But first things first.
"Let's go get some batteries," Aedham said, and Joystik nodded enthusiastically.
Chapter Eleven
"She must be on an elvensteed!" Llan exclaimed as the Corvette vanished from sight. "It's . . . gone."
"No, not an elvensteed," she said sadly. She slowed the Caprice down to sixty, unable to pursue Morrigan in the thick traffic. "Just a fast humansteed." With Dobie in her car there was no telling what she would do to him if she tried to hunt her down. I should have never have let him go in there!
As she debated her next move, her cell phone trilled. "McDaris," she answered.
"Samantha? It's Special Agent Hawk," the voice from the Nokia spoke into her ear. "Listen, I know you wanted to go solo to recon the arena, but something's come up I think you'll want to be in on."
"Go ahead," she said, trying to drive and talk on the phone at the same time, an unsettling experience for Llan.
"Bank One of Baltimore just called us with a high priority flag. Someone just tried using Alan Barker's Master Card at the Wal-Mart at 81st and Lewis."
"When?"
"Ten minutes ago. The police are holding them right now."
Holding who? "I'll meet you there."
She took the Lewis exit, then looked over and saw that Llan had reverted to full elf mode.
"Llan! Your ears. Glamories, always remember your glamories when you're here!"
"Sure, sorry La—I mean, Sammi," Llan said, flustered. "I thought, since we were in the carriage, no one can see in."
"It. Doesn't. Matter," she replied tensely. "They can always see. And don't argue."
"Aie," Llan said, chagrined. Then, "How's this?"
Sammi looked. "Eyes too!"
"Oh, yes . . . What about now?"
Llan had again become a human teen, with long, blond hair and an adolescent pout. "Perfect. Now don't let it slip."
While she made progress through the thick traffic on Lewis she debated what to do about Llan. Leave him in the car? No, at this point she felt like she needed to keep a constant watch on him.
"Yes, Samantha."
"It's 'Agent McDaris' until further notice."
That dealt with, she concentrated on the situation ahead, at the Wal-Mart. Alan Barker was the congressman's son, which was why they were able to get the flag through a usually uncooperative banking institution. Because of the heat from the congressman, others in the Bureau would be interested in this development, and they just didn't need that. Alan had disappeared in Baltimore, and was likely taken Underhill through a Gate. So whoever was trying to use the card must be connected with Mort's operation. The prospect didn't look good for keeping the Underhill angle under wraps, especially if Hawk got there before she did.
She put the red spinning cop light on the roof and floored the accelerator. Tulsa traffic was amazingly blind to anything besides a full blown light bar, and she ended up using her horn more often than not to get cars out of her way.
There was another Caprice with federal plates already in front of the Wal-Mart. Hawk beat us here. Great. She pulled up behind it and parked. "Stay close to me Llan," she said, getting out and going straight for the entrance.
Sitting on a bench in the breezeway was a life-sized Ronald McDonald statue with a psychotic grin. Llan did a double take. "Humans are weird," she heard him mumble. She had thought this numerous times before, and knew he was right.
A Tulsa cop stood guard at the entrance, acting rather protective of a shopping cart loaded to the brim with batteries. More evidence of human weirdness; Llan rolled his eyes. She showed her badge to the cop.
"FBI. Where is the credit card perp?"
"Back in the manager's office," he said. "Know where it is?"
"Thanks, I'll find it," she said, and hurried past. Keeping Llan in her peripheral vision she waded into the bustling Supercenter, hoping she would be able to cover up whatever godlike events were transpiring in the manager's office.
An employee directed them to a hallway, then a flight of stairs. At the top was a plain hallway with doors. She knocked on the one that said manager.
Hawk opened the door. "Oh, Sammi. Come on in. You're not gonna believe this."
I'll bet I do, she thought, then turned to tell Llan to stay put.
But the elf was nowhere to be seen.
Shit! Where is he? I must have lost him in the store.
