by TR Cameron
Ruby asked, “Are you alive?”
Kaeni shook her head. “Think of us as a deep pool of memory that can act somewhat like the living beings we were. We are far less than you but far more than recorded memories.”
“How did you get that way? Will I be that way?”
Kaeni laughed. “For the second question, yes, you will. It is part of being Mirra. For the first, kneel facing the chair.”
Ruby complied, and Kaeni said, “Now put your thumbs in the two notches shaped like crescent moons and press to the sides.”
She pushed, and a drawer opened with a click. She pulled it out and found the circlet she’d seen all the Mirra statues wearing. “What is this?”
“The means to store your memories.”
Ruby removed it and stood, pushing the drawer closed again with her foot. “Does it hurt?”
“Not at all. When you put it on, you won’t even notice it’s there.”
Ruby drew a deep breath and set it on her head with no small amount of trepidation. Magic swirled through and around her. She reached up to verify the circlet was still seated properly, but it had vanished, apparently merging with her. She frowned. “This is a poor time for jokes.”
Kaeni laughed. “If not now, when? In any case, that is the last step. You are officially the new Mirra of the Mist Elves. Until you need me again, I bid you farewell, and the greatest of luck, Ruby Achera.”
She faded before Ruby could thank her, so she headed for the door. “This thing better open because if it doesn’t, I’m gonna haunt everyone. There won’t be enough Ghostbusters on either planet to deal with the harassment I’m going to hand out.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jared finished packing up the heavy roller crate and attached the top, snapping the closures with annoyed twists. “I hate this.” They were in the garage, making sure they moved out all the important and expensive equipment. They’d already relocated half of the vehicles, and Grentham's gang would be removing the rest in short order.
The dwarf said, “Yeah, I hear you. Hopefully, it’s all for nothing.”
Jared scowled and gave the crate a hard push, sending it rolling across the floor toward another of Grentham's people. The elf maintained a portal that connected to one of the dwarf’s warehouses, which would be their temporary base of operations until the thing with Worldspan was over. “Oh, there’s no way they can resist striking back at us. After we walked in and messed with their facility? You know they’re looking to return that favor. And without Sloane’s protection, they’ll certainly feel emboldened to do so.”
Grentham paused what he was doing and looked up. “You don’t think it’s just that the boss lady isn’t in our corner, right?”
Jared shook his head. “No, we’re totally on the same page on that question. She’s now in the opposition column along with Angelina Prash and the rest of Worldspan.” He grabbed the next of the big rolling crates and moved it into position. “You know, our numbers are looking pretty low for this.”
Grentham nodded. “Any other time, not having a bunch of people hanging around headquarters would be good. Means they’re all out on gigs, which is where we want them. But if Worldspan decides to attack, we will definitely wish they were here. Still, gotta keep the cash flowing, right?”
Jared nodded. “Now more than ever. There’s bound to be some added expenses from all this nonsense.”
“Well, if they do decide to hit us, they’re in for a surprise. A bunch of them.” A number of his people emerged from the portal and Grentham directed them to take over the loading. “Let’s you and I go make sure the other things are the way they should be.”
Jared tossed what he was holding inside the crate and walked along with his partner. Their first stop was the armory, which they’d stripped of all its weapons, and all the lockers emptied. He shook his head. “Now that is a sad sight.”
Grentham turned to the pair of dwarves sitting on the benches. “So, is our plan set?”
Jared recognized the first from their attack on the Worldspan headquarters. Veara said, “We’re good. One of the two of us will be awake and located here at all times. We’ll be on comms even when we aren’t on the clock. When things go down, we’ll open the portal, and our people can rush in from the warehouse.”
Jared nodded. They’d decided it was a nonzero possibility that Worldspan would just blow up the place without entering, so having a welcoming party inside was a bad idea. Everyone hoped that their drones, which were monitored off-site, would be able to detect a substantial attack on the building’s exterior early enough that the dwarves could escape.
Grentham clapped the other dwarf on the shoulder. “Good work. Stay frosty.”
Jared touched his comm. “Claire, where are you?”
She replied, “Main hallway, just past the conference room.”
“We’ll be there in a flash.” Jared followed his partner toward the front of the building. They’d decided that only a couple of rooms would remain in use to perpetuate the illusion that things were normal at Aces. They’d still welcome clients in the lobby, and they’d still talk to them in the conference room. Once past that area, the rest of the place would be heavily trapped. They found his most trusted lieutenant and Grentham's most capable trap person, Karna, working on that defense. Jared asked, “What’s the plan?”
The dwarf replied, “Well, fortunately, we have really good sensing in here already. It’s smart that you all didn’t scrimp when you put in that stuff. Now it’s time to connect the demolitions to the sensors. We’re using a mix of tools. Incendiaries, gas, claymores, and even some old-school crossbow traps.”
Jared asked, “Won’t they have shields?”
Karna laughed. “That’s the best part. Some of these traps also use anti-magic emitters that we, uh, borrowed from the PDA.”
Grentham chuckled along with his subordinate. “Resourcefulness is one of our specialties.”
