Free The Way Home by Shannon Flagg

work had been undone really pissed Houdini off.
    “Let's get to business. This information is only for the eyes and ears in this room. It can go no farther.” Shepard was serious; he was always serious, but these days even more so. “This morning, a group out on patrol deep in the woods found what appears to be a mass grave. The bodies inside were burned, but there's evidence of an animal attack. There's also reason to believe that the bodies belong to The Grievers.”
    “The death of an enemy is always a reason for celebration, but not today. If these bodies are The Grievers, it raises two important questions. The first: is Michael dead or alive? The second: if Michael is dead, who is behind the explosion?” Lina looked around the room. “The Council is not pleased at our lack of progress. Most of us can expect to be reassigned within the next four days. They have agreed to leave Deke, Vera, Houdini and Susan here for the time being to continue to work with the pack.”
    “Is there any word on what I asked?” Deacon questioned. Houdini had no clue what he'd asked, what he'd been thinking about. It had been too long since they'd simply sat down and talked. They'd spent hours doing that before, but maybe now so much damage had been done that they would never be that kind of friends again.
    Shepard nodded. “I was just going to get to that, Deke. The Council has agreed to your request for relocation to Center City and approved your request to take control of The Vikings again. If one thing was learned by the existence of The Grievers, it is that such a group serves a multitude of purposes.”
    Relocated to Center City? Reforming The Vikings? Houdini wouldn't be more surprised if Deke broke out in a routine straight out of Magic Mike. Deacon smiled widely, crossed the room to shake Shepard's hand and kiss Lina's cheek. “Thank you,” he told them. “This is going to be amazing for the town.”
    “That remains to be seen,” Lina pointed out. “Things seem to be working in our favor, though. I've just got a text message that Chief Will Brothers resigned his position this morning. The Center City PD shouldn't be much of a problem.”
    Vera started to clap and most of the room followed. Even the members of the pack leery of the Strays weren't going to be leery of The Vikings. They were a fixture in Center City; people who wore their cut were to be trusted, not feared.
    Houdini watched as Susan got up as well, she clapped and smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. He moved through the crowd, came up next to her and grabbed her hand. She jolted, shot him a look that should have been able to kill but said nothing.
    “We'll start by rebuilding the warehouse. Been through it a few times and most of what needs to be done is pretty simple, almost like someone didn't want the place to burn down.” Deacon seemed concerned about it. “Anyway, I need volunteers to get that started. We're going to need someone to head to Maryville, talk to the guy who did our cuts the last time.”
    “No disrespect, Pres, but there are two of us.”
    “Three,” Mike Jones, coach of the local kids' baseball team and all around nice guy, spoke up. “I'm with you, Deke, whatever it takes.”
    Other voices spoke up as well. Eddie Wainright, known simply as Eddie, had probably never fired a gun or seen action outside of a video game. Nate Ramsey had finished a five year stretch for assault about two years back; he was rumored to be a little bit crazy. Lane Harris was barely more than a kid; his face was mostly just acne.
    Altogether, it would make them six. While six was far from mighty, it was also a world better than two. For a moment, he and Deacon just looked at each other. They didn't need words; they both knew that there was no other way to revive The Vikings than with numbers. “I'll go to the warehouse, see what I can do,” Houdini offered. He was more than willing to help in any way it took. He'd shoulder as much of it as he could; it