M. Lee - Dark

by M. Lee

  Julius spread his hands in a silent shrug. “I came because he’s headed here.”

  Dark swore. “His compatriots have a target here, at the hotel. We haven’t beenable to find out more.”

  Julius blew out a sharp breath. “We?”

  Dark shifted. “I’ve been working with a linguist. Jaime.”

  “Where is he?” The question took Dark by surprise. “You’ve obviously deduced that you are the likelytarget. Anyone involved might be indanger.”

  Dark pulled his secondary phone out and dialed for on-call service. No one picked up. He tapped the hotel’s visuals for all three of Jaime’s floors, with no better luck. Tensiontightened inhis gut. “Nothing.”

  “Damn.”

  Dark continued to search while restarting the conversation. “Why would isolationists want me in particular? Or does Richards hold a grudge?”

  There was a tinge of sarcasm in Julius’s voice when he answered. “Oh, I don’t know, Dark. It’s not like you have anything that extremists looking to force a one-world agenda would object to.”

  Dark blinked. The computer continued to turn up blanks. “The bike?”

  Julius huffed. “The one-of-its-kind transdimensional motorcycle that makes the official Gates between the worlds damn near obsolete? Yes, I’d sayso.”

  Dark twisted. “We’ve got to get out of here, then. It’s parked in the basement. Any idea where they might be meeting?”

  Julius raised aneyebrow at him. “As it happens.”

  Dark grinned. “Let’s go.”

  DARK’Sbike was a thing of beauty. From its black

  and-silver paint to its flawless transmission, Dark had built her himself. He’d owned her long before Julius came along, and kept her in perfect running condition. The transdimensional aspect, allowing the bike and anyone riding it to world-hop, was a joint effort. It was string theory crossed with multiverse interfracturing crossed withnano-mechanicalknowledge, and that was about all Dark would ever say about it to those who asked.

  He had a lot of good memories attached to this bike. Late nights coming up with the theory, rolling around in joy when they got something done. Julius, his taste sharp and his hands urgent against Dark’s skin, both of them laughing at the smear of come on the corner of the paper they’d been working on. Taking it for test rides and getting fucked over it. Julius calling it the only woman to get between your thighs, and Dark laughinglysaying, “Damn right.”

  He gave it a fond stroke now as he mounted it, helmet sliding easily onto his head. Julius took the helmet he passed him and put it on, curling his arms around Dark. “Ready.”

  In response, Dark flicked the bike on and pulled out.

  JULIUS’Sdirections took them through town and out

  the other side. Eventually they went past another hotel, small and seedy with a sign that read, “No vacancies.” Dark waited untiltheywere around the bend inthe road to ease the bike over to the side. He cut the motor and pushed it into the forest.

  “Youdidn’t tellme there were civilians.” Julius made a rude sound but spoke in the same quiet voice Dark had used, aware there might be sentries. “There aren’t. It isn’t a licensed hotel. Scans show no sign of anyone not connected. Mostly orcs, a couple ofhumans. We should be clear.”

  Atouch of tension eased out of Dark’s shoulders. He nodded his understanding. “Never quite got how isolationists can do interspecies work. Do they realize how stupid theyseem?”

  Julius smirked inresponse. Dark sighed. “Can you get us an aerial from here?”

  Julius pulled out a small computer from an inner coat pocket and flipped it open. “Let’s see.” Several minutes passed, Dark watching the forest in all directions. “No,” Julius finally admitted. “Heat scans and a floor plan, but no aerial.”

  “How many?”

  “Fifteen. Two on perimeter, two up high—there’s three floors, so it looks like they’re on the roof—five grouped together in a room on the first floor, three by the main entrance, one in a roomon the third floor, and two movingbetweenthe second and third floor.”

  Fifteen. That was tough, but doable. “What are we lookingat?”

  Julius tilted his head. “Plenty of access: there’s a back and side entrance, all the second and third story rooms have windows, eight rooms a floor, plus kitchen, dining room, and two conference rooms on floor one. The problem is line of sight. You saw how the trees have beencut back awayfromthe place.”

  “And the weapons.”

  Julius smiled wryly. “Right. And the weapons. Aside from what you saw, we have no idea what they have. We can’t afford to wait, since theycould be close to finishing something. No way of telling if your friend is in there, either. They don’t have any detectable surveillance.”

