At the Carrow PD police station, Bella looked down at Flea’s unconscious body through the cell bars. A male doctor, clutching his bag, exited the cell. “How long is he going to be out?”
“If this serum works, he should be out for the next twenty-four hours.”
Bella closed the cell door. Flea’s body twitched. Her finger hovered above her gun holster. “I hope you’re right, doctor. It took five guards to hold him down long enough for us to secure him to the bed.”
“Mr. Fennigan’s exposure to those chemicals heightened his nerves. He has a ‘constant itch,’ if you will. He has to keep moving. If he stops moving, he feels pain. He has to stay moving.”
Sergeant Krowe stepped forward, holding a steaming cup of coffee. He looked over Flea in the straitjacket. “How are we supposed to contain people like this? He nearly bounced his way out of the building when we took custody of him from the hospital.”
Flea shifted in the bed, his restraints rattling.
Bella’s hand tightened on her gun holster.
“Perhaps you should take it up with the city, Sergeant Krowe. Modern jails aren’t built to hold criminals such as these,” the doctor said. “There is still one on the loose.”
“Curtain Call isn’t the one that worries me.”
“Sir?” Bella said.
“All the way here, Fennigan mumbled one word. Swarn. If this Swarn is responsible for that living insect inside of his brain, I don’t much want to see how he handles us holding his Flea in custody.”
Bella looked on, her mouth wide open. The implication landed all at once. They weren’t guarding a prisoner. They were holding bait. “You think Swarn will try to break Flea out, sir?”
“I don’t think, Officer Sparks. I know,” he growled.
She wasn’t sure if she was ready for an encounter with the “Husk Killer.” Her pulse raced as her eyes darted rapidly between Flea, the doctor, and Krowe.
The doctor’s composure faltered. His fingers tightened around his bag. “What will you do, Sergeant?”
Sergeant Krowe glanced at Bella and then forward.
“Our jobs.”
***
Two nights later, Lila Jean found herself standing in Michelle’s doorway, dressed in a black, one-sleeved dress. On the other side was Andre in a suit and baby blue shirt, holding a bouquet of flowers.
“Sugah,” she smiled. “Are those for me, or are y’all gonna keep standing there with your mouth open?”
He apologized and handed the flowers to her. “I... I wasn’t expecting...”
“What, sugah?” She grabbed the flowers and let him in. “Just because Ah’m from the country don’t mean Ah don’t know how to dress.”
“Lila Jean,” he pulled at his collar. “That’s not what I meant.”
She put the flowers in a temporary glass of water. He watched her as she stalked back toward him. She wrapped her arm around his. “Relax. Ah was just kiddin’, Andre. Ah’m just glad Ah still had something decent to wear for tonight.” She stilled.
Andre looked at her, worried. “Is something wrong? Do you want to call off the date, Lila Jean?”
She shook her head. “Ah thought Ah was being too forward just now. Ah don’t usually just grab a man’s arm like that.”
Andre smiled. “Did I complain, Lila Jean?”
She went to the closet and pulled out a short jacket. He gently took it from her. “You can take my arm anytime you like.” He draped her jacket over her shoulders, leaned in, and whispered in her ear with a soft blow. “I like you too.”
She turned and laughed, covering her mouth with a hand.
He held out his elbow. She wrapped her hand around it. He closed the door behind them. Michelle, who had been hiding in the other room, walked out smiling. “You got a good one, Lila.”
Outside, a chauffeur stood by a dark limousine. He opened the passenger door. Lila Jean’s eyes flicked from the limo and back to Andre.
He took her hand into his and helped her into the limousine.
“Andre, you didn’t have to rent a limo. This must’ve cost you a lot.”
He sat next to her. “Let me worry about that. Tonight is about you having a good time.”
She looked him in the eyes. “You’re too sweet, sugah. Ah don’t deserve it.” She looked out the window for a moment and turned back to him. “There’s something Ah need to tell you, Andre. About mah past. Ah...”
He had wanted this moment for years. He wasn’t letting doubt take it from him now.
