by TR Cameron
Someones. Whatever. First things first. She pointed to herself and the nearest occupied room, then to Rath and Cara and to the second. They nodded and prepared to act.
She thought through the moments ahead and decided the time for secrecy had passed. She whispered, “Stark, Khan, there are still a few on the main floor. Go in and go loud. We’ll wait until you enter to move. Guard the stairs in case the jerk decides to make a break for it again.”
When they heard the doors slam open downstairs, they all burst into motion. Diana darted into the room in front of her and found two wands aimed at the doorway as if they were waiting for her. She yelled, “Trap,” and slid to her knees. Force blasts erupted loudly as they struck the wall on the other side of the staircase behind her. She pushed up and fired her own blast of force at the man on the right, but he spun gracefully away to dodge it and put the other enemy between them. A low dresser stood near his new position, and she gave it a telekinetic push to shove it into him and managed to knock the wizard to the floor.
His partner launched another attack at her, and she sidestepped left to evade it. The move was barely in time to avoid the witch who burst through the drywall from the room beside this one, inches from where she stood. The woman crumpled against the far wall. Diana was momentarily stunned and distracted for an instant, which allowed the next force bolt to catch her and hurl her into a structural support behind her. She felt her ribs give, either broken or cracked, and slumped in an orange haze of agony.
The man’s grin was huge in her vision as he shifted his wand toward her new position. She braced herself for the blast, but he spun away suddenly as gunfire sounded and bullets drove him bleeding to the floor. The mage she’d struck with the furniture attempted to stand, made it to his knees, and conjured a shield to protect himself. Cara stepped through the witch-sized hole in the wall and her anti-magic rounds punched through his defenses. Two struck his chest and the third embedded itself in his forehead. He toppled backward without a word.
Diana tried to speak but couldn’t find her breath. Tears trickled from her eyes, and Cara knelt beside her to smoothly draw a healing potion out of her own utility belt. “Don’t panic, boss. We’ve got you.” Rath appeared, and she handed him the vial. “Make her drink this. All of this. I’ll end it.” Kayleigh must have been watching or listening in, or both, because a window popped open in her glasses to show the feed from Cara’s camera. The troll tipped the container against Diana’s lips and the liquid slipped down her throat. The magic surged through her and along her blood vessels to reach every part of her body, and she was finally able to breathe. She sipped to avoid choking as he fed her the potion a little at a time.
Cara stepped into the far room and grimaced. The Pirate Prince leaned back against the headboard, his puffy shirt unbuttoned to reveal a wealth of jewelry around his neck. His arms encircled two women, both of whom were dressed like the one Diana had disabled earlier. Cara’s rifle appeared in the field of view as she raised it and spoke in a tone edged almost with a low growl. “Anti-magic bullets. Choose your next moves wisely, as they may be your last.”
By the time Diana was able to move again with her ribs knitted back together and the wound on her arm sealed, her second in command had the trio handcuffed. The men reported from below that the downstairs area was clear, and she went in to view the bound enemy leader and gave him a nod. He returned it with something like mirth in his eyes. She looked at Cara with a question on her face, and the other woman shrugged. “Who the hell knows? He’s a kook.”
Rath bounced into the room, raced over and jumped up on the bed, and claimed the man’s hat as his own. He put the floppy tricorne on and dashed through the doorway again. Diana shook her head with a laugh. “It seems kooks abound.”
The Prince of Plunder spoke for the first time since her arrival. “I’ll want that hat back, after.”
Cara turned with a scowl. “After what? After you serve a decade or so in the Cube for being a thieving firebug? Sure, we can do that.”
He nodded. “After. Remember.”
Diana stared at him, but he didn’t flinch and merely gazed back as if interested in her. Her second in command tapped her on the arm. “He’s a kook and an idiot. Let’s get out of here.”
