by T K Eldridge
Emlen smiled and rose, hand placed in his. They danced to “Butterfly Kisses” and by the time they were done, there were very few dry eyes in the room. Em danced with Cullen, Connor, Edmund, Patrick, Ryan, Kian, and every other member of the team based at Mayfield. The rest of the evening was a joyful celebration of life and love.
* * *
The next morning the front hall of Mayfield was filled with luggage as Emlen, Cullen, Kian and Ryan prepared to fly to Boston and meet up with Connor. From there, the five of them would head to Dublin.
Scatha was staying behind at Mayfield because caging the raven for transport was too risky. Tina was keeping an eye on JJ and any visitors he might have before joining them later. Edmund and Patrick were spending the weekend at the beach before returning to DC for his swearing in as President, while Susan and Angelica were leaving later in the day to settle in for the winter in Muckle Cove. A few of the PLEA staff would still be in residence, but the house was emptying fast.
Joel paced while Cullen gave some last minute directions to the staff staying behind.
Emlen sighed, “Joel, stop. You’re making me queasy with all your circling.”
“Sorry, Emmy, but I have a really bad feeling about this trip. You should be staying here, where it’s safe.”
“Right, where I was shot at and Susan was almost killed. Real safe.”
“You know what I mean,” Joel said. “Safer than in a city in a foreign country.”
“You’re worrying over nothing. We need to be in Dublin for work and then we’re going to Galway for a honeymoon. Just go fade out and wait for the overseas flight to pop back, will ya?”
Cullen wrapped an arm around Em. “What’s wrong?”
“Joel’s all wound up about the trip. Says he has a bad feeling about it. I think he’s just not happy about the flight,” Em replied.
“Well, he always hated flying, so you may be right. We’ll just be extra cautious in case he’s picking up on something,” Cullen said.
A horn sounded from the front of the house and everyone moved out. Cases and bags were loaded, hugs were given and soon they were on the flight to Boston. Once they landed, everything was transferred to PLEA’s private jet and they settled in for the longer flight. Connor looked exhausted as he’d had to fly back to Boston after the wedding last night to deal with a minor crisis and then get everything loaded for the trip today. Once they were in the air, Connor slipped on his headset and went to sleep. Kian and Ryan were soon dozing as well and Emlen had stretched out the seat so she could curl up against Cullen’s side.
Em stared at the rings on her hand as she tapped her fingers on Cullen’s chest. “I think that looks pretty cool,” she said.
Cullen, who had been reading on his tablet, looked up. “Huh?”
“My rings. I think they look cool. I never imagined my life like this, but I’m liking it – and the symbolism is pretty nice.”
Custom knotwork bands set with tiny amethysts wrapped both of their fingers. It went beautifully with the band of channel set stones he’d given her as an engagement ring. On her right hand, she wore the heirloom ring Edmund had given her for their fake engagement. When she’d tried to give it back, he told her to keep it as it was imbued with protection spells and he wanted her and the babe protected.
“It’s funny. I lost the amber pendant my Mom gave me when I released my magic, but I’ve gained so much more. I used to consider that my best piece of jewelry. Now I have these rings that symbolize love, promises, and protection. I count myself blessed.”
Cullen leaned over and kissed her forehead. “I’m the blessed one.”
Emlen slept the rest of the flight. She woke when the plane landed, taking the warm towel and wiping her face and hands to wake herself more fully. Connor and Kian were chatting as they gathered a few things and Cullen had been playing cards with Ryan. Laughter and camaraderie filled the cabin as they greeted the Customs agent when she stepped onto the plane and signed the paperwork to welcome them to Ireland.
A hired car drove them to the outskirts of Dublin where they would be staying. Once, the manor had belonged to the Garda, now it belonged to the O’Briens and was used for PLEA agents that needed to spend time in the city. Gray stone rose three stories with a rounded tower at one corner. A slate-shingled roof, white trim on the windows, and a bright red door beckoned to them. A gated drive, tall stone walls, and beautiful landscaping gave the place the feel of a castle.
