“She figured out I was a mind reader,” Gus said. “On top of that… she was a heavy hitter. A very heavy hitter. I got the impression she was working for someone very high up in the coven.
“I didn’t have a chance to get a name or a face before she figured out I was in there.”
“Okay,” Trish said. “That… that makes sense given what I felt from her. I’m very sensitive to sexual things. Like desire.
“I got a very strange feeling from her beyond all that, though. For a few seconds she radiated a… an extreme carnal desire for you. She wanted to just tear into you sexually. It was extremely potent.”
“Tch. Yeah,” Gus said, sighing. “She… she did something really sexy. With her thoughts. I uh… responded… without even wanting to. She noticed and that’s how she caught me.”
“Oh, that’s rather clever,” Trish said with a bright smile. “So, what’s our next play then?”
“We see if we can get her a deal.” Gus reached over to the display in the center of the sedan.
He’d already tied it into his phone’s Bluetooth, which made using the screen simple. Tapping the icons there, Gus navigated to the keypad and then punched in Mark’s number.
After ringing only once, the phone picked up.
“Gussy! My favorite talent pleaser,” Mark said. “You keeping Trish pleased? Your work performance will be directly impacted by how well sexed she is.
“And don’t think I won’t ask her. In fact, is she listening? Agent Ash, is he sexing you good? How would you rate your sexing? On a scale of one to ten, with anything under a seven being a failing score.”
“Oh, we—” Trish started.
“Mark,” Gus interrupted, his teeth practically snapping on the name.
“Yes, Gussy?” Mark asked.
“Found a heavy hitter,” Gus growled. “Didn’t do hatchet work for a nobody. Seems like they were working for the top, or the people below the top.”
“I see,” Mark said, his tone becoming quite serious instantly. “Name?”
“Chloe Wain,” Gus said. “Her rap sheet isn’t going to be pretty. What can I offer?”
“Wain… Wain… Wain. Ah, here we are, Chloe Wai-aaaat?” Mark asked, his voice going up in pitch at the end. “Gus. This is… she’s… I’m not—She’s literally in prison for seventy-six life sentences. Her kill count is probably in the hundreds.
“Her case name was Bloody Mess. Victims were beaten to death or stabbed, never drained. She always left a mess. Big ones. This isn’t someone I can just let out to clean up the SA. Even if she knew who the big players were and could lead you to their secret hideout and where they kept the bodies and money.”
“She knows I’m a telepath as well,” Gus said, looking down and to the side. He felt guilty. He’d fucked up. “She baited me and… and she caught me. Caught me fair and square.
“She didn’t threaten me, but she made it clear she knew I was a telepath.”
Mark was deathly silent on the other end. Gus could hear the occasional mouse click and keyboard clack, but that was it.
“I’m sorry, Durh. I screwed up,” Gus said, unable to bear the silence.
Mark laughed suddenly, followed by rapid-fire keyboard clattering.
“Oh, Gussy. You could never screw up,” he said. “And besides, if you were actually concerned about this, I’d be getting an email saying a federal prisoner just died in custody while talking to you and no one can explain it.
“No, this is you doing what you do best. Breaking everything around you and somehow turning it all to your benefit. I learned long ago not to get in your way. That all I have to do is smooth out your path, put you back together, and have faith in you.”
There was a final hard clack on the keyboard.
“There,” Mark said. “Chloe Wain just got an official offer letter from me along with a very straightforward deal.
“Her sentence has been put on hold. It’ll remain on hold as long as she agrees to be on direct assignment to one Agent Gustavus Hellström. The moment she doesn’t work for you anymore, she’s going back to prison. If she does well by you and you give a recommendation, she’ll be transferred to a minimum-security prison with a lot more freedoms and the eventual possibility of parole.
“Best I can do with the leverage I’ve got. Go see if she’ll take the offer. Tonight. You can have her read the agreement from your phone. If she wants a paper copy, you can have someone at the prison print it. They’re not under my jurisdiction, but the warden rolls up to my boss till they find a replacement.
