Good point, I thought back at her. I don’t know what we should do with all of that, but the only thing your people suggested was that we should do something about whoever was selling equipment to the Nine and Syndicate L. They didn’t mention anything about the equipment.
Daniel gave off a hint of amusement that felt like a gentle breeze in my head. If they don’t have some kind of plan for it themselves, I’d be surprised. I’m betting that they’ve got other people on the island to clean up after we do whatever we do.
At the same time, the smell of vomit began to saturate my awareness. Beyond the smell of alcohol, I recognized the smell of the fried cheese curds Cassie ate at some point in the afternoon. Unlike your average cheese curds, these hadn’t been made of cheddar, but of a stinkier cheese I didn’t recognize, adding a strong moldy addition to the already questionable smell.
“That smell,” I swallowed, trying to keep everything down, “I feel sick too.”
I tried to remember. Had Kid Biohack ever seen my face? I didn’t think so. I didn’t even know his real first name. He’d graduated from Stapledon before I got there. Still, we knew some of the same people. It wasn’t impossible that he’d recognize me if Stapledon’s block permitted them to show a picture to another Stapledon graduate.
On the other hand, he’d shown up the year we fought The Thing That Eats—my sophomore year at Grand Lake University. He probably hadn’t looked at my picture often enough in the last two and half years to recognize me. Plus, Daniel hadn’t been around for much of that while Cassie had only shown up for the end.
Remembering back to when I’d taken Cassie’s gun to rescue her from being kidnapped by Rook, I supposed that a being that had been sitting unused for thousands of years before Cassie found it could handle some delayed gratification.
You could also argue that it might be desperate enough to do anything to avoid being alone again.
I grinned, “I feel like we’ve been doing this kind of thing long enough now that we expect it’s not going to be as easy as it looks.”
“Sure,” Cassie snorted out half a laugh, “but I don’t expect it to be this far off either. Go in and kidnap this guy. It’ll be easy except maybe there’s Dominators, or organized crime, or international terrorist spy people, or aliens, or witches, or immortal, evil warriors. Or maybe all of the above. It’ll be fine. Everything’s fine.”
Daniel gave the both of us a smile, “It could be worse. Don’t ask me how exactly, but it could. Before we find out, let’s focus on the mission. How do we find this guy?” Continue reading Rematch: Part 2→
I wouldn’t have even attempted to rent this hotel room on my own. It appeared to be the size of the house I’d inherited from my grandfather, but with a better view and air conditioning. That ignored the base under the house, but even considering that, the hotel room was less a room and more of a suite—which was good because I was sharing it with two other people.
I stood next to the window. I could have gone out onto the balcony, but the less chance I had of being seen, the better. Also, it was at least 90 degrees outside and humid. Ocean breezes might make it better, but I wasn’t holding my breath.
Daniel walked up, joining me, and telepathically asking, Enjoying the view? He didn’t need to ask. It was a given that he already knew. He was using it to start a conversation. Continue reading Rematch: Part 1→
Frowning, Ben said, “I know. It wasn’t smart, and I know that, but I couldn’t ignore it, and I knew I’d never get another chance.”
“It’s your life.” She glanced toward the windows. “As for mine, the Circle’s different now. It’s gathering power. When things come together, we’re going to dominate the magical scene. If ‘getting out’ doesn’t work, look us up. We might need a tech.”
She narrowed her eyes and said, “No. Damn it, listen to me for a second. There are more creatures out there than demons, and he’s not a demon. I think he’s in the chapter called ‘Lesser Mysteries.”
“Second,” she looked up from the tablet and caught his eye, “I’m going to be joining the Circle. My initiation is next month. They’re under new leadership. If one of them comes here, please don’t mention the past. It makes things awkward.”
“This is it,” he said. “When this is over, I’m out. I’ll live off it, or maybe I’ll go legit, and find security holes for a living. I don’t know. I only know I won’t have to think about the next job.”
“You’re getting out? For real?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Weren’t you listening to me? I’ve been talking about this for years. I’ve got a plan. The plan says I’ve got to raise a certain amount of money. In combination with what I’ve saved so far, I’ve got the money. That’s it, when I get the money I’m out.”
He’d counted on having to hide from the mob. That didn’t bother him. He’d done it before and he had plans for that. The police would be a problem.
He hadn’t gotten new fingerprints. There were people out there who could have provided them, but the price was high, and he hadn’t thought he’d need it for this job.
