Wolf Killer (The Hammer Commission) Read online

  Wolf Killer

  (A Hammer Commission Novel)

  Published by John Van Stry

  Copyright 2016 John Van Stry

  Copyright John Van Stry 2016

  Cover Credits: eBook Launch (http://ebooklaunch.com/)

  No part of this eBook may be reproduced in any form without expressed, written consent from the author.

  Any resemblance between characters in this story and people living or dead is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction created by the author and the author retains all rights to the material in this story.

  License Notes

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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  Hammer Commission Series:

  The Hammer Commission

  The King of Las Vegas

  Wolf Killer

  Portals of Infinity Series:

  Portals of Infinity: Champion for Hire

  Portals of Infinity: The God Game

  Portals of Infinity: Of Temples and Trials

  Portals of Infinity: The Sea of Grass

  Portals of Infinity: Demigod and Deities

  Portals of Infinity: Reprisal

  Portals of Infinity: Kaiju

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  1: Washington, DC

  2: Stillhouse Run, George Washington National Park

  3: FBI, DC Offices

  4: Blacksburg, Va.

  5: Washington DC

  6: Marlington, West Va.

  7: Blacksburg, suburbia

  8: Marlington

  9: Forest outside of Marlington

  10: Virginia tech / Blacksburg

  11: Streets of Blacksburg

  12: Blacksburg

  13: Ursula's house, Blacksburg

  14: Hotel room, Blacksburg

  15: Command Post, Blacksburg

  16: Somewhere west of Blacksburg

  17: Interview at Zeke's

  18: A cave near Marlington

  19: Confrontation

  20: Burned out cabin

  21: Marlington

  22: Charleston, West Va.

  23: Washington, DC

  After word

  Prologue

  Trevor padded up to the cabin on all fours. It was daylight out, and his daddy would whip his ass for sure if he knew his youngest was out running around in wolf form in the daylight. It wasn't that people didn't suspect that there were wolves in the forest around here, but anyone seeing him, at least up close, would wonder just where such a large wolf had come from. Except the locals of course, most of them would immediately know.

  Because while Trevor might be the youngest of his daddy's boys, he was also the biggest and the strongest. He was only a junior in high school, but the college scouts were already sniffing around, thinking that he just might be the next all-American linebacker to come out of these hills.

  Trevor liked team sports; they appealed to the pack mentality of the wolf half of his nature.

  Padding slowly around the cabin, he let his nose tell him about it. He wasn't supposed to be up here, this entire hillside and the surrounding countryside for a couple miles was off-limits to all of the clans in West Virginia. The old folks would tell stories at night about the great evil that lingered in this valley many decades ago. So great that even today none were supposed to be here.

  But Trevor wasn't buying any of that. Whatever had been here, had died or been killed long before he'd been born, and he wasn't much for the old wives tales or the tall tales of drunk old men.

  What he was buying however, were women. There'd been a few rumors running around school about some college co-eds coming out to the hills here on spring break, and he'd heard stories about those co-eds. Why just the other day one of his friends at school saw a guy driving out this way with two young women in the back seat of his SUV! So Trevor figured a big 'ole boy like himself just might be able to catch the eye of one of those shapely ladies. Trevor hadn't had much experience with the local girls, oh they liked him sure enough, he was big and he was one of the stars on the high school football team. But they were all so plain and average, plus the way they gossiped and carried on. But those college co-eds, those girls were smart, exotic even! And they all knew what they wanted and didn't play games when it came to getting it.

  And right now his nose was telling him there had been quite a few young women here, and that there were still some inside!

  He heard it then, a soft moan, and he felt his heart start to speed up a tad, maybe even those stories he'd been hearing about those co-eds from his older brother in college were true!

  But his daddy didn't raise no fools, so he'd best be sure who else was inside that cabin. There were a lot of shifter clans in the forest around here, and the last thing he wanted was to get a beat down on his ass for fishin' in somebody else's water hole.

  Coming back around to the front of the cabin, he could pick up the scent of a man, just one, it smelled a little strange, but it was weaker than that of the women, so whoever he was, he hadn't been here in a quite a few hours, which meant the lovely ladies inside were all most likely alone!

  He heard another moan then and padding up to the door he took a nice deep sniff, figuring he'd find out just how many women were inside.

  Trevor's hackles stood up instantly. He smelled blood. Shifter blood. Suddenly he realized those moans weren't pleasure, but pain!

  Jumping off the porch he ran back into the trees where he'd left his pack. After all, showing up naked would probably get him accused of rape, if not shot around these parts! Shifting back to human form he pulled on his shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed his buck knife and ran back to the cabin kicking in the door.

  His daddy also didn't raise any cowards, and if there was something bad going on inside that cabin, Trevor was sure as hell gonna put a stop to it or die trying!

  1: Washington, DC

  "Agent Levin?"

  Mark looked up from the magazine he'd been browsing. The man addressing him was in a neat black suit, with a thin black tie. He had short black hair, blue eyes, and an average complexion. There was a badge hanging out of his breast pocket, in one of those holders a lot of the agencies used these days.

