Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Read online

  Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

  Protected by the Damned, Book 7

  Michael Todd

  Michael Anderle

  Laurie Starkey

  Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (this book) is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  Copyright © 2018 Michael Todd, Michael Anderle, and Laurie Starkey

  Cover by Ryn Katryn Digital Art

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, May 2018

  Version 1.02, November 2018

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Author Notes - Michael Anderle

  Author Notes - Laurie Starkey

  Connect with Michael Todd

  Books by Michael Todd

  Books written as Michael Anderle

  Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Team

  Beta Readers

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  Stephanie Forbes

  Dorothy Lloyd

  Tom Dickerson

  Dorene Johnson

  Diane Velasquez

  Timothy Cox

  JIT Readers

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  John Ashmore

  Daniel Weigert

  Peter Manis

  Kelly O'Donnell

  Larry Omans

  Micky Cocker

  Joshua Ahles

  Paul Westman

  If we missed anyone, please let us know!

  Weapons Consultant

  John Kern

  Proprietor

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  Editor

  Lynne Stiegler

  Dedication

  To Family, Friends and

  Those Who Love

  to Read.

  May We All Enjoy Grace

  to Live the Life We Are

  Called.

  — Michael Anderle

  1

  “Thank you everyone for joining the call.” General Brushwood sat at a large oval table with his men. The mercenary team leads from around the country were on a screen in front of him. “After recent events, we found it important to get everyone together and on the same page. It’s obvious there’s been a change— an escalation of sorts— going on with the demons. We have all lost good men and women in this battle. I would like to start the meeting off by hearing from Amy.”

  From every angle the general considered, the government and the mercenaries were on track to work together a lot more often than either really wanted to.

  Given the events so far, from the large incursions to the attacks on both Korbin’s and Amy’s teams, they had to pull together, because if something didn’t change they were going to be burying a lot more comrades.

  General Brushwood and other heads of state had wanted a face-to-face meeting, but with the mercenary teams not only bogged down by calls but short a lot of men there was no way any of them could get away long enough for a meeting like that.

  Especially one that for some was clear across the country.

  Due to the past relations between the government and the mercenary teams, the mercs pushed to do this thing their way.

  However, setting up a secure conference call for teams across the United States was something even Derek couldn’t have done safely yet. The general’d had his team set it up so they were sure the video feed would be completely secure from prying eyes.

  No one wanted government representatives talking about demons on the six o’clock news.

  Obviously this wasn’t ideal for the government, but they had to meet the mercs in the middle or nothing would get done.

  General Brushwood and the others knew it was an essential alliance, but they had to prove they were in it one hundred percent or the mercs would continue to work as they had for decades.

  Hurting everyone in the process

  The general continued, “For those from the military, Amy is the leader of Amy’s Assassins. The team was just in an ambush that left one team member dead and several others injured. Amy?”

  “Thank you, General,” she said, shuffling her papers. “So, everyone now knows that we lost one of our best teammates and are tending to those injured. What you don’t know is what happened that night.”

  Her voice changed. It was still strong, but with a hint of the pain the ambush caused. “It began as a normal call, and we headed out thinking it would be the usual human demon situation. However, about two thirds of the way through the fight the warehouse was ambushed by a group of humans with demon advantages. It was no longer just Damned fighting Damned. This was a tactical team, combat-trained and determined to take our team down. They had weapons and what looked to be a command structure.

  “Immediately everything on the comms went to shit. We were shocked and there was a lot of chatter. We had seen fighting demons before—even those still in full human bodies—but never militarized ones. It was both concerning and confusing.”

  “Did they talk to one another?” someone yelled.

  “Did they have uniforms? Were they using any unusual weapons?” another person asked.

  “Who was their leader?”

  This was a new dawn in the age of fighting demons; something that no one had expected. The ones they fought before had been rogues, and if they had banded together it was for their own purposes. They definitely hadn’t been trained like those Amy said had attacked the mercenaries.

  Amy shook her head and tried to answer what questions she could.

  “We couldn’t tell if they were communicating verbally, but they did use tactical hand signals,” Amy told the group. “They were dressed in black and used street weapons, but nothing specialized. As far as the leader, he didn’t seem to be the mastermind. He was more like an officer leading his troops into battle. Look, I know everyone has a million questions—and so do we—but with one dead and three still in the hospital, details are still a little scarce. We can’t talk to the injured right now—not securely—to find out what they saw. We’ve been over the operation with the remaining team members repeatedly, though.”

