Reality Hack

by Niall Teasdale

  Kellog gave a grunt, which might have been disagreement or disbelief, or acceptance of the assessment.

  ‘What did you think of the High Grand Master?’ Hanson said, making the title sound more like an insult.

  ‘Charming. Political. He’d do well in politics if he wanted to go that way. I can see how he managed to get the position.’

  ‘Did you like him?’

  ‘I didn’t dislike him. I think he was on his best behaviour. Playing the “I’m a very important person” card.’

  ‘Didn’t make a pass at you then?’ Kellog put in.

  ‘No, and Faline said he had a reputation.’ Nisa decided that mentioning Alaina’s apparent interest was outside the scope of the conversation, unless someone actually asked.

  ‘Well, until we hear something,’ Hanson said, ‘if we hear something, we do it the hard way. We only have a few days. We go through the list of independents, track them down, and check them out.’

  Kellog gave a grunt, this time a resigned one. ‘I’m not hopeful. Something like this… It needs the protection of the Order to make it work.’

  ‘I know. Try Gleeforth first.’

  ‘There is no way Gleeforth is involved in this.’

  ‘No, but he may have heard something, and it gives Nisa an opportunity to meet him.’

  Kellog got to his feet. ‘It’s worth a shot.’ He beckoned to Nisa. ‘Come on, you’ll love Gleeforth.’

  ~~~

  Gleeforth’s Rare Books was a tiny little shop hidden away in a back alley which bore the name Bedford Court, not far from Covent Garden, the old one, and well within walking distance of the Rabbit Hole. The only indication that there was actually a shop there was a small sign beside the door which was so faded that it was barely readable.

  ‘He can’t get much passing trade,’ Nisa commented as they walked up to the black-painted door.

  ‘If Gleeforth had his way, no one would ever come here,’ Kellog replied and pushed the door open. A bell rang. There was actually a small bell mounted over the door.

  The front room was a confused jumble of random volumes on shelves and tables. It seemed to Nisa that it had been designed as a sort of fortress. This was the first line of defence. The books here did not look especially rare, though they did look old.

  ‘I’m going to guess he’s not big on e-books.’

  ‘Actually, he says they’re the way forward. You don’t have to go outside to buy them. He’s agoraphobic.’

  Kellog made his way through the twisting path between the tables, between a pair of tall bookshelves, and through into the back of the shop. Here it opened out a bit and the books looked more… esoteric. There were leather-bound volumes, some of them looking like sets, and there was one cabinet with a glass front, which appeared to contain even older tomes and one scroll case.

  And sitting at a small desk, half obscured by a shelf, was a man who looked to be in his mid-fifties, but aging badly. His hair was solidly grey and there were lines on his round face that made him look like a badly scarred moon. He had a hooked nose and watery, blue eyes, and the high-waisted trousers and thick sweater did not help the look.

  ‘Detective,’ Gleeforth said, ‘what’re you bothering me for this time?’ He had a slight burr in his voice, a hint of a Scottish accent.

  ‘Just some information, Gleeforth,’ Kellog replied.

  ‘Who’s the girl?’ The last word came out with a rolling ‘r’ sound which set Nisa’s teeth on edge for some reason.

  ‘Sergeant Harper is our newest recruit.’

  ‘Oh, she’s that’n. There’ve been a few rumours about someone replacing Xavier.’

  Nisa felt Kellog stiffen more than saw it. The detective pressed on. ‘Demons, Gleeforth. Demons collecting on soul debts. What do you know?’

  ‘I’m assuming it’s not a general query. I’ve heard you’re looking into something. If anyone knows who the wizard is, they haven’t said anything to me. Rumour is it’s an old pact, money not power, and with one of the big names. That’s why he’s being lenient. Souls to burn.’

  ‘You don’t know the name?’

  ‘If I did, I’d tell you. You know that.’

  ‘You hear anything, you call. We want this one nailed to a wall.’ Kellog turned to leave.

  ‘Girl,’ Gleeforth said, reaching for something above him, hidden by the shelves. Nisa stopped and took a step closer, and he handed her a thin, hardback book. ‘You’ll be needing that,’ he said.

  ‘What did he give you?’ Kellog asked when they were outside.

  Nisa looked at the book and had to open it to find the title. ‘Common Charms and Wards,’ she read aloud.

