Page 40

Monday morning, and back to work.

We walked into SPAR HQ, past the swelling crowd of protestors who weren’t put off by the rain and cold weather, their placards ever more inventive and hostile. Some new warlock ones were decorated with little pink hearts, which was an improvement over the gibbet.

The Nexus was busy, a gauntlet of ‘good morning, Assistant Director’. I nodded politely, recognizing few faces.

I got a text from Emma: Why didn’t you tell me?

She must’ve intended it for someone else. I texted her back: Was that meant for me? Tell you what? You doing okay?

Didn’t get a reply.

Natalie came into my office not long after we’d arrived.

“Good morning, sir. How was your weekend? And your meeting with Mr. Moreau?”

“Both fine, thank you.” Apart from the death threats, coercion, and random acts of violence.

“Excellent. I’ve rescheduled your session with Dr. Firth for eleven, and Director Marlow is asking for you.”

I was beginning to understand why people hated Mondays. “When does she want to see me?”

“Now … if that’s convenient?”

We trooped up to the fifth floor. I wondered if Marlow had heard from Moreau, how much she knew, and whether she’d admit to it.

She waved us to her conference table and took the chair at the head, turning to Iyoni without preamble. “Have you come to a decision, Arbiter?”

“On what?” Iyoni adopted an expression of mild curiosity, her poker face impenetrable.

Marlow frowned. “On whether Xan should be allowed to live, of course.”

“Well, I haven’t killed him yet.”

“SPAR personnel reviews are far more cutthroat than those at the uni,” I commented to Kara, who was too busy glaring at Marlow to laugh.

Marlow glanced at me in irritation, then focused back on Iyoni. “Have you at least made any progress?”

“I’ve spent the last three days with him, so yes.”

“Well?” Marlow said, exasperated.

Iyoni gave her serene smile. “Director Marlow, celestial justice is not in your remit, and I don’t report to you.”

The director pressed her lips thin. “Very well. Then we may as well proceed as usual.”

“Employed until I die,” I said to no one in particular. “A job for life. Or maybe two weeks.”

Marlow ignored me. “I take it you heard about New York?”

“Yes.”

“It was a blessing in disguise. On Friday and over the weekend, there were fourteen similar situations across the nation, so New York wasn’t an isolated incident, but it was the loudest, and it let us keep the others out of the news as best we could.”

“Tensions are running high,” I said. “We witnessed something similar yesterday.”

“Yes, I’m well aware,” Marlow said dryly.

“We’ll get to that in a moment. But given the tension, for your main focus this week, I’d like to use you to feel the pulse of our staff.

Work with Dr. Firth and assess if there are signs of insubordination, paranoia or”—she grimaced—“a leaning toward vigilante behaviour.”

“With Firth?”

She smiled thinly. “Yes.”

“Great,” I said, without enthusiasm. “You want me to get out and mix with the troops?”

“Basically.”

“I thought you were more interested in keeping me under wraps.”

She stared at me. “Was that a joke?”

“Er … no?”

She leaned back to reach for the intercom on her desk. “Is Vera here yet?”

“Yes, Director.”

“Send her in, please.” She clicked off the intercom. “In light of yesterday, keeping you under wraps is a little moot, isn’t it?”

Kline walked in, her hair tied up in her usual tight bun, her suit buttoned over a white blouse. “Good morning.” She sat down at the table with us, flicking awake her tablet. “The video has been circulating since late yesterday, with pictures of Xan up on numerous social media channels.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What video?”

Kline hesitated, glancing at Marlow then back at me. “The ones captured yesterday. At the park.”

Damn. The teenagers with their phones. I’d forgotten about them until Marlow’s cryptic comments clued me in. I wondered what else I’d missed.

“It’s getting impossible to keep you out of the media, Xan,” Marlow said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “With that in mind, Vera has recommended we embrace it. You have media appearances scheduled across the week. The goal is to soften your image, so do try to rein in your brilliant wit.”

“Press conferences?”

“Heavily controlled, but yes. It’s on Thursday,” Kline said. “Also, there’s a new library to be opened in Elmhurst tomorrow, and a Supe-Norm Family Outreach event on Friday.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Cutting ribbons and kissing babies?” Throwing myself out there, where the world could see me. And possibly take a shot at me.

Marlow leaned forward. “You’ll do what it takes to show that the world’s only warlock is aligned to our interests. That is, unless Iyoni decides in the interim that you are not.”

More and more, ‘world’s only warlock’ sounded like a brand, or a death sentence.

“You’re not paying me enough for this,” I muttered.

“I’m not paying you at all—” Marlow said.

“Exactly.”

“—and I’m not sure why I’d want to, with all the trouble you’re causing.” She pursed her lips. “Didn’t you make some comment about taking work off my plate?”

“Fine, whatever. Busy week, I get it. Are we done?”

“Yes, we’re done. Vera will give Natalie the details.”

“Great.” I got up, Iyoni and Kara rising too, and we headed for the door.

“Xan?” Marlow said when my hand was on it. I paused. “I know it’s tough, but … you’re more than just a supe now. You’re an ambassador. In no small part, the future of SPAR depends on you.”

It proved she knew nothing of Moreau’s assignment for me. If she had, I’d be in a basement office somewhere, buried in paperwork, not thrown into the public’s eye.

“You’re so right, Director,” I said, and walked out.

*

“She’s handed it to you on a plate,” Kara said as soon as we were back in my office.

I frowned at her, subtly pressing my finger against my lips, not convinced the place wasn’t wired for sound. If I was Marlow, I would. Her eyes flickered in recognition, and she briefly looked guilty.

