Lost in Translation

Chapter 42: Round Table

———Ben———

Friday, July 19th, 2019

The aftermath of the attack on the pack was chaotic. I got only a single moment with Anthony to verify that he was unhurt before he was whisked off to deal with the now-directionless intruders who spoke only Russian. It had been two days since the attack, and I still hadn't seen him. It wasn't that he was avoiding me, though. Since this was technically an Alpha versus Alpha conflict, it was officially an international incident, and the FBSA launched a full-blown investigation. Both admin and security personnel were working massive overtime.

Marcus and Kat dealt with getting Darius medical attention while Sarah was buried with paperwork and meetings with the FBSA. I was even working overtime. Because of the investigation, the Russian wolves couldn't just be deported right away, so extra security was needed to keep watch at the empty apartments that had been hastily converted into a detainment facility.

Apparently, the agent stationed in Moscow leaked Kat's flight information back to Dmitri, which is how he knew when to launch the attack. The Moscow agent basically went AWOL, and the Russian wolves here weren't super cooperative. The FBSA basically conscripted James and Anthony to help with translation, and they were being run ragged.

Information trickled through the pack in waves as more things came to light. It turned out that Dmitri had been camping just outside of pack lands for months, performing routine surveillance, which is why the weird patrol reports kept popping up. He had a few men who remained in Russia to kidnap Anya and use her phone to convince Kat she was still safe and sound until he had gathered enough intel. Then he had them text the picture and address to Kat to lure her away from the pack while he attempted to launch a surprise attack.

What he didn't bank on was the increased patrols due to Anthony's warning or on Sarah requiring someone to be fully shifted on each patrol as a precaution. When the attack happened, Kevin and I were trading off a patrol shift with Marcus and Sarah. Sarah's warning growl was the only reason I didn't get my head blown off. Sarah and Kevin were able to do enough damage before being overwhelmed to allow Marcus to raise the alarm that sent the pack into lockdown, which kept anyone else in the pack from getting involved, but it is also what summoned Darius to our location.

Darius had to be in the hospital for a few days for surgery on his leg, which meant admin was short-staffed on top of everything. Anthony and I hadn't talked, but he sent me an update each day about the progress toward getting the mess cleaned up. I didn't feel any better about having to wait to resolve our situation, but I knew he couldn't do anything about it, and at least he was communicating.

This morning was my first off-shift since the attack. I sighed as I chewed lethargically on the bagel I was trying to force myself to eat for breakfast. My adrenaline was still so high that I didn't have much of an appetite. I jumped as the buzz from my phone pulled me out of my brooding.

Anthony: Hey, I think things are almost settled now. Can you come over tomorrow afternoon so we can talk?

Me: Oh

Me: Yeah, that works

Me: What time?

Anthony: Is 1 ok?

Me: Sure

Anthony: Ok, I'll see you then. Thank you, Ben.

I held a deep breath and let it out in a shaky rush. I had thought through what I was going to say to him more than enough already, but I still felt queasy at the thought of actually talking to him. I honestly had no idea how this was going to go, but I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment by being too optimistic.