‘Okay,’ Brian said. He had come back from college to find her dressed up and was wondering what he had in his wardrobe to match her outfit.
‘Then we’re going to come back here and you can open your present.’
‘You didn’t have to buy–’
‘I didn’t buy you a present,’ she interrupted. ‘I bought me a present. I’m wearing it, under this dress. When you’ve taken the wrapping off, I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy it. I put some clothes out for you. Go change.’
Brian developed a dopy sort of grin. ‘Can’t I just unwrap it now?’
‘No. Go change.’ She waited until he was in the bedroom before muttering, ‘Get a move on before I do decide we can skip dinner.’
16th April.
‘Some Ultras would be better off without their powers,’ Jacob commented.
Up on the big screen, the evening news was showing a video of Jonas Harrison’s afternoon prayer meeting where he had ‘cast out the demons’ from two Ultra volunteers. He had also claimed to cure an elderly woman of cancer, but that was awaiting confirmation from her doctors. The change in the Ultras was immediate and obvious. One of them had had glowing irises until Harrison touched the man and the light had gone out.
‘Sure,’ Andrea agreed. ‘Does that mean you would be better off without them?’
‘Well…’
‘You know what I did to Blacklight, right?’ Penny asked.
‘Sure,’ Jacob acknowledged. ‘You took his powers away.’
‘So, if you really want your powers gone, why have you never asked me to do it?’
Jacob frowned. ‘Maybe I never thought about it until now.’
‘Or maybe your life isn’t that bad with them,’ Andrea suggested.
‘Maybe,’ he conceded. He was sitting on the sofa in his bodysuit, one arm around Andrea’s shoulders. It was not exactly intolerable.
‘Well, if you do ever want me to do it,’ Penny said, ‘be really sure. There’s no going back.’
‘Meanwhile it looks like Harrison really can take away powers,’ June said. ‘If he comes here, it’s going to cause problems. Even if it’s just a PR problem, it’s a problem.’
‘Agreed,’ Andrea said. ‘I think it’s time we knew a lot more about Mister Harrison.’
17th April.
The receptionist at Roman and Hill recognised Andrea as soon as she entered the room. It was the eyes. They all knew about the eyes. The woman did look a little surprised at Andrea’s choice of clothing: Andrea normally turned up in dark jeans and a jacket, but today it was a midriff-baring band T-shirt, a short grey pleated skirt, and platform pumps with an ankle strap. There was also a studded leather collar around her throat. However, Roman and Hill employed good people and the surprise barely showed.
‘Good morning, Miss Morgan,’ the receptionist said. ‘Mister Hill has an early client meeting, but he’ll be available very soon.’
Andrea nodded. ‘I’ll wait.’ She walked over to one of the chairs provided for customers, grabbed a month-old magazine from a side table, and sat down to wait. Hill would have broken off his meeting to see her immediately, if she had demanded it. Perhaps the old Grand Masters of the Shadow Court would have demanded it, but the first ever Grand Mistress was not that kind of manager.
‘You should be,’ Midnight said from somewhere behind Andrea’s left ear.
‘Oh, lay off,’ Twilight responded from just behind Andrea’s right ear. They were like a pair of shoulder angels. ‘I sometimes think you say things like that just to sound mean. You’re not fooling anyone, you know.’
‘I’m evil,’ Midnight said rather petulantly, ‘and don’t you forget it, missy.’
Andrea kept silent. It was doubtful that the receptionist was going to think much about the Grand Mistress talking to herself – half the Court figured that it was amazing how sane Andrea was – but it seemed best not to start any new rumours.
‘Mister Hill will see you now,’ the receptionist announced before the argument could continue.
Andrea got to her feet and dropped the magazine back where she had found it. ‘Thanks. I know the way.’
Montgomery Hill was well into middle age, and that was starting to tell around his middle. Even so, he was a little fitter than one might expect for a senior lawyer in a respected firm. His hair was greying quite a lot now, likely the result of too much exposure to shadow creatures, but there was a bright intelligence in his grey eyes and he smiled as Andrea walked into his office, revealing perfect, white teeth. ‘Grand Mistress. Always a pleasure.’