No time to go looking for him now, she sighed and walked into the manager's office. In chairs facing the desk, like two sullen schoolboys caught fighting in the playground, sat King Aedham and Alan Barker, whom she recognized from the file photos. With them was a Tulsa cop sitting at the manager's desk. "I'm Officer Doyle," he said, extending a hand. "We have ourselves a little situation here," he said as they shook.
"I'm Agent McDaris." She presented her badge and ID. The cop studied it closely before giving it back. "Yes, we do," Samantha said, trying to maintain a calm facade. Thank the gods the King is unharmed but . . . what the blazes is going on? Her eyes met Aedham's, which were anxious and eager. He seemed to understand the predicament they were in. First things first. Let's cover this up.
"Could I have a word with you and Agent Hawk in private?" she said, motioning towards the door.
"Certainly," the cop said, and they moved to the hallway for the conference. "This isn't about a stolen credit card, is it, Agent McDaris?"
"No, it is not," she said, struggling to come up with some kind of cover story that would fit. First, let's see what's already gone on. "What have they said so far?"
"Not much of anything," Hawk said, sounding frustrated and annoyed. "As soon as we started questioning them the older one asked for you by name. Sammi, what is going on?"
Good. They've stayed quiet. That will make things easier.
Doyle said, "They were attempting to purchase a large quantity of D cell batteries with a credit card. The bank said it was stolen, but the boy in there appears to be the legitimate card holder. His ID checks out, but the NCIC says he's a runaway."
Okay, now I have it. Let's hope this story stays together.
"The boy is the son of Congressman Barker of Maryland," she began. "He is not a runaway. He was kidnapped."
The cop raised an eyebrow. "By the man in there?"
She shook her head. "He's an undercover FBI agent. He was on a special assignment to rescue Alan, and it appears he succeeded."
Hawk was skeptical. "Then why buy batteries?"
Good question. "Don't know. What matters is we have them. This operation was intended to remain very quiet, you understand. The last thing we need is for this to get out . . . preferential treatment for the congressman's interests, and all that." She looked directly at Hawk as she said, "Now that we have Alan, we probably also have a lead on the other kidnappings. If you catch my drift, Agent Hawk?"
Hawk did not seem convinced, but appeared to see the wisdom in discussing the matter without Officer Doyle.
"Agent Hawk?" Doyle asked.
"There is an ongoing investigation into a large number of child kidnappings," Hawk confirmed. "I didn't know the man in there was an agent." He shrugged, with a smile. "Such is the nature of undercover work."
Doyle didn't appear completely convinced, but seemed to give in to her story anyway. "Then I will leave the situation in your capable hands," Doyle said to Sammi. "I don't think I have the full story, however."
"I understand your concern," Sammi said, as diplomatically as possible. She rubbed her temples, massaging a not-so-imaginary headache. "Trust me on this, you don't want to know the full story. This investigation is complicated enough as it is." Then she brightened. "This is the first good lead we've had. In a few days you'll probably get the full story on CNN."
Not.
"Then the matter is yours to deal with," Doyle said. The cop shook both their hands and strode off down the hallway. Before his footsteps faded completely away, Hawk eyed her accusingly.
"Undercover agent?"
"
He was working in Baltimore," Sammi said. "I don't know how they got here. That's what I hope to find out."
"Look," Hawk said, closing his eyes a moment in concentration. "You've asked for the freedom to reconnoiter the arena alone, and I've given it to you. But we're supposed to be working on this together, and right now I feel left out of the big picture. What gives?"
He doesn't deserve this, she thought. And I can't help it.
"I will let you in on it when I can. But not right now. I'm sorry, but this is bigger than you know. You'll thank me for not dragging you into this now. Trust me."
Hawk didn't seem convinced. "I hope I can," he said. "The big boss is going to start wondering, you know."
"I know. But by then the matter will be dealt with." I can only hope. "Meanwhile, we can close the book on the Alan Barker case. I'll need to ask him a few questions before we get to the office."
Hawk's look was pleading; he wanted to know more, but seemed to also realize more was not forthcoming.
"You'll know everything when I can tell you. Wait here a moment, would you?"
