She frowned. “I don’t have an owner.”
He tilted his head to the side. “You don’t do work for this dwarf?”
“Yes, I do.”
“So, owner.”
Exasperated, she put her hands on her hips. “He pays me and I use the money for things like food for you and to rent a roof over our heads.”
Fyre raised a paw and examined the claws at the end of it. “So, you have someone who provides you with food and shelter but not an owner?”
She scowled. “Indirectly provides that stuff.”
“An indirect owner.”
“Okay, shut it, you.” Mist came out of his nose as he snorted at her, and something obvious smacked her in the brain. “Holy hell. You and I need to train together.”
The look he gave her was mixed interest and condescension in equal parts. “Well, of course. I wondered when you’d get around to that.”
“I’ve been busy, and I’m sorry I haven’t found out more about your kind yet. But clearly, you’re equipped for fighting. Is that something you enjoy?”
His grin was pure evil. “Definitely.”
“How does it normally work?”
He twitched his tail. “I presume you mean in partnership with someone like you?”
“No, as the sidekick to Aquaman. Of course that’s what I mean.”
His body rippled in what she’d come to recognize was his version of a shrug. “It depends on the partners. We are usually the close-up fighters, while the more breakable one attacks from range. You seem to prefer to charge in without concern for safety, so we might choose to fight side by side.”
She laughed. “Yeah. You got me there. Let’s do this the easy way.” She summoned a portal that connected the room to the basement of the tavern and led him through. As it closed behind them, she noticed that the crates were stacked differently than they had been and muttered, “Bartender magic.” She pointed at the Draksa. “You stay here. I want Zeb to give the okay before you pretend to be a dog upstairs.”
He hopped up onto two crates that lay beside each other and sat with an aloof expression. She shook her head and mounted the stairs. As she was early, Janice was still there, wiping the mostly empty tables in preparation for the night crowd. Her gritted teeth hurt as she waved at the other woman and crossed to the bar. “Uh, could you come downstairs for a second? There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
Zeb gave her a confused look, shrugged, and slipped out under one of the pass-throughs. She led him down without a word, stepped beside the Draksa, and waited for his response.
In all her time at the Drunken Dragons Tavern, she had never seen awe on her boss’ face. Serenity, amusement, condescension a couple of times, and fury only once, but never something approaching reverence. It transformed him and made him look young as he approached the creature slowly. He raised a hand cautiously, and the dragon lowered his snout to sniff and push against it. Again, like a cat. How is that even possible?
The dwarf ran his fingers along his flank, his eyes still wide and feasting on the vision in front of him. She sighed. “You’ll give him delusions of grandeur. Cut it out. Zeb, this is Fyre. Fyre, Zeb. We hoped he could stay upstairs while I work tonight. He’s good at staying out of the way and can disguise himself really well. He could hang out at the top of the stairs and not cause any trouble.”
The proprietor stepped back and let his hand drop with clear reluctance. “Show me,” he demanded roughly. The Draksa shimmered and in a moment, was replaced by a handsome brown and white boxer with a collar and tag. He managed to find his usual gruff tone and said. “Yes. He can stay behind the bar with me. Let’s go, beastie.”
Fyre was up the stairs in a flash with Zeb marching after him. She was fairly sure she hadn’t imagined the haughty expression on the dog’s face as he went past, and she shook her head. Great, upstaged by a dog. Dragon. Lizard. Thing. The only way tonight could be any better is if he decided to have Janice stay and help bartend.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Cali drummed her fingers on the table while she waited for Tanyith to arrive. She’d chosen a random bar for the meeting, simply another tourist trap in the quarter, as she felt the need to keep tonight’s business away from the Dragons. A cranberry and tonic, her drink of choice for nights out when she wasn’t surrounded by people she trusted, sat before her untouched. Her shift had gone well, and Zeb had seemed more his usual self, but she had the looming sense that walls were closing in to constrain her choices and didn’t like it.
In fact, she disliked it so much that she’d felt the need to meet with Tanyith in person. A series of texts had arranged the time and place and now, she waited, having arrived early. Her phone buzzed with a text from Dasante, who played lookout between sessions of three-card monte with a couple of his friends as assistants on the street outside. Her gaze was on the opening that replaced the bar’s front wall when the man walked through it.
He looked freshly showered with his hair pulled back into a ponytail. Black jeans and boots were worn with a white button-down, the long sleeves rolled below the elbows. His beard and mustache showed signs of having finally been attended to by a professional. All in all, if she was ten years older and had a crush on Thor, he might have landed in her pool of potential dates. She laughed to herself. Damn shallow pool, Cal.
Her partner stopped at the bar for a glass of his own, something involving clear liquid from a bottle and a stream from the soda gun. Lime slices suggested a gin and tonic, which was a drink she could respect. She didn’t think highly of people who ordered fruity drinks based on long experience at the Dragons. Pina Coladas were also out, given their popularity on Bourbon Street. He slid into the seat across from her. “Hey.”
She rolled her eyes with a small smile and tried to force some positivity into her words. “Thanks for coming.”
