CHAPTER 038

CHAPTER 038
ALAN’S POV

I didn't waste any time hurrying to the parking lot and got into my car. I turned on the ignition, humming my engine to life. I wrapped my hand around the steering so tight veins lined my arm. My snapped my gaze to the left and right as I reversed, careful not to bash into anyone's car. The moment I got into the clear, I zoomed off, heading to the police department.

The though of having this bastard slip away under my nose made my brain cringe. It would be a slap to my face that someone got into Nightbane—my territory! wrecked me and disappeared like a ghost in the dark. Completely untraceable.

I got to the police department almost in a flash, killing the engine after a sharp drift.

Beep! Beep!

My car alarm sounded the moment I stepped out, slamming the door shut. I put on my shades, stepping into the office.

The bright lights gave the office a sterile glow that made my nerves grow more tense. The sound of telephones ringing simultaneously, officers moved briskly through the lobby, and radios crackling made the entire place lively. Since I wasn't here to admire the office, I quickly gazed across each desk until I caught sight of Jeffery.

I quickened my steps, swerving through the cluster office taking a look at god-knows-what on their system. Jeffery signalled with a wave the moment he saw me.

His eyes had bags and his face was drained of colour from tiredness. From the moment the fire incident happened Jeff and I have not had a moment of rest. It's been one call or the other person perhaps one meeting with different crime departments.

Beside him was an officer I believed was Detective Miles. They whispered words to each other, yet kept an eye on me as I drew closer.

“Alpha Alan,” the officer extended his hand in a handshake. His grip was firm and the voice familiar.

"You must be detective Miles," my brows knitted together as I queried.

"Yes, you're right. Detective Miles, head of crimes and investigation here at Nightbane central police department," he grinned. “Glad you could make it. We’ve got something to show you.” he said, already leading the way.

I nodded, following him through a secured corridor, into the operations room.

The space was filled with screens, monitors flickering with live feeds from the airport. The atmosphere was thick—like a pack right before battle. Officers clustered around the screens, murmuring updates. My gaze locked on the largest display at the center.

It was a live feed from the airport. "What are we looking at? Where is he?" I looked around, unable to figure anything until Miles pointed at him.

"Here!" His own touched the right side of the screen at someone sitting with his head down. "There is your man!" Miles said with fulfilment in his tone

The bastard sat casually and sat amongst other passengers waiting to be boarded. My mind flashed with thousand hurtful things I'd do when I finally get my hands on him.

“Watch here,” Miles motioned, pulling me away from my thoughts . “We’ve been trailing him since he got out of the cab. TSA flagged the face match. He hasn’t cleared the second security check yet,” he explained. "My men are already stationed. The moment he moves for his final check, they'd get him."

Jeff leaned closer, arms folded, his jaw locked tight. I could feel his pulse from where I stood. It was sharp, tense.

“Sir,” one of the officers said, glancing up from his earpiece. “We got movement , he's approaching Checkpoint B," he paused, fitting back his earpiece. "All units be in position,” he ordered.

Miles smirked like a hunter about to close his trap, but my mind wasn’t celebrating it. It wasn’t relief that coursed through me. It was something darker. Something no one expects.

I turned slightly. “Jeff,” I called, my tone low. “I need to have a word with you outside.”

He followed without hesitation. We walked past the men in the operation room, through the lobby till we got to the front desk.

“What’s going on? You’ve got that look of yours and I know what it means.”

I didn’t answer immediately, I kept moving until I got to what looked like a secured place to talk. I took a look around, making sure no one was close enough to hear us.

“I want a hijack hit.” I dropped the bomb.

"What?" Jeff froze. His head snapped back as though I’d struck him. Realising we are outside, he clipped his tone. “What did you just say?” his voice was low.

“You heard me,” I pressed. “I want the vehicle that would be bringing Rashaun in, to be intercepted. Not at the airport but on the road. I heard an officer whisper something about a dead zone earlier. Jeff, I don't have the patience to deal with the police and their protocols," I growled in a low tone. "I need to get my hand on him," I spat through gritted teeth, clawing my fingers.

Jeff’s mouth fell open, his usual composure fracturing. “Wait! hold on," he batted his eyelids in shock. "Are you suggesting that you want us to hijack a police transport? Alan, are you out of your goddamn mind?” he scolded.

