by Cameron, TR
Rath nodded. “Cara. Very dangerous. You go first.”
The agent laughed. “Will do, partner. I’m counting on seeing your daggers fly by me while I’m busy diving to the ground to avoid getting shot.”
The troll chuckled. “Of course.”
Tony pulled each of his pistols from their holsters in sequence, checking them over like he would before going into battle in the field. Rath did the same with his weapons, touching the hilts of each knife substitute and verifying his batons were ready to be drawn from their holders. Those were identical to his usual ones but with a sensor tip instead of a stun one. The computer would add a virtual sizzle to any strike that hit properly. His partner said, “Okay, let’s do it,” then activated his comm and continued, “Stark and Rambo, beginning simulation.”
Cara replied, “Croft and Khan, same.”
Kayleigh, who would be keeping an eye on their efforts from her office, said, “Acknowledged. Rambo, don’t give them too much make-out time. They both fight better when they’re a little on edge.”
Rath giggled. “Will do, Glam.” The tech loved teasing everybody about everything, and he was totally on board with that behavior. He followed Tony as they moved through the middle corridor, which wasn’t the one their opponents had chosen. It was impossible to know what traps they’d brought or improvised along the way. The one odd note that jarred the senses was the unnatural uniformity of the place, the one by one by one cubes making it look like they were walking in a huge Lego maze or something.
He stayed loose and limber, ready to move fast at the slightest provocation. Tony stopped. “Room ahead. An exit corridor continues directly opposite this one. Could be a four-way, could be anything. Definitely a decent site for an ambush. We can handle it one of two ways, as I see it. Dash in together and roll with whatever we find, or one goes in first as a decoy, with the other following. What’s your preference?”
Rath thought the man sounded like a teacher and laughed at the mental image of him standing in front of a classroom full of small children. After a moment’s consideration, he replied, “Together.”
Tony nodded. “My choice too, partner.” He drew his pistols. “I’ll enter and go directly left, with my back to the wall. You do the same on the right. Ranged attacks at anything that’s waiting for us. Then, if you feel the need to smack some people with your batons, let me know, and I’ll cover you.”
“Got it.”
His partner counted down, and they burst into the room, ready for anything, only to find it empty. The agent chuckled. “Yep, that’s what I love about training. Lots of stress that turns out to be nothing.” While he was speaking, though, he gestured with his gun, bringing it up to his eyes and pointing to the hallway to his left. Then he gestured at Rath and the hallway to the right.
He nodded his understanding and made sure his grip on the knives he held was good. They both moved forward to the middle of the room and peered down the hallways that entered left and right. They were empty, as well. Tony said, “So, they skipped the easy ambush. Hell, maybe they are in the back making out or something. Jerks.”
Rath laughed again. Their opposing force would never do anything so unprofessional, and everyone knew it. It was simply an amusing way to pass the time and relax the nerves. They continued onward, moving through several more rooms, some with additional hallways, some not. Then they came to a spot with a pair of staircases, one to the left, one to the right, each with a ninety-degree turn to continue going in the same direction but higher up. Rath said, “I go right, you go left?”
“Can’t support each other that way. Quit being a loose cannon, Rambo.” The troll snorted but grinned widely. It was a standing joke between them, the standard line from so many cop shows made all the better because his partner had been one. “So, we’ll go up to the left. I’ll lead. You guard my back. You know, you should think about carrying a gun.”
“Knives and batons are good enough for me. Sometimes grenades.”
Tony ascended the stairs and peeked his head around the corner, then continued upward. “Still. Not a bad skill to develop. I could spend some time with you on the range. That way, even if you didn’t want to use one, you’d have the skills.”
“That’s a deal. Knife training in exchange?”
His partner shrugged. “I’ll never be as good as you, but sure. Fair play. If you’re going to learn a new skill, I should practice what I preach and learn one, too.”