Hawk threw his arms up in frustration. "I don't have anything else to do."
Sammi went back into the office, where she immediately sensed that something magical had just taken place. Alan had a glazed expression completely unlike the anxious, quizzical one she'd seen on him moments before.
The King zapped his memory, she thought, relieved. At least he had the smarts to do that much. "So tell me what happened?" she asked Alan.
"I don't remember a whole lot of it," the boy said, sounding slightly stunned. As a normal boy would be after a kidnapping. "I was in the Lazerwarz arena when someone hit me over the head. I woke up in a van. I got out. Went into a Wal-Mart. Then I was here." The lad looked utterly confounded. "Where am I?"
It's the best I could do, Aedham's eyes seemed to say.
"All right, then. Let's go."
Sammi had Hawk take Alan in to the office; this served the dual purpose of safely including Hawk in the case and freeing her to look for Llan. Hawk and Alan went on ahead, while Sammi and Aedham waited behind in the store.
"I'll ask you later what the batteries are for. Now we have another problem," Sammi said. "Llan is walking around here somewhere."
"Llanmorgan?" the King said. "Why is—"
"To look for you in the arena," Samantha said, scanning the store for the wandering elf.
* * *
Lady Samantha moved quickly, and Llan followed as best he could . . . but there were too many distractions! He understood this was a merchant shop of some kind, but gods it was huge. He stopped at a stall where scrying crystals were for sale, before realizing these were smaller versions of the big scream. And they all had the same visions, a human sitting at an altar, just talking.
He looked up and didn't see Samantha anywhere. Being alone in the human's world felt suddenly intimidating; from all the stories he had heard, Llan had assembled a picture of what this land was like, and what he found was nothing like it.
With a start he saw himself on one of the crystals. How did they do that? It was a vision of the present. So it wasn't really scrying, as he first thought. On a shelf in front of him were several shiny boxes with eyes on them, and when he picked one up the vision moved. So this was some poor creature's eye, connected to the crystal.
"I tell you, it's him," someone said behind him, and he turned to see two young girls huddled together, looking his direction.
Have they spotted me? he wondered, and checked his disguise. It seemed to be in place. What are they talking about? Whatever it was it couldn't be good news. Attention in general was a bad thing, he had learned. Llan set the eye down, and walked over to another crystal, where two boys were watching with extreme interest. They were pushing boxes, and it looked like they were making things happen on the crystal.
Now this he had to check out. Maybe this was the human way of making magic. Instead of scrying visions here, they were making the visions happen. Llan felt like he had uncovered an important secret. And what visions they were: flying chariots sending levin bolts at each other. When the warriors fell, they came right back up. They must have strong shields. But where were the Mages? Only Mages can make shields that strong.
"Excuse me," a small, feminine voice said behind him. She clutched a piece of parchment and a quill. "Are you Zachary Hanson?"
She seemed utterly in love. Llan thought she might melt into a little human puddle right there. For an uncomfortable moment, he had forgotten his cover, and contemplated admitting that yes, he was this human, but the consequences seemed potentially ill-favored.
"No, I am . . ." he struggled to remember his "human" name. "Colin," he said at last, but the young girl seemed rather dubious.
"You sound like you made it up," she said, with a shy smile. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone you're here. Just, could I get your autograph?" She batted her eyes. "Pleeease?"
Perceptive human; she saw right through his falsehood. But I can't let them know who I am! It is against . . . against the laws! The humans can't know who we are! Perhaps I should pretend to be this Zachary Hanson. Every instinct he had told him this was not a good idea, but compared with revealing his elven identity it seemed the lesser of two evils.
"Just don't tell anybody," he whispered, and took the parchment. He scribbled a rough approximation of Colin on the sheet of paper and handed it to her. Now the matter should be resolved.
But evidently it wasn't. The girl took the piece of paper, held it to her chest and with her eyes closed, and screeched at the top of her lungs: "I've got Zachary Hanson's autograph!" Then she ran screaming from the stall.