The way his face went blank signaled his protective walls snapping into position, and he leaned in closer. “What’s going on?”
Cali shook her head. “I got into a ruckus the other day with some of the Zatoras. They planned to burn down my Aikido school, and I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I disguised myself, but both Detective Barton and my teacher figured out it was me.”
“How?”
“Traffic cameras for her, the way I fight for him. It turns out he had a security camera on the alley.”
“Is everything okay with your Sensei?”
She nodded. “Better than. I have to show up early to get the place ready, but he’ll spend time training me to use the sticks before class.”
“Why sticks?”
She realized he hadn’t been let in on that secret yet and raised her wrists to display the bracelets. “Magic weapons from Zeb.”
He whistled softly. “You have solid people in your corner, Cali. I’ve never even seen a magical weapon, much less used one.”
“That’s not true. I’m positive that Valerie is magical, too.”
“What’s up with that guy?” He frowned a little. “A Dwarf with a magic ax? Shouldn’t he be out there mixing it up with the bad guys instead of you?”
Cali chuckled. “You’ll have to discuss that with him. All I’ll say is that he claims to have a philosophical objection to violence.”
“And owns a battleax.”
“Yes.”
“So, is that all you wanted to talk about?” He’d dropped the flirting attempts, mostly, which she welcomed.
“No. We need to get our plans together. The deadline is only two days away for the heist.”
He laughed. “You’ve been watching too many detective movies. Next up, you’ll be saying ‘gumshoe’ and ‘caper.’”
Her phone buzzed with three texts in a row, and she sighed as she read the warning. “How about copper?” She tilted her head toward the window and he turned in time to watch Kendra Barton come through the entrance.
The representative of the NOPD was in street clothes—jeans, and a t-shirt plus her standard boots.
She declined to visit the bar and instead, came to their table, snagged an unused chair from a different one, spun it, and sat reversed on it. She folded her arms on the top. “So, Caliste, who’s your friend?”
“So, Detective Barton, how did you find me here? I’m fairly sure there are no traffic cameras here in the quarter.”
She grinned unashamedly. “Foot surveillance. You really need to pay more attention to what’s going on around you.” She extended a hand to Tanyith. “Since she doesn’t seem interested in introducing us, I’m Kendra.”
He shook it and nodded. “John. John Doe.”
The detective laughed. “Okay, John. Pleased to meet you.” She leaned back to regard them both. “So, what are you up to tonight? Also, not to be rude, but he’s a little old for you.”
Cali rolled her eyes and Tanyith shook his head. She said, “We’re merely friends having a drink.”
“You could have done that at the Dragons.”
“You don’t seem to spend much time at your workplace. What makes you think I want to be at mine during my rare free moments?”
She didn’t answer but turned to Tanyith. “Where do you work, John?”
His lips twitched. “Here and there.”
Barton frowned. “I feel like I should know you.” She drummed her fingers on the table, then snapped them. “You were part of the Atlantean gang a couple of years ago, right?”
Cali burst into laughter and patted him on the shoulder. “She does that—tries to make it seem as if she didn’t have the information ahead of time. The truth is she probably saw you with me at some point and looked you up.”
The woman nodded. “Guilty as charged. So, back with your old crew?”
He scowled and his voice rasped. “No. I’m nothing like them.”
She shrugged. “If you say so. I’m not sure the sight of you two together does much for my state of mind, though. You’re an allegedly former gang member, and she’s targeted by at least one gang, maybe more.” Barton looked at her. “Are you safe? I can take you out of here and into protective custody. You only need to say the word.”
“I’m great. Feel free to run along now.”
“I don’t think so. How about, instead, you tell me what you two are up to? In return, you won’t have to spend the night in separate cells.”
Cali knew it was an empty threat, but her instincts told her to trust the woman, at least a little. “Fine. We’re trying to find a way to protect our places from the expanding gangs.”
The detective nodded. “Ikehara’s.”
Tanyith added, “And the Dragons.” At Cali’s gesture, he continued, “We’ve watched some low-level people and seen where they go and who they talk to. It let us determine the headquarters for the Atlanteans—The Shark Nightclub.”
“Interesting. We’ve had that on our radar for some time, but they’ve never stepped out of line enough to go in and take a look.”
Cali barked a laugh. “You have someone follow me but you can’t manage one of those trucks outside with a huddle of sweaty policemen listening in? You may not be using your resources well, lady.”
Barton clapped sharply. “Is that all you have? Because it’s not really weighting the scales all the way to the side that keeps you out of jail tonight.”
He nodded. “Abuse of power never changes, I see.”
She gave him a thin grin. “Only a little one. It’s more like stretching the rules a teensy bit. Does that sound familiar to you two?”
Ouch. Yeah, maybe. Especially with what’s coming in a couple of days. Cali sighed. “We’ve told you everything that’s relevant to your area. You know about the Atlanteans. You know that the guys outside the dojo were Zotaras. You know we’ve been watching. What more do you want?”
“Tell me why you’re here tonight. And don’t say it’s social.”
