"Aw'ight, listen up, people. Here's the deal. Forget the flags- they've blown out to sea. Forget the rocks down the beach, in hurri�canelike winds and torrential rains. With black lightning strikes, if you can get up there and hold on, you'll fry."
Pointing to a map, Carlos looked up at the assembled team. "Our options are limited because of civilian populations. When we bring the noise, we can't have a Los Angeles situation go down like it did before, or even a Philly-type firefight. The Pacific Northwest or the Midwest is a possibility as a last resort, although some freaky torna�does have been touching down in the midsection of the country, too. But the Gulf area, all the way from Florida to Texas has been ham�mered by hurricanes and devastation, and the last thing those innocent people need is a war. Kids running in the streets while bullets are fly�ing, Hummers rolling down sidewalks like Sherman tanks taking out women, old folks, and babies-shrapnel and bullshit exploding. No."
Carlos pushed back and stood straight, stretching his back. "South America is out, even though we could hit Bolivia, Peru, Brazil-any of the areas that have vast uninhabited regions... but is anybody feeling an ambush in the jungle again?"
"Hell no," Mike muttered.
"That's my point," Carlos said, frustration singeing his tone. "We have strong teams over there, but the wildlife that could be used against us is no joke. Anacondas and jaguars and shit. No. Same deal with Africa."
"Been there, done that," Shabazz said, nodding. "It ain't about get�ting caught in the motherland during a situation like this."
"Same thing with Asia," Carlos said. "We saw Tibet, and India is the same way. Wanna come face-to-face with a were-demon Bengal?"
"Shit," Rider said and sat down hard on a stool. "Europe, then? What do they have over there? Wolves we can handle easier, right Mike? You've sucker punched a few of them in your day and didn't draw back a nub."
Mike nodded. "Yup. I'm down."
"Then, like I said, Europe," Shabazz argued.
"Where, man? Think hard and long about Europe. Anybody re�member a little war called World War II?" Carlos said, not being sar�castic. "We go there, and we have the population problemplus the fact that Transylvania is a very old vamp headquarters. That would be like kicking off the noise near the Pentagon. You know how cold it gets on the front in some of those Alpine regions?" He sighed hard. "If we take it to colder climates, Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Russia-you feel me-and this thing goes on for months into the dead of winter, we could have bodies dropping from just the cold or falling off moun�tainsides. And I know nobody is ready to go back to Australia." He stared at the group and walked back to the maps. "We dusted so many masters over there that if they raise one, we're talking possible legions that could get up behind him with Cain to try to smoke us."
Dropping his weight on his hands against the table, Carlos stared down. "Don't even discuss the Middle East... old Ten Command�ments lands and whatnot. That's ground zero, as far as I'm concerned. Plus, the population is already at war, it's thick with people, and you definitely don't wanna be out there wrangling in the desert... not to mention, if we go there, Cain has cellular memory of the area with the ruins on lock for his troops to launch from. That's a stronghold zone for him."
"Then, where, man?" Shabazz said, his voice strained. "We're run�ning out of global real estate, and at some point, we can run but we can't hide. Gonna have to dig in and take a stand."
Carlos nodded. "Ain't about running, it's about backing up to launch a strategic, preemptive strike. We only got a coupla hours un�til sundown, and before I try to whirl this family outta here on a transport, I wanna make sure we're all in sync. I also need to be sure that I'm not dropping us into an ambush in the badlands, and I have to position us where we can get human resources quickly without having to suffer the elements."
Everybody groaned, muttering frustrated curses of agreement be�neath their breaths. Carlos rolled his shoulders, the tension about to snap his spine.
"The darkside can only keep up the winds for a short while. Uses up too much of their energy," Carlos said, rubbing his palms down his face, fighting fatigue. "The storm that's got us currently boxed in from outside ain't coming from Mother Nature. All the deadly hurri�canes that hit the States were theirs, not the Light's-that many inno�cent people caught up in the madness, nah. But the darkside latched on to naturally occurring events. They can't completely jack the weather to use it against us, unless a hurricane was already out there brewing off the coast, which it wasn't. My shields will hold against the sea wall building outside until the enemy pulls back-then we're out."
"Okay, I hear you, man," Shabazz said in frustration. "Where to?"
"It's gotta be Central Mexico," Carlos said flatly. "Warm to mod�erate climate year round, good hiding places for the team and high-ridge strategic advantages in the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental-we'll have underpopulated towns between those two mountain ranges and we wouldn't have to blow up half of Mex�ico City, which is like New York. If we stay away from the coastlines, then hurricanes and whatnot won't be an issue, like it would be in the Caribbean. Other than rattlesnakes and mountain lions, the wildlife there is more manageable, too, if it turns."
"Cool," Shabazz said, still sullen like the others. "We'll round up our gear and be ready to roll on your order, man." He glanced at Rider. "Maybe Marj, Krissy, and Heather, with Jasmine, can get a lock on Gabrielle in Vegas... last place Rider heard she was going."
"Thanks," Rider said flatly and stood to go look out the sliding glass doors.
"I've been trying to get up with Yonnie," Carlos said in an apolo�getic tone. "But the darkside's got me blocked eight ways from Sun�day. Can't get nothing in or out to any vamps topside. But I'm working on it. Might be able to get a jumper cable connection- Gabby to him, one that they can't block because of her soul ground wire, so we can get Yonnie and Tara inside our net again."
"Appreciate it," Rider said with his back to Carlos.
"Why don't you leave the rest of the loose ends to us, man?" Shabazz said, going to Carlos for an embrace handshake. "Go check on your wife. We got this."
Carlos nodded and released Shabazz's grip, then headed down the hall. Whatever Damali and Marlene were privately discussing, he didn't want to intrude. The last thing he wanted to do right now was further upset Damali; she'd been through enough. At this point he was beginning to realize that, even though he was her husband, he was male-Marlene was a mom, and some things only another woman could fix.
Stopping at the door, Carlos tapped on it gently. He could hear Marlene grunt as she stood, and within moments, Marlene cracked open the door.
"Just checking to see if she's all right," Carlos said quietly. "I won't bother you guys, if she needs some space... but..."
"Come on in, baby," Marlene said and then hugged him. "She could use a shoulder from you, too, right now."
He kissed Marlene's forehead, thanking her with his eyes, and slipped into the humid enclosure as Marlene slid around him and shut the door behind her, leaving him and Damali alone.
"Hey... how you feelin'?" Carlos asked, stopping just inside the door and staring at Damali with concern.
She had on the thick white terry robe that had been in the villa from the honeymoon, and her wet hair was swept up in a towel. Sage smudge, frankincense, and myrrh thickened the mist around her, and shea butter mixed with anointing oils glistened on the little bit of her skin he could see. The terrible bruises were gone, as were the fang and claw nicks, but he knew the bruise against her spirit would take a much longer time to heal. As he nervously waited for Damali to an�swer, he prayed the old defiant side of her would reappear in her eyes.