“I know, which is why you are perfect for this man. Iressa, you have his immediate subordinate, the human known as Bryant Bates, who is currently in their city to the far northeast.” She purred in reply, and he decided he would not trade places with the man even if a fortune was in the offing. He would not want the witch to attack him with damage on her mind.
“And you?” she asked, her voice breathy and enticing.
“My target is the most appealing of all. One Diana Sheen, who captured my subordinate and will very, very soon learn that opposing us comes at a cost.” As he thought of the various punishments and tortures he could deliver to the woman, the darkest part of his mind chuckled contentedly. A great cost indeed.
Chapter Eight
The day was warm and sunny, perfect for a ballgame. They’d decided to park at the office and walk to the North Shore where the city’s stadiums stood side-by-side, connected by parking and businesses that served the sports crowds. Bryant and Diana wore dark Pirates home jerseys, and Rath bounced alongside in a white road jersey, the golden numbers and letters gleaming in the bright light from above. All three had identical black baseball caps with the team logo on them.
Diana felt more relaxed than she had in a while. “I’m glad you finally made it down for a game.”
Bryant laughed. “Busy busy, you know how it is.”
She snorted. “Get real. You could portal down here whenever you wanted.”
“Magic leaves traces. Skilled trackers like the Kilomea have the ability to ferret them out. It’s always best to stay under the radar when possible.”
“Rath is the only troll in town outside the kemana, as far as I know. I’m not sure under the radar is an option for me.”
“Well, then, perhaps you should be the one opening a portal for me.”
Diana thought back to Nylotte’s warning about expending magical energy and grimaced. “Yeah, maybe not.” She changed the subject quickly. “Rath, have you watched baseball on TV to get ready for the game?”
The troll grinned. “Many games. Max enjoys them. Barks when players try to steal a base.”
All three of them laughed. Diana quipped “Well, he is a law and order kind of canine, nowadays.”
Rath nodded. “Truth.”
They arrived at the statue of Roberto Clemente that marked the nearest entrance and reached out to touch it as they passed by. Bryant paused a moment to stare at the memorial. “Sport has always been one of the things that’s broken boundaries down between people.” He met Diana’s eyes with a grin. “Maybe we should have an Oriceran sports league.”
She laughed. “We go from world champions to two worlds’ champions?”
He nodded. “It’s not the worst idea.”
“I can see it now. All-Kilomea football and hockey teams.”
“Okay, clearly there would be a need to have some rules put in place.”
Diana chuckled. “Keep dreaming, BC.” She handed their tickets to a uniformed worker, and with three soft beeps from the laser scanner, they were admitted to the park. The team’s mascot was nearby, and Rath offered a fist to the giant parrot. The bird tapped it with his own and waved, then stepped behind Bryant and stuck his huge floppy beak over the man’s head and covered it completely. Diana and Rath giggled at the sight, and she barely had time to get a picture of it before he shrugged the costumed character away with a laugh.
He turned immediately to Diana. “That stays between us.”
“No chance. I already sent it to the team. And Taggart.” I should start an ARES newsletter. That can be the cover of the first issue. She laughed inwardly at the idea.
“You suck.”
“So some have said.” They ascended the staircase to the main level, and once at the top, moved out of the flow of traffic to gaze down the long stretch before them. The left side featured small buildings holding food, drink, and merchandise stands, and the right held carts selling more of the same interspersed between stairs down toward the field. Diana clapped decisively. “I need a hot dog—no, two hot dogs, and a pretzel.”
Rath piped up “Pizza. Pizza, pizza. Pizza, pizza, pizza.”
With a laugh, Bryant added, “Kielbasa and sauerkraut is something this town is known for. It would be an absolute crime not to have it at the ballpark.” They wandered on in search of the right stands, and she took note of the many smiles thrown at Rath, interspersed with one or two scowls. All in all, Pittsburgh had proven to be a welcoming town for the troll. Most residents who encountered him took the small alien in stride. Heh. If they met his eight-foot form, they might have a different reaction.
They found the pizza, then Bryant’s sausage and kraut, and finally, her pretzel and dogs, along with local beers for the humans and a tropical fruit smoothie for the shortest member of the group. They made their way toward their seats, a couple of rows back from first base. Bryant sat closest to home plate, Diana second, and Rath third in an unspoken agreement to put the humans in the path of any errant baseball before it could reach the troll. The truth is, he’d probably have a better chance of avoiding injury from a foul ball that we would.
She thought, not for the first time, about the fact that her relationship with Rath existed somewhere between parent and friend. She had to remain constantly vigilant to avoid being overprotective, which she knew the troll wouldn’t welcome and which was unnecessary, anyway. But the right amount of protectiveness, that’s a different story. Bryant pointed toward the outfield. “I love the view of the city from here. The architects were definitely on the ball.” She followed his gesture and agreed with a nod and a groan for the baseball pun.
The PA system warned of the impending start of the game by announcing the starting lineups. Rath was well occupied and took in all the sights the stadium had to offer and stared at the birds that flew overhead. She leaned over to Bryant. “It was an odd choice to put the Cube so close to the regular part of the city. It’s what? About four blocks from here?”