  Mark smiled and setting down the magazine, he stood up.

  "Yes, that would be me."

  "Agent Michael Sikes, FBI." the man said and offered his hand to Mark.

  Mark shook hands and was a little surprised at the offer; he assumed that the agent knew exactly what he was. Since he'd been outed to most of the officials at the many agencies the commission did business with by his now deceased and former boss, he had found that a great many officials were put off by that information, well at least those that knew it. He hoped that with time they'd get over it, but until then, it was just something he'd have to deal with.

  "Welcome to the Federal Bureau of Investigations. If you would follow me, Sir?"

  Mark smiled, "Mark is just fine, Agent Sikes."

  "Yes, Sir, this way please."

  Mark nodded and followed. Sikes led him through the metal detectors at the front, signaling to the guards to ignore them when they both set them off, signed him in, and then took him to the bank of elevators, heading towards one in the back.

  "So, Agent Sikes, worked here long?"

  "Four years, Sir."

  Mark smiled and shoo
k his head slightly, "Are you with the group I'm on loan to?"

  "Yes, Sir."

  "How long?"

  "Two months, Sir," Agent Sikes said as the elevator chimed and the door slid open.

  "Ah, I see." Mark said and followed him into the elevator. Sikes seemed remarkably unconcerned.

  "I'm curious, Agent Sikes, what exactly do you know about me?"

  Agent Sikes turned and looked at him, Mark noted that he was about the same height and size as him; say six foot, probably a hundred and eighty pounds. "You're Agent Mark Levin, you are on loan to us from the Vatican, and are also a member of Interpol. You have a distinguished career in dealing with religious issues for the Vatican, and are recognized by Interpol as an expert on certain classified types of criminal activity.

  "You're also rather well known to the State Department and the FBI, and have worked with Homeland. You are a combat vet, but were given a medical discharge due to post traumatic stress after an ambush in which you were the only survivor."

  Mark nodded, "Anything else?"

  "What else is there?"

  Mark smiled, "What else indeed?"

  The elevator chimed and the doors opened, "Follow me, please," Sikes said and again led the way.

  The hallway was short and ended in a set of glass doors that unlocked as Agent Sikes grabbed the handle. "RFID passes," he said, "Makes it a lot easier when you don't have to swipe everything."

  Mark nodded and followed Agent Sikes as he passed inside, it was pretty much like any other office he'd ever seen, except for everyone being armed, even in a lot of the Interpol offices he'd been to over the years, it wasn't common to see everyone carrying. Agent Sikes led him into an office in the corner, and Mark noticed the title on the door said 'Agent Woods, Head - Special Interstate Affairs Division'.

  Agent Sikes knocked once, and opened the door and they both went inside.

  "Ah, Agent Levin! Good to see you, have a seat."

  Mark looked over the man sitting behind the desk, he looked about fifty, with graying hair, cut militarily short, almost what they used to call a 'number two guard'. He looked very fit and was dressed in a much nicer suit than Agent Sikes was, however it was the same color and style, just better material and better made with a rather nice blue silk tie.

  "What, don't want to shake hands?" Mark said with a smile, moving over to the one of the empty chairs.

  "Maybe once I know you better," Agent Woods huffed from behind the desk, looking just a tad uncomfortable.

  "You know you can't catch it, well not from me at least." Mark said sitting down.

  "No actually, I don't know that," Agent Woods confessed.

  Mark nodded, "Hence why I'm here I guess."

  "The Assistant Director was rather hot to get you here, once he heard you were available for loan." Agent Woods said looking him over. "You know, you don't look like anything special at all."

  Mark nodded again, "Which is an important thing to remember, we don't look any different at all, and for the most part, we don't act any different. Not standing out is very important. How's Henry doing anyway?"

  "On the fast track for director, I didn't know that you knew him." Agent Woods said.

  Mark shrugged and leaned back in the chair, "I've worked cases here in the states before, a couple of which he was the lead investigator on. Turns out we were in the same company in Afghanistan, so we go back a little." He noticed that Agent Sikes was looking at him very carefully now.

  "So how many people here know about me?" Mark asked Agent Woods.

  "None of them."

  "Really?" Mark said surprised. He would have thought that Agent Woods would have warned everyone.

  "Well, they know your reputation, and they know about your work."

  "Ah," Mark said and thought about that, "How many of them know about monsters and devils and all the rest?"

  "Oh, they all do."

  Mark nodded and looked at Agent Sikes, "How many of them believe it?"

  Agent Woods laughed, "Agent Sikes is still new to the team. That's why I'm assigning him to you."

  Mark raised an eyebrow and looked back at Agent Woods. "What, did he kick your dog or something?"

  Agent Woods shook his head smiling, "Everyone else is already teamed up, and I don't like the idea of breaking up a team for a temporary arrangement. Besides, you're probably the most experienced devil and demon hunter on the team. Figured Agent Sikes here might as well learn from one of the best."

