Covert Ops

by T. R. Cameron

  “Perhaps I’ll get to see those sometime.”

  Rath nodded. “Sure.”

  Professor Charlotte stepped up beside him. “I’m glad you’re here since I wanted the two of you to meet. Lip reading is not Chan’s only skill, nor his best one.”

  His interest sparked, the troll turned a quizzical look on the older man, who smiled again. “I’m fairly good at throwing things.”

  The woman snorted. “That’s a typically humble gross understatement.” She pulled out a bag of grapes from her giant purse-tote bag—Rath still had no idea why she needed such a large one—and plucked two, then handed one to him and one to Chan. She pointed at a portrait on the kitchen wall two rooms away. “So, my normal-mode friend, can you hit the painting from here?”

  He hopped off the chair and judged the distance. The fruit was a little light to make it that far, so it would have to be arced upward. He took a couple more seconds to determine the angles, then heaved it at the target. It struck the wall about three inches below the bottom of the frame, which was about a foot and three inches lower than he’d intended. He scowled. “Trick grape.”

  The others broke into laughter, and the professor patted him on the shoulder. “Yes, I deliberately sabotaged your throw. Whatever makes you feel better, Rath.” He turned a grin to her and skipped out of the way. Chan moved into the position he’d vacated, faced the painting squarely, and stepped back with his right foot. He held the grape between two fingers of his left hand and brought it across his chest near his opposite ribs. In a move that was so smooth it seemed almost unnoticeable, he flicked the tiny orb away. Its arc was much shallower than Rath had attempted and it struck the figure in the eye and exploded from the force of impact.

  Without conscious intention, Rath’s mouth said, “Ooooooohhhh.”

  Professor Charlotte grinned. “The best part is that he could make that throw another dozen times with no more effort than what you’ve seen and perfect accuracy.” She knelt to meet his gaze directly. “There’s only so much the four of us can do to help you, Rath, but we all want to. The others gave me permission to ask Chan if he would train you, and he said yes. So, if you’re interested, and if he’s still willing, then….” Her voice trailed off.

  The man standing above them had folded his arms and gripped his opposing elbows with his hands. “Willing. Very. As long as Rath proves to be as virtuous as you’ve claimed.”

  Happiness erupted from deep within as the opportunity filled a need he hadn’t even realized existed. “Interested. Very. As long as Max can watch.”

  Laughter circled the room as they all assured him he wouldn’t have to abandon his partner. They talked for a while more, and the man gave him an address, a date, and a time for his first lesson. Rath left as late as he could to be punctual for the meeting at headquarters but far earlier than he wanted to. Excellent. Will be better fighter. Must Train.

  The shift in mood from Emanuel’s shop to Kayleigh’s lab could not have been more pronounced. Dim lighting was provided by work lights, while the main illumination in the room was off, which fitted the emotional atmosphere perfectly. The tech was subdued and Diana was downright grim. Even Deacon, who sat nearby with noise-canceling headphones on while he worked on a computer program, seemed less bouncy than usual. His fingers on the keyboard produced a constant percussive undertone Rath found soothing.

  The conversation, though, was anything but relaxed.

  Kayleigh sat on a tall chair on the opposite side of the table from them and sounded like she was in pain as she spoke. “I’ve put together what you asked for, boss, but I have to say again, this is a bad, terrible, really awful idea.”

  Diana sighed beside him, seated on a high stool of her own. He stood on his and swiveled his head from one to the other as they talked. “I’m aware of your feelings on the matter. Tell me what you have.”

  The tech pointed a finger at one of the small devices spread on the worktable in front of her. It looked like a tiny cube of black licorice with toothpicks protruding from it. “That’s an audio sensor with enough range to pick up any sound in a normal room.” She gestured around them at the lab. “So, for a space this big, you’d need three of them.”

  Diana scowled. “That’s the best you can do?”

