Agents of Order Read online

  Kayleigh’s voice was amused, which suggested that she’d listened in somehow. Anik’s doing, probably. Jerk. “You have a perfect line of sight on her apartment. Go to work.”

  He shook his head. Even though the idea was his, he hadn’t really considered the possibility that he’d actually have to carry and install the equipment himself. I really am more of an ideas man. He chuckled inwardly, set his toolbox down beside the backpack Anik had dropped on the graveled rooftop, and shrugged out of the bag he carried crosswise on his back. From the latter, he withdrew a stubby tripod. It was a moment’s work to extend the legs, withdraw the motor from his box and attach it, and flip the switch on the device that controlled the elevation of the central pole. The tiny black rectangle ran through its diagnostics and returned a green signal. All good.

  Meanwhile, Anik had pulled out the sensor unit itself, which had a large lens for visuals plus a powerful microphone that would be able to read sound vibrations from her windows. Kayleigh said it would be sensitive enough to hear her snoring, whispering, or talking to herself, whichever the case may be. After a demonstration of the setup during which they listened in on a couple arguing inside a restaurant across the river, his estimate of the amount of direct human effort it would take to monitor the woman had changed. Once the device was in place and locked on to her lair, the systems would handle the majority of the work going forward.

  While Hank, Anik, and Tony had followed her, she never directly entered or exited the building across the street. Her tradecraft was strong and she used portals to move around that vanished too quickly to trace. They’d attempted to tag her with one of Rath’s slightly radioactive targets but had failed miserably as she seemed to maintain a defensive field to protect herself at all times. Diana had promised to discuss how such a thing was possible with Nylotte because none of the magicals on the team—or any other they knew—could do it. Kayleigh couldn’t even determine how to mimic the personal shield technologically, which was a source of significant frustration for her.

  They’d received a lucky break when the person they did manage to tag took up a position outside her building. Cara’s attempt to tag the man with the metal arm with a tracker had missed, and he’d disappeared entirely from their radar. But her bug had managed to catch the man in black, and he'd been traced to the location too many times for it to be anything but intentional. The three agents had watched the building from multiple angles around the clock whenever Sloan indicated her departure from the warehouse, and it had been the newest member of their team who’d finally saw her through the condo’s window.

  Tony wiped his brow again and turned to watch the demolitions expert set up the sensor box, attach it to the tripod, and run a cable down to the motor. The system began to move up and down and spin the camera left and right as it warmed up. “Alfred says we’re all good,” Kayleigh reported. “But at least one of you should stay up there until we know for sure that everything’s working properly.”

  He groaned, and Anik laughed. “We’ll both do it, brother. Let’s go into the stairwell where there’s some shade.” Tony followed him over, and they found places to sit. A lens of their glasses showed the feed from the camera, and they settled in to wait for developments. Tony watched a Philip Marlowe film in the other lens, while Anik’s light snoring suggested that he trusted the systems to alert him to any activity.

  It was several hours before anything happened, but when it did, it was good. First, the system beeped rhythmically to signal that it had detected noise. They straightened and their glasses shifted into VR mode, which displayed the scene as if they were looking through the camera’s lens. Tony tapped the icon to slave the sensor box to his glasses so it would move with him. The witch walked into view, threw her bag onto the couch, and crossed into a hallway out of sight. He turned his head and reacquired her when she entered the bedroom. She disappeared into what they knew was a closet, thanks to the blueprints they’d found of the building, and emerged wearing comfortable clothes. He nudged Anik. “Try to keep your mind on the game. I know you’re not used to seeing attractive women in any stage of undress.”

  His partner snorted. “Do you want to compare notes? You’ll probably have to dust yours off, they’re so old.”

