by Martha Carr
“Nope,” the fae said. “We have a ride.”
“Well, look at you.”
“I can be persuasive too, you know.”
Cheyenne stopped behind her friend as Ember punched the elevator’s call button. “You sure it’s not because you’ve got the cyber-security guru next door falling head-over-heels in love with you?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Unless you’re ready to admit that you only let someone into your personal space when it’s a bone drow in a darkseller bazaar you drooled over for hours.”
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. “Touché, Em. I give you full credit for the persuasion.”
Ember floated into the elevator and turned around to shoot her friend a pert look. “Great.”
When they reached the apartment’s parking lot, Cheyenne lifted Matthew’s keys and clicked the remote lock button, listening for the sound of locks or a little chirp or a beep. “Okay, we’re looking for a Mercedes.”
“That doesn’t narrow it down.”
“Well, it’s not like the model and year are on the key fob.” Cheyenne clicked again as she turned right down the sidewalk before stepping down onto the asphalt. “Guess we can’t call him and ask what kinda car he drives, huh?”
“You can. I’m not talking to him again until we finish this whole ‘Bull’s Head with Combined Reality’s programming software’ crap.”
“Yeah, I’m not going back up there.” The next time Cheyenne clicked the lock button, a short beep and flashing headlights came from two rows down.
“No way.” Ember laughed and floated faster through the rows of cars, unconcerned about being seen racing that quickly without bobbing up and down like someone whose feet actually touched the ground. “Hit it again.”
Cheyenne did, and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class beeped again with another flash of its headlights. “You know what? I have no problem giving the guy credit for his taste in cars.”
“Yeah, no shit.” Grinning, Ember stared at the steering wheel through the windshield. “Man, when I feel good about getting behind the wheel again, I’m taking this out again all by myself. And yeah, I do think he’ll let me.”
“He better.” With a chuckle, Cheyenne unlocked the Mercedes and opened the driver’s side door. “Never thought I’d say I’m looking forward to the drive up to Rhynehart’s house.”
“Ha. First time for everything, right?”
“Yeah, and a last time, too.”
Chapter Forty-One
They pulled onto Rhynehart’s street in Bennsville, Maryland an hour and forty minutes later. Cheyenne drove slowly, scanning the address numbers on the mailboxes and the front porches as they passed.
“Oh. Yep.” Ember pointed at a house up ahead on the right. “How much you wanna bet the house with two shiny black SUVs is the one we’re looking for?”
“Yeah, that’s definitely it. His Jeep’s in the driveway.”
When they got out of the car, Cheyenne tossed the keys over the roof and nodded when Ember caught them. The fae raised an eyebrow and pressed the lock button on the fob. The beep made her grin. “I don’t think this is anything like how much you like locking your car.”
“Nowhere close.” Cheyenne headed around the Mercedes to Rhynehart’s driveway and shrugged. “Still sounds nice, though.”
“Sure.” Ember looked up and down the street, then turned to follow her friend to the ex-FRoE agent’s front door.
Cheyenne got one knock in before the front door jerked open and a woman’s shimmering face morphed from purple to light-human-tan and back to purple again.
“Hey, Goth drow.” Bhandi grinned. “Get the hell inside, huh?”
“Good to see you too.” Cheyenne stepped into the entryway of Rhynehart’s ranch-style house and took a slow look around. “Everyone’s already here, aren’t they?”
The troll woman scoffed. “Shit, Cheyenne. You know that’s rule number one.”
“Don’t be late. Yeah, I know.”
Ember leaned toward her and whispered, “They have rules?”
“Not really. Pretty sure it’s more of a running joke.”
They followed Bhandi through the front hall into Rhynehart’s living room and dining room all in one.
The troll woman clapped her hands and spread her arms. “And now it’s a party!”
Rhynehart, Yurik, Tate, Jamal, and the human new guy looked up from where they all stood over spread out sheets of paper on the dining table. On the other side of the table were two black composite crates and two duffel bags of gear.
Tate jerked his chin at Cheyenne and Ember. “You made it.”
