James took a few bites of a rib, pondering both his child and the flavor for a moment. “How is Nana Garfield? I haven’t seen her in a while; going on six months now. Is she doing okay? You know how I am. I don’t like asking Charlyce anything personal when she sends me a work message.”
Trey scratched his cheek, a thoughtful look settling over him. “I bet you Nana’s gonna outlive us all. Yeah, she can’t move around like she could, but at least she hasn’t caused more trouble for her live-in nurse.” He grinned. “At least lately, but she’s getting feistier and feistier. By the time she hits a hundred, she might be out of control and fuller of life than ever.” He chuckled. “She’s earned a few years of that sort of thing, I figure, if only because of all the trouble and heartache I caused her.”
James nodded slowly. “If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know. I don’t know much about taking care of old people, but I could get stuff for you if you need it.”
Trey shook his head. “You did your part years ago when you got the boys and me off the street, and you’re still technically paying me even if you don’t pay any attention to the agency anymore. Besides, nothing you can do that I can’t.” He let out a long, weary sigh. “Nana’s as stubborn as she is old. I was all up and ready to buy her this new model medical exoskeleton.” He frowned. “I read about it online. It’s got all sorts of cool backup voice commands and whatnot, make her stronger and all that, but she refused when I told her about the idea. She said to me she didn’t need some fancy gadget to get around, and she’d sooner die than turn into a robot woman. Can you believe that? Guess I should just be happy she can still see all right.”
James chuckled. “She’s managed to live this long. She must know what she’s doing.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking, too. In all seriousness, I know she’s gonna join the good Lord sooner rather than later, but I think she’ll stick around longer than any of us expect.” Trey leaned forward, a curious glint in his eye. “Hey, big man, while you’re in town, maybe you want to help a brother out?”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve got a line on a group of level fours—four of them, funnily enough.” Trey shrugged. “Wizards, not normal bounties. I thought it might be interesting to have you tag along since they are special cases.”
“How are they not normal bounties?” James replied.
Here it comes.
James’ gaze dipped to his shirt. His amulet lay concealed, Whispy separated from his chest by a metal spacer. The symbiont might get his first workout in months.
“You heard of Ultimate?” Trey raised an eyebrow.
“Isn’t that when stoner college kids play frisbee golf?”
Trey snickered. “Nah. Ultimate is a new drug.”
“I haven’t heard of it.” James shook his head. “Should I have?”
“I mentioned it in some of my reports.” Trey sounded amused, not annoyed.
“I don’t pay much attention to the day-to-day stuff at the agency anymore. I figure if there’s any problems, Maria, Chris, you, or Charlyce will let me know. The last time I was on the move, it was because the government specifically whined at me until I helped them out, but I’m supposed to be retired.”
Trey snickered. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Just saying. Anyway, it’s new, and I’m talking super-new. I hadn’t heard anything about it until a month ago. It’s some sort of magical drug, and I don’t mean magic-derived like dust or some of those tripping spells.” His expression darkened. “Word is it can enhance your magical power in a major way.”
James snorted. “Magical steroids?”
“Something like that, yeah.” Trey reached into his jacket, pulled out his phone, and tapped it. “The thing is, it’s a big gamble as well since it can screw you up. Unpredictable side effects. It can change people, or it can straight-up kill them, and not just because it’s not pure. The same part of it that helps charge people up can tear them down.”
James furrowed his brow. “And people are actually using it?”
Trey nodded. “In a big way. The thing is, if it does work, someone who might be a level-four bounty can end up a level-five in terms of power. Luckily, it only works if you’re already magical, so it’s not like street punks are suddenly turning into Brownstone bait, but lame wizards who might have been nothing but enforcers for some local gang have a chance at becoming major players now.” He set his phone down and flipped it around. A map of Texas was displayed on the phone with several red dots clustered in the major cities. “It first appeared in Dallas about a month ago. Rumors at first, but the cops and local bounty hunters had a rough time with fools they shouldn’t have and found some of it after killing the Ultimate-enhanced wizards in a big shootout. That was when people realized it wasn’t a stupid street rumor, and the Feds confirmed it—DEA, the FBI, and PDA. The government’s looking into it now in a big way. Not like anyone wants this kind of thing flooding the streets. Too many damned fools out there are willing to take the risk, and the average wizard is already dangerous enough.”
James grunted. “And your wizard bounties? They’re all into Ultimate?”
“All of them are users, according to my informants.” Trey furrowed his brow. “Nobody at the agency has run into anyone we think is a user, but a few other bounty hunters have. Far as I’ve heard, no Ultimate’s hit LA. Probably because of the Brownstone Effect.” He scoffed. “They might be able to make enough noise to take down a few of our people there, but if they do that, everyone knows you’ll be coming, so they don’t bother.”
James nodded slowly. Not only was that true, but LA’s organized crime families tended to pass along tips about anyone dangerous rolling into town. Everyone preferred the status quo, and everyone likewise understood that if James Brownstone came out of retirement, lots of criminals might end up dead, their buildings destroyed and their organizations annihilated. People had finally learned their lesson.
