by Amy Hopkins
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Penny slammed a hand against the locked door. “This has to be where they’re keeping him. Dammit!”
“Here, let’s get this off.” Cisco used a pair of bolt cutters on the padlock. “Maybe we can shoot through the door.”
“Cisco, you know that doesn’t work.” Penny wondered if Jessie knew anything that would help them crack the code. She drew her phone out to message her.
“Penny, come on. Real sewers don’t look like that.” Cisco pointed back down the corridor. “Brand new buildings don’t have elevators like that. Nothing in this place follows the rules we’re used to.”
Penny frowned, then nodded. “Fine. Give it a go, but for crying out loud, don’t shoot yourself.”
She took cover, pressing against a doorway a short distance back from the door. Cisco stepped back and aimed his gun.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
The Academy-issued silencer didn’t entirely eliminate the noise, but Penny knew her ears would be bleeding if he hadn’t used it. To her shock, the door swung open.
“See?” Cisco gave her a cocky grin. “Action hero, right here.” He flexed a bicep, then pushed the door farther open.
“Trevor!” Penny dashed in, recognizing their friend.
Trevor was strapped to a chair. A metal band locked his head in place, and he stared at a TV screen. His eyes were glazed and his mouth slack. A drip ran from his arm to a bag of clear fluid suspended behind him and sensors attached to his chest linked to a machine that showed his heart rate, slow and fluttering.
“Has he been drugged?” Cisco immediately set to work unstrapping Trevor’s arms and legs.
Penny examined the drip. “I don’t know what this is.” The sticker on the bag was labeled with a series of numbers and letters, but nothing she recognized.
Unlatching the metal band, Cisco attempted to help Trevor stand. “Come on, buddy. We’ve gotta get you out of here.”
Trevor mumbled something incoherent. When Cisco tried to prop him up, Trevor flopped back down, his body limp.
“Can you carry him?” Penny carefully removed the IV, leaving the cannula in place for now.
“Not if I need to shoot something at the same time.” Cisco turned worried eyes her way. “Do you think you can cover us both?”
“We haven’t been found yet,” Penny pointed out. “And we sure as hell can’t leave him here.”
“We could call for backup?” Cisco grabbed Trevor around the waist and lifted him in a fireman’s carry.
“What if this place disappears while we’re inside it?” Penny shuddered. “No thanks, I’d rather take my chances with the goons.”
“That’s your answer, then.” Cisco hefted Trevor up onto his shoulder. “Come on. He’s a lightweight, but I don’t want to haul his ass around forever.”
Penny quickly checked her body cam. It was still on. She found the little green light to be a comfort in the dim room. A glance at her phone showed she still had a signal—weak, but there. Nodding, she pulled her gun out and disengaged the safety. “Move out.”
Cisco followed on Penny’s heels, letting her hold the door open for him before she jumped ahead to take point. When they reached the elevator, Penny blew out a long breath of relief. “Just gotta get to the dock,” she murmured.
The elevator ground to a halt on the ground floor. The crisp white lights made her blink. Then, they switched off.
A klaxon blared and the lights flicked back on, red and pulsating.
“They know we’re here,” Penny snapped. “Let’s go.” Gun pointed ahead, Penny ran in a low crouch.
Footsteps pounded down the hallway between the whoops of the alarm, and a guard rounded the corner. Penny took him down with two shots.
“Man down, man down!” someone shouted.
The yell echoed, and Penny cursed.
“I should have let him get closer,” she snapped. “So they didn’t see him go down.”
“He’s carrying a machine gun,” Cisco called. “I’m kinda glad you didn’t.”
“Take cover.” Penny ignored Cisco’s protest. She knew he’d find a way to keep Trevor safe. She dropped to one knee to face off with the team of goons headed their way.
Three men jumped out, firing a smattering of bullets that whizzed over her head and chipped at the wall behind her.
Snap. Snap. Snap. All three crumpled to the ground.
“What are they, Stormtroopers?” Cisco yelled.
“I take it that means you guys are okay?” Penny called.
Cisco chuckled. “Fine, for now. Let’s go.” He waved her on, the movement throwing eerie shadows in the pulsing red lights.