I stepped closer, my shadow swallowing him. “No one ruins my hard work, my family, everything I've worked for and walks away like it’s all just a game.” My jaw locked. “No. Not this time. Not ever.”

Jeff dragged a hand across his mouth, eyes darting. “Alan, listen to yourself. This isn't a strategy. You are setting yourself up to be the villain. Innocent lives would be lost. The police....they will”

“The police won’t trace it back,” I cut him off. “They’ll blame it on rogues. Another wild ambush on the highway. That’s what they’ll file it as, and you know it. Meanwhile, Rashaun will be in my custody where I can make him talk.”

Jeffery's chest rose and fell as though he was weighing every word. “This is madness,” he hissed, shaking his head. “What if we fail,” his eyes pleaded with me to think right.

I leaned in, my voice dropping to a lethal whisper. “You will gather the other betas and gamma packs and whether you want to admit it or not, we are pulling this off,” I struck every syllable with a soft jab to his chest.

For a moment, he just stared at me. Then he exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “Fine! Anything you command, Alpha.”

I quickly studied the map of the area the police were going to pass through, spotting the dead zone.

“Get the Betas. Some of the Gammas too. Place them at the dead zone near Route 19. There would be no signal and no comms. Ten minutes of blackout. That’s all we’ll need.”

Jeff ran his tongue over his teeth, calculating the possibility. When he was done, he reached for his phone putting a few calls across to the pack.

We walked back into the office. Unsuspected. Everyone looked at us with empathy. After all we were just two men, seeking justice.

Back in the operations room, Detective Miles was on the radio. “He’s cleared security. Units moving in for apprehension. All eyes sharp.”

The screen zoomed in on Rashaun approaching the gate. He handed his boarding pass over, the agent scanning it casually. An officer disguised as a traveler brushed past, whispering something into his comm. Then, in a swift motion, two men in plain clothes closed in.

Rashaun jerked, unaware of the play of events. He dropped his backpack, and picked up a race, but it was already late. He has been surrounded long before now. The officers caught up with him, pressing him against a pillar with his hand twisted at his back.

“Freeze!” We heard the cops yell from the Comms attached to their body. Rashaun was subdued, wrists cuffed, and escorted out of frame.

The room erupted with murmurs of relief. Miles grinned. “And that’s how you bag a rat.”

I exchanged a glance with Jeff. He gave me the slightest nod. I shook hands with Miles, pretending to be relieved but that was just the beginning.

Minutes later, the feed switched to the transport van. Officers loaded Rashaun inside, two in front, two in the back with him. The convoy rolled out of the airport, lights flashing.

“They’ll be here in twenty,” Miles muttered, adjusting his tie. “He’ll be locked up before dawn.”

“Thank you officers, you did a great job,” I shook hands with him.

Jeff’s phone buzzed silently in his pocket. He glanced at it, then at me. I stood by the monitor, arms crossed, watching. The van moved steadily down the highway, then, as planned, it entered the dead zone. And Jeff gave a message signal through his phone.

Then, it happened in an instant.

Figures burst from the tree line. Just as planned they appeared in their wolf forms, eyes glowing, fangs bared. They crashed into the van, flipping it onto its side. Cars behind crashed into the ones in front, skidding off the road.

“What the hell?” Miles exclaimed. The office went into a frenzy. Phone ringing, keypad clicking, men in the operation room quickly changed into their gear, ready to give back up at the scene.

On the screen, I watched my pack drag the officers out like ragdolls, snarling to keep them down without killing them. Another clawed the back door and yanked Rashaun out. His body went limp after a sharp blow to the head.

“Jesus Christ!” one of the officers in the room shouted.

Through it all, Jeff and I stood still, watching the chaos unfold with unreadable faces.

When everyone was distracted, I slipped toward the door. Jeff was right behind me. No one noticed us vanish.

We drove away in silence amid the chaos, winding through back roads until we reached the meeting point—a desolate old quarry. It was our meeting point. An untraceable tunnel, waiting for my package to be delivered.

Just as expected after a few hours, my men arrived, growling and snarling as they stepped in, and with them was Rashaun Briggs.

They dragged him forward, his body thudding against the ground as they dumped him at my feet.

“Well Well Well! Look who we have here!