The Ian Dex Supernatural Thriller Series: Books 1 - 4 (Las Vegas Paranormal Police Department Box Sets)

by John P. Logsdon

  Even though the hostage situation was relatively minor in comparison to the ubernaturals event with the Chippendale’s-looking mage Reese and the zombie invasion of Shitfaced Fred, the Directors were keen on being updated on everything these days. It was like they were on edge…more than usual.

  Thus, I sat before the panel. It was kind of like being before a senate hearing, except that I couldn’t see the senators. Well, I could now and then, but as soon as I caught a glimpse of them, the memory would fade. This meant I couldn’t tell you what any of them looked like.

  There were four Directors overseeing my precinct. Silver was the head of the Vegas Vampire Coalition, Zack was the leader of the Vegas Werewolf Pack, O managed the Vegas chapter of the Crimson Focus Mages, and EQK sat at the top of the Vegas Pixies.

  “There’s really not much to report,” I said after pleasantries were exchanged. “An ex-parole-officer-turned-art-dealer pissed off some criminals who had violated parole. They got out of prison and were bent on exacting revenge.”

  “Then why didn’t they?” said Silver.

  I blinked at the general location of where he sat.

  It was actually a very good point. If the bad guys wanted to kill Ms. Davenport, they could have easily done so. There was no need for sentries or…. I frowned. Yeah, what was it with the sentries?

  “That’s a really good question, sir.”

  “I agree,” said O. “If these men were intent on killing this ex-parole officer, they would have done so.”

  “Sounds like what Silver just said,” EQK stated.

  “You know what I don’t understand?” asked Zack.

  “Basic math?” answered EQK, even though the question was clearly rhetorical.

  To Zack’s credit, he pressed on without responding to the pixie’s obvious insult.

  “Why the sentries?”

  I nodded. “I was just thinking the exact same thing, sir. I honestly hadn’t even thought of this when we were in the middle of the rescue. Saving the normal was paramount. But now I’m just as baffled as the rest of you.”

  “I’m not baffled,” said EQK. “It’s obvious what they were planning to do. Just watch some of your own TV shows, you goddamn idiots.”

  “Language, EQK,” O said in an admonishing tone.

  “Fuck you, spellboy.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re excused,” EQK snapped back before continuing with, “If you morons used your brains at all, you’d see that those dudes were planning on having a little ‘fun’ with that chick before killing her.”

  Silence followed that statement.

  Truth was, disturbing or not, the pixie was probably correct. If you think about it, these were a couple of guys who were stuck in prison for a few extra years due to Ms. Davenport turning them in. Female company was not all that available in the prison system, which probably gave them a lot of time to think about all the naughty things they would do to their ex-parole officer before ending her.

  “So you think the sentries were put there to make sure nobody interrupted their nefarious plans?” asked Zack.

  “If I had a treat, I’d throw you one,” EQK answered.

  “That’s it,” said O with a grunt. “EQK, if you can’t treat your fellow Directors with a level of respect that is worthy of their positions, we will vote that you are either removed from this council or force you to undergo sensitivity training.” He paused. “Are we clear?”

  “I thought I was treating you guys with a level of respect that is worthy of your positions,” EQK replied. “No reason to be a dick fume, Osshole.”

  Zack was growling lightly, Silver sounded to be giggling, and O was dead silent.

  Until…

  “Did you just call me Osshole?”

  “Oh, come on,” EQK replied in exasperation. “Don’t tell me you’re offended by that, too!”

  “How could I not be offended by that? How would you like it if I called you PQK instead of EQK?”

  “I don’t get it,” replied the pixie. “What’s it mean?”

  “Huh?”

  “Well, when I called you Osshole, it’s clearly a play on the word asshole. But you changing the E to a P in my name…” He trailed off for a second. “I don’t get it.”

  “There’s nothing to get,” O replied a moment later. “It’s just rude and should bother you.”

