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

by Anderle, Michael

  Shit. It’s them.

  Jennie broke forward as the ghouls ran at them. The agents raised their weapons but were reluctant to use them in the tunnels, knowing any sharp noise might cause the walls to crumble around them.

  Though they could see the threat, they could do nothing to halt it. Jennie doubled over and increased her pace, wanting to get it over with. Not only would the tunnels collapse, but they also risked alerting the others, and that was something she wasn’t willing to do yet.

  The agents sprinted away, looking over their shoulders as they did. Jennie wondered if Sturgeon was pinning her hopes on being able to find another way out of there. The ghouls groaned, the sound echoing down the tunnels, and Jennie knew she had to do the very thing she feared the most.

  “Here goes nothing,” she muttered.

  She stretched out her tendrils of power and connected to one of the ghouls. The moment her power latched on, she gagged as the sickening corruption slithering through her veins. Her head was filled with visions of dirt and worms and rotting food. She focused on trying to see the light and pulled the ghoul toward her.

  The ghoul fell on its ass and slid along the floor. When it reached Jennie, it snapped its neck sickeningly toward her. Jennie threw a haymaker to the ghoul’s jaw and its eyes rolled back. A swift kick to its mid-section threw it back against the wall and caused it to lie still.

  “One down.” Jennie disconnected from the first ghoul and dry-heaved. The sudden influx of clean energy through her body was refreshing, but it only magnified the miasma she had just experienced. She was hesitant to chase the second ghoul but knew she had to do something.

  She left the first ghoul behind. The agents had stopped midway down the next tunnel, having seen Jennie approach. The ghoul now advanced on the group, lumbering toward them with mismatched steps.

  Jennie took a deep breath before latching onto the ghoul. This time, the effect was so overwhelming that she was forced to her knees. She tried to focus on pulling the ghoul toward her, but her vision went blurry, and she struggled to maintain her grip.

  Come on, Jennie. Just a little bit more. You can do this.

  She gritted her teeth and tugged the ghoul away from her comrades. Her friends.

  The ghoul stumbled over its own feet and crashed on the floor in front of her. Though spectral, a fetid smell came from its skin. Jennie had to use every bit of reserve in her to punch this ghoul and incapacitate it.

  A punch to the throat. Another to the cheek. A third to the temple.

  The ghoul lay still, its eyes pure white. Jennie disconnected, and this time emptied the contents of her stomach. The others rushed to her and crowded around her, speaking quietly as they thanked her and tried to soothe her.

  “That doesn’t look like fun,” Jack muttered. “First point of order when we get out of this tube: spectrally-imbued knives.”

  Jennie nodded and took deep, clean breaths.

  Ruby continued, “And baseball bats, and riot shields, and switchblades, and swords.”

  “Speaking of which,” Jack commented. “Where’s the Holy Saber Whoosit?”

  Jennie gasped in lungfuls of air, her forehead peppered with sweat. “At the manor. It is too unwieldy to carry it in spaces where I have to be nimble.”

  Jack nodded in understanding. “Would have been useful around now, wouldn’t it?”

  Jennie glared at him. “You think?”

  They helped her up. After a minute, she was able to walk without heaving.

  Jennie looked down at the ghoul. “Things are really taking a turn, aren’t they?”

  Sturgeon bit her lip. “If the Dreadnought is supplying the power to these guys, what’s it going to be like if you latch onto the primary power source? Can you handle that much corruption?”

  Jennie struggled to answer. The thought had crossed her mind. She supposed she wouldn’t know until the moment came and she was called on to try.

  “Come,” she commanded, ignoring the question. “We need to get this party started, but the first priority is getting you guys the hell out of here.”

  They started down the tunnel, Jennie’s sense of direction considerably better than the others. They passed the second ghoul and headed back toward the entry chamber.

  A few minutes after they left, the two ghouls rose once more and stumbled back toward their master to raise the alarm.

  * * *

  The Dreadnought eyed the remaining three men through eyes that weren’t his.

