by Jillian Neal
“Right on time. I like that,” he goaded Logan again as he opened the door.
A security guard escorted in a brunette woman that Rainer recognized, though he couldn’t quite place from where. Garrett’s eyes goggled as he furrowed his brow. He stared at Vindico, clearly awaiting an explanation.
“This is Bridgette Meyers. She’s a waitress and dancer at The Tantra. She’s agreed to do a little reconnaissance work for us, to help us bring down Wretchkinsides.”
Vindico looked extremely pleased by the news he was sharing. “Bridgette’s uncle and grandfather were both guards at Felsink, so she’s known about the Realm for some time.”
Bridgette nodded and eyed the men in front of her closely.
“Now, Haydenshire, it might be nice if you did something this week to actually earn the paycheck I’m signing for you,” he shook his head to fend off Logan’s apology.
“I’d like you and Lawson to go back to the safe house. Let’s keep eyes on it this morning, and then you can meet us at Angels Arena. We’re going to go over our positions and details for tomorrow’s match.”
“I want detailed descriptions of anyone coming in or out of that house. There’s been a lot of traffic in and out of France and Germany. They have to be going somewhere.”
“As for the challenge tomorrow, I feel very strongly that the Sirens will be playing by their own set of rules.”
Rainer’s stomach flipped uncomfortably.
“Now, go do something that doesn’t make me want to beat my head against this desk.”
“Yes, sir!” they all responded promptly.
“So, you’ll call me later?” Bridgette drawled suddenly. She gave Vindico a coquettish grin.
“Uh, yeah, okay.” Disgust momentarily perforated Vindico’s tone.
“Bye,” she waved, and turned to leave.
Garrett shook his head in abject disbelief as he followed everyone out of the office.
“Miss Meyers,” he called to Bridgette as she made her way back out of the Iodex area. “Are you certain you want to do this?”
She looked very pleased that he’d called her back. She nodded, and flashed Garrett an extremely flirtatious smile.
“Yeah, I mean, he and all of his guys are such jerks. They treat all of us like meat, and I could really use the extra money. So, why not?”
Concern etched Garrett’s chiseled features. “You understand that if Wretchkinsides finds out, he’ll kill you,” he stated without even so much as a blink.
“Yeah, but you’ll keep me safe, right?” she cooed as Rainer and Logan rolled their eyes.
Bridgette slid her index finger down Garrett’s chest. Much to Rainer’s shock, Garrett didn’t return the advances.
“I won’t be there, nor will anyone else. We were all made when we arrested those guys last week. You’ll be on your own. Perhaps you should reconsider.”
Clearly disappointed by Garrett’s lack of interest, Bridgette shrugged, “I’ll be fine.” With a half wave she exited the office.
“I doubt that.”
“We’d better get going,” Logan felt badly for being late after the week he’d had. Rainer was strapping on his Glock when Vindico made another appearance.
“Man, are you shitting me with that?” Garrett leapt. He threw his hand towards the exit doors. Fury lit in his eyes. “So, you’re not only gonna have some Non-Gifted dancer spy for us, but you’re gonna date her just to keep the information coming?”
“That’s what she wants. I need someone who has more access to Nic’s little shits than I do. What’s your problem, Garrett? Why do you give a damn what I do?”
“That’s probably the sickest form of prostitution I’ve ever heard of. Only you, Dan, would agree with something like that. At least if you just screwed her, she wouldn’t get herself killed. What happened to you? Amelia would flip.”
“Why don’t you fuck the hell off, Garrett? Stay the hell out of my life!” Vindico’s office door slammed in Garrett’s face.
Logan and Rainer stood frozen in shock.
“Go on,” Garrett commanded.
They both managed to nod as they headed out to the cars. Rainer shook himself as he tried to reconcile his boss using a stripper to get closer to Wretchkinsides. He cranked the Expedition.
“I take it you had a nice night then?” he tapped his watch. He was still irked that Logan had painted him into a corner with Vindico and the team.
