Tempest - Kris Michaels Page 0,14

me."

"And who else?"

"Don't know and don't care. As your primary point of contact I needed to know. Fury isn't loose lipped."

Tempest barked a laugh. That was a mental picture––Fury gossiping. "I concur, he isn't. I don't require help."

"We can provide assistance."

"In the form of?" Tempest eyed the eight-foot-high wall and ornate black wrought iron gate of the mansion he'd targeted as he passed. The security booth outside the gate was manned. A different guard than earlier. Shift change had happened while he was on his run. Another data point gathered.

"Intelligence, surveillance tech, equipment, and if necessary, manpower."

"Thank you." He appreciated the offer, but this one was his and only his. He'd already made calls, lined up materials, found people to use without their knowledge. This was personal.

"That was the nicest ‘fuck-off’ I've received today."

"I'd say you need better friends."

"Nah, those I have have proven I can count on them, and I want them to know they can count on me."

"Noted. If I find myself in need of assistance, I'll reach out." Being stupid wasn't one of his faults. He knew when he needed an assist, but he wasn't going to call it in to make himself comfortable. Unease made a person aware, and he needed to be very aware.

"As a reminder, we have a team in the area. There is also an asset nearby. Just in case."

Tempest's eyes shot toward the phone. "Asset?"

"Mmm... a member of our branch of the business."

"And you think this member would be of assistance?"

"He has skill sets."

"Well if I need to make a statement, I'll reach out. Until that time, keep him clear. If I determine someone is following me..." He let the statement go. His meaning was clear.

"Understood. Do me a favor, use your tech to check in tomorrow. It's Saturday and my daughter is staying at a friend’s. Momma and Daddy are having quality time."

Tempest's head whipped toward the phone. "Learning you were married was... surprising."

"I'm damned lucky, and I acknowledge that fact daily. I'm married to a woman too good for me, and we have a precocious daughter who can wrap me around her finger."

He knew about Thanatos, Bengal, Fury and Moriah being married because they'd been to the Complex. Damn, had everyone gone soft while he was... away? "Seems as if everyone is entwined now."

There was a pause before Anubis replied, "Asp found his woman in Colombia; Lycos is married and has a son. Lycos also took Demos' job."

Tempest nodded and drove into a random apartment complex parking lot, pulled into the first slot available, and checked his six, making sure he wasn't followed. He put the car into park but left the air conditioner going. He'd spent three years without it in the Arizona desert. It was a luxury he was going to enjoy while he could. "I knew he'd taken over for Demos. So, all of you are removed from active status?"

"No. Asp, Moriah and Smoke are active. Asp and Moriah are more selective as to what assignments they will take. Lycos has taken recruitment but rarely leaves his mountain other than to procure candidates. Bengal is out, but he helps me manage activities and smooths coordination with the D.C. entities. But mainly he keeps his wife from working herself to death and handles her section's personnel. I am on reserve should I be needed."

"Who is in the field?"

"Smoke, Reaper, Maximus, Phoenix, Harbinger, Centurion... and many more you don't know."

"They were so damn young. Well, except for Smoke."

"And now they are the elite."

"Damn, ages a person, doesn't it? We're old."

"Speak for yourself," Anubis chastised, laughing a reply. "Besides, you know the saying. People in our profession don't grow old. They die or they walk into the light."

"Death and I are well acquainted. A transition to either ending will come, or it won't. I'll use the tech to contact you from now on unless I need assistance."

"Whatever it takes, my friend."

"For as long as it takes." Disconnected, he stared at the cars in front of him. Death or the light. In actuality, he'd resigned himself to death until he'd met her. She was the one who’d kept him going those last days. Those short hours of warmth and whispered promises could have meant nothing to her, but to him, they ordained his continued existence. He'd given up. Stratus had won. They'd broken him, and he had nothing left to fight for, until her.

"How did you do it?" The psychiatrist's face peered at him from the monitor. He rather liked Remi.