by Jon F. Merz
I wasn’t at all happy when they took their drinks and came walking toward me.
16
They sat down near me. Close enough to talk but not so close they couldn’t get out of the way if I suddenly decided to attack them. At the moment, the only reason I would do that was if they insisted on interrupting my “me time.”
I sipped my drink, still focused on the TV at the far end of the bar. The bartender brought their drinks over and gave me a look that said he thought it was odd they had decided to move closer to me. I barely shrugged and he moved off, but I noticed that he didn’t stray too far.
After another ten minutes of no one saying anything, I took a sip of my drink and relished the flavoring of the gin as it mixed with the lime juice. I wondered how long it was going to take these guys to find their balls and say something, because there was enough eye conversation going on between them to start a chat room.
It took another five minutes. Finally, the older of the two of them - even though they both looked about twenty-five years old - hoisted his drink in my direction.
“You shouldn’t be drinking alone, man.”
I set my glass down and looked at them. “That’s what you chose to open with? Seriously?”
He kind of smirked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
“Yes, you did.”
He frowned. “Just being friendly.”
I sniffed. “Is that what you’re calling it? You come into the bar and each one of you gives the joint a once over. A long once over at that. Then you sit halfway down the bar, change your mind, and move closer to me. You don’t think I find that just a little bit weird?”
“Hey man, it’s a free country. We can sit wherever we want.”
I nodded. “Yup, it is a free country. But just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” I looked at them both know dead on. “You see, unless you’ve got some sort of business with me that you need to address, it might be wise if you moved yourselves back down the bar. I’m not in the mood for bullshit, which is exactly what you two are selling if you think for one second I buy the idea that you just happened to wander in here.”
I wasn’t sure where I’d come up with that last part, but even as I said, it made sense. Somehow, I’d picked up surveillance on me. I might have pushed the parking outside of the armory thing a little too long. It could be just the lycans checking up and making sure I wasn’t anything to worry about. Or they might have belonged to someone else. The longer you stay in the game, the more you realize that there are always players around. It’s just a matter of spotting them before they tag you.
Usually, I’m pretty good at it. But I was tired. I might have missed the lycan security team. Plus, I didn’t have any real chance to spot the dudes since they could morph into whoever they wanted to look like. It’s a little tough tagging people who can change their looks at will.
The lead guy set his jaw firm and leaned over toward me. “I don’t like the way you look.”
I smiled. “Shucks, and here I was hoping we were a match made in heaven.”
“Who are you, friend?”
My smile grew bigger. “It’s like you’re using every awful line from an action movie script. Has anyone ever told you that you don’t intimidate nearly as much as you seem to think you do?”
“Answer the question.”
I shrugged. “What I am is most definitely not your friend.” I took another sip of my drink and noticed the bartender seemed to be favoring a certain section of the bar. He must have had a baseball bat or a gun hidden underneath it. He wasn’t being jovial with any other customers and I could see his attention was focused on where I sat.
“Why don’t we go take a walk?”
I shook my head. “Not feeling very romantic tonight, but don’t let that stop you two guys from walking the fuck out of my life. Like right now.”
“I’m afraid we can’t do that.”
I eyed him. “Really? Weren’t you just telling me about this being a free country? I’m pretty sure you guys can leave anytime you want and no one will stop you. Hell, it might even save your life.”
The second guy apparently wanted in on some of the bravado talk. “Was that a threat?”
It was hard not to laugh in their faces. “No, I don’t make threats, junior. They’re a waste of time when you can simply take the action as necessary.”
He leaned back. “You’re an asshole.”
“Yeah, you’re not gonna find that calling me names does a damned thing. I’ve been called far worse by men who could shit both of you out without breaking a sweat. Now really guys, as nice as it is that you’re trying to be all tough guy with me, the gig’s kinda up. You’re not good at this game. And I am. In fact, I’m willing to bet I’m the best you’ve ever come across. So rather than take this into an area you might not come back alive from, you should just chalk it up as a learning experience and move on. And by move on, I mean, leave this bar immediately.”
“Why would we listen to you?” asked the lead guy.
“Because I’m the type who only says things once. If you don’t get it the first time, it’s not my fault when I put you in the ground for stupidity.” I drained my glass. “Now, did I make that clear enough for you or do you want to continue convincing me that you’re two of the stupidest dudes to ever set foot in my life?”
They didn’t say anything, but they both finished their drinks, threw a twenty on the bar top and walked out. I watched them go and then shook my head.
The bartender wandered over. “Everything okay?”
I shook my head. “I doubt it. Something tells me I’m going to run into Frick and Frack there again. Probably a lot sooner than I want to.”
“In that case, you’re gonna need another drink.”
17
I halfway expected to get ambushed as I left the bar a little later. But the Wonder Twins didn’t materialize, although they could have been anywhere around me if, in fact, they were lycans. I was definitely operating at a disadvantage, not being able to identify them as easily as I might identify a vampire. I’d have to ask Belladonna if there was any definitive method for doing it. Them being able to morph as they did made guessing who was who a whole lot harder than it should have been.