Andrea smiled back, taking one of the rather comfortable guest chairs opposite him. ‘Except when it’s not, which isn’t today. I need some research doing, Shade Hill. I’d imagine you’re aware of the evangelist heading this way, Jonas Harrison?’
‘A disagreeable young man,’ Hill replied. ‘You want him investigated? I can’t say I’d be displeased with such an assignment. I’m not fond of that kind of zealot.’
Technically, the people of the Shadow Court could be described as religious zealots, but it was a little different. They had always known their ‘god’ resided in a room in a castle in Italy, and now their ‘goddess’ walked into offices to ask questions. It did not require faith to believe in the mysteries of the Shadow Court.
‘I want a full report on him. History as well as whatever we can find out about his current state. Anything and everything we can find, but with a strong focus on this ability he seems to have to depower Ultras.’
Hill actually rubbed his hands. ‘I’ll put some of my best adepts on it. We haven’t had a really juicy research job in a couple of months. Oh, while I have you here, Grand Mistress, I’d just like to say that our arrangement with Mister Dannon and Miss Bryant is working out exceptionally well. Their work in Seattle was more than we could have hoped for.’
‘I’m glad that’s working.’
Hill nodded. ‘The Seattle case in particular brought them to the attention of a few other Court fronts and I’ve been receiving queries regarding their availability. Since you were the one who made the introduction, as it were, I thought I should ask your opinion.’
‘Oh.’ Andrea considered her answer for a second and then nodded. ‘I’d say that there’s no reason to not pass them work from other companies, on two conditions. First, there needs to be some legitimate way those companies could find out about Fortuna Investigations. We don’t want questions asked which would uncover the connection between the various front companies.’
‘The Seattle case was widely publicised,’ Hill responded.
‘Probably good enough. Second, the same rules apply. Neither Jacob nor Heather are to be used on anything with direct links to the Court. Only legal jobs.’
‘Of course.’
‘Then I see no reason why we can’t pass more work their way.’ Andrea grinned. ‘At this rate, they might need some new staff and a bigger office.’
‘The office next door to theirs is vacant, and it would just be a matter of knocking through a wall and putting in a door.’
‘Well, just wait for them to need the new space before you get the builders in.’
Iron Cap Black Site, WA.
Jackson Thurlow sat in a metal chair, straps holding him at wrists, ankles, thighs, and waist. It was not the first time he had been in the chair. The man on the other side of the glass had been trying various methods to restart his Ultrahuman abilities, many of them involving cosmic energy. So far, nothing had worked.
‘We are ready, Mister Thurlow,’ Herman Kopf announced. ‘Prepare yourself.’
Jackson clamped his teeth firmly down on his gumshield and gave a sharp nod. He was prepared. Even after all the failed attempts, he was prepared. Then there was the light which made Jackson close his eyes just before the pain hit him. His fists clenched. His entire body strained against the straps. The pain was worse than ever before, but this time there was something else: a blooming sensation of power deep within Jackson’s body. It was working!
It was actually–
The light died, the pain subsided more slowly, and the blossoming feeling of power died along with it. Jackson sagged, spitting out the gumshield so he could pull in deep, ragged breaths. ‘It didn’t work.’
‘No,’ Kopf responded slowly. ‘No, it did not.’ Jackson looked up to see the old man staring at his instrument displays. ‘No, this did not work, but we did get a response. I must analyse this data, Mister Thurlow. I believe I see where I have been in error this far.’ Kopf lifted his head and looked Jackson in the eyes. ‘Have faith, Mister Thurlow! Soon. Yes, soon you will see your powers return.’
New Millennium City, MD, 18th April.
‘Okay,’ Andrea said, ‘let’s see what we have.’ She unceremoniously ripped open the cardboard envelope which had been couriered to the house, tipped it up and caught the expected memory stick, and then pulled out several sheets of paper with the letterhead of Roman and Hill visible on the top of the front sheet.