Penny ran forward, taking down one more guard who had made the mistake of calling for backup over his radio. He reeled as two bullets hit him in the throat, cutting off his cry for help. “Sorry, mate.”
Penny pressed up against a wall by the next corner. She held her gun close, then spun and dropped to a knee, pointing it down the corridor.
Her heart stopped. At least a dozen suited men stood in a tight formation at the other end of the hall, guns pointed her way. Penny’s eyes dropped to her chest, where a cluster of red dots swayed on her shirt. “Don’t shoot!” she yelled.
Slowly, she moved her weapon aside, pointing at the wall as she clicked the safety back on. She let the gun dangle from a finger for a moment, then tossed it out of reach.
The alarms ceased abruptly. Blinking under the bright, white lights, Penny clenched her jaw. You’ve got one chance, girl.
“I need to speak to your boss,” she called.
“Why?” One of the guards called back. His voice was hard and precise, exactly what she’d expect from a highly trained government operative. “So you can beg for your life?”
“No,” Penny said evenly. “Because he’s going to tell you to let us go.”
After a brief moment of silence, one man stepped forward from the back. He was a little taller than the others, a little smoother with his slicked-back hair and black wraparound sunglasses. “And why would I do that, Ms. Hingston?”
“As much as I’d like to pretend it’s because you recognize that kidnapping young men and stalking women is creepy as hell and you regret it,” Penny told him, hand on one hip as she recognized the man. “That’s not it.”
The Myther Agent didn’t respond, just twitched one eyebrow ever so slightly over his shades.
“This is the second time I’ve found your secret base,” Penny continued. “And this time, I know what you’re hiding. Those creatures you’re experimenting on down there? Highly illegal. The kidnappings? Also illegal.” She spread her hands apologetically. “And letting a mere civilian in to see it all? You know that’s against regulation.”
“What makes you think anyone will ever know you were here, or what you found?” The agent raised his gun and pointed it at Penny.
“You’ll shoot me to keep it quiet?” Penny asked smoothly.
The agent gave a single, brisk nod. “Don’t waste my time, Hingston. You have thirty seconds to convince me not to make you disappear forever.”
“The Witchly Web.” Penny tossed the phrase at him carelessly. “Dot com,” she added after a beat.
Agent Shades pursed his lips, then uttered the URL into his radio.
“You know, they’ve made a lot of progress on handhelds since the eighties.” Penny tapped the radio clipped to her shoulder strap. “Smaller, lighter, and harder to—”
“Uhh, boss?” The voice that crackled over the Shades’ radio held more than a hint of worry. “We got a problem. A really big problem.”
“What is it, Reid?” Shades kept his flawless composure, speaking in a bored tone.
“You’re on the internet,” Reid replied.
“What?” Shades flushed and darted a fast look around. “What do you mean?”
“Oh, he’s probably referring to the livestream.” Penny tapped the tiny body cam below her radio. “Our whole trip through your facility,
videoed and streamed to the world wide web. Go on, ask your guy how many people are watching.”
Shades, face red and voice tight, did just that. “Reid? What’s the damage?”
“Forty-two hundred viewers, boss.” The radio crackled and Reid spoke again. “Twelve have shared it across their social platforms. Oh. Oh.”
“Oh, what, Reid?” Shades growled.
“That brings the total number of viewers to around ninety-two thousand, sir. Uh, ninety-three. Ninety-five. Sir, I believe we’ve gone what they call ‘viral.’”
“You’re exposed, mate.” Penny grinned. “A video like that? It’ll cross the world in minutes. There’s not a shadow left on earth deep enough to hide you and your men.”
“Issue a Code Nineteen,” Shades barked. “Passcode 7-9-9-alpha-bravo-romeo-0-4-1-tango-1.” He slammed the radio unit to the ground, and it shattered. Turning to his men, he yelled, “Stand down. I repeat, stand down. Enact Sudden Death Protocol.”
As the unit opposing Penny straightened and strapped their guns away, a robotic voice sounded overhead. “Code Nineteen. Repeat, Code Nineteen. Sudden Death Protocol Enacted. All agents, prepare to evacuate. Code Nineteen.”