“So you want me to kick these guys’ asses?” James asked. “You think you’ll have trouble handling them?”
Trey grimaced. “Nah, nah. We can handle the guys, and I know this is beneath you, but it’d be a nice treat for some of the local guys. Some of these newer dudes have never seen you in action other than grilling. There was just that one level-five back in January. It’s inspirational, you know what I’m saying? Hell, I want to see it since it has been a while for me. Plus, if we can get a quick line on where they got their Ultimate, we might be able to stop it before it spreads too far, and make things more pleasant for everyone in Vegas. Cops haven’t gotten any leads. Everyone they’ve dealt with has ended up dead.”
James resisted a snort. Trey was a good leader, but even after all these years, he had trouble publicly admitting when he might be outclassed. He always conveniently had an excuse about new hires or morale.
“I’m on a schedule to get to Denver in time for the opening of the restaurant,” James explained. “I’m not saying I won’t help, but I can’t sit around in Las Vegas for a week waiting for the bounties to show up.”
Trey waved a hand. “No thing. No thing at all, big man. We’ve already got a line on these four, and we should have their location pinned down by tomorrow morning. You can stick around until then, right?”
“Sure.” James picked up a rib and pointed it as if it were a gun. “But you better have these guys’ location. This is supposed to be a vacation and a road trip. I shouldn’t have to go making calls.”
“You just fill up on barbeque and leave all the hunting to Old Trey over here.” The younger man grinned. “Just bring your pain tomorrow. Nothing but the fun part, right?”
James grunted.
Sure, the fun part.
Chapter Six
The next morning, James snorted from the driver’s seat of his F-350 as they headed down the street. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. Seriously?”
Trey laughed from the passenger seat, his phone in his hand. “I swear to the Lord in Heaven. Our dr
ones tagged the guys at long range at the Las Vegas Golf Club. They’re hitting the links.”
“Your big, bad-ass magical steroid-using wizards are out playing golf?”
“Yeah. So?”
James grunted. “I fucking hate golf.”
“It’s not like you really like any sport, big man.” Trey shrugged. “I’ll admit I’ve been getting into it lately. It’s a skill game, but also relaxing. You should give it a try.”
“Hitting a ball into a tiny hole,” James rumbled. “What’s the point?”
“Fun and satisfaction. Just like barbeque.”
James shook his head. “Barbeque and golf are two totally different things.”
Trey smirked. “Sure. Just saying, we all got our hobbies.”
His phone chimed with a message.
James nodded at the phone. “That the team? They golfing, too?”
Trey tapped in a quick response. “We don’t have to play golf. We just have to capture our boys. From what our drones show, they just started their game, so we’ve got plenty of time. Victoria and Ramon are on the way. Since we’ve got you, we’re only bringing four other guys with anti-magic deflectors and anti-magic bullets.”
James had worked with the witch Victoria on occasion, but Ramon had been hired years after James’ retirement. Although they’d talked several times, he’d never worked with the wizard on an actual job.
“I forgot to ask,” James began. “Dead or alive?”
Trey nodded. “Nope. Even though these bastards tore up the local cops in Fort Worth a few weeks ago. I think the cops want to pump them for information.”
“AET? I’ve been pretty lucky about AET teams not being irritated with me in the last few years. There was that shit in Atlanta, but it got cleared up eventually.” James growled in frustration.
Trey shook his head. “AET will be on site, but they won’t be going after them. Since this is a public place, Vic is calling ahead, but under their current lieutenant, they’re always more than willing to let us handle it.” He tapped in another message. “Outsourcing the risk.”
James turned hard at an intersection, his hands tight on the wheel. “In that case, I know where this golf course is, so let’s just meet everyone there and get this over with.”
Even as he complained, a thought bubbled up. He couldn’t deny the truth.
It was good to get a little exercise.
As James drove up the road toward the parking lot, he glanced to his right and frowned. “Are they clearing out that school?”
Car after car zoomed past him going the opposite way. Several people were running on foot along the road, panic on their faces.
Trey nodded. “Remember it’s a Saturday. They got cops over there too, checking to make sure it’s empty. We just need to concentrate on taking down the bounties. If we keep them on the course, no one will get hurt who doesn’t have it coming.”
“And what about the bounties? There’s no way they haven’t noticed all the drones in the sky or the red and blue lights?” James nodded toward the approaching parking lot. Police vehicles and officers filled it, including several AET team members with exoskeletons and a mixture of railguns, stun rifles, and rocket launchers.
James didn’t think about it much, but when he’d started his bounty hunting career, armor and nice rifles were top-of-the-line AET equipment. Now most city’s AET teams had exoskeletons or even power armor. Tech might have stagnated when the gates to Oriceran had opened, but humanity’s ingenuity could only be held back, never stopped entirely.
I bet these guys could take these wizards, but they’ve gotten so used to the agency doing shit that they’re willing to be nothing but glorified crowd control. Not sure that’s a good thing, but we better take care of this shit quickly.