“It’s gorgeous,” Emlen said as she stood in the curved gravel drive and looked around.
“I’d seen photos of when Joel stayed here once and always wanted to come,” Cullen replied. “It has eight bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a garden out back, and an awesome patio and porch with a huge stone heated spa pool.”
Em rolled her shoulders and gave Cullen a wink. “We’re checking out the spa pool sooner rather than later.”
Connor passed them, carrying a couple of bags. “Not until after the meeting in fifteen minutes. Pick out your room, take a minute to freshen up and we’ll be in the dining room. It’s to the left of the front door. There are three rooms open on the second floor and two on the third. I recommend you take the big one in the back right corner on the second. Has a nice bath, a small balcony and an awesome view. My usual room is the same but on the left back corner.”
Cullen saluted Connor’s back and Emlen laughed.
“Don’t be a dick, bro,” Connor said, not having turned to look. “There will be food for the meeting…” he trailed off, letting the tease linger as Em and Cullen shouldered bags and headed in.
The room was decorated in shades of green with white accents and Emlen loved it. All of the furniture they’d seen in the house looked antique and solid, yet not out of character for the rooms. A carved head and foot board in dark wood, a matching dresser that looked almost Victorian, had been paired with a comfortable love seat and delicate side tables. The bathroom was more American style than European, with a soaking tub and a separate glass-walled shower. A window was open next to the tub and in the bedroom, drapes were pulled back to show the arched french doors that led out onto a small stone balcony. A wrought iron bistro set had been perfectly placed for morning coffee and the view of the fields, ending in the glint of coastal waters.
“Morning coffee out here is going to be perfect,” Emlen said as she brushed out her hair then tugged it into a high ponytail. “I hope they’ve got more than snacks. We’re hungry.”
Cullen chuckled, “I love when you talk about the two of you together. Let’s go feed you both.”
They stepped out into a hall that ran in a long rectangle around the staircase with the steps up to the third floor at the front of the house and the opening to go down at the back. The upper banister was polished and straight while the lower gleamed in a sinuous curve as the steps widened near the bottom. Emlen leaned over to whisper to Cull, “I wish I wasn’t pregnant. I’d slide down this banister.”
Cullen paused, gave her a wink, and threw his leg over the banister, sliding down backwards with his hands slowing the pace in front of him.
“Not fair,” Emlen called out, laughing as she hurried down to catch up at the bottom.
They laughed all the way to the dining room where they settled into two chairs near Connor’s. Kian and Ryan hadn’t come back down yet but there were two new faces across the table. Connor set down his glass and made the introductions. “Aoife, Sean, this is my brother Cullen and his wife, Emlen. Aoife is the communications expert for PLEA here in Ireland and Sean is one of the best tactical snipers I’ve ever met.”
“Nice to meet you,” Emlen said as Cullen stood and shook their hands.
“Are you President Jackson’s daughter?” Aoife asked.
“Yeah, sort of. I mean, he’s my bio-dad but he didn’t raise me. And we have a new President as of tomorrow. President Edmund Matthews.”
“Weren’t you engaged to him?” Aoife continued.
“It was something Jackson wanted but E
dmund is more like an uncle or brother than a partner. Besides, he’s married to Patrick. He never liked girls. We just did it to keep Jackson from killing us.”
Aoife blinked a few times at that and went quiet as a young woman came in and started placing dishes on the table. Potatoes, a roast, carrots, and fresh rolls were laid out.
“It looks delicious, Mary. Thank you,” Connor said.
“Simple fare it may be, but I think you’ll enjoy it. The butter is fresh from Murphy’s farm up the road,” Mary said.
“Thank you, Mary,” Emlen said. Mary smiled as she left the room, coming back with a pitcher of iced tea and one of water. Everyone dished up food as they passed bowls and plates around the table. Kian and Ryan arrived just as people started to eat and got their food before making introductions.
“Edmund and Patrick will be in Dublin in two days. We’ll be backing up their Secret Service contingent while they’re in town,” Connor said. “Aoife will manage the communications and Emlen will assist wherever needed.”
