Jacob rolled his eyes. ‘Finding the kids, not making them. The mask adds a bit of spice, actually. You should try it.’
‘I’m not really into girls and Twilight’s too into you.’
‘Twilight’s kind of flexible. Andrea wouldn’t like her going for it.’
Heather raised an eyebrow. ‘Twilight sleeps around?’
‘Oh, no. I just mean… She’s maybe more inclined to. Recreationally. With another girl. I don’t think she’d… Can we get off this topic?’
Heather giggled. ‘Sure. This is what you get for having a complicated love life.’
‘It’s not complicated, it’s–’
‘You’re dating two women who share a body. Any normal person would consider that complicated. I’ll head home and start researching the thing with the will. Hopefully you’ll get something on Hopper soon and I won’t be doing it alone.’
Jacob turned his eyes back to the doughnut shop. ‘I don’t think it’s going to be too much longer before he tries something.’
‘Great. I’m going to leave now. And when I get home, I’m turning the heating up.’
~~~
Penny looked up at the big screen and raised an eyebrow. ‘Working on Viviane’s costume?’
‘Yeah,’ June replied. She was working with a tablet while the TV echoed the display in much greater detail. ‘I’ve got a couple of designs to show her. This one’s more of a rustic look. Wiccan, sort of.’
The outfit featured a lot of earth tones. There was a boned bodice, an asymmetric skirt with a lot of folds and pleats, and heeled boots which still managed to look quite functional. It managed to show off a reasonable amount of skin while still looking a lot more respectable than Viviane’s tabard dress.
‘I like it,’ Penny said. ‘It’s really different from her current outfit.’
‘Yeah. I’ve got a more… classic outfit too. Lots of draped silks. Blues. I’ll show her everything I’ve come up with and she can decide which she prefers.’
‘Uh-huh. What about Brightstar?’
June grinned. ‘Oh, I’ve done the designs for her. Actually, she might go for one of them. I think it looks good on the model, but it shows less skin. She’s got great legs. It would be a bit of a shame to cover them up, but it’s tight enough that you still get the form. If she really wants something new, that’s an option.’
‘You’ve got some more designs too?’
‘Oh yeah. When she realises what she’ll be wearing, she’ll change her mind.’
‘So how come you put me in outfits like that?’
June shrugged. ‘You, Cygnus anyway, have the body confidence to wear it. Brightstar doesn’t, for all her general confidence. Plus, I like looking at your ass, obviously.’
Penny smirked. ‘Obviously.’
~~~
When Jacob saw Gary Hopper slipping down an alley on the way home, he knew that this was it. Hopper had been walking with his shoulders hunched and looking back when he thought he could do so without it being obvious. He knew Jacob was behind him and now his temper had got the better of him. He was fed up of being followed, which Jacob could get right behind even if Night Shift was just about to get a graphic demonstration that Jacob was not the killer.
The alley was dark. There were a couple of dumpsters in it, one pile of highly illegal garbage bags piled against a wall, and no sign of Hopper. Jacob walked on, wondering which of the various covers Hopper was going to be hiding behind. The bags were close, maybe too close. One of the dumpsters would have required running to get to it. That suggested the first of the dumpsters, but Jacob slowed a little as he reached the garbage bags, just in case.
That was when Hopper stepped out from behind the dumpster, raising his arms. Jacob had a second to comprehend the wash of white crystals and freezing air that was sweeping toward him, and then the ice was hardening around him.
‘Ha!’ Hopper barked. ‘Weren’t expecting that, were you, freak?’
Jacob barely heard the taunt through the ice blocking his ears, but he was busy anyway. His muscles, super-cooled and super-charged, flexed. He clenched his fists, feeling the ice crack around his fingers, twisted his shoulders and torso, and his vision cleared as the ice prison shattered around him. ‘You were saying, Mister Hopper?’
Hopper’s face twisted in anger. ‘Triple Point! My name is Triple Point!’ He lashed out again, ice swirling around Jacob as he took a step closer. This time it continued to swirl, thickening, but Jacob broke free of it and took another step. Another shell formed and was broken, and Jacob was barely three yards away from his target.
