One Bad Decision

by Michael Anderle

  Maria’s heart rate kicked up. “We can block those roads off, and I can have another team ready to go within minutes.”

  “They’re not moving. They’re at a warehouse in Mar Vista.”

  The lieutenant grinned. “Even better. Look, I need to know if Brownstone is joining the party.”

  “Yeah. He’s definitely in an ass-kicking mood.”

  “Good.” Maria shook the bag full of anti-magic bullet magazines. “Just got a refill that might help. I just have to make one more call and get a new helmet.”

  “Sounds like a party. Let’s finish this shit.”

  Maria chuckled. “Agreed. See you soon.”

  She hung up the phone and took a deep breath. It was time to skip past the bureaucrats and go directly to the Chief. A cop was dead, and many others hurt.

  You’re going to give me what I need.

  21

  Shay gestured to the back of the van as a police officer continued to take notes on his tablet. “Sorry about the bullet holes in the van, and we’ll pay for any of the damaged cars. Those guys really didn’t want to surrender.”

  The officer shrugged. “They already killed one cop tonight. I’m not gonna cry over them.” He peered at the boxes, suitcases, and bags filled with artifacts in the back. “Man, all that shit’s magical, huh? Some of it looks weird but not all that magical.”

  The tomb raider nodded. “Yeah. It’s magical enough to steal and kill for.”

  He shook his head. “Some days, I wish I could be a cop, you know, just back in like 2018 or some shit. Before all this magic, you know? Safer time. Simpler time.”

  Shay chuckled. “Safer maybe, probably not simpler, from what I’ve read.” She shrugged. “Then again I don’t know. I was a little girl.”

  “I was a teenager.” The cop took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder at James, who was leaning against a pillar, his arms crossed, He was still covered in blood, but he’d put on a new shirt before the police arrived. His gaze kept darting from James to the remains of the scarred wizard. Even though several heavily damaged bodies lay around, bullet-riddled or sliced up, the dismembered corpse was easily the goriest sight in the parking garage.

  “Got something you want to ask?” Shay sighed. “Just spit it out.”

  The cop blew out a breath. “Look, just, you know that shit over there? It’s pretty intense. What the fuck happened? It looks like Brownstone tore the guy apart.”

  “It’d be more accurate to say he sliced the guy apart, but yeah. That’s what happened.”

  “Why? That’s something an animal would do, and you got other guys missing heads.” The cop shrugged.

  Shay frowned. “We were just taking them on, and they got cocky and threatened to torture and kill his daughter.”

  The cop’s face hardened. He turned toward the body, crossed himself, and spat on the ground. “Fuck the guy, and fuck the rest of these rats. I’ve got a daughter, so I know what he must have felt like. They can all rot in hell as far as I’m concerned.”

  Her phone chimed with a text. “Sorry, I’m expecting something from Lieutenant Hall.”

  The man nodded. “I’ve got to talk to some of the other officers anyway. We’ll contact you if we need any more information.”

  “Thanks.”

  Shay looked at the text.

  Arming up now, have a team assembled. Smaller than normal. Need to know 100% if you’re still in. Need to coordinate our chopper arrival with your arrival

  The tomb raider glanced at the frowning James before tapping back her response.

  We’re in. We’ll head out in a couple of minutes and I’ll text you with our ETA

  Okay. See you soon

  Shay slipped the phone back into her pocket and walked over to James. “Hall just texted me. She’s raring to go. Because of that beating, though, the AET isn’t at full strength. You still in for another round?”

  “Yeah,” James rumbled. “A round or two. I’m not stopping until all these fuckers are caught or dead.”

  “Even if you go all…” The tomb raider gestured to his chest and arm. “I mean, with all the wizards tossing spells around, it’s not like someone won’t see it.”

  He shrugged. “It’ll just be another artifact as far as everyone else is concerned.”

  “Then we should get going. The AET needs our help.”

  James pushed off the pillar and walked toward his truck. “Yeah, let’s get going. I’ve still got some anger to work off.”

  Shay shook her head.

  Those motherfuckers better hope they don’t say anything about Alison.

  The Professor offered the familiar elf across the table in the back of the Leanan Sídhe a smile.

  “You’re coming here so often lately, Correk, that some might consider you a regular.”

  The elf chuckled. “What can I say? I go where the trouble is.”

  The air shimmered around them, and the sounds of the rest of the bar died away. They’d be able to have a private conversation now even without the Professor taking any precautions. Always a nice bonus of being old friends with the Fixer.

  “To what do I owe the pleasure tonight?” the Professor asked.

  Correk folded his hands in front of him. “I’ve been looking into the list of objects stolen from the museum.” His expression darkened, and he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a piece of paper and slid it over to the Professor. “Before I become worried, I think the best thing would be for you to let me know what has been recovered. My concerns may be unwarranted.”

  The Professor pulled a pen out of his pocket and starting skimming down the list checking off objects. “Between the police, Miz Carson, and James, we’ve collected the bulk of the objects. I think the thieves were overconfident. Maybe they would have been able to elude Miz Carson by herself or James by himself, but those two together are a frightening combination, especially working with the LAPD.”

