by Jamie Davis
“Yes, Lawrence. My companion and I are looking forward to it. Have you heard anything? I’m not familiar with the musical.”
“Oh, it is excellent, sir. One of my perks; I get to see all the shows. This one is well above par for the shows coming down from New York.”
“Wonderful.” Danny pressed a folded bill into the man’s hand, then he waved them through the open doors of the first manually operated elevator that Winnie had ever seen. Lawrence stepped inside with them, closed the door, then took them to a level marked on the control panel as Third Floor/Patron Box Seats.
Lawrence opened the door again and motioned for the couple to step off. “Enjoy the show, you two. I’ll send up one of the wait staff to get your drinks.”
“Thank you, Lawrence. We’ll see you after the show.” Danny gestured for Winnie to follow him down a narrow hallway with curtained doorways lining one long wall. He stopped at the fourth entrance and motioned for Winnie to enter.
She turned and saw two red carpeted steps leading down into a small alcove with four chairs arranged before a rail.
She stepped down and gasped.
The theater was breathtaking. The stage was to the left — Winnie could look down and see the orchestra seating below, and the recessed pit where musicians were already getting warm. Across the way, she saw many rows of box seats lining the opposite side of the theater. Some were occupied; most were empty.
“Pretty cool, isn’t it?” Danny stepped into the booth behind her.
“It’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it. How often do you come? That man knew your name.”
“Six or seven times a season. We see the shows and occasionally the symphony. My parents were traveling this evening and offered all the seats to me. I only wanted to use the two.”
“So we’ll have two others joining us?”
“I didn’t invite anyone else. I thought it would be nice to not socialize, in case we wanted to talk shop while here.”
“Good idea.” Winnie was glad, and enjoying his company.
A young waitress appeared in the curtained opening and asked if they wanted any drinks before the show started. Danny ordered a bottle of champagne for now and a platter of cheese and crackers for intermission.
“Champagne?”
“To celebrate your successful ventures,” Danny said. “Your business has suffered a few ups and downs, but you’ve landed on your feet. You deserve a glass of champagne.”
Winnie wasn’t about to argue if he was taking care of the bill.
She sat and looked around, taking in the room’s splendor. The waitress returned with a bucket of ice on a stand, two glasses, and a chilled bottle of bubbly. Winnie watched the girl open the bottle, then pour the champagne. The girl waited to see if there was anything else they needed, then placed the bottle in the bucket and left them alone.
The lights were dimming as Winnie sipped her champagne, scanning the boxes across the way. She froze as she saw Artos Merrilyn staring back across the chasm. Beside him sat a man she’d only seen on TV, though Winnie would recognize Director Nilrem Kane anywhere.
Artos grinned. The last thing Winnie saw before the theater went dark was Artos raising his glass in a silent toast.
CHAPTER 30
The lights came up to herald intermission. Winnie looked across the way to see if Merrilyn and Kane were still there, disappointed to find their seats empty. She wondered where they’d gone and was looking around the theater to see if she could spot them somewhere else.
Distracted, Winnie didn’t hear Danny ask her a question, and was startled by a hand on her arm. She pulled back in alarm before realizing who it was.
“Hey, Winnie, you alright?”
“It’s Artos. I saw him in one of the boxes, sitting with Director Kane. I swear it.”
“I’m sure you did. They’re both on the theater foundation responsible for bringing these productions to Baltimore. I’ve seen them together before.”
“And you didn’t think to warn me that we might see them? Why would the Director of the Department of Magical Containment be sitting next to the biggest Sable trader in the region at a public event? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“You fail to recognize how it works, the public faces of these men in power — they’re powerful men in politics, business, and magic. They have appearances to maintain and functions to attend. Public arguments wouldn’t serve their positions.”
“Where did they go?”
“The reception, probably. There’s a small buffet down the hallway, served during intermission. We can go and see if you want.”
Winnie was out of her seat before Danny finished his sentence. He stood and followed her out of the Barbers’s family box. Once back in the hallway, Winnie heard the murmur of many voices down the hall to her left.
Danny grabbed her by the arm. “Winnie, you can’t go storming in there, making a scene. This isn’t the place.”
“Why not? This is insanity. How can they be in the same room, let alone sit next to each other during a musical?”
“Because that’s what people like that do. They keep up appearances. If you want to move in these circles, you need to maintain appearances, too. You can go in there, but you can’t lose your temper or mention anything that could be construed as an attack on Kane or Merrilyn. This is where you play ‘the long game,’ as my father likes to call it. Use it as an opportunity to know your enemy and find his weaknesses. But be careful. They’ll be doing the same thing with you.”
Winnie considered, taking a long breath to settle herself. She wanted to see where they were but didn’t want to ruin anything that she and her crew had toiled to put in place.
She sort of smiled at Danny. “Alright, I can do this. Thanks for stopping me from making a fool of myself.”
“Let’s get in there while we still have a few minutes. Face the beast.”
