Bianca smiled. ‘I’ll get an invitation sent out. And don’t worry about work getting in the way. I’m quite sure it’ll be fine. And please don’t bother getting me anything. There really isn’t anything I want that I haven’t already got.’ She turned and started away.
‘Um, thanks, Miss– I mean, Bianca.’ Damian found himself wondering what had just happened, and just what was going on with his life right now.
‘My pleasure, Detective. See you next week.’
New Millennium City, MD.
Twilight stopped in the lounge doorway, leaned against the frame, and looked across the room at Jacob. He was still dressed for work, more or less. His jacket had gone and was lying on the sofa as though rather carelessly discarded. His tie had been pulled loose and his collar button undone. His gaze was fixed on his TV and there was a bottle of beer in his hand, and he had not noticed her yet.
‘Special Agent Dannon,’ she said, smiling. ‘More casual than usual.’
‘Huh?’ Jacob looked around and then down. ‘Huh, yeah. I just got in about thirty minutes ago.’
‘Tough day at work?’ Twilight pushed off the doorframe and began to prowl across the room toward him. ‘Don’t worry. We’re here to make it all–’
‘Yeah, tough day.’ Jacob managed a slightly forced grin. ‘I… need to talk to you before… It’s about the DC thing.’
Twilight stopped in the middle of the room. ‘Now?’
‘Yeah. Look–’
He stopped as Twilight reached up to her face and pulled her mask off. Andrea let out a gasp and stumbled a little as she was suddenly pushed into the front of their mind. ‘Damn, Twi,’ she muttered. Then she frowned at Jacob. ‘Twilight can be a little childish at times. She’s refusing to talk to you.’
‘Uh, well, I’m s–’
‘In this case, however, I happen to agree with her.’
‘Andrea, look, I was ordered to–’
‘No, Jacob.’ Andrea kept her voice level. She was seething inside, angry enough that serene calm seemed the best way to express it, even if she was only barely aware of the choice. ‘We have a personal relationship which your superiors are aware of because, due to quite an enlightened policy decision, they only ban secret affairs with Ultras. They have ordered you to talk to me about this because they know we will be meeting privately, and that is abusing our relationship. You let them.’
‘It’s not like I have much choice,’ Jacob growled, his own anger simmering.
‘Of course you had a choice. You know where I work. You could have come to the house before I went on patrol. You chose to do this here, now. This is our time, Jacob. You, me, and Twilight.’ She paused and her eyes widened. ‘Damn! Cygnus and I both noticed more air traffic the last couple of nights. Helicopters. The UID is watching us.’
‘Trying to,’ Jacob replied. ‘You’re very difficult to keep track of. Andrea, they’re still talking about pulling your registrations.’
‘Then they should do it. See where it gets them.’
‘They weren’t exactly pleased at being threatened either.’
‘No? Now they know how it feels. Maybe, just maybe, if law enforcement in DC was actually doing its job, we wouldn’t have had to go in there to break that place up.’
‘That’s not fair.’
‘No? It took a couple of days to work out where the new supplies were coming from. Once we’d worked out it wasn’t Baltimore, that the DC operation was responsible, it took two hours to find out where they were operating from. It’s just about an open secret. That place could have been eliminated any time in the past six years. Six years, Jacob. That’s how long it’s been operating without any interference.’ She paused, but Jacob just frowned. ‘So, here’s a threat. If they pull our registrations, I’ll pull down the federal reserve status of the District of Columbia. The police in there are corrupt. They exist in an environment where the only Ultras allowed in are the presidential protection detail. Criminals moved into the area because it was safer, and then they bought the cops to make it safer still. I can name three wanted Ultrahuman criminals hiding out in Washington, and I know there are more than that.’
‘You can prove all this?’
‘If I have to. So… So tell your damn bosses that.’ She turned and started for the door. ‘Somehow, the mood’s gone. See you, Special Agent.’
Jacob watched her back and knew there was no point in going after her. He saw the shadows thicken in the hall and then recede, and he knew she was gone. Angry with himself as much as anything, he lifted his bottle to his mouth but nothing came out. He frowned and peered into the bottle, and saw ice. She had frozen his beer? She could do that?
