by Curtis, Greg
Chapter Ten
James was sitting on the tail of the ambulance being treated by the doctor when Yasmin showed up. By the look in her brown eyes it seemed that she had something to tell him. The trouble was that sitting there in his underwear he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it. Or really anything at all from the statuesque woman standing in front of him in some sort of body hugging dress that looked like it belonged on a runway. She'd obviously dumped the ICE jacket somewhere. No doubt it didn't go with her outfit. He didn't feel so much under dressed as completely naked in front of her.
“Yasmin?”
The techies have analysed the shout. They think the woman's a banshee.”
“Banshee's! Well that’s just great!” James was anything but impressed by the term. Of course he was already upset at having the doctor stitching him up on the side of the road. He would have preferred just a little privacy, especially when there were already press around snapping pictures. A hospital room would be nice. But now he had banshees? “That's what I love about this job. Every time I think I've got a handle on things, you guys throw something completely new at me!”
“Careful doc!” He snapped at the doctor sewing up his forehead when something stung him.
“Don't be a baby!”
The doctor carried on with his work, unconcerned with James' outburst. Or with what Yasmin had said. He wasn't even bothered by the fact that James' guns along with most of his clothes were piled up on the tail of the ambulance. Anyone else would be freaking out, but he just carried on with his work. Obviously he'd seen it all before. But then he was one of the magical. The Illuminati had managed to bring in their own support people along when things had gone badly. James suspected the doctor's gift was a magically poor bedside manner. On the other hand James thought, maybe it was lust. The good doctor was concentrating too much on Yasmin. His eyes seemed to keep wandering in her direction. Not a good thing when the man was supposed to be concentrating on his stitching him up.
“So what's a banshee? Some sort of ghost that wails for the dead? And isn't she the wrong race?”
“That's just the myth.” Yasmin was fairly obviously trying to keep from laughing at him as he sat there in his underwear. At least someone was enjoying his discomfort. “They're a type of fascinator, but not like your brother. It takes longer for them to bend and twist thoughts, but also they seem to work at a deeper level, bringing about profound changes in personality that endure. And they have an extra little kick. When they scream – or wail – those under their spell will do anything they can to protect them without a moment's thought. That's what happened in the church.”
“We didn't think there were any in the country. But then so far we've found thirty seven unregistered gifted and I have no doubt more will come out of the woodwork before this is over. It's obvious that something's going on here.”
And wasn't that the truth James thought. The church had had a hundred and eighteen people in its congregation and roughly half of them had been processed thus far. Of those processed thirty seven had so far been found to have been unregistered gifted. He figured they would find a similar number or unregistered in the balance of those waiting to be processed. Seventy four unregistered. That was something of a haul.
Usually when they found someone who was unregistered the reason given was that either their magic was so minor that they didn't see the point, or they were simply too lazy to bother. And of course there were always a few who turned up as fresh faces, knowing nothing at all about the world of magic and the Illuminati. Often they were kids whose gifts were just beginning to show and whose families weren't gifted at all, save perhaps for a distant relative from somewhere in the past. So no one had ever told them about this part of their lives.
The real question though was why there were so many were unregistered. At least for James. This wasn't like customs and immigration. They weren't in danger of being deported. In fact there were no penalties at all. It was just a matter of them turning up at their local hall and registering their details. And for a few of them that would be a very good thing indeed. The Illuminati were always interested in certain gifts. For some they would offer training and education, inclusion in the clan, careers and the rest. It might be a bit of a lottery as to who got what but still, winning it was a prize well worth the ticket price.
On top of that the Illuminati did have an unofficial social support arm. For those of the gifted who found themselves in serious trouble the Illuminati could offer certain services. Legal and medical services mostly. It was part of the contract they had with the rest of the gifted. Yes they would impose some basic rules on them, but they also gave back. It made the unpalatable a little more palatable.
Of course he realised, there was another question to be asked. Was it organised? And if so by who?
“The priest,” James said, as the thought occurred. “We need to speak with him. He must have known that so many of his flock weren't registered. And we need to know why he has so many unregistered to begin with. There's something funny going on there.”
“I thought you said it wasn't the church! It was the damned Asian woman!” Yasmin let out an exasperated sigh and planted her hands on her hips. She shouldn't have done that. James watched as Yasmin’s breasts seem to rise up and suddenly try to burst free from her dress. The doctor also got an eyeful. James tried not to smile as he saw where the doctor's eyes were travelling. The man was new to Yasmin. He hadn't yet had a chance to grow accustomed to the effect she had on men.
Then he yelped in pain.
“Ow! Careful doc!” James could do without the stabbing. “Eyes on the job – not the pretty woman!”