Winnie squared her shoulders and walked with Danny at her side until the hallway spilled into a small buffet room. There was a table set to one side, chafing dishes atop it. There were several different hot appetizers spread out there for the box seat patrons to pluck from. Danny took two wine glasses from the tray of a circulating waiter and handed one to Winnie. She smiled and sipped, looking around at the room. There were 20 or so in the crowd, but her eyes were fixed on two.
Artos stood near the entrance to the hallway to the other side of the theater, talking with an elderly woman in a sequined silver dress. She was laughing loudly when Winnie approached.
“Ah, Guinevere, my dear,” Artos said, turning from the woman to Winnie. “What a pleasant surprise, seeing you here. I was just telling Mrs. Watson here that too few of our youths support the arts, and here you are to test my theory.”
The woman turned to Winnie. “Guinevere, is it? So lovely. Is it a family name?”
“Yes, it has been in the family forever, according to my mother. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Watson. I’m excited to be here tonight. It’s a good show.”
“And you came with young Mr. Barber here, I see. It is nice to see you again, Daniel. Please give my best to your parents when you see them next.”
Danny smiled with all his boyish charm. “I’ll tell them I ran into you tonight. They’re out of town on one of Dad’s business junkets. I’m sure they’ll be back for the next show.”
“Please be sure that you do.” The woman turned back to Winnie and nodded. “It was a pleasure to meet you, my dear. Please don’t be a stranger at these events. It’s such a pleasure to see young people enjoying the arts. But now, I must fulfill my duties as hostess and mingle with the crowd. Good evening.”
The woman smiled, then turned and walked away.
Two seconds out of certain earshot, Winnie rounded on Artos. “I saw your theater companion before the show.” She looked around the room. “Where has your good friend the Director disappeared to?”
“He was called away on last minute business. He left before the first act was over.”<
br />
Artos sounded indifferent. Winnie wanted to choke him.
“How can you sit next to a man like that when you know what he plans for you, me, and all the rest of the world’s chanters? Don’t you remember what he did to my cousin?”
“Don’t lose your temper, my dear. It wouldn’t do to raise your voice in this setting. I assure you, the Director and I are not friends. But I serve on several community and social boards alongside him. It just so happened that tonight he and I were seated together. It is important that he and I maintain appearances for the sake of social graces. There are those who would be surprised to see you, a young chanter business woman, in the box of the leader of the city’s temperance movement. But I admit to surprise myself, seeing you in the company of young Mr. Barber here.”
“Danny and I are business associates,” Winnie said. “He and his parents may not see eye to eye on magic’s place in this world, but that’s not the same as seeing you and the Director together. You’re standing on opposite sides of a war for our very existence.”
“All the more reason to maintain open diplomatic channels. It was far more painful for him to be seen seated beside me than the other way around. Besides, I did learn a juicy tidbit. Confirmation of a project I’ve long suspected.”
“What is the project?” Winnie asked.
“I already knew that something called Project X had been funded by the Assembly in their last congressional budget allotment. But no one could tell me where the project was located, or even what it was. Only that it was some sort of research into magic using technology. Those new WORM cameras are a byproduct of the program. Kane was called away by a text. I read the message over his shoulder: Project X is a go. Justice Harriman will sign the order.”
“That doesn’t tell us anything new,” Danny said. “Harriman is the Assembly’s hatchet man on the Supreme Court. The guy signs off on every warrant or order he sees.”
Artos smiled. “We have a way into Project X, because we have Justice Harriman’s granddaughter.”
“What do you mean?” Winnie asked, her voice rising in shock. “You didn’t kidnap her, did you?”
“Nothing so crass, my dear. Meredith Harriman is alive and well at home. She is, however, a customer and, lately, quite the naughty young lady. Mr. Barber is on the team — I believe we have a way to convince the esteemed justice that he should share some of what he knows with us and help us to learn more about this Project X.”
“How can I help?” Danny asked. “I know the Harrimans. Our families are social. I’ve even met Meredith a time or two. She’s about my age, and has quite the reputation among the guys I know. Meredith’s been working her way through the crowd.”
“Well, Mr. Barber, the plan will hinge on her selecting you as her next target. The reason she’s been so successful with her conquests has to do with a certain charm acquired from one of my associates. He turned up dead after her purchase. I’m certain she had something to do with it. She probably believed that if she killed her, the secret of her purchase would be hidden forever.”
“Wait a minute,” Winnie said. “You’re telling me that she killed the charm runner who sold her this mysterious charm, and now you want to put Danny in her way? Isn’t that dangerous?”
“That depends on how you and your crew manage to work the operation. I’m giving this task to you, my dear. I believe she purchased a powerful love charm — magic forbidden even to those of us in the Sable trade. Verify that she has the charm and catch her in the act of using it with irrefutable evidence, then you can take it to Justice Harriman and convince him to share the details of Project X.”
Merrilyn had heaped the entire operation and exposure for on Winnie’s shoulders. Her crew could fail and nothing would point back to him. He could try again with someone — he’d get the information he wanted, and a lasting hold over the leading anti-magic justice on the Supreme Court. She had to find a way to flip this around and come out on top. This wasn’t just another charm running job. It was an illegal con on some of the city’s most powerful people.
