Shay shook her head. “Given the way Heather and Peyton have got shit locked down, I think that alien bitch is in the dark. We didn’t have any trouble with Customs or any random mercenaries attacking us.”
“What the fuck are you talking about? There’s someone already at the site.”
She laughed. “Yeah, but I assume those are Durand’s buddies. It’s not like the alien bitch could have known you would be involved before I took the job, or that you would be involved at all. After all, I do most of my raids by myself or with Lily. It’s not like anyone knows Aletheia has Brownstone as backup. Even Erin, who knows all sorts of shit about me, didn’t know that.” She shrugged. “I think the alien bitch hasn’t come after you again because that Wendigo was her best shot and you still beat its ass.”
“You think the government knows about her? I’ve been wondering about that ever since Canada.”
Shay looked out the window for a moment, two glowing eyes staring at them from a deep, dark stand of trees; a great cat maybe, or something more magical. It didn’t matter since seconds later they were hundreds of feet away.
“No, I don’t,” she replied. “If they knew about her they would know about you, and there’s no way they’d leave you alone if they knew that you were an alien. Trust me, Peyton’s got a zillion little dark web tripwires looking for that sort of shit. The fact that she went out of her way to have a go at you in an isolated situation only proves it.”
The Land Rover bounced hard, passing over a rough patch of terrain.
James grunted. “So just simple mercenary ass-kicking and a treasure hunt?”
Shay laughed. “Yeah, it’ll be fun.” She looked down at her phone again. “We’re now an estimated two miles out. I think we should stop here and hoof it the rest of the way. If assholes are waiting for us, it might help if they couldn’t open up on the Rover.”
The vehicle coasted to a stop when James eased off the gas. “It’s all right if I just kill these fuckers, right? I need to work off my frustration over the Eyes.”
Shay nodded. “Yeah. It’s not like even if I took Durand alive, I’d get anything out of him.” She narrowed her eyes. “And you’re too famous, James. We can’t let any of these guys see you with me and live.”
Whispy continued chattering, anticipation flowing into James’ thoughts. Violence made him as happy as playing fetch made Thomas.
James and Shay stepped out of the Land Rover. They didn’t bother to pull out the drone in the back but filled their pockets and pouches with all sorts of other useful gear: extra ammo, grenades, several EMPs, and knives. Shay stowed a few magazines containing anti-magic bullets in the top of her tactical vest before slipping on her sword belt.
Although she carried her 9mm in her holster, she’d decided on a Steyr rifle. She slung it over her shoulder.
She pointed to James’ coat. “You know what’s not epic? That coat. I swear there’s two of them for every one that gets destroyed. Do you have some sort of artifact producing them?”
“I didn’t tell you? I found a wholesaler willing to let me buy them in bulk.” James grinned.
Shay sighed. “So there’s no chance of me ever getting rid of those damned coats?”
“Not until I find one that has as many pockets.” James finished checking his knives and clipped a couple of extra frag grenades to his belt.
Shay rolled her eyes. “Let’s go say hello to whoever got here first.”
They hiked the last few miles, seeing even fewer signs of wildlife than when they were driving. It was as if the entire jungle knew two apex predators were marching through the trees looking for prey.
James readied his gun at the first sight of angular metal in the distance, but as they closed to a hundred yards and spotted six green trucks but no people, he frowned. A natural clearing served as a parking lot for the vehicles.
A crumbled stone structure covered by vines was visible about fifty yards past the trucks, trees obscuring much of its detail.
“You see anyone?” he asked.
Shay lowered her AR goggles and tapped the side. She snickered.
“Yeah, we’ve got a half-dozen thermal signatures lying down on each side in the main tree line. All humanoid. Running a little hot, too.” Shay tapped the goggles again. “I’m almost insulted they thought it would be that easy.” She shook her head. “These guys must not be with Durand. Too sloppy.”
“Not like he knew you were coming.” James shrugged.