I took a long, winding circuitous route back to Belladonna’s house, running surveillance detection routes (SDRs) several times by driving into cut de sacs, dead ends, etcetera and then turning around quickly trying to flush any ticks I’d picked up as I drove. It wasn’t a fail-safe method, by any means, especially with technology being what it was. For all I knew, the twins of terror could have found the truck and planted a homing device on it. If they had, they could stay well back out of sight and I’d never know if I had people on me or not. That didn’t make me feel especially good about driving back to Belladonna’s house, but I didn’t really have much of a choice.
Arthur and Belladonna were eating more of the beef stew when I came in through the door. Arthur looked as tired as he had earlier, and I guessed that he hadn’t had much rest at all. Belladonna, on the other hand, looked positively radiant and full of energy. I almost started laughing at how she’d probably taken Arthur on an escapade the likes of which the old guy hadn’t experienced in quite some time. All that pent-up sexual frustration can wear you out in short order if you’re not careful.
“How’d it go?” Arthur asked when I’d helped myself to some stew and sat down at the table with them.
“Depends. I got the armory checked out. No real security that I can see, but that doesn’t mean much. Cameras could be covering every angle of that place and if I didn’t know where to look, I’d never see ‘em.”
“What else?”
“I attracted some interest from two guys who followed me into a bar. Wanted to know who I was, what I was up to, that sort of thing.”
Belladonna put down her spoon. “Did you frustrate their inquiries?”
“Not permanently, if that’s what you’re asking. But I manag
ed to scare them off. At least for the time being.” I took a spoonful of stew and felt a wave of energy wash over me a moment later. “I don’t know who they are, though, which is concerning me a lot.”
Arthur eyed Belladonna. “Boy’s got a point: we can’t ID your kind very easily. Makes it tough for us to tell who is a potential threat and who isn’t.”
“Is there any way to know if you’re dealing with a lycan or not?” I asked her.
Belladonna shook her head. “Not really. We’re able to blend as well as we do because we don’t have some sort of recognizable skin blemish like your kind. We’ve been able to survive for so long for just that reason.”
“Great,” I said around another spoonful. “In that case, we’re going to have to assume every one is a threat.”
Arthur nodded. “If those two wankers show up again and look the same, then it’s a fair bet they aren’t lycans.”
“Why?”
“Because why would they use the same appearance again? They’d lose the element of surprise. If they show up again, I think we’ve got to assume they’re either vampires or humans.”
“Neither of which makes me especially happy,” I said. “Why the hell would we have attracted the attention of vampires?”
“I’m guessing you didn’t check in with Bangor station?”
I shook my head. “How could I? This is off-the-books. The last thing I want is for the local Fixer to know I’m operating on his turf without a sanction.”
“Yeah, but if he knows of you and he happened to be in Bar Harbor for the day, checking up on stuff, then he might just be inclined to start asking questions.”
I sighed. “The sooner we wrap this thing up, the better.”
Arthur agreed. “Belladonna’s been filling me in on your hacking adventures. If it’s true that the text traces back to Bar Harbor then that leaves us with a finite number of possibilities as far as where they have her apprentice stashed.”
“It’s still an awful lot of things to check out.”
“I know it, mate, but we can’t let them dictate things. Just give them the impression that they are. If you lot can get the Corantu tomorrow and I can narrow down the possibilities, it’ll put us a lot closer to getting things done here. The less chance you and I have of getting into the shit with the Council, the better off we are. Personally, I might not have cared the other day if I lived or died, but I’ve recently discovered a new zest for life. So I’d like to hang about a bit longer.”
I smiled. “Understood.”
Belladonna blushed and went back to busying herself with eating. Arthur kept staring at her with nothing but love in his eyes. I felt like a third wheel again and I hoped I wasn’t going to have to leave the house again. If that kept up, I’d need an alcohol intervention before too long.
“So, it’s settled then,” said Arthur breaking the silence. “Tomorrow morning, Lawson and Belladonna will make the armory insertion while I do some casual driving about the town looking for any possibilities for where a hostage might be stashed. Hopefully at this time tomorrow night, we’ll have what they want and once they call, we can get a better fix on their location.”
“Then we track them down and crash the party,” I said.
Arthur nodded. “And I’ve brought plenty of hardware for just that occasion.”
18
I was still concerned about the possibility that I’d been discovered but there seemed little we could do about it just then. I grabbed a comfy sofa down in the basement, which put me as far away from the bedrooms on the second floor as was possible. While Arthur would no doubt need sleep before the morning, there was no guarantee the two lovebirds wouldn’t rendezvous for a midnight tryst. And frankly, I didn’t want to have to hear them going at it because I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep.
Three of Belladonna’s cats joined me in the basement, where the lycan Elder had shelves upon shelves of herbs either jarred or drying. The entire place had a delicate scent of lavender mixed with other earthy tones. It was incredibly relaxing and within seconds of laying my head on the pillow, I was fast asleep.
