Page 56 of Concluded (The Bureau #13)

P ulling ten people out of the black hole had felt like running a marathon while carrying a cement mixer on his shoulders.

But Dee had accomplished it, and now Achilles and the others were at least temporarily safe.

Dee had managed to get some rest and decent food, which helped revive him.

As did the combined energy of all the people in the room.

They might be frightened and apprehensive, but there was also an optimistic eagerness to the crowd.

Everyone seemed excited to at least go down fighting.

Best of all, however, Achilles was there.

He seemed to be sort of in charge of this circus, yet he spent every available moment doting on Dee.

And his eyes, as he and Dee gazed at each other, were as bright and shiny as an anime character’s.

Dee had told him the whole story of what happened in Spurling’s mansion—including Dee’s temptation to start the damn war for his own selfish reasons—and Achilles still loved him.

With that, Dee felt as if he could zap a hundred people out of the black hole. A thousand.

And that was good, because pretty soon he was going to be asked to do even more.

“You okay?” Achilles asked. He sat next to Dee on a mat, their backs propped against the wall, shoulders touching.

“Never been better.”

“Dee….”

“Really.” Dee leaned in against him. “Everyone here knows I’m a djinn, right?”

“Um, yeah. I mean, I’ve filled everyone in on what’s going on, and you’re central to that story.”

“Right. But nobody’s treating me like I’m a monster or a freak.”

Achilles laughed. “You don’t really stand out in this crowd.

” He gestured at the vampires napping in the corner, the dog shifter—who was currently a mastiff—panting beside his human partner, the house spirit with the pointed ears and bright clothing laughing with a small cluster of agents, the Sasquatch sitting next to his giant husband and whittling something from a chunk of wood, the demon deep in discussion with…

whatever John was. Achilles definitely had a point.

“It’s nice,” Dee said. “Even if I didn’t know I was a djinn, I did know that I was weird. I didn’t belong anywhere, with anyone. But now….” He made a frustrated noise, unable to find the right words to express what he was feeling.

“You found your tribe. I felt that way too, back when Townsend first recruited me. I still didn’t make close friends here, but that was on me.

I pushed people away, I guess. Even so, I always felt like I belonged here.

” Achilles sighed heavily, no doubt mourning the loss of the Bureau.

The makeshift band of warriors might be in HQ now, but things were definitely not back to normal.

Dee and Achilles were quiet for a while. Dee could have sworn that he felt strength and vitality flowing into him from the spot where Achilles was pressed against him. Achilles didn’t seem to be drained, however. If anything, he had an excess of energy, wiggling his feet and tapping his fingers.

When there was a small commotion near the doors, Achilles leapt up to investigate.

Dee couldn’t see what was going on at first, but then Tenrael waded in and the crowd parted enough for Dee to see that Charles had arrived…

and he’d brought Ish with him. Ish was magnificent: tall and broad, handsome.

Wing feathers so white that they made the lobby’s marble look drab and gray.

He was naked, which shouldn’t have been a big surprise since Tenrael also avoided wearing clothes.

Shirts were pretty much out of the question anyway due to the wings.

Dee didn’t know the extent of Ish’s psychological recovery, but he was certainly doing well physically.

While Achilles and Charles immediately fell into a discussion, Ish sailed over to Dee and knelt gracefully in front of him. “You have done well, my friend,” he said and gave a warm smile.

Dee felt flustered, as if a beloved celebrity had complimented him. He even blushed. “I didn’t…. Achilles, he?—”

“Yes. Each of you is a good man. Together, you are great heroes. There is often immense power when individuals join.”

Join. Dee considered that as he surveyed the room and saw all the couples.

Not everyone was paired, by any means, but a lot of them were.

Which made sense, because as Achilles had pointed out, it was hard for Bureau agents to form close relationships, so people tended to pair up with coworkers.

But by now Dee had heard quite a few stories about the famous Chief Townsend, and it sounded as if he’d orchestrated a goodly portion of these matches.

That might have been incidental, or a way to help keep his agents content.

Or maybe he’d known that a day would come when the Bureau would need this kind of synergy.

“I’m going to do my best,” Dee assured Ish.

