APEX - Season 2

Ch. 10: Behind Closed Doors

Calla

The expression "there's no rest for the weary" had never felt more real. After a brief respite where I allowed myself to seek comfort in Rhys's arms, I sent him up to the penthouse to relax and heal. He'd rallied for our meeting, but I could see behind the curtain, where his efforts failed him. There stood a depleted man still suffering from grievous injuries—injuries that should have been reduced to a dull ache by now. I'd filled him in on Liam's history lesson regarding the werewolf poisoning of 1953. No one had deciphered the secret formula that had been used to devastate shifter's healing powers—or so we all thought. It only took one scientist with a grudge against our kind to figure it out and devise a way to distribute it en masse, and thereby doom an entire species.

There was another reason for me to send Rhys away: I didn't want him to know who I was about to call. Rhys might not have wanted anyone to know he was attacked, but the other key takeaway from that night—that one of Sury's city representatives was meeting with my former best friend and members of Humankind First—that was strategic information that I couldn't keep to myself. I emailed all the Rawlings and told them I was postponing our meeting by an additional hour, then made the call.

Dev picked up his phone on the first ring.

"What's up, Calla?"

"So many things. What do you know about Henry Fowling?"

Dev sucked in his breath. "So, Rhys put two and two together, it seems."

"Wait, you knew Fowling was tied to Humankind First?" Rhys's battered body and uneven raggedy breathing came to mind. All of that could have been avoided with a few simple words from Dev. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It's an ongoing investigation. I gave Rhys a clue to lead him in the right direction, but that's all I could do. I'm being watched closely on this one, Calla. Fowling has already suspected for a long time that I'm sympathetic to werewolves. What would happen if it was discovered that I'd outed him to Apex's Alpha, who also happens to be one of the suspects in Vicki's abduction?"

"You'd lose your job. Possibly face criminal charges. And werewolves would be more screwed than they already are."

"Exactly."

"I'm sorry. It's just..."

"I shouldn't even be having this conversation with you."

"Come on, Dev."

"No. I really shouldn't tell you anything else. Especially not the fact that Henry Fowling has called a special closed-door session for tonight at seven. Very hush-hush. That's definitely information I wouldn't tell you even if you asked for it. It would make Fowling very angry, and that is a man you do not want to get on the bad side of."

"I can imagine," I said. "You've got to play it by the books. I understand that, Detective."

"Glad you do. Now, I really must get going. Be safe, Calla."

"I will. And Dev...thank you."

He clicked off the line without responding and I sat there for a moment, my gratitude towards Dev for taking this risk being pitted against the uncertainty of what my next move should be.

A closed-door secret session. If it had nothing to do with werewolves, Dev wouldn't have alluded to it. That could only mean one thing: Fowling was going to use Vicki's speech as justification to vote on a werewolf exclusion resolution. My shoulders sagged. I dragged a finger along the smooth surface of my desk, spelling out the word "fuck" several times.

If the city council was set to do this tonight, what could I possibly do to prevent it?

My mind spinning, I finally decided on one thing: I needed Rhys's help.