  Dark groaned. “Great. That’s either very good or very bad.” He hated involving Julius in this further, but there was no way he could take out the roof and the perimeter. “I’ll get the roof,” he said. If something went wrong, he’d be closer to the enemy, more able to cause a diversion.

  Julius slipped the computer back into his pocket and removed a high-end Glock, silencer attached. “Permissionto use deadlyforce, ohmightyagent?”

  Dark smirked. He closed his hand gently around Julius’s wrist and moved it out of the way before bendinginfor a hot, forcefulkiss. “Permissiongranted.”

  Julius grinned and gestured Dark forward. Dark withdrew his Colt, ignored Julius’s whispered “very impressive,” and moved. They ghosted through the forest like shadows, stopping at the edge of the woods. They faced the side of the hotel. There were no windows, but Dark could see both a perimeter guard and one of their men on the roof. He tapped Julius’s shoulder, flashed the fingers on his hand, and jerked a thumb toward the perimeter guard. At Julius’s nod, he took off, confident he had five minutes before Julius caused a distractionwiththe perimeter guard.

  Three minutes later, Dark stopped his run, eyeing the wide, empty lot between him and the building with dislike. There were two vehicles, neither one near enoughto provide cover, and as manywindows as he’d expected. He carefully tucked his gun away and slid one climbing glove on, preparing as best he could. Time would be crucial. There was no telling what might happen once Julius’s mark was seen falling. He took another thirty seconds to get his second Colt, loaded with tranqs, into the specialized arm holster before pullingonthe other glove.

  Dark didn’t hear anything, but he saw the roof guard’s head whip around and disappear from sight, moving in Julius’s direction. Staying low, Dark sprinted forward. He took a running leap at the building and began to climb, working the muscles of his arms in an all-out sprint. He stayed as quiet as he could, trusting Julius to handle the other perimeter guard if the need should arise.

  Dark made it past the second story before he heard the returning sound of footsteps and soft grumbling. “…when does an orc get sick? Too much fuckingcrayjuice, that’s what.”

  Dark smirked, wondering what the hell Julius had shot the orc with. He inched his wayup, silent now. The man above himcontinued to mutter and shuffle his feet. Dark stopped a foot below and several feet left of the man’s position. He took off the right glove, popped the guninto his hand, and levered himselfup. Stillclingingto the wall, he took a clear shot at the man’s unprotected middle. He went down with a thud, out in an instant. Dark was already up and rolling, gun pointed at the man’s partner. Her blue eyes had a second to go wide whenshe turned before Dark took her out too.

  Dark searched both bodies for anything like keys or communication devices. He found nothing, and proceeded to the back of the hotel. Dark pumped his armin an “all clear” to Julius. He listened intently at the roof access. Hearing no sounds, he eased it open, staying to the side. Again, nothing. Quickly, he descended, shuttingthe door behind him.

  At the bottomof the flight of stairs, he looked left, thenright. Allthe doors were closed, and there were no clear sounds to indicate the presence of either orcs or Jaime. Keeping his tranq gun at the ready, Da
rk removed his climbing glove and fished a heat and laser scanner from his boot. It whirred quietly to life. He glanced down. The security here was ridiculous. How had these people managed to stayafloat and hiddenthis long? No lasers at all on this floor. Three bodies. He hesitated. If Jaime was here, he was most likely one of the three. That in mind, Dark chose the roomwith only one occupant first. If it wasn’t Jaime, perhaps he could draw an enemy fromdown the hallwith the right sort of noise.

  Dark came through the door fast, gun out. Jaime looked up at him, pupils blownwide. Dark sucked inan angry breath. There was a bruise marring his cheekbone. His hands were fastened behind his back and his eyes were unfocused, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.

  “Jaime.” He kept his voice quiet. He didn’t want Jaime’s captors inhere.

  Jaime looked at him, lips parted in surprise. “Dark!” He jerked forward, and giggled when he couldn’t move. “Whoops. I can’t go anywhere.”

  Dark frowned. “I can see that.” He stepped forward to examine the fastenings. Reanium. It was shaped into thincord, wound around Jaime’s wrists and then through a ring in the wall. The damn stuff was nearlyunbreakable. Dark had just the thing.

