Agents of Order

by T. R. Cameron

  Okay, time to turn the tables. One of the things that this part of the kemana—also seemingly vacant—had in abundance was fist-sized rocks. She gathered them and scuttled away from her hiding place, gaining distance from the sounds of the monkeys climbing up to her level. She placed them in open locations on any support that was at least as high as the little creatures' heads. As they approached, whenever a stray reflection on their metal appendages revealed one of them, she used her telekinesis to transform the stones into missiles and fired them into and through the skulls of her pursuers.

  Diana had hoped the remaining witches and wizards would abandon the portal and search for her, and quiet hisses suggested her wish had been granted. By the time the monkeys were eliminated, she’d run out of rocks and cover as the houses ended at a large clearing that ran for at least a hundred feet, maybe more. It was highly unlikely she'd be able to make the crossing undetected, even with the concealment charm.

  She drew the remaining throwing daggers from her boots. Any attempt to strike Sarah with them was a non-starter as the defensive barrier that had thwarted their attempts to tag her would no doubt be in play here as well. The invisible shield might have been why none of her previous efforts to kill her had worked out. She could only hope that her sidekicks weren’t quite as prepared.

  Her hiding place lay two houses away from the open area. She’d circled to the rear of the domiciles and positioned herself in the alley between the second and third building. From the sounds of the oncoming enemies, they were wisely checking the alleys as they passed. She resigned herself to discovery and stood with her back against the wall of the third house, as far into the shadows as possible.

  When the enemy witch stuck her head around the corner, Diana held her breath. The way the woman snatched it back almost immediately made it likely she hadn’t been seen. She raised her arms into a throwing position and waited for her to reappear. When she did—and actually stepped fully into the alley—the agent surged forward and hurled both blades at once in an overhand throw. They streaked forward on diagonal trajectories to strike the witch side by side in her chest. Down and hopefully, out. She couldn’t be sure as the knives weren’t that long and she’d had to aim for the biggest target. A better thrower would have found the throat, but that wasn’t her. She chuckled inwardly as she ran to reposition in the alley between the houses closer to the clearing. Maybe Rath could, though.

  She used the moment of chaos sown by her attack to drink an energy potion, confident that the battle would either be won or lost before the draught’s impact on her systems caused her to crash into unconsciousness. Power flooded through her and filled her to the point where she could barely contain it. She summoned a force shield as tall as she was in her left hand and stalked into the backyard of the building. Enough fooling around.

  She didn't expect the ambush, but in her heightened state of being, she didn't not expect it, either. The attack from in front of her was an impressive combination of intertwined fire and shadow as one of Sarah’s witches circled her palms in the air. Diana caught it on her shield and had to concentrate momentarily to be sure it properly repelled each assault. The attack from the side, where the main witch had somehow climbed to the roof of the house, proved to be more of a challenge. When her magic sense kicked in and slowed the action around her, she couldn’t identify the source. The shadow orbs struck her back shoulder and spun her, drove their daggers of pain and despair into her body and mind, and she almost faltered.

  But the energy surged through her, and all she had to do was release it. She set her feet to stop herself from stumbling, and the force shield in her fist thrust forward and continued to block the inferior witch’s attacks until it pounded into her at full speed and catapulted her at least a dozen feet. Heh. She’ll be too busy trying to find all her teeth to bother me again. The agent shoved the pain aside and banished the mental portion of the attack by focusing on how good the magic coursing through her felt before she launched herself upward. She aimed for Sarah, but the witch stepped adroitly aside before she landed and bestowed an arrogant grin on her.

  The woman’s voice was far more smug than it should have been, given the situation. “Diana Sheen. Yet again, we meet. Today, the outcome will be different, though. I wonder how your team will manage without you?”

  As a tactic to make her worry, it failed utterly. She had full confidence that Cara could take her place if she fell and knew that Kayleigh would watch over Rath. Her laugh at the boast was heartfelt and gleeful, thanks to the power flowing within. “Sure, sure. Let’s see. I’ve taken out Kilomea, murder monkeys, and your right-hand people. You’ve…done nothing useful.”

  Sarah shook her head. “I’ve done enough. You’re here alone and lack any support.” She realized the banter was a play for time and feared that reinforcements might be on the way. Lady Alayne did tell Nylotte she was concerned about the penetration of the kemana by the Remembrance. Maybe she has more allies here than anyone knows.

  Without replying, Diana moved to attack. She reached for ice and fired it at the witch’s feet, hoping to freeze her in place with the unexpected tactic. The other woman deflected it with an unconcerned wave of her wand, then gestured casually to direct another shadow assault. This time, they manifested as tiny darts that swirled and flickered as they crossed the short distance, which made them hard to deflect.

  So screw deflecting. She cartwheeled to the side and evaded them as they passed through the space she’d abandoned. When her boots returned to the stone roof, she launched herself forward with a fist extended, moving parallel to the surface. Sarah reacted barely in time, spun away, and shoved her away with a blast of power. Diana rode the new trajectory and landed on the hard-packed soil a dozen feet from the edge of the building. She reached deep for her magic, gathered as much as she could hold, and threw it with both hands to eject a person-sized force sphere.