  Correk gave him a quick nod. “There’s some impressive and unusual magic being used to shield the objects. Whoever is behind this isn’t just some group of common criminals looking to make a quick buck. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hadn’t somehow pulled the strings to get those objects displayed at the museum.”

  The Professor continued reading and checking off artifacts. “Aye, I don’t doubt it. If this were any other city but LA they might have gotten away with it.” He picked up his beer to take a sip. “Stupidity or arrogance.” He shrugged.

  A waitress approached the table. She didn’t seem to notice when she stepped past the sound barrier. She smiled at Correk. “Can I get you anything, sir?”

  The elf nodded at the Professor’s glass. “I’ll have what he’s having.”

  “Right away.” She headed toward the bar.

  The Professor set down his beer. “Even if someone powerful is behind this, I doubt they’d be so sloppy as to leave an easy path from their pawns to them. We both know how that goes.”

  Correk frowned. “If we just take a few of them alive, that might help. There are certain spells I might be able to use.”

  The other man shook his head. “From what Miz Carson told me, the lad is on the warpath now, and the police aren’t exactly any calmer. The criminals seem unwilling to surrender while breathing as well. I think we’ll have to be satisfied with recovering the artifacts.”

  He finished checking the list and pushed it over. The waitress returned with a beer for Correk and set it down in front of him before heading off.

  The elf took a sip as he looked down the list. After a minute, he sighed and shook his head. “I remember when I first came to Earth, I thought a single murder investigation was complicated. Now that kind of problem seems quaint.”

  The Professor arched a brow. “Find something you don’t like?”

  Correk tapped several of the non-checked items. “According to the museum, most of these are minor artifacts, barely better than toys. And they are, to the untrained person, but if you know the proper incantations
and unlocking magic or if you’re willing to make the proper sacrifices, they’re much more powerful.”

  “Sacrifices? Should I be taking that literally, old friend?”

  The Fixer nodded slowly. “Lives, limbs. In one case, souls even. A lot of these are much more valuable than anyone has realized, and far more dangerous. The Bowl of the Winds is a difficult-to-use artifact, almost not worth the trouble, but most of these aren’t that difficult and don’t require as much power. Just knowledge and ruthlessness.” He shook his head. “No wonder they didn’t care about the circlet. It’s another thing that’s hard to use.”

  The Professor shrugged. “If the museum didn’t know, maybe the thieves don’t.”

  “The thieves may or may not know, but if there is someone behind them, they definitely know.” He tapped the paper. “The pattern’s clear. Most of the artifacts of real concern haven’t been recovered, which means they divided up the artifacts based on at least some criteria and knowledge.”

  “Then I suppose all we can do now is sit back and hope Miz Carson and James recover them. They are on their way to what should be the last collection of stolen artifacts.” He picked up his drink. “This feels like a night where a few more drinks are in order.”

  Correk chuckled. “Is there ever a night where that’s not the case for you?”

  “No, and I wouldn’t want to live in such a world.”

  “You should take care. We have miles to go before our work is finished.”

  The Professor smiled. “Don’t worry, Correk. I’m not checking out of this war so soon.”

  Three helicopters zoomed toward Mar Vista. Even though all the men on her strike team fit into the two choppers, she’d made sure to load more than a few toys on the third helicopter.

  Yeah, all that budget shit goes away after a cop gets killed. Maybe if we’d had anti-magic bullets at that battle, Johnson would still be alive.

  A squadron of rocket drones trailed along in loose formation. She would have preferred to control them on site, but she had good men back at the station who were too banged up to come along but not too hurt to control a drone watching over them. It’d still be AET watching out for AET, with a little help from a man who was a force of nature.

  I hated you for a long time, Brownstone, because I thought you were too powerful and you caused too much collateral damage, but now I’m depending on that. Hell, you help us pull this off, I’ll see to it that department insurance covers all those cars that got shot up in the parking garage. I need your power now.

  “Touchdown in five minutes, Lieutenant,” the pilot relayed.

  “Good. Time to end this shit.”

  22

  “Don’t just stand there, you morons,” Logan shouted to the assembled men. “Get ready. The cops are on their way now, and probably Brownstone, too.”

  One of the men frowned. “Why aren’t we just getting the fuck out of here if we know they’re coming?”

  Logan shook his head. “It’s too late. I don’t know how they found us, but they did. We stand and fight. We take revenge for all the guys that Brownstone and the cops have killed. We have the advantage, though. This isn’t a handful of guys on a road. We’re assembled here in force, and we know they’re coming. We’re going to kill Brownstone and every last cop who comes at us, and show them our power.”

  The men cheered.

  “Now get to it,” he shouted.

  The men scrambled toward the vans. Several boxes of minor artifacts for their use lay inside, and even if every man wasn’t a wizard or Oriceran, they could fight like one. This time, the cops and Brownstone wouldn’t have complete surprise and overwhelming strength on their side. It’d be an even fight, one Logan intended to win.

  I’ll show Tak what kind of man I am.

  He marched to a side office and threw open the door. A large box lay on the ground with several artifacts inside. He picked up two gauntlets—one gold, the other silver—and slipped them on. Warmth shot through his body, and he took a deep breath.