  He reveled in their cowardice. They shuddered and trembled beneath his power. His promised queen had informed him that these were some of the most powerful men in New York City, yet he could smell the tang of urine emanating from their trousers.

  Fear was the great equalizer. Under the oppressor’s thumb, all became equal, ground down to nothing, no more threat than worms. He and his bride would use these new puppets to command their mortal army, and they would rise from these tunnels anew, ready to resume his work and dominate the sleepy city.

  He grinned, although the smile didn’t reach the lips of the woman he inhabited. He enjoyed her body, the powerful flexing of her muscles, and the sweet aroma of her skin. Out of all of his vessels, he had fit most comfortably inside of her, although he longed to be reunited with his own body and roam the world in the image God meant for him.

  Jiao explained the deal to the trembling men, and they nodded eagerly. The man he had destroyed earlier had risen in his spectral form and was sitting sullenly beside them, a lot quieter than he had been before.

  The great equalizer.

  The Dreadnought relaxed in his chair, excitement buzzing inside him as Jiao—his Dragon bride—drew close to the end of her orders. It was about to begin. The great unity would ignite the massacre, and all would bow before—

  The Dreadnought stiffened and sat up straight in his chair. His eyes widened as a tingling sensation ran down his spine. He was vaguely aware of Jiao speaking to him, asking questions he couldn’t hear. His mind wasn’t with them in the chamber at that moment. It was responding to the connection he shared with his former prison.

  Someone was touching his sarcophagus. Someone was moving what was his. The curse that bound him to the stone left the threads of communication, and like a spider responding to the vibrations in its web, the Dreadnought rose from his seat in fury.

  “They’re here,” he growled. “They’re invading.”

  Jiao raised an eyebrow. “But how? How have they found us?”

  The Dreadnought scanned the men in turn, his eyes locking onto Vincenzo’s as if he could read the thoughts rattling around in his brain. “Did you lead them here?”

  Vincenzo was able to get out a single syllable before the Dreadnought poured his being into him and ripped him open from the inside. When Vincenzo fell to the floor, he returned to the woman’s shell and glared at Jiao, eyes blazing. “You said they’d aid our cause, not reveal us to our enemy.”

  For the first time since he had met her, Jiao cast a doubtful look at the floor. “I…”

  The Dreadnought raised a hand. “Enough. We must move and quickly.” He turned from the tunnels even as two of his ghouls limped into the chamber. “I know!” he roared before they could open their mouths.

  He waved his hand and threw them both into the wall, where they collapsed and laid still.

  * * *

  Jennie was impressed to find that the chamber in which the tomb was located had been emptied. As they marched swiftly to the entrance, they caught up with Roman and his team of agents, who were struggling to lift the damn sarcophagus even though they had eight people working together to carry the thing.

  Jennie gave them a hand, glancing over her shoulder as creeping dread spread inside her. They were running out of time and needed to get a move on.

  When at last they’d dragged the tomb out of the tunnels, Jennie ensured everyone was clear before returning to the entrance. She spared a glance over her shoulder as she latched onto Baxter and recharged her powe
r cells before diving back inside.

  The moment she entered the tunnel, she knew that something was wrong.

  Chapter Seventy-Two

  Richmond, Virginia, USA

  Despite the quietness of the tunnels, Jennie couldn’t shake off her feeling of unease. It was becoming a permanent chill creeping down the back of her neck and trailing her spine. Something was happening ahead, but she wasn’t sure what.

  It doesn’t matter. Do what you need to do, and get the hell out of there.

  Jennie took the tunnel that she had sent the conduits down, knowing that somewhere ahead lay the bulk of the enemy’s army. A collected group of mortal thugs who were doggedly obedient to their masters.

  She crept onward, caring a little less about the noise she made since it wouldn’t matter soon. Soon the tunnels would be filled with sound.

  The light came ahead. She ran toward it, turning the heads of the gathered mortals as she boldly entered the room. The crowd fell into silence as they tried to work out if what they were seeing was real.

