He grinned. “I do know a few people here and there.”
“Tell Ellen I miss her and that she needs to keep you in line better.”
She walked away, accompanied by his laughing response. “Maximum oversight already achieved. No need for improvement.”
Entering her home as a visitor was far stranger than revisiting the FBI had been. The door opened before she could knock, and Lisa stood across the threshold. They both grinned like idiots and grappled in a hug that threatened to bind them at a molecular level. Her friend pulled her inside and kicked the door closed.
Diana protested, “Hey, be careful. That’s not a training door. It’s an actual door.”
Lisa swung her black hair dismissively. “Don’t worry, my landlord’s an absentee. She’ll have no idea what we do to the place.”
A bark was accompanied by a shout of glee as Rath dove into a triple somersault from the back of the couch to plummet into the cushion beside Max’s head. The dog gave him an amused look tinged with exasperation.
Exactly. Now you know how I feel.
“I think he spends most of his time tiny simply because he enjoys the acrobatic opportunities it offers.”
Lisa looked at him with something close to delight. She didn’t have enough experience with him to be exasperated. Yet. “Count your lucky stars. Imagine if he did that at eight feet.”
Diana shuddered. “He’ll wind up breaking through the floor into the basement. What will your landlord say then?”
“She’ll probably abandon me and move to another city.”
She put a hand over her heart. “Ouch.”
The other woman grinned and waved her into the kitchen.
Rath shouted, “Abandon!” as they passed.
Without looking back, Diana replied, “Shut up, you.” That drew more laughter from the troll.
Lisa retrieved two Atlas Rowdy Ales from the fridge when she arrived, popped the top on one, and extended it to her friend. Diana took a long, satisfying drink.
“I haven’t had the chance to sample Pittsburgh’s craft culture yet. You need to come up,” she said.
“You need to find some time,” Lisa countered.
She nodded. “This is true. Still, you come up and I’ll find the time.”
They clinked their bottles in a familiar gesture of agreement. “Deal.”
Diana jerked her head over her shoulder. “Did the trouble twins behave today?” She’d dropped them off before heading out to her day of meetings after driving down that morning.
Bureaucracy sucks.
“They did great, although they were a little noisy during one of my calls.” Lisa had agreed to work from home to keep an eye on the pair while Diana was in town. It wasn’t so much that they needed watching but that she felt uneasy about being back in DC after the threats of retribution from her first adventure as an agent in BAM. Cresnan and his fellows were locked up in the Cube, but there were more of their organization somewhere out there. It was only a matter of time before they clashed again.
She sat at the counter where she could watch Rath practice his floor routine on the newly upholstered couch cushions. “No problems with Steve?”
Lisa slid onto the stool next to her. “He probably would’ve left me alone anyway after the alley, but that stuff you dug up on his company is a good insurance policy.”
“I knew you wouldn’t have told him about my job change.”
“Not a chance. Sisters before misters.”
Diana bumped her friend’s fist in an act of solidarity. “Well, we closed their access off, so that’s no longer a worry, and we have leverage if he ever causes trouble. I’d call that neatly wrapped up.”
Lisa tipped her bottle and made an appreciative sound. “So, I took your spot at Jackson’s studio.”
“You didn’t tell me that. Go you.” She raised her brows in real surprise.
She nodded. “I really love it. It’s great exercise, plus you get to twist big guys into little puddles of submission on the ground.” Diana choked on her drink, and her friend laughed. “It’s more fun with the cute ones, of course.”
After she’d recovered her composure, she wiped her mouth and pointed a commanding finger. “No dating inside the dojo. This means you.”
Lisa rolled her eyes. “Witch.”
Diana grinned. “Wench.” The doorbell rang, and Rath and Max dashed to the door with excited shouts and barks, respectively. The Borzoi stood on his hind legs and put his front paws up so Rath could climb on his head and look through the peephole. Diana glanced at Lisa, who shrugged.
