by TR Cameron
The space held a mix of men and women, several races, and multiple species. While Julianna had a problem with the Oriceran immigrants in Magic City, she had no particular feelings one way or the other toward magicals in general. They were merely people, all of them with similar vices, similar desires, and varying levels of aptitude to achieve them. Hopefully, they’ll manage better than last time. Fifty percent simply won’t do.
She smiled and took the seat at the head of the table, smoothing her trousers before she sat. Skirts and dresses were a thing of the past until she was well and truly over Gabriel’s loss, which seemed appropriate given how much he appreciated her in them. “Thank you for coming today. I have a proposition for you all.”
A large, dark-skinned man with a bald head and a thick mustache occupied the closest chair on her left. He smoothly inserted, “Seems like a lot of top-end talent here. You wouldn’t be putting us in competition with one another, would you?” He cracked his knuckles. “Not that I’m against that. It should simply be something we know from the outset.”
Others around the table made jokes or tossed insults his way, suggesting that the community of professional bounty hunters was reasonably close. Well, professional extralegal bounty hunters, I guess. Certainly there are no James Brownstones among this group.
She widened her smile. “Honestly, I don’t care how the job gets done, as long as it gets done. My preference would be that you each decide upon an individual target and go after them. If you fail, that target can be available to others to pick up once they’ve accomplished their tasks. Truly, the mechanisms by which this all gets taken care of don’t matter to me in the least. What matters is success, in a rapid timeframe.”
Another one opened their mouth as if they would ask a question, and Julianna raised her hand and said, “Allow me to finish, as I believe many of your queries will be addressed by what I have to say. All of you are aware, I’m sure, that Gabriel Sloane was my husband. Doubtless you also know how he made his name and what he attempted most recently.” Nods answered her. “That project wasn’t completed. That is a problem I intend to rectify. Simply put, I’m declaring war on the casino owners in Magic City and won’t embrace peace until I have what I want.”
The same man who’d spoken before did so again. “What is that, exactly?”
She gave a slight shake of her head. “Overall strategy and goals rest with me exclusively. What you need to know are the tasks I have for you. Simply put, the casino owners need to hurt. Punishment will bring them to the negotiating table faster than any other route. However, challenges exist.”
A Drow woman in black leather laughed. Her hair was buzzed short, a look Julianna had never seen on one of the Dark Elves, and gave her a vicious first impression. “They’ll have lots of security, no doubt. That will make planning vital. And expensive.”
She waved that thought away. “Rest assured that I have the resources to cover any reasonable expenses. Just clear them with my people, first.” She gestured toward Smith and Thompson, who stood to the side of the room. “They will be your contacts going forward for all things related to this project. Before you leave here today, they’ll collaborate with you to identify targets and assist in setting budgets.”
Another person at the table, a heavily muscled man in a leather jacket that seemed to be straining to contain his bulk, asked, “How do we know you’re good for it?”
She responded to that question with a thin smile. “I’m not exactly going to open my books to you all if that’s what you mean. However, you’ll each receive twenty-five thousand dollars as compensation for taking this meeting. I’ll reimburse approved expenses within a day. For those who accomplish their tasks, hospitalizations will be paid at one rate and deaths at another. The big prize, the goal you should aim for, is to take your target alive. I’ll pay the most for anyone who gives me the leverage I need to achieve my goals.”
The Drow nodded. “As a logical extension of that thought, parents would be most effectively compromised if we take their children.”
Julianna shrugged. “I agree, that’s the way I see it, but I entrust those details to you and my lieutenants. But, one can’t go wrong with the tried-and-true methods, right?” The table broke into laughter, and she rose. “I’ll leave you to it. Any questions, work through them. Thank you in advance. This will be a lucrative arrangement for all of us, and I look forward to having you on my side.”
Several hours later, Thompson and Smith joined her in the apartment’s living room. She’d ordered lunch from the restaurant downstairs and had a tray of sandwiches, another of desserts, and beverage options galore in the kitchen’s drink cooler. She had popped the cork on a bottle of champagne and offered the others a glass for a toast. “To Gabriel Sloane. May his vision be realized.”
They replied, “To Gabriel,” and they all drank. After her lieutenants had made their food and beverage choices, she asked, “So, how did it go?”
Thompson said, “I think a couple aren’t big-league enough for this project. They’ll take their money and go.”
Julianna ventured, “The large one in the jacket?”
Smith laughed. “You have great insight into people, boss. Yeah, we agree. That one isn’t up to something at this level. Most of the others are, though.”
“Any of them quail at the idea of kidnapping the kids?”
Thompson nodded. “Not out loud, of course, but you could see it in their faces when we discussed it. We assigned those targets without children, plenty of principals to send them after.”
“Good decision. Make sure you have planned intervals to reassess our strategy. Things may change depending on who is successful and who isn’t.”
Smith replied, “That’s already in the plan. They have three days to execute on the initial round. Then we take stock of the situation.”
