He shrugged. “Dulcinea gave me a few pointers.”
Dulcinea grinned. “Where do you want us?”
Augustine nodded at the front of the alley. “At the entrance. You see anyone who looks like one of her hired thugs and you discreetly take them out. We can’t risk an interruption until Harlow has what she needs.”
“You got it, boss,” Cy said. “Also, it’s good to have you back.”
“Thanks.” Augustine smiled. “It’s good to be back.”
Dulcinea lifted her hand in a salute, then shimmered like a heat wave and became the gray cat again. Cy joined her in his guise as the black tom and together, they trotted back to the head of the alleyway. Cy jumped onto a discarded milk crate while Dulcinea curled up beside it.
“All right,” Augustine said. “They’re in place. Now you stay hidden. I don’t like you in the alley at all. What if she wants to search it?”
“Then you distract her. Honestly, once you get her talking she’s not going to think about anything but her own agenda.”
“I hope you’re right.” He pulled out his LMD and checked the time.
“Robelais?”
The voice brought his head up. He walked out from behind the dumpster. “Senator. I was starting to think you were too scared to meet me.”
Harlow crouched down, making herself as small as possible as Augustine walked toward the senator.
Pellimento laughed. “Too scared? Why? Because your band of misfit fae took down my mercenaries? Sorry, I’m not that easily deterred. Nor, as I’m sure you’ve come to realize, can my plans be so easily ruined. It’s like you have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
Harlow watched the monitors on the cam app and smiled. The senator was the one who had no idea who she was dealing with.
But she would. In a big way.
Augustine realized his nerves were more about Harlow staying hidden than for his own safety. Pellimento would not take him prisoner again, not with Cy and Dulce close at hand and Sydra just a few feet away, listening in from the monitor Harlow had set up in Belle’s back room.
He walked to the middle of the alley, giving Pellimento no reason to approach the dumpster. “I know very well who I’m dealing with. I am surprised you came alone.”
“I wouldn’t say I’m completely alone.” She pulled a handgun from the small purse she carried. “This pistol holds fifteen rounds of specially made hollow points. Would you like to know what’s special about them?”
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me either way.”
“They’re not really hollow.” She hefted the gun. “They’re filled with a mixture of tiny iron pellets and iron shavings. After this bullet hits you, it will explode inside you and dissolve your guts into soup. Not a pretty way to go, but it works for me.”
“And you know this because?”
She cocked her head to one side. “Really, Mr. Robelais? Do you think I wouldn’t test my own weapon before I trusted my life to it? You’re dumber than you look.”
“And you’re a liar and a manipulator out for your own agenda.” Not to mention, pretty stupid if she thought she could get a shot off before he got to her.
She put a hand to her chest and looked aghast. “Mr. Robelais, you wound me. I’m only doing what’s in the best interests of my constituents.” Her hand fell away and her injured expression changed to one of superiority. “My human constituents.”
A thrill zipped through him. This was exactly the territory they’d hoped she’d wander into.
“What have you got against the fae and the varcolai? And the vampires for that matter. They’re not all bad.”
She rolled her eyes. “If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. You’re all abominations. Unnaturals is the word you’ll soon be called.” She sighed. “Othernaturals is so politically correct, isn’t it? Like you all are just another extension of the human race.” The glint in her eyes turned sour. “Well, you’re not. I don’t care if that witch did kill my son; you’re the one who’s going down for it. I’m going to make an example of you, Mr. Robelais. Just because you escaped me doesn’t mean you’re not still going to die a public death.”
He put his hands on his hips. “So you do understand that I’m not responsible for Robert’s death. But you still want to punish me.”
She nodded slowly. “Now you’ve got it. Truth be told, that witch did me a favor. Robert has always been a difficult child. Willful. Feckless. More concerned with what my name could buy him than what his behavior might do to my name.” She exhaled heavily, her chest rising and falling with the effort. “But that witch finally turned him into something useful. A martyr.”
“You might be a worse mother than my own.”
“I don’t know, your mother sounded like a real gem to me.”
“You would say that.”
Pellimento raised the gun. “Where’s the witch you promised me?”
Augustine laughed. “Did you really think I was going to turn over the one person who could clear my name? Just so, what, you could make her disappear?”
“Regardless of my plans for her, we had a deal.” Her hand was steadier on the weapon than Augustine had imagined it would be.
“You want the witch? Drop the curfew. Rescind your lies about me. And leave all othernaturals alone.”
Her gaze narrowed and her lip curled in plain disgust. “I will not rest until your kind are tagged and contained. Or exterminated. I’ll take whichever comes first. Your kind are a plague and the sooner you’re eliminated, the sooner humans will be safe again.”
“My kind have existed beside humans since the beginning of time. Humans are in no more danger now than they were then. My kind are doctors and teachers, police officers and stay-at-home mothers. They work hard. They contribute to society. They love their children. They pay their taxes. They are not the enemy. You are.” His blood went hot with anger, easing the pain still lingering in his bones from the beating he’d taken at her command. “This meeting is over.”
“What’s to stop me from shooting you right here? All I’d have to do is say that you attacked me and I shot in self-defense. People already think you’re a murderer.”