They stepped around another corner to find that the corridor widened before them, opening onto a room filled with columns and short walls. They retreated, and Rath observed, “Too good to pass up.”
Tony said, “Agreed. So, here’s what we’ll do. We go in, and both go left. I lead, with you a step or two after. Since there are two of them, they’ll probably try to attack from in front and behind. I’ll take the front. The back is yours. Don’t let yourself get distracted. They’ll have something unique planned, I’m sure.”
Rath nodded. “Got it. Ready.” He held his knives loosely in his hands, prepared to throw.
“Moving.” Tony flowed forward, with Rath trailing. He moved to the left, and they ran around the first pillar they came to, staying toward the outside of the room. Cara appeared ahead, popping up from behind a barrier shooting. Tony flinched, ducking and stepping to the side at the sight of her, and the bullets missed.
An instant later, flash-bang grenades went off. Tony cried out, clearly caught by the unexpected delay in their deployment—normally, the agents led with flash-bangs and used firearms after. Rath was obeying the instructions Tony had given him, carefully not looking forward and watching their rear, so he was ready when Anik stepped out from behind a different column with his gun raised.
His knives were on the way before the other man could finish aiming, and while his foe managed to squeeze off one shot that caught Rath in the shoulder, an area protected by his vest, his blades struck true, hitting the other agent’s chest right above where the ceramic plates that reinforced their gear ended. The strike would’ve broken a collarbone, maybe, or cut into something vital in the zone between the chest and neck.
The computer must’ve judged it fatal because his opponent fell to the floor. Unfortunately, Tony did the same an instant later as gunfire sounded. His yelp cut off as the system rendered him functionally dead for the rest of the scenario. On his own again, Rath charged, giving the impression that he would go around the four-foot wall that separated him from Cara’s position. Instead, though, he launched himself over it in a somersault, more knives already in his hands, ready to throw.
Cara was waiting with her pistols trained right on the spot where he’d jumped. His suit locked up and he slammed to the floor, hard enough that he would probably have at least one bruise from it. She walked over to him, shaking her head. “Predictable, buddy. Might’ve worked against someone who doesn’t know you, but for someone who does? It’s almost a guarantee that you’d come up and over rather than taking the long way.”
“Next time, we’ll do better. I’ll be back.”
She laughed and extended a hand to him. “I never doubted it for a second, my friend. Let’s reset this thing and mix up the teams. I want you on my side for the next one.”
Chapter Six
Diana put the finishing touches on her makeup and rose to stand in front of the full-length mirror in her quarters. She’d turned the relatively bare-bones room into something fairly comfortable in the months they’d been in the vimana, although it still conveyed the vague feel of living in an industrial space. Which, to be fair, is a solid step up from a lot of places I’ve lived.
She smoothed the bright red dress that hugged her curves tightly enough that she wouldn’t be able to carry any obvious weapons. Her boots had throwing knives on the sides and a stiletto down the back. The ensemble was too confining for the pair with the hideaway holster she would’ve chosen. She’d swept her hair away from her face, and her makeup was somewhere on the line between evening out and
punk rock.
She always wanted to look a bit beyond the ordinary for her dates with Bryant, for her enjoyment, and because he seemed to enjoy it. A black clutch purse to match her boots was home to her backup Sig Sauer P238 pistol. It was loaded with seven anti-magic rounds, naturally.
Her illusion detection bracelet was fashionable enough for the outfit, gracing her right wrist, and the virtually invisible earpiece that served as the team’s communication device remained tucked into her ear. She said, “Sheen, leaving the facility for D.C.”
The baritone of the base’s AI, which Rath had naturally named after Bruce Wayne’s butler, responded, “Affirmative, Diana. Enjoy your date.”
She grinned and replied, “Thank you, Alfred.” Putting Kayleigh and Rath together with Deacon to work on the team’s artificial intelligences had seemed like a good idea at first, giving the troll one more thing to learn. In retrospect, the personalities of their virtual comrades were becoming more and more prominent and potentially problematic as time went by. I already have enough wacko people to manage. I don’t need synthetic challenges as well.
