“The DNA confirmed they were my people,” he said, “but it also pulled up something else. Some kind of grafted DNA, mixed with djinn ink for mind control.”
He put his finger to his chin in contemplation.
“Now, why does that sound familiar?”
Chief Rakenchan, looked at her almost empty glass, then up at Jonah.
“We’re looking into those ink incidents and those augmented supers,” she defended, “but there’s only so much we can do. We’ve already lost two officers tonight because the damn creatures seem to be invincible.”
She finished her drink and refilled her glass, pouring much more this time.
“Hell, we only know about the ink and genetic augmentations because we were able to analyze tissue and blood samples left behind from a the latest attack.”
She raised her voice with Jonah for the first time. “If these things hadn’t left after they got whatever they wanted, there would be a lot more casualties. I can’t stop them, so what do you expect me to do?”
“I expect you to do your job,” Jonah said coolly, “if that’s not too much to ask.”
He finished his drink, then held it out for a refill. Rakenchan glared at him, but quickly complied.
“I thought we had an understanding,” Jonah sighed. “I did you a few favors, cleared up some gambling debts, got your kid into a nice school in the states. Things like that. In return, you were to be available to assist my organization in areas where our interests aligned.”
He swirled the liquid in his glass around, watching it thoughtfully.
“Until now, this arrangement was mutually beneficial, but if you are no longer willing to work with me—”
“No,” she said, quickly, “I’m trying, I swear.” Her eyes swept the room, settling on me. “Look, I just brought some special agents here to help. I’ll place them under you to handle it.”
Uh, what?
She looked at me, her eyes pleading.
No dice.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” I said, standing up. “I’m here to check into a specific issue. From what you’ve said, it might intersect with the one you’re having, but I’m not working for the mafia, regular or supernatural.”
I felt my eyes start to burn, and took a deep breath. If this kept up I’d end up a douche wearing sunglasses at night.
“As far as I’m concerned,” I added, “you’re scum. You handle your own shit, give me whatever information you have and hope I don’t find out you’re involved with my investigation.”
Jonah smiled widely, going from threatening to helpful in an instant.
“No need to get so heated, friend. I’ll have a talk with your Directors and I’m sure we can come to some kind of agreement.”
Damn, how high did the corruption go?
I was about to point out my particular reporting structure again, but Granger picked that moment to push his way into the office.
He was wearing a new pair of pants, thankfully.
“Hey, Jonah, I’m glad to see you,” he said. “I was just about to call you.” He pointed at me angrily. “This guy just attacked me for no reason.” Granger sneered at me. “Guess we should show him what happens when you attack someone in the family, eh Jonah?”
Jonah took off his sunglasses, finally, and rubbed his forehead.
“Ronny,” he said tiredly, “you were put here to stay out of trouble, not cause it. What did you do this time?”
Granger took a step back. “Nothing Jonah, I swear.”
“Why don’t I believe you, Ronny?”
“No, really,” Granger insisted. “I just put a couple of girls in their place.” He then pointed to Mira. “Her and one of the office sluts.” Next, he pointed at me. “That guy got all bent out of shape and attacked me.”
“In their place?” Jonah said, his head lowering and eyes narrowing.
“Yeah, they got out of line and I had to remind them who the boss was,” Granger said, missing about a million warning signs. “Nothing serious.”
Jonah’s tattoos picked up speed, moving on their own, a telltale sign a djinn’s heart-rate was increasing.
“Ronny, I’m going to ask you a few questions, and I want you to think really hard before each answer.”
Granger frowned, but nodded. Apparently he’d expected this conversation to go differently.
“Who is the current head of our house?”
“Samantha Cho,” Granger answered, seeming to be pleased with himself.
“Good,” Jonah said, nodding his head once. “Another question. How did Ms. Cho get to be the head of our house?”
Granger furrowed his brows as he thought.
“Oh yeah. She took out Franco, the old boss a few years ago. Then, uh, Umbra met with her and told us she was in charge.” Ronny tilted his head. “What’s your point?”
“You’re doing great so far,” Jonah said, ignoring the question. “And do you happen to remember why she killed Franco?”
“Yeah,” Granger said. “She said he forced her to go on a date and tried to take things too far. Wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
“Very good.” Jonah took a last drink, then stood up and walked over to Granger. “Last question. What word did she carve into Franco’s penis before she nailed it to the door of our headquarters?”
Granger went pale and swallowed hard, his hands reflexively covering his groin.
“I didn’t mean anything, Jonah,” he groveled. “I was just kidding around. Chicks like it when—”
“I’ll ask again, Ronny,” Jonah said calmly. “What word did she carve?”
Granger swallowed hard, shaking slightly as he croaked, “Respect.”
Johnny nodded.
“That’s right, Ronny. Respect.”
After about thirty seconds of a cold stare, Jonah turned to the chief.
“It looks like I need to take care of something,” he announced, “but I’ll be back tomorrow to check up on your progress in finding the rest of my people. For your sake, I hope it’s a lot.”
He then grabbed Granger by the arm.
“Sorry, Ronny. Looks like we got to take a ride. Samantha’s going to want to talk to you.”