“Sounds good,” Cullen replied. “Are there more PLEA agents in town?”
“Four more will be arriving and staying at the hotel with the President and his partner.”
Sean paused and took a sip of his drink. “Is there any particular reason why so many PLEA agents are on call for the President?”
“Yes,” Cullen replied. “He’s a magic user, as is his partner. In fact, Edmund is the head of our coven. He feels safer having a few of his own kind around.”
“Well, that makes a lot more sense,” Aoife replied.
Joel showed up on the other side of the table between Aoife and Sean. “Emlen, there are four men in black suits that pulled up outside the gate, using binoculars to try and see the house.”
Em turned to Connor. “Joel says there are four men in black suits parked outside the gate using binoculars.”
Kian and Ryan got to their feet. “We’ll check it out,” Ryan said as they headed out the door.
Connor nodded and reached under the table to press a button. Metal shutters lowered over the windows throughout the house. “Better to be safe than sorry,” he said as he rose to his feet.
Cullen got up to follow, as did Sean.
“Em, stay inside please. You were their target last time, let’s not give them what they want, ” Connor said before he headed out into the foyer.
A sigh and Em nodded as she picked at her food. Aoife watched the whole thing, eyes wide.
“What the hell is going on?” Aoife asked.
“The rogue group you’ve been hunting? They tried to take me out in Maryland and nearly killed an older woman I consider family. I can’t do my usual and ignore the warnings and go help because I’m pregnant.”
“Well, that’d put a crimp in anyone’s day, eh?” Aoife said as she picked up her fork.
Em snorted laughter. “That’s one way of putting it.”
“You should come meet my Grandmother. She could tell you what you’re having,” Aoife offered. “She lives about a mile down the road.”
Emlen thought about it for a moment, then grinned. “Yeah, that might be interesting. Is she a magic user?”
“She calls herself a cailleach. It’s what the old ones call a witch or a goddess. I’ve seen her heal the worst injuries and light a fire in her hearth or a candle without a match.”
“Now that’s cool. I look forward to meeting her and perhaps learning from her,” Em said. She pushed to her feet and headed into the foyer. “I can’t stand not knowing what’s going on.”
“Just don’t open the door. There’s a peep hole in each shutter and in the door. The walls are over a foot thick of stone and the shutters are bullet proof,” Aoife said.
Em got to the door just as it opened, the men headed back inside. “What happened? Who were they?”
Cullen gave her a hug and turned to Kian and Ryan.
Ryan spoke. “They said they were agents of someone named Peter Wolfe and that we had a week to remove ourselves from Ireland or suffer the consequences.”
Everyone looked confused.
Connor looked at each one. “Do any of you have any clue who this Peter Wolfe might be?” A lot of head shakes and no answers. “Okay, Aoife and Cullen, you hit the command center and see if you can dig up anything on this Wolfe. Em? I need you to pull up those files I had you scanning. Two of those four I’m sure were ex-Garda. Ryan, Kian, and Sean, you patrol and check the perimeter and the house defenses. I’m going to see if Thomas has any idea what we’re dealing with.”
Ryan stepped up to Connor, “I think we just were introduced to the rogues and got their leader’s name.”
Connor nodded. “I think you’re right.”
Chapter 11
Peter Wolfe sat as still as his pain-wracked body would allow while the doctor ran his tests and scans. He had waited months for this appointment with the best specialist in the world. He didn’t really have any hope that there would be something that could help, but he had the means and resources, so he had to try. Hope faded to ash when he saw the doctor’s face a few hours later.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Wolfe. The work that has been done previously was excellent. There is nothing more I can do to improve your situation.”
Peter sighed. “As I expected, doctor. I appreciate your time and efforts.” A nod of his head and his aide began to push his chair from the room.
The doctor cleared his throat and looked at Wolfe. “One more thing, Mr. Wolfe. The damage has caused a slow, systemic failure of several of your organs. I regret to inform you that you may only have a few months of life remaining.”
