by TR Cameron
Counter Ops
Federal Agents of Magic™ Book Three
TR Cameron
Martha Carr
Michael Anderle
This book is a work of fiction.
All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.
Copyright © 2019 TR Cameron, Martha Carr and Michael Anderle
Cover Art by Jake @ J Caleb Design
http://jcalebdesign.com / [email protected]
Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing
A Michael Anderle Production
LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
LMBPN Publishing
PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy
Las Vegas, NV 89109
First US edition, May 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-1-64202-280-3
The Oriceran Universe (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are Copyright © 2017-19 by Martha Carr and LMBPN Publishing.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Connect with TR Cameron
Author Notes - TR Cameron
Author Notes - Martha Carr
Other series in the Oriceran Universe:
Books by Michael Anderle
Counter Ops Team
Thanks to the JIT Readers
Diane L. Smith
John Ashmore
Nicole Emens
Daniel Weigert
Dave Hicks
Kelly O’Donnell
Larry Omans
Micky Cocker
If we’ve missed anyone, please let us know!
Editor
The Skyhunter Editing Team
Dedications
From Martha
To everyone who still believes in magic
and all the possibilities that holds.
To all the readers who make this
entire ride so much fun.
And to my son, Louie and so many wonderful friends who remind me all the time of what
really matters and how wonderful
life can be in any given moment.
From Michael
To Family, Friends and
Those Who Love
To Read.
May We All Enjoy Grace
To Live The Life We Are
Called.
Chapter One
The faint buzz of Kayleigh’s drone was faintly audible over the sounds of revelry emanating from the ramshackle construction ahead. The faded metal sides and broken windows of the warehouse suggested that the structure had been abandoned. The skeleton of the building provided the perfect camouflage to hide the lawbreakers within.
Not just any lawbreakers. Lucrative lawbreakers.
The feed from the drone played in a small window on Diana’s AR display glasses. The structure and thirty or so feet on either side were easily visible. Tony crept silently toward the back using all his years of experience as a former detective, while Cara approached from the left using the stealth tactics she’d learned in her military service. The team leader couldn’t see Rath or Max. Both were well hidden somewhere on the right of the building as backup. The human members of the team had agreed that the less frequently the troll was seen with their bounty hunter personas, the better. Rath had not agreed and had insisted that he should be a part of all the missions. For training purposes, of course.
Must train.
He wasn’t wrong. They all needed to keep their skills sharp to deal with the escalating challenges they faced. And in this case, that need resulted in a hidden troll and Borzoi ready to step in if required. The pair had talent. Diana couldn’t see them on the feed at all. Her attention was pulled away from the search as the others finally reached their positions and tapped their own AR glasses to send the signal to her device that they were ready. The cursors over their positions on the overview pulsed and rippled in response.
Kayleigh’s vibrant voice carried over the comms. Another benefit of scoring such a great tech was all the added support she could bring to their cover operations. Bounty hunting wasn’t an easy business, after all. Once Diana had replaced the blonde’s tech after their last adventure, she was only too happy to assist where she could.
“Okay, the drone shows a ton of heat signatures inside. I managed a quick dip to look in a window, and they’re all behaving stupidly in there. Drinking, dancing, throwing things, and generally partying it up.”
Diana made sure the sleeves of her Two Worlds Security shirt were pulled down to hide the skin where the glyphs appeared each time she used magic. Next, she tucked the cuffs under the new clunky bracelets she wore. The jewelry brought a grin to her lips. The team had watched another Avengers movie together when she’d noticed Black Widow’s wrist weapons. That had given her the idea to pass her magic off as advanced technology.
She and Kayleigh had collaborated to fashion the ornaments. They glowed slightly when she called on her power, and it would be easy for the uninformed to assume that the results came from the mundane, rather than the magical. The other agents had simply laughed.
They’re jealous. Okay, maybe they are a little silly and possibly not that helpful, but I’ll take any edge I can get. Plus, they look cool.
Cara’s voice conveyed a lack of appreciation for their quarries’ antics. “Are they still partying from last night, or did they sleep and start again? It’s not like the heist they pulled was particularly impressive.”
Tony radiated pure sarcasm. “Come on, now. These people are criminal rock stars. Hitting three liquor stores one after the other and setting them ablaze to cover the theft? Genius.”