  She folded her arms and frost entered her tone. “You asked for hidden microphones. If you’re willing to tolerate the risk of something more visible, I am able to make it more sensitive. Of course, that would be fairly idiotic, given what you have in mind, so perhaps you should accept that I know what I’m doing, hmm?” Rath blinked, and he was glad that the words hadn’t been aimed at him.

  The target of the verbal reprimand blinked as well. “Okay, I hear you. Back down, woman. None of us is happy about this.”

  The woman sighed and pointed at the next device. “Camera with a fisheye lens. Placed in a corner, it will provide a good sight of half a standard room with the correct processing on the receiving end to deal with the artifacts around the edges.”

  Diana nodded. “Okay. So what’s the trouble?”

  “Which trouble do you want to discuss first? The installation trouble or the continuing secrecy trouble?” The blonde raised a palm. “Right, back down, sorry. I hate this.”

  “We all hate this. Tell me about the installation.”

  “Since the warehouse is occupied at all hours, it’ll have to be done from the roof. We can only hope that there aren’t active defenses on it. They probably didn’t think that far ahead.” That explains why I’m here. Spider Gwen and Spider Troll are on the case. “We’ll need Sloan to give us a time window if possible, or at least a heads-up when the office is empty. Then it’s merely drilling and a little putty.”

  “It sounds reasonable so far.”

  “The bigger problem is when the devices transmit. Even though they’ll be set up to capture and store and only send information when they haven’t detected nearby presences for a certain amount of time, I can’t predict what kind of sensors they might have for that. I can tell you that the same device planted here would be identified right away. And that’s assuming they don’t go up to the roof for some reason and see the repeater that we’ll leave behind to boost the signal.”

  Diana nodded. “They won’t have our level of tech, though.”

  Kayleigh countered, “They have magic. I can’t do a damn thing to hide them from the right kind of magic. And no, Deacon can’t either. I asked. Covering them in illusion is a zero-sum game when they have the power to detect illusions. That’s only useful against non-magicals.”

  Deacon’s voice called out, “Like you.”

  She scowled at him. “A, you should be working, not listening in. B, bite me.” Diana struggled to hold in her grin and Rath didn’t even try, which annoyed the tech that much more. “And C, you all suck. Every last one of you.”

  Her boss locked gazes with her. “So, you don’t like it but it’s doable, is that right?”

  She sighed. “Yes. Danger at the install for Rath, and danger ongoing for Sloan. If they find the stuff, they’ll know they have a spy among them.”

  The Special Agent in Charge of ARES Pittsburgh stood with a nod. “The decision is on me. You’ve done your best. Now work with Rath so he’s ready to do the installation. I’ll signal Sloan that he needs to get in touch for a chat.” She strode briskly from the room.

  The troll turned to Kayleigh and gave her a grin and a thumbs-up. “We’re good. No problem. Everything will be fine. Do what Buckaroo says—be cool, but care.”

  She laughed. “Is this my life now? Anything I share with you gets thrown back at me like a motivational poster with a cat on it?”

  He grinned. “Yes to both.”

  Finally, she smiled in return. “Thanks, buddy.”

  “Anytime.”

  Chapter Eight

  Cara crept carefully along the illuminated path that her AI, Quinn, had drawn onto the display in her glasses. It showed the arcs of the security cameras and the ranges of the s
ound and motion sensors scattered around the location. There were several icons to tell her where to hold and wait for notification as some of the devices were moving. Thank you, Kayleigh, for making life so much easier.

  She pressed the stud to lock her mic open once she’d completed her instructions to and discussion with Quinn. “About thirty seconds away from being in position.”

  “Affirmative,” Tony replied immediately. “Me and Hercules here are ready to charge in the back on your command.”

  The deep voice of the team’s newest member—who preferred to be called Hank rather than his given name Henry—was preceded by a low chuckle. “That’s an interesting callsign choice you’ve given me, Stark. Are you feeling…inadequate?” The two men had instantly struck up a fast friendship based on mutual insult, as near as she could tell. It was so stereotypical. Boys. Honestly. She laughed inwardly.

  The next voices were less confident but made up for it with enthusiasm. “Starsky, all good.” That was James Maxis, the policeman of the duo.

