Agents, Agreements and Aggravations: In Her Paranormal Majesty’s Secret Service™ Book Three

by Anderle, Michael

Chapter Sixty-One

  Richmond, Virginia, USA

  They followed the woman, moving at a pace that had Sturgeon impatient.

  “Can’t we pick her up or something?” Grimald asked. “Maybe she can be like a divining rod. She’ll twitch when we’re heading in the right direction.”

  Without much care, he scooped her into his arms from behind and held her in the air. She was lighter than he expected, although he hadn’t believed she would flail so much. The instant he picked her up, she threw her arms in all directions, going into a frenzy until he eventually lowered her back to the floor and let her crawl.

  “I guess not,” Sturgeon confirmed.

  The woman led them onward. Sturgeon followed a step behind her. After ten minutes or so, Grimald tutted beneath his breath and turned away from the group, running off into the street behind. Sturgeon didn’t complain. She was tired of his company and believed that he would be more useful doing something else.

  Another ten minutes passed, and the sound of wheels rolling on concrete met her ears. She turned and rolled her eyes. Grimald stood on a skateboard and sped toward them, a grin on his face.

  “Thought it might speed up proceedings,” he offered. “Try.”

  “You can pick her up,” Sturgeon instructed. “After what I saw last time, I’m not even tempted.”

  “We don’t have to. Look.” Grimald placed the skateboard on the sidewalk in front of the woman. He tilted the far end into the air, and the woman’s forward crawl made her mount the board. Once she was mobile, the wheels increased her speed. If it wasn’t for her feet dragging behind causing friction, she would have shot ahead of them all.

  “How does she know where she’s going?” Grimald asked. “If the others are long gone, surely it should be over? Does this guy install a GPS in everyone?”

  Sturgeon considered this. “I honestly don’t know. There’s little about this I understand. I have served Queen Victoria for only a decade, and this is out of my bank of knowledge. I think this is out of Jennie’s, too.”

  “That weird chick from the manor?” Grimald asked. “The one with the tight corset and delicious tits?”

  Sturgeon threw him a scalding look.

  “What?” He defended himself with arms up. “Don’t tell me she wears that because she doesn’t want attention. Anyway, how would she know more than you guys? Aren’t you the specials from Britain or something?”

  Sturgeon narrowed her eyes. “I am. We are. There are a lot of things at play in this world you will never understand. Just because you think you have it all figured out, don’t mistake that for truth or knowledge. What you know is nothing more than a drop in the goddamn ocean. You may learn a few things over the next couple of days. But even then, it won’t be anything of significance.”

  Sturgeon increased her stride, speeding ahead of him and catching up with the woman. He turned to the handful of her agents and shrugged. “Women, huh?”

  None of them met his eyes.

  He had turned his attention to the old woman, when he suddenly seemed to take in what Sturgeon had said. “What a second, did you say Queen Victoria?”

  * * *

  The city grew quiet around them. In the distance tractors and combine harvesters turned the soil over acres of land.

  The buildings grew more rustic, relics of things that once existed years ago. A bell tolled the hour and drew Sturgeon’s eye to a bell tower in the near distance.

  The old woman slowed at the sound of the bells. Her head lifted, and her eyes fixed to the tower.

  Sturgeon could just about make out a solitary figure up at the bell tower, seemingly looking out at the approaching group. A strange sensation crept down her spine as she suddenly felt certain the figure was staring directly at them.

  “Keep your guard up,” she instructed to the mortals and specters. She slowed and let the possessed woman take the lead. She beelined the skateboard for the large building, the rest of the city quiet as the wheels roared on the asphalt. She crossed into the road and a car screeched to a standstill. The driver shouted and raised her fists, then sped off as the woman cleared her path.

  Sturgeon spoke into her radio and got Ula’s request for a sit-rep in reply. “My team pursued a possessed individual to an old building with a bell tower on the west side of the city. There’s a female standing at the top of the tower, but we’ve yet to confirm if she’s a suspect or a prisoner.”

