Magic Ops

by T. R. Cameron

  And a knife, and two other knives, asshole, but who’s counting?

  He finally came up with it. “Only a coward hides behind weapons.” She gave a lazy grin. He’d made his choice, and she was more than ready to deliver his reward. “I know all about you, former FBI Agent Diana Sheen,” he sneered. “But you’re not with the FBI anymore, are you? So all your posturing is a lie. You have no more authority than any other random bitch.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she took two steps toward him, and she made an internal note to have his business checked out more thoroughly. He shouldn't know that, and Lisa wouldn't have told him. On the outside, though, she merely widened the smile. The perfect quote for the situation popped into her head. “Are you gonna bark all day, little doggy, or are you gonna bite?”

  You can never go wrong with Mr. Blond.

  He bit. After a quick step forward and a feint with his left, he swung a drunken right hook at her head. She took a step back and swept her right arm across her body and outward in a circle block. Her hand slid down to grab his wrist and she used her left palm to lock his elbow. She put pressure on the joint and he squealed in pain as she forced him to his knees. Diana shook her head. “Even if you weren’t drunk, you couldn’t connect with that punch—too slow and too obvious. To quote a friend of mine, you ‘must train.’” She gave the elbow one more push to emphasize her point. “I’ll release you, and you’ll walk away. If you don’t, I’ll call the police.”

  She stepped out of range, and he staggered to his feet and brushed his pants off. He wore regret on his face, but it was so overdone that she knew it was a lie.

  Save us all from drunks with delusions of competence.

  At a slight movement over his shoulder, the corner of her mouth twitched up. He saw it and immediately took offense. “I’ll teach you to laugh at me, you—”

  Whatever he was about to say turned into a choked gasp as Lisa’s foot rocketed up between his legs from behind and dispelled the illusion that he was in any way equal to the moment. He fell hard, curled up protectively, and keened pathetically.

  The two women looked at him and Lisa said, “I’d better never see you again, Steve. Not at my work, not at my home, not at a restaurant, and not at the Beagle. If you see me on the street, you run the other way. In fact, you should consider moving.”

  Diana nodded. “Because if she does see you again, you’ll go down for assault. I’ll write it up today. How will your company react once you have a criminal record?”

  He only whimpered as they walked away. Lisa talked animatedly about how she could’ve made the kick better. Diana reassured her it was just fine.

  Chapter Thirty

  The doorbell rang and Diana checked to ensure it wasn’t a miscreant. Bryant was on her landing again and stared at the camera with a goofy grin.

  So, kind of a miscreant.

  “Rath, Max, let Bryant in.” The pair were in motion before Rath realized the implications of the request. He looked around guiltily and Diana laughed. “Teeth marks on the door handle. Plus, the camera records people going in and out. Once I noticed the scratches, I checked.”

  The troll cackled. “Training is important.”

  She shook her head. “I have decided it’s beyond useless to try to stop you. At least you can look out for each other. And it’s not like you couldn’t simply grow bigger and open it yourself.” The doorbell rang again, and she waved her hand. “Go.” Moments later, Bryant entered. He was dressed for comfort in jeans and a Captain America T-shirt. She laughed. “If only Lisa could see you now.”

  “Right?” He grinned and tipped his head to the side to indicate Rath and Max. “Nice concierge service.”

  “They don’t pay rent so they have to contribute somehow.”

  Rath vaulted onto the counter with an acrobatic leap from the dog’s back via a cabinet handle. “Max. Rath. Guard.”

  “I’m kidding, Rath. Now move.” The troll scampered out of the way as Diana took a large pot of bubbling pasta from the stove and dumped it into the colander in the sink.

  “Mmmm, Max,” the diminutive creature enthused.

  Diana laughed. “It’s not macaroni, it’s farfalle, but you can certainly pile as much cheese as you want on it.”

  He corrected himself. “Mmmmm. Far-fall-ay.” He stretched each syllable out.

  She gestured at the small table, which was already set with three places and held a steaming bowl of homemade pasta sauce.

  Once she’d wiped her hands, she threw the towel on the counter and visited the fridge for two bottles and a can. She handed Bryant the beers to open and put the can in front of Rath’s place. They sat and busied themselves with dinner, putting dressing on salads and spooning sauce over plates of pasta before they teamed up to prepare Rath’s portion.

  Finally, they were done, and Diana and Bryant broke into simultaneous laughter. She shook her head. “Well, this seems awkward. Why is this awkward?”

  “I blame Rath.”

  “Nope,” the troll piped up.

  Diana raised her beer bottle to her lips and took a bracing sip. “I guess we’ve never had a purely social moment, have we?”