Diana could almost hear his eyes rolling.
“If only they’d realized those places have cameras, they might have gotten away with it,” he added with little remorse.
Rath chimed in. “Alcohol truck. Flames. Big bada boom.”
Diana laughed. “Yes, the part where they lit their getaway vehicle on fire couldn't have been a high point of their evening. But it tells us two important things. First, they have a fire user, who we saw on the video. And second, they have someone who does water, cold, air, or something that could put it out.”
Cara added
, “Or one who does both.”
The team leader nodded. Magic users frequently stuck to their strengths, but more and more often, they encountered adepts skilled in multiple varieties.
Like Nylotte would say, let it flow. It’s already inside you.
She sighed at the thought of her teacher. The training sessions with the Drow were frequent and exhausting. She felt worn out by them, so she’d jumped at the chance to do something more practical. Rounding up the group of low-level bounties that made up this particular ragtag gang would give her a nice adrenaline rush and paycheck.
Plus, if Bryant's intel is right and they’re involved in blocking our supplies, it would be worth doing at twice the hassle.
“Is there anything else before we go, Kayleigh?” she asked.
“Nope. It’s like we thought. The idiots are moving around in there, so I can’t give you a plot, but the sentries are still in position.” The defenders’ locations pulsed softly on her AR display.
“All right, then. Rath, keep your eyes open. Tony and Cara, let’s time it so we all reach the building at once and disable the guard nearest our entry point.” She crept forward with purposeful deliberation, crossed quickly from cover to cover, then paused to reassess. The unexpected heat of the April day made her sweat under the heavy black shirt and the combat vest it concealed. She wore jeans, and an army-style utility belt held her automatic pistol in a right hip holster, while a taser hung from a matching one on the left. Her trusty Ruger was tucked into her custom boot and filled with anti-magic rounds. She had a spare magazine of the expensive bullets for the Sig-Sauer, but none for the rifle. All signs indicated that this wouldn’t be a threat level that required it, and they had to conserve the ammunition for more important ops. The group consisted of a few magicals and a handful of morons.
At least they had the sense to post guards.
If they could be called that. The sentry nearest her failed miserably. The sap spent more time looking wistfully at the revelry than scanning his surroundings.
I hope the others are equally as stupid.
She crept behind him, grabbed his arms, and yanked him through the doorway. The taser buzzed with electricity as the guard convulsed painfully before he finally slumped against her. She released her grip on the trigger and lunged to guide the body to the ground before she delivered a sharp blow to his head that knocked him out. Her quick, “Target down,” was echoed by Cara and Tony shortly thereafter.
She felt a flush of pride at the team’s efficiency.
BAM Pittsburgh kicks serious ass, and don’t you forget it. Whoever you are.
Her mental voice laughed but sounded far more mocking than amused.
Why am I talking to myself?
She shook her head and peeked around the small metal doorframe. The warehouse had a basic design. A large slab of concrete was bounded by a rectangle of vertical metal and covered by a slanted roof a couple of stories above. Large beams created a grid at the top that attached to regularly spaced support girders that had been bolted and anchored into the floor.
Two box trucks about the size of a typical U-Haul were parked at random angles facing toward the interior of the building.
Amateurs.
One of the vehicles had a long scorch mark along its left side. The blackened soot looked strangely artistic on the yellow surface. Boxes were stacked at varying heights around the revelers. The ones nearest the burned truck had been arranged into a recognizable but thoroughly unanticipated shape—a throne.
A pirate, who had clearly been influenced by the Disney films—right down to the scraggly facial hair and raggedy hat—sprawled on the surface. Diana blinked to clear her eyes, but he was still there. “Do you see this, or am I finally having that breakdown I’ve expected?”
Tony snorted. “If you’re referring to the Jack Sparrow wannabe, I see him, too.”
Cara chuckled. “I love this job. Every day is a new adventure.”
“Yeah. In stupidity,” he countered.
Diana couldn’t argue the point. “Okay, it’s probably safe to assume that pretty boy there is one of our magic users. Be on the lookout for any others.” She stuck her head around for another quick glance at the room. This time, she saw a group of women scantily-clad in nightclub attire fawning on either side of the would-be rogue. “We may have some civilians present. Those ladies don’t look like they spent their evening robbing liquor stores.”
