by TR Cameron
A furious troll raced into the room and made a beeline for the wizard. Vincente had no time to react when he finally noticed his new adversary and absorbed a series of six sharp blows from his batons to his knees, arms, and chest. The batons sparked as Rath shoved them into the mage, but incredibly, the enemy laughed. The shadow attacks on Diana failed as the man swatted his diminutive assailant away with his magic. The burned fabric of his clothes revealed some sort of chest piece underneath, and she realized it must be nonconductive and so dissipated the stun before it could damage him.
Bullets drilled into the wizard’s chest, halted his laughter, and drove him back even though they didn’t penetrate. Bryant slumped against the door. He looked whole but exhausted and his carbine drooped to point downward, but it was enough. Diana emerged from her protective shield and charged Vincente with a shout, leapt into a kick, and delivered the heel of her foot into his collarbone. She felt it break, and his head thunked back against the floor as she landed on top of him. Blood pooled from beneath his skull, and his eyes flickered closed.
She sighed and rolled off to lay beside him, avoided the spreading crimson, and stared at the ceiling that was scorched and pitted from the day’s events. I’m remarkably undamaged, despite being totally exhausted. Maybe I’m getting better at this stuff. She pushed herself up on her elbows and looked at Rath and Bryant, who were together at the far wall. The man reached down a hand that the troll used to climb to his feet.
They both wore defeated looks on their faces, which didn’t make any sense at all. She searched her mind for something clever to say to buoy their spirits when the catalyst for those expressions made itself known in a deep, gravelly Kilomean voice she had truly hoped never to have to hear again.
“Hello, Sheen. How about that round three?”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Diana rolled over with a groan, away from Cresnan, and snagged the energy potion from her belt. She drank it in fast gulps, then let the vial fall with a wink at Rath and Bryant. They both nodded almost imperceptibly and she pushed up smoothly as the draught’s potent contents surged through her to eliminate her exhaustion and banish the aches and pains of the moment before.
Her movements were deliberately slow so her opponent wouldn’t realize how good she felt. She wanted to dance, she had so much power flowing through her. Jeez. It would be really easy to get addicted to this stuff. She nodded her head. “Cresnan. Imagine meeting you here.” He seemed larger and hairier than before and resembled a fairy tale giant even more than he had previously. She estimated he was a little shorter than Rath at his biggest.
He grinned, and so did the six Kilomea behind him. “We’ve come for the witch and the wizard.”
She shook her head. “Nope, that won’t happen. Do you really want all your people to die? I warn you, I’ve become much, much stronger since the last time we met, and that one didn’t go all that well for you.”
The ones on either side of him growled and stepped forward, but he stopped them with a laugh. “I warned you she has a sharp tongue, did I not?” The rest of the crowd joined in his laughter. Apparently, being imprisoned gave the big chucklehead some sort of status with them. “I have a counteroffer I think you might like.”
Diana nodded. “Let’s hear it.”
He shrugged. “You and I. Hand to hand. No weapons. You win, we go without killing your friends over there. I win, you die, but your friends get to live.”
Bryant whispered over the comms, “I can shoot them.”
“Can’t,” Rath interjected immediately after. “Already exhausted. Will miss.”
The man sighed. “I can probably shoot them.”
“Rath fighting mode available.” The troll snickered.
Diana considered the odds but concluded Bryant was too squishy right now to risk it. “Okay, big C, you have a deal. However, I need your word and those of your people that these terms stand regardless of the outcome. There’s no going back on the deal if I beat you, and no using our fight as cover to attack them.”
“You would trust my word?”
“I’m aware of your species’ history as noble hunters. Despite choosing the wrong team, I hope that you retain some of that honor. Also, if you break the rules, I’ll turn every last one of you into a pile of ash before you know what hit you.” The only reason she wasn’t doing that already was the fear that someone would get in a lucky shot on Bryant or Rath. Her inner voice, which had left her mostly alone during the fun at the Cube, chimed in. Plus, you’re an arrogant idiot who simply wants to kick his ass.
