“Portals are better,” Sawyer mumbled. “Even if they are cold as fuck.”
“Focus, you two.” Vincent sighed. He dropped two small files on the table in front of him. “These are our victims. We only know about them because the local press caught wind of the first, and the IMPO was able to get eyes on the situation. However, the locals have made it hard for the agent to get any real information, or even good eyes on what they have. They don’t know he’s with the IMPO. His cover is that he is a simple Magi passing through and saw the newspapers. He’ll be leaving when we arrive, so he’s not roped into any dangerous situations.”
“Good for him,” Elijah commented.
“On to the actual bodies.” Vincent sighed. “Both have been ruled heart attacks, but they are Magi, which is our in. Because the area is a hot-bed for Anti-Magi activity, they wanted Special Agents and not just detectives or officers from Dallas or any of the other surrounding cities.”
“And there’s only like five of them per city,” Sawyer interjected. “They wouldn’t have the manpower anyway. They can barely handle their own cities where Anti-Magi problems aren’t really a part of the situation. Urban centers are normally too dangerous for the different hate groups to work.”
“Did you read that in the handbook? Because that’s not in the handbook I remember.” Vincent asked, frowning at her. Sawyer shook her head.
“Common knowledge for any Magi who works outside the law,” Sawyer told him plainly. There was no reason to hide it. “First order of business in any new city for me? Find out who those IMPO guys are and learn their patterns. If one of them moves, learn whoever replaces him or her. Makes working in the city much easier if I know where they live, what they like to do, and all of that. The information is also available for purchase on the Dark Web, but I never used that venue personally.”
“Holy shit,” Jasper whispered, and Sawyer saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye.
“The only people we really can’t find information on… are people like you guys. You show up, cause mayhem, catch someone, bust a ring, and disappear. The guys at the top are actually the easiest to keep tabs on because they are very public figures.” Sawyer finished, rocking back and forth a bit. Maybe she should have kept her mouth shut. The creeping feeling of shame at her knowledge of the dirtier workings of the Magi world filled her. She looked down, away from all of them towards her feet.
“We’ll need to remember that for later,” Vincent mumbled. “Back to the case. Yes, Sawyer, you’re right. They don’t have the manpower or the expertise in dealing with much outside their own cities. Since we aren’t attached to managing a specific area, we can get sent straight into the thick of it.”
She just nodded mutely, deciding that she really shouldn’t keep talking. What did it say about her that she knew someone’s life could be bought on the Dark Web? She’d never done it. She’d never bought or sold, preferring to do her leg work and see if she learned anything interesting. But she knew, and they would judge her for that. Hell, she judged herself for it. As a criminal, that was just the way her world worked. Now on the other side, she had a bitter taste in her mouth over it.
“From there, we know nothing.” Vincent sighed. “Two Magi bodies within a few weeks, both heart attacks, and the IMPO’s rep was denied any access to the case.”
“So, we’re going in blind,” Jasper said. “Do we have names on anyone who is or has worked on what happened to the bodies?”
Vincent slid a third file to Jasper.
“That’s the line-up of the local law enforcement,” Vincent told him. “It also includes anyone who handled the bodies. Oh, here’s one more thing for everyone; they haven’t done autopsies on the bodies yet.”
“Why not?” Elijah asked, sounding pissed off. “They just…”
“Something’s being covered up,” Zander growled. “That’s obvious.”
“Or they just don’t care enough about the victims,” Elijah snarled. “I’m not sure what’s worse. Cover up or just plain fucking heartless.”
“Settle in and enjoy the flight,” Vincent sighed. “Also, we don’t have leave to get into any fights with any non-Magi, unless we can prove they are direct threats or a part of the case.”
Sawyer nodded and just went back to her seat. She would spend the entire trip with a small cotton towel and her blades. She brought a small whetstone to make sure they were sharp. She knew Elijah had done fresh enchantments on them, but she liked the time with her weapons if she knew they might find use.
