Swing Shift: Book 2 Read online

In fact, didn’t Vanessa say she was pretty sure Wendy had gotten on the wrong side of the law?

  So much of it makes sense when you look at it from that point of view.

  The bombings worked because they had the cream of the criminal crop to work with. Same with the masks breaking.

  And who would take the word of a criminal if they tried to talk? Who would they even talk to?

  No, this is all very well planned out.

  Very well and—

  Stopping, Gus saw the same fence and guard house he’d seen last time.

  This was the exact same prison he’d gotten Chloe out of.

  And Janelle’s scent went straight into it.

  Guess I’m going to prison.

  Chapter 17 - Deep

  Gus felt woefully underprepared for this.

  He had the clothes on his back, his knife, lockpicks, and that was it. Everything else he’d left behind. The risk of him being caught or leaving something for them to find was simply too real.

  Except now he was going to be breaking into a prison that held the worst of the worst to find an Elven maiden he’d inadvertently sent here.

  Think I’d rather be at home playing musical beds with my contract partners.

  Not for the first time, Gus was rethinking his life choices.

  He didn’t have to work. Probably would never have to for the rest of his entire life, if he was frugal.

  But no. Rather than playing gigolo, I’m out here being an idiot.

  Because if I’m not doing it, who else would?

  Son of a bitch.

  Let’s just climb the wall here. There’s no need to worry about leaving marks.

  Gathering himself up, Gus leapt upward. He grabbed hold of the rather imposingly tall wall and began to climb up. His claws sank easily into the walls, leaving thin grooves.

  Powering his way up, he found exactly what he was expecting at the top.

  Pure silver razor wire interlaced with cold iron razor wire. It would be a nightmare for most other Paras to even get near, let alone cross.

  For a Boogieman, though, it was a mere annoyance.

  Hardly an inconvenience.

  Getting his legs up against the wall, Gus braced himself. Then he simply launched himself into the air.

  Clearing both sets of wire and the wall entirely, Gus looked down to figure out his landing.

  He hit the ground with a crunch of gravel and then froze there. It was still several hours before dawn, but he didn’t want to be in this wide, open space any longer than he had to.

  It was likely being watched by every type of scanner known to civilization.

  Stalking forward, Gus kept himself down low and practically on all fours. He’d never win a race like this, but he’d developed the body mechanics to be able to spread his weight out on four points instead of two.

  That and the need to make sure he always had thick knuckle padding on his fingerless gloves. Things that didn’t seem to go hand in hand too often.

  Encountering no one, Gus kept moving. He occasionally drifted nearer to the main road and walking path to make sure he was still keeping parallel with Janelle’s scent.

  So far it seemed they had taken her straight in without even trying to disguise it.

  That means this isn’t uncommon. Or that everyone here is so well trained to ignore this type of situation that it’s a non-issue.

  In either situation, it smacks of being beyond organized.

  This is definitely the same group that bombed the Fed.

  But… wait… isn’t… aren’t the prisons run by a division of the Fed? I mean, they’re all privately owned to a degree, but they’re Fed funded and run.

  The assistant warden and warden themselves are Fed employees.

  Feeling like he was missing a massive piece of the puzzle, Gus set it all aside for later. None of it made sense to him right now.

  Just… give it to Mel. She likes that kind of stuff.

  Walking straight up to a guard tower set in the center of the open area between the interior and exterior wall, Gus moved around it slowly.

  Up ahead he could see the prison itself and the final wall. Janelle’s scent went straight up to the massive steel door.

  Considering it and his approach, he wasn’t sure what the best way to get in would be. He could easily scale this wall just as easily, but he got the feeling there might be more defenses here.

  Every time he looked up, he caught the faint shimmer of some type of red light.

  Lasers, maybe? Trip lasers?

  Sitting there thinking on it, he really wasn’t sure what would be the best approach.

  Or maybe… maybe setting it off and just booking through it is the best approach.

  Trigger it, get to the other side, haul tail, then watch and see what happens. Get an idea of how they operate.

  Gus nodded his head. That seemed like the most reasonable course of action, given what he was facing.

  After taking in a quick breath, he took off at a sprint. Waiting any longer would have just sapped him of his determination.

  He leaped at the wall before he got there and hit it with a pop. Sinking his claws in, he practically flew up it. Going for speed rather than stealth.

  When he hit the top, he grabbed the razor wire with his hand and shoved it down.

  Alarms started going off immediately, an amazingly loud klaxon making it sound like the world was ending.

  Grabbing the lip of the wall with his other hand, Gus vaulted up onto the top of it. He braced his feet and then jumped, putting some horror-magic into the leap as well.

  Sailing forward as if he’d been shot from a cannon, Gus flew at the jail itself.

  He hit at an awkward angle, and his claws slid over the impossibly hard surface. Then he hit a different wall head on with a thump and started to fall.

  Not wanting to be on the ground floor, he pushed off the wall toward the other one.

  He grunted as he hit it oddly, then pushed off of this wall as well, again aiming for the opposite wall.