“And lose your chance to kill me in public?” He wagged his finger at her and started inching closer to the opposite wall. That also moved him slightly toward the senator, but his only thought was to get that gun aimed in a direction where it had less chance of hitting Harlow.
Pellimento paled as he came closer, her hand finally showing small tremors. She sidestepped away. “If you even try to touch me—”
“Touching you is the last thing on my mind.” He nodded toward the exit. “You know my demands. You have an hour to make a statement and undo all the damage you’ve done.”
She didn’t budge. “Or?”
“Or…” He shrugged. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Are you threatening me?” She lifted the collar of her suit jacket toward her mouth and spoke into the lapel. “I’m being threatened. Do you hear that? The fae who murdered my son is now threatening me.”
Cy and Dulce began to meow and hiss. Augustine gave them a little shake of his head as two police officers appeared at the mouth of the alley. She waved the gun in Augustine’s direction. “Arrest him.”
One officer started toward Augustine. He stopped at the senator’s side. “Ma’am, we’d be happy to escort you out of here and back to whatever address you’d like to go.”
Happy wasn’t really how Augustine would describe the look on the officer’s face. Minimal tolerance was more like it. Augustine raised his hand to his forehead in a small salute. “Officer.”
Pellimento looked at the cop in horror. “What? Arrest him!”
The officer rested one hand on his gun belt. “Also, ma’am, I’m going to need to see your carry permit for that weapon.” He held his other hand out. “Until then, I’ll be taking possession of it.”
She jerked the gun away from him. “I am a sen
ator of the Southern Union.”
“And I am an officer of the New Orleans Police Department. I’ll give you one more chance to hand over the weapon and leave peacefully.”
Sputtering like she might blow a vein, Pellimento gave the officer the gun and left with him. She kept glancing over her shoulder, sparks shooting from her gaze like bottle rockets going off.
Dulce swiped a claw at her as she walked past.
As soon as she was gone, Augustine released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. The adrenaline in his system had blocked a lot of his pain. Now it came rushing back. He grabbed hold of the dumpster’s edge as his vision started to tunnel in.
Harlow was instantly there, ducking under his arm to support him. “You don’t look so hot.”
“Don’t feel it, either.” He closed his eyes, trying to hang on to consciousness. “You get what you need?”
“Everything. You were perfect.”
“Great.” He almost managed a smile but every inch of him throbbed too much to figure out what his face was doing. Cy and Dulce reappeared in their fae forms. For a moment, he saw four of them. “I should… probably go back to the… the…”
Then everything went black.
Chapter Thirty
It’s been an hour.” Harlow walked from one side of Augie’s attic room to the other. She’d set up a holovision in the room and since Dr. Carlson had left, they’d been monitoring the local news, watching for an indication that the senator might actually make some kind of apology and set things right.
Augie was propped up with a pile of extra pillows, a pain strip firmly attached to his ribs, which were now bound. He glanced at his LMD on the bed beside him. “Babe, it’s been forty-five minutes.”
Footsteps sounded on the landing. Fenton knocked on the door frame. “I hate to disturb you but Lally told me you were up here and—”
“You’re not disturbing us.” Augie waved one hand through the air like he was underwater, his smile still lopsided and his eyes glassy. She was okay with that. Meant the pain strip was doing its thing. “Come in, sit down. Show’s about to start.”
Fenton took a chair. “Thank you. How are you feeling, Augustine?”
“Great,” he slurred. “Doc Carlson fixed me right up.”
Harlow shook her head. “Dr. Carlson said he’ll need at least a full day of bed rest, maybe two, before the damage from the iron is completely gone.”
Fenton nodded. “Sounds reasonable. No word from the senator, I take it?”
“None.” She went to the coffee table in front of Augie’s couch and fired up her laptop sitting there, thrilled the pain in her hands was nothing more than a minor irritation now. “I’m ready to go, though.”
His brows lifted. “You can do everything you need to do with that one machine?”
She smiled. “This one machine and my fae skills.” She lifted one shoulder. “Also, I’m tapped into the computer lab at the Pelcrum. That is a serious amount of firepower you’ve got going on over there.”
“Tapped in?” His brows furrowed. “That’s a very secure system.”
“No such thing as a very secure system. Not to me anyway.” She bit her lip. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, of course not.” He splayed his hands on the chair’s arms. “I guess I should stop being surprised by your abilities.”
“My girl is amazing,” Augustine volunteered.
“Yes, she is,” Fenton agreed. He glanced at his watch. “I believe the senator’s hour is up.”
Harlow took off her gloves and cracked her knuckles. “Well, then, let’s get this party started.”
“Give her hell, Harley.” Augustine lifted his hand, thumb up, and grinned.
“That’s my plan.” She attacked the keyboard, sending out the video segment she’d prepared while the doctor had been taking care of Augustine. She overrode satellite feeds and streaming webcasts, local, nationwide, international—wherever and whatever she could access, becoming one with the machine. There was nothing off-limits to her.
The holovision flickered and the local newscast disappeared.
She typed one last command and sat back. “Here we go.”
