During their last real investigation, Victor and Kiara had been captured by a genetically engineered madman. Through quick thinking, Victor managed to free Kiara, but was himself recaptured, tortured, and then experimented on.
The entire episode was something that pained him to think about, for a number of reasons. Confronting the reality of what had happened was something Victor had been putting off indefinitely. His body felt different in a way that went beyond the nanites. His injuries healed faster than they should have, to an unsettling degree.
“Victor?” Lucy snapped her fingers in front of his face. “Earth, to Victor.”
“Speaking. I’ll go catch up with him and see what he wants.” Victor masked his anxiety with a smile, though from Lucy’s reaction, he could tell that she wasn’t fooled.
“Also, there’s something else,” said Lucy. The elevator arrived at their level and both of them stepped into it. She waited for the doors to close and then hesitated before pushing the button for the 13th floor.
“What is it?”
“I need to talk to you. Tonight. Outside of work.”
“Alright,” said Victor. “But I should warn you, I think there are some rules in place about supervisors fraternizing with the employees under them.”
Lucy punched him playfully on the arm, though she put enough force into the blow to make it sting.
“Meet me at Sammy’s Place,” said Lucy. “8 PM.”
“Alright,” said Victor. “I’ll be there.”
She hit the button for the 13th floor, and in a couple of seconds, they arrived. Lucy broke away from him, walking toward a group of her underlings and immediately switching back into boss mode.
Victor headed past the rows of cubicles and into the main room. The floor was slanted downward into a central depression where various computers, work stations, and equipment formed the central area of the Nano Aura Department. Across the wall in back were a couple of real offices, and he made his way over to Kronenberg’s.
Dave Kronenberg was one of the strangest people Victor had ever met. His physical body was incapacitated by LIS, or Locked In Syndrome, but through the use of neural implants, he managed to live a full, active life by way of speech synthesizers and drone bodies.
His drone body of choice looked a bit like a cross between a robotic wasp and spider, with a number of metallic legs, four rimmed copter blades, and a tiny orange dome that managed to express more emotion with flickers and flashes than most people could do with an entire face.
“Kronenberg,” said Victor, closing the door behind him. “You rang?”
“Have a seat, Vic.” Kronenberg’s voice didn’t come from the drone sitting on the charging station on top of the desk, but rather, from the speakers in the corners of the room. “I just got some of your lab work from Piper, and I think we might need another sample.”
Victor sat down in the chair across from Kronenberg’s desk and leaned his head back on his hands.
“Why? What’s up?”
Victor had refrained from telling anyone about what had been done to him during his capture in the last investigation. Part of him feared what the reaction of his friends would be. He’d seen what the injection had done to Damien, and deep down inside, he was terrified that it would only be a matter of time before it happened to them.
It might not even matter at this point. Their tests will probably reveal the truth soon enough.
“Have you changed your diet or anything recently?” asked Kronenberg. “Your blood has been doing some really weird things during our tests…”
“I’ve been working out more often, drinking some protein shakes,” said Victor. “Maybe that’s it?”
“Yeah, maybe…” Kronenberg let out a muted sigh.
“Hey, you want to hit Sammy’s Place tonight?” asked Victor. “I have to meet up with Lucy, anyway.”
“Are you asking me as a friend, or as a way of changing the subject?”
“Can’t it be both?” Victor smiled at his friend, who gave him a blank, robotic stare in return.
“You don’t have to hide things from me, Vic,” said Kronenberg. “I’m your friend. I’m not out to get you.”
Victor laced his fingers together and leaned forward.
I should tell him… eventually.
“Look, man, I think it might just be an anomaly with the sample,” said Victor. “Can you just drop it? These conversations always make me feel like some kind laboratory specimen.”
“I guess that would make me the mad scientist, then,” said Kronenberg. “I’ll let it go. But you will have to give Piper another blood sample eventually.”
“Thanks, buddy,” said Victor. “I’ll meet you at the house tonight at seven thirty.”
He stood up and turned to leave.
“Victor?” Kronenberg spoke again just as he’d reached the door.
“Yeah?”
“…Nevermind. I’ll see you tonight.”
CHAPTER 5
Victor spent a couple of hours back at the tiny townhouse that he and Kronenberg had been sharing for the past few months. It was early spring, and the snow was slowly beginning to melt away, revealing the rough city sidewalk underneath.
The section of Undercliff City that the two of them lived in was on the edge of habitability. Several of the houses within eyesight were condemned or well on their way. The street life was active, though most of the more unscrupulous characters gave Victor and Kronenberg’s house a wide berth when it came to mischief.
He passed the afternoon bumming around, reading and relaxing. Victor had spent precious little time resting ever since the last incident, and it felt good, albeit in a slightly guilty sort of way.
Kronenberg was, technically speaking, also home. His drone body was still at Monteiro Tower, and he was taking care of his responsibilities through it, so Victor left him to that.
Who else would be around to hang out with? Lucy’s still at work, and Kiara…
He immediately cut off his train of thought, not wanting to speculate where Kiara was at that moment, or what she was doing with whom. So Victor relaxed by himself, and even managed to get in a short nap.