“From the perspective of the world at large, the results are what matter. But for each person, the most important thing is the effort.” With that entirely enigmatic comment, Ish stood and looked behind him, where Charles and Achilles were approaching.

“How much longer do you need to recover?” asked Charles without greeting or preamble.

Achilles glowered. “Hey, he’s been through a lot lately, and?—”

“It’s okay,” Dee interrupted. “I get it. Time is not on our side.” He did a quick self-assessment. He was still tired, but he’d had a good day of rest. If he waited too long, it would be too late. “Give me a few more hours and I’ll be ready.”

“Are you sure?” Achilles asked.

Dee nodded.

Meanwhile, Charles was shifting his feet and looking uncomfortable. “My apologies. You’ve already contributed enormously, and I’m grateful. But the stakes are so high.”

“I get it. No rest for the wicked.” Dee smiled.

“All of us have been wicked,” intoned Ish. “And all of us have the capacity to be good. It is unfortunate that wickedness is often the easier choice.”

Also a little cryptic, Dee thought. But then he considered Irina, who’d done lots of rotten things out of self-protection but in the end had endangered herself to do what was right.

Hell, Dee himself had taken his full name pretty seriously for a good chunk of his life.

Maybe he’d never been downright evil, but he’d done a lot of things he regretted and not much that he was proud of.

Until recently.

According to Charles, Achilles, Abe, and several others, hope was a strong weapon. Deciding to do good after a history of doing bad—that was a form of hope, wasn’t it? Dee thought so.

Achilles crouched so he could speak quietly to Dee. “Charles wants me to give a speech now. That’s not really my thing. In fact, I’d rather face a bear shifter.”

“So look at me while you’re talking and imagine me in my underwear.”

“I happen to know you’re not wearing any.”

That was true. In the shuffle to clothe everyone who’d been in the black hole, Dee had ended up with a T-shirt and sweatpants, both with Bureau insignias, and that was it. He hadn’t especially minded.

“Even better,” Dee said with a leer.

“Then I’ll be too distracted.” Achilles winked and stood upright again. “I guess I’m ready,” he said to Charles.

Achilles looked unusually pale. It was funny that a person could go his entire life facing monsters, could willingly allow himself to be thrust into the hands of enemies… and yet was afraid of speaking to a crowd of his peers. But it made him more human in Dee’s eyes, and more lovable.

Achilles stood straight against the wall near Dee and cleared his throat a few times. “Hey!” he called. And when that had little effect, he repeated much more loudly. “Hey! Listen up!”

Conversations quieted and stopped as everyone turned to look.

He swallowed two more times before glancing at Dee—who waggled his eyebrows.

Achilles straightened his shoulders. “The chief has asked me to give a quick debriefing about what we’re working on here.

I’m not going to lie; I don’t know if this will work.

But I hope it will. And you all know the stakes.

Plus, every person in this room has put their life on the line before.

Some of you have done it many times. And you’ve all chosen to be here today when you could have opted to be just about anywhere else.

I think… I think if you’re honest with yourself, you’ll know we’re taking the right path. ”

There were murmurings in the audience, and they sounded approving.

Dee noticed that Ish and Tenrael had positioned themselves to flank the crowd.

The two of them looked nothing alike, aside from their expressionless countenances and their unfurled, slowly fanning wings.

Although according to some religions they were supposed to be ideological opposites, Dee saw similarities: ancient eyes, proud bearing, barely-concealed power.

And both were demonstrating respect for Achilles.

“Here’s the plan,” Achilles continued. “As you all probably know, Abe can connect with spirits of the dead. He also tells me that when the spirit of a, um, righteous person possesses a living person, the possessed becomes very powerful. That was, um, how Chief Townsend came to be… what he was.”

That caused a stir among the crowd, but Achilles held up his hands for silence. “So the idea is that Dee will grant my wish to have everyone here possessed by a good spirit. A… what are they called, Abe?”

“Ibbur,” Abe called from the back.

“Right. And then we’ll seek out the enemy and fight them. At least some of them are probably possessed too, by the way. By not-so-righteous men.”

“Fight them how?” asked a tall woman with short, graying hair.

Achilles looked uncomfortable. “I’m not sure. But we’ll be a whole gang of, of Townsends. I’m sure we’ll figure something out.”