‘So Dannon was right.’
Hopper flinched as Night Shift, in full armour, stepped up beside Jacob. With a gasp, Hopper turned his power on Night Shift, wrapping him in a cocoon of ice before he could say another word. The ice creaked, but did not budge, and Hopper turned his attention back to Jacob, right about the time Jacob closed the distance and slammed his fist into Hopper’s face.
‘That,’ Jacob said, ‘was for Heather.’
But Gary Hopper did not hear him. Eyes rolling back in his head, the young man staggered back a step and then fell backward onto the dirty tarmac floor of the alley.
He looked at the frozen detective in the power armour for a second. ‘You, uh, need a hand with that, Night Shift?’
With a loud crack, the ice gave way and fell away from Night Shift’s armour in shards. ‘No, I got it. You’re stronger than you look and that stuff’s harder than it looks.’ Jacob saw the shadows thickening behind Night Shift but said nothing. ‘I owe you an apology,’ Night Shift went on. ‘I guess I jumped on the obvious suspect.’
Jacob shrugged. ‘I went through a phase of thinking I might be responsible too.’
Boot heels sounded on the tarmac as Twilight stepped out of her darkness. ‘That’s men for you. So insecure.’
‘Evening, Twilight,’ Jacob said.
‘Evening, Frostburn. Denny said you were in combat. I thought I’d come and make sure you didn’t need help, but I see you got some anyway.’
‘Not that that kid looks like he could punch through a paper bag,’ Night Shift said, ‘but your boyfriend’s got a mean right. One punch and he was out. I might as well not have bothered.’
‘Hey, giving him a second target gave me the chance to hit him,’ Jacob said in turn. ‘I’d have got there, but those ice cages were getting annoying.’
Twilight walked over to look down at Hopper. ‘He’s got a bloody nose, but I think he’ll probably survive to be locked up for the rest of his natural life. Denny, put in a call. We should have cops here pretty soon.’
‘Well, he’s not going anywhere.’
‘Huh,’ Night Shift said. ‘Not the way you hit him. A big “Pow!” bubble should have popped up beside him, or maybe animated birds circling around his head.’
‘I think you’ve got a fan,’ Twilight commented, smirking.
‘What?’ Night Shift responded. ‘I appreciate a man with a good right hook.’
~~~
‘Seriously,’ Night Shift said to Cygnus, ‘it was something to see.’ Night Shift had actually taken his helmet off to talk, which made the experience more pleasant, but there was a weird feeling of camaraderie to the situation that it seemed only Night Shift was entirely comfortable with. ‘Hopper was freezing Frostburn and then the ice just shattered and he took another step closer, and then another freeze. And then it was bang! Kid went down like a log. Only reason I could see it was the infrared in my visor, but… Yeah, not a bad night.’
Cygnus grinned. ‘I just came down to check when I heard you’d got him, Jacob. Shouldn’t the cops be here by now? It’s been, what? Fifteen minutes or so at least.’
‘UID were notified and they insisted on coming down to take custody,’ Jacob replied.
‘They’re taking their sweet time about it,’ Twilight added. The four of them were standing in the alley in a circle and Twilight had her back to Hopper, who was still laid out on the ground, s
till sleeping. ‘It’s not really like we’re in that much of a hurry.’ She saw Cygnus’s eyes widening but had little time to wonder why before she was grabbed from behind.
Looping one hand around her waist and the other around her chest so that he could place his hand on the bare skin between her breasts, Hopper pulled Twilight back a step. ‘None of you move! None of you move or I’ll suck the heat right out of her body!’ To emphasise his point, he concentrated, pulling on the heat he could feel beneath his palm and… nothing happened.
Hopper was just wondering what was going on when Twilight reached up and gripped his wrists in her hands. ‘That, Mister Hopper,’ she said, ‘is called “inappropriate touching,” and you’re doing it completely wrong.’ Before he could respond, she had lifted his hands and slapped his palms down on the plastic over her breasts.
‘Whu?’ Hopper managed.