“And the reason I said get it done tonight is the assistant warden is a prick but not there today. He’d do his best to fuck you over if he could. He seems to take delight in the number of prisoners he has. Especially lifers.”
“Right,” Gus said. “Thanks, Durh.”
“Yep, no worries. Be sure you sex Trish really well. And maybe Chloe, too,” Mark said. “That’s an order on Trish, a suggestion on Chloe. You hear that, Agent Ash? Ordering him to sex you. Sex you all night long and—”
Gus tapped the disconnect button and laid his forehead on the steering wheel.
“I suppose I only have one question then,” Trish said, unbuckling her seatbelt. She started to adjust her coat and seemed to be contemplating something.
“Only one? I have several,” Gus muttered.
“Do you want to hop into the backseat with me right now, or should we wait till we get back to the hotel tonight? Orders are orders, after all. And I’m sure you can earn a seven or better.” Trish had a strange tone in her voice, the one that seemed to take hold when her Dryad nature surfaced.
Groaning, Gus closed his eyes. With a shake of his head he opened the car door and got out of the sedan, then headed back up to the prison.
Five minutes of talking to multiple guards got them back into the prison.
Another five minutes and Chloe was brought in under escort once more.
They were in a different room this time, though.
It was a normal visitation and interviewing room. One that supposedly didn’t have cameras or listening devices. It had several comfortable chairs, a table, vending machines, and a bathroom.
The guards unshackled Chloe, pulled the chains free from her arms and legs, and then left.
Chloe stood there in her bright yellow jumpsuit. Rubbing at her wrists, she looked at Gus with raised eyebrows. Then her eyes flicked to the corners of the room as if to check that they were alone.
Trish held out a hand and rotated her wrist around again. Just in case.
“All set,” she murmured, sitting in the chair next to Gus.
“Oh… oh hells, is this happening?” Chloe asked, looking from Gus to Trish and back again. There was an immediate fear response in her. She was a hardened criminal, but almost everyone feared death. “Damn. You’re going to kill me, aren’t you?”
Taking in her fear like any good Boogieman would do, Gus tasted it as if it were a fine wine. Not responding to her immediately only made her get more frightened, increasing her fear response.
He couldn’t pinpoint her taste, but it was reminiscent of the sea. It had a salt-spray feel, and something else to it.
It wasn’t a bad scent as far as fear scents went.
“No, that’s not why we’re here at all,” Gus said. “The opposite, in fact. I have a deal for you.”
“A deal.” Chloe watched Gus curiously. “You’re not in my mind, are you?”
“No.” Gus shook his head. “I try not to do that unless I have to. People’s thoughts are messy. No, I have a deal for you.”
“Can I see it?” Chloe asked. “No offense, but you could say anything and—”
Gus held his phone out to Chloe. The deal pulled up on the screen.
“Here you go,” Gus said. “Go ahead and read it. We can get a printed copy if you really want.”
Chloe frowned, her brows drawing down as she took the phone from him.
It was a short deal, and there really
was no room to misinterpret it.
“Deputy director,” Chloe said out loud, then looked up at Gus. “A federal deputy director wrote this.”
“Yeah, he did,” Gus said. “Well? What’s your answer? Prison closes up here in like… thirty minutes. Need to get moving.”
“Yes, of course!” Chloe said with a laugh. “I agree! I mean… it says I even get a salary equivalent to an agent for your department. How could I say no?”
“The surgically implanted locater seems problematic,” Gus said. He thought for sure that might be a hang up.
Chloe waved that away with one of her hands. “Not really. They’ll just cut me open and stuff it in there somewhere. Won’t even have to put me under for it. We’ll be out of here in the next hour. Well? Let’s get going!”
***
When he walked into the department entryway, Gus found Indali at the desk there. She was dressed like an agent rather than a receptionist this time.
