by TR Cameron
He called his boss, who picked up after a single ring. “They’re on the way home to the location you mentioned earlier.”
“Perfect. Our part is done. Come on down and have a drink.”
He killed the call and put the phone back in his pocket with one last look in the direction the women had gone. I don’t know what’s in store for them, or when it’s supposed to happen, but I can’t imagine it’ll be good. It’s too bad, too, because they’re both fine-lookin' ladies.
Chapter Eighteen
With Diana out of town, Rath and Kayleigh had spent quality time together, both at the office and at home, and discussed his particular needs for gear. He had pushed for a suit of armor like Iron Man’s—the cool one that came out of the briefcase in the second movie—and had evidently decided that he could wear something that would hold it. At least until nanotechnology is ready for Iron Troll.
Kayleigh had suggested it might be something of an overreach given their budget and staffing, and Rath had grudgingly surrendered on the matter during their drive to the HQ building. Once they were comfortably seated in her domain, the conversation turned to the flight gear. The tech asked, “So, is the interface between Gwen and the equipment fast enough? The data I’ve reviewed looks good.”
He nodded. “All things Gwen are shiny.”
“Are any improvements needed?” She smiled.
“More grenades.”
Kayleigh shook her head. “You’d have to give something up for them. There’s no space and no weight to spare.” She’d suggested he might want to remain a touch smaller so the wings could carry more load. Rath was unwilling to change from what he considered optimal, so they’d moved on. “Okay, how about the grappling hook?”
The troll shrugged. “Cables are a little floppy. Otherwise fine.”
“Yeah, that has been a problem for everyone. I think I have a solution for them but I’m not sure how we can do that for you. Creating a breakaway tunic is more difficult than it seems.”
“Velcro. Works everywhere else.”
She nodded. “That’s the idea, but you’re last on the list for that, I’m afraid. It’s a minor issue anyway, right?”
“Yep.”
“Okay…so AI, flight, and grapnel gun are all good. Three boxes checked. How are the batons?”
“Bigger shock is great. Fewer shocks is not awesome.”
The tech shrugged. “It’s all about the weight. If you want to carry more batteries, I can make the charges last longer.”
He shook his head. “Have to be able to move.”
“Then you get what you get. Quit complaining.” They laughed together. She pulled out a wide black strap secured with Velcro at the front and a host of other things attached. “But I have done some work to optimize your utility belt, so that’s something.” He leaned forward eagerly as she spread it flat on the table between them. “We still have the essentials. Here and here are the loops for your holsters. Flashlight, zip-ties, air supply for the grapnel gun, and comm repeater are all in the usual places. I’ve managed to shrink version two of the compressor a little.”
Rath nodded. “Excellent. Every bit helps.”
She gave him a smile in return. “That’s what I like about you. Always looking on the bright side of things.”
“All problems can be solved with Maximum Effort.”
“From Serenity to Deadpool. Quite a shift there, my friend.” She shook her head and pointed at an item on the belt. “This is an even smaller version of the computer interface I designed for the others. If you use it, you’ll need to stay reasonably close as it doesn’t have the range.” She looked up. “Tradeoffs, right? Always tradeoffs.”
He nodded, and she slid the device back into its pouch and pushed the Velcro seal down to secure it. She retrieved a flat black rectangle and showed it to him. “I’ve been concerned that you don’t have a fallback weapon like the others, but clearly, a Ruger isn’t the proper choice size-wise. I asked Ems for help, and he created this.” She handed it over.
Rath accepted it and turned the object over in his palms. It wasn’t particularly heavy but was clearly composed of metal. Two buttons adorned the top, left and right near one end, and a groove that a curved finger fit into perfectly had been shaped on the underside.
Kayleigh pointed at the front. “You have two shots. The range is fairly short since the barrels are so small. The indentation in the bottom is the safety and it must be filled to fire. Pressing the button shoots. It takes standard anti-magic rounds.”