Juliana frowned. “I wish they could do it today.” Energy surged inside her, a mix of anger and anticipation. “Those bastards are going to learn the hard way that they should’ve agreed in the first place.” Her subordinates nodded. “I guess I better get moving on some of my work related to the aftermath. Oh, I almost forgot. Speaking of deadlines, what’s the status of our security company in Ely?”
Smith chuckled. “You definitely lit a fire under them. There’s a new magical-only outfit in town, and apparently, the newcomers soundly rejected their overtures to partner up or buy them out. Word is, they’ll be taking them out within the same timeframe as our other operations.”
Juliana grinned. “Excellent. And a backup has been identified in case they fail?”
Thompson nodded. “Two. One we can persuade with money, the other might require a little strong-arming.”
“I’m lucky to have the both of you. Keep me apprised. Now, while we eat, tell me a bit about yourselves. Honestly, for as long as you’ve worked for me, I feel like I hardly know you. While that might’ve been how my husband preferred it, here in Vegas it’s time for a new beginning. So, who wants to go first?”
Chapter Sixteen
Grentham looked around at his subordinates with a measure of concern. While they were adequate to the tasks he usually set them in the black market trade in magical items, he hadn’t chosen them for martial prowess. Circumstances being what they are, I guess I have no choice. He maintained an outward appearance of confidence, giving them a serious expression tinted with the hint of a smile. “Okay, people. New wrinkle in our ongoing adventures. We’ve been contracted to assist a local security company in an operation tonight.”
One of the dwarves who had been with him longest chimed in, “That wouldn’t be your security company, would it?”
Grentham chuckled. “It would, indeed. I know this is a little outside our norm, but you’ll get a bonus payment and a share of whatever we take from them. Of course, my partner and I will have first choice.”
Nods and mutters of assent followed. That was always the deal. The ones at the top chose their rewards. Then the others got the rest base
d on position. It kept them interested in climbing through the ranks. He tossed a small black canvas bag to the nearest man. “Take one and pass it along. You need to put these buttons on underneath your clothes, where the opposition won’t notice them.” A couple of his people looked dubious, and he shrugged. “If you’d like to get shot by your side, ignore or lose the button. If that doesn’t sound fun, make sure it stays close.”
The bag moved faster after that, and they made a show of securing the items. He nodded approval. “There will be rifles for those who want them. Otherwise, choose your own weapons carefully. We’ll meet at the appointed location in ninety minutes. Any problems, call me. If anything changes, I’ll call you.”
He retreated into his office and closed the door, then portaled to his other office in the Aces Security building. He arrived in the locker room in time to hear the end of Jared’s speech giving their usual operatives and employees the same instructions. The plan was to mix the groups, with one of their regulars in charge of several of his magicals, and he and Jared each leading half of the total force.
He plopped the box he’d brought along onto the table in the center of the room. “Everyone load up with at least one magazine of anti-magic bullets. The likelihood that we’ll wind up shooting at humans is really low, so these should make everything better and hopefully not break the bank. Remember not to shoot my people. Your goggles should display them as friendlies, but if in doubt, take a second to check.”
One of their longest-serving personnel, a woman with a blonde flat-top haircut that looked perfectly bristly, gave a short laugh. “They’re not going to shoot us, are they?”
Grentham grinned. “You’re in charge, so I guess that depends on your behavior.” Laughter bounced around the space, and he shook his head. “Seriously, I’ve warned them that we’ll be facing magical opposition, most likely, so you should be fine. They’re good people. Just keep them under tighter control than you might this bunch of reprobates.” He gestured at the others in the room and got a few theatrical scowls and one obscene gesture. “Great. Call us if you need anything. We’re going to go do our prep.”
He and Jared visited the lobby to ensure their surveillance folks were on the case, even though they’d be playing a backup role in that night’s operation. The main terminal was manned by their best, and several others worked at laptops around the room to help coordinate communication. He said, “Looks good to me.”
His partner nodded. “Me too. We can check this box on the to-do list.” They moved deeper into the building, home to their secure armory. Grentham was going with body armor for the operation, not his normal choice, since he respected the other company and wasn’t sure what tricks and traps they might have waiting for invaders. Jared made the same selection. Vests, helmets with transparent faceplates, fatigues underneath, and steel-toed boots wrapped them in protection.
Grentham selected a shotgun filled with slugs instead of buckshot, planning to use it as a lock breaker if needed. Otherwise, he’d rely on his magic. Jared took a shotgun as well, but also a rifle and a pair of pistols. Truth be told, if he hadn’t had his magic to depend upon, Grentham would’ve opted for a howitzer if he could figure out a way to carry it. He observed, “This won’t be easy.”
His partner shook his head. “No. I’m not sure what we’ll find, but these folks are serious players, so we have to assume they’ll be ready for this. Still, our people are good, and we have a lot of them. Speaking of which, are we all set with Scimitar?”
Grentham nodded and bent to unzip a satchel he’d brought along. “We are. They couriered these to me about an hour ago.” He handed over a black box, about as large as his hand and three times as thick. It had standard straps to attach to their equipment belts.
Jared asked, “Network extender?”
“That’s what I’m told. I have no reason to doubt.”