Shay pulled the rifle off her shoulder and flipped the safety off. “How about I take the guys on the right and you take the guys on the left?” She gestured to the golden nimbus that still surrounded her. “Doubt they are using anti-magic bullets, so this should be a nice warmup.”
James grunted and readied his .45. “Just gonna shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Fine by me. Three…two…one.”
They sprinted to either side of the clearing. The vehicles were all parked in the center, James presumed by design, since trying to take cover by them would leave him open to attacks from his flanks.
He’d cleared about ten yards when the loud crack of rifles broke the still of the clearing. Muzzle flashes announced the position of the enemy and their bullets slammed into James, stinging but not doing much else.
Kill the enemy, Whispy demanded. Minimal adaptation potential.
The men on the other side opened up on Shay. A charging woman with a long sword on her hip and literally glowing was probably the easiest and most obvious target of their careers. Her golden field flashed as their bullets struck, but she didn’t slow.
Shay brought her Steyr down and fired a burst into the brush concealing the men. A man screamed. The men on both sides popped up, revealing they were all in ghillie suits.
Guess that explains why they looked hot to Shay. Lot of effort to set up an ambush. Almost feel sorry for the assholes, except for the fact that they are trying to ambush us.
Inefficient optical camouflage, Whispy responded.
What, can you turn me invisible?
High power required, Whispy responded. Inefficient power to tactical utility. Power insufficient for extended advanced transformation.
Doesn’t matter. Don’t need that shit yet, but I’ll keep it in mind.
James’ opponents kept up their fire and bullet after bullet bounced off him. He didn’t fire yet, seeing no point in wasting bullets until he was closer.
A man to his right screamed, Shay’s bullets finding their mark. The men rushed into the tree line, seeking cover, their attacks doing nothing against their enhanced foes.
James yanked a grenade off his belt, pulled the pin, and tossed it toward the men, the deadly explosive hurtling through the air. A couple of the men tried to leap out of the way, but the explosion shredded them. They didn’t even have a chance to scream before they died.
The four remaining men on James’ side also rushed for the trees. Their dark makeup concealed their faces at this distance, but he imagined they were regretting coming to Cambodia.
Too fucking bad. You made an unfortunate career choice, assholes.
James grinned and holstered his pistol as the men kept up their barrages. He pulled out a Ka-Bar and charged toward the closest man.
The man didn’t run or flinch. He pointed his rifle right at James' head and fired a burst. The bullets bounced off with a slight sting as James closed the distance and slammed his knife into the man’s eye.
He yanked it out, blood spurting all over his coat and face before he sheathed it and grabbed the man’s rifle. Two of the remaining men kept up their fire. Another dropped his rifle and yanked out a stun rod.
James ignored the last man and rushed toward one of the men pelting him with bullets. When he slammed the rifle into the enemy’s head, the stock cracked, and judging by the indent, the man’s skull did as well.
The stun rod man gritted his teeth and backed up, but his final comrade turned and ran. James whipped out a throwing knife and fl
ung it into the back of his head.
With a grunt, James turned to face the final enemy on his side. He spared a quick glance for Shay. She was watching from a distance, and no more gunshots rang out from her side.
Took ‘em already, huh? Don’t worry, this shit won’t take long.
Whispy radiated annoyance.
Kill all enemies. Proceed to new enemies to maximize adaptation.
James wiped blood off his face. “Do you know who I am? What’s your deal—tomb raider or mercenary?”
“I like to think of myself as a private military contractor first, shitbag.” The other man raised his stun rod. “You shouldn’t have gotten close. Every man has a weakness, and this isn’t a normal stun rod.”
James gestured for the man to attack him. “Let’s see if you found mine then, asshole.”
The mercenary charged James with a yell and jammed the stun rod against his neck with a huge grin on his face. The rod crackled as it discharged into James.
“Tickles,” the bounty hunter replied. He grabbed the man’s hand and squeezed, the bones cracking under the pressure.
