“Not yet,” I said. “We don’t have many left and I don’t see the shield rune. If you launch one here and the rune is on the other side, or even inside, the diffusion won’t take effect. We have to make sure.”
Bane was proudly gazing down at us from his safe perch. He was clearly enjoying his power play. What was it with bad guys? They start out taking candy from the dime store, move up to pick-pocketing and purse-snatching, get into the student loans industry so they can really screw people over, and finally end up standing atop a large structure with a flock of followers, thinking their own shit didn’t stink.
“Stay here,” I said, holding out my hand while I kept walking. Then I glanced back. “And be ready.”
They stopped.
“Lucien Bane,” I called out, as required by standard practice, “by the order of the Netherworld Retrievers, I, Piper Shaw, and these other officers, hereby place you under arrest, and we shall transport you back to the Netherworld and present you before the Tribunal for sentencing.”
He was nodding slowly, arms crossed.
“Do you have to say that every time?” he asked.
“Sadly,” I replied.
“Does it ever work?”
I shrugged. “Once in a blue moon.”
“You’d think that if it was more threatening, it might strike a little fear into your perpetrator,” he mused. “I mean, I know it’s not your fault that it doesn’t sound ominous, but if you are allowed to mix it up a little bit—while keeping the integrity of the legal side, of course—you might be able to get more surrenders.” He half-nodded. “Just a suggestion.”
“I…uh…” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Okay, well, thanks for that. I’ll be sure to bring it up at the next Retriever’s meeting.”
“Assuming you make it to the next Retriever’s meeting,” he said darkly. Then he paused and smiled again. “You see what I mean? That sounded ominous, right? That’s what I’m talking about. Put a little flair into it and it raises the little hairs on the back of the neck.”
Was this the same guy who was claiming to be descended from Thor? The same dude who demanded sacrifice from his flock and who took Susan’s life to enhance himself?
“You are Lucien Bane, right?” I questioned, squinting at him.
“Yes, why would you…?” He stopped and started to chuckle. “Oh, right. You heard me speaking to my wolves. Like I said, being ominous works better than just telling people what you want. I mean, think about it, if I tell my followers that they should just get into the spirit of things, take it upon themselves to push past their insecurities, and ask them to give it the old college try when they go to kill the people that I need to have killed, the majority of them would hesitate.” He then scoffed. “Not all of them, let me tell you. Honestly, there were a few of those wolves who make me look like a goddamn humanitarian.” Bane gave me a quick nod. “Thanks for taking them out, by the way. Not a fan of people constantly challenging my position, you know.”
“Glad to have helped,” I said. Then I used the connector to my team. “Am I the only one who thinks he’s playing us? I have a bad feeling about what that might be.”
“My guess is that he’s stalling,” answered Brazen.
“Totally stalling,” agreed Kix.
“Anything new on the scans, Reap?”
“Nothing that I can see. The wolves by the shore are still standing there. I’m not sure why, though.”
“Because they’re planning an attack,” I said calmly. “Bane has to keep us occupied for some reason.”
“Actually,” Reaper reported, “I just did a deeper scan and I’m seeing energy connections forming between the wolves.”
“Well, that’s just fucking great.” I released a long breath. “Okay, we’re going to have to take those guys out and I’m sure Bane isn’t going to like it.”
It was time to play the game.
I started walking briskly toward the building as if I was going to put his ass in cuffs. He seemed perplexed by this.
“What are you doing?” Bane barked suddenly, his face changing from confidence to concern. “You can’t possibly defeat me, so there is—”
“Then why are you worried?” I asked. “Afraid I’m going to walk right through whatever it is your wolves on the shore are planning for us before they get set?”
“You can see them?” he squeaked. “But…how?”
“Because I have a kick-ass reaper on my squad,” I answered with a wry grin. “Yes, I’m talking about the guys who take the dead to the Vortex. Don’t worry, his pals will be here soon to ferry you away. We just need to bring you massive amounts of pain, rip you limb from limb, and then put you out of your misery first.”
I gave him a full smirk.
“Was that ominous enough for you, asshole?”
He growled and jumped from the ledge into the house.
“Let’s go,” I yelled back at my team as I rushed through the open door.
“No, Piper,” exclaimed Reaper, “wait!”
Chapter 29
It was too late. I was inside before I realized it wasn’t the best idea to have gone in alone.
Apparently the wolves by the shore had finished their little energy play, which had effectively completely sealed me in the house alone with Lucien Bane.
“Reap?” I tried through the connector, but it was dead. Then I mumbled, “Well, that’s just fantastic.”
Bane stood at his full height, looking down at me from across the room. He had a very smug look on his face.
I shot him.
It bounced off.
“Ugh,” I said as his smugness grew. “Honestly, I hate those shields. They’re just so wimpy.”
“Riiight,” he said in a mocking tone, “but you using a range weapon with exploding projectiles is tough and rugged.”
Okay, so he had me there. But it wasn’t like I was the size of a wolf here. That said, I was immortal. Another look at him told me that really wouldn’t help my cause at the moment. He’d just shred me. I’d get a few jabs in, no doubt, but eventually I’d lose.
