Bathe In Fire - Shadows of the Night 2

Chapter 43

Hi!

This is the last chapter of Bathe In Fire - can you believe it? A certain someone will be showing up again in this one. I'm sure you won't have trouble figuring out who... Let me know what you're thinking.Oh, and I got the title for Shadows of the Night 3 for you! It's "Drown Under Earth" and I will be posting the first chapter next week! I still can't believe it!! Thank you all for staying with this story.

Lara

_________________________________________________________

Chapter 43

We didn't even make it all the way upstairs before we were met by another SWAT team. The cavalry had arrived – too late to help, but turn up they did. Sean, the wounded officer, gave them a short version of what had happened, while I and Andy made our way out of the building. It was already dark, the night sky dotted with sparkling stars, the last remainders of daylight fully swallowed by the night. A team of paramedics was waiting outside and instantly took care of everyone who survived. Including us.

It took us about a quarter of an hour to get rid of the two paramedics who insisted that we needed a checkup. Then the real fun started. The crowd of FBI members and police officers closed in on us like a swarm of vultures, until Brown stepped in.

I saw so many faces and heard so many different voices that it was hard to keep up with what was happening. I turned around and froze. Somewhere in the back of the crowd I had caught a glimpse of Alexander. Our eyes met for the fracture of a second. I didn't know what to make of his stare, couldn't read his expression anymore than I could decrypt the look in his eyes. Then he turned away and the moment was over.

Sure enough it didn't take long before Mr. Ex-Military, i.e. Carlston, came up to us. His voice was calm when he spoke, and yet his facial expression gave him away: He was royally pissed.

"The two of you will have to come with us and answer some questions," he said, pointing at Andy and me.

I didn't like the way he was acting, not at all. Somehow I had a feeling the ex-military was not so ex after all. This clearly amounted to the treatment of prisoners of war. Brown stepped forward, positioning himself right in front of the FBI badass.

"You seem to forget that these two witches were part of our joined mission. They saved your men's lives."

Carlston gave him a cold look. "I'm afraid that you will have to leave that to my judgment. You seem to forget that this was a mission the FBI was in charge of. Your magical personal was to stay out of direct contact with the target. It was the SWAT team's task to storm buildings identified as possible hideouts of the target. These two characters disobeyed a direct order and got into the line of fire."

Characters? I grimaced, exasperated. I did a mental headshake. That's what you get for joining forces with the humans. We should have waited outside and let them march into the building with Gabriel in full power. I would like to have seen their reaction then.

"That still isn't any sort of reason to treat them like criminals, Mr. Carlston," Brown said slowly.

My eyes zeroed in on my boss. At that very moment he was statesmanship personified, emanating an admirable amount of self-control, calmness, and authority. He hadn't been the leader of New York's branch of the Circle for years for nothing. For all I knew he had more than enough experience in dealing with swollen-headed military freaks like Carlston.

"I have a right to know why three of my men died today. Get out of my way," Carlston growled at the Circle's local leader.

I couldn't follow their discussion any further, since both, I and Andy, were led to a squad car. We remained sitting in there, still and closemouthed. At Brown's insistence we were brought back to the Circle's headquarters, yet not without the presence of two FBI agents.