Page 35

Oz shifted in his chair. “I doubt it. Generally, they’re not so much interested in…” He trailed off. “Umm…”

“Caring about whether we live or die.” Natalie finished for him.

“Yes. But I was looking for a nicer way of phrasing that.” Oz shifted again. “You scare them.”

“It’s ‘cause we’re so badass.” Quinn Aguta, AKA “Tupilak” chimed in. “Some people can’t deal with our levels of awesome.”

Bridget heaved another weary sigh. “Well, our ‘awesomeness’ notwithstanding, just tell them to help out Bobbi.”

“I can’t do that.” Oz shook his head.

“Why not?”

“Because I need them to aid me in tracking down Mercygiver.” He straightened in his chair. “Miss Quentin is still in danger, and I can’t spare any manpower at the moment.”

“I’m not really asking here, Oz.” Bridget told him flatly. “We need someone to guard the base. Your department is the only one with the people right now.”

“I’m glad you’re not asking, because if you did, I’d be forced to refuse your request.” Oz’s voice took on a hard edge. “They are my staff. I need them.”

Poacher heaved a theatrical sigh. “If only Miles wasn’t busy inducting himself into the ‘Alcohol of Fame’ right now.”

“Fuck you, Poacher!” Bobbi snapped. “Miles is twice the man you are!”

“Only if you go by his blood-alcohol level, honey.” Poacher rolled his eyes, then looked around the table at the others, who were staring at him like he’d crossed a line. “What? Oh, I’m so terribly sorry for pointing out that that coked-out bastard is MIA again. Silly me. ”

“This bickering is pointless.” Marian looked down the table at Natalie. “Multifarious, do you want or need the Consortium’s help in tracking down your attacker?”

Natalie snorted. “Hell no. This is nemesis territory, which means that all of you should stay out of it. Besides, anyone who tags along is destined to just get kidnapped and used as a hostage against me anyway. You’re going to be hogtied and used as bait to lure me to one of those big ‘sky beam’ things in the last act, as the city is destroyed around me.

Jesus, haven’t you people ever seen an action movie?

” She pounded a fist on the table. “This is my epic quest which I need to do alone! ’Hero’s journey,’ not ‘ Heroes’ Journey! ’”

“Thus, we have two entirely interrelated problems to solve, both of which involve putting the Agletarian troops currently hunting us into early graves.” Marian began ticking them off on her fingers.

“Multifarious does not require the assistance of Oswald’s men, thus freeing them up to assist us in protecting the Lair and ensuring that Montgomery respects Mile’s department and the Irregulars respect Bobbi’s position.

” She stood up. “There. It took me three seconds to solve this idiotic problem you people have been arguing about for an hour. Crisis adverted, bloodbath postponed. Now I can finally leave and go have audaciously loud sex with my husband.” She pointed at Cynic. “You. Now. We’re going.”

“But I haven’t saved the city yet.” Cynic protested weakly as he was pulled from his chair.

“Fuck heroics.”

Cynic grinned in amusement and let himself get dragged towards the door, his hand reaching down to rest in the back pocket of Marian’s shorts. “Later, losers.”

Before they got there though, Harlot burst in. The woman had dark circles under her eyes, no doubt from worrying about Wyatt, who was still in the Consortium’s infirmary. The man had been in pretty bad shape.

Cynic and Marian stopped in their tracks, like being confronted with the undead.

Even in her frazzled and overwrought state, she still squinted at their reversed attire, but didn’t bother to ask about it.

Bridget quickly vacated the chair at the head of the table, so that the woman could sit down. To be honest, it looked like if she didn’t sit down, she was in definite danger of falling down.

Bridget retreated to her usual chair, which was next to Julian. The man immediately pulled her close and began to tell her what an amazing job she had done dealing with the “idiot surface-dwellers. ”

“What do we got?” Harlot asked the room weakly, unconsciously echoing what her husband often asked in an emergency.

“Aliens.” Poacher said simply. “Working with an evil dictatorship and/or Mull’s crazy ex. Or something, it’s still being debated. And Marian and Cynic are about to go get their fuck on again. I predict they’ll do some weird shit to each other today.”

