Buried Treasure Ch. 66-70

“Help is thirty seconds out, get back in your room, Mom!”

“Too late.” I opened the door to the spare bedroom, using the doorway as cover. I heard something hit the wall, then thud against the floor; it was round and had a lever. “GRENADE,” I yelled as I dove into the room. The explosion came before I hit the ground; I rolled to a stop against the bed, cursing as I got up again. I grabbed my rifle and ran back to the doorway, kneeling with my rifle pointed towards the stairs. The drywall dust and smoke hid the man as he ran up, but I could still hear him. I started to rapid-fire towards the top of the stairs, then a second later, I got a clear enough view to take a snap-shot at his head. The .223 caliber bullet hit him in the left eye. It blew the back of his head out, and dropped him like he was hot. His body rolled back down the stairs.

I heard two more explosions at the other end of the hall, the house shaking as I ducked back into the room. I looked out and saw Frank’s body lying face-down on the carpet. My wolf was furious and she wasn’t going to be held back any longer. I shifted into my animal form and raced down the dust-filled hallway towards the threat. They had hurt what was mine, and I would kill them for it.

A man was coming up the stairs with his rifle up, but at full speed, I was on him before he could get a shot off. My jaws went for his neck, but he moved enough that I caught his shoulder instead. I bit down as my body crashed into him, knocking him over as he screamed in pain.

I ignored the pain of hitting the wall on the landing; I tore my teeth free and lunged forward again. This time I got to his vulnerable neck and my wolf ripped his throat out in a heartbeat. I heard a shot and felt the pain in my right foreleg. I let out a whine and turned towards the sound, then I heard more shots coming from downstairs. I turned just in time to see another attacker fall to the ground.

“CEASE FIRE, CEASE FIRE,” I heard from downstairs.

I heard doors opening from the bedrooms, and Brent and Laura appeared at the top of the stairs with rifles in their arms. They must have been the warriors protecting Cheryl tonight.

“Spread out, and verify there aren’t any others,” Chase yelled out.

I turned and limped back up the stairs; I had to see if Frank was all right. I held my injured leg off the carpet as I went to where Chase was kneeling as he gently examined Frank. Shifting, I ignored my bloody arm as I leaned down, surprised to see his eyes open. “You’re a wolf,” he whispered. “A beautiful wolf and they hurt you.”

“Don’t talk, Frank. We’ll take care of you.”

“Sit down, Mom. Laura, hold pressure on that bullet wound for me until I get to her,” Chase said.

Coral was coming out of the bedroom with Chase’s black medical bag; he took a flashlight out and checked his pupils, then worked down his body. “How is he?”

“Possible concussion from hitting the door, multiple shrapnel injuries from the grenades. We need to move him to the clinic,” Chase said as he turned to me. “Let’s see that.”

I sat against the wall as he took my arm, looking at the hole through my forearm about three inches below the elbow. “Through and through, the bone is broken though. You get to go to the clinic too.” He pulled a combat dressing out of his bag, opening it and wrapping my arm before tying it tightly. “He saw you shift,” he broadcast over our link.

“I’m sorry, when I saw him go down I lost it,” I said. “You can’t kill him, he’s still a DEA Director. We can’t handle the blowback that would result.”

“We could make it look like he was killed in the attack,” Coral sent.

My growl was vicious. “NO. Frank is MINE, and I will handle it.” I shook Coral off as she tried to help me up. “Frank was calling 911 before we came out here. The police know about the attack,” I said.

“I’ll get the phone,” Keith said.

Beta Ron came up, looking at the destruction the grenades had wrought. “Trainee Warrior Vicki and Omega Patricia were killed in the initial attack. We neutralized five hostiles; from the tattoos, they look to be members of the Sons. All are human.” He looked at Chase, who was wiping off the blood on his hands with a towel. “There’s another problem. They came from across the lake in a pair of ATV’s. There’s an identification plate on the ATV’s with a name and address; it’s a human, his house is six houses down the lakeshore from the Oxbow cabin.” Rori and Chase had built and gifted a cabin to their Aunt and Uncle back when they built all these homes; it was in between the entrance to their Pack lands and the human developments. “If they are using it as a base, there could be more.”

We moved down the hall as two men had arrived with a stretcher to retrieve Frank. He had been listening in. “There might be hostages,” he said. “What do you think will happen if their men don’t return?”