‘Damn,’ Jacob said to the room. Then he got up to find something stronger than beer.
~~~
Penny’s eyebrows went up as Andrea, in a robe, walked out of her room and headed for the kitchen area. ‘You’re back early,’ Penny said.
‘Sure am,’ Andrea replied. ‘Now I’m going to drink too much.’
‘Something up with you and Jacob?’
‘Damn right there is. When we got there, Jacob wanted to talk about the drug lab thing.’
‘Oh.’
Andrea walked over and slumped onto a sofa with a glass of wine in her hand. ‘So I’m pissed off and frustrated, and Twi is sulking. They’re still trying to hold our registrations over us, so I told Jacob just exactly what I’d do if they pulled them. Then I left.’
‘You can’t let them break up what you have with Jacob, Andrea.’
‘Why not? What exactly is it I have with Jacob? We get together some nights and bang each other into submission. We don’t go out because I’m terrified of someone using him against me. Well, someone has, and it’s the fucking UID. And he let them do it. That’s what pisses me off most.’
‘Maybe he thought that if he was the one to talk to you, he could avoid something more official.’
‘Maybe. If he’d come to work or here, I’d have accepted that as a motive. I’d have been angry, but I’d have accepted it. He waited for tonight. Our time, our personal time.’
‘Yeah, well, he is a man…’
Andrea snorted out a laugh. ‘Valid point. I’ll sleep on it. See how I feel in the morning. And whether Twi’s still sulking.’ Pause. ‘Yes, you are sulking. Like a nine-year-old who didn’t get a pony for Christmas.’ Pause. ‘No, you can’t have a pony.’
16th August.
‘Here we go,’ Andrea said.
Penny looked up at the TV to see a trio of large, black cars on the drive. Two SUVs, one big town car. They all had government plates. ‘Crap,’ she said, and headed for her room.
‘I’d just about decided I was over last night too. Want me to get the door?’
‘I will. My house.’
Andrea turned her attention back to the screen where the cars were shown pulling up outside. A squad of black-suited men emerged from the first of the SUVs. Two of the four were carrying lightweight SMGs. Another group emerged from the second SUV, none of them so heavily armed, and one of those agents walked over to the town car, opening one of the rear doors. A woman stepped out: a tall, slim woman in a designer skirt suit. Andrea’s eyes narrowed. ‘Delphine’s with them,’ she said as Cygnus emerged from her room, belting her robe closed.
‘Delphine, huh? Right.’ Cygnus started for the front door, refocussing her powers as she went. The trick was crude, and she was not absolutely sure it would work. It was something Viviane had mentioned to her on one of her check-up visits to Andrea, but Cygnus had never had cause to try it. Well, now was probably a good time…
The buzzer sounded just as Cygnus opened the door. ‘Delphine, a pleasure to meet you,’ Cygnus said, smiling. ‘And you brought some friends with automatic weapons. How nice.’
Delphine was attractive and blonde, noted for her diplomatic attitude, and for being one of the most powerful psychics in the US. She returned the smile. ‘You must be Cygnus. I’m hoping that Twilight is here too?’
/>
‘Yes, she is.’ Cygnus gave no impression that she planned to invite them in, but Delphine’s smile continued to look pleasant and relaxed.
‘I’ve been asked to come here to assist UID Senior Special Agent Hammond’ – she indicated the man on her right – ‘with his investigation. Could we come in?’
‘Sure. Just try to keep your voices down. One of my housemates got in very early this morning from L.A. and she’s still in bed trying to catch up on some sleep.’ Cygnus stepped back and Delphine walked in, followed by Hammond and a second man, as yet unnamed but wearing a Secret Service pin on his lapel, just like Delphine’s. One from the UID, two from the Secret Service. Interesting. Cygnus closed the door and then led them through into the lounge.
Andrea watched as the Secret Service guy positioned himself beside the lounge’s entrance, standing in one of those poses you saw agents take up while guarding the president. Her eyes flicked over Delphine and Hammond. Delphine was not armed, but then she had formidable mental capabilities…
‘And you must be Twilight,’ Delphine said. ‘Or Andrea Morgan. I’m Delphine, and this is Senior Special Agent Gareth Hammond. Agent.’
