The Unbelievable Mr Brownstone Omnibus 3

by Michael Anderle

  Symbiont terminated, Whispy reported.

  James marched over to the bisected Destroyer and repeated the process, starting with the top piece. A few seconds after the destruction of the upper armor, the lower armor sizzled and disappeared even though James had yet to touch it. The third Destroyer soon joined his friends.

  A pulse of energy blasted from the remaining regenerating survivor.

  What the hell was that? James asked.

  Hyperspace transmission detected, Whispy explained.

  James grunted. Great. More Vax to kill.

  All active symbionts terminated, Whispy explained, beaming with near euphoria. Primary directive achieved.

  James grunted and surveyed the smoke- and crater-filled post-apocalyptic wasteland that had once been a baseball field.

  Achieved for now, James replied. Didn’t that guy just call for help?

  Data acquired from Purifier symbiont suggests scenario unlikely.

  James looked at the body.

  Can you tell what he said in the message?

  Status report indicating termination of Purifier and Destroyers and unusual Forerunner capabilities.

  James smirked. The fucker had known he was going to lose. His helmet retracted, and he threw back his head and roared in victory. Now the entire galaxy knew you didn’t fuck with the Granite Ghost.

  27

  Senator Johnston smiled through the communications window at the blue-skinned alien commanding the Alliance fleet. The vimana could use a few more comfortable seats, rather than the control center looking more like the middle of an ancient temple, but it wasn’t bad for his first trip into space, and it had accomplished exactly what he needed.

  “Let me ask you this, Commander: do you know what’s happening right now on the surface? I wasn’t sure since we have an illusion blocking everything from above.”

  Commander Laralan nodded slowly. He swiped in the air, dismissing a holographic display to his side. “We’ve got a link to ground assets. We’ve been following the…progress of the incident.”

  “Excellent. Then I won’t have to waste a lot of time explaining things.” Senator Johnston shrugged. “There’s no reason to continue your little mission now, is there? Our boy just killed not one but five Vax, and it didn’t seem like he had to break much of a sweat during that last part.”

  Commander Laralan shook his head. “No, he didn’t, but don’t you understand the implication of that? A single Forerunner defeated a Purifier and four Destroyers with ease. That creature is the single most powerful Vax in existence.”

  “I’ll take your word for that, but I think that is fortunate for Earth and Oriceran.” Senator Johnston shrugged. “Here’s the thing. If he just pulled that off, it might not be possible for you to beat Brownstone at this point, even if you turn all of Southern California into a radioactive field.” He shook his head. “There’s one important thing I learned a while ago about James Brownstone. Do you know what that is?”

  “That he’s powerful?”

  Senator Johnston scoffed. “No. Everyone knows that about him. No, it’s about how he uses that power. Many people one-tenth as strong as him would feel like they have a right to go around causing trouble, but he doesn’t. He wants to mind his own business, but people keep poking him in the eye because they’re afraid of him. They’re bringing the trouble on themselves, including the bounties he goes after.”

  “All power is abused eventually,” Commander Laralan replied, his tone acidic. “I know enough about human culture to know you believe that as well.”

  “I’m an American. I believe in checks and balances, and you see, Mr. Brownstone does have his own kind of checks and balances. Moral and ethical checks, even if they’re of a violent sort.”

  Senator Johnston pointed at Laralan. “It’s simple, Commander. Damned simple. If you don’t want James Brownstone to come after you, leave him alone. First, the criminals learned that. Then the Drow learned that. The Council learned that, and it took a while, but even the government learned that, and we’re about the slowest bastards out there when it comes learning a lesson.”

  A triumphant smile spread over his face. “Today that lesson’s been passed on to the Vax, and you have to ask yourself: if you have trouble beating the Vax, why would you go after a man who can beat the Vax and just wants to be left alone to play with his dog and cook barbeque?”

  Commander Laralan averted his eyes. “If Brownstone ends up turning on you, by the time you ask for our help, it might be too late.”

  “Then we’ll always make sure that Mr. Brownstone is drowning in barbeque and few annoyances. The whole reason for your little fleet trip was to take down the hostile Vax. Mr. Jakim already informed me that the Alliance would tolerate Brownstone, so are you ready to lose your fleet to take down a man who has never attacked anyone who didn’t have it coming or came after him first, including your people?”

  The seconds ticked by, the commander’s face hardening with each. “Withdraw your people, and I’ll withdraw my fleet.”

  Senator Johnston clapped once. “Excellent. Just in case you get any ideas, keep in mind we can get those forces back to your ships in an instant, or we can just throw a bomb right through. The only reason for all the elaborate boarding parties was because we were trying not to kill anyone we didn’t have to.”

  Commander Laralan chuckled ruefully. “I appreciate your forbearance.”

  The senator nodded over his shoulder at an aide, and the man murmured quietly into his watch. A moment later, portals re-opened in the command centers of the Alliance ships, and the boarding parties retreated back to a lower level of the vimana, their deadly nuclear devices in tow.

  “This day might go down in Earth and Oriceran history as the day you made the greatest mistake ever,” Commander Laralan suggested. “It could mark the beginning of the end.”