‘That’s how you do it, and now that I have your attention…’ Shadows rushed up from the ground around them, rising into a black column which swallowed them both. Cygnus winced in something like sympathy, but there was no screaming, not a single moan. The shadows collapsed back to reveal Hopper half-collapsed behind Twilight, held up by the fact that she was still holding his wrists. ‘I think he fainted,’ Twilight said.
Jacob leaned sideways and peered around his girlfriend. ‘I think he’s got his nose stuck in your butt.’
Twilight shrugged. ‘Probably the closest he’s ever been to–’
‘Don’t finish that thought.’
Part Six: The Prince of Lust
New Millennium City, MD, 30th December, 2014.
Andrea walked up to the reception desk and got a smile from the girl behind it. It was an improvement over San Francisco.
‘Miss Morgan,’ the receptionist said, ‘what can Roman and Hill do for you today?’
‘I need to see Mister Hill,’ Andrea replied, returning the smile. ‘A personal matter.’
‘Of course, Miss Morgan. Go right through and I’ll call ahead.’
‘Thank you.’ Andrea walked around the desk, ignoring the looks from a couple of people waiting in reception.
Hill had a corner office at the top of the building, of course. Andrea felt that was reasonable, if clichéd. It also came with a big desk and some comfortable seating, even if Andrea was not planning to stay for any length of time.
‘Grand Mistress,’ Hill said, smiling and rising from his seat as Andrea entered his office. ‘How can we be of assistance?’
Andrea smiled back. ‘I see the memo got sent round.’
‘It did. I must say that things have got administratively better since those two young ladies took over in Italy.’
‘If you want something done right, get a woman to do it. Now, we arrested a man for the series of deaths recently. The frozen bodies?’
‘I’m aware of the cases. And of the arrest.’
Andrea grinned. ‘I had no doubt you would be. In one of his more lucid moments… Uh, Jacob punched his lights out once, and then I scared him into fainting. He wasn’t lucid much, but he kept saying that “the princes” would come and free him. He’s the second criminal we’ve come across in the last couple of days making comments about someone moving behind the scenes.’
‘The fire bomber?’
‘He said he met the Devil who had twisted his mission to kill more people. Run “the princes” through a search, and see what you can find out.’
Hill frowned. ‘It’s not a lot to work with, Grand Mistress.’
‘I know, and it’s almost New Year. I’m not expecting fast results. I’d just like to get to the bottom of this if possible.’
‘We’ll do our best to discover any bottom there may be.’
~~~
‘Andrea?’ Zoe was almost whispering and she had been doing her best casual saunter as she moved closer through the stacks, just as though she had arrived beside her colleague by accident. She was up to something.
‘Zoe, what’s up?’
‘Well… You know you’re having that little party tomorrow night?’
‘We’re having a few friends around and getting drunk. Yeah, I know.’
‘And you know Dom’s invited?’
‘And Dom asked if she could bring you, yes.’
‘Yeah… That’s not a problem is it?’
‘Why would it be?’ Andrea asked, genuinely puzzled.
‘I don’t know… We work together. Um, I’d be kind of all up in your private space. Uh…’
‘It’s not a problem. You’re not going to find out anything any of us want to keep secret and you’re a friend. Why are we whispering.’
Zoe’s blush deepened. ‘I didn’t want Roger to hear. He might feel left out.’
‘Huh, Roger has a semi-no-strings kind of thing going with his next-door neighbour. Quite the MILF from all accounts. They’ll be buck naked and doing things I don’t want to think about before midnight.’
‘Oh. Oh! Eww, no, not thinking about that. I didn’t know he had anyone.’
‘It’s a holidays and when they’re desperately horny thing. I don’t think either of them wants anything permanent right now. And this is going to be your third date with Dom.’
‘More like the fifth. Uh, if a glass of wine before we throw ourselves at each other counts as a date.’
‘Wow. For Dom, that almost counts as a marriage.’
‘Yeah, she seems a little surprised about it too. I think she’ll come to her senses eventually, but I’m going to enjoy it while I can.’
Andrea nodded. ‘Good policy, and we’ve allocated a guest room for you and Dom, so there’s no problems there. The soundproofing in our house is pretty good.’