James pulled into an open parking spot. Six men and women in dark suits walked toward him, all Brownstone Agency bounty hunters. A pale, short-haired woman with bright red eyes led the pack, her glowing protective glyphs covering her suit and a slender golden rod in her hand. Victoria Stone.
Ramon walked beside her, an easy smile on his face. The man was always smiling. It annoyed James at times, but it wasn’t like he had to work with him, and Trey had nothing but good things to say about the wizard.
James and Trey stepped out of his truck. James removed the spacer and gritted his teeth as Whispy’s tendrils dug into his chest.
Initiation, Whispy sent. Who are we going to kill today?
James grunted. When he first understood Whispy, he’d always assumed the symbiont would sound like a computer, but he’d noticed a few months after the Battle of LA that the symbiont’s mental personality was slowly changing. Claiming Whispy was becoming more human might be a stretch, but he was becoming something other than a machine obsessed with his former primary directive.
Four wizards using some sort of enhancement drug, James sent.
Unlikely the enemy will present a significant threat or opportunity for adaptation. Kill them quickly. Do not waste time.
Not killing them. We need to take them alive. We need information from them.
Inefficient use of resources. Your time to waste.
Trey reached into his pocket and pulled out a small receiver, which he slipped into his ear.
Victoria and the others stopped, and she nodded to James. “Well, if he’s here, this ought to be quick. I almost feel sorry for those bastards.”
James shrugged. “I could just watch.”
The men around her looked disappointed.
“Nothing wrong with things being quick.” Victoria frowned and jerked her head toward Trey.
Trey nodded and tapped his receiver, an annoyed look on his face.
James looked between them. “What’s going on?”
“The bounties finally seem to care that people are here,” Trey explained. “Two of them are breaking away from the others.” He squinted into the distance. “How about this? Me, Vic, and Ramon go after two, and James goes after the other two? That way we can clean this up before too much happens.” He gestured to the other four bounty hunters. “Y’all stay here as backup in case they get past us. If they do, that means we screwed up, and they’re too dangerous. Take them down in that case. Don’t worry about the money. We don’t want the cops thinking we can’t handle our business.”
The bounty hunters nodded.
James nodded. “Fine by me.” From his pocket, he pulled out a small ring. “Glad I have a suitcase filled with clothes.” He reached under his shirt and placed the ring against his amulet. It was time for a Shay treat.
Most people would never get access to a magical artifact of even moderate power, but he always kept a few on him to feed Whispy. Even though he had a better connection with his symbiont than he’d had in the past, they still hadn’t figured out a good way to hit extended advanced mode other than feeding on magic or being pissed off, and it was hard to care much about a semi-routine bounty.
Let’s do this shit, James sent.
Draining alternate power source, Whispy responded. Sufficient power for extended advanced transformation.
The ring crumbled to dust and silver-green metallic tendrils spread over James’ body, solidifying into a layer of biometallic armor. His armor’s expansion shredded his poor pants and shirt. Claws sprang from his covered hands, and two blades grew from the tops of his arms.
A helmet enclosed his head, and darkness took over for a moment before his new expanded range of vision kicked in.
“Let’s make this quick,” James rumbled. “What direction are the guys I need to go after headed in?”
Trey pointed to the north, past the sandy-brown clubhouse building adjoining the parking lot.
“I’m gonna let you finish off your guys.” James crouched and leapt into the air.
A little height helped James spot two of the wizards in the distance before he landed. A few more mighty bounds put him in front of the two men. They didn’t bother to shoot at him as he flew through the air.
One man’s face twitched and his veins pulsed with light.
Yeah, that’s not normal, James thought. Not that I’m one to talk.
Unlikely enemy will present significant threat, Whispy sent, weariness underlying the thought.
The two bounties dropped their bags and yanked their wands out.
The twitching man with the colorful veins glared at James. “Why are you of all people fucking here?”
James grinned. “Good, you recognize me. That makes shit simple. If you recognize me, then you know what I can do.”
The man’s eyes bulged. “Yes, I recognize you, Brownstone. But why the fuck are you here?”
James grunted. “Because you fuckers have bounties.”
“You’re coming after level fours now?” The man’s eyes started glowing, and his skin began to bubble. “I know you did that shit in January, but those guys weren’t level fours.”
Even target acknowledges it is an insignificant threat, Whispy sent.
That just means this won’t take long.
The wizard’s partner frowned and shook his head. “I said you shouldn’t have used so much. It’s fucking you up.”
“So you’re doing Ultimate?” James asked. “That shit isn’t gonna help you win against me, and it sounds like you already know that. You’re messing yourself up for no good reason.”
“I was having the best fucking game of my life,” the mutating wizard screamed. “Fucking PGA-Tour good! And now you’re here screwing with me.” He cut through the air with his wand. “I just wanted to relax.”
“So did a lot of the people you’ve killed.” James shrugged. “You could make this shit easy on yourself.”
Road Trip: BBQ And A Brawl (The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Book 19) Page 5