A Mage's Stand: Empire State (Malachi English Book 3)
Page 3
Stuart looked me up and down. Thought about it, then shook his head. “No. Not unless he had time to clean up afterwards. And I’d expect to see someone, well…bigger. The stuff that happened in there.”
“I hear you. Sir, would you mind sitting up when we’re talking about you? You lying there just makes me think that you’re not appreciating the gravity of the situation.”
I sighed and rolled myself forward onto the edge of the cot, leaning on my knees. “Shouldn’t we be discussing my lawyer at this point? I’m sure you’re going to play by the book and that you have the deepest respect for justice, but I’d like someone standing by me all the same.”
“Oh, your lawyer’s here, Mr English, you needn’t concern yourself about that. I wanted to chat first. That okay with you?”
I turned my palms up. “My time is your time.”
“I know. Thing is, I agree with Stu here. Whatever happened in that place, you didn’t do it. Couldn’t have. Not a drop of blood on you. But all the same, we’ve got footprints leading from where Mick took you down, right back to the kitchen roof. So you were inside.”
“I didn’t see anything.”
“Mister,” she said, kneeling down so that she was looking straight into my eyes, “I don’t care about whatever bullshit story you or your lawyer are going to cook up. I just want to find those girls.”
“Girls?” I flinched. “What girls?”
“Twin sisters. Eight years old. Cute as buttons. We’ve got their mom in the hospital, pumped full of tranquilizers to keep her steady. Their father, well, you saw him. Same for the older brother. But no sign of the girls and no blood anywhere in their room. So I want to know where they are and I want to know now.”
I looked straight at her. “If I knew where they were, I’d be helping you get them.”
She stared at me for a long few seconds. Then someone rapped sharply on the cell door. “Maybe,” Mary said, “and maybe not. You’ve got friends in high places, Mr English, and when all’s said and done you’re not the killer. But I’ve seen you now. You’re on my radar. And I’m going to come calling, so expect me.”
If she was most other cops, I’d dismiss this as so much hot air and posturing. But one look in her eyes was enough to tell me that she wasn’t playing around. I nodded. “Understood.”
She opened the door and Mike whispered a few words into her ear. They both looked back at me. “Stu,” Mary said, “Why don’t you bring our guest back up top? Clearly he has important places to be.”
I was escorted back to the ground level and into a side room. Comfortable enough, but the glass was still reinforced and there was a one-way mirror on the wall. Three guys were sitting at the table. Two on one side in shabby suits, clearly pissed off, and on the other side a well-clad bloke leaning back in his chair with his legs casually crossed. He stood as I walked in. “Good evening, Mr English. I’m your appointed attorney for tonight’s fun and games.”
Patrick Everheart was six inches taller than me, made everyone else wearing a suit look bad, and moved like a cat. I’d bumped into him a few times at various functions, and Max Lamarchand had made sure that we were introduced as early as possible. Patrick was the lawyer of choice for the Mage-born, which made him well-connected, obscenely rich, and unbearably self-satisfied. His only concession to any human weakness was a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. I wasn’t convinced he even needed them.
He winked at me and turned back to the other two men. “Detectives, it’s been a pleasure. I take it there’s nothing else that needs my attention or my time.” One of them muttered gruffly into his chest, drawing a stern look from Patrick. “I’ll take that as a no. Very well.” He turned back to me and gestured at the door. “Shall we?”
He stayed close as we made our way back to the main door, and spoke quickly and quietly. “The official story as far as the Unaware are concerned is that you were out jogging.”
“In a dinner jacket?”
He shrugged. “Everyone has their little peccadilloes. They know that you didn’t commit the murders, which gave us some wiggle room to convince them that holding you is absolutely pointless. Our influence isn’t strictly limited to Manhattan.”
“Corruption. Great.”
