by R. J. Blain
“Olivia,” he warned.
“I obviously didn’t die, you goon!”
Luke crouched beside me and rapped his knuckles against the top of my head. “Do you have to start already?”
As my father nudging me with his toe wasn’t enough, Detective Hunk joined in.
He heaved a patience-worn sigh. “Call me Raymond or Ray, and I’ll carry you into the house in a dignified fashion.”
I couldn’t help but notice his tone and phrasing indicated if I didn’t do as asked, he would carry me into the house regardless, something I intended to enjoy. “There’s nothing dignified about being carried, Detective Hunk.”
“Raymond.”
“Hunk.”
“Ray.”
“Names are too complicated to deal with today, Detective Hunk.”
He twitched. “It’s like you want to be tossed over my shoulder so you can protest about it.”
“I do love a good chance to protest.” I also wanted a chance to admire his backside at my leisure. “Hey, Dad? He skips the donuts on his way to the gym.”
My father turned to Isaac, his eyes narrowing. “Isaac, did you drink from my daughter again?”
Busted.
“Yesterday, sir. Please don’t kill me.”
“Olivia.”
Why did my father think telling me my name would actually do anything for his cause? In a way, it did. His annoyed tone made me retreat, but my attempt to burrow beneath Luke ended in failure. “This is all your fault, Luke.”
Luke laughed. “Like hell it is. You’re the one who broke your daddy’s rules again.”
“I’m an adult woman and can donate to Sucky McSuckyface if I want to.”
My father knelt beside me and grinned, poking my nose. “When my little girl is reduced to calling her precious quad members something like that, she’s obviously halfway in the grave. One of you drag her in. Don’t bother with carrying her. She’s tough.”
“So cold, Daddy.”
“No, cold is when I get a call that my little girl got possessed while handling a terrorism event without calling to tell me she’s okay.”
I pointed at the nearest scapegoat, Sergio. “It’s his fault. He zapped me. Then I was cuffed and couldn’t reach my phone. When I knew my apartment would be too small for my herd of babysitters, I had Luke call you. I’m not a completely terrible child.”
My father poked my nose again before turning to the other FBI supervisor. “Sergio?”
“She was feisty and fresh from a possession strong enough to flatten Ethan. I wasn’t taking any chances, sir. Please don’t kill me.”
“Why are you worried he’ll kill you?’ I rolled my eyes at everyone’s overreactions. “You should be more worried that I’ll kill you for getting me in trouble with my daddy.”
Everyone, even my pet detective, pointed at my father’s firearm.
“He has a concealed carry license despite no longer being a uniformed officer.”
Luke patted my head. “You’re going to worry Ray at the rate you’re going. Ray, welcome to hell. They love to bicker, but they’ll defend each other to the death. We’ll have a great time in hell, and they’ll even feed us.”
“Boys!” my mother called out from inside the house. “Leave that annoying child I produced on the sidewalk.” She strode out of the front door wearing an apron and armed with tongs. “Let her face the consequences of her actions for a change. I’ve made dinner. Oh, Sergio! I wasn’t expecting you. Be a dear and come on in. There’s plenty.”
Raymond nudged me. “I look at your mother and see a Chinese woman, but then she opened her mouth, and I feel like I’ve somehow arrived in Texas.”
My father snickered. “My wife loves everything to do with the southern states. Before we met, she lived in New Mexico. Go on in, and I’ll grudgingly get Olivia settled in my chair.”
Luke flicked my ear, and I smacked his hand away. “Just let Detective Hunk carry her in. He called her a damsel-in-distress, and her meltdown over the issue was spectacular.”
Luke would somehow pay for his betrayal. “Luke!”
My father stared at his cop, arching a brow. “Detective Davis?”
“It’s true.” The cop smirked at me. “Your choice, Olivia. Call me Ray or Raymond, and I’ll try to carry you in a dignified fashion. Otherwise, prepare to be damseled.”
Since when was damsel a verb? Then again, who cared? I liked the detective feisty. “De-tec-tive Hunk.”
He didn’t have to work all that hard to toss me over his shoulder. As hoped, my view was spectacular. Wasting no time, he marched towards the house.
To get in one last jab at my father, I pointed at the detective’s ass and smirked my best smirk.
He bowed his head while Sergio, Luke and his quad laughed.
Chapter Eight
My father’s chair gave me the best and most comfortable view of the living room, not that I stayed conscious for long. One plate of fried rice, vegetables, and chicken did me in.
I missed Dr. Cordeno’s visit, and when I woke up sometime the next morning, Adrianna sat beside my father’s chair. I smiled at the woman. “I’m implementing a ban on spas for a month.”
She smiled but she didn’t laugh. “Thank you.”
After years of working with the woman, I understood what she wouldn’t say. She’d never understand why I’d taken so many risks for her. She’d never understand why I would put my life on the line.
Fortunately for both of us, she could accept what she couldn’t understand.
I reached over and flicked her hair, which drove her to the brink of insanity. “I’d do it again.”
“I know. Still. You did what we couldn’t.”
“What do you remember?”
