by Amy Hopkins
No one knew exactly how Steele had been caught or who had delivered the pair to the Academy. Penny had her suspicions, but they were just that. Certainly, there wasn’t enough proof to indulge Crenel with her theory. After all, it sounded entirely mad.
“Oh, spectacular, I’m sure.” Crenel finally lit the cigarette dangling from his mouth, only to hastily stub it out in an ashtray hidden in his drawer when the door to his office opened.
“Do I look like an idiot?” Dean March wore a look of well-worn patience. “I can smell it from here.”
“You said you’d better not see me,” Crenel began.
“Yes, yes.” March waved him off impatiently. “Your friends would like to see you, Penny. Do you feel up to it?”
Penny jumped to her feet, almost dropping Boots in her haste. “Hell, yes.” She’d been locked in Crenel’s office for almost two hours.
“Well, then, unless you’re under arrest?” She cocked an eyebrow at her husband, who scowled back and plucked a new cigarette from his packet. March sighed and shook her head but stayed silent as she gently closed the door after Penny.
“Thanks for the rescue,” Penny told her as Boots made herself comfortable on her shoulders. “Any word on Trevor?”
“Perfectly healthy,” Dean March replied. “But, like you and Cisco, he has no memory of the events that occurred.”
“Oh.” Penny wondered if she’d ever know what had gone on after the video feed had cut off. “Where are they?”
“In your room.” Dean March pointed toward the hallway Penny would need to take to get there. “Take care, dear.”
“You too, Dean March.” Penny walked quickly, Boots wriggling to show her own excitement.
Unlike when she’d left, the room was spotless—except for the cluster of people sprawled on the floor and draped over beds. Amelia, Cisco, Red, Trevor, and Jessie all looked up as she entered.
“There she is!” Amelia quickly moved over to give Penny room to sit on her bed. “I can’t believe the old bastard grilled you for so long!”
“At least he’s got it out of his system,” Penny told her gratefully. “He’s closed the case, so I won’t have to put up with any more questions. That means I can ask, what in the hell did I do in there?”
Penny had seen the bodycam footage—she and half the world, it seemed. It had been a surreal experience to hear her own voice and even catch glimpses of her reflection all kitted out in her assault gear when she had no memory of what had happened.
The footage itself wasn’t what bothered her, it was what came after. And before. “How in the hells did I patch a bodycam into a blog?” she asked. Her eyes slipped to Jessie. “Did you have something to do with that?”
Jessie flicked her hand up, examining her nails. “That serum really did a number on you, huh?”
“Serum?” Penny frowned. “I don’t remember—”
“Because it was an amnesia serum, dummy!” Jessie rolled onto her knees. “After the bodycam switched off, you made a deal with Mister Matrix. You said you’d pretend you forgot everything you saw if he did you a favor.”
“What favor?” Penny already had a hunch, but Jessie was clearly enjoying her role as an informant.
“You told him how your friend got nabbed by some crazy lady. If he tracked down Steele and Boots, you wouldn’t respond to any questions.” Jessie grinned proudly.
“And instead of trusting my word, he made me take the serum,” Penny finished. “Damn. I was really dumb. What if he hadn’t come through?”
“Oh, you already knew I was listening,” Jessie explained. “You called me before you went in. You gave me Amelia’s login details—”
“Which I’ve already changed,” Amelia pointed out.
“And asked me to patch the cam stream to her live channel,” Jessie finished. “Also, Amelia, you really need a better password. K9sRhot2020? I cracked that in under half a minute.”
Amelia glowed red and mumbled something about nosey teenagers.
Cisco had watched the exchange in awe. “I don’t remember any of that. Penny, did you really set all that up? You’re a freaking genius!”
Jessie’s jaw dropped, outrage written all over her face. “What am I, a pork chop?”
“I mean, you’re both geniuses. Genii?” Cisco shook his head. “You’re both really clever.”
“Of course we are,” Jessie stated primly. “We’re girls.”
“You’re forgetting who found Polybius in the first place.” Trevor still looked a little pale, but otherwise well. “Who knows how many people they might have kidnapped and experimented on if I hadn’t?”
“Yeah, well, you’re not like other boys.” Jessie smirked at Trevor, whose white cheeks immediately turned scarlet.
“Hold up,” Amelia interrupted. “Do you two have a thing going on?”
“Yes,” Jessie replied as Trevor mumbled, “No!”