“Gus,” she said, giving him a wide smile. “I received some very interesting news while you were gone.”
“Oh?” Gus asked.
“Apparently my identity was stolen. Every bit of it, somehow,” Indali said. “I had no idea. I was sent an updated passport, social security card, driver’s license, and birth certificate. All… from the appropriate departments and with the appropriate signatures.”
“Oh. Well, isn’t that nice?” Gus said, grinning now.
Dave worked quick. Going to owe him more than one, I bet.
“Indeed. Out of curiosity, I submitted an application for an academy position,” Indali said. “I know you said it’d take some time, but I just couldn’t help myself.”
Gus nodded and looked back the way he’d come. Chloe was fussing with her pants as she walked his way. She’d stopped off in the lobby restroom on the way in.
“And?” Gus asked, turning back to Indali.
“I’m enrolled and begin training in the next class. Six months from now.” Indali smiled as wide as she probably could at him. “My training will be local as well, so I can continue working for the department. Though it’s likely I’ll only be able to cover the afternoon or overnight shift.”
“Congratulations,” Gus said. Then he turned partially sideways as Chloe walked up to him. “Indali, this is Chloe. Chloe, this is Indali.”
Indali’s eyes slid from Gus to Chloe.
There was an immediate dislike there. Indali’s finely detailed features became the picture of corporate politeness.
“Good morning,” she said.
“Hello, hello,” Chloe said. “Before it comes up, I’m a federal prisoner on loan to Gus. No, I’m not innocent. I’m quite guilty. My sentence is on hold while I work for him.”
“Charmed,” Indali said, an odd accent creeping into her tone. “You… wouldn’t happen to be British, would you?”
Chloe’s eyebrows shot up at that, and a strange smirk appeared.
“British? No. Irish. Though it’s been a long time since I was that. And before you ask if I’m a wanted woman there, yes, I am,” Chloe said. “What can I say? I have a problem with authority. At least until the authority offered me a chance with a handsome face and a smart suit.”
The Vampire indicated Gus with that statement.
“Hm. Well, I cleaned up your office while you were out, Gus,” Indali said, turning back to Gus. “I also made sure to keep Mark out of it.”
“You’re a blessing, Indali,” Gus said. “Thank you.”
Need to buy her gifts.
“Of course. Have a good day.” Indali smiled at him once more.
With a nod of his head, Gus walked away from the desk and into the department area.
“She doesn’t like me,” Chloe said.
“To be fair, I’m not fond of you either. You’re a criminal without morals or values,” Gus said.
“I mean… sure, I have values. They just happen to be attached to price tags,” Chloe said. “There’s a few things I refuse to do, though, no matter the price.”
Gus shook his head, then paused when he walked by the motor pool. There was some clattering going on in there that sounded a lot like actual work being done.
“Go ahead and pick out an office for yourself,” he said, waving down the hall. “We’ll catch up in a moment and see about how to start with the coven.”
“Oh, right. I’m going to need to take some time out today to get my home and food situation taken care of,” Chloe said as she walked away.
Yeah, that’s a good point. Mark didn’t exactly spell it out, but she’s my responsibility.
Got what I wanted, just not the way I wanted it.
Walking into the motor pool, Gus looked around.
There’d been tools everywhere in crates and boxes when he’d come in here last. Everything ready and available, just waiting for someone to put it all to use.
Now that was all gone. Everything had been placed throughout the garage. Hanging on walls, packed away in tool chests, and laid out across almost every surface.
Beyond that, there was a trash can to one side filled with what looked like electronic components.
What in the fuck is going on?
Following the sound of what could only be a hammer banging on something, Gus went ever deeper.
Underneath a big SUV, he found the mechanic. A pair of legs in a blue jumpsuit and big military boots stuck out from below the vehicle.
Gus walked up, not quite sure how to introduce himself. This was almost definitely someone Melody had hired, which meant it was someone she knew.