“We can let the police handle it,” Keith said. “I told them the attack is over and we have multiple dead. They will get here as soon as they can, but they have to get a plow to clear their way.”

“They are our neighbors, we can’t wait,” Chase said. “Send men over there and check it out. Use discretion as to whether you go in or wait for help. If possible, let the police handle it.”

“I’ll get them together. Meanwhile, everyone needs to get dressed because we’re going to have company. Pass the word, and I want a count to make sure no one is missing.”

“What about these guys?”

“Leave them, don’t make it worse by messing with a crime scene,” Frank said. “And give me my damn phone.”

Keith handed it back to him; Frank had fought bravely to defend his family, and I knew he and his wolf considered him a friend now by the way he moved. Keith looked over at Chase. “I’ll take care of settling the Pack and getting ready for the police. You go patch these two up.”

Rori stepped out of the room, the crying baby getting louder as the door opened. “Thank you,” she said as she hugged me. “Doc is going to meet you at the clinic, my Mom too.”

The men lifted Frank in the stretcher and took him down the stairs, carefully avoiding the dead men and the damaged areas from the grenades. Chase looked at me. “Coral, help Mom get dressed and to the clinic before shock sets in,” he said.

“Fine.” I let my daughter lead me back to my room, which reeked of sex. I pulled on underwear, track pants, and a pair of hard-soled fur-lined moccasins. Coral helped me put on a short-sleeved flannel shirt. “I need to see the babies first,” I said.

“They are fine; I wouldn’t be out here if they weren’t,” she said.

“My wolf is on edge; she needs to see for herself.” We stopped in the nursery, which was quiet now. Rori was rocking Mark, while the Hope and Cheryl were back in the crib. The three were always together since they didn’t sleep well otherwise. I moved over, my wolf forward as she sniffed them and made sure they were all right. I leaned down and kissed the two in the crib, then took Mark from Rori and smelled his head before setting him down. “They are safe,” I said.

“Yes, we never would let them be harmed.” She looked at me as we walked back out; I could tell she was mad. “You didn’t have to go out there, Mom. We had the room barricaded and were ready for them. Help was seconds away.”

We picked our way down the stairs as she kept a hold on my good arm. “Everyone in your room is mated and had a future, unlike me. Those babies are more important than an old widowed Luna, Coral. I couldn’t stay out of it.”

She stopped and turned to me, her wolf forward. “You are NOT disposable, Mom. We all love you. Your grandchildren need you. You need to to be here to see Rori’s baby being born.”

“Wait, WHAT?”

“Oh shit. He didn’t tell you?”

“No.” I sent a mental call to Chase and Rori. “Was there something you two were supposed to tell me last night?”

“Sorry, Mom. You and Frank left before we could talk to you privately. I’m pregnant again, due around Labor Day. When my wolf refused to shift, I had Doc confirm it.”

“No wonder you kept everyone in the room. Congratulations, I’m happy for you. Do your parents know?”

“Yes, we told them before you arrived.”

“I love you both.” I closed the link and looked over at Coral. “I’ll be fine in a week, baby.”

She shook her head as we entered the tunnels. “It’s not fine. You got hurt, Frank got hurt, and now he knows.”

“He tried to tell me to hide in my room too, and you can see how well that worked.”

We got to the Clinic, where Doc was waiting for me. “Luna Nygaard, lie down on the table, please.”

“No general anesthesia, Doc.” I needed to be here for Frank, and for the Pack.

“I need to settle the Pack down, I’ll check on you later,” Coral said from the door.

“Go, I’m fine.” A Pack would be unsettled; the attack was far closer to being a success than it should have been. They would be mourning the losses and questioning their safety. “How’s Frank doing?

“Frank’s in good hands. I can’t say as much for the person on the other end of that phone whose ass is being chewed out in a thoroughly professional manner. We can’t put him under with a concussion, so everything is being pulled out with locals.” He gave me an injection at a spot near my elbow, and a few minutes later, I couldn’t feel it as he started digging around in my arm. It took thirty minutes before he was closing. “Bedrest for a day. Your arm is to remain in a sling for three more. You can shift again in a week.” He helped me to sit up and handed me a bottle of water, then brought a wheelchair over.

“Doc, It’s my arm. I can walk.”