Kayleigh’s voice preempted any other responses. “I’ve taken the feeds from your glasses and run facial recognition. We have nothing on the women, and no additional bounties are present. The ones we knew of are magicals, but we still have no clear indication as to what their powers are. This is the second time they’ve been seen together. The first was when they made an identical heist on the west side of the city.”
Diana checked to be sure her decoy bracelets were in place. “Well, let’s make it the last time. Take out the trash, then the buccaneer. Give us a ten-second countdown. We go on zero.” The numbers popped into the lower right of her display. She breathed once and braced herself until the count ended.
Shouting and scrambling accompanied their forced entrance on all sides. It might have been inspired in part by Tony’s heavy shotgun, which discharged giant beanbags with deafening bangs that echoed in the tumult. It also might have been caused by Cara’s battle cry as she leapt from the low platform she’d entered on to land beside a guard with a gun. A well-placed kick knocked his weapon aside, and she took him out of the fight with two squeezes of the trigger from her taser, followed by a sharp kick to the head.
Diana preferred to think her own entry engendered the most chaos. She swept an arm wide to generate a wave of force that crashed over everyone in front of her. As a result, several targets lost their footing, while others were propelled into each other before they slumped in a daze on the floor. As she suspected, the power of the spell wavered and ultimately died before it reached the most important target.
The pirate waved a wand negligently and muttered a word under his breath. He smirked as he rose from his pretentious throne. Silence fell as he shouted, “Hold!” He grinned at Diana and channeled the character with whom he clearly had a deeply dysfunctional para-social relationship, including the accent. “How dare you attack my crew without provocation?”
Diana scowled at him. “Robbing three liquor stores and burning them down is sufficient provocation, scumbag.”
“Plunder.”
“What?”
“We do not rob,” he said solemnly. “We plunder.” He struck a dramatic pose. “You stand before the Prince of Plunder. Bow, strumpet.”
Her brain went into a vapor lock as she gaped in utter disbelief at the sheer stupidity and arrogance the man demonstrated. His only reply was to raise his ridiculously pointed beard a little higher. She shook her head. “You know what? Let’s discuss it after.”
The aspiring prince frowned. “After?”
She thrust both hands toward him, used the left to gently guide the half-dressed “strumpet” on that side away from him, and directed a blast of force at him with the other. He twisted with a grace and agility that belied his previous mannerisms and brought his wand up in an arc. The blade of translucent energy that extended from it intercepted her attack and redirected it to collide with a stack of liquor crates partway across the room. The contents shattered and spread the liquid in a geyser of alcohol, followed by a low burble that dripped down the remains to form a pool on the cement floor.
Diana yelled and charged. The world slowed in a manner to which she had become accustomed when dealing with combative magics. Her danger sense had been a lifesaver on more than one occasion, and it still served her well. However, on previous occasions, the power had only allowed time to slow. This time, her view of the situation expanded beyond her normal frame of vision. She saw Tony at a diagonal angle to her left. Cara was almost directly behind her, and yet she could see the former soldier clearly.
The detective sw
ung his shotgun barrel down inch by inch to target the first thug that attacked him. Given the criminal’s size, he probably had a Kilomea somewhere in his family tree. She watched the beanbag leave the weapon in its inevitable trajectory toward the hulking form’s head.
Cara was a blur, even in slow motion, as she launched a double punch in one direction and a kick in the other. A single leg planted firmly to support her weight as she struck. The reaction against the kick added power to the punch, and both enemies looked primed to take flight the moment time resumed its normal flow.
Diana refocused on the Pirate Prince ahead of her. He held his force blade across his chest in a guard position, ready to intercept any attack she threw. That didn’t seem overly concerning. Nothing else stood out to her, so the danger had to emanate from the wand in the hand that currently swung slowly toward her. She twisted away and slid out of its path to avoid all but the edge of the sonic assault he cast at her.
Sound? What the hell?
Even the near miss pushed her earpieces into complete defensive silence, and the windows at the end of the shrieking cone shattered explosively outward to let the sun stream in freely. Were she not in the middle of combat, she might even have called the effect charming as the shards spun slowly in their descent.