  “Hutch, even better.” And that was Vicki Greene, his policewoman partner. They were on their first run with Two Worlds Security and were not privy to the ARES half of the organization in any way. Cara and Hank wore their illusion necklaces so as to not betray the connection.

  She paused when she reached the icon, then sprinted forward at Quinn’s chime to avoid the paths of several moving sensors before she stopped in the last safe area before the entry door. The building was four stories high and to all outward appearances, was a typical indoor storage facility. Their intelligence had revealed that one of the levels was actually the base for a pair of wizards who were distantly linked to the Prince of Plunder. And when we find that bastard, it’ll be pure pleasure to make him spill every secret he has before we send him on to Trevilsom.

  Diana had shared the decision to freeze ARES’ expansion that resulted from the Cube jailbreak, which fueled the anger Cara felt at the escape of her personal nemesis, the one-armed man. She’d itched for a fight ever since and had jumped at the chance to apprehend the bounty. Rath had wanted to come too, but with the off-duty police officers along, it would have been too obvious a connection back to BAM.

  “Okay, people, exactly like we planned it. I take the front and Stark and Hercules take the rear thirty seconds later. Starsky and Hutch stop any runners.” A drone high above provided overwatch and fed into handhelds that the pair carried. Having non-agents along had raised numerous questions they didn’t yet have answers for, including how much tech they could share without revealing enough to endanger the team. She waited for a few more beats until the sensors swept past, raised her stun rifle, and fired at the camera overlooking the main entrance. With that disabled, she dashed forward and slapped three explosive packages Anik had prepared for her onto the door and spun aside. The shaped charges blew and the barrier swung free, its locks destroyed and the metal twisted from the detonation.

  She arced outward to avoid the other cameras’ lines of sight, then ran ahead and leapt at the door with a side kick. It slammed inward and her momentum carried her through the guard who had rushed to investigate. He fell back with a cry of pain. She swiveled to avoid landing on him and followed with a blast from the stun rifle to put him out. The expanded view in her glasses showed no other immediate enemies.

  Advance scans from Kayleigh’s drones had revealed that the first, second, and fourth floors were identical. Each had a double-wide hallway around the perimeter, with single-car garage-sized storage units along the inside. At the back center of the building, a staircase climbed from level to level. A freight elevator protruded from the left side of the facility but getting locked down within it would put a definite crimp in their plan, so they’d chosen to avoid that route.

  She stood and ran toward the right. Tony announced, “Moving,” and an instant later, a crash sounded from the back of the building. She turned the corner and came face to face with a rent-a-cop who held a pistol extended in shaking arms. Cara reacted instantly and swung her left leg up in an inside-out crescent to knock the weapon aside a second before it discharged. The round ricocheted off the concrete wall. She fired the stun gun without aiming, and the blast caught the uniformed woman a glancing blow. It knocked her to one knee and she fumbled for the taser on her belt, which earned her both Cara’s respect and another volley from the rifle. She slumped the short distance to the ground. The bounty hunter knelt and checked her pulse to ensure the double dose of energy hadn’t overwhelmed her heart, but the beat was strong and steady.

  “Heading up to two,” Tony announced.

  “Right behind you, Stark.”

  The presence of the big man at his side—several inches taller and with muscles that would make Arnold envious—wasn’t as reassuring as it could have been. In a close-quarters fight, he’d choose Hank over almost anyone other than Cara or Diana, a clone of himself included. But the long hallways took away the advantage of his physical might and his shooting, while good, had proven less formidable than most other members of the team at their last excursion to the range. He’s nowhere near my level with a pistol. Decent with a rifle, though.

  The other man’s bulk made Tony feel like he had only a fourth of the hallway to himself. A guard appeared ahead, and the agent’s stun blast connected with the target a full second before Hank’s did. The man fell and another turned the corner beyond him, saw what was going on, and ducked back. The two agents charged together and his partner proved faster as well. Fine. He’s a specimen. Let’s see him shoot with his offhand. A gunshot boomed as the big man rounded the corner, and Tony followed to find him grappling with the other man. “Yo, Hercules, quit playing around and get some distance.” Hank shoved the uniformed defender away, and Tony dropped him with a burst from the nonlethal rifle. “Good work.”

