My Mystery Mate Ch. 15-17

"I can give you ten seconds." Enrique smiled, and Linda said that would be enough. "So the tasks are set; Anna will drive the van, I will run comms and surveillance, Joe is backup in case something goes bad and Linda gets to have all the fun." They all were in a good mood as the plane taxied to a hangar, right up to the point it was surrounded by armed men.

"What the hell is this?" Joe was annoyed and worried, surely they hadn't come this far to be captured now. The airplane engines shut down and the door closed. "Wait here, but make sure you are ready. Come out shooting if I tell you."

Joe got up and moved to the door, opening it and extending the ladder he poked his head out carefully and looked around. One of the heavily armed, black clad men walked forward and stopped in front of the stairs. "Joe Miller?"

"Yes?"

"Welcome to Maryland. My name is Hawk, I'm the leader of this team. The Director has asked us to assist in your operation. Apparently, he's a little pissed off right now."

Joe laughed. "What now?"

"Well, in addition to shooting up and blowing the cover of a CIA clinic, we've done some digging since he came to our attention. It seems he has ties to the Russian mob, and some of the jobs he sent Black Ker on... well, let's just say they weren't in our national interest. We've been placed at her disposal."

Joe mentally called for his team to come out of the plane. "What are your orders?"

"Stay out of the way so Black Ker gets the blame, but clean out every computer, document and safe. Oh, and make sure no one escapes."

Linda laughed, they had been following along via the bond. "I can work with that." They made introductions, the CIA team members didn't give real names but code names and specialties. In the group they had four snipers, two explosives experts, and an electronics guru. "Enrique, you should work with their computer guy. He's got better equipment than you." Enrique laughed, but had to admit she was right. They walked off to the surveillance van. "You guys have a tactical vehicle?"

"Hell yes," Hawk said. "It looks like a panel van, but it is fully armored." She directed Anna to work with the driver; since she was Pack, she could be with the tactical team in standby and keep them up on what was going on. Joe was going to cover her entry and exit.

The group loaded up and was on the road shortly after, with Enrique briefing them all on the plan and the CIA men adding things when they could. They ate the meals provided along the way, arriving at their destination just after midnight. By three AM, the teams were in position; snipers covered the ocean and three sides, while the tactical team was stationed near the main entrance, Joe near the rear.

"Stay safe, love." Joe kissed Linda possessively as they got ready to shift.

"You too." They stripped and shifted, she rubbed her face against his, they each sniffed their mate's neck to calm down. Using Velcro straps and a harness originally made for working dogs, Hawk attached packs with clothes, weapons and the supplies Linda would need to penetrate the security. Over the link, she verified Enrique, Anna and the other groups were ready. "Let's do this."

Hawk opened the door of the panel van, and a black panther and a huge black and tan wolf trotted off through the woods. Joe watched her disappear into the trees as they neared the fence, then he shifted and climbed one himself. It was payback time.

Joe watched as his mate moved silently through the trees until he could make out nothing under the pale moonlight. He was in a tree near the fence, naked and waiting to shift and leap down onto the grounds at the first hint of trouble. "Enrique, anything yet?"

"Nothing, Alpha." Joe winced at the title, he wasn't used to it. "We've hacked into his security feed, I can't disable it but I can monitor his alarms and cameras. Everything is quiet right now."

Joe hated waiting, he was a man of action, but having his mate out there was keeping his anxiety level up.

"Relay, love, this is what I do. I won't get caught, I'm a ghost." He could sense Linda's confidence through the bond.

"I know you're good at it, I just worry."

"All right, I've made it to the last trees. I count four hostiles, one on the roof, one by the front door. One is circling near the house, the other near the treeline." She waited patiently, timing their patrols. Finally, it was time. "All right, Enrique, at the count of three you cut their power. One... Two... THREE!"

The lights went out as the local transformer locked out, Enrique having hacked into the local power grid causing the nearby substation to de-energize. Linda was off like a shot, jumping to the ground and tearing across the open yard as she kept a count in her head. At six she had reached the house, leaping up to the roof of the outdoor kitchen. At eight she was on the third floor roof, and was hidden again by the count of nine. At ten, the backup generator kicked in and the lights came back on. Linda remained still while the guards looked around, but they didn't see anything. Enrique watched as they reset all the alarms, and it was all quiet. She stayed in place for another ten minutes before she moved.

