by Tom Keller
"I can’t stay off the street a week," she countered. "That money just covers my rent. I've still got to buy gas and food."
"Fine," I said, pulling out my pen. "Make it $7,500.00 then. That's five times your normal take. Will that buy me a week?"
"Why would you pay that much," she asked, suspiciously.
"Like I said, my clients have deep pockets," I replied, tearing off the check and holding it up to her. "They expect me to buy information. But they also expect results. I need that time to make sure you're on to something. Give me a week alone out there and then we can talk. If any of this pan out, I'll bring you in. You never know, when it's all said and done, you might make a believer out of me."
"Deal," she said, removing the memory card from the camera. She gave it to me with one hand as she grabbed the check with the other. "But if you screw me over, I'll…"
"I don’t break my word," I said, holding up my hand. "If you've checked me out you know that already." I placed one of my business cards on the table along with her empty revolver. "You can have that back now. The number on that card is private, I'm the only one who'll answer. Call me in a week and we'll discuss what I've found. Now, I've got other appointments. Go find yourself a place to visit that’s not in Vegas."
I walked her to the door and out to her car. Remembering to put her wet clothes in a bag, I handed it to her as she opened the driver side door.
"You can return the clothes next time we get together," I said, closing the door as she got in.
I watched her drive off, then went and spoke with Charlie, who asked what I was going to do with so many strays. When he was finished laughing, we went back inside. I showed him a few of the images and then had Sendy deliver him to the Lilin. He needed to keep her safe and then start their search for the girl. With that done, I went through the rest of the photos on my computer. Then I dropped a dime on Siegfried, explaining what I'd learned and emailing him the pics that I thought would be helpful. I sent the same files to Nikki, but only after calling and bringing her up to speed. She was a little irritated that I hadn't called her earlier, but that's what I get for keeping secrets. Anyway, she was a Queen and understood my hesitation, at least for the most part. She'd keep our secrets, even if she didn't like it. Especially now that she knew what was at stake. Then I was out the door.
While my search for the girl was important, I wasn't kidding when I said I had other appointments. I got in my car and headed out to the Dark Zeus office on East Cheyenne. Jake, the kid I'd met in Utah, was delivering my SXS today, and I needed to get him started on my Hades project. At least the reporter would be off my back for a week. Stray or not, I'd figure out where to place her after that. It's not like I had anything else to do.
Chapter 14
There were no markings on the front doors. Just an address on the top of the building. It was a warehouse. Well actually, it was several warehouses. Each accessed from the rear with a rolling metal door large enough for a truck, or two, to drive through. The front was nondescript, but Jake had found the place and was already parked on the street waiting. He stepped out of his truck as I pulled up beside him.
"Good to see you again," he said, handing me a folder. "Here is the report you asked for. Where do you want the bike?"
"Follow me around back," I said, pointing to the access road on the other side of the buildings.
I dialed the office as he walked back to his truck, asking Devon to open the rear bay. Devon was a Werewolf, and a tracker at that. She'd chased down a few monsters for me in the past. She was also a damn good administrator and had some experience in the transportation industry before I snatched her up to work for me. The large bay was already open as he followed me into the back. I pulled my car in and found a space. I got out and waved Jake inside. As he backed the trailer in, Cameron, another Were in my employ, came out of the office.
"Wow," Jake said as he stepped out of the truck and pointed to the row of SXS's parked along the front of the bay. "I didn’t expect to see those here."
"Thought I'd have a few things ready by the time you got back," I replied, handing the folder to the Were. "That's if you're still interested, of course."
"I put a bid in for hourly contract work with the report," he said.
I glanced over at Cameron who opened the folder. He found Jake's bid and handed it over to me. After a quick review I looked back over at Jake.
"The numbers are fine," I said, signing the document and handing it back to the Were. I walked over to Jake and we shook hands. "Welcome aboard. Time and a half for anything over 40 and you can use the shop for outside work after hours. Just submit your weekly time sheet to the office. Only rule is no outsiders in the bays." I pointed to the 15 SXS's on the other side. "Just tell Cameron what you need to get started on those. He'll get you a key card for this bay. Any questions?"
"You didn’t even look at my report yet," he said. "It'll probably take a bit to get all the parts. I can come back later, unless you want me to get started on tracking them down."
"If you're available now, sit down with Cameron in the office and we'll get things rolling," I replied. "Like I mentioned when we met. We have a transportation company. We can move things from almost anywhere. I'm guessing we can get some of this stuff locally so there's no reason not to get started. The lady inside is named Devon. She runs things around here when I'm not available. Cameron will introduce you. She'll have a few papers for you to sign on our end. Don’t hesitate to ask questions. If you don’t like something, we can discuss it."
"What do you want to do with this one?" he asked, pointing to my SXS on his trailer.
"Just drive it onto the floor," I said. "I'm keeping that one for myself. I'll take it a few bays down and park it."
"Um… One more thing," he said, pausing at the back of the trailer. "My wife usually stops by and brings me lunch. Is it okay if I eat with her and my girl out in the car? I don’t want to break any rules but it's something we like to do."
