Trey nodded, a thoughtful look on his face.
Maria coughed. “I know a guy. He isn’t exactly on the right side of the law. That said, he might provide bulk discounts, but he isn’t cheap.”
James grunted. “Good enough. I’ve got plenty of money sitting around doing nothing. Just get me the supplies I need. If he’s got anti-magic bullets or other useful shit, I’m interested in buying them, too.”
She laughed. “You’re about to make someone really rich and yourself much poorer.”
“Don’t care as long as it ends with the Council dead.” James stood. “Step one, we find out everything we can. Step two, we arm up. Step three, we kick their asses. Are you all still in?”
Everyone nodded.
Heather’s gaze flicked to the video chat window in the corner of her second screen. Peyton stared at her with a confused look on his face.
He shrugged. “Why are you so set on video chat? What was wrong with the pure audio?”
She smiled. “Sometimes it’s just nice to see what’s on another person’s face when you’re working with them.”
Peyton sighed. “Look, not trying to be a dick, but what if your kid comes through? I don’t want him knowing my face. Technically, I’m supposed to be dead.”
Heather laughed. “And you think Noah’s going to go to his daycare and tell all his mobster friends or something?”
“Just saying.”
“Don’t worry. He’s asleep, and he doesn’t come into my room without knocking when I’m working anyway.” Heather rolled her eyes.
Peyton scoffed. “I saw that.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who is paranoid about a little boy selling him out.” She shrugged.
“Okay, good point.” Peyton looked away for a moment and then sighed. “I guess we should move forward and get to talking about how we want to handle this stuff. Unless you’re hiding something very well, I’m guessing you’re not a witch or magic user of any type.”
Heather laughed. “Not last time I looked.”
Peyton nodded. “Just double-checking. It’d be nice if we had someone like that, just to poke around some of the magical dark web stuff. I’m kind of worried these guys might not have enough of a normal presence for us to find anything useful.”
“I doubt it.”
“You do?” He furrowed his brow.
Heather nodded. “Yeah. At the end of the day, if they’re here on Earth and buying old corporate headquarters buildings, they’re going to have a presence we can follow. We just have to be smart about this. You know, examine what links the locations the government and other bounty hunters already raided, financial records, deeds—all that crap. If anything, the fact that these guys are all so obsessed with magic means they’ll probably be sloppier in covering their conventional tracks.”
Peyton frowned. “I don’t know about that. The government has already looked pretty hard and hasn’t found much.”
“And you’ve never found something that the government thought was hidden pretty well?” She arched an eyebrow. “And you’re the guy who told Brownstone you’re better than me? Sad.”
He scoffed. “Okay, okay, good point. Don’t get ahead of yourself. We’ll just divide and conquer for now. How about you hit the financials and property records related to the previous raid sites, and I’ll see if I can trace any people associated with them?”
“Sounds good.” Heather nodded, then let her lips curl into a slight smirk. “Don’t feel bad if I find these Council jerks before you do.”
Peyton smirked back. “Oh, it’s on.”
Tyler stared into the Manhattan he’d prepared as he leaned back in his desk chair. He brought the drink up to his lips and then set it down.
No, I need to keep a clear head if I’m going to do anything useful tonight. But what the hell am I going to do?
He snorted. He wasn’t even sure why he was getting involved in this twisted mess. Brownstone had described a dangerous magical criminal organization that had slaughtered highly-trained bounty hunters and soldiers in addition to assassinating a highly-decorated military officer. The Council defined dangerous, and he’d agreed to go poke his nose into their business. He hadn’t even gotten fifty percent upfront.
What the fuck was I thinking?
Tyler lifted the glass and swirled the drink, his thoughts returning to something else Brownstone had mentioned—the huge payout.
The bounty hunter was footing the bill for supplies, which meant all Tyler needed to do was provide him information. A few bribes here and there might be necessary, but his share of the bounty would make all the money he’d previously made off Brownstone seem like a rounding error.