  It covered the distance to the house in a second, crashed into the wall where it met the top, and exploded the two sections apart. The side of the structure caved in, and the shattered roof became airborne. She located the witch among the swirling rubble, waving her wand to try to control her unexpected flight, and put her thumbs together to summon a cone of flame. The blazing line tracked Sarah’s path and engulfed her as she landed. The power drained from Diana, moving toward empty, but she gritted her teeth and maintained the attack. She slipped her mind into the magic, sensed the moment when her foe tried to scurry to evade the beam, and moved it with her. It became a battle of magical strength, one she was determined to win.

  Her vision grew hazy as her power reservoir evaporated, but she held on and pushed with everything she had to end her opponent once and for all. A scream emanated from within the conflagration as the flames overcame the other woman’s defenses and she fled toward the kemana’s tunnel, her clothes and hair burning brightly in the darkness. Diana took a step forward to pursue and fell face-down. She fumbled for the other energy potion, but by the time she’d retrieved it, the enemy witch was gone.

  She had only enough strength left for two actions. First, she sent a mental message to Nylotte and received assurance that her teacher was on her way. Then, as her vision spiraled into a small dot, she cursed Sarah with every combination of creative profanity she could think of until she ran out and lost consciousness.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Deacon ran—literally—into Kayleigh’s side of the lab floor, waving a piece of paper. She looked at him, half in surprise and half in mockery. He didn’t seem to notice and thrust the page at her. “We’ve got them.”

  Both her eyebrows raised as she reviewed the data it listed. “Okay, I get that both Clarke and Tomassi are leaking. But Somers? Really?”

  He nodded vigorously. “I know, right? But look closer.”

  She stared at the information but definitely didn’t see whatever he was referring to. She looked up with a scowl. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you? Trying to make me feel stupid? Well
, I’ll have you know that it’s working splendidly.”

  “Yes, on purpose. He laughed. “No, not trying to make you feel stupid. I merely want you to appreciate my brilliance.”

  Kayleigh rolled her eyes. “As if you don’t go out of your way to remind me of it, like, daily.”

  “If you’ve got it, flaunt it, that’s what RuPaul always says.” He shrugged and pointed toward his computer setup at the other end of the floor. “Come take a closer look.”

  She followed him and smacked him gently on the head as he sat in front of her. He chuckled, called up information on each of his many displays, and gestured at the one on the far left. “Okay, that’s Clarke, who’s the most compromised. You can see that he’s deliberately sharing information with…well, all kinds of people. Whatsapp to connect with the Chinese, and Shredder to speak with his Oriceran contact, who appears to be someone not directly connected to Nehlan.”

  Kayleigh frowned. “How do you know that?”

  Deacon pointed at the next monitor. “That’s Tomassi right there. He does have the direct connection to Nehlan, as you might recall assuming your memory works better than the rest of your brain.” He yelped when she kicked him in the Achilles, then continued with a hint of laughter in his voice. “There’s clear evidence that someone has taken over for the dead elf with our dear Winston T, but he doesn’t use the same contact route as Clarke’s person does. So they must be talking to different people.”

  She shook her head. “I wouldn’t take that one to court.”

  He shrugged. “I’m eighty percent confident, but it really doesn’t matter, anyway. We don’t need to know exactly who's on the other end in order to confirm that they’re leaking like sieves.”

  “Fair enough. Kayleigh sighed and chose not to argue the point. “So, Clarke is doing it on purpose with both Chinese Intelligence and the Oricerans. Is that true for Tomassi as well?”

  Her partner shook his head. “Nope. He seems to be a willing partner with someone on the other planet and completely unwitting as to the degree he’s been compromised by the Chinese. They’re running a virus on his devices.”

  “Shouldn’t that be detected somehow? One would hope that Congress in general—and the oversight committee specifically—would have some state-of-the-art anti-malware installed.”

  “Well, if the chucklehead hadn’t downloaded a gaming app for the website he uses, whatever defenses he has would probably have been sufficient. The best part is that in order to get it onto his phone, he would need someone in government IT to help, which means that person is either on the Chinese payroll, or an idiot, or both.”

  She groaned. “Seriously. These morons are full of surprises.”

  He turned in his chair and looked at her. “I have another one for you. The virus is magic.”

  “Meaning the Chinese Intelligence folks are also using magic in their software?”

  “You got it in one.”

  “Damn.”

  Deacon laughed. “My reaction involved far more colorful language, but yeah, that about sums it up. The game has become real complex, real fast.”

  “Well, I guess it makes sense. They have a huge population, so the chances of turning up a hybrid tech and magic expert is probably greater than average.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So what’s the deal with Somers? If you tell me he’s deliberately sharing information with our enemies, I’ll have to stop believing in anything.”

  Her partner sobered and pointed to the pair of monitors on the far right. “I didn't find any indication of willful spilling on his part but his devices are compromised by several different varieties of malware. One is definitely the Chinese, and I haven’t traced the others. So far, they resist my own virus’s attempts to penetrate their defenses.” He shook his head. “There’s no way these got on there by random chance. Someone on his staff, or someone he’s in contact with, is involved.”

