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\u201cWhat about Vandemeer?\u201d Jansen asked. \u201cDid you do a s\u00e9ance too?\u201d<\/p>\n
I shrugged. \u201cI tried. Dry hole.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour file says you\u2019re Tier One. You served in the Arcane Legion for twelve years, over half that in the Special Operations Support Detachment, with multiple combat tours. You couldn\u2019t call him back?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m listed as Tier One because I have the paper qualifications. Gift-wise, I\u2019m closer to Tier Three now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy\u2019s that?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn layman\u2019s terms, mana is attracted and retained by life. Living flesh, or materials that mimic it. The less meat you have, the less mana you can draw and use. It can be mitigated by training and arcanengineering, but\u2026\u201d I shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you have your limbs replaced?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is that relevant?\u201d Greenwald asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cProfessional curiosity.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have to know,\u201d I said, \u201cI was blown up in a hot and dusty place. After I was casevac\u2019d, the doctors had to amputate. They gave me new limbs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that was when you left the military?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Detachment\u2019s combatant roles are open exclusively to Tier Ones and Twos. There\u2019s no place for me there anymore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to try something new.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow is this line of questioning relevant to the case?\u201d Greenwald interrupted.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine.\u201d Jansen flipped a page. \u201cWhat happened next?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sylphs got back to us just before closing time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Back at the office, I was doing paperwork on my laptop when I sensed mana gathering around me. Seconds later, Asahail popped out of thin air, appearing in front of the computer screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cHiiiiiiiii!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHey,\u201d I said. \u201cFound him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes! Difficult, but we have him!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the street! He\u2019s moving. I can show you. But you must hurry!\u201d<\/p>\n
I leapt out of my chair. Next to the central table was a pair of gear bags. Mine and Alex\u2019s. I picked both up and flew down the stairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlex!\u201d I called.<\/p>\n
He was explaining the merits of a shotgun to a customer. Alex looked up, first at me, then the bags. \u201cBalloon is up?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah. You coming?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alex mumbled apologies and handed her off to one of the floor staff. He took his bag, and we jumped into his car. Asahail provided directions, I interpreted, and he drove. The sylph\u2019s directions took us against traffic and through buildings, and a several times I had to call detours.<\/p>\n
She led us to the parking lot of a Taison hypermarket, and pointed at a shopper emerging from the entrance.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere! That\u2019s him!\u201d<\/p>\n
He had a cart stuffed with groceries. He rolled up to a black van and loaded it up, using every movement to check his surroundings. Smooth, but obvious to the trained observer. And his aura was strong.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks,\u201d I said. \u201cHang back and get ready to back us up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill do!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll get his attention,\u201d Alex said. \u201cYou can flank him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWorks for me. Be careful; he\u2019s Gifted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alex was a mundane, but he\u2019d served twenty years in Naval Special Warfare and we\u2019d run many ops together. He could handle theurgists.<\/p>\n
Alex parked the car in the nearest vacant lot. I exited first, weaving between cars to get on the target\u2019s left side. I reached under my shirt, cross-drawing an Autolock baton from my left hip.<\/p>\n
Alex shuffled his way up behind the target, closing within arm\u2019s length just as the mark hauled two huge bags from the shopping cart. Alex said something but I couldn\u2019t quite hear it. As I approached the target nodded, his aura spiked and he flicked\u2014flicked!\u2014the bags at Alex\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
He was a booster, able to draw mana to amplify his physical abilities. His hands dipped down, drawing and deploying a folding knife smooth as greased lightning, even as he charged Alex.<\/p>\n
He was fast, but I was already moving, snapping the baton open. Alex flinched and leapt away, the bags bouncing off his outstretched arms. The knifer slowed and changed direction, buying me just enough time to catch up and slam the baton into his perineal nerve.<\/p>\n
His leg froze. Grasping the end of the baton with my other hand, I locked the shaft just above his kneecap and pressed my bodyweight down, destroying his balance. He went down, slamming his head against his van.<\/p>\n
He recovered almost immediately, stepping back and swirling around to face me. He chambered his hand for a low-line attack. I backed up, guarding with a series of figure-8 strikes. Which he thrust through.<\/p>\n
The baton smashed into his arm, flinging it across his body. His knife skittered away. I stepped in and drove the tip into his gut. He doubled over. Sidestepping, I brought the baton up from under his arm, pressing it against his bicep, and grabbed the tip with my free hand. I spun around and cranked his arm, forcing him down. I felt his mana, a crackling river of energy, and dispersed it into the ground.<\/p>\n
Alex moved in, his SIG P850 in hand, and aimed at the target\u2019s head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are under arrest for assaulting a peace officer with a deadly weapon,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you use magic again, I will shoot you. Do you understand?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, yeah,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n
I handed him to Alex, who cuffed and searched him. The target had bought enough groceries to feed a platoon, heavy on red meat, light on vegetables. Werewolves were obligate carnivores, and trolls marginally less so.<\/p>\n
The van was empty. I ran the registration plates on my smartscroll, and learned they belonged to a sedan, reported stolen last week. Alex seated the suspect against the front tire and flipped through his wallet.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis ID says he\u2019s Boris Federov,\u201d Alex said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Boris,\u201d I said, boring into his eyes. \u201cWe know what you did to Gerald Vandemeer and Stella Rowan. Tell me where the rest of your crew is. Tell me where you hid the laptop and the neural chip.\u201d<\/p>\n
He spat at my feet. \u201cWhat crew? What laptop? What neural chip?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cC\u2019mon, don\u2019t tell me you bought all that food for yourself. Your crew sent you on a shopping trip. You know where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYour mother is whore.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely, but you\u2019re still going to tell us where your friends are.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI only speak to lawyer.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah? You work for Mr. Gramzin, you can get the best lawyers. But this is no ordinary crime, my friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
His eyes flickered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been retained by RKC to find the stuff you took. RKC, they\u2019re everywhere. Gramzin knows that too. We can take you to the station, but it\u2019ll be a long time before your lawyer arrives. When he does, how much you wanna bet you\u2019ll have \u2018committed suicide\u2019 in your cell?\u201d<\/p>\n
A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.<\/p>\n
Alex removed a photo from Federov\u2019s wallet, holding it up to his face. \u201cCute kids. Yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou bastard!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you want your girls to grow up without a father? That\u2019s what Gramzin will do to them unless you cooperate.\u201d<\/p>\n
He worked his jaw, his eyebrows furrowing. \u201cYou can\u2019t\u2026I\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a friend in the Special Crimes Bureau,\u201d I said. \u201cRKC and Gramzin can\u2019t touch them. You tell me where your crew is, and I\u2019ll make sure the Bureau will protect you and your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t,\u201d Alex continued, \u201cyou\u2019ll take your chances in the lock-up. So do your kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
He snarled. \u201cI\u2019ll talk.\u201d<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
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For more tales of magic, fantasy and high tech, check out my latest novel HAMMER OF THE WITCHES<\/a>.<\/p>\n