Alaskan Magic: Shadows of Alaska Book 1

by CC Dragon

  “We have a task force meeting at four to bring you up to speed,” I said.

  He sighed.

  The closer we got to the actual FBI office Mason had worked in with me, the more reluctant he seemed. He glanced around and fidgeted with a stone bracelet on his left wrist.

  “Come on, rip it off like a band-aid,” I teased.

  He took a deep breath, and then Mason walked in like nothing was odd, though he received some looks. Zel waltzed right up with a grin.

  “Hi, temporary ID and badge. Green put the task force in conference room D so you won’t be in and out of his office. Boys in blue are already there,” she said.

  “Thanks,” I replied.

  “Zelda.” Mason nodded. “Nice to see you again.”

  “Glad you’re pitching in.” Zelda smiled and headed back to her desk.

  “I need some water,” Mason said.

  “Lounge and break rooms didn’t magically move, but they are a bit packed lately.” I led the way. “Did you and Zelda have a fling?”

  “No, she hit on me once but—I wanted to keep my professional and personal life separate.” He shot me a look that felt too complicated to analyze right now. I needed him on my team, not to create drama.

  “And you’re twitchy because?” I prompted.

  He got water, and I grabbed a coffee.

  “Mason?” I asked.

  When I looked over, he was staring at the women, most of whom were watching TV or simply gazing out into space.

  I walked over to him. “A lot of women were liberated. One had a child that was taken from her. That’s what sparked this case. Missing kids are on the rise. Is it connected or a completely different case? I don’t care as long as we’re helping people.”

  Mason looked me in the eye and smiled. For the first time, it felt like he didn’t resent me or my asking him for help. That was the guy I’d worked with, who’d protected me when I went too far. He was good and compassionate, but he got stuck in a goal or on a mission. Changing gears was hard for him. He didn’t need to say it; I saw it in his eyes. He was on board now—we were a team.

  “Let’s meet your task force,” Mason said.

  “We are it. Us and two guys.” I didn’t want to hype it up.

  When we walked into the conference room, it was more than two guys.

  Four other agents, more state troopers, and a couple of admins were there too.

  Damn it, Green!

  “Good afternoon. Sorry we’re a bit late. Most of you know Mason Hunt, he’ll be consulting and my partner until Mitch is back in action. Let’s get everyone up to speed,” I said.

  “Thank you, Agent Foster,” said another agent. “I’m Lewis Simmons, lead on this force. As most of us know, this is a spur case from the human trafficking one. Some of the bodies found are not related to the other case—actually none have been proven to be offspring of the trafficked women thus far. That is what spurred this investigation, however, so if it were to prove related, the other case may in fact supersede and thus reintegrate our case. For right now, this is just a task force to explore the parameters of the case and expound on the good work noticed by Agent Foster and her contacts at the APD and State Troopers.”

  My blood pressure pounded so hard, I felt my temple throbbing. I tapped my foot under the table to keep from screaming.

  Mason reached over and put his hand on my knee.

  “Something to add?” Lewis shot me a look.

  I had plenty to say, but I chose to keep the peace. “I think the important thing is helping these kids—however the case is ultimately built.”

  “Exactly. Great teamwork attitude. Now let’s review the bodies and what evidence we’ve collected. Sorry, Agent Foster and her police contacts collected to substantiate the creation of this task force,” Lewis said.

  An hour of boring rehashing later, and Green finally broke up the meeting.

  “I need Foster,” Green said.

  Lewis nodded as if his permission meant something.

  We stepped outside.

  “Sir, I was hoping I’d get a shot at running this,” I said.

  “Mitch is headed into emergency surgery,” Green countered.

  “What?” My jaw fell open. “They said he might need another surgery but emergency?”

  “Apparently he developed a blood clot in his leg. They’re not sure exactly why, but it can happen post-surgery. I thought you’d want to be there. At least know about it while Lewis takes two hours to rehash what you already know,” Green said.

  “Of course, I’ll go now. Thank you.” I paused. “Mason is very valuable. Putting us at the bottom won’t help.”