Jessie rolled her eyes. “We’re still working out the details.”
“You dawg.” Cisco shoved Trevor, misjudging his friend’s balance and sending him sprawling on the floor. “Uh, sorry.”
Penny ignored the withering glare Jessie shot at Cisco. “So what about Boots? Crenel told me she’d been dropped off at the door, but he wasn’t exactly forthcoming with information.”
“That is a whole other story,” Amelia told her, eyes sparkling. “Steele was trying to flee the country! Crenel told me that she was delivered back to us with a full suitcase and her passport and plane ticket glued to her forehead.”
“Oh, Boots.” The thought of losing her friend tore at Penny’s heart. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Boots butted her face against Penny’s chin.
Amelia brushed off Penny’s concern. “Crenel had flagged Steele’s passport moments before she appeared. If she’d made the flight, she’d have stepped off the plane in New Zealand to an arrest warrant.”
“Thank you.” Penny wrapped an arm around Amelia. “I’m sorry for putting you in that position. Did you figure out what my message meant?”
Amelia nodded. “You’re nowhere near as bad as Cisco at secret codes.”
“Hey!” Cisco straightened. “I… okay, that’s actually a really fair point.” He shot Jessie a salty glare. “We can’t all be geniuses. Some of us have to be strong, handsome, and an expert at romance.”
Red snorted at that, but Amelia tossed a pillow at his head. “She got music, a candlelit dinner, and a water sprite performance for her first date. I got dirt in my underpants.”
“I hate you, Cisco,” Red grumbled. “I really, really hate you.”
Chuckling, Penny threw a pillow at Cisco. “I told you he would.”
Cisco caught the pillow, grinning. “Just you wait and see what I’ve got planned for our next date. He’ll never speak to me again!”
Penny leaned back and sighed. “I’m just glad we’ll have time. It’s still a couple of weeks until exams start. Surely we won’t get any more missions allocated this semester. It’ll be cruisey until the end.”
A knock on the door interrupted her happy sigh. “Come in?”
Agent Crenel stuck his head through the door. “Good. You’re all here.”
“Why?” The relief Penny had felt mere seconds before evaporated.
“There’s a mission. One you’ll be perfect for.” His eyes locked on Penny as he spoke.
“Me?” she asked. “Why me?”
“Bunyip outbreak.”
“Bunyips?” Penny squeaked. “In America?”
“Nope.” Crenel grinned. “Pack your bags, kid. You’re going home.”
THE END
Author Notes - Amy Hopkins
November, 2019
You may have noticed there’s a LOT of history in these books. Tiny glimpses, yes — there is sooo much more to Bacchus than party god and bartender — but I’ve loved digging through old legends, ghost hunting sites, mythology books and spam letters.
Yeah, old Prince and his shifty lawyer are 100% my favourite
characters in these books :D And, they spurred the idea for Polybius. I was looking for something a little different from the usual ancient legends. I believe history isn’t just in the past. We create it, every day. Computers and tech are forming a larger part of our culture all the time, and this book celebrates it.
Also, the Stranger Things arcade scenes are wicked as.
And, I know the more off-the-wall my weird ideas are, the higher chance there is of making Michael snort coke all over his computer screen.
I mean, how else do you calculate the success of a series other than ruined keyboards and burning nostrils?
I hope you’re enjoying Penny and Boots, and I REALLY hope you love the next installment. No spoilers, but… we’re going on a trip!
See you then,
Amy
P.S. STILL salty about Diego. I will carry this to my grave.
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
December 16, 2019
First, thank you for not only reading this story, but reading these author notes as well!
I will have to admit that the first time I read a story using Bacchus as a character, he was a disgusting character with no redeeming values and I hated him.
But that was many years and hundreds of books ago. And I am glad Amy decided to flavor the god differently.
I am also glad to see that I can be mature enough to give Bacchus a second chance.
KEYBOARDS AND BURNING NOSTRILS
So, Amy can be blisteringly funny. However to have her admit that she is using this talent for evil is just horrible. Well, it’s horrible if you are the person she is trying to attack. I mean, have you felt Coke coming out of your nostrils?
It stings like a $&@)?!!
Then again, I try to time funny comments when Zen Master Steve™ and I are on a Zoom call and he is taking a sip of his coffee...
I guess turnabout is fair play.
Damn, I can’t drink when reading Amy’s books.
Take care and I look forward to chatting in another book!
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael
Books By Michael Anderle
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