Page 13 of Concluded (The Bureau #13)

D ee was going to puke. That was what he felt like, anyhow, but he couldn’t seem to do anything but gape stupidly at the naked man writhing in front of him.

The man—a Bureau agent—shrieked through a throat that sounded ruined, and his heavy muscles bunched and strained against his bonds.

The metal fetters held, but Dee was seriously worried that the long, fresh-looking wound on the agent’s torso would reopen.

The torment seemed to go on forever. Ashley watched with a combination of mild interest and impatience, while Dee simply stood there like a nauseated statue. Eventually the pain must have receded, however, as the agent’s struggles subsided and he lay there, sweaty and panting, eyes closed.

“Are you back with us, Agent Spanos?” Ashley asked sweetly. “Or Achilles, I guess. I think we can be on a first-name basis now.”

Spanos cracked his lids, shuddered, and then opened his eyes more widely. “Water,” he croaked, barely loud enough to be heard.

Ashley seemed to consider this for a moment before shrugging. “In a bit. Listen up first. You too, Dee.”

Pretending not to notice the way Spanos glanced at him, Dee grunted a reply.

“Okay,” said Ashley. “Dee’s already heard a good chunk, and I bet the Bureau’s filled you in on their version of the situation, Achilles.

So I’ll keep it short and sweet. There’s a contest going on, and my side’s gonna win because survival of the fittest and all that jazz.

We’ve been winning for a long time already.

But we want to speed things along and get to the finish line, so we’re recruiting folks who can help.

Dee’s of special interest to us.” She patted Dee’s shoulder, making him shiver.

Then she continued. “But a Bureau agent falling into our laps, that could be a nice little bonus. One of my colleagues tried that last year and it didn’t turn out so well, but he was an idiot.

Plus it turned out that the agent had some unexpected help.

I’m way smarter, though, and you’re all alone here, Achilles.

I’ll make it simple for you. Join us or die…

verrry slowly, and praying desperately for the end. ”

Spanos stared at her silently. Dee couldn’t read his expression.

When the standoff continued to an uncomfortable extent, Dee shifted his feet. “Why don’t you just use your power? Like you did on the bus driver?”

“Told you. I can’t make anyone do something unless they want to, somewhere deep in their heart at least. And my suggestions don’t last that long.

” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I guess I could wish for him to make a sensible choice, but I’m not sure whether you could pull that off.

It’s a lot easier to build a mansion or create snakes than to permanently affect human will. ”

Affect human will . Dee was appalled at the idea of doing that.

But a part of him was intrigued. Imagine the things he could accomplish if he could control other people’s thoughts and behavior.

Especially if he could do it from a distance.

He could end wars. Or start them. Of course, if Ashley was correct in her pronouncements, all of that was moot because soon there would be very few people left to control.

“Jesus,” Dee muttered.

Spanos huffed a broken laugh.

Ashley startled both men by slapping Spanos’s bare flank. “I have things to do. What’s it gonna be?”

After swallowing a few times and clearing his throat, Spanos spoke. “If I say yes, will you trust me?”

“I like the way you think, agent. That’s smart.

And no, of course not. I’d need some proof.

We can start with you sharing some Bureau info.

Names and home addresses of other agents would be a good beginning.

But actions speak louder than words, so I’ll need you to do some things a good little Bureau agent would never dream of.

You know, like raping and murdering a few innocent civilians.

” She rubbed her hands together gleefully.

Spanos swallowed again. It sounded painful. “Why don’t you join us instead?”

“Oh, come on , Achilles! You’re not even trying.”

“Sure I am. Redemption.”

Ashley waved a hand dismissively. “You can redeem coupons, not people. And I’m perfectly happy right where I am, thanks very much. On the winning side.”

“You’re trying to convince yourself you’ll win, but you don’t really believe it.”

Her lips thinned and she wasn’t beautiful at all.

In fact, for a split second she barely looked human.

But then she put on her confident smile again, as if it were a familiar mask, and nodded.