  "Thanks for the compliment, so what do you have for us?"

  "Nothing yet, Agent Sikes will show you to your desk, and introduce you around."

  "Thank you, Agent Woods," Mark said and stood, "Sikes?" Mark asked looking at him curious.

  "You're not human, are you?" Sikes said looking him over slowly.

  "Not anymore," Mark grinned.

  "Agent Sikes," Agent Woods said from behind the desk.

  "Yes, Sir?"

  "You are not to inform any of the team members of that information, understand?"

  "Yes, Sir."

  Mark looked at Agent Woods curiously.

  "I want to see if they can figure it out," Agent Woods said smiling, "either way; it will be a good lesson for them."

  Mark nodded, "Not all monsters are dangerous, and not all are obvious."

  "Exactly," Agent Woods said with a nod and standing up behind his desk he stuck out his hand, "Welcome aboard."

  Mark shook hands and nodded to Agent Woods again, then led Agent Sikes out the door. "Well, might as well get started," Mark said looking around.

  "What exactly are you, anyway?" Agent Sikes asked quietly.

  "Your partner, apparently. Now, where do I sit?"

  Mark sighed and stretched as he lay down on the bed of his hotel room. Agent Sikes had settled down rather quickly and not tried to ask any questions again. But then they'd been in the office for the rest of the day doing paperwork for his new assignment, so he really hadn't had any chances. Also Agent Sikes didn't appear to be the kind of person who would go against what his boss told him.

  Of course Agent Woods didn't look like the kind of person you wanted to be on the bad side of either, especially if he was your boss. At least he did seem to be the type who adjusted to things quickly.

  Mark wondered just how long he was going to be assigned here, the hotels in the DC area were pretty nice, but he wasn't thrilled with the lack of privacy that being in a hotel gave you. A furnished apartment would give him a lot more privacy, and anonymity, especially here in DC. In most places in the U.S. and Europe, people didn't pay much attention to those around them, but here in DC, everything was under the magnifying glass. Staying out of the spotlight, not coming to people's attention, that was what Mark preferred.

  Besides, if he stayed here long enough, sooner or later one of his wives was going to show up. A hotel wouldn't be the best place for that, he could see it leading to unwanted attention, plus well, who wants to spend family time in a room at a hotel? So he might as well be ready for it when it came.

  Not that he wouldn't be happy to see them again. Hell, if he could find a nice enough place, he'd invite them out himself. Being this close to New York, he was even considering a trip to visit his mom, he wouldn't put it past Judith to call her and spill the beans on him. She'd already warned him once, after all. Better to be the one to explain his situation to her himself, or Judith would definitely get him in trouble.

  But he'd only just left Manresa, so he had some time yet, he was sure. For now, best to focus on what was before him, and try to figure out just what he could teach these guys, and why they had been so hot to get him on their team.

  2: Stillhouse Run, George Washington National Park

  "That stupid freaking BITCH!" He swore looking at the turn off to the cabin as he drove past it. He'd only left her alone for a few hours, just a few hours! And look what she did to him!

  He looked at the cracked dashboard from where he had hit it with his fist. He had scented the smoke
from over a mile away; it hadn't occurred to him that it might be his place that was on fire.

  And now! Now there was forestry units running up there in those ugly green cars of theirs, the local police, the state police, even a fire engine had gone by! Thankfully he'd seen them turning up the forestry road that led up the hill to the cabin before he'd turned up there himself! All he would have needed would be to explain just why he was there, a couple hundred miles from home, with a bunch of ropes and shackles in his car!

  Especially after they put the fire out and started asking questions about just what was inside.

  He swore again, cursing his bad luck, he should never have left that troublemaker alone! It had taken him years to find the place, and even then he had stumbled on it by luck and pure coincidence. He'd heard the stories and rumors from the locals about the place while out here doing some scenic work, and anyplace that they were too afraid to go, was just the kind of place he wanted to go and relax when the pressure just became too much.

  And then there were the things he'd discovered after he'd found the cabin, the real reason all those cowards were so afraid of the place and wouldn't go anywhere near it. Even after all those years!

  But he wasn't afraid; he wasn't one to run with his tail between his legs! No, he'd confronted the power that they'd feared, and he'd taken charge of it! He'd found out what he had to do to make it blossom and grow and he enjoyed the rewards of his labors as he was rewarded, time and again for all he'd done. And eventually, eventually he'd get the big prize, the one he'd been working for two years now to learn the secrets of. Once he had that, well then he'd take his just reward for all of this hard work! The reward that he'd been promised, the reward that he deserved, for all of the years of putting up with these peasants.

  And now, now it was burning, his plans, his goals, all set back because that stupid bitch had probably knocked over a lantern while trying to escape. He thought about that a moment, and then he laughed, a low and cold sound as he thought of what must have happened next. There was no way she could have escaped the silver chains, so she would have hung there while the place burned around her, until she too was consumed by the fire.