Jared shook his head with a smile. “I don’t want to know. Anyway, sounds good. As long as the anti-magic is localized so it doesn’t interfere with the other parts of the operation that require magic.”
Karna replied, “We have it under control. We dialed them way down, just far enough to catch the people in the kill zone.”
Grentham grinned. “Such a good phrase, kill zone. Pretty much this whole place is going to be one big KZ by the time you finish. Keep it up.”
Jared said, “One more thing. Secure room.” He grabbed the box full of jewels and tucked it under his arm. “Can’t forget these.”
His partner sighed. “Opening ourselves up to tracking, if they’re magically tagged.”
He nodded. “I’ll take them to the bank and put them in a secure deposit box. It’s not great since I don’t have deniability if anyone gets a warrant, but I doubt the people who will be looking for them are the same kind who are likely to have a judge sign off on their actions.”
Grentham nodded. “Sounds good. I think everything’s as prepped as it can be, but I’d feel more comfortable with a little more overwatch.”
Jared nodded. “I was thinking the same thing. Scimitar?”
“Yeah. Let’s give her a call, see if she can hack into Worldspan for us. It would be a hell of a bonus to know right when they were coming.”
They returned to the garage, careful not to interfere with any of the traps being built or the ones already in place, and found a quiet corner. Jared instructed the comm to connect to the infomancer, and a moment later, her computer modulated voice replied, “Yes?”
“Jared Trenton, as you doubtless know. We’d like to contract you for a gig.”
Even through the electronic distortion, the woman’s tone held a note of regret. “I’m afraid I cannot accept. In fact, I will be returning your retainer for this month and the one before. Since we were not actively engaged in a project, I accepted another. Unfortunately, it’s exclusive, so I can’t take work from other clients.”
Jared’s stomach sank into his fe
et, and Grentham replied with a muted snarl, “Any clients? Or just this one?”
The infomancer didn’t respond, and Jared asked, “Is this about money?”
She answered with a tinny laugh, “Isn’t everything?”
“That’s not an answer.”
The computer modulated sigh was a strange sound. “Let’s simply say that there are only a few people I see as potential threats to my health and welfare. Unfortunately, it is one of them who has requested my services. It would not be prudent for me to decline.”
Grentham asked, “And the exclusivity comes from them?”
“Affirmative. I’m sorry, gents. Once this is all over, I would welcome the opportunity to work with you again.”
The line dropped, and Jared sighed. “We’re going to need a new infomancer. Hell, to make up for her, we might need two or three. And I have no idea where we’re going to find even one anywhere near as good as she is. Heaven help us if she’s working for Worldspan.”
A thought occurred to him. “Dammit, we need to change everything. She has our accesses by now, even the ones we didn’t share with her.”
Grentham nodded. “You’re right. I’ll get my best person on it, but we’re going to have to hire more.” Where Jared felt abandoned by someone he’d kind of trusted, his partner’s response held nothing but anger. “We’re being boxed in. Next, they’ll probably start peeling off our clients and suppliers. I’ve seen this nonsense before, and it only gets uglier.”
He grabbed a wrench from a nearby table and threw it across the room. “Assuming we survive whatever happens in the near term, things will have to change. Long term, if we still want to be around, we need to find some new allies and take the fight to Worldspan, Sloane, and anyone else stupid enough to come at us.”
Chapter Fifteen
Paul Andrews and his number two, Charlotte Krenn, were seated in a back corner table, as far from the entrance as possible while still distant from the kitchen doors. He always preferred to choose a defensible position and carried a pistol in his shoulder holster and a Taser at his hip, just in case. A drone watched over the restaurant’s entrances, and a human was monitoring the feed. Can’t be too careful, but can’t let myself be trapped in the office, afraid to go out, either.
The eatery was a barbecue place a couple of blocks south of the Strip, frequented by humans and magicals alike. Mostly, no one cared that he was there, although a few dark looks were thrown his way, presumably because of his species rather than his position. I shouldn’t be that recognizable yet. If I was, that would be a problem.
His dining partner set her water glass down on the table a little harder than normal, and he realized his thoughts had distracted him. He said, “Sorry. Just thinking about how hungry I am.”
She laughed. “Maybe you need to get a little more work-life balance going.”
He grunted. It was a common joke between them, as neither of them had much of a life outside work. The gig in Ely was different from their usual postings because they didn’t live within walking distance of headquarters. In the other cities where they’d been together, including Reno, they’d taken apartments in the same building or one nearby to minimize time lost during the commute. “So, bring me up to date.”
She nodded and leaned forward so no one overheard them. He’d paid extra to ensure the tables to either side would remain empty, giving them some privacy. Or the illusion of it, anyway. One never knows what magic might be happening around them. “We have three committed to going after the bounties. Actually, that’s a bit of a misleading statement since they’re a team.”
He adopted a quizzical expression. “Really?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I hadn’t heard of them before either, but I went and looked them up. They call themselves Dante’s Angels, and while some folks online have posited that they’re sisters, I’m not buying it. The few pictures I found showed one was blonde, one brunette, and the last a redhead, and their facial structures aren’t particularly similar. I think they’re going for the Charlie’s Angels reference.”
