Only one station showed a report that seemed to challenge the authorities. They showed a Google satellite image of the compound, taken a few months ago. It wasn’t very clear, but there were no horses and it looked like you could make out the machine guns mounted on the roof of the former barn. The reporter had managed to grab an interview with the fae FBI agent we had met at my place, Randi, who complained that the FBI had been denied access to the crime scene, as well as the witness. The Mayor’s office released a statement that they would not share any further information with any law enforcement agency that allowed supes to take part in an ongoing investigation against supes.
“That is the reporter we will contact,” Jill said.
We had to start fighting back in the press. Diocletus was the Summer Queen’s negotiator and had gone into the other bedroom to make a deal with Alexis, the traitor fae.
I was hoping for a little torture but Jill explained to me that Alexis knew he had us over a barrel.
“We can kill him, and we could make that very painful,” she said. “Or he can cut a deal that he keeps his life and maybe some of his status, under certain conditions, the main one being that he cooperate and spill the beans. We are all about making deals. He knows that I won’t allow him to set foot again on my land, this is why your Queen sent her negotiator. He will make a deal with him and the Summer Queen on that part, and I will try not to grow impatient and go in there and turn him into an ice sculpture. He is going to get one chance, if he breaks any terms of the deal it will include the consequences, and there will be no future option of further deals.”
The fae always make deals, they especially love written contracts, and trying to find ways to keep to the terms of a contract but also use it to their advantage.
“Diocletus has a century of experience in this,” Jill added. “There will be no loopholes. I have authorized him to negotiate on my behalf. He will sign as the Summer Queen’s negotiator and I will sign my part as well.”
As we waited, we continued to watch the news, flipping from one channel to the other. What could only be described as a vigilante squad had found a few vamp hideouts and burned them and any vamps within down to the ground just after sunrise this morning. One of the members of the Leadership Council was calling on the National Guard to go into Pack territory and hunt the murderous shifters down that had killed that businessman.
The National Guard had doubled troops around the territory and moved in some armored vehicles, they were now patrolling not only the roads going in and out of Pack territory, but also the woods as well, saying some of the shifters must have moved in and out of the area in animal form, avoiding the roads. Any wolves or other suspicious animals seen leaving the borders would be shot.
That same reporter had managed to reach the pack Alpha, James, by phone. He of course, denied that the Pack had anything to do with the attack. “For heaven’s sake, why?” he had asked. “What possible reason would we have to do such a thing?”
“Why, indeed?” the reporter had responded.
Finally, a journalist with some common sense, I thought. She was a good choice for us.
While we waited for the negotiations to be completed, we planned our strategy. Jill felt confident we could get that reporter to do an interview, she had a contact at the station, a halfling that would pass one of our cell phone numbers to the reporter. It was just a matter of finding a safe place to do the interview. Tonight, I would attend a charity event that would also have the witch that was running against the Mayor in attendance, we needed to fight back on the political front as well and he needed to know the truth of what was going on.
Jane’s trusted people would be here this afternoon in a series of RVs driven by human servants. Jill felt it would be important that tonight Jane make contact with the other two masters in the city so we could coordinate our efforts. She would also need to contact the head of the UP Union, their business was suffering at this point and they were being watched to make sure they were not providing blood to the vamps. The RVs were bringing a stockpile of bottled blood but something would need to be arranged on a long term basis.
The biggest area of concern was the shifters. If the National Guard went in to Pack territory to hunt them down it was going to be a disaster. Jill felt she would be able to glamour her way in past the lines tonight. The Pack needed an exit strategy as a fight right now would be a PR nightmare for all supes. It was important that we coordinate with James on this. I hoped that Rolfe was there and that he was okay.
Then there was the matter of transportation. The twin Accura we had here would have to remain, Jill felt confident they would not trace the one we had left at the traitor’s compound to her, but it was such an unusual car that driving one like it was likely to result in us getting pulled over. With the three of us going in different directions tonight we would need several vehicles. We would call some rental places and have some of Jane’s human servants bring them to us.
All this planning sounded complicated to me, and I asked Jill about the Mayor and the Police Captain.
“We know they are involved, and possibly a few members of the Leadership Council,” she replied. “Probably the Chief of Police as well and who knows who else in Law Enforcement. Even if we knew for certain everyone who was involved, it is just not a good strategy to go out and kill them all.” She paused, thinking. “War is not just won on the field of battle,” she said. “On this side of the divide, as well as in Faerie it works the same way. It’s not just a matter of the good guys killing the bad guys. What happens then a lot of times is that the good guys are then perceived as the bad guys. You have to have all bases covered so the public understands that you really are the good guys. These people we are fighting probably think they are the good guys in all of this. They think all supes are evil and feel justified in doing whatever it takes to eliminate us as having any influence here. I am sure genocide is something they would love to see happen but they realize that is probably not going to occur, at least at this point. Believe me, they have a long term strategy for this.”