  “I’m not putting you at the bottom. Mason is temporary and provisional. You’re point on this. You’re going and investigating in the field, but the lead needs to stay here and collect and review everything. You want to sit in the office and run the game from here?” he asked.

  “Tech is so good, I could do it from the field,” I argued.

  “That is a dream. Maybe in New York or L.A. but here...travel and communication can take a lot longer here. If we’re making a pitch for resources or charges, I need the lead here with all the supporting data. You’re not a salesperson, not yet. You get point on this case, not lead. Not with Mason and Mitch and all the complications,” Green said.

  “Yes, sir.” I wanted to strangle him, but Mitch was far more important. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head to the hospital.”

  “Fine. I’ll text your team and inform them of the situation. I’m sure Mason will catch you up when the surgery is over. We all wish Mitch the best.” Green smiled.

  “Thanks.” I dashed for my office to get my things.

  The hospital was tense, as expected. Emergency surgery wasn’t what anyone wanted.

  I avoided Mitch’s wife, who, no doubt, still blamed me for the injury.

  With time to kill, I wandered to the chapel in the hospital. It had all sorts of religious symbols, but I just sat and enjoyed the quiet. If I had to wait, I could at least put my powers to use and do a little work.

  I sat there and focused my magic on Indigo. He was still in custody, by now he’d had charges brought against him enough to hold him over. Odds of bail were slim, but he was powerful with magic. He could force the judge or steal enough money.

  Digging into Indigo might help me trace the type of magical beings behind this.

  At first I hit a wall, not surprising. Paras liked to keep their stuff private. I did still have a bit of his magic that I’d stolen. I nudged and pushed deeper, but he fought me.

  My head began to hurt, but I had try. Lewis being added to this case only made it worse. Instead of being magicals who could openly talk about things, it was now being run by a clueless human.

  Fury sparked a power surge, and I was in. Indigo was a warlock who craved power and money. He also loved to torture humans, to make them suffer like a child cooking bugs with a magnifying glass.

  As I tried to push for details, I got a text. Removing myself from Indigo’s mind, I squinted at my phone until the shapes made sense.

  Mason: Don’t open yourself up to them. We’ll get it...

  Me: Don’t monitor me

  Mason: You wanted a partner. U got 1

  Men! Mason was probably right. Giving Indigo any access was a bad idea, but I could block him. The queasiness began to fade as I stayed away from the evil mind.

  My phone beeped again. This time it was from Mitch’s wife.

  Mitch is in recovery. Everything went fine. You can go. He’s tired and just wants to sleep.

  Me: Thanks. I’ll visit him tomorrow.

  I wanted to stay and see him, but it’d only make things tense. Mitch didn’t need that right now. I knew I wouldn’t get a reply from her, so I checked the time. It was nearly eight at night, so I headed home.

  As I walked in the door, I found the lights on. I pulled my gun out and slowly cleared the living room. I found a male in my kitchen. Indigo could’v
e sent anyone to wait for me. If they took me out, I shivered at the idea, but if they succeeded, the case would likely die with me.

  “Mason!” I gasped.

  He turned and held up his hands. “I’m just cleaning up.”

  “How did you get in?” I asked as I holstered my weapon.

  “Zel had a spare key. You said I should stay here, or were you kidding?” he asked.

  “No, it’s fine. I wasn’t thinking when I ran off to Mitch’s surgery.” I put my purse down. “Sorry. I just got spooked. What did I miss?”

  “Dinner, but I saved you some. Also, I agree. There is magical residue all over those bodies. Why would anyone freeze a body when the Alaskan elements would do such a good job of destroying the evidence?” Mason nodded.

  “Thank you,” I said. Vindication felt like pizza followed by a hot fudge sundae.

  “And Lewis is completely human, no magic knowledge, so Hall and Thorn are frustrated. We’ll have to meet outside of the meetings,” Mason replied.

  I nodded. “Thanks for being open to this. We will meet with the other paras.”