“Ooh. Nice.”
Kayleigh looked uncomfortable. “Be careful. It’s gone through a fair amount of testing, of course, but is probably less safe than a larger gun would be.”
He nodded. “Gotcha. Thanks to Emerson.”
“I’ll tell him you said so.” She accepted it from him and slid it into its narrow pouch, then pointed at two other thin receptacles. “For potions, if Diana ever gets her act together and finds you some.” She sighed. “I know. It’s not her fault. Troll physiology is different. But you’d think that since the damn things are magical and you’re magical, acquiring one would be easier rather than harder.”
Rath tilted his head. “Are you okay?”
The tech crossed her arms on the table, set her chin on them, and looked him in the eye. “I’m fine. But sometimes, it’s a little hard to be safe here when y’all are out there and risk your lives. I want to be sure you’re as protected as possible.”
“Doing all you can.”
“Yeah. I know. But I’m coming to the uncomfortable conclusion that I might not be able to handle all this myself, despite my total awesomeness and all.”
The troll laughed, and after a moment, she joined in. He patted her on the arm. “It takes a village. Not a Batman.” Her chuckles turned into real laughter and she raised her head again.
“All right, movie man, I get your point. So, we’ve been over the holdout pistol. It doesn’t have a field reload—you basically have to take it apart to rearm it. So use it wisely.” He nodded. “One last item for the belt, and I think you’ll like it.” She retrieved a thin tube, about as big as a collapsed baton, with a cap on one end, a hole on the other, and a button on the top. “You wanted an invisible tracking method and you got an invisible tracking method.” She pointed the open side toward the far wall and pressed the button. There was a soft puff of air, then nothing. She handed him another device, which resembled a half-size smartphone. On the screen was a map with a small dot.
“Nice. Truly invisible?”
She shook her head. “We can see the trace with our glasses as long as they’re in the proper mode. It’s a harmless radioactive liquid. The carrier evaporates almost immediately when the tiny bubbles that contain it burst and leave the signature behind. You have to be reasonably close to detect it, and the residue only lasts an hour or so, but it’ll do what you want. I’ll upgrade the drones as they cycle through maintenance to add detection capability. They should provide good coverage once we have them all reconfigured.”
He nodded. “Excellent. Could not be better.”
She grinned. “Oh, you’re wrong there, it could be better. Which is why I made these for you.” She reached under the desk and pulled out a boot, which looked like it would reach just under his knee. “Yes, I know, weight. This is obviously only one of a pair. But they’re really light, all things considered. They have armor plates on the shin and instep to make your kicks hurt more. Throwing knives are tucked in the back, just in case. But neither of those is the best part. In fact, there are two best parts.”
She set it down on the desk between them, grabbed the sides, and pulled. It telescoped apart and the metal frame extended in all directions. “They’ll grow with you, unlike the rest of your gear, if you need to go big.” Rath reached out to touch it, impressed at the construction.
“Still strong?”
Kayleigh shrugged. “Not as strong as when in compact mode but still substantial enough that they shouldn’t fail
under most normal situations. And yes, normal includes kicking and punching and jumping and all the other crazy stuff you people do.” She wore a wide grin now, and he couldn’t help smiling with her. She’s happiest when she’s doing good things for us. A perfect teammate. The push of a button on the side shrank it down to a size appropriate for his most common form again.
She paused and looked him in the eye. “Here’s the best part. And before I show you, know that Diana will likely hate this, and we’ll probably have to work together to convince her that it’s a safe thing and a good idea.” She grabbed the matching boot from under the desk and set the two beside one another, then snapped the inner sides of the heels together like Dorothy clicking her ruby slippers.
A pop sounded and both boots bounced up simultaneously. Rath put his cheek on the desk to look, and his eyes widened. “You didn’t.”
“I did.”
He grinned. “Roller troll! How many wheels?”