  He shook his head. “It’s a first, all right. And the last for a while, at least in DC, I guess. Are you all ready to relocate?”

  She nodded. She’d live out of suitcases while she got organized in Pittsburgh and there wasn’t really all that much to pack. “Ready, able, and downright excited to see what’s next.”

  Bryant nodded approvingly. “There’ll be more magic stuff there, at least until you clean the place up. Are you okay with that?”

  She finished chewing the bite in her mouth—the sauce could’ve used a little more salt—and swallowed. “I have a handle on it. It’s all good.”

  He swiveled his head. “How about you, Rath? Are you ready to move?”

  The troll nodded solemnly. “New places to train. Maybe more Max.” The Borzoi chose that moment to bark and signal his apparent support for the idea.

  Diana pointed at Rath. “No, no, no. We are not getting another dog. The place we’re renting is smaller than this one. You guys would wreck the place.”

  Rath shrugged with a smile that was not at all apologetic. “More training. Get better. Help Diana. Help neighborhood.”

  Bryant nodded. “I’ve always wanted to ask, Rath—how did you get locked in that cage, anyway?”

  The little troll gave a tiny shrug. “Fell asleep home. Woke there. Not sure.”

  The agent turned to Diana. “Guerre probably planned to sell him—or worse, to train him as support for his work.”

  “One more reason to be happy he’s locked up. Is there anything else important before Monday?”

  Bryant frowned. “You know, garlic bread would be good with this.”

  She rolled her eyes. “No one needs carbs with their carbs. I’ll throw some meatballs in a roll for you before you go, how’s that?”

  “Who knew you were so domestic?”

  “The amount that you really know about me can fit in a thimble, Bryant Bates.”

  Mirth burst out of him in a laugh and grin. “So, you found out. And I’d been so careful.”

  “It helps to be friends with the right techs.” She raised an eyebrow. “Should I call you BB, then?”

  He offered her a flirtatious smirk. “You can certainly call me baby if you want, but you probably want to avoid it at the office. What with the rules against fraternization and all.”

  She groaned. “There are no such rules. You’re such a liar. Anyway, back to Pittsburgh.”

  “There are baddies at the Cube from all over the Northeast, people we need to examine more closely. It’s expected there’ll be some from the mid-Atlantic as well. And naturally, they’re the worst of the worst.”

  “Who’s in charge?”

  Bryant gave a dark laugh. “Technically, that’s one of the things on my plate. But since I’ll travel a lot, I don’t expect to have all that much to do with it. The warden is shar
p, and before you ask, no, she wasn’t involved in the earlier snafu. She hadn’t started yet. She’s made a name for herself in a number of different government agencies, and this is a step on her ladder to heading one of them, eventually.” Diana nodded. “Fortunately, she’ll have access to a support team right in her backyard.”

  Diana lifted an eyebrow. “Any other surprises?”

  “Nothing you haven’t heard about already. Do you plan to launch both the BAM office and the bounty hunting agency right away?”

  “I have a thought about that, actually. Rather than calling ourselves bounty hunters, let’s go with security consultants. We can still hunt fugitives, but that might provide access into places we might otherwise not get into.”

  Bryant nodded. “I like it. We’ve bought some space in the Strip District. It used to be a warehouse but now, it’s empty. The front section can be set up as the public face of the company with a little renovation, and the back is completely open. It should make for a great training spot.”

  “Will I have the budget to outfit it?”

  He had the decency to sound at least slightly regretful. “Not at first. And you’ll never be rolling in money. Even though we bring a lot in through our cover companies, our expenses are high.”

  She shrugged. “Same old, same old.”

  Bryant grinned. “But with the security agency, you can create another stream of income. Get some contracts. Maybe hire some folks who aren’t part of the other side of the house.”

  She frowned at him. “So what you’re saying is that I need a second job to get the funds I need to run my first job?”

  “Welcome to Black-ops Agents of Magic, Special Agent in Charge Diana Sheen.”

  They laughed comfortably and spent the rest of the evening watching action films—this time, The Expendables series, which brought together some of Rath’s favorite actors. As usual, the troll grew sleepy before they did and curled up. His last waking comment was, “Bryant. Diana. Max. BAM. Is good.” He paused and gave everyone a sleepy smile. “We are the law.”

  Diana grinned.

  A new Sheriff’s coming to town, Pittsburgh. And she’s bringing some kick-ass deputies. You are most definitely not ready for this.

  The story doesn’t end here. Diana’s adventures continue in Agents of Mayhem.

  Author Notes - TR Cameron

  March 4, 2019

  Thank you.

