Read Hunting Will for Free Online Page B

was not in a good mood.
    The Hunters spent their time looking down at the table, and ignored the noise as the servant was berated for some imagined fault in the preparation of the dish. The man prepared a second dish, one The Leader accepted, and the servant scurried from the room, eyes down and spirit crushed.
    Once the man finished his meal, he pushed the plate aside, drank a bit of the wine, and swirled the vintage in the crystal wine glass, studying it with well-trained eyes. “I’d prefer we had no need for this meeting,” he began, and the Hunters snapped to attention, watching his every move, listening to every word with full concentration. That was the trouble working with a boss with immense telepathic and empathic skills; he knew if your mind was wandering. “Alas, Stark is still roaming free, and my best Tracker cannot locate him. Thus, we will refocus our efforts on reducing the numbers of the Alliance. I have here a list of duplicitous traitors who need to spend some time in our cells, and have selected the first for you to capture. I do not expect failure this time, or I’ll need to start looking for new Hunters. Losing Stark is unforgivable. Losing any other rogue is intolerable. Am I clear?”
    All three Hunters nodded.
    The Leader began the Hunt briefing. “Our deserter is a man named Clint, who worked in our offices in New York City for a time. He took a vacation and did not report back in at the expected time. His biometric sensors indicate he is still very much alive, though there’s been no movement from him in the past… eighteen months.”
    Athos nodded. “Alliance pulled them out, didn’t they?”
    The Leader glared at him. “Suspicion is that, as Athos noted while interrupting, the Alliance has removed the sensors and kept them active in a fixed location to throw us off the trail. We have reason to believe that he’s provided some medical knowledge to at least one human.” He glanced down at the table. “Visual, please.”
    The table cleared, and the high definition screen surface displayed the face of the man they sought. He had dark, wispy hair and beady eyes. “Not one of our better looking gents, is he?” Porthos quipped. The others laughed.
    Athos looked at The Leader, and received a nod of permission. It was now his show.
    “Map.” The table surface cleared again, revealing a world map. “Last known residence of the fugitive is in New York City. Zoom in please, radius five hundred miles.” The map shifted, revealing a large swath of blue ocean that covered half the surface screen. “Forgot the ocean. Radius one thousand miles, land only.” The map shifted, showing New York City to the right, and the eastern third of the United States, an area comprising states as far west as the Mississippi River, to the left. “That’s our likely target area for the suspect. Please show the last known biometric sensor location, please.” A spot in New York City began flashing. “Correction: please show the last known sensor location while the suspect was still moving .” A spot began flashing in the state of Kentucky.
    Athos glanced at the others. “I suspect the Alliance must have an outpost in that area, and that the movement stopped because that’s where they removed the tracking devices. They likely teleported someone back to New York and stored them to throw us off Clint’s trail. Computer, show the exact current location of the tracking device coordinates on the map.” An image of the Statue of Liberty filled the screen, and a flickering pair of lights indicated the devices were split. One portion was hidden on Lady Liberty’s mouth, the other on her posterior.
    “Oh, I get it!” Porthos said, cackling. “The Alliance is telling us to kiss their—”
    “We get it,” Athos snapped. “I need you to Track him. We have a likely central point of origin in the state of Kentucky.”
    Porthos nodded. “Computer, remind me of this clown’s Energy scent, please.”
    The