  “I know,” Jennie announced. “Hard to take it in when you’ve got a celebrity in the house, eh? Stare at me all you want, I’m here to tell you one thing, and one thing only. You best get your arses in gear because this whole tunnel is about to collapse.”

  The silence continued as they stared at Jennie. She sighed and drew the Big Bitch. “I’m serious. Get your arses in gear and go. Before it’s too late.”

  A man in a thousand-dollar suit encrusted with dirt stood up and cocked his head to the side. “You think we can’t take you, bitch? We know about you. Our boss told us the stories.” He spat on the floor. “Bunch of bullshit if you ask me.”

  The man beside him muttered, “Who is it?”

  “That’s that Rogue chick,” he replied. “The ghost-tamer, or whatever it is she does.” He leaned forward, a cocky expression on his face. “We don’t believe the stories, sugar tits. Ain’t no one can do what they say you can do. Now put your pretty gun away before we all blow you to a thousand pieces. We outnumber you a hundred to one.”

  Jennie didn’t feel the need to correct him as the ghouls started leaking into the room, drawn by the disturbance. They significantly raised the number.

  “You’ve got until the count of five to get your feet in motion,” Jennie instructed. “Five…”

  “Screw this!” the man cried. “Let’s fucking take her.”

  He raised his pistol, but the man next to him knocked his hand away. A few men and women ducked out of his trajectory. “What are you doing? One shot will send this tunnel into collapse. You’ll be doing her work for her.”

  “Four,” Jennie continued.

  The man furrowed his brow. “Fine.” He threw the gun on the floor and ran for Jennie.

  “Three,” she stated.

  There was a movement from behind, and Jennie knew that they were trying to gang up on her. Little did they know that they could not get their hands on her.

  “Two.” Jennie readied the Big Bitch.

  The man dived at her. At that same moment, Jennie latched onto her power cells and became spectral. He lost his balance and face-planted on the floor when she vanished.

  Jennie reappeared five feet from where she had been and smirked. “One.”

  The man’s eyes widened in alarm as Jennie aimed the Big Bitch at the ceiling. The men and women started to babble and run in a panic, stunned by what they had just seen. They crashed into each other, many of them filing toward the tunnels to get out of there.

  Jennie had enough time to look toward the far tunnel, where a pair of figures stood in the shadows. Though she couldn’t make out their features, she knew who they were: Jiao and the Dreadnought, ready to join the party.

  “Go,” Jennie finished.

  She pulled the trigger. The bullet lodged into the ceiling above and sent chunks of dirt crashing into the tunnel. The sound reverberated around them, magnified in the chamber and tunnels. The ceiling shook and started falling inward, landing heavily on some of those less willing to accept what they had seen Jennie do, while the rest sprinted for the entrance.

  The tunnel rained debris. Jennie looked again for the Dreadnought and found with alarm that he had gone. She had thought he would follow his men out of the tunnel, but that wasn’t the case. He had dashed farther into the darkness.

  Against her better instincts, Jennie gave chase, latching onto her power cells and sprinting against the tide of bodies. If the Dreadnought found another way out, they’d be back at square one. She needed to follow them and get them to where she wanted them to go.

  The tunnels collapsed at a more rapid pace than Jennie had anticipated. Her immaterial body passed through falling boulders and earth as she ran. She finally found the tunnel and followed along its path, already feeling nauseated as she ran in the wake of the Dreadnought.

  What about Jiao? she thought. Wouldn’t the Dreadnought want her to escape as well? Why would he lead her toward destruction?

  Jennie tried to keep her mind off the urge to vomit she was feeling as she ran. The tunnels twisted on her, squeezing like the digestive tract of some great monster and forcing her onward. She disconnected from her cells when she was far enough away that she felt safe to run as a mortal, realizing that she only had one cell of power left with her.

  For emergencies.

