Federal Agents of Magic Boxed Set

by T. R. Cameron

  Her flashlight was on the belt, as was the thin tube for captured enemy wands. Zip-ties and magic-detecting shock cuffs rested in their own pouches. The comm repeater and remote-computer-gizmo filled out the rest of the slots, except for two magazine containers and two grenade holders. She put pepper in one and sonic in the other. The strap on her leg received two flashbangs.

  The final container was filled with weapons. Diana retrieved her set, again packed into custom foam cutouts. She checked her carbine and slid home a magazine loaded with standard ammunition. The blue-striped ones filled with anti-magic bullets went into the slots on her vest, and she slipped an extra set of standard ammo into its holder on her belt. Her Glock received one of the blue-striped mags, and she secured the pistol in her holster. The remaining three magazines, two standard and one containing special presents for enemy magicals, slotted into the few empty places on chest and belt.

  She raised her backup revolver and opened the cylinder to ensure it was properly loaded with blue-dotted rounds. It was, and she closed it and stored it in its holster. Finally, she pulled out the large Bowie knife and held it up to the light to admire its edge. She bent her arm back and slid it up into its sheath, giving it the extra push needed to secure it into the grippers so it wouldn’t slide free without an effort. The act of arming herself was mind-cleansing, and as always, she emerged from the process with more clarity than she entered it with.

  She turned to face her team, who had grown quiet as they readied their own weapons and perhaps traversed the same mental steps that she did. They felt her gaze and faced her, one after the other, until the only sound was the shuddered vibration of the airplane’s descent. “I want you all to remember something tonight. Your survival is every bit as important as the mission. Prioritize it. I’m not saying you should hide from a fight, that’s not what we’re about. But we can rely on AET and SWAT for support. We don’t need any particular heroics from anyone at this moment.”

  They nodded, and she stared at them for a couple of moments more. “I’m not kidding.”

  Tony was the first to break into laughter, and Anik and Cara followed. The former detective patted her on the shoulder as he headed toward the front of the plane. “Very inspirational, boss. Such leadership. Much wow.” Diana groaned and grabbed his hand to apply leverage and bring him back near the open cases. “Ow, ow, ow.”

  “You, sir, are a chucklehead. As such, you get to stow the crates. The other two can help. And don’t forget your damn masks.”

  She snagged her own headgear from the pile. The fabric would show only their eyes, which would be covered by their glasses and so leave the enemy with no clues to their identity and hopefully preserve the secret of their inside information. Diana strode forward and buckled herself into a seat near the loadmaster so she could at least have a few moments of peace. Those three can sit together and annoy one another for a change. It serves them right.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The plane bounced once as it touched the tarmac, then rolled quickly to taxi speed. The team unbuckled immediately and got into the two rearmost SUVs, Diana behind the wheel of one with Anik by her side, and Cara driving the other. When the transport stopped, the loadmaster triggered the rear ramp and waved them out as soon as it was down.

  She reversed, turned, and sped down the auxiliary runway toward the gate at the end. The Air Force cleared the path for them and swung the barrier open as they approached. Friday whispered directions in her ear as she drove, and Diana spent the intervening moments setting plans for the action to come. “Kayleigh, do you receive vitals from all of us?”

  The tech sounded harried. “Yes. The signals from you and Cara are the best. The sensors in the tunics are not as effective as the ones in the collars, plus your AIs are doing some processing locally.”

  “Okay. Is that a problem?”

  “No, sorry. TMI. It’s all good.” The tech sighed. “It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to give you drone coverage. I’ve been trying to link up with AET’s systems, but they’re not willing to grant me full access and the crap connection they have given me is the next best thing to useless.”

  Diana laughed. “Let’s hear it for inter-agency collaboration, right?”

  The tech grunted dismissively. “I probably wouldn’t want to let them into our computers either, but honestly, it’s a messed up choice at this point.”

  “It’s okay, Kayleigh. Chill. This is merely another mission.”