Okay, sure, plus that.
He nodded. “You have it. And theirs as well.” The others gave various signals of assent. Diana was confident that one of them was also a Kilomean obscene gesture, but it was close enough.
She made a show of removing her carbine, arm plates, jacket, and shock gloves, then of detaching and removing her vest. The tunic showed her muscles. Several trembled with the energy imparted by the potion. She looked at Bryant and noticed the appreciation in his eyes. When he saw her looking, he merely gave her a small smile and a shrug. She grinned and turned to Cresnan.
“Tell your people to get over there.” She pointed at the furthest spot in the room away from her teammates. “If I see them take a single step, the deal’s off and you’re all dead.”
One of them, gruffer-voiced than Cresnan, replied “And if you cheat, nothing will stop us from hunting and killing your friends. Even if we die, the rest of the pack will avenge us.”
She nodded. “We’re clear.”
Her foe stepped away from the others and waved them toward the designated location. “We are. You and I, no tricks, as it should be.”
She circled, and he matched her on the opposite side. A slow spiral brought them closer together with each step. Each feinted, but at this distance, the result was nothing more than a laugh from their opponent. He looked happy for some reason. She frowned. “Why so giddy, gigantor?”
He laughed. “Either way, I win. Our objective is achieved and I defeat you once and for all, or you defeat me and I no longer have to live with the knowledge that I’ve been bested, only that I’ve given my life in service of something bigger.”
She snorted. “You think busting that idiot out of jail is something bigger? Please. Plus, it doesn’t look like he’ll make it, anyway.”
He charged and delivered a two-fisted punch directly at her forehead. She bent backward and turned it into a flip kick to bring her boots up at his chin. He shifted his head barely enough to avoid the blow, and she pushed off her hands to finish the move and land facing him. He was there already, too close, and swung an elbow at her face. She dropped, and it deflected off her head. She fired a weak jab at his groin only to discover that he wore protection under the ragged torn-off bottoms of his prison jumpsuit.
Diana dove to her right to avoid the knee he threw at her and came up bouncing. “Hey, no fair.”
He shrugged. “You still have your leg armor and boots. If you prefer to do this naked instead, I’m game.”
She shuddered and raised a hand to point at Bryant without taking her eyes off her opponent. “Shut up, you.” To the Kilomea, she replied, “Uh, no thanks, I’ve seen all of you that I want to. Ever.”
He let his fists do the talking in reply and waded in like a boxer. She circled out of his path and snapped a roundhouse kick at his ribs, but he brought down an elbow to block it. As soon as she set the foot down, she pivoted and swung it back at his solar plexus in a sidekick, but he twisted away and blocked with the other elbow. He swiped a hook at her head and she ducked, but he delivered a jab to her chest that felt as if he’d punched her in the heart.
She staggered back in shock, and he lurched forward. Her instincts warned her that he would pick her up and smash her on the ground in a primal dominance display rather than simply hitting her again. Literally adding insult to injury. Scumbag. She remembered being in a similar situation before, and even though he was bigger, she’d gotten
far stronger since her time in DC.
Cresnan grasped her tunic and she fell backward, put both feet on his hips, and levered him up over her head in a flawless Tomoe-nage. His fists tore her shirt across the chest as he tried to control his trajectory, and she slid her own hands up to grip his wrists and shorten his flight.
He landed hard and exhaled loudly as his breath slammed from his lungs. Diana rolled and brought his wrists with her to twist his elbows. The move put one of them against the other, and she threw herself forward and shoved the joint in a direction it shouldn’t go to break the nearer elbow against the other. He howled in agony, and she rose to her feet and massaged the huge area of pain in her chest. She looked down, noticed her shirt was ripped, and said a small silly prayer of thanks that she’d worn a sports bra that day.