  “Oh, right.” EQK cleared his throat. “Yeah, being called PQK is pretty upsetting, but if you feel that you must call me that in order to embrace your cultural norms, much like my calling you Osshole allows me to embrace mine, then I shall learn to accept your new name for me…Osshole.”

  It was becoming more and more obvious that Silver was having as much trouble keeping it together as I was. Zack, ever the diplomat, was not giggling. He was likely more offended at this exchange than O was, but he also knew that if he spoke out, EQK would just give him some name as well.

  “I’m glad you’re enjoying this, Silver,” said O.

  “Quite.”

  “Anyway, sirs,” I interrupted before they could go down yet another rabbit hole, “I think that EQK’s assessment is pretty logical. As for the sentries, I can only assume they were there to make sure the ex-cons had time in the event that the cops did arrive.” It didn’t make a ton of sense to me, to be honest, but I couldn’t think of any other reason for them to be there. “I suppose we could always question them to see if they’ll spill the beans.”

  “Probably wise,” O stated, though there was still an edge to his voice.

  I stood up to leave, but Zack asked me to sit back down for a moment.

  “There are a couple of points for your department that we need to discuss before you go,” he said. “First is that you’ve been the chief of this division for about five years now. That means it’s about time for you to start doing reviews.”

  I never understood why reviews were done at the five-year mark instead of annually like other places, but I’d guessed it had something to do with how long supernaturals lived.

  Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to doing the reviews at all. They would require that I take each of my officers on as a working partner for a week so I could watch them perform their duties firsthand. Since most of them had been in the force longer than me—some lifetimes longer, I felt silly judging them.

  “You’ll have this entire year to manage it,” Zack continued, “so there is no rush.”

  I sighed and nodded.

  “Secondly, please remember that it’s your duty to make sure your team members adhere to the reintegration rules. We don’t want another incident with the Retrievers.”

  I couldn’t argue with him on that point. During my third month as chief, our tech guy, a pixie by the name of Turbo, had forgotten to go back to the Netherworld for reintegration. They sent up an officer to retrieve him, and she gave me quite an earful. Apparently, since I was the chief, I was on the hook as the first line of making my crew go in for reintegration if they were delayed. The thinking was that I could allow that delay if the officer was in the middle of a case, but I had to notify the Retrievers about it so that they’d hold off on their duties. But Turbo hadn’t been doing anything besides his normal day-to-day job, so he should have gone. Apparently the Directors all had to go through additional training because of my slip up, so I couldn’t blame them for wanting me to stay on top of things, but they didn’t have to remind me every three months.

  “I got it, sir,” I said evenly. “You may recall that I’ve not had a single officer skip that duty in roughly five years now.”

  “Just making sure it stays that way,” replied Zack. “Dismissed.”

  Chapter 8

  I called everyone to the conference room to discuss reviews and such. This was my first time having to do this, since the previous chief handled the last round, but it was my duty now.

  “Listen up, gang,” I said, calming the chatter. “I just got out of a meeting with the Directors and it seems as though five-year review
s are due this year.”

  There were “ughs” and grumbles all around, except for Harvey. He just looked confused at why review-time was a bad thing. I remembered feeling that way when I’d first started on the force, too. Fortunately for me, the chief had finished up his reviews a couple of weeks before he’d retired his post.

  “I know, I know,” I said, holding up my hands. “You’ve all told me that you don’t like going through these things. Honestly, I’ve never been through one as a chief before. I was only here a couple of years before I inherited the chief’s duties, and the Directors handled mine by simply saying I was doing a fine job.” I rubbed my eyes. “Well, EQK said something a bit more derisive, but it meant about the same thing in his way of speaking.”

  Their faces were all blank. Again, except for Harvey.

  What I should have done was bring each of them to those meetings during their review week. That would teach them to show me a little more respect. Either that, or they’d “inadvertently” send a stray fireball my way now and then during a battle.