“Not much. I fell asleep and ended up in that hellish sphere. Its hold on me wasn’t as strong as it was for others, but I could feel myself slowly dying. Then you came and drove it away with your ice. I could feel your anger. There was a ghost with you.”
“She moved on.”
“I couldn’t feel her life. I could feel yours.”
“She was dead. Her name was Elizabeth. She guided me to you.”
“They said you had gotten possessed.”
“That’s how I got to you. I let her in, and she guided me to you.”
Then I’d let her go—or she’d let me go. I wasn’t really sure which. In either case, she rested beyond Hypnos’s reach.
“Without reservation.”
Haunters could force possessions, but a willing host suffered fewer complications afterwards. “She needed help, too. You’re on guard duty this morning?”
Adrianna pointed towards the kitchen. “The others are having breakfast, and they’re pretty out of it. They took turns guarding you last night—and nudging you awake every two hours.”
They’d woken me up every two hours? “I don’t remember that.”
“It was only enough to confirm you were responsive. Commissioner Abrams was concerned.”
Dad took the concerned, loving father job to extremes sometimes. I’d ignore his antics as usual, and if he needed attention from me, he’d hover until I indulged him with hugs or extra bickering. Until he came calling, I’d ignore his behavior. “How are you doing?”
“I’m fine. They released me from the clinic this morning. Eddy drove me over.” She grinned. “Don’t tell her I said this, but you’re more of a dragon than she is.”
“I won’t tell her, but definitely don’t let her hear you say that. She’ll get cranky.” I smiled at the thought of tweaking Eddy’s draconic pride. “When are you cleared to return to work?”
“Technically, I’m working now. Eddy gave me a danger pay check and told me I have to check in daily, once in the morning and once at night. My quad is on call as a backup for now.”
“Good. I’ll find low-key work for you on the roster later today.” Low-key work would count as a good reward at the end of her tour as a quad member. After her brush with Hypnos, I sa
w no need to send her out on the front lines again unless absolutely necessary.
I worried unless I figured out what the culprit’s goal was, I’d need her help sooner than later.
“Training camps?”
Without fail, every quad wanted an assignment to the training camps, where they taught the new quads how to survive their tour of duty. I usually reserved training camp assignments as rewards, but if Adrianna wanted to get in some time helping new draftees learn, I’d listen. “All right. It’s a good way for you to unwind and help future quads. I’ll file a request.” I considered my options and decided to pitch the farthest camp location to get her and her team completely out of the line of fire. “Any interest in going to the Virginia camp?”
“New waters would be welcome.”
I searched for my phone, and when I found it, I discovered its battery had died. “Let me borrow yours.”
Once armed with Adrianna’s phone, I called my boss.
“Adrianna?” he answered, his tone concerned.
“Olivia. I need to charge mine, so I’m using hers.”
“Ah. Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. How can I help you?”
“Don’t call me that. Can you file for a transfer for me? I’d like to send Adrianna and her quad to the Virginia training camp until their draft period is concluded. Authorize an opportunity for permanent employment with open availability on placement. Let them decide their post as much as possible should they stay on.”
“Why?”
“They want to. It’ll be a month of evals on Adrianna before I’ll allow her to go back to street work. Their latest scrape will motivate them to help train new quads. Training camp is better for them than working as a backup.”
“You’ll be short a quad,” my boss warned.
“I know. I’ll request a replacement quad from the next batch. We’ll manage in the meantime.”
“All right. How soon?”
I stared into Adrianna’s eyes. “How soon?”
“We could be packed up and ready by tonight if FBI movers help.”
Poor Adrianna. For her to want to leave in such a rush, Hypnos must have rattled her even more than I’d suspected. It had rattled me, too.
I didn’t have the luxury of leaving.
“Immediately, sir. You could probably load them onto a plane tonight without complaint.”
“I’ll fast track their application. How are you doing?”
“Good. About to pick a fight with my old man and my pet cop.”
“Olivia, must you?”
“Pick a fight with my old man? Definitely.”
“I meant torment Detective Davis.”
Tormenting the cop would be one of my favorite joys in life. “I definitely need to, sir.”
My boss sighed. “Why?”
I held the phone to Adrianna. “Describe Detective Davis to my boss, please.”
With a bright smile, she took her phone and said, in a false whisper, “He needs to be put into a protection program because I’d consider committing crimes to get cuffed to him. While naked.”
I snatched the phone out of her hand. “What sort of theft do I have to commit to have him assigned to my case?”
“Well, at least you’re not openly stating you’d commit crimes in the nude. That’s something.”
“I have a great deal of suffering to inflict. I am not a damsel in distress.”
My boss groaned. “Olivia, you were seriously drained and then possessed. You were most definitely in distress. You’re not invincible.”
“While I know that, I feel betrayed right now.”
“You’ll probably survive. I’m not one to tell you that you can’t enjoy admiring the local law enforcement, but should you wish to pursue a cop, perhaps you should wait until after the case is a wrap.”
I narrowed my eyes, as I could think of at least ten reasons why my boss would want me in a permanent relationship with a cop. All of them directly benefited the FBI. “You want him, too, don’t you?”
Adrianna snickered.