She followed the other woman but couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on, something she didn’t see the outlines of yet. Maybe I simply need a vacation. I wonder if BC likes the beach. Call it a work-cation. Yeah. That’d be good.
Chapter Fifteen
The team had taken a few days off after apprehending the Prince of Plunder, and even Diana had gotten some rest, pleading healing to avoid training with Nylene. The Drow had admonished her to watch her energy and sent her home with a stern gaze that spoke clearly of her disappointment in Diana’s sense of self-preservation.
Bryant had invited them all out for a meal when he passed through town on the way to DC, and the team had gathered at a downtown restaurant that specialized in barbecue. They sat at an indoor picnic table with a red-and-white checked cloth and drank local beers, laughed, and shared stories. Even Sloan had made it, although he wore an illusion necklace that Emerson had sent up in case someone wandered by who might wonder what the criminal Tommy Ketchum was up to with such an odd collection of people, not to mention a troll.
The talk was light across most of the table and mainly centered on the food once it arrived. They’d ordered one of everything to share, and there were platters of brisket and three kinds of pork, plus an apple-infused sausage and jalapeño kielbasa. There were sides of mac and cheese, fries, baked beans, and collard greens, and they used paper plates and passed the food like they were in a backyard.
The troll tasted a little of each as they came around to him and reported on whether they were acceptable to Diana. She laughed as he sampled the sausage and gave her a thumbs-up. “Rath, every single thing you’ve tried so far has been a winner.”
He shrugged. “Is good. Must eat.”
There was general laughter at that, and she tuned into a conversation that Tony and Cara were having. He said, “Look, just ask him.”
Her second in command shook her head. “I won’t go over the boss like that.”
“But it’s the right thing to do. You know it is.”
Diana frowned and threw a wadded-up napkin at Cara and caught her on the side of the head. The woman turned, and Diana asked, “What is the right thing to do, exactly?”
She rolled her eyes and looked at her conversation partner. “You’re an idiot, you know that?” He grinned, and she faced Diana again. “Tony thinks we need to tell Bryant you’re working too hard and he should make you take a vacation for a few more days.”
Her frown turned to a scowl. Despite the fact that it was an excellent idea, she didn’t like her team talking about her behind her back. She pointed at Tony. “Shut up, you.”
From the end of the table, Kayleigh yelled. “They’re right. You should totally go away for a couple of days. Far, far away. Hell, make it a week.”
Diana banged her forehead gently on the table, once, twice, then a third time for luck, and looked at Bryant, who tried and utterly failed to contain his mirth. She glared at him, and he burst into laughter. “Shut up, you too.”
He shook his head, regained control, and wiped his eyes. “You have some great people, Diana. And, actually, this isn’t entirely a pleasure stop.”
She frowned. “No?”
“No. You and I are wanted in DC. The committee requires a word with us. Apparently, they’ve been irked since the train incident but have put it off for some reason. Whatever that was, it must be all cleared up because we’re officially summoned.”
“There’s nothing like waiting until the last minute to tell me, jerk.” She grinned as she said it, not at all unhappy with the idea of a trip to DC with Bryant.
He took a delaying bite of brisket, followed by a long drink of his beer before he responded. “We were having a good time. I didn’t want t
o ruin it. If I had realized how excited everyone would be to get rid of you, though, I definitely would have said something sooner.”
“Again, to clarify, you’re a jerk.”
“So I’ve been told, mainly by you.”
She grinned. “Well, I am an expert on your particular brand of jerkiness.”
He grinned in return. “And yet you keep coming back for more. Why do you think that is?”
Diana didn’t rise to the bait. Cara, who clearly had listened the entire time, jumped into the empty conversational space with a voice that carried across the entire room. “The boss is embarrassed to admit it, but she’s totally superficial, and you do have a nice ass.” There was a moment of shocked silence from the team before everyone burst into laughter except Diana, who was busy banging her head on the table again.