“Had to talk our neighbor out of his car first.” Ember shrugged. “That’s why we’re a little late.”
Rhynehart’s gaze flickered to Cheyenne. “You’re the one who set the time.”
“Yeah, I know. Sorry. Good thing we still have over four hours as a buffer, right?”
He didn’t say a word, just returned his attention to the papers she now saw were the printed schematics of the building they’d be storming through in about four hours.
The only other human in the room besides Rhynehart grinned and stepped around the table. His short brown hair was gelled up in spikes, and he stuck out his hand with a nod. “So you’re the drow halfling, huh?”
Cheyenne’s fingers moved quickly at her side when her activator prompted her to drop her illusion charm. The man’s eyes widened a little, but he didn’t step back or lower his hand as he found himself standing in front of the same Cheyenne with a totally different look.
“Cheyenne.” She grabbed his hand and shook it.
“Todd.”
“That’s your last name, isn’t it?”
“Yeah. Michael Todd. Most people get confused by two first names, and Todd’s shorter.”
Cheyenne nodded and stepped back. I have nothing to say to that.
“I’m Ember.” The fae reached out to shake Todd’s hand too, and his grin widened even more. “You’re the fae.”
“Good guess.”
“It’s the hovering.” The man glanced at her shoes, which were floating an inch off the floor. “And I heard you’re always with the halfling these days.”
Ember snorted, and Cheyenne shot another pointed glance at Rhynehart. He didn’t look up from studying the schematics laid out on the table.
“Sounds like you know all about us, then.” Ember rubbed her hands down the sides of her pants and nodded. “So, this is everybody who’s coming with us, huh?”
“Seems like it,” Rhynehart muttered. He looked up when a plastic click came from the back of the house, followed by the quick clatter of nails scrabbling across the hardwood floor. A small white Maltese trotted into the room from the kitchen, eyeing Rhynehart’s odd collection of guests with wide brown eyes, tail wagging furiously. “That’s Tammy.”
Cheyenne swallowed a laugh. “Tammy.”
“She already had the name when I got her.” The agent met her gaze and stared. “Is that a problem?”
She ignored his bad mood and watched the dog happily approach the table and everyone gathered around it.
“Aw, look at this little thing.” Yurik bent down and stretched his hand out to the dog. Tammy skittered backward and gave that grating, yapping bark intrinsic in canines of her size, and jumped back and forth in front of him until he straightened and pulled back his hand. “Well, shit. You get her as a guard dog, Rhynehart?”
Tate and Todd burst out laughing.
“Guess she’s not into goblins.”
“Yeah, especially weirdly beefy ones,” Tate added.
Yurik sniffed and rubbed his nose with the back of a hand, smooshing it against the giant iron bullring through his septum. “Whatever, man. Most dogs love me.”
“Well, keep that thing away from me.” Bhandi shot Tammy a sideways glance and grimaced in disgust. “I’m not into animals.”
Yurik snorted. “Could’ve fooled me.”
The troll woman clicked her tongue and w
aved him off. “Man, you’re butt-hurt ‘cause an oversized rat didn’t wanna be your best friend.”
“She’s not a rat,” Rhynehart countered without looking up from his printed plans.
“You need to get your eyes checked, man.”
Tammy stopped on her curious path around the table to sniff Cheyenne’s black Vans, but that was as much attention as the dog gave her. Then she trotted around the table, ignoring Bhandi and giving Yurik a wide berth before stopping in front of Jamal. The dog sat back, let out a small whine, and pawed the massive ogre’s shin.
“Oh, shit. Look at that.” Tate folded his arms and grinned at the ogre. “She likes the big guy.”
Jamal grunted and dipped his head to watch the tiny Maltese paw his pant leg.
Rhynehart glanced quickly at his pet, then up at Jamal and shrugged. “You can pick her up if you want. She won’t stop until you do. Your call.”