  “Did theygive yousomething?”

  Jaime leaned back and hummed. Dark put the scanner on the floor for a moment and snagged the pack slungover his back. Inside, he selected a bottle. “Don’t move,”he warned.

  Jaime giggled. “Elfbane. Stupid. Not an elf. Doesn’t work onme.”

  Dark dripped a single drop onto the reanium and watched it eat through the metal. Gingerly, he twisted everything open and pulled Jaime away. He replaced the vial. “I cansee that.”

  He fingered the small needle mark on Jaime’s wrist. “Injection?”

  “Mmm,” Jaime said, swaying. His eyes were dilated. “Yep. Highas a kite. Sorry.”

  Dark closed his eyes. He should be apologizing, not Jaime. He brushed a kiss over the mark. “Just stay here. I’llcome back whenit’s time to leave.”

  Jaime sat down and leaned against the wall, well awayfromthe improvised cuffs. “Okay.”

  Knowing Jaime was vulnerable, Dark hurried. He tranqued the two in the other third-floor room, one man, one orc, and went down the stairs. The second floor was still clear. He hesitated before moving on. He would come down between the two remaining groups, assuming they hadn’t moved. He was nearly out of tranqs, and as much as he loved his Colt, it wasn’t the sort ofguna personfired one-handed.

  He blinked. The scanner’s readout showed only two people at the front now. Julius must have lured one outside. That decided him. He put the scanner away and catfooted it to the entrance. The damn hall opened into a lobby between him and his targets. Thankfully, theywere bothstillfacingaway.

  Dark lined up his shot and pierced one in the back of the neck. He went down, but his partner turned, weapon out, alerted by the falling body. Dark cursed and ducked the shot. He dropped the tranq gun and rolled to a stop behind a counter. Bracing, he steadied his Colt, rose, and fired. His mark fell, a hole in his chest.

  The noise would likely bring others running. Dark pivoted, preparing for a wave of orcs to come at him. Instead, the door at his back crashed open. Julius tumbled through, a knife in one hand and an oddlookinggunthe size ofDark’s palminthe other.

  “One down, two incapacitated,”Julius reported.

  Dark turned his attention back to the hall. “We only have five left, then. Jaime is upstairs. Minor injuries, drugged. Be careful. Theyhave elfbane.”

  He heard Julius hiss. While its effects on Jaime were amusing, the drug meant a slow death, burning from the inside out, for anyone with elfish blood. A quick glance showed Julius’s face contorted inrage. His teeth were bared like a feral animal and his eyes had narrowed to slits. He did something to the weapon in his hand.

  “Right,” Julius said his voice a low growl. “Let’s go.”

  “Break themup first,” Dark said. He could hardly believe their luck; there had been no response to the gunshot or shout. Either the conference room was insulated or they were preparing for an attack. “Do you have anything?”

  Julius grunted. “Smoke bombs.”

  “Perfect. Youcanlob it throughthe window—”

  Julius shook his head. “You take the window. I want the door.”

  Dark hesitated. He didn’t want Julius in danger, even though he knew the other man could take care of himself. “Julius….”

  Julius met his eyes with grim determination. “Elfbane, Dark. They’ve got fuckingelfbane.”

  Dark gave up. “All right. Let them come out, though. No heroic charges.”

  Julius handed over the smoke bomb with a deadly smile. “Sure.”

  Dark gritted his teeth. There wasn’t reallymuchhe could do but accept the smoke bomb and get outside the window as fast as possible. He went out the side door at a sprint. He examined the smoke bomb for a second as he approached the outer window, but whatever advances had been made, it was still constructed along the lines of the nineteenth-century grenades. Shrugging, he readied himself to shoot through the window. Even if it were miraculously reinforced, that wouldn’t stop his Colt. Crouching, he pulled the pin. He memorized positions as he stood, ignoring the shout of an alarmed orc within, and threw the smoke bomb with his full strength. It slammed through the window. Dark followed it with a shot, downing the nearest orc, before ducking to the side. He could only wait now, make sure none of them got out through the windows. There was a panicked muddle of voices and hacking coughs as people tried to decide what to do. A high-pitched squealcut throughthe noise, followed by a shout of “Demon!” Someone must have tried the door. Dark watched some idiot tumble out the window and shot himin the head with a touch ofregret. When a minute passed with no further sounds, Dark cautiously poked his head up. The roomwas filled with smoke.