Which of course made it impossible for Gus to be anything but polite, for Melody’s sake.
She was crazy on her best days, but she was his Contractor.
“Hello down there,” Gus said. “My names Gustavus Hellström. I’m an agent here.”
“Gus?” asked a feminine voice.
Sliding out from under the SUV on a creeper came the mechanic.
“Gus!” said Hailey as she came into view.
Staring down into her face, he wasn’t quite sure how to respond.
He’d busted her on some minor stuff previously and let her go with a warning.
She was dressed in her normal coveralls. They just happened to be new. To Gus, she looked barely in her early twenties, like she belonged in college.
He’d card her if she tried to buy alcohol and probably wouldn’t trust her ID even if he saw it.
Her black hair was pulled back into the normal tight ponytail. Her blue eyes and pretty face were looking up at him, definitely running a hard counter to her mechanic profession.
She got up off the roller, then wrapped him up in a hug with the entirety of her five-foot-four frame.
She wasn’t a large woman by any means. That didn’t carry over to her bear/human hybrid form, or her full Were form.
In those forms, Hailey was big. Really big.
There were few bigger than her. Were forms often had different sizes than their respective human forms.
“Melody hired me as your head mechanic!” Hailey moved back from him, looking up at him with a smile.
“She did, did she?” Gus asked.
“Yes! She offered me an incredible salary—I couldn’t say no,” Hailey said. “It’s not going to just get me through college; it’ll pay off my debt before I even get out. And that’s not even taking into account the fact that I can say I worked for the Fed as a head mechanic. I’ll have my own business in no time.”
Hailey swatted Gus on the upper arm and then put her hands on her hips.
“Like my garage, by the way? Soon as I got in here, I put it to rights. Now I’m just cleaning up my vehicles.”
“I do like it. And I saw that,” Gus said. “Or what was left. Trash can full of broken things.”
“Oh, those were all just useless garbage we don’t want. Everything that would keep the vehicles from their top performance got ripped out. What’s the point in following the law when we’re the ones enforcing it?”
“Don’t worry, it’s stuff you’d never even notice was missing. Mark didn’t care; he just asked me to do the same thing to his car,” Hailey said. “Look, I even have an office to myself!”
She turned and pointed to the corner of the garage where a large office sat next to ten much smaller ones.
“No idea who to hire yet,” she said. “We’ll see. Maybe I want to be the only mechanic for now. Can’t have anyone working on your things but me.
“And speaking of, care to join me for lunch? I made more than enough for two people.”
“Ah… I don’t know,” Gus said. “Kinda working a case and—”
“I know. I’ve been talking to Ness. I already started asking around to see if I could figure anything out.” Hailey took Gus by the sleeve and began pulling him back toward her office. “I sent over all my contacts to her. With any luck, she might make some headway there.”
“Err, great. Thanks, Hailey,” Gus said. “And your parents were okay with this? I mean—”
“Soon as I told them I’d be working with you, they didn’t care anymore,” Hailey said, pulling him into her office. She immediately closed the door and sat down behind her desk.
As she folded her hands on her desktop, she looked nervous, excited, and flustered all at the same time.
“When I told them my salary and title, they reminded me I have two younger sisters and some cousins who are going to be needing jobs soon,” she said. “Is there any chance I could hire them? Melody said it’d be up to you.”
Opening his mouth, Gus froze for a moment, then let out a sigh.
“Yeah, sure. Just make sure you can control them and they can do the job. If you end up having to fire them, it’d probably make family life a bit problematic,” he said.
Hailey nodded quickly, grinning at him. “Not a problem. I’ve always been the alpha for the next generation. They do what I tell them.
“Well? How about it? Lunch with me?”
On a hunch, Gus did something he didn’t want to. He had to know, though.
Using a needle-thin trickle of his power, he dove straight into Hailey’s mind.
Swing Shift: Book 2 Page 6