He nodded. “They had hoped for secrecy and disguise, don’t forget.”
“That worked out well.”
“Not every plan is a winner. But it’s still far enough away that innocents aren’t directly in harm’s way in any large number. No more than anywhere else in the city, anyway.”
“What was the point of putting it downtown rather than out in the sticks like the Ultramax?”
Bryant shrugged. “They didn’t consult me on the decision, given that I was as far down the totem pole then as you are now.” She stuck her tongue out at him, and he continued with a chuckle. “But really, I think it was about secrecy and proximity to your base of operations. When they built it, no one knew for sure where in the city the ARES headquarters would be, so they decided on someplace close to the center but not right in it.”
“You mean ARES couldn’t simply buy any building it wanted?”
“Not even if we were on the books and had full governmental resources to draw upon. Downtown real estate is brutal.”
And, of course, the office had to be in the city to provide easy access to the kemana. I get it. She let the conversation drop as the players trotted out onto the field and the game began. Bryant spent some time explaining to Rath how to use the scorecard, and she fondly remembered her father doing the same thing for her many years before. The sights and sounds of the game washed over her in a pleasant haze as the early afternoon flew by. Between innings, while Rath was captivated by the t-shirt cannon and the mascot wielding it, Bryant slipped in some more business talk. “It seems like the bounty hunter agency is doing well.”
Diana nodded. “Tony’s turned it into a real security consulting firm, too. We have several clients in the area, and he’s done a good job of helping them improve their defenses against both mundane and magical threats. If it were possible to get anti-magic emitters, we’d have more work than we could handle.”
He adjusted his ball cap to shade his eyes against the afternoon sun. “That won’t happen anytime soon. Those things are b
eyond expensive to build, and it’s a significant challenge to set up the enduring connection to dump the power they absorb into Oriceran.”
“You should simply put those purple gems on them and let the emitters charge ʼem up. Then, we can carry them around like little magical batteries.”
He snickered. “That’s so incorrect a description of how the crystals work that I don’t even know where to begin to make fun of you.”
She laughed. “Bring it, big boy.”
He shook his head. “Are there any problems with the co-working space?”
Ouch. Flirting attempt avoided. I must be losing my touch. She looked at him closely and noticed the lines of strain around his eyes. He’s hiding it well, but he’s worried about something. Dammit. “I think we have that under adequate control. Kayleigh checks them regularly, and Alfred watches constantly.”
“Alfred?”
Diana sighed. “That’s the name blondie has given to the AI that runs the building. And our house.”
Bryant raised an eyebrow. “I hadn’t realized things had become so sophisticated.”
“The only way to keep her in town with us is to let her chart her own course—within reason. Apparently, working on AI implementation made her happy, so that’s what she’s come up with. I did deny the computer-controlled rocket launcher mount on the house roof, though.”
He choked on his beer and wiped the froth from his face. “Good choice.”
She grinned. “Alfred is also fully tapped into the city’s surveillance grid now. There are no secrets left since we threw the respect-other-services rulebook out after the incident on the train.” She was interrupted by a peal of amusement from the right. They turned to find Rath tossing a baseball with a small girl nearby. She would throw it up in the air as high as possible, and the troll would do a leaping flip to catch it, then land on his seat before he folded to underhand the ball gently back to her. Each time, the girl’s laughter grew louder.
Diana smiled fondly and turned to Bryant. “Now, everyone wants a mobile armory.”
He shook his head decisively. “It makes you a target. Stick with the chopper for now. Besides, with downtown traffic and street patterns, a big vehicle would be problematic.”
She put a whine in her voice. “Yeah, but we want it.” He laughed and shook his head again.
A loud cheer went up, and they turned their attention to the field in time to see a home run replayed on the scoreboard, one that not only made it out of the playing field but out of the park and into the river beyond. The Pirates’ player ran around the bases with his arms held high in victory, and the crowd gave him the adoration he deserved. Near the end of the game, the part Diana had secretly waited for arrived.
The announcer shouted out the names, and people in giant pierogi costumes appeared on the grass. She pointed them out to the others. “Cara told me about this. They’ll race around the field. Pick your favorite. She went with Jalapeño Hanna, Bryant chose Sauerkraut Saul, and Rath picked Cheese Chester. The delicious delights raced and the lead changed several times as the crowd cheered their favorites on. Chester finally eked out a win ahead of Potato Pete. There was much celebration from both the troll and the little girl he’d played with.
The rest of the game passed in a happy blur and the home team scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to inspire a short round of fireworks over the river. The three friends joined the flow of foot traffic headed toward downtown and stopped halfway across the bridge that spanned the water dividing the two shores. A multitude of padlocks was fastened to the grate that made up the pedestrian fence—some combination lock, some key lock, and all of them painted or marked up in some way.
They spent several moments reading them in the late afternoon sun, seeing the celebrations people had locked in place for their relationships, the remembrances of those lost and missed, and the wishes, hopes, and dreams for the future. She didn’t need to say anything out loud because she was sure they all thought the same thing. This right here is why we do what we do. So good people can live without undue fear and have the right to chart their own course in the world. She looked at Rath. “Next time, we’ll bring one or two of our own to put on here. Does that sound like a plan?”