“Just give me a shot at the Mayor,” I replied.
“Look,” she said, “you are a fighter, a soldier, a very fine weapon in the hands of any war general. This is why I chose you for the most difficult part of our assault on the compound. I knew it had to be done for Jane and I to have a chance of completing our assignments. We could not have done what you did.”
It was true. As the Angel of Death, I carried out my assignment perfectly. God had given me the power to do so. Occasionally, when an angel from either side contested with me on the disposition of a soul, we had fought and I had won. I spent a lot of time training for that. Angels, like the fae, fought with bladed weapons, even my scythe was feared among angels, none but Death had ever trained in its use. If they contested with me on the metaphysical side, my power always prevailed as well. When angels fight they manifest in the mortal realm, their magical blades able to kill each other. It was very rare to ever see a real battle between numbers of angels, usually it was one against one. Sometimes angels tried to manifest and interfere with people in the mortal realm resulting in a fight between opposing angels. I was not involved in that part of things, I had a different job to do.
The only thing I really missed about being the Angel of Death was the training. Numerous upper tier angels liked to train with me and I with them. It was about the only interaction I had with my own kind. In the mortal world, the weapon of choice was now guns. I hated guns and I suspected most angels felt this way. It wasn’t really fighting, it was so impersonal. If an angel ever came up with a magical gun that was capable of killing another angel, they would probably be mobbed. I envied the fae for this, guns did not work in Faerie.
Diocletus came out of the bedroom. “An agreement has been reached,” he announced.
Chapter Twenty Two
“I was working for the Mayor,” Alexis said. “I was a spy for him, giving him information on trade between Faerie and your wo
rld. The plan was for me to take over exclusive rights to that trade once the dust settled and split the profits with him.”
You could see the reporter, a short, very pretty brunette, was loving this. An exclusive story implicating the Mayor, the man in charge of the entire Southern Territory. Her name was Eve Jones and she and her camera guy had met us at a reception hall Jill had rented for the day.
“What do you know about the vamp murders and kidnappings?” she asked.
“He had a few vamps working for him as well,” Alexis responded. “They would kidnap some humans and I would use my glamour to lure vamps not in on the plan into drinking their blood and killing them. He had some thugs, contacts in certain criminal elements in the territory that he used to dispose of them.”
“And the attempted murder of the two primary police detectives on the case?” she asked.
“The Mayor felt that Rolfe and Smith were getting too close to exposing things. With the capture of three of the vamps he was offering a contract to anyone that would eliminate them and provided those that were interested with their whereabouts. For my part, I was promised an appointment as Treasurer of the Southern Territory. He isn’t real happy with the lady he has in that spot now. She is too much by the book. Their Captain had told me where to go and what to do to draw them there. I almost succeeded.”
The little twerp sounds almost disappointed, I thought. I sure hoped that one day down the road I had an opportunity to beat him to a pulp. Those bullets had hurt and he had killed two other officers.
Jill was seated next to him and for the interview she had dropped the glamour that made her appear as my twin. Snow white, billowing hair, regal features, tall and proud, she looked every bit the Winter Queen, cold and powerful in her position.
Eve turned to her and asked her what she had found out about the conspiracy.
“This fae sitting next to me is the owner of what the authorities are calling a horse ranch that was supposedly killed by some wild pack of wolves and vamps last night,” she responded. “I have here his ownership papers and pictures of the property in question. This is no horse ranch.”
“I have also provided his written affidavit and other documents detailing names dates and payments as well has his contacts and his involvement in this matter. Under the circumstances, we have not given this to the local authorities, they simply can’t be trusted. I have, however provided a copy of this file to the FBI. I hope that they will take this matter seriously and investigate what is quite obviously a conspiracy involving murder, kidnapping, and bribery among other things.”
“What do you hope to accomplish with this?” Eve asked.
“For over forty years, both the Summer and Winter realms of Faerie have worked tirelessly to repair damage caused by the conflict between us back in the seventies. We hope that these efforts can continue. Both the human world and the lands of Faerie can benefit by peace and trade. There are certain elements within your government that simply do not want to see this happen. Alexis will be dealt with by the Summer Queen under the terms of our treaty with your country. I assure you he will never set foot in your world again.”
Jill, as Winter Queen, was an expert at telling the truth without telling everything. Most humans knew that she should be telling the truth here, it was part of what being a Queen of Faerie was. I knew she had hired a delivery service to get the copies of those documents to Randi, the FBI fae on the case, before this report aired on the local news this evening at six p.m.. That was only a little more than an hour away.