The team of agents trotted away, leaving their boss alone. Penny unhooked her body cam and switched it off.
“Seems you’re letting us go after all, Agent,” Penny said. “I have something to offer you, though.”
“You’ve just dismantled our entire operation.” Shades held up a good front, but Penny could see his weariness. “Twenty years I’ve worked for this department. They’ll shut us down by sunup.”
Penny took a step closer. The man might be a Myther, but in some ways, she felt sorry for him. “Do me a favor,” she said. “One favor. It’s a big one, though. Do it, and I’ll tell them you wiped my memory, that I don’t remember anything. You know the body cam will only have caught so much.”
Shades straightened, a hint of his earlier determination returning. “What is it?”
Penny grinned. “It’s a rescue mission.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Penny stared at Agent Crenel, bleary-eyed and exhausted.
“What do you mean you don’t remember?” His frown was so deep Penny wondered if it would leave a permanent set of wrinkles.
“I just…don’t.” She shrugged. “I’m telling the truth, Agent.”
And she was, as much as Agent Crenel wanted to believe otherwise. Her last memory was of leaving the Twisted Monkey. She vividly recalled the orange lights of the bar dimming to soft moonlight, and the chill of the open air touching her skin as she stepped outside. Then? Not a damn thing.
Crenel threw his hands in the air. “Fine! Fine. Nothing I can do about it, right? Banks is going to think I’ve gone senile, but hey! The whole world is crazy now, right?”
He threw the thin file on his desk.
“Well, Trevor did come out alive,” Penny pointed out. “As far as we know, no one got hurt. I may not remember what I did, but I’m pretty sure it was spectacular.”
Boots hissed in agreement. She looked no worse for wear after her strange arrival in a watertight box, dropped by the Academy door next to a trussed-up Professor Steele.
“Just like a turkey,” the dean remarked before explaining that according to what she and Amelia had pieced together from security footage, the professor had kidnapped Boots and was on her way to the airport with a one-way ticket to New Zealand.
No one knew exactly how Steele had been caught or who had delivered the pair to the Academy. Penny had her suspicions, but they were just that. Certainly, there wasn’t enough proof to indulge Crenel with her theory. After all, it sounded entirely mad.
“Oh, spectacular, I’m sure.” Crenel finally lit the cigarette dangling from his mouth, only to hastily stub it out in an ashtray hidden in his drawer when the door to his office opened.
“Do I look like an idiot?” Dean March wore a look of well-worn patience. “I can smell it from here.”
“You said you’d better not see me,” Crenel began.
“Yes, yes.” March waved him off impatiently. “Your friends would like to see you, Penny. Do you feel up to it?”
Penny jumped to her feet, almost dropping Boots in her haste. “Hell, yes.” She’d been locked in Crenel’s office for almost two hours.
“Well, then, unless you’re under arrest?” She cocked an eyebrow at her husband, who scowled back and plucked a new cigarette from his packet. March sighed and shook her head but stayed silent as she gently closed the door after Penny.
“Thanks for the rescue,” Penny told her as Boots made herself comfortable on her shoulders. “Any word on Trevor?”
“Perfectly healthy,” Dean March replied. “But, like you and Cisco, he has no memory of the events that occurred.”
“Oh.” Penny wondered if she’d ever know what had gone on after the video feed had cut off. “Where are they?”
“In your room.” Dean March pointed toward the hallway Penny would need to take to get there. “Take care, dear.”
“You too, Dean March.” Penny walked quickly, Boots wriggling to show her own excitement.
Unlike when she’d left, the room was spotless—except for the cluster of people sprawled on the floor and draped over beds. Amelia, Cisco, Red, Trevor, and Jessie all looked up as she entered.
“There she is!” Amelia quickly moved over to give Penny room to sit on her bed. “I can’t believe the old bastard grilled you for so long!”
“At least he’s got it out of his system,” Penny told her gratefully. “He’s closed the case, so I won’t have to put up with any more questions. That means I can ask, what in the hell did I do in there?”
