Sons (Book 2)

by Scott V. Duff

  “In general, ‘Seth’ is sufficient,” I said. “There are too many ‘Mr. McClures’ running around here. It gets confusing. But why does our calm about Steven’s aggravation bother you, Miss Osbourne?”

  “None of you seem the slightest upset that he got into an argument on the phone just a few moments ago. In the middle of a business meeting? Granted, I can’t quite judge when half of you are invisible to me and half of the remaining are guarded elders, but I should have seen some reaction. But it was as if you all expected him to be angry.”

  “It was one of several possibilities but the most reasonable, Miss Osbourne,” Dad said calmly. “Considering the circumstances around what I suspect he was told, it was probably a fairly mild reaction.”

  Norton grunted in disgust. His aura roiled in anger and frustration.

  “The job is for an assistant to our team,” I said and went on to cover the basics that we’d discussed with everyone, including the privacy geas.

  “And we’re hoping that we can coordinate this in the right way and with the right people so that we can just move you into the corporate structure as our personal needs decrease with time and we move more people in,” Peter added. “We aren’t going to stand in one place, so we don’t expect or even want you to, either.”

  “By the same token,” Kieran said, “if any particular member proves to not be up to task, we have no problem removing that person and either placing him elsewhere or removing him completely.”

  “But as Steven has just discovered, this is not the safest job in the world,” I said. “And, right now, we are not in the safest of worlds, either. We are at the center of the war on magic users and we’re not sure why. We currently deal directly with three different councils. Also, on Thursday we meet with emissaries from both Courts of Faery on an unknown agenda and several other councils have members invited to that ceremony, so the number will probably increase then.”

  “Do you remember the days when he didn’t talk so much?” Ethan whispered to Kieran.

  “Last week?” Kieran whispered back, grinning. Ethan snickered. Dad threw the couch pillow at them unexpectedly, hitting Kieran in the side of the head and rebounding into Ethan.

  “Somebody had to say it,” Ethan said, the smarm evident in his grin, returning the pillow to its rightful place. Peter and I were snickering then.

  “Actually, you’re in a better position at this point to judge us than either David or Steven were about how well you think you’d fit in with us,” I said. “We’re pretty much all together now and you have just a little bit more information than either of them did. This pretty much brings us back around to Mike’s question: what do you think you can bring to the table?”

  She hesitated, glancing around the room. “Am I the only woman in the group at the moment?”

  Peter arched an eyebrow and said, “You’re not actually in the group yet, but yes. We interviewed another, our first actually, but she had issues similar to yours and we mutually agreed that we would not be a good fit at that point in time.”

  “We did like her, though, and once we get up and running, we’ll consider her again for other positions,” I said.

  “What are you seeing as ‘my issues’?” she asked.

  “Ethan, you weren’t with us when we talked with Madeline,” I said, slipping a lop-sided grin on and forcing attention onto him. He’d been quiet a little too long. “Would you like to field this one?”

  “Yeah, make me out to look like a heel,” he said through slitted eyes as he sat up. “A lack of perspective would be my first thought, specifically the aforementioned ‘elephants’.”

  “I don’t know what you mean by ‘elephant’ ,” Osbourne said.

  “Usually, it’s the big, clunky, ugly thing in the room that everyone tries to ignore but can’t,” Richard said. “I believe in this case, they are saying that you are the only one who managed to ignore them and shouldn’t have.”

  “Safe bet,” muttered Jimmy.

  “First!” I snapped quietly at him.

  “And the lack of perspective has other connotations as well,” Peter said, trying to move attention away from Jimmy and me. “For instance, you’ve been asked the same question twice and have yet to answer, choosing instead to qualify and misdirect. Not necessarily a bad thing especially politically, but here?” He shook his head, grimacing.

  “So what are the elephants?” Osbourne asked Richard, turning back to him.