  Ula’s voice came back to her. “What does she look like?”

  “Hard to say without getting closer,” Sturgeon replied.

  “Then get closer,” Ula commanded.

  Sturgeon flushed. She was used to taking commands from superiors on her task force, but not from strangers. She took a deep breath to steady herself and tried to remember the agreement they had all signed in the manor: a contract to work together for the greater good. She was working for the good guys. Jennie was a good guy. Ula was her proxy.

  “Hold on,” she murmured. She wandered down the street, telling the others to stay behind her. When she reached the street corner, she could just about make out the shape of the person in the bell tower.

  “An Asian woman, Chinese descent by the looks of things,” she stated to Ula, finger pressed on her earpiece. “Short dark hair.”

  Ula described some additional features. “Could it be Jiao?”

  “Maybe?” Sturgeon replied. “Honestly, I’m not sure from this distance.” Yet a feeling in her gut told her that she was looking at the target Ula mentioned. Jiao was in the bell tower.

  “What would you like me to do?” she asked. “It appears as though she’s alone.” Her eyes traced the woman skateboarding on her stomach toward the building. “Apart from one old woman.”

  “Wait there,” Ula replied. “We’re coming for you. Do not approach without backup. She may be armed and highly dangerous.”

  “She’s definitely not armed,” Sturgeon replied, unable to see any kind of weapon on her. In fact, it was strange that the woman was just standing there and not doing anything in particular.

  Ula clicked off, and the earpiece was quiet. Sturgeon stared through narrowed eyes at the bell tower. Eventually, she turned to the others in her group, ready to dish an instruction to hold tight until backup came.

  Only, when she turned, she was surprised to find that another group had appeared from out of nowhere. Her agents were frozen still, spellbound. The possessed grabbed them and held them from behind as their eyes turned to white blanks.

  Sturgeon was at a loss as to how to react. The only ones free of the curse were the specters, who could do nothing to affect the mortals under the spell.

  “Get marching,” a disembodied voice demanded.

  Sturgeon moved in front of her agents, meaning to stop them from obeying the strange voice. Where it had come from, she had no idea.

  Although she stood in their way, they shoved past her indelicately, not caring one iota for her feelings. They pushed and marched toward the building, leaving Sturgeon breathless and confused. Grimald was among them, his firearm hanging from one clenched fist.

  Sturgeon looked back at the specters with a pleading look but found a woman standing where her men had been.

  She was older, retired, at least. She had a crop of blonde hair and kept in impressive shape for a woman her age. Her eyes were blanks, but where the other possessed individuals had seemed hollow, there was a definite power flowing from within this one.

  “And you,” a man’s voice instructed from the woman’s throat. “You get marching, too.”

  Sturgeon opened her mouth to protest, but something lunged out at her. A thick shadow leaked from the woman’s throat and came for her.

  It found its way into Sturgeon’s mouth and entered her body. All of her worries, doubts, and fears dissipated in an instant. Her mind was clouded in a cotton ball of white. The only thing she cared about at that moment was making her way into the community center.

  And finding a way—any way— to serve her mas
ter.

  Washington DC, USA

  Jennie ordered Ashton to hover over the Washington hospital before heading back to Richmond. She had an inkling in her stomach that, should her plan have succeeded, Rogers would be heading out of the hospital around this time, his bones healed and a spring in his step.

  They waited for at least an hour and found no sign. Eventually, Jennie dialed his direct number, and he picked up on the second ring.

  “Jennie! Long time, no speak.” Rogers’ voice was cheery and refreshed. He sounded as if she had called him after a perfect sleep and a hearty breakfast.

  Jennie asked him where he was. Rogers told her that he was nearing the SIA HQ. He had some business to attend to and hated how out of the loop he was on things, considering he had been in hospital since a bomb had nearly blown up his base.

  “We’re coming to get you,” Jennie informed him. “Wait out front. We’ll update you on the way.”

  She had expected some resistance. Rogers was a busy man at the best of times, but he agreed to her without question. “See you soon.”