  Jennie followed the corrupt energy trace and took a sharp left. The tunnel floor was uneven. Up ahead, it appeared as though the tunnel had already been closed off from an earlier collapse. Jennie latched on to her cell, dashed through in spectral form, and then turned material on the other side.

  It was quiet here. The blockade acted as a barricade from the crumbling of the tunnels. She was about to continue ahead when something caught her attention.

  Someone was trapped under the boulders. Only her head and torso were clear and free from harm. Jennie’s heart sank as she recognized the woman’s face. The Dreadnought had abandoned her body when she had been caught and destroyed as he fled.

  The woman groaned.

  Jennie knelt beside her. “Ma’am?”

  The woman didn’t open her eyes. She tried to move her fingers, but when her final breath came, she lay still.

  Jennie’s anger grew. Another innocent to add to the list. An honorable woman killed, and for what? No other reason than unbridled destruction.

  Jennie narrowed her eyes and continued her pursuit. The combined force of the Dreadnought and the Dragon had taken enough victims.

  It was time for them to pay.

  * * *

  Roman, Rogers, Sturgeon, and Baxter stood side-by-side in the center of the quarry and waited.

  Behind them, the SIA agents were waiting, guns poised and ready to take down any enemy who emerged from the tunnel. Baxter waited for Jennie to appear, narrowing his eyes to peer through the curtain of rain. She would be the beacon that would light the action. She was the mouse leading the cats out into the open.

  The clouds roiled above them. Thunder rumbled nearby. The agents waited dutifully in silence for the order to act. One word from their commanding officer and the tunnel entrance would be hit with a hail of bullets.

  Baxter only hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

  The rumble of something deep inside the cave burped out at them. Jennie had delivered the first shot, and the enemy was awakening. A few minutes later, they started pouring out into the quarry, blinking stupidly in the rain as the water soaked their clothing and stung their eyes. They couldn’t believe what they were seeing as they stared at the mass gathering of agents pointing firearms their way.

  Baxter looked in the crowd for Jennie but could not find her. He leaned toward Roman and muttered, “Where is she?”

  Roman gave no response.

  One after the other, the thugs filed out, their shirts turning see-through in the rain. With them were the ghouls, scattered amongst the crowd. Behind them, the great mound of dirt shook as the tunnels within collapsed.

  Baxter’s
anxiety spiked. Where the hell is Jennie?

  The two sides faced off, a clear dividing line drawn between them. The agents held their fire, ready to act if it came to it. They were more prepared. They had the enemy at a disadvantage; even they could see that. Still, tension permeated the quarry floor, the only sound the relentless rain.

  An elderly man made his way to the front of the crowd. His eyes were almost lost in the folds of his face. He tracked down Rogers, Roman, and Sturgeon and shook his head dispiritedly. “You’ll never win,” he declared. “He’s too powerful. He has abilities beyond anything you could imagine.”

  Rogers, Roman, Sturgeon, and Baxter looked at each other and smiled.

  “Oh, I’m sure that’s not true,” Rogers returned.

  There was a disruption from their side as someone muscled their way to the front. Cassie Ferriss had answered Rogers’ call and stood beside the four. “Give it up, Sammy. It’s over.”

  Sammy Garcia’s face contorted in anger. “The traitor.”

  “I might be a traitor to the Seven, but I’m not a traitor to my country,” Cassie bellowed. “I had enough of your politics, and I took an out. You need to break away from this darkness. You need to remember what you’re in this for. The Dragon is losing her grip on the situation, and she’s on the losing side. Is that where you want to be?”

  Sammy struggled to reply, a whirlwind of emotions passing over his face. “You don’t understand. He killed Vincenzo. He killed Dalton. Like they were nothing. He is the future.”

  Cassie’s eyes widened as she was jarred by an impact.

  She glanced down in disbelief. Blood blossomed from the hole in her chest. She lifted her fingers and dabbed the wound, looking at the blood on her fingers for a few seconds before the rain washed it away. “Why?”

  Cassie collapsed into the mud and lay still.

  There was a beat of charged silence before both sides started firing and the battle began.