  “No problem. Now you better eat, because we’ve got an early meeting tomorrow,” he said.

  I took the plate form him and put it in the microwave. “Do you miss the village yet?”

  His jaw tightened a bit. “It’s a change. We all need a change now and then. But stay away from Indigo. Your powers give me a headache, but we don’t need to tip him off in any way.”

  “Agreed.” I poured myself a glass of wine.

  “Zelda isn’t sure about me being back,” Mason said.

  I frowned. “She seemed on board with it. Temporarily. Maybe it’s the past flirting?”

  “Cut it out. I’m not her type. Too quiet and calm. She’s a lot,” Mason said.

  “Can’t argue with that. We’re all worried about Mitch and Green is going nuts with such a high-profile case in his lap...because of my tip, remember. It’s a lot of pressure and with magical elements, I think she feels strained from it all. I count on her a lot, and maybe it’s not fair.” I set my glass down as the microwave beeped.

  “She’s protective of you. I understand that.” He caught my eye.

  As I was about to pull the lovely dinner out of the microwave, both my and Mason’s phones began to alert.

  “A new missing child was added to our case. At least tomorrow won’t be boring. I’ve had enough meetings. It can wait until we’ve slept.” Mason studied the message.

  I read what info we had as well. The police and locals were still doing prelims, but it had to look serious for them to notify us. It apparently fit the profile of our task force, and they were worried.

  I sipped my huge coffee as I walked into the office. Mason had gotten assigned a car the previous day, so he drove in on his own before me.

  “How was it?” Zel asked.

  “Mason is just staying at my house,” I shot back.

  Zel’s eyes got big. “I meant the surgery. Mitch okay?”

  My cheeks burned. “Right, sorry. His wife said he was fine. In recovery so I didn’t get to see him. I went home. I’ll visit later.”

  “Task force is already in the room. I tried to talk Green out of the human add-ons, but he was unrelenting and so clueless.” Zel rolled her eyes.

  “Thanks. I’ll get in there.” I headed for the conference room and found myself wishing I wasn’t in the FBI right at that moment. The red tape and the human nonsense were hindering my work. But once the bad guys were caught, what could they do with him without a justice system? The magical world had its own rules, but trying to enforce them was insane. Hunting or hurting humans wasn’t exactly against the rules.

  I entered the room and felt like I was late, again. Mason sat there reviewing the files.

  “Your partner okay?” asked Lewis.

  “Yes, thank you. There was another reported kidnapping?” I asked.

  Green looked down his nose at me. “Missing kid case from the outskirts of Anchorage, yes. I want you and Mason to sort through the missing kid cases. Interview the families if you need to. I want to know what kids are potentially part of our case versus the standard missing while hiking or hunting. We can’t chase our tails all over the state for every kid. We’ve limited it to children under the age of twelve as teens would be more apt to leave on their own. Also, they could be folded easily into the other case of human trafficking for sexual exploitation. Green verified some of the victims are minors as young as sixteen, so we had to draw a reasonable line in the sand.”

  Mason glanced at me as though this was exactly why he’d left.

  “We can assist,” Hall said.

  “Thanks,” I replied.

  “What are you up to?” Mason asked.

  Lewis smirked. “I’m going to review the case in total and have a chat with the women who are reporting lost kids as part of Green’s case. I want to make sure it’s genuine. Trauma is rough, but sometimes people make things up to help them survive it. There are so many women that some might invent issues to make them stand out and get more care.”

  “One of the women was medically checked out,” I said.

  Lewis nodded. “I’m not doubting her, but I’d like to get the details of how they hid a baby that’ll cry and stink up a motel room while she’s servicing johns.”

  “Please be more sensitive than that,” I said.

  Lewis stared daggers at me. “Maybe this is why you’re not the lead on this case? You’re too soft and not objective.”

  It was a shot at my gender but just careful enough to avoid getting himself in real trouble. I magically slashed his tire through the sidewall. Petty, yes, but he deserved it.

