Free Tempest by Kelly Meding

surprised if he told me we were getting help from the president himself. “Who?”
    “Her name is Mai Lynn Chang. She’s a cat shifter, so her nose will come in very handy.”
    “Like Mar—Onyx?” Aaron asked. He caught himself before using the wrong name—code names in public were still standard operating procedure—and before I could say the same thing. Onyx was also a shifter, but he was limited to three shapes: panther, raven, and black house cat.
    “Similar,” Simon replied. “Mai Lynn can take the shape of any feline she’s seen with her own eyes. After she discovered her ability as a teen, she spent a lot of time traveling and visiting zoos. She has quite a number of large cats in her repertoire.”
    Two things about the way Simon spoke of Mai Lynn did not go over my head. First, her last name was Chang, traditionally a Chinese name. Second, his voice changed when he talked about her. Softer, more familiar, like they were friends—maybe more. Simon’s exes weren’t any of my business (or of any interest to me beyond their impact on our job here), but I was crazy curious about this one.
    “Why did Mai Lynn volunteer to help us?” I asked. “What’s she get in return?”
    Simon frowned. “Why do you believe I had to trade something for her assistance?”
    Because she’s a Bane. Self-preservation kept that one in my head, and I did not look Simon in the eye. He was smart enough to know I was thinking it without using his powers on me. “So why else? Is she that bored over on Columbus Circle?”
    “Hardly. The people living there are content to stay. They’ve survived here on next to nothing for the last fifteen years, but when our powers returned, they were able to build something that can last. Even though Teresa is working toward pardons, most of them want to remain here. They’ve created a community, and they want Manhattan. They’d just prefer to have it without the fence and guards and tracking collars. But the government won’t even consider it until everyone is accounted for and interviewed, which is why we’re going out there. Mai Lynn’s assistance is a show of goodwill from the Warren residents. They want to help make this happen.”
    I waited for him to add something along the lines of “Oh, and she’s Caleb’s mother,” but he didn’t. Simon looked between me and Aaron, probably waiting for one of us to comment on his responses to my questions. I just wasn’t ready to let him off the hook. “No one else living in the Warren has powers that would be more useful to us?” I knew for a fact that there were, because I’d read the bios.
    Simon didn’t take the bait. “Of course there are, Tempest, but this was a voluntary assignment. Mai Lynn volunteered.”
    “And she gets nothing except the satisfaction of helping her community.”
    “Anything Mai Lynn gets beyond what I’ve said are between her and Warden Hudson.”
    Ding! Ladies and gentlemen, we have an under-the-table deal in our midst .
    Mai Lynn was definitely getting something extra for helping us, and it was too personal for Simon to just come out and say it. My best guess? Caleb. Eight months ago, Simon had agreed to help us in exchange for being able to take Caleb out of Manhattan and bring him to Los Angeles. I already knew he’d do anything to protect his son.
    I guessed we were going to find out if Momma Cat felt the same way about her kitten.
    “Fair enough,” I said. “So what’s the plan?”
    “A copter will take us over and drop us off in the Park, around West Sixtieth,” Simon replied. “Today we’ll go over to the Warren. You’ll meet Mai Lynn and a few other people. Take a look around and get your bearings in the city. Tomorrow we’ll start the hunt.”
    Tomorrow I start looking for you, Jinx, you murdering bastard.
    •   •   •
    The second copter ride left me unexpectedly dizzy, and it had nothing to do with the pilot’s flying skills. Being hundreds of feet in the air, hovering high