"I don’t think your wife or Ireland would enjoy being left out," I replied with a smile. "So any rules regarding outsiders don’t apply to them. There's a breakroom with tables a few doors down from the office. They're welcome anytime. Just be careful if you bring them into the shop. I don’t want anyone getting hurt if something gets dropped or spilled."
"Understood," he said, dropping the gate on the trailer. "And thanks."
"Not a problem," I said as he drove the SXS down. He parked it near the rolling door and then walked over and handed me the key before heading back with Cameron to the office.
I got into the SXS and fired her up, driving out the bay and going two buildings down where the rest of Dark Zeus was located. That was still a bit of distance as the buildings in this complex were huge. There were two bays here, each roughly the size of the other. But these were used to transport goods to Hades. Trucks went in full and came out empty. When the bays closed, nobody knew what we were up to. I liked to keep it that way, so I'd kept the public address of the transportation division at the other bay. Close, but not far enough away to require more people. Lots of companies had multiple buildings out here, so no one was the wiser.
You'd think that with all the State and Federal regulations, transportation would be the last thing I'd want Dark Zeus to be involved in. But for the record, we were a private carrier, and a Fae one at that. We didn't take goods for hire. The corporation only bought and moved items for the company, which is to say in and out of Hades.
"What do you have for me?" I asked the drivers who'd been waiting.
"Just the two of us today," the first driver said, nodding at the fuel trucks. "Gas and Diesel. Where's Sendy? We don’t usually see the boss these days."
"Got her doing a few other things for me," I said, laughing. "Even I have to put in a few hours sometime." Both of these guys were Fae and regularly ran fuel and goods back and forth from the Underworld. Lately, I'd had Sendy taking them in and out. But today, I'd had her keeping in close contact with
Charlie and the team Michael had out hunting. I may not be out there myself, but with her at their beck and call, I could be there in seconds.
"Whatever you say," the first driver said with a grin. He pointed at my SXS. "You bringing that over as well?"
"Yeah. I'll follow you in," I said. "I'll take us directly to the forges. That's not too far from the storage tanks. I'll be waiting for you at the new administration building when you're done. Bring you back as soon as you're empty. Unless you plan on hanging out for a while."
"Not today," the driver said. "This is our last run for the week and we're both off the next few days. These'll get you topped off. You should be good for a while." Then they both nodded and headed for their rigs.
As soon as their engines started, I created a portal and waited for them to drive through. As the second truck disappeared, I got into the SXS and followed it into the mist. When I was on the other side, I collapsed the portal behind me and gunned it, a fantail of dust rising in the air behind me until I slid to a stop in front of the administration building of the new town square.
As I pulled up, Walter and Acemon came out the front door in a run. Stopping and staring as they saw me step out of the vehicle.
"What an infernal noise!" Acemon said, coming out and walking around the SXS. He used his large hands to swipe the dust away from his face. "My kind will never fit in that."
"Or in just about any other vehicle I can get my hands on," I replied, laughing. "They just don’t make these kinds of things for folks that are 14 feet tall, you know. But it'll do for our purposes." I turned to look over at Walter. "I need a driver. You get anybody past a learner's permit stage yet?"
"There are one or two that are ready, or at least I hope so. As you might guess, driving a panel truck isn’t quite the same."
"It'll have to do," I replied, walking with them back into the building. I glanced up at the Cyclops "I'll need an archer and a grenadier if you've got weapons they can use."
He walked into an arched doorway, returning a few minutes later with 2 quivers of arrows and a large leather bag.
"I would recommend one of the Greek archers," he said, placing them on the table in front of us. "As for the fire pots, one of Jim's men has been practicing with them."
"Fire pots?" I asked, a bit confused.
"They contain a version of Greek Fire," Walter said, reaching in and holding up a small, reddish-brown pot. The top had been sealed with what looked like wax. "Magical, of course. Throw one toward your target and white fire spews out when the container bursts. Doesn't keep burning, though. Once set off, you will hear a whoosh sound as it spreads. Anything it touches turns to mist. It burns out quickly, to keep it from spreading too far." He handed me the bag, grinning. "Try not to drop any. They'll burn a Soul just as easily as a Shade. That's why we used one of the humans to test them out. They're familiar with modern safety practices."
"Nice to know," I said, taking the bag. "What about the arrows?"
"Simple," Acemon replied. "When fired, any Shade it passes through will be neutralized." He looked over at another table where a Satyr was working. "Send for our Shade warriors." The Satyr nodded and walked off.
"Okay then," I said, gathering up the bag and quivers. "Let me put these in the bike. Have your warriors meet me outside when they get here. I've got two trucks to send topside and then we can get going."
A half hour later, after both trucks had been sent back, I was driving the SXS south toward the Fields of Persephone where the Shades had been causing the most problems. At least I think it was south. It's kind of hard to say since compasses don’t work down here. But if I used the Forges and their position across from the old Bridge of Tisiphone as north, then south was as close as I was going to get.
As you can probably guess, most of Hades isn't exactly luxurious. Oh, sure, places like the Elysium Fields and the Isle of the Blessed were about as close to paradise as you could get. There were also other garden spots that dotted the landscape here and there, but in between, at least for the most part, Hades was a kind of desert.