He turned back to Yasmin who was trying to cover up a grin. “Maybe it's both. I don't know. Getting turned into a punching bag tends to make me question things. Either way, set up an interview with the priest. Daniels should handle this one I think.”
“Daniels? But he's Intelligence.” She pouted a little at James unhappily. “I can do it.”
Damn she looked cute when she did that! Still, James knew he was going to have to treat this carefully. This was about pride, and Yasmin was filled with confidence after her interrogation of Natasha Orin. It might have taken far longer than anyone had expected but she had finally got the information they needed from the woman and Yasmin was understandably happy about that. He didn't want to take that achievement away from her. Especially now when things seemed to be running a little more smoothly between them. In fact some days she actually smiled at him – he wasn't sure what that was about.
“I know you can. But this is Daniels' one. He’s the right person for the interrogation. He's over-dressed, like a businessman. He's young and confident and officious. He'll be able to get under the priest’s skin and give the right impression. Bureaucratic officialdom. Paperwork and form filling. The priest will respond to him better.”
“Besides, you're a woman.”
“Well thank you for noticing!” She didn't seem that grateful though. In fact she looked upset as she drew herself up to her full height.
“But that's a mark against you with some in church circles,” James carried on doing his best to explain. “And you dress too provocatively for the church. Another mark off. The priest won't respect you. But he needs to respect whoever he's talking to. He needs to think his complaints are being listened to by the important people. That he’s being taken seriously.”
“I can take his complaints seriously! And this is not provocative! This is what is known in most circles as fashionable. Something you clearly wouldn't know anything about!”
She was probably right – she was certainly right that he knew nothing about fashion – the dress did cover her completely from her knees to her neck save for the cleavage. It was simply the way it hugged her figure that made it seem a little too on the nose.
“Priests aren't in to fashion. He would see you in that and instantly think you were a woman of poor moral standing. Daniels gives the right impression.”
“That's just sexist!” Yasmin objected. And she was right to.
“Yes. It is.” James sighed quietly. “But priests tend to be a bit that way. Conservative. Well, maybe not even that but definitely on the prudish side. And I obviously can't do it.” James hurried on, taking the time to nod in the direction of the smoking ruin that had been a church to make his point as he carried on. Of course that just got him stabbed in the head again by the doctor who told him to keep still. Still, his point had been made. It would be a long time before the priest forgave him for that.
“I suspect he may harbour some distinctly unchristian thoughts towards me.”
“Doesn't everybody?!” Yasmin had obviously realised that his decision was made and she wasn't going to change it. But she wasn't happy about it. Or about his calling her fashion sense provocative.
James gave up on trying to placate her. He wasn't going to win that argument. Instead he carried on. “The others are going to have their hands full with this mess. There's a lot of paperwork to do and a cover up to arrange as well. Peters and West are going to be busy.”
The processing of the people was the one thing that actually seemed to be in hand. But dealing with the cover up was going to be a major problem. Still, West had told them that an electrical fault in the lights followed by a fire would explain most of what had happened to people's satisfaction, and he should know. Cover ups were his thing. So Will had already given that statement unofficially to some of the other responders who'd shown up, and he was preparing a press release.
“Besides the big interviews are going to be with the six people the Asian woman spoke to. I doubt she gave them any real details about herself. Possibly not even a name. But when we find out what she did tell them and what she asked them to do, we'll have a lot more knowledge of her game plan.”
Suddenly he'd found his way past Yasmin's irritation as she thought he was telling her she was going to be involved in that. And in the end he understood that. She wanted to be appreciated. It was a natural human emotion.
As was lust, something he discovered a lot more about when her pout vanished to be replaced by a dazzling smile. Which was the doctor's cue to stab him with the needle again. He growled at him once more.
“I'll set up –.”
“Not yet.” James interrupted her before she could start making any more plans for him to knock down and upset her further. “Please.”
“Now that we know what we're dealing with we have to treat them as cultists. They've been essentially brainwashed and they need to be deprogrammed. You saw how tough that was with Natasha Orin. And that was after she'd suffered a profound loss that destroyed her world and broke the fascinator's hold over her. These will be tougher.”
“You said the changes are deeper rooted. We're going to need specialists. Psychologists with experience in deprogramming. We need to get inside their heads, find out the lies she's told them and then show them the truth. We need to shatter their made up world so they can find the real one. And that's specialist work.”
“Also, now that I think about it, we need to find out more about the banshee. You said you didn't think there were any in the country but suddenly we have one here causing trouble. Why? And is it just one? Or is this something more organised? Does the gift run through families? Let’s have someone reach out to our … Irish? … offices and see if they've had any concerns with them. Family connections. Organised actions.”