  ‘Old bastard,’ Kellog muttered. ‘John Xavier, my last partner. He wasn’t a magician, but he had some psychic talents. Psychometry mostly. Useful, especially on murder cases. We were hunting a vampire, cornered him, but he got away. Then he came back and got into John’s house.’

  ‘Oh,’ Nisa said. ‘And these wards could stop that?’

  ‘Done right, yes. It’s the basis for the myth that vampires can’t enter a house uninvited. Doesn’t stop them getting you when you walk out the door though. How’s your pistol practice going?’

  ‘Okay, I guess.’

  ‘Good. We’ll put you through the tests on Friday.’

  August 22nd.

  Nisa looked at the group of three bullet holes in her target and gave a relieved smile. The target was all of five yards away, which she thought was way too close, but that was the requirement she had been given and Kellog and Hanson were nodding.

  She popped the magazine and cleared the chamber, and laid everything down on the shelf set aside for it, and then took off her ear defenders and the glasses Kellog insisted that she wore. Then she turned to receive the verdict.

  ‘Good enough,’ Kellog stated.

  ‘I’ve got the paperwork ready in my office,’ Hanson added.

  ‘Okay,’ Nisa said, ‘and I don’t want to ruin the moment, but isn’t the target a bit close? I mean, my accuracy is way worse at ten yards.’

  ‘Eighty per cent of police actions involving firearms take place at less than seven yards,’ Kellog told her. ‘Fifty per cent are under two yards. Next week I’ll start drilling you on point shooting. For now, the important thing is that you’re allowed to carry a pistol.’

  ‘And use it,’ Hanson stated. ‘Are you prepared to use it, Nisa?’

  Nisa frowned. ‘I… don’t know. I don’t think I’ll really know until I have to.’

  ‘Good answer, but give it some thought. Shooting someone, killing someone, tends to be a traumatic experience. I’ve seen it destroy men who think they’re up to it.’

  ‘I’ll… give it some thought,’ Nisa agreed.

  Poplar.

  ‘New bag,’ Jenna asked, vaguely indicating the leather shoulder bag Nisa was toting around.

  ‘Uh-huh. Decided I needed something for… stuff.’ In truth, Nisa had spent a couple of hours finding a bag with a large enough, zip-up interior pocket that the Glock would fit in. She figured that if she had to get to the weapon fast enough that the zip was a problem, she was probably dead anyway.

  ‘Bags,’ Jenna said, lifting her own, ‘are an essential component of a woman’s wardrobe.’

  ‘Agreed,’ Lena added.

  ‘And a man’s,’ Spike said. ‘At least they are if you lug around all the kit I do. How’s the statistics coming along?’ Wallace rolled his eyes.

  ‘Slowly,’ Nisa told him. ‘There’s a lot of data to work on, especially if you include all the external stuff. Finding patterns and correspondences in all that is not trivial.’

  ‘I know, but it could be really useful so stick at it.’

  Nisa nodded. The statistics research was coming along slowly because she was getting less time to work on it than she would have liked. The last week she had not touched it since they had been spending a lot of time running between known hangouts of independent wizards and finding absolutely nothing. Eve
ryone said the same thing: Kellog was right; it needed political protection to get away with summoning a demon to form a pact. No one outside the Order would have got away with it for this long. No one knew who had taken Emily.

  ‘You look kind of depressed, Ice,’ Spike said, his tone consoling.

  ‘Just tired. It’s been a long week.’

  ‘This is why I’ve never dug the work ethic.’

  ‘I don’t think anyone does,’ Lena told him. ‘On the other hand, money buys nice things.’ She pointed at Nisa. ‘Go buy yourself a new club outfit tomorrow. That’ll make you feel better.’

  Nisa gave a shrug. ‘Maybe I will.’

  Tower Hamlets, August 23rd.

  Nisa had really expected to spend Saturday continuing the hunt for the rogue wizard, but Kellog and Hanson had insisted she take a day off, two unless they could come up with another line of investigation which might actually turn up results. Neither of them had looked hopeful.

  So Nisa had gone shopping. Her heart was not entirely in it and it was not one of her favourite activities anyway, but she had visited a few places she knew and bought some things she thought would work together, and now she was trying to see if they did. Except that she did not have a full-length mirror so she was trying to see how she looked as best she could in the smaller mirror over the dresser.