He smiled thinly. “Everyone hates corruption until they’re on the right side of it. Would you rather go back to the cell? No? May I continue? Among the magical community we’re talking about a pair of rogue Kappas. They fit the bill, and they’re not that uncommon since the Fades shifted.”
I stayed uncomfortably silent.
“What actually happened, is something that we’re now going to discuss with Mr Lamarchand and several other interested persons of influence. You will be truthful and forthright and helpful. Otherwise, the next time this happens you’ll be left to your own limited devices.” He stopped and turned to me. “You’ve acquired some powerful friends, but don’t think for a moment that you can’t be cast off and trodden down just as quickly as you’ve been raised up. I’ve seen it happen.”
“Mr Everheart, a moment please?” The words came from a woman over by the main desk. Another lawyer? She looked like a civilian. Blonde hair in a braid. Clothes smart but practical.
Patrick nodded. “It’ll only take a moment,” he said to me. “There’s a car outside. Wait there for me. Talk to no-one.”
I stepped back out into the night air. The falling snow was lighter now, drifting down and settling on my shoulders. It crunched under foot as I walked slowly down to the sidewalk. A limo was half a block down on the right. Can’t be that many people at the precinct who attracted that sort of ride. I hesitated, then turned to head over to it. Life was feeling very closed-in lately. Some cages come with bars of gold.
A yellow cab roared up and skidded to a halt, spraying me with slush. The driver’s window wound down and a smiling, gray-whiskered face looked out, smiling. “Taxi for one?” asked Zack.
Choosing the cab over the limo was clearly going to cause me all sorts of problems in the immediate future, but I was fine with that. I looked round, opened the back door, and jumped in the back.
“Hey, stranger,” said Arabella from the other side of the seat, not looking up from her phone. “How’s it going?” Her Mohawk was gone, these days replaced by a close-cropped but growing pixie haircut, in various shades of red, orange and pink. The DM boots were still there, but she chose a pair of tight black jeans and a fitted leather jacket instead of her old uniform of blue denim. “With you in just a minute,” she muttered. “Real asshat of a customer claiming his order never arrived.”
“Chip off the old block, right?” I asked Zack as he pulled away.
“She’s not doing bad,” he admitted. “Give her a few years, and I might be looking at some serious competition.”
Zack specialized in the import and distribution of magical and ceremonial artifacts. Arabella was, until relatively recently, a barely-tamed thug for hire. Lately she’d calmed down, and after learning some of the ropes from Zack, had her own little business going. Something about rare and limited edition Barbies. Also some unicorn merchandise. She seemed happier. Everyone’s life was moving on. And mine felt like it had stalled. Still, other things to worry about.
“Hey, is this okay with you?” Zack asked. “Us doing the pick-up like this? Because, you know, if you’d rather get the limo…we’d be fine with that. Truly.”
“Of course it’s okay,” I told him, puzzled. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
For a split-second I thought I saw him flick a glance towards Arabella in the rear-view mirror. His face hardened slightly. Something was going on. But it’d have to wait. “How up to date are you?” I asked.
“Oh, completely,” said Arabella, still without looking up. “As we understand it, the pooch has been well and truly screwed.”
“Well put.”
“How’d you get out?” asked Zack. “We turned up thinking we were going to have to beg and bribe our way to some private time, and take it from there.”
“Ah. You sure want me to drop you back there? Didn’t want to…you know, intrude and stuff.”
“Forget it. You two turning up has been the best thing that’s happened all day.”
Arabella finally took her eyes off the phone. “Is Julie going to be pissed that we’ve done this?”
“Should she be?”
“Well, you know. It’s kind of an ‘us and them’ thing at the moment. For some people, anyway.”
“Is it? Shit.” I sighed and put my head back against the seat, closing my eyes. “Yeah, it’s complicated. And maybe she’s pissed. But you’re here, and I’m here, and that’s good. That’s what I need. Where are we heading?”
“Somewhere good.”