  “Right. Well, I’ll probably start things up in a couple of weeks. I need time to get everything straightened out first and do a little research with Lydia so I know what I’m doing. I promise to make things as painless as possible.”

  Harvey’s hand went up.

  “Yes, Harvey?”

  “I’ve only been on the job for a little while, boss,” he said, sounding more excited than he should have, “but I wouldn’t mind going on one of these weeks with you, if that’s okay?” He glanced around the room. “I know I’m not really a cop, but I’d like to learn.”

  It was nice to see at least one member of my team showing some enthusiasm.

  I gave that enthusiasm about three months.

  “We’ll see how things go, Harvey,” I said with a nod. “Just keep doing your job for now, okay?”

  He pointed at me and winked. “You got it, boss.”

  “Right, well, only other business I’ve got is that Serena is due for a reintegration visit to the Netherworld.”

  She moaned.

  It wasn’t the kind of moan she used to make back in the day, either. This one was more of the irritated type. Hearing it resulted in a bit of stirring in my lower section, though, because Serena and I used to engage in role playing. She played the part of succubus and I was the lucky bastard serving her.

  I shivered slightly.

  “It only takes a couple of hours,” I soothed, “and you’ll be clear for another few months.”

  “Yes, I know,” she replied in a defeated tone of voice. “I’ll take care of it this weekend.”

  “Thank you.” I closed up my notepad. “Well, if there’s nothing else…” Warren’s hand went up. He seemed more chipper and engaged than usual. I could only imagine that Ms. Davenport had something to do with that. “Yes, Warren?”

  “I was wondering if you would all be up for joining me and Charlotte tonight for a get-together,” he said.

  All faces turned toward him.

  “That was fast,” said Rachel, smiling genuinely. “You guys really hit it off, eh?”

  “She’s great,” Warren said, beaming. “I showed her my runes—”

  “They’re called balls, pal,” I said with a scoff. “Just because you’re a wizard doesn’t mean you should call your junk after wizarding names.”

  “I’m talking about my drawings, Chief.”

  Rachel shook her head at me, clearly disappointed. At least she didn’t call me an idiot, aloud anyway.

  “Just ignore him, Warren,” Felicia said. “He’s just jealous.”

  “I am not.”

  “What did Ms. Davenport have to say about your drawings, Warren?” asked Griff.

  “She wants to do a show for them at her gallery.”

  The entire team was full of smiles at this. What the hell? They were just pictures of goofy shapes and such. What was the big deal?

  “That’s great, Warren,” Chuck said, slapping the smaller man on the shoulder. “Good for you, man.”

  “Thanks. Anyway, if you guys would join us for a drink, that would be great.”

  They were all nodding except for me, but Warren looked up at me with his puppy dog eyes, so I said, “Nope. Definitely not. I have a thing with a chick at the place and I—”

  “He’ll be there,” Rachel stated while giving me a stern look.

  “Great!”

  Everyone stood up and walked out of the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

  “That wasn’t very nice, sugar plum,” said Lydia a few moments later. “You know Warren looks up to you.”

  If Lydia was giving me crap about this, then I was clearly in the wrong. She sided with me about everything.

  “He does?”

  “Everyone does, sweet cheeks. That’s all part of being the chief.”

  I had the feeling Lydia was getting her information from old novels and TV shows. Still, it was my duty to be supportive of my crew. Usually this meant as far as their jobs went, but even I had to admit that I was being a bit of a tool at the moment.

  “Jealousy doesn’t become you, lover,” Lydia added. “You’re better than that.”

  “You’re right, Lydia. Thanks, baby.”

  “Anytime, honey buns.”

  Chapter 9

  An hour later we were sitting at Piero’s. I wasn’t very hungry, but I could down a plate of pasta and have a drink or two.

  Warren and Charlotte didn’t exactly look like a match made in heaven. She was gorgeous, and he was…well, Warren. But she did appear to genuinely like him, and that softened me a bit. It made me realize that everyone was right: I was being an ass.