High desert, low desert, rocky desert, sandy desert, you name it, it's here. Hey, we have mountains too, even groves of trees scattered about. Although, to be honest, most of them are scrub. You'd think that with the abundance of waterways and fog, that wouldn’t be the case. But since the Phlegethon is a river of fire, weather patterns aren’t exactly stable. Don’t get me wrong, we've got a few tree topped mountains and green hills. Nice places too, with temperatures regulated by magic. You just have to cross a freaking desert to get to them.
Anyway, the area we were heading toward was about halfway to Persephone's Palace. A dreary spot not far from where the Styx split, and the river Cocytus began, before it continued on until it flowed into the Acheron. Separated by magic from the Stygian Marshes, it was a no man's land that had to be crossed if you wanted to get from one side of Hades to the other. Diantha had mentioned being waylaid by Shades here, so I figured this was as good a place as any to start hunting.
The ground here was rocky desert. Hilly, with shrub and sickly-looking trees dotting the landscape. It was also cold and misty. White fog rolled off the Cocytus and settled between the hills as we drove parallel to its shoreline. We'd spotted a few Shades here and there. Most had been ghostly and not a threat, but I spied what looked like a larger group up ahead. I sped up and headed in their direction, stopping about a hundred yards away.
The Shades didn’t appear to notice us right away, which seemed unusual to me due to the loud engine noise, even at idle, but then a few looked in our direction. Slowly, and as unorganized as a mass of tightly grouped bodies can be, they began to move in our direction.
"Your turn to drive," I said to my passenger as I threw open the door and got out. "Try to run circles around them as you fire into the group." I willed forth my sword and began to move away, then turned back. "Oh, try to keep a few yards ahead of me. I'd rather not get a taste of that Cyclops fire if I can help it."
The archer in the back just laughed as Jim's grenadier nodded. The new driver looked scared shitless, but he hit the accelerator and moved toward the Shades. Running a few yards behind, I began taking out Shades as we clashed. Many were falling in long rows as the archer fired arrow after arrow. As for those that came in contact with my sword, they too, turned to mist. Acemon's grenades worked as advertised as well. The grenadier tossing them in a long arc toward the back of the Shade assembly as the driver kept the bike and its occupants out of their reach. With a burst of white light, Shades disappeared as fire engulfed them. A few minutes later, we'd burned through quite a bit of ammunition, but the Shades numbers had been whittled away. As the warriors in the SXS continued to take them out, I moved toward the river where they had first been congregating.
They didn't call the Cocytus the River of Lamentation for nothing. The closer I got I could hear the stream gurgling along the shoreline. Only in this case the gurgling was more like moaning. The river wailed and cried as it moved along. There was a bend here, and a deep pool had formed. Within it, I saw more Shades beneath the water.
"Hand me a couple of those firepots, will you," I yelled out as the SXS pulled up alongside me. The grenadier stepped out and handed me two, which I promptly dropped into the river where the Shades were appearing. Two bright explosions and a geyser of hot water later, the pool was clear.
"Gotta be a vent down there, or something," I remarked. "Must be how they're getting in. You got any more of those things? Maybe we can seal it up."
Four more of the grenade/firepots later, the pool collapsed in on itself as they exploded, the stream slowly washing away any debris that was left. When it flowed clear, we stepped back up to the SXS.
"Where do you think they came from?" the grenadier asked.
"Geographically speaking, we're not far from the Marshes where the unburied Souls are," I replied. "I'm not sure, but it looks like the magic is fading in spots. Opening a hole and letting them in before they can make it t
o the ferry. No telling what that can do to an unjudged Soul when that happens, but the Shades must be one of the results. The real problem is, I'm guessing this isn’t the only spot they're coming in from." I slid into the seat and shut the door, motioning for the driver to move on. "I'll add this to my list of crap I have to look into. In the meantime, we know these grenades have more than one use. We can use the big guns to try and close up any other places they pop out of. Assuming we can find them, of course."
I directed the driver to take us back to the forges. When we arrived, I gave Walter and Acemon a quick review of what we'd found, then told them to send the SXS back out on patrol. It was a stopgap measure, but it was the best I could do until the rest of the machines were ready. Then, having accomplished what I came down here for, at least for the moment, I transported myself to the human world to get back to Charlie and the search for the jewel.
I left the building we'd transported from and walked back to the bay my car was parked at. It was closed, but I punched the entry code to the regular door and went inside. Cameron was kneeling by a bunch of boxes checking off items on a notepad. He looked up when I came in.
"Hey, Robert," he said, placing his notepad on a box. "Got about half of what we need in already. Should have the rest tomorrow. Jake's already been working on a few of the machines."
"He's still here?" I asked, noticing his truck and trailer still parked in the bay.
"Yes sir, in the breakroom," he replied, motioning to a window a few down from the office door. "Said he didn’t want to go home till he'd looked over everything. Wife brought him dinner. She and the baby are still here."
I glanced over at the breakroom window and saw the three of them sitting at one of the tables. As I watched, Brigid looked up. Her eyes sparkled for a moment, and then time stopped around me.