Benny’s was crowded, but in a good way. Nobody was there for business, and a great time was being had by all. Mawshag was over by the bar, regaling anyone who’d listen with tales from the kitchens of her latest employers. Stacey was chatting up two young guys who couldn’t take their eyes off her legs. She saw me and waved. Just behind her was Caleb, dressed in his regulation leather and knives, hat on the table and whisky in his hand. He raised his glass and nodded, casting his eyes at Stacey behind her back. He wouldn’t let it get too far.
“More of my favorite regulars,” said Benny, appearing behind us with a tray of empty glasses. “I think you’ll be needing the private meeting room for exclusive clientele, correct?”
“May well do,” I said, “but we’ll grab some drinks and unwind here first.”
He looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. “I’d suggest heading there now. I’ll bring your drinks through.”
We took the hint and headed out back to the small room behind the bar. Mercy was waiting there, sitting stiffly with both hands on a black cane. Didn’t so much as glance at us when we entered. Arabella put a hand on her shoulder. Still nothing.
“Best we met here,” Zack said to me. “If word’s going round about the attack and your involvement, then it’s only a matter of time before Mercy’s place got crowded. Liberty’ll be there like a shot, along with a pocket full of Union bureaucrats.
“So,” said Arabella, taking a seat. “Our little science experiment has gone tits up. I believe I did mention this could happen, right?”
“Yes,” said Zack patiently. “We all know you warned us.”
“In fact, I think my words were, and I quote, ‘let’s just stake the little bastard now before he does some real damage.’ Anyone else remember that?”
“Not helping,” I warned her, rubbing my temples. “Has anyone got any suggestions whatsoever?”
Mercy spoke for the first time, looking straight ahead at the wall. “I am to blame. I strayed from the covenant. When I speak to Liberty, I will make it clear that it was solely my decision, and that I imposed secrecy upon the rest of you.”
“What will they do to you?” asked Arabella.
Mercy said nothing.
“Your silence is very instructive,” I said. “And so I won’t allow you to do it.”
“I’m not asking for your permission. You have no idea what we’ve set loose. I do. Charlie has to be stopped, and he has to be stopped quickly.”
“Then we will take care of it,” I told her. “Us. Our mistake, our problem to solve. Give us a week.”
She snorted. “In a week’s time New York will be facing a problem that will make tackling Balam look like a picnic.”
“Three days then. Three days to find him and stop him.”
She turned and looked up at me. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours. That’s it. After that I need to bring in the big guns.”
“Mercy, we are the big guns.” I looked around. “Sorry, that sounded crap, didn’t it?”
“Very pretentious,” nodded Arabella.
“You crossed the line there, bro,” added Zack.
“I apologize. So talk to us Mercy. What do we need to know here? You mentioned a covenant. What’s that?”
A knock at the door. Benny entered with a tray. Beers for me and Zack. A shot glass of blood for Mercy, and for Arabella a tall glass of orange liquid that had blue flames dancing on the top. “Your Bunsen Burner,” he said to her. “Seriously, girl, this is getting out of control.”
He put a final drink on the table. Tall glass. Still water. Ice. I looked up at him. “You didn’t.”
He shrugged. “She’d have killed me if I hadn’t.”
The air moved behind me and I closed my eyes and grimaced. “Hi honey.”
Julie stepped over to the table and picked up her glass, nodding at the others while studiously ignoring me. “Nice slide,” said Arabella. “I’m still about six feet off whenever I try it.”
“Keep practising,” Julie told her with a smile. “You’ll get it. Hey Zack.”
“Hey Julie. Sorry. Didn’t know he’d already been broken out before we got there.”
“No harm, no foul. Can I borrow my boyfriend for just a second? Malachi – outside.”
I nodded at the others and followed her out into the hallway. She checked that nobody was around before finally deciding to look at me.
“We need to sort this out.”
“Absolutely,” I nodded. “What exactly are we sorting out here? We have several options.”
