Undercover Gorgon: Episode #2 — Lost & Found (Undercover Gorgon: A Mt. Olympus Employment Agency Miniseries)
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She smiled. “Thanks.” She bustled off, leaving me alone with my inner debate.
My queue was empty again. Something in the back of my mind poked at me. I was missing something. After a moment of scowling to myself and muttering under my breath, I figured it out.
It had nothing to do with Bart, and everything to do with Circe’s missing daughter.
Here I sat with access to all the personnel files of everyone working at, for, or on behalf of the Mt. Olympus Employment Agency, cross-referenced with files from the Underworld.
Circe may have been a dangerous, ancient witch, but she also worked for the company. If I could find her file, I could find her daughter’s file, too. Maybe I could find out where Kyra lived, where else she might be working, and any other facts that might help me track her down.
It was where I should have started in the first place.
Before I could type in the witch’s name, a young couple approached my desk to fill out an application for a marriage license. I walked them through it, trying to be patient with all the giggling and sighing.
The Universe was taunting me.
After I sent them on their way to file their application with the correct department, I brought up Circe’s file.
Phone number. Address. Employee number. I scrolled through, glancing briefly at her powers—high-level magic spells, transformation, far-vision, and counter-vision. I kept scrolling until I reached the family section. No siblings. Mother and father deceased. Never married.
No children.
I sucked in a breath. That couldn’t be right.
If Circe didn’t have any children, who the hell was I trying to find?
THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON, I was torn between marching off half-assed to confront Circe, calling her on the phone, and washing my hands of the whole thing and going home to a nice bottle of wine.
Making a phone call to clear the whole thing up was the sensible solution. It was probably a misunderstanding or an administrative oversight. It was the middle ground between my other two extreme choices.
The bottle of wine in my room was the most appealing solution. The whole situation could go away with the pop of a cork—at least for a little while, anyway. I could probably convince Lizzy to join me. A couple bottles of wine, some popcorn, and an old movie. Problem solved.
In my previous life, I’d have chosen one of those options. They were easy. Simple. They involved little to no confrontation, and I could go on undisturbed in my mousy, quiet life.
My life wasn’t mousy and quiet anymore. And neither was I.
Circe’s address was in the human world, which made things a little tricky. But not too difficult. After all, I’d been doing this sort of thing for months, now. I had a routine.
Once I had Circe’s address, I filled out the correct form so my home portal through the front door was set to Phoenix, Arizona. The moment it was stamped, my portal was reset.
After business hours, I waited for the crowd to thin to a trickle, then headed upstairs to the fifth floor. The minute I saw the last Muse leave the office, I slipped inside, borrowed one of their gold belts from off the wall, then slipped out.
No sweat.
I didn’t hurry through the building and down the escalator. That would draw attention. It was more like a mosey. Or a stroll.
The lobby was empty, so I didn’t have to wait to walk out the door and into the bright sunlight of Phoenix. Immediately, I clicked the button on my borrowed belt to make me invisible.
Marching down the street in broad daylight in green skin and live snake hair would be an excellent chance to see how many rules I could break before Inhuman Resources or the gods themselves came after me. I was already pushing my luck stealing—borrowing—from the Muse department and going to confront Circe in person.
May the gods—and Circe—have mercy on me. Or at least the personnel department. And if they didn’t, well, the months since my transformation into a gorgon had been kind of fantastic.
I had no regrets.
I’d planted the portal a few blocks from Circe’s neighborhood, so it didn’t take long for me to walk there. The house was as I’d seen it a while back in the crystal ball I’d found in the Oracle department. I’d been searching for something to trade in place of the magical cat’s eye that had been stolen from the goddess of witches, Hecate. Circe’s mirror had been the perfect solution.
Too bad the movers she’d hired were too clumsy to carry it into the house without smashing it.
On the bright side, at least I hadn’t been forced to steal if from her, which is where the whole scene had been about to play out.
I squared my shoulders and walked up to the front door. Once my hood was pulled up over my snakes, it would be difficult to make out any details about me from the street, so I clicked the button on my belt and became visible before pressing the button for the doorbell.
The button didn’t make any sound—or at least none that I detected. Maybe I hadn’t pressed it hard enough. I hesitated with my finger over the little orange light. What if it chimed, but I couldn’t hear it outside? If I pressed it again, that would be obnoxious. Should I wait longer?
I scowled. “Doorbells are stupid.” I made a fist and rapped my knuckles against the door hard enough that I was sure anyone inside would have to hear it.