The senator’s face appeared onscreen. The camera zoomed out to show more of her, revealing she held a gun. “This pistol holds fifteen rounds of specially made hollow points. Would you like to know what’s special about them?”
The view switched to Augustine. Harlow leaned in. Her edit job had been fast and dirty. She prayed it came out the way she intended. He looked so pale, but she understood the pain he’d been enduring to make this meeting happen. He spoke. “I’m sure you’re going to tell me either way.”
“They’re not really hollow.” Pellimento lifted the gun higher. Her face practically gleamed with hatred. The night vision lens did not cast her in a pretty light. “They’re filled with a mixture of tiny iron pellets and iron shavings. After this bullet hits you, it will explode inside you and dissolve your fae guts into soup. Not a pretty way to go, but it works for me.”
Harlow glanced down at the dedicated website where she’d posted the video so that it would be available even after the telecast was over. She’d also linked to Dr. Carlson’s report of Augustine’s injuries, complete with the pictures she’d asked for. The hits were climbing rapidly.
The video continued, back to Augie now. “What have you got against the fae and the varcolai? And the vampires for that matter. They’re not all bad.”
Pellimento rolled her eyes. “If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times. You’re all abominations. Unnaturals is the word you’ll soon be called.”
“Hah,” Augustine barked from bed. “This is going to finish her.”
“We’ll see,” Fenton said. He twisted his hands together nervously and shifted his gaze back to the holovision.
Pellimento was glaring at Augustine. “I don’t care if that witch did kill my son, you’re the one who’s going down for it. I’m going to make an example of you, Mr. Robelais. Just because you escaped me doesn’t mean you’re not still going to die a public death.”
Augustine stared right back at her, hands on his hips. “So you do understand that I’m not responsible for Robert’s death. But you still want to punish me.”
Pellimento’s slow grin came off as calculated and chilling. “Now you’ve got it. Truth be told, that witch did me a favor. Robert has always been a difficult child. Willful. Feckless. More concerned with what my name could buy him than what his behavior might do to my name.” She sighed heavily. “But that witch finally turned him into something useful. A martyr.”
Fenton shook his head. “She’s digging her own grave.”
“We hope,” Harlow answered. She checked the site again. “Almost a million hits and three thousand shares. We’re definitely getting eyes on this.”
“Good.” Augustine’s voice was soft, his lids struggling to stay open.
“Rest, Augie. There’s nothing more you can do right now anyway.” Harlow dropped the volume on the holovision a few bars.
Pellimento’s swan song was coming up. When the camera returned to her, her face was a mask of disgust. “I will not rest until your kind are tagged and contained. Or exterminated. I’ll take whichever comes first. Your kind are a plague and the sooner you’re eliminated, the sooner humans will be safe again.”
The view switched to Augustine, who seemed filled with righteous indignation. He looked strong and beautiful, his bruised face giving him the appearance of a fighter unwilling to back down. “My kind have existed beside humans since the beginning of time. Humans are in no more danger now than they were then. My kind are doctors and teachers, police officers and stay-at-home mothers.”
A tremor of emotion filled his voice, causing Harlow’s breath to catch in her throat as he continued. There was no one who could deny Augustine believed the words he was speaking. “They work hard. They contribute to society. They love their children. They pay their taxes. They are not
the enemy. You are.”
The video cut to Senator Pellimento being led out of the alley by the cop, then faded to black.
The screen flickered again and the local newscast reappeared. The anchorwoman seemed surprised, but not flustered. “As you just saw, our broadcast was interrupted by what appeared to be a video of Senator Irene Pellimento with a gun. We put a call in to the New Orleans Police Department and they confirmed that Senator Pellimento was charged an hour ago with unlawful possession of a firearm. Based on that report, we believe the date and time stamp on this video to be genuine. Our call to the senator’s office has not yet been returned, but I can assure you we will be following this story very closely.”
Fenton’s LMD buzzed. He held a hand up. “I’d better take this.” Harlow turned the holovision off as he answered. Augustine had finally fallen asleep, too. “Yes, Prime Quinn. I see. Very good. Yes, they both are. I’ll tell her.” He hung up, keeping his voice low and glancing at Augustine. “Let’s go outside to talk.”
She followed him into the hall, closing the door behind her so Augie could get the rest he so desperately needed. “What was that about?”
“The charges against Augustine have been dropped, but will be resumed unless we bring Giselle Vincent in.” He hesitated as if searching for words. “What you did, with that video, was… amazing. You not only saved Augustine and his reputation, but depending on how this shakes out, the threat of Senator Pellimento may be one less thing for us to worry about. I can’t pretend she won’t still do whatever she can to make life for all othernaturals as uncomfortable as possible, but she’s been exposed and that’s a very good thing for us.”
Harlow shrugged, a little embarrassed by the praise. “I was just doing what needed to be done.”
“Prime Quinn would like to throw a dinner in your honor. When Augustine is up to it of course.”
“That would be… wicked cool.” She grinned, unable to help herself.
He smiled back. “Now, about Ms. Vincent.”
Harlow nodded. “Yeah, about her. Where did you stash her?”
A curious light filled Fenton’s gaze. “The Claustrum.”
Garden of Dreams and Desires Page 29