“Luna, you have been injured and need to rest. If you don’t like the wheelchair, I can restrain you to the bed.” I growled at him; my wolf hated that idea. “You can’t intimidate me, or my wolf; I’m not your Pack.”

“Fine, but I need to see Frank.” He helped me sit and wheeled me into the next room. Frank was lying on his stomach, with Chase and Mom working to remove a shard of wood from his thigh. “How is he doing?”

“Your human pincushion will be fine,” Frank said. “I hope you don’t mind company on bedrest.”

I smiled as I reached out and held his hand. “Not at all.”

Ch. 68

Beta Ron Carlson’s POV
Arrowhead Pack House

I gathered the warriors around me as Coral and Keith directed the rest. Many of us were still naked, having shifted during the attack to come in behind them in wolf form. I had clothes on, only because I was augmenting the security control team at night. I was still pissed about the lack of warning; the blowing snow made the motion detectors useless on the cameras. We couldn’t see much, and they must have snuck between what we could see. I should have posted men around the house, no matter how cold and miserable it was.

Hindsight is always 20/20, and we lost two Pack members. We owed it to them to learn from this.

The warriors were gathered in the living room since the kitchen was a crime scene. We were going over to check out the home the attackers had based from, while the rest of the warriors from both Packs would secure our territory. “Four of us will go in human form. I’ll be the one in contact with the Sheriff. Charlie, Bonnie, you’ll drive one of the ATV’s back. Peggy, you’re with me. You six will go in wolf form. I want you to run ahead and scout out the neighborhood and the home before we arrive. I need to know how many men are in there, and whether Jerry and Marge Lundergaard are inside.” The six stripped and shifted, taking off out the door while we armed up. “Pistols and rifles, and dress like we’re going to be out there for hours. Meet me outside in five minutes.”

We split up, and I took the tunnels back to our home. I dressed in warm clothes, adding a shoulder holster for my .45 caliber Smith and Wesson M&P pistol. I ran to the mudroom, putting on my winter snowmobile suit, boots, and helmet. I grabbed one of those old-fashioned ear flap fur caps and stuffed it in my pocket, then put on the gloves as I walked out the door. I jogged back along the shoreline to where the ATV’s were. Both were still running from when the attackers had left them.

As soon as Peggy was behind me, we were off. I knew which house it was, and I used the GPS on my phone to point the way as we went across the lake. It didn’t take long to reach the shore again, and we parked the ATV’s on the beach, leaving our helmets there. “We’re here. How are we doing, boys.”

“Jerry and Marge are in the living room, he’s got a bandage on his head but they appear to be all right. We can see one man, early 20’s with a pistol, holding them. Two SUV’s in the driveway, covered with snow, so they’ve been there a while.”

“Keep back far enough to watch, but stay out of sight.” We moved across the frozen yards to the neighbor’s house, which was dark and vacant. I found a spot out of the wind, pulled out my cellphone, and dialed 911.

“911, What is your emergency?”

“This is Ron Carlson, following up on the attack earlier.” I gave the 911 operator the update that five attackers and two residents were dead. Then I gave her the Lundergaard’s address. “We saw they were using our neighbor’s vehicles, so we came over to see if they were all right.”

“Sir, we don’t need you to get involved, we have officers on the way.”

“Miss, I’m not a stranger to fights and I happen to like my neighbors. I brought a few of my friends out here with guns. We took a peek through the windows; Jerry and Marge are hostages, there is one man with a pistol with them. There are two SUV’s out front with California plates, they sure as hell don’t belong to Jerry.” I gave her the plate numbers as they were relayed to me by the scouts.

“Charles, take your knife and cut the tires on those SUV’s so they can’t leave. Be careful, we don’t want to set off any motion-sensitive lights.”

“On it, boss.”

I kept talking to the 911 operator as we waited. “Mr. Carlson, the snowplow and the Deputy’s cruiser will be there in about ten minutes.”

That was good. “Tell them not to turn onto Lakeshore Drive. The kidnapper has a view of the front yard, and if he sees a cop, he might kill them. I’ll send someone to meet him at the turnoff from the highway. I have to go.” I hung up and put on my fur hat; it must be below zero already.

“Peggy, take one of the females with you and wait for the Sheriff’s Deputy at the main road. Bring him back here and stay out of sight.”

“Yes, Beta.”