  “I’m not soft. Sensitive to victims, yes. I don’t want a lawsuit or problem with victim advocates saying we didn’t do our job properly. Oh, and we’re here to stop the bad guys, not torture the victims by making them prove what happened over and over and relive the trauma.” I pulled up my tablet and looked at the list of families to interview.

  Magically, I selected a decent amount. The shared drive let the others see. “Mason and I will cover these. You guys can divide up the rest. Anything else?”

  “No, have a good day.” Lewis’ sarcasm dripped like he loved pissing me off more than his morning coffee.

  I left, and Mason followed.

  “Trying to get us kicked off already?” he asked once we were in my office.

  “That guy is a plant and a jerk. We’re screwed,” I said.

  “The kids are screwed if we don’t solve this. Lewis is putting on a show, but it’ll be Green’s call. We have work to do.” Mason looked at the list.

  “Hall and Thorn are good. I left them a couple possibly magical cases, but I claimed anything that jumped out at me,” I admitted.

  “We work while Lewis and his buddies strut around acting like they matter,” Mason said.

  “Sorry, I had hopes of this going better. Now I’m just hoping we can help the kids before they pull the plug.” I plotted the homes on a map. “Should we head out?”

  Mason nodded. “These are mostly Anchorage ones.”

  “We need to substantiate the case parameters, or Green will shut us down. Get a few solid leads, and we can expand. Budget cuts and shortages of people.” I shrugged.

  Mason opened the door for me. “Then one of the cases must take us near the hospital. We can drop in on Mitch.”

  “Thanks.” I smiled. “I’m sure his wife is all over his recovery. She hates me, so having you along will help.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Four hours later, we’d ruled out as many families. One had had their child return without reporting it. Two admitted it was most likely natural—camping or nature trips with family or friends—then were gone. One had actually run away to be with their other parent, but they were accounted for.

  We grabbed lunch and headed to the hospital.

  I let Mason go in first in case the protective wife was out to argue with me.

&nb
sp; I walked in, and the wife wasn’t there. Mitch looked beat up.

  “Hey, Mitch. How are you?” I asked.

  He managed a weak smile. “I feel like I got run over by a truck. They said the clot could’ve traveled to my lungs or heart. I wasn’t moving around enough, I guess. I want to go back to work and I’m not ready, but I need to walk a marathon? It makes no sense.”

  “A lot of small walks, I think. Your wife isn’t here cracking the whip?” I asked.

  “She had lunch at school with one of the kids. I want to try and keep it normal for them.” Mitch nodded to Mason. “Dot dragged you back in?”

  Mason shook Mitch’s hand. “She did. Kids are hard to argue with, but they can walk with you. Gotta get better for them.”

  “If I don’t come back, Dot’ll kill me. Look after her while I’m in here. If you didn’t escape her so far, you can handle her,” Mitch joked.

  “He tried to escape plenty. I had to win over his family and the village elders,” I teased.

  “When you try, you’re very persuasive,” Mitch coached.

  “I’m always persuasive with my work goals.” I shrugged.

  Mitch shifted in the bed and winced. “If you had a boyfriend, my wife wouldn’t be so snippy.”

  I laughed. “Because every woman in the world wants you, Mitch. Sorry, to me you’re like an annoying older brother.”

  “Sweet. How’s your task force?” Mitch asked.

  Mason and I shared a look. “I’m point, but not lead. Green is being a jerk. The lead guy is a major jerk. We spent all morning interviewing families, and it seems like all logical and non-criminal missing cases.”

  “Still cases, but not applicable to this. We have more interviews to do.” Mason glanced at the IV bags Mitch was hooked up to.

  “And who is this?” Mitch’s wife asked from the doorway.

  “Mason Hunt, my temporary partner, Mrs. Crawford,” I introduced them.

  Mason shook his head. “We were nearby, and I wanted to check on my old colleague.”

  “I’m not that old,” Mitch said.

  “You don’t need strange people bringing in new germs, that’s for sure. We prefer to limit the number of visitors.” Mrs. Crawford crossed to her husband and put her back to us.