She shifted out of her panther form and pulled on black yoga pants, black climbing shoes and a long sleeve black shirt. Digging deeper into her bag, she pulled on gloves and a ski mask; her skin was now completely covered. A belt and silenced pistol with two extra magazines was next. Tying the rope to a large drain, she attached a motion sensitive explosive nearby. She wouldn't be coming back this way. Moving quickly as the timer was only good for 60 seconds, she slung the rest of her supplies over her head and started to lower herself down.

Vito Torchelli's bedroom and private office were the top floor of this wing. She had lowered herself to one of the windows in his office; once there, she removed a glass cutter on a suction cup, with a quick rotation she had cut a hole through the first pane and removed it. She placed the disc of glass in her bag, then punctured the film and made a cut on the inside pane. When both were removed, she reached in and unlocked the window, sliding it carefully up.

Since the window was three stories up, they hadn't alarmed it. "Enrique, I'm in."

"Copy that, no alarms. Drone shows two heat signatures in the bedroom, the rest of the suite is clear." One nice thing about working with the CIA, she thought- access to drones. She set her bag down and pulled out the pair of hypodermic needles, then made sure everything was ready before she moved to the bedroom. She opened the door silently, then moved across the thick pile carpeting to the bed. Victor was asleep on his stomach, empty liquor bottles on the night stand and a blonde in his bed. Moving to his side, she counted down until she had found the correct vertebrae in his neck for the injection; too high, and the paralyzing agent would cause his breathing to fail. She moved quickly, pushing in the injection while holding his head to the pillow so he couldn't cry out. The injection worked immediately, unlike a normal sedative this one worked like a spinal block. In a moment he had lost control of all the muscles from his shoulder down. As soon as her hand was free, she placed a gag over his mouth then went to the other side of the bed.

The woman got the same treatment, she would let the CIA figure out what to do with her. "Targets sedated, moving on." She unholstered her silenced pistol, the rest of the work would be quick and violent. Moving from the suite of rooms, she started making her way across to the opposite suite on that floor.

"Linda, one target in Sammy's room, in the bed, no alarms." Linda moved quickly and silently, making her way to Sammy Torchelli's room. Opening the door, she saw him asleep; moving to his bedside, she pointed the silenced pistol at his temple and fired. The sound was muffled, like someone had opened a can of soda; the subsonic .22 caliber round had little power but it didn't matter when she had placed it so. Sammy's body twitched then went still. It was a quick and painless death he didn't deserve, he was a sadistic bastard who had enjoyed threatening Lynn when she was reluctant.

"No time for that, honey, you need to get to the basement." Joe's voice in her head snapped her back, she moved out and to the stairway. When they had analyzed the security, it had a fairly common fatal flaw. The Torchellis didn't want people inside to see them and what they did, so all the security was facing outward. There weren't even cameras in the house except for the common areas on the first floor and the entry to the security area.

"No targets on the stairwell, you are clear to the basement." Enrique verified as she made her way to the utility staircase. Moving to the hallway, she knew she would have to move quickly. "Code is 8787." There were not motion sensors, but there was a camera on the door. She moved to the keypad, entered the code and opened the door before the men noticed that she was there. Raising her pistol, she put two into the first man, then one into the second just before he could trigger the alarm. She pulled the men out of the room, one shot each to ensure they were dead, then went back inside. She opened the vehicle gate using the controls.

"Security room clear, you are GO to come in." With that, Joe and the tactical team made their entry. The tactical team shot the guard at the main gate, he had foolishly left his cover to see who was coming. The panel van drove through, making its way to the main house slowly, while the snipers jumped the fence and ran into position. Joe had already located the roving patrol at the edge of the woods. Moving quickly through the trees, he chased the man down from behind. His huge wolf leaped onto the man's back while his jaws clamped down on his neck. With a twist, there was a snap and the man fell to the ground.

"Snipers, take out the guards outside." It didn't take long, there were two shots and both men were down. The panel van made it to the main entrance, where the tactical team exited and moved into the main hall.

In the few minutes it had taken them to arrive, Linda had moved through the house. The only targets she hadn't taken out were in the staff quarters. Enrique had relayed her location, and they caught up with her in the hallway. She let the team move in, there was a hail of noise and bullets as they cut down the remainder of the people. No survivors.

Joe had made it to the house, and had changed back to human form and dressed. Moving to his mate, he kissed her deeply. "Victor?"

"Yes, let's go get him." They told the CIA they had run of the house except for the bedroom, they wanted Victor first. The CIA team medic went with them into the room. The woman was hoisted over Joe's shoulder and taken downstairs, after some discussion there was a single gunshot. Joe returned a moment later.