“I can see you need some time to ponder. Okey-doke. Just remember: this thing I’m about to do?

It’s a playful tickle compared to what’s facing you.

” She gestured and immediately Spanos started to thrash and scream.

“C’mon, baby,” she said, turning to Dee. She had to speak up to be heard over the noise. “Let’s have a drink.”

“But he’s?—”

“It’ll help him decide.” She took Dee’s hand and led him from the room. He went docilely, aware that she was probably influencing him to obey. Also aware that he truly wanted to get the hell out of there.

Even with the door closed, Dee could hear Spanos all the way down the long hallway.

* * *

The drinks that Ashley had mentioned turned out to be a pitcher of margaritas for her and a glass of orange juice for Dee, both manufactured via wishes.

She insisted they have them poolside on the patio as the afternoon sun disappeared behind the mountains.

She didn’t seem to notice the chill settling into the air, even though she wore a flimsy sundress.

“I like the desert,” she announced. She reclined in a lounge chair, her legs crossed at the ankles and her margarita glass in hand. “Not too many people, so it’s cleaner.”

“Vegas is desert,” Dee pointed out. Not that the subject mattered, but arguing about it was better than thinking about the helpless man inside the house.

Ashley was in a jolly mood, however, and only chuckled. “True. But I like Vegas. I go there sometimes for fun, just to nudge people into making worse decisions. It’s super easy.”

Worse decisions. Dee had made a lot of bad ones in his life, but lately he’d really been scraping the barrel. “I wish you’d never showed up at my door. I wish I didn’t have this fucking talent.”

“Honey, you grant wishes, not make them. And you should be on your knees thanking me. You should be grateful you’re not one of the unwashed masses, the vast herds of sheeple.

You get to be one of the survivors.” She squinted at him.

“Have you ever been a winner before? I bet not. Well, you’re gonna love how it feels. ”

She was right—he’d never won at anything. But it sure didn’t feel very good right now. Of course, Dee probably felt worlds better than Agent Spanos did. “Won’t other agents come looking for him?”

“They’ll try. But I brought him here via a portal, and no way they can track that. I destroyed his phone and yours. Maybe they’d eventually find some way to track him down, but we’ll be long gone by then.”

Sipping at his bitter juice, Dee felt an unexpected pang of guilt, an emotion that rarely visited him.

It was his fault that Agent Spanos was being tortured and forced to make a terrible decision.

Not that Dee had endangered the guy purposely, but Spanos got dragged into this because he was trying to recruit Dee.

Unless he was trying to incarcerate or murder Dee, in which case Dee didn’t feel sorry for him at all.

Ashley finished off her margarita and refilled the glass.

“You’re brooding, and that’s not going to do you any good.

Look, the key is to reject that BS moral code they’ve been shoving down your throat since you were born.

Why should you buy into it? Has it ever helped you?

Has anyone ever helped you? Until me, that is. ”

Dee had to think about this. His mother abandoned him without even a goodbye.

His father bullied and beat him. If any other relatives existed, they’d never shown their faces.

Teachers had called him sullen and slow.

Social workers, on the few occasions he’d interacted with them, had assumed he was destined for failure.

Cops, lawyers, and probation officers had been even worse.

On the rare occasions that Dee had tentatively reached out for friendship, he’d been rejected.

And lovers? They’d been eager to go once the orgasms were over.

Nobody had believed in him. Nobody had cared for him or about him. Hell, until the Bureau took notice of him, Dee could have dropped dead and the only people to notice would have been those inconvenienced by his passing.

So, yeah. Why should he give a shit about anyone but himself?

He wasn’t a complete idiot, however. He knew that Ashley—and presumably her people, whoever they were—didn’t care about him either. They just wanted to use him. Maybe that wasn’t so bad if he used them back. If his powers made him valuable, he could demand a place of rank and privilege.

Once he’d helped them wipe out most of humanity.

Only… maybe that wasn’t really going to happen. Ashley seemed convinced, but she could be wrong.

Gods, he didn’t want to be making these choices.