No! Llan thought, terrified. The humans will think I attacked her! Took liberties I shouldn't . . . and she's not even old enough to bed! Not even close!
Then the scream was joined by another, then another. He sensed several young human girls nearby, and he had a dreadful feeling that they would want his autograph, too.
Lady Samantha! Where are you?
Llan felt that it would be unwise to stay where he was, and made good his escape from the stall before anyone else could ask for his autograph. Sammi had gone towards the right, but in that direction lay the screaming girls. Llan went left, seeking safety.
Must hide. Must hide!
But where to hide? He found an aisle which had brightly colored storage containers, but none were even close to being large enough for him to fit in.
From the aisle next to him he heard, "Where is he? He's here somewhere! Zachary Hanson, I luuv yooo!"
Llan frowned. Magic. If I use magic—but no, I can't do that, either. The humans will catch me, cut me open and examine my entrails. Not good!
Must hide!
Llan doubled back around the stall with the scrying crystals, averting his look from the human adults who were now starting to notice him.
Lady Samantha! Help!
* * *
As Samantha and Aedham passed the linens and bathroom furnishings, the screams of young human girls reached their ears.
"Oh no," Samantha said. "Llan." His glamorie must have slipped again!
They followed the piercing shrieks to what had to be the source, but no Llan was to be found anywhere. Five preteen girls clutching posters, Tiger Beat magazines, paperback books and a half dozen CDs, looked frantically around the store for someone.
"Hey, kids, what's all the fuss about?" Samantha asked.
"Hanson is here! Their tour bus is outside. All three of them are here somewhere." She walked up and studied Samantha closely. "Have you seen them?"
"Seen who?" Aedham wanted to know.
"A singing group," Samantha said, utterly relieved. Good, it wasn't Llan, she thought briefly, before her eyes fell on one of the CDs. One of the boys on the cover bore a striking resemblance to Aedham's apprentice.
Whatever caused the excitement, this was attention they didn't want, didn't need.
"Let's find him," Aedham said.
With a r
enewed sense of urgency, Samantha retraced their route to the manager's office, seeing nothing that might offer clues to Llan's whereabouts.
"He didn't just vanish," Sammi said.
"Maybe he did," Aedham said, and she sensed his Mage sight unfolding, taking in the environment. "No magic. But I think . . . yes, I think I might just have a fix on him."
Aedham led her to the back of the store, turned down an aisle full of exercise equipment. "Too much iron," Aedham said. "But he's close."
Then Samantha heard in a loud whisper, "Sammi! King Aedham! I'm over here."
They both whirled around. Before them was a large wire chute full of multicolored beanbag chairs.
"Llan?" Aedham called.
"Here," Llan said, and then Samantha saw where he had hidden. The elf's face was sandwiched between two beanbag chairs as he peered from beneath them; otherwise he was completely buried.
"What are you doing in there?" Samantha asked, as Aedham tried to keep from laughing.
"They're after me. They think I'm someone named Hanson! I didn't lay a hand on them, I swear to the gods and Danu herself!" Then, "Help me!"
Sammi groaned.
"Bloody hell," Aedham said, and searched the area out for young girls. "Coast is clear. This calls for drastic measures."
Sammi looked up at the brown domes protruding from the store's ceiling. "The cameras!"
"Can't be helped," Aedham said, and helped Llan extract himself from the heap of vinyl beanbags. Llan's glamorie, again, had slipped.
"We can't be running around like this," Aedham said, quickly conjuring a full invisibility glamorie. Llan vanished from sight.
"Now. Follow us. Try not to bump or touch anything."
"Aie, King," said the invisible space that was Llan.
"Why does his disguise keep slipping?" Sammi asked as they started walking towards the entrance. "We've never had this problem before."
"We haven't gone over glamories yet," Aedham explained. "He needs special reinforcement for that skill."
On the way out they passed a battery display, where an employee was carefully replacing row upon row of D cell batteries from a cart piled high with them. Aedham hesitated over the shopping cart; he looked like he wanted to grab it and run.
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