“Four on each, big enough to keep you moving but not enough to hinder you setting down your toe or your heel. You’ll need to practice with them.” He nodded and pushed back the urge to grab the boots and put them on right there. “Also, they’re wireless, so Gwen can deploy or retract them for you if needed.”
“Amazing. Awesome.” He looked toward the door, and Kayleigh laughed.
“Take them and go. I’d suggest practicing in the tunnel. It’s fairly flat and there isn’t too much stuff around to destroy if you crash into it.”
He snatched the boots and hugged them to his chest, then turned to the tech. “Thank you.”
She waved at him. “Get out and quit bothering me. I have work to do.” She couldn’t hide the huge grin on her face, though, and Rath knew she felt good about this accomplishment. As he left the room, he shouted “I feel the need. The need for speed!” Kayleigh’s groan followed him into the hall.
Chapter Nineteen
Rath checked with Max to ensure that the new belt wasn’t too heavy for him, but the dog seemed fine with it and barked happily once he was fully outfitted. The Borzoi’s harness now held the quick-draw holsters for his batons, tie-downs for his folded-over utility belt, and the collar rings for the troll to use when riding. His interface necklace was carefully stored in a pouch on the side with his full-sized comm gear.
They were running at the moment, purely for fun. The world passed by in a blur as Max dashed along in the grass between the University buildings, headed for the antique shop again. Rath looked forward to seeing Manny and had received an invitation to visit by actual mail at the house. Diana had asked how anyone knew his address, and he’d shrugged. “Professor Charlotte has her ways.” Or maybe Emanuel considered me another lost thing he somehow magically found, and the address is part of that.
In any case, the man had expressed a desire to see him whenever his schedule allowed, and today was mostly free now that Rath had tired of testing his new boots in the parking garage tunnel. He regretted that they were too heavy for Max but knew they’d be valuable additions to his nighttime solo patrols. As they emerged onto the sidewalk on the far side of their shortcut, a small chime sounded in his earpiece.
Rath frowned and jumped down. He grew to his three-foot size, put away his tiny earbuds, and donned his headset and AI interface. As soon as he settled it into place, Gwen’s feminine tones announced, “There’s a problem in your area.”
She’s never alerted me like this before. That’s weird. I thought when she wasn’t being worn, she wasn’t active. Guess not. “What is?”
“Silent alarms from the bank nearby. One indicates a break-in. The other says there are hostages involved.”
“Not good.”
“Agreed. The authorities are on their way.”
He turned to his partner. “Should probably leave it to police. Right?”
The dog growled, as clear a negative as Rath had ever received from him.
“Excellent. Agree. We go in.” He looked around. “Gwen, which direction?”
“Thirty-seven degrees to the right, two blocks. That will bring you in from the back of the building.”
“Perfect.” He donned his belt, pulled the batons free from the dog’s carrier, and slid them into the holsters on each leg. “Let’s move.”
Rath ran toward the bank. The AI had provided a vector that routed him out of sight of the public, so he didn’t need to worry about anyone acting strangely over a speedy troll. Max kept up without a problem and they were soon at the building. He frowned at the back door which had no apparent means of entry. “Gwen?”
“Scanning.” He tapped his foot during the slight pause that followed. “Scan complete. There is an electronic keypad hidden under a metal plate that requires a key to open. It is likely the access to unlock the door.”
He frowned. “Connect to Kayleigh.”
After another pause, the tech spoke in his headphones. “What’s up, Rath?”
“Bank break-in. Going to help. Need lock assist.”
“Should you do that? Wait, never mind.” Like Diana, the technician was sometimes a little overprotective. And, like Diana, she was working on it. “We’re talking something electronic, right? Because I can’t do much for you otherwise.”
“Yep.”