As darkness fell, Ashley finished off the rest of the pitcher and got well into a second one. Dee mostly just sat there, staring up at the stars. A coyote howled somewhere, the sound faint yet haunting. Dee felt cold, empty, and brittle, like a seashell long battered by the surf. And he was tired.

“I’m going to sleep,” he announced. He hoped that Ashley had conjured a bed somewhere.

She responded with a small grunt, but her eyes were closed. Her empty glass slipped from her hand and fell to the concrete, where it shattered, but she didn’t react to that either. Dee couldn’t tell whether she was passed out or just didn’t give a damn. He went inside.

The floor plan was a maze of long hallways, seemingly random stairways, and endless empty rooms with white walls and big windows.

Every surface was hard and unforgiving, every corner sharp.

At one point, Dee pulled a pearl from his pocket and tried wishing for a bed, but he knew it wouldn’t work—and it didn’t.

He could grant other people’s wishes but never his own.

When he found himself outside the room where Spanos was chained, Dee wasn’t surprised. It was possible he’d been searching for it all along. With a glance over his shoulder to make sure Ashley wasn’t following, he opened the door and stepped inside.

The overhead lights were exceptionally bright and must have been uncomfortable for Spanos, who could do little to shade his eyes.

Of course that was probably not his biggest complaint at the moment.

The whites of his eyes were bloodshot, his newest scars raw-looking, his olive-toned skin pale.

He was probably a handsome man under ordinary circumstances, but now his dark hair was tangled and he reeked of sweat and urine.

“Water,” he croaked.

For a moment, Dee hesitated in confusion.

But then he realized that he still held the empty juice glass and that he’d passed a nearby bathroom.

He ducked out of the room long enough to rinse and fill the glass, then returned and held it to Spanos’s mouth.

Spanos could barely lift his head, so most of the water spilled, but at least a little made its way down his throat.

With a heavy exhale, Spanos allowed his head to fall back onto the table. Then he fixed his gaze on Dee. “Where are we?”

“Arizona.”

“Shit.” Spanos closed his eyes.

Dee was accustomed to awkward silences, but this one was exceptionally painful. He didn’t know why he’d come to this room, and now he couldn’t seem to make himself leave.

“Free me.” Spanos didn’t sound as if he expected Dee to comply.

“I can’t.”

Spanos’s gaze was bright and intense. Feverish, really. “What kind of person are you?”

That was an excellent question, one that Dee had carefully avoided asking himself for his entire life. So instead of answering, he offered an inadequate and overused excuse. “None of this is my idea. I hardly even know what’s going on.”

Somehow Spanos managed a wry smile. His teeth were bloodstained. “Just following orders.”

Dee clenched his jaw and started to leave. He felt like a coward. He was a coward. That was the kind of person he was. Now he’d go find a bed in this goddamn place and blot out the world with some sleep.

Somehow, however, he found himself turning back, crossing the room, and looming over Spanos, who stared at him without visible hope.

“My name is Damnation,” Dee said quietly.

“I guess my parents never expected much out of me except trouble. And I guess they were right. But look what being the hero gets you.” He pointed at one of Spanos’s manacles.

“Achilles, right? Big hero, but didn’t he die at the end? ”

“I don’t believe in destiny. Or heroes. I believe in making the best decision you can and, if you fuck up, doing what you can to fix it.

” Spanos made a strange sound that might have been a laugh.

“I guess I should thank you two for allowing me that realization.” He turned his head away and closed his eyes.

After a few moments, Dee left, closing the door softly as if trying to avoid disturbing the room’s occupant.

Then he wandered for what felt like freaking eons until stumbling into a room that contained a couch.

Not a bed, and he had to curl up to fit, but it was softer than the floor. He tried to sleep.

The couch fabric, however, was a screaming green that he could almost feel through his skin, and there didn’t seem to be a way to turn off the bright overhead lights. Ashley’s home design skills clearly left something to be desired.

Dee lay there on his side, two phrases echoing in his skull.

What kind of person are you?

Do what you can to fix it.