by Michael Todd
“Our city?” Damian asked.
“Yes, here in Vegas,” Korbin affirmed. “It’s being held at one of the casinos near Center City. They have several ballrooms and several VIP areas, so they can accommodate a party like this while still staying open to the public. The thing is supposed to be black tie and very elite, and the politician will be there.”
“Is he planning something at this event?” Damian asked.
“We don’t know,” Korbin admitted. “I searched the intel database for the organization but came back with no hits, so we are going off the information from Charlotte. She tracked him down and watched him meet with some demons in suits, and picked up the invite off the table when they had left.”
“Are we sending her in?” Damian asked.
“No, I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Korbin replied. “She is brash, and her face is known to many people in the underground. I don’t think she could pull off something like this. They need to be sure she is rich and famous; that she belongs with the VIP’s. Charlotte—even dressed up—is a little out there, and I can see it backfiring on her. I don’t want to put her in any more danger than I already have.”
“What about Katie?” Damian asked. “No one knows her face, she is young, beautiful, cleans up nicely, and is capable of black ops like this with no problem. She could infiltrate the party easily, and once inside her demon would be able to point out not only the politician, but any other demon in the room.”
“Do you think we can trust her not to make a scene?” Korbin asked.
“She can restrain her demon,” Damian stated. “Especially if we point out the importance of staying undercover throughout this thing. Of course, if she has to engage she has to, but she knows that starting a war like that in the middle of a Las Vegas casino could be a complete and total nightmare.”
“That is an understatement.” Korbin laughed, leaning back in his chair. “We would lose many innocent lives, much less bringing national attention to what is going on. The less the innocents know, the safer they will be. They tend to turn on each other in times of strife; we have seen that pattern repeated throughout history.”
“Absolutely,” Damian agreed. “Honestly, I think she is the best person for the job. There aren’t many other people who have that kind of intel at the tips of their fingers. If she trusts her demon in this, then we should trust her judgment.”
“It’s not that I don’t have faith in Katie,” Korbin replied. “It’s that I don’t have faith in her demon. I worry that she has been bamboozled, and sending her into a place like this could be a complete and total trap. We want her to stay safe, but at the same time figure out what is going on.”
“And you are concerned that her demon might give her away,” Damian said. “It is definitely a risk, I won’t lie.”
“But is it an unnecessary risk?” Korbin asked.
“Personally, I believe the risk is smaller than you think,” Damian said. “This demon seems to want to stay here on this plane. Surely something that powerful knows that if Katie dies, she goes back to hell. I think that the demon will do anything it needs to do to keep her safe. I stand by the idea that if Katie trusts it, I trust Katie’s judgment. She has saved multiple lives since she got here, including mine and those of other members of this team. I think I owe it to her to have confidence in her choices. Ultimately, though, it is a risk, and in the end it is your call. I will stand by whatever choice you make.”
“This mission is close. So close that if we needed to, we could get there very quickly.” Korbin spoke aloud, more to himself than Damian.
“And we have the cooperation of the Feds,” Damian said. “They could stand by in case they were needed.”
“They could,” Korbin said, rising and walking over to the window.
He looked down into the training area, thinking about the other day when Katie was completely entranced for hours, moving through the motions with her staff. She didn’t waiver; just stayed the course, learning a new skill, trying to fight harder, faster, and more expertly than anyone else.
She truly wanted to be able to face anything that came her way.
She had been like that when she first got there, but at this point she had become a power house—a vital part of their team. Korbin couldn’t ignore that fact.
Being the leader was exhausting, trying to juggle what was best for the innocent with what was best for his team. In the end he would always pick the innocent, which was why they were there in the first place.
Still, he couldn’t help but worry about sending Katie into a situation that could get her killed without warning. If she found herself in a room filled with demons and her own demon betrayed her she would stand no chance, and there was no way that they could get there quickly enough to help her.
He would be sending the girl into the snake pit, not to mention forcing himself to have faith in a demon. It wasn’t what he wanted for her, or for anyone else. Korbin turned back to Damian and sighed, shaking his head.
Damian smiled. “It’s like being a father to your team but the caretaker of the world. You have to take care of the world, but you struggle to allow your children to run head-first into a burning building.”
“Yes,” Korbin agreed. “But unfortunately I can’t just sit by idly. I have to make a choice. We will send her in, and hope to God nothing terrible happens.”
19
Katie was sitting at the kitchen table, scanning through the different sections of the paper, looking for anything that seemed out of the ordinary. She did that every day, tracking strange killings, possible demon sightings, and interesting news about the rich and famous, who seemed to get richer by the day.
It was her own little reconnaissance. Something to keep her busy connecting different dots, and ultimately she hoped it would help clarify the bigger picture in some way, shape, or form.
She knew Derek had the website and Korbin had tons of informants as well as getting information from the higher-ups, but she couldn’t just stand by like a weapon they pointed in the correct direction at need, then patted her on the back when it was over.