Granger tried to pull away, but when he looked Jonah in the eyes, something in there made him stop struggling.
Jonah then bowed slightly to Mira.
“I apologize for my cousin’s behavior. We of The Third do not permit any kind of discrimination or disrespect. That’s a fact that Ronny is going to be reminded of in the very near future.”
“Wait,” I said, stepping in front of them. “Where are you taking him?”
Jonah smiled again. “Not to worry, Officer…?”
“Vedis,” I told him. “Agent Vedis.”
I thought I saw recognition in his eyes when he heard my name, but I couldn’t be sure.
“Well, Agent Vedis,” he said, “as Officer Granger is being placed on administrative leave for his actions, I think that his whereabouts and the purpose of his trip have officially become none of your concern.”
Jonah looked back to the chief’s desk.
“That is what you’ve decided isn’t it Vicki?”
She bit her lip and gripped the side of her desk so hard I saw her hand go white.
“Just don’t kill him, please. It would cause problems.”
He sighed. “I think we can resolve this without undue violence.”
Rakenchan nodded her head.
“Yes, then,” she declared. “Officer Granger is on administrative leave, pending investigation of this incident. Agent Vedis, please stand down.”
“It’s okay,” Granger said, looking quite downcast. “The boss doesn’t kill when she doesn’t have to. I’ll be back.”
I let them go.
I didn’t like it, but Granger was free to go wherever he wanted.
Rakenchan looked at us.
“So, you know I’m on the take.” She leaned back in her chair. “What are you going
to do about it?”
It was a good question.
Even though I wasn’t her boss, I had to let someone know.
Didn’t I?
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I’m here to solve a crime that’s apparently much bigger than I thought, and this is just making it even more complicated.”
I looked to Mira and Bert.
“Thoughts?”
“Report it,” Mira said. “We have a duty.”
“Fuck it,” disagreed Bert. “Not our business.”
I suddenly wanted some of the chief’s booze.
Rock and a hard place. I had a job, but I also had a duty.
Stone had to have known something about this when he sent me here, which meant he was putting the decision on me.
Asshole.
“For now, I’m going to solve a murder,” I said, walking to the door. “If I feel like you are doing anything to get in the way of that, I’ll take action.”
My eyes flashed as a momentary spike of anger filled me, hopefully getting across what kind of action I meant.
Rakenchan looked too drained to be scared.
“Fine,” she said. “I’m used to being threatened. Agent Brice, your predecessor, was especially good at turning the screws on me. What do you need?”
“I’ll get you a list,” I answered, “but for now I’m supposed to meet the rest of my team. Where are they?”
She winced.
“Do you remember me mentioning two officers who died fighting those magical creatures?”
I nodded, knowing what was coming.
“That was them.”
Chapter 23
I needed a drink.
Judging from the sheer number of bars and clubs I saw on Sukhumvit road, one of the main tourist areas, Bangkok would have been happy to oblige.
Too bad I was technically on duty, though most of tonight was devoted to getting settled.
Officer Porn had stopped me on my way out of the office and handed me new agent packets. They were just for Mira and me. Bert, not officially being on the payroll, didn’t get one.
Presumably the deceased officers had already received theirs.
I really didn’t want to deal with that situation, but I knew I couldn’t put it off for long.
I made a mental note to see what needed to be done for them before I went off-duty.
Inside the packets were metro cards, special phones, a supernatural guide to the city, phone numbers for various services and, most importantly, keys to the apartments we’d be staying at while we were stationed in Bangkok.
Located in the Asoke area of town, they were just a few subway stops from the PPD office.
Convenient, since traffic made driving anywhere a pain in the ass.
The apartments were nice.
Not extravagant, but a definite step up from what I was used to.
I had a two bedroom setup, so Bert and I could have time apart without triggering any incidents if we took off our bracelets. Mira had a one bedroom apartment on the same floor, which seemed to suit her fine.
We’d all come over with just the clothes on our backs, so it was nice to find new uniforms and a variety of casual, off-duty clothes in my size in the closet.
Apparently the IDU division of the PPD had a bit more of a budget than the standard PPD.
Mira and I agreed to meet up in around an hour to hit whatever stores were open. The city guide listed Terminal 21, a large shopping mall nearby, as being open to supers at night.
First, though, I wanted to get cleaned up a bit. It’d been a grungy couple of days, after all.
I walked out of the shower, feeling slightly more human.
I dropped my towel and dug into my closet to grab some shorts and a t-shirt, since I’d learned Bangkok was only three degrees cooler than hell most days and I didn’t want to walk around with my balls permanently stuck to the side of my leg.
When I went to get dressed in front of my mirror, I saw Bert sitting naked on my bed.
“Hey, cool dick,” he said, giving me a thumbs up.
I let out an involuntary yelp as I pulled my clothes in front of me and hopped into the living room.
“What did I say?” he asked. “It is cool. All pink and stuff. Mine’s all scaly. Here, check it out.”
“What are you doing in my room?” I asked, not quite yelling as I tried to get the mental picture of Bert’s dong out of my head.