“Okay. I asked him to meet me to tell him I’d been found out by you and my teacher for the alley thing, and to think of a way how to avoid being noticed in the future. It seems to be going really well, by the way.”
Barton chuckled. “Your secret’s safe with me. But this is the place where I tell you to back off and leave it to the professionals.”
Cali growled with real annoyance. “You told me to do this. You wanted to ‘use me,’ remember?” She ignored Tanyith’s head whipping around in reaction to her words.
“No.” The detective’s voice had lowered but was no less forceful. “I asked you to keep your ears open. I definitely didn’t tell you to start fights with gang members. That’s a little beyond minimal rule abuse and into active malfeasance.”
Tanyith jumped into the conversational gap. “Okay, let’s back down a little. We all want the same thing. There’s no need to get spiky on one another.” He leaned forward. “If we hear anything useful, we’ll share it with you. Let’s keep the lines of communication open.” He gave her his cell number, and she recorded it on her phone.
Cali was a little less growly but not completely so. “‘Quid pro quo, Clarice,’ remember?” Her Hannibal Lecter impersonation was lacking but the meaning was there.
Barton nodded. “I remember. I don’t have much you don’t already know. The only information that borders on your area of interest is already obvious. Territories are in flux.”
“Do you have any people on the docks?” he asked,
She shrugged. “Some. Petty crooks on a leash, mainly, and not too trustworthy.”
“We wouldn’t need much. Only when a boat with Atlanteans was coming in. I imagine the innocent ones use the cruise ships. The criminals probably get portaled in.”
“What do you need with them?”
“Some questions and answers about New Atlantis.”
Her brow narrowed. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I won’t know until I have the conversation.”
The detective tapped her fingers on the table, then stood abruptly. “Okay. I’ll get you what I can. But you’d better have something to trade for it.” She left without another word and threaded through the crowd with only the occasional shoulder-bump to clear the way.
Cali looked at Tanyith. “Nice redirection.”
He shrugged. “I’m often the peacemaker.”
“You don’t seem like the type.”
“So I’ve heard.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You look distracted. Are you thinking about Kendra?”
“Who?” He sounded startled.
“Detective Barton. Kendra. Don’t think I missed the heavy eye contact between you two. I can’t wait to tell Dasante you have a crush on a cop.” She rose and headed to the front, relishing the stunned expression on her partner’s face. Maybe it’s time to add matchmaker to my resume.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
She had dodged to one side at the sight of the limousine on the street outside. It wasn’t the right part of town for such a ride, much less the right nightspot. Cali caught Dasante’s eye and gave him the signal to bail using a modified version of the buskers’ secret language. He and his friends made some noise about the lame customers and ambled away.
Tanyith whispered in her ear from behind. “Trouble?”
“Who brings a limo here?”
“Bachelor party?”
“Nah, they’d be up on Bourbon. Do you think this place has a back way out?”
She kept her eyes forward and sighed as he confirmed her fears. “Yeah. But there’s a guy in a suit standing in the doorway to the restrooms, which is where it probably is.”
“Damn. That is not good.”
“Can you illusion us out of here?”
Irritated, she turned to him. “I could, but if they were able to locate us here, they could doubtless trace us back, which would put others in danger. They might only be after me because of the alley.” The conclusion that it was the human gang was the only thing that fit the visible pieces of the puzzle. “I’ll head out and go right. You go left. If they only grab me, it’s up to you to find me. I’m sure Ba
rton will help.”
He nodded. “And if they take both of us?”
“Dasante and I have a code. If he doesn’t hear from me by morning, he’ll create some noise about it. At least that’s something.”
“It’s nice to have friends.”
Cali slapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll make a friend eventually. Maybe Kendra can introduce you to some of hers.” She turned, took a deep breath, and made her move.
Her right turn led her into the chest of a tall, muscular man in a suit that seemed a size too small for him. She looked up. “Um, excuse me?”
He grumbled, “Into the car, miss. No trouble. We wouldn’t want any bystanders to get hurt.”
She sighed. Yeah, unless you’re heartless or Captain Marvel, that threat will usually work. “Okay. You’ll drop me here after?”
His only response was a thin smirk as he gestured back the way she’d come. She turned and saw Tanyith escorted into the limousine. Damn. She’d no sooner climbed into the rear beside him when the two who had intercepted them piled in and sat on the opposite side with their backs to the driver. The seats were white leather, with tinted windows all around, including behind the guards. There was a short delay she attributed to waiting for the one who’d been positioned to block their exit in the other direction before the car lurched into motion.
Tanyith buckled his seatbelt, leaned back, and closed his eyes. “So, that went great, I think.”
She did the same. “Yep. Where do you think we’re headed?”
“Well, these guys certainly aren’t the brains of the outfit, so I assume we’re on the way to wherever he or she is.”
“I wonder if the cop who tracked me is on their payroll. If not, at least someone knows where we went. Hell, I guess a whole bar full of people knows where we went.”
A growl came from the seat opposite. “Shut up you two. Another word and we start breaking fingers.”
Magic Street Boogie Page 15