  Tony flicked a hand out to smack him, and it was easily blocked by the demolitions expert. The witch started to move again, and he tracked her down the hallway and had her perfectly centered when she stepped into view again in the living room. She crossed to the table and set a statue on the table, then fumbled with something at her neck. The camera couldn’t quite focus in far enough to see what it was, but he was sure that the techs could blow it up or do whatever other technical wizardry was required to reveal it. A blue glow emerged above the statue, and a figure appeared. He chuckled. “It’s like Star Wars, only Emperor Palpatine instead of Princess Leia.”

  Anik laughed as well. “Help me, Sarah you evil witch. You’re my only hope.”

  The microphone picked up her side of the conversation only, which was strange. She seemed to be receiving orders from the man, based on the shortness of her answers, which mainly alternated between yes and no. At one point, she asked if they could simply blow it up—with no clear indication of what “it” was—and appeared to receive a reply that pleased her. The image disappeared, and she sighed loudly. Her voice lost its subservient edge. “Idiot. I will enjoy watching you die.”

  She sat up suddenly as if startled and her hands jerked to her neck. She picked up the wand from where it lay on the table and waved it around her. The visual feed turned to static and the sounds vanished. Tony tapped his comm. “Uh, Kayleigh?”

  He could picture the scowl he heard in her voice. “It’s not technological. Damn magic. She must have activated some kind of defense we aren't prepared for.”

  Anik sighed, and Tony echoed it. “Right when we thought we had her, it turns out we don’t. Why are we surprised? So now what?”

  She replied, “I’ll consult with Deacon. We’ll think of something. The system works fine, though, so you guys come on back.”

  Kayleigh moved to where her colleague sat behind his computers. She pulled the earphone off the side of his head and asked, “Have you been listening?”

  “Nope. Working.” He nodded at the screen in front of him. “I’m going to try to weave some magic into the virus. That might help it slide through defenses a little better, especially if they’re smart enough to use computer magic too.”

  She yanked the headphones the rest of the way off as she sat beside him. “You can get back to that in a second. I need some thoughts on how to pierce the wards around the witch’s condo.”

  He frowned. “I guess it’s too much to hope that our enemies will always be stupid, huh?”

  Kayleigh shrugged. “So far, at least.”

  Deacon tapped his chin thoughtfully. “And we want to do it without her noticing, right? This isn’t a smash and grab but long-term surveillance?” She nodded, and he sighed. “There’s only one answer, then. In order to do it in a way she won’t detect as enemy magic, we'll have to get some drone bugs from Oriceran.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  He laughed. “You’re such a magical Luddite. You are aware that people in Oriceran have managed to combine magic and technology in useful ways, right?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “I’m not an idiot, you know.”

  “Could’ve fooled me.” He stuck his tongue out at her. Her ensuing smack made him yelp and rub his upper arm. “Anyway, they have these things that look like bugs but are actually surveillance devices. If she’s searching for hostile magic or for hostile technology, they shouldn’t be detected because they’re not really either.”

  “Wouldn’t they register as both?”

  He shook his head. “Intent matters. Unless the witch is specifically thinking about a hybrid, they should remain unnoticed.”

  She nodded. “All right. How do we get some?”

  Deacon grimaced. �
�That’s the hard part. How many arms and legs do you have to sell?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Since taking over for Taggart as the acting head of ARES, Bryant had grown increasingly uncomfortable with the members of the oversight committee. The revelations from Diana’s team about possible Chinese and Oriceran influence on them was merely the distasteful icing on a cake he’d already baked. As such, he found it difficult to be appropriately subservient and respectful.

  At the appointed time for the meeting, he was still in Taggart’s office. He finished the piece of paperwork he was working on before he rose from the chair, drew his wand from its holster under his right arm, and waved it in a circle to summon a portal. His research into the locations of the anti-magic emitters that served the buildings Congress inhabited had identified a hole he could exploit. His first inclination had been to quietly alert the building’s authorities but instead, he had decided the possibility that it could be a tool for enemy agents might prove to be a source of useful information. He stepped through and closed the rift behind him, then placed the tiny bug—half magic and half tech—in a darkened corner of the ceiling with a gentle telekinetic burst. He straightened his dark pinstriped suit, ran a hand through his hair, and stalked down the hallway to the meeting room.

