Page 35 of Expecting The Unexpected

Turq looked at Spencer, “I take it your friend is looking around without introducing himself?”

Nodding, Spencer replied, “Yes. I tried to get him to wait for backup, but he’s kind of... well... he’s kind of on a mission, and not much will stop him.”

“A mission? What the fuck kind of mission can the man be on besides a death mission. If he’s caught in a clutch house without an invitation, he will be killed. Especially with ancients being there,” Throg snapped.

Spencer felt his anger rise. How the hell could any of these people understand what he, Petree, Mason, Abe, Bryant, and Chad had gone through. The constant terror, the pain, the violation of their minds and bodies. They sat in those chairs judging Chad, when if it weren’t for what he had been able to do, no one would even have known what was going on to be trying to stop anything.

Spencer stood up, his chair flying behind him. He pointed at Throg, then Hron, Garth, and the others, snapping, “Don’t you dare! None of you have any right to say anything about what Chad is doing! Not a damn one of you!”

Doctor Oleander calmly said, “Spencer, calm—”

Spencer whipped in the shrink’s direction, practically snarling, “Stay out of this, Doctor Oleander, because you have no clue either.”

Looking around the room, Spencer said, “If it weren’t for Chad and his willingness to risk his life, I wouldn’t be here today.” Turning to Hron, he said, “Neither would Petree, and you know it. By the time you got to us, Petree was almost dead.”

Spencer turned to Khall, “You wouldn’t be calling Elijah your mate either, because he would have soon followed Petree, as would the rest of us. When Chad came to us and was tossed in the cell, he was damn near dead. His wing was broken, tail feathers had been ripped from his body... It took time for him to heal enough to even shift back to his human part, and when he did, his only thought was getting help. We are under the fucking ground! Do you know how dangerous it was for him to take that chance? It isn’t like we have a lot of birds down here.”

Spencer sat down hard on his chair and shook his head. “He risked everything for us, and yes, he wants the people responsible for our terror to pay.”

“Chad is a raven shifter. He’s smart, cunning and capable. When he gets his mind set on something he doesn’t falter from it, and right now his mission in life is to take down the ones responsible for our suffering,” Petree softly said.

“But the ones responsible are dead,” Hron stated.

Shaking his head, Petree said, “No, the ones directly responsible are dead. When he found out about that group trying to take out the Nakaka... the Sorti... he wanted them all. He felt like we did... the Sorti were the reason for our clutch-house attack. Chantal and his buttheads might have been the ones that did to us what they did, but none of them would have been here if not for the Sorti.”

Turq quickly jumped in. “Look, the point is, the Sorti is Nakaka. That means we don’t know who we can trust and who we can’t. If this Chad could get out of this underground hideaway and get help, then I have no doubt he can get around in the Pendleton clutch house without raising any alarms. Hron, if you warn the clutch house of his being there, you could be signing his death warrant.”

“He’s right, Hron. We don’t know who we can trust,” Groth insisted.

Sighing heavily, Hron said, “Fine, but I want regular reports from Chad. We need to know everything he sees and finds.”

“I’ll get a hold of him. It won’t be easy. He doesn’t exactly carry a phone on him when he travels,” Spencer muttered.

“I don’t care if he needs to use a carrier pigeon. I want a daily report from the raven, or I’m going to presume he’s dead and send my own men there, and that would really fuck things up,” Hron stated firmly.

Hron let out a loud sigh, finally saying, “This shit is getting complicated real fast. I hate not trusting my own people. I hate that our people can’t trust the Nakaka walking around them. We need to get this under control, and we need it donefast.” Turning to Spencer, he smiled. “The Nakaka are feeling hope once again. First with being granted our Viatas, and when Spencer gives us the okay to inform the clutch house of his grand news of being pregnant... our people will find hope in a future once again. They need to know that they can once againlivetheir lives, not just exist in them.”

“Um, Hron. I think I may know where a few other flash drives are. Well, it looks like that’s what they are at least,” Spencer quietly said.

Hron turned to Spencer. “Explain.”

Spencer clicked on some keys. “I asked Throg a while back to get me some pictures of the other clutch houses if he could. He did that in spades. His men really came through. I just can’t be sure it’s what we’re looking for.”

A picture came up on the big screen. Spencer got up with a clicker in hand. “This is one of the guards at the Dorson clutch house. If you look here, he’s wearing a necklace of sorts. Normally...” Spencer clicked and another picture of the same man was shown. “...if you look the necklace is under his shirt. However, in this one...” He clicked again. “...it is out, and it looks like the same flash drive I have here.”

Spencer clicked another time. “This is the library at the Nakima clutch house. Now on first look it doesn’t seem anything is out of place, but...” He clicked once more and the picture of a shelf with two gargoyle busts on each end of the shelf came into view, “...if you look at this one, the base is maybe a half-inch thick, and on that one...” He clicked once more. “...the base is more than an inch thick. I think it would make a great spot for a flash drive. Kind of like a hideaway-key thing.”

“You mean like the Hide-a-key fake rock we use to keep our spare house keys in?” Elijah asked.

Nodding, Spencer answered, “Exactly.”

Clicking again, a picture of another man came into view.

“Wait, isn’t that ancient Urr and Blinn’s son, Tumm?” Stok said in surprise.

“I don’t know who he is. I wasn’t able to ask Throg if he knew him just yet,” Spencer answered.

“It’s him. They’re currently holding up at the Brais clutch house,” Throg said with a nod.