Marian nodded. “I concur, yes.”

Poacher pointed at Oz. “Oz is going to head up the Mercygiver part of this.”

Harlot processed that. “And the Agletarian part?” She asked, her voice sounding raw.

“Dunno. But it’s going to be bad.” Holly shook her head. “Two of those guys held off six of us for twenty minutes and destroyed a building in the process.”

Harlot tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Well, how many more of these soldiers do we think there are?”

Everyone looked at Cynic, now trusting the Intelligence Department for something other than his never-ending supply of crude limericks.

Harlot being here meant everyone was suddenly playing with their head in the game.

The Consortium had different factions and petty squabbles, but everyone loved Harlot. She was one of the few people here who could unite them. She needed them to be their best selves right now, so that’s what they’d give her.

It was one of the only things about this group that Oz genuinely respected.

They were a family. A bickering, horrible, dysfunctional family, which frequently tried to kill each other. But a family none-the-less.

Oz had never been part of a family. It was interesting to see how one operated, even if he was an outsider.

“About a thousand.” Cynic got out hoarsely, answering Harlot. “And they’ve all got those suits.”

The room was silent for a long moment.

“Can we win this?” Harlot asked seriously. “If… if things go bad and we gotta throw down with these guys in the streets again, as things currently stand, can we take them?”

Marian was quiet as her brain quickly worked out every possible eventuality.

“No.” She finally declared. “There are simply too many of them and they have access to technology we can’t match.

I am familiar with our tactics and abilities, and I predict a 75% likelihood of everyone in this room who is not immortal or invulnerable dying if we engage the Agletarians within the city.

And even if we did manage to emerge the victors in the battle against them, the civilian losses would be in the tens of thousands, if not higher. ”

“Okay.” Harlot let out a long, shaky breath, rubbing her palms against her eyes, accepting a hard truth.

“If we can’t beat them… we’ll just have to cheat .

” Harlot turned to look down the table at Montgomery.

“Monty, a thousand very dangerous men are here to kill my husband and infant son. Consider yourself off the chain .” She met the other man’s eyes, her voice suddenly rock hard. “ Win. ”

The room was deathly silent, recognizing that something major and terrifying had just happened.

Oz was the first to speak. “You can’t do that without a vote, Harlot.” He said. “That’s…”

“I will take care of this, Harlot.” Monty cut him off, his voice softer than it normally was. “I do not pretend to like Wyatt, at all, but I will make them sorry for hurting him. In the end, they will recognize their mistake.” He nodded at the woman in certainty. “You have my word on it.”

“Agreed.” Poacher nodded. “No one fucks with Wyatt while I’m around. We’re going scorched earth, wrath of fucking god kind of shit.” He raised his hand. “I’m in. Whatever sick, demented shit Monty wants to do to them, I’m in .”

Oz shook his head. “I doubt that’s what Wyatt would want.”

“Are you an expert on my husband now, Oz?” Harlot rounded on him.

“Did you and he spend all night talking in the ICU? Because I seem to be having difficulty asking what he’d want, since he’s still unconscious and hooked up to fucking machines!

” She waved a dismissive hand. “You don’t like my plan, get out .

Just quit and go back to the Freedom Squad. ”

Oz calmly met the woman’s eyes. “I understand that you’re angry and afraid. But I don’t deserve that, Harlot.”

“If Oz is leaving, so am I.” Natalie told Harlot flatly, anger evident. “He’s the reason why most of us are still alive.”

“You don’t technically work here now , Mull.” Emily snorted. “You’re not on staff, you just hang out here sometimes and we pay you to kill random people who piss us off.”

Harlot turned away from Oz, looking tired.

“I’m… sorry.” Harlot whispered to Oz. “I know you’re one of us, I just…”

“I know.” Oz nodded. “I know exactly what you’re feeling and I understand it. I merely disagree with your solution. That doesn’t mean I don’t care about Wyatt or that I don’t want to see the Agletarians stopped.”

“Oz is right though, this should have a vote.” Mack interjected. “You don’t put Monty in charge of…”

“No, no, I’m done screwing around.” Harlot shook her head, cutting him off.