She was more than that, and she wanted to make sure that when the time came Korbin saw that.
She could find things. She could do detective work; she showed that when she’d helped Calvin track Charlotte down. She wanted that to continue, so he would give her assignments beyond incursions.
She understood Korbin had reservations about her, and that he was nervous taking a chance on her demon in an uncontrolled situation. She wanted to make him feel comfortable in the fact that she had everything on track and under control.
Without missions other than ass-kickings, though, she was never going to convince him that her demon was not going to cause a huge problem—at least not with the other demons.
I don’t know why you care, Pandora wondered.
Ugh, get out of my thoughts, Katie grumped.
The fact that you could beat the pants off any demon or man should be enough for him to let it go, Pandora told her.
It would be just like you to say I should rule by fear, Katie chided. I don’t want my team to be afraid of me. I want them to trust me a hundred percent.
And most of them do, Pandora replied. So what is so important about Korbin?
He’s the leader of this group and the one who has to make the hard decisions, and I don’t want him to ever have to make that decision when it comes to me, Katie explained, looking down at her buzzing phone. He’s calling right now.
Pandora sighed. All right, answer away.
She put the phone to her ear. “Yes, boss?”
“Hey, are you busy?” Korbin asked.
“Nope,” Katie said, closing the paper.
“Will you come to my office? I have something to ask of you,” Korbin said.
“Sure, be right down,” she replied, pressing End.
Katie tidied her notes and headed downstairs, curious what Korbin wanted to talk to her about.
&nbs
p; She hadn’t made any waves recently. No random clawed hands, no crazy moves in training, no new cars, and there hadn’t been any incursions that she knew of.
Part of it made her nervous, like one day she would go down there and he would tell her that she was being transferred to research—or that he had to make the hard decision.
She didn’t want to become another statistic, so she had to keep her cool and keep Pandora locked down and on the same page with her.
“Hey there!” Korbin stood as she walked in. “Please take a seat.”
“Okay.” Katie smiled. “What can I do for you?”
“We got that intel from Charlotte we were looking for,” he started. “We know where the politician will be tonight.”
“That’s great.” Katie nodded, blowing out her breath. “Should we put a team together to snag him?”
“Actually, no. We know where he is going to be, and we don’t want to make this any more public than it has already become. We would like you to go in undercover and find out if the politician is a real problem or just someone in our way. There is a possibility that he is just a diversion, put there to lead us down the wrong path. We can’t take any chances, though, not when it comes to so many people. He will be attending a VIP party tonight, and we want you to go in like you belong and get the information from him discreetly but quickly. We don’t want to find out the hard way that there is something perched outside, just waiting to come in and do some real damage.”
“Right,” Katie agreed. “And what information are you looking for?”
“When the next attack will be, who is behind all this, and where he stands in the order of things,” Korbin listed.
“Do you want me to kill him?”
“No.” Korbin shook his head. “Leave him unharmed when you are done. We want to follow him; see where he ends up.”
Where he will end up, they can’t follow, Pandora remarked.
“All right, I’ll do it,” Katie told him.
“Good.” He smiled. “I’ll send the invite information to your email. And please be careful! We don’t know how many demons will be at this thing, hiding behind their humans.”
“Always careful,” Katie assured him, standing up. “It’s my middle name.”
“Right.” He chuckled.
Pandora sniffed. “Katie ‘Careful’ Maddison” has a horrible ring to it.
Katie left the office and headed back upstairs, excited about the opportunity. It was exactly what she had wanted; exactly what she had been hoping he would allow her to do.
She had finally gotten an undercover gig she was pretty sure she was going to kick ass at, but when she got to her room and pulled up the invitation her heart sank just a bit. The party was super-elite and super-fancy, and she was going to have to do some serious work to fit in with those people.
She had grown up poor. She had never been to an event like that in her life. The most expensive party she ever had gone to was her senior prom, and even then she had worn a hand-me-down dress and her mother’s shoes.
Don’t worry, Pandora told her. I got this. If you want to glam yourself up, you have come to the right place. I have been around during every pertinent fashion wave in history. I know timeless and classic like the back of my hand…and I know slutty and hot as well. Fortunately for you, you will need to be a very good mixture of both. You have a hot body and rocking cheekbones, and I have been working on the rest. I know exactly how to get us into this thing.
Why does that make me incredibly nervous? Katie wondered.
Because you know I will make you fabulous, and you are happy in your drab clothes, frumpy panties, and makeup-less face, Pandora replied. Because you know that I have it in me to make you desirable to the whole world, but you would rather sit around moping about killing demons.
You are a bitch, you know that?
I know, Pandora exclaimed happily. It’s one of my best attributes, actually. Well, that, and my seduction abilities.
Katie climbed into her car, and put the top down, making sure her hair was securely tied back. She hated shopping even more than she hated gorging herself on food.