“Stay down, Sasquatch. This is your only warning.”
He struggled to stand but swayed on his feet. “No. Death in battle for one of us is the only acceptable outcome.”
“How about we change the deal? Your friends leave, you go back to prison, no one dies, and we keep the witch and the wizard.”
The Kilomea charged with a roar, and she dodged and tripped him with a sharp kick to the shins. He went down in a bundle of arms and legs and screamed again as his shattered elbow met the floor. She looked at him sadly. “You lose again.” A strange hum began and a grin spread on his face. “Only because you think you know what game I was playing.”
A whooshing sound caught her attention as a portal opened in the corner of the room. A blast of force erupted from it at chest level to hurl both Diana and Bryant into the wall beside one another. She managed to prevent damage to both of them by using her telekinesis to mitigate the impact. A tall figure stepped through, clad in what appeared to be medieval armor including an ornate helmet that covered the top half of his face. She recognized it immediately and looked at Bryant. “Uh-oh.”
He replied, “Is that the stuff? From the train?” She nodded.
The six Kilomea ran to the opening and jumped through, and the figure raised a hand and floated the witch after them. He laughed deeply at the remaining figures in the room. Diana sent fireballs at him, and he batted them aside negligently with shadow tentacles faster than any she’d seen. He raised a palm to her. “Out of respect for the Kilomea’s promise, you live to see another day. A stupid strategy, but he served his purpose.”
He lifted the wounded giant and Diana growled at the thought that Cresnan would get away again. But instead of a rescue, the man threw the Kilomea against the wall, the sharp crash a clear sign that there would be no round four. “And so he is punished for creating a situation where I cannot end you.” He shook his head at the other body on the floor. “Vincente, too, has earned his fate.”
He backed into the portal with a wave. “See you soon, Agent Diana Sheen.”
Diana slumped against the wall and slid down next to Bryant. Rath came over and sat beside her. She sighed. “I’m not sure whether that was a win or a loss.”
Rath answered. “If alive, definitely a win. For them?” He gestured at the bodies around them. “Definitely a loss.”
She nodded. “You’re right. Now, help me up and let’s get the hell out of here. No doubt there’s more work to be done.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
The week after the incident at the Cube passed by in a blur. Diana spent the first day asleep, as did Bryant, recovering from the stress the potions put on their systems. The rest of the team had received treatment for scrapes and bruises, and Cara for her broken nose and cracked ribs. Tony texted her hourly to tease her and Anik sent an edible fruit arrangement.
Diana sensed that there was something between him and Cara but was not inclined to press for details. She wished happiness for all her people in whatever way they could find it. As long as it didn’t impede their ability to work, of course. His gift-giving inspired her, though, and she paid a Willen a necklace she rather liked to take one of the fruit baskets to Nylene.
The fallout from the battle was beyond disappointing, and the only positive was the capture of some low-level thugs and the dispatching of Cresnan and Vincente. The guards at the far side of the tunnel were unable to prevent the escape, as they were ambushed upon arrival—which pointed to another serious information leak. Sloan had managed to call immediately after to let them know he’d been there but avoided most of the combat by volunteering to be transport. He’d only arrived after they’d already eliminated the defenders. They had all agreed that as much as everyone involved hated the idea, he should stay undercover with the group.
She and Bryant had headed to DC the first day they were physically able to do so. The discovery that Taggart had been attacked and was in a coma came to them in the same hour they learned that Bryant’s apartment had been blown up in Hartford, both attacks timed with Lisa’s kidnapping.
He stayed at a hotel and spent his days making sure ARES continued running seamlessly. She worked with the oversight committee and shared her evenings with Lisa at the house. Her friend claimed to be okay, but several times, Diana heard her moan and wake in her bedroom in the middle of the night. She was worried but didn’t want to push. Instead, she simply tried to make it clear that she was completely available to talk about it.