  “You know, it seems like that, but it also doesn’t seem like that. I have a bad feeling here. There’s something that’s not right.”

  “I have that too. But the only way out is through. So I guess the question is, what can you do from there?”

  She blew out a sigh. “Okay, here’s what I have. I can watch your vitals, all good. I can keep you connected by comms to the other groups, also good. I’m setting that up locally for you, rather than routing the signal through here, so there should be no delay. That’s easy stuff.” The sound of keys clicking continued as the tech worked her systems. “No drones, because the AET techs are assholes.” She paused and exhaled another sigh.

  “Fine, yes, they’re only doing their jobs. I get it. Okay. I’ve gone over the highway cams on the turnpike, and I think I may have spotted them. I can’t be sure, of course, but there are a couple of trucks that have shown similar patterns of behavior often enough that Alfred’s flagged them. He will keep an eye on them wherever he can, and if it develops into something, I’ll let you know.”

  Diana asked, “What about the stuff going on tonight. Any inspiration?”

  The tech sounded disgusted. “There’s actually a lot more things happening around town than the AET chick said in your call. But I think that the most likely options are Independence Hall, if they’re looking for a political statement, the Taylor Swift show if they’re looking for the easiest carnage since it’s an indoor venue, and the Phillies game if they’re only there to cause visible trouble.”

  “Alfred hasn’t come up with a priority list?”

  She barked a laugh. “No. He’s being a loser about it. Thirty-three percent each. He did ditch the K-Pop band, though.”

  The AI has good taste in music. “Why?”

  “His algorithms are fairly complicated, but if I had to summarize, it’s because the place is smaller and not in the city proper. There’s probably a reason that the witch specified Philadelphia and not Camden, right?”

  Diana shrugged. “It’s as solid a guess as any.”

  A crash filled the comm, and Cara interjected, “Is everyone all right there?”

  Kayleigh sounded disgusted. “A helmet prototype fell.”

  “Fell?”

  “Fell, was hurled across the room and then fell, whatever. It’s not important.”

  Diana kept her voice neutral despite the concern she felt for their brilliant technician. “Maybe the time has come for you and I to join a martial arts studio together. We can release a little pressure now and again. Some have suggested that I’m a little high-strung, and I could use a partner.”

  “I’m sure Rath would love to do that with you. It could be a bonding experience.”

  “Well, your other option would be talk therapy, I guess.”

  Another crash echoed through the channel. “Fine. I’ll go.”

  Cara asked, “Um, not to break into a tender moment, but what was that noise?”

  “Test 3D print of the helmet. It also fell, although it made it further than the other one.” The agents laughed, and Kayleigh finally gave in and joined them. She sounded more like herself as she apologized. “I’m sorry. I suppose the pressure is getting to me. I always had Emerson to look to for leadership, and now I don’t have anyone.”

  Diana groaned. “Thank you for the vote of confidence.”

  The tech’s sassy attitude returned. “You know what I meant. Not everything is about you.”

  Cara’s grin was apparent in her tone. “Now that’s the Kayleigh we all adore.
So, back to the issues of the moment, how can we help you to help us?”

  It took Diana a few moments to follow the phrasing. The tech got there first. “Well, it depends. If you’re in the AET HQ and you feel confrontational, you might try to convince them to give me drone access. If you’re there and you feel subversive, you could find an open cable port and hook up the computer block, or put it close enough to a server for wireless access. Assuming neither of those appeals, keep an eye out for ports to plug it into when you get wherever you’re going.”

  She nodded, even though Kayleigh couldn’t see her. “Got it, we’ll do what we can.”

  The connection was interrupted by a ping from Diana’s AI. “Go ahead, Friday.”

  “AET is requesting commlink.”

  “Grant it.”

  A moment later, Michaeli’s voice came over the line. “Divert to the stadium. We received a call that suspicious activity has been seen in the surrounding blocks. We’ll meet you there. It looks like we should arrive at about the same time. We’ll stage about a block away, to the south.”

