Traitors and Treachery

Chapter 10

     Amee and I spent a few hours just talking and catching up before heading back home for a final meeting with Mark, Brian, and Beth. Beth wasn't going with them but she was important to the planning of this whole operation so she would be at the meeting too.

     We were meeting at my house before going to Travis' house to finalize our plans with the weres. I tried to talk Sam into just letting me come and sit in the car since it was just a scouting mission, but no matter what tactics I tried, he refused. I still wasn't vampy enough to protect myself I guess. I reminded him that as a compromise I would sit this one out but when it came to the rescue mission nothing would stand in my way. 

     When the six of us were seated in Sam's office, Sam brought out a list of properties and a map of Colorado. There were little orange and yellow dots littering the map, which I assumed were the locations of the properties unknown to most pack members. There were at least three dozen orange dots and about a dozen yellow dots. There was no way all of this was getting done tonight.

    Sam held up the map and said, "Using the list that Travis and Daphne provided, I've marked all the pack locations in orange and all of Roland's properties in yellow. I've excluded the properties that are well known to the pack. My gut feeling is that he's using his own personal property, but we will be scouting all locations until we find it. I personally think we should start with the most rural locations first since that would be where I would hide a secret operation. What do you guys think?"

     Everyone nodded in agreement before Sam continued. "We have to wait until it gets dark, but we'll leave before then to not waste the cover of night. I plan on leaving here at about 6 so by the time we are done meeting with the wolves we will get to the furthest location about two hours away, it will be dark enough. It's about a 20 minute drive west of the small town of Minturn." Sam pointed to a yellow dot on the map. 

      "When we find it Brian and the two other weres will shift and scout the area to make sure that there isn't anyone outside. Travis told me that the property is on the outskirts of another pack territory so Brian, you will have to be vigilant about not crossing their border but still being thorough. This is what we will do for each location. And we will continue moving East until we find something or we lose the cover of darkness.

      "Once we clear the area Amee will do her thing and let us know what she finds and go from there. To avoid a power struggle, Travis has agreed to be in charge of the wolves, including you Brian, and I will be directing the Vamps. However, if anything happens to either of us, the other will take over for both. We understand that working together is unusual and tension is expected so we want to make sure that everything is set before we go. If anyone has a problem with taking orders from Travis you are free to stay behind and there will be no hard feelings. Understood?" 

      A chorus of agreement rang out but I couldn't help noticing the sour look on Mark's face. He was used to being in charge so I wasn't exactly surprised. 

     "Does anyone have any questions?" Sam asked. Everyone remained silent so he ended the meeting. "We'll meet back here at 6 tonight and head over to Travis' house. We will be taking two vehicles, one for the wolves and one for us. Our chances of being smelled will be a lot lower if we can remain in the vehicle."

     The crowd started to disperse and I walked to take a look at the map. I felt overwhelmed with the amount of dots all over. Some were clustered together so it wouldn't take much time to get to all of them but the majority were spread out. 

     "That's a lot of scouting." Beth said from behind me. 

     I nodded. "It's going to take forever to hit them all."

     "Well hopefully we won't have to hit them all. Maybe we'll get lucky and we'll find it fast." She said. 

      I nodded but didn't say anything. We stood in silence, both studying the map. When everyone else had left Sam came and stood behind both of us. "It looks like a lot, but we'll leave no stone unturned." He reassured us. "How has the hunt for help been?" He asked Beth. 

     "Slow. Most don't want to commit to anything. I've had a few local vamps willing to help. I'm waiting on the majority of them to get back to me though." Beth sighed. 

     "Well, keep trying. We'll have everyone we know reach out to everyone they know and get the word out as quietly as possible. It'll be easier once we actually find the location and have a solid plan." 

      "When you do, let me know. I have more calls to make so I'm going to the office. That's where I'll be if you need me." 

     "Thank you Beth, I'll keep you informed." Sam said. 

     After Beth left it was just Amee, Sam, and me in the room. I was a little shocked that Beth didn't hang around to flirt with Sam, but thankful I didn't have to put up with it. 

     "Well I'd love to stay up and chat but I haven't slept in almost 24 hours so I think I'm going to have a nap before we head out." Amee said, breaking the silence. 

     "Okay, we'll come get you when it is time to go." I told her. "When you guys get back you'll have to tell me about your new man." She smiled and nodded before leaving the room.

     After Amee left, Sam came over and wrapped his arms around me. I rested my head on his chest and inhaled his scent to try to calm my nerves. 

     "Worried?" He asked, the slight vibration from his voice soothing me. 

     "Worried, scared, anxious. What if we don't find anything and all this is for nothing?" I asked. 

     "You're looking at it the wrong way."

     I chuckled. "How so?"

     "What if we do find something? That's what you should be asking."

     "I don't want to think about that because it's messy and brings up a whole bunch of complications."

     "Such as?" Sam asked, confused. 

      "Such as the fact that Roland is making an army of some sort, for some reason. Yes, we would get the babies back, if they are alive but what is his end game? Surely he won't be like 'shucks you caught me, I give up.' Someone with this extensive and expensive plan has a backup plan or two."

      Sam remained silent for a while. "I've thought about that too." He whispered. This could be the start of a war, especially if he's doing what I think he's doing."

     "What do you think he's doing?" 

      "I think he wants to eliminate the vamps and control the humans. Many supes are tired of living in secrecy, wolves especially since they have to be careful even in wolf form. If he wasn't so fucked up in the head I'd think he just wanted exposure, but he seems to be the controlling type."

      "Do you think he'd get that far?"

     Sam shrugged. "It's hard to say. I want to say no, but people with evil plans usually tend to get further than most people think they would."

     "What would happen if we were exposed?" I asked.

      "It depends on the reaction from the public, I would think. I know some would be accepting, some would call for our deaths. But in the end I think it would come down to politicians and lawmakers. The FBSA has a clause to immediately dissolve in the event we are exposed to maintain the government's perceived innocence about our existence."

     "Oh. So we would be on our own."

     Sam nodded. "Alone with no allies. The weres would most likely paint vamps as monsters while they claim to be innocent and harmless. They would ally themselves with the humans with a common enemy, so for a time, they would be accepted by the humans. Once vamps are eradicated, or near enough so, the humans will turn on the weres. Humans don't like anything different."

     "This is why I was just thinking about us not finding anything, I don't want to open that can of worms in my head." I said and pulled back to look in his eyes. 

      He chuckled and kissed my forehead. "Sorry, love."