Penny had seen the bodycam footage—she and half the world, it seemed. It had been a surreal experience to hear her own voice and even catch glimpses of her reflection all kitted out in her assault gear when she had no memory of what had happened.
The footage itself wasn’t what bothered her, it was what came after. And before. “How in the hells did I patch a bodycam into a blog?” she asked. Her eyes slipped to Jessie. “Did you have something to do with that?”
Jessie flicked her hand up, examining her nails. “That serum really did a number on you, huh?”
“Serum?” Penny frowned. “I don’t remember—”
“Because it was an amnesia serum, dummy!” Jessie rolled onto her knees. “After the bodycam switched off, you made a deal with Mister Matrix. You said you’d pretend you forgot everything you saw if he did you a favor.”
“What favor?” Penny already had a hunch, but Jessie was clearly enjoying her role as an informant.
“You told him how your friend got nabbed by some crazy lady. If he tracked down Steele and Boots, you wouldn’t respond to any questions.” Jessie grinned proudly.
“And instead of trusting my word, he made me take the serum,” Penny finished. “Damn. I was really dumb. What if he hadn’t come through?”
“Oh, you already knew I was listening,” Jessie explained. “You called me before you went in. You gave me Amelia’s login details—”
“Which I’ve already changed,” Amelia pointed out.
“And asked me to patch the cam stream to her live channel,” Jessie finished. “Also, Amelia, you really need a better password. K9sRhot2020? I cracked that in under half a minute.”
Amelia glowed red and mumbled something about nosey teenagers.
Cisco had watched the exchange in awe. “I don’t remember any of that. Penny, did you really set all that up? You’re a freaking genius!”
Jessie’s jaw dropped, outrage written all over her face. “What am I, a pork chop?”
“I mean, you’re both geniuses. Genii?” Cisco shook his head. “You’re both really clever.”
“Of course we are,” Jessie stated primly. “We’re girls.”
“You’re forgetting who found Polybius in the first place.” Trevor still looked a little pale, but otherwise well. “Who knows how many
people they might have kidnapped and experimented on if I hadn’t?”
“Yeah, well, you’re not like other boys.” Jessie smirked at Trevor, whose white cheeks immediately turned scarlet.
“Hold up,” Amelia interrupted. “Do you two have a thing going on?”
“Yes,” Jessie replied as Trevor mumbled, “No!”
Jessie rolled her eyes. “We’re still working out the details.”
“You dawg.” Cisco shoved Trevor, misjudging his friend’s balance and sending him sprawling on the floor. “Uh, sorry.”
Penny ignored the withering glare Jessie shot at Cisco. “So what about Boots? Crenel told me she’d been dropped off at the door, but he wasn’t exactly forthcoming with information.”
“That is a whole other story,” Amelia told her, eyes sparkling. “Steele was trying to flee the country! Crenel told me that she was delivered back to us with a full suitcase and her passport and plane ticket glued to her forehead.”
“Oh, Boots.” The thought of losing her friend tore at Penny’s heart. “I’m so, so sorry.”
Boots butted her face against Penny’s chin.
Amelia brushed off Penny’s concern. “Crenel had flagged Steele’s passport moments before she appeared. If she’d made the flight, she’d have stepped off the plane in New Zealand to an arrest warrant.”
“Thank you.” Penny wrapped an arm around Amelia. “I’m sorry for putting you in that position. Did you figure out what my message meant?”
Amelia nodded. “You’re nowhere near as bad as Cisco at secret codes.”
“Hey!” Cisco straightened. “I… okay, that’s actually a really fair point.” He shot Jessie a salty glare. “We can’t all be geniuses. Some of us have to be strong, handsome, and an expert at romance.”
Red snorted at that, but Amelia tossed a pillow at his head. “She got music, a candlelit dinner, and a water sprite performance for her first date. I got dirt in my underpants.”
“I hate you, Cisco,” Red grumbled. “I really, really hate you.”
Chuckling, Penny threw a pillow at Cisco. “I told you he would.”
Cisco caught the pillow, grinning. “Just you wait and see what I’ve got planned for our next date. He’ll never speak to me again!”