That’s all this is, nothing more than me taking advantage of Brownstone again to earn myself a shit-ton of cash. He isn’t using me. I’m using him.
Tyler smirked. Not only would he earn all that money, but he also wouldn’t even have to put himself in danger. The only true risk was if the Council decided to come after him, but very soon, James Brownstone was going after them. The information broker had learned long ago that only fucking brain-dead morons bet against Brownstone.
It’s not dangerous, and I’m not burning any bridges. These Council assholes won’t even be alive in a few weeks. No problem with earning a little money off them dying as well as earning a few points with Brownstone.
Tyler’s smile disappeared. He kept trying to tell himself that helping the bounty hunter was all about the money, but something floated up from the recesses of his mind. A more burning and primal motivation: revenge.
He shook his head. The bastards had kidnapped Maria and been ready to kill her. He snorted.
I guess I’m more like Brownstone than I want to admit. Fuckers messed with my woman, so now I want to kill every last one of them. Fuck ‘em.
Tyler stood and left the glass on his desk. It was time to go hit up an old friend.
11
Leaning against the cold brick wall, Tyler took a deep breath and slapped his cheeks. “Fuck, I can do this shit. He owes me a favor. He said so before. He isn’t going to fuck with my mind.”
The information broker stepped around the corner into the darkened alleyway.
This is a terrible fucking idea. Brownstone, you’re going to get me killed or worse.
Tyler made his way toward unmarked double doors in the side of the old warehouse. A huge Kilomea in a purple suit and gold chains stood by the door. Tyler would have laughed at the huge ogre pimp’s look if the Oriceran wouldn’t have kicked him through a wall.
The Kilomea took a few steps toward Tyler and looked down at him, his lips curling into a sneer. “Who the fuck are you?” he bellowed. “And why shouldn’t I kill you?”
Tyler’s heart thundered, but he controlled his expression. He adjusted his tie before shrugging. “I’m here to see the Eyes.”
“And why should I give a fuck what you want, human?”
The information broker forced a sneer onto his face. Confidence was the key to locked doors both in the legal world and the underworld.
“Because he owes me a favor. Tell him Tyler’s here and wants to chat. You’ll see.”
The Kilomea snorted. “If he says you’re full of shit I’m gonna twist you up like a pretzel.” He stomped off and ducked to step inside.
Tyler let out a sigh of relief as the bouncer closed the doors behind him.
Shit. I still have time to run. Maybe I should. Maybe the Eyes was just fucking with me when he said he owed me a favor. I did give him good information, but…
The doors flew open, and the Kilomea glared from inside the smoke-filled building. “Get the fuck inside.”
Tyler gave the bouncer a polite nod and entered. The Kilomea stepped outside and slammed the doors behind him.
Thick aromatic smoke choked the air and Tyler coughed a few times as he walked through the darkened hallway. As he moved, he spotted people, both humans and Oricerans, their faces locked in ecstasy as they sprawled on a couch or ch
air, drooling, their pupils dilated.
Tiny bands of light played across their bodies. The Eyes got something out of what he did to people, and they did, too, but Tyler was sure there was a lasting price. He was also pretty sure that more than a few of the people had stopped breathing.
I think I’ll stick to booze.
Two more people in purple suits, an elf and a human, stood in front of another set of double doors. The elf raised his hand, and a glyph appeared on his palm. He moved his hand over Tyler’s chest and narrowed his eyes.
The elf held out his hand. “Give it to me.”
Tyler snorted and slowly pulled out his gun, not that he thought it’d work against the Eyes. He handed the weapon to the elf.
The human guard turned and opened the door. “The Eyes will see you now.”
Tyler took another deep breath and stepped inside. The smoke was even more fragrant and thick. He coughed a few more times. A single dim bulb on a chain offered the only illumination in the otherwise cramped and featureless room.
“Tyler,” a voice hissed from the corner. “So nice to see you again.”