“And I suppose you want me to do that?” She sounded disappointed.
“I'm sorry Yasmin, but for the moment I want you on the background work. Can you check out their, financials, histories, family connections and alibis. Get me everything you can find on the priest, the church, the congregation and especially the half dozen we have in custody. Also, could you ask William to check the international side of things please.”
“You're done.” The doctor interrupted James before he could give Yasmin any more instructions.
It was probably for the best as James was sure he was making a poor fist of things. Meanwhile Yasmin's smile had once again vanished, and James suspected she might be about to start arguing. It was clear she thought she was being given the grunt work. And maybe she believed it was because she was a woman, which had to hurt even more.
“It's mostly superficial,” the doctor continued. “The bruising will come out in a few days or a week. The stitches are the dissolving sort. And the gashes to your head and back will heal up nicely in time. But the burns will need to be managed carefully. I'll give you a script for some cream and instructions on how and when to apply it. You’ll need to do it three times a day. If you don't they may tighten, restricting your movement.”
“Thank's Doc.”
James reached for his jeans and started pulling them on, glad to finally be able to cover up again. Especially given that the press had now arrived and had the cameras rolling. He didn't want to be on national news in his underwear. But he quite possibly would be regardless. Fires in churches and congregations fleeing in terror got coverage. And while the Illuminati were doing their best to cover things up, it wouldn't be a perfect job. It never was.
“God that's a lot of scars!” She seemed concerned.
“Mixed martial arts.”
“Well its about time you gave that up – while you still have some skin left!”
James gathered she didn't approve of his choice of fitness. But also that maybe she felt sorry for him. He didn't like that at all. But he held back the angry retort that almost made his tongue. The German had said he had to be nicer to his colleagues and he would do it. Anything to avoid being lumped with a partner.
“It's useful fitness for a hunter.”
“I don't think it's that much use. You know, you really are starting to look like an overused crash test dummy!” Yasmin stared at James as he dressed, making him feel even more uncomfortable. “Tell me, have you ever thought about not getting shot, burnt, beaten up and battered?”
“And have you ever thought about getting back to work? Go! Do your job!” James shooed her away with a wave of his hand. There was something distinctly uncomfortable in being dressed down by her when he wasn't fully dressed. She might mean nothing by it really, but she was an attractive woman, and it damaged what little ego he had left. On the other hand she had been smiling as she said it. Perhaps he was making some headway with her. The German would have to be pleased with that.
“Dear God! You work with her and speak to her like that?!” The doctor sounded shocked. His eyes were firmly fixed on Yasmin as she walked away.
She did cut a pretty figure and interesting parts of her swayed in intriguing ways. And despite what she claimed, James was sure she knew it. Knew it and used it.
“Do you have a head wound?”
James stared at the doctor in shock. “You know I have a head wound Doc! You just stitched it up!”
“Oh yeah.”
James tried not to groan. But really he was used to the problem. Whenever he went out in the field with Yasmin people kept staring at the two of them, and he knew the question on every man's mind he passed was – how could a boring looking guy like him be with a beauty like her? And now that he was trying to be nice to her and the others, to do what the German had said and make some connections or at least a better impression, he suspected the problem was only going to get worse. But still, his eyes were trained on Yasmin’s backside just as firmly as those of the doctor as she walked away. At the end of the day he was only a man.
“And that's a reason to speak to her like that? Like an underling?” The doctor stared at him in disbelief. “Maybe you do need an x-ray!”
James shook his head sorrowfully. He could have pointed out that Yasmin was actually his underling, sort of. Or he could have said something about the doctor's lack of professional detachment. Instead he went for the trite. “It's not like that Doc. We work together. It would be unprofessional. And besides, I couldn't afford her shoe budget!”
The doctor sud
denly fixed him with an intense look. “Try!”
Chapter Eleven
For once the office was quiet as James went through the paces with Yasmin. That made a change. Lately, with so many people in their holding cells and so many psychologists tending to them, it had been organised chaos. So he was glad of the calm for a change. But if business was a little more quiet than it had been, office relations weren't. And he wasn't so glad that Yasmin was fighting him. Again. In fact at the moment she was practically getting in his face and yelling at him.
Why did she always have to be so difficult? It was as though she deliberately took things the wrong way. And this time she really was upset. Standing in front of him, hands on hips, and all but screaming at him as he sat in his chair in front of her. Although this time she might have had reason. He might have said something stupid. Except that it hadn't seemed that stupid when he'd said it. And he absolutely hadn't made another pot plant crack – he was sure of that.