“You said you wanted to talk,” he answered. “Plus, they didn’t give me any clothes, so I’m going to grab some of yours. A shirt anyway.”
I pulled on my underwear and shorts quickly, then walked back into the bedroom.
Bert was digging through my closet.
“Dude, don’t Donald Duck it in my shirt,” I said. “I can’t wear it after your dong’s been rubbing up in there.”
He shrugged, still digging. “Not my fault. Get me some clothes and I’ll leave yours alone.”
I pulled him back, then looked in the closet for something I wouldn’t mind burning later.
“Here,” I said, handing him a pink shirt that said ‘tiger slut’ on it in rainbow letters. Apparently, all cultures have stupid shit on their shirts. “You probably don’t have any clothes, because they didn’t know you were coming,” I said. “You aren’t officially on the team.”
“Those fuckers better add me then,” he said, pulling on the shirt. “If I’m going to be stuck with you I better get paid. I’m not getting shot at and dragged around the world for free.”
His attitude still sucked, but he had a point.
I added it to the list of things to talk to Stone about. I was supposed to call him within the next few days to give a report, but with the dead officers and all the other crap I’d stepped in, I decided not to put it off.
“Yeah, hang on,” I said, reluctantly grabbing for my phone. “I’ll call Stone now, which means you and I will have to wait to talk until later.”
It was around 2pm in the Netherworld, but since we worked nights, I was probably going to wake Stone up.
Eh, tough shit.
It was the least he deserved after what I’d been through.
I pulled up Stone’s contact information by linking my tattoo to my connector. Apparently the number was secret enough that I couldn’t be allowed to actually know it. That meant it would just run a routine to beam it to a special phone that was part of my welcome kit.
His ringtone was “Barbie Girl,” of all things, and I was already singing along when he picked up.
Well, when someone picked up.
“Hello,” said a voice that was definitely not Stone. I mean, unless he’d changed into a teenaged girl.
“Uh, Stone?” I asked.
“Pickle Shit.”
“Sorry?”
“Geez, just wait a minute,” the girl said. “Dad,” I heard the girl yell, “some asshole wants to talk to you.”
I heard footsteps, then the familiar voice of Stone said, “Stone here. Who is this?”
“Agent Vedis.”
“Oh, hello Asshole. How’s Bangkok?”
An insult and a dad joke at the same time. The guy was talented.
“Not great,” I said honestly. “Why did your daughter answer your phone?”
“Sorry, I upgraded to a new phone and she claimed the old one a bit prematurely,” he said with a chuckle. “I haven’t even had a chance to switch sim cards yet.”
That last bit was said in an exaggerated dad voice.
I heard a sigh in the background, the universal expression of exasperation native to the wild teenage female.
“She’s pissed, so let’s make this quick,” Stone said. “What do you need?”
“Oh,” I said. “Uh, first off, I need some clothes for Bert, and also to get him on the payroll.”
“Yeah, my bad,” Stone said. “I didn’t plan for him, other than the housing situation. Use the emergency credit card in your pack. That’s what it’s there for. Just fill out an expense
report at the end of each month so I can get it paid.”
“Fair enough.”
“Why does Bert need to get paid, though?”
“He was disowned by the queen, and he’s pretty pissed off at me about it,” I answered. “Not that it’s really my fault, but…” I trailed off.
“So we need to pay Bert,” Stone said, not sounding all that happy about it.
“I guess,” I answered, even though I knew I had full access to Bert’s cash and could pay him on my own. But I didn’t want to do that. Lucy was right about him, he needed to earn his own way and learn to stand on his own two feet. “I mean, yeah, that’s why he needs to get paid.”
“Okay. What else happened besides that?”
“Huh?”
“I doubt you called me just to tell me Bert needed an income.”
“Oh, right,” I said. “Well, we also killed six Shaped in a nightclub.”
“Six?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow,” Stone replied. “That’s…impressive.” He grunted. “Good work. Is that all?”
“Yep.”
“Good. Then, I would--”
“Oh wait, sorry,” I interrupted. “I also kind of slept with Mira, the naga you assigned to my team, but I didn’t know I was her boss yet.”
“Okay, forget making this call quick,” he said excitedly. “Tell me everything, and I mean everything. Especially the dirty parts.”
“Uh…” I said, furrowing my brow. “I’m not going to tell you everything, chief.”
“Right,” he replied with a cough. “Never mind that. Now, as far as personal relationships go on the team, I don’t care what happens as long as everyone consents and as long as nobody causes me an HR nightmare.”
“Okay,” I answered, feeling somewhat dirty.
“What else have you got for me?” Stone asked as if trying to change the direction of the conversation quickly.
I was fine with that.
“Just that it turns out the chief here is corrupt,” I answered. “Oh, and the Shaped killed the rest of my team before I got here.” I chewed my lip for a second. “Aside from that, everything is about thirty-seven flavors of fucked.”
There was silence on the phone, except for deep breathing. I hoped that his breathing had nothing to do with visions of me and Mira getting it on.
Bangkok Warlock: A Mark Vedis Supernatural Thriller Book 1 (Southeast Asia Paranormal Police Department) Page 13