  Hitting it square and flush, he got a much better leap off this one and powered almost straight up. He bounced back and forth as he worked his way to the top of the prison.

  When he reached it, he found he wasn’t alone. There were at least a dozen soldiers, all armed with rifles and advanced helmets with alternate vision goggles attached, and all looking extremely deadly.

  Quite the response.

  Slinking down low, Gus scurried off behind what looked like an AC unit. It was positioned so he could see over the edge.

  All around the wall where he’d broken through were soldiers. Soldiers and soldiers and soldiers.

  It was as if an entire division had been summoned up.

  They take security very seriously.

  Except they all fanned outward. After clearing the interior, they immediately began moving out into the area between the walls. The soldiers from the roof left and started forward as well.

  Ah. They think it’s an escape.

  Deciding to use this as the opportunity he’d hoped it would be, Gus moved down toward the front of the prison.

  Janelle’s scent went straight in.

  Checking a sigh, Gus waited.

  Fear radiated from every direction here. Waves upon waves of it washed and crashed in every single direction.

  There was no lack of food or power for Gus.

  He could stay invisible as long as he was awake, so remaining unseen wouldn’t be an issue here.

  In fact, he remembered that when he’d infiltrated Elven outposts, things had almost been easier than in the field.

  People weren’t expecting anyone to be there who didn’t belong.

  The problem was he couldn’t open doors or windows on his own. Only time and a willing supply of door-opening others would get him to his destination.

  Settling in to wait, Gus kept to a quiet corner.

  ***

  Eventually, of course, someone came through.

  It
gave Gus the chance he needed.

  From there it was a matter of following the scent that’d brought him here. He tracked it through hallways, guarded passages, and several security checkpoints.

  All throughout, no one saw him or even thought he was there. Little better than a shadow, nothing more than a blur.

  As Gus went ever deeper, he worried about getting back out.

  That fear came to a turning point when he found that they’d taken Janelle into an elevator. One that apparently saw almost no use at all.

  In the last two hours, Gus hadn’t heard or seen anyone in this section of the prison. On top of that, the area that preceded this one was heavily fortified.

  The only reason he’d made it to the elevator all was they’d let in someone to mop the floor. And the entire time the custodian was here, he was under watch.

  No one’s going to come this way anytime soon.

  Maybe to bring food, but it’d be breakfast. That’s still an hour or two away, isn’t it? Not sure.

  Do I wait… or do I force it?

  If I force it, do I reveal my hand that I’m here? So far they think it was a break-out, not a break-in.

  The moment they think someone is on the grounds who shouldn’t be, my job gets that much harder.

  Janelle… can wait. If they haven’t killed her by this point, they don’t plan on doing so.

  More than likely, they decided to vanish her, and this is the end result of that.

  Nodding his head, Gus settled in to wait.

  The tension had bled out of him earlier. As had his heightened awareness and thought process. He was on a lull after the adrenaline rush from when he’d first broken in.

  Closing his eyes, he focused on just being there. Keeping his mind sharp and aware.

  When the door opened, it surprised Gus. His eyes snapped open, and he had to look around to remember where he was.

  In fact, it almost felt like he’d been dozing.

  Blinking several times, he looked down at himself and found he was still fully camouflaged. Still completely himself and not looking human at all.

  As he flexed his clawed fingers, he couldn’t help but feel pretty good. He often felt like he was crammed into a suit that was too tight when he was in his human form.

  Looking back to the person who’d entered, he found it was more or less what he’d been expecting. Someone bringing food.

  The young man was wearing a hairnet, badge, and face mask as he wheeled over a large trolley filled with meals. Behind him was a second individual.

  Getting up out of the corner, Gus ghosted in behind the second person.

  I’ll steal their badge after they leave.

  That should give me the ability to move freely through this area.

  Easing up behind the man in front of him, Gus looked at the paper they were reading from.

  There were numbers on the left side and corresponding numbers on the right. There were also two numbers on the left that were blank on the right.

  They’re not feeding two people, or two people have different needs. Or they just don’t eat at all. Technically, I could survive without eating.

  With a dull bang, the elevator closed behind them. There were only four buttons on the panel: open, close, G, and C.

  The C button was currently lit up.

  Looking around the interior of the elevator, Gus realized it was lined with silver and cold iron. The only reason he knew at all was his magic tended to react to both even if he personally didn’t.

  With a swishing noise, the elevator slowed to a stop and the door on the other side opened without a chime.

  Both food workers rolled their trolleys forward into another security lobby.

  Six security guards stood there in full riot gear, armed with rifles, pistols, and silver swords.

  Okay. Fuck. I wasn’t… expecting all of that.

  Gliding past all eight people, Gus went straight to the open area beyond the security point.

  He looked up and around to find there were ten cells per floor, and four levels including the one he was on.

  Forty high-security individuals no one wants to know are here.

  Then he found Janelle’s scent trail.

  It circled up the metal-grated stairs off to one side and exited on the third floor. Next to the stairwell was a simple mechanical elevator that could probably fit ten trays on it if they were packed tight.