At around 7:00 PM, Kronenberg’s drone arrived back at the house, slipping in through one of the unlocked windows, as always. Victor took a shower, dressed, and the two of them headed out to Sammy’s Place, the local tavern.
“Did Lucy fill you in on what this is about?” asked Kronenberg.
“This is Lucy we’re talking about,” said Victor. “Of course she didn’t. Why, do you know something I don’t?”
“No, but I have my suspicions.” Kronenberg slowed the pace of his flight as they approached the bar. “She told me to do a few circuits around the block and make sure neither of you are followed.”
Victor raised an eyebrow at that.
“Alright,” he said. “I’ll catch up with you later, then.”
Kronenberg lifted up into the air. Victor spent a second contemplating what the view from up above probably looked like, and then headed down the stairs and into the tavern.
Sammy’s Place was a tavern in the classical sense of the word. It opened early in the afternoon, and most of the patrons were regulars. The establishment had a communal feel to it, even though people tended to keep to themselves.
Sammy was probably the best example of this. She’d spoken a couple of sentences to Victor in all the time he’d known her. Victor had been visiting the bar semi-regularly since moving back to Undercliff City, in part because Sammy had never carded him, and also because the place felt as laid back as he hoped to be someday.
“Hey Sammy,” he said, approaching the bar. “How’s it going?”
Sammy smiled politely, but didn’t say anything.
“I’ll have an IPA, whatever you’ve got that’s new. Put it on my tab.”
Sammy nodded. She disappeared behind the counter and emerged with an open beer in under a second, passing it to him slowly. Victor took a sip of it and made his way ove
r to one of the tables along the side of the room.
He let out a sigh as he sat down and picked at the beer’s label. There was a candle on the center of the table, wick unlit. Victor smiled and felt for his scarlet aura.
I’ll have to use a tiny, controlled burst. Way smaller than usual.
He pointed his fingers to the candle, focused his energy, and bound his scarlet aura. At the exact moment he released the energy, a gorgeous blonde woman sat down at the table across from his, slowly smoothing out her skirt underneath her and drawing Victor’s attention at the worst possible moment.
Victor winced when he realized what he’d done. His binding extended outward to the woman instead of the candle, and his shift in focus had turned what would have been a light flame into a powerful emotional pulse. The woman let out a tiny gasp and looked over at him.
She was one of the most attractive women he’d ever seen in his life. Calling her a woman almost seemed like an insult, and Victor wondered if he should mentally refer to her as a goddess, or fantasy, instead.
Her eyes were green, speckled with flecks of gold. She wore a low cut white blouse that showed off a grand amount of cleavage. Her body was healthy, toned, and extremely well endowed. Her skirt was red and frilly, and she had on a pair of classy tan heels.
“Do I know you from somewhere?” The woman was already in motion, standing up and walking over to his table.
“No, I don’t think so.” He frowned, wishing that the situation was different, and for the ability to mute his conscience for a minute.
“You… look so familiar,” said the woman. Her breathing was heavy, and she was blushing, which somehow made her face look even more elegant and lovely.
“Nope,” said Victor. “I’m a complete stranger. Trust me.”
The woman took the second chair, the one Victor had been saving for Lucy, and pulled it in closer to him. She all but leaned over him as she extended a delicate, perfectly manicured hand.
“Sabrina,” she said, with a slightly entitled smile on her face. “And you are?”
“Like I said, I’m nobody.” Victor cradled his head in his hand and tried to keep his frustration out of his voice. “And I’m expecting somebody. So if you don’t mind…”
“I do mind,” said Sabrina. “And I think you should keep your mind open.”
She spoke in a slow voice, each syllable a bit more sensual than the last. One of her hands slid up Victor’s thigh, and she let her hot breath tickle the nape of her neck.
Fuck. The binding I gave her was way too strong. It’s not going to wear off before Lucy-
“Hello.” Lucy appeared at the side of the table, her timing impeccably bad. “Am I interrupting something, Victor?”
“Victor,” said Sabrina, his name sounding almost like an admission of love on her lips. “Who is this?”
“The person I was expecting,” he said. “So please. Do me a favor, and give me some space.”
Sabrina pouted, and Victor had to stand up and practically drag her away from the table to free the chair for Lucy. Sammy shot a look his way, but Victor gave her the okay sign as Sabrina’s advances died down.
“Sorry about that.” He took a seat across from Lucy and brought his hands together. “I had a little… accident.”
Lucy leaned forward over the table and beckoned for him to do the same. She brought her face in close to Victor’s, glanced once in each direction, and then flicked him hard on the nose.
“Ouch! What the hell?”
“You need to get it together, Victor,” she said. “Speaking of which, when was the last time you shaved? You look ridiculous…”
Victor shrugged.
“I’ll get around to it eventually,” he said.
Lucy crossed her arms and favored him with a harsh expression.
“You haven’t really been yourself for the past month or two,” she said. “Ever since the aftermath of the cabin, and facing off against the biosplices.”
