffs.”
Amanda grinned and stretched out her hand.“Gimme the credit card -- we got some shoppin’ to do!”
* * *
They hadn’t had a whole lot of time to prepare.Amanda had put off the shipment as long as she could without raising suspicion, which left them with only a few days to set up the house, but she’d pulled it off.Canned goods.Uniforms.Supplies.All the trappings of a paranoid paramilitary compound.They’d outfitted the troops with old Chinese training rifles, but it was clear from just a glance they were due for a major weapons upgrade.And Amanda was sitting on the most important part of the mission -- the cash.Enough cash to make these suppliers want to come back for more.
Sewn into the bottom of the small duffle was a tracker.All they needed now was for the shipment to show up.Amanda sat at her desk, fingers drumming restlessly on the scarred wood surface.
If he’d been in wolf form, Callahan’s hackles would have been raised.This just seemed too easy.In his experience, when something felt too good to be true, it probably was.
There were things he needed to oversee, but he couldn’t pull himself away from Amanda.Lord knew the woman could take care of herself, but there was a drive to protect her he was unable to ignore.The closer the hour of the expected arrival, the more edgy Callahan became.
When he actually growled at one of the officers helping them get the place ready, Amanda had had enough.“What’s your fucking problem?”
“Nothing.”He sounded disgruntled even to himself, but he couldn’t put his feelings into words.
“Then why are you snapping like someone’s got their teeth around your leg and won’t let go?”
“I hate waiting.”
“Loosen up a little.Everything will be all right.”
“How the fuck do you figure that?We’re sitting here, waiting for the key players to come to us with a shitload of guns and ammo.The fact they’ve got the majority of the firepower tends to put me in a bad fucking mood.”
Amanda pulled him down the hall and into the back office.Taking his face in her hands, she tried to soothe him.“We’re going to get them, baby.This is going to work.”Her voice was gentle, but her eyes fierce.She spoke to him like she might a wild animal, trying to calm his savage nature.Not that it worked, but he relished her touch and tried to pretend it helped.
“We’ve got at least three more hours, babe.I know just how to distract you.”
“Someone will come looking for us.”Not that he cared all that much.He wanted the whole pack to know she was his.And with her hands on his Sam Browne belt, it was damn hard to remember what he was objecting to.“Be careful with that.Pistol’s loaded.”