Zoe’s cheeks reached an incandescent level and she developed a mortified expression. ‘We’re not that loud!’
Andrea looked at her. ‘If that’s true, Dom hasn’t even started trying with you.’
‘Oh… Maybe we are, actually.’
‘That’s more like it.’
31st December.
‘Andrea?’ Penny called out from the front door. ‘This guy needs you to sign for this.’ She looked back at the courier, narrowing her eyes a little, but the package he was delivering was the wrong shape for a bomb. It looked more like documents, in fact.
‘Sorry,’ the courier said, ‘but the instructions are very specific.’
Penny gave a slight shrug as Andrea jogged up, and then had the pleasure of seeing the courier’s eyes widen when he noticed Andrea’s eyes. ‘What is it?’ Andrea asked.
‘Contents are just listed as “documents,” ma’am,’ the courier supplied, holding out his PDA for her to sign on.
‘Right.’ Andrea was opening the cardboard envelope almost before the door was closed. Tipping it up dropped a flash drive into her palm, but then she pulled a few sheets of paper out as well, and then she nodded when she noted the letterhead on the coversheet. ‘Roman and Hill. They said this would take a while.’ She started back to the lounge with Penny at her shoulder.
‘It’s from the Court?’ Penny asked.
‘Yeah, I asked them to dig up anything they could find about “the princes.” It was kind of a vague request… Ah, and here we have Hill apologising for not finding more useful information. Bunch of overachievers.’
‘Arranging delivery by courier at six thirty in the evening on New Year’s Eve? Yeah, that’s overachieving, but you are their goddess.’
‘Huh. Well, they haven’t found very much, that’s for sure.’
‘The Court?’ June asked as Andrea and Penny re-entered the lounge.
‘Yeah. I’ve got all this on flash drive, Denny. I’ll plug it in later and you can… assimilate it, or whatever.’
‘Thank you, Andrea. I always enjoy new input.’
Andrea grinned, dropped onto a sofa, and continued reading. ‘It’s not much, but it’s promising. The only reference they could find that fitted at all is a rumoured criminal group which mostly works out of California. L.A. specifically. T
hey are thought to have connections in DC, however. They’re known as the Seven Princes, which probably means there are seven of them, but only two have been identified.’
‘Tell me one of those is Sweet,’ Penny said.
‘One of those is Jason Alan Sweet, but this says he goes by Asmodeus within the Princes.’
‘Isn’t that another name for the Devil?’
‘Asmodeus,’ Denny said, ‘or Asmodai, or a large number of alternate versions, is a king of demons and a Prince of Hell in a number of mythologies. In Binsfeld’s classification of demons, he is identified with the sin of lust.’
‘That certainly fits Sweet,’ June said. ‘What about the other one?’
‘The other known prince is Lucifer, one Dallas Iain Brightman. Comes from a lot of money, but his family went broke when he was in his late teens. He managed to put together a substantial personal fortune, apparently from nowhere. That tends to suggest criminal activity anyway, but no one’s ever nailed him. Sweet and Brightman are known associates. Brightman part-financed Sweet’s first club.’
‘A man named Brightman becomes Lucifer, the Morningstar,’ Penny said. ‘That’s… kind of unimaginative. Is Lucifer in Binsfeld’s list, Denny?’
‘Lucifer is associated with the sin of pride, Cygnus.’ The TV screen began displaying a list of names and the sins associated with them.
‘I have never heard of Sathanus or Belphegor,’ June said. ‘Wrath and gluttony. That brings images to mind.’
‘I’ve heard of Belphegor,’ Penny said. ‘Beelzebub, Abaddon, and Mammon. Okay, so we maybe have names for the five unidentified ones, but we just don’t know who they are. What do we do about Sweet?’
‘According to the Court,’ Andrea said, ‘the Princes gather influence through blackmail, bribery, all that stuff. Violence is a relatively rare thing, but they have been known to push people in the right direction to benefit them. The Court thinks they have at least one telepath in the group and they note Sweet’s ability to influence actions. I think he’s here setting things up to make it easier for the Princes to move into New Millennium. If he’s a telepath, I think it’s time I met him.’
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