‘Report from the Court?’ June asked.
‘Uh-huh. Let me just skim…’ Andrea flicked through the sheets, nodded, and settled down on one of the sofas. ‘It looks like he started off as just another snake-oil salesman. I mean, he’s been grifting since he was eighteen. He ended up with his own team, scamming punters with a combination of fairly good fire-and-brimstone preaching and fake faith healing. That changed in May of twenty fifteen when he actually cured someone of asthma. The Court were able to find medical records and he really did cure the girl.’
‘That confirms what I’ve seen,’ June said.
‘Yeah. His sermons got even more passionate. There are a few newspaper reports about them. People saying they came away exhausted, feeling as though they’d had a real religious experience. Some of the reporters went to the meetings expecting to expose a fraud. In August of twenty fifteen, the parents of a girl named Jolene Beck brought her to a meeting in Paducah. That’s in Kentucky. Beck was hearing voices and nothing any of the doctors she’d seen could do anything. The Court believes she was either a latent or functional telepath, until Harrison got his hands on her. He said she was possessed by a demon, wound the crowd up into a frenzy, and banished the demon. Whatever the actual case, Beck stopped hearing the voices. After that, Harrison began a crusade to rid the world of the demons infesting it.’
‘The first indication that he could really heal was in May twenty fifteen?’ Penny asked.
‘Uh-huh. The Court believes he’s an Ultra created by the cosmic energy burst from Tan’s ship.’
‘That would be my guess. And he started to believe his own hype?’
Andrea nodded. ‘They say “a high probability of a delusional state based upon guilt over his previous false claims in the name of God.”’
‘That’s the hundred-dollar words version of what I said, right?’
‘Uh-huh. Um, in other news, he’s comfortably well off, but not rich. His group are a registered charity, so they don’t pay taxes. His parents are dead. No steady relationships that anyone could find. Some indications that he hasn’t had any casual relationships in the last couple of years. He’s delusional, but he’s living his delusion.’
‘That may not be good,’ June said. ‘He really believes what he’s doing is right. That kind of thing can be infectious.’
‘Yeah,’ Penny said, musingly. ‘I have a bad feeling we’re going to have to come up with some way of showing people what he really is.’
‘Agreed,’ Andrea said. ‘Actually, I think I’m going to enjoy this.’
‘Is that you channelling Twilight again, or is it Midnight this time?’
Andrea shrugged. ‘Not sure it matters in this case.’
Louisville, KY, 23rd April.
The crowd were absolutely humming tonight. Jonas could feel the power peaking within him as they poured out their hearts and souls to him. One woman in the front row had fainted. An old man was looking shaky on his feet and would probably go next. It was time for this afternoon’s big finish. Oh, there would be a few other minor things. He would heal someone, he had no doubt, but this would be the thing they remembered.
‘Brothers and sisters,’ he roared, ‘there is a demon among you.’
‘No!’ screamed the crowd.
‘I say that Satan has sent one of his minions to this meeting. He stands among you and I call him out. Come and stand before me, servant of Beelzebub. Come out from among these good people and have that demon driven from you.’ Jonas pointed out into the crowd and a lot of them shrank from his accusing finger, but not the one Jonas’s God-given sight had revealed to him. No, that man stood tall and then, seeing that he had been identified, walked out from among the people to face his accuser. ‘Give me your name, spawn of Satan!’
‘My name is Carl Louise,’ the man said, ‘but the good people of Louisville know me as White Spectre.’ He was a fairly big man, tall and muscled. Handsome too, with clear blue eyes and a cap of soft blonde hair. He was basically your typical male Ultra: super-strong and bulletproof, which was a common set of powers for men who thought a real man was strong and tough.
There were various shrieks and protests from the crowd. Worked up as they were, Jonas could have brought the Pope up on stage and persuaded his audience that it was the Devil in disguise. ‘Are you ready to have your demon driven out, White Spectre?’ Jonas called out. ‘Are you ready to reveal yourself before God and these good people?’