This is not something I’m in the mood to talk about.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed…”
“Bullshit.” Lucy glared at him. “If you want to have a breakdown, more power to you. But if you wouldn’t mind, can it be all at once instead of long, protracted, and over many weeks?”
“Yeah, I’ll see what I can do.” Victor smiled solemnly back at her. Lucy cared about him, even if it sometimes expressed itself in an abrasive, authoritative kind of way.
Lucy nodded slowly and then reached across the table, resting one of her hands on top of his. She only left it there for a second, but it was long enough to send a strangely warm sensation through Victor’s body.
“Anyway, that’s not the reason I wanted to talk to you tonight,” she said.
“Oh yeah? Then what is?”
Lucy flashed him a mischievous half smile.
“Your next assignment,” she said.
CHAPTER 6
“The murders and disappearances haven’t stopped.” Lucy set her beer down and placed a hand flat on the table. “They didn’t after Night Angel went down, and still haven’t after you stopped Father Auggie.”
Victor scratched his head.
“So? It can’t be possible that they were responsible for all of the murders in the city, can it?”
Lucy shook her head and frowned at him.
“Of course not,” she said. “I’m ruling out the ones that make sense, and fit into the regular pattern of intercity violence.”
“So what do you think we’re dealing with?”
Lucy picked at one of her fingernails and slowly brought her gaze up to meet Victor’s.
“I’ve suspected for quite a while now that someone, possibly a group of people, within Monteiro is leaking technology and information to less than reputable characters on the outside.”
“I remember,” said Victor. “But do you have anything new?”
Lucy scanned the tavern, making sure that nobody was close enough to the two of them to overhear.
“You remember Terrance Pronto?” she asked. “From the Night Angel case?”
A chill went down Victor’s spine, followed immediately by a sharp flash of anger. He’d learned about Terrance through Night Angel’s memories after using his onyx aura on her in a desperate gamble. He’d seen the man commit acts of violence, emotional abuse, and even rape.
“Yeah,” he said quietly. “I remember him alright. He’s a scumbag, and deserves a lot worse than what he’s gotten.”
Lucy held up a hand in a placating gesture.
“Of course, I know just as well as you do,” she said. “My point is, I’ve been keeping a close eye on him over the past few months because I suspect that he’s the one of the people leaking tech.”
“Alright,” said Victor. “So what did you find?”
“He’s been acting odd lately,” said Lucy. “Making requests into departments that are outside of his domain. Deleting his own usage history in Monteiro’s computer database. That kind of thing.”
“Is that enough to do anything with?”
“It’s enough to justify keeping a closer eye on him,” said Lucy. “And that’s why I asked you here tonight. I want you to help me watch him tonight.”
Victor took a long sip from his beer, finishing what was left in it.
“You got it,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to act against this guy for months now.”
Lucy had rented a car, and it was parked down the street from Sammy’s Place. Victor followed her to it and climbed into the passenger’s seat.
“So you really think that there is a conspiracy under way at Monteiro?” he asked.
Lucy’s expression was sober as she started the car.
“I’m not sure that conspiracy would be the appropriate word to describe it,” she said. “It could be less than that, maybe just one or two people. Or it could be far, far more, to the point where a faction within the company is on the verge of going paramilitary.”
I didn’t realize that it was so serio
us.
They drove for a while. Victor recognized Terrance’s street as they approached, and Lucy parked the car across the street and a few hundred feet away from his house.
“And now we play the waiting game,” she said. “This might not end up amounting to much, but I wanted you here with me, Victor.”
She reached her hand across the center console and set a hand on Victor’s leg. He smiled, and got a little more excited than he should have.
“For moral support?” he asked. Lucy shook her head.
“For your onyx aura,” said Lucy. “To listen.”
“I could do more than just listen with it,” said Victor. “Why don’t I use it to read his mind?”
Lucy shook her head and frowned.
“It won’t work,” she said. “Not on Terrance. He’s too familiar with the nanites. If you tried it, he’d immediately recognize what you’re doing and move to destroy evidence and leads before we could get to them.”
“I don’t know,” said Victor. “I think it could work.”
“Just trust me on this, Victor,” said Lucy. “The only way for us to follow this to the source is to keep a very low investigative profile.”
Victor shrugged and directed his attention toward Terrance’s house. It was nice enough, and the damage that’d been caused to it during his fight against Night Angel months earlier had all been repaired.
He bound his onyx aura and was instantly hit with a plethora of interesting sensory information. Two or three of the nearby houses contained pairs of people happily having sex, which given the time of night, wasn’t unusual, at least not outside of the fact that he could hear it.
Lucy’s breathing and heart beat were slightly faster than usual. Listening to them gave Victor an odd, voyeuristic thrill, and he made himself stop after a second.
He focused his attention on Terrance’s house. He could hear movement inside, though from the distance they were at, it was muffled and relatively useless. It almost sounded like he was getting dressed, or…
“He’s getting ready to go somewhere, and putting on his jacket,” said Victor. Sure enough, the front door opened after another minute, and Terrance walked out to his car and climbed into it.
Forbidden Magic: The Complete Collection Page 25