  Senator Johnston offered him a giddy grin. “No, it won’t. As far as most of the planet’s concerned, there was an artifact that was dangerous, and soon they’ll believe it was handled.”

  Commander Laralan chuckled. “I can’t decide if humanity is brave or foolish.”

  “We’re both.”

  The Vax First scoffed. “Impossible! The Purifier and the Destroyers defeated?”

  The servitor nodded. “The Forerunner demonstrated unusual power and abilities not known to be associated with any previous Forerunners, Vanguard, Destroyers, or Purifiers.”

  The First folded his hands behind his back and turned away from the other man, staring off into the distance from the stone ledge that lay outside the temple. He took in the mountains around him. A thin metal railing kept him safe from the stiff winds. “Prophecy.”

  “Prophecy?”

  “All Firsts must study the prophecies, but few others are allowed to.” The Vax leader’s yellow eyes lowered as he watched a large bird flying close to the ground below. “The prophecies are mostly heretic nonsense worthy of no attention—reflections of the imperfect understanding of fools who would doom our people to extinction by pushing us away from the Culling Path—but one such prophecy suggests that we must turn from the Culling Path at the right time, and only that time, to avoid certain doom.”

  The servitor furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”

  “Conflict comes from impurity,” the First intoned. “Purity breeds strength, and strength will protect the Vax. But what happens when we’re not strong enough?”

  “You speak of the Heretic Child?”

  The First nodded. “Yes. How many know of his defeat of the bonded?”

  “A small number, per your instructions, First,” the servitor responded. “Me, you, and two others.” He rattled off their names.

  “I see.”

  The servitor nodded. “And the Heretic Child? Should we send more Destroyers?”

  “No. His planet will be marked as culled. No one will worry about sending other forces there. We cannot risk drawing his attention to our world. The Culling Path exists to pr
otect our people, not doom them.”

  The servitor frowned and shook his head. “You speak of lies. You speak of heresy. The Culling Path can’t be supported by hiding from one’s enemies. We already know this. If the people learn of this, there will be outrage.”

  “Of course.” The First placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder and guided him toward the railing. “If the truth became known, others might question our path, and now more than anything, we need to consider the safety of our people.”

  “I don’t understand. You don’t intend to lie about the Heretic Child, then?”

  The First nodded. “My duty is always to the Vax people, and our survival.”

  The bewilderment deepened on the servitor’s face. “I’m still confused.”

  “Meaning we must do everything we can to avoid bringing the Heretic Child to us, and that includes sending more bonded to be destroyed.” The First gestured toward the mountains. “The wind and rain will consume the mountains with enough time. No, we will deviate from the Culling Path and save the Vax people.”

  The servitor glared at him. “Your words disappoint me, First. The Path comes before everything.”

  The First sighed. “Yes, and you’ve been a loyal man throughout your years of service to me. I appreciate your faith and loyalty.”

  “Then don’t make me do this. I beg you.” The servitor shook his head. “Don’t make me become a heretic.”

  “I won’t,” the First replied, stepping away from the other man. “That’s the last thing I would ever ask of you.”

  The servitor let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, First.”

  “Thank you for your service.” The First shoved the man over the railing, his cool gaze following the screaming man as he fell to his death. “Conflict comes from impurity, but strength can’t always save the Vax. We shall forever avoid the Heretic Child and his world.”

  28

  James yawned and stretched as he leaned back in his recliner. It was good to be back in his own home, and even better that Shay was there with him. They’d had a good, if exhausting, time celebrating the night before, and he planned to dash over to the School of Necessary Magic some weekend soon to spend some time with Alison.

  Thomas was slumbering beside James’ chair. A man with a wonderful wife, a daughter, and a dog didn’t need much else. He was still working on the first part, but it would only be a few months before the statement applied to him.

  Shay sat on the couch, her attention focused on the guest James had welcomed: Senator Johnston.

  The politician smiled and headed to the other end of the couch to take a seat. “I know I already thanked you, but I wanted to key you in on a few things since it’s been several days since the incident.

  “The evacuation order is being rescinded tomorrow, and people will start coming back to town. There are going to be some questions, so we should get our stories straight on that, unless…” His smile faltered. “No one would blame you, son, if you wanted to be known as the man who saved the world.”

  James snorted. “Fuck that noise.”

  The senator raised an amused eyebrow. “Oh?”

  “It’s bad enough now with all the fangirls and autographs and fucking news reporters always wanting to interview me.” James shook his head. “If the truth got out, I’d have to go move to some fucking cabin in the mountains if I ever wanted peace and quiet.”

  Senator Johnston laughed. “Well, now, that’s good to hear. It makes things a lot simpler for everyone.”

  Shay scoffed. “Does it? Look, I’m not saying I’m crying about USC getting half blown up. If anything, my department head will be happy since he keeps worrying they’re gonna poach me, but it’s very obvious a battle took place there and in the surrounding area.”

  “People see what you tell them to see,” Senator Johnston explained. “It’s how magic was concealed for such a long time, and we’ve already conditioned the public to see what we want them to see.”

