Page 5 of Klora (Mates of the Mylos #6)
CHAPTER 5
KLORA
My dropship fell through the clouds along with those of my fellow Security officers, hurtling at speed towards the densely clustered buildings of New York City. We had a fix on Tyrone’s signal and were headed straight towards it, along with the L.T.C. Everyone else was fanning out nearby or going to interview witnesses still at the park.
“The landing area is the parking lot at Finsbury Square. I’ve locked in the co-ordinates,” Xeranos announced. I looked at the screen overlay and grunted, adjusting my speed and angle of trajectory.
“I hope they’ve cleared out all the cars,” I replied dryly.
“They have,” he replied. A lot of nearby office workers and shoppers will be dismayed to find their vehicles have been towed to make way, but they aren’t being charged for it and their parking fees are being refunded as well as transportation provided to the impound lot.”
I gave a nod. That was good.
The parking lot in question quickly came into view and the L.T.C and I slowed into a glide, coming in for a gentle landing. A small thump informed me I’d landed, so I cut the engines and popped the hood, unfastening myself quickly and jumping out.
“Alright,” Sachuu told me as I jogged over to him. “The signal is at a mixed use building about a fifteen minute walk for a human from here. There’s a shopping mall on the site, and I’m fairly certain that his backpack is there somewhere. Either they’ve dumped it to make us waste time hunting for it, and they’ve actually taken them elsewhere, or they are desperate and trying to blend into the crowd while trying to not draw attention that Tyrone and McDuffie are hostages. Keep your hand on your weapon, ready, as anything could happen. They could even have eyes outside watching for us to approach.”
I growled.
“Mid shift battleform only,” he added, calling forth the scales that would protect his chest, spine, neck, arms, and legs. I did likewise, my vision sharpening as my eyes changed along with them.
Nearby humans gasped as they spotted us, pointing and waving phones our way as we set off at a run past them.
Minutes later, we found ourselves staring at a row of the large waste receptacles.
“We’ll need to go through them,” Sachuu grimaced.
I held back a groan. I knew it was necessary, but this was going to be truly awful.
“Hey, you Sachuu?” a uniformed NYPD officer asked, approaching.
“Yes,” the L.T.C. confirmed.
“We were told you were here and ordered to assist you.”
Sachuu grinned and I winced, knowing what he was about to do.
“Excellent. I require you to go through these. He waved at the trash receptacles. “We need to know if there is either a body or two hidden in there or a child’s backpack that looks like this.” He held up his kunnarskyn and showed him a zoomed in photo of Tyrone’s backpack as he held it in his hands.
The policeman looked dismayed. “Yes, sir. I’ll get someone right on it.”
“Excellent.”
He turned towards me, his expression smug.
“If it is the case that they are still here after divesting themselves of the backpack, we should look somewhere they could hold an adult human male and a child without attracting notice, assuming they are armed and do not wish any weapons to be seen.”
I considered this. He was correct, of course. Odds were that it was only the backpack in the dumpster, and while the NYPD searched the contents of the dumpster to find it, and others looked around at the pedestrians and searched shops, we needed to narrow down where they could actually be before they made their escape once more.
“Is there one of those eating areas?” I queried. “A food court? One could buy drinks and sit around a table, hiding a weapon under the table top. No one would notice if the drinks went untouched and it would look like a family outing.”
Sachuu nodded approvingly. A quick query showed us not only that the shopping center area had a quite large food court, but several eateries skirting the outside with patio dining, all handily shown on a floor plan map.
“We’ll have to check them all,” Sachuu sighed. “Let’s look at the indoor area first, as the crowds there will be larger and easier to hide amongst.”
Relaying our intent, he made sure the officers on scene knew how to contact him before we set off. I prayed we weren’t too late if they’d gone inside and hoped with the power of a million exploding suns that they had. If they hadn’t and had dumped the backpack before running straight off elsewhere, we were nearly back to square one.
Of course, the inside of the mall was busy, despite it being a weekday and not yet evening. Even the food court was full, with parents sitting with children hungry after a long day at school. I groaned in frustration. In the crime show vids, they always made it look so easy to find your target in a crowd, even though nearly everyone was dressed more or less the same. This wasn’t a vid though and I was starting to feel more Inspector Clouseau than Steve McGarrett.
“Go stand over by the Panda Express,” Sachuu said, nodding towards the food kiosk in question.
Understanding dawned on me. We could use our positions to define a perimeter which our kunnarskyns could use to triangulate a life source scan. The smaller semi-enclosed space made this a much easier task than the open thoroughfare part of the mall.
“Set from the Pizza Heaven two counters down to the right to where the tables end in the middle?” I asked, making sure I was guessing right.
He nodded. “And all the way to the Spuddy Buddy to the left,” he confirmed. “I will cover the remaining counters and tables in the other half. Try to maintain vigilance for persons leaving after taking notice of our presence in case they are here and attempt to sneak away.”
We received a few curious glances, including more than a few people snapping selfies with us in the background, but only two tables got up to leave. One was a lone elder who looked as if he smelled something bad upon laying eyes on us, and the other two females with young in strollers. Neither could be our target.
“Scanning,” Xeranos informed us. “No signature found matching our missing child.”
Well, damn.
Xeranos strode towards me, his face grim. “They’ve located a domestic sized garbage bag they think holds Tyrone’s backpack and clothes, as well as those of the teacher and their kidnappers. It appears they were disguised using wigs and makeup as well.”
My eyes widened. This definitely complicated things. Now, we had no idea what our kidnappers looked like. Our only hope was to spot Tyrone or McDuffie themselves.
“Xeranos is moving the Fleet so they can blanket the continent and this entire seaboard to see if they can locate Tyrone’s signature.”
“Still a needle in a haystack,” I sighed, shaking my head.
Sachuu tilted his head. “Why would they place a needle in a pile of dried grasses?”
I shrugged. “Perhaps one fell out of the veterinarian’s pocket after administering medication and the piles are snacking piles for their livestock,” I suggested.
“Fair. One would not want their cow to eat a needle.”
“Nope.”
He breathed out through his nose, pinching the bridge in frustration. “Let’s stop at Luciano’s and scan the inside of the restaurant and its patio,” he decided. “We have to pass it along the way back anyway.”
It was as good a plan as any at this point. I suddenly understood why Kojak always had a lollipop. It was totally to relieve anxiety. I made a mental note to stock up on various brands and flavors to settle on one for myself. It was either that or bite back roars of frustration.