  “Affirmative. Kayleigh, did you get that?”

  “Yep. I’m looking for cameras now. Stand by.”

  Anik, who’d listened in, nodded when she looked at him. Friday told her to turn, so she wrenched the wheel to the left, driving faster than was wise on the city streets she was navigating. With a curse, she slowed to an appropriate speed and got the car under control again. “When we get the damn mobile armory, it needs to be self-guided.”

  Cara laughed. “I like the when part, rather than if. And we could always find a new teammate who is a good fighter and a good driver, unlike you. You know, someone more like me.”

  “We already have one witch on wheels. We don’t need another.”

  The other woman tsked. “Diana, you shouldn’t put yourself down like that.” Kayleigh’s laughter was salt in the wicked wound.

  There’s too many of them. I can never win at this rate. So it’s time to stop playing fair. She grinned. “Okay, this round goes to you. My vengeance will be sudden and brutal.” Then she made another turn and saw the AET mobile command ahead. “Let’s put that thought on pause for the moment. Time to go to work.”

  Kayleigh returned as they walked toward the AET post. “I’m into the traffic cameras in that section of town. It looks like we have a large enemy contingent, more than only the Pittsburgh crew.”

  Diana peered forward as if they might be visible if she tried hard enough. “That’s not a good sign.”

  “Definitely not. There are two groups, both on foot. Our friends are coming from the East, and the rest are inbound from the North.” The AET vehicle was parked to the south of the ballpark, between it and the football stadium. They’re right next to each other, like in Pittsburgh. I wonder who did it first. Michaeli stepped out of the truck and extended her hand, and Diana gripped it with a nod.

  The AET officer was calm but concerned. “Your tech informed mine that you know some of these assholes. Do you want ʼem?”

  Diana nodded. “We could use another foursome if you have them to spare.”

  “Can do. We’ve had people from SWAT training with us for a while. They can fill in the gaps.” She grabbed the walkie talkie clipped to her shoulder. “Send Team A out to join our new allies.”

  “Glam, what are the numbers like?”

  The tech’s response was immediate. “Somewhere between three to one and four to one odds against you. The other group is bigger, but Philly has more people so it’s about the same ratio.”

  “Okay. That works. Can we intercept them before they reach the park?”

  “Negative. They’ll get inside at least a minute before you get there. And that’s if you run.”

  Diana sighed, then let the worry go. “Okay. It’ll be what it’ll be.” Four AET troops ran up to stop beside her team, and she nodded. “We’re on our way. Friday, link the four comm sources nearest us into our network.” A chime announced that the task was complete. “Welcome, y’all. Time for our evening jog.” She led the way and covered the ground between their position and the stadium in a measured rush.

  The explosions and screams began as they jogged through the entrance on the first base side of the park. They shifted into an all-out sprint and reached the stairs leading down to the field in time to avoid being stopped by the panicked crowd fleeing to the exits. Groups of the enemy had already deployed on their side and in the outfield. I hope AET is moving fast, or we’ll be overrun. They reached the bottom and leapt over the low fence onto the field. She issued a brisk order. “Stop them from hurting the fans, whatever you have to do.”

  The AET officers dropped to one knee and aimed their rifles at their opponents. Diana’s team arced out to the left and right of them as they ran forward to avoid their firing lines. Anik’s footfalls were close behind her, and Cara and Tony were on the far side. They had agreed on the way in that taking care of the magicals would be their primary focus. Several of the rifle-wielding enemies fell, but shimmering shields appeared between the AET officers and their foes. They switched magazines quickly, no doubt to load in anti-magic bullets, and resumed their fire.

  As if they’d waited for that cue, their opponents ran in different directions and spread out to make them harder to engage in multiples. One of them ran into Diana’s path, and she caught him with a bolt of force that catapulted him ten feet away. Shit. I need to conserve my power. I was a little excited there. She reached out with her magic to steal a wand from a witch who faced in the other direction and chuckled until the wizard beside the woman twisted and sent a wash of fire at her.