The mercenary screamed.
James grabbed him by the throat and lifted him. “I had a shitty day yesterday. Might have been feeling more merciful otherwise.” He smashed the man’s head into the tree and dropped the body to the forest floor. “Then again, you tried to kill me, so probably not, asshole.”
He snorted and marched toward the still-glowing Shay.
Shay shouldered her rifle and shrugged. “None of those guys were Durand.” She walked over to one of the men James had dispatched and frowned down at his body. “Yeah, probably not his guys even.” She moved on to the next body.
After a few moments, she finished examining the bodies and frowned.
“No Durand?” James asked.
Shay nodded. “Whoever these guys were, they didn’t know we were coming, or they would have brought better equipment. I thought they’d at least slap in some anti-magic bullets or something.” She shook her head.
“Not everyone can be a badass.” James shrugged. “Fuckers should have given up. Wasn’t like I was gonna chase their asses through the jungle.”
“Five points for bravery, not that it’ll help them now that they’re all dead.” Shay snorted.
James glanced at the parked trucks and frowned. “Too many trucks for too few guys.”
Shay nodded. “I noticed. Maybe these guys really hate carpooling.” She gestured to the crumbling stone in the distance. “I’m guessing the rest are already inside. Not sure if they have comms with them or not, but they might have heard the gunfire.”
“Good,” James rumbled. “That’ll make them come out quicker then. No reason for this shit to take forever. I’ve still got an appointment with the Eyes back in LA.”
Chapter Twelve
Kathy smiled down at the bar. She’d polished the wood so well she could see her own reflection in it. She patted her hair.
Damn. I look good. Nothing wrong with looking good and being smart at the same time.
She grinned. Even if things were proceeding slower on the opening of the White Sun than she would have preferred, she wanted to take the time to get things right. Tyler might be her partner, but he wasn’t her boss, which meant she could have a different aesthetic than the Black Sun—which managed to still look dingy despite the money poured into the remodel. A nice tv didn’t make a place classy.
It’s like Tyler’s allergic to anything not dark. Jeez, a few earth tones wouldn’t kill you.
Her phone rang and she whipped it out of her pocket, eager for news. She’d been expecting a call from one of the contractors in Vegas to go over choices for the restroom. Tyler didn’t understand that a good restroom layout could do a lot for a place.
Kathy frowned as she looked at the phone. Not the contractor, unless he’d switched phones. Unknown number, not rare in the info broker business, but not something she wanted or needed at that moment.
Kathy brought the phone to her face. “Hello?”
Someone wheezed over the line and her heart stomach tightened.
Oh, shit. Please not him. It’s been months. Why does he have to fucking bother me now?
“It’s so lovely to talk to you again, Kathy,” rasped the Eyes.
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I wish I could say the same.”
“It’s appropriate that you feel that way.” He let out a cold, hollow laugh. “Healthy fear leads to people living longer than pointless and arrogant bravery.”
“Duly noted. What’s this about?” Kathy did her best to keep her fear out of her voice. The last thing she wanted was for the weird bastard to know he still haunted her dreams. The line between healthy fear and lasting terror was pretty thin when it came to the Eyes.
“You haven’t come to me for some time.” the Eyes replied. “I’m disappointed. I hoped you would have more reason to come and talk to me, especially now that you’re going to run off to Vegas and play at independence. I know things. I know people there. You’ll find me still useful, or at least the information I can provide to those willing to pay the price.”
Kathy snorted. “Yeah, because I’m going to drive back to LA every time I need a tidbit. No, thanks. I think I’ll cultivate local contacts.”
The Eyes offered her a cold laugh. “No matter. It doesn’t change the fact that you still owe me for past services rendered, little girl.”
The woman took a deep breath to steady her voice. “I’m aware of that, but you weren’t clear on what I owe you.”
“That’s not true. I’ve been very clear about what you owe me. You owe me an answer.”