Before Hammond could speak, Cygnus indicated the second sofa. ‘Please, sit down.’ She took a seat beside Andrea, crossing her legs and straightening her robe.
Delphine sat down, but Hammond remained on his feet. ‘I’ll stand,’ he said, and then he cleared his throat. ‘The UID has been called upon to investigate your recent activities. Specifically, your incursion into the federal reserve area of the District of Columbia. Until this investigation is completed, your registrations under the Special Policing Act nineteen ninety-three are suspended. You will cease all crime-fighting activities until notified of the result of the investigation. Your UltraNet access will be revoked.’
‘Good luck with that,’ Andrea broke in.
‘I’m sorry?’
‘We’re associate members of the Union of Ultrahumans. Our UltraNet authorisation comes directly from the UoU, not through the US registration process. Oh, and Doctor Ultimate takes a very dim view of governments interfering with his network, so don’t think about it.’
Hammond coughed again. ‘You will be required to submit to interview at a time and place designated by–’
‘Uh… no,’ Cygnus said, interrupting him. ‘Associate members of the UoU, remember? The US government has an agreement with the UoU regarding the interrogation of its members. Of course, the US signed it happily assuming it would apply to members operating in Russia and China, but it applies to all of us. We will submit to any interview you wish, at the UoU base in Antarctica, with legal representatives of the Union in attendance.’
Another cough. ‘This investigation is under press blackout. You will not communicate any details of this to anyone in the media.’
‘We won’t if you don’t,’ Andrea replied, smiling.
Cygnus was watching Delphine, who was sitting there, silent, looking a little uncomfortable. When Delphine reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, Cygnus smiled and said, ‘Is something wrong, Delphine?’
‘What? No. I just… This isn’t what I’d describe as a pleasurable experience. It’s never easy to see fellow Ultras in trouble.’
‘Of course. I understand perfectly. But you’re sure it’s not that you’re trying to read our minds and finding a lot of noise instead?’ A flicker of annoyance danced across Delphine’s features and was quickly suppressed. ‘Obviously, such an attempt would be illegal without a warrant, so it can’t be that.’
Hammond seemed to have something of a problem with his throat. ‘Be that as it may, I intend to conduct a thorough investigation of this incident and determine whether further sanction is required.’
‘I’ll get my evidence together then,’ Andrea said.
‘Pardon?’
‘I have a lot of it, and you don’t want to see it. Let’s be frank, you’ve got about three days before ACPN starts wondering why neither of us is patrolling. They’ll ask us, and we’ll say we’re not allowed to comment. They’ll broadcast that. Every petty criminal in the city is going to take that as their signal to do whatever they damn well like. The Walter Knights only cover a small area of Friendship, and they’ve been far less effective since David Chou died. Skadi’s pretty good, but she’s a novice and doesn’t have anything like our power. Street crime is going to explode. I’d say you have two weeks to get somewhere with your investigation before the city authorities are screaming at the state authorities to override the federal ban.’ Andrea looked at Cygnus. ‘Don’t know about you, but I could use a two-week break.’
Cygnus nodded. ‘I wouldn’t say no. I could pop down and visit Ever, maybe.’
‘I have things to do in Italy.’
‘So, not a problem.’ Cygnus turned back to Hammond and Delphine. ‘Now, assuming that’s all you have to say, I’d appreciate it if you left.’
‘The suspension comes into effect at midnight tonight,’ Hammond said. ‘That’s, uh, it.’
Cygnus smiled and got to her feet. ‘Let me show you out.’
When Cygnus returned from letting the agents out of the house, she found Andrea watching the screen and June settling onto a sofa with a mug of coffee. ‘You heard?’ Cygnus asked.
‘I heard,’ June replied. ‘Uh, so I don’t know whether this is a good time to mention this or not, but I bumped into Bianca Fullerton in L.A. Well, “bumped” is wrong, she flew down specifically to invite me to a party. It’s her birthday next week too. On Wednesday.’