She opened a portal and stepped through to the backyard of the home she’d once owned in Washington. Her best friend, Lisa, occupied it now. They’d worked out a pay-to-own thing that was in the hands of a trust. Diana didn’t need the extra income since her living expenses were nonexistent, so the money went back to her parents, who’d given her the house in the first place.
She wished she’d made some time to catch up with her friend, but Lisa was always busy with lawyer things. She’d changed to a different law firm when her previous one had started acting sketchy and was focusing on the grind of impressing the other partners.
Diana still had in the back of her mind the possibility of turning her organization into a full investigative unit and adding Lisa to it as their legal eagle and team conscience. That was a down-the-road plan once they’d wrapped up the seemingly endless challenge of the Rhazdon artifacts.
She summoned a car and rode in the back. The driverless vehicle took her to the trendy part of the city, stopping in front of the new restaurant Bryant had pulled some serious strings to get them into. The door opened for her automatically. As she stepped out, her date materialized at her side as if by magic. Well, he’s a wizard, so technically, it could be magic, but doubtful.
Her boyfriend gave her the smile that made her stomach flutter sometimes, like tonight. “Hello, gorgeous. I was waiting for my girlfriend, but I think I need to ditch her and spend the night with you instead.”
Diana returned a mock frown. “You’re going to be spending the night on the couch if you keep up that nonsense, mister.”
He laughed and swept her into a hug, which she returned enthusiastically. She’d never been as connected to any romantic partner as she was to Bryant, and the time their careers forced them to spend apart hadn’t damaged that bond at all. I guess we’re polyamorous. Dating each other, dating our jobs. Kinky. She broke his hold and pushed him gently away. “I’m starving, by the way, so if this is those places that think a serving is a tiny cube on a big dish or something, you’re a dead man.”
He grinned. “Please. I know you better than that. You’re going to love it.”
The door opened as they approached, held for them by a tuxedoed Asian gentleman. The interior was a harsh transition from the real world, and Diana stopped to take in her surroundings. A long bar that was a giant fish tank ran along one wall of the place. Patrons sat on stools, and between and around their legs, Diana spotted brightly colored fish darting to and fro. The exclusively female bartenders wore evening gowns, and their heavily painted faces made them look more like performers than servers.
The table arrangements in the dining room were in no order she could understand. They didn’t follow the walls. They didn’t follow each other, and they didn’t match in angles or sizes. She said, “This place is chaos.”
Bryant laughed as he nodded. “You’re not wrong. Apparently, it’s some new understanding of Feng Shui. They organized the furniture to bring prosperity to the location and to everyone who comes into it.”
“Which is why the restaurant’s name is Avarice?”
“Your brilliance never fails to amaze, love.”
She poked him in the kidney as Bryant exchanged words with the host, another tuxedoed man, this one thin, blonde, and probably American, based on his looks. He led them through the maze of tables to one in the corner, with a pillar at the back of one of the two seats and only tables behind the other. She said, “Did your recon, huh?”
Bryant pulled out a chair for her. “Always. I want you to feel comfortable and relaxed so you’re an easier mark. That’s why you get the seat next to the column.” They both shared a desire to have sightlines on any angle an enemy might use to come at them, but Diana’s need for the defensive position was usually greater.
Or my paranoia. Whatever. She sat and said, “What, we don’t get menus?”
He shook his head as he took his seat. “Everyone gets the same thing. They have a couple of nights a month where they’ll take orders, but this isn’t one of them.”
She reached across the table to take his hand. “If this sucks, you’re sleeping on the couch.”
“Like you’d miss the chance to get some of this.” His other hand gestured at himself. She had to admit, he cut a fine figure in his suit and tie, and the round glasses gave him sort of an Indiana Jones vibe. She retorted, “Oh, I’ll still get that. But afterward, it’s the couch for you.”