It had been a long time since she went through this ritual. And to her, it was ritual. She sharpened them, tested the tips and edges, then cleaned them.
If they were used, she would clean them again. Another step in the ritual.
She considered the years since she’d last stopped doing this. Before Henry was gone. Her last hit for Axel. She closed her eyes for just a moment as that memory came back. She let it ride. She remembered telling Henry not to touch her things. He asked why she was going away. She told him that his papa needed her to keep them safe. Henry had accepted that as the truth. The real truth was that she only did it to keep him safe. All of it had been for Midnight and Henry. Every second of it.
She reopened her eyes and continued working on the dagger. She didn’t look up as one of the guys drew close. She had grown used to their magic now, and she didn’t need to see who it was. The fact that it was barely noticeable told her everything she needed to know.
“Yes, Vincent?” she asked, continuing without missing a beat in her ritual. She tested the edge and was happy with it. She put the whetstone down and grabbed the cotton towel and wiped the dagger down carefully. When she was younger, she’d cut herself more times than she had cared to.
“I wanted to see how you were feeling,” he mumbled, sitting across from her. She flicked him a glance. He looked uncomfortable, but not pained. Uncomfortable, but not haunted. It was a good change, she decided. Uncomfortable was natural. Haunted… well, she had the market cornered on haunted. She didn’t need to see it in everyone around her as well.
“Fine.” She sighed. She slid the dagger into its sheath and realized it was the last one. She groaned and leaned back in her seat to look at their fearless leader.
“No one has…” Vincent cast a glance over his shoulder and she frowned.
“No one has given you a hard time over what… happened between us?”
She shook her head at his telepathic question. Zander’s comment had pissed her off and fucking hurt. So had Jasper’s reaction. Neither of them had talked to her since, and she accepted that they were angry and needed a moment to themselves. They were entitled to a bit of anger. But only a bit. Sawyer was going to give them this case to get their heads out of their asses. She didn’t belong to people. Not Axel, not Vincent, and not them. Their anger stemmed from them thinking that she was theirs, and that didn’t fly with her.
“Let me know if any of them do?”
She shrugged. She couldn’t mentally respond to his telepathy, but he would get what she was saying without her needing to vocalize it.
“We’re back to you being standoffish about telling me anything?”
She grinned, and he broke into a small smile. Oh, the games. They were almost perversely fun. Then he was up from the seat and back to his own.
The rest of the flight was uneventful. She maintained her distance and looked herself over after they landed. She was geared up, and she did the one thing she knew they would hate.
She wore her black leather pants. They were thick enough to protect her and allowed her to have her thigh sheath. She had on a black tee, tucked in, per IMPO regulation. Her belt was black, and she had her other two daggers at the ready along with a row of throwing knives at her back. Her boots were her black work boots for thieving, meant to be in for the roughest of use. She put on the shoulder holster last and made sure her Sig was secure.
She followed the uniform instruction to the letter. All black, work
clothing that was kept in good condition. These were her work clothes. Sure, she had black cargos, and they were in her suitcase, but if they wanted her armed to the teeth, the leather pants were really the best for her. Part of her brought out the leather pants because, at some point or another, all of them had told her not to.
She met the guys at the door towards the front of the jet, just behind the cockpit. None of them paid attention to her as they listened to the staircase get set up. Then a choked noise came from Jasper.
“Need any more knives?” Jasper asked, looking over everything she was carrying. He was looking a bit… she couldn’t find the word. Disgusted? Scared? Admiring? Some mix of all of that, she decided. He was carrying only his sidearm. Zander was the same, though his hands were wrapped in black.
“Am I allowed to have any more knives?” she asked, genuinely curious. “I’m sure I could grab a jacket and hide a few more.”
“That’s everything she brought,” Elijah cut in with a chuckle. Elijah sported a longsword, the hilt showing over his left shoulder. “Though I’m terrified that you can find a way to carry more. I think you are out of space.”
