Federal Agents of Magic Boxed Set

by T. R. Cameron

  She chuckled. “Honestly, how do you find the time to watch all these movies?”

  He laughed. “Sleep mostly optional. It’s good to be a troll.”

  A somber expression replaced her grin as they reached the boundary of the plot the home stood on, marked by a neatly trimmed lawn surrounded by an ornate stone border. “Friday, scan for alarms.” The AI communicated with the drone above and superimposed a white electrical map on her glasses. The house itself was clearly wired, with a pulsing dot at each door and window, but the only exterior devices were motion detectors at the corners of the roof. She tapped the corner of the frames to magnify the view and saw the sensors attached to impressively large floodlights. That’s probably standard issue for the neighborhood, given the property values.

  “Stark and Khan, you’re on overwatch. One of you cover front and a side, the other cover back and the other side. Stay in the shadows. Remaining undetected is more important than speed. Glam, more drones if you can get them and create a perimeter in case help rolls in.” She received affirmatives and the others moved off. “Friday, are you able to plot the motion detectors?” There was a delay before lines appeared in her glasses. A lane existed that shouldn’t set off the sensors. They could move through this as long as they were extremely slow and careful. She crept forward and remained close to the ground, and Cara and Rath followed a step behind.

  They reached a low window on the first floor and Diana extended the fiber-optic camera from her sleeve to look inside. It was empty, a small den of some kind by the looks of the large chairs and narrow sofa, but the drink on the end table still full of ice suggested recent use. The electrical pulse of the sensor was vivid yellow in her display, superimposed on the upper sill of the window. She raised the square computer device Kayleigh had added to their kits some time before and held it near the electronic alarm.

  The tech spoke almost as soon as Diana’s hand stopped moving. “I’m accessing the system now. They have pathetic security. Stand by.” There was a pause followed by muttered words that were too low hear. “Okay, I’m in. I have the remotes locked out of the main alarm computer, but they’ll think they’re getting through because I spoofed the signal.” When there was no immediate reply, Kayleigh sighed. “I did a considerable amount of awesome stuff that y’all don’t understand because you’re trapped in the last century. Go when ready.”

  Diana exchanged grins with Cara, who also loved doing things to frustrate the blonde genius, and used her telekinesis to flip the latch and raise the window without a sound. She vaulted up and climbed in, followed quickly by the others. A finger to her lips communicated the need to remain silent, and she pointed at the open door leading out before she moved toward it.

  She extended the camera again and discovered a long hallway to the left. To the right was the foyer at the front door, and the entrance to another room lay directly across from them. Voices emanated from it, and she scowled as the heat map in her glasses revealed two people walking into the chamber. She held a pair of fingers up, pointed first at Cara and then at herself, and moved when the other woman nodded.

  They slipped across the hall and through the opening together, keeping their steps light. The duo of hoodlums saw them as soon as they entered, but the agents had shock gloves at their necks before they could utter a sound and silenced their cries. Each lowered their twitching target gently to the floor, and Diana dragged hers out of the line of sight of the doorway. Cara did the same and stashed her opponent under a couch along the front wall. Rath had run in behind them and guarded the hallway access as they worked.

  The glasses’ infrared scan was limited and covered only about a dozen feet or so ahead, but it revealed four people in the next area who appeared to be seated at a table, judging by their positions. Diana led her team to the doorway that separated the room from the hallway and snaked the camera around to get a look inside. A book was perched at the top of a cabinet and she flicked it with her telekinesis. It fell with a bang that startled the occupants, and in the moment they all looked toward it, the three infiltrators skipped across the entryway unseen.

  Ahead was a staircase to the second floor, and beyond it and to the right, the kitchen area, where several more heat signatures resided. She turned and pointed up, then cocked her head to indicate it was a question. Cara nodded, and Rath agreed. They crept up the stairs and made it halfway before Diana realized her danger sense was prodding her. She’d moved so slowly that it had barely registered. Now, she stopped and looked around but saw nothing. She took another tentative step forward, and the metal band chilled on her wrist. Dammit.