Logan shot Rainer a goading grin. “Perfect, actually.”
Rainer shook his head. He was thrilled to have his best friend back. “That’s all I need to know, really.”
Logan cracked up as he cranked the Accord. “And yourself?”
“Great, and I actually made it to work on time.”
“We really did oversleep.”
Rainer laughed, “Sure you did.”
Logan rolled his eyes, and Rainer could tell there was something he’d decided not to share, but he didn’t need to know the details. He just needed his best friend to be himself again.
“Em nervous about tomorrow?” Logan changed the subject quickly.
“Well, seeing as how the last time she was on the field with that little bitch, she ended up with three broken ribs, I’d say she’s rightfully concerned.”
“No joke. If we’d been out there, we could’ve stopped that cast from hitting her, though. So, at least this time someone will be watching her.”
Angels vs. Sirens
The next morning, everyone was up and getting ready. Rainer stopped every few minutes to embrace Emily, and promised that he’d be right there and wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
Rainer and Logan were to be in full gear for the game, so Rainer wasn’t able to wear one of the Angel t-shirts. Instead, he donned his black BDU pants and a black t-shirt with the Senate Crest on the pocket. ‘Iodex Elite’ was written across the back, in yellow lettering that glowed in the dark. He strapped on his pistol, and waited for Emily to pull on her Angels uniform. He made certain he had the chain to wear her ring under his shirt and her grape-flavored ring pop in his pocket.
“Let’s just do this,” Emily stated with a heavy sigh.
Logan, Adeline, Rainer, and Emily all loaded into the Hummer as Rainer drove them to Alexandria.
The Arena was crawling with people when they arrived. Adeline took a seat in the box with Governor and Mrs. Haydenshire. Rainer walked Emily to the locker room. He stopped her just inside the hallway, out of view of anyone else.
“I’ll be right there the entire time. I will not let her hurt you again.” Rainer slipped the duplicated ring onto her finger as he dropped the other over the chain and fastened it around his neck. He handed her the ring pop and kissed her forehead.
“Good luck, baby, but you won’t need it.”
She unwrapped the sucker and slid it onto her finger before licking it. They laughed together, and shared another quick kiss before Rainer left to join Logan and the other members of Iodex on the field.
“Governor Sapman is attending the Neutrons and Bombers challenge in New York today, so the other officials are checking all of the joule meters and the course,” Vindico gestured to the course, which hadn’t been engaged yet, but looked rather difficult, as far as Rainer could tell.
“I want you all stationed along both sides of the fields. You’ll each have one Angel and one Siren to watch; make certain nothing happens that isn’t supposed to,” he began assigning Angels and Sirens to each team member.
“Lawson, since I know where your eyes will be anyway, I’ll just be nice and let you have Miss Emily Haydenshire and Miss Rowena Harrison from the Sirens. She’s an Enforcer, though, so keep a close eye on her as well.”
“Yes, sir.” Rainer scanned the field. He tried to learn as much as he could before the teams were released. It appeared to be a defensive course, but would be tricky and would take quite a bit of energy to run. Two large drums of carbon were stationed on each side of the field.
Vindico began explainin
g the course as the gaming officials had explained it to him.
“Okay, so carbon from the tank and hydrogen from the air have to be converted to gas, then pumped through the engine. They can use the diode of hydrogen on the wall if they want, but it’s a thirty-second time penalty if they use it.”
“Then they have to harness and gather the heat from the engine, and convert it to electromagnetic radiation to charge the solar panel, enough to start the electrical fire there,” he pointed to black boxes made to light if provided enough heat. They were on the field, near the solar panels.
“Another player will have to summon the heat from the fire, and convert it to elastic energy to shape the rubber tubing until it’s in position and correctly formed to launch the projectile carrying their Iode into the safe zone.”
“If the Iode crashes outside of the safe zone, it’s a five-minute penalty, until their Iode can be restored. If they choose to use the diode of elastic energy there and there,” he pointed to two diodes fixed on the stadium walls, “it’s a three minute penalty.”