  Their leader sounded out of breath over the comm. “Another one down. That’s two for me.”

  Tony replied, “And two for us.”

  “So, that’s all but one of those Quinn identified as hourly guards. You finish clearing this floor. I’ll go up to three. Once you’re done, head up and take care of four.”

  “Are you sure you want to go into the danger zone alone?”

  Cara laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll only take care of the periphery. I won’t go in until we’re together.”

  Hank’s chuckle was filled with satisfaction. “I wouldn’t want to miss the good stuff.”

  Tony shook his head. “There’s always more than enough danger for us all, my friend.” The third floor was essentially a bunker, according to the scans. Once inside the huge area created out of what had been separate storage units on the other floors, an outer hallway funneled around twice before it opened into several large rooms. They’d been unable to get anything more than that from the drone, and Kayleigh and Deacon agreed that there must be some kind of physical or electronic shielding present. Or both. Or magic. Or all three. When they’d shared that finding, Tony had laughed and commented about how incredibly helpful they both were, which earned him a few snarky words from each of them in return.

  They turned the corner and discovered two enemies, which could only mean that at least one of them was a criminal. “Left,” Tony called and fired his weapon at the opponent on that side. A shield shimmered into being and the stun blast washed over it and failed to penetrate to his target. Hank’s attack met the same fate. “Contact, two defenders.”

  Tony dropped the stun gun and it clattered on the floor as he yanked the Armalite up from his chest. Pre-loaded with anti-magic bullets, the rifle spat rounds at his opponent as the recoil raised the barrel. The man was already dropping, and he felt his aim pushed to the ceiling as his foe’s magic grabbed it. When it started to bend around to the right and toward his partner, he pressed the button to eject the magazine and let the weapon fall. “Careful. Mental grabby hands over there.”

  He drew the pistol at his hip quickly and fired two triple-taps at his prone adversary. The target’s response wasn�
�t fast enough, and the anti-magic rounds drilled through his hasty shield and into his chest and skull. Tony shifted his aim to the other opponent, only to find that Hank had closed to melee distance. The man delivered three torso punches followed by a hook to his opponent’s head, which caused him to stagger and positioned him perfectly for the left uppercut that lifted him from his feet and dropped him bonelessly into a crumpled heap.

  Tony looked at his teammate with respect in his eyes. “Damn. Nice.”

  The big man blew on his knuckles. “He was easy. I didn’t even need to use any boost.”

  “Humble, too. You have it all, man.”

  His deep laugh accompanied their progression through the rest of the floor, and they climbed to the top. The drone above was able to scan there and showed four heat signatures, all on the move toward their location. Cara announced, “Third clear, waiting on you bozos.” The men shook their heads at one another and Tony pointed his partner to the right and moved to the left.

  He crouched next to the wall and waited about ten feet back from the corner. His rifle was raised to his eye level, and as soon as the first man appeared, he pulled the trigger. The modded AR-15s the cover security company used possessed extra-sensitive triggers to make up for the lack of burst or automatic fire. He had three shots on the way before the body they’d struck fell from the first. The second target managed to conjure a shield and dive aside, but Tony tracked his dodge and dispatched him with another two anti-magic bullets. He met up with Hank, who looked none the worse for wear after he’d taken care of his own enemies, and they descended to join Cara.

  She had already prepared her last set of explosives that would get them into the labyrinth, and Quinn awaited the command to detonate. The entry into the protected section was a standard garage-door-sized barrier, but one her sensors indicated was far thicker than the rest. The glasses couldn’t penetrate it, so there was no telling what lay inside. She carried a pair of flashbangs on her belt and sonics on her left hip, plus her pistol, rifle, and backup Ruger. The time for the stun guns was past, and hers rested near the staircase at the back.