  She turned and motioned Cara and Rath back and pointed to the illusion detection bracelet. They returned to the bottom of the stairs and huddled in the minimal cover. She took a deep breath, readied her magic for whatever might happen, and whispered, “What is hidden, let it be found.” A shimmering line appeared across the stairs, invisible to the naked eye but clear in her glasses, with another guarding every second step going up. Technological detector obscured by magic. That’s damn clever. Her respect for the Prince of Plunder increased. Then she remembered the name calling and put him right back in the scum category but with a notation that he was also smart.

  Diana waved for the others to follow again and climbed carefully over the traps. They reached the top floor and studied the four doors ahead of them. One led to a room with no heat signatures, two opened on areas with two body-shaped outlines in each, and a doubly large chamber contained three horizontal figures that seemed to be overlapped. Her brain put the information together and her stomach twisted at the idea of catching the man in bed with someone.

  Someones. Whatever. First things first. She pointed to herself and the nearest occupied room, then to Rath and Cara and to the second. They nodded and prepared to act.

  She thought through the moments ahead and decided the time for secrecy had passed. She whispered, “Stark, Khan, there are still a few on the main floor. Go in and go loud. We’ll wait until you enter to move. Guard the stairs in case the jerk decides to make a break for it again.”

  When they heard the doors slam open downstairs, they all burst into motion. Diana darted into the room in front of her and found two wands aimed at the doorway as if they were waiting for her. She yelled, “Trap,” and slid to her knees. Force blasts erupted loudly as they struck the wall on the other side of the staircase behind her. She pushed up and fired her own blast of force at the man on the right, but he spun gracefully away to dodge it and put the other enemy between them. A low dresser stood near his new position, and she gave it a telekinetic push to shove it into him and managed to knock the wizard to the floor.

  His partner launched another attack at her, and she sidestepped left to evade it. The move was barely in time to avoid the witch who burst through the drywall from the room beside this one, inches from where she stood. The woman crumpled against the far wall. Diana was momentarily stunned and distracted for an instant, which allowed the next force bolt to catch her and hurl her into a structural support behind her. She felt her ribs give, either broken or cracked, and slumped in an orange haze of agony.

  The man’s grin was huge in her vision as he shifted his wand toward her new position. She braced herself for the blast, but he spun away suddenly as gunfire sounded and bullets drove him bleeding to the floor. The mage she’d struck with the furniture attempted to stand, made it to his knees, and conjured a shield to protect himself. Cara stepped through the witch-sized hole in the wall and her anti-magic rounds punched through his defenses. Two struck his chest and the third embedded itself in his forehead. He toppled backward without a word.

  Diana tried to speak but couldn’t find her breath. Tears trickled from her eyes, and Cara knelt beside her to smoothly draw a healing potion out of her own utility belt. “Don’t panic, boss. We’ve got you.” Rath appeared, and she handed him the vial. “Make her drink this. All of this. I’ll end it.” Kayleigh must have been watching or listening in, or both, b
ecause a window popped open in her glasses to show the feed from Cara’s camera. The troll tipped the container against Diana’s lips and the liquid slipped down her throat. The magic surged through her and along her blood vessels to reach every part of her body, and she was finally able to breathe. She sipped to avoid choking as he fed her the potion a little at a time.

  Cara stepped into the far room and grimaced. The Pirate Prince leaned back against the headboard, his puffy shirt unbuttoned to reveal a wealth of jewelry around his neck. His arms encircled two women, both of whom were dressed like the one Diana had disabled earlier. Cara’s rifle appeared in the field of view as she raised it and spoke in a tone edged almost with a low growl. “Anti-magic bullets. Choose your next moves wisely, as they may be your last.”