  Twenty minutes later, Rogers climbed into the chopper. He had returned to his usual self, his demeanor strong and authority oozing off him. He reminded her of the first time she had met him, commanding grace pouring out of every pore.

  “I’m guessing this isn’t a social flight,” he asked as the chopper took off.

  Jennie shook her head. “Afraid not. We’ve got business to attend to. The shit has hit the fan, figuratively speaking, and we need all hands on deck. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I just returned from a three-week vacation in Maui.” Rogers grinned. “What was in that potion?”

  “Science,” Jennie replied flatly, leaving no room for further explanation.

  She filled him in on what he had missed while he was out of commission and in the hands of the President. He was particularly fascinated by Susannah’s story, particularly since it involved events from over three hundred years ago.

  “A witch, you say? How is that even possible? Magic isn’t real?” He raised an eyebrow and gave Susannah an intense look. Specters had entered his zeitgeist, but witches clearly seemed out of his wheelhouse of belief.

  “I don’t proclaim to have the answers,” she replied. “Maybe there’s some kind of science in specterdom that can cross over to mortals? You could call conduits witches, I suppose. They can see things that others can’t. My ability is to manipulate things others can’t fathom.” She turned to Jennie. “You say your friend Hendrick is able to manipulate chemicals that don’t show themselves to mortals. Maybe witchcraft is just a further manipulation of that magic.”

  Jennie tilted her head and chewed her lip. She supposed that could be true. Hendrick and his masters before him had played with chemicals and substances beyond the realms of mortal-knowledge. Could magic just be an extension of that same logic?

  When Richmond approached on the horizon, Ashton craned his head over his shoulder. “We’re here, guys.”

  They were about to land on the lawn of the manor when Jennie received an update from Ula. It was a message to her cell phone. Ula and the others were in the heart of the city following a potential lead. According to Ula, Sturgeon had dropped off comms while pursuing a lead on Jiao on the west side of the city.

  “The west side?” Susannah stated. “That’s mostly farmland, right?”

  Jennie confirmed that it was.

  “That’s out where I used to live,” Susannah informed them. “The farmland used to be the heart of Richmond’s trade. This is going back years, of course. I wonder if my old house is still there?”

  “I doubt it,” Baxter replied. “Unless you lived in a strip mall?”

  Ashton touched down on the grass. The McFarlene brothers greeted them with cackles and laughs, and Tanya, Krissie, and Lyla ran out to meet them on the lawn.

  Jennie waved at them from the Airbus. “We can’t stay, more news has developed. We must be off.”

  Tanya nodded, her SI glasses slipping on her face. “Who’s the specter?”

  Jennie grinned. “You’ll see later. She’s kind of a big deal.”

  She commanded Ashton to take them back up into the air. The chopper soared, and they waved the others away. “Man, I hate it when meetings are brief.” Jennie sighed. “At some point, it’ll be nice just to have guests over and not have to worry about the end of humanity, you know?”

  Baxter smirked.

  Jennie directed Ashton toward a group of people running through the streets. She recognized them instantly and had him bring the chopper down on the building with the lowest roof. The minute they neared the roof, the group paused, knowing the Airbus by sight.

  Jennie, Baxter, Ashton, and Susannah exited the chopper and ran down to the street. They found Ula and the others waiting for them, although they were jittery with impatience.

  “What’s the latest?” Jennie asked.

  Ula informed her of Sturgeon’s disappearance after a potential sighting of Jiao at the bell tower. They all broke into a run and headed toward the location, arriving within sight of the old community building only twenty minutes later.

  Sturgeon appeared before them as they neared the road the building was on and made to cross. A long-manicured lawn led to the building where a solitary figure watched from above. Jennie recognized her instantly but held her cards to her chest.

  “Sturgeon?” Jennie called between cupped hands. “What’s the deal? You went silent, for what? Is everything okay?”

  She asked for show, knowing that any sign she had figured things out would give away her advantage. “Get back over here, okay?”