  ‘It’s… very figure-hugging,’ Faline commented from the bed. It was still light and she was still a cat. Nisa wondered whether her viewpoint changed when she changed shape.

  ‘I’m not sure it’s me.’

  ‘It shows quite a lot of skin, and the heels on those boots are… How do humans walk in those things?’

  ‘Takes practice.’

  ‘I don’t see men trying to do it.’

  ‘Huh. Actually, historically men wore high heels. It became unfashionable because it was seen as effeminate and men were trying to be sensible and responsible. First started to help when riding. If you stood up in stirrups, the heel helped keep your foot in place. Oh, and then Louis the fourteenth wore heeled shoes because he was a short-arse.’ Nisa peered down at her boots, thigh-high, black leather, and she was wearing black, lace-topped hold-up stockings with them. The heels were a good six inches high. ‘I’m not saying these are even vaguely practical.’

  ‘The skirt is actually not that short,’ Faline went on. Which was true enough. The skirt and top were black Lycra. The skirt was high in the waist and went down to mid-thigh, almost touching the tops of her stockings. However, there were two bands of mesh at the bottom which made it look shorter, and the way it clung left little to the imagination.

  ‘But the top is barely there, yes,’ Nisa said. The top was a cropped, cap-sleeved T-shirt with a high neck, but it had a lot more mesh. There was a sort of bra of opaque material and a few bands at the hems.

  ‘The studded cuffs seem to finish it. It seems very much you.’

  ‘Well… all the bits are me, but does the whole scream Nisa?’

  A buzz from the door halted any answer. Frowning, Nisa walked through into the lounge where the intercom was fixed to the wall. She was not expecting anyone. In fact, the buzzer got used so infrequently that she wondered sometimes whether it worked.

  ‘Hello?’ she said after pressing the button beside the speaker grille.

  ‘Sergeant Harper? It’s Alaina Peters. I have… something for you. Could I come up?’

  ‘Of course,’ Nisa said before she had really thought about it. Her thumb hit the door release button on automatic, and that was when she realised what she was wearing.

  ‘Oh… Oh what the fuck,’ she muttered. Then she darted over to the bedroom door. ‘We’ve got a visitor. Alaina Peters from the Order. She’s just a PA though.’

  ‘About the demon business?’ Faline asked.

  ‘Probably.’

  ‘I shall make myself less visible anyway.’ And she got up from the bed and vanished beneath it.

  Alaina’s eyebrows went up when the door opened for her. ‘Wow… Are you expecting someone?’

  ‘Uh…’ Nisa stepped back, waving Alaina in. ‘I just bought them. I was trying them out to see if they actually worked on me. Uh, for a nightclub. Not, like, for work. Besides…’ Nisa indicated Alaina’s outfit with a vague wave as she closed the door. The PA was wearing a blue T-shirt made of a wide net and a very short, blue and white plaid skirt. There was a flesh-tone, push-up bra under the shirt, but it was almost invisible. She had six-inch, beige pumps on as well.

  ‘Oh… yes…’ Alaina unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself. ‘I felt like I wanted to… look my best. You know?’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘So… this is where you live?’

  Change of subject, okay… ‘This is it. Yup. It’s not much…’

  Alaina looked around, a slight smile on her lips. ‘I like it. It feels lived in. I have a flat in Mayfair. The Order pays for it.’ Her pretty face scrunched up a little. ‘Doesn’t really feel like home.’

  ‘I’m not sure anywhere has ever felt like home, but this is as close as it gets.’

  ‘Yes…’ Suddenly she was fumbling in her bag, a small clutch purse. ‘Alexander found something. That’s why I came. Uh… we don’t know where he is, exactly, but we’re pretty sure this is your man.’ She dug a folded sheet of A4 from her bag and held it out. ‘This has all his known properties on it.’

  Nisa reached out to take the sheet and her fingers brushed over Alaina’s. There was… something, a spark, a rush of energy. Alaina gasped and a shiver ran through her. To Nisa it felt as though someone had just stroked over all her erogenous zones at once.

  ‘Oh!’ Alaina said, her eyes wide.

  ‘It’s, um, static,’ Nisa said. ‘Cheap carpets.’