  “I suppose that depends on your perspective,” he said, smiling. “But let’s look at it logically from yours for a moment. Right now, of the ten men in the room, who do you think is the most powerful? Who is the most important?”

  “Six of you are related in some manner and of those six, four of them have auras that are invisible to me, so I would put the most powerful among them,” she said logically. “It would be difficult to say who is stronger without some evidence to judge. But since this is a mostly family oriented venture, I would say that the most important man here is either you or Mr. McClure.”

  “That’s logical,” Mike said, nodding. “And had you acted as if you believed that prior to Richard’s question, he wouldn’t have asked it.”

  “And while Richard and I appreciate the vote of confidence, neither of us is particularly important in the world right now,” Dad said.

  “Hey!” Peter and I shouted simultaneously, aggravated. I went on, “The hell you’re not important! Both of you! I’ve seen you both at work lately. You’re not ready for an ice floe yet, old man,” I said loudly. And damned if he didn’t look shocked about it. I refused to reach into his mind to find out why, though.

  “Calm down, little brother,” Kieran said softly. “He was exaggerating.”

  “Well, the same goes for me, too,” Peter said, bopping his father with a magazine as he passed behind him.

  “Don’t look at me. I hate the cold,” Richard said, ducking too late then rubbing his head in mock pain.

  “You live in Canada!” Dad exclaimed in disbelief, looking up at Richard.

  “The correct answer to both of those questions, by the way, is Seth,” Kieran said to Osbourne, shaking his head at the newest circus to erupt. “Mike, let’s arrange the next group with just the five of us, okay?”

  Again the phone rang. Peter answered this time as he headed into one of the bedrooms. He had a short conversation then called Mike to the phone, then continued to the bedroom.

  “We have a running disagreement on that point,” I said.

  “The four of you are pretty damn close,” Dad said.

  “I didn’t know you’d seen Peter or Ethan,” I said, looking over at Mike as he hung the handset in the cradle and headed back.

  “Tuesday,” he answered.

  “So it is possible to see your auras, then,” she said.

  “We see each other just fine,” Ethan said. “We took turns tying our eyesight to Robert so he could see.”

  “Would you do that for me?” she asked.

  “No,” he answered without explanation. I didn’t offer one either.

  “Then who do you believe is the strongest and most important of you now?” she asked me.

  “There’s that perspective issue, again,” I said and I was pretty sure I was condescending when I said it. “But to answer your question, Kieran is the strongest of us while I am the most important.”

  She laughed lightly as she looked around at each of us. “You seem so genuine and in the beginning, so self-effacing. The youngest of the brothers and yet everyone agrees that you are the most important. Why?”

  “I thought we covered that,” I answered. “Let me put it another way. I have the greatest responsibility. Until my realm can support itself properly, over a million people depend on me, therefore I am the most important.”

  “Our last appointment of the day has canceled,” Mike said sitting again. “We will reschedule sometime next week, after the emissaries. That gives us the rest of the day off now.”

  That pr
onouncement caused a mass turning of heads as everyone oriented on Caitlin Osbourne. She squirmed in her seat for a moment as she fought to remember exactly where in the interview process we were. I was done hinting though, my patience at an end. She did remember the direction of Mike’s question.

  “While I’m probably not particularly well-suited to fetch coffee, I am fairly well acquainted of many of the current members of the US Council as well as CEOs and board members of businesses where wizards and other magic users hold influence,” she explained. The phrasing showed forethought but why she hadn’t used it when the question was originally posed I couldn’t tell. “Through travel on family business and educational pursuits, I have met with a wide array of knowledgeable people that I can call upon for information and advice.”

  Small balloons of disappointment appeared in several auras of our assistants and one bloom of satisfaction from Jimmy—he didn’t like her—when everyone but her realized she disqualified herself from consideration. She trundled on for a couple of minutes longer discussing her reasonably impressive education, knowing she’d made a mistake somewhere but not recognizing exactly where. That in itself bothered me enough to say no again, or at least with more emphasis.