“Watch them closely. This course requires quite a bit of heat transformation. It would be very easy to let some slip accidentally,” he used finger quotes as he rolled his eyes, “And then use it to hurt someone. I want all of the Angels to still look like Angels when this is over.”
Rainer’s stomach churned in jarring spikes as he willed his heart to stop hammering in his chest.
“Take your positions. The teams are heading out in just a minute.”
Everyone positioned themselves methodically around the field, but the teams remained in their locker rooms past the starting time
A Summation Official raced to Vindico. They talked for several long minutes, with Vindico shaking his head morosely. With a final nod, he jogged to Rainer and Logan. Garrett moved in as well.
“The Sirens filed a complaint that there were too many Iodex members who might have Emily’s best interest at heart on the field. The attending Realm Governors have to vote to see if you’re all allowed to stay, but my dad and Governor Haydenshire are two of the three here, so I don’t think it’ll be a problem.”
“And…” he glanced around the field, “one of the Siren’s meters had been fixed to read at a constant three after the game play began, so Jessica Sanchez is being banned from the arena for the day, and the Sirens will start with a two-minute penalty. The teams don’t know that yet,” he warned as he moved back into position.
“Let’s do this right, though, so no one calls foul. Allow me to re-state the rules per the gaming Governor,” Vindico said loud enough for most of the stands to hear him.
“Obviously, you are not allowed to help any player from any team in any way. You may not give anyone energy in any format. You may only use defensive or protective maneuvers if the need should arise. You may not talk to any player during game play.”
After sharing a quick glance with Garrett, Vindico waited for the challenge to begin. Rainer assumed he’d forgiven Garrett’s intrusion from the day before.
A Summation official summoned and magnified his voice. “Welcome, everyone, to Angels Arena for our first Summation match of the season!” he boomed to the roaring crowds.
It was then that Rainer saw Dominic Wretchkinsides slither into the opposing team’s box above him. He swallowed down the bile that flooded his throat.
“I would first like to welcome the visiting team today, the Springfield Sirens.” The crowd applauded as the team members’ names were called and they rushed onto the field. They each waved to the crowds.
“And now we’d like to welcome the Arlington Angels, and thank them for hosting us here today!”
Rainer whistled loudly as Emily’s name was called, and she waved to the crowds. She turned to Rainer, giving him a big grin and then stuck out her now purple tongue.
“Unfortunately,” the official’s voice broke up their displays of affection. “We’ve had a member of the Sirens who has been caught with an altered meter. Therefore, the Sirens will begin the challenge with a two-minute penalty.”
Emily glanced at Rainer nervously, but he gave her a soothing smile and a reassuring wink.
“So, without further ado,” the official hit a button to create the energy field aegis that protected the players from any energy from the fans, “Captains, to your positions!”
Rainer watched as Chloe and Marlisa took their positions. Dana Sanders joined Chloe near the starting line. She was their Duco Predilect, and she would help determine and calculate the fastest way to get the Iode into the safe zone.
“Summon!” the official shouted, and they were off.
Marlisa scowled as she paced and waited for the clock to tick to two minutes. In less than forty seconds, Chloe and Dana were back, and explained their plan to the rest of the Angels.
Before the one-minute mark, Sarah was on the field. She summoned and harnessed the molecules in the carbon, and combined them with hydrogen from the air around her, to convert them into gasoline.
By the time she’d finished, the Sirens were on the field, and her Joule meter was out. Marrieta, the Angels Valeduto Predilect, stepped forward to refill her Joule Meter, but Chloe shook her head.
Chloe and Sasha returned to the field and poured the gas into the engine. The pistons began turning, but each of them had lost two bars of energy before they had the engine going quickly.
The Sirens Occamist was struggling with the carbon, and Marlisa was screaming and cursing loudly at her. She seemed to melt under the pressure. The Occamist turned and screeched, “This isn’t what that guy told your dad we would have to do!”
“Whoa!” Vindico, Portwood, and Rainer all cried foul at once as the referees halted game play.