  When he entered, the full oversight committee was already assembled as he had requested. They had arranged themselves along opposing sides of the table. Finley had chosen the chair at the far end as the designated intermediary, and the other end had been left vacant for him. He went first to the credenza and busied himself with a mug of coffee, feeling the irritation on one side of the room grow palpable behind him. When he turned to take his seat, he also noted the stifled grins of the two on the opposite side.

  Finley sounded like he was trying to hide his own amusement. “Special Agent in Charge Bates, thank you for joining us.”

  He nodded. “Thank you all for agreeing to my request for this meeting.”

  Cyphret, closest to Finley on the “anti” side of the table, barked a laugh. “Rest assured, Agent, we would have summoned you shortly in any case. Your leadership has not exactly been stellar, thus far.”

  He shrugged and took a slow sip of his coffee, holding the mug in his left hand, and slurped it deliberately, both as a generalized sign of disrespect and as an act of misdirection. His right hand slid into his pocket and tapped a sequence of beats on the face of his phone. A gentle vibration let him know it was doing its work. He lowered the mug with a nod. “Well, Senator, it’s true that it has not been without its challenges. I would not call it a failure of any kind, however.”

  Beside her, Winston Tomassi shook his head. Bryant narrowed his eyes at the hypocrite who routinely made principled stands against vices of all kinds but was secretly an inveterate gambler knowingly or unknowingly in the pocket of the Chinese. And maybe in our enemies’ pockets, as well. “It is necessary—and long overdue—that we consider a more permanent replacement for Special Agent in Charge Taggart,” the senator stated coldly.

  The third person on that side of the table was one Bryant had never met in the flesh before. Zachariah Clarke kept a low profile and maneuvered behind the scenes, mainly to his own benefit but also that of the state he represented and—as they now knew—on behalf of Chinese Intelligence. Bryant was sure this man was fully aware of his espionage, unlike Tomassi, and likely reveled in it. His voice was slow and arrogant. “Perhaps it is a broader question we need to consider—whether ARES should continue in its current form at all. I am of the opinion that we should disband it and reassign its personnel to bolster the FBI, which has a more appropriate and effective chain of command to provide proper ongoing oversight and intervention.”

  He gave the man a nod full of false respect and turned to Finley, who seemed about to speak. The senator was cut off by Sam Somers, whose white mustache and close-trimmed beard offered a gentleness that offset the fiery look in his eyes. He immediately pictured a fun grandfather retrieving a belt to administer a beating. “While my distinguished colleagues are rightfully concerned about the challenges the organization faces, that particular suggestion is, pardon my language, pure bullshit. We need the special talents offered by ARES, and we need the ability to work around existing bureaucracies. Especially those who would suddenly be in the know if ARES was reintegrated into the FBI.”

  Bryant nodded again, this time with actual respect. The current arrangement kept the president out of the loop and allowed whoever held the office to claim full deniability. While the vice president was aware by virtue of being a member of the committee, the likelihood of that individual being asked about the agency was small. And, if they happened to ascend to the Oval Office, they would quickly receive official word that ARES had been disbanded. Simultaneously, an identical organization with a different name would rise in its place, drawing the new vice president into its oversight committee.

  The other senator on the pro side, Ellyn Hughes, was also a new face to Bryant. She was an older African-American woman, not as old as Clarke or Somers but not as young as the rest. Her black and grey hair rose in tight curls a couple of inches off her head. Bryant was struck by her eyes, which were piercing, and her model-perfect lips and teeth. She sliced her hand through the air as if chopping through an enemy combatant with a sword. Her voice was no-nonsense and permitted no argument. “Cut the posturing, people. We won’t eliminate ARES when so many important issues are in play. Save the politicking for the campaign trail and focus on business. Special Agent in Charge Bates, why did you request this meeting?”