‘I am ready to face you, Jonas Harrison. I do good with these God-given powers I have been granted.’ White Spectre was pretty good at playing a crowd too. ‘I thank God every Sunday for the abilities he has given me. I thank God every night as I keep the streets of Louisville safe. The Devil had nothing to do with making me an Ultrahuman and I call you a fraud!’
Jonas smiled. This was better than he had hoped for. ‘Then take my hand, and let’s see who has God watching over him.’ He held out his hand and White Spectre took it in a fierce grip. ‘Brothers and sisters,’ Jonas more or less yelled, ‘see the power of the Almighty at work this day!’ There was a momentary pause and then a shudder passed through White Spectre. He staggered backward, releasing Jonas’s hand before collapsing onto the stage on his butt. ‘Satan begone from this house!’ Jonas called out as White Spectre shook his head in disbelief.
New Millennium City, MD.
‘Well, that was kind of stupid,’ Andrea commented as the scene at the prayer meeting played out on the big screen. There were reporters and cameras following Harrison around as though they were waiting for their Pulitzers to turn up. They had got the entire thing on camera. ‘He’s going to get even more press now.’
‘It was stupid because White Spectre has a public identity,’ Penny countered. ‘He’s got no powers now and everyone knows it.’
‘He looks shocked,’ June commented. ‘I mean, that’s more than just the shock of losing his powers. He really believed that Harrison couldn’t touch him and now he’s questioning whether he was wrong about everything. That’s an existential crisis happening right there on TV.’
‘Makes sense,’ Andrea replied. ‘That’s the other big error here. White Spectre decided to face Harrison on Harrison’s terms. He bought into the religious thing just as much as Harrison has. We need to discredit the man, not present him with things he can use to reinforce his reputation.’
‘That sounds good,’ Jacob said, ‘but how are we going to do that?’
‘Well, I know where to start. I’ll talk to Montgomery Hill in the morning.’
24th April.
‘Another research project, Grand Mistress?’ Hill asked as Andrea took one of the guest chairs in his office.
‘Yes. Same subject, sort of. Maybe a harder ask, maybe not. The first Ultra Harrison neutralised, Jolene Beck, I’d like her found. Tell me where she is and I’ll do the rest.’
‘Just give me a second, Grand Mistress.’ Hill picked up his desk phone and tapped some keys. ‘Wallasey, regarding the Harrison research, do you have a current address for Jolene
Beck?’ Hill paused, listening, and then put the phone down. ‘It would appear that Miss Beck left home last May and has not resurfaced. I’ll begin a search for her.’
Andrea nodded. ‘Top priority, Shade Hill. I want to have a chat with Miss Beck before Harrison gets to New Millennium.’
‘That could be a tough ask, Grand Mistress. He’s due in town this coming weekend.’
‘I’m aware. Utilise any resources you need. Any resources.’
~~~
Montgomery Hill did not personally visit Fortuna Investigations too often. When he did, it was frequently something important. This time it did not seem especially important, but it presumably was.
‘This… is a slightly unusual case,’ Hill said. They were in Heather’s office. Jacob could have set his air conditioning warmer now since his new suit allowed him to operate in shirtsleeves in a hotter environment, but they had got used to doing things this way. ‘This is something the, um, CEO of our parent company–’
‘Andrea,’ Jacob said. ‘You mean Andrea asked you for something and you need our help with it.’
‘Yes,’ Hill admitted. ‘We simply feel that some mundane, if you’ll pardon the expression, detective work might bear more fruit than our less conventional methods.’
‘So this is the Jolene Beck case?’
Hill waved the thin file in his hand. ‘It is. This is everything we have on her, and it’s not much. We will continue to search for her ourselves, but we would appreciate it if you also hunted for her. You can approach her family directly.’
‘Huh. Heather can. I don’t think they’re going to react well to a big black guy with glowing blue eyes. That’s two counts against me considering that they took their daughter to a preacher to have a demon exorcised.’
‘You’ve got a point,’ Heather said, opening the file and looking at the first page. ‘Looks like I’m going to Kentucky.’
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