  By the time Diana was able to move again with her ribs knitted back together and the wound on her arm sealed, her second in command had the trio handcuffed. The men reported from below that the downstairs area was clear, and she went in to view the bound enemy leader and gave him a nod. He returned it with something like mirth in his eyes. She looked at Cara with a question on her face, and the other woman shrugged. “Who the hell knows? He’s a kook.”

  Rath bounced into the room, raced over and jumped up on the bed, and claimed the man’s hat as his own. He put the floppy tricorne on and dashed through the doorway again. Diana shook her head with a laugh. “It seems kooks abound.”

  The Prince of Plunder spoke for the first time since her arrival. “I’ll want that hat back, after.”

  Cara turned with a scowl. “After what? After you serve a decade or so in the Cube for being a thieving firebug? Sure, we can do that.”

  He nodded. “After. Remember.”

  Diana stared at him, but he didn’t flinch and merely gazed back as if interested in her. Her second in command tapped her on the arm. “He’s a kook and an idiot. Let’s get out of here.”

  She followed the other woman but couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on, something she didn’t see the outlines of yet. Maybe I simply need a vacation. I wonder if BC likes the beach. Call it a work-cation. Yeah. That’d be good.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The team had taken a few days off after apprehending the Prince of Plunder, and even Diana had gotten some rest, pleading healing to avoid training with Nylotte. The Drow had admonished her to watch her energy and sent her home with a stern gaze that spoke clearly of her disappointment in Diana’s sense of self-preservation.

  Bryant had invited them all out for a meal when he passed through town on the way to DC, and the team had gathered at a downtown restaurant that specialized in barbecue. They sat at an indoor picnic table with a red-and-white checked cloth and drank local beers, laughed, and shared stories. Even Sloan had made it, although he wore an illusion necklace that Emerson had sent up in case someone wandered by who might wonder what the criminal Tommy Ketchum was up to with such an odd collection of people, not to mention a troll.

  The talk was light across most of the table and mainly centered on the food once it arrived. They’d ordered one of everything to share, and there were platters of brisket and three kinds of pork, plus an apple-infused sausage and jalapeño kielbasa. There were sides of mac and cheese, fries, baked beans, and collard greens, and they used paper plates and passed the food like they were in a backyard.

  The troll tasted a little of each as they came around to him and reported on whether they were acceptable to Diana. She laughed as he sampled the sausage and gave her a thumbs-up. “Rath, every single thing you’ve tried so far has been a winner.”

  He shrugged. “Is good. Must eat.”

  There was general laughter at that, and she tuned into a conversation that Tony and Cara were having. He said, “Look, just ask him.”

  Her second in command shook her head. “I won’t go over the boss like that.”

  “But it’s the right thing to do. You know it is.”

  Diana frowned and threw a wadded-up napkin at Cara and caught her on the side of the head. The woman turned, and Diana asked, “What is the right thing to do, exactly?”

  She rolled her eyes and looked at her conversation partner. “You’re an idiot, you know that?” He grinned, and she faced Diana again. “Tony thinks we need to tell Bryant you’re working too hard and he should make you take a vacation for a few more days.”

  Her frown turned to a scowl. Despite the fact that it was an excellent idea, she didn’t like her team talking about her behind her back. She pointed at Tony. “Shut up, you.”

  From the end of the table, Kayleigh yelled. “They’re right. You should totally go away for a couple of days. Far, far away. Hell, make it a week.”

  Diana banged her forehead gently on the table, once, twice, then a third time for luck, and looked at Bryant, who tried and utterly failed to contain his mirth. She glared at him, and he burst into laughter. “Shut up, you too.”

  He shook his head, regained control, and wiped his eyes. “You have some great people, Diana. And, actually, this isn’t entirely a pleasure stop.”

  She frowned. “No?”

  “No. You and I are wanted in DC. The committee requires a word with us. Apparently, they’ve been irked since the train incident but have put it off for some reason. Whatever that was, it must be all cleared up because we’re officially summoned.”

  “There’s nothing like waiting until the last minute to tell me, jerk.” She grinned as she said it, not at all unhappy with the idea of a trip to DC with Bryant.