  Sturgeon stared blankly at her. She looked smart in her SIS uniform, her guns holstered to her hips. Behind her stood a handful of other SIS agents as well as a man that Jennie recognized as one of the frontrunners of the GOA.

  Jennie moved her hand toward her weapons. “I’m not fucking around, Sturgeon. Get your arse over here. Now.”

  Sturgeon didn’t move. Jennie looked over her shoulder toward where a troop of civilians was pouring from the community hall. There were people of every creed and denomination, but they all had one thing in common with Sturgeon. They filed out until they filled the lawn, their faces blank, their eyes nothing but whites.

  Jennie leaned over to Baxter and sighed. “Get ready, I think shit might be about to go down.” She scanned the group. “But where the hell is the Dreadnought?”

  Susannah shuffled closer to her. “He’ll be hiding. He can’t afford to lead the pack. Without him, they all fall apart. He’s the lead domino.”

  “So, who’s going to take his place?” Baxter asked.

  Jennie already knew. The woman had disappeared from the bell tower, and now walked from the back of the group, who parted like the Red Sea before Moses. She reached the front and stared levelly at Jennie.

  “Jennie,” Jiao stated.

  “Jiao,” Jennie returned. She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll be honest, out of all of the twists and turns that have taken place during my hunt for the Dragon, I never expected you. We welcomed you. Gave you a home. Took you in when it looked like you had nowhere else to go, and this is how you repay us?”

  Jiao cocked her head to the side. “You think that wasn’t the plan? Do you think I wouldn’t know every step along the way? Jennie, you’ve been in this game longer than I have, so I’m saddened by the fact you couldn’t see through the ruse. It makes me think that you’re not half the woman they say you are.”

  Jennie considered her words. “Jiao, step away from all this. The Dreadnought is not who you think he is. He will be your end. Call off your troops, and no one has to get hurt.”

  “Someone will,” Jiao replied. “Someone always gets hurt in war. You know as well as I do that the game is bigger than you and me. You think it’s all over in Washington, but you’re wrong. If you think I don’t have more men willing to die for me, you’re wrong again. This is my time. The time of the Dragon has come, and you will no
t steal this from me.”

  Jennie sighed. “Very well. Have it your way.”

  Her hand moved to the Big Bitch. Without a moment’s hesitation, she drew the chunky firearm and pulled the trigger.

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Richmond, Virginia, USA

  For the first time since Jennie had met her, Jiao flinched.

  The Big Bitch roared, smoke lazily curling up from the end of the barrel following the gunshot. The petite woman looked down in disbelief and patted her body, hunting for the wound.

  But there was none. Jennie’s aim had been true; the bullet had flown an inch above her head. Jiao’s hair had wobbled beneath its trajectory.

  “You missed,” Jiao stated.

  Jennie shook her head and looked at the hole that had been made in the roof of the community center. “I missed on purpose. Do you think I would make the same mistake I made with Zhao and kill you when we’ve got a number of other psychos on the loose? Oh, no, dear. Not today.” She turned to Baxter, Ashton, and Susannah. “You guys ready?”

  They all nodded.

  “Fantastic.” Jennie grinned. “Come on then, Jiao. Show us what a true Dragon is made of.”

  Jiao gave a solemn nod, then snapped her fingers. A spark of something flashed on the hand she wore three rings on.

  The possessed gathered on the lawn started to run.

  * * *

  The gunshot tore through the city, sounding like a thunderclap. Outside the many windows of the houses and apartments in Richmond, faces appeared and looked at the sky.

  For the first time in days, the clouds grew. The sun fought to be seen through the massing darkness caused by the thick gray clouds. In the east, a gentle drizzle began to fall.

  Ula and her team were running through the streets when they heard the gunshot. A smile appeared on Ula’s face. It was Jennie’s signal.

  She increased her pace and led the others onward. Roman, Rhone, and Triton weren’t far behind, and even Julia was managing to keep up. There was something in her face that hadn’t been there before, a grim determination that she must have sucked out of Roman’s mouth and placed within her gut. Courage found in the presence of love.