“Kayleigh,” the troll chirped, and Max moved so Diana could let her in.
“Kayleigh, great to see you. Thanks for coming out.” She immediately looked at the visitor’s boots, which were shiny, black, and very similar to her own. “Are those the new versions?”
The blonde tech laughed. “I can’t even get in the door and take my coat off before you ask. That is the sign of a true shoe fetishist.” Diana backed out of the way and let her pass but she continued her examination. Kayleigh rolled her eyes. “To answer your question, no. These are the old pair. I’m still working on the new one. Other projects are sucking up my time.”
She nodded in response, and Lisa materialized with a beer and handed it to the newcomer. “I’m Lisa. Sorry, Diana was too rude to introduce us.”
Kayleigh laughed. “Kayleigh. I’m also sorry.”
Diana rolled her eyes and turned to Rath and Max. “Do you see the abuse I take?”
The dog barked and the troll shook his head. “Sad. So sad.” They all burst into laughter at his comically forlorn expression.
An hour later, the remainder of the guests had arrived. Lisa claimed a dozen was always best and didn’t include Max and Rath in the tally. A few of Lisa’s coworkers had joined them, some of Diana’s FBI pals—she was especially happy to see Rodriguez, who’d been with her at the start of this magical adventure—and a couple of members of the DC ARES team. It was a rare social appearance for Nancy Blackwood, the DC team’s second sniper. Even though most of the crowd used cover stories of one kind or another, everyone still seemed to enjoy themselves.
She noticed a conspicuous absence and made her way upstairs to the spare bedroom. The small room held a dresser, a television, and a queen-sized bed that was currently occupied. Kayleigh stretched out on the mattress and propped on her elbows with her face at the foot to watch a Marvel film with Rath and Max. The troll and the tech were both engaged in an animated discussion about Black Widow’s gadgets.
“They were much better in the comics,” she pointed out.
He nodded authoritatively, then looked at Diana. “Need comics. Must train.”
Diana shook her head and bumped Kayleigh with her hip. “Move over, antisocial woman.”
The tech groaned and shifted to the side. “I’m not antisocial by definition, but I don’t do well in crowds.”
“It’s all good. Thank you again for coming out.”
She stared at her with a perfectly sculpted blonde eyebrow. “I couldn’t miss the chance to visit with Rath.”
Diana nodded. “I have a suggestion on that front, actually.”
Kayleigh forced herself to a sitting position. “No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.” She nodded again to emphasize her seriousness.
“No. I am not becoming a field agent.”
They both grinned. “Eventually, I’ll convince you. But no, that’s not what I had in mind.”
Kayleigh wiped imaginary sweat from her brow. “What were you thinking, then?”
“I need a tech in Pittsburgh to get the labs going and make us lots of cool gear and stuff.”
Her companion frowned. “I’m sure I can suggest someone.”
Diana shook her head firmly. “I need a great tech. And you’re the best I know.”
“Ems is way better than me.”
She slashed her hand between them. “No, Emerson is way more experienced than you. There�
�s a big difference there.”
Kayleigh grinned. “It’s nice of you to say that, but I haven’t heard that you’re at the lab stage of your startup yet.”
Diana shrugged. “It’s my office. I have the budget. It’s simply a matter of making the dollars dance in the right way.”
“I can’t imagine leaving DC.”
“Neither could I and suddenly, I have fantastic river views outside my office window. Consider it.” She laid her last card down. “You’d be head tech and would get to pick your own staff as we grow.”
Something sparked in the woman’s eyes at that, but she still resisted. “I don’t know, Diana.”
“Think about it.” At an explosion on the screen, Rath fell and rolled in a cackling fit. She stood and pointed at him. “And maybe explain to the little ruffian that explosions aren’t always a good thing.”
He grinned at her. “Boom. Big bada boom.”
I really need to cancel my cable.