Before she could finish her thought, Andre wrapped a hand around her waist. He pulled her body into his and kissed her passionately. Lila Jean grabbed his jacket.
One of them pressed the button that caused the window partition to rise.
“Very good, sir,” the driver said.
***
In his lair, Swarn watched a huge monitor. The screen played footage from the downtown incident days earlier. Flea’s unconscious body was handcuffed and hauled away in an ambulance. He pressed a key and the screen went black.
A swarnling skittered up behind him and clicked.
He turned to it. “No.”
It clicked again.
He pressed another key. An image of Lila Jean appeared on the screen. He pointed at it. “They failed! Even without her powers, she destroyed them!”
The creature shook. Swarn motioned for it to follow him. He pulled on the dark trench coat. They walked through the communications room, out of the filtration room, and eventually out of the building.
“If a swarm couldn’t handle her, I will have to deal with her myself!”
“Follow me,” he ordered.
The creature followed Swarn through the backwoods of Carrow until they reached the heart of the city. Once there, they traveled the rooftops. It was dark, and no one paid attention to them.
When they arrived at the Carrow PD police department, Swarn straightened his collar. His swarnling waited on the rooftop while he went inside. Swarn glanced around the room.
He walked up to the reception officer, who looked like she was about to fall asleep. The woman blinked once. Her eyes opened quickly. She thought she had seen someone or something, but no one was there. She slapped her face. “C’mon, April. Wake up. You’re seeing things.”
The woman took a sip of her coffee.
Swarn kept his head down and kept to the shadows as he walked through the jail station.
Night shift didn’t have many officers on duty. That made it easy for him to find Flea’s cell. He walked toward the cell when he noticed it was glowing. He touched it. A surge of electricity tore through him.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
The alarm triggered instantly.
Swarn’s eyes darkened.
Red lights ignited down the corridor.
Lockdown.
He stared at Flea sleeping.
The building woke up. Officers drew their weapons and checked the perimeter. Sirens blared. Boots pounded the corridor.
Swarn was already gone.
From a nearby rooftop, he watched.
He raised an arm. A small winged swarnling flew through the night toward the police station. Just as an officer was entering the building, the creature flew past his ear. The man fanned his ear. “Damn mosquitoes!”
The swarnling flew two circles around the reception officer, April’s head. She took a piece of paper and swatted at it. She missed it with every swing. It landed briefly on the computer keyboard, then zipped past her.
It flew through the precinct past unsuspecting officers, who were busy with Flea’s cell alarm, and landed on a dark monitor. It skittered to the computer keyboard under it. The swarnling pressed the power key. The screen flickered once... then the schematics appeared.
Its tiny legs tapped across the keys. An image of the security system of Flea’s cell appeared next. It stopped moving.
Every command it entered reflected instantly on the overhead display. A download bar popped up. Nothing moved for a second. Then one percent appeared.
Across the street on the rooftop, Swarn’s swarnling clicked.
He looked down at it and said, “Almost.”
***
Miles away in an ornate ballroom, the air was filled with the low hum of a string quartet. Andre moved effortlessly with his hand resting on Lila Jean’s waist as he led her across the polished floor.
“You move like you’ve done this your whole life.”
“Ah move like Ah trust mah partner not to drop me.”
Lila Jean leaned into him, her movements mimicking his. As they whirled through the crowd of Carrow’s elite, Andre’s fingers brushed against her jaw.
“And do you?”
With every turn, the tension between them tightened like a coiled spring. Andre’s smile remained perfectly fixed, while Lila Jean’s hands lingered just a second too long on the back of his neck, her gaze never leaving his.
Her fingers curled lightly at the back of his neck. “Still decidin’.”
As the music swelled to a crescendo, the floor seemed to vanish beneath her. Andre’s lead shifted from a gentle guide to a sudden, firm command. His hand, previously light on her waist, slid further down her spine, providing a solid anchor as he stepped deep into a lunge.
He drew her closer, guiding her into the dip. “Take your time.”
She didn’t look away. “Oh... Ah intend to.”