A faint voice called to me from far away. “I’m in the back! Come through the gate!”
The wooden fence surrounding the backyard was at least seven feet tall. Anyone nosy enough to want to see what was going on back there would need a ladder to peek. I opened the gate and walked through, careful to close it behind me—though I was tempted to leave it open in case I had to run for it. Circe was known for turning people into animals. Especially pigs. I didn’t especially want to live out my life rooting for truffles with my snout.
But I wasn’t backing down, either.
When I came around the corner, I found Circe lounging in a hammock beneath two palm trees. She had one arm flung over her head and one bare foot on the ground to keep the hammock swinging. Two large pigs rested in the shade, snouts buried in the grass.
She took a sip of a tropical-looking drink and looked up at me, startled. “Patrice. My goodness.” She glanced at her watch. “In broad daylight, even. Bravo!” She sat up and set her drink on a table. “I didn’t expect you for at least another week.”
I frowned. “You expected me to come here?”
“Of course.” She lit her electronic cigarette and took a puff. “I suppose you could have called, but I had you pegged as a more forthright type. And I was right. Here you are.” She waved her arm at a cushioned chair. “Sit. Would you like a drink?”
I shook my head, and my snakes jostled each other beneath the hood. I lowered it to give them room. “Kyra’s not your daughter.”
She tilted her head and smiled. “So, we’re getting right to it, are we?” She ran her fingers through her lemon-yellow hair. “No. Kyra’s not my daughter.”
“Who, then? I know she’s real. I saw her. I talked to her.”
The smug look on Circe’s face made me want to punch her. That probably wasn’t a good idea. I kept my hands folded tightly in my lap.
Circe took a long drag off her fake cigarette. “No, I’m afraid not. You never saw her.” She gave her head a tiny shake, and her hair went from citrus to platinum. The shape of her cheekbones changed and her nose lengthened. In seconds, she was Kyra.
I clenched my teeth and my snakes hissed in agitation. “You sent me looking for someone who doesn’t even exist. For what reason?” Without meaning to, I stood from my chair and took a step toward her. “Do you know how much trouble you put me through?” If Circe hadn’t been messing with me, I wouldn’t have stood up Bart a second time. This was her fault.
Circe shrugged. “Oh, sit down. I paid you for your time.”
I sat, though my legs were tensed and ready to jump up in outrage a second time. “Why? Why would you pay me to go on a snipe hunt? And how
the hell did you get all those people to lie for you?”
She gave me a long, quiet look. “What people, sugarplum?” She shook her head again, and her face changed to Val the bartender. Another shake and she was Kelly from The Trident. One more and she was one of the unconscious-looking people in the clearing at the Elysian Fields.
I closed my eyes. “Son of a bitch. You’ve been playing me every step of the way.”
She slid her cigarette into a pocket. “You’re the one who was watching me in a crystal ball. Did you think getting my attention wouldn’t have consequences?”
“It wasn’t intentional.” I wasn’t apologizing to her. She could suck it if she thought I was going that direction.
“I know it wasn’t.” She reached for her drink and took a sip. “That’s why I didn’t do anything harmful to you.” She pointed at the pigs under the trees. “Those jokers, however, broke my favorite mirror.” She raised her voice in their direction. “No need to worry about untied shoes now, is there, boys?”
One pig snorted and rolled on its back. The other opened one eye, then closed it and went back to sleep.
I stared in horror. “Those are the movers?”
“They won’t be like this forever. Just until they learn better. Couple hundred years, tops.” She twitched her head and put her own face back. Or at least what I thought of as her face.
There was no telling what she really looked like.
“So, all this was just for fun?” I was still a little irritated, but I wasn’t angry anymore. She could have done so much worse to me.
“Yes! Didn’t you have fun? I sent you to the Euphoria District! And the Elysian Fields! How much more fun can it get?”
I started to protest, but realized she was right. I’d gone clubbing—sort of. And I’d been all over the Underworld. “I suppose I did.”
She nodded. “Good. Glad to hear it. And you solved it faster than I’d expected. I was prepared to lead you to six more locations before I let you off the hook.” She cast her gaze around the yard, finally landing on small pile of black leather. “Hand me my purse?”
I grabbed it and handed it to her.
She rummaged for a moment, then pulled out a small plastic bag with a crumpled purple flower in it. “Here. This is your reward.”
I took the package from her and examined it through the plastic. “What is this?