  The man turned, grinned, and smashed his fist into a wooden desk. The force of the blow split it down the center, and it collapsed in on itself.

  He raised the golden gauntlet and uttered the dwarven word for “pain.”

  A massive fireball blasted from the gauntlet and hit the wall, blowing out a huge chunk and leaving the wall smoldering.

  He snorted. “Let’s see how you like taking that to the face, Brownstone.”

  Logan headed over to the box and pulled out two crystal rings. He slipped one on each hand over the gauntlets. One would protect him from magic, the other from conventional forces.

  He didn’t spend a lot of time paying attention to Brownstone, but everything he’d heard suggested the guy was strong and durable, not that he liked to throw spells. The AET mostly relied on conventional weapons with magical defenses. He’d have to be careful about anti-magic bullets, but the fact that one of his teams had injured a large chunk of the AET proved the ammo was in short supply.

  Logan shook his head. Sometimes he let himself forget that his work wasn’t just about collecting money. Even if he was on the bottom, he was part of a powerful organization. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know their ultimate plans. It only mattered that he’d be on the winning side of something he was sure would change Earth more than the truth about Oriceran coming out.

  Every instinct told him so, and this was his chance to prove himself to those above him.

  “We’ll do this. We’ll win and prove to Tak and his bosses who the real power in LA is. Bring it on, Brownstone. You’re coming here to die.”

  The AET team disembarked and everyone ran to the cargo helicopter to pull off some of the additional gear, including a couple of railguns and rocket launchers. With their thick black armor and helmets with red goggles, they looked more like angry robots arming for an uprising than police.

  Maria nodded, satisfied. It was time to kick ass.

  Tactical drones bearing rockets circled overhead. This situation had turned into a war zone, and she intended to win.

  The lieutenant cleared her throat. “This is Hall to all drone teams. I want you on standby. Going to surprise those motherfuckers when the time is right.” She gestured to two officers holding railguns. “Same thing with you two. We’re fielding a small team because of all the injuries, so we need to play it right. Jacobs, get that turret set up ASAP. I want to test their lead allergies.”

  The officer nodded and hurried over to the large black case containing the heavy turret.

  A few gawkers stood on the street.

  “You!” she yelled at them. “Get the hell out of here unless you want to get caught in a major firefight.”

  The people turned and ran in the opposite direction.

  She turned back to her target, a large and allegedly abandoned warehouse. Their tactical drones had already taken out the surveillance drones the criminals had up, but the enemy might have magical surveillance methods. No one had tried to make a break for it.

  Ready to stand and fight, huh? Good for you, shit stains. You had to go and make me very, very mad, and now I’m going to give you one chance to give up before I deliver the pain.

  Sirens sang in the distance. Good. They’d need the other cops to control the perimeter.

  A familiar F-350 turned the corner and screeched to a halt. James and Shay hopped out of the vehicle. The tomb raider spent a moment digging in the back seat and slipping small objects into her tactical harness.

  Brownstone was grim-faced even for him as he marched toward Maria.

  “They try to run yet?” he asked.

  Maria tapped her wrist control to switch on her external transmit mode and shook her head. “Nope. They’re still holed up in there. We’ve seen some movement from windows, but no one has come out. Think they’re waiting for us.”

  “Good,” the bounty hunter rumbled.

  Several AET officers set metal cubes down on the ground and pressed buttons on the tops. They
expanded into tactical shields. Soon, they had a nice portable line of defense set up. They might not be able to take magic, but they could take a large-caliber rifle round.

  Police cars and vans pulled in, and officers hurried out as more and more arrived. Maria ignored them. The chief had already delivered the orders. AET would go in with the support of Brownstone. The other officers would maintain the perimeter and provide general outside fire support.

  Several cops started setting up spotlights.

  Maria waited until Shay wandered over, decked out in a utility belt and tactical harness filled with everything from knives to grenades. She and Brownstone had two separate holsters and multiple mags. They were practically an AET team in and of themselves.

  She nodded at Brownstone. “Let’s see if our boys inside want to do the smart thing.”

  He grunted. “I hope not.”

  “Yeah, honestly, I hope not, too.”

  Maria activated the loudspeaker mode in her helmet. All the power of yelling, none of the strain.

  “This is the LAPD. We have you surrounded. You are to come out unarmed, and with your hands up. If you do so your safety can be guaranteed, but any sudden movements will be considered hostile actions, and you will be fired upon. This is your final warning.”

  A gunshot rang out and bounced off Maria’s thick black armor with a spark. She sighed and shook her head. She ducked behind one of the shields and switched to an AET frequency.

  The lieutenant readied the rifle. “Good. Just the answer I was hoping for. McMahon, knock on their front door for me.”

  The AET officer hoisted a rocket launcher onto his shoulder. “Backblast area clear,” he shouted. The rocket roared toward the aluminum loading bay door.

  23

  The door exploded in a ball of fire and smoke, and metal and wood rained from the sky. Fireballs, bullets, and a rainbow of different-colored energy bolts shot from the warehouse. Dozens of men lay in wait inside in a maze of crates and boxes.