  Thank you for reading the first book in the Magic Ops series, and for continuing on to the author notes! I hope you had as much fun reading the tale as I had writing it.

  From the first Oriceran book, I was hooked on the Universe’s vision of magic and the conjunction of two worlds / cultures. But what really got me was the action-adventure of it all, the strong heroines and heroes, and the dominant thread of good vs. evil. Plus, the humor.

  I live for that stuff.

  As this series rolls along, several cool characters will join the team, each bringing their own unique perspective to the mix. No more animals or trolls, though.

  Probably. I’m not promising anything on that front.

  This has been my first author collaboration, and I must say that it has been a joyful experience working with Martha and Michael. Creativity increases exponentially, rather than arithmetically. The story and series are both definitely the better for it.

  February is always a fun month for me, as my daughter’s birthday is in there. She starts celebrating with a countdown several weeks beforehand. Then it’s days. Then hours. I’m sure that she’ll get less entranced with it all as she gets older, but right now, birthdays are EVERYTHING. This year we got her a laser tag game. It’s already been controlled chaos as we run through the main floor shooting and screaming.

  It’s a good counterpart to the battles I write, which are a little more violent, but hopefully still as fun to experience.

  The snow is falling outside my window as I write this, and I’m struck by how many days I’ve spent inside, near a window, reading tales that took me out of the ordinary world and into someplace I could vividly picture in my mind. My first love was fantasy, then science fiction. I detoured through mysteries, into thrillers, and finally into the lands where magic and technology meet. I like to think that you can find pieces of most of those in the stories I tell.

  Plus movie quotes and significant levels of sarcastic snark, of course.

  If you’re a multi-genre reader like me, there’s a science fiction series out there with my name on it. I think it’s pretty good, and most of those who have commented on it seem to agree. Also, you can find me in all the usual spots on social media. I love chatting about most things, especially media likes, loves, and guilty pleasures, so do feel free to reach out!

  I continue my quest to get my daughter to watch Star Wars. I’m pretty sure that at this point she’s just refusing me to be mean.

  Joys upon joys to you and yours – so may it be.

  Author Notes - Martha Carr

  February 18, 2019

  There’s a new voice in the Oriceran Universe! TR Cameron has bellied up to the bar with a new Urban Fantasy series, Federal Agents of Magic that’s a nice combo of Brownstone kickin’ ass and Leira’s magic. But you already know that because you’ve gotten this far.

  The really cool part is that we found TR from the first anthology of Oriceran Fans Write for Fans. (Volume 2 is coming sooooon) One of the editors whispered in his ear that he should talk to Michael and myself about writing in Oriceran. Everyone could see this diamond of a writer just waiting for someone to hold open a door.

  And TR stepped up and tapped me on the shoulder. The rest is recent history. He’s already off somewhere busy writing book two – Agents of Mayhem.

  Don’t worry, he’ll catch on soon enough this is a ravenous reading crowd and we love you for it!

  One of my favorite things about hanging with Michael Anderle and company is the opportunity to reach back and help someone else achieve their dreams. There’s always been a company ethos that there’s more than enough to go around. Hell, we go one step (or ten) beyond and espouse an idea that by sharing what we have everyone will end up with more – not less.

  It’s worked like a charm.

  But wait, there’s more! Imagine watching one person after another improve their life and achieve a dream. Imagine being one of those people. I am very grateful to say I’m one of them and here comes TR stepping up to bat to take a swing. There’s even a new troll!

  It’s like making magic out here in the real world. A community is formed that believes in the possibilities in life and cheers for everyone at all the victories.

  The really cool part is that kind of mindset tends to have an affect on the rest of my life. Anything becomes possible and courage appears out of nowhere to try even bigger things that have nothing to do with books. All of life opens up.

  It’s kind of like that idea – whatever I focus on becomes my reality. Pretty good reality sitting here in the dream house, writing a note to all of you – while Lois the good dog tears through the house barking away. It’s a good life.

  Welcome to the party TR! We’ve been waiting for someone just like you. More adventures to follow.

  Books by TR Cameron

  For a complete list of books by TR Cameron, please visit:

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  Other series in the Oriceran Universe:

  SCHOOL OF NECESSARY MAGIC

  THE DANIEL CODEX SERIES

  I FEAR NO EVIL

  THE UNBELIEVABLE MR. BROWNSTONE

  THE LEIRA CHRONICLES

  REWRITING JUSTICE

  THE KACY CHRONICLES

  MIDWEST MAGIC CHRONICLES

  SOUL STONE MAGE

  THE FAIRHAVEN CHRONICLES

  OTHER BOOKS BY JUDITH BERENS

  OTHER BOOKS BY MARTHA CARR

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