  “Thank you, Amy,” the general said, raising his voice above the babble of conversation. Everyone quieted almost instantly. “I know you have a lot of questions, and so do we. The government began an investigation into the ambush of Amy’s team immediately after we got word. On surveillance video we traced the attackers from the outskirts of the town to the warehouse and back,
but unfortunately their vehicles had been reported as stolen. We attempted to follow, but they disappeared into the brush. As of this moment we have not figured out where exactly they went.”

  “They couldn’t have just disappeared,” someone said.

  “No, they couldn’t,” the general replied, flipping a sheet in his notes. “These are real survivalists; there is no doubt about that. They have probably been off the grid for years somewhere right here in the United States. We neither know where they are currently, nor where they have been for the last decade. This meeting has been called because I need you to understand—and I can’t stress this enough—the importance of cooperation between the military and the mercenaries.”

  There were a couple of grunts and William Hunt out of Texas spoke up. “What about the last century, during which cooperation has been nothing but a joke?”

  “Bill, we are remedying that as well as we can,” General Brushwood stated flatly. “We all need to come together to find these people. They are both the military’s and the mercenaries’ primary target, since they pose a significant risk to the health and safety of us all. If we don’t come together there might not be anyone left to…”

  “…left to rally behind. We are constantly searching for additional intel, and as soon as we know more we will share it with you. We would appreciate it if you did the same. Thank you all for joining us, and everyone has my direct number for contact,” the general finished.

  The video ended, the chatter cutting off. Korbin, Calvin, and Katie looked over their laptops at each other and Calvin’s eyebrow arched. They shut their computers in unison and sat in silence thinking about what had just been said.

  “That is concerning,” Katie said. “But I think this is a good thing—a push toward finding the control center so we can shut it down.”

  “I agree,” Korbin replied. “But it’s also dangerous, which is why I’m glad we moved to this location. I feel more secure here, and we have the technology to do so much more.”

  “ It’s pretty sweet with the tunnel system. Like covert ops.” Calvin chuckled.

  “With Vogue-level décor.” Katie winked.

  “That was all Stephanie.” Korbin shrugged. “Not that I’m complaining! I really like the shower heads.”

  “And the new mattresses,” Katie pointed out.

  “And the new weapons locker,” Calvin added, rubbing his palms together. “It’s a beautiful room of destruction just waiting for the day it will be used.”

  Katie leaned toward Calvin. “You have a war complex,” she teased, standing up. “But we love you anyway.”

  “We all do.” He chuckled again as he stood.

  The phone rang as he and Katie started for the door and they stopped. Korbin groaned and picked up the phone.

  His answer was short. “This is Korbin.”

  “It’s Brushwood,” the voice stated loudly enough for Katie to hear. “I wanted to find out if you and some of your team could meet us at Nellis in three hours?”

  “Of course, General,” Korbin replied, looking at and Katie and Calvin. “Do we need full armor and weapons?”

  “Better bring something just in case, but don’t go overboard. We will see you there.”

  “Right,” Korbin said. “Three hours.”

  Korbin hung up and rubbed his face, then looked at the other two.

  Katie shook her head. “He is determined to work us to death, I think.”

  “He wants me and a small team to meet him at Nellis,” Korbin told them. “So I suppose we suit up and hit the helicopter. It’s not far, so take the time to make sure you have everything you need. I have no idea what we will be walking into.”

  “Just us three?” Calvin asked. “With Derek gone we are shorthanded.”

  For a moment Katie’s chest ached from the loss of her teammate as she thought about him taking his last breath on that battlefield.

  She hated that he had died, and she hated the feeling of grief. It made her want to kick ass even more.

  “I know,” Korbin said. “I’m not really sure what to do about that just yet. All the teams are hurting, that’s for sure. Amy is short four people right now, and has no idea when the three in the hospital will be back. The six of us may have to deal with everything for the time being. I have a feeling anyone brought on will go to Amy’s team until she has the numbers she needs. Needs must when the devil drives.”