Andre braced himself like a hero as Lila Jean hooked her leg high around his waist. His left hand wrapped firmly around her thigh, pulling her closer, while his right hand hung loose at his side. Her arms draped around his neck, foreheads touching.
“Y’all... do somethin’ to me.”
Andre leaned in, ready to kiss her, when the entire ballroom broke into applause. Her face turning red, Lila Jean hid her face in his chest.
Andre looked down at her and lifted her chin. “They know a star when they see one.”
He hooked a hand around her waist and guided her back to their table. Andre pulled out her chair. His hand lingered on her arm as she took her seat.
She picked up her menu. “Have y’all decided what you’re going to eat, Andre?”
Andre smiled and raised his glass to his mouth. “I don’t know. I’d rather skip to dessert.”
The waiter, who had just walked to their table, nearly dropped his order pad. Lila Jean’s eyes opened wide, her face turning red. “Andre.”
Andre looked her in the eyes. “You asked.”
Even though the night was about his date with Lila Jean, he didn’t let himself get too comfortable. Every sudden movement, every shifting shadow caught his attention. He stayed at her side the entire evening. Lila Jean was slightly on edge, and he knew why. He also knew no one was getting anywhere near her.
***
At the Beacon, Selene Kade had just about called it a day.
She stepped out of her office and crossed the hall. The plaque on the mahogany door read Andre Brooks. His name was in gold lettering. She ran a finger across it and smiled.
The room was empty, no furniture or décor. It was still under renovation. She spotted two men painting a wall.
“Are you going to finish on schedule, Mr. Morgan?” she asked.
She prowled the unfinished space, heels clicking softly on bare flooring. The man with the long rolling stick stepped forward. “Yes, Ms. Kade.” He walked with her around the room. “As you can see, we are on our last wall. We will be finished with the paint tomorrow.”
She grinned. “Excellent.”
“Carry on,” she said as she walked out.
The heavy door to the office clicked shut. It was 10:45 PM—the dead zone of the news cycle.
She began the long walk across the third floor. Just three hours ago, this space had been a frantic hive of editors and reporters shouting over the clacking of keyboards and the incessant ringing of desk phones. Now, the newsroom was a graveyard of abandoned swivel chairs and darkened monitors.
As she passed the Metro desk, she noticed a single desk lamp burning. A lone night shift reporter sat hunched over a scanner. A half-empty pot of stale coffee, the only witness to his vigil, sat on his desk.
He didn’t look up; in this building, the news never slept, even if the people did.
She descended the stairs toward the lobby. At the security desk, she tapped her access card. Through the glass doors, she saw the loading docks: white delivery trucks were already idling in the cold.
She pushed through the revolving door, leaving the industrial roar behind for the quiet of the street. Her driver stood next to the car with the door already open for her. She slid into her seat as he closed the door. On the seat across from her was a photo of Andre.
She tapped it. “Soon.”
***
LJ walked ahead of Andre as they left the restaurant. He was on his phone checking up on Zayden. He kept his eyes on her. “Wait up, Lila Jean. The driver is on his way.”
She stretched her arm and flinched. She was still sore from the bug bites. “Okay, sugah.”
She watched as a bug flew near her and landed on her dress. She screamed. Andre rushed to her side.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, reaching for her.
She stamped her feet in a panic. Her eyes were closed. She couldn’t stand to even look at the insect. “Get it off of me, Andre. Please,” she pleaded.
He looked over her dress and saw a green grasshopper crawling along the hem. The swarnling attack had left more damage than he’d realized. Andre picked up the insect and looked at it closely. If it showed signs of being connected to Swarn, he would kill it.
The grasshopper calmly perched itself on Andre’s finger. It sprang from his finger, wings flicking as it glided away into the night. He gently took her hand. Her fingers gripped his jacket sleeve. “It was just a grasshopper. It’s gone, Lila Jean. You can open your eyes now,” he said softly.
She brushed the bottom of her dress. “Ah’m sorry. Ah guess y’all think Ah’m a walking contradiction.”
“What do you mean?”
“A country girl scared of bugs. As the old folks say, that don’t cotton.”