Now it was a waiting game. “Everyone, we will wait for the Sheriff to arrive, then back him up as he goes in to rescue the Lundergaard’s. We play this straight up, so all wolves stay out of sight.”

“What if this guy starts doing something more than just watch them,” Bonnie asked.

“Charles and Bonnie, take up sniper positions behind the house. I’ll take the front. If you have to shoot, shoot and we’ll deal with it later. I’m not going to let more innocents die because of these bastards.”

I moved far enough away from the house that I could barely see it, then moved until I had the SUVs blocking the view of me from inside. I took up a position behind the second SUV. I rested my trusty 30-06 Remington 700 bolt-action deer rifle on the bumper and looked into the house. I’d chosen it instead of one of those black rifles for a few good reasons. It was accurate as hell, reliable, and the bigger bullet wouldn’t deflect as much as it went through the windows. I had a good view of the guy with the gun; he was young, maybe twenty. “Anyone else who thinks this guy is a prospect?”

“He’s as scared as the Lundergaard’s are,” one of my men said.

“Scared isn’t good for us. I’d rather have a calm professional than an unpredictable kid.” All it took was one loud noise and he might shoot one of them.

A few minutes later, Peggy sent to me that she heard the plow. “Bring him to me behind the Suburbans, and stay out of sight,” I told her. I kept my eyes on the guy inside, not even turning as the Deputy came up behind me. “Deputy Parker,” he said as he knelt down beside me. “Situation the same?”

“Yes, but this kid doesn’t look stable. Take a look.” He stood and used a pair of compact binoculars to look inside.

“Just the one?”

“Yeah.” I looked at him, he was in his mid-twenties, and I doubt if he had been on the job more than a few years. “What were your instructions?”

“Get here, size it up and call it in,” he said. “Everyone else was pulled to assist Duluth. There’s a few dozen Sons at a hotel there, they are supporting Duluth Police with a raid. Sorry to hear you lost people, I figured with the warning, you guys would be all right.”

I barely bit back the growl. “What warning?”

“Fuck, you guys didn’t know?” I shook my head. “Our Captain got a tip about one AM about a bunch of Sons of Tezcatlipoca who were meeting at this Duluth hotel. He talked to the FBI Task Force and found out they might be here to go after Chase Nygaard and Rori King. That was hours ago; they’ve been trying to move Deputies down to Duluth since then.” He spent some time looking, then sat down. “I’ve got to call this in.”

I opened the link to our Pack leadership. “Alphas, we’ve got a problem. The cops have known for hours that there are a few dozen Sons in Duluth, and they never warned us. The fuckers are using us as bait.”

Chase answered quickly. “We’ll handle that later. I’ll let Frank know; maybe he can find out who is doing it. Keep your head in the game, Beta.”

The sun wasn’t going to rise for another forty minutes. I looked into the scope; he was making calls with the Lundegaards’ phone. No one answered, and he tossed it aside and stood up. Gesturing with his pistol at the couple, he made the two get on their knees, then moved behind him. “Fuck, he’s going to kill them,” I said. “He can’t look in their faces when he does it, that’s why he’s moving.”

“Are you sure?”

“If he starts to aim, I’m taking the shot. Get ready. If I don’t take him down, you fire right behind me after I break the glass.” He was carrying an AR-15 patrol rifle, which was too small a bullet to trust for a first shot. I didn’t have a chance to hear his reply; I saw the guy extend his arm and raise the pistol towards Jerry’s head, and I squeezed the trigger of my rifle. The shot penetrated the window, hitting him in the chest and knocking him backward. I heard two more shots as I got up and ran to the door, kicking it open with the Deputy and Peggy right behind me.

Marge was screaming in Jerry’s arms as we came in, followed by Charles through the back door. The bad guy was dead, one shot in the chest and another in the face, his pistol on the floor next to him. I checked his neck for a pulse to be sure. “He’s dead,” I announced. “Bonnie and Peggy, take them into their bedroom and make sure they are all right,” I said. “All wolves return home. Good job, everyone.”

I opened the action on my rifle, leaning it in the corner by the front door. I pushed it back closed as best I could with the frame broken and the door bent. I started to take off my winter gear, hanging it on the hooks before taking my winter gear off. Charles did the same at the back door, and we all moved to the kitchen and sat down.

We were going to be here a while.

Frank Grimes (DEA-Suspended) POV
Arrowhead Pack Clinic