She grimaced, punched the wall, and then turned back to me, calm once more. “We’re sorting that the way you’re treating me is out of order.”
“How so?”
“Wow. You really want me to spell it out? Fine. Firstly, you make me feel like I’m ruining your life, taking you to stuff you don’t want to go to, not letting you hang out with all your old buddies.”
Bugger. She was talking about feelings. It never went well when she started doing that. Also, she was unnervingly accurate.
“And secondly,” she continued, “you’re treating me like the enemy, or worse, someone you have to keep safe, which means we end up living separate lives. Like tonight – did it occur to you that I would have gone with you and Charlie, that we could have done it together? Would have helped, don’t you think? And then I have to wait to hear from Benny and have to track you down like some neurotic control-freak bitch of a girlfriend. Which we both know I’m not.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled. “I just wanted to keep the Union and the Mage-born out of the loop while we worked with Mercy to keep a lid on this. And I thought -”
“You thought I’d be the weak link? That I’d blab?”
I shrugged. “Well it wasn’t long before Patrick Everheart turned up at the precinct, was it?”
“You are beyond thick, sometimes, aren’t you? The Mage-born are as well-connected as the Union. Your name on any system in the city would have flagged a call to Patrick automatically. I’m the one who found out from Max and called Mercy, who called Zack and Arabella.”
“Oh. Oh shit.”
“And while we’re at it -”
“Do we have to do this now? It’s just that there’s a vampire -”
“Damn right we’re doing it now. The whole dragging you along to the ballet and the opera and hell knows how many corporate parties? Did it ever occur to you that I didn’t want to go either? That I was doing it for you? Bloody hell, Mal, I’m the one who started a comic shop so that I could avoid ever stepping foot in an office.”
She had a point. “Then why do it? If neither of us wanted to go?”
“Because of you. So that you could make the links you need to make to get the magic community working together instead of pretending that the other side doesn’t exist. I’m the way in, I’m the one with the acceptable Fairchild name, but you’re the reason we’re getting invited.”
“Waste of time. Look at Patrick. He despises me on principle.”
“For every Patrick, there’s a Max. And friends like Max are really worth having. You think we’d have broken Molech’s slave op without him?”
It was unlik
ely we’d have lived without Max bringing in a contingent of the Mage-born for the big fight. She had a point there.
“Look,” she said, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at her. “We’re in this together. But you’ve got to open up and start talking. And you’ve got to stop pining after the good old days. Those were the days, incidentally, when I was getting dragged off to be sacrificed and your friends were getting killed. Grow up.”
Ouch. “So what do we -”
“Sorry,” she cut in. “Unfair that last part. But get your act together. You and me, we’re serious now. You’re part of my life and I’m part of yours. I’m not an ornament or an obstacle.”
She walked past me, back into the room and slammed the door. Three seconds later it opened again and she darted back, whispering in my ear. “We’re good, okay. But you can’t keep acting the way you are. Please. Just think about what you’re doing.”
I stood there for a few seconds longer before Benny stuck his head round the door. “Everything okay, Malachi? If you’re ready, we could start making a move on all this.”
“Yeah, sure,” I muttered, and stepped back into the room.
“You alright?” asked Arabella. “Look like you need to sit down.”
“He’s fine,” said Julie quickly. “Just needs to start work, that’s all. Get his mind off things.”
“O-kay,” said Zack slowly, looking between me and Julie. “Well, let’s get going then. Mercy – these bloody vampires. What do you know?”
CHAPTER THREE
“Mercy?” I asked after it was clear that she wasn’t going to speak. “We need you on this. You see, I don’t think any of us ever spoke to Simeon about…his condition. So we’re in the dark, and that’s not going to help anyone.”
Mercy pursed her lips and remained rigidly upright and staring at the wall.
“Oh, I see,” said Benny, realization dawning in his eyes. “I don’t think she can. Part of the covenant involves being unable to communicate about what she went through and what she’s become.”