  Mike was the bearer of the bad news. “Miss Osbourne, while you have some impressive credentials, we’re looking for people a slightly broader range of abilities at the moment.”

  “It’s likely that we’ll have need of someone with your qualifications in the near future for other positions, though,” Peter said to mollify the situation. “We’ll keep your resume for future consideration in case you’re available at that time.”

  “Yes, thank you for your time, Miss Osbourne,” Kieran said, standing and reaching out to shake her hand. We all followed suit, anxious to close the interview and move on.

  “I believe we promised travel compensation,” Mike said, pulling several bills from the back of his notebook. “Will a thousand cover your expenses?”

  “Oh, no, please, that won’t be necessary,” she said as she stood and collected her things. She was both highly disappointed and surprised about the depth of that feeling. “I’m visiting friends in the city as well, so I would feel wrong taking your money.”

  “I’ll walk you to the elevators, Cate,” David offered, leading her through the small maze of people.

  “I’ll go with you,” I said, and when David turned and gave me a questioning look, “We don’t go anywhere alone right now.” Jimmy made moves to follow as I shuffled past, but a glower from me stopped him in his tracks. The room was quiet as we left and the walk down the hall was equally morose. I let the distance between them and me increase slowly, trying to give them some privacy, unsure what their previous relationship was, but they stayed quiet until the concierge’s lounge appeared. The elevators were hidden on the other side of the desk. I stayed at the entrance to the lounge, looking inside but aware of the halls around us.

  “It was the fetching coffee thing, wasn’t it?” she asked David quietly, turning to him and scanning down the hall to me peeking into the lounge. I doubt she thought I could hear or knew I saw her looking.

  David chuckled slightly and said, “That may have been the straw, but the camel was already heavily burdened, Cate, dear, but it was a valiant effort to recover. I’ll give you that.”

  “It certainly wasn’t like any other interview I’ve had,” she said. “Do they always act that way?”

  “I couldn’t really say. I’ve only been with them a day. They’re certainly a happy group of men, powerful from what I’ve seen, and fiercely loyal to each other, and especially to him. And if even a tenth of what I was told last night is true—and so far I have no reason to disbelieve them—then they all have cause to be. Considering the day they’ve had, I’m surprised they weren’t crabby as hell, really, especially Seth and his father.”

  “What happened?” she asked, intrigued.

  David smiled. “The short story is that everyone was in a fight for their lives today and they were attacked twice. The specifics are probably confidential just yet, but if that’s how they blow off steam…?” He shrugged and let the question hang. “Anyway, Caitlin, better luck next time, but a word of advice: when you go home, put some of those contacts you mentioned to good use and find out what’s going on in the world right now. I think you’ll be surprised to find out exactly how much of what they said today is true. Steve certainly was. Safe trip, now.”

  “Good-bye, then, David, and thank you,” Caitlin Osbourne said, as they hugged the quick hug of old acquaintances. She glanced down the hallway at me and gave me a polite smile and wave before disappearing into the elevator alcove. David paused for a moment then headed back toward me, shaking his head as he came.

  Stopping when he came up to me, he asked, “It was the fetching coffee thing, wasn’t it?”

  “I think that was Mike’s last straw, but she lost Ethan and Kieran well before that,” I said, turning back to the suite.

  “I’ll never understand that girl,” he muttered as we walked back down the hall, passing a businessman with a suitcase in hand. “Who avoids answering a job interview question three times?”

  “It seemed like mostly a good answer when she got around to it,” I said. “It’s too bad, though. She looked good on paper.”

  “Hmm. I thought she looked pretty damn good in person, too,” he said, glancing back over his shoulder as if he could see her again. “May I ask a personal question?”

  “Sure, whatcha got?” I said as we turned down the last hall to our suite.