“They put my husband in the hospital and tried to kill my friends. The gloves come off . We tried to make peace at that stupid conference in Agletaria. We tried it Wyatt’s way.

Now we’ll do it mine .” She stood up. “They want a fight? Well, now they’ve fucking got one .

We’re going to take away their ability to ever make war on us again.

And anyone who gets in our way on this will be treated the same, Mull’s ex and space aliens included.

Fuck’em all .” She tapped the tabletop.

“This is what we’re doing. All other projects are on hold.

All members are called in. The Agletarians are going to get everything we’ve got, understand?

We hit them as hard as we fucking can and we show them why this world was afraid of us for so long.

They… they almost killed my husband.” She looked down the table again, her voice cracking.

“You fucking destroy them , Monty! Do you understand me!?! Salt the fucking earth! You send a message about what happens to people who go after my husband and son. Make the goddamn angels weep over the pain you inflict on those bastards!” She stormed from the room to return to her husband’s bedside, yelling back over her shoulder. “ BURY THEM!!! ”

“As always.” Monty bowed his head to her slightly in appreciation, obviously liking the order.

He turned back to the table, looking at the team with his eerily soulless eyes.

“I will win this war if I have the assistance of nine members here, one delivery truck, full command of our security forces, fifteen pounds of Weald Forged metal from Princess Rayn’s kingdom… and a dragon.”

Poacher frowned. “Where are we supposed to get a delivery truck?”

“My Queen’s lands are off-limits to your schemes, Welles.” Tyrant roared.

“If I give you the metal and a dragon, can you win without me having to do anything?” Rayn asked, obviously barely paying attention to any of this.

“Because I’m busy this week picking out paint colors for the baby’s room and don’t feel like wasting time killing people in another of this dimension’s endless wars. ”

“ Most assuredly .”

“Take it.” She shrugged, looking disinterested. “What do I need it for?”

“You can’t just give Monty stuff he wants!” Mack sounded shocked. “ Never give him what he wants!”

“Why?” Rayn sounded genuinely confused.

“Because he can’t be trusted.” Bridget argued. “He’s the most immoral person I’ve ever met!”

“Morality is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” Monty informed them calmly.

“SEE!?!” Mack pointed at Monty as if the other man had just proved his point for him. “No one sane would say somethin’ like that!”

“Oh, Mack. You know I love you like a brother, but I think you exaggerate in this instance.” Amy laughed pleasantly. “Montgomery may struggle with chronic unpleasantness, but we are his family and we should support him.”

“He killed his last family.” Bridget reminded her flatly.

“There’s never been any proof of that!” Higgins yelled at her. “Those charges were an insult!”

Monty took on an inspirational tone and placed a hand over his heart, as if feeling the weight of his struggles. “To be great, is to be misunderstood.” He intoned wisely.

Higgins nodded, as if hearing some profound insight about the world and the nature of man.

“He’s a fuckin’ madman.” Mack reiterated. “I’ve known him since I was a boy, and I’m tellin’ you, he’s gonna get folks killed.”

“They blew up Wyatt!” Poacher shouted. “I don’t give a shit about their feelings!”

“I mean innocent folks!” Mack retorted. “Folks that don’t got nothin’ to do with this!”

“Possibly.” Monty agreed, voice dead. “But that’s not my department.”

“So that’s it then?” Mack asked the room at large, sounding disappointed. “Just fuck the whole hero thing now?”

They all silently considered that.

“That’s just how the world works.” Monty decided after a moment.

“It’s no coincidence that Hallmark doesn’t make a ‘You tried to kill my friend but I still wuv you’ card.

” Monty gazed into the crystal globe on the top of his cane again.

“Sometimes things happen. And once they do, you can’t ever go back. ”

Bridget sank back into the chair at the head of the table. “So, now Monty is going to handle the Agletarians, which terrifies me to even contemplate, let alone say , and Mull is…” She looked over at Natalie. “Do you want to stay in the Crater Lair as protection?”

“I’ll go with Oz.” Natalie announced.

“I think you’re making a mistake.” Bridget shook her head. “It’d be much safer if…”

“I’ll go with Oz.” Natalie repeated, her voice certain.