“I could put smaller blades on my upper arms. I have a free thigh without a blade yet. I could line the shoulder holster with more throwing-”
“We get it. You can carry a lot of weapons,” Zander groaned. “Jesus fucking Christ.”
“Be careful with that language, here,” Elijah warned him. “They won’t take kindly to it. And don’t be an asshole to your teammate.”
“We’re still in Dallas, dickhead,” Zander growled. “And I’ll say whatever the fuck I want, to whomever I want.” Then he followed Vincent out of the jet.
“Get your boy,” Elijah told Jasper. “Before I put him in the dirt.”
“Forgive him,” Jasper grunted. “He’s a bit cranky.”
“He gets this case to pull his head out of his ass,” Sawyer added, cutting between the two of them and leaving the jet. “Or I’m doing it for him.” She called back before she was out earshot. She didn’t fucking have the patience for Zander’s cranky shit over her and Vincent’s… accident. Because that was what she and Vincent were, an accident. Not one to be repeated, under any circumstance.
She stomped down the stairs with Jasper and Elijah behind her. On the tarmac, the Explorers were already waiting on them. She climbed into one and found herself with Elijah and Vincent. She was happy that she was in a car with Elijah driving, for once. Kaar bounced around on the seat next to her and she shifted away from him. Kaar was a big-ass bird, and Sawyer didn’t want to find out if he was biter.
“We have a hotel in Albany, the Hereford Motel.” Vincent sighed. “It’s basically the only place in town.”
“Fantastic,” Sawyer muttered.
“Why aren’t we staying in Abilene?” Elijah asked as they hit the freeway and took off.
“Because we’re supposed to get in the thick of it and stay there. Abilene is half an hour away.” Vincent answered. Sawyer sighed and leaned back.
“This shouldn’t be the hardest case to solve. We check in at the motel, get our stuff secure, and then go straight to finding where they are keeping the bodies and examine them,” Vincent continued. “Let’s just get through it.”
“You know,” Sawyer said chuckling. “I said that about the last heist I did, and Axel happened to be there.”
Sawyer was pleased to hear and see that they had given her a room to herself. She threw her bags onto her bed and met the guys back at the Explorers. She watched Zander focus and build a complex shield around their set of rooms to keep people out. He had to make it go through walls, the ceiling, and the floor to make sure the entire thing was secure. She had a genuine respect for that level of care.
“I’ll bring them down when we get back,” he said and groaned. “I didn’t make them very strong, but I don’t think there’s a Magi in the area who poses a threat to them. They should be fine.”
“Good thinking,” Vincent told him. “Let’s go bother the sheriff. He probably knows everything we want to know. Kaar is out getting a visual on the area for us.”
“Let me do the talking,” Elijah sighed. “I grew up with people like this.”
“How close is this to home for you?” Sawyer asked as they climbed back into the Explorer.
“Close enough to piss me off,” Elijah divulged.
“Are you thinking about visiting anyone while we’re nearby?” Sawyer asked, and Vincent made a noise. She knew his parents threw him out, but he had friends in the area, he must have. Guys like Elijah had friends fucking everywhere.
“No,” Elijah growled softly. Sawyer dropped it but committed his response to memory. Not just the word, but the tone, the set of his jaw. It told her that whomever he left behind, if anyone, wasn’t worth it to him. And that told her that not even Elijah was everything he appeared to be on this team of misfits and criminals. As long as she had been with them, there was still a lot for her to learn.
They pulled into the Shackelford County Sheriff’s Office and climbed out. Elijah took point, and Sawyer fell in beside Quinn at the back. They were probably both aiming for the same thing. Unseen and unnoticed at the back of the group where no one would give them any trouble. They didn’t fit in with the locals. At all. Best to go unnoticed, really, in Sawyer’s mind. They had left Shade and Scout in the air conditioning of Quinn’s motel room. An added level of security, and two wolves following them around would have screamed Magi.
The door chimed as they entered. Sawyer saw a small bell at the top of the door.
“Howdy. We’re looking for Sheriff Stevenson,” Elijah told a deputy at the front desk the moment he got within earshot. The young man looked up with a frown.