She’d entrusted Rath with a vital mission before leaving. After Vincente died, a twitching snake had emerged from his stomach and transformed to merely metal and gems, a beautiful item. She knew it was one of the prized Rhazdon artifacts the instant it appeared, and its presence explained a number of things and the tentacles, in particular. Her initial desire was to burn it immediately, but Bryant had cautioned her against it, as neither of them had any idea how to deal with it safely.
As it turned out, Rath did. He’d discussed it with someone named Emanuel, who had one in his possession already and considered it his calling to keep artifacts hidden and safe. The troll agreed to deliver it to the man. Diana’s first reaction was to think it would be better off in an ARES vault, but given the inside information that must have provoked Lisa’s kidnapping, she was unwilling to trust the organization any more than necessary. All the people on the ground were great, but the oversight committee? Well, there were some significant questions that would soon require honest answers if ARES was to continue.
The Cube was now officially a thing of the past and the senators had written it off as a failed experiment. All the prisoners would be transferred to Ultramaxes and the building itself would be imploded and buried. Anik, naturally, had volunteered to assist.
She knew there was sure to be another uprising, another fight, or another challenge down the line. But for tonight, Diana had put all that on hold. It had taken her an hour to get ready, which was at least thirty minutes longer than usual. Her hair fell in waves, her makeup was noticeable, and in place of jeans and a t-shirt, she wore high black boots that rose to below her knees and a tight black dress that stopped just above them. It gathered with a string around her neck and left her shoulders and arms bare. She’d applied coverup over the remaining scratches and bruises to avoid ruining the effect and finished her preparations with a light spray of Fracas perfume. So appropriate.
She steered the rented Dodge Charger in front of the doors to the ARES DC headquarters and leaned over to open the door for Bryant. He was in his work uniform, a navy suit that looked perfect on him, a pure white shirt, and a dark scarlet tie. My, patriotism can indeed be sexy. He slid in and gave her a smile. “This is all very mysterious. Calling out of nowhere and telling me to be outside at a certain time. Are you a spy or something?”
She lowered her sunglasses and batted her eyelashes. “FBI Agent Diana Sheen, sir. We need to ask you some questions.”
He laughed, and they sang along to the classic rock station as she drove to their destination, a fancy restaurant off the lobby of a fancier hotel. She’d called ahead and ordered for them both—shared charcuterie as an appetizer followed by salads, steaks, and a shared dessert, each course paired
with the perfect wine and topped off with an espresso to finish. They kept their conversation personal and avoided work topics by mutual agreement, simply two normal people celebrating the pleasures of being alive.
As they sauntered out to the lobby, Diana stopped Bryant before he headed to the exit. “I decided that since I’d be drinking, I’d stay here tonight. Walk me to the elevator?”
He gave her a quizzical look but shrugged and walked beside her to the lifts. Diana swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat. Idiot. You’ve got this. She coughed slightly as she pressed the call button. She turned to face him. “I have a secret to share from the last battle.”
He laughed and teased her. “I thought work was off limits. Way to screw up a lovely evening, Sheen. Okay, you might as well tell me.”
“During the fight, Vincente was mocking me. He said something about you being my boyfriend.” The elevator dinged, and the doors opened on an empty car. Perfect timing. She turned and walked inside, putting an extra sway in her hips, knowing the heels on her high boots would do good things for her figure.
He followed her and stood in the doorway, one hand up to prevent the door from shutting. He still looked confused. The voice of the Oracle from The Matrix came to mind. Not too bright, though. “And?”
She smiled. “Well, I thought maybe I’d like to try that out.” She reached forward and pressed the button for her floor. He blinked, and she rolled her eyes. “Get your ass in the elevator and kiss me like you mean it, Bates.” His laugh was deep and throaty as he stepped inside and obeyed her order to the letter.
The story doesn’t end here. Follow Diana, Rath and FAM’s adventures in COVERT OPS.
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