  Diana cast a shield, and Anik stepped inside it for protection. The flames failed to penetrate and subsided quickly. The enemy’s strategy became obvious when they more or less stopped moving in unison, turned, and launched attacks at the four officers who still kneeled and fired. Magical assaults hit them first, each targeted by at least one foe and some by multiples. Auras glowed around them as their anti-magic deflectors absorbed the incoming energy. Bullets followed, but their heavy vests and helmets weathered the initial blows, and they continued their fusillade and reduced the enemy numbers with each volley. Damn. That’s some stone-cold discipline.

  Diana and Cara launched their own arcane assaults on the magicals and eliminated several before their adversaries realized they were under attack. Anti-magic barrages from Anik and Tony accounted for a few more. She had a moment to glance across the field to where the PDA, AET, and SWAT response proved effective against their group of attackers, too. Her attention quickly returned to her own battle and she deflected an incoming bolt of ice with a curved buckler to launch it back at her attacker. Her success brought a surge of accomplishment. All right. It looks like we have this.

  The thought had barely found life when the second wave of enemies appeared.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Cara was the first to see them, and after a quick yelp of surprise, she spoke calmly. “Enemies coming down from the mezzanine.” Diana looked up and saw them—witches and wizards and ordinary people with guns—marching down the stairs on both sides of the park to surround them. The criminals on the ground moved as the new participants appeared and dashed for the outfield, and were quickly bolstered by additional reinforcements from the northeast.

  Diana’s team and the AET force backed away from the newcomers and fired as they went until they were arrayed in a wide circle in the middle of the field, as far from the attackers as they could get without bunching up and making themselves vulnerable to a single attack. A gloating voice shouted loudly enough to be heard across the stadium from where she stood behind the plate.

  “It’s so good of you to join us, Philadelphia SWAT and AET. We put this little show together just for you, after all.” Diana exchanged glances with Cara, and the other woman nodded. She’d wondered where the lead witch from the Pittsburgh gang of Remembrance idiots was during the initial fight, and now she had her answer. Dammit. That should have
been a clue that something was up. Idiot. It meant that Sloan was probably somewhere nearby as well.

  As traps went, it wasn’t a bad one. The enemy had the advantage in both numbers and position, and as long as they kept their attacks angled downward, they were not in danger of crossfire injuries. Diana studied the park systematically, section by section, in search of any possibility to turn the tables but found none. Michaeli’s voice rang out from somewhere across the circle from her, possibly facing third base. “How about you all surrender now and we can end this before anyone else gets hurt?”

  Sarah laughed, a sound on the border between condescension and insanity that slid toward the latter at a rapid pace. “I’m afraid we’ll have to decline. Hurting you is the whole reason for this gathering. Any last words?” She paused, but the AET officer didn’t respond. “Very well. Goodbye.”

  She shrieked something Diana couldn’t make out and a wave of magical attacks emanated from all sides of the encircled officers and agents. A series of popping sounds was added to the noise of the assaults as anti-magic deflectors were consumed. Diana countered as many of the spells as she could, deflected some, shielded against others, and spun like a dervish to keep up with the ongoing strikes. She wracked her brain for a method to shield everyone at once and hoped to think of a way to bring them all into position for a counterattack but was distracted when Michaeli’s voice shouted over her comm.

  “Everybody drop—now, now, now!”

  Diana flung herself down as a loud buzzing filled the air. Large military-style drones swooped into the stadium over the outfield wall and fired stun blasts as they circled in a line around the venue, then whirled for another pass. The enemy that hadn’t been hit in the first barrage reacted quickly. Spells and bullets careened to intercept the flying vehicles and caused several to crash into the grandstands and onto the field. The remainder continued and lined up for the next strafing run.