  And so I lifted my glass and said, “To Warren and Charlotte, may this be the beginning of a long-lasting relationship.”

  “Cheers to that!” Warren said and everyone laughed.

  Rachel gave me a wan smile.

  She leaned over. “Just when I think you’re incorrigible, you do something like that.”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” I replied, holding up my drink, “I’ll screw it up eventually.”

  “I have no doubt,” she replied. “But for now, it’s nice.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  The pasta was actually pretty tasty and my appetite was coming back. This probably had a lot to do with the Rusty Nail I was currently downing, but I’m sure that getting over myself, as Rachel put it, was also helpful.

  Why should I be irritated about the fact that some chick preferred Warren’s company over mine?

  But that wasn’t the point, was it? No! The fact was that he flashed a stupid light and then just stood around while I got shot at twice before taking down both of the men who were bent on doing nefarious things to Ms. Davenport. Didn’t that warrant me at least a “Thank you”?

  I grumbled again and looked down at my plate.

  Just as I was shoveling in another forkful of yumminess, Charlotte tapped her wine glass with the smooth side of a spoon.

  I glanced up to see that Turbo, our little pixie who wore a full officer’s uniform, badge and all, was standing on her shoulder.

  “Excuse me, everyone,” she said, lowering our table’s chatter. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to share something with you that…” She paused and looked over at Warren. “Actually, did you want to tell them?”

  “No, it’s okay. Go ahead.”

  “You sure?”

  He nodded, his face lighting up like a beacon.

  “Well, I was so impressed with the artwork that Warren does that I’ve set up something special.” She put her hand on his arm. “Technically, we set it up, but you know what I mean.”

  “You guys literally just met last night,” I said with a laugh. “How did you have time to set anything up?”

  “I already had a bunch of runes drawn up, Chief,” explained Warren. “They’ve been piling up in my guest room for years.”

  “Exactly,” said Charlotte. “Well, he brought me over this afternoon and
showed me his work.” She brought her hand to her chest dramatically. “I was so taken aback with the beauty of Warren’s art that I felt it just needed to be shown to the world.”

  The entire crew seemed very supportive of this, based on their smiles and nods, but I saw a problem that they were obviously missing. These were runes we were talking about here. They weren’t just some random pieces of art.

  I knew I was going to take some instant flack, but it was my duty to say something.

  “Sorry,” I said, leaning forward, “but couldn’t it be a bad thing to show your runes to the public?”

  I hadn’t considered it before, and clearly neither had anyone else. My guess was that they were all enthralled with Warren’s newfound love, and I was immersed in a vat of ignorance.

  As if commonsense had returned, all their shoulders slumped. Everyone but Charlotte Davenport’s, anyway.

  “I don’t understand,” she said. “What’s the problem?”

  “Runes aren’t just pieces of art,” Warren replied, looking instantly bummed out. “They can be used for supernatural purposes.”

  “Even better,” Charlotte exclaimed. “People will flock to see that. They love magic!”

  I cleared my throat and motioned for Warren to explain why this was a bad thing. It was bad enough that I was the one bringing it to everybody’s attention, I wasn’t going to push myself further into the bad-guy corner.

  “We can’t risk normals getting their hands on these designs. They’re intricate and more complex than people may think, and they take a lot of concentration to draw properly, but in the wrong hands they could be really bad.”

  “Oh?” Charlotte looked confused. “I had no idea.”

  So much for that plan.

  I felt like a heel, but it just wasn’t worth the risk.

  “I have a solution,” said Rachel. “Draw up some others that are just as nice but that have zero magical capability at all.”

  Charlotte’s eyes lit up again.

  “Can you do that?” she asked Warren.

  “Sure, I guess.” He looked unsure. “I’ve honestly never tried, but I can’t see why I couldn’t.”