  “Two down,” Dark called. He rolled under the window in case he’d miscalculated and alerted the enemyto his position.

  “Three,”Julius called back. “Clear?”

  “All clear.” Dark used the open window and climbed in, covering his face. He detoured around the bodies and met Julius at the door. “I think we got them all. I’ll sweep the room and let the Commander know. Will you check Jaime for me? Third floor, second on the left.”

  The dead orcs seemed to have cooled Julius’s battle ardor some. “Allright.”

  Dark ruled out his agencyphone right away. There was no telling what Richards could listen in on. That really only left one viable means of communication. Tryingnot to worry, he activated a locator and keyed in a message to the Commander. He dropped it on the hallfloor and hurried up the stairs.

  “Ohfuck.”

  That was Julius. Alarmed, Dark sped up. He thought they’d taken everyone out, but perhaps they’d missed something. Perhaps there was some side effect ofthe elfbane and Julius was introuble—

  In fact, that’s exactly what he thought had happened when he entered the room. Julius had gotten Jaime upright and had his arm looped over his shoulders. Jaime didn’t seemany more out of it than he had earlier. Julius, however, seemed to be in pain. His face was contorted. A new wave of adrenaline surged into Dark’s system. Not Julius. He couldn’t stand it if somethinghappened to Julius.

  Jaime giggled. “Oops. You don’t happen to have anyIrishancestors, do you?”

  “Fairies,” Julius answered indistinctly, burrowing into Jaime’s neck. With relief, Dark realized Julius wasn’t in any danger. There were certain populations susceptible to fairy blood, he knew. Watching Julius, who only minutes ago had been in a battle rage, run a hand under Jaime’s shirt, he raised aneyebrow.

  “Susceptible?”It seemed too mild a word.

  “We could try to separate,” Jaime offered. He smiled sheepishly for a moment before it disappeared in a groan. He bit his lips, eyelashes fluttering. “Um. As long as we do it soon. Or not.” This last was in a higher pitchofvoice.

  “Or not,”Julius agreed.

  Dark blinked, briefly debating the wisd
om of letting two drugged men have it off. Neither seemed particularly in control. But, well, they had both been good to him. How different could it be from a drunken hookup? Onthe other hand—“We’re ona battlefield.”

  Julius raised his head, pupils dilated. “Get us the fuck off it. I’ve got maybe ten minutes before I start tearing clothes off.” He didn’t specify whose clothes. Dark was relieved to hear that much sense from Julius. Deciding not to waste time, he grabbed Julius’s shirt and Jaime’s arm and began to drag them down the stairs. Jaime seemed to be coming back as well; his balance onthe stairs was more solid.

  On the bike, things became more difficult. It wasn’t particularly built for three people, and the last of Julius’s restraint was visibly slipping through his fingers. Dark sandwiched himbetweenJaime and himself, trying desperately to think of someplace safe they could go. His hotel room was obviously out. He didn’t know anything about where Jaime might live, or even ifhe had a domicile beyond the hotel. Given the situation, he wouldn’t be surprised if Julius had armed his home with a variety of nasty tricks. Dark glanced over his shoulder. Somehow he didn’t think Julius was in a state to answer questions, much less safely deactivate any traps.

  This was definitely the most uncomfortable game of “Your place or mine” Dark had ever engaged in. Julius’s writhing was exceptionally distracting. Dark’s body chose this moment to wake up and remember how good Julius felt fucking him. Eventually the moan in his ear tripped a memory. With relief, Dark kicked the bike into gear and activated the dimensionalmechanism. Flashes of worldpoints went by in a blur. When they stopped, the three of them had landed safely on a remote beach, just behind one of Julius’s hidey-holes. Dark turned offthe bike.

  Julius bit firmlyinto the back ofhis neck, and Dark slumped forward over the handlebars, moaning. “Fuck. Not onmybike.”

  Julius laughed huskily. “Youloved beingfucked on your bike. Don’t eventryto denyit.”

  Dark shivered, skin rippling with the memory. “Yeah. Stains were a bitchto get out, though.”