“And who’s looking?” The deputy’s strong accent was apparent, and Sawyer knew in a second that this guy was probably born in the area and never saw a day out of it.
“I’m Special Agent Elijah Grant, with the International Magi Police Organization,” he said politely, pulling out his badge and letting the deputy look it over. Sawyer noticed that his accent was a bit thicker than normal, and it had always been prominent. “This is my team. We report to Special Agent Vincent Castello.” Elijah motioned to Vincent, who gave a nod and short greeting. Once that was over, Elijah continued before the deputy could interrupt. “We’re here due to two Magi who recently passed away. The World Magi Council would like it investigated, just to make sure everything is fine, and let their families know. We should be in and out of your hair in a matter of days.”
“Sheriff’s not in, Special Agent,” the deputy replied with a sneer. “Now, why don’t you let us handle our business? They were locals. People have heart attacks. We’ve got it covered.”
“One of them wasn’t a local,” Jasper spoke up and Elijah gave him a quick look to be quiet. Sawyer noticed it and sighed quietly. “He was staying in a nearby town, doing some work and was supposed to leave in a few more weeks when he passed away.”
“Well, if you think you know everything, then I guess I’m not needed,” the deputy huffed. “Go on. I’ll let the sheriff know you stopped by but don’t think…”
The door chimed again, and Sawyer turned to see an older gentleman walk in. He was a true Texan, this one. Probably in his mid-fifties, he had leathery skin because he was in the sun too often. His goatee was salt and pepper. He wore the standard sheriff tan or khaki with that silly gold badge. He was also fit. He didn’t have the stereotypical old sheriff gut she was used to.
But none of that really was important. What was important was that he was a Magi. She narrowed her eyes. A very weak one with an almost unnoticeable amount of power. He was probably the weakest Magi she had ever come across. On a crowded street or in a crowded room, he was probably so weak that she wouldn’t have even noticed him.
“We have company, Jacob?” He asked gruffly as he walked behind the front desk. She kept her eyes on him. She looked for the small details. He placed his hands on the front d
esk, and she noted what could have been a wedding band on the left hand, but on the wrong finger and a… fraternity ring of some sort on the other. She narrowed her eyes a little. Those were Greek letters alright, she just couldn’t identify which. She needed to get closer but decided against it.
“From the International Magi Police Organization,” Deputy Jacob answered, with a bit of derision. The sheriff looked them over, and Sawyer raised an eyebrow at his glance at her legs. She shifted slightly so her thigh sheath and twelve-inch black dagger were more obvious.
“Not from around here, are you?” he asked, looking towards Elijah and frowning. Sawyer grinned to herself.
“I am. Special Agent Elijah Grant.” Elijah chuckled. Sawyer lazily rested her hands on the pommels of her daggers. “About an hour south, actually. The rest of my team hails from all over the world.”
“Sheriff Stevenson. Why are you in my town, Elijah Grant?” The sheriff asked, shaking Elijah’s hand. Then he shook his head. “Never mind. You’re here about the two bodies. Well, I have some bad news for you, then.”
“Oh?” Vincent frowned, and Elijah slowly pulled his hand out of the sheriff’s slowly.
“We’ve already released them to their families.” Sheriff Stevenson smiled politely. “Heart attacks, ya know? Pretty common. We don’t want to waste precious time and resources keeping ahold of bodies that families probably want back.”
Sawyer felt the mood shift in the room. Everything would have been fine if they had bodies to examine but without them… where did the team go? What did they do?
“I take it there’s no file kept on it either. You never questioned possible witnesses or anything?” Jasper asked, looking around Elijah to Sheriff Stevenson.
“No, neither had any witnesses. Heart attack, alone, in the middle of nowhere with spotty cell service, at best? Plenty of old farmers go that way,” Sheriff Stevenson replied, shrugging. “It happens.” Elijah pulled out his wallet and a card. He held it out to the sheriff.
The Redemption Saga Box Set Page 48