When the Angels were allowed back on the field, they kept working while the gaming officials quizzed Marlisa and the Occamist on what exactly they’d found out before the challenge.
In the end, the Sirens’ only Occamist was thrown from the game as well, and the Sirens were docked five full minutes for cheating.
By this point Emily and Fionna were on the field, gathering the heat from the fire that Sarah had set with the solar panel.
Once Fionna had gathered enough heat, she began shaping the rubber tubing as Emily kept a constant stream of additional heat flowing to her.
Emily’s Joule Meter was dropping rapidly. It took quite a bit of time, but Fionna seemed to know exactly how the tubing needed to be shaped to get the Angels Iode into the safe zone without it bursting on the field. Before they were finished, the Sirens were allowed back on the field.
Marlisa had stepped in to convert the carbon to gasoline, but was having a great deal of trouble with it. She finally managed the conversion just as Fionna and Emily were about to launch their Iode.
Fury contorted Marlisa’s face as she turned, shattered the oxygen from the diode on the wall, and summoned it along with heat to cast a fire.
Panic seized Rainer as he threw a shield cast over Fionna and Emily. Vindico had seen the same thing and cast as well.
Rainer had never set a stronger cast, and he felt the ring vibrate against his chest. Marlisa was thrown from the game for the personal foul.
As soon as Vindico and Rainer released their casts, Fionna pulled the tubing, and the Angels Iode landed in the middle of the safe zone. The crowd went wild.
Emily raced to Rainer. Her Joule Meter was flashing on its last bar as he lifted her up and spun her in his embrace.
“We should’ve used the elastic energy diode. It took us too long,” Emily fussed as he walked to the locker rooms.
Chuckling, he kissed the top of her head. “You won by like eight and a half minutes, baby, and if Chloe had decided to use the elastic energy, it might not have been enough to shape the tubing. So, you would have the penalty, and you and Fionna would still have had to form it. I think you were amazing!”
He was very accustomed to her critiquing her own work when no one else would.
Fionna and Sasha joined them at
the entrance to the locker rooms. A moment later, Chloe and Garrett arrived as well.
“Okay, so you are all coming to the after party tonight, right?” Chloe urged excitedly.
“Definitely,” Emily looked thrilled as well. Fionna was grinning, but her mind seemed to be somewhere else entirely.
“Fi,” Chloe huffed. “As exciting as I’m sure that must’ve been for you, that bitch tried to burn you two with an oxygen gas fire, so either ask him to the party or move on. You’ve had a thing for him forever. Just screw him and get him out of your system.”
Fionna shot Chloe a look that said for her to shut it. “I don’t want to do that, Chloe.”
Rainer tried to determine what part of the challenge, exactly, would have Fionna so giddy. Chloe’s exasperation did nothing to wipe the somewhat goofy grin off of Fionna’s face.
Rainer recalled the fact that Vindico’s cast had been thrown from very near Fionna. She would have felt the full force of his double Predilected rhythms.
A smirk formed on Emily’s features, and then she followed the other girls into the locker room.
Garrett put his arm around Rainer’s shoulders. “You, my friend, are a very, very lucky guy.”
Rainer certainly wouldn’t argue that point. “In what respect?”
Garrett gave him his impish grin. “Well, let me tell you, when the Angels win, they go wild! I mean wild wild!”
Rainer studied Garrett speculatively and shook his head. “Do I even want to know what you’re talking about?”
“Just trust me. You need to bring your ‘A’ game tonight because, when they win, they’re a whole lot more hellcat than angel.”
Garrett looked thoroughly delighted with his evening plans. Before Rainer could reply to that, the girls emerged from the locker rooms and waited as the Sirens were escorted out by the Angels security guards.
“So, we gonna induct Katie and my little sister tonight?” Garrett grabbed Emily, and put her in a full headlock as she tried to wriggle away from him.
“What does that even mean?” Emily spat as Garrett finally released her. She tried to smooth her rumpled hair.