Inhuman Response Division. Bob Stanze hooked me up with them and they seem to know their stuff. There’s not enough time to explain it all, but the IRD wants to prepare an armed strike force to be used against Nymar, shapeshifters, and all the other things that have been tearing up every other city lately. I wasn’t sure about it, but Adderson said he already had a team working on curing Nymar. After almost losing you to that Shadow Spore, I couldn’t pass on a chance to get you fixed up.”
Listening to Paige, Cole felt ashamed for all of the terrible things he’d wished upon her when he was in custody or getting beaten to within an inch of his life.
“Adderson believes Skinners weren’t killing cops,” she continued. “He was supposed to get you out of prison and to someplace where you might get cured. If someone was needed to take the fall for those cop killings to put all of that shit to rest, I was going to be the one. Please believe that, Cole. After I almost—”
Rather than make her relive those moments when she’d thought her only choice was to kill him before he became a full Nymar, Cole said, “I believe you.”
“What happened in prison?” Paige asked. “Why were you moved from Canon City?”
“That’s another long story,” he said.
“Did they cure you?”
“The guys running that place did cut me open. I think they honestly tried to get the tendrils out, but they didn’t succeed.”
“Damn,” Paige sighed.
“They’re also not who you think they are, Paige. I don’t know if they’re the same ones you talked to or someone else, but I wound up in some place run by followers of Jonah Lancroft. They used runes to hide themselves and were ready to cut me to pieces to learn whatever they could.”
She pulled in a deep breath. When Paige spoke again, her voice was cold steel. “What did they do to you?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Tell me, God damn it!”
“The place is leveled, Paige. Two Full Bloods got to it and tore it down. One of them was Mr. Burkis. Do you think this Adderson guy knew what was going to happen?”
“No,” she said, with some measure of relief in her voice. “I honestly don’t. He knew you were taken from the prison in Canon City and was trying to get me to tell him anything I knew about where you’d gone. I seriously don’t think he knew where you were.”
“Are they Skinners?”
“The IRD?”
“Yeah,” Cole said as he looked around. The fact that he’d wound up talking longer than he’d expected, combined with the subject matter, was making him increasingly uncomfortable standing in front of a busy door at a public truck stop. “Are those guys Skinners?”
“No. They barely know the first thing about us, but are plenty eager to learn.”
“Well, the guys who held me at the other prison were Skinners. Old school Skinners who knew about the runes. Do you know about a group of Lancroft disciples who have the balls to take over that prison?”
“Holy shit,” Paige breathed. The more she spoke, the faster Paige’s words came out. “I do. Oh my God, Cole, and I handed you over to them. Oh my God, I’m so sorry.” It didn’t take her long to collect herself and switch back into business mode. “Do you know about what’s going on in Oklahoma?”
“Stu mentioned something. Sounds serious.”
“I’m in the middle of it.”
“Just you?” he asked.
“No. Me and some of our European friends.”
“How bad is it?”
“Bad,” she told him. “Looks like this whole town is swarming with Half Breeds. There are at least two Full Bloods here and one of them is Liam. That shapeshifter we met in Denver is there too. The one the Amriany call Ktseena.”
Lambert was already in the car and they were quickly approaching Frank’s fifteen minute deadline. “I need to find Rico. He’s got my weapon.”
“Don’t contact him.” After giving him a brief rundown about what happened in Toronto, she said, “I don’t know if he’s still thinking he should kill me, but I think it’s safe to say he’s with the Vigilant. Do you know who they are?”
“I’ve heard that name before, but don’t know a lot of details.”
“They’re some kind of Lancroft cult. Lots of Skinners looked up to that old man, and many still do. Just don’t contact Rico, okay? And don’t send word to MEG about where you are. There’s no telling if or how far the Vigilant have infiltrated them.”