"I'll get a recording going, we will need this for evidence." He set up his cellphone on a stand in front of a chair. Victor's eyes were watching everything, he was trying to shout past the gag but it didn't do anything. He had no control of his limbs, so it was a simple thing for Joe to move him to the chair. Using ropes the CIA man brought in, they quickly had him tied in place. Joe started the recording, then took off the gag.

"Hello, Victor." Victor answered with shouts and threats, some of which were physically impossible but humorous. Joe backhanded him, hard, to shut him up. "Allow me to explain the situation. You remember Black Ker, right?" Linda approached, Victor recoiled but remained defiant.

"It's good to see you again, Victor. I've already seen everyone else. They're all dead." Victor shook his head, shouting for his brother. "Yell all you want, the only people within a mile of you right now are with me. I put a bullet in Sammy's head a few minutes ago." Joe had moved off while they were talking, the medic was behind him. He drew out a hypodermic and moved up; injecting it in the same spot, he nodded and left them to it.

Joe grabbed his hair and forced him to look at him. "That shot does two things, Victor. It will counteract the short term sedative we used on you, so you can feel and move your body again. Of course, you won't move much. You know how the drill goes, you've done it enough." He watched as the feeling came back to his hands, Victor was fisting and relaxing them as he regained control. "We are going to ask you questions, and you are going to answer. If you don't answer truthfully, you will get pain. That's the second part of this shot. Your nerves are becoming super sensitive." Victor looked up in recognition, it was becoming uncomfortable just to sit, the chafing of the ropes was already painful. "So when we break a finger, it's going to feel so much worse. It's unimaginable. And it won't let your body shut down, either." Joe grabbed his pinky and bent it back, there was a loud snap as it broke and Victor howled in agony.

"There are nine more, Victor." Linda got up close and personal with his face. "First question...who paid you to do the job on the Telluride pack?"

"FUCK YOU, BITCH." Victor struggled against the restraints, only to scream at the pain it caused him to do so. She let him figure it out and settle down.

"Now, that's not a nice way to talk to my mate." Joe pulled a small knife out of his belt, holding it up to his face he slowly moved it down his naked body. "You see, a scrape from this will feel like I'm cutting you open, a stab like I'm removing the limb. No one is here to save you, Victor. We have all the time in the world to get out answers." He carved a line down his chest, Victor screamed in agony. "Now, who paid you for the Telluride job?" Victor shook his head, his will was to remain silent. Joe carved another line; the cuts were not deep, and the bleeding wasn't bad, but to Victor the pain was unreal.

Linda moved over and took the knife, scraping it down his stomach to his cock. "Victor, Victor, Victor. I could give you a handjob right now and it would feel like I'm scraping your dick off. How painful is it going to be when I remove your balls and hand them to you? I want an answer." He screamed as she drew the knife tip to his sack, he was shaking his head and she wasn't surprised when he finally broke.

"DAVID FRANCIS. IT WAS DAVID FRANCIS."

Linda smiled. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" Victor was breathing heavily. "What did he pay you to do?"

"You were to kill the Alpha and Luna in their bedroom."

Linda put the knife back to his nuts. "Victor... that's not what you told me to do. What were my orders?"

"To steal the money from the Pack safe. They had millions in cash in there, they never deposited some of their distribution."

Joe looked at him. "That wasn't very nice, to double cross them like that. Why did you do it?"

Victor sighed. "I was told we could play each side, make more money that way. We made a recording of the phone conversations with David Francis. That's what was in the envelope I had Ker leave behind in the safe. We get the fee and the money in the safe, and the Alpha takes care of his traitor. Easy money."

Joe moved in front of him. "Why did you kidnap Black Ker and her daughter and force her to work for you?"

Victor laughed. "MONEY. All those jobs she went out on, she made us millions. She was one of my best assets, and all I had to do was keep her precious child hostage. It was a gravy train I wanted to ride until her replacement was ready."

Linda looked up. "My replacement?"

"Yes. Eventually you would mess up, that's why having your daughter was so important. She was going to be trained to replace you, to be better than you ever were."

Linda took the knife and held it to his face. "WHO was going to train her?"

Victor laughed maniacally. "The same man who gave you up, told us what you were and where to find you. The man I paid millions to for his cut in every job you did." He looked at the camera. "Trevor Madison. Your baby daddy."

Linda sat back, shocked, then screamed with rage. The knife she was holding moved back for a moment, then with a savage growl she changed into the Panther form. She roared into his face, then tore his throat out.