Andre didn’t say anything immediately. He knew the trauma of being alive under the swarnlings had caused this reaction from her. The sight of her body buried under the swarm haunted him.
“You don’t have to justify yourself to me, Lila Jean.”
She laid her head on his chest, trying to hide from the other couples who were watching them. “Ah feel so foolish.”
The limo pulled up. Andre walked her to the door, motioning the driver to stay where he was. “Don’t be. You just went through something traumatic. It’s understandable.”
He opened the door for her.
She raised a brow. “What do you mean?”
Andre pointed to her bandaged arm. She smiled, realizing she did tell him she was attacked by bugs. Andre let out a low whistle and wiped his forehead before joining her in the limo.
A police car, sirens screaming, barreled through traffic past them.
Andre’s head turned instantly, eyes tracking it until it disappeared.
***
The moon sat low and pale over the rooftops. A patrol car forced its way through traffic, sirens screaming, then braked hard in front of a dark apartment building. Two officers stepped out of the patrol car and onto the dark street.
A humid breeze carried the scent of hot asphalt and diesel fumes, barely stirring the heavy fabric of the dark navy uniforms.
“What do you have, Sparks?” Officer Jaden Vance asked, walking up to Bella.
She stood next to a cocooned body. The cocoon clung to the guardrail like something grown there. Her flashlight shone on a male hand extending through the husk. In the hand was the Pharma ID badge of a Daniel Net. She grabbed the ID. “Looks like the Husk Killer is active again, fellas.” She held it out.
He took the badge. “Daniel Net,” the officer said. “A Pharma official.”
Beside him, Officer Sarah Montoya moved to his side. Her fingers hovered habitually near her utility belt where the matte black grip of her service weapon and handcuffs remained ready.
Bella pulled out her pad from her patrol car. She handed it to Officer Vance. “I ran a check on him before you arrived. Mr. Net is—or was—a lead geneticist at Pharma.”
“Wow, Bella.” Officer Montoya snickered. “Still working hard at climbing the ladder of rank.”
Bella clutched her fist. “What is that supposed to mean, Montoya? I am only doing my job.”
Officer Vance glanced at Montoya.
“What?” Officer Montoya asked.
Officer Vance shoved a roll of yellow tape into her chest. “Tape off the area, Montoya.”
Montoya’s footsteps echoed as she walked off, mumbling to herself.
“Don’t let her get to you, Sparks,” he said, poking the husk. “Your attention to detail has rattled some.”
Bella watched her secure the tape to a lamppost. “There’s another body. In the alley.”
Officer Vance stood. “Show me.”
“I heard about your promotion, Vance. Congratulations, detective,” she said, placing the pad on the front seat of her patrol car.
Neither spoke as she led him to the connecting dark alley. He pulled out his flashlight. The beam from it landed on two other cocooned bodies. The bodies hung from the last rung of a fire escape ladder.
Bella’s footsteps trailed Vance’s. She rubbed the back of her neck. “I wasn’t going to say this, especially in front of her, but this Husk Killer case is very unsettling to me.”
“Agreed.”
Dispatch crackled over their radio. Three more cocooned bodies had been discovered a mile away.
Bella’s gaze snapped from Vance to the radio.
“This just keeps getting better,” she muttered.
Another transmission followed. Then another. More sightings of cocooned bodies being reported by callers across the city of Carrow.
Bella frowned, thinking. Something wasn’t right.
“The locations... they were spreading outward. Each new report farther from the city center than the last.”
She turned and ran to her patrol car. Bella yanked out her pad, fingers flying across the screen as Vance jogged up beside her.
“What’s going on in that head of yours, Sparks?”
He leaned over her shoulder. A city map filled the screen. Red dots marked each body. Bella pointed.
“The locations. Look at the spread, Jaden. They’re moving out of the city. Why?”
Another dot appeared. Ten miles away. Even farther than the last.
Vance stared at the screen.
“You think it’s a distraction.”
She nodded slowly.
“What else could it be? The Husk Killer is pulling us outward... dividing attention from something else.”
The radio crackled again. Bella looked down at it. Vance looked at her.
Neither of them spoke.