The ogre’s yellow eyes moved slowly around the circle of magicals and human agents, who were all watching his response with amusement. Grunting again, he bent over to scoop Tammy up and cradled her against his massive chest. The dog fit in one meaty gray hand, and Jamal’s only reaction when she lapped his neck and chin without stopping was to blink quickly and stare at the table.
Bhandi wrinkled her nose at the display. Yurik and Tate sniggered.
Cheyenne widened her eyes and folded her arms. “As cute as that is, we didn’t come here to play with your dog, Rhynehart.”
The man looked at her with a blank expression. “Then do what you came here to do.”
“Yeah.” Bhandi folded her arms too and stepped away from the table as Tammy tirelessly licked Jamal’s neck. “I wanna know how the hell you found out about this thing in the first place.”
Cheyenne shrugged. “Got it off the colonel’s computer.”
Tate narrowed his eyes. “How the fuck did you do that?”
Ember said, “You’re surprised?”
The troll man with tattoos covering every inch of his purple flesh cocked his bald head and shrugged. “Maybe if it was anyone else.”
“Okay, here’s the deal.” Cheyenne glanced at Ember, who gave her the silent go-ahead to tell the whole story. Not that I need her permission, but it’s nice to have some non-FRoE backup this time around. “Full transparency, ‘cause you guys stuck around through a lot of bullshit. With me. With L’zar. With what Rhynehart’s apparently calling Operation Free Lizard.”
Bhandi grinned and shook her head.
When Cheyenne’s questioning gaze settled on Todd, the man jerked his chin at her. “Yeah, I know you guys broke the scaleback out of the Dunk Tank. You don’t have to skirt around it.”
Guess Rhynehart really does trust the guy. Or he’s puttin’ it all out there ‘cause he doesn’t have anything else to lose.
“Fine. So, here’s what we’re up against. Colonel Thomas has been feeding classified FRoE information, if that’s a real thing, to a group of O’gúleesh called the Bull’s Head. They’re Crown loyalists.”
“Wait, what loyalists?” Bhandi shook her head.
“The Crown,” Ember put in.
“What the fuck is that?”
“Seriously? Ba’rael Verdys. The Spider. Drow ruler of Ambar’ogúl for the last few thousand years.”
Todd let out a low whistle. “That’s a long time.”
Ember spread her arms. “None of that rings a bell?”
“Wait.” Tate ran a hand over his bald head. “You mean there’s an actual leader over on the other side?”
“Shit.” Bhandi chuckled. “I thought it was a bunch of backwoods magicals who’ve never seen a car or a cell phone before. They’re organized over there?”
The fae cocked her head. “Given that you guys are supposed to be helping Earthside magicals, your level of cluelessness is concerning.”
Cheyenne raised an eyebrow and shot her friend a sidelong glance. “Told you.”
“But you guys were at Bianca’s house the other day when we brought all this up.”
Yurik’s eyes widened. “No fucking way. You were serious about that whole drow royalty shit?”
Cheyenne tilted her head. “I didn’t think I made it sound like a joke.”
“Damn.” Tate folded his arms, his tattooed biceps bulging against his hands as he glanced at Rhynehart. “And you didn’t think it was important to confirm that kinda thing with us, huh?”
Rhynehart sighed. “She didn’t make it sound like a joke.”
“Well, shit.”
“That’s not important right now.” Cheyenne nodded at the printed building plans on the table. “So let’s stick to what is. Colonel Thomas is feeding intel to the Bull’s Head, none of whom realize at this point that things have changed on the other side of the Border, and they’re carrying out nonexistent orders. The colonel’s nephew built a program for the Bull’s Head five years ago that makes O’gúl tech work Earthside.”
“They have tech too?” Yurik’s eyes widened.
“Remember that tunneling machine that came down on us in Peridosh?”
“Fuck me sideways,” Bhandi muttered.
Cheyenne frowned at the troll woman and shook off the odd remark. “That came from the Bull’s Head, who’s been smuggling machine parts across the Border and powering them with the colonel’s nephew’s program while he feeds them information. I’m guessing a lot of that is about me, based on personal experience. And there’s probably a lot of stuff he’s been feeding them directly from the FRoE systems.”