Diana, Kayleigh, Bryant, and Rath were the last to leave the restaurant. Darkness had truly fallen, and she had the feeling that the regional SAC still wanted to talk, so she threw her keys to her human roommate. “Be gentle with my Mustang, woman, and make sure the short troublemaker buckles up.”
The tech’s eyes sparkled before she spun and skipped away, the troll at her side. “Let’s go before she changes her mind. She never lets me drive.” There was a pause as Rath said something Diana couldn’t hear, then the blonde’s laughing voice carried to her. “I am not reckless. I am an excellent driver. That was the other person’s mistake. Both times.”
Diana shook her head, and Bryant laughed. He asked, “What’s it like, living with those two?”
She grinned. “Actually, it’s great. Rath enjoys having another friend around, there are more people to take care of Max, and I feel more secure knowing that her systems are watching the house. Plus, Kayleigh seems to enjoy the company. I get the feeling that she could be a hermit if someone didn’t push her out of her spaces every now and again.”
He nodded. “That’s basically the reputation she had in DC—really hard worker, very focused, always at HQ. It’s good to see her flying a little freer up here.”
They crossed the big street that ran alongside the river and stopped at the railing that overlooked the water. On the opposite shore, the moon hung almost perfectly over the baseball stadium. The lights were on, and they could vaguely hear the murmur of the crowd in the distance.
Diana bumped him gently as they stood side by side, looking out at the opposite shore. “What’s the deal, Bryant? You’re not really you, lately. Is it something I did or didn’t do?”
“Nah.” He kept his gaze locked forward. “You’re good. I’m just…worried, I guess.”
“About what?”
He sighed. “About you. About your team. About the remains of the Hartford office. About everyone, honestly. I’m in charge, but I’m not actually able to do much other than run around and offer advice.” He exhaled another sigh. “To be honest, it’s as frustrating as hell.”
She turned and leaned her back against the railing. A slightly taller person could put their elbows up on it and look really cool, but she rarely wore heels anymore since one never knew when trouble would break and so didn’t quite have the reach without them. She didn’t invade his privacy by looking at him directly but gazed at the city lights instead. “I can understand that. But you’re doing what you’re supposed to do. What we all need you to do. You’ll have to trust us to handle our stuff while you handle yours.”
“That didn’t work out so well in Hartford.”
Now she did look at him and saw the pain in his eyes. “Listen, dumbass. You know in your heart of hearts that nothing you could have done would have prevented that, short of future-telling or time-traveling. If you have those abilities, to hell with you for not sharing the winning lottery numbers.” That drew a pained laugh from him. “But otherwise, suck it up, Cinderella. Get out of your fantasies and back into the game.”
He looked at her. “You’re a hard-ass sometimes, Sheen.”
She laughed. “Only towards morons who need a kick in theirs, Bates.” She pointed ahead. “Up there is a really nice bar at the top of that tall building. What do you say we take a nice relaxing walk over there, have a drink or four, and catch a Lyft back to my place?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Diana, are you suggesting we should spend the night together?”
She laughed. “In the same house, yes. You get the couch. And you’ll make breakfast while I pack for DC since you gave me zero notice. Jerk.”
The grin that spread across his face showed that his bad mood had been banished. “Deal. But you buy the first round.”
“You probably won’t get past the first round, lightweight.”
“Oh, please. In this, as in all things, you stand no chance against me.”
“Those are fighting words, BC. I don’t think you’re ready for this.” She gestured at herself and struck a dramatic pose.
He laughed. “Bring it on, sister.” She strode forward and forced him to jog to catch up, his chuckles a welcome sound.
This superficial nonsense is over. It’s time for you to learn who you’re really dealing with, Bryant Classified. Starting tonight. In bourbon, Veritas.
Chapter Sixteen
They were at the airport an hour and a half before the seven am flight to DC, the only one that would get them there in time to meet with the senators at ten-thirty. Bryant had access to the executive lounge, so they managed fancy coffees—a latte for her, a double shot of espresso for him—and still boarded before the doors closed.