  “You do like girls, right?” he asked. “Because some of the things that Mike and Richard said last night led me to think Peter was gay and I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and you guys are so close that it can get difficult to figure out the dynamics of your relationships.”

  “Yes, I like girls,” I said, answering his question with amusement in my voice. “Not that I have the time to date right now and it’s not like they’re lined up at the curb waiting for me either.”

  “Fah-ha,” he guffawed. “They will be soon enough, as soon as your financials hit or your reputation as a scary bastard settles down some.”

  Creating a quick jump through the door, I chuckled a little, saying, “Neither is likely then. I’m likely to be a ‘scary bastard’ for a while and we’re hidden behind a few dozen shunts and blinds financially.”

  “Trust me,” David said, pausing at the door and stifling a giggle. “Women have a way of knowing.”

  Chapter 22

  “No, Colonel, he won’t like that at all,” Mike said as I closed the portal behind me. He leaned against the desk in clear line of sight of the door and away from the noisy carousing that was occurring at the center of the room. He looked at me and rolled his eyes back, shaking his head at my questioning look. “Isn’t he already making enough concessions with the military as it is? Demanding more isn’t going to make this situation better. And seriously, demanding? Didn’t you learn anything this morning?”

  David recovered his position on the couch while I lingered near Mike, listening to the conversation. Colonel Echols told Mike that his superiors were demanding a meeting between them and us before they’d agree to him as a liaison. That was highly suspicious to me and Mike was right, I didn’t like it at all. Poking a hole in space, I looked into the camp at Yaeger’s farm and searched the Colonel out, finding him in the command tent opposite Messner at the table where I’d left them. Calhoun wasn’t there, so I assumed he was getting some much-needed sleep. Messner still needed more, himself.

  Messner shook his head at Echols as he cheerfully lied to Mike on the phone, winding and unwinding his dog tags on his finger subconsciously as he spoke. Closing the hole, I looked over and called quietly, “Hey, Pete, wanna have a little fun?”

  He grinned and scampered around our fathers and I motioned to Mike to keep him talking. Then I moved both of us back to Alabama.

  “Look, Ferrin, just tell the kid,” Echols said. �
��Let him decide for himself then call me back.” He snapped his cell phone shut, dropping it to the table lazily.

  Messner saw us appear behind him and dropped his head to the table with a loud thwack and a sigh. “You really have no idea who you’re dealing with. Didn’t you learn anything from this morning?”

  “Only that the kid’s got control issues,” Echols said, lacing his hands together and cradling his head to lean back in his chair. He was precariously perched there with only his feet on the table to hold himself steady, his eyes on Messner. “Besides, they’re in New York right now.”

  “No,” Messner said. “Actually, they’re right behind you.”

  Peter kicked the chair out from under Echols and he came crashing to the ground before he even had the time to process Messner’s warning.

  “Oh, yeah!” shouted Peter in triumph as the chair clattered into others nearby and Echols slammed into the dirt floor, knocking his breath away and dazing him momentarily. Three of us enjoyed a laugh at his misfortune, Messner maybe a little more than us. It was a minor payback but fun nonetheless. We hopped up on the table and sat quietly while Echols recovered and stood.

  Angry amusement isn’t exactly a simple emotion to show, but I think we managed. “Agent Messner, would you be so kind as to inform the Pentagon that Colonel Echols is no longer a viable candidate as a liaison and suggest that they find another soon?”

  “Certainly, Mr. McClure,” Messner said politely.

  “What? Why?” Echols cried, rubbing the back of his head still.

  “He really didn’t learn anything, did he?” Peter said to me.

  “Apparently it takes more than a couple of knocks in the head,” I told him, grinning. “You hold him down and I’ll get the croquet mallet.”

  “You’re not helping,” Messner said.

  “Not trying to,” I said curtly. “He’s lied to me, cajoled, demeaned, and demanded of me, all in a ten minute conversation. After being told what a bad idea it was in the first place. Excuse me, while being told it was a bad idea.”