His bones prickled with heat again and anger filled his body with the kind of heady need to act that left him almost mute. That need mixed with the recklessness he’d already been feeling and gave him his tongue again. He spoke slowly and distinctly, but schooled the anger out of his expression, instead pretending to be defeated by the inevitable. “Turn your camera on.”
Surprise and delight dancing over her features, Pellimento snapped her fingers. “Nguyen, you heard him.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The merc fussed with a few buttons, repositioning the camera slightly. “Good to go.”
She held her hand out. “The floor is yours, Mr. Robelais.”
He stared directly into the lens. “Senator Pellimento is a vile bigot and should be impeached before this city pays the price for her lunacy. Furthermore—”
“Sutter!” She shot to her feet, knocking her chair over. “You shut your mouth, fae.” She charged forward and slapped Augustine across the face.
He almost laughed at her feeble attempt to inflict pain. If he died here, which seemed more and more likely, maybe they’d find that footage. Or maybe they wouldn’t. Either way, he’d gotten to say what he’d felt. Almost. In case the camera was still rolling, he shouted, “Harlow, I love you.”
Pellimento slapped him again. “You dirty fae bastard.” She turned to Nguyen. “Did you get what I needed?”
He nodded. “I think so. You might want to review it.”
Sutter charged in.
She pointed at Augustine, lip trembling with barely controlled rage, and simply said, “Again.”
Harlow appeared in the hallway of the Pelcrum, exactly on the spot she’d left from. She ran into the war room. All the lieutenants were there plus three new fae. One of them, Nekai, she recognized. “Hey, Nekai. I was afraid the rest of you would be gone.” The other two she’d never seen before but guessed they were the pair Fenton had mentioned. They had squat muscular bodies and dusty skin that looked like they’d rolled in gray flour. “You must be…” She bit her lip. What had Fenton said their names were?
“Guz,” one rumbled.
“Rat,” the other grunted.
Cy stood up. “They’re goblin fae. Not much for words. But super-strong, very loyal and basically indestructible. Guz once took two bullets in his left shoulder.” Cy shook his head. “Never even knew it until he tried to go to the aquarium a few weeks later and set the security scanner off.”
Guz grinned, showing off teeth that looked like slightly sharpened sugar cubes. “Like fish. Fish good.”
“Fish are great.” Oh-kay. Harlow gave the curious pair a little smile. “Nice to have you on the team.” She gave Cy a questionable look.
“They’re fine, I swear,” he whispered.
With a nod, she addressed the rest of the group. “Can we hit that warehouse now? Get Augustine out of there?”
“About that,” Dulcinea started. The hesitant look on her face gave Harlow a sinking feeling. “Right before he went to check on you, Fenton had me call in a backup request to our contact at the police department. They sent a few unmarked cars to the location. Got fidgety while they waited and decided to do a little recon.”
Harlow leaned forward when Dulcinea stopped talking. “And?”
Dulcinea sighed. “They searched it top to bottom. It’s empty. No sign anyone’s been there in a few days.”
Harlow sank into the nearest chair. The air in her lungs no longer sufficient, she opened her mouth and tried to breathe. The loss of the lead hit her like a punch to the gut.
Cy sat beside her. “We’ll start patrols, we’ll canvass the streets, talk to anyone who—”
“What about security cameras?” Dulcinea asked. “Augie said you’d set up some kind of thing to search for Rue using facial recognition and security feeds?”
Harlow looked at the changeling. “Genius.”
Dulcinea nodded. “Augie said it was good—”
“No. You. That idea.” She pushed back to her feet. “I need to get back to the computer lab.” She jogged down the hall and to the room that held some of the most amazing equipment she’d ever laid hands on. She pushed the door open, stripped off her gloves and threw herself into the chair at the station she’d used to hack Grantham’s GPS.
“What are you going to do?” Cy asked.
“Hmm?” She looked behind her, only then realizing the whole crew had followed her in. They stared back at her. Except for Rat and Guz, who seemed mesmerized by some of the blinking lights. “I cloned Augustine’s phone not long after I moved in. I used it to track him once when the vampires were an issue. Watched him kill one right in front of me.”