  ‘Yes… Yes, I’m sure… Static. I should be going. You have work to do, I’m sure.’

  ‘Yes… and I have to get changed. Kellog would look at me really funny if I went out on a bust dressed like this.’

  Alaina bolted for the door, flustered. ‘I don’t know. I’d give up without a fight. You, um, you should definitely wear it to that club.’

  Nisa watched the door close behind her. ‘Okay, call Kellog, cold shower… should be good to go.’

  Windsor Forest, August 24th.

  The only house they had not tried was just outside Windsor Forest, which put it in the Thames Valley District and outside their normal area of operations. Hanson had taken most of the morning to clear the incursion with everyone who needed to agree, and by then Kellog and Nisa had visited every other house on the list, with an ART unit, and were not happy about waiting.

  ‘It’s the last day,’ Nisa said as they drove toward the address Alaina had given her. ‘He’s probably already got someone.’

  ‘I know,’ Kellog replied. ‘The demon won’t come until it gets dark. We have time.’

  ‘Maxim came through.’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Kellog…’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘He asked how you were, you know.’

  ‘Nice of him.’

  ‘He said something… Well, he said something that kind of implied something without saying it.’

  ‘Ask the question, Nisa.’ His tone was resigned and about as emotional as he got.

  ‘He said you knew what the Order did to people who summoned demons. He didn’t say you did, but…’

  ‘We did not summon a demon. If he was attempting to imply we did, then he was lying, but I think you’ll find he’s too intelligent to make the implication. He knows you would ask me, or one of the others, and it’s not true. I know what would happen to someone who summons demons because I was a member of the Order.’

  Nisa relaxed in her seat. It did make sense. ‘Good,’ she said.

  ‘Not really. What we did was far worse. We’re here.’

  He was pulling the car up outside a large, ornate gate structure before she could say anything else.

  ‘We don’t get backup for this one?’ she asked instead once they w
ere out of the car.

  ‘Too complicated. Thames Valley doesn’t have a dedicated supernatural unit. If they have something they call on us, and using our own ART would have taken too long. So…’ He stopped outside a side gate which was more person-sized than vehicle, and he fixed her with a firm, even more serious than usual, gaze. ‘Remember all that stuff you learned about announcing your presence and proper entry procedure?’

  ‘Yeah…’

  ‘Well forget it. We go in, find this Jasperson, and we arrest him.’

  ‘Arrest?’

  ‘Yes, we arrest him. With extreme prejudice if he won’t come quietly.’

  Nisa swallowed. ‘I get it.’ She reached into her bag and unzipped the pocket. The grip of her Glock settled into her palm, but she kept it there for now. Kellog nodded once and went through the gate.

  The house was more of a small estate. There were two buildings, one a stable or something, the other more of a house. Both were local brick, but the stable had a flatter roof and Nisa was betting they were going to find Jasperson in the house because Emily had said the attic room she had been held in had had a sloping side to it.

  They had had some time to run a check on him and had discovered some interesting facts. He was wealthy, very wealthy, but ten years ago he had been having trouble. Shares had fallen at the wrong time, and business deals had fallen through. He had been close to losing everything, and then he had suddenly got very lucky. All his misfortunes had turned around almost overnight. It was, Kellog had said, classic for a demonic deal. Everything was just about within the realms of possibility, but looked at all together it suggested someone had applied some influence here and there.

  They were fairly sure Jasperson was their man. It was all circumstantial, but it was on the right timescale, and Jasperson’s membership of the Order was on record. He was one of Faline’s ‘not that good’ wizards, but he had found a way to make a real nuisance of himself.

  The back door of the house was unlocked, or it was after Kellog had glowered at it for a few seconds. Nisa had ignored the click as the mechanism opened up. The door was obviously unlocked, because magic was not real and would not be appearing in any reports. Not that she expected the report on this case to be seen by many people.