Chapter Seven
After a week of bureaucracy, Diana was beyond ready to get back into real activity. She entered the Sheraton's lobby through the big revolving doors and gazed at the high open area through the leaves of tall potted trees. To the right were conference spaces and to the left, the hotel proper with eight floors of balconies looked over the atrium. A circular bar filled the center of the room ahead and the afternoon sun filtered through the glass that made up the ceiling.
Cara sat alone on a tall stool at the bar, seemingly a business person having a late lunch.
She looks right in a suit.
The AR glasses that adorned her face were a new model, one of several different options they had acquired to assist in their multi-agency camouflage. If she seemed to talk occasionally into the microphone that dangled from her earbuds, an observer would put it down to ordinary texting or phone chat.
Which it is, only to someone closer than an observer might expect.
Her voice was clear in Diana’s earpiece. “It’s about time you got here. You’ve cut it a little close, haven’t you?”
Diana angled for a chair at one of the low tables around the edge of the bar space. “You have a lot to learn about subtlety, Cara.”
A soft snort sounded in reply. “Subtlety is overrated. Force, that’s where it’s at.”
Her response was forestalled by the arrival of the skinny bartender with the spiky hair, who seemed disappointed when all she ordered was two coffees. He trudged away with an expression that suggested someone had hurt his favorite pet. “What’s his deal?”
Cara’s tone turned gossipy. “Well, his girlfriend left him, and he’s not sure he wants to stay in Pittsburgh anymore.”
Diana shifted position to watch the door. “You’ve gotten pretty personal with the bartender. How long have you been here, anyway?”
“Please. He told me that in the first five minutes. I think he’s on a quest for moral support rather than tips at the moment.”
“Then it’s good you’re the one at the bar. I don’t do emotional counseling so well.”
“It’s not my strong suit either. I prefer shooting my problems.”
She smothered a laugh. “That’s probably not an appropriate way to deal with romantic entanglements.”
Cara’s voice held the satisfaction that came with having successfully set someone up for a punch line. “It’s worked so far.”
Diana groaned as two things happened at once. The morose server dropped the coffees off, and the revolving door spun. She blinked, and her glasses performed their cyber wizardry to confirm that the tall man who strode into the lobby was detective Tony Ryan. He seemed average in most respects—neither fat nor thin, neither muscled nor weak, with nothing distinguishing about his facial features aside from the bushy hair that crowned his lip. It was a solid patch of ebony and seemed a natural progression from the man’s dark skin. Cara’s voice whispered in her ear. “I bet he grooms that mustache for at least an hour a day.”
She didn’t reply and instead, stood as the man approached. “Detective Ryan, I’m Diana.”
He took the outstretched hand and gave it a shake—neither hard nor soft—and replied, “Tony.” His heavy wool coat went over the back of the chair, and he gestured at the cup in front of him as he sat. She nodded, and he took a sip before he unwound the scarf from around his neck. “Thanks for the invitation—and the coffee.”
“Thanks for coming.”
He bared a set of perfectly white teeth in a grin. “When Tyson Samuels suggests I should do something, I tend to do that thing.”
Diana laughed. “He does have a way with people, doesn’t he? Let me guess, it went something like”—she dropped her voice and injected a dose of rasp into it—“‘Got an opportunity for you. Get your ass to Pittsburgh.’” Her gruff impersonation made him smile wider.
“Yeah, that’s about right.”
They shared another laugh that ended quickly, and his eagerness to get down to business was obvious in his body posture. She was happy to leave small talk behind as well. “So, before we start, I need your word that what we speak about will remain only between the two of us, plus Samuels, if you require an outside opinion. He told me your word is gold.”
Tony nodded. “I work hard to make it so. And you have my promise.”
The bartender returned to refill their cups, and Tony thanked him. His immobile frown seemed impervious to social niceties. The detective’s face showed he’d noticed, and Diana gave him the short version. “Bad breakup. He’s down. If we're lucky, he’ll stay away for a while.” The last was for Cara, who she hoped would distract the boy while they talked.
