Giovani and Zabrina had gone straight from the airport to the appointed meeting place near the Hospital of the University of Philadelphia, where Gibbon was being treated. Standing atop a parking garage, they had a clear view of the building, and though there were a few cars coming and going nearby, for the most part, this area of Philly seemed to have gone to bed for the evening. The lights in the surrounding office buildings showed no one at work, and the apartment buildings in the distance were mostly dark, with shades drawn, the people inside snoozing, completely unaware of the monsters playing on the rooftops only blocks away.
It was past midnight, and a cool breeze stirred the air around them as Giovani began the introductions. “Howard, nice to meet you. This is my sister, Zabrina,” he said as the gruff middle-aged man with the military haircut stepped forward and took her hand, nodding a hello. She gave Giovani an annoyed look, perhaps thinking he should have said “girlfriend” at this point in their relationship, but he ignored her and continued. “Who have you brought with you?”
Behind Howard stood four equally intimidating men of various sizes, all clearly armed to the teeth, as was Howard, dressed in dark clothing, ready to begin the operation as soon as the word was given. “This is my team,” Howard began. His voice matched his appearance, more of a growl than human speech, and he went down the row giving Giovani the name of each of them as he did so. “Martin, Tanner, Preston, and this big guy here on the end, well, we just call him Meat.”
Giovani eyed the man suspiciously. He wasn’t that much bigger than the others. “Why Meat?” he asked?
The man pulled out a flashlight, turned it on, and removed the black cap he had been wearing snuggly against his head. The answer to the question was apparent; it looked as if his head had been rung through a sausage maker. He was bald with twisted, jagged scars covering most of his scalp and face. Even his lips were deformed.
“I see,” Giovani replied, holding back a grimace. Zabrina was making a gagging noise next to him, and he had to admit the man was gruesome—even for someone like Giovani who had seen his share of monsters “What happened?”
“He doesn’t like to talk about it,” Howard replied for him as he put his cap back on, “but it was at the hands of a team member of the Hunters you are seeking to destroy. It wasn’t hard for me to get these guys on board. All of us have been negatively affected by the team you’re after in one way or another.”
“Well, once we secure Gibbon and put him through the Resurrection process, I’m certain we will be able to take out our vengeance on LIGHTS. Though, by the looks of him, Meat might just be able to do the job by himself,” Giovani explained.
“He’s one tough son of a bitch,” Howard agreed, “but if you want to defeat Findley and McReynolds, you’re gonna need someone vicious, someone animalistic. We’ll help you get Gibbon,” he assured Giovani, a gloved hand thoughtfully stroking his chin. “And then we’ll help you lure them in.”
“Perfect,” Giovani smiled. “What’s your plan for getting into the hospital?”
“We have someone on the inside, a newbie who works in the blood bank. Three of us will make entry through an unlocked door on the roof top while the other three come in a side door on the back part of the building below Gibbon’s room. We already know his precise location on the sixth floor. There are two police officers outside of his room, four security guards in different locations throughout the building, and a detective in the waiting room. We’ll get through them easily enough. The hardest part is going to be extracting him. We don’t want to kill him—before we kill him.”
“Right,” Giovani agreed. He crossed over to the wall that surrounded the top of the roof, leaning against it as he eyed the hospital. What would be the best way to get him out? They could steal an ambulance. Or perhaps—there was a better way. “Any of you know how to fly a helicopter?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” Tanner barked. “Used to fly them for the Navy, sir.”
“Perfect,” Giovani replied. “Then we’ll just take that little gem with us.” He pointed at the medical helicopter sitting atop the hospital landing pad.
“That will be fairly visible to any police on the ground,” Howard warned. “Easy to track.”
“Well then, we’ll just have to get in and get out before they have a chance to act,” Giovani responded, turning to look at Howard over his shoulder. He turned back to face the hospital before continuing. “Zabrina, contact Nina and have her people meet us at the opening of the tunnel, near the river. We’ll go in that way. It will give us an opportunity to bring the chopper down in a secluded area away from town. Tell her we’ll be transporting Gibbon, so make sure the cell is ready and the path is clear.”
“Very well,” Zabrina complied, sending a message with her telepathy to her contact, Nina, with the instructions Giovani had requested. “We won’t all fit aboard that helicopter, though,” she pointed out, folding her arms across her chest.
Giovani turned and gave her a hard look. “I know that, dearest,” he spat. “Howard, do you have a transport vehicle ready for the rest of us once we have our weapon?”
“Affirmative,” Howard nodded. “Another member of our team, Clayton, is ready to pull us out. He’ll meet us at that same back door whenever the mission is complete. It’ll be dangerous, but he’s the best there is.”
Giovani was well aware of the risks and felt confident he would make it out of the situation alive. So long as he had Gibbon, he didn’t give a damn about any of these other jackasses. Smiling, Giovani turned to face Howard. “Now, this sounds like the beginning of a coup, Howard. Let’s get this show on the road.”