He laughed. “Was the intermediary named Bosley?”
She shook her head with a grin. “The world really is stranger than fiction, isn’t it? Anyway, rumor has it that they’re good. They’ve done several legit bounties, mostly low-level but a couple of mid-range. Plus, between you, me, and the wall, some suspect they’ve taken on a few less than lawful gigs as well.”
He sighed. “You know, before we came to Ely, that probably would’ve bothered me. At this point, it feels like a bonus. So, only three who are one?”
She nodded. “The costumes are only level one bounties. Not too much demand for those, as the pay isn’t great. We did put out the word that there was extra cash involved on top of the bounty, which is what brought in the Angels.”
He kept his tone neutral. “Only level one, you say?”
Her voice took on an edge of defensiveness. “We couldn’t invent major crimes, you know?”
“Why not?”
His matter-of-fact answer set her back, and she was silent for a moment. Finally, she explained, “Too easy to trace, too likely to generate suspicion. It would be bad if someone found out we were messing with the bounty system. We want to stay under the radar.”
He grunted, knowing she was right. “We still need to get more of them.”
Charlotte replied, “I know. I’m on it. It’ll take a little longer than we’d hoped.”
“In the meantime, make sure we have tabs on the Angels at all times. Plant tracers on them if they won’t do it voluntarily, or task a drone.”
“You’re using them as hunting hounds.”
He spread his hands and looked from one to the other as he spoke. “Best case, they handle it themselves. Worst case, they lead us to the costumes, and we make the move. Either way, we win.”
She gave a single sharp nod. “I’ll keep teams on standby, then, and make sure the drone ops are ready.”
He leaned back and stretched his arms over his head. “In the meantime, I think I’ll see if the Council will put me on the agenda for their next meeting. Might be useful to stir the pot a bit on that front, too.”
The following night, Ruby crouched on a rooftop to the extreme south of the city, her companion beside her. Demetrius said in her ear, “Normal activity all around. Seems like the PDA is in wait and see mode.”
She chuckled. “I hear that tone in your voice. Don’t you dare start poking at them.”
He laughed. “Why not? It’s fun.”
Ruby shook her head with a grin but didn’t reply. The infomancer had used the access Morrigan and Idryll had provided to penetrate the agency’s drone network. He was pretty sure that, at need, he could mess with the signal flow and cause the pilots to lose control at a minimum and possibly even take over the crafts.
They were keeping that option in their back pocket because if they didn’t do it perfectly, the PDA would know they’d been hit and would respond by upgrading their systems. At this point, information was what they needed.
She stiffened as a group of people came around the corner Demetrius’ drones had pinpointed as a location the Drow and his gang often passed through. As Morrigan had put it, “It’s been too quiet for too long. Something’s bound to happen,” which was why they were staking it out. Her sister was at Spirits, ready to deploy and likely annoyed at her assignment.
When Ruby had explained that one of them needed to stay back in case the other two got into trouble, she might not have been completely sensitive to the fact of her sister’s prior kidnapping. It was the sort of thing she might’ve intentionally done when they were kids, but this time it was a screwup. Well, she’ll get over it. Seems like talking with Challen has been helping her deal with the stress.
Idryll said, “Hey, the scumbag in the hat is here.” Ruby’s attention returned to the group below, and sure enough, the Drow in the fedora was in the middle of the procession. At least a dozen people walked around him, and while they weren’t m
oving quickly, they nonetheless had a sense of purpose about them.
Ruby observed, “This looks like more than an evening stroll. Tree, get some visual coverage going. Mo, you might want to move to your departure point.”
Her sister replied, “On it.”
Her boyfriend reported, “I sent the drones up. Our super-secret feed from the PDA still shows no activity in your area.”
Idryll said, “It would be nice to be able to beat down this bunch without an audience.”
Ruby laughed. “Please. You always want an audience.” She kept them covered in a veil as they paralleled the Drow’s team. As they neared the Strip, she started to wonder what the hell was going on. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but does it seem like they’re trying to attract attention?”
Demetrius replied, “If that was their goal, they’ve accomplished it. PDA drones have altered their patterns, and additional ones are spooling up.”
Idryll ventured, “Maybe we won’t need to intervene.”
Ruby responded, “Double-digit magicals versus drones? The robots don’t stand a chance. It’s kind of turning out to be an expensive month for the PDA.”
Morrigan laughed. “Serves them right. Their drones are making everyone nervous. Want me to join you? Looks like you’ll be going past my location.”
Ruby frowned, part in confusion and part in annoyance over being confused. “No. Stay back. This is too weird. We might need you to get us out of jail when it’s over.”
Idryll added, more darkly than usual, “Or the hospital.”
She killed her comm. “You feel it too, then?”
Her companion did the same. “Yeah. They’re looking for trouble and seem serious about finding it.”
“That’s my read, too.” She flipped her comm back on. “Tree, give Alejo a heads up through the usual channel. She’ll be able to get emergency services primed for whatever is about to happen.”