“It’s good to keep busy,” I said, deflecting. “Beats paperwork.”

I did want to discuss it with her, but not where we could be overheard. Instead, I scrolled idly through documents on my computer until it was time for my session with Firth.

To say I wasn’t looking forward to it was an understatement, but Firth was the Head of SPAR Emergency Management and Public Affairs. SEMPA was the core of SPAR, and never more than at a time like this.

The morning crawled on until eleven o’clock approached, and we returned to the fifth floor. Firth’s door was closed. I rapped once and opened it without waiting to be invited.

He glanced up from behind his desk, then went right back to his screen.

Petty power plays at work.

There were only two chairs and three of us, so I walked to the window, taking in the view. His office faced the other way from mine; no courtyard, just industrial blocks giving way to tightly-packed houses, and a thin strip of countryside in the distance.

I had plenty of time to take it all in before at last he stopped typing on his keyboard, and sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers.

“Assistant Director.”

I turned from the window and gave him my cheeriest tone. “Good morning, Dr. Firth.”

“What can I do for you this time?”

I refrained from pointing out that he’d called the meeting last time, and hadn’t done anything for me then either. “The list is long and growing daily. There’s no doubt that SPAR is in a period of emergency management—”

“Which is why I’m so busy.”

I smiled, then leaned my shoulder against his window, relaxing my stance. “I appreciate you don’t want me here. In truth, that makes two of us. However, I am here, and Director Marlow has given me a task that—regretfully for both of us—demands a certain cooperation.”

He raised an eyebrow imperiously. “Which is?”

“Given the current tensions, the director wants me to assess our agents for signs of disquiet. She used words like ‘paranoia’ and ‘vigilantism’.”

His gaze hardened. “Totally unnecessary. My men are loyal.”

“And your women, too, I presume.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” I gave a small shrug. “Regardless, I need to mingle with them this week. I was hoping you could furnish me a patrol schedule, someone to liaise with, things like that.”

“SEMPA operations are not a sight-seeing tour, Assistant Director ,” He did scathing nearly as well as Kara, but I’d had a lot of practice ignoring it since Halloween. “You don’t have the clearance.”

“I assure you I do.” Or, if I didn’t, a short trip down the hall would swiftly remedy that.

He curled his lip. “Even if you do, they don’t.” He nodded to Iyoni and Kara.

“I do, actually.” Iyoni gave him her serene smile. “My security clearance exceeds yours.”

That was interesting. Firth must’ve thought so too, because his eyebrows rose before he could stop them. “Fine,” he said, biting off the word, then looked at Kara. “What of her?”

‘Her’ was looking thunderous, her jaw clenched and her lips thin. I spoke up before Kara confirmed she had no clearance at all. “It’s moot, Doctor. Whether or not Kara accompanies us doesn’t change my request.” That would hopefully buy me time to get it sorted.

“Request denied. Start with the other departments.”

Part of me was happy to accept that—I didn’t want this mission in the first place. But there was another part of me—the part that didn’t like to quit, or be told no—and it flared up in the face of this sanctimonious, petty man. Couldn’t he see the bigger picture?

I pursed my lips and tried a different approach. “Reyes comes under you, doesn’t he?”

His eyes narrowed. “Yes.”

“His patrol walked into a trap last week. Half of them were killed. You’re so busy you may have missed it,” I gave him a mock-sympathetic smile, knowing full well it would be right at the top of his list.

He shifted in his seat, glaring at me. “What does that have to do with it?”

“That wasn’t a sight-seeing tour either,” I said dryly, “yet not only was I there, but I saved the lives of several of your men. And women.”

He stared at me, as if trying to make me back down by force of will alone. I held his gaze easily, not in the least bothered by his games.

“You’re quite right,” he said at last. “You can go on the patrol this afternoon. It’ll keep you out of my hair. I’ll raise the necessary paperwork now—for you and the celestial.” He gave a cold smile, then waved a hand dismissively. “Now, if you don’t mind, some of us are busy.”

I didn’t miss his pointed exclusion of Kara. Damn, but I really hated this guy. I walked to the door, held it politely for both the girls, then deliberately left it open behind us. Immature, sure, but still satisfying.

Kara grabbed my arm in the hallway, concern in her beautiful eyes, her voice pitched low to avoid Firth hearing. “What if something happens and I’m not with you?”

“I’m hoping it won’t come to that,” I said. “We’ll go and see Marlow now.”

“But if it does?”

“The patrols are only a few hours. I’ll be back before you’ve missed me.”

She frowned. “That’s not the point, and you know it.”

I took her hand and gave it a squeeze, and she squeezed back so hard I had to smother my wince.

“Firth is out to hurt me where he can, and he’s going to stick his heels in on this.

Maybe I have to run a patrol or two without you before this gets resolved, but I will be in the middle of an elite force of SPAR agents. ”

“Didn’t help at the docks.”

“True, but here’s hoping not every SPAR patrol ends up in an ambush.”

“Yeah,” Kara said flatly, “because if it does and I’m not there, you’re dead.”

I didn’t have an answer to that. Firth had outmaneuvered me, and we both knew it.

“I’ll be there,” Iyoni said into the silence.

We both glanced at her in surprise. “I thought you were supposed to only be observing.”

“Yeah,” she said, making the word carry all her indifference, “but I told you I find rules boring.”

Kara’s tension eased a notch, but she still gripped my hand with enough of her greater strength that it would ache for a while. “You keep him safe, you hear me?”

Iyoni smiled. “I can’t judge him if he’s dead, can I?”