  So I could download Deacon’s virus into every electronic device you all are carrying, of course. He smiled and inclined his head toward his counterpart at the table's other pole. “Senator Finley and I have had preliminary conversations about this, but one of my agents uncovered evidence of information leaks about ARES to our enemies that seemed to justify an immediate discussion with the entire committee.” He paused and deliberately didn’t look at anyone in particular and was impressed by the way the opposition side of the table continued to look haughty and judgmental. “We have discovered that someone—likely inside the pool of assistants, technicians, and aides associated with your side of the operation—has shared secrets with a person or persons on Oriceran.”

  Clarke was the first to reply and almost choked on his theatrical outrage. “Preposterous. What evidence do you have?”

  Bryant spread his hands in a gesture of innocence. “Only that information the enemy should not have regarding the internal operations of ARES reached an Oriceran named Nehlan.”

  Somers’s face took on a frown. “Where have I heard that name before?”

  Finley explained, “He abducted a person of interest to one of our agents and transported her to Oriceran. He died in the rescue operation.”

  Tomassi rolled his eyes. “So this being is off the board. It seems like the danger has passed.”

  The woman on the pro side of the table shook her head. “Even if the target is now gone, the fact that someone is apparently speaking to people they shouldn’t is an issue. We must implement a scan of those Special Agent in Charge Bates mentioned as soon as possible.” Diana and Bryant had agreed that giving the senators a potential scapegoat was the right move to keep them confident in their security. She wasn’t in on the plan, but Hughes played her part well by honestly living up to the responsibilities of her position.

  Cyphret shook her head. “Agent Bates, I feel I can speak for the table at large when I say that you stand on the very thinnest of ice. If there are any more failures by your organization, big or small, I will not hesitate to call for its elimination. ARES has done good work in the past, but it increasingly appears that current events have outstripped your ability to cope with them, especially without the leadership of Special Agent in Charge Taggart.”

  Janet. I’m hurt. How could you? He nodded and forced appropriate seriousness into his expression. “I understand, Senator.”

  Clarke slappe
d his palms down on the table. “I say they have had enough chances and more than enough. I propose we disband ARES immediately.”

  Before Bryant could protest, Tomassi chimed in, “Second.”

  Finley sounded tired as if they’d been down this road before. “Discussion? Hearing none, move to a vote. Those in favor?”

  Three hands raised instantly on one side of the table. “Opposed?” The other trio of hands rose. “Tie vote, no action at this time.”

  He turned to face Bryant. “Do you have anything further, Special Agent in Charge Bates?”

  Bryant had received the pulse indicating the successful transmission of the computer virus while the senators were voting. He smiled. “Nothing at the moment, Senator.”

  With a disgusted shake of his head, Finley said, “We are adjourned.” The other politicians flowed out of the room, arguing with one another. Bryant watched them go, sipping his coffee, and turned to Finley with a smile when they had departed. “Are they always like this, Aaron?”

  The other man laughed and rose to fill his own cup. He took a few sips before answering, then sighed. “They were actually on fairly good behavior today. No one fired any direct potshots at anyone else.” He sat in the chair nearest the agent and leaned forward. “There’s something you’re not saying. You don’t have to tell me what it is—in fact, it’s probably better if I remain unaware. But I do need to know one thing in order to do my job properly. Are any of the Senators in immediate danger, either from one another or from an external party?”

  The question set him back on his heels. He honestly hadn’t contemplated that their arguments over the fate of ARES could ever extend beyond the confines of whatever room they were arguing in. Certainly, the idea that there might be physical danger had never crossed his mind. He thought about it for a second and, unhappy about doing so even though he knew he had to, considered the political implications of his conclusion before he shared it. Fortunately, the actual and political answers were the same. “I can’t imagine so. Whoever is receiving any information would be unlikely to act in a way that might cut the flow off. I would expect the status quo to be maintained until something interrupts the supply of secrets.”