“Cool,” Sydra whispered.
“I didn’t exactly think so at the time.” But things had changed a lot since then. She pulled out her LMD, set it on the remote access port and logged into its memory through the computer’s mainframe. She maneuvered her way through the data, calling up the clone she’d installed and transferring it to the monitor in front of her. A moment later, the monitor flickered to life and a map appeared, a single blinking red icon lighting the black-and-white schematic. She pointed to it. “There, what’s that?”
Dulcinea leaned in. “Nine Twenty-one Canal Street.” She thought for a second. “That’s the location of the Ritz-Carlton.”
Harlow zipped through the Web to the Ritz-Carlton’s servers, finding her way into their system without a snag. The screen shifted to reflect her activity. She pushed her way into the guest registry, filtering the names with a single mental command.
The name she’d been looking for flashed on the monitor. A few softly muttered curses from those behind her filled the air.
“Are you kidding me?” Dulcinea stabbed a finger at the monitor. “Does that mean what I think it means?”
Harlow stood. “Yes. Augustine’s being held in the Ritz-Carlton.” She glanced at the name listed next to the Grand Presidential Suite. “And Senator Pellimento didn’t even bother to register under a fake name.”
Cy whistled. “She thinks she’s untouchable, doesn’t she?”
“Yes.” Harlow looked around. “Anyone ever been to the Ritz? Because I haven’t and I don’t think we can get there by mirror if we haven’t actually been there, right?”
“Right,” Cy answered. “And no, not me.”
“Not me, either,” Dulcinea said.
“I’m out, too.” Sydra shrugged.
“I have,” Nekai said. “My sister is on the housekeeping staff there. Or was.” He frowned. “They fired her after the covenant was broken. They cited some bogus reason, but I’m sure it was because they thought their guests would freak out if they saw someone so blatantly fae on staff.”
Harlow snorted. “No wonder Pellimento stays there. They’re her kind of people.” She shook her head. “Nekai will take us through to the hotel then. What kind of weapons do we have? From what Grantham told us at the hospital, Pellimento’s got at least nine hired men, all with guns.”
Nekai put his hands on his hips, the silver runes covering his midnight skin catching the light in a very reassuring way. “I can help with that, too. I have a spell in my repertoire that renders firearms useless for twenty-four hours.”
“I’m hoping we don’t need more than a few minutes,” Harlow said. “That will do nicely. They have the advantage in numbers, but I’d take seven fae against nine human mercs and a senator any day.”
Sydra snorted. “With Cy and the goblin boys, I’m pretty sure the advantage is ours.”
“Better,” Rat said. “More kill.”
“Maybe less kill, more rescue.” Harlow shot him a smile. “All right then, let’s grab our gear and storm this joint. It’s time to bring Augustine home.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Harlow and the lieutenants Nekai had yet to take through to the Ritz-Carlton were still in the computer lab when Fenton stuck his head in. She tipped her head at him. “Hey.” She knew him well enough by now that if he needed to tell her something, he wou
ldn’t hesitate, so if he didn’t stop her, she’d assume he hadn’t had any issues taking care of Giselle or getting Lally home.
His brows rose as Nekai popped back in from transporting Cy and Guz. “Headed to the warehouse?”
“No, there was no one at the warehouse. We’re headed to the Ritz-Carlton,” Harlow answered. “Pellimento’s holding Augustine there.”
Nekai took Sydra and Rat through next.
Fenton’s brows lifted a little farther. “Ballsy move on the senator’s part. I’ll call in a request to get backup there.”
“Thanks. I’d totally forgotten about that,” Harlow said.
He shrugged. “That’s what I’m here for. I’m sure the NOPD wants those mercenaries in custody as much as we do.”
Dulcinea chimed in. “Give them my number, tell them to text me when they’ve arrived and I’ll text back when we’re ready for them to take custody of the suspects.”
“You got it,” Fenton said.
