Chapter 49: Damage Control

Colletta Nygaard’s POV

Detroit, Michigan FBI Office

Frank was upstairs, dealing with the local Senior Agent and the Task Force staff, while I sat and read a book in the building cafeteria. He was an observer whose paperwork was signed by the FBI Director himself. His outsider status meant that no one trusted him, but no one wanted to get in his way either. He had been given access to the entire investigation but had no authority to direct the team. It was a frustrating dynamic for a man who used to run one of the busiest Drug Enforcement Agency offices in the country.

The information we had provided on Jack Coffey wasn’t actionable for United States law enforcement; Jack was a Canadian citizen, and his last known location was in western Canada. The FBI was more interested in the man Jack had paid to set the bombs.

A ghost nicknamed “The Switch.” Pay the man, and out go the lights. No one knew what he looked like or what his real name was, so the account information and phone number had given them new leads. The cell phone was a Detroit number, and it was not currently active.

Still, they were working with the cellular carriers and now had data on when the phone was active and the towers the phone was pinging. Triggers were in place in case the phone popped up again, giving the FBI an immediate notification.

Frank’s frantic send brought me out of the trance that reading PenumbraMine’s Tarnished Stars had placed me in. “Get the car and meet me out front, we need to get back to Two Harbors immediately,” he said. “Jack Coffey has been spotted just outside Duluth by one of the new Arrowhead Pack members.”

I gathered my stuff and shoved my phone back in my purse. “What the fuck is Coffey doing there,” I asked. “And how did he get across the border?”

“It can’t be good. I’m assuming he’s there to go after Rori.”

I dumped my trash before refilling my Coke and heading out to the elevators. “Have you called for our plane?”

“Just got off the phone, they’ll be ready when we get there. The Task Force has to go through channels, we’ll be there an hour or two before they arrive.”

I reached the parking level and hurried to our rental. “Have you talked to Rori or Chase?”

“I can’t do that around humans. Give them a call when you’re in the car, then pick me up by the planters at the front entrance.”

I got in, started the car, and put the phone on speaker as I called Chase. I kept the mind-link open with Frank so he could listen in. “Son? What’s going on?”

“It’s a mess, Mom. Local police moved in on Coffey at a sporting goods store, but he got spooked and ran.” He paused, and I heard some talking in the background. “Mom, one of the St. Louis County Deputies got hurt behind the building. A big dog attacked his K-9 partner, then bit his arm before escaping over the fence. They can’t find him, and they can’t find Coffey either.”

“Did anyone see him?” I was pulling up on the exit from parking; I handed the attendant the ticket and twenty dollars.

“Coffey just disappeared into thin air.”

“Those stores will have cameras everywhere. He shifted among humans?”

I couldn’t believe THAT man was THAT stupid. Actually, I could. “The Deputy, was he hurt bad?”

“His right forearm must have been torn up pretty bad, and they had it immobilized and bandaged. The Sheriff hasn’t released more details yet.” He said this in a way that ensured we knew what it meant, while not saying anything over a phone that would incriminate our kind.

“We’re heading to the airport now; the Task Force is heading for Duluth to follow up on his sighting in person. We should land in Two Harbors in three hours or so,” I told him.

“That’s fine, I can have a driver meet you there.”

“Chase, are they going to catch this guy?”

He let out a breath. “He left his wallet and car behind, and no one knows if someone is helping him. He already broke through the initial police lines, and it’s too late for roadblocks now. I think he’s gone.”

Frank spoke up in my head. “Tell Chase we have to save this cop or it’s going to go bad for us.”

“Chase, our community stands behind law enforcement and the Deputy who got hurt. We need to do everything we can to help him recover.”

“Everything?”

“Yes, whatever it takes.” I saw Frank coming down the steps. “Let me call you back in a bit,” I said as I pulled up in front of the Government Building.

“I’ll see what else I can learn. Bye, Mom.” I hung up just as Frank got to the door and was pulling away as soon as he got in. “What a shitstorm,” I said. “Shifting in a store? With all those cameras recording EVERYTHING? Is he trying to expose us?”

“Colletta, the line between vindictive and stupid isn’t all that wide. It doesn’t matter why he did it. What matters is that we could have a dead cop, and a shifter caught in the act. It’s hard to come up with a worse way for him to blow our cover.”

I made a turn and checked my phone; it showed thirty-two minutes to the airport. “We need to clamp down on this, and HARD, before the video ends up on the five-o-clock news. We could have a full-scale panic on our hands.”

“Call the Director now,” Frank said.

I looked at him, then nodded. A few seconds later, Hugh Patterson answered his private cellphone. “I’m busy, Colletta,” he said.

“This is an emergency, and I need you to be alone to talk,” I said. “It’s about Duluth.”

I heard him order some people to leave before he picked the phone back up. “I’m listening.”

“Jack Coffey is like me,” I said. “When he escaped the local police, he left behind evidence of more than just his attack on the officer and his dog. The surveillance video and the things in his car are explosive.”

Frank joined in. “Sir, we need you to push the FBI in as lead agency and keep the locals from learning too much. Tell them there might be bomb parts in the car, impound it and haul it off. Get the surveillance tapes and make sure there aren’t any other copies, and push on the locals to keep things quiet.”

“If I don’t?”

“Full-scale panic,” I said. “Something like this that catches everyone by surprise, where the highest levels of Government aren’t ready, it could get ugly and quick.”

“Mr. Director, seconds count here. I’m begging you, issue the orders, and we’ll talk more soon.”

I could hear him tapping his fingers on his desk. “Fine. I’ll squash what I can, but it’s going to get out. Too many people know, and they don’t work for me.”

“You’re right, sir,” I said. “Frank is heading to Duluth, and I’ll catch a flight to Washington. I think it’s time we laid all our cards on the table. I need to meet with the President.”

“Call me back,” he said before he hung up.

“FUCK!” I banged my hand on the steering wheel, hating that we didn’t have a choice. “I guess you are heading back alone,” I said.

“It sucks, but I think you’re doing the right thing,” Frank said as he held my hand. “Time for you to show everyone why you should be the next Council Chairman.”

“I never asked for the job, Frank.”

“Luna has a way of putting the right person in the right place at the right time. You’re that person, Colletta. I’m convinced of it.”

“I still feel like I showed up late to the meeting, and the others all assigned me the shit job.” I thought of something. “SHIT! Patterson will want me to shift to prove what I am, and I can’t shift when I’m pregnant!”

“You’re not in this alone, love. Call Martin at the Adirondack Pack, have him meet you in Washington with Nehemiah Pensky. If the Doctor is going to be on the Council with you, he might as well go with you. Those two can shift while you explain things.”

He was right; one of the things I loved about him was how calm he stayed in a crisis. “You’re right.”

“I’ll just sit back and enjoy that feeling, my love,” he teased. I made the call.