It was a smallish plane with only a few rows of two seats on each side and was empty enough that they each had two to themselves and conversed across the aisle. She leaned toward him and asked, “So, what exactly are we discussing with the oversight committee?”
He sighed and shook his head. “For the hundredth time, I don’t know. They called. We answer. That’s the entire interaction so far.”
“Will that wench be there?”
He barked a laugh. “Do you mean Senator Cyphret?”
“Senator evil manipulative bag of snakes, should be.”
“I’d suggest not calling her that to her face.”
Diana grinned. “Why not? It might do her some good. I bet nobody calls her on anything.”
His expression turned serious. “It’s always possible that you’ll find yourself on the street—or worse, in the Cube or something—if you push a senator the wrong way. They tend to be very experienced at the kind of games we’re bad at, given our preference for direct action.”
The corners of her mouth curved down. “They have that much power?”
He nodded. “They do. They really, really do. Most of them are ethical enough not to take it that far since eventually, they’d probably face some kind of consequences for it. But Janet Cyphret…well, I’m not sure about either part. She might do it, and she might get away with it.”
“Gotcha. Mental note: don’t tick off the senators. Yes, ma’am, no, sir, how high should I jump?”
“Now you have it.”
“Sometimes, I think the magic we really need is mind control. Does that exist?”
Their discussion was interrupted by the steward asking for their drink choices. Both selected a Bloody Mary without alcohol. When they had some semblance of privacy again, Bryant picked up the paused conversation. “There’s been a case or two, most recently, some scumbag out in LA. But mental powers aren’t usually all that effective against magicals, so once the attempt is detected by someone with enough power, it’s basically game over.” He turned to look her in the eye. “And, of course, we have no guarantee that the senators on the committee are non-magical, even though our research so far suggests they’re purely human.”
“Well, if Cyphret has arcane powers, they’re all evil and nasty. Probably shadow. Tentacles, I bet. Ew.” She shuddered dramatically. “Hey, what if I waited at the house while you went and met with the committee?”
He shook his head. “You’ve been requested specifically. Apparently, you’re important
and stuff now.”
Diana rolled her eyes. “Awesome. This is totally the career I’ve always wanted. Thank you so much, Bryant, for making it a reality.”
He laughed. “You were warned. Fully warned. Don’t whine now if you regret your choice.”
She closed her eyes and shrugged to try to get comfortable. “The only thing I regret is the third round of drinks last night. Now be quiet while I get myself in the right headspace to meet the senators.” Do not incinerate the oversight committee. Do not incinerate the oversight committee. Do not…
They were in the same conference room as before but had entered through a different building, separated by several minutes each and wearing featureless business attire as a disguise. Again, there was no coffee and nothing on the walls except a pair of whiteboards and a display. Diana felt entirely unlike herself in the navy suit and low heels. Both Taggart and Bryant wore theirs like they were born to it. I guess sometimes having no style is a benefit. She held in both her amusement and her annoyance as the senators filed in moments after they had taken their own seats.
It was the same foursome as before. The pro-ARES politicos were Sam Somers and Aaron Finley. The anti-ARES jerks were Janet Cyphret and Winston Tomassi. They were all dressed in the politician uniform—dark suits, patriotic colors, and flag pins, one and all. Finley gave them a small head shake as he sat down and looked concerned.
Cyphret set the tone for the meeting with her first words. The woman’s beauty was on display again, the suit she wore probably as expensive as any ten things in the fancy side of Diana’s closet combined, and her dark hair fell in perfect waves around her flawless face. She had a slight southern accent, whether a put-on for her constituents in South Carolina or real, Diana was unequipped to judge. All she knew was that everything about the woman was annoying, including her happy little Dixie lilt. “So, Agents, we’re gathered again in the wake of one of your failures.” The senator shook her head in false sadness. “It seems like that’s all your agency can manage of late.”