But Chief Carter had been right about me: I was a damn good Retriever. The reason for this was simply because I had no problem doing three things. First, I could think outside the box; second, I was willing to put my life on the line in order to win; and third, I prided myself on being a pain in the ass.
“Okay, tough guy,” I snarked as I threw my gun away from both of us, “no more gun. Just a poor little female cop who is half your size.”
His eyes grew serious. “You may have other guns.”
I took off my coat and spun around to show him I did not. I even lifted my pants legs up on each side, showing that I had none hidden there either.
“Hmmm,” he said while chewing his lip dubiously.
“Thing is, Bane,” I mocked him, “I don’t need a gun to kill you. You’re nothing but a bully. Bullies don’t scare me. Besides, you’ve heard the saying that the bigger they are the harder they fall, right?”
His face turned from concern to deviousness. Obviously, he was ready to test my mettle.
I was fine with that.
He took a step toward me, but I held up a hand to stop him.
“Isn’t there something you’d like to change, too?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.
He looked confused. “What?”
“Well, you’ve got shields all over the place in here, for one,” I said. “Not that they really matter, since they only work from range, but it’s still kind of a dick-move to keep them on, right?”
“I guess that’s true.”
“And what about the other runes in here?” I asked. “Anything that might be giving you more power than you already have?”
“No,” he replied seriously. “It’ll just be us, fighting hand to hand.”
“You’re sure?”
“I am not one who plays games when it comes to duels,” he said with a sneer.
“Fine, shut off the shields then.”
/>
“No,” he said after some consideration. “I think I shall leave them on for now. As you said, they only matter at range and if we are fighting hand to hand, they won’t make a difference anyway.”
Damn.
I nodded as I started to stretch. This seemed to confuse him, but he stayed back. Obviously, he wanted to make sure he was fighting me at my best. That’s precisely what I needed from him because it gave me time to dig out that trusty Death Nail I’d always kept lined in my belt.
The problem was that I couldn’t take it out too soon. If I missed or if it didn’t work, I’d be tipping my hand and that would be that. Still, I needed it to be ready for when the time was right.
“Quick question?” I asked, after I finally turned to face him.
“Yes?”
“Do you honestly think you’re descended from Thor?”
“Of course,” he replied seriously. “Odin told me I am.”
“Odin?” I more said than asked.
He was beaming. “That’s right.”
“So you’re telling me that the Norse god, Odin, has been talking to you?”
His response was in the way of a holier-than-thou raised eyebrow.
“And he goes by the name ‘Odin’ and everything?”
“Well, no,” Bane hedged. “He’s using his current name, of course. It’s how we gods roll, you know.”
“Ah,” I said, blinking. “So you’re a god, too, then?”
“A descendant of Thor is most certainly a god, wouldn’t you say?”
“I suppose I would,” I agreed, playing along. “So what’s good old Odin go by these days?”
I knew the answer before he even said it. “Keller.”
Of course. Well, that was pulling everything together nicely. So now I had a descendant of Thor in the shape of a werewolf, and Odin killed my parents.
If I started believing I was a god…
Shit.
Wait.
I was immortal.
Could that mean…
Nah.
No fucking way.
Damn it, I was going to have to ask Reaper about this, and since I knew there was not even the slightest chance that I was a god, it’d end up with me looking like an idiot.
I sighed. “One more question before I kill you?”
“Go on,” Bane replied, flexing his muscles.
“Have you been neutered?”
His eyes filled with rage and he launched at me, closing the distance between us so fast that I barely ducked under the swipe of his massive claw.
I jumped forward as he rebounded off the wall and crashed into me from behind.
Fortune had it that he hit me high enough to allow me to roll with it, which sent him flying again. This time, though, he’d given my shoulder a nice streak of white-hot pain. Better than being bitten, but it still fucking hurt.
He spun and came right back at me again, this time diving for my legs. I jumped and kicked the side of his head. He went careening to the ground as I bounced away from the impact, landing on my ass right by my gun.
Instinctively, I picked it up and pointed it at him.
He growled.
I stood up and threw the gun aside again, remembering that the shields were still up. But I needed to keep the game going anyway.
“I don’t need that to kill you,” I scoffed. “You’re too easy.”
His roar was enough to make me wish I’d brought along a change of underpants. It was so loud and laced with menace that I honestly froze. This allowed him to crash straight into me, driving me to the ground and knocking my breath out.
He pinned my shoulders as drool poured from his mouth onto my chest.
“Good lord,” I wheezed, trying to catch my breath while keeping him off balance, “couldn’t you at least chew on some Greenies or something? Your breath smells like cabbage and asshole.”
He snarled as his eyes began to go red and roll back.
With a massive push of power, he brought his jaws down on my neck, causing blood to fill my throat as his teeth pierced my flesh.
The pain was so intense that I knew I had only seconds before the end came.
I drove the Death Nail into his stomach as my eyes rolled back into my head, barely giving me the satisfaction of hearing his screams before I blacked out completely.