“You assume we’ll jump up to claim this task on your say-so, Artos. But you don’t speak for me or my partners. I don’t work for you.”
“Careful, my dear.” The older man narrowed his eyes. “I’ve allowed you a certain amount of autonomy because you are talented and your attitude is occasionally amusing. Please don’t mistake that respect for your process as an excuse to disrespect me. This endeavor stands to improve the lives of every chanter out there. If I assign it to you, it is only because I believe you are the best asset to achieve that goal and that it is important enough to move your attention from less important things. Do you understand?”
Danny squeezed her shoulder. “Winnie, we can do this. Mr. Merrilyn is right. Anything the Assembly is up to in secret could be dangerous to what we’re doing. We need to know about Project X as much as he does.”
Winnie was about to answer Danny when the overhead lights dimmed twice, then returned to their full brightness. She looked up, wondering what caused it.
“The show is about to start again, Winnie. I trust we have an understanding. I’m returning to my seat. Time is of the essence, so please keep me informed about your plans, and how things are proceeding.” Artos turned and left.
Winnie considered what lay ahead — what would happen if her hand-picked crew of friends got tangled up in an odd job like this one and something went wrong?
Would the consequences ever be worth it?
Winnie wondered as she followed Danny back to their seats, lost in a daze.
CHAPTER 31
The plan evolved over the following week.
Winnie and her crew put many other projects on hold to focus. They set up the plan’s many points in the shop’s back office. The whole crew came. The operation was risky, but Winnie looked out at her closest friends and family, elements assembling in her head, and knew it could be done.
“Let’s look at this again,” Winnie pointed down at their notes, scribbled on a sheet of butcher paper.
“I’m the distraction from everything else,” Danny said. “I need to get in front of her, in a way that makes her want to target me.”
“How?” Tris raised her eyebrows. “She’s worked her way through a series of marks. What makes you special?”
“What if he asks her out on a date?” Joey shrugged. “That’ll get him on her radar. If he shows how much he’s worth, flashes some cash or maybe a few unusual magic items, she’ll want to latch right on to him.”
Cait shook her head. “She’ll be on her guard if it’s not her idea. Him approaching her isn’t the way to go. We have to make going after Danny attractive to her, and ideally make her think it was her idea.”
“Cait’s right,” Winnie said. “If we’re going to catch her being a black widow, we need to make sure there’s no way she can back out when we catch her. That’s the only way to get the irrefutable evidence needed to back Justice Harriman into a corner.”
Danny raised his hand a few inches, but then it collapsed.
Winnie looked at him sideways. “What?”
“I was just thinking. What if we staged a massive breakup? I can be that guy, a total douchebag, to my girlfriend in a public place. Meredith can see the whole thing, then she’ll be in a position to comfort the devastated girl.”
“Who did you have in mind as the girlfriend?”
“It can’t be you, Winnie. We need you in the background, creating the charms we’ll need to make sure she doesn’t actually take control of me. I’m trusting you with that.” Danny turned to Morgan. “I was thinking that you could play the part of my girlfriend and damsel in distress. Done right, she’ll comfort you, then target me next.”
“I guess I can do that,” Morgan said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to lie to her, though.”
Winnie looked at her sister. “You’ve heard how she killed someone to keep this love charm a secret. And you know she’s stealing from innocent men, taking
advantage and ruining their lives.”
“I still don’t know why we don’t take this to the police. They have investigators who look into this kind of thing.” Morgan looked at the others for support.
“We don’t have that option,” Cait said. “Her father is too well-placed. He could protect her if we went through channels. If we catch her red-handed and collect all the evidence ourselves, we can threaten to release it publicly and disgrace him and his family in front of his peers.”
“We don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do,” Winnie said. She wanted her sister to help out. Lately, she’d been spending more and more time in the shop helping, and Winnie had come to enjoy their time together. “If you do decide to help, we’ll be able to find out what’s happening with this mysterious Project X. Maybe we could even find a way to get the Assembly to reverse the Resolutions.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t do it, I was just wondering why you didn’t want to use the police or Red Legs. I’m in.” Morgan still looked worried — reasonable, with all the blackmail.
Danny must have noticed, too. “Buck up, Morgan. This goes as planned and we’ll all walk away with a huge lump of cash. You’ll be able to pay your tuition off for two or three semesters ahead.”
“What about the rest of us?” Tris asked. “Winnie, you said you had jobs for us all.”
“I do. Tris, you’ll help us infiltrate the building security systems so we can access security tapes. We need hard evidence that a middling can’t refute as magically enhanced. Your work with mundane and magical building systems makes your technical knowledge essential. Once Danny’s alone with her, your surveillance devices will be his only backup.”
She turned to Cait and Joey.
“You’re both on security detail. We need a way to tail Meredith, to find out where she’s keeping the spoils from her marks. We’ll need a way in to take her stash once we find it, and document its existence, of course. That will all fall on you two. Come up with a plan and let me know what you’ll need to put it in place.”