‘Oh…’
‘She wants you to come too. It’s kind of a public thing with a private after-party. There will be a lot of press there to begin with…’
‘Sounds perfect to me,’ Andrea said. ‘The pair of you can get out of town and people are going to wonder why the official protector of New Millennium feels she can skip out of the city for a couple of days without a care in the world.’
‘You seem to be planning this out like a campaign. I didn’t think you were that kind of sneaky.’
Andrea shrugged. ‘Maybe some of the Shadow Court is rubbing off on me. They’ve been way sneakier than me for thousands of years.’
18th August.
Penny opened her eyes and smiled. June had snuck into bed with her again and was spooned against her back. She was warm, and comfortable, and it was her birthday.
Cygnus and Twilight had run one last patrol before their suspension began, just for form’s sake really, and then Penny and Andrea had settled into their holiday. For Monday, that had meant a marathon eighteen-hour session of True Powers, which Andrea had never seen. She had not really looked sorry to have never seen it before when they had gone to bed, but she had said it was not as terrible as she had expected, which probably constituted high praise. It had been fun, eating junk food and chatting, and purposefully not checking anything which might have had news on it.
Penny’s eyes widened as a hand slid under her camisole and began to skim over her stomach. ‘June?’
‘Mmhmm?’ The hand teased its way higher, stroking over skin which seemed to have suddenly developed hypersensitivity.
Penny suppressed a shiver. ‘Your hand is… kind of nice, actually, but, um…’
‘But what? You said “rain check,” and it’s your birthday, and no one’s going to interrupt.’ June’s hand found one of Penny’s small breasts, cupped it, and began teasing at her nipple.
‘Oh… Give me… Give me a second and I’ll turn–’
‘No, you won’t. Not now anyway. I want Penny now. Tonight, when we go to bed, you can be Cygnus, and we’ll fuck until we pass out. I want to do that too. Now I want Penny.’ June squeezed at Penny’s now swollen nipple and Penny bit her lip to stop herself moaning.
‘I… I’ve just never… I mean, with a woman. I don’t… oh… I don’t want to mess it up.’
‘You’ve done it with me before now. And Svetilo.’
‘That was Cygnus.’
‘T
hat was Penny not worrying about how she would perform, or what anyone thought about what she was doing, or about anything else except her own pleasure and that of her partner. Well, there’s no one here who’s going to judge you, so all you have to do is let yourself go.’
June’s fingers continued their teasing and Penny’s breath started coming in pants. She had not realised her nipples were that sensitive to the touch of another and she wondered whether any of the men she had been with had ever bothered to find out. And June did not care that Penny was not some sort of supermodel, and she would not judge, or be disappointed, and she would make Penny feel absolutely glorious, and…
‘I’ve never… been that good… at just… letting go,’ Penny panted.
‘Do it for me,’ June whispered into her ear. ‘Just let go, Penny. Just let go, love.’
It was just a tiny orgasm, a pre-shock, but it ripped through Penny, leaving her breathless. When she could think again, she was on her back and her shorts were gone and June was… Oh God, what was she doing with her tongue? And her fingers? Oh, yeah that, but this body had never felt that and… ‘Oh, I’m gonna– Ah!’
Somewhere in her addled brain, Penny was aware that June had crawled up beside her. She heard ‘That’s my girl’ whispered in her ear.
‘Give… second. Still… seeing colours.’ There was a giggle. June’s fingers pushed short, brown hair from Penny’s eyes, and then began stroking over her stomach again. June’s lips were on her neck. June’s breath was tickling Penny’s skin. Penny’s vision cleared. ‘Oh no, now it’s my turn,’ Penny said.
‘You don’t have to if you don’t want,’ June told her. ‘It’s your birthday, so–’
‘So you do as I say, and I say “spread ’em, lover.”’
~~~
‘So, you two finally did it then?’ Andrea said as Penny and June emerged from Penny’s room, both with wet hair. It sounded more or less like a question, but there was a lot of statement in it.
‘How can you tell?’ Penny asked.
‘You’re looking kind of pleased and a little shell-shocked. June looks like the cat who got the jumbo-sized, deluxe cream with the special topping.’
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