“Which ones?” Todd asked.
“All of them, if I had to guess. The A.S.S. and the B.I.T.Ch. Are there any others with awesome acronyms I don’t know about?”
Rhynehart stared at the table. “That’s pretty much it.”
“There you go. So, beyond it being way too shitty that you guys have all your secrets handed over to a group of O’gúleesh who don’t give a fuck what happens to any of us on this side, I’m, like, ninety-nine-percent sure that what we went up against last month—the black-market shit Q’orr was hawking, the kidnapped kids, the bomb that put you in the med ward—was all the Bull’s Head.” Cheyenne nodded at Jamal.
The ogre finally lowered Tammy away from his chin where she couldn’t reach him anymore and let out a low growl.
“Yeah. This isn’t the normal crap you’re used to dealing with. Not refugees turned thugs right off the reservations, trying to get a leg up on life Earthside.” Cheyenne shrugged. “These are magicals straight from the capital of Ambar’ogúl who want to wipe out any resistance over here before the war they still think is coming shows up.”
“But it’s not, right?” Yurik asked.
“No.” Ember shook her head. “Because Cheyenne fought the O’gúl Crown, and now the Spider’s out of the picture.”
“Wait, so who’s leading shit over there?” Bhandi pointed at the halfling. “Is it the Goth drow?”
Cheyenne glared at her. “Does it matter?”
“Yeah, kinda. I mean, that’s a big deal if we’re standin’ around planning a private sting op with a goddamn queen or something.”
“Well, you’re not.”
Ember grinned. “But she does get certain perks over there.”
Cheyenne scowled at her friend, and Ember shrugged. “But hey, at least two of you will be happy to know there’s a troll on the throne now.”
“Why would that make us happy?” Tate looked at Ember and Cheyenne.
“I mean, because you and Bhandi are trolls.” Ember shook her head. “Okay, maybe I was wrong.”
Rhynehart cleared his throat. “So, the plan.”
“Yeah.” Cheyenne pointed at the schematics on the table. “I pulled the date and time right off the colonel’s computer. It was on a private server hidden in a whole bunch of different files, but I found it. He’s meeting with the Bull’s Head again tonight, seven o’clock at the showroom in Westphalia. I wouldn’t be surprised if the hefty withdrawal he made from an account I don’t think anyone’s
supposed to know about was for this meeting.”
“You think he’s paying them too?”
“Probably.”
“Wait, the colonel’s paying these assholes and feeding them intel?” Yurik shook his head. “That doesn’t add up. What’s he getting out of it?”
Cheyenne took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”
“You think they’re bringing him black-magic shit or stolen kids or something?” Todd asked.
“You know, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything.”
Tate chewed the inside of his lower lip. “But the colonel’s a human. He won’t be able to use any of it.”
“Not without the program his nephew built, at least.” Cheyenne glanced at the agents standing around the table. “Honestly, I don’t care what he’s trying to get out of it. He’s been funding and supporting the bastards who stole those kids, he blew up that construction site, fought us every step of the way, and kept coming for me. They’ll probably piss themselves at the chance to get at me when we show up, but we have a few advantages.”
Ember laughed. “Yeah, mainly you showing up.”
“And that we know what they’re doing,” Rhynehart added.
“Yeah. Plus, they won’t have any backup coming in from the other side.”
“Don’t you have to cross the Border through a portal to get here?” Todd asked.
“For the most part, yeah.”
Yurik blinked. “What the fuck?”
“Doesn’t matter. What we need to do has two parts. I wanna nail the colonel in the act of dealing with the Bull’s Head, so we can’t let them know we’re there until either the money’s changed hands, or the guy incriminates himself enough to get him locked up, no questions asked.”
“That’s not exactly a foolproof plan.” Todd met Rhynehart’s gaze. “It’s the word of a US colonel against a bunch of magical agents, a halfling nobody’s heard of other than being L’zar’s kid, and an ex-agent who got canned for breaking out a high-security inmate.”
Rhynehart cleared his throat. “Allegedly.”