He spun toward it, trying to will his heart not to explode. Two glowing solid-yellow eyes stared at him from the deep shadows in the corner.
The Eyes had a real name in his own language, but no one in the LA underworld could begin to pronounce it. The being, for its part, seemed to enjoy the fear caused by the title.
Tyler chuckled at the stray thought. He winced right after.
What have I done?
“What’s so funny?” the Eyes whispered. Even though the voice was quiet and the creature remained in the corner, it sounded like he was whispering right into Tyler’s ear.
“I-I just realized something. All these years I’ve talked to you, I keep thinking of you as a ‘he’ but I have no fucking clue if that’s true. I don’t even know if whatever species you are has sexes.”
The Eyes let out a quiet chuckle. “Think of me as whatever is most convenient. It doesn’t matter.” The yellow eyes vanished and reappeared in another corner. “Interesting…”
“Huh?”
“You’ve changed.” The Eyes chuckled. “It’s about time you grew a pair of balls and a backbone.”
Tyler frowned. “What the fuck are you talking about? You’re always confusing as fuck, but this time I don’t have a clue.”
The creature again winked to a different corner. “You’ve come because you seek information. You’ll try and tell yourself it’s for money, but you know it’s not. I don’t blame you, though. It’s okay to lie to others, but just make sure you’re not lying to yourself.”
“I’m only about money. Just because you get off on sucking people’s brains doesn’t mean the rest of us mere mortals don’t care about cash.”
“Lies.” The bulb flickered several times. “The perils of the flesh. A woman. Anger. Resentment toward those who would harm your woman.”
Tyler gritted his teeth. He’d dealt with the Eyes for years, but never could be sure if the creature had magical insight or was just very good at collecting information.
The bartender sighed. “If you already know all this, then you know why I’m here.”
The Eyes disappeared. Tyler frowned after several seconds and looked back and forth. He turned around to find the solid-yellow eyes staring right into his mere inches away.
He yelped and stumbled back. “Fuck.”
The creature laughed, a wheezing and unsettling sound. “Humor me, Tyler. I enjoy the taste so much.”
“The taste of what?”
“Tell me about the woman first,” the Eyes insisted. “That’s my price.”
Tyler sighed. “Okay. Shit. I admit it. I fell for someone, a cop. How is that for fucking irony? I wasn’t even looking, but, yeah. I’m here to ask about the Council. They fucked with her, so they pissed me off, and so I’m doing some shit I probably shouldn’t. At the rate I’m going, I’ll probably be a cop by next year. That enough?”
“Yes,” the Eyes hissed. “More than enough. Interesting and wrong.”
“Huh? What do you mean wrong?”
The creature vanished again. Tyler waited several seconds before turning around. This time the Eyes was back in the corner.
“You move in her direction, but she also moves in yours.”
Tyler shrugged. “Not going to say she doesn’t push the line every now and again.”
“You will find equilibrium.” The creature wheezed more laughter.
Tyler frowned. “What do you mean?”
“That is the way of the universe. Equilibrium. The woman motivates you, but you’re here for another reason—because some have forgotten the equilibrium that defines existence. The forces of darkness are making a large play. Their counter has already gathered and will deliver a terrible blow.”
“Okay, I like the sound of that. You’re saying we’re going to win this?”
“Perhaps. The Council is wounded and unprepared for what you’re bringing.” The Eyes offered another wheezing laugh. “I’m no seer. I just know the present. I can tell you that your lance of stone is more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”
“Lance of stone? Oh, I get it.” Tyler snorted. “Yeah. I wouldn’t bet against him.”
“I will give you more. I know much about them, but there’s a price.”
“I thought you said you owed me?”
The Eyes winked to another corner. “Special information has higher value and a higher price. You will bring me someone.”
Tyler furrowed his brow. “Huh? Bring you someone? What do you mean?”
“Bring me someone. They must be alive. I have need of their body. You don’t need to know why.”
