Page 34 of Grayson’s Challenge

“What was it like to teleport?” Monique asked.

They were back in Grayson’s car, heading to Scanguards’ headquarters in the Mission. Traffic was still light since most people had the day off, and many stores were closed.

“A little disorienting. The first time I traveled through one of the portals, it felt as if I was in a dryer being thrown around like a wet sock. But I got used to it. I spent a couple of years with the Stealth Guardian compound in Baltimore.”

“Doing what?”

“Helping out. Learning from them. Killing demons. I wasn’t the only one. Ryder was there too. He’s Maya and Gabriel’s son. Scanguards made a deal with the Stealth Guardians. In exchange for them helping us out, Ryder and I worked with them, helping where our skills were useful.”

“The Stealth Guardians, is it true they can make themselves invisible and walk through walls?”

Grayson smiled. “Yep, it’s true, and not only that. They can also make others invisible either by touch or with their minds. It’s a pretty handy skill. And you don’t feel anything.”

“What do you mean?”

“They’ve made me and Ryder invisible countless times, and I could still see myself, and I didn’t feel any different. If they hadn’t told me that I was invisible, I wouldn’t have known.”

“And did you also walk through walls with them?”

He shook his head. “No. That’s something only the Stealth Guardians can do.”

“I can see now why you want them as your allies. They can approach an enemy without being seen, and get into locked spaces.”

“And they’re good people. They’re sworn to protect humans, just like Scanguards.”

He still looked back at his time with the Stealth Guardians in Baltimore with fondness. He’d learned so much from them, and fighting demons had been a highlight in his time training as a warrior. He’d made friends with the men in Baltimore, and with their women too. He had nothing but respect for them, and knew he could count on them if he needed their help. That’s why he hadn’t hesitated to ask Virginia for this big favor.

“Virginia is a great warrior,” he said and glanced at Monique. “She’ll find your brothers.”

“Thank you for doing this for me.”

He didn’t know how to respond to her words of gratitude. It turned out he didn’t need to. His cell phone rang. He pressed the accept button on his steering wheel.

“Yeah?”

“Hey Grayson, it’s Luther.”

“Hey, Luther.”

“About your request to get access to the prison records, I’ve run into a problem.”

“What problem?”

“The new council president says he can’t just allow any civilian access to the prison’s database.”

“Doesn’t he know that my father was kidnapped?” Grayson snapped, outraged.

“He knows. But apparently, he and Samson don’t see eye to eye.”

“Fuck!” Grayson cursed. They needed access to those records, because the chances that an ex-VCON was involved in the kidnapping were high. The attackers weren’t amateurs. They were hardened criminals who’d come prepared. “Then we have no choice but to hack into their system. Thomas can—”

“Not happening,” Luther interrupted. “It would take Thomas days to hack into it. The last security update made sure of that.”

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Grayson cursed again. “And you? Don’t you have access?”

Luther sighed. “My access is limited, and I can only see that part of the database that covers the VCONs housed at the Grass Valley facility. And even for that, I’ll have to physically be at Grass Valley. I mean, I’ll do it, no problem, but that only gets us part of the data. For all we know, the attackers weren’t local. They could be from New Orleans, particularly if Cain was the main target.”

“Luther?” Monique said.