Nekai returned and looked at Harlow. “You and Dulcinea ready?”
“Yes.” She nodded at Fenton. “See you later.”
Pride shone in Fenton’s eyes as he looked at her. “May fate fight with you.” He lifted his chin a little, the set of his jaw giving him an air of great seriousness. “Bring our Guardian home safe, Lieutenant.”
“I will.”
Nekai stuck his hand out and she and Dulcinea grabbed hold of it. Harlow hadn’t expected Fenton’s words to put a lump in her throat, but as they joined the other lieutenants in the hotel, she swallowed, pushing the emotion down. There was nothing she wouldn’t do to bring Augustine back, a sentiment shared by the crew around her. She wasn’t alone in this.
Enormous barrel-shaped machines lined the walls, most of them humming away. The noise level was substantial but not deafening.
“Are we in the laundry?” she asked.
Nekai nodded. “I thought it was better than dumping everyone into the lobby.”
“Agreed.” She looked at the faces around her. “What’s our plan? We know he’s being held in the penthouse. How do we get up there?”
The door opened and they ducked behind the last row of machines. A uniformed housekeeper came in, gathered a few towels off a shelf and left again.
Cy grinned. “I know how we’re getting up there.” He looked at Nekai. “Do you need a special key to get to the penthouse in the elevator?”
Nekai nodded. “And I don’t have one.”
“I bet we don’t need one.” Cy’s attention shifted to Harlow. “Can you do your computer thing and override the mechs to get us up there?”
She smiled back. “Absolutely.”
He spoke to the rest of the group. “Harlow and I will run up there. I’ll get in the room and do what recon I can, count the guys in there, see if I can get eyes on Augustine, that kind of thing. Once that’s figured out, we’ll come back down, grab the rest of you and storm the place.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Dulcinea said. Behind her, Sydra nodded.
Guz chimed in with a guttural “Plan.”
Nekai gave Cy an odd look. “How are you going to get in the room?”
Cy winked at Harlow and a second later she was looking at the housekeeper who’d interrupted them a few minutes ago. He put a hand on one hip. “How do you like me now?”
“Damn, man.” Nekai shook his head, but his eyes were full of laughter. “I knew you were an ethos fae, but for some reason it never occurred to me you might do… this. It’s good, but I don’t think they’re just going to let you into the room because you’re housekeeping.”
“I’ll take some towels.”
“Towels aren’t going to cut it.” Nekai looked around the room. “That cabinet over there holds the incoming dry cleaning. Find something that looks like what the senator might wear and take that.”
“I’ll find something,” Dulcinea said. She went to the cabinet and started digging.
Cy pointed at Harlow. “You get me up there, then stay in the elevator. There’s a good chance she’ll have at least one guy posted in the hall.”
Harlow nodded. “Agreed.”
Dulcinea returned with several hangers’ worth of women’s clothes. “There’s even a slinky nightie in here. I don’t think it’s something the senator would actually wear, but it might be good to have something her thugs won’t want to be responsible for.”
Cy said his thanks and took the clothes.
Harlow glanced at Nekai. “Which way to the elevators?”
“Down the hall and take a right.”
“Great. Don’t get caught while we’re gone.”
“You, either,” Sydra said.
She and Cy the housekeeper left the laundry behind. She looked at him as they walked through the hotel hall. “You better do something about your voice or they’re going to know something’s up.”
“How’s this?”
His voice had become girly, but with a little edge. She made a face. “Are you imitating me?”
“I can only replicate people I’ve seen and heard. The housekeeper didn’t say anything so…” He shrugged. “Is that okay?”
“Sure.” She thought about it a moment. “But what if Augustine hears it and calls out to me?”
Cy was quiet as they rounded the corner to the bank of elevators. “Or what if he hears me, thinks it’s you and realizes we’re there to get him out? It might give him hope.”
She punched the up button. “I hadn’t thought about it like that. Do whatever you want.”
“Okay.” He got on the elevator beside her.