He replied with a nod and a smile but seemed less gleeful than he had been while they were in the park. Diana slapped him on the shoulder and said, “Tag, you’re it,” before she pounded away. The troll’s startled laughter sounded behind her, along with Bryant’s shouted, “Hey,” and she grinned as she heard them start in pursuit. Tension breaker. It had to be done.
Chapter Nine
Warden Evelyn Murphy stood behind the guards manning the post on level three with her arms folded. They were of a piece—tall, thin, and black-uniformed. The room was not much bigger than the five of them with only a foot of space between where she stood in the center and the diagonals each guard’s stool was situated upon. The nearest repositioned cameras and microphones to ensure they would have proper coverage when the prisoners of interest got together. When all was in readiness, the guard gave her a nod and his deep voice intoned, “Good to go.”
She nodded and raised the comm on her wrist. “Bring him up.” She turned to another of the officers and ordered, “Show me.” Three of the cardinal compass points held a large monitor, and one of them lit up with a split-screen feed from cameras on level four.
A team of guards walked into view. Two held manacles and two carried stun rifles. The first pressed the button to activate the microphone and speakers on the second cell on the right, and his voice was reproduced in perfect clarity. “Stand and turn your back to the door.” A moment later, the lock released with a loud click and they swung the heavy metal slab open. The front two guards entered while the others aimed their weapons into the space. At the slightest sign of resistance, they would stun the prisoner, and given the close confines, most likely the other guards as well. It’s not optimal, but they knew what they were getting into when they signed up to work the lower levels.
Moments later, the first pair walked backward from the room with Vincente in tow. He wore manacles on his wrists and ankles with chains connected between them. His restraints slowed the procession’s advance as they led him to the elevators. The guard switched to each camera in turn and alternated so they could watch the group walk out of one and into the other. This allowed the warden to keep a careful eye on their progress. The elevator climbed slowly and no words were exchanged.
The guards and prisoner emerged on the third floor, and surveillance lenses watched them every step of the way as they traveled the long path to the common room. When they reached it, the guard put up a pair of cameras on each monitor, and the room’s speakers carried the sounds of multiple conversations in the busy space. The convicts wore identical jumpsuits with their personal identification number stenciled in large letters on the back. One of the lenses was computer-locked on Vincente and tracked his movements as he crossed the basketball area toward the tables set on the far side of the area.
His escort halted him and removed the cuffs around his wrists but left those that secured his ankles and the chain that connected them as they withdrew. The action she’d anticipated took only moments to occur, and the warden nodded as the one-armed prisoner made a beeline to join his former employer.
Marcus sat across from him and looked furtively around them as if afraid to be noticed. “Boss, it’s good to see you. How are they treating you? I wondered when our paths would cross again.”
Vincente gave his underling the once-over. The man actually looked healthier than he had before his imprisonment, despite the missing arm. His orange jumpsuit was tight enough to reveal the loss of the minimal flab he’d carried and the gain of muscles in the weeks since his capture.
“It’s good to see you too, Marcus. I have no problems other than being stuck in this incredibly boring place. Are they taking care of you?” With a tilt of his head, he indicated camera positions, and his subordinate made a small n
od of confirmation.
“I can’t complain. Although it’s expensive to stay here. They already took the arm, so I expect the leg is next.” He chuckled at his own joke and it seemed like he’d told it quite a few times previously.
The wizard rolled his eyes with a slight smile and reached within for his magic in an attempt to use a minor spell to muffle their voices and blur their lips. It failed, as expected, and the power drained away before it could manifest the reality he desired. Marcus shook his head and his boss shrugged. “I had to try, right?”
The man nodded. “All the magicals do. I haven’t seen one succeed yet. Now you are all simply losers like the rest of us.” He smiled to show he meant no offense.
Vincente raised a hand to gesture at the surrounding area. “Well, it is a prison. Some minor challenges are to be expected.”
His subordinate laughed, and it was encouraging that he still possessed the same spirit he had before he’d been captured and lost his arm. Vincente gazed pointedly at the stump that ended below the other man’s shoulder. “When we get out, we have the hookup. We’ll make you even better than you were before.”
Marcus leaned forward, a look of restrained hope on his face. “You’re not simply talking? Something’s up?”
Vincente nodded. “I met with my lawyer. She told me that plans are in motion outside these walls. Plans that will lead to good results for you and I.”
The other man chuckled darkly. “Is that witch Sarah’s doing?” The emphasis on the title was more judgment than description. “I’m fairly sure she’d be happy to leave us both in this hole forever, given a choice in the matter.”
He shook his head. “No. Word’s come down from above on this one, according to the lawyer. It’s always possible she’s a plant from our captors, but she seemed authentic to me.”
Marcus leaned back in his chair and folded his hands together on the table. “So, the higher-ups are loyal to their underlings? That’s a rare thing—not including you, of course, boss.”
Federal Agents of Magic Boxed Set Page 70