Wolfe gave the doctor a faint smile. “I know that, doctor. I had just hoped to find a way to make these last months less…difficult. I do appreciate your time. Good day.”
They left the room and the doctor shook his head. He’d had a lot of strange patients, but that one was a study for the medical journals. There was, in his estimation, no good reason the man should still be breathing. It made no sense. He sat down and started going over all of the lab results and notes once more. There had to be some reason why the man was still on this side of the turf.
* * *
Settled before his monitors, Peter looked out at the stormy Irish weather. A fire burned on the hearth on the other side of the room, far from his precious equipment. It made him feel warmer just to see it, even if his body didn’t truly register temperature properly any longer. A shaking finger pushed the lever and the monitors showed the cameras panning the regions they were placed within, exposing the location of the G20 summit to his gaze. Satisfied that he had all of the venue points covered, he flipped the lever again and brought up another building. This one was two stories, stone, and hosted the PLEA offices in Dublin. It used to be a Garda base and he had known the layout as well as his own home.
“Don’t worry, my Valentina. I will finish my task before I join you. We’re close now,” he whispered as he checked each camera. The cameras he used now were different than those he used in DC for the Order’s meeting. One of his men had an exceptional gift of melding magic and technology. These in the PLEA office were special and he couldn’t wait to see how well they performed.
* * *
The lobby was full of out of town PLEA agents who had gathered for the G20 as support for the United States President’s visit and the attendance of the upper echelon of PLEA. Peter knew he should wait, but he couldn’t hold back. He had to see how well these worked before the big day. Watching the cameras, he saw a large group move into one of the conference rooms and switched the video to that room. As nearly thirty members sat down around the conference table and stood along the walls, he pushed the button. And laughed.
Ryan pulled up to the stone building and shut off the car. He glanced over at Kian and nudged him. “Wake up, man. We’re here.”
Kian groaned, rubbed his face and sat up, reaching for the cup in the holder at his side. The coffee was still warm enough to be palatable, so he downed it. “I’
ll be glad when this summit is over. I need sleep that isn’t interrupted by some crisis or another. Although, the power going out in the building for ten whole minutes isn’t a crisis in my estimation.”
“It could have been an attack or an attempt at infiltration,” Ryan said.
“Yeah, yeah. But it was a popped fuse. Too many assholes plugging in their chargers,” Kian replied.
They climbed out of the car and grabbed their bags, taking in the busy street as they locked the car and hefted their gear.
“Are you sure that’s all it was?” Ryan asked.
“Well, we checked everything else. Even the computer security logs. Let’s face it, with the increase in personnel for the G20, it’s been a nightmare tracking everything anyway. The usual contingent here is, what, maybe fifty people tops? We’ve got over two hundred in and around Dublin now.”
“And easily half that in the building today with the planning and tactics meetings we’re doing. Maybe before the lunch break we can do a walk through with one of the regulars and see if they notice anything,” Ryan said.
Kian sighed, “Yeah, as long as I don’t miss lunch too. I’m already hungry. You go ahead into the meeting, I’m going to grab something from the kiosk in the lobby.”
“Get me a coffee, please,” Ryan said as he turned off down the hallway.
“You got it,” Kian replied and got in line. He watched the two customers in front of him get their orders, then stepped up. “Hi Evan. I’d like two large coffees, black and one of those egg and cheese sandwich things.”
Evan handed him his coffee and left the second on a tray while he started the sandwich. “How are ya today, Kian? Did you see the game last night?”
Kian opened his mouth to answer and his ears popped. Eyes wide, he stared at Evan as something shot past Kian and hit him in the chest, blowing him back through the wall of the kiosk and into a pile of rubble. Whirling, Kian ducked as several more of these beams seemed to track from the corners of the room to where people moved. It looked like a video game with lasers. He reached over the stand, grabbed the over-sized stainless counter board and used it like a shield as he started to move. The hallway to the meeting was gone, a pile of rubble in its place. The stairs were collapsed. The only way he could go was towards the front of the building where a wide window once stood.