She pulled off one glove and pressed her palm flat to the touch screen. She closed her eyes for a moment as she steered through the maze of circuitry. Finding the floor she needed, she bypassed the key code and gave the elevator the command to rise. As it moved, she put her back against the panel, where she’d be less likely to be seen when the doors opened. In that position she was able to keep her hand pressed to the controls.
The elevator stopped. Cy had the dry cleaning over one arm, looking as perfectly like the housekeeper as was possible. The doors slid apart, then he whispered, “Wish me luck” and was gone.
She let the doors close about six inches, then held them there with a mental command to the circuit board. She listened as hard as she could.
“What’s your business?” a gruff voice asked.
Her own voice said, “I’m bringing up the senator’s dry cleaning.”
A grunt was the only answer returned. A moment later, she heard three short knocks followed by “Housekeeping.”
A brief pause, then a door opened. Cy spoke again. “I have Senator Pellimento’s dry cleaning.”
“I’ll take it,” a male voice answered.
“I don’t think so,” Cy said. “There are some… delicate items in here. I’m not turning them over to someone I don’t know.”
More grunting. Then the sound of the door shutting. She tipped her head back. Unbelievable. He’d gotten inside. Several long minutes passed. A single bead of sweat inched down her spine.
Footsteps. She twisted toward the opening between the doors, waiting, anticipating what to do if it wasn’t Cy. Her free hand moved toward the blade secured in her waistband.
“Just me,” Cy whispered as he stuck a hand through the doors.
She exhaled her relief and commanded the doors to open all the way.
He walked on and gave her a nod, his voice still quiet. “Let’s go get the others.”
As soon as the doors were shut, he turned back into himself again. “I counted four guys, but only heard the senator. She was in another room on a phone call. There were a lot of computers and some camera equipment. I tried to take the clothes into the bedroom, but the guy blocking the door wouldn’t let me. I smelled smoke.”
“Augie.” The knot of emotion had once again clogged her throat. She forced it down.
Cy nodded as the elevator doors opened. “He’s definitely in there.”
They made th
eir way back to the laundry room. Cy stuck his head in. “All clear.” He held the door for her.
She gave the group a nod. “We need to get him out now.”
Dulcinea looked at Cy, who was shutting the door behind them. “Augie’s there?”
“It smelled like a smokesinger was in there.” He leaned against the door. “Four guys plus the senator. No idea where the others are.”
“Maybe they’re working in shifts,” Nekai said.
“Wait,” Harlow said. “Is that including the one in the hall?”
Cy frowned and shook his head. “Five.”
“Either way it’s fewer than we thought. Guns?”
“Yes,” Cy said. “Big ones. Assault rifles.”
“Then I’ll go first to knock out the weapons. After that…” Nekai shrugged. “I’m not much of a fighter.”
“I am.” Dulcinea pointed at the goblin fae. “I’ll go in behind Nekai and you two come in behind me. Guz, you take the one in the hall. Rat, you find and subdue the senator.”
Rat nodded fast.
Dulcinea narrowed her eyes at the goblin. “Subdue does not mean kill. No blood. No death.”
Rat heaved out a sigh. “No blood?”
Harlow almost laughed at his utter disappointment. “Very little blood, Rat.”
“Okay. Small blood okay.” His grin returned.
Dulcinea looked at Cy, Sydra and Harlow. “Sydra and I can handle the other three in the penthouse, especially if they don’t have operational weapons. Nekai can keep watch in the hall for more of her men. That leaves Cy and Harlow to take out the guard on the bedroom door if he hasn’t already left his post to help the others. By then Guz should be in the penthouse, too. If there’s another merc in the bedroom guarding Augustine, we’ll be able to handle him no problem.” She pointed at Harlow. “Chances are real good they’ve got iron cuffs on him. If you can’t find the key…”
Harlow held up her hands. “I can get them off.”
Cy looked at her. “You sure your ability to manipulate metal extends to iron?”
She nodded. “Yes. I’m sure it won’t be fun, but I can do it. And for Augie, I’d do anything.”
Garden of Dreams and Desires Page 26