“Okay, first things first. Pull out the computer block.” He did, and she chuckled. “Wow. The exterior security camera network is lame. They’re offline already, anyway. Put the device as close as you can and stay beside it.” Rath crossed the small alley that ran between his hiding place and the bank’s rear entry and placed the compact black rectangle against the metal panel. “Okay, I have the electronics. Let’s see if I can get in there.” Her fingers tapped on a keyboard, the only sound in the short silence that ensued. “Sheesh, damn, that thing’s ancient. It’s not hackable. But it might be possible to short it out. Is this the only option?”
He looked at the featureless wall above him and knew he couldn’t go in the front entrance because they’d be watching it. Not to mention the police and probably TV people. “Yep.”
“Okay. Put the block away so you don’t hurt it and strike the plate with both your batons. It has a reasonable chance to work. This is exactly why most banks upgraded their systems a decade ago.” He pictured her shaking her head in disgust, and it made him smile. He stowed the device and flicked his weapons open, placed them against the panel, and pressed the buttons together.
After the loud snap when they activated, the door clicked. Rath pulled on it, and it swung free. “I’m in.”
Kayleigh’s concern was clear. “Don’t do anything stupid, okay? Diana would never forgive either of us.”
“No worries. Only going to help if I can.”
“You’re not Batman, remember.”
“Iron Troll.”
“Not even. Far more squishy than that.”
He dropped the banter as he snuck inside and Max padded along behind him. Rath trusted that Gwen and Kayleigh would let him know if there were electronic alarms or traps and focused on remaining stealthy. He crept through several office areas, then slipped into the last one to peek around the corner into the lobby.
The bank had a three-story ceiling with a transparent roof. Couldn’t be glass. That would be really stupid. A metal grid crossed it about halfway up to provide support for the fancy lights that hung down on chains. The result was a brightly lit marble public area with ancient-looking barred teller stations. Three men in masks were positioned behind a wall of innocents who stood near the front windows. Through gaps in the line, the street beyond was visible, filled with police cars flashing their red and blue strobes.
Kayleigh’s voice sounded in his ear. “SWAT has arrived. I’m watching and listening on the police feeds, and I’ve sent a drone your way. They’ll call to negotiate soon.” Rath didn’t reply and simply kept his eyes and ears open.
One of the men gathered money from the tellers’ drawers into a big duffel bag. Another had disappeared down a flight of stairs with a hostage a moment
before, presumably to access a vault below. The third marched behind the cover provided by the bank patrons and kept them in line by yelling threats and promising injury to anyone who failed to obey.
The troll looked at Max, who sat quietly near him in the office. “I’ll take a look downstairs. You stay here. If there’s trouble, run away. If you see me wave at you, run away. If you see me pretend to clap my hands together like this”—he demonstrated—“I want you to bark and run away. Got it?” The Borzoi licked his hand once in reply, and Rath patted him on the head. “You’re the best partner ever, Maxie.”
Kayleigh spoke over the comm. “Police said the thieves have disabled the cameras inside the building too, so give the criminals credit for that, at least. If they only turned them off, I should be able to hack them if you get the block close enough. If they killed the power, there isn’t much I can do. In a place like that, they’re probably recording on VHS or Beta or something.” He peered up into the corner and saw one of the rectangles with a small lens on the front and a light on the top that apparently should have been lit but was dark.
Ahead, a railing prevented people from walking into the area where the stairs led down from the opposite direction. It was an expensive-looking, ornate golden barrier, and would make what he was about to do that much more difficult. He retracted and holstered his batons, took a moment to wish he’d carried some of his night gear, especially the grapnel, then let it go. Must live in the now. I am rooted in the me that is on this adventure. He laughed quietly at his own joke, and as the man who gathered the money bent behind the counter, made his move.
The troll dashed forward and leapt at the barrier, gripped the top, and used it to flip over, then released it with a twist to face back the way he had come. He landed softly about three-quarters of the way down the staircase and descended the rest with quick steps so he wouldn’t be seen from above. A small guard desk, unoccupied, stood off to the side of a large circular door. He ducked to put the furniture between him and the vault and peered over it.