  She sighed. “Damn. Can we find out who it is?"

  “Not with the data we have so far.”

  “So, what’s your recommendation?”

  He turned to face her and looked extremely uncomfortable. Deacon likes the pursuit but isn’t fond of the results. I can relate. Unfortunately, that’s a luxury we don’t have. “I think that Tomassi and Clarke need to be…dealt with. Removed from the committee. Whatever.” He swiveled to stare at the details on the right-hand monitors again as if there were secrets to be discovered. “And everyone who works with Somers—or is friends with him, or related, or any sort of contact, really—needs to be investigated further. Deeply investigated.”

  She patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll let Bryant know about all three of them but tell him we need Somers kept in place until we can dig deeper. Does that sound good?”

  He nodded, already back at work to try to track the traitors in their midst. She returned to her lab and sat at her worktable, staring at the pieces of magical drone bug carefully arranged on it. With a sigh, she activated her comms and connected to Diana. “Boss, I have something to tell you that you won’t want to hear.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  When Bryant received the news, he dropped everything he was doing and sprinted to the exit, cursing himself for not having a portal destination prepared. He called for a driver on his race toward the staircase and stood impatiently, tapping his foot at the curb as he waited for the car to arrive. When the black SUV stopped in front of him, he yanked the door open. “Lights and Siren. Go.”

  The agent was one of DC’s best and navigated all the lanes—and occasionally, the sidewalk—with effective madness. They pulled up outside the hospital in as good a time as he had any right to expect, and Bryant punched the woman’s arm lightly in thanks as he scrambled out and ran to the entrance.

  He broke into the room at full speed and skidded to a stop at the sight of his boss, Carson Taggart, awake and sitting in his bed. The electrical current devices they’d used to keep his muscles active while he was in the coma had apparently worked, as he seemed capable of relatively easy movement. He grinned at his subordinate’s enthusiastic entrance.

  “You really ought to be a little more dignified, Bates. What will the rank and file think?”

  Bryant couldn’t restrain his grin. “Well, now that you’re awake, I am the rank and file—and happy to be, I should add. I’ll go back, retrieve your secure tablet, and it’ll be like you never left.”

  Taggart shook his head with a half-smile. “That won’t happen, I’m afraid. The doctors tell me I'm stuck in here for at least another month in recovery and should avoid undue stress.”

  He shrugged. “Okay, I can handle it for one more month if I need to.”

  The other man shifted in his bed and a grimace flickered across his neutral expression. A little weight entered his tone. “When I say won’t happen, I mean ever, Bryant. I’m done with ARES, other than wishing you all the best. It’s time for me to focus on enjoying whatever time remains of my duration on this planet.”

  He sat heavily in the chair beside the bed and blew a few errant strands of hair out of his face. Damn, I need to get it cut again already? Where did the time go? He shook his head morosely at Taggart. “Why would you do this? What did I do to make you hate me?”

  His boss—former boss—laughed. “Don’t be a nitwit. You did it to yourself, exactly like I did. Nothing comes from success but enduring punishment, my boy.”

  “Damn.” He exhaled forcefully. “Are you seriously going to stick me with this? No training or anything? Maybe you could come back for a few months.”

  Taggart shook his head. “No chance. I’m done. But you can always come to me for an old-timer’s perspective on things.”

  He grinned. “In that case, I have something to run by you.”

  Bryant did have a portal destination for his next stop, so he called to dismiss the car and found an empty room nearby to cast it in. He stepped through to the secluded corner in the Congress workspace and stopped in a restroom to make sure he
was ready. The trepidation he felt didn’t show on his face, and his suit was still well-creased. It’s all good. Let’s go cause trouble.

  A moment later, he tapped his watch to alert Finley he was on his way, confident that the other man had arranged the matters under his control properly. He entered the conference room to find the same arrangement as the previous meeting, with Finley on one end, Cyphret, Tomassi, and Clarke to his right, and Somers and Hughes to his left. Once again, he took his time as he retrieved a cup of coffee and enjoyed the irritation that emanated from the trio he’d started to call the “anti-party.” Because they’re against ARES and because they’d be no fun at all at a party. He snickered quietly as he filled his mug and turned to the table.

  Bryant lowered himself into the chair and flashed a wide grin at the senator on the opposite end. Finley shook his head and raised his chin in a signal for him to begin. He didn’t get a chance to start before Clarke, again theatrically irate, demanded, “Why have you called us here yet again? Is it to resign? Because I can’t think of another reason that would make this annoying repeat worthwhile.” Beside him, Tomassi nodded. Cyphret sat with her arms folded and hadn’t reacted to the man’s provocation. One point for Janet.

  He took a slow sip of his beverage for no purpose other than to irritate Clarke, then set it on the table. “In fact, I have a very good reason for asking you all to come together again. You’ll recall that at our last meeting, I informed you there were secrets leaking from this group. Additional evidence on that matter has come to light, and I thought you would want to hear it right away. Senator Finley agreed. So, here we are.”