  Designed specifically for ten people on a floor.

  Those stairs look like they’d clank and bang. Too loud for me.

  We’ll skip that.

  Jumping from where he was, Gus grabbed the second floor’s edge and hauled himself up. He got up and over the bars that secured the edge and then jumped again, getting to the third floor with ease.

  He’d made almost no sound and felt like he was still doing well at keeping his presence hidden.

  Walking up to the cell that Janelle’s scent vanished into, he found a large steel door backed in iron and silver.

  So much security.

  There was no window in the door. The only thing there was a food slot that didn’t look to be on a hinge.

  Instead it looked more like an insert bolted in place from the outside. It wouldn’t be going anywhere if it wasn’t opened from this side.

  Beyond that, there was no sound here. It seemed the walls were heavily lined and reinforced, as were the doors.

  Might be worth my time to see who all is in here.

  Maybe they’d like to work for the Fed.

  For now, though, I don’t even know if I can get Janelle out. Let’s start with her.

  Frowning, Gus tapped at the food slot. He imagined he could pull it out without a concern. The problem was in doing so he might get Janelle in trouble or reveal that someone else was here.

  He’d just have to wait for someone to come up and put her food in the slot.

  Standing there, Gus tried to push his telepathy through the cell walls.

  And found he couldn’t.

  It was absolutely impenetrable.

  Way too much security.

  Moving to the other side of the railing, Gus hunched down low and stayed there. Trying to not be in the way, to not be there at all.

  Soon enough, one of the food workers came through with trays. He systematically pulled out each food slot, waited for the old tray, put the new tray into the slot, told the prisoner to take it, and then closed it up again.

  Pushing a wedge of his abilities into the man’s mind, Gus set up shop. He needed this individual to leave Janelle’s slot open.

  At the same time, Gus wanted to learn what he knew.

  Which turned out to be nothing at all.

  This person was spectacularly paid to ask no questions, provide no answers, and know absolutely nothing. His job was exactly this and nothing more.

  I’ll have to ransack the guards themselves.

  Forcing the man to leave Janelle’s food slot open wasn’t difficult. Gus just gently knocked in the memory that he’d already closed it up.

  Proceeding as if nothing was wrong, the man finished up with the tier and left.

  Gus moved back up and over the railing, then peeked into the food slot.

  He found Janelle’s striking eyes staring back at him from the other side.

  “Say nothing,” Gus said as quietly as he could.

  Janelle blinked and her brows came down, her eyes clearly straining to see something on the other side of the food slot.

  She didn’t speak. She just watched.

  With a nod of his head, Gus stood up and walked to the railing. Peering down, he watched and waited. He couldn’t act until the food workers were gone.

  He imagined it wouldn’t take much longer.

  The men packed up their trolleys and left.

  Before Gus could get over to Janelle’s food slot, a guard came walking up from the stairs.

  Frowning, Gus immediately slipped in a thread of power into the man’s mind. He was on a simple patrol to
make sure everything was as it should be.

  Modifying his vision rather than trying to change his thoughts or memories, Gus implanted the idea that everything looked fine.

  Fine and well.

  At the same time, he tried to raid the man’s active thoughts to see what he knew. Or what he might know of what was going on.

  Unfortunately, much like the food worker, he knew nothing. He was paid to keep everyone in their cells, and nothing else.

  Not to speak to them, not to interact, and not to even respond to them. In the event they broke out, he’d been instructed to dispatch them immediately without question.

  The man finally left, having found everything as it should be. Or so he’d thought, at least.

  Gus wasn’t sold yet that everything was ready for him to talk to Janelle. Instead he leaned out over the railing and looked at the entry area.

  Slowly, four security guards returned to that area, joining the other two.

  Okay. Everyone’s back to where they should be.

  Getting down on one knee, Gus peered into the food slot. Janelle was back in the corner of her cell, eating her meal while staring at the slot. Breakfast or lunch, he couldn’t tell and didn’t care. He’d lost track of time a while back and hadn’t been able to find a clock.

  Her cell was spartan.

  To the point of it being terrifying.

  It had a bed with covers, a pillow, a toilet, and a naked Janelle. She had a lot more on her figure than Gus had previous assumed.

  Elves really are too pretty for their own good.

  “Hello, Janelle,” Gus whispered through the slot.

  Janelle had never looked away.

  “And who are you then?” Janelle asked.

  “Who do you think, royal one?” Gus asked.

  “No. No, it… no,” she said. She got up and walked over to the slot, where she knelt to stare through it. “Hunter?”

  “Yeah,” Gus said.

  “I can’t… I can’t see you,” Janelle said, her amazing eyes searching back and forth.

  Fuck. Forgot about that.

  No idea how I did, but I did.

  “Uh, yeah. It’s… me. You just can’t see me. I’ll explain later,” Gus said in Elvish. “What happened? They acted like you didn’t exist and wouldn’t say anything about you.”

  “Hmph,” Janelle said. “Not talking. No proof that you are who you say you are.”