“For his investigative skills, yes. I’ll even forgive you for fraternizing with your co-lead if you can convince him to consult with us on a few cases we haven’t been able to crack.”
I laughed. “Nice try. Since he’s not in the FBI, FBI rules on fraternization don’t apply.”
“Should I be concerned you know this?”
“I didn’t brush up after he barged into my office, but it seemed like a safe assumption to me.”
“That’s something. Since I have you on the phone anyway, I thought you’d appreciate knowing there haven’t been any new victims.”
The unspoken yet hung between us.
“I’ll hit the road with the scanner after breakfast and see what I can find.” Once the case was a wrap, I’d have time to get some rest and truly recover—maybe.
“Good. Take Luke’s quad, your detective, and whomever your father cons into tailing you. Everyone’ll be safer in a group, and your quads are already jumpy without adding an incognito cop babysitter to the mix.”
“Just call my old man and tell him he’s not allowed to do anything covertly. Flag it as a safety risk, and he’ll cooperate. He can, despite appearances, be reasonable.”
“I’ll talk to him after you hit the road. Be careful.”
“I will. I was careful yesterday, too. I didn’t have any other realistic choice.”
My morality often created trouble and extra work for me, but when I did sleep, I did so knowing I’d done my best for the people I served.
“I know. Ethan briefed me. I don’t know what you did exactly, but you did it right.”
I relaxed, breathing a faint sigh of relief my boss wasn’t going to grill me for allowing a haunter to possess me. I considered the matter done unless he brought it back up later, and I shifted gears to more critical matters. “Can you get me a researcher?”
“For what?”
“Anything regarding the word hypnos, be it history, mythology, or whatever. It’s important.”
“The Greek god of sleep and dreams?”
I blinked. “Come again?”
“Hypnos is the Greek god of sleep and dreams. His Roman equivalent is Somnus. I only know this because a doctor gave me a lecture on hypnosis regarding the victims involved in your case.”
“I need a full briefing and a credited researcher on Greek mythology, then. I also want intel on astrology and the Chinese zodiac.”
“You’re going to need several researchers if you want all that intel. Why?”
“The haunter, Elizabeth, was adopted by a Chinese man with a long ancestry. The statuette is one part Greek and one part Chinese. The koi represents Pisces. The base depicts a dragon to symbolize the Chinese zodiac.”
“She told you this?”
“Yes, sir, she did.”
“I’ll get you your experts on one condition. Tell me how you put her to rest, Olivia. The complete truth.”
Shit. I sighed. “I can perform, on rare occasion with willing haunters, a memento mori—of sorts. She was a linker. She crossed to the other side through me. I’ve only done it one other time.”
“New York.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And thus an old mystery is laid to rest. New York has its ghosts, but it doesn’t have as many ghosts as it should. I won’t make any notes in your file, but you take care around haunters in the future.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Have Eddy drive Adrianna and her quad around. I’ll get them out ASAP. Try to get what you can on this fish with your scanner in the meantime.”
“I’ll let her know.”
“Be careful today. It’s been too quiet.” My boss hung up.
I gave Adrianna her phone. “Take Eddy and get your affairs in order. He’s going to try to get you out on the first reasonable flight.”
“Thank you, Olivia. You do understand, don’t you?’
I did. She’d walked—or drifted—in death’s shadow for too long. “I
understand.”
She smiled, a somber enough expression I worried about her state of mind. “Your secret is safe with me.”
New York. One day, I hoped the city’s death would stop haunting me. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”
“No, thank you. You gave me more than my life back. I can never repay that.”
I couldn’t imagine what it had been like trapped with Hypnos in an endless sea without hope of escape. “I would do it again.”
“I know. I’m so glad you survived.”
“Right back at you, Adrianna. Take Eddy, go home, and get your bags packed. I expect you’ll be on your way sometime tonight.”
The FBI was many things, but it wasn’t cruel.
Not always.
I sent Adrianna on her way, and I wondered if I’d ever see her again. I doubted it. Most quad members avoided anything to do with the FBI once they finished serving their draft. In a way, I’d sent the four out to honorable pasture.
Maybe I’d gone soft and needed to head out to pasture, too. Or maybe I was just tired.
Too many memories haunted me, and the past few days had brought them all back to the surface. I expected New York and its demise would infest my nightmares again.
For a long time, I sat in my father’s chair and retraced my steps, reliving everything I wished I could forget.
In the moments after the nuclear bomb had detonated, all of New York’s ghosts had sought me out. Even as their bodies blasted away to ghostly afterimages scorched into the few surviving walls, they’d come to me. My friends had been first, the cruelest blow of all. They’d left me alone in the falling ash with nothing to remember them by save for Jezebel’s battered camera.
I still had it, but I believed it could only take pictures of the dead. Perhaps I was a dragon, one with a single treasure. I had developed the roll of film still in the camera, and the pictures she’d taken remained in a photo album hidden beneath my bed. The second roll, still in the camera, held more of New York’s secrets, all its pictures taken in the aftermath of the bombing.
Fear of what I would find on the film, if anything, kept me from taking the last picture and hiring someone to develop the roll.