Diana set her phone on the table and activated the comm jamming app. It would block most signals in the lobby other than the encrypted comms she and her partner wore. “I’m not sure what Tyson told you, but I’ll go through the broad strokes quickly. ARES is an off-the-books op, with oversight that goes all the way to the White House.”
She took a drink to soothe her throat.
Stupid winter.
“We have identified Pittsburgh as a growing hotspot for magical trouble, so we’re establishing an office here. We need someone who has good investigative skills, knows the city, and can also kick ass. Samuels says you fit the bill.”
Tony nodded and seemed to display clear confidence that he met all areas of the description.
“Right now, there's only me and one other on the team.
And a troll. And a dog.
“Once you’re on board, we expect to continue growing aggressively, both in the number of agents and support staff. We have a good location in the downtown, and it’s mostly finished, finally.”
He took her pause as an invitation to ask questions. “Is the new Ultramax part of your group?”
“It is. We'll claim it’s identical to the other one in town and not as big an eyesore, but it does actually belong to us.”
“I read that there are ongoing transfers in from around the country.”
Diana rolled her eyes. “That wasn’t actually intended for public consumption yet. When we think someone is relevant to the work we do, they're brought here so we can keep a closer eye on them. My team doesn’t run it, but we'll act in support when needed. In practice, there will probably be a fair amount of interaction.”
He nodded again. “What kind of ass-kicking do you expect to do?”
She grinned. “If it’s weird, then it’s us,” she responded and smiled at his chuckle. “Seriously, though, if it involves magic, it falls under our mandate to either investigate or deal with.”
“Budget?”
“Not bad and getting better. We’ll run lean for a while, but you won’t have to take a pay cut or anything.”
He took another drink and leaned his long form back in the chair to stick his legs out the side. “Upward potential?”
She shrugged. “That would be more appropriately answered by the next higher layer of authority, but with the level of expansion ARES has planned, talented people
will be needed. It’s reasonable to think that if you have the skills, you’d have a good shot at one of those posts. But that’s not a promise, merely an observation.”
He sighed. “I do have a soft spot in my heart for Pittsburgh, and it is way too cold on the lake in Cleveland.”
“So, I take it you’re still interested.”
He nodded.
“Then I have a couple of questions for you. First, what kinds of magic have you come up against so far?”
“When I was here in Pittsburgh, I saw it creep in at the edges of some of my cases. Nothing definitive, only suspicions about what might be going on at the root of certain situations. I’ve never actually had to confront a magic user.”
Diana sipped her coffee and waited.
“In the military police, we had one guy who joined in ROTC and made his way up to active duty, then started using mental powers of some kind to steal stuff. The trouble is, magic doesn’t make you smarter than any other chucklehead, and he screwed up when he tried to mess with the mind of his fence’s girlfriend.” Diana’s eyes widened.
Not a good idea.
“It turns out he hadn’t locked in as much control of the man as he thought and was shot while he tried to seduce her. We investigated, put the pieces together, and apprehended him while he was still in the hospital.”
Diana recalled her own recent public capture attempt. “That seems like a dangerous play.”
He shrugged. “We borrowed some intelligence types and had them dress up as doctors and nurses. He twigged to one, but the others had him sedated before he caught on that everyone in the room was a plant.”
“Nice. Your idea?”
Tony nodded stoically. His lips never twitched. He stated a fact, but if he was prideful, he hid it well.
“Okay, next question. Why homicide?”
“I’m always looking for a new challenge, I guess.” He shrugged. “Plus, I have a thing against people who are psycho enough to believe they have the right to take someone else’s existence away from them.”
“So, you’re softhearted?”
He laughed. “My ex-wife would certainly argue against that sentiment. No, I simply think that sort of action should be confined to those who opt in, not the innocents on the periphery. I was a big fan of The Wire, you know? It’s like Omar says. You only mess with those in the game.”
Federal Agents of Magic Boxed Set Page 27