Tyler couldn’t keep the disgust from bubbling up to his face.
The Eyes zoomed forward until the creature was right in front of him. The faintest ripples in the air suggested a shuddering and twisting form barely connected to reality.
“Don’t give me that look, Tyler,” the creature hissed. “Many servants of the darkness will fall in coming days. Just keep one alive and bring him to me. If you do, I’ll provide you with useful information on your enemies.
“Done.” Tyler swallowed and turned to leave. There really were things worse than death.
James nodded to himself as he looked around the table in the briefing room at Camp Brownstone. Trey, Dannec, Lieutenant Hall, and Shay sat in front of computers poring over the government reports and trying to cross-reference them with the clues provided by Heather and Peyton. For now, their focus was on the magic used by the Council. That magic was what was letting the Council win in fights. His team needed to figure out a way to neutralize it.
We’ve got a good start on this shit. Just need to make sure we’re prepared.
Dannec frowned and shook his head. “Anti-magic deflectors will be somewhat useful, but you’re going to need more than that. These four-armed creatures they keep using—they’re called Zain. They aren’t demons; you can think of them as secretive but dumb magical mercenaries. Pure anti-magic won’t do much, and they’re able to rip through most metals with ease with their claws.” He rubbed his chin and grinned. “If you have the money, I’m sure I could find some additional defensive magical artifacts to sell you. I’ll gladly grant you a discount for purchasing in bulk.”
Trey snorted.
James shrugged. “I’ve got the money. Not like I’ve got anything better to spend it on.”
Shay pointed at a still from a drone video. A four-armed monster lay on the ground, bleeding out. “Looks like they aren’t bulletproof.”
Dannec nodded. “They’re extremely tough, but regular weapons can kill them. They can take a lot of punishment before going down, though.”
The tomb raider grinned. “Sounds like an excuse for me to crack out the high explosives and machine guns. I don’t always get to play with the big toys.”
Lieutenant Hall glanced her way and snorted. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that yo
u have that kind of stuff considering what you…used to do.”
James frowned but said nothing. The cop already knew about Shay’s past, which might complicate things if she decided she didn’t like a former hitman wandering the country with illegal weapons. He also didn’t want Shay’s past leaked to his men just yet. If Trey found out, it’d be hard for him to keep his mouth shut. Then again, a bunch of former gang members probably wouldn’t care.
Hall knew the fucking score. She didn’t have to volunteer to join if she was gonna have a problem with Shay being Shay.
Trey looked at the two women and shook his head. “Shit, I don’t even want to know about whatever cat-fight shit’s about to start.”
Shay’s smile faded. “Is that going to be a problem, Maria? I don’t know about James and his men in terms of what they’re allowed to have, but I don’t plan on going after the Council with just a 9mm and a few strategic f-bombs.”
Trey and Dannec chuckled. James grunted, not bothering to hide the annoyance on his face.
Lieutenant Hall pointed at Dannec. “Considering how much I’ve dealt with him, I can’t say shit. Glass houses and all that. I can’t exactly lecture anyone on always following the law anymore. One thing this year has taught me is that sometimes you just have to step over the line to protect people. Fucking brass seems more concerned about appealing to politicians than making sure AET gets shit done or saves anyone.” She grinned. “Anyway, I’m here not as a cop, but as a consultant. I can compartmentalize for my clients.”
The tension left James’ shoulders and neck, and he turned to Dannec. “So, anti-magic deflectors, some sort of magic shields and armor. Anti-magic bullets. I want it all. Like I’ve been saying, this isn’t a bounty. This is war, and I want to go to war with good equipment.”
The elf nodded. “Of course, Mr. Brownstone. I’m more than happy to supply you with whatever you need, provided your money keeps flowing.”
The bounty hunter grunted. “You don’t even give a shit that I’m taking on the Council, do you? You just care that I’m dumping a shitload of cash on you.”
The Unbelievable Mr Brownstone Omnibus Page 86
