The chief pushed around one of the papers on his desk and then looked up at me.
“Is that your way of volunteering, Piper?”
“Me?” I choked. “Oh, hell no. I was just trying to—”
“Because it really sounded like you were volunteering.”
Reaper was smiling now.
“Son of a bitch,” I hissed, and this time I did not apologize.
We all sat there in silence for a minute. It had been one hell of a day, and it was going to take a while to process everything.
“My worry,” the chief said, “is that Keller has succeeded in weakening us even further. We can’t stand another rout because of him.”
“But we have the people on our side,” Reaper pointed out, “especially once it becomes clear how all of these riots happened. They will put aside their differences and fight a common enemy.”
“You’ve still got a lot to learn about people, Officer Payne,” the chief sighed. “And even if they are willing to work together, which I highly doubt, who knows how many of them are already infected with Keller’s teachings?” He grabbed for another bottle of pink liquid. “For all we know, there could be agents inside here who have fallen under his spell.”
That was a sobering thought.
Anyone in here would be able to open the gate for the evil mage.
“Shit,” I said.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” the chief agreed with a nod.
Chapter 32
It was time to eat crow. I didn’t want to, of course, but what choice did I have? That damn turtle had done a bang-up job today.
“Reaper,” I said as I stood before him, Brazen, Kix, Methkins, Pecker, and Agnes, “would you please tell Agnes that I appreciated her help today?”
“You just told her yourself,” Reaper replied happily. “She can hear you just fine, Piper. You just can’t hear her.”
“Right.”
“Oh,” he added, “and she says, ‘Nada problem’.”
“Nada problem?”
“It’s how she speaks,” he answered with a shrug.
I had to believe that, seeing as it was definitely not how Reaper Payne spoke.
“Anyway,” I said, crossing my arms as I stood in front of them, “it looks like we’re the go-to team for dealing with Keller. I don’t know if it’s because he failed to kill me as a child—” I pointed at Brazen as he opened his mouth. “Before you think to call me Piper Potter or something similar, I suggest that you remember I hold your career in my hands.”
He closed his mouth.
Reaper, Pecker, and Methkins started to giggle.
I gave them a concerned look. “What?”
“Nothing, nothing,” Pecker said, wiping his nose. “You were saying?”
“What?” I repeated more firmly.
Reaper chuckled again and said, “It’s just that Agnes suggested a better name for you would be ‘Harry Piper’.”
The others laughed.
I gave the turtle a dark look.
She didn’t seem bothered.
“Hilarious,” I said, quieting them down. “Can we get back to discussing the fate of the world now, please?”
It took a few more seconds for them to chill.
“Wait,” I said to Methkins as a slap of realization hit me, “you can hear her, too?”
“Yeah, man. Why?”
“What about you two?” I asked Brazen and Kix.
They shook their heads. Maybe it was a magic thing?
No, that couldn’t be it.
It would mean that Pecker was magical.
Yes, I recognized how wrong that sounded.
“Whatever,” I grunted, waving my hands to void that image from my mind. “Anyway, the chief has suggested that we may be facing a full-scale attack soon against the station, but this time it’ll be coming from topside.”
“How’s that possible?” asked Kix. “Pecker’s changed the codes on everything.”
“Which won’t matter if there’s a mole,” Pecker replied. I gave him an appraising glance. He gave me a look and added, “I’ve been worried about that since all this started.”
“Any suggestions on how to counter it?” asked Reaper.
“Yeah,” he replied, “but I can’t tell you about them.”
We all understood that. If any one of us had been tampered with by Keller, Pecker divulging the info would make it impossible to know which of us cracked. I knew it wasn’t me, and I was damn sure it wasn’t Reaper.
But what about the others?
I glanced at Agnes.
She was a talking turtle, after all. But wouldn’t Reaper have sensed something strange?
Then I looked over at Methkins.
He’d been nothing but a stoner up until he ended up in that box. What if Keller and Temperance had gotten to him in that building before the guards had dragged him across the field for torture?
I bit my lip at the prospect.
No, that couldn’t be it. Why would they have tortured him at all, if they wanted him on their side? Plus, he was the one who killed Temperance. But then again, that could have been Keller’s plan.
Could it be they knew that Reaper and I were coming after him?
They sure didn’t seem to know, but the fae were tricksters, right?
Brazen and Kix had also been holed-up down there. They’d spent time in that camp. For all I knew, Keller could have gotten to them, too.
Shit, when I really thought about it, all of them could be held as suspect.
That was the problem with dickheads like Keller, he sowed seeds of discord.
I couldn’t believe I just thought those very words.
“All right,” I groaned, “we’ll have to be on our toes at all times.”
Nobody said anything.
“I know it’s unlikely that anyone on our immediate crew is in league with Keller, Reap,” I said, knowing full well that Agnes could hear me, “but we have to be careful.”
“I was thinking the same thing earlier,” he replied.
The tube was coming to a stop in the Diamond District and he got up.
“Any interest in having dinner with me and Agnes?” he asked. “We were thinking about freeze-dried shrimp and leafy greens for her and a nice salad for me.”
“Sounds dreadful,” I said, feeling anxious about admitting it, “but I’m doing dinner with Minos.”
He raised an eyebrow at me and nodded.
“Interesting,” he said.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I replied, knowing damn well I was blushing.
“Good night, Piper.”
“G’nite, Reap.”
As the tube pulled from the station, I couldn’t help but think that there was going to be more trouble hitting us soon.
Keller had us right where he wanted us.
I could only hope he’d hold off for tonight, because I seriously wanted to grab Minos and jump his bones.
The End
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John P. Logsdon
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John was raised in the MD/VA/DC area. Growing up, John had a steady interest in writing stories, playing music, and tinkering with computers. He spent over 20 years working in the video games industry where he acted as designer and producer on many online games. He’s written science fiction, fantasy, humor, and even books on game development. While he enjoys writing lighthearted adventures and wacky comedies most, he can’t seem to turn down writing darker fiction. John lives with his wife, son, and Chihuahua.
Christopher P. Young
Chris grew up in the Maryland suburbs. He spent the majority of his childhood reading and writing science fiction and learning the craft of storytelling. He worked as a designer and producer in the video games industry for a number of years as well as working in technology and admin services. He enjoys writing both serious and comedic science fiction and fantasy. Chris lives with his wife and an ever-growing population of critters.
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This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by John P. Logsdon & Christopher P. Young
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Published by: Crimson Myth Press (www.CrimsonMyth.com)
Cover Art: Jake Logsdon (www.JakeLogsdon.com)
Deathly Temperance: A Piper & Payne Supernatural Thriller (Netherworld Paranormal Police Department Book 3) Page 11