As the interview concluded, I had a chance to talk to Eve. I asked her if she would be attending the charity event tonight where the witch running against the Mayor in next year’s election. Roger Simpson, would be in attendance hoping to raise money for research into curing Alzheimer’s.
“You bet,” she said. “After this interview airs tonight, rest assured that he will want to talk to me.”
“I will want to talk to him as well,” I replied. She knew who I was the Winter Queen had introduced me as Jade, Rolfe’s partner on the case.
“I can’t make any guarantees,” she replied. “With what has happened the last few days, security around him is going to be huge. But if I tell him who you are, if we have the chance of not being overheard, I am sure he will want to talk to you.”
“I have some ideas as well to get his attention,” I replied. I did indeed, I was finally going to let my witch out for a night. I just needed, as usual, something nice to wear.
* * * *
Jill lent me her magic card and I rented a limo for the evening and called Mister Jones. As I had hoped both he and his daughter would be happy to provide me with some nice clothes to wear to the charity event. I had become more than just a customer to them, I think they enjoyed helping me in my little adventures.
I picked them up on the street corner near their shop. He had a large garment bag and she was carrying some other bags and they got in the back of the limo with me. I really missed not having Sarah around to help me get dressed for these things. I hoped that she was okay.
I had told them I was looking for the formal witch look. I knew that they would come through for me. I told the limo driver to just drive around for a while and I changed clothes in the back. The outfit was perfect, a long floor length silky dress, V-neck cut down to my navel, black two-inch heels, a beautiful black pearl necklace and black onyx earrings made in the shape of a pentagram. As Mister Jones’ daughter helped me change, I began to let my witch out and started the process of changing from my college student look. They had seen this before and were not surprised. I think they got a kick out of seeing me change to match their various outfits.
I ended up pretty close to my original look as Smith. I lost the blonde hair and it was now back to my short midnight black straight and silky hair. My complexion went from outdoors tan to the slightly olive tone I was used to, and I kept the well-toned athletic look but just a tad more on the classic style side. It looked like I worked out on a regular basis rather than being a member of the tennis team. A beautiful wide white belt completed the outfit, showing off my narrow but not too skinny waist and emphasizing the curves to my hips. As usual I was pleased with what they had come up with at a moments notice, Jones had my measurements memorized by now and if he had made some last minute adjustments to the outfit, I could not tell. It fit everywhere.
They had given me a small matching handbag made of the same material as the dress and I switched a few things from my backpack into the small purse. I had a big wad of cash in there that I had taken from my warehouse that simply would not fit, so I gave them half of it as payment, it was easily three times the cost of the outfit but at this point I didn’t care. I told them to consider it a tip and it pleased me to give it to them. We let them out in front of their small shop and I told the driver to find me somewhere close by that I could get a good thick steak but also had a TV, I didn’t want to miss the local news.
He took me to the Angus Barn of Old Salem, they had a small bar upstairs for people who wanted to smoke and watch the game on TV. They had a cigar room, you could also eat at the bar, and they had wine, lots of wine, he assured me. I gave him a hundred dollar bill and told him to meet me back there at eight p.m.. I was going to enjoy a nice thick steak and some wine. As I walked upstairs, cursing the human who had invented high heels, I really started to notice the witch in me starting to feel the freedom I had allowed her. Most of the time, I kept her buried beneath my other forms and she was starting to enjoy being in charge.
ESPN simply would not do, I thought as I approached the bar and the TV simply changed to the local affiliate, the one that should be showing the interview Eve had recorded just an hour or so earlier. I sure hoped her news director was going to let it air, it was very important to the Winter Queen’s plan. Andy and Barney were now showing instead of the sports channel, the news had not yet come on.
The bartender was friendly, he glanced at the TV and then looked at me as I sat dow
n, there were a few people sitting up there smoking cigars and having a drink, but it was still early and I was the only one at the bar. My earrings and my outfit screamed witch.
“Nice tattoo,” he said, I looked at my arm and in the same place where the little dragon had been when I went to London Jane’s party, was now a pentagram tattoo, perfectly formed. Looking at the TV again and smiling he asked, “Your doing?”
“Maybe so,” I said, smiling as he pushed buttons on the remote, to no avail.
“Mayberry will just have to do,” he replied, setting the remote back down on the bar.
I asked him for a menu and a wine list and selected the porterhouse for two, medium rare, seared on the outside and pink on the inside. They had a wine list, boy did they ever have a wine list, eighty-six pages long. They had a wine cellar in this place, and a large selection of foreign and domestic reds, some of them quite expensive. I had both a magic card and plenty of cash and I was in heaven as I sampled my first selection, fantastic. This place was going on my list of favorites and the limo driver was going to get another tip.
Jade Page 12