“Yeah, but an answer to what question?” Kathy frowned. “It’s not like you’ll take the answer to why did the chicken cross the road.”
“Come to me now, and you’ll learn what I need from you.” A quiet wheeze sounded over the line. “Or run now and keep running forever, because you’ll always have to look over your shoulder. Vegas won’t be far enough. Even Oriceran won’t be far enough. There’s nowhere you can run that I won’t be able to find you.” The Eyes wheezed mocking laughter. “If you find that too cryptic, then let me be clear this one time. You will come to me now, or you’ll suffer for not paying your existing debts.”
Kathy swallowed and sighed. “Fine. I’m on my way.”
“Good.” He ended the call.
Kathy lowered the phone and stared at it with a frown, then marched into the hallway and headed toward Tyler’s office. She pounded on his door.
“What the fuck?” he yelled from inside. “There better be someone dead out there, and if there is, let the fucking cops handle it. I’m trying to read through a bunch of shit.”
Kathy threw open the door. “I’ve got to go.”
Tyler frowned at her from behind his desk. “In the middle of your shift?”
“Yeah. The Eyes made that real damned clear.” Kathy shrugged. “If you don’t see me by tomorrow, the Eyes killed me. I’d tell you to avenge my death, but there’s no money in it for you, so at least write a mean anonymous comment about him online.”
Tyler snorted. “Don’t be so dramatic. He isn’t going to kill you.”
“Why are you so sure of that?” Kathy crossed her arms. “I don’t think that guy has any sort of restraint other than he doesn’t want to push too far until the AET kicks in his door.”
“I’m sure because he might be a sick fuck from some evil demon land in Oriceran or whatever, but he’s a lot like me in one important way.” Tyler smirked.
Kathy blinked. “What the hell? How are you like the Eyes?”
Tyler shrugged. “We both know that you don’t throw away a useful tool. Just make sure that the Eyes still sees you as a useful tool and you’ll walk out of there still breathing, maybe just a little more freaked out for your time.” A dark expression covered his face. “I’m serious. Make sure he sees you as a useful tool no matter what it takes, Kathy.”
“Fine.
I will.” She looked away and nodded. “I’ll be glad when I move to Vegas.”
Kathy took a deep breath as she stepped in front of the doors to the Eyes’ office, if it was even appropriate to call an empty room an office.
Too bad I don’t have any bombs sitting around my apartment.
Two scowling elves in suits guarded the room. They stared at Kathy with disgust in their eyes.
I don’t have time for your bullshit, assholes.
Kathy nodded toward the double doors. “I get that you think I’m a roach, but the Eyes personally called me here. Trust me, I wouldn’t be here if I had another choice.”
One of the elves smirked and nodded. He pulled open the doors and gestured her inside. Unlike the last time she’d visited, there were no light sources in the room. The dim light from the hallway illuminated the front half, revealing scored and bloodstained tile on the floor.
“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Kathy muttered. She sighed and clutched her purse tighter. Her gun might help, although she didn’t have anti-magic bullets, so she doubted it. If the Eyes were that easy to kill, someone would have taken him out a long time ago.
She stepped inside and the elf closed the doors behind her, plunging her into complete darkness. There wasn’t even any light coming from beneath the door. Her heart beat harder, and she took a few deep breaths.
It wasn’t the dark that was frightening; it was what might be hiding in it. Maybe twenty years ago people could lie and say no monsters lurked in the shadows, but the return of magic had changed that forever.
“Okay, you summoned me, oh Great Lord of Information,” Kathy offered, her tone infused with all the defiant sarcasm she could muster despite her pounding heart. “And I’ve come to give you the answer I owe you. Just let me know how I can do that.”
The air around her turned frigid. She rubbed her shoulders to warm them and blew out a breath, her expelled breath visible as a fine mist.
One Epic Ring: An Urban Fantasy Action Adventure (The Unbelievable Mr. Brownstone Book 14) Page 10