I came awake shortly before seven o’clock the next morning. It was later than I’d wanted to sleep, but clearly I’d needed the rest. Upstairs, Belladonna and Arthur were in the kitchen, the picture of domestic bliss as they both worked on breakfast. I felt like their kid and it was strange and charming at the same time.
“Morning.”
They looked up and smiled at me. “Sleep well?”
“Remarkably,” I said. “Can I grab a shower?”
Belladonna nodded. “Fresh towels already out in the bathroom. When you’re done, breakfast should be ready.”
“Hope you like eggs,” said Arthur.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
He smirked. “I’ve got a special recipe.”
Sure enough, when I sat down to eat, Arthur’s special recipe must have included some fresh blood because as soon as I swallowed them, the life-force energy smacked me hard and gave me a bit of a rush that was reminiscent of Arthur’s special drink that he made. “Boomshanka eggs?”
“Aye,” he said. “I thought you might see the similarities. These’ll give you a right kick in the arse. Perfect for sustaining you when you’re breaking into a lycan armory.”
“Great,” I said. “I really don’t want to have to fight my way out of there.”
Belladonna checked her watch. “They open at nine o’clock. I think we should be ready to go in there then.”
“Aren’t you worried that when the Corantu goes missing, they’ll think of you first?”
Belladonna smiled. “I’ve got a plan.”
“Well how about letting me in on it?” I asked.
“We’ll replace the real Corantu with a fake,” said Belladonna. “Once we’re done with the real one, we replace it and no one knows any better.”
“Like what we’re doing with the Cloak,” said Arthur.
“You know what this thing looks like?”
Belladonna sipped her tea. “Of course. I have a copy of it here because I used to get tired of needing to travel there to translate the scripts that run around the edges. I took it and made a base copy of it. It won’t hold up to scrutiny, but the chances of it being examined too closely in the short duration we require are slim to none. No one really even bothers with the old relics except for me.”
“What if there’s an emergency or something? What if your government suddenly needs it? What if the guys at the bar yesterday turn out to be on to this whole gig?”
“That’s a lot of what-ifs,” said Arthur. “It’s not worth worrying about. We’re not going to drag this out. According to Belladonna, the tangos are going to call later today with instructions for the drop off tomorrow. Once we get a fix on their location-“
“If,” I said. “If we get a fix on their location.”
“Well, what did that hacker promise you guys?”
“She said the app will get us close but it’s not exact.”
Arthur nodded. “All the more reason why I’m going to prowl around today so that when we get the area, I can hopefully eliminate the majority of possibles and turn the rest into probables.”
“Better hope we get it right,” I said. “If we start kicking in every door in Bar Harbor, we’re going to screw the pooch on this pretty damned quick.”
“Just because I haven’t been in the field for a while doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the training, lad.” Arthur spread his hands. “Once we get it narrowed down, we’ll put an OP on it and then figure out when we’re going to hit it.”
I was more concerned about the possibility that we were missing something rather than the logistics of setting up an observation post, but Arthur was right: he was one of the finest Fixers that had ever served and he knew the score on how to conduct operations like this. If we were going to make it through all of this junk, we’d have to be able to trust each other.
And I trusted Arthur with my life, having gone into com
bat with him previously.
Belladonna was the unknown variable, however. I had no doubt she could hold her own. And she could certainly shoot a gun. The question was, could she take down a house full of bad guys without killing her apprentice? Just because you can shoot doesn’t make you a skilled assaulter. Knowing when not to shoot is just as important as knowing when to shoot.
Ideally, I would have arranged a few training sessions before the real deal, but I couldn’t just call up the local Fixer and ask him if there were any close quarter battle ranges around that we could use to mock a hostage rescue. We’d have to trust that she could manage and go from there.
I went to brush my teeth and when I returned, I found Arthur was already gone. Belladonna smiled at me. “Are you ready to go do this?” She held the Cloak of Despar in her hands.
I took the Cloak and a wave of memories - recent memories at that - washed over me. I missed Talya so much just then. But I blinked it all away. It was time to go to work.
“Let’s go.”
19
I let Belladonna drive so I could keep a closer watch on our six. Before we left, I gave the truck a good going over to see if I could find a homing device. I didn’t find one, but that didn’t mean they hadn’t managed to stow it some place I couldn’t see. Unless I got the truck up on a lift and broke it down, I wouldn’t know for sure. Either that or if I had a transmitter detector that I could use to see if anything was sending signals from the car. That would only cover an active homer. A passive one wouldn’t show up until it was activated.
Beggars can’t be choosers. That’s what it came down to. I was doing the best I could with what I had on hand. And honestly, that wasn’t much. So we tucked into the truck and set off for the armory.
Before we drove into Bar Harbor itself, Belladonna pulled us off to the side of the road and looked at me. “Are you ready to do this?”