She never knew what to buy. She didn’t feel comfortable in the trendy clothes, and salespeople always tried to get her to wear low-cut shirts and skimpy skirts that barely covered her ass.
She had never been that kind of girl, even in her non-Damned form. She liked to be comfortable, so if she couldn’t wear what she wanted she usually didn’t go to whatever event it was.
She also didn’t do Halloween, since it had just been an excuse for the girls in her college to be sluts and wear almost nothing. She just chilled, comfortable in her jeans, t-shirts, and recently spandex pants and flack vest.
Okay, tell me where you want me to go, Katie said.
Wherever you shop, Pandora replied.
Target?
Oh, for fuck’s sake. Pandora sighed. Go to the Strip. I saw a Neiman Marcus there, so we can start with that. They carry all the high-fashion designers, so we should be good.
Okie dokie. Katie turned off the 15 and onto Spring Mountain Road.
And stop saying that. No one with an ounce of class says “okie dokie,” Pandora snapped.
Yep, Katie replied with a smirk. Relax, I know how to talk to people. You just focus on the outward appearance.
Whatever, Pandora answered.
When they got to Neiman Marcus, Katie got out and handed her keys to the valet.
She was amazed at how differently she was treated when she pulled up in a car like hers.
She resented that, knowing how amazing a woman her mother was and that she didn’t get that kind of treatment because she didn’t drive a fancy car or go to fancy places.
She pushed the thought out of her head and walked inside, pretty much letting Pandora take over for this part. She tried on about twenty dresses, and fought Pandora on the final choice.
Eventually, though, she just gave in.
Afterward she purchased some very expensive make-up from their counter after the person spent an hour working on her face, telling her how best to apply their product. She bought some perfume, to boot.
By the time she was done shopping, her wallet was crying, even though she would be reimbursed since it was for a mission, and her arms were aching from carrying all the bags. It was incredibly annoying to have to do all that just so she could get in the door of an elite event.
Katie was pretty sure that if she lived that life all the time, she would go very few places. It was a huge hassle, and they hadn’t even gotten home yet.
When they did arrive back at the base, almost everyone was out for the day. Katie was very happy about that. She did not need the guys teasing her about getting all dolled up for this thing. She just wanted to get it over with. Originally she had been excited about it, but after realizing what kind of hell she was going to have to go through just to walk through the doors, she was starting to regret her decision to attempt to make Korbin trust her more.
Shit, she had been doing just fine.
All right, first you should take a shower, Pandora ordered. When you get out, I am going to take over so I can do your hair and makeup.
Fine, she grumped. Can I at least have a chair to sit down on?
Stop being a baby, Pandora snapped.
Katie showered quickly, shaving her legs and her armpits so that Pandora would stop yelling at her about the stubble.
Pandora argued, No one with an ounce of pride in themselves—and a Ferrari—will go out with stubble, and neither should you.
She climbed out and gave her body over to Pandora, just standing there as the demon took care of her body, tweezing her brows and otherwise abusing it.
When that was done, she put on the silk robe she had bought that day and let Pandora blow-dry her hair and then set it in large Velcro curlers.
When Pandora was done with that, Katie grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge in her room and took control back for just a minute.
Now we make your face a bit more presentable.
Katie pouted. “Why do you have to make it sound like I am some hideous beast?
Oh, shut up, Pandora told her. You know you aren’t hurt by my comments.
You’re right. Katie shrugged. Let’s just get this over with.
Katie grabbed the bag of makeup and walked back into the bathroom, unloading everything and lining it up on the counter.
She had no idea what some of the pieces were for. It was looking more like a medieval torture chamber than a girl’s bathroom. Katie took a deep breath and let Pandora take over, standing there watching as she blotted different creams all over her face. When she was done with that and her face had dried, Pandora applied the concealer, sponging it on very carefully.
This stuff is awesome, Pandora said. Makeup was not this good last time I was here.
Great, Katie replied. I’ll send a fax to the manufacturer to tell them their makeup has a demon queen from hell’s seal of approval.
You know, you can be a real bitch.
This time it was Katie who kept quiet.
When Pandora was done with the foundation, she ran a brown pencil over Katie’s eyebrows and applied dark colors to her lids, just like the smoky-eye look Katie had seen in the magazines a hundred times. Pandora really was quite good at makeup. When it was time for her eyeliner, one eye went perfectly but Pandora accidently jabbed the pencil in her other eye.
Ouch! Katie shrieked. For fuck’s sake!
Sorry. I am doing someone else’s makeup from inside their body. The depth perception is pretty strange.
God, why do I have to wear makeup? Katie complained, wiping at her eye. You looked good without makeup when I first saw you.
Yes, I did, Pandora affirmed. And if you would let me change your body, so would you.
Kate sat there for a moment, waiting for Pandora to fix the eyeliner and finish up the second eye. When she was done Katie took her body back, exasperating Pandora.
How am I supposed to finish this if you keep taking over? Pandora growled.