  “Right.” Calvin nodded. “Katie and I will get suited up…and we’ll grab some extra gear just in case. Is there anything specific I can bring you from the locker?”

  “No,” Korbin replied. “I have my weapons in the office, but thank you. Hopefully this isn’t about a fight.”

  “All right, boss.” Katie tapped the back of her former chair. “We’ll see you in a few. And don’t let the stress get you. We need clear heads, whether this is a meeting or a fight. These aren’t our people.”

  Korbin nodded, and Calvin and Katie walked out of the office to gear up.

  They headed to the training area in silence, and Calvin split off to the armory while Katie put on her normal gear. The meeting concerned her more than she let on. She figured the changes in attacks were T’Chezz’s doing.

  I don’t know, Pandora said doubtfully.

  You don’t know what? That your brother is a psycho? Are you getting soft on me?

  Yeah, right, bitch. Pandora scowled. I just mean this sounds more like Moloch getting his greasy little fingers in the pie, not my brother.

  Who is Moloch? Katie almost didn’t want to ask the question.

  He’s a high-level demon, top eight to be exact, and extremely powerful, Pandora stated. Not only that, but he is smart as hell. He does more thinking before he finishes breakfast in the morning than T’Chezz does all week.

  Great, Katie griped, and shoved her knives into the sheaths of her vest. Just what we need…someone even more powerful than your idiot brother. I’m gonna need to buy a tank to knock him back to hell.

  Maybe, Pandora agreed seriously. But all I know is, if this is true… If it’s Moloch behind this, it’s not good. In fact, I would say the situation went from bad to dire in about three seconds.

  Katie wasn’t too keen on Pandora’s final comment.

  Moloch is no one to fuck with.

  “You think it’s an incursion call?” Stephanie asked Damian. She was watching Calvin walk toward the training center.

  “No,” Damian replied. “I mean, I could be wrong, but it’s probably a follow-up meeting after the conference call they had earlier.”

  “I forgot about that call,” Stephanie muttered. “Whatever is going on, though, it’s obvious that it’s getting crazy out there. Things aren’t like what I thought they would be.”

  “Having second thoughts?” Damian asked, one eyebrow raised.

  “No.” She waved a hand. “Just learning the ropes and reality, that’s all.”

  He looked around for his drink. “Truth is, things are different,” Damian told her, grabbing his coffee from his desk and taking a sip. The aroma reminded him of the good things in life; things that were worth saving.

  “It’s been a lot more intense lately, almost out of control. Not that it was simple before, but it wasn’t anything like this.”

  “Yet here we are.” Stephanie sipped her brew. “And now we have to figure out where to go next. Things kind of took a serious turn with the attack on Amy’s Assassins. I feel like everyone is running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

  “We are,” Damian sighed. “But the important thing to figure out is where we go from here. It won’t do us any good to focus on the others until we have control over our situation. I know Korbin wants to help everyone, but that will be impossible unless we can function on our own.”

  “So what’s our first step?” Stephanie asked.

  “Well, first and foremost, not to diss Derek’s memory, but we desperately need an IT guy. They are the foundation of our operations. They give us intel for f
uture incursions and a map of the issues in the area. We use that for black ops, spy work, and almost everything else. Unfortunately, none of us who are left have any clue how to work all that stuff. Korbin knows more than us, but he can’t run it full-time. He’s the leader. We need to find someone who can tackle it like Derek could.”

  “Either someone Damned or willing to work with us for life.” Stephanie shook her head. “That’s a needle-in-a-haystack kind of person. What about New York? They have a double-sized team. Can they spare someone?”

  “No,” Damian replied. “They have a double-sized team with a triple-sized threat area. They can barely afford for one of their team to go to the bathroom, much less come out here to help us. What about you? You seem to know a lot of people, and you have contacts everywhere.”

  “Yeah, but most of those people are manual-labor or illegal-activity contacts.” Stephanie shrugged. “Or the occasional businessmen or women who want an outlet, who will speak the right words, or moan at appropriate times. Even on the mile-long list of names I have, finding someone that fits the bill for what we need might be impossible.”

  “We’ll need to keep our eyes peeled, then.” Damian looked around before running a hand through his hair. “Intel is almost more important than the battle itself. With the demons hunting us at every turn like lions stalking prey, we could find ourselves backed right into a bloody corner.”