He laughed and held his reply as the first course appeared in front of them. It was sushi, three pieces each. The waiter explained they were tuna, unagi, and lobster, then vanished. Accompanying the three reasonably sized cakes of rice topped with fish were three tiny bowls, each filled with a different sauce. After the first bite, she knew Bryant had chosen well. Not that I’m going to tell him that. He’s smug enough as it is. Instead, she said, “How’s work?”
He chewed and swallowed, then replied, “Problematic.”
Diana’s brain kicked into work mode, and she scanned the surroundings automatically as she replied, without changing her tone, “Oh, in what way?”
“I hear there’s some concern about your team.” While he spoke, his fingers made signals for surveillance. She nodded, having already spotted a suspicious man out in the street leaning against a lamppost, pretending to wait for a car. For all she knew, there could be others in the restaurant, although he’d probably chosen such an exclusive place deliberately to ensure they’d at least have a modicum of privacy for their meal. We’ll have to check the hotel room thoroughly when we get there.
They always rented a hotel room for their date nights, feeling like it made the whole thing a little more special, but followed no particular pattern in selecting the hotels. So, again, the likelihood that the room would be compromised was low, but they had to assume it was always non-zero. “Oh really? Say more.”
He chuckled and waited while the waiter exchanged their dishes for another round of sushi, this time with Kobe beef, teriyaki chicken, and some bright red meat she couldn’t identify. Again, a trio of sauces accompanied them, and again, they were outstanding. “There’s some suspicion that the quantity of artifacts you’re turning over doesn’t justify your team’s existence or some such thing.”
She frowned. “Who’s counting?”
His tone stayed light while his eyes, meeting hers, conveyed his concern. “No idea. That wasn’t part of the information I received.”
“You trust the person who clued you in?”
Bryant nodded. “Completely.”
Diana paused to eat the mystery chicken and decided it was tandoori. “I thought the government’s position was that they were going to trust us to do our thing. Wasn’t that the deal?”
“There’s trust, and there’s trust. Apparently, they’re only willing to go so far. Or maybe a secret shakeup occurred and someone new is in charge somewhere. You know how the government is.”<
br />
She laughed. “Impractical? Inefficient?”
Bryant swallowed and patted his lips with a napkin. “True on all counts. Anyway, I thought you should know. Maybe we can skip the work talk for the rest of the meal, huh?”
His words sent a thrill of alarm through her. Normally, the meal was when they talked about work, so they could focus on other things once they made it to the hotel room. This might be worse than he’s letting on. Instead, she smiled and nodded. “Sure, Bry-Bry. Anything that makes you happy.”
* * *
Several hours later, Bryant fell back into their sweaty sheets beside her with a loud exhale. Diana waited for her breathing to return to normal, then snuggled up against him. They’d checked the place thoroughly for bugs and had put countersurveillance devices on every wall to ensure sound waves wouldn’t travel through them to be detected by microphones. They were as safe as they were going to get. Still, she put her mouth right next to his ear before demanding, “Okay, spill.”
He rolled over to face her and spoke in a voice that wouldn’t have carried more than a foot past her. “I have a flash drive for you. It holds a bunch of research on you and your team.”
She frowned. “Like someone’s investigating us?”
Bryant gave a small nod. “That’s my guess. What I was able to access were normal files, but the fact that they’re collected together seems like something worth being worried about. I’m guessing there’s more to it. My contact wouldn’t have taken the risk of passing this to me if there wasn’t.”
Diana sighed at the prospect of their date ending early. “Would you call this an ‘existential, get on it right now,’ kind of crisis?”
He shook his head. “No, I’d call it a ‘let’s spend the night exhausting each other since if this is a problem, we don’t know when we’ll be together again’ kind of crisis.”
She laughed, pushed him down on his back, and threw one leg over his stomach. “Well then, we better not waste any time.”