His partner looked dubiously down at the device. “You know, this would be a great way to carry out an assassination. Get the targets to put the bombs on themselves, then boom.”
Grentham laughed. “Don’t go paranoid on me, buddy. Besides, I took them through our explosives detector already.”
“Good to know that we’re both still on the ball.” Jared visibly adjusted his attitude with a squaring of his shoulders and a deep breath. “Okay, are we forgetting anything?”
Grentham patted his thigh pouches to ensure his potion flasks were inside. As long as he had those, there wasn’t much else to worry about. “The vans?”
Jared replied, “They’ll be where we planned. Autonomous. You’re positive your infomancer can hack them?”
“They said so. Our people downstairs have the explosives?”
He nodded. “All set. Enough to make sure no one gets any evidence out of them when we finish.”
“You have your healing pack?” They had access to some of the latest military tech, and an AI-controlled trauma kit was the best of the bunch.
His partner patted his thigh pouch. “Right here. Let’s hope like hell we don’t have to use it.” That was an extra sincere statement since the only one who would use it would be Jared himself. We all need a failsafe.
Grentham clapped his hands together. “Okay, I think we’re set. The only thing we haven’t talked about is ground rules. I assume there are none?”
Jared laughed. “After the reception they gave us, I can’t imagine taking out the leadership will shift the others to our cause. Everyone we see goes down.”
“Agreed. And we get as much of their gear out of there as we can.”
“You’ve secured a neutral location to check it over?” They were both highly cognizant of the possibility that the security company would have trackers on their most valuable equipment, similar to the ones they used.
“Yeah, a warehouse way to the south. The infomancer set it up. Not traceable back to us. I can make a portal to transfer stuff over.”
Jared frowned. “Can anyone else, if you’re, say, indisposed?”
Grentham laughed. “Nope, only me. So you better make sure I stay alive.”
He shrugged. “I’ll handle my end of the operation. More than that, I cannot do.”
“That’ll be sufficient.” He opened his thigh pouch to double-check that the potions were there, even though he knew they were because he’d just felt them. Getting paranoid in your old age. Then again, there’s no other way to reach old age, not in this world. “All right. Let’s hit the vans and get the proverbial show on the literal road.”
Grentham bailed out of the van a half-mile away from the guard post that controlled access to the complex. They could have entered on foot, but the likelihood of surveillance was too high, and he wasn’t confident his people could remain magically concealed against whatever detection their targets might have in place.
Instead, they’d ride in fast and hard in the vans, then execute a rapid deployment that would hopefully take the building’s defenders by surprise. Their drones flew high overhead, and a summary of what they saw flowed into his earpiece in a constant stream. Overall, it was a lot of noise and precious little information. He shook his head and focused on covering the ground to the guard post.
When it was a short distance away, he said, “Everyone, go.” While he’d been closing, the vans would’ve been loading up his people at the rally point and moving into position for the run to their target. As soon as he received acknowledgment that they were rolling, he covered himself in a veil and rushed toward the single guard gazing alertly over the road leading to his domain.
He considered using the axes on his belt, his tried-and-true weapons of choice, but saw no particular reason for the hireling to die. The man wasn’t part of the group they were taking on, only a guy doing a job for probably too little money. He stepped inside, let his veil fall, and blasted the man with lightning. The guard fell to the floor, and Grentham pulled the zip ties from the man’s belt and bound him. He hit the button to open the gate as the vans came into view. The rearmost pau
sed long enough for him to jump on board, then sped quickly ahead.
Jared announced, “Fifteen seconds to target. Van one to the right, vans two and three center, van four left.”
The infomancer’s computer-modulated voice said, “I’ve acquired their network signal. Beginning intrusion.”
Ideally, their cyber warrior would get the doors open for them. If not, Grentham had the shotgun. If that proved insufficient, and his magic couldn’t do it either, well, there was more than one reason they’d brought along so many explosives. Never hurts to have a little extra boom in reserve.
The vans screeched to almost simultaneous halts, and they piled out. Jared was already marching toward the door with a shotgun out when Grentham got himself moving. Scimitar said, “Come on in,” and the lobby entrance opened.
He replied, “Nice work. Internal defenses?”
“Still active. There’s at least one live infomancer resisting me, plus an AI. Might be more of each, can’t tell yet. Assume everything except the external alarm is alive. I have that locked down.” She’d explained ahead of time that she planned to send in a signal-jamming drone and was confident she could block the hardline if one existed.
A chime that indicated a private channel between him and Jared opening sounded, and his partner said, “We’re depending on Scimitar more than I’d like.”
Grentham shrugged. “Get it done fast and we won’t have to worry about it. You head in. I’ll secure the lobby and follow as soon as I can.”
Jared’s teams included three subordinates, each in charge of five of Grentham's magicals. He was glad to have them along but didn’t have any real trust in them. If blood spilled on their side, he’d do his best to make sure it wasn’t their regular people. He detailed one group to move ahead, with his most reliable lieutenant, Claire Kendris, and Karna, the dwarf his partner had identified as the most proficient at sensing magic.