  He took a delaying bite of brisket, followed by a long drink of his beer before he responded. “We were having a good time. I didn’t want to ruin it. If I had realized how excited everyone would be to get rid of you, though, I definitely would have said something sooner.”

  “Again, to clarify, you’re a jerk.”

  “So I’ve been told, mainly by you.”

  She grinned. “Well, I am an expert on your particular brand of jerkiness.”

  He grinned in return. “And yet you keep coming back for more. Why do you think that is?”

  Diana didn’t rise to the bait. Cara, who clearly had listened the entire time, jumped into the empty conversational space with a voice that carried across the entire room. “The boss is embarrassed to admit it, but she’s totally superficial, and you do have a nice ass.” There was a moment of shocked silence from the team before everyone burst into laughter except Diana, who was busy banging her head on the table again.

  Diana, Kayleigh, Bryant, and Rath were the last to leave the restaurant. Darkness had truly fallen, and she had the feeling that the regional SAC still wanted to talk, so she threw her keys to her human roommate. “Be gentle with my Mustang, woman, and make sure the short troublemaker buckles up.”

  The tech’s eyes sparkled before she spun and skipped away, the troll at her side. “Let’s go before she changes her mind. She never lets me drive.” There was a pause as Rath said something Diana couldn’t hear, then the blonde’s laughing voice carried to her. “I am not reckless. I am an excellent driver. That was the other person’s mistake. Both times.”

  Diana shook her head, and Bryant laughed. He asked, “What’s it like, living with those two?”

  She grinned. “Actually, it’s great. Rath enjoys having another friend around, there are more people to take care of Max, and I feel more secure knowing that her systems are watching the house. Plus, Kayleigh seems to enjoy the company. I get the feeling that she could be a hermit if someone didn’t push her out of her spaces every now and again.”

  He nodded. “That’s basically the reputation she had in DC—really hard worker, very focused, always at HQ. It’s good to see her flying a little freer up here.”

  They crossed the big street that ran alongside the river and stopped at the railing that overlooked the water. On the opposite shore, the moon hung almost perfectly over the baseball stadium. The lights were on, and they could vaguely hear the murmur of the crowd in the distance.

  Diana bumpe
d him gently as they stood side by side, looking out at the opposite shore. “What’s the deal, Bryant? You’re not really you, lately. Is it something I did or didn’t do?”

  “Nah.” He kept his gaze locked forward. “You’re good. I’m just…worried, I guess.”

  “About what?”

  He sighed. “About you. About your team. About the remains of the Hartford office. About everyone, honestly. I’m in charge, but I’m not actually able to do much other than run around and offer advice.” He exhaled another sigh. “To be honest, it’s as frustrating as hell.”

  She turned and leaned her back against the railing. A slightly taller person could put their elbows up on it and look really cool, but she rarely wore heels anymore since one never knew when trouble would break and so didn’t quite have the reach without them. She didn’t invade his privacy by looking at him directly but gazed at the city lights instead. “I can understand that. But you’re doing what you’re supposed to do. What we all need you to do. You’ll have to trust us to handle our stuff while you handle yours.”

  “That didn’t work out so well in Hartford.”

  Now she did look at him and saw the pain in his eyes. “Listen, dumbass. You know in your heart of hearts that nothing you could have done would have prevented that, short of future-telling or time-traveling. If you have those abilities, to hell with you for not sharing the winning lottery numbers.” That drew a pained laugh from him. “But otherwise, suck it up, Cinderella. Get out of your fantasies and back into the game.”

  He looked at her. “You’re a hard-ass sometimes, Sheen.”

  She laughed. “Only towards morons who need a kick in theirs, Bates.” She pointed ahead. “Up there is a really nice bar at the top of that tall building. What do you say we take a nice relaxing walk over there, have a drink or four, and catch a Lyft back to my place?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Diana, are you suggesting we should spend the night together?”