Chapter 30
When I woke up, I found myself lying in Dr. Hale’s medical room. I was on a table with tubes connected to me. My neck hurt, but at least I was alive.
Brazen and Kix were nearby in beds as well, which was honestly to be expected. But what I didn’t expect was seeing Reaper laid up.
Dr. Hale came over to me and leaned in.
“How are you feeling?”
“Sore,” I croaked and started coughing. My throat was pretty raw. I motioned toward the others. “How are they?”
“They’ll be fine,” she answered, giving me a small cup of water. “Lacerations on those two, mostly,” she added, pointing at Brazen and Kix. “Nothing a little time won’t heal.”
I nodded. “Reaper?”
“He’s why you’re still alive,” she said. “I can’t reattach heads, and that wolf damn near ripped off yours. Reaper stuck you in stasis, got all three of you down here and then he healed you himself.” Dr. Hale shook her head in awe. “I’ve never seen anyone get so drained from a healing before.” She then patted my arm. “But he’s fine. Just needs some rest.”
“Wait,” I said after a moment, “I thought he couldn’t do major healing like that?”
“On most people, he couldn’t,” she agreed, “but remember that you’re not most people. He just had to keep working with your natural healing processes until everything started righting itself.” She looked really impressed. “I helped where I could, too, but it was mostly him.”
Yet another reason I was learning to be glad Reaper was around.
“Thanks, Doc.”
Reaper and I sat in Chief Carter’s office in order to get a rundown on what had been going on. We had both missed the regular Retriever’s meeting due to being stuck in the infirmary.
“Twenty-three Retrievers were killed,” he said soberly. “A number of PPD officers topside, too.”
I didn’t even know what to say. Yes, being a cop was hard and there were plenty of bad guys out there looking to wipe us out, but we were a fraternity. Brothers-in-arms, as they say. When a fellow officer went down, regardless of where they were stationed in the vastness of the PPD, we all felt it. That’s what happened when you put your ass on the line in order to keep others safe.
“Sorry, Chief,” Reaper whispered. “It’s terrible.”
“Yeah,” the chief replied while staring at his desk. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “I don’t have to tell you that all Retrievers are going to be on call a lot more until we backfill those ranks.”
We both nodded dully.
“And that brings me to another point that you’re not bound to like.”
Uh-oh.
“We’re taking the Retriever Training Program in a different direction because of this,” the chief continued. “Instead of the standard two weeks, they’re getting a crash course for two days and then on-the-job training. Full immersion. It’ll be up to the senior agents to get them up to speed in the field.”
Uh-oh.
“That means that Brazen and Kix are now full-time with you two.” He squinted at me and pointed. “I don’t want to hear anything about it from you either, Piper. I know you’re not a fan of them, but they—”
“Actually, Chief,” I interrupted, “it’s fine.”
The chief’s jaw dropped, as did Reaper’s.
“The fact is that they’ve been listening to my commands and doing what needs to be done.” I snorted. “Brazen’s a fucking pain in the ass…” I brought my hand to my mouth, remembering that the chief was not a fan of such language. “Sorry, Chief.”
He frowned and breathed out heavily. “You were saying?”
�
�Uh…just that they’ve turned out to be relatively decent in the field. As long as they keep listening, I don’t have a problem with it.”
That wasn’t completely true. They were a fucking pain in the ass. Well, Brazen mostly. But I doubted that Reaper would have been able to break up that werewolf perimeter without their help, which would have left me bleeding to death, so what could I say?
“I’m glad to hear this, Piper,” the chief remarked. “Shocked.” He blinked. “Damn shocked, in fact. But very glad.” He rapped his knuckles on his desk. “Anything else, agents?”
“No, sir,” we replied in unison.
“Good. Do whatever you have to in order to get Brazen and Kix prepared for whatever else is coming our way.” He grunted. “I’m positive we’ve not yet seen the last of Keller.”
“I know I haven’t,” I muttered as we walked out.
Chapter 31
We sat in Pecker’s office as Brazen and Kix got their tattoos updated. There were other cadets waiting in line to get their new ink as well, but sometimes being on the hot list for the chief tech in the Netherworld PPD had its perks.
Frankly, I’d probably rather stand in line.
“Lost a lot of friends out there today,” Pecker was saying in a sullen voice. “Thought I’d lost you and Reap there for a bit when your signal was cut off.” He glanced at me. “Your neck…”
He trailed off, looking pretty upset.
Okay, okay, so he was sweet. But…no.
“I don’t like seeing you that way, Piper,” he said. “I don’t like seeing anyone I care about like that.”
“Thanks,” I said with a nod.
He glanced away. “Yeah.”
Brazen’s eye was twitching a bit from the laser etching that he was currently enduring. He had that tough-guy exterior going on, but I knew the joys of those tats. Not fun.
“Well, I don’t think things are going to be getting easier anytime soon,” I said in hushed tones, not wanting to freak out any of the cadets. They still had a lot to learn. “I think you’re going to find these tattoos are going to keep getting hacked. The guy pulling the strings behind all this is a real prick.”
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