  James frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “We’re not going to claim nothing happened,” Senator Johnston replied. “We’re going to claim partial release of the artifact’s energy. Yes, billions of dollars of damage have been done, along with the disruption that evacuating one of the major cities in the US caused, but we’ll throw some money at it and form blue-ribbon committees—that kind of thing. We’ve already got a few people who have agreed to retire from certain government and military positions as sacrificial lambs over the fake artifact that was allegedly lost. Don’t worry, though. We’ve got them set up for life, and we’re going to be managing the media to make sure their names are mostly kept out of it.”

  Shay crossed her arms. “So, wait, your official story is that Broken Wand did go off?”

  “Partially.” Senator Johnston grinned. “Our story is that it started releasing energy, which damaged the city, but the government teams, in conjunction with the Oricerans, neutralized it.”

  “And the Oricerans are on board with this lie?”

  Senator Johnston laughed. “Miss Carson, they were just as happy to spend thousands of years lying about magic. It’s not like the Oricerans have any particular obsession with public truth. Besides, the best lies are always based on an element of truth. We thought about trying to bring in a bunch of mages to do repair spells, that sort of thing, but if we did, there would always be something off, and some clue left to follow. Leaving a trail of destruction doesn’t do that.”

  James grunted. “A bunch of blown-up buildings doesn’t leave clues to follow?”

  “You use clues to solve a mystery, but we already gave them the answer. Simple as that. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, there was no alien invasion. There are no such things as powerful aliens with technology that can humble even magic. This was just an unfortunate magical artifact incident that caused a lot of damage, but didn’t cost lives.” Senator Johnston shrugged.

  Shay laughed. “You sons of bitches are going to pull it off, aren’t you?”

  “We are pretty good at hiding what we need. Very few people have stumbled onto the truth about aliens despite intense interest. You’re an unusual woman, Miss Carson. You care about the truth. Most people only care about life being easy.”

  James cleared his throat. “There’s one thing I still don’t get, and I don’t like not knowing the answer.”

  “What’s that, son?” the senator asked.

  “After I took down the Purifier, there was a big spike of magic in the area. That magic let me become stronger near the end.” James looked down at his hands, remembering the sensation. “Yeah, I’ve spent a lot of time working with Whispy, and he’s done his thing, but it wasn’t like normal background magic. I tried again the other day, and I couldn’t pull it off.”

  Senator Johnston glanced at Shay. “You didn’t tell him yet?”

  James frowned. “Tell me what?”

  Shay grinned and whistled not-so-innocently. “I wanted to give him a few days to let it all sink in.”

  “What did you do?”

  Senator Johnston leaned forward, amusement on his face. “Ah, well, I’ll explain then. Although we had confidence in you, we also worried that, depending on the strength of the Vax, you might not be able to win. We also had intelligence from the Shepherd that additional forces might appear, which made us even more worried, so we decided we needed to help you out.”

  James nodded slowly. “But how?”

  “Miss Carson made it clear to us that you could take advantage of magical power. We already had several large units of magicals on standby in case you lost, along with a few other choice…toys, but instead of using the magicals to attack, we asked them to flood the area with as much pure magical power as they could.”

  Senator Johnston scratched his chin. “I’m not all that clear on the magic used, but my understanding is, their ritual allowed them to temporarily raise the level of magic in your general area so your little chest friend could take advantage of it.”
>
  Shay smiled. “I couldn’t be there to fight, but I could still help you, and I figured this wasn’t the time to not go all in.”

  “Huh,” James replied. “It’ll be hard for me to pull that off again then without some huge-ass group of magicals helping me.”

  “Yes, about that.” Senator Johnston sighed. “We’re considering that a useful lesson of this particular incident. Everyone’s grateful, son, but that doesn’t change the fact that a lot of them are also scared, and given that the Purifier was able to stop an attempt to send him to the World in Between, many of those same people feel we have no real defense against you if you go rogue.”

  James put up his footrest. “Everyone’s always fucking with me for something I might do. I don’t go looking for trouble. The Harriken would still be around if they had figured that shit out sooner rather than later.”

  “I’m not saying I agree with any of those thoughts. I’ve bet on you from the beginning, and I’ve been right the entire time, but it helps others if they feel like they’ve got things under control.”

  Shay rolled her eyes. “What would it take for the government to feel like they have things under control?”

  “We’ve got this document for him to sign,” explained Senator Johnston. “A kind of contract. Of course, he can read it and whatnot, but the summary version is that he agrees to limit the full use of his power without the explicit permission of the US government.”

  James frowned. “What do you mean, ‘my full power?’”

  “Keep it to what you were capable of before this latest incident, and things will be fine. We understand you’ve got to make a living, but the problem is…” Senator Johnston took a deep breath. “It’s not just the Alliance we’ve got to worry about. We’ve tried to keep things relatively under wraps, but the Chinese and the Russians are at least somewhat aware of the truth.”

  “So what?” Shay asked. “They’re pissed that James stopped an alien invasion?”