“A little something to make your job easier.” She leaned closer. “Your night job.”
I took it out of the package and inspected it. It was a barrette. “Thanks?”
She nodded. “You’re welcome. Hecate is stingy as hell. I can’t believe she took back the charm she gave you to alter your appearance. You put that in your…” She paused, her nose wrinkling. “Your hair? Well, put it on your head. It’ll change your appearance.”
My eyes widened in surprise. “Oh. Well, thank you.”
She leaned back into her hammock. “My pleasure. Thanks for playing my game.”
I started toward the gate, thinking I’d been dismissed and eager to try out my new disguise.
“And Patrice?”
I stopped. “Yes?”
“Two things. One, don’t ever spy on my again. And two, next time I see you, the job will be real.”
I slipped out the gate with my prize and headed home.
I SPENT MUCH of the weekend with that wine bottle, popcorn, and old movies I’d considered as a way out of my problems. Lizzy sat in on some of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but she left before the scene where the cat ran away. She said she hated that part and it always made her cry seeing it all wet in the rain while Audrey Hepburn lost her shit.
I’d always thought it was the best part.
On Monday, I had the new humans to keep me busy all morning, torturing them with red tape and scary looks before sending them off to orientation.
The rest of the day dragged, but I got through it without either losing my temper or falling asleep.
At 5:30, it was time to call it a day. I bent behind my desk and grabbed my purse. When I came back up, someone stood over me, bathed in late afternoon light from the glass dome above us.
His eyes were so blue they glowed.
“So, Carol and Pinky thought you were really nice.”
I gave Bart a timid smile. “Oh?”
“They seem to think I should give you another shot.”
“They do?”
He took my hand and led me around the desk. “Yes.” He tucked my hand under his arm. “But they said not to take my eyes off you until we’re comfortably seated in the same place at the same table.”
I nodded. “Sounds reasonable, all things considered.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
“No?”
“No.” He led me toward the door out into Mount Olympus. “I’m going to keep my eye on you all evening.”
I stepped closer to him, my arm tightening around his.
“That sounds like a pretty solid plan.”
He grinned. “What could go wrong?”
MT. OLYMPUS EMPLOYMENT AGENCY: MUSE
If you enjoyed Undercover Gorgon, come see what else goes on at the Mt. Olympus Employment Agency. Follow Wynter Greene on and off the job working in the Muse department. How can someone who can't follow through on a single thing in her own life help others finish things in theirs?
In Unfinished Muse, chronic quitter Wynter Greene is recruited to work as a Muse for the Mt. Olympus Employment Agency. She’s not very good at it, and none of her clients seem to be cooperating. Wynter better get good at it soon, or she'll be reassigned to the Underworld, scooping poop for a three-headed dog—not the career move she was looking for.
In Unamused Muse, newly minted Muse, Wynter Greene, has been loaned to the Underworld as Hades’ personal assistant. If she can keep from screwing up, she can return to Mt. Olympus in six weeks. Unfortunately, that’s not so easy. Stripped of her Muse title, Wynter discovers she can’t stop herself from inspiring people, even when the people she’s encouraging are supposed to be trapped in eternal torment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
R.L. NAQUIN
Rachel writes stories that drop average people into magical situations filled with heart and quirky humor.
She believes in pixie dust, the power of love, good cheese, lucky socks, and putting things off until the last minute. Her home is Disneyland, despite her current location in Kansas. Rachel has one husband, two grown kids, and a crazy-catlady starter kit.
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ALSO BY R.L. NAQUIN
Find R.L. Naquin’s current and new books on her website at www.rlnaquin.com/books
Published by Bottle Cap Publishing:
Transmonstrified (short story collection)
The Mount Olympus Employment Agency Series
Unfinished Muse, Book 1
Unamused Muse, Book 2
Uninspired Muse, Book 3 (2016)
Undercover Gorgon:
A Mount Olympus Employment Agency Miniseries
“Episode #0 - Becoming”
“Episode #1 - Witches War”
Published by Carina Press:
The Monster Haven Series
Monster in My Closet, Book 1
Pooka in My Pantry, Book 2
Fairies in My Fireplace, Book 3
Golem in My Glovebox, Book 4
Demons in My Driveway, Book 5
Phoenix in My Fortune, Book 6
Table of Contents
Copyright
1. “Episode #2 — Lost and Found”
Mt. Olympus Employment Agency: Muse
About the Author
Also by R.L. Naquin
yment Agency Miniseries)